Sai Baba has many
roles in our lives. In the prayer Twameva Mata Cha Pita Twameva we refer to Him
as our mother, father, relative, friend, knowledge and our wealth – basically
He is everything to us. There is
one role, however, that is not directly mentioned in this prayer and that is the
role of our Guru, our teacher. The
source of our knowledge and our guide.
What is a Guru and
why do we need one? A guru is one that leads us from the darkness of ignorance
to the light of knowledge. He is
the one who answers all our spiritual needs, which in turn solves our physical
problems. He is the one who shows
us our true selves and the truth about everyone else too.
He is our guide in this journey we call life.
Like our shadow He is with us at all times even when we may not be able
to see him.
Swami shared the
following a story during His Birthday Discourse in 1965. A man was walking in a
jungle and was making his way through the thick undergrowth when he heard the
angry roar of a lion. He climbed a
tree to escape from the beast but the lion saw him amongst the branches and
roamed round and round the trunk in terrific rage.
On the tree, the man
was attacked by a bear and so he slid down the roots that descended from one of
the branches. Luckily, there were
two roots hanging from the branch so he grabbed one in each hand and hung on in
mid air. Just then, he saw two
rats, one white and the other black, which were gnawing at the base of the
roots, endangering his life with every bite.
While in this
perilous state, he noticed a honeycomb on one of the higher branches.
Sweet nectar was dropping from it and this unfortunate man put out his
tongue to catch a drop so that he may taste the delicious honey. But no drop
reached his tongue.
In despair and
terror, he called on his guru, “O Guruji come and save me.” The Guru who was passing by heard his appeal.
He sped to the rescue, he brought bows and arrows and slew the lion and
bear, frightened off the rats and saved the disciple from the fear of death.
Then, he led the man to his own ashram and taught him the path of
liberation.
This is the story of
every one. This world is the jungle in which we roam; fear is the lion which
drives us up the tree of samsara, worldly activities. Anxiety is the bear that terrifies us and follows our steps
in samsara. With these we slide
down into attachments and binding deeds through the twin roots of hope and
despair. The two rats are day and
night which eat away the span of life. Meanwhile,
we try to snatch a little joy from the sweet drops of egoism and the feeling of
“me” and “mine”. Finding at
last that the drops are trivial and out of reach, we shout in agony and
renunciation, calling on the guru. The
guru appears, whether from within or without, and saves us from fear and
anxiety.
Our Guru, Sai Baba,
is Sarvajnana (he who knows everything). He
knows the past, present and future of every one of us.
Baba’s knowledge has no limit, He is the inner guide and teacher of
all. Whatever be our troubles He
provides solutions or solace for them all. When in doubt we need only close our
eyes and seek guidance from this supreme source of knowledge and energy, and we
can be assured of an answer.
Everything we need
to know we can learn from Him. It
is an understatement to say that everything Baba says and does is a lesson in
itself. He says “My life is my
message” so we must watch and listen carefully. After that we must put those
very teachings into practice in our own lives.
He now says, “Your life is my message” so that makes us even more
responsible for our actions as they reflect the teachings of our Master.
His advice has to be
accepted in total, down to the last detail, without doubt or hesitation.
Once Krishna and Arjuna were going together along the open road.
Seeing a bird in the sky, Krishna asked Arjuna, “Is that a dove?” Arjuna replied, “Yes, it is a dove.” Krishna asked again, “Is it an eagle?” Arjuna replied promptly, “Yes, it is an eagle.”
“No Arjuna, it looks like a crow to me.
Is it not a crow?” asked Krishna.
Arjuna replied, “I am sorry, it is a crow beyond doubt.”
Krishna laughed and
chided him for his agreeing to whatever suggestion was given.
But Arjuna said, “For me, Your words are far more weighty than the
evidence of my eyes; You can make it a crow, a dove or an eagle and when You say
it is a crow, it must be one.”
Through this story
Baba’s teaches us that implicit faith is the secret of spiritual success.
Baba started
exhibiting wisdom from a very tender age. In
fact, He was lovingly called “Guru” by his friends.
He knew far more than even His teachers in school did, and even they
looked upon Him as “Brahma-jnaani”. Though
Baba left His studies and books while He was in the fifth standard His
discourses and conversations revealed a mastery of scriptures and shastras.
He would even explain and clarify to experts what they may have missed.
Who better can we
ask for to be our Divine Teacher? It is said that to walk a hundred miles we
must start with one step.
