Welcome to the Saraswati Puja edition of e-Sri Sanai for the year 2010

by Sri Sandip Dasgupta

Saraswati Puja is a very very special occasion for all of us – this is the day when our Master, Sri Sri Babathakur came to this earth. Unfortunately He decided to attain Mahasamadhi on November 9, 2009. When I received the sad news, I immediately rushed to Delhi to attend the last rites (video posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxq1bKsLfwU). My immediate reaction was that of shock, but as I got over my emotions, I realized that not much has changed – let me elaborate.

At a gross level, I will not

• be able to meet Him during Guru Poornima and Saraswati Puja
• be able to call Him up on important days like New Year’s, Bijoya etc.
• seek His advice on very important matters in my life

But I will be able to continue to

• listen to His words
• read His works
• reflect on His words
• follow His advice
  

The continuous bhajans that were sung during the week of November 9, 2009 filled my heart with joy – I could feel that He was indeed present amongst all of us, singing the bhajans and listening to those bhajans! This gave me great courage as I went up to the pyre to light the fire. The Master had repeatedly told His disciples “This body is nothing but a bucketful of ashes” As I watched His cremation at Moksha Dham, these words thundered through my ears. I was reminded that He was indeed the embodiment of the “Absolute I-Reality”. That body was turning into ashes, but His words were fully alive and constantly playing in my ears. Ever since that day, His words have been resonating through my ears – day-in and day-out. I feel that I can sense his presence even more, all the time!

In this issue, let me make a humble attempt to share my reflections on some His sayings.

“ALL DIVINE FOR ALL TIME AS IT IS” – Sri Sri Babathakur had emphatically declared that each and every creation and inert object in this planet and beyond is made of the same substratum that he termed “I-Reality”. He explained that by definition, there can only be one ABSOLUTE and this is DIVINE by nature. Time represents change and hence cannot be applicable to the ABSOLUTE. The ABSOLUTE also does not change as you move from one place to another.

Hence He has repeatedly urged us to “ACCEPT ALL, REJECT NONE” – quite simply because everything and everybody is Divine. He asked us to accept all as the ABSOLUTE DIVINE – not look for faults in others, but instead look for our own faults and correct them. Sri Sri Babathakur came to this earth for what He termed a "MISSIONLESS MISSION". According to Him, for one to have a MISSION, one has to be superior to others. So perfect was His understanding, that he repeatedly told us that He was no different than any of us – because we were all DIVINE. He pointed out to us that we had forgotten our true nature and our sole aim in life should be to realize that DIVINE amongst all of us. If we ever made the mistake of asking Him the question “How are you?”, He would spontaneously say “I am as I was, I am and as I will be” – referring to the Absolute nature of the DIVINE which is our true nature.

He used to point to the elements of the earth and remind us:

• What would happen if the Sun forgot its nature and stopped giving us sunlight?
• What would happen if the water changed its nature?
  

Thus He urged us to not forget our true nature. That would bring back joy and happiness to us and to this world.

Sri Sri Babathakur had a very interesting observation that He often shared with us. He used to say that if you keep asking God for this object, that thing etc. then you will remain a beggar. But also remember that anything that you will “obtain”, you will have to lose (similar to ‘What goes up, comes down’) – and when you lose that object, you will be unhappy. On the other hand, the ‘I-Reality’ is always present amongst all of us. If we seek to discover what is already within us, then there is no question of losing it. That is true Knowledge and that is what will give us true, ever-lasting happiness.

Let me restate some of His advice for those of us who live in this objective world.

• Don’t live in Samsara – live in ‘Sama-Sara’, where everybody and everything is the same, was the same and will remain the same.
• Before you sleep every night, reflect on the Lord (Brahman, Atman, I-Reality, as you wish). When resting, rest in His name and idea, not in the Ajnana (the knowledge of worldly things). In the morning when you wake up, start the day by remembering Him and taking His name. Whatever work that you do, do it for Him – that way you should be able to surrender the results to Him.
• Whatever you see with your eyes, think that He is within that. Accept the Divinity within that.
• Whatever you hear, think that it is coming from that same Divinity.
• Whatever you think, is coming from Him.
• Whatever you experience, think that the Divine is within that.
• Those that have realized the ‘I-Reality’ within them have no desire and hence are the really wealthy people. They are the real Kings of this world.

In the past year, we have formed two chapters of Saccidananda Society in North America – one each in USA and Canada. Both are awaiting approval from the relevant federal bodies. Sri Partha Guha and I have been asked to preserve a container of His ashes for the respective chapters of the Saccidananda Society in North America. As per His wishes, we are still trying to proceed with the Bhajan program(s) in North America in Jun 2010. We have begun the distribution of His works in North America amongst the bhaktas. We are also trying to donate some of His works to important University libraries in North America. We also hope to be able to distribute the 2010 version of the calendar being produced by Saccidananda Society, Kolkata.

So, as e-Sri Sanai begins its second year of existence – I would urge all of you to reflect on His words and contributing articles more actively to this publication. Let’s get an online discussion group going. He has given us much knowledge and light. It is now upto us to recollect His words, reflect on those them and remove the clouds of ignorance so as to be able to take baby steps towards the ultimate goal of our lives.

