1
Dear Devotees of Sathya Sai,
The Institute of Sathya Sai Education Ireland,
met to discuss and draft the Roadmap for the
future of Sai Education in this country. The
findings are now being put together into a
Report that will be sent to Ishver Patel, Coordinator for
U.K. and Ireland, who in turn
will present them both to Prasanthi Nilayam,
for the World Education Conference to be
held in July this year..
Credit must be given to Ms. Rosemary
Marron, for arranging the meeting and for
compiling the Report for submission.
Education is the subject that is closest to
Swami’s heart, and major developments are
being put in place for future growth. While
the establishment of SSEHV over the last 14
years, has been steady, the next decade will
witness a magnificent expansion in this area.
We hope and pray, that Swami will bless
our endeavours. Ed.
_________________________________
You direct all your activities to the
service of mankind. The rich should
serve the society through their wealth,
the scholars through their knowledge
and scholarship, the artists through
their art and those who do not have
any of these, through their physical
strength. But the difficulty is that your
service is not selfless. Instead of selfless
service, it becomes self-service. How
can you earn My Grace, then?
Remember, God has incarnated
Himself as SAI. I am Truth and My
Sankalpa is inevitable. A silent
revolution is going to pass through
every structure of human society.
Those who are present in this hall and
all those who have total faith in Sai,
though they may not be here, have a
golden opportunity of earning My
Grace and thus achieve their goal, i.e.,
Liberation.
If you miss it, you may miss it for
ever. -BABA.
________________________________
Questions & Answers
Q. Swami. Is there death? Are there a
heaven and a hell? What is life?
A. There is no death. It is the body that
dies. But Atma, the indewller is immortal.
Atma is the eternal truth. Your happiness
is indeed heaven. Your misery is hell.
Both are here in this life. They are not
separate entities apart from you.
Q. When we get wisdom based on our
practical knowledge, discrimination and
determination, will it stay with us
permanently or is there any possibility of
our losing it by chance leading us back to
ignorance?
A. That is impossible. Actually, you
can’t call it wisdom at all, if it is lost. You
can’t consider a person, a man of
wisdom, if he returns to the same old state
of ajnana, ignorance. In fact, wisdom
neither comes nor goes. You are the
embodiment of divine wisdom. Your
worldly attachments, sensual pleasures,
and bodily identification obscure this
awareness or wisdom. Once you realise
it, you never lose the state of
awareness...Ignorance will never come
again. Wisdom, once it dawns on you,
will never depart from you.
Q. Swami, you gave a better Akshaya
Patra (dish) to the residents of the Gufa
Ashram. Are they nobler and more
deserving than the Pandavas?
A. From the worldly point of view the
Pandavas are indeed nobler, but if we
look at them from the spiritual point of
view, the yogis of the Ashram deserve a
higher spiritual status. The Pandavas
lived in the Dwapara Yuga and the
sadhakas belong to Kaliyuga. The
Pandavas are gifted with certain divine
traits given to them by various gods
whereas the sadhakas are the people of
the mortal earth. Divine incarnations are
always considered superior to, and
nobler than, the mortal beings. According
to their births, the times and the world in
which they are born, the Pandavas seem
to be a nobler lot. But if you look from the
spiritual point of view, the sadhakas
deserve a much higher status. The basis
of this status is not the Pandavas, worldly
credentials, but the absolute surrender to
the Lord, which the sadhakas have made.
_______________________________2
What is the purpose of life? What is the
goal of life? After getting such a rare
gift as a human life, if you cannot make
use of it to attain the divine, indeed if
you are not able to remember the
purpose of life, what is the use of
getting such a sacred gift? -BABA.
________________________________
The Celebration of Diversity
M.K. KAW
Human beings are different from animals.
The greatest difference is that animals
react instinctively to threatening
situations. They have no choice. Human
beings need not necessarily react, they
have a choice. They can choose to
respond rather than react.
Response is a creative act. When the
Hebrew Law called for ‘an eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth’, it equates men to
animals, as if revenge was the only option
available. When Jesus advised his
followers to ‘turn the other cheek’, he
enunciated the creative choice of
forgiveness and compassion.
In todays world, where nations and
people are at war with one another, one
teaching that we all sorely need is the art
of living together. We have to be at peace
with billions of others in the world,
despite the enormous differences in
religion, ritual, custom, tradition, colour,
caste, creed, language, dress, cuisine and
deportment.
