Guest guest Posted July 6, 2004 Report Share Posted July 6, 2004 HE HAS COME - THE LORD SATHYA SAI BABA - V By Patrick Gallivan, CHAPTER NINE There are many references, in Sathya Sai Baba's statements, relating to His "previous body" as Sai Baba of Shirdi, which are vouched for by those who were devoted to the saintly Shirdi Baba, and who are now convinced Sathya Sai is a reincarnation. The Raja of Chincholi was an ardent devotee of Shirdi Baba, and had spent some months each year at Shirdi, as well as other holy places. When he died, his wife, the Rani, was surprised to hear of the Lord's incarnation as Sathya Sai Baba, at Puttaparthi, and she made it a point to visit there, to meet the then fifteen year old Baba. During her stay she persuaded Sathya Sai to accompany her back to Chincholi and Hyderabad. Baba mentioned a number of changes that had taken place at her home since His "previous body", as He frequently referred to it; that a tree had been uprooted, a well that had been filled in, a newly built line of shops, etc. During His stay in the Rani's home He asked about a small stone statuette which had been given to the Raja, but, alas, the Rani was unaware of its existence. Sathya Sai found it for her! He also said that there must also be a picture of Shirdi Baba, and that too was discovered. Some years later the Rani came across a drinking vessel, used by Sadhus*, which had a distinctive shape and artistic design. She had been rummaging in a hugh store room in her home for suitable items for display throughout the house. She instructed the servants to clean and polish it, and upon examination, she found that to fill the vessel, the water had to be poured through a slit in the handle, and the spout had been shaped into a cow's head. It was displayed in the drawing room of the Rani's Hyderabad home. The following day they found a cobra coiled around the vessel and the Rani decided to ask Sathya Sai about this unusual drinking vessel, on her next trip to Puttaparthi. When she entered the ashram, Baba sent word to ask her to come up "with my drinking vessel!" No sooner had He had it in His hands, He showed to devotees nearby, the letters SAA followed by a pair of short vertical lines, BAA with two more lines. SAA indicating Sai, and BAA for Baba! To this day the connections between Shirdi Sai, and Sathya Sai, are portraits in two life-size oil paintings displayed in the Prayer Hall at Prashanthi Nilayam. Both figures are shown standing with both hands crossed over the other; Shirdi holding His right hand with His left hand, and Sathya holding His left hand with His right. The artist had difficulty in portraying the details of Shirdi Sai’s clothing, whereupon Baba waved His hand and produced two small pictures ready for the artist to work from, with all the correct clothing details. Some years ago a devotee from Delhi, stated in a letter to the biographer, N. Kasturi, that he had the greatest of difficulty in accepting Sathya Sai Baba as an incarnation of his beloved Shirdi Baba, until the following event occurred. One evening while the devotee was cycling home along a deserted road between Old Delhi and New Delhi, he was deeply in thought contemplating his financial situation. Although devoted to Shirdi Baba, he was drawn to Sathya Sai, and had just returned from Puttaparthi, still with the doubt heavy on his mind. "Finished the work for the day?" a voice suddenly asked from behind. Turning, he saw a burly individual, pedaling quickly to catch up. He wore a broad smile and had a pleasant manner. Our Delhi devotee earned his livelihood by teaching music to children and occasionally playing the violin at concerts. He assumed the stranger had seen him at concerts or in some friend's home, and replied, "Yes, I am going home now," in the Tamil dialect, corresponding to the dialect the stranger spoke in his question. The burly stranger pleaded, "Then can you come along with me to that old temple, yonder? I will not keep you long." Leaning their bicycles against the shaded temple wall, they sat facing each other as the stranger sought from our Delhi friend, the source of his problems. The stranger asked how our Delhi friend could doubt that Sathya Sai was not also Shirdi Sai. "See!" he said, extending the palms of his hands, and there could be seen, as if painted in full colour, the portrait of Shirdi Sai on one palm, and on the other, the shining face of Sathya Sai! "I could never forget those twin faces, lighting up the palms of that reverend old man," our Delhi friend said. It was the answer that cleared all doubts and gave him a new lease of life, as he meditated on the twin images of his beloved Sai. As he watched, the stranger cycled away swiftly, and to his consternation, saw the stranger suddenly melt into thin air! On another occasion a lady in Madras, placed her child in front of Shirdi Sai's picture, as the child was seriously ill. Years later, she went to see Sathya Sai with her son, now a tall muscular young man. As soon as Sai saw her He said, "You had placed this boy under My care, fifteen years ago, isn't that so?" Thus, Baba gives the positive proof of His identity, we need. Baba speaks the same consoling words, the