Aham aatma – Further Reading

Aham aatmaa Gudaakesha sarva bhootaashaya sthitah

Aham aadish cha madhyam cha bhootaanaam anta eva cha

(chap.10, verse 20)

I am the Soul, O Arjuna, seated in the heart of all living beings,
I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all beings.

Lord Krishna says, “I am the Soul, seated in the heart of all beings, O Arjuna! I am the Creator, Sustainer and the Goal of all beings. i.e, All beings are born out of Me, are sustained by Me and finally merge in Me.” The heart referred to is not the physical organ, but the Divine principle within us. Krishna calls Arjuna ‘Gudaakesha’, which means ‘one who has conquered sleed’. This is the sleep of ignorance. Arjuna has risen above ignorance and has knowledge about the reality of God.

Baba explains: “God is the inner Atma of each and every being. The five elements, earth, water, fire, wind and sky are also His forms. He is everything, from the microscopic to the macroscopic. There is no object which is not He. No name which is not His. He is the mother and father of all. Everything emerges from Him, exists in Him and ultimately merges in Him.”

It is the presence of God as the Atma that makes it possible for the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the nose to smell, the tongue to taste and the skin to feel sensation. It is He that gives power to the hands and legs to move. It is He that gives the power to speak, to feel, to think and to understand. It is He that makes the vital systems (respiration, circulation, digestion, elimination and nervous system) function.

What is the true address of God?
Baba says, “God does not reside in temples built by man. They are His care of addresses only. God resides in temples built by Himself. He resides in all beings and things in the Universe, in human beings, in animals, birds, plants and every other being as well.”

That God resides in all living beings is illustrated by the story of Mrs.Tarkhad, who used to stay in Shirdi. One day at noon, when the food was being served, a hungry dog turned up there and began to whine. Mrs.Tarkhad got up at once and gave it a chapati, which the dog ate rapidly with great relish.

In the afternoon, when she went to the Dwarakamayi and sat at some distance, Sai Baba said to her “Mother, you have fed Me sumptuously. My afflicted praanas (life forces) have been satisfied. Always act like this and this will stand you in good stead. Take pity on Me like this. First give bread to the hungry, then eat yourself.”

She did not understand what Baba was referring to. Then Baba said, “The dog to which you gave the piece of bread is one with Me, so also other creatures are one with Me. I am roaming in their forms. He who sees me in all these creatures is my beloved. So abandon the sense of duality and serve Me as you did today.”