Bhagavan-Creation, protection and dissolution in His hand

Once Swami was conversing with devotees in His interview room. He showed then, His palm and asked  what was there in it. Somebody answered that there was nothing there. But Baba said in all serenity, "This empty hands holds everything". When He closed it and opened it a moment later, there was a  locust there. Wonder of wonders, there was also a tiny leaf to serve as the insect's feed. The locust was actually feeding on it.

In a little while Swami closed His fist and opened it to reveal that nothing was there. The devotees present in the could not believe their eyes. Through this incident Swami revealed to everyone of us, ignorant as we are, that Creation, Maintenance and dissolution lie in His control.

Bhagawan explains His divinity in a few pregnant words. He declared "Bha" denotes Creation, "Ga" denotes Protection and "Va" denotes ultimate dissolution. He who embodies these three supreme powers is Bhagawan.

Swami with the golden statue of Lord Krishna.

Dr. Gersten reports that, "This statue of Krishna, made of gold, was materialized by Sai Baba in 1968, when Sai Baba was 42 years old. Krishna, a poorna (full) Avatar, was born July 20th, 3228 B.C. and is known world-wide for telling the story which is the Bhagavad Gita, the story of the triumph of good over evil. This story was about a real war between the Pandavas (good guys) and the Kauravas (bad guys) who were cousins. The battlefield on which they fought, called the Kurukshetra, is both real and allegorical. As a psychiatrist, I see this inner battle going on in many people I treat.

This picture was taken by Ratan Lal on May 15, 1968. The event took place near Dwaraka, where Krishna lived, which is on the west coast of India, about 325 miles northwest of Bombay. The description of this event is given by N. Kasturi in Sathyam Sivaram Sundaram, Part III, on page 183-184. To paraphrase:

'While returning to Jamnagar in the evening, Baba suddenly said, 'O, the sea is here!' and the cars stopped. We came upon a wide patch of sandy shore, with a temple on a heap of rocks at one end. Baba walked along the watery edge and sat on the sands at last, as Krishna must have sat some fifty centuries ago.

Sai Baba heaped the soft sand to the height of a cubit in front of him, putting us all into a state of extreme expectancy. He flattened the heap and, with his finger, drew a three-slanted line, a rough circle on top of it, a small triangle over that, and finally a short line across the circle. 'It is ready,' he said. Digging his hands deep into the pile, he drew forth a bright golden image of Lord Krishna playing the flute. 'You did not get darshan of Krishna in the temple; have it now,' He said.

Kasturi surmises that the long line was for the body, the circle for the forehead, the triangle for the peackcock feather, and the short line for the flute.'

In 1968, when this photograph was taken, there were few devotees visiting Sai Baba. However, now there are tens of thousands of people visiting Prasanthi Nilayam, Sai Baba's ashram, every day. After the crowds started becoming huge, Sai Baba stopped his practice of walking with a few devotees to the nearby riverbed, because he is followed by masses of people wherever he goes.

The crowds did not start becoming huge until the early 1980's, and even then they were small in comparison to the 4 million devotees who came to celebrate Sai Baba's 70th birthday in 1995. It is a miracle in itself that a gathering of 4 million spiritual seekers received no media coverage.

Remembering Swami with love…

Can we ever pay gratitude adequately for all that Bhagawan has bestowed upon us? asked His students singing rich tribute to their Beloved Lord this morning on the second day of the ongoing Sri Sathya Sai Aradhana Mahotsavam in Prasanthi Nilayam.

It was this day an year ago that Prasanthi wailed bidding adieu to its Soul, Beloved Bhagawan, when He chose to transcend into His omnipresent reality.

Today is Mahasamadhi Day of Sri Sathya Sai Baba

I have come to light the lamp of love in your hearts...I have come to tell you of this universal unitary faith, this atmic principle, this path of love, this dharma of love, this obligation of love... 

Love is the only alchemy, the only solution. Don't meet hate with hate; meet hate with love for this can effect miracles of transformation...so, foster love, live in love, spread love - that is the spiritual sadhana that will yield the maximum benefit. 

When you recite the names of God - any Name, from any religious discipline - love grows naturally and widens, giving cool shelter to friend and foe, fellow national and foreigner. 

Your reality is the Atma or soul, a wave of the Param-atma (God). The one object of this human existence is to visualise that reality, that relationship between the wave and the sea.

108 Names of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

A chain of Gems, being the 108 Names of  Bhagavân Srî Sathya Sai Baba


SATHYA SAI ASHTOTTARASHATA NAMA RATNAMALA

108 Names of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
A chain of Gems, being the 108 Names of  Bhagavân Srî Sathya Sai Baba
SATHYA SAI ASHTOTTARASHATA NAMA RATNAMALA


1. Aum Sri Bhagawan Sathya Sai Babaya Namah
I Bow to Lord Sathya Sai Baba: Who is Divine Mother and Father


2. Aum Sri Sathya Swarupaya Namah
Who is Embodiment of Truth


3. Aum Sri Sai Sathya Dharma Parayanaya Namah
Who is Devoted to Truth and Righteousness


4. Aum Sri Sai Varadaya Namah
Who is Giver of Boons


5. Aum Sri Sai Satpurushaya Namah
Who is eternal existing Truth


6. Aum Sri Sai Gunatmane Namah
Who is embodiment of virtues


7. Aum Sri Sai Sadhu Vardhanaya Namah
Who spreads goodness all around


8. Aum Sri Sai Sadhu Jana Poshane Namah
Who sustains and shelter virtuous persons


9. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Jnaya Namah
Who is omniscient


10. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Jana Priyaya Namah
Who is loved by all


11. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Shakti Murtaye Namah
Who is embodiment of all powers


12. Aum Sri Sai Sarveshay Namah
Who is Lord of all


13. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Sanga Parithyagine Namah
Who is One without any attachment


14. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Antharyaminey Namah
Who checks and regulates feelings of everyone


