These quotations are taken from the Sai Dictionary of
Quotations and put together in a very pleasing interview form, a
collaborative work of 36 Sainet devotees.
Q:
Swami, why was I born?
Sai:
For what purpose were you born? (1) Man has been sent into the world
... to realize the truth that he is not man, but God. The wave
dances with the wind, basks in the sun, frisks in the rain,
imagining it is playing on the breast of the sea; it does not know
that it is the sea itself. Until it realizes the truth, it will be
tossed up and down; when it knows it, it can lie calm and
collected, at peace with itself. (2)
Q:
How am I God, Swami? I am a human being with a human body.
Sai:
You are in this body, in this receptacle, ... to realize the God
you really are. This body is the cocoon that you have spun round
[yourself], by means of your impulses and desires. Use it to grow
wings so that you can escape from it! (3)
Q:
Do I have to reach God?
Sai:
All creatures have to reach God. (4) It is the destiny of man to
journey from human-ness to divinity, as he has already journeyed
from animal-ness. (5) Some may ascend a plane, others may travel by
car or board a bus, some may prefer a train journey, others may like
to trudge along – but all must reach the goal, some day or other.
(6)
Q:
But, Swami, where will I find Him?
Sai:
[The] Divine Principle is the very core of man. ... It is the source
of strength which is unfailing and irresistible. ... The Divine is
here before you, behind you, inside you, outside you; the
Intelligence through which you can recognize. (7)
Q:
I'm sure I could find God if I lived here at Prasanthi Nilayam, with
You.
Sai:
The community in which you find yourself is the arena where you can
win the victory, the gymnasium where you develop the skill to win.
(8)
Q:
But why must I stay in such an unhappy world, where I too am
unhappy?
Sai:
You [learn] by the experience of the buffeting of the World. The
World is a very essential part of the curriculum of man. (9)
The ... world is like a hotel to which we have come to experience
the consequences of our actions in the past. The body is a room in
the hotel in which we have to undergo the Karmic consequences. (10)
Q:
When I am home, many things distract me. I don't often think of
finding God.
Sai:
Without trying to discover the Divinity that is in the human form,
people are wasting their lives. If you examine the great scriptures
of the world, you will find that they all emphasize the supreme
preciousness of being able to discover one's Divine nature, without
which one cannot achieve real bliss. Man seeks worldly pleasures and
prosperity but does not seek that inner Divinity which will give
him permanent happiness. (11)
Q:
But, Swami, isn't it a long way?
Sai:
You have got to go a long way. But do not be down-hearted. (12) I
have come to guide [you]. (13) I am ... ready to help you from the
first lesson to the last. (14)
(1)
Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram, III, 81.
(2)
Voice of the Avatar, II, 4.
(3)
Sathya Sai Speaks, IV, 12.
(4)
SSS, I, 14.
(5)
Sathya Sai Baba: Embodiment of Love, 65.
(6)
SSS, IV, 40.
(7)
VOA, II, 10.
(8)
SSS, VIII, 5.
(9)
SSS, I, 12.
(10) Sanathana Sarathi, 30,
May 1987, 122.
(11)
SSS, XI, 57.
(12)
SSS, I, 196.
(13)
Life of Bhagavan Sri
Sathya Sai Baba, frontispiece.
(14)
SSS, I, 196.
Q:
Swami, the Golden Age that You have spoken about, when will it
begin?
Sai:
The day when the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God will
shine bright and beautiful is dawning and drawing near. (1)
Q:
What will this time be like?
Sai:
This age [will be a] Golden Age for the seekers of God, for earning
and learning Viveka. (2) [In it] falsehood will fail, truth will
triumph, and virtue will reign. Character will confer power then,
not knowledge or inventive skill or wealth. Wisdom will be
enthroned in the Councils of Nations. (3)
Q:
What sign will You give that the Golden Age is beginning?
Sai:
The glory of Sai will spread to every part of the world. It will
increase a thousandfold. (5) You will see thousands pressing along
this road, hundreds on every rock on these hills. (6)
Q:
How crowded it will be!
