Bhagavad Vahini----- Chapter 1

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Bhagavad Vahini by Sathya Sai Baba.

 

Chapter 1

 

The name bhagavata can be applied to every account of the experiences

of those who have contacted God and the Godly (bhagavân and bhakta).

God assumes many forms and enacts many activities. The name bhagavata

is given to the descriptions of the experiences of those who have

realised Him in those forms and of those who have been blessed by His

grace and chosen as His instruments.

 

The great work known by that name is honored by all masters of the

Vedas. It is a panacea which cures physical, mental and spiritual

illnesses. The Bhâgavatam is saturated with sweetness of nectar, it

shines with the splendor of God.

 

The principle of avatâra or the descent of God on earth, the

incarnation of the formless with form, for the uplift of beings -

this is the basic fact that makes the Bhâgavatam authentic. By

bhagavata we also mean those with attachment to God, those who seek

the companionship of God. For such, the book, Bhâgavatam, is most

precious; it is the breath of their life. To be in the midst of such

bhagavatas is to foster one's own devotion. Unless you have a taste

for godward thoughts, you will not derive joy therefrom. To create

that taste the Bhâgavatam relates stories relating to incarnations to

the earnest inquirer. Then, one developes the yearning to experience

the thrill of God, through all the levels of consciousness. He who

has this intense yearning can be a true bhagavata.

 

People believe that incarnations of God happen only for two reasons:

the punishment of the wicked and the protection of the righteous.

But, these represent only one aspect of the task. The granting of

peace and joy, of a sense of fulfilment to seekers who have striven

long - this too is the task.

 

The avatâr, or form incarnate, is only the concretisation of the

yearning of the seekers. It is the solidified sweetness of the

devotion of godly aspirants. The formless assumes the form for the

sake of these aspirants and seekers.

 

They are the prime cause. The cow secretes milk for the sustenance of

the calf. That is the chief beneficiary. But, as we see, others too

benefit from that milk. So too, though the bhaktas are the prime

cause and their joy and sustenance the prime purpose, other

incidental benefits also accrue, such as the fostering of dharma, the

suppression of evil, the overwhelming of the wicked.

 

There is no compulsive rule that incarnations should occur only on

the earth and in human form. Any place, any form, can be chosen by

the fully-free. Whichever place, whatever form, promotes the purpose

of fulfilling the yearning of the devotee, that place and that form

are chosen by the will of God. God is above and beyond the limits of

time and space. He is beyond all characteristics and qualities; no

list of such can describe Him fully. For Him, all beings are equal.

The difference between man, beast, bird, worm, insect and even a god

is but a difference of the 'vessel' (the upadhi).

 

It is like the electric current that flows through various

contrivances and expresses itself in many different activities. There

is no distinction in the current; it is the same. To speak of it as

different is to reveal one's ignorance (ajnana). So too, the one

single God activates every vessel or upadhi and gives rise to

manifold consequences. The wise see only the one uniform current; the

ignorant feel that they are all distinct. God appreciates the

consciousness of unity, as the basic motive of acts. He does not

appreciate the activity itself being one, without variety; it is

suited to the various needs. The fruits of karma or activity appeal

only to those who identify themselves with the body and not for the

others, who know that they are the indestructible âtmâ.

 

Again, you must know that there is no end to the incarnations that

God indulges in. He has come down on countless occasions. Sometimes

He comes with a part of His glory, sometimes with a fuller equipment

of splendor, sometimes for a particular task, sometimes to transform

an entire era of time, an entire continent of space.

 

It is the story of the last of these, that the Bhâgavatam elaborates.

The drama enacted by the avatâra, and the bhaktas drawn towards Him,

is the subject matter of the Bhâgavatam. Listening to it promotes the

realisation of God. Many sages have testified to its efficacy and

extolled the Bhâgavatam, which they helped preserve for posterity.

