Sai
and Swami Sivananda on Hearticulture
Sai
Ram. Again the Sadguru in various forms is sending very important and relevant
messages. It is also interesting to note that Sai Maharaj (Sai Baba of Shirdi)
prepared the present Samadhi Mandir very arduously for a few years, removing
all weeds, stones etc. and growing beautiful fragrant flowers thus showing us
how to prepare our minds / hearts. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of Sri Sai
Satcharitra:
"In
his young days, Sai Baba grew hair on His head; never had His head shaved. He
dressed like an athlete. When He went to Rahata (3 miles from Shirdi), He
brought with Him small plants of Merry Gold, Jai and Jui, and after cleaning,
he planted and watered them. A devotee by name Vaman Tatya supplied Him daily
with two earthen pitchers. With these Baba Himself used to water the plants. He
drew water from the well and carried the pitchers on His shoulders. In the
evening the pitchers were kept at the foot of the Neem tree. As soon as they
were placed there, they were broken, as they were made of raw earth and not
baked. Next day, Tatya supplied two fresh pitchers. This course went on for 3
years; and with Sai Baba’s toil and labour, there grew a flower-garden. On this
site, at present, stands the big mansion - Samadhi Mandir of Baba, which is now
frequented and used by so many devotees."
He
also showed that Sadguru can weed out / uproot the deep rooted desires (His
uprooting the pillars when devotees were working on the extension to the Masjid
- See Chapter 6 of Sri Sai Satcharitra, a brief excerpt is given below:
"In
1911, the Sabha - Mandap (court - yard) was also put in order with great labour
and effort. The open space in front of the Masjid was very small and
inconvenient. Kakasaheb Dixit wanted to extend it and put on it a roofing. At
great expense, he got iron-posts, and pillars and trusses and started the work.
At night, all the devotees worked hard and fixed the posts; but Baba, when he
returned from Chavadi next morning, uprooted them all and threw them out. Once
it so happened that Baba got very excited, caught a pole with one hand, and
began to shake and uproot it, and with the other hand caught the neck of Tatya
Patil. He took by force Tatya’s Pheta, struck a match, set it on fire and threw
it in a pit. At that time, Baba’s eyes flashed like burning embers. None dared
to look at Him. All got terribly frightened. Baba took out a rupee from his
pocket and threw it there, as if it were an offering on an auspicious occasion.
Tatya also was much frightened. None knew what was going to happen to Tatya,
and none dared to interfere. Bhagoji Shinde, the leper devotee of Baba, made a
little boldly advance, but he was pushed out by Baba. Madhavrao was also
similarly treated, he being pelted with brick pieces. So all those, who went to
intercede, were similarly dealt with. But after some time, Baba’s anger cooled
down. He sent for a shopkeeper, got from him an embroidered Pheta and Himself
tied it on Tatya’s head, as if he was being given a special honour. All the
people were wonderstruck to see this strange behavior of Baba. They were at a
loss to know, what enraged Baba so suddenly and what led Him to assault Tatya
Patil, and why His anger cooled down, the next moment. Baba was sometimes very
calm and quiet and talked sweet things with love, but soon after, with or
without any pretext, got enraged. Many such incidents may be related; but I do
not know which to choose and which to omit. I, therefore, refer them as they
occur to me."
It is
interesting to note that Sai removed the mamakaaram (I, my, sense) from Tatya
in the form of his pheta and after burning it (the my sense), gave him a new
embroidered Pheta (representing Guru's grace). Sai Ram.
Now
let us take up Sadguru Swami Sivananda's message on hearticulture - how to develop a pure
heart.
SIVANANDA
DAILY READING FOR 31 AUGUST 2011 - HEARTICULTURE (How to cultivate the heart as a
good fertile land that gives sweet fruits instead of poisonous weeds) -
You
must have a pure mind if you want to realise the self. Unless the mind is set
free, unless the mind casts away all desire, craving, worry, delusion, pride,
lust, attachment, likes and dislikes, it cannot enter the domain of supreme
peace.
Mind
is compared to a garden. Just as you can cultivate good flowers and fruits in a
garden, by ploughing and manuring the land, by removing the weeds and thorns,
and by watering the plants and trees - so too you can cultivate the flower of
devotion in the garden of your mind, by removing the impurities of the mind
(such as lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, etc.), and watering it with
divine thoughts.
Weeds
and thorns grow in the rainy season and then disappear in summer. But their
seeds remain underneath the ground and as soon as there is a shower, the seeds
germinate and sprout. Even so, the vrttis (modifications of the mind), manifest
on the surface of the conscious mind, then disappear and assume a subtle
seed-state in the form of samskaras or impressions. The samskaras again become
vrttis, either through internal or external stimuli.
If
you want to keep the garden clean you will have to remove not only the weeds
but also the seeds that lie underneath the ground, which will eventually
germinate otherwise. Even so, you have to destroy not only the big waves of the
mind, but also the impressions which are the seeds for birth and death, if you
want to enter the super-conscious state.
Those
who have removed the impurities of their minds by japa (repetition of God's
name), service, charity, pranayama (yoga breathing), etc., will enter into
meditation as soon as they sit for meditation. The pure, ripe mind at once
burns with the fire of meditation.
Without
the help of meditation you cannot obtain knowledge of the self. Without its aid
you cannot grow into the divine state. Without it you cannot liberate yourself
from the trammels of the mind and attain immortality. Tear the veil that covers
the soul, by practising regular meditation.
Self-realisation is the aim of life. The means
to it are living an ethical life and ceaseless meditation. Spiritual duty is
far more important than worldly duty. Live to seek God. Live to serve humanity.
Fulfil God's will. You will be blessed. You will be happy.
