|
 In his Avatār as Krishna,
Bhagavān has said: 'Knowledge
is
superior to Practice; Meditation is superior to Knowledge; Superior
to Meditation is Renunciation of the Fruit of Action; From Renunciation
arises immediately Peace'. Meditation holds the Golden Key to the Glory of Renunciation
and the sacred Kingdom of ever-lasting Peace. This Volume, 'Thought for
the Day', is a powerful instrument placed in our hands to facilitate
our entry into the domain of 'Meditation' that will lead us to
'Divinity'.
Makara Sankaranthi is
a holy day because the day takes you from darkness to increasing light.
From today, the sun enters upon the Uttarayana taking a northward
direction for six months. When your drishti (sight) is on
Braman and when you have Uttamaguna it is Uttarayana, and when your drishti
is on prakriti it is dakshinayana. When you have fever,
the tongue will be bitter. The bitter tongue is 'dhakshinayana'.
When you are healthy, your sweet tongue tastes well, it is Uttarayana.
The real Uttarayana is when you crave for the thought of the Lord and
the company of the Godly. Bhīshma spent days in bed with pain, as he
felt death, when the sun starts towards north is auspicious. Bhīshma
yearned for the vision of Krishna in Uttarayana. Become fit for the vision of God, cultivating
prema in your heart, full of fragrance and uncontaminated by the
pests of greed and egoism.
Here are the three vows
that Krishna had taken; they are mentioned in the Bhagavad Gītā for all
humanity to read, know and believe: 'For the protection of the good and
the punishment of the bad, for the establishment of the Moral I shall
concretise Myself, age after age. Whoever is wholly immersed in My
contemplation, with no other thought, I shall be ever with Him; and I
shall bear the burden of his welfare. 'Surrender unto Me, giving up all
the other duties and obligations. I shall liberate you from all sin; do
not grieve'. The armlets are reminders of these tasks on which He is
set.
The Lord will be the
Guide of whoever installs Him as his Sarathi (charioteer). He
will not consider that position inferior. He is the Sanathana
Sarathi, come to be the Sarathi of all. He is the Lord
for all who seek a Master, a support. The Atma is the Master
in every one; and Krishna is the 'Universal Atma' personified.
The moment Krishna was
born, the chains that bound his father fell off; the doors that had
been bolted flew open; and the prison guards were immersed in the ocean
of bliss, so that they could not recognise any event or thing in the
material world. The fire of hatred that was burning in them was cooled;
and darkness gave place to the dawn of wisdom. The sky showered
raindrops to soften the earth and lay down dust. How can the element
operate against the Divine Will?
Krishna has
three separate meanings - (1) the word Karsh is one root from which the
name is derived. It means, that which attracts; Krishna
attracts hearts to Himself by His sportive pastimes, miraculous
victories over the forces of evil, His charming conversation, His
wisdom and His personal beauty. (2) The word is also related to the
root, Krish: to cultivate, a field, for growing crops. The word means,
He who removes the weeds from the heart of man and sows seeds of faith,
courage and joy. (3) It is related to the root Krish, meaning something
above and beyond the three attributers and the three eras; and 'na'
means Sat-cit-ānanda.
Krishna had
taken three vows and the kankans were symbolic of His determination to
fulfill them. They were, as mentioned by Him in the Gītā: (1)
'Dharmasamsthapanaya Sambhavaami Yuge Yuge'. (I shall incarnate myself,
in every age, to revive and resurrect Dharma) - (2) 'Yogakshemam Vaham
Yaham' (I shall bear the burden of ensuring peace of prosperity for all
who rely on me) - (3) 'Mokshayishyami maa sucha' (I shall save all
those who surrender wholeheartedly to Me and I shall liberate them from
the cycle of birth and death).
Krishna dealt
with the world as with a sitar, pulling its heart-strings to arouse the
melody of comradeship, heroism, love, affection, compassion and
conviction. But, of these, the two emotions of love and compassion were
characteristically His and His own. His breath was Love! His behavior
was Compassion! Adore Him, placing a garland of tears around His neck;
washing His feet with tears, springing from joy at the contemplation of
His Love! That very worship will endow you with the wisdom that sages
seek and the bliss that the books extol!
Detachment is a plant
of slow growth; if you pluck the tender plant to look for the pods, you
will be disappointed. So too, long and constant practice alone is
rewarded by the peace that God offers. Grace is acquired by surrender
as Krishna has declared in the Gītā.
Krishna does
not speak of whoever among men who pronounces the 'Pranava' at the
moment of death, etc. The word He uses 'whoever' is without any
qualification of sex. He does not say 'Whoever that is authorized' or
'Whoever among the deserving'. The clear intention of the Lord is to
encourage women, as well as men, to take up Pranava-Upasana
(aum-meditation). You would have seen that I do not discourage anyone
from the Upasana. It is the royal road to spiritual victory which all
are entitled to use.
I am in your heart all
the time, whether you know it or not. Draupadī called out for the Lord
of Dvārakā, Śrī Krishna, when she was cruelly assaulted by the wicked cousins of
her husbands, and so the Lord responded but after a little delay. He
had to go to Dvārakā and come from there to Hastināpura where she was!
He told her that she could have received Him in the fraction of a
second had she called out, 'Oh Dweller in my heart', for He dwells
there as everywhere else.
The elders in
Brindavan who reveled in scandalizing Krishna - successors
have been
born for them even now - set an ordeal for Rādhā to test her virtue.
She was given a mud pot with a hundred holes and asked to bring water
in that pot from the Yamuna to her house! She was so full of Krishna-consciousness
that
she never knew the condition of the pot. She immersed it in the
river, as usual repeating the name of Krishna with every
intake of
the breath and every exhalation. Every time the name Krishna was
uttered, a hole was covered, so that by the time the pot was full, it
was whole. That was the measure of her faith. Faith can affect even
inanimate objects.
In Realty, Truth is
God; Love is God; Dharma is God. The Gopīs and Gopalas saw in Krishna the
embodiment of truth, love and dharma. What He said was Truth; what He
was became Love, what He did was Dharma. They were so immersed in Krishna-consciousness
that
they saw everywhere and in everything nothing but Krishna. Krishna for
them did not exist as a separate entity in the home of Nanda; He was
right in their own consciousness, at all levels of it. These Gopīs and
Gopalas were true bhaktas indeed.
Whatever is dedicated
and offered to God can never be lost. People can gain enormous benefit
by offering even a little to God. 'A leaf or a flower, a fruit or a
little water' - that is enough, if offered with devotion. Draupadī gave
Śrī Krishna the fraction of a leaf sticking to the side of a vessel and
God granted her endless good fortune. Kuchela gave a handful of parched
rice and received from the Lord awareness of His endless Glory.
The riches that you
should strive to amass are not fields, factories, bungalows or
bank-balances but the wisdom and experience of oneness with the
grandeur of the universe and the force that runs it without a hitch.
