|
Sathyam Shivam Sundaram
The Life of Bhagavan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba
Written by N. Kasturi M.A., B.L.
Part IV
(Index -
Part I - Part II -
Part III)
Between You
and Me
The Song He Sings
In Confidence
Love on the March
The Call and the Echo
Words with Wings
Moves in His Game
Closer and Closer
Dabbling and Diving
Tomorrow
(short) Glossary
References added to SSS by
Vahini.org
Reference to "The All, in All"
*
Esoteric
Significance of the Veda Purusha Jnana Yajna, by G.V. SubbaRao, from Sanathana
Sarathi, December 1997
Reference to "Love on the
March"
*
Esoteric Significance of the Veda
Purusha Jnana Yajna
* Divine
Discourses on Dasara by Bhagavān Sathya Sai Baba
Reference to "Facets of Truth"
* Bhagavad Gītā,
Chapter 11, verse 12: The Yoga of the Universal Form; on the
confrontation with the complete of His reality.
Reference to "Festival of
Light"
* How
Kasturi received his name.
(taken from the book "Loving God" by N. Kasturi)
Reference to "Sign and
Signature"
* The Story of
Dhruva, in text and pictures.
(Source: Srīmad Bhāgavatam, Canto 4, Ch. 8-13)
Reference to "White Man's
Burden"
* The Crucifix (Taken
from: 'My Baba and I' by John Hislop, pp. 17-21.)
Top
Between
You and Me
I should apologize for allowing ten
eventful years to pass by since placing Part III of 'Sathyam Sivam
Sundaram' in your hands before doing the same with Part IV, although
Bhagavān has been keeping me alive and attentive beyond my expectations. But
since I have never felt that I am the writer, I plead 'not guilty' and desist.
It has become well-nigh impossible to
keep pace with the ever-expanding manifoldness of the manifestation of
Divinity that is Sai. That almighty Love overwhelms us into blissful silence;
the all-encompassing Power makes us aware of our inadequacies. Nevertheless,
the Divinity in us draws us to Him, even while He seeks us, the straying as
well as the steady one, to keep us in His cosy custody.
Lord Krishna describes to Arjuna those
who had received the impact of His grace, thus: "My sweetness has
soaked into every level of their consciousness. They live in Me, by Me, for
Me. They take delight in narrating stories centred around My sport and My
compassion. They share with others the love, the wisdom and the power I
impart, and all reap immense gain thereby."
I invite you to participate in this holy
sharing. Travel from page to page as a pilgrim, with humility, faith and hope,
tarrying at every turn to fill your hearts with visions of the many-turreted
Citadel of God and of God Himself. With each vision of His glory, we shall
gain nearness and dearness to Him, who has come to accept us as His own
nearest and dearest.
N. Kasturi
Top
The
Song He Sings
Thirty five years ago, when Baba was
emerging from teenage, He sang this song while at the mandir
(temple) on the outskirts of the village where He was born. He has been, since
childhood, a stream of sweetness, singing His way into the hearts of all
around Him. Since He was not of the earth, but very concerned to transform the
earth into Heaven, His songs then, as now, were designed as a call to man to
benefit from the mystery, the majesty and the magnificence of His incarnation.
This song, in Telugu, emerged from Him spontaneously, on the morning of Vaikunta
Ekadasi (the holy day in the Hindu calendar celebrating the opening
of the doors of Heaven), in 1945, while devotees were busily stringing thick
garlands of tulsi (basil) leaves to worship Him.
I have heard it sung since 1948 by those
to whom He dictated it. It was also printed in 1946, along with other songs
sung by Baba in those early days, at Venkatagiri by the Raja Saheb.
"Choothaamu,
Ra Ra," it exhorts us. "Come! We shall see! Come!
Awake!" it warns. "Arise!" it commands. "Advance!" it
pleads. And through this song, in cosmic compassion, the call comes to each
one of us even today.
Come brothers! Come sisters! We
shall go
To holy Puttaparthi now. It seems
He wears a lovely robe of orange silk.
His is heavenly glory; He is the Lord Himself.
He calls to give us freedom.
He says, they say, "I shall shower grace."
On the Chitravathi sands,
In the shadow of the hill,
This Baba, they say, daily reveals
That He is God in human form.
It seems He was at Shirdi last,
And is here, for our sake, again.
Come brothers! Come sisters! We shall
go.
They say He waves His hands
As He often did, while there.
'Tis said they offer all you ask of Him.
He is, they say, Siva and Rama,
Krishna and Maruti too.
All forms of God are one in Him;
You can see Him as such and such,
When you are good and true.
He is the God the Kaliyuga doth need;
That's why, they say, He's come
To cleanse the world of lie and sin.
Of mercy, he is the ocean vast.
Come brothers! Come sisters! We shall
go.
They say He is resplendent,
Resting on a floral swing.
Our hallelujah is the swing;
Adoration, the plank; homage, the chains;
Hymns in praise, the fragrance of the flowers.
Whenever one prays in agony,
It seems He heals in a trice;
Like the cow, when the calf does moo,
He hurries, hastens, runs.
His glance, they say, is soft and soothing;
His words are nectar-sweet.
Those who go to Puttaparthi
Are on the royal road, they say,
While we, they say, tarry in lanes, cursing destiny,
Caught in maya, with none to liberate us.
As soon as He Wills, 'tis said, His palm is full
Of vibhuti, which He gives at once
To those who struggle, suffer, stray.
Do not say, "We are busy now; some time later."
Come brothers! Come sisters! Let us go.
We'll go to holy Puttaparthi
For the darsan of the Lord.
Join us, you uppish pseudo-wise,
And learn a little of His glory.
He digs His fingers into a heap of sand,
With a chuckle on the lip
And a twinkle in the eye;
Wet balls of sand become laddus round!
From far, far away, some dim-eyed dons
Pronounce it magic, mantra, tantra.
Be deaf to them; get up and start.
Don't reckon hardships; the reward is great
In Parthi mandir, now, on this holy day,
Tulsi leaves are strung into garlands
galore,
While He sings this song to bless the happy throng.
This call has brought the world to Puttaparthi
where the Third World Conference delegates, numbering about ten thousand, from
various units of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi, are meeting during the
Birthday festival, 1980.
This tulsi
leaf - Part IV of 'Sathyam Sivam Sundaram'
- is offered at His Lotus Feet by a humble garland stringer.
N. Kasturi
Prasanthi Nilayam
27-7-1980 (Guru Poornima)
Top
I. In Confidence
From
Baba, His Story
At Ootacamund in the Nilgiri Hills, when
the Summer Course on Indian Culture and Spirituality for college
students came to a close, Baba held an exclusive session with the
student participants. He was then in an unusually jovial and
reminiscent mood. He desired to thrill the students with an
account of His early days at school, so that they might realize
that His oft-quoted statement, 'My Life is My
Message', was true
even when He was physically emerging into boyhood, and even
before He had announced His advent as an avatar. He related to
them how He moved among his cousins and classmates, His teachers
and comrades, and also the villagers of Puttaparthi, Bukkapatnam,
Uravakonda and Kamalapura. He would exhort them to ponder over
this chapter of His story and implant in their hearts the ideals
He had placed before Himself even as a child. When the summer
course of 1978 held at Bangalore concluded, students who had
heard of the Ootacamund discourse pleaded with Him to disclose to
them episodes of His boyhood days, at school and outside, in
which He provided glimpses of His Leela (divine play); and Baba
graciously revealed to them a few more incidents of the past
which laid bare His mission and His divinity.
In the pages of Part I of this series, I
have mentioned that even as a child of five summers, He had
earned the epithets, 'Guru' and
'Brahmajnani', because He
corrected and counselled the children who gathered around Him as
playmates, and because His conversation and conduct were on a
level of consciousness higher than even the adults who sought to
guide Him. Even as a child and later at school, He was meek but
morally fearless, abhorred violence, vengefulness and falsehood,
and preferred simple living to gaudiness and ostentation. He
could easily sing, dance, and compose hymns and poems, while
other children of the same age were still struggling with the
first few letters of the alphabet. He also demonstrated ready
compassion for birds and animals. He avoided meat and eggs, and
shed tears of sympathy when drought animals like bullocks were
mercilessly beaten. He stood forth as the leader of a band of
children to whom He taught the ways of God and the means to win
His grace.
He stayed most days at the house of the
Karnam (village accountant) where the mistress, Subbamma, tended
Him with maternal care. Baba sought shelter in her affection in
order to avoid the sight of slaughtering fowl in His family home
nearby and to watch the Puja (worship) conducted by that Brahmin
lady in the room set apart for ceremonial rites. Baba never
played truant at school. Rather, He relished the company of
children, whom He helped to get the best out of school.
Towards Upper Primary
School
At Ootacamund, Baba narrated the story of
a journey in a crowded cart drawn by a pair of bullocks from
Puttaparthi to Bukkapatnam, and from Bukkapatnam to Penukonda,
sixteen miles away. He was then ten years old. He and the other
children could scarcely squeeze into the cart; a few spilled
over. They were in the lower primary class and could join the
upper primary school only when they had passed an examination
which was to be held at Penukonda town. There were eighteen
children in all, overcrowding the vehicle. Whenever the road rose
to negotiate a bump or a hill, the bullocks could not drag the
cart behind them. So the children were pulled out and made to
walk up. There was also no brake to hold the cart in check as it
rolled downhill and, as a consequence, the children had to walk
the road downhill also! The children were sent to the 'distant,
unfamiliar town' from their homes, after propitiatory prayers to
the family deities, prayers that were also meant to help them
pass the examination.
At Penukonda they stayed together, and
the teachers who led them gave last minute lessons. Baba agreed
to be in charge of the kitchen. Lunch and dinner for the party
were cooked by Him and He did not demand or welcome help from
anyone. This arrangement continued on all the three days of the
examination. Baba had no time to revise His texts, nor could He
attend the special classes held by the teachers. Yet, when the
results were announced a few weeks later, He happened to be the
only candidate declared fit to proceed to the upper primary
school! The good people of Bukkapatnam, the village three miles
away, warmly welcomed Baba into the school situated in their
village, taking Him through the streets on a chair placed on a
flower-bedecked cart that was drawn by caparisoned bullocks,
right up to the doorstep of the school. They were all happy, even
proud, that the 'wonder-boy' of Puttaparthi, already famous as
'God's Son', was attending classes in their school.
Baba was the cynosure of all eyes at
Bukkapatnam. Though He seldom listened to the lessons and rarely
opened His textbooks, He was hailed as the brightest pupil of His
class. This drew upon Him the envious looks of the ones who
trudged along with Him every day from Puttaparthi. They often
overpowered Him physically while on the Chitravathi sands and
dragged Him along, ruffling His shirt and knickers and damaging
them out of shape. When the Chitravathi was flowing, they dowsed
Him with gusto. Baba said that He neither protested nor
complained, but bore all this as the pardonable sport of ignorant
youngsters. His refused to name any of the tormentors nor did He
bear any ill will against them.
As Monitor
In those days every classroom echoed with
the swish of the teacher's cane, which was busy falling on the
backs or palms of the luckless little brats. When the teacher got
too exhausted to inflict the punishment, this privilege was
transferred to the brightest boy in the class. Baba said that one
day the question presented before the pupils was: "Describe
the glory of India." The answer had to be in English. The
other boys knew little of India, and less of English. Baba,
however, tersely but confidently replied, "Consisting of
high mountains, large rivers with many branches and many plains,
India is beautiful with all these grand contents." Baba then
related to us details of the rest of this episode:
"The
punishment the others deserved according to the teacher was my
slapping them on their cheeks. I was to hold their noses tight
with the left hand and then give them the resounding slaps. There
were about thirty students in the class, some far taller than me,
and I had to climb upon a bench to fulfil my most unpleasant and
unpopular duty. But I could not bring myself to slap them as
forcibly as the teacher wanted and my blows fell softly on their
cheeks. So the teacher was angered. He called me near and
shouted, 'Did I want you to apply Haldi (turmeric, used as a
cosmetic) to their cheeks? I asked you to beat them. I shall show
you how.' He held my nose and counted the slaps he gave me, about
thirty or so, before he stopped. I bore it all in silence, for a
teacher should not be insulted or let down. It was my fault for
having annulled, by softness, the purpose of the punishment he
desired to inflict, however absurd the prize for my superior
knowledge of Indian geography and history."
Baba disclosed that, being the monitor of
the class, He was burdened with duties and clothed in authority.
"I undertook to show the students and the monitors of other
classes how a monitor should conduct himself. I would reach
school a few minutes earlier than the rest. I cleaned the
blackboard before the class commenced and often had to clean even
the benches and desks,"
Baba explained.
"Rama sat at
the feet of Vasishta and attended class with other boys [See
Ramakatha Rasavahini, Ch. 5]. Krishna,
too, had Sandeepa as his guru, [see Bhagavatha Vahini Ch. 41] while Sudama and others were his
classmates. When the formless, attributeless Divine Principle
takes human form and appears among men, It has to conduct Itself
as an agreeable companion and as an understandable example to
contemporaries."
In His discourses Baba confirmed that He
had 'willed' the incident at the Bukkapatnam school when the
chair stuck to the posterior of Kondappa, one of His teachers. He
confessed that His intention in reducing him to a ridiculous
figure was not to avenge His having been made to stand up on the
bench for hours. He had designed it only to reveal a little of
His uniqueness, give a glimpse of His divinity, and to make the
world around Him sit up and ask, "Who is this
boy?"
When Kondappa's hour of teaching was
over, he naturally had to vacate the chair for Mehboob Khan who
was to take the next class, but he could not get up because the
chair stuck to him. [see The Rhythms of His Feet] The boys suggested that the calamity had
happened because Sathya was punished. Then Mehboob Khan, who
loved and adored Baba, and who had glimpses of His divinity,
revealed to Kondappa, "You do not understand. Raju is not an
ordinary person; He is a divine boy and I have seen divine
brilliance in Him many times. Withdraw the punishment you have
given Him immediately and your own punishment will
disappear." Then Mehboob Khan asked Baba to step down from
the bench and Kondappa, too, could get up and walk away.
The Classmates
Swami narrated the events at Uravakonda
(about thirty miles away from Anantapur), where He spent about
two years with His elder brother who was a teacher of the Telugu
language in the high school there. [N. Kasturi:] I myself visited Uravakonda a
year and a half ago. There I walked along the long, broad
verandas of the high school, hallowed by His footprints. I spent
some times in the room which was once His classroom and sat on
the same desk that had been used by Him as student - a
bench-cum-writing desk, with a makeshift shelf underneath the
incline of the top. Three pupils could sit on each bench with
their books in the bottom shelf. I sat on the bench and imagined
little Baba seated next to me!
Dr. Moinuddin, now a medical practitioner
at Uravakonda, was with me at the school that day. He had been a
contemporary and classmate of Baba. He said, "I was allotted
a seat on the bench directly behind Baba, and I could tease Him
by whisking away His cap. He would then implore me to return it
to Him, for no student could attend class without a cap. I knew
that Baba would not fight or complain to the teacher or whisk
away my cap in turn; He was so quiet, soft and non-violent. So I
would insist on His creating some sweetmeat for me - a
rasagolla,
a laddu or a Mysore pak. I was tired of taking sugar-candy. Baba
would then circle His palm twice or thrice and produce for me my
favourite sweets. But this invariably set all tongues dripping.
So a general clamour would arise for a repetition of the act and
the noise would bring in the teacher. Then, he too, would have
his share before the lesson began." Another of His
classmates, Sri Sitha Rama Rao, told me that Baba had confided in
him that He would set the world right and establish the reign of
truth in all lands.
I saw the tangled branches of the old
dwarf trees right in the centre of the quadrangle. Baba had
described to us how He used to play the monkey game on five trees
in that quadrangle. Two of the trees have now been axed, but
Providence has spared the rest. The monkey game involved two
rival bands of primates. They crawled along the branches, then
dangled without dropping, moving from one hold to another, trying
to unnerve and to demoralize members of the rival band, until one
of them was touched and declared 'out'. They snarled and growled
at their rivals as angrily as they could. They swung and swayed,
clung and clambered, slid and slithered. If they fell, they
'died' and were pronounced 'down and out'. They shook the
branches with all their might to unseat the 'monkeys' of the
opposite gang, loudly jeering and cheering all the while. If any
of them slipped into the vocabulary of homo sapiens and revealed
his true identity, he 'died' at that instant. Baba gave each one
of them some sweets at the end of the game. Many like Dr.
Moinuddin, who had once frisked and frolicked on those trees, are
even today chewing the sweet cud of memories of the game.
The Scout Troop
Swami related in a discourse the story of
His 'boy scout' days.
"We had a physical instructor,"
He said, "who formed a school scout troop. He was very
insistent that I should enrol, and though I, too, was eager to
use the chance to direct the 'good turns' of scouting towards the
path of Sadhana (spiritual discipline), I could not join because
my family was too poor to afford the uniform and other contingent
expenses. To make you aware of the depth of their poverty, I
shall relate an incident: I used to attend classes every day
wearing the same shirt, for I did not have a second. Some of the
boys who discovered this fact started laughing at me. They teased
me on the way to school and back and, pulling at my worn-out
shirt, they tore it. As I had no pin to even keep it together, I
was forced to use a cactus thorn plucked from the fence of my
neighbour's field to serve the purpose.
"Realising the reason which held me
back from the troop, my chums were very sad. The boy who always
sat to the right of me was the son of the chief accountant at the
revenue office. He went to his father and persuaded him to make
two pairs of uniforms comprising a khaki half-sleeved shirt along
with khaki knickers. He rolled up one pair and put it on the
shelf of my desk with a note that was addressed to me which read:
'You must take this and wear it. We are brothers, so do accept
this from me.' But I was not happy, and decided to refuse this
gift. I left the uniform on the shelf of his desk along with a
note saying, 'If you wish our friendship to last, you must not
indulge in such games of giving and taking material objects. When
a needy person accepts something from another, anxiety lurks in
his mind as to how he might return the favour, while pride enters
and pollutes the mind of the giver over his act of charity. True
friendship should be from heart to heart. If we build friendship
on a give-and-take basis, the person who takes feels small and he
who gives feels proud. Such friendship does not last. So I am not
accepting the clothes you left on my desk and am returning them
to you with this note.' The next day that boy pleaded, 'You can
return them to me after leaving the scout movement.' But I did
not agree even to that. 'I do not need nor seek help,' I told
him. 'I seek only the chance to help and show others the best way
to help. Besides, your father got the uniforms made for you -
they were not meant for my use. I am Truth, as my name indicates.
If I wear it instead of you, I will be setting Truth
aside.'"
I am tempted to relate in this context
what happened to a kinsman of mine about twenty years ago. He had
bought in Rangoon, a Burmese umbrella, flat-topped, with a
bright, garish-coloured cloth cover, as a birthday gift for his
sister living in Bangalore. But as she refused to accept it, it
was lying unused. Later his parents placed it before Baba as an
offering. Baba told them, "Why do you bring Me stolen
articles? This belongs to your daughter, whether she uses it or
not." Anything offered to Baba must be 'ab
initio' intended
for and dedicated to Him.
The Thursdays
At Uravakonda, I looked into the well
from which Baba used to draw water for His home everyday and
carry it, slung across His shoulder, in big mud pots. The well is
at least one kilometer away, and Baba trudged the distance six
times a day. The well, the only potable water well in the
village, being very deep, He must have gone through great
physical strain to get the pots filled. "The time spent in
supplying water for the home did not leave me any time for other
activities," says Baba. I was also able to see Mr. Mehboob
Khan, the teacher who loved and revered Baba as a boy, and who
had foreseen that He would one day become a World Teacher.
The house where Baba lived with His elder
brother is now a jumble of mud blocks. We scrambled in and stood
reverentially before the sacred spot where Baba had started
sitting every Thursday after declaring Himself as the
reincarnation of Shirdi Sai. Even as we were standing lost in
reverie, an old resident of the village related a story of those
years: "One night, a group of women from an adjacent village
journeyed to Urvakonda by bullock-cart to witness a movie. They
were huddled in a thick cluster in the cart. Taking advantage of
the oncoming night, a woman unfastened a gold ornament from the
hair of the woman sitting beside her. The loss was discovered
only when the women alighted, but none suspected the other, since
they knew one another well. Some suggested that the ornament
might have got loosened by itself and fallen on the road, while
others asked the lady to recollect whether she had worn it at
all. Then an old man ventured to say, 'There is a 'miracle boy'
here whom we can consult. He is the brother of the Telugu
teacher.' As soon as they trooped in, Baba sighted them and said,
'Eh Janakamma! Give the jewel back!' The startled Janakamma did
as Baba had ordered, her head bent in shame. Baba told the
others, 'Go! Take her also to the movie with you. Repentance is
enough punishment. Forget this lapse. It was your fault, tempting
the weak-minded woman. I am sure she will not do it again, for
she has been blessed by Me.' "
The Rocking Chair
Baba told the students how He had borne
poverty and hardship in His childhood and youth, in silence and
without complaint. There was a rocking chair in the house, upon
which Baba sat one evening. When His brother's brother-in-law saw
Him rocking Himself in the chair, he was very incensed and
remarked, "Who gave you permission to sit on that precious
chair and rock back and forth like a Maharaja! Get up and go out
of here." Baba replied, "The day is coming when I will
be a Maharaja sitting on a silver chair. You will live to see the
day." This angered him all the more, but he did not pursue
the persecution. About seven years later, the Rani of Chincholi,
who could not bear to see her Swami sitting on a wooden chair,
brought a silver chair for Him. But Swami did not permit the
chair to be unpacked even during the Shivaratri or the Dasara
celebrations. On the occasion of Swami's birthday, His brother's
brother-in-law came to Puttaparthi. Then Baba asked him, of all
people, to unpack the silver chair and place it in position on
the dais of Prasanthi Mandir which was then ready for Bhajan
gatherings. The man shed tears of repentance and asked to be
pardoned. Baba soothingly told him not to worry. This was,
perhaps, the only instance when Baba reacted, for He usually
bears others' anger with remarkable indifference and restraint.
He told the boys that He was ever alert to guard the honor and
reputation of the family in which He was born, and to ward off
the derision of cynics and carpers.
The General Stores of Kote Subbanna, from
where Baba got His apparel and items of stationery in return for
songs and slogans, was still there as I could see. It is now
being run by Subbanna's grandson. Subbanna had once sought Baba's
help for boosting the sales of his baby foods and ayurvedic
drugs. Baba agreed, and in return got from the shop the articles
He most needed but could not purchase. The publicity value of
Baba's lilts was great, for, as I was told by the contemporaries
of Subbanna, when these were sung in chorus by several boys
carrying placards advertising a product, it would be sold in no
time. Venkapa Raju, Baba's father, thanked Subbanna for the help
he was rendering Baba, as a result of which He could replenish
His wardrobe and get a few notebooks. Whenever a new product
(like 'Balamrit' of Pundit D. Gopalacharlu of Madras) had to be
introduced to the people of Uravakonda, it was done by means of
such street music. There was a weekly fair at the town, and on
such days, when the villagers from surrounding areas assembled,
Subbanna had a hey-day with his placards and his merry
'choirboys'. [see for this story 'The
Cattle Fair']
The Mentor
Swami said that even as a boy He had been
intent on correcting the vagaries, vices, defects and
deficiencies of society, by means of ridicule and satire
expressed in drama and poetry. 'Cheppinattu
Chesthara?' which
means, 'Are your deeds in accordance with your
words?' is a fine
example of His educative experiments. It exposed the hypocrisy of
parents and teachers - an evil which children and pupils
spontaneously absorb. So also today, Baba exhorts us to
coordinate thought, word and deed. He tells us that when He
spent vacations at Puttaparthi, He composed long lampoons in folk
metres, on the evils of drink, the absence of literacy and the
irresponsible accumulation of debt by the villagers. These songs
were quickly learnt by the children who were taught by Baba, and
were recited by them in groups in front of every house. Some
householders were angered at this onslaught on their shortcomings
and fixations, but many encouraged the boys to continue their
reformatory task.
The village accountants also were a
target of Swami's lampoons. There was one who prided himself on
his 'Hitler moustache', on his watch with its shining strap and
even on his Don Juan diversions. Swami told the students how he
had composed a satire in verse on him and trained a band of
urchins to parody his pomp. They stood opposite the door of his
house and sang it till their voices turned hoarse. The butt of
their ridicule came out to thrash them, but the members of the
gang fled into the many lanes and could not be impounded. Such
shout-and-run tactics were continued until he shaved off the
horror under his nose, removed the leather-strap from his wrist
and gave up his secret visits. Baba also wrote a play in Telugu
entitled 'New Times', which revolved round a poet who was ignored
and insulted while alive, but whose stirring poems provided his
son enough ammunition for a rousing victory in an election a few
years after the passing away of his father.
The house where Thammiraju, the teacher
who persuaded Swami to produce the play entitled 'Cheppinattu
Chesthara?' on the annual day of the school, still stands intact
opposite a heap of mud that was once the house of Seshamaraju. It
is indeed a thrice holy spot, for Swami spent many hours there
with His teacher and his devoted wife, engaged in providing them
precious glimpses of His Leela, while also playing with their son
who was His own age. By merely calling out their names, He had
made to appear on a wall of that house images of the Ten
Incarnations of Vishnu (see: Bhagavān
on Bhāgavatam) and various other deities and saints
revered by the teacher's wife. She wrote a poem about this
incident in the monthly magazine published by the Sai Samaj,
Madras. The house of Narayana Sastry, immortalized as the person
who had witnessed the golden aura around Swami when He left home
to 'carry on the task for which He had
come', is almost adjacent
to the place where Seshamaraju lived. Narayana Sastry had once
the pride of his scholarship pricked by Baba when, as a little
boy, Baba had questioned Sastry on his exposition of the
classical texts. We could get some idea of the ecstasy that must
have overpowered Sastry that day, when we met and heard Dr.
Baronowski of the University of Arizona, who was wonder-struck
and delighted by the aura he saw around Baba for days together at
Brindavan, Whitefield, when He gave Darsan to the thousands
gathered on the grounds there.
Teaching Prayers
Swami told the students that He had seen
what we would call 'hard days', at Uravakonda, though He was the
favourite of the school and the town. He was the 'hewer of wood'
and 'drawer of water' for the family of His brother. He collected
dry twigs and branches from the hills around and tied them up
into a head-load bundle which he brought home every two or three
days. He drew water from a well, the only potable source, which
was not too near. In spite of these and other exhausting chores,
He was ever fresh and vibrant and full of infectious humor. His
neighbors were anguished at His plight and entreated Him to
write to His parents asking them to take Him away. Some even
offered to write the letter themselves. But He told every one not
to worry for He was happy that He could be of service. "Why
are you bothered? I enjoy being useful," He would say.
I stood on the very dais from where Swami
used to sing, everyday before the lessons began, the school
prayers before the assembled students. It was from that very dais
that, one historic morning, Swami had announced, "I do not
belong to you henceforth. I belong to them who need Me and call
on Me." [See The
Serpent Hill] Swami said that He came down the steps even before
the congregation realized the significance of what He had
declared. Then He walked to the house where His brother (Seshamaraju), the
Telugu teacher lived. Throwing His books aside, He moved on to
the edge of the town, where stood the house of Anjanajulu, the
government inspector of Excise Revenue. Anjanajulu loved and
adored Baba. Perhaps he was one of those who needed Him and
called on Him to illumine and liberate. But He did not enter the
portals of that house. There are dozens of round, flat-topped
boulders obtruding among the trees in the open ground in front
of that house. Swami sat atop a medium-sized one, right opposite
Anjanajulu's house. The congregation that followed Him from
school had swelled now to a sea of heads all around. Anjanajulu
had a vision that the trek from school marked the inauguration of
a World Revolution. So he had a Mantap (a commemorative
structure) constructed over the stone, for it had to be marked
out from the rest. Recently Baba permitted the good men of
Uravakonda to purchase and take possession of the land around,
and to erect a community hall for carrying on service activities
under His inspiration.
The Announcement
Seated upon that boulder, Swami revealed
that His devotees were calling Him and that He could no longer
pretend to be a student or even a member of the Raju household.
"I have My task to complete," He declared, indicating
that a part had been accomplished while He was at Shirdi. He then
directed the congregation to sing Bhajans
(devotional songs) and
to recite the name of the Lord. He stood forth as the Teacher of
Teachers, whose message can liberate man from grief and greed.
"Manasa Bhajare" He sang, "Guru Charanam, Dustara
Bhava Sagara Taranam" (Adore in song with sincere devotion
the feet of the divine teacher, for they can take you across the
ocean of misery). Who was the divine teacher whose feet He was
referring to? Those who knew Him (but they were only a few)
recognized that they were in fact the feet of Sai. Swami was
emphasizing even in those early years that union with God demands
communion with man. Swami saw the helplessness, the distress and
the disease that sapped the happiness of people all around Him.
He was moved with compassion. The candle was no longer under the
bushel. Its light was soon to spread, bright and blazing, in
every heart and home, school and sanctuary, village and town.
Swami had made the clarion call to the entire world to clasp the
feet of the Divinity which had condescended to encase Itself in
human form, and to be saved from pollution and perdition. Those
Lotus Feet which He presented in their magnificence that day,
have walked on rose petals, snowy mountain terrain, rain-soaked
slush, fair-weather tracks and sandy seashores, ever carrying
consolation to grief-stricken people in all lands.
During the short time He was at
Uravakonda, Baba had installed Himself in the hearts of both the
old and the young. He had brightened their eyes with laughter and
sweetened their ears with song. He was the bard and the boast of
the school, the pride and paragon of the populace. Every family
had some story to tell about His mysterious power, His love and
His wisdom. So when He left home and school and talked of His
task and of those waiting for Him the world over, their courage
failed and their tongues were tied in unspeakable sorrow.
The Tiger Skin
His return from Uravakonda and the
announcement at Puttaparthi that He was the Sai Baba of
Shirdi,
came when He was only fourteen years of age. But the villages
around, and even far off Anantapur (forty miles away), knew of
His being Sai Baba. (photo: on throne in
mandir)
One day a jeep-driver crossed the river
bed and walked the streets of Puttaparthi, trying to locate
Swami. His master, a young English sub-divisional officer, had
gone for Shikar to the forest on the other side of the
Chitravathi, and while returning to Anantapur the vehicle had
stopped right opposite Puttaparthi village. The driver did his
best, as did the officer, to get the vehicle moving, but failed.
The driver suggested that there was a 'Boy' at Puttaparthi who
could materialize Vibhuti (sacred ash). Yes, "create, by a
circular movement of His palm, the very panacea for all ills,
even for the jeep!" Stranded halfway, the Englishman agreed
and let the driver go to the village, while he himself sat in the
jeep. The driver bumped into the Boy at last, but was astounded
to hear Baba say, "I am coming, myself, to the jeep."
He walked across the sandy bed, and on reaching the road, peeped
into the vehicle and saw the carcass of a tiger that the officer
had shot barely two hours ago. Swami's deep love for all beings
could not tolerate animals being killed or tortured. He said,
"I stopped the jeep at this place, for it is a mother, whose
three small cubs are at this very time loudly wailing and calling
out to her, that you are carrying. Go back! Recover those cubs
and gift them to some zoo where they will be well looked after.
And do not shoot wild beasts again, for they have caused you no
harm. Why do you kill them, surround them and lay traps to catch
them. Shoot them instead with a more superior weapon, your
camera. That won't maim or kill them."
The Englishman was at
once enlightened, and he never carried a firearm again. Shooting
wild beasts armed with a camera, he discovered, was far more
adventurous and Sathwic (pure). He presented the orphaned cubs to
the zoo, and when the tiger skin came back from the taxidermist,
he brought it to Puttaparthi. Prasanthi Mandir was then under
construction. He met Baba and placed the skin at His feet.
Sakamma of Coorg pleaded with Him to sit on it in Yogic fashion,
with a rosary between His fingers. She had a photographer ready.
And Baba obliged, though He has never sat in Dhyana (meditation)
or held a rosary!
A Book On Him
Smt. Nagamani Purnaiya has written a book
in Telugu (later also translated into and printed in English),
entitled, 'Divine Leelas of Bhagwan Sathya Sai
Baba'. In the
foreword to the book she says, "I have availed myself of
every opportunity of witnessing His divine powers." The book
describes more than 140 miracles, of which she says "more
than 115 were witnessed by me with abundant joy." Nagamani
Amma was the wife of Sri Purnaiya, the chief commercial superintendent,
southern railways, and the miracles she records
were revealed at what is called the 'old' Mandir (temple) in the
village, in the first few years after Swami's announcement. When
the present Mandir called Prasanthi Mandir was inaugurated in
1950, the Mandir at the village became old! The miracles
described relate to cures effected by the administration of
Vibhuti created by Swami, and of raging floods subdued at His
command. Baba revealed to her, "It is because of your faith
and trust in Me that your bus could cross the river in spite of
the surging floods." Swami created Tulsi
(basil leaf)
garlands, rings and pendants for personal wear. He also performed
surgical operations. "One day I saw Swami throwing something like a banana
peel over the
wall," narrates Nagamani Amma.
"Then He came towards me and asked for water to wash His
hands which were red with blood. 'You had prayed to me to cure
that man, so I operated upon him,' He said. That night I could
not sleep due to my anxiety for the man, since he was operated
upon without cocaine and in full consciousness. I was very
troubled by the thought of the pain he must be suffering in the
adjacent room, and so I stayed wide awake. At daybreak Swami
called me and asked me to give the patient some surgical cotton.
'Go and give the cotton at once' He commanded. When I went in,
after hesitating at the door for a while, I found the patient
eating a plate-ful of idlies and chutney. Swami stood behind me.
'This is not an operation by a doctor,' He chuckled. 'I have done
it; so there is no pain caused, no rest required and no special
diet prescribed. He can eat whatever he wants.' I was shown a
long mark on the stomach but could discover no stitches. Swami
said, 'The Vibhuti I created and applied on his brow acted as an
anaesthetic. I created a Trisul (trident) and a knife for the
operation. After I had finished, I smeared Vibhuti, and it was
all over.'
"On another day, four men came to
Prasanthi Nilayam with the intention of testing Swami,"
continues Nagamani Purnaiya. "When they reached Bukkapatnam,
three miles away, they exchanged the wrist watches they wore,
deciding among themselves to find out whether Baba would discover
what they had done. 'If He is God, He should know,' they thought.
Swami called them and said, 'I know why you have come and what
you were talking on the way. One is wearing the watch of the
other. I know that you have come to test Me, but this is a place
for devotees. You can go back to where you have come from.'
"
The Song He Made Them
Sing
Baba had not only to encourage Bhajan and
give a boost to the declining Bhajan Mandalis (groups of Bhajan
singers) in the village, but He had also to compose Bhajans and
Namavalis to satisfy the demand for new songs. During those early
years He wrote quite a few. The four pillars of the mansion of
Sai Dharma were first demarcated in one such song composed by Him
when He was seventeen years of age.
With Sathya,
Dharma, Santhi and
Prema
Let, step by step, the pilgrim road of life be trod.
Your duty is to but trudge and try;
Whether you win or lose the game - 'tis the Will of God.
Fill your mind with God, be devoted in full to Him;
'Twill grant you freedom from grief and pain.
Janaka was king, but he lived in God;
He ruled his realm and gained Moksha (liberation) too.
Why yearn for superhuman skills? Have faith, O man!
They swell your ego and blind your wisdom eye.
While passing through this trackless jungle,
The name of God is the only guide.
Your heartland is a precious field;
Plough it with your mind; and use
Your virtues as animals yoked.
Hold the intellect as the whip to urge them on,
And gather the harvest of love and light.
Top
Love on the March
Why
Colleges?
The Avatar had illumined the world for
forty-five years when this narrative was completed up to Part III
of 'Sathyam Sivam Sundaram'. That name, which flashed into my
consciousness when wondering what title to adorn His biography
with, now brings to my memory a prophetic declaration by Swami
Vivekananda. During his discourses on Bhakti Yoga he announced,
"Religion, which is the highest knowledge and the highest
wisdom, cannot be bought; nor can it be acquired from books. You
may turn your head in all directions, you may explore the
Himalayas, the Alps and the Caucasus, you may search the bottom
of the sea and pry into every nook and corner of the world, be it
Tibet or the desert of Gobi, yet you will not find it anywhere
till your heart is ready for receiving it and your teacher has
come. And when that Divinely appointed teacher comes, serve him
with childlike confidence and simplicity. Freely open your heart
to his influence and see in him God manifested. Those who come to
seek truth with such a spirit of love and veneration, to them the
Lord of Truth reveals the most wonderful things regarding truth,
goodness and beauty."
Translators of this passage into
Indian languages have, even without the knowledge of the Sathya
Sai Avatar, interpreted truth as
Sathyam, goodness as
Sivam and
beauty as Sundaram! The Lord of Truth is, best translated as
Sathya Sai. Baba has revealed the most wonderful thing about
human beings - that the core of every individual is Sathyam-Sivam-Sundaram, and that this awareness alone can confer
liberation. I had no inkling of this truth. Vivekananda himself
must have led me to the teacher, the Lord of Truth.
Baba blessed the city of Anantapur,
headquarters of the district of which Prasanthi Nilayam is a
part, with the College of Arts and Science for Women, not with
the intention of adding one more to the hundreds already dotting
the land. His plan was to create an educational institution which
would mould the girls entering its portals into daughters
revering the spiritual traditions of Bharat (India), sisters
eager to serve the ever-expanding circle of their kith and kin in
the villages of this land, wives wedded to simplicity and
sincerity, and mothers skilled and eager to instil ideals of
service and spiritual discipline in the hearts of children.
Before long, Bhagavan blessed Anantapur with another structure
dedicated to the furtherance of 'higher living', a Kalyana
Mantap (wedding hall). "When love is the lever that operates the mind, only
good can result. I have come to restore love among mankind, to
cleanse it of meanness and restrictive attitudes," He
declared, while inaugurating the building. The Mantap is used as
a community hall of service. Baba Himself arrived a few years
later, when devotees celebrated therein the wedding of four
indigent Harijans, and showered grace on the happy couples. He
created for each bride a gold Bottu (a sanctified ornament, worn
to indicate wedlock) that the groom had to place around her neck
as part of the ritual [see 'With
Wounded Wings' for an example of a gold necklace Baba
materialized], and for each groom a gold ring which the
bride had to put on his finger. The Harijan families were
entertained to a hearty feast which they shared with the devotees
and with Bhagavan Himself.
Seventy Apartment
Flats
In the month of August 1971, when
thousands gathered at Prasanthi Nilayam for offering homage on
the sacred day commemorating the birth of Krishna, Baba declared,
"People tell me that mankind is today on the brink of
destruction, that the forces of hypocrisy and hate are spreading
fast over all the continents, and that anxiety and fear are
stalking the streets of every country. There is no need to tell
Me this, for I have come here for this very reason. When the
world is on the verge of chaos, the avatar comes to still the
storm raging in the heart of man."
The Dasara festival in September afforded
an opportunity for the vast gathering of seekers to benefit by
what it has actually become - a course of divine lessons on the
mystic symbolism in Vedic culture. Baba explained that the Yajna
(ritual sacrifice) was a reminder of our essential duty to
sacrifice the self in order to visualize the Over-Self. The body
is the altar; the world we live in, the oblation; Bhakti
(devotion) and Jnana (knowledge), the sacrificial flames which
accept, transmute and sanctify the oblation; and the sublimation
of the consciousness (Purusha) into the Absolute
(Purushottama),
the fruition thereof. Bhagavan also announced,
"This year
Dasara marks a new chapter in the history of the Nilayam. Recognize that Divinity is its core; yearn for that Divinity and
strive to reveal It in yourselves through Sadhana, to which this
campus is dedicated."
The prayer hall had a new frontage
added to it, besides an extended porch with silver doors and
traditional temple sculptures and ornamental domes having golden
finales. The Mandir was proclaiming the presence of the Avatar.
The residents and visitors were to be conscious of the presence
and to mould their daily schedules in conformity with the
spiritual upliftment that they could partake in the sanctified
atmosphere. Baba blessed by His divine presence, more than
seventy flats which were allotted to devotees who were anxious to
spend their days in Sadhana. The allottees had come from
different parts of India and even from overseas. They professed
different faiths and spoke different languages. But Bhagavan
showered grace on them all for, as he declared,
"There is
only one caste, the caste of humanity;
there is only one
religion, the religion of love;
there is only one language, the
language of the heart;
there is only one God and He is
omnipresent."
The flats have since increased in number to
about 300. Sadhakas (spiritual aspirants) eager to spend their
days, or at least some months every year, in this atmosphere of
silence, self-reliance and surrender to the Divine Will, are fast
increasing in number.
Sivam Arising
October saw Bhagavan at Hyderabad,
enthusing the citizens into Nagarasankirtan, inspiring them to
instruct their children in the rudiments of Sadhana and
transforming the baser ideas and goals of the elite by His
discourses at the Academy of Vedic Scholars, growing in strength
and usefulness under His benign guidance. On 25th October 1971,
Baba laid the foundation for a Lingam-shaped temple at Hyderabad,
the capital city of the state of Andhra Pradesh.
"I am
consecrating this temple for devotees who, instead of following
Me from place to place, can now gather here, assured of
Darsan,"
He said. At Dharmakshetra in Bombay, the divine
residence is named 'Sathyam'.
'Sivam' is second in the series,
while 'Sundaram', in Madras, was raised last. Of the three, Baba
said,
"Sathyam is the feet, Sivam is the trunk and Sundaram
the head. On Sathyam we stand, on Sivam we act and on Sundaram we
think. In Truth we are born, in Goodness we live and into Beauty
we merge."
Bhagavan inaugurated 'Sivam' on the Telugu New
Year Day in April 1973. This architectural gem, enshrining the
cosmic message of emergence from and mergence into the One, was
completed in eighteen months. Here He materialized a Lingam for
continuous worship by devotees who may be so inclined, and
installed it in the hall which forms the Peetha (base) of the
Lingam structure. For seven days thereafter, large concourses of
people listened in rapture to the recitation and exposition of
the glory of Shiva and of the Lingam which He is, as described in
the Shiva Purana texts. The event marked the dawn of a cultural
and spiritual revolution, with 'Sivam' as the fountain of
inspiration.
During the Birthday celebrations, 1971,
Bhagavan explained,
"Life is a challenge; meet it.
Life is
love; share it.
Life is a dream; realize it.
Life is a game; play
it"
- a message which thousands now cherish and live by. He
spoke of the three bodies which each one is encased in - the
gross, the subtle and the causal. He said that intelligence is
master of the gross body, intellect of the subtle and intuition
of the causal. Every day during the celebrations, all those who
were alert to the proceedings could advance a few steps towards
self-control, self-knowledge and self-realization. Christmas came
soon after, and in His discourse Bhagavan emphasized omnipresent
Christ, saying "All are One in Christ and the One Christ is
in all," He assured.
The Conference Did
Meet
The Eighth All India Conference of the
Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization was held at Abbotsbury, Madras,
in the last week of December 1971. Baba had encouraged the organizers to proceed with the preparations in spite of the
country being involved in a war with Pakistan, for He said that
the war would be over by that time. "The civil war in
Pakistan, between its western and eastern halves, forced millions
of terror-stricken people to take refuge in India. They prayed in
their agony that we should help them. True to our culture and
tradition we sacrificed a great deal, gave them food and shelter
and sent them back to their homes after ensuring that they could
be safe and live there in peace. "We do not wish to expand or
dominate or injure anyone," Baba said after the conflict
ended. His Will prevailed. The Pakistani army surrendered,
administering indeed a pleasant surprise to India. This happened
barely a week before the conference was due to start with more
than 3000 delegates gathering at Madras from all over the
country.
Many had come from outside India. The
Cowans - Walter and Elsie, Dr. John Hislop and many others came
from the USA. The Cowans returned home in April 1972. At a
gathering of 'Friends and Fellow Seekers' Elsie said, "We
have come from India, my husband and I, brimful of the most
astounding news that can happen to anyone. It is so fantastic
that many of you may doubt it, because hardly any of us realize
the great importance and the tremendous power of this Great High
God, who not only walks the earth but cares for all the planes
from earth to eternity. Walter died at Madras. Sai Baba
resurrected him." And Walter confirmed, "While in the
Connemara Hotel at Madras, two days after I arrived, I was taken
very sick with pneumonia and was in bed. As I gasped for breath,
suddenly, all the body struggle was over. I died."
During the conference, Bhagavan inspired
the devotee-delegates to endeavor to translate the love they
bore for Him into acts of service for those less fortunate than
themselves. He exhorted them to share their resources, power and
skills with others who are also integral parts of the same God
whom they revere equally. Service must not become a routine
gesture, an exhibitionistic activity or mere oral outpourings of
sympathy. 'All for one, one for all' is the ideal towards which
society should march. Bhagavan castigated institutions and
individuals who deride holy festivals, defame holy men, deny God
and thereby undermine the faith, charity, sincerity and honesty
in man. He pointed out that man had mastered vast fields of
knowledge, yet he had no knowledge of himself. He limped, though
his legs were strong; he was insane, though his inside was sound;
he was deaf, though his ear was sharp. The time had come to
awaken him to this absurdity and infuse confidence into his
behavior. Before the delegates left for their homes, He directed
that all traces of dislike or distrust they may have had in their
hearts for Pakistan be drowned in the flood of Universal Love
that they had experienced. "All mankind must be welcomed
into the warm fold of your love," He said.
In a letter to the residents of Prasanthi
Nilayam on the New Year Day 1972, about the Madras conference,
Baba said,
"The sessions of the conference gave Ananda
(bliss) to all. But more time and attention was devoted to the
needs of the tongue and the stomach than to the needs of the
Atman. For those who have appetite for the Atman, these cravings
are trivial. It is best to keep feeding and feasting at a low
key. In Madras this did not happen." Baba is uncompromising
in His emphasis on values. He also explained, "Where
material comforts are overstressed, Ananda escapes. Sadhakas
should reckon that idle talk, voraciousness, indulgence in
backbiting and scandalmongering, the denigration of others and
the exchange of flattery, are inveterate enemies. Only those who
avoid these evil tendencies can earn Swami's grace. May you
deserve that grace in the year ahead. Determine today to get out
of the old ruts and move along the paths laid down by Sanathana
Dharma. (universal eternal ancient wisdom)"
A College for Boys
The foundation stone for a Sathya Sai
College was laid on 16th March 1972 on a vast piece of land lying
adjacent to Brindavan, near Whitefield. This building was planned
by Bhagavan as a unique architectural gem, comparable in its
magnificence to the one which houses the women's college at
Anantapur. It had been designed as a reservoir of Jnana
(spiritual knowledge, wisdom),
promising to transform the land into a place of peace and
prosperity.
"Parents, politicians and teachers are all
responsible for the extent to which the educational system has
deteriorated," Baba said. "In education, as in all
sectors of modern life, borrowed ideals, imported systems and
fickle loyalties have brought disaster in their train. Everyone
is engaged in offering advice or criticism, but none in actual
execution to set an example. When the students of this college
become leaders and teachers, the number of persons able to voyage
happily on an even keel over the turbulent sea of life will
increase. Injustice, untruth and unrighteousness will be recognized as disgraceful and demeaning social evils, instead of
being tolerated and even appreciated. Truth, justice, love and
grace shall soon return to earth. The reorganization of education
is one of the means towards this end," Baba declared.
His People in Delhi
On 25th March 1972, Bhagavan arrived in
Delhi for a ten-day stay. Baba often begins His discourses to the
mammoth crowds before Him with the benediction, "I am most
happy to share your Ananda and to find you sharing My
Ananda." Those ten days were spent in sustained ecstasy and
inexpressible, divine delight. After His return to Prasanthi
Nilayam, Baba spoke to a gathering of devotees on the Delhi visit
thus:
"The longing of My people in Delhi was so poignant
that it took nearly half an hour for Me to alight from the plane.