We have to learn to accept these
differences. For it is in diversity that the
divine drama revels. When God separated
Himself from Himself, so that He could
love Himself, He created numerous
‘others’. Not in order to dispise them,
compete with them, hate them or kill
them. It was the differences that lent
colour and sound and taste and flavour
and diversity to His creation.
The day we understand that all beings
are merely God in disguise, they become
our brothers and sisters, and all thoughts
of hatred, jealousy, greed, lust, and anger,
leave for ever. Thus we become incapable
of causing any harm or injury to others.
Sourced from the Sai International Magazine.
________________________________
The situation in the outside world is
appalling. Even tenth standard
students taking to drink and drugs.
The parents are not restraining them.
Nor are they setting a good example.
When the parents exchange words, the
children exchange blows. The parents
give a free rein to the children instead
of controlling them. The parents are to
blame for three-fourth of their
children’s misbehaviour. -BABA.
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The Dwellers Of Gufa Pt. 2
The Soma creeper (somalatha) is a very
rare medicinal herb, the juice of which
was offered to the gods like Indra and
Varuna during the yajna and from whom
boons of producing in abundance food
grains, wealth and other things needed for
the maintenance of life. In sacred texts
referance was made to this herb and its
rejuvenation qualities, which destroys all
diseases and “restores youth to the aged
and decrepit”.
Through the passage of time, this and
other herbs, these divine gifts of nature,
started to disappear. But when man frees
himself of materialistic desires and
purifies his heart, these herbs (will)
appear again and man can get them
through his sincere efforts.
While the spiritual seekers of God,
residing in the Nara Narayana Ashram,
went seeking herbs to collect, they came
upon the rare and divine creeper,
Somalatha, that was immediately
recognised by two members of the team
well-versed in Ayurveda and medical
science.
One day the Lord Sai appeared before
them and they placed the Soma creeper
before Him for His confirmation, and did
so. He took the cutting and planted it near
the Ashram, where in years to come it
will flourish and spread around the
Ashram.
“Similarly, the Sadhakas came across
another wonderful and divine herb, the
juice of it leaves, when put to the eyes, 3
provided the user with an unusual vision
which enabled him to see things, and
objects, even in the densest darkness of
the night, as clearly as in day-light”.
The life at the Gufa Ashram is led by
strict discipline, but is enriched from
time-to-time by the visits of great sages
living in the Himalayas for over five
hundred, of even a thousand years. All
spoke most highly of our Lord Sathya
Sai.
About thirty years ago when Swami
was having breakfast with close devotees,
they said, “Swami! Your leelas and
miracles are the talk of every home in
almost all the major countries of the
world. As such we want to organise a
conference of all spiritual seekers at the
international level and declare from that
forum that God, the Creator of this
Universe, has already come down on
Earth. By so doing the entire humanity
will get the benefit of Lord’s presence”.
Sai Baba smiled and spoke with
compassion, “Your feelings for your
fellow beings are commendable and I
respect them. But that time is still far off.
Prior to that I have to bring such persons
near me, who, in their previous lives,
have been incessantly and untiringly
trying to get across to Me through their
severe sadhana. A time will come when
the world will know about the Avatar
through public declaration. All the same
impelled by a sense of duty if you wish to
bring this Truth to the knowledge of your
fellow devotees and friends, you may do
so on personal level.”
This is one important reason why
Swami is not permitting the sages and
siddhas to come and meet Him. He
similarly does not allow public
announcements, or published ac-counts
like those that Mohammad had
prophesied in one of his famous books,
‘The Ocean Of Light’.
The day is not too far off when
knowledge of Swami’s presence amongst
us, will be known by all.
In the meantime, it is said that we
should not expect the sadhakas at the
Gufa Ashram to return from there; they
have to stay there for their entire life to
attain different stages of samadhi before
they reach the culminating point,
Chinmaya Samadhi.
Swami said, as a “Person enjoys
happiness and prosperity in proportion to
his performing good actions and viceversa”,
this is why the eleven members of
the Gufa Ashram had ample noble actions
to their credit. They had earned the Grace
of the Lord, so there was no partiality in
the Lord’s action. “The divine vessel was
given to them in the light of their good
deeds in their previous lives and they
richly deserved it”.
One evening Lord Sai appeared in the
Gufa Ashram, at dinner time. After
enquiring as to their welfare, He said to
one of the pilgrims saying that He wanted
to give him a new lease of life and a new
body. “Your actual life was 33 years
only. I have now extended it to 120 years.
