Can we understand His words?
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba left His physical frame on the 24th of April 2011. When that happened, there was widespread disbelief among the devotees. According to various public instances and references, Baba had said that He would be in His physical frame till 92, 94 or 96 years of age with the ‘96-years’ concept being the most popular version. How then, could He leave at 85? Thus, came the ‘theories’ of a second coming, a return to the physical of Bhagawan Baba. Then came the compilation - Sai, Thy Kingdom Come - by S.Narayan which brought together all the different things Bhagawan had said about the ‘length’ of His life. It presented evidence from the various scriptures, Nadis and the like while proposing a second coming. It also presented dreams and visions of different devotees that suggested Swami's second appearance as evidence. I must say, it felt really wonderful reading the same.
However, whenever I read, heard or came to know about different accounts regarding His second coming, a voice from within kept persistently throwing up a single statement which Bhagawan often made - a statement so poignant and profound that one could meditate for long just on it. This was the statement of Baba that my heart kept showing me,
“When you cannot understand my silence, how will you understand my words?”
The Mahasamadhi was a black swan event and it was chosen by the Avatar of the Age definitely to communicate several messages of wisdom to mankind. One of those, I firmly believe, is to prod us to start listening to and understanding His silence. Instead of doing that, if we start discussions and debates on when and how He will start 'talking' again, aren't we missing the whole point?
The Divine Word is the Veda Vakya
God’s words are always the TRUTH. In fact, a Vedic scholar was once asked,
“Swami keeps telling various things about what is in the Vedas. Are those things really present in the Vedic texts?”
The scholar, Sri Kamavadhani, replied emphatically,
“Fool, Swami’s Word itself is the Veda!”
According to him, Swami’s word defined the Vedic word and not the other way around. It was not the case of checking whether what Swami spoke was the truth or not for His speech defined the Truth. His first name, Sathya, means Truth and the Universe realigns itself to follow His every utterance.
So, don't get me wrong. I am not disregarding even slightly the words spoken by Swami. What I am pondering is simply about our ability to understand those words. There is the story of a sage undertaking a penance for centuries in an attempt to understand the Vedas. At the end of it, he realizes that if the Vedas were the four mountains, his understanding has been equivalent to a grain of sand! These are metaphorical stories to indicate that when it comes to divinity, the intellect and the mind are grossly inadequate in imparting an understanding. That understanding lies in the realm which is beyond the mind and the intellect.
The debate here is not about what Bhagawan said, but of our understanding of what He said.
Bhagawan's startling declaration in the interview room
The drama ‘Daivam Manusha Roopena’ (presented by the 11th grade students on March 29, 2007) was on the life of Shirdi Baba. When the scene of Shirdi Baba leaving the body for three days came, Swami went into the interview room. There, He made a revelation that literally left the students, Divij Desai and Harish Krishan. dumbstruck.
“A time will come when I too will leave like Shirdi Baba but unlike Him, I will not come back. My tomb will be in the place where I currently sit and I too will speak from the Tomb like Shirdi Baba.”
The boys immediately responded saying that the Poornaavatar should be with us for at least a 100 years and He should not 'utter inauspicious things'. Swami seemed pleased with the response but gave no assurance of the same.
In the same vein, though not directly related to the current story, Swami revealed to the same Harish something profound in early 2011, weeks before He left the physical. Swami expressed a deep sense of anxiety that His students (especially) would leave Prasanthi Nilayam when He sheds His body.
Stating that, Swami got very upset and apparently agitated. It didn’t seem to be a cause of such agitation back in 2011 but there is a reason behind every single act of Bhagawan. Today, we see people coming to Prasanthi Nilayam in droves but we also witness devotees leaving, deluded by the thinking that ‘Swami is not here’ or ‘Swami is now in X place or Y place’. Hasn’t Bhagawan has said that though God is present everywhere, you find Him installed where His glory is sung? No where has it been sung and with such emotion as in Prasanthi Nilayam and in His Divine Presence! Every brick in the mandir is filled with His Love. He has built everything Himself shedding His sweat. Physical presence or not, Prasanthi Nilayam is definitely effused with THE PRESENCE.
The phenomenon of 'Understanding-after-the-Event'- two dreams
On the 11th of February 2010, I had a dream in which, among the other things, I saw Swami on an operating table with a doctor explaining some things to Him. My experiences have shown me that dreams of Swami are true. Swami Himself has said on many occasions that it is solely His will when He appears in a person’s dream.
In the dream, I grasped a few things that the doctor was telling Swami. It was about cutting and slicing something out from His body, doing something to support His back and planting an ‘inflatable’ object within Him. Though the dream was very clear, I did not understand what it meant.
