"Sign
and Signature"
When Baba
called,
"Roll up your bed and follow
Me",
very few realized that the call was for
Nagarasankirtan!
At the World Conference, Baba advised His
devotees to wake up at 4 or 4.30 in the morning
(the Brahmamuhurta as it is called), and move
along the streets singing the Glory of God,
awakening people into the awareness of the
Divine. Sankirtan of this type was a common
feature of village life in the past, but due to
apathy and ridicule, the habit is fast
disappearing. After Baba's command, people who
had never seen the sunrise, since they arose
from their beds only when it was high up in the
heavens, have started moving out into the cool,
refreshing air to join their brothers and
sisters in rendering the new day a happy event
to themselves and to others. When Baba said,
"Follow Me",
it was clear that He meant He, in any one of the
Infinite Forms that God assumes, and with any
one of the Infinite Names that God can be
remembered. As a matter of fact, Baba has
announced that hymns on a variety of these Forms
and Names have to be sung, and that no portrait
of either Himself or of any other Forms of
Divinity be carried when the Bhajan party moves
on.
"Follow
God", that
is His call.
The intricate
mysteries of metaphysics are beyond the ken of
the common man; even those who can delve into
them, do it for the pleasure of disputation or
dialectic gymnastics; they do not intend to
practice even an iota of the principles of life
underlying them. The abstruse labyrinth of
rituals, with its armoury of do's and don'ts,
create only apprehension in him. Mere
Jnana,
(knowledge) can make you a good logician or a
debater capable of indulging in hair-splitting
sophistry. But if it is lived through, or in
other words, implemented, then you become a
Jnani (a
wise man).
Sadhana
or practice helps you to achieve the goal of
life. Baba has restored faith in the Name and
the efficacy of the Name
"Call on Me in your distress; it is your
right to invoke My Grace."
Dr. D.J.
Gadhia, of the H.H. Agha Khan Dispensary,
Arusha, Tanzania, writes: "In May 1971, Mr.
Jamnadas M. Patel became seriously ill. When
this poor soul was called to attend on him,
there was no breathing; the heart-sounds had
completely stopped. The pulse could not be felt.
The heart was massaged with sacred
Vibhuti,
with sincere prayers. He recovered miraculously.
When Mr. Jamnadas visited Puttaparthi, Baba told
him,
"I gave you new life, as your doctor called Me
at the right time."
Devotees of Baba know the unfailing power of the
Name to bring forth the Grace of Baba. They need
no elaborate argument to convince them that
Sankirtan is the shortest and the sweetest means
of winning His Grace.
But, there
were some who had their fears! Will people get
up so early? What about the rich, the officers
who wield authority over the area? Will the
neighbours permit singing in the early dawn?
Will the police keep quiet? What about dogs,
will they not bark us out or even inflict a
bite? Many who felt they should not be seen
singing in the streets, but who wanted to
observe Baba's command, started at 3 a.m. when
the streets were empty and all were sleeping
soundly, and came home quickly before they could
be discovered! But soon the atmosphere changed.
A wave of wholehearted enthusiasm swept over the
land from one end to another. Neighbours
welcomed the melodious tonic! The police
themselves joined, to imbibe delight! The dogs
were no problem at all. From one day in the week
the Kirtan was increased in frequency to two or
three, and in some places every day in the week.
The distances covered increased, the number in
each group multiplied. Soon each section of the
town or city had its own Nagarasankirtan party.
They usually met in a temple and proceeding from
there, ended up in another temple.
In
Sathyavada, it was found that some mysterious
person knocked at the doors of sleeping members
and asked them to wake up and join the party. In
Chembur, Bombay, they noted that on no day, even
during the most furious monsoon days, was the
Nagarasankirtan party disturbed or bothered by
even a drizzle. At Gauhati, Assam, Sri Dutt
Gupta moved on along the usual route at the
usual time, with the name of God on his lips and
the group behind him. A cyclonic wind was raging
and roaring, bringing "cats and dogs" with it;
on the way, the chaprasis and watchmen of the
State Treasury warned them to take shelter from
the oncoming calamity, but they sang and stepped
as slowly as usual, to the place where they
generally end the Bhajan and perform
Arati
before they disperse. The rain did not fall upon
the road, the drizzle did not wet their clothes,
the wind did not disturb their hair! People
unable to walk without a stick have, after
attending a few of these matinal Bhajans, thrown
off the stick and walked majestically along. I
know of an invalid in Channarayapatna, Mysore,
who earned Grace in this manner. Baba has said
that the Nagarasankirtana is
Bhagavatha
in practice. When the senses are still dormant
after the night's sleep, before they get too
loudly involved in the pursuits of the busy day,
you should move along the quiet streets in the
cool, thrilling pre-dawn silence, bringing God
into every ear, radiating the fragrance of the
Divine Name through every open door and window.