Lakhs of people presented themselves before My residence and
clamoured at all hours of the day and night for Darsan. Unless
one group moved on, there was no room for the next to get Darsan.
I had to climb up to the terrace so that the huge concourse could
get a glimpse of Me... Drawn by the Ananda that the Darsan gives,
masses of people from Meerut, Jullunder, Patiala and some other
distant towns and villages gathered for Bhajan and the
discourses. On 1st April I agreed to go to Kurukshetra during the
hotter hours of the day, since I did not like to disappoint the
Delhi crowds and deprive them of Darsan. There, Gulzarilal Nanda
had arranged a meeting of ascetics and students at the university
campus. But there were three Lakh people waiting for Me on that
ground that was familiar to Me as a field for corrective
teaching. I warned the Sanyasis (ascetics) of the corrupting
influence of institutionalism and hierarchism. I told them to
keep away from the contamination of political involvements."
Jogendranath Joshi, an eye witness of the Kurukshetra meeting
writes, "Until Baba arrived, thousands of students were
surging in confusion and evidently getting increasingly restless
and unruly. But as soon as He ascended the dais and looked
around, the wild emotions were soothed; apparently menacing
hordes were instantly transformed into brigades of peace."
The U. S. Ambassador at Delhi, Professor
Keating, was so impressed by the reverence that motivated the
Delhi crowds, that he said, "I cannot grasp the full impact
of Indian culture through the study of books, nor can I vouchsafe
for the authenticity of the scriptures of this land... but when I
see in the capital city of this land, in the seventh decade of
the 20th century, a phenomenon like this - five Lakh ardent men
and women milling round to get a heartening glimpse of this five
foot personality - I feel that I can hear the heartbeat of this
ancient people."
Khushwant Singh, then editor of The
Illustrated Weekly of India, wrote thus on this unique wave of
adoration that stunned the bustle of Delhi into silence: "A
traffic jam is a rare occurrence on Delhi roads as kerbs are
broader than in any other city. But here it was - a traffic jam
with cars and buses snarling up all avenues within a radius of
two miles, the focal point being the house where Sri Sathya Sai
Baba was staying."
Baba explained it as the natural
manifestations of the longing for light and love. He deprecated
expressions such as 'Triumphal Entry', 'He Took Delhi by Storm',
etc., which the journalists used, as also the word 'invaded' used
by Ariel in his column: "Last week Delhi was invaded by one
of India's most renowned mystics and seers, Sri Sathya Sai Baba,
who received a welcome from the classes and the masses, more
rapturous than most welcomes Ariel has witnessed over the
years."
Baba said at Prasanthi Nilayam,
"We
went to Meerut one evening, but the gathering was so vast and
thickly packed that the car could not proceed to even within a
mile of the dais. We were advised to return to Delhi, but the
moans of the multitude persuaded Me to appear before them on the
platform. I sang a few Bhajans, which the huge gathering repeated
after Me, line by line. Having satisfied their thirst, I got back
to the car as mysteriously as I had ascended the dais. I have
been telling you since six or seven years that the day when
millions will gather to benefit from the Avatar is approaching
close. I advise you to garner and to treasure all the Upadesh
(teaching) and bliss that you can today, so that you can sustain
yourselves ruminating on the sweet memories of the
experience."
For Baba, as for the millions, it was
love, light and bliss every moment. The News Chronicle reported
an incident which symbolizes the divine love: "Baba's car
was moving at quite a speed near India Gate, when He suddenly
asked the driver to stop. Everyone was surprised at this. Baba
got down, crossed the road, went to an old man in tattered
clothes sitting on the pavement and, bending down before him,
materialized a ring which He Himself put on one of the man's
fingers before returning happy to the car." Sri Ramanujam of
Newsweek fell in with a scooter driver named Ashok Kumar, who had
resolved to give up his evil practice of overcharging his
customers the moment he had Baba's Darsan. The impact of the
divinity cleansed his heart of vicious greed. Another incident
worth recording happened when Baba was at the American Embassy
with Professor Keating. He materialized a ring and put it on the
Ambassador's finger, but the recipient was rather unhappy since
it was quite loose. Noticing the embarrassment, Baba said, while
sitting at the table for tea, "It will be tightened. You may
ask how? Just as it came unexplained, the ring will also be
tightened by itself." When he rose after tea, Keating found,
"It was tight."
Baba Invaded
Instead of Baba invading Delhi, He
offered Himself to be invaded! He addressed a gathering of the
capital's elite at Kamani Hall and another of over one hundred
and fifty thousand citizens at the play grounds of the Modern
School. He spoke to members of the Seva Samithi and the Seva Dal
who were engaged in various service activities as part of the
spiritual upliftment process recommended by Him.
Back at Brindavan, Baba decided to
initiate another great movement for teaching the wayward world
that God is not a tyrant up in Heaven, but a way of life.
Shower of Light in
Summer
He planned the month-long Summer Course
on Indian Culture and Spirituality in order to instil into
students the qualities of humility and reverence. Three hundred
students from various colleges all over India, as well as seniors
from the Sai college, stayed in a camp and went through a
spiritually-oriented curriculum which centred round our heritage
of moral and spiritual wisdom, intensive practice of positive
secularism and the study of the lives and messages of mystics and
saints of all creeds and countries. More than all, Bhagavan
Himself graciously took on the role of author, producer,
director, preceptor, participant, provider and instructor. Meera
Bharani, a student at the course, said, "We were inspired to
adopt nature as our teacher, life as our school and service as
our task." Onita Bahl, another participant, said,
"Bhagavan was the most taxed teacher at the camp. He talked
to us every evening and on some days, in the morning hours also.
He spent most of the day with us - watching, consoling, warming,
cajoling and clarifying. He personally supervised every detail of
the daily schedule - the recitation of Om (the Primordial Sound)
in the early hours of the day, the Nagarsankirtan, the classes
and the daily Bhajans, besides conducting question-answer
sessions every Sunday. We asked him, 'Where does the soul
reside?' 'How can one conquer ignorance or delusion (Maya)?' 'How
should one meditate?' 'How is one to engage in action (Karma)
without being involved in consequence?' 'How does one practise
Pranayama (breath-control)? And so on. He listened with
compassion and analyzed our problems in order to still the waves
of doubt in our minds through His highly illuminating
expositions. He filled our hearts with the gift of grace. None of
us can ever be the same again."
The array of intellectuals who had
arrived from all parts of the country, included pundits,
professors, vice-chancellors, writers, judges, administrators,
artists and poets all of whom were thankful and happy for this
opportunity provided them. They, too, felt the impact of divinity
and benefited from the unique experience. On the valedictory day
Bhagavan told the students,
"You are all bright and beaming
with inspiration imbibed from the atmosphere of peace and
self-control, the vision you have gained of your own reality, the
sense of mission you have acquired, the inner resolutions you
have formed and the invigorating lessons you have assimilated.
Now cherish with reverence what these elders have taught you out
of their love for you. Go back happily with the courage born of
self-confidence. Share your Ananda with your parents, friends,
companions and teachers. I shall be with you wherever you are;
you can never be alone and helpless hereafter."
The Mother's Role is
Over
On 6th May when the summer course was
progressing ahead full steam, mother Easwaramma cast off her
mortal coil at about 8.00 a.m. at Brindavan, in the very presence
of her son, the Divine Avatar. She was happy and in good spirits
till the last. When I paid my respects to her the previous night,
I had found her surrounded by children. She was then narrating
stories about Puranic heroes, and the children kept insisting for
one more story before they unwillingly crept into bed.
The passing away of the Mother did not
cause even a flicker in Baba's demeanour. The left half of the
mausoleum at Puttaparthi wherein lay the body of the Father, had
been demarcated to serve as the tomb for the Mother. So Baba had
the sacred body sent with a few volunteers to Puttaparthi, where
it was buried that same evening. The sudden death plunged the
village in gloom, as residents of Prasanthi Nilayam bewailed the
loss of their Prema Matha (loving mother). The women devotees had
been orphaned by the death. They led the long line of mourners
who were invoking the Lord through Bhajans, to grant them
strength to bear the loss. Meanwhile, at Brindavan, every item in
the schedule of the camp remained undisturbed.
"Duty-Devotion-Discipline," Baba always emphasises. The
few who knew what had happened, dared not spread the news without
the specific permission of Baba, for whom death was but a curtain
drop, a wink in the wakefulness of the eternal, a footstep to be
followed by another in the soul's march to its source. Even when
the Father passed away at Puttaparthi, the event did not disturb
the normal routine at Prasanthi Nilayam. Baba's emphasis on duty
and discipline as the two banks of the stream of devotion, was
seen in action that day, the sixth of May.
On 20th July Baba inaugurated, at
Puttaparthi village, the Easwaramma High
School, a fitting
memorial to the universal affection with which Easwaramma had
evoked the goodness dormant in thousands of rural and urban women
and children. Baba declared, "This village will certainly be
uplifted when more of its children receive higher education. The
new teachers who will reside in the village will spread both
knowledge and the enthusiasm to earn it."
Prema Putras
The conference of the Sri Sathya Seva Dal
comprising about 3000 members from all over India, met at Prasanthi Nilayam in
the fall of 1972, only a few days prior to Dasara. Bhagavan received them as
His prema putras, children fostered with (His) love! He wanted them to
lead the resurgence of spiritual yearning among the youth. He encouraged them
to develop faith in Sai, for each dal or petal can be alive and active,
colorful and fragrant, only if it is attached to the torus. He directed them
to practise the teachings of Sai and to be shining examples revealing their
worth to the world. The lesson that one must learn from the yajna that
lasted seven Dasara days is, Baba said, that, "Yajna alone gives Jaya"
(sacrifice alone can confer glory). During the festival, on 17th October,
Bhagavan announced that the auditorium at Prasanthi Nilayam - the most
beautiful and spiritually vibrating hall in the East, with soul-inspiring
sculptures and paintings - would be called Poornachandra, in memory of
the late Poonamchand Kamani whose dream it was, which was realized through
Baba's grace.
The birthday celebrations followed in November.
Bhagavan conferred valuable boons on the thousands who had gathered at
Prasanthi Nilayam - the divine darsan, the revitalizing smile of
recognition and compassion, the gift of sweets from His own hand and, more
than all, the message of the atman to be enshrined in the heart.
The Mew is Heard
One incident which occurred on the 23rd of November
deserves to be highlighted in the Sai chronicle. About sixty devotees had
arrived from far-away Gauhati, the capital city of Assam. They had travelled
in a special railway coach for seven days before they reached Bangalore, and
they had before them another week-long ordeal to get back home. Baba
appreciated their devotion and gave them darsan
and a short spiritual discourse at the prayer hall. He filled their hands with
the precious gift of vibhuti. He saw in
the group a girl named Lakhi and he gave her vibhuti
a second time, saying, "This, for the cat."
The cat was Minkie, whom she had rescued from the city
drain on a rainy day and brought home to keep warmed and fed. The kitten was
not, however, welcomed by her elder sister who was a nurse in the biggest
hospital in the city, but who could not stand cats. She blamed Lakhi for
bringing the horrid thing and keeping it as a pet. One night when a few guests
had arrived for dinner, the cat stole into the kitchen and ran off with a bite
of fish. This enraged the lady so much that all her bellicose adjectives
exploded in one burst at Lakhi's face. Lakhi could bear it no longer. She
caught Minkie by the neck and spanked her severely with a longish stick. The
poor thing yelled in pain. Suddenly, every picture of Sai Baba in the house -
there were sixteen of them hanging with garlands after the Thursday bhajans
- fell on the floor! The guests ran out of the house into the open courtyard,
for they were sure that an earthquake had struck.
But the lady noticed that only the pictures of Baba
had dropped; all others were intact on the walls! It was then that she
realized that Baba had given a sign to save the cat. She shouted to her
sister, "Lakhi! stop! stop! Don't kill it! Baba is angry with us!"
Lakhi placed Minkie on the table. She was in tears, and her sister, too, was
sobbing. The cat tried to allay her pain by shaking in quick quivers. The
guest had come back by now and they too witnessed the struggle of the cat to
regain her poise. Lo and behold! When Minkie shook herself, puffs of fragrant vibhuti
emerged from her fur and fell thick on the table! The fragrance announced that
Bhagavan had blessed the cat.
Six months later, on 23rd November, when Lakhi was
present with many other devotees from Assam at the Prasanthi Nilayam prayer
hall, Bhagavan, in His infinite compassion, remembered Minkie, the unwelcome
cat, and sent to her His most valuable prasad. He instantly detects
every denial of love and warns us when we miss our way. His hand reaches
beyond the horizons of space and the chronologies of time. He teaches us, by
example, to wish well for every form of life, be it man, beast, bird or plant.
His love has no limit, for He is in all.
Christmas 1972 was a festival during which Baba
further elaborated the concept of Cosmic Christ. He traced the expansion of
the Christ consciousness right up to Christ's declaration, 'I
and my Father are One' and said that this was the acme of Advaithic
(non-dualistic) experience. Baba said, in addition, "This
is the truth of Jesus and also of every one of you. You are all,
fundamentally, the Cosmic Christ."
On 5th January 1973, Baba addressed the ASC(S) army
personnel at Bangalore. He seldom misses an opportunity to bless the members
of the armed forces, for He likes them to know, more and more, the glory of
the land that they have vowed to defend. He instils inspiration and courage in
their hearts. Since He can and does accompany each one of them, however far or
near, His grace is much sought after by soldiers. On 14th January, Baba
advised a large gathering of devotees,
"Fill yourselves with awe
and reverence at the handiwork of God, the manifestation of His power, love
and wisdom that is called the 'universe', and upon which the great expanse
of space, the huge nebulae, the stars, the satellites and comets, the birds,
beasts, insects and plants, all contemplate. They can give enough
instruction and inspiration to you."
In January Baba was at Guindy, Madras, to unveil a
monumental pillar at the temple where He had installed an image of Sri Baba of
Shirdi, 25 years earlier. On the sides at the base of this pillar are
inscribed Bhagavan's directives for the regeneration of man.
Kakkara Halla Linga
Since the biggest shed (there were only three then)
could not hold even half the number of pilgrims who came to Prasanthi
Nilayam (abode of eternal peace) for Shivarathri (night of Shiva),
Bhagavan quietly motored to the Bandipur forest on the border of Karnataka.
The warden of the jungle brought news that there was a quiet spot on the
Kakkara Halla stream, with a patch of dry sand. So Baba, and the few who were
chosen by Him, drove in a van into the forest. A herd of twelve elephants had
been spotted minutes earlier, but had discreetly made itself scarce. As
Bhagavan alighted from the van He stood and broke a stalk of jungle grass,
about an inch and a half long, and another about half its length, and bound
them together in the middle with a bit of stalk skin. It became a cross. He
was about to drop it into Hislop's open palm but He desisted. "No! I must
give you another," He said. Holding the grass cross before His face, He
blew upon it. This became a wooden cross having the same dimensions, with a
small silver icon of Jesus on it.
"This is the wooden
cross on which Jesus was crucified; this is the correct image of Jesus on the
cross," He said, and gave it to Hislop who was kneeling, and
in tears. (Later he got the wood examined, and was informed that it was at
least twenty centuries old. He had the silver icon photographed and the
photographs enlarged. He was surprised to note that there were marks of sweat
on the brow and signs of froth at the corners of the mouth. It had all the
signs of pain heroically borne). (See: Reference to White Man's Burden for
this story by Hislop). Then Baba moved down the bank of the stream and sat
on the sand with those who had accompanied Him, including the warden, guards
and a few tribals attracted by these mysterious happenings in their part of
the world.
From the sand that was heaped as a raised bed, Baba
created a translucent lingam, five inches long and four inches across,
seated on an eight-inch-high base. "Straight
from Kailas where it was being worshipped. See the sandal paste, the kumkum
dot, the bilva leaf," He said. He transformed the sand into an
icon of Shirdi Sai Baba, an idol of Laksmī (goddess of
happiness and eternal companion of Nārāyana) and another of Durgā (wife
of Lord Shiva). And, finally, He created before the wonder-struck gathering, a
casket which was full to the brim with Amrith
(nectar)-sweet beyond imagination and with a divine fragrance. Even the
tribals who had huddled around him received their share of prasad from His
hands.
The lingam was at Brindavan the next day and
Baba allowed a large number of devotees to participate in the puja. I
could recite the Rudra-adhyaya from the Vedas, in praise of
Shiva, during the ritual ablution of the lingam. And I can still recall the
thrill of my pouring on the lingam the holy water of the Ganges, transported
by Baba with a wave of His hand from the very source of the river in
the Himalayas.
The Land of Valour
Baba responded to the prayers of the residents of
Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, first visiting the town of Mogha
near the country's border. He was there on the 15th and 16th of March. He
inaugurated the Muralidhar hospital, where more than two hundred thousand
people had gathered for His darsan. "It is remarkable how the news
of Bhagavan's arrival spreads at such short notice and with such great speed
in every direction by word of mouth," said Sri Sohan Lal, who had
witnessed the phenomenon. Baba advised the devotees:
"Punjab has earned a
reputation for valour. It should make a name for spiritual courage, which
comes from faith in God... Pray to God asking Him to endow you with an
intellect that does not waver and a mind that is balanced."
Baba left Mogha for Simla by car.
Forty thousand people had gathered on the ridge, many from the suburbs and the
homesteads in the villages lying amidst the mountains. Simla had not seen such
a massive assembly in living memory. Baba told them that though man had probed
outer space and explored the deep, he had yet to learn to be at peace on
earth. Man wants peace and happiness but he does not know how to acquire them.
He runs after petty desires and short-lived pleasures. "There
is a surfeit of preachers but a shortage of practitioners,"
Baba said. He advised and directed the people to concentrate on fundamental
gains rather than superficial ones. He gave two discourses the next day - one
on the ridge and the other at the grounds of 'Woodville', His residence. On
another day Bhagavan paid a brief visit to Kufri and Phagu, past the
snow-covered road. A magnificent view of the silver-robed Himalayan peaks can
be had from these hamlets. Though the snow was knee-deep, about 200 men and
women followed Him. Baba picked up a little snow and changed it into a pair of
gold earrings for a tribal girl. He blessed many with vibhuti,
and an old lady with a ring. The visit of the Lord to the Himachal Pradesh
marked a turning point in the lives of many. Groups of seekers from many of
its towns and villages continue flowing into Prasanthi
Nilayam to be in His presence for a few days.
At Delhi, a pandal (an outdoor auditorium) which could
seat more than two hundred thousand people, was found inadequate on some days.
Bhagavan was present there during morning and evening Bhajans, moving amidst
the thousands and showering grace on the sick in the form of curative vibhuthi.
He also addressed a select gathering of ministers, academicians and others at
Vigyan Bhavan. He spoke to them on the urgency of moral regeneration and of
the role of the individual in the process. Bhagavan was very liberal with His
time and conferred the fortune of personal conversation and counsel on
hundreds who yearned for the chance.
Next, Bhagavan motored to Jaipur, instead of going by
air as had been earlier planned, thus allowing thousands to have Darsan as He
drove by. At Jaipur, Bhagavan laid the foundation stone for the Sri Sathya Sai
College for women and for a temple. He also addressed a gathering of 50.000 on
the need for selfless service.
From the 28th to the 30th March Baba was in Bombay,
making a short visit to Poona on the 28th. He addressed a packed assembly of
two lakh Bombayites at the Vallabhai stadium. Next, He flew by a chartered
plane to Rajkot, in Gujarat, to bless the Raj Kumar College during its
centenary celebrations and to open the Digvijaya Singh wing of the college
buildings to commemorate the late Jam Saheb of Nawanagar. "The
youth need colleges, for there they can learn to live and move with others of
their own age, coming from different social and economic backgrounds. They can
learn tolerance and cooperation and realize their talents and virtues,"
He told the gathering.
Sivam
On the Telugu new year day Baba was at Hyderabad for
the inauguration of the holy 'Sivam'
mandir.
"Let the new year bring you
Ananda. You can get it by serving the poor, the disabled, and those who earn
their livelihood by strenuous physical labor,"
He
said. Baba blessed the juveniles at the remand home in Hyderabad.
"I like children. I take great care of them, insisting on discipline,
reverence to parents, moderate food and allotment of time to study, prayer
and meditation. I also recommend some form of service," He said.
The main topic on which Baba focussed His discourses
in the summer school was the Moha Mudgara
or Bhaja Govindam of Sankaracharya.
In July, Baba was again in Bombay for visits to the central school for the
deaf and the Sathya Sai Service Centre at Koliwada, a hamlet of fishermen
which had been adopted by the Seva Samithi. He also attended a Bal
Vikas programme featuring the children of the mill workers at
Worli.
The Dasara message
was one of "sacrifice, detachment and renunciation" through positive
and constructive activity.
"Do every deed as an act of
worship to Him; let every thought be a longing for Him; make every word a
hymn of thanksgiving for His benevolence."
Bhagavan has been repeating in His discourses, the
Vedic exhortation to the youth to "revere your
parents as God," for reverence is fast disappearing in Indian
families. He emphasized that the home is the earliest and best school, where
one's most enduring skills and habits are imbibed. It is the place where one's
heart should always be, wherever one might physically wander. We love our
country because the tombs of our fathers, the temples of our God, the fields
which have fed us and the rivers we have bathed in, all exist therein. To
demonstrate the value of reverence, Baba inaugurated the birthday festival by
His visit to the mausoleum of the parents, where His 'sisters and brothers'
joined Him along with their children and grand children. Every act of His is a
lesson to us.
Baba and Godavari
The year 1974 witnessed a miraculous event in
Rajahmundry, a small town on the bank of the Godavari river. Rajahmundry is a
town that revives nostalgic memories of ancient glories, sheltering many
religions and cultural institutions, and entering contemporary history once
every twelve years when lakhs of pilgrims from all over India travel
thither for a holy bath in the river. Bhagavan willed that an All India
Conference of office bearers of the Sathya Sai organizations be held there for
three days. Over 6000 delegates attended the conference and the gurus who
taught Bal Vikas children comprised an additional 750 persons. Swami
Karunyananda, the life and soul of all service activities in the Godavari
districts, who had discovered in Sathya Sai Baba the God that he had been
seeking, was certain that devotees of Baba in the delta region of the Godavari
would participate wholeheartedly to make the conference a phenomenal triumph.
From every village, young men arrived at Rajahmundry before the new year. They
put up pandals, levelled the grounds, dug drains and raised dining halls and
kitchens, singing bhajans all the while. They filled the stores with
provisions until Swami Karunyananda insisted on "no more" and many
villagers returned disappointed and sad that their offerings could not be
accepted in the pool. Women streamed into the kitchen and took up the task of
preparing elaborate menus. Large quantities of milk, curd and ghee
(clarified butter) arrived at the campus in buses reaching Rajahmundry town
from every corner. The delegates were guests of the Godavari region and the
hospitality bordered on worship. It was a revelation of the deep roots that
the Sai message had taken in their hearts and how it had blossomed as love and
service. Bhagavan's discourses helped integrate the office bearers into an
effective instrument for the revival of dharma.
He also blessed the Bal Vikas movement describing it as the basic activity of
the Sai movement, and the gurus as its most useful pioneers. Bhagavan's
presence during all the three days of the conference induced pilgrims to come
to the Godavari from places as distant as Calcutta, Bhopal and Patna.
Prasanthi in Villages
On 3rd February 1974, Bhagavan visited the village of
Kannamangala, about six miles from Brindavan. He announced that He had started
a college in that region, so that students hailing from its villages could
become leaders of the ideal of total revival and reconstruction which He
called Janata-Kalyan (peace and prosperity
for the people). He advised the students to revere the village and to live
there with their kith and kin. "Encourage the formation of the Bal Vikas,
the Seva Dal, the Mahila Vibhag and the Seva Samithi in your region," He
said. The visit to Kannamangala was indeed historic, for Bhagavan has since
visited more than ten villages in that area. He has renovated temples,
provided shelters, expanded school buildings, tapped underground water and
deepened existing water wells. He has helped promote literacy and has laid the
foundation of moral reform by awakening the conscience of the people.
Bhagavan has directed the 4000 Seva Samithis in India
to adopt a village each and to serve its people with love and understanding.
The old boys association of the Sathya Sai colleges, called 'The Kingdom of
Sathya Sai', is shaping itself into an efficient and sincere instrument for
continuing this seva (service) in the
villages. Bhagavan's grace has reached the villages around Puttaparthi in the
form of medical and educational facilities.
Sivarathri '74 was celebrated by Bhagavan at Prasanthi
Nilayam. A shed which could seat over 20.000 people had by then risen on the
grounds. Speaking about the lingam and its mystery, Baba said, "The
Lingam is that which has neither beginning nor end, that towards which all
beings move, and that in which all beings merge." The
atmosphere at the Nilayam was vibrant with awe and adoration, awaiting the
arrival of the lingam. Thousands prayed as one when the first pangs began to
show on Baba's face, announcing the great event. A heavy unreasonably large
oval, the symbol of the Shiva principle, was persuaded by their sincere
yearning to take birth in Baba's physical body and gradually rise along the
gullet, to emerge from the mouth and drop into His hands. Holding it aloft for
everybody to see, He announced that it was the symbol of cosmic space, the
space-time-causation continuum, in concrete form. It represents both the cause
and the final effect. It had a luminous trisul (trident
usually referred to the one wielded by Lord Siva)
inside it. Ecstasy
shone on every face. There was no tear of regret for the past, no sigh of
anguish for the present, no grimace of anxiety for the future. All were at
once alight with delight. Then they heard the voice of Bhagavan,
"Cherish this vision of the
emergence. Nourish the Ananda that now gushes in your hearts. I assure you
that you have indeed been rendered immortal. You need not pass from birth to
death again."
No one in that mammoth assembly could have been the
same when he rose and walked away. It took days of ministration by Bhagavan to
send the longing, lingering devotees home.
In 1974 Baba visited Bombay twice, in early March and
in mid May. In March, He blessed a rally of 2500 Bal Vikas children, addressed
a gathering of teachers from the university and various colleges, and
inaugurated the extension projects of the Industrial Training School and the
Agricultural polytechnic at Dharmakshetra. Speaking during the rally, He said,
"Parents today are not competent to guide their
children. They utter lies, accept bribes, indulge in gambling and spread
scandal. They use foul language and boast aloud. Children must make elders
ashamed of their habits." In May, He presided over the annual
day of the Dharmakshetra school, and flew to the town of Ratnagiri in answer
to the prayers of devotees there.
After 27 Years
On His way back from Bombay in March, Bhagavan spent
two days at Sandur, in the Bellary District of Karnataka. He inaugurated one
of the factories set up by the Raja Saheb to exploit the mineral wealth of
that area. The Raja Saheb welcomed Baba, who had last graced the erstwhile
kingdom 27 years ago. He related how, in 1949, when he gave up the reins of
the state, Baba had assured him, "Don't worry. You will found an
organization bigger than the state of Sandur!" And Baba had now come to
bless that organization.
The summer course in May-June was widely acclaimed as
a must for young people who were about to confront the comedies and tragedies,
the follies and frivolities of the human situation, for it strove to equip
them with the knowledge of the sages and seers of every land, and bring them
into contact with the Avatar of the age.
On 19th June, two days before the close, Baba answered a question that was
baffling analysts - Who is Sai? He revealed Himself in as much as our dull and
dithering reason can accept.
"I have come to unite all
mankind into one family and to affirm and illumine in each of you your Atmic
Reality... Do not crave from Me trivial material objects. Instead crave for
Me, and you will be rewarded,"
He declared. No wonder! General Cariappa, former
commander-in-chief of the armed forces of India, then called upon the thousand
participants for three full-throated cheers of 'Jai
Sai Dharma', which echoed all around.
The Dasara festival commemorates the victory of the
gods over the demons, of light over darkness, of knowledge over ignorance. So
the thousands who throng to His presence are involved in disciplines which
help them advance towards that victory. The women's college at Anantapur
staged the play, "The Bishop's Candlesticks" and the boy's college
at Brindavan (Bangalore) staged a Telugu play 'Pandava Vijayam'
(triumph/victory of the Pandavas). Both plays were based on the sovereign cure
that selfless love and devotion can effect. The Bhagavata Bhakta Samajam, a
group of musicians and speakers drawn together by the bond of brotherhood and
the common purpose of fostering 'the perennial philosophy of theism', and
which holds three-day sessions of its activities comprising Vedic
homa(ge), Puranic
readings, devotional songs, folk dances, dramas and musical recitations, was
affiliated to the Academy of Pundits by Bhagavan. They added many attractive
items of educative and entertainment value.
It was during the birthday festival in 1974 that Baba
spoke strongly against the use and abuse of funds. He has always been against
public appeals for money, and has warned devotees against both, asking for and
giving such donations. He declared that nothing should be brought for Him,
because He needed nothing. "Those who bring or
advise others to bring, will be kept away," He said.
In March 1975, Bhagavan visited Delhi, spending a week
to confer darsan on the multitudes there, besides making short visits to
Amritsar, Chandigarh and Simla. He made a visit to Jaipur to see the progress
made by the Sathya Sai college in that city. Then He boarded the plane to
Bombay, where He unveiled the 40-foot-high pillar erected on the Dharmakshetra
hill, depicting the harmony of religions. He was at Prasanthi
Nilayam on 20th March, where thousands were waiting to be blessed
by darsan of the divinely wrought Sivarathri lingam.
On the 25th, when He blessed, by His presence, the Sathya Sai College for
women at Anantapur, He advised the residents:
"Women students and teachers
must be very vigilant that they do not attract the eyes and tongues of men
by their dress, movement, or behavior. Be a little behind in fashion, it
does not matter; but do not outrage the traditions and conventions of our
culture."
With Cows to Gokulam
On 29th August, the Birthday of Lord Krishna,
the pages of the Bhagavatha [Bhagavatha Vahini] which describe His boyhood
were re-enacted at Puttaparthi. The cows, buffaloes and camels, and also Sai
Geetha, the elephant, were taken in procession from Prasanthi
Nilayam to their new home, about a kilometer away. Rural pipes and
drums led the line. Sai Geetha followed in regal splendor, and the cows, with
their attendant seva dal members, came next. Calves, frisking, jumping and
butting, were held in check by the college students, while the immovable
buffaloes stood and stared until they were pushed and pulled forward. Students
of the women's college and others from Prasanthi
Nilayam followed behind, singing bhajans. Sai Krishna was also
there, with devotees singing around Him in joy. They had witnessed, three days
earlier, another page of the Bhagavatha come alive. Incessant heavy rains had
brought the Chitravathi into the village, and she swelled into swirling anger.
Indra, the God of rain, appeared to cast
his anger on the cowherd village again, but unlike as in the Bhagavatha days
[see BV, chapter 38], this Krishna did not lift a mountain on His palm to
shelter man and beast. He disappointed the peaks, by walking up to the open
terrace of the east Prasanthi flats and cast a look at the turbulent waters
seeking entry. That was enough. The flood began to recede steadily. During the
Dasara festival Prasanthi Nilayam was quiet, except for a few extra ceremonies
that the inmates were allowed to observe. For Bhagavan could not, in His
boundless love, impose on the devotees, however eager, a ten-day stay Dasara
and another ten-day stay on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the Advent,
scheduled from 14th to 24th November.
Slice of all the Maps
"All Roads Lead to Puttaparthi" was the
headline in the daily papers. Special trains, reserved coaches, omnibuses,
trucks and tractors, scooters and cycles, horse-drawn vehicles and bullock
carts, all unloaded thousands of pilgrims in a continuous flux at the Nilayam.
From overseas, thousands alighted at Bangalore and taxied to the place. The
prophecy that Baba would be an orange speck in the distant eminence, well nigh
came true. Besides the construction of seven gigantic sheds, hundreds of ad
hoc shelters hastily contrived, and scores of tents and pandals were permitted
to fill every patch of available space in and around the township. 5000
members of the seva dal stayed on duty night and day, cooking, serving,
sweeping, cleaning, guarding, guiding and helping. Teams of doctors were
stationed in temporary clinics and at the hospital. Kitchens for serving
eastern and western food were set up.
A rally of bal vikas pupils (about 1000, selected from
every state) was held. These children had the privilege of marching past
Bhagavan Himself. More than a thousand bal vikas gurus attended a two-day
conference which was inaugurated by Bhagavan. For the world conference of
office bearers, 8000 delegates came from over fifty nations.
On the 18th, the imposing and inspiring 'Gopuram',
(temple) built by devoted hands in the south indian style of temple
architecture, was inaugurated. Baba had the ancient temples of Puttaparthi,
rebuilt including the Gopala Krishna
temple, associated with its history through the ages. That day all the new
silver idols of the deities installed in the temple were placed on a huge
chariot and taken in procession through the village - a great day in the
annals of the holy hamlet. The Vedic rite of Purushottama
Yajna was also part of the jubilee celebrations. The final ceremony
of offering the last oblation in the sacred fire, delighted the huge gathering
on the jubilee day.
The world conference was an inspiring experience.
Devotees from a multitude of nations and affiliated to various religions,
humbly walked up to Bhagavan and offered garlands of flowers. Edgar Mitchell,
the astronaut who had watched the tragedy of the human race from the moon and
remarked, "When will civilization make man realize mankind?" could
have derived faith and hope that day at Prasanthi
Nilayam. The huge concourse offered Bhagavan the solemn pledge of
loyalty to His teachings. They promised to cultivate truth, peace and love,
and progress along the path of duty, devotion and discipline.
On Shivarathri in
1976, Baba announced, while hoisting the Prasanthi flag to mark the
inauguration of the festival.
"The Lingam that emerges from
the Universal Absolute, Brahman, is the cosmos - first conceived as a wish,
later formed as an idea and finally adopted as a will. The cosmos is the will
of Shiva concretised. You, too, are therefore, willed by Shiva and formed by
Shiva from Himself."
God's Vesture
During the last week of March, Bhagavan flew to
Hyderabad and stayed at Sivam. The elite of the twin cities of Hyderabad and
Secunderabad were invited by the Sathya Sai Seva Samithi to share the grace of
Bhagavan. The meeting was presided over by Shri Mohanlal Sukhadia, then
governor of Andhra Pradesh. He said that the task for which Bhagavan had
incarnated was to "put humanity back on the rails." In His discourse
Baba emphasized,
"There is no east or west
distinguishable on the globe. All mankind is one. The cosmos is energy felt
as matter. Man relies on his sensory experiences and on the inferences that
he draws from those experiences. Therefore he lacks the knowledge and
awareness of experiences beyond the sensory world."
On the Telugu new year day Bhagavan addressed a vast
gathering of devotees at 'Sivam'. He blessed the seva dal members who had
established all over the cities on that day no less than a hundred first aid
centres for rendering service to the ailing and the distressed. He inaugurated
a boarding school for children on Castle Hill, where a historic building had
been acquired by the Samithi for the purpose. The school is run on the lines
laid down by Bhagavan, who insists that children must learn humility, service
and reverence, imbibe our ancient cultural heritage, be disciplined and
devoted, participate in bhajans and take only sathwic
food, even while mastering the prescribed academic curriculum. Dedicated
teachers serve the children, adoring their assignment as the 'worship of Sai'.
Referring to the arrogant vandalism of modern man which has led to the
pollution of rivers and oceans, the advance of deserts into arable areas and
the desecration of forests, Bhagavan said in a discourse on 6th May,
"Nature is God's
vesture. The universe is a 'university' for man. Man should treat nature
with reverence. He has no right to talk of conquering nature or exploiting
the forces of nature. He must proceed to visualise in nature, its God. All
are but temporary, short-term tenants in God's estate."
Bombay had the good fortune of welcoming Baba on 12th
May, the anniversary of the inauguration of Dharmakshetra,
which also happened to be sacred Thursday and, luckily enough, the triple holy
day of the Buddhists - the day Gautama was born, the day he became the Buddha
and the day of His Parinirvana
(Liberation).
The Blue Mountains
The 1976 summer course on Indian culture and
spirituality was held at Nandanavanam in Ootacammund, in the Nilgiri Hills. It
was scheduled to last fifteen days, and the participants, who numbered about
two hundred, were selected from the Sathya Sai colleges. One feature of the
course was that the role of lecturers was assigned to the senior students, who
spoke on the Vedanta, the Gītā,
the Purushottama Yajna, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Hanuman, the Bhagavatha,
etc., after deep study and reflection, with clear understanding. Dr. S.
Bhagavantham pronounced the project "a resounding success."
Subsequently the students spread out for social service to the city bus stand,
railway station and the market area. Their sadhana
of cleaning the area was so efficient that the municipal council passed a
resolution expressing its grateful appreciation, and communicated it to the
organizers. When the camp was concluding, Bhagavan disclosed to the students
at a special meeting, details about His school days, and His relations with
His parents, teachers and schoolmates, and with the brother who was His
'guardian'. As he was describing the role that He had planned for the students
seated before Him and exhorting them to cultivate such qualities as fortitude,
detachment, sympathy, humility and reverence that He Himself had held forth as
a living example even as a child, He waved His hand and created a silver
plaque with the map of India embossed on it, which had Puttaparthi, Bombay,
Bhubaneshwar, Madras, Delhi, Calcutta, Shillong, Hyderabad and other cities
marked on it by means of brilliant gems embedded in the silver. Bhagavan
announced that those were some of the places from where the Sai message would
be propagated by them in coming years. Bhagavan's discourses were mainly on
the strategy of Lord Krishna in relation
to the Kaurava-Pandava conflict, as
depicted in the Mahabharata.
Since we have Lord Krishna with us now,
and since the conflict between the two forces of Dharma
(righteousness) and Adharma (unrighteousness)
symbolizing Daivic (godly) and Asuric
(demonic) tendencies was even today confronting mankind, Bhagavan's analysis
of His methods and motives in the epic was part of His present message itself.
Sri Sailam
While at Ootacamund, Baba motored down the ghats
(slopes) on the Kerala coast to the historic town of Calicut, famous as the
town where Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, had landed in 1498 AD.
Thirty miles north of Calicut, on a hill that is embraced by the sea on three
sides, and which was named 'Sri Sailam' by
Rabindranath Tagore who spent some days
there, the Sri Sathya Sai Trust in Kerala had planned to construct a Vidya
Peeth (public school) to provide education on Sai lines. Bhagavan
graciously laid the foundation stone and blessed the project. More than 30.000
people had gathered to be blessed by His darsan
and sambhashan (speech).
Gurupurnima, a time when spiritual aspirants all over
the world welcome their preceptor into their hearts, found Bhagavan at
Puttaparthi. The students and teachers of the high school which had been
established there to commemorate Mother
Easwaramma, who bore the Avatar, were blessed by Bhagavan on
that auspicious day. The state minister for education declared that it was a
significant step forward in Bhagavan's programme of increasing facilities for
educating rural folk. Bhagavan proceeded to Puttaparthi village where a new
hamlet of a hundred houses had been built for the Harijans whose hutments had
been washed away by the angry floods of the Chitravathi some six months
earlier. Bhagavan told the huge gathering of devotees present that every
living being is a cell in the cosmic body of God, and that castes that are
described in the Vedas as forming the limbs of God, form an integral part of
the whole. He said that worshipping the feet of God is best done by serving
the poorest and lowliest among men.
On all the ten days of the Dasara festival 1976,
Bhagavan spoke on the mind, its vagaries, its potentialities and on the
sadhana which can straighten and strengthen it. In the midst of the busy
schedule of the Vedic Yajna, Bhagavan
found time to meet more than three hundred district presidents of the Sathya
Sai Seva organization who had journeyed thither from all the states of India.
They had two sessions with Him during which Bhagavan stressed the need for
discipline and gave them advice on many aspects of their duties and
responsibilities.
This Dasara was rendered memorable when Bhagavan
defined what He characterized as the 'Sai Religion',
while elaborating upon the impact of the Mathi (mind)
on Matha (creed). "The
religion that feeds and fosters all religions and emphasizes their common
greatness is the Sai Religion," He said.
Global Bhajan
During the second world conference, held during the
golden jubilee week at Prasanthi Nilayam, a cardinal decision was taken by the
devotees that a twenty-four-hour Bhajan emanating from devout hearts gathered
in more than 8000 centres in over forty-five nations from New Zealand to
Iceland and from Taiwan to Trinidad, would girdle the globe. The day for this
universal prayer was fixed as the Saturday-Sunday immediately preceding the
birthday of Bhagavan every year. To a Bhajan gathering at Prasanthi Nilayam
Baba said,
"Bhajan must
be as continuous as breathing. In fact, the breath is ever engaged in Bhajan
for it is constantly repeating the fundamental mantra, 'Soham' (I am That).
Twenty-four hours is just a wink when measured against a lifetime. Your life
is a song on the glory of God. Sing it from your soul, sing it aloud, sing
it in chorus so that the atmosphere polluted by greed, hatred and envy can
be purified by the holy vibrations."
All the villages around Puttaparthi now look forward
to the birthday week. For them, this sacred occasion is heralded by the
chariot festival, in which the idols of all the deities worshipped in the
temples of Puttaparthi are taken in procession through the crowded streets of
the village to the delight of everyone - men, women and children - whatever
their caste or creed. On the birthday itself, Bhagavan proceeds to the Samadhi
(tomb) of His parents and distributes food and clothes to the villagers.
On His birthday in 1976, Bhagavan declared that
miracles are the spontaneous and natural expressions of Avatarhood:
"Rama means, 'He who confers
joy'; Krishna means, 'He who attracts'. Every act of Mine conferring joy or
attracting the heart, becomes a 'miracle' in your phraseology. The avatar
comes to reform and reconstruct, and his 'miracle' invariably has this
result. The Chamatkara (miracle) has as its aim the Samskara (refinement) of
mankind. How is that achieved by the Avatar? Everyone so drawn is persuaded
through love, to love all (since all are the same Atman encased in distinct
bodies), and to transform that love into Paropakara (service). As a result,
their minds get sanctified, their intellects clarified and their hearts
purified. Thus they are able to realise their core, the Atman, which is but
a wave in the ocean, the universal, eternal, absolute Paramatman. This is
Sakshatkara (realisation), the goal of human life."
Every December, on the fifth day of the month, the Sri
Sathya Sai Seva organization celebrates 'Medical
Service Day', each centre drawing up its own programme according to
the needs of the area and the resources - human and material - that it can
command. Gifts are made of oxygen cylinders to hospitals, wheelchairs for the
physically handicapped and Bhajan cassettes and books for the blind, besides
projects of medical check-up for slum dwellers and rural folk that are
initiated on that day. In 1976 Bhagavan blessed those who gave and those who
received. He sounded a warning against the indiscriminate use of medicines and
medical drugs. He advised the people to resort to the cheaper and often more
effective methods of fasting or dieting, Yogasanas
(postures prescribed by yoga) or physical exercises, and desist from such
deleterious habits like smoking and drinking. "Anxiety,
worry and tension have to be overcome in order to gain and preserve health,"
He said.
Large numbers of christians from the east and the west
come to spend Christmas and New Year in the immediate presence of Bhagavan
for, as they have found, this is the only place where "peace on earth and
goodwill among men" can be experienced.
" 'Christ' is only another
name for the Ananda principle in the heart of man," Baba said.
"Meditate on Him and seek His love for all living beings. Let Him be
born in all His Divine splendour in your heart. Then you can celebrate
Christmas in humble thanksgiving and sincere adoration, with penitence and
prayer. Do not desecrate the day with drink and dance, revelry and
gluttony,"
He said to the gathering of devotees on the New Year
Day, 1977. He created a medaillion that had Mary and the child Jesus on one
side and Joseph on the other. It showed the sanctity of Mary and the sturdy
simplicity of Joseph. It was indeed an exhilarating moment.
Shivaratri 1977 was celebrated at Prasanthi
Nilayam. Bhagavan called upon the devotees to
"strive, for that is your
duty; struggle, for that is your assignment; yearn, for that is the
path."
He exhorted them to overcome sloth, dullness and
prejudice, which hide, in the darkness that they create, the beauty of the
unity of every individual consciousness in the Divine. "All
i's are only reflections of the One I," He explained.
Meanwhile a crystal oval, the Shivaratri Lingam, emerged from within Him,
interrupting the Bhajan He was singing to enthuse the gathering. He held it
before the gathering of astonished devotees.
"It is the symbol of
emergence of the five primordial elements," He clarified. "The
Lingam is the essence of all attributes and names. It is the formless with
form, the nameless with name, the primal emergent from the Divine," He
explained.
Next morning He announced the unpleasant news that He
had decided against continuing, in subsequent years, the celebration of
Mahashivaratri, which was drawing from all over the world countless numbers of
pilgrims eager to benefit from Darsan of
the Divine manifestation, and to look on the 'symbol
of the cosmos', created by Shiva Himself. But, seeing that
thousands, unable to get even a near glimpse, were returning disappointed
every year after journeying long distance over sea and land, spending large
sums of money and suffering much hardship, Bhagavan, out of His infinite
mercy, directed that in the coming years they might celebrate the 'Night of
Shiva' in their own native places, where He would certainly be with them.
Walter Cowan Block
On 28th April, the Cowan block of the hostel at the
Brindavan campus was inaugurated by the President of India, Sri B.D. Jatti,
himself an ardent devotee of Bhagavan ever since the days when he was in the
ministerial cabinet of Karnataka. The hostel was built within the campus
itself, because Bhagavan could not deny the students of His college the
proximity to Him that they ardently prayed for. Elsie Cowan was present at the
function and expressed her immense joy at the name which Baba had given to the
hermitage of Saraswati (the goddess of
learning), to commemorate her husband, Walter Cowan, whom He Himself had
resurrected. "We, too, who reside in this hostel, are awaiting
resurrection," said a student in his exaltation that day. The President
was elated at the increasing pace of the Sai era in education. He welcomed the
Sai colleges which emphasize moral and spiritual progress, highlight a variety
of skills and promote projects of social service. He praised all those
students who had won high academic distinctions and, at the same time,
mastered with equal enthusiasm the techniques of farming, animal husbandry,
dairying and canteen management, besides yogasanas
(postures described by yoga), elocution, music, nursing, histrionics and
photography. Architecture is said to be the art of perpetuating song in stone;
the Cowan block is indeed a Bhajan in brick and mortar. One cannot but sense
the presence of both, penitence and grace in the dormitories, corridors and
halls. "Fill your heads and hearts with light
and love, rather than mere facts and figures," says Baba. The
hostel is a reservoir of both, the light of knowledge and the delight of Seva.
Since some years, the sixth of May, the day the mother
of the Avatar bade farewell to the world,
is known the world over as Easwaramma Day, and is dedicated to the service of
children by children. It has grown into a week-long festival, with the
children from Bal Vikas groups chumming
with children from the slums in games and play, visiting children's wards in
hospitals and singing Bhajans in homes meant for retarded, ailing and
delinquent children. Like rays of light, they carry the sparkle of joy into
others gloom. They also offer to the elders, and present to toddlers, the
pictures they paint, the models they make, the pets they play with and the
floral designs they assemble. They sing and dance, they mimic, recite and
enjoy themselves.
The Ramayana
The summer course in 1977 was based on the Ramayana,
the epic reservoir of dharma. The first seven days were devoted to an
intensive study of various versions of the Ramayana
in the languages of India as well as those of nations to the south and
south-east of India. Bhagavan discoursed on the ideals embodied in the heroic
personalities described in the Ramayana.
Over 40 students from Sai colleges spoke to the large concourse of
participants, with a large sprinkling of learners from overseas, on the saints
and the philosophers of the world. For thirty days the students, boys and
girls from colleges of India and abroad, lived in the Brindavan campus, away
from the noisy and polluting distractions of the city, in an atmosphere of
devotion and dedication, of prayer and meditation, of love and service, of
mutual help and encouragement. Bhagavan would be amidst them in the lecture
hall, at lunch and at dinner, during their hours of service in the villages
around Brindavan and during the elocution and quiz competitions on Sundays. As
many students confessed, they experienced both, "immensity and
eternity." On the final day, when the students were sobbing in sorrow,
Baba comforted and consoled them with gifts of grace, assuring them that since
they had installed Him in their hearts, He would ever be with them, guarding
and guiding, wherever they may be.
