Interview of Anil Kumar- GOOD ONE. from Sherman

[Guest guest]

SAIRAM Brother. This is a good collection of question and answers. I think everyone will enjoy it.

57.“Why was Rama commanded to spend 14 years in exile?” (09.02.2003) I am very

grateful to this devotee who gave an interpretation. “Why was Rama commanded to

spend 14 years in exile?” He provided an answer to this question. I am very

grateful to him. I will just read

out the answer that he gave from Sai literature. One question was asked some

weeks back: “Why 14 years? Why not 13? Why not 12?” Then my answer was, “Why

bother about 12 or 13? When He could not be in society, when He could not be in

Ayodhya, the capital of His kingdom, after all 10 or 12 years, what does it

matter?” That’s what I said, of course in a jovial way. But this is the

correct answer given by Bhagavan, which was sent to us by e-mail from a friend.

I will read it to you now. “There was a question regarding why the number 14

years was given for Sri Rama’s exile. Swami did mention why it was 14 years.

During Sri Rama’s time, it was considered that if a husband and wife live

separately for 13 years, then the

marriage is considered null and void. So, Mandhara wanted Kaikeyi to ask

Dasaratha to banish Sri Rama for 14 years so that His relationship with the

throne was destroyed. Even now Indian law says that if anyone rents your house

for more than 12 years, we don’t need to ask him -- he owns it! (Laughter) So

that is the point.” 56. It seems Swami said another prayer:

“Annam Brahmaa, Raso Vishnu, Bhoktho Devo Maheswara.” The question is this:

Shall I say “Brahmaarpanam Brahmahavihi” before eating food, or shall I say,

“Annam Brahmaa, Raso Vishnu, Bhoktho Devo Maheswara” -- this prayer or that

prayer? (09.02.2003) My friend, this prayer or that prayer, after all, it is

only a prayer. This sweet or that sweet, they are still sweets. Right?

Similarly, “Brahmaarpanam Brahmahavihi” is the usual prayer that we offer

before we partake food. Nothing wrong with it. We don’t need to substitute it

with this “Annam Brahmaa, Raso Vishnu,

Bhoktho Devo Maheswara”. That’s not necessary. Both mean the same: The food is

Divine. The one who partakes of the food is Divine and the essence is Divine.

That is the meaning. You can call it water or aqua. “Shall I say ‘aqua’?”

“Good.” “Shall I say ‘water’?” “Why not?” Both mean H2O. There’s no change

in its content. That’s the answer I can give you.

55.“Why doesn’t Bhagavan cure Himself?” (02.02.2003)

Bhagavan said in one of His discourses, ‘If you pray, I will cure Myself.’ Why

don’t we pray so that He can cure

Himself?” The question that has been asked has a problem. When there is a

disease, there is a solution, a cure. But when there is no complaint, where is

the question of a cure? Baba said, “I never experience pain. I have not used

any tablet, pill or injection until this day. I do not suffer, but it appears

like I have been suffering.” Am I clear? Is it true? Why not? We appear to

be

happy though we are not happy. (Laughter) This is because we are good actors.

God is the Super Actor, so He can act better than all of us! (Laughter)

Jagannatha Sutradhari, The Divine Actor. So we pretend to be happy, though we

are not happy. If we can do this at the human level, then why can’t He act at

the Divine level and pretend to be suffering? If this is the case, then our

question becomes, “Why should He pretend?” The reason He pretends is because He

takes on our suffering. Why should

He suffer for us? He does it in order to reduce the period of our suffering

because we cannot bear the intensity of it. Therefore, Baba does not need to

cure Himself because He does not suffer. Then why did He say, “If you pray,

I will cure Myself?” He said this so that at the very least we will pray for

this reason. (Laughter) At least we should pray on these grounds because He

wants us to pray one way or another. If you don’t pray, you become ‘prey’.

(Laughter) Therefore, I don’t believe that He suffers because we see Him with

all these external, so-called complaints, and yet He can

get up and still speak. There was one moment when He could not speak at all.

His voice was so low that I could not hear it. It was like He was speaking from

the bottom of a well. I could not hear Him. He said, “Anil Kumar, My voice is

like this. My voice is like this.” What could I reply? He was to speak in ten

minutes. He called me into the interview room and said, “I cannot speak.” I

thought to myself, “What should I say?” Then He asked, “What shall I do?”

(Laughter) Well, I couldn’t do anything about it! (Laughter) Then He

said, “You speak.” I said, “I want to live for a while longer. (Laughter) I

can’t speak because people are expecting Your speech. If I go up there and

start speaking, well I don’t think I will survive until tomorrow. People are

anxious to see and hear You, not me. I can’t do that, Swami.”

“Then what shall I do?” “You may do anything You like. (Laughter) You can ask

somebody else to speak. Swami, I dare not speak for You because nobody can stand

in on Your behalf - unless that fellow was just released from a mental

hospital.” (Laughter) It is impossible for anyone to represent Him. Nobody

can represent Him on His behalf. No one can say, “He has given me all His

powers.” There are some people who say, “Baba has given some powers to me.”

Oh ho, He is not a distribution centre! (Laughter) There are some who say,

“Baba speaks through me.” Why should He speak through others - as if He

cannot speak for Himself? (Laughter) These are all utterly ignorant, idiotic,

stupid claims, and we should never fall prey to them. Do not allow yourself to

be preyed upon by these people. No one ever represents Him. No one will receive

special powers, or a special delegation to start a branch office. He does not

need any medium to speak through because He is in you, with you, above you,

below you and around you. He and you are One! Where is the question of a third

person? When Baba says, “I and you are One,” if you say, “I want

somebody else to tell me this”, well all right, hang yourself. Nobody can help

you. When He’s there in you, why do you want a separate medium? We’re not able

to find Him in us; therefore we are confused. My friends, I can only answer

these questions this way, but I’m happy that you have come forward with some

questions. I’m grateful to all those who have sent these questions because they

are all intellectual and thought provoking. They help me to dive into the depths

of Reality and to remember everything Bhagavan has said. I thank them all. I

thank all of you for having listened to the talk in rapt attention. 54.

“How do we know that we are realised?" (02.02.2003) Very good. How do we know

that we are realised? How do I know that I am rich? I can look in the passbook.

I can go to the bank and the cashier will tell me. (Laughter) How do I know that

I am educated? I have

diplomas and degrees, yes. How do you know that you are realised? When you

forget this ‘I’, you are already realised. (Laughter) If you say, “I know I am

rich. I know I am educated. I know I am realised,” then you are not realised

because ‘I’ is still there. When you do not exist, then there is realisation,

that’s all. Realisation is you. You are the realisation. So, how can you say

that you are realised? No, you can’t say that. Here’s an example. Let’s

imagine we have a toy made of sugar candy. To find out how deep the water level

is, we put it into a water tank. We drop the sugar toy in, and wait to see it

come back up. But what happened? We searched all around, but couldn’t find it.

Why didn’t it come back to the surface? It didn’t return because it dissolved.

It is not a problem to solve -- it was just time for it to dissolve. Let us

resolve to dissolve, not merely to solve. Therefore, my friends, how do I know

I am realised? When the ‘I’ is gone, you are already realised. That is the

answer I can give you.

Then in an interview, it was said that there was a lady outside who was already

a realised soul, therefore Bhagavan could not give her an interview. Oh?

First of all, if Swami had said to that lady, “You are a realised soul,

therefore I have not given you an interview,” that realised soul would not

repeat this because realisation is Bhagavan. Bhagavan is realisation. You are

realisation. What is the question? Where is the problem of Him saying, “I

didn’t call you for an interview because you are realised”? It is gone. The

very question is gone because Bhagavan and you are One. That happens to be

realisation. That’s all. There’s no question of being called or not being

called for an interview. There’s only the question of an inner view and not an

interview. I don’t recall Bhagavan saying to anybody, “You are a realised

soul.” The simple fact that we are here means that we have yet to be realised.

We have yet to be realised because a realised soul will be in a state of bliss.

He does not see a second -- he’s only One-without-a-second, non-dual. Therefore,

I don’t understand this problem. 53.“When He separated Himself from Himself

into many, was there any reduction in bliss? Was His bliss reduced? Is His

bliss now divided, separated? Does He experience less

bliss?” (02.02.2003) Here’s a simple example. When I have a thousand rupees

and I distribute it among ten people, I am left with only ten rupees.

Similarly, if Bhagavan has one hundred percent of bliss to begin with, what

happens when He divides Himself by ten percent, and then ten percent again, and

so on? Is He left with only ten percent? (Laughter) I’m sorry. I’m sorry because

He is whole. You are whole. You are total. You are full, not a fraction.

Poorna mada. Poorna midam. That is full. This is full. So, there is no

question of reduction or decline in bliss. There was no change in the

percentage of bliss when He divided Himself into many. That answer I can tell

you from His discourses. 52. “Before He took a body, was Bhagavan

aware of bliss and Love to the same extent that He is now?” (02.02.2003) Ah

ha, very good. (Laughter) My friends, He need not be aware of bliss. He need

not be aware of His Love. This has nothing to do with before or after taking of

the body. No. He is awareness Itself. He did not become aware. He is awareness

Itself. Please, understand. Similarly, Bhagavan does not need to acquire

wisdom. He is wisdom Itself. He does not need to become knowledgeable. His is

knowledge Itself. Therefore, is He aware? The question doesn’t arise because He

is awareness. But let me give you further clarification. A question was put

to Swami regarding how much food He eats. After all, He eats very little. I

don’t know how many of

you have noticed, but He eats only two or three spoons of food, that’s all. It

can be very embarrassing for others to sit with Him during meals. (Laughter)

But we are helpless because He feels very happy when we eat more and more.

(Laughter) The more we eat, the happier He is. But He eats very little.

(Laughter) When I asked, “Swami, how are You so energetic with only two

spoons of

food?” He said, “You get energy from the food that you eat. I don’t get

energy from the food I eat because I am energy.” Bhagavan is energy Itself.

(Applause) He doesn’t need to get energy from food. Please understand.

