Cities
Aflame
Charles Penn
writes from Los Angeles, "Across the oceans,
Baba reaches to each one of us, time after time.
He blesses; He leads. He gives strength to those
needing support. He smiles His acknowledgement
to a whispered "God bless..." and beckons those
He wants to guide to Prasanthi
Nilayam.
He teaches us that life is endless, not
punctuated by nights, days, months and years -
for all are one, in the eternal stream."
[See
SB: Canto 3 :
11]
Bhagavan
on the Sun chariot
This was the
lesson Baba gave to the gathering at Prasanthi
Nilayam also on the
Uttarayana
Day, January 14, 1966. Festivals based on the
calendar, solar or lunar, celebrating the
apparent change of movement or direction of the
sun or the moon have been devised, He said, in
order to emphasize the need for mind-control
(the moon is the presiding deity of the mind)
and intelligence-regulation (the sun is the
presiding deity of intelligence).
(*)
and (**).
Placing disproportionate faith in material
wealth and objective pleasures, man has lost the
art of tapping the resources of joy within
himself, within his own mind and intelligence.
One need not wait for Uttarayana to arrive, for
resolving upon the process of mind-control and
intelligence-control. Every moment is the right
moment - that is Baba's Message. His is the
urgent, the insistent Call for wakefulness, for
action, for gaining the joy of spiritual
progress, without delay or
diminution.
He thrills our
hearts with this Message, as no one else can;
for, who else can say, as He does: "The kinship
between Me and you is ageless; it is eternal. It
is not based on worldly relationships; it is
based on the aspiration of the heart for the
very source and spring of inexhaustible joy. I
see you all, as waves of the sea, when the moon
rises in the sky. I see the
Ananda
shining on your faces. The love you have for the
source of love is the real root of that
Ananda."
Every year,
since 1940 when He announced that He was Sai
Baba 'come again', the emergence of one
Linga
(or many) from His Body through His mouth has
taken place, during the Lingodbhava muhurtha
(the auspicious moment for the exterior
manifestation of the symbol of the all-pervasive
Divine Principle). This is an inscrutable
mystery: how the Lingas of various types of
stone or metal are formed within Him and how
they emerge at that particular moment, every
year, calculated according to the ancient texts
of Jothishasastra! Nine lingas, of 'silver' have
come out one year; in other years, there have
emerged five or seven or three or two, all in a
lump or in succession. Until that illustrious
moment, no one can pronounce on the number,
size, or composition of the lingas that are
undergoing concretization in Him. It is all so
normal, until the Lingodbhava muhurtha
arrives.
The gathering
of 20 or 25 thousand sit expectant and
worshipful, listening to the discourses by
Pundits on some scriptural text or spiritual
discipline. The talks are mostly on Siva, the
Aspect of the Godhead that destroys the basic
ignorance, that awards enlightenment, overwhelms
the accumulated consequences of the past, and
wipes off all traces of one's ancestry, in order
to cleanse the mighty stream, called the mind.
When the Pundits have finished, Baba takes up
the trend and sweetens the programme with one of
His inimitable discourses. At some point during
that discourse or at the end of it, during the
Bhajan sessions which Baba leads with a few
songs, people become aware of His slight cough
which, as many of them know, is the harbinger of
the precious Linga. The empyrean eloquence is
interrupted off and on, by gasps until the
internal thrust can no longer be checked. Then,
amidst the paean of Praise, Om Namah Sivaya,
[Om, I bow with devotion for
Siva] rising from many thousands of
hearts, the Lingas travel to the mouth and fall
on to a silver plate. Baba invariably holds them
aloft for all to see and revere; they are kept
for public view the whole night and in the
morning, Baba takes them in His Palm and passes
along the serried ranks of bhakthas,
who are stunned by the size which could not,
without a miracle, pass through the tiny passage
of His throat.
In 1966, after
about 20 minutes of swaying and heaving, gasping
and coughing, in order to ease the passage, an
emerald Linga, three inches high, fixed on a
pedestal five inches broad, that had formed
itself in Him emerged from His mouth, to the
unspeakable joy and relief of the huge
gathering, which was watching His face with
single pointed attention. Thousands were
exhilarated by this Divine event, which took
place in the newly built, magnificently lit
Santhi Vedika. The entire night was spent by the
gathering in Bhajan. Baba appeared again at the
Santhi Vedika at dawn the next day, when the
Bhajan was closing. He reminded the people, on
the meaning of the vigil and the paen, the
lesson of sense-control, of mind-control, and
the elimination of the ego, by rigorous
discipline. Then He moved along the lines of
pilgrims with the unique illustration of His
Glory, so that their eyes could feast on
It. [The
Sugar and the
Ants]
In the last
week of February, 1966, Baba presided over the
School Day Celebrations of the Zilla Parishad
High School, Bukkapatnam, which grew into a High
school because of His Blessings, since He had
given it the privilege of calling Him an 'old
boy'. In grateful acknowledgement of His
fostering care, the school is named, Bhagavan
Sri Sathya Sai Baba High School. Baba exhorted
the parents to hold forth for emulation by the
children, good examples of virtue and humility,
and service to fellowmen. On the 2nd day of
March, He was at Hyderabad, for a three day
session of the Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha. About
50 to 60 thousand people listened eagerly each
day to the discourses of scholars like Prof.
Vinayak Krishna Gokak and Sri.D. Venkatavadhani,
and to the alchemic addresses of
Bhagavan
Himself.
