Jesus and Sai Baba: Two Masters, One Message The teachings of Jesus and Sai Dear Readers, Two thousand years ago when Jesus walked on this earth He gave mankind a message. He taught them in parables and showed them way to the Kingdom of God. Today we have Bhagawan, the Supreme Lord, once again walking the earth and showing the way to HIS Kingdom. Back then it was the Son and now it is the Father. But the message is the same!
Jesus: Man cannot live by bread alone, but needs every word that God speaks. Sathya Sai: Man does not live by bread alone. He lives by the Atma. Devotion and surrender and not greed and deceit should form the basis for man's life and lead to the blossoming of Spiritual Wisdom in his Heart. Life is not to be dedicated for mere food and drink, or merely catering to the cravings of the senses. It has to be devoted to the attainment of Bliss that God alone can confer. Jesus: Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Sathya Sai: Who is there so bold that he can say, "The Lord must wear this dress", "The lord must act only in this manner"? Who can limit His glory or set His direction? Jesus: Go away, Satan! The scripture says, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!' Sathya Sai: Fill your Mind with the desire to see God, be with Him, Praise Him, glorify Him, and taste the Glory of His Majesty. There is no Bliss higher than that. The essence of the Scriptures lies in this one rule: "Repeat the Name of the Lord, keeping His Glory always before the Mind." Jesus: Happy are those who mourn; God will comfort them! Sathya Sai: Bear calumny, loss, disappointment, defeat, boldly and with equanimity; them no mental, depression can overwhelm you. I must tell you that I am happy when someone among you is subjected to suffering, for that is a chance given to you to demonstrate your intelligence and sense of values. Jesus: Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised. Sathya Sai: Real education requires the cultivation of a sense of humility. Great learning brings humility. Without humility there is no education. True education gives you humility; from humility you get deservedness; from such deservedness you will get wealth; from wealth you will get Dharma, and thence happiness in this temporal world as well as in the spiritual world. Jesus: Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires. God will satisfy them fully! Sathya Sai: Understand that the purpose of life is to know through Love the ultimate embodiment of Love, namely God. And demonstrate through your own Love that you have known Him. Jesus: Happy are those who are merciful to others. God will be merciful to them. Sathya Sai: Live without hating others, condemning others, and seeking faults in others. The spiritual journey lies through compassion, sympathy, mutual help and service. These are fostered by Society and are to be used for Society. Jesus: Happy are those who work for peace, for God will call them His children! Sathya Sai: When man thinks, speaks and acts along virtuous lines his Conscience will be clear and he will have Inner Peace. Knowledge is power, it is said; but Virtue is Peace. Strive for the happiness of the community and of the human race. Pray that all men everywhere may have peace and plenty. Be eager to do good, and always be good. Jesus: Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are My followers. Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets who lived before you were persecuted. Sathya Sai: Meet hatred with your innate Love; Meet grief with innate joy; meet anger with the shield of Shanti or Inner Peace. You are bound to win. Jesus: Happy are the pure in Heart. They will see God. Sathya Sai: It is Inner Purity that matters, not the outer movement of lips. Smarana [chanting the Name] being an inner activity, helps that inner transformation. Jesus: Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets. I have not come to do away with them, but to make their teachings come true. Sathya Sai: I have not come on any mission of publicity for any sect, creed or cause; nor have I come to collect followers for any doctrine. I have no plan to attract disciples or devotees into my fold or any fold. I have come to tell you of this universal unitary faith, this atmic principle, this path of love. Ekam Sath Viprah Bahudha Vadanti (truth is one, but scholars refer to it by different names). It is not correct to say that you like only Rama or Krishna or Siva or Sai Baba. There is only one God and He is omnipresent. Do not hate other religions. A Hindu should become a better Hindu, a Christian a better Christian and a Muslim a better Muslim. Jesus: If your right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose one of your limbs than for you whole body to go to hell. Sathya Sai: We should not give freedom to the organs but use them in complete accord and control within the limits set by ones country, time and circumstances. Jesus: You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'. But now I tell you; do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too. And if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if