God Consciousness Human sojourn on Earth is meant to realise the innate Divinity, and man can attain it by aligning every thought, word and action to that of God’s, the Divine Will, says Bhagawan in an inner message to Lucas Ralli. Extracted from the book ‘Sai Messages For You & Me’ series by the same author. Man has plumbed the depths in an effort to satisfy his earthly desires. But there is no end to that search, and it merely leads him along an endless road towards nowhere. The further he goes, the more he experiences those desires until he finds himself on the edge of an abyss. But, eventually, a tiny ray of light appears, an invitation from the Divinity to look elsewhere for a solution to the cravings of the apparently uncontrollable mind. The light comes from within, for it is within man that Divinity resides. Man is himself, Divine. Look within for the solution to all your problems; there is no solution in the outside world. The world is simply a playground where you play out the game of life, the game of God. How can you realise your own innate Divinity? By blending your whole life, and every thought and action with The Will of The Lord. It is that constant dialogue with the Lord that will help you to concentrate your mind on the Divine and divert your attention from the vicissitudes of the world and all that goes on in that world. Live in the world, yes, but do not become part of it. Once you turn to God, your life becomes one of attunement with the Divine, and you see everything in a different light. Even your enemies can be seen for what they really are, aspects of the Divine, for that Divinity exists within all mankind. As you turn towards the Divine, everything in life takes on a new dimension. Problems of the past can be seen for what they are, passing clouds travelling across the sky, obscuring the light for a short time. Those problems are purely temporal, but the light is always there, the shining light of the universe. It is the light of God that is the very source of all creation. The Lord said, “Let there be light”, and there was light. Let that light shine through you so that you yourself become a beacon of light and rise to the highest level of consciousness where you and God are one. That is God-Consciousness.

Locking Eyes With The Lord What is that incomparable beauty of Sri Sathya Sai Darshanam, when one is blessed to immerse in the Beauty Beyond Compare Ultimate Divine with absolute focus, only to get the bonus blessing of the ultimate beauty of ‘Locking Eyes With The Lord’? Sri ‘Kadu’ Balasubramanyam Parasuraman, an alumnus at SSSIHL, narrates his perception and experience on ‘Locking Eyes’ With The Supreme Lord, narrating a beautiful Brindavan darshan session…as extracted from his recently published book, ‘My Loving Swami’.  We all know that communication can be verbal and non-verbal. There are behavioural scientists who analyse the non-verbal communication of individuals for their living. For Sai devotees worldwide, we use this term often while describing how Swami saw us during Darshan. We typically would say, “I locked my eyes with Swami when He came for Darshan.” This expression has a very deep meaning for each one of us. I have used this expression several times too. Well, what does this expression really mean for me? Our mind travels at a speed that is unimaginable to calculate. At one second, we would be at our home, and the next second we would be floating in our dream world while parallelly browsing something on Google. Is it humanly possible to calculate the speed at which our mind travelled in this one second? Probably not… It would be safe to conclude that most of us would be thinking of a thing and at the same time doing something totally irrelevant. God gave us this powerful mind as a gift whereby we could use it for doing unimaginable (irony) things at the same point in time. But, this acts as a double-edged sword too, wherein we never live in the present moment. We are lost either thinking about our past or busy planning for our future which we would like to control. Though we would like to think otherwise, I bet it doesn’t work that way most of the time. But there are fleeting moments in one’s life when they truly live in the present moment wherein everything in their inner sphere is aligned. Though I am not astute in this area of study, giving it my best shot, I would think these moments can be classified broadly under two scenarios. One would be when we are in a crisis (in the true sense of the word), and the other when we are in bliss. During the last three decades, I had been blessed with the opportunity to have Swami’s Darshan many times. To be true to myself, I don’t think I made good of the opportunity to be in bliss during every Darshan due to the vagaries of the mind. However, there have been several moments when I was truly in bliss. I still recall the first time when I got to lock eyes with Bhagawan. This happened in Brindavan during my first year of college in 1994. One fine morning, we had all assembled for Swami’s Darshan. My mind was very calm, not thinking about anything at all. As I sat in Sai Ramesh Hall waiting for Swami to come out, no thought crossed my mind. I wasn’t thinking about the happenings in my life or looking at what was going on around me. I sat still without any expression on my face. The Darshan music started and all heads turned to see Swami coming out of the Trayee Brindavan. Swami with His inimitable charisma walked among the devotees spreading His Divine Love. That day my focus was only on Swami and not on anything else. I did not care to see who spoke to Swami or what the people around me were whispering. My eyes were steadily looking at Him however far He went in the Darshan hall. I saw Him go all the way behind to the last row facing the morning sun and then He walked on the gents’ side. He stopped occasionally to pick up a letter and gently swayed to the Darshan music that filled the air. As Swami came towards the first block on the students’ side where I sat, He paused for a few moments as if He was searching for someone on purpose. I did not get to sit in the first row that morning and was somewhere in the middle of the block. But that did not bother me. I seemed to be contented where ever I was. I had a letter in my hand to give to Swami. Usually, when we have a letter, our mind would race to ensure we somehow get Swami’s attention to hand over the letter. I am no exception to that too. That day, with no thoughts running through my zipping mind, I just held the letter as if it was an extension of my hand. Swami looked at me, and at that very moment, I spoke to Him with my eyes. I did not have anything to ask Him. I did not have any petitions to put across or any desire to express. I just wanted to enjoy Him, plain and simple. I thanked Him and said that I love Him. It was an intent look I can never forget. When I close my eyes today, I can still recall those piercing but loving eyes that keep looking at me and through me as if I was transparent. He gently smiled after giving that look and stretched His hand to take the letter. I kneeled down without taking my eyes off His beautiful glow and delivered the letter. He gave a gentle tug as He took the letter from my hand and then blinked His eyes. I sat down with my eyes still looking at Him. I was in bliss. I truly locked my eyes with Swami. After that, Swami walked back to the Trayee Brindavan. The moment the Darshan music stopped, it was an indication for us that Swami had gone back into the Trayee. When I opened my eyes, my mind