Sai:
[That] day when millions will gather to benefit from the Avatar is
fast coming; I am advising you to garner and treasure all the Grace
and all the Bliss you can, while you may, so that you can sustain
yourselves ruminating on the sweetness of the memories and the
experience. (7)
Q:
If millions come, where will we gather?
Sai:
The time will soon come when this huge building or even vaster ones
will be too small for the gatherings of those who are called to this
place. The sky itself will have to be the roof of the Auditorium of
the future; I will have to forego the car and even the airplane when
I move from place to place, for the crowds pressing around them will
be too huge; I will have to move across the sky; yes, that too will
happen, believe Me. (8)
Q:
Walk across the sky, Swami. How exciting that will be! How else will
the world know You are the Lord?
Sai:
Formerly, when the Govardhanagiri was raised aloft by the little
boy, the Gopis and Gopalas realized that Krishna was the Lord. Now,
it is not one Govardhanagiri, a whole range will be lifted. You will
see! Have patience, have faith. (9)
Q:
It is difficult for me to imagine such a miracle!
Sai:
Do not be misled. It is not my purpose to strike men dumb by the
display of miraculous might! I have come to confer the boon of
blessedness and the benediction of bliss as the reward for genuine
spiritual endeavour and to lead mankind into Liberty, Light and
Love. (10)
Q:
How very fortunate I am to be alive this day.
Sai:
Your good fortune ... is greater than that available for anchorites,
monks, sages, saints and even personalities [embodying facets of
Divine Glory]! (11) The fact that you are alive this day is a
blessing. (12)
Q:
Swami, why have you waited so long to declare Yourself publicly? Why
do You not declare the Golden Age now?
Sai:
Prior to that I have to bring such persons near me, who, in their
previous lives, have been incessantly and untiringly trying to get
access to me through their severe sadhana. A time will come when the
world will know about the Avatar through public declaration. (13)
Q:
Who will declare You to the world, Swami?
Sai:
Devotees of world stature, able to speak of Sai, will be present
when the time is correct for them. (14) The Mahapurushas, the
Mahatmas, the Jnanis, [and] the Yogis ... will all be co-operating
in the task of re-establishing righteousness and clearing the path
for the World-attaining Santhi. (15)
Q:
What will the world be like when You have finished Your work?
Sai:
The world will be peaceful. ... All will be love – love, love, love
everywhere. (16)
Q:
Oh, Swami, what can I do to be ready for the Golden Age?
Sai:
Adhere firmly to the truth of your convictions. Be prepared to meet
any challenges. ... Be ready to face any situation. ... Strengthen
your faith in God. (17) Prepare for shouldering the task assigned to
you – to be instruments dedicated [to] the mission on which the
Divine has come. (18)
(1)
Sathya Sai Speaks, X, 34.
(2)
SSS, XI, 186.
(3)
Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram, III, 21.
(4)
Spirit and the Mind, Sandweiss, 245.
(5)
Sanathana Sarathi, 36, Dec. 1993, 333.
(6)
SSS, II, 90.
(7)
SSS, VIII, 94.
(8)
SSS, II, 90-1.
(9)
SSS, III, 23.
(10)
Sathyam, III, 21.
(11)
SSS, VI, 211.
(12)
SSS, X, 17.
(13)
Sathya Sai Baba and
the Nara-Narayana Gufa Ashram, I, 38.
(14)
My Baba and I, 205.
(15) SSS, I, 32.
(16) MBI, 189.
(17)
SS, 36, Dec. 1993,
333.
(18)
SSS, IX, 94.
Q:
Swami, You must get hungry, and yet I have never seen you eat.
Sai:
For Me, your Ananda [Bliss] is My Food. (1) I need no other food
than [that]. I am Anandaswarupa. My nature is Ananda. (2)
Q:
Do you ever sleep then, Lord?
Sai:
If I needed rest I would not have incarnated. (3) I do not sleep at
night; I remember ... the events of my past appearances, and I laugh
within myself as memories pass across. (4) In the middle of the
night, [I turn] off the light and [rest] in bed because if the light
is on devotees gather. ... People think that Baba rests in the
afternoon until 4 p.m. But He never rests. He is never tired. He is
always working. (5)
Q:
Don't you wish sometimes to travel somewhere else, just to get away
from all this?
