"I ask only that
you turn to Me when your mind drags you into grief or pride or envy. Bring
Me the depths of your mind, no matter how grotesque, how cruelly ravaged by
doubts or disappointments. I know how to treat them. I will not reject
you. I am you Mother"
- Swami
(This article was written by Sri B.N. Narasimhamurthy, Warden, Sri Sathya Sai Hostel, Brindavan Campus of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learnng)
It was the summer of 1978. My mother was hospitalized for the treatment of swollen thyroid glands which were causing severe pain. An operation was advised by the doctors. But she did not want to undergo the operation. She wanted me to approach Bhagavan and pray for her cure without undergoing surgery. "If He wills, nothing is impossible", she said. Her faith in Baba had been built up over a period of nearly ten years and so had mine. But I had never put forth before Baba any of my requests regarding mundane problems.
Whenever Baba talked to me, the conversation centered around spiritual topics. So I was reluctant to go to Baba with this request. But my mother persisted. I was in a dilemma. Very reluctantly, I went to Brindavan - Baba's ashram near Bangalore - to pray for my mother's health. Baba came to me and asked, "What is the matter?" I knelt with folded hands, saying "Swami, my mother is in the hospital." "Which mother?", He asked! I was perplexed, but answered, "My mother, Swami." He repeated the question like a good teacher and I repeated the same answer like a dull student. There was a mischievous smile on His face, which He tried to conceal and asked, "This mother or that mother?" I was confused, perplexed and could not follow the hint given by the great Teacher. I displayed my ignorance again by repeating, "My mother, Swami." He found me to be a very dull student, incapable of gazing into the depths of the Master's mind. With a wave of His hand, He created vibhuti and poured it into my outstretched palms saying, "Let her undergo the operation. She will be all right."
Then came the revelation from the compassionate Divine Master. He bent down as I was kneeling, and whispered in His sweet voice, "Your Mother is Sai mAtA." Six years after that momentous revelation, on one of those beautiful mornings of late summer, I was sitting at the feet of my mother - Sai mAtA. She was explaining to me the inner meaning of a few of the beautiful works of sculpture in Her abode - Prashanthi Mandir.
I was exhilarated by one of Her lucid and thrilling explanations and pleaded, "Swami, these things must be published so that all can enjoy this feast for the soul." "Things without much value need advertisement. I and my works do not need it," She said and dilated on it further, "Suppose a mother gives food or clothes or other gifts to her children, does she publicize it in the newspapers? WHATEVER I GIVE TO THE WORLD, I GIVE LIKE A MOTHER." Another profound revelation!
Notes from April on her visit to Prasanthi Nilayam during Krishna Janmastami
31 Aug 02 Saturday
My Dears, Today was the celebration of Krishna Janmastami at Prashanti. I went early to the morning token lines just in case the crowds somehow got bigger overnight, but they didn’t. It was like a large Sunday in terms of the number of devotees. The hall was not full (at least not on the ladies side). When I got inside after passing through security and took a seat, I looked to see what decorations had been put up during the night.
The veranda had gold decorations (with red) hanging from the edge of the roof. There were red and gold metallic garlands as well. Under the roof of the veranda were many hanging ornaments of gold and red also. The same gold and red decorations were hung on the balconies and along the roof edge of the Poornachandra. Metallic garlands of red, gold and green had been hung in various designs on the fence that surrounds the hall. The entry gates each had a bunch of banana leaves (gathered at the middle and tied) on either side. The ceiling of the hall had various types of multicolored hanging decorations including red and yellow V and U shaped flags draped across and along the sides of the main driveway. On the veranda was a shoulder high statue of Krishna (blue) with a white garland. The Ganesh statue in the middle had a lovely fresh multi-colored garland. The two front pillars were wrapped in gold ribbon that created diamond shapes. These pillars also had red ornaments hanging down from the top. Swami’s red swivel chair was in the middle front of the veranda with a white pillow and two white handkerchiefs. There were also some flat, woven, red and white decorations hanging on the windows and walls of the mandir. The VIP men had seats on either side of the front portion of the veranda facing in toward Swami’s chair. Some of the VIP ladies had been given seats (in white plastic chairs and on the floor) near the base of the veranda stairs.
All the Sai students had come for the celebration and were seated in front near the veranda as usual. The female students from Anantapur College had also come for the occasion. The decorations were elegant and tasteful. Two video cameras were set up to document the event. A ceremonial band (all female, dressed in purple) had begun to play around 5:45 am. They were seated on the veranda near the mandir wall. They stopped playing around 6:20 am and left the veranda. There was no more music until darshan which began at 7 am. The ceremonial music began again, this time it came from the loud speakers.
