Panel Discussion on All Paths Lead to God

Six faiths are represented on Swami’s Sarva Dharma symbol, and to explore how all these religions lead to God, a member of each faith spoke at a panel discussion at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Sai Conference this summer. Regrettably, space limitations prevent us from reprinting their entire talks, but we hope that the following edited excerpts will convey a sense of the many paths through which God leads us to Him.

“Let different faiths exist. Let them flourish; let the glory of God be sung in all languages and in a variety of forms. I have not come to defend any sect; I have not come to collect any followers. I have come to tell you about the unity of faiths… Worship Me in the symbols and images which remind you of Me.”             ~Sathya Sai Baba

HINDUISM

Ananth Raman

The father told the son, “Bring me the fruit of the banyan tree.” The son said, “Father, here is the fruit of the banyan tree.” The father told the son, “Break the fruit.” The son said, “Father, it is broken.” The father asked the son, “What do you see?” The son replied, “Sir, I see seeds.” The father told the son, “Break the seed.” The son broke the seed. The father asked the son, “What do you see?” The son said, “Father, I see nothing.” The father said, “That subtle essence that you do not see, there is the whole essence of which the banyan tree is made. It is the Truth, it is the Self, and thou art it.”

This is the first of the four basic truths on which Hinduism is built: Tat Twam Asi (Thou art that), Pragnam Brahmam (The highest wisdom is You), I am Atma Brahmam (This You is Brahmam), and Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahmam). Hinduism basically says that Brahmam alone is real; everything in the world is unreal. Every atom in a human being is a bundle of total energy expressing Divine Will. Matter and energy are indivisible, and they are all part of the Divine Will. It is this Divine Will that circulates through every pore of the human being; and the purpose of human existence is to reach that ultimate level of consciousness.

In Sai, God became man so that man could become God by becoming aware of this Divinity. When Sai addresses us as Divyaatma Swaroopa (Embodiments of the Divine Soul), Prema Swaroopa (Embodiments of Love), and Ananda Swaroopa (Embodiments of Bliss), He is, in fact, reminding us of the Divinity in each of us. He brings about this process gradually. He first asks us to experience “I am in the light.” Then He raises us to the next stage, “The light is in me.” Finally, He raises us to the true non-dualistic stage, “I am the light.”

A devotee once asked Baba, “Baba, I listen very carefully and intently for Your direction whenever I have a problem, but I don’t seem to hear Your voice.” Baba replied, “When you are attuned to Me, your voice is My voice.”

Sai constantly addresses this problem of unity, universality, and Divinity. He says, “Sai has come in order to achieve the supreme task of uniting us as one family—the entire mankind to the bond of brotherhood by offering and utilizing the Atmic Reality in each one in order to reveal the Divine, which is the basis on which the entire cosmos exists, and instructing all to recognize the common Divine heritage that binds man to man. All men are of one lineage. All … is part of one organism. Learn to live as man.” This is sadhana (spiritual practice).

A few years ago, the theme of this very conference was conceptualized beautifully when Baba sang in His mellifluous voice in the Poornachandra auditorium:

Sarva Roop Dharma Shantam
Sarva Namadharam Shivam
Satchidanand Roopam Advaitam
Sathyam, Shivam, Sundaram

I am all Yours, ascribed to the Almighty
I am the Embodiment of Perfect Peace
I am Known by all means through which
the Almighty is addressed…and adored
by men
I am the embodiment of goodness
I am Being, Awareness
Bliss, Atma, One without a second
Truth, Goodness, Beauty.

Sai constantly addresses this problem of unity, universality, and Divinity. He says, “Sai has come in order to achieve the supreme task of uniting us as one family—the entire mankind to the bond of brotherhood by offering and utilizing the Atmic Reality in each one in order to reveal the Divine, which is the basis on which the entire cosmos exists, and instructing all to recognize the common Divine heritage that binds man to man. All men are of one lineage. All…is part of one organism. Learn to live as man.” This is sadhana (spiritual practice).

BUDDHISM

Genzo Makino

I had been a Buddhist monk for 16 years, going from home to home asking for alms to support my master’s family. My master became an alcoholic, and even though I had vowed to follow him all the way, I could not do so any longer. I began to study Buddhist scriptures, which, it is said, number about 84,000. The more I read, the more I wanted to know what Buddha really taught when He was alive. I prayed every night to Lord Buddha, “Please lead me to your original Truth.” Shortly after that, I came across a Sathya Sai Baba book, Bhagwatha Vahini. My master had told me that at the age of 40, I would meet an Embodiment of God, and through Him I would attain liberation. I didn’t quite believe him at the time.