Let me conclude by attempting to translate (with significant assistance from Ms. Swapna Banerjee), one His revealed bhajans:

Guru, I offer my humble prayers at Thy feet

Please let my mind and bio-energy (prana) be at Thy service

Please let me be worthy of receiving Thy kindness, worthy of beholding Thy vision

Please let me be with Thee uninterruptedly day and night

Thou Divine, be there with me all the time!

Please be with me when I recall and think about Thee

Please be with me in my meditation and knowing.

Please be with me in my state of sleeping

Please be with me in my state of dreaming

Please be with me in my state of awakening.

Let me be worthy of Thou compassion and blessing

Let all my actions be Thy worshipping

Let my life be the medium of Thy Divine Sport

Make me Thy exclusive instrument, your Action’s Abode.

Oh Guru my Life! I surrender myself to Thee

Please accept me O Guru! Please accept me!

Please bestow the strength of mind, bestow the might of vital force (prana)

Please bestow the faith in my heart, bestow devotion and reverence

Please awaken in my heart dispassion and sacrifice

Please awaken in me the Eternal Knowledge of Self Infinite

Please open the flood-gate of Consciousness, open the “Divine Eyes”

Please allow me to play in Thy Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss!

Joy Guru, Joy Guru, Joy Guru.

How our Master came to be known as Sri Sri Babathakur

From the pages of SmritiGatha (translated by Smt. Swapna Banerjee)

Sri Sri Babathakur started his early career as a teacher in an eminent school in South Kolkata, India. During those days He was addressed and referred to as “Mastermashai,” a formal address for a teacher in Bengali. In the late 1960s He lived in Kankulia, a neighborhood in the Ballygunje area of South Kolkata. His spiritual aura was already drawing seekers, aspirants, devotees, and other curious people around Him.

On February 12th, 1967 late Srimati Bani Chakraborty (wife of Late N. C. Chakraborty, Senior Advocate of Kolkata High Court), a highly qualified and devoted soul, accompanied by her equally dedicated cousin Late Srimati Uma Raychaudhuri, paid a visit to Him at His residence in Kankulia to satisfy their spiritual quests. The first encounter with the Divine Personality of MasterMashai unleashed profound changes in their lives turning them into the most ardent devotees of Sri Sri Babathakur. Sri Sri Babathakur moved into Srimati Chakraborty’s residence on Fern Road in early 1968 and stayed there until 1996. Srimati Bani Chakraborty, with the full support and encouragement of her husband who revered Sri Sri BabaThakur as his Supreme Guru, dedicated her life at the service of Sri Sri Babathakur, taking care of Him as Iswar Atma Brahma Guru, but with the utmost love, affection, care and dedication of the most protective mother.

It may be worth mentioning here that Srimati Chakraborty was already spiritually initiated by Srimad Hansha Baba Abhadut when she met Sri Sri Babathakur. While single-handedly fulfilling the responsibility of His bodily care, Srimati Chakraborty’s greatest legacy is the chronicling of Sri Sri Babathakur’s daily activities, lectures, revealed songs (bhajans), Divine ecstasies, and numerous spiritual experiences for a period of almost three decades in her journals. Her diary narrating the life of Sri Sri Babathakur first came out as a series in the spiritual quarterly, Sri Sanai, from 1982 onwards and were subsequently published in two volumes, SmritiGantha Volumes I (2003) and II (2009). The account narrated below is from the pages of SmritiGantha (Garland of Memories), the memoirs of Srimati Bani Chakraborty. The translation has tried to remain close to the original so as to retain Srimati Chakraborty’s voice.

Smt. Swapna Banerjee
_______________________________________________________________________________

From the pages of SmritiGatha: Memoirs of Late Srimati Bani Chakrabarty, Calcutta: Saccidananda Society, Manashi Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-81-86571-30-9; pp. 24-25

April 13th, 1970: I was preparing MasterMashai’s bed after he had finished his dinner. In the midst of various conversation, MasterMashai kept saying — “All Divine Mother (Chaitanyamoyee Ma) says so many inchoate things (Abol Tabol) [incoherent and nonsensical talks] . Wouldn’t she say abol tabol? Ma speaks in terms of A-bol (My/I- language) and Ta-bol (Your language). ”A-bol” means the language of Ananda (Bliss), “tomar bol” means the language of Tattva (Absolute Reality). In the course of the conversation He again said — “Any sadhana (discipline/practice) with ahamkar (ego) is the sadhana of jnana (knowledge) – it is devoid of rasas, the joy and bliss derived from Savikalpa Samadhi. The sadhana of bhakti (devotion) is full of Joy or Bliss.“

It was the middle of April. After MasterMashai had his lunch and I mine, I sought His permission to visit my friend and Guru-bhagni (co-disciple) Manju-di. I went to learn a special recipe from her. I talked a lot about MasterMashai with Manju-di. As we spoke Manju-di told me, “Why would you call Him who you respect so much and hold in such high regard,as “MasterMashai”? “MasterMashai” is a highly respectable address but in the spiritual field you do not use this address for someone who you regard so highly in your heart. We spoke about MasterMashai for an hour-hour and a half and I came back home.

Right after I came back MasterMashai’s asked: “So Ma! You met your friend after such a long time. What did she say?”

