Masters and Avatars

[Guest guest]

>From Racing Along The Razor's Edge by Swami Ramakrishnananda

 

When is the best time to invoke God's grace? The scriptures say it

is when a God-realized master is living amongst us. The mahatmas

have come to the world out of their overflowing compassion and only

with the intention of helping us.

There is a story about why these Avatars come to the world.

There was once a group of people traveling to another city.They were

going through a dense forest. Unfortunately, the journey took longer

than expected, and soon they ran out food. For two or three days

they kept on walking without any food. Finally they came to a high

wall of a compound. They wanted to know what was on the other side

of the wall, so one of them climbed the wall to see. One of the

others helped him up.

When he looked over the wall, he exclaimed, "Oh my goodness!" and

jumped to the other side without saying anything to the others who

were waiting to hear what he saw.

They sent a second person. He also said, "My goodness!" and jumped

over the wall and never came back.

So they asked a third person to go and describe what was on the

other side. They pleaded with him not to do what the other two

did. "Please, come back and tell us what is there," they said, and

then helped him to climb the wall. As he looked over the wall, he

smiled and said, "Öh it is incredible! It is marvelous! Just wait!"

Having said this, he jumped over tot he other side, but like the

others beforehim, he didnt come back either. He thought, "What's the

hurry? Let me enjoy for some time!"

What they found on the other side of the wall were beautiful fruit

trees, a lovely spring and wonderful food to eat. They were so

hungry they just jumped over and stuffed themselves until they

couldn't move. So how could they climb back over the wall?

Before climbing the wall, the fourth person decided he would

definitely come back. He jumped over, ate some food and came back to

tell the others about the delicious food and he helped them climb

over the wall so they could enjoy the food as well.

It is said that the bliss of God-intoxication is so great that those

who enjoy it never want to come back to the world, just as the first

three persons who saw all the food and stuffed themselves never

wanted to come back.

A person like Amma makes a sankalpa,"Ï will "not completely immerse

myself in that bliss. I will come back. Countless people are

suffering in the world, and others seek the Truth. I have to help

them." So when they leave the world, they make a sankalpa to come

back to the world to help and guide others toward that bliss. Amma

has said many times that She is ready to take any number of births

for the sake of Her children.

So we have to remember one important point: We are born because of

our karma, but the birth of an Avatar like Amma happens only because

of Her immense compassion for us.