Avatars like Rama and Krishna had to kill one or more individuals who could be identified as enemies of the righteous (dharmic) way of life, and thus restore the practice of virtue. But now there is no one fully good, so who deserves the protection of God? All are tainted by wickedness, and so who will survive if the Avatar decides to uproot? Therefore, I have come to correct the buddhi, the intelligence, by various means. I have to counsel, help, command, condemn and stand by as a friend and well-wisher to all, so that they may give up their evil propensities, recognising the right mark, tread it and reach the goal. I have to reveal to the people the worth of the Vedas, the Sastras and all spiritual texts which lay down the norms. If you accept Me and say "Yes," I too will respond and say, "Yes, yes, yes."

If you deny and say "No," I also echo "No." Come, examine, experience, have faith. That is the method of utilising Me.

I do not mention the name Sai Baba in any of My discourses, but I bear the name as Avatar of Sai Baba. I do not appreciate in the least the distinction between the various appearances of God: Rama, Krishna, Sai etc. I do not proclaim that this is more important or that the other is less important. Continue your worship of your chosen form of God, along lines already familiar to you, then you will find that you are coming nearer to Me. For all names are Mine, and all forms are Mine. There is no need to change your chosen God and adopt a new one when you have seen Me and heard Me.

Every step in the career of the avatar is predetermined. Rama came to feed the roots of truth (sathya) and righteousness (dharma). Krishna came to foster peace (shanti) and love (prema). Now all these four are in danger of being dried up. That is why the present Avatar has come. The dharma that has fled to the forests, has to be led back into the villages, towns, and cities, the anti-dharma that is ruining the villages, towns and cities (society) must be driven back into the jungle.

I have come to give you the key to the treasure of bliss (ananda), to teach you how to tap that spring, for you have forgotten the way to blessedness. If you waste this time of saving yourselves, it is just your fate. You have come, to get from Me, tinsel and trash, and the petty little cures and promotions, worldly joys and comforts. Very few of you desire to get from Me the thing that I have come to give you; namely, liberation itself. Even among these few, those who stick to the path of spiritual practice (sadhana) and succeed, are a handful.

Your worldly intelligence cannot fathom the ways of God. He cannot be recognised by mere cleverness of intelligence. You may benefit from God, but you cannot explain Him. Your explanations are merely guesses, attempts to cloak your ignorance in pompous expressions. You bring something into your daily practice as evidence of your having known the secret of the higher life from Me. Show that you have greater brotherliness. Speak with more sweetness and self-control. Bear defeat as well as victory with calm resignation. I am always aware of the future, the past as well as the present of everyone of you. So I am not so moved by mercy. Since I know the past and the background, my reaction is different. It is the consequence of evil deliberately done in previous births, and so I allow your suffering to continue, often modified by some little compensation. I do not cause either joy or grief. You are the designer of both these chains that bind you. I am (anandaswarupa) the embodiment of bliss. Come, take (ananda) bliss from Me, dwell on that ananda and be full of peace (shanti).

My acts are the foundations on which I am building My work, the task for which I have come. All the miraculous acts which you observe are to be interpreted so. The foundation for a dam requires a variety of materials. Without these it will not last and hold back the waters. An incarnation of the Lord has to be used in various ways by man for upliftment.

The Lord has no intention to publicise Himself. I do not need publicity, nor does any other Avatar of the Lord. What are you daring to publicise? Me? What do you know about Me? You speak one thing about Me today and another tomorrow. Your faith has not become unshakable. You praise Me when things go well, and blame me when things go wrong. When you start publicity you descend to the level of those who compete in collecting plenty, by decrying others and extolling themselves.

Where money is collected, garnered or exhibited, I will not be present. I come only where sincerity, faith and surrender are valued. Only inferior minds will revel in publicity and self-aggrandisement. These have no relevance in the case of Avatars. Avatars need no advertisement.

The establishment of righteousness (dharma) is My aim. The teaching of dharma, the spread of dharma, that is My object. These miracles as you call them are just means towards that end. Some of you remark that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said that siddhis or yogic powers are obstructions in the path of the spiritual aspirant (Sadhaka). Yes, siddhis may lead the spiritual aspirant astray. Without being involved in them he has to keep straight on. His ego will bring him down if he yields to the temptation of demonstrating his yogic powers. That is the correct advice which every aspirant should heed. But the mistake lies in equating Me with a sadhaka, like the one whom Ramakrishna wanted to help, guide and warn. These siddhis or yogic powers are just a part of the nature of the Avatar – the creation of things with intent to protect and to give joy as a spontaneous and lasting creation. Preservation and dissolution can be accomplished only by the Almighty... no one else.

