Sathya Sai Baba Geetha Vahini - Chapter 20

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Sathya Sai BabaGeetha Vahini

Chapter XX

The Geetha clearly declares that only the Hrudaypushpa (heart-lotus), free from

impurities, that grows in the Manasa-sarovar, the pellucid waters of the mind,

is worthy to be offered to God. That is the reason why Krishna told Arjuna, "My

dear brother-in-law, whatever activity you are engaged in, whatever gift you

give, whatever food you take, do it as a dedicated offering to Me; do

everything in the dedicatory spirit as a tribute to God; for only such acts

reach Me. I have no special preference for any one name; all names are Mine. I

know neither friend nor foe. I am the unaffected witness. I reside with all who

serve Me and derive joy from that service."

This raised some doubts in Arjuna's mind. He asked, "Krishna! You say that you

do not make any distinction, that you have neither friend nor foe; how then

does it happen that some are happy and others are unhappy, some are strong in

body and mind, some are weak and sickly, some are poor and some rich? What is

the reason behind all this? When you yourself are above any distinctions of

such type, why can you not keep all in the same condition? Observing facts as

they are, it is difficult to believe that you look upon all without any

partiality."

Krishna laughed at this 'doubt' which worried Arjuna. "I give expression only to

truth. I do not adjust My speech to merit your approval or disapproval; I am not

elated when you approve, or depressed when you disapprove. I am the same in all.

But all are not the same in Me. You have observed that during the cold months

villagers sit around a fire at night; but only those who sit near the fire get

refreshed by the warmth. Those squatting far away have also to put up with the

darkness. If people stay afar and complain that they do not receive the warmth

and that they have to suffer darkness, can you ascribe it to the partiality of

fire? It is meaningless to argue from this that fire treats different people

differently."

"The splendour of divine vision is akin to this - if you seek to earn it, you

have to approach it and stay there. Everyone has equal right to do so and to

feed the fire, so that it might illumine and warm even more. Fire is impartial;

in deriving its benefit and in making it grow into greater capacity, there are

differences. I am splendour; I have no partiality at all. To experience Me and

derive bliss from Me, all have equal chance, opportunity and authority.

Distinctions and differences arise as a result of the faults of the Sadhakas.

They are not blemishes in Me."

Did you notice the loving words of Krishna? The shower of His grace? How true

are His words! Really, people do not understand the faults in themselves; they

seek faults in others. If the Lord has faults, how can the world exist or

survive? The Lord sees all as equal; His heart embraces all in love; that is

the reason why the world has at least this much of peace and prosperity. The

doctor may declare that the patient has no fever just to console the sick man;

but the thermometer cannot lie. God knows and reacts to the inner feeling, not

to the outer appearance; He can never go wrong, nor can He be deceived. The

world considers only the outward appearance; it is guided by that alone. Wade

in the river; then only can you know the depth of the water. Eat, if you must

know the taste. When people pronounce judgements on the depth or the taste,

without wading or tasting, how can their declarations be taken as true? If the

Lord Himself was affected by partiality, how could He award the

bliss of Sayujya to the cowherd maids of Brindavan? Would He have partaken of

fruits partly eaten by Sabari? Could Janaka have become a Brahmajnani? Could

Nandanar have achieved the grand vision of the Lord? Could Prahlada and

Vibhishana have approached the Lord? Would Hanuman have been accepted as the

messenger of Rama? Could Valmiki have written the great epic, Ramayana? Do

these indicate any partiality in the composition of the Lord? Or do they prove

that He has no such trait? These are examples of the Lord's Prema. His uniform

kindness to all.

"Manmanaa bhava madbhaktho, mad yaajee, maam namaskuru," this command of the

Lord means just this; Keep your mind steadily on Me, be devoted sincerely to

Me, prostrate before Me offering all your thoughts, words and deeds to Me, love

Me steadfastly - He has commanded. He has thus indicated that what He most

desires in you are a 'pure mind' and 'untarnished love.'

Immersed in Manavathwa (humanness), you cannot attain Madhavathwa

(Madhava-ness). You have to attain Madhavathathwa to get Madhava-hood. To see

darkness, you must have darkness only; to see light, you should have light. To

understand intelligence you have to be intelligent. If you are constantly

active about human things, how can you realise the glory of divinity? To become

divine, you have to dwell in the memory of the divine, act divinely, behave

divinely. The taste, the environment and the feeling - all must be coordinated

for that one purpose. Then only can the principle be grasped.