one of the occupation troops forces you to carry his pack one furlong, carry it for two. When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him. Sathya Sai:I command you: never hate others, or wish evil of them or talk ill of them. Only then can you attain the state of Santhaswarupam [become the embodiment of Peace]. Jesus: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who ill-treat you. Sathya Sai: To think that some are your enemies, some are your friends, some are your children, some are your relations and to develop attachment or dislike towards them is not correct. See the one Atma in them all. Give up illusion and ignorance. Imagine that Light in you more and more intensely-and it will be so. Let it shine all around you, enveloping you in the brilliance of Love; let it spread from you, in ever widening circles, taking into its fold your kith and kin, the loved ones, friends, companions-nay, strangers, foes, rivals, enemies-all men all over the world, all living beings-all Creation. Jesus: Make certain you do not perform you religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly you will not have any reward from your Father in heaven. Sathya Sai: Do Karma, but do not hanker after the fruit. Do not complain that you did not get public recognition for the donations you gave to some Trust. Fruits, whether good or bad, yourself have to consume; so the best means of liberating yourself from the consequences is to ignore the fruit and do Karma, only for the sake of Karma. Jesus: No one can be a slave of two masters; he will hate one and love the other; he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Sathya Sai: It should be realised that there is room in the heart for only a single person. It should not be regarded as a long sofa or as a musical chair. God alone should be installed in the heart. Where money is calculated and garnered, and exhibited to demonstrate one's achievements, I will not be present. I come only where sincerity, faith and surrender are valued. Jesus: Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you. For God will judge you in the same way as you judge others and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others. Why then do you look at the speck in you brother's eye and pay no attention to the log in you own eye? First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Sathya Sai: Do not try to find fault with others; search, rather for your own. I direct you to implant three ideas in your Hearts: (1) Do not forget God: (2) Do not put faith in the world you se around you; it is changing every second and does not last; (3) Do not be afraid. You are the imperishable Atman that knows no fear. I want you also to banish two ideas from your Hearts: (1) Forget the harm that anyone has done to you and (2) forget the good that you have done to others. Jesus: Ask, and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks will receive, anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to him who knocks. Sathya Sai: Individual effort and Divine Grace are both interdependent; without effort there will be no conferment of Grace; without Grace, there can be no taste in the effort. To win that Grace you need only have faith and virtue.
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LEARNING FROM JESUS Dear readers, today is Easter Sunday and it is only appropriate for us to ruminate on what Swami has said on Jesus and His supreme sacrifice for mankind. Here are excerpts of Swami’s Discourses delivered during Christmas celebrations of 1997 and 1978 taken from the book “Be like Jesus”.
Jesus Faced Troubles Like Other Divine Personalities
There were controversies regarding Jesus. These differences were the cause of the ordeals he had to go through. But Jesus was prepared to face any trouble or any penalty. He considered compassion as the supreme quality. By chastising the rich and ministering to the poor and the diseased, Jesus taught his disciples a new way of life based on faith in, God. Jesus demonstrated and preached the power of faith and, ultimately, invited on himself the supreme sacrifice of life itself. When his disciples started abusing his tormentors, his voice warned them to desist: "All are one! Be alike to everyone."
You have to remind yourselves of the ideals Jesus stood for. For ages, from time to time, many noble souls, endowed with immense spiritual power, have taken birth to propagate sacred teachings to the world. They struggled hard to make the world a good place to live in. But without understanding their noble intentions, foolish people tried to ridicule and persecute them. Right from his birth, Jesus had to face many trials and tribulations. When the name and fame of noble souls spread far and wide, many people become jealous.
In the past, many evil-minded people were jealous of the Divine personalities who attained worldwide fame through their teachings of truth and righteousness. Even today there is no dearth of such wicked people. If one cannot undertake meritorious deeds, it is better to keep quiet instead of indulging in such sinful deeds.