I said goodbye to my master and came to New York. I wasn’t sure which way I was going, but then I met a devotee who gave me Sai Baba books. Soon I found myself in Puttaparthi and was called in by Baba for an interview. “What are you doing?” He asked me. I said that I wasn’t doing anything but that I used to be a disciple of this master for 16 years. Baba said, “All paths lead to the same God.” I had a lot of questions, but that one answer soothed my mind and I didn’t have to ask anything anymore.

I have several Buddhist monk friends in Japan who have become Baba devotees. One of them, who everybody thought would be a guiding star of one great school of Japanese Buddhism, found out about Baba and went to Ooty. In the first interview, he received four rings from Baba. Later during that stay, when he was resting under the shade of a tree after doing seva, Swami came to him and started talking in perfect Japanese about enlightenment. They spoke for about 15 minutes, and the monk was deeply touched.

ZOROASTRIANISM

Farida Parakh

Ours is an ancient Persian religion which is practiced by about 100,000 people worldwide, the majority of whom live on the west coast of India. We are also known as Parsis, because our roots trace back to the province of Pars in southwest Iran.

After the Islamic conquest of Iran, some Zoroastrian refugees landed on the shores of Gujarat in India and asked for asylum but were turned down. The Indian ruler sent a pitcher filled with milk to the Zoroastrian priest, symbolizing that his land was filled to the brim. In response, the priest mixed in a spoonful of sugar and sent the powerful message that we would assimilate with sweetness and love. That impressed the Raja and he allowed entry.

The Zoroastrian scripture is known as the Avesta, and its language is close to the Vedic [Hindu scriptures) one. A lot of parallel thoughts and teachings exist in both the scriptures. There is reference in the Rig Veda to “The One Reality,” named by Zarathustra as Ahura Mazda—the creator of life and matter.

Our religion has inspired a great deal of recognition all over the world, but controversy has surrounded certain essential parts of it. The Zoroastrian community allows no converts. One has to be born into the religion. Sections of Bombay are segregated and Parsi colonies are set up where people from other faiths are not allowed to reside. In the eyes of an Orthodox Parsi, these rules enhance the faith and keep the religion pure.

As a teenager growing up in the 60s, I was not ready to accept that theory. Baba’s unconditional love for all mankind was where I wanted to be. Down the road from where I grew up in Bombay, a fakir had set up a shrine on the sidewalk for Shirdi Sai Baba and Sathya Sai Baba. I would visit it every day and have satsang (good company) with Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians. Baba attracted them all, no matter what their faith. That unity and love was the essence of the shrine.

Living in the U.S., I have come closer to my culture, and with Swami’s grace, I have begun to understand the teachings of Zarathustra. There is an inner desire to truly research my religion. I am also learning to be above and beyond negative issues stemming from externals. Today the focus is on taking stock of my own character defects and praying to Swami to remove them and fill me up with His love.

My life has taken a complete turn-around. In March of 1992 I was in an emergency room with almost no vital signs and no desire to live. Two years later, Swami has not only given me my life back, but He is filling it with love, self-worth, and self-confidence.

If you had told me ten years ago that I would be re-exploring my Zoroastrian roots and standing here before you sharing all this, I would not have believed it. But as you all know, each day is a new beginning with Him. The person that l was is slowly being hammered and chiseled into a new being. This transformation could never have come about without His love and grace.

JUDAISM

Ronne Marantz

When I was about five years old, I was standing on an armchair in my parents’ apartment building in Brooklyn. As it was night, I was looking at the window and could not see anything in the darkness except my reflection. As I looked at this reflection, I thought to myself, “Which one is real? This one or that one?” That is a great Upnishadic (Hindu scripture) question. But it was my destiny in this life to search for what is real and what is not through Judaism. Judaism is a path of bhakti (devotion); it is the path of heart and the path of love.

I’d like to share a story with you. It concerns a great monastery that had fallen on hard times and now had only five monks, all over 70 years of age. Near it in the woods was a hut that a rabbi would use for a hermitage. One day the abbot of the order thought to visit the rabbi to see it by some chance he could offer some advice that might save the dying order. “I know how it is,” the rabbi commiserated. “The Spirit has gone out of the people. It is the same in my town. No one comes to the synagogue any more. I have no advice to give. The only thing I can tell you is that the Messiah is one of you. The Messiah is one of you.”