Arjuna is called Dhananjaya by Krishna because he had
won (jaya)
such dhanam (riches) that saves man; and that cannot be taxed,
stolen or transferred. The method of winning these riches is sadhana.
Give joy to all. Prema
or love is the means to achieve this ideal. When love can bring even
God nearer to you, how can it fail where man is involved? Krishna could
not be bound by any other means. That is the reason why Sai has
declared:
'start the day with
Love;
spend the day with Love,
fill the day with Love;
end the day with Love.
that is the way to God'.
Krishna was
known to all as Almighty, All-knowing, All-encompassing, and
All-fulfilling. Yet, the enthusiasm to do Seva promoted Him
to approach Dharmarāja, the eldest of the Pāndava brothers, on the eve
of the magnificent Rājasūya Yajña [Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, C10, ch. 74]
that
he had planned to perform and offered to take up seva of
any kind. He suggested that He might be given the task of cleaning the
dining-hall after the guests had partaken of the feast! Krishna
insisted on outer cleanliness and inner cleansing. Clean clothes and
clean minds are an ideal combination.
During the battle of Kurukshetra,
which
climaxed the Mahābhāratha story, Krishna served as the 'driver'
of the chariot of Arjuna throughout the day till dusk on the field and
caused the adjournment of the fight. He led the horses to the river,
gave them a refreshing bath and applied healing balms to the wounds
suffered by them during the fierce fray. He mended the reins and the
harness and rendered the chariot battle-worthy for another day. The
Lord sets the example for the devotees to follow. He teaches that
service done to any living being is offered to Him and is accepted by
Him most joyfully. Service rendered to cattle, to beasts, and to men is
laudable sadhana.
Krishna does
say: 'whoever among men who pronounce the Pranava [or
Om(kāra) or AUM; primal sound of God, identity of Krishna as a
transcendental sound vibration] at the moment of death', etc. The word
he uses is 'whoever' without any qualification of sex. He does not say
'whoever is authorized or whoever is among the deserving'. The clear
intention of the Lord is to encourage women as well as men to take up
Pranava Upasana. You will see that I do not discourage any one from
the Upasana. It is the royal road to spiritual victory which
all are entitled to use.
This created Universe
has two aspects, one is impermanence (Anityam), the second one
is unhappiness (Askulham). In the Gītā, [ch. 9-33] Krishna has
said, 'Anityam Asukha Lokam Imam Prapy Bhajaseva Maam'. Nothing in this
World can give happiness that is true and lasting. Mistaking the World
as 'All' and forgetting the Atman, which alone is eternal and the only
refuge, is the greatest folly of man today. Man is pinning all his
hopes on slippery work and is madly running after amassing and hoarding
wealth. Of course, material needs are to be taken care of but within
limits and not at the cost of spiritual values. Money and mansions are
not the only wealth. Hoard the wealth of the Spirit. Character is
wealth; good conduct is wealth; and spiritual wisdom is wealth.
Workers and peasants -
that is the slogan nowadays. These two classes were given their due
share of social importance and honor during the Krishna Avatār.
Now, people are honored even if they grow not food but cash crops.
Foreign exchange is what we are after and so, people are encouraged to
produce what others can buy not what we need; such as milk and a
variety of milk products which are highly nutritious foods. Balarāma,
[see
for example SB, 10-68]
the elder brother and an Avatār in his own right, had as his
weapon the plough. It declared agriculture as a consecrated occupation.
Egoism is the most
dangerous illusion that has to be exploded and destroyed. Bhīma had it;
but when he could not lift and lay aside the tail of a monkey, who was
really Anjaneya himself, that bubble was exploded. Arjuna had
it one day after the battle. When Krishna brought the
chariot
back to camp, he wanted that Krishna should get down first, like all charioteers; the Master
must get down later, after the Charioteer opens the door for him. Krishna
refused and insisted that Arjuna should alight before He should. At
last Krishna won. Arjuna got down and as soon as Krishna left
His seat and touched the ground, the chariot went up in flames. In
fact, if Krishna had gotten down first, the various fire-arrows which had
the power of burning the chariot would have hit the target; but due to
the presence of Krishna, their igneous powers could not manifest themselves. After
knowing this, Arjuna was humbled and his egoism had a powerful shock.
He realized that every action of Krishna was full of significance.
It is when you are in a
desperate situation that you call upon the Lord, forgetting your pride
and your egoism. The Pāndavas were so full of misery in a worldly sense
that they always had an attitude of prayer. If I had given you all the
comforts and opportunities, you would not have come to Puttaparthi.
Trouble is the bait with which the fish is pulled out of the water. Kuntī
asked that Krishna should continue giving her and her sons all kinds of misery
so that He may grant them His Grace continuously [SB 1-8:25].
In the
Manasa-Sarovar (the deep, placid mind-lake) of every man lurks a
poisonous cobra with six hoods: Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment, Pride
and Hate, infesting the air and destroying all who are near it. The
Name of the Lord, when it dives into the depths, forces it to come up
to the surface so that it may be destroyed. So, allow the Divine in you
- the Krishna, Lord over the mind - trample on the hissing hood and take
out the vicious viper [SB 10-16];
let it vomit the venom and become Sathvic and sweet.
Like all Avatārs, Krishna
announced His advent to the World bit by bit, step by step, testing
every time how far the Reality will be accepted by the masses. The
signs and miracles were intended, then as now, to proclaim the Avatār.
The One is
comprehensive of all this. So, it has no wants, no desires and no
activity to realise anything. Śrī Krishna tells Arjuna:
'Name
Partha asthi Karthvyam, Thrishu lokeshu Kinchava Partha'. (There is
nothing I have to do in any of the three Worlds). He has willed the
World as his sport. He has laid down that every deed must have its
consequence. He is the dispenser of the consequences but he is not
involved in the deeds.
One can also be rid of māyā
if one can discard the three gunas from one's make-up. The 'sathyaguna'
too
has to be transcended; why? The Gītā directs that even the
eagerness to be liberated is a bond. One is fundamentally free.
Bondage is only an illusion. So, the desire to close the bond is
the result of ignorance. Krishna says, 'Arjuna, become free from the three gunaŚ.
In truth, the word 'guna' means 'rope', for all three 'gunaŚ
bind the 'jīva' with the rope of desire. Liberation means
liberation from delusive attachment or 'moha'; 'Mohakshaya',
decline
in the desire caused by attachment to sensory pleasure.
Dhyana is not
mere sitting erect and being silent nor is it the absence of any
movement. It is the merging of all your thoughts and feelings to God.
Without the mind becoming dissolved in God, dhyana cannot
succeed. The Gītā declares genuine dhyana as: [BG 9:22]
ananyās cintayanto mām
ye janāh paryupāsate
tesām nityābhiyuktānām
yoga-ksemam vahāmy aham
[But of those persons
who concentrate on nothing else but Me and who are fixed in devotion in
proper worship, I protect the union and to them I carry what they need]. Krishna has assured such persons that He would carry their burden
and be by their side, guiding and guarding them. Persons adept in this
dhyana are very rare; most people go through the external exercises
only. So they are unable to win grace.