Sai:
I have no need to see places. I am everywhere, always! (6) I am not
moved by the craving for a change, or for recreation, or travel. (7)
Q:
Do you ever worry that, with all these people here, You won't be
able to complete Your work?
Sai:
Worry is totally alien to me. I am not aware of any difficulties,
disparagement or pressures caused by others. ... (8) Nothing can
hold Me up or agitate Me or cast a shadow on Me in this Human
Form.... My Sankalpa must prevail; My task must be accomplished. My
Mission will succeed. (9) I may sometimes wait until I can achieve
ten things at one stroke.... But My Word will never fail. (10)
Q:
You are always at work and yet You seem so calm.
Sai:
I do not have a time schedule to adhere to nor can any law bind me.
I am the ultimate from whom everything originated, in whom it is
preserved and in whom it will be destroyed. (11)
Q:
How can I know that side of You?
Sai:
Stay at Prasanthi Nilayam; move with Me and experience My company
and conversation. Listen to Me and watch Me and then form your
conclusions; get in and know the depth; eat and know the taste. (12)
The way in which the Avathar has to be used for one's liberation ...
is: watch His every step, observe His actions and activities, follow
the guiding principle of which His life is an elaboration. Mark His
Love, His Compassion, His Wisdom, try to bring them into your own
life. (13)
Q:
I should not only watch You. I should also listen carefully to Your
advice, should I not?
Sai:
You can get Anandam only by following the advice I give you and that
is why I am particular that you should listen carefully and take to
heart all that I say. (14) Trust in My wisdom: I do not make
mistakes. Love My uncertainty! For it is not a mistake. It is My
Intent and Will. Remember, nothing happens without My Will. Be
still. Do not want to understand; do not ask to understand.
Relinquish understanding. Relinquish the imperative that demands
understanding. (15)
(1)
Sathya Sai Speaks, I, 179.
(2)
Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram, III, 64.
(3)
Sathya Sai Baba: Embodiment of Love, 216.
(4)
Life of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, 10.
(5)
Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba, 65.
(6)
Sathyam, III, 25.
(7)
LBSSSB, 124.
(8)
Sanathana Sarathi, 33, Sept. 1990, 245.
(9)
SSS, I, 95.
(10) SSS, I, 189.
(11) Sai Vandana, 142.
(12) LBSSSB, 202.
(13) SSS, VI, 167.
(14)
SSS, I, 15.
(15)
Sathyam, III, 43.
Q:
What is the goal of human life?
Sai:
What is the goal of human life? What is the objective that man must
realize? Is it just eating, drinking, sleeping, tasting a little joy
and grief and finally dying, like any bird or beast? No, certainly
not. A little thought will reveal that it is ... Brahma-Sakshathkara,
the realization of the Absolute, of Brahman! (1) You have come from
the Divine and you have to go back to the Divine. (2) That Divine
Principle is the very core of man. Becoming aware of this Truth is
the goal of life; it is the source of strength which is unfailing
and irresistible. ... The Divine is here before you, behind you,
inside you, outside you; the Intelligence through which you can
recognize. It is also with you, but you are either blind or diseased
with defective vision or, worse still, willfully inclined to close
your eyes! (3)
Q:
What is the aim of all spiritual practices?
Sai:
All spiritual practices are aimed at [the complete] purification [of
the heart]. (4) Love has an electric effect on human beings. It
purifies the human heart. (5) Through love alone – love acquired
through sadhana, and shared with all as sadhana – can peace be
attained, by the individual as well as by the nation. (6) God is the
very Embodiment of Love. ... God who is Love can be realized only
through Love. (7) Unless you cleanse the mind with Love, the Full
Moon of Spiritual Wisdom cannot shine therein. The recital of the
Name, the observance of vows and vigils, of fasts and festivals, may
scintillate on the Inner Sky of the mind, as stars stud the sky,
but, until the Lamp of Love is lit, the darkness will not vanish.
(8)
Q:
Why must I work? Why can I not simply sit under this tree and read
about God?
