Guest guest Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Om Sri Sai Ram Ganesha Mantra: AUM Gung Ganapathaye Namah Ganesh Gayatri Tat purushaaya vidmahe Vakratundaaya dheemahi Tanno dhanti prachodayaat SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM The Life Stories of the Two Avatars of the Age – [56] KHAPARDE DIARY 1st February 1912 I was some what late in getting up but was able to finish my prayers and in time to attend Paramamrit class. The book was finished today and we shall begin to revise it tomorrow. I then went to the Masjid sat with Sai Maharaj and accompanied him out up to Sathe's Wada. People assembled there as usual to salute him. I joined their group and saluted him and returning to Bapusaheb Jog's quarters commenced panchadashi and explained the first ten verses which really contain the whole work in germinal form. Then I returned to my quarters, wrote a few letters and had them sent off, went to the Masjid to attend the midday normal"> Aarathi. It passed off alright. Mr. Manikchand of Ahmednagar who has his year taken the degree of L.L.B. came there the stayed here the whole day. We had our meals after we returned from Aarathi and I sat reading Dhyneswari edited by Sakhreboa. Unfortunately like the other editions it does not solve all my difficulties. Later on Mr. Dixit read Ramayana/ Mr. Sane, Mamledar of Shirdi, and Mr. Shate, Dy Collector and Sub-Divisional Officer came and sat talking for some time. We resumed our Ramayana after they went and in the evening went to the Masjid to meet Sai Baba at his evening stroll. After the Wada Aarathi we attended the Shej-Aarathi. Bhishma did not have his Bhajan but read Sakharam's Prakriti Bhagawat and at night Mr. Dixit read Ramayana. Today evening when we assembled at the Masjid before Sai Baba started on his stroll, Sai Saheb told Mr. Dixit to give two hundred rupees to my wife who was then shampooing the legs of Sai Saheb. This order was unaccountable. Has it come to this that I have to be maintained by charity!!! I prefer death to this. Sai Saheb I think wished to curb and finally destroy my pride, so he is getting me used to poverty and the charity of others. 2nd February 1912 I got up for the Kakad Aarathi and after it we help our Panchadashi class but some how felt to speak of Panchadashi and commenced to read it. It is about the best work on the subject and none can take precedence of it. I went to see Sai Maharaj before he went out and accompanied him up to Sathe's Wada and afterwards attended the midday Aarathi. Today I got a letter from Amravati asking me to return to practice. I told Madhavrao Deshpande to ask Sai Maharaj and he promised to do so. 3rd February 1912 I was late in getting up and it appeared that there was a wave of laziness. Bapusaheb Jog was late, so was Mr. Dixit and nearly everybody else. After finishing my prayer I went to the Masjid but Sai Baba told me to ask Udi without entering it. I did so and proceeding to the quarters of Bapusaheb Jog reading Panchdashi with him, Upasani, and Mr. Kaojalgi. We went on reading till midday and then went to Sai Baba's Aarathi. After it we had our 10pt">midday meal. I had a little rest and then sat reading Dasabodha. Mr. Dixit read Ramayana in the afternoon. Ganoba Aba a local devotee of Sai Baba, came to hear it. He knows a large number of verses and has many by heart. He went and saw Sai Baba at his stroll. Madhavrao Deshpande told me that he asked Sai Baba about my returning to Amravati and the latter declined but necessary permission saying he was an old man and did not like to lose his "Abru." He said that some two hundred men went to a neighboring town and were taken as rioters, that Madhavrao name was introduced into the list of rioters for nothings, and that there was trouble about it. At night the there was the Wada Aarathi and the Shej-Aarathi and I attended both. Bhishma had no Bhajan but read Bhagvat instead and then there was Ramayana of Dixit. 4th February 1912 In the morning I got up early, attended the Kakad Aarathi, and the finished my prayer. As I was bathing two gentlemen came inquiring about Narayanrao Bamangaonkar. They were Lingayat Shastris. The eldest being known as Sivananda Shastri. There are two ladies with them. These ladies are Brahamins. The eldest of them is called Brahmananda Bai. Some three year ago she met a Lingayat lady by name Nityanand Bai at Nasik. She was an advanced Yogini and instructed Brahmananda Bai. We all saw Sai Maharaj go out and again after he return to the Masjid. BrahmanandBai worshipped him and sang two Aarathi s very exquisitely. After the midday Aarathi I had my meal and lay down for a while' Then there was the Puran of Dixit and then we went to see Sai Baba at his evening stroll. After the Wada Aarathi at night Mr. Dixit had his Puran and then Bhishma had his Bhajan. The ladies Brahmananda Bai and her companion sang very beautifully and we all enjoyed the Bhajan very much. Shivanand Shastri also sang. The Shastri and the ladies came from Nasik. They are permanent inhabitants of the place. 5th February 1912 In the morning just as I finished my prayer, Rajarampant Dixit came from Nagpur. He is the elder brother of Kakasaheb Dixit. He went to see Sai Saheb. I attended our class where we read Panchadashi and a verse of Amritnubhav with Bapusaheb Jog, Upasani Shastri, Shivanand Shastri, Brahmananda Bai and others. We saw Sai Saheb go out and went to the Masjid after he returned. He was very kind to me, said a few words, and in dismissing the company after Arti, called me by name, told me to shake off my sloth, and look after all the ladies and children. Mrs. Laxmibai Kawjalgi was given today a piece of bread and told to go and eat with Radhakrishnabai. This is a great good fortune. She will be happy hereafter. I invited Shivanand Shastri, Brahmananda Bai and all with them to have their midday meal with us. After it I lay down for a few minutes. Then Dixit read Ramayana, and later we went to see Sai Baba at his stroll. After the Wada Aarathi, there was the Shej-Aarathi and at night Brahmananda Bai did the Bhajan very excellently. It was continued till after midnight. The subject of my going is broached today. It may be decided tomorrow. 