beware of dream deceptions
APRIL 23, 2020
This article written by an international long-time devotee reminds us of the importance of following Swami's directives on using our discrimination when it comes to following others' dream guidance. As His constant heart-to-heart connection with each of us is always there with us, let us focus on listening to the conscience instead of listening to others. Let us study His pointers so that we aren't led astray in this way.
Madhusudan’s followers have been claiming to receive dream messages from Swami which are to be given to all devotees. In these dream messages, they claim that Swami has said that He wants as many people as possible to survive coronavirus as He needs all of his 'soldiers', and that something wondrous is going to happen after the virus.
Please search through Sathya Sai Speaks, Summer Showers and the Vahinis. You will find that Swami never once referred to His devotees as soldiers. It is Madhusudan Naidu who calls his followers ‘soldiers.’ Swami also never said that there would be some sudden and glorious change in the world; it is Madhusudan who said that. Swami always said that this change in the world would come gradually, but that the change would be permanent:
Please search through Sathya Sai Speaks, Summer Showers and the Vahinis. You will find that Swami never once referred to His devotees as soldiers. It is Madhusudan Naidu who calls his followers ‘soldiers.’ Swami also never said that there would be some sudden and glorious change in the world; it is Madhusudan who said that. Swami always said that this change in the world would come gradually, but that the change would be permanent:
Now, having come, be assured the task will be accomplished, but not as fast as impatient humans would like. By an intensive T.V. campaign, rapid change could be accomplished, but it would be only temporary. God sees things differently to man and He knows that to start early, drive slowly, reach safely is correct. The change that Baba is bringing about may be through slow methods, such as His colleges, but the methods will be effective.
CWBSSSB p.37, or http://media.radiosai.org/journals/Vol_03/08AUG01/cws.htm
H: Can it be said that the reversal given to Vivekananda's life by the touch of Ramakrishna is given to our own lives merely by the Darshan of Baba?
SAI: Baba does not do that. He slowly and gradually changes the lives of his devotees. But the change is permanent.
CWBSSSB p.87, or http://media.radiosai.org/journals/Vol_04/01MAY06/conversation.htm
I shall certainly achieve the purpose of this Avathar, do not doubt it. I will take My own time to carry out My plan. So far as you are concerned, I cannot hurry because you are hurrying. I may, some time, wait until I can achieve ten things in one stroke; just as an engine is not used to haul one coach, but waits until sufficient haulage in proportion to its capacity is ready. My word will never fail; It must happen as I Will.
SSS1.31: 29 September 1960, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume01/sss01-31.pdf
"Baba," I asked, "Will your message soon be known throughout the world"? "Not soon," He said: "slowly. It will be hard for people to understand my message. It will only come about slowly."
Dr Samuel Sandweiss, Sai Baba The Holy Man and the Psychiatrist, pp.230-231
Madhusudan is also now trying to claim he predicted the Coronavirus pandemic, despite being caught totally unprepared for it and having to cancel his European tour at the last moment as a result.
CWBSSSB p.37, or http://media.radiosai.org/journals/Vol_03/08AUG01/cws.htm
H: Can it be said that the reversal given to Vivekananda's life by the touch of Ramakrishna is given to our own lives merely by the Darshan of Baba?
SAI: Baba does not do that. He slowly and gradually changes the lives of his devotees. But the change is permanent.
CWBSSSB p.87, or http://media.radiosai.org/journals/Vol_04/01MAY06/conversation.htm
I shall certainly achieve the purpose of this Avathar, do not doubt it. I will take My own time to carry out My plan. So far as you are concerned, I cannot hurry because you are hurrying. I may, some time, wait until I can achieve ten things in one stroke; just as an engine is not used to haul one coach, but waits until sufficient haulage in proportion to its capacity is ready. My word will never fail; It must happen as I Will.
