Earn Eternal Peace With Eternal Truth
The pompous person
with unclear mind;
What chance has he
of realizing the true self?
An intellect pure alone
is able to comprehend
the true principle of self;
No more is there to be said on this.
(Telugu poem)
Everything is contained in purity of consciousness. Here is a bouquet of flowers. Outwardly, it appears like a single flower. But there are a number of flowers in this bouquet. Similarly, the world appears to be a single entity. But it consists of many individuals with diverse names and forms. All such individuals stay together like the flowers in a bouquet. The pancha bhutas (five elements) are the most important characteristic of the world. The world is a conglomeration of individuals. All are one. There is nothing like I am deva (God) and you are jeeva (individual). You and I are one only. Not realizing this, you perceive unity as diversity.
Embodiments Of Love!
Love is one. The same feeling of love permeates every human being. Nevertheless, depending upon the mental make-up, the state and destiny of different human beings, it assumes different forms. A child is called a ‘baby’. When she grows up, she is called a ‘girl’. Later, when she is married and goes to her in-laws’ house, she is referred to as daughter-in-law. The same woman, after giving birth to children, is called mother. She also becomes grandmother in due course.
God Is Beyond Gunas
Is it not a fact that the lady being referred to by so many names is only one? Similarly, all human beings living in this world belong to only one category. Jesus Christ exhorted: “All are one; be alike to everyone.” We should love all. We should take everyone into our fold. In fact, that is My way. But, some people may not agree. That is due to their lack of maturity; the reflection of their inner feelings. God assumes different forms in consonance with the inner feelings of the devotees. For example, when someone calls Me ‘tata’ (grandfather), I appear to them so. Some people call Me ‘father,’ and I appear to them as ‘father’. Yet some others address Me as ‘Swami’ and I will be Swami to them. By whatever name and form human beings contemplate on God, He will appear to them in the same name and form.
In this Age of Kali, even good appears to be bad. The same individual loves one and hates another. He develops enmity with one and friendship with another. This sort of friendship or enmity is not something that he has acquired from outside. Such feelings are of his own heart. When you consider someone as your ‘enemy,’ he becomes so. On the other hand, when you consider someone as your ‘friend,’ he becomes a friend. Suppose you come across a girl, you call her a ‘college girl’. After some time when you marry her, you call her ‘my wife’. Your ‘wife’ of today and the ‘college girl’ sometime ago are one and the same. Is it not a fact? Thus, man develops a number of relationships based on names and forms. In fact, it is the mind that is responsible for so many changes in the world. Man, per se, is faultless. It is love that permeates all human beings. It is true that human beings exhibit qualities like anger, hatred, jealousy, and pomp sometimes. But, God is not affected by them. God is beyond gunas (attributes), whereas human beings are with gunas. Those gunas may be positive or negative. Good and bad are only in a human being, not in God. We often come across people who are by nature angry, displaying feelings of intense love sometimes. In the Kali age, we find several such people with such paradoxical behavior. When you witness such changes, you think that God is bringing about such changes. No; God is only a witness. He is not responsible for these changes. God is like milk, which, when added to the decoction, becomes coffee. The same milk can become a sweet pudding too. All the changes that are taking place in human beings are only due to their gunas.
A person called Paul was inimical towards Jesus Christ in the beginning. The same person became an ardent devotee later. The qualities in a human being bring about a lot of changes. For example, this African devotee has been devoted to Me since his childhood. He used to love Me intensely from the beginning. I advised him that he was still young, and he should return to his country to pursue his vocation. Bowing to the wishes of Swami, he returned to his native land. But there is no change whatsoever in his devotion. He has been constantly praying to Me, calling ‘Baba! Baba!’