6th February 1912 I got up and attended the Kakad Aarathi. Madhavrao Deshpande said that I would get permission to return home today. So I went with him and Bamangaonkar to Sai Saheb at about 7.30 a.m. and Sai Saheb told us to come again in the afternoon. So we returned and I began the routine of the day. Upasani Bapusaheb Jog and I read Panchadashi saw Sai Maharaj go out and attend the midday Aarathi. Brahmananda Bai sang an Aarathi and a few Padas there. Bapusaheb Jog went today to Kopargaon to get his pension so the Aarathi was finished soon. After the midday meal, Bamangaonkar and I went to the Masjid. Kakasaheb Dixit was there. Sai Saheb said that we might go tomorrow. Madhavrao Deshpande also came there. Sai Saheb said that he had been considering long and thinking day and night. All were thieves, but we had to deal with them. He said he prayed to God night and day for their improvement or removal, but God delays and apparently does not approve of the attitude and truant the prayer. He will wait for a month or two and then see; but whether living or dead he will have what he has been praying for. He will not go to Teli or Wani, and never beg of them. People are not good and devoted. They are unsettled in mind and so on. He added that a few friends would gather together, talk divine wisdom, and sit and contemplate. He mentioned a few thousand rupees but I do not remember in what connection he said it. I then returned and we had the Ramayana Puran by Dixit. Later on we went to see him come out for his stroll. He was in a pleased mood. Mr. Rajarampant Dixit went away today to Khandwa. Upasani Shastri lost his wife. The sad news came by letter. Dixit Madhavrao and I went to Upasani, condoled with him and brought him to the Wada. Fakir Baba appears to have asked about my going away and Sai Baba answered that I told him that I would go tomorrow. When my wife spoke about my going, Sai Baba said that I did not ask for permission personally, so he would not say. I happened to go there soon after and Sai Baba said that I could not go away without taking five hundred rupees from Dada Bhat and two hundred from someone else and making them all over to him. At night the Wada Aarathi was a bit late as Bapusaheb jog had to return from Kopargaon. Brahmananda Bai and Sivananda Shastri did Bhajan. So did Bhishma. 7th February 1912 I got up early, prayed and held our panchdashi class as usual. I did not go to Sai Maharaj to ask for permission. We saw him go out and I went to the Masjid after he returned. I found that Sai Maharaj was seating and in the yard a man was exhibiting tricks taught by him to a monkey. There was also a professional singer and dancer. She had a good voice and gave religious songs. Later on came Brahmananda bai, her companion Salubai and Shivanand Shastri. They did the Pooja and Brahmanandibai whom they call Maisaheb sang very beautifully. Sai Saheb ordered the sinhasan &c &c to be brought and when all was arranged we stood at our posts Mayisaheb again rendered two songs took so excellently that we stood spell bound. I think Sai Saheb liked them. Then we did the usual Aarti and returned for the mid-day meal. Mayisaheb and her people fed at my lodging. After the meal Bamangaonkar and mayisaheb with all her people went to Sai Saheb to ask for permission to return. Mayisaheb and Salubai got the permission and went away by cart. Shivanand Shastri and Bamangaonkar were detained by Sai Maharaj and stayed. I lay down and had a good nap. Then Mr. Dixit Ramayana and after it I read Dasabodha by myself. We all saw Sai Saheb have his evening stroll, and after the Wada Aarathi we attended the Shej Aarathi. At night Bhishma read Bhagawat and Mr. Dixit read Ramayana. 8th February 1912 I got up for Kakad Aarathi and after it began the routine of the day. Narayanrao Bamangaonkar got permission to return. So he had something for delivery at Amravati from my wife and actual left by tanga. Before he started, Ganpatrao, the son of karbhari of my relation mutalik of Satara came with the customary presents of sesamum for Til Sankarant. They consist of very artistically made things out of sugar and sesamum. Balwant for the first time in these three weeks ventured out as far as the Masjid and put his head on the feet of Sai Maharaj. He has improved so far. Ganpatrao wishes my son Balvant to go with him to Satara fir Rangpanchmi. I referred him to Sai Saheb. The midday Aarathi went on as usual except towards the end when Sai Saheb exhibited anger. We spent the afternoon as usual in Dixit reading Ramayana and I reading to myself Dasbodha. We held our Pandchadashi class also in the morning. We saw Sai Saheb at his evening stroll. One Mr. Kulkarni has come here from Bombay. He has a laboratory there where he tests ores &c. he said he saw me at Surat in 1907. We sat talking about olk things. A night Bhishma had his Bhajan and Dixit read Ramayana. 9th February 1912 I got up as usual, prayed, and attended Panchdashi class. During it we saw Sai Maharaj go out. After finishing the class I went to the Masjid. Sai Baba was in very good mood. The young boy Kishya whom we call Pishya came there as usual. On seeing him Sai Saheb said that Pishya was a Rohilla in his previous birth, that he was a very good man that he prayed long and came as guest to Sai Saheb's grandfather. The latter had a sister who used to live separate. That Sai Saheb was a young boy himself then and playfully suggested that the Rohilla should marry her. This was to be, and he did eventually marry her. The Rohilla lived there with his wife for a long time and ultimately went away with her, nobody knew where. He died and Sai Saheb put him into the womb of his present mother. Pishya, he said, would be very fortunate and the protector of thousands. The midday Aarathi passed off as usual. During it Sai Saheb said something to Shivanand Shastri and made signs. The Shastri unfortunately did not catch their import. Sai Saheb made signs to Bapusaheb Jog also. Mr. Oke, pleader of Thana, is here. I asked him to remember me to Baba Gupta and other friends. 10th February 1912 I attended Kakad Aarathi in the morning. Ganpatrao obtained permission this morning to go to Satara with my son Balwant. Madhavrao Deshpande was with them at the time. I, Bapusaheb Jog. Upasani, and Mrs. L. Kkaulgi, had our Panchadashi class, and after it I went to the Masjid. Sai Baba was in a very pleasant mood and said that his body had been severed from his legs, that he can raise up the former, but not the latter. He said he had a fight with the teli, that when he was young he raised money for family purposes and agreed to serve the creditor to repay the debt, but he found he could not work; so he applied marking Nut to his eyes and another irritant (Shar) to his body and became ill. He was laid up for a year, but as soon as he recovered he worked night and day and paid off the debt. He sat talking very pleasantly, but towards the end of the midday Aarathi, began to exhibit signs of impatience. Mr. Gadre pleader of Nasik is here. 11th February 1912 By the time I finished my prayer this morning I found Mr. Gadre up and sat talking with him. He got permission to return and went back to Nasik. We saw Sai Saheb go out and held our Panchadashi class with Upasani, Bapusaheb Jog, and Mrs. L. Kaulgi. Mr. Lele, who is Revenue Inspector of Nasik District, also attended the class. He appears a very nice man and Sai Maharaj likes him much. I went to the Masjid as usual after Sai Baba returned and found many men sitting there. They were mostly strangers. Among them was one of Akola Police, who, on seeing me said that he had resigned his post and had taken service with Govindrao Deshmukh, Barrister of Nagpur. After the midday Aarathi and meal I lay down for a while and then attended the Puran of Ramayana by Dixit. Later on we went to see Sai Baba at his evening stroll and meeting Mr. Lele there stood talking with him. In the evening there was the Wada Aarathi and, later on the Shej-Aarathi, Bhishma's recital of Bhagvat and Mr. Dixit's Ramayana. Shivanand Shastri did not get permission today to return. 