No reason or season for Love - but are we happy?

Who are you Baba?

Love is my form; Truth is my breath; Bliss is my food.

Many have been the times when my Swami, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, has been asked,

“Who are you?”

Swami’s answer to this question has been different, based on the understanding of the people who asked the question. On one occasion, He answered,

“I am God; but so are you.”

On another occasion, the answer was,

“Find out who you are and then you will realize who I am.”

On yet another occasion, to a group of westerners who asked the same question, Swami replied with a melodious song (which has today become a bhajan in itself).

Love is my form; Truth is my breath; Bliss is my food; 
My Life is my message; Expansion is my Life

No Reason for Love

No Season for Love

No Birth No Death

Satya Dharma Ananda Shanthi Prema Ananda

Shirdi Sai, Parthi Sai, Prema Sai Jai Jai

Shirdi Baba, Parthi Baba, Prema Baba Jai Jai

If one understands this little song, one understands the greatest secret of life. Elaborating further on the song, in a discourse Swami said,

“When the song says ‘My Form’ it does not refer to me alone. It refers to anyone who sings the song.”

Well, that was another way of saying, “I am God; but so are you.”

Every line in the song is a punch line - worthy of deep contemplation and full of insights. In fact, I have often lost myself in the beauty and grandeur of the ‘central’ line of the song -

“No reason for love; No season for love.” But before I share my thoughts on that line, I must share one little episode.

Party or Duty

A long and beautiful day came to an end as the Christmas celebrations concluded in the Sai Kulwant Hall. Personally, it was a very satisfying day for me and I had taken pictures in both the morning and evening sessions. I was very happy with the beautiful darshans and, as Swami returned to Yajur Mandir after the divine discourse, I decided to ‘rock the night away’ as the popular carol Jingle Bell Rock encourages.

My plan was to go to the home of a close friend and enjoy a lovely Christmas meal with some movie going on. At the end of a hard day’s work, the prospects of the dinner-movie combo was alluring to say the least. A host of other friends too had gathered at the ‘party house’.  I just reached my friend’s house and was about to settle into the night when I got a call. It was from my colleague at Radiosai.

“Aravind, listen. The Christmas decoration with lights at Swami’s residence is simply breath-taking. Only you are permitted to go near the residence. So, would you mind going there now and taking a few pictures? It would be good for our records.”

My first reaction was of disappointment. I had to change into my white dress again, pack the camera and then go and take the pictures. So I said,

“Can I not do it tomorrow? It’s quite late now anyway...”

“We are not sure that the decorations will stay tomorrow. If Swami asks for them to be taken down, we would have missed the opportunity...”

“Ok. I am going.”

The others who had arrived for ‘rocking’ away the night looked at me with their ‘do-you-want-us-to-wait-now’ eyes. Forcing myself to be sportive, I said,

“Carry on. I may join you later on.”

With that, I felt that all my party plans got washed out. Reluctantly, I made my way to the studio to pick up my camera.

How I actually ‘rocked’ the night away

My mind was complaining but I silenced it. I told the mind,

“So many times I have been thrilled with the privilege of entering the Yajur Mandir grounds. It is the same privilege that has given me this responsibility too.”

“But, you had such a beautiful night planned ahead”, my mind protested.

By now, I had become quite familiar with the dialogue between the mind and the heart.

“If things are going this way, it is because Swami has planned it this way. His plan is bound to be better than your plan”, said my heart to my mind. I also remembered many instances in my life when doing the right thing over the pleasant thing had made me a recipient of Swami’s love. There were also instances where I had sacrificed something dear to me for Swami’s sake only to receive something dearer in return. I had learnt that there is nothing like ‘sacrificing’ for the Lord.

Thus consoling myself and actually feeling very happy about my decision, I reached Yajur Mandir gate. Showing my ID card, I walked in and was truly spellbound by the beauty of the lights and decoration. Suddenly, I was no longer feeling bad about missing the ‘party’.