That is, till Swami was actually implanted with an ‘inflatable’ thing an year later and something was done to support His back - continuous dialysis (the kidneys are located at the back).
Though Swami had indicated what was to happen more than a year in advance, I understood its import only when the right time came. I could neither interpret what was going to happen, nor take precautionary steps in any way to prevent that from happening in the February of 2010.
This ‘understanding-after-the-event’ is a commonality that I have seen in all the future-predicting texts - be it the Nadi scripts or the Nostradamus prophesies. What they predict is always understood after the event. The predictions are of no use in understanding or influencing what is going to happen in any way! It is always a retrospective view. Take the case of the prediction of the Advent itself. If people accepted what the Nadi said or what Mehdi Moud said or Nostradamus prophesies revealed about the advent of Baba on earth, why did they not believe in Him till He Himself established His divinity beyond doubt? It was only after being convinced of His divinity that people understood and accepted what the scriptures said. It was more a case of Swami lending credibility to the Nadi and other scriptures rather than the other way around!
I have recorded an instance where Swami made certain revelations in my dream which manifested a year later. But it was only after they had manifested that I understood what the dream meant. I would like to share another dream to illustrate another variant of this phenomenon of 'understanding-after-the-event'. It also shows us that though we clearly understand the meaning of things that are revealed, we truly understand them ONLY at the right time. This is the dream I had it on the 17th of January, 2011.
As I knelt beside Swami (in my dream), Swami said that He would leave and go up which I understood as He would give up the body. He seemed quite sad and so I told Him that He should not feel so bad or sad. Then Swami asked,
“But who will give ______ to me?”
I am unable to remember what He asked for. This much I am able to remember that it was something which I did not have a lot of and I wondered how the little I had would help Swami. But I told Him,
“Swami don’t worry. I will give. It’s not about the future, even now I shall give. All that is mine is yours. You know that.”
Swami knew that I was speaking very honestly, and He seemed slightly better. Then He said,
“But still....the time is coming. I have to go.”
Then I said,
“Swami truly speaking, I too feel very bad when I think that You are going. But since You are feeling bad, I am not showing my emotions. It is not good for two people to feel sad simultaneously”
At this point, Swami sat closing His eyes. I thought of asking Him a strange thing,
“Swami even after You are gone, I will be in touch with You right?”
So I cleared my throat and dared to disturb His trance,
“Swami.......Swami........Swami.......Swami.....”
But Swami was lost and I was not able to elicit anything from Him.
I woke up next morning and though I noted down the dream because it was very vivid and real, I convinced myself that it was an ‘indigestion dream’ because I didn't want to accept it though I understood it! And so, once again, though the Truth was revealed, it was not understood before the right time - the 24th of April 2011 in this case.
What I am trying to say is that though there is no doubt that Swami's Word is the Truth, I cannot understand what He says till the right time for that comes. The same holds true for the second coming as well.
A dream about the second coming
Regarding the second coming, I too had a significant dream. But frankly, I feel its complete meaning will unfold only when the right time comes. Here is the dream anyway. This was on the 4th of March, 2012.
I had been called for an interview along with another lad. We were waiting for Swami to call us into the interview room. We stood at the the ladies side end of the mandir where the ladies would usually wait for interviews. A large mirror had been placed at the backside of the Ganesha statue and in it, I could see the reflection of the interview room door. Swami was bustling with activity, going in and out of the interview room. I wondered and said to my partner,
“I just hope that He remembers our interview due!”
Even as I said that, Swami looked straight at me through the mirror. He beckoned to us. I went and as I turned towards the interview room, I saw that a cot had been placed next to the door. Swami was now lying on it and a student was holding Swami’s right elbow with his right hand and his left hand was behind Swami’s back. Swami asked for one more person to support Him similarly on His left. My partner felt overwhelmed with this asking and just sat down in the portico. I went ahead thinking that if Swami wants anything done, He would also give the strength to complete the same. I eagerly told Swami that I would help.
I sat next to Swami and held Him the same way as the other student. Then, we were making Swami do sit-ups! Even as that was on, I had tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. Swami looked at me and asked me the reason for the expression. I said,
“Swami when you did so many miracles, some people believed you while others found faults in the miracles. But now, the whole world saw your burial on national television. And after that, you are sitting here! What greater miracle could one ask for...”
Swami too had a tear in His eye.
Everything has changed but Nothing has changed
I know that my Lord has not left me. He is always there. I know that He is working a miracle in manner in which none of us can even imagine, let alone trying to understand. My job is to simply wait - give Him the Shraddha (faith) and Saburi (perseverance) that He asked for in the Shirdi form. Except for me missing the physical form now and then, nothing has changed. He still guides, counsels, jokes and speaks to me in ways that I never thought possible. I shall possibly record just one example of this here.