13th February 1912 Mr. Dixit read Ramayana instead and then we went to the Masjid. Sai Maharaj gave me Udi as soon as I stepped in. so I exclaimed that it was telling me to go away. Thereupon he said, "Who tells you to go? Sit down". Then he sat talking pleasantly and said that the cow now possessed by Mr. Dixit belonged originally to Mhalaspathi. Then it went to Aurangabad; then to Jalna and has now come back as the property of Mr. Dixit. God knows whose property it is. Looking at me he said "no-body, which has firm faith in body, who has firm faith in God, wants for anything". My wife and others were there. We all saw him at his evening stroll. Then there was the Wada Aarathi and later on Shej-Aarathi. At night Bhishma had his Bhajan and Mr. Dixit read Ramayana. Sai Baba today both after the midday Aarathi and after the Shej-Aarathi told me to go to Wada specially calling me by name. 14th February 1912 I got up early, attended the Kakad Aarathi and was very much struck by the fact that Sai Baba on leaving the Chawadi mad e passes with his short stick towards the East, North and South. Then he proceeded with hard words as usual. We held our Panchadashi class as usual, saw Sai Baba go out and later on went to the Masjid as usual. Sai Baba told two stories. One was that there was a traveler who was accosted in the morning by a demon (Rakshasa). The traveler looked upon it as a bad omen, but on proceeding further met two wells the sweet water of which slaked his thirst. When he felt hungry, he met a husbandman who, on the suggestion of his wife, supplied food. He saw a field ripe with corn and wished to have Hurda. The owner of the field gave it to him. So the traveler felt happy and proceeded merrily smoking. In the forest through which he was passing he met a tiger, lost courage, and hid himself in a cave. The tiger was very big and wandered about him. Sai Baba happened to be passing that way, instilled courage into the traveler, got him out and put him on his way, saying {the tiger would not hurt unless you hurt him some way". The other story was that Sai Baba had four brothers, one of who used to go out, beg, and bring cooked food, bread and corn. His wife used to give out just enough for their father and mother, but starved all the brothers. Sai Baba then got a contract brought the money home and every one was supplied with food including the well-to-do brother. Later on the brother got leprosy. Every one shunned him. The father turned him out. Then Sai Baba used to feed him and see to his comforts. Ultimately the brother died. The 10pt">midday Aarathi passed off as usual and after it we had our food and I had some rest. Shivanand Shastri and Thakur of Vijaya Durga went away today. The Vyahi of the local master invited all to a meal today. I declined, but all others went. Sai Baba at the evening stroll asked why I did not go and I told him the truth, that I could not manage tow meals in the course of one afternoon. Sai Baba looked immersed in care, gazed steadily at the East and West “go to the Wada." At night Bishma had are Bhajan and Dixit read Ramayana. 15th February 1912 I got up as usual, prayed, and held our panchadashi class with Upasani Shastri, Bapusaheb Jog, and Mrs. Laxmibai Kaujalgi. We saw Sayin Saheb go out and continued our class. After it I went to the Masjid as usual and sat listening to what Sayin Saheb was saying. He was in a pleased mood and said that he had labored very hard, had gone without food for month, fed on leaves of "Kala Takal" Nimb and other trees. He said God was very good to him, for life never became extinct though all flesh got wasted and bones appeared to be in danger of crumbling away. The Midday Aarathi passed off as usual and after it we returned for our meals. My wife and others wished to go Kopargaon tomorrow for Shivarathri. Sayin Saheb thought it unnecessary, but they persisted and ultimately got permission in a way. Today after the noon Puran we held a class for paramamrit for the benefit of Dada Kelkar. We did not progress much as it was the first day. We saw Sayin Maharaj at his evening stroll and then after the Wada Aarathi attended the Shej-Aarathi. Balasaheb attended it. He used to hold the Morchael (Peacock tail) before it came to me. Balasaheb Bhate has made considerable progress. BOW TO SHRI SAI - PEACE BE TO ALL ***** SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM - PART IV The Life of the Divine Avatar Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - [1973-1979] N. Kasturi M.A., B.L. I AND THOU The fascination that draws the object to the subject is, if we may so name it, a move in His strategy. Vivekananda said, "God is both, the subject and the object. He is the 'I' and the 'Thou' (the Thwam and the Thath). How, then, are we to know the Knower? The Knower cannot know Himself. The Atman, the Knower, the Lord of all that exists, is the cause of all the vision that is the universe, but it is not possible for Him to see Himself, know Himself, except through a reflection. You cannot see your own face except in a mirror. Similarly, the Atman cannot see Its own nature until It is reflected... The perfect man, the avatar, is the highest reflection of that Being, Who is both, subject and object. You now find why avatars are instinctively worshipped as God in every country. They are the most perfect manifestations of the Eternal Self. That is why men worship incarnations such as Christ and Buddha." We are Sathyam, Sivam and Sundaram. The deep calls on the deep; the blue responds to the blue. We see ourselves reflected best in Baba who is in fact, the most sublime manifestation of Sathyam-Sivam-Sundaram. When we forget ourselves and start wandering into the wilderness of falsehood and vice, He comes, so that we may recognise our glory in Him. Ed Fleure writes, "Baba's life is dedicated to the task of uplifting humanity, to awaken us to our spiritual heritage and to give us courage and faith. Our stay with Baba was a supreme bringing-up. Love is His greatest miracle. From morning to night Baba is constantly giving to and serving others. It was Maharajji who had kept enquiring, when we were leaving his ashram to go to Baba. When at last Baba gave us leave to return, He blessed us, 'Be friends with God.' Surely, this was a new style of blessing. Friends with God? How can that be? "When we came back to Maharajji, He gave me a Hindu name. And lo! It was the name of a friend, companion and class fellow of Sri Krishna-Sudama. So I had to practice the constant presence of God as my friend." This remark of Baba and its actual confirmation by a