Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 51

Sutra 40. Labhyateapi tat kripayaiva.

(The company of the Great Ones is obtained by the grace of God alone.)

Labhyate: is obtained

Api: nevertheless

Tat-kripaya:  by His (God’s) grace

Eva: only.

In the previous Sutra, it was stated that the company of the great is “Durlabha” difficult, “Agamya” unapproachable, but “Amogha” infallible or unfailing in its effects . 

One is apt to be discouraged by such a statement. In this Sutra encouragement is given. It says, “api” even though it is difficult, etc., yet 'Labhyate' — it is obtained.

The company of the Guru or great one is obtained . It is an act of divine grace “Tat kripaya eva.”

When the time is ripe, Guru and the disciple are brought together by the Lord in a mysterious way.

This has been extensively covered in the previous 2 posts.

Author would like to write something on "God's grace" which is mentioned in the above post.

God's grace is not some thing which God will decide himself and will shower on you one day suddenly. It is not a one way shower, without any deserving, without any efforts on the part of devotee.

In various spiritual sessions, to emphasize a point, Author often uses the declaration of Tilak when he fought for freedom. He said "Freedom is our birth right and we will achieve it".

Similarly, God's grace is the birth right of every human being. Everyone deserves to get God's grace and in turn, God is there, ONLY to shower His grace on each and every one.

But, to achieve this birth right, like the freedom fighters would have endlessly sacrificed, the devotee has also to take up sacrifice (of all vices) and develop (all virtues) and once he reaches the ripe stage in his devotion, he stands up and faces the God and God faces him and just showers His grace.

So, God's grace is what you deserve and what you can definitely get, with your Purushartha, with your self efforts in the path of devotion.

Sutra 41. Tasminsthajjane bhedabhaavaat.

[Because there is no difference between the Lord and His devotees.]

Tasmin: in Him

Tatjane: in His creatures  

Bheda-abhavaat: because of the absence of difference.

The devotee is God Himself. He who serves a devotee, serves God Himself. The devotee dwells in the heart of God and God dwells in the heart of the devotee. 

In the Bhagavat the Lord says, “Devotees are My heart, and I am the heart of the devotees. They know nobody else than I and I know nobody else than they.”

The Gopis imitated the various sports of Lord Krishna. They entirely lost themselves, and knew not who they were.

When the individual soul surrenders himself to the Lord, he comes entirely under the influence and protection of the Lord. He is not affected by Maya. All differences are wiped out.

“Tat-Jane”. It means people devoted to Tat i.e., devotees .

When the impurities in the mind are removed, the devotee recognizes that there is no difference between him and the Lord. Then the divine grace descends. The grace may appear as the Guru. The grace may come in the form of concentration, serenity, devotion, vision of the Lord.

The Lord is not partial to anybody. His grace is available to all without any distinction. It is Lord’s grace that drives a man to seek a Guru and to attain perfection .

God-realisation becomes natural and easy when a man willingly surrenders his whole being to the in-flow of the divine grace . The ignorant man impedes the path of grace by his conceit, arrogance and egoism .

Just as a river loses its name and form after it lias entered the ocean, also a devotee loses his individuality when he merges himself in the Lord. The mind that causes distinction is annihilated by devotion.

So, taking clue from this sutra that there is no difference between God and the devotee, the earlier sutra about God's grace can be summed up by saying thus:-

"God and Devotee being exactly same, God having created human being exactly as He himself, with God and devotee essentially same because both are LOVE, when the devotee assumes and fills himself with this LOVE for God and His creation, this common factor LOVE in him and God, makes him realize that he and God are one and there is and there can be no difference"

LOVE IS GOD, LIVE IN LOVE, said SAI and that one line from Sai sums up this sutra completely and wholly.

Love.

Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 50

Sutra 39. Mahatsangastu durlabho agamya amoghascha.

[The company of the great souls is again difficult of attainment, is unapproachable and is in-fallible or unfailing in its effect.]

Mahatsangah: company of the great  

tu: again, but, then  

Durlabhah: difficult to obtain

Agamya: unapproachable; subtle and incomprehensible, inscrutable 

Amogha: unerringly effective

cha: and.

Lord Krishna says in the Gita, “One in a thousand struggles for Self-realization and even among such aspirants only one in a thousand attains Self-realization.”

An aspirant who has earned great merits by his strenuous endeavour in the present life or previous ones will be able to recognise the greatness of a Mahatma and obtain His grace. The lazy and indolent have no chance of obtaining the grace of a great soul. 

