The
Festival of Light
When
Baba started on 20th October from Anantapur
towards Dharwar, from where He was scheduled to
begin His weeklong tour of the Districts of
North Mysore, someone asked Him, "This is sure
to be a memorable tour; what shall we call it?"
Baba immediately replied,
"Amarapuriya
Ananda-yatre!"
(Heavenly Tour of Bliss). Yes, He had decided on
it; He was directing it; He was the host and
guest, everywhere; He was the goal and the
guide! No wonder it brought heavenly bliss to
millions of people. When His car, and the others
that followed it, passed Bellary, the first town
in Mysore State, the good news spread around
gladdening the hearts of all who heard it, and
they in turn communicated it to their near and
dear ones. The news flashed with lightning speed
in every direction. It was the eve of Deepavali,
the Festival of Lights, and the news lit a lamp
in every heart; the light spread from doorstep
to doorstep throughout the region.
At Gadag,
there were many who had received signs of His
Grace and who were gratefully adoring His Name
and Form. They inspired many others and thus, a
sizeable gathering with flowers in their hands
assembled at the entrance of the town so as not
to miss the chance of Darsan. Passing through
Hulkoti and Annageri, where devotees stood on
both sides of the road, singing Bhajans in the
hope that Baba would stop and perhaps alight for
a moment, Baba reached the outskirts of the busy
city of Hubli, where the mayor of the
corporation and about 3000 citizens acclaimed
His arrival. The Mayor prayed for His blessings,
so that Hubli could be "happy, healthy and
prosperous."
Dharwar was
only twelve miles away. While entering the city,
principal Dharwadkar and the erudite population
of Vidyagiri, (Hill of Culture), a complex of
many colleges and training institutes, cheered
Him at the gates. Baba reached the University
area and the Vice Chancellor's Bungalow at 9.30
p.m.
Dr. Appa Saheb
Adke B.E., Ph.D., the Vice-chancellor, and
organizer of the tour, had been ill ever since
his visit to Australia in connection with
University work. "I thought it was a simple
affair, drafting the programme of His tour! But
there was such a sincere pressure from all the
corners of the region that I became perplexed.
Realizing this quandary, Baba came to my rescue;
He said that He will settle it Himself at
Dharwar," Dr. Adke told me. "I was very ill when
Baba came to Dharwar, but His arrival charged me
with vitality; I am more vigorous than usual
since that moment," he declared. He could hardly
contain himself; no one could restrain him and
remind him to be careful of his
health.
Baba gave
Darsan to the thousands that had assembled from
far and near, that night as well as next
morning, in the spacious lawns of the bungalow.
He met the office bearers of the Seva Samithis
at 4 p.m., and quickly decided on the dates and
the routes which He would use for the tour. That
evening, there was a huge gathering, of at least
20.000 to listen to His Discourse. Dr. Adke
welcomed Baba to Karnataka and said, "This
University has today gained glory from this
precious gift of grace. We deal here with
materials and measurements, things that change,
originate and degenerate; we are concerned with
collection and codification, the intellectual
process of analysis and synthesis; but alas we
do not earn or confer wisdom! Our hearts are
petrified; our brains have become books. Sri
Rama awakened the stone that Ahalya
[RRV:7b]
had become through her craving for the trivial
and temporary; when His Foot touched that stone,
she was restored to life, beauty, and goodness.
We too deserve that Divine Touch. Awaken us,
Baba, and restore us to the life of truth,
beauty and goodness, of
Sathyam, Sivam and
Sundaram!"
Dr. Gokak, who
has had years of intimate association with the
city of Dharwar and the Karnataka University,
called upon his compatriots to offer to Baba the
multifarious anxieties, worries and weaknesses,
defects and disabilities that were then weighing
heavily on their hearts, and receive from Him in
exchange, assurance of the Grace, which grants
instant relief and constant joy.
Baba began His
Discourse in the Kannada language! It was an
unexpected thing of compassion; it aroused an
applause from each man, women and child when
they realized that Baba's immeasurable
Prema
towards them has persuaded Him to speak for the
first time in the language that they could
comprehend, which echoed and re-echoed from the
hills around! "Kasturi
is not here! I have to speak to you without an
interpreter. I have contacts with the Kannada
region since twenty five years, but this is the
first time I am addressing a gathering in
Kannada. You praise your language, extolling it
as Kasturi! (fragrant as musk)
(*About
Kasturi's name*)
I hope I will not injure that reputation," Baba
said.