saint in the Himalayas proves that Baba has no wish to by-pass the form you might have accepted and adored. He could have renamed Ed Himself, but He encouraged him to return to Maharajji, the guru he had 'found'. But, since He knew that 'behaving as a friend' was the way for him, He saw to it that the name selected for him by Maharajji was Sudama. Of the nine paths mentioned by the sacred texts on Bhakti, the path of Sakhya (friendship) is next only to the last and highest path of Atma-Nevadan (self-surrender). METHODOLOGY REVEALED Once, when Baba was asked about His 'methodology', He said, "I have no methodology or machinery or strategy in the accepted organizational sense. My methodology is a simple one, based on conversion by love, and the machinery is one of human co-operation and brotherhood. Love is My instrument and My merchandise." He says that He can best be described as Prema Swarupa (Embodiment of Love). What are called 'miracles' are fundamentally manifestation of that love. It is love that prompts Him to speak to each seeker in a language that he can understand - Swahili in East Africa and Adi to tribals from Along. It is love that persuades Him to heal the physical and mental wounds of man. It is love that illumines the darkness of our hearts and corrects the crookedness of our habits and attitudes. The miraculous cures by Baba of terminal diseases, and the saving of life in countless instances of accidents and disasters, are all expressions of His love. He materialises holy ash in order to arouse faith and gives gifts of rings or lockets to protect the wearer. This He does out of overpowering compassion and love. J. Jagathesan, the Malaysian devotee who is also the author of the book, 'Journey to God', writes, "The greatest miracle of all is His transformation of the hearts of countless men and women to make them tread the path of godliness and goodness. Agnostics now sing in praise of God, drunkards have turned from searching for the spirit in the bottle to the Divine Spirit in man, drug addicts who found transient escape and bliss in this 'modern' scourge of mankind now seek the permanent bliss and peace that only God can give, and millions of ordinary men and women who used to listlessly pray as a matter of ritual or habit now find a new meaning, a new dimension to their prayers - whomsoever they may pray to or to whichever religion they may belong - for they are now convinced that God does exist, and that His grace can be obtained through Bhakti, through Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi and Prema and, most of all, through selfless and loving Seva to others, regardless of race, religion, caste or colour, and without any thought of reward." The love that He plants in all those who need Him (and who does not?) reaps a huge harvest of humility, reverence, generosity, fraternity and freedom. COUSIN LOSING HIS MIND Sandweiss speaks of a cousin of his, Jerry by name, who was a professor of mathematics in the eastern States. "Looking at the question from a purely mathematical standpoint, Jerry felt, it was indeed probable that an avatar might presently exist, so he joined a group that was gong over to see Baba... My cousin, during the first interview, asked Baba to produce something for him. He had bought a cheap ring in Greece and was wearing it on his little finger. He wanted Baba to transform this ring into something else. Baba declined. Jerry felt let down... He began to examine his own sanity... Baba called Jerry for an interview again the next day. When he came out, Jerry was in an unusually bright and receptive mood, his face radiant. Jerry, it seems, pleaded again with Baba to do something with the ring and took it from his finger. Baba said that this was not His wish. Jerry continued to plead. Finally, Baba took the ring in His hand, blew on it, and returned to Jerry an altogether different ring, which, needless to say, fitted his finger perfectly. This had obviously shaken him... The transformation that the few minutes with Baba produced in Jerry was indeed a greater miracle. A woman in the group asked for someone to help carry her bags and Jerry spontaneously volunteered. 'I never do this,' he said, 'I must be losing my mind!' " The conquest of the mind is the consequence of years of Yogic Sadhana. Baba says, "You are imprisoned in your ego. Though you should try to liberate yourselves from this bondage quickly and safely, most of you do not seek from Me the key to this liberation. You ask Me for trash and tinsel, petty little cures and gains. Very few desire to get from Me the thing I have come to give - liberation itself. Even among the few who seek liberation, only a minute percentage sincerely sticks to the path of Sadhana and, from among them, only an infinitesimal number succeed." Jerry had taken, after his exposure to Baba, the first step in liberation from the prison of his ego. Dr. Dhairyam, writes, "In the present world crisis of character, Bhagawan’s grace will certainly act as a powerful catalyst. It will bring about a transformation among the people of the earth who are presently so diverse in spiritual development. Among those who are transformed, one finds nonbelievers, escapists, drug addicts and agnostics, as well as highly evolved Sadhaks, well-versed Vedic scholars, renowned scientists, artists, poets and pundits, as also simple, ordinary folk who delight in His divine discourses. Bhagawan accepts and welcomes them all as His children. He is compassionate to the sinner, comforting to the distressed and a guide to the agnostic and the confused, whom He leads by the hand into the realm of light." AWAKENING DURING DREAMS Dreams are also part of the Sai strategy. He has appeared in the dreams of many who were unaware of Him and has drawn them to Himself. Karen Fromer Blanc dreamt that a person with a huge crown of hair came to her and said, "Stay with your Hilda.Hilda who?" she wondered. Five years later she discovered Hilda Charlton, Baba's devotee. The discovery transformed her life. Now she has written a book entitled 'Dear Hilda'! John Prendergast of the California Institute of Asian Studies has written an article 'Swami Dreams', focusing more on their instructional value and less on the paranormal processes. He says, "The overall aspect of these dream-experiences with Sai Baba is difficult to gauge, but my own relationship with Baba has deepened immeasurably. I would characterise the primary influence as being the opening of my spiritual heart, of beginning to balance the intellect with the values of love and compassion. Between the spring of 1977 and 1979, Sai Baba has appeared to me during the dream-state nearly forty times. These have profoundly affected my spiritual awakening and the quality of my relationship with Him. Sai Baba has said that it is impossible to see Him in dreams without His willing it. My own experience of active guidance, chastisement, healing and ecstatic states conferred by Him during the