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Answers
from the Divine Guru
(Compiled
from various meetings with Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
Question 1
Why are some people born more beautiful, or more intelligent, than others are? Why
does not God give everyone equal beauty, abilities and talents?
Sri Sathya Sai Baba:
It is not God's partiality or fault. It is the human being who is
responsible. His actions, thoughts and words are responsible for all
good and bad. It is the mind that creates the differences. Pleasure
is an interval between two pains. It is the way you look at things
that matters.
There is
a vast ocean of talents and qualities. All human beings have vessels
to fill. Some people, through their actions, are able to fill the
vessels to the brim; some fill only half; others can fill only a
quarter, or less. They possess intelligence, beauty, talents, and
etceteras, according to how much they can fill their vessels.
You even judge beauty these days, as
in Miss India, Miss World. But, that is all physical beauty, which is transient. What is important is the beauty of the atma (Self).
Question 2
How are good or bad actions carried into the next birth?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
Swaasha (breath) carries the actions, for the breath stops when a person dies. The body is still there after death
and we call it a corpse and burn it as useless. So, the body cannot
carry anything with it, just as a flower cannot carry its fragrance.
It is a breeze that wafts the scent of the flower and makes its fragrance reach you. Similarly, imagine a municipal lorry, the breeze
carries the bad odour to you again! In the same manner, good and bad
actions are carried by the breath and surround you in the next birth
like an invisible garland. The pattern of your life is then governed by what the garland has good or bad scent.
That is
why man must understand that everything he does has a reaction, a
reverberation and a reflection. It is he who writes his own destiny
by his actions. It is essential for man to live a good life with good
thoughts and good actions. Only through such a life can he realise the divinity in him. The concept Aham Brahmasmi (I am
Brahma = God) is also incorrect, since it indicates duality.
Aham (I) and Brahma (God) become separate. The statement
ought to he Aham Aham (I am I).
Question 3
Many people feel that Hindus worship countless gods. How did this happen?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
India has a wonderful religious tradition. It
has something for everyone, to suit everyone's needs. Many people do
not understand this excellent idea and make derisory comments on our
having too many gods. This tradition has evolved to suit the needs
of different people, just as we have shirts of varying types and sizes to fit different people. With the ideal of One God, there is
only one shirt and, if it does not fit or if it is unsuitable, people turn away from God. But, here, if someone likes Krishna,
they can worship Krishna; others can worship Rama,
or Narayana, or Shiva, or even snakes and lions! What
more do you need to propagate the idea that God is in everything
everywhere? That is why I often say don't worship God as a picture, but worship the picture as God. This will slowly lead to the realization of God in you. That is where the Hindu spiritual
path is practical and good.
Question 4
Why does not God prevent cruelties in the world?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
God is only a witness (saakshibhoota). He
does not act. Man acts according to the dictates of his intellect
(buddhi) and himself suffers the consequences of his actions
(karma). There is neither good nor bad for God. Take the knife
as an example. A murderer uses a knife to kill another man, a
slaughterer uses a knife to slay animals, a surgeon uses a knife to
amputate, and a cook uses a knife to chop vegetables. If a magnet is placed among all these knives, it will attract them all equally and
not according to the kind of tasks they perform. God is like this
magnet. All knives are the same to Him. However, the hands that
wield the knives have to bear the consequences of their actions,
dependent on right and wrong.
Question 5
When we have troubles and are in difficulties and we pray to God, why does He not
take them away'?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
Troubles and difficulties are part and parcel of
human life. They are the results of your karmas. There is no
point in praying to God to wipe away all such troubles and
difficulties. The right type of prayer would be to ask God for
courage and strength to bear all the difficulties, problems and
tragedy with equanimity.
Question 6
What is the difference between the politics of yesterday and those of today?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
The present state of affairs can be described as
the state of jumps and bumps. Now, take the example of your body and
limbs. Each limb is important in forming the composite whole. All
the limbs joined together make up the body, which is the deha
(body, person). Similarly, in the desha (country, nation),
every aspect should be tended to, just as one takes care of every
part of the body.
Question7
The view that women should not take ups Brahma vidya (spiritual knowledge),
nor chants the Omkara. Is this correct? Also, in ancient times, were spiritual sadhanas (endeavours) forbidden to women?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
Brahma vidya and chitta shuddhi
(spiritual knowledge and purity of consciousness) do not depend on
whether a person is a man or a woman. All have an equal right to
benefit from Brahma vidya provided only they are able to take
it up with discipline and dedication. At no time have there been any taboos against women. Lord Vishnu (the Preserver) taught
Bhu Devi (the Goddess Earth) the glory of the Bhagavad- Gita.
Parameshwara (Shiva) taught Parvati the Brahma tatva
(divine essence) through the Guru Gita. Ishwara (Shiva)
initiated Parvati into yoga shastra and mantra
shastra (science of yoga and science of mantra). The
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mentions Yajnavalkya teaching
Maitreyi the Brahma vidya. So, women in ancient times
were not denied the pursuit of spirituality.
The
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mentions Ciargi and Maitreyi
hasking in the splendour of sannyasa (renunciation) and
brahmacharya (celibacy, chastity). Madaalasa Chudaala and
others were able to receive Brahma jnana (divine wisdom) while
in the grahastha (householder, i.e. married) stage of life.
Even today, there are many that belong to this vast category. It is
sheer absurdity to deny women the right to earn Brahma jnana.
But, in worldly matters, it is necessary for them to maintain
certain limitations in the interests of dharma (righteousness)
and loka kalyana (the good of the people/world). For the sake
of safeguarding morality and for the social health of the world,
women have to accept some restrictions. This is not to say that there is any fundamental inferiority in them.
