Letters from Swamy Mahadevan

October 15, 2008

Jai Sai Ram

During the last 2 days I have received several letters

from Swamy Mahadevan. Initially I passed them to members, but as

many letters came from him, so I consolidated them in one letter as

below.

Jai Sai Ram

Ashok Gupta

" Swamy Mahadevan " <mahadevanvnswamy

Tue Oct 14, 2008 5:27 pm

This was the role of a Provider and Prot mahadevanvns...

Offline

Send Message

Edit Membership

This was the role of a Provider and Protector.

When Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi was in His human embodiment at Shirdi,

thousands of people of different regions, religions, languages and

categories used to visit Him. The young and the old, married and

unmarried, worldly people and spiritual seekers and many others

representing the cross-section of society used to approach the

Master, to get his help and blessings to satisfy their material needs

and spiritual aspirations. In Shri Sai Satcharitra, one finds mention

about these characters although there were many more about whom there

is no record.

Sadgurus like Shri Shirdi Sai Baba, operate simultaneously at two

levels of consciousness. Some of their activities are manifested and

some are non-manifested in nature. Some examples of the manifested

activities are: feeding the poor and the devotees, curing their

physical and mental diseases, rendering temporal assistance in all

their material needs and religious pursuits etc. The manner in which

He gave relief was sometimes miraculous. Hundreds of families of

Shirdi and outside used to depend on Him for relief and sustenance in

their worldly existence. Sai Baba never refused to help any one who

came to Him. He laboured day in and day out to solve the complex

problems of His devotees. Once He told a devotee that He (Baba) could

not sleep during the previous night thinking about that

devotee. " What would happen to my people, if I constantly do not keep

an eye on them " He used to say. This was the role of a Provider and

Protector.

However, the other role of Shri Sai was subtle and secret in nature,

which created a permanent value in the lives of the people that

approached Him. Shri Shirdi Sai Baba was a Perfect Master or a

Sadguru. Being a Sadguru His divine charter of duties was to train

the devotees with a view to evolve their mental and emotional

qualities and ultimately to lead them towards emancipation. Such a

process of evolution, when left to the disciple himself, is very slow

and may take a number of lives to achieve. As ordained by the law of

nature, every human being evolves during each life cycle while on the

earth plane by experiencing an un-calculable number of events

generating pleasure or pain. Without, the help of a Master or Sadguru

who has traveled along and experienced the path of spiritual

evolution, the seeker goes through a process of trials and errors and

in the process his evolution slows down. However, if one accepts a

Sadguru as his mentor, and strictly abides by His advice, his

evolution becomes easier and faster. The Sadguru with His divine

powers and qualities has immense capabilities to hasten the process

of evolution of all beings that come in contact with Him.

Therefore, He is called a Samarth (capable of giving God realisation)

Sadguru. However, notwithstanding the ceaseless effort of the Masters

all devotees do not progress spiritually at an equal pace. The pace

of evolution of a devotee depends on a few Prime factors, like,

acceptance of the Master-both intellectually and emotionally, as the

sole guide and Protector in spiritual journey, complete faith in and

adherence to the advice and commands of the Master and finally a lot

of perseverance under all trying circumstances and over long periods

of time to follow the Master's prescriptions in its true spirit.

