THE JOURNEY WITH THE SADGURU

YOUR

CONNECTION
WITH THE SADGURU IS PREDETEMINED

BY LAW OF ETERNITY.THE SADGURU SEARCHES FOR SOULS WITH A LINK TO HIM,PICKS THEM UP FROM TIME TO TIME AND PUTS THEM ON THE SPIRITUAL PATH.

WITH EACH STEP TAKEN BY DEVOTEE THE GURU TAKES MANY STEPS TO GUIDE THE DEVOTEEIN THE COURSE OF THE JOURNEY.

AND WHAT IS THIS JOURNEY?

IT IS A JOURNEY WHERE YOU BEGIN TO UNLEARN ALL THAT YOU HAVE LEARNT,YOU BEGIN TO LOSE RATHER THAN GAIN, YOU BEGIN TO ACCEPT RATHER THAN REACT

YOU BEGIN TO BE rather than become

Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and
before speech,
and it is above and beyond all words. ~Robert G. Ingersol
THE RAAGA HAMSANANDI HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE MY FAVORITE RAAGAS.IT IS A V.TOUCHING ,SOUL STIRRING RAAGA.THERE IS A FEELING OF MELANCHOLY AND I ALWAYS FELT THAT IT IN A WAY POTRAYED THE UTTER HELPLESSNESS OF THE DISCIPLE AND THE ABOUNDING GRACE OF THE SADGURU.MY KNOWLEDGE OF CARNATIC MUSIC IS V. LIMITED AND I DO NOT KNOW WHETHER THIS IS A FIGMENT OF MY OWN IMAGINATION.,BUT THIS SENTIMENT ALWAYS USED TO REVERBERATE WITHIN ME
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SURRENDER AND GRACE

SURRENDER AND GRACE
If you want to drink water at the tap, you will have to bend yourself. Even so, if you want to drink the spiritual nectar of immortality which flows from the holy lips of the Guru, you will have to be an embodiment of humility and meekness.
The lower nature of the mind must be thoroughly regenerated. The aspirant says to his preceptor: "I want to practise Yoga. I want to enter into Nirvikalpa Samadhi. I want to sit at your feet. I have surrendered myself to you". But he does not want to change his lower nature and habits, old character, behaviour, and conduct.
One's individual ego, preconceived notions, pet ideas and prejudices, and selfish interests should be given up. All these stand in the way of carrying out the teachings and instructions of one's Guru.
Lay bare to your Guru the secrets of your heart. The more you do so, the greater the Guru's sympathy, which means an accession of strength to you in the struggle against sin and temptation.
The aspirant, before he desires the grace of the Master, should deserve it. The supply of divine grace comes only when there is a real thirst in the aspirant, and when he is fit to receive it.
The Guru's grace descends upon those who feel utterly humble and faithful to him. Faith is confidence and trust in the Guru. Faith is firm conviction of the truth of what is declared by the preceptor by way either of testimony or authority, without any other evidence or proof. The disciple who has faith in the Guru argues not, thinks not, reasons not, and cogitates not. He simply obeys, obeys, and obeys.
The disciple's self-surrender to the Guru and the Guru's grace are interrelated. Surrender draws down the Guru's grace, and the grace of the Guru makes the surrender complete.
The Guru's grace works in the form of Sadhana in the aspirant. If an aspirant sticks to the path tenaciously, this Is the grace of the Guru. If he resists when temptation assails him, this is the grace of the Guru. If people receive him with love and reverence, this is the grace of the Guru. If he gets all bodily wants, this is the grace of the Guru. If he gets encouragement and strength when he is in despair and despondency, this is the grace of the Guru. If he gets over the body-consciousness and rests in his own Ananda Svarupa (the form of bliss), this is the grace of the Guru. Feel his grace at every step, and be sincere and truthful to him.
Grace manifests inside as prayerfulness, longing. Outwardly grace flows to you as blessings. Grace is not earned through actions. It is a gift from the Divine. Years of different practices cannot bring you the joy that a moment of grace can bestow on you.
SAI!S WAY OF SURRENDER

The most famous of His utterances is "Look to me; and I will look to you”. This pronouncement from Him is greatly simple; but it is simply great in its meaning. Shri Baba has first advised the devotees to look to Him. His words have always been full of endless meaning of shore less sea of knowledge. Looking to Baba implies first and foremost to His first quality i.e. of His absolute faith in His Guru. He Himself had said that He gave up worldly ambitions though He had achieved extra-ordinary success even in these matters (Vide chapter No. 32) to concentrate on His Guru fully. He forgot hunger, thirst, and thus His Guru's form fixed itself, in His eyes. This intense concentration on the Guru snapped His attachments to his relations and His Guru became His all in all and magnetized Baba fully to turn into His likeness.

