MEDITATION TIMES MAY 2011

MEDITATION TIMES A Downloadable Monthly E-Magazine

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A PRODUCTION OF www.taoshobuddhameditations.com Published by: www.taoshobuddhameditations.com Country of Origin: Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies.

Chief Editor/Graphics Layout & Design: Swami Anand Neelambar Editorial Team: Taoshobuddha, Swami Anand Neelambar International Contributors: Hadhrat Maulawi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar-Rowi, Lars Jensen

In This Issue

For Queries, Comments, and Suggestions and to submit Contributions, you can email the following persons:

Taoshobuddha: mailtaoshobuddha@gmail.com Swami AnandNeelambaravatar411@gmail.com

 Editorial  Sabka Malik Ek  Chronology of the life of Shirdi Sai Baba  Sai Baba and famous Udi  Sathya Sai – the legend  Dipankar Buddha

You can also visit our website: http://dhyan-samadhi.webs.com/ www.youtube.com\taoshobuddha9 www.scribd.com\taoshobuddhacyberlibrary www.scribd.com\avatar411 http://bodhidharmameditation.blogspot.com/

 Buddha’s Enlightenment  Buddha Purnima

http://www.taoshobuddhameditations.myeweb.net/ http://meditationtimes.myeweb.net/

 Buddhism and Hinduism  The Diamond Sutra  Naqshbandi Sheikh Sufi Onkarnath  New releases of Taoshobuddha

Beyond Death A discontinuity with the past

MEDITATION TIMES Published by Taoshobuddha Meditations Trinidad, West indies

EDITORIAL Truth cannot be indicated by words. Truth is silence. To know the truth silence is the way.

Meditation Times is merely a finger pointing at the moon. Don’t bite the finger or think that the finger is the moon.

We embrace all paths. And I wish to stress all paths. Some paths seemingly may not lead to truth. But this is a falsity. All paths lead to truth.

Cause truth is all that exists. There is nothing else. This very body is the Buddha.

Each will reach to truth by his own way. On our sojourn we offer wine for all types of travellers.

Many are the flowers in the Zen garden. Roses are beautiful and so is the marigold, orchids offer their fragrance and all these make a bouquet.

The rocks also lend beauty to the Zen garden.

In our entire journey thus far we have never condemned any path or master. We merely present the path or master and it is up to the seeker to choose his path. Some masters are very appealing, some may appear repulsive. But by no means is a master or path useless. This is a fully tailor made system. We measure you and prepare a dress for your use.

In this issue we represent some aspects of Sai Baba in his previous incarnation of Shirdi Sai and in his recent manifestation as Sathya Sai. The said Sai Baba has promised to re-incarnate as Prema Sai very shortly.

Much controversy surrounds his untimely and pre predicted death. The Baba indicated his departure to be when he is in his early 90’s. Have we thought of the ridiculousness of it? Does the soul have any birth of death? Can we ascertain the age of any soul?

In my own insights we are all Avataras. We are divine beings having a human sojourn. Our coming and going is based on our in transit visa to this realm. But by no means are we bound to that date. We can choose to leave sooner or later.

In my insights I found that the Baba encapsulated the tamas (inertia) of the world and like an oyster he has gone into the nether realm to metamorphosis the gem of Prema (Divine Love).

The climatic changes indicate a world changing catastrophe. This cannot be avoided. The present situation demands urgent attention.

Great souls are engaged in building a Noah’s Ark. The ark is Prema. Love alone can save us. Love is power beyond power.

We also delved into a past incarnation of Buddha, Dipankar Buddha. It is interesting to note that although Buddha was enlightened in his past incarnations he had to reclaim his enlightenment in all his future incarnations. The secret of this drama is discussed in the Diamond Sutra.

The Diamond Sutra continues to be a feature is this issue as well.

May the moon that shone into the heart of Buddha shed its light on you also.

This much for now.

Sabka Malik Ek Sai Baba of Shirdi (September 28, 1838 – October 15, 1918)

Shrine Shirdi Sai

Shirdi Temple

SABKA MALIK EK

Sai Baba of Shirdi also known as Shirdi Sai Baba or in Marathi:

,

Urdu: ‫)ﺵﺭﺩی ﺱﺍﺉ یںﺏﺍﺏ ﺍ‬, was an Indian guru, yogi, and fakir who is regarded by his Hindu and Muslim devotees alike as a saint.

Saibaba of Shirdi lived between 1838 and 1918, whose real name, birthplace and date of birth are not known. An Indian spiritual guru and a fakir that transcended the barriers of religions, Saibaba of Shirdi was regarded with great reverence by both Hindu and Muslim followers. He lived in a mosque and after death his body was cremated in a temple.

His philosophy ingrained ‘Shraddha’ meaning faith and ‘Saburi’ meaning compassion. According to him Shraddha and Saburi were the supreme attributes to reach the state of godliness.

It is believed that at a tender age of 16 years Shri Saibaba arrived at the village of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and remained their till his death. He found shelter in Khandoba temple, where a villager Mahalsapathi in the temple addressed him as Sai or Saint.

Saibaba of Shirdi lived an extremely simple and austere life, sleeping on the floor of temple and later taking a ruined mosque as his shelter. With his arrival to Shirdi, in no time he began exhibiting a hypnotic attraction among people as they began flocking to him. He is attributed many miracles doing things that were beyond a mortal’s power. He never discouraged these attributes and soon his fame spread like wild fire. Many pilgrims came seeking his blessings. Such was his

hypnotism that even the mundane of his activities attracted large crowds.

Popular among both Hindus and Muslims, Saibaba became a great harmonizing force between the two disparate communities.

He regularly recited Hindu and Muslim prayers. His Hindu followers considered him to be an avatar or reincarnation of Shiva and Dattatreya. Sai Baba did not leave any written works. All his teachings were oral and catchy. His sayings were short, crisp and in layman language with which the common mass could easily associate.

Sai Baba of Shirdi was unique in the sense that he lived his message through the essence of his being. He lived among the common people adorning a torn kafni (long robe), sleeping over a mat while using brick as his headrest and got his food by begging. Such was his smile that radiated a mystical charisma and deep seated inward look that hypnotized the people who visited him.

His most concise message for one and all alike was ‘Why fear when I am here’.

Saibaba said that he was a slave in the service of those who loved him. He was ever living to help those who turn to him and that he has to take care of his children day and night.

Sai baba’s mission was to restore belief in god and according to him, ‘I give people what they want in the hope that they will begin to want what I want to give them (knowledge of the Ultimate).’ He then taught values of total surrender to the Almighty Master (ALLAH MALIK EK- The only ONE) and experiences his grace.

His life There is no clear record of Sai's given name, nor of his origins. Sai arrived at the village of Shirdi in Maharashtra state when he was about sixteen years old. He took up residence in a Khandoba temple, where a villager (Mahalsapathi) at worship first called him Sai (‘saint’).

He fostered an extremely simple and ascetic life: living in the village as a mendicant monk, and sleeping on the floor in the temple, and later in a dilapidated mosque.

Sai soon began to attract followers who addressed him by the name Baba (‘father’). He worshipped both at Hindu temples and Muslim mosques, and encouraged tolerance between the faiths.

Numerous miracles were attributed to him.

He did not discourage such attributions, and his fame spread. Many pilgrims came for his blessings, and he attracted large crowds even for the most mundane of his activities.

Sai remained in Shirdi all his life. Baba breathed His last with His head resting on one of His devotees lap.

His last words were, ‘Place my Body in Buti's wada (mansion), I will get peace there only. People will serve me only if I am placed in Buti’s wada.’ Thus as per His last wish He was buried in the ‘Buty Wada’ also known as Samadhi Mandir.

Hindu devotees consider him an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya. Many devotees believe that he was a Sadguru, an enlightened Sufi Pir, Urdu: ‫پ یﺭ‬, or a Qutub. He is a well-known figure in many

parts of the world, but especially in India, where he is much revered.

Sāī is of Sanskrit origin, meaning ‘Sakshat Eshwar’ sa]at $Zvr or the divine. The honorific ‘Baba’ means ‘father; grandfather; old man; sire’ in Indo-Aryan languages.

Thus Sai Baba denotes ‘holy father’ or ‘saintly father’.

His parentage, birth details, and life before the age of sixteen are obscure, which has led to speculation about his origins.

Sai Baba had no love for perishable things and his sole concern was self-realization.

He remains a very popular saint, and is worshipped by people around the world.

He taught a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace, and devotion to God and guru. Sai Baba’s teaching combined elements of Hinduism and Islam.

He gave the Hindu name Dwarakamayi to the mosque he lived in. He practiced both Hindu and Muslim rituals, and taught using words and figures that drew from both traditions. He was buried in a Hindu temple in Shirdi.

One of his well-known epigrams, ‘Sabka Malik Ek’ (‘One God governs all’), is associated with both the Bhagavad-Gita and Sufism. He always uttered ‘Allah Malik’ (‘God is King’).

Though the debate over his Hindu or Muslim origins continues, many of his practices point more to his being a Muslim believing in the unity of God, reciting Al-

Fatiha and other Qur’anic readings at Muslim festival times, listening to hamds and qawwali twice daily, practicing Salah (Namaz), wearing clothing reminiscent of a Sufi fakir, eating meat, and abstaining from alcohol.

A mosque still stands in Shirdi, a place wherein he once lived and continued to visit regularly. According to Purdom, when Kulkarni Maharaj requested Upasni Maharaj to pay a visit to Sai Baba, Upasni replied ‘Why should I go to a Muslim?’

Sai Baba is revered by several notable Hindu and Sufi religious leaders. Some of his disciples became famous as spiritual figures and saints, such as Upasni Maharaj, Saint Bidkar Maharaj, Saint Gangagir, Saint Jankidas Maharaj, and Sati Godavari Mataji are few names to remember.

Early Life Historians and devotees agree that there is no reliable evidence for a particular birthplace or date of birth. Various communities have claimed that he belongs to them, but nothing has been substantiated.

Many historians support this finding. It is known that he spent considerable time with fakirs, and his attire resembled that of a Muslim fakir.

Baba reportedly arrived at the village of Shirdi in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, India, when he was about 16 years old. It is generally accepted that Sai Baba stayed in Shirdi for three years, disappeared for a year, and returned permanently around 1858.

These calculations suggest a birth year of 1838.

Sai Baba led an ascetic life, sitting motionless under a neem tree and meditating while sitting in an asana. The Sri Sai Satcharita recounts the reaction of the villagers: The people of the village were wonderstruck to see such a young lad practicing hard penance, not minding heat or cold.

By day he associated with no one, by night he was afraid of nobody.

His presence attracted the curiosity of the villagers, and he was regularly visited by the religiously inclined, including Mhalsapati, Appa Jogle and Kashinatha.

Some considered him mad and even threw stones at him. Sai Baba left the village, and little is known about him after that.

However, there are some indications that he met with many saints and fakirs, and worked as a weaver. He claimed to have fought with the army of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Return to Shirdi In 1858 Sai Baba returned to Shirdi.

Around this time he adopted his famous style of dress consisting of a knee-length one-piece robe - popularly known as ‘kafni’ and a cloth cap. Ramgir Bua, a devotee, testified that Sai Baba was dressed like an athlete and sported ‘long hair flowing down to the end of his spine’ when he arrived in Shirdi, and that he never had his head shaved.

It was only after Baba forfeited a wrestling match with one Mohdin Tamboli that he took up the kafni and cloth cap, articles of typical Sufi clothing. This attire contributed to Baba’s identification as a Muslim fakir.

And this was the reason for initial

indifference and hostility against him in a predominantly Hindu village.

His behavior was sometimes uncouth and violent.

According to B.V. Narasimhaswami, a posthumous follower who was widely praised as Sai Baba’s ‘apostle’, this attitude was prevalent up to 1954 even among some of his devotees in Shirdi.

After 1910 Sai Baba’s fame began to spread in Mumbai. Numerous people started visiting him, because they regarded him as a saint with the power of performing miracles, or even as an Avatar.

They built his first temple at Bhivpuri, Karjat.

For four to five years Baba lived under a neem tree, and often wandered for long periods in the jungle around Shirdi. His manner was said to be withdrawn and uncommunicative as he undertook long periods of meditation. He was eventually persuaded to take up residence in an old and dilapidated mosque and lived a solitary life there, surviving by begging for alms, and receiving itinerant Hindu or Muslim visitors.

In the mosque he maintained a sacred fire which is referred to as a dhuni, from which he gave sacred ashes (‘Udhi’ – fragrant smoke) to his guests before they left. The ash was believed to have healing and apotropaic powers. He performed the function of a local hakim, and treated the sick by application of ashes. Sai Baba also delivered spiritual teachings to his visitors, recommending the reading of sacred Hindu texts along with the Qur’an. He insisted on the indispensability of the unbroken remembrance of God’s name (dhikr, japa), and often expressed himself in a cryptic manner with the use of parables, symbols and allegories.

Sai Baba participated in religious festivals and was also in the habit of preparing food for his visitors, which he distributed to them as prasad. Sai Baba’s entertainment was dancing and singing religious songs.

Teachings and practices Sai Baba opposed all persecution based on religion or caste. He was an opponent of religious orthodoxy - Christain, Hindu and Muslim. Although Sai Baba himself led the life of an ascetic, he advised his followers to lead an ordinary family life.

Sai Baba encouraged his devotees to pray, chant God’s name, and read Holy Scriptures. He told Muslims to study the Qur’an, and Hindus to study texts such as the Ramayana, Vishnu Sahasranam, Bhagavad Gita, and Yoga Vasistha. He advised his devotees and followers to lead a moral life, help others, love every living being without any discrimination, and develop two important features of character: Faith (Shraddha) and patience (Saburi).

He criticized atheism. In his teachings, Sai Baba emphasized the importance of performing one’s duties without attachment to earthly matters, and of being content regardless of the situation.

Sai Baba interpreted the religious texts of both Islam and Hinduism. He explained the meaning of the Hindu scriptures in the spirit of Advaita Vedanta. His philosophy also had numerous elements of bhakti.

The three main Hindu spiritual paths -

Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Karma Yoga - influenced his teachings.

do not give, but do not bark at him like a dog.

Sai Baba said that God penetrates everything and every being.

He emphasized the complete oneness of God which was very close to the Islamic tawhid and the Hindu doctrine of the Upanishads. Sai Baba said that the world is transient, and that only God and his gifts are eternal. He emphasized the importance of devotion to God - bhakti and surrender to his will. He also talked about the need of faith and devotion to one’s spiritual guru. He said that everyone was the soul and not the body. He advised his followers to develop a virtuous character, and taught them that all fate was determined by karma.

Other favorite sayings of his were: ‘Why do you fear when I am here’, and ‘He has no beginning... He has no end.’

Sai Baba left no written works. His teachings were typically short, pithy sayings rather than elaborate discourses.

Sai Baba would ask his followers for money (dakshina), some of which he would give to the poor and other devotees the same day, and the rest was used to buy wood to maintain Dhuni. According to his followers, this was done to rid them of greed and material attachment.

Sai Baba encouraged charity, and stressed the importance of sharing. He said: ‘Unless there is some relationship or connection, nobody goes anywhere. He emphasized if any men or creatures come to you, do not discourteously drive them away, instead receive them well and treat them with due respect. Shri Hari (God) will certainly be pleased if you give water to the thirsty, bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked, and your verandah to strangers for sitting and resting. If anybody wants any money from you and you are not inclined to give,

Eleven Assurances Sai Baba made eleven assurances to his devotees: 1. Whosoever puts their feet on Shirdi soil, their sufferings will come to an end.

2. The wretched and miserable will rise to joy and happiness as soon as they climb the steps of the mosque Dwarakamayi.

3. I shall be ever active and vigorous even after leaving this earthly body.

4. My tomb shall bless and speak to the needs of my devotees.

5. I shall be active and vigorous even from my tomb.

6. My mortal remains will speak from my tomb.

7. I am ever living to help and guide all who come to me, who surrender to me, and who seek refuge in me.

8. If you look at me, I look at you.

9. If you cast your burden on me, I shall surely bear it.

10. If you seek my advice and help, it shall be given to you at once.

11. There shall be no want in the house of my devotee.

Shirdi Sai Baba movement The Shirdi Sai Baba movement began in the 19th century, while he was living in Shirdi. A local Khandoba priest Mhalsapati Nagre - is believed to have been his first devotee. In the 19th century

Sai Baba’s followers were only a small group of Shirdi inhabitants and a few people from other parts of India. The movement started developing in the 20th century, with Sai Baba’s message reaching the whole of India. During his life, Hindus worshiped him with Hindu rituals and Muslims considered him to be a saint. In the last years of Sai Baba’s life, Christians and Zoroastrians started joining the Shirdi Sai Baba movement.

Shirdi is regarded as the major Hindu places of pilgrimage. The first Sai Baba temple is situated at Bhivpuri, Karjat. The Sai Baba Mandir (Hindu temple) in Shirdi is visited by around twenty thousand pilgrims a day and during religious festivals this number can reach up to a hundred thousand.Shirdi Sai Baba is especially revered and worshiped in the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat.

The Shirdi Sai movement has spread to the Caribbean and to countries such as the United States, Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The Shirdi Sai Baba movement is one of the main Hindu religious movements in English-speaking countries.

Sai Baba disciples and devotees Shirdi Sai had many disciples and devotees some of these are as follows: 1. Nana Saheb Chandorkar: Deputy Collector – legend has it that Sai Baba saved this man’s daughter from labor complications.

2. Ganapath Rao: police constable who resigned to become an ascetic,and also known as DasGanu,

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

He was an itinerant who spread Sai Baba’s message.

Tatya Patil: had immense faith in Sai Baba and served him until Sai Baba took samadhi. He is also known to be Sai Baba’s younger brother.

Baija Mai Kote Patil: Sai Baba treated her as his mother. She was Tatya Patil’s mother.

Haji Abdul baba: He served Sai Baba until Sai Baba died in 1918.

Madhav Rao Deshpande: Later known as Shama, one of the staunch devotees of Sai Baba.

Govindrao Raghunath Dabholkar (Hemadpant): Sai Baba allowed him to write the Shri Sai Satcharita.

Mahalsapati Chimanji Nagare: A priest of Khandoba Temple.

Reported miracles Sai Baba’s millions of disciples and devotees believe that he performed many miracles such as bilocation, levitation, mindreading, materialization, exorcisms, making the river Yamuna, entering a state of Samādhi at will,and lightning lamps with water, removing his limbs or intestines and sticking them back to his body (Khanda Yoga), curing the incurably sick, appearing beaten when another was beaten, appearing in the flesh after death, preventing a mosque from falling down on people, and helping his devotees in a miraculous way.

According to his followers he appeared to them in dreams after his death, and gave them advice.

His devotees have documented many stories.

Historical sources

Hinduism

Biographers of Sai Baba - Govindrao Raghunath Dabholkar, Acharya Ekkirala Bharadwaja, Smriti Srinivas, Antonio Rigopolous have based their writing on primary sources. One such source is the Shirdi Diary by Ganesh Shrikrishna Khaparde, which describes every day of the author’s stay at Shirdi.

During Sai Baba’s life, the Hindu Saint Anandanath of Yewala declared Sai Baba a spiritual diamond. Another Saint, Gangagir, called him a ‘jewel’.Sri Beedkar Maharaj greatly revered Sai Baba, and in 1873, when he met him he bestowed the title Jagadguru upon him.

Sai Baba was also greatly respected by Vasudevananda Saraswati (known as Tembye Swami). He was also revered by a group of Shaivic yogis, to which he belonged, known as the Nath-Panchayat.

Speculations about the unknown episodes of Sai Baba's life are primarily based on his own words.

The most important source about Sai's life is the Shri Sai Satcharita, written in Marathi in 1916 by Govindrao Raghunath Dabholkar, whom Sai Baba nicknamed Hemadpant.

It consists of 53 chapters, and describes Sai Baba’s life, teachings, and miracles.

The book compares Sai Baba’s love to a mother’s love: caring and loving, but reprimanding when needed. It describes Baba’s lifestyle, his selfless attitude, and his love for his devotees. The book describes how one should surrender one’s egoism at God’s feet and trust one’s guru.

It explains how God is supreme and His devotees should trust Him and love Him. It teaches that God is omnipresent in all living things, so that everything on Earth must be treated with love and respect.

Sri Sai Baba and His Teachings by Acharya Ekkirala Bharadwaja is an indepth study of Sai Baba’s life routine and activities.

B.V. Narasimhaswamiji has written important books such as Sri Sai Baba’s Charters and Sayings and Devotee’s Experiences of Sai Baba.

Other religions In Islam, Sai Baba mainly appears in Sufism as a Pir. Meher Baba declared Baba to be a Qutub-e-Irshad - the highest of the five Qutubs, a ‘Master of the Universe’ in the spiritual hierarchy. Sai Baba is also worshipped by prominent Zoroastrians such as Nanabhoy Palkhivala and Homi Bhabha, and has been cited as the Zoroastrians’ most popular nonZoroastrian religious figure.

Meher Baba met Sai Baba only once in his lifetime, during World War I, in December 1915. Meher Baba was still a youngster named Merwan Sheriar Irani when he met Sai Baba for a few minutes during one of Sai Baba’s processions in Shirdi. This event is considered as the most significant in Meher Baba’s life. Shri Sai Satcharita (Sai Baba's life story), makes no mention of Meher Baba. But in Lord Meher, the life story of Meher Baba, there are innumerable references to Sai Baba.

Meher Baba credited his Avataric advent to Upasni, Sai Baba, and three other Perfect Masters – Hazrat Babajan, Hazrat Tajuddin Baba, and Narayan Maharaj.

