RESTORATION OF DHARMA - SAI’S CHALLENGE TO WOMEN - By Connie Shaw

[Guest guest]

RESTORATION OF DHARMA - SAI’S CHALLENGE TO WOMEN

By Connie Shaw

"When women are true and brave, kind and compassionate, virtuous and pious, the

world can have an era of peace and joy."1

Baba Takes Us As We Are

On a hot summer night two years ago, five women from our newly-founded Northern

Colorado Sai Baba Group were standing in the dining room after the meeting. We

were sipping tea and discussing the dress code for meetings and our new group

mission statement-in-progress. "Even though we don’t value modesty in our

culture as we used to," I said, "Baba says that it’s vitally important in the

home, workplace and society. In fact, He says, ‘Modesty and devotion to God are

real ‘jewels’ for women to wear.’" 2

One-by-one, as they had disbursed, the other members had thanked me for the

hospitality and for organizing the new Sai group. I just laughed and reminded

them that Baba had directed the new group formation, as He always does, and

that my only job was to solicit group input for our mission statement and to

recruit volunteer leaders for the necessary tasks and committees.

Since most of the members had families and work responsibilities, we all agreed

to keep the Sai Center process very simple, with each person being accountable

for two simple jobs or committees, such as: Service Projects; Education,

programs and speaker-contact; Devotion and music; greeting; refreshment

preparation and clean-up; Study Circle leadership; altar and meeting room

set-up; building maintenance; parking; special events. Since most of the

committed members had no young children, there was no need for children’s

education.

"Frankly, I’m overwhelmed!" moaned Sally, one of our newest members." It seems

that we women have a much harder job as Sai devotees than the men do. In

addition to our jobs, we have to educate our children, cook, grocery shop, care

for aging parents, do housework, organize the family social life, pay the bills,

do the correspondence, maintain the garden and the car and go to Sai meetings

and service projects. We never have any time for ourselves and now you’re

hinting that Baba wants us to change our lifestyles, too. How can we ever

accomplish all of this?!" Sally was obviously upheaved at the thought of

regular committed attendance at our Sai meetings and an eventual life-style

change.

"Does Sai Baba expect us to just stay at home and meditate all the time?" Jane

asked facetiously. "What does He say about women in the workplace, or in

national leadership?"

"No, He’s very practical and gives women the highest honor and says that a

country’s greatness depends upon the individual greatness of its women. In

fact, He just gave a Divine Discourse in Kodaikanal, India, two months ago

where He mentioned women prime ministers, in particular. He said, ‘Up until

recently, in the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister was a woman. Indira Gandhi

was the Prime Minister for 12 years. In Ceylon too the Prime Minister and

President were women (mother and her daughter). Today wherever you see all male

Prime Ministers in position, there are only problems and troubles. If a man

completes five years of his term as a Prime Minister, it can be taken as a

surprise. Yet Indira Gandhi could complete more than ten years as Prime

Minister. A woman has that type of courage to protect the country.

‘In devotion, woman first enters the spiritual path and then slowly, the man. In

the spiritual path also, the woman is ahead. Man may have wisdom but the

devotion is prominent in women. Without devotion one is nowhere.’" 3 And He

doesn’t expect instantaneous change.

Individual Reformation - Unavoidable

Since this is the heartland of America - ranchland and cattle country - and the

devotees are mostly new to Baba, my husband and I had our work cut out for us.

However simple we might keep our meetings, there was still much for our members

to consider now that they had fallen in love with Baba.

After California, Colorado has one of the next largest metaphysical

constituencies in the U.S. So it isn’t at all surprising that most of our

members have come from alternative healing backgrounds in Reiki, Therapeutic

Touch, massage therapy, hypnotherapy, color and sound healing, counseling and

alternative helping professions. They have also studied A Course in Miracles,

Ramana Maharshi, Joel Goldsmith, The Work by Byron Katie. They call themselves

refugees from Christian fundamentalism and later, confused mystics from

metaphysics. They lean toward Adwaita or the Path of Knowledge and Wisdom.

They’re independent. My objective is to maintain

harmonized diversity and to inspire them to be self-motivated in wanting to do

service. Immediately, they wanted to know:

* How soon they could plan to go to India and how they would survive the rigors

of Asia, having seldom left the U.S., if at all, except on sheltered tours with

luxury accommodations.

* Whether to affiliate with the American Sai Organization or wait a bit until

they understood Baba’s teachings and the expected lifestyle better.

* How to learn to pronounce and to sing the many Hindi and Sanskrit words used by devotees.

* Where to set up a home meditation alcove or prayer room for daily prayer, singing and meditation.