"Never forget
God...
Never believe the world as reality...
Never be afraid of death,"
He told them at the valedictory session. [see also
Swami's Ramakatha Rasavahini]
During the ten days of Dasara
1977, [see Divine Discourses on Dasara] Bhagavan elaborated on Santhi
(inner peace) and the means of getting established in it. His discourses
traced the faults and failings that foul the body, the mind and the faculty of
reason in man. He analysed the habits and traits that disturbed and depressed
the emotions of man and prescribed the exercises by which physical, mental,
emotional and occupational equipoise could be gained. He also referred to the
conflicts created by ethical and philosophical schools, as well as by
fanatical loyalty to particular forms and names of the one, omnipresent God.
The seven-day Vedic rite of Jnana
Yajna, [see Esoteric Significance of the Veda Purusha Jnana Yajna]
which forms an important part of the Dasara
festival, was inaugurated by Sri Govinda Narain, the Governor of Karnataka. An
indication of the surge of devotion to the Avatar,
which binds human hearts 'though they come from the ends of the earth' was the
joint recital of songs on Baba, both in English and Sanskrit, by Ida Marion
St. John from California and Gita Orescan from Germany. On Vijayadashami,
the tenth day of victory (Dasara), Bhagavan allowed a few poets to recite
their verses composed in various languages. Mrs. Zeba Bashiruddin, a professor
of English from Hyderabad, sang a few of her mellifluous Urdu poems on Baba.
Mention must also be made here of the announcement
that was made that day about Bhagavan taking under His benign guardianship a
number of educational institutions of the Loka Seva Vrinda in Karnataka, to be
run on patriotic and spiritual lines by a band of His own devoted teachers.
The Vrinda was orphaned by the death, in a car accident, of its founder and
promoter, Sri Madiyala Narayana Bhat, an educationalist who had sought to
reinforce the secularist curriculum laid down by the State with the spiritual
ideals of duty, devotion and discipline.
The Wedding Knot
Dasara at Prasanthi
Nilayam fills devotees with reverence for the heritage they live
in. The birthday inspires them to reshape their lives as desired by the divine
incarnation. The week was ushered in with a big bang of blessedness. Baba had
made it known that indigent parents from the villages around Prasanthi
Nilayam could celebrate the weddings of their children without
incurring any expense. He would be the priest, parent and providence. The call
was heard by parents of all castes, who had been knocking at the doors of
astrologers and moneylenders. When Baba Himself was the High Priest, no
astrologer need be consulted about the future of the wedded couples. When He
Himself was providence, no moneylender need be approached to get the funds
needed for celebrating the wedding. Hearing this, young men hurried to the
homes of prospective brides and saw to it that their parents did not let go
this miraculous chance to have the marriages celebrated in Baba's presence.
One hundred and thirty four couples were registered at Prasanthi
Nilayam in a few days. Baba gifted a wedding sari
each to all the brides, much to their surprise at receiving this costly
present. The grooms got dhotis (men's
wear) and angavastrams
(cloths slung over the shoulder) with borders of zari (brocade). They were
also given silk shirts stitched to size by tailors brought to the Nilayam for
this very purpose. They were then taken to the Kalyana
Mantap (a structure raised for the purpose of auspicious events or
functions) on the outskirts of Puttaparthi village and seated in rows under a
decorated pandal. Girl students from the Sathya Sai College in Anantapur acted
as 'ladies-in-waiting' for the brides, and boys from the Sathya Sai College in
Bangalore were the 'best men', for the grooms. Vedic hymns were recited by
brahmin priests during the wedding rite. The couples garlanded each other,
symbolic of union in wedlock. Baba gave each groom a gold Mangalasutra
(auspicious thread worn by married women), and as it was put around the neck
of the bride and knotted, He sprinkled on the heads of the couple, grains of
rice. Bhagavan gave each bride another sari, besides bangles, kumkum
(vermillion powder,
considered auspicious), and haldi
(turmeric) which are all a must for her in wedded life. He also gave each
couple plates and cups for their new home. Then they poured handfuls of rice
on each other's heads - a rite to ensure prosperity. The sari and angavastram
ends were knotted together to symbolise the union of hearts for the joint
pilgrimage ahead. The 134 couples then slowly made their way in procession to
the Mandir, with folk dance, pipe, tom-tom and Bhajan parties in the lead.
Later, along with their kinsfolk, they all had a wedding feast at the Nilayam
itself, oblivious of any differences of caste or economic or educational
backgrounds. It was a heartening experience for all those who have the welfare
of mankind at heart. It was a festival of love, an object lesson for all those
who have faith in the overpowering impact of love. Now a large number of Seva
Samithis are arranging, under their own auspices, simple weddings for poor
villagers.
Fury of Wind and Water
Another event that preceded the birthday was the 8th
All India Conference of the Sai Seva organizations. While the celebrations
were in progress, it became known that a terrific cyclone had hit the Andhra
coast. A tidal wave over 20 feet high had swept over the coast and sped itself
about thirty to forty miles inland. The devastation inflicted by both wind and
water, was enormous. Tens of thousands died, caught by the waves. A large
number of cattle lost their lives, and coconut groves over several square
miles were toppled. Scores of villages were washed off the face of earth. The
few who survived were confronted by disease, despair and decimation. Bhagavan
directed the Seva Dal from Andhra to rush to the area, even while the festival
was progressing at the Nilayam. Truckloads
of cloth, rugs, garments and whatever could be laid hold of, were got ready to
be transported by devotees to the affected areas. More than eight lakh
rupees poured into the bank for relief work. Four relief camps were quickly
established in the afflicted areas, along with a complement of trained Seva
Dal members, both men and women, including teams of doctors. Remote spots
which had been isolated by the floods were selected. I witnessed a massive
transport of provisions and materials, in the form of head-loads, by devotees.
They had to wade through slush and mire, braving the stench of rotting corpses
and carcasses. Indeed the first task was to bury or burn the dead, lying in
heaps on the ground and caught in trees and bushes. Kitchens which provided
food for over five thousand forlorn victims, kept working for more than a
month in four strategic centres - Kattamajeru Gudapalem, Adavuladeevu,
Ganapavaram and Barrankula - in the region lashed by the furious elements.
From some kitchens, cooked food was taken to even more remote places, and the
victims fed wherever they were found. Children were given milk and special
foods. Besides these, the Seva Dal erected hundreds of hutments to enable
people to continue their normal occupations of fishing and farming. They were
given sets of kitchen utensils and cooking vessels, as well as garments, reed
mats and rugs. Bhagavan assured the children who were orphaned by the calamity
that He would be their guardian. When the relief centres were closed, the
exhausted Seva Dal workers gladly noted that the faces of the village folk
around them were lit with gratitude, contentment and devotion towards
Bhagavan. In order to avoid such colossal loss of life in future, Bhagavan
directed the Seva organisations to build at each place where they served, a
community hall for the people, which would serve as a shelter whenever wind
and wave rushed furiously onto land.
When the holy day of Shivaratri
approached in 1978, the people remembered the previous year's announcement by
Bhagavan regarding the cancellation of the ceremony. But the prospect of such
deprivation was so painful that thousands would not at first believe it. So
they continued to stream into Prasanthi Nilayam
in time for the occasion. Rumours were afloat that Bhagavan would be at
Brindavan that day. May be Shivaratri
would be celebrated at Brindavan? Or would it be at Hyderabad? So thousands
also gathered at Hyderabad and at Brindavan in Whitefield. But Bhagavan did
not oblige. He was in the Nilgiri Hills, and returned only two days later.
College Campus
The magnificent row of buildings which comprise the
Sri Sathya Sai College near Brindavan, was opened at a joyous and colorful
function by Bhagavan on 19th of May, 1978. The Karnataka minister for
education, Sri Subbaya Shetty, inaugurated the library building with the Prajnana
(highest wisdom)
Pradarsan on the first floor. The Pradarsan
contains an impressive collection of charts, drawings and pictures showing
phases of Japa, Dhyana,
Yoga and Puja.
It has photographs and models of the holy places of India. Books of all major
religions and portraits of saints, mystics and thinkers of all faiths adorn
the place. The sayings and teachings of Bhagavan, explained and illustrated,
find a place of prominence. To be among these records means being reminded of
the inevitable journey to God - that oft-forgotten goal becomes clear once
again.
The auditorium, was inaugurated by Srimati Govinda
Narain, while Sri Govinda Narain, the governor of Karnataka, inaugurated the
summer course in Indian culture and spirituality which commenced on the same
day. The discourses during the first week were all on the Bhagavata
Purana [see Bhagavatha Vahini], which
is about the former avatars of the Lord, including Krishna.
Bhagavan said that the youth of the country suffered
the imposition of pointless and purposeless curricula. They were being shaped
in colleges, into recalcitrant unemployables and sent out into the world with
begging bowls called 'degrees' and 'diplomas'. They saw through foreign eyes,
thought along borrowed concepts and held only film stars as their ideals. They
had become rootless saplings, drifting with every whiff of wind. Their
patriotism was not even skin-deep, for they had no knowledge of, or love for,
their traditions and culture, their poets and saints, their fellow men and
homeland. Dr. Benito Reyes, president of the world university in Ojai,
California, who attended the course and stayed with the participants,
commented in high appreciation on the benefits derived from it by westerners
who had no knowledge of the depth and vastness, the value and validity of the
spiritual message of India, so vividly perceptible in Bhagavan. He quoted T.S.
Eliot and asked, "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is
the knowledge we have lost in information?" and answered, "It is
here."
The 665
No sooner had the summer course ended then the
organizers were persuaded to accept another assignment which was more
spectacular and more fundamental - managing at Brindavan a ten-day orientation
course on spiritual education for 665 teachers from the elementary schools of
Andhra Pradesh, deputed for training by the state government. The government
had planned a well-nigh revolutionary project of recasting the elementary
schools (for children between the ages of six and twelve years) in the entire
state, providing special emphasis on prayer, music, dance, painting,
modelling, and parent cooperation with the teacher, so that the school house
became a house of work, worship and wisdom, of love and service, of spiritual
discipline and yoga. Dr. Chenna Reddy, first as governor of Uttar Pradesh and
later as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, knew about the Bal
Vikas classes conducted by trained gurus of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva
organizations, and had watched the children grow into self-reliant,
cooperative and service-minded youth, revering parents, elders, and teachers.
So he prayed to Baba to give the 665 teachers an orientation course, holding
the camp in the college campus at Brindavan itself, so that they may benefit
by the impact of His grace and from exposure to the simple, unaffected band of
students whom He had trained as examples of His message.
The teachers were chosen at random from the outlying
villages of every district. They had no time to prepare for the journey into a
vastly different linguistic and climatic region, the state of Karnataka, nor
were they aware of the discipline, the do's and dont's, spontaneously honored
at the Brindavan campus. But the ten-day stay was amazingly alchemic. Baba
entered their hearts and made them soft and pure. Several deep-rooted habits
such as smoking, eating harmful foods and arguing aloud were jettisoned
without a tear, while a sense of dedication was added to their professional
skills. They began to feel like patriotic warriors who were engaged in driving
away the demons of sloth and selfishness from schools, restoring to children
their heritage that they had been denied so long. Bhagavan had planned
lectures by devoted teachers in the morning hours. He formed ten groups of
thirty teachers each, who met on alternate days to discuss among themselves
the feasibility and necessity of the suggestions that arose in these lectures.
The reports of these discussions were placed before Bhagavan in the evening
and Bhagavan would choose some outstanding conundrum that required further
analysis and clarification by Him.
Bhagavan also personally supervised the teachers'
boarding and lodging and enquired about their health and requirements. He gave
woollen rugs to those who had not brought any with them, sets of books to
some, and cassettes of His Bhajans and discourses to others who had access to
cassette players in their villages. He posed for photographs along with
teachers and trainees from each district, and also arranged for each one of
them to receive a free copy on the day the camp ended. Most of the teachers
desired to visit Mysore and Puttaparthi, besides going round Bangalore itself,
but they could not afford the cost. So they appealed to the government of
Andhra Pradesh to loan them the money which they all agreed to repay out of
their salaries. When He learned of this, Baba Himself arranged for buses, and
saw to it that they were loaded with hampers of food and plenty of fruit with
which the teachers could regale themselves while on the road.
The teachers were filled with admiration at the
intelligent and hearty response they received from the student volunteers
deputed to attend to their needs. They concluded that it was the love that
Bhagavan embodied and showered on those whom He chose, that had moulded the
students in His college into young men of whom the nation could be proud. When
the teachers left the campus and the presence of Baba, they were all in tears.
The Face of Divinity
Towards the end of the course, on the eighth day, the
trainees had the singular good fortune of listening to a talk given by Dr.
Frank G. Baronowski of Arizona University, on the uniqueness of Bhagavan's
aura. This speech equipped them with faith in the divinity of Baba
- a precious possession that would fortify them throughout their lives. Dr.
Baronowski said,
"I was not brought up in any belief, though I am a Christian by birth and
a roman catholic. The scientific community in my country finds it difficult to
accept God. "It is not scientific," they assert. The aura that Swami
projects is not that of a man. The white was more than twice the size of any
man's, the blue was practically limitless and then there were gold and silver
bands beyond even these, far beyond the building, right up to the horizon! I
am risking my reputation when I make this statement. Two days ago, right
outside this hall, I looked into His eyes. They had a glow in them. It was
clear to me that I had looked into the face of Divinity. If ever I can use the
phrase, 'I have seen Love walking on two feet', it is here."
On 14th August 1978, Bhagavan formed the Loka Seva
Institution into a new trust, the Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust, of which He
agreed to be the President. This He did at Muddenahalli where, too, there are
schools and hostels maintained as part of the Loka Seva complex. Bhagavan
concluded the formalities of the transfer and change of name. He later
addressed the members of the trust, teachers and students:
"This holy institution was
established by Narayana Bhat quite early in his life. He was ever eager to
offer pure and unselfish service, so he planted the seed which has now grown
into this tree. We have arrived at the stage when we can eat the ripe fruit,
but this tree has also to be well cared for by us."
The Mosque
The Muslim festival of Ramzan (Rammadan) in
1978 was a landmark in the history of Puttaparthi, for the muslims of that
village celebrated in the mosque that Bhagavan had built for them. It is a
simple and spacious mosque, with an ambience of spiritual fragrance. Professor
Bashiruddin of Osmania University expressed the gratitude of the muslims of
the region and described to the vast gathering how the impact of Bhagavan's
teachings had made him a more understanding practitioner of the message of the
holy Koran. Janab Fakhruddin, convenor of the village Muslim committee,
offered thanks to Bhagavan for this gift of love, saying "We had earlier
to walk four miles to Bukkapatnam, through sun and rain, slush and sandy river
bed, to recite our prayers." Bhagavan told the Muslims that the real
significance of the Ramzan fast was "to be near
God and detached from sensual desires." He also said that the
Ramzan month was one during which the holy Koran was communicated to Mohammed.
The message of Bhagavan is that the truly religious will neither deny the
validity of any particular religion or group of religions, nor declare that
salvation can be secured through one path only. So He encourages all those who
have faith to march forward along their chosen paths, whichever religion they
may follow or be born in, since all spiritual paths lead to the same goal.
Baba's grace is boundless and universal. So people
from all lands and followers of all creeds gather at His feet. Several sects
and communities of India who have special festivals to commemorate their
regional deities, also discard age-old boundaries and conventions and gather
in thousands wherever Baba may happen to be, feeling such celebration to be
truly meaningful in His presence. The Onam festival of the Malayalam-speaking
Keralites - Hindus and Christians - is held by thousands year after year with
all the orthodox observances. Bhagavan has thrown new light on the legend
which forms the background of Onam. What was for long a season of folkplay and
dance, has now taken on the habiliment of a spiritually-elevating sadhana
week.
Prolong Your Life Span
Dasara 1978 began
as usual with the hoisting of the Prasanthi flag over Prasanthi Mandir and the
celebration of the annual day of the Sri Sathya Sai Hospital in the evening
that same day. Bhagavan touched the hearts of the massive gathering of
devotees present when He gave them the most worthwhile reason for preserving
and promoting their health.
"The one grand reason for
maintaining health, which I am urging you to do, is that you have yet to
witness and delight over many more Leelas and Mahimas (expressions and
manifestations of divine qualities) far surpassing those you have witnessed
so far, and many more wonders, victories and triumphs. You can thrill with
ecstatic delight when you witness these. So guard yourselves carefully.
Maintain good health and keep your hearts ever filled with joy,"
He said.
During the discourses related to the Vedic
yajna which lasted for a full week, Baba
expounded the meanings of various scriptural passages. The verses from the Gītā
which He prescribed for repetition while saying grace before every
meal, were given special emphasis by Him, for they remind one of the immanence
of God in the food made ready, in the fire that was used for cooking it, in
the cook, in the one who ate it and in the activities which the eater could
fulfil as a result of the strength that the food conferred on both, his body
and brain.
Dasara is an occasion when thousands from all over the
country and abroad see for themselves the triple ideal of Sai education -
duty, devotion and discipline - practised by the boys and girls of Bhagavan's
colleges. They can listen to these students speak profoundly on a variety of
topics and share their own intimate experiences of love and service towards
Sai and towards all those upon whom He bestows His grace. They can also be
audience to plays, choirs and orchestral music by students from all parts of
India and from places as different and far apart as Hawaii, Fiji, Sri Lanka,
Tanzania and Libya. Integration of mankind is no more an armchair dream; it is
being realized here.
Save Villages from Cities
Twenty-five thousand people gathered at Prasanthi
Nilayam for the Birthday festival in 1978. Bhagavan emphasized that
it was not because of the birthday that so many people had assembled, but it
was because they assembled that the birthday was celebrated!
"I have no interest in
publicising the date on which this body, which I willed for a purpose,
appeared among mankind. I want each of you to celebrate the day I am
enshrined in your hearts as My birthday,"
He said.
To those who wished Him a 'Happy Birthday', He replied
that "this is a
superfluous wish, for I am always happy."
The festival included a musical recitation by students, with the college
orchestra providing excellent accompaniment to a narration of the story of the
Sai Avatar. Baba exhorted every one to
transform 'daily living' into 'truly living', visualising God as the very
breath of life. Bhagavan had called delegations of Seva Dal units (comprising
men and women living on Sai ideals and trained for service to the distressed,
the disabled and the diseased) from all over India. He directed them to engage
themselves more in rural areas, where the evils of city life were becoming
rampant. Villagers are misled; they imagine the city-dwellers to be more happy
amidst cinema houses and cars, immersed in exotic and intoxicating life
styles. They do not realise that their physical moral and economic stamina is
being corroded by gambling and drinking, by noise and slogans, and by the
rowdiness that thrives on such life patterns. "Save
them from moral and physical pollution," He commanded. When
one of the district convenors suggested that each seva dal member should
always carry with him a mini first-aid box so that he could serve people more
often, Baba modified the contents of the box, saying, "Carry
in it a few tablets of discrimination and detachment, an ounce or two of
sense-control, a packet of love and a bandage strip of fortitude. Only then
can you effectively render first aid to people suffering from a stroke of ego
or a bout of greed, a jaundiced vision or an allergy to serving others."
On 28th November 1978, Baba laid the foundation stone
of the College of Arts, Science and Commerce at Prasanthi Nilayam. In the
north-east corner Bhagavan laid the first line of stones after sanctifying the
spot and placing there nine precious gems created by Him in the palm of His
hand. Baba wills that every college must have an auditorium as magnificent as
the college itself, and also a special building, as impressive as the rest,
for the library. He considers the library to be a fundamental part of every
educational institution. He selected Sri Ramanathan Chettiar of Madurai and
the Rajmata of Navanagar for laying the foundation stones of these two allied
constructions.
Isa-Sai
Christmas brings thousands into the presence of Baba,
for they find in him the teacher who can reveal the true glory of Jesus and
lead them along the path illumined by the Son of God. Baba told them that
day,
"Carols and candles,
readings from the Bible and staging plays about the incidents from the life
of Jesus are not enough. When Jesus declared that the bread of the last
supper was His flesh and the wine His blood, what did He really mean? He
meant that every being alive with flesh and blood, was He Himself and ought
to be treated so. That is to say, every living being is divine. Therefore no
distinction should be made between separate physical bodies as good or bad,
friend or foe, we or they."
Baba also revealed that Jesus' actual name assigned to
Him by His parents was Isa. And
Isa, when constantly repeated, echoes Sai!
Both words mean Iswara (God). Baba
said,
"In the Tibetan monastery
where Jesus spent many years, His name is recorded as Isa, which means 'Lord
of all living beings.' "
The Tamils celebrated their new year on 14th January,
so Baba flew to Madras to bless them on that holy day and to inaugurate the
construction of a Dharmakshetra (an arena of righteousness) in that city,
which was to be called 'Sundaram', to complete the series which had started
with 'Sathyam' in Bombay and continued with 'Sivam' in Hyderabad. The festival
also has the overtone of a harvest celebration as the farmers of Tamil Nadu
offer gratitude to the bullocks that helped them grow grain and the cows that
gave them milk. They boil the milk on ceremonial hearths and allow it to boil
and spill over as a symbol of abundance and happy sharing. The Telugu new year
day was celebrated in March, and Baba heightened the joy of the celebration by
being present at Hyderabad for a full week. He called upon the city-dwellers
to serve the villages, to which they owed much, by helping the farmers and
artisans to combat poverty, disease and exploitation.
Meanwhile, on 30th January 1979, Swami entered the
west coast harbor town of Mangalore in Karnataka State, to proceed to Alike,
the headquarters of the Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust, which runs two huge
educational complexes for children, mostly from rural regions. One complex is
at Alike itself in the midst of the valley, nestling among the spurs of the
western ghats. The other one is at Muddenahalli, on the foothills of the
mountain range around the Nandi Peak, in the plains to the east. Alike is a
dream come true, a vision vivified by faith and hope, as if Divine grace had
shaped itself into its dormitories, playgrounds, libraries, classrooms and
gardens - a hermitage where the heart of the late Madiyala Narayana Bhat
throbs in the activity of the increasing band of devoted teachers, an academy
with palm groves whispering 'Sai Ram' to
every breath of wind.
Led into the Light
Baba's discourses dispelled the gloom that had
descended upon the district when its patron, Narayana Bhat, was killed in a
car accident. He restored joy in the hearts of the students (numbering over a
thousand), the more than sixty teachers, several well-wishers of the project
(who had cooperated with Narayana Bhat, its founder, and stood by him through
thick and thin), the grateful parents and guardians of the thousands of boys
and girls whose careers had been shaped by the Loka Seva institutions, the old
students who were rendering service in various fields of activity, and the
farmers, traders and workers from the village and plantations lying in the
region. Baba likened Alike to a place of pilgrimage, when He noted that "you
pay sincere attention to the development of the children under your care and
transmute them into worthy children of India." Before
returning to Brindavan, Baba visited Puttur and Chokkadi villages near Alike,
Mangalore and Manipal, in the same coastal district. At Manipal, the centre of
a popular educational complex built around well-equipped medical and
engineering colleges, Baba found at 11 p.m. at night a gathering of at least
fifteen thousand people waiting for Darsan.
Such was their longing to have a glimpse of the Lord and listen to His voice.
The summer course in Indian Culture and Spirituality
in 1979, laid emphasis on the Bhagavad Gītā.
For one full week attention was concentrated on this universal scripture which
propounds and elaborates upon the three paths of Karma
(action), Bhakti (devotion), Jnana
(knowledge). Bhagavan's daily discourse provided simple and satisfying
commentaries on the philosophical principles underlying the teachings of Lord
Krishna to His diffident and deluded warrior-friend,
Arjuna. Swami, like Krishna
Himself, exhorted the student participants to do their best, without
calculating the odds, and leave the rest to God. He declared, as Krishna
had done on the battlefield, that victory is the reward for the brave and that
bravery is drawn from the Atman, the Inner
Spring.
Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer of the Supreme Court of
India, while inaugurating the month-long course in the presence of Bhagavan,
said, "It is time that we wean our colleges from becoming houses of vice
and violence, with students getting addicted to drugs and cultivating only
materialistic desires. Baba's balm of Prema
must penetrate Karma, kindle Jnana
and sublimate into Dharma." He spoke
on the inadequacy of science and its inability to restore peace, morality and
brotherhood. He stressed that India must discover her soul and listen to the
voice of the sages. Bhagavan pointed out that leaders of today had no will to
promote moral and spiritual excellence in their people, while the people
themselves had no urge to warn their leaders of the disasters that lay ahead
when this foremost duty was neglected.
Swoosh!
Denise Eversole, who was among the two hundred foreign
students at the course, speaks about its impact on her thus:
"What is it like at the summer course? Let me
throw out some adjectives to see if I can highlight its essence: packed,
hot, uncomfortable, thrilling, awesome, pure essence, inspiring, stretching,
blissful, catalytic, cathartic, revitalising, transforming, beautiful...
Here we were at the feet of the same Soul which was the historic Krishna,
Who first communicated the Bhagavad Gītā
to Arjuna about five thousand years ago.
As Sai Baba explained to all the students the true meaning of spiritual life
and how to live it, I found every question I'd ever had, completely
answered."
Karen F. Blanc summarises the message conveyed by
Baba:
"All life is a meditation. Formal prayer and
what you think of as meditations, are means, not ends. They are good and are
meant to help prepare the mind for concentration. But along with such
spiritual exercises and practices, there must be examination of individual
and collective attitudes. Instil and cultivate in yourselves love and
respect for all religions. Return home and do God's work, wherever you are,
with conviction, confidence and enthusiasm. If life ever becomes difficult,
remember these evenings and think of Me, call on My name, and I give you
this promise that I will always heed your call. You will never be alone
again."
Karen went on to describe a thrilling miracle which
happened on one of the evenings. The participants had many a chance to thrill
at miracles that occurred whenever they were in Baba's presence. "But
this was a big one, really first class," said Karen.
"Maynard Ferguson, the world-famous jazz
artist, gave a concert for us, about twelve hundred people, one night at the
auditorium of the college. Baba was seated in the middle of the stage and
Maynard Ferguson was standing next to Him on the right. He played Indian
classical music set to jazz, with Baba tapping away at the beat gently with
His hand. Then Ferguson played an incredible trumpet solo with all his
heart. Baba stood up and made a large circle, clockwise with His right hand.
Swoosh! Out of the air in front
of everyone, Baba materialized a solid gold medallion, suspended from a
chain, and placed it around Ferguson's neck. There was no movement in the
auditorium. Not a flicker. It was as if time stood still. Overwhelmed,
Ferguson wept like a child, just as we sat there with tears in our eyes and
a sob in our throats.
"Why was it so beautiful? Maybe, because we all
knew at that moment, without question, what we had once known as little
children but had long since forgotten. There is a part in us all, at the very
core of our being, that wants to believe in angels, that good triumphs over
evil, that Jesus did really walk on water
and that Moses had once parted the Red
Sea... . We want to believe all that and, regardless of what we say, we want
to stand by the good guy... and we ourselves want to be good. That is why we
wept and that is why it was so beautiful. The medallion was not a magician's
trick. It was made for us all. It was so that we could all know, once and for
all, that 'It is so, as it is written.'
"
As soon as the summer course ended, Baba returned to Prasanthi
Nilayam with a large number of students from various colleges who
desired to spend a few more days in His presence at the 'International Temple
of the Sai Avatar'. There a Sathya Sai college was inaugurated on 1st July,
the first-year classes being held at the Easwaramma
High School building itself.
The Buds Blossom
The Avataric mission of restoring humanity to man and
raising him to Godhood are being translated into action by Bhagavan through
educational reconditioning. He has blessed a world-wide project which
supplements the state directed, institutionalised, secular education. It is
called Bal Vikas, which means 'Blossoming
of the Child'. Children in the developed countries (and, by
contagion, in the developing nations also), are exposed to the ills of the
machine age, the clash of isms, the conflict of races, obsession with war, the
dominance of violence, an over indulgence in sensual pleasures and the open
flouting of all morals. The Bal Vikas
routes back the child to its age-old culture so that it may grow strong and
straight. It instils a sense of reverence towards parents, elders and
teachers, who are repositories of learning. It encourages self-knowledge,
self-reverence and self-control, while enveloping the child in the warmth of
Divine love. Children grow up under the watchful care of teachers whom Baba
has blessed with the sacred title, guru.
The teacher upon being conferred that title becomes bound to remove, as Lord
Shiva does, the weeds of evil from the tender mind, to sow, as Lord
Brahma does, seeds of courage and compassion, and to foster, as Lord
Vishnu does, good thoughts, good speech and good deeds, elevating
the profession of a teacher into a task carried out by the Holy Trinity.
Baba has developed schools called Vidya
Vihars (education through joy), where children are fostered after
being admitted as whole time inmates. When the children enter their teens,
they are taught elementary texts on spiritual discipline, besides being
introduced to the technique of Yoga,
social service, choral service, meditation, etc. These classes are referred to
as 'pre-Seva Dal'. High schools that have
been set up by Baba in several places pay special attention to the development
of character and to programmes of Sadhana
and social service. Then there are the colleges where the most impressionable
years of adolescence and youth are spent under the gracious guidance of
Bhagavan Himself.
"Students are My hope, the
source of My delight. They are what I live by,"
says
Baba.
His Kingdom
During the Dasara celebrations in 1979, students of
different religions from the Sri Sathya Sai college in Puttaparthi, presented
themselves in their ceremonial costumes and described, to the great delight of
the vast gathering, the main principles of each religion. A Sikh from New
Delhi, a Zoroastrian from Bombay, a Christian from Hawaii, a Muslim from
Libya, a Buddhist from Sikkim and a Hindu from Kabul were the participating
students. When Baba stood in the centre of the group as they finished, all
were pleasantly surprised that Sai, the sum of all religions and the goal of
all sadhana, had condescended thus to
teach them the unity of faith. The students of Sai colleges have mastered the
art of coordinated labor. They have presented orchestras and plays on Sri
Ramakrishna, Sankaracharya and Jesus,
besides having set the Ramayana and the
Sai stories to music. Bhagavan is, of course, the invisible and also, almost
always, the visible source of all their achievements. While inaugurating the
first anniversary of the association of old boys of the Sri Sathya Sai college
at Brindavan, Baba directed them to utilise all their resources and talents in
the service of the villages around Brindavan after a keen study of their
urgent needs:
"Students must spring like
tiger cubs into the arena of the villages and cleanse them of pollution.
They must teach and train the illiterate residents of the villages to live
happily and with dignity. They must strive, along with the villagers, and
lead them forward."
Baba also said on that occasion,
"I am encouraging these boys
to be examples of the strength and equanimity that can be gained by constant
practice of My message. I am ever prompting them to speak and recite, sing
and enact this message, so that it is installed in their hearts. Whatever I
do or get done, whatever I say or direct others to say, it is to emphasize,
clarify or exemplify this message - the Atmic Reality of man."
Bhagavan's message and the master projects planned for
its realisation, drew many educationalists, administrators, scientists,
communication experts and psychologists to the colleges He has founded.
Seminars on spiritual and moral guidance were held at the Brindavan college.
Summer schools brought together college professors from all over the country
besides overseas countries including Singapore, the Philippines, Fiji, Italy,
Japan, United Kingdom and USA. Bhagavan conversed with groups of
vice-chancellors, headmasters, professors, scientists and technicians,
unravelling to them the insidious causes of the universal malaise and
revealing the curative measures urgently needed. As a result of the impact of
these conversations, the Sathya Sai Study Circle was formed in Bangalore, to
probe into the defects of the educational system, and for restructuring and
reforming it on Sai guidelines. Swami assured the group, "I
promise you that I will be with you and take an active part in guiding the
activities of the Study Circle." Truly, the Avatar
has no rest! But, as Bhagavan says, "Had I
needed rest, I would not have incarnated."
During the Birthday festival week in 1979, two
thousand Bal Vikas gurus met at a conference in Prasanthi Nilayam. Bhagavan
blessed them and enlightened them on the problems that they have to encounter
and promised to reveal to them the solutions whenever they prayed for light.
The play 'Jesus' was presented by the students on 22nd November. The costumes,
the sets and the actors appeared so authentic that the audience of twenty-five
thousand responded with a continuous ovation lasting several minutes. Jesus
Christ was very accurately portrayed as the Son of God, with mercy, power and
love in His voice, gestures and reactions.
Shiva on the Spot
Devotees who sought the home where Bhagavan incarnated
as Sathyanarayana, the home of the parents
Pedda Venkappa Rajju and Easwaramma,
were for years shown an empty patch of land at the end of a rubble track in
Puttaparthi. They were very sad that no holy structure marked that spot, after
the Prasanthi Mandir and the temples of Ganesa had come up on the outskirts of
the village that was immortalized by the birth, childhood and boyhood of the
greatest Avatar in human history. They
pleaded with Bhagavan and prayed in unison. So a simple but charming temple
was constructed there, in which Baba installed an idol of Shiva
on 22nd November 1979, fulfilling the long-cherished desire of millions.
The Avatar's
decision to declare the cloistered village, Puttaparthi, still lacking even in
several basic amenities, as the hub of the Sai Dharma
Chakra (wheel of righteousness), raised around the Mandir rows of
three-storeyed residential flats also housing banks, shops and a bus station.
Besides these, it has added to itself a resplendent suburb with ornamental
arches at both ends, containing rows of magnificent structures comprising the
elementary and high schools and the College of Arts, Science and Commerce,
besides a hostel for over a thousand students.
In June 1980 Bhagavan visited Jammu and Kashmir, the
northernmost state of India, famed through the centuries for the artistic
genius of its people, for its mountain ranges which are the source of several
rivers and for the harmonious blending of cultures and races. He spent ten
days amidst the people until it became difficult to decide who loved the other
more - the people of the state or Bhagavan.
The march of love continues -
fresh, full and free.
Top
The Call and the Echo
The Promise
"I have My work to do;
My devotees are calling me," Baba had declared when He was fourteen
years of age.
With that, He had walked out of school and home into
the garden where He exhorted the huge gathering to worship the feet that were
to lead mankind from untruth to truth, from darkness to light and from death
to immortality. At sixteen, He announced that His mission during the
incarnation was to confer bliss on all beings everywhere.
Pointing to the bold, bald hills on the outskirts of
Puttaparthi village (then a confused jumble of mud huts around a few brick
houses, 'scarce five minutes from the Stone Age', as Schulmann described it),
Swami, when He was seventeen, confided to the Pujari
(priest) Lakshmiah:
"The Sai Pravesh
(Advent of Sai) will
convert that region into Prasanthi Pradesh (a region of perfect
peace). Upon that hill there will rise a grand
Bhavan (hall). (It was inaugurated seven years later). At
that time, hundreds (why hundreds?), thousands (why thousands?), lakhs (why
only lakhs?) - the whole of India will be there. The whole world will come
and wait for Sai Darsan."
Pujari Lakshmiah could not believe his ears. He
protested and said, "No, I cannot believe this. How can this
happen?" Baba replied, "You will have to
believe it when you stand where we are now, trying to catch a glimpse of Me
standing on the porch of that grand Bhavan." Lakshmiah is
alive to this day, trying to catch a glimpse standing on the same spot!
What is the nature of the 'strategy' that Swami
employs to draw such huge gatherings? On 23rd November 1975, the 50th birthday
of Bhagavan, devotees from forty-six nations of the world from New Zealand to
Iceland, offered their sincere homage to Bhagavan. Why do so many people
travel such long distances at such a great expense of time and money braving
the inconvenience of foreign food and living habits?
Of course, He has no compulsion, no urge, nor even a
need to frame a strategy. He just acts; it is we who label these acts as
'strategy'. He calls us to proceed from 'I' to 'We', a call which must attract
because it is a call which echoes from the depths of one's own self.
'Bhoomaa eva sukham:' - 'In vastness
alone, is happiness', proclaims the Upanishad.
"Expansion is life; contraction is death,"
says Baba.
He leads us to the vastness, the 'We', and how He does it is the strategy.
'Subrahmanyam' (Su-brahman-yam)
is the refrain of the heart-pounding valedictory Bhajan that He instructs us
to sing.
It preaches the Brahman path; Brahman That is the Divine; That is both
immanent and transcendent; That is beyond the reach of words and the flight of
imagination. The path involves the discipline of all-inclusive love and the
acceptance of ever-expanding kinship until the entire cosmos is subsumed. Baba
says,
"All beings exist,
become aware and are delighted, because God willed so, God who is
Sath-Chith-Ananda. So, no single being is exiled from His grace. God is
omnipresent, and no being can shut Him out."
"I
have come," says Baba,
"in
order to repair the ancient highway leading man to God... I have come in
response to the prayers of sages, saints and seekers for the restoration of
that road."
Therefore streams of afflicted men and women, groups
of sadhakas as well as curious seekers of truth, and even such individuals who
have attained relatively higher stages of realization, proceed to wherever
Baba is, certain of His assuring smile and alleviating conversation. In His
presence (and even far away from it, whenever we recollect the blissful
moments), we feel elevated - even the lowest and lowliest of us - for He
reminds us that we are a part of Him, as Divine as Himself. In fact, we are Divyatmaswaroopas,
embodiments of the Divine Atman, as He
invariably addresses us.
The nth Degree
We know that we have secured in Him a 'pace-maker' for
our hearts. Under His benign guidance, we rise to the nth degree of fullness.
He says,
"I am God: you are
also God. But while I am aware, you are still unaware. That is the only
difference."
As Sankaracharya had done 1300 years ago. He is
telling us to experience Soham (I am He) and Sivoham (I am God). Ignorant
persons jeer when Baba holds up the mirror to reveal the Divinity that is
latent in us. One such person remarked, "Baba is trying to escape
criticism for His assuming Divinity, by taking us also into His 'Divine' fold
and transforming us into willing accomplices of his impersonation!" But
the belief that all beings are parts of the one Divinity is as old as the
Vedanta, and as universal.
Bayazid, the Sufi
saint, said, "I went from God to God, until they cried for me in me, O
Thou I!"
Hui Neng, the Buddhist mystic, said,
"When not enlightened, Buddhas are no other than ordinary beings; when
there is enlightenment, ordinary beings at once turn into Buddhas."
Eckhart, the Christian mystic, declared,
"The seed of God is in us, the seeds grow into God."
Thousands are drawn to His presence through His power,
His wisdom and His love. Sai Baba means 'the Divine
Mother and Father'. Baba has the unlimited love of the Mother and
the unsurpassed power and unalloyed universal wisdom of the Father. How can
man withstand the impact of such a unique incarnation?
All Who Need
Unlimited love! On the gateway tower (Gopura), on the
inner gateway arch and on the altar inside the prayer hall, one can see the
sacred symbol of one's own religion amidst the equally revered symbols of
other faiths. No question is asked and no brow raised by anyone who belongs to
the Sai family, when you declare yourself to be a Hindu or a Buddhist, a
Parsi, a Christian, a Muslim or even an atheist. The only question asked and
the only thing with which Baba is concerned is how earnest, how distressed,
how compassionate, how self-controlled you are. He created a cross for the
pilot of the twin-engined aircraft which took him from Entebbe to the wild
life sanctuary at Serengetti in East Africa. In the Bandipur forest He put one
dry stalk of grass across another and, blowing upon it, converted it into a
wooden cross with a silver Christ for Dr. Hislop [see reference to "White
Man's Burden"]. He gave Professor Bashiruddin a silver locket with Allah
inscribed on it in Arabic. On Bakr Id day, He showed a group of Arab pilgrims
at Prasanthi Nilayam, the huge gathering of fellow-muslims kneeling that very
moment before the Kaaba in Arabia. He spread His palm before their eyes and
they could see the sacred scene on it. There are many Jews like Dr. Sandweiss,
paying homage to Him thus: "I believe Baba to be an incarnation of
God. It appears to me now that all those stories in Hindu, Christian and
Hebrew literature are not symbolic: there really is a spiritual level of
reality that can make itself manifest."
Buddhist monks have built in Ceylon and Malaysia, Sai
prayer halls and centres of service. He performs the Navajyoti
rite, and through that ceremony initiates Parsi boys into spiritual exercises.
The parents are grateful to Him for this act of grace. No one is a stranger,
no one is kept aside or aloof just because he is too young or too old,
recalcitrant or incorrigible. His is the sunshine that disinfects all faiths
and cults. He has declared that He will hold and lead by the hand those who
stray away from the straight road and miss the realm of peace, joy and love.
He does not outlaw atheists for, He says, even they do
love something - animal or plant, person or sect, ideal or ism. That love, He
says, is God. They too, would not like being called liars but, like others,
delight in speaking the truth. This homage they pay to truth indicates that
they revere God, who is truth. Erasmus, the 16th century Dutch philosopher,
declared, "Wherever you encounter truth, look upon it as
Christianity." The atheists appreciate beauty and are charmed by it. God
is beauty and thence arises the attraction it exerts on them.
Baba does not try to mould men in the crucible of any
cult. He does not prescribe any single spiritual exercise or peddle any
patented panacea to cure the ills of men. "Come unto Me, all ye that
labor and are heavily-laden, and I will give you rest," is the message
even now. They come with broken hearts, damaged illusions and unfulfilled
ambitions. They bring their burden of real and imagined pain. After meeting
Him, they pray, "We cannot ask Thee for aught, for Thou knowest our
needs; in fact, Thou art our only need." And having spoken thus, they
stay.
Whereas most gurus are interested only in the mantras
and exercises that they prescribe for people's grievances and the fees or
gifts that they are offered in return, Baba is interested only in us, whether
we undertake Sadhana or Seva
of any kind or not. Moreover, since the Divine Spark is enshrined within man
in five caskets, (the physical, the vital, the mental, the intellectual and
the felicitous), one encased within the other, Baba tends to them one by one,
with affectionate care, to enable us to reflect on the splendor of that Spark
[see also: Prasnottara Vahini, ch. 7].
Baba says, "I never ask
you to earn Me; I want only that you need Me." Under the
tender care of this physician, psychiatrist, guide, teacher and friend, we
become aware of untapped springs of courage, fortitude, aspiration and
adventure within us. Baba also directs our thoughts and activities towards
society - the society in which we were born, which reared us and equipped us
with a vision to face the future and to fulfil our obligations. Schumacher has
said, "Although there are constant temptations to forget it, we all
know that our lives are made or marred by our relationships with other human
beings. No amount of health, wealth, fame or power can compensate us for our
loss if these relationships dissolve. Yet they all depend on our ability to
understand others and their ability to understand us." Baba declares
that there can be no fulfilment of our lives until we ourselves have concern
for, confidence in and compassion towards others.
Baba's infinite love, wisdom and power produce an
indelible impact on each of us, sometimes in a moment, when we stay in His
presence to imbibe the message that He radiates. Paul Roberts writes in Vogue
(Christmas number, 1976) on the few minutes he spent in His divine presence,
thus: "Baba, the remote and powerful figure I had watched in awe for
months, hugged me like a long-lost friend, and in a surpassingly loving way
began to tell me my worst faults. Indeed, He told me things no one could
possibly have known, answered every question I would have asked and gave
advice which I still treasure... I felt and still feel inexplicably closer to
Him than to anyone else in the world."
R. K. Karanjia, editor of Blitz, who described himself
as a sceptic, a critic and a Marxist, who had in the past openly questioned
and criticised Sathya Sai Baba, was able (like many other critics, sceptics
and Marxists) to meet Him and gain a cordial interview. He writes, "The
encounter was a fantastic, almost shattering one. He went on to amaze me with
knowledge of the most intimate developments affecting my life and work."
A Gap, a Gasp
Dr. Samuel Sandweiss, the psychiatrist from San Diego,
California, narrates, "After my initial visit to Sai Baba, I began to
experience an inner awakening, as if a once-familiar but closed-off centre was
opening up and I was becoming acquainted with a part of myself that I had long
ago forgotten. I identified the experience as one of devotion, and wondered
whether such a centre lies dormant in all of us awaiting release through some
personal spiritual experience. This awakening or unfolding was for me a source
of great joy, and with it came a deepening feeling of my love for Baba and for
people in general."
Baba has Himself revealed that this happens in His
presence: "Each of you feel a gap within you, a
thirst, an urge, a 'Divine' discontent, a call to which the response from
within is weak and vacillating. This has persuaded you to travel long
distances to Me, braving obstacles and discomfort for the sake of securing
peace, strength and guidance."
Gandikota V. Subba Rao of the U.N.O. writes, "Meeting
Him is an intensely personal, emotional and uplifting experience. The
temptation to glorify Him, to wax lyrical over the spiritual greatness and
magnificence of Sathya Sai Baba is difficult to resist."
Sribhashyam Appalacharya from Kakinada town, a
repository of ancient scriptural wisdom, writes after staying for a few days
at Prasanthi Nilayam, "Bhagavan is a Veda - what He says, happens;
Bhagavan is a Sastra - what He does, is exemplary. He elaborates the truth
with many a metaphor, simile and story as a Purana does; His words are the
highest poetry, for they confer bliss and liquidate the littleness in man."
Dr. F.J. Gould of the University of Chicago reveals,
"He perceives the individual's needs with unbelievable insight. He
perceives, defends, breaks them down in some swift way. He studies behavior
and its determinants... He somehow transfers the individual from one context
to another... Many devotees of Baba have perceived His influence through
changes in their own lives. New things become important; new values become
prominent. To speak in a more technical language, the individual's utility
structure changes."
The Conjurer Confesses
Dr. E.B. Fanibunda from Bombay is a dentist and also
an amateur magician, well-versed in the theory and practice of conjuring. In
1954 he published a book on a series of original and effective methods which
practitioners of magic, mind-reading etc., could adopt. In appreciation of his
proficiency he was given the 'Linking Ring' award by the International
Brotherhood of Magicians, USA. This is his account of how he reacted to Baba:
"There were about a dozen people waiting in
the sitting room of Mr. Munshi's house. Baba was due to come out of the
inner apartments in a little while. The author (he writes in the third
person) stood unobtrusively in one corner of the room. Baba entered the room
and everybody stood up. Everyone was elbowing and pushing the other to get
close to Him. Baba, however, came and stood near the author, so near that
the author was almost touching His left side. By this time the author's
practised eye had already given Baba's gown the 'once over'. Nothing was
detected. Someone from the crowd asked for Vibhuti
Prasad. This was the moment the author was waiting for. Baba pulled
up His right sleeve, almost up to the elbow and, in the process, turned His
right hand over. The author could see there was nothing in the palm. Quickly
the hand went round in circles a few times and the Vibhuti appeared between
His fingers which were partly closed to hold it. The Vibhuti was given to
some people. The author wished that Baba would now materialise some more so
that he could also get a little bit for examination. Lo, behold! Baba's hand
went round and round a second time and some more Vibhuti appeared from
nowhere. This time the author held out his hand and received His 'visiting
card'. The author immediately knew from his past experience that the Vibhuti
was materialised without any sleight of hand or trickery. He did not now
require any further demonstrations from Baba to convince him that He did
possess suprahuman powers for which the author had no explanation to offer
and still has none." (1976)
In the Yoga Journal from Holland, Sharon Warren
writes,
"The following morning, when I went to
attend Bhajans, I happened to have an aisle seat. Baba strolled to the
women's side that day and, as He passed, He stopped beside me. He then
gestured with His hand with that special majesty which always means a divine
materialisation, and then there was the sacred ash pouring from His
fingertips and into my palms. He said, 'Vibhuti... eat'. It was like a
dream. My heart was so full of love and devotion and gratitude that it just
overflowed. I felt I could not hold any more. I was aware that He knew my
need, and that was so comforting. I have been blessed to experience love
throughout my life from many different relationships, but nothing could
compare with the purity of the love I experienced when this transpired. It
transcended any human relationship I had ever known."