Sai Baba left behind no spiritual heirs and appointed no disciples, and did not even provide formal initiation (diksha), despite requests. Some disciples of Sai Baba achieved fame as spiritual figures, such as Upasni Maharaj of Sakori. After Sai Baba took Mahasamadhi, his devotees offered the daily Aarti to Upasani Maharaj when he paid a visit to Shirdi, two times within 10 years.

In India, it is a common sight to find a Sai Baba temple in any city or town, in every large city or town there is at least one temple dedicated to Sai Baba. There are even some in towns and cities outside India. In the mosque in Shirdi in which Sai Baba lived, there is a life-size portrait of him by Shama Rao Jaykar, an artist from Mumbai.

Numerous monuments and statues depicting Sai Baba, which serve a religious function, have also been made.

One of them, made of marble by a sculptor named Balaji Vasant Talim, is in the Samadhi Mandir in Shirdi where Sai Baba was buried. In Sai Baba temples, his devotees play various kinds of devotional religious music, such as aarti.

Postage Stamp Indian Postal Service released a Sai Baba commemorative stamp in May 2008.

Largest Solar Plant at Shirdi On July 30, 2009, the New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah inaugurated what has been acclaimed as the largest solar steam system in the world, at the Shirdi shrine. The Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust paid an estimated Rs.1.33 crore for the system, Rs.58.4 lakh of which was paid as a subsidy by the

renewable energy ministry. It is said the system can cook 20,000 meals per day for pilgrims visiting the temple.

His religion, practices

philosophy

and

By his example, Sai sought to unite the seemingly disparate religious communities of Muslim and Hindus. He regularly recited Hindu and Muslim prayers, such as the Hindu prayer Vishnu Sahasranama. Many of his Hindu followers consider him to be an avatar (incarnation) of Shiva and Dattatreya.

He left no written records; Sai's teachings were oral: typically short, pithy sayings rather than elaborate discourses. Sai often seemed to lose his temper with those around him. His followers believe that he only pretended to get angry, in order to teach humility and foster right spiritual action.

Sai encouraged charity. He said: ‘Unless there is some relationship or connection, nobody goes anywhere. if any man or creature come to you, do not discourteously drive them away, but receive them well and treat them with due respect. Shri Hari (God) will be certainly pleased if you give water to the thirsty, bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked and your verandah to strangers for sitting and resting. If anybody wants any money from you and you are not inclined to give, do not give, but do not bark at him like a dog.’ Other of his favorite sayings were: ‘Why do you fear when I am here’, ‘He has no beginning... He has no end’, ‘All things arise from him and into him they return’.

His legacy Sai Baba is among the most popular of Indian saints, and continues to have a large following. His image seems to be everywhere: it may be seen on shrines, lockets, billboards and cars of Hindus.

While he is recognizable throughout India, his devotees are especially numerous in the state of Maharashtra, the place of his birth and in Andhra Pradesh. His Samadhi is a well-known place of pilgrimage.

Many religious teachers, groups and organizations promote his teachings and devotion to Sai. Among the most

prominent is the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, which also takes care of the shrines and temples in Shirdi.

Some followers of Sai Baba achieved fame as spiritual figures: these include Upasni Maharaj of Sakori and Meher Baba of Ahmednagar.

At least three gurus and two youngsters have claimed to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba. By far the most famous is Sathya Sai Baba who lives at Puttaparthi Andhra Pradesh, India. Another guru who claims to be Shirdi Sai Baba’s reincarnation is Bala Sai Baba.

Dipankar Buddha

D

Statue of Dipankar Buddha at Swayambhunath Stupa Kathmandu, Nepal

ipankara Buddha is the ancient Buddha who lived many years before the Shakyamuni Buddha who lived circa from 563 until 463 BC on earth. One of the oldest Buddhas is Dipankara - a real Methuselah or an ancient one or the predecessor.Dipankara is said to come from an unknown city with the name of Deepavati. And when he was born a strange light was cast from bright lamps (‘dipa’). Thus he was called

Dipankara. Dipankara Buddha lived long before the historical Buddha almost 3000 years before Gautama Buddha and is said to have lived on earth for a mere 100,000 years. There is no record or scripture or anything relating to Dipankara is available. The only reference is found through Gautama Buddha.

Gautama Buddha has related many stories about his past lives, - as a Master

connects with his Soul which is immortal and remembers all of the past lifetimes, so the newly Enlightened Buddha starts to remember and learn from all his past lives.

immensely happy? Nothing visible had happened, but something invisible had touched his heart, the bells in his heart had started ringing. A subtle music had touched him.

All of these past lives have such beauty and such significance for all preenlightened. Gautama Buddha has related many stories of his past lives, and they have such beauty and significance.

And at that very moment, as he stood in front of Dipankara Buddha, Dipankara Buddha bowed down and touched the feet of Gautama Buddha - who was not enlightened in that life. He could not believe what was happening. Gautama asked, ‘What are you doing? If I touch your feet it is perfectly right, I am ignorant. But you have attained to the ultimate consciousness - you are not supposed to touch my feet.’

In one of his past lives he heard about a man who had become enlightened; his name was Dipankara Buddha. The word Dipankara means one who can light the candle of your being; the word ‘lamplighter’ is the exact meaning of And Dipankara Buddha said something Dipankara. Deep means lamp, and that Gautama Buddha remembered when Dipankara means lamplighter. Gautam he became a buddha.

Buddha was not enlightened in that life.

As the flame jumps from one The first thing that he remembered then Thousands of people were candle to another, or as the was the statement of going to see Dipankara sacred word resonates in Dipankara Buddha of Buddha, and just out of both he who gives and he many lives before: curiosity he also went. who receives the Grace ‘Do not be worried.

When he saw Dipankara descends as the gentle dew Yesterday I was also Buddha - he had no ignorant, today I am from Heaven, twice blessed. intention... He had come enlightened; today there only out of you are ignorant, curiosity, but the moment he saw the tomorrow you will be enlightened. There man and the beauty of the man - those is not much difference - it is only a deep eyes reminding him of the depth of question of time. When you become oceans - and the field of a certain energy enlightened, remember. When you will be vibrating around the man... not knowing enlightened I will be no more. This is why what he was doing, with tears rolling I am vowing now.’ down from his eyes, he touched the feet The moment somebody becomes of Dipankara Buddha. enlightened, to him the whole existence He himself could not believe what he was becomes enlightened at least doing, and why...? He had not come to potentially. He cannot see himself in a touch his feet, and why were these tears special position. coming and why was he feeling so

The really awakened man does nothing to enlighten anybody. His very presence, his Buddhafield, his enlightened radiance certainly does miracles, his very being is magical, but as far as he is concerned, he himself is no more. Who is there to do anything? A Buddha or a master is like the catalyst that does nothing in the process of the chemical reaction. However its presence is very significant, because the presence acts as catalyst and in its presence things happen. His presence or radiance is like the sun rays that do nothing in the opening of the petals of a flower. However it is the presence of the sun that the process of the blossoming of the flower.

The search for this next step in evolution comes from the enhancement, the increase, of energy.

As the flame jumps from one candle to another, or as the sacred word resonates in both he who gives and he who receives the Grace descends as the gentle dew from Heaven, twice blessed.

So a preparation of he who receives, the student, the candle, by the removal of Negative Energy, Energy Blockages, a lack of Energy Blockages allows more Spiritual Energy to be absorbed and used to crystalize, complete, finalize, and create the Spiritual Body of another Master or another transmitter of the Truth!

On the last day of his life, Gautama Buddha said - when his disciples were It is said that Master represents infinite paying tributes to him because then he reservoir of energy through a complete was leaving his body – ‘Do not feel dissolution of ego - When the robe was grateful to me, because I have not done touched no credit was claimed by the anything. In fact, since the day wearer, It was your faith which healed enlightenment happened I have not been you! Said the Master - and so the truism. in existence. Things It takes two to Tango; have been happening the student must be A Buddha or a master is like the around me and that is purified and prepared by catalyst that does nothing in the another thing. But I evolution and spiritual process of the chemical reaction. am not the doer. The practice to accept the doer is dead. The doer Force, the Energy has gone long before enlightenment transmitted by the Master. entered.’ All energy blockages that obstruct and Things certainly happened, hundreds of eventually stop the flow of energy people became enlightened around through the system by preventing the Gautama Buddha, but he was not doing buildup of psychic power in the system anything to make them enlightened. He must be removed. was just available, like a well. If you are Thus the torch is passed on from Master thirsty you carry the water from the well to Student. Another candle is lighted up! and drink, but the well is not doing anything.

Buddha’s Enlightenment

Paying homage to the Buddha Tradition ascribes to the Buddha himself for instruction on how to pay him homage. Just before he died, he saw his faithful attendant Ananda, weeping. The Buddha advised him not to weep, but to understand the universal law that all compounded things (including even his own body) must disintegrate.

He advised everyone not to cry over the disintegration of the physical body but to regard his teachings (The Dhamma) as their teacher from then on.Buddha emphasized only the Dhamma - truth is eternal and not subject to the law of change. He also stressed that the way to

pay homage to him was not merely by offering flowers, incense, and lights, but by truly and sincerely striving to follow his teachings. This is how devotees are expected to celebrate Vesak: to use the opportunity to reiterate their determination to lead noble lives, to develop their minds, to practice lovingkindness and to bring peace and harmony to humanity.

Celebrations Buddha Purnima, which falls on the full moon night in the month of Vaisakha either in April or May, is commemorated as the birth anniversary of Buddha.

Indeed he is not the founder of

Buddhism. Buddhism is the invention of those who followed Buddha and is of much later invention.

Notwithstanding the summer heat when the temperature routinely touches 45 degrees Celcius, pilgrims come from all over the world to Bodh Gaya to attend the Buddha Purnima celebrations. The day is marked with prayer meets, sermons on the life of Gautama Buddha, religious discourses, continuous recitation of Buddhist scriptures, group meditation, processions, and worship of the statue of Buddha. The Mahabodhi Temple wears a festive look and is decorated with colorful flags and flowers. The Chinese scholar, Fa-Hien has recorded celebration of this festival.

It is an important to give a summarized description on the Buddhist festivals in India, especially in the main places of worship. The principal annual ceremony for the entire Buddhist is the Vaisaka Purnima known in Sri Lanka as Wesak Festival and in India as Buddha Jayanti. Vaisaka Purnima day is fixed by the full-moon day of the month Vaisaka, which falls in May. Like all other Buddhist festivals it falls according to the Lunar year. It was of this day of the year, according to the year.

This day Gautama Siddhartha attained Supreme Enlightenment or Buddha hood, beneath the Bodhi-tree at Boddha Gaya.

Forty-five years later at the age of eighty, he finally passed away in Maha-Parinivana on the same day of the year at Kushinagar.

Vaisaka Purnima is celebrated especially in Boddha Gaya, Lumbini and in Kushinara as they are the holy places connected with the blessed ones birth, enlightenment and the Maha-Parinirvana.

Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Tibet, China, Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Mongolia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Nepal, Japan and quite a number of western Buddhists participate ‗Vaisaka Purnima Day‘ religious activities in a festive mood.

Sarnath the capital of Buddhism too celebrates Vaisaka Purnima day in a grand way.

The great Buddhist festival ‗Vaisaka‘, although is an occasion for rejoicing doesn't encourage hectic gaiety and abandon.

The happiness that the Buddhists feel when they are celebrating it is a tranquil, peaceful joy. The festival has its gay side as well. In most of the Buddhist countries the villages, roads, streets, temples and houses are brightly illuminated with color Lanterns, electric lights and colorful decorations.

Buddha Jayanti or also known as Buddha Purnima is the most sacred festivals of Buddhist. Buddha Purnima (Buddha Birthday) is celebrated in remembrance Buddha. This day is the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha. It falls on the full moon of the fourth lunar month (month of Vaisakh) i.e. April or May. This day commemorates three important events of Buddha‘s life: i. ii. iii.

His birth in 623 BC. His enlightenment, i.e. attainment of supreme wisdom in 588 BC. His attainment of Nirvana, i.e. the complete extinction of his self at the age of 80.

This day is a thrice blessed day. Buddha is considered the ninth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu (Preserver in the Hindu Holy Trinity of Creator-PreserverDestroyer). Gautama Buddha ‗lived and died in about the fifth century before the Christian era‘.

Buddha means ‗enlightened one‘ someone who is completely freefrom all faults and mental obstructions.Gautama Buddha was not a god and the philosophy of Buddhism does not entail any theistic world-view. The teachings of the Buddha are solely to liberate human beings from the misery and sufferings of life.

According to the Buddhism, sorrow and desire are the main cause of all the evil and suffering of this world. Buddha advocated the Eightfold Path consisting of precepts like right conduct, right motive, right speech, right effort, right resolve, right livelihood, right attention and right meditation to gain mastery over suffering.

It is only after following this path one can reach the ultimate aim of Nirvana.

Nirvana is the transcendental state of complete liberation. Gautama Buddha lived and taught in northern India in the 6th Century B.C. Buddha travelled far and wide teaching hundreds of followers. Even after death

his disciples continued to teachings.

spread his

Rich and poor alike were attracted by the simplicity of Buddha‘s teaching and his emphasis on complete equality of all, a notion antithetical to the existing Hindu caste system. The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka espoused the Buddhist religion in the 3rd century B.C. and helped in spreading it far and wide. Sarnath and Bodhgaya are two of the most important pilgrimage centres for the Buddhists.

Though Buddhism originated in India and the religion has gained tremendous popularity throughout the Far East in Asia, there are very few practising Buddhists in the country. The number of Buddhists in the world ranges "from less than two hundred million, to more than five hundred million, with the lower number closer to reality."

Buddha Purnima 2011 Date: May 17

Buddha Purnima Celebration in other countries

B

uddha Purnima is celebrated in many countries that follow Buddha in different ways. Here are some examples.

Nepal The birth of the Buddha is celebrated by Buddhists in Nepal for an entire month in the Buddhist calendar. The actual day is called Buddha Purnima, also traditionally

known as Vaishakh Purnima. This day marks not just the birth of Shakyamuni Gautam Buddha, but also the day of Enlightenment, and Mahaparinirvana as well. But as a gentle effect of West, the event of Birth is given paramount importance.

The event is celebrated by gentle and serene fervor, keeping in mind the very nature of Buddhism. People, especially

women, go to common Viharas to observe a rather longer-than-usual, full-length Buddhist sutra, as something like a service. The usual dress is pure white.

Non-vegetarian food is normally avoided.

Kheer, sweet rice porridge is commonly served to recall the story of Sujata, a maiden who, in Gautama Buddha‘s life, offered the Buddha a bowl of milk porridge after he had given up the path of asceticism following six years of extreme austerity. This event was one major link in his enlightenment.

Japan In Japan, Buddha‘s birth is also celebrated according to the Buddhist calendar but is not a national holiday. On this day, all temples hold Kanbutsu-e (Japanese: 灌仏会), 降誕会 (Goutan-e), 仏生会 (Busshou-e), 浴仏会 (Yokubutsu-e), 龍華会 (Ryuge-e), 花会式 (Hana-eshiki) or 花祭(Hanamatsuri, meaning ‗Flower Festival‘).

It is said that the Buddha originally followed the way of asceticism to attain enlightenment sooner, as was thought by many at that time. He sat for a prolonged time with inadequate food and water, which caused his body to shrivel so as to be indistinguishable from the bark of the tree that he was sitting under. Seeing the weak Siddhartha Gautama, a girl named Sujata placed a bowl of milk in front of him as an offering. Realizing that without food one can do nothing, the Buddha refrained from harming his own body.

India Birth of Buddha or Tathagata is celebrated in India, especially in Sikkim, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bodh Gaya and Maharashtra (where 6% of total population are Buddhists) and other parts of India as per Indian calendar.

Maharashtra has largest number of Buddha monasteries and caves. Buddhist People go to common Viharas to observe a rather longer-than-usual, full-length Buddhist sutra, as something like a service. The usual dress is pure white.

Non-vegetarian food is normally avoided.

Kheer, sweet rice porridge is commonly served to recall the story of Sujata, a maiden who, in Gautama Buddha's life, offered the Buddha a bowl of milk porridge.

Hanamatsuri The first event was held at Asuka-dera in 606. Japanese people pour ama-cha (a beverage prepared from a variety of hydrangea) on small Buddha statues decorated with flowers, as if bathing a newborn baby.

Korea In Korea the birthday of Buddha is celebrated according to the Luni-solar calendar. This day is called 석가탄신일 (Seokga tansinil),meaning ‘the day of Buddha’s birthday’ or 부처님오신날 (Bucheonim osin nal)meaning ‘the day when Buddha arrived’.

Lotus lanterns cover the entire temple throughout the month which are often flooded down the street. On the day of Buddha‘s birth, many temples provide free meals and tea to all visitors. The breakfast and lunch provided are often sanchae bibimbap.

Sri Lanka This is one of the major festivals in Sri Lanka. It is celebrated on the first full moon day of the month of May. People engage in religious observances and decorate houses and streets with candles and specially made lanterns. Some stores share out free meals for people. In specific places, there are buildings made out of light bulbs but from a distance it represents pictures from the Buddha‘s life. They are called vesak thorun.

People sing songs called ‘bhakthi geetha’.

Other countries Some places have a public holiday one week later, on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, to coincide with the full moon.

The names for this festival vary with each country, for instance Visakha Puja in Thailand or Lễ Phật đản in Vietnam. In some countries it is a public holiday.

Vesākha in Pali; and in Sanskrit: Vaiśākha is an annual holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists in the Nepal and subcontinent, Sri Lanka, and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Sometimes informally called ‗Buddha‘s Birthday‘, it actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment (nirvāṇa), and passing away (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha.

The exact date of Vesākha varies according to the various lunar calendars used in different traditions. In Theravada countries following the Buddhist calendar, it falls on the full moon Uposatha day (typically the 5th or 6th lunar month).

Vesākha Day in China is on the eighth of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. The date varies from year to year in the Western Gregorian calendar, but falls in April or May.

Names for Vesākha In Mahayana Buddhist traditions, the holiday is known by its Sanskrit name, Vaiśākha, and derived variants of it.

Vesākha is known as Vesak or Wesak (衛塞節) in the Sinhalese language.

It is also known as: 1.

buÏ pUi[Rma Buddha Purnima or buÏ jy<tIBuddha Jayanti in India and Nepal

2.

6.

/ Bud-dho Purnyima or Bud-dho Joyonti in Bangladesh 花祭(Hanamatsuri) in Japan, 석가탄신일 Seokka Tanshin-il (Hanja: 釋迦誕身日) in Korean, 佛誕(Mandarin:Fódàn, Cantonese:Fātdàahn)in Chinesespeaking communities, Phật Đản in Vietnamese,

7.

Saga Dawa (sa ga zla

3.

4.

5.

ba) in Tibetan, 8.

(Kasone la-pyae Boda nei), lit.

Full Moon Day of Kason, the second month of the traditional Burmese calendar 9.

Visak Bochéa in Khmer, 10.

Vixakha Bouxa in Laotian,

11.

Visakha Puja (or Visakha Bucha) in Thai, 12. Waisak in Indonesia, 13.

Vesak [Wesak] in Sri Lanka and Malaysia

History The decision to agree to celebrate the Vesākha as the Buddha‘s birthday was formalized at the first Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists held in Sri Lanka in 1950, although festivals at this time in the Buddhist world are a centuries-old tradition. The Resolution that was adopted at the World Conference reads as follows: ―That this Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, while recording its appreciation of the gracious act of His Majesty, the Maharaja of Nepal in making the full-moon day of Vesak a Public Holiday in Nepal, earnestly requests the Heads of Governments of all countries in which large or small number of Buddhists are to be found, to take steps to make the full-moon day in the month of May a Public Holiday in honor of the Buddha, who is universally acclaimed as one of the greatest benefactors of Humanity. ‖ On Vesākha Day, Buddhists all over the world commemorate events of significance to Buddhists of all traditions: The birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautama Buddha. As Buddhism spread from India it was assimilated into many foreign cultures, and consequently Vesākha is celebrated in many different ways all over the world.

On Vesākha day, devout Buddhists and followers alike are expected and requested to assemble in their various temples before dawn for the ceremonial, and honorable, hoisting of the Buddhist flag and the singing of hymns in praise of

the holy triple gem: The Buddha, The Dharma (his teachings), and The Sangha (his disciples).

Devotees may bring simple offerings of flowers, candles and joss-sticks to lay at the feet of their teacher. These symbolic offerings are to remind followers that just as the beautiful flowers would wither away after a short while and the candles and joss-sticks would soon burn out, so too is life subject to decay and destruction. Devotees are enjoined to make a special effort to refrain from killing of any kind. They are encouraged to partake of vegetarian food for the day.

In some countries, notably Sri Lanka, two days are set aside for the celebration of Vesākha and all liquor shops and slaughter houses are closed by government decree during the two days.

Also birds, insects and animals are released by the thousands in what is known as a ‗symbolic act to liberation‘; of giving freedom to those who are in captivity, imprisoned, or tortured against their will. Some devout Buddhists will wear a simple white dress and spend the whole day in temples with renewed determination to observe the eight Precepts.

Devout Buddhists undertake to lead a noble life according to the teaching by making daily affirmations to observe the Five Precepts. However, on special days, notably new moon and full moon days, they observe the eight Precepts to train themselves to practice morality, simplicity and humility.

Some temples also display a small image of the baby Buddha in front of the altar in a small basin filled with water and decorated with flowers, allowing devotees to pour water over the statue; it is symbolic of the cleansing of a practitioners bad karma, and to reenact

the events following the Buddha's birth, when devas and spirits made heavenly offerings to him.