* How to break the news gently to family and friends that they were now Sai

devotees and that they had not, in fact, lost their minds and joined a cult.

("The Sai movement is too vast

to be a cult; it stresses love, equality for all people, and includes all faiths

- and God Himself is directing it, " they would explain to bewildered friends

and family.)

* How to break habits of smoking, drinking beer, swearing, watching lots of TV

and movies and eventually changing to a vegetarian diet.

* How to find time for meetings and service along with everything else they were juggling.

* How to be willing to practice Ceiling on Desires.

My heart went out to them as I had experienced many of the same concerns when I

consciously entered the Sai fold nearly twenty years ago.

We Need a Plan to Reach the Goal

"Stop! It’s not nearly as bad as it sounds," I laughed, trying to help our

friends get a sense of perspective about Baba and His many talks about women

Sai devotees. "His teachings stress the incomparable opportunity which lies

before women now that we’re on the brink of the Golden Age", I began.

"Does He say that things are going to get better for women?" asked.

"Yes. First, you need to realize that Baba’s first college was for women, in

Anantapur, India. Next, it’s helpful to realize that Baba is very strict with

women Sai devotees because so much is depending upon them, both now and for the

future."

"Does that mean He’s a chauvinist?" Bonnie asked.

"No, He’s God, first of all. He says, "Respect for women is a sign of real

culture."4 Secondly, we have a very twisted idea of womanhood in our culture

because women have been terribly exploited by the media and made to feel

inadequate and insecure in order to sell products to them. It’s the ‘more is

never enough syndrome.’ That’s where the Ceiling on Desires Program is helpful.

But that’s a bit off the subject. This is all much more simple than you’re

making it. Baba urges us to put God first, family second and work third. When

we do that, everything falls into place."

"Well what about this spiritual mission statement we decided to work on as a

group baseline?" another asked. "We discussed His directives to love, do

service, do Sadhana or spiritual practice, to be accountable and to see Him in

all. How do we get that into a mission statement? And what about our own

individual mission statements? To just say, in thirteen words or less, ‘My

purpose is to love all and to serve all until I’m Self-realized’ sounds a

little vague to say the least! What is your own personal spiritual mission

statement? Maybe hearing it would help us do our own," Sue remarked.

I reached into the drawer of the dining room desk and showed them three index

cards with former and current purpose statements written on them. "Okay,

sure…here’s one from last year. They keep changing as my understanding of the

Self deepens. I’ll read them in the order in which I wrote them:

"To study and implement Sai’s teachings in order to become Self-realized in this lifetime."

"To meditate, do spiritual study and singing and service in order to expand my love to others."

"To realize the Self through abiding in the Heart, moment-to-moment."

"So, you see, they keep evolving, just as our understanding does, and each

person’s mission statement will be unique to him or her. This is just an

exercise to sharpen up our thinking. Baba doesn’t require it, certainly. We’re

trying to get spiritual agreement in our group so that when we have

disagreements we have a baseline to fall back on. Without spiritual agreement

you don’t know how to resolve problems in the family, Sai Center, neighborhood,

community or nation," I said, confidently, from experience.

"Okay, I’ll buy that," Jane offered. "What else is important for a successful

home and work life, for example, according to Baba?"

"Several things." I was warming up to my favorite topic: implementing Sai Baba’s

teachings in daily life. This is just my opinion and other devotees might phrase

it differently, but they’d probably agree with me on this:

Setting the ideal, goal or intention (which we’re doing via the mission statement.)

Letting Love express. Love is who we are; love doesn’t have to be met - just released.

Truth in thought, word and deed. In other words, accountability.

Solitude and silence to establish and to keep inner peace.

Pure food as a basis for pure thoughts and motives and sound health.

Spiritual renewal (Sadhana) through Sai meetings, prayer, meditation, singing,

recitation of the Name of the Lord, hearing guest speakers, going to retreats

and taking trips to see Baba.

Service to others in the home, workplace, Sai Center, neighborhood and society.

Balanced living and non-violence result from practicing detachment.

Abidance in the heart, observing thoughts, helps us see Baba in ourselves and others."

Keep It Simple

Suddenly, I had an insight. "Look at this, everybody. I just got an idea. If we

transpose some of these key words in our initial group mission statement, we

have an acronym." I have always been partial to acronyms as simple teaching

devices. "See? It’s simple. Love. Accountability. Service and Sadhana. Seeing

Sai in all. Love, Accountability, Service and Seeing. L-A-S-S. Lass. It’s an

easy way to remember our life purpose and to explain it to our families.

Granted, it’s corny but corny things sometimes remain in our memories for

years. Yes…Lass. The bottom line is, folks, that our family’s spiritual

evolution and our society’s turn-around is going to be up to women. It’s up to

us. Baba is helping us but we have to put forth the effort. He’s always saying,

‘Make effort and I will help.’"

