There are certain eras in human history when we directly see significant and transformative occurrences of a divine nature.   The most remarkable occurrence in recent times is the arrival of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.   The promise made over 5000 years ago at the start of the Kali Age was finally realised on 23 November 1926, with the birth of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Avatar of the Age, in Puttaparthi, Anantapur District of Andhra Pradesh, India.

What is Avatar?

The name “Avatar” comes from the Sanskrit word “Avataranam,” which literally translates as “Descent.”   In other words, God, who is formless, assumes a physical form and comes to Earth as a manifestation of the limitless love and compassion that he feels for humankind.  The Avatar is a mix of the Individual Consciousness with the Divine Consciousness, and it is both mysterious and joyful.  Avatars are manifestations of the One Supreme Lord, even though they may take on a variety of guises and emerge at a variety of periods, locations, and under a variety of situations.

Why does God become human?

For humanity to reach God-consciousness, God Himself must take human form. God must communicate with man in the form and language he understands best. He must instruct humanity on the techniques it may use. God in human form  acts in a normal manner so that people may have a connection to him, but he also climbs to his superhuman heights so that others might want to attain such heights themselves. Animals have no desire to depart from their Dharma, hence they have no need for a Divine incarnation to lead them. Man, alone has lost sight of the purpose of living.

Transforming – Not Terminating

Sri Sathya Sai Avatar walked on Earth with no destructive weapon in HIS possession, like the Kodanda (Bow) of Rama or the Sudarshana Chakra (Discus) of Sri Krishna. He relied on Education than Elimination; Instruction than Destruction.

The Avatar has chosen to restore Dharma by transforming Adharma through His motherly Love.   When devotees also responds by developing Love for God, the fear of sin automatically sets in as he would not like to perform actions that would hurt his God.  By developing one to one rapport with each individual, He brough about this transformation.   Sri Sathya Sai incarnated with the purpose of providing Ethical and Spiritual support, as well as guiding humanity towards Enlightenment.

Divine Declaration, His Mission and Purpose for His Advent

On 20 October 1940, at the age of 14, Sri Sathya Sai Baba declared to his parents that he had come to this world with a mission to re-establish the principle of Righteousness, to motivate Love for God and Service to Fellow Man. Since then, he had consistently called on all mankind to “Love All, Serve All” and asserted that the essence of all scriptures is “Help Ever, Hurt Never”

On 25th May 1947, Sri Sathya Sai Baba in a comprehensive letter to His brother Seshama Raju, outlined His Mission and Purpose of His Advent, briefly as follows:

• “I have a task”: to foster all mankind and ensure for all of them lives full of bliss.
• “I have a vow”: To lead all who stray away from the straight path, again into goodness and save them
• ”I am attached to a work that I love”: to remove the sufferings of the poor and grant them what they lack”
• “I have a reason to be proud for”: I rescue all who worship and adore me, aright.
• “I have my definition of the devotion”: I expect those devoted to me have to treat joy and grief, gain and loss, with equal fortitude. This means that I will never give up those who attach themselves to me.

Spiritually, educationally, and in terms of service to humanity, HE has been seen all over the Globe as “Love Walking On Two Feet.” When God undertakes any activity directly, its expansion is unlimited and the beneficiaries in- numerable. The Primary School He started to fulfil the desire of Mother Easwarmma, has grown into a full-fledged university. An initial modest facility built to address local medical needs has expanded into a major massive super speciality hospital. Clean water is being delivered to millions of people in these areas thanks to water projects.

Through his books, articles, and talk, He provided a wealth of spiritual, religious, and value-oriented guidance. It’s not necessary to drink the whole ocean to appreciate its taste, nor to read all the texts to live a happy, peaceful, and loving existence. One spiritual teaching concept is enough.

“I am God. And you too are God. The only difference between you and Me is that while I am aware of it, you are completely unaware.” It was declared by HIM that we are all manifestations of God, that we are God, and that the primary objective of our life as humans is to realise that we are God, to feel that we are Divinity, and to attain “enlightenment.”  He emphasised that “there is no escaping it; all creatures have to reach God some day or other, by the long route or by the short route.” Indeed, in His discourses to devotees, He addressed them as “Embodiments of the Divine Atma”.

Throughout the entirety of HIS physical presence, Sri Sathya Sai had tirelessly worked twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to fulfil His ‘Divya Sankalpa’ (Divine Will), which consisted of changing evils into virtues, destructive attitudes into constructive actions, negativity into positivity, diversity into unity, competition into cooperation, hatred into love, false-hood into truth, non-violence into peace, work into worship and wisdom, pollution into purity, and finally

A few drops of the ocean of Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings, an attempt to encapsulate its essence, Sathya Sai Baba urged mankind to:

• Believe in God – for there is only ONE GOD for all mankind, though He may be called by many names.
• Follow sincerely their respective religions and live their daily lives in

consonance with the teachings of good behaviour and morality.

• Respect all other religions – for no religion advocates the negative and lower qualities of man.
• Perform selfless service to the poor, the sick, and the needy without thought of reward or fame.
• Cultivate in their lives the values of truth, divine love, right conduct, peace, and nonviolence and promote these values among all.
• Be patriotic and respect the laws of the country in which they live.

The essence of Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s Mission is the Social, Moral, and Spiritual development of humanity through the five human values of Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Right Conduct), Shanti (Peace), Prema (Love), and Ahimsa (Nonviolence).

The Avatar unified all of the humanity by propagating the Unity of Faiths. HE said, “Each religion is a different road to the same goal, viz. Salvation”.  He insisted upon Spirituality over Religion. He had united the faiths through the replacement of:

• Religion by Spirituality
• Rituals by Service and Discrimination
• Scriptures by Education in Human Values

Millions of devotees from all walks of life worship Him as an ‘Avatar’. Thousands gather every day at Puttaparthi for His blessings, where He moved in his physical body for over eight decades amongst devotees blessing them and providing spiritual support and comfort. Never before has an Avatar gone out into the world and counselled, guided, comforted, uplifted, and steered so many people towards the path of Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Righteousness), Shanti (Peace), Prema (Love), and Ahimsa (Nonviolence).

True to His declaration “My Life is My Message”, HE said, RGANISATION OF NEW ZEALAND (NORTHERN

“Sathya is My Message

Dharma is My Practice

Shanti is My Natur,

Prema is My Form
Follow these

And

 You are Mine; I am Yours”

Ravinder Grover

National Media Coordinator (SONZ)

E: nationalmedia@sai.org.nz

Web: www.sai.org.nz

About Sai Organisation of New Zealand (SONZ):  

SONZ is  affiliated to  ‘Sri Sathya Global Council  (SSSGC)’.  The prime objective of SSSGC is  to unify, to strengthen, and to expand “Sri Sathya Sai Organizations“ globally and firmly establish their connection to the sacred ‘Abode of Peace’, Prasanthi Nilayam with greater coordination and cooperation as directed by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

The prime objective of SONZ is to  help Sai devotees to  awaken their Inherent Divinity through Self Transformation  and by plugging into the Divinity within.