As I was taking pictures, I noticed that there were three seniors standing on one side of the Yajur Mandir. I immediately recognised one of them as Veda Narayan sir. I walked up to him and saw that beside him, on a stool, was a large cake.

“Oh wow! Is that a cake?” I was obviously stating the obvious!

“Yes.” That was sir’s reply with a smile.

“Is this being offered to Swami on behalf of the Central Trust boys?”

“Yes.”

“Wow! After Swami blesses it, can I get a large piece of it?”

“Yes.”

The three ‘yes’ answers in a row somehow cheered me. These three would ensure that someone from Swami’s residence would take the cake in and then maybe come back tomorrow morning to receive the ‘blessed’ cake. That was what I assumed and went ahead, continuing my photography.

Sai Kulwant Hall as seen from the Yajur Mandir that night.

Santa and the Christmas tree

The last image I took before the unexpected entry...

Within 10 minutes, the main entrance door of the Yajur Mandir opened and was I pleasantly shocked! That door would almost never be opened unless Swami was there. Adding to my ‘shock’ was the scene of the three people walking into the Residence with the cake!

Was Swami calling them in? I am working in Radiosai. Though that is not part of the Central Trust legally, I am also a Trust boy right? Because Swami has no distinctions based on ‘rules’...

These were my thoughts as I rushed towards the door before it could slam shut. I wedged my hand in between and a surprised ‘door-keeper’ there let me in. I entered and immediately was face to face with my Lord! Can you imagine that?

The sight which I saw on entry 

Loving Swami's uncertainty

The minute I entered, I saw that there were at least 6-7 people about Swami. Almost all of them had a look of shock and disbelief. They seemed to be wondering what on earth was I doing in there. I was suddenly confused. Had I done something terribly wrong? Had I barged in where I wasn’t supposed to? My palpitating heart was comforted when my eyes fell on Swami. He was on a chair with a knife in hand. The cake was in front of Him. He was looking directly into my eyes. When my eyes met His, He beamed a lovely smile. I now walked in and closed the door behind me. The three who had been standing now bowed to Him and took padanamaskar. I had my camera in hand and I was taking pictures (naturally). When they had completed bowing down, I went on my knees and sought namaskar. When He consented, for the first (and only) time in my life, I bowed down in a complete Sashtang namaskar (bowing down where all the eight limbs of the body are touching the ground) at His lotus feet. Swami smiled again and told me to pose for the camera. Veda Narayan sir snapped a few pictures. Swami then blessed all of us and we were let out.

He heard the little prayer that I made and then gave me the Sashtang Namaskar.
Oh! How I wish that the smile He gave was captured in a picture...

I was in a daze. It was only later that I came to know about the cake tradition. These three ‘lads’ (they were fully grown men by then) had the great privilege of sleeping outside Swami’s bedroom when Swami stayed in the small room above the bhajan hall. And so, on Christmas mornings, Swami would pass by them before entering the balcony via the ‘Silver door’ for the magnificent Christmas morning silver door darshan. The boys would then offer a cake to Him which He would cut and bless. Swami had stopped the balcony darshan from a few years now. But He had graciously permitted these ‘boys’ to continue getting their share of the ‘cake-blessings’ by allowing them to get a cake in the late evening! I had been an absolute gate-crasher!

Ah! How grateful I was to Him! If He had not smiled at me and blessed me, my gatecrashing could have landed me in serious trouble. Instead of that, now I was being given a large chunk of cake to eat and enjoy. How I love Swami’s uncertainty when it expresses itself like this! Much later, I was also told that this was the only time that the ‘three boys’ got pictures with Swami and, therefore, Vedanarayan sir personally thanked me for that. I also thanked him because I had got the chance of my lifetime.

I went straight back to my room without the slightest regret of having ‘missed’ a party. I was glad and happy that I did not flinch when it came to doing my duty or giving up something that I felt was fun and special.

No reason for love; No season for love

Here is some food for thought.

