Posted on: 25 Feb 2021
[An online spiritual discussion was conducted on January 30, 2021, in which several devotees participated. Some of the questions of devotees answered by Swāmi are given below.]
[Kum Thrylokya asked: We have learned from You that God has arranged joy and misery alternately in our lives, so that we can get maximum entertainment from life. Astrology gives us the exact time periods when we will enjoy health, wealth and prosperity, as well as when we will face many worldly problems in life. You have also said that Śani (Saturn), who is the giver of difficulties, as per astrology, is also the jñāna kāraka or the giver of knowledge. This means that we receive divine spiritual knowledge during the bad times, when we face worldly difficulties. For spiritual beginners who are still attracted to the world and not completely attracted to God, do the astrological good times hinder their spiritual progress by taking them away from God? - At Your Divine Lotus Feet, Thrylokya.]
Swāmi replied: You are bringing together various concepts that are to be applied to different cases with rocket speed and making them collide! Unless you understand each concept with a slow and steady speed, in its specific context consisting of the situation and the stage of progress, it will only lead to confusion. These concepts mentioned by you apply to different levels of people or to the same person at different levels of spiritual progress. Different people who are at different levels may come together at the same time. But the different levels of spiritual progress cannot come together in a single person, at the same time.
A yogi tries to get entertained by creation like God enjoying tragedies and comedies, one after the other; but not at the same time. A person before attaining this state of yoga is under ignorance and wants to get continuous happiness without doing any meritorious deeds. He also wants to avoid misery in spite of continuously committing sins. This ignorant person wants to enjoy the movie with both comic and tragic scenes and enjoy meals consisting of both sweet and hot dishes! Your stage and your view towards life is important. A concept is valid for a person with a specific view towards life. If you are worldly, consult an astrologer. But if you are spiritual, consult the Satguru or divine preacher. Sometimes, the astrologer may also be a divine preacher and the divine preacher may also be an astrologer. Even in that case, He will act as per the stage and viewpoint of the person approaching Him.
Shirdi Sai Baba was both an Ayurvedic doctor as well as a divine preacher. As per the viewpoint and stage of the persons approaching Him, He would act as a doctor or a divine preacher. He would also act as the ultimate God—as the Human Incarnation of God—before some devotees. All these three aspects cannot be mixed in Baba at the same time for the sake of a single person approaching Him. The same Baba can play all these three roles at different times towards the same person as the person attains different stages of spiritual progress. He can even play multiple roles at the same time while dealing with three different persons. He may cure the illness of a normal worldly person by giving certain Ayurvedic medicines. He may preach to a person who is anxious to know the worldly knowledge of justice and injustice. He may also preach spiritual knowledge (about God) to a spiritual seeker. Finally, He may act as God (Human Incarnation) to a devotee who is at the climax of theoretical and practical devotion.