Does Swami (Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba) speak through each and everyone of us or just some people?
A question was posed to me today, 16th March 2016, in comments section of Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/terry.reiskennedy/posts/10209028707293675, as follows (slightly edited):
Does Swami (Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba) speak through each and everyone of us or just some people?
---
Ravi S. Iyer (I) responded (slightly edited):
Bro. ---name-snipped---, let me give you my view on your question. Please note that my view could be wrong - I do not claim to be an enlightened person.
My approach to spiritual reality has been Advaita and so I have focused more on Swami's Advaita type teachings. Swami taught that he is in the depth of our inner selves and that the voice of our conscience is the voice of God. Swami also taught that all of us (at our inner selves level) are God. [Here there is an issue of differentiating between the clear voice of conscience and the mind which is caught up in some desire or the other; I think that differentiation can come through practice of trying to tune in to the inner voice of conscience by stilling the mind and its desires.]
So I would say that God speaks to us through our conscience. I prefer to use the word God for the voice of conscience rather than Swami. In my limited understanding of the very powerful, very mystical and very mysterious phenomenon that Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (in physical form) was and (at formless level) is, I view him as Shiva-Shakti Swarupa, Kali Yuga Avatar. And when I use the word God, I mean the Brahman (absolute divinity) of the Upanishads that Bhagavan would also talk about.
Now some Sai devotees may view the voice of their conscience as the voice of Swami. Further, some Sai devotees claim to have visions of Swami where he says something to them and some have dreams of Swami where Swami conveys something to them. I do not get any visions of Swami - so I cannot really comment on that part of it. After Mahasamadhi, as far as I can recall, I have not had any dreams of Swami either.
So some Sai devotees may say that Swami speaks to some via their visions & dreams or at least that Swami speaks more regularly to some Sai devotees via visions & dreams. My view of such matters is that if somebody prays earnestly to Swami to speak to them, Swami would fulfill that earnest prayer via a vision or dream where He speaks to that person. Whereas somebody else may earnestly pray to Swami for love, peace & joy and not earnestly pray for Swami to speak to him/her, in which case Swami may confer love, peace & joy but not speak to the devotee via vision/dream.
So that's my take on the matter you raised. Hope it helps :-) .
Does Swami (Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba) speak through each and everyone of us or just some people?
---
Ravi S. Iyer (I) responded (slightly edited):
Bro. ---name-snipped---, let me give you my view on your question. Please note that my view could be wrong - I do not claim to be an enlightened person.
My approach to spiritual reality has been Advaita and so I have focused more on Swami's Advaita type teachings. Swami taught that he is in the depth of our inner selves and that the voice of our conscience is the voice of God. Swami also taught that all of us (at our inner selves level) are God. [Here there is an issue of differentiating between the clear voice of conscience and the mind which is caught up in some desire or the other; I think that differentiation can come through practice of trying to tune in to the inner voice of conscience by stilling the mind and its desires.]
So I would say that God speaks to us through our conscience. I prefer to use the word God for the voice of conscience rather than Swami. In my limited understanding of the very powerful, very mystical and very mysterious phenomenon that Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (in physical form) was and (at formless level) is, I view him as Shiva-Shakti Swarupa, Kali Yuga Avatar. And when I use the word God, I mean the Brahman (absolute divinity) of the Upanishads that Bhagavan would also talk about.
Now some Sai devotees may view the voice of their conscience as the voice of Swami. Further, some Sai devotees claim to have visions of Swami where he says something to them and some have dreams of Swami where Swami conveys something to them. I do not get any visions of Swami - so I cannot really comment on that part of it. After Mahasamadhi, as far as I can recall, I have not had any dreams of Swami either.
So some Sai devotees may say that Swami speaks to some via their visions & dreams or at least that Swami speaks more regularly to some Sai devotees via visions & dreams. My view of such matters is that if somebody prays earnestly to Swami to speak to them, Swami would fulfill that earnest prayer via a vision or dream where He speaks to that person. Whereas somebody else may earnestly pray to Swami for love, peace & joy and not earnestly pray for Swami to speak to him/her, in which case Swami may confer love, peace & joy but not speak to the devotee via vision/dream.
So that's my take on the matter you raised. Hope it helps :-) .
Sairam Sir, pls chk this link. The latter part is very relevant in today's context.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sathyasaiwithstudents.blogspot.in/2016/03/sri-sathya-sai-landmark-messages-in.html#.VuoIMdJ97IU
This has been updated just today on the Sathya Sai with Students blog. Bhagawan has clearly told way back in the '60s itself that He does not 'possess' or speak through anyone and that we should order out such people and those who collect money in His name and have nothing to do with such people.
Thanks Aarthi. I put up this comment on that post a little while back:
DeleteWonderful article. The last part of it is especially relevant now due to a Sai university alumnus FALSELY claiming to be a so called communicator of Swami, and which is endorsed by a former warden of the Sai university. This BETRAYAL of Swami's teachings by former Sai university students and teachers must be REVERSED PRIMARILY by Sai university teachers and administrators who are FAITHFUL to the teachings of Swami. Jai Sai Ram!
The comment I made on the blog post (mentioned in earlier comment above) has been put up (approved).
DeleteBTW the last part of that post has the following words from Swami's (Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's) discourse in Yelamanchili village, Andhra Pradesh on 27th March 1965 (over half a century ago):
Then, there are some who proclaim that I am ‘coming upon someone’ and speaking through them! They pretend to be My mouthpieces and communicate to others My advice and My suggestions, as if I have 'authorized' them or as if I am Myself telling so through them. Now hear this. I never speak through another; I never possess another or use another as a vehicle of expression. I come direct, I come straight, I come as I am, to confer peace and joy.
--- end Swami discourse extract ---