From Your Heart

(Answers to Questions received by Radio Sai from a Chinese Devotee)

QUESTION: Is everything God’s will? If so, then why does Swami come in human form to teach, when He could just command everybody to be good and etc.?

ANSWER: The question whether everything is God’s will, has been addressed in a recent broadcast as also in a H2H article. So it is not necessary to repeat all of that once more. But the second part of the question merits a reply. It is interesting that Hislop asked something similar a long time ago. The essence of Swami’s reply is as follows:

In what happens in Creation, we ought to make a distinction between the macro and the micro. At the macro level, everything that happens is certainly by God’s will. While the macro is essentially contained in the Laws governing the Universe [and everything within it including us humans], the micro is shaped largely by local factors, shall we say. That this is the way it shall be so is no doubt God’s will. Having said that, one must also say that [in the realm of duality], God does not micromanage.

So what does God do, and who does the micro managing? This is best understood by considering a class Teacher and students. The Teacher imparts learning and teaches, and there comes a time when there is an examination. The students take the exams while the Teacher stays out of it. He plays a role in coaching students, but it is the responsibility of the students to study, learn, absorb and pass the examination. We readily accept all this in life; in fact we will not have it any other way. Will any parent who wants his children to really learn, send them [his children] to a school where the authorities pass and promote without bothering about what students have learnt? Will the degree or diploma awarded by such a school carry any weight or command any respect anywhere? Why don’t we accept that God too can have similar expectations?

When God created man, He said, “Son, I send you out into the world to improve yourself and come back to Me.” If man forgets, then God teaches. It is like a student being given coaching if he fails. But in the ultimate analysis, it is the student who must take the test and pass. There is no escape from it. So it is with man – he must pass in the test called life.

People ask: “But why on earth does God do this?” We ask: “Why on earth did Shakespeare write Hamlet, King John or whatever?” Can we ask such questions? Do we ever ask such a question? A poet or a dramatist writes the plays he wants. If human a playwright can have that freedom, then why not God who is the ultimate Dramatist? Creation is after all His play, is it not?

By the way, can oil mix with water? Don’t we know that it is only water that can mix with water? So, when we must merge back with God [from whom we have come] we have to become Pure ourselves, and life is an examination. No pass, no merger, just as one does not get a driver’s license without passing a driving test. May be in some places one can buy a driver’s license but unfortunately [or should we say fortunately?!], there is no corruption in God’s Kingdom!

In short, God comes to teach the lessons we have forgotten so that we may pass the ultimate test that gives us the eligibility to become one with Him.

QUESTION: What kind of feeling will the body feel when the radiation of “Love” shines towards it?

ANSWER: We are not sure what exactly is meant by this question. But this we can say; Love emanates from the Heart of the person from whom it radiates. And it is the Heart of the receiver that really responds. What the receiver says or does on receiving this Love and experiencing it in his or her Heart is a secondary phenomenon.

For example: Say when Swami is giving Darshan He smiles at a devotee. The smile of Baba is an external manifestation of His Love, which really radiates from His Heart. The devotee sees the smile and his Heart is immediately filled with joy. So, it is the Heart that responds first. Once the devotee is filled with joy, he in turn beams, smiles and so on.

In short, the important thing is how the Heart responds and not how the body responds. If the Heart responds in the proper way, we can be sure that body and the Mind would follow suit in an appropriate manner, which, however, may very from person to person. For example, one person may excitedly share that experience with others by talking about it. Others may record it in their diary and treasure that moment. Yet others may break into a song or poetry, and so on. The manifestations may vary but they all happen because the Heart is touched - that is the important thing.

QUESTION: What are the ways one can show which can mean Love? I know that Love is giving and forgiving.

ANSWER: Love is a basic feeling that originates in the Heart. When it comes out, it can manifest in a variety of ways. For example, it can manifest as giving and forgiving, as mentioned above. It can manifest as forbearance [Kshama], something to which Swami attaches a lot of importance. It can manifest as an urge to serve selflessly. It can manifest as a simple smile and kind words. It can manifest as a determination to adhere firmly to Truth and Righteousness. And so on.

Just go through the epic volumes entitled Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram by Kasturi. The noble author describes so many instances in the life of Baba. Study those instances and see how they represent manifestations of Swami’s Love. After such an exercise, anyone would be able to understand better, what precisely is meant by Selfless Love.

QUESTION: When Swami says we should identify ourselves as God, then when we reach that state, will we be able to do things what Swami does like miracles?

ANSWER: Let us first consider this miracle business. This has come up many times but since the question gets asked again and again, it is perhaps desirable to repeat what Swami has already said about this matter.

