August 6th, 2006
“One Into Many”
Part 2
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Awareness of the self is the only goal of a seeker
Last week we started a topic entitled “Unity in Diversity” or the “One Manifesting Into Many.” We shall try to complete the same topic this morning.
My friends, I am sure that you would agree with me that awareness of the Self is the only way to liberation, salvation, nirvana or moksha. Whatever we do, whether it is meditation, or chanting or writing His holy Name repeatedly, or reading His spiritual texts, are all means to an end – the awareness of the Self. That’s why Adi Shankara, Ramana Maharshi and Bhagavan Baba repeatedly say, “Know thyself.” “Know who you are.” Ask, “Ko Hum (Who am I)?”
Anything that is not a search of the Self is a ritual. I am not denying or negating anything. My only question is: What is the aim of all that we do? Right from Nagarsankirtan till the evening bhajans, what is it all about?
We may do several things, but the purpose is one: the awareness of the Self. You may eat in the North Indian canteen or the South Indian canteen or the Western canteen, but the objective is one and the same – that your hunger should be satisfied.
We are attracted to a particular sadhana or spiritual practice depending upon the procedure and where we left off in our previous lives. That’s the reason why people are automatically drawn to a particular path. Someone may like to do bhajans because he did bhajans in the earlier life. He immediately fits into the channel of Namasmarana. The man who previously worked selflessly fits into karma yoga (the path of action) effortlessly in the present life. Life is one of continuity to eternity; it goes on and on.
The end or the finish of this birth and death cycle is awareness of the Self. Therefore, awareness of the Self is the aim of any spiritual path or religion or spiritual seeker.
God is form, formless, and beyond
Last time we left off at this point: God has form, God has no form, and He is both these and beyond.
When I was going back home after completing this talk, one gentleman asked me to explain it again for one or two minutes. “There seems to be some confusion,” he said. So let me say a few more words on this subject, so there will be no ambiguity or further perplexity.
Here are the four points:
1. God has a form.
2. God has no form.
3. He is both.
4. He is beyond.
All the four statements seem to be opposite and contradictory. So when I say this, I may seem to be foolish; but I assure you that’s not the case yet (Laughter). Let us spend a couple of minutes on this. As long as this mike is functional, as long you can hear my voice clearly, electricity has the form of a mike. As long as the bulb is illuminated, electricity has the form of a bulb. The electricity has a form now. In the bulb, it is in the form of a bulb. In the mike, it is in the form of a mike. Wherever electricity goes in, it takes that form and discharges those appropriate functions.
What happens when there is a power cut, which often happens here? What happens? Nothing is functioning. Where is the electricity then? Has it run away from here? What is its new address? “Catch hold of it and bring it back!” No, no. It is here, but without a form. Electricity has no form as such. As it fits into these gadgets, it takes on their forms. So electricity can be with form and without form. From where has it come? God is chaitanya (consciousness). The source is God or Brahman. That source of Brahman can have form or be formless, as it chooses. It can be both and be beyond.
Sarvendriya Guna Bhasam
Sarvendriya Vivarjtham.
As electricity flows through the mike, it reaches you in the form of sound. As it flows through the bulb, it reaches you in the form of light. But electricity is neither sound nor light. It can be both sound and light, depending on how we use it. Its source is Brahman – the substratum is Brahman, consciousness, Divinity. That consciousness, which is beyond, can have a form or be formlessness, or be both. This is what we mean by the transcendental nature of Divinity.
Sugar can take the form of any number of sweets like jamoon or laddu. Can I say that jamoon is sugar? No. Can I say laddu is sugar? No. I can’t because jamoon is not sugar. The sweetness in the sugar is present in laddu and jamoon. Form and formlessness are aspects of the same Divinity. It can have a form, or be formless, or be both. Since it is the source, it is beyond.
You are NOT SEPARATE from the Divine
If we understand its intricacy, its implications, and comprehend its ramifications, then by God’s grace, we can experience it. Nothing more is needed in a lifetime because you are one; you are not separate. Just as a drop is the ocean, you are the Divine. “You are God,” as Baba often declares. Since that friend asked me to repeat this subject, I just took a few minutes to pick up the thread and resume the continuity of our topic.
My friends, you must have understood by now that I am an extrovert. I can’t keep any secrets. That is impossible! I collected around 800-900 poems of Swami’s in Telugu. Before commencing each talk, Swami recites a poem which He composes spontaneously. Then He develops His talk based on that poem. As I was going through His poems, I discovered their amazing literary style. Aha! What expressions! And in the simplest terms ever possible!
