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Birthday Message Another year dawns on me today: and I give thanks to God, the All-giver. He giveth more than a man may take and He giveth in the way a man is ready to receive. A life current flows around and within us. We can but respond to the note to which we are attuned, not to higher notes. And there is a higher above the highest. For Life is a mystery. To that I bow down in reverence: and I pray that I may be granted added strength to adore and serve the mystery in little lowly cries, in little acts of sympathy, in little deeds of love. Man’s knowledge of the world has vastly increased: science has made rapid advance. But has science listened to the note of the saints: ‘To do violence to another is to violate my own integrity: for my brother’s blood is mine!’ Man’s birthright is freedom but men, as we see them, are in bondage: men are enthralled by appetites, desires, passions, ignorance– and men are victims to vanity. They seek greatness and glamour. And I recall the words of an ancient sage of Iran: ‘Pearls are of little use to those who die of thirst in the desert!’ This day I pray that the aspiration may grow within me that I may possess the two-fold treasure: 1. Inner life; and 2. Humble service of little, lowly ones
Sadhu Vaswani, who was invited to preside over the Gita Jayanti Conference held on 25, 26 and 27, November, 1944, at the University Institute, Calcutta, reached the city on the eve of his 65th birthday. To his many admirers and well wishers, he gave the above as his birthday message
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CULTURE OF THE SELF SADHU VASWANI ON INDIA’S MESSAGE TO THE WORLD (FROM A NEWS REPORT)
“In the day the spirit of sacrifice thrills again the cities and villages, the schools and homes of India, in that day the barriers of Her freedom will fall and Her chains will be melted by divine fire and the eternal morning of New Life will rise again upon this ancient land. India will be acclaimed by the Nations as a Teacher of Humanity, a saviour of Civilisation!” Thus observed Sadhu Vaswani in the course of his speech at the 9th annual meeting of “The Association of Indian Culture” on “India’s Message” in the Mahabodhi Society Hall, this evening, the Hon’ble Mr. Justice C. C. Biswas presiding. India’s message, Sadhu Vaswaniji said, was a message to
the modern man. The pattern of western mechanised society was shaping eastern homes; material interests were dominating life; there was an apotheosis of the machine; the neo-materialism of Mark was spreading in India. Many echoed the words of Nietzsche who said, “We do not want to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: we have become men: so we want the Kingdom of Earth.” “So there are wars, global wars,” Sadhu Vaswaniji observed. “There is violence. There is earth-grabbing. There are dreams of empire. Europe is restless. A fever has smitten her; and her civilisation is crumbling to its fall. India gives to the West a message of Atmavidya, the Culture
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of the Self. It is a message of inner renewal; it is a message of liberation from within. India’s aspiration is: Take us across the darkness– the darkness of desires.” “Aryan India”, the speaker continued, “developed a civilisation of Light. Men of light, light bringers, seers, are what Europe needs today. The Atman, the Self, is the Light of Life, says India. When the great seer Yagnavalkya meets the great King Janaka, the latter asks: ‘What light does a person need?’ And the rishi answers: ‘When the sun has set and the moon has set and the fire has gone out, the Atman, the Self, is the light of Man, the light of his Life!’ Yagnavalkya, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Shankara— all the great ones of our history— have borne witness to the truth that the Atman is the Light of lights!” Sadhu Vaswaniji proceeded to indicate some of the contributions of India, true to her message, could make to the modern world. Max Muller rightly urged that western civilisation would gain correctness from the Aryan Ideal. Some of India’s contributions Vaswaniji noted thus: Firstly, the asrama idea; India spoke of 4 asrama or stages in the life of man, the student, the citizen, the man of meditation, living in fellowship with nature, far from crowds and distractions of cities, and the wanderer of the Lord moving from place to place to bear witness to the Mystery
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inherent in the depths of life. Secondly, the “little way”, the “simple way”. Simplicity, the speaker said, is a mark of true civilisation; luxury is death warrant. The third contribution Sadhu Vaswaniji referred to as faith in the Spirit Universal, the One-inall. Science needs this vision, he said; for lack of it, science makes wars more destructive and man is becoming machine-dominated. Fourthly, a new sense of freedom. Everyone is royal, the speaker declared; for in everyone dwells the atman. In modern democracy dominated by money, there was the sorry spectacle of men with developed minds but undeveloped hearts. Fifthly, a new education, inspired by the thought of fellowship with the teacher and of service. And lastly, a new science, the “royal science of yoga”. Sadhu Vaswaniji indicated the spirit of yoga as “union with the Beloved”. And the one great law of this Union was: “Renounce thyself!” Spread the sacrifice, said the rishis of old. The word used was yajna (sacrifice); yajna was joy offering. “In joy offer yourself to Him,” said Vaswaniji; “This life is but a little drop of energy borrowed for a while, a loan from the All-giver; give it back to Him in joy.”
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He Called Us His Brothers And Sisters… DADA J. P. VASWANI
Sadhu Vaswani’s entire teaching may be summed up in the two words, “Recollection” and “Compassion”. Recollection cometh in moments of silence as an answer to the threefold question: “Who am I?” “Whence have I come?” “What shall I do to return to my true Homeland?” For, this world of darkness and death, this “heartbreak house”, where men suffer and women weep, is not my homeland.
The fetters fall when recollection comes: and recollection cometh not except in and through interior silence. And to all who came to him for advice and guidance, Sadhu Vaswani said: “Practise silence, every day, for at least half an hour.” Set apart sometime, every day, to sit in a silence corner, away from the din and roar of daily life, and meditate on the adventure of existence.