Sai:
As long as you are in this world, you must be engaged in work. Work
is very important for human beings. It is through your work and
activities that you learn to harmonize thoughts, words and deeds.
(9) Perfect freedom is not given to any man on earth because the
very meaning of mortal life is relationship with and dependence on
another. (10) The true Guru is not a human preceptor [teacher]. It
is the Cosmos Itself, Prakrithi, Creation, the World around us. (11)
You [learn] by the experience of the buffetings of the World. The
World is a very essential part of the curriculum of man. (12) The
community in which you find yourself is the arena where you can win
the victory, the gymnasium where you develop the skill to win. The
spiritual journey lies through compassion, sympathy, mutual help,
and service, and these are fostered by society and are to be used
for society. (13)
Q:
Are we alone in the universe? What are other beings like?
Sai:
The universe is without beginning and in it dwell an infinitude of 'jivas'
(living beings). Among these jivas, man is the most exalted being.
(14) In all the universe there is no other planet that has human
life, or a similar life form. ... There is life throughout the
universe. [But] the expression of life on Earth is upward through
the human to the Divine. By virtue of human birth, the next step is
the full realization of the Divine. Human life is sacred and must be
appreciated as having the highest value. (15)
The question about life in the universe arises because you project
your own particular circumstances. You feel that other ways of life
would be intolerable because such ways would be intolerable for you.
In the hot, blazing Sun, for instance, beings are living. This life
exists in circumstances considered to be intolerable by you.
Elsewhere in the universe, life feels it is Divinity, is one with
Divinity, and is quite happy, and feeling all is right. (16)
Q:
Are there other "gods" besides God? What do they do?
Sai:
Just as the ruler of a petty earthly domain has certain norms to go
by in carrying out his duty, the Supreme Ruler of the world, the
Almighty, too, [has] such regulations in the matter of the
governance of the universe. It is puerile to say that God would do
everything by Himself simply because He is omnipotent. ... Even as
there is a delegation of authority in the administration of a
terrestrial kingdom by a ruler by which various functions are
performed by several ministers who are assigned the charge of
certain departments and portfolios, in running the affairs of the
Cosmos, the Almighty God too assigns certain functions to certain
gods like Indra, Varuna, and Rudra. Just [as] all earthly matters
are not taken directly to a king, but are presented to the concerned
ministers for action, all prayers of man do not reach God Himself –
they are attended to by His 'ministers' – Indra, Varuna and others.
(17) The Lord will not interfere in the functions of the different
deities. He lets Brahma, Vishnu, and Easwara carry out their
respective functions according to the cosmic laws. (18) Prayers for
worldly ends do not reach God. They will reach only those deities
who deal with such restricted spheres. But all prayers arising from
pure love, unselfish eagerness to render service and from hearts
that are all inclusive will reach God. (19)
Q:
Why do I feel happy when I see someone happy? Why do I not feel sad
instead?
Sai:
We are not troubled when something is good, only when it is bad.
This is because goodness is natural and evil is an aberration. We
are worried and alarmed when someone slides into wrong or is in pain
or in sorrow. This is because nature plans us to be right, to be
happy and ever in joy. It is a pity that man has lost his
understanding of this Truth. (20)
Q:
I always feel this yearning, no matter what I do. What is it?
Sai:
Man has an inborn thirst for God, an in-built yearning for the
Ananda of the highest order which will never fail or falter. (21)
The Lord has so shaped man that he is inclined towards God and
delighted at the expansion of his vision and happy when he is moral
and virtuous. So man must serve his best interests by adhering to
his basic nature, by concentration on Brahma, by the cultivation of
Sathya and the practice of Dharma. (22) The deepest yearning of man
is to experience the One, the Basis, the Being that has Become. (23)
It is only by drinking God that [this] thirst can be quenched; not
by substitutes or palliatives. (24) Man can obtain Santhi only by
returning to [his] native home, viz., God. Until then, homesickness
will haunt him. (25)
Q:
What sets human beings apart from animals?
Sai:
Discrimination ... sets [human beings] apart from the rest of the
animals. (26) [The] divine power is present everywhere in creation.