15. Aum Sri Sai Mahimatmane Namah
Who is Supremest Lord


16. Aum Sri Sai Maheshwara Swarupaya Namah
Who is embodiment of Lord Shiva


17. Aum Sri Sai Parthi Gramodbhavaya Namah
Who is born in Parthi village


18. Aum Sri Sai Parthi Kshetra Vivasine Namah
Who is Resident of Parthi


19. Aum sri Sai Yashakaya Shirdi Vasine Namah
Who was worshipped in the previous Incarnation as the Residant of Shirdi


20. Aum Sri Sai Jodi Aadi Palli Somappaya Namah
Who assumed the form of 'somappaya'


21. Aum Sri Sai Bhardwaja Rishi Gothraya Namah
Who is descendant of Sage Bhaaradwaja


22. Aum Sri Sai Bhakta Vatsalaya Namah
Who is affectionate towards devotees


23. Aum Sri Sai Apantaratmay Namah
Who is indweller of all beings


24. Aum Sri Sai Avatar Murtaye Namah
Who is embodiment of Incarnation


25. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Bhaya Nivarine Namah
Who removes all fears


26. Aum Sri Sai Apastambha Sutray Namah
Who is born in Sage Apastambha lineage


27. Aum Sri Sai Abhaya Pradaya Namah
Who grants fearlessness


28. Aum Sri Sai Ratnakara Vanshod Bhavaya Namah
Who is born in ratnakar dynasty


29. Aum Sri Sai Shirdi Abheda Shaktyavataraya Namah
Whose Glory is not different from that of Shirdi incarnation


30. Aum Sri Sai Shankaraya Namah
Who is Lord Shiva


31. Aum Sri Sai Shirdi Sai Muryaye Namah
Who is Incarnation of Shirdi Sai


32. Aum Sri Sai Dwarakamayi Vasine Namah
Who is residant of Dwarakamayi (Name of a mosque in Shirdi)


33. Aum Sri Sai Chitravathi Tat Puttaparthi Viharine Namah
Who moves about on the bank of the Chitravathi river in Puttaparthi


34. Aum Sri Sai Sakti Pradya Namah
Who bestows strength and vigor


35. Aum Sri Sai Sharanagat Tranaya Namah
Who saves those who surrender


36. Aum Sri Sai Anandaya Namah
Who is bliss


37. Aum Sri Sai Ananda Daya Namah
Who grants bliss


38. Aum Sri Sai Aartha Tran Parayanaya Namah
Who is Saviour of affiliced


39. Aum Sri Sai Anatha Nathaya Namah
Who is Lord of those destitutes


40. Aum Sri Sai Asahaya Sahayaya Namah
Who is Saviour of helpless


41. Aum Sri Sai Loka Bhandhavaya Namah
Who is kith and kin to all


42. Aum Sri Sai Loka Seva Parayanaya Namah
Who is serving and helping all


43. Aum Sri Sai Loka Nathaya Namah
Who is Lord of all


44. Aum Sri Sai Deenjana Poshanaya Namah
Who nourishes and sustains afflicted


45. Aum Sri Sai Murti Traya Swarupaya Namah
Who is Trinity: Brahama; Vishni and Maheshwara


46. Aum Sri Sai Mukti Pradaya Namah
Who grants liberation


47. Aum Sri Sai Kalusha Viduaya Namah
Who is the remover of defects and faults


48. Aum Sri Sai Karuna Karay Namah
Who is compassionate


49. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Adharaya Namah
Who is the Support of all


50. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Hrudaya Vasine Namah
Who is indweller of everyone's heart


51. Aum Sri Sai Punya Phala Pradaya Namah
Who is Giver of fruits of meirtorious


52. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Papa Kshaya Karaya Namah
Who is remover of all sins


53. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Roga Nivarine Namah
Who is remover of all diseases - destroyer of the cycle of birth and death


54. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Badha Haraya Namah
Who is destroyer of all sufferings


55. Aum Sri Sai Anant Nuta Kartanaya Namah 
Who is creator and Who is praised endlessly


56. Aum Sri Sai Adi Purushaya Namah
Who is beginningless Lord


57. Aum Sri Sai Adi Sakthye Namah
Who is infinate power


58. Aum Sri Sai Aparupa Shaktine Namah
Who has delightful and wonderful powers


59. Aum Sri Sai Avyaktha Roopine Namah
Who is formless


60. Aum Sri Sai Kam Krodha Dhwamsine Namah
Who destroys desire and anger


61. Aum Sri Sai Kanak Ambar Dharine Namah
Who wears golden coloured dress


62. Aum Sri Sai Adbhuta Charyaya Namah
Who does astonishing activities not seen anywhere


63. Aum Sri Sai Apad Bhandhavaya Namah
Who helps as a brother in times of calamities


64. Aum Sri Sai Prematmane Namah
Who is Supremest Love


65. Aum Sri Sai Prema Moortaya Namah
Who is embodiment of Love


66. Aum Sri Sai Prema Pradaya Namah
Who grants love


67. Aum Sri Sai Priyaya Namah
Who is loved by all


68. Aum Sri Sai Bhakta Priyaya Namah
Who is loved by Detotees


69. Aum Sri Sai Bhakta Mandaraya Namah
Who confers happiness of Heaven to devotees


70. Aum Sri Sai Bhakta Jana Hridaya Viharaya Namah
Whose play-ground is the heart of devotees


71. Aum Sri Sai Bhakta Jana HrudayaLayaya Namah
Who dewlls in the heart of devotees


72. Aum Sri Sai Bhakta Paradhinaya Namah
Who is bound to devotees by their devotion


73. Aum Sri Sai Bhakti Jnana Pradipaya Namah
Who ignites the light of devotion and spiritual knowledge


74. Aum Sri Sai Bhakti Pradaya Namah
Who shows the path of devotion and through devotion to knowledge to all aspirants


75. Aum Sri Sai Sujanana Marg Darshakaya Namah
Who shows the path of attaining right knowledge


76. Aum Sri Sai Jnana Swarupaya Namah
Who is embodiment of knowledge


77. Aum Sri Sai Gita Bodhakaya Namah
Who is giver and teacher of Gita


78. Aum Sri Sai Jnana Siddhi Daya Namah
Who is grants the attainments of wisdom and success


79. Aum Sri Sai Sundar Rupay Namah
Who has charming form


80. Aum Sri Sai Punya Purushaya Namah
Who is embodiment of purity


81. Aum Sri Sai Phala Pradaya Namah
Who grants the fruits of our actions


82. Aum Sri Sai Purushottamaya Namah
Who is supremest among all


83. Aum Sri Sai Purana Purushaya Namah
Who is the Ever Existent Perpetual Being


84. Aum Sri Sai Atitaya Namah
Whose Glory transcends the Three Worlds


85. Aum Sri Sai Kaalatitaya Namah
Who is beyond time


86. Aum Sri Sai Siddhi Rupaya Namah
Who is embodiment of all success and accomplishments


87. Aum Sri Sai Siddha Sankalpaya Namah
Whose power of Will is instant success


88. Aum Sri Sai Aarogya Pradaya Namah
Who grants good health


89. Aum Sri Sai Anna Vastra Daya Namah
Who is sustainer of all Beings, by providing food; shelter and clothing


90. Aum Sri Sai Samsara Dukha Kshaya Karaya Namah
Who is the destroyer of sorrows and sufferings of Samsaar (the objective world)


