KANSAI LIGHT JUNE, 2008 ISSUE

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KANSAI LIGHT JUNE, 2008. ISSUE News letter of Sri Sathya Sai Organization Japan address: I.S.S, 2nd Fl, 1-3, Kumochi 5-Chome, Chuo Ku Kobe Tel: 078-222-1885, Email:

rgcjp --------- PLEASE PRINT COPY FOR YOUR EASY REFERENCE -------- . Yearn for Him, suffer anguish for Him; there is no need to yearn for Moksha then. If that is done with no second thought, He will destroy all sin. Hold fast to Him; He can make you Immortal, like Arjuna. Those who seek to escape from this cycle of birth and death must obey the command of the Lord as laid down in the Gita and surrender to Him. Then, he will be crowned with success in every undertaking. He will achieve Victory.(Gita Vahini - Chap XXVII) ................................................................................................................................ EPISODE 22 ACT XV - SCENE 1 Kondama’s house SATHYA: Venkamma, enough. The pain will go off by itself. SUBBAMMA: Boy, is it paining much? That wicked fellow tortured the poor innocent child and even shaved the head. EASWARAMMA: Subbamma! I pleaded that Sathya should not be taken to that witch doctor; but no one listened to my words! That evil man has even slashed the scalp. How much my dear boy would have suffered! I don’t know how He was able to bear it all. SISTER: We were under the impression that he would merely chant some incantations and set things right. We did not even dream that he would inflict torture like this. KONDAMA RAJU: If, instead of treating, he inflicted torture like this, he cannot be a native doctor; rather, he must be the devil itself! SISTER: Grandpa, all his methods were brutal. That’s why, we quietly escaped without anyone’s knowledge and came away. If we had not, he would have caused even greater harm to Sathyam. FATHER: Seshama had at least that much sense! SUBBAMMA: Easwaramma, right away stop all these crazy treatments. Sathyam is the boon of Lord Sathya Narayana. That God will be the support of Sathyam and protect Him. I will now take your leave, Easwaramma. ….Sathyam I will be back later. SATHYA: Alright Subbamma. ……[To sister who is trying to apply balm] No, Venkamma, it would heal on its own. SISTER: Sathyam, don’t say that! Unless some medicine is applied, it cannot heal on its own. EASWARAMMA: My dear boy, don’t say no; allow the medicine to be applied. SATHYA:

No! KONDAMA: Sathyam my boy, as Your Mother says, if the medicine is applied, the healing would be quicker. After that, You can play with Your friends and sing, or else both of us can go for a walk to the Chitravathi river, OK? SATHYA: OK, grandpa. SCENE 2 Kondama’s house. Mother combing hair. KONDAMA RAJU: Look! There is hair on the head! Boy, has the pain subsided completely? SATHYA: Grandpa, pain can come down only if it was present in the first place! KONDAMA: Yes, You know not what pain is! Before Your endurance, all pains vanish! SATHYA: Grandpa, if one has the strength of mind, no pain can come near. FATHER: Easwari, it appears that Sathyam wants to return to Uravakonda and complete the studies. EASWARAMMA: Please no! I don’t care if Sathyam does not study. For me it is enough if He is with us. I want Him to be in good health, that is

all. FATHER: Easwari, I fully understand your feelings and the anguish. But now that Sathyam’s health has improved, we must give thought to His future. SISTER: Well Sathyam, do You insist on going back to Uravakonda? SATHYA: Sister, I insist on going back, and nothing can change My decision. KONDAMA: Alright, let it be according to His wish. SCENE 3 Seshama’s house in Uravakonda. RAMA RAJU: Seshama Raju! SESHAMA: Oh, it is you! Please come, come in. RAMA RAJU: Greetings. SESHAMA: Sit down. ALL: Greetings. SESHAMA: What brings all the elders here? What is the matter? RAMA RAJU: Seshama Raju, Sathyam may be your brother but to all of us, He is Divine. Everyone is full

of praise for the various miracles. SESHAMA: My brother Sathyam is a young lad. At times, perhaps His behaviour is a bit queer. MAN: How can you speak so light-heartedly? Being your brother, to you He may seem strange but to all of us, He is God! LAKSHMI NARAYANA: We have come to reverentially invite Sathyam and also His family, to visit Hampi. RAMA RAJU: We believe that if Sathyam visits our place, it would be sanctified and become prosperous. MAN: Kindly accept our invitation and bring Sathyam. RAMA RAJU: Enjoy the beauty of the sculptures of Hampi and have the Darshan of Virupaksha. Also come to Hospet and accept our hospitality. SESHAMA: Sathyam, shall we go to Hampi and have the Darshan of Virupaksha? SATHYA: As you wish. SESHAMA: It is not my wish; the elders have all come to invite You and I cannot say yes unless You agree. SATHYA: I have already told you – as you wish. SUSEELA: Please! Can You come inside for a minute? SESHAMA: Excuse me, I’ll be back in a minute. RAMA RAJU: Boy, You must definitely come. Please don’t deny our wish. Everyone in our town is eagerly looking forward to receiving You. SUSEELA: I believe a change of place and a visit to the temples can do a lot of good to Sathya. Please accept their request and do not say no. SESHAMA: OK. SESHAMA [to visitors]: How can I say no when you are inviting us with such great affection? We consider it our good fortune to be able to have the Darshan of Virupaksha. We

will definitely come. ALL: We are very happy. We will now take our leave and hope to see you soon. SESHAMA: Very good, gentlemen. SCENE 4 Hampi. SESHAMA: Brother, look there! RAMA RAJU: That’s Hampi, a wondrous city famous for its sculptures. They say that at one time, diamonds and other precious stones used to be sold here in heaps! SESHAMA: Yes. MAN: Seshama Raju, this is the Hall of Thousand Pillars. SESHAMA: Is this the one? ELDER: Yes, if you strike the pillar here, the seven musical notes can be heard. RAMA

RAJU: Not merely that. In the days of the Raya Dynasty, this hall reverberated to dance and music by great performers. SESHAMA: All those glories belong to the past. Those days are gone and so also the kingdoms. SATHYA: Even so, they have been enshrined in history, and in the beauty of these sculptures. SESHAMA: My word! These sculptures are beautiful and pulsate with life! ….This is the thousand-pillared hall, and they say that if the structure is struck here, seven notes can be heard. MAN: Look at this wonder in stone; it is a chariot and looks beautiful even after exposure for hundreds of years. Every inch of this town, Hampi is beautiful! SATHYA: You seem to be interested only in Creation and not the Creator! SESHAMA: Look, these sculptures are so beautiful, and absolutely unaffected by exposure to weather and rain for so many centuries. SATHYA: The sculptures are beautiful no doubt, but much greater are those who gave life to stone. SESHAMA: Yes that is true; the Kings of the Vijayanagaram Empire have

produced another creation. SESHAMA: Sathyam, don’t you like the beauty of the sculptures of Hampi? SATHYA: Brother, to me all sculptures are beautiful. Moreover, I see in these figures the great sculptors themselves! SESHAMA: What? You see the sculptors? Does that mean You do not see sculptures at all? SATHYA: External beauty is seen by all but internal beauty is visible only to a few. I am able to see not only the sculptures but also those who carved them. RAMA RAJU: Sathyam identifies the inner aspect of everything. MAN: If everyone sees the trees, Sathyam can see even the roots! SATHYA: Without roots, there cannot be a tree. Without a chisel, the stone cannot become a sculpture. Without the hand, the chisel is useless. Without a steady mind, the hand cannot do what it is supposed to do. Without the thought of God, there can be no calm mind. And without the merits of earlier births, there can be no thoughts of the Divine! SESHAMA: Have you heard the words of our boy? How unusual they sound! Are they what one expects from a boy of that age? MERCHANT: Seshama Raju, Sathyam is a child philosopher! SESHAMA RAJU: I wonder. He doesn’t speak and act like boys of His age ought to. RAMA RAJU: This is the temple of Virupaksha. Please come in. SESHAMA: Brother, You also come inside. MERCHANT: Come, let’s go into the sanctum and have the Darshan of Virupaksha. SESHAMA: Sathyam, why are standing outside, instead of coming into the temple? SATHYA: You go and have Darshan, while I wait here. RAMA RAJU: Having come to Hampi, how can You go without the Darshan of Virupaksha? Come inside! SESHAMA: I told you earlier that His actions are strange. No one can predict what He will say and what He will do. If He does not want to come, it does not matter. Let us go inside and have Darshan. Sathyam, You take charge of this luggage and sit here. Don’t be absent-minded! ……………Come, let’s go inside. Priests chanting. PRIEST: Name? SESHAMA: Seshama Raju. PRIEST: The name is Seshama Raju…… Lineage? SESHAMA: Bharadwaja Gotram. Priests chanting. SESHAMA: Sathyam appears to be visible in the idol of Virupaksha!…….. Hey, it really looks like Sathyam! We told Him to take care of the luggage, and how did He come in here? MAN: Yes it is true! How did He come

here? SESHAMA: I too cannot understand that. Did He come when we were not looking? Let me go out and check; you stay right here. MAN: OK. Seshama comes out. SESHAMA: Sathyam, were You here all the time? SATHYA: Yes brother, I have been only here. SESHAMA: You are sure You did not go anywhere? SATHYA: No. SESHAMA: OK. Stay right here. Seshama goes in. SESHAMA: It is all very surprising. Is it that I alone am able to see Him or is He visible to others also? …..Sathyam, ……. one minute…..move aside. Comes out again. SESHAMA: Sathyam, did You come inside? SATHYA: Inside? What do you mean? SESHAMA: You mean You were only here all the time? SATHYA: Yes. SESHAMA: OK, OK, don’t go anywhere. Stay right here and mind the luggage. SATHYA: Yes. Goes in. RAMA RAJU: Seshama, did you go out to check if Sathyam was there or not? SESHAMA: Yes. MERCHANT: Was He there? SESHAMA: Yes, He was there; but He is here also! I just don’t understand! ELDER: We told you! Sathyam is no ordinary boy. There is Divinity in Him, and all these are His miracles. SESHAMA: To me, it all seems to be imagination! R.RAJU: Seshama, it is not imagination, but a fact. SESHAMA: It’s all topsy-turvy! SATHYA: Did you have a good Darshan of

