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God is reading

 
 
 
 
>From time to time on the Net there appear salvos of salvific  prose from
persons who say they  have received  a special blessing   or have become
enlightened masters, gotten the call, wanna preach the Word, or perhaps now
channel some critter of immense intellect-  you  know what I mean,  folks
who are certain that the entire  Internet readership  will attend their
e-pistols with reverence- or else.
 
Sometimes those epistles of **The Truth** seems kinda out of balance.  I dunno
'bout you but I have come across a few fundamentalist atheists who can lean
overboard and *bang* me on the noggin just as aggressively as any religous
fanatic.  They tend to curse more colorfully is the only difference.
 
In discussions with many such wobbling wags, both burn-again and bright, I
have found that calling for direct experience, a reliance on facts, a keen
intellect, attention, integrity and balance is key in defusing them; indeed,
balance in and of itself offers a sound rebuttal to all such Preachers, be
they from the Saviour or Skeptic school.  One sure sign of balance is good
manners.  Those who lack good manners are rarely stable, infrequently good
company, and sometimes are just plain notsees.  What a furor!
 
So please, note the manner in which we talk with one another: no sailspitch,
no artillery, no fury, no program, no guarantees, no One Way signs, no or
elses.  If you do read further you will learn something of how I view this man
who calls himself The Poorna Avatar-- but that's all.  I offer no contest
about my views; I will not argue nor debate nor challenge any reply.  If I
have already rubbed you the wrong way, now is a good time to bid adieu.
 
Ok, you are reading on; thanks. Hello neighbor.
 
            Avatar: Sanskrit, the descent of deity into human form.
            Poorna: Sanskrit, full, complete.
 
I first heard about The Poorna Avatar in '73, first met the man in 1976, and
yet maintain contact with him. Many are convinced that he is but a sham
totally unheard of outside the country where he was born and yet lives.  When
one does first hear of him, it is very often from someone who has never talked
with him in private.  Those who do talk about him in public are usually those
who have themselves only read a book or seen a video or heard from someone who
says they knew someone who heard something or other.  Even then he is often
described only in terms of adulation or criticism- rarely is he introduced
without extreme.  I kind of shy away from extremists, pro or con. I prefer
balance.
 
I find that sincere persons, be they aspirants or doubters, do persevere until
they know first hand for themselves what's what.  This post then is addressed
to those who believe in themselves more than in others, and appreciate manners
more than mockery.
 
The Poorna Avatar states as a matter of course that if folks truly wish to
know who he is, they will come and see for themselves. He has authorized no
disciples nor enlisted any representatives nor evangelicals to introduce him
or to decipher his meaning to anyone, nor to deliver any message, nor to
proselytize.  He publically and privately urges those who wish to know who he
is to approach him directly, to see and experience him at first hand.
 
Face to face, one comes to understand what is real, what is fake, what is
spirit, what is intellect, and what is imagination. That dispels doubt.  You
know that old saying- a hungry man sees only restaurant signs? - well, just as
removing hunger by dining removes that delusion so too the spectacles of
religion and doubt, of preference and repulsion, must be removed by experience
before wisdom dawns.
 
Very few people who know him speak about him casually.  As a result, there are
not only no evangelicals in his camp, there are very few outspoken devotees,
fewer still who speak fondly of him on the Net. There are however many Net
critics.  Why? Perhaps because they doubt such a person can be. Doubt, sincere
doubt, is healthy. Sincere doubt comes first hand; it arises from one's own
experience and thought- it does not enter via the ear, from hearsay.  Doubt
based on hearsay is the sign of the enslaved mind. It is easy to dissolve
sincere doubt- arduous to dissolve doubt that is based only on hearsay, and
impossible to remove the doubt of those who do not see any difference.
 
                           A Rose Arose
 
The Poorna Avatar was born as Sathya Narayana Raju, the child of two
impoverished parents in what was then an out of the way no-road-to-it tiny
off-the-map village called Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, India. I celebrate his
69th year among us, for he was born November 23, 1926. The mystic scholar Sri
Aurobindo some distance away and knowing nothing of the Raju family, noted in
his journal on November 24, 1926 an inner awareness that Krishna had again
taken form on earth.
 
Sathya's family (the parents died of old age long ago- however, a brother or
two and one sister are yet alive) ecked out their living as low-level
Kshatriya caste Hindus, meat eaters and hard workers in a village of
vegetarian farmers and Muslim merchants- you know- just plain folk. (His
relatives today have no special place of honour, they live and work and die
just like everyone else).
 
