Staying in the Sathya Sai Hostel during Vacations - By S. N. Sai Ram

It was the fag end of my stay in Brindavan as a final year student of the Under Graduate Programme in Science. As a student of Brindavan campus, I was taking care of a patient who was residing at the Ashram in the guesthouse. My primary duty was to give him food, and to take him for a stroll in the evening or at times in the early morning. Along with me two more junior students doing their second year Under Graduation were also sharing the same type of work with me. 

Whenever Bhagavan comes to Brindavan, we three boys, along with the patient, would sit separately and many times Bhagavan used to talk to us. Bhagavan would proudly tell others that we were doing a wonderful service, and would say, “Very good boys, very good boys.” 

Sri Sathya Sai in Trayee Brindavan

Since it was the last month of stay for us (final year boys) in Brindavan, we decided to ask Bhagavan to grant us an interview. So, the next day I sat along with my class boys, so that we could pray to Bhagavan for an interview as a group. So that day the other two boys were the only ones sitting with the patient, right opposite to the Trayee Brindavan doors. Bhagavan finished His Darshan for the devotees waiting outside and went to the spot where these two boys along with the patient were seated. Bhagavan told everyone there that these boys were taking care of the patient very sincerely and that Bhagavan was very much pleased with them. Bhagavan said that He would take those two boys to Kodaikanal that year. Immediately the Brindavan warden told Bhagavan that I was sitting with the third year boys. Bhagavan said, “Oh! That pakoda; let him be here only.” Of course I did not know anything that was going on since I was sitting at the other extreme. Later on when Bhagavan retired for that morning, I came to know that Bhagavan was going to take the other two students to Kodaikanal but not me. I was deeply pained. I felt that my service did not please Bhagavan. Other negative thoughts were also crossing my mind, giving a feeling that maybe Bhagavan did not know the amount of work that I had done, may be Bhagavan is not God and so on. So there ensued a battle between my positive and negative feelings. 

Later on the warden called me and said that I should have sat along with the other two boys and also advised me to ask Bhagavan during the following Darshan that I too be taken to Kodaikanal. I told him that I did not have enough courage to ask Bhagavan in front of everyone during Darshan, but would surely ask Bhagavan if I happened to get Bhagavan alone. 

Our usual practice was to take tea for the patient around 3:00 p.m. We would go through Trayee Brindavan to his residence, and then go back for evening Darshan. In those days Bhagavan used to come out for evening Darshan around 4:30 p.m or 5:00 p.m. One such evening I, along with the other two boys, was taking tea for the patient. Just when we were about to pass by the main door, we saw the doors open and Bhagavan came out. There was no one except Bhagavan and the four of us. I ran to Bhagavan, knelt down, caught hold of His hand and asked Him that I also should be taken to Kodaikanal with the others. 

Bhagavan listened to me and told me something in Kannada, which I could not understand. I told Bhagavan that I did not understand Kannada. Again, Bhagavan told me in Hindi, which too I did not understand. I was helplessly looking at Bhagavan. Bhagavan told me to take Namaskar and after I took Namaskar, He went inside. Luckily for me one of the boys understood what Bhagavan told in Hindi (he was from Maharashtra). Later on he told me that Bhagavan wanted me to take care of the patient during the summer holidays, as it would be difficult for others to take care of him. 

The first thought that came to my mind was that Bhagavan, instead of taking me to Kodaikanal, wanted me not to go home but stay back and do service. I said to myself, “Impossible!” I decided to run away as soon as I finished my last exam. My negative feelings were taking the upper hand in the battle that was going on within me and I was confused. The next day one of my classmates came to me and said, “Sairam! You are indeed very lucky. Bhagavan has so much confidence in you that He feels that the patient will be safe under your care.” Though his words boosted my ego, they pushed me on to the right track. I made up my mind to stay back and take care of the patient. 

One day before Bhagavan’s departure to Kodaikanal, Bhagavan summoned all the Kodaikanal boys for an interview in the morning. During the interview He took these three to another room and told them that it would be very difficult for me to take care of the patient alone and that I should take some help from the workers. The message was conveyed to me and to the warden. During the afternoon, one first year student expressed his desire to stay during the holidays to the warden and the warden in turn asked Bhagavan for permission. Immediately Bhagavan said, “Let that boy be with pakoda and help him.” 

Bhagavan also informed warden that we both, along with two other boys whom Bhagavan had asked to learn driving, were to sit separately for Padanamaskar. When Bhagavan came out for Darshan to give Padanamaskar to us, He asked me, “When are you going home?” I was confused. I told Bhagavan that I was not going home. Bhagavan said, “If you want to go, you can go.” I said, “Bhagavan, I am staying back.” Bhagavan smiled and walked towards the devotees for Darshan. The next day early in the morning Bhagavan left for Kodaikanal along with the boys. 

In the entire hostel we were the only four students and a few teachers, staying back during the summer holidays. Our regular schedule was to go for games after Suprabhatam and prayer in the morning and then would return to the hostel around 7:15 a.m for bath and then we would go to the canteen for breakfast and take breakfast for the patient around 8:00 a.m. Later we would go to the library and then return to the hostel after lunch to supply lunch to the patient around 12:00 p.m. Then we would take some rest in the afternoon and around 4:00 p.m we would once again go to the patient to give him tea or some cool drink and then we would go out for games. Then we would have our Bhajans around 6:30 to 7:00 p.m and then go for dinner. Later, we would bring dinner for the patient at around 8:00 p.m and go to sleep at 9:00 or 9:30 p.m. 

