THE SAI AVATAR ON HIMSELF : - Heart2Heart team New Issue Nov. 2005

[Guest guest]

THE SAI AVATAR ON HIMSELF

 

Sai is the one who preaches the principle of Love.Sai is the one who fosters

harmony and equality. Sai is the one who teaches the value of humanity. That

Sai is the embodiment of Love.

- Baba

 

Bhagavan Baba has unequivocally declared that He is the Lord come again in human

form, as a Poorna Avatar. Like Krishna, He has displayed His Divine powers by

performing numerous Leelas (wonderfully described in the various volumes of

Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram). His miracles have attracted people from all over the

world, and numerous are the books and articles written on them. And yet,

Bhagavan Baba brushes them all aside, laying greater stress on His activities

as a human being. Occasionally He does make a reference to His Avatarhood, but

almost invariably it is only a passing refer­ence. Nevertheless we have

collected many of His utterances regarding this fascinating subject in this

article. Such as in 1974 when He devoted a whole Discourse to this theme, the

opening remarks of this historic Discourse are very arresting. Swami says:

"Giving the appearance of a shabby person, having a basket-like hair on his

head, showing no symptoms which indicate any particular religion or sect, with

no specific mark on his face indicative of any particular caste.

He appears quickly in a moment and vanishes equally quickly; then comes suddenly

into your presence, wearing a robe that comes right down to his feet and

sometimes covers the feet and sometimes does not cover the feet.

Inherent beauty and attractiveness are obvious in his playing and in his

singing. These are the as­pects of Sivasakti that is contained in him. Neither

his hair nor any particular mark on his body, nor the kind of robes that he

wears give any indication of his birth."

All these things describe the young Sathya Sai as he appears in exter­nal form.

...... How is it possible for anyone to understand Sathya Sai, whose form

answers this description?

"All these statements [about God] by different people depend on their ideas,

their strengths and weaknesses, their likes and dislikes, and, depending on

these vagaries, they have been giving various descriptions of the Lord ...In

the same manner, with regard to Sai as well, some people draw conclusions based

only on the external appearances, and they thus try to understand the nature of

Sai. They are not making any effort to recognize the basic truth, the

unchanging permanent qualities of Truth that are in Sathya Sai. All powers are

in the control of Sai. Unfortunately, many educated people who call them­selves

Yogis, Mahayogis, Pandits and people who have all kinds of qualifica­tions talk

only of the miracles I perform. They do not make an attempt to recognize the

strength and the true nature of the Sai that they apparently see."

 

Quite apart from Avatars, people are generally confused about God and tend to

have their own views and impressions, conditioned by their intrinsic nature,

outlook and experiences. The same happens with respect to God in human form

also, i.e., the Avatars. As Swami puts it,

For example, although people talk about Sai's Omnipresence, Omnipotence etc.,

few really take it seriously or even comprehend in a small measure what they

are saying. About His Divine powers, Swami says:

"There is no limitation to My power. There is no reason to limit or confine My

power and My Grace to any one place. Infinite powers and Infinite Grace are

present in My hands. To state these things with regard to Myself becomes

neces­sary sometimes."

When He does so declare, people listen keenly, some with awe, but soon it is all

forgotten! Commenting on this, Swami says,

"There is no use telling people who refuse to know. For people who know, there

is no need to tell. But for people who know and yet do not know, it becomes

necessary to present what I call My visiting card. Therefore, if today I have

undertaken to tell you about Myself, it is with a view to present you with My

visiting card.... In the whole of our spiritual history, we find that only

Krishna had proclaimed His own Divinity in this manner.

Even in the Avatar of Krishna, there was some superficial setback and there

were some difficulties at certain times. But this is nothing unusual. It is

only a put-up appearance and it is part and parcel of the Divine aspect...

Depend­ing upon the nature of the country, upon the people and upon the

environ­ment, it becomes necessary for God to enact such situations and pretend

to do certain things.