Virupaksha? SESHAMA: Very well indeed. I also prayed to Virupaksha to bless You with intelligence and good education. SATHYA: Brother, God’s vision falls equally on all but only those who respond to it earn His Grace. Everyone can see that the rays of the Sun illumine the whole world, but how many are conscious of the blazing fire in the Sun? With a magnifying glass, one can demonstrate the fire in the Sun. Likewise some minds can see God. If we turn to God with intense and pure devotion, then He, in turn, will shower Grace with His vision. SESHAMA: You all heard what He said! This is an example of His strange behaviour. RAMA RAJU: Now that the sight-seeing is over, please come to my house and accept my hospitality. SESHAMA: OK. Come, let’s go. - END OF EPISODE 22

- ----------- shirdi sai baba Sri Sai Baba, a personification of spiritual perfection and an epitome of compassion , lived in the little village of Shirdi in the state of Maharashtra

(India) for sixty years. Like most of the perfect saints he left no authentic record of his birth and early life before arriving at Shirdi. In fact, in the face of his spiritual brilliance such queries do not have much relevance. He reached Shirdi as a nameless entity. One of the persons who first came in contact with him at Shirdi addressed him spontaneously as ‘Sai’ which means Savior, Master or Saint. ‘Baba’ means father as an expression of reverence. In the Divine play it was designed as such, that He subtly inspired this person to call Him by this name, which was most appropriate for His self-allotted mission. All that we definitely know of Sai Baba is that his arrival at Shirdi was anonymous. He was first noticed in the outskirts of the village Shirdi, seated under a ‘neem’ (margosa) tree, about the year 1854.

However, even this date is not definitely noted. Sai Baba of these younger days remained a stranger staying under the neem tree for some time and then suddenly he left Shirdi to come back again sometime in 1858, and stayed on there till he left his gross body in the year 1918. The second advent of Baba at Shirdi, around 1858 was interestingly quite different from the first. This time he accompanied a wedding procession as guest of honor. On the arrival at Shirdi, he was immediately recognized by someone as the same anonymous saintly personality who used to be seated under the neem tree a few years earlier and, greeted Him as “Ya Sai” – Welcome Sai. In the early days of his stay at Shirdi he

spent his time either wandering in the outskirts of village and neighboring thorny jungles or sitting under the neem tree totally self absorbed. The first set of villagers who regarded this saintly figure were Mhalsapati, Tatya Kote, Bayyaji Bai and few others. Bayyaji Bai felt deeply motivated by this Divine Saint, and with her motherly instinct she used to walk miles on end into the jungles in search of him, carrying food in a basket on her head. Often she found Sai Baba sitting under some tree in deep meditation, calm and motionless. She would boldly approach him, serve the meal and return home. After sometime as though out of compassion for her, Sai Baba ceased wandering and moved into a dilapidated mosque in the outskirts of the village. He referred to this mosque, where He resided till the end, as ‘Dwarkamai’ (Dwarka was the place where Lord Shri Krishna stayed to fulfill His divine

Advent). This mosque ‘Dwarkamai’ – abode of Sai Baba became Mother of Mercy for all the time to come. He had a body of athlete built and in his earlier days he was fond of wrestling. Another aspect of Sai Baba’s personality was his love for song and dance. In those early years of his life he used to go to ‘Takia’ , the public night shelter for moslem visitors to the village. There in the company of sojourning devotees and fakirs, he used to dance and sing in divine bliss, with small tinkles tied around his ankles. The songs he sang were mostly in Persian or Arabic. Sometimes he sang some popular songs of Kabir. He donned a long shirt – ‘Kafni’ and tied a cloth around his head, and twisted it into a flowing plait like manner behind his left ear. He used a piece of sackcloth for his seat and slept on it with a brick as his

pillow. He always declared that Fakiri (Holy poverty) was far superior to worldly richness. He was no ordinary fakir but an ‘Avatar ’ (incarnation) of a very high order. But His external appearance was of simple, illiterate, moody, emphatic – at times fiery and abusive and at times full of compassion and love. In the moments of towering rage people with him thought it was ungovernable rage. But his anger never prevented his compassion dealing with the devotees. His anger was evidently directed at unseen forces. He enacted all these simple traits only to hide His real identity as the God incarnate. Under the cover of simplicity He silently worked for the spiritual transformation and liberation of innumerable souls – human beings and animals alike, who were drawn to Him, by an unseen forces. He begged for alms and shared what he got with his devotees and all the creatures around him. He never kept any food in reserve for the next meal. He maintained the ‘Dhuni’ – the perpetual sacred fire and distributed its ash – ‘Udi’ as token of His divine grace to all who came to Him for help. Baba would ask for ‘Dakshina’ (money offered with reverence to the ‘Guru’ or the master) from some of those who came to see him. This was not because he needed their money but for deeper significance, which the devotees realized at, an appropriate time. Baba used to freely distribute all the money that was received in the form of Dakshina to the destitute, poor, sick and needy the very same day. This was one of Baba's methods for testing out the devotees attachments to worthy things and willingness to

surrender. He ploughed up the village common land and raised a flower garden thereon, he watered the plants, carrying pots full of water on his shoulders. In the later years he spent a few hours in this Lendi garden which he himself had laid out in the early days. He was every moment exercising a double consciousness, one actively utilizing the apparent Ego called 'Sai Baba' dealing with other egos in temporal and spiritual affairs, and the other - entirely superceding all egos as the Universal Ego or Over soul. He was the common man’s God. He lived with them, he slept and ate with them. Baba had a keen sense of humour. He shared a ‘chillum’ (clay pipe for smoking) indiscriminately with them to write off the cast superiority and orthodoxy in

their minds. He had no pretensions of any kind .He was always very playful in the presence of children. Baba used to feed the fakirs and devotees and even cook for them. Saibabas perfect purity, benevolence, non -attachment, compassion and other virtues evoked deep reverence in the villagers around him. His divinity could not conceal itself for long. Initially when people wanted to worship him formally, Baba protested and dissuaded them. But gradually he allowed it with the prescience that it would become the means for temporal and spiritual benefits to millions of individuals for all time to come. The Dwarkamai of Sai Baba was open to all, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. As

the days passed devotees from all walks of life started streaming into Shirdi. The village Shirdi was fast assuming prominence. As the gifts and presentations flowed in, the pomp and grandeur of Sai worship also increased. But Baba’s life of a fakir remained calm, undisturbed, unaltered and there is the Saint’s spiritual glory. He lived His divine mission through His pure self in a human embodiment. The immense energy that was manifest in the body of Sai was moving in a mysterious way, creating and recreating itself every where beyond the comprehension of time and space. This fountainhead of unsurpassed spiritual glory shed His gross body on 15th October 1918. Every limb, every bone and pore of his body was permeated with divine essence. Baba claimed that though one day his physical body will not exist his remains will

communicate with all those who seek him with inner yearnings. His self-allotted labour of love in His physical body was perhaps over. Today He continues to work ever vigorously as the ‘Sai Spirit’.s --------------------- MUSINGS ON AVATARS PART 3 (Continued from the previous issue) By Prof. G. Venkataraman Dear Readers, for 40 previous issues – from October 2004 to February 2008 - we brought you a spiritual feast in the form of the "Gita for Children" in a serialized form. (To find all the issues of this

series in one place, click here). Prior to that, we had started our first series entitled "Shirdi Sai – Parthi Sai" which is continuing till date. The "Gita for Children" series was taken from the book " Krishna - Arjuna Dialogue" authored by Prof. Venkataraman. As we concluded the final segment of this book in February 2008 issue, from March 2008, we started a new series on "Avatars" or Divine Incarnations. The articles in this series are actually adaptations of talks delivered recently on Radio Sai by Prof. G. Venkataraman, and are based on the book "Message of the Lord" authored by him a few years earlier. We hope H2H readers will relish the spiritual insights this series offers. Previous Articles In The Same Series Part - 01 Part - 02 The Story of Rama

(continued) Loving Sai Ram and greetings from Prashanti Nilayam. We resume the story of the Rama Avatar. If you recall, last time, I brought you up to the point where Hanuman, when asked to search for Sita’s whereabouts, makes a big leap across the oceans to Lanka. Let us pick up the story from there. Hanuman Reassures Sita Once he landed in Lanka, Hanuman reverted to his normal small size and, after a lengthy search, located Sita who was held captive in a garden named Asokavanam. Hiding on a tree, he was contemplating his next move when he saw Ravana accompanied by his entourage approaching Sita and making advances to her. Spurning the demon king's overtures, Sita plucked a blade of grass and placing it between herself and

Ravana said: "You fool, go back to your own wives and covet not that of another. With the power of my chastity, I could reduce you to ashes in a trice, but I shall refrain from doing so because the credit for destroying you should really go to my Husband, Lord Rama. You dare not cross the barrier represented by this blade of grass. Go back where you came from." Ravana retreated, but not before warning Sita that she had just two more months to think it all over, and if after that she still refused to change her mind, well then she would end up as a meal for him! Mother Sita in captivity Ravana warns Sita to conform to his wishes Sita was now in a turmoil. How long should she wait for Rama? Would He ever come? Had He forgotten her? Tormented by doubts of all sorts, Sita thought that the best course of action for her was to end her life by hanging. And even as she started making preparations for committing suicide, Hanuman, a silent witness thus far, decided that he must now intervene, and did so by gently singing the story and the glory of Rama. And when he had finished, he jumped from the branch to the ground with chants of "Jai Sri Ram, Jai Sita Ram" and prostrated before Sita. Mother Sita bestows a jewel on Hanuman as proof of their meeting Sita was perplexed - a monkey chanting the story of Rama? Was that possible? Was it another demonic trick like the golden deer? Is it Ravana himself in disguise trying another ploy? Torn with doubts she started cross examining Maruti (another name of Hanuman) and finally became convinced that he was indeed a messenger sent by Rama. In fact, Rama had quite thoughtfully sent through Hanuman a ring of His so that

