Holy
Joy
Part
of Sathya's Mandir in Puttaparthi
Any one
writing a book about Baba has to be moved by a
constant trepidation, for, Baba says, "I do not
need any publicity. What are you daring to
publicize? What do you know about Me, let Me ask
you! You speak one thing about Me today, and
another tomorrow! Your faith has not been
rendered unshakable. You praise Me when things
go well; you blame Me when things go wrong. You
flit from one refuge to another ." Yes, I know
precious little about the Mystery that is Baba;
20 years of constant adjacency and association
have filled to break the veil-through which He
is comprehended but dimly. Baba says, "Be
sincere; talk only about your genuine
experience; do not distort, exaggerate or
falsify that experience." I can only try my best
to adhere to this direction that He has given
us. "If you accept Me and say, Yes, I too
respond Yes, Yes, Yes. lf you deny Me and say,
No, I echo No. Come, experience, and have faith;
that is the method of utilizing Me". That was
the reason why, though He told Me in 1948 that I
should write His biography, He gave me the green
signal only in 1960, when I had "gone,
experienced and developed faith", after my
thirty years of carping criticism as a humorist
of the antics of social and religious leaders
!
The sneer with
which I used to write about such leaders was
motivated by my dislike of 'miracles', due to my
contact with the Ramakrishna Mission. But, Baba
says, "Some people remark that Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa said that the
Siddhis
or powers acquired during spiritual exercise are
'obstructions' in the path of the
Sadhaka.
Of course, they are. He may be led astray by the
Siddhis or powers. He has to keep straight on,
without being involved in them. His ego will
bloat if he yields to the temptations that these
powers dangle before him. This is correct advice
that every aspirant must heed.
"But, the
mistake lies in equating Me with a Sadhaka or
aspirant, equating the seeker and the Sought!
All that I do is fundamental to the nature of an
Avathara.
Cynics carp without knowledge. If you learn the
Sastras,
you can see things more clearly. Or, you should
cultivate direct experience". And, clarifying
what He means by an Avathar come to redeem and
reveal, He says, "I know the agitations of your
hearts, the aspirations, the waves and
whirlpools; but, you do not know My heart. I
react to the pain you undergo, the joy that you
feel. For, I am in every heart. That is the
temple where I dwell." However hard the task of
writing about Him, however hesitant the pen, the
landmarks have to be marked, the outlines
limned, as clear as He has let me see
them.
On the 13th
day of December, 1964, Baba visited Kalahasthi
from Venkatagiri, as He said when he passed out
through the gates of Ramamohanrao at Manjeri,
hundreds of miles away! On the 17th, He visited
the Vyasa Asram at Yerpedu, near Kalahasthi,
from where the late Malayala Swami had done
yeoman service in spreading the
Adwaitha
doctrine and its universal message. Baba said,
"The Malayala Swami made every one who came to
him and the thousands whom he met, understand
the grandeur of the Real behind the unreal. He
knew it by study and by Sadhana."
Vimalananda,
the monk in charge of his great seat of Sadhana
and scholarship was for many months an inmate of
Prasanthi
Nilayam,
before he left for Benares to join the
University for higher studies in Sanskrit. While
at Prasanthi Nilayam, he composed a garland of
verses and placed it in the hands of Baba. When
his Guru, the renowned Malayala Swami, revered
throughout Andhra Pradesh and many other
neighbouring states, passed into immortality,
Vimalananda turned to Baba for guidance; he
desired that he should be initiated into
monastic life by His Divine hands. But, Baba did
not wean him away from his Guru; he insisted
that he should take on the new status, as
indicated by Malayala Swami
himself.
The atmosphere
of the Asram, redolent with the glory of
Vyasa,
reminiscent of the ordeals and tribulations of
the saint was adopted as the preceptor by Andhra
Pradesh, ringing with the recitation of Vedic
hymns and fragrant with ardent discussions on
the meaning and purpose of existence must have
induced Baba to reveal some part of His Mission
and Message. "My task is not merely to cure, to
console, and to remove the misery and pain of
individuals. That is but incidental. My main
task is the re-establishment of
Vedantha
and the Vedantic way of life in India and the
world."
To the
students of the Sanskrit school, He said,
'Compete with others in the quickness with which
you march, on the pilgrim road to God. Grow up,
self-restrained and disciplined; the country
needs such children,
not
well read, and ill disciplined citizens who
plunge society into disorder."
