Baba and the Concept of Avatarhood

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family, Tansen threw overboard a doll made to look like the emperor's little

son, crying at the same time, "O, the prince has fallen into the water!"

Hearing this, the emperor jumped into the lake to rescue his son! Tansen then

disclosed that it was only a doll and that the son was safe. He allayed the

anger of Akbar by explaining that he had perforce to enact this drama, in order

to demonstrate the truth of the Hindu belief that God takes human form Himself,

to save Dharma, without commissioning some other entity to carry out that task.

Dharma is like the son, God loves it so dearly. Akbar could have ordered one

among the many personnel he had on board, to jump in and rescue his son: but,

his affection was so great and the urgency so acute that the emperor himself

plunged into the lake, to pull out the "son". The decline in Dharma is so acute

a tragedy, the intensity of affection that the Lord has for good men is so

great, that He Himself comes. Who is an Avatar? Sage Suka gives a picture of

Sri Krishna, such as would be painted by a good observer: "He treated the world

as a puppet-show. He was always radiant with his smile. He never knows anxiety,

disappointment or distress. He behaved some times as a common man, some times

as an innocent child, at other times as a near Kinsman, or as an intimate

friend, or as a masterful monarch. He had the capacity and cleverness to play

all roles with a unique distinction." The impression that one finally has of an

avatar is the unique blend of the human and the divine, - attributes that go to

make up aishvarya or divinity and all those human qualities that make him so

sweet and lovable, qualities that may be summed up as madhurya or

sweetness.Baba has been Subramanya, Sakti and all the Masters for many of his

devotees. Each

avatar is a manifestation of the Divine. And the Divine is all encompassing, for

He is the substance of all the multifarious forms that He takes. When Baba

writes about Sri Krishna in Bhagavata Vahini we get to know what an avataric

personality has to say about an Avatar. Baba makes Arjuna say, after the

self-slaughter of the Yadavas, when he had to return alone tragically from

Dwaraka: "We have failed to understand his play. With that deluding human form

he moved with us, mixed with us, behaved with us as if he was our Kinsman and

well-wisher, our friend and guide and saved us from many a calamity. We were

carried away by pride that we had His Grace. We sought from him mere external

victory and temporal benefits. We ignored the vast treasures with which we

could have filled our hearts. We never contemplated His real reality." Baba on

Avatarhood: "This avatar has no destructive weapon in His possession, like the

Kodanda (bow) of Rama, or the Chakra(discus) of Sri Krishna. He relies on

education, rather than elimination; instruction rather than destruction. The

good are encouraged to become better, the better to enter the region of the

best and the blessed. The bad are encouraged to shed the coil of cowardice,

which keeps them in fear.The optical sense cannot visualise the truth. It

gives only false and fogged information. For example, many observe my actions

and start declaring that my nature is such and such. They are unable to gauge

the sanctity, the majesty, and the eternal reality that is Me. The power of Sai

is limitless; it manifests forever. All forms of 'power' are resident in this

Sai palm.My power is immeasurable; My truth is inexplicable, unfathomable. I

am announcing this about me, for the need has arisen. Let me tell you that

emphatic declarations of the

truth by Avatars were made so clearly and so unmistakably only by Krishna. In

spite of the declaration, you will notice in the career of the same Krishna

that he underwent apparent defeat in his efforts and endeavours, on a few

occasions; you must also note that those defeats too were part of the drama

that he had planned and that he himself directed. For example, when many kings

pleaded with him to avert the war with the Kauravas, he confessed that His

mission to the Kaurava Court for ensuring peace had 'failed'! But he had not

willed that it should succeed! He had decided that war would be waged! His

mission was intended to punish the greed and iniquity of the Kauravas and to

condemn them before the whole world. Now, I must tell you that, during this Sai

Avatar, there is no place for even such 'drama' with scenes of failure and

defeats! What I will, must take place, what I plan must

succeed. I am Truth, and Truth has no need to hesitate, or fear, or bend."

"Since I move freely among them, talking and singing, even intellectuals are

unable to grasp my truth, my power, my glory, or my real task as Avatar. I can

solve any problem however knotty; I am beyond the reach of the most intensive

enquiry and the most meticulous measurement. Only those who have recognised my

love and experienced that love can assert that they have glimpsed my reality.

For the path of Love is the royal road that leads mankind to me.Man extols

God as omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent, but he ignores his Presence in

himself. Of course, many venture to describe the attributes of God and proclaim

Him such and such; but these are their own guesses and the reflections of their

own predilections and preferences. Who can affirm that God is this or that? Who

can affirm that God is not of this form or

with this attribute? Each one can acquire from the vast expanse of the ocean

only as much as can be contained in the vessel he carries to its shore. From

that quality, they can grasp but a little of that immensity. Each religion

defines God within the limits it demarcates and then claims to have grasped

Him. Like the six blind men who spoke of the elephant as a pillar, a fan, a

rope or a wall, because they contacted but a part and could not comprehend the

entire animal, so too, religions speak of a part and assert that its vision is

full and total." http://www.geocities.com/bhagawansathyasai/concept.html

Perform selfless service to the poor, the sick, and the needy without thought of

reward or fame. Love all Serve

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