Even
pundits acquire their jnana through the reverential homage
they pay to the feminine deity Saraswati. The divine patrons of
learning, prosperity and wisdom are all feminine: Saraswati,
Lakshmi and Parvati. This should show the reverence paid
to women.
Question 8
Why does Swami give gifts?
Sri Sathya Sai Baba:
Gifts of rings and pendants are an expression of
Swami's love... It is not that Swami wants to draw people to him
with gifts. When you wish to show affection to your son, or if you
want to make someone happy, you make him a sports shirt or buy him a
present, do you not? Swami also wants to bring happiness in this
manner.
Question 9
Does a gift also act as a protective talisman?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
Yes! They are also like my visiting cards and
send me instant flashes when the person is in danger or in need of
my help. Sometimes, these gifts are made for specific reasons: for
the sake of a devotee's health, or I may give someone a gem stone so
that rays from it may constantly influence him or her to follow the
right path. I want to tell you that whatever Swami does has a purpose.
He never does anything without reason.
Question 10
Why does
Swami give vibhuti?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
Flowers, leaves, fruit and other edibles have a
temporary life. Even water breeds germs if kept in a vessel for days.
Only vibhuti remains unchanged, as it is the final result of the
five elements of creation. Our desires have to be reduced to ashes
and vibhuti is symbolic of this detachment and renunciation. One's
mind has to become desireless and detached like the ashes in which everything is burnt out. It is that kind of pure mind that has to be
offered to God.
Question 11
Is it necessary to perform pujas (ritual worship) and ceremonies?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
Everything depends on the individual concerned.
Whatever he or she does has to be done with faith and sincere
devotion. God cannot be fooled with mere ritual.
Question 12
What about ceremonies and rites for the dead? Is it wrong not to perform them?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
This again depends on one's mental attitude.
After a person leaves the body, the soul takes birth and takes on a
new body somewhere else. You must know this. Upto now you must have
had so many lives, you must have been a mother and a daughter so
very many times.
What is required really is gratitude
to one's parents, by remembering them on the day of their death. Though they may shed these bodies in which they are your parents, you
still owe them the debts of having given birth to you and of having
given you their blood to give you your present form.
You can
express this gratitude through the ceremonial shraadha rite, or by
any other method, even by thinking of them with sincere and loving
gratitude on the death anniversary. It is heartfelt feeling that
is important.
Question 13
Why doesn't God make people suffer for their sins in the same lifetime? Why in
other lives when they cannot know why they suffer?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
Then how would you account for the punya (good
deeds) they do? They Have to enjoy the benefits of their punya, too!
All that may not always be Possible in one lifetime....
Question 14
Why does Swami have more restrictions for women? They do not have easy access
to Swami!
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
Everyone has the same kind of access to Swami.
This does not depend on their being men or women. Everyone receives
the same grace, depending on their devotion, their need, or their
work.
Question 14 (continued)
Swami may say so; that nevertheless women have more hurdles to
overcome when they want to convey something to Swami.
There are
times when the man who stands next to me never catches my attention,
as hard as he may try; while a devotee sitting far away in a corner
amid a crowd easily catches it. It all depends on who has to receive
what and when. Everything happens according to that will, not because of the physical form of man or woman.
Also
these differences are visible to you at your level of consciousness.
For Swami, these are not differences that count. The atma is not
different in man or woman. The atma is eternally conscious, pure and self-effulgent. The
atma is neither masculine nor feminine, nor yet neutral. It
is only the body that limits, deludes and wears names.
Question 15
What is the principal cause of all troubles and sorrow?
Sri Sathya Sai Baba:
Attachment and ego are the main causes. Jealousy is another factor.
Question 16
How can
jealousy be conquered?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
By having love for everyone, by thinking of
others with love and wishing them well. More than all, by realizing
that jealousy is physically most harmful. It does damage your
internal system and, later on, you will have to suffer the karma of
the bad things caused by your jealousy.
Question 17
Why has God created bad traits and negative tendencies in humans?
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
These are results of man's own actions. God is
only a witness to events. Human beings are themselves responsible
for the good and the bad in them. Remember that the things you do
not do can never hurt you.
Question 18
But Swami says that there is nothing good or bad!
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
Yes! This is from God's point of view. For
humans, this is a relative matter, since what is good for one may be
bad for another. What is good at one time may be bad in another
season. Good and bad are thus two states take two fruits, phalam,
which are good. Once they are eaten and digested, they become excreta,
malam, and that is bad.
Question 19
Scientists say that something cannot he created out of nothing.
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
Yes, hut what they think of, as nothing is
really anything. There is no nothingness in the Universe. The
scientist makes such statements because, with his limited vision, he
cannot see all things or know them.
Both
science and spirituality begin as inquiry, a quest. Spirituality
comes full circle, like the letter O, while science reaches the half
circle stage, resembling a C. Science has a lot of catching up to
do, for it has only discovered a fraction of the truth. It is like a
small piece of cloth you can see protruding from a fist: you can only
conjecture about the whole, its looks and size, for it is hidden and
you cannot see it.
Question 20
But, science has made many advances flights to the moon and other planets, for
instance.
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba:
Yes. Whatever science has done for humanity is to
be welcomed, hut it is still a growing and advancing field.
Scientists used to say that you couldnt split the atom and today
that is no longer true. The scientist learns as he progresses.
Today's
investigations become old tomorrow and lead to new investigations,
which will become old the day after tomorrow. There is no end to
this, and so the truth lies in something that contains within it both the old and the new. God alone envelops the old and the new and
so the best way to advance is Godward.
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