I told him why I went to see Manju-di and also shared the rest of the conversation I had with her. I told Him straight -- “Manju-di does not like we addressing You as “Master Mashai”. She said although “MasterMashai is a highly respectable term, it is not an appropriate address for someone you consider your Guru (spiritual mentor).” MasterMashai quietly listened to what I said and after a brief silence said – “She was indeed right.”

I asked — “So what should we call you? “ MasterMashai said -- “ Ma, I really don’t know all that. Call me whatever you like.” There was no further conversation on this matter that day.

That evening when Dwijeshda, Uma, and Binay came, I told them right away what Manju-di had suggested. I said, “ There’s no reason why we should continue to call Him MasterMashai because that’s what we have been calling him for ages.? We ought to change the address.” Dwijesh-da said, “MasterMashai is such a beautiful address! Master means Ma + Star, i.e. Ma Tara (literally, star in Bengali). We laughed at Dwijesh-da’s humor, but Uma and I continued to ponder over what Manju-di suggested. The next day when Harisadhan-da came, I related to him the whole incident. I gave him the responsibility of choosing a name at his earliest. He said, “All right, I will think it through tonight.” The next day Harisadhan-da came back with ten to twelve names. Of those, I only remember three —Thakur, Babathakur, and Thakurbaba. Uma send those names to Bombay-r Ma. We have to select the name from this list. We sought Ma’s opinion. Ma said nothing about which name is better or how we should address Him. She responded to Uma saying that Sri Sri Sarada Ma (the Holy Mother and the consort of Sri RamaKrishna ParamaHansa) used to address Sri Sri Ramakrishna as BabaThakur. But not everybody knows about it.

After we received this letter from Bombay, we decided that we should start calling MasterMashai, “BabaThakur”. We let MasterMashai know that we had come to this decision based on the letter from Ma. He did not raise any objection to what we said but smiled softly.

From that very day we started to practice calling Him “BabaThakur” and instructed everybody to do the same. Old habits die hard. “MasterMashai” came to our lips very easily; we acquired the habit of calling Him BabaThakur much later. Although we cannot recall the exact date, we do remember that we started calling Him “BabaThakur” from the month of May. We spent all April thinking about the address and exchanging letters. Let me state here that from May 1970 onwards, I will refer to Him as BabaThakur in my journal entries in SmritiGatha.

Poem

Our Time with Sri Sri Babathakur

by Sri Dipak & Smt. Monjusree Chowdhury

Before we say anything about our experiences with Sri Sri Babathakur, we bow to Him with our deepest reverence and love.

We truly feel very blessed that during our lifetime, we not only had darshan of such an enlightened Master, but were given many opportunities to sit close to Him, listen to His teachings directly, and be blessed by Him. Our first meeting with Him was many years ago in our mashi’s (Smt. Bani Chakravarty) house. At that early age, we weren’t interested in anything spiritual and so we didn’t really take any notice of who Sri Sri Babathakur was. To us, it was only a matter of doing pranam and leaving his room, until many years later.

I (Dipak) was visiting Sri Sri Babathakur and he asked me to come back and see him the next morning, after taking my bath. Little did I know that this would be the beginning of my spiritual journey. That next morning, when I visited Him, Sri Sri Babathakur gave me my mantra—which I’ve chanted every single day since then, according to his instructions. After that, whenever we’d go to India, we’d always visit Him to pay our respects.

Today, both of us spend an important part of our lives doing our mantra, Japa, practicing meditation and studying spiritual teachings, including Sri Sri Babathakur’s. Our memories of His presence and teachings will always be treasured until our last days.

Truly, Sri Sri Babathakur was beyond words. To us, He was a compassionate and loving teacher who exuded Divinity at all times. May we all be blessed by Sri Sri Babathakur. May we always have the wisdom to remind ourselves constantly about who we truly are—Suddha, Mukta, Buddha, Atma—as Sri Sri Babathakur always reminded us.

Life’s teachings from a true REALISER

by Sri Partha Guha


“I am the centre and cause of all actions and activities around me”. Science of Oneness.

Ever since I began communicating with Sri Sri Babathakur (hereafter referred to as “The Master”), my only question to Him had been – “How can I attain the path of Peace?” Totally exhausted sometimes from trying to overcome the obstacles of life and then applying my judgment and failing further, I was keen to end this mundane life cycle and look for something different and better.

Every time I would approach Him with a problem, He would give me a suggestion or two to help me get over my immediate obstacle. This though would be followed by an immediately reminder that, “This is not a permanent solution, the real solution lies within yourself”. I of course would carefully listen to Him with little or no understanding, and return home content with the notion of at least having received some solution to my immediate challenge. I however did not realize that these problems would manifest themselves again soon in my life as the “I”. What I was preoccupied with was the Kacha Aami (i.e. the “temporary I”), whereas The Master was referring to the Paka Aami (i.e. the “permanent I”). Gradually I began understanding what The Master was trying to teach me. The “temporary I” or the Kacha Aami is all concerning the material world and our ego, whereas the “permanent I” or the Paka Aami is our clear consciousness. The background stays eternally present and we experience all this through our indriyo (senses).