Baba had a
good word of appreciation to say, at Penukonda,
where He inaugurated the School Day
Celebrations, in February, 1965. The Students
all over the country were drawn into a movement
to protest against the linguistic policy of
Government and, on the very day, the School Day
was held, the agitation had reached its acme of
irresponsibility, all round the town. But, the
students of Penukonda refused to be involved;
they concentrated on the Celebrations and won
Baba's Grace. Baba told them, "The debt of love
that you owe to your parents who are toiling in
the fields in sun and rain to keep you here in
comfort, has to be repaid by intense and sincere
study. All other debts come only later, even the
debt to the mother-country and the
mother-tongue. I find that you are aware of
this, that you are keeping calm and collected,
while all around you, the storm is blowing
wild."
February also
saw the
Upanaynam
of about 450 boys at Prasanthi Nilayam. "They
are recruited into My army today," said Baba.
The Upanayanam (being led to the Guru or
preceptor for spiritual training) is a great
event in the life of Brahmin,
Kshatriya
and
Vaisya
boys. It was a magnificent sight to see so many
bright young lads on the threshold of a new
life, "re-born" as it were, affirming as their
ancestors did on the banks of holy rivers, the
validity of
Dharma
which sustains the Universe. It was inspiring to
see them being initiated into the most sacred of
Vedic manthras, the Gayathri.
[Listen to the Gayathri sung by Baba -
MP3]
It is a prayer addressed to Light, that pervades
and whole of creation, dispelling darkness,
ignorance and evil. A sacrament that was fast
going out of fashion amidst the glittering
gadgets of 'American and English' social life
has thus been restored by Baba to its pristine
place in the training of every twice-born
lad.
Sivarathri
came soon after. Baba shines forth as
Siva,
on that sacred day and His discourses have a
distinct emphasis on
Jnana
and the need to earn it. "Jnanam Maheswaraad
ichcheth"; desire from Maheswara, the gift of
Jnana," say the Sastras.
"The
Rishis
fixed these days in the calendar for dedication
and initiation.
On Sivarathri,
the miracle of miracles, the creation of a
linga
in His Body and its emergence, takes place. In
1965, fifteen to eighteen thousand people
watched this unique and solemn process in deep
silence and tension; their eyes as riveted on
the spare resplendent figure on the dais. The
tension mounted to a climax, as a shining
smooth, transparent Linga, emerged from His
Mouth, its green sheen almost dazzling the eyes
- a symbol of Brahmanda,
the Universe over which Siva keeps eternal
vigil; it was a symbol of something too
infinite, too stupendous, for our little minds
to grasp. Its green glory moved us into tears of
joy and gratitude, it spoke to us of the beauty
and light that resides in every thing and being,
in the star-studded sky and the human
heart. [see also SSS
- The Call]
For two weeks
after Sivarathri, Baba was busy with the award
of Grace to the sick, the old, and the
handicapped who had come, as well as to many
whom He recognized as needing His immediate
attention, for physical, mental or spiritual
overhaul. Thereafter, He left for Kakinada, in
the Godavari Delta, where the devotees attached
to His previous Body that sanctified Shirdi, had
built a temple, which He was to inaugurate. The
gathering at Kakinada was frightful large; the
streets were packed tight and the roofs spilled
over with eager throngs. The organizers were
alarmed, since the houses were not built to
carry such heavy burdens on their roofs, but,
Baba assured them that nothing would happen. He
just glanced round, saying, "This is enough, to
ensure the safety of every man, woman and
child." During His Discourse, Baba said, "You
need not build a temple for every new Name, with
which you call upon God or every new Form which
you feel He has assumed. You can call upon Him
anywhere and at all times. The ancient temples
have been saturated with the piety and prayers
of generations of genuine Bhakthas;
it would be wrong to deny yourselves the capital
that has thus accumulated."
From Kakinada,
Baba drove to a small village named Sampara,
about 20 miles away. Though more than 750 miles
from Prasanthi Nilayam, this village was a
lovely garden blooming with devotion for Baba.
For a number of years, groups of 50, 70, or even
100 men and women had been coming on pilgrimage
to Prasanthi Nilayam and staying on for weeks to
soak themselves in faith and discipline. Every
house in the village, every homestead, was a
clean fragrant Prasanthi Nilayam, with the
Pranava
recitation, the
Bhajana
sessions, the
Namasmarana
as the 'duties', round which daily life
revolved. No wonder it was flags and festoons
all the way. The villagers arranged for every
year the exposition of the Bhagavatha
[or Srîmad
Bhâgavatam, or Krishna
Bible],
a course which lasted for months at a time, and
so, they saw, in the Master that was coming to
them, the Lord whose Flute filled the Universe
with its sweet melody.
