Sathya Sai Baba on the easiest path to self-realisation

India continues to be a holy land. It is a place where spiritual seekers from all paths come to learn about the meaning of life and to try and attain self-realization, freedom from the belief that they are separate from That which they seek. They come for the mystical union that masters and yogis have declared possible.

Sathya Sai Baba said, "Love is Divine. You must love all. More so, impart your love even to those who lack love. Love is like a mariner's compass. Wherever you may keep it, it should always point towards God. Manifest selfless love in every action in your daily life. Divinity will emerge from that love. This is the easiest path to God realization."

Why do we resist an easy path? In my case, I thought that great achievements had to be hard earned. When I came to live at Sai Baba's Ashram, I approached my studies like a novitiate at a convent. I took giving up the world literally. Swami, in his gentle way, explained why people didn't take to the easy path.

He noted, "This is because they are obsessed with misconceptions relating to the means of experiencing God. They regard God as some remote entity attainable only by arduous spiritual practices."

That was me! Gradually, I relaxed and let go of my extreme strictness. Before long, I came to understand what Puttaparthi Sai Baba was teaching.

"God is everywhere," he insisted. "There is no need to search for God. All that you see is a manifestation of the Divine. All the human beings you see are forms of the Divine. Correct your defective vision and you will experience God in all things. The power of love is immeasurable. Hence, develop and practice the sense of the spiritual oneness of all beings."