It was getting late so we decided to continue the conversation after the next

meeting and to work on refining our spiritual mission statements in the

meantime. Over the next two years, the members read Sai books and ordered

videos; they cheerfully hammered nails together on several Habitat for Humanity

homes. We stressed harmony and cooperation in all of our interactions. People

went to India and returned, changed.

Societal Renewal: Women Devotees Catch Sai’s Vision

Visitors from other states began to attend meetings and regular members came and

went, but those who have become the core of our Sai group activities have

deepened in their faith and experience. Our study circle discussions have

improved and various guest speakers began to call us to request to speak at the

meetings. The group has received enormous grace in the way of Vibhuthi, Amrit,

dreams, Sai visions and healings.

Meanwhile, Baba has been giving , for the past few years, discourses on the

status of women. The Overseas Sathya Sai Organization has set up a Women’s

Wing. In India, the Mahila Vibhag and the Daughters of the Kingdom of Sathya

Sai have been in operation for a number of years. Baba has remarked facetiously

in discourses that in the U.S. the Sai women do all the work of writing,

service, education and Center leadership but men get all the credit!

On His 70th Birthday in 1995, Baba declared that Nov. 19th, 1995 was to be the

first Ladies’ Day or Women’s Day. Four outstanding women Sai devotees gave very

inspiring talks in the Poornachandra Hall. Women were exhorted to take up the

opportunity to change the world through first changing themselves and setting a

noble example for their husbands, children and colleagues. Again, I realized,

world uplift and inner renewal are up to us - to women.

The momentum continued as far as Sai discourses directed to women or

specifically about them. Even men began to discuss the ramifications. Robert

Bruce, a well-known American devotee, is fond of saying that Baba says to

married men, "Hold onto your wife’s sari (dress) and she will carry you to

God!"

Chris Parnell of Spiritual Impressions said to us recently, in a letter, "In a

little known aspect, generally remarked upon only by women devotees, it is said

that Swami gave the Gayathri Mantra to women and indicated that they should take

it up. This is a major step forward for Indian women.

"In a recent discourse Swami repeatedly said that God makes no distinctions

between men and women, or caste and religion. For Swami to say one thing in a

discourse is one matter. To repeat that comment several times is cause for

attention."

Women and the subject of work has often been discussed at Sai retreats and Sai

meetings. Mr. Parnell went on to say, further, that "Swami also took up the

issue of women taking employment. He said that women have hidden power in them

and have to be encouraged to exhibit their talents. To quote, ‘If women are

given due recognition and encouragement, they will shine with brilliance in all

fields, and will serve the house, country and the entire world gloriously,

contributing to the welfare of the entire humanity.’

"The turning point, Mr. Parnell, wrote, was ‘Dharma can be made to occupy its

position in society and restored to its pristine glory only by women.’ Given

that Swami’s mission is the restoration of righteousness to the earth this

statement indicates without reservation that:

women participate in the restoration of righteousness.

Opens a new dimension of Sadhana in all aspects of what it means to be woman and devotee."5

"There it is again," I mused, as I read the letter. ‘It’s up to us.’ I couldn’t

agree more, though I suspect that most women have always known this in their

bones. But knowing it and carrying it out are two entirely different things.

First of all, people will not, as a rule, take kindly to being told what to do.

I have learned this the hard way in various leadership roles over the years.

Regular Renewal and Skillful Leadership by Example

Baba Himself is ever-so-skillful when He inspires His audiences to

self-reformation. He doesn’t harangue us; He beguiles us, He educates us, He

sings and croons to us, He recites poetry, He whispers to us, gives us

interviews, corrects us, surprises us, graces us and continually gives us the

tenderest Motherly solace and encouragement.

That’s our opportunity. To study Baba’s skills in communications, management,

leadership and delegation. And then, to implement them at home, on the job and

in the Sai meetings.

One vital thing that women, in particular, must remember, is that specific

regular spiritual renewal is vital if one is to keep a sense of humor and

proportion about the Big Picture and about prioritizing life’s daily tasks.

Baba has announced that the 19th of each month is Ladies’ Day. This is a

splendid chance for all of us to take the 19th of the month as our own

Spiritual Rededication Day.

Rededication to what? To Baba, to the Self, to enthusiastically serving others.

A great sage is reputed to have said that "Solitude is the price of greatness."

Periodic solitude is also the price of sanity. For monthly Spiritual

Rededication to take hold and to be effective there will naturally need to be

the full support of our loving Sai brothers - husbands, sons, and fathers. They

are the most direct beneficiaries of our happy dispositions and of the renewed

energy which goes directly into their care and maintenance.

