Every individualized spark of the Full Flame from which it emanated is progressing (oh, how slowly it seems).....
Peggy Mason: "Sathya Sai Sense of Humour.
Yes, it is always difficult to speak of Sai Baba, but one always yearns to know more. Rightfully, one could state that the subject has been exhausted, and that by now there is nothing more to discover and to know. The interest, however, grows more and more. As soon as someone talks about Him the attention is aroused, the heart is switched on, and His story endlessly fascinates us. What surprises me even more is the creativity with which this story manifests itself with infinite scenarios, endless and exciting turn of events and episodes. For me this is already an indication of the unfathomable Sai mystery, and of His Infinite Essence. If this Reality were finite, it could be framed into a pattern and exhausted in a few years of studying. A mystery that is never fully unfolded.... -Mario Mazzoleni: "Unfathomable Mystery.
While preparing to assist the University in bringing out two souvenirs: Sai Sparshan and Divine Vision (both available now at our University website), I happened to discover many of the essays included here and recognized more than archival value in them. But every one of them has appeared in souvenirs in various places, and all of them out of print. I could find some in the university library; several in Book Trust library; others obtained from the university office, and colleagues and friends. It is not easy for the vast majority of educated devotees to get hold of a copy of many of these outofprint publications. These extraordinary human experiences are in danger of being lost to Sai devotees now spread the world over.
The very list of authors included here-a mere selection- reads like a roll call of honour: Murphet, Hislop, Kasturi, Gokak.... Others are included because I believe they deserve the attention of all Sai devotees, present and future. The vocational range of the contributors is rare: from a Marxist journalist like Karanjia to a devout devotee like Professor Kasturi; intellectuals of a large spectrum: professionals, scientists, physicians and surgeons, psychiatrists and psychologists, judges, professors, bureaucrats, priests and pastors..... (That speaks, of course, of Sai charisma!)
Many devotees, though educated, are not inclined to read books, even on Sai; they would welcome a short version, in essay form, even as many lovers of fiction prefer the short story to the novel. For such readers here is a compendium of Sai: covering almost every aspect of Sai Bhagawan-from the biographical to the metaphysical and philosophical for the enjoyment and edification of the common reader. Several authors here recount Sai experiences of earlier decades, beginning with the '40s. Each of these articles takes up some aspect of the mission, such as education, health, divinity etc, for Bhagawan is sahasraseersha purushah-in our everyday experience-architect, physician-surgeon, teacher... manager, management Gurul Organiser! Swami the scientist... but ultimately unfathomable mystery as Mario Mazzoleni has discovered. The volume adds up to an over-view of the entire mission to-date, and its key cast in this cosmic play: and the divine wisdom and insight and patience and perseverance with which Swami has gathered his devotees for love and service. The rising, surging generations of devotees need to know about them.
Some of these contributions actually read like good fiction; for example, Baranowski, Murphet, or Hislop. Lovers of English style will find a range from the simple to the literary. Like good poems/short stories many of these essays make immediate impact: appeal to the human heart. Some of these contributions such as Professor Gokak's historic letter, Baranowski, Hislop, and others can be prescribed for study by our students in Sai schools and colleges which have been coming up on several continents; also used as texts in Awareness classes.
This volume is, at the same time a graded anthology: from the simple and straightforward to the highly philosophical: the volume can be treated as a course in Sai spirituality. A lot of people actually first approach Bhagawan with doubt and scepticism and a feeling of déjà vu: "IS HE?; then follows awe and wonder "ISN'T HE!!"; finally devotion, which gives one dedication and discipline and faith and serenity: "HE IS". This is the dialectic of the spiritual impact of Sai Avatar, and this curve, this rhythm, provides the formal unity, structural principle of this volume.
No one can claim the last word on Sail Nor can he believe he has heard the last word on Sai! While, for the new generation of Sai devotees, a large number of them in their teens, this volume could be a handy reader of Sai revelations; for senior devotees, a delightful trek over what they believe to be familiar territory and loved ground yet full of fresh surprises. And this Anthology could open a door to the delights of mankind's Sai heritage.
Vedas (1216)
Upanishads (508)
Puranas (638)
Ramayana (764)
Mahabharata (376)
Dharmasastras (168)
Goddess (519)
Bhakti (248)
Saints (1605)
Gods (1310)
Shiva (396)
Journal (181)
Fiction (64)
Vedanta (382)
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