Something had upset my wife, Pooja. Naturally, it affected me too. We decided to offer everything to Him. Thus it was, that we decided to read the Prayer of Surrender. This prayer, written by Swami in a letter to a devotee makes us achieve a state of surrender by simply reading it with a calm mind! (To see that original letter, head over to the dialogue on surrender.) But it is so comforting and powerful that I have framed it in my altar and I read it frequently. Here is what happened. I pulled out this framed ‘prayer of surrender’ from the altar and began to read it out to my wife. At the same time, my father entered the room with silver lamps to be kept in the altar. It was hardly 25-35 seconds when he called out to me. When I turned back to face the altar, there was bright red kumkum (sindhoor actually) in exactly the same spot where the ‘prayer of surrender’ had been plucked out from!
Yes! Swami is with us always. I was reading the story of Jesus Christ and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. You know something startling?
When Jesus Christ resurrected, not everyone saw him! And even those that 'saw' him actually 'felt' his presence in multiple ways in their lives. That continues to happen till this day where the faithful and devout 'see' and 'feel' him. Is that not happening with our Swami already? Then where is the question of Him 'returning' when He hasn't actually 'left' at all? The term ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, which has become synonymous for deliberations on Swami's return in the physical for Sai Devotees, is taken from a famous Christian prayer. You know what is the next line of the same prayer?
“Thy Will Be Done”
In our eagerness to focus on 'Thy Kingdom Come' may we not forget the 'Thy Will Be Done'. By trying to pin down Swami to references of Him 'living' till 96, we are possibly missing the bigger picture. That is why, I shall not try to understand. I shall only strengthen my faith and wait...for when the right time comes, everything will become crystal clear. In the meanwhile, I might as well enjoy His divine drama as I wait! :)
A note of caution from Swami
After Bhagawan left the physical, there have been several claims from different people that Swami speaks through them, acts through them and even "possesses" them. Such things used to happen even when He was in the physical but, understandably, they are on the rise after the 'Mahasamadhi'. People often wonder about the veracity and authenticity of such claims.
Are these 'blessed' people really in touch with Swami? If 'Swami' communicates to me through them, what should I do? This is such a sensitive matter that I feel it best to simply allow Swami Himself to answer. Below is a clip from a discourse that He delivered on the 22nd of July, 2002, during the international Seva Conference at Prasanthi Nilayam. Swami expresses His immense pain and disappointment that some people in the garb of devotees are misusing Swami's name and soliciting money. Swami categorically says that He does not approve fundraising of any kind, and it is completely against His nature to seek from others, and those who claim to represent Him too must not indulge in or support any such activities.See it for yourselves and realize how important it is for each one to develop a direct, heart-to-heart connection with Him and not via any medium!
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba left His physical frame on the 24th of April 2011. When that happened, there was widespread disbelief among the devotees. According to various public instances and references, Baba had said that He would be in His physical frame till 92, 94 or 96 years of age with the ‘96-years’ concept being the most popular version. How then, could He leave at 85? Thus, came the ‘theories’ of a second coming, a return to the physical of Bhagawan Baba. Then came the compilation - Sai, Thy Kingdom Come - by S.Narayan which brought together all the different things Bhagawan had said about the ‘length’ of His life. It presented evidence from the various scriptures, Nadis and the like while proposing a second coming. It also presented dreams and visions of different devotees that suggested Swami's second appearance as evidence. I must say, it felt really wonderful reading the same.
However, whenever I read, heard or came to know about different accounts regarding His second coming, a voice from within kept persistently throwing up a single statement which Bhagawan often made - a statement so poignant and profound that one could meditate for long just on it. This was the statement of Baba that my heart kept showing me,
“When you cannot understand my silence, how will you understand my words?”
The Mahasamadhi was a black swan event and it was chosen by the Avatar of the Age definitely to communicate several messages of wisdom to mankind. One of those, I firmly believe, is to prod us to start listening to and understanding His silence. Instead of doing that, if we start discussions and debates on when and how He will start 'talking' again, aren't we missing the whole point?
The Divine Word is the Veda Vakya
God’s words are always the TRUTH. In fact, a Vedic scholar was once asked,
“Swami keeps telling various things about what is in the Vedas. Are those things really present in the Vedic texts?”
The scholar, Sri Kamavadhani, replied emphatically,
“Fool, Swami’s Word itself is the Veda!”
According to him, Swami’s word defined the Vedic word and not the other way around. It was not the case of checking whether what Swami spoke was the truth or not for His speech defined the Truth. His first name, Sathya, means Truth and the Universe realigns itself to follow His every utterance.
The debate here is not about what Bhagawan said, but of our understanding of what He said.
