Unearthing
the Light
Early in the
afternoon on 9th May, 1970, Baba left Brindavan
for Bombay. Three cars formed the 'Caravan' the
last one being a carefully reconditioned one,
brought by two members of the Seva Samithi, who
had come to escort Baba and his party. I was in
that car and I was a victim of the poor quality
of that reconditioning process! Baba had
questioned the Samithi members, at more then
usual length, on the details of the repairs
done, and the two had assured Him that all was
well.
When about 30
miles had been traversed, something from the car
fell on the road with a thud: the vigilant
chauffeur stopped the car, retrieved the part
and quietly put it under his feet, as if it was
a superfluous gadget! Fifty miles off, he heard
a squeak; he stopped and lifted the bonnet to
peep inside and assured himself that all was
well. A few miles off, he stopped again and
sniffed a little. He got out of the car and went
around it, and with an expression of audacious
courage, hopped in again and started off! The
friends from Bombay who were with me were
unconcerned. But, my nervousness increased with
every interruption.
Very near the
seventy-fourth mile, he stopped again! The
bonnet was lifted for another casual examination
and I could see the man recovering a 'something'
that had got loose and quietly putting it under
his foot inside the car! My fears mounted. A
little distance away luckily for me, we found
Baba parked at a lonely spot by the side of the
road, awaiting us. I ran forward and pleaded
with Him that I may be shifted to another car,
for, the car carrying me seemed to be fast
disintegrating. Baba replied with a chuckle of
amusement. He described an item given by the
clowns in circuses where as they go round and
round the ring in a car, the parts fall off one
by one until they find themselves squatting
happily on the ground!
I looked
pathetically at Him so that He might take pity
on me; but, the only remedy He proposed was:
"Don't worry! If you fall out, we shall ensure
that some one picks you up and puts you in!" We
reached Dharwar, 250 miles further off, at 1
a.m. The car behaved well. We drove merrily
through the evening hours into the hours of dusk
and darkness, between avenues of trees until
midnight came, when we found the trees relaxed
and rested, in profound silence.
At the
bungalow of vice-chancellor Adke, Baba asked me,
"After you reported to Me, was there any
trouble?" I answered, "How could there be,
Swami!" Thereafter we proceeded in the same car
to Poona and thence to Bombay, without a squeak
or a spasm! At Bombay, when it was sent to the
workshop for servicing, the mechanic asked the
chauffeur, "How did those who came in this car
reach Bombay alive? The spring plates of the
front wheels are cracked!" While relating this
miracle to Baba, the owner Java said, "The
driver is a devotee," and I added, "The
occupants are also devotees, Swami!" But Baba
said, "Not you; the car is the devotee, a great
devotee!"
That car had a
personality and it prayed for Grace and got it!
In fact, every artifact has human feelings Baba
announced so. He affirms, what Jagadish Chandra
Bose discovered, that machines get tired. He
goes further and asserts that mountains weep.
And that 'Saris' weep! At Bombay, later, he
asked some one to bring for His selection and
purchase, some saris to be given as gifts to the
women laborers, who helped build the Sathya Sai
College at Anantapur. He selected 96 and
rejected four! He kept the rejected ones apart,
so that they could be returned!
When Baba
returned an hour later, to the table on which
they were kept, he found signs of tears. Calling
our attention to this He said, "Poor things!
They are sorry I kept them aside! All right. I
shall take them also to Anantapur with Me."
Months later, He repeated this incident at a
meeting at Prasanthi Nilayam, when He was
describing the
Puranic
story of Govardhana Hill. When Rama decided to
build a bridge over the sea towards Lanka,
[see: Ramkatha
Rasavahini, Chapter
7]
the Divine monkeys in His army pulled huge
mountain peaks up by their roots and passed them
along the conveyor belt from shoulder to
shoulder, until they were finally dropped into
the sea. After the construction of the bridge,
the mountains were not required any more. At
this, each monkey kept aside whatever peak it
had with it, and hurried to the bridge head,
with the result that one mountain that had been
plucked from its native spot and brought pretty
far, started weeping!
Rama heard its
wail and consoled it, saying, "Stay! I shall use
you when I incarnate next, and hold you as an
umbrella to save the Yadavas from the anger of
God Indra."
"The hill that wept was Govardhan," Baba
announced.
At Dharwar,
Baba expressed concern that a large number of
persons were waiting until the small hours of
the next day to have His Darsan. He moved among
them, and quenched their thirst with a gentle
glance, an affectionate pat, a word scarcely
heard or a look of recognition, a questioning
brow, and sometimes, a pinch of ash created on
the spot for a person found ill; or the
acceptance of a bow, or letter, a flower or
prayer.