It is on the basis of this truth that Krishna continued thus: "Arjuna! Jnanis

are superior even to the Gods who are in their turn superior to men; but these

Jnanis too are unable to grasp the full import of God. How then can ordinary

men like you ever understand it?" At this sly dig, Arjuna bent his head in

shame. He said, "Yes, I agree, Krishna, you are beyond the grasp of any one,

however intelligent he may be. You are of endless manifoldness, I am convinced.

You are the universal absolute, I know."

"I believe that you have created the entire universe and that you are fostering

it and presiding over both the evolution and involution of the worlds, that you

are the master of Srishti (creation), Sthithi (sustenance), and Laya

(dissolution). You have told me this yourself. I am ever grateful for this and

I am happy that I was considered worthy."

"But how, in what forms, are You immanent in the universe You have brought into

being? I long to hear it from You and make myself worthier to be alive," said

Arjuna. "And which among these various forms am I to meditate upon? Tell me, so

that I can meditate likewise and save myself," he pleaded.

"A petty small question, that !" said Krishna, with a smile. "Perhaps, you felt

that you can easily understand the answer, if given! Right. Since the question

has been put, I shall melt a little and give the answer. Listen carefully. I am

the inner Atma in the lotus heart of each and every being. So, if you believe

and direct your life on the basis of the belief that the inner Atma in every

being is My Paramatma, that is enough Dhyana for you. See that this belief is

not shaken or overthrown. Stick to it steadily, practise that belief, apply it

in your deeds, words and thoughts. Then the experience of oneness, of your

being Me and I being you, can be achieved."

"The five elements, earth, water, fire, wind and sky are also My forms. I am the

activity in the sun, moon and stars. When the great destruction comes, I am the

force of destruction and I am the force which constructs again. I am everything

from the microscopic to the macroscopic; I am the past, the present and the

future. I am the three regions and the three Gunas which have shaped man and

nature. There is no object which is not I; no name which is not Mine. Blood

taken from any part of the body is the same as from any other part; so too, the

divine is everywhere the same."

Arjuna joined both his palms and with uplifted hands he asked, "Krishna? The

whole of creation is your form, is it not? Knowledge, wealth, power, strength,

energy, splendour - all these are expressions of Your glory, are they not?

Well, will You not give me the sacred chance to fulfil my life's desire to

experience You as all this creation, as Viswarupa, of the form of creation

itself? I plead with you. I pray at Your feet."

Knowing the anguish of his heart, Krishna replied. "Arjuna! I shall certainly

satisfy you. But your physical eyes cannot see that glory. The Viswarupa cannot

be perceived by the limited vision which sees and grasps only this nature.

Therefore, I shall confer on you the supernatural eye. Now, see!" He said and

manifested Himself before him as creation and more. What great mercy! What

superb experience!

While on this point, there is one subtle detail which seekers have to note. The

Vedas, Sastras and Puranas, besides many scholars and saints and others who

have a right to speak about such matters, all describe God as Sarva-vyaapi and

Sarva-bhoothaantharaatma, that is, as present everywhere and as the inner

reality in every being. On the basis of this, some people argue, "If He is so

present everywhere and in everything, why is He not seen by everyone? For all

such, the reply is: how can the physical eye composed of the five elements see

beyond the five?

Nothing can illumine an object that does not reflect light; but a flame

illumines itself and sheds light all around. God is self-luminous; He illumines

all; He is beyond nature, which is but a manifestation of His glory. So He can

be seen only by the eye of wisdom, an eye that can be won only by His grace.

Hence, worship of God is an essential part of Sadhana; he who fails in seeing

himself can never succeed in seeing others, in seeing anything outside him.

Engage yourself in Sadhana that will secure the grace of God; through that

grace, the Jnananethra, the eye of wisdom will be granted. He is easily

reachable by the path of devotion. While experiencing the vision of God in the

universe and God as the universe, Arjuna was shedding tears of joy. "Oh,

almighty God! All the Gods, Brahma the creator, all the sages and saints, all

the manifold beings and objects, moveable and immoveable: Oh, I see every one

of these. I see all... Oh, from Your terror-creating face, flames of splendour

emerge and spread to farthest distances. How I wish I could know the meaning and

purport of this formidable form," Arjuna exclaimed.