Devotees are expected to listen to talks given by monks. On this day monks will recite verses uttered by the Buddha twenty-five centuries ago, to invoke peace and happiness for the Government and the people. Buddhists are reminded to live in harmony with people of other faiths and to respect the beliefs of other people as the Buddha had taught.

Bringing happiness to others

handicapped and the sick. To this day, Buddhists will distribute gifts in cash and kind to various charitable homes throughout the country. Vesākha is also a time for great joy and happiness, expressed not by pandering to one‘s appetites but by concentrating on useful activities such as decorating and illuminating temples, painting and creating exquisite scenes from the life of the Buddha for public dissemination.

Devout Buddhists also vie with one another to provide refreshments and vegetarian food to followers who visit the temple to pay homage to the Enlightened on this day.

Celebrating Vesākha also means making special efforts to bring happiness to the unfortunate like the aged, the

Buddhism and Hinduism The Buddha‘s relation with Hinduism is so close that it is easy to confuse Buddhism with Hinduism. The two religions have close connections, and yet they are distinct in many ways. This was because of Buddha‘s reform movements and his refining of Hindu beliefs. It would not be wrong to state, then, that Buddha founded a noble religion by distilling Hinduism, and offering a commonsense approach to self-betterment to which the people can relate easily.

Swami Kriyananda (J Donald Walters) in his book The Hindu Way of Awakening, perspicaciously notes how Westerners confuse between these two closely connected religions, and why people mistakenly consider Buddhism and not Hinduism as the religion of India: ‗Hinduism is often omitted from rosters of the world‘s great religions. Everyone

knows, of course, that Hinduism exists.

Even so, it is confused in many people‘s minds with what they think of as Buddhism. For Buddhism fits into their concepts of what a religion ought to be... ‗Even if the Westerner holds good intention towards India… he may see Hinduism as containing some of the worst examples of Paganism. Small wonder, then, that many people look upon Buddhism as the noblest representative of India‘s religion, and turn to it when wanting an Indian religion to place among the great religions of the world. ‗While Buddhism is relatively simple, Hinduism is complex….Buddhism seems, to Westerners especially, to offer a benign and palatable form of the Indian religious experience. Most students of religion know that Buddha tried to reform some of the ancient practices; they think of him as

having brought order and sophistication to primitive chaos. When they prepare lists of the great world religions they think of themselves as demonstrating respect for the religion of India by calling it Buddhism. Most of them are not conscious of their mistake.‘ Buddha, as we know, began his meditation as a Hindu. He was awakened with a new enlightenment only to denounce Hinduism and emerge as the founder of a new religion. Therefore, to understand Buddhism fully, one should not separate it from Hinduism; while at the same time view it separately from Hinduism. Buddha‘s way of life was ‗the golden mean‘ and a relief from the pagan stigmas and caste system prevalent in Hinduism.

The Hindu caste system defined a person‘s position in society as determined by their birth. Buddha condemned the Hindu caste system and said that it is karma or the good and bad actions of a person and not birth that should determine a person's caste. He introduced the idea of placing morality and equality on a higher place than genealogy of a person.

Jesus had the same relationship to Judaism as Buddha to Hinduism. Both Hinduism and Judaism are ethnic and non-missionary traditions, and are characterized by an element of segregation between the castes and races, unlike Buddhism and Christianity.

Swami Kriyananda compares Buddha‘s position relative to Hinduism with Martin Luther‘s to the Roman Catholic Church: ‗Both men were reformers, and the structure reformed by each was not supplanted by his teachings. The Catholic Church survives to this day, and has in many ways been strengthened by Luther‘s reforms. Hinduism similarly was purified and strengthened by the teachings of Buddha, and was in no way replaced by them. Most Hindus today look upon Buddha as one of their own Avatars or Divine Incarnations.‘ Hindus believe that the purpose of the avatar of Buddha, like all divine avatars, was to re-establish dharma where ‗adharma‘ (irreligiousness) had become prevalent. Buddha is regarded by some sects of Hindus as an incarnation of Vishnu, or even as a Hindu. This is because Buddha's theistic beliefs are not contrary to Hinduism, but only a step ahead. This is also because the nature of Hinduism itself is such that all beliefs are recognized as being facets of the Ultimate Truth. It is interesting to note that the word ‗Nirvana‘ — used by Lord Buddha to describe the state of permanent bliss — is indeed a Vedic term.

The great unification of Buddhism and Hinduism is still prevalent in Nepal, the birthplace of Buddha. Ironically, Nepal is the world‘s only Hindu nation, where people don't consider the two religions distinct from each other.

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Pure Land Paradise Excerpt: The diamond Sutra of Buddha By Taoshobuddha Available on Amazon.Com; Kdp.Amazon.com

THE LORD ASKED: WHAT DO YOU THINK, SUBHUTI, IS THERE ANY DHAMMA WHICH THE TATHAGATA HAS LEARNED FROM DIPANKARA? SUBHUTI REPLIED: NOT SO, O LORD, THERE IS NOT. THE LORD SAID: IF ANY BODHISATTVA WOULD SAY, ‘I WILL CREATE HARMONIOUS BUDDHAFIELDS,’ HE WOULD SPEAK FALSELY. AND WHY? THE HARMONIES OF BUDDHAFIELDS, SUBHUTI, AS NO-HARMONIES HAVE THEY BEEN TAUGHT

BY THE TATHAGATA. THEREFORE HE SPOKE OF ‘HARMONIOUS BUDDHAFIELDS.’ THE LORD SAID: ‘AND AGAIN, SUBHUTI, SUPPOSE A WOMAN OR A MAN WERE TO RENOUNCE ALL THEIR BELONGINGS AS MANY TIMES AS THERE ARE GRAINS OF SAND IN THE RIVER GANGES; AND SUPPOSE THAT SOMEONE ELSE, AFTER TAKING FROM THIS DISCOURSE ON DHAMMA BUT ONE STANZA OF FOUR LINES, WOULD DEMONSTRATE IT TO OTHERS. THEN THIS LATER ON THE STRENGTH OF THAT WOULD BEGET A GREATER HEAP OF MERIT, IMMEASURABLE AND INCALCULABLE.’ THEREUPON THE IMPACT OF DHAMMA MOVED THE VENERABLE SUBHUTI TO TEARS. HAVING SHED TEARS, HE THUS SPOKE TO THE LORD: ‘IT IS WONDERFUL, O LORD, IT IS EXCEEDINGLY WONDERFUL, O WELL-GONE.’ ‘HOW WELL THE TATHAGATA HAS TAUGHT THIS DISCOURSE ON DHAMMA. THROUGH IT COGNITION HAS BEEN PRODUCED IN ME, AND IT IS INDEED NO PERCEPTION. AND WHY? BECAUSE, THE BUDDHAS THE LORDS, HAVE LEFT ALL PERCEPTIONS BEHIND.’ THE LORD SAID: ‘SO IT IS SUBHUTI. MOST WONDERFULLY BLEST WILL BE THOSE BEINGS WHO, ON HEARING THIS SUTRA, WILL NOT TREMBLE, NOR BE FRIGHTENED, OR TERRIFIED.’ MOREOVER, SUBHUTI, THE TATHAGATA’S PERFECTION OF PATIENCE IS REALLY NO PERFECTION. AND WHY? BECAUSE, SUBHUTI, WHEN THE KING OF KALINGA CUT MY FLESH FROM EVERY LIMB, AT THAT TIME I HAD NO PERCEPTION OF A SELF, OF A BEING, OF A SOUL, OR A PERSON. AND WHY?

IF, SUBHUTI, AT THAT TIME I HAD HAD A PERCEPTION OF SELF, I WOULD ALSO HAVE HAD A PERCEPTION OF ILL-WILL AT THAT TIME. AND FURTHER, SUBHUTI, IT IS FOR THE WEAL OF ALL BEINGS THAT A BODHISATTVA SHOULD GIVE GIFTS IN THIS MANNER. AND WHY? THIS PERCEPTION OF A BEING SUBHUTI, THAT IS JUST A NON-PERCEPTION. THOSE ALLBEINGS OF WHOM THE TATHAGATA HAS SPOKEN, THEY ARE INDEED NO-BEINGS. AND WHY? BECAUSE THE TATHAGATA SPEAKS IN ACCORDANCE WITH REALITY, SPEAKS THE TRUTH, SPEAKS OF WHAT IS, NOT OTHERWISE. A TATHAGATA DOES NOT SPEAK FALSELY. TATHAGATA, SUBHUTI, IS SYNONYMOUS WITH TRUE SUCHNESS. THE LORD ASKED: WHAT DO YOU THINK, SUBHUTI? IS THERE ANY DHAMMA WHICH THE TATHAGATA HAS LEARNED FROM DIPANKARA? SUBHUTI REPLIED: NOT SO, O LORD, THERE IS NOT.

D

ipankara is an ancient Buddha.

Gautama Buddha, in his past life when he was not enlightened, had gone to Dipankara. He wanted to be accepted as a disciple, but Dipankara laughed and he said, ‗There is nothing to be learned.‘ Truth cannot be learned. Yes, something has to be understood, but nothing has to be learned. Truth has to be recognized. It is already there in your being, it has to be uncovered. But there is nothing to learn.

Truth is not new. Truth is your very being. You have to become aware. Not that you have to become more knowledgeable, in fact the more knowledgeable you are the less aware you will be. The more you think you know the more you will be covered with ignorance. Knowledge is ignorance.

The knowledgeable person is covered with dark clouds of memory, information, scripture, and philosophy.

Dipankara said to Gautama, ‗You need not think in terms of learning. Truth is

already in transferred.‘

you.

Truth

cannot

be

Not only this, but when Gautama touched the feet of Dipankara, Dipankara bowed down and touched the feet of Gautama.

Gautama was not enlightened then. He was very puzzled, and embarrassed too.

There was a great assembly of monks.

Nobody could understand what was happening. Dipankara had never done that to anybody else.

And Gautama said, ‗What have you done?

Why have you touched my feet? I am a sinner, an ignorant person. To touch your feet is right, but you touching my feet is absurd. Have you gone mad?‘ And Dipankara laughed again and he responded, ‗No, Gautama. You are puzzled because you know not your future. I am not mad. I can see it happening - you will be a Buddha soon.

Just to honor that fact I have touched your feet.

And moreover, for one who is enlightened all are enlightened. Only the enlightened one can indeed recognize another enlightened one even he is in seed form.

It is only a question of time. It does not matter much. I have become enlightened today, you will become enlightened tomorrow, and somebody else will become enlightened the day after tomorrow. Indeed it does not matter.

Enlightenment is going to happen to everybody, to every being. You can go on delaying it that is up to you. The moment you stop delaying, the moment you stop postponing, it is there. It has always been waiting for you to recognize it.‘ Each seed has to sprout and each bud has to blossom into flower. This is the destiny. Neither you nor I can change this.

Dipankara touching the feet of Gautama is one of the most beautiful anecdotes.

And Gautama was an unknown man then.

After centuries, nearly three thousand years later when Gautama was born as Siddhartha that he became enlightened.

And when this happened, the first thing that Gautama did was to bowed down to Dipankara. Dipankara was no more then.

But the word of Dipankara Buddha remembered and these continued to echo in his being. Buddha bowed down and he laughed and he said, ‗Now I understand why you touched my feet. Now I can touch everybody‘s feet. Now I know that the whole existence is going to be enlightened.‘ Through this Sutras Buddha is paying gratitude to Dipankara and making Subhuti aware of this as well. Also through The Diamond Sutra he is

revealing a great secret for the entire humanity.

Enlightenment is a natural happening. If you do not hinder it, it is bound to happen. It is not that you have to achieve it all that you have to do is not to hinder it. You go on hindering it in a thousand and one ways. You do not allow it to happen. When it starts to happen you become frightened. When it takes possession of you, you cannot give that much possession. You shrink back, and withdraw. You come back in your tiny cell of the ego. There you feel protected, defended, and secure. And once again you lose the opportunity of enlightenment.

Enlightenment is the open sky of insecurity. It is vastness. It is uncharted ocean. The journey is from one unknown to another unknown. There is nothing that can be known. Knowledge, the very idea of knowing, is part of human stupidity and imbecility. Life is such a mystery it cannot be known. And if it cannot be known how can it be taught?

And if it cannot be taught, what is the point of being a master and a disciple?

The master and disciple is a drama. Play it as beautifully as possible. To you it is a reality, I know. To a master it is a drama.

From your side it is a great reality, from the side of the master it is a game. One day you will also understand that it is a game. That day will be the day of your enlightenment.

The day you will become aware you will know there is no master and no disciple.

The day you will understand, you will know that it was a dream. However this is a dream which can help you to come out of all your other dreams. It is like a thorn which can help to pull out your thorns from your flesh.

Dipankara was simply saying to Gautama, when he touched his feet, that this is just a game. You touch my feet or I touch your feet. It makes no difference. We are all enlightened, we are all gods. Not that I am god and you are not. ALL is divine.

Trees are gods, so are animals, so is everything, even rocks!

God is fast asleep in the rocks. He has become a little alert in the trees. A little more alert in the animals, a little more alert in you. In a Buddha he has come perfectly to absolute alertness.

This difference is not of quality. Instead the difference is only of quantity. And if you are this much aware, you can become that much aware too.

THE LORD ASKED: WHAT DO YOU THINK, SUBHUTI, IS THERE ANY DHAMMA WHICH THE TATHAGATA HAS LEARNED FROM DIPANKARA?

He is asking, â&#x20AC;&#x2014;Have I learned anything from Dipankara?â&#x20AC;&#x2DC; There is nothing to learn. Truth is a given fact. Whatsoever you learn will be lies.

Truth need not be learned. Truth has not to be invented but only discovered. Better will it be to say that truth has only to be rediscovered. Indeed everyone has to rediscover it.

And the word learning is dangerous.

Learning implies accumulating information. The more you accumulate information the deeper your reality goes into the unconscious. You become burdened. Your head starts clamoring with knowledge. It becomes very noisy, and then you cannot hear the still small voice of your heart. That silence of the heart is lost in the noise of knowledge.

That is why even sinners achieve and it is easier for them but scholars miss. The sinner can be humble but the scholar

cannot be humble. The sinner can cry and weep, but the scholar knows. He is adamant in his knowledge. He is egoistic in his knowledge. He cannot melt. He is not open. He is closed and even remains so. All his windows and doors are blocked by his knowledge.

To come to truth means unlearning rather than learning. You have to unlearn all that you have known. It is not a becoming but an unbecoming, it is not a learning but an unlearning. To unlearn is the way. If you can un-become then you will be capable of becoming. If you are capable of unlearning and if you can drop all knowledge unconditionally, without any clinging, you will become innocent. It is only innocence can bring you home.

SUBHUTI REPLIED: NOT SO, O LORD, THERE IS NOT.

Between a master and a teacher what is transferred? Neither truth nor knowledge is transferred - then what is transferred?

In fact, nothing is transferred.

In the presence of the master something arises in the deepest core of the disciple, not that it is transferred. Nothing travels from the master to the disciple, but the presence of the master, and something that was deep inside starts surfacing in the disciple. The presence of the master calls forth the being of the disciple. It is not that something is given or transferred. Just the very presence of the master becomes a catalytic and the disciple starts changing. A catalyst does nothing in a chemical reaction. However in the presence of the catalyst the chemical reaction takes place.

Of course, a disciple will think that something is being done by the master.

Nothing indeed is being done. No real master ever does anything. All his doing consists of a presence that surrounds you. It is being available to you. All his

work consists of one simple thing – a subtle presence. He surrounds you just like the sun.

The sun rises in the morning and buds open and become flowers. Not that the sun gives them something, not that the sun comes and opens the buds. Nothing is done by the sun, just the presence of the light is enough and the bud starts opening. The opening comes from the bud itself. And the flowering and the fragrance all comes from the bud itself. The sun has not added anything to it, but the presence has been catalytic. Without the sun there the bud would find it almost impossible to open. It would not know that opening is possible. It would never become alert of its possibilities and potential.

A master simply makes you aware of your potential. If he has achieved, you can achieve. He is just like you - the blood and the bones and the body. He is just like you. If something is possible in his being, if his bud can become a flower, then why cannot you become? This very idea sinks deep into the heart, stirs your whole being, and energies start surfacing.

In that your bud starts opening.

This is called SATSANGA in the East - to be in the presence of the master. And the real disciple is one who has come to know how to be present to the master. The master is present, but how to be present to the master?

Have you seen the sunflower? That is the symbol for the disciple. Wherever the sun moves, the sunflower moves that way. It is always present to the sun. In the morning it is facing East in the evening it is facing West. It has moved with the sun.

Wherever the sun is, the sunflower moves. The sunflower is the metaphor for the disciple.

Buddha is asking, ‗Do you think, Subhuti, I have learned anything from Dipankara?‘ Subhuti says, ‗Not so, O Lord‘ - because there is nothing to learn.

Does it mean Buddha is ungrateful to Dipankara? No not at all. When he became enlightened, the first gratitude was towards Dipankara who had disappeared into the infinite long ago, not even a trace was left behind. He exists only in the memory of Buddha, nowhere else. The words of Dipankara still linger deep down Buddha.

After being enlightened the first thing that Buddha did was to pay his gratitude to Dipankara.

About Dipankara there are no scripture.

Maybe in those days scriptures were not written. There exists no other reference about him. Buddha is the only sole reference. Three thousand years have passed, nobody knows anything about Dipankara, but when Buddha became enlightened, the first gratitude, the first thankfulness that he paid was towards Dipankara.

Why because it was in the presence of Dipankara that the longing became a passion - to become a Buddha. It was in his presence that the great desire to become a Buddha arose. It was in his presence that the bud of Gautama started dreaming of becoming a flower. It was in his presence that the dream unfolded. It took three thousand years to drop the hindrances, the obstacles. But what are three thousand years in the eternity of time - nothing just a few moments.

Why is Buddha asking Subhuti? So that Subhuti can understand that there is nothing to be learned from Buddha.

Buddha himself has not learned anything from Dipankara, so too ‗There is nothing, Subhuti, to learn from me. Be with me but do not think in terms of learning. The

moment you think in terms of learning you are not with me.‘

God, to become part of that oceanic energy.

There are two types of people - the disciples and the students. The students are those who are in search of learning something. They are here to gather something so that they can brag and say that they know this and they know that.

They are just collecting colored stones while diamonds are available.

Remember to be a student here is not very wise. To be a student here is to be unintelligent. This is not a school. Life is available here in its pristine beauty for which you have to be a disciple. To be a disciple means to be courageous enough to come close to a master, whatsoever be the cost. The disciple means the one who can take the risk of being close to a master. It is a risk because you will die.

The bud will die, only then the flower can come. The seed will die only then the plant can emerge.

The disciple is one who is not interested in knowledge, who is interested in being, who is interested just to be here with me, for no other reason, for no other motive.

His heart has been touched, his dream has started unfolding, and a great intense desire is arising in him.

Once, a disciple was saying that he becomes very afraid of death. I enquired him, ‗Why have you become so much afraid?‘ And his reply was immensely beautiful. He said, ‗My fear is not because of death. The fear is because I have not yet known anything, not yet realized anything about death. I have not yet felt anything. I am afraid that I might die without knowing the truth. That is my fear.‘ A disciple is one who has become immensely interested in being - in truth itself, not knowing about it. He is not afraid of death. He is afraid death may come in and may disturb the intimacy that is arising between the master and him. Death may come and may disrupt the presence that he is imbibing, the presence that is going into his being and changing a thousand and one things in his soul - that alone is the fear.

A disciple never bothers about knowing but is interested in being.

Not that he wants to know something about God, but that he wants to taste God, to drink out of that reservoir called

You will have to die, only then God can bloom in you. Die as you are so that God can blossom through the ashes.

THE LORD SAID: ‘WHAT DO YOU THINK, SUBHUTI, IS THERE ANY DHAMMA WHICH THE TATHAGATA HAS LEARNED FROM DIPANKARA?’

A great seeker has written, ‘I went to the wise for answers. There were many wise men, each one with his answer. It was by that I came in time to see that they all betrayed themselves.

But there were also a few I happened upon who were otherwise, one or two, who sat with a serene vitality, who smiled at my questions, and in face of my insistence for answers, generously gave me further questions.

There were moments with them that I forgot all about wisdom and smiled as carelessly as fools and children only can. I got no answers from the truly wise. It was lack of wisdom that had sent me to the wise. How then could I have understood anything wise, even if it was sayable and even if it was said? The truly wise were too true to give wise answers.’

The truly wise gives you his being, no words. The truly wise simply makes him available to you, and if you are courageous you can drink and eat out of his being. That is what Jesus means when he says to his disciples: ‗Eat me! Drink me!‘ The master has to be eaten. The master has to be absorbed, digested, only then will you stumble upon your own truth. There is nothing to learn - no Dhamma to learn, no doctrine to learn, no philosophy to learn.

THE LORD SAID: IF ANY BODHISATTVA WOULD SAY, ‘I WILL CREATE HARMONIOUS BUDDHAFIELDS,’ HE WOULD SPEAK FALSELY. AND WHY? THE HARMONIES OF BUDDHAFIELDS, SUBHUTI, AS NO-HARMONIES HAVE THEY BEEN TAUGHT BY THE TATHAGATA. THEREFORE HE SPOKE OF ‘HARMONIOUS BUDDHAFIELDS’.

The word Buddha-Field is of tremendous importance. You have to understand it, because that is what I am doing through all these talks and works. All these are aimed at creating a Buddha-Field. By creating a Buddha-Field we are moving away from the world, far away, so that a totally different kind of energy can be made available to you and you can live in the world of such an enlightened awareness.