Baba is by far
the most moving speaker in the world today, for,
He keeps hundreds of thousands listening for
hours in rapt attention to the highest
philosophical truths, which He analyses and
presents in the sweetest of styles; each one
feels that the speech is directed at him, in
order to help him out of the intellectual or
moral tangle into which he has been drawn by
circumstances; each one rises with a lessened
load, happy and strong, for having had the
experience of listening to that melodious voice
which opens the gates of heaven to the poorest
in spirit as well as to the richest. No wonder
Prof. Gokak was inspired to sing in
verse:
Have
you seen Baba,
Who sets cities aflame with longing.
And, drenches them, with the delight of
existence?
You have missed the very meaning of your
life,
If you haven't seen Him and heard
Him!
Baba made it
clear that the Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha was
designed by Him to remind men of the road they
have missed and of the paltry lane of pitfalls
into which they have strayed. The patient has
now no respect for the doctor who alone can cure
him or the drug which alone can give relief.
Imitative condemnation and superficial cynicism
are destroying the faith of the children of the
land in their own invaluable culture; they are
becoming victims of alien attitudes and fashions
of dress, behavior and mental outlook! The
Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha will pave the way to
peace, though not to the competitive achievement
of glory.
Baba reached
Bombay, on His third visit to the City, on the
13th day of March, 1966. As Baba has said,
"Maharashtra is a holy land, where the stream of
Bhakthi
has fertilized social, political, and
philosophical fields for ages. Ramdas, Tukaram,
Jnaneswar and many others have filled the hearts
of the people with reverence for God and love
for man; this was also the field of activity,
the center from which radiated the grandeur, of
the Sai Form of this present Sathya Sai. "Do not
doubt that Maharashtra will soon be a center of
Dharmic Revival". During the fortnight that He
stayed in Bombay, Baba established Himself in
the hearts of hundreds of thousands of its
citizens, through His simplicity and sweetness.
As Dr. Gokak has described it, He becomes
noiselessly and naturally the patriarch of each
family
That
gathers around His knee,
And drinks the golden honey of His
love.
He's the eternal Child playing in the
garden.
Winning back the adults of an erring world,
Through sheer simplicity and innocence of
heart.
He is the healer of a world in pain;
The blue-throated God,
That drinks the poison of the world's
suffering,
To make it happy and whole.
Bhagavân
and Dr. V.K. Gokak
His speech
with even casual visitors becomes a pat on the
back, often a prick to the bubble, a stab to the
ego, a candle in the darkness, a stick to the
lame, a path in the wilderness, a rose amidst
the thorns, a beacon that beckons to nobility
and divinity. A smile from Him is a cherished
treasure that one would nourish in the silence
of the shrine. The stories and similes with
which He illumines philosophical conundrums are
valued possessions for ever. People clamour for
the chance to touch His Feet, to have their
children named, or initiated into spiritual
disciplines according to scriptural rules by
Him, to receive some token of His Grace, and to
lay before Him their mental and physical illness
so that He may render them whole. His Grace
grants 'colour to the painter, notes to the
composer, voice to the singer, strength to the
athlete, endurance to the climber, and bliss to
the Yogi!' So, all roads led to Gwalior Palace,
Worli Beach, for full two weeks in Bombay, for
Baba gave Darsan in the morning and the evening
of every day, there, during
Bhajan
Sessions.
Lord
Caitanya
dancing in ecstasy.
SRI
SRI
SIKSÂSTAKA
Bhajan! Baba
has given, like Chaithanya Mahaprabhu centuries
ago, an extraordinary impetus to the
congregational singing of the praise of God. He
declares that when one breathes in the
atmosphere rendered fragrant with the name of
God, all egoistic impulses are eliminated: He
has emphasized that when the name is sung, the
way in which the name originated, the halo which
it carries, the nuances of its meaning have also
to be recalled to memory. It is not just
gymnastics for the tongue; it is gymnastics for
the mind, anemic, malformed and maimed, in order
to strengthen it with the tonic of the tone of
Heaven, correct it with the pressurized massage
of beat and tal, and cure it with the drug of
divine joy that the association with good men
bring. The sweetness of the human voice is never
more apparent than when it is used to sing the
majesty of God; the highest bliss is won when
one merges, with thousands of others, in the
flood of Ananda, which the
Darsan
of Sathya Sai Baba, moving among the thirsty,
the pining, the sick, the distressed, and the
divinely oriented, confers.
As Dr. K.
Bhaskaran Nair writes, "the deafness of our soul
is cured and the heavenly harmony is again
audible to the ear of faith! The humblest life
is lifted to the skies and acquires the aura of
eternity. Man is enabled to find sense in this
chaos of experience, and discover the meaning
and measure of this incomprehensive flux of
perpetual 'flourishing and perishing' which we
call Time."
As Hon'ble Sri
P.K. Savant, Minister for Agriculture,
Government of Maharashtra and erstwhile Chairman
of Shirdi Samsthan said, "Bhagavan is the
Avathar
of Sai Baba of Shirdi, to whom millions look for
strength and solace. Baba belongs to Maharashtra
in a special sense, though He has come for all
humanity." The Bhajan Sessions provided splendid
chances for Sai devotees to serve the people of
Bombay. Hundreds of trained volunteers served
visitors with humility and loving regard; Baba
selected from the gathering, children and old
persons who were ill beyond repair by medical
skill and, calling them aside after the Bhajan,
diagnosed and dealt with them, with Divine Love
to bless them with relief and
health.