Therefore I feel like going deeper into them. Once we are familiar with this, there is nothing left and there is nothing beyond. That is the fund of literature that Baba has given us. But we are busy with our own agenda: “I want Him to look at me, but I don’t want to hear Him. I want Him to fulfill my desire, but I don’t want to act according to what He says.” We have no time to hear Him because of our personal agenda and desires. We have no time to understand Him and act according to His guidance. Therefore, we continue to remain where we are.
Growth is the sign of life
If one of my former students comes and tells me, “Sir, you have not changed; you are what you have been,” is that a compliment? (Laughter)
If I am what I was, it’s an insult since it means that I have not grown. Absence of growth is not a sign of life. This mike will always be like this; it won’t increase in size. Growth is a sign of life. If you think that you just have hands and legs, then you are only as good as a table (Laughter)! Funny as we are, we take it as a compliment; but it is not. We should be mature and intelligent enough to know what is good, what is right, and what has to be done.
Bhagavan’s language is simple, but HIS message is profound
Coming back to Swami’s poem, I don’t want to exhibit my scholarship by singing the whole poem or by repeating it. That is all unnecessary. As it is in Telugu, I am sure it may not be easy for most of you to understand. But I may be able to explain it to you in the form of a quotation.
Those who know me will certainly appreciate this. In this poem, Swami gives a wonderful example. Many people have a habit of going to the temple once a year or once a month or on festival occasions. Those of you who are fortunate enough to have listened to the discourses in a temple or by some gurus will certainly agree with me. The best style of communicating the highest Vedantic truth is made possible by an Avatar – Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba – because He puts it in such a simple style!
I’ve heard many people say, "I have read lots and lots of books, but Swami’s is the simplest language. Even a villager can understand it; yet it is fathomless and profound.”
Man has to go back to his Divine source
A simple example is clay or mud. A pot is made out of clay. When the pot breaks, it becomes mud again. So a pot made of mud eventually returns to mud. It cannot become gold. The material (clay) out of which the pot is made will eventually go back to the source (mud). Similarly, where will man, who is made out of Brahman, eventually go? Man being Atman, being Divine himself, has to go back to the source or Divinity.
Therefore Swami says, “A tree grows out of the soil into many branches and then goes back to the soil. Similarly, the Creator is the source of creation, and creation will go back to the source.”
That’s what the Christians call “Doomsday” or “Judgment Day” and Hindus call it pralaya. Pranaya is romance, but pralaya is annihilation or ending. Therefore, the creation, which was created by the Creator, will go back to the Creator.
From an ordinary perspective, Creator and creation look different or separate. But they are one and the same. Here is gold and here is a ring. The ring and the gold seem to be different. We keep gold in the form of an ornament, like a bangle or a ring. But the ornaments, when melted down, turn back into gold.
Therefore we may think that the Creator and the creation, man and God, are different, but both are one. Gold and ring are one, drop and ocean are one, and Creator and creation are one. It appears that they are two entities, but basically they are one and the same. Knowledge of this oneness is understood only by the grace of God, or else this Truth of truths looks pedantic or scholarly.
Non-Dualism is wisdom
I began my talk by quoting Bhagavan last Sunday, 20th of August, 2006:
Advaita Darshanam Jnanam.
Non-dualism is jnana or wisdom. Experience of non-duality is wisdom. Wisdom is not just familiarity with books, nor is it whims, vagaries, fancies, or fantasies of the mind.
To reiterate, I will say these few words from another of Swami’s poems. Matti is the soil, and chettu is the tree. Chettu, the tree, is born in matti, the earth. After death, it goes back to matti. Similarly, creation goes back to the Creator. It is so simple.
But I can’t go to the tree and say, “Oh, this is soil, wonderful! Take some fruits out of the soil.” People will run away from me because nobody wants to be close to a madcap! He might bite or pelt stones at them. Never mistake it, I am not that mad.
Somebody asked me, “Baba started the Super Specialty hospitals for heart, lung, and kidney diseases. Why did He not start a hospital or a department for psychiatry, for mental problems?”