Bhagawan's startling declaration in the interview room
The drama ‘Daivam Manusha Roopena’ (presented by the 11th grade students on March 29, 2007) was on the life of Shirdi Baba. When the scene of Shirdi Baba leaving the body for three days came, Swami went into the interview room. There, He made a revelation that literally left the students, Divij Desai and Harish Krishan. dumbstruck.
“A time will come when I too will leave like Shirdi Baba but unlike Him, I will not come back. My tomb will be in the place where I currently sit and I too will speak from the Tomb like Shirdi Baba.”
The boys immediately responded saying that the Poornaavatar should be with us for at least a 100 years and He should not 'utter inauspicious things'. Swami seemed pleased with the response but gave no assurance of the same.
In the same vein, though not directly related to the current story, Swami revealed to the same Harish something profound in early 2011, weeks before He left the physical. Swami expressed a deep sense of anxiety that His students (especially) would leave Prasanthi Nilayam when He sheds His body.
Stating that, Swami got very upset and apparently agitated. It didn’t seem to be a cause of such agitation back in 2011 but there is a reason behind every single act of Bhagawan. Today, we see people coming to Prasanthi Nilayam in droves but we also witness devotees leaving, deluded by the thinking that ‘Swami is not here’ or ‘Swami is now in X place or Y place’. Hasn’t Bhagawan has said that though God is present everywhere, you find Him installed where His glory is sung? No where has it been sung and with such emotion as in Prasanthi Nilayam and in His Divine Presence! Every brick in the mandir is filled with His Love. He has built everything Himself shedding His sweat. Physical presence or not, Prasanthi Nilayam is definitely effused with THE PRESENCE.
The phenomenon of 'Understanding-after-the-Event'- two dreams
On the 11th of February 2010, I had a dream in which, among the other things, I saw Swami on an operating table with a doctor explaining some things to Him. My experiences have shown me that dreams of Swami are true. Swami Himself has said on many occasions that it is solely His will when He appears in a person’s dream.
In the dream, I grasped a few things that the doctor was telling Swami. It was about cutting and slicing something out from His body, doing something to support His back and planting an ‘inflatable’ object within Him. Though the dream was very clear, I did not understand what it meant.
That is, till Swami was actually implanted with an ‘inflatable’ thing an year later and something was done to support His back - continuous dialysis (the kidneys are located at the back).
Though Swami had indicated what was to happen more than a year in advance, I understood its import only when the right time came. I could neither interpret what was going to happen, nor take precautionary steps in any way to prevent that from happening in the February of 2010.
This ‘understanding-after-the-event’ is a commonality that I have seen in all the future-predicting texts - be it the Nadi scripts or the Nostradamus prophesies. What they predict is always understood after the event. The predictions are of no use in understanding or influencing what is going to happen in any way! It is always a retrospective view. Take the case of the prediction of the Advent itself. If people accepted what the Nadi said or what Mehdi Moud said or Nostradamus prophesies revealed about the advent of Baba on earth, why did they not believe in Him till He Himself established His divinity beyond doubt? It was only after being convinced of His divinity that people understood and accepted what the scriptures said. It was more a case of Swami lending credibility to the Nadi and other scriptures rather than the other way around!
I have recorded an instance where Swami made certain revelations in my dream which manifested a year later. But it was only after they had manifested that I understood what the dream meant. I would like to share another dream to illustrate another variant of this phenomenon of 'understanding-after-the-event'. It also shows us that though we clearly understand the meaning of things that are revealed, we truly understand them ONLY at the right time. This is the dream I had it on the 17th of January, 2011.
As I knelt beside Swami (in my dream), Swami said that He would leave and go up which I understood as He would give up the body. He seemed quite sad and so I told Him that He should not feel so bad or sad. Then Swami asked,
“But who will give ______ to me?”
I am unable to remember what He asked for. This much I am able to remember that it was something which I did not have a lot of and I wondered how the little I had would help Swami. But I told Him,
“Swami don’t worry. I will give. It’s not about the future, even now I shall give. All that is mine is yours. You know that.”
Swami knew that I was speaking very honestly, and He seemed slightly better. Then He said,
“But still....the time is coming. I have to go.”
Then I said,
“Swami truly speaking, I too feel very bad when I think that You are going. But since You are feeling bad, I am not showing my emotions. It is not good for two people to feel sad simultaneously”
At this point, Swami sat closing His eyes. I thought of asking Him a strange thing,
“Swami even after You are gone, I will be in touch with You right?”
So I cleared my throat and dared to disturb His trance,
“Swami.......Swami........Swami.......Swami.....”
But Swami was lost and I was not able to elicit anything from Him.
I woke up next morning and though I noted down the dream because it was very vivid and real, I convinced myself that it was an ‘indigestion dream’ because I didn't want to accept it though I understood it! And so, once again, though the Truth was revealed, it was not understood before the right time - the 24th of April 2011 in this case.