I and Thou
The fascination that draws the object to the subject
is, if we may so name it, a move in His strategy. Vivekananda said,
"God is both, the subject and the object. He
is the 'I' and the 'Thou' (the Thwam and the Thath). How, then, are we to
know the Knower? The Knower cannot know Himself. The Atman, the Knower, the
Lord of all that exists, is the cause of all the vision that is the
universe, but it is not possible for Him to see Himself, know Himself,
except through a reflection. You cannot see your own face except in a
mirror. Similarly, the Atman cannot see Its own nature until It is
reflected... The perfect man, the avatar, is the highest reflection of that
Being, Who is both, subject and object. You now find why avatars are
instinctively worshipped as God in every country. They are the most perfect
manifestations of the Eternal Self. That is why men worship incarnations
such as Christ and Buddha."
We are Sathyam, Sivam
and Sundaram. The deep calls on the deep;
the blue responds to the blue. We see ourselves reflected best in Baba who is
in fact, the most sublime manifestation of Sathyam-Sivam-Sundaram.
When we forget ourselves and start wandering into the wilderness of falsehood
and vice, He comes, so that we may recognise our glory in Him.
Ed Fleure writes, "Baba's life is dedicated to
the task of uplifting humanity, to awaken us to our spiritual heritage and to
give us courage and faith. Our stay with Baba was a supreme bringing-up. Love
is His greatest miracle. From morning to night Baba is constantly giving to
and serving others. It was Maharajji who had kept enquiring, when we were
leaving his ashram to go to Baba. When at last Baba gave us leave to return,
He blessed us, 'Be friends with God.' Surely, this was a new style of
blessing. Friends with God? How can that be?
"When we came back to Maharajji, He gave me a Hindu name. And lo!
It was the name of a friend, companion and class fellow of Sri
Krishna - Sudama. So I had to practise the constant presence of God as
my friend."
This remark of Baba and its actual confirmation by a
saint in the Himalayas proves that Baba has no wish to by-pass the form you
might have accepted and adored. He could have renamed Ed Himself, but He
encouraged him to return to Maharajji, the guru he had 'found'. But, since He
knew that 'behaving as a friend' was the way for him, He saw to it that the
name selected for him by Maharajji was Sudama. Of the nine paths mentioned by
the sacred texts on Bhakti, the path of Sakhya
(friendship) is next only to the last and highest path of Atma-Nivedanam
(self-surrender).
Methodology Revealed
Once, when Baba was asked about His 'methodology', He
said,
"I have no methodology or
machinery or strategy in the accepted organizational sense. My methodology
is a simple one, based on conversion by love, and the machinery is one of
human cooperation and brotherhood. Love is My instrument and My merchandise."
He says that He can best be described as Prema
Swaroopa (Embodiment of Love). What are called 'miracles' are
fundamentally manifestation of that love. It is love that prompts Him to speak
to each seeker in a language that he can understand - Swahili in East Africa
and Adi to tribals from Along. It is love that persuades Him to heal the
physical and mental wounds of man. It is love that illumines the darkness of
our hearts and corrects the crookedness of our habits and attitudes. The
miraculous cure by Baba of terminal diseases, and the saving of life in
countless instances of accidents and disasters, are all expressions of His
love.
He materialises holy ash in order to arouse faith and
gives gifts of rings or lockets to protect the wearer. This He does out of
overpowering compassion and love.
J. Jagathesan, the Malaysian devotee who is also the author of the book, 'Journey
to God', writes,
"The greatest miracle of all
is His transformation of the hearts of countless men and women to make them
tread the path of godliness and goodness. Agnostics now sing in praise of God,
drunkards have turned from searching for the spirit in the bottle to the
Divine Spirit in man, drug addicts who found transient escape and bliss in
this 'modern' scourge of mankind now seek the permanent bliss and peace that
only God can give, and millions of ordinary men and women who used to
listlessly pray as a matter of ritual or habit now find a new meaning, a new
dimension to their prayers - whomsoever they may pray to or to whichever
religion they may belong - for they are now convinced that God does exist, and
that His grace can be obtained through Bhakti, through Sathya, Dharma, Santhi
and Prema and, most of all, through selfless and loving Seva to others,
regardless of race, religion, caste or colour, and without any thought of
reward."
The love that He plants in all those who need Him (and
who does not?) reaps a huge harvest of humility, reverence, generosity,
fraternity and freedom.
Cousin Losing His Mind
Sandweiss speaks of a cousin of his, Jerry by name,
who was a professor of mathematics in the eastern States. "Looking at the
question from a purely mathematical standpoint, Jerry felt, it was indeed
probable that an avatar might presently exist, so he joined a group that was
going over to see Baba... My cousin, during the first interview, asked Baba to
produce something for him. He had bought a cheap ring in Greece and was
wearing it on his little finger. He wanted Baba to transform this ring into
something else. Baba declined. Jerry felt let down... He began to examine his
own sanity... Baba called Jerry for an interview again the next day. When he
came out, Jerry was in an unusually bright and receptive mood, his face
radiant. Jerry, it seems, pleaded again with Baba to do something with the
ring and took it from his finger. Baba said that this was not His wish. Jerry
continued to plead. Finally, Baba took the ring in His hand, blew on it, and
returned to Jerry an altogether different ring which, needless to say, fitted
his finger perfectly. This had obviously shaken him... The transformation that
the few minutes with Baba produced in Jerry was indeed a greater miracle. A
woman in the group asked for someone to help carry her bags and Jerry
spontaneously volunteered. 'I never do this,' he said, 'I must be losing my
mind!' "
The conquest of the mind is the consequence of years
of yogic sadhana. Baba says,
"You are imprisoned in your
ego. Though you should try to liberate yourselves from this bondage quickly
and safely, most of you do not seek from Me the key to this liberation. You
ask Me for trash and tinsel, petty little cures and gains. Very few desire
to get from Me the thing I have come to give - liberation itself. Even among
the few who seek liberation, only a minute percentage sincerely stick to the
path of Sadhana and, from among them, only an infinitesimal number succeed."
Jerry had taken, after his exposure to Baba, the first
step in liberation from the prison of his ego.
Dr. Dhairyam, writes, "In the present world
crisis of character, Bhagavan's grace will certainly act as a powerful
catalyst. It will bring about a transformation among the people of the earth
who are presently so diverse in spiritual development. Among those who are
transformed, one finds nonbelievers, escapists, drug addicts and agnostics, as
well as highly evolved sadhakas, well-versed vedic scholars, renowned
scientists, artists, poets and pundits, as also simple, ordinary folk who
delight in His divine discourses. Bhagavan accepts and welcomes them all as
His children. He is compassionate to the sinner, comforting to the distressed
and a guide to the agnostic and the confused, whom He leads by the hand into
the realm of light."
Awakening during Dreams
Dreams are also part of the Sai strategy. He has
appeared in the dreams of many who were unaware of Him and has drawn them to
Himself. Karen Fromer Blanc dreamt that a person with a huge crown of hair
came to her and said, "Stay with your Hilda." "Hilda who?"
she wondered. Five years later she discovered Hilda Charlton, Baba's devotee.
The discovery transformed her life. Now she has written a book entitled 'Dear
Hilda'!
John Prendergast of the California Institute of Asian
Studies has written an article 'Swami Dreams', focussing more on their
instructional value and less on the paranormal processes. He says,
"The overall aspect of these dream-experiences
with Sai Baba is difficult to gauge, but my own relationship with Baba has
deepened immeasurably. I would characterise the primary influence as being the
opening of my spiritual heart, of beginning to balance the intellect with the
values of love and compassion. Between the spring of 1977 and 1979, Sai Baba
has appeared to me during the dream-state nearly forty times. These have
profoundly affected my spiritual awakening and the quality of my relationship
with Him. Sai Baba has said that it is impossible to see Him in dreams without
His willing it. My own experience of active guidance, chastisement, healing
and ecstatic states conferred by Him during the dream-state tends to confirm
this. My relationship with Sai Baba is, in fact, more intimate in the dream
than in the waking state... As the dream-state relationship grows and deepens,
my own inner strength and confidence grows and manifests itself in the waking
state. In addition to this effect of the dream-reality nurturing and
supporting the waking reality, the distinction between the two realities has
softened. Increasingly the two blend, so that dream-images rise in the waking
mind like distant clouds."
Willie Kweku Ansah of Accra (Ghana), writes,
"Soon after this (the Sathya Sai Centre's invitation to devotees to enrol
for a trip to Puttaparthi) I started seeing Swami in my dreams. The first
night I woke up with a rather vague feeling that I should think of going to
Puttaparthi. I discarded the thought immediately. The next dream was more
detailed and lengthy. I saw myself in front of a tall building which had
protruding platforms on the first floor. Bhagavan was on the ground floor and
I was doing Namaskara (bowing in
devotion). At this time I did not know that to dream of Bhagavan was a
privilege and not an ordinary occurrence. I dismissed the dream as my silly
imagination. In my third dream I saw only the face of Bhagavan for an instant
or two. I was forced to wake up in a sweat and with a clear command to go to
Puttaparthi."
"I gave my name to the planning committee without
an inkling of where the money for the trip would come from. I need not have
worried. Within the next few days I made, through a friend, three times my
normal annual income for no compelling reason. So the matter was settled. All
other arrangements went through without a hitch. Need I also mention that some
of the persons I travelled with I had already seen in my dreams. We arrived at
Puttaparthi on 21st November. The last thing on my mind were my dreams. A
friend decided to take a round of the prayer hall, and as we made the turn, I
stopped dead in my tracks. My friend asked what the matter was and I uttered
something incomprehensible to him. But what had stopped me was the fact that
my dream was staring me right in the face with all its details - the
protruding platform, the architecture and the colors."
"One surprise followed another when private
interviews were granted in a room on the ground floor, and I did my Namaskara
exactly where I had dreamt it. However, all these surprises were nothing
compared to what I experienced when I went to bid farewell to Bhagavan. 'When
are you coming again?' He asked. I was not expecting the question, as the very
thought of being so lucky as to come again was far from my mind. I was,
therefore, flushed, and in delighted confusion blurted out that I did not know
and that this time I came because I had had a dream... Bhagavan interrupted in
a tone which seemed as if He was irritated; I was accounting something He
already knew. 'I know I know,' He said, and patted my back. Patanjali in the
Yoga Sutras (1.38) says that the aspirant gets guidance through dreams, but
even he does not mention that the guru, if he is an avatar, can frame dreams
for us and figure in them himself, furnishing timely guidance."
A Book and a Journey
Baba says, "No one can come to Prasanthi Nilayam
unless I call him." The dream is one of the means He uses to draw people
towards Himself.
Lawrence Galante from New York writes, "I
enrolled at Hoftra University to study more of my profession, Tai Chi,
and the related philosophy. Then I awoke one morning from a vivid dream. In
this dream the title of a book was clearly visible to me with the cover
layout. It was entitled, 'Sai Baba: Contemporary Mystic, Master and God'.
Then it dawned upon me, 'Why not? Why not write my thesis on contemporary
mysticism and use Sai Baba as my subject?' I cleared it with the university...
I decided that I could not write about Him unless I first saw Him and
confirmed these miracles for myself. I also realised that I might just go to
Him and find out that He was a fake. If so, I had reasoned, I could still
write a thesis to expose a colossal fraud. That would also do. (Baba says, 'Come,
see, experience, examine and then believe').
But how do I get to India? My bank account was nil. I turned to Sai Baba and
addressed Him saying, 'If you want me to write this, then you must provide the
money for me to get to India, because I am broke. ' Within 48 hours, I
received a cheque in the mail for a thousand dollars from the city of New
York, a sum that was owed me for several years and which I had been trying in
vain for some time to collect...
I remained with Sai Baba for two months. Daily I
observed him attending to the multitudes that came to Him - healing the sick
and materialising objects and giving them away as gifts to devotees.
Everything that Baba taught me was good and all of His endeavours were
beneficial. He also gave me permission to write about Him which is what I am
doing now. Sai Baba does not work in secrecy. His activities are an open book
for all to witness and draw their own conclusions from. Baba often says 'My
Life is My Message.' I pray, that I may receive more and more His
message."
Baba has declared very often that He wills the dream
as a means of communication with the dreamer, in order to grant him courage,
confidence and clarity of thought.
Miss Occah Seapaul of Trinidad has also been directed
by Baba to publish in a book, her talks on His message to several groups of
devotees on that West Indian island. Receiving His counsel in a dream is as
mandatory as a personal command. According to Aurobindo, "The avatar,
or divinity, acts according to another consciousness - the consciousness of
the truth above and the Leela below." Baba told Dr. M.S. Ramakrishna
Rao of Vishakhapatnam, when he enquired about the authenticity of a dream in
which Baba had rendered him the clarification of a spiritual problem,
"When I appear in a
dream, it is to communicate something to the individual. It is not a mere
dream as is generally known. Do not think that these incidents you
experienced in your dream are stretches of your imagination. I was giving
answers thereby to all your doubts."
H. Narayana Rao, while in bed in the intensive care
cardiac unit at the K.E.M. Hospital in Bombay, awaiting implantation of an
artificial pace-maker, dreamt that visitors were streaming into the ward.
Among them was Baba, who stopped near his bed and spoke in His soft,
reassuring voice, "My son! I know how much you
are worried about the artificial pace-maker and the operation. Do not worry in
the least. From now on your pulse will gradually improve. Count the days from
today, and on the eleventh day, which will be Saturday the 17th, you can go
home." And in spite of the doctors putting forward various
other proposals, he was discharged exactly on the 17th, with his heart quite
normal.
Proper-ties
When I read a letter from Professor Kausal of Kurukshetra
in which he had mentioned that he had resigned his job after being advised by
Baba in a dream to do so, I was reminded of another devotee who withdrew a
petition he had filed in a civil court. His claim to some property was so
strong that he fought his rival through all the labyrinths of law, in spite of
all the tension involved and the massive sums of money he had to spend. The
suit had possessed him and he was refusing to reconsider. But Baba appeared in
his dream and ordered him to give up his mislaid attachment. "Properties
are not proper-ties," said Baba with a strange emphasis.
Kausal writes, "The dreams are effective, vivid, personal and
peace-giving. I cannot brush them aside, especially since Baba later confirms
them and continues the advice He vouchsafes during the dream-session."
Baba urges people by means of dream-appearances to
come to His presence. He smoothens the difficulties that deter them from
undertaking the journey and encourages them to enter the spiritual path
towards self-realisation. We have already seen this stratagem of His love in
the accounts given by Willie Ansah of Accra and Lawrence Galante of New York.
Dr. Sandweiss writes of another interesting instance
of Baba's compassion: "Lila and I were discussing Sai Baba, and she
became intrigued. She read a book about Him and began to consider the
possibility of meeting Him herself. She was then deeply in debt and there
seemed to be no feasible way for her to get the money to go to India. Her
husband, Homer, an inventor, had no steady income at that time and had not
been able to sell an invention in over five years. Yet, as highly unrealistic
as the trip did seem, she made plans to go and obtained her vaccination
certificate and passport. Then some strange things began to happen. One day,
feeling particularly depressed, she had an unusual dream in which Baba
appeared, His eyes twinkling with fun. Soon afterwards, Homer hit upon an
invention. After a swift and improbable chain of events, some people became
interested in it and his financial position suddenly and quite unexpectedly
improved - the first time in years that this had happened. Lila now had enough
money for the trip just a week before takeoff, and being completely prepared,
she found herself jubilantly boarding the plane with us."
It is beyond doubt that Baba plans, designs and
structures the dreams through which He initiates or deepens His impact on
people. Ponder over another incident related by Dr. Sandweiss, involving Jeff
from California.
Dr. Sandweiss writes, "In the interview room
where we all sat, Baba was smiling and rocking back and forth blissfully. He
turned to Jeff, the fellow next to me, and said casually, 'I've
come to you twice in dreams.' Now, as a psychiatrist, I have
certainly never heard of a colleague talking this way to a patient.
Psychiatrists deal with dreams all the time; but to say, 'I've come to you
twice in dream' would be somewhat disconcerting for the average patient...
Baba began to describe and interpret one of Jeff's dreams and it became quite
evident to me that He had in some way fashioned the psychic experience of this
man, had actually created dreams for him and visited him in another dimension
of reality. Everything that Baba said was confirmed by Jeff. Here was the
greatest psychiatrist I had ever seen!"
Sri Jaganhesan once asked Baba towards the end of an
interview with Him, "Bhagavan! Why don't you ever come in my
dreams?" "Baba", he writes, "bent down lovingly and
replied, 'Okay from now on I will come in your dreams on Wednesdays.' I regard
Tuesday as a holy day because a Vibhuti-materialization
from His picture in my house first occurred on Tuesday, 8th June 1976.
Recognising this, Baba laughed, and without my asking amended His statement
the next moment. 'No, No! Tuesdays, eh?' " And on Tuesdays the dream
brings Baba into his view as an unfailing gift of grace.
Once, during a visit to Brindavan (Whitefield) along
with Dr. Sandweiss, Elsie Cowan excitedly knocked at his room very early one
morning saying, "I am feeling very close to Walter this morning."
When Walter had cast off his mortal coil at Tustin, California, Baba had
telegraphed to Elsie, "Walter arrived here in good shape." Elsie
told Sandweiss, "I feel that Baba and Walter have paid me a special
visit. I have been wide awake since six o'clock and full of energy." When
both of them reached Prasanthi Nilayam that evening, Baba called them in along
with a few others and, in the midst of the conversation, He suddenly said to
Elsie, "Walter and I paid you a visit this morning." "Yes,
Yes!" said Elsie, "At six o'clock I felt so filled." "No,
five minutes to six!" He corrected her. And Sandweiss adds, "I began
to see Baba less as an omnipresent controller of great forces than as a
manifestation of pure love. Clearly, His love for His devotees motivates His
actions."
Baba has often said that being in this body, as
distinct from the 'Shirdi' body, He feels it is not enough if a few needy
humans get spiritual guidance from Him:
"It is necessary to draw all
and sundry and provide them with succor and sustenance. I must give them
what they want until they begin to want what the Avatar has come to give."
Shirdi Baba appeared in dreams to give warnings and
counsel; He spoke in symbols and veiled phrases; He helped solve mundane
problems and personal tangles; He invited to Dwarakamai, through mysterious
intimations, Sadhakas and service-oriented
souls, suffering and suspicion-afflicted persons, and awakened their latent,
inner urge towards self-realization by a mere look, a touch, a smile or a
pinch of sacred ash. This same strategy is unfolding on an even grander scale
in the Sathya Sai era. Now the world has to be awakened and shaken out of its
arrogance and schizophrenia by revelations of truth and declarations of love.
While in 'Shirdi' form, the declaration of
being an avatar was made in the
comparative privacy of conversation. In the Sathya Sai manifestation, the
declaration that He is all the names and forms through which mankind has
adored God down the centuries, was made at a World Conference in Bombay before
twenty-five thousand listeners, and many times subsequently, when hundreds of
thousands were present. Through films, tapes, books and oral testimony, the
uniqueness of this Divine Phenomenon and His wisdom, power, love and
compassion are drawing increasing love and adoration, which has united
millions into one ever-growing family of mankind.
Pride Punished
Arthur Osborne once said that Shirdi Sai Baba, was
'incredible'. Dr. S. Bhagavantham announced that Sathya Sai Baba is
'inexplicable'. I have to conclude that He is 'inscrutable', for He is the
very embodiment of the Divinity described in the following story from the Upanishads,
revealing Its glory and power.
The Universal Absolute, Brahman,
conferred victory on the gods in their war against the demons. The gods were
saved from thraldom and became mighty once again. But in their pride they
ascribed their success to themselves; they traced it to their own prowess.
To make them aware of their dependence on the Source of all power and
wisdom, it appeared before them as a pillar of light, even while they were
celebrating their victory in drink and dance, revelry and rejoicing.
Noticing this strange Phenomenon, the gods were curious to know what it was
and why it was interrupting their noisy spree. They sent the god of fire,
Agni, to investigate it and report. The Phenomenon accosted the god who
replied, "I am Agni. I can burn all things that come in contact with
me." The Phenomenon invited him to burn a tiny stalk of dry grass which
It placed before him. But however forcefully and gigantically he fell upon
it, he could not burn it. So he returned to the gathering of gods,
crestfallen and humiliated. The god of wind, Vayu, next ventured to
challenge the Phenomenon to reveal its identity and its intentions. He, too,
had to eat his boastful words, foiled by the blade of grass. Indra, the lord
of the gods, was incensed by the overwhelming powers of this column of
light, but he, too, had to swallow his pride and realise that a god as
feeble as he had no right to confront that mighty Source of Glory.
Baba had declared even in His teens,
"Not only today, but
at any time hereafter, it will be beyond the capacity of anyone, however
hard he may try and by whatever means, to assess My true nature."
Critics and commentators do not realise that in the
realm of the sacred, any explanation is a limitation, a hesitation,
desecration.
The Halo
Scholars and scientists, isolated in their conceit,
have for over four decades set out to expose Him as a fraud, a juggler and a
trickster, but failed to tarnish even the hem of His robe. In this age, when
the senses are the final criteria of knowledge, when passion rules the brain
and prejudice pollutes the mind, a phenomenon shedding light, showering love
and embodying truth automatically becomes a target for doubt, suspicion and
denigration. Every wayward preacher comes to find in Him a challenge that he
is powerless to understand and accept. He is an unpleasant and unwelcome
reminder to the half-baked persons who are disembogued by modern universities,
of the inadequacy of the intellect and the infirmity of the senses. How else
are we to interpret the presumptuous assertion that the "halo around Baba
rests entirely on the miraculous production of material objects which appeal
to, and excite the wonder of, credulous people"?
Let Shri M. Rasgotra explain to us what that halo
rests on: "We all emerge from the encounter with Baba in interview,
exalted and radiant, as if Baba has stripped us of our motley cloaks full of
patches, and fitted us out in love's pure raiment for a fresh journey towards
a new destination. The transformation begins almost at the first moment of
contact, and the process of ceaseless and irresistible uplift never slackens
thereafter."
Shri B. Ramanand, while describing a wedding that was
celebrated at Prasanthi Nilayam during which he had witnessed Baba for the
first time, writes, "In five minutes we felt He was one of us; He
talked to us as if He had known us intimately all along. This intense
humanness, this wonderful camaraderie He has for all persons whom He meets,
this remarkable quality of being one with the people around Him, this
superabundance of good humor, joy, love and affection to all, made a powerful
impact on me."
Baba says that His much-debated miracles are as
insignificant before His true purpose as a mosquito when compared to the
mighty elephant. We pay homage to Baba recognizing the waves of gratitude that
surge around His feet from hearts reinforced by the impact of His love, minds
cleansed by the splendor of His grace, intellects made healthy and wholesome
by imbibing His wisdom and bodies strengthened and straightened by the inflow
of His compassion.
Richard Bock of Los Angeles, who was advised by Ravi
Shanker and Indira Devi to approach Baba in the spirit of a pupil going to a
guru, writes, "I remember going through a period when I wore a Japamala
(rosary) with 108 beads, as a sort of badge. Baba came over to me, looked at
it and said, 'It's heavy for Om.' He meant
that I was showing off. So, I realized, it was nonsense. Like everybody else I
did Namaste when Baba came into the room.
He came over and hit my hands, saying, 'jhootha
bhakti'. When I found out later that it meant 'false
devotion', I realized that I didn't know what I was doing. What He
was getting across was that until you feel it in your heart, don't go through
a ritual. The next thing was that everybody wanted to touch His feet, so I
figured that was something I, too, should do. When I tried to touch His feet,
He said, 'No'. I realised, then, that I was doing it because every body else
was doing it, that I myself didn't have any inner motivation at that moment to
touch His feet."
I Want You
Like the Upanishadic
god of fire, Arnold Schulman, too, belittled the Sai Phenomenon, in spite of a
tour of India that included a visit to Brindavan and a few minutes with Baba.
That experience was enough for him to conclude - and be happy in the discovery
- that mystics in India were clever exploiters, and their disciples ordinary
'psychopathic compulsives'. Baba has declared,
"Those who deny Me are
blinded by ignorance or pride, so they need even more compassion and grace.
Those who stay away, or stray away, I shall beckon back."
Baba, from Whom nothing can be hidden and for Whom
nobody is distant, became aware of this blinkered tourist's belief. Schulman
was mysteriously 'possessed' by an idea - to write a book on Baba - which he
tried his best to explain away, circumvent, rationalize and deny; still it
would not leave him alone. He told himself that it was insane, impracticable
and impossible, but it refused to loosen its hold on him, persisting in its
emphasis. Three months later, when he was able to secure an interview, Baba
told him, "I asked you to write the book not
because I wanted your book. The book is publicity. I don't need publicity. I
wanted you, you, you!" And He sent him back to America, wiser
and happier, the veil of supercilious ignorance regarding mystics and their
disciples removed from his now clearer vision.
Like the Upanishadic
god of wind, Samuel H. Sandweiss, M.D., renowned psychiatrist, proceeded
towards the Phenomenon in full confidence that he could easily prick the
bubble of its bombastic magnificence. He writes, "I would go as a
scientist to study and understand the psychological realities of a situation
shrouded in mysticism, only to prove that miracles do not exist."
Sandweiss approached the Sai Phenomenon and soon returned like the god Vayu,
to his companions who were drinking and dancing, unaware of the reality which
was directing their destiny. Sandweiss had decided to meet Baba when he heard
extraordinary stories about Him from Indra Devi, to whom he had gone for
consultations regarding Yoga. Baba, even when physically present at Prasanthi
Nilayam or Brindavan, arouses ardour and yearning, awakens curiosity and
interest, stimulates thirst and restlessness, assures comfort and cure and
alerts and admonishes in dreams and through visions. Each one who moves to His
presence with hope and confidence, has a story to tell, each more fascinating
and reassuring than the other.
Pardon me if I present myself as the insolent Indra
who, in 1948, was too impertinent to put up with the 'miracles' of Baba, yet
was too curious to tolerate Him without a personal examination. I was then
famous in the Kannada-speaking region of India - the state of Karnataka - as a
humor writer, and I had a large reading public admiring me as the Stephen
Leacock of that language. I then aimed my humor at Baba, 'the Phenomenon'. The
word Sai in Kannada means 'die' - it is expletive, a command to extinguish
life. "How can a person calling on us to address him as Sai be adored in
Karnataka?" I quipped. Besides, I had gulped, without discerning, the
dictum spread by the monks of the Ramakrishna Mission that the performance of
miracles is a very unspiritual exercise which drags the Sadhaka
into the depths of worldliness. So I hastened towards Baba in the hope that he
could be exposed and explained. Like Indra, I returned after the encounter
with my prejudices corrected, my myopia cured and my pride pulverized. I am
engaged ever since in enthusing all people to follow the message of Baba and
in adoring Him as the savior of mankind. Those who venture to defy or deny
Him, ultimately return to remain in His presence with folded hands and supple
minds, meditating on His form, reciting His name and elevating themselves to
divinity.
The Documentary
When Arnold Schulman heard himself ask Baba, "Are
you God?" Baba replied, "How can an ant
measure the depth of the ocean or a fish discover the truth of the sky?"
This answer stuns our reason dumb. But every act of Baba does the same.
After thirty-one years of having known Him, I feel
that to doubt the authenticity of the following experience of Indira Devi is a
sacrilege to Sai: "I looked up at the picture of Bhagavan and prayed,
'Bhagavan, please take me to Puttaparthi for your birthday.' Two days later, a
young man who had come to the Sai Centre at Tecate, phoned, 'Mataji,
could you go to India tomorrow if Warner Bros. pay your trip? They want Baba's
permission to make a documentary film on His life.' " She was met at the
airport by someone from the company. When she came to Prasanthi Nilayam with
the proposal, I felt elated at the prospect of the film. She was very much
there during the Birthday festival and she carried Baba's response to the
request back home. But when she contracted Warner Bros., who had arranged and
paid for her trip, "No one knew me there," she writes, "nor
about the trip, nor the film, nor Bhagavan. The red-faced executive told me
that he would investigate and let me know. Years have passed and I am still
waiting to hear what he has to tell me from his inquiry!"
Muriel Engle writes from San Diego on the Pacific
Coast: "Ruth has a teaching job in Mexico. She is busy going back and
forth. She attends Bhajans on Thursdays at
Santa Barbara, but is still a sceptic. Her health problems have been
tormenting her since long. She has bouts of extreme pain for several days at a
stretch. One evening in her little room she suffered from terrible pain, and
in her desperate agony she was crying out, 'Oh is there someone to help me?
Anyone? Why am I suffering this? What shall I do? Oh, help!' "
Suddenly she felt a gentle touch on her arm. She
stopped shouting and, as she turned, there stood Baba beside her bed,
"Don't shout so," He said, "I am always here." Then, He
disappeared. And along with Him the pain, too, had gone. This is another
instance of His omnipresence. Baba says,
"There
is only one God and He is omnipresent. He has no favourite dwelling place or
chosen followers or special groups of devotees. Call - He answers, He
manifests, He blesses."
Letters to Him
Professor S. Bashiruddin of the Osmania University,
while driving down with Baba from Ooty, in the Nilgiri Hills, asked,
"Swami, if a devotee sends a letter or a telegram to Your Bangalore
address but You happen to be at Ooty, Bombay or any other place, would it be
redirected to You if it is marked 'Urgent'?" Baba answered, "A
letter or a telegram is a mere carbon copy. If the thought in the letter or
telegram is sincere, it need not be delivered to Me. The moment the thought is
shaped in a devotee's mind it reaches Me, and the necessary guidance is
transmitted."
When a few university men belonging to a blatantly
propagandist and rationalist association, wrote to Baba insisting on an
examination of His credentials, Baba said, "Sai
is not a subject for a university examination; He is an object for universal examination."
Joel Roydon had no respect for Baba, who was
worshipped by his wife. So he astonished his friends when he announced that he
was flying to India with her to meet 'the wild-haired character'. When asked
what he proposed to ask Baba for, he jocularly replied that he would ask for a
rainbow in the sky. "No magician can ever pull a rainbow out of his
sleeves," he jested. When he reached Puttaparthi and sat on a rock atop
the hill to enjoy a smoke, "We saw a rainbow go straight up the eastern
sky," Joel writes, "never curving, and within seconds it had reached
its peak. As quickly as it grew, it dissolved itself, from the bottom
up!" Next, when he was called by Baba for an interview, the question with
which Joel was greeted was, "So, how did you
like the rainbow?"
Aldous Huxley says, "The divine mind may choose
to communicate with finite minds either by manipulating the world of men and
things in ways which the particular mind to be reached at that moment will
find meaningful, or else there may be direct communication by something
resembling thought transference." Denise (Saivahini) Eversole
wrote in the daily paper, Movement, in California, about her visit to a
Sathya Sai Baba shrine in South India: "Vibhuti pours
from Baba's photographs, and two small, enamel medallions of Baba exude a
jasmine-scented sweet nectar called Amrita.
A large jar daily fills up with this syrup, and the photographs are scraped
clear. [See also: Gifts of Grace] Both these manifestations of Baba's grace
are given freely to all visitors. We received large containers of each, and
watched carefully as more, and yet more, Vibhuti
and Amrita formed and poured from the
blessed objects... Nearby the Kauveri river, a short walk from the temple
leads one to a pair of stone feet. From the feet oozes an oil with the most
enchanting fragrance. This we wiped on our scarves and kerchiefs and whatever
else we had, and watched as more oil oozed up from between the toes. It was my
fourth visit to this shrine, but I never tire of witnessing these evidences of
God's omnipotence."
Since Coming Back
In April 1972, Elsie and Walter Cowan returned from
India to California. To a Sai group Elsie announced, "We have come
back from India, my husband and I, brimful of the most astounding news that
can happen to anyone. It is so fantastic that many of you may doubt it,
because hardly any of us can imagine the great importance and the tremendous
power of this great, high god, who not only walks the earth, but cares for all
the planes from earth to eternity. Walter died at Madras; Sai Baba resurrected
him!" A few months later, Walter Cowan wrote to me, "I am really
feeling fine. Would you believe that I have gained about thirty pounds since
'coming back'?" Inscrutable, but true.
Examiner and Examinee
Here is another story from Mexico: "A dozen
families live on our hill in Mexico which slopes down to the Pacific Ocean,
about 300 feet below. Most of the people are retired Americans. There are one
or two Mexican families also. The hill itself is not of solid rock, but is
sedimentary ocean-floor uplift, comprising a mass of sand, boulders, clay,
seashells, etc. A recent vertical cut for a new highway weakened the hill. In
September 1976, it started sliding towards the ocean. Before long, two houses
had fallen and other houses broke into half. The authorities ordered all
remaining houses to be evacuated, because government geologists had declared
that all the houses would be destroyed by the earth movement. At this critical
juncture I was scheduled to leave on a tour of Sathya Sai Baba centres. We
prayed to Baba to save the houses of our small community.
"Throughout the tour I remained anxious about
this occurrence, but on my return was relieved to find all the remaining
houses intact as before. The geologists were measuring the hill each day and
were unable to discover why part of the hill was stationary and had not moved
even a fraction of an inch. Of course, they did not know about the prayer nor
that we had affixed a picture of Bhagavan to a window directly facing the
ocean side."
John Hislop, who wrote me this letter, has published a
book entitled, 'Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba'. Baba
tells Hislop,
"It is perfectly all right
to ask all these questions and clear all your doubts. You are examining
Swami and Swami is giving the answers. But when all this is finished and the
next time you come around, Swami will be the examiner and you will have to
be ready with the right answers in your mind and heart."
"Before going to Sai Baba, I told Indira Devi
that everything but the miracles I can accept," writes Richard Bock.
"Those bothered me because I had read the Ramakrishna
Kathamrita, which says that you have to be aware of Siddhis
(ascetically acquired powers), for they can lead you astray. So I felt that
showing off this power was somehow egotistical and was not the highest level
of expression. Therefore, I had doubts as to His motives in displaying them.
But when I got closer and began to experience them, I realized that they were
so natural to Him, and the reason behind them so sound, that I could see He
was coming from a different space. He was not becoming something - that He
already was - so there was nothing that could spoil Him... For a Westerner, it
usually takes something to blow his mind off the material world that he is
entrapped in and the idea that everything can be figured out scientifically.
So Baba creates something out of time, breaking what usually look like
scientific natural laws, and creates a so-called miracle.
"The thing that blew my mind was what happened
when Indira Devi asked Him if she could have some more of the 'healing ash',
because she had given away all of her first supply to people. He said 'yes'
and, as I was watching, he moved His hand in a circle and then held up both
hands, as if to receive something. Then an urn, about four inches high,
appeared in mid-air and plopped into His hands. I saw this and said, 'That's
not sleight of hand, that's not up His sleeve, that's something else.' He took
off the top and spilled all the ash onto a piece of paper. Then He poured
again, and another urnful of ash poured out, so that in total He had poured
out double the amount of ash that the urn could possibly hold. Next, He put
half of it back in the urn and distributed some to the people near by. What
was left He put in a little handkerchief bag and gave it to Indira. He touched
it and said, 'Now this will be an inexhaustible supply and you won't run out
of it.' Well, she has had it for ten years now and it is still flowing. And
she has given it to thousands of people. After that experience with Baba,
whether or not God exists is no longer a question in my mind." This is
what Richard Bock related to an interviewer from the Movement, in
September 1979.
Baba is so compassionate that He designs a new
strategy for every individual He decides to reform or transform. At one and
the same time, in all parts of the world, increasing numbers of people
experience His grace by means of an 'inner voice' or intuition, during silent
spells or amidst the clank of crowds, or through His direct manifestation in
physical form - conveying warnings, revitalizing faith and clearing doubts. A
telegram which in fact was never transmitted, a letter which was never posted
or a phone call which was never dialled, can reveal His affection and awaken,
assure or advise a person struggling in the dark, ultimately revealing the
hand of God beckoning him to Prasanthi Nilayam.
Sanathana Sarathi
On Sivarathri day in 1958 the monthly magazine
designed to communicate the message of Bhagavan to the world was inaugurated.
He named it Sanathana Sarathi. These two words taken together spell the
function that Baba has taken upon Himself. Sanathana denotes His being
the very source of all this 'becoming'. In a written message to Shri. R.R.
Chatterji of the Sathya Sai Seva Samithi, Calcutta, announcing the mission for
which He has assumed this human form, Baba made a declaration which nobody
since the days of Lord Krishna had the good fortune to listen to:
"There was no one to know
who I am till I created the world, at My pleasure, with one word.
Immediately earth and sky were formed, mountains rose up, rivers started
flowing, sun, moon and stars sprang out of nowhere to prove My existence.
Came all forms of life - plants, insects, beasts, birds and men. Various
powers were bestowed upon them under My orders. The first place was granted
to man, and My knowledge was placed in man's mind."
Sanathana means 'timeless, eternal'. Baba has
said that He always was, is, and ever will be. He is Sanathana, now
limited in time and space, so that He can be availed of by us. The Upanishads
speak of embodied beings as chariots which are drawn along by the senses
(horses) through the objective world. Safety lies in choosing a knowledgeable Sarathi
(charioteer) and installing him with unimpeded authority in the chariot. By
taking upon Himself the role of the Sanathana Sarathi, Baba has
revealed that He is the eternal Inner Motivator in all-recognized or
unrecognized, acknowledged or ignored, respected or slandered. "My
knowledge was placed in man's mind," He says. But the mind
allows itself to be covered by veils, so that pure knowledge becomes warped or
is denied.
The first issue of the magazine contained a message
from Baba wherein He spoke of the high purpose which it had set out to fulfil:
"From this day, our
Sanathana Sarathi will lead to victory the cohorts of truth - the Vedas, the
Sastras and similar scriptures of all faiths - against the forces of the ego
such as injustice, falsehood, immorality and cruelty. This is the reason why
it has emerged. This Sarathi will fight in order to establish world
prosperity. It is bound to sound the paean of triumph when universal Ananda
is achieved."
Proems
Baba is ever conscious that He is the cosmic principle
that has transformed Itself into human form. He is the goal, the guide and the
guardian whom every being seeks. He gives expression to this truth in His
discourses and writings. As a proem to His discourses He sometimes sings, in
either Telugu or Sanskrit, a short verse which lifts the veil of mystery
hiding him from our eyes, and in a flash makes us aware of some facet of His
plan to rehabilitate man. He declared,
"The same Vishnu who
rewarded Dhruva with material and spiritual glory and saved Prahlāda from
the cruelty of those who sought, through torture, to break his faith in the
Lord, that same Gopala who showered grace on the impoverished and famished
Kuchela, is here now, the embodiment of Wisdom and Bliss, the ruler
enthroned in the hearts of good men, the compassionate monitor of all those
who stray away from the right path."
On one occasion He sang another poem which had
spontaneously blossomed on His lips:
"Why does the sun rise and
set everyday without delay or disruption? Why do the stars that light the
sky to the delight of all eyes, hide their splendorous faces when the day
dawns, and never even slyly peer to tell us where they are? Why does air
always be around, giving us the breath of life? Why do these streams and
rivers roar, murmur, gurgle and gossip over rock, pebble and sand, as they
meander along towards the parent sea? How is it that the billions that
constitute mankind, though they are caskets treasuring images of the same
entity, remain distinct from each other in appearance, achievement,
aspiration and attitude? This is the answer: Know that I am the One who has
ordained that these be such and shall behave so."
The Five Elemental Aspects
The Upanishads declare the tests to decide the
genuineness of Bhagavān's incarnation thus:
"For fear of Him, fire burns;
for fear of Him, wind blows. Indra, the mighty god of gods, also stands in
awe of Him. Death hastens towards or flees away, as He directs."
When a greedy forest fire advanced towards chuchuma
ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border, where stood the Sai Yoga Institute of Indra
Devi, her prayer to Baba turned the fire back by a sudden twist of wind when
the flames had reached within yards of the ranch. Shri K.A. Raja, Lt. Governor
of Arunchal Pradesh, writes that a huge bamboo cluster within yards of his
official residence at Tezpur caught fire and was exploding merrily immediately
adjacent to the thatched huts of some Nepalese workmen. Mrs. Raja hastened to
the scene and called aloud to Baba to soften the fury of the flames. The
letter relates, "The fire extinguished itself in a few seconds; not even
a dozen fire engines could have done that job." Similarly, Baba has many
a time prevented rain by a mere gesture or oral command, when it had
threatened to drench the thousands gathered to have His Darsan and listen to
His discourse.
The president of a coach factory near Madras had made
a commitment to deliver about 25 coaches as the first instalment of an
agreement between the government of India and the government of an overseas
state - a prestigious assignment that was secured in spite of overwhelming
competition from countries in the front line of industrialized nations. But
troubles dogged him at every step. He was very unhappy that he would not be
able to load the coaches onto a Japanese ship that had already left Bombay for
Madras to take the cargo on board. He prayed to Baba to save the reputation of
his factory. Baba said, "The ship will be
delayed; hurry on with your work."
The ship faced a fierce storm off Cochin and had to undergo some repairs at
Colombo. When it finally did reach Madras, the port was too full to allow it
into the docks. When, at last, it was ready to receive the coaches, they were
waiting, spick and span, to be carried overseas. Bhagavān can initiate or
pacify storms when He wills. He welcomes into the realm of death those who
clamor for release, and brings back from the gullet of death those who were
gobbled while they had yet to play the role He had in mind for them. The words
emanating from Him are, therefore, divine commands, which can charge us with
an immense potency and purity and change us into reservoirs of love and light.
Come Again
On another occasion, preliminary to the hoisting of
the Prasanthi flag at the Nilayam, the following poem was sung
by Baba:
"The cowherd boy, the son of
Nanda (foster father of Krishna) [see: Bhagavata Vahini, Chapter 44], has
come again among you, embodied as Ananda, so that He may collect His
playmates. The same Rāma [see: Ramakatha Vahini] has come again, with a
great deal of Aaraam (leisure), since now there is no burden of imperium, no
dynastic responsibility; He has come again to give his erstwhile followers
the chance of service. The same Sai has come to you from Shirdi to be in the
midst of his erstwhile companions and comrades. Once again, the same
all-comprehensive, omnipresent Principle named Vishnu has come in this
comprehensible, cognisable human form, so that you may benefit from Him. He
has come without His instruments and weapons, for He has willed to forge
them here itself."
Baba has herein asserted that He is the
self-determined human expression of that super intelligence, that absolute
will. He says,
"For you, birth is an
anxious moment; childhood is fraught with anxiety; living is a series of
anxious moments; livelihood is earned through a chain of anxious events; old
age and death cause dire anxiety; even joy brings about the anxiety that you
might lose it soon; all activity is saturated with anxiety. But barter all
this anxiety for only one anxiety - how to win the grace of Sai - and you
will be free from the big brood of worry and unrest."
His prologue-verses often deal with devotees, telling
them how steady faith alone can earn eternal peace:
"Compassion in the eyes;
sweet words on the tongue; nectarous gleam on a smiling face; joy ever
residing in the heart; reassurance in every gesture of the hands - that is
Sai. Do not lose hold and give up the Savior who has come to you."
Hold Fast
Ponder over the significance of this verse He sang
years ago:
"Something you have held,
while seeking to hold something, hold on to it most firmly. Something you
did ask for, though asking is not needed; persist till the gift is granted.
Some desire you have entertained in your mind, though there is no need to
desire; still, knock at the door until it opens and your desire is
fulfilled. Either I must grant you the thing that you crave for, unable to
withstand your yearning; or you must realize its very absurdity and conquer
that worthless yearning."
True to the declaration He made at the first World
Conference that He is all names and forms by which man has ever tried to
describe God, the annunciatory verse He sings on days dedicated to Rāma,
Krishna or Shiva would often be about the identity between Him and the deity
that is being adored. On a Shivarathri day a few years ago, He
proclaimed, while standing before a festive gathering of twenty-five thousand
people,
"This day Shiva has come
into the view of mortals - Shiva, dwelling in the village of Parthi. He
carries on Him matted hair, the Ganges flowing from it, the eye in the
centre of the brow, the dark-complexioned throat, the serpent wristlets, and
tiger-skin around the waist, the red dot on the forehead and the pan (betel)
- produced redness on the lips."
When He led a party of about a hundred and fifty
devotees to the famous Himalayan shrine of Nārāyana, He addressed them at
Hardwar before starting on the mountain trek, saying, "Yours
is a unique chance: going to
Nārāyana
with Nārāyana."
The Unseen Force
Once Baba sang a verse in which He declared that He is
the Unseen Force that regulates the movements of celestial bodies and
all forms of life, and designs the destinies of each of us. This was when He
inaugurated the all India conference of Sai organizations held at Madras. If
the Will is all-powerful and eternal, it can, of course, come down and move as
a man among men. At another time He said,
"There are three types of
men: those who seek happiness for themselves first, with no attention paid
to others; those who consider others first and thereby derive happiness; and
those who will try to prevent others from being happy even at the cost of
their own happiness."
To a group of Americans He once gave a message that
was different in emphasis.
"You are the smiling
flower," He wrote, "you are the twinkling star. What is there on
the earth and in the sky that you are not? Then, why need you desire? You
are the God of the universe. You create the universe and, after playing with
it for sometime, draw it into yourself and are the same again. What you
really are is Truth - Consciousness - Bliss."
Baba insists that every one be made aware of the goal
of life, which is to pass from the stage of 'I am in
the Light' to the stage 'the Light is in
me' on to the ultimate truth that 'I am
the Light.' When you are the Light, there can be no darkness, no
desire, no fear, no hatred, no ego.
In the following message to children, Baba is simple
and direct, as if they were really sitting around Him, their eyes wide open in
wonder:
Dear Children,
You have been born in this most glorious country, Bharat, and have grown up
here. Unless you learn to know of its history, its holy traditions, the
lives and teachings of its men of wisdom and piety, what else is there for
you to learn? Light the lamp of morality and righteousness, the lamp that
once shone bright in this land. Let its light illumine the world.
Messages
In a message to students He has asked,
"Can the goal
of life be just this? To struggle amidst the waves of joy and grief that
rise and fall in the visible, objective world; to be carried along the swift
current of desire, gathering food, shelter, comfort, and sensual pleasure
and, finally, to flounder on the rocks of death?"
In another message He emphasises a basic
truth:
"Seeking a high
standard of living instead of a high level of living, has played havoc with
human society. A high level of living insists on morality, humility,
detachment and compassion; a competitive race for luxury and conspicuous
consumption is not encouraged. Now man has become a slave of his desires and
finds himself helpless before the urge to earn pleasure and luxury. Being
too weak to keep his baser urges under control, he cannot arouse the
Divinity that is latent in him."
Baba has said that in this incarnation He
is the supreme teacher. "Aham Satyabodhaka"
(I am the Teacher of Truth), He says. He teaches at all times, in
all places and by all means. He showers love and wins you; He withholds love
and cures you. Once He administered a mild admonition to some devotees who had
expected a continuous flow of 'plums and roses'. Then He enlightened them:
"Do you delight
when I allow you to be near Me? The next moment I might cause the sorrow of
separation. Do you feel that Sai takes delight in your tears? Just then I
might make you laugh till your sides ache, and continue to grant you joy,
again and again. Do you feel a sense of elevation when I praise you a
little? That very moment I may prick the bubble of your pride by means of
ridicule. Do you feel secure when I tell you not to fear? The next moment I
might inflict pain and appear indifferent when you pray for relief. I do not
allow you to go back, nor do I allow you to go forward! I madden your mind
and smother your ego. Find out how any one can move away from this charming
Sai, the embodiment of Love and Light. Find out the reason why He is
indispensable, in spite of this dual role."
In this message He has revealed that
every act of His, every flash of anger or twinkle in the eye, every smile or
curve of the brow, has a deep significance for the recipient. Many such
messages are composed in verse extempore and sung by Baba, expressing the mood
of the moment and answering unspoken thoughts and questions that agitate the
mass of people gathered to hear Him.
"When you have
before you the wish-fulfilling tree," He sings, "why do you desire
to foster inferior trees?" "When you have for the asking the cow
(Kamadhenu) that yields all that you need, why do you seek the common cow
for milk? When you have the Meru mountain, rich in gold and silver, why do
you run about frantically in search of petty gains? When you have with you
the Sai Who gives liberation, why do you crave for lesser joys that dissolve
again into grief?"
