SHRI SAI LEELA

SEPTEMBER 1976

CONTENTS

1.         Editorial            The Human Body

2.         The Science of Religion             Swami Chinmayananda

3.         Shri Gurucharitra          Shri S.N.Huddar

4.         Namasmaran                Dr.Anil Jaiswal

5.         Saint Mukundraj           Dr.S.D.Parchure

6.         How Baba gave me instructions                        Shri Y. Subba Rao

7.         Shri Sainath Mandir Bhivpurj Road

8.         Fruit of Immortality                   Prof Vaman H.Pandit.

 

SHRI SAI LEELA

( Official Organ of Shirdi Sansthan )

VOLUME 55

SEPTEMBER   1976

 

No. 6

The Way to Freedom and light

Be atmavantarn.' Be not lost in the crowd to "things,"-in the currents of "collectivity," in the cruel rush and welter of the senses and the superficial noises which stand between your inner "self" and the call of the Supreme. Above the senses, above the high noises of tumultuous life, is the "Freedom" and the ''Light" you seek, -the Freedom and the Light are in the hidden depths of your being.

Editor :

Shri K. S. PATHAK Receiver, Shirdi Sansthan of Shri Sai Baba

Executive Editors: Dr. S. D. Parchure M. A., Ph. D.

Shri Sadanand Chendwankar B. Sc., S. T, C., R. B. Pravin

Annual Subscription Rs. 6.00

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TeLl 443361

 

EDITORIAL

The Human Body

According to the Indian conception, there are five   elements of   the   human   body.    They   are  (earth),   (water),  (luster), (air) and (vacuum).   When the human body is cast away by a person, it is said that   he has become one with the aforesaid five elements.

Our theory in the Puranas  says, there are as many as 84 Jakhs yonies (i.e., species).   They are all graded.    After every birth, a living being does some good   deeds and some bad deeds.  He reaps the benefit of those deeds while getting the next birth.  Good deeds acquire for him a superior species while bad deeds lower his species.   Thus after going through all   these eightyfour lakhs yonie-, the soul is born in the human body.

Darvin's theory of evolution says that at the beginning, there were living beings only in the water. Later on some beings evolved, who were staying partially in water and partially on land.  This evolution continued and a living being was evolved, who stayed entirely on land.  The process of evolution continued through ages and ultimately the man was born.

In this   connection   it   may  be stated that the   theory of incarnations of the God, as depicted in our  Puranas, needs to be examined in this context.  The first incarnation of God Vishnu was fish.  A fish is a living being who stays all the time in water and can never remain alive out of it.  The second incarnation was a tortoise.   This living being stays partially in water and partially on land.  The third incarnation was a pig. which stays entirely on land, and uses water only for drink-incarnation is that of  half   man and half animal.

Then we come to the Waman incarnation, This was no doubt a full man; but he was not a completely grown up normal man.  He appears to be a pigml. The incarnations after Waman are those of complete man. From the series of the above 'avatars', we see a strange similarity between their sequence and the sequence of the species as stated by Darvin.  The persons composing the Puranas were perhaps aware of the theory of evolution, they only did not put it up as a theory but they conveyed it through a religious phenomenon of incarnations of God.

Leaving aside the theory of the birth of the human being, we see that the main difference between the other beings and man is his power of speech and his power to think.  Because of his intelligence and his power of thinking, he has been able to win a victory over so many other animals, though physically they have been much more powerful than him.  This craze for power later on did not halt at only subjugating other animals.  The more intelligent people thought of making other human beings their slaves.  Of course, they also revolted after some years of slavery, and became independent.

Thought and intelligence show the bright side of the human body; but the human body is a storage of mucus, urine and excreta, which we are throwing out of our body, through various organs. Some saints have therefore warned the human beings that they should not have too much attachment to their body, because it is nothing else but a store of all dirty things.  They have said that the body of a lady, which outwardly appears to be attra­ctive, is nothing else but a store of dirty things and have warned the ordinary people against indulging too much in the sex matters and thus wasting their life by going away from the devotion to God.

Against this censure of the human body, some also explained the advantages of the human body, that because of the intelligence and the power of thinking, human beings have many advantages.  The other living organisms, for example, cannot think about the origin, growth and develop­ment of this universe.  They cannot also think about the greatness of God, who has been universally accepted as a creator of this universe.  We human beings can only think about God and have devotion to Him.  In the following shloka the human being has been advised to make the best use of the body, which he has been lucky enough to get.  The Shloka reads as follows :-

The meaning of the above shloka is, "Oh human being, you have purchased this human body, in the form of a boat, at a very great cost of merit.    So you try to cross the vast sea of sorrows before this boat disintegrates".  Here the human body is compared with a boat.  Of course, for  purchasing any small or big thing, you have to pay some price.   The human body being a very sophisticated organism, having complex functions, its cost must be very high.  The poet, who appears to be grooved in our Puranic philosophy, has been naturally thinking in terms of  the 84 lakhs of yonies and has therefore said that acquiring the human body is the highest   achievement of this world, and that you had to pay a very high price, in terms of merit, in order to achieve the human body.  When you  pay a high price for   anything, it is quite natural that you would expect a good return out of the boat and says that you should try your best to cross the sea of sorrows through this boat, so long as it does not capsize.   The breaking   or disintegrating of the boat means the death as far as the human body is concerned.   In the  conception of the 84 lakhs yonies, this idea is a basic one that if the   human being makes the best use of his life, if he   performs penance, if he spends his life in thinking about God and concentrating on Him, is redeemed and is freed from the cycle of birth is called as Moksha and it is supposed to be the highest aim of human life.  Some saints have therefore talked in terms of the above shloka and said that the human body may be full of mucus and other dirty things, but it is only in this form of the living being that we get a chance to worship God, to under­stand Him and to be one with Him (i.e., achieve Moksha).  Hence we must thank God for having given us the human body and repay His obligations by concentrating on Him.