All of us love Swami’s uncertainty when, out of the blue, something nice and memorable happens. We are thrilled when we receive a blessing ‘without a reason’. We conclude that it happens because of Swami’s love which has ‘no reason; no season’. Even though we are not deserving of the good that is happening to us on the face of it, we are happy to accept and even celebrate it. But what about those instances in life when things take a sudden turn for the worse? Please allow me to elaborate.

What about those times in life when we are hanging by our necks from the tight noose of some problem but Swami does not seem to be responding to us? What happens when life that is otherwise moving smoothly is bombarded by disaster, death or disease? What if a lovely relationship suddenly sours, a business loss destroys all savings, an accident handicaps one for life or a life which was full of people suddenly turns lonely?

In my introspection, I notice that every time such a thing has happened to me, I have shouted out inwardly, asking my Lord,

“Why Swami? Why is this happening to me?” OR

“Is it fair that this is happening to me?”

Let me throw that question back at myself but seeing it from Swami’s perspective like the wonderful Krishnadasa did.

“Aravind, when something ‘wonderful’ happens to you without you ‘deserving’ it, you accept it as Swami’s benevolence. When something ‘bad’ happens too, is it not His benevolence?”

When I am deeply rooted in my faith that everything in my life is going as per a MASTERPLAN, there is no need for me to despair or celebrate for God is doing everything. Reminding myself of this always helps me to live in serenity and peace and ‘enjoy’ everything that is happening in my life. And there IS A REASON why there seems to be no reason or season for God’s love.

Unlike human love which is concerned with the body and the mind, Divine love is beyond these temporary phenomena. Divine love is concerned only with the soul. Divine love is ready to sacrifice the body and mind at the altar of the soul. Swami’s Love for us is like that - He will do anything and everything possible for our soul’s upliftment - whether we understand it or not; like it or not. Isn’t that why He often exhorts,

“Love my uncertainty.”

But instead of loving His uncertainty, we grow uncertain of His love! Is that fair to Him? We accept and celebrate His uncertainty when it benefits us but condemn and criticize the same when things don’t go our way.

As Prof.U.S.Rao, former principal of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam, once put it in our class,

“We have to grow into accepting Swami’s uncertainty first. Then alone can we grow to the state of loving His uncertainty.”

Yes. That is the way. Acceptance and Love. But why?

There is no reason for Love! :)

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy the following:

1. Messenger ceases to exist once the message is delivered

2. The Difference Between Infatuation vs. Love

3. Difference between saying a prayer and praying

For all readers:

(If you enjoyed this and wish to subscribe to this blog, please go to the right hand side and choose the last 'box' which says subscribe. Another blog which I maintain with more than 200 articles on it is at http://aravindb1982.hubpages.com You may visit that at your leisure. If you wish to be added to my mailing list, please email me via this page with the subject "ADD ME TO MAILING LIST".

Also, use the Tweet and FB buttons below here liberally to share with your friends and family! Thank you)

The messenger ceases to exist once the message is delivered - Sathya Sai's advice on dealing with problems

A visit to a famous shrine

It was to be my second trip to the famous temple of goddess Mookambika at Kollur. My parents and in-laws who had not been there before were quite keen to visit this famous South-Indian shrine. I had been there with my wife during our honeymoon and, frankly speaking, had not been very impressed. Do not get me wrong here. The idol of the goddess and the atmosphere at the sanctum had been wonderful. But, even as I entered the temple, I had been accosted rudely by a person who had asked me to take off my T-shirt before entering the main temple. His tone was not friendly and that made me ‘hate’ to take off my T-shirt though I knew that it was the tradition in many temples that the gents had be bare-bodied on top before entering the sanctum.

And so, when I was asked,

“How is the temple?”

I had replied very casually,

“It is so so. Nothing spectacular about it.”

My mother-in-law tried to prod me into being positive,

“It is not without any reason that thousands throng the temple throughout the year...”

“Thousands?! You must be kidding me. When we visited last time, there were hardly a dozen people.”