Sri Sathya Sai Hostel, Brindavan

But the days were not smooth. From the time Bhagavan left Brindavan the patient was not taking food at all. We tried all means but could not succeed. Finally we wrote a letter to Bhagavan conveying that we were taking food but whether he eats or not, it would be Bhagavan’s concern. That very afternoon when we took food for the patient we found him standing outside his house. He told us that he was very hungry and that we should bring the food soon! From that day on, till Bhagavan returned to Brindavan, we never had any problem in having him take his food. 

Our Badminton court was by the side of our library and prayer hall. One evening I was playing inside I found a bird flying in the prayer hall. The next day morning I found the bird again inside the prayer hall, flying from one end to the other. Obviously there was no opening for the bird to go out. I felt pity for the bird and decided to help it go out. I went up to the prayer hall and opened all the windows and tried to chase the bird away. However it would never come down to the windows but would sit on the ventilators. I climbed up the windows and opened all the ventilators except one, which was too tight but the bird would always sit only on that ventilator even after chasing it many times from there. So I decided open that too and I climbed up again and with all my strength pushed the glass pane. There was a terrible noise and I found that the thick glass pane had broken to pieces, almost tearing my thumb away from the palm. The cut was very deep and blood was oozing out profusely. I showed the cut to our librarian and he said that I should immediately rush to the hospital. He tied my wound with a handkerchief. I was taken to the hospital and a few stitches were put and the wound was dressed. I was asked to take a few tablets regularly, and advised not my hand in water, lest it should cause complications. 

I was brought back to the hostel. After my breakfast, I wanted to take my medicine. I looked for the medicine and could not find it. However much I searched I could neither find it nor remember where I had placed it. I did not have the courage to ask for the tablets again. So I did not take any medicine. 

One morning we went to give breakfast as usual and found that the patient’s house was filled with water. We found that the tap was open in the bathroom and something had blocked the outlet. So the only way to clean the room was to push the water out through the main door. This was a tiring job since the water had to be pushed against the slope. I was not doing it because I could not put my hand in water. The other boy did his best for forty minutes became tired. Saying that Bhagavan had kept me back for doing work and not simply watching someone work, I joined him in clearing the water and prayed that Bhagavan should take care of my wound. 

Together we cleaned the house and the wound, along with dressing, was fully drenched in water. I later dried it under the fan. As I did not have any pain, I was playing cricket and badminton normally. A few days before going to the hospital I opened the bandage and found that many of the stitches had opened up and there was a big gap. I filled the gap with Vibhuti that Bhagavan gave me before leaving for Kodaikanal and tied it up with a cloth. I was very afraid as to what the doctor would feel after seeing it. 

Luckily for me that day the doctor had forgotten to bring her glasses and she told me that she was as good as blind without her glasses. I helped her in removing the stitches and she asked me whether I had any pain. I told her that I did not have any pain. She told me that I was lucky to have got the big wound healed in a short time. The wound had healed and the gap was filled and the hand appeared normal, except for a scar on that part. 

One evening as usual we went to give the patient a cool drink. We found that he had fallen from his chair and a lot of foam was coming out of his mouth. His eyeballs were pulled up and he was unconscious. We applied Vibhuti on his body, rushed him to a hospital in a car. The doctor confirmed that he got a re-attack of paralysis of his left side and he had to be taken to the ‘NIMHAMS’ Hospital in Bangalore. So we decided to return to the hostel and then ring to the hospital for an appointment. 

On our way back to the hostel, the patient’s left hand had started to shake vigorously and we could hardly hold him in control. After a few minutes he started to scratch his head with his left hand. We brought him back to the hostel. Though he could use his hands he could not walk. So we carried him into the hostel. After half an hour or so, we found him walking on the corridor! We, as well as the doctor who was attending him at that time, were astonished. We took him home and made him lie down and take rest. 

Now the only thing to be cleared was that he should be able to talk. We stayed in his room for an hour or so and I was telling the other student that Bhagavan had cured the patient. How nice it would be if Bhagavan makes him talk too. It does not even matter as to what he would speak. Let him even tell us to get away from there, because then we would know that he could talk too. After a few minutes he got up from the bed, stared at me and told me, “Get away from here and leave me alone.” I ran out of the house feeling happy that Bhagavan had made him talk again. From then onwards, he was keeping good health. He would come to the library and even to the canteen for his food. 

Most awaited day arrived. Bhagavan was coming back from Kodaikanal. I was asked to offer a flower and the other boy was to offer Arati as soon as Bhagavan arrived. I was sitting there dreaming that Bhagavan would come rushing to me and tell everyone that I was a great devotee like Bharata who had sacrificed so much for serving God. Bhagavan got down from the car. I knelt down to give the flower with a big smile. Bhagavan turned and walked into Trayee talking something to the warden avoiding me totally. It made me think what great things I had done? In fact it was Bhagavan who had done everything for me, right from keeping one more boy to help me, healing my wound without giving any pain, taking care of the patient who could have been a big problem had he got a paralytic attack. I had not done anything great! I asked to be forgiven and prayed that I would never expect anything in return and serve only as on offering to Bhagavan. 

