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x SPIRIT AND THE MIND
man’s mind, defining its nature, the principle of duality upon which it rests, different levels of evolution of mental development and its various strengths and fears. The outer boundary of this young science is now approaching the realms of wisdom of the great ancient spiritual systems. It is as if—as in Michaelangelo’s famous image on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—we are reaching that electrifying moment in time when God, beckoning from heaven for dormant mankind to awaken, actually touches us, moving us to arise and become aware of our own divine nature. This book is intended to focus attention on the nature of that awakening touch and the stir- rings in man that follow.
In the course of this book I will tell you about an Indian holy man, or Avatar,3 named Sathya Sai Baba, as well as something about his mission and message, because I am convinced that the life and teachings of Sathya Sai Baba represent the most compelling living proof of the existence of Universal Consciousness, or God—and that becoming aware of his meaning will help us bridge the gap between God and man and help us understand the relationship of spirit to mind, spirituality to science and Universal Consciousness to man’s personal consciousness.
From the start, because people are skeptical and wary about preaching and proselytizing, I’d like to make it clear that I am not interested in promoting Sai Baba. My intention is not to add yet another name to the growing list of competing spiritual figureheads and messages — nor to try to influence readers toward one path and away from another. My intention, rather, is to remind us that as science and spirituality converge, and as different religions come together, it is quite understandable that new insights and advances in thinking will come from a “scientist of consciousness” or a spiritually evolved teacher, who is able to speak in a universally understood language.
And I must tell you that I feel Sai Baba’s importance to our age cannot be overemphasized in this regard. I am convinced that he not only talks about Universal Consciousness but that he is Universal Consciousness. The wonderous and inexplicable happenings and miracles that are part of his life are concrete and convincing evidence of the supramental, transcendental, spiritual dimension and signs of a consciousness without boundary.