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Religion is three-fourths character. No person can claim to be religious if he merely observes the sacraments and rules, and fails to be upright and compassionate.

Sathya Sai Speaks 7, p.153

Virtuous character is the driving force of every dedicated aspirant. However knowledgeable, devoted, or active we may be, if we lack virtue we are destined to fail. Moral strength reflects our practice of universal values and endows us with a willingness to act on what we have learned. It demonstrates a personality that integrates the various facets of our discipline. Only a strongly integrated personality is capable of great achievement.

It is often declared that knowledge is power. No. No. Character is power. Nothing can be more powerful on Earth than character. Riches, scholarship, status, authority are all frail and flimsy before it.

Sathya Sai Speaks 11, p.235

Today many teachers present courses for “quick” spiritual development that do not address this essential first step. They prescribe breathing exercises, postures, or special meditations for new students without imposing any preliminary qualifications of virtuous character. But advanced practices cannot yield realization of our divine nature without adherence to basic standards of right conduct.

You may do the most rigorous japa (repetition of the name of the Lord) or submit yourself to the direst of austerities, but if you are not virtuous, all of it is sheer waste.

Sathya Sai Speaks 4, p. 218

It is impossible for aspirants to seek their advanced degrees without first learning the alphabet of virtue. Higher degrees may be obtained only after first learning the basics. Living a moral life is the essential first step in reducing egoism. If we do not conquer selfish desires, there is no hope for us to expand beyond the small perimeter of ourselves. The modern cults of body and personality cater to the lower self. This trend needs to be reversed. Consideration of and service to others is required on the spiritual path.

Morality, a virtuous character: these are the very foundations of progress, the very basic needs. They grow in the realm of the spirit. But today, the spirit is neglected. Physical and animal needs are catered to. They are accepted as the ends of living; all efforts are directed to these.

Sathya Sai Speaks 7, p. 336

2. What is Morality?

But what is morality? It is adherence to truth, love, goodness, duty, peace, and nonviolence – to God’s will as we understand it. These are the human values that are the core teachings of the world’s religions. Maintaining high moral standards demonstrates our recognition of the divinity in others and in ourselves. It shows our respect and consideration for others in thought and deed. Morality is more than simply obeying certain laws or social norms. It is the observance of these high qualities which makes us truly human and potentially self-realized.

Morality is the corollary to dharma (spiritual duty). Morality does not merely mean the observance of certain rules in the workaday world. Morality means adherence to the straight and sacred path of right conduct. Morality is the blossoming of good conduct.

Sanathana Sarathi, Jan 1985, p.2

Morality, like dharma, is suited to our particular role in society. It is based on our age, sex, status, and function. There are no absolute laws of morality. The norms of morality vary from age to age and from culture to culture. Ernest Hemingway observed in Death in the Afternoon: “…What is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after…”

There are no universal and absolute norms of morality. Ethical relativity is an inescapable social phenomenon. Morality depends on the time, the place, and the spirit of the age.

Summer Showers 1979, p.25

3. How Can We Become Virtuous?

In the beginning the lessons are plain: do not lie, do not cheat, do not steal, do no harm to others. The consequences of such misguided actions are quickly realized. Yet, despite the fact that suffering inevitably follows selfish action, some people take little precaution to avoid it. Although we may be burned repeatedly, some of us continue to reach into the fire.

The saddest part of the story is that man, though he sees and hears, suffers and falls, does not get quite convinced that sin is a dangerous experiment, that it unmistakably brings on its harvest of tears.

Sathya Sai Speaks 2, pp.160-161

When incorrect action is recognized as the source of pain, the battle is half won. The seeds of suffering can be pulled from the Earth before they sprout. With time, virtues rise to the fore. Serve others; love others as yourself; see divinity in all God’s creatures. Through adherence to high moral standards, the grace of God may be won. Each step becomes easier and each good deed leads to another. When we follow the straight path of spiritual duty, God makes our load lighter and easier to bear. With each passing day our way becomes clearer. We learn that a virtuous character is our only lasting possession.

Be moral, be virtuous. Be sincere in thought, deed, and word. Be honest to yourself. Money comes and goes! But morality comes and grows！ So man has to give up the yearning for money and yearn for more and more morality.

Sathya Sai Speaks 7, p.331

The drive to live virtuously is the essence of spirituality. It reflects our ability to distinguish the transitory from the real. Few people give much thought to the nearness of death, yet it may arrive at any moment. Death takes all our worldly possessions, however guarded and fostered they may have been. We are left only with our qualities of being. The value of our lives will be appraised not by the accumulation of our possessions, but by our discernment of spiritual reality – and our willingness to act on that vision.

Do not think that only those who worship a picture or image with pompous paraphernalia are devotees. Whoever walks straight along the moral path, whoever acts as he speaks and speaks as he has seen, whoever melts at another’s woe and exults at another’s joy… is a devotee, perhaps a greater devotee.

Sathaya Sai Speaks 2, pp.22-23

We do not require another person to show us right conduct. Right conduct is a function of our conscience, the voice within. The pursuit of a moral life is an unfolding journey, which takes us toward the God within. It is the heart of spiritual practice, which carries us from the most basic lessons on the path to realization of formless divinity. That search is our true reason for living. We fulfill our duty when we value virtue rather than material possessions.

Moral and spiritual values have to be honored as much as, if not more than, economic and material values. Life must be a harmonious blend of these values with emphasis on moral strength.

Sathya Sai Speaks 8, p.179

The integrity of a nation depends on the character of its citizens. A nation without moral standards follows the road of decline. If a nation is to make enduring contributions to the world, it must be founded on eternal values. A society, like an individual, earns God’s grace based on its adherence to virtue.

The honor of a nation depends upon the morality of that nation. A nation without morality will be doomed.

Summer Showers 1972, p.218

4. Love: The Basis of Morality

The means to cultivate moral strength is selfless love. When we recognize that the same divinity resides in others as resides in ourselves, we refrain from selfish action. By expanding our vision to encompass all within the atma, we are unable to hurt others. Love is the basis for the preservation and growth of society.

Morality has to be grown in the heart by feeding it with love; then only can we have justice, security, law, and order. If love declines among the people, nations will weaken and mankind will perish.

Sathya Sai Speaks 8, pp.80-81

Questions for Study Circle

What is morality?
Who determines what is moral?
Are there certain specific rules of morality?
Does morality vary by culture or country?
How do we know when we have done something wrong?
Why do so many people dislike the word “morality”?
Is Sai Baba’s definition of morality the same as the meaning commonly used?
Can we progress spiritually without advancing morally?

References for Further Study

Gita Vahini, pp. 217-225 (The 20 virtues essential for jnana).
Gita Vahini, p.298
Sathya Sai Speaks 5, p.336 (Morality should be taught in conjunction with other subjects, not separately).
Sathya Sai Speaks 7, p. 404 (One evil deed will lead to another).
Summer Showers 1973, p. 164 (Even devotion is not protection from illusion if one does not have morality).
Summer Showers 1979, p. 24 (The respect commanded by a community depends on its moral strength)