Though I was not physically with Bhagavan in Kodaikanal I could feel Bhagavan’s presence directly in the drama of life as it unfolded. 

- S. N. Sai Ram

Alumnus, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning

Source: Sai Nandana 2000 (75th Birthday Offering)

Sri Sathya Sai Extols Role of Religion and Culture at the Vidwan Mahasabha in Madras

April 22 - 24, 1967

The three-day sessions of The All India Prashanti Vidwan Maha Sabha was held at Madras from the 22nd to the 24th of April, 1967. The Inaugural Session was presided over by Swami Ranganathananda Ji. In His Divine Discourse, Swami said:

“The glory of Bharat is indescribable. Its people have reached the Himalayan heights of spiritual endeavour and handed down vast treasures of wisdom for all mankind. But of late, little men search for coal in the diamond mine! Children of this land must seek and secure the gems and be proud of the achievements of their forefathers. The Vedanta Shastra (spiritual science) is the basic science for the happiness of the individual and of the community of man. It preaches unity, peace and the existence of the Divine in man.

Three texts are considered authoritative by the seekers of this land: the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Geeta and the Brahma Sutras. These three teach the essentials for the higher life of the spirit. In order to make the teaching clear to the uninitiated, three great commentators, one after the other, wrote elaborate interpretations of these texts, and since each of them had one particular viewpoint, the three saw in the selfsame texts three different but not divergent paths to the goal of liberation. Shankaracharya elucidated them from the Advaitic (non-dualistic) point of view, Ramanujacharya from the Vishishtha Advaitic (qualified dualistic) and Madhwacharya from the Dvaitic (dualistic) point of view.

Dvaita philosophy or the dualistic point of view declares that the Jeevi (individual) is Jeevi and Deva (Universal) is Deva and the twain shall ever be only two. The Advaita school of philosophy declares that there is only one Entity (Deva) and that the Jeevi is a false improvisation which ignorance conceives, because it is not able to realise the Universal which alone exists. There are no two; Advaita means 'No-two.' Vishishtha Advaita, special or peculiar 'no-two-ness,' declares that Jeevi is a limb of the Universal, a component, but a distinct component of the One.

Faith should be patent even when suffering

All three are genuine paths to the same goal; and, those who follow one cannot change over to another all of a sudden. A car cannot change over to another all of a sudden. A car cannot fly in the air, nor can a plane taxi along the road to the destination. 'I am the Son,' 'God is My Father', 'I and My Father are one' - these declarations of Christ are significant in this context. As one's vision gets clearer and sharper, one's knowledge of oneself and the Universal in which he is involved becomes clearer, sharper and truer, until it becomes the very breath, the very core of his existence.

There was a famous scholar once who earned great fame as a Vedic exponent, but no one could guess his caste. Many suspected that he was not a Brahmin, but there was no means of discovering. At last, the wife of a Pandit said she could easily solve the problem. The scholar was invited for a feast at the place and when he was fast asleep after a full repast, she applied to the sole of his foot a red-hot brand at which the Vedic scholar yelled "Allah". Thus it was discovered he was a Muslim. Faith should not be a matter of exposition only; it should be patent

even when you yell in pain.

Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras says: "Yogah Chitta Vritti Nirodhaha" - "Yoga is restraining the agitations natural to the mind." Man alone is endowed with the equipment needed to establish mastery over the senses. Birds, beasts and other species have no such capacity to discriminate and renounce. They act on instinct or impulse; they cannot argue, assess, accept or reject.

Stick to your innate nature whatever may happen

A hermit was one day bathing in the Ganga, when he saw floating downstream on a piece of wood a scorpion. This is God encased in the scorpion form and name, he felt; he wanted to save  the scorpion. So, he took it on his palm; but, when it stung him, he dropped it on the waters. Then he was stricken with remorse and so, he lifted it up again. Thus it stung him five or six times; but, he persisted in his mission of mercy and at last, managed to drop it on dry land so that it could go its way, alive and happy. Many people watched his efforts and laughed at him for his stupidly exaggerated sympathy. The hermit told them that the scorpion had taught him a lesson and he was thankful for it. They asked him what it was. He said: "Stick to your innate nature, whatever may happen - that is what it has taught me." Its nature is to sting; it stung, regardless of whom or when.

Man's nature is to achieve Jnana; Ananda is man's essence. Love is the bloodstream that sustains him; peace is the vision that guides and directs him. That is the reason why he is addressed as 'Amritasya Putra', in the Upanishads - he is the son of immortality; he is eternal; he has no birth nor death. In the Geeta, Krishna declares that among the mountains, He is Himagiri, the Himalayas. From this, you should not infer that Krishna was a patriot who  spoke a good word about a physical feature of His mother-country. 

To reach the Himalayas, the abode of the pure, white, cool, snow (symbol of the Sattvic virtues) you have to pass through Haridwar (the gate way of God-awareness) and through Hrishikesha (control of the senses). Then only can you be the liberated soul, which is of the same essence as He. That is the inner meaning of this statement by Krishna. Unless you know the inner and the correct meaning, faith will be uncertain and practice spasmodic.