Therefore, is He aware of Love? This question isn’t necessary because He is

Love. Is He aware of bliss? No, because He is bliss Itself. That is the answer.

51.“Does spiritual evolution continue after death? (19.01.2003) I have not

met anybody who has returned after death, telling me, “I

have evolved.” (Laughter) No, I have not come across anybody like this. But the

scriptures clearly say this: “There’s no death at all.” Understanding death

will help you to understand that there is no death. That is the reason why we

have to understand what death is -- in order to be deathless. So, there’s no

death. There can only be death if there is birth; but there’s no birth either.

No birth and no death is the reality -- even though it is so difficult to

believe -- because the soul or spirit is eternal, immortal. Swami

always says: Sunwantu Viswe Amrutasya Putraha. The real Divinity in you is

beyond birth and death. The so-called birth is only the appearance of the body,

and the so-called death is only the disappearance of the body. To quote Bhagavan

here: “You move from

one room to another room. That does not mean that you are already dead in the

next room and you are going to be born again in this adjoining room. Certainly

not! You are moving from one room to another. The whole thing belongs to you.”

In a similar way, birth and death are only a change of dress. This is why, when

He was on the cross, Jesus Christ told His mother Mary, “Death is the dress of

life.” That’s what I can say. And what is spiritual evolution? Spiritual

evolution is the feeling that a drop belongs to the ocean. The drop is not

separate. The drop and the ocean are one and the same. The spark and the fire

are one and the same. The

foam, the wave and the water are all one and the same. The clay and the pot are

one and the same. The gold and the jewels are one and the same. This kind of

experience is a culmination in the evolution of this organic world. Well, that

brings us to the end of the questions submitted to me. I thank you very much for

having been here with me this morning and for listening to the talk with rapt

attention. May Bhagavan be with you forever and ever more! 50.“We have

very little time to work in the organisation. Baba, with all His compassion, is

accelerating everybody’s karma. Please clarify.” (19.01.2003) Acceleration of

karma is not limited to organisational works. Please, be very clear -- our work

in the organisation is not in any way different from our office work. It is the

spirit that counts, not the work that matters. So long as I think I have done

the work, whether it is

organisational work or office work or domestic work or menial work, or whatever

work I do - if I do it with a sense of ‘I-ness’, that is ridiculous. That is

undesirable. Without this ‘I-ness’, whatever you do -- whether office or

personal work anywhere -- if it is done with the feeling, “Baba, You are the

doer; I’m only an instrument in Your hands,” well, that will certainly

accelerate everybody’s karma, leading to total annihilation, freeing you from

bondage. So, this ‘I-ness’, the spirit, is more important, not necessarily

whether it is organisational work or office work. 49.“There are many

people who claim that they are the reincarnation of Jesus.” (Laughter) “Shall

we follow him?” (19.01.2003) If anyone calls himself the reincarnation of

Jesus, before you decide to follow him, let the psychiatrist decide.

(Laughter). There are many people who make claims like that. Let’s not go by

false claims. 48.“How do you view depression in a civilised world?”

(19.01.2003) Civilisation necessarily makes you depressed (Laughter) because

civilisation is nothing but the expression of the outer personality, comforts

and conveniences, electronic gadgets, and so on. If I have the latest car, I’m

sophisticated. If I have an air-conditioned home, well, I’m really civilised.

Civilisation has no limits - the sky is the limit. In the name of civilisation,

we have too many desires -- desires are multiplied and multiplied. There’s no

end at all. So, civilisation will certainly take you to depression. What

we need is culture. Culture is based on values. Culture gives you satisfaction.

Culture helps you to develop a balanced state of mind, whereas civilisation

takes you to confusion. It is like a fire -- whatever you put into it, the fire

consumes. So, civilisation goes on consuming your energy, sapping your time,

leaving no time to rest, stand and stare. Thus, in a civilised society, we

should learn how to be cultured. Keep civilisation ‘number two’ and culture at

the top of our priorities. Then there’ll be no depression. 47.“How do we

deal with rebirth or

reincarnation? How does it reconcile with Adwaitha? What exactly is rebirth, if

only God exists?” (19.01.2003) How do we deal with rebirth? We cannot deal with

it because it is not in our hands. None of us submitted an application to God

before our birth to be born as a human being. Really, had application forms

been given to us before our birth, we would probably have filled in volumes of

columns at least, to make sure we’d be born as a millionaire. (Laughter)

“Oh God, at least see that I’m full of joy, fun and frolic forever. (Laughter)

See that I won’t die next time.” (Laughter) These would have been our

expressions. So there is no question of dealing with rebirth because it is not

in our hands. But, how do we reconcile it with Adwaitha? Adwaitha means, as you

know, non-dualism -- only One exists, not two. As Baba says: Ekam Eva Advithiyam

Brahma. Ekam Eva means ‘only one, not two’. So, how do we reconcile this with

rebirth? My friends, as long as I feel that I am separate from God, I have to

be born again and again. Once I understand and experience that God and I are

one, there’s no rebirth. So birth and rebirth are due to

separateness or due to the feeling of a separate identity, due to one’s

identification with the body, mind and intellect. Because of this separation

from the Divine entity, one has to be born again and again. Once you experience

and deeply identify with Divinity, it cuts short the chain of birth and death.

46.“How should youngsters behave, particularly when they are overwhelmed by

images and news? How should they behave?” (19.01.2003) Bhagavan says, “There

isn’t anything on how youngsters should behave.” But, here is Bhagavan’s

general guidance on this matter: Start early, drive slowly, reach safely. So,

when a youngster starts his life, directed along the spiritual path at an early

age, he’ll have the correct perspective, and know the right way of

handling life and its situations. That is why Bal Vikas was introduced.

45.“How can you pray with absolute faith when you have to sacrifice? Abraham

had to sacrifice his son. Abraham had to kill his son, as per the command of

God. Abraham was called by God and commanded to sacrifice his son. When I have

such a costly sacrifice, how can I pray to God?” (12.01.2003) Abraham was

prepared to kill his son in response to the command of God. That is symbolic.

It means you should be prepared to sacrifice your kith and kin. You should be

prepared to sacrifice your near and dear, in preference for God. That’s what I

mean. It doesn’t mean that everyone should bring his son here and kill him, no.

Not that! (Laughter) It is symbolic; there is an inner significance behind it.

You should be prepared to ‘kill’ your relationships, to ‘kill’ your attachment,

to ‘kill’ your bondage. We should understand it in that sense. As the time is

up, since you have to go to the canteen and go for darshan line, I will take

leave of you. I have already taken extra time because those people who have

sent questions should not be disappointed. After all, it is not just for fun

that we are collecting questions. We need to answer them. 44.“What do you

mean by transformation? Does it mean controlling the senses or eliminating the

ego? When there is Reality

inside, what do you mean by transformation?” (12.01.2003) This is a very good

question. I do not mean transformation of the Self, no. I mean transformation

of our attitude, transformation of our conduct, transformation in our

behaviour, transformation of the information that we receive from all around.

As Baba says, “News is nuisance.” So, I mean transformation of the information,

transformation of the human heart, which has been so tough and

rough, and is not responding to the misery, woes and tears of our fellow men.

When I remove my coat, shirt and t-shirt, I see my chest. So, similarly,

transformation is needed in order to see the Reality. Transformation is not

different from what you are. Transformation of the worldly man into a spiritual

man, transformation of the physical personality into someone who knows the true

Self -- this word ‘transformation’ is used in that sense - not to mean

something that is completely different. 43.“God is goodness. God is full of

values, while man in contrast has no values. Man is brutal. He’s horrible. He’s

crazy. What shall I do now?” (12.01.2003) Man has become brutal and crazy due

to his own actions. I have got a white kerchief with me. It has become dirty.

Who is responsible? I am responsible. I used it and made that kerchief dirty.

Similarly, man is pure. Man is not polluted. Man is Love, man is bliss; but he

made it just the opposite. It is of his own making. If I find a rich man

begging near a bank, what should I tell him? “Hey, poor fellow! You are not a

beggar. Go to the bank, check your entries in your passbook, and then you’ll

know that you are a rich man. You don’t have to beg.” Similarly, this kind of

weakness is of our own making; it is not of God’s design. Why? Because of our

selfishness. Why? Sensual pleasure. Why? Attachment. Why? Physical comforts and

conveniences. When these things are gone -- the selfishness, arrogance, avarice,

lust and desire -- when these things are gone, then you are pristine, pure, as

fresh as a newly-born babe, as fresh as a newly purchased kerchief, so dry, and

white. But I made

it so dirty, with the passage of time. 42.“Bhagavan Buddha left his

family. But wasn’t it His duty to take care of His family? Is it justifiable

that He left his child and wife like that?” (12.01.2003) It’s a question of

priorities in life. There are some people who sacrifice

everything for political ends. There are terrorists -- they leave their families

to kill somebody else. It is a question of priorities. (Laughter) Is it

necessary to leave your family to kill somebody? Yes, if it is a priority. Bin

Laden -- what has he done? He left everything to finish off somebody - his

priorities in life. For Buddha, God was uppermost, and all the rest were

obstacles along His way. Buddha was a realised soul. Buddha was an Incarnation.

For your information, I will share with you what Baba has said: “If it

is a matter of choice between father and God, you should choose God and not the

father. An example of this is Prahlada. If it is a matter of choice between a

husband and God, choose God, not the husband - an example is Meera. If it is a

choice between a brother and God, choose God, not the brother - an example Is

Vibhishana.” If it is a choice between father and God, choose God, not the

father, as was the case with the boy Prahlada. So, with regard to our relations

and God, we should choose God, and none else. But, I don’t think we choose God

first, no. In order for us to choose God first, He has to be part of our

family. (Laughter) “God, help my family. God, help my community.” So, the

priority is never God. If anyone prays like this, it is for the benefit of the

family only. Buddha kept God as His top priority, so He left His family. I

don’t know how many of you know this, but Buddha, after attaining realisation,

enlightenment, went back to the palace. He returned to His palace. Suddhodana,

His father stood there and said, “Oh, son! Where were you all this time, all

these days? What happened to you? Come here!” And Buddha replied, “Father, your

son died long ago.” “You are here, you are my son! Why do you say that my son

died long ago?” “No, your son, Siddhartha, died long ago. In front of you, you

don’t see your son. You see Buddha, the Realised.” And then He found Yashodara,

His wife. Buddha wanted to avoid her because years earlier he had left at

midnight, without informing her. He hoped to avoid her, but women are very

clever. (Laughter) They never allow avoidance. It is their nature. So, this man

was not successful in avoiding her either. She immediately came and said to Him,

“Oh Lord, please follow my words carefully.” Yashodara, wife of Buddha, spoke to

Him like this, “Oh Lord, what is it that you had there in the forest that was

not here in the palace? What is here in the palace, which was not available

there in the forest? Do you consider the palace an obstacle? Did you feel that

I would not have permitted you to do penance or tapas here in the palace?”

