The Mahasamadhi metaphor

I don’t know the karmic computation that led us to be among the first to behold the marbled edifice that will hold the elements of the Avatar, but the symbolism became quite apparent in a while. As we sat there, half awake, half pretending to be awake, it somehow felt as if this would be yet another day in Puttaparthi, when one would go through the exercise of stretch, strain and ache to catch a partially self-conjured glimpse of the Avatar separated by the rolled-up window of His car, and the waists, hands, arms and letters of a hundred devotees in front of you.

While I kept reminding myself to be fully awake by 8.30 AM when the Mahasamadhi would be unveiled to the devotees, I threw occasional glances at the VVIPs streaming in and students loitering about as if it was last year. And just when I began to wander again inside, the gong rang out in deep bass, and with a mode of surrealism that the Avatar Himself was so good at, the red curtains were drawn apart. It seemed unreal for a second, just like a gentle nudge that shakes you out of a slumber to a sobering awakening, an awakening that, as always with the Avatar, is more felt and experienced than heard and observed.

The podium has been reworked, the Ganesha idol removed, pillars added, and the recessed area walled from three sides. The backdrop is a round beautiful picture of the Avatar flanked on both sides by soft, long, vertical lights in yellow. Everything seemed to there, simplicity, ostentation, poignancy and insentience. But then again, everything about Parthi is like that. All looked normal, as if there is nothing different. After the unveiling, it was spiritual business as usual,- chants, talks, songs and bhajans.

What struck me was what one of the speakers noted. He stressed that this Mahasamadhi is unlike any other, in that, this breathes and thrives through the devotion of all who come here. The symbolism is not to be missed. Till date, we would wait for the physical form to glide in; now He will wait for our physical forms to gather. This seems to be the first dawn of a day in the life of every devotee which will never be like the past days of his life, and where, he will have to fight with a higher level of consciousness, just to get to that level.

It is like coming home to your mother, only to discover that though she is still there, your house has changed from the inside out, and her form has changed, and when you have barely managed to regain your spiritual wits, it becomes time to leave. Of course, you also realize that the only thing that is still the same is the outside world, and this tragicomically will remain what it always was: till you realize that you are, but to walk the invisible, but verily perceptible gossamer line between the tragic and comedic.

Unexpect the expected

We all know what’s to happen very shortly. Prema Sai will arrive. He will be born in a village in Karnataka. And He will complete the Plan He drew up for Himself. And the rest, like they say, is posterity.

We had the great fortune of meeting Br. Sai Rameesh, the grandson of N. Kasturi, the veritable Arjuna or Vyasa or Hanuman of this age (depending on which sect is offering the hypothesis). And we had quite an uplifting conversation with this modern-day Parkishit, sitting in the garden beside the North blocks, under a tree planted by him many years back. For someone of his lineage, the discussion naturally dwelt on the metaphysical aspects of the Avatar and His message, but the most important revelations had less to do with spirituality, and more to do with posterity, rather, our version of posterity.

Now, before we get to Prema Sai, there is something about Sathya Sai as well, that is unheard of, or at least, unknown to me. As per record, Infinity composes itself into a bright blue light and settles in the womb of the Mother. Apparently, last December, Swami told Sai Rameesh that even before this had happened, God had had to enter the mind of the Father, Pedda Venkappa Raju, so that the latter would yearn for a Divine child. This had to precede the auspicious occasion for Mother Eshwaramma.

If this has not caught your spiritual fancy, listen to the next one. During the interview with Sai Rameesh, Swami also mentioned that Prema Sai would not be born in the way the birth is being propagated. In fact, He would not be born at all in the Human form. Rather, Prema Sai would appear for a very short while to some people. Prema Sai would rather, refer to Prema SAI - Prema Sai Always Inside.

This is their version of Prema Sai as per His version of last December. And both Mrs. And Mr. Sai Rameesh want to actively spread this message. When I noted the many happenings in Karnataka, and all the inferences, Br. Sai Rameesh simply remarked that the Avatar can change His Sankalpa as He pleases.