Baba addressed
mammoth gatherings, the like of which even
Bombay has seldom seen in its long history, at
the Sardar Vallabhai Stadium, on the 16th, 17th
and on the 23rd of March. The last meeting was
on Gudi Padua Day, the Festival of the New Year
in Maharashtra and lakhs
of people directed their steps to the stadium to
have His Darsan and to hear His Voice, as their
inaugural experience for the coming
twelve-month-period of their lives. Baba too
gave them a message that, as Sri Page, the
Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council
said, could "sweeten and lighten" the burden of
life. Baba said, "Man is tossed about by every
wind and wave; he has weakened his will and
warped his vision. So, he drifts into the shoals
und whirlpools. He is the child of immortality,
heir to Divinity - destined to be the master of
the mind and its waywardness - the crown of
creation. He is not a monkey that has taken but
a few steps towards civilization. Realize the
God that is immanent in the Universe, that is
calling out for recognition from every flower,
every dewdrop, every star that twinkles in the
sky; realize Him as the source of the Ananda
that you project on the objects around you, so
that you may enjoy them. That realization will
clothe the world, and you, in a new and glorious
vesture; it will make you unafraid; it will
render death a pleasant passage to
birthlessness."
Baba found
time, while in Bombay, to discuss with the
members of the Maharashtra Branch of the
Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha as well as other
seekers and aspirants, personal, and
philosophical problems. He stepped into the
hearts of all who sought solace and
sustenance.
Baba left
Bombay on the 26th of March, for Poona, where
the city had arranged a grand welcome for Him.
On the 27th, He addressed a gathering in the
premises of their Association. "There are
thousands before Me here, listening to My words,
but, fundamentally, you are all one; you are but
a thousand waves on the face of the Ocean. Food
is earned by the combined efforts of all the
limbs and skills of body. It is converted by the
stomach into sustenance and strength, and given
back in that form to all the limbs that helped
to produce it. You are all limbs of that One
body, the Purusha, who is far more expansive
than this Universe, which is a fraction of His
physical manifestation." He spoke about the
attempts to limit oneself by name and form, as
belonging to this nation or that, speaking one
language or another and building a cage around
oneself. Referring to the remark made by some
one, while welcoming Him, that it was a 'family
gathering', Baba said, "Yes; this is a family
gathering. As a matter of fact, all gatherings
into which I come are family gatherings for Me;
the entire mankind is My family. I carry no
labels assigning a country of origin or
residence for Myself. I am above all
labels."
Baba reached
Gulbarga, in the State of Mysore, late at night
on the 28th, and by sunrise He saw sitting in
long lines all over the vast maiden, people from
far and near, eager to carry away in their
hearts the picture of His smiling face. Baba
moved among them and distributed
Vibhuti
to one and all. Later, at the Public Garden
where another mammoth gathering awaited His
Presence, Baba sang a few Bhajans and gave the
Gulbargians a taste of the sweetness of His
Heavenly Voice. Baba reached Hyderabad, in time
to give Darsan to devotees on the Day dedicated
to the Advent Of Sri Rama.
That day is sacred to devotees for another
reason too, for, it was on that day that Baba
gave the land the institution round which has
crystallized the faith and hope of the
custodians of the Vedic culture of India,
namely, Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha. Therefore,
the Hyderabad Branch of the Prasanthi
Vidwanmahasabha inaugurated on Sri Rama's
Birthday monthly discourses on the ancient but
timeless texts of spiritual discipline. Baba
returned to Prasanthi Nilayam on the 4th day of
April, after assuring lakhs of people that
Divinity has not given up Humanity, but, has
only to be discovered within man
himself.
Baba is a
unique phenomenon and therefore, no one can
identify Him or understand Him. In 1960, He
said, "I have not come to Madras for personal
propaganda or publicity; I have not come to
collect disciples or devotees. I am yours,
though you may doubt, discard or deny Me. You
are mine, though I am far away in space or time.
What then is the need for publicity or
propaganda? I am in you; you are in Me; we are
inseparable. This truth can be known by you only
when you know yourself". But, the world has
foolish men who can feed their ego only by
slandering those who are superior to them. Even
in His 20th year, Baba assuaged the resentment
of His elder brother, who feared that the role
which Baba had taken up will draw upon Him the
evil eye of envy and hate. Baba had replied that
He would never be affected by praise or blame,
that He was beyond the bounds of time and space,
and that He would pursue the task upon which He
has come unintermittently. "I invite all to
come, experience, discriminate and judge and
benefit from Me. Dive before you pronounce your
estimate of the depth; eat before you declare
the taste," He wrote.
This demand is
beyond people who dip their pen in tar and revel
in the gloom of night. Pathetic efforts have
been made since the very first annunciation of
Baba to wean people away from His Feet, by those
who saw thousands trekking to Puttaparthi and
returning home happier, healthier and more
convinced of their own liberation from bondage.
But, Baba has dismissed these with Divine
Disdain and planted His Feet on Earth and Sky as
He planned when He arrived in this Human Form.
"To grasp My Meaning, you have to tear into
tatters the doubts and diversions that you now
indulge in, and develop Prema.
For, the embodiment of Prema can be known only
through wisdom and pure Prema."
Microscopic
brains exaggerate the colour of the gown that
Baba wears and the curly hair that forms His
distinctive crown and adjectives and expressions
such as 'mediaeval potentate', 'luxurious silk'
etc., as if Baba is an ascetic attempting
laborously to travel along the path of
Sadhana!
Baba says, "The
jnani
will not look upon Me as wearing this dress, a
yellow gown today, pink gown tomorrow, cotton in
summer, silk in winter; He will penetrate to the
Truth behind this Name and Form and he will know
that this Body is a 'dress' worn for a purpose!
The Avathar that will take place next, of this
same Principle, will have another dress". This
was said by Him in 1960.
In 1962,
during the Birthday Festival, He said, "I have
often told you not to identify Me with this
particular physical build-up. But, you do not
understand. You call Me by one Name only and
believe I have only this one Form. Remember,
there is no Name I do not bear; there is no Form
I do not fill. You have not understood me at
all, if you come one day and go away the next,
saying, 'I have seen Sathya Sai Baba; He wears a
fine long gown; He has wonderful hair! Determine
to discover, decide to learn, dive deep and
then, it will be made known to you, for, it is
the right of such as you."