It was an
inspiring commentary on the Bhagavatha that we
saw as we accompanied Baba to Sampara. We could
see in the faces of the simple rural folk who
raced from furrowed fields across canals and
fences, towards the car of Baba, the ardour that
filled the hearts of the cowherds of Brindavan.
As we neared the village, the pages of the
Bhagavatha became more legible. Toddlers, boys
and girls, maids and mothers, stalwart youths
and tottering age - they beamed in unspeakable
joy. They never imagined that the Lord would so
readily respond to their prayers and actually
come along the dusty roads and cow dung smelling
lanes, right up to the village-hall! Baba was
all love and grace, to those sacred souls. When
he found some one racing along to catch a
glimpse, He asked that the car be slowed, so
that he can have the coveted Darsan;
when a group riding to the village on a
bullock-cart was overtaken by the car, he halted
a little, so that the occupants could alight and
slake their thirst. He stopped when He saw
ryots,
bent with age, trudging along to the village to
fill their eyes with Him, and gave them fruit so
that they could return home without trudging any
further. There was an old villager who was
driving a few sheep into Sampara; Baba asked the
car to slow down so that he could have Darsan;
He wanted the horn be sounded, so that he could
turn around! But, no. He was deaf to the call of
Grace. Baba said, "Poor fellow, it's his
destiny! Next time, next time ..." and the car
gathered speed.
"Love
is God; God is Love; where there is Love, there
God is evident"
"Love more and more people, love them more and
more intensely.
Transform the love into service. Transform the
service into worship.
That is the highest Sadhana"
The village
was drunk with holy joy. Baba told the
gathering. "You have been yearning for My coming
among you for six long years; therefore, have I
come now, to cool your hearts and give you joy."
He warned them against the temptation of the
noise and glare of town and cities. "There, man
has become quarrelsome, greedy and cruel. The
towns standardize the speech, the habits and the
attitudes of man, into a vulgar pattern. There
man is an animal which is, petted and humoured,
so that it may not turn wild. The Divinity of
man is ignored in the rush and worry, in the
struggle for possessions and pomp. Learn to be
content and happy where you are. Do not run
towards towns hoping to have happiness and
contentment there. They are inner riches, not
outer acquisitions."
Baba has given
this advice to every village He has gone into.
At Sathyavada, which He visited later during
this tour, He said, "Humility and reverence are
fast disappearing in the towns; uppishness and
irreverence are rampant. The fear of sin has
faded; the city-dweller has no faith left in God
or his brother. But, these virtues - humility,
reverence, dread of sin, faith in the victory of
truth and the efficacy of the virtue, in the
existence of an ever-present witness - these are
still alive in the villages".
From Kakinada,
Baba proceeded to Pithapuram, where a huge
gathering had collected amidst the ruins of a
historic fort. "These bastions and turrets were
once the symbols of power and pride; now they
are grim reminders of the frailness and
fickleness of fortune", Baba said. "These
pathetic walls teach you that Time is the
greatest conqueror", He told the people.
Yelamanchili, a village on the borders of the
Visakhapatnam District was the next place which
received Baba's Grace. Fifty thousand persons
had gathered there to see and listen, and carry
home the precious acquisition. "I do not accept
from you flowers that fade, fruit that rots,
coins that have no currency beyond the boundary;
give Me the Lotus that blooms in your
Manasa-sarovara,
in the pure pellucid waters of your inner
consciousness; give Me the fruit of your
holiness and steady discipline", He
asked.
Then Baba
entered the Delta of the Godavari River, the
Kona Sima as it is called, the region, which
Baba says, is, "the home of traditional
scholarship in the Vedas and Sastras, the
nursery of learned and versatile Pundits, in all
branches of the ancient
learning".
Naturally, His
Discourses at Amalapuram, the center of the
Deltaic area, were addressed to the repositories
of ancient culture and the guardians of Vedic
learning.
About three
hundred thousand people filled the town of
Amalapuram, when Baba was there; by car and
boat, by bus and carts, on cycles and on foot,
they trekked to have His
Darsan
and to listen to message of strength and joy.
Baba gave Darsan, whenever the gathering on the
roads before His residence grew too large; He
addressed the gathering for ten to fifteen
minutes, every hour or so, in order to reduce
the pressure on the meager resources of the town
to cater to non-residents! In spite of this,
evening meetings were huge mammoth affairs. Baba
said, "You have come in hundreds of thousands
from all the villages and towns from miles
around, spending time and money and undergoing
great exertion. Take back this lesson from here,
retain at least this much out of the hours of
listening that you do:
"Attachment
causes grief and detachment gives
joy."
