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260 pages
published by Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust
ISBN 0907704093

«The eyes have to be trained to discover the footprints of God; in this process, the mind has to be mastered. The mind is the pivot of thoughts and feelings. The mind is the thinking aspect of Brahman; the Absolute Consciousness. The absolute Self manifesting itself in imaginative activity is Mind. However, instead of turning towards the Absolute, it turns outward, and starts using the senses as its instrument: it forgets its source, the Atma. How and why this happens is inexplicable: we know that this happens and that it can be avoided and prevented. The intellect cannot grasp the secret, which is called, Maya, for it too is bound by it. One has to transcend the intellect in order to understand it. That is a fact and the fact has to be faced. The mind is the background of the world. If thoughts and activities of the mind are sound, healthy, non-violent, filled with love, morally harmonious, then, Peace is near at hand and Brahman can be attained. That is why Sadhana is to be strictly pursued to train the mind inward, towards God, its source.»

- Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Sadhana, Paragraph 28

• Asatho maa sath gamaya:
  From this transient world of decay, lead me to the everlasting world of Bliss;
• Thamaso maa jyothir gamaya: Give me the effulgence of Thy Grace and illumine my soul with truth;
• Mruthyor maa amrtham gamaya:
  Save me from the torture of birth and death, destroy the cravings of the mind which produce the seeds of birth.

- Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Sadhana, Paragraph 1

«Sadhana is all of life; every act, thought and word is a step towards or away from God. And, God is not high up in the heavens; He is in us, with us, beside us, behind us, before us. He is in every cell, as life; He is in every atom as activity. He is all this and more besides.
Every human being is equipped with Intelligence by means of which he can inquire, investigate and experience the central Truth: God is His own Truth. Sadhana leads one to the Inward Path, the Nivrtti Marga, as distinct from the Pravrtti Marga, which leads him away into the objective world where the senses misinterpret and mislead. Bhagavan has come to put mankind back on the rails of Sraddha and Bhakti so that it can proceed smooth and safe to the Bliss of Self-Realization.
This work is one in a series that are being brought out in an effort to assemble together important facets of the Message from Bhagavan's Discourses and present them for deeper study, contemplation and practice (Sravana, Manana and Nidhidhyasana).»

- N. Kasturi, Foreword

Last Updated Wednesday, January 20, 1999