Life is a song, sing
it. That is what Krishna taught through His life. Arjuna heard that song in the
battlefield where tensions were at their highest and when the fate of
millions was to be decided by the sword. Krishna sang the Gītā
for
Arjuna to listen to. Gītā means 'Song', and He sang because He was 'Ananda'
wherever
He might be, in Gokulam, on the banks of the Yamunā or at
Kurukshetra between the warring armies.
Why does He attract
all to His Presence? To plough the heart, prepare it for receiving the
shower of grace, to grow the seeds of Love, weed it of all evil
thoughts which smother the crops of joy and to enable it to gather the
harvest of wisdom. That wisdom finds its fulfillment in Krishna
Himself, for Krishna also means the pure essence, the Supreme Principle, the 'Sat-cit-ānanda'.
Where there is dharma
there Krishna is; so, think for yourself, each one of you, how far have
you deserved the Grace of the Lord? You draw Him near; you keep Him
far. You entangle yourself, bind yourself, and get caught in the trap.
No one is your foe except yourself. No one else is your friend. You are
your only friend. The Guru shows you the road and you have to
trudge alone, without fear or hesitation.
If you ask Me, I will
say that the Gītā is like a balance: scales, needle and all.
The scale on the left is the 7th sloka of the 2nd chapter, speaking of 'kārpanya dosha'.
kārpanya-dosopahata-svabhāvah
prcchāmi tvām dharma-sammūdha-cetāh
yac chreyah syān niscitam brūhi tan me
sisyas te 'ham sādhi mām tvām prapannam
[Being afflicted by the
characteristics of miserliness and weakness,
I ask You, confused in the heart about my duty, what would be all-good
-
please tell me that in confidence; instruct me as I am surrendered to
You
as Your disciple.]
The fulcrum is the 22nd sloka of the 9th
chapter, beginning with 'ananyās cintayanto mām';
ananyās cintayanto mām
ye janāh paryupāsate
tesām nityābhiyuktānām
yoga-ksemam vahāmy aham
[But of those persons
who concentrate on nothing else but Me
and who are fixed in devotion in proper worship,
I protect the union and to them I carry what they need]
and the scale on the right is sloka 66
in the 18th chapter, speaking of 'sarva-dharmān
parityajya'.
sarva-dharmān
parityajya
mām ekam saranam vraja
aham tvām sarva-pāpebhyo
moksayisyāmi mā sucah
[Go, leave the variety of religions
behind for surrendering to Me only;
I will deliver you from all the consequences of sin, don't worry!]
See how apt the fulcrum sloka is. It
speaks of single-minded attention, 'steady, like the needle of a
well-adjusted balance'. Really, the Gītā begins with two scales and a
fulcrum: the two armies of Righteousness and Unrighteousness with Krishna, the
Teacher, in the middle.
Prakruthi is dhara,
earth and creation. Think of it always. Long for it. Pine for dhara,
dhara, dhara and you find you are pining for Rādhā, Rādhā. So, Rādhā is
the Becoming and Krishna is the Being; the desire of Being becomes the longing of
the Becoming for the Being - this is the Rādhā-Krishna
relationship, which has been sung by seers and poets, calumniated and
caricatured by ignorant critics, appreciated and apprehended by
aspirants, and analyzed and realised by sincere scholars of spiritual
lore.
Welcome all the blows
of fate, all the misfortunes and miseries, as gold welcomes the
crucible, the hammer and the anvil in order to get shaped into a jewel;
or as the cane welcomes the chopper, the crusher, the boiler, the pan,
the sprayer and the dryer, so that its sweetness may be preserved and
used as sugar by all. The Pāndavas never demurred when disasters fell
thick upon them. They were happy that they helped them to remember Krishna and
call upon Him. Bhīshma was in tears on the arrow-bed, when he was about
to pass away [SB 1-9] Arjuna asked Him
'why' and he replied, 'I am shedding tears because the miseries
undergone by the Pāndavas pass through my mind'. Then he said, this is
done in order to teach the Kali-yuga a lesson; never to seek
power, position or pelf but to submit to the will of God in a
completely resigned way, so that you may be ever happy and unmoved.
The Individual is
Arjuna, the universal which inspires him is Krishna: Led
by the universal, the Individual has to oppose the attractions and
delusion of the manifested, the maya, and the prakruthi, that
is, the Kaurava hordes. The battle depicted in the epic is the inner
battle, between the temporary and the eternal, the particular and the
universal, the sensual and the super-sensual, the seen and the seer.
The Atma is described as a streak of lightning in the blue
cloud. It is a Gītā (streak in Telugu). Discover the Gītā, then the
purpose of Gītā study is fulfilled.
When Krishna leapt
down from His chariot with the wheel-weapon in His hand to slay
Bhīshma, [SB 1-9] Arjuna jumped down with
Him and holding both His Feet he prayed 'Oh Lord, you have given word
that you will not wield any weapon. Let it not be said that you broke
your word to save me from Bhīshma, I am prepared to die'. That was the
measure of his Bhakti. Bhīshma too had equal Bhakti. He did not step
forward to fight the new challenge nor did he question the Lord. He
stood silent drinking in the charm of the Lord and filling himself with
the vision of the magnificence of the Lord. That was the measure of the
dedication to His will.
Krishna is
slandered by ignorant, prejudice critics as 'jaara' and 'chora' and
extolled by seekers and sages with the same appellations, 'jaara' and
'chora'. He stole the hearts and the owners were glad of it. He shed
light, awakened people and made those, whose hearts he stole, richer
and happier. He destroyed all craving for sensual pleasure and sensual
knowledge and filled the entire being with thoughts of the Divine. How
then can He be referred to as 'jaara' and 'chora'? When the blind leads
the blind in this way, both have to fall into the pit.
Krishna was
the Purushothama, Arjuna the Narrothama; It was a
friendship between the embodiment of the highest and the embodiment of
the best. Krishna was the avataric person. Arjuna was the anandic person; it
was a coming together of the Avatramurti and the Anandamurti.
Arjuna was often addressed by Krishna as Kurunandana. This name has a deep significance.
'Kuru' means 'act, activity, karma'; Nandana means 'happy, delighted'.
Kurunandana therefore means 'he who is delighted while engaged in
activity'. Throughout the eighteen chapters of the Gītā, Arjuna is
alert and active, participating vigilantly in every turn of argument.
Practice the constant
presence of God and, learn to offer all your activities at the feet of
the Lord as an act of worship. Then they will be free from fault. Krishna
advised Arjuna to enter the fight and, at the same time, told him not
to have 'hatred' towards 'enemieŚ. These may appear to be two
irreconcilable attitudes, for war is rage (passion, attachment) and
renunciation of hatred is vairagya (absence of raga).