His Prema is
so overpowering that He takes the words out of
our mouths so that He can convey His message to
us in ways we can receive with welcoming
enthusiasm. His first venture into Kannada
lasted for over an hour and a half, the diction
and the exposition being as sweet and savory as
the Telugu, which is His usual vehicle. The
people of Dharwar were thrilled. "Oh, the
delight that He imparted!" "Oh, the illumination
that He granted!" "How fast was the flow of His
Ganga" - these were the exclamations that filled
the University atmosphere.
After the
discourse, Baba sang a few Bhajan songs, which
the vast assembly sang after Him in chorus. The
songs were in praise of God in a variety of
Names and Forms as visualized by saints: Shiva,
Rama, Sakthi, Krishna,
[Bhajan:
Govinda Krishna Jai - MP3]
Subrahmanya, Vishnu. The sacred songs sung by
Baba in His flute-like voice filled everyone
with such supreme elation that there was genuine
response.
Many in the
gathering were staunch and stalwart followers of
creeds which stick only to one Name and Form;
ordinarily they would have felt it a sacrilege
to pronounce in reverence, much less sing in
adoration, another Name and Form. Though the
scriptures they follow declare that "The One God
had many Names", "Ekam sad Vipraah bahudha
vadanthi", they grow in a social atmosphere that
insists on concentration on one name only, so
that their faith may be fractionalized and
enfeebled. Therefore, the Bhajans of Baba came
as a refreshing breeze, cleansing the hearts of
fanatic conformity, and sweeping out the cobwebs
of fear! "Only Baba can overpower the habit of
years and evoke in our hearts this spring of
expansive joy", they exclaimed. Baba taps the
very fountain of the religious urge, whether a
person be a man or woman, young or old,
Hindu,
Buddhist,
Parsi,
Christian,
Jain or
Muslim,
or even Agnostic, Nihilist, or
Anarchist.
From that day,
the schedule laid down for the tour was
rigorously gone through. Baba addressed a huge
gathering at Vidyagiri, in the quadrangle of the
Arts College. He planted a tree to keep His
visit green in the memory of generations of
students; He created a sapphire ring and gave it
to Principal Dharwadkar. Then he spoke about the
development of discipline and the earning of
character.
"My
Message is this: Be embodiments of Prema
(Love); Do not hate anyone or fear anyone.
Develop Love towards all; understand the
grief, and the joy of others; be happy when
others are happy; don't exult when others are
in misery." "Learn, even while you are
learning good attitudes and habits, the art
of silence and meditation, for example. These
will help you to succeed in the School of
Living. This is the most precious lesson
available from
Sanathan
Dharma,
which, let Me assure you, will be
re-established in all its glory throughout
the world, so that the world might have peace
and prosperity. That is the mission upon
which I have come."
From
Vidyagiri, Baba motored to Hubli, where a
mammoth assembly was spilling over the Karnatak
medical college buildings yearning to have His
Darsan, and to listen to His Discourse. The good
tidings that Baba was speaking in Kannada had
spread to Hubli and beyond, and all ears were
alert to catch the speech and treasure
it.
"Today
is Deepavali,
when you consume sweets, but, the component
that sweetens every dish is sugar. So too,
the article that bestows the characteristics
of Existence (It is), Knowledge (It can be
known), and Ananda (it confers joy), on every
'thing' and 'being' is the Atma, which, when
Name-bound and Form-bound, is God."
He advised the
students not to give way to gusts of anger or
resentment, but to use reason, a unique asset of
man, to discriminate between alternative
remedies! "The word mantra can be applied to
slogans also; the mantra has to be subjected to
Manana,
deep reflection. So too, every slogan has to be
weighed in the scale of Reason." Since there
were many students of the Medical College before
Him, Baba asked,
"For
a four-lettered degree, you spend the best
part of your life; for attaining the Degree
of Degrees, namely Grace, can you not spend
at least five minutes a day, contemplating
silently on the mystery and majesty of God,
which is evident in the construction, the
functioning, and the disintegration of every
atom and cell?"