Sita would have no difficulty in identifying Him and accepting His credentials. (On one Ramanavami day or the birth anniversary of Rama, Swami who was then in Kodaikanal produced this ring to show it to the boys!) Once Sita saw Rama's ring, all her doubts vanished and the bottled up emotions poured out in a torrent - all of which Hanuman gave a patient hearing. The question now was: "What next?" Hanuman offered to carry Sita on his back, hearing which Sita forgetting her worries laughed. "You are such a tiny fellow," she said, "How can you carry me?Mother," replied Hanuman, "I can assume a gigantic form if I wish to," and so saying he grew to enormous proportions. Absolutely stunned, Sita agreed that Hanuman could indeed carry her and jump across the ocean but now she had a new point: "If I were to escape like this, it would be no credit to my Lord. The proper thing is for Him to come, kill Ravana and rescue me. Right now you should return and convey the news regarding my whereabouts." With this, Hanuman took leave of Sita, but not before accepting from her a jewel of hers as proof of having actually met her. Hanuman Lights Up Lanka Hanuman escapes and sets fire to Lanka Mission accomplished, Hanuman was all set to return but a new thought occurred to him: "Now that I am here, why not probe the enemy's strength? That information could prove useful later." With this in mind he started destroying the beautiful garden in which Sita was being held. In the stir that followed, Hanuman allowed himself to be captured, and in this manner he found himself a prisoner tied hand and foot, being produced before Ravana in the latter's court. Once face to face with Ravana, Hanuman

advised the demon king to follow the path of righteousness or Dharma and return Sita to Rama. But, charged as he was with lust, Ravana was in no mood for sane advice; furious, he ordered that the monkey be killed. At this stage, Vibhishana, the younger brother of Ravana, intervened to say that in spite of all the havoc caused by him, Hanuman was an envoy and the canons of Dharma required that envoys should not be killed; they could however be punished. Accepting the suggestion, Ravana ordered that bandages be tied to the tail of Hanuman and then set on fire. Hanuman allowed the fire to be lit. Breaking loose then, he leapt from building to building setting them all on fire. Soaring high up, he then saw with a smile that the whole of Lanka was burning. Normally when the body comes into contact with

fire it gets burnt, but nothing happened to Hanuman because Agni, the deity associated with fire, withheld his burning power as far as Hanuman was concerned. Rama Lovingly Receives His Servant The Lord and His devotee embrace After an event-free leap back to the mainland, Hanuman was able to report to Rama the success of his mission and also convey the message from Sita. Rama was overwhelmed. Stretching out His arms, He said, "O Hanuman there is so much I would like to give you, but at the moment all I can do is to embrace you. Come!" So saying He held Maruti in close embrace for a long time. It is said that is how Hanuman himself became Divine. Incidentally, it is noteworthy that at the Hill View stadium in Prasanthi Nilayam where there are many statues - Jesus, Krishna, Buddha and so forth - the biggest statue is that of Hanuman; also, it is at the very top of the hill, a reminder to all of us to

emulate this great servant of the Lord. The next item of business for Rama was the invasion of Lanka, for which purpose, Rama and Lakshmana, accompanied by Sugriva and his army of monkeys (Vanarasena) headed for the southern tip of the peninsula. Ravana Ignores Wise Counsel Meanwhile, back in Lanka, Ravana held a council of war in which the only sane voice to be heard was that of Vibhishana. While all others advised war, Vibhishana said: "My dear brother, please don't listen to the advice given by your ministers and others. It will harm you. They are your true enemies, and not Rama. You have no idea of Rama's might and capability. Prudence is the better part of valour. Quietly return Sita to Rama and make peace with Him. Then Lanka and all of us would survive. Otherwise we are all doomed."

This was hardly the kind of counsel that Ravana wanted to hear. Flying into a rage, he screamed: "Traitor! I am ashamed you are my brother. Indeed if you were not, I would have had you executed this very minute. You are lucky, and I shall restrain myself to merely banishing you. Now get out of my sight this very minute." For Vibhishana, this was no punishment but a great liberation. Delighted and relieved, he at once headed for Rama's camp, but the reception at the other end was far from what he would have liked! Taken by the guards to be a spy of Ravana, he was promptly apprehended; eventually after a lot of persuasion by him, he was brought before Rama. Many views were expressed about how Vibhishana should be dealt with and all except that of Hanuman were unfavourable; some even said that Vibhishana should straightaway be executed. Vibhishana Saranagathi Building the bridge of stones, chanting His name This scene known as VibhishanaSaranagathi (Vibhishana's surrender) is one of the glorious episodes in the story of Rama, revealing as it does the towering magnanimity of the Lord. After listening to the diverse viewpoints, Rama smiles and says: "I have heard all of you. I am aware that you all mean well. Now please listen to what I have to say. Vibhishana has surrendered to Me and it is My duty to offer him protection under all circumstances. It does not matter if he has feigned surrender; the very fact he said: 'I have surrendered to You', is enough for Me. "He need not have come here physically; even if he had surrendered wherever he was, I would still be obliged to protect him. Indeed, even a mere thought of surrender on his part would put Me

under obligation - there is no need to express the surrender in words." Is it any wonder then that the Lord is described as Saranagathavatksala (One who loves those who surrender)? Thus, it was that Vibhishana was admitted to Rama's camp as a friend. The Vibhishana affair having been settled, the question arose regarding how to cross the ocean. Clearly everyone could not leap across like Hanuman and some other solution was needed. Eventually it was decided to build a causeway by piling boulders and rocks. Everyone pitched in with great gusto, including a tiny squirrel, which, with great effort, rolled a small pebble to the site and pushed it into the general pile. Rama who was watching was deeply touched and in a loving gesture stroked its back - and that is how the squirrel won its stripes! As Swami

repeatedly emphasises, the Lord never cares for quantity; all He is interested in is the quality. Another touching causeway story is that Hanuman was in the process of lifting a hillock when the announcement was made that the causeway had been completed and that no more stones would be required. Hanuman then promptly placed the hillock down whereupon the hill burst into tears because it could not be of service to Rama. The Lord consoled the hill by saying, "Don't worry. In the next Yuga, I shall use you in an important mission and you will thereafter be remembered for ever." Indeed, in the DwaparaYuga, this very same hill achieved fame as Govardhanagiri lifted by Krishna to protect people from a torrential downpour (that story comes soon). The Invasion of Lanka Begins Once the causeway was completed, Rama and party crossed over to Lanka in a trice. Lanka, which Ravana always boasted was impenetrable, had now been actually invaded! At first, Ravana treated the matter lightly and sent his junior warriors to deal with the invaders. None of them returned and soon Ravana found that he was running out of soldiers as well as chiefs. The senior warriors and ministers were then pressed into battle, but they too were promptly annihilated. Ravana was getting increasingly worried and decided that his brother, the mighty Kumbhakarna, had now to be fielded to clinch the battle. Sri Rama's army crosses the bridge Ravana falls to Rama's arrows But the great Kumbhakarna was, like

always, in deep slumber, and it required a Herculean effort to first wake him up, and then get him worked up for battle. Eventually the mighty one did go to war, and as expected wrought much havoc, but in the end he fell to Rama's arrows. When the news of Kumbhakarna's death reached Ravana, he could not believe his ears. Was there a person alive who could kill his mighty brother? Ravana was now greatly worried and there was no alternative, but to send his favourite son, the invincible Indrajit. Alas, Indrajit too fell and finally Ravana was all alone. At last, it was his turn to face Rama and this was in a sense what the Lord had incarnated for. A fierce battle ensued and finally, Ravana was killed. Rama then advised Vibhishana the only surviving brother of Ravana to perform all the due last rites. He said, "When he was alive, he was your enemy. He is now dead and you must remember more than

anything else that he was your brother. And your duty requires that you do what is due to the dead." Again that supreme magnanimity that only the Lord can show! Sita’s Fiery Test Ravana having been exterminated, Sita was released from captivity and brought to Rama. Instead of the thrilling and joyful reunion that all were looking forward to, all that Sita received was a cold reception from Rama. Curtly Rama told Sita: "I belong to a royal family, and your abduction was a slur cast on our noble family. I have now avenged that insult. As for you, you have lived for nearly a year in the territory of another man. I therefore cannot take you back as My wife. You may go wherever you wish." Sita felt as if

she had been struck by a thunderbolt. Was it for this that she was holding on to dear life in the face of atrocious behaviour by Ravana? Deeply hurt, she ordered Lakshmana to light a fire and when that was done she said: "It is unfortunate that even my Husband is not convinced about my purity. Under the circumstances, I see no reason to continue living." So saying, she entered the fire. But lo and behold, such was her purity that the fire refused to burn her and she emerged unscathed, much to the joy of all present, Rama included. Rama then remarked, "Not for a moment did I suspect Sita. I only wanted the world to know about her purity, which is why I had to subject her to this ordeal by fire." Mother SIta's trial by fire The long awaited return to Ayodhya The mission to Lanka having been successfully concluded, Rama now became anxious to return to Bharath. Vibhishana, the newly-crowned King of Lanka, placed at Rama's disposal the flying chariot that earlier belonged to Ravana. The entire party boarded the chariot and flew back to the mainland. On the way, Rama and Sita saw familiar places from the air and exchanged fond memories. Back in Bharath, the party landed at the Ashram of Sage Bharadwaja and were given a fitting welcome. Ever conscious of dear Bharatha pining in Nandigram for Rama's return, the Lord thoughtfully sent Hanuman as an advance messenger to alert Bharatha that Rama and party would soon be there. Hanuman arriving at Nandigram discovered that Bharatha was getting rather anxious, since Rama was almost overdue. Hanuman quickly conveyed the good tidings, much to the relief of Bharatha. Soon the long-awaited reunion between Bharatha and Rama took place, and the

entire party returned to Ayodhya for a tumultuous welcome by the citizens. Rama Crowned Triumphant Lord Rama now enthroned in all His Glory! Shortly after this, on an auspicious day selected by Sage Vasishta, Rama was finally crowned the Emperor, a ceremony that had to wait fourteen years because the Lord had a play to stage. As Emperor, Rama reigned for a very long period. Rama's reign was synonymous with the reign of Dharma for Rama was none other than Dharma personified. There was unprecedented joy, happiness and prosperity in the kingdom, and even to this day people in India use the word Ramarajya to describe a regime where there is righteousness, perfect harmony and joy. Rama was God, but He lived like man and showed man how he should really live. Never for a moment did Rama reveal His Divinity, nor did He make use of His Divine powers. There would no doubt be a time and place for that

in later Avatars, but not in this one. The above is but a brief narrative of the story of Rama. For a more detailed account, see Swami's Rama Katha Rasa Vahini and Summer Showers in Brindavan, 1996. As has been said, these are autobiographical accounts! The Magnificent Story of the Krishna Avatar The Krishna Avatar is a glorious finale to the sequence of incarnations made necessary (in part) by the indiscretions of Jayan and Vijayan. In the DwaparaYuga, these gatekeepers of the Lord were born as the demon cousins Sishupala and Dantavakra respectively, and when the time was ripe for their destruction, the Lord as usual descended down to earth. Once again