Arjuna asked Krishna how he was to reconcile these two attitudes. Krishna said, 'mām anusmara yudhya ca'
[B.G. 8:7]
(keep Me ever in thy mind, and fight. Do not cultivate the egotistic
feeling that it is you who is fighting. I am using you as My
instrument).
The question on the
battlefield was not who was the kin of whom, but who was right and who
was wrong; fight for justice, fight for truth, fight for these as
akshatriyu is in duty bound, and leave the result to the dispenser
of all. Krishna told Arjuna: 'I am surprised that you should weep, for you
are GudākeŚa [B.G. 2:9],
the
conqueror of sleep and ignorance. You do not kill, so don't be so
conceited; nor do they die. They have many more things to do; and so
they are real deathlesŚ. 'The sentence of death has been already
pronounced on their bodies by Me, and you have but to carry out My
OrderŚ, Krishna said.
Krishna felt
that it was time to reveal His Truth and so He just showed all creation
in His Mouth when His mother asked Him to show her His tongue [S.B. 10:7],
when she suspected He had eaten sand. He made even the longest rope too
short to bind Him [S.B. 10:9].
It became the talk of the place and every one felt he had all the
fourteen Worlds in Him! Avatars choose the time and the mode of
announcement of Their advent and Their glory. Even in this Avathara
such miracles had to be done when I decided that the time was opportune
for taking the people into My secret.
When the righteous
Pāndavas were harassed by wicked Kauravas, the beauteous Krishna
appeared and saved them. The Lord can never design violence and blood
shed. Love is His instrument, non-violence His message. He achieves the
correction of the evil-minded through education and example. But it may
be asked, why did Kurukshetra happen? It was a surgical operation and
therefore cannot be described as an act of violence. The Surgeon saves
life through the beneficial use of His Knife.
Consider the Name Krishna which
the Avathar bore; what a significant Name! Krishna is derived from
the
root 'krish' which means (1) to attract (2) to plough and cultivate and
(3) the Divine Principle beyond time, space and causation. Krishna, like
all Avatars, attracts not only seekers, saints and sages but the
simple, the innocent and the good. He draws also the curious, the
critics, the skeptics and those who suffer from atheism. He draws them
towards Himself by the irresistible charm of His Person, by His
invincible Look, His Voice, His Flute, His counsel and His undaunted
Heroism! He is ever in a state of bliss, spreading harmony, melody and
beauty around Him; He sings every where in the peaceful pasture lands
of Brindavan and in the blood soaked battle field of Kurukshetra.
The Gītā was
Arjuna and Krishna, though Krishna supplemented it with captious explanations of why and
wherefore. Arjuna admitted that he was a prapanner. He had to
surrender to His Wait, so that there was no need for Krishna to
argue with him. He was convinced of the correctness of His command.
Still, in order that Arjuna might fight with a full heart, He gave him
the reasons which supported the course that He laid down for him. I too
want you to know why I designed it so you should act in a particular
manner, and I do not like you to behave in another manner.
Arjuna exclaimed Krishna as the
Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient God, when the foe was defeated
day after day. But when his son Abhimanyu was killed in the
conflict he raved in the grief that Krishna had not guided
him
properly and guarded him efficiently. His mind wavered with every wind
of fortune. To many the mind is the master of the intellect also. One
must be vigilant and preserve the impartiality of instrument called
reason of intellect. Clarify reason, then it will reveal God
everywhere, even in you once you accept God as the core of the
universe, and you have that strong and steady faith.
Krishna, whose
advent you should celebrate, is not the cowherd boy who charmed the
village folk with His flute, but Krishna the indefinable inscrutable Divine Principle that is born
in the navel of the body (Mathurā) as the product of Divine Energy
(Devakī) that is then transported to the Mouth (Gokulam) and fostered
by the Tongue (YaŚodā) as its source of sweetness. Krishna is the
visualisation of the Atma that the repetition of the name
grants, the vision was gained by YaŚodā, you must foster that Krishna on
your tongue. When He dances on it, the poison of tongue will be ejected
completely, without harming anyone as happened when as a child He
danced on the hoods of the serpent Kāliya [S.B. 10:16]
I never deviate from
truth. Since I recline on truth, I am called Sathya Sai; Sayi
(as Śeshasayi) means reclining. The name is very appropriate,
let me assure you. It is only those, who fail to follow My instructions
and deviate from the path I lay down, that fail to get what I hold out
before them. Follow My instructions and become soldiers in My army; I
will lead you on to victory. When someone asks you in great earnestness
'where the Lord is to be found', do not try to dodge the question. Give
them the answer that rises up to your tongue from your heart. Direct
them. He is here in Prasanthi Nilayam. All Avatāras teach,
as
the first step in the long road of 'sadhana', the giving up
of attachment. In the Treta Yuga, the Yoga-Vasishthha
taught the same rule. In the Dvāpara Yuga, Krishna taught
Arjuna to give up Vishaya-Vasana, attachment to the objective
world. People utter with apparent faith, 'Krishna, Krishna, Krishna', but
they never give up 'thrishura' (thirst) for worldly goods or
fame. In each yuga, you have the Avatāra of the Lord come to redeem,
review and rebuild. At the present time, Mahāsakthi, Māyāsakthi,
and
Yogasakthi have come all together in One Human Form.
Your
endeavor should be to draw near and earn grace therefrom.
Rāma, Krishna and
Sai Baba appear different because of the dress each has donned, but it
is the selfsame entity, believe Me. Do not be misled into error and
loss. The time will soon come when this huge building or even vaster
ones will be too small for the gatherings of those who are called to
this place. The sky itself will have to be the roof of the Auditorium
of the future. I will have to forego the car and even the airplane when
I move from place to place, for the crowds pressing around them will be
too huge; I will have to move across the sky; yes that too will happen,
believe Me.
See God in every being
and then true 'sneha' will blossom. This type of true 'sneha'
can
come only when you follow the advice of Krishna: [B.G 12: 13-14]
advestā
sarva-bhūtānām
maitrah karuna eva ca
nirmamo nirahankārah
sama-duhkha-sukhah ksamī
santustah satatam yogī
yatātmā drdha-niscayah
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir
yo mad-bhaktah sa me priyah
"He who has no trace of hatred towards
any creature, who is friendly and compassionate towards all, who is
free from the bondage of ' I ' and ' mine ', who takes pain and
pleasure as equally welcome and who is forbearing in spite of
provocation". Grow these qualities in you, for they are the signs of
true 'sneha'. It is only when you are proceeding on the Godward
journey along the nine stages of Bhakti that you can attain
this divine ideal of true friendship.
