a person to repeat a short prayer, i.e., just the name of Jesus, because the mind requires something more complex. Therefore, you can practice a longer version of this prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."
Sathya Sai Baba said if any other words of the Jesus Prayer appear in your heart, then trust your feeling, for God will guide you along the right path through intuition. The prayer that is more suitable for you can resound in your heart.
There are various assumptions about what the prayer to Jesus Christ looked like at the very beginning of the development of the Christian tradition. There is an assumption that the first generation of Christians prayed to Jesus Christ by saying his holy name: "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus," or "Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ."
This original form of prayer and meditation in the name of Jesus Christ is identical to that which Sathya Sai Baba spoke about. It is this simplest form of meditation that invokes presence and blessing in the strongest way. In this version of the prayer, you do not ask for anything, you simply chant the holy names.
In later times, a prayer arose that sounded like this: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me." Much later, the last words: "Have mercy on me a sinner," were added to this great prayer. This completely absurd phrase that speaks of "sinfulness" is contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ himself, who preached the divinity of every person.
Of course, on the path of life we all make mistakes, but fixing our attention on sin is extremely wrong. We make mistakes, which we learn from, and then we move on in our spiritual development. All possible mistakes made on the path of life are experiences from which lessons are learned with gratitude. If you fix your attention on the fact that you are allegedly sinful, then by doing so you direct your energy there and create an even greater opportunity for aggravating sin, thus forgetting about your original divinity.
One of the greatest spiritual teachers of India in the 19th century, Ramakrishna, said the greatest sin is to consider a person a sinner, because every person is divine.
Sathya Sai Baba also preached that every person is divine and can discover his nature as a son or daughter of God and even reach the same level of union with God as himself.
48. Simultaneously God and Man
Some people ask, why in the Jesus Prayer do we say, "Lord Jesus Christ" and then add "son of God?" Some see this as a contradiction. But there is no contradiction here because this phrase points to the dual nature of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was a man, but at the same time he is God. He is a historical figure, but at the same time a symbol. That is why his name consists of two parts, Jesus and Christ. Jesus is a symbol of human nature, and Christ is divine nature.
It is important to understand these two natures: human and divine, are present not only in Jesus Christ, but absolutely in every person. Everyone carries in his mind the divine and human nature.
The practice of repeating the names of God is very ancient and is used in both the Vedic and Biblical traditions. All the power of God is contained in His Holy Names. That is why the Lord's Prayer says: "Hallowed be Thy Name."
In the science of Kabbalah, there is a practice of repeating seventy-two names of God, and in the Vedic tradition, the practice of repeating one hundred and eight, as well as one thousand and eight names of God. The name of Jesus Christ has great spiritual power, as do the names of the other greatest teachers of the world, such as Krishna and Buddha.
I pay great attention to the practice of lucid dreaming, as it is an important source of spiritual information and experiences. Sathya Sai Baba came to me many times in my dreams and gave me various spiritual instructions and blessings. These experiences are extremely vivid and they profoundly transform the spiritual state. I know many people get the opportunity to meet Sathya Sai Baba in dreams and receive blessings and answers to important questions from him.
During one of my mystical dreams, I heard a prayer to Jesus Christ, which was different from how this prayer is written in prayer books. This prayer began to resound in my dreams more and more often, so I began to practice it during the day: "Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, I am grateful to You for Your Grace.”
In this prayer we turn to Jesus Christ both as God and as the Son of God. It is important to realize that within each of us there is simultaneously a divine and human nature.
This wonderful prayer is in gratitude to Jesus Christ for the personal experience of receiving Divine Grace, which he bestows on every person. What you thank God for happens fast. This prayer is not a request for Divine Grace, but gratitude that we have already received the greatest gift of Divine Grace. We thank God for already blessing us.
This prayer is just my personal, mystical experience. Everything I say on the pages of my books about the spiritual path, all my stories and thoughts are my personal experiences and opinions. I share only my observations, experiences, and insights. If any of my discoveries and realizations seem useful to you, use them. If something seems doubtful and unnecessary, just leave it.
The practice of this prayer has transformed my spiritual state and changed my energy. By repeating this prayer, I feel the presence of the Christ Consciousness, both in the depths of my heart and in every person with whom I come into contact in life. The Christ Consciousness is impersonal and present in the hearts of all, shining in the eyes of every person.
49. Sathya Sai Baba had breakfast at Robin's house
This story was told to me by Robin, an American whom