We, the ordinary people, do not understand the real purpose of the human body and think that it has   been given to us only for enjoying the comforts and   pleasures of  this world.  Though most of the saints have been careless about the comforts of their body, they have not advised us to leave the worldly life altogether and go to the forest.   Shri Sai Baba, the   great saint of Shirdi, also did not advise people to leave the pleasures of the worldly life.  He on the other hand wanted people to live a life of ease and comfort, which would be free from difficulties.  One thing was however noteworthy about Him.  He did   not love His body-as we do.  We are trying to have the best food, we are trying to have the softest bed to sleep we are trying to have the richest clothes to wear; but if we look at the life of Shri Sai Baba, we find that He was never after any of the aforesaid things.  Like so many other saints, we do not find that   love for one's own body in Shri Sai Baba, which we   see in the minds of all ordinary humam beings.  We all Sai devotees have therefore to remember the purpose of God in giving us this human body and   hence to renounce our extra attachment for our body.    We have to follow Shri Sai Baba in making the best use of this body for concentra­ting on God and making use thereof for giving comforts to others; with a view to obtaining liberation of the soul or the Moksha.     

 

THE SCIENCE OF RELIGION

By :  Swami Chinmayananda

Freedom of the Realised

 

Young men of all era fall under two distinct types.    Some seek happiness as their goal, while there are others who consider freedom, within and without, is the only ideal to strive for.  The entire material sciences, including politics and economics, try to give man both happiness and freedom.  These two   constitute the fundamental yearning in all human   hearts.  When Krishna had already pointed out that the fully grown spiritual man exhau­sts his fascination   to   run after the sense-objects, seeking their finite and ephemeral joys, the Lord had indicated that the Self-realised seer had a positive immediate   experience of Infinite Bliss which is the very nature of the Universal-Consciousness.

All are not satisfied by the promise of happiness and bliss.  Knowing fully well the nature of man, here in the Bhagawad Geeta, the universal Scripture, the Lord indicates, in the following few verses, that an awakened man alone is really free and truly independent.

Dissecting the psychological personality in man, Krishna reveals here (V-23) "He who can withstand in this world, before his death, the impetuosity arising out of lust and anger, he is an integrated man ---he alone is the happy man."

We have already found that anger is nothing other   than desire that is not readily satisfied.  The impulse of desire scatters the personality layers into the world of their respective objects, to seek and discover their gratifications.  All our extrovertedness is thus by the Just and anger in us.    "One who has before saaksareeravimokshanaat), controlled the   "impetuo-sity   and   anger"   (kaamakrodhodbhavam   vegam)

- - - such an individual is truly cultured, really integrated ( sah yuktah).  According to Krishna, such an integrated one, "well-disciplined in himself, alone is the happy man" (sa yuktah sa sukhee narah).

In fact lust and lust-created anger are the two impulses that primarily break up our tranquillity and prompt us to become extrovert, and run after the world of objects, emotions, and thoughts, in a futile hope of gaining some delusory feeling of satisfaction and some illusory sense of fulfilment.

As a contrast to this, Krishna exhorts (V-?_4) "He whose happness is within, he whose recreation is within, he whose light is within - - - that Yogi alone, becoming the Brahman, achieves Absolute freedom".

So long as we are depending upon the world around for our happiness, we are slaves to the world.  To depend upon anything, or anybody, certainly, ruins one's independence.  The Man-of-Realisation is one who has discovered in himself Infinite Bliss, and he alone, therefore, discovers in life Absolute Freedom (sa yogee brahmanirvaanam brahmabh-ootah adhigacchati).  He extracts his happiness (antahsukhah), finds his recreation (antaraaraamah), and attains to knowledge (antarjyotih), all in the Self. He is completely self-sufficient in himself.  He depends on nothing, and upon nobody, for anything. Naturally, he gains " Absolute Freedom" (sa yogee brahmanir­vaanam brahmabhootah adhigacchati).

(V-25) "When their sins (Vasanas) are exhausted, doubts dispelled, senses controlled, the Rishis, working for the joy of all, come to express their Absolute Freedom".  The seeds from which desires spring forth are the Vasanas.  These are exhausted in wise men.  In them there cannot be any more doubts, as they are living the experience of the Transcendental Self in themselves.  All their doubts are dispelled (chinnadwaidhaah).  In the Bliss of the Self they have no more a greed for hunting sense-pleasures, and so, they become automatically "men of self- control and they alone enjoy the Absolute   Freedom.   and serve in the world for Thee.

In short, this spiritual Unfoldment is to be achieved even for making oneself fit for efficient secular activities.  Mere putting forth efforts is not effective service of the society.  There must be some extra qualities in the personality of men who dedicate themselves to the service of the society and the country.  These fine adjustments, together add up to the spiritual unfoldment in man.  Without this inner sense of joy and freedom, life itself is a dull burden to be carried, and how can he, who is himself crushed by problems, ever successfully handle the problems for others ?

A young man preparing himself to shoulder the responsi­bilities of a future national leader, or an international figure, must have the required qualities and the necessary stature in himself.  The above two verses spell them out exhaustively.  These qualities in their totality indicate that the man is a self-sufficient persona­lity, needing no props from the outer world for his existence —— like Sri Ramachandraji, as exemplified in the Ramayana gracefully cheerful ... both in the Palace, while sitting at the coro­nation, or while roaming in the forest in exile.  We read such an inner balance in all the mighty heroes of science and politics, of social and religious fields, -  where ever so many had come to owe so much from so few.

