Sri Sathya Sai: Supreme Avatar Shri Maharajakrishna Rasgotra, IFS (Retd.), is a career diplomat. He was the Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Netherlands, France, and Indian High Commissioner to the U K. He retired as Foreign Secretary of the Government of India. Thereafter, he has served on the Board of the Sri Sathya Sai International Center at New Delhi. Shri Rasgotra was blessed to be the Chief Guest at the SSSIHL Convocation Ceremony in 1989 and 2004. He has been an ardent Sai devotee for nearly 50 years. In 2002, the Government of India conferred on him the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award. I experienced the grace and exhilaration of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s darshan for the first time in early April 1972 at the house of my friend, the late Sohan Lal in New Delhi. It was a fleeting moment of recognition on my part of a unique personage of irresistible allure, all too apparently a living, moving human figure, mixing around with a small group of people present, talking and joking with them with the bonhomie of an old school pal, and yet someone not quite of this earth. Despite the ease and informality of the occasion, there was an ethereal and unreachable quality to His presence. My feelings were a mix of curiosity, wonder, elation, and a sense of relief and comfort that comes from the end of a search or the realization of a long-cherished dream. These drew me some three months later to the Sathya Sai Ashram at Puttaparthi on 1 July, 1972. [It was] a modest establishment comprising the bare hall of the mandir [temple], a few living quarters occupied by Baba’s devotees, and three or four huts just outside the temple premises inhabited by old residents of the Parthi village. Baba was away at the time at Anantapur, but my journey was rewarded with a meeting with his most ardent devotee and biographer, Kasturi. On Kasturi’s advice, I motored down to Anantapur the following morning, to be blessed by Baba with my first gift of Vibhuti [sacred ash] materialized by a wave of the down-turned palm of His right hand and an hour-long uninterrupted private meeting in the course of which He spoke to me about the mystery that is death, the meaning and purpose of life, and of human love and human values. Incidentally, he also laid bare my past and in so doing charted a new direction for my future life. Those were moments of self-revelation and a deeply spiritual experience, a second birth for me in a very real sense. On that blessed day, 2 July 1972, the conviction dawned on me that Baba was not just an unusually wise, enlightened, and prescient human being, guru or saint, but an Avatar in the line of the Divine teachers of earlier epochs of the evolution of human civilization, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Christ. Baba’s grace is boundless, and on several occasions since that day I have had glimpses of His divine nature⎯the appearance of a bright halo around His head to remove the shadow of a lingering doubt, an epiphanic manifestation in a dream to provide solace or guidance in a difficult dilemma, a casually announced forecast of a coming event or sudden fulfillment of a long cherished but seemingly unrealizable wish or hope. His healing powers and cures of fatal maladies like cancer are well known. I have personally experienced His unseen but palpable protective intervention in dangerous accidents in which I was involved and in cases of critical illness, my own and of members of my immediate family. I have experienced and known all this and much more since my first acquaintance with Baba 33 years ago, but I cannot honestly claim that I know Him or the magnitude of His being any better today than I did then. He is vast and mysterious as the universe, predictable only in His unfailing concern for the well-being of His devotees and His ceaseless work for human betterment, and the magnanimity of His love for one and all without distinction of high and low, of caste, creed, or religion. Precisely because of the mystery He is, in the earlier years of my association with Him my mind was assailed by doubt, and now and then my devotion to Him faltered. But no longer does my mind entertain any doubt about the authenticity and plenitude of Sathya Sai’s avatarhood. All this, I am sure, is a gift of His grace and love. In my personal conduct, I do still occasionally fall victim to anger, wrong-doing, and other human failings only to receive in abundance His corrective forgiveness and a gentle nudge toward greater self-knowledge. My faith and belief in Sathya Sai’s Divinity has deepened and steadied over the years. It is Sai’s most precious gift to an imperfect and erring devotee. He is truly a channel of grace, an unsurpassed guide to erring mortals. All religions claim revelation of the truth through a messenger, messiah, or Avatar. These manifestations in human form of the great Divine remind us of our original connection with immortality. Avataric manifestations reveal to us glimpses of God’s majesty and mystery, omniscience and omnipotence, and open before us visions of the heights to which man can rise. God’s descent as a man also serves to remind us of our original connection with Him and illumine our consciousness of that reality. The Creator cannot be indifferent to the fate of man, the pride of His creation, or remain unconcerned with man’s struggle with the flaws and failings of his nature, and his struggle against the forces of evil that destroy human values. God is immanent in His creation and, therefore, constantly involved with its advance toward perfection. The appearance of an Avatar, his life and work on earth, are timed to improve the prevailing world order by leading man on the path of perfection that culminates in knowledge of and eventual merger in the Absolute⎯the final goal of the cycle of births and deaths. This is at the core of Sathya Sai’s teaching. Lord Krishna says in