But you will have to be very careful about
your new body that you have received
from Me. The surroindings over here are
cold and you have imbibed more cold in
your body than heat. In order to maintain
a balance between the two you better
come to Puttaparthi and stay there for
three months.”
The Sadhak was worried as to how he
was to get there, travelling all alone over
unfamilier terrain and without food, and
spending the nights in the open snow-clad
mountains. While he and the others
pondered this outside the Gufa, they
suddenly witnessed a thich fog
descending on all sides. They noticed
where the sky faced the Gufa there was
an unusually bright sun lighting up the
ground. To their amazement to saw a
helicopter landing on that exact sunlit
spot! An officer approached them from
the helicopter with wide-eye amazement,
and asked about the group. They replied,
“We have been sent here by Lord Sainath
and are practising penance under His
guidance.” The officer had heard of Sai
Baba and in answer to his question as to
how long they had been there, they 4
replied, “Three years!” to his surprise, as
it was a restricted area and was unaware
of anybody being there.
The sun burst forth and the officer
returned to the helicopter and flew off,
but return eight days later with the offer
to render service to the Sadhak by taking
him to Rishikesh, and from there he could
travel to Puttaparthi. The officer promised
to return him to the Gufa Ashram after his
stay with Swami, Who arranges
everything.
(Conclusion in the next issue)
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He who shouts and swears and
advertises his worries to everyone he
meets and craves for sympathy, such a
one can never be a devotee. Such men
are miscalled devotees. They make
earnest men lose faith in Godly ways -
BABA.
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Advanced Yogic Levels
The three main forms of acquired yoga,
are -Jada samadhi, Chetan samadhi and
Chinmaya samadhi.
Jada Samadhi -When a yogi succeeds in
controlling his mind and senses through
rigorous meditation, though this type of
samadhi brings the sadhaka very close to
Bhagavan, it does not help him to stablise
himself at that level, and he stands in
need of a higher kind of sad-hana.
Chetana Samadhi -This next stage is
when conflicting forces distract the mind
in penance, cease to function and are
reduced to nothing, we have Chetana
Samadhi. Once you have attained this
level your body becomes light and
energetic, so-much-so, that it acquires the
speed of mind and may travel a thousand
miles in the blink of an eye! The yogi
conquers external nature completely and
the cosmos has no meaning as he
becomes omnipresent.
At one time a few Americans enquired
of one disciple of his teacher, and was
told, “My Guru has acquired Chetana
Samadhi and is Omnipresent. I cannot
give you any particular address.”
Thereupon the Americans wrote to the
preceptor and addressed it to the name
given and the addtess as, “The
Omnipresent”, and posted it. The next
day they received a postcard with the
following message, “Dear Sir, I got your
letter in time. The fact is that I was with
you even when you were writing the
letter. I was there in your heart as the ever
alert Conscoiusness. Yours (etc.)”
Chinmaya Samadhi -This is the
Supreme stage in yogic sadhana; the stage
when worldly attractions do not affect
one, nor pulls one down. Such a one has
attained mastery over time and space. He
can create anything out of nothing. He
can create an entirely new universe which
is not time-bound, but Grace-bound. He
has merged with the Supreme Self, -
Parabrahma Hinself -Who is higher than
the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and
Hahesh.
Sai Baba was able to show His powers
to His student friends when they
approached the Chitravathi river that was
in flood, on their way to school. They
chose to go home but Swami entered the
water, despite their protestations. The
boys were frightened and they ran to
Sathya’s house to inform Easwaramma
about it. Extremely concerned, she
returned with them to the river bank only
to find her Dearest One standing in midstream
and smiling, as He bade ‘goodbye’.
His mother cried out for Him to turn
back, only to see a mischievious smile on
His lips, as He turned and continued
safely across, on His way to school.
_________________________________
You people often say that you are Sai
devotees but have you ever thought and
tried to know whether the One whose
devotees you claim to be, has also accepted
you as such. -BABA.
_________________________________
The Highest Form of
Right Living
Sathya Sai Baba has stated that, “Nonviolence
is the highest form of right
living, the divine law which is the highest
of all virtues. The principle of non-5
violence means the promotion of mutual
love along with achieving and
maintaining goals of peace and unity.
Non-violence means refraining from
violence released by passionate feelings
and controlling oneself. The non-violent
are recognised by their patience.
Violence is the sign of an animal nature.
As one of the five fundamental values
espoused by Swami, it is also the
essential tenet of many religions and can
be viewed as a moral philosophy or as an
action strategy or as both, according to
Prof. N.K. Ambasht, in his article in “Sai
International” newsletter.