He said that
the Pundits have the key to open the treasure of
detachment. "Fortunately, there are some
Pundits, in this region, who preserve faith in
that key and who are serene in the face of loss
or gain, fame or calumny. They are not news and
so, you will find no reference to them in the
papers. No one worries about them; they do not
worry anyone. People know more about film stars
now, than about the sages and saints in their
midst.
Baba is moved
by the Love that streams out towards Him from
the
lakhs
and lakhs of beaming faces that are filled with
indescribable joy when He grants Darsan. He
often says, "I do not like to interrupt this
transfer of Ananda,
from you to Me and Me to you, by starting a
Discourse. It seems as if this is ample
recompense for all the trouble and yearning." At
Amalapuram, He told the people, "I can
understand the depth of your Love; you have
denied yourself food, sleep and rest, struggling
for a place to squat, a cup of water to drink, a
patch in the shade. You have moved en masse from
your villages, like ants from ant-hills, issuing
out for sunshine for sugar. You have the hunger
for God, the thirst for spiritual
light."
From
Amalapuram, Baba proceeded to Rajahmundry, near
where the genius of Sir Henry Cotton devised an
anicut across the Godavari river, to curb the
raging flood and fertilize the vast deltaic
region. This was about a century ago; the
inhabitants of the Delta are so grateful to Sir
Henry for his engineering skill and foresight
that they revere the anicut site as a holy
place, where a bath in the sacred space is felt
as sacrosanct as at a site sanctified by a Vedic
saint! Rajahmundry or Rajamahendravaram, as it
is known to the natives, is a place full of
historic memories, cultural relics, and
religious festivals. Baba reached the town in
time for the valedictory offering of a three-day
Yajna performed by devotees in the temple of
Visweswara, the Lord of the Universe. Baba
casually moved round the corridors of the
temple; He peeped into the shrine of the
Consort, the Sakthi, the personified Grace,
Annapoorna, the Granter of Anna or Sustenance to
the Universe. He saw the stone idol and said "0,
She feeds the entire community of living beings,
but she herself is poor, she has no nose-ring!"
With these words, He waved His hand and, lo, a
big bright diamond nose-ring had formed itself
in that Hand; it was clipped on the
nose!
He gave the
performers of the
Yajna
confidence and courage by showing them that good
deeds, done in a dedicatory spirit always yield
fruit. The final offering of sacred objects in
the sacrificial fire was rewarded by a downpour
of unexpected rain! "The rain that fell this
morning and surprised every one did not surprise
Me, for it is the inevitable consequence of the
Yaga.
It is a special science, which these Pundits
know. You laugh at a sculptor chipping flakes
off a piece of rock! You call it waste of
precious stone and precious time, for, you do
not know that when he finishes chipping, a
beautiful statue will emerge. You suffer from
short sight and from
ignorance."
Baba gives the
Amritha
He creates to every one present; differences in
economic status disappear before the light of
His Grace, scholarly attainments, or caste
affiliations. All are His children. In His
discourses, He gives the Amritha of
Upanishadic
teachings to all who have ears to listen, in
sweet simple storyful style. "Some of you may
ask, why tell such great truths to these vast
gatherings, truths that have to be whispered in
the ears of ardent seekers only? How do you know
there are not many such here? I know there are
many. They will treasure the truth, ruminate
over it, and use it when the need is acute. They
will then say, 'Ah, Baba told us this at
Rajahmundry' and derive strength there from.
Nothing that is experienced will go to waste. It
will shape the course of events, it will change
attitudes and habits, it will clarify and purify
all situations.
There was a
father and son, who listened. The son was an
ardent seeker; he saw, he heard; he imbibed.
When he returned home, he had no thought other
than of God; He dedicated all his conscious
moments to God. The father too was proud of the
son. He was happy that his son had been
confirmed in the Godly path. He too was so
firmly established in
Sadhana
that, when his son died a few months later in
perfect bliss with the name and form of Baba on
his tongue and in his eye, the father wrote to
Baba, "My son had a happy end; he had no other
aspiration than to merge in God. I am glad this
son of mine had such a life and such a fine
enviable end". The word had clarified and
purified two listeners at Rajahmundry. Who knows
but He, which field is ready for the
seed!