In this Avatar of Sai, there is no room for such pretensions and there is no

place for such setbacks at all. What I have taken as a Sankalpa will surely be

fructified, but I need not take on a Sankalpa if I don't wish to. ....

Because I am like an ordinary individual when I am talking with you and playing

with you, many people do not understand My true nature. In this context, even

people with great strength of mind cannot recognize the true nature of this Sai

and the difference between the external appearance and the internal aspect."

In another striking example of the power with which the Avatar is invested Swami

clearly states the magnitude of His mission in global terms – literally the

saving of our planet! This is excerpted from ‘God Lives in India’ where Sri

Karanjia, a reputed Bombay journalist, interviewed Swami in 1976.

Karanjia: The existing situation driven by evil forces to destruction as you

have correctly analyzed it, appears to suggest the inevitability of another

Mahabharata-type war. Does this mean that the salvation for which you are

working can be consummated only after a destructive war? Baba: The evil must

and shall be removed before such a catastrophe takes place. There will be minor

wars and skirmishes, of course: these cannot be helped in the existing state of

affairs. The Mahabharata war was a different issue altogether. Lord Krishna

decreed it and, in fact, led Arjuna to the battlefield in order to rid the

world of evil men and ungodly forces. "Today, as I told you, the evil is so

widespread that humanity itself would be destroyed in a nuclear holocaust in

the event of a world war. It is to prevent such a catastrophe that this Avathar

has come to raise human consciousness above the existing syndrome of anger,

hate, violence and war and save the world from disaster.

This can be achieved only by the reestablishment of the brotherhood of mankind

though the Vedas, Shastras (ancient Indian scriptural texts) and all religions

with their evangel of dharma to liberate the human race from the chains of

karma."

"I always say: let the different faiths exist, let them flourish, let the glory

of God be sung in all the languages in a variety of tunes. They should be the

ideal. Respect the differences between the faiths and recognize them as valid

so far as they do not extinguish the flame of unity.

What are the special objectives of the present Avatar? Swami has clarified this as follows:

"My objective is to establish unity in mankind and to reveal to them the aspect

of Divinity which is Brahman (universal consciousness), the only goal one

should look for. It is also My duty to make you realize the kind of

relationship that should exist between man and man, and to establish that the

aspect of Divinity is present and latent in all human beings."

Krishna says that when the Lord descends, He shrouds Himself in the cloak of

Maya. It is this Maya which makes people oscillate in their views and sometimes

won­der: "Is He God or not?" This applied to Krishna and it applies also to Sai.

Concerning this wavering mentality, Swami remarks:

"Sai knows everything. That people are in doubt is due to the Maya of the Avatar."

As mortals, we are understandably captivated by the miracles Swami performs, but

from His point of view it almost amounts to trivializing Divinity if Swami is

portrayed merely as a magician. Criticizing such an attitude, Swami observes:

"To talk always of the Vibhuti which I give or to talk of the things that I

mate­rialize and of the miracles I perform is not correct. ...."

Reference was made earlier to Krishna 's warnings about how fools mistake Him

(Slokas 7. 24 and 9 .11). Swami has emphasised the same point with the

following words:

"Since you see Me in close proximity, you are not able to assess Me properly.

Familiarity has deceived you to the point of delusion. Swami's Form is BIG,

VAST ... INFINITE."

"Sometimes, I feel like laughing at the ignorance of people when they attach

importance to My miracles. People talk only of such things and forget the more

important aspect in Me. The most sacred quality in Me is Prema. This Prema is

immeasurable."

Since Swami has declared that He is an Avatar, everyone, parrot-like, repeats

the same. But how many really understand what they are saying? This point came

up once in the conversation between Hislop and Bhagavan, when Hislop said that

it was strange that only a few people recognized the Avatar. Swami then asked

Hislop how he would identify or recognize the Avatar, to which Hislop replied,

"By faith." Swami then observed,

"Faith is one thing and knowing is another. The Avatar may be known at one time,

but doubt and recognition wavers."