same words of courage and enlightenment, to all who doubt or question. The same Baba, then and now. The same mission, the same message. The same spirit, the same power, is embodied in Sathya Sai, that had been in Shirdi Baba, at the turn of this century, and in Krishna almost 6,000 years ago, and in Rama 15,000 years ago. As Sai Baba said, "Rama, Krishna and Baba appear in different dress, but it is the same entity, believe Me...I am new and ever ancient. I come always for restoration of Dharma, for tending the virtuous and ensuring them conditions congenial to progress, and for educating the 'blind', who miss the way and wander into the wilderness." The difficulties one may have in accepting the identities of both Babas was explained by Sathya Sai Baba at the All-India Sai Samaj, at Madras in January 1959, "The Avatars of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna are so different in the various incidents of their earthly careers; they also emphasized different aspects of ethical behavior and philosophical belief; they differed in methods of teaching and uplifting; it is all a difference in emphasis rather than in basic things. It is difficult to get convinced that Sri Rama is Sri Krishna, but few have any doubts on that score. So, too, those who can delve deep into My mysteries can understand that the Power has now assumed, another human form." Sai Baba is imbued with great energy to enable Him to fulfill His Glorious Mission. He once stated that He is Saura Shakti, which is an ancient description for the Primeval Energy, otherwise known as Cosmic Energy or Cosmic Christ. So, although the Lord Maitreya is referred to as the Planetary Christ, Sathya Sai Baba is seen as the Overlord, or God of all. There are those who await the Messiah, the Christ, the Lord Maitreya, and claim His appearance is imminent. Why concern ourselves, I say, now that the Father is here and has been for the last 70 years! At a Christmas Day discourse in 1972, Sathya Sai Baba announced to the large congregation, that Jesus said, "He who sent Me, will come again," and that Jesus was referring to Baba. He said Jesus actually said, "His name will be Truth (Sathya). He will wear a red robe. He will be short, with a crown of hair." Baba admitted to being the One who sent Jesus and to being the Cosmic Christ. When Dr. Hislop, the author of many books on Sai Baba, asked "Are you God?" Baba replied, "Let us just say, I am the switch." Sai Baba never ceases to remind us that everything is God. So also are we Divine. Indeed man is a much greater being than he cares to believe. With a great destiny and a far greater and more important role, which is now opening-up for mankind? It is as if man is the "chosen one", above all other beings in the universe, chosen for a very special universal role, in which man will surpass anything his "space cousins" have achieved up to now. We must not see ourselves in terms of duality; seeing God as separate from us. Mankind and God are One. We should see ourselves, instead, as the Totality. We are presently locked into a state of illusion. "This life is illusion," Sai Baba says, and this includes the universe overall. It is as if we are existing within a dreamlike state that we have created for ourselves. But, as we move away from this third dimension to the next, and then to the next again, we are moving away from that illusion, towards the True reality, - our own Divinity. Sathya Sai Baba brings us back to the fundamental reality, when He says; "What is man's journey? Where is he going? Why is he continuously reborn? In order to seek the right path and knowledge of Truth. What road should one seek? You should return whence you have come. That is seeking. You have come from the Divine Essence, from God, and you must return to Him. Do not expect to find happiness in the other world; that world too is impermanent. Once you have exhausted your merits, you will again be cast out of it. Even in politics, candidates are elected for a term that expires after five years. Each year that passes shortens the right he earned through the election. In the same way, the duration of your 'paradise' will depend upon your merits. When these are used up, you will have to return to the earth." Science/Technology is not the way forward towards that greater goal. It's a trap, a web of our own making, and we are both the spider and the fly! Referring to science, and scientific investigation, Baba has said, "Science does not even know the truth of chemistry and physics. Each ten years or so, the old truths are discarded or modified because of research results...Science is just hit and miss." "How can science, which is bound to a physical and materialist outlook, investigate transcendental phenomena beyond its scope, reach or comprehension?" Man's position in creation is, according to Sathya Sai Baba, even higher than particular Biblical passages suggest. While the Psalm 8 says that man was created "little less than a god," Sai Baba's discourses states that man has the status of a god, but is totally ignorant of the great wealth lying within, and He continues, he is likened to a beggar sleeping on a safe full of diamonds! All he has to do is