He came in a fully human form and with His Divinity in its entirety i.e., as a Poorna Avatar. Although the ostensible purpose of the incarnation was the extermination of the two Asuras, the Blessed Lord had a grander objective. Not only did Krishna reveal Himself as God personified, but He also told man that he (i.e., man) too was God and that in fact, man should endeavour to realise in full measure his Divine nature. As Swami says: “The Gita is the real purpose for which the Avatar of Krishna was taken.” The Bhagavad Gita - the celestial song for all times Skirting the banks of the River Yamuna (Jamuna these days), was the kingdom of Mathura. A famous king named Yadu once ruled the land, and from him descended many tribes, an important one being the Yadavas. One of the Yadava rulers of Mathura was Aahakura who had two sons named Ugrasena and Devaka. Ugrasena's eldest son was Kamsa while Devaka's youngest daughter was Devaki. As he had no sister of his own, Kamsa was very fond of his cousin Devaki. Apart from this streak of affection, Kamsa was otherwise very cruel. Kamsa Tries to Kill the Infant

Krishna When Devaki came of age, she was duly married with pomp and fanfare to a Yadava named Vasudeva (who belonged to the sub-clan Vrishni). At the conclusion of the wedding ceremonies, an elaborate procession had been arranged to take the newly-married bride to her groom's house. Kamsa himself drove the gaily decorated chariot carrying Vasudeva and Devaki. All of a sudden, an ethereal voice sounded in the sky which said: "Kamsa, your days are numbered. This woman whom you are taking to her husband's place is going to be responsible for your death because her eighth-born son will kill you". The ethereal voice alerts Kamsa about his ominous destiny Kamsa was stunned to hear his death warrant being pronounced from heaven. Instantly his affection for Devaki evaporated, and dragging her down by her tresses, he drew his sword to cut her head off. Deeply agitated, Vasudeva fell on his knees and begged Kamsa: "O Kamsa, you belong to a noble race. How is it that your affection for Devaki has vanished in a flash? Devaki is not going to kill you; only her eighth son is supposed to. I promise to surrender to you all her children as soon as they are born. Please do not kill her." Kamsa

accepted Vasudeva's offer and spared Devaki her life, but placed her and her husband under house arrest; thus what was to be their home became instead a fortified prison. In due course, Devaki delivered a child and true to his promise, Vasudeva, though full of anguish, handed the infant over to Kamsa. For a moment, Kamsa was deeply touched and was about to spare the child (as his death was due to come only from the eighth-born) when Sage Narada appeared on the scene. To Kamsa he said: "Kamsa, how could you be so naive? True, the heavenly voice said that you would meet your end from the eighth child. But what does eighth mean? If you count backwards from the number eight, then number one becomes the eighth! If you count backwards from number seven, then number two becomes the eighth and so on. Don't be complacent and take chances!" Kamsa is warned of the Lord's abilty to outwit him Once the seeds of doubt were sown, Kamsa became his usual cruel self. Snatching the baby from Vasudeva's hand, he mercilessly smashed it to the ground. Devaki and Vasudeva both felt shattered, but were absolutely helpless. The senseless destruction of the new-born continued and in due course the count rose to six. Sensing that the time had come for Him to descend to

earth, Lord Narayana summoned His Mayashakti and said: "Devi, Adisehsa, who is My Amsa (an aspect of Me) has just entered the womb of Devaki as her seventh child. Now Vasudeva has another wife named Rohini. She lives in Gokulam with her brother Nanda, a small chieftain there. Remove the child now in Devaki's womb and place it in the womb of Rohini. The child born to Rohini would, because of his beauty be named Rama and called Balarama on account of his strength. Later, when it is realised that his birth was preceded by a womb-to-womb transfer, people would call him Sankarshana. Having completed the womb-to-womb transfer, you shall yourself enter the womb of Nanda's wife, Yasoda and be born to her as her daughter. Around the same time, I shall be born as the eighth son of Devaki. As soon as I take birth, I shall arrange for us to switch places, and you will end up near Devaki

and I near Yasoda. Kamsa will try to kill you and you know what you should do then." The wheel had been set in motion for the advent of the Krishna Avatar. With six children gone, Kamsa was getting more and more jittery. Meanwhile, news reached him that Devaki had conceived for the seventh time and impatiently he waited for the child to be born so that he could kill it. But that was not to be and to his dismay he heard that amazingly and in a most mysterious manner, Devaki's womb had suddenly become empty! Kamsa suspected a trick but there was precious little he could do. Meanwhile, Devaki's seventh child grew safely in the womb of Rohini. And then Devaki conceived for the eighth time. Kamsa's nervousness now knew no bounds and impatiently he waited for the delivery. Meanwhile, the prison fortifications were

intensified. Finally, in the early hours of the morning of an auspicious day, Devaki delivered a beautiful male child - Krishna had arrived! A short while before that Rohini too delivered a baby boy. While Rohini's son was fair, Devaki's was dark. Lord Krishna Takes Birth Babies cry when they are born, but Krishna was born smiling. Immediately after birth, Krishna revealed to Devaki and Vasudeva His form as Narayana, complete with four arms, holding the conch, the Chakra and other paraphernalia, the jewel Kausthuba gleaming around His neck and the mark Srivatsa on His chest. To the one fortunate to be His mother, He said: "Devaki, twice before in your earlier births, I have been born as your Son. This is the last time. At the end of this birth you will gain Liberation." Turning to

Vasudeva, He said: "Vasudeva, you will carry My infant form in a basket to Gokulam to the house of Nanda. There you will find a newly-born baby girl by the side of Yasoda. Place Me near Yasoda and bring the baby girl back with you to this prison cell. Do precisely as I say. Have no fear, for now I am here!" So saying, the Lord reverted to His baby form. Adisesha protects baby Krishna on His journey to Gokulam - the inscrutable play of the lord

Suddenly, miracles began to happen one after another. Firstly, the shackles keeping Vasudeva chained became loose of their own accord. Next a padded-basket appeared from nowhere and the massive prison doors silently swung open. Placing the baby in the basket, Vasudeva cautiously peeped outside but to his amazement, all the guards were deep in slumber! Carrying the basket on his head, Vasudeva carefully stepped out and swiftly moved towards the village of Gokulam. Meanwhile a fearsome storm broke out, perhaps with the intention of making everyone remain indoors and not be a privy to the secret mission ordered by the Lord. But what about the Lord Himself? Would He not get wet? No worry, for Adisesha silently came behind with his huge hood spread out to offer protection from both the wind and the rain (Vasudeva of course knew nothing about this!) En route,

Vasudeva had to cross the Yamuna River but due to the heavy rain, the river was in spate; however, for him the river miraculously gave way. Vasudeva Exchanges the Divine Babies Soon Vasudeva reached Gokulam with the Divine "load" on his head and entered Nanda's house where both Nanda and his wife Yasoda were deep in slumber. Next to Yasoda was a tiny girl, obviously just given birth to, but Yasoda was totally unaware of the event. Vasudeva quietly placed his son by the side of Yasoda, lifted the baby girl and, after putting her in the basket slowly retraced his steps to the prison. Once he reached there and placed the baby girl next to Devaki, the doors automatically snapped shut and the shackles came back on him just as before. The

baby girl now began to cry, as all new-borns do and hearing the cry, the prison guards woke up. They were aghast to discover that they had been sleeping all along in clear violation of Kamsa's strict orders and springing into action, hastened to the chamber where Devaki and her husband were being held captive. Seeing a new born baby, they then rushed to inform Kamsa of the event. Anxious to destroy his enemy, Kamsa hurried to the prison but when he arrived, he was astonished to see a girl rather than the boy which the ethereal voice had warned him to expect. Puzzled he was, but unwilling to take any chances, he promptly seized the girl and lifted her with a view to smash her. But lo and behold, the baby slipped out of his hands, soared into the sky, assumed the gigantic form of Devi and then said: "Kamsa, you fool, I am not the one who is to kill you. He, who will be your nemesis, is already born and is elsewhere. There is no escape for you, no matter how much you try"; so

saying, the form vanished. Kamsa stood petrified, and slowly it began to sink into him that his enemy had not only outwitted him but was secure elsewhere. "There is no escape for you, no matter how much you try" - Mayadevi to Kamsa Yashoda Becomes Krishna’s ‘Mother’ While this great

drama was going on in the prison chambers, Nanda and Yasoda woke up. And when Yasoda saw the worlds most beautiful and charming baby, her joy knew no bounds. "What a wonderful gift the Lord has given me", she thought; little did she know that the "gift" was none other than the Lord Himself! The news that a son had been born to Nanda spread like wild fire and everyone in the village of Gokulam rejoiced. Meanwhile, Kamsa continued to worry, wondering whatever happened to the son who was supposed to be born after the eighth conception of Devaki. He had been warned that his nemesis was growing up elsewhere; now where would that be? Panicking, he decided that he would forthwith kill all new-borns in his kingdom and for implementing this vile and demonic plan, he sought the help of a number of demons. What happened next? That