This is the most magnificent aspect of Sai - Prema or Divine Love. Since He is

Love personified, is it any wonder that all the time He talks about Love? He

says:

"I am Love, always Love...... God is Love and wherever there is pure Love and

Love only that is God. Love is everything, but people do not understand Love."

Dilating further on the universal nature of his Love He told the many thousands

gathered in Kenya in 1968,

"I have come to light the lamp of love in your hearts, to see that it shines day

by day with added lustre. I have not come to speak on behalf of any particular

dharma (righteousness), like the Hindu Dharma. I have not come on any mission

of publicity for any sect or creed or cause; nor have I come to collect

followers for any doctrine. I have no plan to attract disciples or devotees

into My fold or any fold. I have come to tell you of this Universal unitary

faith, this Athmic principle, this path of love, this Dharma of Prema, this

duty of love, this obligation to love. "

Nairobi , Kenya 4 July 1968

And further…

"You will learn then that I am Prema itself; that I give only one thing,

Aanandha, through the Prema. My task is to distribute solace, courage and

Shanthi. That is to say, My characteristics are the ancient authentic ones;

only the Manifested Form is new. My desire---if I can put it in so many

words---is this: more and more should yearn for Me. The desire could be

realised only if I assume this Form and come among you."

4-3-1962

And yet, though He stresses Love ad nausea, little attention is paid to it. How

tragic, for if there is one weapon which can destroy wickedness, it is Prema or

(selfless) Love. Everyone wants the world to be set right but no one is prepared

to invest even a little in Prema. Anyone in Sai's place would have become

frustrated and quit. God alone is capable of infinite patience and tolerance to

put up with this supreme indifference to the Supreme Message.

Maybe this has something to do with Swami’s divine dispassion, which Swami explains as follows:

"There is no desire in Sai....... Where is there space for desire in Sai?

Everything is already Mine. Sai does not think. My will is immediately

realized. What­ever it may be, it immediately appears."

At the First World Conference Swami gave us some further details about Himself:

"This is a human form in which every Divine entity, every Divine Principle, that

is to say, all the Names and Forms ascribed by man to God, are manifest. Do not

allow doubt to distract you; if you only install, in the altar of your heart,

steady faith in My Divinity, you can win a Vision of My Reality. Instead, if

you swing like the pendulum of a clock, one moment, devotion, another moment,

disbelief, you can never succeed in comprehending the Truth and win that Bliss.

You are very fortunate that you have a chance to experience the bliss of the

vision of the form, which is all forms of all Gods now, in this life itself."

God is often worshipped as Father and Mother. Arjuna too, declared to Krishna

that He was Mother, Father, etc. Sai says that He too is Mother and Father

rolled into one. Speaking once to students, Swami said:

"This form is the form of Sathya Sai or the embodiment of Truth. In the name Sai

Baba, Sa stands for the Divine and Ayi for mother, and so Sai stands for Divine

Mother. Baba means father. The name Sai Baba thus means Divine Mother and

Father. .... Like mother, I will be tender and soft and give youhappiness, and

like father I will punish you, criticize you when needed, and through these

methods I take you to a high level....... If an individual who has good

qualities comes close to Me, I am sweet to him. On the other hand, I am harsh

to one who has bad qualities, and I do not let him come close to Me. It is not

that I like one more than the other but I give medicine to cure the bad

qualities when they are present."

Krishna has declared that He comes again and again, when circumstances demand.

Here is Sathya Sai in our midst who says that He is the Avatar. We murmur; but

are we convinced that He is Krishna come again? In this context, the following

extract from the conversations of Hislop with Baba is most revealing.

Hislop: Swami, it seems to be the case that from the time of Krishna to Sathya Sai ......

Sai: Time? I AM KRISHNA ! Where is time?

Hislop: Then, Swami, this has to be the best time of the world for persons to be born?

Sai: Yes. The very best time. Even better than during the lifetime of the Krishna body.

