Endure The Consequences

Sathya Sai Baba

Endure The Consequences

Being exemplary in the society following the ideals to perfection is the best thing a devotee can offer to God returning with gratitude. Bhagawan says, “My Life is My Message” and He does it to perfection by practising what He preaches. Dr. Adivi Reddy chronicled some of such incidents from the life of Bhagawan depicting how He would guide devotees who strayed from the path of morality and righteousness. Extracted from the June, 1989 issue of Sanathana Sarathi.

A group of Sai devotees once requested Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to inaugurate a new temple in their town. But Bhagawan refused to comply with their request on the ground that black market cement was used for constructing the temple. When the devotees pleaded not guilty, Bhagawan revealed to them that the so called Sai devotee who had donated some cement bags for the construction of the temple had illegally saved them from out of the cement allotted to him as a contractor for constructing a dam. Hence Bhagawan’s refusal.

A Vedic scholar was asked by Bhagawan to get out of His presence when he was seated in the midst of some students and other devotees at Whitefield. When the pundit showed signs of bewilderment as to why Bhagawan was so harsh to him, he admonished the latter, saying that it was a crime for a Vedic pundit to profess to be a Sai devotee and at the same time to indulge in illegal malpractices by way of lending money to poor and illiterate villagers without proper licence from the Government, and that too, at exhorbitant rates of interest.

The third incident relates to a Commercial Tax Officer in Orissa, who once made use of his official jeep to take his family and a few neighbours to visit a cave temple of Shiva in the interior of a dense forest on a 3000 feet high mountain. On their way back the jeep got stuck in a hill stream and refused to budge an inch. The dark night was gathering fast. An hour’s struggle to extricate the jeep was in vain. The officer was terribly scared, because the jungle was known to be infested with wild animals as well as dacoits, and his party consisted mostly of women and children. Being a Sai devotee, he fervently prayed to Bhagavan in utter desperation. Lo and behold! There appeared on the spot four Sathya Sai Seva Dal volunteers who rescued the party by pulling out the jeep, and then vanished in a second. Thus by Bhagawan’s grace, the officer and the party reached home safely. However, Bhagawan taught him a lesson not to misuse the Government vehicle for private purposes, by immobilising his jeep and thereby creating panic in him and his party.

About a decade ago, a recluse of forty-five summers by name Kalpagiri came to Prasanthi Nilayam. No one could guess that this so called “monk” was a wolf in the garb of a sheep. Four years earlier, he committed a ghastly murder and to escape from punishment by the due process of law, he made good his escape by donning the saffron robe and wandering in the Himalayas and other places of pilgrimage. As soon as the Omniscient Sathya Sai Baba saw Kalpagiri in the Darshan line, He called him inside and told him during the interview: “My dear Kalpagiri! How can the saffron robe or visits to Rhishikesh and other holy places rid you of the sin of murder? Enough of your roaming in the guise of a Sanyasi for the last four years. Go now to the Police station and surrender yourself there. Experience your Karma by receiving the punishment due to you according to the laws of the land. When the death sentence is declared, file your clemency petition to the President. I will save you. You will not be hanged. You have my protection to atone for your heinous sin, through devotion, in this very birth. Come on, this sacred saffron robe does not befit you. Take this white cloth.” Saying so in a tone that combined love and sternness, Bhagawan gave Kalpagiri a white dhoti.

Accordingly, Kalpagiri surrendered himself to the Police. The case was taken up. Though he confessed his guilt, the judge awarded him the capital punishment, as the crime was of a heinous nature. In line with Bhagavan’s direction, a clemency petition was submitted to the President of the Indian Union. Eventually, Kalpagiri received the President’s pardon. Death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and Kalpagiri became an ardent devotee of Bhagawan, spreading his beneficial influence on the other convicts too.

In conclusion, it may be seen from what is stated above that where there is a will, there is a way either to scrupulously abide by the Governmental rules and regulations or to violate them for selfish reasons. Bhagawan’s stand on this is extremely clear.

Reference

Sri Krishna Sai Baba

Sathya Sai Baba

Sri Krishna Sai Baba

The unsullied divine essence is always permeating with the highest wisdom. Sai Krishna plays the flute and the notes coming out through His reed are the sweetest. Unbounded, unattached, He wants every one of us to become a flute in His hands that brings the sweetest melody living the most exemplary spiritual life seeking the highest heaven. Read on for Charles Penn’s account of a beautiful experience wherein Bhagawan taught him to become a flute in His Divine Hands. From Sanathana Sarathi, August, 1983.

Many years ago Sri N. Kasturi wrote in “Sathyam Sivam Sundaram”:

“Long, long ago Puttaparthi was known as Gollapalli or Home of cowherds, a designation reminiscent of the Leelas of Sri Krishna and redolent with the music of His Flute. It was the abode of prosperous Gopalas, and the cattle at this place were sleek and strong and beautiful to behold.”

When telling about the legend of the stone that an enraged villager threw at a cobra caught stealing milk from one of his cows, Sri Kasturi related:

“Strangely enough that stone has acquired a feature which was revealed by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba some years ago. Baba directed some people to wash the stone and smear sandalwood paste on the jammed side. When this was done they discerned the clear outline of a picture of Sri Gopalaswami with the world captivating Flute at His Lips, leaning on a cow.”

Kasturi further wrote:
“Some unsophisticated rustics swear, even to this day, that they can hear the melody of Krishna’s Breath passing through the straight and hollow reed. From that day the curse of the writhing cobra that the place would be full of ant hills lost its evil power and cattle have begun to thrive at Puttaparthi.”

This legend serves as an introduction to another miraculous Leela which brought me to the Lotus Feet of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, for the celebration of His fifty seventh Birthday.

On Sunday, November 7, 1982, at midnight I began meditation in our home in California. Almost immediately I heard a telephone ring. At once I knew it was the “telephone” in me and that it was from Swami. I continued meditating and soon found myself in the Poornachandra Auditorium in Prasanthi Nilayam, witnessing myself placing a special garland on Swami.

Early the next morning I told my wife, Faith, that I could be joining her and Althea, her 89 year old mother, and Markell Brooks, a long time friend, who were leaving for India the following Sunday for Bhagawan’s Birthday. I then related to Faith how Swami had “called” and given me a vision of the garlanding scene. Seemingly insurmountable obstacles, mostly pertaining to my work, which threatened to prevent leaving on such short notice, were removed. On Sunday, November 14, 1982, the four of us began our pilgrimage to Bhagawan.

On Wednesday, November 17, 1982, at 3:00 a.m.,I was meditating while sitting on the Ashram grounds at Puttaparthi. I was very close to the Mandir with a small group of devotees also there bright and early for Omkar Suprabhatam-Nagarsankirtan.

Now Sri Krishna Sai was not on the other side of the world but just a very short distance from me. Twinkling playfully in the darkened heavens with depth without end were His diamonds suspended majestically in space over the silhouetted roof of the Mandir.