wake up and discover those riches and begin to use them, for his benefit and the benefit of mankind. "Man is Divine; he has the Lord dwelling in his heart, yet he is bound, miserable, limited, weak, agitated. Why? He is ignorant of his reality. He imagines himself weak, limited, bound and he is so shaped by the mind, which is the source of that imagination." Further, He said, "Man is unaware of his glory. He is the Divine poured into a human mould, just as everything else alive or inert is, but it is the privilege of man alone to be able to become aware of this precious truth!" Saint Paul declared as much, when he stated, "Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, 'Abba, Father!' The Spirit Himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if we are children, we are heirs as well: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, sharing His sufferings so as to share His glory." I suppose if you were to repeat "I am a sinner," often enough, you condition yourself to believing it, particularly when those who have the responsibility of guiding your spiritual destiny, convince you that it is so, and that it is scandalous to think otherwise. They would argue, to suggest otherwise, that that is the origin of Original Sin; man boastfully claiming to be God. Whereas, the opposite could be the truth, by insulting Him who made us, and causing Him great displeasure by insisting that we are sinful, foolish and good-for-nothing! Have we forgotten the parable of the Prodigal Son? By choosing to call yourself a sinful wretch, this makes you forget and cloak-over your Divine origin, that keeps you in a state of suffering. Know the truth of your reality, and be happy! Sai Baba never ceases to remind us, in His discourses, how blessed we are to be born into human form. "To be born as a man is a very sacred thing. That is, among all the animals that are born, to be born as a man is something very difficult and very sacred. Even Devas (angels, gods) at one time want to have a human birth. One must make the determination to use all the organs in the body for sacred purposes." And finally, "Man is essentially Divine." CHAPTER TEN "Swami," asked the young man at an interview, "Why do You only manifest inanimate objects?" With the customary circular movement of His hand, Sai Baba then drew both hands together in a cup-like position, as if holding a precious treasure between His palms. As He slowly drew His hands apart, the room-full of witnesses could detect a furry object, growing larger as the hands parted. Suddenly, a brown monkey leaped from His hands and to the howls and screeches from those present, it went around the room. Baba noticed one of the visitors had some bananas with him, and suggested one be given to the monkey. Having eaten, the monkey leaped back on to the hands of Baba, and bringing them together again, the monkey disappeared! Sai Baba demonstrated to those present His amazing power over creation, by not only producing a live animal but, as if to prove the point, had the monkey eat as will. Other examples of His magnificence were displayed as on the occasion of another interview, when a young Australian was asked if he had a watch. Feigning surprise, that he had none, Baba produced a fine wristwatch for the stunned young visitor. However, the young man explained, with embarrassment to Baba, that the Australian customs officials might request a receipt of purchase. Whereupon Sai Baba went behind a curtained-off small annex in the interview room, and returned moments later with the requested receipt. Noting that the receipt had the name and address of a jeweller in his home town, the young devotee decided upon a visit when he returned home. "Yes, I sold that watch," responded the jeweller to the enquiry, " To an Indian gentleman. In fact, I recall, he returned moments later to ask for a receipt"! His ability to transmute an object from one property into another was dramatically demonstrated to an Indian geologist, Dr. Rao; not the first man of science to be confounded by Sai Baba's power over the elements. Baba picked up a piece of granite to ask Dr. Rao what it contained. The geologist listed a number of minerals, but Baba pushed His enquiry further, "I don’t mean those, but something deeper!" Rao answered: "Well, molecules, atoms, electrons, protons..." Baba still wasn't satisfied: "No, no, no, go deeper still!" Dr. Rao had to profess ignorance, then Baba took the piece of granite from the geologist, blew on it, and handed it back. Rao was astounded to see that the rock had been transformed into a statue of Krishna black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> playing the flute. Baba admonished him, saying: "You see, beyond your atoms and all, God was in the rock. And God is sweetness and joy. Break off Krishna's foot and taste it." Rao found no difficulty in breaking the granite foot from the statue only to find, upon tasting it, that it was now sweet candy! No wonder Dr. Rao stated later to others: "Science gives but the first word; the last word is known only to the great spiritual scientists like Sai Baba." The circular movement of the right hand, palm down, has become a familiar gesture, by