 The Rāma and Krishna
Avatarās performed the mission of restoring dharma and
fostering virtuous living, besides punishing the wicked and teaching
the world that vice will not succeed. Man is an amalgam of humanity,
animality and divinity. It is a tragedy if he cannot get rid of the
animality; and it is a greater tragedy if he cannot cultivate his
divinity. Contemplation of the Rāma and Krishna Avatāras and
their leelas
and mahimas [miracles] is the surest method of cultivating the
divine in man.
Nārada once asked Krishna the
secret of the attraction His fluteplay had on the cowherds of
Vrindāvana. 'Do they run to You or do You run to them?', he
queried. 'Among us there is neither I nor they; how can a picture be
separated from the cloth on which it is painted? I am imprinted on
their hearts so inseparably and so inextricably', Krishna
replied. Have God imprinted on your hearts; be ever so inextricably
established in Him - that is My message to you.
All who come embodied
are Avatāras, that is to say, advents of the divine, manifestations of
God. What then is the special feature of Rāma, Krishna,
Buddha and Christ? Why do you celebrate their birthdays with such
reverential enthusiasm? The specialty is this: they are aware; you are
unaware of the Atma which is the truth. Awareness confers
grace, glory, majesty, might and splendor. Awareness confers liberation
from bonds, time, space and causation, and sleep, dream and
wakefulness. Avatāras are ever alert, aware and alight.
Most of the names of
the divine have but two letters or syllables; the significance of the
number two, Rāma, Krishna, Hara, Hari, Datta, Sakti, Kali etc., is that the first
syllable represents agni (fire principle), which burns up
accumulated demerit or sin; and the second represents the amritha
principle, the restorative, refreshing and the reformation force. The
two processes are necessary for the removal of obstructions and the
construction of the structure.
Remembering the Lord
by means of His name is enough to save man. The Lord is 'Anandamaya';
He
is also 'Ananda'. That 'Ananda' is to be tasted
through the name. It is 'Sat-cit-ānanda' [eternity,
consciousness, bliss, main qualities of Krishna]. You may doubt
whether such a small raft as Rāma, or Sai or Krishna can
take you across the boundless sea of samsara. People cross vast
oceans on a tiny raft; they are able to walk through dark jungles with
a tiny lamp in their hands. The name or even the pranava [primal sound
of God, identity of Krishna as a transcendental sound vibration], which is smaller, has
vast potentialities. The raft need not be as big as the sea!
Human desire is
illimitable and without end. It makes you pursue the mirage in the
desert; it makes you build castles in the air; it breeds discontent and
despair once you succumb to it. But develop the thirst for Krishna; you
discover the cool-spring of Ananda within you. Krishna-nama
makes you very strong and steady; it is sweet and sustaining.
Prayer is the very
breath of religion for it brings man and God together and with every
sigh nearer and nearer. Dhyana is the process of listening to the song
celestial, the flute of Krishna, with the mental ears alert on the melody. Yoga is the
merging of the mind in the bliss of self-forgetfulness when the music
fills the consciousness.
We shall act ever as
if we are in the presence of God, as if God is watching and weighing
every thought, word and deed. See yourselves in all; See all in
yourselves; that is the road to lasting peace and joy. Let us not seek
the outer empire; let us become the rulers of the inner empire. Let us
not try to defy the outer enemy, leaving the inner foe to grow in
striking power. We have Krishna with us, and so, who can defeat us? We shall win through
winning His grace.
When Avatāras come,
they choose the time and the place, clan and the family, and they
decide and bring the comrades and the coworkers. When Rāma came, Śesha,
Sankha, Chakra and other inseparable adjuncts of the Lord also
incarnated; they also came down in order to taste the sweetness of the
Lord's company and service. Rohini, under which Krishna was
born, is related to the attainment of yogic success and the powers that
flow from it.
How can darkness
conquer or stand up to light? Krishna is 'Premaswarupa' [embodyment of love] and He can be
won over only by 'prema'. Audacity cannot approach Him. Actors
in films, however, correct their accouterments (equipment) and
intonation; they can never be the real. Not even the biggest scientist
can understand Me by means of the categories to which he is accustomed.
I always smile at those who deride Me and even those who praise Me. I
am always full of 'santhosh', [peace, contentment, happiness]
whatever may happen. Nothing can come in the way of My smile. Derision
and calumny only tend to make it grow better and happier.
Even when divinity
comes down as Avatāra, man is unable to pierce the veil and
revere the divine. Lord Krishna says that people are unable to recognise the divinity that
is He, because they deem Him to be merely human. Only those who are
aware of the current within, the Atma, can identify the source
of power before them.
Some of you claim to be
Saibhaktas, Rāmabhaktas, and Krishnabhaktas.
But
unless you are perfect instruments in His hand, you do not deserve
that name. For example, Bharata can call himself Rāmabhakta. He lived
with Rāma-Nama in every breath; he suffered as much as Rāma; he was as
much as anchorite as his brother; so, he too became Shyama
(dark-skinned) like Rāma.
This created Universe
has two aspects. One is impermanence (antiyam). The second one
is unhappiness (asutham). In the Gītā, Krishna has
said 'anityam asukham lokam imam prāpya bhajasva mām', [B.G.
9:33] nothing in this world can give happiness that is, true and
lasting happiness. Mistaking this world as 'All' and forgetting the
Atman, which alone is eternal and is the only refuge, is the greatest
folly of man.
To have faith you must
dive deep into the inner mystery of the Avatārs, like Rāma
or Krishna, and not lose your way in the tangle of the outer events
and emotional conflicts, the external adventures and activities. Do not
take Rāma as a brother, son and husband, entangled in the
personal calamity of having his wife kidnapped and heroically rescuing
her. You can be moved into the adoration only by diving into the cool
depths of the inner mystery. This process was specially discovered by
the sages of the inner mystery. It was specially discovered by the
sages of India, and so, India rose to the status of the whole world.
When a namavali
extols Śiva, the next one will have to be on Krishna, the
next on Rāma and so on. A person whose favorite form is
Rāma or Śiva will feel neglected if, out of inadvertence,
you stick to only one form. Let the atmosphere of Bhajan be
free from competitive conceit and fanaticism. This is My advice.
The saints and sages of
India and even the incarnations that God vouchsafed to take in this
land, have proclaimed and practiced the ideal of service to fellow
beings. Krishna drove the chariot of Arjuna during fateful days when the
fortunes of the Pāndavas were decided at the point of the
sword. Imagine the Lord of the Universe holding the reigns of Arjuna's
horses. Note how Hanumān was elated when he rose to the status
of the servant of Rāma.
One day, Anjaneya
(Hanumān) appeared in a garden on the outskirts of Dvārakā.
Krishna, who heard about the pranks of the strange monkey, directed
Garuda to proceed and scare the animal out of the
city limits. Garuda failed, even though he later took the
entire army with him for the fray. His pride was humbled. Krishna sent a
message through him to the monkey, who had declared himself as Anjaneya,
that
he should deign to come to Krishna's court. But Anjaneya, recognised only Rāma
and would obey only Rāma. So Krishna had to send
another
message that Rāma was calling him to His audience hall!
