Q & A with Bhagavan Archive

H: What does surrender to the Lord mean in such common things as shaving, going to the market, walking and so on? Sai: Surrendering to the Lord is surrendering all thoughts and actions, not

Hislop: Swami, on the road to Simla, drivers were very reckless in trying to stay close behind Swami’s car. At one moment, our car, which was going at a high speed, swerved to miss

Hislop: Once he has tasted sugar, one never mistakes salt for sugar. If that bliss of which Swami speaks is our real nature, how is it that we confuse the unreal for the real?

Q: I have heard it said that the lokas are all in the body of man! Some experienced persons and some men learned in the Shastras (scriptures) have said so; is that true? What are

Question: Swami, Kaikeyi had sent Rama to the wilderness on the eve of his installation as the crown prince. What was Rama’s attitude to her? Generally, it would be one of hostility, wouldn’t it?

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

Q. What exactly is tapas [penance], Swami? A. It means the end of the activities of the senses; one must be the master of all of them. There should be no trace of craving

Hislop: Usually, the idea [of prayer] is that one should go to a quiet place and be in a quiet mood when he wishes to pray. Sai: Whenever and wherever you put yourself in

Visitor: (carrying a professional camera) Can I take your picture now? Sai: (in English): How many are here? Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten… twelve. Visitor: Twelve disciples. Sai: This is

Hislop: Of the many ‘roads’ to self-realization, what is the short cut? Sai: The short cut is this way: the name of God is the seed, love is the water by which the crop

Question: All things originate from pranava [also known as the primodial sound Om] and all things final­ly merge in pranava, they say. Then why is it that the very elders who say this declare

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