God Realization. Moving Toward. Channeled by Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. The Divine Nectarine Words of BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

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2 Moving Toward God Realization The Divine Nectarine Words of BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA Channeled by Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. i

3 2013 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. ISBN All rights including the rights to translate or to reproduce this book or parts thereof except for brief quotations are reserved. First Edition, Copies Published by: Kapahi Books 60 Walter Havill Drive, Unit 1208 Halifax, N.S., Canada B3N 0A9 Printed through: 48hrbooks th St. S.W. Akron O.H U.S.A Cover illustration: Maja Wizor ii

4 Moving Moving God Toward Realization The Divine Nectarine Words of BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA Channeled by Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. Kapahi Books iii

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6 DEDICATED AT THE LOTUS FEET OF BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA THE ETERNAL WITNESS THE MERCIFUL GURU AND THE DIVINE MOTHER AND FATHER OF ALL v

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8 INTRODUCTION In this latest set of Sathya Sai Baba s 45 essays, He speaks in detail about the Truth that will set you free as well as the nature of enlightenment, without the embellishment of Hindu scriptures. He says that this series of books through channel Catherine Kapahi, contain the essence of that which He wishes His devotees to know and practice. Baba describes many Laws of the universe and how to live in harmony with them as enlightened ones do. He describes what actually leaves the physical body at the time of death; Atma and its relation to Energy; and how the soul is transmutted into Spirit. Sai Baba speaks about how He often moves about the earth visiting devotees, and the importance and ways of meditation. At the end of this series of talks, He reveals that He will be incarnating into a new body called Prema Sai Baba in late 2013 in south India. And there is much more in this latest book to enrich the reader in the ways of God realization. I hope you will benefit from the Teachings and have grand success in removing the ego-sense from the "I" you truly are. vii

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10 Forty-Five Essays Moving Toward God Realization Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba ix

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12 Moving Toward God Realization 1 My Dear devotees, here we are together again as I deliver to you more ancient yet ever new Divine nectarine words about the nature of Truth. Though you may have heard similar Teachings in the past, you will not be disappointed to hear them again through My very dear devotee Catherine who has dedicated her life to Me and the uplift of My devotees scattered throughout the world. Those of you who have been reading this series of channeled books know without a doubt that I am not gone; I am very much alive as I have always been. The form of God known as the Sathya Sai Baba Avatara is immediately available to all who would call on Me with Love, Devotion and need. Call on any name of God and I am aware of your call because I am all names and forms of God forever. I am that Essence of Godhood that hears your prayers and responds accordingly. You may be wondering why I channel My Words through a single individual named Catherine. I had told you that I have no need of any medium, that I come directly to My devotees. I will tell you. Though I am able to come directly to all My devotees, it is easier for Me now that I am no longer walking among you daily, speaking to you all from time to time as I used to through timely Discourses, to use a capable, pure instrument through whom I can still speak to the many devotees who would read these My Words spoken after My Mahasamadhi. Most of My devotees are not clairaudient because they have not taken the time to develop and perfect this - 1 -

13 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. faculty. There are many things I wished to tell My devotees after I discarded my physical body, for their consolation and uplift. I wished to continue to speak to My devotees, to reassure them that I am still very much available to them; that I am still helping and guiding them; that I am one with them from My perspective; that I will never leave them. I used to tell many of these things to My devotees in interviews. Now there are no interviews, only in dreams, and to those who can hear Me will there be interviews. To make up for this lack and loss for My devotees, I am using Catherine as My instrument to convey all that I wish to tell My devotees. Of course, My Teachings are available in the compilations of the many discourses I spoke over many decades. The difference now is that I am concentrating on some specific topics to move sincere devotees along the Path to Liberation more swiftly. I am concentrating on the essentials without the embellishments of the Hindu scriptures I used previously. I wish these, My Teachings, to reach all seekers of Truth from East to West, no matter what religion they follow. I am speaking the Essence of spiritual Truths that are found in all religions, to help speed all aspirants along the Path to spiritual Liberation. If you follow My Teachings put forth in this series of books through Catherine, you will definitely receive the Grace of this Avatar, and waste no time or effort to gain your goal of Self realization and Liberation

14 Moving Toward God Realization 2 This series of My Talks will be about the nature of the Truth that will set you free. You may have heard that Truth is formless, attributeless, and that It cannot be known in the usual sense. That Truth is not objective; it is subjective. And that you are that Truth, that Atma that knows no decline or change. Though everything in the objective world is changing, the Atma does not change. Why to seek this Atma known as the Self? Is not the objective world more interesting, enticing, full of novelty and richness? To many the answer is yes. They are unable to pull their senses and mind away from this world so full of scope for adventure, mystery, and experience. After countless births on planet earth, there comes a time when the soul has had enough of all the variety of sense pleasures and enjoyments, and also wishes for escape from suffering, physical, mental and emotional. But where to go to escape and find unending Peace and contentment? The only place is within oneself in the spiritual heart. There is no use to wait until after the demise of the physical body, hoping to at last find Peace and contentment in a 'heaven'. You take your mind and awareness that you have cultivated while on earth, with you when you depart the physical body. You take your vasanas (cultivated tendencies), your vibrational level, the results (merit and demerit) of your actions, words, and thoughts, with you when you depart from the earth. It behooves you to know these things, and to make the best possible preparations while here on earth to ensure the best possible afterlife

