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.