With faith in the oneness of humanity, Jesus stood against all of his opponents and critics and confronted their onslaughts. Every saint and prophet, who strove to uplift the downtrodden and open the eyes of the blind to the splendour of God's Grace, had to be ready and willing for the ultimate sacrifice. One has to expect trouble and welcome the chance for sacrificing all that one clings to, while one is upholding truth and righteousness. Faith in God is the bedrock that can save man from downfall. It is only when we look upon the universe as permeated by God that we acquire the strength to fight the forces of evil.
There can be no sinner worse than the one who criticises God. There can be no hell worse than distancing oneself from God. God is the eternal witness. It is a great mistake to criticise God. You may argue that there are many in the world who have forgotten God and yet lead a comfortable life. No doubt they are living, but they are living their lives like animals. You should strive to live like a devotee to earn Divine grace.
Jesus' last supper
Jesus said that the bread taken in the "last supper" was his flesh, and the wine, his blood. He meant that all beings alive with flesh and blood are to be treated as he himself and that no distinction should be made of friend or foe, we or they. Every body is his body, sustained by the bread; every drop of blood flowing in the veins of every living being is his, animated by the activity that the wine imparted to it. That is to say, every man is divine and has to be revered as such.
Seeing the same God in all beings is the true spirit of non-dualism. Only when you develop the feeling that all are the embodiments of God, your vision becomes sanctified. Everything in this creation is sacred. All that you see is only the manifestation of God. You see God in the form of the world, yet you feel that you have not seen Him. God has no specific form or dwelling place. He is the eternal witness and is present in all forms. You can progress on the spiritual path only when you have such a feeling.
Friday, March 15, 2008: Students of the Post-graduate classes at the Sri Sathya Sai University had done well in the All-India GATE exams - Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering. Out of the 30 students who wrote the exam, many got very high percentile scores, and the Sai University students also secured All-India Rank numbers 2 and 4 in Physics and 7 in Biosciences. These students were seated in the Bhajan Hall as Bhagawan came while the Bhajans went on. After interacting for a few minutes there, Bhagawan asked them to move to the stage area, and He went there, asking for the Bhajans to stop and for the Vice-Chancellor to announce the good results of these students. Once of the students and Prof. Anil Kumar also spoke, and Swami Blessed one of them with a chain. Download wallpapers: Milad-un-Nabi The Celebration of the Birth of Prophet Muhammad
Shirdi Sai Baba Dream vision to improve and reform His devotees.
Madrasi Bhajani Mela
It was in the year 1916 that a Madrasi Bhajani Mela (Party of the Ramadasi Panth) started on a Pilgrimage to the holy city of Banaras. The Party consisted of a man, his wife, daughter and sister-in-law. Unfortunately their names are not mentioned. On their way, the party heard that there lived at Shirdi in Kopergaon Taluka, Ahmednagar District, a great sage named Sai Baba, who was calm and composed, and who was very liberal and who distributed money every day to His Bhaktas and to skilful persons, who went and showed their skill there. A lot of money in the form of Dakshina was collected daily by Sai Baba and out of this amount, He gave daily one rupee to a three year old girl Amani, the daughter of a Bhakta Kondaji and Rs. 2 to 5 to some, Rs. 6 to Jamali, the mother of Amani and Rs. 10 to 20 and even Rs. 50 to other Bhaktas as He pleased. On hearing all this the party came to Shirdi and stayed there. The Mela did very good bhajan and sang very good songs, but inwardly they craved for money. Three of the party were full of avarice, but the chief lady or mistress was of a very different nature. She had a regard and love for Baba. Once it so happened, that when the noon-day Arati was going on, Baba was much pleased with her faith and devotion, and was pleased to give her darshan of her Ishtam (Beloved Deity). To her Baba appeared as Sitanath (Rama) while to all the others the usual Sainath. On seeing her beloved Deity, she was very much moved. Tears began to flow from her eyes and she clapped her hands in joy. The people began to wonder at her joyful mood; but were not able to guess its cause. Late in the afternoon she disclosed everything to her husband. She told him how she saw Shri Rama in Sai Baba. He thought that she was very simple and devout, and her seeing Rama might be a hallucination of her mind. He poohpoohed her, saying that it was not possible, that she alone should see Rama while they all saw Sai Baba. She did not resent this remark, as she was fortunate enough to get Ramadarshan now and then, when her mind was calm and composed and free from avarice.