15 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. Not all of My devotees will be liberated during this present sojourn in a physical body. Many of My devotees will join Me in My next Advent as Prema Sai Baba, to be with Me in a physical body on earth. Rather than choose not to return to earth, many have opted to return to be part of My spiritual Mission even though there was no other need for them to return. For many others the next birth will be their last birth on planet earth. Many devotees will greatly benefit from their proximity to Prema Sai Baba and gain Liberation. It is this second category to whom I wish to speak. What you do now will determine your relationship with Prema Sai Baba. Your spiritual practices, your purification of mind, emotions, soul, will to a large extent, determine the conditions of your next birth. By this I mean that if you make a great deal of spiritual progress now in this birth, you are pretty much guaranteed liberation in your next birth, if you keep close contact with the Prema Sai Avatara. This should come as good news for most of you, My Devotees. You are certain to know and become the Atma, and experience the oneness and peace of Liberation in this and your next incarnations. How blessed you are. However, you must keep a close contact in the heart with Me, the Self, at all times, and practice all My Teachings all the time as long as you have breath. And the Essence of My Teachings are laid out for you in this series of channeled books

16 Moving Toward God Realization 3 Up until now most of you believed I was an incarnation of God that would some day or the other disappear into the formless never to be seen again. Not true. I am able to manifest Myself whenever and where ever I wish, and have been doing so since I departed the physical body in I have been appearing often in my etheric body which looks like My physical body, only much lighter and more translucent in appearance. You may have heard that ether is the finest of the five great elements, created first from Atma. Though I am formless as Atma or Brahman, I very often assume an etheric form and move about in the universe at the speed of thought. In an instant I am where I wish to be in My etheric form. I have appeared many times on auspicious occasions, in the presence of Catherine, to let her know that I am supporting and guiding her during the important steps or new beginnings in her life. For example, when she began the Ministry Program at an interfaith church in Canada recently, as I had guided her to do, I showed up there and was seen by clairvoyant ministers, hovering in the air in lotus posture, smiling at Catherine. I am in many places in this way, but few can see Me because few have developed the ability to see the etheric body. I frequently visit devotees homes in My etheric body, sit in My chair they have provided for Me, and bless them in other ways. Some devotees feel Me around them as a tickling or subtle movement at their arm or around the head. So, you may become aware of My Presence with you in this way and acknowledge that I am with you

17 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. However, though these encounters are pleasing and delightful, they are not the goal to be sought. As always, the goal is to realize that you are Atma, and everything has sprung forth from Atma according to the Will of the Divine. When you know this experientially, you know the most important aspect of Divinity. But how to know? Not by reading books and reciting scriptures. These are for the mind, though these exercises help to purify the being and give knowledge. Without the Grace of the Satguru it is difficult to know the Atma. What do I mean? Going it alone without a Satguru Who is the embodiment of Truth is a more difficult path indeed. It is more difficult to have persistent, pure, abundant love for the formless God than for the form of God, the Satguru. And it is love that has to be developed, an all inclusive love. One starts by adoring and giving all devotion and reverence to the Satguru, having total faith and trust that He/She is the embodiment of Truth. The Satguru responds by blessing again and again the devotee with pure love, so that the devotee feels very much loved by the Satguru. The Satguru joins again and again the aspiring soul of the devotee, encircling it with pure love, bliss and Light. Soon the devotee, looking within the spiritual heart begins to see Light, and to see that the body is also filled with and surrounded by Light. Gradually the devotee is able to hold more and more Light and Love due to her purified mind, speech and actions, the silence that is maintained, and the complete focus on the Satguru. The Satguru has been the source of Light and Love for the - 6 -

18 Moving Toward God Realization devotee. Now the devotee realizes that she is the Light because her soul and mind have joined with the Love and Light of the Satguru. She now sees that the Light and Love that is the Essence of every soul is the one Light and Love of God, Brahman. 4 My Dear Devotees, you know I am in your heart as Atma, but few of you know where to go from here. You meditate to try to contact Me, to know Me, but feel you are not that successful. I know; I am aware of your feelings in this regard. Many of you are not regular in meditation, not committed to this practice, because you do not believe you are achieving much or any success. What is success in meditation and why do you believe you are not achieving success? I will tell you. First of all, there is really no one to achieve success in meditation. When you lose your identity and merge in the ocean of Atma in the spiritual heart, that is success. But for whom? Not for the small individual self or ego. You may say that it is a success for God because a small portion of His Self which felt separate from the whole, rejoined the whole again. But who is a witness to this? From God's perspective He is always the totality of Existence. Life as a separate person is a dream projected by the ego mind