He suggests, however, that Swami
views it as moral human value; thus noninjury
by thought, word and deed, is
being pivotal to His concept, which leads
to a humane, peaceful global so-ciety.
Love, says Prof. Ambasht, is the
overarching value and non-violence can
be treated as its logical consequence.
Non-violence was officially endorsed at
a global level on Nov. 10th, 1998 at the
U.N. General Assembly, as a birthday
tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, perhaps the
greatest practitioner-exponent of Nonviolence.
His non-cooperation, civil
disobedience and Satyagraha movements
adopted Non-violence as a forceful and
peaceful tool, said Prof. Ambasht.
Many individuals in our lifetime have
been apostles of Non-violence; viz.
Martin Luther King, Aung San Suu Kyi
and Nelson Mandela, stand out as prime
examples.
Martin Luther King used say, “Meet
physical force with soul force.”
Aung San Suu Kyi said, “It is not
power that corrupts but fear. Fear of
losing power corrupts those who wield it
and fear of the scourge of power corrupts
those who are subject to it.”
St. Francis of Assisi calls us to be
instruments of peace and healing by
turning from weapons of violence, to acts
of love. “Happy those who endure in
peace.”
Finally, Swami says, “Action with Love
is Right Conduct - Speak with Love and it
becomes Truth - Thinking with Love
results in Peace - Understanding with
Love leads to Non-violence”.
_____________________________
Whenever obstacles come in you way,
call me and I will be there...
I have always protected My Bhaktas in
My previous Avatars and now too. I
am always at the service of My
devotees. -BABA.
Attaining Swami’s Grace
An American lady submitted to Swami,
“Baba, there is no dearth of wealth and
property. The coffers are full of diamonds
and pearls. I need nothing but Your
Grace. Lord, please permit me to stay in
Prashanti Nilayam and serve you for the
rest of my life.”
Swami looked at her and said, “You
really need nothing?” He then showed
His palm to her, and she became alarmed
at what she saw. “Please save my
grandson!” she cried, as she viewed her
grandson rolling down a hill.
Swami replied, “If you had regarded
the child as belonging to Me, you would
have asked Me to save My grandson. But
what you prayed and asked was to save
your grandson. You still regard him as
yours. If you have a grandson, you need
money also to bring him up, to educate
him and to marry him. You also need a
family and a home where they should live
happily. Isn’t it? How do you say then
that you do not need anything?”
A Ceylonese couple was given an
interview by Swami. The lady requested
Him, “Baba, we invite you to our
residence in Ceylon.” Swami quietly said,
“Amma, the house built with lime and
cement is not My home. It is your heart
where I reside. My seat is in your heart,
but unfortunately it is too narrow. Only
one person can sit there. And I find Kama
(desire) already occupying that seat, so
how can I come?”
In other words, where light and
darkness cannot live together, Ram and
Kama, also cannot exist side by side. 6
The following is a further lesson in
seeking Swami’s Grace. Swami was
taking His morning darshan round, and
He stood in front of some lady devotees,
when a lady in the back row stood up and
shouted, “Swami I need Your Grace,”
repeating it several times. Swami smiled
and moved forward. Usually devotees sir
down when Swami moves on, but this
lady didn’t and raised her voice a little
more with the same request.
Swami stopped and turned towards her
and said, “Grace, grace! Do you know
the meaning of Grace?” The lady replied,
“Swami, it means your compassion, your
blessing.” Baba said, “No, it means much
more than that. If you really want My
Grace you should prepare yourself to
face every type of calamity. You will lose
all your wealth and happiness, and still
instead of crying and repenting you will
have to completely merge yourself in
meditating upon Me and utter My Name
in your heart. Your near and dear ones
will turn against you. People will
implicate you in conspiracies with which
you have nothing to do. They will find
fault with you where you are totally
innocent. Under all such circumstances,
you will have simply to think of Me and
Me alone, and suffer everything silently.
Come on, are you prepared to face all
these things?”
The lady was stunned into silence, and
sat down quietly.
However, Swami’s Grace is always
with us even when we do not ask for it, as
in the case of the child, born into a
Buddhist family in Burma. This child
was alive although there was no external
symptoms of life in him. He did not cry
like other new-born children. His doctors
were specialists in child-care and took an
X-Ray of the child’s heart only to find
that it consisted of only three valves. The
fourth was missing. It was agreed that the
child would not survive more than a few
hours.
The broken-hearted parents took the
child and placed it at the lotus feet of
Lord Buddha, and they noticed stirring in
the lifeless body and then the child started
crying. The parents saw this as a boon
from God Himself.