It is an axiomatic truth that what one thinks of intently so one becomes. In due time i.e. prolonged period of 12 years of patient waiting upon the Guru resulted in His being blessed by the bliss supreme. It is thus clear, that by looking to Baba implies looking to His Sachidananda Swarupa which is unaffected by any outside influences.

BABA AND NANA--CHANDORKAR AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION

The following is a conversation which a devotee, Nana Govind Chandorkar, a Deputy Collector who was a traditionally well read orthodox person, had with Shirdi Sai Baba.



Nana: Baba, I am fed up with this saMsAra. It is only nissAra. Please help me cut the bonds which bind me to it. What appears as pleasant in the beginning ends in misery. Fate tosses us hither and thither. I don’t see an iota of happiness in this saMsAra.
Baba: Nana, you are prattling like a mad man. What you say is only partially true. You have misunderstood the truth. The saMsAra will exist as long as the body exists. No one can escape from it. How can you? Even I am under its clutches. The saMsAra is varied and different. It is the work of Desire and Anger. All the vagaries of the mind and the body constitute saMsAra. By running away and hiding yourself in a forest you cannot escape it. What you are now has been brought on you by yourself. You are only experiencing the fruits of your actions done by you in your previous lives. It is by that cause the effect of the appearance of this body has taken place. This is called deha-prArabdha. The soul gets a body just to experience the consequences of actions of its own previous lives. Without experiencing the consequences of prArabdha karma one cannot leave this world. Why do people look different? Why, in fact, do various living beings look different? It is all because of the karma of previous lives. A rich man’s dog rolls in joy on a cushioned sofa. A poor man’s dog rots at the street corner. The difference is because of prArabdha.
Nana: Since pleasure and pain do any way alternate in this samsAra, one feels like hating it and renouncing it. Is it not good to renounce?
Baba: Pleasure and pain are both mAyA. What appears as pleasant is not really a pleasure. People in the clutches of samsAra take the appearance of pleasure as real pleasure and are drawn towards it. As a result of prArabdha karma one fellow gets tasty, dainty and rich food while another felllow has onoly stale bread to eat. The former thinks that he has no wants and the latter thinks he is a failure. Think well. Whatever you may eat, the result is the same. Appeasement of one’s hunger. One fellow covers his body with costly cloth with zari and all. Another does the same with a torn old rag. Both serve the same purpose. Pleasure and pain depend on the attitude of your mind. This is the effect of mAyA. Do not give place in your mind to thoughts of pleasure and pain.
mAyA manifests itself as the six enemies of Man.: Lust, Anger, Greed, Delusion, Pride and Envy. They make non-real things appear as real. A poor man, seeing the rich man wearing a gold ornament, wishes to have one like that for himself. This is greed. The others are similar to this. Conquer all six of these foes of Man. No desire will then rise in the mind. Otherwise you will become a slave of these six rogues. Use your discretion and kill them. You will not be affected by pleasure and pain caused by mAyA.
Let me tell you how you should go about in this samsAra. A wise person will be content with whatever he has, knowing full well that it is his prArabdha. If you have riches, be humble. A tree with more fruits in it will bend. But do not bend before all. One should certainly be firm and stern with wicked people. But with sAdhus and the devout, you should show humility and modesty.
Spend your wealth in charity and dharma. But do not be extravagant. This body is certainly impermanent but so long as it is there, wealth is necessary to a certain extent. Even bile is necessary for the health of the body. But do not become greedy as money is the be-all and end-all of life. Be charitable. But do not do wasteful expenditure.
Observe happily all the goings-on in the world. Do not forget God. Remember always: ‘This samsAra is not mine, it is God’s.’ Show your sympathy with the poor and the down-trodden. Do not hurt them by showing hate or disgust. Keep a constant mental analysis of the question: ‘Who am I?’
Nana: Baba, Who is God? How will He look? Where is He? How can we see Him?
Baba: Those who toil in samsAra neither understand what is right and wrong nor do they comprehen the nature of God. Pure thoughts are absent in them. Constantly being immersed in the ocean of samsAra they do not have faith in devotion or in the scriptures. They don’t reach God. They go towards hell.
On the other hand those who are eager to rise higher towards salvation, discard this state of bondage and begin to enquire wiuth discretion and intelligence. They are always itching to see God. They develop bhakti towards Him and observe the laws of the scriptures. They adopt nAma-japa and dhyAna and become a sAdhaka (an aspirant to reach God). They continuously move with the devout. When they reach a mature stage in their japa and dhyAna they become saintly. In that stage God and Man are alike. Praise and blame are one and the same for them. Desires have left them. The thought of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ are not any more there. They begin to see that their own AtmA and God are the same. They realize ‘I am brahman".
Observe how each one of them has reached God. You will yourself then understand that God permeates all animate and inanimate objects in the world.
God is everywhere. There is no place where He is not. What prevents us from seeing Him is the power of mAyA. I, you, this world, all are part of ISvara. Therefore no one should hate another. Never forget that the Lord is everywhere. That will generate Love in you. When love overflows, everything is obtained

A PATH TO YOUR DWELLING

How am I to come to you,

When I stand outside a locked gate?