Though his family ate meat, Sathya himself has been a vegetarian since
infancy, unmarried, and chaste. He does support the Vedas, Upanishads,
Shastras, Gita- all the holy texts of Sanathana Dharma- but I have not deduced
that makes him a Hindu, anymore than supporting the New Testament and its
injunctions makes one a Christian. He says he has come to nourish the roots of
all religions.
 
>From his birth he has enjoyed miraculous abilities, most notable of which to
me is the degree of love and clarity and compassion one awakens to in his
presence. He also materializes objects effortlessly, (all kinds, from fruits
to gems to hot candy to animals to image-of-the-moment photographs) and he
frequently appears in multiple places at once, heals the sick, raises the dead
and knows whatever he wishes to know at once- be that a language, a location,
or a history.  (I have seen this at close quarters over extended periods in
all kinds of places with all kinds of people).  He has been doing such things
in public for over fifty years.  Although almost no one in everyday America
has heard of him,  there are more than 8 million of his devotees in the world,
working silently and invisibly to bring about the very thing which the
discerning of all cultures say they want: meaningful work, respect for life,
active support for human values, equality under the law for all persons,
universal education, compassionate health care, peace and prosperity,
self-confidence, love, purpose.  Sathya Sai Baba accomplishes that first by
example, and secondly by direction, both of which in effect actively nourish
the roots of all religions and cultures; that his devotees come from all
religious and cultural backgrounds suggests that he does do so succesfully.
There are priests as well from every religion among his following, as well as
none too few former atheists. My father-in-law was one such.
 
Students and friends and devotees join him in supporting the holiness and
sanctity of all religions as facets of that diamond which is truth, the spirit
of which by many is called GOD or Tao.  As individuals, his adherents tend to
support whatever faith they were raised in by attendance and service.  While
there are some devotees without a religion, there are none without faith since
Sathya personally proves that God is real. How?      Come, see, experience.
 
Bon is not joking, though in saying so I risk the raised eyebrows of my
fellows. Why? Well, many devotees, especially Asian devotees, consider it bad
form to publicize his person or activities.  Most devotees tend to enjoy
being invisible in that way: they just do their work and keep spiritual
matters private.  I am unusual in that I stand up here to shoot off my mouth-
but hey otherwise you would not be reading this.
 
When he was 14, Sathyanarayana Raju quit school, announcing to a mystified
audience of school teachers and fellow students that his `devotees could wait
no longer.'
 
The 14 year old boy in tattered cotton clothing then gave his first sermon as
a song entitled Worship God In The Mind (Manasa Bhajare Guru Charanam, Dustara
Bhava Sagara Tharanam).  Immediately he produced out of season fruits from
nowhere and gave them out to the growing crowd.
 
Sensing some great change in the lad, an elder asked Who Are You? The
boy then threw a handful of jasmine into the air, and the petals fell
into the fully formed letters on the ground spelling the name SAI BABA.
No one in the village had ever heard that name before. The boy said he
was the `avatar of Sai'.
 
Young Sathyanarayana thereupon took the name SATHYA Sai Baba, announcing he
was the second of three Sai Avatars. (An avatar is the descent of the divine
into human form). In October of 1940 as the boy calling himself Sathya Sai
Baba spoke these things, people in that region had never heard of any "Sai"
before, as it is an idiomatic Arabic word and in that isolated region only
Telegu was spoken.
 
In 1943 the villagers were told by travelling holy men that far away in the
north in an off the map no road to it village called Shirdi, there had indeed
lived an old man, venerated by both Muslim and Hindu, who had called himself
the Sai Baba.  He had died in 1918, saying he would come again in 8 years.  He
too had performed miracles in public, like this young boy Sathya, and spoke in
much the same way about the unity of all faiths. After those holy men moved
on, and spread the story of the young Sai Baba of Parthi as they travelled,
the village started getting many out of town visitors, eager to see this Sai
Baba.
 
As stories of the young Sathya Sai Baba's miracles spread, older devotees of
Shirdi Sai heard and came south to check him out. Many Shirdi devotees who
went were then actually called by the young boy by the endearing private names
given them by old Shirdi Sai. Some of the Shirdi devotees did accept him as
their Sai Baba come again; others said no no no the boy Sathya was a charlatan
or a madman and returned to their familiar worship by his tomb up north.
 