I said, “Baba didn’t do it because whole of Sai Kulwant Hall would be in the OPD (Outpatient Department)!” (Laughter)
It is only a question of quantity. Some are as mad as the size of a grape; some are as mad as the size of a lemon; some are as mad as the size of a pumpkin. The size is different, but we are all mad! (Laughter) I may be mad in my own limited way, but we are all brothers sailing in the same boat! (Laughter)
One God in Many bodies
Let’s look at another of Baba’s poems. Go means cow, ksheera means milk. Milk is one, but cows are many.
If I want milk, I cannot say, “Go to cow #22 (Laughter) from the Gokulam and get milk.”
They will say, “Sir, you better go yourself. I would like to serve you, but not at this level.” (Laughter)
You don’t say that, do you? So cows are different, but milk is the same. Similarly, if I want a ring, I cannot ask someone to get me a ring of gold extracted from Kolar (where there are gold mines). They will ask you to go into the mine and then they will pray that you don’t come out! (Laughter) Am I clear?
So, the same gold is used in all different kinds of ornaments or jewels which we wear. Ekam (one) Paramatma (God), Bahu (many) Devarthi (bodies). The same one God is present in all bodies.
“Is it possible? No, no, no! I have my personal God. ” (Laughter)
“I have my Indian God with me and you may have your American God or Russian God with you. And that too, among Indian Gods, there is only one special Andhra God (Laughter). In Andhra, that special God, who is naturally from Guntur District, is 100% Divine.”
Oh! There are people who talk like that! How is it possible that when he says, “my God”, that same God is equally mine too? You have every right to say ‘my God’ and please say that, but that doesn’t mean that I have no God. Your God is my God as well. How is it possible?
Baba gives us an example. Assume you have several pots or containers full of water. On a full moon night, watch these pots. You will find the reflection of the moon in all of them. Each pot can say, “My moon.” There may be several pots, but the same moon is reflected in each of them. So, it is one into many. That’s the example Baba gives: Ekoham Bahusyam – One manifest into many.
Religions are many, but their goal is the same
You may pray in one way; he may pray in another. He may come to the temple through the main gate, the security gate or the northern gate. He may come through any gate, but there is only one Mandir in Prashanti Nilayam.
Religions are different, but the goal is one. There may be so many threads, but all the threads are interwoven into one cloth. Similarly, there maybe many beings, but the indweller is the same.
“No, sir! South Indians breathe oxygen, but North Indians breathe nitrogen.” (Laughter) It means that I don’t know what oxygen or nitrogen or breathing is; therefore I talk like that!
All breathe oxygen, irrespective of who we are or where we are. Even if you want to try nitrogen, you can; but write your will first (Laughter)! Therefore my friends, beings are many, but breath is one.
We may have our own visions, our own experiences. There are some people who tell me, “I saw Swami just between my two eyebrows.” Please continue to see Him. There are some people who say, “Swami appeared in my dream last night.” Very good, please dream like that continuously. There are people who say, “I felt a touch of my Swami on my shoulder.” Very good! Feel His touch everyday if possible.
Whether you see Him, hear Him, experience Him, or feel His sense of touch, it is the same Baba, the same Swami, the same God. Our experiences may be different, but they relate to the same Swami. This is what Baba says:
Darsanambulu Veru.
My vision or concept of God may be different from yours, but the same God is responsible for each of our experiences and interpretations.
Awareness of God is lost because of illusion
Baba also explains why people do this. Unless I say that my God is higher than your God, or a little taller than your God, there would not be so many religions; business or politics would not be made from religion; and there would not be so many conflicts among people. Therefore, this diversity is a sign of politics, business, conflict, and confusion. But Baba explains that unity is Divinity.
The doctor knows the disease and also its remedy. As I am suffering, if he only knows the disease and not the remedy, then I don’t need him. The doctor should know my disease and suggest a cure for it. Bhagavan Baba clearly diagnoses and perfectly prescribes our individual treatment. This explains why we entertain the thought of diversity. Baba says that because we are caught in the cobweb of illusion or delusion or maya, awareness of God is lost.
Prakrithimaya Chetha Bandhimpa Batuda Chetha.
You are chained by the maya (illusion) of Prakrithi (nature).
Nene Brahmambu Anu Eruka Chedara.
The very awareness that I am the Divine is gone.
Eruka (that awareness) chedare (is gone). Nenu Brahmambu (I am God). The very awareness that I am the Divine is gone. Why? Maya Chetha Bandimpabadutha Chetha – I am bound by illusion and hence I have lost the awareness of my true identity.
Senses deceive our understanding of reality
Here Swami tells us the second reason why our awareness of Divinity is lost:
Panchendriyamula Che Vanchimpabaduta Chetha.