I am a citizen of another Kingdom, leaving which, for reasons unknown to me, I have come to this world of suffering and pain. I am here on a short trip: brief is my stay on this earth plane, where no one lives long enough, where nothing seems to last, where everything is fleeting, transient, passing. This world is not my home: this is a show world, where most of the men and women live conventional lives, for they have not learnt to break the hard crust of their personality, their egoism. This world is a huge prison— a jail without walls. Men and women go about with chains on their feet and chains on their hands: they are the chains of desire.
Recollection expresses itself, among other things, in little acts of compassion: for, in this world, the poor starve and no garment enfolds them in the biting cold of wintry nights. Service of the poor is worship of God. Sadhu Vaswani often said: “There is holier music in silent service of the poor and lowly than in all the gorgeous chanting of temple priests.” And again: “So many Gods of gold in the temples! If you will truly worship them, melt them and pour out the gold in service of the starving, shivering Gods of the earth.” Beautiful and sublime is his love for the starving, suffering ones. “Storm beaten and hungry for bread,
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alas, are so many,” he said. “They seek shelter: they need light in darkness: let me see my Master in them. He cometh with soiled hands and tattered garments: in serving them, I serve Him.” And again: “He who cooks for himself alone is a thief. If your house has not a bread for a guest or a poor, starving man, are you better than a robber on the high road? “You cease to be human when you do not share and do not bear a brother’s burden!” Sadhu Vaswani taught by percept and example that life is larger than livelihood. He urged that character, not money, should rule the world: and character must grow out of courage. He was careful to point out that courage must be distinguished from the will to power which makes men and nations aggressive and selfish. He was a born orator. He addressed large crowds of men and women. They heard him: they marvelled at his words. He awoke new aspirations in the hearts of those that listened to him. When he spoke, he filled the hall with the rich music of his words and the richer music of his heart. He was a prolific writer, in English and in the sweet, lyrical Sindhi language. In his writings an unknown world unfolded itself before us: new dimensions filled us with unbounded wonder. In him intellect was blended with eloquence and both were penetrated, through and through, with a spiritual fire. In his life was the aspiration to meet God in sunshine and in rain. He preached
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the great truth of salvation through communion with the common man. Dear to him as children of the One Eternal Life were the “disinherited” and the “downtrodden”. And in his heart was reverence and love for all the spiritual leaders of Humanity, for all seers and sages and saints, for Krishna and Jesus, Buddha and Chaitanya, Muhammad and Ramakrishna, Tuka and Gnaneshwara, Zoroaster and Lao Tse, Socrates and Plato, Al-Ghazali and Rumi, Nanak and Kabir. Sadhu Vaswani was a disciple of the Flute and a worshipper of the Cross. He had experienced the rapture of the visions of unity— of all races and all religions in the One Spirit. “There are,” he said, “so many who can believe only one thing at a time. I am so made as to rejoice in the many and behold the beauty of the One in the many. Hence my natural affinity to many religions: in them all I see revelations of the One Spirit. And deep in my heart is the conviction that I am a servant of all prophets.” Sadhu Vaswani worked on, day after day, asking nothing for himself, seeking only opportunities to serve the poor and the lowly. His body was frail, but he felt he had the strength of ten, because in his heart was love, and every fibre of his being thrilled with faith in the Living Lord. “In His Love,” he said, “the Lord has broken, is breaking, my life into innumerable fragments and scattering them in different directions. May every fragment serve Him, singing His Name— the Name of the Beloved!” He
healed
many
sorrowing
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hearts: and in wisdom and love he helped many of those who struggle through the dark forest of this life. His face radiated the love which filled his heart: and on his countenance was the calm born of deep faith in God. “Happy is my heart,” reads an entry in his Jail Diary, “which rejoices in doing simple daily tasks and leaves the rest to God, the Builder of destiny.” With this conviction, in this faith, he had gone to many climes in East and West, carrying everywhere the message of Ancient Wisdom, giving consolation to men and women, encouraging them in the good path, restraining them from the path of evil, imploring all to believe in the brotherhood of religions, the unity of all races, the fellowship of all nations. Such a one was Sadhu Vaswani about whom the American Baha’i teacher, Miss Martha Root, wrote some years ago: “To meet a soul like Vaswani is worth making journey across the seas.” Simple, unpretentious, singularly free from show and ostentation, he moved about as a man amongst men, serving them without any consciousness of sacrifice. And as he moved on, attending to his daily tasks of life, he hardly knew how much healing there was in his presence. In his eyes I saw the Light of a pilgrim to the eternal city of love. He belonged to the small band of pilgrims, wayfarers, who come from a Land distant and unknown, a Land beyond all that we behold. They come to the Earth and live and move in our midst as simple,
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ordinary men. They call us their brothers: their own: they comfort us with words of hope, they cheer us on life’s difficult way, they bless us and heal our broken hearts. They come without airplanes and atom bombs to establish their kingdoms in the hearts of men and in the free spaces of the soul. To this small band Sadhu Vaswani belonged. And at his feet have I, an unprofitable servant, sat again and again to receive of him his gift of love— the gift he freely gave to all who came to him with hunger in their hearts, with thirst in their souls, and with tears of aspiration in their eyes. Sadhu Vaswani was well aware of the tragedy around him, of poverty and exploitation, of violence and wars, of impurity and hatred, of the cruelty of man to birds and animals. But he believed profoundly in God’s mercy and its power to make men new and rekindle in their hearts the extinguished lamp of compassion and love. Sadhu Vaswani offered no technological formulae to make the world new. The world, he said, will be built anew not by paper schemes and plans, but by new men. Sadhu Vaswani’s emphasis was on life– not plans and programmes, not institutions and organisations– on life with its two fold message: (1) adore the Eternal and (2) dedicate your life to the service of the broken, bleeding children of the Earth. The secret of the true life, he summed up in these simple words: “Repeat the Name of God and give sympathy and love to all creation!”