Doctors and the Divine Adevotee from the Far East who had been confined to the wheel‑chair for a number of years, is wheeled into the “interview room” at Trayee Brindavan [Swami’s ashram in Bangalore]. Half an hour later he comes out walking, pushing the wheel‑chair in front of him. It was a Gurupoornima day. A mother carrying a 12‑year‑old boy who had never walked since birth is called in for interview at Prasanthi Nilayam. Swami gives the boy a big pat on his back, and he goes into and comes out of the room walking. Crowds gather around these patients and express their amazement and share their happiness. Some people in the darshan line start giving their own interpretation of the event. Doctors in the gathering stand in awe unable to find words to explain the phenomenon. What is their reaction? How can they reconcile their scientific knowledge with all this? They will no doubt accept that the divine force had effected a miraculous cure in these cases. But, perhaps, hardly any of them tries to think about and analyze the great possibilities that lie behind this phenomenon. Swami Himself has explained these miraculous cures. When His love and the faith of the patient click, the cure is affected. Is it possible for doctors consciously to take the help of this divinity in their healing mission at least to strengthen the healing process if not to effect miraculous cures? The answer to this question will depend on the doctors’ understanding of the inherent divinity of man himself. The whole and the parts The bane of modern medicine is that it neglects to treat the patient as a whole person, and because of this physicians are unable to understand and cure many diseases that afflict man today. By reducing the whole human organism to its parts and trying to treat the parts, doctors have lost their ability to understand the coordinating activities of the whole. This whole includes the Self of man, the divinity within him. Because of this fragmented approach, the traditional wisdom of the faith healer, who views his patient as an integral whole, involving besides the body, the person’s relationship to the cosmos and the divine powers in it, is often a subject for mockery for modern medical practitioners. They are completely ignorant of the fact that even rituals and ceremonies, however crude they may appear to be, have a place in stimulating the natural healing powers that every living being possesses. While it may be unwise to suggest that the modern physician should adopt these methods to supplement his drug therapy, it will at least be useful to go deeper into these practices and investigate how exactly they assist in the healing process. Healing and divinity Indifference to spirituality has become characteristic of modern medical practice, as is the case with most other professions. The modern physician tends to avoid philosophical and spiritual aspects con­nected with illness and healing. From ancient times, healing in our country has been associated with divinity as exempli­fied by the Ashwini Devas and Dhanvantri, the God of Medicine. This is true of ancient Greek medicine also wherein they conceived of healing deities like Hygieia (Goddess of Health) and Aes­culapius (God of Medicine). Similar concepts were held in ancient Chinese medicine, which was greatly influenced by Taoism and Confucianism. All these methods of healing were directed toward treating the patients at a more fundamen­tal level than at the level of the body­-mind complex. The validity of this approach has been demonstrated in recent years by scientific studies. Once feelings of hope, anticipation, and faith are generated at the deeper level, the body starts combating the illness more effectively, with or even without the assistance of drugs, and heals itself. In these circumstances there is no doubt that the Divine takes charge of the physical body and does the needful. When such a self‑healing process is initiated, it is impossible to describe exactly in scien­tific terms what happens in the organism, and it will not be wrong to characterize it as divine intervention. The modern phy­sician hardly pays any thought to this aspect of his practice and comes to rely more and more on his own treatment. From the patient’s side also, the evoluti­onary state of man now is such that in­stead of taking the assistance of the un­limited healing potential within himself he almost entirely relies on outside interven­tion by doctors and drugs. Disease and the spirit An obvious flaw in modern medicine is the narrow view it has taken about the origin of diseases, always trying to find a single cause for each ailment, forgetting the contributory factors, especially those concerning the victim’s psyche. Though “stress” has been recognized as an im­portant cause of many diseases, its varied psychological and spiritual aspects have hardly received any attention from the practicing physician. Nor is there any recognition that spirituality and spiritual practices can have a tremendous influence on the factors affecting health, disease, and cures. This has never been a subject of investigation for medical researchers. That bodily ailments are only one of the several manifestations of a state of imba­lance in the living organism and that this imbalance can have spiritual dimensions to it is hardly acceptable to the so‑called scientific mind of the modern physician. A little deeper inquiry into the pheno­menon of spiritual healing will naturally lead us to a discussion of the nature of human consciousness. While physicists have shown that a consistent quantum theory is possible only with reference to the consciousness of the researcher, the psychologists and psychotherapists have only recently started showing interest in states of consciousness. The understand­ing of individual human consciousness and cosmic consciousness calls for enquiry beyond accepted scientific definitions and concepts, at least for the present. But it was long known to our ancients that the consciousness in every living being is a projection of the Divine and that the individual consciousness is closely linked to and integrally related to the cosmic consciousness. This cosmic

Baba and Bhagavad-Gita Bhagavad-Gita [Song of the Gods] is a conversation between a doubting Arjuna and a confident Lord Krishna. It was narrated on a battlefield when, suddenly, the otherwise extraordinarily competent Arjuna was engulfed with an indecisive thought whether to fight. It was a peculiar situation in which he was placed. Having waged a number of wars previously and having come prepared to decide an issue in a dharmayuddha (righteous battle), delu­sion suddenly overtakes him and he says to Lord Krishna in sloka [verse] 7, ch.2 thus: Karpanya doshopahataswabhavahpruchchamitwam dharma sammudhachetahyachchreya ssyannischitam bruhi tanmesishyastheham sadhi mam twam prapannam. He says he was puzzled about his duty and prays for instructions, as a devoted student of His, for what is decidedly good. He almost surrenders completely and is mentally prepared to have guidance from Lord Krishna. Earlier, he tries to put forth one argument after another to justify his line of thinking for not fighting. These are nothing but ignorant outbursts since the situation was