“But that was in February - academic examinations time in India - and we visited on a weekday in the mid-afternoon”, reminded my wife.

I refused to budge from my evaluation. The memories of my ego being hurt were enough to make me downgrade the temple’s worth itself.

“Whatever you may say, I really don’t understand what is so fantastic about the temple. It’s okay at best...”

That was the conversation before we got into the jeep that drove us from the magnificent Sai Vishram resort to the Kollur Mookambika temple which was about 35 kms away. (By the way, I must mention that the resort is one of the best-ever. It would have attained 5-star status if not for its firm resolve not to allow alcohol, smoking and meat on its grounds.The management there says that it does not care for the ‘star status’ but for Bhagawan Baba’s values!) Within an hour, we were at the temple. My old grudge returned and so, I took off my T-shirt even before I entered the temple. I had no idea of what I would be facing next.

“Sorry! You are not allowed...”

It was a guard who stopped me rudely. I wondered what on earth was his problem. He would not speak English and I acted as if I didn’t understand the Kannada he spoke. I continued to walk. He stopped me roughly and said,

“Not allowed”, letting the others from my family enter the sanctum. He then pointed to the three-fourths trousers that I was wearing and to a sign that said - Bermuda shorts not allowed inside temple sanctum.

“But these are not Bermuda shorts”, I tried protesting.

“Not allowed”, he repeated again and stopped me from entering. And that was when my heart spoke to me,

“You said that there is nothing special in the temple. It is a so-so shrine. So, the Goddess is stopping you from having her darshan. This security guard is just her messenger.”

I knew that was the Truth.

Messengers come regularly in life

There are several instances in my life, especially with my Master, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, where apparent obstacles have turned out to be messengers from God to me. As long as I see them as obstacles, they irritate and frustrate me. But the moment I see them as messengers and, more importantly, recognise and learn the message they carry, I improve and they vanish! It is indeed true that such a messenger ceases to exist once the message has been delivered. One episode in my life that stands out for its “messenger” qualities took place in 1999, when I was a student of XII grade at the Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School (SSSHSS).

Under the subhead - Background 2 - in the article, The Shivarathri of my life, I have detailed some ‘sad’ incidents that had happened when I was in school. For those that do not wish to go to that article and read up, I present the necessary lines here:

This part of the background is something that I am definitely not proud of. But the need for mentioning it is vital for the story and so I proceed. In the academic year 1999-2000, in XII grade, I got caught in an indiscipline problem. The result of that was me getting banned from participating in an sports and cultural events and competitions for the academic year. That did not hurt me as much as the other punishment that the warden awarded me - no permission slips to take camera to the mandir (Sai Kulwant Hall in Prasanthi Nilayam)! I felt as if my life support was plucked out. Taking pictures of Swami with the camera had become so much a part of my life that I could not think of sustaining without it. And as Shivarathri arrived, I felt that not being allowed to shoot would really become unbearable. I had been eagerly anticipating the Shivarathri with the intention of taking pictures of Lingodbhavam.

The Shivarathri that am speaking about in that paragraph happened in March 2000. But the episode I am speaking about now took place on the 15th of September, 1999, just a fortnight after the mentioned ‘indiscipline’ incident! One can only imagine how much more difficult it would have been for me to get the permission necessary to take my camera to mandir.

Ganesha - the Lord of obstacles

The 13th of September, 1999 was Ganesha Chaturthi. Lord Ganesha is called the ‘lord of obstacles’. Often, people take this to mean that he clears all the obstacles in one’s path. Consider the tusker in the jungle. Wherever he walks, he creates a path, clearing all the bushes, trees and other obstacles. Thus, he is a pathfinder, a trailblazer. But when you accost the same tusker while travelling by road through the Bandipur forest reserve, he becomes an obstacle himself. There is no moving till he walks away from the road. This second aspect is often forgotten by people. Swami reveals in His Ganesh Chaturthi discourse on the 24th of August, 1971,

No worship can succeed unless the heart is pure and the senses are mastered. Ganesa is the God who helps overcome obstacles; but, He will create obstacles when good endeavor is obstructed by bad influences; He will clear the path for the sincere Sadhaka. He is Prasannavadanam, of beneficial looks, when you pray to Him for good ends; but He will not be that, when you seek His help for nefarious stratagems!