Baba told the
vast gathering at Rajahmundry that the leaders
of the country had to plan, not only for
prosperity, but also for counteracting the
calamity of prosperity. In the West where
nations have the highest standard of living, and
the means of material comfort are within the
reach of all, anxiety and moral anarchy are
affecting the social fabric. The individual is
torn by frustration and fear; insanity and
suicide are increasing; flippancy, misdemeanour
and irreverence are rampant. "Man is deluded
into believing that he is bent by blasts of
grief and joy. But, he is immortal by nature;
beyond the atmosphere of agony and joy, of the
twin pulls of likes and
dislikes."
At the Hindu
Samaj, Rajahmundry, Baba presided over a
gathering called together to honour three
renowned Pundits, who were the members or the
Central Committee of the Prasanthi
Vidwanmahasabha. "Become aware or your illness;
then, long for the cure; seek the physician:
take in the medicine; follow the regimen he
prescribes. That is the only way to be healthy
again. These Pundits and men like them have a
knowledge of the cure that will make you free."
He said.
Baba visited
Kadali village and Razole in the Delta and then,
proceeded to the little village of Sathyavada,
where the yearning of rural hearts drew Him. The
village houses have thick and high mud walls
around them and so, Baba could not grant Darsan
to the thousands who filled the narrow
serpentine lanes! Sensing the anguish of the
crowds outside the wall, Baba had a ladder
brought, a narrow bamboo contraption with eight
horizontal rods as steps; He climbed it, to
reach the precarious foot-hold on the crest of
the wall. He stood there, silhouetted against
the sky, in the hot sun, to confer the coveted
Darsan to the people! I have seen Him ascend the
parapet walls of storied bungalows and the top
of His own car, in order to afford Darsan to the
milling crowds and to calm their ardour. In
Bombay, He has walked along the parapet of the
Gwalior Palace; in Kamool He has stood on the
narrow slab on top of an arch, in Budili He has
stood on a chair placed on a bullock-cart; in
Trivandrum, He stood on the roof of a Fiat car
in the hot sun so that more people may see Him
and be satisfied. But, this quick climb along
the bamboo ladder placed against the mud wall,
this stately stand on the narrow wall will shine
in my memory as a golden reminder of His
Grace!
And the
discourse that the sea of faces drew forth from
Baba! O, it was stream of nectar! "You wake with
the cock-crow, you sleep when the birds fold
their wings. You toil in the sun, soak in the
rain, trudge in the slush, handle dung and dirt,
to provide food and raiment to your kith and kin
and even for those who scorn you and slight you,
who profit by your ignorance of the fashions of
the world. But, is this all? Does this complete
the whole duty of man? Is this the aim of all
the aeons of struggle that won for you this
human frame? Do not let the fertile field lie
fallow, infested with thorns and weeds. Plough
the heart with virtuous deeds, irrigate it with
the stream of Prema,
sow the seeds of the Name of the Lord, pull out
the weeds of greed, watch the crop grow, enclose
it with the fence of discipline, and be happy
when the flower of
Dhyana
blooms, and the grain of
Ananda
is harvested."
From
Sathyavada, Baba drove to Repalle, where He
consecrated at the temple the marble idol of His
Previous Body. The vast masses of pilgrims in
His Presence were calmed to perfect silence by
His very Darsan. It is a phenomenon that has to
be seen to be believed. And, Baba too spoke on
"Silence".
The crocodile is happy and unharmed, it is
undefeatable, in the depths of the lake or
river. Once it sprawls on land, it becomes the
target of death, the plaything of man. The
depths! - they are your refuge, the source of
your strength. Do not stray into the shallows or
the sands. In the depths, you have the Silence,
where you can converse with
God."
Soon after
Baba returned to Prasanthi Nilayam, Baba was at
Bombay. It was on the sixth day of June that He
reached that City - His second visit. "O!
really, He was in Bombay! I have no words to
describe the occasion", writes Hon'ble Sri P.K.
Savant, Home Minister to the Government of
Maharashtra and for many years, Chairman, Shirdi
Sai Baba Samsthanam. A magnificently organized
meeting was held in the Shanmukhananda Hall in
Matunga the next day. "It was a sight for gods
to see", writes Sri Savant. "It was the proudest
day in my life", he says. On the same day, Baba
inaugurated the Maharashtra Branch of the
Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha. Baba said that the
present crisis in human history can be averted
by propagating the eternal values for which this
country has stood for generations. Next day, a
meeting of the Committee of the Mahasabha was
held; when one of the members read a poem of
his, named, Navarathnamala, [listen also to
the Sri Sathya Sai Navaratna Mala -
MP3
] the Garland of Nine Gems, Baba talked on
gems, false and genuine, and among the gems, on
the diamond. He said that when the mind dies and
all agitations are stilled, one becomes a better
gem called 'Diemind'!
