1. Why the
present AVATHAR (incarnation) has
come ?
Baba: First of all you must grasp the complete
ONENESS of the three incarnations of contemporary times with those of the past
like Krishna and Rama. This is a difficult task. When people cannot understand the
present how can they understand the past?
Every incarnation is full and complete in relation to the time and, the
environment and the task. There is distinction between various appearances of God
as Rama or Krishna or Sai.
Rama
came to feed the root of Truth and Righteousness. Krishna followed to foster the plant of Peace and Love. Now these sacred principles are in danger
of wholesale destruction by reason by human weakness under the onslaught of
evil forces. They are overcoming the good, the spiritual and the divine in man.
That is why the present Avathar has
come invested with the totality of Cosmic Power to save Dharma (Righteousness) from anti-dharma.
2. Why God assume human form?
Baba: Because that is the only way to incarnate the God within man. The Avathar takes the human form and behaves
in a human way so that humanity can feel kinship with Divinity. At the same
time he can rises to Godly heights so that mankind can also aspire to reach
God. The realisation of the indwelling God as the motivator of life is the task
for which Avathars come in human
form.
Previous Avathars like Rama and Krishna had to destroy a few individuals
who could be identified as enemies of the godly way of life, and thus restore
the dharmic path. Today, however,
wickedness has tainted so many that humanity itself stands under the threat of
destruction. Therefore, in my present Avathar,
I have come armed with fullness of power
of the formless God to correct human consciousness and put people back on the
right path of Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Divinity.
3. Why had this task divided into three separate incarnations of Shirdi Sai Baba, Sathya Sai Baba and Prema Sai Baba?
Baba: They
are not separate. I have already mentioned the complete oneness of the three in
the final objective of the mission.
Let us
take the example of FRUIT . It begins with the SEED which grows into the TREE,
and form it comes the FRUIT, WORK
can be compared to the SEED, WORSHIP to the TREE and WISDOM to the FRUIT.
The
previous Avathar Shiridi Baba laid the base for secular integration and gave
mankind the message of DUTY that is WORK. The mission of the present Avathar is
to make everybody realise that since the same God or Divinity resides in
everyone, people should respect, love and help one another, irrespective
of caste, colour or creed. Thus every
WORK become an act of WORSHIP. Finally Prema Sai the third Avathar, shall
promote the evangel that not only does God resides in everybody, but everyone
himself is God. That will be the final WISDOM which will enable every man and
woman rise to God.
Thus the three Avathars ca__y the triple
message of WORK, WORSHIP and WISDOM.
4. What are in sum the holy mission and divine purpose of this triple incarnation?
Baba: To
unite all mankind into one caste or family with the establishment of the Divinity - that is Atmic reality - in every man or woman, which is the basis on which the
entire Cosmic design rests. One this is realised, the common divine heritage
that binds man and man to God will become apparent and Love shall prevail as
the guiding light of the Universe.
In
the first place man has to develop into MANKIND in the fullness of its
integrated potential. At present
mankind as such is absent in the world. There is no synthesis between thought,
word and deed. Man today thinks one thing, say something different and acts
quite the contrary. So what we have
is the individual man, confused, confounded and bombarded with contradictory
thoughts. What we do not see is MANKIND
in him motivated by good thoughts, good words and good deeds. We have to make him realise God within him
to develop a synthesis correlating thought, word and deed.
5. What is the difference between God and man?
Baba: God is man and man is God. All of us have something of God, the Divine spark, within us. All men are
divine like myself, but with the spirit embodied in human flesh and bone. The
only difference is that they are unaware of this Godhood. They have come into
this Karmic prison through the mistakes of many lives. I have taken this mortal form out of my own
free will. They are bound to the body, while I am free of this bondage. The
main difference is that they are shoved higher and thicker by DESIRE but I have
no desire expect the supreme one to make them desireless.
Take the paddy or rice by way of illustration. Every grain of rice is enclosed in a husk. You have to remove the husk to get the grain of rice. Now husk and rice both come from the same seed. Rice is equivalent of God in man, while the husk can be compared to desire, which reduced God to man.
6. How to reach self-realisation?
Baba:Life
without desire means the realisation of the pure, genuine self that is ATMA (soul).
Bound to desire, the self degenerates into selfishness. ATMA turns into ego. The way to self-realisation is to cleanse the self of this ego of selfishness.
Then you reach a state of consciousness beyond the mind or intellect, revealing
the true self of that is God. The mind
is like a cloth that covers and stifles
consciousness, the threads of which are desires. If we give up the desires, the
threads fall and the cloth disappears, revealing our true nature. This is what
the VEDANTA (epic of ancient wisdom and knowledge) means when it enjoins that one must get rid of the ego to realise
oneself.
7. Is the mind of man creates the block between man and God?
Baba: Yes,
One must make a distinction between the mind that is ego, and the real self
that is consciousness. The latter helps us to cross for frontiers of ego-mind and become aware of oneself as
the witness of Truth. Normally the scientist of the mind looks outside to what
can be perceived by the senses existing in the world of the mind to ask: WHAT
IS THIS? The scientist of the consciousness on the other hand looks inside to
which is beyond the senses or the grasp of the mind to ask : WHAT IS THAT?
One has, therefore, to rise beyond the mind to
consciousness to achieve self-realisation. To
gain the finite, universal ATMA, the
embodied self must break out of puny, finite little prison of individuality.
Desires belong to the senses, the brain, the mind; once you become free of it,
you realise the self, ATMA,
consciousness, enlightenment, and become one with the cosmic power.
Self-realisation is God-Realisation. Thus man reaches God.
Reference: From extended interview given by Baba to senior editor, Dr K
R Karanija of Blitz news magazine in September 1976.