not unknown to him. All the same, he relies on some plea or other to strengthen his thinking. At the end of the discourse (Krishna-arjuna-samvada), he says in sloka 73, ch. 18 thus: Nashto mohah smrutirlabdha twatprasada­nmayachyutaSthithosmi gatesandehah Karishye vachanam tava. My delusion is destroyed, and I have gained knowledge; through Your grace, I stand freed from doubts. I shall therefore carry out Your bidding. It is, therefore, clear that Arjuna could not see through clearly since he was deluded. This delusion overtakes every one of the average categories of indivi­duals very often during the discharge of his actions. Therefore, Bhagavad-Gita is as much relevant today as it was before dur­ing Mahabharata days. It is not a topical problem pertaining to Arjuna alone, but it is a fundamental problem facing every one of us. It will be relevant even in future till eternity since this answers a fundamental problem of human personality. Hence Bhagavad-Gita is verily universal scripture and not a Hindu scripture as some people ignorantly limit it. It addresses itself to all human beings irrespective of caste, creed, or religion. May one be an Indian, Englishman, American, Russian, or anyone else, one gets the immense benefit of a proper guideline for his behavior in the society. This great country, India, inherits this scripture. Not only that, but it also had the unique fortune of having a succession of wise mas­ters, saints, and seers from time immemorial to maintain unbroken the tradition and cultural heritage of the country. In shloka 7, ch. 4, the Lord says: Yada yadahidharmasya glanirbhawati bharataAbhyutthanamadharmasya tadatmanam srujamyaham Arjuna, whenever there is a decline of righteousness (dharma‑glani) and unright­eousness is in the ascendant, then I reveal Myself in a body form. Thus, one finds that whenever there is a deterioration of human values, whenever there is a distraction from dharmic way of living, and whenever man has come to a stage of forgetting the inner core of his personality, then a God-man appears on the scene to remind the old cherished ideas so that they gain currency once again. It is not very difficult to discover this God‑man or super‑man. He has also a limited form and shape like any other individual, but he possesses all the qualities of a Sthitaprajna [man of steadfast wisdom] depicted in ch. 2, a bhakta depicted in ch. 12, or a Trigunateeta [reaching the state of perfection] depicted in ch. 14 of Bhagavad-Gita. The nirakara concept (shapeless and formless) of God is difficult and not easy to comprehend by an ordinary, average, mundane individual. The sakara concept (with a shape and form to suit the individual’s faith) has been conceived as a much more easily identifiable and distinguishable method in this country, which resulted in idol worship in temples built for several supermen like Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, etc. These supermen distinguished them­selves during those days not by their military prowess or material excellence but by their super‑natural way of life, which was exemplary to others. Thus, they stood head and shoulders above the contemporary human society and were considered as Gods. We, in this era, have not witnessed them in flesh and blood, but we adore them today as God­-men or Gods. The identification of such God‑men becomes difficult these days. Also, it appears that the craze for running after so‑called happiness as a sequel to the acquisition of material things has been the motto for all human activities. The tendency is to run after the unreal and run away from the real. This aberration or wrong identification of human values appears to be the cause of our present-day misery. The scientific and technological progress to establish man’s excellence over other forms of life is very much welcome. But that alone does not make the earth a heaven. The correct approach or a right attitude to life is very much important to establish harmony and peace in life or, in other words, the dharmic way of life has to be reestablished. I was following for the last few years the divyabodha (divine utterances) of Sri Sathya Sai Baba published in Sanathana Sarathi. I felt that Lord Krishna is once again addres­sing the contemporary society. The profound statements are so meaningful and thought­ful that it is no wonder that people who understand him call him Bhagavan. His preachings are helping in restructuring and reestablishing a dharmic society that is very much necessary these days. When artha and kama are based upon dharma, surely they lead to moksha [liberation]. If these pursuits after artha (money) and kama(desire) are not anchored in dharma (righteousness), then there is no salvation to humanity. The four pillars that Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba wants to reinforce in the society are sathya (truth), dharma (righteousness), shanti (peace), and prema(universal love) and I offer my felicitations with all humility unto Him. ~Prof D. V. Ramana Rao, RourkelaSource: Sanathana Sarathi, March 197

Reminiscences with Sri Sathya Sai Late Dr. K Hanumanthappa, M. Com, Ph.D., CCA (USA), FBIM (London), FWAIM (USA) served as the Vice Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning from 1993 to 1996. He was former Vice Chancellor of Bangalore University and authored about 250 research papers published in national and international journals, and 15 books on finance and management. He was recipient of national and international awards and was a devotee of Bhagavan Baba for over 45 years. Way back in 1969 Swami blessed us with an interview and said that He would take me into His University, but nothing further was revealed. At that time, I was working in Bangalore University as Head of the Department of Commerce and Management. As Bhagavan’s University had not come into being, all students from Sai Institutions used to come to Bangalore University for their Higher Studies. I should frankly admit that those students were mainly responsible for my establishing close proximity to Bhagavan. That was His Leela (miracle). While working in the Bangalore University, I used to go religiously to Whitefield every day to have Bhagavan’s darshan. The period between 1969 and 1993 brought me closer and closer to Bhagavan and finally made me glide into His Divine Orbit. It was a turning point in my life. Unprecedented changes took place in my life, unthinkable transformation and reformation of the highest magnitude took place in my personality and those of the members of my family, besides unbearable trials and tribulations in my job