Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba for national integration and tranquillity

by Nagalingam Ponniah

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is no doubt the Avatar of the age. He has come in human form to uplift humanity. Baby Sathya Narayana as he was named, became the pet of the whole village. The villagers were able to assess that the baby had a heart for human suffering. He saw beggars, and provided them with grains or food whatever was available.

He was called by his neighbours as "Brahananan" due to this type of devotion and the measure of love towards creation. Baby himself initiated the process of His Manifestation. One day Baba claimed a tamarind tree, which we can even see, now and called out His fellowmen". It is His Swabhava and very nature and the power that He owns. He has learned to enter our minds and collect all the information.

Basic teachings

His teachings are based on the five principles of Truth, Right, Conduct, Peace, Love and Non Violence. If these principles will certainly put us on the highway to God. The constant practice of these five principles will definitely overcome the ingrained habits in ourselves caused by lust or Desire, Anger, Greed, Attachment, Pride, Hate and Jealousy and the eradication of these habits will lead us to the attainment of bliss.

Baba says that all religions are facets of the same Truth. All scriptures are holy. All places of worships are holy. All religions are seeking the one and the same God. Although they call Him by different names. This is the phenomenon underlying the preachings and teachings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - the World Teacher, a Director of the Highway to God. He says that no man can know God who does not know himself.

Therefore the basis of any search of God must begin with man himself. If we endeavour to know the correct answers to His questions which He eventually and eternally put forward to those who throng "Pirasanthi Nilayam", the abode of the Avatar. His questions are who am I? Why am I here? And where am I going to? Baba says that the human problems on this earth manifest themselves in variety and in abundance because of the incorrect answers to these basic and fundamental questions.

Baba has given us a formulae with four main ingredients. We can regard them as our guidelines to go along the Sai path. If we follow these guidelines we shall surely reach Divinity. The guidelines are in Sanskrit termed as "Prema" "Satya", "Dharma" and "Shanthi". Prema is the Divine Love that by its nature gives continuously and asking nothing in return. It is the love of God for all of us - His human children's. Swami Himself being the great baby of Love opens the way to release the spring in the spiritual heart.

There is much a powerful: "Aura of Love" around Him that like a flame it burns away the debris that is holding back the stream of Prema from Man's true mature. Then the wonderful stream beings to flow towards God and towards all life.

The second guideline is "Satya" which comes from the Sanskrit word "Sat" meaning True Being and Satya is the guideline given by Baba to guide us in the search for Truth of being through the acquisition of knowledge.

The third guideline is "Dharma" which comes from the Sanskrit word "Sat" meaning True Being and Satya is the guideline given by Baba to guide us in the search for Truth of being through the acquisition of knowledge. The third guideline is "Dharma" which comes from the Sanskrit verb "rest dhiri" (to hold).

Dharma is that which holds together out the inner and outer activities. In short Dharma is Prema and Satya in action. His fourth guideline is the "Shanthi" which is the innate nature of man.

So the gaining of the peace is not a matter of acquiring of something from outside but of uncovering something that is already there. You will then have unshakable shanthi, self control and purity of mind. The full Prema yields the Divine Flame of Shanti. Prema brings out unity of all mankind and this unity combined with spiritual knowledge will bring about world peace.

Acquisition of knowledge

This programme has been designed by Baba Himself as His Path for the orderly progress of children. Today this programme has developed in such a way to cover all the States of India. It has risen to the height of a University of which Sri Sathiya Sai Baba Himself is the Chancellor.

This scheme has afforded a facility beyond a dream or a miracle for children coming from the remotest villages in Andra Pradesh to gain entrance to this University.

Now since of late this programme had grown up to such a height that children of other countries could also seek admissions in these educational institutions coming under the purview of Sri Sathya Sai Baba Education Programme.

He has placed this Educational Programme in the forefront or vanguard of his social services activities, thus fulfilling.

His Divine Mission was announced around 1940 when he was 14 years old. The institute of higher learning is an autonomous institute free to lay down its own courses of study, implement its own teachings and award its own Degree.

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba says that some people always say "We want Swami", "We want to go closer to Him". But they are unable to put into practice Swami's words or Swami's ideals.

Swami is not on one side and Swami's words are not on another side. Put into practice Swami's words. If you do that then Swami will automatically be with you. If you keep on wanting Swami physically, but if you do not practise whatever Swami says, then even if Swami is close to you physically yet He is far away from you.