Only man has the capacity to recognize this power. (27)
No other living being [than man] has been endowed with intelligence
and [a] discriminative faculty, heightened to this degree, in order
to enable it to visualize the Atma. This is the reason why man is
acclaimed as the crown of creation, and why the Sastras proclaim
that the chance of being born as man is a very rare piece of good
fortune. Man has the qualifications needed to seek the cause of
Creation; he has in him the urge and the capacity. (28)
Man alone can rise through effort to higher stages of spiritual
evolution. No other animal can do so. Animal tamers of the circus
can train a tiger to perform various tricks, but they cannot change
his nature. They cannot make it live on grass and completely deprive
it of meat. But man is different. His nature can be changed by means
of his own disciplined effort. He can control, by his will, the evil
thoughts and ideas that arise in his mind. This is why birth as a
human being is considered a rare gift. (29)
The special instrument that God has allotted man, namely, Buddhi or
the Intellect, has to be used by man to become masters of these
down-dragging senses. The Intellect has to be used to judge and
decide the means for the upliftment of the human to the Divine. It
has to help man to realize God. (30)
In a world replete with ... opposites, man has to make constantly
the choice between what is right and proper and what is wrong or
undesirable. A man who has no such discriminating faculty is an
animal. Man should not let himself be guided by the mind. He should
follow the directions of his intelligence (Buddhi). As long as you
follow the mind, you cannot obtain Madhava (Divinity). (31)
Q:
When I do something, do I do it or does God?
Sai:
You have to realize that little depends on your efforts alone. You
can have proof of this in your own body. For instance, what efforts
are you making to see that your heart beats regularly? How far are
you responsible for the breathing process that goes on continually?
What is your contribution to the digestive process that goes on
within you? Are these the results of human efforts? Can you continue
to live merely by wishing that you should go on living? Are you able
to end your life when you wish it? Are you responsible for your
birth? Not at all. When you inquire into this problem, you will
realize that it is your sense of doership and enjoyership which is
causing all difficulties. (32)
When [a person] performs actions, regarding himself as the doer, the
actions become fetters that bind him. All actions which are
performed with the feeling that they are intended as offerings to
please the Divine do not lead to bondage. They become "desireless" (Anapeksha)
actions. One has to recognize that it is the Divine principle in all
beings which is getting actions done through human beings as
instruments. As long as man regards himself as the doer (kartrutva)
and enjoyer (bhoktrutva) he cannot escape from the consequences of
his actions. (33)
Q:
What should I do if I see a crime?
Sai:
Today many are indulging in actions opposed to Dharma and Truth and,
on the basis of their caste or community, are promoting strife and
conflict in the country. Elders in the nation are remaining mere
spectators of all the unrighteous and violent actions that are being
done by the evil elements. Even the scholars and intellectuals are
remaining silent. Persons holding high office are merely watching
what goes on. No one, however, is making any effort to stop this
menace. They are not resisting the evil elements. It appears as if
all their knowledge, position and influence have been reduced to
nothing. Such persons, though they may not be indulging in
unrighteous acts, are giving encouragement to them. When evil and
injustice and violence are being perpetrated, if individuals look on
unconcerned, they must be regarded as accomplices in the crimes. In
the end they also suffer as much as the criminals. By their passive
association, they provide encouragement to the evil-doers. When the
good are associated with the wicked and do not oppose them, they
share responsibility for the deeds of the evil doers. The Divine
destroys even those who either do not oppose or remain passive while
injustice and wrong-doing are perpetrated. The Divine will not
consider whether they are learned or ignorant, wise or unwise. If
they are learned or wise, why did they not stand up for truth and
justice? Why did they remain silent? It means they are tainted by
the same guilt. The failure to resist evil is their offense. It is
only when we resist acts of unrighteousness and injustice and try to
put down malpractices in society that we can claim to be assisting
in the task of restoring Dharma. ... Whoever may commit an offense,
whether a son, a relation or a close associate, one will be free
from the taint of being accessory to the crime only if he opposes
the wrong action and tries to correct the offender. If, on the
contrary, he allows it or encourages it to be done, he will be
guilty of abatement.
(34)
(1)
Dharma Vahini, 71.
(2)
Sanathana Sarathi, 30, May 1987, 121.