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LOVER OF FREEDOM “I am a servant of the Beloved One,” he said, “and long to meet...my Lord.” And this “servant of the Beloved One” became the builder of a nation. For the life and teaching of Guru Nanak were the inspiration of a long line of the Gurus, the last of whom built the Khalsa State with the battle cry, “Waheguruji ka Khalsa, Waheguruji ki Fateh”. Guru Nanak’s life and teaching revolutionised the minds and hearts of millions. Young India needs his inspiration today in the task of re-building the Nation: for India’s freedom is yet incomplete. A lover of freedom, Guru Nanak spent his early days in the freedom of the farm and village life: and in his days of manhood, he travelled far and wide. He went about blessing all, asking all to free their minds and hearts of convention and cant. As I have meditated on his words and reviewed the main incidents of his life, as related in the Janamsakhi, I have felt, more strongly than before, that India’s freedom may not fulfil its purpose without the power of faith and solidarity and service of humanity— faith more than the knowledge of books, solidarity more than schemes of ‘reform’, service of humanity more than anything else.
GURU NANAK*: OUR LEADER AND OUR LIGHT SADHU VASWANI *November 12 is sacred as Guru Nanak Jayanti
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BROTHERHOOD OF MAN And concerning these three, the Guru’s life has not a little to tell us. Taken to a schoolmaster, this great soul, great in humility and love, asks, “Sir, what have you learnt?” And the school master says he has learnt all the branches of knowledge, has read the books, has known arithmetic and book-keeping, has known everything! Then says Nanak to the school master: “Is that kind of learning useful, Sir?” And in a passage of great beauty and wisdom, Nanak sings the very secret of education: Burn worldly thoughts and their ashes rub, And of these ashes make thy ink: And let the paper on which you write be the paper of faith: Let your heart be the pen: Then write the Name and the praise thereof And write without end or limit! The current system of education in India ignores the wise injunction: “Let your heart be the pen: then write the Name!” Write the Mother’s Name, in the ink made of tapasya; and you will write in flaming letters the freedom of Hindustan. And who more than the Guru bore witness to the brotherhood of man? The first words he utters waking from his trance in the waters are: “There is no Hindu and no Mussalman!” Speaking on
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another occasion to the Hindus, he says: “Praise and glorify Allah as Muslims do five times daily.” Speaking to the Muslims he says: “Make the Will of Allah your rosary.” “A real Mussalman is he who has renounced self.” Is it a wonder the Muslims cried aloud: “Khuda (God) is speaking to us in Nanak?” Is it a wonder, when he passed away, both Hindus and Muslims covered his body with flowers? And the old chronicle says:” All the flowers were fresh!” “There is no caste,” says the Guru. “We claim brotherhood with all.” So it is that every member of the Sikh community is a bhai. All are bhais, brothers, whether kings or warriors or preachers or students of science and literature. “Nor caste, nor birth is asked at the holy house of the Lord, says the Guru. He mingles freely with the poor and neglected ones and accepts their invitation in preference to those of rich men who, he knows, invite him for self-glorification. There is, I have often said, but one sin. It is the sin of separateness. It is the sin against the solidarity of life and the brotherhood of man.
PROPHET OF UNITY This prophet of unity sees the higher harmony of all faiths in the One Religion, which is the worship of God, and service of the God-in-man. Asked at Mecca, if he was a Hindu or a Muslim, he says he is neither, he discerns
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God in both. Asked, which is superior, Hinduism or Islam, he says: “Without good acts, the professors of both will perish.” The Guru asks his disciples to accept spiritual disciplines, sadhanas, without which there is no freedom. One discipline is devotion to the Name. “Sow the Name,” says the Guru, “sow the Name. Now is the season to throw away all doubt and fear.” “Burn to ashes your silk and velvet if they draw you away from the Name of the Lord.” The sadhana of which the Guru speaks is, in the second place, tahal, seva, the service of man. In many ways does the Guru speak of the supreme value of tahal, service. Is not his life a luminous commentary on the meaning of service? Yet another sadhana is bhakti— the culture of emotions. The Guru sings: O my heart! I love God as the lotus loves the water. The more it is beaten by the waves, the more its love is excited: having received its life in water— it dies without water: O my heart! love God as the chatrak loves the rain, who even when fountains are full and the land green, is not satisfied as long as it cannot get a drop of rain!”
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OUR LEADER AND OUR LIGHT As I have recalled incident after incident of his life, I have sometimes said to myself: “O, that I had the privilege as his first disciples had of hearing, his wondrous words and seeing the sacred beauty of his Lotus Face and kissing his blessed feet!” Then a nobler thought comes to me and I say to myself: “Alas! I forget that he has passed into the Unseen only to come nearer to us in spirit. He has gone away in order to enter into us, into the life of India, the life of the world. Is he not still our Leader and, our Light? A beautiful Sikh belief has it that the One Light passed into other Gurus. And may I be permitted to say that the One Light has never vanished? It is in each one of us. Only let us break the barriers of passion and prejudice, of separateness, sectarianism and strife. Only let us remove the obstacles, so that the Light may shine, with Splendour. India needs the Light: the nations need the Light: civilisation needs the Light. And the Light shines through everyone who radiates Love. Guru Nanak’s call is a call to us all— of sympathy, compassion and love!
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COMPLICATION IS UNHAPPINESS At the Sakhi Satsang, Sadhu Vaswani spoke on Thursday morning on “The Secret of Happiness”. This, he said, “is in simplicity. Complication means unhappiness. To be simple is to get rid of artificiality and encumbrance. To be simple is to become mirror-like, a reflector. And when you reflect, you are truly happy. Men’s misery is due to their desire to enjoy and to dominate. Pleasure and power make men unhappy. Be simple and the light will shine in you and you will be radiant and happy.”