 

Generally speaking, man gets drawn to sense objects for, he is the

victim of instincts. Instincts easily seek sense-objects. They come

along with the body and are not derived by any training. The infant

seeks milk from the mother's breast; the new-born calf nestles at the

udder. No training is needed for this. But, for the infant to walk

and talk, some training is necessary. The reason is that they are not

automatic; they are socially prompted, by example and by imitation of

others.

 

Training is essential even for the proper pursuit of sense pleasure,

for it is the wild untrained search for such pleasure that promotes

anger, hatred, envy, malice, conceit. To train them along salutary

lines and to hold them under control, certain good disciplines like

japa, dhyana, upavasa (fasts) sandhya-vandana (worship at dawn and

dusk) etc. are essential. But, however much their value may be

praised and their practice recommended people do not develop a taste

for them. This is because the desire for sensory pleasure has struck

deep roots in the human heart. When one is asked to do spiritually

salutary acts, one has no inner prompting at all. Still one should

not give up in despair. Until the taste sprouts, the disciplines have

to be strictly followed. This taste is the result of training; no one

has it from the very beginning. Constant practice will create the

zest.

 

The infant does not know the taste of milk. By taking it daily, it

develops an attachment for it which is so deep that when milk is to

be given up and rice substituted, it starts to protest. But, the

mother does not despair; she persuades the child to take small

quantities of cooked rice daily and by this process it starts liking

rice and it gives up milk. Milk was once its natural food, so natural

that if no rice is available for a single day, it becomes miserable.

 

So, too, though sense-pleasures are 'natural' at first, by means of

practice and training and listening to the commendation of the wise,

slowly the greater and more lasting pleasure derivable from the

glories of the Lord and their recapitulation is grasped; thereafter,

one cannot exist without that atmosphere even for a minute; one feels

that there is nothing as sweet as the experience of listening to the

splendor of the Lord. The company of the worldly who chatter about

the senses and the sense-objects will no longer attract; the company

which exults in praising the Lord will draw and hold.

 

This is the real hall-mark of the good. Sâdhakas and votaries of the

Lord are to be judged by these, not by external apparel or

appearances. If one mixes with men who revel in sensory talks and

activities, then, he puts himself out of court. Spend your time in

the company of the godly, engaged in godly affairs. Avoid getting

mixed with the company of the ungodly. Do not see their activities or

listen to their accounts. Only those who avoid them can be called

bhagavatas, God's own.

 

Reading and enjoying the stories of the glory of Krishna in some

sacred spot or some temple or prayer-hall shrine or hermitage of a

saint or sage, or in the company of the virtuous and the good - that

is a source of great inspiration and joy. It makes people forget

everything else. Else, one can approach pious men and serving them,

listen to their exposition of the glories of God. Taste for such

wholesome literature is the result of accumulated merit and endeavor.

It is that merit that rewards one with such company. Listening will

be enough in the beginning; later, the stories will arouse interest

in the nature and characteristics of God and the aspirant will seek

and find for himself the path to realisation.

 

Listening to expositions by the wise is much better than reading

oneself; or, one can be looking into the text while listening. It is

preferable to listen in company, rather than alone; of course, it is

excellent to listen with a number of earnest aspirants. If the person

who expounds has had the thrill of genuine experience, then it is the

supremest luck, for it yields best results. For, his face will

blossom into joy, his eyes will shed tears of joy at the very

contemplation of the glory of the Lord. Those who listen to him will

catch that inspiration; they will experience the joy themselves. In

the midst of a group that weeps, tears will spring out of the eyes of

those who have come in; when an infant smiles, those around will also

smile in unison. So too, the words of those who are saturated with

devotion to God will saturate the hearts of those who listen. It is

impossible to measure the profit that one can derive while in the

company of the great.

 

Through that process of listening, a dirt-laden heart will be

transformed into a clean illumined heart, shining with genuine light.

To the foul odors of sense-pursuits, keenness to listen to the

glories of God is a valuable disinfectant, besides being in itself so

full of sweet fragrance. The listening will cleanse the heart through

the prompting it gives for good work.

 

Such a cleansed heart is the most appropriate altar, or tabernacle.