Devotion compels the Lord to yield to the whims of His servants.
Anjaneya hurried to see Rāma and Krishna gave
him the dharsan of Rāma Himself.
Dharma purifies
the mind and leads you to God. It creates a taste for the name and form
of God. When you love the name and form of Krishna, you will
naturally
respect and obey the command (agna) of Krishna, which
is found in the Bhagavat Gītā. Have the name on the tongue and
the form in the eye, and the demon called aasa, unending
desire, will fly from your mind, leaving joy and content therein.
This kind of constant dwelling on the indwelling God will promote love
for all beings. You will then see good in others and you will strive to
do good to others.
Namasmarana is
the process by which this dedicatory attitude can be cultivated and
confirmed. When confronted by calamity, you must attach yourself to
this sadhana even more firmly, instead of losing faith in it
and getting slack. The drug should not be given up when it is most
needed. The pity is that, when the first disappointment faces you, you
lose courage and confidence and give up Rāma or Krishna or
Sai Baba.
We find individuals and
groups trudging to Badrinath, Kedarnath, and Haridwar in search of
peace and prosperity. They also go to Tirupathi and Kashi. Have they
jettisoned even a few of their animal propensities? That is the test;
that is the justification for the money and time they have spent and
the troubles they have undergone. When the animal is conquered and
Godhead is felt within reach, man can assert that all these pilgrimages
are within him. He has no need to travel from temple to temple. And
without achieving this victory, you have no right to claim that you are
a devotee of Rāma or Krishna or of another incarnation of the Lord.
Draupadī moved
into the tent and fell at the feet of Bhīshma who blessed her
spontaneously as was his wont: 'May you have many years of married
life'. Draupadī revealed herself as soon as she was blessed.
She prayed that the Pāndava brothers, her husbands, may be
saved from arrows. Bhīshma guessed that Krishna must
be the author of this stratagem. 'We are but puppets in His handŚ, he
said; and when he found Krishna at the entrance of the tent, he inquired what the bundle
contained. Imagine his dismay when he was told that the Lord had
condescended to carry under His arms the sandals worn by His devotee.
Have faith in Him; He will never give you up; He will guard and guide
you until victory is won. Sincere devotion and unshaken faith can never
fail to earn grace.
Carry to every door the
name of God and let the clouds be illumined by love and reverence. Let
every street in the towns, every village in the state ring with the
adoration of the Almighty; every sunrise sing of Rāma, Eswara,
Sankara, and Krishna. Any name is effective, provided it is suffused with the
divine essence. Love the branches, twigs, leaves, flowers and fruits.
They may appear to be different in color, feel, taste, smell, etc. but
they all are products of the earth, drawing sustenance from the soil
and the sun. Live together in love; live in peace; and live in service.
While speaking of God,
who is guarding you, I am reminded of a note that someone has sent Me
from this gathering. The note wants Me to explain why I have not
mentioned SAI BABA in any of my discourses so far, though I
bear the name as the avatār of SAI BABA. Evidently,
the writer of the note had in mind the people who engage themselves in
publicity work of Rāma, Krishna or SAI BABA.
It has been proclaimed
that God is one, and that He is known and can be known through various
names and forms. It has been declared that God is installed in the
heart of every being. Look at the emblem of the Sathya Sai
Organization. It tells you that the Hindu, the Muslim, the Parsee, the
Buddhist and the Christian are all adoring the same God for the same
consummation. The mind of man has to be a garden of many colored
flowers, a Nandavanam. Krishna will certainly delight in dancing there and playing on the
enchanting flute in the bowers of the garden.
Be eager to confer
consolation and courage; be anxious to be of help. Watch for the
chance. Snatch each opportunity to expand yourself by sympathy, to
enlarge the horizon of love by understanding and prayer. Do not keep
another at arm's length, saying 'My God is different from yours or my
God is opposite to yourŚ. It can never be so. Paramatma, the
name for God, does not mean a strange God but the Supreme God. Who can
vouchsafe for the correctness of the picture which you now worship as
the picture of Rāma or Krishna? The poet
described
and the painter delineated, but both rely on their imagination rather
than on actual authentic vision.
All who come embodied
are Avatārs, that is to say, advents of the divine,
manifestations of God. What then is the special feature of Rāma, Krishna,
Buddha and Christ? Why do you celebrate their birthdays with much
reverential enthusiasm? The specialty is this: they are Aware,
you are unaware of the atma which is the Truth.
Awareness confers liberation from bonds, from time, space and causation
and from sleep, dream and wakefulness. Avatārs are ever alert,
aware, and alight.
The Name undoubtedly
brings in the grace of God. Meerabai, the Queen of Rajasthan,
gave up status and riches, fortune and family and dedicated herself to
the adoration of the Lord, Giridhara Gopala. Her husband
brought a chalice of poison and she was ordered to drink it. She
uttered the Name of Krishna while she drank it. It was transformed into nectar, by the
grace the Name evoked.
Krishna is
hiding in the recesses of your hearts. You have to trace Him there and
hold fast. He runs away but leaves footprints marked by the spilled
milk on which he has trodden in His hurry to be beyond our reach. Yes,
the lesson is: recognise his footprints in everything of beauty, every
act of goodness, every tear of gratitude and every sigh of compassion;
and discover Him in the bower of your own heart filled with the
fragrance of love and light of virtue.
At school, the first
lesson is 'Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?', and the second is
'Ding dong bell, pussy in the well'. Gone are the days when the first
lesson was on Rāma, Krishna or some great sage or saint? Getting to know about black
sheep will make children black sheep; getting to know about the great
and the good will make children great and good. Children of Baba
Vihar are therefore told stories of Rāma, Krishna and
other divine persons. Learn those tales and decide to live like them.
Learn Indian ways and Indian tales, and be true Indians.
Krishna
took upon Himself three vows:
(1)
paritrānāya sādhūnām, vināŚāya ca dushkritām,
dharma-samsthāpanārthāya, sambhavāmi yuge yuge [BG 4:8] - 'For the protection of the good and the punishment of the
bad; for the establishment of the Moral Order, I shall concretise
Myself, age after age'.
(2) ananyāŚ cintayanto mām, ye janāh
paryupāsate, teshām nityābhiyuktānām, yoga-kshemam vahāmy aham [BG
9:22] - 'Whoever is wholly immersed in My contemplation, with
no other thought; I shall be ever with him and I shall bear the burden
of his welfare'.
(3) sarva-dharmān
parityajya,
mām ekam Śaranam vraja, aham tvām sarva-pāpebhyo,
mokshayishyāmi mā Śucah [BG 18:66] - 'Surrender
unto Me, giving up all other duties and obligations, I shall liberate
you from all sin; do not grieve'.
How can we find time
for all this when we have to toil every moment for feeding and clothing
ourselves? But you forget, the Lord will grant you these material
things and even immortality, if only you place full reliance on Him.