The effect of saintly contact is unerring or infallible. In ordinary aspirants, the transformation may be slow and gradual.

The spiritual waves set up by a saint travel a very long distance, reach the proper adhikarees and transform them.

  

Sri Sankara says in his Vivekachudamani, “Three things are rare in this world. They are :-

1. Human birth, 

2. Desire for liberation and 

3. The care / company / guidance of a perfected sage.”

Now, the true essence of this sutra "The company of great saints is difficult" has to be properly understood.

It is not that the great saints are unapproachable and they do not come forward for guiding spiritual aspirants.

The essence of this sutra can be explained through the sequence of the above verse from vivekachudamani.

1. Rare to get a Human birth

It is the rarest of rare, most precious to get a human birth.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba has said:

"A human birth is the most sacred one among the 84 lakhs (8400,000) of different living beings in this creation. To attain such a sacred birth is a great fortune, indeed." (Baba the Breath of Sai, page 311)

"Man alone has the chance to liberate himself from the wheel of birth and death, through the pleasant means of serving God. But as a result of ignorance, or what is worse, perversity, he lets the opportunity slip from his hands, and suffers grief and pain, fear and anxiety, ad infinitum." (SSS Vol. VI, pag. 60).

2. Desire for liberation 

So, more than even being born as Human, it is important to recognize the purpose of being born as Human. Swami insists on this and says,

"Having obtained the human birth which is difficult to get and which is like a step to Liberation who is more sinful than him who does not uplift himself." (Garuda Purana and Sai Teachings, Path to Liberation, page 29)

With the above 2 , the essence of this Sutra unfolds itself.

It is / it may be difficult to get nearer to and get the  guidance of a Guru / Master, not because Masters do not want to be approached, not because Masters do not want to guide , but because, the vast majority of human beings fail to recognize how important it is to be born as a human, what is the purpose of this human birth and then, fail to have the conviction / Mumukshatvam or intense craving for Liberation or, in simpler words, intense craving to realize God and merge with God.

If these 2 are there in a man, then he does not have to go about searching for a true Guru. The Guru will Himself approach a true aspirant in some mysterious way and under mysterious and unbelievable circumstances.

Having obtained such a Master, it is the duty of a true and sincere disciple to surrender totally to such a Master and allow the Master to take over the disciple completely and to guide him in his spiritual path.

It is only then that the company of the great Guru, Mahatsangha, is Amogha, unerringly, incredibly, inexpressibly EFFECTIVE!!

Love.

Dear All,

On this auspicious day of Sri Rama Navami, let us immerse in the essence of Sri Rama, as given by Swami Sivananda.

Also, each Sai devotee must take up reading of Rama Katha Rasa Vahini which has been given to us by none other than Sri Rama Himself, re-incarnated as Sri Sathya Sai in this Kali Yuga.

Swami, as though writing His own biography of His previous incarnation, has given so many things in this precious book which are nowhere to be found in any other exposition of Ramayana.

The Author used to get into silence for almost the whole day when he used to read  this precious book. One para would take him to utmost silence and intense contemplation on how glorious that era would have been, how blessed mankind would be in that Rama Rajya!!! Glimpses from this book was shared while learning the Bhajan "Parama Dayalo Sai Ram" in Sai Sadan, Muscat.

Sri Rama

By 

Sri Swami Sivananda

Rama was Lord Hari Himself incarnate on earth for the destruction of Ravana. He was well accomplished, beautiful and endowed with royal marks. He was the foremost of those who were skilled in the use of bows and arrows. He was born of the Ikshvaku line. He had his sway all over the world.

He had eyes like lotus-petals and a countenance like the full moon. His arms were long and beautiful. He had broad shoulders. His eyes were red. He had a deep voice. He had proportionate limbs. His gait was slow and majestic. It was like that of a lion. He had four lines on his thumb. He had a pointed nose. He had a high forehead.

His glory and powers were unlimited. He was peerless on earth. He was free from malice. He was gentle and the protector of his people. He always addressed the people in gentle words. He never used harsh words even when anybody addressed him rudely.

He was wise and virtuous. He was effulgent like the sun, in forgiveness like the earth, in intelligence like Brihaspati, in frame like Vasava, in prowess like Indra. He observed ascetic vows and honoured saints. He would forget hundreds of evils done to him but would gratefully remember a single act of kindness, ever shown.