The three tragedies and the cure to overcome them

The consequence of avoiding the knowledge and practice of Vedanta is the increase of three tragedies: Papam, Tapam, Ajnanam (Sin, Suffering and Ignorance). The Name usually given to the Reality that you are, namely, Rama, is the cure for all three. Atma is known as Atma Rama because Rama means that which pleases and nothing confers such vast inexhaustible joy as the Atma. So, the word Rama means the Atma. That word consists of three components: Ra, and ma. 'Ra' is the mystic representative of Agni (Fire) principle; it burns sin into ash, 'a' is the symbol of Surya (Sun) principle; it destroys the darkness of ignorance. 'Ma' is the symbol of Chandra (Moon) principle; it cools the Tapam or heat of suffering. So, 'Rama' overcomes all the three tragedies and reveals the Truth, the Beauty and Goodness. Repeat the Name, Rama with this significance in mind and you can feel its effect very soon.

Man is Atma Swarupa (of the nature of Atma), which is Truth, Beauty, Goodness, Peace and Love. But he craves against his nature, for the false, the fleeting, the crude, the inert and the chaotic. This is demeaning and disgraceful. Man must turn his face away from these and seek in himself the source of strength and joy. He must always have in view God, of whom he is an expression, when he does any act.

The Karma Kanda of the Vedas which prescribes Yagas and Yajnas (Vedic rituals of sacrifice) is designed to secure for man the Grace of God and not, as is often assumed, a happy life in Paradise. The prompting should arise not from desire for Paradise, but from desire to obtain Grace, to dedicate the Yoga to God, leaving the benefits therefrom to the will of the Bestower. Nachiketa taught his father this superior outlook on the subject of Yaga and Yajna. The emphasis must be not merely on ritual correctness, but unconditional surrender to the God who is invoked and propitiated in these rituals.

Sacrifice the animal characteristics in Yaga

For example, the texts speak of Bhutabali - offerings to the Elements, as a rite to be observed. The common meaning of Bali is sacrifice of an animal, but the correct meaning of Bali is a tax, a tribute, an impost. It is from the taxes paid by the people that the government is able to provide various services and comforts for better living. So too, it is from the consolidated funds of these Balis that the Divine in the elements are providing humanity the benefits they derive, which will facilitate the acquisition of Jnana (spiritual knowledge). In the Yagas and Yajnas, Bhutabali forms an important rite. Sacrifice the animal characteristics like pride, hatred and passion and save yourselves.

When you go to a shop to provide yourself with something you need, you know that you cannot get it without paying its price. You have come here in order to get some inspiration, or information, or some glimpse of the inner treasure that you possess and of the means of benefiting by it - call it Atma Sakshatkara, Moksha, Atma Tattva or Liberation, Nirvana or anything else. You have come to this shop for it; we are selling the thing you need. But you are hesitant to pay the price. 'The mouth is closed tight when the bit and the bridle are brought; it opens wide when gram or grass is brought' is said of horses. It should not be said of men. So, when you come to gatherings like this you must come, aware of the precious ware that is here available, and anxious to assimilate as much as possible. Eager attention now, reflection later on what has been heard - that is the price you have to pay.

There is no use of reading without practising

Reflect and put into practice what you recognise as beneficial in what you have listened to. Practice gives you the golden harvest of blissful experience. If you spend all your time in erecting the fence, when are you to raise the crop? When you spend all your time in reading about agriculture and of the excellent crops that can be got by using high yielding strains of seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, etc., but do not plough, or sow, or spray or dig or pull out the weeds, how can the granary be full? Reading, reciting, listening - these are not enough; practise is what is needed.

Nachiketa and Lord Yama

If you are told that Nachiketa did this or Shvetaketu said that, of what avail is it? Unless you adopt them as your ideals, exemplars, guides, these Upanishads and scriptural texts are only fairy tales! Try to understand their steadfastness, their faith, their sense of values, their virtues and their uprightness. And yearn to acquire them. They only can we have another Nachiketa and another Shvetaketu. Or else, in the entire course of human history, there will be only one Nachiketa and one Shvetaketu!

Learn lesson from the events around you

You have seen hundreds of funerals; but no lesson has been learned. Buddha saw but one. It changed the course of his life and opened a new chapter in the history of the world. You have seen long processions of Sanyasins; Buddha saw only one Sanyasi. You have seen sick men by the hundreds. The renunciation of the Sanyasins, the suffering of the sick, the pitiable condition of the aged - these made profound impression on Buddha. He left his palace, his wife and new born child to seek the remedy for the miseries of life. If you cultivate a mind that will welcome such transforming impressions, these discourses will benefit you. 

Gautam Buddha sees the four sights

When all the millions who gather all over this ancient land to listen to spiritual discourses, put into practice a tenth of what they hear, Bharat will rise once again to the pinnacle of spiritual glory. But do not despair when confronted by the obstacles, the atmosphere, the handicaps, the dissensions and the doubts. They are all good omens, no unpropritious ones. You will soon delight in the restoration of Sanatana Dharma to its pristine glory. This must happen, it will happen, it shall happen.”

On 23rd, Prof. V. K. Gokak (Vice Chancellor, Bangalore University) and Dr. P. K. Sundaram (Department of Philosophy, Madras University) addressed the gathering. Swami then delivered His Discourse. He clarified the role of Religion in our lives. He said:

"Man's life has a beginning and an end; the beginning and the end are both governed by the law of cause and effect. The nest of a bird built with arduous circumspection on the branch is swayed by the gale and felled by the storm. The lovely petals of the rose, dancing in the breeze, and spreading fragrance around, are blown to the ground by the sudden gust of wind! Man too is floored at the height of his triumph by the stroke of some unseen hand. Man is aghast at the consequence that he experiences; he is unaware of the cause, for he has no inclination to seek it. The cause for birth is the same as the cause for death' fascination for sense-objects and the trail of activity that it involves.