Pure Love Has No Barriers
Some years ago, when I went on a tour to East Africa, several Africans came to Me for darshan. Each one of them prayed, “Swami! Please spend some time with us.” There were a few hundred children among them. All of them had their vision glued to My form. You know the then President of Uganda, Mr. Idi Amin. He was a military officer. He was young and very energetic then. He was tall and hefty. He had a number of wives. He was very fond of Swami. He used to have the darshan of Swami both in the morning and evening. I was very short before that giant. The sight of Me beside him was like the view of a deer by the side of a camel. People were surprised at his love and devotion towards Swami. He was well educated and was the President of his country, Uganda. He was known for his stern nature.
Such a person shed tears when I started on My return journey. He told Me, “Swami! I have never shed tears since my birth. Today, I am very sad and have a feeling of separation because Swami is leaving us.” He covered his face with a handkerchief so that others may not notice his feelings. His hands were very strong. He held My hands firmly, expressing thanks for My visit. He also prostrated before Me. He held My feet so tightly that it became difficult for Me later to climb the ladder for boarding the airplane. At the time of My departure, he pleaded with Me, “Swami! I will surely come to have Your darshan shortly. Otherwise, You please visit our country again. I cannot bear the separation from You.” The situation in Uganda then was such that he could not leave the country.
During My stay in Uganda, he planned to host a dinner for Me in his house. He, therefore, came to the house of Dr. Patel to personally enquire about the arrangements to be made in this regard. He collected all information as to how to organize the dinner, what should be the menu, who are to be invited as guests, etc. He arranged for brand new utensils for cooking various dishes. He also arranged for new tumblers for the guests. Finally, when I visited his palace for the dinner, all his wives stood in rows on either side and greeted Me with veneration. He introduced them to Me, one by one. I stayed in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. The last day was Guru Purnima, an important occasion for Sai devotees. I had earlier promised to return to Bombay by that date. But the Africans did not allow Me. They fell at My feet and prayed: “Bhagawan! Please spend this holy day with us,” with tears in their eyes. In answer to their prayers, I stayed back to spend Guru Purnima with them. On that day, they wished to take photos with Me. I told them that they might silently pray in their hearts so that their request would be fulfilled. To their joy, each one of them found a photo with Swami standing beside them. The devotion of Africans is indescribable. Even now, I feel very happy when I think of their devotion. My next visit was to the country of Tanzania. There also, everyone who came to have My darshan felt very happy. Ladies and gents came in large numbers to welcome Me, wearing their traditional dresses.
They danced in ecstasy on seeing Me. On the day of departure, just before the plane took off, all of them stood in front of the aircraft and pleaded with Me, “Swami! You should not go from here. You must be here only.” How can I accede to their request? I had to leave. The pilots and other officers at the airport counseled them saying, “You should not obstruct Swami’s aircraft like this. This is not good.” They then moved away. I was observing all this from the window of the aircraft. Finally, when the plane started to take off, many of them nearly fainted in grief. That scene was fresh in My memory till I reached Bombay. During that trip, I visited three countries - Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. They are all neighboring countries. I was very happy and felt deeply touched at the devotion of African people. During My return journey, the aircraft was filled to the brim with the articles gifted by the African devotees. What are those gifts anyway? They brought all sorts of articles like dinner sets and tea sets in a gold color. They are still with Me. We are making use of them while hosting high dignitaries like Prime Ministers and Governors.
There are several devotees in foreign countries who love Swami. Their love towards Swami is incomparable. The devotees of East Africa enjoyed a lot during My visit to their places. I had decided then itself that I would make no further visits abroad. Since then, I never visited any foreign country. Even for My visit to East Africa, there was a reason. Dr. Patel prayed to Me from the depth of his heart that I should pay a visit to Africa. He prayed “Swami! Your visit is not exclusively for us. There are several wild animals in these parts. Kindly confer the good fortune of Your darshan to these animals and bless them too.” When I went to that place, he arranged for some small aircraft for our journey through the wildlife habitats. He saw to it that only two people sat in each aircraft, with plenty of space to move about in it. Sitting in those small airplanes, we saw a number of places abounding in scenic beauty.