Whatever you do, have the name, Rāma or Krishna, or Śiva
or Hari on your tongue, no extra time or energy is needed for
that. When you rise in the morning, rise with the name on your tongue
and slide into sleep with the name on your tongue.
One day, Krishna
pretended to be fast asleep! With the flute carelessly thrown aside by
His side, when Rādhā approached the fortunate flute and asked
it in plaintive terms, 'Oh lucky Murali! Tell me how did you earn the
great good fortune. What was the vow you observed, the vigil you kept,
the pilgrimage you accomplished'? The flute got a voice through His
Grace: 'I rid myself of all sensual desire of envy, greed and ego, that
is all. I had no feeling of ego left to obstruct the flow of His Prema
through me to all creation'.
Krishna had
undoubtedly the power to transform in a trice the wayward mind of His
kinsman into unillumined instrument for resolute action. But Krishna did
not use the power! He only prescribed the medicine and the regimen.
Arjuna had to swallow the drug and follow the regimen himself in order
to be saved. He said, 'You are My friend; you are My kinsman; you are
now so near to Me that I am now your charioteer; you are also in great
distress; I agree that the delusion, which has overpowered you, must be
removed quickly; but, your ajÒāna must fall off through your
own efforts not through some miracle of My design'.
We are today
celebrating the advent of Krishna. The Avatār (incarnation) in the Krishna-form
has a vast mystery enshrined in it. Brindavan (the forest of
Brinda or Vrindāvana) is the tangled jungle of life. The cows
tended by Lord Krishna in Brindavan are none other than the humans that
are helpless without His care and guidance. Gokula (the herds
of cows) is the name given in the Bhāgavatam (book on the Glory of the Lord) to the region where Krishna tended
the cows. 'Go' means also the individual who is enclosed in the
body. So, Gokula, is the region inhabited by man.
One poet has sung,
'Oh, Krishna, Oh, Gopala, do not count on your being kind to me,
being moved by my appeals for mercy. Don't I know that you killed with
your own hands your maternal uncle (Kamsa)? You
killed the very nurse who came endearingly to you in order to feed you
at her breast (Pūtanā)!
With no iota of compassion towards the father of your dearest devotees,
you tortured him (HiranyakaŚipu) and killed him while the son, Prahlāda was looking on! You
approached Bali as if
for alms, and when he gladly placed all he had at your feet, you
trampled on his head and pressed him into the nether regions! How can a
heart that has no tenderness melt at my misery'? Yes, the Lord is above
all attachments, He has no favorites or foes.
Nothing that is
experienced will go to waste. It will shape the course of events. It
will change attitudes and habits. It will purify and clarify situations
and outlooks. That is why I want you to read the Gītā; it is
like learning eatha (swimming) - this learning of the Gītā.
Eatha saves you from drowning. Gītā saves
you from drowning in the treacherous flood of worldly desires. The Gītā
is the real purpose for which the Avatār of Krishna was
undertaken.
The influence of the
divine is such that while you are contemplating it, all traces of envy
and greed will disappear from the mind. The boy Krishna had
entered a gopī's house and was just standing beneath the pot
of curds when she discovered Him. Krishna ran out into the
street and the gopī pursued Him and wanted to catch Him
quickly, for she was so distressed that the boy was running in the hot
sun. She never worried about the loss of curds or milk or butter, but
the very thought of Krishna's tender feet walking over the hard stones in the sun was
something she could not bear. The prema that Krishna
showered made everyone forget everything else. He too gave such
disarming replies to the queries of the mother and the gopīs
that no one could have anything but prema towards Him. That is
the characteristic of Avatārs at all times.
Dharma is the
very habiliment of India, the dress that Bharatha-matha wears
to protect her, honor to reclaim her status to shelter herself against
heat and cold and to set a standard to her sisters. When the wicked Kaurava
princes seized hold of the sarī that Draupadī wore and tried to inflict
insult on her honor, Krishna rescued her and foiled the foul design. Dharmarāja
sat as if he was unaware of his rights and duties. Bhīma was
involved in doubt concerning his obligations to his elder brother and
his consort. Arjuna cared more for his own interests. Nakula
and Sahadeva waited and weighed the pros and cons. But the Lord
did not wait! His Grace knew no delay or doubt.
Dharma, the
very clothes that Bharatha-matha has worn since centuries,
which is the expression of her natural style, is now seized by wicked
irreverent hands. They wish to dress her in unbecoming styles on their
own initiative or frenzied dictates. So Krishna has to come
again for
resuming the eviction of the wicked. Krishna revealed the
hollowness of the people who were confident of their capacity to
dishonor Draupadī and the weakness of those entrusted with the
task of protecting her. Now too, the Lord has to foil the attempts to
undermine Dharma and to stand in support of those who are the
traditional protectors and protagonists of Dharma.
YaŚodā one day
was searching for Krishna who had strayed away. She thought He went to the house of Rādhā.
Rādhā just closed her eyes and meditated on Krishna for a
while and when she called 'Krishna', Krishna was there. Then YaŚodā shed tears of joy. She
said, 'I love Krishna as a mother. I have a sense of egoism in me that He is my
son and that I must save Him from harm and seek to give Him guidance
and protection. Your prema is pure; it has no egoism promoting
it'.
Imagine the prema
of the gopīs. One noon, Krishna stealthily entered the house of a cowherd and drank all the
milk in the pot. The gopī discovered Him and, when she
admonished Him, Krishna took to His heels. When the gopī saw Him running
over the hard cobblestones of the street, she shed tears of contrition.
'These lotus feet must feel great pain', she wept. 'Oh, what a great
sinner I am', she wailed. Krishna will make the most wicked heart melt in repentance. He is Premaswarupa
and Santhaswarupa and so He makes every heart sprout up to prema
and shanthi.
Vāsudevas-sarvamidam
does not mean that all this is just Krishna, the son of Vasudeva.
It
means that all this is God, by whatever name He is known. So if you
decry anyone, you are decrying God, which is His real core. If you
become aware of the God in you and the God in all else, there is
nothing to equal the peace and joy that you get.
 Do
not
compare the various manifestations of the divine and pronounce
judgment, declaring that Rāma is greater than Krishna or Śiva
superior to Vishnu. This line of thought is poisonous and
harmful to the devout aspirant. You do not know your own self, but yet,
how dare you pronounce judgment on personalities and powers you have
never experienced or understood. Rāma is as unknown to you as Christ
and so it is best to keep silent, and revere both with
equal ardor. For all are manifestations of the same divine effulgence.
God, the eternal absolute is pictured,
praised and adored as temporarily apparent and is adored in limited
regions as Rāma, Krishna, Vishnu, Eswara, etc. These are not basic
fundamental expressions of His nature. These are only forms assumed for
certain purposes, like conferring peace on earth, re-establishing the
norms of justice and strengthening the ideal of faith in the supreme.