Baba is aware
that mean men sneer at Him, as a 'magician'. At
Vyasasram, established by the renowned Malayala
Swami at Yerpedu, He said, "People say that mine
is all magic, black or white. Well, they can say
with equal truth that Krishna held aloft the
Govardhana Mountain [Bhagatha
Vahini, Chapter
38]
or that Rama built the bridge across the sea,
[Ramakatha
Rasavahini, Chapter 7a and
7b]
through black magic! The manifestation of the
Divine can only be through inexplicable means,
or miracles. They cannot be equated with magic.
How can the egg of the cuckoo be equated with
the egg of the crow? Magic thrives on deceit,
the tricks are rooted in falsehood and are used
for appeasing the greed for food, clothing and
shelter. This Body, which has come through
Divine Will to uphold Truth can never stoop to
that depth. No. Never."
The miracles
which are spontaneous expressions of Baba's
Divinity patent in His Presence, as well as
where His physical Presence is not evident, are
not for advertisement or publicity. Baba said at
Venkatagiri in 1964, "These miracles, as you
call them, are but means towards the
establishment of Dharma, which is My Task. Some
people remark that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa has
said that miracles produced by the faculties
earned by Sadhana are obstructions in the path
of the
Sadhaka
and they should be avoided by those who want to
reach the goal of self-realization. Ramakrishna
said that the Sadhaka will be tempted to overdo
the demonstration and so inflate his ego. This
is correct advice, so far as Sadhakas are
concerned. But, the absurdity lies in equating
Me with the Sadhaka whom Ramakrishna wanted to
warn."
The miraculous
cures that Baba effects when His Grace is sought
after by people are also incidental and
secondary, according to Him. "The removal of
misery and distress is not the main plank of My
Mission. My task is not merely to cure, console,
and remove individual misery. It is something
far more important. For the plantain tree, the
fruit is the chief consummation; but, the
leaves, and the trunk are also useful to man. My
main task is to promote, preserve, and propagate
Sanathana
Dharma."
Do not hunger for comfort, for continuous bonds
with the outer world, for more and more things
to worry about; hunger for Ananda, deep and
full! I know that most of you come to Me for
tinsel and trash, petty promotions and profits,
status symbols and short-lived fame. Very few
ask from Me the thing I have come to give,
namely, liberation from grief and pain, worry
and fear, anxiety and agony."
Since the vile
insinuations that are circulated by the
calumniators are the products of envy at what
they consider to be the luxurious living
standard of Baba, it is good to remember that
Baba eats the food of the poorest of this land,
without any milk or curds or butter or ghee and
that He has no tastes for sweets. He sits and
sleeps on the same mattress, at Prasanthi
Nilayam and uses dilapidated cars or taxis in
cities, lest the masses recognize Him and follow
Him, for the coveted Darsan! Baba gives another
reason also to infer that His lot is unenviable,
to say the least. "Some of you may feel that it
is glorious for the Lord to come in human form.
If you were in My place, you would not feel so
glorious. For, I am aware of the past, present
and future of every one of you. Therefore, I am
not moved so moved by mercy; I know why a person
suffers in this birth, what it is the
consequence of. So, I react differently from
you; you may call Me either cold-hearted or
soft-hearted. I do not cause joy or grief; you
design these chains that bind you with gold or
iron."
He is the most
tireless worker at the Nilayam, planning,
designing, arranging and supervising every
little act that conduces to the proper
functioning of its various world-wide
activities. Nothing is done, there or in other
places where organizations function in His Name,
without His express permission and blessings. At
the Nilayam, He is busy day and night, teaching,
training, consoling, comforting and counseling,
the hundreds who come to Him for light and
guidance. Even while on tour, He uses what
little time He can spare for the amelioration of
the suffering and the distress of the poor and
the downhearted. "Make every moment holy by
filling it with loving service" He advises, by
example more than by precept.
Baba curbs the
enthusiasm of devotees and does not allow them
to display the fruits of the Grace they have
received from Him. He declares that such display
is highly unspiritual, for it promotes egoism.
He condemns in very strong terms those who try
to earn popularity and profit by erecting
Mandirs and Temples for Him! Speaking at
Kakinada in March 1965, Baba said, "I strongly
discourage attempts to build temples for Me. I
ask, instead, that existing temples be renovated
and used more. This mania for Mandirs has become
a popular business adventure! People, armed with
lists, search for likely victims and squeeze
donations out of them, by using My Name. A great
deal of back-biting, envy and greed is generated
in this process; pushing your Master's name
forward easily degenerates into tarnishing the
name of the other man's Master." At Madras too,
He harped on the same theme. "I do not
appreciate this enthusiasm. Worship any Form,
under any Name, in any Temple! You neglect the
ancient temples of this City and build new ones,
only to neglect them, also when you discover
some reason to give up these new ones. People
who run helter-skelter clamoring for donations
for Mandirs are really promoting Atheism, for
they are urged by greed, malice and egoism,
rather than by the dedicatory spirit of
devotion. When these self-styled promoters of
the cause come to you, do not give even a paisa.
Why do you need a hall for
japam
or dhyanam?
Make your house a small mandir for yourself;
meditate in your shrine room. Sing Bhajana with
your children. Impress others by your sweet
speech, your humility, your universal love, your
steady faith, your truthfulness. Then, others
will come into the fold of believers, in numbers
larger than any hall could
bring."