What I am trying to say is that though there is no doubt that Swami's Word is the Truth, I cannot understand what He says till the right time for that comes. The same holds true for the second coming as well.
A dream about the second coming
Regarding the second coming, I too had a significant dream. But frankly, I feel its complete meaning will unfold only when the right time comes. Here is the dream anyway. This was on the 4th of March, 2012.
I had been called for an interview along with another lad. We were waiting for Swami to call us into the interview room. We stood at the the ladies side end of the mandir where the ladies would usually wait for interviews. A large mirror had been placed at the backside of the Ganesha statue and in it, I could see the reflection of the interview room door. Swami was bustling with activity, going in and out of the interview room. I wondered and said to my partner,
“I just hope that He remembers our interview due!”
Even as I said that, Swami looked straight at me through the mirror. He beckoned to us. I went and as I turned towards the interview room, I saw that a cot had been placed next to the door. Swami was now lying on it and a student was holding Swami’s right elbow with his right hand and his left hand was behind Swami’s back. Swami asked for one more person to support Him similarly on His left. My partner felt overwhelmed with this asking and just sat down in the portico. I went ahead thinking that if Swami wants anything done, He would also give the strength to complete the same. I eagerly told Swami that I would help.
I sat next to Swami and held Him the same way as the other student. Then, we were making Swami do sit-ups! Even as that was on, I had tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. Swami looked at me and asked me the reason for the expression. I said,
“Swami when you did so many miracles, some people believed you while others found faults in the miracles. But now, the whole world saw your burial on national television. And after that, you are sitting here! What greater miracle could one ask for...”
Swami too had a tear in His eye.
I know that my Lord has not left me. He is always there. I know that He is working a miracle in manner in which none of us can even imagine, let alone trying to understand. My job is to simply wait - give Him the Shraddha (faith) and Saburi (perseverance) that He asked for in the Shirdi form. Except for me missing the physical form now and then, nothing has changed. He still guides, counsels, jokes and speaks to me in ways that I never thought possible. I shall possibly record just one example of this here.
Something had upset my wife, Pooja. Naturally, it affected me too. We decided to offer everything to Him. Thus it was, that we decided to read the Prayer of Surrender. This prayer, written by Swami in a letter to a devotee makes us achieve a state of surrender by simply reading it with a calm mind! (To see that original letter, head over to the dialogue on surrender.) But it is so comforting and powerful that I have framed it in my altar and I read it frequently. Here is what happened. I pulled out this framed ‘prayer of surrender’ from the altar and began to read it out to my wife. At the same time, my father entered the room with silver lamps to be kept in the altar. It was hardly 25-35 seconds when he called out to me. When I turned back to face the altar, there was bright red kumkum (sindhoor actually) in exactly the same spot where the ‘prayer of surrender’ had been plucked out from!
Yes! Swami is with us always. I was reading the story of Jesus Christ and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. You know something startling?
 |
| 'Seeing' Christ is matter of faith unlike the times when he was present on Earth in the physical. |
“Thy Will Be Done”
In our eagerness to focus on 'Thy Kingdom Come' may we not forget the 'Thy Will Be Done'. By trying to pin down Swami to references of Him 'living' till 96, we are possibly missing the bigger picture. That is why, I shall not try to understand. I shall only strengthen my faith and wait...for when the right time comes, everything will become crystal clear. In the meanwhile, I might as well enjoy His divine drama as I wait! :)
A note of caution from Swami
After Bhagawan left the physical, there have been several claims from different people that Swami speaks through them, acts through them and even "possesses" them. Such things used to happen even when He was in the physical but, understandably, they are on the rise after the 'Mahasamadhi'. People often wonder about the veracity and authenticity of such claims.
Are these 'blessed' people really in touch with Swami? If 'Swami' communicates to me through them, what should I do? This is such a sensitive matter that I feel it best to simply allow Swami Himself to answer. Below is a clip from a discourse that He delivered on the 22nd of July, 2002, during the international Seva Conference at Prasanthi Nilayam. Swami expresses His immense pain and disappointment that some people in the garb of devotees are misusing Swami's name and soliciting money. Swami categorically says that He does not approve fundraising of any kind, and it is completely against His nature to seek from others, and those who claim to represent Him too must not indulge in or support any such activities.See it for yourselves and realize how important it is for each one to develop a direct, heart-to-heart connection with Him and not via any medium!
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It is really a wonderful topic with various anecdotes(which r very much true). This topic is always there within everyone.but how we are dealing with it that is important. But very beautifully explained by you brother."My tomb will be in the place where I currently sit and I too will speak from the Tomb like Shirdi Baba."-Baba."-it is really true.All of us can feel the same. A great divine assurance.Thank you very much brother for this wonderful blog.Loving Sairam..