19 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. So, is it possible to believe you are successful in your meditation practice? Yes and no. When the experience of total absorption or partial absorption happens even for a few seconds, you may feel a sense of success and accomplishment in meditation. But know that it is not the ego that knows and rejoices, it is a part of the Higher Mind that knows it is on the right track. These small glimpses of the Atma, the Truth, motivate the seeker of God to continue the meditation process. When the devotee is completely sincere about reaching and merging with God, Myself, I help by encircling that one in My Light, My Presence. In this way the devotee has a greater opportunity to experience Atma for longer periods of time and thus become stabilized in the meditation process. It takes continuous daily practice to know Atma. Not only that, the mind and emotions must be prepared for successful meditation. If the mind is running here and there disturbed, and the emotions are troubled, there is little or no scope for knowing Atma. So, there is a long preliminary stage to successful meditation whereby the spiritual aspirant works on himself to purify the mental and emotional bodies. Meditation is not going to come that easily if the mind and emotions have not been prepared. Much preparation is needed for the new initiate. It may take years of preparation before the mental and emotional bodies are cleared of major conditioning and falsity. These two bodies also have to be turned toward the Divine with pure love, devotion, reverence, awe, gratitude and selfless service, sacrifice - 8 -

20 Moving Toward God Realization and renunciation. So you can see there is much preparation required to become again the Pure Divine Atma you truly are. There is a backward journey in the mind/consciousness away from the false material world to which you had become attached, as well as away from the erroneous idea that one is the physical body, the sense, desire mind, and the separate self/personality. A backward journey that allows for the conscious letting go of attachment to all that is not Atma. Contemplation is the process that is useful for this type of purification. You constantly contemplate on what is Atma, and give up attachment to what is fleeting and changing. This is one of the basic processes one must enter into before one gets concentration on the Satguru and then absorption into Atma. 5 As I have said, meditation is not that easy to perfect and maintain. Why? There is so much baggage, physical, mental, and emotional, that one has accumulated over hundreds and thousands of births. When a heavy cloth is placed over a light bulb, little or no light shines through the heavy cloth. It is up to the devotee to remove the dross that has been accumulated in the mind/ consciousness, through concerted spiritual practices over many lives. There comes a time when the aspirant has such a level of purity as well as aspiration for liberation in God, that a Satguru offers Himself to that - 9 -

21 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. one to hasten the process. If the Satguru is accepted with great devotion, respect, surrender and adoration for God, the devotee/satguru relationship may work very well, and the devotee can reach great spiritual heights through the Grace of the Satguru. Though I do not insist on meditation practice for all devotees, it is the royal road to Self realization. However, not all devotees are able to meditate. Some need to do much purification first, so I recommend selfless service to society dedicating all actions to Me. Why? Many have a more active, passionate nature called rajasic. They need to be doing some activity. They are not ready to sit for one hour, motionless, watching breath, sublimating thoughts. I am not saying that meditation practice and selfless service cannot both be practiced by a devotee. They can and are. Selfless service helps one to rid himself of the ego that he is the doer and enjoyer of actions. It also helps to see the one God in all everywhere. Selfless service to society is a way to love God in all beings, and thus to develop and expand your love. Selfless service is a great spiritual practice, and can go hand in hand with sitting meditation. For those who are dominant in the thamas guna, selfless service is also recommended. As such ones may not easily be able to discern between Truth and untruth, entering into selfless service to society will help to purify the mind and emotions of thamasic qualities. It is really those of predominately sattwic nature who will have success in meditation, getting absorbed into

22 Moving Toward God Realization Atma in the spiritual heart. They are calm, balanced, pure, humble and desireless. The goal for all aspirants is to purify and sublimate in order to become a predominately sattwic personality. Like merges with like. Become like God to merge with God. 6 I would like to tell you about an easy way to meditate on God. Many of you have heard Me speak about this before. It is to visualize a flame. Begin by placing a lit candle or aarthi flame before you. Look at the flame and then closing your eyes, bring the image of the flame into your third eye between the eyebrows. Hold it there for some time, as long as you can, say five minutes. Then move the flame slowly throughout your entire body three times with the intention that your body is being purified and transmuted into Light. Then bring the flame back into the third eye. You may move the flame into each of the seven chakras with the intention to purify them, burning away all dross. Then bring the flame back to the third eye. Let it fill the whole head for awhile. Move it outside around the body also, in the space of about five feet all around the body. Then if you have time sit with the Light, getting your mind and consciousness absorbed in the Light. Remain like this for some time. At the same time you are using the flame, you may chant your mantra if necessary to help you concentrate on the flame. This is an easy and effective