Be one of these fabulous few, and burst upon the era to serve, to lead, to guide and to rule.  The world needs such men, our country is starved of men of such magnanimous stature.  You can be the one, but, will you? You must , You can.

The Technique of Realisation Meditation

The practical minded Aryan is never satisfied with  mere idealism however poetically it might be   expressed- however convincingly it might be described.  To the dynamic Aryan mind, that cannot be put into practice is an empty dream, A Utopia, a castle   among   clouds.    They have   no patience with such day-dreams.

            Krishna knows this impatient nature of  his student,  and in these concluding verses of this chapter, the Lord hints at the path of meditation.  In the follow­ing chapter, we shall be having an exhaustive treatise upon the art of meditation.  Here Krishna declares ;   (V-26)   "Those who are  self-realised,  released   from  their lust and anger, their mind  controlled  - - -    such  seekers alone gain "absolute freedom" both here and hereafter."    In them the Vasanas are exhausted and, therefore, neither desire nor anger can turn them extrovert.  And since their minds are controlled, no outer stimuli can sweep within to   distrub their tranquillity.  Such seekers, who have reached to realise the Self,  alone can enjoy here and hereafter, a perpetual freedom from the  thraldom of matter, and from all the temptations created through the equipments of experiences.  As a freedom-loving man, the great warrior, Arjuna, cannot but be fascinated by such a colossal plan to   gain "absolute freedom",  and so his anxiety would be to know how he can gain this freedom in himself.    The world-teacher in Lord Krishna, thus leads His student to the very theatre of meditation, and in this concluding two verses with Mantra-like brevity, the   Lord gives an epitome of the Path-of-Meditation.

At present, all through our life, our entire   personality-vita­lity flows out into waste in the pursuit of sense-objects.  We seek in life nothing but the cheap gratifications of our numberless lusts.  The sum total of all these uncreative exhaustion   produces the tragic sorrows of a wasted-life - - - barren of all achievements-- parched of all gains!!  This kind of an impotent worldly-existence is the cross that selfish men bear, and their anguish knows no bound.  Silently they suffer, deep within.  Such a person, tragica­lly whispers in his heart, constantly to himself, in silence, all his nameless sorrows, while frantically pours his sweat and toil in the mad game   of acquiring and enjoying in the world outside.

Exhausted physically, tired mentally, weary of worries and material ties, he laboriously plans to protect what he has. And viciously scheming to strive for and acquire more .... and in the thick of these mad programmes of misconceived values, he gets in vain, exhausted, doubles up and tumbles down to suffer in old age and to perish in death.  This is the tragic and sorrowful life of the average man, luckily, the Benign Creator   has made him blind to see and recognise it.  He is deluded so com­pletely by himself that he is not at all conscious of the fury of his own madness.

            From such a theatre of sorrow, when Arjuna peeps into the new vision of  the divine possibility   revealed to him, he cannot but be anxious to start   striving for and achieving that state of "perfect freedom", both in his within and in his world outside. Lord Krishna elaborately gives all the details on   how an individual, --- who has disciplined and   controlled the flow of awareness through his various   equipments of experiences, will ultimately, at the   subtle moments of his deep meditations awake into the Infinite State of the Self in him.   The technique of meditation as such is elaborately dealt with, as the  sole theme for the entire following discourse in the Bhagwadgeeta. ;

Let me here give you an example :  When you are facing the east and watching  the shifting lights of the setting sun playing upon the eastern mountain ranges,   it is but natural that you are not seeing the ochre beauty of the golden sky in the west.  In order to see the setting sun,  we will have to turn right about, away from the vision of the mountain ranges.  The   moment our face is turned towards the west,it   should not take any time-interval for the vision of   the settings-sun to explode into our experience.

At this moment, we live with our entire awareness   turned to express through the intellect into the   world-of-thoughts, through our mind, into the   realm-of-emotions, and through sense-organs, into the world-of-object.  Naturally, our entire-now, is erected with these bifs-of-experience, which we become aware of every moment in our   transactions.  To be "conscious-of-things", within and   without, itself has become to us the meaning and contents of life !!..There is no other "life" known to us .. nay, we are not even to conceive the possibility of any greater or Higher Life.

We should not be surprised, in fact, that a majority of the educated young ones are even ready to cry down the very idea of a Higher Spiritual Kingdom to be conquered, as a delusion of some dreaming fools, who had supplied the scriptures to the world.  Let us sympathise with their limitations; an innocent playful child would certainly cry down the need, the strength, the force and the beauty of sex-life!! Natural!! Quite understandable indeed!!

In order   that   we   may   awake   ourselves   to this   Spiritual Nature, the Reality, the Self, we have to provide ourselves, with, at least a few moments when we are not consciously conscious of things. These moments are called "moments of utter medita­tion - - - when we have turned away from the eastern mountain ranges and are gazing westward to the golden-orb of the setting sun.  At such still moments of meditation, the Self is realised —the Consciousness then must stand naked of all "objects"

— just conscious of Itself, the One Self, all by Itself.

In the following chapter, we shall go into the details, and discuss the various techniques and methods by which we shall learn to pull our entire awareness from all the confusing medley of our mis-interpreted world of objects, emotions and thoughts.

 

( Courtesy : Geeta Office Powai )

SHR1 GURUCHAR1TRA

By:- Shri S.  N.  Huddar

 

(Continued from  August   1976 issue)    ""    -CHAPTER 41

Sayamdeo serves Shri Guru : His Kashikhand Mahayatra

Namdharak.   'How did my forefathers serve Shri Guru ?'

