Book Notes
Sai Sparshan
Book of Homage offered by SSSIHL
on occasion of 80th Birthday of
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
A hefty 11x8 in size, and 334 pages, with five full-size colour plates and many black and white photographs, this celebratory volume comprises 12 sections with articles covering a spectrum (not the whole, but a offering, nonetheless) of the known activities of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Kali Yuga Avatar. We let the book itself introduce you to the contents and range of the 92 articles contained herein:~
This Souvenir is an offering from the Lord's university, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, to the Chancellor of the Universe, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, on the eve of the 80th year of the Advent.
The 80th Birthday of Bhagavan Baba is an event of extraordinary significance in the history of mankind. We are indeed blessed to be in the Presence of this living Avatar. Bhagavan Baba is a multi-faceted Avatar with a number of unique characteristics. In the first place, He is a complete Avatar: Krishna is the only other complete Avatar among the ten Avatars. A complete Avatar is an Avatar that possesses all the felicities or attributes of the Divine, especially those of Omnipresence, Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnifelicity.
The philosophy of Bhagavan Baba is deeply rooted in Indian tradition and culture. It is in fact based on the four fundamental concepts of ancient philosophy and culture, the four Mahavakyas, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is one family), Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudha Vadanthi (Truth is one, the wise call it by many names), Tat Twam Asi, Aham Bramhasmi, (That Thou Art, I am Bramhan - affirming the inherent divinity and dignity of the individual); and Ishavasyam Idam Sarvam Yat Kincha Jagatyam Jagat (God is All-Pervasive, He dwells even in the smallest of things). All the four Mahavakyas affirm the essential oneness behind the entire Creation. Our entire religio-philosophical edifice is built on these four basic pillars.
Though Bhagavan Baba's philosophy is based on the four fundamental pillars of Indian philosophy and culture, He is not to be mistaken to be its mere divine exponent. He is its original interpreter also, and has authored a number of books which contain interpretations that are not merely new, but also couched in a language that even the common man can understand. His Sandeha Nivarini, Upanishad Vahini, Jnana Vahini, Dharma Vahini, Prema Vahini, Bhagavatha Vahini are enchanting illustrations. His Geetha Vahini and Rama Katha Rasa Vahini are the classic interpretations of the Mahabharatha and the Ramayana respectively. In the Ramayana, for example, the attraction of Sita to the golden deer and her subsequent abduction by Ravana is interpreted as the delusion that one has to suffer on account of one's obsession with the colours and charms of the sensory world; in order to overcome the delusion, one has to build a bridge over the delusion of the ocean of life, which alone can unite once more Rama, the Atma, and Sita, the Bramhajnana: when the two are separated, there is delusion. In Geetha Vahini, Bhagavan Baba gives the interpretation that the central theme of the Geetha is Mamadharma, one's own conscience. One has to act according to one's own conscience and without expectation of the fruits.
Bhagavan Baba believes in multitude, not solitude. He is a Lokanatha and not a Vyakthinatha. His mission is very clear. He wants to mingle with the masses and transmit to them, in a language that they can understand, the quintessence of spirituality by emphasising time and again that if only they care to look inwards they will find God residing in their own souls. He reminds them of their ancient heritage and spirituality by giving examples from the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha; He makes use of the groundwork already done by the seers and prophets of medieval India, who popularised Bhakti movement in the regional languages through music. While Baba taps the roots of our culture and heritage, He is not unaware that He has assumed the human form in the 20th century and therefore refers to the problems which are being faced by the masses now. He is quite modern in His expression whenever the need arises. For instance, He states that just as the falling stone is indicative of the principle of gravity that is invisible, so also the human body is indicative of the invisible divine spark of God that resides within the human body.
His message is contemporaneous: Unity in Essence. He wants harmony among the individuals and groups that profess and practise different faiths: for He believes in only one caste, the caste of humanity: only one religion, the religion of Love: only one language, the language of the Heart. He dins into our dull ears day in and day out that all religions ultimately lead to the same basic values of Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, Love and Ahimsa. Their outer form differs but inner essence is the same. The greater the realization of this underlying similarity among all the religions, the brighter the chances of world unity and harmony. Bhagavan Baba does not want to establish a new religion, nor does he wish to attain unity which is in the nature of a dead doctrinaire uniformity. He respects plurality so long as it is not divorced from the principle of fundamental unity underlying all the religions of the world. He wants a Hindu to be a better Hindu, a Christian a better Christian. If all follow, in letter and spirit, the essence of lessons taught by their respective religions, there would be no conflict of any kind.
