| Letter From India, Sept. 2002 |
| Baba Sri Siva Speaks: |
| "Dear Students, |
| I have been in India for about a month. Being in India is living a different consciousness. I cannot explain to you the major difference between India and the West. The West represents matter and material consciousness; India stands for the spirit and spiritual consciousness. |
| I can clearly see the need for the integration of the East and the West; the spirit and matter. By totally denying matter, India became poor. The West, no doubt, became rich through its commitment to matter, but became a failure on the spiritual front. |
| Recently I visited a temple that I had helped build in my previous incarnation as Ramalingam. It is a magnificent building with a unique architectural elegance. I never saw that building during that incarnation, although it was completed 2 years prior to the dematerialization of my body. I was upset with the lack of progress among my students, which made me to disappear into light. |
| Standing in front of the temple, I had a fascinating experience. A woman in her nineties walked up to me. She asked for some money to buy betel leaves (chewing betel leaves is a tradition in India). She told me that she has no problem for food, and she gets 3 meals a day without any difficulties from the Swami Ramalinga Trust. Nevertheless, she added, she would die if she doesn't get her betel leaves. She laughed. I could perceive in her laughter, not only her joke, but the Divine bliss that she was experiencing. |
| Of course, she possessed no home or money. I swear that she was in a state of mind much better than most people who are reasonably gifted with material comforts. |
| I'm not saying that everyone should become a blissful beggar. It is not a desirable option. I'm just thinking about a way to balance the struggle to make a decent living, and the struggle to be involved in the enlightenment process. To put it simply, one must be wealthy and enlightened. |
| We have to bring together the materialism of the West and the spiritualism of the East, and unite them into one whole experience. |
| Blessings. --Baba Sri Siva" |
| Prosperity and Enlightenment Program Baba Sri Siva will continue to accept applications into a new program which allows students around the world to receive on-going instruction. Click here for more details and the sign up sheet. Any questions may be addressed to prosperity_enlightenment@vaaaksounds.com |
| Baba would like all people to chant Om Nama Sivaya 108 times every day to attain the highest material and spiritual life. |