story next time! Till then all the best, and may God be with you always! Jai Sai Ram. (To be Continued...) Previous Articles In The Same Series Part - 01 Part - 02 – Heart2Heart Team CONVERSATIONS WITH SAI Satyopanishad - part 4: Direct Directions from the Divine Dear reader, responding to positive responses from many readers to this section in H2H, where we have a dialogue with the Divine, after we completed serializing Dr. John Hislop’s “Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba” in January 2008, we started Prof. Anil Kumar’s “Satyopanishad” from the next month. This too is in the “question-answer” format that many devotees prefer, and has answers from Bhagavan on topics as wide-ranging as the origin of evil, the goals of human life, aspects of God – embodied and formless, to price hikes, women’s liberation, vegetarianism and the generation gap of the present times. Published in two parts by the author, these volumes have 270 questions in all, which are neatly grouped under separate chapters. In this issue, we begin chapter two, called Trends in Society. CHAPTER 2 - TRENDS IN SOCIETY(Continued from the previous issue) Anil Kumar (AK): Swami! Man is not behaving in the way expected of him. He is losing his very human nature. How should he transform himself at this juncture? What happens to society if he remains like this? Bhagavan: You do not know that you are using certain words without knowing their meaning. If you understand the words that you utter, you will notice that they are self explanatory and convey their meaning in unambiguous terms. What is the meaning of this word manava, man? 'Ma' means maya or illusion; 'na', means daati (Telugu) or crossing over; 'va', means vartincu (Telugu) or to conduct oneself. In other words, 'manava' means 'the one who crosses maya and conducts himself accordingly', and definitely not one who is enslaved by maya. It can also be interpreted

in another way. The word 'manava' means, 'ma', which means ‘not’, and 'nava', which means ‘new’. Thus 'manava ' means 'not new'. Man had many births earlier and the present one is ‘not new’. Man is also called narah (Sanskrit). ‘Na’ means 'not', and ‘rah’ means 'perishable'. Thus, narah, means 'not perishable'. Obviously, the one, which is imperishable, is eternal, that is, immortal, or atma, Truth. There is another word vanara (Sanskrit) denoting a 'monkey'. ‘Va’ denotes vala or tail. So ‘ nara ’ should be viewed as man without vala or tail. Man is saksara: ‘sa’, divine and aksara, undiminishable or permanent. Thus, saksara is one who is undiminishable, permanent or eternal, Atma. He, who has the awareness of such Atma, is saksara. But alas! Man today is behaving as raksasa, demon. Man is expected to have

dama, control of senses, but he is full of mada, pride and conceit. So, when we understand the meaning of these words, we shall know that man or vyakti, the individual, should exhibit and express the quality of Atma, which he truly is. A community or a group of individuals makes a society. A single tree cannot make a forest. A single house cannot make a village. What is the meaning of samaja, or society? Sama, which means ‘equality or equanimity’, ‘ja’, is ‘born out of’. Thus samaja, is that which maintains equality and equanimity. What are needed for ideal society? They are samaikyata, unity; samagrata, coordination; samarasa, integration; saubhratrata, fraternity; and samanata, equality. These are the features of an ideal society. We hear people saying that society should change. However, in my opinion, it is wrong. If the individual changes, society will automatically change. A small example: A father presented a map of India to his young son. The boy, by mistake, tore it to pieces and was reprimanded by his father. After some time, the son brought the map intact. When asked by the father how he

could do it, the boy replied that on the reverse side of the map there was the picture of a man. He said the only thing he did was to correctly assemble the torn pieces of the man to make it into the original picture. Then the original map formed itself automatically. Thus, when individuals reform, society will automatically get reformed. Every person should know that the happiness of the individual depends on that of society. Man's welfare, progress and prosperity depend on society. This truth must be fully understood by everyone. For example, when there is a fire in the neighbourhood, you make an attempt to extinguish it. Why? If you do not, your house will not be safe. When all the other houses in the neighbourhood are burnt down by the fire, your house too will be burnt. When there are epidemics like cholera, you will be extra careful; otherwise, you will also become one of the

victims. Similar is the relationship between an individual and the society he lives in. AK: Swami! Maybe due to the impact of the Age of Kali, we don't find in these days, any understanding among the members of a family. Instead, we find differences in many families, even conflicts, complexes, competitions; and sometimes matters become so bad as to drag a family to the courts. Please suggest a way out of this sad plight, Swami! Bhagavan: In this world though diversity is apparent, there is an inherent unity. Multiplicity may be patent; but the underlying unity is latent. The whole of nature shows both these aspects. Take the earth; it is not the same throughout. There are hills, mountains, and valleys. However, in our experience we clearly visualise unity. Are the five fingers of the same hand identical? No.

Similarly, the members of one and the same family are not alike or uniform. They are not stereotypes. All the same, there cannot be any valid reason for the absence of fraternity, unity, and love among the members of the family. A good example from our epics maybe cited in this context. You

analyse 'the family our Lord Siva'. Siva has Ganga water over his head, and fire on his forehead between the two eyes. He is, therefore, Trinetra or 'the three-eyed' God'. 'Water' and 'Fire' are also opposed to each other in their nature and don't coexist. Siva is pannagadhara, nagabhusana for He has venomous serpents around His neck. The vehicle of his elder son, Lord Subrahmanya, is a peacock. Snakes and peacocks are enemies. The vehicle of Goddess Parvati, consort of Siva, is a lion; she is simhavahini. The very face of Siva's second son is that of an elephant. Ganesh is called Gajanana for this reason. An elephant can't even dream of the sight of a lion. Parvati has all the jewels, but Her Lord, Siva is digambara, with minimum attire, and bhasma bhusitanga that is, vibhuti smeared all over His body. Though Siva's family is full of opposites and contradictions,

there is integration, coordination, harmony and unity. Similarly, in your families, the members may differ from each other, yet you should be able to live in perfect harmony like Siva's family. This is the lesson that over the ages Lord Siva has been teaching the world. AK: Swami! Today the whole world is strife torn. We hear of racial discrimination, class conflict, bloodshed, war, and so on. Kindly give some message to the present day world. Bhagavan: Today we have many intellectuals who find diversity in unity. There are only a few who notice unity in diversity. This is the reason for the present day troubles, turmoil, conflicts, wars, and so on in the world. Manava, man is behaving like a danava, demon. So we find violent, demonic, bestial, and inhuman tendencies among people.

The moment man recognises and experiences unity in diversity, peace, comfort, safety, security, and happiness are ensured. The composition of human blood is the same all over the world; everybody breathes oxygen. All tread the same ground. Hunger is one, be that of a rich man who may dine in a five star hotel or of a beggar who appeases his hunger with mere starch. Thirst is one and the same, be that of a rich man who will have a cool drink or of a poor man who drinks tap water in the street. Both feel happy in moments of joy and both grieve in times of difficulties. The human body is composed of the five elements: earth, water, air, fire, and space. The body is inert. We breathe air into it. There is also fire within, keeping the body warm and helping us in digesting food. There is space within accommodating all parts of the human body. There is plenty of water in the body. So the five elements outside are also inside you. Everyone has them in the same proportion. All that you have is also present in everybody else. Then, why do you stretch your hand

begging from everyone? What for? What is it that you don't have which the other man has? Basically nothing! This is the philosophy of unity in diversity. This unity is divinity. The experience of this sort of spiritual unity is liberation, whereas the feeling of multiplicity, plurality and diversity is bondage, dualism, and attachment. Flowers are many, but worship is one; Cows are many, but milk is one. Jewels are many, but gold is one; paths are many, but the goal is one; stars are many, but the sky is one; beings are many, but breath is one; names and forms are many, but God is one. This is oneness or unity. Yarn is multiple, but when interwoven, it becomes a piece of cloth. This is how you should find out and experience unity in order to realise divinity. People fight in the name of religion. What a shame it is! No

religion tells you to speak lies, to harm or kill others or do any such things. All religions lay emphasis on love, brotherhood, sacrifice, peace, truth, and so on. So, it is ridiculous to fight in the name of religion. In fact, matulu mancivainamatamedi ceddadi, (Telugu) ‘if your mind is good, which religion is bad’? There is only one religion, the religion of love. To have differences based on language or race is bad. It is a sign of narrow mindedness. There is only one language, the language of the heart. It is very mean to have differences on grounds of caste. You are not born with a signboard indicating your caste. What is the caste of the air? To which caste does water belong? What is the caste of fire and earth? Therefore, there is only one caste, the caste of humanity. Wars are fought in the name of God. Don’t you know that there aren’t many Gods? God is one without a second. You may call Him by any name.

There is one God who is Omnipresent. Ekam sat viprah bahudha vadanti, ‘Truth is one, but interpreted in many ways by scholars’. There are no differences in divinity. With cittasuddhi, purity of heart, you can experience the principle of unity or oneness, which is the path to divinity. First, develop purity. That helps you to achieve unity and attain Divinity. AK: Swami! In reality, the entire human race is one and the same, its basic core being divinity. Why then do we not react in the same way? Why do we think and act differently? Bhagavan: Humanity may be one, but people act in different ways. No two are alike. This is the law of nature. Thought, words and actions depend on time and circumstances. Here is an example. A tender fruit is sour in its taste; an unripe fruit is astringent, while a

ripe fruit is sweet. All the three are the stages of the same fruit, aren't they! It is sour, then astringent and finally sweet. How does it happen? Why? The change of taste is due to the passage of time. No one has filled the ripe fruit with sugar. So, I say yetti matiyo, atti gati; yetti sthitio, atti sampatti (Telugu verse). ‘As is the mind, so is the destiny; as is the position, so is the affluence.’ In human life, there are three important aspects, 'doing', body; 'thinking', mind; 'being', Atma. Body desires, mind thinks and atma experiences. You should have broadmindedness. You should never be narrow-minded. When examination results are published, why don't you feel happy that so many have passed the examinations? If in the spirit of a large heart, you look for your result, you will definitely find your number in the newspaper along with those of other candidates. It is but narrow-­mindedness if you look only for your own number unmindful of others. Another example: Suppose you feel happy that in a group photo everyone

has figured nicely. If you then look at your own figure, you will be known to be broadminded. Human life is a combination of three attributes, trigunas. The three work in perfect union as the three wings of a fan. Just as a chutney is made of tamarind, salt and chillies well ground, so also human life has trigunas, well mixed. You also must have known pan, which Indians chew. It has three ingredients, betel leaf, betel nut and lime, of green, brown and white colours respectively. When the ingredients of three different colours are chewed, you get the red colour. Similarly, in human life all the three gunas are intermixed. But spiritually, basically and fundamentally, the core of the human being is sat, 'being', cit, 'awareness' and ananda, 'bliss'. Sat and cit together confer

