19. I trust myself, then I trust God who dwells in my heart
If you have not lit the lamp of wisdom in order to illuminate your life path, then you will wander along a foggy path filled with fear as your fellow traveler.
(Sathya Sai Baba – Jnana Vahini)
Ignorance and lies do not have self-existence, for ignorance and lies are a lack of understanding of wisdom and truth. «Self» and God are originally one, which is why the Vedas proclaim: «I AM God.» If a person does not see the light, then it seems to him that he arrives in darkness, although in reality darkness does not have self-existence, for darkness is not manifested light.
Walking along the spiritual path, we achieve nothing, because we already possess everything. Moving to the heights of the spirit, we discover what already exists from the very beginning. Of this great truth, God declared to Moses, «I am who I am.» The deep meaning of this great phrase is that the true name of God is «I». Jesus preached the same thing: “I and my Heavenly Father are one.”
There are many types of conditioning that create feelings of inferiority and limitation. A person who perceives himself as a separate being always suffers, but one who feels the unity of all that exists is in joy.
To light the lamp of wisdom means to realize the original unity. When you talk to God, you are essentially talking to your Higher Self. You are listening carefully to the message of God, and in fact you are listening to your Higher Self.
You listen to your intuitive feelings and hear an inner voice; you trust yourself, which means you trust God who lives in your heart. In joy, you embody your destiny in life, which means you are doing the work of God who directs your every action.
20. Diamond surprise
Even though Sathya Sai Baba is gone, and we are awaiting the day of his next incarnation, he continues to live strongly in my heart and memory. This next story is about a time when Sathya Sai Baba was invited to visit Bombay by Indulal Shah.
A reception was arranged in Mr Shah’s house in honor of his dear guest, Sathya Sai Baba. During the gala dinner, the guests were served a huge amount of food, but Sathya Sai Baba barely ate any. It is customary in India for people to lavishly treat their dear guests. Because Sathya Sai Baba was a dear guest, people began to treat him and they prepared great lashings of food, although all this was unnecessary. During that day, Sathya Sai Baba only ate micro-doses of the simplest food, which was enough for him.
Sathya Sai Baba’s chief interpreter, Anil Kumar, once told me that he asked Sathya Sai Baba how he manages to get by with almost no food, since food is one of the main sources of energy. To this Sathya Sai Baba replied with beautiful and deep words. He said that he did not need to get energy from food, for he himself was energy. It all depends on how you perceive yourself. The true «I» is the original source of all things, including energy. That is why Sathya Sai Baba did not need much food and sleep in order to be active and productive during the day.
Going back to Sathya Sai Baba’s visit to Bombay City and the grand reception at Mr. Shah’s house, there among the many dishes, the guests were served Vada, which are small round-shaped pies. Sathya Sai Baba turned to the daughter of the owner of the house and told her to choose any Vada, and then, before eating it to carefully break it into two parts. The girl did so. Upon breaking the pie into two, she found gold earrings encrusted with diamonds. In such an unusual way, Sathya Sai Baba materialized this beautiful gift for her.
Another similar story happened in the late ‘90s in the South Indian mountains, in the ancient town of Kodaikanal. Sathya Sai Baba invited some devotees for dinner. During dinner, Puri, a type of traditional flatbread, was served. Sai Baba turned to one of those present and told him to choose any cake, and then break the cake in half before eating it. When the man broke the cake, he found a golden ring inside. The man looked at Sathya Sai Baba with surprise. Sathya Sai Baba smiled at the man and said this was a gift especially for him.
Watching the amazing life of Sathya Sai Baba over the years, I stopped being surprised by miracles. Gradually, such events began to be perceived as something natural. This is probably for the best, because when you stop being surprised by the supernatural, you begin to think about the deep meaning of what is happening.
Sometimes I tried to understand the meaning and spiritual significance of Sathya Sai Baba’s miracles, and sometimes it began to seem that there was no need to look for a special meaning, because the «games of the Lord» have no logical explanation – they are a manifestation of love and are like beautiful poetry; they are beautiful in themselves.