THE EARTH SPIRIT On Friday morning Sadhu Vaswani spoke on the “Philosophy of Pinda and Brahmanand”. Infinite, he said, were the worlds and in every one was the Infinite. “He looks at you from stars, the sun and the moon”, said the Master; “and He dwells in the Earth. Holy, holy, holy is the universe. This is the voice of the hills and seas, the flowers and stars. Listen to this voice and be pure!” Proceeding, Sadhu Vaswani pointed out that not the earth alone but every sarira, body, was meant to be a temple of the Spirit. “Do not despise the body,” Vaswani said; “and don’t desecrate it! But make it a temple of the Lord!” To build the body as a temple, we must refrain from meat and spicy foods, for they stimulate the senses. It is necessary, also, to refrain from luxuries; simple life is the secret of achievement. Civilisation had gone astray, rued the Master; artificial wants had multiplied: it was time to cry halt, and say to the young: “Simplify! Simplify!”
PULL AND PRAY How did Hanuman cross the ocean? He prayed. But he, also, “leapt”, we read, “with all his might from the top of the Mahendra mountains.” Pray, and leap with all your might. True prayer is not passivity. True prayer expresses itself in action. Prayer and shakti go together.
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CONVENTION OF RELIGIONS On Tuesday a “Convention of Religions”, was held in the Brahmo Samaj Mandir, Hyderabad; Sadhu Vaswani presided. Sadhu Vaswani said: “This Convention is a small conference and includes only of a few religions. It is a Convention of some religions. I miss representatives of Christian churches. Buddhism, Jainism and Zoroastrianism have not spoken nor any of the 3 religions, namely, Confucianism, Shintoism, Taoism, which prevail in China. Then there are new ‘religions’ pledged to a “Religion of Humanity”; and there are the “Ethical and Scientific” religions emphasising “social progress and scientific advance”. None of these religions has spoken at this conference. Representatives of different faiths here have spoken with earnestness but without any impatience or illwill towards other religions. This in itself is a gain. A French proverb says: “To come together is to understand”. We have come together; I hope we understand one another better now. I have listened and learnt. I believe profoundly that religious forces are the saving forces of civilisation. Have the prophets and saints failed? Or have we failed them? We have been noisy. We have often forgotten that truth propagates itself. I would judge a religion not by the number of its followers, not by its institutionalism but by its inner Atma Shakti: “What is Brahman?” is the question asked of a rishi twice. He is silent; then he says: “Brahman is Silence!” We live in a noisy age and we have set a false value to talk, to demonstration and excitement. Things have their emanations, vibrations: persons, too. The great inspirers of religion, saints and prophets, teach us the value of silent, vital vibrations. The sadhana— side of a religion is more important than its credal or institutional side. Each religion has its ray. Each religion has its radiation. This must we know to study its essence. And we must develop vibratory power. Then, in a quiet way, one may serve humanity and save civilisation…”
INNER TRANSFORMATION How oft we say, “Improve the system,” but we ignore the individual! The politician would change the government and the reformer, society. Systems, laws, and customs change: individuals continue to live broken, shrunken lives! Individuals are hurt or harmed in the name of “society” or “state”. But you can’t build a new order, a new system except on the individual. Make the individual truly happy, and you will help in rebuilding society and nation. Serve a few who are with you or near you, in home, or street or school, and you serve the People. The problem of true freedom is essentially, the problem of the inner transformation of the individual.
VASWANIJI’S MESSAGE TO THE “NATIONALIST” Bengal is the homeland of pure, uplifting nationalism. Its voice is the “Bande Matram”. May it be, also, the message of the new born “Nationalist!” To me the creed of a nationalist is summed up in these two aspirations: May I, O Lord! make a gift of my life to the life of the nation!
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May I be a servant of the poor! It is unfortunately true that this civilisation is built in the sweat and blood of the poor. India’s millions are hungry: how many Indians are dying in Bengal alone! “Pearls are of little use to those who die of hunger and thirst in the desert”, is the saying of a prophet of Iran. Is Bengal becoming, is India becoming a Desert? May the “Nationalist” bring a new hope and a new strength to many sons and daughters of the Motherland!
BLESSED ARE THE SIMPLE
Here are some tests of progress in the Life of the Spirit: (1) deeper joy in prayer (2) greater sense of shakti within you, and (3) more simplicity. Simple life does not consist merely in avoiding smoking, stimulants and luxury in diet and dress. I know of some who avoid these but are cruel and indulge in cant. Simple life means in essence, purity and poverty. This Purity is something referred to in the Scriptures as “nakedness” and one of Siva’s names is nagna or naked. Listen to the following prayer of Bhartrihari to Siva: “O Sankara! When will that day arrive when by a peaceful life free from desire, I shall be able to eradicate roots of Karma?” Simple life, I said, means purity and poverty— The lilies of the field— they spin not. Why, then art thou anxious? We know and we grow only after we become poor. Poverty is a key to spiritual life. It is the only life worth living; everything else is maya. But true poverty is not merely physical. It means abandoning ambition, desire for prominence, thoughts of “greatness”. A titled man? A rich man? A big man? A “leader”? A man of the moment? So thou art to others. What art thou thyself? Is there a deeper tragedy than that of the man who is immersed in pursuit of the notself and has no time to meditate on the Divine Self within? Much of what they call “work”, activity, is egoism, is ambition. Ahankar is a deadly enemy of the Simple Life. Ahankar is a danger not alone of work but, also of “Contemplation”. Many a religious man is an egoist. True religion is the death of egoism; for true Religion is Poverty. Most of us, alas, are polytheists. We cease to worship God when we take credit to ourselves. To remember ourselves is to forget the Lord. Ambition is idolatry. Renounce it, O Pilgrim, on the Path! The world has worshipped Greatness. Learn thou to worship Poverty. Be of the Band of Little ones of the Lord. Renounce thyself at his Lotus Feet. Simplicity is self-surrender.