That night
people slept on ground that had been consecrated
by His Feet. Dawn found them at Bhajan or with
rosaries. Baba spoke to the office bearers of
the Seva Samithi Units about the immense
significance of
Nagara
Sankirtan.
I felt that this choir movement was really more
profound than the Dandi march to the sea, for,
the imperialism of the six passions
(*)
that rule over men is much more insidious than
the imperialism that the Salt Satyagraha was
designed to destroy. This movement where good
men march into the nooks of hate and greed in
every village with the name of God on their
lips, along every lane polluted by anger and
avarice, was the thin end of the wedge, destined
to put a stop to the decline of Dharma
among mankind.
Baba was
present at the dais in the Shamiana for some
time during the noon Bhajan, and, started off
towards Poona, soon after lunch. Passing through
Belgaum and Satara, where devotees had Darsan,
the cars sped on, Baba keeping every one fresh
and happy! Baba stayed at Jamnagar House, on the
outskirts of the city of Poona, but that did not
discourage those who had tasted the sweetness of
the Sai Name. The lawn of the house was dotted
with devoted groups sitting in meditation during
the early hours of the next day, and by about 7,
it was no longer lawn! It was a multicolored
flower-bed of bright eyes, looking up in ardent
plaint, towards a room on the first floor, where
they knew Baba was. Baba went down among them
and rewarded them for their
earnestness.
Dr. Adke and
his son Manohar, an engineer at Bhadravati,
accompanied Him to Poona. Baba was conferring on
the son, signs of His Grace at Bhadravati itself
for,
Vibhuti
was showering from the portrait of Baba which he
worshipped at home! While father and son were
taking leave of Baba, Manohar held before Him
the ring He had materialized for him, months
back, at the end of the unforgettable Karnataka
tour. Its yellow gem was a little chipped in one
corner. "Do you require me to repair it? O, you
want My Form on it, is that it?" He said, taking
it in His hands. "No! You are an engineer. Your
hands are ever busy handling machinery, or ought
to be. If I give you My Form on it , it will get
scarred, and grated. Poor fellow, you will have
no peace then. I shall give you My Form on the
ring when you go for higher studies overseas."
With that, He held the ring between the thumb
and forefinger, high for all to see and blew on
it once, a little hard. "You are lucky." Baba
said.
Yes, indeed!
His ring had disappeared. In its place shining
in Baba's hand was a brilliant ring of burnished
gold, with no gem, but with the letter M
embossed most charmingly, by some skilled
artist. "You get more gold now." Baba said,
putting it on his finger, "And it is not Morarji
gold." That is to say, it is not 14 carat, as
Morarji Desai wanted all ornaments of gold to
be, when he was Finance Minister of the
Government of India! It was 22 carat gold! Baba
left Poona at about 10.30 a.m.
Dharmakshetra
was called over the phone, and informed that
Baba would be arriving only at about 1 p.m. and
the huge gathering there was advised to go home,
since they had been waiting for Baba from 10 in
the morning. He had stayed on at Poona, and did
not want them to stay hungry. But no one
stirred! No car out of the hundreds parked in
the broiling sun budged! A Parsi gentleman, who
had been waiting since 8, seated in the front
row near the dais, was asked by his wife whether
he intended to leave, for she had persuaded him
to come after Herculean efforts, to take the
Darsan of Baba. He did not want to miss a chance
of witnessing this strange phenomenon that
fascinated millions in the world. So, he decided
to stay, though the sun was burning the top of
his head and the ground underneath him was hot.
He was thankful that he had worn two pairs of
socks for, he was warned early that shoes had to
be removed at the gate itself!
At ten minutes
past one, Baba came. His car stopped at the
gate, and Baba walked slowly up the grueling hot
pathway rising sharply when it neared the dais!
The Parsi gentleman cast a look at Him, his
first, and tears gushed and hid the next look.
Baba was barefooted! Yes! Baba's feet, soft and
tender, sweet, silken and small, were moving
over the hot sandstrewn pathways between the
squatting thousands! He could have driven on
straight to the apartment on the first floor of
Sathyadeep at Dharmakshetra! But He demonstrated
the truth that he who seeks to lead, must share
the travail with those whom he calls to follow!
He blazes the trail, goading others to aspire.
The gentleman went home and came back soon, to
attend the evening Bhajan after which he hoped
Baba would give His Discourse!
The teachers
of the Sathya Sai Bala Vihars of Bombay City had
arranged an exhibition of children's art, and
Baba went into the hall where it was held. The
exhibits revealed the lispings of the new age in
education, which is being inspired all over the
country, the child being oriented towards God to
discover the mystery of existence. The answers
discovered so far by sages are not being
understood today because those questions are not
being asked. Now Baba is offering a synthesis of
those answers of the ancient seers.
