Heartfelt Prayer Brings Grace In the following story, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba emphasizes love and yearning as key to drawing God’s grace.   The mind is allowed to wander and engage itself in external exercises like japa [repetition of God’s Name] and puja [ritual worship]. Here is a story to illustrate this: Once, King Vikramaditya [a king known for his justice] was traveling around his country incognito to assess the welfare of his people. He noticed an old Brahmin performing a yajna (fire-sacrifice). The king also saw a huge mound of ash next to the sacrificial-fireplace. When Vikramaditya asked the old Brahmin as to what he was doing, he replied: “I have been performing a yajna for the past 60 years. This mound you see is the accumulated ash from the yajna. Though I have been ceaselessly performing this yajna, I have not yet had a vision of the yajna-purusha (the lord of the sacrifice).” Vikramaditya was deeply moved by the old man’s anguish. To help the Brahmin, the king decided to meditate and appeal to the yajna-purusha himself. Despite his long penance, the king failed to gain a vision of the yajna-purusha. The king thought: “Of what use is all the penance that I have performed? If I cannot get the grace of the Lord, what use is there in living?” Thinking thus, he drew out his sword and decided to end his life. He mentally addressed the yajna-purusha thus: “If you will not appear before me, I am offering my life to you.” As he drew his sword to offer his head, the yajna-purusha appeared before him, and seized the sword from the king’s hand. The yajna-purusha said to the king: “Oh Vikramaditya! This is a sahasa (an act of recklessness), and not a spiritual offering. Where am I? As Vaiswanara, I am dwelling in all beings as the digestive power. Is it a sign of spirituality for you to, on the one hand, externally seek a vision of the divine who is within you, and on the other, put an end to your life because you do not have a vision of the divine that is in you? This kind of act savors of the rajasic [aggressive] tendency.”  He continued, “A real devotee should not resort to such desperate actions. To realize me, what you need to practise is love and not reckless courage. Whatever you see, whatever you do, be conscious of the all-pervading Divine. Only then, work will be transformed into worship. What this old brahmin has been doing for 60 years is to mumble the words of the mantra [sacred formula] without understanding their meaning. He did not invite my presence with all his heart and soul. I present myself to one who prays for me with all his heart, and with harmony in thought, word, and deed. If one cannot offer such dedicated worship, he should adhere to my injunctions without hesitation.”

How Far is Vaikuntha? Provided your intellect is sharp and free from prejudices and predilections, the reality will reveal itself to you in a flash, for it is quite a simple thing. Only, it must be capable of seeing the problem in its basic essence, apart from all the jumble of irrelevancies. Once a very learned pundit was holding forth in a pedantic manner the story of Gajendra-moksha from the Bhagavata [scripture], before the Maharaja and a large gathering of courtiers in his court. He described how the Lord, on hearing the agonized call for succor from the elephant held by the jaws of the monstrous crocodile, hurried from heaven (Vaikuntha) without stopping even to collect His insignia and weapons, without even intimating to His consort where He was bound on what mission. Suddenly the Maharaja interrupted him with the question, “Tell me, pundit, how far is this Vaikuntha?” The learned pundit did not know the distance; he was non-plussed. Nor did any of the other scholars in the palace knew. But the servant who was fanning the king from behind the throne offered to furnish the answer, if his impertinence would be pardoned. The pundit was shocked at this effrontery, but the Maharaja allowed him to speak. “Your Majesty! Vaikuntha is as far as the cry of the elephant could be heard,” he said. Yes, when the anguish of a devotee’s heart is expressed as a groan or a sigh, the Lord is as far only as that sound could reach.

Sai Mata Years ago, when some one suggested the title; “Sathya Sai mata” for a picture in which He is seen fondling a little child, Baba said. “Name it Sathya mata for this is the sathya (real) mother, the rest are all mithya (un-real) mothers!” During the Dasara festival, Baba reveals Himself every moment as the mother. We pray to Him then, “O Sathya mata! As Durga, keep us safe; as Saraswati, teach us how to teach; as Lakshmi, feed us with sustaining food for body, mind, and spirit.” It is hard to adore Him as father; though millions adopt that attitude of devotion, saying, “Our father who art in heaven.” He isn’t stern and strict upon the erring and the wayward. Just consider this: Baba knows every act, every thought, and every word of ours. Yet, like the mother who bestows her love more on the wicked and the vicious child than on the virtuous and the upright, Baba comes toward us, calls us to Him and pours His grace on us, in order to correct us and lead us into the virtuous and the upright path. He is the mother; all mothers are only His images. ~Taraka

