From Darkness to Light The journey from birth to death is a game that has to be played with skill. From time to time, prophets and messengers from God have appeared among different peoples to teach them the rules of this game and to show them how it should be played. However, in the past and even today, owing to ignorance or incomplete understanding of these rules and a failure to live by them, the game has continued from one birth to another, and it seems it could go on indefinitely. During my student days, I was skeptical about God and anything that was supernatural. I believed I should examine everything in my life and work from a rationalist and humanist point of view. At that time, some of my friends and I recognized the need to use more of the untapped human potential for self-improvement and for the benefit of mankind, but the changes that divine grace could produce in man were something we could not understand. The possible good example of those who practiced their faiths sincerely was destroyed by the pretensions of others in the same faith. And, of course, we had no first-hand experience of divinity. Meanwhile, my search for the true meaning of life and death continued, and this was successful only after my contact with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. I first heard about Bhagavan Baba in 1970, and my family and I had our first darshan in Prasanthi Nilayam [Baba’s residence in South India] in August 1975. In a physical sense Bhagavan seemed to be both far away and very close. It took some time before I realized that He had the power to work from within me or from within anyone else. In my case, there was no instant conversion, but after this first visit we started to put into practice His teachings, and gradually changed our food habits and life style. By mid 1980, I had sufficient experience of Bhagavan’s Divinity to accept Him, the Avatar of our age, as my most trustworthy guide. What puzzled me for some time was His apparent indifference in situations that seemed to call for immediate attention. I soon learned that Bhagavan Baba is not only testing us, but also teaching us the virtues of patience, endurance, compassion, and equanimity. These are, as He Himself says, indispensable qualities for the serious spiritual aspirant or any person really wanting to play the game of birth-rebirth to a finish. Rules of the game Everything in creation is subject to the laws of nature, e.g., gravitation, heredity, etc. Human existence is governed also by the law of karma (of actions and their consequences, or causes and effects), operating in and beyond our known space-time framework. It is the law of predestination, determined by each person’s actions and based on the principles of moral or retributive justice. The full implications of this law, which most of us do not appreciate, are straightforward and consistent with individual freedom within the limits imposed by each one’s past actions and desires. To have total freedom is the real object of the game: it means to become liberated, to be free from the human bondage that keeps us filled with desires and attached to the fruits of our actions. When Bhagavan Baba says, “Do good!” and “Become desire-less!” He is endorsing a prescription that has been given to mankind many times before. But being reckless, we forget or do not care and so the game goes on and on. Everything that Bhagavan Baba says and does is for the good of humanity. When He responds to a cry of anguish or grants our desires, He hopes that we shall one day yearn for what He has come to give us, namely liberation itself. Many of us would like to change our ways and practice Bhagavan Baba’s teachings more and more, but owing to obstacles (including laziness and insufficient motivation), we often postpone it to another time. Even so, like a hidden catalyst, Bhagavan Baba has quietly been changing our lives and, provided we play our part, He will certainly help us to finish the game. Karma and the Quran The law of karma, as stated above, is not one of the usual beliefs among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, even if some passages in their sacred books tend to support it. During the past few years, thanks to Bhagavan Baba’s inspiration and command, I have found many verses in the Holy Quran [religious book of the Islamic faith] that are in full accord with this law and with this universal teaching. For example, in Chapter 39, verses 5 to 9, it says: “God created the heavens and the earth in Truth… and He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in threefold darkness. God is your Lord… there is no God but He… No soul laden bears the load of another. You shall return to your Lord and He will tell you what you have been doing…” In this passage from the Quran, which Muslims believe is the inspired word of God, we find all the elements to support the karmic law, such as personal responsibility for our actions and their consequences (“no soul… another”), the idea of successive births (“creation after creation” in “mothers” in the plural), and our ignorance (“darkness”) of our past (previous births), present and future (“threefold”). The standard interpretation of this passage is that the embryo lying in the darkness of the womb, covered by three layers (amniotic membrane, uterine muscle, and abdominal wall), passes through various “stages” during development, each representing a “creation” in evolutionary terms. It can only be due to fate that for over a thousand years Muslims have failed to see the true significance of these precious words. How blessed we are to have Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to correct our misconceptions and errors, which He often does by working inside us, changing us from within and inspiring us to improve our destiny. All this He does unassumingly, as if not