Buddha had no answer, just as Rama had no answer when Sita started questioning

him. Sita started questioning Rama and He had no answer. That’s why Swami

always says, “Woman is known for her intelligence, while man is known for his

intellect.” Intelligence and intellect are different. Intelligence is emotion.

Intelligence is reaction. Intelligence is spontaneous. Intelligence is

instantaneous, while intellect is logic. Intellect is rational. Intellect likes

to reason. So, women symbolise intelligence. Before their intelligence, the

intellect cannot stand. That made Rama fail. That made Buddha fail.

They could not answer. And so, when I said Buddha left His family, it was not

for any reason other than His choice was God. For Him, everything else was

secondary. 41.“What does Bhagavan say about telepathy? Some people are

gifted with telepath. What does Bhagavan say?” (12.01.2003) I don’t know what

Bhagavan has said about telepathy, but I have complete sympathy towards that

man. (Laughter) Why? Because certain achievements like telepathy, certain

achievements of forecasting, certain achievements like controlling another

man’s mind or reading the mind of another person, are not the ultimate goal.

For example, if you take a flight to New York, there may be other places, like

Bombay and Frankfurt, where you have to land and disembark before you finally

arrive at JFK Airport. So, when getting off at Frankfurt, you don’t say, “I

want to settle here.” No. You continue on to New York -- you can't settle there

in

Frankfurt, can you? Likewise, there are certain intermediate stages in

spirituality. On the spiritual path, we have certain achievements, certain

simple things, but they are our greatest obstacles. Speaking of the future -

horoscopes and what lies ahead of you, there are some people who want to read

some Nadi Grandha books. Suppose some books or horoscopes tell me that I am

going to be a king next year. (Laughter) So, I will have

to be waiting throughout this year. It may turn out that I may not be a king,

but the waiting is a certainty. (Laughter) Suppose the books tell me that I'm

going to be a beggar next year. I become a pauper starting right now.

(Laughter) So, there is no point in learning the future. It is not necessary!

Not necessary. So my friends, let us not be bothered about telepathy.

40.“As the day in the Kali Yuga is 24 hours, what was the duration of the day in

the Dwapara Yuga, or even before in the Thretha Yuga?” (05.01.2003) I find time

is running short now itself, so how about Dwapara Yuga? (Laughter) Anyway, it

is a

question indeed. The epics have an answer. The Shastras have an answer: So many

years constitute a moment or a minute for Brahma. So many years constitute a

day for Brahma, and so many decades constitute a half-day or a month for

Brahma. There is a calculation. I vaguely remember having heard from a priest

in a temple during my childhood days that there is an answer to this, but I do

not remember it just now. But my advice is this: Let us be conscious of this

time right now. What is life, my friends? Life is not the past, no. Past is

death. Life is not the future. Why? It is uncertain. So, what is life? Life is

here and now. I repeat: What is life? Life is here and now, that’s all. So let

us think of the life here and now. The life here and now is with God. It is

eternal; it is immortal. 39.“Is there any evidence of life on any

other planet?” (05.01.2003) We have a sufficient population problem here on

this earth - well, how about the other planets? (Laughter) I don’t know, I

don’t know! I didn’t ask Swami this question. If there is an appropriate time

for me to ask, I’ll see what He says. 38.“Why does God come so

infrequently? Why only every 500 years or 1000

years? Why not regularly, like a train? Why not? (Laughter) Had He been here

throughout, arriving year-after-year, then all our weaknesses could have been

prevented and we would never run away from the path of righteousness -- we’d

never run astray. God could control us if He appeared frequently and regularly.

It would make His job lighter and easier.” (05.01.2003) My friends, with no

publicity or sense of ownership, with no feeling of pride and ego, not even in

the wildest of my dreams, I humbly urge you to go through the two volumes of

Satyopanishads, Volume One and Volume Two.

These books contain 272 questions asked of Swami in Kodaikanal. They cover all

these questions, giving His Divine answers. These are answers given by God,

over which I have no claim. (If there is any confusion, I am ready to take the

blame, to improve upon the book and revise it for the next edition.) Please go

through those two volumes of Satyopanishad. Those books have the answers to

many of these questions. What is the question here? “Why doesn’t He appear

frequently?” The answer given there in Satyopanishad is this: When five people

are fighting, the elder member of the village will come and

say, “Don’t fight.” He will resolve the problem. When two groups of 50 people

fight with each other, a police constable is necessary to settle the problem.

When two groups of 100 people fight, a Circle Inspector needs to be there. When

villages fight with other villages, the District Superintendent of Police needs

to be there. When states fight with states, an army is needed. So, it depends

upon the intensity of the problem. When there is so much confusion, when the

human race is threatened with extinction from this planet, then it is a serious

enough case for the ‘Divine Surgeon’ to come down and operate. (Laughter) Like

in appendicitis, any further delay would lead to the collapse of

the patient! So, an operation is not needed for a simple stomachache. It may

ache so much, but it doesn’t call for an operation -- some syrup is enough. If

I fast tonight, that should be enough. So, He decides the condition of the

patient; I cannot decree it myself. So, why doesn’t God incarnate more

frequently? He doesn’t find it necessary. When and if He finds the necessity,

then He incarnates at His own behest, according to His own Will. That’s the

answer that Baba gave in this context.

New Roman" size="2"> 37.“There are so many ages like the Thretha Yuga, Dwapara

Yuga and Kali Yuga. Are they different periods of earth’s evolution, or are

they something different?” (05.01.2003) As I understand it, it is all the

course of earth’s evolution, like the Palaeozoic period, like Mesozoic period,

or the Carbonizoid period. They are different periods of time. Even if you go

through anthropology texts, they clearly tell us that ancient man was seven

feet tall. Now, gradually, pygmies and dwarfs have

come! When Bhagavan materialized a ring of this size, He said, “This is Rama’s

ring.” It was large enough to serve as my waist belt! (Laughter) “Swami, is

this Rama’s ring?” “Yes, it

is!” “Is it so big?” “Why not? He was not so small like you. He was a large

man.” Then He materialized a gold chain of Ravanasura’s. It was a big chain,

full of Siva lingams. Yes. At the centre, there were three big crystal lingams

of yellow, blue and gold,

with gold Siva lingams all around -- such a big chain. “Swami, is this..?” “Yes,

it is Ravana’s!” From seeing that, you can imagine his size! Therefore, they

belong to the earth’s evolution, but they are not

earthly. Please understand. Being on earth is different from being earthly, as

being a child is different from being childish. I am not a student of

literature. I am a student of botany. But to my knowledge, one can be like a

child, but never be childish. Am I clear? If you are child-like, you are

Divine. If you are childish, you must be put under check. (Laughter) Similarly,

it is the course of earth’s evolution, but it is not earthly. What do I mean by

that? Jesus of those times had a message for these times. Rama of those days

had a message for these days. So, though they are of earth, they are simply not

earthly, as they had no lesson to learn. They are terrestrial, but with a

celestial mission in life. So, those ages have a message for this age. That is

the answer I have. 36.“Why man? Why are we here? Why are we created?”

(05.01.2003) Good question! Why man? Man is a special creation of God. The Holy

Bible says that God made man in His own image. Krishna is so happy to see

Himself in Arjuna. Rama is so happy to be followed by Lakshmana because He

finds Himself there. A simple example: Every one of us, without exception, when

standing in front of a mirror considers himself or herself to be very, very

handsome or beautiful, though someone may tell that is it is not so. (Laughter)

“Please, no! You keep quiet!” (Laughter) God separates Himself because He loves

Himself. God separates Himself into many in order to love Himself. I look into

the mirror to know how handsome I am. So God separated Himself: Ekoham

Bahusyam… One into many… God has manifested into many. He finds His beauty in

you. He finds His splendour in you. He finds His individuality in you. He finds

His personality in you. That is: Sahasra Seersha Purushah Sahasraksha Sahasra

Paad. The whole universe is like a myriad of mirrors, in which He finds His own

reflection. He feels so happy. It is all the play of God, what we call the

‘leela’ of God, the Will of God. It is not the game of God, please understand!

Game is human, while play is Divine. Please understand this. In a game, there

is winning and losing. In a play, there is none of that. It is bliss. A game is

commercial, while a play is spiritual. A game has rules and regulations, while a

play is beyond rules and regulations. In a play, a fellow may die at the age of

30 or the fellow may not die though he’s 104. So it is all God's play - the

Divine leelas of God. And

therefore my friends, why man? It is the play of God. Why are we here? We are

here because of the play of God, the Will of God. It is all a creation for His

own delight. 35.“What is known about the Golden Age that Swami often

talks about? When will it begin?” (05.01.2003) This is

like a person getting up at 8 o’clock asking, “When did the sunrise start? What

time is the sunrise?” He got up at 8 o’clock, already two hours late!

(Laughter) Am I right? So, when did it start? When will the Golden Age start?

The Golden Age started 77 years ago! (Applause) The Golden Age began when

Bhagavan took birth. Then, why am I not aware of it? I got up at 8 o’clock.