My prayer that early morning simply asked that He speak to me. I became ever so quiet deep within, and waited. Then He clearly whispered these words:

“I play My Flute. The notes I play for you can always be the sweetest notes. Always strive to earn the chance to hear only the highest notes. Why concern yourself with any notes other than the sweetest. Keep the reed ever clear; keep the channel ever open.”

During His Divine Discourse the next day in the Poornachandra, Swami said that for successful meditation one must have a quiet mind; a mind that flutters, is an obstacle when striving for Santhi.

On the glorious morning of His Birthday I was given the joyous news that I was to garland our Lord. Because of the elaborate festivities, my mind did not recall the November vision. This blessed honour therefore came as a lovely surprise. Minutes after garlanding Swami, I was told to return to His side. I take a moment here to bring to memory this wonderful scene of thousands of devotees in the Poornachandra watching every movement on the Divine stage. As I knelt before Baba, He quietly asked, “Charles, you have a few words to say?” “Yes, yes,” I replied.

The extemporaneous talk lasted some twenty minutes. At one point I found myself turning and saying to Swami:
“Now, strange as it may seem, I am going to ask Swami’s permission for all of us to wish Him a happy birthday.” Moments later, after receiving His smile of approval, thousands of devotees in unison tearfully spoke the sweet words, “Happy Birthday, Baba.”

A few days later our party was in the Divine presence in the Mandir for an interview. Swami turned to Faith and said, “I heard your prayer.” (He was referring to a prayer which she had given at the close of a talk I gave to the college students at a class presided over by Professor V. K. Gokak, Vice-chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning.) A few minutes later Swami turned to me, and with His fingers “in place”, He mimiked playing a Flute. His eyes twinkled as His fingers “covered” the “holes,” as He said: “The Flute has nine holes; the body has nine holes.”

My eyes blurred in the living presence of Sri Gopalaswami with His world captivating Flute at His lips, playing to those devotees whose channel is open to hear Him.

Reference

Is God Really Present In Everyone?

Sathya Sai Baba

Is God Really Present In Everyone?

Loving Sai Ram and greetings from Prashanti Nilayam.

People often write to us and ask: “How can you say God is present in all? Surely God is NOT present in a murderer. If He were, then how come the man committed murder? There is something wrong somewhere in the assertion that God is present everywhere.” Today, we would like to offer some thoughts on this question.

The question posed is one that is frequently asked. Interestingly, the answer was given – tersely though – as far back as five thousand years ago, by Lord Krishna Himself. Krishna did not elaborate. Swami too has spoken about the Omnipresence of God, but unlike Krishna He has commented extensively on aspects of the Divinity latent in man and how it can be made to manifest. Unfortunately, few pay any attention to these great expositions of profound truth, which is one of the reasons why this question of God being present in evil men comes up again, and again.

Let us go back to the Bhagavad Gita. When Krishna first tells Arjuna that God is present in all, Arjuna is not quite able to understand and wants further explanation. That Krishna offers in the eighth chapter, using three key words – Adi Bhoutika, Adi Daivika, and Adhyatmika. In simple terms, these three words refer to the presence of God within each one of us at three levels, the gross, the subtle and the causal. Perhaps these words sound mysterious but don’t worry we shall try and explain what precisely they mean.

Let us start with the presence of God within us at the gross level. What does this mean? Simply this: Our bodies are all made up of atoms and the power of God is unquestionably present in every single atom. By the way, please do take a minute off to appreciate that the atoms in the body are not there “permanently”. Atoms are all the time coming in and atoms are all the time going out. Let us say we walk bare feet; as we do so, millions of cells get removed from the foot due to friction, and in that process out go billions of atoms. When we breathe in, atoms get in, and when we breathe out, atoms go out. Similarly, atoms go in when we eat and atoms go out with sweat, excreta, etc. In short, there is a constant and dynamic traffic of atoms in every living body.

OK, accepted but what has all this got to do with the presence of God within? Simply this: We all know that there is power within the atom. This power is enormous, especially if we look within the nucleus of the atom. How do we know? Via Hiroshima and Nagasaki. You know something? These cities were each destroyed by the release of the energy contained in just about five grams or so of matter – yes just five grams or so of fissile material, Uranium in the case of Hiroshima and Plutonium in the case of Nagasaki . Imagine that! Apply the famous formula E = mc2 to five grams of atoms and you can enough energy to wipe out a big city. Supposing this formula is applied to say seventy kg, which is the weight of a moderately-built person. You get an energy equivalent of 70 x 200 or 14,000 Hiroshima bombs! In other words, if all the atoms in the body of a person weighing 70 kg were to be converted into energy according to Einstein’s famous formula, it would mean a release of energy equivalent to that of 14,000 Hiroshima bombs! Mercifully, it is not easy to release such energy, and we have to be thankful to God for packing it all very safely inside, but let us remember after this calculation how much of mass-energy each one of us packs in! Whether we like it or not, whether we believe in God or not, this mass energy is present in not only every living being but also in every inanimate being. Just to amuse yourself, try and figure out the mass energy of the earth! It would be astronomical; and yet we routinely dig this earth, tear it apart to build skyscrapers and what have you. It is lucky for us that the earth bears it all patiently and does not release even a tiny fraction of the energy packed within it. That is God’s Grace!

We hope we have been able to convey the important truth that God is present at the gross level in all of us as the energy of the atoms that make up the body. Even the body of the murderer is made up of the same atoms as are present in the bodies of saints. Thus, at the gross level at least, the presence of God in all, including a murderer cannot be questioned. In fact, the murderer may weigh more than a saint, in which case his latent atomic energy would be more!

All the above is an amplification of the word Adi Bhoutika, used by Krishna to describe the presence of God within us, at the so-called gross level. He is immanent and therefore not easily recognised, but that does not mean He is absent. Let us now move on to the next level, that is the subtle. As already mentioned, Krishna uses the word Adi Daivika to describe the presence of God at this level. Now what exactly does this word mean?

Consider any living person. What do we mean by saying a person is alive? If a doctor is examining a patient who is on the deathbed and is about to die, he watches carefully for vital signs, sometimes simply by feeling the pulse, sometimes using the stethoscope and sometimes using more complex electronic monitors. Whatever the method, he looks for signatures of life such as breathing, blood circulation, etc. Now the ancients of India said that life is sustained by some vital forces that control breathing, circulation, response of the nervous system, etc. They then argued that these vital forces or Praanas as they called them, are all controlled by certain deities. What Krishna told Arjuna was that it was not really deities who were managing the vital forces within but He, the Lord. Remember the Gita sloka that begins with the word Aham Vaishvaanaro Bhutva…, that we chant before meals? Through that sloka, Krishna asserts that He is the vital force presiding over the process of digestion. In fact, He is the vital force that controls blood circulation, nerve conduction, respiration and what have you, a fact that is echoed again and again in various ways in the Vedas. Now you will surely agree that these vital forces operate even in a murderer; if they did not, he would be dead. So, whether we like it or not, we have to concede that God is present even in a murderer at the so-called subtle level. That makes it two of three. What about the third level? That is what we shall consider next, and it would turn out that it is at this level that one does see a difference between a murderer and a saint.