The children
knew that trees blossomed because Krishna leaned
against the trunk! Cows were happy, since
Krishna patted them. A boat was worth drawing,
because Rama and Sita and Lakshmana used it to
cross the Ganga [see: Ramkatha
Rasavahini, Chapter
14].
A horse is a good subject for painting since it
carried Siddhartha from palace to forest, on his
historic journey to discover the remedy for
human grief. Many tried to make models of
Prasanthi Nilayam, which they had enshrined in
their hearts as the abode of God. Others took
delight in drawing Baba, as He was at Shirdi or
as He is now. Reverence and care were evident in
every line; they are enough credentials for
receiving Grace. There were models and drawings
of Dwarakamayi, Dakshineswar, Govardhan, St.
Peters, Juma Masjid, and other places associated
with man's undying yearning for God. That night
the children enacted a play in the Divine
Presence. Toddlers of six and seven expressed
emotions of poignancy, surprise, resentment,
triumph, pity and pride so clearly and genuinely
that the play gripped attention and won
appreciation. There was not a dry eye in the
hall when two children enacted the scene where
Lakshmana, under orders from his elder brother
Rama, took Sita, unsuspectingly, into the thick
forest and deserted her there, leaving her to
the care of the sylvan deities.
[See:
Ramkatha Rasavahini, Chapter
3].
The scene where Lakshmana retraces his steps to
the capital and Sita discovers that she is left
alone to the tender mercies of the forest and
his denizens pulled the heartstrings of every
one in the audience until they nearly broke.
Baba, whose presence inspired the children
beyond measure, caressed them and blessed them,
and appreciated the teachers who had trained
them and directed the play. He wanted that the
play be enacted during Dasara at Prasanthi
Nilayam, a great occasion, when thousands from
all over the world could be thrilled by their
innocence and charm.
12th May was
the day when Baba inaugurated Dharmakshetra in
1968; it is a red letter day in the calendar of
Bombay and in the chronology of the Sai Era. No
wonder therefore that the city celebrates the
day with "Thanks giving." The multi-lingual,
multi-credal, multi-state population of Bombay
gathered in massive numbers and chanted Bhajans
continuously for ten hours, as their offering of
adoration. When newspapers were carrying banner
headlines on the Bhiwandi riots fanned by
fanaticism and fed by fear and falsehood, this
celebration was an assurance, a promise, an
oasis of faith and strength.
Baba referred
to the surgent of communal riots and the sudden
emergence of faith in violence as a solution for
the problems of life.
"Look
at a tree! The roots, the trunk, the
branches, the twigs, the bark, the timber,
the pith, the sap, the leaf, the bud, blossom
and fruit, the seed - each has a distinct
taste, color, feel, smell and shine; but, you
do not deny that they are all from the same
seed. Each has its separate use and function.
All have been fostered by earth and sun.
'Bîjam mâm
sarva-bhûtânâm',
[BG - Ch.7:10] says the Lord in the
Gîtâ: I am the seed of all
Creation! It is a pity that man is indulging
in the arts of slander and faction,
mudslinging and character-assassination,
hatred and war so that his ego might be
satisfied. Love is the best balm to quieten
anger."
[BG
7:15-16] The ones who do evil and the
foolish do not surrender to Me; the lowest of
mankind whose knowledge is stolen by this
mâyâ have adopted the
atheÔstic [demoniac] nature.
(16) Of the pious of men there are four kinds
that are devoted to Me, o Arjuna: the
distressed, the inquisitive, the ones
desiring material gain and the ones who know
things as they are as well, o great one of
the Bhârata's.
It gave the
listeners good cheer and an armour against
fear.
Sri M.M.
Pinge, State President of Maharashtra for Sri
Sathya Sai Seva Organizations is the founder and
administrator of a very efficient chain of
institutes known as Pinge's Classes which
prepare thousands of students from offices,
factories, fields and homes for various
technical and other examinations, helping them
to improve their skills and abilities. The
silver jubilee of this vast network of schools
was celebrated at the Rang Bhavan Auditorium, on
the 13th May in the Divine Presence of Bhagavan.
The cream of Bombay's intellectual and artistic
elite were there, as well as a large number of
students and teachers from many
colleges.
When He was
led to the dais where a special chair had been
placed for Him, Baba quietly turned towards the
audience. He moved among the people, with his
heart-warming smile, and the loving look of
one's dearest kinsman and friend. While the
Invocatory Verses adoring Him were being sung,
He was busy with His mission of showering Ananda
(bliss) on parched eyes.
