Oneness with Divinity

Five + Four + One = ONE!

by KE Seetha Ram

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s (Swami’s) enlightening discourses offers insights for realizing the innate divinity in all of us. This article aims to succinctly summarize and elicit an equation from Swami’s discourses on how engaging ourselves in Sathya Sai activities would efficiently take us on the journey towards the realization of this Oneness. 

FIVE (Faith in GOD IS)

The body with the five sense organs, made up of the five elements, is like an armour. The mind is the basis for this body and the cause of all worldly activities and experiences. A body without the mind is like a school without a teacher, a crop withering for lack of water, and an electric wire without the current--utterly useless and lifeless. Swami reminds us to engage the body in activities that turn the mind inward.

First, we must nurture good thoughts. Good thoughts are charged with immense power, purity and divinity. They are life-giving, life-sustaining, and will yield the desired fruits. The prime requisite for the cultivation of good thoughts is association with good people. Swami has expounded on the value of good company with several stories in His discourses.

Good thoughts lead us to make good resolutions in life. The union of good resolutions with faith in “God is” is equivalent to connecting the positive and negative ends of electric wires; through this combination, any great thing can be accomplished.

The world can be turned into an earthly paradise if we strengthen our faith in God and demonstrate it in our actions, by simply singing the glory of the Lord, and serving others without any expectation. By, thus propagating the five-letter phrase “God Is" one can promote the love of God and the fear of sin among the people.  

FOUR (Self-Less SEVA)

The scriptures distinguish the divine body and the material body, which each entity and being possesses. The divine body of everyone cannot be cognized by the senses.  Swami explains four innovative approaches to experience the Divine by selfless service, or Seva, to others. First, believe that the Lord is immanent everywhere, just as ghee interpenetrates every drop of milk. When we acquire this unwavering understanding, we will be fully satisfied with ourselves, and naturally begin to love others without prejudice. Second, adore the Lord as the breath that sustains all life, with His limbs of Fire, Wind, Rain, and Sun. With this understanding, we will feel confident to willingly share our resources with the needy. Third, picture the many-faceted Divine symbolizing the attributes that are evident in each facet (e.g. Rama for Righteousness, Krishna for love, Ganesha to remove obstacles, Sarasvati for knowledge, etc.). As we ruminate on the stories of the Lord in many forms, they will motivate us to practice those Human Values in our own life situations. Fourth, practice the nine modes of worship. This last approach appears slow but it definitely achieves the result when sincerely followed, and therefore embodied in the nine-point code of conduct prescribed by Swami. The approach begins with participating in the regular activities of the Sathya Sai Organization, which cover all the nine modes of worship.

ONE

Swami says that the Gayatri is all Gods in One.  By reciting the Gayatri mantra three times a day, and meditating on the Gayatri, one can become aware of the inner motivating principles of the five elements in the human body. The Gayatri mantra also cleanses the human body and sublimates the five senses.

In summary, with the combination of all these one can realize the innate divinity, which is the goal of life.

Be Heroes Not Zeroes

Without the company of the Lord, we are all mere Zeroes. Developing the awareness that the Lord is within us, gives us courage and confidence to begin a new journey in life to become Heroes who can realize the Oneness of Divinity.  For the crop of life, courage and confidence are the best manure; they are also the best insecticides.  Swami says, “Be like lions in the spiritual field, rule over the forest of the senses and roam fearlessly with full faith in victory. Be heroes, not zeros”.

Notes for readers:

Kindly use the picture to appreciate the five senses of the body with the mind; and the four paths, the gayatri mantra leading to the awareness of Oneness with the Divine.

(The views in this article are the author’s personal reflection on the messages in Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s selected discourses delivered in 1981-1986.)