Baba is ever
on the watch to stop the overflowing of devotion
into absurd channels. For example, there was a
man who devised a series of discourses on Baba
and the Prasanthi Nilayam, in which he sought to
win popularity and money by attributing sacred
properties to every tree and well, every stone
and stump at the Nilayam, representing them as
'gods' and 'sages'! Baba sent me to his field of
activity and directed me to warn his fans and to
scotch his campaign of absurd adulation! He is
ever alert to condemn the hysterical outpourings
of adolescent and childish devotees, who affect
to be 'possessed' by Him and to reply to
questions asked, as if they are Himself! Any
behavior that weakens man, that trades upon the
signs of Grace, that sets up pompous symbols of
the simple truth is immediately condemned by
Baba, in His discourses or through a note in the
Sanathana
Sarathi
magazine and its subsidiaries.
To misuse the
freedom of speech and expression that we have
won in India after a hard struggle and to taint
with foul tongue and pen this Sublimely Sacred
Phenomenon, with so much power, wisdom and love
is, we know, undiluted wickedness! But, Baba
will only say that it is a part of His Play.
"Without this dark slander, the splendor of My
Glory will not shine bright".
Expecting Baba
to be just another itinerant Fakir, who trades
upon his esoteric skill, many mean and small
men, who can see only meanness and smallness,
are slandering Him, wherever His Glory shines.
All men must hang their heads in shame that
human beings like themselves sit in their dens
and concoct outrageously despicable fiction
about a person whose movements and utterances,
attitudes and manners are so impeccably divine.
It is a measure of the fortitude and
self-control that Baba has instilled into those
whom He has drawn towards Him that the rags
which revel in this gutter are left alone, to
die of starvation. All who have tasted His
sweetness are pained by this exhibition of acute
malign phobia. Many newspapers howl pitiably
against the Moon of His Majesty, and silence
themselves when their throats get too sore, or
when their hunger is not appeased by blackmail.
Some men in Bombay unaware of His Glory, once
pitted a practitioner of yogic feats, like
consuming nails and acids, against His Majesty
and, when He passed unconcernedly by, tried to
raise a laugh, which recoiled on
themselves.
Baba referred
to it at Anantapur, where He presided over a
School Day, soon after His return. "Last month,
I was in Maharashtra State, in Bombay, where
lakhs and lakhs of people were able to slake
their thirst for Darsan; I was discoursing to
several thousands on the fundamentals of the
Vedas and the Sastras and directing the members
of the Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha (Maharashtra
Branch) to resuscitate the great culture of our
land. I was discussing with Ministers of
Maharashtra State and the Home Minister of the
Central Government, Sri Y.B. Chavan, and also
judges, business magnates, doctors, lawyers,
editors and others, besides spiritual leaders of
various religions about Dharmasthapana,
or the revival of Dharma. But, here, in this
part of India, newspapers were wallowing in the
lies they invented and circulated, about My
being all the while in prison. Yes! I am
imprisoned in the hearts of My
devotees."
"Of course,
such calumny is the experience of Eminence
everywhere, at all times. This is My experience,
in previous eras also. The successors of
Sisupala must even now fret and fume, vomiting
brimstone and fire, against truth and right. I
pity these unfortunates who, in order to scrape
together a few paise from discontented and
diseased minds, stoop to such venial tricks!
These sub-human antics might pain some of you;
so, I declare, 'Even if all the fourteen worlds
unite against Me, the work for which I have come
will not suffer a bit; even if earth and heaven
continue, My Truth will remain
unshaken'".
Perhaps in
response to the first rumblings of this tale of
gall, Baba had said during Dasara 1965 itself,
"There are some who write and speak as if they
have known Me. I can only say this: They can
never know Me, for, to know Me, one has to rise
to this Stature. Again, listen to this: My
activities and movements will not be altered
whoever may pass whatever opinion on them.
People may remark disparagingly on My dress, on
My gown of colored fabric, on My hair - but, I
am not affected at all. Does a person become
holier by wearing rags? Pay attention to what is
grown in the heart, not on the head. I shall not
stop My plans, My Dharmasthapana, My
Bhaktharakshana,
My discourses, My miracles, which are but
expressions of My miraculousness; nor shall I
retrace or retract. For the Past 26 years, I
have been carrying on alone the task of
inculcating Prasanthi in the hearts of those who
have lost the art of gaining it. I am ever
happy, full of joy. I smile at those who deride
Me and invent lies about Me; I smile at those
who praise Me."
Baba advised
those who were afflicted by this irresponsible
but futile mudslinging, to be calm and
unconcerned. "Do not damage your health by anger
or worry. Be happy, on the other hand, that
while you call on Me in your shrines, these men
shout My name, along the dark squalid bye-lanes
and by the busy bus-stops, where they hope to
find victims for their salacious ware. Many
people who read the rag, through sheer craving
for the sensational, will be turned towards the
Truth, by the very absurdity and unbelievability
of the lies". He instanced the story of
Bhasmasura, who won from Siva the power of
causing a conflagration on the body of anyone,
upon whose head he places his hand. He tried to
kill Siva Himself by this newly won capability:
but, God so manipulated events that, unaware of
what he was doing to himself, Bhasmasura was
tempted to place his hand upon his own head; he
died in the conflagration that he caused upon
himself. So too, their wickedness and their
pride will be reduced to ashes in the fire of
repentance". [See
also:
Sandehanivarini]
In fact, a gentleman, who ignorantly equated
Baba with his own species of exhibitionistic
yogis and who challenged him to do a
much-advertised feat, was humiliated by his own
conceit; his promoters suffered dramatic
discomfiture!
Baba analyzed
the motives of these men afflicted with pride.