23 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. practice to get yourself stabilized in the Atma. To get the full benefit, practice several times per day. Now, onto another related topic. Do you know how dear you all are to God? Very dear. You are the Atma, one with Him. It is so and has always been so. All the meditation techniques are to help you, the deluded one, to recognize this. So always be positive about yourself; love yourself dearly as I love you. You may ask how can I love myself dearly when I have so many faults. Love the faults too, seeing them as My energy that was used in a wrong way due to ignorance. Do you hate your child for not knowing many things and making mistakes? No, you should not. In the same way God does not hate His children for falling into ignorance and delusion. He has compassion and understanding and kindness toward all. You My Devotee also have kindness, gentleness, understanding and compassion for yourself and others. I see that many of you are too hard on yourselves, expecting much from yourselves spiritually too soon, as well as criticizing and condemning yourselves when a gentler more loving approach would be more beneficial. To become a more loving person, be loving to yourself. Forgive yourself for the past errors, and for the karma you had to undergo due to your past actions. Do not pity yourself any longer. Past is past. Each day is a fresh opportunity to love yourself, and praise yourself when you are good and loving, kind and compassionate. Yes, praise yourself. In this way your love will grow for Self. This Self or Atma that you are, is My Self. You are consciousness/energy, Shiva/Shakti, and that is Who I

24 Moving Toward God Realization Am. Renunciation and sacrifice are to be of the ego, ego qualities, me and mine, doership and enjoyership by ego, and name and form as Truth. By renouncing and sacrificing these, you don't hate them. You see through them, that they are not Truth. If you see that you are still having them, do not hate yourself for this. Be gentle and loving to yourself, telling yourself that you are committed to the spiritual path, doing the best you can, and that Truth or Atma is not realized that easily, that it took seekers many lifetimes of rigorous practice in the past. In this Kali Yuga, Self realization can come much faster through getting immersed in the Name and Form of God. In summary, the more loving you are with your self, the more loving you are with Me and others. I wanted to tell you this because I see that many are very hard on themselves and suffer from unhappiness due to this. At the same time discernment and discipline are also needed. One must search and find the balance that is correct to lead one toward the goal of Self realization and not fall into ego aggrandizement and too much self indulgence. 7 When I decided to do these talks with Catherine, My motivation was to soothe and allay the fears of My Devotees, to make them calm, and remove their

25 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. negativity that had accumulated due to the demise of My physical body. I see that those who are reading this series of My Teachings, are benefitting a great deal from them. It is My Wish that more would read these books received through Catherine and benefit from them. They contain the Essence of what I wish My Devotees to know and practice, bereft of embellishments. I wish to tell you more about the Atma and how to attain It. Realization of Atma is an attainment that results when you have worked hard at your spiritual practice to remove what is not Atma. Though strictly speaking you cannot attain what you already are; namely, Atma. So what exactly is Atma? It is consciousness, existence, bliss. It is also energy. Though a distinction must be made here. What distinction? The energy that makes up forms such as the human body has come from Atma, is not separate from Atma. You may say that it is maya shakti because the forms change and disappear in time. But maya shakti, or the energy comprising the human body and all forms is Divine energy, that has come out of Atma and is intrinsic to Atma. Many devotees are confused about this idea of Shiva/Shakti, or Consciousness/Awareness/Energy as related to Atma. So I wish to clarify

26 Moving Toward God Realization It is often stated that God or Atma is the Witness, the Awareness, or Consciousness, and this is True. However, it is not the complete Truth. Shiva or Consciousness always has energy whether manifest or unmanifest as its counterpart without which it would be impotent and unable to create anything. As a manifest being, a human being is composed of Consciousness and Energy together. There could never be a creation without these two working together. Also, it is the combination of Shiva and Shakti that gives rise to Bliss or Ananda. Shiva or Consciousness alone by Himself, is deeply peaceful, One and content. When He moves into action with Shakti/Energy, as Nataraja, the Bliss flows forth. Many do not understand this, that it is the Dance of Shiva- Shakti that gives rise to the greatest Bliss. God loves to create and to interact with His creation in all the varied modes. It is fun. It is both a play and a dream for those involved. It is all a great play of Awareness/ Consciousness and Divine Energy meant to give rise to Love and Bliss for all. Unfortunately many are deluded and suffer mentally, emotionally and physically due to deviation from God's original Plan that souls derive Love and Bliss and return to Oneness. 8 My Dear devotees, I am delivering these talks to you because I love you and I wish you to succeed in this, your chosen path to merge with Me, Paramatma. And you

