Baba & His Omnipresence
Hislop: One regards himself as a son of Swami. Swami is as the mother and we confide in Him directly, if possible, but if not then by prayer and by writing to him.
Sai: There is an endless flow of letters coming to Swami. Swami reads all the letters, and about 10 a.m. the letters are burned. Swami does everything Himself, so everything is done right. Swami never sleeps. In the middle of the night, He turns off the light and rests in bed because if the light is on, devotees gather. Swami has no need of sleep. But men need at least four hours of sleep; it is essential for them. People think that Baba rests in the afternoon until 4 p.m. But He never rests. He is never tired. He is always working. People are upset when three or four relatives visit. But Baba’s visitors are endless. Baba is attending to every detail of His schools and colleges, and to the millions of His devotees. And for most people the responsibility for their work rests elsewhere, but Baba is responsible for the results as well as for the work.
Hislop: Baba is responsible also for His other worlds, is He not?
Sai: Yes. For saints, rishis, yogis everywhere, Swami is attending to the guidance, protection, and welfare of these wherever they may be.
Hislop: I mean, Swami is responsible for the entire universe, not just this world?
Sai: It is like this. Baba is the switch. The switch is turned on and all goes forward automatically. As the key is turned in a car, then all parts of the car work automatically. In a similar way, the universe is automatically regulated. So-called ‘miracles’ are not miracles, nor do they prove divinity. Baba’s endless work in all the worlds is easy, no weight, always happy—that is the ‘miracle.’
Hislop: Considering the endless problems that Swami deals within this world, it is strange that He is always in bliss, always happy.
Sai: Regardless of events, Swami is always happy, always blissful.
Hislop: Please excuse a question that may seem rude: Swami seems to have different moods. What does this mean?
Sai: A boat glides over the flood but does not allow the flood to enter it. Just as one is at peace in a boat into which no water comes, no worries or concerns enter into Baba’s state of bliss. But ordinary men do not do the same as Baba. They allow ‘water,’ all sorts of worries and concerns to enter the ‘boat,’ and there is no happiness, no bliss, no peace of mind. Baba’s bliss is ever present, regardless of the world. Consider, Baba each month must meet an expense budget of hundreds of thousands of rupees. On His shoulders rest all the affairs of the schools, the ashram, the people within His physical circle, the interviews, the petitions, the correspondence, the problems. That is on the body level. At the same time, on the mental level, Baba is with those who yearn for God, no matter in what area of the world, saints, yogis, rishis, spiritual aspirants everywhere, watching them, guiding them, fostering every movement of heart or mind toward God. But Baba is untouched by all this. His bliss is constant, unchanging. Even outwardly His bliss is constant, even though it may appear that He is angry, impatient, aloof, distant. The ‘anger’ is just sound because the sound of anger is necessary to correct certain situations. In like fashion, ‘aloofness’ or ‘distance’ is just the appropriate role at that time and place. In fact, Baba’s love is constant and unchanging, just as is His bliss.
Hislop: Baba has the inconceivably immense task of the universe. How can He afford to spend time talking to people like us?
Sai: Baba, with His limitless bodies, is everywhere doing the tasks, ‘a thousand heads, hands, feet—Sahasra sheersha purushah sahasraksha sahasrapad.’ It is just this body that sits here talking with you. That is Baba’s omnipresence. The Avatar is beyond the five elements. He is the Creator. Arjuna was the controller, Krishna the Creator. Science is outside; wisdom is inside. Man, turning outward, creates machines, but there his control ends. Witness the three dead astronauts of a few months ago. God is not subject to any limitation. He is the Creator of the elements, their Modifier, their Preserver, their Destroyer.
Hislop: The Avatar is never born, but He appears to take birth in a body which then gradually grows to full size in the ordinary way. The bodies that one sees are impermanent, and Baba does not look to be different.
Sai: The Avatar takes only the one body such as you have described. The difference is that men come into bodies with tendencies and the results of actions. Baba takes this body without any tendencies, completely free, no desires, no attachments, always happy.
Hislop: When one sees Baba as a form amongst all the perishable forms, cannot one point to Him as the one reality amongst all these perishable dream-like forms?
Sai: Yes. The one reality is Baba. ‘Baba’ means, Being, Awareness, Bliss, Atma, one Reality.
Source: Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