A Fateful Hour of My Life Many Sai devotees can empathize with the anecdote below —the process of spiritual cleansing much like that of purifying gold. One night while bhajan [devotional singing was going on as usual in the prayer hall at Prasanthi Nilayam, I happened to sit near the throne of the Lord [Sai]. But, He was not present at the moment in the form we know. I felt suffused with a sublime happiness and peace, much like the bliss described in scriptures. It was something new, sudden, and unexpected. It lasted barely an hour. Undoubtedly it was the experience of the highest spiritual order. But it was so overwhelming that I was afraid of losing all sense of the world in which I live, and to which I was deeply attached. It was this fear of losing what I do not, in fact, possess but still imagine that I do, this fear of losing what I do not enjoy in this illusive and deceptive world of sense perception, that caused me to take a false and unhappy step at that critical juncture of my life. What a shame! I do confess now that instead of availing myself of the great opportunity to grasp what is real, I prayed to the Lord at that fateful hour to relieve me of His grace. The reason for this fall is the existence in me of unfulfilled earthly desires and aspirations. This clearly shows how, in the absence of self-renunciation, I was not fit for the spiritual elevation I enjoyed. After a while, Swami came to one of the apartments in the Prasanthi Nilayam colony where I stayed; and He told me about the conversation that transpired between Ravana [the Sri Lankan king who abducted Lord Rama’s wife, Sita] and his wife, Mandodari, regarding Sita when she was held in captivity at the Ashoka vatika [garden]. Ravana’s wife, knowing that her husband could metamorphose himself at will into the form of any person, asked him why he had hesitated to assume the form of Rama and fool Sita. Ravana replied that to assume the form of Rama would automatically rid Ravana of gunas or traits that were the cause for his present demonic behavior. In the absence of his gunas, Ravana’s desire for Sita would cease to exist. Since then, I was in distress. Fate is sterner than what I thought at first. One day I complained of my distress; Baba said that if the sugarcane is not to go dry and its sugar contents are to last for some time, its juice must be extracted in time after proper crushing and then boiled until it was converted into jaggery or sugar. He [Baba], like a goldsmith, tests our metal [mettle] and throws it back into the red hot coals ofspiritual fire to sift the pure from the dross. ~Challa Appa RaoSource: Sanathana Sarathi, Feb. 1959

Unity and Purity: Message of Ramzan Bhagavan says that the truth proclaimed by all religions is one and the same. The ultimate goal of all religions is the same—to cure man of his follies and make him a real human being. All religions aim at promoting righteous conduct by transforming the mental attitude of man. [Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 22] Whenever one speaks, the expression often begins with ‘I’ and revolves around ‘I.’ “I am walking,” “I am sitting,” “I am eating,” “I am going,” “I am listening,” “I am seeing”—‘I’ is almost always in the forefront. Man tends to believe, “I am the doer,” whatsoever the deed may be. Who exactly is this ‘I,’ the agent, the doer? There are three aspects connoted by the ‘I.’ ‘I am this body,’ is the first; ‘I am the life-force in it,’ is the second; ‘I am the atma,’ is the third. “I am dark,” “I am fair,” “I am short,” “I am tall,”— these are statements generally made. “I am young,” “I am old,” “I am a brahmin,” “I am a non-brahmin,”—these statements too are common. These qualities concern only the body. When a person is unconscious, in deep sleep, or dead, he is unaware of any of these characterizations regarding his body. They are extraneous to the real ‘I,’ for the attributes adhere or fall off when time elapses or when circumstances change. Next is the jiva principle or life force. The incessantly active consciousness is constantly wayward and restless. We say, “My intelligence is not clear,” or “My mind is perplexed.” These apply to the second facet of the ‘I.’ This facet, too, is linked with the body through the objects—senses-mind-reason complex. Lastly, the third aspect is the atma [real self, soul]: “I am sadananda, nityananda, satchitananda [always happy and blissful]! I am nirmal [pure], I am nischal [calm]. I am all. I am Brahma. Aham Brahmasmi [I am God].” The body is mortal; the jiva principle undergoes transformation; but the atma is immortal. The atma exists in unaffected glory in the waking, dreaming, sleeping, and the fourth level beyond. The gross body is active in the waking stage; the subtle I-consciousness is alert in dreams, the causal atma is dormant as ‘I’ in sleep. The real ‘I’ or atma has no exclusive affiliation to one body, one country, one nation, or one sex. It is in every being everywhere, in bird and beast, plant and tree. Each of these reveals its existence. The atma is all-pervading and immanent in India, Russia, America, England, all over the world. All founders of religions have heard this impersonal voice of God revealing the atma that activates the entire creation. Just as the Vedas were ‘heard’ and propagated as ‘heard’ (shruti), the Quran, too, was ‘heard’ by Hazrath Muham-mad. The Quran has salat and zakat as the two eyes. Salat means prayer; zakat means charity. Those who consider charity as a high duty and elevate their consciousness through prayers and continuous meditation on God are Muslims. Islam is a word that denotes not a particular religion but a state of mind—the state of total surrender to the Will of God. Islam means dedication, surrender, peace, and tranquility. Islam denotes the social community whose members have achieved supreme peace through surrender to the all-merciful, all-powerful God, and who have vowed to live in peace with their fellowmen. Later, it came to be applied to communities that considered themselves separate and different and hostile to the rest. Islam taught something higher. It directed attention to the One in the many, the unity in diversity, and led people to the reality named God. Every human being has three basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter. Seeking to fulfill these needs, man has developed a variety of foods to fill his little stomach, but along the way he has ignored the purpose of eating. Clothing has to be worn to protect the body from cold. However, we are attaching enormously exaggerated value to clothing. Of course, one must have a house to live in and lay the body down to rest. The