Krishna tells Arjuna:

“My dear fellow, besides the gross and the subtle levels, I am also present as the spiritual force in the Heart of every person. Whether you like it or not, every person has not only a physical heart but also a spiritual Heart. The spiritual Heart is where I reside, and I do so in every person. I make Myself present in everyone so that whenever anyone wants Me, I am available immediately. Remember Draupadhi? When she called out to Me by crying, ‘Oh God the Resident of my Heart, why don’t You help me?’ I responded instantly. So this is the first point you have to understand. I am present in all, without any exception, including in a murderer. Now comes the question: ‘In that case, why do people commit murder? How can they do so, when God is within? And why does not the God within prevent the murder?’ Well, you see, just because I am inside, it does not mean that people always listen to what I have to say. Sometimes, they simply lock Me up inside and do not allow Me to manifest Myself. I don’t push Myself or throw My weight around. I just say, ‘I am here and you can take My help anytime you want. If you want Me, then I am ready to help.’ I am sure you have noted that right now I am helping you because you asked Me for it. But if a person does not want to use My services, then I am happy to sit inside and just watch. I have given every person the option to call for Me or to ignore Me. If the person calls, I respond; if there is no call, I do not. I just take it easy and watch as a witness, that’s all!”

We agree that Krishna does not quite put it this way in the Gita, but if you read Swami’s Discourses carefully, you would discover that this is effectively what God tells man. So what does it all boil down to? Simply this: God is present within us even at the spiritual level but unless we allow that spiritual force to manifest, our actions would be tainted and even evil. Let us put it this way: God is present at three levels, with each level having a switch. The switch for level 1 is put on by God Himself and we do not have any role to play. The same is true for level 2; when we are born, God puts on the switch. As for level 3, God has left the job of putting on the switch to us. The switch is there in everyone including a murderer; however, the murderer does not put it on, while the saint does; that is what makes the difference between a murderer and a saint.

Incidentally, this also makes it easy for us to understand how a notorious criminal named Ratnakaara became Saint Valmiki and wrote the Ramayana. Initially the third and crucial switch was off but when Ratnakaara met the seven sages and heard their advice, he flicked the third switch to the ON position. That is how he became a saint. Barely five hundred years ago, the same thing happened to a stingy miser and pawnbroker named Narayana Shetty. But one day due to some powerful incidents, he put on the switch; overnight he became Saint Purandaradasa, who, incidentally, is also the founder of Carnatic system of Indian classical music.

So the bottom line is this: God is present at three levels as explained above. The switch that makes Him present at level 1 and level 2 are put on by God Himself. However, the switch for level 3 is not put on by God. He leaves that job to man. If man flicks that switch, then God manifests in that person via qualities like love, compassion, forbearance etc. If man does not bother to put on that switch, then God does not certainly manifest in the actions of the concerned person. In other words, God is present but only partially shall we say? In short, we cannot simply say that God is not present in a murderer.

Let us leave the murderer and for a minute consider a person who is very corrupt. If we accept the argument that God is not present in a murderer, then we can jolly well ask: “Is God present in a corrupt politician? Is He present in a crooked businessman,” and so on. If we started doing that, then pretty soon we would have to rule out the presence of God in practically all of us! Fortunately, that is not the way it is. God is the resident of all Hearts but His manifestation is a different matter. The purer a person is the greater is His manifestation through virtues, goodness of action etc.

Now some might ask: “Why on earth did God do this? Why could He not have flicked the third switch also?” Well, we cannot answer that question! God is the One who created this Universe and living beings, and He alone can answer that question. But this much we can say: Life is a game. Every game, be it baseball, cricket, golf, or soccer or whatever, has its own rules, and when one plays the game, one must follow the rules. If there is a violation, it is declared a foul, and in soccer, one gets yellow and red cards! In the same way, we have to play the game of life according to God’s rule and we have no choice!

Perhaps you are not happy about that, but we hope that you would at least agree that God is present even in a murderer, though He may not manifest in terms of virtues and humanness.

Jai Sai Ram.

With Love and Regards,
“Heart2Heart” Team

Maynard Ferguson Meets Sathya Sai Baba

Sai Baba Devotee Maynard Ferguson

Maynard Ferguson Meets Sathya Sai Baba

“Trumpet” as Bhagawan would call him affectionately, Late Walter Maynard Ferguson was a virtuoso musician cum bandleader who had demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt to the musical trends that evolved from the 1940s through the 2000s, surviving the end of big band era and the rise of rock and roll. But, the most blessed moment in His life came when he was privileged to blow his trumpet for the Lord walking on two feet in Prasanthi Nilayam…(From Sanathana Sarathi October 1990)

What Swami means to me is still a Divine and unfolding epic. I know that Swami is always with me for He has told me so. Yet, I feel the innocence and shyness of a beginner in His presence.

At the Summer Course in 1978 at Brindavan my wife and I first came to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Baba allowed me to perform a concert with Vemu Mukunda and his Indian musicians at one Summer Course session. At the climax of my main solo, Baba sitting in the center of the stage, rose to His Feet and holding out His arm with palm down, while the audience cheered, materialized a beautiful jewelled necklace, paused, then made it larger to accommodate my neck size, which swells when I play. With the crowd still applauding, Swami garlanded me with this necklace. As He did so He smiled, close into my eyes, and said, whilst holding before me the gold medallion hanging on the necklace, “On this I give you Krishna because He played a wind instrument.”

We both laughed. The audience was thrilled. I was ecstatic. Someone in white asked, “Discourse, Swami?” I heard Swami’s voice say, “Already had discourse.” And taking my hand, He led me to the front of the stage, and following His direction I bowed to the audience. Then Baba, being the perfect master of ceremonies, held out His other hand for Vemu Mukunda to join us for a final bow. This was my first experience with Swami. It was fun, joy, mystery, excitement and sweetness too. That is what Baba meant to me that first day – and still does, plus much more.

On my concert tours for many years now, always Swami’s picture and puja materials are in my dressing room, besides another puja set and pictures in my hotel room. I do a short meditation and pray to Swami before each performance regardless of where I am in the world and in my mind I always dedicate my performance to Him. On the stage there are times when I call Baba by touching the Krishna on my necklace. It gives me strength and enhances my confidence. During an important performance, where one is often surrounded by excitement, anxiety and tensions of backstage, by tuning into Swami I can clear the clutter from the mind and turn on the joy and creativity. If Swami is always with me how could I be nervous? Nervousness is created by the mind – so, better to give the mind to Swami and just play.

Since 1978 Swami has been a part of my actions. When things go right I thank Swami for His grace. When things are difficult I pray to Swami to direct my actions to correct the situation be it my fault or the fault of others. In my personal life as well as career I bring all of my problems to Swami.

During an interview, my wife was having a conversation with Swami about meditation. After He had lovingly and patiently answered her questions, I asked Swami about “my meditation”. He interrupted me with a sweet playful laugh, pointed to me and said, holding His thumb and forefinger about half an inch apart – “For you – VERY SHORT!”