Then another day The Master explained how in our awakened life or behavioral life we use deha (body), indriyo (senses), pran (life), mann (mind), and buddhi (intellect). It works like brain--> mind-->senses. In the visible world, our inner nature works both ways governed by the mind inside to the outside, and reverse. Consciousness is the abiding reality of gross, subtle, subtler manifestations - all this is chaitanya. He then said that consciousness is something we will need at all times. This chaitanya (or consciousness) could either be positive or negative.

I then asked Him a question - “How does the same consciousness appear to be so diversified?” He replied, “The awareness of this is done by the mind, which is the inner sense. Inner sense is divided into four parts – (i) Intellect (buddhi) &(ii) Mind (mann) are at one level, (iii) Ego(ahankar) is on another level and (iv) Citta (mind stuff) which consciousness with objective attitude.”

At that point I asked Him once again how I could attain the Path of Peace and mentioned that I was going away to the mountains to do penance. He said,” Going to the mountains in search of peace is a temporary fix, but if one follows certain rules, one can attain permanent peace.” He continued, “When something starts and ends in Oneness, that is the Path of Peace.”

My learning from all this has forced me to change the way I look at my own life and self. As stated above, I have started training myself to believe that – I am the centre and cause of all actions I take and the activities around me. I have no reason to praise or blame anyone for either my successes or my failures.

The Master, Sri Sri Babathakur attained MahaSamadhi on 9th Nov’09 at his place of abode in New Delhi, India.

( … to be continued)

Guru Purnima over the years (1999-2009) in the presence of Sri Sri Babathakur

A Diary by Siddhartha Dasgupta

In 1999, Saccidananda Society & Sri Sri Babathakur moved to Sri Santimoy Datta’s (known as Santida to all bhaktas) place at Metropolitian Bypass (Kolkata) from Sri Nani Chakravarty’s residence at Fern Road.

Some of the common events at all Guru Purnima were that Sri Sri Babathakur always gave a long speech after bhajans. He would go on for hours without knowing what time it was. At the end, someone would usually say something like “Babathakur, shomoy hoyegachhe” – meaning “Babathakur, it’s getting late”. Then he would say something like “OK” and end the talk soon. Other common factors were that the Guru Purnima was always held in Kolkata, & that bhaktas not only from Kolkata, but other parts of India & abroad too would attend the celebration. I have had the good fortune of attending every single Guru Purnima since 1999.

The first Guru Purnima celebration of Saccidananda Society took place on Thursday, July 29^th, 1999 at the rooftop of Saccidananda Society. The event started with bhajans performed by several bhaktas from Calcutta. The following bhajans were sung:

• Om Namaste Paramabramhane, led by Smt. Lily Haldar
• Chhero Na Re Mon, Shyama Mayer Sreechoron, by Sri Pranab Bose
• Om Namo Gurubhyo, Gurupaadukaabhyo, by Sri Pranab Bose, Smt. Lily Haldar & group
• Bramharaam Hari Aatmaaraam, by Smt. Lily Haldar
• Raam Naam, led by Sri Pranab Bose
• Kothao Bhogoban, led by Sri Pranab Bose
• Jaya Madhabo, by Smt. Lily Haldar
• Shiva Shiva Shankara, by Sri Pranab Bose, followed by Shiva Om
• Hare Krishna Hare Rama, led by Sri Pranab Bose
• Radhe Gobindo, led by Sri Pranab Bose & group
• Joy Joy Guru Joy, led by Sri Pranab Bose

Guru Purnima 2000 was held at the roof of a “Mishtir Dokan” (Sweet Store) located very near to the Society building. Our e-Sri Sanai editor, Smt. Sroddha Patranabis sang a melodious bhajan (Ayahi Borode, Mata Sharode). The bhajans that were rendered were as follows:

• Prem Se Bhaja Mana, led by Sri Subir Kar Purkayastha
• Om Namo Gurubhyo, led by Smt. Lily Haldar
• Bhaja Bhaja Mana Saccidaanandaghana, led by Sri Subir Kar Purkayastha
• Shyama Ma Amar Anondomoyee, by Sri Pranab Bose
• Ayahi Borode Mata Sharode, by Smt. Sroddha Patranabis
• Saccidananda Guru Om, led by Smt. Lily Haldar
• Bhaja Mana Raamakrishna, led by Sri Subir Kar Purkayastha
• Anondo Guru, Anondo Ishoro, led by Smt. Lily Haldar
• Hare Krishna Hare Raama, led by Sri Pranab Bose & group
• Radhe Gobindo, led by some lady in the Calcutta bhajan group
• Babathakur Naam, led by Sri Pranab Bose
• Joy Joy Guru Joy, led by Sri Pranab Bose

The format of the Guru Purnima function changed in 2001. Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas (who has sung in the Babathakur Bhajan CDs/Cassette albums) started coming to Kolkata to render a few bhajans during the celebrations. This happened every year from 2001 onwards, except for 2003. Another change was that Guru Purnima started to be held in an Auditorium. The 2001 celebration was a two-day event held on Thursday, July 5^th & Friday, July 6^th at the BD Auditorium, Salt Lake. The 1^st day was the Guru Purnima celebration & the 2^nd day was the weekly Friday bhajan (which used to happen back then) done by the Kolkata bhaktas.

ZEE Bangla also began recording the Guru Purnima function from 2001 onwards. These were telecast later (starting in 2003) as 30 minute sessions – “Talks of Self Identity” on Zee Bangla.