On the 23rd,
Baba proceeded along the Sirsi Road to the West
Coast. Leaving Dharwar at 9 a.m., Baba neared
the village of Mundagod forty-five minutes
later. The highway passes only through a few
villages, for in this part of the country houses
are situated not on streets, but they peep
furtively in twos and threes from between huge
bushes and trees in plantations or forests; so
people from as far as twenty to twenty five
miles away from the road had trekked to Mundagod
for the coveted Darsan of the
Avatar
of the Age.
More than
4.000 simple peasants and plantation laborers
were there. Their eyes got a glint of joy when
Baba moved among them and granted the curative
Vibhuti
created on the spot to three broken minds which
He espied in their midst. Baba spoke a few words
to them about
Namasmaran
and Bhajan;
He sang three Bhajans so that they could feel
the exhilaration that Bhajan could give, and the
gathering did their best to repeat the lines in
tune with His entrancing melody.
From then on,
the road was sanctified every few hundred yards
by song and dance! At Malagi, Ekkambi, Isalur,
and Gowdalli, the sincerity of the villagers was
appreciated by Baba so much that He alighted
from the car and stood facing the disciplined
throng for a few minutes, so that they may
imprint His form on their hearts, just as they
had already inscribed His Name on their tongues.
Dr. Adke writes, "Whenever He noticed a
gathering on the roadside, Baba used to stand on
the foot board of the car, with the door open.
People pressed upon the door, in their frantic
attempts to get as near Him as possible and
touch His Feet. But, wonder of wonders, the door
did not move even an inch! Hundreds pushed
themselves forward on the door that was well
ajar, but it stood firm, without even a
shiver!"
At the stroke
of eleven, Baba entered the premises of the
Sathya Sai Seva Samithi, at the Gopalkrishna
Temple at Sirsi. He had said casually on the
21st that He would be reaching Sirsi at 11 a.m.
People wondered how the clock had obeyed Him so
meticulously! Just outside the town, tens of
thousands had gathered to welcome Him. Dr. Adke
writes,
"He would not bear the suffering of people
waiting in the hot sun. He told the gathering
that if they start Bhajan, clouds will gather
overhead, to provide cool
shade."
And the clouds did! He quoted profusely from the
Vachanas of Basavanna and other Veerasaiva poets
and mystics, and captured the heart of the vast
assembly.
"Love is God; Live in Love; Start the day with
Love; Fill the day with Love; End the day with
Love. You have attached yourselves with Me, by
bonds of Love. I am in all beings. So, have the
same Love for
all,"
He reminded them. Baba said,
"See
the effect of the singing of the Name. If a
few minutes of
Namasmaran
could confer this much of Grace, how much
more can you gain by constant uninterrupted
Namasmaran! The yearning which you cultivated
in your minds for My Darsan has fructified
today. I am happy to share My Love. May this
give-and-take become a continuous
process!"
When Baba
descended from the dais, there was not a dry eye
among the 40.000 before Him; tears of gratitude
and ecstasy were visible. Baba returned to the
Gopalkrishna Temple, and looked at the
exhibition of photographs of Himself and His
activities. He moved from thence, without even
the rest that many pleaded with Him to take, on
the next leg of the tour - towards Karwar, on
the Arabian sea!
The road was
walled on both sides by thick masses of
pilgrims, standing in eager expectation. One
could read the name-board of villages -
Nilekani, Hanumanthi, Marugara, Amminahalli,
Janmane, Kasage, Kathagala, Hiregutti. In many
places, yielding to the silent importunity, Baba
alighted for a minute or two, to bless the crowd
with a smile that was immediately reflected on
every face. At Ankola, the importunity became a
little too boisterous and so Baba moved on, with
just a wave of His hand, which itself, was to
them a comforting gesture of
Blessing!
The small
village of Aversa presented a clean festive
appearance, with festoons and banners, arches
and greenery, across the road. The assembly of
over 5.000 persons was a model of disciplined
devotion. Baba spent a long time walking along
the lanes, between men and women, and seeking
out for succor the sick and the distressed.
Winning the affectionate loyalty of all by this
gesture of compassion, Baba ascended the rostrum
and spoke about the Truth of Identity, that is
now ridden by the Falsehood of
Diversity.
"The
Truth shall make you fearless, for where
there is only One, how can fear arise?" He
asked. "The Name for that One is God; remind
yourself of the One, when you rise from bed;
recollect that One during the vocations of
the day; establish the faith in the One, in
the heart when you go to sleep, so that when
the senses, the intellect, and the
imagination are inactive, the One might fill
you and favor you with the bliss of its
realization," He advised.