I am deceived by my senses.
This is the meaning of Swami’s original quotation: “I am deceived by my senses.” I think that eyes see. No! A blind man has more beautiful and better eyes than a seeing man, but he cannot see. Likewise, I think the ear hears. However, a deaf person also has ears, but he cannot hear. I think the skin feels the sense of touch, but the paralysed man cannot feel it.
I think that the senses are giving me the experience – that is the tragedy. The experiencer is the cause for the experience. Without the experiencer, there is no experience.
Experiences are many, but the experiencer is one and the same. The one who sees, the one who hears, is one and the same experiencer. But because of the five senses, we seem to divide the experiencer into many -- like the hearer, seer, and so on. But that is our error, because really it is the same Divinity.
Therefore Swami says:
Panchedriyamula Chethe, Vanchimpa Baduta Chetha.
Due to the five senses, you are deceived and cheated.
The five senses lead you into this trap of illusion. The five senses put you into this cage of delusion. What is the result?
Devude Jeevudu Telivi Poyindi.
God is that man in front of you.
God has taken human form because it is only the human whose senses are able to recognise. However, that awareness is completely gone because we are trapped by the five senses.
feeling of oneness is lost due to ego and attachment
Third reason:
Mamatha Ahamkara Ekatva Bhavam Leka Poye.
Mamatha is “attachment” and ahamkara is “ego”. That feeling and experience of oneness is missing because we are carried away by our egos and attachments.
body attachment and delusion cause loss of awareness
Fourth point: Dehabhimana (body attachment) and moha (delusion) are responsible for the fact that I have no idea of what consciousness or reality or Divinity is.
Being a teacher, my friends, I beg of you, if I am strict or too hard and treat all of you as students, it is only because old habits die hard. Having spent all my life in the teaching profession, I am prone to occasionally repeating myself to ensure that I am understood.
In summary, the four points that are responsible for the absence of awareness, the absence of the experience of Divinity, and the absence of our experience of oneness, are:
1. The illusion of nature
2. The five senses which are extroverted, outward; pravritti
3. Attachment and ego
4. Body attachment and delusion
These are responsible for the absence of the awareness of my true identity, my true Self, which is Divinity or pure consciousness.
Understand that you are God
Therefore, what is the result?
Brahmalo Neevu, Neelona Brahmamu Unda.
When you are in God, God is in you.
Neeku Brahmambu Lekayunde.
Understand that there is no difference between you and your God. Both are one and the same.
Nene Brahmambu Anuchu Ippudu Erugu Neevu.
“Understand right now! Understand you are God!” Swami tells us in every discourse.
Sai Prema Bodha Groyee Neevu.
“Having tasted the nectar of Sai’s gospel, the ambrosia of Sai, understand that you are God,” says Sathya Sai Baba.
How nicely explained! What a scientific analysis! If ten to fifteen slokas are recited conveying the same message, we can effortlessly get into a state of samadhi! When some scholars quote Sanskrit verses freely, either we look at the clock, or lean against the back of our neighbour and sleep, or try to find a corner passage through which we can silently escape (Laughter).
don’t complicate spirituality
Somehow (and you are free to correct me, because I may be wrong), we think that spirituality is a complicated thing. The more complicated I make it, the greater the spiritual understanding. It is as if you believe that because you take 500 mg tablets, it means you have a great disease (Laughter). “No, no, sir. I take injections.” The condition must be more serious then. “I need an operation.” Then we are not sure of your return!
When a spiritual truth is conveyed, the more complicated it is, the more confused the speaker himself becomes (Laughter). Complication is not an effective means of communication.
Why are temples not full of people when there is a discourse? People are ready to do puja, as it is very easy to get some material and mechanically utter something (Laughter). You give some flowers or rice, the priest does something, and you do something. Neither of you know what is happening, but your future in heaven is guaranteed (Laughter)!
Therefore, my friends, complicated speeches that are verbose and use only big words, show that the speaker is an exhibitionist. He wants to exhibit his scholarship so he uses fifty slokas. At the end, we return with shoka. We go from sloka (verse) to shoka (misery). That should not happen.
Seriousness is not Necessary in spirituality
Due to this confusion, we think that a spiritual man is serious. In all spiritual gatherings, seriousness prevails – a grave atmosphere (Laughter). That Himalayan silence is simply an indication of a graveyard! There should be peals of laughter, joy, and ecstasy. Life is joy, my friends. God is joyful. God is a dancer, a musician, full of humour.