Loving His Uncertainty Can uncertainty become an impediment in one’s spiritual life? Bhagawan’s oft-repeated axiom, Love My Uncertainty, should come in the practical front in the life of an earnest seeker, seeking Him in his/her pursuit for liberation. Dr (Ms) Radha Hanumai Garuda once had to take such a plunge to dash to Bhagawan’s Presence from the US, leaving her family, leaving the country without a return ticket, post receiving an inner call negating all uncertainties…extracted from her recently published book, Sri Sathya Sai – The Inner Divine.  I enjoyed the company of the westerners as I said earlier. They didn’t care for Swami’s materializations but only on His teachings. That was my inclination also. I read Swami saying that nobody came to Him for liberation. The whole world only sought tinsel and trash from Him. When I read that, I decided that I would not be like that. I would seek only liberation from Him. “I will test you if you are real with your words. I would like to see if you stand by what you said because I shall seek only liberation from you. This is My challenge to you.” There were some other interesting experiences with Swami that I recollect as well. Rao used to be away on trips and many times I had to drive late in the night downtown to pick him up from the airport. I used to get very scared as I was alone. I could actually hear Swami telling me that He was with me and would accompany me to the airport. He would be beside me the entire journey and then, on reaching the airport, would say, “Okay! Now you have reached safely. Rao will be coming. I will leave and he can sit in the passenger seat.” Swami was there always guiding and helping me. When He says that He is above, below, around and within us, it is absolutely true. It was sometime towards the end of October in 1989. When I was sleeping, I was woken up at 3 am. To my great astonishment, I saw it was Swami Himself standing beside my bed! Swami in flesh and blood! My Swami was standing beside me! However, I remember that my eyes were still closed. I was seeing Him in my mind’s eye. May be this is the third eye that spiritual masters and practitioners speak about. Swami looked at me and said, “Now you are ready. Now you can come.” I opened my eyes and though the words were ringing in my ears, I was not able to see anyone. I was naturally not able to sleep after that. I was overwhelmed. Till now, I had been guided to books and lectures. I had been equipped and strengthened so far and the time had come for me to make preparations to go to Swami in the true sense. I resigned from the hospital and decided to take only a oneway ticket to Him. “I am coming for liberation, Swami. If you say that is what I want you to give.” Rao did not know how to handle this. I assured him that it was Baba’s calling. “You are crazy! You are leaving all of us here and running away to Baba.” “Will you help me or should I seek help elsewhere?” I asked. Finally, Rao acceded to my wishes and said that he would book a one-way ticket. The travel agent who helped us also shared an interesting story. He was a Sindhi gentleman who did not know much about Baba. But he had once travelled with a staunch Sai devotee on a flight to California. That man shared a lot about Baba and that  convinced the travel agent that once the call has come, Baba would ensure that the person reaches His Feet. It was the 10th of November and I did not know that this was just the beginning. I was nervous because I had never travelled like this before. I did not know where I would be staying, what I would be doing or how I would manage the several flight changes. I had always travelled with Rao and the children before that. But I had a strong longing for Swami and I could not bear the separation from Him. I wasn’t able to bear the delay any further. I prayed for an indication and a blessing. Now when I look back, I realise that uncertainty should never stop us from following our heart. I began to spend more time with my Swami than my parents or in-laws despite several physical hardships of an ashram life. There were times when I have slept on the floor on a simple mat with a bathroom possessing nothing more than a bucket and a mug.

He Belongs To All How often do we judge Him, judging the actions of the attribute-less Supra-Supreme Divine Persona walking on two Feet, out of sheer, crass ignorance?!? For a devout soul ripe enough for learning, He sends the right message across, often in His own inimitable style, only to help the devotee evolve slow and steady, grade by grade, to a higher level of consciousness. Read on such a revealing experience from the diary of Sri Arun Kumar Panda of Odisha, as chronicled in his book Rasamayee Maa. (edited version)I don’t precisely recall the month, but the year was 1971. I had travelled from Delhi for Swami’s Darshan and would be returning there. I was sitting in the portico of the Mandir at about 2 pm alone on the day of my return journey. I don’t precisely recall the month, but the year was 1971. I had travelled from Delhi for Swami’s Darshan and would be returning there. I was sitting in the portico of the Mandir at about 2 pm alone on the day of my return journey. My train was at 9 pm. The Sai Kulwant hall had not come into being, and there was sand all around. There was only one entrance to the Mandir from the East Prasanthi side. There was no restriction then relating to sitting outside the bhajan hall. A big red car then entered through the gate. I thought to myself – ‘Bhagawan, You Are for the rich only; no one bothers about us.’ Two or three people lifted a young girl from the car and seated her on the ground. She was a beautiful girl affected by polio. I immediately prayed, ‘Lord, I need no car or polio.’ the gentlemen carried her near to where I was sitting ans Swami blessed her from the porch above and dropped an envelope filled with Vibhuti on their hands. A flash thought came to me, again. ‘Swami, You will give Vibhuti to such people only.’ Those people went away after receiving Vibhuti, but I continued sitting there. Most unexpected, one Sevadal brother came and extended a packet of Vibhuti similar to that given to the girl saying that Swami had sent it for me. I prostrated Swami right there and begged forgiveness for my crass ignorance. The biggest lesson that I learnt from this incident is that He belongs to all. No one should have any doubt about that.