and the environment in which I was working. Many extreme situations and circumstances of melancholy made my life miserable. All these events compelled me to think of quitting the Bangalore University and going either to USA or UK if possible. At that critical juncture Bhagavan Baba entered my life and started guiding and protecting me at every stage. He finally elevated me to the position of Vice Chancellor in the same University where I had suffered untold misery and suffering. It shows that in such critical periods of devotees’ lives, Bhagavan, the “Anatha Rakshaka”, gives tremendous courage and confidence to them to face all such difficulties. In an interview in 1969 Swami told me, “You are going to become everything here and don’t need to go anywhere further.” He wanted that I should be near Him always. Knowing well my wavering mind, Swami one day sent word through Late Sri N. Kasturi that I should not leave Bangalore and the University. This I implicitly obeyed; I stayed on at Bangalore till I became the Vice Chancellor. In response to this, Bhagavan fulfilled His promise to me. By Swami’s infinite grace and compassion, I was appointed as Vice Chancellor of Bangalore University, which was the biggest University in Asia at that time, for a period of 3 years from 1990 to 1993. After receiving the orders, I did not take charge immediately, for I wanted to take Swami’s blessings and then report for duty. Though I was going to Whitefield every day for darshan, Bhagavan neither looked at me nor enquired about my appointment. Perhaps Bhagavan wanted to test me or it might have been His Divine drama, or He was waiting for an auspicious day. When all the newspapers carried the news of my appointment, Srinivas, my old student, seems to have told Bhagavan about my appointment. Immediately Bhagavan called me, and expressed His great joy and happiness, and profusely showered His blessings on me. On a Thursday, I was asked to take charge. Holding my hands, Bhagavan promised my wife and me that He would look after everything during the tenure of my office as Vice Chancellor. And He rightly kept His promise till the end of my term, for which I shall remain ever grateful to the most compassionate Swami. Just before the completion of my three-year term as the Vice Chancellor of Bangalore University, one day I went to Pondicherry to attend the All-India Vice Chancellors’ Conference for three days. I got an urgent message from Swami informing me that I had been selected as the Vice Chancellor of Swami’s University and that I should report on the 10th of March, 1993. Though my joy knew no bounds, getting the relieving order from the Chancellor and the Governor of Karnataka within such a short period posed a serious problem. All of us are aware that in such critical situations, Bhagavan’s divine power works in response to our prayers; and His ‘sankalpa’ will make us overcome all hurdles. Initially the Governor refused to relieve me, for he was interested in extending my tenure for another term of three years. But God’s Will was that I should report on a particular day as destined and designed by Bhagavan. Miraculously, the Governor changed his mind overnight and relieved me. After my return to Puttaparthi, Bhagavan told me, “I had gone to the Governor at Bangalore and asked him to relieve you immediately.” All this had happened in one night, hardly within 8 or 10 hours. This incident still remains a mystery to me, because when Bhagavan was in Puttaparthi at that time, how could He have gone to Bangalore overnight and met the Governor? Therefore, God, the Divine Master can change the course of events, and make things submit to His Divine Will as and when He desires. From day one, after taking charge as the Vice Chancellor, I felt as though I had landed in a different world altogether. Everything looked very strange and totally different from what I had seen and experienced all along in my life. Bhagavan’s University looked totally different from the rest of the universities in the world. The students, teachers, and the staff looked different in their behavior, their life style, and work culture. My experience in Bangalore University and in other places could not match Bhagavan’s University. On the other hand, those were contradicting and confronting my style of functioning. Bhagavan was closely observing my predicament, sometimes correcting, sometimes encouraging and at times even admonishing me in order to put

When Prof. Frank Baranowski saw Sri Sathya Sai’s Aura—July, 1978 Professor Frank Baranowski, a psychologist and regression therapist, specializes in research on auras, the energy patterns that surround all living beings, and works at the University of Arizona. He is an expert in bio-magnetic field radiation photography. He has photographed and interpreted the auras for numerous men and women using the ultra-sensitive Kirlian camera. Professor Baranowski had read several books about Sri Sathya Sai Baba, including Samuel Sandweiss’ ‘Sai Baba, the Holy man and the Psychiatrist’. He wondered whether such a person could really exist and whether all that was written about him was factual. As he was, at that time, writing a book on reincarnation based on case studies and other findings, he was interested in Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s claim of being a reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba. During Christmas 1977, Professor Baranowski was a guest at a home where a bhajan (devotional songs) session was in progress. A stranger to this form of worship, he withdrew to a room upstairs. He was resting there quietly in the dark room when, to his astonishment, a candle on the table suddenly burst into flames. The bright flame illuminated a nearby picture of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He could not understand who could have lighted the candle. He was alone in the room. There had not been any sound and no one had come in. How could a flame appear all of a sudden on the wick of the candle? He stared at the picture, and it did many things to him. It seemed to penetrate into him and to beckon to him. To a man of science, this occurrence was totally inexplicable. Sathya Sai Baba? Yes, I had heard of Him but with a lot of mixed emotions. The stories that were attributed to this man bordered on the incredible. As a man of science, I am aware of psychosomatic healings, and I have seen miraculous healings, yet here were rumors of a man from India who could heal people by His mere touch. The story hinged on the unbelievable. In July of 1978, I found myself at the first World Peace