Svyatoslav Dubyanskiy
Sathya Sai Baba. Supernatural Experiences and Divine Transformation. Book Three
27. Sathya Sai Baba on the resurrection of Jesus Christ
In our time, there has been some doubt that Jesus Christ was crucified. There is such a point of view that supposedly someone else was crucified instead of Jesus Christ. In his lectures, Sathya Sai Baba clearly confirmed that Jesus Christ was crucified on a Friday and resurrected on a Sunday. Thus, Sathya Sai Baba confirmed the authenticity of the greatest miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ described in the New Testament.
Sathya Sai Baba said the resurrection of Jesus Christ has a deep symbolic meaning, which is the revelation of the eternal and divine essence in the heart of every person. Jesus Christ proved his power over death by resurrecting his friend, Lazarus. Having resurrected another, he could resurrect himself, and this happened after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ himself.
Many people ask why was Jesus Christ crucified? Was he really so "weak" that he could not resist his enemies? Of course, the question is not the "weakness" of Jesus Christ, but what was his great mission? He was not a victim in the usual sense of the word, he allowed himself to be arrested and crucified, in accordance with the Divine plan.
Let's remember the famous words of Jesus Christ, himself, that if he needed to, he could ask his Heavenly Father to send twelve legions of Angels who would easily free him and punish the offenders. Consider these amazing words. Jesus Christ was truly a King on a universal scale – his royal power exceeded all conceivable possibilities of any earthly ruler.
The fact he was crucified was by no means a manifestation of his "weakness," but was his free will, which embodied his divine mission.
Another important event that happened on the cross was that Jesus Christ completely forgave and blessed those who executed him. Now, many centuries after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, some Christians are trying to look for those responsible for his suffering and death. What is the point of looking for the guilty when Jesus Christ, himself, forgave everyone and consciously ascended his cross?
Sathya Sai Baba also said during his lectures that Jesus Christ, after the resurrection, went to his disciples to preach the greatness of the Lord God. He appeared before some of the disciples, among whom were both men and women. He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, who was his closest student.
In the canonical Gospels, the role of the main disciple is assigned to the Apostle Peter, however, the real history of the community of disciples was much more complex. After Jesus Christ left this world, the main Jerusalem community of the first Christians was headed by Jacob, the brother of Jesus Christ. Jacob was the elder half-brother of Jesus; for Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, already had children as he was a widower before he married Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
The resurrected Jesus Christ first appeared in front of Mary Magdalene, thereby highlighting her special role among his disciples. Appearing after the resurrection before his disciples, Jesus Christ showed the victory of the Spirit over death.
Sathya Sai Baba said about Jesus Christ that at the beginning of his spiritual path, he realized he was "a messenger of God." Jesus Christ saw himself as a messenger of the good news. He knew he was "an instrument in the hands of God."
After long intensive spiritual practices, Jesus Christ realized he was the "son of God." He awakened in himself the qualities of a "son of God." For modern Christianity, it is considered an axiom that only Jesus Christ is the "son of God," while other people can only be "slaves" of God. This is a rather late and absurd point of view and is in fact completely contrary to the Gospel teaching.
In accordance with what Jesus Christ himself preached, each person can and should, as a result of spiritual practice, reveal in himself the qualities of a son or daughter of God. That is why he preached the great "Our Father" prayer. Think about it, in this prayer each person addresses God as his Heavenly Father.
28. "I and My Heavenly Father are One"
The Gospels describe a story of when Jesus Christ was walking with his disciples and noticed a man blind from birth sitting by the road begging for alms. The disciples said this man was born blind because of sin and then asked Jesus Christ about who sinned: was it the man, himself, or his parents?
Jesus Christ answered with strange words, saying no one has sinned, neither this man, nor his parents. After that, Jesus Christ added that this man was born blind so that the power of God would be manifested on him.
With these words, Jesus Christ proclaimed that all suffering and problems are given to a person in order to force him to practice and develop more actively. All problems, even the most difficult ones, are a wise and loving providence of God aimed at improving the quality of the soul's evolution. Any problem and difficulty in your life is a lesson you must go through and realize, thus you get the opportunity to reach a new level of your spiritual development.