91. Aum Sri Sai Sarva Bhista Pradaya Namah
Who grants all desirable objects


92. Aum Sri Sai Kalyana Gunaya Namah
Who has agreeable attributes


93. Aum Sri Sai Karma Dhwansine Namah
Who destroys evil effect or reactions or bad actions


94. Aum Sri Sai Sadhu Manas Shobitaya Namah
Who shines in the mind of good persons as brilliance knowledge


95.Aum Sri Sai Sarva Mata Sammantaya Namah
Who represents all faiths


96.Aum Sri Sai Sadhi Manas Parishodhakaya Namah
Who helps purify the mind of spiritual aspirants


97.Aum Sri Sai Sadhak Anugraha Vat Vriksha Prathisthapakaya Namah
Who has planted a tree as a boon to spiritual aspirants


98.Aum Sri Sai Sakala Samsaya Haraya Namah
Who destroys all doubts


99.Aum Sri Sai Sakala Tatwa Bodhakaya Namah
Who grants essence of all spirtitual knowledge


100.Aum Sri Sai Yogi Swaraya Namah
Who is Lord of all yogis


101.Aum Sri Sai Yogindra Vanditaya Namah
Who is revered by Masters of Yogas


102.Aum Sri Sai Sarva Mangal Karaya Namah
Who is grantor of auspiciousness and prosperity


103.Aum Sri Sai Sarva Siddhi Pradaya Namah
Who grants all accomplishments and skills


104.Aum Sri Sai Aapanivarine Namah
Who removes calamities


105.Aum Sri Sai Aarathi Haraya Namah
Who destroys bodily and mental distress


106.Aum Sri Sai Shanta Murtaye Namah
Who is embodiment of peace


107.Aum Sri Sai Sulabha Prasannaya Namah
Who is easily pleased


108.Aum Sri Sai Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Babaya Namah
I bow to Lord Sathya Sai Baba: Who is Divine Mother and Father

Psychological fear

During the exile of the Pandavas, Krishna visited them to enquire about their welfare. He spent a night with them. The Pandavas had to undergo untold suffering during their exile. As Draupadi was also with them, they would keep vigil in turns for one hour each, every night. Krishna also volunteered to keep vigil for one hour. Dharmaja wondered, "When You are the protector of the entire universe, what is the meaning in your standing sentry for an hour to protect us?" Yet he cautioned Krishna: "Krishna, beware of the devil - my brothers and I encounter it every night. On many occasions it has tried to attack us. Therefore, we pray to you not to do a turn in guard duty. You have come to enquire about our welfare. We should not put you in danger. Kindly take rest." Krishna replied, "Dharmaja, is this what you have understood of my divinity? On the one hand you extol me as the protector of the entire universe and on the other you are apprehensive that I cannot protect myself. You are worried that the demon will harm me. Rest assured that no demon can touch me. Therefore, permit me also to join you all in doing the security duty." Having completed one-hour duty, Krishna sat on a rock and was smiling to himself. It was Arjuna's turn next. He rushed to Krishna, a bit worried that the demon might have attacked him. Seeing Krishna smiling, Arjuna fell at His feet and enquired whether he had vanquished the demon. Krishna replied, "Arjuna, I have never created demons and evil spirits. Then, how can the non-existent demons appear in the forest? The demon you are talking about is not a demon at all. It is just a reflection of the evil qualities within you such as hatred, anger and jealousy. The anger in you is manifesting as the demon. Its power is increasing in proportion to the intensity of anger in you." The evil qualities of man are the real demons troubling him today. Man is under the mistaken  notion that demons exist and that they are responsible for his suffering. This is all nothing but imagination and psychological fear. Only man puts another man to suffering; there is no demon as such. There are no demons and evil spirits in this creation. Arjuna realised the truth of Krishna's words and thereafter did not encounter the demon. Arjuna was beholden to Krishna for the revelation. He fell at his feet and expressed his gratitude. Good and bad are man's own creations.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba


Source: Chinna Katha. Part II, Story 11

A book on Him

Smt. Nagamani Purnaiya has written a book in Telugu (later also translated into and printed in English), entitled, 'Divine Leelas of Bhagwan Sathya Sai Baba'. In the foreword to the book she says, "I have availed myself of every opportunity of witnessing His divine powers." The book describes more than 140 miracles, of which she says "more than 115 were witnessed by me with abundant joy." Nagamani Amma was the wife of Sri Purnaiya, the chief commercial superintendent, southern railways, and the miracles she records were revealed at what is called the 'old' Mandir (temple) in the village, in the first few years after Swami's announcement. When the present Mandir called Prasanthi Mandir was inaugurated in 1950, the Mandir at the village became old! The miracles described relate to cures effected by the administration of Vibhuti created by Swami, and of raging floods subdued at His command. Baba revealed to her, "It is because of your faith and trust in Me that your bus could cross the river in spite of the surging floods." Swami created Tulsi (basil leaf) garlands, rings and pendants for personal wear. He also performed surgical operations. "One day I saw Swami throwing something like a banana peel over the wall," narrates Nagamani Amma. "Then He came towards me and asked for water to wash His hands which were red with blood. 'You had prayed to me to cure that man, so I operated upon him,' He said. That night I could not sleep due to my anxiety for the man, since he was operated upon without cocaine and in full consciousness. I was very troubled by the thought of the pain he must be suffering in the adjacent room, and so I stayed wide awake. At daybreak Swami called me and asked me to give the patient some surgical cotton. 'Go and give the cotton at once' He commanded. When I went in, after hesitating at the door for a while, I found the patient eating a plate-ful of idlies and chutney. Swami stood behind me. 'This is not an operation by a doctor,' He chuckled. 'I have done it; so there is no pain caused, no rest required and no special diet prescribed. He can eat whatever he wants.' I was shown a long mark on the stomach but could discover no stitches. Swami said, 'The Vibhuti I created and applied on his brow acted as an anaesthetic. I created a Trisul (trident) and a knife for the operation. After I had finished, I smeared Vibhuti, and it was all over.'