The Aversans
were not disappointed; they feared that Baba
might not sing Bhajans, since they discovered
signs of hurry among the entourage. Karwar was
waiting, miles away, since about noon! But, Baba
sang and filled the cup of joy to the very
brim.
"This
vast expanse of water on one side, this vast
expanse of humanity on the other and this vast
expanse of Grace in
between!"
- that was how Baba described the scene on the
Marina that day.
"That is the Ganga; this the Yamuna; and My
Grace which is silently gurgling within your
hearts is the
Saraswathi,"
Baba declared, sending the 25.000 devotees
assembled there into the seventh heaven of
bliss!
"This
meeting should have begun hours earlier; but
the serried ranks of devotees standing on the
road shared that time with you; I gave it to
them on your behalf; for, they too are
Atmaswaroop, having the same
Atma
illumining and inspiring them, instructing
and guiding them towards the Paramatma."
"Their gratitude is your gain," Baba
announced.
The waves
whispered into the ears of seashells how happy
they were that they could be silent when Baba
sang Bhajans for Karwar to echo in full-throated
exhilaration.
Night was
spent in the bungalow of the collector, from
where one could see the wave-crests shimmering
in starling. Next morning, Baba went into the
Sitarameshwar Temple, which is to Karwar, as
heart to the body, and from there He drove to
the suburban settlement of Kodibag, where deft
and devoted hands had erected a temple for the
Previous Body and carved a statue for
installation. The joy of the settlement dwellers
knew no bounds; it was indeed a revealing
ceremony, the Installation by Baba and the
homage from them to the Sai, actually present
before them. From Kodibag, Baba went along the
coastal road to where the motor launch was to
take the party, cars and all, across the tongue
of sea that is yet to be bridged.
The Kali river
joins the sea at this point, and so the tongue
tastes no salinity. Baba drew the attention of
Dr. Adke, his son Manohar and others in the
launch, to the pearly aquamarine which the sea
was, a furlong away! Baba remarked,
"Crossing the Sea of Samsar,
be confident of victory, since the Master is
with you." "Why fear when I am near!"
Retrieving the
cars from the launch, the journey was resumed
fast and when the State of Goa was entered, it
was about ten. About half an hour later they
reached Marga, where, too, aspirants for Grace
were ready in their thousands. It was difficult
to restrain them from their yearning to touch
the Lotus Feet, and so Baba found it rather hard
to reach the platform soon. His abounding Love
overcame the resentment that mortals might have
felt under similar circumstances; He walked
coolly among the excited gathering: He
recognized a sick person and materialized a
portrait of Christ for him, for He knew, though
it was not evident for others, that he was a
Christian. He created Vibhuti and placed it in
the hands of another person whom they guessed
was a Hindu, though the curative wonder can well
be given to followers of all creeds. Baba spoke
for about twenty minutes on the three
Gunas,
the dull, the passionate and the balanced, and
how man can liberate himself from the apathy of
Thamas and reach the enthusiasm of Rajas and
finally attain the equipoise of Sathwa
Guna.
Then, Baba
moved on to the capital city of Goa, Panaji. The
Samithi at Panaji had arranged a public meeting
which Baba was to address in the "Vivekananda
Hall" on the upper floor of the Secretariat
Buildings! No hall on earth can accommodate in
comfort the audience that Baba draws to Himself
in any town! He has said often, that the sky
shall be the roof of the Shamiana for the
assemblies He addressed! Therefore, the
inevitable happened. A very large section was
denied the chance of Darsan. Baba spoke for some
time and sang Bhajans, which delighted those in
the hall. Those who heard the discourse and
melody from outside said, "Better luck, next
time!" "Thanks at least for this much"; this was
the consolation of the thousands who could not
get into the hall.
Dr. Adke
writes, "When we were nearing Goa, the springs
of the Fiat car were damaged. But when I
suggested getting another car for the onward
journey, Baba told me, 'We shall drive in this
car only!' The road from Goa to Belgaum runs
through thick forests and ghats, and was also
breached by rains. We started from Goa late in
the evening and reached Belgaum at nine. How we
reached the destination without a breakdown is a
mystery that Baba alone can explain. We knew
that it was Baba's Grace that brought the party
safe."
At Belgaum,
Baba went straight into the enormous gathering
of about 70.000 persons waiting for Darsan.
