Sathya Sai Baba's letter to his brother, 25 May 1947

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Sathya Sai Baba's letter to his brother, 25 May 1947

 

On 25 May 1947, at the age of 20, in response to a letter from his

brother who was concerned with what he was doing, Sri Sathya Sai

Baba wrote the following letter. This letter disclosed his mission.

Dr. Gokak's essay, An Historic Letter of Baba (in Golden Age,

Kingdom of Sathya Sai, Brindavan, India, 1979, pp. 1-9), gives

particulars surrounding this letter, and this letter was typed from

that essay.

 

_______

 

 

My dear One! I received the communication that you wrote and sent; I

found in it the surging floods of your devotion and affection, with

the undercurrents of doubts and anxiety. Let me tell you that it is

impossible to plumb the hearts and discover the natures of jnaanis,

yogis, ascetics, saints, sages, and the like. People are endowed

with a variety of characteristics and mental attitudes, so each one

judges according to his own angle, talks and argues in the light of

his own nature. But we have to stick to our own right path, our own

wisdom, our own resolution without getting affected by popular

appraisal. As the proverb says, it is only the fruit-laden tree that

receives the shower of stones from passers-by. The good always

provoke the bad into calumny; the bad always provoke the good into

derision. That is the nature of this world. One must be surprised if

such things do not happen.

 

The people have to be pitied, rather than condemned. They do not

know. They have no patience to judge aright. They are too full of

lust, anger, and conceit to see clearly and know fully. So, they

write all manner of things. If they only knew, they would not talk

or write like that. We, too, should not attach any value to such

comments and take them to heart, as you seem to do. Truth will

certainly triumph some day. Untruth can never win. Untruth might

appear to overpower Truth, but its victory will fade away and Truth

will establish itself.

 

It is not the way of the great to swell when people offer worship

and to shrink when people scoff. As a matter of fact, no sacred text

lays down rules to regulate the lives of the great, prescribing

habits and attitudes that they must adopt. They themselves know the

path they must tread; their wisdom regulates and makes their acts

holy. Self-reliance, beneficial activity --these two are their

special marks. They may also be engaged in the promotion of the

welfare of devotees and in allotting them the fruits of their

actions. Why should you be affected by tangle and worry, as long as

I am adhering to these two? After all, praise and blame of the

populace do not touch the Atma, the reality; they can touch only the

outer physical frame.

 

I have a "Task": To foster all mankind and ensure for all of them

lives full of bliss (ananda). 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. When I

am thus engaged in my beneficial task, how can my name be tarnished,

as you apprehend? I would advise you not to heed such absurd talk.

Mahatmas do not acquire greatness through someone calling them so;

they do not become small when someone calls them small. Only those

low ones who revel in opium and marijuana but claim to be unexcelled

yogis, only those who quote scriptural texts to justify their

gourmandry and pride, only those who are dry-as-dust scholars

exulting in their casuistry and argumentative skill --only those

will be moved by praise or blame.

 

You must have read life stories of saints and divine personages; in

those books, you must have read of even worse falsehoods and more

heinous imputations cast against them. This is the lot of mahatmas

everywhere, at all times. Why then do you take these things so much

to heart? Have you not heard of dogs that howl at the stars? How

long can they go on? Authenticity will win.

 

I will not give up my mission, nor my determination. I know I will

carry them out. I treat the honor and dishonor, the fame and blame

that may be the consequence, with equal equanimity. Internally, I am

unconcerned. I act but in the outer world; I talk and move about for

the sake of the outer world and for announcing my coming to the

people; else, I have no concern even with these.

 

I do not belong to any place; I am not attached to any name. I have

no "mine" or "thine". I answer whatever the name you use. I go

wherever I am taken. This is my very first vow. I have not disclosed

this to anyone so far. For me, the world is something afar, apart. I

act and move only for the sake of mankind. No one can comprehend my

glory, whoever he is, whatever his method of enquiry, however long

his attempt.

 

You can yourself see the full glory in the coming years. Devotees

must have patience and forbearance.

 

I am not concerned, nor am I anxious, that these facts should be

known. I have no need to write these words; I wrote them because I

felt you would be pained if I do not reply.

 

Thus, your Baba

 

http://www.sathyasai.org/intro/babaslet.htm