"On another day, four men came to Prasanthi Nilayam with the intention of testing Swami," continues Nagamani Purnaiya. "When they reached Bukkapatnam, three miles away, they exchanged the wrist watches they wore, deciding among themselves to find out whether Baba would discover what they had done. 'If He is God, He should know,' they thought. Swami called them and said, 'I know why you have come and what you were talking on the way. One is wearing the watch of the other. I know that you have come to test Me, but this is a place for devotees. You can go back to where you have come from.'"

Source: Dr. N. Kasturi, Sathyam, Shivam, Sundaram, Part IV

Answers from the Divine Guru

(Compiled from various meetings with Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Question 1

Why are some people born more beautiful, or more intelligent, than others are? Why does not God give everyone equal beauty, abilities and talents?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

It is not God's partiality or fault. It is the human being who is responsible. His actions, thoughts and words are responsible for all good and bad. It is the mind that creates the differences. Pleasure is an interval between two pains. It is the way you look at things that matters.

There is a vast ocean of talents and qualities. All human beings have vessels to fill. Some people, through their actions, are able to fill the vessels to the brim; some fill only half; others can fill only a quarter, or less. They possess intelligence, beauty, talents, and etceteras, according to how much they can fill their vessels.

You even judge beauty these days, as in Miss India, Miss World. But, that is all physical beauty, which is transient. What is important is the beauty of the atma (Self).

Question 2

How are good or bad actions carried into the next birth?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Swaasha (breath) carries the actions, for the breath stops when a person dies. The body is still there after death and we call it a corpse and burn it as useless. So, the body cannot carry anything with it, just as a flower cannot carry its fragrance. It is a breeze that wafts the scent of the flower and makes its fragrance reach you. Similarly, imagine a municipal lorry, the breeze carries the bad odour to you again! In the same manner, good and bad actions are carried by the breath and surround you in the next birth like an invisible garland. The pattern of your life is then governed by what the garland has good or bad scent.

That is why man must understand that everything he does has a reaction, a reverberation and a reflection. It is he who writes his own destiny by his actions. It is essential for man to live a good life with good thoughts and good actions. Only through such a life can he realise the divinity in him. The concept Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahma = God) is also incorrect, since it indicates duality. Aham (I) and Brahma (God) become separate. The statement ought to he Aham Aham (I am I).

Question 3

Many people feel that Hindus worship countless gods. How did this happen?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

India has a wonderful religious tradition. It has something for everyone, to suit everyone's needs. Many people do not understand this excellent idea and make derisory comments on our having too many gods. This tradition has evolved to suit the needs of different people, just as we have shirts of varying types and sizes to fit different people. With the ideal of One God, there is only one shirt and, if it does not fit or if it is unsuitable, people turn away from God. But, here, if someone likes Krishna, they can worship Krishna; others can worship Rama, or Narayana, or Shiva, or even snakes and lions! What more do you need to propagate the idea that God is in everything everywhere? That is why I often say don't worship God as a picture, but worship the picture as God. This will slowly lead to the realization of God in you. That is where the Hindu spiritual path is practical and good.

Question 4

Why does not God prevent cruelties in the world?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

God is only a witness (saakshibhoota). He does not act. Man acts according to the dictates of his intellect (buddhi) and himself suffers the consequences of his actions (karma). There is neither good nor bad for God. Take the knife as an example. A murderer uses a knife to kill another man, a slaughterer uses a knife to slay animals, a surgeon uses a knife to amputate, and a cook uses a knife to chop vegetables. If a magnet is placed among all these knives, it will attract them all equally and not according to the kind of tasks they perform. God is like this magnet. All knives are the same to Him. However, the hands that wield the knives have to bear the consequences of their actions, dependent on right and wrong.

Question 5

When we have troubles and are in difficulties and we pray to God, why does He not take them away'?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Troubles and difficulties are part and parcel of human life. They are the results of your karmas. There is no point in praying to God to wipe away all such troubles and difficulties. The right type of prayer would be to ask God for courage and strength to bear all the difficulties, problems and tragedy with equanimity.

Question 6

What is the difference between the politics of yesterday and those of today?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

The present state of affairs can be described as the state of jumps and bumps. Now, take the example of your body and limbs. Each limb is important in forming the composite whole. All the limbs joined together make up the body, which is the deha (body, person). Similarly, in the desha (country, nation), every aspect should be tended to, just as one takes care of every part of the body.

Question7

The view that women should not take ups Brahma vidya (spiritual knowledge), nor chants the Omkara. Is this correct? Also, in ancient times, were spiritual sadhanas (endeavours) forbidden to women?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Brahma vidya and chitta shuddhi (spiritual knowledge and purity of consciousness) do not depend on whether a person is a man or a woman. All have an equal right to benefit from Brahma vidya provided only they are able to take it up with discipline and dedication. At no time have there been any taboos against women. Lord Vishnu (the Preserver) taught Bhu Devi (the Goddess Earth) the glory of the Bhagavad- Gita. Parameshwara (Shiva) taught Parvati the Brahma tatva (divine essence) through the Guru Gita. Ishwara (Shiva) initiated Parvati into yoga shastra and mantra shastra (science of yoga and science of mantra). The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mentions Yajnavalkya teaching Maitreyi the Brahma vidya. So, women in ancient times were not denied the pursuit of spirituality.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mentions Ciargi and Maitreyi hasking in the splendour of sannyasa (renunciation) and brahmacharya (celibacy, chastity). Madaalasa Chudaala and others were able to receive Brahma jnana (divine wisdom) while in the grahastha (householder, i.e. married) stage of life. Even today, there are many that belong to this vast category. It is sheer absurdity to deny women the right to earn Brahma jnana. But, in worldly matters, it is necessary for them to maintain certain limitations in the interests of dharma (righteousness) and loka kalyana (the good of the people/world). For the sake of safeguarding morality and for the social health of the world, women have to accept some restrictions. This is not to say that there is any fundamental inferiority in them.

Even pundits acquire their jnana through the reverential homage they pay to the feminine deity Saraswati. The divine patrons of learning, prosperity and wisdom are all feminine: Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati. This should show the reverence paid to women.