Cynics carp without knowledge. If they learn the sastras or scriptures, or if they cultivate direct experience, they can understand Me. Your innate laziness prevents you from the spiritual exercises necessary to discover the nature of God. This laziness has to be driven out of man’s nature in whatever shape it appears. My mission is not merely to cure, console and remove individual misery, but it is something far more important. The removal of misery and distress are incidental to My mission. My main task is the re-establishment of the spiritual scriptures (Vedas) and sastras, and revealing the knowledge about them to all people. This task will succeed. It will not be limited. It will not be slowed down. When the Lord decides and wills, His Divine Will cannot be hindered.

You must have heard people say that Mine is all magic. But the manifestation of divine power must not be interpreted in terms of magic. Magicians play their tricks for earning their maintenance, worldly fame and wealth. They are based on falsehood and they thrive on deceit, but this body could never stoop to such low levels. This body has come through the Lord’s resolve. That resolve is intended to uphold the truth(Sathya). Divine resolve is always true resolve. Remember there is nothing that divine power cannot accomplish. It can transmute earth into sky and sky into earth. To doubt this, is to prove that you are too weak to grasp great things, the grandeur of the universe.

I have come to instruct all in the essence of the Vedas, to shower on all, this precious gift, to protect the ancient wisdom (sanathana dharma), and to preserve it. My mission is to spread happiness, and so I am always ready to come amongst you not once, twice or thrice—but as often as you want me. Many of you probably think that since people from all parts of India, and even foreign countries, come to Puttaparthi, they must be pouring their contributions into the coffers of Prashanti Nilayam. But let Me declare the truth. I do not take anything from anyone except love and devotion. People who come here are giving Me just the wealth of faith, devotion and love. That is all.

Many of you come to Me with problems of health and mental worry of one sort or another. They are mere baits by which you have been brought here. But the main purpose is that you may have grace and strengthen your faith in the divine. Problems and worries are really to be welcomed as they teach you the lessons of humility and reverence. Running after external things produces all this discontent. That type of desire has no end. Once you have become a slave to the senses, they will not leave hold until you are dead. It is an unquenchable thirst. But I call you to Me and even grant worldly boons so that you may turn towards God. No Avatar has done this before, going among the masses, counselling, guiding, consoling, uplifting and directing mankind along the path of (sathya, dharma, santhi and prema) truth, righteousness, peace and love.

My activities and movements will never be altered, irrespective of whatever others opinions are. I shall not modify My plans for dharmasthapana (the establishment of righteousness), My discourses or My movements. I have stuck to this determination for many years and I am engaged in the task for which I have come: that is, to inculcate faith in the path of the highest spiritual peace (Prasanthi). I shall not stop nor retract a step.

Not even the most famous of scientists can understand Me by means of by their laboratory knowledge. I am always full of bliss. Whatever may happen, nothing can come in the way of My smile. That is why I am able to impart joy to you and make your burden lighter. I never exult when I am extolled, nor shrink when I am reviled. Few have realised My purpose and significance, but I am not worried. When things that are in Me are mentioned, why should I exult? For Me it is always "Yes, yes, yes." If you give all and surrender to the Lord, He will guard you and guide you. The Lord has come for just this task. He is declaring that He will do so, and that it is the very task that has brought Him here. I know the agitation of your heart and its aspirations, but you do not know My heart. I re-act to the pain that you undergo and to the joy that you feel, for I am in your heart. I am the indweller in the temple of every heart. Do not lose contact and company, for it is only when coal is in contact with live embers that it can also become a live ember.

Cultivate nearness with Me in the heart and it will be rewarded. Then you too will acquire a fraction of that supreme love. This is a great chance. Be confident that you will all be liberated. Know that you are saved. Many hesitate to believe that things will improve, that life will be happy for all and full of joy, and that the golden age will recur. Let Me assure you that this dharma-swarupa, that this divine body, has not come in vain. It will succeed in averting the crisis that has come upon humanity.