Shri Siddha - Your grand father's father, Sayamdeo, had worshipped Shri Guru at Osargram.  Shri Guru had affection for him.  Shri Guru later came and stayed at Ganagapur.  His fame spread all over the country.  Knowing this, Sayamdeo also came to Ganagapur.  He came to the Math, bowed to Shri Guru and prayed him.  Shri Guru was pleased.  He placed his palm on his head, blessed him, and said 'You will be my devotee for generations,' Shri Guru asked him to bathe at the Sangam and return for the meals to the Math.

After returning from the Sangam, Sayamdeo worshipped Shri Guru with 16 upchars and offered several delicious articles of food, as naivedya.  He dined with Shri Guru, who enquired about his family. Sayamdeo said, 'My relatives and sons are living at Uttar Kanchi (Gadganchi) hail and healthy.  I wish to stay with you and serve your holyself now.

Shri Guru said’ My service is difficult, I live in a town for some time, while in the forest at other time.  It is troublesome to live in a forest.  If your mind is firm then only "you should stay here.'

Sayamdev conceded and said, `A devotee of Shri Guru has no fear.'

Three months passed.  One evening Shri Guru went   to the Sangam along with Sayamdeo alone and sat below the Ashwattha tree.  There was a great storm, followed by heavy rain.  Sayamdeo stood stretching a cloth over Shri Guru to protect him from the rain.    There was a shivering cold in the night.  So Shri Guru asked Sayamdeo to go to the Math in the town   and 'bring fire.  Thick darkness had spread all over and there was lightening now and then.  Shri Guru warned Sayamdeo not to look to his right or left side.   Anyhow Sayamdeo reached the Math, took fire and returned.  Out of curiosity, he looked to his right side   and saw a Cobra going with him.  He was frightened.    He then looked to, the left side.  Here too he saw another Cobra.  He recited Shri Guru's name and walked straight.  He came to Shri Guru and lit the fire.  The two Cobras came before Shri Guru, bowed to him and went away.

Shri Guru said to Sayamdeo, 'Why are you so much afraid ?  I had sent these Cobras to protect you.  I shall tell you a tale, about service to Shri Guru, to pass this night.’

'When Shri Shiva was sitting on a peak of the Kailas moun­tain with Parwati, she asked Him, 'How can Shri Guru be served with devotion.'

Shri Shiva said, 'One who serves  Shri Guru with   sincerity, can attain all that one desires.  Brahma had an incarnation which was called Tashthra Brahma. He had a handsome son.  When his thread ceremony   was performed his father sent the boy to a Guru for study of Vedas and Shastras.   He served the Guru devo­tedly.  Once there was rain and the water came in the  ashram of the Guru.  The Guru told the pupil to construct a lasting house with all conveniences, which should look always new.  The wife of the Guru asked the boy to bring her a blouse, which should neither be sewn or woven.  The son of the Guru said,   'Bring  sandals for me, that would enable me to walk on waters and  tread to any desired place.  The daughter of the Guru asked for Bring earrings for me and a playhouse of an elephant tooth having one pillar and all the conveniences. Also bring pots in which food will be warm and which will not be black due to suit.

The pupil took leave of Guru and went to a forest.  He was anxious how all these things could be obtained.  On the way he met an ascetic, who inquired child, why are you so worried ?  The Brahmachari boy bowed to him and said, 'Kindly guide and protect me.  For it is my good fortune that I could see you in this forest.  He told him what his Guru, Guru's wife, son and daughter had asked him to do.  He  said, 'I am  anxious as to how all these things can be achieved.’

The ascetic assured him and said, 'Don't worry.  Kashi is a holy place of Vishweshwar.  You go there and worship Him.  All your desires will be fulfilled. Kashi is known as 'Anand Kanan'.  One attains all the four purusharthas after going there.'

The Brahmachari asked,   'Where   is   Kashi ?   How can I go there ?'

The ascetic - I shall take you there.  Due to you, I shall also have the fortune to see the holy place again.'

Saying so both went to Kashi instantly by yogic  power.  The ascetic then told the Brahmachari to do   Antar Grahayatra, Dakshin manasyatra and Uttar manasyatra.  While visiting holy places bath should be taken there.  Then do Panchkroshi yatra, Shukla and dark fortnight yatras  should also be performed.    Worship nine Lingas and Kashi Vishveshwar.  If your devotion to Guru is firm, Shri Shiva Shankar   will be pleased and fulfil all your desires.' Saying this the ascetic went away.

The Brahmachari performed all the yatras as instructed by the ascetic. Shri Shankar was pleased. He appeared before the boy and asked him to have a boon. Twashthrakumar narrated his account and mentioned the articles required for Guru, Guru's wife, son and daughter. Shri Shankar blessed him saying, `You will be as efficient as Vishwakarma.'

The Brahmachari prepared all the articles skillfully and retur­ned to the Guru's place.  The Guru was also pleased to see him back with success.  He also blessed him saying, 'You will be proficient in all Vidyas.'

Shri Guru explained the greatness of Guru to Sayamdeo in this way.  By this time the sun was rising on the eastern horizon.  Sayamdeo said, 'You explained Kashi yatra in details.  While hearing the same, I could see and also visit the respective holy shrines, tanks and places with your holyself and thought as if we were in Kashi.  He then prayed Guru with 8 shlokas which are daily chanted after Aarati at Ganagapur till now.

While   praying, his throat choaked and his hair    stood erect on his body.  Shri Guru was much   pleased.  He blessed him and said,  'Bring your family and children here and stay with me. Do not bow to Muslims hereafter.'

Sayamdeo went to his place and returned to Ganagapur with his family and children on Bhadrapad Shuddha 14, the Anant Chaturdashi day. This time he prayed Shri Guru with eight Shlokas in Kannad.  Shri Guru seated him by his side and inquired about all.  Sayamdeo had two sons. Shri Guru loved the elder, Nagnath.  Shri Guru placed his palm on the head of Sayamdeo and said, 'Your son will live for 100 years and will be my devotee. You do not serve the Muslims now. You all have bath at the Sangam.'

