Sathya Sai Baba The World-Avatar Teaching and Revelations

the appropriate dictates of conscience; you should watch your steps
to see whether you are in some one else's way; you must be ever vigilant
to discover the truth, behind all this scintillating variety. This is the
duty of man, spiritual conduct. The blazing fire of wisdom, which convinces
you that all this is Brahman will consume into ashes all traces
of egoism, and worldly attachment. You must become intoxicated with
the nectar of union with Brahman; that is the ultimate goal of Divine
law, and of activity inspired by right conduct. (...)
"Sacrifice ignorance and egoism at the altar of wisdom, and install
righteousness therein"; this is the message of the Veda. Every single
unselfish act, which prepares the ground for the merging of the soul
with the Divine-Soul, which broadens the vision towards the basic
Brahman immanent everywhere, is an act of Divine law. Each such act
is a tiny stream that swells the river of holiness rushing towards the sea
of Brahman-wisdom. Your acts and activities are all rituals in the worship
of the Divinity that pervades the universe. Whatever is done in an
attitude of dedication and surrender is a component of the spiritual
path, which leads to realization. The strategy of the Veda way of life is
directed towards the sanctification of every moment and every word,
thought and deed, into a step towards this realization.
You have to understand the ancient fulfillment of one’s duty by entering
into its symbolic meaning. The spiritual field has many a technical
terms, each with its own special connotation. These have to be clearly
understood, so that you can grasp the teaching of the Vedas. Let us
take an example: People used to celebrate rituals in ancient times; and
they sacrificed animals in these rituals. But, the animal is only a symbol.
It was not the dumb creature that had to be cut to pieces. The animal
leads a life of sacrifice, without man completing its career on the
altar! The animal that has to be disembowelled and offered is different;
in the spiritual vocabulary, animal means "the body-consciousness",
"the I-consciousness"; and it is this that has to be slaughtered. (...)
The aim of the highest spiritual conduct is to make the living being give
up the attachment to external nature and the illusion that it causes and
to make it realise its reality or rather, unrealise what it has now taken
as real, so that it may stand revealed in its genuine identity. (...)
The highest goal of the ancient days is turned into the fool's goal. Thus,
every one of the ancient practices, once full of meaning, has grown
wild beyond recognition. Branches have shot out in various directions.
It is not now possible to pluck the tree by the roots and plant a new one.
So, the existing tree has to be trimmed and trained to grow straight.
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