Anil Kumar is a Professor of Bioscience at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. He has authored many books on Sathya SaiBaba, he writes articles in Sanathana Sarathi. Anil Kumar gives a spiritual talk every Sunday in Prasanthi Nilayam. Groups from all over India and around the world often request him for extra talks.  Well known as the translator of Sathya SaiBaba’s discourses. Read more www.saiwisdom.com               

I met Sathya SaiBaba for the first time 1970. Having seen him I was very much impressed by the org. around him. I was surprised to find many of the devotees worked voluntarily helping and working for his mission. I was also very much impressed by the service activities going on all over the world in His name. Particularly I am very much pleased with His message which is Universal and in a sense it includes all religions. There after I have had a taste of His Divine love that made me hold on to Him and cling on to Him once for all.

Om Sai Ram

Dear friends all of you who are sitting in the sun, there is more shade on this side, please be comfortable. India has a stronger sun than Russia.

 I am happy to be amongst you this morning, and let’s thank Swami for making the meeting possible. I thank Mr. Lakhi for being here, and Mr. Satish for video recording this morning. I also thank Christina for typing this meeting. It will all go in to the website headed by Mr. Lakhi. www.saiwisdom.com. I pray to Swami to bless all of you who are doing this great work. It is said that the biggest service a man can do is to introduce others to God, to the Divine. There is no other motivation for activity in one’s life stronger than this. I always remember with gratitude and praying to Swami for all those who are spreading the message of Sai.

Brothers and Sisters; I will start to share a few points on this topic with you.

What is the objective and purpose of Sathya Sai? What is the aim of the Avatar Incarnation?

With the development of scientists’ knowledge and material gain, man is more after comforts and conveniences. He is living a life of luxury, he is after pomp’s and shows. Life has become highly competitive and in comparison with the result; what so ever we have, we are not happy.                                                                            

 The purpose of an Avatar Incarnation is something beyond the mind beyond the material and the physical level of understanding. Not limited to the worldly pleasures.

The first purpose of an Avatar is to awaken the Divinity in everyone, to awake the Divinity from within.                                                                        

Unfortunately we know only what is outside; we know all what we make use of; we always want better and better things. In doing so we get better and better material things but we lose the most precious things in life.                                              

 The inner life is the connection with a higher wisdom, compassion, a higher knowledge of Love and forgiveness. The work and mission of an Avatar is to awaken us from our sleep and become aware of that Divine Power within.

 The second purpose an Avatar, on earth is to establish unity or oneness in the level of Divinity. We are all divided on several grounds, geographical, ideological differences, religious conflicts, differences based on culture and traditions. All this divides us and unity seems to be almost impossible. No one can be alike, that is the law of nature, and even twins have some minor differences. Therefore to establish unity or oneness is possible only in Divinity.

This is possible in two ways; to remind people of the Brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God. In nature everything is natural and is as it’s supposed to be. A plant or a tree doesn’t have to be told to be or behave like a tree; they grow and act naturally accordingly to their nature. The same with animals, I do not tell a dog to behave like a dog or a lion to behave as a lion. Plants live a life of plants and animals live a life of animals.

Unfortunately a human man is not living a life of a human being. So human beings have to be told to behave like human beings, be human, don’t be animalistic or bestial. Don’t be cruel. Swami tells us many times to remember a very important thing, and that is; “I am a man, not an animal”.  If we act like animals how can we call ourselves human beings.

What is the quality of human beings? How can we belong to a human race or humans in general? The human values Peace, Love, Right action, Truth, Non Violence, will make you members of human race. Swami says; cultivate human values. Swami started education in Human values in many of the Sai education institutions all over the world. Learn to respect all and you will earn the Grace of the Divine, Swami says. Reestablishment of the human values is a very important aspect of the work of an Avatar.

The third purpose of an Avatar is to let everybody know the spirit of religion, the philosophy behind the religion, or the practice of a religion in full understanding of its significance. Even religion has been made mechanical or a routine. I go to my office or collage in the same spirit or no spirit, as I go to the temple. Going on a pilgrimage has been almost as a picnic. Religion has two dimensions as we practice it today. Either it is an entertainment or a ritual. Both are wrong.