Muslim, Gibran, asks why build these gigantic dwellings then? They are erected not for oneself but to hoard one’s treasure and riches. Gibran says these mansions are tombs erected by the dead for the living. Hazrath Muhammad announced to the townsmen of Mecca the message of God that he had heard. At that time, people did not give heed to the divine declarations. They forced him to leave the place. But Hazrath Muhammad knew that truth will win and God will prevail. He knew that insult and injury were only for the body; the atma can never be hurt. The Ramzan [Muslim festival] month is set apart for the holy task of bringing into memory and practice the teachings that Hazrath Muhammad conveyed, and attaining that stage of unity and purity that is truly divine. Islam gives importance to the moon which regulates the months. Hindus consider the moon as the deity presiding over the mind. With the darshan [sighting] of the new moon, the Ramzan fast begins and when the new moon is seen again, the fast ends. ‘Fast’ does not consist in merely desisting from food and drink. The fast starts at sunrise, is broken only after sunset, and is observed most rigorously. Waking as early as 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., in the Brahma muhurta [auspicious early morning hours], prayer is started: and throughout the day the constant presence of God is sought to be experienced. This is the meaning of upavasa or fast. Also, during the Ramzan month, rivalry is avoided, hatred is suspended, husband and wife live apart though in the same home, mother and children both follow the same spiritual regimen, and an atmosphere of brotherhood is maintained. The body, the senses, and the mind are subject to rigorous discipline. Periods of fasting comprising a month are prescribed in all religions. The Hindus observe it in Magha and Shravana [11th and 5th month of the Hindu calendar months]. Zoroastrians and Christians have allotted for themselves months for the same purpose. The Quran teaches that all men should cultivate the sense of unity, of interdependence, of selfless love, and of the immanence of divinity. Generally, all men nourish their bodies with food or drink five times a day—an early cup of

Christmas and the Avatar In 1985 on Christmas Day in Brindavan, Bhagavan Baba asked Mr. Al Drucker of the United States to speak to the people assembled there. Drucker narrated how he had asked Swami if He was the Messiah whom every one had prayed for. Bhagavan replied, “No, not one Messiah but you are all Messiah.” Our sweet Lord has been most generous to us this Christmas with His love and His blessings. We have all had a chance to taste the sweet nectar of His grace. It is our one-pointed yearning and devotion that has evoked such a loving response from our dearest Swami. When all we want is Him, and when we follow His precepts for living in love and with dharma [right action], then He gives us everything we hope for and fills our hearts with joy. I want to relate a little incident that happened a few months ago on the veranda of the mandir [temple] in Prasanthi Nilayam. Swami was walking by a line of devotees sitting there, when He turned quite unexpectedly toward one of them and asked, “What do you want?” A little surprised at the sudden question, the person being addressed by Swami answered, “O Bhagavan, I’m very happy. I’m satisfied. I really don’t want anything.” Now it was Baba’s turn to act surprised, and He said, “You mean you want nothing?”The recipient of all this attention from the Lord held his hands to his heart, and in an emotion‑filled voice replied, “Dearest Swamiji, the only thing I want is You! Only You!” At this Baba leanedforward and said quite emphatically, “That’s not nothing!”Spreading His arms wide apart, He said, “That’s everything!”Then pointing a finger toward the world outside, He added, “Nothing is there! Everything is here! Everything is here!” He concluded, waving His hand toward the heart that had just expressed its divine longing so sweetly. Swami’s message is that all the sweetness we can ever garner, every joy, every delight, all beauty, all bliss, and all goodness is experienced here inside us when we install the Lord in our hearts. This is also what Jesus proclaimed when he said, “Seek ye the kingdom of heaven within you.” This Christmas, Swami blessed all with a taste of the joy and the divine love of that kingdom within. We realize that Christmas is such a happy day because we celebrate the birth of the divine child. This divine child is not born in some far‑off place or in some far‑off time; it is born today, inside us. It is born as pure delight, as pure love, as a bubbling sweetness that leaves an unforgettable taste of joy in our hearts. How can we ever forget fine honey, once we have tasted its sweetness? How can we ever forget the experience of the living Divinity once we have tasted His sweetness? Once we have experienced the Divinity as we did today, it is natural for us to go on with the work for which we have incarnated. We go on to realize our own divinity, realize our own ineffable joy, realize our own springs of pure, selfless love, realize our own inner beauty, our own innate goodness, our own sweet essence. This very path is the one that Jesus walked long ago. Oneness with Divinity Unfortunately, we know very little about Jesus’ life. There are just some glimpses given in the Gospels which were set down many years after his death. There is hardly anything to speak of the wonderful good humor that Jesus must have had. We know nothing much of his joy, his ananda [bliss], his laughter, his happiness in the company of his devotees who must have been unable to take their eyes off him for even a moment, lest they miss his look or his smile or some endearing gesture. We know hardly anything of his physical beauty. But we do know that Jesus realized the ultimate goal of human life, he realized his oneness with Divinity, and so he must have completely transcended body consciousness and been filled with divine bliss. Even as he sacrificed his life for humanity and his body was undergoing the extreme trial of the crucifixion, he himself must have remained immersed in ananda and totally unaffected by the physical suffering of his body. Swami