ananda. An example: Here are two separate things, water and sugar. When you mix the two it is neither sugar nor water, but syrup. So also water is sat, sugar is cit, forming the syrup ananda. The triune trigunas (three attributes) and the basic nature of sat, cit, and ananda mixed with deha, body, manas mind, and buddhi intellect, interacting with pravrtti, the external world, lead to anekatva, that is diversity or multiplicity or plurality. AK: Swami! We hear the words, rajaniti and rajakiyam. Are these, in fact, one and the same? How should we name what we see around us? Bhagavan: Rajaniti and rajakiyam can never be the same. Look at Rajayoga. Among

the yogas, the one most highly revered which stands king-like is given that name. Similarly, the very greatest among moral codes, equal in status to a king among men, is called rajaniti. The king of animals is the lion, you know. Rajaniti is conjoined with Satya, bound by Dharma, and confers all welfare. What you have today are not rajaniti or rajakiyam political strategies, at all, but rajakayyams - battles royal, born of malice, envy, and hatred. All these are kayyams, bitter fights. Therefore, they are rajaki yams. AK: Swami! We have people of varied temperaments, views, ideas, outlooks, ambitions and interests. Conflict becomes inevitable. Each one wants things to happen in their own way. What should we do then? Bhagavan: Munde munde matirbhinna, heads vary. No

two people look alike: no two think in the same way. It is quite natural that ideas differ. Each one feels that he is correct. But you should maintain the spirit of unity, equality and equanimity. A small example: Once upon a time all the five fingers of the palm started claiming superiority over one another. First, the little finger said to the others, "Look! As you do namaskar, I come first. Therefore, I am important". The ring finger then said, "What! Don't you know my value? Costly diamond and gold rings are worn round me!" Then, the middle finger said, "Very funny! What are you talking about? I am ready to wear costly rings. Why not? Some do that way also. Further, don't you see me, who am taller than all of you? Isn't that enough to say that I am superior to all of you?" The forefinger started saying, "If you want to direct anybody, I come first. People show me to direct people. Further, even to warn or

caution others, I come first. Don't you see this?" Then, last but not the least, the thumb smiling said, "I have been watching so long all that is happening! Unless I join, even if the four of you stand united, you cannot function. While eating anything, can you manage without me? Why go to that extent? When you shoot an arrow, I have to pull the string backwards with force. Else, the arrow will never go far. So mine is the highest position among us". This is how we find people staking their claims for superiority over one other. You should always be ready to receive the good from anybody. You should work in cooperation and harmony with one another. No one should feel superior to anyone. Otherwise, because of the domination of one over another, groups, factions, rivalries, controversies and conflicts arise. As a result, the spirit of love totally vanishes from the scene. Unless all the five fingers join, you cannot do anything, you see! Society can never progress if there is no cooperation, integration and unity among its members. (To be continued...) – Heart2Heart Team ------- Tuesday, 6, May: Today is the holy occasion of Eswaramma Day, the death anniversary of the Divine Mother. Read the submitted darshan news from Puttaparthy to SBOI-Group. Om sairam dear Sai family, Our beloved Lord, after a gap of 18years (if Iam right) celebrated Chosen mother Eswaramma Day in His (body's) Home land. The streets leading to Samadhi of His Parents were beautifully decorated on the occasion. Swami had been to Samadhi yesterday

(5th May) twice. This morning He was definitely expected to pay homage to the departed soul. The chosen one, whom Swami loves from the bottom of His heart, on every occasion, like a child, He recollects the fond memories and the quality time He spend with His beloved mother and the kind of personality she was, an ideal one for all the mothers, the role model to all the women. Strict security arrangements were made in the streets leading to samadhi road, even though Swami's street darshan was not new to Puttaparthians, the extra security surprised every one. The Samadhi Road was totally cleared, beautifully decorated with rangolis, flowers on the road and floral decorations in the entrance with huge cutouts of Mother Eswaramma, sweetly smiling at every one. Only the immediate family members were allowed into the samadhi compound. At 8:30 students chanting Vedas entered the premises, followed by bhajan group boys. At 8:55am , a band of Indian musicians entered the samadhi road, followed by swami's family members with flowers and garlands in their hands, and then followed Swami's car. Swami was happy with the way the road was decorated, keenly, ducking a bit, He watched the huge photos of Mother Eswaramma, through His car window. Blessed the small gathering of devotees(which included this body also), who could make it inspite of the security restrictions. .Swami's car then entered the samadhi premises, a red carpet with full of rose petals was laid which led to the Samadhi. Swami's automatic car chair, landed on the red carpet, as the boys chanted Vedas, another group singing Mother Eswaramma Bhajans, and the Musicians playing the divine music. The atmosphere was absolutely divine, personally, I dont remember seeing Eswaramma day in His immediate presence, and I was thrilled to see Swami coming personally to pay homage to His beloved mother. Swami then got closer

to the Samadhi and the family members took over the proceedings. Swami watched every one, and it was a perfect family gathering and Swami had a chance to see (physically) all the grand daughters and grand sons of His brothers and sisters. Swami was in a blissful mood, watching them all, enquiring about their well being and so on After spending a good 30 minutes,Swami asked for arathi. As the arathi was sung, Swami slowly emerged from the Samadhi premises, and all the family members had padanamaskar before He got into His little Toyota Porte. Immediately after Swami left I bowed to Mother Eswaramma's samadhi and after taking prasad went to Sai Kulwanth hall.It was 9:45 by then. Big vessels of Food was brought in the hall. As Eswaramma Day was celebrated in Swami's presence after a long gap, Swami was giving directions to sevadals and other devotees as how to perform the proceedings. The devotees formed lines inside the Kulwanth hall, and after every thing was set

right, Tamarind rice, and sweet rice was served probably meaning, life is a blend of sour and sweet happenings. Swami was seen busy on the stage moving here and there in His car chair. Immediately He sent a word with a devotee, every one should eat stomach full, that was so sweet of Swami, which made me cry. Swami always says, He still sees and speaks to Mother Eswaramma in her physical form and she always gives suggestions to Swami and speaks on behalf of the devotees. I felt probably those words, asking us to eat stomach full, were Mother Eswaramma's words, only a mother wants her children to have a stomach full meal. The divine mother, our Sai Ma, am sure wouldnt have eaten any thing since morning, was giving suggestions to every one that no one should be missed. Sure enough, all the students and seva dals who were serving came back the second time asking if we need more food. It was just a fantastic way to break fast, with bhajans being played on the back ground, as

our loving mother Sai watched each one of us. After sumptuous and lip spanking divine break fast as we all thought its time to get up and then came another devotee asking us to sit down as Swami asked to distribute dhotis to gents and sarees to ladies.. what a surprise Swami!!! What good fortune, you feed us, and also give us clothes dont know in which birth Swami had promised us to feed and give us clothing that it is happening now. Mr.Chakravarthi and other elite members close to Swami came till the last row to see if every one were fed and provided with dhotis..I am sure, Mother Eswaramma, who was verily present in the hall, would be most happiest person on the earth, seeing her beloved child, grow to such an extent, the child who has taken the burden of transforming this Kali-Age on His tender shoulders, that mother who loved her Child, more than her life, now is a house hold name, a hope in every one's life, a mother to every child, a guide to the misled, a teacher to the ignorant, a savior of the poor and down trodden, the Divine Master of this Kali Yuga. This is the way any mother would want her child to be and probably by dedicating a day to Mother, Swami is sending a strong message to all the ignorant children who have forgotten their mothers(many cases after the wife comes into the picture), hopefully, Swami will guide such children and let this Mother child, relationship be as strong as Swami's and as loving as it is with our beloved Lord. It was 10:45am and after every one were happy , Swami signaled for Arathi and retired to His Abode as Mother Eswaramma waited for Him at His Abode to take "Najar"( a ritual performed to take away any bad effects of evil eyes) of Her beloved child who made her dream a reality, bringing smiles in every ones lives What a day it was dear Mother Eswaramma. You are a blessed one and we all are blessed and thank full to you for giving us

such a humble and loving Son as our friend, guide, as our mother.Thank You MaJai Sai Ram.. submitted by SBOI-Group memeber Satish Naik Purity – The Path of The Buddha On May 19, 2008 falls Buddha Poornima – the day celebrating the birth,

enlightenment as well as nirvana of The Buddha. Here is what Bhagavan Baba said on this sacred day more than a decade ago. True wisdom consists in the awareness of the rarity of the individual and the Samashti (collective whole). How can a man who is not aware of his humanness recognize the Divinity

within him? Hence the first requisite is the recognition by everyone of his human essence. Basing on this truth, Buddha declared that everyone should cultivate at the outset Samyak Dhrishti (a pure vision). It is only when a person has pure vision that he/she can get rid of impurities in the body, speech and mind. It is this purity that can protect one from invasion of impurities through the eyes and the ears. Hence the first requirement for every man is Samyak Dhrishti. The second quality that is needed is Samyak Sankalpa (pure thoughts). Only the person who has developed purity in vision can have purity in thoughts. The third requirement for every individual, along with purity in vision and thought, is Samyak Karma (pure deeds). Through pure deeds man is able to recognise his human essence. Man is not merely an embodied being. By his capacity for

developing good vision, entertaining good thoughts and performing good deeds, he has the power to transform humanness into Divinity. A fourth requirement for every individual is Samyak Shruthi (listening to sacred words). When one listens to unsacred words he can have only unsacred thoughts. The fifth quality prescribed by Buddha is Samyak Jeevanam (living a pure life). What is meant by "living"? It is not leading a worldly life attached to worldly pursuits. True living means making one's life meaningful by ideal actions. Man's life must be governed by idealism in action. Real Sadhana is to Remove all Impurities from Mind Next, Buddha declared that everyone should aim at Samyak Sadhana (Achievement of the highest good.). Sadhana means

elimination of the evil tendencies in man and acquiring good and sacred qualities. True sadhana is the eradication of all evil in a man. Study of sacred texts, meditation and penance do not constitute the whole of sadhana (spiritual exercise). To remove all the impurities in the mind is real Sadhana. True Samadhi and Nirvana After this comes what Buddha called – Samya Samaadhi or Nirvana (Pure Realisation or Liberation). What is meant by Samadhi? It means treating pleasure and pain, gain and loss alike. Sama - dhi (equal mindedness) is "Samadhi". To look upon light and darkness, pleasure and pain, profit and loss, fame and censure, with an equal mind is Samadhi. Buddha termed this equal mindedness as Nirvana. It is the recognition of the sacredness of the qualities of all the senses in man that constitutes real humanness. At the very outset, one has to keep the tongue pure. This was referred to as Samyak Vaak (purity in speech). The tongue has to be sanctified by refraining from falsehood, slander and abusive speech… Happiness

is not to be found in any of the things of the world. Everything is fleeting. Man is wasting his life in the pursuit of petty ephemeral pleasures. Nirvaana is the only Truth; it is the sense of oneness with all life. To turn the mind towards that which is permanent is Nirvaana. It is not enough to read the lives of avatars and messiahs. Their teachings should be put into practice as much as possible. People must gradually outgrow their material attachments and develop Divine Love. Shuddhodhana tried to protect his son (Buddha) from all external worldly influences by keeping him in the palace and not even sending him to school. What happened ultimately? Buddha decided to renounce everything in quest of the Truth about human existence and he declared Ahimsa (non-harming) as the supreme good. Three Qualities Essential for Every