Swami came slowly into the hall (wearing His usual orange robe) looking out over the crowd. He walked about half way through the ladies section before He stopped to speak to a woman on the aisle (His left). At the end of the ladies, He stopped and spent a few moments looking over at the men and the male students (raising the energy with both hands) before He turned up the driveway to the veranda. He had to walk through the male students to get there, but they happily obliged making a path for Him. When He reached the veranda, three oms came over the loud speakers and music began over the loud speakers - singing by some of the male students. Swami stood looking over the students and the VIPs to the East side of the hall for sometime, then He walked to the West side and stood looking out over the younger students and the ladies before He headed over to His chair. The singing continued. Swami sat in His chair and listened as the students entertained Him with their songs – many about Krishna). The songs would stop rather abruptly, then start again. I was never sure when the program was ending or if it was just a pause between songs!
Swami kept time with the beat of the music, tapping on the arm of the chair and swaying occasionally. At 7:40 am, a ceremonial band outside the hall could be heard over singing of the students in the hall. Swami got up out of His chair and stood waiting for something. Finally, I could see that it was a procession with Sai Gita at the front.
She came lumbering through the main double gates (where the Rama statue is located) into the hall magnificently dressed in a red and gold outfit (blanket). She had on her long dangling silver earrings (they hang from her ears and almost touch the ground) and a colorful faceplate. She was followed by a group of young men dressed as gopi’s (cow herders). They had various colored cloth bands tied around their heads and brought several cows with them. The ceremonial music and the students singing Krishna bhajans were both going on at the same time, creating quite a loud mix of sound. Sai Gita stopped at the place where the driveway and the main aisle intersect. You could tell she was so happy and excited to see Swami. He came down from the veranda to pet and feed her. Cameras flashed. At this point, many of the ladies in the hall decided to get on their feet to see Swami and Sai Gita. The seva dals had quite a job getting them reseated, but somehow they managed. After feeding Sai Gita a few food balls (these food balls are the size of a brown coconut), Swami walked behind her where the cows and gopis waited. He blessed and fed the cows as more cameras flashed. There were so many men in the driveway, that they completely surrounded the cows and Swami. It was difficult to see what was going on, plus the devotees still kept getting on their feet to see, blocking the view at times.
At 8:00 am Swami finished with the cows and walked back up the driveway to the veranda. Sai Gita, the cows and the gopis waited in the driveway. Just before Swami reached the veranda, He was met by two boys dressed in costumes as Krishna and Arjuna. They looked really great! Swami made vibuthi for them and had photos taken of the three of them (Swami in the middle). Finally Swami was back on the veranda and prasad in big silver bowls was brought out of the mandir by the college boys. Swami stood on the veranda directing the distribution. There was plenty to go around, so it wasn’t long before I had a sweet in my hand (the kind that has silver foil and nuts). Sai Gita saw Swami on the veranda and began to raise her trunk up to Him. She repeated this several times. It was so endearing to see the love between them When the prasad was almost finished being distributed, the mandir priest lit the arti lamp in the driveway and waved it at the cows and Sai Gita. Bhajans continued.
Sai Gita trumpeted several times and the sacred conch was blown. Swami sat in His red swivel chair amidst all this action. Sai Gita continued to raise her trunk to Swami and to the crowd. Finally the mandir priest came over with the arti lamp and Swami lit it along with a couple of others and we began to sing the closing prayers arti and lokas. Then, Swami decided to walk back down the driveway to Sai Gita and held her trunk and patted her lovingly. She was in heaven. Cameras flashed. The sweetness of seeing Swami giving Sai Gita such loving, personal attention and caresses touched everyone’s heart. Then Swami headed back up to the veranda and into His office, just as we finished singing the lokas. An announcement was made over the public address system: On the occasion of Krishna Janmastami, our most beloved Bhagavan has graciously consented to bless us with His divine discourse in Sai Kulwant Hall at 3:00 pm. this afternoon. Sai Ram. There was clapping for this. It was 8:30 am. Since Swami was not in sight, the hall began to buzz with activity as devotees began to leave or moved to different seats. The ladies ceremonial band began to play right outside the gate that leads to the Poornachandra Auditorium. The cows and the gopis had left via the main double gates, where they had entered. Sai Gita backed up until she was halfway down the driveway. She stopped there. The other ceremonial band began to play. So there were two bands playing at once. At 8:45 am, Swami began to walk out via the side aisle with His assistant following. At the first pillar past the veranda, He stopped to light an arti lamp for the head of the Anantapur College. As Swami walked down the aisle, He smiled sweetly and blessed all items on His right for the Anantapure College students in the front row. As the ceremonial band played "Govinda Krishna Jai" Swami walked out of the hall. The ladies band stopped playing abruptly – mid-song, because Swami stopped for a moment to be with them. Swami then continued to his quarters and the band began to play again. Darshan was over.
