Do not grieve, nor be the cause of grief. The very embodiment of Ananda (Bliss) is in you, as in others, as in all else. In spite of a multiplicity of containers, the contained is the same. That is the principle of Sat, Chit and Ananda (Being, Awareness, Bliss). The minutest atom and the mightiest star - both are basically one. All are, in truth, Brahman or Divine. You read in the sacred books that Lord Vishnu has the Garuda (Eagle) as His carrier, that Shiva has the Nandi (Bull) as His vehicle, that Lord Brahma rides on a Hamsa (Swan), that Lord Subrahmanya travels on a peacock, and that Shani has the crow as his vehicle. Ganesha rides on a mouse, though he is stupendously corpulent and has the head of an elephant! This does not mean that the Gods are helpless without these animals and birds as instruments of locomotion. It only reveals that no bird or beast is to be despised, for the Divine is using each as His instrument. Seen as deha (body), all are distinct; seen as dehi (the embodiment), Brahman, all are One.

– Divine Discourse, Jan 13, 1969.