Later, He
ascended the dais and stood for a few minutes
leaning forward on the back of a chair. Then He
sat on the carpet, a picture of Divine Charm, to
the delight and amazement of the spellbound
gathering. When Dr. Gokak, Sri Bharde and Sri
Sawant and other distinguished guests came upon
the dais, Baba rose and occupied the special
chair, and bade the proceedings to begin. Dr. V.
K. Gokak, a clear and forthright thinker on
educational and allied problems, who had been
principal for many years and who was the
vice-chancellor of the Bangalore University,
addressing the gathering said, "I shall only
draw upon the educational ideals put before us
by Bhagavan, for, they alone can save us from
the sad state into which the system has landed
itself. Baba has laid down the cardinal
principles that should be the very basis of
education - unquestioning loyalty to truth,
faith in righteous activity, cultivation of
serenity and the spontaneous upsurge of Love.
Baba has put Atma Vidya (learning of the inner
reality) in the very core of the system, for
where the centre does not hold, where there is
no soul-sight, things are bound to fall apart.
Baba has emphasized that education must impart
knowledge, develop skill, confer balance and
implant insight. The student must become a
useful member of society, earning not only his
bread, but bread for others in the community.
Destructive attitudes are prolific in the soil
of imbalance; the vibrant energy of youth must
be given constructive outlets, so that the
balance is set right. Their emotions have to be
chastened, not by reading moral texts, but by
means of contact with men of mature minds,
integrated personalities, impartial but
beneficent servants of mankind."
Baba in His
Discourse referred to the four cardinal
principles, knowledge, skill, balance, and
insight about which Gokak had spoken, and said
that knowledge is gained through the senses,
inference, and observation. At some unfortunate
periods of history this knowledge is used not
for integration but for the disintegration, not
for the well-being of man but for the skilful
destruction of man. So the skill gained through
knowledge turns out to 'Kill,' consequently
disturbing the balance; hence 'insight' turns
into 'outsight,' the pursuit of sensual pleasure
in the outer world.
Continuing,
Baba observed,
"Sri
Rama paying heed to flippant scandals,
respecting public opinion, sent His Queen to
exile (see:
Ramkatha Rasavahini, Chapter
13).
Socialism was observed in practice
considering that the peasants and workers
were honored during the age of Rama and
Krishna." "Krishna tended cattle; his elder
brother,
Balarama
(an Incarnation in his own right) had as his
constant companion, a plough. They both
declared that agriculture and cattle-rearing
were consecrated occupations."
"Although
with modern speed, the continents of the
world have been knitted closer to each other,
yet mankind has not learnt the art of living
as one human family in the Universe. With the
advance of science, man has obtained higher
techniques for controlling outer nature to a
large extent, but has yet to learn to control
his inner nature. This he can acquire through
study and practice of the ancient way of
life."
Therefore Baba
exhorted all to plan and establish a new
educational system "which will instill
discipline, canalize passions, control emotions
and equip youth for mutual co-operation,
compassion and comradeship, calm deliberation
and constructive service. At present, education
equips youth only with a begging bowl, entitling
them to clamor for jobs!" Baba said that He
would establish a college in Bombay City if "you
first prepare students worthy of entering its
portals."
"Teach them spiritual truths and the discipline
that promotes their translation into daily life.
Intellect without integrity is infructuous and
injurious. Politics without principles,
education without character, science without
morality are positively
poisonous."
On the 14th,
Baba blessed hundreds of children, who are being
prepared with devout care to enter the portals
of His Grace, through Bala Vihar classes all
over Bombay. Later during the day Baba proceeded
to Jamnagar in Gujarat, by a specially chartered
plane. The scorching heat was unbearable; the
tarmac was a trail of fire. And yet, thousands
greeted the plane and rushed to have the coveted
Darsan. At this, Baba willed shade and breeze,
and as He stepped out of the plane, the change
in weather was miraculously sudden and
satisfying. Every one felt a thrill of joy from
head to foot at this sign of Grace. The Rajamata
of Nawanagar was the happiest of all.
At 'Amar
Vilas' Palace, Baba was received, by a guard of
honor provided by the home guards (men and
women) with the Police band in attendance. In
the evening more than ten thousand people had
the long-awaited chance to listen to Baba's
discourse and the enchanting Bhajans which He
sings, in order to initiate man into the path of
faith. Baba said that congregational singing of
the Glory of the Lord will fill the atmosphere,
internal and external, with Love.