The summer before the 60th Birthday, Swami said to me, on the verandah of the Mandir, “So much of western music is so beautiful, would you speak to the students about your music at the hostel for half an hour twice a week while you are here?” I was delighted and after talking to them and seeing their enthusiasm to learn to read and play western instrumental music, I soon received Baba’s permission and support to teach the students with the available instruments here. When I returned to America my first performance was for the “International Association of Jazz (Music) Educators” and soon after for the “National Association of Music Merchants”. During the last four years various companies and individuals from these two organisations have donated to the S.S.S.B. Institute of Higher Learning many brass and electronic and wood wind instruments plus marching drums, orchestra drum-set, cymbals, electronic guitars and piano plus computer programs that teach fingering techniques, music reading, care of instruments and other important learning materials. So now we are having a wonderful time during this August of 1990 with all of this modern equipment.

I cannot describe what a joy it is to teach such talented, well mannered, intelligent students who are totally devoted to Bhagawan Baba and eager to come at 6.00 a.m. to learn marches and use the computer. They practise into the night while still maintaining their high academic levels because they are so earnestly looking forward to playing for Baba.

I have tried to write what Swami means to me, but really there are no words to fully describe one’s relationship with Bhagawan Baba. Every time I come to Prasanthi Nilayam, I take back into the world a little more of Baba. Recently I read in “Sanathana Sarathi” one of Baba’s Teachings:

“BE HAPPY…BE HAPPY! ALL WILL BE HAPPY!”

SSBPT Reference

Prisoners To Get Programmes On Spirituality

Prisoners To Get Programmes On Spirituality
2 Jan 2009, 0214 hrs IST, M Ramya, TNN

CHENNAI: Lectures, bhajans and plays related to spirituality that’s what the department of prisons has lined up for the inmates of Puzhal prison.

The volunteers of Sri Sathya Sai Organisations put together a programme for inmates of the prison to celebrate the New Year. “The volunteers staged a play on Buddha’s life, which showed how love can transform a person. The play had a deep impact on the inmates, so we thought that if Sri Sai Baba could talk to the prisoners, it would have a greater impact,” said R Nataraj, director-general of prisons. Sai Baba is expected to visit the state in a couple of months and the department is planning to invite him to the prison.

Sri Sathya Sai Organisations had earlier conducted similar programmes before the prison was shifted to its present location in Puzhal. “We realised that if we introduce spiritual ideas into the human mind, it brings about a change in any person. So we organised this programme for the inmates of the prison,” said N Ramani, state president of the organisation. People in the age group of 18-35 years were involved in the programme at Puzhal, which included a one-and-a-half hour bhajan session. The organisation also distributed 4,500 laddoos to the inmates of all three prisons on the Puzhal campus and donated a set of books on Sai Baba’s life and principles to the prison library.

“The department showed interest in having regular programmes. We are ready to prepare the agenda if they send us a written proposal. We know that they wouldn’t want to be lectured, so we would be conveying messages by staging plays and screening movies,” Ramani said. The programmes would first be conducted at Puzhal. Later, volunteers from other centres would be asked to attend these programmes to learn how they are conducted and take them to other jails and sub-jails in their areas, he said.

On December 31, the inmates also got to listen to Swami Amarananda, a yogi from Ranchi associated with the Yogadha Sathsanga Dhyana Kendra, who spoke on meditation. The centre also donated 135 books on meditation in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Gujarati to the Puzhal prison library.

On December 25 in a first-of-its-kind initiative the department allowed inmates of all eight Central prisons, sub jails and Borstal schools to meet their family members between 9 am and 4.30 pm. Being a national holiday, the prison is usually closed to outsiders on December 25.

Reference

‘The Gods Will Be Present’

‘The Gods Will Be Present’
Ancient ceremony blesses site where Hindu temple will stand
Rosa Salter Rodriguez
The Journal Gazette

The scent of sandalwood and the sound of chanting punctuated by “Om” filled the air last week at a site in western Allen County where devotees plan to erect the first permanent Hindu temple in Fort Wayne.

About 300 supporters of the new Omkaar Temple gathered in folding chairs under a red and white-striped tent for two days of Bhoomi Puja, or ground-blessing ceremonies, on Oct. 10 and 11.

During the ceremonies, orange and saffron-robed Hindu holy men hoped to draw positive energies to the site at 13900 Yellow River Road, says Dr. Jyothirmai Reddy, of Fort Wayne, an obstetrician/gynecologist and temple benefactor.

Reddy says plans include a small temple and a holistic health center. She says she hopes the building will be finished by 2010.

Reddy also says she hopes the site will become a gathering place for Hindus and non-Hindus alike.

She wants residents to be able to learn meditation techniques and yoga at the site and participate in massage and other therapies, including some based on eastern Ayurvedic medicine. She also plans to offer free health checks.

The temple’s purpose is to promote what Reddy calls “self-consciousness,” or mindful spirituality.

“In order to have more self-consciousness we need a center where we can congregate and meditate and teach,” she says.

Reddy says the temple’s name is derived from the most sacred word for Hindus, “Om,” which is believed to be the sound uttered at the creation of the universe.

“Omkaar is the base source of all religions, the most ancient and yet the modern manifestation of spiritual consciousness,” Reddy says.

She says she is a follower of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, a contemporary Hindu religious teacher in Puttaparthi, India. He preaches universal love, human equality and service to all, Reddy says.

By some, he is believed to be a reincarnated deity and has announced himself as such.

A portrait of Sathya Sai Baba was placed by the ceremonial platform, but Reddy says the local effort is not formally affiliated with his international association.

“It is from my heart,” as an individual follower, she says.

Plans for the site would make it similar to Sai Baba’s home base, which includes a free hospital, an ashram for teaching and a temple.

During the ceremonies, attendees approached a foot-high platform covered with rugs and prayer mats to offer nine gems to be placed in a time capsule in the earth.

“The theory is that we put good in and it will cause good vibrations, good energy,” Reddy says.

Under the direction of Chief Guruji Kumarasway Dixitar of Sri Raja Ganapathi Temple in Swedesboro, N.J., priests chanted separate prayers as water, rice, honey, flowers, seeds and nuts, sweets, incense, clothing and ornaments, among other items, were offered. Posters of Hindu deities lined the tent walls.

The ceremonies were performed according to ancient traditions for structures and architecture. The timing was selected according to sacred Vedic calendars, Reddy says.

She says a groundbreaking service will be held later at the site, which is now a wooded area surrounded by cornfields.

Vish Gurudutt, president of the Fort Wayne Bhajan Society, says there are about 250 Hindu families in the Fort Wayne area.

Gurudutt, who attended the recent ceremonies, says families have been meeting about 25 years and have had a formal altar the past five years at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fort Wayne, 5310 Old Mill Road. But it is not considered a permanent temple, he says.

Dr. Praven Kollipara of Fort Wayne says people traveled great distances to attend the ground-blessing.

The temple will become the second permanent Hindu site in Indiana, with the other in Indianapolis, he says.