From 2002-2009 (except 2008), the venue for Guru Purnima moved to Kalakunja, Kalamandir (located on Theatre Road, in Chowringhee). Sri Satinath Mukhopadhyay of Kolkata was the MC for these events. In 2008 Guru Purnima was held at Gyan Manch, & Sri Manas Bhowmik of Siliguri served as the MC.

Bombay Ma was also able to attend the Guru Purnima celebrations from 2002 – 2005.

In 2003, since Sri Kedar Bodas was not present at the celebration, some of his bhajan recordings were played before the program began.

At the 2004 function, the following bhajans were sung:

• Madhuram Madhuram Saccidananda Madhuram, by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas
• Aho Ki Anondo, by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas

The 2005 Guru Purnima had something special – Sri Kedar Bodas singing 5 bhajans accompanied by live dancing performed by Smt. Sonali Chakraborty of Pune. The dances were all choreographed, directed, shown, & taught by Sri Sri Babathakur. In fact, I even saw a part of one of the rehearsals at the Society Building when Sri Sri Babathakur was directing them.

At the 2005 function, the following bhajans were sung:

• Om Namo Gurubhyo Gurupaadukaabhyo, by Smt. Ratna Bhowmik
• Guru Ebar Kripa Kore, sung by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas & Smt. Sonali Chakraborty’s dance
• Satya Gyan Ananda Muroti, sung by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas & Smt. Sonali Chakraborty’s dance
• Aaju Mere Shyaam, sung by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas & Smt. Sonali Chakraborty’s dance
• Prem Se Bhaja Mana, by Sri Pranab Bose & Smt. Lily Haldar
• Mon Re Amar Poran Khule, sung by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas & Smt. Sonali Chakraborty’s dance
• Aho Ki Ananda, sung by Kedar Narayan Bodas & Smt. Sonali Chakraborty’s dance

At the 2006 function, the following bhajans were sung:

• Satya Sundara Swayam Bramha Jyoti, by Smt. Lily Haldar
• Guru Tomaar Chorone Mor, by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas
• Doyal Doyal Doyal Guru Amar, by Sri Pranab Bose
• Sharode Sharode, by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas

At the 2007 function, the following bhajans were sung:

• Shantayo Avyakto Rupayo, by Smt. Lily Haldar
• He Chiro Shundoro, by Smt. Lily Haldar
• Kaleenam Shuddha Sagaro, by Sri Pranab Bose
• Guru Tomar Chorone Mor, by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas
• Manosho Udyane, by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas
• Madhuram Madhuram Saccidananda Madhuram, by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas

At the beginning of the program, Sri Satinath Mukhopadhyay gave a little introduction of Sri Sri Babathakur’s words & related it to a Rabindrasangeet – “Amar Hiyar Majhe Lukiye Chhile”.

In 2008, & 2009, Smt. Suchismita Das, Smt. Shaoni Mitra and Smt. Chandrabali Rudra Dutta rendered a few bhajans in addition to Sri Kedar Bodas.

At the 2008 function, the following bhajans were sung:

• Brahmasagara Shudha Shindhu, by Smt. Chandrabali Rudra Dutta
• Bhaja Mono Omkaro, by Smt. Chandrabali Rudra Dutta
• Doyal Doyal Doyal Guru Amar, by Sri Pranab Bose
• Shree Ganesha Shree Ganesha, by Smt. Suchismita Das
• Prem Se Bhaja Mana, by Smt. Suchismita Das
• Bhaja Mana Omkara, by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas
• Ananda Guru Ananda Ishwara, by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas

At the 2009 function, the following bhajans were sung (from what I remember):

• Apon Swaroope Purna Apon, by Smt. Lily Haldar
• Shantayo Avyakta Rupayo, by Sri Pranab Bose
• Jaanu Jaanu Jaanu Main, by Sri Pranab Bose
• Mere Preetam Mere Preetam, by Smt. Shaoni Mitra
• Kothay Ek Kothay Bahu, by Smt. Shaoni Mitra
• Main Ka Main Hai Ahamdeva, by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas
• Bodha Swaroop Hei Bhagawaan Bodhi Swayam Jaane, by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas

In addition to the bhajans & Sri Sri Babathakur’s speech, there would be speeches by some of His bhaktas. For the last few years, Santida had been giving a speech on the importance of Guru Purnima. In 2009, he said “Om Namo Gurubhyo Guru Padukabhyo, Acharya Siddheshwara Padukabhyo, Namo Namah Shree Guru Padukabhyo”. Sri Satyapriya Chakraborty would always recite a poem written by him on Sri Sri Babathakur. Some bhaktas would be called on stage to present flowers etc. to Babathakur. Sometimes even books would be released on Guru Purnima. In fact in 2007, a DVD of a bhajan program performed by Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas & some other Kolkata based artists, was presented along with the Press Conference DVD & Sri Sri Babathakur’s speech following the bhajan that day (January 27^th, 2007).

Our Most Beloved Divine Master - Sri Sri Babathakur

by Sri Utsav Sen

It was on Sunday August the 3rd 1998, that I got to meet our beloved Divine Master Sri Sri Babathakur in person for the very first time at Sri Tapash Rajderkar residence in Thane, Mumbai.