(Laughter) I got up at 9 o’clock. I have not been awake all these years. I have

been spending time in sleep and slumber. The reason is that the Golden Age was

my dream. If the Golden Age had been my vision, then I would have been awakened

by this time. That Golden Age should have already kindled in my heart the light

of wisdom within me, awakening the third eye of vision. 34.“Why should I

have the goal of liberation or Self-realisation? After all, why? What is the

harm if I am reborn? What is the harm if I'm to die again? Why not? Then in

this birth, I can enjoy life. In liberation, where is the enjoyment because you

are one with God?” (05.01.2003) Good! This is a genuine question, a very

genuine question. As a man in the company of God, I can enjoy nearness and I

can enjoy dearness. In liberation, is there anything like ‘dearness’ and

‘nearness’ and bliss? This is a genuine question indeed! The answer is this:

Instead of loving God, if you become Love itself, it is a million times greater

than the process of loving. I think that’s clear. Instead of trying to be

blissful in the company of God, if you are bliss itself, what else is left in

this world? And the experiences of pain and pleasure, success and failure,

blame and praise -- these are all due to the dualism of life. Once you go

beyond dualism, where there is no positive or negative, that is the state of

liberation, moksha or nirvana. So, one aims for liberation in order to remain

in the state of bliss, not just to have blissful moments. Intermediate,

blissful moments are different from the state of bliss itself. So, this

permanent bliss is coveted very much. People deeply pray for liberation on the

spiritual path because with liberation you find eternal bliss. In life, you

have momentary bliss or blissful moments. So, in ordinary existence you are

dual, whereas in liberation you are non-dual. Therefore, liberation is the

ultimate. Instead of being a lakhshapati (having hundreds of thousands) or a

crorepati (having tens of millions), instead of being the owner of billions, if

you are wealth itself, what more do you want? Or, instead of having water tanks,

if you are the ocean itself, what more do you need? So, the fullness, the

totality is liberation, while existence is fragmentary, segmented, in pieces,

bit-by-bit. Therefore, one prays for liberation. 33.“What is the harm in

killing an animal? Because, when you pick a fruit, you’re also killing it. By

picking the fruit, the plant becomes handicapped. Doesn’t the plant suffer

pain? So, this is pain and that is pain. So, what’s the difference?”

(05.01.2003) Baba has said something about this. You must know by now that I

tell you right away any of Baba’s answers to questions already posed. Those

questions where the answers are left to my imagination, I openly confess.

There’s no hypocrisy or duplicity here. I do

not claim to be an intellectual, certainly not! I don’t even want to be one. I

can only repeat what our good Lord has said. So, what did He say about this?

Plants don’t have the same kind of emotions or feelings as animals do. Although

Jagadish Chandra Bose in his experiments with plant physiology demonstrated that

plants do have feelings and emotions -- at least we can agree on this -- they do

not have as many feelings as animals do. Animals also have feelings and

sentiments, although not as many as man. This means that consciousness will

find its expression more and more in man as compared with the lower forms of

creation. Mineral matter also has consciousness, expressed at the lowest ebb.

The plant world has consciousness at a higher level, the animal world at a

superior level, and the human race at its maximum. So, it is all relative.

Therefore, you cannot say, “What is the difference, after all, if I pick a

flower or a fruit, or kill an animal?” You cannot

equate them like that. There is a wide gulf of difference because the level at

which consciousness expresses itself differs in the course of evolution from

low to high. That’s what I can tell you on this subject. 32.“What is

vegetarianism? Is it really eating leaves and tubers, or something more?”

(05.01.2003) Some people say that eggs are also vegetarian. Well, I don’t know

which particular items are exempted from the list. But anyway, to my knowledge,

vegetarianism is not merely limited to food. Vegetarianism is symbolic of a

tireless, sathwic nature. It is not limited to the food that we eat. All the

scenes that are around us are a type of food for the eyes. All the sounds that

we hear are a type of food for the ears. All the objects that we touch are food

for the skin. So, you can see that the five senses of perception have their own

level of ‘food’. All of the senses should be ‘fed’ sathwic or vegetarian

‘food’. The good scenes that I see are considered sathwic. The good music that

I hear is considered sathwic. The good fragrances that I smell are also

considered sathwic. All those good perceptions are ‘vegetarian food’ for the

human body. 31.“Is there any significance behind Rama being sent into

exile for fourteen years? Why fourteen years? Why not thirteen? Why not

fifteen, why? (Laughter) What is so special about this number?” (05.01.2003) To

be very, very honest, I don’t remember Swami saying anything about the number

fourteen. Bhagavan has said several things about the number nine -- six being

the Divine qualities and three being the human qualities: 6 + 3 = 9. He has

said many things about

the number nine. Why? Because the number nine is changeless. For example, 9 x 2

= 18 and 1 + 8 = 9. Likewise, 9 x 3 = 27 and 2 + 7 = 9. So you can go on

multiplying like that -- nine is nine. There are six Divine features and three

human qualities. So, He has spoken about the number nine. But, I don’t remember

Swami saying anything about the number fourteen. But if you want me to speculate

-- subject to correction, subject to your acceptance -- if you want me to give

an educated guess, then it could possibly be the five karmendriyas or five

senses of action and the five jnanendriyas or five senses

of perception - 5 + 5 = 10. Then the last four are manas, buddhi, chittha and

ahamkaara. Manas is the mind or thinking. Chitta is the feeling. Buddhi is the

intellect or decision-making capacity, and ahamkaara is the ego.

5 + 5 + 4 = 14. This might possibly be the nearest answer to this question, if

not the right answer. 30.“Are grace and blessings temporary or do they

evaporate after a period of time or after certain actions?” 15.12.2002

Here’s a simple example: When I don’t follow Swami’s teachings, well, I may not

be the recipient of His blessings, but I have His grace. When a son does not

follow the order or the advice of his father, the father will not bless him

with pocket allowances, but he has the grace of his love. A student who does

not do the homework will not have my blessings. If he fails in the examination,

he will not have my blessings. But he has the grace of the teacher; who

continues to love him until he gets through the examination. So, grace is

purposeless, meaning it is not goal or need-oriented; whereas, blessings can be

withdrawn depending upon our actions. Here is another example. Out of

courtesy, I will not disclose the name of the person I am referring to in this

example. This happened about 15 years ago. He was a very big man -- both by

virtue of his profession and by virtue of his physique - who occupied a seat

meant for four people! Well, he came here. I knew him very well. He is no more

of course, but back then he had a very high post. I said, “Sir, very glad to see

you. I hear that you are in a very high position. What brought you here?” He

said, “I have come here for Bhagavan’s blessings to get

married once again.” (Laughter) “Sir, how about madam?” I asked,

referring to his wife, since he was already married. He said, “ This will be an

additional wife.” “Why an additional wife?” “My current wife is into

spirituality too much. She is spending too much time here, so I need somebody

to be in charge there.” (When the principal is on leave, the vice-principal

will be in charge of the position!) Then I just said, “Sir, I thought you

were a great man. I am sorry. I don’t find fault with you. I find fault with

myself for having thought that you were a great man. You are no longer holding

that place in my mind. Swami has said many times, “Wife is knife.” Because of

family, you are going to have entanglements and many responsibilities. Bhagavan

wants you to rise above these chains of family life. Yet you want to get married

for a second time, and

you come for Baba’s blessings while the first wife is still alive!” I said,

“Sir, you better catch the next bus, or take a taxi and leave because He may

seek the help of Seva Dals to see you out!” (Laughter) There will be no

blessings for such silly requests, I tell you. On the other hand, if you say,

”I am

tired of my life and I have dedicated my life to service. I want to spend the

rest of my life serving You, my Lord. Help me to grow in detachment and

renunciation.” Then yes, you will have His blessings. If you say, “I want to

get deeper and deeper into family life” -- there may not be any blessings.

Nevertheless, His grace is still there, waiting for you so that one day or the

other, you will work for your redemption. That is the answer. 29.“What

is the difference between ‘grace’ and ‘blessings’?” 15.12.2002 A very good

question. We may pray, “Baba, bless me on my birthday” or “Bhagavan, bless my

business attempt” or “Bless us on our wedding anniversary day.” Blessings you

need and blessings you ask for, as and when you need them. You ask for

blessings when you feel it is necessary, or as and when you feel you run short

of them, something like running out of household provisions. Is that clear? So,

blessings are what you seek and what you ask for on certain special occasions.

A blessing is what you need when you are not sure about something, whereas

grace is infinite. Grace need not be solicited or asked for or sought after.

Grace is abiding, without any demand. God’s grace is like sunlight, which is

available to us everywhere and to everyone equally. Similarly, grace is

continuous. Grace is eternal. Grace is not to be sought after or searched for

as it is always there. 28.“Why do we need to say

a manthra repeatedly?” 15.12.2002 I remember a joke. A patient came to the

doctor and asked, “Doctor, I have consumed three bottles of syrup so far over a

period of three months. How long should I continue to take this?” The doctor

said, “Until you die.” (Laughter) Similarly, how long

should you repeat the manthra? Until you forget the feeling that you are

repeating the manthra: “’Sai Ram, Sai Ram, Sai Ram’. How many times should I

repeat it?” “Oh, say a hundred times or more.” That’s all nonsense. You

should go on repeating Bhagavan’s Name until you have forgotten the number of

times that you have repeated it. Bhagavan gave a beautiful example here. I tell

you, no one can explain it like He does: A boy said, while going to bed,

“Mother, please wake me up when I am

hungry.” (Laughter) The mother said, “Useless fellow! You yourself will get up

when you are hungry. I don’t have to wake you up.” Similarly, “How long

should I say a manthra?” The answer is that we should repeat it until the

purpose is realised or until the goal is achieved. “Then why do I have to

repeat it so many times or for a stipulated number of times?” I may say ‘Sai

Ram, Sai Ram, Sai Ram’. I may say this 108 times. But my mind may concentrate

on the manthra only

here and there for a brief period, while the rest of the time it may be engaged

in thoughts about an airline reservation, a job, the mosquitoes, the canteen --

that’s it. (Laughter) Hence, though I repeated the Name 108 times, the mind

concentrated on it only thrice. So, how many times is that? Only three times!

So the rest of 105 repetitions were a waste. It is only for calculation and

income tax purposes, not for this. (Laughter) So my friends, we are asked to

repeat things any number of times. How many times should I breathe? Until I

find my name in the newspaper under the obituary column.