So be it. Whether this entire version is authentic, I know not. Whether it is verifiable, definitely not. Whether it is acceptable, that’s a choice. At the end of the day, the future will bring its own Present. We are better off living with the Gift of today, which is the legacy of our unique past relationship with Divinity. And we are well off to let Prema Sai take care of the future.

Living my heart on my head

Throughout my life, I have been bogged down by this malaise of keeping my heart in my head. I have been reminded by personalities ranging from the psychologist to the plebian that I use too much of my head and little of my heart. This was driven home by Kasturi’s grandson’s German wife, within half a minute of my meeting her. And I had only introduced myself by then. She, undoubtedly, was a good aura reader as well. This is yet another perceptible message from this pilgrimage,- that I need to break free from my servitude to my head at the expense of my heart, a problem that has assailed me from the time I realized I had a mind with a signature labyrinth.

Leonardo Gutter, a member of the Prashanthi Council, and probably the most handsome member of this holy caucus chosen by the Avatar Himself, revealed that when he first came to see Swami, they were all waiting in thousands in a stadium in Chennai, and it seemed like forever. And all of a sudden, he realized that his heart was beating with incredible intensity, as if he was going to have a heart-attack. And then Swami arrived. In other words, his heart could feel what his eyes were yet to see. I think the message was tailor-made for me.

Hotel California

Every trip to Parthi is an eye-opener, and without doubt, it never is either of the two between the ears. Un-strangely enough, the awareness of the epiphany that the vision bestows on you remains demystified till many yeas later, if at all. And one day, we realize that it all makes sense in hindsight, which is the foresight that real Masters possess. This jaunt reminded me of a song entitled, Hotel California by The Scorpions, ‘where you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.’

Parthi is a Hotel California, where you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. All that we can hope to do is to munch and step out and then return again for some more sustenance,- till He decides that there is nothing needed to be fed. That’s probably when it will also dawn upon us that the Hotel had boundaries of our making alone. And, that Paradise was never lost in the first place. Till then, you should allow the stomach to be starved, and the thirst unquenched.

My takeaway will be that I will keep asking what would love do in this situation, for many situations from now on, till I forget to ask. And, when I sink to the state of spiritual starvation, He will send me back to His hotel.

What would love do in this situation?

I have just returned from Puttaparthi, after having participated in the first international event in Parthi after the Mahasamadhi. This was the Youth World Conference 2011, unique in many ways, and the most compelling reason for my first blog in more than a month.

The agenda of the conference itself was a forced departure from the past. We discussed, of all things, politics, flat organizations, communication, miscommunication, lack of communication, democracy, dictatorship, mentoring for youth, mentoring for elders, Samastha Loka, Loka Samastha, and facebook, while none so conscious of the irony of delving on the mundane to expedite the movement to the metaphysical and ultimately to the transcendental.

Every pilgrimage is undertaken with baggage to be dropped off and fresh implements to be brought back. And my biggest takeaway from this trip to Parthi was this question: What would love do in this situation?

One of the speakers spoke from the heart, and, to the heart, and touched everyone present. For the purpose of a reference, I am reminded of our EHV Coordinator Sis. Meena Kumari and the way I have heard her speak. During his talk, he mentioned this statement as a stethoscope for one’s own diagnosis of the mind. This Zonal coordinator, who oversees the operations of the Youth Wing in 16 countries of Southern Europe suggested, in effect, that, the best way to connect with others is to disconnect the mind. And for every situation that is confrontational in appearance, we would need to pose this question to ourselves: What would love do in this situation?

I have known few other questions to be answers in themselves.

The Real Beauty of Buddha Pournami

To celebrate Buddha Pournami, I would like to post Tagore's version of the interaction between Upagupta, the handsome disciple of Buddha and the beautiful dancing girl Vasavadatta.

This is a poem for the 21st century. When Vasavadatta laments on having lost her destructive beauty, Upagupta consoles her saying, "Vasavadatta, you are sorry for losing your beauty which lasts but the summer of life. You are yet to discover a beauty greater than that you have lost, the beauty of the self."

