Sri Sathya Sai International Organization - USA

Seeing God in Everyone

Short story:

On one occasion, Abu Ben Adam was returning home, when he found that there was some light coming from the window of his bedroom. When he looked through that window, he saw that an angel was sitting in his bedroom and was using a golden pen for writing in a book. Gently, Abu Ben Adam entered the room and asked, “Mother, what are you doing?” He got the reply, “I am an angel, I am a messenger of God. I am writing a list of names of who have shown affection to God.” Abu Ben Adam asked if his name was there in that list. She said, “No, it is not here.” Abu Ben Adam told himself, “I am not loved by God. Have I not been devoted to God? What is my limitation?” He just left it at that and went to his room. The next day he went out of his house to meet some people. When he returned, he found the same light again shining out of his window. He again asked, “Mother, what is it that you are writing today?” The angel replied, “Today I am making a list of people who are loved by God.” He asked, “Does that list contain my name?” The angel replied, “In the whole list, I find only your name.” He again asked the question “For what reason does God love me?” This angel, who is the messenger of God, replied, “You believe that service to the people is service to the Lord. You are finding God in the people and you have identified people with God; so, God loves you because you feel that God is omnipresent.” 

-Divine Discourse, Summer Showers 1977

Excerpts from Baba’s Discourses:

Everyone is endowed with divine power. It is a mistake to think that only some people have it and others do not. Right from a toddler to an old man, from a pauper to a millionaire, from a tiny insect to a big animal, it is present in everyone. There may be differences in form, but Divinity is present in all in equal measure. Discharge your duty under all circumstances. Do your duty sincerely. Whatever you see, consider it as divine. When you see with worldly feelings, you will see only the physical and ephemeral world. Therefore, see the world with divine feelings. The Upanishads say: the cosmic being has thousands of heads, eyes, and feet. All heads are His, all forms are His. When you have such a feeling, how happy and peaceful you become! On the other hand, if you observe differences based on form, you will have a dual mind and lose your peace. This duality is the main cause for lack of peace. A man with dual mind is half blind. Dualism makes us blind to the truth. Develop the feeling that you and I are one and consider the universe as the form of God. As the Vedas say, God pervades the entire universe. The divine power is the same in everyone. Therefore, never criticize, ridicule, or hate anyone. See God in everyone, constantly contemplate on God, and surrender yourself to Him. Only then can you get eternal happiness. If you want to attain eternal happiness, you must take refuge in God. If you desire only physical and worldly happiness, then you are bound to suffer.

- Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 29 (1996)

Prema Muditha Manasa Kaho Rama Rama Ram (Sing the sweet name of Rama with your heart filled with love). You may choose any name you like, but you should call Him with all love. Love is most sacred, sweet, and non-dual. It is a great mistake to divide such love and associate it with multiplicity. Your love should remain steady in pleasure and pain. Love and devotion do not give any scope for differences. All differences are the making of your mind. Develop the feeling of oneness that you and I are one. Never think that you and I are different. That is the sign of true devotion. The letter 'I' stands for oneness. 'You' (individual identity) will not exist when you develop purity and experience oneness with divinity. Hence, give up dualistic feeling. The principle of oneness has to be experienced through love. It cannot be explained in words. But you have not understood the true meaning of love. You are interpreting it in the physical and worldly sense. Consequently, your love is never steady. It keeps changing every now and then. Love should not be tainted with body attachment. Body is made up of matter. All that is related to matter will never give you peace and happiness. Hence, transcend matter and see the reality. Develop “Ekatma Bhava” (feeling of oneness). All are one, be alike to everyone.

- Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 38 (2005)

God permeates all beings. “Whomsoever you salute, it reaches God.” “Whomsoever you criticize, it reaches God.” Everything happens by the will of God. One who understands this truth is a real human being. What must you know today? You should know your mistakes and rectify them. That is enough. Help Ever, Hurt Never. You become a true human being when you know this truth. What does the term ‘human being’ mean? A human being is one with morality and character. When people adhere to the path of morality, they will have no suffering. It is only to teach such lessons to humans that God incarnates on earth. One should know the unity in diversity. You may describe the glory of any name of God, but God is one. He is present in everyone as the Atma, which has no name and no form. The same Atma is present in all living beings. You see so many lights here. They appear to be different from each other but the electric current in all of them is the same. When you turn off the main switch, everything will become dark. Various names and forms such as Rama, Krishna, Govinda, Narayana are like the bulbs. The same divinity is present in all these names and forms.                         

- Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 42 (2009)

Whether it is in Sai Organization or in any Organization, or in any region, or in any country, or in any spiritual society, human mind remains the same. Body is the same. Chariot is one. Charioteer is one. You must develop this faith. Cars are of different makes. There are Fiat cars, Ambassador cars, Dodge cars, Ford cars, Benz cars and the like. Like there are so many makes of cars, there are different types of human beings. Each person is akin to a car of one make. But the driver is the same. He is the embodiment of Atma. All human beings must try to understand that Atma is one though the bodies are many. There will, then, be no diversion of mind to believe in diversity. Unity, thus, is accepted. Realize this truth and let there be incremental transformation in us towards good manners and actions. Love all with brotherly affection. Even if there are some misunderstandings, every attempt must be made to correct them with mutual understanding and reconciliation. The Ego factor that overpowers the mind must be controlled first and eliminated eventually. Once accomplished, the misunderstandings get wiped out.  Please do not, therefore, conclude your visit with the feeling that you have come here for Dasara, heard Swami’s discourses, and returning home! Please try to put into practice, at least, one or two advices and thus sanctify your lives.

- Dussera discourse, Oct 2^nd 1987

As the name and fame of Jesus spread, opposition to him developed among a section of Jews. After his father's death, young Jesus considered it his duty to help his mother and revere her as divine. Jesus preached the primary obligation of everyone to show one's gratitude to the parents. Jesus came with his mother to Jerusalem when he was eleven years old. His mother was worried about the activities of Jesus. Jesus was critical of the ways of the Jews in the temple in Jerusalem. He came out against the harmful practices in the temple and preached the omnipresence of God in all living beings. He exhorted the people not to cause harm to anyone. What he preached was in accord with the basic teachings of all religions. He engaged himself in a mission of mercy to the sick and the poor. He offered food to the hungry. Seeing his acts of love and kindness, people declared that he was a "Messenger of God." Jesus constantly referred to God as the father. Later he declared: "I and my father are one." Jesus dedicated his life to the propagation of faith in one God who is common to all mankind. Men today celebrate the birthdays of great holy men, but they do not follow the teachings of the masters. There is nothing great about the celebration of birthdays. People must resolve to uphold their ideals and act up to their teachings.                                                                  

- Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 29 (1996)

Questions for Reflection:

1. Can we reflect on the three stages in Jesus’ life (Messenger of God, Son of God, I and my father are one) and see how we can apply it in our daily lives?
2. When we actualize the practice of seeing good (god) in everyone what are the changes that will bring to our everyday living?
3. How do we constantly keep in mind the impermanency of the world to minimize our negative reactions to any situation?

Video Clip:

Clip 1: Seeing God in Everyone