Atma Nivedenam is the last step on the ladder of devotion. This last step leads the devotee straight to his beloved Lord. Atma means ‘I’ and Nivedenam means ‘offering’. Offering the ‘I’ (the ego, the sense of individuality) is Atma-Nivedenam, which is the highest of all offerings as the devotee offers himself and everything to his beloved Lord. What remains after offering one’s individuality is the true ‘I’, which is the Supreme Reality, the Lord. The bhakta (devotee) dissolves to merge in his Bhagawan (Lord). What remains after the dissolution is Bhagawan alone. This is a very rare phenomenon.

The Bhagawad Geeta says that among the thousands of devotees a handful of them strive to know their reality. Among these handful, only a rare one reaches that supreme most goal. It is the rare one who crosses the threshold of manhood to enter into Godhood. This is the greatest of all jumps that man can take. Yet, this jump requires no effort on the part of the individual for in any case he is no more an individual. From individual he has already become the universal, and now from the universal he becomes the Absolute. This is the state of Being which words cannot describe. This is the rare one who is the most evolved one in all creation. For this is the Man of Realisation, who is God walking on earth.

One can put effort only till he becomes the Universal (Sakhyam level of devotion). After that all effort needs to be dropped. Putting effort means one is still in bondage. Doing meditation means that the meditator (the ego) is very much alive. The meditator with the help of meditation dissolves to become the meditation itself. In other words, all 3, the meditator, the subject of meditation and the meditation itself have merged to become one. Jnana (knowledge) can only take one till the universal. Beyond this, even that must be dropped. For the real ‘Me’ transcends both knowledge and ignorance. ‘I’ am the only support of knowledge and ignorance and yet ‘I’ transcend both. ‘I’ transcend all pairs of opposites, all duality. For ‘I’ am the Supreme Reality – Aham Bhrahmasmi. That becomes one’s experience.

Our imperfect minds cannot comprehend the majestic glory, the brilliant perfection of this realized man. He has awakened from the dream to become the Self. On awaking from a dream, one puts it behind as something unreal. Such is his attitude towards everything, even his own body. He does not care whether his body drops down dead or rises up to live. He no more desires sense pleasures or even liberation. AT ALL TIMES AND AT ALL PLACES he remains free of even the shadow of desire.

A realized man cannot be described because he cannot be measured by the activities of his body, mind and intellect. He is much larger than that. He is the substratum on which his body-mind appears like a little trifle, a feather floating aimlessly. He recognizes nothing but the Absolute Reality everywhere, in all things and at all places, and so he comes to rise above good and evil. He no more lives on our level of consciousness for he has awakened to be the Supreme Reality. How can one who has awakened from the dream hold on to the dream whether it was good or evil?
He cannot be judged from our moral and ethical standards. In any case, we cannot judge anyone from their external behaviour, for the waking state does not reveal our true personality. We are very good in hiding our feelings and deceiving ourselves and everyone else too. That is why Swami says our thought, word and action should be one. That helps to integrate one’s personality. The wise man is beyond all and there is nothing more for him to gain. He has achieved the ultimate. Criticism and praise do not affect him. We have all seen these signs in our beloved Baba, who is the perfect example of Atma-Nivedenam. We can go on describing the wise man but in the end only fail in our efforts. For what can be said about him who is indescribable?

So long as one feels there are two, he and his Bhagawan, one is still in delusion. After he has offered himself, the bhakta realises that the bhakta and Bhagawan are not two. From manhood he enters into Godhood. Thereafter, there is no more return to the sorrowful state of the mind. He enjoys unbroken Supreme Bliss and lives happy ever after.

What is involved in offering the ‘I’? How does one make this offering? There is nothing external to offer. Offering the ‘I’ requires that one perceives the ‘I’ in the correct way. At the ego level, one’s sense of ‘I’ is expressed in words like “I’m standing”, the I referring to the body. If one says “I’m happy or sad” the I is referring to the mind. Likewise, if one says “I understand” the I is referring to the intellect. Therefore, at this level one always identifies with body, mind and intellect.

Swami says that what one can observe is not the real identity of the observer. So, the observer is different from that which is observed. The observer is the Subject and that what is observed is the object. The Subject can never become the object (the observed).

Can one observe the body? Yes, one can observe all its conditions of health and ill-health. So that means one is not the body. Likewise, one can observe the mind, including all the moods it passes through – happiness, sorrow, anger, jealousy, greed, calmness, etc. That means one is not the mind and its various moods either. One can also observe the intellect, the various ideas, reasoning, and logic passing through it. That means one is also not the intellect.

One might then ask: “Then who am I? Am I nothing? Is there anything else left for me to claim?” Surely, the one who is observing all these is the real ‘I’, which is Pure Consciousness, Awareness, that is aware of the body-mind entity. The real Self is the witness of the body-mind entity. It illuminates the body-mind entity. Since the body- mind can be observed, it is an object and not the Subject. The object is experienced only in the Subject and not elsewhere. The real ‘I’, the Subject, can never be observed. It can, however, be known and experienced.

