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HomeDasara Divine Discourse on 8th October 2005 EVISION OF THE DIVINE
Dear students! All people in the world desire to have the vision of God and, in
fact, crave for the unique opportunity to merge in His divine effulgence. This
intense yearning for that great privilege is not a novel phenomenon. It has
been there ever since human beings appeared in the world. In consonance with
this yearning, several sages and seers in the past have craved for the vision
of God and ultimate merger with divinity. This is truly an ancient tradition.
Thus, the singing of the divine glory has been passed on from generation to
generation in the country of Bharath. Right from start Narada has been an
incessant singer of the glories of the divine name. What is the use of mere
chanting of the divine name for one’s own satisfaction? He, therefore,
advocated the nine-fold path of devotion: “Sravanam, Kirthanam, Vishnu
Smaranam, Padasevanam, Vandanam, Archanam, Dasyam, Sneham, and Atma Nivedanam”
(listening, singing, constant contemplation on God, serving His lotus feet,
salutation, worship, servitude, friendship and self surrender.)One day, Narada
prayed to Lord Narayana “Lord! we are only chanting the divine name, but the
essence of the divine name is in you. It is only when you bless us to partake
of that divine essence, our life will be sanctified.” Some people misunderstood
the prayer of sage Narada and started doubting the efficacy of namasmarana in
attaining the lotus feet of God. Opinions differed. Arguments and counter
arguments for and against following a particular path continued. Such
differences of opinion have been there right from ancient times. Some people
tried to argue with Narada saying, “Sir, we are not able to visualise God.”
Narada replied, “As much is your yearning, in proportion shall be the grace.”
Each individual in this world follows his own chosen path. But, the Paramathma
is one for all!In Dwapara Yuga, Radha, a great devotee of Lord Krishna
continued to pine for His darshan and constant proximity. She had a sister by
name Prabha. Prabha was, however, against such intense yearning, for Him. One
day Radha was going to Brindavan singing the divine glory of Lord Krishna. Her
sister Prabha and her husband were also accompanying her. Prabha used to be
constantly in the company of her husband. She could not bear her separation
from him even for a moment, just as Radha could not bear the separation from
Krishna. However, Radha continued to pray to Krishna to change Prabha’s mind
and develop devotion in her for Krishna. Krishna, however, counselled patience
saying, “Why do you worry? A time will come when she will also develop intense
devotion and yearning for Me.” Krishna used a variety of plays to bring about a
transformation in the hearts of several people. He used to display several
leelas for this purpose. Since Radha was longing for a change of heart in the
case of her sister Prabha, Krishna told her, “You wanted Me to change the mind
of your sister and develop devotion in her. Let her witness the glory of My
leelas and develop faith in My divinity gradually. Once she realises the nature
of My divinity, she will herself become an embodiment of divinity, in keeping
with the saying “Brahma vid Brahmaiva bhavathi” (one who realises Brahma will
become Brahman verily). Some people worship Me with devotion (bhakthi), others
constantly contemplate on me with hatred (dwesha). I am indifferent to both
dushana (abuse) and bhushana (praise). I am beyond all dushana and bhushana. I
accept all in an equal attitude. Prabha continued her hostile attitude towards
Krishna for some time. In course of time, there was a perceptible change in her
attitude. One day, she accompanied Radha to the place where Krishna was happily
spending His time in the midst of Gopikas, singing and dancing. Prabha from
then on continued to spend her time blissfully in the divine presence of
Krishna. Both Radha and Prabha used to share this divine experience daily.
Thus, Krishna could bring about a change of heart in Prabha with His divine
leelas. God is unblemished and pure. In fact, He corrects the mistakes that are
there in the devotees and takes them into His fold. He will not distance Himself
from anyone. Lord Krishna is a Leelamanusha vigraha (donning a Human vesture as
part of His divine sport). Both Radha and Prabha firmly decided that they would
not move away from the company of Lord Krishna. In fact, Krishna gave a glimpse
of His divinity to Radha on one occasion and explained to her, “Radha!