He said, "Egoism is the seed-plot of a host of
down dragging tendencies, like greed, anger,
malice and hate. It clouds the intelligence and
distorts the face of the real into the
disgusting features of the false. It hides truth
in a cloud of dust and urges man on into immoral
deeds, in the effort to cater to the claims of
self-aggrandizement". During Dasara, 1966, Baba
spoke of some yogis who boast that they can walk
on water and challenge others to do likewise.
"It is a far greater and far more useful vital
attainment, if a yogi can rid himself of envy,
pride, greed and malice".
Speaking
of men of little faith, Baba said on
Krishna-janmashtami,
1966, "Do not give ear to what others say;
believe your own experience, your own eyes.
Whatever gives you joy and peace, believe in
that as genuine. Why should you go about asking
all and sundry, whether something is salt or
sugar? Having judged it as sugar, why should you
revise your opinion, when some one cavils at it
and says it is salt? Put a little on your
tongue; that will clinch the issue. Do not deny
with the tongue, what you have relished in the
heart; do not bear false witness to your own
conscience. Do not adjust your opinion to the
company you fall into", He
advised.
Only the
Divine can evince such Love and such Mercy,
towards error and mischief. Baba forgave His
traducers, for they were as He said, "moths
whose nature is to bore into fabrics. They
cannot but do anything else; they have an inner
impulse, which they have not been taught to
overcome. They slander all who come in their
purview. The moth bores into cotton saris,
woolen cloth, silken vestments; it has no
discrimination in its make-up. So, be happy that
they are deriving joy by reviling Me. My aim is
to render all men joyful. If these men can
derive joy through such means, why should you
deny them that avenue for the expression of
their nature? I am glad that they are able to
feed their wives and children with the income
which the stink sheets give them. Why should you
be miserable, when they are eating their
meal?"
Baba is
Premaswarupa; He is Love, in every limb and
look, in every glance and stance; in every
gesture and vesture of thought. So, He pardons
these dealers in untruth and asks all good men
to pray for their correction. "Sooner or later,
they are bound to repent; no man can wander in
the wilderness for long; when he discovers that
he has lost his way, he will stop and retrace
his steps, until he regains the highway. Pray
for their transformation into
Sathwic
individuals, for the speedy cure of their
blindness, for their tongues to cognize the
taste of Truth. Direct your love to these
misguided brothers; they will rejoin the pilgrim
path, soon", Baba said, addressing the Dasara
gathering in 1966. He gave the example of the
leech which relishes diseased blood from the
w9und, but drops off, when it is too bloated to
suck further. "They too will fall off, when they
have had their fill".
"When water is
poured into milk, the water too acquires value
and fetches a price! When lies are manufactured
about the great, people who prefer nauseating
food will pay cash for them".
Baba mentioned
also a positive advantage, which these traducers
confer. He said, "When the winnowing is done,
the husk falls afar, and it can be thrown into
the furnace. The grain forms a mound, it can be
stored and made into bread that sustains and
gives strength. These men fanning the empty air
separate the chaff from the grain. Persons
without deep-rooted faith fall off at the first
whisper of scandal, but persons who have their
faith deep-rooted, stand up against the storm;
they get only tougher and harder in
fiber."
In May 1966,
Baba spent about ten days in a coffee plantation
in the charming Hill District of Coorg, in
Mysore. Coorg is the home of a hardy race of
stalwarts in the fields of sports and battle. It
is the nursery of heroic soldiers. The Coorgs
are hospitable and pious. They trekked long
distances, up hill and down hill, along the
winding roads, in order to have a glimpse of the
Lord staying in their midst. Baba had a smile
and a blessing for everyone of them; He visited
a number of Coorg houses and spread sunlight and
joy. The bungalow where He stayed became the
target for cars and omnibuses, from miles
around. Later, Baba left for Madras and from
thence, He accompanied some devotees to
Kodaikanal, another salubrious Hill Station.
Every day, at Kodaikanal, as at Coorg, Bhajan
sessions were held, so that hundreds and
thousands could imbibe the joy of singing the
glory of God in chorus and the thrill of the
Darsan of Baba. Baba said, "The good luck of
these people on the hills brought Me here; else,
I had no plan to come".
Soon, Baba
drove down to Madurai City where devotees had
completed the construction of a new suburb
around a Sai Baba Temple, which was named Sathya
Sai Nagar in reverential gratitude. Discourses
were given by Pundits from Tamilnad on three
evenings and Baba, who presided, supplemented
them with His elucidations.
The
Gift of Nectar (Kasturi is holding the sacred
vessel)
Returning to
Prasanthi Nilayam, with the first rains of the
monsoon, Baba was available for Darsan to about
10.000 people who gathered for Darsan on Guru
Pournima; He gave each of them a few drops of
Amrit,
Nectar, with the exhortation that the tongue
which has tested Amrit should no longer relish
Anrit (False-hood). Baba inaugurated the Branch
of the State Bank at Prasanthi Nilayam Township
an amenity to help the residents as well the
thousands who visit the place. Baba transmutes
each such occasion into a spiritual harvest; so,
in His Discourse, He compared the Bank where
money is taken and given, to the Bank where Love
alone is accepted and given. "That Bank", He
said, "receives deposits and maintains accounts
strictly and confidentially. Every little is
entered and accounted for, thoughts, deeds,
words, good, bad, indifferent. Develop the
saving habit, for saving yourself. Here they
take Dhanam (money); there, they take Dhyanam
(equanimity) as deposit". Each sentence was a
brilliant flash, revealing the deepest
Truth.