In the age of liposuction, the message of Upagupta overwhelms in its intensity.

UPAGUPTA

Upagupta, the disciple of Buddha, lay sleep in

the dust by the city wall of Mathura.

Lamps were all out, doors were all shut, and

stars were all hidden by the murky sky of August.

Whose feet were those tinkling with anklets,

touching his breast of a sudden?

He woke up startled, and a light from a woman's

lamp fell on his forgiving eyes.

It was dancing girl, starred with jewels,

Wearing a pale blue mantle, drunk with the wine

of her youth.

She lowered her lamp and saw young face

austerely beautiful.

"Forgive me, young ascetic," said the woman,

"Graciously come to my house. The dusty earth

is not fit bed for you."

The young ascetic answered, "Woman,

go on your way;

When the time is ripe I will come to you."

Suddenly the black night showed its teeth

in a flash of lightening.

The storm growled from the corner of the sky, and

The woman trembled in fear of some unknown danger.

* . *

A year has not yet passed.

It was evening of a day in April,

in spring season.

The branches of the way side trees were full of blossom.

Gay notes of a flute came floating in the

warm spring air from a far.

The citizens had gone to the woods for the

festival of flowers.

From the mid sky gazed the full moon on the

shadows of the silent town.

The young ascetic was walking along the lonely street,

While overhead the love-sick koels uttered from the

mango branches their sleepless plaint.

Upagupta passed through the city gates, and

stood at the base of the rampart.

Was that a woman lying at his feet in the

shadow of the mango grove?

Stuck with black prestilence, her body

spotted with sores of small-pox,

She had been hurriedly removed from the town

To avoid her poisonous contagion.

The ascetic sat by her side, took her head

on his knees,

And moistened her lips with water, and

smeared her body with sandal balm.

"Who are you, merciful one?" asked the woman.

"The time, at last, has come to visit you, and

I am here," replied the young ascetic.

The spirit of Faith

I was with a Sai brother today who was musing on the future of the Organization post the Passing on. He surmised that the name of the Avatar would increase steadily, if not exponentially. After all, the worship of the Christ only increased after His transition.

But how does that mean well for those of us seemingly left astray in spiritual terms? For starters, it's a reminder that the body is but a vestment, and that we should continue to inhabit it, without making a habit of becoming it. The vestment has to be shed at some point. More importantly, the crusade of the spirit has to continue in ever greater intensity. The legacy that we have established through births unknown and merit un-gauged should constitute the lodestone of our spiritual energy for His work. Of the next Avatar, we may not know and should not dwell upon. But of the one that we have been Blessed to associate with, we have our own personal experiences to enrich our lives. And our experiences should become the torch that lights the path of faith of those near and dear ones who have either not seen, not believed, or both.

Like they say, blessed is he who has seen and believed. But greater is he who has not seen, yet believes. Even greater is he who will pave the way for your belief.

Centre without the Centre

Many scenarios have unfolded as I contemplate on the future of the Divine Organization without the Divine Organizer.

Even closer to home, the future is but tender. Till yesterday, you had the sword of David in your possession, and the power of the same was enough to drive the common seeker to servitude. Overnight, there seems to have been a grand reorganization of the playing field, and you suddenly notice that everyone now has the same sword within him or her, and that your claim to spiritual exclusivity is no longer existent.

So, how do we continue to drive the same energy and the same enthusiasm in the people that we could command till yesterday? One: by not commanding them anymore, and two: by involving them. Going forward, it will be imperative that we transform the driver of our activities from that of coercive complicity to that of impelling engagement. For, it's a different ball-game now, and those who have nothing to lose will have nothing to fear (anymore).

What the able administrators will do is to use this opportunity (if it can be termed as such) purposefully to demonstrate that we can really be a collective unit to work His message,- by working as a collective unit in show, spirit and substance. The charisma of the Avatar is too precious to continue otherwise.