Most of Baba's discourses are a
commentary on some such basic idea enshrined in poetry and song.
A group of Americans once prayed for a
message to take home with them to the States. So Baba, in His own attractive
calligraphy, wrote,
"The fruit has
to be sweet, though the rind can afford to be bitter. It is the juice and
its sugar content that count; put away the rind of anger, malice, envy and
greed and assimilate the sweetness of the fruit, so that sweetness can
develop within you... Be a lotus: The lotus is born in slime and mud, but
rises up through the water and lifting its head above it, refuses to get
wet, although it springs from water. Be like the lotus or the
lily-unattached."
Baba teaches us by means of His letters,
discourses, books and articles. He writes in simple and elegant, colloquial
Telugu or English prose. The message is always extempore, His ideas receiving
expression as mellifluous poems and songs showering exquisite delight. His
script is reminiscent of charming monastic artistry; the lines are straight
and parallel, resembling floral garlands spread out upon a paper. Poetry and
melody shine through each sentence, and behind each phrase and clause lies a
form that is clearly human, though it carries divine wisdom. Thus Baba's
message enables mankind to benefit from the grace and wisdom that He has come
to confer.
The Mother Feeds
Baba speaks of Himself as the mother
yearning to feed an unruly child who, in its ignorance, refuses to eat what
will cure its hunger. The child has to be coddled and coaxed, wheeled and
petted, even caught unawares sometimes by means of a story or a song, to
induce it to accept the food it needs. Baba's immeasurable love persuades Him
to pack a medical dose in a sweet smile, a panacea in a palatable parable or a
profound thought in syrupy joke.
Let us dip into the books that Baba has
given man in order to draw him to the feast that He has prepared for his
hunger. A number of scholars, cynical of matters beyond their ken and proud of
their academic achievements, receive these books by post (sent mysteriously by
Baba Himself) or through some inexplicable source. These become for them
invitations to the Presence, fresh and fascinating as they are.
Baba has said that if He were to be
identified by one characteristic more than any other, He could most aptly be
called Prema Swarupa, the Embodiment
of Love. The very first Vahini
(stream) that flowed forth from his pen to fertilise the mind of man was the
book 'Prema Vahini'. Nārada, the great exponent of love as a spiritual
discipline, defines that path as Sathasmin Parama
Prema Swarupa (it is of the nature of supreme devotion or love to
That). The love is described as supreme, because it is full and free, with no
conditions, no trace of bargaining, no taint of fear. Once such love is
practised and experienced, all distinctions drop, duality ceases, and only the
truth remains.
The Gopis
Baba quotes the love of the simple
milkmaids and cowherds of Brindavan towards Krishna
as the best example of this Parama Prema. Krishna
Himself appreciated it thus:
"They long for
Me so deeply, their thoughts, words and deeds are so imbued with Me, that
they have no sense of time or space, no consciousness of their bodies and
their needs. They are so absorbed in Me that they are like rivers that have
merged in the ocean and lost their individual names and distinctions."
Sankara, the great philosopher-saint,
wrote of Bhakti:
Swa-swarupa anusandhanam bhaktirithi abhidheeya the
(the constant contemplation of the Reality which is one's innermost core, is Bhakti).
Baba elaborates on this truth:
"The Atman is the
inner core, it is the reality that has to be contemplated upon... When Krishna
advises Arjuna to surrender all activity to 'Me' and to take refuge in 'Me',
it is but an exhortation to spend every moment in the awareness of the real
Me, the Atman, the Swaswaroopa."
Baba says in Prema
Vahini
"Only through
love can faith become steady; only through faith can knowledge be gained;
only through knowledge can Parabhakti (complete devotion, self-surrender) be
ensured and only through Parabhakti can the Lord be realized."
"Jnanadevathu
Kaivalayam," says the Gītā (knowledge
alone can confer freedom). Bhakti
clarifies the vision, cleanses the mind, strengthens self-control and purifies
thought, so that the Lord may be reflected clear and complete in the heart.
Regarding the age-old controversy on the relative status of the three paths - Bhakti,
Karma and Jnana
- that lead to God, Baba writes,
"I do not agree
that Bhakti, Karma and Jnana are separate. I do not place any one before the
other, nor will I accept a mixture of the three. Karma is Bhakti; Bhakti is
Jnana. A piece of candy has taste, weight and shape; the three cannot be
separated. Each bit has all the three; we do not find shape in one bit,
weight in another and sweetness in the third. When the candy is placed on
the tongue, the taste, the weight and the shape are simultaneously
experienced. Similarly, Jnana, Karma and Bhakti may be truly experienced
only as one whole."
Karma
is love in action, Jnana is love
experienced and Bhakti is love universally
shared. Thus Baba dismisses in one stroke all disputations about the
superiority of any one of these disciplines over the other.
Cups of Many Shapes
Baba has silenced traducers of idol
worship too. He says that no one can adore the nameless, formless absolute
principle, without sacrificing one's alloy in the crucible of devotion to that
same principle in a mentally cognisable and acceptable form.
"No one can be
a Nirguna Jnani (knower of the attributeless) without being a Saguna Bhakta
(worshipper of the attributeful)" He says.
"Iswara anugrahadeva pumsam
adwaitha vasana," says Sankara: It is only through God's own grace
that one can comprehend Him as being without name and form.
In 'Prema Vahini'
Baba says, "Idols serve the same purpose as metaphors and
similes in poetry. They illustrate and illumine the Divine."
He has also said that idols are only
artistic and attractive containers which people use for quaffing the nectar of
divine effulgence.
"You cannot
quaff it without a cup. One person may like to drink the delight in a 'blue
cowherd boy of Brindavan (Vrindāvana)' cup, while another may relish it in
a cup depicting the ecstatic 'cosmic dancer' (Lord Shiva) of Kailas. The
choice may depend on either hereditary predilection, or on personal choice,
or on a wave of spiritual awareness. Whatever the reason or the shape of the
vessel, it serves the same high purpose - to help imbibe the joy, the power,
the love, the wisdom and the splendor of the one divine entity."
In the Bhakti Sutra, Nārada has
said that a bhakta (devotee) has no
worldly worries for he has surrendered himself to the Lord.
Baba writes, "This
does not mean that he would sit quiet. Service of man, for the bhakta, is
service of God, for he sees God in every man. Free from the alternating
waves of like and dislike, worry and exaltation, the bhakta sees the divine
as the motivator in himself and in others. He is ever-engaged in good deeds
for such is his basic nature. In whatever he does, thinks or speaks, he
promotes lokasangraha (the welfare of mankind). He has no worry or
disappointment, because for him it is God who provides, performs, proposes,
plans and dispenses."
While the monthly serials of 'Prema
Vahini' in the Sanathana Sarathi
were percolating like fresh water into desiccated hearts, another series of
Baba's articles was published in the same magazine to remove the weeds of
doubt growing wild therein. They were collectively entitled 'Sandeha
Nivarini'. Even in His teens and twenties, Baba took delight in
prodding those who gathered at His feet to ask Him questions on spiritual
matters. These became the cues for dissertations, short and long, with many an
interspersed parable, poem or song, to lead the questioners from darkness to
light.
Questions Answered
I remember many such question-answer
sessions taking place on the Chitravathi sands. Dayananda Sagar (a lawyer),
Vittal Rao (a sylviculturist), V. Hanumantha Rao (a civilian officer), and a
few others, were prolific interrogators. Many brought their doubts before Baba
and prayed for solutions. There were pundits
and sadhakas from Venkatagiri, Yerpedu,
Vyasasram, Thiruvannamalai (Ramanasram), Pondicherry, Kanhangad and Varkalai
Narayanaguru Asram. They returned happy and restful, for their problems
received Baba's clear analysis, deep diagnosis, intimate unravelling and
effective remedy. There was, one day, a hoary monk from Rishikesh who asked
Baba with a touch of nonchalant conceit, how to escape the coils of māyā.
Baba answered,
"Māyā
does not exist, until you look for it. Don't look for it, it won't affect
you. The image of your face is inside the well only when you peep to
discover whether it is there."
The monk confessed to me later it was a
reply he had never received so far, and it had solved for him a doubt that had
haunted him for years.
In 'Sandeha
Nivarini' Baba says,
"I am happy
when anyone asks Me about things he has not understood. Of course, you have
every right." Then he asks the pupil, "But are you reflecting on
the answers I give and are you practising what has been told to you, with
the conviction born of faith?... What am I here for? Is it not for
explaining to you things you do not know? Ask me without hesitation or fear.
I am always ready to answer. Only, the enquiry must be earnest, emerging out
of a genuine desire to know and to practise what is good."
It can be revealed now that the 'bhakta'
who visits Baba with questions - personal, philosophic and religious - in
every chapter of 'Sandeha Nivarini', is a
creation of the divine pen. Baba reveals through this character, His infinite
compassion towards the Samsayatma, the
person afflicted with doubts. He poses the problems and provides the answers.
He writes,
"bhakta! I
converse with you about every point you place before Me, and allow many to
take part in this conversation. The sun's light falls upon the mirror, the
light from the mirror upon the walls of the bungalow and the light from the
walls upon the eye. Similarly, this 'Sandeha Nivarini' has been planned in
order that the illumination of My teaching may fall upon you and thence on
to the pages of the Sanathana Sarathi, so that the effulgence may illuminate
the world and bring light and harmony into the heart of mankind."
Dharma Is the Refuge
The next book to be serialized in the
pages of the Sanathana Sarathi was 'Dharma Vahini'. Baba says,
"Dharma is like
the river Saraswati, flowing unseen beneath the deeper levels of human
consciousness, feeding the roots of activity, filling the springs of
thought, cleansing the slushy eddies of feeling. When the river runs dry or
is clogged by greed and hate, the avatar comes to let in a torrent of grace
and restore its fresh, free flow."
Buddha declared that Dharma
is the very basis of good life. He insisted that everyone should surrender to
its dictates so that the misery that is ever at the heels of life may be
avoided. Ashoka, the historic emperor, sweetened every law of his empire with Dharma.
He inscribed on rock and pillar his exhortations:
"Hitherto my people and my
forefathers went on Vihara yatras
(pleasure trips); hereafter I propose only Dharma
yatras (pilgrimages). Hitherto they gave Dana
(charity, usually in the form of money); hereafter they must give Dharma
dana (the gift of the knowledge of Dharma). Hitherto they sought Dig
vijaya (conquest of territory); hereafter I exhort them to relish
Dharma vijaya (the triumph of
righteousness)."
Ashoka knew that Dharma
sustains, strengthens and saves.
"Why should man take to the path of Dharma?"
asked Schopenhauer, and then replied to himself, "To preach morality is
easy; to lay the foundation for morality is not." Faith in God, who
rewards the good and punishes the bad, was a stout bulwark of Dharma
for ages. But secularism has undermined this faith. Baba, however, in 'Dharma
Vahini' has installed Dharma on
an unshakable foundation as the unity of all life, indeed, of creation:
"Whoever
conquers the ego and overcomes the natural tendency to regard the body and
its furniture as his true self, is surely on the path of Dharma, for he
would soon discover the truth behind all this scintillating multiplicity. He
would realise that the objective world is like a gem-studded veil over
Brahman, which is the one and only truth. Sarvam Khalu Idam Brahman (All is
verily Brahman). When man is aware of this truth, there will be no 'other':
all will be 'you'. Since you love yourself most, your love will flow in full
measure towards all and encompass the living and the non-living."
As a red indian chief wrote to the
president of the United States of America in 1855,
"Every part of this earth is
sacred to my people - every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist
in the woods, every clearing and every humming insect is holy in the memory
and experience of my people."
Dharma
has to be built on this deep understanding of the depths of being.
"Build your
life," says Baba, "on the atmic plinth, the faith that you are a
wave upon the ocean of bliss, a spark of the cosmic intelligence." Then
He asks, "When you worship an idol, what is it that you really do?
First, a form of God is imprinted on your mind. After that you meditate on
His power, grace and omnipresence, and project these qualities upon the
idol, thus enabling your consciousness to transcend it and become unaware of
the lithic substance before you... In the same manner, imprint onto your
consciousness that form of God which delights you most and fills you with
illumination, and project that form on every man, beast, bird and insect, on
every tree and plant, on every rock and rill; this Sadhana will make you
true, good and beautiful."
This is the fundamental norm: Atmic
awareness - the unceasing remembrance of the one appearing to be many. And to
the question, "Am I my brother's keeper?" often asked by
those wearing 'I-glasses', Baba answers, "You
are your brother; his health is your health; your holiness is his. There is no
difference or distinction. If you swim, he swims; if he sinks, it is you who
sink."
The Source of Power
Baba does not agree with the dictum,
'knowledge is power', for knowledge may induce conceit, competition and
conflict. Instead He always emphasises that 'Character
is Power' and, elaborating upon the basis of character, He quotes
the Bhagavad Gītā (Ch. 12, verses 13-19):
"The man of
character hates none, is kind and compassionate, free from egotism, treats
pleasure and pain with equal unconcern, behaves ever with forbearance, is
ever content, self-restrained and steady in his conviction of the unity of
the universe. He has no feeling of harassment from the world nor does he in
any way harass the world. He has no trace of anger, fear, anxiety or
exultation, nor is he bound by the chains of infatuation or vengeance. He
neither craves nor grieves, but passes unscathed through good repute and
bad, welcoming both, heat and cold. He is satisfied with fortune, be it good
or bad, and has no home which he is loath to leave."
Seva
has two invaluable consequences: the negation of the ego and the experience of
kinship. Baba reminds us that even charity is cruelty unless one heart meets
another in warm fraternity. The fragrance of love and the sweetness of
sincerity must sanctify every act of Seva.
Baba teaches us in the book 'Prasanthi Vahini',
how Dharma can lighten the travails of
family life and how social life can become healthier and happier through the
regulation of relationships according to Dharma.
Masters and servants, elders and youngsters, teachers and students - all can
benefit if Dharma prevails.
But the ancient academies of Dharma
have now become hotbeds of greed and jealousy. "Beautiful
groves and fields are becoming thorny jungles with no viable path,"
says Baba. He lays down in some detail how parents can preserve and promote
the culture of this land and save Dharma
from pollution. He pleads for a revival of the status of the village temple as
a reservoir of Dharma. He says, "It can,
if maintained on ancient lines, circulate sanctity and vitality through every
vein and nerve of the social organism."
Prasanthi
It is always richly rewarding to delve into the
significance of the names that Baba sometimes gives to people or things. His
residence at Puttaparthi, constructed in 1948-50, was named Prasanthi
Nilayam (the Abode of Supreme Peace).
All beings have to obtain it, sometime, somewhere; each has to build it for
himself with His guidance and grace. Baba has cautioned the humanitarians and
the philanthropists of this era that people today do not yearn for toys and
trinkets which feed avid appetites; they yearn rather for the glory of God,
peace on earth and goodwill among men. They need calm contentment rather than
loud sensationalism. W.M. Dixon said in his Gifford Lectures, "In the new
Garden of Eden, there will be good roads and water supply, unlimited picture
houses, unstinted soft drinks, excellent sanitation, humane slaughtering, and
the best of schools, wireless installations, free concerts and lectures for
all. There will be no far horizon and invincible hopes. We shall cease to
think of birth and death, of the Infinite, of God, and the sublime secrets of
the universe. I am not much in love with these sixpenny Utopias." Baba
has been insisting that those who draw five-year plans for dams, powerhouses,
railway lines and factories must also provide adequate correctives for the
devastation of traditional values which will follow the vast accession of
pettiness and profit. People intoxicated with sudden prosperity and
disheartened at the loss of traditions need Prasanthi
and Prema to confer courage and
equanimity.
Baba's book, 'Prasanthi
Vahini', gives us the key to the treasure-house of that peace which
escapes understanding and defies logic, namely Prasanthi,
which the Gītā calls the goal of human endeavor. Santhi
means 'peace'; 'pra', the prefix, means 'larger, superior'. Prasanthi
is Santhi unaffected by desire, greed,
hatred or anger. It is not curtailed by adversity or multiplied by windfalls.
Baba says that we must cultivate the three virtues of Viveka
(intelligence), Vairagya (detachment) and Vichakshana
(discrimination) in order to equip ourselves with Prasanthi.
He prescribes the Viveka Chudamani,
composed by Sankara, as the text which can
develop in us these three virtues. Baba says,
"Like children playing with
dolls you, too, call some beings elephants and others horses, some friends
and others enemies, and spend your entire life in such make-believe. Once
you realise that without the spirit they are all just the same inert
substance, the notion of 'many' and the diversity of name and form, both
disappear and there can be no liking or disliking any more... You laugh and
weep, love and hate, live in joy, sorrow, anger and fascination, but all
these varied reactions do not make the objective world less unreal."
Vairagya gets a
new meaning in 'Prasanthi Vahini'. Raga
means 'attachment' and Vairagya
comes when you realise that the stone to which you were attached is really
God. The 'stoneness' is like a veil cast by your ignorance upon what is really
of the same substance as you yourself. The Vairagya
that results from this illumination is lasting and most sublime.
Eight Disciplines
Baba has also commented favourably in this book on the
eight traditional stages of spiritual education, but He has given each of them
wider and deeper meaning. The first discipline is yama,
which includes non-violence, honesty, celibacy and non-acceptance of gifts.
Baba says, "This is the meaning usually given to
this word. But I would say that Yama is really the giving up of attachment to
the body and the senses."
The second discipline is niyama,
which is described in rajayoga
texts as 'physical purity, mental exaltation, austerity, steadfast
study and the attitude of surrender to God.' But Baba explains it in the
following manner: "niyama
is steady prema fixed on god, the Supreme Oversoul, regardless of time, place
and circumstances."
Asana, the next
discipline, lays down the place, time and postures for the sadhaka
engaged in meditation, to help him gain steadiness and stability. Baba has
clarified it with a simple formula: "The best posture is udasina"
(the posture of full relaxation and complete detachment). In the Yoga
Sutras, Patanjali recommends sthira
sukha asanam
(a steady, comfortable style of sitting). Baba writes, "I
am telling you the same thing in other words, that the most effective asana is
the one least affected by the external world, and udasina means 'unaffected.'
"
About pranayam
Baba says, "In yoga, this step is explained as
breath control. But the control of the vital airs is possible only for those
who are aware that the world is an amalgam of truth and falsehood. The picture
of the universe in the mind's eye will be like letters written long ago by
lead pencils, now hazy, indistinct, indecipherable and giving impression half
true and half false. Only a person aware of this peculiarity of creation can
command the vital airs to obey his will."
Baba also elaborates upon and clarifies the fifth
stage called pratyahara, or the withdrawal
of the senses of perception from the external world in order to free the mind
for uninterrupted meditation on the inner one. How can this be done? The
awareness that the external world is born of maya
and sustained by maya,
will provide the motive force to withdraw the senses. According to Baba, no
other achievement can accomplish this task. So here, too, the acquisition of
wisdom is a vital prerequisite.
Baba continues,
"Patanjali declared that
when the chittha is established in one thought, it is called dharana. I
would say that dharana implies more than mere negation of the multiple
activity of the chittha... Treat your chittha like a little child; caress it
into good ways, leading it with tenderness. Gradually make it aware that all
that is 'seen' is illusion, superimposition, make-believe. Remove its fears
with love reprimands and focus its attention on the goal."
Dhyana, the next
stage, has a book for itself from the pen of Baba. Suffice it here to say that
He reveals to us that dhyana is an
uninterrupted dwelling of the consciousness within the consciousness itself.
And the final stage of samadhi - the savikalpa,
where there is but a trace of the knower, the to-be-known and the knowledge,
and the nirvikalpa, where even this trace
is effaced - is like the ocean, into which the consciousness finally merges.
That is the goal where supreme peace reigns.
For the people of the world today, Prasanthi
Nilayam has become a place where they can bask in the warmth of
such a peace. On Christmas Day, when mankind celebrates the advent of the Son
of God to establish 'peace on earth and goodwill among men', hundreds of
Christians from overseas gather at Prasanthi Nilayam to share with fellow
Christians from India the presence of Baba, who has come on that same divine
mission and is engaged in transforming man into an instrument for fulfilling
that mission. He has directed every unit of the Sathya Sai Seva organisation
to close each session with the prayer, Loka Samastha
Sukhino Bhavanthu (May happiness and prosperity reign everywhere).
But He has also warned them,
"While repeating the prayer,
if you do think ill of others or look down upon anyone, if you cannot
tolerate difference of dress, language, faith or temperament, you can never
promote peace. Your hearts have become pits of hatred, greed and jealousy.
But from this day on, while your tongues pray for peace, let your hands be
engaged in service and your hearts dwell in love."
Prescriptions for Peace
"Today, quacks with new
fangled ideas lay down rules for dhyana," says Baba. Each one has his
own special prescription and claims that his system can confer more benefit
than that of others. But none have themselves experienced its sweetness or
sanctity. That is the real reason why dhyana has drawn on itself the cynical
laughter of many. My intention is to instruct such people and guide them
onto the right path."
Baba goes on to reveal in these words the origin of
His book, 'Dhyana Vahini':
"Even the most potent drug
will not cure when it is only extolled in elaborate phrases at the bedside
of the patient. The drug must be taken in and allowed to work its way into
the blood stream. Your reading what I write on dhyana will not make it
easier. The mind is a mad pleasure-seeker, running after mirages seen
through the inefficient and, therefore, deceptive senses of perception. The
multifarious desires that infect the mind have to be quelled and the mind
focussed on Ananda only. Of course, when the mind is enlightened that God is
the highest Ananda, it will itself turn to God. When knowledge is accepted
as the master and given charge of the reins, when the mind is denied the
food that breeds depravity, when the senses are tamed by firmness and faith,
dhyana will surely lead you to that Goal."
Baba distinguishes between concentration,
contemplation and meditation. Concentration is an unwavering determination in
one's daily life, in the realm of the senses, the feelings and the intellect.
Contemplation is achieved when the senses withdraw for some time and
attachment to the objective world slackens. "When
you have completely broken away from all attachment, you enter a state of
meditation," says Baba.
Baba gives the guidelines for meditation and mind
control in 'Dhyana Vahini'. He says that dhyana
is a life-sustaining as dhanya (food).
"The methods vary greatly," says Paul Brunton, who has tried quite a
few, "but they generally consist of physical asceticism and worldly
renunciation, together with attempts to induce a contemplative mood by
disciplining, during fixed periods, the confused drift of thoughts and
impressions which make up man's inner existence." Baba explains the
choice of place, posture, timetable and the curriculum, but lays greater
stress on the compassion of the Lord who responds to the prayer embodied as dhyana.
Since God assumes, for the sake of the sadhaka,
the name and form that he meditates on, Baba assures us that dhyana
need never be a barter endeavor; the summit can be reached by perseverance,
for He raises up to Himself the struggling and the
exhausted.
Baba warns us against nine enemies that waylay the
earnest sadhaka. Three of them are
physical: adulterous urges, greed to possess things or gain exclusive love and
the tendency to injure living beings; three are verbal: delight in causing
panic by false alarm, speaking lies and spreading scandal; and three are
mental: craving for what belongs to others, envy and cynicism. Baba directs
that meditation on the form be accompanied by an unbroken absorption of the
sweetness of the name by which that form is identified. When the form slips
from attention, the name will soon bring it back; when the name drops from
awareness, the form will restore it to the mind. "Thus,
the constant presence of God in the consciousness is ensured,"
says Baba.
Blossoms of Bliss
Mention can be made here of a small book, 'Dialogues
with the Divine', brought out by the Maharashtra Branch of the Prashanthi Vidwanmahasabha,
an all-india academy of scholars and sadhakas founded by Baba. "This work
has," as Baba writes, "blossomed out of the bliss that V.S. Page has
earned and enjoyed in his inner-self," when he sat at the feet of Sri
Sathya Sai Baba and questioned him with humility on various problems arising
out of his studies and spiritual practices. Baba tells him,
"Nothing can be attained
without ceaseless practice. So every moment you should remember God and be
happy in the thought. Then only will you be able to attain peace. Are we not
at peace when one thought ceases and another does not arise? You have to
wait for that gap, be at one with that peace. Then that peace will become
continuous and lasting.
"Thoughts ever rise and
subside as ripples on the surface of water. You have to look at the mass of
water, not merely at the ripples. Similarly, the Atman ever dwells in peace;
but man fails to realise this, and remains ever absorbed in the vacillations
of the mind. Nityavadhan (constant vigilance) is needed to ignore the waves
and watch the water... Restlessness is but the rise and fall of the wave on
the ocean that you are."
The next Vahini to be published serially in the Sanathana
Sarathi was the 'Jnana Vahini'
(Stream of Wisdom).
"Whenever the gross and even
the subtle are transcended, when the intelligence is clarified, when the
self is free from feelings, impulses and instincts, what remains in the
consciousness is the true self only. The person, then, is one with the
eternal truth, the one beyond everything. He becomes Brahman or Paramatman,"
says Baba.
This awareness is the acme of ananda. In the Taittiriya
Upanishad it is declared that "from
ananda all this is born, through ananda all this lives, in ananda all this is
merged, and in ananda all this rests." The greater the awareness of Paramatman
the more the ananda. Baba summarises the truth in one sentence:
"Awareness is life,"
and then goes on to reveal, "all men are Divine like Myself; the only
difference is that they are yet unaware of their divinity. They have come
into this karmic prison through the karmas of many lives. I have taken to
this mortal form out of My own free will. They are bound to the body while I
am free of this bondage."
Another of the Vahinis is the 'Upanishad
Vahini', a synoptic review of the ten principal Upanishads, with a
prologue and an epilogue on the rare text called the Brahmanubhava
Upanishad. These Upanishads are esoteric and highly cryptic, but
they elucidate the highest truths discernible to the intellect of man.
Baba stopped short of the fifth form in high school,
when He was fourteen years of age. He did not read books or learn from any
teacher. He is wisdom incarnate. He is poet, pundit, linguist, educationalist,
artist, mystic - the best in each field. In His discourses He quotes freely
from the Bible, the Koran, the poems of the Sufis, the dialogues of Socrates,
the sayings of Johnson, the dicta of Herbert Spencer, Kant and Karl Marx, and
from the myths and legends of ancient cultures. He quotes from the Upanishads
and reveals new significances in the utterances of the sages, to the
astonishment of the savants who have too long been content with arid
dialectics they have treasured.
On fifteen evenings Baba held a gathering of over five
thousand students and scholars at Brindavan spellbound by His elegant and
eloquent analysis of the Vedic word, Brahman,
which means, as Baba writes in the 'Jnana Vahini',
'big, enlarged, gross, high', since it comes from the root 'brh'.
He carefully untied the knots which pegged that portentous word to a cluster
of irrelevancies and misconceptions. He traced the genealogy of the word from
its roots to the tallest branch and the tiniest twig. He ransacked without
compunction the nooks and corners of vedic texts to expose the excrescences
that had gathered on that word as it rolled down the corridor of time. On
subsequent evenings, for another fortnight, Baba spoke on another vedic word, Bharat.
He elaborated upon the origin and migrations of the word among peoples and
through the texts. Baba has declared more than once, that the revival of vedic
studies and research, with the aim of reviving the practice of vedic ideals,
is one of His plans for rehabilitating man.
The Flow of the Upanishad
Baba, therefore, decided on a small book on the
Upanishads, in order to rivet the attention of the world to the efficacy of
vedanta. As editor of the magazine which published serially the chapters of
this book, I had an amazing experience every month for a whole year. After
despatching the magazine on the 16th of the month, I would go to Him for the
next part of the series. Announcing the name of the Upanishad Himself, He
would ask me to wait for a while in His room and proceed along the veranda
with a notebook and pen, towards the room where there stood a table with a
chair by its side and nothing else besides. Once, it was the turn of the Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad to be summarised and simplified. It is the biggest and
the profoundest of the ten. I am certain that Baba had never read it or
consulted others who could talk on it. And there was no copy available
anywhere within miles. But forty minutes after he moved out with the pen and
the notebook as His sole possessions, I could descend the eighteen steps from
His room with a ten-page dissertation on the truths this Upanishad enshrined!
I peeped into the script as I walked towards the press and my eyes fell on the
Telugu words which said, "The grandeur of the intellect of the Sage
Yajnavalkya is impressively evident in this Upanishad." I told myself,
"The grandeur of the omniscient teacher that Baba is, is now impressively
evident to me."
Vedic literature is classified as ritualistic,
consecrational and metaphysical (karma, upasana
and jnana), and the Upanishads are grouped
under the third category. But Baba says that each principal Upanishad deals
with all the three and is, therefore, instructive for all types of sadhakas.
Besides special rites described in most of them, the adoration of preceptors
or deities is also recommended. Baba says, "The
Upanishads enshrine the whisperings of God to man." About the
ten on which Sankara and other scholar-saints have written detailed
expositions, Baba says,
"Humanity stands to gain or
fall by these ten... They are the synthesis of human thought, experience and
aspiration at their highest. They confirm the possibility of human
perfectibility. They declare and demonstrate that man can secure the
awareness of God as His reality if only he casts off the veil of ignorance
that he now delights to wear."
Gita Retold
Baba's 'Geetha Vahini' is the Bhagavad Gītā
retold in order to save modern man from the myopia of egoistic materialism. He
has declared that He has come to unify and clarify, fructify and fortify the
holy aspirations of man. The doubts and delusions which torment us while we
are engaged in the 'Battle of Kurukshetra'
with our outer and inner kith and kin, are treated here with love and sympathy
by Sai Krishna, who also provides us with
the answers.
I was once taken by an octogenarian pundit, a
professor of sanskrit and a retired inspector of sanskrit schools in the state
of Orissa, to the Gita Mandir that he had built at Puri. He had spent all his
earnings on the construction of this memorial. The temple is in the form of a
magnificent chariot, over twenty feet in height, complete with wheels and
horses. He had explained to me, with a glint in his eye and a tremor in his
voice, the symbols he had got carved around the chariot. The figures
represented various steps in sadhana and stages of spiritual
achievement. There was Hanuman on the flag
of the pole fixed atop the chariot. And when we stood in front of the chariot.
And looked up, I could see two mysteriously real statues seated upon it - the
Lord, and His disciple who was just awakening from his self-inflicted stupor!
It was a moment of thrill for me. I had not expected such a satisfying impact.
I saw the disarming smile on the countenance of the Lord when He recognised
the dawn of self-knowledge on the doubting and dismay-ridden mind of His
disciple.
His hand extended lovingly towards Arjuna as if He
wished to draw him closer to Himself, and on that hand I could see, resting
upon His palm, the book of books - the 'Geetha Vahini'
of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba! I saw Sai
Krishna comforting, consoling and convincing Arjuna.
The pundit knew that Baba's 'Geetha Vahini' was
not a resume or a commentary or an abridgement. It was the voice of Krishna
Himself, ringing over the clash of hate and greed and calling us into more
worthwhile victories.
We are encouraged in 'Geetha
Vahini' to offer Baba the prayer He puts into the heart of Arjuna:
"As you are guiding this chariot, guide me also and show me the
way," for He is in fact the charioteer installed in everybody. The Gītā
as expounded by Baba, is a textbook of yoga
and a guide for sadhana. It is a yogasastra
and brahmavidya rolled into one. Through
simile and story, sneer and laughter, banter and reprimand, question and
counter-question, Baba pours into us the nectar of wisdom.
At Kurukshetra, Krishna said that the mind and its
vagaries can be tamed by abhyasa
(discipline) and vairagya (detachment). In
'Geetha Vahini' Sai Krishna adds vichara
(discriminative reasoning). Baba also analyses the concepts of kshetra,
yajna, yoga
and maya and sheds light on many corners
which the lamps of the ancient masters did not illumine. The ideal of nishkama
karma (selfless action) gets a glow of heroism when He interprets
it as a conscious refusal of the fruits of activity, a courageous turning away
from both triumph and failure.
Self-Revelation
There are many passages in 'Geetha
Vahini' of self-revelation by Baba, where it becomes difficult to
determine who is speaking to us so intimately - Krishna or Sai. "How can
I ever forget him who never forgets Me?" is the question.
"Forgetting is a human frailty. Let me tell you: There is no need for yoga
or tapas, or even jnana.
I only ask you to fix your mind on Me, dedicate it to Me. That is all I
demand, and all that you need to do."
This is the promise of grace which all Arjunas can
hope to receive: Grace revives us when we are in great pain and restlessness.
It revives us when we totter through the dark alleys of a meaningless and
empty life. It revives us when our disgust for our own being, our
indifference, our weakness, our hostility and our total lack of direction and
composure have become intolerable. It revives us when, year after year, the
longed-for perfection does not appear, when stale compulsions reign within us
as they have done for decades, and when despair destroys all happiness and
courage. Sometimes, at that moment, a wave of light breaks into our darkness,
like the voice which Tillich describes in his book, 'The New Being' saying,
'You are accepted.'
'Geetha Vahini'
also condemns fanatic, blinkered gurus and pompous exponents of the Gītā,
whose oratory sounds hollow because they do not themselves practise what the
Gītā preaches.
The Gītā is the central gem in the crest-jewel of
the great Indian epic, the Mahābhārata.
Sage Vyāsa wove this intricate tapestry
of sublime heroism - physical, mental, moral and spiritual. He had also
codified the vedic hymns and rituals. He prepared a magnificent garland of
aphorisms summarising the basic philosophic truths. In spite of his
encyclopaedic scholarship and great creative skill in the realm of thought,
Vyāsa was afflicted by a deep, inner sadness. He had no sweetness or peace
left in him. Nārada, the sage who
propagated the validity of devotion as a means of achieving bliss, had advised
Vyāsa to describe the glories of God who had incarnated as Krishna.
The exposition that did emerge from this advice is called the Bhāgavata
Purāna. And Baba has given it to us again in a sweeter and a more
concise form, as 'Bhagavatha Vahini'.
Sentence of Death
Baba's 'Bhagavatha
Vahini' flows clear and cool, straight from the page to the heart.
The book contains 338 pages, the first 270 and the last 90 of which thrill us
by the narration of the Leelas of Krishna
and of the dedicatory acts of those who received His grace, while about 40
pages are devoted to the vast regions mapped by Vyāsa under the compulsions
of scholastic norms. As a result, 'Bhagavatha Vahini'
is not just a book; it is a tonic, a balm, a pilgrimage, a hallelujah, a
clarion call, a beacon light. It is designed by Baba to loosen our bondage
from the trivial and to tame the wildness of our minds. Vyāsa's son, Suka,
had recited the Bhagavata for the benefit
of King Parikshith, who had been cursed to
die at the end of seven days. The recitation occupied those seven days. Since
the king had filled his mind with this narrative of the glory of the Lord, he
died with the name of God on his lips and the form of God before his eyes.
Each one of us is under such a 'sentence of death', only we do not know when
death will confront us. The 'Bhagavatha Vahini'
can save all those who choose to be free from the fear of death and prepare
them for passing beyond the realm of life, cheerfully and hopefully.
Remembering the Past
The latest of the Vahinis to emerge from Baba's pen is
a lucid narrative of Rama's life, the 'Ramakatha
Rasavahini'. Baba has announced that He is the same Rama come again
to carry out His mission through His horde of followers. Drawn by His love, we
have the same good fortune now to share in His task of remoulding man after
His image.
While recounting the incidents in His life as Rāma,
Baba has included in His narrative certain details of dialogues and diversions
not contemplated by Valmiki or any
subsequent author. He mentions many additional events and encounters which
fill the lacuna that have long disturbed admirers of the Ramāyana.
The controversy over whether Rāma is to be reckoned as an historic prince or
as God incarnate, has been set to rest by Baba. 'Ramakatha
Rasavahini' is the very nectar of the epic.
Letters from Him
The Avatar's pen writes letters to persons anguished
by doubt or defeated by disaster. These letters carry His love and mercy into
their hearts and heal the wounds that fester there. Invariably, they feed and
foster the springs of spiritual striving and help in the growth of love.
No occasion is too routine, too trite or too grand for
Him to play His role as a teacher. Writing to a couple on the occasion of
their marriage, He tells them,
"You are not just boy and
girl coming together. You are Shiva-Sakthi, hyphenated, as truly as I am,
the right and the left halves of the same body. May you be ever in the shade
of joy and contentment; may you both float as one on the waves of ecstatic
love; may you sway merrily on the flower-bedecked swing of faith held by the
ropes of courage and confidence; may this boat which you are boarding this
day, be loaded with happy comradeship and festivity, health and
wholesomeness, to reach safe and smooth at the lotus feet of the Lord. Row
it forward, both of you, with the oars of self-surrender and service, and
let its sails be filled with the breeze of grace."
In a letter to a devotee on his sixtieth birthday. He
writes,
"Awaken! Sathya Sai who
resides in your heart as your loving Mai (Mother), is heaping ananda on you.
He is blessing you that you may have a long life, sound health, peace of
mind, devotion to God, detachment from the transient objects of the world
and success in the search for your own truth, your reality. May you, your
children and your grandchildren be happy and prosperous; may you spread
delight all around you; may you achieve the role of the witness content in
the contemplation of the manifold leelas of God; may you ever be in good and
godly company and may your hours be spent in the recapitulation of the
glories of God. Here, hold forth your palm and receive this Amrita that I am
offering, the amrita of love. No nectar can be sweeter and more
invigorating."
Sai Will Save You
To a ninety-year-old devotee fast sinking into the lap
of the Lord, He wrote,
"Narasamma, accept My
blessings. Sai is in your heart; He will not move away. Say 'Sai' with every
breath; spend every moment repeating that name. Spend all your thoughts
trying to picture Sai standing near you. Sai will save you. You will be
merged in Sai. You will be in Sai eternally."
It need not be said that a gentle calm descended upon
the face of this blessed lady. Seconds before her death she chewed some
vibhuti, miraculously dropped into her mouth by Sai, who gave her both darsan
and prasad as promised.
His letters quicken the pulse, warm the heart and
soothe the pain. A devotee wrote to Him that he had to sorrowfully forego his
visit to Prasanthi Nilayam during the Dasara celebrations, because his mother
was seriously ill. Some months earlier, the government had posted him as
magistrate in a town only a few hundred miles from Prasanthi Nilayam, but he
had prayed to Baba that he may be transferred even nearer. However, he was
actually shunted to a place a thousand miles away on the Bay of Bengal, near
the Orissa border! Baba wrote to him,
"I got your letter. I accept
your prostrations. I am aware of the anguish which you communicate to Me.
The anguish of separation from the One you really adore and love is the best
sadhana. Be brisk in that sadhana. Continue yearning, more and more
ardently. That is the best means of ensuring Sai's presence in your heart. I
know you are happy only when you are in Sai. And, remember always, that your
happiness is My daily food. My dear child! Why are you sad at not being able
to serve Sai during the Dasara festival that is nearing fast. You are sorry
that your mother's illness prevents you from coming to Me. Well, is not
service to your mother, service rendered to Me? The mother who is called
Aay-i, Thaay-i and Maay-i is no other than Saay-i. Serve her, and through
that service, worship her. Why hesitate or doubt or grieve? All the time,
ever with you as close and as alert as the eyelids to the eye, Sai is
guarding you. He is where you are, accepting your day's puja, receiving your
offerings and giving you the Ananda of grace. He will not forget you or give
you up; He will never move out of your heart. Convey My blessings to your
mother. Tell her on My behalf to fix her mind on the Atman as Rāma, to the
exclusion of every other thought. That is the strongest support, the most
reliable refuge. That is the unshakeable, unseen base; the rest are but
short-lived superstructures, mirages, castles in the air. Tell her to have
the name always on the tongue and to meditate on God seated on the swing
that oscillates in her heart. Tell her to picture God playing on the waves
of Ananda inside her consciousness. That is the real sadhana which I teach
every day.
"Convey My blessings to your grihalakshmi (wife, also referred to as
the goddess of prosperity and felicity presiding over the home). You can,
very soon, be in the Presence and derive the Ananda you crave for."
Sai - The Resident of Your Heart
He wrote to an old lady whose husband had died in an
accident:
"Marriage binds two persons
together as husband and wife. What were they to each other minutes before?
The one would not have worried for the other if the wedding had not
happened. Where was the son or the brother before conception? Life is an
interlude between what was and what will be. During this interlude one
should not lament over what cannot be helped or set right, but should seek
God and take refuge in Him. Your husband lived a good life in the light of
the Truth he had glimpsed. He did no wrong to anyone; he loved and served
the suffering and the illiterate; he salvaged many families from penury and
infamy; he helped many young people to go through college; many sick persons
were saved by his timely donations; he was ever cheerful and spread cheer
wherever he went; and, at last, God willed that he cast away the body that
limited him. Of what use is it now to calculate what might have happened had
he not gone to Madras that day?
"Your duty now is to sustain
the greatness he earned, to follow the ideals that he had placed before
himself. Your husband is here, in My presence, and he will be here forever
as he had wished to be, even when alive. Swami will not allow him to be
separated from His presence, he is now free from all bonds and boundaries.
"You are indeed fortunate
that destiny drew you to him and gave you so many years of loving
companionship with such a fine person. His thoughts were pure; there was no
blemish of envy, hatred, or greed in him. So his place is with Me, forever.
I am writing this letter to you in order to shower on you the cool rain of
love. That rain will scotch the flames of grief that are now raging within
you. Your husband is at Prasanthi Nilayam, in the presence of Sai, having
attained that climax by his spiritual aspirations."
The Gītā describes the Lord as the friend of all
beings (sarva bhootha suhrd). These letters reveal that he is more reassuring
than any father, more affectionate than any mother, more considerate than any
kinsman and more just than any human authority. The blessing that Baba confers
on lives dedicated to God who is enshrined within us is, invariably,
everlasting life in Himself.
Top
Words with Wings
Letter to Me
Let me take the liberty of allowing you to read one of
the letters that Baba wrote to me (N. Kasturi) twenty-two years ago. It
illustrates His omnipresence and His omniscience, as well as His boundless
love - attributes that He has decided to demonstrate in this Avataric form in
order to draw into the crucible of transformation the peoples of the world. I
had returned to Bangalore after a long and arduous pilgrimage to the holy
shrines on the Ganges, to Bodhgaya, Dakshineswar, Kamarpukur and Puri. I was
urged to take my mother and wife on this pilgrimage by Baba Himself. He had
blessed us the day we had set out, and assured us that we would have Him with
us during our journey. He had said, "On three
railway tickets, four shall travel." Baba, we knew, is the
stowaway in every ark which breasts the deluge of delusion; He is the
companion of all who progress on the road of pilgrimage.
When I had finished the assignment He had given me, I
wrote to Him at Kodaikanal hill where He was staying at that time, expressing
our gratitude and informing Him that all three of us had clear and tangible
visions of Him at Rishikesh, Varanasi and Gaya. In the reply that I received,
Baba wrote,
"Your letter reached Me at
Kodaikanal in time, but since we came down to Madras that very day, I could
not send you a reply. I reached Madras on the 25th, around midnight. (The
letter is dated 26th.) I am happy that you have returned full of joy after
visiting the holy places with your Mathru Devi (venerable mother). How can
delay, disappointment or danger cross your path when Swami is ever with you?
My name is not distinct from My form. The name recalls the form as soon as
it is pronounced or heard. When the form is seen, the name comes into
awareness that very moment. So, since the name is ever dancing on your
tongue, the form, too, has to be before you and beside you. What need is
there to mention this in your letter as a gift from Me? I have to manifest
the form, whenever and wherever My name is remembered with faith or sung
with devotion.
"You might say that those
visions were boons of grace from Swami. No, I always say, 'Sadhana first,
Sankalpa later'. That is the correct order. My Sankalpa or Will confers
bliss only after assessing the depth of yearning in the devotee. Sadhana is
the essential prerequisite. You were a professor and so you can understand
this easily. You must have evaluated the written answers of your students.
You evaluate and assign them marks only after careful scrutiny of what they
have written, don't you? I, too, measure and weigh the sincerity and
steadiness of the Sadhana you have imposed upon yourself and I frame My
Sankalpa accordingly. Of course, many are not aware that the misery in which
they find themselves can be negated by Sadhana.
"At Kodaikanal, thousands
had gathered for the evening Bhajans. They were having darsan for the first
time in their lives. It was their 'right' to get darsan that had brought Me
to this hill station. For, as you know, I had not planned to come here. It
all happened so suddenly.
'Your daughter was very upset the
other night over her husband's health. His illness had taken a turn for the
worse. I was there when your daughter wrote Me a letter about his condition.
She posted it next morning to the Puttaparthi address. It has not reached Me
yet, but I knew its contents even while it was being written. When Swami's
grace is available in plenty, why fear?"
Dear Child!
Now I wish to quote from a letter written to a devotee
who, due to desperate financial straits, had desired to flee the country and
proceed to Malaysia, but later planned to commit suicide when his steamer
ticket and travel documents were stolen by pickpockets inside the harbor area
at Madras. This letter was written when Baba was twenty-three years of
age:
"Pattabhi, dear devotee.
Swami is writing to you; see, He is blessing you. Dear child, but what
madness is this? What a letter you have written and left at home! It is
foolish to be hasty. Think over your affairs calmly. Slow deliberation
always reveals the true and the beneficial. Think of the crores of people
the world over who are in conditions far worse than yours. Remember always,
you have Me to guard you and guide you. How many of them have this fortune?
Consider that. Are you the only victim of poverty and indebtedness? The step
you are contemplating cannot give you rest or peace. It is not right. It is
not manly to run away from responsibility. Listen to Me! Go back to your
place, be bold and face the world with courage, for courage will set you
free. It will conquer all obstacles. Give up your foolish plan to escape."
And Pattabhi went back, recovered self-confidence and
made a success of himself.
While with these individuals Baba is so gracious, He
does not pardon or pass over indiscipline or ill-behavior among those He wants
should lead exemplary lives. He wrote to a state president of the Sri Sathya
Sai Seva Samithi:
"There is no use My writing
about the Samithis. I have been saying that the next world should be gained
by man's triumph over the fascinations and fancies of this world; but the
members of the Organisation have given up all thought of future lives and
the other world. They behave as if this life, this world, is the only one.
To them, this seems the only measure, the only goal. For such persons,
illumination can be only as faint as the glow-worm in the night. Though the
stars twinkle in the sky and appear as tiny specks when compared in
brightness to the moon, they are really much more brilliant. Each of them is
a hundred suns rolled into one. But for the limited vision of ignorant
onlookers, the star is a spark and the moon a huge source of light. Such men
think of the future, because of its 'distance', as quite trivial, and of the
present, due to its immediate 'proximity', as very important. They pay no
attention to the stars but continue to be overawed by the moon. Civilisation
today is concerned with the atom, but it ignores the Atman."
Read this Aloud
When He is away from Prasanthi Nilayam for long, Baba
often writes letters to be read aloud to the residents. Usually, they are
sharp reminders of the need to respect the rules and regulation He has laid
down for them.
"Blessings to all at the
Mandir!" He writes. "Tell them all to fulfil their assigned duties
and responsibilities. The daily schedule of puja, dhyana, bhajan, sankirtan
and study should be followed punctually and with faithful devotion. People
should move among one another with love and reverence. Of what benefit is
sadhana if it is done without controlling jealousy, envy, pride, anger and
malice? However long you may live in the ashram, these vices will undermine
any merit you acquire. As the proof of the rain is in the dampness of the
ground, so the proof of sadhana is in the subjugation of the senses. Give up
all irrelevant and impertinent talk and activity. Cultivate self-examination
and self-discovery and develop, through discipline, the inner eye. Make the
best of this chance acquired as a result of your good actions in many
previous lives. Of course, Swami's grace and love are always with you, but
to earn them more and more, sadhana has to be done everyday, with greater
and greater enthusiasm. The residents of Puttaparthi and Prasanthi Nilayam
have to pave the way for mankind, so, they have to lead pious, humble and
disciplined lives."