That evening Baba addressed another mammoth
gathering at the Andhra Maha Sabha, where He
laid emphasis on the fundamentals of an
integrated life. Baba met the heads of many
religious sects and faiths, and discussed with
them ways and means of deepening the springs of
faith. [Also
see and listen to: Sathya Sai Ashtottarashata
Nama Ratnamala, a chain of Gems, being the 108
Names of Bhagavân Sri Sathya Sai
Baba]
Baba returned
to Bangalore by car, with a few hours halt at
Pandharpur, the holy place consecrated by
Panduranga. He Himself had taught his comrades
of His childhood days the Pandari Bhajan then
Bhajan songs on the Panduranga manifestation of
the Lord, on Rukmabai His Consort, on the
Chandrabhaga river that is sanctified by
association with the place, on the arduous
journey on foot that the pilgrim has to undergo,
on the hunger and thirst which he has to put up
with for four days, at the first one glimpse of
the temple steeple, the thrill one gets when he
crosses the sacred threshold - were written by
Him and taught to the children of Puttaparthi.
Many of these He sings even today, when His
devotees pray; many have become regular features
in the repertory of Bhajan parties in
surrounding villages. Baba entered the temple
and took His devotees Around - an act of Grace
that He has done so often in the past, as
Panduranga! He placed a wedding jewel of gold, a
Mangalasutra created on the spot in His palm,
round the neck of Rukmabai.
For those who
have the unique good fortune of traveling with
Baba in His car, it is sweetness, sweetness, all
the way, all the time! They can witness the flow
of Prema in every act and word of His. A cowherd
tending cattle on the hills will be called near
and given fruit; a blind beggar will get a fiver
with a warning not to mislay it or mistake it as
just paper. A woman on the way to the weekly
market tottering under the weight of the load on
her head will get sweets and money; the blind,
the aged, the maimed, the kids, the enceinte
mother, the boy with bravado - all will receive
a token of His Grace. Baba is never too busy to
leave the little ones of the earth,
unnoticed!
For those in
His car, the journey is sweeter still. Baba
sings Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English
songs. He prods and teases with questions, in
order to teach and remove lurking doubts. We see
in Him the very embodiment of Ananda, fresh as a
flower whatever the hour; the very intimate
friend, the very erudite scholar, the very
picture of charm. Quite suddenly, His Grace may
take the form of a miracle! Once while returning
from Hyderabad, the car was stopped near the
bridge over the Krishna, because some of us
prayed that He should give us sweets, from out
of His Hand, created specially for us. He had
the car stopped; He asked us to pick a stone and
give it into His hands; we did not know why! A
piece of road metal from a near-by heap, piled
for repairing that bit of road, was given! He
said, "Bring a flat piece of stone. How can you
break this one into pieces with your fingers?"
He asked, throwing that into the distance. We
wondered why He should be concerned with
breaking a stone into pieces! A flat thin piece
of stone was, however, brought and given. He
held it in His hand and gave it back; it became
a flat thin piece of sugar candy! We could
easily break it into pieces with our fingers and
eat it!
Navarathri or
Dasara is the Festival for the worship of the
Primal Urge that disturbed the beginningless
equilibrium and caused all this Divine Delusion
called Creation. The Jagath or Universe is a
vast agitation, trying to regain the equanimity
that was then lost. Once that equanimity is
attained, the ideas of past present and future,
of manifoldness, of gain and loss, of pleasant
and unpleasant, will disappear. The three
qualities of
Sathwa,
Rajas
and Thamas,
the calm, the active and the dull, affect the
Consciousness and so, we have the three forms,
Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, and Mahasaraswathi, which
are worshipped for three days each during this
Festival. With their Grace, we can gain
equanimity.
Baba
introduced the Festival of 1965 with the words:
"Dasara celebrates the victory of the forces of
righteousness over the forces of evil. They were
able to win, because Parasakthi, the dynamic
aspect of Divinity, the power that has
elaborated God into all this manifoldness, all
this variety and all this beauty, came to their
succor and lent Her strength!" Then, referring
to the invasion of India by Pakistan which had
just concluded in a ceasefire arranged by the
U.N.O., He said, "This country had to meet
unrighteous forces and Parasakthi has saved it
from dishonour and defeat." Baba spoke of the
agitation that affected many on account of the
war on the borders and the fear that Dasara
might be cancelled by Baba, as was done at
Mysore and elsewhere. "In spite of obstacles",
Baba said, referring to the last minute
somersaults of national representatives at the
UN headquarters and the precarious chances that
peace had until the very last minute, "In spite
of obstacles, the fighting has stopped. Peace is
restored". And Baba added, "This is another
instance of the Grace which Prasanthi Nilayam
showers. This is the way Mahima works!" ...It
was the Will of the Lord that tilted the balance
in time!