says that the first step on the spiritual path is to be happy, to be always contented and satisfied. The spiritual path, He says, is not pressure but pleasure; it is not information but transformation. It is not taking on new burdens but getting rid of old ones, becoming light, giving up all burdens to Him. He says, “Get on My train and I will carry you and your baggage.” But first we have to get on His train. That means thinking always of Him, loving only Him, surrendering everything to Him—everything we think weare, and everything we think we do. A year ago, He gave us this promise, “I will always protect those who are Mine, those who surrender and say, ‘Lord, I am Thine.’” Moses and Jesus In the Bible, there is a story of another great soul whose life represents a supreme level of surrender. Moses was the great devotee to whom God identified Himself in the burning bush, as ‘I am that I am’. Moses brought the children of Israel, a million strong, out of the land of bondage where they had been pressed into slavery for 400 years. The divine command to go came early one morning and they left suddenly, without having time even to take some bread along for the long journey across the desert. After three days of forced marches they came to the Red Sea; there they rested, at last feeling free. Before them to the east was the deep sea that would have to be crossed. But then, when they looked behind them, they suddenly saw the far‑off horizon to the west teeming with armies, chariots, cavalry, infantry, and elephantry. The whole imperial army of their recent

Unity is Divinity At a Divine discourse on India’s Independence day this year, Baba drove home to us the importance of unity through a very simple and striking example. He asked how it was possible for England, a country so much smaller than India in population and land size, to conquer and rule India for so many years. The answer was simple⎯lack of unity on the part of the Indian people. Baba has been trying to make us understand the deeper significance of unity on the spiritual path for many years now, going so far as to say that unity is divinity. He also encourages this feeling of unity through emphasizing unity among groups who come to Prasanthi Nilayam, and speaking often of the Sai family and the one caste⎯the caste of humanity. He speaks of love as the highway to God⎯love in the form of service to humanity. The word yoga itself means to unite the individual soul with the universal spirit (Paramatman). The word religion comes from the Latin roots “re” (again) and “ligere” (to link) signifying the “relinking” of the soul with God. What is God but all of life, including humanity? Thus it seems that there must be two types of unity: vertical unity with the higher aspects of one’s Self and God, and horizontal unity with the people, nature, and the world around us. It seems that the spiritual unity that is already a reality at the level of the one pure universal consciousness (chit) must gradually be manifested in the lower vehicles of mental, emotional, and physical bodies of humans and between all the various bodies that are simply manifestations of that one consciousness. This has been the goal of every religion and spiritual philosophy since the beginning of time. This will create the real heaven for man on earth, unity with his higher Self and with others. There seem to be two basic forces operating in the universe: one is involution of spirit into matter and thus into greater and greater separateness and involvement into matter. This involution into matter reaches its culmination in the development of the human ego as the most evolved form of matter. This can be understood by comparing a two‑meter bin full of separate cells to a man two meters tall. Let us say that a man has 35 billion cells (I have no idea how many he has) and that thebin also has 35 billion separate cells. They are the same number of cells, but do they have the same abilities in the physical world? Can the bin of cells walk, dance, sing, build houses, create in various ways, think, philosophize, pray, love or discriminate? What is the difference? In man there is a unity between the cells. They are functioning together for a common goal: the health and happiness of the whole being. The cells are guided by the sub‑conscious of the man in each of their functions. They do not live for themselves as the 35 billion cells in the bin do. They live for the good of the whole and thus the whole, man’s sub‑conscious, looks after them. Each cell is provided with its needs through the work of the other cells, but all cells are guided in their function by the man. There is unity and thus there is health, strength, and happiness for the man and for the cells. If some of the cells should cease to cooperate with the organism for a while then they would constitute a sickness in the organism such as cancer or leukemia. When a man’s mental, emotional, and physical forces are not united, then a small group of foreign cells can easily invade and conquer his body as the English did to the Indians. Involution has taken place, and man’s body and ego are exquisite tools for the expression of this power of the spirit in the physical world. Now the process of evolution must be tended to so that spirit can evolve out of matter again. In order for this to happen, the ego must undergo the same process the cells did during their development into human body. The ego must be united into the service of the body of humanity in the same way that the cells of the body, at some point in their evolution, had to give up functioning for themselves and start to function together with other cells for the sake of the large organism. We find ourselves now in a time and place where the Incarnation of this universal consciousness that is wanting to manifest itself as the one body of humanity, is telling us, “Dear cells of My own body, please come together and cooperate in your functioning. Work together for the good of the whole body. And in that way I can provide for all of your needs as cells of My own body.” A recent scientific experiment may help us understand this. Kirlian photographs (which show the aura or the energy field) were taken of fertilized eggs on every day of their development. After some days, the energy field of the embryo of the chicken-to‑be appeared clearly on the photos. But when the egg was cracked open to see what was inside, the physical embryo had not formed. From this we could infer that the mental and energy bodies of the chicken form first and are present before the eventual development of and taking position of the various cells in the physical embryo. We might imagine a similar situation in terms of the body of humanity. The causal and subtle bodies are there. They represent a united functioning between all beings on earth. The sankalpa [divine will] for the creation of that body has taken the form of Sai Baba, who represents that universal consciousness on the physical level so as to encourage us and quicken and facilitate the formation of the body of God as united humanity. But the cells have not yet taken their positions and started functioning in harmony with the