Question 8

Why does Swami give gifts?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Gifts of rings and pendants are an expression of Swami's love... It is not that Swami wants to draw people to him with gifts. When you wish to show affection to your son, or if you want to make someone happy, you make him a sports shirt or buy him a present, do you not? Swami also wants to bring happiness in this manner.

Question 9

Does a gift also act as a protective talisman?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Yes! They are also like my visiting cards and send me instant flashes when the person is in danger or in need of my help. Sometimes, these gifts are made for specific reasons: for the sake of a devotee's health, or I may give someone a gem stone so that rays from it may constantly influence him or her to follow the right path. I want to tell you that whatever Swami does has a purpose. He never does anything without reason.

Question 10

Why does Swami give vibhuti?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Flowers, leaves, fruit and other edibles have a temporary life. Even water breeds germs if kept in a vessel for days. Only vibhuti remains unchanged, as it is the final result of the five elements of creation. Our desires have to be reduced to ashes and vibhuti is symbolic of this detachment and renunciation. One's mind has to become desireless and detached like the ashes in which everything is burnt out. It is that kind of pure mind that has to be offered to God.

Question 11

Is it necessary to perform pujas (ritual worship) and ceremonies?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Everything depends on the individual concerned. Whatever he or she does has to be done with faith and sincere devotion. God cannot be fooled with mere ritual.

Question 12

What about ceremonies and rites for the dead? Is it wrong not to perform them?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

This again depends on one's mental attitude. After a person leaves the body, the soul takes birth and takes on a new body somewhere else. You must know this. Upto now you must have had so many lives, you must have been a mother and a daughter so very many times.

What is required really is gratitude to one's parents, by remembering them on the day of their death. Though they may shed these bodies in which they are your parents, you still owe them the debts of having given birth to you and of having given you their blood to give you your present form.

You can express this gratitude through the ceremonial shraadha rite, or by any other method, even by thinking of them with sincere and loving gratitude on the death anniversary. It is heartfelt feeling that is important.

Question 13

Why doesn't God make people suffer for their sins in the same lifetime? Why in other lives when they cannot know why they suffer?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Then how would you account for the punya (good deeds) they do? They Have to enjoy the benefits of their punya, too! All that may not always be Possible in one lifetime....

Question 14

Why does Swami have more restrictions for women? They do not have easy access to Swami!

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Everyone has the same kind of access to Swami. This does not depend on their being men or women. Everyone receives the same grace, depending on their devotion, their need, or their work.

Question 14 (continued)

Swami may say so; that nevertheless women have more hurdles to overcome when they want to convey something to Swami.

There are times when the man who stands next to me never catches my attention, as hard as he may try; while a devotee sitting far away in a corner amid a crowd easily catches it. It all depends on who has to receive what and when. Everything happens according to that will, not because of the physical form of man or woman.

Also these differences are visible to you at your level of consciousness. For Swami, these are not differences that count. The atma is not different in man or woman. The atma is eternally  conscious, pure and self-effulgent. The atma is neither masculine nor feminine, nor yet neutral. It is only the body that limits, deludes and wears names.

Question 15

What is the principal cause of all troubles and sorrow?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Attachment and ego are the main causes. Jealousy is another factor.

Question 16

How can jealousy be conquered?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

By having love for everyone, by thinking of others with love and wishing them well. More than all, by realizing that jealousy is physically most harmful. It does damage your internal system and, later on, you will have to suffer the karma of the bad things caused by your jealousy.

Question 17

Why has God created bad traits and negative tendencies in humans?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

These are results of man's own actions. God is only a witness to events. Human beings are themselves responsible for the good and the bad in them. Remember that the things you do not do can never hurt you.

Question 18

But Swami says that there is nothing good or bad!

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Yes! This is from God's point of view. For humans, this is a relative matter, since what is good for one may be bad for another. What is good at one time may be bad in another season. Good and bad are thus two states take two fruits, phalam, which are good. Once they are eaten and digested, they become excreta, malam, and that is bad.

Question 19

Scientists say that something cannot he created out of nothing.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Yes, hut what they think of, as nothing is really anything. There is no nothingness in the Universe. The scientist makes such statements because, with his limited vision, he cannot see all things or know them.

Both science and spirituality begin as inquiry, a quest. Spirituality comes full circle, like the letter O, while science reaches the half circle stage, resembling a C. Science has a lot of catching up to do, for it has only discovered a fraction of the truth. It is like a small piece of cloth you can see protruding from a fist: you can only conjecture about the whole, its looks and size, for it is hidden and you cannot see it.

Question 20

But, science has made many advances flights to the moon and other planets, for instance.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:

Yes. Whatever science has done for humanity is to be welcomed, hut it is still a growing and advancing field. Scientists used to say that you couldnt split the atom and today that is no longer true. The scientist learns as he progresses.

Today's investigations become old tomorrow and lead to new investigations, which will become old the day after tomorrow. There is no end to this, and so the truth lies in something that contains within it both the old and the new. God alone envelops the old and the new and so the best way to advance is Godward.

Mystery of Small Girl Solved

One day Swami was giving darshan (sight of a holy person) to the devotees in Prasanthi Nilayam. As he walked amongst them, I saw a small girl, scarcely five years old, trying to give a letter to Swami. 'Did this child write the letter? Perhaps her mother would have written it', I thought. Even as this thought flashed across my mind, I saw Swami taking the letter, crumpling it and throwing it down as if it were waste paper. This strange act of His made me wonder, 'Maybe Swami meant that the letter was a waste. did it mean that their prayer was answered? He is compassionate. He might have answered. Even if He did not, I don't think he would indicate that.

I got my answer when I went home for the summer holidays. I heard about the experience which threw light upon that incident. The small girl I had seen that day had a heart ailment. The doctors in Madras and Hyderabad confirmed the presence of a hole in her heart. When they came to the Sathya Sai Baba Super Specialty Hospital at Prasanthi Nilayam, the same diagnosis was given. The date of the operation was fixed. The girl's mother wrote a letter to Swami about the operation, and asked the girl to hand it over to Him. This was the scene I had witnessed a few months ago. The mother saw Swami crumpling the letter and took it as a rejection. Her heart bled for her child. The day of the operation dawned. The girl was wheeled into the operating theater. When the final tests were done, the doctors could not believe what they found. They checked again and found no trace of the hole in the heart. The child was perfectly healthy. They went home glad and grateful. What a way to indicate benediction!

