Introduction
Our humble pranams at the Divine Lotus Feet of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba! Baba, Prof. Anil Kumar entrusted us with the sacred task By the grace of Yugavatara Sarväntaryami Bhagawan of editing the Satyopanisad. Being Swami's translator for several years, he conveyed in the English rendering of the Telugu Satyopanisad all the nuances and graces typical of Swami's Divine utterances. We translated, not without some trepidation, a few pages that still remained in Telugu. Fortunately, these met with Prof. Anil Kumar's approval, From the questions and Swami's responses in this Upanisad, we can surmise that besides the students, there were present a few others, probably parents and at least one journalist. Naturally, their concerns are matters like the opposing pulls of parents and Bhagawan, of Prasanthi Nilayam and the outside world, besides career options, current social and economic trends and moral dilemmas. However, the interlocutor-in-chief remains Prof. Anil Kumar himself, though he rarely raises a personal matter. This is primarily because he would not willingly let go any chance to learn from the Voice Divine. The tone and the tenor of some of the questions makes it clear that often, he plays the spokesman for the vast body of silent and hesitant spiritual aspirants and that of the devil's advocate, drawing out from our Merciful Swami responses to many prejudices, distortions and misgivings. These last, if Swami does not quell them, can undermine the devotees' self-trust and faith in divinity. These are some features that make the Satyopanisad unique. the Satyopanisad, one is struck by its vibrant, wide-ranging, earthly, everyday no-nonsense topicality. Brain drain and price hike, women's lib and generation gap, white dress and vegetarianism, devotees -Indian and overseas, sākāra and nirākāra, Providence and prarabdha, the origin of evil, the 5th puruşärtha, Rama's 'fair play' and Krishna's 'partiality' - almost every issue affecting the life of a spiritual aspirant is raised and resolved in these pages. When a questioner's thinking is muddled, Bhagawan out of His abounding Love rephrases the question and brings into the open a lurking fear. Then, the negative passive listener or reader advances towards a more aware and confident selfhood, Bhagawan corrects our 'I-glasses, probes into our 'in-vironment', evaluates our 'proper-ties' and leads us towards the Bliss of 'Atma-sphere'. Here is an Upaniṣad oriented to our egos and mind-sets, confusions and hesitations. The Satyopaniṣad displays the criss-crossing of several themes and approaches: a question exposes a layer of meaning that comes up for discussion in a different context. The concerns of the questioners often overlap, because of their youth, educational background and hopes for the future. However, some contours emerge and reveal a basis for grouping the questions round some areas of interest, which can be re-grouped in terms of their direct focus. Thus the 270 questions that figure here are presented in 9 Chapters under 3 Parts - Samskṛti, Sadhaka and Sadhana. The first two are included in Volume - I and the third in Volume - II. Spirituality is at the core of Indian culture and it is by the virtue of this, that Indian culture is immortal.
About The Book
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the revered Sathya Bodhaka (Teacher of Truth), in His infinite grace permitted a select band of students and academics of Sri Sathya Sal University to participate in spiritual retreats organized in Kodaikanal during four summers. Bhagawan Baba answered in the traditional Upanishadic style, questions on a wide range of topics - political, economic, social, psychological, metaphysical, ethical, educational, scientific, cultural and spiritual. These conversations indeed constitute an Upanishad for modern living. Prof Anil Kumar, an academician and well known devotee of Baba compiled them in two volumes under the title "Satyopanisad" in three parts, viz., Samskriti and Sadhaka (Volume 1) and Sadhana (Volume II). These two volumes are highly beneficial to devotees seeking answers to genuine spiritual doubts.
Vedas (1209)
Upanishads (504)
Puranas (632)
Ramayana (757)
Mahabharata (365)
Dharmasastras (166)
Goddess (510)
Bhakti (249)
Saints (1531)
Gods (1302)
Shiva (386)
Journal (181)
Fiction (61)
Vedanta (371)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Visual Search
Manage Wishlist