In the leisure of his martial exercises, he had discussions on the Sastras with the wise and the aged people. He always followed the right in every walk of his life and never swerved from his royal duties.

If anybody approached him, he would talk to him first. He was exceedingly powerful but never haughty. He was the upholder of the four castes. He conferred honour upon people. He was worshipped by all. He was well versed in polity and greatly devoted to the Brahmins.

He was a friend of the poor and chastiser of the wicked. He was a cosmic benefactor. He was well versed in religion, social customs and laws. He looked after the welfare of his subjects and the people too loved him immensely. He never indulged in profane and irrelevant talks. 

He had mastery of Yajur Veda, Dhanur Veda, the Vedangas, etc. Whenever people put a question to him he answered them wisely like Brihaspati. He was skilful in the use of arms. He was honoured by the scholars of the Vedas. He was proficient in philosophy and poetry.

He never spoke a lie even in extreme danger or peril. He was brave, candid and modest. He was the source of all good. He always respected his superiors. He was free from idleness. He was ever vigilant. He sought no evil. He had perfect control over anger.

He was ever ready to keep vigilant watch over his own faults. He had aged and pious Brahmins for his guide.

He was an expert rider, a great warrior, a valiant general. He had great skill in all the military manoeuvres. He was unconquered even by the gods. He was free from the evil habit of carping.

Sri Rama is an Avatara of Lord Hari. Lakshmana is an Avatara of Adisesha. Bharata and Satrughna are Avataras of the conch and discus. Sita is an Avatara of Sri Lakshmi.

Sri Rama possessed red eyes and his arms were sinewy. His steps were like those of an elephant. He had long arms, broad shoulders and black, curly hair. He was valiant and glowing with splendour. He was in no way inferior to Indra himself in battle. He was well versed in holy scriptures and equal to Brihaspati in wisdom. He was skilled in every science. He was an object of love and reverence with all people. He had his senses under perfect control. Even his enemies were pleased to see him. He was the terror of the wicked and the protector of the virtuous. He was endowed with keen intelligence. He could never be vanquished by anyone.

He renounced the throne and the pleasures of the senses and the world to fulfil the words of his father.

If Rama had longed for the throne, it was quite easy for him to get it. He was very popular. He was the mightiest of heroes. He destroyed the Rakshasas and bent the tremendous bow of Lord Siva. But he did not show the least physical force. He gladly accepted what was dictated by the cruel and wicked Kaikeyi. 

The throne possessed less fascination for him than the obedience of his father’s behests. He renounced the kingdom and the comforts of a king. He gladly accepted exile. The laudable virtues of Sri Rama cannot be adequately described.

Of all the four brothers Sri Rama was a paragon of virtues. 

He was not only kind and affectionate but generous and considerate of feelings for all around him. He had a splendid physique and winning manners. He had a magnanimous personality. He was extremely noble, generous, chivalrous and fearless. He was very simple and absolutely free from ostentation.

Sri Rama’s life was a life of holy obedience, of stainless purity, of matchless simplicity, laudable contentment, commendable self-sacrifice and remarkable renunciation. He paid equal respect to his mother and his stepmothers and revered his Guru.

Sita once told Rama to seek shelter in a safe place and let the forest dwellers alone as there was much danger there. Rama’s reply revealed his firm determination to adhere to truth, and to his duty as a king to protect those who took shelter under him. Sri Rama said, "O Sita, I may even give up life or you or Lakshmana but can never give up the fulfilment of my word given particularly to helpless Brahmins. Rama speaks but once and never fails to keep up his promise."

Sri Rama was happy in adversity, calm in miseries, intrepid in dangers.

Sri Rama was a mighty hero. He was the hero of heroes. Single-handed, he killed great and renowned warriors like Khara and Dushana. He vanquished the invincible Vali.

He was an ideal king. He ruled the kingdom in a wonderful way. He was just and righteous. He was courageous and kind. He was endowed with a gentle and generous disposition. He was civil and courteous.

His subjects loved him immensely. Not a single man was unhappy during his regime. He often used to say, "I will do anything and everything to please my subjects, and, if necessary I can even abandon my dear wife for their sake.

"That is the reason why his reign was called "Ramarajya." 

There were no dacoits during his regime. All led a virtuous life. Nobody spoke any untruth. Anybody could leave a bag of gold or jewels even in the main street. No one would touch it."

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Jai Sairam.