The Vast Unknown

I am an executive in an American business organization, and I have a doctoral degree from a major university. So I am the kind of materialistic, over-educated person who would be considered most likely to give abrupt dismissal to talk about a living Avatar. But regardless of the materialistic background and the skeptical mood of my inquiry here at Prasanthi Nilayam, I find now present in myself a feeling and an attitude unexpected and surprising to me in the extreme.

I do not know how to describe this in a way that would make sense to another westerner. But, somehow, my feeling is that I am as a young son in the household of a wise father and a loving mother, in whom I have unreserved trust. How this could be, when I am a grown man and when I have known Sri Sathya Sai Baba for only a few days, I really cannot explain. Nevertheless, there it is, that is the attitude and the feeling, and there does not seem to be any worry for me, whether I can make intellectual sense out of it or not.

I have been affected intellectually also, of course. The combination of sweetness and strength in Swami’s smile, His fascinating personality that only a poet could adequately picture in words, irresistibly attract the attention of the observer. The most amazing acts of creation, accomplished so easily, in a casual and almost playful manner, strike shattering blows at the stiffness of one’s mind. The almost incredible personal experiences of Swami’s devotees draw the portrait of an unique and beautiful human being, with attributes extending beyond anything we have ever conceived of as belonging to man.

It seems to me impossible for a limited intelligence to comprehend the full reality of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba as He really and truly is. He belongs to, or perhaps is in Himself, the vast unknown. But such comprehension is not essential; our inability to comprehend that vastness does not matter, for His teaching is sufficient to challenge the full capacity of men and women, from the most humble to the most exalted. Swami says that God is love, that God is the subtle essence of life, and that each human being has the strength to realize God’s love as his own essence, if he chooses to.

My wife says that if the word ‘son’ includes ‘daughter,’ then this statement is her own statement also. Therefore, we sign jointly as:

Jack and Magdalena Hislop, Los Angeles
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, March 1968