Buddha-Field means creating a situation where the sleeping Buddha in you can be awakened. Buddha-Field means an energy field where you can start growing, maturing, where your sleep can be broken, where you can be shocked into awareness. It is an electric field where you will not be able to fall asleep, where you will have to be awake, because shocks will be coming all the time.

A Buddha-Field is an energy field in which a Buddha matures beings, a pure land, an unworldly world, a paradise on earth, which offers ideal conditions for rapid spiritual growth. It is a matrix.

The word MATRIX is of Latin origin. It means the womb. From that word we get the words matter, mother, and so on. The womb offers three things to a newly forming life: 1.

It is a source of possibility, 2.

It provides a source of energy to explore that possibility, 3.

It is a safe place within which that exploration can take place.

That is what this Buddha-Field is going to do. Through these talks, meditations, books and videos energies are being made available to you. This will bring a clear understanding of the possibilities. It is aimed at making you aware of your potential, by creating a safe environment to work without being distracted by the world. It aims at how to become a Buddha; and everything else simply disappears from your mind – money, power and prestige or becomes insignificant.

In the silence that the Buddha-Field creates and in the uninhibited atmosphere the master and the disciple can enact the drama totally. The ultimate is when the master can touch the feet of the disciple, when the master and disciples are lost into one reality. This is what Dipankara did to Buddha.

THE LORD SAID: IF ANY BODHISATTVA WOULD SAY, ‘I WILL CREATE HARMONIOUS BUDDHAFIELDS,’ HE WOULD SPEAK FALSELY. AND WHY? THE HARMONIES OF BUDDHAFIELDS, SUBHUTI, AS NO-HARMONIES HAVE THEY

BEEN TAUGHT BY THE TATHAGATA. THEREFORE HE SPOKE OF ‘HARMONIOUS BUDDHAFIELDS’.

Only a person who has no ‗I‘ within him can create a Buddha-Field. In fact then to say he creates is not right; language is inadequate.

The Sanskrit word for creation is far better.

The Sanskrit word is NIRPADAYATI. It means many things. It can mean to create, to accomplish, to ripen, to mature or it can simply mean to trigger into existence. That is exactly the meaning.

A Buddha does not create, instead he triggers. Even to say he triggers is not good. Always in his presence things happen. Or in his presence things are triggered, and a process starts. His presence is a spark of fireand things start moving and one thing leads to another, and in the process a great chain is created.

Man has lived a long time the way he has lived. A time has come for a critical quantum leap. Either man will die in war or man will take the jump and will become a new man. Before that happens, a great Buddha-Field is needed - a field where we can create the new man.

But a bodhisattva cannot say, ‗I will create the harmonious buddhafields.‘ If the emphasis is on ‗I‘ then the person is not yet a Bodhisattva. Even Buddhas use the word ‗I‘ but they insistently emphasize that it corresponds to no reality, that it is just a language use, that it is utilitarian.

And Buddha says, ‗Those harmonious Buddha-Fields are not even harmonious.‘ Why because harmony means conflict is still alive. Harmony means the conflicting

parts are there but they are no longer conflicting. Buddha says the real harmony is when the conflicting parts have dissolved into one unity. But then you cannot call it harmony, because harmony needs many, harmony means that there are many fragments in a harmonious whole.

Buddha says the real harmony is when those many – the discordant ones are no longer there and they have become one.

So a harmony, a real harmony, cannot even be called harmony. The real harmony is simple unity. There is no conflict and no friction, because all the fragmentary parts have disappeared or dissolved.

AND WHY? THE HARMONIES OF BUDDHAFIELDS, SUBHUTI, AS NO-HARMONIES HAVE THEY BEEN TAUGHT BY THE TATHAGATA. THEREFORE HE SPOKE OF ‘HARMONIOUS BUDDHAFIELDS’.

Remember again and again; it is a question of the inadequate language.

That's why Buddha goes on insisting again and again to remind you so that you don't become a victim of inadequate language expressions.

THE LORD SAID: AND AGAIN, SUBHUTI, SUPPOSE A WOMAN OR A MAN WERE TO RENOUNCE ALL THEIR BELONGINGS AS MANY TIMES AS THERE ARE GRAINS OF SAND IN THE RIVER GANGES; AND SUPPOSE THAT SOMEONE ELSE, AFTER TAKING FROM THIS DISCOURSE ON DHAMMA BUT ONE STANZA OF FOUR LINES, WOULD DEMONSTRATE IT TO OTHERS. THEN THIS MATTER ON THE STRENGTH OF THAT WOULD BEGET A GREATER HEAP OF MERIT IMMEASURABLE AND INCALCULABLE. It is said that Hui Neng, one of the greatest Zen masters, the sixth patriarch in the Zen tradition, became enlightened by hearing four lines of The Diamond Sutra. And he was

just passing by in a marketplace. He gone to purchase something, he was even thinking of enlightenment, somebody by the side of the road reading The Diamond Sutra.

had not and was

That man had been reading The Diamond Sutra for his whole life. He must have been a kind of scholar, or a parrot and it was his usual ritual, to read the sutra every morning, and every evening.

It was evening and the market was just closing and people were going home and Hui Neng was passing. He heard just four lines.

He was struck dumb. He stood there and it is said, for the whole night. The Diamond Sutra finished, the market closed, the man who was chanting it went, and Hui Neng was standing there. By the morning he was a totally different man. He never went home instead he went to the mountains. The world became irrelevant fir him. Just hearing? Yes, it is possible if you know how to hear. This Hui Neng must have been of a very innocent mind. He was a wonderful man.

Buddha says that even if somebody demonstrates one stanza of four lines from The Diamond Sutra, his merit is more - indeed his merit is immeasurable and incalculable, more than the merit of a man or a woman who were to renounce their belongings as many times as there are grains of sand in the river Ganges.

Renunciation does not help. Instead it is the understanding helps. Renouncing the world is not going to take you anywhere, you have to understand. Renunciation is a stupid effort.

Only stupid people renounce. The wise person tries to understand each situation. The wise is never an escapist. Only the stupid people are escapists, because they cannot face life, or take its challenge.

They move to the mountains, or escape to monasteries or somewhere else. They run away from the world. These are the cowards. And religion is possible only if you have immense courage.

Buddha says these sutras are so valuable that if you can listen totally, with an open heart, if you are vulnerable to them, these can transform your life. Even sometimes a single word can be such a transforming force.

I have heard about a man, who must have been like Hui Neng. He was very old nearly sixty-five or seventy. He had gone for a morning walk, and some woman must have been waking her son, or somebody else, inside a hut. The old man was on the road and the woman was saying, ‗It is time to get up. It is morning!

It is no longer night!‘ The old man heard these words. And it was not even The Diamond Sutra, it was just a woman telling somebody, ‘Get up!

It is enough! You have slept long. It is no longer night. The sun has risen, it is morning,’ and the old man heard.

He must have been in some receptive state of mind - the early morning, the birds singing and the sun and the cool breeze - and those words struck hard, like arrows in the heart: ‗It is morning and you have slept too long and it is no longer night.‘ He never went home. He went outside the town, sat in a temple meditating. People came to know about him, and the family came rushing and they said, ‗What are you doing here?‘ He said, ‗It is morning. It is no longer night, and I have already slept enough.

Enough is enough! Excuse me. Leave me alone. I have to wake up. Death is coming - I have to wake up.‘ And whenever he would pass the door of that woman he would bow down at the door but he had never seen that woman again. That was his temple and that woman his master. He had never seen

the woman, and the woman was an ordinary woman.

Sometimes a few words, even uttered by ordinary people, can fall in the right soil of the heart and can bring great transformation. What to say about words of a Buddha?

THEREUPON THE IMPACT OF DHAMMA MOVED THE VENERABLE SUBHUTI TO TEARS. HAVING SHED TEARS, HE THUS SPOKE TO THE LORD: ‘IT IS WONDERFUL, O LORD, IT IS EXCEEDINGLY WONDERFUL, O WELL-GONE, HOW WELL THE TATHAGATA HAS TAUGHT THIS DISCOURSE ON DHAMMA. THROUGH IT COGNITION HAS BEEN PRODUCED IN ME, AND IT IS INDEED NO PERCEPTION. AND WHY? BECAUSE THE BUDDHAS, THE LORDS, HAVE LEFT ALL PERCEPTIONS BEHIND.

It is very rare that a man of the qualities of Subhuti will cry with tears flowing profusely. But when such compassion, and love from Buddha is showering on him, when such diamond words are falling on him like rain... he was overwhelmed.

THEREUPON THE IMPACT OF DHAMMA MOVED THE VENERABLE SUBHUTI TO TEARS.

Remember, there is no deeper way to relate your gratitude than tears, there is no higher way to pray than tears.

Never be afraid of tears. The so-called civilization has made you very afraid of tears. It has created a kind of guilt in you.

When tears come you start feeling embarrassed. You start feeling, ‗What will others think? And I am a man and I am crying! It looks so feminine and childish.

It should not be so.‘ Tears are far more beautiful than anything that you have with you. Tears come from the overflow of your being.

And tears are not necessarily of sadness; sometimes they spring out of great joy

and sometimes they come out of great peace and still sometimes they are the expression of ecstasy and love. In fact tears have nothing to do with sadness or happiness. Anything that stirs your heart too much, or takes possession of you, anything that is too much, that you cannot contain and is expressed through tears that start overflowing.

Accept them with great joy, nourish them, and welcome them. It is through tears you will know how to pray. Through tears you will know how to see. Tear-filled eyes are capable of seeing truth. Tearfilled eyes are capable of seeing the beauty of life and the benediction of it.

THEREUPON THE IMPACT OF DHAMMA MOVED THE VENERABLE SUBHUTI TO TEARS. HAVING SHED TEARS, HE THUS SPOKE TO THE LORD: ‘IT IS WONDERFUL, O LORD, IT IS EXCEEDINGLY WONDERFUL, O WELL-GONE, HOW WELL THE TATHAGATA HAS TAUGHT THIS DISCOURSE ON DHAMMA. THROUGH IT COGNITION HAS BEEN PRODUCED IN ME....

Subhuti says, Your presence, compassionate words, love, and your grace, all has produced cognition in me. It has given me an insight, a vision, of truth, AND IT IS INDEED NO PERCEPTION. Still Subhuti still repeats the same words, ‗But let me remind you, it is no perception because there is nobody to perceive it. It is pure cognition.‘ Indeed knowing has arisen but there is nobody who knows and there is nothing that is known, only knowing has arisen. It is pure knowing. The division is not there of the knower and the known and the knowing. It is just knowing.

AND WHY? BECAUSE THE BUDDHAS, THE LORDS, HAVE LEFT ALL PERCEPTIONS BEHIND.

‗And now I know why it is said that the Buddhas have left all perception behind, because perception needs the perceiver and the perceived, observation needs the observer and the observed. All these dualities have been dropped. There is only oneness.‘ It is very difficult to say it.

Michael Adam has put it beautifully.

Maybe these words will be helpful: ‗It has taken all these words to tell, but what is there to tell? Here and now, what is there? A wind in the trees; it blows and they bend. I have spoken in many words.

It is cause for smiling now, for truth is only a word. Life is a word, death is a word, happiness is a word, and God is a word. The wind and the tree, the robin and the seal, the child and the sun are real. The rest is only words.‘ Words about the sun lack even the reality of shadows and are colder by far. What the sun is, the clamoring mind and the seeking heart cannot know, for the sun is of another kind, makes no sound and does not strive. But this still and silent earth would seem to understand, all without effort the earth would seem to know what the sun is. Beneath this semblance of death, under the shroud of snow, in the very midst of the winter, the open quiet earth well knows what the sun is.‘ The disciple has to become like thirsty earth. Because the thirsty earth knows what the cloud is. The disciple has to become like open, vulnerable earth. The vulnerable earth knows what the sun is. It cannot say it, it cannot express it, but it knows. That is what Subhuti means when he says:

‗Cognition has arisen in me. I cannot say, I am not there to capture it, I am not there to seize it, I am just emptiness but perception has arisen, cognition has arisen, and darshan has arisen. I have seen, and there is no seer.‘ THE LORD SAID: SO IT IS, SUBHUTI. MOST WONDERFULLY BLEST WILL BE THOSE BEINGS WHO, ON HEARING THIS SUTRA, WILL NOT TREMBLE, NOR BE FRIGHTENED, OR TERRIFIED.

These sutras are deathlike, they are crucifixion - you will have to die. Only through death will you know what life is.

Resurrection is possible but only through crucifixion. That is why Buddha said these sutras are dangerous and MOST WONDERFUL BLEST WILL BE THOSE BEINGS WHO, ON HEARING THIS SUTRA, WILL NOT TREMBLE, NOR BE FRIGHTENED, OR TERRIFIED. MOREOVER, SUBHUTI, THE TATHAGATA’S PERFECTION OF PATIENCE IS REALLY NO PERFECTION. AND WHY? BECAUSE, SUBHUTI, WHEN THE KING OF KALINGA CUT MY FLESH FROM EVERY LIMB, AT THAT TIME I HAD NO PERCEPTION OF A SELF, OF A BEING, OF A SOUL, OR A PERSON. AND WHY? IF, SUBHUTI, AT THAT TIME I HAD HAD A PERCEPTION OF SELF, I WOULD ALSO HAVE HAD A PERCEPTION OF ILL-WILL AT THAT TIME.'

He reminds Subhuti of his old experience of a past life, when the king of Kalinga had cut his limbs. He says, ‗At that time when my limbs were cut, my hands were cut, my legs were cut, and my tongue and my eyes were taken away, I was watching and I could not see any ‗I‘ arising in me. There was nobody who was seeing it and there was nobody who was hurt by it.‘

‗If any perception of ‗I‘ had arisen at that time, then it would have been followed by ill-will. Then I would have been angry with the king who was killing me and destroying me, but I was not angry.

There was no anger.‘ The ego brings anger. Anger is the shadow of the ego. The ego brings aggression, and violence. Once the ego disappears all violence disappears. A man becomes LOVE only when the EGO has completely disappeared.

AND FURTHER, SUBHUTI, IT IS FOR THE WEAL OF ALL BEINGS THAT A BODHISATTVA SHOULD GIVE GIFTS IN THIS MANNER. AND WHY?

THIS PERCEPTION OF A BEING, SUBHUTI THAT IS JUST A NON-PERCEPTION. THOSE ALL-BEINGS OF WHOM THE TATHAGATA HAS SPOKEN, THEY ARE INDEED NO-BEINGS. AND WHY? BECAUSE THE TATHAGATA SPEAKS IN ACCORDANCE WITH REALITY, SPEAKS THE TRUTH, SPEAKS OF WHAT IS, NOT OTHERWISE. A TATHAGATA DOES NOT SPEAK FALSELY. ‘TATHAGATA, SUBHUTI, IS SYNONYMOUS WITH TRUE SUCHNESS.‘

Buddha says, ‗I have said only that which YATHA BHUTAM is. I have not said anything else. That is why my statements are so paradoxical, and so illogical, because truth is illogical. To understand truth, you will have to drop logic.‘

Chronology of the life of Shirdi Sai Baba Chronological list of events (episodes) concerning Sai Baba 1835:

1851:

Sai Baba was born in very early hours of September 27 or 28, 1835 to a poor Hindu couple, Gangabhavadya and Devagiriamma. The newborn infant is left in the woods, abandoned. The infant is immediately discovered and adopted by a childless Muslim fakir and his wife.

Sai Baba first appeared at Shirdi and stays in the village for two months. He is noted to reside day and night under a Neem Tree at about the age of 16 Years which he claims is growing over the tomb of his old guru. After two months Baba disappeared to an unknown place.

1838:

1855-1857:

Sai Baba lives with the Muslim couple for 4 years. Meanwhile the fakir dies. The wife is left to tend the child alone. Even as a small child Baba stirs up sentiments between the Hindu and Muslim community by worshiping Allah in Hindu temples, and Hindu gods in the mosque.

In fear of increased problems by a sole widow, Baba is handed over for care with a local mendicant and story-teller, Venkusa.

Sai Baba travels about from place to place and finally ends up in Dhoopkheda (or Dhoop) in Aurangabad District. There he ends up attending the marriage of Chandu Patel’s son in 1858.

1839-51: Sai Baba spent 12 years with his Guru.

The name of his Guru was Gopal Rao Deshmukh (Venkusa, also known as Venkavadhuta) of Selu. Some say, ‘Baba practiced penance at the tomb of His Guru in the cellar under the Neem Tree at Shirdi’. Arrival of Devidas at Shirdi (Aged 10-11 years) took place in 1846. When he enquired, BABA mentioned the name of his GURU as Venkusa implying VISHNU (Parvardigar – refers to God).

1858: Sai Baba returns to Shirdi along with the marriage-party of Chand Patil and remained at Shirdi for ever till His Samadhi. A widowed Deputy Collector and Settlement Officer by name H.V. Sathe (Hari Vinayaka Sathe) comes to Shirdi on the death of his wife. Baba takes great fondness to Sathe. Sathe was the first to set up apartments at Shirdi for temporary visitors. Baba regarded Sathe as his right hand in regard to all matters.

Because Baba was keeping Sathe close to him and relying on him for everything, the residents of Shirdi grew jealous towards him.

1865: Saint Manik Prabhu of Homanabad in Bidar District of Karnataka passed away in 1878, Chaitra Vadya 14.

H. H.

Akkalkot Swami left His mortal coil at Akkalkot in Solapur District of Maharashtra. He first appeared in 1835.

It is reported that three of them (Manik Prabhu, Swami Samartha and SAI BABA) met at Humanabad.

1885: Saint Anandnath aged 95 years of Yewala Math and a disciple of Akkalkot Swami visited Shirdi and seeing Sai Baba exclaimed, ‘This is a precious real diamond.’

relations with NANA previous births.

since

his

many

1894 (approx) Das Ganu (Ganesh Dattatreya Sahasrabuddhe) accompanied Nanasaheb Chandorkar to Shirdi for the first time.

1896 Celebration of ‘Urus’ – spiritual gathering started at Shirdi owing to the efforts of Gopalrao Gund, a Circle Inspector of Kopargaon.

1886, April 16:

1898

Mahasamadhi of Shri Ramkrishna Paramahansa of Bengal 1886, Margashirsh 15 Sai Baba got rid of an attack of asthma, by going into Samadhi for 72 Hrs.

Sai Baba was seen sleeping on a narrow plank suspended with old rags about 7 or 8 feet above ground with lighted lamps placed on the plank.

1887: Manthrapragada Ramalaksmhi Devi, and my father, Venkata Narasimha Rao who were childless in spite of effortsvisited their Guru, Shirdi Sai Baba, in 1887 and prayed to him for a child. As the fruit of Shirdi Sai Baba’s grace, I was born to them on August 8, 1888. Shirdi Sai Baba himself gave me my name, Shringeri Sharada Devi. As I am of fair complexion, he used to lovingly call me Gori.

1889: Abdullah arrived at Shirdi from Nanded (in West Khandesh near Jalgaon and Amalner).

1892 (approx) Nanasaheb Chandorkar arrived at Shirdi for the first time after being invited by BABA many a time showing his intimate

(Uknown year) About this time, the parents of Shyam came to Shirdi with the two-year old child named Mohan Shyam.

A small school for children started adjoining Baba’s room. Shyam used to watch Baba at nights through the ventilator. Baba used to sleep on an eighteen-inch wide plank suspended with old rags about 7 or 8 feet above ground with lighted lamps placed on the plank.

Shyam was apprehensive that Baba might fall from his lofty but narrow perch during sleep. Shyam prayed to stay near Baba and serve him for his remaining days.

1899-1900 Nanasaheb Chandorkar visited Shirdi with his sister-in-law’s husband, Shri Biniwale.

Baba scolded Nanasaheb for dissuading Biniwale, a devotee of Shri Dattatmya from visiting Datta Temple on the bank of

Godavari River to avoid delay in reaching Shirdi.

1906

Das Ganu left Govt. service and as per Baba’s instructions settled at Nanded and started performing kirtans and writing life histories of recent saints.

Nanasaheb Chandorkar was transferred as Mamlatdar from Nandurbar to Pandharpur. On the way, he stopped at Shirdi with his family and started requesting Baba to accompany them to Pandharpur and stay there permanently with them. The devotees then told Nanasaheb about the singing of bhajan just finished in which Baba’s mood of going to Pandharpur and staying there forever was expressed. The text of the song was, ‘I want to go and stay at Pandharpur.’

1903

1906

Das Ganu’s book ‘Sant Kathamrit’ was published. (Ch. 57 is about Sai Baba’s advice to Nanasaheb Chandorkar).

Rao Bahadur H. V. Sathe first arrived at Shirdi at the age 49 years).

Shivamma Thayee’s uncle meets Baba for the first time, while Baba is visiting Vellakinaru in Coimbatore. Baba told Shivamma’s uncle, ‘She is the only girl in the whole lot who will be a highly elevated soul.’ Baba then slowly chanted the Gayatri Mantra to Shivamma.

1904-1905

1907

Nanasaheb Chandorkar’s pregnant daughter Mainatai at Jamner in Jalgaon District had severe pains of delivery. Sai baba sent Udi and Arati with Ramgir Gosavi from Shirdi and she had a safe delivery. Sai Baba even took the form of tonga’s Rajput driver to make Ramgir reach Jamner safe and on time.

Radhakrishna Mai (Sunderabai Kshirsagar) arrived at Shirdi. She was young good-looking widow aged 25 years.

She was blessed by BABA who used to send a part of food collected as (Bhiksha) to her.

1900-1902 Sai Baba like a learned Pandit explained Geeta to Nanasaheb Chandorkar, who believed that BABA was not well versed with Sanskrit language of Pandits.

