H.H.Narasimha Swamijis Guru Purnima Message on 10thJuly1950

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MESSAGE BY H.H.NARASIMHA SWAMIJI FOR GURU PURNIMA ON 10TH JULY 1950

All Full Moon Days (Poornima) are sacred and kept apart for the worship of the

Guru. Among these, Ashada Poornima is specially considered sacred and is termed

Vyasapoornima or Guru Poornima. Vyasa the author or compiler of Vedas, the

puranas, the Maha-bharatha including the Bhagawad Gita, is looked upon as the

Guru of all the Gurus, the primary guru. And as that day is roughly the

commencement of new Ayana (Dakshinayana), it is commemorated by Pooja of Vyasa

and of all subsequent gurus including the immediate guru of each worshipper

(Asmada-charya). The acharya finds this season of rain and storm a troublesome

period for travel and requests the inhabitants of some locality to permit him

to stAy in their midst for a period of two or four months. They extend their

hospitality to him for that period and derive all the benefits of satsang and

especially the benefit of personal contact with the guru and personal

instruction on all momentous matters rela­ting to the soul including Pooja,

yoga, ethics, psychology, philosophy, etc.

Every Sai devotee is expected to be in contact with Sai and other gurus, if any,

from that day onwards at least for a period of two or four months, Sai must be

recognised as the Dharma marga Guru or moksha guru. He helps in building up the

devotee's soul into fitness for the higher life, Sadhanas that ought to have,

been undertaken long, long ago should be started (or perhaps restarted now) and

kept up during this period of training. Life's seriousness ought to be faced and

energetic measures should be taken by each devotee to get the best he can out of

Sri Baba. That best does not consist merely in wealth, health, issue and

success, but also in things of the highest moment. The real welfare of the

devotee is attained by bhakti, atmajnana, yoganishta, etc. Every one should

devote a particular portion of the day religiously for such sadhanas and if at

the close of the term mentioned above, the devotee does not notice in himself

any rise in his spiritual level, one must suspect that something has gone wrong

with the sadhanas and the sadhaka. Nothing goes wrong with Sai. He is always

there showering his benign blessings upon the ardent devotee who approaches him

in the right manner.

May we appeal to each member or devotee to see that this year's Guru Poornima

period does not pass away without appreciable fruit being gathered therefrom.

Since the last message was delivered, twelve months have elapsed, and it behoves

every serious devotee to take stock of the situation. Are we in any way nearer

to our goals since then, and have we taken any definite steps, and, if so, with

what degree of success? Some people think that only the approach of death to the

physical organism should be the reason for a serious consideration of their

lives and for strenuous attempts to achieve their goals therein: that is, in

the case of younger people the need for self-scrutiny or a vigorous spiritual

life is not required. We may, however, remind people that death is not

threatening only the old, but other people also have this Damocles' sword

hanging over their heads every minute of their lives.

Ahani Ahani Bhutani,

Gachchanti Eva Yamalayam,

Sceshah Sthavaram Ichchanti,

Kim Asecharyam Atah Param.

This means, "Day after day creatures (on Earth) are moving quickiy to death's

demesne; (yet) the rest are wishing for (or behaving as though they have

achieved) deathlessness; What greater wonder is there?" The fact is that a

certain amount of callous­ness towards grave issues of life exists in the

temper of the ardent man—a callousness which, whatever may be its utility in

carrying on the daily task of the work-a-day world—acts as a definite obstacle

to religious progress. It is the characteristic of satwic or higher rajasic

natures to pull themselves up from the frequent tendency to callousness and

take a realistic view of life with its dangers and possibilities, and of all

that the future can hold in store for them. Here, as Sai devotees, we are

expected to adopt a noble attitude and not allow ourselves to sink into the

mire of listiesness or, still worse, active pursuit of worldly ends to the

extent of drowning the still, small voice within us. If we just pause for a

moment and find out what makes some people callous while others are more awake

to their spiritual position and the need for spiritual progress, we shall find

that the causes are many, but that the chief causes (and means of rising

oneself out of worldly listlessness into something higher) are mainly the

effects of surroundings, espe­cially persons who have moulded one's life from

the beginning and are now moulding it. The earliest impressions are very

important in this matter, and they are derived by the notions instilled into

the child and the growing youth by the nature and the practice of the elders at

home and of others outside the home.

But to-day of all those influences, let us pause to consider one supreme

item—that is, the influence of the Guru. All holy ones impress us but amongst

them, there is some one whom each serious sadhakas sooner or later, selects

or gets attached to. 'The Guru is got by Rinanubandha', says Sai Baba’

A Guru who has been helping one in former janmas does not desert one in the

present janrna. Sai Baba told several ardent devotees of his that they were his

devotees or fellow-devotees with him in former births, and that he, therefore,

had brought them under his influence. It is, therefore, very important

for ardent devotees to remember that they are now in contact with Sri Samartha

Sadguru Sai Natha very probably by previous Rinanubandha. Whatever may be

the cause of their coming into contact with Sai at first in this life, they

are now in for good in Sai's flock. For purposes of worldly benefit, to

escape without harm, as also for purposes of spiritual safety and spiritual

progress, they have Sai for their sheet anchor, and they cannot do better

than make the fullest use of every opportunity they have now to get into

intimate contact with him for the greatest portion of time available to

them with the greatest zest and effort. A half-hearted approach is a

terrible waste of time and energy. A real burning zeal to benefit by

his contact results in perceptible improvement in one's temporal and

spiritual condition. It can mould one quickly into a higher being with

capacities and achievements that are of the utmost important in the

achievement of one's goal. Sri Sai Himself condemned half-hearted approaches

to spiritual success. He blamed people for not undertaking vigorously

any tapas, parayana, contemplation, or other sadhana, and helped on those

contacting him frequently to make perceptible progress in their condition.