Conference at Bangalore. I had heard that Sathya Sai Baba resided in a place called Whitefield. This small community boasts of a college founded by Sathya Sai Baba dedicated to science and commerce. As I arrived by taxicab, the first thing I noticed was the refreshing cleanliness of the area. Though hot and stiflingly humid, hundreds of Indians and foreigners crowded the grounds surrounding Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram or residence. I joined the patient assemblage, sitting squat-legged among them. I didn’t have to wait long until Sathya Sai Baba appeared. I must confess, this first time I saw Him I was not impressed. He was of small stature and walked among the people as if He were distracted. He would hardly take the time to look at a person or to talk with them—then He would suddenly turn His head as if looking for someone else. It wasn’t until the next morning that I realized I was seeing an individual who possessed gifts beyond description. It was about five o’clock in the morning, and the followers had been singing their devotional songs and chanting during a parade around the compound at Whitefield, when Sathya Sai Baba came out of His residence. Now, I have always been able to see the human aura. The auras around average people extend as much as three to five feet. Auras are composed of every imaginable color and these colors change as a person’s emotional, physical, and mental states change. In general, whenever the color blue is evident in a person’s aura, it is an indication of deep spirituality; green is a healing color; yellow indicates high intelligence; and red means anger or frustration. The color pink, which is rarely seen, typifies a person capable of selfless love, and this was the color that Sathya Sai Baba had around Him. The aura around Sathya Sai Baba went beyond the building reaching 30 or 40 feet in all directions. Never having seen any aura like this before, my first reaction was to look for fluorescent lights that may have been shining on Him. But as I watched, the beautiful pink energy pattern moved as He moved; there was no doubt that this was His aura. Entranced by this remarkable sight, I barely heard the devotional songs that were being sung, and before I knew it Sathya Sai Baba had gone. The crowd settled in the now familiar cross-legged position and prepared themselves to wait until Sathya Sai Baba’s next appearance, four hours later. I have had the pleasure of meeting such personalities as ex-president Gerald Ford, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, and Pope John Paul II, and I have studied their auras as well as tens of thousands of others, and I say this not as a testimonial but as a fact; not one person I have ever seen has an aura to compare to the size and color of Sathya Sai Baba’s aura. The heat was remarkable; the humidity hung like a wet cloth over the gathering. Amid chanting, a few anxious eyes watched the threatening skies, dark clouds gave foreboding signs of torrential storms, but all around me devotees were assuring each other “Sathya Sai Baba won’t allow it to rain”. Then, there He was again, I felt my heartbeat quicken as He turned in my direction. Soon He stepped beside me, looked at me, and then made a quick motion to the man seated beside me. Suddenly crushed lilies began to appear in the palms of His hands, and as they poured forth, the petals filled the cupped hands of the seated man. But the flower petals didn’t stop coming; they went on to fill the waiting hands of a second, a third and then a fourth person! As this great man turned away, He glanced in my direction as if to say,

Noblest Deeds in the Eyes of Baba What is in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name will smell as sweet. All names are His. It makes no difference by whatever name we may call Baba. What is the noblest deed in the eyes of Baba? To return good for evil; To abide by His will; Not to tell lies; To love Him. Just imagine that when our heads and hearts are filled with His thoughts, it is natural that our attachments to everything else will fade away. The result will be that there will be no heartbreaking separations. So, we will never consider any imaginary object or transitory existence to be real. Our minds will, therefore, acquire strength and stability. We shall be able to see realities of life in their true perspective without internal attachment to them; heart-breaking separ Life in the world is nothing but play and entertainment. The world is only a drama, and we are all actors in it. In a drama the gains and losses are all unreal. Every actor in a play must naturally accept his share of gains and losses as a part of the play. But having once known it to be a part of the play, he keeps himself detached from the effects of these gains and losses. ‘The actor in the play knows that both gains and losses are temporary exhibitions on the stage, and his real purpose is to please his MASTER with his acting. If we begin to look upon these losses and gains as real and consequently start crying seriously or getting elated unduly, and if we decline to further play the part allotted to us with due attention, the result will be that the MASTER will be displeased and may use other forms of compulsion to make us play our part properly. All gains and losses are imaginary because the inner meaning of this drama is something quite different. Human life or death is like putting on or taking off theatrical dresses. Our relations are not real; our attachments are merely imaginary; the gains and losses here are meaningless. Surrounded by these thoughts, our minds can live and act in the same surroundings without being affected by painful incidents and without excessive exultation, in a state of balance or poise. When we strive to discharge our duties thinking that this is in obedience to the will of God, we shall be mentally free from the results thereof. Then our mind will acquire purity and stability. This does not mean that after knowing the real character of the world to be merely a stage drama, we are free to spoil our part in it. On the contrary, just as an actor performs his part with zeal and energy, we should continue to play our part in this life and should at the same time remain unaffected by the gains or losses of life, free from the fear of death, just as all good actors remain unaffected by the pre-arranged incidents in a play. There is only one Reality in this world, and the rest is all illusion or play. This thought gives us unlimited peace of mind. Pride or egoism is the greatest enemy of man for another reason also