1903

1904, April

1906 Das Ganu’s book ‘Bhakta-Leelamrit’ was published. (Chs.31, 32 and 33 about Sai Baba).

1908 Sathe Wada was constructed.

1908 Ekadashi Kashirarn Shimpi died on Chaitra Shuddha 11. BABA saved his life in a mysterious way when he was assaulted by thieves in a jungle.

1908

1909, Nov 2

PundalikRao of Nanded met Shri Vasudevananda Saraswati of Tembe Swami at Rajahmundry on banks of Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh and Swami gave a coconut to be presented to Sai Baba. BABA showed cognizance of Swamiji’s gilt and showed his oneness with Swami by describing him as his brother (Bhau).

Hari Sitaram alias Kakasaheb Dixit then Aged 45 years, a prominent solicitor and M.L.C. first arrived at Shirdi. Baba used to call him affectionately Langda Kaka and removed fear complex from his mind.

Kaka Dixit was known for his obedience to Baba’s orders.

1908 Shri Tatyasaheb Noolkar, then Aged 45 years - the Sub-judge of Pandharpur first arrived at Shirdi in 1908. Gurupournima festival was prompted by Baba for Dada Kelkar, Tatyasaheb Noolkar, Madhavrao Deshpande and others.

1909, Dec 10 Devotees began to offer regular worship to Baba in the Chavadi, where He slept on alternate days.

1909, Dec 25 Baba gave darshan in the form of Sri Rama to a doctor, devotee of Sri Rama who came with a Mamlatdar.

1909

1910

Saibaba threw an ochre garment on Balasaheb Bhate, Mamlatdar of Kopargaon, and an atheist, on his very first visit and Balasaheb lost complete interest in worldly matters. He retired prematurely from service and settled down at Shirdi permanently.

Baba’s ‘Handi’ritual, implied occasionally cooking food Himself in a big copper pot and distributing it to devotees and poor people without discrimination.

This practice continued till this year. After wards owing to Das Ganu’s kirtans (musical recitals praising Baba), Baba’s fame spread far and wide and devotees started flocking together in large numbers offering large quantities of food as ‘naivedya’ and thus there was no need of Handi.

1909 Bapu Saheb (Sakharam Hari) Jog on retirement from Govt. service came to stay at Shirdi permanently accompanied by his wife.

1909 Bhimaji Patil ofNarayangaon in Pune District came to Shirdi for getting his chronic tuberculosis at the last stage and was cured by Baba’s blessings.

1910 Ramachandra Atmaram alias Babasaheb Tarkhad from Bandra, Bombay first visited Shirdi.

1910 Rao Bahadur Moreshwar W. Pradhan of Santacruz, Bombay first visited Shirdi.

1910

1910

Govind Raghunath alias Annasaheb Dabholkar then Aged 51 years, the author of Shri Sai Satcharita (Marathi), had his first darshan of Sai Baba and received significant and prophetic title of ‘Hemadpant. Baba gave him his blessings and inspired him to write SAI SATCHARITA - a religious scripture describing BABA’s life story and his divine play (leela) as monumental as GURU CHARITRA- the old monumental POTHI a poetic religious scripture inspiring worship to GURU, NARASINHA SARASWATI.

Harishchandra Pitale’s son suffering from epilepsy, was cured by Baba’s mere glance at him. Baba gave Pitale three rupees and reminded him of two rupees earlier received by him from Swami Samarth of Akkalkot and thus showed his oneness with all the other SAINTS (Vibhutis).

1910 Balkrishna Vishwanath alias Balasaheb Deo (Dahanu Mamlatdar) first visited Shirdi prompted by Nanasaheb Chandorkar. Deo used to describe him as Baba's child - with a full sense of surrender.

1910 Bhadrapad Shuddha, H. Gajanan Maharaj of Shegaon (Buldhana District of Maharashtra) left His mortal coil. He first appeared in 1878. At that very time at Shirdi, Sai Baba grieved profusely and said, ‘Hallo! My Gajanan is gone. I must take bath again in reverence to the Great Soul.’

1910 Shrimant Gopalrao Mukund alias Bapu saheb Butty of Nagpur, (a rich statesman) started staying permanently at Shirdi.

1910, Ashwin Vady13 Sai Baba pushed his arm into the brightly burning Dhuni to save a blacksmith’s child. The arm was scorched and burnt.

Nanasaheb came from Bombay with Dr. Parmananda but Baba did not allow the doctor to treat him. Bhagoji Shinde’s service of massaging the arm with ghee and bandaging it continued till Baba’s Samadhi. This episode is in testimony to BABA’s cosmic existence- HIS super consciousness.

1910 Dec 5 Hon’ble Mr Ganesh Shrikrishna, alias Dadasaheb Khaparde of Amraoti (Maharashtra) first visited Shirdi.

Mr.Babasaheb Khaprde was an ardent devotee of BABA and his efforts were instrumental in bringing Loka Manya Tilak- (a great national leader – Khapurde’s contemparary) to Shirdi for Baba’s darshan and blessings in his movement for India’s freedom from the British Rule.

1910, Dec10 Foundation-stone of Dixit Wada was laid with Baba’s permission.

1910, Christmas Lala Lakhamichand of Santacruz in Bombay came to Shirdi. Baba loved him very much and affectionately accepted his petty gifts given with love.

1910 Megha returns to Shirdi and stays till his death. In Baba’s company he underwent mysterious experiences which transformed Megha from an atheist to an ardent devotee of Baba and spent his life in the service of Sai -Shiva. He regarded Baba as Shiva-Shankar (Lord ShivaShankar -the welfare Doer).

1911 Madrasi Sanyasi Vijayanand, while on a pilgrimage to Manas Sarovar, halted at Shirdi and breathed his last while reading ‘Bhagawat’ (a religious script written by Saint Eknath) for 3 days on Baba’s advice.

1911, March Tatyasaheb Nulkar then Aged 48, the Sub-judge of Pandharpur breathed his last at Shirdi. Baba showed HIS oneness with Tatya Nulkar and described him as a pure soul and expressed HIS grief at Nulkars demise.

After Tatyasaheb Nulkar passed away, Megha took over the regular daily worship of Baba in the Dwarakamai. He used to stand on one leg while performing the Arati. Tatyasaheb Nulkar relinquished everything and stayed at Shirdi in Baba’s company till his demise Baba bestowed him with the unique experiences in selfrealization. Baba advised him and Mr

Shyama Deshpande Worship (Pooja).

to

perform

Guru

1911 Ram-Navami Festival was started at Shirdi owing to the efforts of Shri Bhishma and Kaka Mahajani.

1911, Ram-Navami Construction of Dixit Wada was completed and was inhabited with due rites.

1911 Extension and roofing of the open space in front of the Dwarakamai was carried out by Kakasaheb Dixit. Baba got enraged and tried to shake and uproot a pole.

Then removing Tatya Patil’s pugree, struck a match, set the pugree on fire and threw it in a pit along with one rupee as if an auspicious offering to avert evil. Baba never liked renovation of his dwelling place viz. Dwarkamai (the masjid) and opposed any such effort by the devotees.

1911 Somdav Swami alias Haridwar Swami visited Shirdi.

1911, June 27 Kashinath Govind Upaswii then aged 41 years first visited Shirdi and returned again on 6 July. Baba ordered him to stay for 4 years in the Khandoba Temple.

1911, Dec Kashinath Upasani composed the famous ‘Shri Sainath Mahimna Stotra (hymn) in Sanskrit. These are now being recited daily during Arati at Shirdi).

1911, Dec

1911, Dec 19

Bubonic plague raged at Shirdi (Lasted upto March 15 next year) Baba however saved lives of plague inflicted devotees by taking upon himself i.e. on his body the malody.

Sai Baba’s great devotee and a great saint of Nath-panth order, Shri Rama Maruti visited Shirdi and stayed for 34 days. Ram Maruti offered ‘Naivedya’ to Baba and Baba very affectionately took a part of it (SWEET SANJA).

1911, Dec Baba’s grinding of wheat in the hand-mill.

It was not wheat that was ground but plague or cholera itself was ground to pieces and cast out of village. Seeing this Annasaheb Dabholkar (Hemadpant) was inspired to write ‘Shri Sai Satcharita.’

1911, Dec5 Dadasaheb Khaparde of Amraoti arrived at Shirdi again with family and stayed for 3 months. Shri Krishna Bhishma the author of Arati book ‘Sagunopasana’ accompanied him. Dadasaheb Khaparde wrote diary of daily record of his stay at Shirdi in Baba’s company.

1911, Dec 11 Waman Rao Patel then Aged 22 years, Later Swami Sai Sharanananda first arrived at Shirdi.

1911, Dec 13 Chandrabhan Shet Marwadi, uncle Khushalchand of Rahata expired.

of

1911, Dec 16 Dr. Capt. Hate first visited Shirdi (who had just appeared at LCPS examination.)

Baba sent him a message in the dream saying, ‘have you forgotten me?’.

1911-12 Sagun Meru Naik arrived at Shirdi at the age of 23 and on Baba’s advice settled permanently running a small restaurant for the devotees visiting Shirdi.

1912, Jan Dadasaheb Khaparde’s youngest son Balwant was cured of bubonic plague by Baba by taking the disease on himself.

1912, Jan 3 Megha fed some Brahmins on completion of his Gayatri Punascharana (a religious ritual). Dadasaheb Khaparde attended it at Sathe Wada.

1912, Jan 19 Megha died at Shirdi at about 4 A.M. Baba lamented loudly and followed the funeral procession for some distance.

Baba showered flowers on Megha’s body.

1912, Jan 20 Bapusaheb Jog started performing Baba’s Pooja and Arati after Megha’s death. He continued this till Baba’s Samadhi and even some years afterwards until he shifted to Sakuri and joined Upasani Maharaj there.

1912 Transformation of Dwarakamai (the masjid) started. Pits were patched up and the stone slabs fixed on the floor. Baba gave up sack-cloth seat and started using cushion scat and bolster in deference to devotees’ wishes.

1912 Jan Ganapatrao, father of Tatya Kote Patil passed away. Tatya Patil stopped sleeping in the Dwarakamai with Baba.

1912, Feb 25th Madhavrao Deshpande (Shama) left Shirdi to attend Kakasaheb Dixit’s son’s thread-ceremony at Nagpur and Nanasaheb Chandorkar’s son’s wedding at Gwalior. From there accompanied by Appa Kote, he went on a pilgrimage to Mathura, Prayag, Ayodhya, Kashi and Gaya. At Gaya Madhavrao saw Baba’s picture at the priest’s house and was reminded of Baba’s words, ‘After visiting Kashi and Prayag I would be reaching the religious place ahead of Shama.’

1912, Mar 15 Dadasaheb Khaparde returned to Amraoti. Mrs. Laxmibai Khaparde stayed behind.

1912, Ram-navami Dada Maharaj Satarkar, known as ‘Modern Tukaram’, was invited to perform Ram-navami Kirtan.When he bowed down in obeisance, Baba said, ‘I know this man since last 4 years’. Bala Buva had never met Sai Baba before but 4 years ago at Bombay, he had prostrated before Baba’s picture. Thus Baba proved to His

devotees that seeing His picture was equivalent to seeing Him in person.

1912, April Balaram Dhurandhar along with his brothers visited Shirdi for the first time.

Before they arrived Baba had expressed, ‘Today many of my Durbar people are coming’. Baba offered Balaram Chillim to smoke and since then his 6 year old asthma was cured forever.

1912, Shravan 15 Guru-sthan padukas were installed under the Neem Tree at Shirdi.

1913.

This was the first visit of Mahadev Rao Sapatnekar of Akkalkot accompanied by his younger brother Pandit Rao. When Mahadev Rao prostrated before Baba, Baba shouted ‘Chal hat’ (Get away) in the protest of absence of faith in Saptnekar’s mind and his prejudice for Baba.

1913 Baba gave at Dwarakamai darshan of himself as Vitthal and Rakhumai of Pandharpur to the wife and mother of R. B. Purandare of Bandra.

1913, Ram-Navami Bala Buva Satarkar performed RamNavami Kirtan at Shirdi and Baba gave him a gift of Rs.150/- for the Kirtan.

These coins were collected in a dish (Thali) after Baba’s prayer (Aarti). Baba poured the whole dish in Satarkars bag (zoli)

1913, May Wamanrao Patel then Aged 24 - 25 Years who later came to be known as Swami Sai Sharanananda ji visited Shirdi again and this time stayed for 11 months.

1913 Rao Bahadur Sathe got a son by Baba’s Grace at the age of 57 years.

1914 Sapatnekar of Akkalkot arrived at Shirdi again with wife and returned being blessed for begetting a son.

1914, Feb 14 Mr.B.V. Deo (Memlatdar of Dahanu in Thane Distict) was charged and reprimanded by Baba for stealing His rag and after lot of abusing and scolding was favored with instruction to read Dnyaneshawari regularly every day as per Deo’s desire. This episode is an example of how Baba sometimes displayed his transcendental powers to read devotees mental inclinations even without formal oral communication.

1914, Feb 22 A Sadhak of Yoga - Swami Ram Baba visited Shirdi and seeing Baba eating bread with onion got suspicious and disappointed. However Baba proved His power of omniscience by reading his mind and the Sadhak returned highly satisfied and blessed.

1914, April 2 Before the year was over, Baba appeared to Deo in a dream and inquired if he understood Dnyaneshwari properly. Deo

said ‘No’ and added that without Baba’s Grace it will not be understood. Then Baba explained to Deo how to read it slowly (and without making haste) with full concentration for knowing the subtle meaning between the linesThis is known as Bodha – Knowledge.

1914, Ram-Navami Das Ganu was ordained by Baba to perform Ram-Navami Kirtan at Shirdi every year.

1914, Shravan H. H. Shri Vasudevananda Saraswati the Aged 80 years - Tembe Swami left His mundane body at Garudeshwar on the banks of River Nannada in Gujarat.

1914 July 15th Kashinath Upasani left Shirdi after the total stay 3 years, 19 days and proceeded towards Nagpur, Khadakpur etc.

1915, Dec Sai Baba suffered from asthma and was very weak. Yet He climbed over Radhakrishna Mai’s roof with a ladder.

Paid Rs. 2/- to the person bringing and placing the ladder. Honoring a worker for his work, Baba showed how Dignity of labor should be maintained.

1915, Dec Balakram Mankar passed away at Shirdi.

1915, Dec Mrs Tarkhad the wife of Babasaheb Tarkhad of Bandra sent a pedha (made of milk and sugar) which was already offered as naivedya and that too with

Balakram’s son Govindji who was in mourning. Baba swallowed it with great eagerness and love.

1915, Dec 30 Construction work of Butty’s Wada was in progress. Baba occasionally used to go at this place to see the progress of this work and gave instructions.

1916 Sai Baba made Das Ganu to do ‘Namsaptah and Kirtan’ at Shirdi for a week.

1916 Radhakrishna Mai at the age 35 years passed away. Baba used to bless her by sending a portion of food collected by him by way of Bhiksha.

1916.

A Madrasi Bhajani Mela - Party of the Ramdasi Order arrived at Shirdi. Baba gave darshan to the chief’s wife in the form of her beloved deity Shri Rama. The chief also got a dream and his attitude towards Baba was completely changed.

1916 Nephew of Dr. Mulky from Malegaon (District Nasik), suffering from tubercular bone-abcess, was fully cured by Sai Baba’s Udi and his loving glance. The doctor himself visited Shirdi afterwards and became a staunch devotee of Shri Sai Baba realising that Baba’s service is to be performed not only for the sake of money or other mundane things but for the welfare of the disabled, helpless and downtrodden.

1916 Annasaheb Dabholkar (Hemadpant) retired from Govt. service. On Guru Purnima Day while at Shirdi, Anna Chinchanikar pleaded before Baba for getting some other appointment for Hemadpant as his pension was quite insufficient and his family was growing.

Baba assured him about his source of income for livelihood after retirement.

1916, Vijaya Dashami When in the evening Shirdi residents were returning from ‘Simollanghan’ ceremony (crossing of the border or limits of the kingdom village), Baba suddenly got into wild rage and taking off His head-dress, kafni and langota (loin cloth) etc., tore them into pieces and threw them in the burning Dhuni before Him. The fire in the Dhuni became brighter and Baba stood there stark naked. Later when cooled down and dressed again Baba said, ‘This is My Simollanghan’ and thus hinted at His departure from this world soon on Dassehra Day. This Darshan provided enlightenment that Baba’s body cannot be described as Hindu or Muslim or of any cast or belonging to any religion in vogue.

1916 Ramchandra Dada Patil became seriously ill. One night appearing before him, Baba told him that he would recover soon but Tatya Patil will die on Vijaya Dashami Day in 1918. Thus by substituting Tatya’s name for HIS, Baba foretold Tatya’s passing away. However, Baba sacrificed his body to save devotees life by saying ‘instead of him another person will go?’.

1916 Baba averted Gopal Narayan Ambadekar’s effort of suicide by prompting him to read an appropriate incident from Akkalkot Swami’s Chaiitra (religious scripture) and avoided greatest sin in his devotees life.

1917 Shyam, the faithful servant of Baba falls at Baba's feet and dies, merging in Baba.

1917 - Baba foretelling of his birth again as Sathya Sai Baba tells Shringeri Sharada Devi, ‘Gori, I will appear in Andhra Pradesh with the same name of Sai Baba but in another Avatar. Then again, you will come to me.

I will keep you with me and give you joy.

1917 Baba names a young girl Shivamma Thayee and proclaims that she will be a saint.

1917 Haribhau Karnik of Dahanu (District Thane) wished to offer one more rupee to Baba while leaving Shirdi, but could not do so. On the way at Nasik, in the Kala Rama Temple another saint Narasing Maharaj demanded one rupee from him.

Karnik gave it willingly thinking that Baba was demanding the rupee he wanted to offer at Shirdi. Baba fulfilled in HIS many mysterious ways devotees’ desire to offer dakshina through all the media.

1917 Sai Baba appeared at Thane (North of Bombay) to inquire the well-being of Appasaheb Kulkarni’s wife and children

when he was away on tour. When Appasaheb returned Baba not only fulfilled his desire of offering Rs.10 as Dakshina but also favored him by returning nine rupees consecrated by His touch. These nine rupees are the symbol of nine bhakti services done to HIM. 1917 Upasani Maharaj then Aged 47 years made Sakuri (near Rahata) his permanent residence.

1918 Rao Bahadur Moreshwar Pradhan purchased Lendi Baug and later presented it to Shirdi Sansthan'. Baba himself planted some trees at the Lendi Baug.

1918, April 1 At Vile Parle (East) (now suburb of Bombay) on Hanuman Road, Narayan Mahadev Thosar’s residence (later known as Narayan Ashram) was built a Hanuman Temple. On the day it was consecrated, Baba paid Rs. 25 to a Brahmin named Waze and made him perform Shri Satyanarayan Pooja.

1918 Prof. G. G. Narke, son-in-law of Butty got a permanent job by Baba’s Grace as Professor in the Engineering College at Pune. Baba always remembered him by saying ‘where has he (Narke) gone? Baba gave him a begging bag (zoli) for collecting food -an exercise in cultivating humility and eliminating ego.

1918 August Baba offered Hemadpant a glass of butter-milk and said, ‘Drink it all, you

won’t get such opportunity again suggesting that time for his Samadhi has arrived.

1918 Sep 9th Das Ganu wrote ‘Shri Sai Stavan Manjaril at Maheshwar (Madhya Pradesh) on the banks of River Narmada.

1918 Sept 28th Nath Panthi saint Rama-Maruti of Kalyan passed away.

1918 Sept 28th Sai Baba had a slight attack of fever which lasted for 3-4 days. Since then Baba abstained from food and day by day His weakness increased.

1918 Oct 1st Baba asked a Brahmin devotee by the name Waze to read ‘Raum- Vijay’ (by Sridhar Swami) and listened to it for 14 days.

1918 Oct 8th A tiger met its death at the feet and presence of Sai Baba and was emancipated.

1918 Oct 15th Tuesday On Vijaya Dashmi, Sai Baba left his mortal coil at about 2-30 p.m. Few minutes before He gave Rs. 9/- as prasad to Laxmi Shinde. These nine coins represent ‘Nine - dimensional devotion to GOD’.

1918 Oct 16th WednesdayEarly morning Baba appeared to Das Ganu at Pandharpur, in dream and

said, ‘The Dwaraka mai has collapsed and all the oilmen and grocers have troubled Me a lot. So I am leaving the place. Go there quickly and cover my body copiously with flowers’.

1918 Oct 16th Wednesday in the evening Baba’s body was taken in procession through the Shirdi village and then interred in Butty Wada with due formalities.

1918 Oct 27th On the 13th day Baba’s devotees from all over gathered and funeral rites were performed by Balasaheb Bhate with a feast (Bhandara) to Brahmins and poor.

Later Upasani accompanied by Bapusaheb Jog went to Prayag (Allahabad) and performed all the remaining obsequies on the banks of River Ganges.

On one occasion, he stayed in the Maruti temple, behind the Chavadi, in company of a saint Devidas. Later, saint Jankidas also came to Shirdi and the three of them often discussed spiritual matters sitting in the Hanuman or Maruti temple. After this, Baba mostly made the masjid his home.

He called it mother (mai) and christened it ‘Dwarka’, after Lord Krishna’s kingdom.

Dwarkamai thus came to life.

According to Sansthan’s communication handler, Dilip Kote, Sai Baba, as an incarnation of Shiva, naturally chose a shamshon (burial ground) for his abode.

In keeping with the traditions prevalent in the region, Hindus, (as well as Muslims) are also buried, if cremation (as per Hindu custom) is not preferred. Thus, Baba’s own ‘Samadhi’ and those of his close associates, lies in the complex.

