Fw: A REBEL FINALLY FINDS HER TRUE CAUSE...JANET PART-2

November 27, 2008

A Rebel Finally Finds Her True Cause

Indira Devi’s presentation on Bhagavan Baba and His message bore a powerful impact on Janet. She explains “The reading that I had done prior to this experience, set the stage so that the presence of Swami seemed a natural out-growth of what I had learnt from the Vedanta.” Against this background, when Janet took recourse in such books as Arthur Osborne’s The Incredible Sai Baba and delved into the teachings of Shirdi Sai, and then got the book Sathyam, Shivam, Sundaram, Part1 about Sri Sathya Sai Baba from India, in her own words, “It is hard to describe how powerful something like this can be when you are living in an environment that is saturated with violence that is not always acted out but is internal and emotional and everybody is arguing with everybody else.

Divine hand led Janet to Sai's lovethrough His literature

“That was the beginning of my experience with Swami and I would say it was the salvation of my life, turning me in a new direction; moving me away from that rebelliousness and revolutionary feeling that was so prevalent!”

Suddenly, in Bhagavan Baba’s message of love, forgiveness, compassion and understanding, Janet saw the ultimate redemption of humanity, which she has so closely watched at war with itself. She was soon to receive an experiential lesson in the power of love to overcome all obstacles, including attachment. Love Bestows Freedom from Attachment

Janet Bicker, instrumental in recording early Sai glory on camera for posterity

By now, Janet hoped to one day visit Bhagavan Baba in India. That’s when her house was broken into and a lot of her valuables stolen. A friend put even that unpleasant experience into perspective for Janet. “A wise friend said later: ‘You know, it is the vibration of the attachment that we put on objects, that draws somebody else who has vibrations of attachment.’ So, what I am attached to actually attracts somebody who wants it by my feelings of attachment. So, of course, all the things that I had really loved, my guitar, camera, audio equipment that I had bought and brought home from Germany – all of these things were gone. "But, there is this nice little feature of the tax system. If you had a robbery, and if you can corroborate with receipts and things, you can then deduct it from your taxes. So, I did that, and by the next year, the money came back, and it was enough for a ticket to India!” she recalled jubilantly. The rest of course is history, as shortly after responding to His love, Janet Bicker played a key role in recording on video and photographs, the early years of Bhagavan Baba’s glory, creating a veritable treasure trove of divine memories for posterity. Love: the Ultimate Unifier

Be it Janet Bicker, an American of Christian upbringing, growing up in the troubled 1960’s in the United States, or an asthmatic child from a Hindu background in Kampala, Uganda, or a Muslim family from Iran that is now more devout in their faith than ever before, or a Buddhist from Singapore who brings not just his body or mind to his job as a commercial airline pilot, but also his loving soul - what drew each of them and millions of others to Sathya Sai Baba was this call of Love. Every person who has known Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has a personalized and unique account of how they were drawn to Him. Interesting and inspiring, these experiences are only the tip of the much larger iceberg, as the real journey of inner transformation begins only after devotees take the leap of faith and accept Him as their life coach and role model. This entails a firm resolve to live their lives in synchronicity with His teachings, based purely on the doctrine of unconditional and non-judgmental love towards all, including those who disagree with them! Once accepted in His school of inner transformation, the Universal Divine Teacher that is Bhagavan Baba, picks a course suited for the person’s growth, and only once each level of challenge is cleared, often through some tough exams He poses, does the devotee move up their growth curve. The process is intense. Sufi mystic Jalal ad-Din Rumi explains,

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

Once beckoned by a Master of Supreme Wisdom, what begins is a journey of the soul towards the final frontier – its self-fulfillment. The effect of love on individual lives is literally “life transforming” in every sense of the expression. Once drawn to Sai’s circle of Love, how do the changes that are wrought from within lead to changes in personality, perspective, priorities and panache in life of the individuals involved? Does everyone experience it? Is the transformation universal across the board? How does one cope with moments of ecstasy involved, often followed by pangs of severe agony? Part Two of this cover story addresses some of these issues. Do join us in the search for the real-life impact of the “L” factor in the lives of those who have dared to embrace it.