(Laughter) It’s quite simple. So we should keep on repeating the Name.

27.Why do we have to go through this or any life to get Self-realization?

Why didn’t we arrive already Self-realized? Have you found anyone who is? Also,

once you have blessed something, or asked for something, or chanted a manthra,

why do we have to do it over and over again? 15.12.2002 Very good! This is a

question to be asked in this computer age. As I told you last time, I am not

making fun of these questions. I am not underestimating the calibre and the

spirit of the person who has asked this question. I have the highest respect

and reverence towards them and thank them from the bottom of my heart because

they help me to go through Sai literature time and again. Now the question is

this: “Why do we have to go through this or any life to get Self-realization?

Why?” The answer is simple. We find many people sitting in front of the TV,

watching serials these days. I don’t know about television serials abroad, but

here in South India particularly, some of the serials go on for 500 episodes or

more! There is even a joke about it. It seems that an old man wrote a letter to

the television director saying, “I may die any moment. Let me know how the story

ends so that I may die peacefully. (Laughter). Since

I do not know how long it will continue, I may have to be born again! Why all

this? Tell me the ending of the story!” And secondly, something that is

common to all the television serials in South India in particular is that most

of them make you cry. None of the serials make you laugh. There’s also a joke

about that. It seems a young girl went to the TV director and asked, “Sir, why

don’t you give me a role? I want to act in your serial.” The

director said, ”Yes.” He asked for a plastic bucket to be brought and put in

front of her. The director said, “Come on -- fill this bucket with your tears

and after that I will give you a role.” (Laughter) So, one has to learn the

art of crying, you know? We sit in front of the television and we also cry. A

few

days ago, I got a phone call from my friend in Hyderabad. He said that his wife

and mother-in-law don’t go to bed unless they have cried bitterly until 10

o’clock at night, and only then do they retire. (Laughter) The crying starts at

seven PM and goes on until 10 o’clock! They are busy until seven, or else they

would have started at five o’clock! Why do we cry? We pay money and cry.

(Laughter) Why do those actors cry? They receive money and cry. So, we have

got two categories of people who cry -- those who pay to cry and others who get

paid to

cry. My friends, we cry. Why? Because we think that the hero in the television

serial is real. Or we think that we are in a difficult position, so we cry.

Suddenly the husband comes home from the office. He says, “I am tired from

working and you are crying here at home! Let me have a break.” Then the wife

will come to her senses. So my friends, when I consider a television serial

to be true, when I consider the cinema to be a reality, it is because I am

identifying with it and so I cry. However, once I am aware that it is just a

cinema or that it is just a television serial, I am not disturbed. I am not

perturbed. Similarly, in life we pass through bumps and jumps, ups and downs,

smiles and tears, elation, jubilation and frustration. It’s like a pendulum

that moves in between two extremes. When you are praised, you are up in the

sky. But when you are pointed at, you are down, totally down. This is because

of a lack of realisation. Realisation will help you to achieve equanimity and

balance. Realisation will help you to not feel proud of all the simple

achievements or simple talents that you have. Realization will never allow you

to be depressed or frustrated or create a situation where you need to consult a

psychiatrist! Therefore, Self-realisation is necessary for your own sake. In

your own interest, you should seek Self-realisation. Bhagavan has given a

simple example. It so happened that a small cub lost its way and started living

among some sheep. Suddenly one day a tiger was ready to attack the sheep. When

the sheep started running, the little cub also started running. “Don’t kill me!

Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!” The tiger said, “Stop that! Don’t

cry.” The cub said, “We are sheep. I am a member of the herd. Don’t kill me.”

“No, no, no, you are not a sheep. You and I are one. Let us go to the river and

check out the stripes on our bodies. You roar and I roar. Our language is

common. The body is common. Why do you think that you are a sheep?” Then the

cub understood that it no longer belonged with the sheep. Similarly, we think

that we

are sheep. We think that we are so cheap. We think that we are so simple. We

think that we are nobody, no, no, no. Shrinvantu Vishve Amrithasya Puthraha.

“You are the Son of Immortality.” “You are Divine.” When Bhagavan addresses you

as ‘Divyatmaswarupulara’, that means you are embodiments of Divyatma. You are

embodiments of the Divine. Why do you think that you are a pauper? Why do you

think that you are so simple? Certainly not! It’s like the man who kept

asking for loans. Then

someone said, “There is one lakh rupees to your credit. Why are you seeking more

loans?” He said, “Oh, I see. I forgot. That was long time back.” He

immediately went to the bank, utilised the money and no longer needed to ask

for loans. Similarly, when you have Self-realisation, you are beyond the

duality of good and bad, profit and loss, victory and defeat. You are in

equanimity and are perfectly balanced. It is for that reason that you need to

realise the Self. 26.We have many cockroaches moving around our

house at night, creating not only a health hazard, but also scaring us out of

our wits at times. Can you please advise us how to treat these creatures? How

do we treat these invaders with love? (Laughter) (15.12.2002) Perhaps

cockroaches have become an international problem. (Laughter) Well, I have had

that same problem and have become friendly with them because I cannot get away

from them anyway. To some, a mosquito is a problem, but to me the mosquito is

not the problem. It is the humming music of mosquitoes that I have to get used

to -- that keeps me from sleeping. (Laughter) My friends, whether it is

mosquitoes, scorpions, snakes or cockroaches, the point is this: If you kill

anything for joy, thrill, excitement or as a pastime, then it is a sin.

However, if you kill it to make yourself free from suffering, then it is not a

sin. If you kill it for the fun of it - say, like hunting for excitement --

then it is not acceptable. Hunting used to be a pastime for kings. Now that

kind of thing is a crime. But if a tiger is going to attack you, you can shoot

it. How can I treat it lovingly, and allow myself to be eaten by it? (Laughter)

There is a subtle difference between the two. If I am not killing anything for

the joy or pleasure,

if I am doing it in order to save myself, then it is not a crime. That is also

treating things with love. 25.What is the primordial factor that

decides one’s gender in this birth? Why are you a man? How can you afford to be

a woman? (Laughter) So the question here is what decides the gender in each

life. Is it because of our past lives? (15.12.2002) The answer is simple, my

friends. I quote from Sai literature. The real Self, the reality, is neither a

man nor a woman. The man or the woman - the difference in the identity lies in

the body, not in the spirit. If someone knocks at the door and you ask, “Who

are you?” they will answer, “I am so-and-so.” No one would say, “I, the man, am

talking to you” or “I, the woman, am here”. Nobody would say that. ‘I’ is common

to both men and women. The second point is that Bhagavan has said, “All are

women.” Hari Om Tat Sat. (Laughter) My friends, do not mistake me. Try to

settle any scores later. (Laughter) All are women. So you don’t need to feel

inferior. We have no reason to feel superior. Why? The spirit in you is purusha

or man. The Atma is masculine, purusha, while the body is prakrithi or nature,

which is feminine. But the masculinity is of the spirit and not of the body.

Thirdly, He gave an example: If you go to the women’s college at Anantapur on

the annual college day, when they are staging a drama, you’ll find a girl in

the role of a king. You’ll find another girl in the role of a soldier and

another girl in the role of a servant. Because of their costumes, they appear

to be men; but in reality, they are women. Similarly, all are women. Some may

look like men (Laughter), but basically all are feminine. I mean the body

principle

is feminine, prakrithi, meaning it is inert matter. This is feminine, while the

life principle is masculine. I am very grateful to have these questions because

it helps me to go back in my memory to what Bhagavan has said over the years.

Here is another example. You must have heard of a great lady named Meera, who

was a great devotee. Meera wanted to meet the King. She came into the palace.

A soldier said, “Sorry, you cannot go in.” She asked, “Why?”

The man said, “Women are not permitted to go in. Women are prohibited

from going into the palace.” Then Meera said, “Where are the men here? I

don’t see any men here.” The soldier was surprised and

must have been thinking, “Is something wrong with me or with her?” (Laughter)

This is the truth. The body is feminine, inert matter, only. But the life force

is masculine. So all of us are a combination of both. When you ask, “What

decides the gender?” I say, “Why worry about it?” Whether the sugar candy is

in the shape of a rat or an elephant, the child eats it, right? Similarly, a

chocolate may be circular or rectangular or hexagonal; but after all, a

chocolate is a chocolate. Biscuits may be quadrangular or circular. Whatever it

may be, a biscuit is a biscuit. So similarly, life is life, whether you are a

man or woman. It is only external. So let’s not question what it is that

decides our gender. There is nothing wrong. Men and women suffer equally.

(Laughter). Oh, that’s right -- we blame each other! 24.“What are the

steps that I should take to merge in Him?” (08.12.2002) There are not many

steps. No! The steps are of our own making. The steps are created in our own

imagination. Merger happens at once. What are the steps that you should take

to mix sugar into a glass of water? How many steps are there? No, no! One spoon

and stir it - you get immediate results! Similarly, for an aspirant to merge

with

God, there are not many steps. Use a spoon of viveka or discrimination, plus a

spoon of vairagya or renunciation - totally stir this, which is the process of

sadhana. That is enough for total merger. There are no steps. “How many lives

are required? How many years are required?” No, no, no, no! Merger is

immediate, all of a sudden, instantaneous, spontaneous and natural. It happens

in a moment! Merging is our original

state. We only got ourselves separated. In fact, we were all One, but we became

separated. Example: here is fire. Out of this fire, many sparks and pieces

come. The pieces at a distance turn black and become coal. So, originally it

was fire. But at a distance, it becomes coal. Similarly, originally we were

One, but later we got separated. To know that we are One (though appearing in

different forms) is called realisation. Realisation is nothing but thinking of

our original Oneness -- getting back to that original Oneness or unity with

God. The reason that we separated from that Oneness is only due to having taken

a name and form. That is the secret of merger with God. 23.“Can I see

Baba in different forms?” (08.12.2002) Why not? Baba appeared in the form of a

postman. Baba appeared in the form of a watchman. Baba appeared in the form of

a monkey to His sister. Baba appeared in the form of a cat. Baba appeared in

the form of a bird. Baba can appear in any form. Why do we go to that extent?