dream-state tends to confirm this. My relationship with Sai Baba is, in fact, more intimate in the dream than in the waking state... As the dream-state relationship grows and deepens, my own inner strength and confidence grows and manifests itself in the waking state. In addition to this effect of the dream-reality nurturing and supporting the waking reality, the distinction between the two realities has softened. Increasingly the two blend, so that dream-images rise in the waking mind like distant clouds." Willie Kweku Ansah of Accra (Ghana), writes, "Soon after this (the Sathya Sai Center’s invitation to devotees to enroll for a trip to Puttaparthi) I started seeing Swami in my dreams. The first night I woke up with a rather vague feeling that I should think of going to Puttaparthi. I discarded the thought immediately. The next dream was more detailed and lengthy. I saw myself in front of a tall building, which had protruding platforms on the first floor. Bhagawan was on the ground floor and I was doing Namaskara At this time I did not know that to dream of Bhagawan was a privilege and not an ordinary occurrence. I dismissed the dream as my silly imagination. In my third dream I saw only the face of Bhagawan for an instant or two. I was forced to wake up in a sweat and with a clear command to go to Puttaparthi. "I gave my name to the Planning Committee without an inkling of where the money for the trip would come from. I need not have worried. Within the next few days I made, through a friend, three times my normal annual income for no compelling reason. So the matter was settled. All other arrangements went through without a hitch. Need I also mention that some of the persons I traveled with I had already seen in my dreams? We arrived at Puttaparthi on 21st November. The last thing on my mind was my dreams. A friend decided to take a round of the prayer hall, and as we made the turn, I stopped dead in my tracks. My friend asked what the matter was and I uttered something incomprehensible to him. But what had stopped me was the fact that my dream was staring me right in the face with all its details - the protruding platform, the architecture and the colors. "One surprise followed another when private interviews were granted in a room on the ground floor, and I did my Namaskar exactly where I had dreamt it. However, all these surprises were nothing compared to what I experienced when I went to bid farewell to Bhagawan. 'When are you coming again?' He asked. I was not expecting the question, as the very thought of being so lucky as to come again was far from my mind. I was, therefore, flushed, and in delighted confusion blurted out that I did not know and that this time I came because I had had a dream... Bhagawan interrupted in a tone, which seemed as if He was irritated; I was accounting something He already knew. 'I know I know,' He said, and patted my back. Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras (1,38) says that the aspirant gets guidance through dreams, but even he does not mention that the guru, if he is an avatar, can frame dreams for us and figure in them himself, furnishing timely guidance." A BOOK AND A JOURNEY Baba says, "No one can come to Prashanthi Nilayam unless I call him." The dream is one of the means He uses to draw people towards Himself. Lawrence Galante from New York writes, "I enrolled at Hoftra University to study more of my profession, Tai Chi, and the related philosophy. Then I awoke one morning from a vivid dream. In this dream the title of a book was clearly visible to me with the cover layout. It was entitled, 'Sai Baba: Contemporary Mystic, Master and God'. Then it dawned upon me, 'Why not? Why not write my thesis on contemporary mysticism and use Sai Baba as my subject?' I cleared it with the university... I decided that I could not write about Him unless I first saw Him and confirmed these miracles for myself. I also realised that I might just go to Him and find out that He was a fake. If so, I had reasoned, I could still write a thesis to expose a colossal fraud. That would also do. (Baba says, 'Come, see, experience, examine and then believe'). But how do I get to India? My bank account was nil. I turned to Sai Baba and addressed Him saying, 'If you want me to write this, then you must provide the money for me to get to India, because I am broke. ' Within 48 hours, I received a Cheque in the mail for a thousand dollars from the city of New York, a sum that was owed me for several years and which I had been trying in vain for some time to collect... I remained with Sai Baba for two months. Daily I observed him attending to the multitudes that came to Him - healing the sick and materialising objects and giving them away as gifts to devotees. Everything that Baba taught me was good and all of His endeavors were beneficial. He also gave me permission to write about Him, which is what I am doing now. Sai Baba does not work in secrecy. His activities are an open book for all to witness and draw their own conclusions from. Baba often says 'My Life is My Message.' I pray, that I may receive more and more His message." Baba has declared very often that He wills the dream as a means of communication with the dreamer, in order to grant him courage, confidence and clarity of thought. Miss Occah Seapaul of Trinidad has also been directed by Baba to publish in a book, her talks on His message to several groups of devotees on that West Indian Island. Receiving His counsel in a dream is as mandatory as a personal command. According to Aurobindo, "The avatar, or divinity, acts according to another consciousness - the consciousness of the truth above and the Leela below." Baba told Dr. M.S. Ramakrishna Rao of Vishakapatnam, when he enquired about the authenticity of a dream in which Baba had rendered him the clarification of a spiritual problem, "When I appear in a dream, it is to communicate something to the individual. It is not a mere dream as is generally known. Do not think that these incidents you experienced in your dream are stretches of your imagination. I was giving answers thereby to all your doubts." H. Narayana Rao, while in bed in the intensive care cardiac unit at the K.E.M. Hospital in Bombay, awaiting implantation of an artificial pacemaker, dreamt that visitors were streaming into the ward. Among them was Baba, who stopped near his bed and spoke in His soft, reassuring voice, "My son! I know how much you are worried about the artificial pacemaker and the operation. Do not worry in the least. From now on your pulse will gradually improve. Count the days from today, and on the eleventh day, which will be Saturday the 17th, you can go home." And in spite of the doctors putting forward various other proposals, he was discharged exactly on the 17th, with his heart quite normal. PROPER-TIES When I read a letter from Professor Kausal of Kurukshetra in which he had mentioned that he had resigned his job after being advised by Baba