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these nine elements, remembering them one by one. Each element speaks to the problem and helps me put it in proper perspective. In short, they give the mind a mooring place where confusion gives way to clarity.
Endnotes
1 With Love, Man is God is my way of expressing the four great Mahavakyas (declarations) found in the Vedas (spiritual scriptures of Hinduism) about man’s oneness with divinity.
1) Tat Twam Asi means “That Thou Art” or “I am one with all.” 2) Ayam Atma Brahma means “I am Atma Brahma (God).”
3) Prajnanam Brahma means “I am constant integrated awareness,” the awareness of the underlying unity in the apparent diversity.
4) Aham Brahmasmi means “I am God.”
2 Swami explains the significance of worshiping the Lord’s feet. “What is the significance of worshiping the Lord’s feet? There is the devotee’s yearning for touching the Lord. How is this to be done? The easiest way is to touch the feet of the Lord. A spiritual significance is aached to the touching of the Lord’s feet, which sanctify the earth by walking on it. Scientifically, also, there is meaning in “paadasparsa” (touching the feet). The blood circulates from the feet to the head. When one touches the toes of the Lord’s feet, he or she can experience a current present in the toes. That is divine energy. From a mundane point of view, the body appears as a physical form, from the spiritual point of view, there is an aura around every body. It has effulgence from which arises spiritual energy. This energy produces vibrations. That is why it is declared, ‘Sight of the Lord destroys all sins. Dialogue with the Lord destroys all sorrows.’ Because the spiritual significance of these practices is not properly understood, people fall prey to confusion.” (Sathya Sai Baba Discourse, December 12, 1994)
3 Swami says that Buddha taught important lessons about sense control. Buddha taught right seeing, right hearing, right speech, right feeling, and right action. He found that when he looked outward to the external world, to the words of great ones and scriptures, his efforts failed. He was looking for the permanent but found that no one can change the impermanent nature of the external world. When he turned inward, to his own self, he found the absolute and eternal. To accomplish this, the mind must control the senses
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