The Laws of Action Karma [action] is the action principle of the universe; every cause has its effect, every action has its reaction. The law of karma is a comprehensive law embracing all action in all the planes of existence. Karmic law maintains law and order in the universe and the whole of creation is bound by its inexorable impact. The law of karma is based on the principle of causation and there is science behind all phenomena. Because of this inherent order, understanding is possible and there is meaning in our search for truth. There is no chance in the cosmic order but man has yet to grasp higher laws and suprasensory phenomena. The law of karma operates in the energy mediums of ichcha-shakti [power of desire], jnana-shakti [power of wisdom], and kriya-shakti [power of action]. The different energies are meant for different functions of volition, cognition, and action—the motive, thought, and action. Our motive is an emotional act, our thought is a mental act, and our action is a physical act and all involve a definite quantum of respective energy. All our motives, thoughts, and actions are concrete phenomena and can be measured quantitatively in terms of their energy expense. The physical laws are simple, and their causation follows a sequence in a straight line and their effect is immediate and obvious. The physical laws can be discerned through experimental verification and accepted for general understanding. The nature of operation in the psychic and spiritual planes is highly abstract, subtle, and complex to grasp. The psychic and spiritual laws transcend time, space, and limitations of the physical plane. Their causal relation does not follow a sequence. In higher planes, hundreds of causes in association produce a cumulative effect, sometime, somewhere. The subtler the plane, the more intense and concentrated is the energy form and greater is its power, wisdom, and joy. We can have more enduring and elevating peace and joy in the higher realms of thought, beauty, and spirit. The different forms of energy are inter-convertible from one form to another, and from one plane to another. Man established in the higher plane can exercise his will power and manipulate the energy and phenomena of the lower planes. Understanding higher laws and techniques to evoke higher centers, man can acquire extra-ordinary powers or siddhis. Man can tap the potential of psychic and spiritual energies and faculties within him to his immense advantage. The law of karma embraces past, present, and future linked in one continuous causal chain. The law of karma balances the opposing forces either through smooth integration or through, strife if necessary. All action in tune with dharma [right action] contributes to universal balance and harmony and for the good of the whole. All action in adharma [unrighteousness] causes chaos, conflict, and suffering thus disturbing universal balance and affecting total life. We reap what we sow. All our motives, thoughts, and actions sows psychological seeds in the subconscious form of impressions. These psychic records are the eternal witness to all our motivations, for nothing escapes this automatic imprint of the psyche. When the acts are often repeated these impressions get stronger and become our habits and tendencies, traits of character and conduct. Through good and bad karma we build our credits and debits in the book of life and the totals renew from life to life. We are partly free and partly determined, for we are the products of our past vasanas [bad tendencies] and samskaras [fundamental impressions], embedded in our swabhava  [individuality].  We are free to build a new future, and by righteous action we can give a benevolent turn to life and exhaust the past impact. We are not helpless tools in the hands of any external agency and our lives are not fatalistic, for we can tune in to the law of life. Man is endowed with a rational and discriminating faculty and has free choice to make or mar himself. Man is endowed with the voice of conscience for right action, but the noise of ego eclipses the silent voice of the heart. Man shall have blow after blow on the anvil of life, till he realizes his folly and tunes to dharma. Man is free to violate the moral law and free to suffer and he alone is responsible for the consequences of his action. The suffering is a blessing in disguise, it is a moral exercise, and has the rich reward of understanding through experience. Man can free himself from the bondage of karma through right understanding and right action in tune with dharma. Every motive, thought, and action has direct bearing on our life as the law of karma operates in all the three planes. If motive is pure, the karma does not affect the soul, for, motive is important in determining the effect of karma. We get measured reaction for the wrong action in the physical and social plane but it does not affect the inner being. If the motive is evil and although not executed in action, the karma binds the soul, for the intention is bad. All our good and bad karma accumulate in our psychic center, chitta [consciousness], our personality center, and we build our load of karma. Through sincere, intense prayer, and repentance for the wrongs done, we can cleanse the dark impressions of the sub-conscious. By intense and sincere prayer we generate spiritual vibrations that can clear the impressions by giving vent to them. Thus we can lessen the burden and lighten the load of karma and purify our psychic center. All action in tune with dharma in the spirit of yajna [sacrifice] dedicated to the cosmic cause does not bind. All action without egoistic motivations, without desiring the fruits thereof, does not bind. All action in total surrender in sublimation of the ego, as an instrument of the supreme, does not bind. We are all effective partners in the collective karma and are collectively responsible for social evils ; it affects every one. Man is a part of the collective life and stands in the same relation as a cell in our body and has to be in tune with cosmic life. It is the duty of every one, not only to be positively dharmic in personal life, but equally resist adharma wherever found. The karmic impact on life are of three