Raised now as a Buddhist, the child
grew-up receiving the best education the
parents could provide, as he became a
scholar in both worldly and spiritual
learning. He went to America and as a
young man was appointed to a senior
position in the Land Survey Department.
Later, he attended an International
Conference of Geo-physicists that was
held in Bangalore, representing the
U.S.A.
With friends he went to Whitefield for
Bhagavan’s darshan, and he had the good
fortune to have an interview. During the
interview Swami presented him with a
small casket along with Vubhuti
Prasadam. Upon opening the casket he
was astonished to see that it contained a
diagram of the heart. Instead of four
valves the heart had only three! The very
valve the young man did not have since
his birth was missing. Nobody had known
of this except his parents and himself.
How did Swami know?
Swami smiled at the young man’s
curiosity and said, “You are thinking how
this man, five feet and three inches tall
and with a frail body, could know about
this secret? You think I stay here only.
But you are mistaken, I live in Burma,
too, and also in America where you are
serving. As a matter of fact I am
Omnipresent. I don’t have any particular
form. Besides the one you are seeing, all
other forms are mine. I am in your house
as well as in the form of the idols of
Buddha. Your parents had placed your
lifeless body at My Lotus Feet, and
prayed for your safety. Since it was a
prayer from the heart I gave you a new
lease of life. It is I Who makes your heart
function even without a valve. Thus you
have been living under My protection and
will continue to live so even in future.”
With tears of gratitude rolling down his
cheeks, he said to himself, “Here is the
Lord Himself who is protecting me all 7
these years, and not for once during the
span of forty years have I thanked Him.”
With this thought, he fell at the Lotus
Feet and offered his heartfelt salutations
to Bhagavan. What else could he offer?
______________________________
During the Shivarathri Discourse in
2003, Swami stated the following:-
If you pose the question as to “Where is
God? some people will say, “He is in
me,” pointing to their body. Body is not
permanent. Hence, this is not a proper
answer. When I say the flower is in My
hand, the flower is smaller than me. In
the same manner, when you say God is
in you, you are bigger than God! In
fact, the whole world is in the hands of
God. Hence, it is not proper to say that
God is in you. You are in God. All are
in God. The world itself is a
manifestation of God. This is the
Transcendental Truth. This is the
changeless Truth.
...Whatever you see, whatever you
experience is but a manifestation of
God. In fact, you are God yourself.
Hence, the Veda exhorts man to
develop faith that, “I am God and God
is none other than myself.” Names and
forms are many, but God is One.
______________________________
How Blessed We Are!
The Grace of God is always with us. One
only has to ask for it.
There are many examples of Swami
taking care of the needs of His devotees.
All the essentials of life, i.e. like earth,
water, fire, air and space, are absolutely
free. For those who cannot raise
themselves, the merciful Lord performs
leelas even on the physical plane so that
the faith of the common man is not
shaken and he does not go astray.
A piece I read recently is a lovely
example:- In the village of Birpur of
Gujarat, Swami gave a staff and a
waterpot to Bhakta Jalaram which was
wishfulfilling. The result is that even
today the natives of that village worship
the staff and kamandalu (waterpot) and
run free meals for one and all who visit
that village. Similarly a number of
families are in possession of Ekmukhi
Rudraksha and rare precious stones. Their
regular worship saves them from
unforseen calamities, diseases, famine
and death.
The Akshaya Patra that was given by
Swami to those in the Gufa, was one such
thing and unique in this respect.
It is written, “Wealth and prosperity
flow to the virtuous in the same way as
rivers flow to the ocean even though the
ocean has no such desire.”
______________________________
After creating everything, God gave
man complete freedom to do as he
liked. But God has imposed a
condition. You may do what you want
and enjoy what you desire, but you
cannot escape the consequence. You
have to face the result. Therefore, you
alone are responsible for what happens
to you. The good and the bad that
happen to you were brought about by
you alone. -BABA
The Unbelievable Prophecy
“At Bukkapatnam, people laughed at us;
they thought all of us were mad believing
in the miraculous powers of that boy”.
A 16 year old boy calling Himself Sai
Baba, consoling the dispirited, curing the
ill, exorcising ghosts and teaching the
old! This was the early 1940’s. Yet the
small family group consisting of a
woman, “mad since two years”, made it
to Puttaparthi by bullock cart, hired for
twelve annas, and left them by a group of
little houses along narrow tracks. Peeping
inside a Brahmin’s house he saw a boy
and asked , “I hear there is a boy in this
village who has become Sai Baba; it
seems he cures madness. Which is his
house, can you tell me?”