After leaving the hall, I thought I might see Sai Gita as she walked out of the ashram and over to her enclosure (which is down the road to the South). So, I walked out of the ashram as the ceremonial band (the males) and Sai Gita were slowly leaving Sai Kulwant Hall from the side gate. I positioned myself directly across the street from the Ganesh gate so I had an excellent view. The ceremonial band continued to play as the procession came through the ashram gate. Male seva dals were trying to keep the devotees back so Sai Gita could walk through the crowd. But, everyone wanted to touch her and get close. Some came up quickly patted her and ran back, others touched her feet. By the way, her toenails were painted red and her feet were painted yellow. She was really quite the beautiful lady! As she came out the gate, a group of devotees followed her up the street. The band stopped their music and then it was just Sai Gita walking slowly amidst her admirers, who were still trying to pat her and touch her as she made her back to her "home". She did not seem perturbed by all the people so closely surrounding her. She was very patient and even seemed to enjoy the attention. So ended the morning celebration of Krishna Janmastami 2002.
At His Feet – Love, April
"Anyatha Saram Nasti - Other than You Refuge there is None"
"Hemchand! Are you prepared to leave for Vijaywada if you get a job?" My husband docilely replied, "Yes, Swami".
"They are staring a new cement factory there, with an investment running into lakhs of rupees. All the machinery has already arrived. You may have to report for duty immediately.".
He said this as if we might have to leave the very next day. But that day has yet to come in our lives. Our compassionate Swami did like this many times. "You may be wondering why Swami has to lie to his devotees. But those are not lies! Those are divine blessings intended to keep our morale high. We are ordinary mortals, and would say "Swami is not doing anything. It is all empty talk."
That is why He utters such "lies" to keep us contented. Does He not know that our time is not good, and that that we may have to put up with that bad phase for some more time? How much hardship He is enduring for our sake! Whenever, unable to put up with ordeals of life, we said "Swami! I have no more strenght to endure this. Please show pity,"
He would reply with a sweet smile, "You have been saying that and I have been hearing that, for the last so many years. But time is passing on, no? Do you think you are getting on without the energy given to you by Swami? Why do you lose courage about little things like this, even while having this mighty mountain-sized Swami by your side?"
When I asked Him worriedly, "Do you mean we will be facing many more difficulties, Swami?" He laughed, and saying, "You stupid head." He went away. My heart felt perturbed. I felt dizzy in my head. When I was seriously thinking, "Won't good days ever come into our lives?" Swami, came running liker a deer and asking me, with love oozing, "What? Do you wish to have some money? Shall I give you some?" and began fumbling in the pocket of his robe, which has no pockets, neither of us could control laughter. He is our impish Lord Krishna...."
(Excerpt from the book "Anyatha Saram Nasti - Other than You Refuge there is None", Pages 159-160)
Sri Kasturi was born on Christmas Day 1897. Swami jokingly called him 'the 97 model'. Naming the year of production was the way antique automobiles were identified. He passed away on 14 August 1987 and was cremated on the banks of Chitravathi on the 15th. He was 90. He had made it easy for us to remember by coming among us on a Christmas Day and leaving us on India's Independence Day anniversary (India attained independence at midnight on 14-15 August 1947).
Kasturi served Swami for 40 years and lived those 40 years in independent India. Talking about Kasturi, I told V.K. Narasimhan (Kasturi's deputy editor and later the editor of Sanathana Sarathi) that Kasturi was Swami's Hanuman. VKN corrected me, 'No. No. You are wrong. Kasturi was Swami's Vyaasa'. VKN told me that Swami asked him to write a tribute on Kasturi in SS (see below) - a rare _expression of Swami's Grace. Apart from Swami rushing to Kasturi's hospital bedside at the time of his last moments and giving him vibhuthi, another rare blessing was Swami getting Kasturi to write his autobiography 'Loving God' and Swami launching it on Christmas Day 1982, in his presence, on his 85th birthday, 5 years before his death . On that occasion, without prior notice, Swami had asked VKN to speak on Kasturi. VKN spoke for 5 minutes, after that Swami had whispered into VKN's ears, 'Very good, very good'.
In that day's Christmas discourse Swami said, "Whom does God seek? He looks for a sincere, selfless, steady devotee. Besides, He seeks an ideal son who can be held before mankind as an example and an inspiration. Such persons have become extremely rare nowadays" (SSS vol. XV, ch. 59). I like to think that Swami found that 'rare person' in Kasturi. 'Loving God' is not only Kasturi's life story. It is the story of God and jiva, Guru and saadhaka, the story of Swami making Kasturi an exemplary instrument in His avataric mission, an inspiration to humankind. It is a message for all. That is probably why Swami got Kasturi to write it.