"Did you see, Arjuna? Have you known by this that I am the creator, sustainer

and destroyer of all activity and of all beings and objects? Have you realised

that you cannot save any one on this battlefield, nor can you kill any one? You

have no power to kill nor have they the power to die by their own efforts.

Living and dying are both directed by My will. I bear the burden of the earth;

I create the burden; I relieve it," said Krishna, fondly patting Arjuna on the

back and speaking softly to assuage his ecstatic excitement.

This incident is a fine example to illustrate how God is bound by sincerity of

devotion and how He bends to console and encourage His devotees. Just imagine!

How could this Arjuna, who was so hesitating and nervous until he got ocular

demonstration like an ordinary mortal, face and conquer mighty heroes and

masters of all arts like Bhishma, Drona and Karna? They were conquered by His

will.

Arjuna wiped the tears from his eyes; he folded his hands in prayer. "Oh Lord, I

see the Viswarupa which I had never before seen or heard about, or even

conceived. I realise that it is a factual truth. Those terrific flames of

splendour are scorching me, my body is sizzling under the impact of that glory.

Present Yourself before me, once again, with the sweet smiling form of Yours; I

can no longer bear this vision, Father! Resume Your form, I cannot continue to

look upon this," pleaded Arjuna.

His grace made Him agree. He said, "Arjuna! You have just seen this universal

form of Mine, a vision which no height of Vedic scholarship or ritual

asceticism or austerity can ever hope to win. This is achieved only by the

Bhaktha who is devoted to Me, with Ananya-bhakthi; devotion which does not

admit of the least distraction. Such Bhakthas see only the Lord; whatever they

do, they do as worship to the Lord. They have no other form before their eyes;

no other thought in their minds; no other act for their hands. At all times and

places, they see only My form, they utter only my name; they think only about

Me; they feel only for Me or about Me; they are active only for My sake. It is

such, oh Arjuna, that attain this vision. I too ask for only this:

Ananya-bhakthi."

Arjuna asked with a smile and a little tremor of the lips, "Lord! I realise that

You are pleased with undeviating single-pointed devotion. But are you pleased

with the worship of You-with-form or You-without-form? Do you prefer Saakaara

Upaasana or Niraakaara Upaasana? Which melts You more and contributes to

success in getting Your blessings? Which is easier for the Sadhaka and more

welcomed by You? Please tell me."

Krishna was happy that this question was asked. He said, "Arjuna! I do not make

any distinction between the two. I am pleased in whatever way I am worshipped,

provided the mind is saturated with Me and there is steady faith in every act,

word and thought." Arjuna intercepted with the query, "Krishna! Are mere purity

of heart and steady faith enough? Do not sex or status as fixed by caste or the

stage of life form obstacles to success?" Krishna chided Arjuna and replied, "I

am surprised that you should ask such questions after going through all this

experience. Do you not realise that for those who have fixed their minds on

God, who have reposed faith in Me, the personification of truth, eternal and

pure, there will not be an iota of 'identification of the self with the body'

(Dehabhranthi). If they have still the awareness of sex or caste or stage of

life with all the attendant pride, humility,etc., it only reveals they have not

surrendered their minds to God. For those who have

rid themselves of attachment to the body, there will not be the distraction of caste, status, etc."

"But the Asrama dharma and the Varna dharma (the codes of moral conduct

prescribed for the castes and for those in the four stages of life - student,

householder, recluse and monk) do not hinder in any way the discipline of

fixing the mind on God or of purifying the mind of evil or worshipping the Lord

through all one's actions, words and thoughts. The distinctions of sex or caste

or status or stage of life affect only those who live in the awareness of the

body as reality and who act as if the world is absolute and eternal."

At this, Arjuna said, "Krishna! The contemplation of the formless

characteristic-less Nirguna-niraakara is very difficult, is it not, for those

with Deha-bhranthi or identification of the self with the body? The worship of

the form-ful aspect of God which is within the reach of the ordinary man, can

thus yield purity of mind, purity of the inner instruments of consciousness?

Please enlighten me."

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