Discourse Clip - Sai Inspires October 13, 2026

What is the relationship between sankalpas (thoughts) and sadhana (spiritual endeavour)? It is like smoke and fire. When smoke is predominant, the fire is suppressed. When the fire is blazing, the smoke vanishes. Similarly, when Para Shakti (Spiritual Power) increases, prakrita shakti (worldly power) reduces, and when one's spiritual power reduces, the worldly power increases. To enhance the power of the Spirit and limit the power of Nature, man has to cultivate vairagya (detachment) in worldly matters. From sankalpas arises the ichcha-shakti (willpower). This ichcha-shakti is the source of several other potencies like intellectual power, the discriminating capacity, faculty of speech and others. To develop this ichcha-shakti, one has to worship Devi; that is, one must take up physical forms of worship. And to develop this ichcha-shakti, we must gradually reduce our desires. There is a direct experience to prove this. For instance, if one has a desire for various drinks, to begin with, one can bring the desires under control by giving up the desire for some of them. Thereby, willpower is developed, and in due course it becomes easier to give up other desires. In Vedantic parlance, this is described as vairagya. Vairagya is not the abandonment of hearth and home and retiring to a forest. It means developing Godly thoughts and reducing worldly feelings. - Divine Discourse, Oct 04, 1992