As Bhagawan Baba put it, Ganesha also puts obstacles on the path if one’s chosen path is the wrong one! That seemed to precisely be the case here.

For a student in Swami’s school, Ganesh Chaturthi becomes more special because of the unique ‘immersion ceremony’. After 3 days of worship, as per tradition, the clay idols of Lord Ganesha have to be immersed in a lake. In Puttaparthi, where the students take every opportunity to get some interaction with Swami, all the idols from the different hostels are brought in chariots and palanquins to the mandir. Swami often poses for photographs with the children and their respective chariots or palanquins. He then breaks coconuts in front of each of these vehicles of Lord Ganesha before they are flagged off for immersion in the lake. Students sing songs and shout slogans in praise of the Ganesha as they proceed towards the lake. The whole ceremony lasts nearly an hour or more.

The Ganesha immersion ceremony of 1998 had been very memorable for me as I got the chance of spending several minutes in close physical proximity to Swami. But that did not seem to be the case this year as I had been ‘banned’ from all such activities due to my ‘indiscipline problem’! Therefore, as Ganesha Chaturthi arrived, I was enveloped in a pall of gloom, not having anything to look forward too while all my classmates energetically made themselves useful in making a chariot that would carry Lord Ganesha to Lord Sai.

An aerial image of 4 of the 20 odd chariots that wend their way to the Mandir annually during immersion ceremony.

The message

I had been on my best behaviour since that one mistake of my school life at SSSHSS. I had also immersed myself completely in singing bhajans and doing the ritual worship during the 3 days of Ganesh Chaturthi. Even as I did this, I hoped that God would notice my good behaviour, forgive me and give me a chance to shoot photographs in mandir during the Ganesha Immersion day. If not that, I hoped to at least get a chance to accompany my class chariot to the mandir.

As the days passed and the D-Day arrived, there seemed to be no light for me at the end of the tunnel. Suddenly, I was called to the warden’s office regarding some ‘camera’ matter. I hoped for some light. But when I was told specifically by the warden that I should not even dream of carrying a camera to mandir especially during the Ganesha Immersion ceremony, I realized that the light at the end of the tunnel was that of an oncoming train! I was on the verge of tears as I returned to my room. I sat crying in front of Swami’s picture, not knowing what I should do. And then, it struck me!

A realization dawned based on what my inspiring class teacher, ‘Sailesh sir’ had told during a talk. In spite of being a genius in his subject - Physics - and a maestro in playing the harmonium, he had declared,

“I have been brought here by Swami, for Swami. That is most important. People might consider me as a Physics teacher or the in-charge of the bhajan group. But I remind myself that I am here for Swami and nothing else. If getting close to Swami requires me to give up Physics and the harmonium, two things very dear to me, I shall gladly do so because Swami is the MOST IMPORTANT.”

That was the ‘message’ for me. In an instant, I wiped my tears and said,

“Swami, I have joined Your school only to win your love and grace. The chariot procession and my camera are just instruments to achieve them. I shall not forget that and get attached to them.”

And in a Sailesh sir-esque manner, I too declared,

“If getting close to Swami requires me to give up camera and the chance of going with the Ganesha Chaturthi chariot, two things very dear to me, I shall gladly do so because Swami is the MOST IMPORTANT.”

I not only declared it, I meant it in my heart too!