 Religion is creative, it is new, and it is ever fresh. It is also kindness, sweetness and a sense of inner peace and inner balance. That is the consciousness we have to develop in the religious life.  We observe and perform many spiritual rites, but we do not know why we do them. We do not know the advantages; therefore there is no improvement, no progress. We are where we have been. Therefore Swami wants us to follow religion in full understanding of the rituals associated with it.                                                                                                                                 

“A Rishi is not one who is great scholar or a ritualist, but one who is free from evil tendencies” Baba.                                       

The fourth purpose of the Avatar is to come closer to you, to establish communication with you, and to be for some help and solace to you. He comes closer and closer to you,   supports you when it is needed so you can establish a relationship with God. That is why He moves amongst us, talks, smiles to us and jokes with us. So we don’t forget the gift of Grace and Love. We are very much Graced and Blessed with the love of Divine Power so we have to make the effort to keep our selves available to receive His Love.   

Another point of interest is this; He wants us to know we are eternal, immortal with no beginning and no end. Something like the ocean, the ocean will never think it is a lake or a pond, if it does it is foolishness or ignorance. Similarly life is immortal, infinite and Divine. It is beautiful, worth living. Not limited to 70, 80 years, if we think that it is pure ignorance.

Finally, He wants us to know that the body is the temple of God, and as God is within the temple of the body of all, He says serving the fellow man is equal to serving God Himself. Service is not charity, service is not a help to others it is a help to you only. If I help a suffering man I am happier than the man who is suffering. I am disturbed and restless to see a suffering man and by helping I will be peaceful and have peace of mind. Service in the spiritual sense is to help one’s own self. It is not to be advertized or publicized. You serve because it will bring you peace and happiness to serve.

“If you come to serve Swami, cultivate love as the first quality. Swami is love from head to foot. I offer love; make good use of it” Baba

With this brief introduction of an Avatar I welcome questions from you; in that way I will get to know what you want to share with me and what you expect from me. A Satsang is a two way communication. There are surely lots of things to learn from you, you have freedom to question what I say and the statements I make. The art of learning together the technique to advance and process together is called Satsang. Expanding in the knowledge is the purpose of Satsang and respecting each other’s opinions is the way of Satsang. The process is extension of views. Kindly feel free and come forward with your questions.

    I am coming far away from a very cold place in Russia. Due to the expenses, it will probably be the first and the last trip. I also brought my grandson who is an autistic child. Is there any possibility to meet Swami in person so he can touch and heal my grandchild?

Now, this is an understandable question indeed. I would like to draw your attention to one thing. You can talk to me; Anil Kumar only if you meet me or see me. This is how we are related to each other, by talking, seeing, hearing and/or by writing. This is the human and the personal level of communication.

Baba is not a person, He is a presence that is why he is a Master, an Avatar, He is omnipresence. We cannot see or meet Him in His physical form anytime we like or contact Baba for our own personal convenience. Be sure He knows our past, present and future. The basic point to understand is that He is a phenomena a presence, omnipresent. This presence can be felt wherever you are, anytime you want.

Swami says;” if you sincerely say; Swami, You take care, Thy will be done, I will intervene with my omnipresence and resolve the most crucial situations, even those that seem impossible”.                                                          

 What you need to do is to have full trust and living faith in God, that’s it.                                                 

Simple example; during Darshan, Baba looked straight into the eyes of a lady. She came out of the Mandir and contacted her husband on the phone, who was severely sick, totally bedridden. She heard his voice from the phone which was located in the hall; he had walked to the phone from the bed to speak to her. She was wonder struck, she could not believe it. The husband was 800miles from here and then she asked out of curiosity.” What time did you get up from the bed?” He said nine a clock, exactly the time when Swami had looked deeply into her eyes; same time, same day. She was in Prasanthi Nilayam and the husband far away but he got healed at that very moment.                                                                           

 Can we call Swami an ordinary person? No, he is superhuman, totally Divine.                            