Dear Boys
Now for some letters Bhagavān has written to be read
out to the students of Sri Sathya Sai colleges. Since they have had the
opportunity of a closer association with Baba, and more chances of listening
to intimate expositions from Him on the unity at the base of this illusory
multiplicity, these letters reveal the crux of Baba's teachings regarding the
individual and the universal, the Atman and the Paramatman.
On Janmashtami (celebration of the birth of Lord
Krishna) in 1974, He sent this letter to the college students at
Brindavan. (It may be news to some, but it will not surprise His devotees to
know that these letters are written by Baba Himself in English).
"Come, one and
all," He writes, "and see in Me, yourself, for I see Myself in you
all. You are My life, My breath, My soul. You are My forms, all. When I love
you, I love Myself; when you love yourselves, you love Me. I have separated
Myself from Myself, so that I may love Myself. My beloved ones, you are My
Own Self."
This is only further evidence supporting Baba's
declaration that He created the universe of Himself, with one word, to become
all this diversity (ekoham, bahusyaam).
Let me quote from another letter where Baba indicates
that He is the inner motivator: "My boys," He writes,
"the bird with you, the
wings with Me; the foot with you, the path with Me; the eye with you, the
form with Me; the thing with you, the dream with Me; the world with you, the
heaven with Me - so are we bound, so are we free, so we begin and so we end,
I in you and you in Me."
Viewed superficially, it may appear epigrammatic
effusion, but below the surface lies the treasure of truth: "I am in the
Father and the Father is in Me" (John 14:11). Essentially man is but a
fraction, a fragment, a fiction in search of a fact. God, alone, adds value to
the zero by standing as an integer by its side.
Gustaf Stromberg from Mount Wilson writes, "The
development of a living organism is in many ways like the building of a
machine designed to perform a definite function in the future. A plan must
first be made and this can only be made by an intelligent being, with his
attention focussed not only on his past experience but also on the purpose for
which the machine is constructed. Nature, apparently, has foresight and
intelligence, and it is capable of highly organised activity. Since an
impersonal nature cannot have such characteristics, we are led to the idea of
a personal God." The letter of Baba mentioned above, is reminiscent of
such a One.
The self and the Self
Now the letter unravelling the truth of each of us,
addressed to the students on Janmashtami, Lord Krishna's birthday:
Dear boys,
In the world of today, so full of
people who are selfish, unloving and unloved, the brand of atheism known as
'self-love' has spread to the extent of almost becoming a universal
religion.
What is the Self? It is the Self
that says 'not I', for if it says 'I', then it is the unreal self. The real
Self is selfless, and has no thought either of or for itself. It is the Self
that has now forgotten itself, because somehow, it can visualise itself only
in others. It is the Self that loves selflessly, because pure love is but
selfless affection. It is the Self that seeks the truth with selfless
determination, because truth is selfless wisdom. It is the Self that is
quiet, because in silence lies cessation from all worldliness. It is the
Self in wordless meditation, because wordless meditation is the conquest of
the mind through union with the Divine. It is the Self that does not judge,
but evaluates. It does not compare, seek security, or even see itself. It is
the Self that has completely absorbed itself and yet, in a strange and
mystical fashion, it is more itself, more complete and more real than it has
ever been. This is the real Self.
God is love, and love is
selflessness. Selflessness is the abolition of all sense of the ego and
separativeness, of all spurious identification with the isolationist life of
that counterfeit thing called 'self'; self is separativeness, and
separativeness is the denial of wholeness, holiness, God.
The denial of God is known as
atheism. As can now be understood, atheism is not the denial of this or that
religion or of this or that concept of God. It is rather the denial of a
life of love, which is the nature of God, and the assertion of the life of
the egoistic self. In short, real atheism is the denial of love and the
assertion of selfishness.
The Godward process called
'self-sacrifice' is, in its essence, love. For God is love, and love alone
can lead to Him. As the most godly act is one of love, the most godless act
is one of hate.
But hate, which is separativeness,
can arise only when there is selfishness. Thus it comes to pass, that the
most godless, loveless, atheistic act, is the act of selfishness.
Love must be totally selfless to be
Godward, to be Divine. Its criterion must be, 'the Beloved, first'; its
technique must be 'your happiness before mine'. The way to happiness is to
forget oneself and to remember God, Sai Krishna.
With Blessings and Love, Sri Sathya
Sai
His Two Eyes
There is a mysterious episode concerning an Indian
couple who live in America. The husband, Dr. Y.S. Thathachari, is a dedicated
biophysicist who has worked for some years at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and after that at Stanford University and the University of
California. As early as 1960 he suffered, as the doctors suspected, from
rheumatoid arthritis. But the experts who examined him at Stanford - after
dozens of X-rays, brain scans with radioactive mercury, a surgical excision,
chemical tests and a biopsy of the scalp lesions (he had developed several
bumps on the scalp) - declared that he had "aggressively malignant and
metastasising tumors in the skull, the neck, the ribs and the hips, the cancer
having the features of both ewings and retiaulum cell sarcoma." It was a
death sentence enveloped in medical abracadabra! In a letter to me on this
judgement, Thathachari wrote, "Thus after delivering blow after blow, the
surgeon told me, 'Sir, miracles do happen. We hope such a miracle would happen
to you.' " That was in 1962. The couple returned home to Madras to be in
the midst of relatives, while trying out palliative therapies.
In January 1964, doctors at Madras discovered
widespread destruction in the pelvic bones. Soon they pronounced that the
liver was affected by the cancer. Let Thathachari complete the account of what
transpired:
"In 1965, I felt like seeking the blessings of
Bhagavān S'rī Sathya Sai Baba, following a chance reference by a friend.
Baba blessed me and my wife and directed us to go back to Stanford, continuing
the endoxan, if I wished to do so. In 1970, when I approached Him again, He
asked me to discontinue all drugs and dietary supplements. He gave me an
assurance of cure and dispelled that ever-present dread of recurrence."
Thathachari is now pursuing his teaching assignment and research projects in
America with undiminished zeal, thanks to the 'miracle' that happened. When
asked how he brought about this most wondrous miracle that defied all medical
predictions, Baba replied, "All I did was to
invest him with confidence and willpower to cure himself. It is My abounding
love reciprocated by the intensity of the devotee's own faith, that finally
produced the desired result."
About three years ago Baba wrote to them,
"My dears! I know that
though your bodies are far, far away, your thoughts are with Sai. That
awareness and attachment is sufficient to keep Me near. Thoughts have no
walls or boundaries; they can reach Me across the oceans. There is no one
without Me; I am with and within every one.
"When only the body is near
but the thoughts are afar, the situation is like frogs leaping around a
lotus flower. But bees know of the ambrosia that the lotus is ready to give;
they yearn to partake of its sweetness and ever hasten towards it. Bangaroo!
(a word meaning 'gold', which is applied to a child who is charming and
well-behaved.) You have Swami's grace in plenty. Where the Name is, there is
the Form.
"Busy yourselves with
the duties which are entrusted to you, in good spirit and fine health. Sai
is ever by your side. He is the charioteer of the vehicle
of your life. The ship of life, however heavily loaded with the cargo of
joys and sorrows, can certainly arrive at the harbor of self-realisation, if
it is propelled by holy mental energy. Repetition of the Name is the
'dug-dug-dug' of the pistons; the steering wheel is love; the anchor is
faith. Continue the journey in confidence. Sai is always guarding you from
harm and pain. You both are like His two eyes. Swami is constantly showering
His compassion on you. He counsels you from within and corrects you. On your
part, be immersed in the duties entrusted to you; remember, that is Swami's
work. When you discharge your duties, convinced that the work is Mine,
health and happiness will be added unto you."
When a devotee, R. Lal, telegraphed from Bombay that
he had a severe heart attack, Baba wrote to him, "It
is not in any way connected with your heart. Do not exaggerate the small
malfunction. Shiva-Shakthi is in your heart; that Shiva-Shakthi will not
permit any infirmity or injury to affect it. Be happy. This day, Mother Sai is
conferring on you the boon of Her love. That will grant you health, joy,
peace, courage and contentment."
This is how He consoled a stricken Hindu wife:
"Mother, the news that your
husband attained merger with the Divine came to you all of a sudden. It is
quite natural that you were shocked at the accident which killed him, and
feel miserably lonely and deserted. The daughters of Mother India do revere
their husbands as their all, and are ever concerned about their health,
honor and peace of mind. Yet one should not forget that the body is
composite of diverse elements. It must disintegrate into those elements,
however much one might guard it or lay claim over it. It is a feeble
contraption, prone easily to be put out of action. A slip, a stumble, a hit,
a sneeze, a little carelessness or a moment of recklessness, is enough to
damage or destroy it. No one can avoid death, even if one manages to
lengthen one's life by avoiding all these. Even avatars take birth resolving
to die some day. When birth occurs, death has to follow. To grieve over
death, which is an inevitable and inescapable consequence of birth, is not a
sign of wisdom."
About ten years ago, He wrote a letter to a devotee in
Gujarat:
"Two fundamental messages
ringing through Indian culture down the centuries are: 'Revere the mother as
Divine. Revere the father as Divine.' These are sacred commands. When the
parents are by-passed and hurt by disobedience, I am sure I, too, will soon
be by-passed and disobeyed. When your son treats you a non-existent, how can
he claim to revere Me? That claim is patently false.
"The Lord does not demand
external grandeur; He examines only whether internal purity exists. A life
lived badly is like a body without life. The body, in Sanskrit, is called
Deha, meaning 'that which has to be consigned to flames'. A body belonging
to a person who does not strive for inner purity can live only for that
consummation, to justify that appellation. It serves no other purpose, and
it cannot be blessed by the grace of the Lord."
"The value of education has
to be measured in terms of the virtue it implants, because virtue, alone,
ensures peace and joy. Without it a man is as good as dead, or even worse.
Education must endow man with a sharp, discriminative capacity. But for your
son, it is an ugly and vulgar acquisition. (sathya, dharma, santhi and prema
are the cardinal virtues.) Sathya is what I teach; Dharma is the way I live;
Santhi is the mark of My personality; Prema is My very nature."
The Will and the Way
Here are two more messages sent to the Hostel boys:
-
'Where there is a will there is a
way' is absolutely true. At first the will is your own. It has to be
strengthened by the assent of God; but until you convert it into the
almighty will of God, you seem to be playing a particular game which you
do not desire to give up. You can always change the game, if you so wish.
You are not weak and helpless. All strength and power is within you.
God-vision is yours the instant you will it with concentration. But you
simply don't choose to do so.
"Sai is not mocking, He is
perfectly earnest. He is giving expression to the truths gathered from the
depths of experience. 'trust in, and submission to the supreme will in all
circumstances', means 'the vision of truth' or 'realisation of the eternal
principle of all creation'. 'If God Wills' means, 'if you assert your own
all-powerful will'. The real solution, therefore, is to awaken the
inherent power and splendor of your soul. Do it, boys! You are verily the
immortal truth, the great changeless reality. May victory ever be yours.
With blessings, Baba."
-
"Boys, through the awareness
of the divine, alone, can we bring true peace to the world. There is no
doubt that considerable effort is being made by great leaders of the world
to bring about peace and harmony on the material plane. But Sai does not
see any sign of their success.
"The only way left for us is
to turn our minds within ourselves and to find out that the true and
everlasting basis, that supreme source from which, alone, we can bring
true happiness and peace to the world. That basis is God, who is, in fact,
dwelling in the hearts of every one of us. He is the universal spirit.
"Every one of you is an
embodiment of the divinity. You are Sath-Chith-Ananda, but have
forgotten this truth. Realise it now. Meditate on the reality until your
mind dissolves and you stand revealed as truth itself, and enjoy, as Sai
has been enjoying, that eternal bliss. With blessings, Baba."
He Teaches through Letters
Pundit Veerabhadra Sarma is a renowned Vedic scholar.
He can expound the sacred scriptures and hold vast gatherings spellbound for
hours by the clarity, simplicity and sincerity of his Telugu oratory. He is
also a leading minstrel of the popular Burrakatha musical recitals, and has
composed a Sanskrit 'Sai Geetha' and 'Puja
Vidhana' on classical lines. He was chosen to be a member of the party
that undertook the pilgrimage to Badrinath when Bhagavān decided to bless
that holy Himalayan shrine.
In spite of these unique distinctions, his material
poverty was so acute that one day he blamed Baba for 'neglecting him and
heaping upon him misery after misery.' His wife, who could not bear this
sacrilege, offered to write to Baba about the situation. She was certain that
His blessings would clear the sky. But Sarma was adamant. 'No prayer should
proceed from either of us to Baba, who has mercilessly betrayed our
trust," he insisted. This was on 20th January 1962, at Kakinada, eight
hundred miles from Prasanthi Nilayam. Bhagavān, of course, sensed his pique
and was aware of his obstinacy. So he wrote Sarma a letter Himself, which
reached him on 23rd January 1962. Sarma revealed to me its contents. The
letter is a miniature Gītā which reveals
the love that Baba showers upon those who are misguided and move away from His
fold, the courage He instils by revealing to the desperate their own inner
treasure of strength and the course He lays down for their liberation from the
entanglement of ignorance.
It reads thus:
"Dear child
Veerabhadram! You are Bhadram (secure, happy, full of confidence and joy),
aren't you? You might ask, 'What kind of Bhadram is this? Of course, that
question is natural. When life flows
clear and smooth with no hurdles to cross, to feel that it is so because of
oneself and to forget God, and when that flow encounters obstacles and
obstructions at every turn, to lament and lose heart - are these not signs
of the intellectual frailty inherent in man? You, too, are human, dear
Bhadram, therefore it is no wonder that you are overcome by depression and
despair when troubles bother and obstruct you at every step.
"Though the life of man is
basically a manifestation of immortality and an unbroken stream of ananda,
he strays away from the awareness of the atman, the spring of that ananda,
slavishly yielding to the vagaries of the mind, the intellect and the ego.
Sinking and floating, rising and falling on the turbid waves of the sea of
delusion, he is tossed between anxiety and calm, grief and joy, pain and
pleasure. He is afflicted with the evanescence of the world and the
unreality of his desires.
"Why are you confounded and
confused by this false panorama? Remember, you are thereby despising and
denying your own atmic identity. You have stored in your brain the Vedas,
the Sastras, the Purānas, the Ithihasas and the Upanishads, but you behave
like a dull boor. You bewail your lot and weep at your plight as if you had
no resources to fall back upon. This attitude is not worthy of the learning
you have accumulated. You have to draw strength and courage therefrom and
further the blossoming of holy, heartening thoughts.
"Should this one single
trouble - want of money - make you stoop in weakness and fear? You have with
you the name which is the Dhanavanthri (Divine Physician) for all the ills
and anxieties of man. Instead of letting that Name dance joyously on your
tongue, why are you paying so much attention to what you call loss, grief
and worry?"
"You are the repository of
so many branches of scriptural scholarship, but you have neither realised
their value nor attempted to experience the joy they can give you. This must
be your prime goal. Instead, you are spending your days in the mere
satisfaction of having acquired this knowledge, as if fluent oratory were
the best purpose to which you could devote your learning. The result is that
you are led into the baseless belief of being attacked by anxieties and
adversities."
"Really speaking, these are
all objective phenomena, passing clouds that are but a feature of the
external nature. The ananda that the atman can confer on you cannot be
lessened or hindered in the least. Have firm faith in this truth. Don't you
know, bangaroo, the freedom, the delight and the tranquillity you can derive
by contemplation of the ananda that the unbroken awareness of the atman can
endow you with? Knowing this, even if you are confronted by the seemingly
most insurmountable problem, how can you get entangled with or be affected
by circumstances and phenomena in the objective world?"
"To preach to
others is quite easy, but to put even a fraction of what is preached into
actual practice and experience the felicity promised, is extremely
difficult. You have been announcing in ringing tones that 'Swami knows
everything; Swami is the unitive embodiment of all the names and forms by
which man has adored God down the ages. But when problems overwhelm you, you
forget to establish these truths in your own life."
"Don't I know?
The other day, when you had been reduced to plead with your father for help
and when you were about to proceed to where he resides, your wife suggested,
'we shall write to Swami about our troubles and losses', let Me ask why you
told her, 'I won't allow this; you should not write'? I shall even tell you
the reason. You thought she might inform Me about various other details.
Don't I know? Can I know this only if she writes to Me? Foolish
bangaroo!"
"Don't I know
that you went to Ramachandrapuram to give a series of talks on the Gītā
and returned with a minus balance? The Gītā discourses did not receive the
response you expected because your talk was pervaded and polluted by the
Burrakatha style that has long struck root in you. It cannot be easily
overcome. Bear with it patiently and, with steady effort, be rid of it. If
you desire that your Gītā lectures be appreciated, some improvements are
called for. Without effecting them, why do you moan, be gloomy and dejected,
blaming your scholarship and your experience as mere useless loads.
"Well, for Me,
who is fostering all these worlds, fostering you and your family is no
burden. I am giving you these series of troubles in order to teach you some
lessons. Study is not all important. Practising what you have learnt is very
necessary. My purpose is to bring to your notice this facet of the process
of learning."
"Let Me tell
you this. He who plants a sapling cannot but water it; if he had no will to
water it, he would not have planted it at all. This is the identifying
principle of the jiva and the atman, the individual and the universal, man
and god. You had written and published that the name of Swami is dancing and
the form of Swami is being adored in home after home. And by this little
vision, you were filled with ananda. But know now, that the name of Sai will
arouse ecstatic delight filling the entire world, nay, every inch of it.
People now sing 'All is Sai-full, this world is Baba-full.' This fullness
will be realised, without doubt. Be bold; be in bliss; take up the burden of
the duties assigned to you. Seek realisation through the four stages leading
man to God - Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha."
"When you
resolve to progress on these lines, the Lord of Parthi will Himself be
available to you to lift you and liberate you. Therefore, bangaroo, seek and
gain your own motivating principle. I will never give you up. I will not
forget you, no, never."
"You have been
maligning the rich; give up this erroneous habit. Not only the rich but you
should not dishonor any one in any way. If they are bloated in their ego,
they will suffer. How can it affect you? Remember, Sai resides in all; so
maligning another means maligning Sai Himself."
"Convey my
blessings to your wife and children. I have written this long letter out of
the compassion and love that I bear towards you. Be ever in joy; be ever
intent on practice and experience. The Resident of your heart, Sai."
Telegraphic Words
Bhagavān conveys a world of meaning, an
ocean of grace or a Gītā of wisdom, even through a short telegram. When
Walter Cowan, whom He had revived from death, passed away at last, nineteen
months after his 'coming back', Baba's telegram to his wife, Elsie, from Prasanthi
Nilayam declared, "Walter arrived
here in good shape"! Dwell on that sentence for a while.
Walter had uttered, "Baba! Baba!" just before he passed away, for he
was filled with years of grateful devotion. And soon after, Baba announced
that Walter's soul had arrived. Similarly, when Narayana Bhat of Alike was
killed in a motor accident, Baba had sent a message to his mother which read,
"Narayana Bhat has merged in Me."
Sai Baba autographs books, pictures and
photographs, while walking between the rows of seated devotees and visitors.
Very often He simply writes His name as we know it; at other times, He may
write 'Blessings' or 'Blessings
with Love'. Once, when someone reached out with a photograph of His
having a dark background to be autographed, He borrowed a pen and wrote with
it in a white script, the blue-black ink in the pen obligingly turning white.
Thus, the method, style and content of His message - all are uniquely
elevating.
Words Do His Will
Baba's words are known to cure not only
every type of disease or ailment, but also to effect a miraculous change of
attitude towards truth in the most incorrigible persons.
Sri M.K. Mishra, a mining engineer from
Morena district in Madhya Pradesh, writes,
"Some of the northern
districts of this state - Bhind, Morena, Gwalior, Shivpuri and Datia - and
some adjoining districts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, were infested with
dacoits since the dawn of India's independence. The governments of Madhya
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan tried their utmost to decimate them, but
in vain. The dacoits were virtually in control of these districts. In 1960,
Acharya Vinobha Bhave toured this region in order to persuade the dacoits to
give up their life of crime. He was able to persuade a few of them to
surrender. In October 1971, Madho Singh, who was the leader of the most
prominent gang, approached Sri Jaya Prakash Narain to persuade him to take up
the unfinished work of Acharya Vinobha Bhave. With the help of the Sarvodaya
workers, J.P. contacted various gangs of dacoits. Ultimately his efforts bore
fruit and about four hundred dacoits agreed to surrender.
"One problem that was agitating the
minds of the dacoits as well as the sarvodays leaders, was whether the dacoits
should make an open confession of their crimes. Some sarvodaya leaders advised
the dacoits to contest the criminal cases started against them in court. The
dacoits were also of the same view."
"On 23rd August 1972, Srimati
Prabhavati asked Sri Hem Dev Sharma, secretary of the shanti mission in
Gwalior, to bring a copy of the Hindi translation of Part II of 'Sathyam
Sivam Sundaram', written by professor Kasturi. Sri Hem Dev Sharma's
neighbor was a devotee of Baba, so he was able to procure the book from her.
On that day, J.P. addressed the dacoits and read out the story of Kalpagiri as
narrated in chapter six ['with wounded wings'] of this book. Bhagavān's
advice to Kalpagiri, who had committed heinous murders and who was roaming
about disguised as a sannyasi, to go to the police to make a clean-breast
confession and undergo cheerfully the punishment he may be awarded, was
listened to by the hard-boiled dacoits. It touched their hearts deeply, and
convinced them that their real salvation lay not in refuting their misdeeds or
trying to secure acquittals from law courts but in confessing them humbly in a
spirit of repentance."
Top
Moves in His Game
Interludes
Death is our birthright, a gift everyone can claim. It
is a relief for the tired and a refuge for the persecuted, a lesson for the
wayward, a jolt for the epicurean, a milestone for the pilgrim, punishment for
the poltroon and paradise for the faithful.
Baba's elder sister's husband died at a young age,
when he was just twenty-five years old. Baba chided me for shedding tears. He
asked, "If there is to be no birth and no death,
how am I to spend My time?" Death is but a move in His game,
an 'exit' in the divine play, at which the player has to leave the stage. Baba
says that the finitude of the body and the infiniteness of the soul have to be
stoically accepted. He creates ash and applies it to our brow to remind us of
death, and the change of the body thereafter into a heap of ashes. That helps
us develop detachment towards worldly things and turn our gaze towards lasting
values.
Baba has come to assign death its legitimate place in
the scheme of existence, neither more nor less. He brought Walter Cowan back
from the region beyond death because, as He said, "he has not completed
the work he has to do." Baba does not will the effacement of death.
"Why do living beings die?" we
ask. "For the reason they are born,"
He answers. Anything put together has to disintegrate; anything that
originates has to end. But man can escape rebirth by cutting off the roots,
namely the deposits of karmas, good and
bad, that burden his account in the book of God. Achieve a nil balance not by
the renunciation of your physical, mental and intellectual activity, but by
the renunciation of the fruits thereof. Doing your righteous duty, be
indifferent towards the fruit of your actions. God gave you body, mind and
intellect; God also planted desire and designed the entire plan. Let the fruit
of His grace belong to Him. Then, there is neither plus nor minus in your
account. You need not come again to balance it. So long as your actions are
not totally selfless and duty-bound, you must accoutre yourself in a physical
body in order to transcend from the limited to the unlimited. Baba told
Schulman, "I know how your past has shaped you
and I watch you shaping your future. I know why you suffer, how long you have
to suffer and when your suffering will end."
While gifting a rosary of 108 pearls to Indra Devi,
Baba said, "Keep this on the sick person and help him to pray for
recovery. He will be cured." "Of any illness?" asked Indra
Devi. "No," said Swami, "not if the illness is a form of
payment for karmic debt." A rosary was given by Baba to Shrimati
Venkatamuni of Madras. When her aged mother-in-law approached the threshold of
death, her bed surrounded by many of her kith and kin, she placed the rosary
on her chest and prayed for her recovery. Her mother-in-law did regain
consciousness and sat up to greet the dawn of another day, curious to know the
reason why the house was so full of people. When her own son, afflicted with
frequent fits since childhood, was dangerously on the verge of death, Shrimati
Venkatamuni ran to her room to bring the rosary. But her fingers could not
hold it; it slipped out of her grasp again and again. When she could at last
hold it and take it to her son, it was too late. The illness was a form of
repayment of karmic debt which, when repaid, gave him release. Baba told her
later that her son was here to liquidate the balance of his debt and he had
now attained the region of everlasting bliss. "If you have genuine
affection for him," He said, "be happy that he has been relieved of
the body that gave him no peace."
Father and Son
Shri Soundararajan, the renowned singer of South
India, was pathetically distraught when doctors declared that his daughter's
heart could be saved by an operation possible only in the USA. But Baba cured
her in a remarkably short time. He created a Rudraksha seed and directed her
to drink the water in which it had been ceremonially washed. Shri
Soundararajan's son had been ailing from a malignant type of jaundice. When
the doctors gave up all hope, he was brought home and placed before a portrait
of Baba, at his own request. Shri Soundararajan put through a telephone call
to Baba at Prasanthi Nilayam. He was able to contact Baba, but the line was
subject to so much disturbance that neither could his prayer be conveyed to
Baba nor could he catch the voice of Bhagavān. His son passed away with the
name of Baba on his lips. Later, Baba told Soundararajan that his son was a
great soul who had achieved liberation from the bonds of birth and death after
paying off the little balance of his karmic debt.
Baba addressed a mammoth meeting at a football field
at Rajahmundry. Two weeks later He received a letter from one who, with his
son by his side, had heard Him speak that day. "My son was so inspired
by the discourse and by the Bhajans that he
became totally immersed in You. He was constantly doing Bhajan
and reciting Your glory and Your majesty. He passed away while he was in that
heightened consciousness. I am glad I could claim such a pure soul as my son.
We gladly performed the last rites knowing that he had attained the highest
goal attainable by man." There are cases of Baba conferring this boon
directly, when prayed for.
The eight-year-old daughter of a lady known as
Chincholi Rajamma, used to visit Puttaparthi with her mother in the forties.
She skipped and ran, laughed and crooned, and flitted about like a ray of
sunshine in the presence of Baba. One evening, while Baba was about to proceed
with a small group of devotees to the Chitravathi sands, she brought His
sandals and placed them on the ground before Him. Baba patted her on her head
and said, "What do you want? Tell me." She surprised everyone and
shocked her mother by her reply: "I want to be absorbed in You."
Baba said, "You are a child; you have to get married, bring up a family
and make your mother happy." But the girl insisted that these things were
trivial when compared with mergence in Him. Where from did she learn all this,
people wondered. Baba wiped her tears and said, "Your father is no more;
you have to be with your mother." But she protested "If, as you say,
I get married, I will still have to leave my mother. No, I wish You would
shelter me for ever." Baba was silent for a while. His response to the
agony of the tender heart was, "Good, Good," and He tweaked her
cheek. Five days later at Bangalore, on a Thursday, she died peacefully
with her eyes fixed on a portrait of Baba which she had herself adorned with
garlands barely three hours before, while continuously reciting Bhajans. The
mother is now grateful that the Lord has welcomed her daughter into His arms.
Sri Ranajodh Singh was for some years, in the thirties
of this century, the inspector-general of police in Mysore state. His daughter
was suffering from acute colitis which prevented her from taking food and
drink. Her parents were devotees of Baba and she, too, had deep faith in His
divinity. It was a Thursday when Baba surprised them with a visit. He
spoke compassionately to the patient and, creating a dosa - hot, tasty and
crisp, with the fragrance of fine ghee - gave it to the girl to eat. When Sri
Ranajodh Singh prayed that He bless them with a visit the next Thursday also,
Baba did not reply but left the house. On the ensuing Thursday, the girl sat
up on her bed, had a bath and did puja
before Baba's portrait. Then saying, "See! Baba is calling me!" she
left her body behind. Baba had long ago created for her a silver plate with
the markings of two feet which He called Vishnu Padam
(the Feet of Vishnu), which was always reverentially kept under her pillow.
When she died, the plate disappeared and was never traced again in spite of an
intensive search. The parents were filled with supreme gratitude for, as some
Americans who tended a young man named Steve at Whitefield, when he was
nearing his end through cancer, declared, "If only people knew how
resplendent it is to die in Baba." On his last day, Steve stopped
'reliving his days of drugs and alcohol' and emerged from the purificatory
ordeal with an illuminating prayer on his lips and an expression of delight on
his face, when his prayer was answered by Baba.
Dr. Kraemer of Honolulu writes in the same strain of
gratitude, "This is to inform you of the sad yet glorious news of Meeke's
passing away. She must have passed straight into the hands of Baba. She was so
peaceful, so smiling, so completely without the slightest trace of
apprehension or anxiety, and she could think of Baba's name until the very
last moment."
On His Palm They Saw
A certain person was a captain during the second world
war, but since he died of a commonplace disease in a civil hospital, his widow
did not get much by way of pension. So she had to earn some money teaching
music, in order to keep her three children - two daughters and a son - in
elementary ease. The son passed his B.Sc. examination with a first class from
the Madras University, while still in his teens. The army authorities gave him
a job in their cantonment office at Bangalore. His mother, who was overwhelmed
with joy, sent him to offer homage to the family deity, Venkatachalapathi [Venkateshwara,
Venkateshwer or Venkatachalapathi,
is another form of Lord Vishnu who is also very popular as a Hindu deity],
in the temple on the Thirumalai Hills in Andra Pradesh, so that he could join
duty at Bangalore with divine blessings.
However, what did happen was that the boy got drowned
in the holy tank of the temple. His body was in police custody for two days as
it was unidentified. The anxious mother was confronted by the photograph of
her son's corpse which appeared in the daily papers. But, Baba appeared to her
in a dream and directed her to come to Puttaparthi. There she was taken by a
mysterious stranger to the Presence. Bhagavān called her and her children for
the precious interview. "Don't weep," He said, "for your son
who led a disciplined life and was full of devotion, has now merged with God.
When he has found the lotus feet of Bliss, you should not indulge in
grief." But she could not be consoled.
Then Baba said, "I know your heart is broken
since you could not have even a last glimpse of his body. See, it is
here." Saying this, He spread His palm in front of her, and she could
clearly see the events of that fateful pilgrimage appear upon it: The son
slipped on the steps of the tank, and a few people jumped in to save him. It
was too late. Even first-aid could not revive him. A lotus-like bunch of
flames rose from his body and proceeded towards the innermost shrine where the
idol of Venkatachalapathi is installed, disappearing in a blaze of glory at
the Lord's feet. Then she saw the idol come alive and change into a charming
image of Baba Himself.
After some time Baba spoke to her, "Mother,
the one you loved as your son was a staunch devotee of the Lord during his
previous life. He was engaged in Tapas for twelve years on the steps of this
very holy temple tank. His deepest desire was to attain Jala Samadhi
(Water-mergence) in those sacred waters. To fulfil that desire he took birth
again and, as your guru, has led you to Me. Remain in Puttaparthi, ever
singing the glory of Venkatachalapathi, who has accepted your son into His
fold."
Today is Thursday
Sri Ramakrishna, professor at the Victoria college,
Palghat, was returning home during the afternoon recess, when an old man
stopped him in the middle of the road. He appeared to the astonished professor
as the very embodiment of the Sai Baba of Shirdi. He said in Tamil, "Today
Is Thursday," as if that was a strange piece of news, "so
I am taking Ramesh with me." Ramesh was the professor's fourteen-year-old
son. He had left for school that morning. The professor hurried home to
discover that Ramesh had come home from school with high fever. He kept
himself alive only until he could see his father and mother together at his
bedside. The father wrote to me, "How kind of Baba to tell me that He was
taking Ramesh, whom He had given me as a boon, and that too on a Thursday, the
day when He advises us to offer ourselves at His feet." Some weeks later,
at Ootacamund, Baba called in the professor and his wife for an interview, and
confirming His announcement, blessed the boy's picture in his bungalow with
showers of Vibhuti.
The mother of Lynn, a girl from San Diego on the
pacific coast of America, also had the consoling thought that it was a Thursday
when her daughter fell from a tree and died, while attempting to save her
younger brother from a dog. Lynn adored Baba. She was the brightest child in
her Bal Vikas group. Her mother bore the
calamity courageously and calmly, for Baba had granted her the wisdom to bear
such blows of fate.
On 31st December 1973, I had a letter from New Delhi
from a bereaved father. He wrote, "I know I will not get any reply from
you, as you are very busy. But I must write what I feel, because it helps me
in getting nearer to my Lord, Sai Baba."
"I lost my daughter in Safdarjung hospital on
21st December 1973. She died of burns. During the eight days I was with her,
Baba was always 'with me'. His presence gave me so much courage and peace that
I could face the ordeal without a tear or murmur, and could accept it as His
doing. I know that her death was so ordained; that is why my prayers to Baba
failed. But His blessings were constantly with us, and His Charanamrit
and Vibhuti were given to her before
death. You will be glad to know that her end was very peaceful. Her bodily
agony was not anywhere as great as similar patients in her ward. Please convey
my thanks to the Lord."
When an aged devotee, Raval Seshagiri Rao was on the
last breath of life, Baba entered his room at Prasanthi Nilayam and revived
him while helping him sip coffee. He was privileged to have been in charge of
the shrine for over fourteen years. He was well-versed in the scriptures and
very regular in japa and puja.
As a matter of fact, he was passing out with the Upanishads
on his tongue and Baba before his eyes. "The
five fundamental elements which, in combination, became this body of mine, are
now parting company," He said. "What a glorious
death," I said to myself. But Baba knew that he had yet to pay the last
instalment of his karmic debt. So He
turned to him and reprimanded him saying, "Why did you embark on this
journey without first securing a ticket from Me? Get down! Do your shrine
duties as usual. Attend the forenoon Bhajans
and perform Arati." [see also: Signs
and Wonders, for the story of Raval Seshagiri Rao] There is no need to add
that he did as he was told.
You Cannot Die
Let us consider the confession of a person living in
Bangalore, who was preparing to die. Vrajlal P. Parekh wrote on 18th August
1972, "Six years ago, I sat in the Darsan
line around the Sai Ram tree at Brindavan in Whitefield. Baba granted me a
private interview. He exposed my private thoughts and worries and blessed me
with the words, 'Be confident; have peace of mind. Baba's blessings are with
you.' I was not blessed with vibhuti. My
faith in Him strayed hither and thither when my luck ran down in business, and
I was caught in much anxiety. Though I had secured a diploma in commerce in
1938, I found myself unfit in modern business techniques, and was financially
completely ruined. I was sorely dejected, and decided to separate my soul from
this body. I purchased a bottle of Tik-20 and kept it in a secret place. After
having deeply thought over the matter, I decided to make use of the poison on
4th September 1970, the night of Ganesh Chaturthi.
"But my elder sister, who had been ailing for a
few months, passed away suddenly that very day, as if bidding me to postpone
my suicidal act. I could not understand the mysterious ways of Baba. I became
more gloomy and finally fixed the date and time as 4 p.m., Friday, 11th
September 1970, to swallow the poison with a pinch of vibhuti,
so that I might have a peaceful end. I went to my shop early that morning with
the bottle in my pocket. I was alone and no customer was expected in the
afternoon. I was feeling happy as the time fixed for death was approaching. I
was reading the Sanathana Sarathi which
had come at noon by post, wondering how I would experience the miracle of Baba
while dying into Him.
"At 1.30 p.m. two plainclothes men walked into my
shop and wanted me to accompany them to the Seshadripuram police station. I
could not imagine why I was wanted. In a terribly confused state, I closed the
shop and went with them. The bottle was in my shirt pocket. At the station I
was told that the inspector had gone out. I was told that there was a warrant
for my arrest from a magistrate at Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. Then I realised
that a case had been filed by a Moradabad merchant for non-payment of a bill
by me. I had explained my difficulties to him and pleaded for being allowed
some time to make the payment, but he did not believe me and proceeded against
me in court, charging me with cheating. The warrant was bailable, but I had to
present a surety.
"Meanwhile I was asked to go into the 'lock-up'.
The police officer said, 'Take out all the articles in your pockets and place
them on this table before you go in.' I hesitated on account of the bottle. I
said that it was only a civil case and prayed to him not to send me in. He
sympathised with me and allowed me to sit on a bench beside him. I then sent
for my elder brother, who arrived there very soon. I handed over the tell-tale
bottle to him just as it was, wrapped in paper, and asked him to keep it at
home without telling anyone. He was also to get someone to stand surety for
me.
"Just on the stroke of 4 p.m. (!) the inspector
of police arrived and ordered that I be put in the cell. He would not give ear
to my pleadings or explanations. I recalled Bhagavān's assurance, 'Baba's
blessings are always with you.' I felt most happy when I discovered that Baba
had prevented my suicide. I saw Baba in the cell, laughing at me for my folly.
"I was in the cell for hardly four minutes. My
brother came with the surety and I was released. My brother scolded me
severely for having kept poison in my pocket. Baba had foiled my first attempt
by causing the sudden death of my sister, simultaneously releasing her from
the painful ailment which she could not endure in her old age. Again, he
foiled my second attempt by causing a warrant from 1.800 miles to be served on
me, and have me go into the cell without the bottle at the exact time fixed by
me for suicide. It is indeed beyond human comprehension to gauge His
mystery."
You Have Come
Many who have come within the horizon of heavenly
grace have died in peace and joy, pronouncing the name of Baba or even
declaring that they had been blessed by Baba's darsan.
Baba says that we cry koham at the time we
are born, puzzled by the problem, 'Who am I?'
Likewise, when we die, we should draw the last breath in joy, uttering Soham,
'I am That.' "Baba is calling
me," "Baba is here by my side," profess devotees before they
pass away. On the day when Baba had the Cowans with Him at Whitefield to
shower further grace on the resurrected Walter and his wife, He asked Walter
to narrate his experience at Madras while ostensibly accompanying Baba to the
Seat of Judgement. When Walter had finished his narration, there was a strange
flutter in the minds of all present. Indra Devi spoke on the overwhelming
compassion of Baba. She described how Baba had fulfilled a boon which He had
granted years earlier to my mother: "I shall give you divine nectar when
you leave this world," Baba had said. She left for her heavenly abode one
noon, at Prasanthi Nilayam, when Baba was
at Brindavan. But a few minutes before she died, nectar gushed from the idol
of Shirdi Sai Baba kept near her bed, from the toe of the right foot that was
placed over the left knee. She noticed it and held her cupped palm to receive
the gift. Kasturi helped her sit up and drink the nectar, about two
ounces of fragrance and sweetness. Then she lay down again and passed into
Sai." Baba listened to her narrative and then said, "Yes, I keep My
word to those who are steady in their faith. I also give Darsan
when death calls on those who have dedicated their lives to Me."
While on the topic of deathbed darsans, I must also
relate here the narration of my revered guru, Mahapurushji, of the Sri
Ramakrishna Mission, about the 'shower of peace' from Ramakrishna Paramahamsa:
A sweeper named Rasik lived at Dakshineswar. One day, as the Master was
returning from the direction of Panchavati, absorbed in a spiritual mood,
Rasik knelt before him and prayed, "Father, why don't you bless me? What
will be in store for me?" The Master assured him, "Your wish shall
be fulfilled. You will see me at the time of death." A few years later,
as the moment of death approached, Rasik cried out in joy, "You have
come, Father! You have really come!" and saying this, breathed his last.
When we find Sai devotees facing death or enduring the
departure of their beloved ones, we are apt to judge them as insensitive and
dull. No. They meet death heroically, for they are certain that Baba will be
their guide, guardian, friend and teacher, through as many births and rebirths
they may have to pass. He is at all times with us, in us, beside us, before us
and behind us. So, instead of being anxious at the time of death, devotees
approach this final act as children being led to school by loving parents, or
as graduates attending the convocation, or as a mountaineer approaching the
summit, or as rivers merging into the sea.
There was a doctor serving in the hospital at Prasanthi
Nilayam. He was about 60 years old and appeared to enjoy good health in
spite of a damaged heart. One evening Baba sent for him, and he left off
eating his lunch. "Bhagavān is calling me," he said, and hastened
towards the Mandir. Just as he neared it, he fainted and did not recover.
Death was sudden and painless. His wife, who had imbibed Baba's teachings on karma,
on the Atman and on the eventual mergence
in Paramatman, bore the blow with courage
and wisdom. She told the women who ventured to console her, "Perhaps you
fear that I am a hardhearted woman because I do not weep. No. It is only
because I know that weeping is futile and foolish." Mr. Sethu from Delhi,
writes in a letter, "I believe that whatever Baba does, it is for our own
good, though it may not immediately seem so to us."
Top
Closer and Closer
The Interview
On the ground floor of the Mandir at Prasanthi
Nilayam, the room at the western end of the long veranda through
which one has to pass to arrive at the steps leading to the first floor, is
known as the Interview Room. Persons blessed by Baba with a chance for private
conversation and guidance, sit outside the door of this room till He directs
them to come in.
Since the day of the Annunciation (23rd May 1940) when
Satyanarayana declared Himself to be Sai Baba [See also: Serpent Hill],
suppliants from all quarters have been streaming into the village of
Puttaparthi to have His darsan, to
participate in the bhajans
and to earn counsel, consolation, confidence and courage from Him. And on the
23rd of November, 1950, the twenty-fifth birthday of Bhagavān, was
inaugurated the Prasanthi Mandir.
Earlier, Swami was residing with a few devotees in the
village itself, at a mandir constructed on a small plot of land gifted by
Subbamma, the 'foster-mother', on the eastern outskirts [see also: Serpent
Hill and Sai Baba Again]. When the seekers swelled in number, a long extension
with a corrugated sheet roof was added as a shelter, and a separate structure
with a sleeping room and a bathroom was built behind the mandir for Baba's
use.
Baba, who was then in his teens, moved among the
pilgrims either in the kitchens, where they would be working, or in the
extended shelter where they stayed. Persons anxious to win the precious gift
of His grace, or those wishing to benefit from His premonitory warnings and
preparatory guidelines for spiritual progress, followed Him from one room to
another, until He finally sat down somewhere upon a bedroll on the floor. They
gathered in a semicircle at His feet and prodded Him with prayers, petitions
and problems. On most evenings, Baba moved to the sandy bed of the Chitravathi
and, while bhajans were being sung, called
a few to follow Him into the thickening dusk so that He could grant them
interviews.
The shrine before which bhajans
were sung, was on an elevated platform at the western end of the long shed.
After the bhajans it was 'closed', a thick blue
curtain being drawn across the shed from south to north. Pilgrims proposing to
depart were often granted interviews in the mornings and afternoons on the
other side of that curtain. Then, as now, all hours of the day were spent by
Him in the task of repair, reconstruction and reform of the individuals whom
His Will had drawn to His presence. Repair of physical abnormalities and
subnormalities was also carried out by divine surgery during such interviews.
Pada - Puja
During the years at the old mandir (and for about five
years after the new mandir was occupied by Baba), every person or family
leaving the presence for a substantial length of time was blessed with the
opportunity to offer Pada-Puja to Swami.
Pada-Puja means 'worshipping the feet'. Seated on a silver chair in a room at
the eastern end of the veranda, Baba graciously placed His feet on a silver
plate. The devotees poured water on the feet while Vedic
hymns were recited. They then placed flowers on the feet while the 108 names
of their chosen deity were repeated. After this they waved incense and lighted
camphor. They offered fruits or sweets, bits of which were tasted by Swami and
blessed, to their immense satisfaction. On such occasions Swami would initiate
a boy into the Gayatri mantra or a child
into the alphabet, would 'christen' a baby or bless a couple about to be
married. There were days on which as many as three or more such pujas
were performed - a measure only of the extent of Baba's compassion. After the puja,
people would linger longingly, until Baba had answered the questions which
tormented them and solved the riddles which baffled them. Days might melt into
weeks and weeks into months, but the afflicted would await the great
experience. Each day was 'the day'; each moment, 'the moment'. There were no
definite days or hours when one could expect to converse with Him and undergo
the 'conversion'. However, if one had to leave before one had been given this
golden opportunity, one would sadly depart, hoping for better luck next time.
In spite of Prasanthi Nilayam
being imposing and spacious, it did not have, until 1974, a separate, secluded
room for personal conversation with the Avatar.
The persons selected by Bhagavān from the rows of eager devotees, were called
into the room at the eastern end of the veranda, fifteen or twenty of them at
a time. Baba would first address them as a group on the various aspects of sadhana,
giving them inspiration and insight. Then he would meet each one individually
to impart His message, providing them solace and strength. After diagnosing
their ailments, He would prescribe the antidote for their cure in a soft,
unobtrusive atmosphere of love.
The events that take place during the interview are
recorded only in the tablets of memory. Baba delves into personal feelings and
inbuilt agonies, and is ever engaged in revealing and correcting faults,
disinfecting habits, filtering emotions, fumigating passions and fostering
virtues - a process that discourages publicity.
The First Interview
Dr. John Hislop writes,
"When he had his first interview with Bhagavān,
this writer was seated in a small room with his wife and several others who
were part of the interview group. All attention was on the slender, elegant,
graceful form of Bhagavān - His deep, luminous eyes, the sweet, warm
smiles, and the charm. The critical and questioning mind stopped its
restless activity. Anxiety about the world and its problems faded away from
the consciousness. There remained just a feeling of quiet happiness.
Although Baba was speaking, one was surrounded by quietness. In that
peaceful state of being, one's awareness deepened without effort. There was
a perception that something alive, something unknown, was in one's heart. In
a moment, the realisation came that a current of love was moving in this
writer's dry, 'western' heart, and then it was very clear that the source of
that love was Bhagavān - nay, more - that the sweetness of Bhagavān
Himself was there, with life, in the heart."
How could Srī Sathya Sai Baba, a stranger never seen
before, come into the heart of a mature man and bring about a change from
within, a change from which there is no turning back? Surely,
God is the only stranger who can do this.
Hislop writes,
"On that memorable day when I first came into
the presence of Sathya Sai Baba, I reached the end and goal of my
forty-seven years of search for the One. Who could say the truth so directly
that I could see for myself that it was true. Never can I forget that
day."
Hislop and his wife contacted Theosophy from Dr. Annie
Besant and J. Krishnamurthi, through Thray Sithu U Ba Khin and Mahesh Yogi - a
series of splendid teachers who struggled on the path of jnana.
"But when I came into the presence of Baba on that ever-memorable day in
1968," writes Hislop,
"I made the totally surprising and unsuspected
discovery that I was a Bhakta! Never had
I shown that tendency to myself and I was truly amazed." "The Lord
has to come in human form to move among men," says Baba, "so that
He can be listened to, contacted, loved, revered and obeyed. He has to speak
the language of men and behave like human beings do. Otherwise He will be
either neglected and negated, or feared and avoided."
Thus the Lord revealed Hislop to Hislop, and directed
him on to that road within himself which leads to Him.
Doubts and Defects
Another person who underwent a similar revelatory
experience was Swami Abhedananda, for long a resident sadhaka
at the ashram of Bhagavān Ramana Maharshi. He wrote to me on 23rd December
1961, "To be frank, I must admit that I have been hearing of Srī Sathya
Sai Babajī and about his mahimas for a
long time. But hearsay does not convey a good opinion about Him. Recently,
nearly a week or ten days ago, I got your book, 'Sathyam
Sivam Sundaram' from a devotee of His, and I went through it. It is
very interesting and illuminating, and is driving me to have a darsan
of the Divinity. Will you let me know whether and when I shall be able to have
the darsan?"
"Although I have been living my life in this
fashion for over twenty years now, I still have doubts and defects. This body
is at the fag end of its life, having passed the age of seventy-six. I cannot
delay relishing the summum bonum, the
certainty of which my doubts do screen. May I request you also to help me earn
His grace and thus be liberated from these doubts and defects, this sinuous,
unending samsara."