In the Namavali, Swami is “Sujnaana
Maargadarsakaaya”, the one who shows us the path
of right knowledge. There are many types of knowledge that we can acquire but
the real knowledge is the knowledge of the self, or spiritual knowledge.
Baba is the Guru who shows us this path.
Many of us may give a lot of advice to
our friends or our children but how many of us actually practice even a fraction
of what we preach? Baba is One whose every action means something, nothing is
said or done with no meaning. One of the practical lessons that He has given is
the Ceiling on Desires programme. In
teaching us not to waste money, food, energy, knowledge and time, He has taught
both spiritual and physical lessons that are practical and applicable to people
of all ages and in all walks of life.
The establishment of
educational institutions and the implementation of Bal Vikas and SSEHV
programmes (Sathya Sai Education in Human Values programmes) are part of His
Divine plan to lead people towards real knowledge. Even as Shirdi Sai, He said
“I will lead lakhs of people to the subhra marga (the pure path) and take them
to the goal, right up to the end.”
Every word of His is
a mantra, every discourse an Upanishad. That
is why He started the “Sanathana Sarathi” magazine, which is printed monthly
in several different languages and contains invaluable advice on spiritual
discipline. The interviews He
grants everyday at Prashanti Nilayam, or wherever He is, are also personal
lessons in the Sujnaana Marga.
The very title of
the magazine has such depth, Sanathana (eternal) Sarathi (charioteer).
Baba is our eternal charioteer. Just
as Krishna was Arjuna’s charioteer in the Mahabharat, so too Baba guides us
through the constant battles that we are fighting inside ourselves daily.
In fact, when the
Sanathana Sarathi was started Swami gave the editor the following message:
“This day, the Sanathana Sarathi starts the campaign against falsehood,
injustice, viciousness and evil. The
army is the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Shastras; the goal is the welfare of
the world! When the drums of
victory resound humanity would have achieved happiness and peace.”
Swami is “Bhakti Jnana Pradeepaya”,
the one who lights within us the spark of bhakti (devotion) and jnaana (wisdom).
He insists that we ask and try to get answers to questions like “Who am I?”
“Where have I come from?” “Why?” and “What is the goal of life?”
These questions are the very basis of spiritual knowledge and effort.
He says, “You
resent being called liars for your true nature is truth; you resent being
described as ugly, for your true nature is beauty; you resent being damned as
evil for your true nature is goodness.” Therefore,
Baba always addresses us as “Atma-Swarupa” or “Divyatmaswarupa” to
constantly remind us of our true nature, which is truth, goodness and beauty.
There are three
types of roads that we can take towards self-realisation. The first one, a dusty small road called karma, leads to a
bigger, more solid road called bhakti. This
road then leads to the highway called jnana.
Of all methods of
mental control Baba says that Bhakti Yoga is the easiest as it is available to
young and old, rich and poor, learned and illiterate. Baba shows us how to get to jnana through bhakti.
When Baba he was a
young child He formed the Pandari bhajan group with His friends.
The very first bhajan He composed was “Manasa bhajare Guru charanam
dustara bhava saagar taranam” (contemplate on the feet of the divine master
who alone can help you cross over the ocean of life and death).
Through His karma
of forming a bhajan group He invoked in them bhakti
and love for the Lord through song and music.
This ultimately led to the jnaana that
there is no way to cross this ocean of life and death without the help of a
guru.
Baba has assured us
that He is our guide and once we start on the path of self realisation, He will
take us by the hand and lead us, making every step easier than the previous one,
removing obstacles and providing sustenance, both physical and spiritual.
Swami is also “Gita Bodhakaaya”. Bodhakaa means teacher, so Baba is the one who is continuously teaching the Gita.
The Gita is only given to those who are sincere and have surrendered fully to the Lord, just as Arjuna did. But Arjuna was not the first pupil to be given this divine knowledge and definitely not the last.
Baba is not only the
Partha-sarathi (the charioteer of Arjuna) but He is the Sanathana Sarathi, the
Eternal Charioteer installed in each and every heart. Tell Him “I am your disciple, instruct me who has
surrendered to you”, and one can hear a custom-made Gita from the depth of
one’s heart, the chariot where He reigns supreme.
Baba is living
within us. He is the voice of our conscience telling us what is right and
guarding us from doing what is wrong. So
often we have questions and miraculously they get answered by different means,
either through something someone says or a message in a book.
Are these mere coincidences or is our personal Sarathi giving us advice?
We are indeed extremely fortunate to have the Teacher of all teachers in our midst today so let us choose not to remain ignorant. Let us pray together to Baba that He may continue to bless us with knowledge of our true selves.