In that fragrant bower, the Lord will establish Himself; at that very

moment, another incident too will happen; the group of six vices

(anarthas) that had infested the place will quit without so much as a

farewell.

 

When these vices quit, the wicked retinue of evil tendencies and

vulgar attitudes which live on them, will break camp and disappear,

without leaving even their addresses! Then, man will shine in his

native splendor of truth and love (satya and prema); he will endeavor

without hindrance, to realise himself; and, finally, he will succeed,

in merging with the universal and eternal. He will liberate himself

from the tangle of ignorance, or mâyâ. His mind will fade away; the

long-hidden secret will be revealed to him; he will discover his

mâdhava-tattva (godliness, god-principle,divinity).

 

Man's nature is prema, love. He cannot survive a moment, when

deprived of love. It is the very breath of his life. When the six

vices (anarthas), to which he was attached so long, disappear, love

is the only occupant of the heart; but, love has to find an object, a

loved one. It cannot be alone. So, it is directed to the dark-blue

divine child, the charming cowherd boy, who is purity personified,

who is the embodiment of service, sacrifice and self-lessness, who

has taken residence in that cleansed altar. There is no scope now for

any other attachment to grow. So, step by step, this Love for Mâdhava

becomes deeper, purer, more self denying, until at last, there is no

other need for thought and the individual is merged in the universal.

 

When Vâsudeva enters the heart of man, vasudeva has no longer a place

therein. In other words, when the deva of vasu or wealth is seated in

the heart, the divine Vâsudeva or Krishna cannot dwell therein.

 

Any attempt to accommodate both in the heart is bound to fail.

Darkness and light cannot exist at the same time and in the same

place; they cannot continue together. Dhanam and daivam cannot be

joint ideals; when dhanam or riches are sought, daivam or God cannot

also be achieved. If both are sought by man what he will achieve will

be neither dhanam nor daivam but dayyam (the devil).

 

It is creditable if man behaves as man; it is laudable if he behaves

as the Mâdhava, he really is. But, to behave as a demon or as a beast

is despicable indeed. For, man was long born a mineral and died a

mineral; then, he promoted himself as a tree. He was long born a tree

and died as a tree; but, in the process, he got promoted as an

animal; but, he has now risen into the status of man. This rise from

one scale to another has been acknowledged by science and spiritual

experience. Now, alas! he is born as man and dies as man. It is a

greater shame if he slides into the beast or a beastly ogre. Praise

is his due, only if he rises to the divine status. That is real

fulfilment of his destiny. Therefore, avoid contact with vices;

develop attachment to virtues; transmute the heart into an altar for

the Lord; destroy all the shoots and sprouts of desire; then, your

Manasa-sarovaram (the lake of your inner consciousness) will be

sublimated into a Ksheera-sagara, (the pure ocean of milk, whereon

the Lord reclines on the serpent-couch). Your real self will, like

the celestial Hamsa, revel in the placid waters of that lake, thus

transformed. It will discover endless delight.

 

Who can mark the beginning of the continuous waves of the ocean? It

is an impossible task. If anyone decided to do so, the wave with

which he starts the calculation will be considered as the beginning,

the wave with which he stops his calculation will be for him the

last, the end. There is a beginning and an end for his count: there

is no beginning or end for the process. No one can visualise either,

in that boundless illimitable expanse. God's glory is the shoreless

ocean. When one starts describing it, it begins for him; when he

finishes his description it is the end, so far as he is concerned.

But, His glory is beyond space and time. Only little minds, limited

minds, will argue that God's glory has a beginning and an end. The

stage on which He plays (His lîlâ) has no boundaries.

 

The story of His lîlâ is all nectar; it has no other component, no

other taste, no other content. Every one can drink his fill, from any

part of that ocean of nectar. The same sweetness exists everywhere,

in every particle. There is nothing inferior to mar the sweetness.

 

The love of God and the love for God are both eternally sweet and

pure, whatever the method of your accepting or attaining them. Such

love is holy and inspiring. Sugar is sweet when eaten during day or

during the night. For it is night or day for the person who eats, not

for the sugar. Sugar behaves uniformly always