GURU POORNIMA MESSAGE

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GURU POORNIMA MESSAGE

 

(by His Highness Pujyasri B.V. Narasimha Swamiji for Guru Poornima on

10th July 1950)

 

All Full Moon Days (Poonima) are sacred and kept apart for the

worship of the Guru. Among these, Ashada Poonima is specially

considered sacred and is termed Vyasapoornima or Guru Poonima. Vyasa

is the author or compiler of Vedas, the puranas, the Mahabharatha

including the Bhagawad Gita, is looked upon as the Guru of all the

Gurus, the primary guru. And as that day is roughly the commencement

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

of all subsequent gurus including the immediate guru of each

worshipper (Asmadacharya). The acharya finds this season of rain and

storm a troublesome period for travel and requests the inhabitants of

some locality to permit him to stay in their midst for a period of

two or four months. They extend the hospitality to him for that

period and derive all the benefits of satsang and especially the

benefit of personal contact with the guru and personal instruction on

all momentous matters relating to the soul including Pooja, yoga,

ethics, psychology, philosophy, etc.,

 

Every Sai devotee is expected to be in contact with Sai and other

gurus, if any, from that day onwards at least for a period of two or

four months. Sai must be recognised as the Dharma marga Guru or

moksha guru. He helps in building up the devotee's soul into fitness

for the higher life, Sadhanas that ought to have been undertaken

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

up during his period of training. Life's seriousness ought to be

faced and energetic measures should be taken by each devotee to get

the best he can out of Sri Sai Baba. That best does not consist

merely in wealth, health, issue and success, but also in things of

the highest moment. The real welfare of the devotee is attained by

bhakti, atmajnana, yoganishta, etc. Every one should devote a

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

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

himself any rise in his spiritual level, one must suspect that

something has gone wrong with the sadhaka. Nothing goes wrong with

Sai. He is always there showering his benign blessings upon the

ardent devotee who approaches him in the right manner.

 

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

Poornima period does not pass away without appreciable fruit being

gathered therefrom.

 

Since the last message was delivered, 12 months have elapsed, and it

behoves every serious devotee to take stock of the situation. Are we

in any way nearer to our goals since then, and have we taken any

definite steps, and, if so, with what degree of success? Some people

think that only the approach of death to the physical organism should

be the reason for a serious consideration of their lives and foe

strenuous attempts to achieve their goals therein; that is, in the

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

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

death is not threatening only the old, but other people also have

this Damocles sword hanging over their heads every minute of their

lives.

 

Ahani Ahani Bhutani,

Gachchanti Eva Yamalayam,

Sceshaha Sthavaram Ichchanti,

Kim Asccharyam Atah Param.

 

This means, "Day after day creatures (on Earth) are moving quickly to

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

they have achieved) deathlessness; What greater wonder is there?" The

fact is that a certain amount of callousness towards grave issues of

life exists in the temper of the ardent man—a callousness which,

whatever may be its utility in carrying on the daily tasks of the

work-a-day world – acts as a definite obstacle to religious progress.

It is the characteristic of satwic or higher rajasic natures to pull

themselves up from the frequent tendency to callousness and take a

realistic view of live with its dangers and possibilities, and of all

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

are expected to adopt a noble attitude and not allow ourselves to

sink into the mire of listlessness or, still worse, active pursuit of

worldly ends to the extent of drowning the still, small voice within

us. If we just pause for a moment and find out what makes some people

callous while others are more awake to their spiritual position and

the need for spiritual progress, we shall find that their causes are

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

worldly listlessness into something higher) are mainly the effects of

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

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

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

instilled into the child and the growing youth by the nature and the

practice of the elders at home and of others outside the home. But

today of all those influences, let us pause to consider one supreme

item – that is, the influence of the Guru. All holy ones impress us

but amongst them, there is someone whom each serious sadhaka, sooner

or later, selects or gets attached to. `The Guru is got by

Rinanubandha,' says Sai Baba. A Guru who has been helping one in

former janmas does not desert one in the present janma. Sai Baba told

several ardent devotees of his that they were his devotees or fellow-

devotees with him in former births, and that he, therefore, had

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

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

Samartha Sadguru Sai Natha very probably by previous Rinanubhanda.