On the third
of August, Baba presided over the Opening Day
Celebrations of the Primary Health Center at
Kothacheruvu, a village seven miles by road from
the Nilayam. Baba was welcomed enthusiastically
by the villagers, as well as by the Hon'ble
Minister for Panchayath Raj, Dr. Lakshminarasiah
from Hyderabad, and leaders elected to Local
Bodies by the people of Anantapur District. One
of them, Sri T. Ramachandra Reddy, the President
of the District Board, Anantapur, confessed "I
must admit that it is only after His fame has
spread allover the world that we, who are living
so near Puttaparthy have come to realize His
Divinity!" The Minister also, said "He is so
near us but, we commit the mistake of dealing
with Him as if He is distant". There were many
officers of the District on the dais. So, Baba
said, "The Cabinet of Ministers, the Officers
and the People are like the three blades of the
fan rotating here, to give us cool comfort; they
must all be activated by the current, (the
spirit of service) in order to give happiness
and peace." The mention by the Doctor in charge,
of the need for family planning by means of
artificial aids drew from Baba a forthright
condemnation of the movement, that is bound to
undermine morality and let loose buffeting
storms of passion, "It is only rigorous
self-control through Sadhana that can ensure the
acceptance of parental responsibility; general
movements to spread artificial aids will bring
about the fall of moral
standards."
The fourth of
August, 1966, is an important date in the
history of Prasanthi Nilayam for, on that day,
the Minister for Panchayath Raj, Andhra Pradesh
ceremonially declared that the area was
separated from the village of Puttaparthi of
which it was but a 'ward' and, constituted into
an administrative unit, named the Prasanthi
Nilayam Township. This was because the Nilayam
was fast developing into the spiritual hub of
India and the world; its rays were heralding the
dawn of a bright new Day in all the continents
of the earth. Baba called upon the residents of
the Colony to "use the new administrative
set-up, for the benefit of this as well as
neighboring areas".
In September,
on the Birthday of Krishna, Baba gave Amrit to
all who had gathered and also the Amrit of His
Discourse on two days. "Edison", He said, "the
great scientist and inventor, used to spend
hours and days in his laboratory concentrating
on some experiment or problem; milk, bread or
tea was pushed into the room from under the
closed door, but, they were untouched until he
solved the riddle that was in his mind. So great
is the concentration that science demands.
Consider then how much more should the Sadhaka
be fixed in single-mindedness, in order to
achieve success in the subtler and the more
sublime sphere of spiritual conquest. Man must
be both bright and light, like the lamp that
floats on the Ganga at Hardwar. If the weight of
worldly desire is added, the lamp will sink and
the light will go out."
Dasara, 1966!
While discoursing prior to the Hoisting of the
Prasanthi Flag, Baba gave a new message to the
thousands before Him: "I shall tell you of one
form of worship which will endow you with divine
strength". It was the reverential and grateful
use by man of the five elements that are his
constituents and His Manifestations, earth,
water, fire, air and ether! "Use them all
intelligently", He said, "use them to promote
your own welfare and the welfare of others; use
them in moderation and for the service of
humanity".
The Hospital
Day Celebrations were presided over by Opal
Macrae, a famous writer and social worker from
United States who had come to the Nilayam for
her Sadhana. She spoke of her attempts to cure
insanity, feeblemindedness and other defects by
the therapy of music in New York and Hongkong.
Baba said, "Music is the instrument by which
passions are sublimated, emotions tamed, and
impulses directed to higher purposes. India has
recognized the therapeutic excellence of music
long, long ago." Baba declared that medicine and
hospitalization are for those who hesitate and
argue in doubt. For those who rely on the
Supreme Doctor, His Name is drug
enough.
In His
Discourses on the significance of the
Yajna,
on the activities of the Prasanthi
Vidwanmahasabha, on the occasion of the
recitation of poems by poets, on the drama,
'Radhabhakti' which He wrote and directed
(containing as He said 'the quintessence of a
dozen discourses of Mine') Baba was continuously
harping on the pathetic condition of the world
and of India, which He has come to heal. "The
world is now narrowly compartmentalized, on the
bases of religion, color, convictions etc. Those
who question the validity of compartments are
themselves in a compartment! Metal pieces
gathered in a heap are still pieces; they have
not been fused; fuse the peoples by the heat of
Love into One. The heart must be purged of hate.
when God is installed therein, hate will flee.
The thinkers of the West are turning to the East
to learn the art of keeping peace and winning
peace - lasting, satisfying peace - Prasanthi.
The sun is a minute dot of light, when compared
with some of the stars; but, it does give
illumination and drives away darkness. So too,
India may be a poor and weak nation but it can
give light and grant peace." Baba also spoke of
the social illnesses of maladjustment that are
infesting the world, in the wake of
mechanization and industrialization. He said
they smother man's divine nature, which
struggles to blossom into Service, Sacrifice and
Sadhana.
On the
Deepavali Day, 1966, Baba said that Festival of
Lights is ordained to celebrate the victory of
heavenly over hellish impulses. Many thousands
had gathered that day at the Nilayam to have His
Darsan and to listen to His Discourse. Asking
them, after the Festival to return to their
places, Baba said, "I know your love towards Me;
you know My affection towards you. But, yet, you
have to leave to your places, where duties and
obligations call you, where your services are
needed by individuals and institutions. They are
also Mine; service to them is service to Me. I
desire also to give you the experience of My
being everywhere, wherever you are, not
restricted by time or space. If you are here
always before Me, how can I grant you that
joy?", He asked.
Baba's 41st
Birthday came soon after. In the birthday
message He graciously wrote and gave for
publication in the Sanathana Sarathi, Baba said,
"What do the many wars, that man has indulged
in, teach him? They teach that lust, anger,
hate, and envy are evil forces that haunt him.