Even before my reply reached him, he had had a vision
of both, Ramana Maharshi and Sai Baba, on the 27th at 4 a.m., while fully
awake at the Ramana ashram. Baba spoke to him in clear Telugu, and directed
him towards a new process of meditation. He came to Prasanthi
Nilayam and was immediately blessed with an interview. His letter
to me dated the 5th February 1962, gives an account of the grace Baba
conferred on him:
"I must thank you for being instrumental in
exposing me to Baba's grace, which helped clear all my doubts. I was really
astonished to find my old-age infirmities disappear and my weakened limbs
regain strength merely by His touch. His clear exposition, with analysis and
analogies, not only put an end to my long-harbored doubts, but made me see
Truth face to face in its sublime nature."
"Not only this, but His transformation at the
time of my leave - taking into Muralidhara Krishna (Krishna with the
flute) in dazzling splendor, is a sight I shall never forget. The darsan
of Saguna Brahman (the Universal
Absolute incarnated as a 'limited' being), was a blessing bestowed on this
poor soul to reveal the oneness of Saguna
and Nirguna."
Hislop, too was very prone to accept God only as the
Universal Absolute; the limited, temporal, particular incarnation, was to him
less glorious and divine. So Baba gave Him, also, a vision of Himself as Krishna,
in order to make him aware that the Divinity is full and free, and that It
cannot be diminished or devalued if It takes the form of an avatar.
Abhedananda continues in his letter,
"I was still a believer only in Nirguna
Brahman, and considered everything that was visible to be mithya.
This gracious transformation of His changed me, and made me see everything -
visible and imagined - to be Sathya,
a part of that same Absolute Principle."
"Baba had anticipated all the difficulties and
doubts which I carried to Him regarding my efforts in sadhana, and He
cleared them all. He instructed me, convincing me about the validity of His
advice, and how to proceed further. I am not quite convinced with the
popular view attributing Avatarhood to
Baba. He seems to me to be the perfect Poorna
[purna: complete, full] Brahman, personified to end the unsettled
state of the world by making man realise his own real nature, which is
Bliss."
Sri Maharajakrishna Rasagotra, presently India's envoy
to France, writes of moments he has spent in Baba's presence:
"Words cannot sum up the quality of such
moments spent in Baba's company. He sits there, a picture of compassion,
nay, the very embodiment of Love transforming each fleeting fraction of time
into a moment of revelation, enlightenment and release. When He enters a
room, you feel enveloped in the warmth of His love. You feel a part of Him,
and the identification of one with the other is complete. Perhaps that is
why there is nothing in one's past, present or future which is hidden from
His gaze."
No more Cobwebs
"Years ago, when I first sought Him out in a
remote place, without prior appointment, acquaintance or introduction, he
brought up, without any suggestion or provocation from me, the subject of
death, saying, 'The loss of your child weighs upon your heart still. The
living must get reconciled to the inevitability of death.' He then proceeded
to bring into my vision an altogether new horizon with which I was not
acquainted before," says Sri Rasagotra.
I heard Him gently ask a devotee thus: "What is
the cause of your worry? What are all your fears based on?" And He
continued, "Your worry and fear is based on your experience in the
past, experiences of yesterday. But today is not yesterday. And tomorrow
will be different. You do not know what tomorrow will bring. Why do you then
give fresh life in your heart to the ghosts of yesterday?"
The interview is an occasion when Baba cleans the
cobwebs from the brain, erases the wrinkles on the brow and cures the myopia
of the intellect, by removing the distractions from the mind. He advises us to
pay attention to the breath and listen to the 'Soham'
it recites. He fixes a silencer to the tongue. He sweetens and softens the
speech, he lightens the burden on our shoulders and gives us hope for the
future. He gives new meaning to our actions and places, new goals for us to
achieve. In fact, he sublimates our emotions and sanctifies our passions. Sri
Rasagotra, who has experienced the grace that Baba confers during an interview
upon those who go to Him with constant yearning, writes,
"A man who goes in for a meeting with Him,
seldom comes out the same. He emerges from the encounter, exalted and
radiant, as if Baba has stripped him of his motley cloak of many patches and
fitted him out in Love's pure raiment, for a fresh journey towards a bright,
new destination."
"The transformation begins almost at the first
moment of contact with Baba and the process of irresistible uplift never
slackens thereafter. Perhaps this is His greatest appeal, which draws to
Puttaparthi and Brindavan, men and women of all faiths and beliefs from
every part of the world. The impact of His personality is instantaneous,
electrifying and elevating. In His luminous presence, one feels part of a
higher order of reality, lifted out of oneself, as if one were on a
different, altogether purer plane of existence, where there is no lust,
greed, anger or falsehood, and where, while there may be suffering and pain,
there is no fear."
William Penn writes,
"That is the wonderment of Baba; once He enters
your life, He fills it completely. It becomes totally different, totally
delightful."
Baba installs Himself as the Master in every heart
that is warm with love. No problem is beneath His notice or beyond His
benediction. He challenges us with dilemmas, and when the effort fails and the
ego surrenders, He deals with our personal problems with intimate sympathy. So
most of what happens then - the counsel He bestows, the courage He installs,
the dilemmas He reconciles, the despair He overcomes, the symbols of grace He
gifts, the revelations He vouchsafes and the doubts He resolves - is not
recorded to be retold. Some idea of what those whom Baba selects, earn during
an interview, can be gained from the following account received from a
participant.
What Does Happen
"There were seven others in the batch which
Baba called into the room that morning. A doctor from Bombay, a lady from
Sri Lanka, an American couple from Los Angeles, two American scientists from
the Psychic Research Society in New York, and a gentleman from Hong Kong. A
remarkable assortment indeed, and a good sample of the variety in the eager
rows of visitors sitting before the mandir awaiting this stroke of luck.
There was an ornate chair in the room, but Baba sat on the floor, with us
sitting around Him. As He sat down He created vibhuti,
and gave us each a share, He called on me to translate His Hindi into
English, though my Hindi was poor and His English was unexceptionable. It
was a unique experience for me and I was genuinely happy at getting the
chance. Perhaps that was the reason why He asked me to do so. Baba made us
feel quite at ease, as if we had gathered before our family hearth. He
appeared extremely youthful and handsome, cheerful and buoyant - the very
embodiment of graceful charm."
"He suddenly turned towards the American couple
and asked them if that day was not the 33rd anniversary of their wedding.
They were stunned. It took a few seconds for them to say yes. He then
created a ring with His portrait embossed on it, and placing it on the
trembling palm of the lady, He asked her to put it on her husband's finger.
He waved His hand yet again: a gold chain, with a golden lotus suspended
from it, emerged. He directed the gentleman to put the chain around the neck
of his wife. Their joy knew no bounds; they had never dreamt that Baba would
remind them of the significance of that day. How could He, when they
themselves had forgotten it in His presence. And Baba had now celebrated it
with such unforgettable grandeur!"
"Baba asked the scientists, 'What
is your explanation for the materialisation?' They sat silent. 'The laws of
physics,' Baba said, 'do not allow something to be created out of nothing.
But they do not hold good as far as I am concerned.' They asked, 'How is
that?' Baba said that science was limited to the world that could be
perceived, that was manifest. But the spiritual eye can see matter where
even the most powerful microscope can find none. 'I need no X-rays or
chemical graphs to diagnose a disease. You, too, can develop such spiritual
insight. I am here to reveal to man this possibility and to lead him to new
vistas of peace and potence,' Baba said."
Why Bring to Life?
"The scientists asked Baba whether He had gone
out of His body to rescue a man who was drowning in a well at Kuppam
village, as was reported by Murphet. Baba said, 'I did save the man,
Radhakrishna, from drowning; but I did not go from here to there to do that.
I was there already. I am everywhere at all times. I need not go or come
back.' "
"They asked Baba, 'On what basis do you bestow
grace upon people?' Baba replied, 'I bestow grace when a person has fully
surrendered to Me and when the situation so demands. At Madras, Walter had
three attacks of heart failure, full and fatal, but I saved his life all the
three times, for that was needed. I also brought Radhakrishna back to life
for just ten days, because I deemed it necessary. You ask Me about death and
the extension of life; but I say that you are neither born, nor can you
die.' "
" 'Can you grant grace to a country as a
whole?' asked an American. 'I can,' said Baba, 'if I desire. I have granted
these two scientists special grace, giving them many chances to watch Me and
listen to Me, for they are interested and have the capacity to help humanity
by the knowledge gained from these experiences.' Just then, one of the
scientists observed that the stone on a ring materialised earlier by Baba,
was missing. All of us started looking for it; but Baba indicated, with a
smile, that He had dematerialised it."
"Then Baba rose and gave short personal
interviews to each of us. Within minutes, all my doubts and uncertainties
had been resolved. He injected into my life a new sense of purpose. As I
stood speechless before Him, He reassured me, holding my hands in His,
saying, 'Do not worry. I will take care of you. I am always with you, beside
you, in your very heart.' "
"A few days later Baba called the two
scientists, two new couples from America, a British citizen and myself into
the interview room. He enquired about the missing gemstone. Then He took the
ring back from the scientist and, holding it before His mouth, gently blew
upon it three times. The missing stone reappeared, firm and beautiful. 'It
is Sankalpa, the Will, that does it'
Baba explained."
"Baba then spoke of the need for the
cultivation of compassion and humility, self-control and a virtuous
character, among scientists. He spoke of the atom bomb and other destructive
weapons, and described the holocaust wrought by such weapons. As He began
speaking, 'Seven thousand years ago, on the
historic battlefield of Kurukshetra..' an American intervened
with the question, 'How does Baba know of events that took place seven
thousand years ago? From books, or through other means?' Baba smiled, 'I
know what happened seventy thousand years ago! I can go forward
and backward in time, and learn of anything I wish. Time and space can
impose no limitation on Me.' "
"Someone questioned Baba about the halo that
Hislop had written He saw around Baba's head. 'Thousands have seen the
halo,' Baba said. 'You must be both, near Me and dear to Me, to be able to
see it,' He added."
"This question led to many others, and Baba
answered them all in a short talk He gave us: 'You are surprised that I can
be in two bodies at the same time, or in a thousand different places. When I
give you a ring or any other object materialised by Me, it instantly informs
Me whenever you are in imminent danger. I can reach you immediately and
render all necessary help. However, even if you have only genuine love and
devotion for Me, My response will still be immediate. I respond to every
sincere prayer, no matter what form or name of God you may adore and
worship.' "
"Once, in this very room, Indra Devi of Tecate
(Mexico) was sitting with others, listening to Me. She had an American
gentleman, whose wife was in the States, sitting here. I knew that her car
had met with serious accident while she was in it. Even while engaged in
conversation with them, I saved her and gave all necessary assistance. Here,
I told her husband not to worry, and to go home as planned."
" 'Now science and technology have advanced
tremendously, but man has no peace of mind. Tranquillisers and sleeping
pills have become a must for everyone. A simple and regulated life which
includes natural foods and plenty of physical exercise, is the best remedy
for the complicated diseases that haunt man in all lands. I do a lot of work
as you must have seen, and take a small quantity of simple food. I do not
take milk, curds, butter or fruit-juice. This body will continue to be in
good health until its ninety-fourth year.
I must admit that, occasionally, I take upon Myself the ailments of My
devotees, but these only pass through My body without having any effect on
Me.' "
Helping Thousands
"Someone asked how many hours Baba slept at
night. 'I do not sleep at all,' He
replied. To a question about gesticulating with His hands, Baba said,
'During bhajans, when I am seated, you find Me gesticulating with my hands
or fingers. Sometimes it appears as if I am writing in the air. People are
curious to know why. At such times I am communicating with people you cannot
see. I am engaged in tasks that you cannot understand. I write replies to
questions asked by someone far away, and help thousands of people in every
part of the world.' "
"Then He called us into the antechamber, one by
one, and spent some time with each, healing and heartening, comforting and
correcting. I secured a second chance to touch His feet and to draw strength
and spiritual sustenance from another assurance of His ever-present
grace."
"An American asked, 'When will I have another
chance?' Baba smiled and, patting him on his back, replied, 'Today, a group
of villagers has come. I give Myself first to the needy and the poor. Most
of the people who come here have no money to spend for a long stay, I'll
give you another chance when I am free.' "
" 'The material is only a baser state of the
spiritual, of the divine. It is the fulfilment of God's Will, the measure of
His power. Creation can take place only when the power of the spirit is
channelled properly. Sai Baba is bringing this truth into our awareness
today,' said the octogenarian, Dr. Sigfried Knauer, MD, of Mexico. Speaking
about the interview he was granted, he told an audience at San Diego, 'He
called me in. After some minutes of talk, which I will keep to myself, Baba
asked me to cup my hands, and he slowly dropped one by one, thirty-three
tiny amber-colored pills. (Thirty-three vertebrae, He explained.) The pills
had formed in His palm, one after another.' "
"At Bombay, before my departure from India,
Baba called me into one of the rooms at Dharmakshetra,
where He was alone. He circled His hands a few times, and turning His palm
up, He showed me how a liquid was slowly filling one hand. 'Oil,' He said.
It had an exquisite fragrance. Then He rubbed both palms to spread the oil
evenly on them, and He gave me treatment with the oil. In gratitude, I
wanted to touch His feet, but He did not let me do so."
No Reaching
"By what path can we reach You soonest?"
once asked a doyen of Hindu metaphysics. Baba replied, "I am too near
to you to prescribe a path for you. You cannot reach Me. If you need Me, I
am yours." W.G. Steve, an architect from Honolulu, narrates, "The
little interview room was crowded, and Baba launched into a spiritual
discourse, with specific comments directed towards some but seemingly
applicable to all. Then came the individual session during which He quickly
cut into the secret depths of our being - our problems of health, previous
meetings when He had contacted Irene in a dream (!) and, would you believe,
the details of that dream, difficulties we encountered in our individual
efforts in sadhana, the personal desires
of each of us, and our own internal turmoils. Vibhuti
was also manifested. All this was quickly, naturally and spontaneously
delivered and conferred with love and understanding, which rendered new
meaning to old words. Here was a confidante, guide, doctor, friend, father,
mother and god beside us both, as One."
How is this supremacy of the spirit attained? When
Baba says that we, too can attain it, what does He really mean? Dat Pethe
sheds light on this:
"Whenever a meeting of two individuals takes
place, it is really two separate psychological setups that meet, each set-up
confronting the other with a complex of innumerable experiences, stored
memories, sentimental attachments, bias towards various matters and
situations, and countless idiosyncrasies. These form the background and the
source from which the words used in conversation by the two individuals
originate. But when Baba is talking to somebody, one is struck by the
discovery that on His side there is no such set-up at all. And He gives us
the power to get over the handicap of our own confused and disorganised
set-up."
Once, to an earnest aspirant clamouring for an
interview, Baba said,
"I am giving you interviews
every day (through the inner voice). It is you who always avoid granting Me
an interview, an enter-in-view, from viewing you as Me, in Me."
When we realise the truth in Baba's declaration,
"I am in you and you are in Me; we are really
One," the so-called 'interviews' with Him become superfluous.
Jerry Bas writes,
"A fellow pilgrim from the United States, when
about to return home, prayed to Baba for an interview. Baba stood before him
for a few seconds and said, "Be great! Be great! In reality, you are
great!... Interview? Interview is small; it makes you separate." That
reply is worth pondering over in silence for some time.
Top
Dabbling and Diving
The Cosmic Visitor
Jonathan Swift wrote in his characteristic, caustic
style, "When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by
this sign - that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
Vilification is the tribute that envy offers to mystery. Ignorance breeds
either humility or obstinacy; it seldom blossoms into inquiry and
illumination, for it cannot recognise itself. It clothes itself in pride and
revels in the petty practice of slander.
Dr. Gokak [see also: Cities Aflame, for a song by Dr.
Gokak and Facets of Truth] describes Baba as the 'Cosmic Visitor'. Baba
Himself announced in His twenty-first year,
"No one can comprehend
My glory, whoever he may be, whatever his method of inquiry, and however
sustained his attempt."
No wonder He attracted a campaign of vilification when
He was just fourteen years of age. His father threatened to beat the alleged
'megalomania' out of His head. Brandishing a heavy stick [see: Serpent Hill],
he accosted Him saying, "Are you God or a fraud?" when Baba
replied, 'I am Sai Baba come again; worship Me,'
the stick dropped from His father's hand. Miracles soon convinced him that it
is best to leave his Son alone. Baba's elder brother drew His attention to the
barbs of pettiness and prejudice aimed through rumor and scandal at the
dazzling, new phenomenon Who had arisen from a 'hamlet between the hills'.
Baba wrote to him,
"These people have to
be pitied rather than condemned. They do not know. They have no patience to
judge aright. They are too full of lust, anger and conceit to see clearly
and know fully, so they make all types of allegations. If only they knew,
they would not talk or write like that... People are endowed with a variety
of characteristics and mental attitudes, and each judges the other according
to his own level of perception, debates and defends his point of view in
accordance with his particular degree of enlightenment."
[See: Resume - 1926 -1961]
Slanderers prowl around those who stand above the
common level. Peggy Mason, editor of Two Worlds, writes, "A great
light arouses detractors. Jesus was scorned as a wine bibber and a consort of
publicans and sinners, who had received his healing powers through the good
offices of Belzebub." Baba, too, was scorned while yet a boy of fourteen,
as being possessed by a spirit. His brother and parents subjected Him to a
painful process of exorcism [See: Serpent Hill]. The villagers of Puttaparthi
spread the story that the boy was possessed by some local sprite which,
through their efforts in that direction, would soon set him free. Baba says
that detractors only help in separating the chaff from the grain, and even
this by itself is sufficient reason to welcome them.
Baba is an open book. There is nothing exotic or
esoteric about Him, nor is there any trace of abracadabra in His teachings;
His ministration has no mysterious ceremonial or initiatory rite; He is ever
intent on giving and forgiving; He never accepts for Himself any gift or
offering or present; if you need Him, He says, you certainly deserve Him; He
is by your side when you call, no matter where you may be; and love is the
only currency He deals in.
Invokes a Sense of Unity
Therefore, institutions trying to propagate and
promote special cults, purveyors of dubious remedies and agents of 'exclusive'
roads to the Abode of God, naturally try to keep their own flocks intact by
means of slander. Baba declares before hundreds of thousands of people,
belonging to every caste, creed and religion, and assembled from every part of
the globe,
"There
is only one caste - the caste of Humanity;
there is only one religion - the religion of Love;
there is only one language - the language of the Heart;
there is only one God, and He is omnipresent."
This message demolishes the walls laboriously built
and vigilantly preserved by petty, separative minds, who readily take refuge
in slander and vilification as their first line of defence against this Cosmic
Visitor.
Blatantly yellow journals felt encouraged to turn
their slander towards the divine phenomenon by forces that could not, however,
disturb it in any way. They spun spicy tales which they hoped would distort
and damage its image and fetch them quick returns. Periodicals that were
restrained were prompted into this nefarious adventure by those having vested
interests. But Baba, being the embodiment of Love, has only love to offer in
return for such presents. He says,
"In every age, in
every land, these unfortunate people drudge for their daily bread. I stand
between the heap of praise and the heap of blame, blessing both. You recite
My name in your homes; they shout My name along the lanes and by-lanes, and
all over the marketplace. Why do you begrudge the few paise they earn by
selling their stuff to provide their children a little food?"
Baba, in His infinite compassion, advises, "Pity
them, they do not know... Pity them, for they cannot know." When I
proposed to publish the first part of His biography, 'Sathyam
Sivam Sundaram', in 1954, after a six-year stay in His presence, He
at once demurred, saying,
"Readers will not
accept the book as authentic, since they do not and cannot know My truth.
They will treat it like a fairy tale, as they do the Arabian Nights. Wait, I
have still to make the world eager and ready for that book. Now, people will
doubt your sanity; later, they will blame you for underestimating Me."
And exactly this happened. The book was released in
1960. On 8th February 1962, I received a letter from Swami Abhedananda, for
long a resident of the ashram of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi in Thiruvannamalai,
who had recently met Baba: "In my humble opinion, an avatar
is only a particle of the supreme Brahman,
descending on the earth simply to moderate the ups and downs of humanity, and
to alleviate their imaginary woes." He then went on to charge me with the
sacrilege of underestimating Sai Baba, saying, "He seems to me to be the
perfect, Poorna [purna: complete, full]
Brahman, personified to end the unsettled state of the world, to
rectify human defects and to bring man to realize his own true nature and its
bliss."
The Superstition
Another group of people who cannot be happy with a
divine phenomenon in their hemisphere, are the 'rationalists'. They are
allergic to the very idea of God. And here is Baba declaring that He is God,
and that every one is God, including those who deny God. Such people adore
only their ego or their ism. They called a halt to their logic somewhere about
the forties of the present century, before Eddington, Jeans, Freud, Jung and
Einstein highlighted the limitations of science. Science has now humbled
itself before the inscrutability of the cosmos. "The universe is a
thought of God," says Jeans. The cell and the atom, matter and energy,
are dealing surprise after surprise on syllogisms and systems laboriously
built by hoary pundits of science. The once-respected faculty called
'intellect', has been discarded as a superstition by front-line thinkers in
biology, psychology and physics.
As Paul Brunton writes, "If any one considers all
the evidence of intention and, failing to believe that a higher power directs
all, comes only to atheism; it is because the mind which such a person
considers as evidence, is already closed by bias or ill-balanced by emotion,
upset by suffering or too distracted by the five senses, or is faulty in yet
some other way." Atheism is kept alive by the tendency to rebel against
adult beliefs; it is a sign of juvenile stubbornness. Some propagate this cult
because they have no courage to accept a stance considered out of date, while
others behave in that manner for, being unhappy themselves, they desire to
undermine whatever happiness is available to others.
A group of so-called rationalists once initiated a
project with great fanfare, to 'investigate' Baba by means of certain tests
which they announced in various periodicals. "We shall ask Baba to take
off his gown. What about his hair - it may be fake; some say it is, so we
shall have to find out. Perhaps we would have to use metal detectors to check
if he is concealing some things on him," they announced.
"Grotesquely ridiculous and grossly
insulting," exclaims R.K. Karanjia, editor of Blitz, who had
himself in the past openly questioned and criticized Sathya Sai Baba. The
faithful followers of the 'investigators' thereupon vilified Karanjia as
having been bribed, bought out, hypnotized, converted, or otherwise influenced
by Baba!
The sallies which such persons indulge in, remind us
of the adventures of Don Quixote and his companion Sancho Panza. It is now
well-established that what we call 'reason' is only a state of mind, and it is
perverted and polluted by unreasonable likes and dislikes. It can be distorted
by propaganda. It is so riddled by self-love that one sees things only as one
wishes to perceive them. Child experiences, too, create bias towards persons,
principles and procedures. But more than all other defects, our reason suffers
from a tendency to rationalize prejudices, in order to salve the conscience
and shield the ego from guilt.
"Take off the gown... pull at the hair... pass a
metal detector over the body!" No wonder the Sancho Panzas were laughed
off the stage. Many were aware of Dr. Osis' remark that "in the
scientific community, as in every establishment, there is inertia,
conservatism and hostility towards anything radically new." But no one
could have expected such a caricature to emerge from this community.
Baba says,
"How can science,
which is bound by physical laws, investigate transcendental phenomena, for
these lie far beyond its scope and comprehension... I have repeatedly
declared that those who want to understand Me are welcome here. It is the
spirit of investigation that is important. Foreign para-psychologists have
come here and examined Me in a positive and constructive spirit. They do not
write slanderous letters or make public demands. But the very approach of
these people (the 'investigators') was wrong. That is why I refused them. I
want people to come, see, hear, observe and experience Me. Only then will
they understand and appreciate the Avatar."
Diving into Sai
Dr. Karlis Osis, a director of research from the
prestigious American Society for Psychical Research, and his friend and
fellow-worker, Dr. E. Haroldson, visited India three times, met many people
who had a long association with Baba, journeyed thousands of miles on
fact-finding assignments, and stayed at Prasanthi
Nilayam for months together - seeing, hearing, studying, observing
and experiencing. Dr. Osis writes, "The abundance of the phenomena
encountered and the magnitude of the miraculous effect, were a complete
surprise to seasoned para-psychologists like us... I have been an active
searcher for twenty-five years and have travelled widely, but nowhere have I
found phenomena which point as clearly and forcibly to spiritual reality as
the daily miracles of Baba."
Baba says,
"Those who wish to
secure pearls must dive deep to get them. It is useless to dabble in shallow
waters and claim that the sea holds no treasures."
Dr. Sandweiss journeyed to Prasanthi
Nilayam and 'dived' with the intention to prove its barrenness, but to
his own amazement, his efforts yielded pearls aplenty. His apprehensions about
mass hypnotism, group hysteria and uncanny influences, were quickly laid low.
Before he started on his voyage of investigation, he had written, "The
opportunity of observing such events at first hand and of investigating their
psychological mechanisms myself was very appealing. I felt that observing Baba
in person would give me an idea of what might have taken place at the time of
Christ to propagate those incredible stories." He has since written
the now well-known book, 'Sai Baba', on the last page of which he has
described the 'pearl' he secured, thus:
"It has been my good fortune to draw close to
Him at a time when it is still possible to become friendly with him on a
personal level, and see the clear signs of His greatness in a close and
intimate way. Yet I feel that soon Baba will become but an orange speck on the
horizon, surrounded by millions of eager faces. And like the people in His
village who were once blessed to know the sweetness of His being from daily
personal contact with Him, I, too, will one day be saddened by having to view
Him only from a distance."
Karanjia, too, on the suggestion of both, Baba's
devotees and adversaries, finally decided like Sandweiss to 'dive'. He now
recalls,
"I myself went to Puttaparthi to put all
available criticisms straight to Baba, and to obtain His answer... The
encounter was fantastic, almost shattering... Sathya Sai Baba revealed Himself
as a scientist of consciousness, showing mankind the way to realize the
indwelling God through love, devotion, detachment and selflessness, to evolve
to a higher level of enlightenment.
"The false dichotomies created by Western
thought between man and God, Purusha and
Purushottama, simply do not exist in the Hindu scriptures, which propagate the
mergence of God in man and man in God as the basis of religion. Baba
personifies this philosophy... Baba's holy mission leads us deep into the
spiritual significance of the Cosmic Drama. It aims to first unmake the
materialistic, ego-bound man, and then to remake him in the image and likeness
of God."
Karanjia goes on to quote the English version of a
Telugu poem, which Baba once sang as a prologue to one of His discourses:
'I am the Dance
Master;
I am Nataraja, the Lord of Dance.
You are all my pupils.
I, alone, know the agony
Of teaching you, each step of the Dance'.
Ruminating over the cosmic dimensions of the agony
that this poem tries to express, Karanjia writes, "To one who carries the
burden as well as the glory of human agony, campaigns of calumny indulged in
by a few misled people can hardly touch him." And as simply and naturally
as Christ's plea from the cross, for forgiveness for those 'who know not what
they do,' Baba blesses the calumniators.
To those who are troubled by His assertion that man is
Divine, the question asked is, "As God is omnipresent, can He not be
found in man?" To those who feel hurt by His treating the rich as
lovingly as the poor, the reply is,
"They bring to Me
their troubled hearts and sick minds. I cure them by asking them to divert
their wealth and power to spiritual ends like Seva."
Those who will have Him 'perform' a miracle which
suits their taste, must first understand that He is no 'performer'. What we
call a 'miracle' is, in fact, only a concretization of His love. Baba also
explains,
"Articles that can be
worn by devotees are given by Me, so that by wearing them the recipient can
keep contact with Me throughout his life."
Most questions and doubts arise only from cleverness.
The reason is used, as Aldous Huxley says, "to create internal and
external conditions favorable to its own transfiguration by and into the
spirit." Huxley goes on to assert that, "cleverness has given us
technology and power. Therefore, we believe, in spite of all evidence to the
contrary, that we have only to go on being cleverer in a yet more clamorous
way, to achieve social order, international peace and personal
happiness."
In accordance with Bhagavān's constant advice, let us
now resolve to understand ourselves by transfiguring reason into spirit,
rather than disfiguring it into cleverness. Let us determine to resolve our
own mystery. Only then, says Baba, can we hope to understand Him, to
understand that we are a part of Him. Then the truth, 'My
Me is God', will shine. Let little minds dabble; we shall dive.
Top
Tomorrow
"O God! How
does it happen?
in this poor old world
That Thou art so
great,
Yet nobody finds Thee;
That Thou art so
near,
yet nobody feels Thee;
Thou givest
Thyself to everybody,
yet nobody knows Thy Name.
Men flee from
Thee and say
they cannot find Thee;
They turn their
backs and say
they cannot see Thee;
They stuff their
ears and say
they cannot hear Thee."
Thus lamented Hans
Denk, as have also countless other human beings. God heard the cry. He pitied
this poor world, and willed to rescue us. He incarnated as Sathya Sai.
Sai has come as
small as man, so we can find Him amidst us.
Sai has come as near and dear, so we can feel Him close.
Sai gives Himself to everybody, yet no one knows His name (All names are
His!).
Sai is everywhere, so as to whichever direction we flee, we find Him there.
Sai is behind us, beside us, before us, so we can never turn our backs on Him.
Sai ever resides within our hearts, so with ears stuffed we still hear His
voice.
Humans need not
lament their weakness any more. Sai, the Avatar of Divine Love, is here. Let
us rejoice and listen to His voice. The poor, old world of today will be the
happy new world of tomorrow.
Jai Bolo
Bhagavān Srī Sathya Sai Baba - Ji Ki -
JAI!!!
Glory to
Thee, Beloved Lord Sathya Sai Baba -
Glory to Thee!!!
Top
(short)
Glossary
Glossary -
List Sanskrit Words
A
Aaram:
relaxation; rest.
Abhyasa:
practice; discipline.
Adharma:
unrighteousness.
Adwaitha:
non-duality.
Aham:
I
Amrit(h)a:
immortal; divine nectar.
Ananda:
joy; bliss; eternal bliss or peace.
Angavastram:
a cloth, usually brocaded, slung over the shoulder.
Arati:
to offer a camphor flame before one's guru or deity.
Artha:
wealth; purpose.
Asana:
posture.
Ashram:
a meeting place or residence for spiritual aspirants.
Asura:
demon.
Atmanivedanam:
self-surrender.
Ayurveda:
a traditional Indian system of medicine.
B
Bhadram:
careful; secure; happy; full of joy and confidence.
Bhajan:
devotional song or hymn.
Bhakti:
devotion; self-surrender.
Bhakti yoga:
path of devotion.
Bharat:
India.
Bhavan:
Hall.
Bilva:
a sacred tree, associated with Lord Siva.
Bodhaka:
teacher.
Brahman:
the Absolute; the Creator.
Brahmajnani:
one who has known Brahman.
C
Chakra:
wheel.
Chamatkara:
inexplicable, miraculous act.
Charanamrit:
water sanctified by washing the feet of one's guru or deity.
Chit(th)a:
consciousness.
D
Daivic:
of or like a god; godly.
Dal:
petal.
Dana:
charity.
Darsan:
the act, by a saint or a revered person, of giving an audience to devotees.
Deha:
the body.
Dhanya:
grain.
Dharana:
inward concentration; the negation of all activity.
Dharma:
duty; nature; a code of ethics.
Dhoti:
loin cloth.
Dhyana:
meditation; contemplation.
Dosa:
a South Indian dish.
G
Ghats:
slopes; mountain range.
H
Haldi:
turmeric.
Homa:
rituals that involve making offerings in the fire alongside a recitation of
hymns.
I
Idlies:
a South Indian dish
Iswara:
the Lord.
J
Jala:
water.
Janata:
the people.
Japa:
prayer; meditation; contemplation on the Divinity.
Japamala:
rosary.
Jaya:
glory; victory, success.
Jhoota:
false; fake.
Jnana:
knowledge; wisdom; knowledge of the Attributeless.
Jnana yajna:
a fire ritual performed in search of knowledge.
Jyoti:
flame.
K
Kaliyuga:
the
last of the four 'ages' as described in the Puranas.
Kalyana:
well-being; prosperity; success; freedom.
Kalyana mantap:
a structure raised for the purpose of an auspicious occasion or event.
Kama:
fulfilling the legitimate pleasures of life.
Karma:
action; deed.
Koham:
who am I.
Kshetra:
field; region; place.
Kumkum:
vermillion powder, considered auspicious.
L
Laddu:
an Indian sweetmeat.
Leela:
miracle; divine sport.
Lingam:
an oval-shaped symbol of the Absolute.
M
Mahima:
an
expression, a manifestation of divine glory.
Mala:
rosary; garland
Mai:
mother.
Mandir:
temple.
Mangala:
auspicious; propitious.
Mangala sutra:
auspicious thread, worn by married women.
Mantap:
a commemorative structure.
Mantra:
a word or group of words having power to illumine the mind.
Mata:
mother.
Matha:
a cult; a school of thought.
Mathi:
mind.
Maya:
illusion; ignorance; erroneous perception; the perceptible world.
Moksha:
liberation; freedom from all bondage.
Mithya:
illusion.
N
Nagarsankirtan:
an early morning chorus of street singers, usually the residents of that area.
Namaskara:
an Indian way of paying obeisance, by joining one's hands and lowering one's
head.
Namaste:
see namaskara.
Namavali:
a lyrical string of names expressing divine attributes or the nature of the
Divinity.
Nava:
nine.
Nishkama:
selfless;
without desire.
Nityavadhan:
constant vigilance.
Nirguna:
attributeless;
the Absolute.
Nirvikalpa:
the ultimate stage of mergence with the Divinity.
Niyama:
self control.
O
Om:
an
Upanishadic symbol which unfolds the Absolute.
P
Pada:
feet.
Pan:
betel.
Pandal:
an outdoor seating arrangement.
Parabhakti:
absolute devotion; complete self-surrender.
Paramatman:
the Universal Atman; the Absolute.
Peetha:
base;
a place.
Parinirvana:
total liberation from all bondage.
Paropkara:
service (rendered to others).
Poorna:
full; whole; complete
Pradesh:
region.
Pranamaya:
the vital sheath.
Pranayam:
to discipline, have control over one's breath.
Prasad:
anything received with devotion to god.
Prasanthi:
perfect peace or bliss.
Pravesh:
entry; advent.
Pratyahara:
withdrawal of the senses (sense-urges).
Prema:
love; devotion.
Puja:
worship.
Pujari:
priest.
Purusha:
an individual consciousness.
Purushottama:
the Universal Consciousness.
Putra:
son.
R
Raga:
attachment.
Rudra-adhyaya:
a section in the Vedas dealing with the hymns of Rudra (Siva).
S
Sadhaka:
spiritual aspirants; students or seekers of spiritual knowledge.
Sadhana:
prayer; spiritual values; spiritual discipline.
Saguna:
having specifically definable attributes.
Sakshatkara:
Realization.
Sakhya:
friendship; companionship.
Samadhi:
tomb; absorption in the Absolute.
Sambhasan:
dialogue; discussion; speech.
Samsayatman:
a person (an atman) afflicted with doubts.
Samsara:
a life of limited existence, of joys and sorrows; the world.
Samskara:
refinement.
Sanathana:
timeless, eternal.
Sanathana Dharma:
a way of life followed to discover the Absolute; another name for Hinduism.
Sankalpa:
will.
Sankirtan:
singing aloud the praises of God.
Santhi:
peace; inner peace.
Sanyas:
(a life of) renunciation or ascetic.
Sanyasin:
a male or female renunciate or ascetic.
Sakthi:
power; power of creation.
Sarathi:
charioteer.
Sathwic:
pure.
Sath(yam):
truth (absolute)
Savikalpa:
the penultimate stage of mergence with the Divinity.
Seva:
service, usually that rendered to others.
Siva(m):
auspiciousness; goodness (absolute)
Sivoham:
I am the Absolute.
Soham:
I am That.
Siddhi:
ascetically acquired power.
Sundara(m):
beauty (absolute)
Swaroopa:
embodiment; essential nature.
Swa-swaroopa:
one's own truth or reality.
T
Tantra:
mystical techniques followed in worship in order to accomplish a material
objective.
Tapas:
spiritual discipline.
Thath:
that.
Thwam:
thou.
Trisul:
trident (usually referred to the one wielded by Lord Siva)
Tulsi:
basil leaf.
U
Udasina:
a posture of complete relaxation and detachment.
Upadesh:
teachings; the imparting of spiritual knowledge.
Upasana:
contemplation upon a limited form of the Absolute.
V
Vahini:
stream.
Vairagya:
detachment; dispassion.
Vibhuti:
sacred ash; a manifestation of divine glory.
Vichakshana:
analytical; discriminating.
Vidya:
learning.
Vidya peeth:
a place where knowledge is imparted.
Viveka:
intelligence.
Y
Yajna:
a fire ritual.
Yama:
self-control; having mastery over the senses.
Yatra:
journey; trip
Yogasana:
any posture prescribed in yoga.
Z
Zari:
brocade.
Top
Reference to "The All, in All"
Esoteric Significance of
the Veda Purusha Jnana Yajna
By
G.V. SubbaRao
From Sanathana Sarathi, December 1997
For many
years since 1962, Bhagavan Baba has been conducting a Veda
Purusha Jnana Yajna (a ritual) for seven days during Dasara for
the promotion of the material and spiritual well-being of
mankind. After a break of about three years, the performance of
this rite (yajna) was resumed in October this year (1997) in the
Puurnachandra Auditorium.
The ritual
(yajna) is the means for securing awareness of the Divine. It is
governed by mantras, sacrifice and divinity. Hence by performing
the ritual for seven days, one secures the two-fold well-being
(shreyas) and the awareness of the Divine (jnaana). It may be
asked why the ritual should be performed for seven days. The
number seven has a special esoteric significance in relation to
creation. For instance, there are said to be seven worlds (saptha
lokas), seven sages, seven seas, seven sacred mountains, seven
musical notations (svaras), seven colors of the Sun's ray, and so
on. If these are worshipped as symbols of the Divine, awareness
of the Divine arises. By the performance of the ritual for seven
days according to Vedhic injunctions, man can acquire the ability
to get rid of the seven veils of ignorance, ascend the seven
stages of spiritual knowledge and achieve liberation (moksha).
Before
the commencement of the ritual (yajna), the Vedhic pandiths take
the prescribed vow to perform the ritual after chanting the
mantras for sanctifying the place of ritual.
All the
Vedhic pandiths who taking part in the ritual, wearing sacred
orange robes, arrive in a procession from the temple (mandir) to
the Puurnachandra Auditorium to the accompaniment of auspicious
nadasvaram music and the chanting of Vedhic hymns by students.
The
ritual begins with the lighting of the sacred sacrificial fire.
The fire is started by the rapid rubbing of two sacred wooden
sticks by the priests. The sacrificial fire starts burning by the
natural emergence of fire in the latent sticks, symbolic of the
latent presence of the Divine in every object in creation.
Bhagavan has often declared that if one turns the vision inward
he would be able to experience the light Divine effulgent in
one's heart.
In this
ritual (yajna), seven principal deities are worshipped. Ganesha,
Surya (the Sun God), Devi (The Divine Mother), Brahma, Vishnu,
Shiva, and Agni Shakthi. Vedhic chants are recited to adore the
four-faced Brahma who is the propagator of Vedhas. The Fire God
(Agni), the transmitter of devotional fire offerings to the
deities (dhevas), is also propitiated by the offerings to the
sacrificial fire. Altogether, seven divine potencies are
worshipped. Bhagavan has declared that all these potencies are in
man.
Before
worship is done to any particular deity, the help of Vighnesvara
(Ganesha, Ganapathi) is invoked for the prevention of any
obstacles to the worship. Ganapathi is worshipped as primary
deity who is the embodiment of the sacred mantra "Om"
(Pranava). He is the bestower of knowledge and powers of various
kinds.
The
worship of the Sun-God is an important part of this ritual. The
priest engaged in this Sun-worship repeats the sacred mantras
relating to the Sun while offering prostrations (Surya-namaskar)
to the Sun-God. The Sun is the bestower of health and is the Lord
of all planets in the solar system. The worship is offered not to
the physical sun but to the presiding deity, Suryanarayana.
Another
important feature of the ritual (yajna) is the worship of Devi.
She is Paramesvari, Chithsvarupini, and Maayasvarupini. She
represents Nature, the Mother of the Universe, and is the supreme
embodiment of Love. She represents seven material forms of the
Divine. In the ritual, Devi is worshipped by the recitation of
Lalitha Sahasranama and the reading of the Devi Bhagavatham.
Vishnu is
worshipped in this ritual by the recitation of
Bhagavatham and
Purusha Shukta. Vishnu is hailed as the all-pervading Lord of the
Cosmos in the Purusha Shukta. The Sage Shuka told King Parikshith
that by listening to the glories of Vishnu in the seven days
given to him before his end, he could attain salvation.
The
reading of Vaalmeeki's Raamaayana is another significant item in
this ritual. The regular reading of the Raamaayana has great
value for the spiritual aspirant. In this context, Swami has
often stressed the special importance of Sundarakanda, in which
Vaalmeeki extols the exploits of Hanuman, the Supreme devotee of
Raama.
The most
important aspect of this ritual (yajna) is the worship of Shiva.
This worship is done by the worship (puuja) offered to one
thousand lingas of Shiva and by the offerings to Shiva in the
sacrificial fire on all the seven days of the ritual with the
chanting of "Rudram". On the final day of the ritual,
Bhagavan materializes various precious objects and offers them to
the sacrificial fire. Bhagavan has declared that what everyone
should offer in the sacrificial fire are his bad qualities. Swami
has explained that the sacred smoke rising from the sacrificial
fire, fully charged with the power of the sacred Vedhic mantras,
enters the clouds and purifies the rain tailing from them. The
smoke of the sacrificial fire thus purifies the pollution in the
atmosphere and on earth.
Brahma as
Creator is propitiated in this ritual by the chanting of the
Vedhas by the priests (rithviks). The Vedhas are eternal and are
the basis for all dharma. Bharath (India) is esteemed as the soul
of the Vedhas and the land that gave the Vedhas to the world.
Bhagavan has proclaimed the glory of the Vedhas in many of His
discourses.
Pandiths
who have mastered the Rik and Yajur Vedhas had a prominent part
in the ritual. Bhagavan has often emphasized the purifying and
sacrificial power of the Vedhic mantras.
Bhagavan's
discourses during the seven days of the ritual (yajna) are
veritable spiritual feasts for the devotees. Bhagavan explains in
the simplest language profoundest Vedhaantik Truths so that
everyone understands the message of the nondualisitic
(a-dhvaithk) doctrine and the oneness of the individual self and
the Supreme Self. This, indeed, is the real purpose of the
"Spiritual wisdom ritual (Jnana Yajna)".
Baba
generously honors all the priests (rithviks) and others
participating in the ritual with gifts of clothes and other
things. This year's Vedha Purusha Yajna has become one of the
most memorable in the annals of Prasanthi Nilayam.
Top
Reference to "Love on the
March"
Esoteric Significance of the Veda
Purusha Jnana Yajna
by G.V.
SubbaRao
From Sanathana Sarathi, December 1997
For
many years since 1962, Bhagavan Baba has been conducting a Veda
Purusha Jnana Yajna (a ritual) for seven days during Dasara for
the promotion of the material and spiritual well-being of
mankind. After a break of about three years, the performance of
this rite (yajna) was resumed in October this year (1997) in the
Purnachandra Auditorium.
The
ritual (yajna) is the means for securing awareness of the Divine.
It is governed by mantras, sacrifice and divinity. Hence by
performing the ritual for seven days, one secures the two-fold
well-being (shreyas) and the awareness of the Divine (jnana). It
may be asked why the ritual should be performed for seven days.
The number seven has a special esoteric significance in relation
to creation. For instance, there are said to be seven worlds
(saptha lokas), seven sages, seven seas, seven sacred mountains,
seven musical notations (svaras), seven colors of the Sun's ray,
and so on. If these are worshipped as symbols of the Divine,
awareness of the Divine arises. By the performance of the ritual
for seven days according to Vedhic injunctions, man can acquire
the ability to get rid of the seven veils of ignorance, ascend
the seven stages of spiritual knowledge and achieve liberation
(moksha).
Before
the commencement of the ritual (yajna), the Vedhic pandiths take
the prescribed vow to perform the ritual after chanting the
mantras for sanctifying the place of ritual.
All
the Vedhic pandiths who taking part in the ritual, wearing sacred
orange robes, arrive in a procession from the temple (mandir) to
the Purnachandra Auditorium to the accompaniment of auspicious
nadasvaram music and the chanting of Vedhic hymns by students.
The
ritual begins with the lighting of the sacred sacrificial fire.
The fire is started by the rapid rubbing of two sacred wooden
sticks by the priests. The sacrificial fire starts burning by the
natural emergence of fire in the latent sticks, symbolic of the
latent presence of the Divine in every object in creation.
Bhagavan has often declared that if one turns the vision inward
he would be able to experience the light Divine effulgent in
one's heart.
In
this ritual (yajna), seven principal deities are worshipped.
Ganesha, Surya (the Sun God), Devi (The Divine Mother), Brahma,
Vishnu, Shiva, and Agni Shakthi. Vedhic chants are recited to
adore the four-faced Brahma who is the propagator of Vedhas. The
Fire God (Agni), the transmitter of devotional fire offerings to
the deities (dhevas), is also propitiated by the offerings to the
sacrificial fire. Altogether, seven divine potencies are
worshipped. Bhagavan has declared that all these potencies are in
man.
Before
worship is done to any particular deity, the help of Vighnesvara
(Ganesha, Ganapathi) is invoked for the prevention of any
obstacles to the worship. Ganapathi is worshipped as primary
deity who is the embodiment of the sacred mantra "Om"
(Pranava). He is the bestower of knowledge and powers of various
kinds.
The
worship of the Sun-God is an important part of this ritual. The
priest engaged in this Sun-worship repeats the sacred mantras
relating to the Sun while offering prostrations (Surya-namaskar)
to the Sun-God. The Sun is the bestower of health and is the Lord
of all planets in the solar system. The worship is offered not to
the physical sun but to the presiding deity, Suryanarayana.
Another
important feature of the ritual (yajna) is the worship of Devi.
She is Paramesvari, Chithsvarupini, and Mayasvarupini. She
represents Nature, the Mother of the Universe, and is the supreme
embodiment of Love. She represents seven material forms of the
Divine. In the ritual, Devi is worshipped by the recitation of
Lalitha Sahasranama and the reading of the Devi Bhagavatham.
Vishnu
is worshipped in this ritual by the recitation of Bhagavatham and
Purusha Shukta. Vishnu is hailed as the all-pervading Lord of the
Cosmos in the Purusha Shukta. The Sage Shuka told King Parikshith
that by listening to the glories of Vishnu in the seven days
given to him before his end, he could attain salvation.
The
reading of Valmiki's Ramayana is another significant item in this
ritual. The regular reading of the Ramayana has great value for
the spiritual aspirant. In this context, Swami has often stressed
the special importance of Sundarakanda, in which Valmiki extols
the exploits of Hanuman, the Supreme devotee of Rama.
The
most important aspect of this ritual (yajna) is the worship of
Shiva. This worship is done by the worship (puja) offered to one
thousand lingas of Shiva and by the offerings to Shiva in the
sacrificial fire on all the seven days of the ritual with the
chanting of "Rudram". On the final day of the ritual,
Bhagavan materializes various precious objects and offers them to
the sacrificial fire. Bhagavan has declared that what everyone
should offer in the sacrificial fire are his bad qualities. Swami
has explained that the sacred smoke rising from the sacrificial
fire, fully charged with the power of the sacred Vedhic mantras,
enters the clouds and purifies the rain tailing from them. The
smoke of the sacrificial fire thus purifies the pollution in the
atmosphere and on earth.
Brahma
as Creator is propitiated in this ritual by the chanting of the
Vedhas by the priests (rithviks). The Vedhas are eternal and are
the basis for all dharma. Bharath (India) is esteemed as the soul
of the Vedhas and the land that gave the Vedhas to the world.
Bhagavan has proclaimed the glory of the Vedhas in many of His
discourses.