This is self-help as well as social service of
the highest order. It is a tonic to the body and
a shake-up to the mind. Every song cuts the knot
of laziness that is infecting someone. You
remind your neighbours to offer thanks to God
for the gift of another day; it is a mission of
love. It is a purificatory Yajna,
for it disinfects the air fouled by slogans of
anger and cries of pain and pride. It helps to
remove inner and outer pollution.
Several such
groups operating in different parts of Hyderabad
converged towards the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan.
The sight and sound of
Bhajan was
a feast for the eye and ear; Baba blessed the
participants and granted them further impetus to
continue their Sadhana.
An Akhand
Bhajan (singing the Names of God continuously
for 12 or 24 hours) was arranged on 25th July by
the Bhajan Mandalis of Bangalore at the famous
Lal Baug gardens in the glass house. The
inscription at its entrance "The garden of
flowers is the temple of God" appeared so apt
during the singing of Bhajan in the Divine
Presence of Baba. Baba lit the lamp to mark the
inauguration of the Bhajan, and when it came to
an end, He sprinkled on the heads of the
thousands attending, the water sanctified by the
holy hymns. In the evening when Baba arrived to
give His discourse it was raining. Baba does not
like anyone suffering in sun or rain. His heart
is moved with irrepressible compassion. He moved
amongst the people, made them sit inside the
building, lifted an iron chair for Himself from
behind the table on the dais and placed it in a
position from where all could have
Darsan,
and thereafter commenced His Discourse.
Krishna
Jayanti, 1968 was celebrated at Prasanthi
Nilayam for 3 days. Many Samithis call it Sai
Krishna Jayanti; they have converted it into a
children's festival, when children are given new
clothes, trained to enact small plays and sing
Bhajans. At Prasanthi Nilayam Bhagavan gave
three discourses on Krishna and the significance
of the Leelas.
Dwelling on the value and validity of the Name,
He said that the root of the Name Krishna
implies power to attract, to enchant. Krishna is
the personification of the Divine principle that
is born in the umbilical region of the body
(Mathura),
which is conveyed to the mouth
(Gokulam),
and there fostered by the tongue
(Yasoda),
who alone knows the sweetness.
"Foster Krishna on your
tongue",
He advised.
"Just as the poison from the hoods of the
serpent Kalinga [See Bhagavatha
Vahini, Chapter
40]
was ejected when Krishna danced upon them,
bad thoughts from your system will evaporate if
you recite the name of
Krishna,"
He said.
His
interpretation of Krishna-Avatar as a
consummation of Yogamarga reveals that this
Avatar has come to coordinate and collate the
apparently differing paths to God. The three
systems of philosophy - the dualist promulgated
by Madhawacharya, the qualified non-dualist
promulgated by Ramanujacharya and the
non-dualist promulgated by Shankaracharya - are
all emphasised by Him as adjusted to the needs
and capabilities of seekers and
listeners.
An Avatar
appears from age to age whenever
Dharma is
on the decline so as to reaffirm faith in right
conduct. [See The
Gita - Fourth Chapter, verses
7&8]
Chitha-shudhi
leads to Jnana-Sidhi, that is, goodness leads to
Godliness.
The Avatar will guard and guide and fill with
Divine bliss, all those who have
Sathvic
pure virtues. This declaration is addressed to a
dualist. From the "qualified non-dualist" point
of view,
Jiva
and
Deva are
the two rails, along which the engine,
Manas,
is dragging the coaches of
Vishaya Vasana.
Each coach contains items of luggage viz.,
Buddhi,
senses etc.
Atma
is the driver of the engine; if the coupling
with the engine is not well tightened, the
coaches will be left loose on the line.
Bhakthi
and
Sraddha
are the coupling, they should be tightly fixed.
It is 'absolute non-dualist' philosophy when the
seen (Drsya)
world is superimposed on the undivided,
indivisible Brahman.
