36. You don’t have to reach God, you already are
In his lectures on the teachings of Krishna, Sathya Sai Baba said that lack of attachment does not mean the need to give up all of one’s property, leave one’s family, retire to the forest and become a hermit. Genuine spiritual practice begins when you experience deep spiritual suffering from being separated from God. The desire to know God should not be just a beautiful idea, but a deep desire.
Sathya Sai Baba said the wonderful words that you should start your life with the question: «Who am I?» and end your life with the realization that you are God. You must realize your inner divinity and discover in your heart the greatest treasure, which is God, your true reality.
For most people, such words of Sathya Sai Baba may seem extremely strange. How can you say that I am God when the whole world around us reveals our limitations and weakness?
The path of deep meditation can unlock infinite potential and lead to the revelation of the God within. All that can be said in words is philosophical concepts, but in order for this to become your actual experience, it is necessary to practice meditation in depth gradually leading you to the actual experience of your true inner reality of God.
During one of the Christmas lectures, Sathya Sai Baba said that once a student asked Jesus Christ, “teacher, when I have problems, how should I solve them?”
To which Jesus Christ answered, “you of little faith, love the God who dwells in your heart.”
Sathya Sai Baba continued the story saying, “Jesus Christ told his disciple that he should love even those who hate him, because God also dwells in their hearts.” The cause of suffering is artificial division.
If you love everyone, how can you suffer? Love and suffering are incompatible. Your heart is filled with bliss. You love everyone because in the eyes of everyone you see the Christ Consciousness. In order to see the Christ Consciousness in another person, you must first discover the Christ Consciousness within yourself. Open God in your heart and learn to see him in every person you come in contact with throughout your life.
Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ told his disciple he did not need to invite God into his heart, for he was already there. What you have to do is realize that God is in your heart at all times; only then will you become God. You don’t have to reach God – you already are.
The Vedas say, «knowing God, become God.»
What does it mean? How can one know God and how can one become God? You can know God only by knowing yourself. Having discarded all false self-identifications, only God remains. It is, in fact, impossible to become God, because you already are God. “This” can only be “discovered” in the process of deep meditation.