"Death is the denouement of the drama of life," wrote Prof. Kasturi in 1981. That denouement came to him on August 14 at noon, a few minutes after Bhagavan Baba saw him in the Sathya Sai Hospital at Prasanthi Nilayam. He was 90. Bhagavan Baba, who was overseeing a students' rehearsal in the College Auditorium, abruptly stopped it at 11.30 a.m. and went straight to the Hospital. Reaching the bedside of Prof. Kasturi, Swami called him: "Kasturi!". Prof. Kasturi opened his eyes for a moment and looked at the Lord. Bhagavan materialized vibhuti and placed it in Kasturi's mouth. Kasturi closed his eyes and a serene peace enveloped him. Swami told those at the bedside to do Namasmarana. An hour later his spirit merged in the Lotus Feet of the Lord. Streams of devotees paid their last respects to him at the hospital. The next morning his mortal remains were cremated on the bed of the Chitravathi river.
For over forty years he rendered devoted service to Bhagavan as writer, editor, companion and tireless propagator of Swami's life and message. Millions of devotees all over the world got acquainted with Bhagavan's life and teachings through the four volumes of "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram" (on the life of Bhagavan) and the 11 volumes of "Sathya Sai Speaks", besides the Vahini series. Prof. Kasturi was a witness to the innumerable miracles of Swami and he could bear authentic testimony to the glory and magnificence of the Avatar as few others could. He had traveled with Bhagavan all over India. Vivid accounts of his intimate experiences with Swami are given in his autobiography, "Loving God," which was released by Swami on Christmas day in 1982.
Kasturi continued to work right up to his last illness, giving of his best to "Sanathana Sarathi," which Swami launched in 1957 with Kasturi as Editor. After 1982 Kasturi brought out two books, one on the Lord's mother "Easwaramma," and the other on the essence of Swami's message in a book entitled "Prasanthi". It could be truly said of Kasturi: "Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven".
Balance
Sheet of Life - A Self Audit Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization, Mumbai conducted a well-attended Seminar for Chartered Accountants with the theme "Balance Sheet of Life -A Self Audit" on Sunday the 29th of September, 2002 at Dharmakshetra, Mahakali Caves Road, Andheri (E)
This program was conducted bearing in mind the accounting and financial scandals, which have been laid bare during the past few years, which have unraveled the race of greed by a select few and highlighted the need for financial transparency. Baba says politics without principles, education without character, science without humanity and commerce without morality are not only useless, but positively dangerous. This further inspired the Organization to conduct this program. The program focused on Self-Audit and analysis of role and contribution of Chartered Accountants in the social/moral fabric of society. Importance of corporate governance and the Chartered Accountants Role in the present scenario was discussed. The Conference aimed to make every Chartered Accountants realize that self-audit comes before auditing others, which also called for effective practice of code of ethics.
Shri Jayant Patil Hon'ble Minister of Finance, Government of Maharashtra who was the Guest of Honour narrated his experiences with Baba and linked the same with his own life's Balance Sheet. Shri Nimish Pandya, Bombay President of the Organization set forth the objectives of the Seminar. He emphasized that the onus lies on the fraternity of Chartered Accountants to transform the whole world and suggested that they do self-audit first and follow the code of ethics before auditing others Balance Sheet. This was followed by a keynote address by the Chief Guest Shri A. N. Haksar, Chairman Emeritus, ITC Limited on the Corporate Governance and how one has to act as a trustee of a company. Shri P. N. Shah, Past President of ICAl shared the Code of Ethics envisaged for the professional fraternity. This, he remarked, if followed with heart and soul would guard the fraternity from sliding into the morass of misfeasance presently prevalent in the developed world. There were two unique presentations on "Self Audit" and "Balance Sheet of Life" whereby the financial concepts were applied to the Individual in raising the consciousness to higher levels where the heart will rule over the head. There was an audio-visual presentation on Sri Sathya Sai Baba disseminating information on His Life and Mission.
An inter active panel discussion on "Balance Sheet of Life" comprising of Guest of Honors, eminent present and past managing committee members of ICAI, finally concluded the program with the consensus of a 9-point charters to be followed by fraternity and a pledge by the financial pundits to influence the city by strength of character and values. Please read online for more materials at http://www.sairam.ar.cx http://web1.mtnl.net.in/~sairam
"When quite young, Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi
witnessed along with his mother a drama on "Sravana and his devotion to his
parents" and he resolved that he must also become a Sravana. He witnessed a
play onHarischandra and that drama impressed him so deeply that he resolved to
become as heroically devoted to virtue as Harischandra himself. These
transformed him so much that he became a Mahatma. Gandhi had a teacher when he
was attending school who taught him wrong paths. But Gandhi did not adopt his
advice. As a consequence, he was able to bring freedom (Swaraj) to the
country" (Sathya Sai Baba, Vidya
Vahini.)