All forms are Baba’s only. We should pray and try for that experience -- for the

awareness of that experience. Why should He appear in a separate form? All

forms are His -- it only appears to be many. It is something like a person in

the midst of several mirrors all around. That experience of seeing the One in

the many (forms) is the culmination of spirituality. 22.“I am a

teacher of yoga. I know God is One. But do you think all the people I see are

false? Do you think it’s all maya, illusion? Do you think they don’t exist? Do

you say it is all a dream?” (08.12.2002) The answer is simple: Yoga is a

connecting link with God. The meaning of ‘yoga’ is ‘connecting or uniting with

God’. So when you are connected with God, you experience Oneness. You

experience unity. You’ll see God everywhere -- in the animals, in plants, in

mineral matter. Everywhere you will experience God. It will be just as Jesus

Christ said, when He saw a dead, stinking dog on the street. Everyone said,

“Burn it! Take it away!” Jesus smiled and said, “How bright the white teeth

are! How bright are the white teeth of that dead dog.” It means you’ll see the

best in the worst. If it is the true path of yoga, you’ll see unity in

diversity. Yoga should give you unity. But that does not mean in practical life

we can be untidy, no! In our practical life, diversity is there. Suppose a

student comes to me and says, “Sir, please teach me.” I cannot tell him, “You

are God, I am God. So, there’ll be no class

today!” (Laughter) Suppose a patient comes to a doctor and says, “Sir, I am

suffering from excruciating pain.” Will the doctor say, “You are not a patient

and I am not a doctor. You are God and I am God. So there is no question of

surgery!” It is all nonsense! From a practical point-of-view, there is

diversity. From an ideological point-of-view, there is unity. Ideologically,

let us experience unity. Spiritually, let us experience unity. Physically, let

us operate at the level of diversity. It is necessary to be practical, to be

fundamental, to be realistic. That is the best answer I can give.

21.“The husband is very much interested in Baba, but the wife is not. The wife

is an obstacle. So, what should the husband do?” He also has given three

alternatives: (Laughter) “One -- should he get divorced from his wife? Number

two -- should he continue along the spiritual path? Number three -- should he

give up the spiritual path? (Laughter) These are the alternatives - maybe it is

like a multiple-choice question. (Laughter) (08.12.2002) My friend, this is an

exceptional case! A husband finding his wife a

problem along the spiritual path is an exception. Usually the husband is the

problem for every wife! (Laughter) 90% of Sai devotees are here because of

their wives. Let all husbands be ashamed to declare it in public. This humble

self (Anil Kumar refers to himself) is also one and the foremost. So, this case

is not a matter to be ashamed of. It is a matter to feel proud of. If the wife

is an engine, very good -- the family will be very fine, peaceful and there’ll

be no problem. But here is an exceptional case where the wife seems to be the

problem. Wife or husband -- one of the two partners

will not totally agree with the other. So, what is to be done? My friend, the

answer is simple. If one is totally worldly and if the other is totally

spiritual, we’ll be nowhere. But in co-existence, one takes care of the family,

while the other takes care of the spiritual end. The wife taking care of the

family is the root. The husband thinking of God is the fruit of the same

‘family tree’. The one (wife and mother) thinking of the family is the root,

while the other (husband and father) thinking of God is the fruit of that same

tree of life. So, let us not consider the life partner as an opposition party

leader! (Laughter) Certainly not! Certainly not! To give you my own tale --

for 25 years, I went around the whole state of Andhra Pradesh. I visited

thousands of Sai centres -- at least thrice on the average -- spread over those

25 years. My wife stayed back at home, taking care of the children, my in-laws

and my parents, ours being a joint-family (an extended family, all living under

one roof together). Suppose that she had also become a competitor. What if she

had said, “If you go towards the north, I’ll go towards the south! (Laughter)

If you go and start addressing people in the east, I’ll have audiences in the

west.” Then the children would be on the

streets! Therefore, it is the pure and logical dynamics of life that one will

be at the ‘grass roots’ while the other will be ‘in the air’. It happens like

that. Nowhere do the husband and wife agree 100%. They may agree before TV news

reporters. (Laughter) They may agree for the television reporters, but not in

reality. The family ‘Korean War’ certainly happens once in a blue moon, without

which there is no melody in life at all. Let us not worry if the wife is not

sailing along with the husband, or if the

husband is not sailing with the wife. The husband will make the wife follow him

one day. Just as husbands are following their wives, in such cases as this one,

the wives will also follow the husbands someday. It all depends upon one’s own

life example. For example, in a crisis, if the husband is peaceful, the wife

will learn from him. If the wife is peaceful in the worst moments of life, the

husband will learn from her. By our example, we can certainly carry on with the

other life-partner without any sense of opposition or critical attack.

20.“What shall I do to dine with Bhagavan? To sleep in the room very close to

His bedroom? (Laughter) To go with Him in His car? To have a peaceful end of

life, like His mother and grandfather had? “ (08.12.2002) These are the

questions put to me. Here is the answer, brother. Going in His car, dining with

Him or sleeping in the room next to Him are all physical activities. You have

the driver also in the car. I don’t think the driver is a saint or a

sage. There in the dining room, you also find cooks and servers. I don’t think

they are saints and sages. I don’t think so. In the building, there is the

watchman. I don’t want to bow down to his feet. So, these are all physical

acts of Grace. They are privileges. They are grand, golden opportunities. I

don’t underestimate them. But if they lead to pride, if they make you egoistic,

if they are acts of publicity or advertisement, they will really take you to

doom. No! If these help you to be more spiritual, if these help you to do

sadhana with higher, greater or deeper intensity, then that is a boon. But if

it turns you into an egoistic man, then that is a curse. These physical acts

should

take you to a psychological (mental/emotional) level of togetherness with

Bhagavan all through your life, wherever you may go. If you feel that the next

man is Baba, it is living with Him. If you offer prayer to God and start eating,

it is dining with Him. If you listen to Baba bhajans as you travel in your car,

you are traveling with Him. Baba said, “Wherever My glory is sung, I install

Myself.” Whenever we sing bhajans, we are with Him. Whenever we think of Him,

we are by His side. Whenever we offer food, we are dining with Him. That is the

spiritual, psychological, metaphysical, mystical

experience one should have or one should crave for. (Applause)

19.“Karma, is it individual? Are countries also bound by karma?” (08.12.2002)

Perhaps like ‘wholesale’ and ‘retail’? This gentleman must have been a top

businessman! (Laughter) Very good! Kind friends, do not misunderstand me --

I'm just joking. I don’t mean any disrespect to those who have asked these

questions. I really bow down in all humility to the people who have asked these

questions because they are all spiritual seekers. They are exemplary. They are

noble and role models for me in particular because these questions help me to

go into

detail, into the depth. So, I thank them very much. The question is this: Are

countries bound by karma? In the Holy Bible, there is a mention of two cities

-- Sodom and Gomorrah. The inhabitants of these two cities mentioned in the

Holy Bible were drowned. The inhabitants were totally punished by God. That’s

what the Holy

Bible says. When people are unrighteous, naturally the whole place is condemned.

A country is not only a geographical location. A country is not only dust, mud

and sand. A country is a collection of people. When the people are

unrighteous…For example, just think of Afghanistan, where ancient Buddha

statues of 200 or 300 feet in height were bombed and totally demolished by

dynamite. So many Buddha statues were demolished there in Afghanistan. What

later happened to Afghanistan? You all know that. When people are unrighteous,

naturally they will have to face the reaction. That’s the answer I can give

you.

18.“You said,” (he meant me) “the very Darshan of Bhagavan will clear you

of your karma. But I'm still suffering from my karma. Has not my karma been

cleared?” (Laughter) (08.12.2002) That is the question. The answer is this: One

will be cleared of karmic effects if there is deservedness, if there is

eligibility. When I look at Bhagavan -- when all of us look at Bhagavan, all

of us will not have the same feelings. There are many people who

tell me that when Bhagavan passes by, they receive some vibrations. There are

many people who tell me that they are charged with energy. There are many

people who tell me that they feel a cool breeze when Bhagavan passes by. So,

experiences differ based on the nature of the individual, their devotion or

path and the intensity of their sadhana. Therefore, I may not be cleared of

karma because I'm not ready. I have not done enough work. Though the teacher is

excellent, when the student is not able to follow the lesson, it only means that

the

student has not done enough homework. The student has not the required

foundation to receive and appreciate the knowledge given to him in the

classroom, even though the teacher is an expert. In order to be cleared of

karmic effects, we should do some homework. What is that homework? Intense

devotion, total faith, complete surrender and the sadhana of service -- these

four are sufficient physical practices on the spiritual path. Doing

(practicing) these four is sufficient homework for us to get ourselves ready

and prepared, so that we

can be free from the karmic effects. 17.“What is The Significance Of New

Moon And Full Moon?” (08.12.2002) Whether it is a new moon, a blue moon, or a

full moon, a moon is a

moon. (Laughter) The answer is: The moon is the presiding deity of the human

mind. That’s the reason why on a full moon day, mad people are full of

activity! (Laughter) On the dark night, they will also full of activity. They

may even resort to violence. So, the moon controls the mind. The mind and the

moon go together. But spiritually speaking, there is another interpretation.

The full moon stands for wisdom, knowledge and awakening. It was on the full

moon day that Buddha was born. It was on the full moon day that Buddha was

enlightened. It was on the full moon day that Mahaveer was enlightened. Purnima

is the full moon day, which is the day of enlightenment. Moonlight is like the

awakening of the inner Self. The full moon represents the knowledge of the

Self. That is the meaning. 16.“What Is The Origin Of The Mind?”

(08.12.2002) One question sent to me is this: “What is the origin of the mind?