27 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. will succeed; it is guaranteed; it is just a matter of time, and time has been given for you for this purpose, to realize Our Oneness. How lucky you are to have found a Satguru who is the Lord of the Universe, all Gods rolled into One. It is your good fortune, your good Karma that has led you to Me. Make the best use of Me. I am the storehouse of all Grace and am ready to shower it on you, the deserving devotee, the ardent seeker of Truth. Stay in union with Me, in devotion to Me and you will come to know yourself as Truth before long. You see yourself as separate from Me because you are not yet convinced of your true nature as Atma. It is good and necessary to keep on affirming, I am God; I am Atma; I am Truth; I am Peace; I am Love; I am Bliss; and so on. When you are too much into ego sense of a separate individual, and feeling you are the physical form, personality, etc., it is necessary to stop for five or ten minutes, close your eyes and focus inwardly; feeling that you are Existence, you exist as Pure Being; you are Awareness, you have Awareness and Consciousness and that you see the body is full of energy. Seeing this, affirm you are the embodiment of Shiva and Shakti; you are a Divine Being; you are formless Existence, Awareness, Energy. You are not the temporary physical form with a name and a history. Use your buddhi/intellect to keep on discerning that you are Atma that has descended into matter. Constantly affirm that you, as Atma, are free and non-attached to matter, the changing physical forms, that come and go. But here it becomes tricky; even though the forms come on the

28 Moving Toward God Realization stage of earth life and dissolve and disappear, the forms contain Atma and energy Shiva-Shakti. The substance of the forms is Divine. So, in your awareness/ consciousness/mind, discern this truth and be aware of it at all times. Every encounter with a living being, an animal, a plant, a tree, a stone is an encounter with God, the Atma/Shakti. Recognition of this will allow you to see God everywhere and to be kind, caring and respectful to all of life everywhere. I see so many human beings who are not aware of God in and as themselves, who treat themselves and others with distain and disrespect and worse. So, I ask you, My devotees, to constantly discern and affirm that you are God; You are Atma having taken an energy body. Then go within often; see with the Eye of Shiva, the awareness centered at the Ajna Chakra, that you are indeed Pure Existence, Awareness, Bliss in manifestation in an energy body and so are all others. 9 As you are well aware, I always have your best interests in mind; to uplift, teach, and guide you to the goal of Self-realization and liberation from rebirth and from all that binds you. Many of you will become spiritual masters who will teach about a Advaita (Oneness) and the ways to reach this state. This Sai lineage will go on forever creating many Masters who will go on to higher and higher levels of spiritual Ascension and expansion

29 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. You are each one a sparkling diamond in His tiara who will influence and transform many along the Path that you travel. So be pure and transparent that you may attract many to you with your Light, and thus turn their minds to the Self that they may have what you have and more. Always be kind, giving and selfless/egoless, so that your divinity will be recognized and acknowledged by those who benefit greatly by having met and interacted with you on the earthly plane. Your destiny is to help ignite the flame of the Atma in others who are lost to their true Self. I wish to help you to do this well. I have said that, Your life is My Message. I am and will work through you to achieve much in your lifetime, if you agree to work along with Me and be My Instruments. Thus, you will gain a fraction of Me and know Self. Now, the Atma. It has to be experienced to be known. There is no other way. How can the ego Self, the imposter, experience the Atma? It is not possible. So very often, I give devotees experiences of Atma in dreams and visions so they will have a taste of what they are seeking. In a dream, I will set up an experience whereby the subtle body of the dreamer is taking My padnamaskar, and then merges with Me in Atma. The dreamer will immediately wake up feeling the love and bliss of Atma that he experienced in the subtle dream state. The experience is so loving, beautiful and unforgettable that the devotee wishes to have it again. This longing and yearning for immersion in Atmic love and bliss acts as a stimulus for the devotee to pursue

30 Moving Toward God Realization spiritual practice with renewed vigor and devotion to Me, the Satguru/God. Sometimes I look penetratingly into the eyes of a devotee and encircle their soul in My Being. They experience the Oneness of Atma with Me. They feel My Love for them and are inspired to seek the Atmic state of Love and Bliss permanently. Gradually, devotees purify themselves of all negativity and conditioning so they are able to merge with Me in the Atmic State at will and receive My Pure Energy, Wisdom and other Blessings. My Heart is always open and full of Grace. Devotees need to cultivate a nearness to Me to receive; and, also to have removed the obstacles to receiving. It is best to be peaceful, silent, open, with longing and devotion to merge with Me; to be filled with My Grace and Presence; then to go out into the world and share it with others. The more you give it away, the more will come to you. There is an inexhaustible supply of Love and Light in this universe waiting to be used to uplift the world. 10 My Dear Devotee, sometimes it is necessary to give some devotees many experiences of Atma. Why? Their destiny is such that they must move quickly along the Path to Realization. It is not that I favor some devotees over others, so do not compare yourself to others. God is always just and fair. Those devotees who have put a lot

31 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. of effort into seeking Self-realization over many lives, have a destiny that is beneficial for receiving extra Grace in this life from this Avatar. However, it is never too late to start with renewed vigor, dedication and will to attract the Grace of Sathya Sai Baba. The more your sincere devotion to God and commitment in the proper way, as laid out in My Teachings, the easier it will be to gain My Grace for Atmic Realization. For those seekers who are open-hearted and full of love for God and all beings, it will be easier to realize Atma. For those seekers whose minds and hearts are blocked from receiving or giving love, it will be more difficult to realize Atma. Why? Because Atma is synonymous with Love; the selfless, egoless love that gives without expecting anything in return, and is without mental calculation. The loving devotee lives in and as love, giving, giving, and giving. Giving what? A smile; a cheerful word; a helping hand; and words of wisdom and uplift where needed. Such a one feels happy most of the time due to the love that flows freely through them. Though he still may have ego, it will be easier for him to know Atma than for the one who is blocked. The one who is blocked will not feel much true happiness from Atma. He will have to work harder, and do more spiritual practices; perhaps psychotherapy and other therapies to free himself from negative conditioning that has shut him down and caused him to be unable to receive and give love unconditionally. There are many devotees that suffer a lot, unable to receive much love from God due to negative conditioning acquired from