It can only be as real as the turrets and
bastions of a city among the clouds. Can anyone
build castles in the air and live therein? The
turrets and bastions are fantasies and creations
of your own fancy, ephemeral and meaningless. So
too, in this Akash-like
Parabrahma,
this Jagat is superimposed; it is baseless and
false. Everything is only the
Chaithanya
of the non-dual, unequalled, bliss-pervaded
Parabrahma. According to Bhagavan, what others
think you are is the dualist view; what you
think you are is the qualified non-dualist view;
what you really are is the non-dualist
Truth!
Dasara 1968!
It was remarkable for more reasons than one.
Baba made it clear that He is the
Sanathana
Sarathi
as well as Parthasarathi
('the charioteer of the earth'), while
addressing the volunteers.
"I
too have certain vows to fulfill, they have
been mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. I have
to uphold the supremacy of Dharma; I have to
bear the Yogakshema (acquisition and
maintenance of welfare) of those who are
immersed in thoughts of Me alone. The best
way to please Me is to see Me in all beings
and serve them, just as you yearn to serve
Me."
Elaborating a
declaration about Himself that He had made in
the Gita, Baba said,
"I
have none to compel Me to work, nor do I
profit by work. Still, I work without
intermission, in order to guide and teach and
set things that are awry. If I remain
inactive, [BG:
Ch. 3 :
22-28]
how can the wheels of the world revolve? I
have no manager, secretary, aide or
assistant. I attend even to the minutest
detail, here and everywhere. I do everything
Myself. I need no other food than the Ananda
of beings. I am Anandaswarupa, My nature is
Ananda; Ananda is My sign and
signature."
On another
day, He announced,
"Shall
I tell you exactly when I feel restful,
relieved and content? When I know that you
are having Ananda, through the cultivation of
detachment and the spiritual discipline of
Seva. I am ever engaged in some activity or
other for your benefit. There is none to
question Me if I do not act; there is nothing
I would lose, or could gain. Although I have
no urge to be active, yet you see Me ever
active! The reason is, I must be doing
something all the time in order to inspire
and instruct you or to set an example for
you. I am engaged in activity, so that you
may learn to transmute every minute into a
golden chance to elevate yourselves into
Godhood."
Clarifying
another statement made in the Gita [see also
Geetha
Vahini],
Baba said in one of the Discourses,
"When
the Gita directs you to give up all
Dharma,
it does not ask you to give up all
Karma!
For you cannot escape that obligation. But,
when you do Karma for God, through God, and
knowing that He is the doer, not you, every
Karma becomes Dharma, leading to Grace. No
Karma can then be tainted by sin or
sacrilege. The Gita assurance is therefore
not an invitation to licentiousness, sloth or
inactivity, it is a call for the surrender of
the ego and dedication to God of all that it
'is' and 'does'."
Dharma is the
inner voice of God, in the individual and
community. It is the voice of history; the
conscience that has shaped itself like a cocoon,
to protect the caterpillar so that it may take
wings and fly into the Bliss that is its
heritage. And on the last day of the seven-day
long Yajna,
when the Valedictory Offering of silk, gold,
sandalwood and 'the precious gems He creates for
the oblation' were placed ceremonially in the
significance of that act, He
said,
"You
have to pour into the flames that rise up to
destroy, (for they are the flames of
revelation, purification, discrimination) the
limited vision, that sees nature as different
from the divine. The divine created all this
through the divine and with the divine
substance."
"Sarvam
Brahma Mayam": All this is Brahman. The
offering is Brahman, the fire is Brahman, the
offerer is Brahman, the goal is Brahman.
Transmute every trifle into God; everything
in the objective world is the divine,
appearing to the limited, the myopic, the
ignorant vision as different. In a silver
idol, the crown is silver, the clothes are
silver, the pedestal is silver, the flesh is
silver, the face is silver, the eye is
silver. Know the silver and declare: "Sarvam
Brahma Mayam"
In another
discourse, Baba integrated the three paths of
Karma,
Bhakthi
and Jnana,
in a very illuminating manner, so that the world
could follow them with proper
understanding.
"When
someone asks your name, you do not give your
real name; you fob him off with the name by
which your body is identified as separate
from other bodies in this life. You do not
give the name that has been with you life
after life, that has survived many deaths and
births, namely, Atma!
