Celebrating 75 Years Of Avatar Declaration
20 October is a historic and momentous day. Bhagawan would often refer to this day as ‘the day the change happened’. Recollecting that day Bhagawan would recount how on the way to school He lost a collar pin that was gifted by the Municipal Chairman of Bellary. With the pin the last strands of worldly connections dropped away, He would say. And for our redemption and thousands like you and me, He declared Himself to be Sathya Sai Baba. This day is even more special this year as it happens to be the 75th year since that grand declaration. As part of this special Sathya Sai Speaks Series, we have been offering discourses Bhagawan gave as part of the 50th Birthday Celebrations. But for this month of October, to commemorate this special occasion we bring you the divine discourse Baba delivered on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Avatar Declaration Day, on 20 Oct 1990.
In this plane of existence that is bound by the dictates of time, the One who is beyond Time manifests. We refer to this phenomenon as the Avatar. Though He adorns the limitations of Time, He is ever beyond it too. Though He appears and disappears, comes and goes, He is ever present. Bhagawan elucidates:
If such is the inseparable connection between us and God, if we are mere limbs of the Divine, what makes us fall and wilt under the might of Time? What makes us impure when our source is Purity itself? Bhagawan explains beautifully in the clip to follow. He also hints at what has to be dispensed with if we wish to return to the state of the absolute again.
Bhagawan explained how this entry of these feeling of like and dislike, attachment and hatred leads us away from the state of Divinity to impurity. But in everyday life this impurity manifests itself as restlessness. Swami would often say, “Shanti (Peace) is my Swabhava (nature).” When we move away from this state, we become targets of restlessness and agitation. But there is a way to work back too. Bhagawan explains in the following clip.
After those profound messages Bhagawan reflects on the grandeur in the growth of Puttaparthi and the subtle message therein. After all it was the celebration of the day that would make Puttaparthi the home for many millions from different parts of the world. It was after His momentous declaration that Baba promised His mother that He would make Puttaparthi the centre of all His activities.
If this is what Bhagawan had to say 25 years ago, one can imagine the growth, crowds and festivities in the past few decades. In the end we conclude with Bhagawan expressing what He expects of us, when we claim to be His devotees and followers.
But wouldn’t it be a wasted opportunity if we do not make use of this sunshine in our lives? As Bhagawan would say, “The devotee is the cultivator for the field of his heart, who must irrigate the field with the water of Prema, manure it with Sadhana, sow the seeds of the divine name and fence it with spiritual discipline.” Thinking of Him inspires love in us no doubt, but it is indeed important to embrace the Sadhana of going through HIs words with sincerity and following the discipline of practicing the message there in. Hoping we all will take Bhagawan’s words as our very breath and live by it, we conclude with the Bhajan Bhagawan sang after the discourse.
