Transforming Selfishness into Selflessness

The default consciousness of this material world is selfishness. In fact it is selfishness which is the very cause of our being here in the first place. Just as selfishness was our ticket for originally coming to this material world, selflessness will be our ticket out of here. Selflessness does not mean denial of the self's existence, which is the philosophical position of the Mayavadi impersonalists. Selflessness means to engage oneself fully in loving service to the Supreme Self, the Supreme Person who is the source of all existence. As soon as one does this his loving service is immediately transmitted to all living beings throughout the entire existence. All we have to do is take our current tendency towards selfishness and direct it to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This will make us perfect in selflessness and liberate us from the cycle of birth and death.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Should I Go to Meet Satya Sai Baba?

I have heard that Satya Sai Baba is the incarnation of God Krishna. I have also heard that you know all. Could you please throw some light on it. I am planning to go to meet him because I don't want to miss an opportunity to meet God in this lifetime and be blessed.

Thanks & Regards
P.C.

Answer: Here's a Better Option

Nowadays it has become very fashionable to become the latest incarnation of God. But since the actual incarnations of God are predicted in the scriptures there is no need to speculate about who is God's incarnation. According to the authority of the Srimad Bhagavatam, the next incarnation of the Lord will be the Kalki Avatar. Kalki is scheduled to appear in another 427,000 years. Therefore anyone who at the present time claims to be God or allows his followers to proclaim that he is God is responsible for the dissemination of misinformation.

Another point is that Krishna never ages past a 16 to 20 years old youth. Anyone who sees the yogi you have mentioned can clearly see that he has an aging man's body. This proves conclusively that he cannot be an incarnation of Krishna.

Just because someone is a powerful yogi does not mean that he is God. Anyone who undergoes the proper training can become a powerful yogi and can display various types of magic such as levitation and procuring objects from a distant place. If you were to undergo the proper training, you could also display the same magical powers. But this would not make you God.

As you are requesting me for guidance, my best advice to you is that you should understand everything properly in the light of sastric vision and not allow yourself to be carried away by the foolishness of those who are in ignorance of the authoritative Vedic scriptures. In this connection it is sometimes said that fools rush in where angels fear to tread. So it is best not to go running after people who are falsely being advertised as God.

Of course, this does not mean that we are disrespectful to such so-called incarnations. Our philosophy is to be fully respectful to all, even the little ant, because we see that the Supreme Lord is present as the Supersoul in the hearts of all living beings. Therefore we also respect them for the spark of divinity which is found within them and everyone else. But this does not mean that we should accept that an ant is or that a yogis is God.

You have respectfully asked for advice and I have answered you according to the authoritative version of the Vedic literature and the great sages such as Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa, who guided the Vedic civilization for thousands of years. It is better that you should go instead to meet a bona fide spiritual master because he can liberate you from the cycle of birth and death. One who is not himself liberated cannot liberate us. Therefore we should always seek out the blessings and guidance of a liberated soul, the bona fide spiritual master, not those who are responsible for the dissemination of misinformation.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari