Baba's Message as I perceive it.

[Guest guest]

I would like to share some of the thoughts that I could grasp during

the precious moments that I spent here with Baba and His devotees

during His stay in CA. It was very nice to be amongst His dedicated

workers and new friends attracted to Baba's sacred mission - those who

visited there out of curiosity and were impressed by His deeds.

 

Sunday's 2.5 hours' lecture was very touching and enlightening. In

that 2.5 hours Baba has explained how simple it is to live and love.

All we need to do is to understand our role and live up to it. We are

placed under various circumstances congenial to undergo unfinished

experiences that we desired for - directly or indirectly the

consequences of our pursuits that we might have taken up.

 

Irrespective of our previous pursuits and present circumstances that

we live in, we can still reach our goal - to experience the divinity.

This is the ultimate goal that we might aim for and we go through the

rigours of our life only to condition our minds, discipline ourselves

to be worthy of achieving it.

 

Our jivatma is covered with five sheaths or koshas -

a) annamaya - the physical body we identify ourselves with, and which

helps us in fulfilling our worldly activities,

b) pranamaya - the vital breath or pancha pranas which sustain our

lives and keep us as one integrated cohesive unit,

c) manomaya - the mental skies where we create our own imaginatory

world which is the key to our release or creating new bonds,

d) vignanamaya - the discriminatory power which helps us to

distinguish between the right from wrong and prompts us to take the

right action. If we always listen to our inner consciousness, probably

that will ensure that we will be hovering in this sheath most part of

our time.

e) anandamaya - the sheath of bliss, which can only be attainable to

those soaked in love.

 

 

Most of us would fall in the third and fourth categories, unless we

are too much immersed in our worldly activities that we are supposed

to perform as part of our duty or stoop low to be succumbed to the

animal insticts. In such cases we delve in the first sheath.

 

It may be that we are lacking in our basic needs which might restricts

us to the first sheath or it may be just a wishful thinking or self

pity. This leads us to another point - the constant struggle between

our mind and heart. Our minds when clear distinguishes between right

and wrong and decides what our duty is under the circumstances we are

in taking our limitations and strengths into consideration.

 

We have to distinguish between our wants and needs. This is a

continuous struggle. But as with any complicated assignment or

project, it is worth spending our time to distinguish between them,

and identify our needs.

 

We are in a fix and in a turmoil because of our desires or bad

samskaras. Living for God is a radical change, as God sees our inputs

and world sees our output. We have been living for the world till now

and when we start to live for God, it is a complete 180 degrees turn

and suddenly we need to reorganise our priorities. We need to turn

ourselves inside out. We can't lead a dual life - one for the world

and one for God.

 

This is a transformation phase in our lives. We have to go through

this phase as also the nations and the universe. But considering that

we are a speck in the whole of His creation and that this world at

this point is undergoing through such a phase, it would be a little

easy for us to submit ourselves for the greater cause. This gives us a

greater sense of satisfaction that we are consiously working our part

towards fulfilling it. Adjustment is a way of life, and as long as we

have greater cause in our minds, it would be easy for us to adapt

ourselves to the circumstances.

 

Any change would not come to us overnight, and it is a herculean task.

As with any complicated project, we have to have the procedures laid

out and a good project plan to reach our goals. If the procedures laid

out are sound in nature and our efforts are sincere, it is irrelevent

whether we reach our goals or not i.e., if the process is designed in

such a way that it takes care of the result. Then it is not our duty

to think about the result. This is the big difference between God and

the world. God sees our intentions more than whether we are able

to accomplish it or not. God takes care of the result. If we recognize

what our basic needs early on, set our goals and fulfill our duties

and responsibilities understanding our strengths and limitations, the

chances of our deviating from our set goal are less. Let us assume

this new role seriously and watch His grand plan in action.

 

Sugnanam or the right knowledge comes to our rescue at this crucial

juncture - the knowledge gained through experience, through scriptures

or association with a Mahatma. And fortunately we have association

with a great Mahatma. He says " Judge me by the footprints that I

leave " and we should be shrewd enough to take a cue from Him. His

movements, his talks, his gestures convey something and we should

be wise enough to benefit from it.

 

Inspite of right knowledge, our minds are conditioned in the realm of

logic and reasoning by decades of exposure to worldly sciences and

experiences that we can easily overlook the working of God's invisible

hand.

 

Baba has given a simple example to illustrate it.

 

Once an atheist went to a Mahatma and asked, " where is God and

how does he take care of His subjects ? "

 

To his first question, Mahatma said that God is everywhere and

in everything. To his second question, he said that God acts

through His creation and redeems it through itself!! It defies

all the realms of logic and reasoning but satisfies it, in a

way that we can't imagine.

 

To demonstrate it, he took a costly brittle glassware and

questioned what happens to it when dropped. The gentleman said

that it would break into pieces. Mahatma answered lets see

what happens and dropped it.

 

The gentleman was concerned about the costly glassware and

quickly extended his hand to catch it.

 

Mahatma smiled and explained that God's concern for His

creation and care works in the same way.

 

Baba gave an example of how Shirdi Sai Baba went to her

devotee's place in the form of a dog to accept the roti

offered - to establish the fact that God comes in various

forms.

 

And warned us to be wary to receive God in whatever form He

chooses to visit us. And how can we be sure how He visits us

and when ? To be sure that we don't reject Him, we have to

honour everyone we encounter and keep them happy to the extent

possible. God never poses an impossible task before us. He

knows our capacity and our limitations and puts us to test

which we can pass successfully, provided we are willing. And

if it seems to be a tough one, He does prompts us through our

inner consciousness what our duty would be at that juncture.

All we need to do is to listen to His Voice.