Belgaum is a big city and Baba is the Supreme
Savior. The Sathya Sai Seva Samithi had taken
elaborate precautions against any stampede; they
had put up barricades of tough bamboo to
sectionalize the gathering and provide vacant
paths in between, for Baba to walk along and
confer Darsan from within a few feet for all.
When intimation was received that Baba had come,
they rose in haste and rushed towards where they
sensed He was! The home guards, the volunteers
(men and women), the boy scouts, and members of
the Samithi sprang into action and curbed the
excited crowds as best as they could.
Meanwhile,
Baba had come on the dais; His golden voice
floated in ever-widening circles far and wide.
Everyone stood where he was and drank the
ambrosia. Each man turned towards the place from
where the call had come. Sri Narke, an engineer
who was of the party says, "Bhagavan
raised His Hand! Every man was fixed to the spot
where he stood! Bhagavan's Hand came down; they
sat silently, wherever they were."
"I
couldn't leave Goa in time. There were eager
groups of devotees waiting at every village,
whether we passed through jungle or bald
fallow wastes. How can I ignore their
tremendous thirst?"
Baba said.
"I borrowed a little time from you and gave
it to them,"
He confessed.
The
gathering became gentle and
calm.
"Having
joined this uplifting a gathering of
thousands of seekers of light, eager to
cleanse themselves and become worthy of their
divine destiny, you have a responsibility:
Try to realize that you are fundamentally
divine; practice meditation for a few minutes
every day to instill this faith into
yourself,"
He advised.
"The boulder on the hill is turned into an
idol for the temple. Hammer and chisel have
made it a thing of beauty and a joy forever,
a perpetual source of inspiration to render
life wholesome and holy! You too must subject
yourselves to the hammer of discipline and
the chisel of pleasure-pain, so that you
emerge from the boulder into an authentic
Image of God!" He exhorted.
"I have been touring Karnataka since five
days; I wish to emphasize one point now.
Thousands of people are attending such
meetings; thousands more are waiting along
the roads. In the heart of every one of them,
I know, sincere adoration is welling up
towards God. But adoration must be regulated
through discipline. It should not be wild and
untended. You rush forward to touch My feet
or to prostrate before Me, regardless of any
consideration for women, children, the aged
and the sick. You fall upon them when you
press forward toward Me. Do not injure the
Sai in those people, when you rush towards
this Sai, to demonstrate your devotion! The
merit and all the austerity you undergo to
see and hear this Sai is well nigh cancelled,
when you inflict pain on the Sai who resides
in them,"
He said. Many bowed their heads in repentance
and shame.
"Cultivate love, tolerance and reverence
towards the weak, the handicapped, the
distressed and the diseased. Give them your
compassion and sympathy. Serve them, sensing
the divine bond of kinship," Baba
directed.
Baba resumed
the tour next morning, taking the road to
Bijapur, the Headquarters of another District in
North Karnataka. Within miles He alighted at
Bali-Hongal where devoted hearts prayed for the
triple gifts of Darsan,
Sparsan
and Sambhashan:
seeing Him, touching Him and listening to Him.
He conferred on them the first and the last of
these only, for there were thousands so early in
the day! Baba spoke to them of inner
purification and the awareness of the constant
presence of God as the means to ensure
it.
Throughout the
day, miles after mile, it was Bhajan and Kirtan
all along the road to Bijapur. The villagers
waited, watching the cars that passed along, for
hours at a stretch, doing Bhajan. They halted
every scooter and truck, to find out whether
Baba had started, and was on the way. Some
villages got ready a folk welcome with
traditional drums and dances; some brought out
long brass horns which they blew loud and long
to awaken the countryside into the glorious day.
Some paraded the temple umbrella and persuaded
temple priests to stand across the road, with
ceremonial pots of holy water in their hands and
Vedic chants on their tongues! There were police
cars before and behind the cars of the party;
while the officers tried to regulate the
enthusiasm of the village gatherings, they
themselves were not above the temptation to
seize as many chances as they could, to touch
His Feet!
Baba halted
for about an hour at Gokak at noon, and
proceeded apace to Bijapur, the journey being
interrupted every few miles by yearning on one
side and compassion on the other. For those who
were with Baba in the same car, it was a boon of
unstinted ecstasy. Baba sang many songs, asked
all else to sing Bhajans, prompted one or two to
compose poems on the spot about the epic,
unfolding before their eyes; thus as the road
rolled away, fast, from underneath the car, they
lost all sense of time and space.