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Nine Rules Of Compassion SADHU VASWANI
The ancient ethic of China, to which Lao-Tse bore witness, was practised by contemplatives in their monasteries. In the rules of Taoism is enshrined a whole theory, put into practise, of compassion, which is essential to the re-building of our civilisation, which suffers today from decadence. Here are some of the rules put into practice by the Taoist monks: 1. Thou shalt not whip nor beat domestic animals. 2. Thou shalt not intentionally or carelessly crush beneath thy feet insects and ants. 3. Thou shalt not climb trees to take nests and destroy the eggs. 4. Thou shalt not take delight in fish-hooks or arrows in order to get amusement. 5. Thou shalt not catch birds or animals in snares and nets. 6. Thou shalt not alarm and scare away birds sitting in their nests. 7. Thou shalt not pluck flowers not pluck up grass without reason. 8. Thou shalt not cut down trees without reason. 9. Thou shalt not burn commons nor hill-side woods.
ď Ź
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How Leading Lights Of The Times Perceived The Master (Tributes to Sadhu Vaswani by eminent personages - Excerpts from Print Media)
Sadhu Vaswani: Apostle of India’s Culture Vasant Sathe– Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India (1980)
I am thankful to Sadhu Vaswani Mission, New Delhi, for affording me an opportunity to associate with the celebration of Sadhu Vaswani’s Birthday and to pay my homage to this apostle of India’s culture, sage and philosopher and a dedicated servant of the nation. Our great country, India, has the unique distinction of a continuity of traditions of thought, culture, religion and philosophy dating back to centuries. From time to time,
saints and rishis like Nanak, Kabir, Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Vivekananda came on the scene to revive our faith in these traditions which are permeated by universality of religion, love of mankind and tolerance. More recently great men like Gandhiji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Swami Dayanand and Sadhu Vaswani re-interpreted them with the changing times and used them as a vehicle for social reforms and political emancipation.
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An eminent educationist, a great social reformer and a man of God, Sadhu Vaswani’s life was a saga of selfless service associated with deep spiritual insight. At the age of 30, he went to Berlin as one of India’s representatives to the World Conference on Religions. His speech on the occasion and his subsequent lectures in Europe created universal interest in India’s thoughts and religion. At the age of 40, he resigned his lucrative job and dedicated himself to the service of God and Man. To keep himself free for God’s work, he remained a Brahmachari all his life, loving and serving as his own the larger family of the Lord.
Keshav Dev Shastri he had opened the “Shakti Ashram” at Rajpur, Dehradun, to train young people from different parts of India for the service of India. In his work for the Youth Movement, his emphasis was on “Shakti”. “Wake up your will power” was his inspiring call to the Youth. “Unfold your hidden strength and spend it in the service of the village-folk and the poor and broken ones.” He advocated a new peasant renaissance. He felt that redistribution of land was essential for his scheme of Swaraj and desired that the poor agriculturists should be taught scientific methods of intensive agriculture and cooperative organisation.
Sadhu Vaswani was one of the earliest supporters of Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-cooperation Movement. In 1920, he presided over a meeting addressed by Gandhiji at Karachi and the very first article in the first issue of Gandhiji’s “Young India” was one by Sadhu Vaswani in support of the non-cooperation movement. A born orator, Vaswaniji moved across the length and breadth of India inculcating national consciousness, love of India’s ancient wisdom, and the gospel of service, and the brotherhood of man. His clarion call was: “To be truly spiritual is to be truly free. For spirituality is inner liberation and out of the inner are the issues of the outer life.” In 1919 returning to Karachi, he started an English daily, “The New Times”, to voice the national will and vision. In 1926 in cooperation with Dr.
In 1929 returning to Hyderabad Sind, his birth place, which thence forward became the headquarters of his activities, he started the ‘Sakhi Satsang’, an organisation dedicated to the regeneration of Indian women. And in 1933 he founded the ‘Mira Movement in Education’ with its stress on the cultural values of India as the core of a national system of education, combined with the modern scientific spirit of inquiry. In 1934 he presided over the All India Humanitarian Conference at Bombay, which was attended by Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Sarojini Naidu. In 1939, he visited Ceylon and presided over the Pan Asian Conference for peace. During his stay of four months there, he delivered a number of lectures including one on “The Buddha and His Message to the Warring World” at which the Chairman, Baron
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Jayatilaka, then Prime Minister of Ceylon, remarked “Today the light has come to us again from India.” In November 1948, Sadhu Vaswani migrated from Sind following Partition, and in February 1949 settled in Poona which became thenceforward the headquarters of his educational and spiritual activities. In 1950, St. Mira’s School and in 1962 St. Mira’s College for Girls were set up in Poona. Sadhu Vaswani was a dedicated servant of the nation and proclaimed: “Service of His creatures is true worship of God.” In addition to educational institutions a number of humanitarian activities sprang up in Poona under his
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guidance and still continue to grow under his inspiration. Sadhu Vaswani laid great emphasis on character building. He exhorted young men and women to dedicate their lives to the service of the motherland with faith in God. He organised educational institutions and youth centres for furthering the cause for which he had devoted his entire life. In our blind pursuit of material gains, we often tend to ignore spiritual and moral values. Only a synthesis of our old traditions and modern thought can lead us to the path of human welfare and wellbeing.