“Well, I want to be a castor-oil man. I want to be a serious man. I want to wear a long face so that people will run away from me. When they see my scholarship, people will be afraid of me, as if I am a tiger or a snake.” A zoo is a fit place for that category of person!
Therefore, our congregations, assemblies, and spiritual talks are not very well attended or appreciated because we make the subject serious, complicated, and take it out of context. We feel happy by making everyone unhappy (Laughter). That’s why, even after of coming out of one of Swami’s speeches, what do you say? “I do not know.”
“Why. . . did you sleep in there?”
“. . . It was very nice.”
“How nice was it?”
“I have no time to explain…it’s canteen time now.” (Laughter)
I don’t believe this at all. Swami’s speeches are full of humour. Bhagavan’s discourses are witty. He smiles and makes everyone smile, whereas other individuals cry and make all of you cry. Therefore we should simplify our spiritual talks so that everyone may understand us.
The most complex things are made simple and easy by an Avatar. That is the sign of an Avatar, according to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Sathya Sai Baba is an Avatar, making things the simplest ever possible.
In some spiritual talks, at other places, we are asked to imagine that there are fourteen worlds, and other fanciful things. I am not able to get by in this world, so why do you tell me about fourteen worlds!? (Laughter)
Others talk about dreams and imaginations. I am tired enough with this life, but you want me to imagine further! This life and just the waking state have given me high blood pressure enough, yet you want me to think about other states, other levels, and all that? Thank you, sir, I am happy with what I already have (Laughter)!
Baba’s discourses are the most interesting. Baba’s messages are easily communicated to everyone, from an illiterate person to the scholar of scholars. It is because He knows how to deliver popular lectures. He knows how to say it in such a way that it directly reaches everyone’s hearts. It is like shooting an arrow straight into the target. This must be the experience of each and every one of you.
Essence of Advaita is THAT EVERYTHING is Divine
Therefore Bhagavan says:
Kalam Anthayu Brahma.
The whole of time is God, understand it.
Sai prema bodha: His teaching is that of a loving, living, caring master. Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba says that you and God are one. It is because of other distractions and attractions that your understanding of Divinity is that of plurality or multiplicity.
To quote more of Swami: Chukkalanniyu Brahma.
All stars and galaxies are Divine.
Suryundu Adhi Brahma. Chandrudannanu Brahma.
Sun is God. Moon is God.
Jalamu Brahma.
Water is God.
Swargamannamu Brahma. Vaikuntamani Brahma.
Heaven is God. Heaven is Divine.
Thalli Yannanu Brahma. Thandri Brahma.
Mother is God. Father is God.
Bhagyamannanu Brahma. Swalabhyamu Adhi Brahma.
Your property, riches, and affluence are Divine. Your good fortune is Divine.
Yuva Raasulu Brahma. Jeevi Brahma.
All beings are Divine. The individual is Divine.
Puttinchuta Brahma. Poshichuta Brahma. Gittinchuta Brahma.
Birth is Divine. Sustenance is Divine. Death and withdrawal is Divine.
Grihini Brahma.
The housewife is Divine.
Kalamanthayu Brahma. Ee Srushti Brahma.
Time is God. Nature is God.
Prakithanthayu Brahma. Aa Shakthi Brahma.
The world is God. Energy is God.
Sarvamu Brahma. Ee Sabhayu Brahma.
Everything is God. This congregation is also Brahma.
“The whole Kulwant Hall, with thousands of people there, this congregation, this assembly is Brahman, is Divine,” says Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Sathyamul Telupu Mata Ee Sayi Mata.
The Truth of truths is the declaration of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Can anybody put Advaita in a simpler or easier form than this? Impossible! You may say one thousand slokas on this topic. But neither do I care to hear, nor will you understand a single sloka. Swami’s quotation started with the stars and ended calling the whole congregation Brahma (Divine)!
Swami and you are one
My friends, I would add one note with your permission:
A man in a high position would always like to remain there so that he can be the beneficiary of everyone’s courtesy and hospitality. He would never come down to a lower level. A Sub-Inspector will never come down to the lower level of a Constable. A District Collector would not come down to the level of a Revenue Officer. Most of the gurus nowadays are like that. Unless the guru stays at a superior level, people will never follow him.