The Grace of God In His limitless love and compassion, Bhagavan Baba keeps on teaching us, guiding us and encouraging us all. Most of us understand His divine teachings in a correct way, because His language is a true and clear one. Most of us can take all advice equally earnestly, whether the advice highlights our personal failings or merits. However, quite a lot of courage and humility is needed for clearly seeing ourselves in the mirror of truth. Here we indeed need to put all the intensity we are capable of into our prayers to God, to cleanse our eyes, to calm our mind, and to purify our intellect, in order to gracefully bless our efforts. ‘See only good; God is in every man; Love your enemies;’ and many other divine signposts He gives us, so lovingly and mercifully pushing us to overcome our ego, prompting us forward along the di­vine path of righteousness toward His peace, toward fulfillment in His divinity, within ourselves. Whenever, wherever we are thinking of our beloved Lord, we can hear His voice, full of love and compassion. Our intel­lect understands that this is the one and only way for us to reach a peaceful coexistence on our earth, to enable us to take that immensely important and defi­nitely necessary step out of our ego into oneness and unity with all His creation. We know that only this way leads to en­tire surrender to God, to finally merge into the ocean of eternal bliss, God Him­self—the child having at last found its way back home. Our intellect understands, oh yes, it does. However, to understand is one thing, to practice it is another. We can do nothing at all without being blessed with God’s grace. Bhagavan Baba has confirmed: ‘I can give God’s grace. But you will have to supply human effort. Unless God’s grace and human effort come to­gether, the result cannot be achieved.” Our ego is not easy to conquer, and unless we do this with His grace­ful help, our efforts, however wholeheart­ed, will show up a petty meager result. May we always remember in all turns of events that divine life is the core and motivation of all and every thing. This is the real oneness of divinity this is the guarantee that we all one day shall reach the goal, fulfillment in eternal bliss and peace. ~Sisko Orefjaerd, SwedenSource: Sanathana Sarathi, June 1983

Steps in Sadhana Hinduism recognizes that there are several ways open for the sadhaka [spiritual aspirant] to progress spiritually. Baba says that in the modern age, the large majority of us can progress toward salvation through bhakti [devotion], as the other ways involve rigorous disciplines that are beyond the capacity of most of us. Bhakti can be developed by constant bhajan [singing of devotional hymns], japam [recitation of the names of God], and namasmarana [repetition and remembrance of the name of God]. In the nama sadhana [spiritual effort with recitation of the name], there is no such distinction. Hindus, Christians, and Muslims might differ on various points, but they are all one in the glorification of the name of God. All of them recite, repeat, and remember the name of the one Lord, though the language through which the name is expressed is different. A person of faith may turn the rosary as appropriate to his religion. But for everyone there is no spiritual discipline so fruitful, so universal or as holy as these: japam, dhyanam [meditation], and smaranam. The fruition of bhakti is the attitude of complete surrender to the will of God and accept­ing everything that comes as His grace. However bhakti itself will not take us far, unless our daily lives are disciplined by satyam (truth), dharma (right conduct), shanti (peace), and prema (love). Satyam is truth but is used in a wider sense. Swami says that, “truth is not something that is modified by time, space, or guna [attributes of all created things]. It must be the same forever, unaffected or unchanged; then alone is it truth. It should not be proved false by some subsequent event or knowledge.” He also says, ”satyam must be treated as essential as breathing itself. Just as a body without breath is useless and begins to rot and stink within a few minutes, similarly life without truth is useless and becomes the stinking abode of strife and grief. Truth is the all-protecting God. The Lord who is satya­-swarupa [embodiment of truth] grants his darshan [holy vision] to those of truthful speech and loving heart. Dharma is a body of principles that are fundamental to social stability and individual progress. There are various branches of dharma­-kartavya [social responsibilities], varna dharma [caste duties], ashram dharma [conduct pertaining to the stage of man’s development], etc, but the aim of all is to help man, stage by stage, toward liberation and freedom from the chain of birth and death. One common definition of dharma is that it represents the adherence to the rule: “Do unto others what you wish them to do unto you; do not do unto others what you do not wish them to do unto you. Do not have a double standard. Treat all as your own self…. The treatment you wish others to render to you is the measure of your duty to them.” Shanti is not merely the absence of anger and agitation, but is a positive quality. Swami says, “shanti embellishes every act; it softens the hardest core of man; it takes you to the footstool of the Lord and wins the vision