My mother and I had the great fortune of coming in contact with Sri Sri Maa (Bombay Maa) in the late eighties. Ever since then, my mother had regularly taken me along to visit Maa in Mumbai and later in Pune.

Sri Sri Maa was one of the most adorable personalities, capable of Pure Love without any bias or prejudice. One can say, Sri Sri Maa was Divine Bliss personified. Meeting Her used to be an experience in deep mental peace which cannot be easily described. Her very presence in a room used to solicit calm, solace and a feel of Divine silence that one could experience without making any effort.

As a child I always felt that She loved everyone around Her with great ease. She was calm, composed, very soft spoken and Her voice was like Pure Nectar. It was extremely easy to love and respect Her because of Her purity and simplicity of thought, action and behavior.

Sri Sri Maa had told us about Sri Sri Babathakur many times, however we did not get the opportunity to meet Him in person back then. My mother had requested Anuradha Mashi (one of Sri Sri Maa’s closest Bhaktas) to let us know when Sri Sri Babathakur would visit Mumbai.

I believe a few years before meeting Him in person, I had come across an old borrowed copy of Sri Sanai magazine (Raaspurnima 1993) in my mother’s carry bag. At that time I did not know that it is a bilingual quarterly magazine. Since the cover and first few pages were in Bengali, I had not paid close attention to it in the past as I had not studied Bengali in school.

That day however I noticed that the title was in English and thankfully saw that the index had an English section as well. When I read the title of one of the articles - “Relativity and Reality” authored by Sri Sri Babathakur, I was instantly impressed. On reading the article, which was a part of a series of articles, I felt that there is a lot of deep thought and great substance in the material. That’s when I first requested my mother to find out how it would possible for us to meet Sri Sri Babathakur.

By His Divine Grace when Anuradha Mashi informed my mother on the 2nd of August 1998 that Sri Sri Babathakur was currently visiting Mumbai, we were quite excited. My mother called Tapash da’s residence and to her surprise Sri Sri Babathakur Himself answered the phone. They spoke for 10-15 minutes during which my mother requested if she could bring me along with her to take His Darshan. He gracefully agreed.

When I heard the news I was quite delighted and very eager to finally get to see Him in person. At that juncture I considered this to be a once in a life time opportunity. On Sunday morning when we reached Tapash da’s residence, Jasmine di ( Tapash da’s wife ) answered the door. We could hear singing from the other room. Jasmine di took us to that room where we saw the Divine Master teaching some songs to Kedar da (Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas).

He was deeply engrossed in the process of teaching as was Kedar da in learning from the Master - so we simply sat down in a corner and listened. It was very interesting to observe Sir Sri Babathakur meticulously teaching each and every line repeatedly as well as explaining the meaning of some of the lyrics both in Bengali and in Hindi to Kedar da.

Later He did talk to all present in the room. He was really unconventional and communicated with great ease with all throughout. When I first began interacting with Him, I would foolishly ask him many questions which He always answered patiently, although in a very pragmatic and forthright manner. I would be shocked with His prompt and clear responses, yet at the same time deeply pleased to have an opportunity to speak with Him. In retrospect I guess it was hard for me to see the difference between “Relativity”— my questions being relative, and “Reality” – the words that were spontaneously revealing in and through Him.

However when He gracefully, politely and through means of a story indicated that one should listen with undivided attention first when meeting a Divine Personage, I stopped asking questions. I quickly realized that most of my questions were redundant anyways in light of what was already being spoken by Him.

By His Divine Grace, we had a very enjoyable and blessed evening. We got to hear many interesting stories and anecdotes of His experiences. He also mentioned Sri Sri Maa when addressing my mother. He blessed my mother by handing her a set of “Sat Vilas” cassettes, (the first released album of Revealed Songs). We also got the newly released “Cit Vilas” album, besides copies of “Science of Onesness” and “Daiva Purushakar”.

Sri Sri Babathakur said something before we left that day, which I will never forget – “Don’t take these books and leave them on the bookshelf thinking ‘Now we too possess Babathakur’s books’”. I went home that day with an inexplicably persistent smile and began reading “Daiva Purushakar” – a book about destiny and self effort by the Divine Master.

It has been eleven blissful years since that day. By His Divine Grace, we have had several opportunities since then to visit Kolkata and see Him on the occasions of Saraswati Puja and Guru Purnima. It pains me deeply to write following His attainment of Maha Samadhi. He had mentioned on several occasions --- “You have not yet had My Darshan because looking at a physical body is not the Real Darshan. You need to find ‘I’ in every cell, every breath, in your very Being. That is true Darshan.“

I know that He can never be truly absent, but it will be difficult for me to not miss His physical body. He has showered us all with His Blessings for so many years. I hope that By His Grace, we all can continue to follow and live by at least one if not more instances of His myriad teachings.

Antare biraje Prabhu amar

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanay

by Subbu Venkatkrishnan

Last year I was vacationing in India when by chance I happened to open my e-mail and see an invitation to speak on the occasion of Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi's Jayanthi (birthday) celebrations. I had promised myself that I would not access e-mails during my vacation. I was successful as far as work related e-mails were concerned, however due to some stroke of prarabdha, I happened to see this e-mail. At first I was stumped and did not know how to respond. Then I remembered how our acharya, Br. Prabodh Chaitanya, had spoken on this occasion a couple of years back.

