Sairam All,
Another intuitive article which rose to be shared with the humanity at large is reproduced for your benefit. Immerse, soak into this to feel the essence within and everywhere around.
FORM WORSHIP
AFTER REALIZATION
We were all immersed in
the worship of our beloved Lord Sai in various forms, as Sai, Rama, Krishna,
Devi, Allah, Jesus, Zorashtra, Mahavir and various other forms today during the
recently concluded bhajan session.
A question arises during
the session: - “WHAT MAKES A SELF REALIZED SOUL, A SPIRITUAL MASTER CONTINUE TO
WORSHIP GOD IN FORM, EVEN AFTER REALIZING THE DIVINITY AS SELF/AS ATMAN, THE JAGAT AS BRAHMAN AND
THE UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS AS PARAMATMAN.”
The question is posed by
Jiva to Easwara, “God, tell me why should I continue to worship you, even
after attaining the state of objectless, eternal bliss, having turned my inner
equipments towards the infinite Brahman??.
You showered your grace to get this
awareness of SELF. Now, you only answer this question as well.
After months of contemplation on this
question, the Lord reveals the answers to the bhaktha, not in one stroke, but
through a gradual process.
1) The
sadhaka, even after realizing the formless SELF and after realizing that God
and “I” are the same, still continues to worship God, to set an example for the
world. What best example can a human give to this than the God Himself??
Our Lord Sai sings Bhajans in the glory of Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Subramanian etc.
Does He have to sing these songs???
When He sings, He is the song, He is the
God on whom the song is sung and He is the singer as well.
He does this, to
drive the message clear to all His devotees that they also must reach the stage
of becoming the Song, the one on whom it is sung besides being singer themselves.
Similarly, a realized soul continues to do form worship to set an example to
the world that beginning with worship of form with total devotion only, one can
reach the stage of realizing the formless “SELF” within.
2) Now, coming back to the human form in which a
realized seer continues to lead the life sojourn, do we not bow down to our old
school / college time teacher even when
we see them after several decades, in
gratitude to what they taught us when we were young???
If that be
so, then what about the GOD, without whose grace, it would have been impossible
to get to the flight to reach the destination of “SELF”!
If the
spiritual journey can be compared to our travel along the 18 steps to have the
glimpse of Lord Ayyappa in Sabari mala, believe me, even if, through intense sadhana, we are able to climb up 16 or even 17 steps, it is only with the
Lord’s WILL and GRACE that we are able to move to the last 18th step
and then get the immense joy of having the divine darshan of Lord!!!.
In our cases,
to a sadhaka who has taken a wow to take the spiritual journey SERIOUSLY and to
attain the height of heights, the Lord has taken the form of SADGURU and has
helped that sadhaka reach that height.
All the
spiritual masters of our glorious Bharath have time and again stressed the need
for a GURU for a dashiki to attain realization.
Swami Sivananda wrote an entire book on the need of a Guru, titled “GURU BHAKTI YOGA”
and in one of the poem on Guru, He wrote,
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“Guru’s Grace is boundless
He held me by the arm and saved
me
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He filled my heart with bliss
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He removed many pitfalls and
snares
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He elevated and inspired me
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From the bondage of the wheel of birth
and death.”
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To a chosen
few, SAI has assumed the role of such a Guru and has played the role of
both Guru and God in their lives.
Why will I
not shed tears of joy at thy feet, o Lord, even after I have realized that
“I” am the absolute existence, absolute knowledge and absolute bliss - SAT
CHIT ANANDA!!!.
3) Again,
coming back to the world, as a human being, though ever immersed in the
infinite Brahman, the realized seer contemplates on the Lord with form and
thinks. “It is absolute truth that I have realized that there is no
difference between me and you, i.e., The Jiva and the Easwara.
I have
realized the same identity in both. But to think of it, O Lord, how
many thousands of births would I have taken to attain this level of realization
whereas, from the moment you decided to enter the womb of mother Easwaramba
(pravesha), every step, every move of
Yours is predetermined and you are perfection absolute and absolutely
blemish less. Why would I not surrender to the holy feet of Lord, singing
“Sri Rama charanam…”
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4) All
the above factors being result of contemplation, the last reason which I am
going to give is absolutely natural and it needs no
thinking, no contemplation, no deep meditation, but this can be realized only
out of subjective experience.
At the realized stage, a
sadhaka / a realized seer is filled with “Brahmananda rasa” or the essence of
infinite bliss, 24/7. Just as He is able to see the glorious “SELF” within Him
shining brilliantly, just as He is filled with Love with bliss, He sees through
the Tatwa of Sai as nothing but only LOVE, LOVE and LOVE…
The devotee is LOVE and
the Lord is LOVE and this union of LOVE, manifests as worship. The world thinks
he is worshipping, the seer knows He is only LOVING THE LORD.
HERE, THE TRUE AND
INDEPTH MEANING OF LORDS GOSPEL “LOVE IS GOD, LIVE IN LOVE” is understood,
realized and lived upon by the sadhaka!!!!
Thus, the devotee turned Seer, exists verily AS the last verse in Nirvana shatakam.
अहं निर्विकल्पो निराकाररूपो
विà¤ुत्वाच्च सर्वत्र सर्वेन्द्रियाणाम् ।
न चासङ्गतं नैव मुक्तिर्न मेयः
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम्
I AM WITHOUT
ANY ATTRIBUTES,
I HAVE
NEITHER ATTACHMENT TO THE
WORLD NOR EVEN DESIRE FOR LIBERATION .
I HAVE NO
WISHES FOR ANYTHING
BECAUSE
I AM
EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, EVERY TIME,
ALWAYS IN SUPREME EQUANIMITY.
EXISTANCE
ABSOLUTE, KNOWLEDGE ABSOLUTE, BLISS ABSOUTE,
I AM EVER, THE SUPREME, EVER AUSPICIOUS CONSCIOUSNESS”