From another perspective, some devotees will drop off and some new ones will join. Those who remain are the ones who are forever aware of the difference between God and temple, and of the contradistinction between our Centre and our spiritual Centre.

The Last Darshan

They say the Avatar gives you what you want, rather, exactly what you want.

This means one has to choose carefully, and word it carefully. I got the full import of this idea when I sat amongst the students in Sai Kulwant Hall, for the first time, and probably the only time.

I had been given the good fortune to tag along with Bharat, Ramakant and Raju to Puttaparthi for our last Darshan of the Form on Tuesday, 26-04-2011 (undoubtedly, I am beholden to them for life for their act of kindness). In this context, I should confess that I had always wanted to be a student for the prime factor of physical proximity,- probably a widely prevalent phenomenon at Parthi. And with proximity comes freedom,- freedom from rules, regulations, and impositions that the normal devotees have come to take for granted. As a student, you have free access to the dais, and an enviably close interaction with the Avatar. Further, I had always longed to touch the Krishna statue by the side of the Yajur Mandir. I was well aware that this would never happen in my lifetime, as I was never a student.

But the Avatar is the embodiment of Love. He made sure that He would grant me my wishes. Unfortunately, He made sure He would grant me my wish exactly as I had asked for. I could enjoy studentship (in the way I saw it) during my life, not during His living form. Like He has said, "Ask and I shall give (exactly)."

Even so, considering the kilometres and hours that devotees endured for those few seconds, the hours that I lived on the dias, couldn't be anything but a sign of Divine Compassion.

Apostles: Call to Spiritual Arms

From Thought For the Day at Prashanthi Nilayam, - 02-05-2011

You are the instruments in the spread of Vedic truth among the farthest corners of this vast land; you are the chosen ones! You have to show by precept and by example that the path of self-realization is the path to perfect joy. On you lies a great responsibility; the responsibility of demonstrating by your calmness, composure, humility, purity, virtue, courage and conviction under all circumstances, that the Sadhana (spiritual practices) you follow has made you a better, happier and more useful person. Practice and demonstrate, do not simply assert in words and deny in deeds.

BABA

Deciphering Divinity

I was reading a comment to an article last week of the Avatar’s passing, and the lady had wondered ‘why did not a 'person' of so much expected awareness pass on in a more peaceful manner?’ Well, why did Jesus Christ pass on in not the most exalted manner? Why did Krishna get shot to death in the Dwapar Yuga?

We ascribe Divinity to have x number of characterisitics:

He should obviously be dead to be God.

He should have lived at least two thousand years ago.

He should be of unscrupulous human character.

He should not lie, He should be a bachelor and if He cures you, He should cure me.

In other words, God should be want we want Him to be.

What if I don't want the son of God to be born to a carpenter? And how can God decide to have 16,000 wives? For one descended as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna did not do many things expected of Divinity. And He did many things not expected of Divinity. How could God be a charioteer? He should have been something more respectful. Once, while Krishna was cutting sugar-cane, he cut his finger with the knife. How can I trust myself with a God who is a bit clumsy with even a knife to rule my life and sustain the universe? And as blunt is my question is the answer. He who loves God should not dictate terms to God.

The expectations of what we want Divinity to look like and behave, are but ours. What if God decides to fall ill? If He decides so, so be it. If He decides to lie, so be it. If He decides to die, so be it. He usually and unusually does what He wants. Similarly, we also tend to be foolish in our faith and logical in that of others.

At the end of the day, as the Avatar alone could phrase it most appositely: It does not matter to the sun if the dogs bark at it.

Tell-tale signs

I was reading as late as yesterday that 'The so-called Master' was definitely wrong about one thing: His prophesy that He would leave by 2020 proved false.

For starters, 202 was never His prophesy. I have personally never come across any document saying that the Avatar had declared 2020 to be the year of His passing. What He has declared is that He would leave by His 96th year.