in a dream to do so, I was reminded of another devotee who withdrew a petition he had filed in a civil court. His claim to some property was so strong that he fought his rival through all the labyrinths of law, in spite of all the tension involved and the massive sums of money he had to spend. The suit had possessed him and he was refusing to reconsider. But Baba appeared in his dream and ordered him to give up his mislaid attachment. "Properties are not proper-ties," said Baba with a strange emphasis. Kausal writes, "The dreams are effective, vivid, personal and peace-giving. I cannot brush them aside, especially since Baba later confirms them and continues the advice He vouchsafes during the dream-session." Baba urges people by means of dream-appearances to come to His presence. He smoothens the difficulties that deter them from undertaking the journey and encourages them to enter the spiritual path towards self-realisation We have already seen this stratagem of His love in the accounts given by Willie Ansah of Accra and Lawrence Galante of New York. Dr. Sandweiss writes of another interesting instance of Baba's compassion: "Lila and I were discussing Sai Baba, and she became intrigued. She read a book about Him and began to consider the possibility of meeting Him herself. She was then deeply in debt and there seemed to be no feasible way for her to get the money to go to India. Her husband, Homer, an inventor, had no steady income at that time and had not been able to sell an invention in over five years. Yet, as highly unrealistic as the trip did seem, she made plans to go and obtained her vaccination certificate and passport. Then some strange things began to happen. One day, feeling particularly depressed, she had an unusual dream in which Baba appeared, His eyes twinkling with fun. Soon afterwards, Homer hit upon an invention. After a swift and improbable chain of events, some people became interested in it and his financial position suddenly and quite unexpectedly improved - the first time in years that this had happened. Lila now had enough money for the trip just a week before takeoff, and being completely prepared, she found herself jubilantly boarding the plane with us." It is beyond doubt that Baba plans, designs and structures the dreams through which He initiates or deepens His impact on people. Ponder over another incident related by Dr. Sandweiss, involving Jeff from California. Dr. Sandweiss writes, "In the interview room where we all sat, Baba was smiling and rocking back and forth blissfully. He turned to Jeff, the fellow next to me, and said casually, 'I've come to you twice in dreams.' Now, as a psychiatrist, I have certainly never heard of a colleague talking this way to a patient. Psychiatrists deal with dreams all the time; but to say, 'I've come to you twice in dream' would be somewhat disconcerting for the average patient... Baba began to describe and interpret one of Jeff's dreams and it became quite evident to me that He had in some way fashioned the psychic experience of this man, had actually created dreams for him and visited him in another dimension of reality. Everything that Baba said was confirmed by Jeff. Here was the greatest psychiatrist I had ever seen!" Sri Jagathesan once asked Baba towards the end of an interview with Him, "Bhagawan! Why don't you ever come in my dreams?Baba", he writes, "bent down lovingly and replied, 'Okay from now on I will come in your dreams on Wednesdays.' I regard Tuesday as a holy day because a Vibhuti-materialisation from His picture in my house first occurred on Tuesday, 8th June 1976. Recognising this, Baba laughed, and without my asking amended His statement the next moment. 'No, No! Tuesdays, eh?' and on Tuesdays the dream brings Baba into his view as an unfailing gift of grace. Once, during a visit to Brindavan (Whitefield) along with Dr. Sandweiss, Elsie Cowan excitedly knocked at his room very early one morning saying, "I am feeling very close to Walter this morning." When Walter had cast off his mortal coil at Tustin, California, Baba had telegraphed to Elsie, "Walter arrived here in good shape." Elsie told Sandweiss, "I feel that Baba and Walter have paid me a special visit. I have been wide awake since six o'clock and full of energy." When both of them reached Prashanthi Nilayam that evening, Baba called them in along with a few others and, in the midst of the conversation; He suddenly said to Elsie, "Walter and I paid you a visit this morning.Yes, Yes!" said Elsie, "At six o'clock I felt so filled.No, five minutes to six!" He corrected her. And Sandweiss adds, "I began to see Baba less as an omnipresent controller of great forces than as a manifestation of pure love. Clearly, His love for His devotees motivates His actions." Baba has often said that being in this body, as distinct from the 'Shirdi' body, He feels it is not enough if a few needy humans get spiritual guidance from Him: "It is necessary to draw all and sundry and provide them with succor and sustenance. I must give them what they want until they begin to want what the Avatar has come to give." Shirdi Baba appeared in dreams to give warnings and counsel; He spoke in symbols and veiled phrases; He helped solve mundane problems and personal tangles; He invited to Dwarakamayi, through mysterious intimations, Sadhaks and service-oriented souls, suffering and suspicion-afflicted persons, and awakened their latent, inner urge towards self-realisation by a mere look, a touch, a smile or a pinch of sacred ash. This same strategy is unfolding on an even grander scale in the Sathya Sai era. Now the world has to be awakened and shaken out of its arrogance and schizophrenia by revelations of truth and declarations of love. While in 'Shirdi' form, the declaration of being an avatar was made in the comparative privacy of conversation. In the Sathya Sai manifestation, the declaration that He is all the names and forms through which mankind has adored God down the centuries, was made at a World Conference in Bombay before twenty-five thousand listeners, and many times subsequently, when hundreds of thousands were present. Through films, tapes, books and oral testimony, the uniqueness of this Divine Phenomenon and His wisdom, power, love and compassion are drawing increasing love and adoration, which has united millions into one ever-growing family of mankind. PRIDE PUNISHED Arthur Osborne once said that Shirdi Sai Baba was 'incredible'. Dr. S. Bhagavantham announced that Sathya Sai Baba is 'inexplicable'. I have to conclude that He is 'inscrutable', for He is the very embodiment of the Divinity described in the following story from the Upanishads, revealing its glory and power. The Universal Absolute, Brahman, conferred victory on the gods in their war against the demons. The gods were saved from thraldom and became mighty once again. But in their pride they ascribed their success to themselves; they traced it to their own prowess. To make them