Story of an Ant An ant clutched half a grain of rice in its jaws and was running along the first enclosure to the mandir in Prasanthi Nilayam. “I want to offer it to the Lord,” she had proudly exclaimed before starting the adventure. “Are you sure He will accept?” her astonished friend had questioned. “Why not? A rice grain, a leaf—God accepts everything that is offered with a sincere heart. Do you not know even that much? How silly.” So off she went strutting in the pleasant morning sun. Half way along the wall she confronted a senior ant. “What brought you here sweetheart?” The older ant was more than interested in the early guest. “Oh! Sai Ram, today is my birthday, so I brought this.” “Give it to me; I’ll offer it on your behalf.” “No, please,” was the astonished reply, “it is my birthday.” “No, you cannot; you do not know the procedure. Swami likes people to be disciplined,” said the senior ant. In the tussle [that followed] the new black ant was thrown into a crevice. The older ant bit off a part of the rice and disappeared. Moaning and limping the younger ant picked up her share. It looked so miserably small and dirty. She could have cried out loud but there was no time for personal sorrow. Six inches more and she was almost strangled by a scurrying foot that hurried towards darshan. Now dusty and tired she dragged her body forward, hiding under the sand or in a slit between two slabs of stones. She no longer cared for her appearance or her offering. Her only desire was to have a glimpse of the Lord, may it be just a flutter of His robe. The wall between her and the door seemed unending and the entrance was still a long, long way off. “Oh Lord of creations,” she looked ahead and sighed, “Oh Lord of creations, how many more tests to reach you?” ~Dr. Zeba Bashiruddin

God Is Forgotten When Self-Interest Reigns A parrot taught to utter Rama Rama Rama was caught by a cat. However, when the  cat dug its teeth into the bird, it forgot to call for Rama Rama Rama; it screeched like any other parrot in great pain. So too, all talk of the unity of mankind, of the immanence of God, and the pervasiveness of the Divine is forgotten when self-interest reigns! There was a sultan who had a daughter always immersed in the meditation of God. She was so pious and pure that the father was determined to give her in marriage only to a person who was equally busy in spiritual activities and study, and equally determined in spiritual practices. The prince of the neighboring state asked for her hand and pleaded for it so tenaciously that the decision regarding her marriage had to be resolved sooner rather than later. While searching for a suitable groom, one evening the sultan happened to come across a young fakir [holy man, usually living in poverty], lost in meditation, in a corner of the mosque, his face lit with the glow of inexpressible inward joy. He watched him silently for hours until the saintly man became aware and conscious of his surroundings. The Sultan asked him whether he was married, and when he heard that he was not, he was greatly pleased. He introduced himself and offered his daughter to him. The fakir argued that he was far too poor to maintain a princess as his wife, but when the sultan described her devotion and sadhana [spiritual discipline], his mind was put to rest on that score. The fakir agreed on the condition that the sultan was to spend for the wedding ceremony only three paise [pennies], one for betel-nut, one for jaggery [raw sugar], and one for incense. The conditions were accepted and the princess was sent to live with him in the caravanserai. A few days later, she discovered tied in a corner of her husband’s garment a small piece of bread.  She asked him how it happened to be there. He replied, “I saved it for the morning.” The princess said that by this act, he had declared himself to be an unworthy fakir,to be a non-believer. For he had by that act doubted God’s love and God’s capacity to feed His children. He had no confidence in God and His Mercy. So saying, she returned to her father and continued her spiritual practices undisturbed. He who has planted the tender seedling will fulfill his responsibility and water it into a sturdy plant. Have faith; do not simply profess and deny in practice.

