No living being, except the human, has been endowed with intelligence and discriminative faculty, heightened to this degree, in order to enable it to visualise the Atma (Divine Self). This is why humanity is acclaimed as the crown of creation and why the scriptures (sastras) proclaim that the chance of being born as a human is a rare piece of good fortune. People have the qualifications needed to seek the cause of creation; they have in them the urge and the capacity. Many great people have directed their intelligence toward the discovery of the omnipresent Lord (Atma) and succeeded in visualising that Divine Principle. However, amongst millions of people in the Universe, only few have been able to visualise the Universal Atma or the Self in All. The purpose and meaning of the process of living is the attainment of the Supreme Lord (Atma).

- Sathya Sai Vahini, Ch 1, 'The Supreme Reality'.