Prabodhji started by relating a story of a frog in the well, which considered the water in the well to be all that was there to be known. There comes a fish from the ocean into the well and starts describing the ocean to the frog, but is not able to communicate this wholly due to the frog's limitations. Finally, the fish leads the frog to the ocean and all explanations fall away. Through this story, Prabodhji was drawing a parallel between himself and the frog in the well, trying to understand what the fish, Bhagavan Ramana, was trying to communicate. As I was contemplating on this story, I realized I was just a bystander listening to the conversation between the frog and the fish. So, any information from me is not first hand, nor second hand, but third hand at best.

On Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi's birthday, we celebrate the physical advent of an avatara of Lord Subramanya, in the form of Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi. It was Ardra Darshanam in India, the day when Bhagavan entered this world in a human body. There are many people who do not feel the need or understand the power of an avatara. I heard a wonderful description comparing an avatara and a guru. If the guru is a boat that ferries seekers or sadhakas across the ocean of samsara, then an avatara is a cruise ship that carries millions of seekers across this ocean.

The role of an avatara is well acknowledged in the Hindu tradition. In fact, if you ask who is a Hindu, there are 4 aspects that are considered as true by a Hindu----first, Atindriya Vishaye Vedah Pramanam, i.e. a total acceptance of the Vedas as the valid means of knowledge when it comes to areas that are not available for sense objectification (atindriya vishayas), second, total acceptance of the theory of karma, third, the idea that karma transcends several lifetimes and is consistent with the theory of reincarnation, and fourth, the understanding that an avatara manifests to help seekers along the path by removing all obstacles, both external and internal. One such avatara, was Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi.

Masters, like Bhagavan, present to seekers short precise instructions that help significantly accelerate their spiritual progress. Otherwise, it is very easy to get lost in the volume of spiritual literature. In this day and age when so much information is available literally at one’s fingertips through the use of computers and the internet but there’s simply not enough time to grasp all of it, the experience can be quite overwhelming. So, it is natural for us to seek and obtain some fundamentals or essence from all the information that’s available.

Once, someone asked Sri Adi Shankaracharyaji, “Sir, there are innumerable shastras, upanishads, puranas, smritis etc, and you have commented in great detail on most of them. But it is very hard for us to go through all of it. Could you please give us a brief summary of the teachings, perhaps in one shloka”? Sri Shankaracharyaji replied, “Of course, I will do it in ½ shloka”,

Shlokardhena Pravakshyami Kimuktam Grantha Kotibhih
Brahma Satyam Jaganmithya Jivo Brahmaiva Naaparah

He says, there is a Supreme Reality called Brahman. The world, or Jagat, that we see does not have an independent existence and is, therefore, mithya. Also, there is no difference between I, the jiva, and Brahman. This is the uniqueness of masters. Bhagavan's Brahma Astra is well known as the “Who Am I” enquiry. Seek the source of the “I” thought, and it falls away revealing the true Self, this is true Self enquiry-----Aham Ayam Kuto Bhavati Chinvatah, Ayi Patatyaham Nija Vicharanam.

We all perceive the world and take our perceptions to be real. But are they so? Is what we understand of life and the world, the complete Truth? Such fundamental questions may seem redundant or even scary to the unthinking mind. Even modern science proves conclusively that our experience of the world is relative, incomplete or at times totally unreal.

My perceived world is the sum total of experiences gathered through my senses. Does the world appear the same to all? Surely, the world to an ant and an elephant, a unicellular amoeba and a man, a child and an adult, a frog and a fish, appears different. A blind man is dead to one-fifth of my experiences. He lives in a world without forms and colors and a deaf man without sounds. Moreover, if I add an external instrument to my sense organs, the world would be different even to me. My hand which seems otherwise clean has innumerable bacteria, viruses, and dust particles when seen under a microscope.

Furthermore, the likes and dislikes of my mind color my vision of the world. I become blind to the faults of the one I love and see only bad in the one I dislike. My intellect too adds to my unique experience of the world by its own way of judging and analyzing. Add to that cultural differences, peer and group pressure, newspaper and TV influences and we realize that each of us perceives and understands this world in our own subjective way. From a particular standpoint the world appears one way, but as the standpoint changes, so do appearances. So, what we perceive is not absolutely 'real' or 'as it is' but appears in a particular way due to the limitations, defects, qualities and nature of the instruments through which we experience it. What we see is not the Truth but a version of it. It is a relative reality and not the Absolute Reality.

But that does not stop us from continuously wanting to gain knowledge about this world. Those of you with small children know this very well-----children keep asking the question Why? Sometimes they ask questions that parents find difficult to answer. Once a child asked its mother, “Mom, where did I come from?” To this, after a lot of thought, the mother replied, “Son, all beings in this universe are God's creation and we all are created by God, and you also come from God.” After a while the child comes running back and tells the mother, “Mom, I am very confused now. I asked Dad the same question and he gave me a totally different answer. I don't know what to believe.” Now, the mother was a little worried and wondered what the old man had said. Cautiously she asked the child what his Dad told him. The child said, “The very first living beings were unicellular organisms that evolved into multicellular organisms, which became aquatic animals, from which came the amphibians, reptiles, mammals and so on until the man came from the monkeys.” After hearing this, the mother heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Son, there is no confusion here. I was simply telling you about my side of the family and your Dad told you about his side of the family.”