i.e., through it man establishes a world of his own, apart from that Reality. For example, when a man says, “I am learned”; “I am powerful”; “I am descended from a great family”; then with these thoughts he separates himself from that Reality, because we are either atma (soul) or nothing at all. If we are atma, then we existed before any qualities appeared, consequently we are distinct from these attributes. These attributes or qualities will by subsequent association with us generate in us feelings of pride or egoism, which are all perishable and are far away from the essence of atma. If we are “nothing”, then to whom do these qualities or attributes belong? Moreover, it is not proper for us to brag of our greatness in the presence of a very great personality. On the other hand, if we acknowledge our qualities to be gifts of God, and then own these qualities as our own a thousand times, and even if we go so far as to say that we are made up of these qualities, there is no real harm done, because in the affirmation of these qualities, there is negation at the very core of one’s heart. In the divine Court of Baba, the most acceptable action is doing good to one who has done evil unto you, for returning good for good constitutes no real merit. This merely is an exchange on equal terms. But to return good for evil is the starting point of spiritual life. When we learn to love Baba’s men for His sake, by suppressing our wounded feelings, Baba will love us more. By learning to abide by His will, tranquility of mind is attained. We feel pain when something that we like goes away from us, or the thing we like is not gained, or when something we dislike stays on with us. When the all-pervading Reality—­Baba and the desire to abide by His will permeates through our head and heart, that very moment we will be released from all pains and troubles for then there will remain no `likes,’ or `dislikes’, acquisi­tions or relinquishments, because there is no individual will be left in us. Then apparent poverty or misery or destitution and want will not exist for us and we will be ever happy under all circumstances because there is no `opposition’ left in us for any­thing. Someone asked a Faqir (ascetic) “Are you happy?” He replied, “How can I be unhappy when the entire Universe is functioning in accordance with my will.” The questioner felt annoyed at this answer and asked him again, “You were born only a few years ago, whereas the entire universe is functioning since eternity, then how can it be working

Prasanthi Nilayam Prasanthi Nilayam…. the Abode of Peace. The heart leaps at the very mention of the name. How we long to be there! We greet with joy those who are just returning from there, hoping that some of the luster and grace of the Sai‑drenched devotees may rub off on us. To me, Prasanthi Nilayam means, simply, Home. It is my Mother’s place. When Mother calls, i go to Her. She knows what is needed. She gives it, namely Her anan­da [bliss] in plenty. One returns from the Mother rested, restored, and refreshed in body and spirit always. Many of the trees in the Nilayam can be recognized in mediaeval paintings, depicting scenes from Lord Krishna’s career on earth. Near the Mandir [temple] on the west side is a beautiful tall tree, which blooms around early Dasara and wafts the lovely fragrance into Mother’s Room. This tree can be noticed in many of the Rajasthan miniatures painted by mediaeval artiste devotees as well as the Deccani and early Mughal painters. The neem, the coconut, the tamarind, the banana, the rose, the jasmine, and mogra bushes all offer their beauty and their scent for us to admire and offer gratitude to the Mother. Mother’s darshan [seeing a holy person] is the morning! A flash of red, the graceful Form arrives closer and, finally, a deep look and a compassionate smile—can any mother on earth cause such an ecstatic flutter in all hearts? Mother is loving, yet detached—every movement, gesture, flash, smile has a meaning and a lesson. Only Mother knows the agony of each of [our] each step, especially to those of us who have already taken the wrong ones. If Mother smiles, all is well; the heart is light and filled with joy. But let her turn away or look over us into the beyond, then gloom descends. “What have I done now?”…a great deal of interpretation and interrogation in the quiet of the room. And soon the answer comes. A prayer for forgiveness, a promise not to repeat the mistake, and a renewed dedication to please the Mother and the Mother only—regardless of what others may say or think. Please her with each little thought, word, and deed—and peace reigns again. Mother smiles at the afternoon darshan. Ah! I was right! Even the slightest devia­tion from the path toward the ideal is noted by Sai Mata, for She is Omnipresent. She is everywhere, in us, with us, beside us, and behind us. A poem written in the room to Her reaches Her as soon as line is formed in the mind. A wish, a thought, all is known, and if only you trust in Her, she keeps the lines straight and true. She is the world’s greatest teacher of the art of positive thinking. As soon as you grasp the uni­versal laws of love, service, and compas­sion as taught by Her, Mother takes you closer. She is helpful; you make less mis­takes. Sai is pure bliss. Mother, i love Thee. Since at Mother’s house, I am carefree of kitchen chores. Mother has a lovely Dining Hall, with many varieties of delicious and nutritious dishes, very lovingly prepared by devoted hands. Out of sheer happiness, I had all four meals on the first day—breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner. But it was really too much. I restrained myself to one meal a day, with some banana and curds, now and then. Mother spoils us thoroughly with Her love. She knows that we must relish the stay with Her, away from kitchen chores. She is such a practical Avatar [incarnation]. The Gokulam milk is the world’s most blessed milk. It is rich, sweet, and sustain­ing. Behind the Hill is the Meditation Tree, and this is the place I go to in the early dawn. Just before sunrise, the hills are purple and the dark green forests and fields oblige us and give a glimpse—a silvery glimpse—of the river, Chitravati. The golden sky is streaked with pink and orange. Oh! How Mother would enjoy a morning walk in the cool crisp air listening to the tinkling of the cow‑bells, as She used to do for years in the past and as Krishna in Brindavan! I am wrong in believing that this is not being done now. She must be with me now, as I watch these skies and fields, for how can I visualize the beauty if She did not reveal it to me? She has taken upon Herself the heavy burden of saving mankind. Multitudes are following Her whenever She goes or stays. Mother is busy with prayers from all around the globe; She has to watch every child of Hers while it sleeps. The child may forget the world, but the Mother cannot forget the child. The day of departure arrives. The tears well up, the hand quivers, as Sai Mata comes for a last look and smile. Ma! Ma! I am going today…. “Accha!”…. She is off. In a trice, teaching us the higher Truth, the Re­ality, that She is in every atom of the Uni­verse, and that we cannot go to any place where She is NOT. Prasanthi Nilayam… leaving Mother is so hard. The last glimpse of Mother, among Her children…. and the last cry…”Mother! Call me again soon!” ~Yasmin SikalSource: Sanathana Sarathi, June 1978