"At Bijapur,
the gathering was packed thick for miles,"
writes Dr. Adke. "I made bold to suggest to
Baba, "This meeting has to be cancelled! It is
impossible to go through this item of the tour!
Let us go to the next place." Baba said, "No."
At least 75.000 persons were surging impatiently
over the roads and open spaces. Dr. Adke writes,
"Baba went right into that sea of agitated
confusion. Everyone was nervous about the
situation. But soon we saw Him safe on the dais
under the blaring lights and before the
microphone. As soon as Baba started singing the
usual introductory verse, every man, woman and
child was enchanted; the waves were stilled,
quiet prevailed, and we were
relieved."
"For
what purpose were you born? What has been
your achievement in the years that you have
spent as men among men? What are you
intending to leave behind when you die?" Baba
asked the vast gathering.
Vineetha
Ramachandra Rao, who was of the party, writes,
"We have heard that when Krishna played on the
Flute, even the thousand-hooded snake lay low;
when Baba spoke in that captivating voice even
though His opening sentences were so challenging
to their self-complacence and indolence, the
seventy five thousand-hooded snake lay calm,
plunged in self-examination. Baba advised each
one to cultivate Love, for
"Love is the motivator of the Universe, Love is
God and Love alone can win the Grace of God and
merge man in God."
When Baba spoke of the efficacy of Bhajan and
sang a few songs, the assembly yielded without
reservation to the magic of His Flute! All the
higher tendencies sprouted, foliated, put forth
buds and blossomed in the heart; everyone felt a
thrill, the thrill of Cosmic
Awareness."
Spending the
night at the circuit house, Baba rose early and
was ready to fulfill the engagements He had
planned for the day. A score of minutes ticked
away as they drove forward; they were surprised
to see across the road, a pandal of green and
yellow creepers and festoons, flags and
garlands, and on the ground, about a hundred
persons singing Prasanthi Nilayam
Bhajans!
Let us listen
to Dr. Adke describing what happened: "They
beseeched Baba to drive into their village which
was only two miles off; they said they had
repaired the road and made it car-worthy; they
promised they would be quiet and disciplined;
they announced that the villagers were longing
for His visit. I was anxious about the correct
execution of the busy timetable already laid
down for the day. But Baba said, "Well, we shall
go and be with them for five
minutes."
The cars
turned, traversed the clean dustless road which
had been sprinkled thick with water, into the
village. As the cars passed, lamps waved, women
scattered flowers on the car. The men blew horns
and beat big drums. Bells on the necks of cattle
tinkled as they stood on the sides, with red
paint on their horns. Baba was happy to see the
villagers sitting with the surge of joy lending
luster to their eyes. He sang a few Bhajans,
encouraging the assembly to sing them after Him,
without hesitation and fear. Baba drove back to
the main road only after spending about forty
minutes there.
It was one
continuous flood of devotion, fertilizing the
entire area, entering into every home, every
heart, arousing man, woman and child: Baba could
not bear to see the people sitting or standing
in the sun. Nor could He allow them to be glum
and cheerless. While moving from Bijapur to
Bagalkot, Baba sang a large number of songs in
Kannada to the delight of the Vice-chancellor,
his son, and others.
He sang songs
composed by the famous medieval Kannada saints,
Purandara Das and Kanaka Das; He described the
story of Kanaka Das at Udipi, where the idol of
Krishna installed by Madhawacharya turned around
in order to give the shepherd saint Kanaka Das
the Darsan he longed for. For Kanaka Das was not
admitted into the temple since he was a person
of inferior caste! Baba also sang some songs
composed by Him on the spot in Kannada. It was a
glorious hour for lovers of that language and
seekers longing for the Divine.
Passing
through places like Kerur, where devotees fed
their eyes on Him, Baba reached Nargund, and saw
about twelve thousand people gathered there from
all the villages around, and even from Hubli and
Dharwar, which were hours away by car. He told
them of the immanence of God in the universe,
and said that only a perfected, pure
intelligence can recognize that fact; just as
only the one tongue among all the limbs and
organs of the body can recognize the salt
dissolved in water.