The answer is simple. There is no mind, so there is no origin! If there is a

mind, you have to trace out its origin. The mind is non-existent. The mind is

only a bundle of thoughts. The mind is only a bundle of desires. In the deep

sleep state, there is no mind at all. The mind is there in the dreaming state;

the mind is there in the waking state. But the mind is non-existent in the

deep-sleep state. When thoughts are withdrawn, when desires are given up,

there is no mind. Withdrawal of the mind or annihilation of the mind is called

Roman" color="#800080" size="2"> amanaska or manolaya. So, the question of the

origin of the mind does not arise at all. 15.What does Swami have to say

about friends and the role they have to play in our life?” (03.11.2002) Swami

often says, “Tell me your company and I shall tell you what you are.” But, my

friends, we don’t have friends today. No, no, no. A friend in the morning

becomes an enemy by the evening. Most of the friendships today are selfish.

Most of the friendships today are political. Most of the friendships today are

motivated. But who is the real friend? What is the definition of a friend?

Bhagavan said, “The one who is with you, the one who will be with you, the one

who was with you - that one who is always by your side in the past, the present

and also in the future, He only is the true friend.”

Supposing we get into any litigation, they will not look at your face. As Baba

has said, “When the pockets are full of money and the father has a position,

everybody will say, ‘Hello, hello.’ When the pocket is empty, after the

retirement of the father, nobody will even say, ‘Goodbye’.” There are no true

friends today. Bhagavan gave one example. It seems that one man was dragged

into the court because of some litigation. He had three friends. He asked one

friend, “Would you please come to the court and be a witness?” That man said,

“I am sorry. I was so happy playing cards with you in the club, but I don’t

want to come to the court and be a witness, I am sorry.” “Um-hum.” Then this

man went to the second friend. “Hey there, friend! We have been classmates,

childhood friends. Why don’t you come to the court and stand as a witness so

that I will be acquitted?” That man said, “No, no, no, I am not going to come

to the court. I will give you the address of a good advocate, a good attorney,

a good pleader who will defend your case, but I won’t come to the court. “

“Oh-ho, thank

you.” Then he went to the third friend. “Would you please come and help me?”

“Why not? I’ll come with you. I’ll stand there in the witness box and speak in

support of you so that you will be acquitted.” Similarly, we have three

friends. Who are they? The first fellow represents our friends, our

acquaintances or those who are very well known to us. These friends will just

say, “Oh, that fellow died? Oh-ho, he was a good man. What can you do?”

That’s

all. The second types are relatives, who will come to the cremation or burial

ground. And the third friend - He will come with us even after death, as the

consequence or result of all our good actions or karma. Karmaphala -- the

rewards of our actions will follow us. Therefore that friend, Karmaphala, is

the eternal Witness, who is God Himself. So the answer to the question, “Who is

my friend?” is that God is my friend. That’s all - no one else.

14.“Your whole life is a sacrifice, is it true? Does God really want us to be

such martyrs?” (03.11.2002) No, no, we should not blame poor God like that. He

doesn’t want us to be martyrs. Why does He want you to sacrifice? It is so that

you will be happy. Sacrifice

your desire because desire takes you to misery. If you are desireless, you will

be blissful. Then you are not sacrificing for anybody. You are sacrificing for

your own sake. Instead of going to the theatre, I am going to the Mandir.

“Sir, I’m not going to theatre. I have not gone to cinema, so I have

sacrificed.” Oh, you have not sacrificed anything. By going to the theatre

and watching a cinema there, your mind would have turned violent. Your mind

would have become agitated. Your mind would have been disturbed. Your mind

would have been full of turbulent waves. The mind would have lost its balance

and peace. By going to the Mandir, it enjoys peace of mind. It enjoys

equanimity. It delights. So, what have you sacrificed? You have not sacrificed

for anybody else. You have sacrificed

for your own advantage, for your own improvement. 13.“How is it possible to

lose a desire but not shut down the heart?” (03.11.2002) Please understand we

have confusion about the portfolios here. Mind is the centre of desire, whereas

the heart is the centre of feeling. The mind is dual; the heart is non-dual. The

mind is diversified; the heart is

unity. The mind is emotional; the heart is balanced. The mind is always for

convenience; the heart is for conviction. The mind is physical; the heart is

spiritual. I don’t mean the physical heart -- that needs a cardiologist. I mean

the spiritual heart. So shutting down your heart means that you are closing the

doors of your soul - you are closing the doors of your consciousness. If you

shut down your heart, then you don’t want to turn inward. You just want to

grope in the darkness of the whims and the fancies, the likes and dislikes and

the vagaries of the mind. The mind is full of vagaries, likes and dislikes,

choices and preferences. When I move about in the realm along the horizon of

the mind, I become mental or psychotic. I should not shut down my heart at any

cost. The heart should be open. The more

and more the heart is given a chance and a preference, the mind gets closed

automatically - the mind will shut down automatically on its own.

12.“I still have desires. What to do?” (03.11.2002) There is nothing that can

be done. We have to understand the root cause of the desire. The desire has not

arisen out of my

body. The desire has not been produced or manufactured by this hand. The leg

does not take me to the desire. It is the mind that is the root cause of

desire. Desires are born in the mind. Once you understand that the mind is the

substratum, that the mind is the basis, that the mind is the cause for the

desire, you can try to be desireless. How? My mind is going this way

towards desire. I tell my mind, “Don’t go this way. Go towards the Mandir.”

When the mind thinks of God, when the mind chants His name, when the mind is in

meditation, when the mind always sings His glory in bhajans, there is no desire.

When the mind is diverted towards the world, it is full of desires. My

friends, please understand, this is only from Swami’s teachings, which are

recorded in this book, Satyôpanisad. For your reference you can go through it.

Here is a simple example given by Baba. This is a hand fan. If I do this (Anil

Kumar waves his hand, fanning away from himself), you get the breeze. But when

I turn the hand fan and wave it towards me, I

get the breeze. Is it not true? Similarly when the mind is turned toward the

world, it is suffocated. It is breathless. It is full of desires. When the same

mind is turned inward towards consciousness, it is blissful. There are no more

desires. 11.“When does the Atma leave the body? What happens to the Atma

after death?” This is the next question. (03.11.2002) Where does Atma go?

There is no place where there is no Atma. So there is no question of Atma

vanishing somewhere. It doesn’t go on any holiday trip or ego trip or weekend

holiday because Atma is present everywhere. It doesn’t go anywhere. It is

everywhere. A simple example Baba gives is this. There is a light bulb. When

you remove the bulb, isn’t there still electricity? There is electricity, but

when you

put the bulb there, you get the light. There is a power supply. When you remove

the bulb, there is still the power supply, but you don’t get the light. This is

the example given by Bhagavan. Similarly, whether the body is there or not, the

Divinity, the Atma, the Consciousness, the Spirit exists because it is

immortal. 10.“In a family situation, if the parent has done wrong,

will the child suffer the bad karma, resulting in the death of the child?”

(03.11.2002) Nothing doing. In the Divine calculation, each has to suffer the

consequences of his own karma. The father’s karma is not brought forward to the

son. The son’s karma is not brought forward to the grandson. No, it

is not like that. If it were like that, we would not be here. Prashanti Nilayam

would not be full. All rooms would be empty. No, no, no. Everyone has got his

individual account. Parents have got nothing to do with that. A man of violence

and terror (named Hiranyakasipu) has a son named Prahlada, a great devotee. So

the son has nothing to do with the father. Swami gives this example. It seems

a person collected seeds from thorny bushes and seeds from fruit-bearing trees.

If you sow them, what will happen? The seed of a thorny bush will only grow

into a thorny bush. The seed of a fruit-bearing tree will only grow into a

fruit-bearing tree. There is nothing like foreign exchange here. 9.“Is

it bad karma to change from one religion to the other?” 03.11.2002 Yes, it is

bad karma. We don’t have to change our religion because all religions are one

and the same. There is unity in diversity.

All religions teach the same Truth. Truth is One. Scholars represent this in

different ways, but Truth is one. Sugar is one; all sweets are made from it.

So, when we understand that Truth is basically One, there is nothing wrong with

whichever religion you follow. 8.“Does the Atma have a religion?”

03.11.2002 Religion is of your own making. Atma has nothing to do with the

religion. It has no religion. It has no attributes or qualities. It has no name

and form. 7.“Why

do some children die at a young age?” 03.11.2002 I repeat once again. If you go

through the two volumes of Satyôpanisad, most of the questions will be

answered. This question was dealt with here in this book with the answer

straight from Bhagavan: “Young or old relate to the body. It is the body that

ages. It is this body that is young. It is this body that is old. So, young and

old are the terms applicable to the body. But the soul is eternal.” Therefore,

this

story is one of eternity. To me, he may be a boy. But in the earlier life, in

the previous lives, that soul has been pining, that soul has been praying for

merger into the Divine. This so-called ‘child’ is young from your

point-of-view. But the soul is pretty aged. It is immortal and eternal. It

doesn’t want to remain outside. It wants to be one with the Divine. The drop

does not want to exist separately. It wants to be back in the ocean. Am I

clear? So the drop wants to come back to the ocean. We may say, “Drop, you

are so simple; you are so small; you are like a pearl; stay there.” It will

say, “No, no! I must go

back to the sea.” The drop and the ocean are one and the same. Another point.

A great saint, Narada, asked this question of Sri Mahavishnu, God. This is also

from Sai literature. “Oh God, you seem to be partial. You look very much biased.

Why?” Then immediately God asked Narada, “What is this nonsense you are

talking? I thought you were a wise man. Perhaps you are out of your mind now.

What’s wrong with you? Since you have been moving in all of the three worlds,

you must have become imbalanced!” Then Narada gave the answer: “Swami,

Prahlada is a young boy. He could attain liberation very quickly, whereas there

is one sage named Morocunda Maharishi, a great sage, who did penance for

hundreds of years, but he could not have realization. Why? How is it that this

boy could have realization so soon, but this old man could not? Why?” Then the

Lord gives the answer: “This Maharishi, who has been doing penance for hundreds

of years, started that penance only in this lifetime; whereas this boy,

Prahlada, has been doing penance for the last several lives. He may appear

young now, but he has been doing this for the last several lives. That you do

not know about.” Bhagavan Baba gives one example It seems two men were passing

by. One gentleman has picked up a crowbar and hit it against a hard stone. He

hit it but the stone did not break. He hit it again and again, but the stone

did not break. He hit it ten times and it did not break. Then the other man

said, “I will try.” He took the crowbar, hit it once and it broke immediately.