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it sister. :)
DeleteSwami's words start making more and more meaning as time passes and we mature. May our love for Him grow stronger every passing moment.
you made my day dear...jiyo..
ReplyDeleteSairam brother
ReplyDeleteWhy is ‘whatever Swamy had done up to 2011’ is not enough for even people-who-were-close? Infact I remember most of his physical closeness was always enjoyed by always a small group of people ( especially students) and now it appears the major portion of the same group is still wandering from place to place declaring Swamy is here or there...
When I realize most of the Sai students are working in abroad(like most of cream layer of indian student community ), I often feel frustrated. When our very own country which even drew great avatar such as sathya sai is in dire need of even basic sanitation, all the great education Swamy bestowed upon special students are merely assisting a westener to have his *shopping experience smooth or * banking transactions faster or *his video subscriptions work fine
Imagine what message it passes to a (physically) remote student/person like myself?
Thank you so much brother for all the sharing you do, this itself is the ultimate state of life that you share your experience and thoughts so very transparently ! I only wish there is a bigger group of people like you if not all the old students.
Sairam brother,
DeleteReading what you have typed, it becomes clear that you have got the definition of "Sai Student" wrong. Swami has Himself said on some occasions that being a student of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning does not make you a Sai student. Sai Student is Sai's student - one who follows Sai's teachings.
Thus, one can be His student even without being a student of SSSIHL and vice versa!
As for why Swami gave physical proximity to some and not to others, who can have a comprehensive answer? But again, in His own words, "Dearness is more important than nearness."
For our own benefit, it would be best to focus on our sadhana and growing in our love for Swami rather than think about what others are doing.
Yes, True.
DeleteThanks brother Sairam 🙏🏻
Thank you so much brother. Being a Balvikas student I had many chances to get Swami's physical darshan. But don't know why I didn't get it. But truly speaking now I feel very much close to our loving Swami. He is guiding me in each and every instance. I can feel him in every moment of my life. He only knows his divine leelas. Only thing we must keep in our heart is faith as you said very beautifully. Very inspiring article. Thank you so much brother.
ReplyDeleteThank you sister. Glad that you enjoyed the article and wonderful to hear that you feel close to Him. Sairam
DeleteFact that he says i will leave LIKE Shirdi Sai baba itself suggests he is not going to retire his career as avtaar (after that event).
ReplyDeleteOfcourse he had to establish his divinity beyond doubt otherwise if we start believing every person who claims divinity, we will end up at the feet of people like madhusudan naidu(baba himself would want us to be cautious)...and when he has himself granted credibility to nadis and mehdi moud, we ought to have faith in those divine revelations.
I have a feeling that 10 years from now, a person reading this article and your comment will wonder who on earth this madhusudhan naidu is.
DeleteLet's see anyway. :)
Sairam Brother - Thank you so much for sharing with us and gifting us the experience. Thank you again. Thank you, Deva
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Deva. :)
DeleteAll I can say brother is that you have not written a single word of this article. It is our beloved Bhagwan who used your hand to jot it down. We all experience HIS presence everyday and it is only those who never felt HIS Divinity and only saw HIM as a human being will run towards these Charlatans. May Beloved Bhagwan keep using your head and hand till your last breath ����
ReplyDeleteThank you for your loving words and kind wishes.
DeleteSairam brother,. I wholeheartedly appreciate the way you have dealt with such a subtle topic in a simple manner.Today when Swami's physical absence has Left many of us in ambiguity,searching for a direction.After reading this, a new direction has paved it's way.Direction of faith and Hope.I felt peaceful after reading this.The ending is beautiful... Thanks for sharing this article bother... sairam
ReplyDeleteAh! Thats the intended effect - to feel peace after reading it. Thank you for sharing that. May our love for Swami grow every moment.
DeleteWe can never understand Swami. That is why instead of trying to chalking out any logic, it is advised to enjoy his uncertainty and to be happy at every aspect of Him. If we are wrong, He is will certainly correct us
ReplyDeleteThats the faith - If we are right, He will direct us; if wrong, He will correct us.
DeleteMind is a mad monkey and it keeps reaching out to everything that is easy without knowing its temprory nature and the trouble that it can land us in..Swami has often narrated the story of the monkey and the jar of goodies so that we dont fall for false fancies
ReplyDeleteAs you rightly said every inch of Prashanthi Nilayam has His Personal Touch literally and if anyone feels the urge to see Swami should come to Prashanthi Nilayam to bask in His 'Love in action' in the form of all that He has built and nurtured only for our benefit
Thanks to you to keep reminding fellow devotees about the wandering mind and the importance to direct it to our Swami within .