“This (ceremony) is important to us because we believe this means the gods will be present here.”

Reference

Therapeutic Benefits To Sathya Sai Baba’s Teachings

Sathya Sai Baba

Therapeutic Benefits To Sathya Sai Baba’s Teachings
Sathya Sai Baba has long taught that one should not fret about the past or worry about the future and that mindulness of the present moment is the key to balance, strength, fortitude, health, well-being and peace.

As a matter of fact, Sathya Sai Baba has said:

You are an embodiment of Divinity. The Divine Principle in you is eternal. That lives today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. Hence, treat the past, present, and future as one even though our experiences in the three phases of time are different. Do not give much credence to these experiences. Past is past; it will not come back. We are not sure of future. Present is the only reality with which we should be concerned. This is not ordinary present, but omnipresent, because the past as well as future are present in it. Dear students! All your experiences in this changing world are only momentary and unreal. They are like passing clouds. You need not be too much worried about them. You are marching forward. Con-tinue your life’s journey with steadfast faith in God. Why should you have to look back and brood over the past? (Reference (PDF)

We will achieve victory in every walk of life when we foster good thoughts and good deeds. Today is the first day of the New year. From today onwards, all devotees must undertake his holy task. Past is past. Do not think of the future, because it is not in our hands. What is the guarantee that we will live until tomorrow? Therefore, this present time is very important. Make good use of it. Do not go against your inner self. That is what I tell my children, the students here, “Follow the master”. Who is your master? Your inner self is your master. So there is no need for anyone else; follow your own inner self. That is your God. That is your happiness. That is your wealth. That is your peace. Happiness and peace are not outside. (Reference

Recently, various media has been published discussing the therapeutic effects of “Mindfulness Meditation”, which focuses on the present moment and the elimination of stressors that arise from thinking about the past and/or the future. The following article was published in The Hindu newspaper about the benefits of “Mindfulness Meditation” and how it can bolster the immune system and slow the progress of HIV.

Mindfulness meditation slows progression of HIV, study shows
Reducing stress can bolster immune system in HIV-positive adults, others, says eurekalert press release

CD4+ T lymphocytes, or simply CD4 T cells, are the “brains” of the immune system, coordinating its activity when the body comes under attack. They are also the cells that are attacked by HIV, the devastating virus that causes AIDS and has infected roughly 40 million people worldwide. The virus slowly eats away at CD4 T cells, weakening the immune system.

But the immune systems of HIV/AIDS patients face another enemy as well — stress, which can accelerate CD4 T cell declines. Now, researchers at UCLA report that the practice of mindfulness meditation stopped the decline of CD4 T cells in HIV-positive patients suffering from stress, slowing the progression of the disease. The study was just released in the online edition of the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

Mindfulness meditation is the practice of bringing an open and receptive awareness of the present moment to experiences, avoiding thinking of the past or worrying about the future. It is thought to reduce stress and improve health outcomes in a variety of patient populations.

“This study provides the first indication that mindfulness meditation stress-management training can have a direct impact on slowing HIV disease progression,” said lead study author David Creswell, a research scientist at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA. “The mindfulness program is a group-based and low-cost treatment, and if this initial finding is replicated in larger samples, it’s possible that such training can be used as a powerful complementary treatment for HIV disease, alongside medications.”

Creswell and his colleagues ran an eight-week mindfulness-based stress-reduction (MBSR) meditation program and compared it to a one-day MBSR control seminar, using a stressed and ethnically diverse sample of 48 HIV-positive adults in Los Angeles. Participants in the eight-week group showed no loss of CD4 T cells, indicating that mindfulness meditation training can buffer declines. In contrast, the control group showed significant declines in CD4 T cells from pre-study to post-study. Such declines are a characteristic hallmark of HIV progression.

Creswell also noted that researchers found a “dose-response” relationship between MBSR class attendance and CD4 T cells, meaning, said Creswell, “the more mindfulness meditation classes people attended, the higher the CD4 T cells at the study’s conclusion.”

The researchers were also encouraged because the overall CD4 T cell effects remained even after controlling for a number of factors that could have skewed the study results. Most notably, they found equivalent protective effects for participants whether or not they were on antiretroviral medications for HIV. Even participants taking HIV medications showed the CD4 T cell buffering effect after the mindfulness meditation class, Creswell said.

There is emerging evidence from other studies that shows that behavioral stress-management programs can buffer HIV declines in HIV-positive people, Creswell noted. And while there has been an exponential increase of interest in and practice of mindfulness meditation in the West over the past 10 years, this study, he said, is the first to show an HIV disease protective effect with mindfulness meditation training.

In order to understand the health benefits of mindfulness meditation, Creswell and his colleagues at UCLA are now examining the underlying pathways through which mindfulness meditation reduces stress, using brain imaging, genetics and immune system measurements.

“Given the stress-reduction benefits of mindfulness meditation training, these findings indicate there can be health protective effects not just in people with HIV but in folks who suffer from daily stress,” Creswell said. (Reference)

Apparently, Sathya Sai Baba has long known and preached what science is today discovering, i.e., mindfulness of the present moment is the key to mental, physical, emotional and spiritual well-being, health and peace.

Mindfulness

The Power Of Om

Om Mantra

The Power Of Om
Sarah Womack
Last Updated: July 20. 2008 1:55PM UAE

People who meditate often rave about its benefits. People who don’t often dismiss it as quackery. But does the truth lie somewhere between “hugely effective ancient discipline” and “harmless fad”?

Personally, I’ve never found sitting cross-legged and chanting “om” – picture Richard Dreyfuss in the Oscar-winning film The Goodbye Girl – easy, or indeed relaxing. And according to the Which? Guide to Complementary Medicine, I am not alone. Some 400 people a week learn to meditate and then give up within the first year, finding the switch from worry mode to a ­blissful state too hard.

But underestimating the technique means I’m missing out on a range of benefits to my health, my mood and my attention span, ­according to research.

One study has found that people who meditate have a better ­immune response to the flu vaccine than people who do not meditate. Another looked at 90 cancer patients who did meditation for seven weeks. They found that people who meditated had 31 per cent lower stress symptoms and 67 per cent less mood disturbance than people who did not meditate.

Studies this year suggest that meditation is so powerful it can even “re-circuit” the brain. Just as aerobics can improve muscle shape so, claims a study in the American journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, meditation tones the grey cells.

Brain scans conducted by ­researchers at Harvard, Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reveal that those ­experienced at meditating boasted increased thickness in parts of the brain that deal with attention and processing sensory input.

The finding is in line with studies showing that accomplished ­musicians, athletes and linguists all have thickening in relevant areas of the cortex.

Other claims made for meditation range from improving asthma and increasing fertility through to reducing the effects of ageing.

So how does it work?

To understand the impact of meditation, experts say we need to understand what meditation actually is. Broadly speaking, it’s a mental practice in which a person focuses attention on a particular subject or object. It is associated with religion, but can be secular, and what you focus on is largely a matter of personal choice – a mantra, breathing patterns, or simply an awareness of being alive.

