India is a unique country in which there has been a continuous spiritual succession for tens of thousands of years. Modern historical science thinks only in terms of a few millennia. However, the spiritual history of India considers tens of thousands of years of tradition of transmission of yoga practices, philosophical knowledge, mathematics, astrology, medicine and much more. Vedic knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation since ancient times.
Indian society is ideally suited for the Avatar to incarnate and be able to fulfill his divine mission. Of course, this does not mean there are no problems in India. In Indian society, there are a huge number of difficulties and problems, which are not hidden. However, it is Indian society that is designed in such a way that it is able to recognize the Avatar and provide the necessary conditions for the fulfillment of his mission.
If the Avatar had incarnated in any other country, he would have been stoned, crucified, or sent to a science lab for research. Incarnating in India, the Avatar receives the support of the social environment itself. Both the government and ordinary people immediately begin to respectfully help him in his spiritual task.
This is exactly what happened to Sathya Sai Baba. From a very early age literally everyone began to help him, from politicians and businessmen to ordinary villagers. Of course, there have always been those in India who denied the divinity of Sathya Sai Baba, but Indian society is arranged in such a way that such people have no opportunity to interfere with the good work of the Avatar.
38. God in human form
Sathya Sai Baba once stated that people are often deceived by his ordinary human form. He walked among us and he talked with us. One could mistake him for an ordinary person. If we temporarily made this mistake, we could instantly be plunged into the deepest delusions.
Sathya Sai Baba said that one should be vigilant and avoid the danger of delusion that he is an ordinary person. This confusion sometimes arose as a result of the seeming normality of his human form. He could eat rice with vegetables, drink tea or coconut juice, talk to us, participate in festive events, and thereby create the illusion that he was an ordinary person who walked, breathed, and talked like all other people.
However, at any moment, he could suddenly manifest his divinity. His true cosmic form encompasses all Dharmas and the powers of all gods. Sathya Sai Baba reminded that one should keep oneself in awareness and be ready for the great moments of the manifestation of his divinity.
When God descends to earth in human form, it can be very difficult to see his ultimate reality. People looked at the appearance of Sathya Sai Baba and sometimes could not recognize the Avatar in him, being deceived by the illusion of his physical form. This led to the erroneous conclusion that the Avatar's body is an ordinary human and, therefore, his consciousness is also human. However, in his body is the Universal Divine Consciousness.
Even if all people practice meditation for millions of years, performing intense and severe austerities, it is impossible to understand the fullness and true essence of the consciousness of the Avatar.
We are all extremely lucky that we had the rare opportunity to meet the divine teacher. All the great saints and sages of the past dreamed of such an opportunity. It is difficult to realize this. Sometimes communication with Sathya Sai Baba seemed so natural and even ordinary that sometimes the illusion overshadowed our consciousness and we lost awareness of the uniqueness of the moment of communication with him.
39. Human effort
It is karma that determines all the events of your life in the present. Karma is information about your thoughts, words, and actions that you have done in the past. It is important to understand that a thought saturated with the strongest emotion also creates karma. Any word spoken with strong intention creates karma because the word has great power.
Basically, there is no positive or negative karma. Karma is just information and it is neutral. People, in contact with the events of life give assessments and call these events good or bad. Most often, human appraisal categories are sometimes based on a superficial understanding of the situation.
If you have difficulties, trials, and crises, most likely you will declare all of these things are the result of bad karma. Looking back a few years later, it may turn out that the crises were actually blessings.
If you are currently suffering from illnesses, this can help you start intensive yoga and tai chi practices. If you are currently in the process of a divorce, this may help you to create a healthier and happier family in the future. If today you are experiencing bankruptcy, then in the near future, you will be able to start a better and more successful project.
Communication with the Avatar has a strong influence on karmic processes. For example, you have accumulated karma according to which you must suffer over the next few lives, but Sathya Sai Baba can reduce this to a few years. Yes, you suffer, but not for a few lifetimes, only for a few years.
People sometimes expected that Sathya Sai Baba should solve all of their life's difficulties and hardships for them. Over the years, I have watched a large number of people come to Sathya Sai Baba for help and healing. I have seen this mistake made by a huge number of people. They were waiting for the great Sathya Sai Baba to solve their problems, moreover, instantly; yet, in these cases people were not ready to make any efforts of their own.
People came to the "omnipotent" Sathya Sai Baba and were sure he would instantly solve all of their struggles. Some naively assumed if they came to the ashram, then automatically he should help.
Sometimes people came to the ashram with tremendous pride. We even joked that it was not Sathya Sai Baba giving them Darshan, but they were giving Sathya Sai Baba Darshan. Some thought that if they came to Sathya Sai Baba, then he simply had to do everything for them.
The way your life looks now is the result of your karma. Why do you think that someone, such as Sathya Sai Baba, should correct for you what was done by you? Of course, he was born into this world in order to help everyone who is open to accepting his help. However, your steps are always yours, and only you must take them.
40. "Resist not evil," said Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ said one should not resist evil. Numbers of people have tried to understand these strange words across centuries and discussions have not subsided. What can this all mean?
We are accustomed to the fact that good ultimately wins over evil. The struggle between good and evil largely shapes the life of our society. If we look at the history of any country, or in the history of any religious tradition, we find there are continuous struggles between good and evil. In this whole situation, it is curious that everyone considers himself the personification of exclusively "good," and his opponent exclusively "evil."
The struggle between good and evil also takes place in the inner world of every person. How then do we understand the teaching of Jesus Christ about not resisting evil? Non-resistance of evil can be summed up as simply not concentrating on your problems, as what you focus on is where your energy is directed. Therefore, do not resist evil because by doing so you become evil and strengthen it.
Instead, concentrate on doing positive and kind actions. This increases goodness. Fighting anger, you increase anger; showing love, you increase love.
The one who endlessly struggles with trials has no chance of becoming rid of life's difficulties because they consciously direct the strongest energy toward feeding the problems. Instead, focus on positive goals such as happiness and abundance, creative success and great health.
Once you focus on what you want to achieve rather than on what you want to get rid of, then your energy will be directed toward positive development. It sounds simple enough, but how often do people forget this great principle.