Coming to Prasanthi Nilayam is a good beginning.... The objective should be to carry that Prasanthi in our hearts wherever we go. If we can't do that, we will be in Ashanti even in Prasanthi. :)
DeleteThank you for your appreciation. Sairam
Sairam Aravind. It is said that one can hear words of GOD in the depths of silence, so are advised to practice meditation. This sadhana of meditation takes a long time to still the monkey mind and remain in a thoughtless state to establish contact with divinity within and start communication. With limitations of knowledge it is impossible to grasp the true meaning of SWAMI's words. For me it is enough if I can put into practice those teachings of SWAMI which I feel I have understood. If I can become a better person today than what I was yesterday then I am progressing on the right path. Thanks a lot for showing the right path.
ReplyDeleteThank you uncle for your wisdom and loving words. Sairam
DeleteVery well written article brother. 'Swami speaks from the Mahasamadhi' - 100% true from my own personal experience. Where has He gone to return back? Sairam 🙏
ReplyDeleteWill listen to your experience on the shuttle court... :)
DeleteYes! He hasn't gone anywhere.
Thanks Aravind for this thought Provoking Article. I use Facebook only to read your articles on Swami.
ReplyDeleteDear Arvind,
ReplyDeleteI always read your articles with great interest and faith. Please keep writing as your articles are so inspiring and reveal so many truths. Needless to say that they are so drenched with Swami's love and grace. The caution was very important and I am happy that you wrote about that. There are many who are mislead and they have to be reminded about Sathyam, the truth, Swami Himself. No need to go to mediums. Baba has made it very clear a few times that He does not communicate through anyone. We miss the form of Swami so much. We all love HIM.
Om Sri Sai Ram
While I agree with most parts of this beautiful post, one must realize that the term 'medium' means more than what one thinks it means. A photo with vibhuti is a medium, a dream is a medium and most importantly Swami himself physically was a medium. It is a paradox which needs to be understood. People while referring to mediums do not include Swami in it because they have identified that medium itself with God and did not realize that Swami was using a medium always.
ReplyDeleteIt might appear to be a contradiction but the trick is to understand that the Swami we refer to, was himself a medium for God, and that was what Swami was also referring to. If that was not the case, never should Vibhuti from a photo, or a message from a calendar or even a dream should be seen as Swami's modes of communication. If Swami said that his dreams are His will, then so is everything in this world. Meanings from these events of vibhuti manifestations or calendar messages or dreams are something we infer by assuming it is Swami communicating.
It is of course true that Swami is communicating through these events, but it is true because of our prior faith that this is Swami. Faith precedes the interpretation of any such events. Whatever Swami did was seen to be right because of our prior belief that since Swami was God and not any medium, he is right. We attributed the quality of it being right to all other convenient mediums mentioned above. If Swami asked money from someone, we always saw a divine play underneath. He never went around asking for money but there are instances when He did ask and that was again his drama. But we are okay with it because we have already established that He can do anything as there are so many reasons we wouldn't understand.
In the same way we need to understand that the 'medium' which has become famous also is not going around asking for money. It is working perfectly in our definitions. One must learn that this medium that is being alluded to is being perceived as God Himself and therefore whatever it does, will be right just as explained in the previous paragraph. One must try to see it from their perspective as well. It functions just like other trusts and nobody is begging for any money.
Lastly, earlier people going to puttaparthy itself used to be criticized and Swami himself used to be criticized. But then everyone who experienced knew, and outsiders could never be convinced of Swami's divinity. Also Swami said that nobody can come to Puttaparthy unless called. All these same rules and logic apply to the place that is being alluded to. Look at it from their perspective. We are the outsiders who are not convinced and we cannot go there either because of our own ego or other reasons, because we are not called by Him. Yes, you may be happy at puttaparthy; nobody denies that. So are so many atheists in this world happy, who do not know of Swami. They will not need to come to puttaparthy just as you may not need to go elsewhere where Swami is said to be there. But one must respect the logic and the truth that is being experienced by another!
Your long post is filled with wisdom. Thank you for your effort in typing it down. Very nice point that when viewed from the absolute point, everything is a 'medium'.
DeleteAgree with the first part of, Swami's physical presence itself being a medium. In fact, in our Satsang on the Muddenahalli Mayhem, we did make this point and say how Swami wanted us to go beyond His physical presence itself. Also agree with the fact that we believed Swami and so everything that He did, did not need any more qualifications. Our faith was the basis of our acceptance.
But if we extend that and say, same is happening in MDH, my only problem is, why did people go there in the first place? If we accept whatever Swami says without questioning it, we will accept Swami saying, "I will not reach out to you through anyone, you do not have to approach Me through anyone," where is the question of even exploring the phenomenon?
