God Ever in Our Midst (Poorna Avatar Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

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Widely known as the Man of Miracles, Sri Sathya Sai Baba remains an unexplained phenomenon to mankind at large. God Incarnate to His followers, a World Teacher to admirers, Baba has won the praise even of doubters and detractors by His singular pursuit of the ideal that 'Service to Man is service to God'. That He continues to lead a global Mission from the subtle, even after leaving the physical in 2011, makes the Sathya Sai saga an unprecedented, absolutely amazing example of divinity in action! In this personalized biography, Hiramalini Seshadri captures the essence that is Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Her transparent honesty, strength of conviction and logical analysis make the book a compelling read; the heart warming narrative makes the book un-put- downable! A thought provoking read, this book could change your life!

An alumnus of the Christian Medical College, Vellore, Dr. Hiramalini Seshadri was the Best Outgoing Medical student of the Madras University and the Medicine Prize winner for MD at the Madras Medical College. The first Indian lady to be elected to the British Society for Rheumatology, she has authored many scientific articles including a Chapter on Rheumatology in a textbook of Clinical Medicine. She is also a popular free-lance writer for newspapers and magazines and is a vocalist of the Sai Kriti Concert group.

Until recently, a Consultant with the Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, and Honorary Visiting Rheumatologist at the Sri Sathya Sai General Hospitalsat Whitefield and Prashanthi Nilayam, she re-located to Singapore in 2016 and is Senior Consultant, Healthcare, at an NGO there. With Dr. Seshadri Harihar, she has co-authored the books, 'The Science of Medicine' and 'Educare'. lovers of Carnatic Music will find 'Sai Kriti Sangraha' a collection of compositions bearing the 'Mudra' Sai, delectable. A recent best seller is 'Sookshma Sathya Sai- the unseen basis of the seen', and a coffee table book, 'living for God is True Devotion', on the devotees of Singapore, both ably edited by daughter, Dr. Divya Seshadri.

Shalom! Salaam! Sairam! - as they would say in Jerusalem, Mecca and Prashanthi Nilayam, the abode of the Highest Peace. Welcome, dear reader, as we set out on a journey to the Avatar of the Age, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Avatar? What's that, did you say? According to the ancient wisdom, God periodically dons a human form and name and descends on earth to bring wayward humanity back to the Godward path. Such a being is known as an Avatar. Rama, Krishna, Buddha and so on are some of the recent Avatars of God. The Sai Avatar is the latest in that line.

What evidence is there that there is a God, a Supreme Being, a Creator? The ancient wisdom states that the very existence of creation posits that there must be a Creator; for as Julie Andrews sang with sound common sense in The Sound of Music, "Nothing comes from nothing; nothing ever could ...,"

The next question that follows is, why did God create all of us? Why are we born? Is there a purpose in life? Is there a purpose for creation? We are all born and then we grow up; we get married and have children; earn some money or name maybe; then we grow old and sick and finally die. Is there any greater purpose than that in life? This is a question that countless others have asked before us; an issue that man has pondered over from the dawn of human existence. Among the handful who seem to have found the answer are the sages of this ancient land that is Bharat (India). Rishis they were called; and they spent their whole lives in single- minded pursuit of a solution to this question. They asked of themselves, "Who am I? Why am I here?" "I am not the body or the mind or even the intellect," they reasoned. "I am something that animates and runs this body-mind-intellect apparatus. I am that consciousness," they reasoned.

Next, they sought to reach that plane of pure consciousness. This they did by evolving a series of physical and mental exercises which included righteous living, moral conduct, concentration, meditation and so on, in an attempt to subdue and then get beyond the body-mind-senses and intellect. This process is what is meant by the much-misunderstood term 'Yoga'. And some of them actually succeeded in reaching that level of pure consciousness. As they went along the steps of Yoga, they discovered that all matter and energy forms were subservient to conciousness; that by mere willing, pure consciousness could effect any material or energy change; that even time and space are no constraints to consciousness.

Then they made the greatest discovery of all; that just as, say, you can tune in to CNN on the TV, they could tune into that Universal Pure Consciousness or GOD! This led to some astounding discoveries. Firstly, they discovered that, in fact, all consciousness is identical with, and part of, universal consciousness.

So then the first question, "Who am I?" was answered. "I am part of God and so are you," they declared to their fellow-men. "The body mind-intellect complex which wears out with time is a mere vestiture you wear for a certain period for a role you play in the earthly drama. In reality you and I are one with God, birthless, deathless, eternal! Once they realised their true identity, the body- mind-intellect complex was viewed merely as an outer garment. In fact, none of these scientists of consciousness even put their 'names' down when they made these epochal discoveries. They had gotten beyond name and form. Contrast this with the modern material scientists who are so bothered about putting their names to every paper published. But let us not digress! Let us get back to the ancient scientists of consciousness. They made yet another wonderful discovery; they discovered the NATURE of God or Universal Pure Consciousness, and that, they stated, was BLISS SUPREME.

Now, 'explaining' Bliss is no easy task. It is like trying to explain to someone the sweetness of sugar. No words or sentences can help another person understand it; but let him just taste a grain of sugar and then he knows it. Likewise, declared the Rishis, the Bliss of existing in Universal Consciousness cannot be explained; it has to be experienced. Yet for our mortal understanding they stated, "All the joys that can be experienced due to contact of senses with sense objects, is only a drop in the ocean of Brahmananda which is the primal joy that pervades the universe; but even this vast ocean of Brahmananda is as small as an atom when compared to the boundless joy - BLISS - that radiates from the self within the spiritual heart. To become one with God, is to exist in this Bliss!

This existing in God in Supreme Bliss, the Rishis declared, was the purpose of life; so their question of why-am-I-here was answered. The real purpose of life, dear friend, is to realise and experience our identity with God and then to attain that Bliss Supreme. Merging with God and attaining that Bliss Supreme, therefore, should be the most important aim in life, they advised.

Having attained that at-one-ment with God, some of these scientists of consciousness pondered over yet another question. Why did God create us? What was the purpose behind creation? The Rishis who tuned into God-consiousness recorded for posterity that creation was merely a 'Leela', or sport, of the Lord. Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has thrown more light on that. According to Him, the main motivating force behind creation was Love. In the beginning, before time and space, there was only God. Said He, "I separated Myself from Myself in order that I may Love Myself. From Me, by Me, came forth all creation. Know that You are part of My very own Being."

So it was God's desire to give Love and to receive Love that resulted in creation; and for this, the Creator created all creation from the Creator's own self. The Vedas describe the relationship between Creator and creation as akin to a spider and its web. Just as a spider creates a web from its own self, the Creator creates creation from the Creator's own self; therefore creation is part of God and not separate from God; all creation is the body of God.

God so loves His creation and the only thing He wants from His creatures is Love; and when our Love for God reaches sufficient intensity, we merge into Oneness with God and, thus, attain Bliss Supreme. Love it is, therefore, that which brought about creation, and love it is, that will finally bring about merger back with God. Life or creation is therefore a vector quantity; it has not only quantity in terms of time but also direction. All Creation moves Godward.