Only He knows the purpose of what he does. However, once in a while He does let us peep behind the curtain of His mystery. He wants to confer joy on us. Perhaps, he wants us to understand him. But then, why does he say we should not try to understand; only experience him? Probably, he gives us these glimpses so that we will know the inscrutable nature of his deeds, and the futility of our efforts to comprehend them.

The lesson of a saint

There was a saint by name Thiruvalluvar. Initially he was a weaver. He used to weave just one sari per day, sell it in the bazaar and earn money for his family. Good and bad would exist together. It would be impossible to separate them. In the same village there was the son of a rich man who was wasting his time wandering aimlessly. Where there is money there is ego. Ego gives rise to many bad qualities. Once the money is lost all bad qualities too disappear. One day the rich man's son came to Thiruvalluvar and asked for the price of the sari. Thiruvalluvar said it cost four rupees. The boy was known for his arrogance and pride. He picked up the sari, tore it into two pieces and asked for the price of one piece. Thiruvalluvar replied, it cost two rupees as he had made the sari into two halves. The boy tore it again into another piece and asked for the price. Thiruvalluvar replied that the price was one rupee. This brought about a transformation in the mind of the boy. He wondered how the businessman was calm and composed even after he tore the sari into pieces. Then the boy fell at Thiruvalluvar's feet and repented for his behavior. The boy said due to his pride and arrogance he made this mistake. Then he went to his father, got the required money, kept it at the feet of Thiruvalluvar. Many such great saints lived in Tamil Nadu who set an ideal to the society. Their statues are installed and adored. It is not their statues that are important, but their teachings. The best way to propagate their teachings is to practice them.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Death of the ego

When God’s subtle presence writes answers to your prayers, there oozes out words of wisdom packed with Truth unsullied. Here is an episode from San Salvador when God decided to write The Answer... (From the Sanathana Sarathi Archives)

When Swami authorised the trip of Dr. Goldstein and Leonardo Gutter to the Sathya Sai Centres in eleven countries in Latin America, the devotees in El Salvador were very happy even though we were number eleven. We decided to hold a public meeting and immediately wrote to             Swami for His blessings.

A few days later, two new devotees who knew nothing of the public meeting, asked if they could dance for Swami. This started a chain of events which led to the presentation of the dance titled "The Death of the Ego". Four dancers danced the roles of Ego, Atma, Mind and the friend of the Mind. Everything was going smoothly up to two weeks before the event. Then started some difficult circumstances. First, the dancers all got into a big quarrel. The director wanted to quit. But with some careful explanation it was brought to the attention of the dancers that they wanted to present the death of the Ego to Swami and in order to do this their egos must truly be under control. They saw the light and danced beautifully together from that day forward.

Then it was discovered that the National Theatre where the meeting was to he held did not have its air conditioning in working order. The cost of repair was equal to two trips to India. So we decided to organise a fan brigade. Everyone that could, loaned us their electric fans.

A few days before the public meeting, the posters with Swami's picture were delivered and all the devotees helped to post these in strategic places around town. In a school where the EHV programme had been introduced, a devotee teacher placed a poster. To her chagrin a couple of days later the picture of Swami had been defaced by some miscreant. The teacher was upset. At first she asked Swami to punish the culprit, but then she thought, "No, that isn't right." One afternoon after school she was thinking on the problem and praying to Swami for guidance when all of a sudden she started writing. It was not her words that filled the paper. It was an answer to her prayers. This is what she wrote...

"I return to you not as the image on a poster that you pretend to destroy. I return to you as the light which you cannot extinguish, as the truth that you cannot destroy. I return to you as the voice of your conscience that you cannot silence, because I am the essence of the universal truth. Wash the dirt away from your heart so that you can hear my voice. Remove the blindfold that is covering your eyes and you will be able to see Me. I am in you, I'm your Atma, your spirit, your truth, the voice of your conscience. I am your beginning and your end. You cannot destroy Me. You can only achieve your own destruction." The poster was replaced with this message and all the students read it in silence and walked away.

On the day of the public meeting, Dr. Goldstein and Leonardo Gutter were received in the airport's hall of honour and there we sang bhajans. Then after a brief visit to six Sai Centres, the public meeting was held. But what a multitude! The crowds were turned a way, the doors were closed, only those who arrived punctually found seats. The nectar of the talks by Dr. Goldstein and Leonardo Gutter found a place in the heart of each. Then the dancers flew through the auditorium as the drama on the death of the ego unfolded. Swami was watching from His chair in the Presidential box and from His jhoola in the heart of each one present.

If there is ego and you think Swami is yours, then Swami gets imprisoned by your ego and cannot come to your help. But, if you think, “I belong to Swami”, then Swami becomes free to look after you and bring you spiritual progress. It is all a matter of humility and your attitude. Accept everything as God. God is everywhere, in everything. True realisation of the omnipresence of God will knock out your ego, since it stands in the way of surrender.

- Sri Sathya Sai.

Baba's Three Questions

 An old merchant from Kuppam arrived late one evening by car with his family. As soon as Baba saw him, He asked, "How deep is the well?" I thought the inquiry was about a well he was digging in his field, but his son told me a very thrilling story.

V.R was suffering from acute stomach pain for over ten days and the doctor in attendance left him one dark January night about 10PM. Every one went to bed and all was quiet. An hour later, it was noticed that V.R was not in his bed! Minutes passed, he did not return. A feeble voice was heard from the distance, "Amma! Amma!". The sons ran helter skelter and discovered that the voice emanated from the well! It was 50 yards away from the house, 10 feet across , with water 25 feet deep, an irrigation well , with a wall all around, slabs criss - crossing the depth, with a pumping set worked by an electrically operated engine. The old man had fallen into it!

It was pitch dark, but, with the help of a torch it was found that the old man was most miraculously standing erect close to the wall with no apparent foothold, more than half his body immersed in the water. He was praying aloud to Sathya Sai, his only succour. Shuddering and shivering, one of the sons got down the well and tied a rope round the waist of the old man; others went about frantically calling for help, but they could collect only two timid individuals. Then, as luck would have it, or rather as Baba willed, the Sub-inspector of Police (whoever could have expected him of all people to pass that way?) butted in to find out the reason for their commotion. He helped in the rescue, by letting down a sofa for the old man and slowly lifting him up.