SSS1.31: 29 September 1960, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume01/sss01-31.pdf
"Baba," I asked, "Will your message soon be known throughout the world"? "Not soon," He said: "slowly. It will be hard for people to understand my message. It will only come about slowly."
Dr Samuel Sandweiss, Sai Baba The Holy Man and the Psychiatrist, pp.230-231
Madhusudan is also now trying to claim he predicted the Coronavirus pandemic, despite being caught totally unprepared for it and having to cancel his European tour at the last moment as a result.
Sathya Sai Baba on those who claim to receive dream messages
Regarding such dream messages and those who claim to receive such messages, it is important for Sai devotees to first look at what Sathya Sai Baba Himself said, before accepting the claims of another person. Especially when that person’s claims contradict what Swami said. First, He said that when He comes in someone's dream it is to convey a message to that individual alone. He does not come to anyone to give them messages for all devotees as Madhusudan and his followers claim:
When I appear in a dream, it is to communicate something to the individual.
SSSun Vol 4, p.100, http://www.vahini.org/downloads/sathyamsivamsundaram-IV.html
People say 'Baba appeared to me in a dream and commanded me to do this and that, to you, to collect so much from you etc., etc. Do not give heed to such cheats; punish them in the way they deserve. That is the advice I have to give you.
SSS 5.20: 29 March 1965, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume05/sss05-20.pdf
Swami also warned us that most of the claims people make about having dreams or visions of the Divine are the result of their own delusion. This being the case, it is doubly important to examine any person’s claims in the light of Swami’s own teachings.
Some people say they had the vision of the Divine in their dream. Some others say they had it in their meditation. Yet others declare they had seen God through their jnana nethra (eye of wisdom). Most of these claims are the result of man’s delusion. They are not real.
SSS 37.19: 25 October 2004, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume37/sss37-19.pdf
Considering that these come from Madhusudan’s followers and the messages are a message given by Madhusudan Naidu, how can any Sai devotee believe that the messages truly come from Sathya Sai Baba?
Consider also the similarity of these claims to those of B N Narasimhamurthy, the architect of the Muddenahalli deception. He also claimed that ‘Swami’ was coming in his dreams with messages for all devotees. What has been the result of those dream messages? They grew into the Muddenahalli cult, which is actively working to destroy the unity that Swami spent His entire life building among His devotees. And why? So that its leaders can make money from Swami’s name. This is why Swami warned us not to believe those who claim they are messengers for Swami.
When someone claims that Swami came in their dream with a message for all devotees, they are putting themselves in between Baba and His devotees as an intermediary. However, Baba said that he does not need intermediaries:
Consider also the similarity of these claims to those of B N Narasimhamurthy, the architect of the Muddenahalli deception. He also claimed that ‘Swami’ was coming in his dreams with messages for all devotees. What has been the result of those dream messages? They grew into the Muddenahalli cult, which is actively working to destroy the unity that Swami spent His entire life building among His devotees. And why? So that its leaders can make money from Swami’s name. This is why Swami warned us not to believe those who claim they are messengers for Swami.
When someone claims that Swami came in their dream with a message for all devotees, they are putting themselves in between Baba and His devotees as an intermediary. However, Baba said that he does not need intermediaries:
Do not believe if any one comes to you and declares, "Sathya Sai Baba came to me in my dream and commissioned me to do publicity for him. Please help me as far as you can". I do not commission any one for such work, either in dream or while he is awake. Such men are cheats; treat them as such, without mercy.
SSS 5.16: 26 March 1965, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume05/sss05-16.pdf
I never speak through another. I never use another or possess another physical vehicle to express Myself. I am not a ghost or spirit to do so, to need some medium. I come direct, I speak direct, I come as I am or as I will to come in fresh created Forms. I do not use weak vacillating human vehicles; I confer boons straight and without any intermediary".