Sayamdeo and his family bathed at the Sangam, worshipped the Ashwattha there and returned to the Math.  Shri Guru said to Sayamdeo, 'Today is Anant Chaturdashi.  All Brahmins worship Anant on this day.  You too should do Anant puja.' Sayamdeo said, 'You are my Anant.' Still Shri Guru insisted on him to do the Anant puja.

(to be contd….)

NAMASMARAN

It is said that in a conference of owls-nocturnal bird of prey-existance of the Sun that shines in the sky was denied.  It was accepted by all, because no owl had ever seen the Sun or Sunlight.

We have not seen the air,  still we accept its existance. We accept the existance of "NIRAKAR" what we have not seen. Similarly we have not seen God but still His existance cannot be denied at least by we, human-beings.  Even then  the persistance of unGodliness or Impiety is not rare.  But even to such persons my humble request is to perform this simple   "SADHANA"  of ‘NAMASMARAN" of God.    Food, clothes and shelter are essentially required by   we human beings.  In the same way we should try to understand, that “Namasmaran" is essential in need of our Soul  Repetition of the name of God and   remembrance of God - is  "Namasmaran".   There  are nine sorts of Devotion.  "Namasmaran" is one of them.

In this world every one is busy with earning his own livelihood.  Money makes available for us food, shelter and other things.  Money has only power to purchase these things for comfort of our body.  We are always after luxurious matters.  But money cannot purchase Mental peace for us.  Neither it has power to purchase Devotion nor to obtain "MUKTI". Renounce lust and sacrifice on the lotus flourishing feet of God.

Be sure of it that today or tomorrow we have to go from this abode.  We do not know 'When and where.’ That time nothing is going to accompany us except our Soul.  Only our Soul will go with us after our Death.  But alas! We never try to look after this our Soul, which has to go with us. We are always keeping our clothes neat and clean, in tasting the tasty food, in enjoying all sorts of pleasures of these worldly objects.  Hitherto we have never tried to clean or purify our Soul.  None will deny the fact that the thing that  has to go with us, even after death, must be pure and holy.   But still we like to wander in darkness.  Actually there is no darkness any­where.

Everywhere there lies happiness.  Everything is shining like a diamond; but this darkness has been created by we human-beings.   We are the cause of   unhappiness and sorrows.   We are responsible for  this artificial darkness.  We have  closed our eyelids-hence this darkness has come.  Our motor nerves   have been victimised by Illusion (MAYA) - that have closed our eyes.  Our sensory organs are also under the influence of this deceiving (MAYA).   We do never like to think on this subject.  As such we discard to ponder over this aspect of life.  "MAYA" stands in between us and God.  She pushes us aside   and away from God.  With the help of Devotion (BHAKTl) we have to enlighten the path-that goes to God.  We have to remove darkness that has been     created  under the influence of  "MAYA". 

But beforehand our Soul must be pure from all the   evils.  That is the first and foremost thing required   while putting the first step in this direction.  Then   alone further walk is possible-on the path that communicates with God.  We have to reach the destination where Jiva and Shiva are one.  No doubt, it is extre­mely difficult to proceed on this way but   for purification of our Soul, that will go with us   even after our death, we have done nothing to keep the Soul neat and clean.  Yet we neglect the particular and earnest demand of our Soul. Now the question comes-how to make it pure? What should be done in order to attain the purification  of  our Soul?  But   Soul-Dry-cleaners are not in existance in this world or even if  they are present-whom we nominate as "Saints" - they are not giving us 100 per cent guarantee to restore the cleanliness of our Soul.    They say that it is our responsibility, then alone they   may help or support.

As all of you are aware of the fact that this is "KALlYU meaning thereby the Age of Dispute.    "KALI"  means " Dispute, it is said that Satyauga, Tr and Dwaparyuga have passed  back.  Now the age of dispute is going on.

"DHARMA" has four parts i. e.   Truth, Meditation Holiness and  Kindness, Charity, Compassion.  All these four were in existance during "SATYAYUGA" i.e., the age of Truthfulness.  In "TRETAYUGA"   -   "Satya" had been lost and ‘tap’ ‘pavitratha’ ‘daya’ only these three were left.   Hence the age was so called as   "TRETAYUGA".  Thereafter only two things were left  in  "DWAPARYUGA" i.e. , ‘pavitratha’ and ‘daya’ and other two i.e., ‘sayta’ and  “tap’ and lost their  existence.   And presently during this "KALIYUGA" ‘Satya’ ‘tap’ ‘pavitratha’   have been lost and only ‘dhan’ and  ‘daya’   remained back, in the name of  "Dharma".

But alas presently during this   "KALIYUGA"  God also hesitates to accept our ‘Dan’ Because our "Dan" mainly consists of the amount that we have earned or collected by deceiving the other Souls.   Thus we have committed  Sinful Activities.  There­fore our "Dan" is also full of  Sin.  We should not offer and Almighty will not  accept  the "Dan" earned   through our Papakarma, Hence such ''Dan" (offerings) carries no importance during this "KALIYUGA".    What then the Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient demands from us ?  For What is He anxious ?  For What is He hungry ? That is.. only  Love - holy and pure love-from the bosom of our heart.  And to create sudha ??Love with invisible God - requires the practice of repetition of God's Name.  "Namasmaran" has got no bindings.  It  can be performed freely by any one, any where, any time and in any position or posture.   It is a simple   "SADHANA" to create and construct Love with God.    If  you  always keep the end of our life in front of our vision, if we  remember our Death from time to   time, it rather becomes easy and  interesting to   perform "Namasmaran".   Because the notion of death makes us free from worldly Attachment  and is capable of creating complete contentment within us.