Sai Baba and famous Udi Once there was a cyclonic storm and it was wet and cold. A leper by the name of Bhagoji Shinde lived in a small hut that got swept away in the running waters. No one came to his help for fear of contracting leprosy. Baba rescued him and brought him indoors. He hit his stick on the ground and in that rainy season a fire sprang from nowhere, providing warmth. Soon Bhagoji’s leprosy disappeared and this was taken as Sai’s miracle.

The same fire continues to burn till today and provides udi or vibhuti (holy ash) to millions of devotees. By giving udi, Baba wished to convey that ultimately our bodies will become ash. All our desires, wants and worldly ambitions will be reduced to ash, so why concentrate on such a life? However, the udi also became a symbol of cure and hope to many because when Baba distributed it, many were helped.

Although Baba had all the eight major siddhis (celestial powers) at his command, he rarely used them.

The various miracles and curative powers of the udi are several and many have benefited from it. At a philosophical level, Sai encouraged oblation of ego, desires and wants to the dhuni (burning fire) and it made ash of all these, thus cleansing a human being. Till date, udi is used by devotees to all ends. There are instances where it helped in safe birth during a difficult delivery, as in case of Maina Tai. It helped another devotee Narayan Rao’s friend recover from a scorpion bite. On yet another occasion, Shama’s brother’s wife suffered from plague and the udi

helped her. Even doctors like Pillai who suffered from guinea-worms used udi.

Sai chose a dilapidated mosque to be his abode and started living in it. His contact in the early days of stay was with a few chosen people only, like Bayajabai (who brought him food), Mhalsapati (who, as priest had first welcomed him), Appa Bhil (who collected firewood for the fire, later to become holy dhuni), and Kashiram Shimpi (the Kumhar who made unbaked earthen pots for Baba to water his patch of garden).

Enlightened masters who came to Shirdi, like Gangagir and Anandnath Maharaj, a disciple of Akkalkot Swami, noted that Sai was no ordinary gardener and stated Shirdi was indeed blessed to have a gem, a kohinoor, like Sai stay there.

This garden today is Lendi Bagh. In his early days at Shirdi, Baba never shaved his head. There was a wrestler in Shirdi called Mohiddin Tamboli. Baba agreed to enter a mock fight with him, in which Baba allowed himself to be defeated.

After this fight Baba changed his dress and mode of living. He wore a kafni (a loose robe), under which he wore a langot (undergarment) and covered his head with a piece of cloth, which was bloodstained. By one account, it was the same cloth with which his Guru Venkusa had saved him after being hit on the head with a brick by those who were jealous that Baba got favored treatment from the guru. Baba kept the brick and the bloodied cloth and these two were his constant companions.

By another account, Baba went for some time to Rahata to assuage the ego of a

pretender Jowahar Ali, who desired to construct an Idgah adjacent to a Virabhadra temple. Due to a quarrel between the Hindus and Muslims, Ali left Rahata and went to Shirdi. He knew the Quran by heart and wanted Baba to be his disciple, in order to impress the people of Shirdi that Baba was under him.

Baba played the part for six months after which the fraudulent guru himself left Shirdi forever, when he realized Baba’s greatness and when he was tested by Devidas.

Sai’s reputation was initially established as a medicine man because he helped various people who were afflicted with diseases.

He cured leprosy, eyeinfections, cholera and other illnesses that troubled the folks of Shirdi. It was held that due to Sai’s presence, no ill could visit Shirdi.

Till today, servitor T. Govindan holds that tantric and other tamasic powers cannot enter Shirdi.

This incensed the village vaid, Kulkarni and he looked for a chance to humiliate Sai. This opportunity arose when Sai requested oil merchants to give him some oil as alms for his lamps. After some months of indulging Sai, a few oil merchants decided to stop giving him free oil to light the lamps in Dwarkamai under the growing jealousy of the village vaid Kulkarni.

Sai did not react and filled his earthen lamps with water and lit them. They burned brighter! Such is the power of saints. The village vaid who had instigated the oil-merchants was reduced to poverty, and till today (the year 2004) his house lies in ruins in Shirdi.

[23 November 1926– 24 April 2011]

hrI muoe< Mh[a hrI muoe< Mh[a, pu{yacI g[na kae[ krI. jIvn sumn cFa kr terI hm AcRna kre<ge< jnm jnm terI hm v<dna kre<ge<. vahunI jIvn pu:p tv cr[I , kIitR ga^ tuHI jNmaejNmI .

EMBELLISHING LIFE TO BE A FLOWER FOR THY ALTER I SHALL ERELONG SING THY GLORIES!!!

Sathya Sai – the legend - the miracle of the existence – heart throb of millions is no more to be seen or heard alive. Yet still he lives on in the millions of hearts and shall continue to work through millions of hands. His words and messages shall continue to linger like the dissolving notes in millions of ears.

D

r. A.N. Safaya says Sathya Sai Baba died Sunday morning, after more than a week on breathing support and dialysis at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences.

Sathya Sai Baba, the once living guru and heart throb considered by millions of followers worldwide, left this physical realm or attained to Samadhi or will-full exit from the bodily realm on Sunday in a hospital near his southern Indian ashram, a doctor said. He was 86.

Sai Baba had spent more than three weeks on breathing support and dialysis while struggling with multiple-organ failure at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, near his ashram in Puttaparti village in southern Andhra Pradesh state. He died Sunday morning, hospital director Dr. A.N. Safaya said.

Women selling marigold garlands broke down in tears outside ashram when the news was announced.

The saffron-robed Sathya Sai Baba had a huge following with ashrams in more than 126 countries. He was said to perform miracles - conjuring rings and watches and ‘vibhuti,’ a sacred ash that his followers applied on their foreheads from his overgrown and unkempt Afrostyle hair.

Followers gathered to mourn in small groups in alleys and streets surrounding the ashram, while some began trickling into the temple complex where the baba’s body will be brought to lie in state until Tuesday.

Hundreds of thousands of devotees are expected in Puttaparthi for Sathya Sai Baba's funeral.

Sayings of Sathya Sai A human body is associated with six stages of transformation: birth, growth, change, evolution, death and destruction. Death accepts no excuse.

Tears do not move its heart. Death gives advance notice of his arrival to take you — notice in the form of grey hair, falling teeth, failing vision, folding of the skin etc. Death may call any moment.

Every moment, everyone is nearing death. Death is not a deplorable event. It is the journey‘s end.

— From the discourses of Sathya Sai Baba Death involves certain developments that weaken and extinguish life. It does not affect the Atma; the Atma has no death. It cannot be destroyed.

Therefore, one should not fear death.

Death is but another stage of life.

However long one suffers from illness or however severe the injury, death can happen only when Time signals the right moment. When the yearning for living ends, there can be no more birth.

— Sathya Sai Baba, Vidya Vahini It is a living death if one is obsessed by pride, ego and anger.

— From the discourses of Sathya Sai Baba

objective world once again. Science describes it as the process of breathing for the first time and clearing of the air passages. But why should it weep? The process can be started by some other way, say, shaking or shivering, is it not?

This life which begins with a wail must end with a smile. When you were a little baby, all around you smiled though you kept on wailing.

But when you die round you weep at the loss, you should smile in peace and quiet resignation.

Reduce your wants. Minimize your desires. When death deprives you of resistance, your kith & kin take off the nose stud and in their haste, they may even cut the nose to retrieve it.

If you go on heaping desire upon desire, it will be impossible to depart gladly when the call comes.

Do not attach yourself too much to the body or to the things that bring comfort to it. You earn three friends in this life: The first: the riches you accumulate, which refuse to come with you when you move out of this life.

The Second: the kith & kin who accompany your body only up to the burial ground or cremation ghat.

Swami‘s thoughts on Death

The Third: the merit and demerit you have earned, which accompany you to the last.

The baby weeps as soon as it is born because the individual being has no desire to get entangled in the

When once Brahma asked sage Narad what was the most amazing thing he noticed on earth, Narad replied, ‗the

most amazing thing I saw was this: The dying are weeping over the dead.‘ Those who are themselves nearing death every moment are weeping over those who have died, as if their weeping has an effect, either to revive the dead or prevent their own death!

Grief sends you to God. When a child dies, ask yourself the question, ‗Is it for my sake that he was born?‘ He had his own destiny to fulfill, his own history to work out.

Gautama Buddha‘s father was so overcome with grief when he saw his son with a begging bowl in the street that he told him thus: ‗Every one of my ancestors was a King.

What misfortune is this that a beggar was born in this line?‘ Buddha replied ‗every one of my ancestors had a beggar‘s bowl, I know of no king in my line.‘ Feel that you are born with the dawn of every day; that you nestle in the lap of death when your eyes close in sleep. For, what happens in deep sleep? The body, the senses, the mind, the intelligence – all is negated and there is no trace of awareness of the world. Know that waking from sleep is but birth and going into sleep is death.

Forgetting the primary goal of life, man wastes his time. Time is precious. Death is dangling its sword over every head. Our life span is fast diminishing, like water leaking through a broken pot or a melting block of ice. Death overtakes man

even before he realizes his mission in life.

When we want to go to a cinema, or for an evening walk, we get ready by putting on our shoes. When we want to visit a nearby town, we pack our clothes in a bag.

But what preparations do you make for the ultimate journey, the voyage of death?

All are beggars at the gate of God. The hero is he who does not beg or cringe or flatter or fawn. He knows that the Lord knows best.

Birth and Life Sathya

Sai

Baba

Telugu:

[sʌθjə sɑːɪ bɑːbɑː] born as Sathyanarayana Raju on 23 November 1926 and left this realm on 24 April 2011.

He was a well-known popular Indian guru, spiritual figure and educator.

He is described by his devotees as an Avatar, spiritual teacher and miracle worker. The apparent materializing of vibhuti (holy ash) and other small objects such as rings, necklaces and watches by Baba has been a source of both fame and controversy. While the skeptics consider these simple conjuring as tricks, devotees on the other hand consider them evidence of divinity, baba’s grace and love for humanity. Sathya Sai Baba claimed to be the reincarnation of the spiritual guru, Sai Baba of Shirdi, whose teachings were an eclectic blend of Hindu and Muslim beliefs. In 1940, he declared himself an ‘avatar,’ or reincarnation, of another Hindu holy man called the Sai Baba of Shirdi, a town in the Western Indian

state of Maharashtra who had passed away in 1918.

The Sathya Sai Baba was also mired in several controversies, with several news reports about allegations of sexual abuse and fake miracles.

Sathya Sai Baba and his organizations support a variety of free educational institutions, hospitals, and other charitable works in India and abroad. The number of active Sathya Sai Baba adherents was estimated in 1999 to be around 6 million, although followers’ estimations are far higher. Since there are no formal ties of membership, the actual figure may never be known.

The Sathya Sai Organization reports that there are an estimated 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba Centers in 114 countries worldwide.

In India itself, Sai Baba draws followers from predominantly upper-middle-class, urban sections of society who have the ‘most wealth, education and exposure to Western ideas.’

Throughout his life Sathya Sai was a cultural icon in India and drew an audience with presidents and prime ministers from India and beyond who have become his devotees; in 2002, he claimed to have followers in 178 countries.

He was born to Eswaramma and Peddavenkama Raju Ratnakaram in the village of Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, India. Almost everything known about his life stems from the hagiography that has grown around him, the presentation of narratives that hold special meaning to his devotees and are considered evidence of his divine nature.

Eswaramma, his mother asserted that his birth was by miraculous conception.

Furthermore it was also said to be heralded by miracles. As a child, he was described as ‘unusually intelligent’ and charitable. He was exceptionally talented in drama, music, dance and writing. Also he was an avid composer of poems and plays. He was said to be capable of materializing objects such as food and sweets out of thin air even from his childhood.

On 8 March 1940, while living with his elder brother Seshama Raju in Uravakonda, Sathya was apparently stung by a scorpion.

He lost consciousness for several hours. Within the next few days there was a noticeable change in Sathya’s behavior. There were ‘symptoms of laughing and weeping, eloquence and silence.’

‘He began to sing Sanskrit verses, a language of which he had no prior knowledge.’ Doctors believed his behavior to be hysteria. His parents brought Sathya home to Puttaparthi. Concerned, they took him to many priests, ‘doctors’ and exorcists.

On 23 May 1940, Sathya called household members and materialized prasad and flowers for his family members. His father became furious upon seeing this, thinking his son was bewitched. He took a stick and asked him who he was. To this Sathya announced calmly and firmly ‘I am Sai Baba,’ a reference to Sai Baba of Shirdi. He proclaimed himself to be a reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi—a saint who became famous in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

in Maharashtra, and who had died eight years before Sathya was born.

same gothra in Mandya district of Karnataka State.‘

Later that year, Sathya Sai Baba declared that he had no worldly relationship with anyone, and around this time, devotees began to gather to him. In 1940, Sathya Sai Baba began to travel to Madras and elsewhere in South India and soon had a large regional following.

On 29 June 1968, Sathya Sai Baba made his first and only trip overseas, to Uganda. During a discourse in Nairobi, Sathya Sai Baba stated, ‘I have come to light the lamp of Love in your hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added luster. I have not come on behalf of any exclusive religion. I have not come on a mission of publicity for a sect or creed or cause, nor have I come to collect followers for a doctrine. I have no plan to attract disciples or devotees into my fold or any fold. I have come to tell you of this unitary faith, this spiritual principle, this path of Love, this virtue of Love, this duty of Love, this obligation of Love.’

In 1944, a mandir (temple) for Sathya Sai Baba’s devotees was built near the village. It is now referred to as the old mandir. The construction of Prashanthi Nilayam, the current ashram, began in 1948 and after 2 years, it was completed in 1950. In 1957 Sathya Sai Baba went on a North Indian temple tour. In 1954, Sathya Sai Baba established a small free General Hospital in the village of Puttaparthi.

Sri Sathya Sai University, Puttaparthi, A.P., India In 1963, Sathya Sai Baba suffered a stroke and four severe heart attacks. It is believed by some that he healed himself of these, and on recovering announced that he would be reborn as Prema Sai Baba in the state of Karnataka.

He stated, ‗I am Siva-Sakthi, born in the gothra (lineage) of Bharadwaja, according to a boon won by that sage from Siva and Sakthi. Siva was born in the gothra of that sage as Sai Baba of Shirdi; Siva and Sakthi have incarnated as Myself in his gothra now; Sakthi alone will incarnate as the third Sai (Prema Sai Baba) in the

In 1968, he established Dharmakshetra or Sathyam Mandir in Mumbai.

In 1973, he established Shivam Mandir in Hyderabad. On 19 January 1981, in Chennai he inaugurated the Sundaram Mandir. In March 1995 he started the water project to provide drinking water to 1.2 million people in the drought-prone Rayalaseema region in Anantapur. In 2001 Sathya Sai Baba established another free Super Specialty hospital in Bangalore to benefit the poor. In April 1999 he inaugurated the Ananda Nilayam Mandir in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

After 2005 Sathya Sai Baba used a wheelchair, and his failing health forced him to make fewer public appearances. In 2006 he suffered a fractured hip when a student standing on an iron stool slipped, and both boy and stool fell on Sathya Sai Baba. After that, he gave darshan from a car or his portable Chair.

Sathya Sai Baba's assertion of divine status was expressed in the first person; he stated it boldly and repeatedly.

‘I am beyond the reach of the most intensive enquiry and the most meticulous measurement. Only those who have recognized my love and experienced that love can assert that they have glimpsed my reality. Do not attempt to know me through the external eyes.’

He was also known as a singer, having released several CDs of bhajans.

Illness and death Sathya Sai Baba was admitted to a hospital at Prashantigram at Puttaparthi on 28 March, 2011 following respirationrelated problems. After many days of hospitalization, during which his condition progressively deteriorated, he died on 24 April at 7:40 IST. His funeral was held on 27 April. Many of his devotees, some of whom had held vigil outside the hospital for many days, gathered around the hospital causing police to be concerned about a breakdown in law and order. His body remained in state for two days for the darshan by the devotees.

Reactions Karnataka declared 25 and 26 April as days of mourning and Andhra Pradesh declared 25, 26 and 27 April as days of mourning. The government of Karnataka organized charter buses to go to Puttaparthi transporting the devotees.

Political reactions were swift with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani offering their condolences. Lalu Prasad Yadav and

southern politicians such as the Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi, Jayalalitha and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy also offered their condolences.

Beliefs and devotees

practices

of

Sathya Sai Baba said that his followers do not need to give up their original religion, saying ‘my objective is the establishment of sanatana dharma, which believes in one God as propitiated by the founders of all religions. So there is no need to give up his religion or deity.’

Internationally, Sathya Sai Baba devotees gather daily or weekly on Sundays and or Thursdays to sing group devotional songs, prayer, spiritual meditation, service to the community (Seva), and to participate in ‘Education in Human Values’ (SSEHV) known as ‘Bal Vikas’ - Blossoming of the Child, that can also be described as Sai Sunday School.

A primary aspect of Baba’s teachings is the spiritual benefit of darshan for his students. At that time, Sai Baba may interact with people, accept letters materialize and distribute vibhuti (sacred ash) or call groups or individuals for interviews. Devotees consider it a great privilege to have an interview and sometimes a single person, group or family will be invited for a private interview.

There is no published formal doctrine or set of rules for the Sai Baba movement.

Prasanthi Nilayam Puttaparthi, where Sathya Sai Baba was born and lived, was originally a small remote South Indian village in Andhra Pradesh. Now there is an extensive university complex, a specialty hospital, Chaitanya Jyoti (a world-religions museum that has won several international awards for design, a Planetarium, a railway station, a hill-view stadium, an administrative building, an airport, an indoor sports stadium and more.

High ranking Indian politicians, like the former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Andhra Pradesh former Chief Minister Konijeti Rosaiah and Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa have been official guests at the ashram in Puttaparthi. On Sathya Sai Baba’s 80th birthday celebration, it was reported that well over a million people attended, including 13,000 delegates from India and 180 other countries.

Sathya Sai Baba resided much of the time in his main ashram called Prashanthi Nilayam (Abode of Highest Peace) at Puttaparthi. In the hot summer he used to leave for his other ashram, called Brindavan, in Kadugodi, Whitefield a town on the outskirts of Bangalore.

Occasionally he visited his Sai Shruti ashram in Kodaikanal.

Sathya Sai Baba established three primary mandirs (spiritual centres) in India. The first mandir, founded in Mumbai in 1968, is referred to as either Dharmakshetra‘ or ‗Sathyam‘. The second center established in Hyderabad in

1973, is referred to as ‗Shivam‘. The third center, inaugurated on 19 January 1981 in Chennai, is referred to as ‗Sundaram‘thus signifying the three aspects Satyam-Shivam-Sundaram or Truth-Consciousness-Beauty.

Institutions, organizations and projects Sathya Sai Baba supported a variety of free educational institutions, hospitals, and other charitable works in over 166 countries. a) The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (now changed to Sri Sathya Sai University) in Prashanthi Nilayam is the only college in India to have received an ‘A++’ rating by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission).

Sri Sathya Sai University for which Baba is the Chancellor, has three campuses, one at Puttaparthi for men, one at Whitefield, Bangalore for men, and one at Anantapur for women. b) His charity supports an institute for Indian Classical Music called the Sri Sathya Sai Mirpuri College of Baba’s educational Music. institutions aim to impart Character Education along with Excellence in academics with emphasis on Human Values and Ethics.

Sathya Sai Baba chaired the Muddenahalli-Sathya Sai Loka Seva School and Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust Educational Institutions in

Muddenahalli-Kanivenarayanapura regions. c) In addition, a Sathya Sai Baba University and Medical School as well as a world class hospital and research institute are being constructed on over 200 acres (0.81 km2) to serve the destitute population. Baba said that the campus will be modeled after Puttaparthi and will infuse spirituality with academics. d) Sri Sathya Sai Super Specialty Hospital, Whitefield (suburb of Bangalore), Karnataka, India The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Puttaparthi is a 220 bed facility that provides free surgical and medical care and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao on 22 November 1991.

The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Puttaparthi The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Bangalore is a 333 bed hospital meant to benefit the poor.

The hospital was inaugurated on 19 January 2001 by the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The hospital has provided free medical care to over 250,000 patients since then.

e) The Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital was opened in Whitefield, Bangalore, in 1977 and provides complex surgeries, food and medicines free of cost. The hospital has treated over 2 million patients. f) The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust runs several general hospitals, two specialty hospitals, eye hospitals and mobile dispensaries and conducts medical camps in rural and slum areas in India. The Trust has also funded several major drinking water projects. g) One project completed in 1996 supplies water to 1.2 million people in about 750 villages in the drought-prone Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh. h) The second drinking water project, completed in 2004, supplies water to Chennai through a rebuilt waterway named â&#x20AC;&#x2014;Sathya Sai Ganga Canalâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;.Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi praised the Chennai water project and Sai Baba's involvement. i) Other completed water projects include the Medak District Project benefiting 450,000 people in 179 villages and the Mahbubnagar District Project benefitting 350,000 people in 141 villages. j) In January 2007, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust said it would start a drinking water project in Latur, Maharashtra.

k) In 2008, 2 million people in the state of Orissa, India were affected by floods. As a relief measure, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization has built 699 houses as a part of their first phase in 16 villages by March 2009.

Sathya Sai Baba‘s Educare program seeks to fund schools throughout the world with the goal of educating children in the five human values. According to the Sai Educare site, schools have been founded in 33 countries, including Australia, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Peru.

The Times of Zambia states: ‘The positive influence of Sathya Sai is unprecedented in the annals of education in Zambia. Sai Baba’s education ideals as embodied in his human values-based approach in education are an eye opener to educationists in Zambia.’