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in the town of Porbander in the state of
what is now Gujarat on 2 October 1869. He had his schooling in nearby Rajkot,
where his father served as the adviser or prime
minister to the local ruler. Though India was then under British rule, over 500
kingdoms, principalities, and states were allowed autonomy in domestic and
internal affairs: these were the so-called 'native
states'. Rajkot was one such state.
ON Repeating the Name of the Lord
==========================
Being born in the Vaisnava faith, I had often to go to the Haveli, But it never
appealed to me. I did not like its glitter and pomp. Also I heard rumours of
immmorality practised there, and lost all interest in it. Hence, I could gain
nothing from the Haveli. But what I failed to get there, I obtained from
my nurse, an old servant of the family, whose affection for me I still recall. I
have said before that there was a fear within me of spirits and ghosts. Rambha,
for that was her name, suggested, as a remedy for this fear, the repitition of
Ramanama. I had more faith in her than in her remedy, so at a tender age, I
began repeating the Ramanama to cure my fear of ghosts and spirits. This of
course was short-lived, but the good seed sown in childhood was not sown in
vain. I think that it is due the seed sown by that good woman Rambha that today,
Ramanama is an infallible remedy for me.
Gandhi's Mother, Putlibai
=========================
You must have heard about Putlibai, the mother of Mahatma Gandhi, who spent her
life in the contemplation of God. She used to observe a vow wherein she would
not partake of food unless she would hear the singing of cuckoo. One day it so
happened that the song of cuckoo was not heard. Seeing his mother sticking to
her vow and not taking food, Gandhi who was a small boy then, went behind the
house and mimicked the singing of cuckoo. He came inside and told his mother
that she could have her food as she heard the song of cuckoo. Mother Putlibai
felt very sad, as she knew that her son was uttering a lie. She cried, "O
God! What sin have I committed to give birth to a son who speaks untruth?"
Realizing that he had caused immense grief to his mother by uttering a lie,
Gandhi took a vow that he would never indulge in falsehood thenceforth. (Sathya
Sai Baba, Ladies Day, 1997).
In London, Gandhi encountered theosophists, vegetarians, and others who were
disenchanted not only with industrialism, but with the legacy of Enlightenment
thought. They themselves represented the fringe elements of English society.
Gandhi was powerfully attracted to them, as he was to the texts of the major
religious traditions; and ironically it is in London that he was introduced to
the Bhagavad Gita. Here, too, Gandhi showed determination and single-minded
pursuit of his purpose, and accomplished his objective of finishing his degree
from the Inner Temple. He was called to the bar in 1891, and even enrolled in
the High Court of London; but later that year he left for India.
Shyness as a student:
================
This shyness I retained throughout my stay in England. Even when I paid a social
call, the presence of half a dozen or more people would strike me dumb. I
once went to Ventnor with Sjt. Mazmudar. We stayed there with a vegetarian
family. Mr Howard, the author of 'The Ethics of Diet', was also staying at the
same watering place. We met him, and he invited us to speak at a meeting for the
promotion of vegetarianism. I has ascertained that it was not considered
incorrect to read one's speech. I knew that many did so to express
themselves coherently and briefly. To speak ex-tempore world have been out of
the question for me. I had therefore written down my speech. I stood up to read
it, but could not. My vision became blurred and I trembled, though the
speech hardly covered a sheet of foolscap. Sjt. Mazmudar had to read it
for me. His own speech was of course excellent and received with applause.
I was ashamed at myself and sad at heart for my incapacity. (My Experiments With
Truth)
The Sermon on the Mount
=======================
About the same time, I met a good Christian from Manchester in a vegetarian
boarding house. He talked to me about Christianity. I narrated to him my Rajkot
recollections. He was pained to hear them. He said, 'I am a vegetarian. I do not
drink. Many Christians are meat eaters and drink, no doubt; but neither
meat-eating nor drinking is enjoined by scripture. Do please read the
Bible.' I accepted his advice and he got me a copy. I have a faint
recollection that he himself used to sell copies of the Bible, and I purchased
from him an edition containing maps, concordance, and other aids. I began
reading it but I could not possible read through the Old Testament. I read the
book of Genesis, and the chapters that followed invariably sent me to sleep. But
just for the sake o being able to say that I had read it, I plodded through the
other books with much difficulty and without the least interest or
understanding. I disliked reading the book of Numbers.