Sathya Sai Baba, the Divine Master, is the only one who says, “You and I are one.” He doesn’t claim that He is superior to you or greater than you. He says, “You and I are one.” This utterance, said with confirmation and courage, can only be borne out of conviction in the unity of Divinity.
It was Krishna who said, “Arjuna, you and I are one.”
It was Christ who said, “All are one, my dear son, be alike to everyone.”
It was Ramana Maharshi who said, “You are not separate from me. Who am I? Find out who you are and you will understand that all are one.”
It was Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa who said that we all are one. We are all the children of Mother Kali.
The highest truth is that of Oneness. No one is superior. No one is extraordinary. This makes me fall flat in front of Baba: “I am God, you are God, and both are One. I am not separate from you; you are not separate from Me.”
Further He says, “God is full, and you are full.” A simple example: If I told my students that I was a PhD, full of knowledge, and that they were also full of knowledge, they might say, “Sir, from tomorrow onward, I need not come to your class.” (Laughter)
If I ask someone for money, he might say, “I am rich and you are also rich.”
“No, sir. I want to be richer, so please give me some money.” (Laughter)
There is always expectation, division, conflict, and confusion in diversity. Diversity is like business or politics, where people always want to move higher. What is that “higher”? There is only one state higher, and that is obtained after we leave this planet! Yet here is Baba, who says that you and I are one. This is the height of Advaita or non-dualism.
Unity is wisdom, diversity is ignorance
Therefore, we return to where I began last week: What is real jnana (wisdom)? Bhagavan says:
Bhinna Dehamulandunna,
In different bodies,
Thanu Ekamaguchu.
He unifies like a thread that passes through each flower in a garland.
In a similar way, we are many, and a common God unifies us, unites us, and brings us together.
Avayambayi Velgundu.
he immortal, eternal, blemishless Divinity is ever brilliant, ever radiant, and ever effulgent.
This is jnana, according to Sathya Sai Baba. So long as we are divided on the silly grounds of language, caste, creed, and community, it is ajnana – ignorance. Unity is jnana or wisdom; and duality or diversity is ajnana, ignorance.
God is at the cosmic level and also at the individual level
Finally, let me mention a simple thing. God can exist within an individual and God also exists all over. For example: Air is present everywhere. It can be in the tyre of a cycle, a car, a lorry, or a tractor. Air can be put in the tyres of many vehicles, and air is also present all around.
Similarly, God is everywhere and within an individual. God who is everywhere is called Eswara. Eswara is Divinity at the cosmic or universal level. God within an individual is called jeeva or the individual soul. The individual soul is conscience (jeeva), whereas the universal or cosmic soul is consciousness (Eswara). It is the same entity with different names.
Air in the cycle is the same as air in the tyre of a car. The quality of air in the tyre of a car is the same as the quality of air in the tyre of a lorry. But the tyres are different. In a similar way, Divinity all around is Eswara, and that in an individual is called jeeva. Understanding this is true wisdom, according to Bhagavan.
experience Baba in your heart and rise above petty talk
My friends, these subjects are serious. These subjects are above our experience; but God is so great that you were able to hear the talk, and I am very grateful to you for listening. God bless us both to interact more.
How long are you going to discuss, “I was coming in a lorry; then I fell down from the lorry! Baba saved my life!” Why? How long can you talk about such topics? Baba, who saved your life, is here. That doesn’t mean that you are going to become a monument, like the Taj Mahal (Laughter). A body can be embalmed like Chairman Mao‘s in China. According to Mao, a body is permanent and may be preserved in a box with chemicals. You can be permanent by that measure. But saying, “Baba saved my life” doesn’t mean that you are eternal. Baba’s miracles are merely the invitation to walk up the front steps into the mansion of Divinity.
At Gopuram Gate (the main entrance to Prashanti Nilayam) you cannot say, “I have seen Baba.” “Alright, go back to the bus stand then!” No, that is only the main door. You have to pass through the main door, go into the Mandir, and see Him there. That Mandir is the heart and Baba is inside. These doors are our experiences, or our five senses.
I prostrate and offer my humble salutations at the Feet of Baba. I pray that we may be more and more interested in the depth of philosophy, in the reality of spirituality, and not be caught in the peripheral, superficial matters that we usually discuss with each other. It is ego and publicity. Let us dig into the mansion of Sathya Sai Jnana Sagara (the ocean of wisdom). May Baba bless you very much! Thank you.
OM…OM…OM…
Asato Maa Sad Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya
Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti