Guest guest Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 “Sai Pearls of Wisdom” Part Twenty-Eight March 17th, 2004 OM…OM…OM… Sai Ram With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan, Dear Brothers and Sisters, This is about a program that took place on the 27th of February 2004. It was a very funny program. There was no dialogue or speaking; there were only gestures and postures. The students were acting. Only by watching their signs and gestures, we were able to make out the exact theme that they wanted to convey. Perhaps this was the first time this type of program (known as ‘pantomime’) was taking place in Sai Kulwant Hall. Usually such things are done in a smaller gathering. But they did this program right in front of Swami and in front of so many people. The students enacted it in front of Swami and then later, after the enactment, they asked the crowd, “Who will tell the message of this?” Then the other students would raise their hands and one of them would tell the message of the whole scene which had been silently enacted. It was quite interesting and Swami keenly watched every episode (skit.) The Holy Wedding of Rama and Sita In the first skit, a few boys were walking. One boy acted as if he garlanded another boy, who was quite short. Then the short boy was trying to garland the taller boy, but he could not do it because he was relatively shorter. In the meantime, a third boy came and fell at the feet of the tall fellow. The tall fellow bent over slightly to lift up the fellow who had fallen at his feet. Watching this, the short boy immediately garlanded the tall boy. Then the question was asked, “Who will tell the message of this?” Naturally a few raised their hands and one boy was asked to give the answer. The boy said, “This is an episode from the Ramayana - the holy wedding of Rama and Sita. Rama, as we know, was quite tall, while Sita was relatively short. In weddings, the bridegroom garlands the bride, and the bride garlands the bridegroom. That is the custom. “Rama, being quite tall, could easily garland Sita, who was short. But Sita could not garland Rama as He was very tall. And she could not tell Him, ‘Come on, bend down so I can garland You!’ Rama would not bend His head before anybody. So it was a very embarrassing situation.” “Watching this, Lakshmana came from a distance and fell at the Feet of his brother, Rama, to take padanamaskar. Immediately Rama bent down, caught hold of Lakshmana’s shoulders in order to lift him. Sita grabbed the opportunity and immediately garlanded Rama while He was bent over, lifting his brother. Rama would not bend otherwise. Rama bent only to lift Lakshmana. So this was quite a convenient event! Therefore, this is an episode showing that Sita is very intelligent. This incident relates to the holy wedding of Rama and Sita.” Everybody clapped and enjoyed that. The Kindness of God In the second episode, one boy sat, acting as if he was doing some penance. A few boys (five of them) started walking close by. The boy who sat there immediately opened his eyes in a bit of anger. In the meantime, another boy came slowly and fell at the feet of all the five fellows. Then the boy who sat doing some penance, the one who had been angry, got up and he, too, did padanamaskar to all the five boys. The question was asked, “Yes, who will tell the message of this?” Some boys raised their hands. One boy was asked to give the answer. The boy said, “This is a story from the Mahabharata. The pancha (five) Pandavas were in the forest trying to lift a fruit (this was the legendary Amrutaphala – the fruit of Immortality). There was a saint sitting there in deep penance. The name of the saint was Roma Rishi. ‘Roma’ means hair. His hair was so long that it spread a few kilometres, like a black carpet.” “The five Pandavas did not notice the hair, but they saw the very big fruit, which they wanted to pick up and eat. The saint had been doing penance for that fruit because, whosoever ate that fruit would never feel thirsty or hungry. Therefore, that rishi saint was doing penance for the procurement of this very fruit. The five Pandavas came there, trying easily to grab that fruit. The rishi became disturbed, opened his eyes and was very angry, ready to curse all the Pandavas.” “In the meantime, Krishna came to the rescue of the five Pandavas. He came to the sage and spoke a few words, a few courtesies and kind enquiries. Then Krishna fell at the feet of all the five Pandavas. Then the rishi thought that the five Pandavas must be very great people. So he, too, fell at their feet. Thus his anger was pacified. This is an episode which shows that the kindness of God towards His devotees is such that He would not even mind falling at the feet of the devotees.” Everybody clapped; this was the end of the second episode. Where Are the Five Pandavas? In the third episode, a boy sat on a wooden plank and acted like he was a sage doing some penance. There was another boy watching him mischievously from a distance. In the meantime, a few fellows came and they asked the sage for some information. The sage was very angry. “Who will tell the message of this enactment?” One boy started narrating: “The Pandavas were in great difficulty at one time. Krishna wanted to save them. He approached the sage, Durvasa, who was known for his anger and fury.” “Krishna told Durvasa, ‘Oh sage, protect these five fellows today. I want you to help them.’ “ “Durvasa said, ‘Krishna, I will protect them, but on one condition: I will not utter a lie. I will speak only the truth. On that condition, I will give them protection.’ “ “Krishna said, ‘It’s alright. I never want you to speak lies. Give protection to these five boys.’ “ “So, the sage dug a big pit, telling the five fellows, the Pandavas, to sit in the pit to hide themselves. Then he put a wooden plank over the pit and sat there on the plank doing his penance.” “In the meantime, the Kauravas, the enemies, were in search of the five Pandavas. They passed by this place and asked the sage, ‘Oh Sage Durvasa, where are the five Pandavas?’ “ “Durvasa was very angry. ‘They are here!’ he shouted. ‘They are here!’ Then the Kauravas, who were very much afraid of the saint, thinking, ‘Oh, he will curse us!’ ran away from there.” “Durvasa did not utter a lie. The Pandavas were there; but because Durvasa changed his tone of voice, the Kauravas thought he was going to curse them and so they ran away. Therefore, without having to tell a lie, Durvasa was able to tactfully save the lives of five Pandavas.” That was the third episode that was enacted by the students that evening. Lakshmana’s Exemplary Character In the next episode, a few boys walked in first; then a few more boys walked over to them. In this second group, one fellow brought a bundle wrapped up with cloth and opened it. One boy in the first group took the bundle from him and handed it over to yet another boy. This boy saw all the things in the bundle and started pretending to speak to the boy who had handed it to him. (This was all with gestures and actions only.) Question: “What is this all about?” One boy said, “I will give you the answer. This is an episode from the Ramayana. After Sita was abducted, Rama and Lakshmana were in search of her. At that moment, one fellow, Sugriva, came to Rama with a bundle of jewels and asked, ‘Do they belong to your wife, Sita?’” “Rama never knew the jewels of Sita. Like the modern man, who knows about his wife’s property? This is one of Swami’s jokes! Like the modern fellow, He was not bothered about his wife’s property! So Rama gave the bundle of ornaments to his brother Lakshmana saying, ‘Brother, you find out whether they belong to Sita.’ “ “Lakshmana said, ‘Brother, I do not know the earrings of Sita because I never looked at them. I do not know the chain of Sita, as I never looked at it. I do not know the gold waistband of Sita because I never looked at it. But I know the anklets of Sita. Why? It is because every morning, I took her padanamaskar. So I can identify the anklets. Therefore, these ornaments must belong to Sita.’ “ This was the episode enacted. This episode speaks of the character of Lakshmana. Though he lived in the company of Sita for a long time, taking care of his brother Rama and his sister-in-law Sita, he never cared to know about her jewels and all that. He faithfully served them. It speaks of his excellence and of his exemplary character. This was the episode enacted. Everyone clapped on hearing this, including Swami! Follow Your Conscience This is another episode. One boy came to the front and started gesturing in different ways with his fingers, acting like a monkey. ”What does it mean?” Then came the answer: “The small movements with the little fingers means that the body is like a water bubble. Then, while pointing the finger to the head and acting like a monkey, he was showing that the mind is a mad monkey. And directing the body ‘no’ means, ‘don’t follow the body.’ Pointing towards the head saying ‘no’ means, ‘don’t follow the mind.’ Pointing to himself means, ‘follow the conscience.’ So, the body is a water bubble; don’t follow the body. The mind is a mad monkey; don’t follow the mind. Follow the conscience.” That message was conveyed by the gestures of the body. Everybody liked it. All Four Castes Are Equal In the next episode, one boy stood there and circled his index finger around his head. And then he pointed to his hands/shoulders. He also pointed to his stomach and to his feet. Once again, he pointed to his head, shoulders, stomach and feet. “What is all this about?” One boy got up and said, “This is a message of Vedamantra. There are four castes of Hindus: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra. The Brahmin represents the head. The Kshatriya represents the shoulders. The Vaishya represents the stomach. The Sudra represents the feet.” “So, this is the Cosmic personality of God, in which all four castes are equal. No one is superior to anybody. So the Brahmin, representing the head, has the task of disseminating knowledge. The Kshatriya, representing the shoulders, provides the protection force and army. The Vaishya, representing the stomach, deals with business and commerce. The Sudra, representing the feet, engages in agriculture.” “So, there is a classification based on the vocation, profession, temperament, and attitude – they were not to be divided under rule. But unfortunately the classification system took a political turn, and thus the society was divided into castes that have been fighting with each other. But originally, the Vedas said this is purely attitude, profession, and temperament-oriented, and has nothing to do with birth. This is what the Bhagavad Gita has said.” This is what was said by one of the boys and his answer was liked very much. Turn to God In the next episode, a boy came and joined his thumb and forefinger to make a circle. With another hand, he acted as if he was opening and turning the key like that. That was the action. What is the significance? One student got up and said, “This finger and thumb in a circle is nothing but a lock. The other hand with which he was ‘opening the lock’ is the key. So the lock is the body and the key is the mind. If you turn it (the key) to one side, the world-side, it is locked in bondage. If you turn it to the other side, the God-side, it is liberated. Same lock, same key. There is a difference only in the turning: if you turn to the world-side, you get bondage; if you turn to the God-side, you get liberation!” The Body Is Temporary In the next episode, a boy, who was looking like a saint, was walking in the front. There was another boy, very lean, shivering, and very weak, who happened to touch the saint. This man (the saint) was very angry and said, “Get out of here!” The boy, who was shivering, immediately pointed to the body and the chest repeatedly. Immediately, the saint fell at the feet of the shivering fellow. “What is the message of this?” One student raised his hand and started giving the answer: “It is an episode from the life of Shankaracharya. Shankaracharya had a bath in the morning and he was proceeding on his way. One untouchable, a man of a lower caste, touched Shankaracharya, who then became very angry. ‘I had a bath and now you have touched me! You are untouchable! Why did you touch me?’ “ “The untouchable started to speak, ‘Oh sage, whom have I touched? Why are you angry with me? I have touched only your body, after all. And you are not the body. Your body and my body are very much the same. That body and this body are temporary. They are soon to perish. They are soon to vanish one day. Why do you bother about this body? Have I touched your Self? If I touched your Self, the real Self in you, it is the same as the Self in me. So, what is the mistake?’” “Then Shankaracharya knew that Yamadharma Raja, the God of death, came to teach him a lesson in the form of an untouchable. Therefore, he fell at his feet.” Follow the Master, Face the Devil, Fight till the End, Finish the Game The final episode enacted was this: One boy was walking in front and another boy was following him. A third boy started acting as if he was fighting a demon. Another boy started acting like he was playing. Finally, the last boy sat relaxed and was laughing. “What is the message?” All raised their hands, but one boy was asked to give the answer. “One boy walking in front of another boy, following him faithfully, shows Bhagavan’s message: ‘Follow the Master.’ “ “The second, the boy acting like he was fighting a demon, conveys the second message: ‘Face the devil.’ “ “The third, the boy playing like that, means: ‘Fight ‘till the end.’ “ “Finally, the boy sitting relaxed means: ‘Finish the game.’ So, follow the master, face the devil, fight ‘till the end, and finish the game. These four messages of Baba have been depicted by this enactment.” This is the first time something like this had taken place and we were extremely happy to watch the entire program. It is what we call ‘charades’. In charades, the actors remain speechless, only making gestures and postures, by which the audience can try to guess the episode enacted. Everybody enjoyed this, including Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba! Lord Shiva Is Missing This next program took place on the 1st of March 2004. It was more or less a literary program, full of songs and poems composed by Bhagavan. You should have seen how Swami was watching the student actors. Even God has got His own emotions and feelings! When the boys repeated all the poems He had composed fifty years ago in front of Him, naturally He is happy. God in human form must be happy! That day He was feeling happy, watching and listening to every word they were saying. In the skit, the opening scene seemed to depict an open court. The students were without makeup and were wearing only white shirts and white pants. One boy sat on a chair. We understood that he was Indra, head of the gods. Another boy came up, who we understood to be Narada. He came to Indra and said, “Oh Lord, the whole heaven is panicking now, under confusion.” Indra asked Narada, “What’s wrong?” “Swami, what should I tell you? Number one, all of Brahma’s lotus flowers have vanished. So Brahma is roaming about on the streets. He is very worried. And out of five elements, two elements are missing. There is no fire. There are no clouds. The rain God is missing and the fire God is missing. Everything seems to be in a state of panic. Oh Indra, what more can I tell you? Lord Shiva disappeared! What is to be done? Everything is in a state of confusion. Mount Meru, the mountain of gold and wealth, also disappeared, Swami! We are all confused. We don’t know what to do!” Then Indra thought that he too might vanish someday. When Brahma had lost his lotus flowers, when the clouds were gone, when Shiva had disappeared, when the fire God was missing, when Meru Mountain was gone, then Indra may also go someday. What to do? Then Narada said, “Oh Indra, don’t worry. Let us both go to Sri Mahavishnu and pray to Him to give us some solutions, the addresses of the people who are missing, and the lost and found articles.” So both of them went to Vishnu and prayed to Him. “Oh Lord, this is what has happened. Please tell us what to do.” “Look here, you said Shiva is missing. No, no. He has taken the form of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on Earth, in Puttaparthi. He changed His address, that’s all. He is there in Puttaparthi, so don’t worry. You said that Brahma lost His lotus flowers. Tell that fellow not to worry because the lotus flowers chose to be the eyes of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. You say that Meru Mountain is missing. Don’t worry, Meru Mountain chose to be very small in size and preferred to be a mole on the cheek of Sathya Sai Baba. Let him not worry. You say that the fire is missing. Don’t worry. The fire lost all its burning capacity and preferred to be the red robe of Bhagavan. The fire is red in colour. The red robe of Bhagavan is the fire god; let him not worry about it. You are very worried about the missing clouds. Don’t worry. The clouds represent the halo of hair on His head. Therefore, Lord Shiva is Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Lotus flowers are His eyes. Clouds are His hair. Fire is the dress that He puts on. Don’t worry. No one is missing. Everyone moved to the planet earth there in Puttaparthi.” Everybody liked it very much. Kompa Kampa Gampa Dumpa This is about a program that took place on February 27th, 2004. In a court of pundits, there is a special activity in which they mention a few random words and the scholars try to make a poem out of the words. It is a literary gimmick. It speaks of the literary excellence of the scholars practicing in India today. So one scholar said, “Today is the assembly of great scholars. I give you these words. Anyone of you can compose a poem.” “Sir, tell us those words.” “The first word is kompa, which means ‘residence’. The second word, kampa, means ‘thorny bushes’. The third word, gampa, means a ‘basket’. And the fourth word, dumpa, means a ‘potato’. Can anyone make a poem out of these four words?” One scholar got up and said, “Yes, I can make a poem out of these four words.” “Yes, what is it?” “This body, which is full of dust and ailments, is kompa, residence. Housing what? It houses ailments and all sorts of complaints and dirtiness. Secondly, this body is kampa, full of thorny bushes that cannot cross the ocean of life. And this body is a dumpa. You know, if you cut a piece of an underground tuber and plant it again, it can grow. Similarly, the cycle of birth and death is repeated. Therefore, it is dumpa.” This poem was composed by Bhagavan fifty years ago. This boy said it and Swami clapped. Ram ChuganiKobe, Japan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 7, 2008 Report Share Posted August 7, 2008 Ram ChuganiKobe, Japan--- On Wed, 8/6/08, Ramchand Chugani <rgcjp wrote: Ramchand