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Seeing Swami in such bliss, I knew he was talking about a relationship he himself had with Radha. Here was Sai Krishna! I thought, “Swami, I’d love to be like that too; I want to be like that.” Unfortunately, the world is distracting. I wondered, could we fill ourselves only with Swami like the gopis did with Krishna? Can we be so much in love with Swami that all other thoughts and feelings just melt away and have no more power over us? I know it can happen; it happened the first time Swami came to me personally, in response to my pain, and gave me two small pieces of candy. This inner experience exists and is more real than the outer world, and I know that Swami’s love can bring it alive.
Swami gives us instructions on how to keep our minds focused on God. Our practice should be not too much and not too lile. People with an obsessive disposition might try too hard and then falter; lazy people might not try enough, and hence not advance. “It’s like shaving with a straight razor. Press too hard and you get cut, press too lightly and nothing happens,” says Sai Baba.
Repeat the Name of God
Swami says that repeating God’s name or saying a holy mantra is the most potent way in this age to experience God. He tells us that God’s name is God Himself. Constantly repeating God’s name keeps our devotion alive.
Swami has encouraged us to immerse our
minds in chanting a name of God or holy
mantra such as Om or the Gayatri mantra.
Om, says Swami, is the primordial sound
that gives rise to all creation. Creation
continually vibrates with the sound of Om,
and when we chant this sacred sound we
can become one with Om, transcend duality, and realize our divine nature. The holy Gayatri mantra is called the “mother
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