(3)
Voice of the Avatar, II, 10.
(4)
Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba, 44.
(5)
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai in Amritsar, etc., 35.
(6)
Yoga of Action, 40.
(7)
Sathya Sai Speaks, XI, 68.
(8)
SSS, IX, 98.
(9)
Sai Baba Gita, 3-4.
(10)
Sai Baba: The
Ultimate Experience, 150.
(11)
SSS, XI, 120.
(12)
SSS, I, 12.
(13)
SSS, VIII, 5.
(14)
Summer Showers in Brindavan, 1979, 85.
(15)
CSSB, 150.
(16)
My Baba and I, 226.
(17)
SSB, 1979, 8.
(18)
SS, 38, April 1995,
87.
(19)
SSS, XI, 68.
(20)
SSS, X, 248.
(21)
SSS, VII, 362.
(22)
DV, 79.
(23)
SSS, XI, 73.
(24)
SSS, VII, 362.
(25)
DV, 72.
(26)
YOA, 41.
(27)
SS, 31, Dec. 1988,
309.
(28)
SSV, 1.
(29)
SSS, X, 189.
(30)
SSS, XI, 9.
(31)
SS, 31, Mar. 1988,
70.
(32)
SS, 33, Sept. 1990,
235.
(33)
SS, 36, Feb. 1993,
30.
(34)Discourses by
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, I, 141-2.
Q:
Swami, is there nothing in the universe that God did not create?
Sai:
Everything in the world is derived from God. (1) Nothing is
uncaused. ... Every being, object, incident has been caused by the
Primal Cause and its direction or guidance. (2)
Q:
What motivated God to create the world?
Sai:
[God] has willed the world as His Sport. (3) Prakrithi [the world]
is just the leela of the Lord, set before you so that you may become
aware of His Glory, His Splendor. (4)
Q:
I have heard it said that God inhabits everything. Is this so?
Sai:
The Divine dwells in the entire Universe, from the minute atom to
the vastest star. (5) No place exists where he is not. (6)
Q:
But, Swami, we often say that Nature is different from God. We say,
"Not this. Not this." Does God dwell in Nature too?
Sai:
You have to pour into the flames that rise up to destroy (for they
are the flames of revelation, purification, discrimination) the
limited vision that sees Nature as different from the Divine. The
Divine created all this through the Divine and with the Divine
substance. (7)
Q:
Then what is the key to understanding the mystery of Nature and God?
Sai:
The basic truth of Nature is the One in the many; that is the key to
its understanding. (8) The easiest way of grasping the basic reality
is to see the Lord in every creature; the Lord sporting in all this
multiplicity, as the underlying reality of all. (9)
Q:
Swami, I find these mysteries hard to understand.
Sai:
The Divine mystery is incredibly marvelous. It is not easy for
ordinary mortals to comprehend these mysteries. (10)
Q:
What prevents me from understanding them, from comprehending the
formless God?
Sai:
The Unmanifested, Nirguna Brahman [Formless God] cognised at the
climax of the Jnanamarga [wisdom path] cannot be grasped by the
sense-centered individual without great travail and trouble. This is
the reason why the Puranas dwell so much more on the Saguna aspect
[the aspect of God with form] than on the Nirguna aspect of Godhead.
First, the aspirant has to practice the Sadhana related to the
Saguna aspect of God; this will endow him with concentration and
later, according to the law of procedure from the gross to the
subtle, he can merge his mind in the Nirguna Brahman. (11)
Q:
How could I move from being sense-centered to being God-centered in
order to be able to know this mystery of God?
Sai:
Ponder over the ameliorative and curative advice I have given you
out of the fullness of My Love; try to cleanse your minds through
repentance of wrongs committed or contemplated; resolve with
unshakable firmness to shape your lives anew, rid it of deep-rooted
deleterious habits of speech, thought and action, and lead it in
conformity with the Divine Plan, by which each of you will blossom
into the fully Divine.
(12)
(1)
Sai Baba Gita, 3.
(2)
Voice of the Avatar, II, 11.
(3)
Sathya Sai Speaks, X, 243.
(4)
SSS, III, 29.