In Madison, Wisconsin, Dr Richard Davidson carried out studies on Buddhist monks for several years. In one study, he observed the brains of a group of office workers before and after they undertook a course of meditation combined with stress reduction techniques. At the end of the course the participants’ brains seemed to have altered in the way they functioned.

They showed greater activity in the left-hand side – a characteristic which Davidson has previously linked to happiness and enthusiasm. He told the BBC: “By meditating, you can become happier, you can concentrate more effectively and you can change your brain in ways that support that.” The idea that meditation can improve the well-being of everyone, as well as those suffering from depression and forms of mental illness, is exciting researchers.

One of those is Kathy Sykes, professor of sciences and society at Bristol University in the UK, who visited Kathmandu for instruction with Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk who has been meditating for more than 30 years. She wanted to learn more about meditation and separate myth from reality. She says meditating helped her cope with the death of her father and she now uses it in all sorts of situations, some very humdrum. “When I try to meditate now it does have a more powerful effect,” she says.

Her father died from cancer about two months before she went to Kathmandu and she had not been able to grieve his loss, she says. Matthieu suggested she focus on unconditional love, and when she thought about that, she said, she inevitably thought about her ­father. She wept for ages and was finally able to let go.

“Meditating and mindfulness now help me get in touch with what ­really matters, and stop worrying about ‘surface’ stuff,” she says. “It helped me profoundly in handling all my grief around dad’s illness and death. It helps me with almost everything.”

After her visit to Kathmandu – and as part of a TV programme on meditation – she went to Massachusetts General Hospital in the US, where Dr Herbert Benson, a Harvard Medical School professor, put her through a series of tests.

Doctors measured her resting pulse, muscle tension, respiration and sweat. They then subjected her to some mental arithmetic, during which her stress levels and all her readings soared.

But after a short period of meditation, her pulse and breathing dropped below the resting rate. Dr Benson called this the “relaxation response” and said it could help with a wide range of conditions, including heart disease, asthma, diabetes and infertility. He said that to the extent that any disorder was caused or made worse by stress, achieving a “relaxation response” would counteract that condition.

Sykes said she was recently on a crowded train travelling from London to the south-west of England where there was “standing-room only”. She sat cross-legged on the floor to meditate and felt like she was transported to a “delightful” place. “I’d had a frenzied day, having to think and concentrate hard, speak and plan all day. The train was a nightmare. Packed, noisy, no seats left and truly horrid. I just found a place to sit in the floor, closed my eyes, and allowed all the mad busyness of my brain that day to stop, concentrated on my breathing – and it was a massive relief and escape.”

She regards new research showing how meditation may alter the physical structure of the brain as fascinating. “Of course, it may be that particular kinds of people are drawn to meditate… so more work is needed. But a slightly thicker cortex has also been found in the brains of taxi drivers and jugglers who have to concentrate while ­staying calm.”

Such is the vogue now for meditation as part of medicine that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, which is about 80 per cent meditation, has been approved by the UK clinical watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, for use with people in the UK who have experienced three or more episodes of depression.

It is also offered by hospitals in cases of chronic or terminal illness to reduce complications ­associated with increased stress, including a depressed immune system.

But some medical experts strike a cautious note. Cancer Research UK, the health charity, says that generally speaking meditation practices are very safe. “But there is no evidence to suggest that meditation can help to prevent, treat or cure your cancer or any other disease,” says a spokesman. He also points out that some types of meditation can actually worsen symptoms such as depression, anxiety and delusions. “When you practice meditation you may see more clearly any anxiety, depressed feelings, or negative thoughts that you have. This can make you feel frightened, low or disorientated.”

Research into using meditation to help people with a disease like cancer to cope with stress, anxiety and the side-effects of treatment continues. But only a few clinical trials involving small numbers of patients have been done so far. “We need a lot more research in this ­area before we will know for sure how meditation can help people with cancer,” said the spokesman.

So the jury is out, and research continues, but Sykes says she is sticking with meditation and thinks others should try it. If evidence is found that meditation could help people to think better, be happier and even be more compassionate, that would be astonishing in itself, she said.

Reference

Despite Skeptics, Medical Schools Address Spirituality

Mind Body Connection

Despite Skeptics, Medical Schools Address Spirituality
By MANOJ JAIN The Washington Post
July 27, 2008

My patient is an elderly man with end-stage congestive heart failure, kidney failure and now an infected dialysis line, and he is unlikely to live more than six months. The Bible lies on his bedside table next to his hospital breakfast tray and the morning newspaper. I wonder if I should pray with him.

A neurosurgeon I know often prays with his patients before operating on their brains to remove a tumor or on their backs to relieve a herniated disk. In the pre-op holding area, he stands near the gurney and, with the patient’s permission, clasps his or her hand and recites a prayer. He usually concludes the prayer with “in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

My friend the neurosurgeon is unusual in this regard. Although studies show that 40 percent to 60 percent of hospitalized patients want their doctors to pray with them, fewer than 5 percent of doctors say they often or usually pray with patients.

As a doctor, I understand this. Although I am comfortable asking patients about their faith when I question them about their profession and their family or social support structure, I feel awkward, even squeamish, about praying with my patients. That may be because I was never taught how to pray with my patients in medical school, nor did I see my mentors praying with patients. Also, I am of the Jain faith, an Eastern religion based on the principle of nonviolence and the practice of meditation, and most of my patients are of the Christian or Jewish faith. In addition, at times I have seen religious beliefs compromise a patient’s health: One young patient of mine died in my intensive care unit because she refused blood transfusions based on her religious beliefs.

My reluctance to pray with patients comes in the face of growing evidence that spiritual practices such as prayer and meditation might be healthy for us. A study published in 2003 found workers who attended a meditation training session had a more powerful immune response to the influenza vaccine than those who did not meditate. Another study has even shown a sort of dose-response curve – the higher the church attendance, prayer and Bible study, the lower the average diastolic blood pressure – as if religious practices act therapeutically, almost like a blood-pressure pill. Although there’s no solid proof of a causal relationship between religion/spirituality and improved health, researchers such as Harold Koenig, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center, are convinced that spiritual practices can help you live longer.

Across medicine and society, there’s increasing interest in the link between religion/spirituality and health. Three-quarters of all U.S. medical schools now offer courses in spirituality and medicine, and academic centers such as the

George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, the Duke Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, and the Center for Spirituality and Health at the University of Florida are being established across the nation.

Yet many researchers are skeptical about the union of religion/spirituality and medicine. (Or perhaps I should say “reunion,” because religion/spirituality has been a part of medicine since ancient times: The words “holiness” and “healing” stem from a common root meaning “wholeness.”)

Richard Sloan, a professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, worries that the linkage oversimplifies and trivializes religion by limiting its value to its effect, if any, on health.

In 2007, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality commissioned a research team to evaluate 813 studies on meditation. The group reported mixed evidence from some of these studies; most of the remaining studies had design flaws that made it impossible to assess their conclusions.

