Sathya Sai Vahini Index

The Miracle of Miracles

The children of Bharath (Bharathiyas) believe that they are, each one, the Atma. They are aware that the Atma cannot be cut in twain by the sword, that fire cannot burn It, that water cannot wet It, and that the wind cannot dry It. The Atma has no bounds. Its centre is in the body, but, its circumference is nowhere. Death means the Atma has shifted from one body to another. This is the belief that every Indian has firmly in mind.

The Atma is not subject to material or worldly limitations or laws. By Its very nature, It is free; It is Unbounded; It is Purity; It is Holiness; It is Fullness. But, since it is associated with material, inert, bodies, It imagines that It is also a product of material composition. This is the wonder, the mystery, the miracle that It manifests! To unravel this mystery, and explain this miracle are beyond the capacity of any one.

How could the Full (Poorna) Atma get entangled in the delusion that It is 'not-full' (apoorna), 'a fraction', 'in-completely'? Some persons might charge the Bharathiyas who declare that the awareness of incompleteness itself can never arise, as persons attempt to wriggle out of an impossible situation. They might say that this is but a stratagem to cover up their ignorance of the Truth. How can the Pure, the Unpartitionable, lose Its nature to the slightest extent? The Bharathiyas are simple and sincere, and their nature is seldom artificial. They would never attempt to wriggle out of a situation by resorting to specious arguments. Thy have the courage to encounter in a manly way any problem before them. Therefore, the answer to the question posed is: The delusion cannot happen! There is no basis for the error of imputing 'incompleteness' for the 'complete'. The 'full' entity called Atma can never imagine Itself as 'wanting' or 'less-than-full' or feel that It is limited or controlled by the material sheath whose core It is.

Every person knows that he feels he is the body. Can any one announce how this feeling arose and persisted? No one can offer to answer this question. For, to say, as some do, that it is the will of God, is no answer at all. The plain statement, 'I do not know' conveys the same meaning, as the statement, 'It is the will of God.' One is no wiser at the latter statement than after hearing the first. What remains is this: "The Atma in the Individual, the Jiva-atma, is Eternal, Immortal, Full. There is no Death; what appears so is the shifting of Its centre."

Our present condition and circumstances are decided by the deeds done in previous lives. In a similar manner, the conditions in which we have to spend the future are determined by what we are doing now. Between one life and another, one death and the next, the individual either progresses or regresses, expands or shrinks. Like a frail ship caught in a stormy sea, man climbs the froth-rimmed peak of some gigantic wave and, the next moment, he is hurled with terrific speed into the deepest trough. The rise and the fall result inevitably from his good deeds and bad. O ye! Children of Immortality! Listen! Listen to the answer given in the message of the Rishis who had the Vision of the Most Majestic of Persons, the Purushottama, who dwells beyond the realms of Delusion and Darkness: "O, Ye Human Beings! Brothers! For you to liberate yourselves from the succession of deaths, the only means is 'knowing Him'. Do not imagine that you are sinners, for, you are heirs to eternal Ananda. You are 'images' of God, sharers in undiminishable Ananda. You are by nature holy, ever full; you are indeed God, moving on earth. Is there a sin greater than calling such as you, sinners? You are dishonouring yourselves, defaming yourselves, when you acknowledge the appellation, 'sinners'! Arise! Cast off the feeling that you are sheep. Do not be deluded into that idea. You are Atmas. You are drops of Amrith of Immortality, that know neither beginning nor end. All things material are your bondslaves; you are not their bondslaves."

These are the words of the rishis. How can those who have not themselves delved into this Truth appreciate this Bharathiya interpretation? Indians are the fortunate ones who have achieved great strength in spirit holding God as father, mother, guru, friend, and the beloved. They have adored God as dearer to them than anything or any one, here or hereafter. How can those who are aware only of mere sensual pleasure know this supreme Truth? The craving for sensual pleasure veils the truth from the inner eye. That craving manifests in multiple ways, creating more and more desires and laying down more and more urges to action. These hide the truth like a thick curtain.

The recognition of this curtain is a big stage in spiritual progress. This is the Maya Principle of Vedanta. From immemorial times, though the Truth was self-evident, this curtain has hidden it from man. This has been discovered as the prime obstacle by Indians, since ages. How to remove the curtain and cognise the Truth? Indians knew that the solution does not lie in the objective, external world, and so, it would be futile to seek it there. The search in the external world even for ages cannot ensure success. For, experience alone can guarantee conviction.

To gain experience, Indians entered into austerities and disciplined inquiry, until they 'identified' the Truth, and announced it to the world. They discarded the urges of the senses and the manifold attractions of active involvement in the objective world. They taught the world this lesson. The mind of man was the instrument for the Indian seekers to discover this secret, which is the basic principle of Wisdom as treasured by them. It became imperative for them to use the mind itself and study its nature and characteristics. They realised soon enough that the study of the external world led them nowhere. They diverted their attention to the internal 'regions' of their consciousness. Thus they laid the foundation for the Vedantic structure; this was the beginning of the Vedantic inquiry.

There is no need to seek Truth anywhere else. Seek it in man himself: he is the miracle of miracles. Whatever is not in man cannot be anywhere outside him. What is visible outside him is but a rough reflection of what really is in him! The ancient belief was that Ishwara (God) ruled over the World, with Himself being outside it; this, the Indian seekers put to test through Sadhana and revealed that God was and is in the world and of it. This is the first contribution of Indians to the spiritual world - that God is not external to man, but his very inner core. They declared that it is impossible to remove him from the heart where He has installed Himself. He is the very Atma of our atma, the soul of our soul; He is the inner Reality of each.

Those who desire to grasp the supreme vision of Vedantic philosophy have to understand a few fundamental ideas. Philosophy is neither a book nor the work produced by one person. The supremely great Manu has named this Bharath as Brahmavartha, the Region of Brahma, the spiritual area where the quest of the One immanent and transcendent Principle originated and succeeded. The festive cavalcade of saints engaged in the quest began its march over the continents from this Bharath itself. Like mighty rivers from huge mountain ranges, the stream of spiritual Sadhana for the discovery of the Higher Truth sprang from this land itself. This land has announced to the world its Spiritual Message with the confidence and courage of thunderblasts emanating from the womb of clouds. When inimical forces blasted into Bharath, this holy land bore the brunt of the blow; it had to present its heroic chest before the attack and absorb the initial impact. Many times this land had to bear these invading thrusts and suffer fierce injuries. But yet, this land has not fully lost its fame and glory and its steadfast strength on this path.

From this land, the Embodiment of Equanimity and Compassion, Nanak the Great, preached his highly wonderful message of Love. His all-embracing heart blossomed in this land. The Bharathiyas, Children of this Land, Inheritors of this Culture, spread their arms to receive in loving embrace not only the Hindu world, but the Islamic world too. Among those who shone as heroic supporters of the Hindu culture unto the last, the foremost was Guru Govind Singh. Undeterred by tortures that forced him to shed his own blood and the blood of his own beloved, deserted by those for whom he had undergone such torture, he did not utter a word of blame against his compatriots, but, entered the Deccan and gave up his life, as the King of Beasts does when his heart is hurt. May that great person's fame persist for ever on earth! Such eminent leaders render the whole of mankind indebted to them, for they serve the best interests of all men everywhere.