Individual What is it that people need today? These are three things: A heart, pure and white, like the moon; speech that is soft and sweet like butter; and a face that is loving and kind. These are lacking in the world today. The entire atmosphere is frightening. There is harshness in speech. The heart should be pure and soft like butter. Today, on the contrary, people are hardhearted. Fill your hearts with compassion. Let your speech be sweet and truthful. You will then be truly human. We are celebrating today Buddha Poornima or Buddha Jayanthi. What does Poornima (full moon) signify? It signifies wholeness. When the mind is filled with love, it achieves fullness. As long as the mind is filled with darkness (evil thoughts) there is no meaning in celebrating Buddha Poornima. Get rid of this darkness. Without the light of love

in the heart, what use is there in having illuminations outside? Light the lamp of the Divine in your minds. Banish hatred and envy from your hearts. Man is the victim of two evil planets: attachment and hatred. To escape from their grip, the only way is to cultivate love. - Divine Discourse in Sai Ramesh Hall, Brindavan, on May 15, 1997. FROM PUTTAPARTHI...SWAMI KARUNYANANDA WITH BABA ... ---------------- Swami Karunyananda (1894 – 1997) In 1936, Swami Karunyananda had seen Sathyanarayana Raju being taken in a procession with traditional accopaniments of Nadaswaram, music, etc, as a Divine Child. It would be 40 years later that Swami Karunyananda would settle down in Puttaparthi!!! He says, "There is Sakthi in the feet of Swami.There is power in the glances of Swami. His body is not like ours, it is a Chinmaya Sareeram (divine energy form).Ours is a body made up of dust, which dissolves finally, into the primordial elements of Earth, Water, Fire,Air, and Ether. He is not limited

to one form. He is the form of all deities worshipped by religions. He is the very embodiment of Chaitanya (energy, force). He is the embodiment of all Gods. We cannot probe into Him." In 1958, Sai Baba visited Rajahmundry. Malayala Swamy and Karunyananda had the darshan of Bhagavan. Bhagavan called him by the name "Karunyananda," and spoke to him as if he knew him very intimately. Karunyananda turned and bowed down to Bhagavan. It was night time, about 8:00 p.m. Bhagavan said, "Will you come to Kakinada? We will go together."He replied, "As you please,

Swami."Karunyananda went to Kakinada with Bhagavan and during the car journey Bhagavan recounted his entire past history. He gave very intimate details of his conduct when he was young. Bhagavan was born in 1926. He was not even born yet when Kuranyananda was young, but all the same, He gave all the biographical details correctly.Karunyananda started visiting Puttaparthi often, especially for the important celebrations. Dassera is celebrated as a great event in Puttaparti. Those days Baba used to shower vibhuti from an empty pot on the idol of Shirdi Sai Baba in front of thousands of devotees in Poornachandra auditorium. Gold remains gold wherever it is thrown. One day Swami asked me, "Karunyananda, from the beginning I have always been simple, have I not?"Swami was then wearing a torn dhoti that day. I did not like this. So, I asked Him, "Swami, why do you wear a torn dhoti when you have so many good dhotis?" I tried to prevail on Swami for removing the torn dhoti. Once when I was returning from Kakinada in 1956 Bhagavan said,"Karunyananda, you are clapping in union seated before me now. A time will come when you can see me only from a distance." He told me

again in 1970, "You are able to sit and see Bhagavan now. A time will come when you have to see Swami from a hill only." On His 60th birthday in 1985, many devotees could only see Him from the hill!!!BABA said in his Divine Discourse on Dassera, 08 October 1997,"You may all know what happened today. Karunyananda had been with Swami for forty years. He was a centenarian. Today his body merged in the five elements. For the passing of any person the time, the place and the circumstances have to come together. Here in this hall the recitation of the Vedas is going on. The Jnana Yajna is being performed. He was listening to all these sacred

things. He went to sleep at night and passed away in his sleep." He came to me a week ago & said, "I only want to merge in your Lotus Feet. There is no purpose in my continuing. What more is there for me to enjoy in life? I have experienced everything. I have stayed and moved with Swami for 40 years. Staying with me, he passed away with a sense of fulfillment."(4 pictures attached) Photos: Scan and Save to Computer 709.jpg (45k) [View] Scan and Save to Computer karunyananda_kashmir.jpg (82k) [View] Scan and Save to Computer karunyananda_sairam.jpg (70k) [View] FROM PUTTAPARTHI...ARCHITECT OF SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITAL ...

============================================================= Plane Hijacking An experience of Dr. Michael Goldsteincurrently the president of US

Sathya Sai Organization. "Dr. Goldstein is a very old devotee of Bhagawan and keeps going to Parthi very frequently. Once, after a long stay at Parthi he went to Swami and said "Swami tommorrow I am going back to USA." Swami looked at him and walked away. The puzzled doctor was embarassed and sat back. This treatment he had never got before. He was expecting an interview or some

guidance from Bhagawan before leaving Parthi. Well, the day passed peacefully for many but certainly not for Dr. Goldstein. He was pondering over his misfortune and went through a sleepless night. The next morning he went and sat in the front rows of visitors in Darshan lines. Swami came near to him, stood right in front of Dr. Goldstein and stared at him. The confused doctor could

not utter a single word and mustered all his senses to pronounce his eagerness to go back. Swami mischievously smiled and said "This would be your last darshan. " This triggered shock waves in the old devotee who immediately fell at Sai's feet and pleaded "No I want many more darshans. I want to go and keep coming I can not bare your separation." The passionate Lord gave away. He smiled and patted the doc and said "Manchidi Kshemanga vellira (Good go and come safely) I am always with you." Saying that He walked away. The doctor boarded the flight ruminating on

Bhagawan's last words with him. During the course of his journey he was awakened into reality when he heard the announcement that the plane was hijacked and moving to Pakistan for fueling. This announcement sent tremors in the passengers and suddenly the plane went into panic. Some people started crying. Some people started shouting at the hijackers. Some started reciting the Gita and what not. Everyone was deeply disturbed. Meanwhile, a hijacker came forward and started collecting the passports from all the passengers as they wanted to segregate Jews from the rest. They came to the doc and collected his Jewish

passport.During the course of time the plane landed in a PAK airport after an initial refusal by the PAK air trafic authorities. The authorities did not want to get a hijacked Indian plane into their airport for the fear of adverse propaganda from the media and its effect on its diplomatic relations with India. Well, within the plane the scenario was different. The hijackers listed their demands and threatened to kill the passengers one after the other if their demands were not met. On one side PAK authorities started negotiating with the hijackers and the other side they wanted to attack the flight to rescue the passengers. The black commandos surrounded the flight and started climbing the flight. Sensing trouble outside, the hijackers opened firing in point blank range. The doc is hefty and well built. Apart from this credential he was also in the first row to be an easy target. But after a series of gunfiring he saw some outside light peeping through the opened door. One of the black commandos managed to reach the door and opened it. Dr. Goldstein took this opportunity to jump through the door only to realize that the floor or tarmac was about 20 to 25 feet below. Now he could not go back as he was already around half way through the air. The doc landed with a thud and ran to safety. After the

formalities were over he collected his passport and boarded the return flight.He went straight came back to Parthi. Swami greeted him in the varanda itsef "EMI bangaru vachhesava" (you returned so soon my son)".Source: saisruthi/message/21 ----------------- MOTHERS DAY CELEBRATIONS IN ISS HALL KOBE celebrateISS hall on Mothers Easwaramma day and more that 100 Japanese and Indians were thrilled to see Drama by BalBal-Children's Kobe Center. Celebrated Four hours program were trilling to VEDA Chanting by Bal-vikas... Drama, Bhajans, Speeches and Japanese Drama by youth of Kyoto, Osaka and Nara and Kobe. Later Swami's Darshans video so inspiring and that everyone was filled with Swami's love and His moving among devotees. We too thought were in His divine present and forgot the putside world.. SPEECH BY PRITIKA DASWANEY...8 YEARS OLD AND STUDENT OF BAL-VIKAS IN KOBE CENTER ON EASHWARAMA DAY 4.5.2008 OM SHRI SAI RAM My humble pranams at the lotus feet of Satya Sai Baba. I am Pritika Daswaney, 8yrs old and a student of Kobe BalVikas. Today is a special day, as it is “Eashwarama day”. Eashwarama was Baba”s mother. Today I am going to talk

about my mother. Mother or Ma or as they say in Sankrit, Matre, My mother is the most important person in my life.The problem is, I cannot really express how I feel about her in just words.My mother is not my whole life,but she is a really big part of

it.My whole world does not only revolve around her, but she is the most influential person who inspires me.My mother is not just another woman. She is extraordinary. How blessed am I to have been born to such a wonderful mother.Everything I am, I owe it to her.Everyday her strength and wisdom guides me. Her zest for life inspires me.I am proud to be her daughter and could not ask for more in a mother. A mother is important in one’s life.Even God needs a mother.That is why , when God takes birth on this earth as an Avtaar,he too has a mother. I love my mother a lot even though at times when I am naughty she scolds me, At that moment I get very upset,however, I know it was for my good as she loves me too. Last month when I was ill, she stayed up with me all night nursing me. “Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children”. “Mothers are the ones on whom you can totally depend, they are ones whom you can call your true life long friend. I feel so secure when I am with my mother. “Mothers are people who help without being asked, Give without expecting anything in return and love without end.” We only have one mom, one mommy, one mother in this world, one life. Don’t wait for tomorrow to tell mom you love her. Thankyou for everything

