Sai Baba Answers on Knowing God brings forth one of the deepest questions seekers often carry in their hearts, can the truth of life and God ever truly be known? Many believe the Creator hides these answers, leaving humanity to wander in uncertainty. Yet, through Baba’s timeless wisdom, the journey reveals that truth is not denied, but veiled, waiting to be uncovered by the earnest seeker.
Can It Be That No One Has Ever Known What Life or God Truly Is, and No One Ever Will Because the Creator Never Intended Us to Know?
The ghats of the Godavari River shimmered under the morning sun, the water glistening like liquid gold. A solitary boat floated in the middle of the river, its oars resting still, caught between movement and stillness. The traveller stood at the riverbank, watching the endless ripples spread across the surface, wondering if the river had any end, or if it simply flowed into the unknown, forever unanswered.
The question had troubled him for many days.
What if the truth of life and God was never meant to be known? What if no one had ever truly understood it, and no one ever would? Was the Creator deliberately hiding the answers, or was the search itself an illusion?
As these thoughts swirled within him, he noticed a figure sitting at the edge of the ghat. Shirdi Sai Baba, His feet dipped in the water, was tracing circles in the river with a single finger, watching as the ripples formed and vanished.
The traveller bowed and sat beside Him.
“Baba,” he asked, “is it possible that no one has ever known what life or God truly is? That no one ever will, because the Creator never intended for us to know?”
Baba did not answer immediately. He continued tracing the water, His movements as steady as time itself. Then, He looked at the traveller and asked,
“Tell He, child, can the fish in this river see the entire ocean?”
Is the Truth Hidden, or Are We Looking in the Wrong Way?
The traveller frowned, thinking deeply.
“No, Baba, the fish knows only the river. It has never seen the ocean.”
Baba nodded.
“And does that mean the ocean does not exist? Or only that the fish has not yet travelled far enough?”
The traveller’s eyes widened.
“The ocean exists, Baba. The fish just does not know it yet.”
Baba smiled.
“So too with truth, child. Just because one has not seen it does not mean it is not there. Just because one has not understood it does not mean it cannot be known. Do you believe that the Creator would place an eternal question before you without the possibility of an answer?”
The traveller hesitated.
“But Baba, why does no one seem to know for certain? Every person claims something different. Some say God exists, some say He does not. Some say life has meaning, others say it is an accident. If truth exists, why is it not clear to all?”
Baba reached down and picked up a handful of water from the river.
“Tell Me, child, is this water the entire river?”
“No, Baba, it is only a small part.”
Baba let the water slip through Mis fingers back into the river.
“And yet, does this drop not belong to the river? If I had never touched it, would it not have continued its journey to the ocean?”
The traveller nodded, beginning to understand.
“Then, Baba, are You saying that each person only holds a small part of the truth?”
Baba’s eyes twinkled.
“Ah! Now you are seeing! Every mind is but a single drop, how can it claim to hold the whole ocean? And yet, the drop is not separate from it.”
Vedantic & Sufi Wisdom: The Veil of Separation
Baba looked toward the sky, where a thin mist drifted over the horizon, blurring the edges of the rising sun.
“Vedanta teaches that the truth is not hidden, child, it is simply veiled. Just as the mist does not erase the sun but only covers it, so too does illusion (Maya) keep the eyes from seeing clearly. The Upanishads say, ‘The Self is not far nor near, it is always here, but hidden behind a thin veil.’ Does this mean the Creator does not wish for you to know? Or does it mean that the seeker must first awaken?”
The traveller’s breath grew unsteady.
“Then, Baba, it is not that truth cannot be known, it is that we are the ones not ready to see it?”
Baba nodded.
“Yes, child. The truth is not denied to you. But tell Me, if you wish to see your own reflection, where must you look?”
In a mirror, Baba.”
Baba gestured toward the gentle ripples in the river.
“And if the water is restless, will you see your reflection clearly?”
The traveller shook his head.
No, Baba. I must wait for the water to be still.”
Baba smiled.
“So too with the mind. When it is restless with questions, desires, and doubts, it distorts the reflection of truth. But if it becomes still, the answer is revealed, not from the outside, but from within.”
Baba then picked up a handful of dry sand and let it slip slowly through His fingers, watching the wind carry it away.
“The Sufis say, ‘You do not see the truth because you are looking with borrowed eyes.’ The mind collects dust from the world, beliefs, doubts, desires, and fears. The truth is not distant, but when your vision is covered, how will you recognize it?”
Now, the traveller’s heart widened.
“Then, Baba, what must I do?”
Baba’s eyes twinkled.
“Stop looking for truth as if it is somewhere else. The Sufis say, ‘The one who seeks is already found.’ The veil is not outside you, it is within you. Remove the dust, and you will see what was always there.”
The Illusion of “Never Knowing”
Baba reached into His bag and pulled out a folded piece of cloth. Slowly, He began to unravel it, revealing layer after layer of fabric.
“A man looks at this cloth and says, ‘I cannot see through it.’ But if he begins to remove each layer, what happens?”
“He will eventually see what is beyond it, Baba.”
“Yes,” Baba said. “But if he refuses to lift the layers, should he say that what is beyond does not exist? Or that he was never meant to see it?”
The traveller sat in stunned silence.
“Then, Baba, the idea that no one will ever know the truth… is it only an excuse?”
Baba’s expression softened.
“The mind, child, prefers doubt because doubt asks nothing of it. But the seeker, ah, the seeker is different! The seeker does not say, ‘It cannot be known.’ The seeker asks, ‘What must I do to know?’”
A Logical Example: The Locked Room
Baba picked up a small wooden key from his pocket and held it up.
“Imagine, child, that you are placed in a locked room. You do not know where you are, and the door is closed. Some say there is no key. Some say the door is locked forever. But tell me, if you never try to turn the handle, can you be sure it was truly locked?”
The traveller’s heartbeat quickened.
“No, Baba. If I do not try, I will never know.”
Baba placed the key in the traveller’s hand.
“Then do not sit in the room and wonder if the door can be opened. Seek, and you will find.”
The Answer
Truth is not forbidden, nor is it unknowable, but it cannot be grasped through the restless mind. Vedanta teaches that reality is veiled, not hidden and that the seeker must remove the illusion (Maya) to see clearly. Sufi wisdom reminds us that awakening does not come from waiting, but from dissolving the self into the truth itself.
Those who say “No one will ever know” are like a man who refuses to turn the handle of a locked door, not because the door cannot be opened, but because he has never tried.
A Final Thought
If a fish never leaves the river, does that mean the ocean does not exist?
And if a man never seeks the truth, should he say that the truth was never meant to be found?
Or did he simply never turn the key?
Contributed by: Murali P K – Author of Shirdi Sai Baba – The Guiding Light for the New Age (Volume 1)
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Posts in this Series
1️⃣ Sai Baba Answers About Human Suffering
2️⃣ Why Is God Worshipped in Different Forms?
3️⃣ Existence and Reality – Sai Baba Answers
4️⃣ Why Does the Universe Seem Fine-Tuned for Life?
5️⃣ Is There Life Beyond Earth? Sai Baba Answers
6️⃣ Sai Baba on The Unseen Laws of the Universe
7️⃣ Sai Baba on Consciousness Beyond Science
8️⃣ Sai Baba Answers – Consciousness Beyond Death
9️⃣ Sai Baba Answers on Near Death Experiences
🔟 Sai Baba Answers on Spiritual Experiences and Parallel Worlds