Swami gave padanamaskar to a lady here; she started to cry because she had a serious problem with her husband, out of some misunderstanding. She felt it was a great blessing from Swami to pacify her mind and she returned home satisfied. The same morning she came home the husband came and what was a misunderstanding got resolved and they reunited.

This is the power of an Avatar. He is not limited to this place only, He is everywhere. Today we have mobile phones and internet; human beings can contact each other through these mediums anywhere on earth.                                                               

To contact Baba is easier, you have “I” –mail inside, send a prayer and you will receive from inside a message from Baba. The human computer responds, why can not the Divine heart respond to our “I”- mail, our prayer?

 Yesterday Bhagwan was giving Darshan in His wheelchair; He was passing on the veranda. I was thinking inside,” Baba please come this side, You can come towards me also”. Believe me or not but wheelchair changed direction and came close towards me. He looked at me mysteriously and I could touch his feet.                                                                                   

How can I say He is a person; He knows our inner thoughts and feelings.

 A few years ago during the inauguration of Poornachandra hall, Baba called some boys to recite the Vedas. He invited some very important guests like the Governor and Chief Ministers up and started to show them the new construction. I was far away from him watching all this standing there in West Prasanthi B One. Then I said to myself, Swami takes only the Governor and Chief Ministers to show the building, why doesn’t He take me?

After half an hour a boy came and told me; Swami wants you there with Him immediately. I ran and went there and Baba looked at me He said;” you are a man of jealousy, you have no patience. These are guests whom I am taking round the building and are leaving now; you are going to be here anyway, you can see it anytime, why do you say I take only VIP´s to the building?” I realized the situation and said” Please Swami I am sorry”.

Then Baba took me around those new built rooms upstairs. He showed me the swing, He said;” how do you like it?” I said Swami “I don’t like it”.” Then why are you here if you don’t like it?” Swami replied. I said”I like it if you sit on the swing, not an empty swing”.” If that is your desire I will sit on the swing”. I was so happy, standing there pushing that swing and watching Swami.                       

 Another time Swami asked one boy to bring sweets and at that time we had cakes from Italy in the Ashram; delicious cakes with cream on top. I did not want to take the cake directly; I wanted the cake from Swami’s hands as Prasadam. I was feeling inside, “Swami please serve me Prasadam, I like to have it from your Divine hands”. He gave me the cake a few times with a smile on His face; it is all the Divine Romance. Later Swami said;” why do you doubt Me, I will serve you Prasadam; I know why you are waiting there”.  He is not a person; these personal relationships are only to establish contact and rapport. That is all.                                      

 The true and strong relationship is from within; truly we are interconnected from within.  He knows each and everyone, every thought, every feeling, every desire, He is omnipresence. There is no need to talk to Swami.

 In meditation you will feel Him; in worship you will experience Him.

Don’t worry if you cannot make the trip back to Swami again due to expenses; don’t worry that the child needs His physical attention for total cure. Do not worry. You came here to see Baba with trust and faith He will come to Russia to see you. Please, understand that, He comes to you. You may come to Baba once in a lifetime but Baba comes to you every minute every second, you only have to think of Him.                                                              

That is the way God works.                                                                         

Definitely not at the personal level, surely not with a form, He speaks and communicates in a subtle way. The conversation is silent, appearance is unseen. I can see what is outside me; when it is happening inside it is an unseen scene. I can hear you when you talk to me, but when He talks to me in the form of an inner voice, which is wordless words, soundless sounds, I experience it.                    

Please understand how the Divine works; never think that He is communicating at the human level. We will bring God down to a human level if we think and believe we need to speak to Him and see Him as an ordinary person. He is totally Divine, His style of functioning is altogether of a different state than that of a human being.                                   

 “When you surrender to Me fully, you will no longer have to worry about anything; let go of all fear, all distress”. Baba

    Prof. Anil Kumar you are like an ideal one, you are adorable, but can Swami come to me in the same way as He comes to you? I doubt it.