Swami also added:

"Rama was looked upon as a King. He acted so. ..... Krishna also was a King. As

God, would He have been put to work as a charioteer? .....Even in their status

as kings, only the residents of their respective cities gave Rama and Krishna

homage and worship. The Sai Avatar is the only one where His Di­vinity is known

to all peoples of all religions. This has never occurred before. With Krishna ,

only the Gopis were aware of Him as God - but they were Rishis [reborn]."

So, we had better count ourselves as being extraordinarily lucky to be the

contem­poraries of the present Poona Avatar, even luckier than those who lived

at the time of the Krishna Avatar.

One remarkable aspect of the Avatar, which hardly ever gets noticed by people,

is that the Avatar is totally unattached to whatever He is doing. Rama couldn't

care one bit whether He was being crowned or whether He was going to the forest.

It was so with Krishna , and it is so with Sai too. And just in case we fail to

notice, Swami repeatedly stresses that He is (a) totally unattached and (b)

equally selfless. These are Divine qualities demonstrated in human form so that

ordinary mortals will snap out of their excessive worldly attachments, and rise

to nobler heights.

And so, once in a while, the Formless assumes a Form, undergoes a lot of

difficulties and even suffering (how much suffering have the Lords of Shirdi

and Parthi undergone!), and sets a priceless example of what humans should

really be like. In other words, the Lord comes down mainly to give a Message, a

Message which is given not merely with words but in fact with His entire life

(recall Swami's frequent declara­tion: "My Life is My Message"). The Message

translates as a life-long Mission of which we are all partners. Spelling out

our role, Sai says,

"There is considerable change in human outlook that I have to bring about. No

one can stop Me or deter Me from fulfilling these tasks for which I have come,

namely the establishment of the one unchanging Truth. In this task, you have a

part to play.....You must take a path by which you can see deep in my heart,

and experience the various Divine aspects of Mine. You must understand the

all-knowing power in Me. Do not be led away by people who always talk of having

got a locket or a watch or a ring from Me. These things have no deep meaning."

Another important point, which everyone is aware of but fails to appreciate, is

that Avatars subject themselves to the ultimate limitation of a human body.

They are not only born like ordinary humans, they also depart like ordinary

humans. It is this union of the divine with the human that creates the wonder

…and the mystery.

In 1962 Swami declared,

"Even to the best of you only a fraction of the mystery is revealed. You are

like a Telugu audience sitting through a Tamil picture, or vice versa. The

nuances, the subtler significances, the deeper meanings are all beyond the

grasp. My language, My role, My career, My purpose can be understood in a

general way only by sitting through the entire film, watching earnestly and

vigilantly and trying to get at the meaning of every word and act with patient

attention."

4-3-1962Also Read:

It is now over 40 years since Swami spoke those words and 80 years into His

life. Can anyone say that they ‘know’ Him or that they ‘understand’ His ways

and personality. Only a few are physically near the Lord. The rest must watch

from ‘afar’. We can glimpse, we can feel His touch and presence and yet we can

not comprehend this enigma of Sai. Thankfully we do not have to fathom Him. It

is enough to rest assured that we are under the protection of this most

powerful of Avatars.

 

The one who pervades the entire universe, The one who comes to the rescue of His

devotees, The one of power who endows you with devotion and protects you, Will

not such a Lord of Parthi uplift you?

- Baba.

 

- Heart2Heart teamAcknowledgement- Online Source:Radio Sai Org.

Attachment: (image/jpeg) swami-b&w1.jpg [not stored]

Attachment: (image/jpeg) swami-smiling2.jpg [not stored]

Attachment: (image/jpeg) swami-sitting9.jpg [not stored]

Attachment: (image/jpeg) swami-vibhuti4.jpg [not stored]

Attachment: (image/jpeg) swami-love5.jpg [not stored]

Attachment: (image/jpeg) sai-speaking6.jpg [not stored]

Attachment: (image/jpeg) swami-standing7.jpg [not stored]

Attachment: (image/jpeg) swami-throne8.jpg [not stored]