Humanbeings are entangled in maya (illusion). They are deluded to think that
God in human form is also a human being like them. You can not develop love
towards a person without developing attachment to him. This is true in the case
of God in human form also. Hence, first you will have to develop attachment to a
particular form of God, in order to love God. In order that people should
develop attachment to the form of their choice, God assumes several forms.
However, God is unblemished and remains an embodiment of purity”.None can
fathom the divine Leelas of Lord Krishna. Sometimes, He manifested in His full
divine glory. Sometimes, He behaved like an ordinary human being. Yet another
time, He acted as a simpleton. Nevertheless, Krishna was Krishna, i.e., God in
human form! In fact, even the Gopalas and Gopikas who moved constantly in the
company of their dear Lord Gopala and were witnesses to several divine Leelas
could not fully appreciate His divine nature. The question that constantly
baffled the minds of people was why Krishna should indulge in such divine
Leelas. It was only to develop in the minds of His devotees intense attachment
to His form and thereby develop devotion in them. He had no desires at all,
excepting this. The constant company of Radha developed intense devotion in her
sister Prabha. Finally, as is the company so is the transformation. “Tell me
your company I shall tell you what you are!” Accordingly, Radha and Prabha
became one in the end. In fact, Prabha’s real name was Chandrika and her mother
used to call her by that name. All others used to call her Prabha.It is very
difficult to bring about a transformation in the human mind. Only God can
accomplish this task. Several people approach Me and pray “Swami! Please change
the mind of my son. He has developed hatred towards his parents for some reason;
we do not know why. Normally, he is a good boy. He never takes to bad ways.
Please Swami! Change his mind so that he will behave well towards his parents.”
A mind is a mind after all! Sometimes, some people are beyond redemption. I
therefore express My inability in such cases. It is said “Manomoolam idam
jagath” (the mind is the basis for the entire objective world).“A knotted
gnarled tree trunk may be made straight as a poleA shapeless hunk of rock can
be carved to form a beautiful divine idolIs there a one who can make the
wavering human mind unruffled?” (Telugu Poem)It is only when man develops faith
in God that God will come to the rescue of man. In fact, divinity is not
confined to any form. It is a power and that power is infinite. Such an
infinite power can accomplish any difficult task. God may assume a number of
forms, but the divine power is only one and the same. The same Atmatattwa that
is residing in this body as the indweller is present in every human being as
well. For example, you may refer to the electric current as DC or AC, but the
basic nature of the current is the same. Similarly, the Atmatattwa is the same
in every human being. Considering the prapthi (deservedness) of the concerned
individuals, God interferes to bring about transformation in them. While doing
so, God will conform to some form of self imposed norms. Transformation of the
human mind can not be brought about by a human being or by chanting some
manthra. It is only when God wills so, is it possible. God can accomplish
anything and everything. He can be present anywhere and everywhere. In keeping
with the declaration “Ekam eva advitheeyam Brahma” (Brahma is only one, without
a second). God does not change. If He changes, the whole universe will change.
It is a serious misconception to think that God has changed. God is truth,
eternal and unblemished. None can change such a Paramathma (supreme self). It
is not easy to comprehend the divinity.Embodiments of Love! No human being’s
love equals that of God. God’s love is unchanging. He may assume any number of
forms, but His love towards human beings remains unchanged. God is
attributeless, pure, eternal, unsullied, final abode, enlightened, liberated
and embodiment of sacredness. You may call God by any name – Venkateshwara,
Rama, Krishna or Saibaba. Only names differ, God is only one. That is why
divinity has been explained as “Ekam eva advitheeyam Brahma” (Brahma is only
one, without a second). Some people may think that God has assumed a human form
like Rama or Krishna and hence now there is no God. What has really happened in
this example is that God has not changed, He remains changeless irrespective of
the form He assumes. It is only a change in our perception of God. God’s will is
immutable.Embodiments of Love! Cultivate pure love; for, purity is unity and
that unity is divinity. Let your individual love be transformed into pure love
for God. Sometimes, people have a doubt whether God’s love towards them had
undergone a change. Never; God’s love will never undergo a change. For example,
