Sathya Sai Baba

For example, back in the 1500s, the Bengali saint Chaitanya was considered by his followers to be an avatar of Krishna, a dual avatar of Krishna and the goddess Radha, or a partial avatar of Vishnu, depending on the biographer.

And even within the last few decades, spiritual leaders like Satya Sai Baba are viewed as avatars by their followers as well, though never without controversy.

As is the case with sectarian movements around the world, these claims are generally not recognized outside of their community of followers.

The concept of avatars even appears in other South Asian religious traditions, and sometimes in surprising ways.

Dear listeners, Sairam and welcome once again to Vahini Satsang and we are continuing this series contemplating on the beautiful dialogue between Bhagawan and Bhakta, between the divine master and the devotee in Sandeha Nivarani.

The questions that Bhagawan himself has written and Swami as the divine preceptor has given us the answers.

And we are now in chapter 8 of Sandhya Nivadani.

We have split this chapter into three segments and today We will continue to read and try to assimilate what Bhagawan has given us in the third segment of chapter 8, segment 8.3.

The Paramatma, the Paramjyoti, the eternal, the true is only one.

Understand this well.

Ah! What superb teaching, Swami! If only this teaching of the principle of the Atma, which even children can grasp, spreads over the whole world, the world will emerge from darkness to light.

That is the reason why I converse with you about every point and allow all to partake in it.

This is George Clooney all over again.

Yep, but she te- get Satya Baba in here to, to, to mediate.

[laughs]

Um, hi, Satya.

Shirdi Parthi Tumne Banaye Sambandhanayaka Baba Parvipurishwar Baba

In the May 1974 issue, a devotee, Sri Bhasyam Appalacharya from Kakinada says, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is in reality indivisible, unlimited and unfathomable.

You cannot understand him through your mind or through your words, but you can win over him.

You can win over him through love.

By the recitation of Vedic hymns, Swami asked her to do the honors and then Swami gave tokens of His grace to the Vedic pundits and Swami even autographed a portrait of His own form to be placed in the control room of that factory, of that furnace.

Swami even planted two champak trees in a garden that was specially being done to commemorate Swami's visit to the complex.

Then there were of course hundreds of devotees, thousands of devotees who were shouting Jai Balu Bhagwan, Sri Sathya Sai Baba ki Jai and Swami also unveiled a yoga stamba, a lotus pillar like the Prasanthi Mandir pillar and Swami ascended the dais there.

There were Jaikars filling the vast multitude of devotees as Swami ascended the dais and Swami spoke to the gathering in Kannada because it was in Karnataka.

Absolutely.

So I grew up in India, and my parents, my grandparents followed this guru, Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

And he shaped my spiritual journey in ways that I could hardly imagine.

Because at a very young age, he thought that love was the basis of everything.

Articles which are rivers of profound wisdom for us to get drenched in and cleanse ourselves.

As I go to the April 1974 issue of Sanatana Sarathi, there is a piece by Dr. John Hislop, the author of My Baba and I and Conversations with Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, one of the devotees from the Western Hemisphere who came to Bhagawan in those days.

He's titled this article as Mastering Time and Space.

He says, one evening in the month of February 1973, we left Brindavan about 8 pm to return to Bengaluru.

About halfway along the length of the bus, that was where the two cars were about to hit each other.

And the next moment...

both the cars are past each other and they are continuing on their journey as if that whole situation did not arise obviously Dr. Hislop was too stunned to fathom what had happened unable to explain they were just looking at each other in absolute astonishment and they were wondering what would be the reactions of the people in the other car also they would also be like this completely zapped and wondering how did they come out of it unscathed and the next day Dr. Hislop drove down to Brindavan at 8 a.m. he was to go there for Bhagawan's darshan and as soon as Swami came Dr. Hislop touched Bhagawan's feet and And he said, Swami, you are the one who saved our lives last night.

Want to thank you, Swami.

A warm good morning to all of you, and it's wonderful to join you in this series where we've been going through the Bhaja Govindam discourses.

These were discourses that Swami gave as part of the Summer Showers in 1973.

We've, uh, covered 12 discourses.

We're in the middle of the 13th discourse.

As we've seen in all the discourses, Swami takes one verse from the Bhaja Govindam, composed by Adi Shankara and his disciples, and explains the importance of that particular precept in our spiritual journey.

And the 13th discourse has been on the importance of detachment, as Swami would often convey through a beautiful quotation of His, "The head in the forest, the hands in the society," or many other quotations that Swami would give us.

He says that you should be in the world, but the world should not be in you.

And, uh, the another example or analogy that Swami would often give is to be like the lotus, and that is the main example that is used in this particular verse that is discussed in this discourse, too.

It's my joy, it's my absolute honor and privilege, and such a delightful moment to be back with you to discuss Bhagawan's Vahini series.

Since we have started the Vahini Satsang many, many months ago, it has always been a joy to go back and read Bhagawan's literature, the words that Swami himself has written.

Every now and then people ask, "Which is the book that we should read?" People ask, "Which is the Purana? Which is the scripture? Which is the holy text that is the best guide for the current times, for the changed circumstances?" My response has always been that while we have so many texts, and all those texts are filled with eternal truths, when the Lord took a human form in the current time, He distilled from all these tons of scriptures and holy texts what is most relevant for us and gave it in the form of Vahinis.

Whether we have read the Bhagavad Gita or not, if we have read the Gita Vahini, then we know the essence and we know what from Bhagavad Gita we should know.

Even if we have not read the Bhagavatam, if you have read the Bhagavata Vahini, even if we have not read the Upanishads, the Upanishads are so many, and to have a proper understanding of the Upanishads, you have to learn Sanskrit.

The translations of the Sanskrit mantras give you only some glimpse of the true glory of the mantras.

But to make it easy for us, Swami wrote Upanishad Vahini.

So if you read the Upanishad Vahini, at least you have known the essence of the Upanishads.