Baba, to those at Darshan, or to those who have viewed it on videos. One devotee, seated on the floor, at an interview, close to Baba's seat, could see under His hand, and was able to observe the circular movement associated with His creativity. He clearly saw a circular vaporous impression appear, which quickly developed into a jelly-like substance, swirling beneath His hand and solidify, within seconds, into yet another precious gift for a fortunate devotee! All done so quickly, but none-the-less quite visible to the observer seated beside Him. We also have the recorded account of Baba's Omnipresence from "Ruth" who had a teaching job in Mexico. She was active in her local Sai centre, in Santa Barbara, which she used to drive back and forth, every Thursday, to attend Bhajans. Despite this weekly commitment she was skeptical. Health problems had been tormenting her for a long time, with bouts of extreme pain for several days at a stretch. One evening, in her little room, she suffered a severe attack of pain and in desperation cried out, "Oh, is there someone to help me? Anyone? Why am I suffering this? What shall I do? Oh, help!" Suddenly she felt a gentle touch on her arm, she stopped shouting and as she turned, she saw Baba standing beside her bed. "Don’t shout so," He said, "I’m always here!" Then He disappeared, and along with Him went her pain! The comforting words of Sathya Sai Baba to all those in pain are, "There is only one God and He is Omnipresent. He has no favorite dwelling place or chosen followers or special groups of devotees. Call...He answers, He manifests, He blesses." CHAPTER ELEVEN Sathya Sai Baba has been credited with a vast number of fantastic miracles, but none more "mind-blowing" than bringing those who had died, back to life! Resurrection! The wife, of an Indian devotee who had died, requested Baba to join her and the family, in prayers for her husband. Baba responded that He would. However, He did not arrive that day, though it is customary in India to bury or cremate the dead, usually on the same day a person died. On the following day a further message was despatched, with the same response, "Yes, I will come." By this time the body was beginning to smell badly with decomposition, but still He did not arrive, to the dismay of the family, who were now pressuring the wife to proceed with the funeral rites, and not wait any further. But she resolutely refused, insisting upon waiting, as Baba had said He would come. The third day came, and so did Sai Baba, but by then the corpse was not at all pleasant to be near. Baba asked to be left with the body in the room, while everyone waited outside. Some three minutes later Baba came out and instructed the wife to take some liquid in to her husband, whom she found well and sitting up in bed! Another case, with dramatic results, was related to Indra Devi, a long-standing devotee of Baba. She conducted classes in meditation and Yoga, and talks on Sathya Sai Baba, in Venezuela. Troylan Orozco, of Mexico, used to attend the lectures about Baba, and went with the group to India and was happy beyond words to have had an interview with Him. Upon his returning home to Mexico, Troylan enthusiastically started a Sai Baba Centre, and gave talks about Baba to all his friends and customers. One day, his wife took a friend and her small baby for a drive. Only a few minutes passed when people came running to him with the news that there had been a crash and his wife and the friend's baby were killed. While rushing to the scene he was crying out for Sai Baba's help, and immediately applied Vibhutti to their lifeless bodies and lips. Three hours later the baby came back to life, much to the amazement of those present, and five hours later Mrs. Orozco also opened her eyes, not being sure where she was. She later related what occurred during those minutes after the crash; she found herself traveling down a dark tunnel, and coming out into a beautiful place so full of light. She saw Sai Baba there, having recognised Him from photographs and films. Realizing she had died, she beseeched Him to return her back to her small boy who would need her care. Seeing her dead body, she re-entered it and returned back with a smile on her Vibhutti-coated lips! The other well-documented account of "life after death", was the case of an American called Walter Cowan, who had been pronounced dead by two doctors, and resurrected on Christmas Day 1971. A fellow American, Sai devotee, Dr. John Hislop, was witness to this extraordinary drama. On the day in question, Dr. Hislop went to the Connemara Hotel, in Madras, upon learning of a fatal heart attack suffered by Walter Cowan. Cowan's wife Elsie confirmed to Hislop that her husband had indeed died. She prayed to Sathya Sai Baba for help, but in the meantime the body was removed by ambulance to hospital. The body was examined by a doctor upon arrival at the hospital and pronounced dead. It was covered and removed to an empty room. Elsie Cowan and a friend arrived at the hospital, only to find that Sai Baba had already been there. To their utter astonishment they found Walter Cowan alive! Later that day, Baba informed devotees that He had indeed brought