Each person is divine and the idea of sin is a product of ignorance and the desire to manipulate people. If a person is convinced that he is sinful, then he can be easily controlled, and if the secret of his original divinity is revealed, then such a person becomes free.
Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ often retired to the desert, where he practiced meditation and contemplation. He constantly explored the inner divine nature of his soul. At the highest stage of his spiritual path, Jesus Christ realized unity with God before declaring, "I and My Heavenly Father are One."
Jesus Christ reached the highest level of spiritual self-realization, which in the Vedic tradition is called "non-duality" or Advaita. This experience is described in the Biblical writings as the indulgence of the Holy Spirit and the attainment of a mystical experience of oneness with God.
Rereading Sathya Sai Baba's great words about the spiritual path of Jesus Christ. I never cease to be amazed at their depth. This is a truly unique message that cannot be read about in any of the canonical Gospels. Not one of them tell, in such detail, about the inner world and the sacrament of the spiritual path of Jesus Christ.
Everything we know from the Gospel texts to a greater extent concerns the external events of the life of Jesus Christ, as well as his spiritual message in that period of his life after he became a teacher. How can we learn about his inner world and the spiritual path of meditation that he went through? The only one who can help uncover this great secret is the Avatar.
29. Only an Avatar can narrate the inner experience of Jesus Christ
The spiritual path of Jesus Christ, which Sathya Sai Baba talks about, fully corresponds to the classical texts of Vedic mysticism. At first, any spiritual seeker realizes the simplest truths about what is a "servant of God." At this stage of spiritual development, a person perceives himself as separate from God. God is perceived as an external force.
Even when Jesus Christ realized that he was the "son of God," it was still not the final realization. Of course, the son carries the qualities of the Father, but they still remain separate from each other.
The highest self-realization of Jesus Christ was that he understood God as his True Self. God is the True "I" of each person. This is the essence of the famous words of Jesus Christ: "I and My Father in Heaven are One."
Jesus Christ was a unique person, a world teacher, but it cannot be said that God is exclusively in the heart of Jesus. God dwells in the heart of all people as the true Creator and Father and as the original source of wisdom, love, and bliss. God is not only the higher self of Jesus Christ, but also every person.
When Jesus Christ proclaimed his oneness with his Heavenly Father, he spoke not only of himself; he proclaimed the divinity of every person. As a result of the practice of meditation, every spiritual seeker can reveal the greatest treasure of his spiritual heart and find God as his Heavenly Father, and at a higher level, reveal God as his Higher Self.
The philosophy of Christian Gnostics is that each person carries within himself the divine potential of the Christ Consciousness. Intense spiritual practice is necessary to unlock the potential of the Christ Consciousness in your heart.
Jesus, who was born with a special spiritual mission many centuries ago, awakened the Christ Consciousness in himself and became Jesus the Christ. The Christ Consciousness is universal. It is the foundation and essence of the soul of every person. Christ Consciousness is manifested in every sage and saint, and in every person who knows the truth.
At every moment, Christ Consciousness is waiting for its awakening in your Spiritual Heart. In the depths of your meditation there is a manifestation of the Christ within you.
Sathya Sai Baba spoke about Jesus Christ in a completely different way from what is preached in all of the variants of Christian churches. In this world there are a huge number of branches of Christianity and they differ from each other by having their own views and comments on the Gospels. Churches are diverse, and they each understand the essence of the Christian life differently; as such, they offer their own interpretation of the biography and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, many churches try to convince people that God is an external force. Some religions sometimes block people from having a direct experience with God. If God is somewhere out there, far in the sky, then the need for religious organizations as mediators between people and God is quite understandable. However, if you see God as the basis of the soul, as an internal source, then the need for intermediaries disappears.
Nevertheless, across all Christian churches, Jesus Christ is the originally perfect teacher, who from the very beginning of his earthly life was completely enlightened. The view of Sathya Sai Baba is very different from this point of view.
If Jesus was indeed born already enlightened, then why did he begin his preaching activity only at the age of thirty? He could have fulfilled his task from an early age and shown the way of salvation to his disciples and followers. Why did he have to wait for his thirtieth birthday?
Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ practiced various spiritual disciplines throughout his life, as a result of which he gained perfection and only after that he became a world teacher.
30. In the Christ Consciousness we are all one
Sathya Sai Baba perceived each person as the embodiment of Divine Consciousness. Each person for him was the embodiment of the Christ Consciousness. Christ is not only a historical person, but a symbol of the divinity dormant within each person.
In the comments to the Bhagavad Gita, Sathya Sai Baba said: “People should never forget God, for he is the true nature of the soul, one should not believe in the world, in fact, the manifested Universe is an illusion, never be afraid of death, for you are immortal.”
Speaking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Sathya Sai Baba pointed out that it was not only a historical fact, but also a symbol of the immortality of every person.
Enlightenment does not mean that a person receives "something;" on the contrary, there is a loss of false self-identification and the feeling of separateness of one's existence disappears. Enlightenment is the return home, the awakening of the original and true divine reality of one's soul – the Christ Consciousness.
I would like to warn against misunderstanding Sathya Sai Baba's teachings about Jesus Christ. Once again, I want to repeat that Sathya Sai Baba considered Jesus Christ to be one of the greatest spiritual teachers in the history of mankind.
Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ came into this world with a special mission. The essence of understanding his life and mission lies in the fact that one should not perceive Jesus Christ only as an object of worship, but as an example of the spiritual path that everyone has to pass through.
Those steps of the spiritual path that Jesus Christ ascended are the same steps that everyone has to go through. The divine potential inherent in Jesus Christ is absolutely in every person. As individual human beings we are all different, but in the Christ Consciousness we are all one.
31. God helps those who help themselves
A huge number of books about Sathya Sai Baba are being written now. As a rule, the books describe stories that tell about the manifestations of his fantastic supernatural power. Often these stories begin with a person coming to Sathya Sai Baba with some problems, of which Sathya Sai Baba blesses and liberates this person from, and then the “problems” are instantly solved.
Difficulties and sufferings are different. They can be associated with illness, family life, financial failures, the search for one’s destiny, spiritual crises, and deep religious issues.
In most of the stories about Sathya Sai Baba, there is an involuntary self-deception, which consists of the Avatar solving the problems of all people and doing this, supposedly, instantly. Such ideas give rise to numerous illusions and leads to disappointment because, in reality, there is almost never an instant solution to problems.
An Avatar can help you overcome difficult situations, but you still need to solve them yourself because you created them yourself. Of course, there were cases when Sathya Sai Baba helped instantly, but this depended on many factors; in most cases the process of getting rid of problems took time.
I have always enjoyed studying the biography of Shirdi Sai Baba (1835 – 1918), the previous incarnation of Sathya Sai Baba (1923 – 2011). I have some wonderful books about Shirdi Sai which I reread all the time. Studying his biography, I noticed a very interesting thing. Suppose you open a book and read a fascinating story about a certain person who came to Shirdi Sai Baba and asked for help in solving problems and difficulties in life. Shirdi Sai Baba recommended this person to chant the mantra or make a pilgrimage. After fulfilling the prescription, all problems disappeared and the person was freed from suffering.
These stories usually fit onto half a page of a book. To read half a page, you need to spend about a minute, at which point the illusion is created that the problem of the person about whom the story is written was solved in one minute.
If you begin to study the same story more carefully, you gradually realize the story being described can be several years long. A person could suffer for ten years, then come to Shirdi Sai Baba, receive instructions, then practice mantras or prayers for several years, and only then solve all their problems.
32. It is important not to forget to take a step toward God
Divine love requires nothing in return. Sathya Sai Baba carefully directed his energy to absolutely everyone. However, the manifestation of his great love and blessings still required serious efforts on the part of the person himself.
At times it might seem to us that Sathya Sai Baba helped one person and ignored the suffering and difficult life situations of another. From the point of view of ordinary perception, we could sometimes assume that he loved someone and not someone else.
As human beings, we are limited in time, so we expect instant healing from the Avatar. But, according to the divine plan, you may have to learn lessons along the way and overcome many difficulties. By overcoming difficulties, you get the opportunity to develop new qualities in yourself, come to high awareness, acquire important knowledge and skills, learn new things, and reveal your hidden reserves.