In Canada, the Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian research and educational organization, ranked the Sathya Sai School of Canada as one of the top 37 elementary schools in Ontario.

The Sathya Sai School scored a perfect 10 out of 10 in the Institute’s overall rating for academic performance.

On 23 November 1999, the Department of Posts, Government of India, released a postage stamp and a postal cover in recognition of the service rendered by Sathya Sai Baba in addressing the problem of providing safe drinking water to the rural masses.

On 23 November 2001, the digital radio network Radio Sai Global Harmony was launched through the World Space Organization, United States. Dr. Michael Oleinik of Nobel a distant relative to Alfred Nobel and one of the patrons for the radio network said that the radio network would spread Sathya Sai Baba’s message of global harmony and peace.

In January 2007, an event was held in Chennai Nehru stadium organized by the Chennai Citizens Conclave to thank Sathya Sai Baba for the 200 crore water project which brought water from the River Krishna in Andhra Pradesh to Chennai city. Four chief ministers attended the function then.

Miracles and clairvoyance Devotees say they have observed Sathya Sai Baba manifesting vibhuti (holy ash), and sometimes food and ‘small objects’ such as rings, necklaces and watches. In some books, magazines, filmed interviews and articles, Sathya Sai Baba’s followers report miracles of various kinds that they attribute to him. The first ever record of Baba's miracles by a foreigner was made

by Howard Murphet in his book, Sai Baba - Man of Miracles. Devotees have said that objects have appeared spontaneously in connection with pictures and altars of Sathya Sai Baba. Sathya Sai Baba’s devotees believe that he relieves his devotees by transferring their pain to himself.

Internationally, devotees report that vibhuti, kumkum, turmeric powder, holy water, Shiva lingams, statues of deities (brass and gold), sugar candy, fruits, herbs, amrita (a fragrant, nectar-like

honey), gems, colored string, writings in ash and various other substances spontaneously manifest and materialize on the walls, furniture, pictures and altars of Sathya Sai Baba.

The retired Icelandic psychology professor Erlendur Haraldsson wrote that he did not get Sathya Sai Baba’s permission to study him under controlled circumstances, but that he investigated the guru’s alleged miracles and manifestations through interviews with devotees and exdevotees. Some of the reported miracles included levitation (both indoors and outdoors), bilocation, physical disappearances, changing granite into sugar candy, changing water into another drink, changing water into gasoline, producing objects on demand, changing the color of his gown while wearing it, multiplying food, healing acute and chronic diseases, appearing in visions and dreams, making different fruits appear on any tree hanging from actual stems, controlling the weather, physically transforming into various deities and physically emitting brilliant light.

Haraldsson wrote that the largest allegedly materialized object that he saw was a mangalsutra necklace, 32 inches long, 16 inches long on each side.

Haraldsson wrote that some miracles attributed to Sathya Sai Baba resemble the ones described in the New Testament, but that although healings certainly figure in Sai Baba’s reputation, his impression is that healings do not play as prominent a role in Sathya Sai Baba’s activities as in those of Jesus.

Sathya Sai Baba has explained the phenomenon of manifestation as being an

act of divine creation, but refused to have his materializations investigated under experimental conditions. In a 1974 discourse, he stated, ‘The optical sense cannot visualize the truth. It gives only false and fogged information.

For example, there are many who observe my actions and start declaring that my nature is such and such.’

In April 1976, Dr. H. Narasimhaiah, a physicist, rationalist and then vice chancellor of Bangalore University, founded and chaired a committee ‘to rationally and scientifically investigate miracles and other verifiable superstitions’. Narasimhaiah wrote Sathya Sai Baba three letters that were widely publicized, in which he publicly challenged Baba to perform his miracles under controlled conditions. Sathya Sai Baba said that he ignored Narasimhaiah’s challenge because he felt his approach was improper.

Sathya Sai Baba further said about the Narasimhaiah committee, ‘Science must confine its inquiry only to things belonging to the human senses, while spiritualism transcends the senses. If you want to understand the nature of spiritual power you can do so only through the path of spirituality and not science. What science has been able to unravel is merely a fraction of the cosmic phenomena ...’ Narasimhaiah’s committee was dissolved in August 1977.

According to Erlendur Haraldsson, the formal challenge from the committee came to a dead end because of the negative attitude of the committee, and perhaps because of all the fanfare surrounding it. Narasimhaiah held the fact

that Sathya Sai Baba ignored his letters to be one of several indications that his miracles are fraudulent. As a result of this episode, a public debate raged for several months in Indian newspapers.

Sathya Sai Baba says of ‘miracles’, ‘those who profess to have understood me, the scholars, the yogis, the pundits, the jnanis, all of them are aware only of the least important, the casual external manifestation of an infinitesimal part of that power, namely, the ‘miracles’! This has been the case in all ages. People may be very near (physically) to the Avatar, but they live out their lives unaware of their fortune; they exaggerate the role of miracles, which are as trivial, when compared to my glory and majesty, as a mosquito is in size and strength to the elephant upon which it squats. Therefore, when you speak about these ‘miracles,’ I laugh within myself out of pity that you allow yourself so easily to lose the precious awareness of my reality.’

Controversies and Criticisms In a BBC documentary, Basava Premanand stated that he had been investigating Sathya Sai Baba since 1968 and that, in his opinion, Sai Baba has faked materialisations. He sued Sathya Sai Baba in 1986 for violations of the Gold Control Act, citing Sathya Sai Baba’s purported ‘materializations’ of gold objects. When the case was dismissed, Premanand unsuccessfully appealed on the ground that claimed spiritual power is not a defense recognized in law.

In the 1995 TV documentary Guru Busters, produced by filmmaker Robert Eagle for UK’s Channel 4, Sathya Sai

Baba was accused of faking his materializations. A videotape suggested that magician’s tricks were involved. The same videotape was mentioned in the Deccan Chronicle, on 23 November 1992, on a front page headline ‘DD Tape Unveils Baba Magic’.

However, Erlendur Haraldsson, a professor of psychology, in his book Modern Miracles stated that, on investigating the DD video researchers did not find evidence of fake materialization as claimed by Deccan chronicle. Wiseman took the video to a company which investigates corporate fraud. In spite of improving the graininess of the low quality video with enhanced filters and running it through advanced image processing systems, the DD video did not provide firm evidence of sleight of hand.

In 1998, British journalist Mick Brown stated in his book The Spiritual Tourist that Sathya Sai Baba’s claim of ‘resurrecting’ the American devotee Walter Cowan in 1971 was probably untrue. His opinion was based on letters from the attending doctors presented in the magazine Indian Skeptic, published

by Basava Premanand, a skeptic and amateur magician. Brown also related, in the same book, his experiences with manifestations of vibuthi from Sathya Sai Baba’s pictures in houses in London, which he felt were not fraudulent or the result of trickery. Brown wrote with regards to Sathya Sai Baba’s claims of omniscience, that ‘skeptics have produced documentation clearly showing discrepancies between Baba’s reading of historical events and biblical prophecies, and the established accounts.’

In December 2000, the magazine India Today published a cover story about Sai Baba with allegations of fakery made by the magician P. C. Sorcar, Jr.

miracles, suggest that they explained as sleight of hand.

The Vancouver Sun in 2001 reported that Sathya Sai Baba told his adherents not to browse the World Wide Web due to the allegations rapidly circulating on various Internet websites and in a few newspapers. In a 2000 public discourse, Sathya Sai Baba said, ‘These teachings (the Vedas) are highly sacred. Today people are ready to believe all that they see on television and internet but do not repose their faith in the Vedic declarations. Internet is like a waste paper basket. Follow the ‘innernet,’ not the internet.’

Neither Sathya Sai Baba nor any organizations associated with him have been charged or convicted for sexual abuse or any other crime in a court of law. Alaya Rahm filed a lawsuit against the Sathya Sai Baba Society in the Superior Court of California on January 6, 2005. On April 7, 2006 Alaya Rahm withdrew his lawsuit after indications that his challenge lacked merit. The case was dismissed ‘with prejudice’ meaning it cannot be filed for the same claims again.

The Pioneer also noted that no offers of monetary settlement were paid to Alaya Rahm.

In 2004, in the UK and internationally, the BBC aired a documentary titled The Secret Swami, in its series ‘The World Uncovered’. One central theme of the BBC documentary was Alaya Rahm’s sexual abuse allegations against Sathya Sai Baba. The documentary interviewed him together with Mark Roche, who had devoted 25 years of his life since 1969 to the movement and alleged abuse by him.

A spokesman for the BBC told Asian Voice that the documentary had gone to great lengths to be balanced and fair, and that the story was one of a crisis and ultimately a betrayal of faith. Another documentary, Seduced By Sai Baba, carried interviews of abuse allegations. It was produced by Denmark’s national television and radio broadcast company, Denmarks Radio (DR).

Documentaries produced by the BBC and the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, analyzing videos of the supposed

can

be

Responses to criticism

During an interview with Asian Voice magazine Ashok Bhagani, a trustee of the Sai Organization in the UK, said that the allegations in the Secret Swami BBC documentary were baseless. Bhagani said that devotees never meet Sai Baba alone.

Lawrence A. Babb states that ‘he is certainly more than the mere parlor trick magician many of his critics claim that he is.’

Devotee Bill Aitken (traveller) was quoted

by The Week as saying that Sathya Sai Baba’s reputation has not been harmed by the negative stories published about the guru. He said that the more detractors rail against Sathya Sai Baba, the more new devotees went to see him.

In the article Divine Downfall, published in the Daily Telegraph, Anil Kumar, the ex-principal of the Sathya Sai Educational Institute said that he believed that the

controversy is part of Baba’s divine plan and that all great religious teachers had to face criticism during their lives. Anil Kumar also said that allegations have been leveled at Sathya Sai Baba since childhood, but with every criticism he becomes more and more triumphant.

In an official letter made public in December 2001, A.B. Vajpayee (then Prime Minister of India), P.N. Bhagawati (Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India), Ranganath Misra (Chair Person, National Human Rights Commissioner of India and Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India), Najma Heptulla (President of the InterParliamentary Union; UNDP Distinguished Human Development Ambassador) and Shivraj Patil (Member of Parliament, India; Formerly of the Lok Sabha & Union Minister) all signed a letter which stated as follows: ‘We are deeply pained and anguished by the wild, reckless and concocted allegations made by certain vested interests and people against Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. We would normally expect that responsible media would ascertain the true facts before printing such calumny - especially when the person is revered globally as an embodiment of love and selfless service to humanity. Since this professional ethic has not been observed by a section of the media, we have elected to go public with this signed statement.’

The Times of India on 26 December 2000 said that Sathya Sai Baba ‘lashed out at his detractors in a rare display of anger’ while referring to criticism

published in a magazine. quoted him as saying:

The

Times

‘Jesus Christ underwent many hardships, and was put to the cross because of jealousy. Many around him could not bear the good work he did and the large number of followers he gathered. One of his disciples, Judas, betrayed him. In those days there was one Judas, but today there are thousands. Just as that Judas was tempted to betray Jesus, the Judases of today, too, are bought out to lie. Jealousy was the motive behind the allegations levelled at him’.

Sathya Sai Baba publicly responded to the allegations on 25 December 2000: ‘Some people out of their mean-mindedness are trying to tarnish the image of Sai Baba. I am not after name and fame. So, I do not lose anything by their false allegations.

My glory will go on increasing day by day.

It will never diminish even a bit if they were to publicize their false allegations in the whole world in bold letters. Some devotees seem to be perturbed over these false statements. They are not true devotees at all. Having known the mighty power of Sai, why should they be afraid of the ‘cawing of crows’? One should not get carried away by all that is written on walls, said in political meetings or the vulgar tales carried by the press.

HOW LONG WILL THE AGED AVATAR OF THE AGE -SAI BABALAST? Of Sathya Narayana Raju (later Sathya Sai Baba) it is reported by several devotee writers that he will die at the age 95 and or 96 (Some places in India a person who is 95, yet is in-the 96th year,

is said to be 96 years old.) On various occasions Baba has reportedly said in private that his life would last 96 years which age he finally confirmed in a public discourse in 2000. Yet, contradictorily, in two early discourses in 1960 and 1961 respectively, he gave the length of his remaining life as 58 and 59 years. This adds up to a life-span of only either 92 or 93 years!

Will Sathya Sai Baba die on his own birthday? The Norwegian journalist, Thorbjørn Færøvik, who visited Prashanthi Nilayam in 1998, reported the following statement from the organizer of the World Conference on the Future of Humanity:‗He‘s going to die on his 95-year anniversary,‘ said Dr. A. Murthi, who sitting in the organizing committee for the World Conference and is a sworn devotee of Sai Baba.

Note particularly Sai Baba's assertion: ‗My Word will never fail...‘ Which age will it be? Ninety-two, Ninetythree, Ninety-six? Or whenever he sees fit? It is interesting too that no Indian astrologer who has made predictions about Sathya Sai Baba has given the date of his death... though most of them do this with great confidence for anyone who wants! So what about when Sai Baba’s prophecies are so self-contradictory?

Some of his words on that are certain to fail. Many of his words have already failed, as documented profusely.

We can confidently await the further fall of the highly questionable Sathya Sai

Baba, whose adharmic (i.e. ‘unrighteous) activities have already been exposed to the world. His claims will not hold, he will not lift mountain ranges or fly through the air. He will not live to be 96 (he has himself said in published discourses that he would live until, age 93, but some fool devotee author got it wrong and wrote 96 and this figure was the one that stuck!).

At whatever age he departs this earth, the believers, having been deluded by his many deceptions, including his psychic powers (none of which are not found elsewhere, even today), will find a rationalization for it, as they do for everything else.

The state of his health is a closelyguarded secret, though his debilities can be seen in that he cannot walk without support and then only a few yards. Were it to be known, for example, that he suffers from osteoarthritis, the consequences for many followers would be further to doubt his claims of perfect health as a concomitant of his alleged divinity, purity, patience and perseverance (which he holds are a guarantee of perfect health!). The large and protective social environment built up around him and his ashrams - which are dependent on the flow of donations - has already suffered consequences as his reputation has sunk. For the poor believers, it will be another of his ‘lessons’, another ‘test of faith’ doubtless.

Probably only completely credulous ‘blind faith true believers’ or badly misinformed and deluded followers are now active in supporting him and covering up his many misdeeds, bogus claims, fraudulent ‘materializations’ and ignorant

proclamations and unworldly misinforming ‘teachings’.

and

Sathya Sai Baba‘s death – no miracles as his life!

The death of Sathya Sai Baba was wrongly predicted by him, he did not live into his 90s as he prophesies on numerous occasions! This is yet another false boast and one which confounds all the devotees who blindly believed his words and in his divinity. He died a sick man, in more sense than one!

The BBC has announced his death, but adds that he has been accused of fraudulent miracle tricks and sexual abuses. This is an epitaph that will always follow him and, as researchers and historians collect and study the evidence, the accusations and the reason Sai Baba avoided prosecution will become evident and a permanent part of his otherwise largely bogus ‗story‘.

How did he actually die? This is difficult to answer. The medical report states Cardiorespiratory failure. Now that is very neutral medical terminology, but what caused this breathing and heart failure?

This happens if one is taken off vital life support. So did he jump or was he pushed?

Your guess is as good as mine… those who really know will be tighter than clams if it was a deliberate act by those in charge. If he jumped, then it fitted in extremely well with all the massive planning of the authorities for a big screen send-off, new helicopter pads for VIPs all preparing to descend just today!

Indeed it seems a miracle of timing from Vishnu, reclining on his serpent bed in milky ocean? If there is any body one cannot trust in India (rhetorical) then it is certainly the Sathya Sai Central Trust and their minions!

His death is announced on the day that it is widely believed that Jesus was resurrected – Easter Sunday – suspecting those in power around him to have kept him on support so they could disconnect him on just this day.

It seems to make a bigger splash than the crashing fact that he has died and ‗prematurely‘ (according to him). However, he has died and no resurrection is reported! Still, one should not be surprised if some fantasists claim to have seen him raised and in the flesh… there are plenty of lunatics among the indoctrinated and deluded believers in his self-proclaimed divinity and even his most bizarre and beyond-allcredibility miracles!

Take the story that The Times of India put out yesterday as example of ‘fringe lunacy’! How a major newspaper could spread such preposterous rumors (under the cover of ‘reporting’) as ―Baba said stronger‖?

he

would

return

Answer: because it pulls in a mass of desperately hoping devotee readers and sells the paper very well. It may be also partly due to the shadow of Justice Bhagwati – a corrupt Supreme Court exjudge who is involved with the Times of India and has for decades been a Sai

Baba official too. Here is the Times of India’s report:-

One of my correspondents just mailed me this perceptive comment:

PUTTAPARTHI: Did Sathya Sai Baba have premonition 10 years ago that he would fall seriously ill? Yes, claim his followers.

According to them, Sai Baba had predicted in 2000 that he would be indisposed for 40 days but would come back strong to give darshan to his devotees.

―Now after his death the inner circle will do all their best to protect his image of an avatar or at least a saint as it is a vital factor for the future donations and pilgrim‘s attraction. On the other hand, it is a good point for journalists and historians to focus on SSB as he was with all his stuff. This is an opportunity for critical voices to be heard. But a real breakthrough in our knowledge of what happened in SSB‘s kitchen is possible only if someone from the inner circle is deprived of its share in multi-billion dollar empire. Then we will have someone who is ready to speak out before he is killed.

This was revealed in a book ‗Tapovanam — Bhagawan Sri Sathya Saibaba Satcharitra Nityaparayanam‘ in which the author Jandhyala Venkateswara Sastry has written an essay on Baba‘s ill-health. Sai Baba had told his students at his Sai Shruti ashram in Kodaikanal in 2000: ‗Though most of my disciples fall at my feet, they do not know my real value. A time would come when I would vanish and take a walk across the skies. During that phase, my body would face serious health problems and devotees would be desperately praying for my recovery.‘ This Indian sastri lives in cloud-cuckoo land, which is well-populated with Sathya Sai worshippers, including a large number of Indian gurus and swamis. Only one or two have bravely spoken out against Sathya Sai Baba, for they mostly wanted to believe in India’s top dog avatar, while others dared not stand forth due to the extreme harassment that prominent critics have faced in India – especially the world-famous sceptic, Basava Premanand.

Oct 1934-May 20th 2008

Naqshbandi Sheikh Sufi Onkar Nath-Bhaiyya Ji RA gujre hE< lMhe< ijNdgI ke terI saehvt me< jae bn gye hE< vae Aaj lMhye nUr ijNdgI ke merI bn ke inSbte nKzbNdI Daye hE< ijNdgI me< merI )Ulae< kae hE r<ijz mhkate hE< Aaizyane kae jb gujr rhI hE ijNdgI %NhI< lMhae< ke sdke me< Ab gujrtI jay ijNdgI yU< hI duAa hE bs yhI rb se -taoshobuddha Solemn are the moments of life spent in thy company Verily have these become the moments of Light Divine As the moments of Nisbet-E-Naqshbandi Now adorn my Life, My Living and my Being too Flowers get verily jealous as these moments Fill each congregation with Light â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Divine And life moves on as the blossoming of such moments May thus the sojourn continue erelong Such is my humble prayer each finite moment!!!

-Taoshobuddha

Shrine Naqshbandi Sheikh Sufi Onkar Nath – Bhaiyya ji RA

Naqshbandi Sufi Brij Mohan Lal RA and Sufi Shakuntala Devi RA (Parents Naqshbandi Sheikh Sufi Onkar Nath – BhaiyyaJi RA)

Naqshbandi Sufi Sheikh Onkar Nath was born in October 1934 to the parentage of NaqshbandiSufi Brij Mohan Lal RA and Sufi Shakuntala Devi RA. Unlike many other masters whose birth date is not clear Sufi Onkar Nath‟s date of birth

according to Gregorian calendar is not certain.

According to Hindu Lunar calendar he was born on the fifth day of Hindu period of Pitra Paksh or Kanahgat. This is the

period when Hindus pay oblation to their departed ancestors for their salvation.

And it is not considered as auspicious for celebrations. As a result all celebrations are postponed until after the end of this period of fifteen days. Under these circumstances Sufi Jai Devi who is the consort of Sufi Naqshbandi Raghuber Dayal or Chacha Ji RA and the grandmother of the Sheikh Onkar Nath suggested that the birthday be celebrated on the fifth day of the following period of Navratri. This is considered as the auspicious period between Pitra Paksh and Deepavali. Since then the birthday was celebrated on the second day of the spiritual gathering as this gave the opportunity to the other devotees as well to participate in the birth celebration of their beloved master.

Later in 1960‟s the fourth son of the sheikh – Prakash Mohan and more popularly known by his nick name – „Ootte‟ was born on the second day of the function and the also the son of sheikh‟s younger brother – Rakesh Mohan was born around the same time. Therefore the celebration became triple fold.

I recall it was during the spiritual gathering at the shrine of his masterfather during the month of Dashahra or Vijay-Dashmi festival that my grandmother – Shakuntala Devi along with other family members and the congregation of other devotees will celebrate the birth day of Sheikh.

Therefore, the second day of the festival according to lunar calendar is dedicated to the birth of the sheikh.

He was born in Fatehpur where his father Sufi Brij Mohan Lal was posted in his

government job after two brothers and a sister. From the early childhood he was under the benign care of his parents and thus the traits of the masterhood were inculcated in him.

Onkar Nath and his elder sister were entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the basic needs of the Sheikh from arranging his bed to other things.

Every night both brother and sister will arrange and fix the bed of the father. And each time when the sheikh will sit on the bed his usual complaint was that the bed is not fixed correct. So he would get up from the bed and consciously in his usual gesture of indrawn-ness into his being will move the bed from side to side and then when satisfied that the bed is fixed good he would sit in preparation for other prayers and tawwazojh to the disciples far and wide. Both my mother – Gyatri and Sheikh Onkar Nath found his father to be really fussy for such small things like bed.

