Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is an integral manifestation who combines two very significant roles. Firstly, He is a great spiritual Master, famed for His simple and sweet exposition of the greatest and most intricate of spiritual truths which form the fundamental teachings of all the religions of the world. Elucidating on His mission, Bhagawan declares “I have come not to disturb or destroy any faith, but to confirm each in his own faith, so that the Christian becomes a better Christian, the Muslim a better Muslim and the Hindu a better Hindu.” His formula for man to lead a meaningful life is the five-fold path of Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Righteousness), Shanthi (Peace), Prema (Love) and Ahimsa (Non-Violence). These are His prescriptions for our ailing world.

Sathya Sai Baba says: People who are suffering, people who are immersed in sorrow and people who are helpless should be your real friends. You should help such people. This is what you should accept as your primary duty. There is great trouble in being friendly with rich people. It is true that you should cultivate friendship with all but if you make a rich person your friend, you will be tempted to ask him for a loan and this will cut off your friendship, because you are afraid that whenever he sees you, he will ask for the loan money to be paid back. You should be friendly with everyone, but you should be careful in choosing a true friend. Your true friends are those who are ready to accept your service. Your service will give you a bright future. Do not develop the ego about your capacities while doing service. Be humble and think that God has given you an opportunity to do service.

Whatever you do to others, you’re feeling must be that you are serving yourself. In fact and in truth, whatever service you are doing to others, you are doing it for yourself. Today a friend of yours comes to your house and you give him coffee. This good act of yours will get imprinted in his heart. When you go to his house, he will in turn receive you warmly and give you coffee. Thus, the service that you have done today will be returned to you in future. In another context, if a friend of yours who has no direct help enters a hospital and you help him, he will help you in return when you need it. So you should regard the good that you do as something which you are putting in, as a reserve for the future. Whatever you may do, good and bad, if you do it with the feeling that you are doing it for yourself, you will never do bad to yourself. You should have in mind that social service is an important thing, wherever you may be. You should make your body and mind sacred by doing such service. I hope and bless you that you develop such sacred and selfless ideals.