SSSun Vol 2, p.202, http://www.vahini.org/downloads/sathyamsivamsundaram-II.html
However, Muddenahalli followers depend on the fact that some true Sai devotees don’t know about Baba’s loving guidance about those who claim to receive messages from Him in dreams. Those MDH followers then spread such messages without realising the simple truth of the matter:
1. The originator of the message is making a claim which contradicts Swami’s teachings.
2. By making this claim the person interposes themselves between Baba and His devotees as an intermediary, something Baba repeatedly said He does not need.
3. The dream message contains the words of Madhusudan Naidu, not Sathya Sai Baba, and finally
4. The person, as devoted follower of Madhusudan Naidu, claims he is ‘possessed’ by Baba, so they are no longer following the guidance of Swami.
Baba has said that for any Sai devotee to believe claims that someone is possessed by Baba is a matter of which they should be ashamed!
1. The originator of the message is making a claim which contradicts Swami’s teachings.
2. By making this claim the person interposes themselves between Baba and His devotees as an intermediary, something Baba repeatedly said He does not need.
3. The dream message contains the words of Madhusudan Naidu, not Sathya Sai Baba, and finally
4. The person, as devoted follower of Madhusudan Naidu, claims he is ‘possessed’ by Baba, so they are no longer following the guidance of Swami.
Baba has said that for any Sai devotee to believe claims that someone is possessed by Baba is a matter of which they should be ashamed!
…Even those who cry in pure agonising yearning, Sai, Sai, Sai, and lead pure unselfish virtuous lives, even these find it hard to realise Me; how then can these low scheming vulgar men who know no saadhana, sincerity, truth and humility, how can these people claim that they have been blessed by me? They may wear the same style of dress, imitate gestures and style of speech but these will only bring their falsehood into greater prominence. That I am supposed to "possess" such people or speak through them or shower My Grace on them is an assumption of which one ought to be ashamed! How then can anyone believe it, I wonder.
SSS 10.35: 22 November 1970, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume10/sss10-35.pdf
Baba also said that those who revere such people are turning away from Him and running after falsehood:
I do not use others as My media; I have no need to…. Their gestures, words, and actions are hollow and vain; those who burn incense before them and revere them are turning away from Me and running after falsehood.
SSS 2.31: 4 March 1962, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume02/sss02-31.pdf
Considering what Baba has said about this, why would Sai devotees believe any message given by Madhusudan or his followers? Baba said that no real devotee will make such claims, nor would a real devotee listen to them:
Also, people claiming association with Me, claiming that I have blessed them more plentifully than others, and authorised them to go about the bhaktas and gain importance or funds or donations! Real devotees will never announce such absurd claims or listen to such claims made by others.
SSS 12.33: 1 April 1974, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume12/sss12-33.pdf
Heart to Heart Connection
Baba gave out these warnings out of love for us, to protect us and ensure that unscrupulous people cannot take advantage of our devotion to Him. Let us therefore put our faith in Swami, rather than those who make the dubious claim of being possessed by Baba, or the claims of those who say they have messages from Him. Swami Himself said that He lives in your own heart, in all His Glory!
My Grace is showered wherever you are through My infinite Love, without even calculating or measuring the readiness of your subconscious to receive it and benefit by it. The Grace itself will confer on you the faith and the strength, the wisdom and the joy. I am in your heart all the time, whether you know it or not.
SSS 11.14: 24 February 1971, http://sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume11/sss11-14.pdf
Do not imagine that God is residing in Kaashi or Raameshwaram or Puttaparthi. Know that He is in your own heart; evoke Him from there, invoke Him there, and He grants you the Vision, immediately. I am in your heart and so, your tricks cannot mislead the God you are. You are Sathya-swaruupa---the embodiments of Truth.
SSS 10.23: 4 October 1970, http://sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume10/sss10-23.pdf
There is only one sun, but it is reflected in a million tanks and wells and pots. God is One, and His reflections are the individuals (jivis), each with the sole (Atma) apparent therein. There are lakhs of people here now, and in each one of you now, Swami is shining in your heart.