First and foremost, Swami does not quite like the word miracle. That word seems to suggest some unnatural thing has been done by Swami. He says that He does not do a miracle like a magician does a trick or magic. Swami wills that something happen and it happens – it is natural for Him. He sees a person in distress. He shows His Love and wants to comfort that person. He wills and vibhuti manifests immediately. He then gives that vibhuti to the devotee who is filled with relief and joy. What He wills just happens and that is what we call a miracle.

OK, why do not similar things happen when we will for something to happen? Swami has explained that also. He says that only the wishes of a Pure Person come true. Moreover, the wish must be selfless. Incidentally, that is why Swami never cures Himself, except when He takes on the illness of others. For example, He has cured the fracture of so many people; and yet when He fractured His leg last year, He underwent an operation. That is typical of His selflessness.

Does it mean that when a person becomes very Pure, his wishes would automatically come true? Yes, and Swami has confirmed that. However, when humans use such power, what they have accumulated becomes drained – in this respect, the Avatar is unique; His reservoir is Infinite and there is no such thing as depletion, as Swami has clarified.

We now come to the part of the question where it is said if we identify ourselves with God would we be able, etc. If one thinks carefully, there is a built-in contradiction in this statement. When an individual identifies totally with God, where is the question anymore of individuality for that person? After total identification, there is no longer any I and God; there is only God. So if any “miracle” is done it is not by that person but by God! Of course, to wipe out that distinction between the individual and God is not easy. However, life is given to us to reduce that difference as much as we can.

QUESTION: Is Jesus the son of Swami or is Swami Jesus himself?

ANSWER: As we have tried to explain on many occasions, in Spirituality, we must, when we ask a question, be clear from which point of view we are raising the question.

Basically, there are two perspectives available, that of DUALITY, or that of ONENESS. In the dual picture, God is held to be separate from individuals. Thus, in this picture, Jesus is the Son of God. On the other hand, in the picture of ONENESS, there is only God or Swami and nothing else, which means that not only Jesus but everything under the Sun is Swami, though may be in disguise!

Swami says the devotee starts off from the dual state since that is the natural starting point for all of us. Through self-improvement, one attains the destination. Thus it is that Jesus first said: I am the Messenger of God. Then, after some spiritual evolution, he said, I am the Son of God. When he finally was ready, Jesus said, I and my Father are One. That is what evolution is all about.

In short, for a person not so evolved, Jesus is the Son of God. But for an evolved person, not only Jesus but everything is God and nothing but God.

QUESTION: What is the easiest way to Liberation?

ANSWER: We are not sure what exactly the questioner means by Liberation. Normally it means freedom from birth and death. That freedom comes when one is rid of bondage. Let us at this point turn to Swami. He says: “Man is tempted by the pleasures of the world and when he gets lost with involvement in those pleasures, he thinks that someone or something is binding him down. No other person is responsible for bondage. The moment he gives up the pleasures and detaches himself, he will be free. That is the way to free oneself from bondage.”

In other words: Liberation means getting out of bondage. This bondage is self-imposed. We willingly become slaves of desires and attachments, and then become bonded. So, the way to become liberated is to give up desires and attachments. When we do so, we become liberated. We impose bondage on ourselves, and it is up to us to shake off that bondage.

QUESTION: Swami once said that spirituality does not mean worshipping God, then what are the activities of spirituality, is it Sadhana [spiritual service]?

ANSWER: Once again, we are not sure if Swami is being quoted properly. But be that as it may, it is pertinent to ask, “What is meant by being spiritual?” Perhaps the best way of approaching this question is by recognising first that the word Spirituality is actually connected to the word Spirit, which is another word for the Universal Soul that Swami refers to as the Atma. Once we accept this, then being spiritual means essentially that one acts recognising that one is the Atma and not just a body. If a person is obsessed with the notion that he is the body, then that person would give in to sensual pleasures, because after all the senses are connected with the body. Such actions go against the nature of the Atma and therefore cannot be called spiritual. In other words, those actions alone can be described as truly spiritual that reflect the Divinity latent in human beings. Actions performed selflessly and with Pure Love fall in this category. When a person forgets and forgives, that is being spiritual. When a person shows compassion, that is being spiritual. When a person shows forbearance that is being spiritual.

We now turn to the word Sadhana used by our listener. Swami has said that Sadhana essentially means getting rid of the bad in us; it is thus like a purification or filtering process. Through Sadhana one becomes more and more pure; correspondingly, the actions of the person become more and more spiritual. We hope this is clear.