Unfortunately, what He wills has to happen. As is always the case, we are more used to ourselves than we are to the Divine. We forgot that the Avatar’s calendar is not Gregorian. The Hindu calendar is based on the moon, and the lunar month has 27.3 days (0.18 seconds search in Google). So, the math of (85 x 365.25) / (27.3 x 12) = 94.768 (approx) years. Add that to the fact that the Hindu age starts with the first year (this I am trying to corroborate), and you get a pretty straight-forward answer.

That’s just for starters. The Avatar was never known to be as blunt in words as a judge in his judgment. He would always tend to be allusive. Of course, it may not suit us humans, but then, it not suiting our taste doesn’t change it for Him. One of the last Darshans showed the Avatar folding His hands in prayer. I have personally never seen this in my life, though I have been seeing the Avatar since probably 1991. The photo is also the first one to document Swami folding His hands in salutation. The folded hands in prayer is a Hindu good-bye. The Mahasamadhi was just round the corner.

Call to Arms: Imperfect Action or Exalted Inaction

Many things have happened over the past two weeks, least of which includes the reconfiguration of the spiritual centre of the universe. But let's follow time, since we are not Avataric enough to work otherwise.

This goes back to the beginning of last week, when a couple of us were discussing quite esoteric topics in the Mandir. And in our midst was a member of the highest echelons of the Centre. I won't name him, but it won't be difficult to guess. He is the only one who still smiles at normal devotees and has not ended up getting more and more stone-faced as he has climbed the spiritual ladder.

So, we were discussing why we should never judge anyone else (which is an excellent point to pontificate on), and why everything is his or her destiny. And, as a self-confessed anti-establishment guy, I ended up getting ineluctably polarized during the course of the conversation. The bulwark of their collective argument was that everything is perfect, and nothing is wrong, and that it is our drishti that creates this skewed srishti. All well, but for the fact that our group was constituted by normal guys who did normal things and didn't hesitate to call a spade a spade, even though the same Atma pervades that inanimate tool as well. I kept wondering during our conversation, whether, happening to see their brother getting belted by the road-side, it would still not warrant any action from their side. We live in a world full of 'yes-men' who are ever ready to let loose the fusillade of 'Swami says this' and 'Swami says that'. It's about time we have people who didn't have to live on borrowed self-esteem. As always, he who thrives by social recognition will die by social rejection. We have to live for and by bigger reserves of strength and vigour, that will push us to do what is right, irrespective of what is convenient.

The easiest thing in a group is to be part of the group, immune to the cold gales of conscience and muted to the calls of action. And normalcy is defined by 95% of the population. Nobody can afford to be different, when they can afford to be popular. But popularity is the easiest goat to sacrifice, at the face of gross injustice. When can we stand up with courage and ask ourselves if we should not be doing something what we perceive is wrong, though we can always shield ourselves with the lame shield of 'Dontjudgeanyone'?

At the end of the day, it's cute to be a lemming, but always more worthwhile to be a lion, popular or otherwise.

The Song of the Universe

This book explains the most important conversation of the last 14.7 billion years. Why this should be read is because this book is Krishna speak about what Krishna spoke. No other version can be more authentic in its interpretation and explosive in its intensity. The plus point to this book is that the Avatar actually goes on to exemplify through allegories that you and I can relate to. That is but the least of its merits. Read and eat it to succumb for good.

The Geetha Vahini has to be my Bible for sure.

The most important Question of our life

What is the difference between existence and awareness?

I wear a Rolex chronometer, write with a Mont Blanc and drive a 7 series to work - this is pure existence.

I wear a Rolex chronometer which is accurate to 0.1 seconds, and which is what I totally don't need as i am not a 100 meter sprinter, write with a Mont Blanc which is no more purposeful than a Reynolds, and drive a BMW that I will not take with me to my next life. However, I continue to do all what I do, because I am a businessman and when I enact the role of a businessman, I must enact it to the best of my abilities. And, I must always remember that it is only a role, and that, after the game, both the king and the pawn end up in the same box - this is awareness.

Most of humanity exists, without any awareness. Vivekananda says that the spiritual mode can never be achieved till the material is eschewed. It takes enormous courage for a peacock to accept that its feathers won't last for ever.