We should form the habit of remembering Birth, Death, Diseases, Ailments, Grievances and Sorrows-even when we are happy.  This helps us to relieve from worldly attachment.  We should never wait in search of relaxed or leisure hours to con­duct the "Sadhana" of "Namasmaran".  We do not know when the shadow of Death will grasp us.  Remember God and perform "Namasmaran" by keeping Death in mind all the time, all the hours and all the moments. Do not wait for favourable time to come.  Never think that we will perform "Namasmaran" when we shall be free from all sorts of worries and difficulties. This sort of thought is ignorance.  We may miss the opportu­nity of "Namasmaran" in want of peace and silence in this world.  Sorrows, difficulties and worries are going to come one after the other.  There is no end to that. 

They will continue to come during the' whole of our life.  Since birth to Death no favourable time is going to come.  They are mere reflections of our muddy mind.  If we think unfavourable, every thing is unfavourable for us all times and vice versa.  Our peace should be internal. Externally there may be peace.  Encircled enviornments may be calm and quiet.  But this sort of peace has got no importance. Peace must be in our mind.  Silence must be internal. There should be mental peace.  And Mental peace can only be achieved by the "Sadhana" of "Namasmaran".  Where there is mental peace everything is full of joy and pleasure for us. No room for unhappiness is left. We may require to face difficulties and sorrows.  But we should not forget the aim.  We have to achi­eve mental peace.  We have to purify our Soul.  We have to proceed on the path that communicates with God.  We have to sacrifice this body in the service of God.  We have to get absorbed in God.  We have to forget ourselves and have to dissolve in God. "Jiva and Shiva" - Should be one.  We have to reach there.  We do know that it is extremely difficult and  beyond our ability, power and expectations. We the devotee are ignorant We are not aware about the path of devotion and its condition.

THAT IS WHY OUR SAI BABA HAS SAID :

"Surrender to me with Devotion and Patience.  Keep faith on me.  I am here to shoulder all your responsibilities and will guide you.  The path of Devotion has gone through forest.  There are several obstacles in the way.  But I shall make you conveniently reach there, the destination and goal of life.  I shall never lie here, on the lap of "DWARKAMAYEE".  Believe me.  I am anxiously waiting for you.  Come and put all your burden on Me, I am able to look after you.  There will be no lack of food, clothes and shelter to any of My devotee.  But I want Two Paise in the form of Dakshina-one Paisa i.e., Intence Devotion and Second i.e., Patience."

We have to create this faith and patience.  And for that too "Namasmaran" is the simple "Sadhana" for all of us.  Simply by ''Namasmaran" only, Devotion can be created.  Then "Namasmaran" and "Devotion" go hand in hand for certain length of time.  Then a stage comes where we remain no more selfish.  We purely become unselfish thereafter.  Then our Devotion does not accompany any desire or wish. The Egoism and sel­fishness vanish completely.  And then we start seeing towards our Mother, SHRI SAI BABA with unselfish Love.  And Baba wants this particular Love from us.  He is anxiously waiting for this sort of unselfish service and Devotion.  Then alone further walk on this path will be possible by His Grace.  He makes the path clear and more clear for us in order to proceed on and on.

LORD SHRIKRISHNA IN G1TA SAYS

 (Gita 8-5)

Meaning thereby : Who remembers me while   leaving this world, he deserves to achieve   me".   Ending period does not necessarily specify that of life but of every moment. During the end of each and every moment we should remember LORD KRISHNA, LORD SAI.

Many amongst us are of view that let us earn presently that we may adopt this Path of Devotion during oldage in order to Obtain -SADGATI" But it completely a wrong assumption that, is proved b, saying ,’Satyathabhava Bhavitha’ Tbat means the nature of ‘Bhava’ has its own importance. Whatever BHAVA or nature of your thought and CHINTAN may be during your life, the same will be remembered at the time of Death. About ‘SHRI SAI BABA” also we are praying in “MADHAYANA ARTI” (12 NOON ARTI

Hence you utilise part and  participle of each and   every precious  moment in God's remembrance  and   "Namasmaran".  It is a world wide accepted fact that   whatsoever we have sought  for during  the  whole   of our life, the same wish strikes our mind during   death too.  The  person who thinks of wealth, all the time-remembers wealth alone and nothing else, during Death.  To earn the wealth is not a sin; but we should remember that the Almighty-Omnipresent is   watching our each and every action.  If we remember    Him all the time, then our sinful activities will stop and thereby our earnings will also not be sinful.  If we think that money will definitely  bring us '-Real Happiness" or "ATMANAND", then we are under the influence of "Delusion or "MOHA".  We avoid   Detachment   of   worldly pleasure.   We see our pleasure and happiness in  ourself alone.  We are avaricious. We never  think that nothing but the Soul is going to accompany us  even after Death.  We are fickle minded having   no patience or  ''SABURI".   We are covetous-always thinking of money, luxury, comforts.   But none of us is capable of knowing "SHRI SAI BABA'S SECRET".  Baba hates intolerance.  We therefore, should tolerate each others views and peculiarities.    Shri Baba wants our purely unselfish Love.  Develop devotion by "Namasmaran".  Surrender and Love God Shri Sai.  Keep intence devotion (faith) and patience.  Results will be favourable.  Surrender our body, speech and life to Him.  Let Him be the Master   of  this "DEHI" (tf = Body) -the Chariot,  He is all   pervading.  Only faith in Him is  the thing needful to create faith in  God.   

