WONDEROUS SAINT SRI SAIBABA-PART 21

BY PUJYA SRI NARASIMHASWAMY JI


DIVINITY IN ALL LIFE

IMMANENCE
The question is often asked especially by people outside Maharashtra, whether Baba attained the highest Realisation himself and imparted it to his devotees. As for the first part of the question, there can be no hesitation in giving an affirmative answer. The loftiest realisation that any achieved must be obviously perceived and enjoyed by one whose nature and powers surpass our capacity to describe or comprehend. A fuller answer to the above question involves an intricate examination of subtle matter which would be uninteresting,nay, positively wearisome-to the general reader and has therefore been left over. It is enough here to say that if any creatures or beings had the intellectual perception and the emotional or spiritual enjoyment conveyed by the terms God-Realisation and Self-Realisation, Sai who had gone through the necessary sadhanas and obtained his guru's grace, and who read every one's mind and heart and shared the ideas, sorrows and bliss therein certainly realised God and His Self and enjoyed Divine Bliss.

The General Demand :
Referring to the second half of the question, we shall content ourselves here with the statement that the thousands that went to Sri Sai Baba and still go, have not cared for the loftiest realisation and never asked for it. Baba knew, if anyone knew, that removal of immediate troubles was almost invariably the heart's desire of his visitors and devotees and that the better sort among them wanted Devotion, and other virtues, vision of God, Sadgati and other spiritual good of the same order and he has showered these liberally on his devotees.

God Guru is All :
In not a few casts, he gave his ardent devotees certain interim experiences of Realisation that would naturally lead on to the highest. Among these is the power to see the Guru and that means the same thing as God to most of his devotees in all creatures and at all places. They viewed him, at least in their moments of exalted devotion, as God and when they saw their God Guru in various creatures, there was a more intense and vivid realisation of the intellectually accepted truth that God is in all. Jnaneswari, a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita in Marathi ranked very high in the Maha-rastra , describes the seeing of God in all creatures as an important, nay, indispensable part of the aspirant's course. Hence , Baba helped many to attain that step especially through the identification of God with the Guru. Nana Saheb realising his Guru-God's presence in flies, ants, etc., is a good instance of this help.