On the 15th
Baba left for Dwaraka, 150 miles away,
with the Rajamata and members of His party. All
along the route, in the busy squares of cities
on quiet suburban roads or in the midst of flat
treeless wastes, clusters of families had
gathered to catch a glimpse; they had inscribed
Baba in their hearts and taken His pictures into
their shrines. As we drove along, the pages of
the
Bhagavatha
unfolded before our eyes: Lord Krishna was
re-entering His ancient homeland, we felt.
[See also: Srîmad
Bhâgavatam]
The people of
Dwaraka, and Sai devotees from other
towns had filled the wide corridors of the
Krishna Temple, long before Baba arrived,
while He could go smoothly in, through the thick
mass, we were pushed, jostled and pressed; so
seeing our plight, Baba came out of the temple
to draw those Gopas and Gopies into a wider
space. When we were inching our way to have a
Darsan of 'Krishna,' the inhabitants of
Krishna's City were swarming around the
Sai Krishna. They feasted their eyes on
Baba, and congratulated each other.
Krishna,
Balarâma and little friends with their
calves!
Baba left for
Mithapur, where the employees of the chemical
and allied factories established by Tatas were
having a Bhajan Mandali for years. On the way to
Mithapur, Baba inquired from a devotee
accompanying Him, if he would like to go back
and see the Shrine of Dwaraka and have a
Darsan of the idol of Krishna installed
there; the devotee affectionately prayed that he
may not be sent back to Dwaraka, as he
was very happy to be in the presence of Sai
Krishna. A continuous stream of men, women
and children flowed on to the lawns around the
Guest House. Baba moved among them showering
compassion and charm.
While
returning to Jamnagar in the evening, Baba was
full of sympathy with us for the confusion and
congestion inside the temple which deprived us
of Darsan of the Lord of Dwaraka,
Krishna, as installed in the temple.
Suddenly He said, "O! the sea is here!" and the
cars stopped. We came upon a wide patch of sandy
shore, with a temple on a heap of rocks at one
end. The place was called, we learnt later,
Kuranga, meaning 'the deer'. The
sea and the wave always elicit the playfulness
inherent in Baba. For His play was first evinced
when a tiny titillating wave appeared on the
deep calmness of Fullness. He walked along the
watery edge, gleefully daring the mischievous
cohorts of waves. He laughed when others were
drenched with saline stuff. He picked shells and
searched for more, and sat on the sands at last,
as Krishna must have sat, some fifty
centuries ago.
He heaped the
soft sand to the height of a cubit in front of
Him, putting us all into a state of extreme
expectancy. He flattened the heap and drew on it
with His finger a three-slanted line. He drew a
rough circle on top; he added a small triangle
over it. He drew a short line across a circle.
"It is ready," He said, wiping the sand from His
palms.
We
were unable to guess what exactly was ready,
though the line must have been for the
"Thri-bhangi body," the circle the head; the
small triangle, the peacock feather and the line
across, the Flute! 'It is ready,' He said and
digging His hands deep into the pile, He drew
forth a bright golden image about 15 inches high
of Lord Krishna playing the flute, the
very acme of the goldsmith's art and
craftsmanship. "You did not get Darsan of
Krishna in the temple; have it, now," He
invited us. It was a moment of 'supreme'
ecstasy.
The image was
iconographically perfect; we could see a
captivating smile playing around the golden
lips. We do not know how long we sat
contemplating the majestic beauty of the
Krishna before us. It was Baba who awakened
us. "Come, let us go." The chauffeur of the
Jamnagar Palace was the first to rise: Baba
noticed his wonder-filled eyes. He asked him,
"Which is your favorite God-form?" He replied,
"Amba-Bhavani" (Lord Shiva's consort) The
divine Hand went through the circular wave twice
and a float round gold plate with the figure of
Amba-Bhavani embossed on it was ready for
him.
Reaching
Jamnagar at 9 a.m., Baba saw thousands still
engaged in Bhajan, hoping that He would approach
them and move along the lanes they had set
apart. They were not disappointed. A few were
even lucky to receive Vibhuti created to
alleviate their particular ailments.
On the 16th,
Baba drove to the Ayurvedic University,
established and endowed by the Nawanagar Royal
Family, the only one in India devoted to the
teaching of that ancient science of healing. It
lays great emphasis on the hidden springs of
strength in man and the vast reservoirs of
well-being which can be tapped through
Yoga and mantra, meditation
and detachment.
"Ayur
Veda or the Scripture of Living." To
promote research, to unravel the intricacies of
Ayurvedic texts and discover the ancient
remedies for modern illnesses, the University
has a band of devoted experts. Baba blessed each
of them in his own laboratory and worktable. He
passed through the entire complex of the
University, bringing cheer with every word and
look of His.