"Namasmaran"  plays an important role.   Never rely on our own cleverness.  Never dispise offers  of    food.  Food  is    "BRAHMA".   Attachment and     desires are  real obstacles.  Our life should be   concen­trated in our  sight and sight in Him. That is    the object of Meditation.  In silence bow to Him.    Have the repeatations of His Name with each of contractions and relaxations of Heart i.e., with each beat and that too within the heart.  His Grace is our only "Sadhana".   

We are caught and it is difficult to escape from this network of  "MAYA" that has kept us busy with all these worldly pleasures and   happiness of Sensory organs.   Maya is deceiving us, misguiding us-pushing us away and away from God.    But we are fortunate enough to obtain this "MANAVADEHA” (human-body) as a result of  some good deeds at previous birth.  This is a chance-a golden opportunity bestowed upon us to obtain "Mukti" or "Sadgati" (to avoid further Rebirths) and that is the real aim of our life.  That is why it has been said :-

Praise and censure should equally be tolarated by us, God will say,   I am under the  influence of  my Devotee.  Variations in financial status and several other worldly objects are the consequences of our activities at previous Birth .

That we have to suffer.  That we ought to suffer without least of hesitation.  We must face it boldly keeping in our mind "THE LOTUS FLOURISHING FEET OF GOD SAI."  We must finish all these sufferings in this life alone patiently.  Detachment should always be internal and not external.  "Namasmaran" gives us courage and creates patience in order to face all these sufferings.  None in the world is fully happy.

Still there is time.  Do not think of past.  Let bygones be bygones.  Do not repent for the past.  Never care for future, think of the present tense only.  And listen to the crying demand of the Soul.  It is hungry and thirsty.  Feed the Soul its food i.e., "Namasmaran.”

Adopt this "Sadhana" just from this very moment and then see "The Miracles of Shri Sai Baba".  You will positively feel a great turn to your life.

 

Dr. Anil Jaiswal, M. B. B. S., M. R. S. H. (London)

Nagpur-2

 

PUNYATITHI FESTIVAL

 

The Punyatlthi Festival at Shirdi will be celebrated as usual from Friday the 1st October 1976 to Monday the 4th October 1976.  All Sai Devotees are requested

to attend the festival.

 

SAINT   MUKUNDRAJ

By Dr.  S.   D.  Parchure M. A., Ph. D.

(Continued from August 1976 issue)

In ancient India, right from the authors of the Sanskrit books, there appears to be, among most authors, a tradition of writing as little as possible about himself.  We therefore find, in many cases, only the name of the author in his book.  This is perhaps the only evidence available today to show that a particular book was written by a particular author.

In the absence of such direct evidence, we then have to fish out some indirect evidence and try to construe the life and other details about an author.  If an author is known in his own days, then some other authors, who follow him, have reverence for him and they make a mention about him in their works.

In the dramas of so famous a writer like Kalidas, what we find is only the mention of his name.  Some other authors of later date make a mention of his name as a former dramatist and hence we know that such and such author must have lived before.  When such is the condition of so many authors of ancient India, it is no wonder that we find only the mention of the name of Saint Mukundraj in his Viveksindhu and the mention of his name in the works of other authors.  The research scholars therefore tried to find out some details about his place of abode and the place of abode of his guru.  Another source to locate the place of residence of a person was to find out where his Samadhi was located.  Efforts were therefore made by the scholars to find out the Samadhi of Saint Mukundraj; but the Samadhi was reported to be existing at three different places and ultimately the place near Nagpur is accepted as the place where Saint Mukundraj lived.

One manuscript of Viveksindhu  written in Sanskrit   is - Isle.   So research scholars  started thinking that they might immediately get some clue from that   manuscript.   One scholar said that in ancient days there was a tradition to compose a book in Marathi in the form of a commentary on a Sanskrit book.  Saint Eknath composed his Bhagawat from the original Sanskrit book of the same name.  Harivarada, which is a commentary in Marathi written by Krishnadayarnava, is also based on the tenth canto of Shrimadbhagwat in Sanskrit.

 Geetarnava was  written by Daso-pant as  a   commentary  on original Bhagwadgeeta, composed in Sanskrit.  Similarly a number of other Marathi   authors have taken their inspiration from the Sanskrit Ramayan and Mahabharat and have composed a number of  works in Marathi.  Hence the conjecture of the aforesaid scholars appeared to be plausible in the first place; but on close examination of the   manuscript of the Viveksindhu in Sanskrit, it   appears that there is a clear mention of one Shri Anantmuni, who has translated the same into Sanskrit.  Anantmuni is the grandson of  Saint   Mukundraj, who originally composed the book in Marathi.  This translation it appears was done round about Shaka 1675.  There is also some difference at certain places in the Marathi and  Sanskrit versions.

One more thing is also required to be borne in mind in this behalf.  Sanskrit language was once upon a time the only language in which all learning was being inparted.  Later on the Sanskrit language started becoming more and more difficult for the common man to follow naturally the language of the people had to be given the due honour.  We therefore find that Gautam Buddha, who wanted to preach about his religion, had to renounce Sanskrit, the language of the Gods, and to preach in the language of the people viz. Pali, which was being commonly understood by the general public of his times.

Similarly after the tenth century, the wave of the decline of the Sanskrit language, also came in Maharashtra and many authors started composing books in Marathi.  These books were mostly based on Sanskrit books and they were written with the idea of opening the locks of the cupboards, in which the knowledge was locked.  We therefore find that a number of books, big and small, in Marathi during the five centuries from the tenth to the four­teenth.  It is therefore not likely that Mukundraj would have written an original book in Sanskrit, during that time.  I thought the books were thus being composed in Marathi for the common man, right from Dnyaneshwar onwards, still we find that the higher classes of the society, used to learn Sanskrit and later on they started even, composing books in that language as a passtime. 