Usually Masters like Baba do not force disciples to follow their

advice. They suggest the prescriptions directly (through words,

actions and direct experiences etc.) and/or indirectly (through

dreams, anecdotes, hints and mediums etc.) to each disciple or some

times to a group of disciples. Baba at times used to speak cryptic or

broken sentences or utter a certain un-intelligible language. The

devotees could understand its meaning only after a protracted mental

deliberation over the issue. Baba could have given a direct solution

but His method was to lead the devotee through a self-finding mental

process. Many a times He would enquire from some devotees as to what

they were talking about when they were together. He would then advise

them on how to handle the compulsive negative thoughts of mind and to

inculcate a habit of generating positive thoughts. The omniscient

Sadguru used to keep a watch on the negative and positive thoughts of

His disciples and there are hundreds of such examples. Baba used to

create thought waves in the minds of devotees by His subtle powers

thereby leading them to find a solution to their own problems. To

many, He used to give direction in dreams as well. He used to render

such help with a view to create a clearer and purer state of mind in

the devotees, which is essentially required to tread along the path

of spiritual evolution as per His (the Masters) scheme. The Sadgurus

do not wish to keep Their disciples dependent on Them for all times

to come with a view to get their service. What they desire is to

evolve the disciples to the state of perfect human beings

(Satpurush), with perfect noble qualities so that they can further

carry on certain subtle and difficult tasks on this earth or

elsewhere in accordance with the Divine Plan. The Sadgurus not only

give emancipation to the human-souls under Their care but also create

a few spiritual workers from among the evolved devotees to assist

Them in Their universal and subtle activities. The basic principle

They follow is to light a number of candles from a single candle and

They expect the process to continue for all times to come.

If we analyse the different methods that Shri Sai adopted while

dealing with different devotees, one of his prescriptions stands out

prominently i.e. the qualitative evolution of mind. In whatever He

did towards the training of His devotees, the moot idea of Baba was

to evolve not only the mental qualities but also the thought process

itself. For example, when Nana Saheb Chandorkar sitting near Baba at

Dwarakamayee Masjid was attracted by the beauty of a woman, Baba

never advised him not to look at women. What He advised was that

while looking at any beautiful woman or beautiful object, one should

think of 'beauty' as an aspect of God's creation. He further

emphasized on the internal beauty of the soul and not on the external

beauty of the body. The lesson that Baba gave was that when the mind

is attracted to anything, it is better to attach a higher value to

the thought itself rather than to struggle with mind to avoid the

object of attraction. No one can struggle with his own mind, as it is

the most powerful force in human beings as ordained by nature. The

moment one tries to struggle with mind in order to erase an evil

thought or enforce a good thought sheerly by one's will, it is bound

to create certain reactions and such reactions lead to further

problems. This is the most difficult task for any human being to

perform, living as he does in a complex world. Therefore, Baba used

to keep a constant watch on the thoughts arising in the minds of His

devotees and guide them promptly.

For example He asked Kaka Saheb Dixit to stay quietly (Uge-muge) in

Dixit-Wada at Shirdi and not to mix with others. He told Dixit that

he should be wary of thieves in the Wada lest they would take away

everything, meaning thereby loss of his positive quality of mind and

peace. Similarly Upasani Baba was asked to stay at Khandoba temple

and not to meet any one. He was not even allowed to meet Baba sitting

a few hundred yards away for a long time. By separating the genuine

seekers from the rest of the world, Baba wanted them to maintain a

purer and positive state of mind and not to get contaminated by the

negative thoughts of others as usually happens in social

interactions. Baba used to render advice in the same or similar line

to different devotees e. g. to keep one's promise always, to make

adequate payment for the services received from any person, to

tolerate and not to quarrel even if provoked, to avoid speaking ill

of others, to avoid differentiating among human beings on the grounds

of material or social differentiation etc. and finally to visualise

the presence of God in every object, every thought and every feeling.

All religious rituals including Poojas, Aartis and Parayanas, etc.

are methods of human evolution at the first stage. Evolution of the

thought process of mind in itself is the inter-mediary stage and

emancipation of the soul through realization of God is the third and

final stage in the spiritual journey of the soul. Since the

omniscient Baba could easily read through the thoughts of all His

devotees, He could prescribe the methods of thought control and

spiritual evolution to each devotee, specific to him.

History shows that it is the positive forces of human minds that had

created mighty civilizations and it is the negative forces of human

minds that had brought about the total destruction of their own

civilization as had happened in Rome, Egypt, Peru etc. We see the

world as our mind visualises it and our visualisation is limited and

often distorted. We see the world with a fixed Kaleidoscope from a

certain angle. If the Kaleidoscope is rotated, then different forms

and patterns of life would appear. Since each individual sees life

from a certain fixed angle, each experiences a specific pattern, the

pattern of life experienced by him seems to be the only truth. Let

alone the people with a predominantly evil nature, even people with

the best of qualities suffer from this limitation of mental fixity.