(5)
Sanathana Sarathi, 31, Dec. 1988, 309.
(6)
SBG, 8.
(7)
Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram, III, 65.
(8)
Sathya Sai Vahini, 11.
(9)
SSS, I, 53.
(10)
SS, 38, April 1995,
88.
(11)
Dharma Vahini, 67.
(12)
Sathyam, Sivam,
Sundaram, III, 6
Q:
Swami, You said that everyone is here for a purpose. Why are _You_
here?
Sai:
I have come to inscribe a golden chapter in the history of humanity.
(1)
Q:
What do You mean, Lord?
Sai:
Sai has come ... to achieve the supreme task of uplifting the entire
mankind, as one family through the bond of brotherhood, of affirming
and illumining the Atmic Reality of each being in order to reveal
the Divine which is the Basis on which the entire Cosmos rests, and
of instructing all to recognize the common Divine Heritage that
binds man to man so that man can rid himself of the animal, and rise
to the Divine, which is his goal. (2)
I want to build one humanity without any religious, caste or other
barriers in a universal empire of love which would enable my
devotees to feel the whole world as their family. (3)
Q:
How can just one being change the whole world?
Sai:
The power of Sai is limitless; It manifests for ever. All forms of
'power' are resident in this Sai palm. (4) My Body, like all other
bodies, is a temporary habitation but My Power is eternal,
all-pervasive, ever-dominant. (5)
Q:
Does that mean that You can simply snap Your fingers and cure
everything in the world?
Sai:
If I cure everything instantly, leaving the people at their present
level of consciousness, they would soon mess up things and be at one
another's throats again with the result that the same chaotic
situation would develop in the world. (6) [Instead] I have to work
through [people], rouse the in-dwelling God in them and evolve them
to a higher reality in order to enable them to master the natural
laws and forces. (7) [I will lead] the people ... to a higher level
of consciousness to enable them to understand the truth of spiritual
laws so that they may turn towards righteousness and steadfastly
work for better conditions. (8)
Q:
Why did the Lord Himself come?
Sai:
When there is a small disturbance, a police constable is enough to
put it down; when the trouble is threatening to develop into sizable
proportions, a police inspector is sent; when it grows into a riot,
the superintendent of police himself has to quell it; but when as
now, all mankind is threatened with moral ruin, the inspector
general comes down, that is, the Lord comes down with His army of
saintly men and seekers. (9)
Q:
If You are the Inspector General, will You protect us from nuclear
war?
Sai:
Evil is so widespread that humanity itself would be destroyed in a
nuclear holocaust.... It is to prevent such a catastrophe that this
present Avatar has come to raise human consciousness above the
existing syndrome of anger, hate, violence and war and save the
world from disaster. (10)
My mission is to pre-empt the fires [of thermonuclear conflagration]
by reestablishing Dharma and the spiritual law of one God, one
religion, one [heart] language embracing one humanity. (11)
Q:
Swami, why has the United Nations been unable to keep the world from
war?
Sai:
Only the power of the Divine can save the world [today]. (12) [I
have] to deal with [a] crisis which is world-wide and world-shaking.
... Immorality has put on the garb of morality and is enticing man
into the morass of sin. Truth is condemned as a trap; justice is
jeered at; saints are tortured as social enemies. Hence this
Incarnation has come, to uphold the True and suppress the False.
(13)
Q:
Will you destroy the wicked as you did in your Rama and Krishna
Incarnations?
Sai:
In this Avathar, the wicked will not be destroyed; they will be
corrected and reformed and educated and led back to the path from
which they have strayed. (14) That is why this Avathar has come
unarmed; It has come with the message of love. The only weapon which
can transform the vile and the vicious is ... Love. (15)
Q:
There seems no question in Your mind that You will succeed.
Sai:
Even if the heavens fall, Sai's resolve will not alter. (16) Nothing
can impede or halt [My] work. (17) The Will of God cannot be
stopped. The events God ordains must take place. (18) The splendor
of this Avathara will go on increasing, day by day. (19)
Q:
I believe You, Lord. But I fear that many will not.
