Sathya Sai Baba on having firm faith in living presence of God and on worshipping God with any (divine) name and form - Sanathana Sarathi Sept. 2020

Given below are some quotes of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba from Sanathana Sarathi Sept. 2020:

[Below quotes are from 29th April 1996 discourse in Kodaikanal:]

"There are presently so many people in the world. Similarly, there were many people when Rama and Krishna incarnated on earth. Did all of them worship Rama and Krishna? Did all of them have firm faith in their Avatarhood? No. If you have a photo or idol of God before you, you should believe that it has life force. That is the truth."

"Devotees have been worshipping God since ancient times. But they do not attain what they desire from God in spite of worshipping Him for a long time. What is the reason? The reason is that the devotees do not have the firm conviction that the idol or picture they are worshipping is endowed with the Living Presence of the Divine. If they feel the Divine Presence, they will experience Divine Bliss."

"God has the form of bliss which is eternal and indestructible. But man does not have deep and firm faith in this."

"Nowadays, we worship God as a picture. It is only when we take picture as God in form that our desires will be fulfilled. It does not matter what form you worship or what name you chant. Realise that all names and forms are His. Nothing wrong with any name. All are forms of the same Godhead. Your prayers will not reach God if you offer worship to the idols and pictures without believing in the Living Presence of God. When you believe that the idols and pictures you are worshipping are throbbing with life, then only your desires will be fulfilled. If you accept that God is present everywhere without exception, and at the same time, you do not feel His Living Presence in His pictures and idols, then you prove your disbelief in His Living Presence in the photos and idols."

[I thank Sanathana Sarathi and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) from their magazine on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]