published March 2010
There is no shortcut to experience
Talk by Kannaiah in Sirsi (November 6th 2009)
My heroic brothers from Sirsi and all the people who come from around Sirsi,
we arrived here in the night so we couldn’t see what the surroundings looked like.
But this morning when I saw Sirsi by daylight I felt at home. I felt very emotional because I lived in Coorg for about three years. The surroundings and the friendliness of all the people reminded me of that place. Pranams from my wife, my Australian friend and my Mumbai friends for arranging this wonderful function.
It’s always wonderful to come along with Swami to visit a place. He showers so much love upon all of us. When you return to your home you immediately reap the results in the form of experiences.
Our beloved Swamiji has given me so much. There are some things one doesn’t understand at first;. I’m talking about the tests. We are all presented with tests and when we are in the middle of such a test we blame Swami for all the difficulties and problems we are experiencing. We consider Swami to be the cause of our difficulties. This is because we fail to see the total picture.
In the Mahabharata there is one beautiful instance when Dharmaraja reaches a lake.
The lake starts asking him questions. One of the questions is very profound. It urges you to think very deeply. The lake says, ’Give me an example of victory’.
Dharmaraja answers, ’defeat’.
How can defeat be a victory? Defeat brings experience. Without defeat we have no experience.
Every day my wife and I recollect the following words of Swami.
He said to us, ’There is no shortcut to experience’.
You have to go through the experience and that can be very painful.
But bear in mind that Swami makes no mistake!
In 2004 Swami blessed and inaugurated a beautiful lingam in Holland. At that time we were trying to get permits from the government to create a big temple at our place. That function - back in 2004 - was wonderful. So many people came. I had no doubts that all the necessary permits would be granted.
But what happened? For the last five years we have been fighting the government.
In the end we were forced to sell our house…
Now you tell me, is this defeat or is it victory?
For me it is both. Through apparent defeat we learnt that victory does not lie in having something, in this case having a temple. We are all temples. This is the gift He gave us and the GKS in Holland – we are all temples. We have learned so much during these five years.
What did the experience give us? It gave us more strength and conviction to move towards attaining the real goal.
Before we came to India this time, we sold our house. We didn’t have anything left. We wondered what Swami would say to us. Our minds became blank. When I saw Swami I said,
‘Swami we are homeless.’.
Immediately Swami said, ‘But when I came in 2001, that house I stayed in, can’t you live there?’
I replied, ‘That’s my parent’s house Swami.’.
Of course there is a temple there. I was shocked. In our country we don’t have joint families. To be honest with you, I was not at all happy with Swami’s directive. But my Devi was very strong. She said, ‘This is perfect.’.
When I thought about this, I realised that Swami’s solution meant that the temple can continue and that my elderly parents will be taken care of.
This is very unusual in our country. Isn’t this a victory? It’s a real victory.
I can talk for hours about Swami’s miracles. But what I want to say is that He is there in all the small things we all experience throughout the day. Swami is not only a miracle Himself. He is with us twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
We are not special. Don’t ever think that you are not close to Swami because you are not able to sit near Him. Physically Swami does not reside in Holland. He only came to Holland on two occasions. Nevertheless, He is always with us.
So I urge you to invite Him into your life.
Don’t do this superficially, just once or twice. Call Hhim mentally every waking moment.
No moment is embarrassing for Swami.
You can call on Him wherever you are and wherever you go.
The same love that we all feel here today, we felt in Holland when He was there.
Both times He came, it was earth shattering. After Swami left we felt as if we were in seventh heaven. And then the real work starts. Then comes the time that you really have to invite Him into your life
This is my prayer for you – that you all invite Swami into your lives.
My beloved friends from Sirsi, let Sirsi become a light in Kanartaka. We would love to come back. (Professor Subbaramaiah told Kanniah that the people of Sirsi did extend their invitation and that He should return to Sirsi.)
Whatever Mother tells, I follow. Whenever Mother calls, iI come. This is my Motherland. My Fatherland is somewhere else but this is my Motherland.
I pray to Swami that He might come to my fatherland again. And you are all invited.
SAI RAM
Talk given by Mr. Raghavendra at Sirsi on November 6th 2009
Mr. Raghavendra, who is known to everyone in these parts, has been a devotee of Sri Sathya Sai Baba since birth. He was born in a family where everyone’s breath constantly contained the sound of the name of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. It is no wonder that he was drawn towards the schools and institutions, run by Sri Sathya Sai Baba. For the last thirty or more years he has had direct, immediate and continuous contact with Sai Baba – with his way of thinking, living and perceiving the world. After spending so many years in the presence of Sri Sathya Sai Baba he has been transformed into the image of Sri Sathya Sai Baba and has an ideal relationship with Gopalbaba. Now he will address the devotees of Sri Gopalkrishna Baba, the Sathya Sai Baba of Sirsi.
(Introduction given by Professor Subbaramiah)
OM SRI SAI RAM
Swami, through the nectar of Your love You are directing us to live, to work, and to move forward upon the path, given to us by Sathya Sai Baba. After listening to Subbaramiah’s introduction I felt inspired to say a few words, but now that I am on the dais sitting next to Sri Gopalbaba my mouth has dried up.