On the first
day of Dasara, the Sathya Sai Hospital
celebrates its Annual Day and Baba discourses on
the physical and mental bases of health. These
deal with the psychosomatic and even deeper
causes of illness and are valuable lessons for
medical practitioners. In 1965, for example, He
spoke of ill health being a social product, for
the sick and the suffering are limbs of the
selfsame corporate body. He advised against the
ascetic view of the body. "Disgust is not
desirable towards anything in creation.
Everything is God's handiwork, an example of His
Glory, a glimpse of His majesty." He recommended
proper attention to the body, as an instrument
for securing liberation; He is against coddling
and over-fondling. "When you believe that you
are the body, the body will demand from you more
food, more variety in food, more attention to
outward appearance, more care for comfort. A
large portion of the food now consumed is
superfluous and positively harmful. Man can live
happily on much less, and more healthy. "Baba
advised against the modern instruments of
popular education, which infect people with
discontent, despair and distress. "People are
getting anxious and afraid of things they do not
understand; nor can they avoid them or correct
them! The radio, the newspaper, the cinema - all
scare people into panic, about health, the
standards of living, social security and
national safety. Every hour of listening or
reading is an extra dose of anxiety." Pleasure
has become the universal port of destination and
so, there is a great deal of frustration and
repression. People live and die, without
recognizing the loss, society is frightened at
its own shadow, its hidden discontent, its
suppressed turmoil. Fear is the biggest cause of
illness. So, Baba tries to restore faith, so
that fear may fade. "Transfer your faith from
pills to providence; put your trust in
Madhava,
not in medicines; resort to prayers,
Sadhana,
Japam,
Dhyanam
and not injections. They are the vitamins you
need. No tablet is as efficacious as Ramanam.
Accept the Ananda way, the Sadhana way, to peace
and happiness and health," that is the Call of
the Voice Divine.
The Bombay
Sathya Sai Seva Samithi brought to the Prasanthi
Nilayam a pictorial exhibition, they had
prepared with the help of artists of high
repute, depicting the teachings of Baba; this
was inaugurated by Baba and thereafter it was
seen and appreciated by thousands. It was liked
so much that the van which carried it had to
tour for three months all over Peninsular India
and even beyond, to bring inspiration and
instruction to about three
lakhs
of people.
Baba took
under the wings of the Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabba
- an institution that was rendering yeoman
service to feed the roots of devotion among the
people - the Sanathana Bhagavatha Bhaktha Samaj
- consisting of scholars, musicians, poets,
expounders of scriptures, reciters of epics,
story-tellers, minstrels, all of a high order of
skill and efficiency. They go in groups for
three or four days at a stretch to a place;
through songs and music and speeches they stir
the place into a new awareness of their
spiritual heritage. No one who takes in vitamin
G (God)
can escape His Grace.
Every Dasara
now, Baba arranges a Sapthaha
Yajna,
which respects the Vedic injunctions and the
Vedic spirit of the Universality of the Godhead
- in full view of the thousands of devoted
aspirants, sun worship, image worship, fire
consecration, the contemplation of the Formless
and the recitation of the glories or the various
manifestations of God with Name and Form are
carried on. At the crucial moment of the Final
Offering of all the ceremonially sacred articles
in the rising flames, [see
The Task]
the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Pattom Thanu
Pillai was present. Later, he opened the Santhi
Vedika (an eight pillared Mantap in classical
style with frescoes of the Githopadesh scene and
of a scene from the Ramayana, and of the
Sivalinga and the Pranava) from where Baba
discourses to the vast sea of faces on special
occasions.
The Governor
presided over another function where Baba
requested him to honour four outstanding
scholars of Andhra Pradesh, members of the
Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha, with golden
bracelets, worn on the arm as marks of
undisputed superiority in Sastraic learning. His
Excellency said, "To be honoured at this center
of spirituality which influences all the states
of India and even countries outside in other
continents, this is a great inspiration!" The
next day was the Poets' Day when poems in
Sanskrit, Telugu, Urdu, Tamil, Kannada and
English were read before Him. Of course, Baba
had very valuable advice to give them. "The poet
is able to discover more than the mere thinker.