Stories of the boy left with every pilgrim, and soon all of India knew of him.
By saying he was the avatar of Sai, (from Sa and Ayi, signifying Divine and
Mother) the boy piqued interest in many Muslim and Hindu study centers. By
1953 he was known throughout India.  Newspapers began calling him an avatar, a
man of miracles.  Few outside India took that title seriously.  Miracle
workers are not unusual sights in India, and boys claiming to be Avatars are
often looking for foolish rich patrons.
 
As the young boy grew into manhood he traversed India, meeting its holy men
and spiritual leaders, and was soon called by them not just Avatar, but Purna
Avatar. That was unusual since a Purna Avatar has _ALL_ the powers and
abilities of GOD: omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and omnifelicity.
One may say Full Incarnations of GOD are uh, well, "rare".  Poorna avatar is
not a messiah, a mahdi, a prophet, a sage or a saint- but is God Incarnate. In
India, their most ancient scripture affirms that *all* is God Incarnate- so
with respect any holy man can be called an avatar- but a Poorna Avatar? A very
rare occurence. What is different about this Sathya Sai Baba, what led those
leaders to acknowledge him as Poorna Avatar, is that he knows that is the
truth, and lives accordingly.  He tells all who will hear that they too are
GOD, and can live accordingly.
 
In the late nineteen-fifties he acknowledged publically that yes indeed he was
GOD on earth, Purna Avatar in full effect, and that he liked humanity a lot
and planned for us to stick around a while, and so would rid the earth of the
threat of nuclear war in just a bit, please be patient. Slowly, one step at a
time, that allows for permanent change.
 
Poorna Avatar is GOD born fully conscious of His Divinity yet coming as Man.
If he is that Being, then what he wills, happens.  (And by using all capitol
letters for GOD, yes I do mean Allah, Jehovah, The Ancient One, Brahma, The
LORD, Buddha, Ahura Mazda, Tao, Paramatma- whatever names and forms of the
divine one chooses).
 
Sai is called Swami. The word means One Who Has Mastered Oneself. He
resurrected a Hong Kong merchant and suddenly became very popular in
Australia, New Zealand, and China. Shortly thereafter the CIA took interest.
President Nixon gifted him a Chevy convertible but was refused a meeting.
Shortly thereafter Prince Charles came.  Before long, Gorby paid a visit.
 
By 1975, American hippies had begun coming in large numbers, then Germans,
then Italians.  After Swami resurrected a California oil man who died in an
Indian hospital, I went for my first visit. That was 1976. I stayed four
months.  While I was there the Prime Minister of Italy's family became
frequent guests.
 
At any given day at the ashram now, one might see presidents or priests or
pundits from around the world waiting in silence for a word from Sai as they
squat on the earth with common folk like me. Some arrive in big limos with
dozens of security guards, yet Swami may or may not see them, depending on
what is required for their spiritual awakening. I have seen statesmen ignored
while their chauffeurs were called in for interview. I myself waited twelve
years to meet privately with him.
 
Sathya Sai Baba now has adherents in all parts of the world from all faiths,
for he actively nourishes ALL faiths. Hindus may see him as Krishna or Siva or
Raama; I have talked at length with Buddhist and Muslim devotees, asking them
how in the world they can accept Swami as God and yet hold to their own
religions. In each and every case I have been told that the direct experience
of his divinity is the only answer to that question. I never quite understood
that, until Swami revealed Himself to me as the Lord God Jehovah. Having been
raised a Christian, I had thought maybe one day I might see him as Jesus, but
no, he did not show himself to me as the Son- but as YHWH, the Father, Abba.
Since then I have come to realize Sai _is_ Siva, Paramathman, Allah,
Adibuddha, all names and forms of The Formless...
 
but then, so are you, and so am I, and so are all of us.
 
Now the world visits that little village where he was born and yet lives.
Recently the Netherlands broadcast across Europe their government sponsored
film about him. In the past two years Japan has `discovered' Sai Baba, and
several major television shows there have been broadcast about him this year.
The current # 7 best seller book in Japan is about his teachings, after the
author's first book about visiting Swami ignited interest in their scientific
community.
 