When the abbot returned to his monastery, he told the other monks what the rabbi had said. They pondered his words and began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the chance that one of them might be the Messiah. Without even being conscious of it, people who came occasionally to visit the monastery and its grounds began sensing this aura of extraordinary respect. Hardly knowing why they were drawn back and brought their friends to show this special place. Some young men asked to join, and it once again became a thriving order, thanks to the rabbi, reviving the center of light and spirituality in the valley.

ISLAM

Tarique Quadir

To us Islam means the path of peace. It is the path of surrender to One God, who created everything. Mankind is His greatest creation, and all of mankind was created equal. A Muslim should never serve anyone but God, never fear anyone but God, and this God is all-powerful, all-knowing, present everywhere equally, infinitely patient, most compassionate, most merciful and most just. God is not confined to any form. though He exists in all forms.

I grew up in a family with fairly strong faith in Islam. I believed that all religions did come from God, but that they had been pampered and were not as pure as Islam is. These ideas, however, changed greatly since I came to the U.S.A. ten years ago. Then I was looking for a way of life, a philosophy, a path that should take into account the diversity of cultures, people, nations, and nature and all its creations. So first I studied Western philosophy, then Eastern philosophy. I was deeply moved by Lao Tsu, by his simple and direct words of wisdom. It was a big realization for me that the Eastern philosophies talked about the highest truth in a pure form that I had thought only Islam taught.

One afternoon I wished I could be with a Realized Being; I wished I could meet the Buddha or Lord Shiva, Mohammed or Lahari Mahashaya. I had met a Sai Baba devotee at the bank where I worked who had told me about Baba’s miracles, but I did not pay much attention. This afternoon when I was getting frustrated about meeting a Master, I remembered the awesome-sounding miracles. I walked to a bookstore in Manhattan, bought The Holy Man and the Psychiatrist, and started reading it in the subway on the way home. By the time I finished the first couple of pages, I knew that this Sai Baba was extremely serious and really deep. I cried all through the book. I don’t remember eating or sleeping until I finished the book, by which time my heart was with Sai Baba.

My mind, however, demanded that my faith in Baba be validated by Islam. So, immediately I went looking for books on Muslim mystics. As I read their words, I was really happy that I did not find any difference whatsoever between their teachings and those of Sai Baba.

But there was a final cheek I wanted to make. I prayed to Allah to let me know, at any cost, if there was any difference between Him and Sai Baba. While waiting for God’s answer to my prayers, I kept reminding myself over and over, sometimes even in my dreams, that I was one with everyone and everything, that I was the earth, the trees, the wind, the sky, the birds. I was one with the cosmos, and beyond; I was one with Mohammed, Sai Baba, Jesus, and all such beings; I was God. Gradually, anger, hatred, envy, jealously made less and less sense and day by day I got happier. Finally, I came to conclusion that it was OK with Allah if I called Him by the name of Sai Baba. That’ s how I became a Sai devotee.

In Bangladesh, I spoke to some Muslim mystics about Sai Baba. When I showed their leader a picture of Baba, he said, “Oh He is a great saint. Hold on to Him, don’t let Him go.”

CHRISTIANITY

Dee Rieber

I was born one of the oldest in a family of nine children, and most of the care of my brothers and sisters was given to me. We went to church on Sundays, did all those things that the church laws tell you to do, and I loved Jesus Christ with all my heart. I still do.

When I was introduced to Baba by June Rieber, who later became my mother-in-law, we were teaching in the same inner-New York City school. She invited me into her room one day and started talking about Sathya Sai Baba. That guy was strange-looking, but I wanted to know more about Him and about the things that He did and, more importantly, the things that He said. As I came to know Him, I saw that He and Jesus were very similar. They were like brothers.

I wanted to know more, so I began going to bhajans and began learning. I am still learning. Although I had the [Christian] orientation, loved Jesus and wanted to do good, a lot of maya (illusion) was blocking me on my spiritual path, keeping me from loving and being loved. It wasn’t until Baba came into my life that I was able to look at myself and say, “”Wow! Now I see. Now I understand what’s blocking me. I have been really destructive, and I don’t want to be destructive anymore. I want to learn how to love and be loved.” Baba helped me. His teachings taught me a great deal. It was through Baba that the real transformation of my life took place. I have much to be grateful for in my life, and it is a continuing process.