Here I want to be very, very clear. I am not special, extraordinary or ideal and I am not 100% good. I am in no way superior to anybody. Swami being closer to me is an act of His Grace, His kindness, His goodness; nothing deserving on my side. I have not achieved this state beyond the mind, yet.                             

 I am born in this country and in this state where also Baba is born and I came to his feet at the age of 45. I came to this Ashram for seven years without Swami even looking at me. I attended all functions; He never took any letters or looked at me for the first seven years.

You have come from far countries and some of you are very young, you accept all the inconveniences like the heat of the sun, the spicy food and being pushed around by the sevadals. You have to save money for some time to come here. Believe me I feel you are all superior to me.                                                                      

 I appear to be close to Swami, because I translate His talks. After the translation I am as close to Swami as you are. Simple example; when I talk to you now I am close to this tape recorder, but when the talk is over the owner will take it and I am far away. It is not that I am close to the tape recorder and the tape recorder is close to me. Anil Kumar is only a microphone, Baba doesn’t need a microphone every time. When Baba needs the mike, Mr. Anil Kumar will be there. It is functional nearness for operational purposes; to make all of you to understand His talks in English.

Take for an example an officer with a clerk assisting him; he is always by his side helping him supplying all the documents. They spend a lot of time together but do you think that the officer is closer to the clerk than his wife, or children. Similarly, you are not distant from Him, you are all his children. You are as close to Swami as Anil Kumar.

The connection with a Master lies in the heart of everyone; you are as close to Swami as you think you are. Your heart and your Love for Swami will tell you how close you are to Him. Love is the greatest unifying and binding force in the world and can move even mountains. If your love is pure deep and intense you will feel the presence of the Divine.   

Once, Baba took me along to an inauguration of a factory in Tumkur. The owners were from Japan, China, Germany and France and I thought I was there for translation purposes. But what happened, Baba spoke in Japanese to the Japanese people, French to the French people and so on. He did not give me the opportunity to translate. Why? Baba said;” I know many languages and I brought you here so you also will know that.” Baba gives us duties because of his Love and Kindness as I said before.

Look at Baba he is talking with everybody he doesn’t feel He is above anyone, He is equal and the same as everyone. He is in you, around you, below you, above you, you and Baba are one. Only man wants to be extraordinary and superior to others. Let us try to follow His example.                                                                                                                              

    These people who are physically close to Swami, as a day to day duty or living, do they have families? And what is the merit to receive such a position?

All the positions close to Baba are occupied by a person because of their ability, their devotion, their loyalty and availability. And that confidentiality, they enjoy. Also the good deeds they have done in past lives and the Grace they receive right now may also be a factor. They are all married people with children, they are not angels descended from heaven, and they are very normal people. They are not superior to you that is how I see it. We are all in the presence of Baba’s power of Divine Grace. We should focus our attention on Baba and the spiritual path.                     

“The real dearness is kept secretly in the heart. We can say he is my boss, he is my clerk, my friend but no one will say she is my lover. The love, the dearness from within, is confidential, a secret, heart to heart not newspaper news. Love is not public it is secretive within the heart, unspoken, not exhibited.  You see the electrical wire but you don’t see the electricity that is flowing through. That is the love. The search for truth is a love affair between the seekers with God, the absolute consciousness.

    Has there been any Russian person who has been placed right by the feet of Swami? If not why?

One; we do not have any Russian who is settled here permanently. Two; we do not have any Russians who know the needs of Swami or the procedures of service. Three; they don’t have to be here to serve Him; Baba is serving every Russian by being in their hearts. He is serving Russians, Russians need not serve Him. Everyone can serve Baba by carrying some papers or vibhuti packets, but Baba is serving all of you by being a resident in your hearts. Love and Grace has not to be earned, it has only to be received.

Thank you very much for being here this morning. I also thank the translator who has done a very good job. 

God bless you all

“Spiritual wisdom is not something received from others. It has to blossom from within” Baba.