This witness, which is the real ‘I’, is free, All pervading, perfect, formless, eternal, infinite, imperishable, changeless, birthless, deathless, action-less, desire-less and quiet. That is who I truly am. I am Divine, I am all. I alone am. And this ‘I am’ is neither aware nor unaware. I am indeed a mystery, a wonder. Because nothing can be said about ‘Me’. Anything that one may say is in the realm of the finite. Language is limited. Therefore, dropping everything known, one becomes silent. And in that golden silence what is there is revealed. That revelation fills one with Supreme Bliss.

Swami says, “Man can realise his mission on earth only when he knows himself as divine, and when he reveres all others as divine.” What we see is nothing but the manifestation of that one Divinity, which we all are with no exception, whether we be good, bad or ugly. Objects, plants and animals and humans are all manifestations of that Divinity too.

Hence, one cannot say that one can or cannot get liberation. This is because one is not bound in the first place, being the real Self which is always free. How can we get something that we already have and are?

However, because one cannot see one’s reality, one considers oneself to be the body-mind. The Truth is not easily known , no matter how intelligent one might be. It has to be pointed out by a guru. In our case that is our SWAMI who comes to us in various forms to teach us. Yet, the guru pointing it out is not enough. One needs to reflect for a long time upon the Truth with dedication and then only, with His grace, can it be grasped and experienced. Everything is His grace. There is nothing but His grace in this world.

Can the body do anything without the presence (grace) of this consciousness in it? Can the mind think a single thought without it? This Consciousness is the Lord in each and every one of us. We have never been away from the Lord even for a fraction of a second. The only problem is that we do not look towards Him. Thus, all we need really is a little shift in our attention. God is everywhere and all that we see is nothing but His own manifestation (including one’s body-mind). Realising that Truth one will at once become peaceful because other than Him and His will there is nothing else.

This ‘me’ that I take myself to be is just a ghost that I see because of poor light (ignorance). When the sun of knowledge rises with the help of contemplation and meditation, in the divine light the ghost of body-mind will vanish (not literally) and every thing will be seen as it is.

The poet saint Kabeerdasji said: “Prem ki gali ati saakri, jame do na samaye, Hari hai to mein nahi, mein hoon to Hari nahi.” This means that the path of love (devotion) is very narrow. On this narrow path two people cannot walk, only one can. If the Lord is there, the little I (ego) cannot be there, and vice versa.

If one feels the existence of the little self that means one has not reached the goal. One has reached the goal when one feels God in every name and form, 24 hours of every day. At this time there is discovery of one’s innate divinity. So, when one goes to find God one ends up finding oneself. For God and we are one.

The scriptures say that knowing one is liberated is liberation itself. In knowing the Supreme Reality, which is the real ‘I’, the false little ‘I’ is easily given up. One is then able to see that Sai and he are one. One realises the Supreme Reality alone is.
One might say, “Hold on! My experience is quite the opposite.” Why is that? Swami says this is because of ignorance. Hence, put in the effort to know oneself by studying spiritual literature. Then contemplate and meditate on the divine words contained there, on Swami’s words.

In other words, practise the eight forms of devotion until you reach Atma- Nivedenam. Atma -Nivedenam is living in oneness with the whole creation. It is merging one’s will in the will of the Lord. Not resisting or questioning whatever is happening because nothing remains apart from Him. Nothing can take one away from God, even if one wants to, because God is one’s reality. Without God one is nothing. One is because God is.

When Jesus Christ was crucified there was a moment when he said “Why this to me, my Lord? I have spent my entire life living as per Your command, now why this to me, oh Lord?” After a moment he realised his mistake and said “Forgive me, forgive me, my Lord, please forgive me. Let THY will be done. THY will, not mine, oh Lord.”

Such a devotee wills to will God’s will, no matter what. He understands that everything is happening in him and not to him. His own body-mind is in him, the Supreme Reality. And accepting His will in everything, he becomes free. Just like Jesus did.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the great saint of the 19th century, demonstrated the spirit of oneness with the whole world. At the end of his life he developed cancer of the throat. It was very painful for him to talk to his disciples and devotees, nevertheless his love for them made him speak till the very end of his body. It was also very painful to eat. The act of swallowing itself was quite painful. His disciples would be in pain seeing their beloved Master suffer so much. His favourite disciple Naren, who later became Swami Vivekananda, pestered him to ask the Divine Mother to relieve the pain so that he could, at least, eat. One day when Naren requested the Master again, the latter went to the Mother with the request.

Sri Ramakrishna reported later “The Mother says I alone am eating through so many mouths, (indicating all of them) why do you insist on eating from this particular mouth?” He lived that spirit of oneness, unlike the rest of as who just talk about it.

Offering a coconut to the Lord in the temple symbolises Atma-Nivedenam. In the temple one offers the coconut to the Lord by breaking its hard shell, which symbolises the little ‘I’ (the ego). The white sweet meat, which symbolises the purified mind, is then offered to the Lord. A purified mind is a mind which has been transcended. If one can break this hard shell, the little ‘I’, then only can one merge in Him.

We are very lucky to have Swami in our midst to teach us these eternal Truths. God has come as man today so that man may become God. He has come to help us achieve GODHOOD. Let us not miss this golden opportunity that has come our way. Let us put in the effort so that eventually we effortlessly may rest in Him as Him.

JAI SAI RAM