Q & A with Bhagavan Archive

Hislop: Is not praying to God the same as begging? Sai: To beg from an equal puts you down and him up. But when you ask God, you rise up to His level. You

Hislop: Swami says that ‘All is done by the Lord, and not by you.’ But the world over, there is the concept that man is responsible for his own actions. Sai: You are God.

Swami: Oh! When did you arrive? You were not visible anywhere outside. Are you well? Bhakta: It’s two days since I came. I see here a number of people everywhere outside. I hear the

Swami: O, you have come! Well, what is the news? Bhakta: What other news have we except yours? I heard that Your Kerala tour was most pleasant and wonderful. I am sad I was not

(A visitor, a prince from another state of India, came to Bhagavan, offered some acres of land for a yoga center and asked Bhagavan to visit his state and use His will to avert

Bhakta: Swami, tell me how we should, generally, conduct ourselves. What are the qualities we should possess? Which type of subjects should we try to under­stand? To receive the Divine grace and to attain

Q. You have been saying that jnana is essential; well, what exactly is the function of jnana? A. Jnana makes you realize the atma–swarupa, that is to say, your own Reality. Q. And yoga?

Hislop: One hears about various paths to self-realization. What does this mean? Sai: There are three paths. There is that of devotion; the guru guides and all is left to the guru to perform.

Sai: Who are you? Who are you? Hislop: I am the accumulation of all my past, all my ideas. Sai: Who is that ‘My’? Who is that ‘My’? Who is that ‘My’ who is claiming? Between the

Bhakta: Namaskaram [greeting], Swami. Swami: Happy to see you. You seem very tired, and in this summer travel is even more exhausting. Take rest for a little while, we can converse thereafter. Bhakta: When

Q. Is there any mantra [spiritual formula] or japa [recitation of the name] that will give us this shanti [peace] state that you spoke about just now? If there is any mantra, which is the important one? A. Mantra and

Hislop: In America, when they hear of Sai, some people declare that he is the anti-Christ. Sai: Some individual ideas of some people. Goldstein has individual ideas. Hislop has individual ideas. I know what is not