19. Spiritual Path of Jesus Christ
Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ went through the path of intensive meditation and contemplation practices before he gained perfect wisdom. As a result of the practice of meditation, Jesus Christ gradually drew closer to God. Finally, he was able to realize that he was the Son of God. After that, he continued to strive for the knowledge of God even more intensely and gained the highest experience of oneness with God.
In order to advance deeply in the process of knowledge of God, Jesus Christ went on a distant pilgrimage to the Himalayas. There he practiced meditation, constantly thinking about God.
Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ practiced in a remote part of the Himalayas for several years. During this period of his life, Jesus Christ practiced various spiritual techniques. Finally, he fully felt the presence of his Heavenly Father’s divine love. Jesus Christ realized that God is the original nature of the soul. Then he was able to proclaim: «I and My Heavenly Father are One.» This is how Sathya Sai Baba described the spiritual path of Jesus Christ.
In the information that Sathya Sai Baba reports, it is important to note several fundamental points. First of all, again and again, he confirms the fact that Jesus Christ spent almost half of his life in India, including the Himalayas.
From the story told by Sathya Sai Baba, we learn many astonishing details; in particular, that Jesus Christ practiced for five long years in seclusion in the Himalayas. Perhaps during this period, he was in some cave, or in one of the ashrams. Such solitary retreats are a traditional form of spiritual practice for Himalayan yogis. Practitioners of various traditions retire to small ashrams or caves in order to immerse themselves in contemplation and study sacred texts in depth.
Speaking about the spiritual path of Jesus Christ, Sathya Sai Baba reminds us that even the greatest souls must go through the path of spiritual practices before they can realize their inner divine potentials.
In one of his lectures, Sathya Sai Baba said that after gaining in the Himalayas the experience of oneness with God, Jesus Christ received the presence of the Holy Spirit. After that, he decided to return from India back to the west, to Palestine. All the years spent in India, Jesus Christ lived almost alone, communicating with a narrow circle of Teachers and Yogis. Finally, it was time for him to begin teaching disciples. Jesus Christ returned to Palestine to show his disciples and followers the way of salvation.
We know that Jesus Christ was taught by superior teachers. In his open lectures, Sathya Sai Baba never gave the exact names of those Gurus who taught Jesus Christ, and he has not yet revealed this secret.