The Beloved of God –Bankey Behari
An educationist, a social reformer, a politician of high order, a Kulapati of a great institution, a writer of eminence, are the many epithets by which he is known, even in his lifetime. But I remember him as the lover of, nay the beloved of, my Sri Krishna. Martyrs are needed to be guillotined on the crosses of Love, to lighten the darkness of the world till eternity. Moths are invited to sacrifice their lives in the flame of love. Little birds are called to sing in the solitude of wilderness to enliven the fading breaths of humanity with ambrosial musical draughts.
Prisoners are called to lick willingly the fetters that the Beloved has adorned them with. Who would like to play the martyr, the moth, the little bird, and the willing prisoner? A young man heard the call and answered with zest– and with lifelong sacrifice at the altar of love to posterity, bequeathed his song: A little bird, I am Shut from the fields of air; And in my cage I sit and sing To Him who placed me there; Well pleased a prisoner to be, Because, my God, it pleases Thee.
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Of frail constitution, his mental poise came to his rescue. Faith and determination were ever at his beck and call. His heart was full of love that sustained his suffering body. A total surrender at His Lotus Feet, he learnt the great lesson of self surrender and imparted it to others. The goal of life, he pointed out, was to answer the Call of the Flute of Sri Krishna. He revelled in the ecstasies of the Kirtan, like the evangelist of Bengal, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Sometimes, in his spiritual reveries, he held tete–atete with Mira; at others, he was enthralled by the chant of “Ram Krishna Hari” of Tukaram; and how often did he not sing of the Sikh Gurus in chorus and with melody, their praises and glory? Who does not remember the fervour that brought the glow on his face when he sang, “Wah Guru”? For this he will be remembered. He joined his spirit with eternity, and shall live till eternity. And why should he not? The Kingdom of God is of the meek and humble; and who will excel him in that? Compassion for the animals, plants and birds, mercy to the criminals and untouchables, and embraces to the sinners are the traits with which he shall be known to posterity. His cosmopolitan and catholic spirit has carved for him a niche in every human heart. He sings of the Sikh Gurus with the same fervour as he talks of Rabia, Abdul
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Hasan, Dhul Nun al-Misri. He is a devotee of Buddha and of Christ. And at great pains, he has, all his life, been spreading the message of goodwill, ahimsa and peace and charity. He started as a lover, he ends his love’s itinerary turning into the beloved of God. Every moment of his life is spent in invoking the Grace of Sri Krishna and in Prayers for its shower on His children; and yet this great soul is all humility in the obeisances he offers to the Beloved of his heart. Ah, how he singeth the words that shall twang through the ages: I love my God, but with no love of mine. For I have none to give: I love Thee, Lord: but all the love is Thine. For by Thy love I live. I am as nothing and rejoice to be Emptied and lost and swallowed up in Thee. Thou, Lord, alone art all Thy children need, And there is none beside; From Thee the streams of blessedness proceed, In Thee the blessed abide; Fountain of life and all abiding grace, Our Source, our Centre, and our Dwelling place. At this age, he is busy like a youth with the multifarious activities that he sponsors. But
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his most cherished vocation is shedding tears for the Lord in silence. The garland of tears he has prepared all these years must, some day, be accepted by the Lord, and as its touch will impress His heart, a blush will appear on the cheeks of the Lord, and Vaswani
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watching it, will smile, for he will have gained the eternal fruit of his earthy pilgrimage, and it shall be the harbinger of his entry into the Land of Eternal Beautitude, the Lotus Feet of the cynosure of the eyes of the lovers of humanity— Sri Radha Krishna.
Indian Leaders by Baron Howen (Nice, France)
The future power will belong to the men who produce more than they need. The Occident has cultivated too much for the body. Europeans are slaves of comfort; they have neglected the soul. They worship material power. Mahatma Gandhi, Ravindranath Tagore and Sadhu Vaswani are living leaders of the world. The West has giants of intellect, but no such powerful leaders. History will appreciate to the full the meaning and value of their work. We have groups doing what they can, to live an ideal life; but only Vaswani has given the message: “Be creative.” It is not enough to have a theory. Indian leaders point the way as to how theory may be realised. Many people understood long ago the electromagnetic theory; but without Edison, Marconi and Roentgen we could not use it. Confucius in the “Book of Poetry”, Marx and many others explained how to give happiness to others; but Indian leaders show how to feed the greatest number
of people on the smaller surface land. To believe in “the religion of action” and not to use force but to suffer for an ideal is to be vitalised. Mahatma Gandhi realised the theory of the “Voices”– those beautiful thoughts of Vaswani who, at the beginning of the war, knew the result. Many people, alas, take charge for progress. Mere economic wellbeing breeds selfishness. The man who believes only in his soul must not be sacrificed to the body. Materialism brings selfishness. The man who believes only in his own power cannot shape so many as another who promises with the help of the Lord to give to men what they want. The proclamation in Russia that religion is opium proved a terror to all religion, to all worship. Vaswani believes in God, but he does not want anything for himself but everything for everybody. That is why I admire so much Vaswani and his Message.
