Sai Baba Answers on Existence and Reality take us far beyond textbooks and theories, into the deep inner knowing. In today;s Divine Talk, a traveller seeks to understand one of life’s oldest and most profound questions Who created everything? Is there a beginning to all this vastness or has the universe always existed? With the simplicity of nature around Him and the boundless sky above, Shirdi Sai Baba gently leads the seeker (and us) toward a truth that dissolves the illusion of beginnings and endings. What unfolds is not just a lesson, it’s a shift in perception, a glimpse into the eternal dance of existence.
Sai Baba Answers – Is There a Creator, or Is Everything Eternal?
The traveller walked through the open fields of Shirdi, the soft earth beneath his feet still warm from the day’s sun. The vast sky stretched above him, endless, as if it had no beginning and no end. Birds flew freely, the wind carried the scent of wet soil, and yet, within all this vastness, a question troubled his heart.
As he walked, he found Shirdi Sai Baba sitting under a large banyan tree, gazing at the horizon where the sky met the earth. His eyes, deep and full of knowing, seemed to hold the answers to things beyond human grasp.
The traveller bowed and sat beside him.
“Baba,” he asked, “who created everything? Is there a Creator, or has everything always existed?”
Baba smiled and pointed to the horizon.
“Tell Me, child, where does the sky begin and where does it end?”
The traveller looked. The sky touched the earth in the far distance, yet he knew that if he walked toward it, the horizon would keep moving.
“I do not know, Baba. It seems endless.”
Baba laughed gently,
“So too is your question, child. But let us explore it together.”
Does Creation Mean Something from Nothing?
Baba picked up a lump of clay from the ground and began shaping it in his hands.
“Look at this, child. If I make a pot from this clay, would you say I created it?”
The traveller nodded. “Yes, Baba. You shaped the pot.”
“Ah, but did I create it from nothing?” Baba asked.
The traveller thought for a moment.
“No, Baba. The clay already existed. You only changed its form.”
Baba’s eyes twinkled.
“Exactly! When you see a tree growing, do you say it was created from nothing? No, it came from a seed. And where did the seed come from? Another tree. And so on. The idea that something is ‘created’ from absolute nothingness is an illusion. Everything you see is a transformation, not a beginning.”
The traveller felt his mind expand.
“So, Baba, does that mean there is no creator? Only transformation?”
Baba placed the clay pot on the ground and traced a circle in the dust.
“Tell Me, child, where does this circle begin, and where does it end?”
The traveller stared at it.
“It has no beginning or end, Baba. It just continues.”
Baba smiled.
“Now you understand.”
The Universe: Creation or Cyclic Manifestation?
Baba picked up a dried leaf and let it float away in the wind.
“Some say the universe had a beginning, a moment of creation. Some say it has always existed, cycling through endless phases of birth, sustenance, and dissolution. But let me ask you, child, when you sleep and dream, does your dream have a real beginning? Or does it simply unfold from what was already in your mind?”
The traveller frowned. “It just unfolds, Baba.”
“Yes,” Baba said, “Like a wave appearing in the ocean. Does the wave come from nothing, or is it simply the ocean rising in form?”
The traveller gasped. “So, Baba, are you saying that the universe is like a dream unfolding, or a wave rising from an eternal ocean?”
Baba nodded.
“Vedanta teaches that what you see as ‘creation’ is just a manifestation of an eternal reality, Brahman. It is like the sky’s reflection in water. The sky has no beginning, no end. But in water, it appears as if it has a limit. So too, existence is infinite, yet appears as if it has a beginning and an end.”
The traveller felt his mind breaking free from its limitations.
“And what do Sufis say about this, Baba?”
Baba smiled.
“Sufis say that existence is a reflection of the Divine. Rumi, the great poet, once said, ‘You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?’ This means that what you call life is not separate from the infinite, it is an expression of it.”
The Movie and the Screen
Baba picked up a small lantern and placed it in front of the traveller. The flickering flame cast shadows on the ground.
“Child, have you ever watched a movie?”
“Yes, Baba,” the traveller said.
“When the movie starts, you see characters, events, stories unfolding. But tell me, do these scenes truly ‘begin’ when you watch them? Or do they already exist on the reel, only appearing frame by frame?”
The traveller’s eyes widened.
“They already exist, Baba! The movie is just making them visible!”
Baba nodded.
“Exactly, child. What you call ‘creation’ is just unfolding, like a movie on a reel, like a wave in the ocean, like a dream arising from sleep. Some call this God’s play, Leela. Some call it energy transforming. Some call it divine expression. But the wise know, there was never truly a beginning, nor will there be an end.”
The Answer
Creation is not about something coming from nothing, it is transformation, like a wave rising from the ocean. The universe, like a movie unfolding from an unseen reel, may appear to have a beginning, but its essence is eternal. Some call this God’s manifestation, some call it cyclic existence, but in all cases, existence itself has no true beginning or end.
A Final Thought
If everything must have a creator, then who created the creator?
If the creator is eternal, then why can’t the universe itself be eternal?
Perhaps, instead of asking whether there is a beginning or an end, we should ask, what is the nature of existence itself?
Source: Sai Tatva E-Magazine Authored by Murali P K
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