But the New Testament produced a different impression, especially the sermon on
the Mount which went straight to my heart. I compared it with the Gita. The
verses, 'But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil, but whosoever smite thee
on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man take away thy
coat, let him have thy cloak too' delighted me beyond measure and put me in mind
of Shamal Bhatt's 'For a bowl of water, give a goodly meal', etc. My young mind
tried to unify the teaching of the Gita, the "Light of Asia" and the
Sermon on the Mount. That renunciation was the greatest form of religion
appealed to me greatly. (My Experiments with Truth)
After one year of a none too successful law practice, Gandhi decided to accept
an offer from an Indian businessman in South Africa, Dada Abdulla, to join him
as a legal adviser. Unbeknown to him, this was to
become an exceedingly lengthy stay, and altogether Gandhi was to stay in South
Africa for over twenty years. The Indians who had been living in South Africa
were without political rights, and were generally
known by the derogatory name of 'coolies'. Gandhi himself came to an awareness
of the frightening force and fury of European racism, and how far Indians were
from being considered full human beings, when he when thrown out of a
first-class railway compartment car, though he held a first-class ticket, at
Pietermaritzburg. From this political awakening Gandhi was to emerge as the
leader of the Indian community, and it is in South Africa that he first coined
the term satyagraha to signify his theory and practice of non-violent
resistance. Gandhi was to describe himself preeminently as a votary or seeker of
satya (truth), which could not be attained other than through ahimsa
(non-violence, love) and brahmacharya (celibacy, striving towards God).
Gandhi conceived of his own life as a series of experiments to forge the use of
satyagraha in such a manner as to make the oppressor and the oppressed alike
recognize their common bonding and humanity: as he recognized, freedom is only
freedom when it is indivisible. In his book Satyagraha in South Africa he was to
detail the struggles of the Indians to claim their rights, and their resistance
to oppressive legislation and executive measures, such as the imposition of a
poll tax on them, or the declaration by the government that all non-Christian
marriages were to be construed as invalid. In 1909, on a trip back to India,
Gandhi authored a short treatise entitled Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, where
he all but initiated the critique, not only of industrial civilization, but of
modernity in all itsaspects.
Gandhi returned to India in early 1915, and was never to leave the country again
except for a short trip that took him to Europe in 1931. Though he was not
completely unknown in India, Gandhi followed the advice of his political mentor,
Gokhale, and took it upon himself to acquire a familiarity with Indian
conditions. He traveled widely for one year. Over the next few years, he was to
become involved in numerous local struggles, such as at Champaran in Bihar,
where workers on indigo plantations complained of oppressive working conditions,
and at Ahmedabad, where a dispute had broken out between management and workers
at textile mills. His interventions earned Gandhi a considerable reputation, and
his rapid ascendancy to the helm of nationalist politics is signified by his
leadership of the opposition to repressive legislation (known as the "Rowlatt
Acts") in 1919. His saintliness was not uncommon, except in someone like
him who immersed himself in politics, and by this time he had earned from no
less a person than Rabindranath Tagore, India's most well-known writer, the
title of Mahatma, or 'Great Soul'. When 'disturbances' broke out in the Punjab,
leading to the massacre of a large crowd of unarmed Indians at the Jallianwala
Bagh in Amritsar and other atrocities, Gandhi wrote the report of the Punjab
Congress Inquiry Committee. Over the next two years, Gandhi initiated the
non-cooperation movement, which called upon Indians to withdraw from British
institutions, to return honors conferred by the British, and to learn the art of
self-reliance; though the British administration was at places paralyzed, the
movement was suspended in February 1922 when a score of
Indian policemen were brutally killed by a large crowd at Chauri Chaura, a small
market town in the United Provinces. Gandhi himself was arrested shortly
thereafter, tried on charges of sedition, and sentenced to imprisonment for six
years. At The Great Trial, as it is known to his biographers, Gandhi delivered a
masterful indictment of British rule.
Owing to his poor health, Gandhi was released from prison in 1925. Over the
following years, he worked hard to preserve Hindu-Muslim relations, and in 1924
he observed, from his prison cell, a 21-day fast when Hindu-Muslim riots broke
out at Kohat, a military barracks on the Northwest Frontier. This was to be of
his many major public fasts, and in 1932 he was to commence the so-called Epic
Fast unto death, since he thought of "separate electorates" for the
oppressed class of what were then called untouchables (or Harijans in Gandhi's
vocabulary, and dalits in today's language) as a retrograde measure meant to
produce permanent divisions within Hindu society. Gandhi earned the hostility of
Ambedkar, the leader of the untouchables, but few doubted that Gandhi was
genuinely interested in removing the serious disabilities from which they
suffered, just as no one doubted that Gandhi never accepted the argument that
Hindus and Muslims constituted two separate elements in Indian society. These
were some of the concerns most prominent in Gandhi's mind, but he was also to
initiate a constructive program for social reform. Gandhi had ideas -- mostly
sound -- on every subject, from hygiene and nutrition to education and labor,
and he relentlessly pursued his ideas in one of the many newspapers which he
founded. Indeed, were Gandhi known for nothing else in India, he would still be
remembered as one of the principal figures in the history of Indian journalism.