Bhagavan Baba's mission is essentially that of Love. Bhagavan Baba has Himself declared that the Avatars of Rama and Krishna were Avatars that had a more general purpose. Both assumed the human form at a time when the unrighteous rode on the crest of the wave. It was to restore the imbalance which favoured the unrighteous that these Avatars decided to descend on the earth; destruction of the wicked and protection of the good were their noble aims apart from inculcation of values like Righteousness, etc. However it was possible in those days to achieve these goals because the number of the wicked was not as sizeable as it is today. In the case of the Kali Yuga Avatar, however, if the Avatar chooses to exercise the power of destruction of evil and elimination of the wicked there would be very few survivors. It is for this reason that Bhagavan Baba emphasizes the reformative side of His Avataric mission. He has come to unmake men, remake and transform them so that they realize the divine potential within themselves. His main aim therefore is to spread the message of love and elevate humanity to ever-evolving levels of consciousness. While every Avatar has full knowledge of the past, the present and the future it is only in the Sai Avatar that we get very clearly and unmistakably its three dimensional character. Bhagavan Baba has said very clearly that He was Shirdi Baba in the past, He is the Sai Avatar now and He will reincarnate Himself as Prema Sai next. This is another unique feature of the Sai Avatar.
The seven characteristics listed above are like the seven colours of the rainbow of the Sai Avatar, whose essence is the incandescent radiance of Eternity. The contributions to the Souvenir throw light on these unique characteristics of the Sai Avatar.Students, teachers, and brothers and sisters of the Sai family, both from India and abroad, have contributed to this Souvenir. ...
Thirteen Sections of this Souvenir
The Souvenir is divided into thirteen sections. The first section offers, besides a brief chronology, an insightful essay on Swami's Life and Mission.
The second section throws light on Baba's spiritual matrix and indicates how deeply the Sai Philosophy is rooted in Indian culture, tradition, and spirituality .
Bhagavan's teachings on the five Human Values of Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love, and Non-Violence constitute an important facet of His philosophy and the five essays that deal with these five Values Comprise the third section. Bhagavan Baba's divinity is a multifaceted one. He is the One in Many and the Many in One. No wonder, therefore, there are different perceptions among the devotees about His Divinity which is unreservedly acknowledged by all of them and hence a separate section, the fourth, titled 'Comprehending Divinity' has been incorporated. The article by Sri Keki M Mistry gives a Zoroastrian view of Sai and that by Dr. Thorbjorn Meyer throws light on the Avataric roles of Sathya Sai Baba and Jesus Christ. The essay by Sri Naganand comments on the Divinity of Sai Avatar as reflected in the various projects of health-care and water supply. Some of the contributions, like those of Professor Jack Hawley and Dr. Hal Honig, enable us to get an insight into the perception of top managers in the corporate sector on Baba's Divinity. The unity in diversity, which characterizes this section, is indeed most fascinating.
The fifth section deals with Bhagavan Baba's teachings from a global perspective, their relevance in the context of world unity, unity of faiths, the caste of humanity and the religion of love.
Bhagavan Baba's divinity obviously has alchemic qualities; it transmutes devotees who, while responding to an inner urge within them, are irresistibly drawn towards the Divine Source. Devotees who have undergone such a transformation on account of the Divine Presence, have narrated their experiences in the articles which unfold the nature and process of their transformation in the sixth section.
The seventh and eighth sections contain essays that present the views of the respective authors on Universal Mother and Love in Action respectively.
The essays in the ninth section give a glimpse of Baba's views on the role of women in society. These reveal the importance that Baba attaches to the role played by women in the progress of the society and the nation.
Bhagavan Baba's views on science and spirituality find a place in the articles included in the tenth section.
Sahasrasirsha Purushaha: The myriad-faceted Avatarhood of Bhagavan Baba becomes clearer when one tries to understand his role as an educationist. He distinguishes between Education, which enables the student to earn a living and Educare that equips the student to realize the divine potential within him. In fact, He has been advocating a shift from Education to Educare. Articles in section eleven deal with various facets of the philosophy of Sai Education.
Bhagavan Baba has not merely developed a philosophy of education. He is a Sadguru too, who directly imparts impulses, besides being an alchemic Presence, as in section six - that have a transformational character. The experiences of some of the devotees who have experienced the transmutational impact are narrated in section twelve.
The articles contained in the final section have a flavour of their own. These pour out the adoration of devotees in a direct and straightforward manner, which reveals Bhagavan Baba's Omnipresence, Omniscience and Omnipotence. An article which attributes the multi-faceted growth of Puttaparthi to the Divine Touch also finds a place in the section.
$4 from Sai Books, 24 Kenilworth Ave, Wonga Park, 3115,
Margaret and Randall McDonald
email books [at] saiaustralia.org.au
Phone (03)9722 1740