aware of their dependence on the Source of all power and wisdom, it appeared before them as a pillar of light, even while they were celebrating their victory in drink and dance, revelry and rejoicing. Noticing this strange Phenomenon, the gods were curious to know what it was and why it was interrupting their noisy spree. They sent the god of fire, Agni, to investigate it and report. The Phenomenon accosted the god who replied, "I am Agni. I can burn all things that come in contact with me." The Phenomenon invited him to burn a tiny stalk of dry grass, which It placed before him. But however forcefully and gigantically he fell upon it, he could not burn it. So he returned to the gathering of gods, crestfallen and humiliated. The god of wind, Vayu, next ventured to challenge the Phenomenon to reveal its identity and its intentions. He, too, had to eat his boastful words, foiled by the blade of grass. Indra, the lord of the gods, was incensed by the overwhelming powers of this column of light, but he, too, had to swallow his pride and realise that a god as feeble as he had no right to confront that mighty Source of Glory. Baba had declared even in His teens, "Not only today, but at any time hereafter, it will be beyond the capacity of anyone, however hard he may try and by whatever means, to assess My true nature." Critics and commentators do not realise that in the realm of the sacred, any explanation is a limitation, a hesitation, and desecration. THE HALO Scholars and scientists, isolated in their conceit, have for over four decades set out to expose Him as a fraud, a juggler and a trickster, but failed to tarnish even the hem of His robe. In this age, when the senses are the final criteria of knowledge, when passion rules the brain and prejudice pollutes the mind, a phenomenon shedding light, showering love and embodying truth automatically becomes a target for doubt, suspicion and denigration. Every wayward preacher comes to find in Him a challenge that he is powerless to understand and accept. He is an unpleasant and unwelcome reminder to the half-baked persons who are disembogued by modern universities, of the inadequacy of the intellect and the infirmity of the senses. How else are we to interpret the presumptuous assertion that the "halo around Baba rests entirely on the miraculous production of material objects which appeal to, and excite the wonder of, credulous people"? Let Shri M. Rasgotra explain to us what that halo rests on: "We all emerge from the encounter with Baba in interview, exalted and radiant, as if Baba has stripped us of our motley cloaks full of patches, and fitted us out in love's pure raiment for a fresh journey towards a new destination. The transformation begins almost at the first moment of contact, and the process of ceaseless and irresistible uplift never slackens thereafter." Shri B. Ramanand, while describing a wedding that was celebrated at Prashanthi Nilayam during which he had witnessed Baba for the first time, writes, "In five minutes we felt He was one of us; He talked to us as if He had known us intimately all along. This intense humanness, this wonderful camaraderie He has for all persons whom He meets, this remarkable quality of being one with the people around Him, this superabundance of good humour, joy, love and affection to all, made a powerful impact on me." Baba says that His much-debated miracles are as insignificant before His true purpose as a mosquito when compared to the mighty elephant. We pay homage to Baba recognising the waves of gratitude that surge around His feet from hearts reinforced by the impact of His love, minds cleansed by the splendor of His grace, intellects made healthy and wholesome by imbibing His wisdom and bodies strengthened and straightened by the inflow of His compassion. Richard Bock of Los Angeles, who was advised by Ravi Shankar and Indra Devi to approach Baba in the spirit of a pupil going to a guru, writes, "I remember going through a period when I wore a Japa Mala (rosary) with 108 beads, as a sort of badge. Baba came over to me, looked at it and said, 'It's heavy for Om.' He meant that I was showing off. So, I realised, it was nonsense. Like everybody else I did Namasthe when Baba came into the room. He came over and hit my hands, saying, 'Jhootha Bhakti'. When I found out later that it meant 'false devotion', I realised that I didn't know what I was doing. What He was getting across was that until you feel it in your heart, don't go through a ritual. The next thing was that everybody wanted to touch His feet, so I figured that was something I, too, should do. When I tried to touch His feet, He said, 'No'. I realised, then, that I was doing it because every body else was doing it, that I myself didn't have any inner motivation at that moment to touch His feet." I WANT YOU Like the Upanishadic god of fire, Arnold Schulman, too, belittled the Sai Phenomenon, in spite of a tour of India that included a visit to Brindavan and a few minutes with Baba. That experience was enough for him to conclude - and be happy in the discovery - that mystics in India were clever exploiters, and their disciples’ ordinary 'psychopathic compulsives'. Baba has declared, "Those who deny Me are blinded by ignorance or pride, so they need even more compassion and grace. Those who stay away, I shall beckon back." Baba, from whom nothing can be hidden and for whom nobody is distant, became aware of this blinkered tourist's belief. Schulman was mysteriously 'possessed' by an idea - to write a book on Baba - which he tried his best to explain away, circumvent, rationalise and deny; still it would not leave him alone. He told himself that it was insane, impracticable and impossible, but it refused to loosen its hold on him, persisting in its emphasis. Three months later, when he was able to secure an interview, Baba told him, "I asked you to write the book not because I wanted your book. The book is publicity. I don't need publicity. I wanted you, you, you!" And He sent him back to 10pt">America, wiser and happier, the veil of supercilious ignorance regarding mystics and their disciples removed from his now clearer vision. Like the Upanishadic god of wind, Samuel H. Sandweiss, MD., renowned psychiatrist, proceeded towards the Phenomenon in full confidence that he could easily prick the bubble of its bombastic magnificence. He writes, " I would go as a scientist to study and understand the psychological realities of a situation shrouded in mysticism, only to prove that miracles do not exist." Sandweiss approached the Sai Phenomenon and soon returned like the god Vayu, to his companions who were drinking and dancing, unaware of the reality which was directing their destiny. Sandweiss had decided to meet Baba when he heard extraordinary stories about Him from Indra Devi, to whom he had gone for consultations regarding Yoga. Baba, even when physically present at Prashanthi Nilayam or Brindavan, arouses ardor and yearning, awakens