The doctor, who was called in, was stunned because there was not a single scratch or cut on the body; the patient was perfectly normal and unconcerned and was reciting Baba's Name. He looked as if he had just returned from a bath in the Chithravathi! How could he have stood erect, clinging to the side of the well, with 25feet of water beneath him? That was the wonder, the wonder of all who could not grasp that the escape was Providential, nay, Sathyasaidential, to be more exact.

 A family came from Nellore and stood facing the portico of the Prasanthi Nilayam. Baba appeared before long and He asked them, "Where is the dog that took your son up the Hill?" I thought the question referred to some pet dog which was faithful and intelligent and I asked them whether my surmise was correct. No; it was not. It seems his son left the house one night with out notice, a week previously. Since he was not in the best of health, either physically or mentally, the parents were naturally very worried; they telegraphed to Baba; they searched all likely and unlikely places. In the morning, someone came and gave them a clue…. he might have gone to Tirupathi. So, they hastened to that place and drove up the Hill and arrived at the Temple, to discover the boy there! He had climbed the steps in spite of his ill health, because, as he said a lovely little dog had inspired him and guided his steps. Its seems that dog appeared suddenly from nowhere just after the first few steps; it would climb seven or eight steps and sit looking affectionately towards the boy, encouraging him to do likewise, urging him on, and intimating to him that it was all so easy. Without knowing how, the boy had followed the dog, talking to it and inspired by it, never doubting its intentions or its authenticity as guide. A few yards from the Gopuram of Sri Venkatachalapathi Temple, the dog melted away. That was the story the son related to the astounded parents on the Hill and at Puttaparthi to me, when I asked him about the dog, that was mentioned by Baba, as soon as they came.

An officer who had to tour uninhabited tracts and jungles for at least a few months every year as part of his official duties came to Puttaparthi; he was looking up the verandah on the first floor of the Nilayam, to get a glimpse of Baba. Presently, Baba appeared and recognising him, asked, "Did you get the lorry I sent?" I thought the man was a businessman who had dispatched a lorry to Puttaparthi and was expecting it back. But the man had a different story to tell!

He said that the question revealed to him that the arrival of a lorry, along a god forsaken jungle road to pick him up from his sick bed and convey him to the nearest doctor, 40 miles away, was the act of Baba and the saving of his life by that doctor's timely ministration was a Satyasaidential act of mercy. It seems he had developed a septic wound while in camp and that he had fallen into delirium on account of the fever. It was raining terribly and thunder roared overhead. He prayed to all the Gods he knew, including Baba, but, found no ray of hope, for he was on the very center of no man's land. Then, suddenly, he heard the noise of a passing lorry. Yes. The driver had lost his way and was nosing his way about the jungle tracks. His servants ran after it shouted desperately, and caught it, by the side of a deep nullah, where it had perforce to stop. That lorry saved his life.

And, now, he knew that Baba had sent it!

(ARTICLE WRITTEN BY LATE PROF.KASTURI, SANATHANA SARATHI APRIL 1961 ISSUE)

A Conversation with Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The following conversation between a devotee and Sai Baba took place in Prasanthi Nilayam many years ago and was first published in an early issue of the Sanathana Sarathi, the official ashram magazine.

Devotee: Swami! The world is very cruel to me.

Sai Baba: That is its nature. The purpose of the world is frustration; it has to engender need. When the need is strong enough, the individual seeks fulfilment.

Devotee: And fails!

Sai Baba: Only when he seeks fulfilment without! Within him, he can get it. The within is accessible always; it is ever responsible. There is pain only so long as attachment for outer forms remains. Ultimate relief from pain can come only with the loss of ego, the neutralisation of that which reacts to something as pain and something else as pleasure, whose memory, whose conditioning, helps to recognise the dualities of joy and grief.

Devotee: But the world, Swami?

Sai Baba: The world is pain. Expect nothing from the world but that. I willed the totality of your conditioned existence to be pain, in order to draw you to me.

Devotee: Which I can, at best, only hope to attain.

Sai Baba: God asks for neither hope nor despair. They are subject to relativity. Universal Being is beyond both hope and despair, both certainty and doubt. It knows no lingering in its conclusions. It is ever flowing, in all directions, and in none of them.

Devotee: What then shall be my direction?

Sai Baba: Take what works today for today. What works tomorrow for tomorrow. One day at a time, each day for itself, each moment for itself, without a past, without memory, without conclusions.

Devotee: Conclusions?

Sai Baba: Yes. Conclusions bind; they press on the mind. The newborn baby is not confined to conclusions. All conclusions enslave. Most men are slaves to the conclusions into which they have fallen.

Devotee: Does that mean I have to give up my practice of concentration?

Sai Baba: The question that bothers you is one of fixity. You tried to fix your thought and attention on a word and later on a form, but you discovered that nothing lasts, that everything has to change. But I tell you; awareness can remain, even when form subsides, even when the word melts away.

Devotee: I find it difficult to hold my attention on form or word.

Sai Baba: Because when you try to meditate, the very trial invites the success-failure conflict onto the scene. You say to yourself, it is good to meditate on this and not that, or to meditate on that is wrong or foolish. Practise choicelessness; no objective, no intention. Be yourself. Choose no particular form, for all are equally His. Choose no particular word or sound, for all are His.

Devotee: I am often tossed between contradictory beliefs.

Sai Baba: Contradictions are inevitable. It is the very nature of this world and of the mind. But you can choose, either to be buffeted endlessly by the apparent contradictions or to remain in the calm centre of the cyclone. This is the problem of all problems, the problem of peripheral or central being.

Devotee: The circumference or the centre, the rim or the hub of the wheel?

Sai Baba: Yes. The hub is calm, steady, unmoved. But the mind will be drawn along the spokes, the objective desires, to revolve over mud and stone, sand and thorns. It will not believe that it can get bliss from the centre, rather than from the circumference, without undergoing a rough journey over turbulent terrain.

Devotee: Ultimately, it means the conquest of the mind?

Sai Baba: Learn to let all the conflicts spawned by the mind play themselves out, and cancel each other out. Be the witness to the holocaust. The ultimate solution to the conflict is not decision or even choice, but passive being. Dare to remain inconclusive. See the endless quandaries of the mind as a divine leela, God's sport, as the natural function of the bundle of desires called mind. Do not believe in mind; do not rally to its assertions and appetites. Watch the mind from a distance; do not get involved in its tumblings and turnings. Then everything becomes insignificant. When everything recedes into meaninglessness, you are in the hub, in equanimity.