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Parliament of Religions (Chicago) by Prof. E. P. Horrwitz (New York)
In the Victorian Age when sectarian bigotry and narrow nationalism were rife, the first World Fellowship of Faiths was convened in Chicago. Vivekananda, the fearless and persuasive young sanyasi boldly stood up for Universal Religion based on self realisation, and for a Classless Society irrespective of caste and colour, race and religion. The double challenge fell like a bombshell on traditional pride and prejudice, but won over the choicest of our intelligentsia. Next year in fall the “Parliament of Religions” will meet again in Chicago, Sadhu Vaswani taking Vivekananda’s place. Conditions have grown far more complex: but the wisdom of the rishis has not changed. Vaswani, beloved leader of the Hindu Youth Movement, will adapt Atmabodhi or self realisation, with his inborn tact and skill, to the aggressive machine age, which like every other era is two-faced— looking backward, and into the future. Patriotic and international aspirations, spiritual culture and merchandised civilisation, metaphysics and materialism— Vaswaniji will blend them all in the magic melting pot of a higher synthesis wherein science and religion no longer compete, but complete each other. We cannot afford to disregard either; both
are big sources of happiness. Pope Pius, a noted scientist himself, greeted the International Congress of Physiologists in Rome, September 1932, with significant words: “Science and well being are the same thing.” Physics and chemistry, aided by a perfected technique, confer on mankind material benefits and artistic opportunities hitherto only enjoyed by the favoured few. Science applied to human affairs, sways the present generation, the young people taboo orthodox creeds as well as heretical dogmas. Doctrinal theory, all idle ideology, is banished and has almost vanished. Vaswani follows the vedic trail, and dovetails belief and research. When science is spiritual and religion is rational, the two converge. Vaswani is a path finder and pioneer. He will clarify bewildered views of life, and develop a serener attitude in the mad clash of mundane opinions. “Variety in Unity”, has always been one watchword of Aryan sages and magis; what was revolutionary yesterday is common place today, and may be worn out tomorrow. Vaswani’s gentle criticism will never hurt; his mature counsel flows from a lowly and loving heart. Like the early Catholic missionaries, he never sees persons or partisans, nationality
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or pettiness before him, but only souls to be saved by Love the Redeemer. The Enchantment, piped on his mermaid -flute, is oneness of life. Does not the entire creation breathe and breed in that Adorable Unity? Each organism, unknowingly throbs and travails in rhythmic unison with the whole organic world. Until we know it, we are worthless nonentities. If we listen to Vaswaniji, he will get us in touch with the ‘One without a second’, until we feel one in comradeship and self discipline, standing shoulder to shoulder as fellow workers and brother fighters in the divine cause of human justice. Social reformers like Vaswani believe that united effort will give birth to a social soul, the gateway to cosmic consciousness (atmabodhi) which is unlocked by dynamic soul force (atmashakti). The sacred flame of Shakti is unquenchable, invincible and
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all conquering. Vaswani is no mean bargain hunter, and scorns petty compromise. The aim of his American visit is ‘release of the Cosmic self, and the world’s well being.’ Atmano moksha artham jagad hitaya cha. Vaswani is a convinced internationalist. The injustices and woes from which the world suffers, today, are largely due to nationalistic self-seeking. Public opinion will no doubt urge the “Saint of Sind” to voice the justice of the Indian cause. Controversial politics is outside Vaswani’s scope and message. He will be reluctant to join in heated disputes about India’s future. When he does, his broad cultural outlook and deep soul– background will refresh and heal, rather than strike wounds, and disturb the peace. Red-hot hatred and active resistance are consuming fires, but the light of love is a Promethean spark.
India’s Message by Annie Edelstein (New York)
It is a joy to hear the good news that Vaswani is invited to the Fellowship of Faiths that will be held in Chicago 1933; and he will bring to us here in America his radiant message of love to light the dark night of our hard life, which is darkened by the thick mists of care for our daily existence.
of Vaswani’s Godly spirit as we do at the present time, to strengthen our faith in God, whom we so often forget. I feel that the very air is filled with selfishness. So many of us are hungering, starving while others indulge themselves with all the unnecessary pleasure; but we would have the spark of spiritual life in our
Never before were we so in need
Contd. on page 38
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F
rom the Divine realms he descended to this earth plane that is enveloped in darkness. He brought with himself light– the light of compassion and love, service and sacrifice, peace and joy. He willingly mingled with us ordinary folk. He graciously deigned to be with us at our level, without making us feel obliged to him. He mixed freely with us, he ate with us, he conversed with us, he shared our laughter and our tears. His childlike camaraderie suffused our lives with joy. His loving expressions endeared him to one and all. His playful smile dispersed all gloom. He made everyone feel welcome and important. He would acknowledge our presence by raising his eyebrows leading to a flutter in every heart. His words, sweeter than honey, melted our spirits. His voice, soft and gentle, was a soothing balm. His tender affection flowed to all alike. His zest and exuberance enthused one and all. He was sensitive to the needs of others and therefore his compassion was boundless. His every word, his every gesture was timely and befitting the need of the
To
person. Many a time, he spoke not a word but his silence spoke to our souls. He was, to us, an expression of God. Just being in his presence sufficed. Of Emperor Napoleon we are told that during his campaigns he did not want to stay in a palace, but he set up his tent among other soldiers in the field. Dada chose to give up his elevated state and came down to our level. From lofty heights he descended to our plane, to uplift us. We felt he was one of us, near us, with us, protecting us, shielding us, enfolding us in his grace! He never allowed us to call him a guru. He stayed away from all praise and adulation. He taught us by the witness of his life. His simple and practical tenets enhanced our lives. He avoided elaborate and complicated expressions. His style was simple
From PERFECT DISCIPLE
THE P E R FE C T M A S T E R — KRISHNA KUMARI