Thence, He
drove to a bungalow called Indraprastha where
members of the Sathya Sai Seva Dal were
receiving advanced training in "Service as
Spiritual Sadhana." He spoke to them of
faith and fidelity, obedience and surrender,
love, renunciation and service.
"Remain always ready to receive the rays of the
sun, imparting illumination, health and joy."
"Religion springs not from the intellect but
from the will to love."
In the
evening, Baba addressed the rotarians of
Jamnagar at the town hall. He warned them
against the futility of speeches and dinners. He
told them about the fatal consequences of
resorting to artificial methods of birth
control. Contraceptives will lead to mental
disorders, to increased irreverence and
irresponsibility, and deterioration of the moral
standards upheld by Indian culture.
"Spiritual discipline, intensification of
Japa,
Dhyana,
Seva
and
Sankirtan
- these can achieve the same end, without
landing the human community in the morass of
animality,"
Baba said.
Well! The Sea
prayed for Baba's Presence again! About 9 at
night, Baba drove to Balachchdi seashore, near
the Sainik school. The staff of the Sainik
school joined the party at Bhajan. Baba sat on
the soft sands by the side of murmuring waves.
In the midst of the Bhajans, Baba inquired from
Dr. V. K. Gokak the implication of the letters V
and K; and when he started telling "V for
Vinayaka,"
Baba created out of the sand, a "silver" idol of
Vinayaka and handed it over to him.
He related the
story of the birth of Vinayaka and
explained the meaning of Vinayaka, as the
great leader or as the One without a bigger
leader whom he has to follow. Then, he asked
those around Him: "Ask for anything you want
from Me now." Most of us asked for Grace only,
but He insisted we should ask for some concrete
article He would create. While brains were busy
formulating the needs, He created a picture of
Vinayaka, an exquisite calligraphic
marvel, each line, big or small, being an Om -
the ear, the mouth, the eye, in fact, the entire
picture was a composition of a 100 OM's, drawn
with skill and care, to represent
Vinayaka, the elephant-headed God. One
person wanted a ring and he got it - made of
gold with Baba's portrait in enamel. Another
asked for a rosary and she got it, 108 Rudrakshi
beads, encased in gold. The principal of the
Sainik school - blessed be his name - prayed for
some auspicious gift for his school!
Unhesitatingly, Baba played with the sand,
pouring it through His fingers and, there was in
His hand for all to see, a beautiful five-inch
'silver' idol of Annapoorna, the Goddess
of Plenty, who confers food on all Her children.
"Keep this in the dining hall. The boys will eat
with relish, and flourish amazingly," Baba
announced. "Anna, the food, which she gives.
Poorna, to the full, is not only for the Body;
Anna means 'in take,' through the mouth, the
senses, the brain, the nerves. So, this Goddess
will grant sustenance for the body, the mind and
the spirit, of the teachers and the taught in
your school," He blessed. Two hours of mystery,
suspense and divine delight were spent
there.
The 17th was
an epoch-making day. Baba 'charged the Somanath
Shrine' that day with Divine potency. He also
fulfilled the prayers of the late Jamsahed of
Nawanagar, the person primarily responsible for
the renovation of that historic temple, by
visiting the place and allowing His Name to be
associated with a structure that is a limb of
that complex. The Rajamata succeeded in
persuading Baba to inaugurate the imposing
architectural gem called Dig Vijaya Dwar (after
Sri Digvijaya Singh, the late Jamsaheb), the
Gateway of Victory.
This temple is
situated on a spot celebrated in the
Vedas and Epics. The shrine is of
Shiva, as Sauma, with Uma, as
Shiva-Sakthi. Baba has come as
Shiva-Sakthi in human form to charge the
ancient shrine with Divine potency. The
Shivayogis who specialized in Soma
Vidya
and the followers of the Pasupatha cult
founded by sage Lakulisa about 200 AD,
spread the fame of this temple from sea to sea.
They established Somanaths with Somesvara
Shrines all over the land, in Ratnagiri, E.
Godavari, Purnea, Jodhpur, Mysore, and South
Kanara Districts.
Somanath
was one of the richest temples of India. When
the Muslims conquered and ruled over the Punjab
and Sindh, it attracted the plunderers.
Depredation, desecration, destruction,
reconstruction and rededication became recurring
chapters of its long history. The infamous raid
by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026 AD was the third in
the long list of catastrophes. The fifth temple
too met with a similar fate, at the hands of the
rulers of Delhi.