There are some narcotic drugs, people who have consumed it have had experiences that appear very surreal and spiritual. They suddenly feel the oneness of all creating, everything seems like nothing but a form of light. Now if someone were to come and tell me, "You should try this, all the spiritual experiences that you speak about can be experienced through this", he may be 'right.' And if I consume the drug, I might feel the same too. But even if I claim I did it for the 'spiritual experience', am I not disobeying Swami who has forbid me from trying something like that? If that person says, oh you are denying something without giving it a shot, that is such an unscientific approach. I would tell him, "I don't need to try it out to tell you it is bad. The fact that Swami says so is good enough for me." I feel same should be the approach towards MDH too. Why should people even try it, when Swami has said keep away from mediums.
(As for the money collection part, there is a lot of info of that going on in this new famous medium. Starting from asking people to pay and register for 'darshan' events to even threatening those who refuse to part with property. I have first hand narratives of these. But still, these don't take away from the beauty of the thoughts you have expressed. )
As Swami would say, ultimately, it is the same water in every well. But He would also emphasize that while digging a well, it is better to do so at one place to get water. Else, one would be left with multiple waterless ditches. That "digging at one place" to get water is loyalty to the name and form. Once that loyalty to name and form kicks in, then, things which that name and form has criticised gets automatically criticised.
I was once thinking of it this way. We all know the concept of the pramanas in Vedanta. Where there are multiple ways of understanding a phenomenon. Pratyaksha, anumana, shabda and so on. If you say I will believe only in what I see, it is supposed to be the most unintelligent approach. If you believe purely in inference, you may be wrong too, for your conclusions could be flawed. If you go purely by what others say, then you are merely trading in rumours. And that is why it is suggested that all these methods have to be used. The same would be told to detractors of Swami. Don't go by gossip, by past experiences with other fake gurus, come and see and experience for yourself. Now the same is being said about what is happening in MDH. The problem with that is, you are considering Swami's words also as one of the shabda pramanas and saying, no you should come and see for yourself. That is a clear flaw. The Guru's words, after one has accepted it as supreme, does not come under the pramanas anymore. They are beyond such qualification. That is why God is described as Aprameya, the one beyond the pramanas. So when Swami says, keep away from mediums, that one word should be enough for us; what we hear, what we see ourselves and what is otherwise obvious, should not mean anything at all.
Wonderful write up Aravind.
ReplyDeleteThe minute clamours for swami 'rising back' started, I only felt one thing. Do we really deserve that? Have we internalised and followed all that he told us while in his physical form that we audaciously demand for more?!!
The best gratitude we can show him now is to try and imbibe atleast a small amount of what he said and lead by example.
Very beautifully said. Swami can and will never leave us.The bond with Swami is direct and it has been so, for many births.Why then do we have to believe another medium..?
ReplyDeleteHe is guiding us and is with us more now ...than he was before. All we need is to recognize his presence in all walks of our life.we may forget him...but he will never ever leave us.
Your writing and speeches touches our heart and most of the time brings tears... tears of rememberence of his love ..those golden days..please keep writing about him...let our hearts remember...
Swami is with us always.After the passing of the physical frame of Swami, I too like many many devotees was sad. A few weeks later Swami appeared in my deam and said " Are you still missing me". He had a beautiful smile after he said those word, and I knew that Swami had not gone anywhere, He was and aways will be Here. I am saddened by the "person" claiming Swami speaking through him and so called devotees not understanding Swami's message that he gave us. All these gulliable people falling at his feet as he tries to imitate Swami, what a disgrace and disservice to Swami these people are doing.
ReplyDeleteAh, those priceless words in the first picture!!! Regarding resurrection, kindly allow this pathetic fool to share the words of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi :
ReplyDeleteChrist is the ego (Christ said "I am the Son of God, implying a duality, hence the ego). The cross is the body (Indeed it resembles one, when the arms are stretched out sideways). When the ego is crucified, and it perishes, what survives is the Absolute Being (Swami Himself remarked that during crucifiction, Jesus had realized "I and my Father are one") and this glorious survival is called Resurrection.
Thank you for permitting me some space on this most sacred blog. It is said that association with evolved saints helps in diluting the veil of ignorance, and this fool hopes that perhaps this "online" association will help atone for some of the past folly.
Thank you for your beautiful share brother! :)
DeleteYou embarrass me with your words of devotion. As long as one is associated with Swami in thought, words and deeds, life gets sanctified.
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DeleteI will need your email id for that. Send it as a comment. i will not publish it but add it to my mailing list.
DeleteAravind brother add me to the mail list my email id "ashrithanimmala01@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteV well written. Ohm sai ram.I want to know why swami left his physical body earlier.
ReplyDelete