The boy looked at the man lovingly and
replied, “Poor fellow! The mad woman
you brought with you is giving terrible
trouble to her husband in the river! Go
and take a bath; and bring them also
after their bath is over. I shall then show 8
you the boy you are after.” While
returning from the river, the woman ran
wildly hither and thither making it
difficult to take her to the house of the
Brahmin. The boy was none other than
Sai Baba. “I will call you one by one,”
the boy said, creating Vibhuti. As they
had bought bananas at Bukkapatnam for
Sai Baba, Swami gave the woman one
banana to eat.
It was early in the evening by the time
they came out on the street and the
woman said to her husband, “Well, what
about our meal? Get some rice from the
shop and ask for vessels. I shall cook food
for us, pretty quick.” Her madness had
left her and her husband was overjoyed!
Swami called them in for a meal, and
Baba mixed all the items served by
Subbamma into tolerably big balls and
gave one to each person
The following morning after a disturbed
night, Swami asked, “No sleep? Too
many snakes in this place. This is a very
holy place, but under a curse! Sai will
save it.”
He later added, “The Sai Pravesh
(Advent) will make it the Prasanthi
Pradesh (Region). Up that hill I shall
have a grand Bhavan. By that time,
hundreds, (why hundreds?) thousands,
(why thousands?) lakhs, all India will be
here. The whole world will come and wait
for Sai Darshan.”
The man replied, “What? I cannot
believe this will happen.” Swami laughed
and said, “You will have to believe it
when you will be standing at a distance,
trying to catch a glimpse of Me.”
That man, in 1972, stood at a distance
and yearned for Sai Darshan, and
believed the Prophecy Swami made in
1943!
******************************
“HAVE COURAGE” -BABA.
“Everything can be achieved with
courage. If you are devoid of courage,
you will lose everything. Hence, you
should never lose courage. This
courage is energy”.
“Do not feel dispirited. If you lose
heart, it will pain Me”.
******************************
Sai To The Rescue
The occasions when Swami came to the
rescue to His devotees, have been legion;
appearing in many books.
The heart of Sai hears our call for help
and instantly He responds, as in the case
of Alex and Louse, who were returning
from a Bhgajan session and a later
showing of a video of Swami.
As they drive along a narrow road, and
chatting happily of the evening, when
Louse suddenly cried out, “Watch out!”
and she knelt down beneath the dashboard. Alex saw two sets of headlights
coming straight for him, as two cars were
racing each other at high speed, with the
inevitable danger of a crash. Louse
prayed for Sai Baba to save them.
As the two sets of lights came closer, a
strange thing happened: one moment the
lights were in front, then inexplicably, the
two cars were behind them, and nothing
happened!
How they went through the two cars
without colliding with them, they could
not understand. There was a ditch on his
left and the approaching car was on his
side of the road and could not move over!
They knew Swami steered them through
the two cars but couldn’t say how this
happened.
In shock, Louse emerged from beneath
the dash-board to ask, “What happened?”
Alex replied that he didn’t know but that
they were miraculously saved, and were
without a scratch. They could not
understand how a crash did not take place
and that they were not killed.
There have been many instances when
Swami has revealed that He has been
taking care of us. He expects nothing in
return but for us to serve humanity with
love.
That pleases Him the most!
______________________________
Beware the pride of wealth,
scholarship, station that drag you into 9
egoism. Do not seek the faults of
others; seek your own. Be happy when
you see others prosper; share your joy
with others. -BABA.
______________________________
What’s a miracle?
It is said that miracles are a part of Divine
Nature. Swami elucidates on this point
with the help of a simple scientific
principle.
“You get electricity when the positive
and negative forces come in contact with
each other. A miracle is also the result of
two such forces. The positive current
spreads My Divinity. It is always
prepared to perform a miracle, but a
miracle will only happen when the
negative current of some real devotee
meets it. What do we mean by the
negative current? The negative current
represents that stage of devotion where
there is a total negation of Ego. When a
devotee becomes egoless, he surrenders
himself totally to Me and that is the
moment when My Grace, in the form of
positive current is ready to protect him
from all evils.
And this is what people call a miracle.”
______________________________
Before you speak, ask yourself is it
kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it
improve on the silence? -BABA.
______________________________
The Times of India Interviews
Sai Baba.
