The Sermon on the Mount Revisited

Even during his own lifetime, many viewed Jesus as a savior. He was called “Christ,” from the Greek word for messiah, Christos. One aspect of Jesus’ life work was preaching. His spiritual insights gave him an inner authority that allowed him to touch and have an impact on the consciousness of all those he encountered. His message was simple, yet forceful. The following quotes, taken from his best-known talk, The Sermon on the Mount, illustrate this point. After each excerpt are words from Swami’s discourses which speak to and extend the ideas contained in Jesus’ teachings.

Jesus: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your friends, hate your enemies.’ But now I tell you-love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the sons of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. Why should God reward you if you give love only to the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that. And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that. You must be perfect-just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Matt. 5:43-48

Swami: “There is nothing extraordinary about returning good for good but doing good in return for bad…that is an extraordinary quality, and the practice of such a virtue requires a great deal of skill. However much other people may criticize you, however much they may comment and condemn, you should never lose your forbearance; you should remain unperturbed and continue to enjoy inner peace. When others admonish you, what can you possibly lose thereby? But if by chance on account of weakness, you lose forbearance and patience, then you lose everything. So, you have to learn how to use forbearance and practice properly under all kinds of circumstances.”

Discourses on Bhagavad Gita, 1988, p. 166

Jesus: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Matt. 6:33

Swami: “The Gita says that if you give up all dharma and take refuge in Him alone, then He will save you.   Giving up dharma does not mean that you can bid farewell to virtue and righteous action; it means you have to give up the egoism that makes you think you are the doer.”

Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. VII, “The Voice of the Ocean”

Jesus: “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

Matt. 7:3

Swami: “When you come across a big fault in others, you must consider it to be a very trivial one or a very unimportant one. Then you will not be unhappy. Suppose there is a small fault in you, then you try to magnify it and you feel you, should never let in a similar fault again. By looking at it in that way, you will not have occasion to be guilty of the same fault again. On the other hand, if you conceal your fault and try to point out the fault of others, it will not be safe either for you or for others. Do not always point out the faults of others. On the other hand, if anyone points out a fault in you, prostrate before him because you, by yourself, will not be able to find out where you are in the wrong.”

Summer Showers in Brindavan, 1972, p. 230

Jesus: “Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do so for them.”

Matt. 7:12

Swami: “Do unto others only as you would like them to do unto you.”

Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. VII, The Tell-tale Tongue

Jesus: “Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened to you.”

Matt. 7:7

Swami: “You may complain that you have been knocking, asking, searching for years…. But let me tell you this. You have been asking the devil, not the deity. The devil’s realm is the objective world—outer nature (prakiti). You have been propitiating her, believing that she can confer peace and bliss.”

Words of Jesus and Sathya Sai Baba, p. 18

Jesus: “Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring which will provide him with lifegiving water and give him eternal life.”

Matt. 5:43-48

Swami: “I have come to give you the key to the treasure of bliss, to tell you how to tap that spring, for you have forgotten the way of the blessedness. Very few of you desire to get from Me, the things I have come to give you, namely liberation itself. I am the embodiment of bliss. Come take bliss from Me, dwell in that bliss and be peaceful.”

My Baba And I, J. Hislop, p. 153

Jesus: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them may be compared to a wise man who built his house upon the rock.”

Matt. 7:24

Swami: “Practice-that is the real thing in spiritual matters.”

Words of Jesus and Sathya Sai Baba, p. 225