Passing
through wavy fields of grass and grain, fondled
by the soft caresses of stray breezes, Baba
reached Navilgund in the evening. A sea of faces
sat before Him in disciplined silence and Baba
spoke to them and sang for them in plentiful
compassion. "The objective world is ever
changeful; it is fitful and flickering, but the
Atma is eternal, adamant, unaffected by time,
space and causation, which are only
modifications it is supposed to
undergo!
Ekam
eva adwithiyam Brahma: One only, without a
second, is Brahma. To become aware of the
One, which has no second, you must practice
the five disciplines of Mantra,
Namasmaran,
Yoga,
Dhyana
and Samadhi.
Just as the music and the musician immanent
in the ether, as waves projected by the
broadcasting station are caught and made
manifest by the receiver and its many
contrivances, God who is present but
unmanifest to the eye or mind, can be
realized and recognized, through these
contrivances," Baba explained.
The sun must
have traveled slower than usual that day, for
Baba was able to reach Hulkoti at 6 p.m., after
a halt at Annigeri on the way to receive flowers
and shower blessings on a huge gathering on the
roadside. There was a record crowd of eager
devotees at Kulkoti and Baba gave them Darsan as
well as the assurance of His continuing
Grace.
He then left
for Gadag, a city famous since centuries for the
Veera Narayana temple, immortalized in Kannada
poetry and at present a great center of commerce
and industry. Gadag astounded everyone by the
enormity of the number of people who assembled
there to revere Baba. There were over a hundred
thousand!
Sri K.H.
Patil, who welcomed Baba said, "The doors of
heaven have opened this day before Gadag! The
Light of the Spirit is resplendent once again,
in this ancient city." Baba spoke of the Vedic
Prayer, which summarizes the aspiration of man,
since the beginning of his history on
earth:
Asatho
Ma Sad Gamaya (From the unreal, lead me to
the Real!)
Thamaso Ma Jyothir Gamaya (From darkness,
lead me to the Light)
Mrthyor Ma Amrtham Gamaya (From death, lead
me to Immortality!).
He said that
distinction is unreal, egoism is darkness, and
desire is death!
So, man must
become aware of the One of which He is a spark,
of the One which is all this and more, the One
which fills and fulfils all." The Bhajans that
Baba sang and which the voices repeated, cleared
the sky of the vibrations of multiplicity and
filled it with the "is-ness" of the One. Rama,
Krishna, Sakthi, Siva, Vishnu, all were
integrated in the melody of that music of the
masses, offered at the Feet of Sai at His
bidding, and in tune with His cosmic
voice.
When Dharwar
was reached, lights in most of the houses had
been extinguished, and cows were dozing on the
roads, chewing the day's fast-eaten
food!
When the sun
rose next day over the horizon, the calendar
showed October 27, as the date. And Baba was as
fresh as the Sun who shows no tinge of
tiresomeness, however long the journey, however
monotonous the route, however fulsome the
acclamation offered to Him in however many
languages, however gladly He is welcomed in
however many lands by however many billions! He
was as aware of His Mission and as unassuming in
its performance as the Sun!
But, others of
the party, who were mere men, aroused His pity.
He persuaded Dr. Adke, his son and others to
take rest, in spite of their disinclination. As
for Himself, He spent the day visiting the homes
of devotees at Hubli and Dharwar, for, as Baba
has often said,
"Your Ananda is what sustains Me" (Mee Anandame
naa Aahaaram).
When Baba visits a home, however short the stay,
He leaves it a Heaven of Peace and Love. Often
He goes alone into the house in order that 'the
devotee may not be distracted by the need to
attend to the companions!' He persuades the
devotee not to indulge in pompous receptions and
invest in exhibitionistic decorations, exotic
garlands, expensive feasts or quick publicity
among kinsmen and friends. He comes as our
nearest and dearest kinsman, arriving after a
long absence, to bless, to heal, to enrich, to
elevate, to alleviate, to console and correct,
to confer courage and conviction and confirm the
consummation of spiritual aspiration. He fondles
the children, recognizes even slight gestures of
homage, remembers the names of everyone in the
family, relates incidents unknown or forgotten,
promises relief, and leaves everyone grateful.
Where gloom hung thick, He installs joy; where
the musty air of sickness was repelling, He
brings the fresh fragrance of health and
hilarity. His visit to a home closes the chapter
of disease, despair, distress and doubt and
opens another, tingling with joy and cheer,
peace and goodwill, vigor and vibrant
harmony.