People like Nana Saheb Chandorkar; H. S. Dixit, Uddhava Bua, Mankar and

numerous others made remarkable strides in their condition by reason of their

zealously contact­ing Baba, To each one of you to-day who will pluck up the

necessary courage and earnestness, the same or even greater facilities and

inspiration will be extended by Sri Sai Baba. Sri Sai is not gone, as he

vouchsafed to some devotees. (You have only to think of Sri Sai— and wherever

you are and whatever be the time, Sai will respond). This glorious charter

is ours. Every one of us has got a right under it. Let me remind you that

the possession of the right carries with it also a duty. When you have the

right and the oppor­tunity to climb up with Sai'shelp, you owe it to your­self

and owe it to God to make the utmost of your opportunity and to elevate

yourself to the fullest height of your stature with that help. The means

which Sai may open to each one are very varied. Each one adopting already some

particular sadhanas, must work along lines already started and on those that

may be revealed later on. We have to grip Sai most strenuously and absorb

the Sai spirit, absorb Sai Himself into us. 'What you think upon, that

you become' is an indubitable truth typified by the prac­tice of various

religions (begining with Totemism) to take in physical things emblematic of

the Guru. Just as Jesus gave his flesh and body to be taken in at the great

sacrament in the form of wine and bread, Sai is offering His spiritual nature

to be absorbed by every one of His devotees. The Guru Poornima, of all days,

is the very best for absorbing Sai into ourselves. If only you carefully,

faithfully and zealously perform the prescribed ceremonies which competent

upadhyayas can furnish to those willing to approach them for the same, you are

sure to absorb the Sai spirit by the ceremonial gone through. This Guru

puja is what is done all over the country by every sishya to the Guru from whom

he has derived his initiation or starting of the religious life. Sai is not a

mere miracle monger and not a mere purvey or of temporal benefits, though it is

for the temporal blessings that He showers, innumerable people are flocking

to his mandirs. Baba described these as persons drawn by Him through these

devices to approach Him so that once the approach was made, the

resulting contact might continue for both temporal and spiritual welfare

alike. May I beseech every devotee to either perform the Guru puja or at least

attend a Guru puja performed in the amplest and best manner known to us or to

the sastras? In the case of devotees who have no such facilities, and

equivalent may be suggested. Let such devotee spend the entire Guru

Poornima day or as much of it as possible in Sai thought alone. Let them be

Sai minded in their speech, action and deeds. Let them give gifts in the name

of Sai. Let them repeat the Sai name. Let them do Sai puja and Sai Bhajana.

Let them teach others about Sai, if possible Let them also sit in solemn

meditation recalling to their minds the glorious leelas of Sai, and, if they

are able, let them lose themselves in the contemplation of the brilliance of

the Sai concept. Let them feel the glow of Sai in their hearts by this and

numerous other means; For instance humming songs about Sai will be an

excellent device. Repeating Sai slokams or Sai Nama will be other easy

means. Attending Sai Mandirs and bhajans will be perhaps the easiest

for them, and, if persons can combine these and say, for instance, observe

fast or a partial fast, full or partial vigil for the night and keep on

attending to bhajanas, kirtans, etc., the Guru Poornima Day would have been

very well spent, and its effect in starting a New Year for the devotee, fully

charged from the Sai dynamo, will be quite marked. The rest of the year may be

spent in increased contact with Sai, carried out by increase in the number of

stanzas one recites and in the increased time spent with pleasure and zest on

each a«t of devotion, meditation, etc., directed towards Sai. Above all, if one

makes a through sacrifice of his ego or ahamhara and mamakara at the feet of

Sai, he can leave the carrying out of his programme to Sai's hands with,

however, the determination that he (the devotee) uses every clue given by Sai

for ensuring his spiritual safety and progress.

May Sri Sai bless one and all of you with success in thus performing your Guru

Puja Day on this 18th July 1951, and may He bless your efforts to develop this

Sai Guru bhakti throughout the year!!! O Vyasa, O Sai, O Spirit Supreme, that

guides and guards our spiritual endeavours, has the womb of Earth become barren

now that Munis like Vyasa and Rishis like Bhrigu are nowhere seen on the face of

the earth, that none has ambition and capacity to study and assimilate all that

is best in literature, art, science, philosophy and religion, so as to evolve

new formulate and truth and live the realised life based thereon? May at least

a few of those whom this closing prayer and call may reach, give it a hearty

response !!!