Sai:
Many hesitate to believe that things will improve, that life will be
happy for all and full of joy, and that the golden age will recur.
[But] let me assure you that this dharmaswarupa, this divine body,
has not come in vain. It will succeed in averting the crisis that
has come upon humanity. (20)
(1)
Sathya Sai Baba: Embodiment of Love, Mason and Laing, 167.
(2)
Sathya Sai Speaks, IX, 85.
(3)
Spirit and the Mind, Sandweiss, 258.
(4)
SSS, IX, 83.
(5)
SSS, III, 122.
(6)
SM, 245.
(7)
SM, 245.
(8)
SM, 244.
(9)
Life of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Kasturi, 213.
(10)SM, 239.
(11)SM, 257-8.
(12)Sanathana Sarathi, 34,
Nov. 1991, 302.
(13)SSS, VI, 265.
(14)SSS, I, 22.
(15)SSS, I, 66-7.
(16)SS, 36, Dec. 1993,
334.
(17)SSS, III, 23.
(18)Eastern View of
Jesus Christ, 12.
(19)SSS, III, 23.
(20)Sai Baba: Holy Man
and the Psychiatrist, Sandweiss, 91.
Q:
Swami, sometimes, when I am home, I feel afraid and lonely without
You near me.
Sai:
When in fear and doubt, pray to Me. Tune in to My mighty Power,
which, compared to the power of the sun which I have placed in the
heavens, is what a baby's breathing is to a typhoon. (1)
Q:
But when I leave Prasanthi, surely You will be busy and forget about
me.
Sai:
No matter where you go, always know that I will be there, inside
you, guiding every step of the way. ... You are my very own, dearer
than dear to me. I will protect you as the eyelids protect the eyes.
(2)
Q:
How will You know I need You, Swami?
Sai:
Call on Me in your distress; it is your right to invoke My Grace.
(3) If you call upon Me, I shall be at your side.*** (4)
Q:
But, Swami, surely You save only the pure. I have been very bad
recently.
Sai:
To say that you have to be pure in order to win My grace is as
foolish as to say that you have to be healthy to receive the
ministrations of a doctor! The pure do not need a Master! The tough
do not need a doctor! (5) Why fear when I am here? Put all your
faith in Me. I shall guide and guard you. (6)
Q:
But I cannot see You when I am home.
Sai:
I see [you] and I am with [you], wherever [you] may be. (7)
Q:
How can You help me thousands of miles away?
Sai:
Wherever you are, you are near Me. You cannot go beyond My reach.
(8)
Q:
Swami, what happens if You do not come?
Sai:
I will not forsake you. I have come to help, to accompany, and to
carry you. I can never forsake you. I will never fail in My duty to
My children. (9) Nothing will harm him who turns his attention
toward Me. (10) Sai Krishna will install Himself in the lotus of
your heart. He will be ever with you, as guard and guide, and will
shower Grace on you. He will be the Mother, Father and Preceptor,
the Nearest Kinsman; He will be your All. (11)
Q:
Even when I have been bad?
Sai:
However you are, you are Mine. I will not give you up. (12)
Q:
Even if I forget You for a while?
Sai:
Those who stray away will come again to me, do not doubt this. I
shall beckon them back to me. (13)
Q:
Oh, Swami, You are the best friend anyone ever had!
(1)
Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram, III, 110.
(2)
Sanathan Sarathi, 30, Feb. 1987, backcover.
(3)
Sathyam, III, 60.
(4)
Life of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, 110.
(5)
Sathyam, III, 101.
(6)
LBSSSB, 98.
(7)
Sathya Sai Speaks, IV, 33.
(8)
Sai Vandana, 74.
(9)
Yoga of Action, 8.
(10)Shirdi Sai in LBSSSB,
188.
(11)SSS, X, 149.
(12)My Baba and I, 69.
(13)God Descends on
Earth, 35.
***
[KASTURI:] It does not matter if [the one in distress] is not a
devotee. In calling upon Baba, no particular Name is essential –
Rama, Krishna, Jesus, Allah, Sai, be it any. All Names and Forms
being His and His alone, He is only too ready to answer the cry of
the one in distress and to avert it. (LBSSSB, 133.)