Even as my tears dried up, I was summoned again to the warden’s office. Wondering what it was this time, I went there. Without even uttering a word, the warden wrote a permission slip for me to take the camera to mandir. He merely said,

“Only this one time”, and handed over the chit of paper to me. Even as I returned to my room, I was summoned to my class teacher’s room - Sailesh sir’s room. To my amazement, he told me,

“I know that you have not worked in making the chariot but you have sincerely participated in each and every prayer and bhajan session. So, I feel you should accompany the chariot to the mandir. Here, put on this yellow jacket, tie this ribbon and off you go.”

I could not believe this sudden turn of events! It was as if Ganesha had changed from the maker of obstacles to the breaker of obstacles once the purpose of the obstacle was served. The obstacle seemed to be a ‘messenger’ who dissolved into thin air the minute its ‘message’ was delivered and accepted!

All’s well that ends well

Got a chance to almost bury my face into His
hair as He posed with our chariot. 

And so, I accompanied the class chariot carrying the Ganesha idol to the mandir. Swami came and posed with out group for a photograph and my face was almost buried in His fragrant halo of hair. Immediately after He finished posing with our group, I began to move about with my camera, taking pictures. For almost half an hour, Swami moved around the chariots, blessing the students and breaking coconuts. After that was done, He was flagging the chariots out of the mandir. Destiny had it that I wasn’t with my chariot but right behind Swami as He was flagging it away. I could not move because Swami was right in front of me.

As I knelt there, I began to understand the import of the experience. The whole hall was resounding with different bhajans being sung by student groups at each chariot. Veda chanting was on and victory slogans to Lord Ganesha rented the air. Amidst all these sounds, my heart began to say,

“I love you Swami... I love you Swami...”

The feelings of my heart soon transformed into words from my lips and I began to continuously chant,

“I love you Swami... I love you Swami.”

Though His back was to me, I was sure that Swami would be hearing each and every word that I was saying.

As if in confirmation, as the last few chariots were moving out (there were about 20 of them totally) Swami suddenly threw the handkerchief in His hand, directly into my lap. Immediately, He also turned around, flashed a beautiful smile and told me to keep the handkerchief with me. Then, He moved on. It was simply a confirmation of my priorities. The message had been received and all the ‘problems’ had simply vanished, transforming into blessings galore!

A blurry image that shows how Swami suddenly swiveled around and dropped the handkerchief
on to my lap. I am sitting with a yellow 'jacket' on to Swami's right. 

Therefore, it was not difficult for me to accept this security guard at the Mookambika temple as one such messenger. I looked at my ‘Bermuda’ shorts, stepped back with a smile. I mentally said,

“Dear Goddess! I have been unnecessarily harsh in my criticism of this beautiful shrine. I take back my words. No house of God can ever be so-so because IT IS THE HOUSE OF GOD! I was hasty and stupid and so, I am not being allowed to enter your home. It’s fine. I have realized my mistake.”

It had not been even a second after I finished this mental statement when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was another security guard. He handed me a shining red, silk dhoti (garment for wrapping the lower part of the body). He said,

“Drape this around yourself and enjoy the Goddess’ darshan.”

I knew it! The message had been received and the messenger had disappeared, transforming himself into a blessing. As I walked into the sanctum, my father exclaimed,

“Oh My God! Red is a dear color for the Goddess. Where on earth did you get this dhoti?”

I just smiled and said truthfully,

“I seem to be very dear to the benevolent Goddess and so she gifted it to me.”

(Just as an aside, speaking of Ganesh Chaturthi, do you know why you should not see the moon on the Ganesha Chaturthi day? Read that story involving Lord Krishna, Lord Ganesha and the Syamantaka jewel here:

Why you should not see the moon on Ganesh Chaturthi - Story of the Syamantaka gem )

For all readers:

(If you enjoyed this and wish to subscribe to this blog, please go to the right hand side and choose the last 'box' which says subscribe. Another blog which I maintain with more than 200 articles on it is at http://aravindb1982.hubpages.com You may visit that at your leisure. If you wish to be added to my mailing list, please email me via this page with the subject "ADD ME TO MAILING LIST".

Also, use the Tweet and FB buttons below here liberally to share with your friends and family! Thank you)