Walter back to life. He did this, He said, because He did not want Elsie to suffer the distress and difficulties of transporting the body back home to the United States. The following is Walter Cowan's own account of his apparent death and resurrection, under the Grace of Sathya Sai Baba. "Two days after arrival at the Connemara Hotel, in Madras, I was taken ill with pneumonia. Gasping for breath, suddenly all the body struggle was over and I died. I found myself very calm, in a state of wonderful bliss and Lord Sai Baba was by my side. Even though my body lay on the bed, dead, my mind kept working throughout the entire period until Swami brought me back. There was neither anxiety nor fear, only a sense of well-being, for I had lost all fear of death. Sai Baba then took me to a very large hall where there were hundreds of people milling around. It was the Hall where the records of previous lives were kept. Baba and I stood before the Court of Justice. The person in charge knew Baba very well and Swami asked for the records of all my lives. He was very kind and when the records were bought Sai Baba interpreted them and after what seemed like two hours, they finished reading the armloads of scrolls, the Lord Sai Baba said I had not completed the work I was born to do and He asked the Judge that I be turned over to Him to complete my mission of spreading the Truth. I left with Baba to return to my body although it was like stepping into a cesspool to return to it, but I knew it was best to complete my mission. The instant I stepped back into my body it started all over again, trying to get my breath, being sick as I could be and still be alive. I opened my eyes and looked at my wife." Dr. John Hislop later asked Baba whether the experience was a real one or an hallucination, Baba replied; "The experience was a real experience, not an illusion. It was an experience occurring within Mr. Cowan's mind and I myself was there directing and clarifying the thoughts." When we turn on our radios and televisions, it is unlikely we will hear of a resurrection having taken place. Does that mean that they do not occur? Should we choose to accept that resurrections do not happen at the closing of the twentieth century, why then do we not question those mentioned in the Old and New Testaments and other Holy Scriptures? Perhaps they do occur today but are too "outrageous" to be taken seriously by the proprietors of the media. Certainly, it requires faith to believe in such events, and not reasoning powers. Modern technology, and its vast potential, would be deemed miraculous to those in a bygone age. To land a space-craft on a distant planet, would be beyond the credibility of institutions in the middle ages, who believed the world was flat, and in more recent times, to scientists who believed that traveling at speeds in excess of thirty five miles per hour, meant certain death. There must then be room for believing the "impossible"! Scientists today admit to knowing little of the mind and all its complexities, and also its place in the causing of disorders, both physical and mental. The fact that miracles happen, means that they occur within the laws of Nature, as Nature does not work against itself. In reality there are no miracles, only occurrences outside our present understanding. As man's consciousness is raised, he begins to perceive things today which he could not comprehend yesterday. All major scientific and technological discoveries were the results of this process. The perseverance and faith inherent in man, continues to overcome obstacles in his search for truth, leading him to greater and deeper wisdom, especially when his determined Will to succeed is brought into play. It is as if his Will is itself a point of energy; a source of power to help punch the search forward. The most famous resurrection was that of Lazarus, who was brought forth from his tomb, by Jesus Christ. But there had been others, as referred to in the Acts of the Apostles; St. Peter raising a disciple named Tabitha (meaning Dorcas or Gazelle), at Joppa (Jaffa). She had fallen ill and died, and St. Peter was entreated to, "Please come to us without delay." This he did immediately, and staying alone in the room with her, he prayed and said, "Tabitha, rise!" She opened her eyes and sat up. The other resurrection, mentioned in the Acts, was that of a young man named Eutychus, who had been seated on a window sill, at a gathering, listening to a discourse by St. Paul. The young man sank into a deep sleep, fell down from the third story and was pronounced dead. When Paul was informed of the incident, he hurried to him, and resuscitated him. Was the young man dead or in an unconscious state? We can only accept that he was dead, as reported at the time, otherwise it would put all such miraculous happenings, in the scriptures, under question. Jesus had suggested that we too would do greater things, in His name. Sathya Sai Baba also says as much; that in time we will also perform "miraculous" resurrections, materializations, and great deeds. One must then presume that such Divine Beings as Jesus and Sai Baba are the norm, in the human sense, while the rest of mankind is