you have a log of wood. You can make any kind of furniture with it, like a chair
or a bench. But the basic material, that is wood, remains the same. Similarly,
God’s love always remains unchanged. God can accomplish any task. Sometimes He
may give darshan to some people, while others may not have this benefit. Much
depends upon their mental attitude. Cultivate unflinching faith and
single-minded devotion to God. Several Yogis and renunciants yearned for the
darshan of God, but few could win that grace with unflinching faith and
single-minded devotion to God.Sometime ago when I visited Rishikesh, I gave
darshan to Swami Purushothamananda living in the Vasishta cave located on the
way to Badrinath in the Himalayas. He was doing thapas, living alone in that
cave. He used to keep a small oil lamp in that cave. The cave was located a
little interior from the road point. He used to purchase milk and make some tea
with it. That was his only food. Rest of the time, he was always immersed in
thapas. Days rolled by. After sometime, he did not have enough strength to come
to the road point for purchasing milk and again getting back to his cave. Hence,
he made his trips less frequent, that is, once in a week, to obtain milk. One
day, he came to know that Bhagavan Baba was staying in the Sivananda ashram for
a few days. He was longing to have Swami’s darshan. He, therefore, sent a letter
through a messenger praying “Bhagavan! Please come to our cave and grant darshan
to me.” I was aware of his intense devotion towards Swami. I saw his letter and
I immediately rushed to Vasishta cave to give him darshan. The entrance to the
cave was closed with a door. Purushothamananda had no energy left in him to get
up and open the door. Kasturi accompanied Me during My trip. He was quite strong
then. Both Kasturi and Myself tried to open the door. At last we could succeed
in opening the door. Purushothamananda was extremely happy on seeing both of
us. He wanted to spend a few minutes alone in the Divine Presence of Swami. He,
therefore, advised Kasturi to go inside the cave and have a look at it. Kasturi,
with his journalistic inquisitiveness went in. Purushothamananda fixed his gaze
on Me and was lost in bliss. After a few moments, he regained his normal self.
I told Purushothamananda that I would visit his cave once again. The very next
day I visited Purushothamananda and spent some time with him again. After My
return to Sivananda ashram, Swami Sivananda was a bit disappointed that I
visited Purushothamananda’s cave twice and did not find much time to spend in
the Sivananda Ashram.On my second visit to Vasishta cave, I took a piece of
paper from Kasturi and wrote a particular date for My next visit to
Purushothamananda’s ashram. On the scheduled date, Purushothamananda took a
holy bath in the Ganges and was eagerly waiting for My darshan. Deeply lost in
contemplation on my Divine Form, he had divine vision after sometime. A few
minutes later, he left his mortal coil in that deep samadhi state itself. The
news was conveyed to Me while I was in Delhi. I was informed by a telegram that
Purushothamananda merged in Swami. I confirmed the news saying, “yes, yes”.
Strangely, his birthday and the day on which he attained samadhi were one and
the same. Later on, when the door of the Vasisthta cave was opened, the entire
cave was smeared with vibhuti! The body of Purushothamananda was later let into
the river Ganges by the disciples of Sivananda. From then on, the name and fame
of Purushothamananda spread far and wide. The disciples of Purushothamananda
thereafter visited Prasanthi Nilayam to have My darshan. They stayed in the
ashram for full ten days. I provided them good accommodation and all
conveniences. They enjoyed Swami’s darshan, sparshan and sambhashan in full
measure and finally left for their place, carrying with them the love and
blessings of Swami. Purusho-thamananda was a noble soul. He was really a
Purushothama (the best among men). This is the story of Purushothamananda.Every
one was happy to read in newspapers that Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba had
visited on two days the ashram of Swami Purushothamananda. Your happiness is My
happiness. The Vasishta cave is still as it was when Purushothamananda lived
there. It is perfectly clean and holy, permeating divine atmosphere in the
entire ashram. The disciples of Purushothamananda told Me: “Swami! The entire
atmosphere in the ashram is permeated by divine vibrations. We feel as though
Swami Purushothamananda is still with us”. I told them: “Fine! You continue to
feel his presence there and enjoy bliss”. During My last visit to Delhi, I
arranged for conducting bhajan on Purushothamananda’s birthday, keeping a photo
of Purushothamananda there. Thus, several sages and seers display intense love
and devotion towards Me and pine for My divine darshan.
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