It is seen that at times the best qualities of an individual, become

the greatest block in his evolution in certain situations. For

example, there was a kind person who used to help every one. He had

the expectation, as is usually the case with human beings that others

would be equally kind to him and reciprocate, in his bad times. But

when he was in distress every one did not render the required help in

the manner and to the extent he had rendered to them. As a result, he

started questioning the very plinth of kindness and decided not to

help others as he used to do earlier. Now his proactive kindness

turned to reactive narrow-mindedness. His evolved quality of natural

benevolence was blocked and the evolution process of mind slowed

down. No doubt as a worldly-wise person he went a step forward but in

his spiritual evolution he had gone a step backward. If he had the

flexibility of mind to accept the imperfection in others without

passing value judgement over the imperfect conduct of others, he

would have been happier and more evolved. The lesson to learn is that

howsoever perfect one claims to be, the universal nature (containing

both so called perfect and imperfect aspects), does not give a

license to any one condemn others, howsoever, imperfect. Therefore,

the wise ones have proclaimed that one may hate sin but not the

sinner. Baba unequivocally declared that when any one condemned any

one else, his feelings were hurt.

Some psycho-analysts hold the view that inflexible perfectionists

suffer psychological stress the most as they find it difficult to

adjust with the imperfect traits in the character of others with whom

they interact. Such persons are sometimes, highly creative because of

their sense of perfection but nevertheless they suffer the most due

to social maladjustment. This problem of human beings is not limited

to this category alone. It is more or less with every one to some

extent. The fundamental problem with the magnificent human being is

that each person considers himself to be the centre of the Universe –

the little Universe he has created for himself. Therefore, he desires

that every thing around him should fall in line with the requirements

of that little Universe. They are not prepared to visualise

themselves as an infinitesimally small particle in the vast Universe

with millions and millions of ever changing patterns. These millions

of little Universes juxtaposed in the social fabric of our complex

world try to clash with each other and to pull each other apart by

the gravitational force of their atomic individualism or ego. The

Sadgurus have always tried to give simple solutions to this complex

problem.

If we follow the prescriptions of Baba, as contained in Shri Sai

Satcharitra our thought process can go through a qualitative change

and we can have a clearer picture of the world around us. It will not

only do good to us but also to others around us. Therefore, when

reading Shri Sai Satcharitra or other literature on Baba, our thought

should always be focused on this aspect of conscious mental evolution

that Baba repeatedly taught and exemplified through his own conduct.

& & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &

" Swamy Mahadevan " <mahadevanvnswamy

Tue Oct 14, 2008 5:37 pm

" let the name of Shri Sai resonate in all corners of the

globe " mahadevanvns...

Offline

Send Message

Edit Membership

" let the name of Shri Sai resonate in all corners of the globe "

…… " The greater miracles of Baba are instances of control of natural

forces like fire, air and water (rain). The Satcharitra narrates of

an evening when torrential rain accompanied by lightning and

thunderstorm hit Shirdi flooding it entirely. This terrified all the

disciples, animals and birds who took refuge at Dwarakamai Masjid and

prayed for help.

At their request Baba commanded the cloud in a thunderous voice to

stop its fury and to allow his children to go their houses. Within

minutes the rain stopped and the storm settled down. Another instance

documented was on an afternoon when flames from Baba's dhuni rose up

to the roof of Dwarakamai Masjid threatening to burn it. Baba took

his satka (stick) and hit a pillar commanding the fire to calm down.

At each stroke of the satka the flames gradually settled to normalcy.

Baba gave numerous other types of experiences to his devotees but it

would not be possible to codify or cite such examples due to lack of

space. The more surprising and interesting fact to note is that even

after departure from his bodily abode in 1918 and till the present

day, devotees continue to report similar experiences. Truly speaking,

even on the day Baba left his body and thereafter, devotees have been

experiencing such unexplainable events. Such experiences of Baba are

not limited to the gullible and uneducated rural youth as is commonly

believed to be, but cuts across the " intelligentsia " of the society

including lawyers, professors, officials, doctors, scientists and

others.