wholly abnormal. Baba once remarked, that there are very few HUMAN beings on earth at this time, as animal tendencies are dominant within man, cloaking-over, as it were, the Divine state which is man's true nature. It is interesting to postulate that Avatars, like Baba and Jesus, never perform miracles for themselves; for their own benefit or gain. All such deeds are rendered on behalf of the people they serve. Their entire lives are dedicated to the service of all peoples as well as to the other kingdoms of Earth; i.e. mineral, animal, vegetable, etc. In doing so they are setting examples for us to follow; for us to have dominion over nature and our less-fortunate brothers and sisters. The real meaning of the word dominion is to have "responsibility for", and not mastery over, as some people choose to believe. CHAPTER TWELVE "Scientists after long investigations, have discovered that the whole universe is made up of atoms. The Vedantins, on their part, declare that everything is permeated by the Divine. The terms used are different, but the meaning is the same. Energy is Brahman and Brahman is energy. The cosmos is filled with energy. All that you see, all that you do is energy. You observe an object. You see an individual. Both the object and the individual are manifestations of energy," said Sathya Sai Baba, at a discourse on July 20th 1997. "What is this energy?" He continues, "It is something which you cannot see or hear or conceive in the mind. Energy is energy alone. It is Divine. Every physical object has a base. There is electrical energy in man. Likewise, there is radiation energy in man. There must be a basis for all these energies. You see that in the world every object is based on some other object. God is the base for all the energies in the cosmos. The Vedantins called this energy Transcendental Energy. Scientists have termed it 'Super-power'. The names used may vary, but the substance is one and the same." He proceeds to state that all individuals have latent potencies of which he is not aware. Scientists give different titles to different energies, i.e. 'psychotronic' energy and 'bioplasmic' energy. Those who in the past have studied the ancient texts of the Vedas would give the blanket term, 'Transcendental Energy'. "How is the presence of this energy to be recognised?", He asks. "The Vedantins described the process of recognition as involving 'will-power', concentration, meditation and deep awareness. By these four processes, one can experience the power of the Spirit. This means that in the final analysis every individual, every object, and every form of energy becomes one with the Divine." Sai Baba continues, "In this context one has to understand the implications of oneness with the Divine. One desires to merge in God and achieve liberation. How is this to be secured? God is formless. He is the source of all energy. He is effulgent. Eight kinds of potencies have been attributed to God. He is the source of all sound, all motion, all light, all speech, all bliss, all excellence, all illusion and all prosperity. How is one to realise such an omnipotent Divinity? Water can integrate with water. Air can combine with air. Fire can merge with fire. As God is formless, to become one with God, we have to become formless. What does this imply? It means that we have to get rid of the attachment to the body. This is achieved through meditation. While retaining attachment to the body one cannot hope to achieve oneness with God merely by praying for it. You have to become formless to realise the formless Divine." Merging with our own Divinity is the ultimate goal of all mankind. Achieving this can only be done when we move from the dualistic state; seeing ourselves separate from that source of Divine effulgence, God. The light of all our lives comes from the supreme source of all light, and that individual light should merge in the Supreme Divinity from which all other lights emanate. The practice of external worship, such as prayer, meditation, Bhajans or spiritual songs, reciting the Lord's name, or other spiritual exercises, do not promote, as Baba says, "...the exploration of the internal spirit. They are good in themselves, but they are unrelated to spirituality. Spirituality implies relationship of spirit to spirit. All actions have appropriate consequences. Every act results in its own reward. Good acts yield good results, but they do not contribute to spiritual progress. Hence the good acts should be the stepping stones for the spiritual journey." He continues to impress upon us not to remain content with performing the rituals and other acts of worship, or to be sanguine with the dogmas of our respective religions. The spiritual journey does not finish there. We must be prepared to embark on the grand spiritual adventure; the excursion from dualism to non-dualism. To become the knower of the Absolute, you have to experience the oneness with the Divine. Unfortunately, man today is too impressed with the technological advances he sees around him. Scientific quests into outer space, and medical discoveries, dazzle him into believing that they are all important for his future well-being. Whereas the truth exists