Newspaper article - Religion: Attaining enlightenment

09-29-2005, 04:02 AM

RELIGION: Attaining enlightenment
Enlightenment is what most Sai Baba (and Hindu) followers strive to achieve.
Enlightenment is a spiritual process in which the devotee is "one with God" and
will have eternal life when he dies. To gain enlightenment, the follower must
have pious faith and resignation toward the Guru; direct all his thoughts,
feelings, and actions toward God; he can no longer think of himself as an
individual or think of material rewards; act like he is totally vulnerable at
the grace of God; and surrender all material things and live in near poverty.
Sai Baba himself begs for food sometimes and lives in old huts around India.
Knowledge of God or religion is the most important value that a person can
have. One cannot become smart by knowing material subjects such as the sciences
but he can only become smart by reading the scriptures and following it. Knowing
enlightenment and devotion to God is the ultimate knowledge. People's flesh and
bodies are nothing; it is their eternal conscience which matters and if they
direct it toward God, their thoughts and actions will be noble. In fact, Sai
Baba encourages people to help others more than just sitting and praying. Sai
Baba strongly encourages people to follow moral and good behaviour each day and
follow the values of truth, proper conduct, peace, selflessness, non-violence,
and morality. Therefore, the followers of Sai Baba strongly believe in doing
good deeds. (Rigoplouso, 1993: 285-290) Sai Baba's Beliefs through Action Sai
Baba believes that good action and helping people is more important than
sitting down and simply praising God. All followers should act with love, care,
and selflessness and dedicate themselves to helping people. Sai Baba strongly
encourages helping the helpless and needy around the world.
MEDITATION:
Aum bhoor bhuwah swaha, tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasaya dheemahi dhiyo yo
naha prachodayat. Summary of the Mantra Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life,
Remover of pain and sorrow, The Bestower of happiness, Oh! Creator of the
Universe, May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light, May Thou guide our
intellect in the right direction. Word for Word Meaning of the Mantra Aum =
Brahma ; bhoor = embodiment of vital spiritual energy(pran) ; bhuwah =
destroyer of sufferings ; swaha = embodiment of happiness ; tat = that ;
savitur = bright like sun ; varenyam = best choicest ; bhargo = destroyer of
sins ; devasya = divine ; dheemahi = may imbibe ; dhiyo = intellect ; yo = who
; naha = our ; prachodayat = may inspire ; Meaning of Gayatri Mantra Rishis
selected the words of various Mantras and arranged them so that they not only
convey meaning but also create specific power through their utterance. Gayatri
Mantra inspires wisdom. Its meaning is that "May the Almighty God illuminate
our intellect to lead us along the righteous path". All the problems of a
person are solved if he/she is endowed with the gift of righteous wisdom. Once
endowed with far-sighted wisdom, a man is neither entangled in calamity nor
does he tread the wrong path. A wise man finds solution to all outstanding
problems. Only those persons who do not think correctly find difficulty and
take wrong steps due to foolishness. Chanting of Gayatri Mantra removes this
deficiency. The teachings and powers incorporated in the Gayatri Mantra fulfill
this purpose. Righteous wisdom starts emerging soon after Jap(recitation) of
this Mantra is performed. Rishis selected the words of various Mantras and
arranged them so that they not only convey meaning but also create specific
power through their utterance. Gayatri Mantra inspires wisdom. Its meaning is
that "May the Almighty God illuminate our intellect to lead us along the
righteous path". All the problems of a person are solved if he/she is endowed
with the gift of righteous wisdom. Once endowed with far-sighted wisdom, a man
is neither entangled in calamity nor does he tread the wrong path. A wise man
finds solution to all outstanding problems. Only those persons who do not think
correctly find difficulty and take wrong steps due to foolishness. Chanting of
Gayatri Mantra removes this deficiency. The teachings and powers incorporated
in the Gayatri Mantra fulfill this purpose.
© Central Chronicle 2005.
Links to articles from newspapers, journals, magazines related to Bhagavan Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:http://www.saibabalinks.org/saibabainthemedia.htm