I myself was a co-investigator on the largest study on the therapeutic effect of intercessory prayer, an 1,800-patient, six-center, $2.4 million study led by the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, now at Harvard Medical School’s affiliate Massachusetts General Hospital.

Our findings, published in 2006 in the American Heart Journal, showed that being prayed for did not improve outcomes, and it seemed to have a negative effect when patients knew they were the subject of prayers from afar.

Even if prayer were shown to improve outcomes, religious differences make it impractical for doctors to make it part of daily patient care.

I asked my neurosurgeon friend how he prays with patients who are Jewish, Muslim or Hindu. Does he end with the phrase about “our Lord, Jesus Christ”? He paused and then told me that it depends on the patient. I suspect that there is a selection bias and that he is more likely to offer prayers to Christian patients than others. He admits he feels uncomfortable offering a prayer in another faith or using the words “Allah,” “Om” or “Shalom” because for him the prayer would not feel authentic.

In the end, this is what prompts my discomfort with praying with patients. If a doctor is using prayer because he feels it will help to heal a patient and not just to improve the doctor-patient relationship, then I believe it is unfair, even discriminatory, for a doctor to offer a Christian prayer with a Christian patient and not offer another prayer to patients of other faiths.

Because the research literature is equivocal on the benefits or drawbacks of prayer and meditation, I explored my own heart and soul for an answer.

Without hesitation, I believe that practices such as prayer and meditation offer benefits in addition to medication and surgery and the doctor-patient relationship. I have seen it myself. On several occasions, I have meditated with my patients.

Once, a young HIV-positive woman complained of shortness of breath after recovering from severe pneumonia. Medically, nothing helped, and no cause was obvious other than anxiety. With some hesitation, I offered to do a session of meditation with her. She agreed and subsequently improved.

Often, I wonder how I can incorporate spiritual practices in my routine therapeutic recommendations, just as I recommend exercise and a nutritious diet. I believe it’s possible. But doing it, I believe, requires understanding two critical concepts.

First, we need to distinguish between religion (an organized institution with social boundaries, rituals and membership) and spirituality (the sense of the sacred within us and our relationship with a greater force). Spirituality may or may not be rooted in religion, but the core of all religions is spirituality. Once we can relate to the spiritual core of each patient, we do not have to agonize about finding the “appropriate” prayer and “politically correct” words for patients of different religions.

I think I could pray (using a generic prayer) or do a meditation exercise at a critical moment with my patient. At times, if this is uncomfortable or if there is not enough time, I could simply encourage the spiritual part of patients’ lives.

This is what I did with my patient suffering from end-stage congestive heart failure. I touched his Bible and said, “Many patients find this very helpful. I am glad you are using it.”

“Couldn’t make it without it, Doc,” he replied with a tone of hope and optimism.

Second, we doctors need to expand beyond medicine’s traditional body-mind focus. Most of my patients see themselves as having a soul and a spirit, and if I, as a doctor and a scientist, wish to treat them in a holistic manner, I need to take this thinking into account.

I was reminded of this recently on morning rounds. I walked into a room, saying, “Hello, Mr. Jones.” My patient was sitting in a chair in the corner, head bowed, lips moving silently.

I realized that I had interrupted his prayer. I bowed my head to join him. He continued. “Lord, I want to thank you for helping me heal and decreasing my pain . . . and now, Lord, I have to cut my prayers short this morning because my doctor is here.”

We both said, “Amen.”

RELIGION AND HEALTH
Research suggests that religion offers health benefits, including longer life spans. Is that because of the healing benefits of prayer or because people of faith enjoy supportive, healthful lifestyles?

Some statistics:
• 83: The life expectancy of people who frequently attended religious services; for infrequent attendees, the estimate was 75.

• 70 percent: The percentage of churches that provide health-care services to their communities, according to a survey of 6,000 congregations.

• 40 percent to 60 percent: The percentage of hospital patients who want their doctors to pray with them. But fewer than 5 percent of doctors say they do so.

• 2,500: Number of Maryland kindergartners exempted from vaccine mandates on religious grounds, up from 1,300 in 2004.

– THE WASHINGTON POST

Reference

Wholeness

Dattatreya Siva Baba – A New Age Of Enlightenment

Moon Power

Dattatreya Siva Baba, The YouTube Guru, Predicts A New Age Of Enlightenment Starting On This Month’s Full Moon
David Ian Miller
Monday, July 14, 2008

Dattatreya Siva Baba has a vision that the human race will transform itself by the light of the full moon.

You could say that he’s a dreamer or even hopelessly naive, and you could be right. But what does it hurt to dream?

Baba, 60, an Indian mystic and teacher who counts among his students the best-selling author Wayne Dyer, is known to many followers as the “YouTube Guru” because of his frequent video transmissions on everything from yogic meditation practices to quantum mechanics.

Lately he’s been talking online about something he calls “The Grace Light,” a divine light that he believes will usher in a new era of compassion and enlightenment for the human race, starting with this month’s full moon. He is holding a series of ceremonies in 20 cities to welcome the light, beginning at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral on July 17 2008, coinciding with a traditional Vedic celebration called the “Full Moon of the Guru.”

The bookish, white-bearded man, whose given name is Baskaran Pillai, belongs to the Tamil Siddha tradition of Southern India, an esoteric order whose origins can be traced to the eighth century. I interviewed him last week in San Diego, where he lives for half the year when he’s not India.

Tell me about the “Full Moon of the Guru.” What is it all about?

The moon is associated with consciousness, particularly with the right brain. Each phase of the moon carries its own special energy. The full moon represents enlightenment, which is the full flowering of consciousness.

On the Vedic calendar, Guru Purnima, or the “Full Moon of the Guru,” is the full moon that falls near the summer solstice, the month of greatest light. This full moon is important because it is the time when all divine teachers shower blessings on the earth providing increased energy for our spiritual awakening. It represents spiritual renewal of the planet. Guru Purnima is celebrated not just in my tradition, but in all traditions that follow the Vedic calendar.

And you believe this upcoming full moon is particularly significant. Why is that?

This year, called Sarvadari, is the year of enlightenment that repeats itself every 60 years. Every time this cycle comes, there is potential for the world to receive greater intelligence. This is the year of enlightenment, and the special full moon of Guru Purnima signifies the beginning of a new age of enlightenment on the earth.

The divine guidance that I’ve received through meditation and the insights of Vedic astrology suggest that this Sarvadari is the beginning of the transition to a new age that will last not just 60 years, but for a thousand years or more. The exact beginning will be December 2012, but the transition period is happening now. Changes will be felt all over the globe on both an individual and collective level.

What will happen? More light will be available to humanity to achieve higher states of consciousness. My lineage calls this Grace Light. Grace Light is the incredibly radiant light of the Divine within us — compassionate, intelligent and almighty. Grace Light will open our hearts and minds into love.

Is this light that people can see?

It’s more like an energy or an aura.

You’ve said the full moon will bring a new era of enlightenment and compassion, and that there will be an opportunity to solve many of the world’s most vexing problems. That would be a miracle, to say the least. What makes you so certain that will happen now?