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and straight forward. He conveyed deep truths through lucid and relevant stories and anecdotes. A master story teller that he was, so subtly was the lesson taught that unknowingly it adhered to you for life. Journeying across the seas many came over to Pune just to have a fleeting glimpse of him. They came to satiate the hunger of their hearts, to quench the thirst of their souls. They came with tears of aspiration in their eyes. He bowed down before each and every one of them asking all to bless him. He lived an ascetic and hermetical life. He stayed away from fanfare, from all display and exposure. He remained completely immersed in God. Never did he regard his achievements as his own. He accredited it to the glory of the Master. Whenever we requested him to share with us some noteworthy experiences of his life, he would avoid the request and change the topic. Biographers while writing about his life naturally desired to know all about him, all that he had attained and achieved. But in response to their avid queries, he would only speak about his Guru, Sadhu Vaswani. He often said, “My biography could just be written in one line: My utter unworthiness and the Guru’s grace. Call me not a Guru. I am but a pilgrim moving from place to place, hamlet to hamlet, town to town, country to country, sowing seeds of compassion and love, service and sacrifice, forgiveness and forbearance…”
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A heavenly vibration kept flowing out of him perennially. Just being in his presence, just coming within his divine aura for a few seconds made all the difference. He conversed even with angels and all nature– trees, flowers, mountains, rivers, rocks, birds and animals. His message to us was: Make God the first and foremost in your life. Remember Him constantly. Turn to Him incessantly. And remember that God has laid out a special plan for each and every one of us. Build your life in His Will. Behold God in the broken cottages of the poor. Dada’s life was one of unceasing and unconditional service. Service was his second nature. It came to him spontaneously and flowed out of him naturally. It never occurred to him that he was putting in special effort. No sacrifice was too great for him. Within him burnt the flame of Guru-bhakti. He offered his every breath to the Guru in whom he completely merged himself. Of course, Dada Jashan had the privilege of being the Master’s own nephew– the eldest son of Sadhu Vaswani’s brother, who was loved dearly by the Master. In the prime of his youth, he had brushed aside all thoughts of worldly advancement just to be with his beloved uncle and Gurudev. Such was the Divine Will, such was the Master’s grace that his mantle would fall upon this dear nephew, who would become his favourite disciple and his spiritual heir. It
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happened too, in the most natural way! In 1958, Sadhu Vaswani expressed the desire that the occasion of Jashan’s 40th birthday (2nd August) be celebrated in a fitting manner. This was not only the first official celebration of Dada’s birthday by the sangat; it was also an indication to many that their dear Jashan was being chosen to continue the Master’s work. In this way, the Master also established the tradition whereby Jashan’s birthday celebration would become an annual feature of the sangat. A year later, on his 41st birthday, Sadhu Vaswani read out to the sangat the message that he had written for Jashan: “How blessed are we to have one such as him in our midst! And on this auspicious day, I breathe out an aspiration that my dear Jashan may go from heart to heart, home to home, nation to nation, carrying with himself the message of the rishis and sages of India! “And today, I have been saying to myself, ‘My reverential salutations to those who seek the Beloved in the temple of the heart!’ Most of us are busy running after wealth and possessions, hankering after name and fame. Only a fortunate few seek the Beloved. Only a blessed few seek to enter the shrine of the heart. To this category belongs my dear child, Jashan! He has sought to find the Beloved in the cave of his heart. In quest of the Beloved has he undertaken the journey within!”
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It was clear to an elated sangat that Jashan was indeed the chosen one. They felt safe and secure, knowing that the mantle of the Master would one day rest on his young and able shoulders. And the sangat loved their young leader! He had been the exemplary disciple who, in the flower of his youth, when he had talent, success, personality, acclaim, and a brilliant future before him, had chosen, instead, to walk the straight and narrow path to the temple of the Beloved. Uncompromising in his quest, and steadfast in his devotion and service to the Guru, he had reached his destination. Having attained that, he continued to serve the Master with utmost humility and love. He retained his discipleship. Therefore, he was worthy of becoming, eventually, a Master in his own right. As a young boy, Leonardo da Vinci joined an Art School to further develop and embellish his talent. He was placed under the tutelage of a highly reputed teacher. The teacher gauged that special spark in Leonardo. He could plumb the limitless depths of his student’s hidden talent. The teacher inspired confidence and fortified his will. Gradually Leonardo’s skill was honed, it was polished and perfected. One day the teacher fell ill and was unable to leave his bed. His heart was filled with anxiety, for a wealthy merchant had commissioned him to create a painting that bore the stamp of his skill. The teacher had worked on half the painting and had fallen
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ill. He was unable to complete the other half. He did not want to renege on his commitment and so he sent for Leonardo and asked him to complete the painting. Leonardo was taken aback. But how could he refuse his teacher. He took the painting home with great trepidation. How could he step into his teacher’s shoes? They were too big for him, but he could not let his teacher down. Painstakingly he worked on the canvas, day in and day out. He burnt the midnight oil, forsaking personal pleasures and toiled hard giving it undivided, uncompromised attention. When it was complete, he took it to his teacher. Gazing at it rapturously, the teacher did not utter even a word. He instantly sent for the merchant and said to him: “Your painting is complete. I must tell you that I have painted only half of
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it. Could you please identify which half?” The merchant carefully scrutinised the painting but was unable to spot any difference. He shook his head in wonder. The teacher immediately embraced Leonardo and said, “I was waiting for this day” and handed over his paint brush to him and proclaimed, “I will paint no more.” Such is the greatness of a Guru. He identifies his disciple, fills aspiration into his heart, nourishes him, strengthens him with the warmth of his life and fosters him with the waters of his grace. Once ready, he passes on his power to him. Sadhu Vaswani was indeed a Perfect Master who created the Perfect Disciple!
How Leading Lights Of The Times Perceived The Master Contd. from page 29 hearts, we would think more of one another, and conditions would not be so horrible as they are now. Many times, I ask myself the question: Has God forgotten us? May be yes: for we so very often forget Him. Only in the hour of our agony we turn our hearts to Him; but not in our joy. We are urgently in need of spiritual, cultural awakening to the higher values of life; and this can only be done by spreading Sadhu Vaswani’s true message in the East and in the West. The whole world
needs it; for every word of Vaswani’s message is balm to the bleeding heart of humanity. For the Creator talks to us through Vaswani’s Great Soul, whose love for humanity is world– embracing. [As the last two excerpts from India Digest indicate, Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani was invited to attend the World Fellowship of Faiths in Chicago, in the year 1933. He could not attend the same due to unavoidable circumstances.]
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