It is interesting to observe that even in this era of esoteric,

atomic individualism, with population (the number of devotees) having

increased manifold, where rationality and objectivity rules the minds

of the people, such spiritual experiences continue to affect

millions. Cutting across the man made differentiations of caste,

races, religions, socio-economic diversities, all are making a

beeline to Baba's Samadhi at Shirdi as Baba had once uttered in a

state of spiritual ecstasy.

Despite the modern day youth's affinity to western culture, Baba's

message remains ever relevant and appealing. That is why so many

temples have come up across the globe. Sai Baba not only crossed the

boundaries of humanism but gave shelter to all living creatures. The

Sai Satcharitra narrates numerous instances of his compassion towards

dogs, snakes, horses, tigers and even birds.

Today on an average 35,000 people visit Shirdi every day and on

weekends the numbers go upto a lakh or more. There has been a

phenomenal growth in the Sai faith as can be seen in the astronomical

growth in the number of temples, literary publications, devotional

music etc. The number of devotees dedicated to spread the name and

message of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba is mind-boggling.

Today the Sai movement is not limited only to Maharashtra as was

during the time of Baba, but within decades of his departure has

crossed the national boundaries to become a global movement. This new

era of " Saiism " does not touch the religious aspect of the devotee's

life only but affects and permeates all aspects of an individual's

life (family, culture, social behavior etc). For the devotees Shri

Sai Baba is not a part of their life but their life itself in all its

aspects.

The spirit of Sai is more active and alive today than perhaps it ever

was. This raises in our mind a fundamental question - " Who is Sai

Baba? " Some address him as a Sadguru, some as a fakir, some as a

Yogiraj, some as a saint and to most of the devotees he is " God the

Almighty " Himself.

He has been accepted as an incarnation (Saguna Sakara avatara), which

means, God who in human form walked on earth. History has shown that

the expansion of religions and/or faiths started by the incarnations

expanded phenomenally after they left their human embodiment. This

was the case with Jesus Christ, Buddha, Mohammed and Shri Krishna.

The Sai movement is ever on the increase in a similar manner, which

goes to reinforce the faith that Sai Baba was an incarnation of God

(Paramatma). This goes to prove Baba's promise that after leaving his

body he will be ever active from his tomb to protect and guide his

devotees. As Baba had once promised, He continues to exist in a

subtle form (Mahakarana sheath) as a unifying force, to spread and

re-

establish compassion, love, truth and tolerance amongst human beings

and among all living entities on earth.

Let us welcome and embrace this age of Sai, who is the panacea for

all the evils of the present world, torn asunder by forces of

regionalism, racialism, economic and social differences, religious

bigotry, fanaticism and lack of faith in " God " . Let us look forward

to a happier tomorrow; let the name of Shri Sai resonate in all

corners of the globe.

& & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &

" Swamy Mahadevan " <mahadevanvnswamy

Wed Oct 15, 2008 2:12 am

Except God no one and nothing in this world is perfect.

mahadevanvns...

Offline

Send Message

Edit Membership

…… " Avatars have always shown two prominent traits in their

personality. One is that of a perfect man, which would mean a perfect

father, perfect husband and perfect friend, all put into one. The

other is the vast and unfathomable power of divinity, they at times

display when it is needed. In the first role they function as

Sadgurus showing examples of a perfect human life to be emulated by

others. Through their mighty divine power they help the devotees out

of distress and bring about big changes in the society, many times

through wars, for which they had taken the human form. Sri Sainath's

life displays both these attributes. Therefore, celebration of Baba's

birthday on the Ramnavami day is appropriate.

Except God no one and nothing in this world is perfect. All the

imperfect beings and things in the world which include all species

get birth because they are imperfect. Life after life they go on

perfecting themselves little by little. The meaning of life is an

endeavour to become perfect. Self-analysis, self-study, self-

oriented actions towards that goal and prayer to Sadguru to lead us

in that path is the only way to progress meaningfully in life. We

pray to Sadguru Sri Sainath to lead us towards perfection. "

& & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &

" Swamy Mahadevan " <mahadevanvnswamy

Wed Oct 15, 2008 2:14 am