32 Moving Toward God Realization past karma and past living. I feel sorry; I have compassion toward them; they cry out for Me to feel God s Love and Bliss, but the opening is so small. Nevertheless, I encircle them with My Presence, My Energy to reassure them that I am with them; to encourage them to keep on purifying and removing conditioning. Sometimes it takes a decade and more of time until such blocked devotees truly feel the Atmic Presence in and around them. Many times they do not know how to remove the heavy conditioning, the negativity that blocks them. Slowly, little by little, such devotees learn how to let go of conditioning, and I continue to help them. When Catherine first met Me in Prasanthi Nilayam, she wished to merge with Me straight away. She loved Me passionately but was unable to merge in Atma with Me due to many blockages and mental/emotional conditionings. We worked together for a long time; she worked on herself constantly to purify herself using her strong intuition, many self-help books and her growing Atmic Witness; and I helped her with timely Grace of dreams and interviews and constant Grace of My Energy/Shakti to purify her on all levels. For the past few years, or so, due also to the serious practice of meditation, Catherine has been merging regularly with Me in the Spiritual Heart. She now knows herself to be Atma, One with Me. Though the mind and emotions come up from time to time, she very quickly tosses them aside and largely remains merged in Atma. She has been a good devotee, very sincere and intent on merging with

33 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. Me, though the Path has been a painful struggle for her; painful due to her ego struggles. I always tell her that I am very proud of her for sticking to the Path despite the painful ego struggles she had to go through and let go of. I am telling you of Catherine s struggle so that you will know that the Spiritual Path is not that easy, more difficult for some than for others; but that the goal is certain and attainable by all sincere, committed seekers. My Grace is easily obtained by such seekers who never give up but continue against all obstacles to love God and follow His Teachings. 11 My Dear Devotees, here We are again together, two minds joining to impart and share Divine Knowledge. It is a great privilege for you to read and imbibe the vibration and meaning of My Words given to you with great love and care. Make the best use of them for the uplift of the spiritual, moral, mental and emotional layers. Today I will tell you more about Atma and how to realize and become It. First of all, I wish you to know that Atma is the Essence of Your Soul that came down into incarnation as a physical, emotional, mental, vital being. So, you can see there are many layers covering the Atma. The more refined and transparent you can

34 Moving Toward God Realization make these layers, the easier it will be to recognize Atma. So what is this soul really? It is a combination of all the experiences your consciousness along with the physical, mental, emotional and vital sheaths has gone through in the evolution through mineral, plant, animal or human incarnations. It is not that simple to convey because much change takes place on all these planes of experience during every incarnation and between incarnations over a long period of time. One could say that the soul in present time comprises the essence of all the experiences the consciousness has gone through. I am telling you this as a prelude to sharing with you what happens to the soul as consciousness evolves further beyond the human to the Divine level. As consciousness evolves, so to speak, the mental, physical, emotional and vital bodies that comprise the individual soul, become highly refined. I say, evolve so to speak, because consciousness or Atma does not really evolve, it flowers or becomes apparent. It rises up out of the ashes of the soul that had become buried and lost to itself in the matter vestures. And then something happens, a mystical burning up of the soul, so to speak. Like a butterfly emerging from the chrysalis after a long spell of transformation, the purified soul becomes Spirit or Atma. It has been said at this time, that the Father and Child have become One; the Atma and its reflection have merged; the drop has become the ocean. How does it happen that soul is transmuted into Spirit or Atma? Well, it happens over time through spiritual practice and Grace; through constant identification of

35 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. one s consciousness as Atma/God; constant disidentification of oneself with the content of consciousness; that is, detachment from negative, egotistical mental, emotional and vital movements and so on. You know all the spiritual practices, so I need not say more about it. You will know and feel that you are pure consciousness, undisturbed, peaceful, content, still, feeling of oneness, and loving. The essence of the soul is the Pure Being, Awareness/Consciousness, Pure thinking and feeling. Spirit or Atma emerges as the True Self, and the former soul, the old illusory individuality based on illusion and delusion, disappears as darkness vanishes before the blazing sunlight. 12 My Dear Ones, you may wonder what happens next. Here you are, Pure Spirit/Atma. How do you lead your life as Pure Spirit? Well, it is not your life any longer. You have long ago surrendered your life to God. Though you still have a very small sense of individuality that comes and goes, it is there if you need it. You largely experience a Oneness with all that is the One Spirit or God. You know, as Spirit or Atma, that there is a Power, a Force, and Intelligence that is controlling or running the Universe according to Divine Laws. All realized beings follow these Laws, with joy, to the letter. They do not knowingly deviate from living God s Laws in every moment of now. This is what is meant by a