How this story is written
=================
"This chapter has brought me to a stage where it becomes necessary for me
to explain to the read how this story is written from week to week. When I
began writing it, I had no definite plan before me. I have do diary or
documents, on which to base the story of my experiments. I write just as the
Spirit moves me at the time of writing. I do not claim to know definitely
that all conscious thought and action on my part is directed by the
Spirit. But on examination of the greatest steps I have taken in my life, as
also those which may be regarded as the least, I think it will not be improper
to say that all of them were directed by the Spirit.
I have not seen Him, neither have I known Him. I have the world's faith in God
my own, as as my faith in ineffaceable, I regard that faith as amounting to
experience. However, as it may be said that to describe faith as experience is
to tamper with truth, it may perhaps be more correct to say that I have no word
for characterizing my belief in God." (My Experiments With Truth)
In early 1930, as the nationalist movement was revived, the Indian National
Congress, the preeminent body of nationalist opinion, declared that it would now
be satisfied with nothing short of complete independence (purna swaraj). Once
the clarion call had been issued, it was perforce necessary to launch a movement
of resistance against British rule. On March 2, Gandhi addressed a letter to the
Viceroy, Lord Irwin, informing him that unless Indian demands were met, he would
be compelled to break the "salt laws". Predictably, his letter was
received with bewildered amusement, and accordingly Gandhi set off, on the early
morning of March 12, with a small group of followers towards Dandi on the sea.
They arrived there on April 5th: Gandhi picked up a small lump of natural salt,
and so gave the signal to hundreds of thousands of people to similarly defy the
law, since the British exercised a monopoly on the production and sale of salt.
This was the beginning of the civil disobedience movement: Gandhi himself was
arrested, and thousands of others were also hauled into jail. It is to break
this deadlock that Irwin agreed to hold talks with Gandhi, and subsequently the
British agreed to hold a Round Table Conference in London to negotiate the
possible terms of Indian independence. Gandhi went to London in 1931 and met
some of his admirers in Europe, but the negotiations proved inconclusive. On his
return to India, he was once again arrested.
For the next few years, Gandhi would be engaged mainly in the constructive
reform of Indian society. He had vowed upon undertaking the salt march that he
would not return to Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, where he had made his home,
if India did not attain its independence, and in the mid-1930s he established
himself in a remote village, in the dead center of India, by the name of Segaon
[known as Sevagram]. It is to this obscure village, which was without
electricity or running water, that India's political leaders made their way to
engage in discussions with Gandhi about the future of the independence movement.
At the outset of World War II, Gandhi and the Congress leadership assumed a
position of neutrality: while clearly critical of fascism, they could not find
it in themselves to support British imperialism. In 1942, Gandhi issued the last
call for independence from British rule. On the grounds of what is now known as
August Kranti Maidan, he delivered a stirring speech, asking every Indian to lay
down their life, if necessary, in the cause of freedom. He gave them this
mantra: "Do or Die"; at the same time, he asked the British to 'Quit
India'. The response of the British government was to place Gandhi under arrest,
and virtually the entire Congress leadership was to find itself behind bars, not
to be released until after the conclusion of the war.
A few months after Gandhi and Kasturba had been placed in confinement in the Aga
Khan's Palace in Pune, Kasturba passed away: this was a terrible blow to Gandhi,
following closely on the heels of the death of his private secretary of many
years, the gifted Mahadev Desai. In the period from 1942 to 1945, the Muslim
League, which represented the interest of certain Muslims and by now advocated
the creation of a separate homeland for Muslims, increasingly gained the
attention of the British, and supported them in their war effort. The new
government that came to power in Britain under Clement Atlee was committed to
the independence of India, and negotiations for India's future began in earnest.
Sensing that the political leaders were now craving for power, Gandhi largely
distanced himself from the negotiations. He declared his opposition to the
vivisection of India. It is generally conceded, even by his detractors, that the
last years of his life were in some respects his finest. He walked from village
to village in riot-torn Noakhali, where Hindus were being killed in retaliation
for the killing of Muslims in Bihar, and nursed the wounded and consoled the
widowed; and in Calcutta he came to constitute, in the famous words of the last
viceroy, Mountbatten, a "one-man boundary force" between Hindus and
Muslims.
"Man has been endowed with buddhi or intelligence, so that he might at
every turn decide what is beneficent for observance and what is detrimental.
Gandhi while going through hate ridden regions, prayed, "Sabko san-mati de
Bhagwan!" (O Lord! Give everyone Good intelligence!) The intelligence has
to be kept sharp, clear and straight" (Sathya Sai Baba).
The ferocious fighting in Calcutta came to a halt, almost entirely on account of
Gandhi's efforts, and even his critics were wont to speak of the Gandhi's
'miracle of Calcutta'. When the moment of freedom came, on 15 August 1947,
Gandhi was nowhere to be seen in the capital, though Nehru and the entire
Constituent Assembly were to salute him as the architect of Indian independence,
as the 'father of the nation'.
