TWO MASTERS, ONE MESSAGE:
THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS AND SAI
Dear Readers,
Two thousand years ago when Jesus walked on this earth He
gave mankind a message. He taught them in parables and showed
them way to the Kingdom of God. Today we have Bhagawan, the
Supreme Lord, once again walking the earth and showing the
way to HIS Kingdom. Back then it was the Son and now it is
the Father.
But the message is the same!
Jesus:
Man cannot live by bread alone, but needs every word that
God speaks.
Sathya Sai: Man does not live by bread alone. He lives
by the Atma. Devotion and surrender
and not greed and deceit should form the basis for man's life
and lead to the blossoming of Spiritual Wisdom in his Heart.
Life is not to be dedicated for mere food and drink, or merely
catering to the cravings of the senses. It has to be devoted
to the attainment of Bliss that God alone can confer.
Jesus: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
Sathya Sai: Who is there so bold that he can say,
"The Lord must wear this dress", "The lord
must act only in this manner"? Who can limit His glory
or set His direction?
Jesus: Go away, Satan! The scripture says, 'Worship
the Lord your God and serve only him!'
Sathya Sai: Fill your Mind with the desire to see
God, be with Him, Praise Him, glorify Him, and taste the Glory
of His Majesty. There is no Bliss higher than that.
The essence of the Scriptures lies in this one rule: "Repeat
the Name of the Lord, keeping His Glory always before the
Mind."
Jesus: Happy are those who mourn; God will comfort
them!
Sathya Sai: Bear calumny, loss, disappointment, defeat,
boldly and with equanimity; them no mental, depression can
overwhelm you. I must tell you that I am happy when someone
among you is subjected to suffering, for that is a chance
given to you to demonstrate your intelligence and sense of
values.
Jesus: Happy are those who are humble; they will receive
what God has promised.
Sathya Sai: Real education requires the cultivation
of a sense of humility. Great learning brings humility. Without
humility there is no education.
True education gives you humility; from humility you get
deservedness; from such deservedness you will get wealth;
from wealth you will get Dharma,
and thence happiness in this temporal world as well as in
the spiritual world.
Jesus: Happy are those whose greatest desire is to
do what God requires. God will satisfy them fully!
Sathya Sai: Understand that the purpose of life is
to know through Love the ultimate embodiment of Love, namely
God. And demonstrate through your own Love that you have known
Him.
Jesus: Happy are those who are merciful to others.
God will be merciful to them.
Sathya Sai: Live without hating others, condemning
others, and seeking faults in others.
The spiritual journey lies through compassion, sympathy,
mutual help and service. These are fostered by Society and
are to be used for Society.
Jesus: Happy are those who work for peace, for God
will call them His children!
Sathya Sai: When man thinks, speaks and acts along
virtuous lines his Conscience will be clear and he will have
Inner Peace. Knowledge is power, it is said; but Virtue is
Peace.
Strive for the happiness of the community and of the human
race. Pray that all men everywhere may have peace and plenty.
Be eager to do good, and always be good.
Jesus: Happy are you when people insult you and persecute
you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you
are My followers. Be happy and glad, for a great reward is
kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets who lived
before you were persecuted.
Sathya Sai: Meet hatred with your innate Love; Meet
grief with innate joy; meet anger with the shield of Shanti
or Inner Peace. You are bound to win.
Jesus: Happy are the pure in Heart. They will see
God.
Sathya Sai: It is Inner Purity that matters, not the
outer movement of lips. Smarana
[chanting the Name] being an inner activity, helps that inner
transformation.
Jesus: Do not think that I have come to do away with
the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets. I have
not come to do away with them, but to make their teachings
come true.
Sathya Sai: I have not come on any mission of publicity
for any sect, creed or cause; nor have I come to collect followers
for any doctrine. I have no plan to attract disciples or devotees
into my fold or any fold. I have come to tell you of this
universal unitary faith, this atmic principle, this path of
love.
Ekam Sath Viprah Bahudha Vadanti (truth
is one, but scholars refer to it by different names). It is
not correct to say that you like only Rama or Krishna or Siva
or Sai Baba. There is only one God and He is omnipresent.
Do not hate other religions. A Hindu should become a better
Hindu, a Christian a better Christian and a Muslim a better
Muslim.
Jesus: If your right eye causes you to sin, take it
out and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose a
part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into
hell. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and
throw it away! It is much better for you to lose one of your
limbs than for you whole body to go to hell.
Sathya Sai: We should not give freedom to the organs
but use them in complete accord and control within the limits
set by ones country, time and circumstances.
Jesus: You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for
an eye and a tooth for a tooth'. But now I tell you; do not
take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you
on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too. And
if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let
him have your coat as well. And if one of the occupation troops
forces you to carry his pack one furlong, carry it for two.
When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when
someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him.
Sathya Sai: I command you: never hate others, or wish
evil of them or talk ill of them. Only then can you attain
the state of Santhaswarupam [become
the embodiment of Peace].
Jesus: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate
you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who ill-treat
you.
Sathya Sai: To think that some are your enemies, some
are your friends, some are your children, some are your relations
and to develop attachment or dislike towards them is not correct.
See the one Atma in them all.
Give up illusion and ignorance.
Imagine that Light in you more and more intensely-and it
will be so. Let it shine all around you, enveloping you in
the brilliance of Love; let it spread from you, in ever widening
circles, taking into its fold your kith and kin, the loved
ones, friends, companions-nay, strangers, foes, rivals, enemies-all
men all over the world, all living beings-all Creation.
Jesus: Make certain you do not perform you religious
duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you
do these things publicly you will not have any reward from
your Father in heaven.
Sathya Sai: Do Karma,
but do not hanker after the fruit. Do not complain that you
did not get public recognition for the donations you gave
to some Trust. Fruits, whether good or bad, yourself have
to consume; so the best means of liberating yourself from
the consequences is to ignore the fruit and do Karma,
only for the sake of Karma.
Jesus: No one can be a slave of two masters; he will
hate one and love the other; he will be loyal to one and despise
the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Sathya Sai: It should be realised that there is room
in the heart for only a single person. It should not be regarded
as a long sofa or as a musical chair. God alone should be
installed in the heart.
Where money is calculated and garnered, and exhibited to demonstrate
one's achievements, I will not be present. I come only where
sincerity, faith and surrender are valued.
Jesus: Do not judge others, so that God will not judge
you. For God will judge you in the same way as you judge others
and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.
Why then do you look at the speck in you brother's eye and
pay no attention to the log in you own eye? First take the
log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see
clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
Sathya Sai: Do not try to find fault with others;
search, rather for your own. I direct you to implant three
ideas in your Hearts: (1) Do not forget God: (2) Do not put
faith in the world you se around you; it is changing every
second and does not last; (3) Do not be afraid. You are the
imperishable Atman that knows
no fear. I want you also to banish two ideas from your Hearts:
(1) Forget the harm that anyone has done to you and (2) forget
the good that you have done to others.
Jesus: Ask, and you will receive; seek and you will
find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone
who asks will receive, anyone who seeks will find, and the
door will be opened to him who knocks.
Sathya Sai: Individual effort and Divine Grace are
both interdependent; without effort there will be no conferment
of Grace; without Grace, there can be no taste in the effort.
To win that Grace you need only have faith and virtue.
|