On the 12 March 1999 the “Times of
India” recorded the following;
“Sri Sathya Sai Baba, is easily one of the
most popular spiritual leaders of
contemporary India. He has attracted a
following which runs into crores,
(crore=10,000,000 Ed.) cutting across
barriers of caste, language, region and
nation. He shot into fame because of the
miracles performed by Him, specifically
His ability to materialise the holy ash and
other material things from out of thin air.
The rationalists consistently targeted him.
But, Baba, as He is referred to both of
reverence and affection by His devotees,
only emerged stronger from these
controversies. Today, the 74 year old
Baba is known for working out miracles
of a difference kind. Miracles in the form
of a Super Speciality hospital where free
treatment is given or a massive drinking
water scheme in the parched hinterland of
Andhra Pradesh or a massive educational
complex. The high and the mighty of the
land touch His feet and seek His
blessings, so do ordinary people from all
walks of life. Baba gives them all the
same message of love. He has never
given an interview to a journalist in the
past 25 years. But, recently, He spoke to
S. Balakrishnan and a group of journalists
from Mumbai in a small room at His
ashram in Puttaparthi, in Andhra Pradesh.
----ooOoo----
Indians are increasingly turning to
godmen and godwomen. Is this a sign of
growing insecurity within them? Or is it
something else?
This is basically a search for God. The
divinity is there within each person. The
search is for this divinity. God
realisation cannot be seen as a sign of
insecurity. It is a positive aspiration to be
one with God. It is a good sign.
Even as mankind is relentlessly searching
for god, he finds himself engulfed by
more and more misery. What is the
reason for this state of affairs?
Attachment to the body is the root
cause of all suffering and misery. Once
this attachment ends, then one can
experience divine bliss. There is no
doubt about that. Since God does not
have any bodily attachment, He does not
attach any importance to the suffering of
His body.
What is the best way to serve God?
Serve the poor, the weak, the
downtrodden and the underprivileged.
There is divinity in each of us, hence
love and serve fellow human beings
selflessly. Give those around you pure
love. Religion can be best pursued
through the axiom “Dil mein Ram,
Haath mein Kaam.” There is only one 10
religion - the religion of love; one caste -
the caste of humanity; one language -
the language of the heart ; one law - the
law of Karma and there is only one God
- He is Onmipresent. All of us should
remember these simple yet profound
truths. These truths lead us to God.
Is there no escape from human misery?
It is all karma. The need is to adapt the
path of righteousness. One should
surrender oneself to the Almighty.
Why do You perform miracles like
materialising a ring, a medallion, a
necklace, vibhuti and other objects? What
are You trying to prove by performing
these miracles?
Miracle is a cheap word for what I do.
A magician performs his tricks to earn a
livelihood and worldly fame. But, I
materialise these talismans as My
visiting card, as evidence that divinity
can transform earth into sky and vice
versa. To doubt this is to betray an
inability to grasp the grandeur of the
universe. I get a lot of satisfaction while
gifting these talismans to my devotees.
The suffering millions flock to You. They
want to pass on their problems and
suffering to You. How much of these
suffering can you take on?
I am only performing a divine mission.
How do you spend Your day?
My day begins with granting darshan
to my devotees, interviews to people,
bhajans, attending to all projects taken
up for human welfare. Same cycle is
repeated from post noon till evening.
Although I know the contents of all
letters which I receive, I read all of them
for the trupti or satisfaction of my
devotees.
I avoid milk, green fruits, dry fruits,
sweets, ghee, butter, tea, coffee, etc. I
take a skimpy meal of ragi and green
grams. For the past 60 years My weight
has remained unchanged at 108 pounds.
When the world sleeps, I go to My
devotees, give them My vision, comfort
them, console them and solve their
problems. I willingly take on the
suffering of My devotees on Myself.
Have You gone abroad, any time?
Yes, only once - East Africa, that too
because of the pure love of a devotee,
who is no more now. I did not go at the
invitation of the government.
Do You have any plans to visit foreign
nations and spread Your message?
No. Where there is sugar, the ant
comes there; the sugar does not go
chasing after the ants. My first task is to
clean up our own country first, then go
to other countries.
You wield enormous influence over the
top politicians of the country. Why don’t
You impress on them the need to
inculcate values in public life? If this is
done, India will be a much better place.
Politicians have a choice to pursue
good or bad governance; they do covet
power with a frenzy. But I tell them that
politics without principles, science
without humanity, education without
character and commerce without
morality, are not only useless but can
prove to be positively dangerous and
harm people at large.