Examine the anarchy and the lawlessness, the
chaos and the killings that are raging in the
world today. They are the consequences of these
evil forces. Why, even the illness your bodies
suffer from and the unrest nestling in your
homes are, due to the viruses of lust, anger,
hate and envy. He condemned those who "impute
faults and foist failings on others and indulge
in blaming and hurting them. Hate and envy
distort the charm of the human face. A person
having greed, lust, anger and envy will suffer
digestive and nervous illness. Therefore, learn
to expand your love and your devotion to God,
until the whole of mankind has entered that
fold", He advised.
When Baba came
to the Auditorium during Bhajan on His Birthday,
preliminary to the anointing that is the
ceremonial rite of the day, He wore over His
silken gown a resplendent shawl of gold-thread,
into which was woven the letters Sairam, 1008
times, by a weaver devotee who, like Kabir,
recited that sacred Name of his Lord when the
shuttle was moving to and fro forming the fabric
for the God whom he adored. He wore it, since
the yarn was the gold of devotion. Baba went
among the vast concourse of devotees and placed
in the hands of each a 'laddu' (an Indian
sweetmeat) as the Birthday Gift of Grace. It was
nearly 3 P.M. when Baba returned to the Nilayam
after a long 5-hour nonstop distribution. One
small incident may be mentioned here to
illustrate His Omniscience and His Mercy. One
man among the 15.000 tried to collect more than
one from His hands. At last, Baba told him,
while giving him the laddu, "This is the fifth I
am giving you! I believe that is enough for
you!" He knew how often he had given him; He had
no harsh words against his
greed.
In the
discourse that Baba gave that evening, He gave a
new interpretation to the words, Sathyam Sivam
and Sundaram. Those who were identifying them
with
Sath Chith and
Ananda
opened their eyes at the novel meaning: "Follow
the Karma-marga with the harmony and charm of
Sundaram; follow the Bakthi-marga with the
exhilaration and exaltation of Sivam; follow the
Jnana-marga with the directness and
steadfastness of Sathyam."
Three days
later, He inaugurated a Public Library at
Bukkapatnam, the village where as a boy, He had
attended school. Years ago Baba had opened a
park there and later He had switched on electric
lights in the Temple. He chided the villagers
for being content with the contemplation of His
Glory from a distance without taking earnest
steps to get near Him and enjoy the warmth of
His Heart. Speaking about books, Baba cautioned
them against books that excite emotions and
arouse passions and dull discrimination. Books
must add strength to the will, and curb the evil
inclinations and urges in man. He spoke of the
increasing neglect of classical literature and
exhorted writers and readers to develop a taste
for the basic excellence of our ancient
culture.
Bhagavan:
Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha,
Trichinapally
On the
thirteenth of December, Baba left for
Trichinapally on the Kaveri river, where
devotees had arranged a three-day session of the
Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha. The Principal of the
Institute for the training of teachers of
Hinduism at Madras welcomed Baba, in a speech
replete with quotations from Tamil classics. He
spoke of the supreme and sovereign Grace of
Baba. "His look will grant illumination, His
touch will communicate revelation, His word will
awaken us to realization," he said, quoting the
sages of the distant past. Baba called upon all
scholars and students to take up the task of
their own moral uplift by their own efforts and
of others by their example. He spoke of the
devaluation of man into a mere nut in a mammoth
machine whereas he is the heir to the heritage
of immortality. "You claim to have won
Swarajya
(self-rule), because the men who ruled this land
for centuries have gone home. But, the inner
masters who rule tyrannically over you, have yet
to be forced to quit. Until then, you have no
Swarajya. When once that is done, no enemy can
overpower you. That is the moment of your
independence. Now what you have won is only the
rind, not the kernel". On the 17th, Baba found
time to go to the village of Budalur, where
thousands had gathered round the Sathya Sai
Vihar, to welcome Him. Baba moved among them in
the thickening dusk and while doing so, He
noticed here and there some sick people to whom
He gave vibhuthi out of His own Hand. The first
to get the precious drug was a dumb boy, the
second was a deaf riot and the third an old
farmer with an ulcer in the
stomach!
On the 18th He
left Trichinapally and stayed at Pollachi for
the night. Next day, He motored to the
Parambikulam Forest, the home of elephant herds,
in order to show the people who were with Him
the grandeur of that sylvan scene; but, it also
enabled the simple dwellers of the jungle to
fill their eyes with His never-to-be-forgotten
Beauty.
Truth,
Goodness, Beauty
Baba entered
the State of Kerala on the 20th and after two
days at Palghat, He visited Ernakulam,
Trippunittura and Alleppey, before reaching the
Nilgiri Hills during Christmas. At Devi Vilas,
Palghat, Baba moved among the devotees with His
benign smile and courage-granting
Abhaya-mudra.
He spoke to many in the Malayalam language and
drew the hearts of all towards Him. At
Kollengode, when a cyclonic gale gathered heavy
dark rain clouds over the gathering and rain
came down in thick drops, Baba said: "Do not
worry. These are not rain-drops! They are drops
of Ananda, Sudhabindu!" And, the rains held off,
for full one hour! This miracle was highlighted
in the newspapers of Kerala the same day. At
Trippunittura, a Christian couple, deeply
devoted to Baba, prayed to Him to lay a
foundation stone for a Prayer Hall they had
planned to built. At Olavakkot, too, a Sathya
Sai Nagar (suburb of bungalows where Sai
devotees live) had grown; so, Baba, out of His
Infinite Mercy, blessed it, laying the
Foundation for a Prayer Hall. The twenty third
of December was Vaikuntha Ekadasi, the Day when
Baba showers Grace, as Nectar to all. He spent
the day with devotees at Allepey. Hundreds
gathered there to taste the nectar of His talk
and imprint His beauteous form on their
hearts.
(*)
See
Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto 5, Chapter 16 to
26
and
(**)
Time
Sciences by The Order of Time
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