On
Diwali Day, 1947, when the Indian Army
entered Nawabdom of Junagadh and liberated the
pathetically dilapidated pile of stone
recognized by many as Somanath, it was rescued
from those who could not appreciate the value
and validity of idols, images and symbols of the
Unknown and the Unknowable. Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel announced that day, amidst the joyous roar
of the waves of human and saline seas, "We have
decided that Somanath should be reconstructed.
This is a holy task in which all should
participate."
The new temple
(named Mahameru Prasad, like the previous ones)
was planned closely on the basis of the earlier
temples and now, the Gopuram, the main gateway
through which seekers would enter into the
portals of Jyothirlinga, was to be inaugurated
by Someswara, come in human form: Shiva-Sakthi,
come as Sathya Sai!
Baba declared
that He would reveal, that day the genuine
Somanath! This declaration filled us with wonder
and enthusiastic exuberance. So all roads
converging from Jamnagar to Somanath were
shouting Jais in exhilaration. Baba was received
at the decorated Shamiana in front of the
Digvijayadwar by the trustees of the Somanath
temple, as well as by the high officers of the
District and States. Amidst strains of temple
music, He walked on the red carpet laid on the
steps, and opened the lock on the artistically
carved and silver-embossed door with a silver
key. Then, He proceeded along the festooned
pathway, between rows of fresh banana trees, to
the main shrine of Someshwar, the focal point of
the faith of millions for millennia!
He entered the
holy of holies; Brahmin Pandits were reciting
Vedic Hymns which reverberated from the arched
and conical roof, from the finial 150 feet above
the ground! He directed that a plate be brought.
He spread the fingers of His right hand and
shook it over the plate, 108 silver
Bilva
leaves and 108 golden flowers fell from His hand
in a clinking shower. They were reverentially
touched by devotees 'for it is on their behalf
and for their sake that the process of 'charging
the 3 feet high Lingam' was being undertaken by
Him. This Lingam had been recently installed,
when Babu Rajendra Prasad, President of India,
inaugurated the Temple. He poured the leaves of
silver and flowers of gold on the Linga, as He
had done at Srisailam when He was set on
revitalizing the Linga there. It was like Ganga
water poured into the stream of the
Ganga.
Within
seconds, He waved that Divine hand! Lo and
behold, a ball of brilliant light manifested in
His palm. I was at that time reciting within
myself the Dwadasa-Jyothirlinga-Stotram, the
verses in praise of the twelve "Lingas of Light"
which every Hindu is exhorted to remember
reverentially. The twelve include Viswesa or
Varanasi, Kedarnath in the Himalayas, Rameswaram
in the extreme south, Srisailam in Andhra
Pradesh, Mahakala at Ujjaini and Tryambaka in
Nasik. But the very first in the list is
"Sowrashtra Somanatha," Somanath of Sowrashtra.
The Somanatha Linga is the only one of the
twelve which is adored as Jyothirmayam, "Imbued
with the splendor of light." And, Baba had the
"Linga of Light" right now in His grasp! What a
great moment was this, I wondered.
Then I
remembered Baba's announcement: "I shall show
you the genuine Somesvara Linga today!" so, this
was It, the Genuine One, installed, as legend
says, by Brahma Himself, and worshiped by the
Moon-God, the God who presides over the mind of
man.
In a pamphlet
issued by the tourist department, it is said
that
Skanda
Purana
mentioned thousands of years ago that "the
Sparsa Linga of Somanath is a
'Swayam-Bhu' (self-originated) Linga, of
great prowess, as bright as the sun, of the size
of an egg of a hen, which is situated
underground." It is a characteristic of
Vayu, air. These are the other Lingas
representing the other four elements:
Akash, Tejas, water and
earth.
So the oval
ball of light in His hand was the authentic
Somesvara He had resolved to bring up from its
underground niche, kept away since many
centuries from depredation and desecration. The
Sparsa (touch) Lingam was nestling for
centuries under the Linga in the Shrine. This
information was given to us by Baba, as well as
by the priests and trustees. Baba waved His hand
again and created a silver stand on which it
could be placed. He gave it to the chief priest,
"Let
it be in the full light of day hereafter! Let
pious eyes admire its brilliance and imprint its
glory on their hearts. There is no need any more
to keep it away. The avatar has come to remove
all fear,"
Baba declared.
To make the
triumphant emergence of Somesvara, Baba unfurled
the flag on the towering finial over the central
shrine. Thousands acclaimed 'Jai Bhagwan'
as He gave Darsan on the temple steps.
Baba left for Rajendra Bhavan at Veeraval and at
2 p.m. He motored to Keshod aerodrome from where
He enplaned for Bombay. Over 30.000 devotees
were awaiting the arrival of Baba at
Dharmakshetra, Bombay.
