People around you may be friendly, support your ideas and projects, but some of your relatives and friends may be very negative. They may constantly try to instill in you that you are allegedly not capable of doing anything in life. Remember that you are free because of what you know about yourself and your talents. This self-understanding is more important than what others think.
When your self-esteem is more valuable to you than what the world around you can dictate, you not only understand your purpose in life, but you begin to embody all your talents and share the things that are really important in life.
57. Believe in yourself and make your choice
This next story seems so insignificant on the surface, but in fact it shows Sathya Sai Baba's amazing attentiveness to every detail and to every person.
One day Sathya Sai Baba came to Mumbai (Bombay) to meet his devotees and students studying under the program of the Universities of Sathya Sai Baba. Preparations were made for his arrival, including many students lining up in front of the entrance of the university. Each of them had one red flower in their hands, which they were going to present to their dear guest.
Among the greeters was a small boy, who was taking a preparatory course and was not yet a university student, so he was not allowed to stand in the front row, and he was not allowed to give Sathya Sai Baba a flower. The boy was very upset about this but decided not to give up. Finally, the long-awaited day came for the meeting of Sathya Sai Baba, and his car drove up.
The young boy edged his way toward the students awaiting Sathya Sai Baba’s approach and quietly squeezed through the crowd. He really wanted to give Sathya Sai Baba a flower, and he must have been very worried he would not be given such an opportunity. Seeing a simple flower on the ground in front of him, the boy must have joyfully picked it up.
Sathya Sai Baba passed by the students with each one offering him a flower. As a sign to show each student he accepted their offering, Sathya Sai Baba simply smiled and touched each flower. As there was an empty seat in the front row, the boy, going unnoticed by anyone, confidently stood up with the other students. When Sathya Sai Baba approached the little boy, he gladly took the flower into his hands.
The meeting lasted quite a long time and throughout the whole program Sathya Sai Baba lovingly held this small flower in his hands. Everyone around was surprised as to where this flower in his hands had come from until they realized it was the flower given to him by the young boy.
There were many miracles, unusual events, and stories in Sathya Sai Baba's life. Some of his miracles are very significant and even amazing, and some seem barely noticeable, but that did not make them any less significant in their essence. In fact, there were no trifles for him.
This story shows that freedom can manifest itself in many ways. Each of us regularly makes choices. Only a person who believes in himself can make his choice in life and achieve his goal.
58. Easy to workship Guru, but difficult to follow his teachings
You are very fortunate that you have the opportunity to communicate directly with the Avatar, who is the embodiment of Eternal Life.
(Sathya Sai Baba – “Lectures at Kodaikanal”, 1996)
I am sometimes asked: who is Sathya Sai Baba? Everyone knows that he is the most famous spiritual teacher of our time, but the question speaks to who he is, in essence. I think it is important to find your Sathya Sai Baba in your heart. Some connect him with the energy of Shiva, while others see Krishna in him.
Of course, Sathya Sai Baba has many opponents who accuse him of fraud and even black magic. If a person cannot understand and accept a great teacher, then it is best not to devote yourself, rather try to find your spiritual path in something else. The most correct thing is to go deep into meditation, open your heart and mind, and there, in the depths of your inner world, open your own Sathya Sai Baba.
Sathya Sai Baba said that Self is the original and true name of God. Thus, faith in one's True Self is the highest manifestation of faith in God. Sathya Sai Baba is a great sage who has infinite love and compassion. His teaching is not about “who he is,” but about what the essence of the soul of each person is. He preached not so much his own divinity, but the divinity of each person.
It is very easy to build numerous temples and install magnificent statues of Krishna, Buddha, Christ and Sathya Sai Baba. It is easy to worship teachers, but it is much more difficult to follow their teachings. There are many huge statues of Buddha in the world, but few people try to practice meditation and compassion as taught by the Buddha.
There are many churches and monasteries in the world with beautiful icons and sculptures of Jesus, but few are ready to try to embody in their lives the ideals of love and direct communication between man and God that Jesus Christ preached. In our time, there are more and more temples of Sai Baba, altars with his image, and this is very nice, but let's think not only about formal worship, but also about the embodiment of the wise messages that Sathya Sai Baba left us.
Sathya Sai Baba left the physical body, but he continues to bless all people. When he was in the body, we could come to him, enjoy the fellowship with him, discuss our questions with him and listen to his wise instructions. What to do now when he has left the body? Sathya Sai Baba is an extraordinary phenomenon, of which there are few examples in history. Even after he has left his physical body, his ability to give answers to prayer appeals remains exactly the same as during his lifetime.
The tomb of Sathya Sai Baba is located in his native village of Puttaparthi, in the very south of India. When a great teacher leaves his body, his relics become an object of reverence. The relics continue to work miracles and answer people's prayers.
Despite the fact that Sathya Sai Baba left his physical body, on the subtle plane he continues to visit people in dreams, give answers to questions, help in difficult situations, bless, and instruct on the spiritual path.
We are really incredibly blessed that we were lucky enough to be close to the Avatar, the divine incarnation, and watch his endless games.
One aspect of the spiritual path is the practice of meditation, mantras, and the study of philosophical texts. In Sanskrit this is called sadhana. By practicing meditation and mantras, you gain the wisdom and mystical experience of Divinity. The goal of spiritual practice is not to become smarter or more educated, but to experience in your inner mystical experience what is written in the sacred texts.
There are many stories in the Vedic texts about how demons also practiced mantras and rituals. What is the difference between a demon and a spiritual person? Practicing meditation and mantra is only half the story. Meditation and mantra must be practiced on the firm foundation of the right motivation of love and compassion. Buddha, Jesus, and Sai Baba emphasized the importance of serving the people who are right next to you.
It is easy to proclaim beautiful theories that the True Self is everywhere and in everything, but it is much more difficult to see the True Self in the people around you. Through his life, Sathya Sai Baba set an example of a perfect life in the joy of divine creativity and service to all mankind.
59. Sathya Sai Baba blessed human beings and gods
This is a story told to me by Padananda. It takes place during the time when there were not so many devotees around Sathya Sai Baba. I was lucky to communicate with people who lived in the ashram in those distant years, when Sathya Sai Baba was very young, and his ashram was just being built.