So one day both of them decided to test if the sheikh really knew what he meant by saying that the bed is not fixed good or he was simply fussy and complaining.

They planned a way out. They put a mark around the posts or legs of the bed and the next day they kept the bed slightly away from these marks where the bed was shifted by the sheikh. Both continued to watch next day what happens. As usual when the sheikh came inside after the meditation session was over and sat on the bed complained saying these people do not know how to fix the bed correctly.

Saying this he got up from the bed and in his usual manner shift the bed until his consciousness was satisfied that the bed is now in order sat.

Now it was the turn of the both brother and sister to watch if the father really knew what he was saying or he was simply complaining in his usual manner.

To their surprise they found the posts of the bed were on the exact marks where the sheikh fixed the previous night. Such is the delicacy or the fine or precise tuning of the consciousness of the sheikh.

Thus Onkar Nath grew in such an environment that instilled the fine seeds of mindfulness according to Buddha of small things.

Remember human consciousness is the aggregate of such moments of mindfulness. And also such is the way of master for his disciples.

Sufi Brij Mohan Lal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the father on the sheikh was the master of such fine things.

Through these alone one indeed learns the art of meditativeness moment to moment. Meditation is not something to be done once or twice for the day. Indeed it is inculcating the habit of moment to moment awareness and being conscious of both inside and outside.

Initiation of the Sheikh Initiation is the ultimate in the process of transformation. Why is initiation into meditation or initiation to a master essential?

As such as man exists, he is asleep. Even in his waking he is asleep. His sleep is neurotic. He cannot wake up from this sleep. On his own, he may wake up but still remain in slumber. A Master is needed to wake him up from such neurosis. Initiation is the process for him to remain in contact with the one who is awakened. Without this it is almost impossible for you to be awake. You are capable of dreaming even when you are awake.

When it is said that man is asleep, this has to be understood. Man dreams twenty-four hours a day. In the night when we are closed to the outer world, we continue to dream. During the day our senses are open. Our senses open in the outer world of duality. It is through the senses that we continue to experience the outer world, but the dreams continue within. Just close your eyes and you start dreaming again. Dreams are continuity inside. You are aware of the outer world but that awareness is imposed on the dreaming mind. Thus, continues the dream. In such a case we cannot envision reality although we are awake. This is how dreams are imposed on reality. What we actually see is our projections on reality.

Everyone is plagued with dreams. A father is full of his unfulfilled dreams. You become an object of projection for your father. Your father will project his dreams on you. Then, whatever he understands about you gets mixed up with his own dreams. So projecting oneâ&#x20AC;&#x;s dreams on someone else is different than loving.

When you love someone, you do not impose your dreams on them. He will appear quite different than when you do not love him. The other becomes quite different when you use the other as a screen to project your dreams.

When someone loves you, the dream is different. Also, that person appears different. On the contrary, when you do not love someone, the person is the same, the screen is also the same, but the projection differs. In that case you are not using the other as the screen to project your dreams. Things can change again. Once again you can love the other and then he will appear different.

Normally, we do not see what this is. We

go on seeing our own dreams projected on reality.

A master is not the same to each one of you. Each one projects something different on the master. In reality, he is one as far as he is concerned. If the master himself is dreaming, then he will differ in each moment. It is so because, each moment his interpretation will differ.

But when the master is awakened, then he will remain the same in all situations and circumstances. Buddha said the real test of an enlightened one is that he is always the same. It is just like sea water.

Its taste never changes wherever you taste it from.

As a person you are a projection of ideas, notions, conceptions, and interpretations.

Like a projector you go on projecting things that are nowhere but inside you.

The whole becomes a screen. Then you cannot be aware by yourself. This is deep sleep.

I have heard, there was a Sufi master, Hijira. One day an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him to save as much water as possible, because the next day the devil would poison all the water and whoever drank that water would turn mad. So that night, the Sufi collected as much water as he could.

The phenomenon really happened. The next day everyone became mad after drinking the poisoned water. The whole city became mad. No one knew what had happened. It was only the Sufi who was not mad. But everyone thought that the Sufi had become mad. But he knew what had happened. No one believed him. He went on drinking his water and remained sane by himself. However, he could not continue for long in this way. The entire city was living in an altogether different world. And one day the rumor came that he would be caught and put into prison. It was believed that he had gone mad.

Finally, one morning they got hold of him.

He had two options, either accept the treatment for his madness or be prepared to go to prison. He was not allowed freedom. He was condemned as mad. It was based on the conclusion that he spoke a different language that could not be understood by the masses.

The Sufi was at a loss. He tried to remind people of their past through every possible means. But the people had forgotten everything.

He was incomprehensible to them. So they surrounded his house and caught him. At this, the Sufi asked to be given some time to cure himself. He went to the well and drank some water. As he drank the water, he became one like them. The whole city was happy that the Sufi was cured now.

Now his madness was no more you are asleep. But you are never aware of this sleep. When everyone is mad and you are also mad, you can never be aware of this.

Initiation is, therefore, the way to awaken you from this sleep.

By initiation is meant that now you have surrendered to someone who is awake.

You are a part of the world; a part of its duality and its madness. Living in this world you are always plagued by dreams.

Such feelings can also come from someone who is in a sleeping state. Sleep is not always deep. In the beginning sleep wavers. Sometimes it is deep at other times it gets shallow. There is a similarity between ordinary sleep and the metaphysical sleep.

Ordinary sleep fluctuates between various planes and levels; metaphysical sleep also fluctuates.

At times you are on the borderline. You are very close to being a Buddha. You can then understand something that Buddha is saying. However, whatever is heard or understood is not exactly the same. But you do get a glimpse of the truth. It is like looking at the sunrise from a room

through a window. You are not as yet in openness under the vast sky.

The master observes this. A person who is on the borderline of this metaphysical sleep needs initiation. He needs to be within the energy field of an awakened or enlightened master.

He can hear something.

He can understand something. He can see something as well.

Everything around him is like the mist, yet still he feels something. Thus, he approaches an Enlightened One, not really knowing the essence of enlightenment. He is ready to surrender.

This is the only way to wake up from this metaphysical sleep. Sleep of lives! Only this much this person can do.

Surrendering brings the understanding that something other than sleep is now happening. Somehow he feels this. But he cannot exactly know what this is.

Whenever an enlightened one passes, those who are on the borderline of this metaphysical sleep can recognize that there is something different about this person. A different breeze, a different energy field surrounds this person. He behaves differently. He speaks differently.

He lives differently. He walks differently.

Something different has happened to him.

He looks like one of us, but in reality he is much more. Much more than total human intellect can comprehend! He is the pulse of the unknown. So those who are on the borderline can feel this. But they are asleep. Also, the borderline sleep is transient. They can fall back into sleep at any time.

Before they fall back to sleep or deeper unconsciousness, it is essential for them to surrender to an awakened one. This is initiation. But this is from the side of the one who is to be initiated. He is incapable of doing anything for himself. He knows that if he does not surrender now, it will be impossible later on. This moment

cannot be lost. Such moments come only once in our lives. It is not in anyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x;s hand to be on the borderline once again.

It happens for so many reasons, that they are beyond human control.

This is the beginning of the process of initiation. On the part of the initiated, this refers to total let go â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a state of total surrender. It can never be partial. A partial surrender is never surrender. This is like deceiving yourself. In partial surrender you hold something within. And that which is withheld may push you again into deep sleep. And then you have lost the opportunity for many lives!

Remember that the non-surrendered part will prove fatal. Any moment it can go back to sleep!

Surrender is always total. For surrender total trust is an essential precondition.

The moment you surrender totally, change begins to happen. Then you cannot fall back in into dreams. When you surrender, the entire projecting mind gets shattered. This projecting mind is born out of ego. Also it remains connected to the ego. So it cannot exist without the ego. Ego is the base of this projecting mind. When you surrender, you have surrendered the cause of your existence up to now. You have given up completely.

Initiation means that the person who was sleepy till now is seeking help to be awakened. He surrenders to one who is awake. Though it seems simple, it is not so. When you go to an Enlightened One to surrender yourself, what you are surrendering is your sleep, your dreams, and your neurosis. Nothing else needs to be surrendered because you are nothing more than your sleep, your dream, and your neurosis! In fact, you surrender your sleep, your dreams, your neurosis, and the whole nonsense of the past. From the side of the initiated, this is surrender.

Surrender of the past! But from the side

of the one who initiates you, it is a responsibility for the future. It is a responsibility for transcendence and for the birth of a new man. One who is asleep can never be responsible.

Responsibility comes with awakening.

This is the fundamental law of life. One who is asleep cannot be responsible even for himself. And the awakened one is responsible even for others. So when you come to an awakened one, he becomes responsible for you. That is why an awakened Krishna could tell Arjuna, “Leave everything. And come to me.

Surrender at my feet.” Or as Jesus says, “I am the truth. I am the door. I am the gate. Come and pass through me. I will certainly be a witness on the last day of your judgment. I will answer for you.”

This is analogy. Every day is the Day of Judgment. Not only every day, instead every moment is the Day of Judgment.

There is nothing like the last day. These were the words of Jesus that he spoke to his disciples, who could understand Him. They were within the energy field of Jesus. And this had brought to them an understanding of the message of Jesus.

However, the present day followers of Jesus cannot understand the message.

They are only interested in the business not the transformation. Jesus was, in fact, saying, “I will be responsible for you. And I will answer for you in front of the father.

I will be there as a witness. Surrender to me, I will be your witness.”

This is the responsibility of the master.

When he initiates you, he undertakes to transform you, so that a new being is born out of you. No one, who is asleep himself, can take the responsibility for you. One can be responsible for others only when he need not be responsible for himself. He is unburdened. He is no more.

He is just the pulse of the unknown. An emptiness that simply echoes the whispers of the unknown! He is the

manifestation of the unknown in finite form. So only such a person can really initiate you! Not otherwise! No particular person can initiate anyone. And if that happens, (and this is happening everyday) it is like a blind trying to lead the blind. However, in reality, both perish.

One who is asleep cannot initiate. But the ego cannot help. This attitude is dangerous. The whole initiation, the whole mystery of it, the whole beauty of it, has now become so ugly because of those who were not entitled to initiate.

Only one who is not plagued by ego, who has no dreams within, can initiate.

Otherwise, initiation is a great sin.

In the olden days initiation was not so easy. One had to wait for a long time to be initiated. Sometimes this waiting was for the entire life. This was discipline. And now there is a competition among the pseudo masters to initiate as many as possible! It has become an ego game.

I belong to a Sufi family of Enlightened Masters. Sufis would initiate you only when you had waited for a long time.

When you stayed with a master within his energy field, you were being prepared.

You had to wait, without questioning. And when the times came, the master himself would say that the time had come. Sufi masters remained in whatever vocation was theirs. If the master was a shoemaker then one would continue helping him in the trade for years. And you could not even question the relevance of shoemaking. So you went on helping the master and waiting for years.

There was no talk of prayer or meditation.

He would not talk of anything but shoemaking. Your waiting was prayer.

Your waiting was meditation. Helping the master in shoemaking would cleanse you.

I was never taught any prayer or any technique of meditation. I was a witness

to all those who were initiated. My job was to fix the meditation room, take care of the personal needs of the master, take care of the visitors, and answer their queries when the message of the master was not understood. One day, when I complained to another master about this, I was told that the elder master had given me everything. “All that is, had been bestowed on you earlier, and this now needs to grow.”

When you are around the master, a simple waiting, this unquestionable waiting, prepares the ground for complete surrender. So it was only after a long wait initiation was possible. My uncle, the present Sufi master, my mother and my father were initiated on the night of Phagwa – the Hindu festival of color.

My uncle was a young boy who was collecting the firewood and donation that night for the Phagwa fire. My mother was asleep, and was not interested in anything like initiation. She had asked her father many times before but the sheikh refused saying that not yet. Therefore she, being the eyeball of her father decided not to ask again for being initiated.

And my father Naqshbandi Lakshmi Sahai knew nothing of initiation, just one month ago he had been married. They all resented the idea of initiation. But they were on the border of metaphysical sleep and they had to be brought by force, so that my Grandfather, the Sufi master could initiate. Such is the way of the masters.

Now everything is different. No one wants to wait. We are time conscious. Because of this, initiation has become difficult. You cannot be initiated. The whole running of the present day mind is because of the fear of death. We are only conscious of death – our body. There is no

consciousness of the deathless. In the past the aspirants were conscious of the deathlessness. There was no hurry and initiation was easy. In fact, everything was easy.

If you are in a hurry and the master initiates you, your running or your dream state, it is a devise. A devise so that you can wait! Masters have used this devise to persuade you into the process. On the contrary, when the master asks you to wait then your process of transformation cannot begin. In such a case the master will allow you to wait afterwards. The master creates devises and techniques to play with. While you are playing with such techniques you can wait as long as the master wants. And when the master finds you are ready, and then the second initiation happens. This second initiation was the first one in olden days. Now this is the formal initiation and the second will be the informal one. For the second, you need not ask the master. This he gives on his own.

Surrender on the part of the disciple and the responsibility on the part of the master is the bridge. And as soon as you are ready to surrender, the master appears. Masters have always been in existence. No master can begin the process without surrender. You only surrender that which you think you have and in reality you do not have. And what is that which you think being in possession of? Indeed, it is your false entity or ego or nafs and the clatter of the mind that you consider as your possession master takes away and in place of this fill you with his awareness, understanding, and lovingness. Thus continues the inward journey for fruition.

When you can find someone, to whom you have to surrender, that is good. But if you do not find, then the master appears.

He comes whenever you are ready, when

you are empty within. Then the spiritual force rushes towards you and fills you. So when you feel you are ready to surrender, don‟t delay. When the moment comes, just surrender!

When you are ready, do not hesitate; surrender! It is not important to whom you surrender. You can even surrender to a tree. Because the real thing is surrendering! Surrender to a tree. It will become your master. And whenever there is surrendering, one always appears, who becomes responsible for you. This is what initiation is.

Thus when Sheikh Onkar Nath was initiated he was only 16 years. It was the beginning of a new chapter in the life of the sheikh. His father no more remained his father alone instead he became the master as well. He always hesitated in coming forward in front of the sheikh for anything so he had to push forward his elder sister Gyatri. He knew very well that the father will never refuse her. This was more so when they want to go to movies.

Amidst all this floating within the energyfield of the sheikh and long chain of sufi masters sheikh Onkar Nath continued to blossom for the future works. In 1955 when Sheikh was still a student of B. Sc. in Lucknow University, that during the satsang congregation Naqshbandi Sheikh Sufi Brij Mohan Lal RA entered into samadhi. Because of financial constraints he had to discontinue the studies and seek work to maintain the family including the mother and a younger brother. First he worked in Canal Office on Temporary basis and then he got the job in the Reserve Bank of India – the central bank of the country as a clerk.

Then 1962 he along with his brother – in – law‟s younger brother began the graduation process as a part time student and passed with honours and the First Class.

And on the tenth day ceremony under the care of his mother Sufi Shakuntala Devi Sheikh Onkar Nath was bestowed upon with the status of the sheikh as the 39 Sheikh of the Golden Chain of Naqshbandi – Mujaddadi-Mazaharia-Ramchandria order of Sufism.

Thereafter he continued to grow to his full potential as the sheikh guided by his mother. She took care of the eternal garden of the sheikh Brij Mohan Lal for nineteen years. And when she found the tree has grown to its full potential and is capable to giving shelter to many aspirants Shakuntala Devi too entered Samadhi on April 12th 1974. And on March 25th 1985 his first wife Shyamwati Devi too entered samadhi. There after he got remarried to Mamta Devi who is the daughter of his devotee – Ishwari Sahai.

From the job when he was retired he moved from Kanpur to the city of Lucknow where the shrine complex exists.

He established the trust. And also the combined professional kitchen service started at the complex where the seekers can get full meals for a very nominal cost.

His health continued to fail but not the inner spirit. In January 2008 I visited India and during our meeting which was a silent communion he was indrawn for certain reasons that I cannot explain as yet.

On May 20th 2008 Sheikh Onkar Nath entered Maha Samadhi. On the tenth day

after the funeral rites the mortal remains were enshrined. And the shrine of the sheikh stands in the same shrine complex of his master sheikh Brij Mohan Lal And mother Shakuntala devi RA. Unlike after the enshrinement of Sufi Brij Mohan Lal the master hood was not conferred on any one as each lacked Nisbet, trust in the sheikh and inner preparation. There are several factions and each carries the work separately.

There is apparent faction for various

reasons. Under these circumstances the sheikh manages the affairs in his unembodied form. After Samadhi the sheikh can continue like this even for ten years.

I must end here knowing the purpose and the place where this is being published.

However the entire life of the sheikh in details will appear soon in the volume 3 of the Leaves from a Sufi Heart.

I must end the homage with a prayer and commitment that let our lives be the flower at the altar of the sheikh.

jIvn sumn cFa kr terI hm AcRna kre<ge< jnm jnm terI hm v<dna kre<ge<. vahunI jIvn pu:p tv cr[I , kIitR ga^ tuHI jNmaejNmI .

EMBELLISHING LIFE TO BE A FLOWER FOR THY ALTER I SHALL ERELONG SING THY GLORIES!!!

Naqshbandi Sheikh Sufi Onkar Nath â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bhayyia ji RA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3emb21AJU4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RETdQ81YH8o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIydbfNbWL4

New releases of Taoshobuddha On: Amazon.Com; KDP. Amazon; Amazon.Com UK; Create Space.Com; kdp.Amazon.UK List Price:$50.00 8.5" x 11" (21.59 x 27.94 cm) Full Color on White paper 160 pages ISBN-13: 978-1461130734 (CreateSpace-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1461130735 BISAC: Cooking / Regional & Ethnic / Indic

Cooking Taoshobuddha Way Volume 1 The Exotic East Indian Cookbook with a difference Cooking for the transformation of human consciousness is Cooking Taoshobuddha Way or cooking for Buddhas!

The uniqueness of Indian Cuisine lies in its special blend of spices that release fragrant aroma in the atmosphere. The aroma and the finishing look become more attractive than a beautifully dressed beauty. This creates an enticing ambiance in the surroundings.

Cooking lovingly! Cooking meditatively! Cooking for Buddhas is the central theme of Cooking Taoshobuddha Way! Cooking for the transformation of human consciousness is what Taoshobuddha means by cooking. And this is the central theme of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Cooking Taoshobuddha way or Buddha Way!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; It is indeed cooking for Buddhas. A strange, yet still a meaningful title for a cook Book!

Cooking lovingly! Cooking meditatively! Cooking for Buddhas!

CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/3603782 List Price:$70.00 8.5" x 11" (21.59 x 27.94 cm) Full Color Bleed on White paper 260 pages ISBN-13: 978-1461112099 (CreateSpace-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1461112095 BISAC: Cooking / Regional & Ethnic / Asian

COOKING TAOSHOBUDDHA WAY VOL 2 A COMPREHENSIVE EAST INDIAN COOK BOOK Cooking Lovingly! Cooking Meditatively! Cooking for Buddhas!

Cooking for the transformation of human consciousness is Cooking Taoshobuddha Way or cooking for Buddhas!

The uniqueness of Indian Cuisine lies in its special blend of spices that release fragrant aroma in the atmosphere. The aroma and the finishing look become more attractive than a beautifully dressed beauty. This creates an enticing ambiance in the surroundings.

Cooking lovingly! Cooking meditatively! Cooking for Buddhas is the central theme of Cooking Taoshobuddha Way! Cooking for the transformation of human consciousness is what Taoshobuddha means by cooking. And this is the central theme of „Cooking Taoshobuddha way or Buddha Way!‟ It is indeed cooking for Buddhas. A strange, yet still a meaningful title for a cook Book!

Cooking lovingly! Cooking meditatively! Cooking for Buddhas!

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The Diamond Sutra of Buddha: The Vajra Chedika Prajna Paramitta Sutra

Authored by Taoshobuddha List Price:$30.00 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Black & White on White paper 424 pages ISBN-13: 978-1461145233 (CreateSpace-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1461145236 BISAC: Religion / Buddhism / Sacred Writings

The Diamond Sutra of Buddha I love Gautama the Buddha because he represents to me the essential core of religion. He is not the founder of Buddhism Buddhism is a byproduct - but he is the beginner of a totally different kind of religion in the world. He’s the founder of a ‘Religionless Religion’. He has propounded no religion instead religiousness. And this is a great radical change in the history of human consciousness.

Before Buddha there were religions but never a pure religiousness. Man was not yet mature. With Buddha, humanity enters into a mature age. All human beings have not yet entered into that, that is indeed true, but Buddha has heralded the path. Buddha has opened the gateless gate. It takes time for human beings to understand such a deep message. Buddha’s message is the deepest ever.

Nobody has done the work that Buddha has done, the way he has done. Nobody else represents pure fragrance.

Other founders of religions, other enlightened people, have compromised with their audience. Buddha remains uncompromised, hence his purity. He does not care what you can understand he cares only what the truth is. And he says it without being worried whether you understand it or not. In a way this looks hard; in another way this is great compassion.

Truth has to be said as it is. The moment you compromise or the moment you bring truth to the ordinary level of human consciousness, it loses its soul. It becomes superficial, it becomes a dead thing. You cannot bring truth to the level of human beings. Instead human beings have to be led to the level of truth. That is Buddha’s great work. This is the essence of the Diamond Sutra of Buddha.

The Diamond Sutra For Books and Videos of Sheikh Taoshobuddha log „Taoshobuddha‟ on Google and click the links: For Books: 1.

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