The potential exists because of the prevailing energies of this time. It is a cosmological phenomenon, rather than a sociopolitical statement.

You mentioned 2012 as being the time when the Grace Light comes out most strongly. Is this tied in with predictions that some people have made — others have disputed — about the end of the Mayan calendar? Why this focus on 2012?

Everything in the universe is cyclical. The Hindus believe that time periods or epochs rotate in what they call “Yugas.” We are coming to the end of one Yuga (the Kali Yuga or “age of darkness”), and beginning of another (the Satya Yuga or “age of truth”). The Mayans believed the world would end in 2012, but that should be considered metaphorically. It is the end of a certain era of human evolution, and the beginning of another. All the values and the assumptions of the previous world age will expire and a new phase of human growth will begin. The Greeks and Egyptians also believed in the shifting of the ages is an astronomical phenomenon. There are many traditions recognizing 2012 as a major transition point between the last cycle and a new one.

Some religious leaders take the opposite view. They say the human race won’t survive. What do you think about the visions of apocalypse or “end times” predicted by Christians, for example?

There will certainly be natural and man-made calamities prior to the dawning of this new era of enlightenment, or the Golden Age. Between now and 2012, there will certainly be seemingly apocalyptic happenings. The world will not be destroyed, but it will be cleansed of negativity, ignorance, hatred and conflict. The calamities will draw people to find answers in spirituality and metaphysics. This will be a return to God from an age that has relied exclusively on reasoning. Human values, like caring for our fellow beings and extending compassion to those living in poverty, will return to the forefront.

Many spiritual teachers, such as yourself, talk about the interconnectedness of all things. Yet people seem as self-obsessed as ever. What hope is there that this will change in our lifetime?

For the past 200 years, we have made phenomenal progress on the material dimension. Science and technology have given us more physical comforts and greater longevity. But at the same time, the annihilation of our civilization through nuclear war or other man-made threats is a dismal possibility. Einstein foresaw this very clearly when the nuclear program was started.

We are at a crossroad. Either we can destroy our civilization or create a new world order through Love. We can choose to live in peace and cooperation. It’s certainly not a good idea to fight and die. It is prudent to love and live. This is not a great philosophy but a simple, practical truth. The necessary changes will occur because of Grace Light. As more and more people begin to receive and share this Grace Light there will be gradual change toward peace, security and prosperity.

After hearing you describe your vision, I feel compelled to ask: Why should anyone believe what you are saying? It seems like you’re asking people to trust you on faith.

I have a nonreligious definition of faith. Faith is utter positivity. Currently, we operate on doubt and cynicism. We doubt we can find a fulfilling relationship, we doubt our finances will improve, we doubt our health will recover. What good is there to continue this negative mode based on doubt? Has it gotten us anywhere? Faith means holding a positive possibility and wishing good for oneself, others and for the entire world.

What happens if you’re wrong? Couldn’t that be damaging to give people false hope?

It is better to be positive than negative. In all of life, those who stay open and receptive to positive happenings will live in hope instead of despair.

You are holding public ceremonies in 20 cities, including San Francisco, to “transmit the Grace Light for physical and emotional healing.” What exactly will you be doing?

There are two components to these public blessings. First, I explain the phenomenon of Grace Light. Grace Light is the light of God. It is higher intelligence. It is unconditional love. The second part is the practical aspect — awakening Grace Light within the subtle body. The subtle body carries power centers called chakras. On July 17, I will lead people through a guided meditation to awaken the navel, heart and third-eye chakras. Participants will pair up and both “give” and “receive” Grace Light, repeating the process several times to firmly establish Grace Light in the subtle body. The only thing required is for people to be in a receptive mode.

I have incarnated innumerable times as a saint or sage in nearly every religion to be a conduit for Grace Light to relieve the suffering of humanity. Even so, I am only one conduit to receive and spread the light. Who is going to transmit it? Every single person who receives it will also be capable of transmitting it. Grace Light is the most intelligent light and will provide everyone with exactly what they need. It is providence answering one’s prayers.

You belong to the Tamil Siddha tradition of Southern India. What are its main tenets, if you can sum them up briefly?

The Tamil Siddhas’ primary focus is on human evolution. Currently our body-mind lives in ignorance. The body picks up diseases because it doesn’t know a state of perfect health. Similarly, the mind is unable to live our full mental potential. The Tamil Siddhas have a comprehensive approach to perfect our body-mind through their sciences. The Siddha sciences include meditation, astrology and herbal medicine.

Did you grow up in a religious family? How did you become a spiritual teacher for others?

Yes, I was born into a religious family in a holy city called Rameswaram, which is a major pilgrimage center for the Hindus in Southern India. Right from childhood I have always known my mission was to bring spirituality to the world. I was fascinated by science, but also knew its limitations. I spent much of my boyhood at the temple and, even when I was young, I was attracted to the miracles performed by the Siddhas, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad and others.

Who were your teachers? Are you part of a particular lineage?

I have had many teachers belonging to different schools within the rich traditions of India. Although I was born in the Tamil Siddha lineage, I have often been eclectic in my approach. In my opinion, every religion and its prophets have something to teach us. It is better to learn from them rather than to ignore or reject them. I have been a student of comparative religion all my life. It has only enriched my intellectual understanding as well as my spiritual experience. I studied under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in my early years, and then was initiated by a powerful but lesser-known guru into the deep and esoteric tradition of the Goddess.

You have written that the “purpose of life is God realization.” What does that mean to you?

The term “God realization” should be understood properly. The problem starts with the English word “God.” In my tradition, God is denoted by several terms like “Deva,” “Brahmin,” “Paramatman,” “Ishvara.” These terms denote higher states of consciousness. God symbolizes the awakening into a higher form of life. Currently, we have compromised ourselves to live the human reality of limited consciousness, pain, disease and death. God realization means evolving to a higher state of consciousness that is latent within every human being. Most of us simply do not realize that we are gods. When we know that we are God, when we experience the state of fully awakened consciousness, then we are God-realized.

You are known as the “YouTube Guru.” What gave you the idea to start posting your videos online?

I have always been a very practical teacher. I’m also interested in new technology. YouTube’s motto is “broadcast yourself.” I like the idea of delivering free teachings to as many people as possible who may be suffering and in need of help.

People have been sending me e-mails from Egypt, Qatar, South Africa, Europe, all parts of the world. I have been able to share the Grace Light message with tens of thousands of people within a matter weeks. All this has become possible because of the interconnectedness of our technologies.

I noticed that you studied English literature as an undergraduate in India. What drew you to that area of study? What’s your favorite English-language book and why? What are you reading lately?

As a matter of fact, I have two master’s degrees in English literature. Maybe the Divine prepared me to learn the language well so that I could use it as a primary mode of my teaching. I’ve always had a special love of Shakespeare’s works — “Othello” is my favorite play. I also have interest in American literature and enjoy Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying,” as it reveals the human agenda. These days, however, I am most interested in preparing humanity to receive the Grace Light.

Reference

Coming New Age