Monday, the
28th! He was to reach Brindavan that evening,
and so, He drove along the Hubli-Davangere Road,
lighting the faces and lightening the hearts of
the residents of those villages and towns,
adjacent to that road. Kundgol was the first
place where a gathering had collected, under the
auspices of the Sathya Sai Seva Samithi. And
what a gathering! The wide expanse of a football
field packed thick! At least 25.000 in number!
Baba spoke of Indian culture, of the word
'Bharath,' of the syllable 'Bha', which He
interpreted as Light, the Light of Spiritual
Realization, the light that reveals the identity
of all as God. He said that His heart was filled
with joy at the Love that had induced them to
wait for His Darsan for hours since early dawn.
"Extend this Love towards all, for I am in
all," He
suggested.
"Devotion to Me is to be expressed through
service, love and cooperation and by refraining
from scandal mongering, faultfinding and
hatred,"
He emphasized. When He sang a few Bhajans
towards the close, harmony reigned and
distraction disappeared from the inner and outer
atmosphere.
Karjigi was
the next place where Baba blessed the people.
Then Baba visited the holy village of Agadi,
renowned as the hermitage of the late Saint
Seshaachala Swami. Saints and sages are the
sappers and miners, the road-makers, surveyors,
the bridge builders who prepare for the Avatar.
Baba was received at the entrance to the shrine
by women waving lamps, and Vedic Scholars
chanting hymns of prayer and supplication. He
moved among the vast congregation which was
engaged in Bhajan, and later spoke to them of
the efficacy of the Name and the discipline of
constant repetition of the Name.
The stream of
cars bringing redemption and relief was delayed
a while at Haveri. Baba went to the Grama Seva
Mantap (Home for Village Reconstruction) and
addressed the gathering, composed of students of
the Agriculture and other colleges of the place.
He drew their attention to the setting of
natural beauty and grandeur where they had met
and said that it was a heritage which all can
share.
"You have another heritage which all can share
and that is, the Grace of
God," He
said. He advised them to learn well at college,
and also learn the art of being at peace with
themselves and others, through Namasmaran and
Bhajan. When Baba sang Bhajans, about a dozen
sleek cows of the Mantap were seen listening
with a glint in the eye and a tingle in the ear.
There was an enceinte (pregnant) cow in the
group; the calf hurried out into the world in
its eagerness to listen to the voice of
Brindavan. At Rane Bennur, Baba laid the
foundation stone of the Arts and Science College
and proceeded to the Cotton Market, where 25.000
devoted persons were awaiting Darsan.
"Let your words be charged with Truth; let your
deeds be charged with Sincerity - Sathyam Vada;
Dharmam Chara - Talk in Truth, walk in
Righteousness; that is the way to reach the goal
and find it,"
Baba advised. The vast gathering got and hour of
bliss, through word and song, that
day.
Baba motored
from Rane Bennur through lines of devotees that
thronged the roads to Harihar (where He alighted
from the car and gave Darsan for a few minutes)
and at Davangere, Chitaldrug, Sira and Tumkur to
Brindavan, carrying with Him the Love and
rapturous devotion of the millions His Grace had
captivated.
Dr. Adke
writes, "I had the good fortune of being with
Baba and witnessing the grateful joy of people
everywhere and the happiness of Baba at their
sincerity and simplicity. I was able to go as
far as Whitefield, near Bangalore, where
Brindavan is, and take leave of Baba from there.
When I left, Baba said, 'Do not think you are
going back alone! I am with you! Let us both go
together!' That is the measure of His Love, His
Omnipresence, His Omnipotence, His
Divinity!"
The adoration
offered to Baba and the attention with which
huge gatherings at every place, whether it be a
hamlet or village, a city of colleges or of
factories, a historic spot or a place of
pilgrimage, treasured His words of hope and
promise, are eye-openers to those who plan for
the future. They reveal that people are
eminently responsive to the call of the spirit
towards the higher life, that the fascination
for short cuts and artificial props to happiness
cannot withstand the charm of the Divine
Directive of Baba.
Baba began
this tour on Deepavali, the Day when India
celebrates the Festival of Lights. Sri Aurobindo
writes in 'the Synthesis of Yoga', "The Guru
should awaken the Divine Light and set working
the Divine Force." Baba awakened the Divine
light; in every heart, He lit the lamps, He, the
Divine, aroused the Divine Force.
|Previous
|Next
|
Bhajans