Most of us work, make money, earn fame, become successful, get married, become more successful, earn more money, gain more fame, pray for intelligent children, get children, pray for their welfare, become more successful, watch our children grow and become successful, retire peacefully and die abruptly. A few do all the above, while being aware that someday this must all end, and in this awareness, he who thinks along these lines will distinguish himself to himself alone.

Are both paths right? Wrong question. Are both paths normal? Right, and yes. Is one path preferable to another? Purely subjective. But this will probably be the most important question a man asks himself in his entire life, and in doing so, sets on the path of self-awareness.

It had to be arguably the most intelligent man in all of humanity to make this very inconvenient statement: It is good to be a man of success, but better to be a man of value. If these words came from the mouth of anyone of even marginally lesser standing than Einstein, they would have been received with perfect derision from the intelligensia. However, since these have come from one who studied Sanskrit for years to learn the true meaning of the Bhagavad Gita, they cannot be cast asunder, and have to receive a little more consideration. What will we do with all the money we earn? It is in how many lives we transform that we distinguish ourselves, and embellish our legacies.

The peacock's feathers are most resplendent when they sit on the crown of the Lord. But how many peacocks would want that to happen?

Where do we go from here?

I have just returned from the longest vacation of my professional life, and much water has flowed during this period. For anybody reading, 33 comments have been made to one outrageous post of mine, which just goes to suggest that anything outrageous sells. But although I instigated this flood of words and thoughts, I should connect my hiatus to my future course of action.

This Parthi trip was as spiritually epiphanic as it was physically enervating. This Parthi trip taught me one thing which my mighty mind never taught me for two decades with the Organization, and more specifically with Dubai: The world is more than 500 people, in fact, it is more than 6,500,000,000 people.

Put in perspective, social acceptance should be the least of my interests, when my self has not been ordained to be centred. With great Blessings come great responsibilities, and it is time I choose what is necessary to what is lively.

Footnote: Of the +6,500,000,000 people alive today, only an insignificant 2,000,000,000 live in poverty.

SABN Speaketh: On not minding the matter

SABN has, as usual, been so profound that I have share his input with everyone:

There is a time and place to say things especially the truth. If the time and/or the place is not ripe, Silence is the most appropriate statement to make!

Bhagavad Gita 17:15- anudvega-karam vakyam satyam priya-hitam ca yat svadhyayabhyasanam caiva van-mayam tapa ucyate "Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others"

“Saying what you feel’ if it hurts or agitates the others, no matter how truthful the saying, is “himsa”

Further Swamy Says "Even if you cannot oblige, you can at least speak obligingly. This means that you have to cleanse your speech of cynicism and satire and be ever sincere and sweet. You may differ from co-workers on methods and programmes, but this should not leave a scar on your heart or their heart...”

“Both unpleasant truth and pleasant untruth have to be avoided.”
---

SABN Sir,

I see your well-reasoned points, and I know for sure that they are sincere. If I can have some more of your input to our discussion, and Swami presents the right course of action through them, you can be sure that there will be no further public statements in my private site! I guess the Socratic method suits best, as the many more years that you have will present richer experience, and thereby, wiser thoughts.

Bhagavad Gita 17:15- anudvega-karam vakyam satyam priya-hitam ca yat svadhyayabhyasanam caiva van-mayam tapa ucyate "Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others"

Now, Krishna talks of austerity by using 'truth' as the first adjective, not 'pleasing' not, 'not agitating'. What if the truth were not pleasant? And what if the silence continued to the extent that pleasantness of speech became an acceptable, and probably necessary substitute for truthfulness of speech? Secondly, in such a circumstance, is it more beneficial to let untruth flourish without hindrance (to the extent that a spiritual monument becomes a platform for spiritual performance rather than spiritual penance), at the expense of words which are disruptive, no doubt, but probatory for good reason?