>From personal experience of periodic burn-out from overwork, I now realize what

is required to prevent exhaustion. Strong, clear leadership in the home, Sai

Baba group and community requires regular rest from routine, that is,

purposeful (not hit-or-miss) renewal without interruption. It also demands the

inner refreshment provided by silence and fresh inspiration. The well-springs

must be replenished lest the heart becomes dry, and the home and workplace

become drought-stricken with neglect, pettiness and strife.

To reinforce one’s monthly Spiritual Rededication Day, there is a wealth of

literature about the lives of saints and heroines from all cultures. Such

biographies feed the spirit. Who cannot identify with the inevitable

obstructions and afflictions which enter every woman’s life? It’s the way in

which famous saints and heroines have triumphed over loss, disappointment and

adversity which touches us so deeply. As we read of their faith in the face of

impossible conditions and wretched treatment by others, of their betrayals and

heartaches, we catch fire with fresh inspiration and motivation to uplevel our

own loving service. As we share the victories of these spiritual giants with

our children and colleagues, our own ship’s sails of self-discipline catch the

fresh winds of determination. We feel divinely carried along the choppy seas of

life with our binoculars fixed on the far horizon of harmonious family

and group maturity, despite the bracing sea-spray of resistance misting our face.

When one is consciously connected to the Core, she is less easily manipulated

and less likely to attempt manipulation of others. The spiritual food of

abidance in the heart is essential for a sane, balanced individual and society.

But food for the body is just as important, Baba tells us in His book Satvic

Food and Health. He is very clear about our need to avoid alcohol, meat, fish,

poultry, tobacco, and dependence upon both street and prescription drugs. He

counsels us to bless our food before eating it and to ensure that the cook has

pure thoughts, clean vessels and serves wholesome food in moderate amounts. He

has often said that even the largest person does not need more than 1,200

calories a day for health. He has stated that people who eat fish from the

Pacific are getting cancer and heart attacks because of the nuclear tests that

were done there. 6

He further decries the North American habit of eating fast foods (often cooked

by teenagers listening to loud, aggressive rock music) in cars, on the run. He

cautions against sugar, soda pop, food additives and plants in the nightshade

family such as too many potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant dishes.

Also, like a good Mother, Baba encourages us to drink plenty of clean water and

to exercise daily. On the home front He urges women to look after their own

children and to do their own housework if they don’t work outside the home.

Yes, my good women, my dear Sai sisters and women everywhere: the bright,

peaceful, abundant future of our homes, states, countries and the world is up

to us. But our Beloved Sai has assured us that His plan will not fail. His

devotees will not falter in the exciting climax of this incomparable drama as

we move from Kali Yuga darkness into Sai’s Golden Age of Peace and plenty. He

has publicly said that, in response to contemporary upheavals (floods, fires,

etc), Sai devotees will soon be seen, as ministering angels by on-lookers.

Another thing - remember that we have all incarnated as men and women many, many

times. For women to rise to Baba’s challenge, men will need to cease expecting

women to crouch, to cringe and to automatically abdicate their power in all

fields of life. Women will need to retrain themselves to evaluate each

individual on his skills and the merit of his understanding and contributions

and not capitulate merely because he appears in a male form. This will take

discernment.

Both men and women, therefore, need not fall into misidentification with our

temporary gender-costumes. They’re convenient for continuing the human race,

providing interest to earthly existence and for fulfilling karma. In regard to

the cultural trance, or Maya about women: woman is not all that we are. We are

Divinity Itself, clothed this time around as females in order to rally humanity

into the Golden Age, hopefully singing and humming tunefully with us, rather

than whining and complaining in resistance.

We have to keep our own individual mood up; no one will do it for us. We, not

our spouses, children or employers are responsible for our happiness. It’s not

their job; it’s our job - and it’s an on-going, inside, do-it-yourself lifetime

job! Further, their happiness is not our job either. It is their job. So

everyone in the entire world has a full-time job - maintaining inner peace and

happiness moment-to-moment.

As we, ourselves, hum and sing while serving as noble examples, we’ll eventually

find ourselves in a sea of humanity, awakening to our mutual Divinity. It’s up

to us; it begins and ends with women. Thus, in the familiar Avataric quotation

which follows, we have far more than a lovely idea to frame and to hang in the

office or the prayer room. In these words we have our job description for the

restoration of dharma:

"When there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character.

When there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home.

When there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.

When there is order in the nations there will be peace in the world."

Note: Pseudonyms have been used to protect the privacy of persons quoted in the

opening pages of this article.

Source: http://www.connieshaw.com/womeninsai.htm