SSS 2.27: 2 December 1961, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume02/sss02-27.pdf
Since Swami is shining in your heart, what need is there of an intermediary who claims they can tell us what He is saying? Swami said that His voice is the voice of your own conscience and that if we follow that voice, we will never come to harm:
I advise you to 'Follow the Master.' By 'Master' I mean the Conscience within you, the Voice of God.
SSS 14.13: 22 November 1978, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume14/sss14-13.pdf
The body is the temple of God; in every body, God is installed, whether the owner of the body recognises it or not. It is God that inspires you to good acts, that warns you against the bad. Listen to that Voice. Obey that Voice and you will not come to any harm.
SSS 2.3: 27 February 1961, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume02/sss02-03.pdf
God is Jyothirmayudu (Embodiment of Light). So, He has nothing to do with your good or bad. He is just a witness. He is present in everybody as conscience. That is why I keep telling, Follow the Master, Face the devil, Fight to the end, Finish the game. Who is your Master? Here, Conscience is your Master. So, follow your Conscience till the end of your life.
SSS 31.28: 4 September 1998, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume31/sss31-28.pdf
Baba said that this Divinity within us is the best guru and that we should listen to His voice within, rather than seeking external gurus and instead finding turmoil:
The best Guru is the Divine in you; yearn for hearing His Voice, His Upadesh. If you seek worldly Gurus, you will have to run from one to another, like a rat caught inside a drum, which flees to the right when the drummer beats on the left and to the left when he beats the right!
SSS 10.23: 4 October 1970, http://sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume10/sss10-23.pdf
Since Baba is in your heart and His voice is the voice of conscience, why would He need anyone else to speak to you on His behalf? He can already talk to you. We have all had the experience of Baba guiding us in our everyday lives. But of course, the question arises, how do we tell the difference between Swami's voice and our own monkey mind? Dr John Hislop asked Swami that exact question. Here, he relates the answer Swami gave him:
Hislop:
How can we distinguish our conscience from our monkey mind? Practice. You see. So far we don't consult our conscience. What we should do, is to sit quietly—now Swami gives an example—He says that if you have a question that you don't really know the answer to and you read Swami's teachings and still don't know the answer then you can ask Him directly in this way. Sit quietly for about 20 minutes and think only of Swami as being in the heart—as being your reality. Think of Him. See His form. See His face. Remember His sayings. Every time the mind starts to wander away, bring it back immediately to thinking about Swami in one way or another. Then after 20 minutes of that full concentration on Swami, ask the question. And within a short time your mind will be clear and you will know what the answer to the question is.
Dr John Hislop, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/sathya-sai-babas-advaita-teachings-by.html
If you want Swami's advice, He will provide it from within. Since many of us all around the world are now unable to leave our houses, now is a perfect opportunity for each of us to cultivate this inner relationship with Swami and fill ourselves with His love. This is a precious chance for each of us. As He said:
Cultivate nearness to Me in the heart and you will be rewarded. Then you too will acquire a fraction of the Supreme Prema. This is the great chance.
SSS 4.31: 10 October 1964, http://sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume04/sss04-31.pdf
That nearness to Him and that supreme love is what each of us needs now. Many devotees are concerned about Coronavirus, whether that concern be for themselves or someone else. Here, Swami tells us how to seek healing from Him. He also says that if He is pleased with us, He will heal us immediately and no karma can stop that:
"Whenever your faith meets my love, there is a cure."
Baba, quoted in Divine Memories of Sathya Sai Baba, p.21
Now coming to the main points of your question, this healing phenomena has a dual aspect. I can cure, save, even resurrect people provided they are in a spiritually receptive condition. It is like the positive and negative currents of electricity. My capacity to heal can be compared to the positive current. Your devotion to Me is like the negative current. Once the two come together, the devotion provides what is called the miracle of healing.