Children are happy since they have not yet got involved in such activity. They scatter joy and enthusiasm, innocence and confidence. How comes it that they are so fresh and gay? Their minds are free from the infection of sense-pleasure-seeking. They are raveling in the untainted joy of their own innate nature. That is the reason why Christ fondled a child, and advised all the grownups to become children, so that they may be saved. How sweet is the smile of the babe in the cradle or of the child playing in the garden? That is the genuine nature of man which he tarnishes foolishly, year by year, as he grows.

Move on and climb ahead towards the goal of God

In the pure pellucid lake in the heart of man, the Lotus of Divine aspiration is blossoming; instead of offering that flower at the Feet of God, you try the trick placing there flowers that fade, fruits that rot, and leaves that dry. Offer the heart that He has endowed you with, filled with adoration and love! Your Ananda is my Aahara (sustenance), so, cultivate it. It grows only when you meditate on the source of Ananda, the goal of Ananda, namely, God. Seeta was interned by the cruel King Ravana in the most beautifully laid-out garden in Lanka, called Ashoka Vana (the Forest of No-sorrow). The flower-beds, lawns and greeneries, trees and creepers, bowers and groves were most pleasing to the eye and refreshing to the mind. But, Seeta derived no joy therefrom! She found therein only empty vanity, lust for power and foul
pleasure. But, Seeta felt real Ananda when an ugly monkey started repeating the name of Rama from the branch of the tree under which She sat! That name was for her the source of unfailing Ananda.

The stage of life, the status in society, the profession, the company into which you are ushered, the recreation you like - all these are to be used by you for cleansing the inner mirror, so that God may be reflected clearly therein. Grihastha Ashrama (the householder stage of life) is a step in the ladder to God-realisation. You do not settle down on a step, or stay on a rung, or build a home on a bridge. Move on, climb ahead, cross over, towards the goal of God. From Iham (this world) you proceed to Param (the world beyond); through the practise of the Dharma (code of virtuous conduct), pertaining to life in the world as a member of the human community, you transcend it and earn the right and the qualification to know about the Dharma of the beyond, the Nature and Glory of the Divine. Iha Dharma gives Ananda; but Para Dharma reveals to you the source of Ananda and merges you in that source.

In reality there is 'no bondage and no release'

The Lord, who incarnates to restore Dharma, Himself advises the renouncing of all Dharma for the sake of the ultimate Liberation or Moksha and in the same Bhagavad Geeta He recommends in the last chapter the giving up of even the craving for Moksha or Liberation, for there is in reality, "no bondage and no release". It is only a delusion born of ignorance, which disappears when the Light of knowledge is allowed to illumine the place where Darkness prevailed.

When you know that you are ill, you should try to take such a medicine that you will not need any other medicine, ever afterwards. You should not fall ill again. When you engage in activity, you must choose such an activity that will not involve you in its chain of consequences. Karma must be such that it does not involve you in further Karma. Karma dedicated to God, Karma done in a spirit of surrender, with no concern for the consequence - these alone can prevent the sprouting of further shoots from each individual Karma.

As a result of recent movements in world-thought man's heart is being hardened by hate and greed, not softened by love and sympathy. Intelligence (the 'dhee') which the Gayatri prayer attempts to urge into enlightened activity, blinds man from recognising in the beauty of nature, in the sublimity of space, time and causation, the might and majesty of God. It is perverted so much that questions like, "Where is God to be found?" "Why does He not reveal Himself to me now?" arise in the mind.

You can find God if only you look into yourself and understand yourself. He can be realised only after a long process of cleansing and at the end of a systematic disciplined preparation. Without learning the alphabet, how can any one dare condemn a classic? The culture embedded in the ancient texts promoted the composure and mental poise that is needed to delve into the depths of one's being. It is concerned with making every one aware of the Atma, the basic Truth, the only entity of which everything else is a by-product.

Religion is the product of awareness

Confusing religion with social customs like taking a bride, or dining with some one or declining to do so, people talk glibly discarding religion or disregarding it. Religion is the Mother and how can any one do without her or deny her or discard her? You can divorce a wife and marry again; but, you cannot deny a mother and declare another as the person who gave birth to you. Religion is not constituted of human fancies; it is the call of the Spirit from which we have come, of the Sea in the heart of the river. It is the sense of kinship one feels, when one sees other beings immersed in grief or joy. It is the exultation one feels when one experiences Truth, Beauty and Goodness. He who denies religion, has no discrimination, no heart, no feeling, no emotion. Matam (religion) is the product of Mati (awareness). Only, he who has none of these will argue that Religion is harmful or superfluous.

You can pluck a few leaves off the tree or chop off a few of its branches, but the Tree of Religion is deep-rooted in the human heart; it can never be destroyed or ignored. The fact that the body is but a shaky receptacle that is liable to crash any moment, that the senses are imperfect instruments of knowledge, that objects are not per se sources of pleasure or happiness, that the sense of 'I' persists in deep sleep too - these cannot be denied by decree or by swearing them off. Like all attainments, the attainment of self-realisation also involves hard discipline and concentrated effort. The price has to be paid!