Lead into Gold In 1967 Howard Murphet, the author of the book Man of Miracles, spoke at a public meeting in Chennai [Madras in Southern India] in the presence of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Following is a transcription of that speech. It is indeed a great privilege and joy to be given this opportunity of speaking a few words to you in the presence of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. But what can I say to you, His followers—­many of you bhaktas [devotees] of long standing who know His works and words much better than I do? Well, perhaps you may find some interest in hearing how skeptics of the Western world had the good fortune to meet Him, what He means to me, and what I think is His significance to the world. The mass of men in the West—and unfortu­nately, I’m afraid, a growing number in India, too—are materialists who do not believe in the remote possibility of what we call `miracles’. The main cause of this state of mind is, I believe, the spurt ahead that physical science has taken over the last century. Having learned a good deal, men think they know a lot. Anything that appears to contradict the set of fundamental laws they have formulated is not acceptable. It cannot exist! There must be some mistake, some poor observa­tion, some fraud, and some trickery! A cautious approach is no doubt necessary to the progress of science. But how easily it can degenerate into prejudice, cynicism, and a closed mind! This attitude is more prevalent in those countries most affected by what is called `scientific progress’. But, of course, not all in the West are so conditioned. Many, for example, in the Roman Catholic religion—and some outside it—believe in the well-tested and authenticated healing miracles at Lourdes, France. Moreover, there are, and always have been, those seers, prophets, and poets who discern the divine beneath the surface of mundane things. To the self-satisfied cynics, to the blind materialists, Francis Thompson, the English poet says:­ “The angels keep their ancient places;Move but a stone and start a wing.‘Tis ye, ’tis your estranged faces,That miss the many-splendored thing. I hope that I myself was not a cynic when I came to India. I know that I was a skeptic, but not an incurable one. I had read, of course, of the great miracle-workers and teachers of India’s past. I hoped that some might still exist today. I hoped–yet hardly dared to hope—that I might even meet one. For underneath, like all men, I longed for the `many-splendored thing’. But I must say that my approach has always been the cautious, scientific one. Like St. Thomas—whose bones, they say, lie buried here in Madras—I needed to see and to touch for myself in order to believe. It was here in this city–through a strange network of circumstances that I can only say was Sai Baba’s grace—that I met Sai Baba. Later I went to His Ashram in `Prasanthi Nilayam’. The map shows this as being in Andhra Pradesh, but to me it’s a place ‘half-way between heaven and earth’. As Christ was kind to Thomas, Baba was kind to me. On many occasions I saw and touched miraculous, incredible things, so that now I know beyond any doubt that in the presence of Sai Baba these things do happen. This is not the time to tell you about my specific experiences. You all have your own joy­-making, love-evoking collection of miraculous ex­periences with Baba. Or if you haven’t, you shall with faith. But since Baba granted me the permission, and great privilege, of writing a book on him, I have talked to many devotees and heard their wonderful stories. These are all a part of the supreme story of Sai Baba in this Incarnation. Well, having established to the satisfac­tion of my critical self that miracles do take place, what then? What does it mean? I am not one of these people who say—as I have heard people in this city say—”Miracles, so what?” As if they could perform one themselves any morning before breakfast! Surely these happenings demonstrate, as no words can, the reality of the non-physical worlds. “Actions speak louder than words”, is one of our clichés. The word is powerful—but in the `word made flesh’—we see its power dramatically. Then it becomes a strong buttress for our tottering faith. There are, we know, various levels of magic, and all of them—high or low—prove the existence of occult laws, of the reality of worlds within worlds. But the high magic—the Divine Immaculate Science—of a great Master goes further than this. By its copious and constant flow, by its selfless, ego-less purity, by the love and benevolence that motivate it, we know that it comes from the high divine level; it is a concrete proof of the spiritual plane and of spiritual law. In a sense it is God talking to us—talking not in tongues, but in deeds. But in the quarter-century record of breath­taking Sai miracles—those gracious gifts from some mysterious dimension, the conquest of space and time to bring help to devotees in distress at great distances, the healing of bodies, and perhaps more important still, the healing of souls, the giving of the strength necessary to face karmic suffering, and to grow in spiritual stature as a result of that suffering…. But in all these, we must not lose sight of the greatest miracle of all. This is the miracle of His prema—His Divine love. The really miraculous thing about this, it seems to me, is that while UNIVERSAL, going out to all men, it is at the same time INDIVIDUAL. You feel it beamed directly and blissfully on you. As one of His bhaktas (devotees) put it, “Every person thinks that Baba loves him the most.” Yes, this pure love—universal yet individualiz­ed—is the central miracle from which all the others come, as by-products. The main end-product of this stream of prema is to raise us to a knowledge of our true spiritual selves—to