Chugani <rgcjpPROF ANIL KUMAR SAI PEARLS PART-1"OMSAIRAM..RAMCHAND GHANSHAMDAS CHUGANI" <rgcjpWednesday, August 6, 2008, 12:52 PM “Sai Pearls of Wisdom” Part Twenty-Eight March 17th, 2004 OM…OM…OM… Sai Ram With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan, Dear Brothers and Sisters, This is about a program that took place on the 27th of February 2004. It was a very funny program. There was no dialogue or speaking; there were only gestures and postures. The students were acting. Only by watching their signs and gestures, we were able to make out the exact theme that they wanted to convey. Perhaps this was the first time this type of program (known as ‘pantomime’) was taking place in Sai Kulwant Hall. Usually such things are done in a smaller gathering. But they did this program right in front of Swami and in front of so many people. The students enacted it in front of Swami and then later, after the enactment, they asked the crowd, “Who will tell the message of this?” Then the other students would raise their hands and one of them would tell the message of the whole scene which had been silently enacted. It was quite interesting and Swami keenly watched every episode (skit.) The Holy Wedding of Rama and Sita In the first skit, a few boys were walking. One boy acted as if he garlanded another boy, who was quite short. Then the short boy was trying to garland the taller boy, but he could not do it because he was relatively shorter. In the meantime, a third boy came and fell at the feet of the tall fellow. The tall fellow bent over slightly to lift up the fellow who had fallen at his feet. Watching this, the short boy immediately garlanded the tall boy. Then the question was asked, “Who will tell the message of this?” Naturally a few raised their hands and one boy was asked to give the answer. The boy said, “This is an episode from the Ramayana - the holy wedding of Rama and Sita. Rama, as we know, was quite tall, while Sita was relatively short. In weddings, the bridegroom garlands the bride, and the bride garlands the bridegroom. That is the custom. “Rama, being quite tall, could easily garland Sita, who was short. But Sita could not garland Rama as He was very tall. And she could not tell Him, ‘Come on, bend down so I can garland You!’ Rama would not bend His head before anybody. So it was a very embarrassing situation.” “Watching this, Lakshmana came from a distance and fell at the Feet of his brother, Rama, to take padanamaskar. Immediately Rama bent down, caught hold of Lakshmana’s shoulders in order to lift him. Sita grabbed the opportunity and immediately garlanded Rama while He was bent over, lifting his brother. Rama would not bend otherwise. Rama bent only to lift Lakshmana. So this was quite a convenient event! Therefore, this is an episode showing that Sita is very intelligent. This incident relates to the holy wedding of Rama and Sita.” Everybody clapped and enjoyed that. The Kindness of God In the second episode, one boy sat, acting as if he was doing some penance. A few boys (five of them) started walking close by. The boy who sat there immediately opened his eyes in a bit of anger. In the meantime, another boy came slowly and fell at the feet of all the five fellows. Then the boy who sat doing some penance, the one who had been angry, got up and he, too, did padanamaskar to all the five boys. The question was asked, “Yes, who will tell the message of this?” Some boys raised their hands. One boy was asked to give the answer. The boy said, “This is a story from the Mahabharata. The pancha (five) Pandavas were in the forest trying to lift a fruit (this was the legendary Amrutaphala – the fruit of Immortality). There was a saint sitting there in deep penance. The name of the saint was Roma Rishi. ‘Roma’ means hair. His hair was so long that it spread a few kilometres, like a black carpet.” “The five Pandavas did not notice the hair, but they saw the very big fruit, which they wanted to pick up and eat. The saint had been doing penance for that fruit because, whosoever ate that fruit would never feel thirsty or hungry. Therefore, that rishi saint was doing penance for the procurement of this very fruit. The five Pandavas came there, trying easily to grab that fruit. The rishi became disturbed, opened his eyes and was very angry, ready to curse all the Pandavas.” “In the meantime, Krishna came to the rescue of the five Pandavas. He came to the sage and spoke a few words, a few courtesies and kind enquiries. Then Krishna fell at the feet of all the five Pandavas. Then the rishi thought that the five Pandavas must be very great people. So he, too, fell at their feet. Thus his anger was pacified. This is an episode which shows that the kindness of God towards His devotees is such that He would not even mind falling at the feet of the devotees.” Everybody clapped; this was the end of the second episode. Where Are the Five Pandavas? In the third episode, a boy sat on a wooden plank and acted like he was a sage doing some penance. There was another boy watching him mischievously from a distance. In the meantime, a few fellows came and they asked the sage for some information. The sage was very angry. “Who will tell the message of this enactment?” One boy started narrating: “The Pandavas were in great difficulty at one time. Krishna wanted to save them. He approached the sage, Durvasa, who was known for his anger and fury.” “Krishna told Durvasa, ‘Oh sage, protect these five fellows today. I want you to help them.’ “ “Durvasa said, ‘Krishna, I will protect them, but on one condition: I will not utter a lie. I will speak only the truth. On that condition, I will give them protection.’ “ “Krishna said, ‘It’s alright. I never want you to speak lies. Give protection to these five boys.’ “ “So, the sage dug a big pit, telling the five fellows, the Pandavas, to sit in the pit to hide themselves. Then he put a wooden plank over the pit and sat there on the plank doing his penance.” “In the meantime, the Kauravas, the enemies, were in search of the five Pandavas. They passed by this place and asked the sage, ‘Oh Sage Durvasa, where are the five Pandavas?’ “ “Durvasa was very angry. ‘They are here!’ he shouted. ‘They are here!’ Then the Kauravas, who were very much afraid of the saint, thinking, ‘Oh, he will curse us!’ ran away from there.” “Durvasa did not utter a lie. The Pandavas were there; but because Durvasa changed his tone of voice, the Kauravas thought he was going to curse them and so they ran away. Therefore, without having to tell a lie, Durvasa was able to tactfully save the lives of five Pandavas.” That was the third episode that was enacted by the students that evening. Lakshmana’s Exemplary Character In the next episode, a few boys walked in first; then a few more boys walked over to them. In this second group, one fellow brought a bundle wrapped up with cloth and opened it. One boy in the first group took the bundle from him and handed it over to yet another boy. This boy saw all the things in the bundle and started pretending to speak to the boy who had handed it to him. (This was all with gestures and actions only.) Question: “What is this all about?” One boy said, “I will give you the answer. This is an episode from the Ramayana. After Sita was abducted, Rama and Lakshmana were in search of her. At that moment, one fellow, Sugriva, came to Rama with a bundle of jewels and asked, ‘Do they belong to your wife, Sita?’” “Rama never knew the jewels of Sita. Like the modern man, who knows about his wife’s property? This is one of Swami’s jokes! Like the modern fellow, He was not bothered about his wife’s property! So Rama gave the bundle of ornaments to his brother Lakshmana saying, ‘Brother, you find out whether they belong to Sita.’ “ “Lakshmana said, ‘Brother, I do not know the earrings of Sita because I never looked at them. I do not know the chain of Sita, as I never looked at it. I do not know the gold waistband of Sita because I never looked at it. But I know the anklets of Sita. Why? It is because every morning, I took her padanamaskar. So I can identify the anklets. Therefore, these ornaments must belong to Sita.’ “ This was the episode enacted. This episode speaks of the character of Lakshmana. Though he lived in the company of Sita for a long time, taking care of his brother Rama and his sister-in-law Sita, he never cared to know about her jewels and all that. He faithfully served them. It speaks of his excellence and of his exemplary character. This was the episode enacted. Everyone clapped on hearing this, including Swami! Follow Your Conscience This is another episode. One boy came to the front and started gesturing in different ways with his fingers, acting like a monkey. ”What does it mean?” Then came the answer: “The small movements with the little fingers means that the body is like a water bubble. Then, while pointing the finger to the head and acting like a monkey, he was showing that the mind is a mad monkey. And directing the body ‘no’ means, ‘don’t follow the body.’ Pointing towards the head saying ‘no’ means, ‘don’t follow the mind.’ Pointing to himself means, ‘follow the conscience.’ So, the body is a water bubble; don’t follow the body. The mind is a mad monkey; don’t follow the mind. Follow the conscience.” That message was conveyed by the gestures of the body. Everybody liked it. All Four Castes Are Equal In the next episode, one boy stood there and circled his index finger around his head. And then he pointed to his hands/shoulders. He also pointed to his stomach and to his feet. Once again, he pointed to his head, shoulders, stomach and feet. “What is all this about?” One boy got up and said, “This is a message of Vedamantra. There are four castes of Hindus: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra. The Brahmin represents the head. The Kshatriya represents the shoulders. The Vaishya represents the stomach. The Sudra represents the feet.” “So, this is the Cosmic personality of God, in which all four castes are equal. No one is superior to anybody. So the Brahmin, representing the head, has the task of disseminating knowledge. The Kshatriya, representing the shoulders, provides the protection force and army. The Vaishya, representing the stomach, deals with business and commerce. The Sudra, representing the feet, engages in agriculture.” “So, there is a classification based on the vocation, profession, temperament, and attitude – they were not to be divided under rule. But unfortunately the classification system took a political turn, and thus the society was divided into castes that have been fighting with each other. But originally, the Vedas said this is purely attitude, profession, and temperament-oriented, and has nothing to do with birth. This is what the Bhagavad Gita has said.” This is what was said by one of the boys and his answer was liked very much. Turn to God In the next episode, a boy came and joined his thumb and forefinger to make a circle. With another hand, he acted as if he was opening and turning the key like that. That was the action. What is the significance? One student got up and said, “This finger and thumb in a circle is nothing but a lock. The other hand with which he was ‘opening the lock’ is the key. So the lock is the body and the key is the mind. If you turn it (the key) to one side, the world-side, it is locked in bondage. If you turn it to the other side, the God-side, it is liberated. Same lock, same key. There is a difference only in the turning: if you turn to the world-side, you get bondage; if you turn to the God-side, you get liberation!” The Body Is Temporary In the next episode, a boy, who was looking like a saint, was walking in the front. There was another boy, very lean, shivering, and very weak, who happened to touch the saint. This man (the saint) was very angry and said, “Get out of here!” The boy, who was shivering, immediately pointed to the body and the chest repeatedly. Immediately, the saint fell at the feet of the shivering fellow. “What is the message of this?” One student raised his hand and started giving the answer: “It is an episode from the life of Shankaracharya. Shankaracharya had a bath in the morning and he was proceeding on his way. One untouchable, a man of a lower caste, touched Shankaracharya, who then became very angry. ‘I had a bath and now you have touched me! You are untouchable! Why did you touch me?’ “ “The untouchable started to speak, ‘Oh sage, whom have I touched? Why are you angry with me? I have touched only your body, after all. And you are not the body. Your body and my body are very much the same. That body and this body are temporary. They are soon to perish. They are soon to vanish one day. Why do you bother about this body? Have I touched your Self? If I touched your Self, the real Self in you, it is the same as the Self in me. So, what is the mistake?’” “Then Shankaracharya knew that Yamadharma Raja, the God of death, came to teach him a lesson in the form of an untouchable. Therefore, he fell at his feet.” Follow the Master, Face the Devil, Fight till the End, Finish the Game The final episode enacted was this: One boy was walking in front and another boy was following him. A third boy started acting as if he was fighting a demon. Another boy started acting like he was playing. Finally, the last boy sat relaxed and was laughing. “What is the message?” All raised their hands, but one boy was asked to give the answer. “One boy walking in front of another boy, following him faithfully, shows Bhagavan’s message: ‘Follow the Master.’ “ “The second, the boy acting like he was fighting a demon, conveys the second message: ‘Face the devil.’ “ “The third, the boy playing like that, means: ‘Fight ‘till the end.’ “ “Finally, the boy sitting relaxed means: ‘Finish the game.’ So, follow the master, face the devil, fight ‘till the end, and finish the game. These four messages of Baba have been depicted by this enactment.” This is the first time something like this had taken place and we were extremely happy to watch the entire program. It is what we call ‘charades’. In charades, the actors remain speechless, only making gestures and postures, by which the audience can try to guess the episode enacted. Everybody enjoyed this, including Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba! Lord Shiva Is Missing This next program took place on the 1st of March 2004. It was more or less a literary program, full of songs and poems composed by Bhagavan. You should have seen how Swami was watching the student actors. Even God has got His own emotions and feelings! When the boys repeated all the poems He had composed fifty years ago in front of Him, naturally He is happy. God in human form must be happy! That day He was feeling happy, watching and listening to every word they were saying. In the skit, the opening scene seemed to depict an open court. The students were without makeup and were wearing only white shirts and white pants. One boy sat on a chair. We understood that he was Indra, head of the gods. Another boy came up, who we understood to be Narada. He came to Indra and said, “Oh Lord, the whole heaven is panicking now, under confusion.” Indra asked Narada, “What’s wrong?” “Swami, what should I tell you? Number one, all of Brahma’s lotus flowers have vanished. So Brahma is roaming about on the streets. He is very worried. And out of five elements, two elements are missing. There is no fire. There are no clouds. The rain God is missing and the fire God is missing. Everything seems to be in a state of panic. Oh Indra, what more can I tell you? Lord Shiva disappeared! What is to be done? Everything is in a state of confusion. Mount Meru, the mountain of gold and wealth, also disappeared, Swami! We are all confused. We don’t know what to do!” Then Indra thought that he too might vanish someday. When Brahma had lost his lotus flowers, when the clouds were gone, when Shiva had disappeared, when the fire God was missing, when Meru Mountain was gone, then Indra may also go someday. What to do? Then Narada said, “Oh Indra, don’t worry. Let us both go to Sri Mahavishnu and pray to Him to give us some solutions, the addresses of the people who are missing, and the lost and found articles.” So both of them went to Vishnu and prayed to Him. “Oh Lord, this is what has happened. Please tell us what to do.” “Look here, you said Shiva is missing. No, no. He has taken the form of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on Earth, in Puttaparthi. He changed His address, that’s all. He is there in Puttaparthi, so don’t worry. You said that Brahma lost His lotus flowers. Tell that fellow not to worry because the lotus flowers chose to be the eyes of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. You say that Meru Mountain is missing. Don’t worry, Meru Mountain chose to be very small in size and preferred to be a mole on the cheek of Sathya Sai Baba. Let him not worry. You say that the fire is missing. Don’t worry. The fire lost all its burning capacity and preferred to be the red robe of Bhagavan. The fire is red in colour. The red robe of Bhagavan is the fire god; let him not worry about it. You are very worried about the missing clouds. Don’t worry. The clouds represent the halo of hair on His head. Therefore, Lord Shiva is Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Lotus flowers are His eyes. Clouds are His hair. Fire is the dress that He puts on. Don’t worry. No one is missing. Everyone moved to the planet earth there in Puttaparthi.” Everybody liked it very much. Kompa Kampa Gampa Dumpa This is about a program that took place on February 27th, 2004. In a court of pundits, there is a special activity in which they mention a few random words and the scholars try to make a poem out of the words. It is a literary gimmick. It speaks of the literary excellence of the scholars practicing in India today. So one scholar said, “Today is the assembly of great scholars. I give you these words. Anyone of you can compose a poem.” “Sir, tell us those words.” “The first word is kompa, which means ‘residence’. The second word, kampa, means ‘thorny bushes’. The third word, gampa, means a ‘basket’. And the fourth word, dumpa, means a ‘potato’. Can anyone make a poem out of these four words?” One scholar got up and said, “Yes, I can make a poem out of these four words.” “Yes, what is it?” “This body, which is full of dust and ailments, is kompa, residence. Housing what? It houses ailments and all sorts of complaints and dirtiness. Secondly, this body is kampa, full of thorny bushes that cannot cross the ocean of life. And this body is a dumpa. You know, if you cut a piece of an underground tuber and plant it again, it can grow. Similarly, the cycle of birth and death is repeated. Therefore, it is dumpa.” This poem was composed by Bhagavan fifty years ago. This boy said it and Swami clapped. Ram ChuganiKobe, Japan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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