There are now Sathya Sai Baba Centers in all countries.  Several
governments (not the US) have implemented his educational programmes
nationally.  Thailand and Argentina, India and Australia, are leaders in
implementing his teaching in public schools under the title Education in
Human Values. Teachers queue for the chance to teach in those schools in
India, for they are paragons of what every teacher longs for. Doctors
too tend to have similar reactions when they meet him and examine the
hospitals he builds.  All Sathya Sai hospital care is totally free of
cost to all patients. All Sathya Sai schools, from kindergarten to
post-graduate, are totally free of all costs to students.
 
There are no fees or costs of any kind, neither for the public nor for
devotees for any activity associated with Sathya Sai Baba or his
organization- no tithing of any kind, nothing, zip.
 
 
I said at first that the concept of the Sai Avatars and of Poorna Avatar
suggests One Being manifesting over time in many bodies, each having
full knowledge of all the former's experience. In his first form he was
known as Shirdi Sai Baba, who lived in the north of India and died in
1918. His current body will drop in 2021 or so.  He has materialized
images of the third avatar to come, the Prema Sai form, and has revealed
the village of his future birth, so that none may be deceived when he
reappears in that third form.
 
It is possible that as Prema Sai Baba he may not come with any powers. I
dunno.  Shirdi Sai worked miracles but was seen by only a few thousand
people.  Sathya Sai works miracles and has been seen by millions in
person, and tens of millions on film.  As for the next incarnation, the
Prema Sai- well, I care not one fig about the future at all, since
keeping The Table bussed here and now keeps me right busy. My life is a
feast, and all my friends share it.  You are welcome to join this table.
 
That little brown baby born to those parents in 1926 is now a beaming dark
skinned afro-haired 5'1" fella who yet lives in the small town of his birth
and certainly looks closer to forty than 70 years old.  Fundamentalists have
declared him to be Ssssatan; Skeptics regularly write of him as a quack;
religious leaders deny any public knowledge of him, but many do come to meet
him; heads of state or their representatives visit him often; and recently
four men tried to kill him. He was completely unharmed, not even scratched,
but the villains butchered two friends of his in the attempt on June 6th of
'93.
 
The next day Swami presented himself in public as usual, with no guards nor
special care. For 68 years he walked freely among us. That morning the
president of India immediately sent several hundred soldiers to protect him
(he is a national treasure). Due to government insistance metal detactors were
installed in the following months, and all visitors must now pass through such
security systems in order to even see him. Gone are the days when you could
just walk up and chat. Thirty five years ago he told us to expect that. Few
listened.
 
Swami long ago assured the public that he will not die until his
ninety-sixth year.  He said so in 1951 in print and has repeated that
prediction several times. I hope and pray he keeps that promise.
 
Over the past 50 years, Swami has said lotsa stuff, all of which has occurred.
There are more than 30 books by him, available to the public at prices near
cost. (Books about him tend to cost more, sometimes serving as income to the
publisher).  Very few long term devotees use their experience with him to make
money. Those who do either denounce him as the anti-Christ (Brooke) or
describe him as an interesting fellow who does miracles (Shulman).  There are
a  few critics who publish yet have never met him, (Randi) certainly never
talked with him privately (Beyerstein).  Many continue to boast they have
`proved' him a fake. I read their words, attend their study, but do not seek
their company.  How could I?  They have no experience, no first hand
knowledge, no facts, and do but rant. I give attention only to those who seek
balance, wisdom, and experience, because what we give attention to, grows.
 
If you wish a discussion, a continuing thread about Swami and his teaching is
available at soc.culture.indian. Feel free to post there.  Look for SANDEHA
NIVARINI SATHYA SAI BABA DISSOLVING DOUBTS. If you wish publications, books,
cassettes or photos, do write directly to Sathya Sai Book Center of America
305 West First Street Tustin CA 92680 or call 714 669 0522. If you prefer
private email, feel free to write. If you do wish to converse with me, please
use one of those means; I may not reply to any posts other than that one
thread at s.c.i. That helps me keep my focus; I hope you understand that and
are not offended.
 
Sathya Sai Baba accepts private mail twice daily and he alone reads the
letters. He burns them after, so no one but him ever sees the letters
sent him. He also occassionaly returns unopened those that contain
inappropriate messages. You may write to him at:
 
                                              Sri Sathya Sai Baba
                                              Prasanthi Nilayam
                                              Anantapur District
                                              Andhra Pradesh
                                              India 515134
 
 
 
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