 

At this point all the devotees clapped in ecstasy.

 

Baba said that life is a game of snake and ladder. We take spontaneous

decisions in our lives and we might end up being swallowed by the

snake and fall down or climb up the ladder. Life is a game of

calculated risk. But for His devotees, it is an assured success. There

is no failure. All we need to do is to follow His instructions.

Successes or failures are but temporary. Through failures we become

wiser to realize the hard realities. Through successes, our morale is

boosted up and we march towards our ultimate goal with renewed energy

and vigour. But we are neither touched by successes or failures, they

are but illusions.

 

They are but the experiences we desired for and that we have it.

Having said that, we should disown both of these as illusions and

just live the way He destined us to live.

 

There were lot of questions posed by the devotees present - of mundane

as well as of transendental nature. Of course, all are of equal

importance. Because if we are stuck at any point, it is hard for us to

progress further. So Baba answered all our queries with utmost

patience and zeal.

 

Baba talked about the activities taken up in Samratchana and its

motives - to address the worldly and spiritual needs of aspirants and

spread it across the world. To make Ramarajya or " promised heaven " on

earth a reality.

 

To achieve this he is acting in different roles - as a teacher, a

social reformer, and as Divine Incarnate. He also said that people

aren't ripe enough to accept Him as Divine Incarnate. They are in a

dilemma. They are mostly sceptical - mostly looking for some

extra-ordinary feats to accept divinity. Miracles are neither

necessary nor sufficient to substantiate the presence of divinity. It

needs growth of some special brain cells or nerves in scientific

terms, or gain of wisdom and faith in spiritual terms to accept

divinity in any form. As it is said that excellence is not an art, but

a habbit, so also wisdom and faith are habits, not a result of

analytical jugglery. That is the reason why He has chosen not to don

the robes of a Sanyaasi. He chose to live like an ordinary mortal and

move like an ordinary mortal.

 

There will be a time when He takes up His role seriously as Divine

Incarnate when people at large take to spiritual path and turn to

divinity and work relentlessly towards that end. In the meantime, He

is preparing the grounds for the same by making His army of devoted

workers through which (as His tools) He wants to achive His goal.

 

Samratchana is the stage wherefrom He wants to resurrect the world

when it goes through tough times.

 

We may go through tough times in future, but none of those, he

emphasised, who takes refuge in God, would face the full brunt of it.

He promises us to carry us through those trials.

 

Karma is like money in the bank account that we accrued over several

lives. And as we withdraw a little at a time to meet our expenses, so

also we take up a little karma to undergo in our present life, and

leave the rest in store for coming lives. If we are determined we can

clear off all the karma in this very life!! But may be we have to go

through very difficult times. We have seen that in the lives of

several Mahatmas. God gives equal oppurtunities to all. History has it

that there were thieves who became Mahatmas. So maybe we too have a

chance. But this path is only for the courageous and strong and any

effort that we put in fetches results, and what we possess will be

preserved, not lost. And Baba asks, if you want to die, why can't you

live ? Living is not as difficult as it seems to be, but our

imagination makes it look horrible.

 

Baba says it is easier to live the life of a samsaari, as we go

through the series of emotions quickly than being a sanyaasi where

there are less oppurtunities to undergo certain experiences we are

destined for. Maybe it depends on the way we want to lead our lives.

If we want to be in the midst of intense activity, we might be

samsaaris, or if our thoughts have simmered down that there is not

much of activity needed we can be sanyaasis. Or it depends on

the responsibilities we are ready to take. Maybe the choice is not

ours, as we don't know what we want to be. And it would be escapism

if we choose to run away from them. Our responsibility is to face it

and finish it off.

 

If we pray, let us pray for courage and strength to go undergo these

ordeals and be done with them.

 

Baba said that even Avataara Purushas have to undergo Criticism and

Opposition, so we too have no choice but to face criticism and

opposition, so why fear if we have no choice and no escape from them ?

 

Love and Service are His weapons and He is training us to equip

ourselves with them to be prepared for the inevitable eventuality.

Samratchana is the laboratory where we can nourish them. Let us carry

these experiences to whereever we are and spread it to our near and

dear ones and whoever we encounter. This is what we can do in the

limited role that we are given in the grand design of the forthcoming

Golden Age.

 

Love and Service are contagious. If we know how to use them, it would

not be difficult to spread it around. When one of the devotees was

praising a Mahatma, Baba said humbly that He is a great Mahatma. There

could be more deserving Mahatmas than He is, but Baba is following the

dicates of His Guru and accomplishing the tasks assigned to Him. It is

only in a divine power that we can see such co-existence of Power and

Humility. This is a lesson for us to be humble even when we become

powerful. Also not to take advantage of situations.

 

There could be some other movements where one aspect of divinity is

given emphasis to the exclusion of others or at least not given

importance that they deserve. But Baba's philosophy gives equal

emphasis to the development of all noble qualities - love, service,

sacrifice and et al. It is easy to attribute all these noble qualites

to divinity and say that it comes out effortlessly from a divine

personality, but we can see the pain hidden in His eyes, if He

preaches us, teaches us and still if we don't follow it in ours

lives. Let us put His precepts into practise as it is our duty and

only this way we can show our gratitude to Him. If there are millions

of people benefitted by Him, let us take a strong resolution to live

up to what He preaches and pass it on to others around us. This would

be our contribution and I am sure it will give us immense

satisfaction.

 

Only this way the lock for the final sheath - anandamaya kosha, the

Ultimate Bliss, opens up. And we may have a glimse of it momentarily,

through Sadguru krupa to show us what is in store for us. Let us

relish them, go through the ordeals, share the moments of joy and

march towards our goal together.