The first man felt sad. “I tried ten times and this stone did not break. Now it

has broken. Nature is not fair.” Then the second man said, “Look here, I have

hit it now and the stone has broken into two. Please understand the simple

mathematics here. It had already received ten strokes by you. Mine was the

eleventh stroke; therefore it broke. It had ten strokes already.” Similarly,

young age or old age is our own calculation. But in the Divine formula, it is a

different dimension altogether.

6.“Would Baba come along with me on my morning walk?” 03.11.2002 What

shall I tell him? In support of that question it is clearly written, “Mr. Anil

Kumar, you said in your talk that Baba wants to walk. But Baba is not able to

walk because crowds will run after Him. He will not have enough space to walk,

whereas I am sure that I can take Him along with me for a morning walk. Could

you please answer my question?” Well, I have no answer. Would Swami come along

with me for a morning walk? Instead of putting that question, if you are aware

that Swami is within you, you could realize that He is also the one walking.

The Swami within me is also the one eating. Swami within me does everything.

That satisfies all sorts of questions. This is not an answer I am trying to

evade or escape. I will give a very simple example. When all of us were busy

eating, Bhagavan did not eat anything. It was very embarrassing. I said,

“Swami, why don’t You eat? When we are eating, why don’t You eat? I don’t feel

like eating when I see You like that.” Then Baba said, “When all of you eat, it

comes to Me. What is your prayer at the

dining table? (Anil Kumar starts singing) Aham Vaishvanaro Bhutva Praninam

Dehamasritaha. ‘I am in your body. All the food that you eat comes to Me.’

Therefore why should I eat when you are eating?” When you are walking, Baba

does not need to walk separately. That is the answer I can give you. Now I will

deal with a few more questions in the time left this morning. 5."What

Is ‘Bad Company’?" (27.10.2002) There’s another question put to me. “What about

the company we keep? What is ‘good company’? What is ‘bad company’? What if I am

fooling myself?” Good, we often do that! They want a definition. What is ‘good

company’ and what is ‘bad company’? It is a very clear question. To Sai

devotees, let us be sure of the answer. What is good company? Good company is

the kind that will keep us holding onto His Lotus Feet. Good company is that

which will strengthen our faith. Good company is that which will encourage us

to do service. Good company is that which will draw us closer to His mission.

Good company is that which will help us to withstand the bumps and jumps in

life. Good company is that which will help us not to have too much attachment

to money and family. That is good company. The company which will help you to

run away from here, the company which will cause you to lose your faith, the

company which will make you go to anybody, anywhere, anytime for any reason,

the company which will make you depressed and

frustrated, the company which will turn you into being an atheist, a

non-believer, is horrible, terrible, bad company. Being in good company, we

find satsang. ‘Satsang’ means good company. Bhagavan gave a few examples. The

sand in the company of air will go up. The sand in the company of water will go

down. Similarly, in the company of noble people, we come up in life -- our paths

are noble. In bad company, our thoughts are negative. That is bad company.

Beware of bad company. Baba said, “Run away from bad company.” 4."Why

Should I Suffer Now From Previous Karma?" (27.10.2002) Then I received another

question. “It is said that, due to one’s karma carried from previous births, he

or she suffers in the present

birth. Because of our past karma, we are suffering in the present life. In my

humble belief, to suffer one should know what he or she has done. Why not

suffer in the present birth for the current karma instead of it being put off

till the next birth?” Very good! “Why should I suffer my karma now from a

previous lifetime?” What

did Bhagavan say? My friends, these answers are picked from Sai literature only.

They are not based on my imagination because I'm not capable of it. I'm

supported by Sai literature. If I run short of answers, I’ll seek your

forgiveness on the matter. I don’t bluff, no! What does Swami say about this

karma aspect? He said, “Some actions give immediate results.” Suppose there is

a cut here. (He shows his finger.) When you are sharpening your pencil and the

blade cuts your skin by mistake, what happens? It bleeds immediately. It is a

reaction - a result of the action then and there! You drink milk and

you don’t feel hungry anymore - for an hour anyway. When you take food, you

don’t feel hungry for four hours. For hunger to return, it requires four hours.

So, some actions cause immediate results, while some actions call for an hour or

four hours. If you sow the seed now, you can have mango fruits next year. Why

next year? That’s all. For the seed to germinate, for the seed to sprout, for

the tree to grow, for the seed to bear fruit, it will take a long time.

Similarly, some actions give immediate results. Some actions give result

leisurely, slowly. That is how we have to understand karma. 3."Are Baba

and Jesus the Same?" (27.10.2002) Here is one question: “I am a follower of

Jesus Christ. Are Baba and Jesus the same? Or is this form the Christian

concept of the Trinity?” The answer is simple. Bhagavan said, “All names are

Mine. All forms are Mine. I respond to your prayers that are offered to Me in

any name, in any form. I’ll answer your prayers. Let the prayers be said to the

God of your choice; they will reach Me. You may pray to Rama, Krishna, Jesus or

Allah - all those prayers will reach Me.” “Swami, how? When I say Rama, how

does it reach You?” Swami gave this example: “You may write a

letter to somebody in England or USA or Delhi or Hyderabad. When the letter is

put in the letterbox or post box, it will reach the addressee. Similarly all

your prayers come to Me. Don’t worry, because I am in all forms. All forms are

Mine. All names are Mine,” said Bhagavan. Jesus is no exception. I’ll give you

one instance. A doctor from Rome came here as a participant and delegate for

the International Cardiac Conference held in Prashanti Nilayam. Catholicism is

very rigid, very strict. He was doing his daily prayer to Jesus and going

through the scriptures. He was given accommodation in the North buildings. One

day before dinner, while he was reading the scripture and meditating on Jesus

Christ, suddenly he noticed a hand lying on his shoulder. He looked back and

saw Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai

Baba. Now he says, “Baba and Christ are one and the same. This I declare at the

cost of my reputation, at the cost of my Catholic faith. My relatives and

friends may forsake me, but I declare that Baba and Christ are one and the

same.” Baba is the Cosmic Christ. Bhagavan is everyone for that matter, Sarva

Devata Swarupa. He represents all deities, all gods -- that is the answer I can

give you. 2. Will He Take Care of Us Now? (22.09.2002) This is the second

question I received: “As Swami’s mission, including seva projects, are

expanding everyday, will He still look after His devotees of many years in the

same manner as He has been doing from His declaration in 1940’s? Because Swami

is very busy nowadays, will He take

care of us now?” Oh-ho! This answer is so simple! Perhaps we have taken Him as a

human being. ‘He is so busy with office work; He's so busy with audit

accountancy, inspection and what not; so, will He have time for me?’ It is not

like that! Bhagavan is not a person! Bhagavan is not an object! Bhagavan is an

energy unto Himself! Bhagavan is energy! Bhagavan is everywhere! Bhagavan is in

everyone. There is no sense to a question like this: ‘Will He have time for me?’

Because

Bhagavan is time, there is no question of, “Will He have time!” No! Because He

is time and available at all times! We are not giving Him time! We have no time

to think of Him; we are not giving Him an audience. He is waiting, waiting and

waiting for everyone! Yet we ask, “Since You are so busy with water projects,

universities, etc., do You have time for me?” What a thing to ask! He has all

the time because He is everywhere and in everyone. Someone asked Baba a

question last night about a long and healthy life. “What is the secret behind a

long and healthy life?” Physical exercise? Or meditation or what?” Bhagavan

said this: “Two things will guarantee a long and healthy life. What are they?

Prema - love and thyaaga - sacrifice, these two will give you a

long, healthy life. No other thing will, no other!” Bhagavan said this last

night to His students. The Secret of a Long and Healthy Life In this

connection, Swami gave this example of Rockefeller, a man from the United

States. Rockefeller was a millionaire, the richest man in this world, having

earned lots and lots of money. Suddenly he fell sick. All the doctors

declared, “One and a half or two

years more to live. You cannot live longer because you have ailments that are

incurable. You are sure to die.” So, Rockefeller started distributing his

property and his money to everyone. There is a Rockefeller Foundation in the

United States, which takes care of charitable trusts. It takes care of the

forlorn and handicapped. It also takes care of students, offering the highest

standards of education in the field of research and investigation. The

Rockefeller Foundation is the biggest charitable trust in the world today.

After beginning these acts of charity, Rockefeller lived beyond eighty years.

He fell sick at the age of forty-eight. As

per the doctors’ predictions, he should have collapsed within two years. Yet,

this man lived beyond eighty years. To live a long life, one should have love

as the food and sacrifice as the medicine. These two - diet and medicine - are

normally required. Every person requires diet and medicine: if you take

medicine and don’t follow the diet, you will never be free from a disease. If

you observe the diet regulations and don’t take the medicine, well, the disease

will continue. Therefore, medicine and diet are the two requirements - namely,

thyaaga, meaning sacrifice, and prema, meaning love. Bhagavan said this last

night. 1. Do We Have Free Will or Not? (22.09.2002) “Do we have free will or

not?” That question was given to me. The answer is simple. As I told you before

and I repeat here, all the answers are from Sai

literature only. What did He say? “You don’t have free will!” Straight! God

does not mince words. There is no ambiguity; it is straight! “Why not?” we

question again! The answer is simple: You are not free, so how can you have

free will? Am I not free? Yes, I am not free! Why not? We see what we should

not see. We hear what we are not supposed to hear. We do what we should not do.

When we are a slave to our senses, when we are a slave to our mind, when we are

chained,

when we are imprisoned, when we are in a cell, we are not free! How can there be

a question of free will? Utter nonsense! To be free, first we have to have free

will. Oh I see! Will you show me one person who has free will? The straight

answer - God has free will! He is totally free! Therefore, His Will will

happen! Bhagavan gave this example to the question of free will: “If the left

part of your body is paralysed, you cannot move the paralysed part.” All right,

you have

free will, come on and lift it! No free will! You have a will; that is all! But,

you are not free! You cannot lift that paralysed part. Therefore, you have no

free will! SAIRAM!!!

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