Hislop: Swami says that "All is done by the Lord and not by you". But, the world over, there is the concept that man is responsible for his own actions.

SAI: You are God. As long as you are being human, there may be such thoughts.

H: As long as you are being human, does that imply the human state is an act of one's will?

SAI: Not an act of will. Just a matter of being confused. It is a delusion. You come here with doubts. Swami knows that, so he gives you a chance to ask. If a Jnani comes, a man with direct experience of the divine, Swami does not ask him what his doubts are. The fact that you have questions is evidence that you are on the worldly level. Baba's teaching will vary according to the level of the person.

A teacher in a school may at the same time be a renowned Vedic scholar, but when teaching a child to read, he can only say, "This letter is 'A' this letter is T" and so on. Mother may feed one child at the breast, give soft food to another, tell the cook to serve food to another, and tell the eldest to serve himself. But though her treatment of each child may be different, her love is equal for all.
There are four different stages in which man finds himself, and God gives different but appropriate help to each: first are those persons who are in distress; second are those desiring prosperity; third are those engaged in enquiry as to what is truth; and fourth are the wise.
At present in you, there is a mixture of conscious and sub-conscious. For this reason there is confusion and doubt. In the unconscious state there are no impressions. In the super-conscious state there is no doubt, there is decision; in this state there is no body and no mind, although there may be visions. There is still another state beyond the super-conscious. This is Divine consciousness where God alone is. In the super-conscious state there is still a very slight tinge of duality, of giver and receiver. In the ordinary state there are the three: giver, gift and receiver. In divine consciousness there is the giver only.
Really, all other than the One is false. Even Sadhana. Here a doubt may arise: how can Sadhana, something false, result in something other than false? It is like this: dreaming is unreal, but the dream may become so strong, so terrifying, that because of the dream one awakens. It is likewise with Sadhana. For Sadhana to become so strong that from it one awakens to reality, the Sadhana must touch the super-conscious level where both body and mind are transcended. It is from the deep transcendent state that Truth blazes forth.

H: One hears about various paths to Self-realization. What does this mean?

SAI: There are three paths. There is that of devotion; the Guru guides and all is left to the Guru to perform. Then, there is the perception that God is Omnipresent; the future comes up to the present and the past falls away from the present. God is omnipresent; so the present is God; this is knowledge. Then there is surrender to God. But surrender does not mean just doing all actions in His Name. Surrender to God is when the entire Universe is known as His body. Surrender is when doer, deed and object are all God. It cannot be forced. It comes naturally. Faith is the foundation; surrender is the peak.

H: Of the many 'roads' to self-realization, what is the short
cut?

SAI: The short cut is this way: the Name of God is the seed; love is the water by which the crop grows; discipline is the fence which protects the growing crop; the field in which the crop is grown is the spiritual heart; the crop when it comes to harvest, is Bliss.

H: Why should one attempt to gain Self-realization when one is always Self-realized?

SAI: As of now, there is a mixture in the mind of sensory identification. The mind is not fully one-pointed.

H: Swami, time is needed for the plane to arrive in India, but why is time needed for Self-realization? Is not an immediate awakening possible, entirely apart from time?

SAI: Immediate awakening apart from time? Yes, it is possible. If faith is full and perfect, then Grace comes fully at that very moment, just as the sound and the bullet occur at the same moment.

H: But, Swami, one believes that he does have full faith. Therefore, there must be self-deception?

SAI: As long as one thinks he has faith, he does not. Just as when one knows that he is meditating, he is not meditating. Only when meditation is automatic, all day long, there is meditation. Full faith is reached by Sadhana, just as Bombay is reached by approaching it.

H: Sadhana, as it is described, seems wrong, because it is a conscious effort aimed at getting a reward. It seems to me that Sadhana is real only when it is spontaneous. That is, when one naturally loves God, then he cannot help but love God, and he cannot help but make inquiry.

SAI: It is as you say, but you have not experienced that spontaneous love of God. It is still just an idea. You have a conviction that love of God exists naturally in you. That conviction is the result of many lives of spiritual practice.

A Visitor: What is the correct Sadhana for retired people?

SAI: Meditation morning and evening. Spend days in good work.

A Visitor: What is the Sadhana appropriate to ladies?

SAI: Ladies have the duty of house, children and husband. They are very busy. Meditation morning and evening can be done. During the day, all work that previously was done for others should now be done as worship of God. That is the best Sadhana for ladies.


(To be continued…….)

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