Sathya Sai Baba The World-Avatar Teaching and Revelations

Struggle against the Blindness and Illusion of the
World
Christ said once that bliss plays around the tender cheeks of children
in whom there are no desires. Children often exhibit this bliss in a remarkable
manner. The bliss and happiness which children show have
no parallel in anything else in the world. For example, if a mother is carrying
a child and walking on the road, the child sometimes looks back
and laughs. Children have this extraordinary quality in them that they
can make elders laugh too. The reason is that they are under no illusion
about the importance of their bodies. (35-152)
It has become common for you to hide the connection that exists between
the five elements that constitute the basis of creation and of Atman.
Because ignorance covers the reality here. This cover is of two
kinds. One is called untruth and the other is called wrong ideas. The
idea that comes from the feeling that a particular thing does not exist
is represented by untruth. A feeling that one does not know whether a
particular item exists or does not exist, is referred to as ignorance. This
type of ignorance is responsible for repeated birth and death and is the
only hindrance on the path of liberation. Contemplation and meditation
are two processes by which this ignorance of untruth can be eliminated.
(...)
Because of illusion in your mind, you create things which do not exist.
Lack of belief and faith make you forget the existence of what exists.
Although what really exists is the rope, in imagination we think it is a
snake. Why? The reason is the darkness arising in you out of ignorance.
Several consequences follow this thought that the rope is a
snake. Fear enters and you run away from the situation. These consequences
follow; there is no snake. The fear that comes into you is
simply illusion and running away from it is the result of illusion. If with
the help of a light, you remove this illusion and this ignorance and you
discover that there is no snake there, then you can go close to it and
fear will disappear. In fact you will handle it with your hand, take it and
threw it away. In the whole world, what really exists, is only an aspect
of Brahman. Because you do not believe in this aspect of Brahman,
creation which is only a projection on the substratum of Brahman appears
to you as real. By proper experience, you can make an attempt
to unravel this myth. Once you understand the nature of Brahman and
get the meaning of the word, you will be in a position to use the right
349