Self-Knowledge Once upon a time, King Janaka sent a message to the people in his kingdom: “If there be amongst you a great scholar, a pundit, a mahatma, a yogi, a maharishi, a sage, whoever he may be, let him come and teach me the knowledge of atma.” In his message he said that he expected to attain atmajnana, self-knowledge, within a matter of a few moments of being properly instructed. Even while climbing onto his horse, before he was completely settled on to it, he should have attained atmajnana. He said, “If the person offering to teach me atmajnana is not able to accomplish this task of providing me an experience of instant illumination, then I don’t want to see him, even if he is the greatest scholar, or the most learned person, or the most highly educated person in the land.” Well, all the pundits and rishis [sages] were a little frightened by this requirement. They saw that this would be a severe test of their scholarship and learning, and so none dared to come forth and offer himself to instruct the king and meet the conditions that had been posed. It was at this point that the boy Ashtavakra entered the kingdom. While he was going on the road toward the capital city of Mithilapuram, he met a number of people coming from there, including scholars and pundits; all of them had long faces, looking worried and grief-ridden. Ashtavakra asked them what the cause for their worry and grief was. They explained to him all the things that had happened. But Ashtavakra couldn’t understand why they should get frightened over such a small thing. He added, “I will gladly solve this problem for the king.” So saying he directly entered the court of Janaka. He addressed the king, “My dear King, I am ready to enable you to experience the knowledge of atma as you desire. But this sacred knowledge cannot be taught so easily. This palace is full of rajoguna [qualities of passion and activity] and tamoguna [qualities of ignorance]. We must leave this place and enter an area of pure satwa [purity].” So, they left the palace and went along the road leading out of the city toward the forest. As was the custom whenever the emperor went outside his palace walls, the army followed behind; but Janaka had them remain outside the forest. Ashtavakra and Janaka entered the forest. Ashtavakra told King Janaka, “I am not going to fulfill your wish unless you accept my conditions. I may be only a boy, but I am in the position of a preceptor; and you may be an all-powerful emperor, but you are in the position of a disciple. Are you prepared to accept this relationship? If you agree then you will have to offer the traditional gift to the guru, the gurudakshina that is given by the shishya [student] to the guru. Only after you give your offering to me will I start my instruction to you.” King Janaka told Ashtavakra: “The attainment of God is the most important thing to me, so I am prepared to give you absolutely anything you want.” But Ashtavakra replied, “I don’t want any material things from you; all I want is your mind. You must give me your mind.” The king answered: “Alright, I offer my mind to you. Up to now I thought that this was my mind, but from now onward it will be yours.” Ashtavakra told Janaka to dismount from his horse and made the horse stand in front of the king and then he told the king to sit down in the middle of the road. Ashtavakra walked into the forest and sat quietly under a tree. The soldiers waited for a long time. Neither the king nor Ashtavakra returned from the forest. The soldiers wanted to find out what had happened to them, so one by one they proceeded to look for them. When they went along the road leading into the forest, they found the king seated there, in the middle of the road. The horse was standing in front of the king. The king had his eyes closed and sat still, almost immobile. Ashtavakra was not to be seen. The officers were afraid that Ashtavakra might have exercised some magic spell over the king and had made him lose consciousness. They went to look for the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister came and addressed Janaka, “O King! O King! O King!” But King Janaka did not open his eyes; he did not move at all. The Prime Minister became frightened. Not only the Prime Minister but all the officials were now getting frightened, because the time when the King usually took his food and drink had passed and the king still had not stirred. In this way the day went on and evening came, but the king did not move from his position, sitting there immobile on the road. Left with no alternative, the Prime Minister sent the chariot back to the city to bring the queen, thinking that if the queen spoke to the king, he would surely respond. The queen came and addressed the king, “Raja, Raja, Raja!” The king did not stir; there was absolutely no response from the king. Meanwhile, the soldiers searched throughout the whole forest for Ashtavakra. There, under a tree, Ashtavakra was seated peacefully in absolute calm and serenity. The soldiers caught hold of him and brought him toward the place where the king was. Ashtavakra told them, “Why are you all so worried? The king is safe and everything is alright.” But still they insisted and brought him before the King seated on the road with his eyes closed, his body completely still. The soldier said, “Here, look for yourself! See what has happened to the king!” Until that time, whether the Prime Minister, or the ministers, or the queen or any of the other court officials or common people had called out and addressed the king, he neither opened his mouth in answer nor opened his eyes in acknowledgment. But

When Swami Gave Himself a New Name! On the 25th of November in 1958, Sri S. R. Venkatraman and his family were returning from Puttaparthi after attending Swami’s birthday celebrations. Baby Gitasudha, Venkatraman’s daughter, suddenly lay dead. The miserable parents were helpless. The bus pulled over, and a crowd soon gathered around the dead child. An old man from amongst the crowd commanded, “Hand me the child.” The old man had two ladies and a young lad by his side. The old man held the infant in his hands and muttered some mantras [sacred chants]. He asked the onlookers, who happened to be returning from Puttaparthi as well, for some vibhuti [blessed ash] and smeared it on the child’s forehead. The child that had been dead for all practical purposes suddenly let out a loud cry. The joy of the previously bereaved parents knew no bounds. A grateful Venkatraman offered the old man a rupee, but the latter turned him down. He then offered the old man an orange that was given to him by Swami. Venkatraman asked the old man what his name was. “Jodi Adipali Somappa” was the reply. Later, the bewildered Venkatraman wrote to Puttaparthi enquiring whether Swami had gone into a trance around 2:45 pm (which was the same time ‘Jodi Adipalli Somappa’ had appeared to save his daughter from the jaws of death). Venkatraman had an inkling that it may have, in fact, been Swami in the guise of the strange old man. Even before the letter could reach Puttaparthi, Swami told His close devotees in detail about how He had rushed to the rescue of the helpless family! He told them that He had drawn the evil power that had been dogging the child into the orange that was given to Him, and had it cast away. It was, indeed, Swami who had made the trans-corporeal visit!

Devotional Impostors Aclever villager used to enter the village temple in the early hours of the day and sit with eyes closed in the hope that people will honor him as a great devotee. Since he did not get up and go about his business until about mid­-noon, the temple priest was hard put to close the doors and go home for his daily tasks there. So he struck upon a plan to stop the nuisance. He knew that the closed‑eye session of dhyana [meditation] was all a pretense. He hid himself behind the idol of the deity, and when the villager was well set in his pretense of deep medi­tation, he said in an imposing sonorous voice, “Listen! Excellent devotee! I am mightily pleased by your asceticism and your steadfastness. Come I shall merge you into Myself.” At this the fellow ran fast out from the temple, leaving no trace of where he had gone! The devotion and sense of surrender of many are similar to those of this impos­tor. Faith is weak, discipline is absent, and earnestness is lacking.                                                          ~ Baba