Talk given by Dr. Pal Dhall, Interfaith Forum, Canberra,
26 September 2010

I greet the Divinity Resident in each one. Brothers and Sisters in Divinity!

First of all I would like to clarify that although this is an interfaith forum the organisation that I speak on behalf of, Sathya Sai Organisation, is not a religion. It is a multi-faith spiritual organisation. It has a permanent charter that embraces all humanity, beyond distinctions of religion, caste, colour or creed. Sathya Sai Baba asks us, His devotees, to recognise and embrace all religions. He says it is good to be born in a religion but it is is a pity to die in one. Through our life's journey we must become capable of recognising that religion embodies a valid philosophy of life and gives authoritative guide to obtain release from existential suffering. His teachings ask a Hindu to become a better Hindu, a Muslim to become a better Muslim and a Christian to become a better Christian. His emphasis is on the spiritual content of every religion, the content that views human life as an opportunity to forge firm ties with Divinity and through that to serve ourselves and the creation with love. It is learning to live as Brotherhood of Humanity in the Fatherhood of God.

His teachings affirm that there are two levels of reality, the ordinary reality of everyday life and a supervening, inseparable Supra-mundane Reality or Divinity or State of Being. The highest purpose of human life is to realise this Supra-mundane Reality or Divinity or State of Being. This is in fact the very goal, the very purpose of human life. To this end in the entire creation human beings are unique. They have the spiritual equipment to be able to obtain direct experience of this Reality. The pathway to Divinity is an experiential journey of human endeavour comprising various spiritual practices and these include spiritual education or wisdom, meditation, devotion and loving selfless service. These are all means to purify the mind and sanctify human life. Transformation is the very essence of spirituality.

The greatest challenge for us in this transformation is our own mind. It is like a key - if we turn it in one direction it locks us. It locks us in the mundane life and keeps us a prisoner in a roller coaster life of negative emotions and experiences - of uncertainty, doubt, fear, occasional hope and plentiful disappointment. Ordinary happiness in mundane life is an interval between two pains. If we turn the key in the other direction, the spiritual direction, then it has the capacity of giving us release from this prison. Purposeful understanding and management of the negative energy of our mind is thus the central task in spirituality. Understanding that in the outer world there is only pieces and fragmentation, separation and discord and that peace is inside - it is our very nature - all we have to do is to tune in to it and overcome the inertia, the negativity and the delusions of the mind.

Thus our state of separation from the Divinity is a creation of the mind and the same mind can give us the capacity and the means to unite with Divinity. In this human endeavour of realising Divinity by cultivating a positive state of mind the Divinity is not a passive witness. Sai Baba teaches that if we take one step towards Divinity then Divinity takes a hundred steps towards us. Indeed just as the humans achieve their very purpose in realising Divinity, Divinity too achieves Its own purpose when human consciousness realises its Oneness with Divine Consciousness. In this sense spirituality is a joint venture between humans and Divinity. It is walking hand in hand with the Divine from moment to moment. It is orchestrating our own inner evolution towards Divinity with the direct assistance of the Guru who is an Inner Resident, or our very Consciousness . For this we do not need an external guru although the external guru can show us the way to contact the Inner Guru.

By its very nature Divinity is Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Truth-Consciousness-Bliss Divinity. It is a potential state of Grace inherent in every being, in every particle, in the tangible and the intangible. The main objective of Sathya Sai Organisation is to engage in spiritual activities in order to awaken humanity to this experience of Divinity inherent in Man and in the Creation. Sai Organisation structures its activities to induct devotees into spirituality through several paths - Spiritual education, meditation, devotion and Spiritual selfless Service. These various paths are to raise the level of awareness of our own true nature of Divinity. Through Spiritual Education we understand with our mind, through meditation and devotional practices we understand with our heart. We create "CIA" - Constant Integrated Awareness, mindfulness on an ongoing basis of who we really are. Through the path of Love and Service we elevate our ordinary consciousness to Divine Consciousness through maintaining a focus on the inherent Divinity in ourselves and others whom we serve through everyday activities. He says:

"The Lord is nearest to you. Slide ajar the door of delusion; part the curtain of ignorance; open the closed eye; He is right there, before you!"

"Hold all your property and wealth in trust for the Lord who gave them to you; even your family, you must treat as a sacred trust, as persons given to you by the Lord to love, foster and guide. Thus you must elevate your attachment into worship and make it an instrument for spiritual progress."

"Love all; revere all; help all to the best of your ability. Endeavour to be as beneficial as sweet as soft as possible. The spot on which you stand becomes as sacred holy ground; the words you utter will be holy as the scriptures. This spiritual practice will lead you to Realisation."

Spirituality as taught by Sathya Sai Baba is universal, accepting of all religions and also resonates with the latest research in psychology, neuroscience, transpersonal psychology, quantum physics, consciousness research, longevity and happiness research.

I would like to end with a quotation from Sai Baba:

When the is righteousness of heart there is beauty in Character,
When there is beauty of character there is harmony in the home,
When there is harmony in the home there is order in the nation,
When there is order in the nation there is peace in the World