It is man's mind that is really responsible for his illness or health. He himself is the cause or motivator of either. So when it comes to healing or curing, the necessary faith has to be created within his mind for the purpose. All I do is invest him with the confidence, will and power to cure himself. It is My abounding love reciprocated by the intensity of the devotee's faith in Me that produce the desired result.
God Lives in India p.14, or http://saibaba.ws/articles/interviewwithjournalistsept1976.htm
SAI: If Swami is pleased with the person, He heals that person at once. Karma can have no effect on that.
H: This is extremely important information. Because when people fail to get cured by Swami, they put it down to the fact that their karma is not ready.
SAI: If the person has a pure heart, and is living Swami’s teachings, Swami’s grace is automatic. No karma can prevent that.
Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba, p.120, or http://media.radiosai.org/journals/Vol_04/01SEP06/conversation.htm
Depend on the Sai in your heart. Have faith in Him. Swami said that this is real Self-confidence – confidence in the omnipotent Divinity which is already present within you. Please do not be deceived by anyone, either Madhusudan or his followers, who claim to have messages from Swami. Swami said He does not need such weak and fallible instruments. He is quite capable of speaking to you without an intermediary.
Remember that Swami said to love everyone, but He also cautioned us not to put our faith in mere humans, rather than in Swami Himself. He said that those who put their faith in such people will be cheated:
Remember that Swami said to love everyone, but He also cautioned us not to put our faith in mere humans, rather than in Swami Himself. He said that those who put their faith in such people will be cheated:
Love everyone. But don't trust men. Anybody who trusts men will be ruined. Love them. But don't trust. Then, what is the problem of trusting people? When we have faith in people, we get cheated. Love all Serve all. But don't believe them.
Believe your own Atma (Self). Develop self-confidence. Develop divine feelings. Give up worldly feelings. Give up worldly feelings and develop Divine feelings. This is Dharma, the path of righteousness for man.
Translation of Sathya Sai Baba's discourse on 6 May 2002 by Mr B. N. Narasimhamurthy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv47mHMiqOs
Swami is shining in your own heart as the Embodiment of Light and Love. His voice is the voice of your own conscience which you have been hearing every day since childhood. He hears your every thought, knows everything about you and loves you, all of you, the good and the bad. Why? Because He is Love. When you call on Him as the resident in your heart, He will respond from your heart immediately. Why then would the Resident of your own heart have any need of any intermediary in order to communicate with you? Those who make such claims, seek either attention, fame or wealth for themselves.
Some of Madhusudan’s followers are currently sending out claims that they have received dream messages from Swami, but in each case, the message they spread is Madhusudan’s message, not the words of Sai. They do this because they want you to believe Madhusudan’s message; because that makes you more likely to believe in Madhusudan. Madhusudan want converts, because more converts means more money.
How unfortunate for them, because they have been deceived. They have traded Sai, the infinitely precious spiritual diamond, for an imitation as worthless as a piece of glass.
Don’t let them deceive you into thinking that you need anyone other than the Sai who is already in your heart. Don’t let them make you think that you are so weak that you cannot hear His voice in your heart already. Don’t let them deceive you into disregarding the diamond in your heart for the worthless piece of glass they are offering.
Some of Madhusudan’s followers are currently sending out claims that they have received dream messages from Swami, but in each case, the message they spread is Madhusudan’s message, not the words of Sai. They do this because they want you to believe Madhusudan’s message; because that makes you more likely to believe in Madhusudan. Madhusudan want converts, because more converts means more money.
How unfortunate for them, because they have been deceived. They have traded Sai, the infinitely precious spiritual diamond, for an imitation as worthless as a piece of glass.
Don’t let them deceive you into thinking that you need anyone other than the Sai who is already in your heart. Don’t let them make you think that you are so weak that you cannot hear His voice in your heart already. Don’t let them deceive you into disregarding the diamond in your heart for the worthless piece of glass they are offering.
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