within; that man has taken human birth to manifest the Divine within. He has come from God, and can only take the return journey when he realises that "He and I are One!" and that God is not separate from him, but dwells within his heart, awaiting contact, and the final cognition of that Oneness. While one may desire to merge with God, and attain liberation from the cycle of birth and death, we must begin our journey by detaching ourselves from limitations of the physical body. This will release us from the range of physical desires which act as chains, binding us and restricting our freedom of spiritual advancement. This image was depicted in an ancient painting showing a man chained to a great rock, in deep water, struggling to release himself from his bonds, and float gently to the sunlight above the surface. We too are bound by our desires in the deep waters of the emotional body. When modern man begins to accept the existence of a Supreme Reality, or God, he seeks to find Him, to hold Him, as if the Creator of All could be acquired like a piece of property: to have Him on hand in case of emergencies, or at times of need. To have God, one must realise God. When you realise God, you are One with God, and your Spiritual Journey is at an end! A deeper explanation of this thinking, was given in the Bhagavad Gita, when Krishna told Arjuna, "Though you are highly educated, though you have sense control, though you have accomplished great feats and have developed many skills, you are, nevertheless, experiencing many difficulties. This is because you have not been able to understand the Divinity. As long as you have not been able to understand the Divinity, you cannot be free from sorrow. If you want to free yourself from sorrow and earn the grace of the Lord, you must obey my commands." "First of all, remember that you are not the body. These sense organs have no connection with you; they are associated with the body. Use the body for doing work, but do not identify yourself with the body or the work. You have taken birth in this body as the result of your past actions, your Karma, and you must use this body for performing Karma. So, get up! Arise, Arjuna! Do your duty. Perform actions and offer them all to me. Let me have the consequences of your actions. Shun selfishness uphold justice, be fixed in faith! That is the Dharma from age to age. If you obey my commands, I will take care of you." Krishna continued to advise Arjuna, "I want to tell you one other thing, the blind father of these evil cousins of yours had 100 sons, yet in the end there was not even one of them left to perform his funeral rites. What is the reason for this? All these sons were the children of God, but the blind king considered them as his. Arjuna, you are also becoming a brother to him. You are deluding yourself with the idea that this body is yours when it really is not yours at all. By thinking that you are the body, you are developing the same blind outlook. That is complete ignorance. Unless you drive away this ignorance, you will not be able to realise wisdom. You have to develop discrimination and self-inquiry in order for wisdom to enter into you." "Within your body is the spiritual heart, and within that heart is God. Also, in your body is the individual soul. These two, God and the individual, appearing to live separately inside the body, are playing together, acting out their parts in a grand drama. They come together and go apart again, as directed by the author who has written this play. He assigns all the separate roles of good and bad, virtue and sin. But, in truth, there is only the one Divinity that plays all these parts." "From the standpoint of the body, there is the individualized soul manifested as this particular person of body and mind, and there is God who is the indweller of the heart. As long as you have the delusion of the body, these two, God and the soul remain separate entities enjoying their play with each other. As soon as the delusion disappears, they merge into the one all-pervasive Divine Principle. When you remove the false delusion of body-consciousness, you bring about the union of the individual and God. Then you are established in Divine Consciousness and enjoy eternal bliss." "Arjuna, always have the sense that everything which exists is one and the same entity." Krishna said, "Do not allow the senses to pull you away from this feeling of unity and equanimity. Let your heart be free from sorrow and elation, attachment and hatred. Be unaffected by censure or praise. Treat all people equally." "When you firmly believe that everything in this creation is the manifestation of divinity, then you will become steeped in wisdom and freed from illusion. Then you will have realised the true purpose for which you have been born as a human being. Arjuna! Carry out my commands! See me everywhere! Know me to be your very self, the Atma! Realise the Atma and be forever free!" CONTINUED… Sent with Sai love by Sai brother M. Palaniswamy / Courtesy and Source: www.geocities.com/gallivanpatrick New and Improved Mail - Send 10MB messages! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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