Devotee: Swami, you are the hub, the spokes and the rim.

Sai Baba: Do not be concerned with who I am! Concern yourself with who you are and how you can be ever aware of that truth. Do not be a willing captive of the endless stratagems of the mind. Abstain from all that draws you into its web. I will lead you, if you rely on me. The alternatives of the world will not bring you happiness, for the mind, which revels in alternatives, is but a will-of-the-wisp, flitting before your vision. I do not judge you for what is never yours, really. Your imperfection is no obstacle for me.

Devotee: I confess that I have not always observed the rules of conduct of the Sathya Sai Organisation.

Sai Baba: Your mind keeps asking for rules. But when you get the rules, you find you cannot keep them. Rules engender rigidity, they force. They do not bloom out of love or spread love. There is always a way of doing a thing without the strain of a rule. See how unperturbed I am with your restlessness! I live thus, so that I may afford a lesson for you to learn.

Devotee: I am restless, Swami, because I yearn for rest and do not get it.

Sai Baba: It is your reaction to restlessness that is bad, not the restlessness itself. Restlessness is only the rise and fall of a wave on the ocean that you are. Nothing matters, so long as the depths are secure. Success is not important: failure does not matter. The river of eternity is flowing ever into the ocean of the Supreme Will.

Devotee: How long am I to be torn apart from that Supreme Will?

Sai Baba: You are a fraction of that Supreme Will. That is why you are afflicted with the hunger to seek It and to merge in It and to find fulfilment and bliss thereby. Turning to the world for solace and sustenance to appease that hunger has been tried by countless generations, including your own, but the hunger is gnawing still.

Devotee: What then is the proper reaction to the attractions of the world?

Sai Baba: Let go. Don't cling. Be still. Establish yourself in the homelessness of the mind; physical homelessness will not earn the victory. There are many spiritual aspirants still caught in the coils of greed, envy, pride and power seeking. They have not escaped from their homes. They have built prisons around themselves. I describe homelessness of the mind as mind abiding nowhere.

Devotee: And wandering everywhere?

Sai Baba: Do not exclude anything. Be the witness of everything. The exclusive cannot endure. God is all. Your restlessness came from exclusion, the pressure exerted by the excluded into the area from which it was excluded. All is God; how can you push God out of His Domain? Your mind concludes that the cause for the restlessness is whatever concerns it at the time. The actual cause is not that. You limit God by your assumptions, hence the restlessness. For you too are divine, and your reality protests against that limitation.

Devotee: Swami! Sometimes I feel so sad that I am so strange, so different in habits from the rest of those that come to you for succour.

Sai Baba: If your path contrasts entirely with those around you, believe that it is my will for you. Every way is my way and ways seemingly indirect may be the most direct for some spiritual seekers. For me there are no impossible cases, no incorrigible cases. Practise choicelessness as hitherto prescribed. Choicelessness is constant contentment.

Questioner: Swami, I am addicted to tea drinking, which hurts me. How can I stop this practice?

Sai Baba: Heaven is not refused to those who drink tea! A rajasic person is rendered hyperactive by tea, but to an invalid it is a welcome lift. But do not adore tea as the only reality. Now with regard to these habits that have gripped you, there are two methods by which you can discard them. The first is deprivation, denial. This can yield only temporary success. When one's determination relaxes, the habit reasserts itself and it becomes difficult to resist. The second method is to become so absorbed in something far more pleasing that the habit falls off by itself. Remember, what is transient is not important. What is important is eternal. My prescriptions are varied; they differ from person to person, from stage to stage, even in the case of the same person. All prescriptions work. Let people come to me through Bhajan, through Japa, through Meditation, through Mantras, through Tantra or Seva ­ as I ordain. Every one will come to me; everyone has to come to me. There are no exceptions.

Devotee: We rely on your grace Swami, we yearn for it. Make us aware of it.

Sai Baba: I never asked you to earn me. I want only that you should need me. Your path is not one of merit. Bring the recurring desires of your mind to me, every time they emerge. They cannot shock me, for I willed them! Bring me your confusion, your fear, your craving, your anxiety, your inability to love the world, your hesitation to serve, your jealousy, all the deficiencies that defy your spiritual disciplines.

Devotee: How are we to do seva if we feel the urge to do so? What if the urge is absent?

Sai Baba: There are many ways to serve the world. You can serve, if not actively, at least by your serenity. Everyone need not do all things. Your Western heritage reveres active work. But if your being tends towards serenity and solitude, take it as the best. Do not be sorry for it. Only a small minority can delight in serenity and remain still. God has willed it so, otherwise, how could the world function? If stillness is your destiny, dare to be so. If you are a recluse, be a recluse, but a recluse with me. You may not be a saint, but you can peacefully be nothing. Let each be as he is, remembering, however, his source and his reality. None is as he is but for me.

Devotee: I have yet much to learn.

Sai Baba: You wish to learn from me. Well, if you are preoccupied by the body's needs, by the arrangements for its travelling, its accommodation and the food it demands, time will fly. That student learns best and fastest who does not spend his time constantly shifting from one classroom to the next. You will learn everything worth knowing in my classroom. I will expose you to all states of being, so that you may learn to rest in me in all of them. There are no insurmountable obstacles to me; there are no pre-requisites for me. I am unconditional.

Devotee: But you are absent so often and away for so long at your headquarters.

Sai Baba: Always, at every time, at every place, I am where you need me. All things without are subject to the limitation of time and space, to the material laws of Nature. My outer form is no exception! If you would perceive my physical form, it must come within the range of your gaze, so position yourself so that you can see it. And even then, it may not gaze at you. But, I am omnipresent! The limitations of the body and the outer senses do not hold for the inner vision. Therein, you can see me at any time and any place and receive darshan. The outer vision is purposely insufficient, instantaneous, transitory, casual, so that you may crave for and accomplish the inner darshan. If I have separated you from my physical image off and on, it was only to bring you to me and to establish my presence within you. That alone will replenish you and refresh you, I know. None of my absences was a rejection or rebuke. So far as you are concerned, I intended them all. And, always, I willed that you return to me.