Dr. Gokak gave
them an intimate account of His Leelas
and Mahimas, (signs of Divinity) at
Jamnagar, Dwaraka and Somanath. Baba also spoke
to them of the immanence of God in every being
and the need to practice
Sadhana
and Seva.
"You
try to discover God, probing and peeping into
every particle of the universe. Of course, if
you have eyes to see, you can see Him there,
too; for the universe is the Body of God. You
are a spark of the Divine, so are all; so is
everything!"
He announced. "Before
you experience the Divine in every being, in
every cell and atom, you have to experience
it as a totality of your being, that is, in
your words, thoughts and
deeds,"
He advised. [See for example:
Srimad
Bhagavatam, C2 :
1]
Baba left
Bombay for Brindavan on the 20th. While
conferring His blessings on the 25th at the
Inauguration of the Bharath Engineering
Workshop, He spoke of the employer-employee bond
as a loving partnership for mutual strength and
joy. On the first day of June, He visited the
village of Kalkunte, hidden away behind a belt
of trees, accessible only by a tortuous country
road twelve miles long. Each hamlet on the
hallowed road had erected a Pandal, where young
and old were waiting with flowers to welcome
Baba as he drove along. The villagers gathered
at Kalkunte noticed a radiance on the distant
hill; as Baba's car came nearer, the radiance
around it was fringed with amber and
gold.
Baba alighted from the car and was preceded by
priests chanting hymns from the ancient
scriptures, followed by a band of temple
musicians with pipe, drum and cymbal, and groups
of peasants singing in chorus the glory of God.
He walked about two furlongs towards the Sri
Ranganatha Temple, where the form of God
installed shows the Deity reclining in ease and
directing unconcerned the Cosmic Play of
Emergence, Sustenance and Mergence!
There Baba
laid the foundation stone for a building to
house the village school. During His discourse,
He said, "Make
yourselves moving temples. Become aware of the
God that resides in you. It is He who protects
you, provides for you, prevents you from falling
prey to pernicious
propensities."
And referring to the school which was to move
into the new building, He said,
"I
have entered the field of education and
established colleges for the new era for both
boys and girls in different states, for, these
are temples of Saraswathi, the Goddess of
Learning. Liberation can be achieved through the
Awareness of Truth, by learning the Unity that
underlies Diversity. Now, teachers and parents,
comrades and elders tarnish the immaculate
tendencies of children by setting wrong
precepts. If they grow in an atmosphere of
sacrifice and service, truth and justice, love
and light, they will grow into pure, good, brave
and active citizens. Now they are a perpetual
problem to themselves and to the nation. If they
are allowed to soak themselves in godliness,
they are sure to be invaluable assets to
themselves and to
others."
That evening,
the Bangalore Centre of the Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan had invited Baba at its premises and
offered grateful homage, Sri R.R. Diwakar, a
keen student and interpreter of Upanishadic and
Post-Upanishadic mysticism and a Gandhian Sadhak
honored by the country for his high-souled
patriotism, welcomed Baba on behalf of all those
assembled there. He spoke of Baba as the
greatest and the most effective moral force in
the world today. Baba pointed out
that
"It
is the responsibility of the Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan and kindred institutions to uphold the
validity Bharatiya Vidaya or Atma Vidya and
to demonstrate by precept and example, the
lasting benefits it can bestow upon the
individual and society. Churn the sacred
scriptures and the text books on Yoga and
other paths for self-realization and collect
the nutritious butter and share it as the
sustenance of mankind which is starving in
the midst of pseudo-prosperity. Every worker
at the Bhavan must shape himself into a
perfect picture of the munificence of
Bharatiya Vidya - that is to say, he must be
tolerant of all faiths, patient in the face
of odds, reverent towards the old, the sacred
and the historic, and humble in spite of the
insidious urge to demonstrate and
display."
On 5th June,
Baba reached
Prasanthi
Nilayam.
|Previous
|Next
|
Bhajans
(*)
The
six passions
are those pertaining to words, the mind,
anger, the tongue, the stomach and the
genitals.
The
six faults
are overeating, attachment to material things,
inability to follow regulative principles, sense
gratification, useless idle talk, and impure
habits.
The
six positive qualities
are
enthusiasm in practicing devotional service,
firm faith in devotional processes, a strong
desire to attain prema-bhakti, a favorable
service attitude, avoidance of non-devotees, and
appreciation of the company of
devotees.
The
six methods of
association
are to go to an assembly of devotees, to invite
devotees into one's home, to discuss and hear
devotional topics, to take the
mahâ-prasada of devotees and to offer
mahâ-prasada to devotees.