By carefully reading the stories in this book, as well as in my other books dedicated to Sathya Sai Baba, you will be able to see that behind every miraculous healing, there is always a person's spiritual efforts, even if it may seem that the healing happened almost instantly.
I often quote simple folk proverbs that say, "God helps those who help themselves." Another folk wisdom recalls that "if you have taken one step toward God, then God will take ten steps toward you." It is important not to forget to take your step.
Yes, I have witnessed some devotees' problems being solved almost instantly, but most of their difficult life situations were solved only over time, and usually after a long and intense practice of meditation, prayer, and deep awareness.
When you read my books, in which I tell all kinds of amazing stories about Sathya Sai Baba, you may get the mistaken impression that he was like a kind magician who instantly solved the problems of all people.
Yes, of course, Sathya Sai Baba was a good magician, and everyone who came to him received blessings. He showed boundless love toward every person, whether that person was his follower or not. However, it should be remembered that behind all miraculous healings there was a time of self-practice, and those who lazily waited for Sathya Sai Baba to solve all problems for them, unfortunately did not receive healing and solutions to difficult situations.
The boundlessness and unconditionality of Sathya Sai Baba's divine love was so significant that he blessed even those who hated him. The greatness of his love did not cancel the personal responsibility of each person for everything that happens in life.
As Divine consciousness we are eternal, but as human beings we are limited in time. Until the age of fifteen or sixteen, a person goes through a period of childhood and adolescence. Mature life is short enough, and after that comes old age. Sometimes you have intellectual, financial, or family problems. When you ask the Avatar for help, the most important question, “when will healing occur?” subconsciously arises.
If your problems are solved in a month. Good. What if in a year? This is already causing tension. What if it takes twenty years to solve your problems? Within the framework of human life, this is a lengthy wait. Time is the highest price.
33. Sathya Sai Baba on the teachings of Krishna
Sathya Sai Baba's spiritual message is universal. He easily quoted, analyzed, and commented on the sacred texts of various traditions. Of course, first of all, in his lectures and books, he commented on the most significant Vedic scripture – the Bhagavad Gita.
In August and September 1984, Sathya Sai Baba gave a series of lectures on the spiritual heritage of Krishna. This course consisted of thirty-four lectures. In my opinion, these commentaries are the most important part of the philosophical heritage of Sathya Sai Baba. Over time, these lectures were published as a book.
This book is divided into three major parts. The first part is devoted to the "path of devotion," the second part is devoted to the "path of wisdom," and the third part is devoted to the "path of action."
In the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita, a large role is assigned to the performance of wise action. The spiritual path consists not only of the practice of meditation, prayer, and the study of sacred texts, it also includes actions performed in society as a service to people.
These actions have an important place in the spiritual life because it is in the performance of wise and noble action that a person reaches the highest point of the spiritual path. It is in action that a person becomes like God and becomes a Godman. Performing an action means the manifestation of one's talents and the embodiment of one's destiny.
Nowadays, generations of people are wondering what their purpose in life is? A successful person is one who has realized his destiny and organized his life in such a way as to actualize that destiny. Of course, an important element of a successful life is a good family, good health, and financial well-being.
There is a very important term in Sanskrit: Dharma, which has many meanings. One of the meanings of the word Dharma is "philosophical teachings," another translation of the word Dharma is "righteousness." What is righteousness? This is the fulfillment of the will of God and the correct disposal of the talents given by God. In essence, Dharma is the embodiment of one’s destiny. To live life in accordance with Dharma means to embody your talents and be a creator.
God is the Creator, but man is also a creator, only on a more modest scale. To fulfill one's Dharma means to be a Creator and to become a worthy son or daughter of God, our common Heavenly Father.
If you do in life what corresponds to your genius, then this action becomes Dharma. Creativity can be any action that suits your talents. Quite often, creativity in our time is associated with the work of artists, poets, and musicians.
But in fact, creativity is any kind of activity that allows you to reveal your potential. It can be any scientific discipline, pedagogy, sports, finance, art, social activity and much more. This is one of the most important aspects of Krishna's teaching, which Sathya Sai Baba constantly pointed out.