The last few months of Gandhi's life were to be spent mainly in the capital city
of Delhi. There he divided his time between the 'Bhangi colony', where the
sweepers and the lowest of the low stayed, and Birla House, the residence of one
of the wealthiest men in India and one of the benefactors of Gandhi's ashrams.
Hindu and Sikh refugees had streamed into the capital from what had become
Pakistan, and there was much resentment, which easily translated into violence,
against Muslims. It was partly in an attempt to put an end to the killings in
Delhi, and more generally to the bloodshed following the partition, which may
have taken the lives of as many as 1 million people, besides causing the
dislocation of no fewer than 11 million, that Gandhi was to commence the last
fast unto death of his life. The fast was terminated when representatives of all
the communities signed a statement that they were prepared to live in
"perfect amity", and that the lives, property, and faith of the
Muslims would be safeguarded. A few days later, a bomb exploded in Birla House
where Gandhi was holding his evening prayers, but it caused no injuries.
However, his assassin, a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin by the name of Nathuram
Godse, was not so easily deterred. Gandhi, quite characteristically, refused
additional security, and no one could defy his wish to be allowed to move around
unhindered.
In the early evening hours of 30 January 1948, Gandhi
met with India's Deputy Prime Minister and his close associate in the freedom
struggle, Vallabhai Patel, and then proceeded to his prayers.
"To see the Universal and all pervading Spirit of Truth face to face
one must be able to love the meanest of creation as oneself. And a man who
aspires after that cannot afford do keep out of any field of life. That is why
my devotion to Truth has drawn me into the field of politics; and I can say
without the slightest hesitation, and yet with all humility, that those who say
religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion means."
Gandhi sought trikaranasuddhi, purity of thought, word and deed. In the words of
the Sai Avatar, this is the definition and the embodiment of integrity.
Listen to Gandhi speak of his (our) journey toward purity:
"But the path to self purification is hard and steep. To attain to perfect
purity, one has to become absolutely passion free in thought, speech and action;
to rise above the opposing currents of love and hatred, attachment and
repulsion. I know that I have not in me as yet that triple purity (tri-karana
suddhi) in spite of constant and ceaseless striving for it. That is why the
world's praise fails to move me, indeed, it very often stings me. To conquer the
subtle passions seems to me to be harder than the physical conquest of the world
by force of arms. Ever since my return to India, I have had experience of
dormant passions lying hidden within me. The knowledge of them has made me feel
humiliated, though not defeated. The experiences and experiments have sustained
me and given me great joy. But I know that I have still before me a difficult
path to traverse. I must reduce myself to zero." (My Experiments With
Truth, last page).
That evening, as Gandhi's time-piece, which hung from one of the folds of his
dhoti [loin-cloth], was to reveal to him, he was uncharacteristically late to
his prayers, and he fretted about his inability to be punctual. At 10 minutes
past 5 o'clock, with one hand each on the shoulders of Abha and Manu, who were
known as his 'walking sticks', Gandhi commenced his walk towards the garden
where the prayer meeting was held. As he was about to mount the steps of the
podium, Gandhi folded his hands and greeted his audience with a namaskar; at
that moment, a young man came up to him and roughly pushed aside Manu. Nathuram
Godse bent down in the gesture of an obeisance, took a revolver out of his
pocket, and shot Gandhi three times in his chest. Bloodstains appeared over
Gandhi's white woolen shawl; his hands still folded in a greeting, Gandhi
blessed his assassin: He Ram! He Ram!
As Gandhi fell, his faithful time-piece struck the ground, and the hands of the
watch came to a standstill. They showed, as they had done before, the precise
time: 5:12 P.M.
On the afternoon of the 30th of January, Baba led a few people to the
Chitravathi River. Suddenly, He ran back to the mandir and bolted the door. He
emerged intermittently, until 7.30 p.m., when He finally came out and spoke a
few words to the devotees to the effect that a great soul had passed away. No
one knew exactly what had happened. A remote village like Puttaparthi did not
have methods of instant communication with the rest of the world. Periodically,
Balapattabi would go to Bukkapatnam to collect mail. After a couple of
days, one of the devotees read in The Hindu newspaper that Mahatma Gandhi, the
Father of the Nation, had been assassinated at about 5.30 p.m., on the 30th of
January, in New Delhi. It happened almost at the very time when Baba behaved in
a strange manner. (Love is My Form, Chapter XIV)
Gems from the Lord
Puttaparthi: When visiting the ashram to see Baba, He tells us that if we leave our ego's behind and come with open hearts, He can fill them with love He has come to give. So when visiting Puttaparthi we should PUT APART THE I.
Properties: are not Proper Ties.
Parents: are given that name, because it is through them that we have the wonderful chance of life on earth. For the sacrifices that they have made for us, we must PAY RENTS to them.
(Most of the Swami photos on this page were sent by Bombay Srinivasan)