I will try to clarify to some extent the kind of doubt and misgiving that is common in the hearts of many individuals.
When Gopalkrishna Swami first came here, all devotees who are devotees of Sathya Sai Baba asked, ‘Is it right and proper that we should regard Gopalkrishna Swami in the same spirit, and with the same enthusiasm and joy with which we regard Sri Sathya Sai Baba? Is it right that we hold Him close and dear to our hearts?’
The flow of love that we experience when we go to Puttaparthi, the love that encompasses us when we sit in Puttaparthi is the same love and affection that binds the audience to Gopalakrishna Baba who is sitting here. I have experienced that same love whenever I have met with Him. Many people have asked me, ‘Being a member of the Sathya Sai Baba institution, is it right on your part to come and participate in a celebration of Gopalkrishna Baba?’ I feel it is Baba’s grace which had drawn me to various places where I am able to sit at the lotus feet of Sri Gopalakrishna Baba. If the devotees experience His love only once, all their doubts will dissolve immediately.
There’s an even bigger question at stake. When we look at Him through our ordinary human eyes He appears to behave as if He is one of us. He has probably got to do this. I am sure that there is a reason why He allows such doubts to arise in our minds; but be assured that He knows everything that is happening inside our mind and in our heart. In his omniscience there is nothing that He doesn’t know. Gopalkrishna Baba knows whatever is happening anywhere in the world. With that kind of an all knowing eye He looks at what is happening within our heart and mind. It is because of the infinite love and kindness that He has for us that He does not exercise his powers. Like a humble, innocent child He moves around with us as though He is one of us. This behaviour on His part makes us feel very free to move around with Him.
Yesterday when we went to Raghavendra Math I found it hard to contain myself as I observed the way in which Swamiji conducted Himself in that place. I put a question to Him this morning. ‘Swami You went to that Math and conducted Yourself as if You were an ordinary devotee. The authorities and priests in that Math only saw You as an ordinary person. They probably saw You as just another of the thousands of people wearing the ochre robe. So many people wear such robes these days. They didn’t try to discover what sort of a person you are. Why did all this happen Swami? Didn’t they know anything about You? Couldn’t they understand anything about You?’
I took courage upon myself and tried to make a suggestion. ‘Swami, is it not necessary for the good of mankind that you should let them know what kind of a being you are?’ With immense love flowing towards me He said, ‘There is no point in trying to let everyone know what kind of a person this body holds.’
If I consider these things I begin to ask myself, in what way should we conduct ourselves when we are in the presence of Sri Gopalakrishna Baba? Swami himself says, ‘There is only one path. We should experience the love that He gives in abundance and we should try to give it to others’. If we do that, all the doubts that reside within us will vanish instantly. This is the divine answer to all our questions. The differences that exist between people, the heartbreak that we experience within ourselves and within our relationships with others, and the disharmony that we experience within our own households will vanish into thin air if we follow this instruction.
What does Gopalkrishna Baba want? He answers this question himself. He says, ‘I am tired of all these things (the outer trappings of life). I want to get away from all these things. I just wish to live in harmony with my Inner Being.’ As a person dwelling in His body He experiences so much pain and suffering. Yet He was able to set all this aside to be with us continuously for the last two days, showering all of us with His immense love. That we are here to receive this shower of love, must either be a reward for our good actions in previous births or simply the result of His immense love towards us. I don’t know which one it is. When I ask if I deserve all the kindness and all the grace that Swami is allowing to flow towards me, I get a clear answer. This is not because of my achievements in previous lives. He has come to this world only through the immense love that He has for us. He has come to this world to give His love to all of us. We must be ever mindful of the purpose for which Gopalbaba has descended into this world. He has been showing us His purpose through the example of His own behaviour from the beginning. In the fashion of the ideal teacher, instructed by Sai Baba, He has already taught us in a very fine fashion the way in which we have got to live. Whenever there are problems in our lives, at times when we are being tested, we must recall whatever our teacher has taught us. At all times we should recall His instructions and His message. It is my feeling that we can solve most of the problems we face throughout our life by recalling these teachings.
If Swami’s current visit to Sirsi is to be fulfilled we must give up the disharmony that exists amongst us. We must give it up and push such differences aside. We must acquire greater enthusiasm and persistence to serve Sathya Sai Baba. We must stop unnecessary talk and all gossip. If we keep the memory of Swami’s visit to Sirsi in our hearts we will move forward towards a golden era.
In conclusion I would just like to say that when this Swami utters a word, if this Swami casts His glance in our direction, if Swami touches us, something happens inside us which ignites a new vibration and a new life. With this in mind we must endeavour to experience Gopalbaba more frequently and more fully than what we have been doing up to now. If we do this we shall surely move in the Godward direction prescribed by Sathya Sai Baba.
I place the flowers of these few words at the lotus feet of Sri Gopalakrishna Baba.