The path to your dwelling

Runs steep and dangerous.

In fear I CLIMB,STEP BY STEP,So steep and dangerous.

O SAI,you seem so far away

That my mind goes up and down.

As I climb the sentinels watch

And robbers wait to waylay me.Though the path to your dwelling

Is steep and dangerous

You have called me home.

My wanderings have ended.

I HAVE FOUND MY WAY TO YOUR FEET

WHAT DOES THE LOOK ON HIS FACE INDICATE OF HIS ATTITUDE?

THE FOLLOWING OBSERVATIONS MADE BY SRI ACHARYA E.BHARADWAJA HAD A DEEP IMPACT ON ME .THE SAME SENTIMENTS SEEMED TO RESONATE INSIDE ME WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT HIS FACE DURING THE DHOOP AARTHI

Was he overwhelmed with compassion for the devotees who came to pay homage,adore and worship him

Or in that mood was he oblivious of his seperate existence,his gaze fixed on the Divine MYSTERY,the ONE OMNIPRESENT SPIRIT?

or WAS IT A LOOK OF RECOGNITION OF THAT ANCIENT SPIRIT,OF HIS

CONTACT WITH THOSE TEEMING CROWDS THAT HAD CONTACTED HIM THROUGH THEIR PREVIOUS COUNTLESS LIVES?And ,was that smile pregnant with his joy of their future possibility of reaching the spiritual summit? Or was he lost in ceaseless contemplation of the one spirit,in his at-one-ment?Or does it signify the PEACE THAT PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING?Or is there a possibility that at a HIGHER level of consciosness all these could co-exist without one interrupting the other?

THIS LAST THOUGHT HE SAYS FLASHED WITH A PARTICULAR INTENSITY AND HIS SPIRIT LEAPT FORTH TO COMPREHEND HOW HE WAS VIEWING ALL EXISTENCE

IS THIS UNIVERSE OF MYRIAD FORMS AN IMAGE PROJECTED IN HIS CONSCIOUSNESS?AND AM I,THEN ,TOO,A THOUGHT IN HIS MIND AND ALL THESE MY THOUGHTS PART OF IT? HE FURTHER GOES ON TO SAY

I AM AWARE HOW ABSURD THESE WORDS MUST LOOK TO ANYONE.

But how ELSE can they be when i verbalise that WHICH CANNOT BE EXPRESSED?

shirdi sai and dakshinamoorthy

IN THIS POST I WISH TO

HIGHLIGHT ANOTHER ASPECT OF

SAI SADGURU AND I WISH TO

POINT OUT THE SIMILARITIES

WITH DAKSHINAMOORTHI

Dakshinamurthy is an aspect of Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge, particularly the jnana. This aspect of Shiva is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge. This form represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of yoga, music, and wisdom, and giving exposition on the shastras. He is worshipped as the god of wisdom, Dakshinamurthi, Lord Siva, as a youthful Guru, has been the symbol of the potency of a silent mind from time immemorial. His exposition of the truth, the 'Brahma Tatva', to elderly disciples was through silence. These disciples had mastered the scriptures but not their essence. Their doubts were set at naught in the vast and all pervading silence of Dakshinamurthi

SAI APOSTLE NARASIMHA SWAMIJI HAS SAID--BABA LIKE DAKSHINAMOORTHI CONVEYED EDIFICATION,LIGHT AND BLISS WITHOUT UTTERING A SINGLE WORD.THE TEACHER SIMPLY GLOWED WITH HIS LIGHT BLISS,THE RADIATION OF WHICH ENVELOPED,SATURATED AND SWALLOWED UP THE SELF OF THE DEVOTEES

WITHOUT ANY EFFORT AT LEARNING OR REPEATING SOUNDS AND GRASPING THEIR MEANING OR FORCE AT ONE STROKE, AS THOUGH

BY MAGIC..THE BEING OF THE DEVOTEE WAS ABSORBED INTO THE BEING OF THE GURU AND BECAME THAT OR PART OF THAT..KNOWLEDGE ,POWER AND SUPEROR NATURE BLOSSOMED OUT

AND HID THE FORMER PETTY ,POWERLESS AND WRETCHED NATURE OF THE DEVOTEE.
In Sai's system, (as Sri Narasimha Swamiji puts it), the Guru undertakes every responsibility for the devotee that surrenders himself. The devotee is there styled 'the Ankita', i.e., the stamped child of the Guru. Everything concerning that pupil is looked after by the Guru, with his wonderful superhuman powers

The Dakshinamurthy stotram (Hymn eulogising Dakshinamurthy), viewed as a form of Shiva is a stotra form of the theory or philosophy ofAdvaita vedanta