He recognizes and knows the next step and the
next ... in fact, he is aware of the goal. The
Kavi or Poet is divine, in the estimation of
India. So, he has tremendous responsibility. He
is 'anusasithara', - he who lays down the law,
the norms! He should not trail behind the whims
of the mob in search of cheap fame or
counterfeit prosperity. He must fertilize and
canalize the divine urge in man. Poems that deal
with the basic problems of life and death, of
freedom and destiny, of truth and delusion, of
virtue and temptation, of ascent and descent, of
aspiration and achievement - these will last for
ages, provided something deep in man, deeper
than the senses or reason or passion is the
inspiration, the source of illumination. Man's
struggle to discover the Creator in creation,
will arouse genuine enthusiasm." Baba spoke
against flimsy foppish poetry, fiery fuming
verses, meaningless lifts and jumbles: "Do not
infect others with your superstitions and
perplexities." Thus, Dasara was rendered into a
Seminar of Spiritual Study, an Institute of
Spiritual Rehabilitation.
Soon
after, Baba went to Hindupur, a town about 40
miles away, which He had visited last as a young
boy, with His Pandaribhajan group of comrades.
He said that people who do not approach the fire
can never know its warmth! He playfully blamed
the citizens for being content so long, with the
light emanating from the fire! Baba hoisted the
National Flag in the Municipal High School
Stadium at 8 A.M., for it was the Diamond
Jubilee of the School. He was then taken in
procession through the streets of the town in an
open jeep. While devotees felt that He was in
the scorching sun far too long, Baba expressed
His joy that the jeep wended its way through all
the roads and by-lanes of the town; "How else
could the sick, the weak, the lame, the old, get
My Darsan?",
He asked. He found time during the hot hours of
the day to address the Rotary Club of Hindupur,
the club which thus won the honour of being the
first recipient of that Grace. Baba's address
was an eye opener to many a social worker and
enthusiast for international understanding.
"Living in this ancient land suffused with a
culture based on detachment and sacrifice, where
every one is revered as reflections of Oneself,
who is himself a reflection of the Ultimate
Absolute, Rotarians will find that their ideals
are native to the people here. The query, "Who
belongs to whom? Am I my brother's keeper," is
alien to Indian thought. Here, each is all and
all is One, namely, He or IT, or THAT. This has
been the daily diet of India since the beginning
of time", Baba told them.
He spoke also
to the students of the college, asking them to
learn the principals of
Sanathana
Dharma,
"whether you have it in the curriculum or not.
Practice at least the first steps in Sadhana,
silence, meditation, sweet soft speech, control
of the senses, recitation of the Name of God,
reading of the scriptures and social service.
Avoid wasteful debilitating recreation; maintain
your health intact by sane habits; become worthy
sons and daughters of the motherland". Baba
considers that the system of education now being
worked out in the schools is mostly harmful to
the best interests of the children and the
community. "More information is forced in; less
inspiration to seek it is imparted! Skills are
added; virtues are subtracted! Respect for the
sacred texts, sages and holy places have
diminished and as a consequence respect for the
land that produced them has also
declined."
The Birthday
of Baba was an occasion for the offering of
grateful homage by tens of thousands and the
gift of Grace by Baba to each one of them. "Do
not try to get Grace by offering Me flowers that
fade, fruits that rot, leaves that dry and water
that evaporates. Give something Divine if you
want the Divine. Sathya Dharma Santhi Prema -
these are Divine," He reiterated. Baba conferred
the joy of anointing Him on that sacred day on a
few old couples chosen from Mysore, Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujerat,
and Madras. Among them, there was a couple where
the husband was blind, and another where the
wife was blind. The ecstasy of the blind can
well be left to the
imagination.
"Travel
light even in the journey of life"
"You are in the light; the Light is in you; You
are the Light"
Referring to
the eclipse of the sun which happened that day,
Baba said. "Many people wrote to inquire whether
the Festival is postponed on account of this!
But, Baba said, "Do not worry when something
happens in the outer skies! Worry when the
shadow of some foul passion, some dark desire,
some evil greed, some monstrous thought, casts
its ominous gloom on your Mind! That is the
inauspicious eclipse you have to avoid," He
said.
Baba does not
appreciate the celebration of what is called His
Birthday; He is anxious that we should celebrate
rather the day He is born in each of us, or, to
put it more clearly, the day when we recognize
that He is the inner core of each of us. So, the
Birthday Celebrations are used by Him only to
reveal the unknowable depth of His Mystery to
those who preen themselves on having plumbed
it!
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