We may therefore conclude that the original book of Mukundraj must have been composed in Marathi and translated later on in Sanskrit.

Having thus established that Mukundraj composed his book viz. Viveksindhu in Marathi, we might start looking up for the other books which are supposed to be composed by him.  In addition to Viveksindhu, Mukundraj is considered as the author of Paramamrit, Mulstambha and Pawanvijay.   In addition to all the above works, which are in "ovee" form, a few songs and Abhangas also are said to be composed by him.

As stated before, the mention of Mukundraj made by other authors goes to prove that he lived before a particular period and that his work was considered so important that it was found to be worth mentioning with due respect.  Saint and poet Krishnada-yarnava (1674 to 1740 AD.) bows down to saint Mukundraj in his work and praises him as the chief commentator in the regional language (Marathi).  This shows that Mukundraj must have lived in the fifteenth or sixteenth century.  If we look at the contents of Viveksindhu, we easily see that Saint Mukundraj was a staunch follower of the Adya Shankaracharya and his Advaita phil. sophy.  Saint Mukundraj has made no secret of this.  He clearly states in the early part of his book that he has explained the Philosophy of Shankaracharya in Marathi.

This book (Viveksindhu) has been composed by Mukundraj in the form of conversation between the guru and the disciple.  The discourse, the disciple is constantly asking questions and to which the Guru is giving replies and thus immediately clearing the doubts in the mind of the disciple.  As in so many other books, here also Mukundraj explains in detail the qualities of a good Guru.  The object of the book is stated to be obtaining Moksha in this life itself.  This statement has been emphasized by Saint Mukundraj by saying, "Who should believe in the assurance that a person will get Moksha or Mukti after he casts away the human body?" While explaining this proposition, Saint Mukundraj argues very consistantly and in a flowery language. 

He substantiates his arguments with similes and other figures of speech.  His work therefore not only convinces a reader, about his line of thought but he also is amused by going through his book.  It is interesting to note that some similes, which are used in Viveksindhu, are also found in Dnyaneshwari and the Bhagwat, composed by Shri Eknath.

The second work of Mukundraj is Paramamrit. This work has fourteen chapters. The language of the book appears to be much modern than that of Viveksindhu; but the development of the subject is done on the same lines as it is done in Viveksindhu.  At the end of each chapter, we find a clear mention of Mukundraj as the author of the book.

In Mulstambha, we find the mention of the Mogul emperors of Delhi and its language as well as philosophy is quite common place.  So after comparison of this work with Viveksindhu, we come to the conclusion that it must not have been composed by the same author, who composed Viveksindhu.  It is quite plausible that this work was composed by some other poet of the same name, (viz. Mukundraj) who lived at a later date.  The work Pawanvijay is also not of a very high level and like Mulstambha also it might have been composed at a later date by some poet of the same name.

On comparison of the language of  Viveksindhu with that of Dnyaneshwari, we feel that it is more modern   than that of the latter book; but we find that the structure of the "Ovee" in Viveksindhu is similar to that in Dnyaneshwari.  Some old words, which have now either become extinct or are having different meaning in the modern Marathi language, are found to have been used in the same way and with the same meaning, as they are used in Dnyaneshwari.  From this internal evidence of the language of Mukundraj in his Viveksindhu, we come to a definite conclusion that Mukundraj belongs to the post Dnyaneshwar period.

To talk in general about the language of Viveksindhu we may say that it is simple, but highly meaningful. Mukundraj, no doubt, is fond of using the figures of speech but they are not so profuse as in Dnyaneshwari. T hough Mukundraj, has in general, expounded the philosophy of Shri Shankaracharya, still it is fully soaked in his personal experiences and it has therefore come to have a seperate and important existence in the philosophical books written in the Marathi language.  Mukundraj thus appears to be famous among the Marathi knowing people for some centuries after his death and from the mention of his name, which is found to have been made in so many books, we have to conclude that there was a time when his Viveksindhu was widely read and honoured by the people of Maharashtra.

SUGGESSIONS

On the Dasara day in the year 1978, sixty years will be completed for the Mahasamadhi of Shri Sai Baba, which He took on Dasara in 1918.  The year, starting from Dasara in 1977 and ending on Dasara in 1978, is proposed to be celebrated by the Shirdi Sansthan as the 60th Year of the Mahasamadhi of Shri Sai Baba. We have pleasure in inviting suggessions from our readers and Shri Sai Baba's devotees regarding the apt way of celebrating the year. — Editor

How Baba Gave Me Instructions

Recently in July 1976 I visited Shirdi.  It is not actually my visit to Shirdi but it is Baba's pull to visit Him.  I wanted to purchase some books on Baba, but somehow I could not fix up any book and postponed to have it in the evening.  I was not aware that the Office closes around 4 P. M. Before coming to evening Aarati, we were sitting in Lendi garden feeling Baba's presence where He moved once. 

Then came a stranger reading some book.  Suddenly he asked us whether we have visited some spots at Shirdi which we had not seen.  He showed us with explanation the tiger's tomb, Mhalsapati's son's residence, Khandoba Temple etc.  While coming to Aarati, he suddenly offered to me the book he was reading, for daily study.  Without asking, he again told me that the shop was closed for the day and that it will not be opened before we leave Shirdi.  I took the book and requested him to accept the cost of the book.  After my return to Sriharikota, I started reading the book.  That book was originally written in Marathi by Hemadpant at Baba's instance and was translated into English by Sri Nagesh V. Gunaji.  The book is Sai Satcharita. If it was not Sai, who instructed me to read that book which incidentally may be among the few books blessed by Him personally.  What force could it be which prompted the stranger to give Baba's charitra to me ?  The very thought of feeling Baba's presence at all times is itself a driving force,