curiosity and interest, stimulates thirst and restlessness, assures comfort and cure and alerts and admonishes in dreams and through visions. Each one who moves to His presence with hope and confidence has a story to tell, each more fascinating and reassuring than the other. Pardon me if I present myself, as the insolent Indra who, in 1948, was too impertinent to put up with the 'miracles' of Baba, yet was too curious to tolerate Him without a personal examination. I was then famous in the Kannada-speaking region of India - the state of Karnataka - as a humour writer, and I had a large reading public admiring me as the Stephen Leacock of that language. I then aimed my humour at Baba, 'the Phenomenon'. The word Sai in Kannada means 'die' - it is expletive, a command to extinguish life. "How can a person calling on us to address him as Sai be adored in Karnataka?" I quipped. Besides, I had gulped, without discerning, the dictum spread by the monks of the Ramakrishna Mission that the performance of miracles is a very unspiritual exercise, which drags the Sadhak into the depths of worldliness. So I hastened towards Baba in the hope that he could be exposed and explained. Like Indra, I returned after the encounter with my prejudices corrected, my myopia cured and my pride pulverized. I am engaged ever since in enthusing all people to follow the message of Baba and in adoring Him as the savior of mankind. Those who venture to defy or deny Him, ultimately return to remain in His presence with folded hands and supple minds, meditating on His form, reciting His name and elevating themselves to divinity. THE DOCUMENTARY When Arnold Schulman heard himself ask Baba, "Are you God?" Baba replied, "How can an ant measure the depth of the ocean or a fish discover the truth of the sky?" This answer stuns our reason dumb. But every act of Baba does the same. After thirty-one years of having known Him, I feel that to doubt the authenticity of the following experience of Indra Devi is a sacrilege to Sai: "I looked up at the picture of Bhagawan and prayed, 'Bhagawan, please take me to Puttaparthi for your birthday.' Two days later, a young man who had come to the Sai Centre at Tecate, phoned, 'Mataji, could you go to India tomorrow if Warner Bros. pay your trip? They want Baba's permission to make a documentary film on His life.' “She was met at the airport by someone from the company. When she came to Prashanthi Nilayam with the proposal, I felt elated at the prospect of the film. She was very much there during the Birthday festival and she carried Baba's response to the request back home. But when she contracted Warner Bros., who had arranged and paid for her trip, "No one knew me there," she writes, "nor about the trip, nor the film, nor Bhagawan. The red-faced executive told me that he would investigate and let me know. Years have passed and I am still waiting to hear what he has to tell me from his inquiry!" Muriel Engle writes from San Diego on the Pacific Coast: "Ruth has a teaching job in Mexico. She is busy going back and forth. She attends Bhajans on Thursdays at Santa Barbara, but is still a skeptic. Her health problems have been tormenting her since long. She has bouts of extreme pain for several days at a stretch. One evening in her little room she suffered from terrible pain, and in her desperate agony she was crying out, 'Oh is there someone to help me? Anyone? Why am I suffering this? What shall I do? Oh, help!' " Suddenly she felt a gentle touch on her arm. She stopped shouting and, as she turned, there stood Baba beside her bed, "Don't shout so," He said, "I am always here." Then, He disappeared. And along with Him the pain, too, had gone. This is another instance of His omnipresence. Baba says, "There is only one God and He is omnipresent. He has no favorite dwelling place or chosen followers or special groups of devotees. Call - He answers, He manifests, He blesses." Letters to Him Professor S. Bashiruddin of the Osmania University, while driving down with Baba from Ooty, in the Nilgiri Hills, asked, "Swami, if a devotee sends a letter or a telegram to Your Bangalore address but You happen to be at Ooty, Bombay or any other place, would it be redirected to You if it is marked 'Urgent'?" Baba answered, "A letter or a telegram is a mere carbon copy. If the thought in the letter or telegram is sincere, it need not be delivered to Me. The moment the thought is shaped in a devotee's mind it reaches Me, and the necessary guidance is transmitted." When a few university men belonging to a blatantly propagandist and rationalist association, wrote to Baba insisting on an examination of His credentials, Baba said, "Sai is not a subject for a university examination; He is an object for universal examination." Joel Roydon had no respect for Baba, who was worshipped by his wife. So he astonished his friends when he announced that he was flying to India with her to meet 'the wild-haired character'. When asked what he proposed to ask Baba for, he jocularly replied that he would ask for a rainbow in the sky. "No magician can ever pull a rainbow out of his sleeves," he jested. When he reached Puttaparthi and sat on a rock atop the hill to enjoy a smoke, "We saw a rainbow go straight up the eastern sky," Joel writes, "never curving, and within seconds it had reached its peak. As quickly as it grew, it dissolved itself, from the bottom up!" Next, when he was called by Baba for an interview, the question with which Joel was greeted was, "So, how did you like the rainbow?" Aldous Huxley says, "The divine mind may choose to communicate with finite minds either by manipulating the world of men and things in ways which the particular mind to be reached at that moment will find meaningful, or else there may be direct communication by something resembling thought transference." Denise (Sai Vahini) Eversole wrote in the daily paper, Movement, in California, about her visit to a Sathya Sai Baba shrine in South India: "Vibhuthi pours from Baba's photographs, and two small, enamel medallions of Baba exude jasmine-scented sweet nectar called Amrita. A large jar daily fills up with this syrup, and the photographs are scraped clear. Both these manifestations of Baba's grace are given freely to all visitors. We received large containers of each, and watched carefully as more, and yet more, Vibhutti and Amrita formed and poured from the blessed objects... Nearby the Cauvery River FONT-SIZE: 10pt">, a short walk from the temple leads one to a pair of stone feet. From the feet oozes oil with the most enchanting fragrance. This we wiped on our scarves and kerchiefs and whatever else we had, and watched as more oil oozed up from between the toes. It was my fourth visit to this shrine, but I never tire of witnessing these evidences of God's omnipotence." CONTINUED… With Sai love from Sai brother M. Palaniswamy / Win 1 of 4,000 free domain names from Enter now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.