of God for you. It knows no distinction, but is a force that establishes equality. The honey of love is the enchanting flower of life.” He further says, “The quality of shanti denotes the capacity to bear success and failure, joy and misery, defeat and victory, with perfect equanimity.” This attitude of mind is explained in Shaiva siddhanta [worship of Lord Shiva] and results from a complete surrender to the will of God. This is the prerequisite of nishkama karma or action without desire for ­its fruits. Swami says that “prema is the quality of sarvasamanta [universal equality] and ahimsa [non-violence], but also of the duty of love because every being is as much a spark of divinity as you are…an important difference between Indian religious concepts of love and western philosophical concepts is that the Indian concept is not restricted to human beings, but covers all living beings.” As an aid to the development of prema, Baba recommends two mental exercises: “(1) Always consider the faults of others, however big, to be insignificant and negligible. Consider your faults however insignificant or negligible, to be big and feel repentant. By these means, you avoid developing bigger faults and defects and acquire the qualities of brotherliness and forbearance. (2) Whatever you do, do it remembering that God is omnipotent. He sees, hears, and knows everything. Whatever you say remember that God hears every word. Discriminate between the true and the false and speak only the truth; whatever you do, discriminate between the right and the wrong and do only the right.” If these four human values of satyam, dharma, shanti, and prema s are cultivated and practiced by everyone, then “there will be no envy between man and man, selfish greed will cease, the interest of others will be respected, and world peace can be established.” Conduct guided by these four precepts will lead to nishkama karma and will not add­ to our stock of karmic debts. However, we have to face the consequences of our previous karma, as Swami explains: “When grief overtakes you and pain has you in ­its grip, the Lord does not announce the exact sin for which that particular experience is being given. You are left to deduce in a general way that every experience is a lesson and every loss is a gain. The purpose is to improve the individual and other considerations are secondary.” We are also told that God’s grace can save us from our previous karma. There appears to be an element of contradiction between the law of karma: as you sow, so shall you reap, and the doctrine of grace that saves you from your karma. How and when does grace intervene? Can it wipe out the large accumulation of karma? Will karma be considerably diminished by the sadhana of going through its consequences?  Spiritual development cannot co-exist with a mountain of accumulated karma. The other part of the explanation is given by Baba thus: “When severe pain torments you, the doctor gives you a morphine injection and you do not feel the pain, though it [pain] is still there. Grace is like morphine; the pain is not felt though you go through the karma! Grace can also take away the malignancy of the karma that you have to undergo. You know that drugs have an

Sneha—The Eighth Stage Bhagavan Baba encourages youth to cultivate true friendship that exhibits trust, steadfast faith, and acceptance of one’s circumstance devoid of doubt, fear, and anxiety, thus making it divine. Sneha (friendship) is the eighth of the nine stages of bhakti (devotion) described in the Bhagavatha [Hindu scripture] and other texts. It is usually translated as ‘friendship,’ a term that has been vulgarized by application to certain transitory relationships between human beings. Friends come together due to a variety of reasons and circumstances which are mostly of worldly and temporary interest. People who have ample resources gain friends quickly, just as those who can distribute favors. Those in authority also gather friends, who stay on during fair weather but disappear when the authority fades. Most friendships are based on selfish considerations and last only as long as their selfish interests are promoted. As the proverb goes, “when the lake is full, there are frogs in plenty, but when it runs dry, not a single croak is heard.” Friendship ought to be a spiritual bond, a heart-to-heart kinship based on full understanding of, and pure dedication to one another. Students should be vigilant against false and fleeting friendships, and not be simply led away by hellos and handshakes. Do not cultivate close friendship with anybody unless you know that the motives on the other side are pure, unselfish, and spiritual. Krishna & Arjuna’s friendship Genuine friendship is possible only between one atman [soul] and another, that is to say, between two persons who have each realized that atman is the core of their beings. Nowhere on the mundane plane, among the trivial transitory friendships of worldly beings, can you get the genuine sneha that is declared as the penultimate stage to sharanagati or atmanivedana (total surrender and dedication to God). Arjuna [from the epic Mahabharata] and [Lord] Krishna had this genuine sneha between them. Arjuna saw Krishna as his sakha (friend), and therefore had the temerity to use words of jesting irreverence during play, while in repose, when seated with Him, or at meals. The two often ate meals from the same plate, and were ready to help each other under all circumstances. Do not be under the impression that Arjuna was insidiously overpowered by Krishna. He was mature in character, well versed in the Vedic [Hindu scriptural] lore and a redoubtable warrior and bowman full of courage and heroism. Krishna was the Purushottama (Supreme Being), while Arjuna was the narottama (best human). It was a friendship between the embodiment of the highest and the embodiment of the best. Krishna was the avataric (incarnated) person; Arjuna was the anandic (blissful) person; it was a coming together of the avatar-murti [incarnated figure] and the ananda-murti [figure of bliss]. Arjuna was often addressed by Krishna as Kuru-nandana. This name has a deep significance. Kuru means act, activity, or karma. Nandana means happy, and delighted. Kuru-nandana, therefore, means