Sometimes in order to get him or her off one’s back, a child is often presented with a book “Tell Me Why”. As the child grows older and becomes a teenager, you often hear “Why Tell Me?”, Once a father called his teenage son, and said, “Son, we have to discuss some things about life” to which the son replied, “Sure, Dad, tell me what is it that you want to know.” Nowadays, the teenagers know much more than their parents. It is said a teenager is one who stops asking you where he came from and refuses to tell you where he is going. And as one grows older, if one has not been fortunate to be exposed to spirituality, people start asking “Tell, Why Me?”

However, knowledge of objects and phenomena of the world (which is the domain of science) is not the total understanding of life. Without knowing the knower, the individual, such knowledge is incomplete. Moreover, we know that neither have we created the world, nor ourselves. Hence there must be a creator (Ishwara) of this world of things and beings. Only with the understanding of the individual, the world, and Ishwara, their inter-relation and true nature can we know the complete Truth. We realize that at present ours is a very limited view of life.

One may even think that there are two realities, the relative and the absolute-----the relative being what we experience, and the absolute as something out of this world or apart from our experience. This is not so. There is only one Truth, and it is our experience of that one Truth, that is relative and this relative knowledge differs from person to person. Our experience is conditioned by the instruments we use.

If we have to know the Truth 'as it is', we would have to, figuratively speaking, remove the instruments. Whatever would then remain would be the Truth in its pure form. This 'seeing' without 'eyes', and 'knowing' without 'thoughts' is vision of the Truth or Sat Darshanam. Hence, seeing the Truth is being the Truth----it is not seeing an object apart from the Seer.

One may well ask, what is the purpose of knowing the Truth? What do we stand to gain? We are quite comfortable living in this plane of relative reality with our own pet pleasures and pains. Let us examine this. All beings without exception, work to be happy and seek to get rid of sorrows through the possession and enjoyment of material things and pleasures. But by this way, sorrow is not seen to end.

Inquiring into the root of our sorrow, we realize that it is due to the false vision of life that we suffer. If a person mistakenly takes himself to be his reflection in a mirror, then would he not be pained to see his bloated form in a convex mirror? If he realizes that he is free from the limitations of both the mirror and the reflection therein, he begins to enjoy the spectacle in front of him. Thus knowing the Truth, he is totally freed from superimposed sorrows and limitations and enjoys unconditioned bliss, “total cessation of sorrow and attainment of supreme happiness”---- Atyantika Dukha Nivrittih Paramananda Praptih.

All of us have experienced this absence of suffering at odd moments, but the experience has not lasted beyond a certain time. So, it appears that there are some obstacles that prevent us from being anchored in this state where there is an absence of suffering. What are these obstacles and how to get rid of them---- this is what our seeking is all about.

Masters and sages tell us that the main obstacle in our path is a sense of personal doership that we have mistakenly assumed. So we ask, is it at all possible to give up the sense of personal doership? The answer, of course, is yes. It can be done because there have been sages who have indeed been actual examples of individuals for whom the 'end of suffering' has happened.

What we see is that these sages seem to live from moment to moment, enjoying the same pleasures and suffering the same kind of pains that the ordinary person is subjected to – however they are anchored in peace and harmony.

If one tries to probe as to what makes the sage so relaxed under all circumstances, one finds that he has a deep conviction in God's Will being present at all times, in all places. Whatever one may think one is doing, whatever is actually happening, could not be happening unless it was God's Will, according to a Cosmic Law. Naturally, there is no individual doer as far as the sage is concerned.

To people like us who have always been go-getters, this question might arise, “If I am not a doer, no one else is a doer either, does this then lead to a fatalistic society? How can we accept that there is no doer, but continue to act as if nothing has changed?”

If we examine our lives, we find that we have been selectively doing precisely this – i.e. knowing something to be true, yet behaving as if something else is true. Let me give an example. We all know that the planets revolve around the sun, but we continue to experience sunrise and sunset and take them to be valid in our day to day life. Or take the example of the sky----we continue to describe the blueness of the sky, as if it was real. Similarly, we continue to do what we have been doing, but with the clear understanding that I am not the doer. So, where is the big change?

There is indeed a very big change ----- and it is not what happens in life, which continues as before. The big change is in my own personal attitude to life, which truly decides whether I am comfortable with myself and with others, whatever happens in life.

Previously, also I had no real control over the happenings in my life - but since I assumed doership, success meant pride and arrogance, failure meant guilt, shame, and resentment.

But now, with this new understanding that I am not a doer, and that things were just happening as they were meant to, there is no longer a sense of pride nor a sense of resentment.

Instead of fighting with the flow of life, one goes with the flow, free from all assumed identities. Just an intellectual acceptance of this truth brings great relief----just imagine the freedom when one completely abides in this understanding.

Until such understanding takes place sadhana continues. This could either be through Self-enquiry or through total surrender to the Lord or the Guru, as Bhagavan would say. Then, all that remains of my ego is like the “remnants of a burnt rope”-----this was an example used by Bhagavan.

Let us pray to Bhagavan to shower His grace on us so that we remain inspired to continue our sadhana till its natural conclusion and fulfill the goal of this human birth.

Om Namah Shivaya.