36 Moving Toward God Realization Perfected Being, one who lives in perfect harmony with God s Laws and His Perfection. So you can see that knowledge of God s Laws and His Perfection is important, essential, in order to live this Blessed Life as Pure Spirit or Atma. Those who live as Atma have no self-interest, no sense of ego that wants to acquire and amass for its own sake. Life as Spirit is about sharing, helping in many ways such as giving spiritual, psychological counsel, and all types of healing physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and more. There is no scope at all for the small selfish ego in the realm of Spirit. It is gone, non-existent, has been mystically burnt away. So if you are thinking that as you progress spiritually, you will become very powerful, this is true. You may wield great power, as I, Sathya Sai, do; but this is Divine power used for the uplift of all, according to Divine Law and Will, without a trace of ego. You may have noticed that while I was on earth, I used nothing for Myself; for Me there is no personal self that needs anything. For the sake of maintaining the physical body, I have taken some food and covered it with simple clothing. I have been giving and giving selflessly without a thought for My self because I am Spirit only and the nature of Spirit is to give, not take; to share Divine Love with all so that they all may know Oneness with Me and one another. You may ask, what about the beautiful temples and thrones that were built for Me? Wasn t this a very extravagant lifestyle for Spirit that needs nothing? I tell you that all of this was not for Spirit. It was to glorify Spirit in the eyes of the devotees, the seekers who saw

37 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. themselves as small, petty and inconsequential. These beautiful structures and embellishments were there to attract seekers to Divinity, an earthly display of that which is True, Good, Auspicious and Beautiful; to help raise the mental, emotional, vital levels of aspirants to a higher level of aspiration towards Divine Beauty and Auspiciousness. What devotee would wish the embodiment of the Lord of the Universe to live in a hut? I simply complied with My Devotees wishes, to make them happy that their Lord could be installed in a beautiful dwelling. I knew these buildings, temples and thrones would last for thousands of years and comprise Divine pilgrimage destinations for millions of seekers of Truth in the future, providing beautiful, peaceful havens for all to enjoy. I was always and only thinking of the wellbeing and happiness of devotees throughout the Advent of the Sathya Sai Baba Avatarhood. 13 My Dear Devotees and others who would be interested to hear My Words, I am here to speak about the ways to know yourself as Atma. Why to know yourself as Atma? To know the ultimate Truth of this universe and be free and blissful in It and as It, eternally. And to have the capacity to know anything you wish to know; also to be supremely content knowing you are God and that God is the only Truth; all else is false. What is false? The changing matter forms; millions upon millions of them,

38 Moving Toward God Realization from a rock to an ant; a human body to a sun and a galaxy. I am sure you get the idea. So there is no use to believe the world of forms is going to stay as it is in this moment as it is perceived through the senses. You are bound to be disappointed if you depend on the forms, whether dollars, rupees, mothers, children, banks or insurance companies. One or other of them or all of them may let you down; disappoint you during your lifetime by disappearing or changing into a form you are unhappy with. You should only place your trust and faith in the permanent, unchanging Truth, Atma or God. This is the prudent decision to make given the facts. For those of you who are seekers of Truth, you may be interested to hear the words of one, Myself who is Truth. Allow Me to begin by saying that Truth is very simple, uncomplicated, very different from the mind, intellect and world of forms. It is so simple that seekers keep on missing it. Truth is the most subtle; you cannot say it is a substance. It is beyond that which is substantial in the material sense. Then if this is so, how to know Truth? You, as body, mind, intellect and vital are material, having substance. To be Truth or Atma, you must know yourself as formless, having no form whatsoever, and therefore all pervasive and unchanging. Are you prepared to be only That? Why to seek what you have not prepared yourself mentally to BE? Question your mind whether it is enough for you. Are you ready to let go of all that is not Truth? If so, realization will be easy for your consciousness/pure mind to accept; to be nothing, yet the source and basis of all forms and all

39 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. pervasive. You as Atma are the basis of all the worlds, all the universes, using primal shakti/energy to create. This should be enough as it is everything, yet the separate ego self is often still afraid to let go of its identification with its small contrived self and its so-called passions and attachments. Everything belongs to God, the Totality. It is a mirage to believe you are anyone or own anything. For incarnation after incarnation, you believe you are someone, so keep being born again and again. Wrong identification keeps you coming back as well as material desires and attachments. Hand over your mind, body, intellect to God and He will show you how to purify your Self of what is false, so you again shine as the Atma, the One Atma of the universe. 14 Many devotees think that they know better than the Satguru or God what is best for their spiritual advancement. They cling onto certain rituals and practices that they like, and may have been doing so for many years. These provide mental pleasure and contentment and the devotee believes that she is progressing toward Atmic realization, when in fact there is little or no progress. The consciousness remains in the mental world of names and forms and does not go beyond. The same goes for those seekers who are mainly interested in experiences, those other devotees experience with Me as well as their own. Such