Wonderful Vision
Things were going on like this, when the husband got a wonderful vision in his dream one night as follows :- He was in a big city, the police there had arrested him, tied his hands with a rope, and put him up in a cage (lock-up). As the police were tightening the grip, he saw Sai Baba standing quiet outside, near the cage. On seeing Baba so near, he said in a plaintive tone - "Hearing Your fame I came to Your Feet and why should a calamity befall me when You are standing here in person?" Baba said - "You must suffer the consequences of your action" He said - "I have not done anything in this life which would bring such a misfortune on me." Baba said - "If not in this life, you must have committed some sin in your past life." He replied, "I do not know anything of my past life, but assuming that I did commit some sin then, why should it not be burnt and destroyed in Your presence, as dry grass before fire? "Baba - "Have you got such faith?" He - "Yes." Baba then asked him to close his eyes. No sooner did he shut them than he heard a thumping sound of something falling down, and opening his eyes, he saw that he was free and the police had fallen down, bleeding. Being much frightened he began to look at Baba who said - "Now you are well caught, officers will now come and arrest you." Then he begged - "There is no other saviour except You, save me anyhow." Then Baba again asked him to close his eyes. He did so and when he opened them, he saw that he was free, out of the cage and that Baba was by his side. He then fell at Baba's Feet. Baba then asked him - "Is there any difference between this namaskar and your previous ones? Think well and reply." He said "There is a lot of difference; my former namaskaras were offered with the object of getting money from You, but the present namaskar is one offered to You as God; besides, formerly I thought resentfully that you, being a Mahomendan, were spoiling us, the Hindus". Baba "Do you not believe in your mind in Mahomendan Gods?" He said "No". Then Baba said - "Have you not got a Panja (Emblem of Hand) in your house and do you not worship the same in Tabut, i.e. Moharum festival? Also there is in your house another Mahomedan Deity by name Kadbibi, whom you propitiate and appease on your marriage and other festivals.
Is it not so?" He admitted all this. Then Baba said,"What more do you want?" Then a desire arose in his mind to get the darshan of his Guru Ramdas, when Baba asked him to turn back and see. And when he turned, lo, Ramadas was in front of him. No sooner did he begin to fall at His Feet, Ramadas vanished. Then he inquisitively asked Baba,"You look old. Do You know Your age?" Baba - "What! Do you say I am old! just run a race with Me and see." Saying this Baba began to run and he too followed. Baba disappeared in the dust raised by His foot-steps while running and the man was awakened.
After awakening he began to think seriously about the dream-vision. His mental attitude was completely changed and he realised the greatness of Baba. After this, his grabbing and doubting tendencies disappeared and true devotion to Baba's Feet sprang in his mind. The vision was a mere dream, but the questions and answers therein were most significant and interesting. Next morning when all the persons assembled in the Masjid for the Arati, Baba gave him as prasad two rupees' worth sweetmeats and also two rupees from His pocket and blessed him. He made him stay there for a few more days and gave him His blessing, saying,"Allah (God) will give you plenty and He will do you all good". He did not get more money there, but he got far better things viz.
Baba's blessing which stood him in good stead all along. The party got plenty of money afterwards and their pilgrimage was successful as they had not to suffer any trouble or inconvenience during their journey. They all returned home safe and sound, thinking of Baba's words and blessings and the Anand(Bliss) they experienced by His grace.
This story illustrates one of the methods, which Baba followed (and is following even now) in some cases to improve and reform His devotees.
Shirdi Sai Baba
Shirdi Sai Baba's life story & miracles - Sri Sai SatCharita »»
Jesus: Happy are those who are merciful to others. God will be merciful to them.