That name is ignored by you, since it is
overlaid by three veils - Mala, Vikshepa and
Avarana; Mala is the dirt of vice, wickedness
and looseness. This is removed by Karmamarga,
the observance of selfless activity dedicated
to high purpose, and with no tinge of pride
or pomp or sense of ownership so far as the
fruits of that activity are concerned. The
second veil is Vikshepa - ignorance which
hides the truth, befogs the intellect,
confounds reason, and clothes falsehood with
the tinsel that attracts. This is removed by
Bhakthimarga, steadily worshipping the source
and sustenance of all, Him, the True, the
Good, the Beautiful, the Embodiment of Love,
Peace and Joy, in all, as all, for all,
through all."
"The
third veil is Avarana, the superimposition on
the eternal of the temporary, on the rope of
the snake, on the noonday desert of the
gleaming lake, on the mother-of-pearl of
silver, on the Sarvam-Brahma Mayam (Brahman
that is the real Reality of the Universe) of
the multiform, multicolored, distracting,
changing world. This veil is removed by
Jnanamarga, which reveals the Atma as
all-pervading, all-inclusive, all-sustaining.
When the illumination of Jnana is gained, the
reality is experienced and man is free. He
merges with the truth from which he broke off
aeons ago, on a long and arduous adventure
into the dark night of
individuality."
Dasara is a
Festival of Victory, of Power (Sakthi), adored
and celebrated in three forms, for three days
each - Mahakali (the facet of Power as anger,
vengeance, adventure, audacity, the Thamasic
nature), Mahalakshmi (the facet of Power as
wealth, authority, imperium, prosperity, the
Rajasic nature), and Mahasaraswathi (Power as
self-control, vision, value, validity,
knowledge, keenness, discipline, justice,
aspiration, adoration, the Sathwic nature).
Dasara at Prasanthi Nilayam is for everyone who
invests himself in it for initiation,
instruction and inspiration. Kindred souls come
from all over the world, and so one is bathed in
the glory of Sai which each one brings in his
heart, treasured with loving care. Each person
has a golden book of experiences of Baba's Grace
written in tears of gratitude. The scholars whom
Baba encourages to delve into the intricacies of
philosophical speculation so that they may
ultimately gain the philosopher's stone which
transmutes distinctions into the One Divine,
speak in his Presence of the unfathomable
mystery, and later Baba unravels the same and
renders it understandable by His sweet simple
comments. As the supreme educator of the Age, He
leads us through song, drama and discourse,
through glance, gesture of gift, through word,
wit or rebuke, into the path which leads through
Love unto Light.
The Yajna
which is performed for seven of the nine days is
a lesson in spiritual science, for we
experience, while it is witnessed, the whole
gamut of bliss. The bliss of contemplating the
formless, attributeless, cosmic principle
described in the Upanishads; the thrill of
conceiving and adoring the solar orb as the
source of Light and Life; the joy of installing
in our hearts the author of this amazing
adventure of Creation (Brahma) - Continuance
(Vishnu) - Destruction (Shiva) as emerging from
the formless into form, or as merging from the
form into the formless (as the Linga or
Spheroid) symbol which is worshipped as part of
the Yajna; the exhilaration one is filled with
when the Sakthi is consecrated, praised and
propitiated through an image into which she is
invited ritually to contain herself, the
recalling to memory of the sweetness of Vedic
hymns, and the ecstasy of epic poetry - Baba
uses every medium of expression to convey to us
the message of self-control to silence the
clamour of the senses and the mind.
Every Dasara
He writes a play in which the children of the
Vedasastra Patsala, whom He trains for the
purpose, pronounce spiritual truths. This
Dasara, the play was on Dhruva,
[*Dhruva's
story*]
the princely lad of five who went into forest to
win by austerity the Grace of God, so that he
might be restored to the love of his father.
But, as the austerities cleansed his mind and
sublimated his nature, the wounded pride was
healed and he prayed for the boon of mergence
with God. "People come to Me to get a chronic
illness cured, but when they get to know Me
more, they clamour for more substantial boons
which I am ready to grant," says
Narayana
in the play, an echo of the experience of most
of the pilgrims to Baba's presence!
Twenty
thousand heavy hearts left Prasanthi Nilayam
after the Dasara Celebrations, with these words
of Baba ringing in their ears and booming in the
cavity of their hearts:
"Ponder
over the ameliorate and curative advice I
have given you out of the fullness of My
Love; try to cleanse your minds through
repentance of wrongs committed or
contemplated; resolve with unshakable
firmness to shape your lives anew, rid it of
deep-rooted deleterious habits of speech,
thought and action, and lead it in conformity
with the divine plan, by which each will
blossom into the fully Divine."
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