Love the highest, Love the Most Lovable, God

Let us suppose you are abused, reviled, and grievously hurt, in a dream! Though you are pained at that time, when you awake, you are not aware of what has happened so realistically a few minutes ago. So too, when you awake into the higher consciousness of Jnana (spiritual wisdom), all the grief and joy, the pleasure and pain you experience in the waking stage are found to be as ephemeral as dreams. Report to the police that you killed a person; they will throw you into the lock-up. Tell them you killed him in your dream, they will brush you aside as a nuisance.

Having come upon the world stage as 'man', one should act the role effectively. The tree is known by the fruit. The human body is the temple of God. He is installed there. Yearn for the realisation of this Truth, seek to discover It and derive Bliss therefrom - that is Bhakti (Devotion, the path of Love to God). Love the Highest, Love the most Lovable; do not love anything."

Sri V. Santhanam, the Managing Editor of the Tamil daily ‘Dinamani,’ gave a speech. In His concluding Discourse, Swami explained the mission of the Prashanti Vidwan Maha Sabha.

Source: Sri Sathya Sai Digvijayam (1926-1985)

A Tryst with God - By Syed Kabir

Life with a Living God is an experience which I did not have until the summer of 1982. Since then it has been an experience of what life truly is and not merely existing. It was the entrance of a unique personality in my life that mutated the very purpose of my life. That bright morning, in the summer of 1979 turned out to be a pivotal point. I had gone with my parents to Bangalore to pay our respect to Bhagavan Baba. Not particularly interested in spirituality, I was paying more attention to the gaily dressed crowd that had collected to see Him. Suddenly a hush fell over the rippled humanity. 

Darshan in Brindavan

All eyes were fixed on the moving flame, Orange in colour, magnificent, awe-inspiring in the splendid aura of dazzling beauty. A perfectly chiseled head with black eyes that looked like dark pools of water. What was in that Face that trapped even my wanton eyes? And glued to It? Much later when we returned from Brindavan, my mind wandered back to many incidents of the day. And Bhagavan Baba was always in the center. He had graciously called us for an interview, created for the children small lockets in the shape of Allah. He had given to us sweet kalkand (evaporated milk) to eat, as we sat around Him. I saw the sweet oozing out of the fingers of His up turned palm. He had made me sit beside Him. Like a puppy I nestled close to the warmth of His love. The light of a reverential affection enveloped us all as if we had returned home after a long journey back to security and rest. I had lived for eleven years but to me life started in reality on that day. My parents told me that by giving the locket, Baba affirmed our faith in Islam, and Awaliya Allah would create anything out of nothing. To consider them magic was blasphemy "How silly grownups are" I had thought. "Who considered it magic. Certainly not me".  For months, I strutted in the divine protection of the locket. Then came the May of 1982. My parents had decided to put me in Bhagavan's school. As I walked up to the verandah for the interview, I heard Him uttering a few words which I could not understand. "Dekho Ab Taiyar Karta Har (look I am going to prepare him). Prepare whom? Prepare for what? These questions flashed in my then young mind. It was only later on, during my life with Bhagavan that I understood the true significance and import of these words. He prepares each one of us to face the challenges of life with inner strength and humility. He, slowly but surely, brings about a change in the psyche of man and his attitude to life. He raises the consciousness to the levels where man can understand his ‘True Reality.’ 

In science I had read about the mutation in the lower levels of organic creations, like those in plants, heard that it happens but rarely in the case of man. That I was the victim of it nor I would experience similar mutation in myself, I never thought. Bhagavan has come for the very purpose of changing the awareness of not one but the entire human race. "Man has to be first unmade and then remade'. My life lived with God has really been a very rich experience of the statement; a strange but enjoyable tryst, mixed with pain and pleasure. Even the agony and separation have been pleasurable. In Bangalore, once Bhagavan asked me "How many friends do you have?" “Twenty” was my proud reply. He smiled and turned to an American gentleman. "How many?” "One Swami," was the reply. He then held me with His unfathomable glance for a moment and said, "only one - God". On how many innumerable occasions, He had not proved it to be so. He became my friend, my guide, my protector, the one and only treasure. Living with God in one's dream world is not an easy experience, and Kabir, Jayadeva, Ramdas are examples of this sort of life. But living with a Living God - I mean God who talks, walks, pats, jokes, reprimands— is tough, to say the least The toughness connotes not only physical toughness, when one has to be on one's toes because with Bhagavan there is no rest, but it also registers a mental attitude and a behaviour pattern. One must be tough in spirit, in faith, in intellect and in facing life. 

It cannot be expressed in words. It has got to be experienced as an act of creation. The sculptor working on a block of stone feels it He chisels away the imperfections - dirt, weaknesses, scraps of unwanted pieces. If the slab of stone could relate the thrill and agony of each cherished stroke, it would perhaps tell that it was sweetness all along. l, nevertheless, turned out to be an unusually hard block, slow to respond, refusing to give in. Being born in a Muslim family, it was, I must confess, initially a difficult task to believe that God, who is formless and above the level of human existence, the overseer of all creation, could be born as a man on earth; that He could walk in our midst, talk our language, do things other human beings would do. Little did I know that one had to relearn the greater Truths of one's own religion, as I learnt the Truth of Islam at Bhagavan's Feet. 