“Saying what you feel’ if it hurts or agitates the others, no matter how truthful the saying, is “himsa”

What about saying what you don’t feel as it will please and ingratiate others, no matter how untruthful the saying. Which is the greater evil here, the himsa of the truthful word, or the ahimsa of the sweet lie,- if at all the latter is ahimsa?

Further Swamy Says "Even if you cannot oblige, you can at least speak obligingly. This means that you have to cleanse your speech of cynicism and satire and be ever sincere and sweet. You may differ from co-workers on methods and programmes, but this should not leave a scar on your heart or their heart...”

Kerala is a Communist state, and for obvious reasons, the states with one of the most outstanding records for un-industrialization in India. One entrepreneur from Kerala settled in Singapore (or somewhere else I don’t really recollect where) and engaged in the shipping business decided to order two vessels from Cochin Shipyard, whilst Korean shipbuilders offered slightly higher prices, but with accurate deliveries. But this guy was patriotic and tried to engage even the lower-level workforce from Cochin Shipyard so that they too would realize the importance of playing to international rules (for their own benefit). He was very sweet and cordial, and to the cut the story short, he learned a very expensive lesson. This happened around four years back.

Another story, and this is based on personal experience. We have factory-people who come from many different states of South and North India. Now, I always have problems with people of two specific states. I can be sweet and cordial and keep getting a hit to our productivity, and consequently, to the entire company, or I can let go of a few rotten apples to save the rest of them. What I have done in the past is the practical thing from my perspective, not the benevolent thing, but the practical thing.

I will totally obey what the Avatar says on leaving hearts unscarred, but let me also ask this question: When the Avatar asks us to be sincere and sweet, and when the entire focus is on sweetness at the expense of sincerity, what do you think Swami might find more wrong - poison parading as perfume, or the pungent fumes of truth?

Among the very few that I can personally look up to, and currently engaged in some form of official capacity, KN (famous for, among others, ‘we cannot plan for everything, but we can pray for everything’, ‘we should not only serve Swami, but also serve as Swami’) stands out for being genuinely sincere, and incredibly sweet at the same time. But then, how many KNs do we have? So, when the difficult gel of sincerity and sweetness has to be professed, where do you think it should start? I know what you will say (it should start with myself!), but when we have a world full of yes-men, shouldn’t someone say no so that people know there is some kind of divergence of opinion and thought? Hasn’t humanity progressed because a few people at all levels questioned the status quo, whether it be of the geocentric universe, or that of life after death? In my own company, some of the most powerful people are those who will actually question me or counter my point of view. If I am a lawyer, will I make impolite admissions to defend my client, or offer silence to allow his defeat?

“Both unpleasant truth and pleasant untruth have to be avoided.”

Many years back, while in Boeing, I was forwarded a document on a software application named CATIA that was supposed to improve productivity, but did very well to affect the opposite. But after having spent half a billion dollars on the application, decision makers demonstrated perfect non-rational escalation of commitment by pumping more money for this project, in effect, to repaint a house standing on shallow foundation. But a few people felt this was wrong, and just about no one complained. People feared one or more of the following: losing their positions, going out of favour, or appearing to be plain stupid. What do we do under such circumstances? Remaining a mute spectator while claiming to be a foot-soldier of Krishna’s army is, in my opinion, the equivalent of retiring to the forest promptly after securing a PhD in social welfare. Furthermore, in a spiritual setting, do you think that communism of thought and pretense of vision, added to selfishness of interest, should be silently reviewed from the sidelines, or commented upon? Which is the greater evil?

If you still believe that the path of silence is the preferred choice, I will seriously go for it. The thing about Swami is that He gives us mixed signals with one clear message. I guess He wants us to use our viveka. This is where the satsang of the wise will help, and that is why I will agree with your experience.

Going Bananas - Connectivity & Connection: My personal experience

Gulf News, 02-07-10: Going bananas: Reaping the fruits of life. Video Editor Jaye Lentin and his wife have been on a raw food vegan diet for more than a year. Do their lifestyle and large intake of sugary fruits have any adverse effects on their bodies?