Whatever may the cause of their coming into contact with Sai at first

in this life, they are now in for good in Sai's flock. for purposes

of worldly benefit, to escape without harm, as also for purposes of

spiritual safety and spiritual progress, they have Sai for their

sheet anchor, and they cannot do better than make the fullest use of

every opportunity they have now to get into intimate contact with him

for the greatest portion of time available to them with the greatest

zest and effort. A half-hearted approach is a terrible waste of time

and energy. A real burning zeal to benefit by his contact results in

perceptible improvement in one's temporal and spiritual condition. It

can mould one quickly into a higher being with capacities and

achievements that are of the utmost importance in the achievement of

one's goal. Shri Sai Himself condemned half-hearted approaches to

spiritual success. He blamed people for not undertaking vigorously

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

those contacting him frequently to make perceptible progress in their

condition. People like Nana Saheb Chandorkar; H.S. Dixit, Uddhava

Bua, Mankar and numerous others made remarkable strides in their

condition by reason of their zealously contacting Baba, To each one

of you today who will pluck up the necessary courage and earnestness,

the same or even greater facilities and inspiration will be extended

by Shri Sai Baba. Sri Sai is not gone, as he vouchsafed to some

devotees. (You have only to think of Sri Sai – and whatever you are

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

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

that the position of the right carries with it also a duty. When you

have the right and the opportunity to climb up with Sai's help, you

owe it to yourself and owe it to God to make the utmost of your

opportunity and to elevate yourself to the fullest height of your

stature with that help. The means which Sai may open to each one are

very varied. Each one adopting already some particular sadhanas must

work along lines already started and on those that may be revealed

later on. We have to grip Sai most strenuously and absorb the Sai's

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

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

religions (beginning with Totemism) to take in physical things

emblematic of the Guru. Just as Jesus gave his flesh and body to be

taken in at the great sacrament in the form of wine and bread, Sai is

offering His spiritual nature to be absorbed by every one of His

devotees. The Guru Poornima, of all days, is the very best for

absorbing Sai into ourselves. If only you carefully, faithfully and

zealously perform the prescribed ceremonies which competent

upadhayayas can furnish to those willing to approaching them for the

same, you are sure to absorb the Sai'' spirit by the ceremonial gone

through. This Guru pooja is what is done all over the country by

every sishya to the Guru from whom he has derived his initiation or

starting of the religious life. Sai is not a mere miracle monger and

not a mere purvey or of temporal benefits, though it is for the

temporal blessings that He showers, innumerable people are flocking

to His mandhirs. Baba described these as persons drawn by Him through

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

resulting contact might continue for both temporal and spiritual

welfare alike. May I beseech every devotee to either perform the Guru

pooja or at least attend a Guru pooja performed in the amplest and

best manner known to us or to the sastras? In the case of devotees

who have no such facilities, and equivalent may be suggested. Let

such devotee spend the entire Guru Poornima day or as much of it as

possible in Sai thought alone. Let them be Sai minded in their

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

them repeat the Sai name. Let them do Sai Pooja and Sai Bhajans. Let

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

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

if they are able, let them lose themselves in the contemplation of

their brilliance of the Sai concept. Let them feel the glow of Sai in

their hearts by this and numerous other means. For instance humming

songs about Sai will be an excellent device. Repeating Sai Slokams or

Sai Nama will be other easy means. Attending Sai Mandhirs and bhajans

will be perhaps the easiest for them, and, if persons can combine

these and say, for instance, observe fast or a partial fast, full or

partial vigil for the night and keep on attending to bhajanas,

keertans, etc., the Guru Poornima Day would have been very well

spent, and its effort in starting a New Year for the devotee, fully

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

year may be spent in increased contact with Sai, carried out by

increase in the number of stanzas. One recites and in the increased

time spent with pleasure and zest on each act of devotion,

meditation, etc., directed towards Sai. Above all, if one makes a

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

Sai, he can leave the carrying out of his program of Sai's hands

with, however, the determination that he (the devotee) uses every

clue given by Sai for ensuring his spiritual safety and progress.

 

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

your Guru Pooja Day on this 18th July 1951, and may He bless your

efforts to develop this Sai Guru bhakti throughout the year !!! O'

Vyasa, O' Sai, O' Spirit Supreme, that guides and guards our

spiritual endeavours, has the womb of Earth become barren now that

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

of the earth, that none has ambition and capacity to study and

assimilate all that is best in literature, art, science, philosophy

and religion, so as to evolve new formulate and truth and live the

realised life based thereon? May at least a few of those whom this

closing prayer and call may reach, give it a hearty response !!!.