Sai and Sufi Tradition: An Islamic View The Sufi tradition found its milestone of advaitic thought in the beliefs of Ibn­ al‑Arabi (1165‑1240) and the widespread acceptance of his theory of Wahdat‑al-Wujud [unity of being]. Al‑Arabi is nearer to Vedic and Baba’s teaching than any other Sufi outside India. A keen student of Sai literature will find similari­ties in ideas and imagery between Baba’s discourses and Al‑Arabi’s writing. Four ideas of Al‑Arabi are significant. (i) According to Al‑Arabi, the One and the many are two aspects of the One. “The One reveals Himself in the many … it is like a source of light from which an infinite number of lights are derived… it is like a mighty sea on the surface of which we observe countless waves, forever appearing and disappearing.” The two aspects of One rea­lity were called tanzih [nirguna–formless] and tasbih [sadguna–good qualities] by Al-Arabi. (ii) Al‑Arabi used the term “emana­tion” to mean the constant appearance of form of the same Reality. (iii)  Al-Arabi’s idea of the perfect man is equated with logos [word of God] and the spirit‑giving principle immanent in the universe. (iv) Like Baba, Al‑Arabi rejected the place of reason in understanding the pur­pose of human existence. Baba gives the example of the same electric current runn­ing through different electric devices. Al-Arabi gives the image of light passing through colored glasses to suggest One Reality manifesting itself in men of diffe­rent abilities. Intuition, not reason, reveals the purpose of existence. The purpose of life is to realize the divine union that already exists between God and man. Al‑Arabi advised Sufis that tolerance, human compassion, and fellowship were indispensable features of spiritual life. Like Baba, he also urged that the Divine exists and is worshipp­ed in all religions. Instinctively Al‑Arabi believed in the one Universal God. I recall what Baba said in one of His dis­courses: “The monistic concept of divinity expounded to Arjuna by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita harmonizes the teach­ings of all religions and reconciles all traditions.” (Summer Showers: 1979, P. 119) Considering love to be the highest manifestation of God, Al‑Arabi declared: My heart has become the receptacle of every ‘ form’;It is a pasture for gazelles (objects of love)A convent for Christian monks,And a temple for idols, and the pil­grim’s Ka’baand the tablets of Torah and the Book of the Quran.I follow the religion of love, which­ever way its camels take.For this is my religion and my faith. The major branch of Sufi tradition that developed in India observed this broader horizon of divinity and love, whether it flourished in the valley of Kashmir and was called the Rishi‑Sufi order or welcom­ed the Nath Yogis [Yogis of the Shiva tradition] to its assemblies and learned Hatha‑Yoga from them. The Baul Movement [group of mystic minstrels] in Bengal during the 15th century followed the same ideal of Unity of God. A popular group of Muslim and Hindu singers, the Bauls were ‘men of hearts’, non‑dualistic and mystical; they used songs in the tradition of Chaitanya. The popularity of Vaishnavite [worship of Vishnu] themes in Sufi Sama [music recitals] was widespread as it induced ecstasy. In 1566 a Sufi dictionary of Hindi songs was compiled, which among other things explained the Krishna theme and symbolism in Sufi ter­minology. These are only a few examples from a treasure‑house of a million others to suggest the direction in which Indian Sufi tradition was moving. The growing emphasis on the universal concept of love was a strong trend that has found its goal in the presence of Sai. “The path of love is the royal road that leads man­kind to Me.”                                                                              (Baba: Who is Sai) To the Sufi seeker the goal is important and not sectarianism and dialectics. The secret of this goal is best described by Masud‑i‑Bak, a Sufi from Delhi. All names, says the mystic, refer to the One name, in all forms only the one face is hidden, and in all religions one road is concealed. This is the Truth that Sai embodies. Continue your worship of your chosen God along the lines already familiar to you. Then you will find that you are coming nearer to Me, for all names are Mine and all forms are Mine.                                                                           (Baba: Why I Incarnate) Eight roses They worshipped Him with flowers and songs, with camphor and prayers. They entreated Him with tears and sighs. They waited on Him with folded hands and smiling lips. He remained unmoved, re­clining on the sky‑blue swing of the heart. And in the fragrance of flowers, in the rhythm of the music, in the silence of tears and smiles He hid from them—the Subtlest of the Subtle. “I do not cause either joy or grief,” He said, “you are the designer of both these chains that bind you.” And all that He asked for was their love and devotion presented to Him as the eight flowers of non‑violence, sense‑control, compassion to all living beings, forbearance, shanti [peace], meditation, and truth. A Sufi would pluck these flowers and offer them to Him for they have grown in his garden for centuries. The ten qualities that all the Sufis were expected to culti­vate and that were repeated in Sufi lite­rature and nourished in Sufi tradition were an elaboration of the eight “good qualities” Baba has pointed out (Sanathana Sarathi, June 1981, pp. 142‑45). Of these, peace and truth are most significant be­cause they are also the attributes of the Divine Beloved. However, the eight good qualities are signs of a pure heart, the shrine for the Lord. “I am the dweller in the temple of every heart,” says Sai. “Make your best endeavor to worship at the temple of the heart,” advised the Sufi, Abdullah Ansari. Para bhakti [pure, transparent, and simple devotion] can only be offered in the bowl of service to society for “he who takes care of man takes care of God” (Ibn al‑Arabi). It is only then that the fortunate one‑in‑a million devotee reaches the doors and experiences the significance of the Quranic greeting: “pe­ace—a word from thy Lord, most merci­ful.” An ancient promise that might have taken 1000 years or more is fulfill­ed as the Divine voice welcomes. “I am anandaswarupa [embodiment of bliss]. Come, take ananda from Me, dwell in that ana­nda or bliss and be full of shanti or peace.”                                                                              (Baba: Why I incarnate) ~Zeba BashiruddinSource: Sanathana