By the article itself, GN relates 'effects on their bodies' to effect on health. According to WHO, Health is a state of complete, physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. This forms the premise of, probably the most important blog I have written so far.

I lived in the US for three years, starting Fall 2000. I led an incredibly solitary life there, shuttling between Salt Lake City and Seattle. By solitary I do not mean abandoned or ostracised, but rather, insulated from what I wanted to be insulated from, and isolated from what I wanted to isolate myself from. This was also the period of my spiritual rebirth.

During this period, I have had the strongest connection with the Cosmic Spirit that subsumes and consumes us all. Here, time and space are as relative as anything else you find relative. Clairvoyance and clairsentience become part of your sensory armour without you knowing they even existed. I dreamt of the 9/11 attack the morning it happened. I dreamt of the New York plane crash two months later. These are major incidents. Many minor incidents would flash to the mind's eye before they happened. I dreamt of my grandmother's passing on a week before it took place. I would have the Avatar's Dream almost every week. I dreamt of Jesus twice. And as the greatest spiritual celebration of my life, I had a vision of Krishna one night in my bedroom, when I was far from asleep. Although it lasted for maybe 2 seconds, these seconds constitute the greatest temporal embellishment of my life.

Now, how does all this relate to Going Bananas? You are what you eat. What you eat is not just from the mouth alone. During these years, I ate bland, tasteless food. I was vegan. Vegetables were half-cooked. I abjured salt, spice, sugar, chilli and anything that would even marginally titillate the tongue. Not just that. I lived on a very spiritual diet. TV was minimal or non-existent. I meditated twice a day. I read spiritual books. I detached myself from everything else. And so, what all happened then, happened then.

When the food that you take in through the five senses is sathwic, your antennas get detoxed, and therefore, you can connect. But everything has to start from the 10% of the tongue where the taste-buds of delusion lie. Once everything reaches the stomach, it's one mass of mashed everything. But how many of us would like to think so? My personal experience is testament to the eternal truth that you are what you eat.

Disclaimer: To distress you no further, I am no longer an Aumnivore and back to my herbivorous ways now. I am not single any more, and we live as one big mingling family now. It is difficult for my to emphasise my vegan point of view to a vegetarian home. Besides, I am no longer insulated and isolated, and back to the sewer of the material morass. So, no more visions and other esoteric situations.

Then again, head in the forest and hands in sick society. One should do what one can, in spite of one's situation. And go bananas when no one is watching! P.

Mario Mazzoleni - former Priest and subsequent Heathen

I had been searching for the last sentence of this paragraph for a very long time, and I found it today. But since this sentence concludes a very controversial paragraph of a final testament of a highly controversial Catholic Priest, I thought I might as well reproduce the para in its entirety.

"The Divine Presence of Sai Baba is, without a doubt, the most important occurrence in the cosmos for thousands of years, and I am happy to have sacrificed my entire career, my reputation, and my life itself, in this cause. This event induces me to express even more strongly the feeling of gratitude that I have towards my parents, whom now I am able to see once more, and whom the Divine Compassion was pleased to spare the great pain of seeing their son, the priest, rejected and condemned by that same institution which had welcomed him as its minister. What that human condemnation took away from me was infinitely less than what I gained - by knowing Sai Baba, and by consecrating all my energies to Him. I am saddened by the thought that some people may have suffered because of my faith, and I humbly beg forgiveness of all those who may have been scandalised by my words or by my actions."

I know how some people might read this, but once you find your Path, you find yourself astonishingly alone, and the clearer you (want to) see your Path, the more you are willing to travel alone. Nobody takes his label(s) with him to the after-life.

Along those very lines, Mario also wrote to the Vatican (reproduced in part):

Between the two alternatives I am offered, either being exiled from the institution of Church, or else being exiled from my conscience, I cannot and will not select the latter. Institutions do not accompany anyone beyond the grave.

Throwing light on enlightenment

SABN Speaketh: In enlightenment, the memory of who we are in this physical world is forgotten and the desire of who we want to be in this material world is forsaken.