Bhagavan has said that He has come down so that man can develop closeness to God. And Bhagavan did just that. He shattered the image of God as a distant and patient but answering listener of human sorrow and the judge of human folly. Bhagavan has proved that God is not hidden in the idols, mosques and churches, nor is He living in synagogues, or on Mount Senai, or Vaikunta, but He is a dynamic force, existing in every particle of cosmos. Therefore, He is most near and dear. On the broken conventional image, Bhagavan has built an edifice of faith that God is one who loves and loves to be loved. He is all merciful, forgiving, a Guide, a Master. With Bhagavan I also have learnt the significance of the attributes of Allah. With Him I grew aware of the importance of Islam. In the words of a scholar, Islam and Sanatana Dharma are not two different things but one and the same idea. The Divine is within every object, guiding and guarding controlling and perfecting. Atma is in all, Bhagavan has often stressed. The mystic in Islam knew it but it was kept a secret from the average man for he has no capacity to understand this Truth. Every individual who comes into Bhagavan's fold undergoes a change in his ways of thinking and acting as well as in attitude to life. The process of the transformation is both complex and amazing. It is complex because everyone has an in-built inhibition piled up through years of habits. It is not easy to give them up. He does not want to leave this individuality, and so when God offers to change man, he puts counter offers. But in God's contract there are no conditional clauses with His Creation. The process of offer and counter-offer goes on till what God has to offer is accepted readily, even hungrily by man. In a way, man finds that there is no other way out. This too is part of the wonder and complexity. There was a devotee of Bhagavan who had the habit of putting down on paper every little prayer that he had to convey to the Lord. For years, Bhagavan accepted bits of papers, making it quite plain to the person that He knows whatever that person does. Then one fine day, He stopped taking the letters. Days went by but no written paper was accepted. Sitting in Prasanthi Nilayam letters with registered post were sent to Bhagavan. No response was noticed. At last, the devotee had to resort to praying in the heart, pitifully, with love and humility. And it worked like magic. Not only Bhagavan responded but whatever was prayed for was fulfilled, be it a petty wish or a serious problem. The devotee then realised the significance of Bhagavan's words said earlier “I AM IN YOUR HEART." 

This process may appear to be simple because the only tool used here as well as anywhere by Bhagavan is love, love and love alone. In the beginning, there are love-showers. In His infinite compassion, He fulfills each and every desire, trivial, childish wants, position, power, healing of diseases, creating objects of protection. In His own words it is "I give you what you want". We become addicted to this pure love, dependent and attached to it. An instance of this supreme love is from my life. In His School, I experienced His love. He often created sweetmeat, gave interviews. Slowly I came to love Him intensely. When I a sat for Darshan He would call me nearer, spoke lovingly and cracked jokes. Seeds of love from Him sprouted and often I felt bad and pained if He did not speak even for a day. Then once when He is sure that the love for God is firm, He will shake, as a nail is shaken to see whether it is firmly, entrenched in the wall before a picture is hung. This is His churning process. He separates Himself from you during the treatment, remains out of your reach. You begin yearning for Him. He makes you yearn so much for Him that you are ready to sacrifice anything to hear one word of His, give up a life of pleasures, trivial wants and life itself because by then He has become the One and only One in your life - your first priority.

Then finally when He knows true love has blossomed, He will teach you what He has come for. This way He raises the level of human consciousness. Unless man goes through the crucible, he will not learn his true nature and have faith in Bhagavan's words. It is all a purifying process. Here the second part of the statement is fulfilled — "You want what I want to give you." For five years, Bhagavan showered love and love in abundance and made me a love addict and then came the period of silence. You cannot bear His silence, because you love Him, His word so much, that He creates a void by His dramatic short time departure from your life. He walks by you and you are energy blank, an empty space or He turns away from you. You are nothing but I nearly burned myself down hoping I had never existed. Then like a fresh downpour in the aridity of my life, came He again showering all love and made up for the lost time. Only then did I realise the value of God. We have to love Him, serve Him for He is Allah Himself come down to befriend us, to teach us to love one another and love Him - Brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God.

- Syed Kabir

Student (1987-1992), Faculty of Management and Commerce

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning

Source: Sai Vandana 1990 (65th Birthday Offering)

Who is Sai?

God is inscrutable. He cannot be realised in the outer objective world; He is in the very heart of every being. Gemstones have to be sought deep underground; they do not float in mid-air. Seek God in the depths of yourself, not in tantalising, kaleidoscopic Nature. The body is granted to you for this high purpose; but, you are now misusing it, like the person who cooked his daily food in the gem-studded gold vase that came into his hands as an heirloom.

Man extols God as omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent, but, he ignores His Presence in himself! Of course, many venture to describe the attributes of God and proclaim Him to be such and such; but, these are but their own guesses and the reflections of their own predilections and preferences.

Who can affirm that God is this or that? Who can affirm that God is not of this form or with this attribute? Each one can acquire from the vast expanse of the ocean only as much as can be contained in the vessel he carries to its shore. From that quantity, they can grasp but little of that immensity.

Each religion defines God within the limits it demarcates and then claims to have grasped Him. Like the seven blind men who spoke of the elephant as a pillar, a fan, a rope or a wall, because  they contacted but a part and could not comprehend the entire animal, so too, religions speak of a part and assert that its vision is full and total.