Pandiths
who have mastered the Rik and Yajur Vedhas had a prominent part
in the ritual. Bhagavan has often emphasized the purifying and
sacrificial power of the Vedhic mantras.
Bhagavan's
discourses during the seven days of the ritual (yajna) are
veritable spiritual feasts for the devotees. Bhagavan explains in
the simplest language profoundest Vedhantik Truths so that
everyone understands the message of the nondualistic (a-dhvaithk)
doctrine and the oneness of the individual self and the Supreme
Self. This, indeed, is the real purpose of the "Spiritual
wisdom ritual (Jnana Yajna)".
Baba
generously honors all the priests (rithviks) and others
participating in the ritual with gifts of clothes and other
things. This year's Vedha Purusha Yajna has become one of the
most memorable in the annals of Prasanthi Nilayam.
Divine
Discourses on Dasara by Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba
Divine
Discourse: 14 October 1988
In the human
body, the Divine flows through all the limbs as the divine
essence (rasa) and sustains them. This divine principle is called
the Embodiment of Divine Sweetness (Rasaswaroopini, or Angirasa).
These divine principles that permeate and sustain the physical
body should also be worshipped as mother goddesses. Then there
are the great sages (maharishis), who investigated matters
relating to good and evil, right and wrong, what elevates man or
degrades him, and, as a result of their labors and penance, gave
to mankind the great scriptures, indicating the spiritual and
mundane paths and how humanity could redeem its existence. These
sages have also to be revered as divine mothers.
The cow, the
earth, the presiding deities for the body, the sages, and the
guru are all worthy of worship as the embodiments of the divine
Motherhood. Although these five appear in different forms and
names, they have one thing in common with the mother. They play a
protective and sustaining maternal role for mankind and hence
should be revered and worshipped as divine mothers.
Conversely, the
mother of every child displays in relation to the child the
attributes of these five entities. The mother nourishes the
child, provides the necessaries for its growth, teaches the child
what it should know and what it should avoid, and leads it on the
path of righteousness.
The life of a
man who cannot respect and love such a venerable mother is
utterly useless. Recognizing one's mother as the very embodiment
of all divine forces, one must show reverence to her and treat
her with love. This is the true message that this nine-night
festival (the Navaratri) gives us. The supreme Shakti
manifests herself in the form of Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati.
Durga grants to us energy --physical, mental, and spiritual.
Lakshmi bestows on us wealth of many kinds --not just money but
intellectual wealth, the wealth of character, and others. Even
health is a kind of wealth. She grants untold riches to us. And
Saraswati bestows intelligence, the capacity for intellectual
inquiry, and the power of discrimination on us. The Navaratri
festival is celebrated in order to proclaim the power of the
goddesses to the world. One's own mother is the combination of
all these divine beings. She provides us with energy, wealth, and
intelligence. She constantly desires our advancement in life. So
she represents all the three goddesses that we worship during the
Navaratri festival.
Divine
Discourse: 18 October 1991
The term Devi
represents the divine power that has taken the passionate
(raajasic) form to suppress the forces of evil and protect the
serene (satvic) qualities. When the forces of injustice,
immorality, and untruth have grown to monstrous proportions and
are indulging in a death-dance, when selfishness and
self-interest are rampant, when men have lost all sense of
kindness and compassion, the Aathmic principle assumes the form
of Sakthi, takes on the passionate (raajasic) quality, and
seeks to destroy the evil elements. This is the inner meaning of
the Dasara festival.
When the divine
Goddess is in dreadful rage to destroy the wicked elements, she
assumes a fearful form. To pacify the dreaded Goddess, her
feminine children offer worship to Her with sacred red powder
(kumkum). Seeing the blood-red kumkum at her feet, the
Goddess feels assured that the wicked have been vanquished and
assumes her benign form. The inner meaning of the worship of Devi
with red kumkum is that thereby the Goddess is appeased.
During the ten
days of the Dasara, the demons (rakshasas), in the form of
wicked qualities, have been routed. Rakshasas do not mean demonic
beings. The bad qualities in men are the demons. Arrogance is a
demon. Bad thoughts are demons. Ravana is depicted as the king of
Rakshasas. He is said to have ten heads, but he was not born with
ten heads. Who is this Ravana, and what are his ten heads?
Lust (kama), anger (krodha), delusion (moha), greed
(lobha), pride (mada), envy (maatsarya), the mind (manas),
intellect (buddhi), will (chitta),and ego (ahamkara) --these
constitute the ten heads. Ravana is one who has these ten
qualities.
Each one can
decide for himself whether he is a Ravana or a Rama, according to
his qualities. Rama is the destroyer of bad qualities. When
engaged in this act of destruction of bad qualities, He manifests
His passionate quality (raajo-guna). But His passionate quality
is associated with His serene (saatvic) quality. Even in cutting
off Ravana's ten heads, Rama showed His love. This was the only
way Ravana could be redeemed.
When the Lord
metes out a punishment, it may appear harsh. But what appears
externally as passionate (raajasic) is in reality serene
(saatvic). In a hailstorm, along with rain there will be
hailstones. But both the rain and hailstones contain water.
Likewise, there is serene quality even in the Lord's passionate
actions. Similarly there may be passionate quality even in
slothful (thaamasic) actions. These depend on the time, place,
and circumstances in which the Lord acts. Butter can be split
with a finger. But a powerful hammer is needed to break a piece
of iron. The Lord deals with serene persons in a serene way. He
applies the passionate weapon against passionate persons.
People worship
the Lord as Roudraakaara, attributing dreaded forms and qualities
to the Divine. This is not proper. The Divine has only one
attribute: the embodiment of love. It has been said, "Love
is God. Love pervades the Cosmos." Hence, one should not
view the world from a worldly point of view. It should be viewed
through the eyes of love.
Embodiments of
Divine Love! All the festivals of Indians (Bharatiyas) have been
designed to promote divine love among the people. It is to confer
such love on the people that the Lord incarnates on earth. He
Himself demonstrates how love should be expressed. He showers His
love and teaches everyone how to love. Hence, experience this
love and joy in your life and live in peace.
Divine
Discourse: 9 October 1994
Indians
(Bharatiyas) have been celebrating the Navarathi festival from
ancient times as a mode of worship of Devi, the Divine as mother.
They worship Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati during those nine
days. Who are these three? These three forms have fascinated man.
Their esoteric significance is represented by three potencies
(shakthis): karma, devotion (upaasana) and spiritual wisdom
(jnaana).
The
significance of Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati has to be rightly
understood. The three represent three kinds of potencies in man:
will power (ichchaa shakthi), the power of purposeful action
(kriya shakthi), and the power of discernment (jnaana shakthi).
Saraswati is
manifest in man as the power of speech (vaak). Durga is present
in the form of dynamism. Lakshmi is manifest in the form of will
power. The body indicates purposeful action (kriya shakthi). The
mind is the repository of will power (ichchaa shakthi). The
Aathma is the power of discernment (jnaana shakthi). Purposeful
action comes from the body, which is material. The power that
activates the inert body and makes it vibrant is will power. The
power that induces the vibrations of will power is the power of
discernment (jnaana shakthi), which causes radiation of energy.
These three potencies are represented by the mantra, Om Bhur
Bhuvah Suvaha. Bhur represents the earth (bhuloka). Bhuvah
represents the life force, conscience in man. Suvaha represents
the power of radiation. All three are present in man. Thus,
Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati dwell in the human heart.
Men are prone
to exhibit passionate (raajasic) qualities like anger and hatred.
They are the menacing manifestations of Durga. The extolling of
the Divine in song and poetry and the pleasing vibrations
produced by them indicate the power of Saraswathi. The pure
qualities that arise in man, such as compassion, love,
forbearance, and sympathy, are derived from Lakshmi.
When people
worship Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswathi externally in pictures or
icons, they are giving physical forms to the subtle potencies
that are within them. The unfortunate predicament of man today is
that he is not recognizing the powers within him and developing
respect for them. He goes after the external, attracted by the
physical forms. The relationship between the material and the
subtle has to be understood. The remedy for man's life is
contained within himself. But man seeks remedies from outside.
What should do
during these ten days of the Navarathri festival? Convert your
will power (ichchaa shakthi) into a yearning for God. Convert
purposeful action (kriya shakthi) into a force for doing Divine
actions. Convert your power of discernment (jnaana shakthi) into
the Divine Itself.
Divine
Discourse: 14 October 1994
Navarathri means
"nine nights". What does the nine signify? There are
nine planets (grahas), according to astrology. The human body has
nine openings. If a deep inquiry is made, it will be found that
mankind is dependent on the planets. Although astrologers speak
about nine planets, in reality, only two "planets"
matter: attachment (raaga) and hatred (dwesha).
In the worship
of the deities during Navarathri, one of them should be
worshipped each day, not externally but with one's heart and
soul. Bodily actions are ephemeral. The body derives its value
from the spirit within. Hence it should be regarded as a sacred
temple. During the Navarathri festival, for the purpose of
eradicating one's demonic tendencies, the deities were worshipped
with sacred powder (kumkum). The red powder is a symbol of blood.
The meaning of this worship is that one offers one's blood to the
Lord and receives in return the gift of peace from the Lord.
Therefore, the
Navarathri festival is observed by contemplating on God for ten
days, cleansing one's self of all impurities, in order to
experience the divinity within. The penultimate day of the
festival is dedicated to what is termed "worship of weapons
(aayudha puja). The weapons to be worshipped are the divine
powers in man. When the divine is worshipped in this way, one is
bound to progress spiritually.
Reference to "Facets of Truth"
Source:
Bhagavad
Gītā, Chapter 11, verse 12:
The Yoga of the Universal Form;
on the confrontation with the complete of His reality.
divi sūrya-sahasrasya
bhaved yugapad utthitā
yadi bhāh sadrsī sā syād
bhāsas tasya mahātmanah
Word
for Word
divi -- in the sky; sūrya
-- of suns; sahasrasya -- of many thousands; bhavet -- there
were; yugapat -- simultaneously; utthitā -- present; yadi -- if;
bhāh -- light; sadrsī -- like that; sā -- that; syāt -- might
be; bhāsah -- effulgence; tasya -- of Him; mahātmanah -- the
great Lord.
Translation
If hundreds of thousands
of suns were to rise at once into the sky, their radiance might
resemble the effulgence of the Supreme Person in that universal
form.
Top
Reference to "Festival of
Light"
How Kasturi received his name.
(taken from the book "Loving God" by
N. Kasturi)
'On
the twelfth morning of my life, a label was attached to me amidst
a great deal of religious noise. My father saw me for the first
time only then, when he came to name me. The name which has stuck
to me ever since was an ancient one, much the brighter, because
it was borne by a series of grandfathers. The rule was that the
first son must be named by the father after his own father. So, I
was given by father the name his father bore .... My first son
was named Narayana
by me, because that was the name my father had .... Father took
me from mother's hands and sat on the floor facing the family
shrine with me on his lap. He prayed to God to bless the name and
help me to add some more fragrance to it. Then he raised me by the
shoulders to his face and whispered thrice in my right ear a long
string of strange sounds, by which I was to be known thereafter.
It was a nine-syllabled rodomontade (ranting talk). I had tumbled
into the Brahmin caste and so, the last two syllables had to be
Sharma,
symbolizing that status. The rest of the name,
Kasturiranganatha
indicated, neither the God idolized in my village nor the God
installed on the Seven Hills. It denoted God, as adored by
millions in Tamilnadu, installed in a reclining posture, on a
multi-hooded many coiled serpent and described by that name as
"musk-dot adorned". Kasturi means 'musk', 'ranga' means
'stage', and 'natha' means 'director' or 'master'. The temple of
"Ranganatha with the Kasturi dot" is situated on an
island, called Sri Ranga (The Stage), in the Kaveri River, formed
by it while half-way from the Mysore Plateau to the Bay of
Bengal.
[Picture: "When He first drew me to Himself"- (1948)]
...
The substance called musk is valued as a precious perfume. Since
it is also dark in color, a dot of musk between the brows serves
to ward off the evil eye. It was preferred by nobles and
princesses over cheaper contrivances. The brow of the idol at
Srirangam was marked with the Kasturi dot, for nothing less
could satisfy the devout worshippers. The name "Director of
the Stage" reminds us that 'All the world is a stage'. God
directs the cosmic play, unaffected Himself. he reclines
magnificently on terror and poison, with His head on a pillow of
calm. His will achieves and motivates. The Katha
Upanishad declares, "Seated, He journeys; reclining,
He is everywhere".
Kasturi
Ranganatha Sharma
was too long a word to be uttered in full, every time I was
spoken of or to. The caste symbol 'Sharma' could be painlessly
amputated. The rest symbol too had to be curtailed, but, the
problem was, head or tail? My grandfather was accosted and
referred to, by all who had to deal with him, only as Ranganatha,
and for the daughter-in-law (my mother) to mouth the name of the
father-in-law was taboo! So, the second half had to be
jettisoned. The result was, I came to be known as the fragrant
animal substance used for 'dotting' the Divine Brow.
I
could stand with folded hands in the presence of the
"Kasturi Ranganatha" only in my 70th year! It came
about through Baba's Grace. Friends invited me to a town called
Tirupur to speak on Baba, on the 24th day of December. And Baba
directed me to go. But, I longed to spend Christmas Day with
Baba, since it reminded me of my entry into the world stage. I
asked permission to go over from Tirupur to Srirangam and
worship Him in the Ranganatha, reclining on the serpent. The
serpent, Baba says, is symbolic of pollution, poison and death
and God is pictured as overwhelming, quietening and mastering
these evil traits. Baba said, "Yes. Go to Sri Rangam and
eat your fill of sweet rice". The reference to sweet rice
did not surprise me. Years previous, when we were proceeding to
Madras, Baba, as was his wont, asked every single person in the
car to sing for Him a song. My genes had no music among their
components but I had to obey, nevertheless. Memory brought up
for me a song I had heard a clown sing during a play I chanced
to attend while at school. it was a prayer to Shiva for a morsel
of sweet rice, wrung out of a hungry onlooker at a feast
conspicuously consumed by the rich. Baba must have discovered
that my subconscious had hooked up this particular lilt, for the
reason, that I myself had an unfulfilled hunger for this dish,
deep within me! He decided to remove that pang at Srirangam on
my 70th birthday.
I
was thrilled when I stood before the shrine and filled my eyes
and heart with the entrancing vision of the 20 foot idol,
stretched on the coils of a seven-hooded serpent excluding
captivating icono-charm. To my eyes, the Feet, the upraised soles
were not of dark green stone as the rest of the Divine Body was.
They were alabaster with a shade of blue. They were soft, tender,
fair, familiar, alive; they were Baba's! I removed myself away
from the portals of the shrine with great reluctance. Sweet rice
was, I believed, the routine offering at Ranganatha shrine but
that day, we were given only laddus and muruks.
We
had one more temple to visit on that holy island - a famous Shiva
temple with the sacred Jambu Tree. When we moved out of that
temple, the priest ran behind us, to announce that it was
specially sacred day when "Sweet rice was offered to the
deity." This was welcome news indeed. He insisted on our
turning back into the temple. He made us squat on the clean floor
to the right of the shrine; he spread banana leaves before us and
served sizable heaps of the dish Baba had asked me to 'eat my
fill'.'
Top
Reference to "Sign and
Signature"
The
Story of Dhruva, in text and pictures.
(Source: Srīmad
Bhāgavatam, Canto 4, Ch. 8-13)
[Maitreya
said] .......(6)
Now following, I will describe the dynasty famous for its
virtuous activities, o best of the Kuru's, that evolved from the
Manu called Svāyambhuva, who was a part of a plenary portion
[knowing Brahmā] of the Personality of Godhead. (7) Uttānapāda
and Priyavrata, the two sons of Queen Satarupa and her husband,
as being part of the plenary expansion [Brahmā] of the Supreme
Lord Vāsudeva, were there for the protection and maintenance of
the world. (8) Of the two wives of Uttānapāda, Sunīti ['the
one of good conduct'] and Suruci, was Suruci ['the one
delighting'] far more dear to the husband than the other one who
had a son called Dhruva [the immovable one']. (9) When once
the king was patting the son of Suruci named Uttama ['the one of
excel'], whom he had placed on his lap, did he not welcome Dhruva
who also tried to get on his lap. (10) Queen Suruci who, being
too proud, was envious, made the child of the co-wife, Drhuva,
who tried to get up to him, listen to her, speaking so that the
king could hear it. (11) 'My dear child, you do not deserve
to seat yourself where the king sits, that place belongs to me
because, although you were born as a son of the king, you were
not born from my womb. (12) O child, try to understand of
yourself that, because you are not my own but from the womb of
another woman; the matter you desire is out of your reach. (13)
If you so desire, you can only by means of penance, having
satisfied the Person of God and by His mercy having found
yourselves a place in my womb, seat yourselves on the throne of
the King.'
(14) Maitreya said: 'Pierced by the harsh
words of his stepmother, he out of anger began to breathe
heavily, as a snake struck by a stick, seeing his father looking
on as a silent witness, upon which weeping he went to where his
mother was. (15) Having heard from the others what had happened
did Sunīti lift her heavily breathing son, who's lips were
trembling, on her lap and did she grieve about what was said by
her co-wife. (16) Losing her composure the woman lamented with a
fire of grief that burnt like dry leaves in remembrance of the
things said by the other wife and looking through the tears
falling from her beautiful lotus face she spoke. (17) Gasping for
air the lady found no way to avert the danger and said to her
son: 'Do not wish others anything inauspicious, my dear son, a
person will have to suffer himself from the ill he wishes to
happen to others. (18) The truth of what mother Suruci has told
you about having taken birth from the womb of me the unfortunate
one and having grown up from the milk of that breast, is that the
king has become ashamed or in other words, that he regrets having
accepted me for his wife. (19) If you desire to occupy the
throne as also Uttama does, then just engage yourselves in the
worship of the lotus feet of Adhoksaja, the Transcendence, my
dear son, without being envious, as all that your stepmother has
told you is factual. (20) The unborn One [your great-grandfather,
Brahmā] no doubt acquired his supreme position in the universe
receiving the qualifications to create, from worshiping the One
of whom we know the lotusfeet and who can be approached by the
ones who conquered the mind in selfregulation. (21) Likewise,
found the Manu, your worshipable grandfather, who in worshiping
with unflinching devotion and by great charity in executing
sacrifices, achieved the divine in earthly happines, that is
difficult to achieve by other means, his liberation
thereafter. (22)
Of
Him, the Kind One taking care, my dear boy, you should take
shelter as also persons desiring liberation have to seek the
lotus feet; when there is no room for doubt there should, from
ones original nature, be a systematic engaging of ones mind in
devotional service to the Original Personality of God.
(23) Looking for others who could mitigate your difficulties I
know of no one else to go for but for Him, the lotus-eyed One, my
dearest, who, among all others, is sought by the Goddess of
Fortune, with a lotus flower in her hand, herself.'
(24) Maitreya said: 'Thus having heard the
purposeful words of the mother he, carefully considering it to
himself, left his fathers house. (25) Nārada who came to hear
about it and knew of what he was about to do, was surprised and
with the hand, that could expel all sin, touching his head, he
exclaimed: (26) 'Oh that might of the rulers! Unable to tolerate
any infringement on their prestige, this one being only a child,
has taken at heart the unpalatable words that came from his
stepmother.' (27) Nārada then said:
'Why
is it my dear boy, that presently finding no respect being
insulted I cannot see the attachment to sports and games normal
for boys like you?
(28) There is no reason to be so dissatisfied for a person free
from illusion; each is different in this world according his own
karma and thus there are different choices. (29) Therefore you
should be satisfied, dear one; whatever the nature of what
destiny prepares a person, is by an intelligent person seen as a
way towards the Supreme. (30) Therefore isn't it, as I am
convinced so, that the yoga your mother told you to do for
elevating yourself to His mercy, is too difficult for a person
like you? (31) The greatest sages who were on the path of
detachment for many births never came to understand what they
were looking for, despite of being in the full of the severest
austerities. (32) So now, stop with this resolve of yours, it
will take you nowhere. Just reserve that for the future, you will
see that there will then be ample opportunities for yourself.
(33) Any person who is satisfied with whatever happiness or
distress that is set for him by destiny, can reach with his
embodied soul the other side of darkness.(34) To what is better
one should feel pleased, to what is of a lesser quality one
should be compassionate and to what is equal one should be
friendly; thus fostering no desires one is never affected by
tribulation.'
(35) Dhruva said: 'This balance of mind
you talk about o Lordship, is of those who are merciful to people
who are affected, but for persons like us it is very difficult to
see it the way you said it. (36) The spirit of the ruler is not
so much of submission, considering the intolerance I met with
Queen Suruci; thus I cannot tolerate it to be pierced by the
arrows of the harsh words. (37) Please tell me an honest way that
fits with my desire for a superior position in the three worlds,
o brahmin, that not even others like my father, grandfather and
forefathers could acquire. (38) Your Honor, of Lord Brahmā you
are born as a true part playing the vīna traveling like the sun
all over the world for its welfare.'
(39) Maitreya said: 'Thus hearing of what
he told him, was Nārada very pleased, whereupon he
compassionately replied to give the boy good advice. (40) Nārada
told him: 'That path your mother told you about is certainly your
ultimate destination; render the Supreme Lord Vāsudeva your
service by fully absorbing Him in your mind. (41) One who in the
name of duty, virtue, gratification and liberation desires after
the goal of life of the soul, should in that only be for the
cause of serving His feet. (42) To that, my dear, with my
blessing, go to the bank of the Yamunā and be purified by the
holy of the Madhuvana forest where one is always nearer to the
Lord. (43) When you have taken a bath in that river there, the Kālindī
[the name of the mountain where the Yamuna rises], three times a
day, which is very auspicious performed the right way, you should
seat yourself having prepared a sitting place. (44) Through the
threefold of breathcontrol [prānāyāma: controlling the in-,
the outgoing and balanced breath] gradually giving up the
impurities of ones thinking to the life's air and the senses, one
should with an undisturbed mind meditate upon the supreme
spiritual master. (45) Always willing to grace, with His pleasing
mouth and way of looking, his straight nose, high brows and
intelligent forehead, he is the beauty of the demigods. (46)
Youthful, attractive in all his limbs and with lips as red as a
rising sun, He is the shelter of the surrendered, transcendental
in every respect; the worthy one merciful like the ocean. (47)
Marked with the srīvatsa [a few white hairs on His chest]and of
a deeply bluish color, He is the original Personality, garlanded
with flowers, showing the conchshell, the disc, the club and
lotus flower in His four hands. (48) His helmet, pearl earrings,
necklace, bracelets and the Kausthuba jewel, He wears to garments
of yellow silk.(49) He has small bells of gold around His waist
and His ankles and is of a superior calm, peace and quietude
pleasing as well the eye as the mind. (50) He takes His place on
the whorl of the lotus of the hearts of those who in worship
unite in the light of the glittering of the nails of His lotus
feet. (51) One should this way regularly see the Lord His
smiling, so affectionate with the devotees and thus in full
attention with ones mind meditate on the greatest of all
benedictors. (52) The mind thus meditating the very auspicious
form of the Supreme Lord is, being enriched, very soon freed from
all material contamination and will never come down from that.
(53) Please hear from me the very, very
confidential mantra to chant, o prince, from which, done for a
seven nights, a person can see the beauty of the beyond. (54) 'Om
Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya' [my respects for Vāsudeva, the
Supreme Lord]; with this mantra [called the
dvādasāksara-mantra]
should the learned one exercise
respect for the physical of the Lord, the way it should be done,
with the diverse paraphernalia and as someone conversant with the
differences to place, time and the country [desa kala
vibhaga-vit]. (55) One purifies with the help of water, garlands
of forest flowers, roots, the diverse fruits and vegetables,
fresh grass, buds, bark and with the respect of tulsi-leaves,
which are very dear to the Lord your master. (56) One can begin
with getting oneself and worshiping a deity made of physical
elements like earth and water [clay], or, as a great personality,
be of full self-control and in peace control your speech and eat
frugally from whatever the forest offers. (57) To that one should
meditate on the intriguing activities performed by the Supreme
Lord of Wisdom, the way He, by His own potency, so inconceivably
incarnates out of His own will. (58) To be in service of the
Supreme Lord as I told you is the recommendation of the previous
teachers of example who one, within ones heart, for sure should
respect with the mantra's, as they are the embodiment of them.
(59-60) Thus with ones body, mind and words simply thinking of
the Lord engaged in the service is the Supreme Lord to the
regulations of bhakti worshiped. The devotees engaged sincerely
and seriously does the Lord who brings love, reward what they
desire in regard of the spiritual life and benefits [the
so-called purusārtha's] of conditioned souls. (61) In complete
detachment from all sense-gratification must one, being serious
in bhakti-yoga about ones liberation, unrelenting exercise
respect that is steeped in love for Him directly.'
(62) Thus being addressed by him,
circumambulated the son of the king him offering his obeisances
and did he go to the Madhuvana forest which, imprinted by the
feet of the Lord, was the right place to be. (63) When he thus
had withdrawn himself entering the forest, thought the respected
sage it wise to pay the king a visit in his palace and seated
there comfortably, he spoke to him. (64) Nārada said: 'Dear
King, what are you thinking so deeply about with a wry face -
have you lost your grip on the gratification, the religion or the
economy?
(65) The king replied: 'O brahmin, my
sweet boy, my son, although he is only five years old and
actually a great personality and devotee, I have, being too
attached to my wife and too hard of heart, banished from here
together with his mother. (66) I worry whether, without being
protected by anyone in the forest, o brahmin, the helpless boy
who's face is like a lotus, hasn't, emaciated of hunger, in
fatigue lying down, been devoured by wolves. (67) Alas, how cruel
I was, being conquered by a woman; just imagine how most hard
hearted I refused him the affection when he out of love tried to
climb on my lap.'
(68) Nārada said: 'Do not, I say, do not
be aggrieved about your son. He is well protected by the Godhead,
o master of men, you don't know how widespread his influence is
over all the world. (69) The boy is quite capable; after
performing what is impossible for even the greatest around, he
will, to the better of your reputation, directly come back to
you, my dear King.'
(70) Maitreya Muni said: 'The king,
hearing of what Nārada had told him, began to think about him
and fell in neglect about his opulent kingdom. (71) Meanwhile
was, after taking a bath, fasting that night, the Original
Personality worshiped [by Dhruva] with perfect attention as Nārada
had advised it. (72) For the first month worshiping the Lord, he
only ate, to the bare necessity of preserving his body, fruits
and berries in the morning after every third night. (73) The next
month the innocent boy continued his respect for the Almighty,
eating every sixth day as mentioned, having daily food prepared
from grasses and leaves gone dry. (74) The passing third month
long he drank each ninth day water only, fully absorbed in his
respect for the Lord of Wisdom, Uttama Sloka. (75) That way
continuing into the fourth month, each twelfth day he ate air
only, controlling his breath, meditating in worship of God. (76)
By the fifth month still in control of his breath, did the son of
the king, meditating on the Creator, stand on one leg like a
column without moving. (77) In all respects concentrating the
mind in the heart, meditating the resting place for the senses
and their objects, did he not look for anything else but the form
of the Supreme Lord. (78) Finding his repose, having taken
into the heart the Absolute, the complete of the reality, the
primary principle and person of all, all the three worlds began
to tremble. (79) As he remained standing on the one leg did he,
the child of the king, press half the earth down with his big toe
bent, just like the king of elephants does who as a boat balances
left and right with every step. (80) Thus he, in the full of his
meditation having stopped his breathing, closing all gates of the
body confining the life's air, suffocated all the worlds and soon
all the great ones from all places sought their refuge with the
Lord.
(81) The godly said: 'We never saw
anything like this, o Supreme Lord, seeing the flow of the
universal breath obstructed; You as the reservoir of all
existence, so kind to the needy, we all, taking shelter with Your
Honor, therefore approach to save us from the calamity.'
(82) The Supreme Lord replied: 'Fear not,
this choking of the life's air happens on account of the son of
King Uttānapāda who is in deep thought of Me; I will ask the
boy, strong in his determination of penance, to stop with this.
Please return to your homes.'
(1)
Maitreya said: 'They, thus being freed from all fear, offered the
Lord of the extraordinary their obeisances, upon which they
returned to their three worlds. The Lord with the thousand faces
[Sahasrasīrsā, the original Vishnu] then from there went away
to the Madhuvana forest desirous to see him, His servant
[Dhruva]. (2) He who from the maturity of his meditation was
seeing Him, brilliant as lightening manifested on the lotus of
his heart, all of a sudden noticed that He had disappeared, but
looking around he could see Him there outside of him in the same
form. (3) With Him
present before him, he, confounded, fell to the ground;
prostrating his body like a rod offering Him his obeisances and
while looking at Him, was the boy as if he was drinking Him, like
he was kissing Him with his mouth and embracing Him with his
arms.
(4) Seeing that he wanted to glorify Him,
but lacked in experience to do so, did the Lord, who is the
prayer in accord with the scripture in the heart of each,
understanding the boy, mercifully touch his forehead with His
conchshell. (5) By that receiving the inspiration to be able to
say just what he wanted, could he, offering his prayers in the
love of his devotion, understand what the supreme of the soul was
all about and that, without jumping to conclusions, he would be
the Dhruva of renown and fame who could not be denied his own
world.
(6) Dhruva said: 'Let me offer my
obeisances to You, the Supreme Lord and Original Person, who as
the One within, from His internal potency commanding the
universal energy, entering my words and breath has brought to
life my passive senses as well as my other limbs, my hands, legs
and skin. (7) Certainly You are the One, Supreme Lord, who, after
by his own potency creating this vast outer world called māyā -
that unlimited complete of the reality with its modes - has
entered as the Original Personality, appearing in the temporary
qualities variously the way fire does in fire wood. (8) Like a
man rising from his sleep, could the one [Brahmā] of surrender
to You, see this whole universe through the knowledge given by
You, o my Lord; in relation to You as the shelter of all who
desire liberation, how can anyone who is of learning forget about
Your lotusfeet, o friend of the distressed? (9) It suffers no
doubt that for those, who under the influence of the outer world
are missing the right conception and worship You for other
purposes, You are, as the cause of liberation from birth and
death, like a desire tree; and You are that even for persons in
hell who desire a gratification that is only appealing to their
senses. (10) That which is the bliss of the embodied, derived
from the impersonal spirit can't compare to the bliss derived
from meditating on Your own, You Magnificence, Your lotus feet
and the hearing of the topics from the ones who love You. And
what to say comparing it to the bliss of those who from their
high positions have to fall down destroyed by the sword of death?
(11) I pray to enjoy the intimate association of those who are
constantly engaged in your devotional service, o Unlimited One,
of those great devotees by whose purified hearts one can easily
cross the terrible and vast ocean of dangers that is the material
existence; I pray that I go mad of drinking the nectar of the
stories about Your qualities. (12)
They,
so high, my dear Lord, never think of the material body, their
relating to their sons, friends, home, wealth and wife; they, o
One of the Lotus Navel, have achieved the association with those
who in their hearts are always after the fragrance of Your lotus
feet. (13) The animals, trees, birds,
reptiles, gods, demons and men, driven by the material energy are
found throughout the gross of the universe in varieties of
existence and are for several reasons seen and not seen, o Unborn
One, that I know, but this I do not; from this transcendental
form, O Supreme One, I do not know but the end of my argument.
(14) At the end of each epoch is all of this universe withdrawn
in the belly of the Supreme Person lying down in retrospect in
the company of Ananta Sesa as His bed; from the ocean of His
navel sprouted the golden sphere, with Brahmā on the whorl of
the lotus. Him, that Supreme Lordship I do offer my obeisances.
(15) You are the eternal of liberation, the uncontaminated, the
Supreme Soul full of knowledge, the changeless, the authentic
Original Person, the Supreme Lord and ruler of the three modes,
the continuing intelligence through all actions of the intellect,
the transcendental vision and witness, the maintainer, enjoyer
and the one that is different from all. (16) You, in whose
opposite nature the various energies of knowledge and ignorance
are always found and who is that continuing Brahman, the cause of
the material manifestation, the original one and unlimited that
is simply blissful, I offer my respects. (17) Compared to other
benedictions are Your lotus feet for sure the true one, o my
Lord, and although as such You are thus the personification of
the goal of life of each person, o beloved Fortunate One, you do,
eager to bestow your mercy, maintain the poor of heart like I am,
the way a cow does a calf.'
(18) Maitreya said: 'Then, thus truly
being worshiped by the fine intelligence of his good intentions
only, did the Supreme Lord who is always in favor of his
devotees, speak after first having congratulated him. (19) The
Supreme Lord said: 'I know of the determination within your
heart, o Son of the King. Since you are sworn to piety, I shall
give to you, although it is difficult to fulfill, all that good
fortune. (20-21) Never, My good boy was there such a brightly
glowing place known as the planet of Dhruva, around which all the
other planets and constellations of stars are circling like a
group of bulls does stationary around a central pole [for
crushing grain]. It is the planet around which, keeping it to
their right, along with the stars, all great sages of the forest,
whose lives stretch beyond a millennium, like Dharma, Agni,
Kasyapa and Sukra, move circumambulating. (22)
As
soon as your father has left for the forest, will you be awarded
the whole world. It will be under the pious protection of your
rule for thirty-six thousand years without decay in the full
sense of power. (23) When your
brother Uttama, being killed in hunting, is sought in the forest
by the all too afflicted mother, will she run into a forest fire.
(24) After performing great sacrifices for Me, the heart of all
sacrifice, and having distributed great charities, you will also,
after having enjoyed the blessings within this world, at the end
of your life be able to remember Me. (25) Thereafter you will
head for My abode that is worshiped on all planets and is
situated above those of the rishi's and having gone there, you
will never come back.'
(26) Maitreya said: 'Thus, after assuring
the boy His personal protection, did He the honored and worshiped
Supreme Lord who has Garuda in His flag, with him looking on,
return to His own place. (27) Although with the result of service
Dhruva had of his determination achieved the feet of Vishnu, was
he not very pleased with the satisfaction obtained and did he
return home.'
(28) Vidura said: 'Why is it that he,
with the very affectionate worship of His lotus feet obtaining
the in one lifetime rarely achieved supreme position of the Lord,
having reached that far, being so wise, felt not fulfilled within
his heart ?
(29) Maitreya replied: 'Of his stepmother
her harsh words he was pierced in his heart and remembering them
all he did not desire liberation from the Lord of salvation and
thus he suffered grief. (30) Dhruva said to himself: 'What by
their trance the four Kumāra's, those infallible celibates,
never could achieve in one birth, I've understood within six
months, but achieving the shelter of His lotusfeet I fell down
because I had my mind on other things than Him. (31) Oh alas,
just see the unfortunate of my bodily consciousness; having
approached the lotus feet of Him who can cut all bonds, I have
prayed for that which is perishable. (32) My intelligence was
contaminated by those intolerant ones of God who are doomed to
fall down and so I most ignorantly could not accept the truth of
the instructions of Nārada. (33) Like dreaming in my sleep I
sought my refuge with the illusory energy of the divine,
complaining from within my heart; seeing it in opposition I,
under the influence of the outer world, lamented that my brother
was my enemy, although he is just of the temporary. (34) This,
what was prayed for by me, is as useless as treatment given to
someone whose life has already ended; after satisfying the Soul
of the Universe by austerities, which is very difficult to do, I
prayed with the One of Cutting with the World, for a repetition
of birth and death and are thus without fortune. (35) From Him,
willing to offer me His full independence I, alas, of material
foolishness, asked for material prosperity; it is like a poor man
who asks a great emperor that is impressed by his virtue, for a
few broken grains of husked rice.'
(36) Maitreya continued: 'My dear Vidura,
for sure are persons, like yourself, who are eager to taste the
dust of the lotus feet of the Lord of Liberation, in serving Him,
of no interest for themselves after that which is automatically
achieved by it; they consider themselves very rich. (37) Having
heard that his son had returned as if he came back after dying,
could king Uttānapāda, not believe it why a sinner like him
would befall such a good fortune. (38) Keeping faith in the
words of devarishi Nārada, he was overwhelmed by the tidings the
messenger brought and being very satisfied, he offered him a
highly valuable pearl necklace. (39-40) Very eager to see his
son, he in great haste got on a gold ornamented chariot drawn by
the finest horses and left, accompanied by the sound of
conchshells, kettledrums, flutes and the chanting of hymns, the
city together with brahmins, the elderly and his officers,
ministers and friends. (41) Both his queens Sunīci and Suruci
got, hung with gold, together with Uttama on a palanquin and
joined the procession.(42-43)
Seeing
him approaching a small forest nearby, the king hurried down from
his chariot and was immediately overwhelmed with love as he came
near him. Emotional of his great anxiety he with both his arms
for a long time embraced his son, whose bondage of endless
material contamination was destroyed by the Lord His lotus feet.
(44) Thereupon smelling his head over and over, he, seeing his
greatest desire fulfilled, bathed his son with the water cool
from his eyes. (45) After respecting his fathers feet receiving
his blessings, he bowed his head to his two mothers and was
honored by the foremost of the nobles. (46) Suruci, having picked
him up as the innocent boy fell at her feet, embraced him and
spoke, choked up with tears, to him the words: 'May you live
long'. (47) Anyone with whose qualities and friendship the
Supreme Personality, Lord Hari, is pleased; unto him do all
living beings, like water of itself flowing to the lowest
position, offer respect. (48) Uttama and Dhruva both overwhelmed
with affection embraced one another over and over, with their
hairs standing up, while they let their tears run freely. (49)
Sunīti, his mother, embracing her son more dear to her then her
life air, gave, being satisfied touching his body, up all grief.
(50) There and then, o heroic one, he was wetted auspiciously by
the incessant tears from the eyes and the milk that started
flowing from the breasts of the mother of this hero. (51) The
people around offered her, the Queen, praise: 'The fortune of
your son will vanquish all your pains now he has returned in
order to protect the face of this earth, after being lost for
such a long time. (52) The Supreme Lord, who can deliver one from
the greatest danger, must have been honored by you, conquering
death so difficult to overcome, as do great saints meditating
constantly on Him.'
(53) Dhruva, thus praised by the people
around, was by the king together with his brother placed on the
back of a she-elephant and that way pleased and glorified, he
returned to his capital. (54) Here and there, from rows of banana
trees and young betel nut trees, were set up brilliant arched
gateways that looked shark-toothed with bunches of flowers and
fruits. (55) At each gate there was the decoration of hanging
mango leaves, cloth, flower garlands and strings of pearls
together with pots filled with water and burning lamps. (56) With
its surrounding walls, city gates and houses, were the domes of
the palace glittering on all sides, beautifully decorated with
golden ornaments. (57) The squares, lanes and rooftops were
thoroughly cleansed and sprinkled with sandalwood water and
provided with auspicious presentations of fried rice, barley,
flowers and fruits. (58-59) Seeing Dhruva on the road here and
there the woman of the houses, uttering affectionate blessings,
showered him with white mustard seeds, barley, curd, water, fresh
grass, flowers and fruits and thus hearing their very pleasant
songs he entered the palace of his father. (60) In that fine
mansion bedecked with inlays of precious stones he, always being
lifted up to the divine by his father, lived there like a god.
(61) It had seats and furniture of gold with very valuable ivory
beds with golden embellishments and bedding white like the foam
of milk. (62) The walls, made of marble, had precious gems
in them and also the lamps that shone with jewels were held by
female figurines made of precious stones as well. (63) Also the
gardens were very beautiful with various heavenly trees, pairs of
singing birds and the humming of mad bumblebees. (64) Emerald
staircases lead to ponds full of lilies and blue lotuses, swans
and ducks and flocks of geese and cranes dwelt nearby.
(65) The saintly king Uttānapāda under
the influence of hearing and seeing his totally wonderful son,
felt extremely happy about the supreme of his wonder. (66) When
he saw that Dhruva was mature enough of age made the king him,
with the approval of his loving subjects and ministers, the
master of the world. (67) He, this king of Vishnu, pondering over
the salvation of his own soul, considered himself also old enough
and went detached into the forest.
Top
Reference to "White Man's
Burden"
The
Crucifix (Taken
from: 'My Baba and I' by John Hislop, pp. 17-21.)
The
crucifix was created by Baba on a most auspicious day, Mahasivaratri.
Baba had reached a decision to halt the yearly public viewing of
the birth of the lingam as it flashes from his mouth and comes
to rest in his hands, cushioned by a silk handkerchief. Although
that public portion of the holy festival of Mahasivaratri
was now terminated, nevertheless the lingam would be created by
Baba each year again and again, for it is a principal sign by
which we may know the Avathar. In respect to the oval,
eggshaped lingam which Baba produces from within his body on Mahasivaratri
night, he says, "It is not possible for you to understand
the divine purpose and gauge its potential, or to know the
significance of its manifestation. In order to bear witness to
the fact that Divinity is among you, it becomes necessary for me
to express this attitude of mine. Otherwise the atmosphere of
hatred, greed, envy, cruelty, violence, and irreverence will
overwhelm the good, the humble, and the pious. ... it is the
most fitting symbol of the Omnipresent, Omniscient, and
Omnipotent Lord. Everything starts from it and everything is
subsumed in it."
We may also know the Avathar
by the sixteen signs that accompany him: creation, preservation,
dissolution, knowledge of incarnations, special Grace and the
power to bestow it; each of these in the past, present, and
future, thus totaling fifteen, with the sixteenth being Paramathma,
the Divine, resident in the heart of each being. To these
sixteen signs of the divine incarnation of the Avathar,
Baba adds another sign, which he terms the most significant of
all --divine love, universal and impersonal, yet personal.
The lingam has been seen by the
writer a number of times. On the occasion of one Mahasivaratri
night, I was sitting quite close to Baba. When the moment came,
I saw a flash of gold come from his mouth and saw the lingam
caught in the silk handkerchief held by his hands. It was of
gold. How an object that size came up Sri Baba's throat cannot
be explained. At another Mahasivaratri, the lingam was
translucent, and there was a clearly visible flame in the center
of the lingam.
The evening before the Mahasivaratri
Day of 1973, we were told to be ready in the early morning for a
trip; and that when the cars were loaded and ready, we would
know the destination. Swami had decided that only a handful of
people would be with him when the lingam became manifest.
Our destination was the
Bandipur Game Sanctuary in Bandipur Forest, several hours away
in Mysore State. We arrived at the Forest resthouse in the early
afternoon. The next morning, we returned to our cars and, guided
by the Forest people, took various winding roads, hoping to come
upon one of the Forest's wild elephant herds. As we moved
through the trees and the open areas, in our minds we were
hoping for a replay of the dramatic and fascinating encounter
between Baba and a wild elephant herd which had taken place some
years before when Swami and some devotees had made a holiday
expedition to the Game Sanctuary. This time, however, the
elephants remained in their secret places and not even one was
seen. But the drive through the hills had another and more
important objective. Swami intended to find a correct site where
we could gather at dusk for the sacred event of the lingam
birth. It was on this great and most mysterious occasion,
unknown and beyond imagination to the world at large, that the
crucifix came into being.
As
we crossed a bridge above a sandy, dry riverbed, Baba indicated
that this would be the place. He said we would all return here
just at dusk, and this we did. The cars halted at the side of
the road, and we started to climb down the bank to the sandy
river bottom. I was beside Baba. As we passed a bush, Swami
broke off two twigs, placed them together, and asked me,
"What is this, Hislop?"
"Well, Swami, it is a
cross," I answered. Baba then closed his fingers over the
twigs and directed three somewhat slow breaths into his fist,
between thumb and forefinger. Then he opened his hand to reveal
a Christ figure crucified on a cross, and he gave it to me.
He said, "This shows
Christ as he really was at the time he left his body, not as
artists have imagined him or as historians have told about him.
His stomach is pulled in and his ribs are all showing. He had no
food for eight days."
I looked at the crucifix, but
found no words. Then Baba continued, "The cross is wood
from the actual cross on which Christ was crucified. To find
some of the wood after 2,000 years took a little time! The image
is of Christ after he died. It is a dead face."
I noticed something odd and
asked, "Swami, what is that hole at the top of the
cross?" Baba replied that the cross had been originally
hung from a standard.
We continued down to the river
bed, and Baba seated us in a rectangle, with himself at the
head. It could be seen that Swami's body was already in labor,
and the group at once started singing bhajans (sacred
songs of devotion and praise to Divinity). This continued
without interruption until the lingam came out from Baba's
throat and was caught by him in a silk handkerchief. After the
lingam had been admired by everyone, Swami put it aside. He then
raised a small heap of sand in front of his knees, and with his
finger sketched an outline on it. Then in a moment or two, he
dug his hand into the sand and brought forth a silver flask
filled with amrith. Then he moved his hand and created a
small silver cup. Everyone, from his hand, was then given a
portion of the amrith, nectar of the Gods. How delicate
and delicious was the taste! It is unique. There is no other
taste to compare it to.
Within a few weeks we were back
at our home in Mexico and were soon to witness an amazing series
of events in relation to the crucifix. The cross is so small
that the details on the figure of Christ escape the eye. A
friend, Walter, came down to our home and took some color
photographs of the crucifix. The over-all length of the Christ
figure is only one inch, and Walter was to make some
enlargements to bring out the detail. When he mailed us a sample
of the prints, my wife and I were astounded. I wrote to him and
said that if the pictures were seen around the world, they would
create an art sensation. I am sure it is the greatest sculpture
of Christ ever made. In my estimation, it is the most
extraordinary object Sri Sathya Sai has ever created for the joy
of his devotees.
A few weeks later, Walter and
his wife returned with color enlargements of the cross. These,
along with the actual cross, were spread out on the dining room
table, next to large French windows overlooking the sea. The
time was about 5 p.m. The details revealed by the photographic
enlargements were so extraordinary that all persons present were
concentrating on this amazing vision of Christ, and on the
mystery and wonder of Sri Bhagavan. On this afternoon, the sky
along the Mexican coast was clear and peaceful. But suddenly,
without any warning, there was a loud crash of thunder, and as
our eyes turned to the windows, lightning flashed from a dark
cloud where a moment before there had been only clear sky. A
violent wind rushed through the house, causing windows and doors
to open and shut with such force that glass was in danger of
shattering. The curtains were flying in all directions. We were
much startled by this turn of events, but my wife at once said,
"It is 5 p.m., the time Christ died on the cross, and what
is now happening is described in the Bible." She later
brought a Bible and we looked until we found the pertinent
paragraph, which said that at the moment Christ gave up His
life, a violent storm arose with lightning and thunder, and
winds rent the curtains of the temple. We concluded that we had
witnessed a wonder totally beyond our power of imagination.
Before our eyes had occurred nothing less than a recapitulation
of events related to the crucifixion. The following day
newspapers in San Diego carried a brief story commenting on the
sudden and mysterious storm that had arisen without warning on
the Mexican coast, near Ensenada. We and our friends concluded
that this recapitulation of an event which had taken place some
2,000 years ago upon the crucifixion of Christ implied a great
power connected in some way with that small cross and Christ
figure materialized by Baba.
A year or so later, I sent a
description of the event to Dr. Eruch
B. Fanibunda for his book, Vision of the Divine. He
showed the memo to Baba. After reading the memo, Baba said that
the event occurred as described and that the significance
attributed to it was correct.
It might be thought that the
story of the cross was now complete, but there is still a
sequel. In 1975, I made an unannounced trip to India to consult
with Baba about arrangements for a visit to America that we
hoped he would undertake. Swami had not been informed of my
visit and was away on a tour when I arrived. On that day, he was
having lunch with a few senior devotees and he said,
"Hislop arrived in Bangalore just now and is waiting."
One of the men at the table
(who later told me of the scene) remarked, "You made a
crucifix for him."
Baba replied, "Yes, I made
it for him. And when I went to look for the wood, every particle
of the cross had disintegrated and had returned to the elements.
I reached out to the elements and reconstituted sufficient
material for a small cross. Very seldom does Swami interfere
with Nature, but occasionally, for a devotee, it will be
done."
|