Mommy. “I love you”. OM SAI RAM ................................................................................................................................... Speech By Dr. Anbumozhi in Kobe Center on EASWARAMMA day . "The Sacrifice of a Mother" . THE ASSURANCES OF THE SATGURU BHAGWAN SHRI SATHYA SAI BABA -------------------------------- Sai Ram. Bhgawan says Prema (love) does not descend from somewhere. It emerges from the heart of people. The love assumes different forms in keeping with the relationship between two individuals , mother and child¡¡or husband and wife or between two friends. But basically the love between the mother and child is very special. Quoting divine parents Eswarmma and Venkamarju, Swami said in his discource on 6th March 2008, there's no love like a mother's love. It is unconditional and involves sacrifices. Today, I wish to speak of Mother¡¯s

sacrifice. Brothers and sisters; Boys and girls, many of you know me and my family. Bhagawan brought us to Kobe, a little more than three years ago and since then our children Adhityan and Athavan are attending the Balvikas classes. Thanks to the sister Bhavanas for their guidance and care. Not to say more about my wife Gomathi, who embodies all the beautiful virtues of a mother - love and sacrifice. She is a trained teacher in Salem,

Tamilandu in India ¨C our home town. But her compassion and qualities, the greatest one of all self-sacrifice made her special¡¡to our family. This aspect of a mother's love, the willingness to

surrender her time, her career, her personal dreams, her extended family for the sake of her children, is what makes her unconditional love so phenomenal. She was such a hard worker who had to wake up first in our family of four, manage to accomplish all extraordinary things that standout as key events in the day. She allows the children to experience a different but enhanced environment; she could not have by sacrificing her own dreams, time and energy to build a better foundation for them. We experience a better daily life because of her hard work and sacrifices. The mothers who, above all, never gave up on their children. All I am, I owe to my mother. She's the best woman I have found in the world. Her

sacrifice, spirituality, and strength is what guided me through my childhood¡¡ and even now. She never reserved anything for her. He was also a teacher in our home

town Salem in Tamilnadu. It was my mother who made certain that myself and my elder brother did not miss any thing ¨C good toys, enjoyable books, special clothes and quality education in boarding schools no matter how expensive they were. To meet the both ends she did double jobs continuously for ten years, rather than accepting a job promotion that would have caused relocation of family. While taking good care of us, she gave all of herself, and private time. I could never fully appreciate the love and sacrifice of my own mother until I had my own children. Now I call my mother often for advice and support. I realize that who I am today is due to the sacrificial works of my mother. The greatest sacrifice were

always made by mothers. A father's job begins from the morning and ends at night. But a mother's sacrifices are endless. My father used to tell about his mothers¡¯ unconditional love¡¡and sacrifices. When his mother was a little girl, she was poor and lived inside her fantasies and dreams of studying in a board high school. But she could not. When my father was a young boy she wanted to make sure he became ¡®college educated' and exposed to many people and cultures because she never had that opportunity. When my father was 20s she sold her¡¡personal jewellery one by one and went without many gifted things for herself so that my father could go to a college in Madras. Latter my father won four degrees became a state awarded teacher, celebrated administrator now a well-rounded person ¨C running a silver home for elderly people in our home town. Its all made possible due to the initial scarifies of my grandmother. He was here in Kobe Sai Centre in summer 2005. What I admire the most these three mothers ¨C my wife, my mother and my grandmother is the joy and satisfaction with which they shares about their role of being mothers. They do not share resentfully about all the sacrifices that they made. They shares with joy that they were born to be a mother and have enjoyed that role more than any other. It is an inspiring example for unconditional love. That is why Vedas says Matru Devo Bhava (Mother is God). Even in animals, this unconditional love and sacrifice of a mother and its child exists. The love between a mother cow and a calf symbolizes the affectional sacrifice. Mother hen in spite of being small and weak fights with the mighty and the strong to protect its chicks, which symbolizes a sense of sacrifice for protection. And the mother crab sacrifices its life in order to enable its baby crab to come out of her shell, which signifies a sense of dutiful sacrifice. In human beings, giving birth to a child is a sacrificial of flesh and blood, some times life of a mother; an evolutionary happening, nothing more than a rebirth for a lady. Fathers do not undergo such a transformative sacrifices. Boys and girls, the word "mother " in my view is the most beautiful, sweetest and soothing word¡¡in the dictionary. She is the most beautiful lady with the most beautiful heart on this planet earth. There are many people whose success is due to sacrifices of their mother. For many of you, she is the producer, director and the screenplay writer ¨C sacrificing her time. For some¡¡of you, she is everything-the architect of your better future, with no expectation. Perhaps hardly there would be any mother who does not wish the good for her children. She always wants "the best" in the world for you, at any cost. A mother would always want her children to grow and flourish at her sacrifice. She is the guiding force who shows a sense of direction to her children with unconditional love. A mother is a "mother" and no one can match her. Her sacrifices are

incomparable, and undefeatable. Brothers and sisters, we all know how our mothers form a vital link to other family members, even in their old ages and sacrifice whatever they have to solve the sensitive family problems. Smiling through their tears our mothers comforts us with their special touch when misfortune strikes our family. Also without flaring up, they deal with our insults and rebukes with a mature restraint ¨C again near end of life sacrifice. Their love is always unique rare and unconditional. I truly believe in the proverb "God can¡¡be everywhere, so he made mothers'.¡¡ A mother is the most wonderful creation of God. She is a precious and invaluable gift of God to us. She is warm and protecting, soothing and comforting, caring and considerate, tender and sensitive but does all without any expectation. Thus, a mother is an embodiment of abundant tolerance, unconditional love and sacrifice. . Sai Ram -================================================================= Scan and Save to Computer karunyananda_young.jpg (62k) [View] WHO IS WEALTHY? A saint was living happily in beautiful countryside, unmindful of the world and its cares. He used to sit and pray to God, and contemplate on the joy of his inner Atma. Nearby birds were chirping sweetly and a stream was softly gurgling. He was lost in his own inner joy. One day, a wealthy merchant happened to pass by the saint’s home and observed the saint's devotion

and sincerity. He felt deeply moved to see such a person divorced from all concerns and of such peaceful demeanour. He plucked up courage and approached the saint and offered his respect. The saint smiled at him and asked after his welfare. After exchanging pleasantries the merchant wished to take leave, but before doing so he offered the saint a bag of gold. "I know that you will use the money for the good of others. Please take it." The saint realized that this was an opportunity to teach this man a lesson. "Just a moment." The saint replied. "I am not sure it is right for me to take your money. Are you a

wealthy man? Do you have more money at home?” "Oh yes. I have at least one thousand more gold pieces at home," the merchant said proudly. Feigning interest, the saint asked "Do you want a thousand gold pieces more?” "Why not, of course! Every day I work hard to earn more money." the merchant said. "And do you wish for yet another thousand gold pieces more after that?" the saint continued. "Yes. Everyday I pray that I may earn more and more money" the merchant replied.

The saint’s expression became grave and he pushed the bag of gold back to the merchant. "In that case, I am sorry, but I cannot take your gold. A wealthy man cannot take money from a beggar." "How can you call yourself a wealthy man and me a beggar?" the puzzled merchant exclaimed, looking at the simple hut in which the saint was living. The saint replied, "I am a wealthy man because I am content with whatever God sends me. You are a beggar, because no

matter how much you possess, you are always dissatisfied, and always begging God for more." Thereafter, the saint closed all further conversation and kept quiet. The merchant left, feeling somewhat rebuffed and hurt. But as he pondered on the saint’s words for sometime he realized the wisdom behind them. He found himself contemplating on his obsession with money and how the saint was obviously basing his happiness beyond worldly means. Humbled, he realized that God must be the bestower of real joy and not money. Let us remember what Bhagavan says, “He who is filled with desires is the poorest man in the world.” Illustrations: Arunab Jyoti Das, SSSHSS. - Heart2Heart Team =================================================================== KOBE CENTERS PROGRAMS Kobe Center Place : l.S.S. 2nd Fl. 1-3, Kumochi 5-chome, Chuo-ku, Kobe (Tel: 078-222-1885) Home Page MAP Bhajans Bhajan Practice Study Circle every Sun 4:00-5:00pmevery Thur 7:30-830pm 1st,5th Sun 2:00-3:40pm 2nd Sun 2:00-3:20pm3rd,4th Sun 2:30-3:40pm every Thur 7:00-7:20pm 2nd Sun 5:30-6:30pm (English)4th Sun 5:30-6:30 (Japanese) 2nd Sun 3:40-3:55 (Gayatri Chanting) Ladies Programme 3rd,5th Sun 5:30-6:30pm Youth Programme 3rd Sun 0:30-2:20pm 2nd Sun in odd months 5:30-6:15pm(Study Circle)1st Sun in even months 0:30-1:50 Seva Aisei-en (Orphanage home): 3rd Sun 9:30-11:30amNarayana Seva: 2nd,4th Sun 10:00-11:30am, 1st, 3rd Thur 9:00-10:00pm Veda Club Veda clup is held on every 4th Sunday after Bhajans. Study Circle in (Japanese) is held on every 2nd Sunday on 1st fl. Subscribe/Un information: (Free copy) To , please send your request to rgcjp To , please type “REMOVE” on the

subject line and send to rgcjp ----------------------- SAI CENTERS: KOBE, YOKOHAMA, OSAKA, SAPPORE,HAMAMATSU OKINAWA, CHIBA, NAGOYA, TOKYO & KYOTO.' SAI BHAJAN GROUPS.: OBIHIRO, SAITAMA, SHIZUOKA, KITAKYUSHU, MORIOKA TAMA, NARA, FUKUOKA, TOHOKU, NAGANO, IWAKUNI, HIROSHIMA, KAGOSHIMA, GUNMA, KANAZAWA, KAGAWA. Note: Sometimes schedules is subject to change. Please contact respective centers and groups for

information. ..................................................................................................... In side This issue... Ram ChuganiKobe, Japanrgcjp