There is only one religion, the Religion of Love

Each religion forgets that God is all Forms and all Names, all attributes and all assertions. The religion of Humanity is the sum and substance of all these partial faiths; for, there is only one Religion and that is the Religion of Love. The various limbs of the elephant that seemed' separate and distinct to the eye-less seekers of its truth were all fostered and activated by one single stream of blood; the various religions and faiths that feel separate and distinct are all fostered by one single stream of love.

The optical sense cannot visualise the Truth. It gives only false and fogged information. For example, there are many who observe My actions and start declaring that My nature is such and such. They are unable to gauge the sanctity, the majesty and the eternal reality that is Me. The power of Sai is limitless; It manifests for ever. All forms of 'power' are resident in this Sai palm. But, those who profess to have understood Me, the scholars, the Yogis (spiritually advanced persons), the Pandits (scholars), the Jnanis (liberated persons), all of them are aware only of the least important, the casual, external manifestation of an infinitesimal part of that power, namely, the "miracles"! They have not desired to contact the Source of all Power and all Wisdom, that is available here at Brindavan. They are satisfied when they secure a chance to exhibit their book-learning and parade their scholarship in Vedic Lore, not realising that the Person from whom the Vedas emanated is in the midst, for their-sake. They even ask, in their pride, for a few more chances!

'Defeats' experienced by Avatars are part of Leela

This has been the case, in all ages. People may be very near (physically) to the Avatar (divine incarnation), but, they live out their lives unaware of their fortune; they exaggerate the role of miracles, which are as trivial, when compared to My glory and majesty, as a mosquito is in size and strength to the elephant upon which it squats. Therefore, when you speak about these 'miracles', I laugh within myself out of pity, that you allow yourself so easily to lose the precious awareness of My Reality.

My power is immeasurable; My truth is inexplicable, unfathomable. I am announcing this about Me, for, the need has arisen. But, what I am doing now is only the gift of a 'Visiting Card!' Let Me tell you that emphatic declarations of the Truth by Avatars were made so clearly and so unmistakably only by Krishna. In spite of the declaration, you will notice in the career of the same Krishna that He underwent defeat in His efforts and endeavours, on a few occasions; you must also note that those defeats too were part of the drama which He had planned and which He Himself directed. For example, when many Kings pleaded with Him to avert the War with the Kauravas, He confessed that His Mission to the Kaurava Court for ensuring peace had 'failed!' But, He had not willed that it should succeed! He had decided that war would be waged! His Mission was intended to punish the greed and iniquity of the Kauravas and to condemn them before the whole world.

Krishna as Messenger of Peace at Hastinapur

"Do not crave from Me trivial material objects"

Now, I must tell you, that during this Sai Avatar, there is no place for even such 'drama' with scenes of failures and defeats! What I will, must take place; what I plan must succeed. I am Truth; and Truth has no need to hesitate, or fear, or bend.

'Willing' is superfluous for Me. For, My Grace is ever available to devotees who have steady Love and Faith. Since I move freely among them, talking and singing, even intellectuals are unable to grasp My Truth, My Power, My Glory, or My real Task as Avatar. I can solve any problem however knotty. I am beyond the reach of the most intensive inquiry and the most meticulous measurement. Only those who have recognised My Love and experienced that Love can assert that they have glimpsed My Reality. For, the Path of Love is the Royal road that leads mankind to Me.

Do not attempt to know Me through the external eyes. When you go to a temple and stand before the Image of God, you pray with closed eyes, don't you? Why? Because you feel that the inner eye of Wisdom alone can reveal Him to you. Therefore, do not crave from Me trivial material objects; but, crave for Me, and you would be rewarded. Not that you should not receive whatever objects I give as sign of Grace out of the fullness of Love.

I shall tell you why I give these rings, talismans, rosaries etc. It is to signalise the bond between Me and those to whom they are given. When calamity befalls them, the article comes to Me in a flash and returns in a flash taking from Me the remedial Grace of protection. That Grace is available to all who call on Me in any Name or Form, not merely to those who wear these gifts. Love is the bond that wins Grace.

There is no creature without Love

Consider the meaning of the name, Sai Baba. Sa means 'Divine;' ai or ayi means 'mother' and Baba means father. The Name indicates the Divine Mother and Father, just as Samba-Shiva, which also means the Divine Mother and Father. Your physical parents exhibit Love with a dose of selfishness; but, this Sai "Mother and Father" showers affection or reprimands, only for leading you towards victory in the struggle for self-realisation.

For, this Sai has come in order to achieve the supreme task of uniting the entire mankind, as one family through the bond of brotherhood, of affirming and illumining the Atmic Reality of each being in order to reveal the Divine which is the basis on which the entire Cosmos rests, and of instructing all to recognise the common Divine Heritage that binds man to man, so that man can rid himself of the animal, and rise into the Divine which is his goal. 

I am the embodiment of Love; Love is My instrument. There is no creature without Love; the lowest loves itself, at least. And its self is God. So, there are no atheists, though some might dislike Him or refuse Him, as malarial patients dislike sweets or diabetic patients refuse to have anything to do with sweets! Those who preen themselves as atheists will one day, when their illness is gone, relish God and revere Him.

I had to tell you so much about My Truth, for, I desire that you should contemplate on this and derive joy therefrom, so that you may be inspired to observe the disciplines laid down by Me and progress towards the Goal of Self-realisation, the Realisation of the Sai that shines in your hearts.

Source: Divine Discourse on June 19, 1974 at Brindavan