The fixed and fundamental attributes are Sathyam, Jnanam, Anantham [meaning: 'O Absolute Eternal One! Thou art
Truth, Knowledge (wisdom) and Infinity']. This is the swarupa
of Brahmam.
SAI KRISHNA - Selfsame Rāma and Selfsame Krishna He Was ... He Is that, Bhagawan, on rare occasions
has revealed this Oneness of the three Mighty Avatars to some of His
chosen devotees in His Own inexplicable, inimitable style. Read on such
an illustrious 'revelation' wherein Bhagawan showed Dr. John Hislop His
Very Own enchanting blue-hued Krishna Form ... an extract from Sanathana Sarathi July 1977.
This is a story about Krishna.... In a way, the story was not completed until November,
1975.
A number of years ago, I was in Bhagawan's car. He was in the rear seat
with two persons, one on each side of Him. I was in the front seat,
with the driver. We were on our way to Puttaparthi.
Driving in the car with Swami is a fascinating experience. Not only is
there the thrill of being close to the Divine Lord Himself, but,
sometimes He will give you the opportunity to ask questions. Sometimes,
He engages in animated conversation in Telugu with the companions.
Sometimes, He indulges in jokes with one or other of them. Sometimes,
He remains silent, making the characteristic gesture with His hand that
seems to indicate that He is giving attention to something quite
unknown to us. And, very often, He sings bhajans, with every one in the
car joining in the chorus (except me, who has a musical voice, akin to
the crow). The net result of all this enthralling activity is that my
neck is constantly being twisted in order to see what is going on in
the back seat. Swami understands my plight, but, does not advise me to
desist; He allows me the liberty to turn round. Of course, I do not
stare all the time. I look only so long as I dare and then I resume my
posture, turning to the front again. So, my looking at Swami is
intermittently back and forth.
At some point in the journey, maybe about half way, Swami was talking
and I turned to look. My breathing stopped and I was transfixed! I
could not credit my eyes. His devotees see Swami's Face as beautiful
indeed, although the chief impression I receive from His feature is
that of Power and Majesty.
What transfixed my movement and stopped my breathing was Swami's
Face... The Swami I know was not there! Instead, there was a Face of
the most extraordinary beauty, quite different of shape and cast from
the features of our Beloved Sai. The charm was so great, so poignant
that my heart seemed to twist, almost as though it were in pain. Never
in life, nor in photos, nor in painting by great artists have I seen a
Face of such exquisite beauty. It was beyond imagination and concept,
totally out of experience.
And His colour was blue. Not just blue, not the blue with which artists
paint Krishna but, a deep blue, like the velvet blue that sometimes can
be seen in a dark sky, like a blue that I have at times seen from the
deck of a ship thousands of miles from shore on the Pacific Ocean. I do
not know how else to describe it.
I could not remove my eyes from Swami. At length, I caught myself and
turned away. But, at once, I looked again, and the same beauty surely
not of the world, was still there. This continued for at least fifteen
minutes. The two men sitting with Swami were beginning to look at me
with somewhat puzzled expressions for, my staring was different from
what they had become used to.
After a few miles, Vittala Rao (on Swami's left) asked me, "Hislop!
What were you staring at Swami like that?"
Instead of answering, I directed a question to Swami, "Swami! What was
that blue colour?" Swami replied, "Oh! That? Whenever there is
something of unfathomable depth, it appears to be deep blue.”
That was the end of the conversation. Naturally the thought had come to
mind that may be this was Lord Krishna, but, neither then, nor at any time in connection with this
experience did I ever say the name of Krishna to Swami.
There the matter rested until November 1975. It was before people
started to arrive in multitudes for the Birthday. Swami's schedule was
still somewhat free and He was taking me with Him in the jeep and so
on... and probably, that was why I got invited into the Interview. An
army man and his wife had come from Assam. They were devotees, but this
was their first time to actually see Swami. Often people wait for
months for interview, but this family was called as soon as they
arrived. I was seated on the verandah of the Mandir and saw them go
into Swami's room. No sooner had they entered than Swami motioned to me.
There was the mother and father, the son and daughter. Swami spoke to
them most lovingly. He knew everything about their lives and it was
very evident that He was an intimate member of that household.
After a while, Swami asked me, "Hislop! Tell them some experiences.” I
complied and after mentioning some incidents, I told the same story
just now related in these pages, but, not even then, did I mention the Krishna name. The man was deeply impressed and words broke from His
lips, "Oh! That had to be Lord Krishna"
Swami smiled and said, "Yes, that was Krishna; not the Krishna pictured by artists and imagined by writers. I showed
Hislop the real Krishna.” The man said, "Oh! How I want to see Krishna.” Swami smiled again and said, "Wait; wait.”
There is a sequel to this story. About a month later, in December, at
Brindavan, I was talking with Swami and I brought forward the names of
some famous saints and gurus of the past and Swami said some things
about them. Then the idea struck me that, wonderful though it must have
been to know those great personages and learn from them, the present
day was the first time since Krishna lived that one could have God Himself as Guru. So I started
to say, "Swami! In the thousands of years of time, since Krishna...."
Swami interrupted me before I could say another word and exclaimed
"Time since Krishna...? I am Krishna. Where is Time?" I folded my hands and bent low to Him and
said, "Well, Swami. This is the best of all times, to be born!"
Swami replied, "Yes; the most fortunate of all times. Even more
fortunate to be born now, than during the Krishna Avatar.”
Once before, within my hearing, Swami declared Himself as Lord Krishna. This story has been told in detail elsewhere. It happened
in Dharmakshetra, at Bombay (Mumbai), and came about as part of the
extra ordinary drama of `the weeping sariŚ to which a few of us in the
room with Swami were the fascinated witnesses. I had exclaimed that
this had to be the reenactment this very day of the drama of the
mountain that had occurred in the Avatars of Sri Rāma and Sri Krishna. Bhagawan replied, "Yes; it is the selfsame Rāma and the selfsame Krishna Who is here this very day.”
In the light of what has been recited in the preceding pages by me, a
direct witness and participant, we need never look back with even the
slightest tinge of envy to those fortunate people who lived during
those wonderful days of the Rāma Avatar. This very day, and every day that we look at our
Beloved Sai, we are, gazing directly at Sri Krishna.
Let us treasure His Divine presence. In ages to come, the rich
experience of our days will be told and retold as the wondrous story of
the Sai Avatar.
Sat-cit-ānanda: eternity, consciousness, bliss. Main
qualities of Krishna relating to the three levels of
realization: brahman, paramātmā and bhagavān: the impersonal
spirit, the localized aspect, and His complete. What counts in
selfrealization is the consecutive realization of the continuity of the
impersonal spirit, the consciousness of the local aspect and the
happiness of His opulence, His Person. - The qualities of the spiritual and absolute form (vigraha)
of the Supreme Lord; but also of the original form of the living
beings, who so sure are part of His being. - The qualities of spiritual
existence on itself.
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