You are the Chancellor of the Sathya Sai
University and You attach tremendous
importance to education. Why do You
think that education in India has now
become a mechanical exercise?
This is because that education has
been divorced from values. Education
bereft of values is meaningless. The need
is to restore values to education.
What are Your views on different
political parties in India?
All parties do good work as well as
bad; the problem lies with ourselves. We
should insist on principles.
Who will lead the Sathya Sai movement
after You?
My devotees. God will continue to
guide them.
_____________________________
Swami Inspires
The young student from Bangalore
journeyed to P. N. with his student friends
from Madras, for Sai Baba’s darshan. The
Lord cast a loving glance at the group and 11
gave one Vibhuti. All partook of the
sacred ash smearing it on their forheads
and placing it on their tongues.
Later the Bangalore student expressed
gratitude for being there. but did not
revere Swami as did the others, saying,
“That we take Sai Baba as a great soul
with spiritual powers and benefit by the
darshan, stand with folded hands out of
regard and respect, listen to His teachings
and try to emulate Him to make life more
meaningful, is understandable. But I
dislike to see people touch His feet, lie
prostrate on the ground, smear their
foreheads with the sands He has walked
on, and address Him as God.” The young
man continued commenting in this way
for some time. His Madras friends
listened with patience and surprise, and
said, “Quite possible that in days to come
you may surpass all of us in your
reverence and worship to Lord Sai, in
singing His glory and in touching His
holy feet. We say so because in the past
there are instances of people who came
here roaring like lions, but had to return
as a subdued and humbled lambs.”
It was the following day that Swami
called the Bangalore student for an
interview, only to experience Swami
admonishing him, “Inspite of your being
born into a devout family, you express
doubts like an atheist. Why do you hurt
your simple and religious-minded parents
by doing so?”
The student was stunned and began to
realise that Swami knew everything he
had said to his friends. Swami continued
to say that he would go abroad adding, “I
will take care of everything when you
return.”
The student was shocked and extremely
agitated, and was thinking on what
Swami said about his remarks regarding
atheism which were quite correct, and
that he would be going abroad. This
seemed impossible, saying, “There is
nothing like this on the cards. It is
absolutely wrong.”
The student returned to Madras with his
friends and upon the day of his results,
returned to Bangalore to be told of his
success by the Principle, and that they
would like him to go to California
University in the US, to attend a debate
on the topic, whether the Vedas are
primeval or eternal.
“All students up to post-graduate
standard can participate in it...and we are
of the opinion that with the spiritual
background of your family and the rich
knowledge of the Vedas you have, you
will be the fittest person to represent our
college. The Govern-ment will bear all
your expenses.”
Swami’s words continued to ring in his
ears, he thought, “Lord Sai seems to be
Omniscient One, else how could He
forecast the events of my life...maybe my
friends are right. Maybe Baba is God. If
this is so it should not be at all difficult
for Him to help me win.”
Arriving in California, the debate went
on for three consecutive days, with
arguments and counter arguments, offered
by both sides. However, the Bangalore
student with sheer intelligence,
knowledge and logic won the day and his
side was awarded several special prizes
for his individual performance. He could
not understand how he could argue the
points the way he did. He thought,
“Normally, in such situations people
forget all that they have memorised and
get nervous. But with me everything was
different. Most certainly Baba has been
guiding me through remote control.”
Upon his return, he went straight to P.N.
to be blessed with an interview with
Swami, and singing His glories quietly
within his heart. Swami declared to him,
“Look, I affected your birth in a
prosperous and pious family. Don’t
therefore take interest in things temporal.
You will have to devote yourself to
spiritual pursuits. Go meet your parents
and return here.”
After spending time with his parents, he
returned to P.N. for yet another audience
with Swami, Who told him finally to go
to the forest and meditate there. “It was
because of Me that you won in California. 12
Since that day I had accepted you in alms
till this day, I have been with you every
moment and shall continue to do so in
future.”
He put aside all thought as to how he
would live since he would be meditating,
and was fortunate to meet with an old and
realised Mahatma, Swami Vamadeva.
The student devoted himself to rigorous
penence for six years. He practised
Pranayam as told by Swami and in the
course of time could hold his breath for
over an hour, and gradually acquiring
selfcontrol on his senses and developing a
kind of serenity.
Swami took him under His care, and
indeed has all of us under His care, until
we attain Moksha.
_____________________________
A thing not existing in the past and not
going to exist in the future, has a fake
‘present’ and its ‘present’ is just an
illusion. -Krishna, (Gita).
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