40 Moving Toward God Realization experiences are mainly on the mental, physical levels with Me or other forms of God. My Dear Ones, you must go beyond this type of seeking in order to experience the formless Truth. I realize there is a stage in the progress of the devotee whereby knowing about others' experiences with Divinity and having some yourself are important to instill faith and confidence in Divinity; but how much is enough? You must make a decision that now is the time to go beyond experiences in the realm of name and form. And this is a big leap into the unknown for most, with some fear of loss. The ego is afraid. Reassure the ego that the world will still be here, only you will see it differently, that is all. When you get absorbed in the Atma and become Atma, the world will be there. As you spend more and more time getting absorbed in Truth, you will become happier and more blissful, feel freer, more loving and content. You will know you are at home in God, and that the phenomenal world of forms and experiences with forms is not your true home and never was. So there is nothing to fear in coming home to the Self and residing in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is all Light and Delight, where there is no fear or grief or negativity of any kind. So I advise you to just let go and trust that the movement from untruth to Truth, Darkness of Ignorance to the Light of Atma and True Knowledge can be an easy transformation while holding My Hand in Love and becoming glued to Me, the Formless Truth

41 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. 15 My Dear Devotees, a hearty welcome to all who are reading My words and taking them to heart. You will certainly make progress and reach the goal of mergence in God. Keep a nearness in the heart to Me and you will be rewarded with Divine Grace of Self-realization and liberation and more. Now, what is the relationship of the Atma to Self-realization? How is it accomplished? I will tell you. First of all, see that all the outer activity of the physical body, vital, mental and intellectual aspects is of prakriti or nature. Here I am speaking about the lower nature of the human being as distinct from the higher nature. There must develop within you a certain disinterestedness and detachment from these aspects of the lower nature, in order to become firmly identified as Atma. For a long period of time it is necessary to divide these two in the mind, giving all attention to aspiration to attain Atma; and pull away from the identification and interest in the lower mental, vital, emotional and physical aspects of the entire being. What do I mean? For example, an essential part of practice is to witness these lower aspects, the sensations, instincts, desires, useless thoughts, feelings and emotions connected to the outer world, etc. Why? They are connected to the lower nature, the false nature, a mixture of the animal and unenlightened human aspects that are useless to the realization of Atma. As the witnessing consciousness becomes more developed through practice and becomes acutely aware of these aspects in the being that do not contribute in the least to Self-realization, and are

42 Moving Toward God Realization detrimental to Self-realization, one must leave them, not follow or give into them, using a firm resolution. Here one is disentangling the Truth from what is untruth in one s being and keeping and cherishing only the Truth or Atma. Some examples of what may come up in the being that need to be let go in order to purify and perfect the being are: all the cravings of the vital/mental/physical for excess food, food that is harmful to the body; alcohol, cigarettes, even tea and coffee if one is addicted to them. Addiction to anything must be given up so that the inner being will be free. Seek out the habits, urges and compulsions such as I must do this or that or I cannot live; I must have this or that material thing or convenience or I cannot be happy. All outer things one is attached to, bind and prevent total freedom of the consciousness. I am not saying that you should be a total renunciate, living alone, sitting in meditation. Be a renunciate in your inner life, nonattached to anything other than the Divine Atma. Be a witness to everything, non-reactive, in deep peace and calm, attuned to Divine Consciousness. In this state, the lower nature may do beneficial actions, speak necessary words, feel positive emotions; but you are a witness to this, acutely aware of what is going on within your being; not bothered by the external world and external conditions. You follow God s Will for you and His Laws and that is enough in any given moment. So you can see that the Atma does not get involved in

43 Catherine Kapahi, Ph.D. the lower nature, but remains aloof, detached, always pure, pristine and blissful. 16 Some of you may be thinking that life will be very boring and dull if you are to be disinterested in everything but Divine Atma. This is just a mental attitude you are holding on to and have been used to holding onto. You are accustomed to seeing people in the external world happily enjoying the pleasures and enjoyments; but you do not see into their hearts and minds as I do. They are often unhappy, anxious, fearful, attached, teaming with desires small and large for themselves and their families; full of opinions, convictions, beliefs and so much more. Most are completely bogged down living through the lower nature. Self-realization is not a boring state for the Self-realized. It is a state of unending peace, joy, and bliss that once attained, would not be traded for the lower life of the unenlightened human being. There is boundless pure love and light; no conflict, no negativity, no striving, no goal, no pain or disturbance of any kind. Who would not wish for such a state of Divine Existence? Only those who have never tasted it or have forgotten about its existence or possibility. So trust Me that Self-realization above all else is worth attaining. Anyway, all are destined to return as the end of evolution is just That