he who is delighted while engaged in activity. Throughout the 18 chapters of the [Bhagavad] Gita, Arjuna is alert and active, participating vigilantly in every turn of argument. Krishna’s assurance to all Ramakrishna Paramahamsa [a Hindu master] was fascinated by the sneha that was exemplified by Krishna and Arjuna. He learned from the Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad-Gita how the sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) can go through all the nine stages of bhakti (devotion). He was also determined to emulate the gopis (cowherd girls) and earn for himself the viraha (passionate) type of bhakti—Madhura bhakti (sweet devotion)—that the gopis had. When he read the Ramayana (the epic story of Lord Rama), he decided to emulate Hanuman and practice his dasa bhakti (devotion of servitude). Of all the slokas (verses) in the Bhagavad-Gita, Ramakrishna was especially impressed by the one that emphasized the attitude of atma nivedanam or sharanagati. Manmana bhava madhbhakto madhyaji maam namaskuruMamevaishyasi yuktvaivam aatmaanam matparaayanah.(“Become one with Me; be devoted to Me; sacrifice unto Me; bow down to Me. Thus having made thy heart steadfast in Me, taking Me as the supreme goal, thou shalt surely come to Me.”) One day, while Ramakrishna was going to Kamarpukur (a town in the Indian state of Bengal), night overtook him and he was caught in heavy rain right in the center of a burial ground. Of course, he was in such an ecstatic mood that the time, place, or weather mattered little to him. When he awoke, Ramakrishna called upon God by various names—Rama, Shiva, Krishna, Kali, and Hanuman. Then, he suddenly realized that the names all referred to the [Divine] One, and he repeated within himself the verse from the Gita that reminded him of sharanagati (absolute surrender) to the One. What happened to Ramakrishna reminds me of a little story. The master of the household called the errand boy and giving him a five-rupee note asked him to bring vegetables from the market. While going toward the market, the boy took the note and placed it in his pocket saying, “Brinjals [eggplant] for one rupee”, “Cabbage for one rupee.” Thus he assigned the note to fish, to carrots etc. He started with a fiver and concluded with a fiver. Ramakrishna too started with the One and concluded with the One. The One becomes the many and the many is recognized as One. Surrender absolutely to God Many interesting incidents took place at Dakshineshwar (the temple where Ramakrishna served as a priest). When Ramakrishna was once asked to go to the temple office to receive his monthly salary, he was very upset, as he never wanted any wages for the chance to worship His (Divine) Mother. At another time, thieves broke into the Krishna temple. When Ramakrishna and Mathuranath (a colleague) came there, they discovered that Krishna’s idol was absolutely bare and that every jewel had been stolen. Mathuranath fell into a rage and began blaming Krishna Himself. “You are adored as the guardian of the 14 worlds, but you cannot guard even the jewels on your own body,” he said. Ramakrishna reprimanded him soundly for this sacrilege, saying, “Krishna has Lakshmi [Goddess of wealth] as His consort, and for Him your gold and gems are as cheap as dust. As a matter of fact, what is gold but dust in another form?” He made Mathuranath repent for his silly outburst, making him aware of the true nature of Godhead. Only when you surrender your wish and will, and your fancies and fantasies to God, will He lead you aright and

The ‘I’ Disease Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has said, “The Buddha saw one sick man, one old man, one corpse, and one sanyasin [religious mendicant]; that was enough for him to leave his palace and seek the cure.” We see several such things and witness terrible misery all around. But yet we do not seek the reason or the remedy. The cause for our apathy is the ‘I’ disease. This Sai Avatar has come to cure us of this ‘I’ disease. The ‘I’ is a disease, so it is not the real nature of man. There is, of course, a real ‘I’, which is God’s energy, activating us. That ‘I’ does not require any cure. It is ever free and happy. Bhagavan’s prescription is to cure the false ‘I’ or ego that is also the existing mind. This false ‘I’ exists because of the impressions of the past and of the effect of prakriti [nature] on our minds. Bhagavan’s teachings are directed to our mind and our intel­lect. He instructs the mind and the intellect to give up their association with the ego and merge in the true ‘I’, or atma [higher self]. The mind is nothing but a stream of thoughts that passes over the consciousness. Of all these thoughts, the first and the most harmful is the wrong thought, “I am this body.” This gives rise to further attachment. When anything happens to the beings or things associated with the ‘I’ in this manner, the ego feels happy or unhappy, the mind gets agitated, angry, envious, or proud. All the misery and misunderstanding that we witness today are due to this disease of ‘I’ and mine. It makes man forget that everything is His, all are He, that it is His leela [divine play], His will. Bhagavan’s prescription to root this ‘I’ out is dhyanam [meditation], namasmarana [repetition of the holy name], bhajan [devotional singing], and satsang [good company]. For us to take up any of these seriously, faith in God is essential. Due to the enormous increase in material progress, we have lost faith in God and the real ‘I’ or atma. To develop faith He is promp­ting us forward by miracles. He says that we treat ourselves like watches, readymade. We feel that watches have existed by themselves; we never seek the maker of watches. We feel we are readymade human beings; we do not bother about the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer—God. Baba cures diseases of the body so that we can concentrate on following His prescription that will cure this ‘I’ disease. He grants mental courage and confidence for the same purpose. Let each one of us get rid of this dire disease. Let us pray that Bhagavan will cure the ‘I’ disease on a mass scale and make the world a happier place to live in. ~G. N. AcharyaSource: Sanathana Sarathi, Jan. 1968