57. Vision and perception
People came to Sathya Sai Baba with various difficult situations. Sometimes he blessed them, and the difficult situations disappeared, but sometimes he refused to solve someone’s problems. There were cases when, after his blessing, the situation escalated even more. How to understand it?
Sathya Sai Baba could heal any disease. We know of a large number of such cases. However, there were situations when people came with severe illnesses, but Sathya Sai Baba refused to heal them. After that, the person suffered and died at a relatively young age. How to understand such situations?
People came to Sathya Sai Baba with colossal financial collapse. Some he helped with his blessings and people solved their difficult business issues, and to some he gave a resounding, no. How can we understand such unpredictable behavior?
We understand that the Avatar sees the situation so deeply that we, as human beings, cannot comprehend it. There were rare cases when Sathya Sai Baba explained he did not give a person an energy flow of money because the person would not know what to do with it and would destroy his life, and possibly the fate of those around him.
I remember a case where one man was seriously ill and Sathya Sai Baba did not heal him. The man died at a young age. Sobbing relatives came to Sathya Sai Baba and he explained that based on the evolution of the soul of this person, it was good for him to die from diseases at a young age and in the next incarnation to reach a completely different level of spiritual development. Such situations are difficult to understand with the ordinary human mind.
We are often attached to our relatives and friends and such explanations are hard to accept. We love our close relatives and to understand that the body of a loved one has died, but the soul continues its journey on a higher level is complex.
There have been many similar situations where we think in human terms while Sathya Sai Baba perceives reality in perfect knowledge of the evolution of the soul. Problems and suffering are sometimes important factors in pushing a person to a more intense spiritual quest. Human evolution occurs as a result of regular practices of meditation and prayer and, most importantly, deep work to realize the primordial divine essence of the soul.
Some claim they do not want to make any effort in their personal development because it, supposedly, means they do not believe in the power of Sathya Sai Baba. That is why such people believe they need to completely entrust their life to Sathya Sai Baba, while remaining in complete inaction. Yes, trusting the Avatar is important, but that doesn’t mean shifting the blame. Inaction is spiritual laziness and fear of taking responsibility.
Do happiness and suffering really depend on external circumstances? If this were so, then all socially successful and wealthy people would be guaranteed happiness. Happiness and suffering are two sides of the same coin. They are constantly revolving. Life is not permanent – it is a cycle of imaginary happiness and illusory suffering. Nothing is permanent in this world except the eternal Lord and his Holy Spirit.