Lord Rama was born in Treta Yuga to show us the path of Dharma which is Righteousness in our daily life through His example as a son, husband and father, to rid the earth of evil which is mankind's own creation. Lord Krishna was born in the Dwapar Yuga also to show the path of dharma — righteousness, but with Nishkama Karma in the changing scene of realism with action and reaction by men on earth, by doing one's duty without desire and attachment, with Karma (action) Dharma and Bhakti as the keynotes of His Mission and Message. Bhagavan Baba, our Lord, has taken birth in the Kali Yuga when the forces of evil and corruption of the earlier ages pale into insignificance with those of the present age, wherever we may look and whatever turn we take. What better time and age, and how blessed are we, for the Kali Avatar to human form when darkness surrounds us and the bad is rampant in all walks of our lives. I bow down and kiss the Lotus/Feet of Baba, our Divine Guru, who is with us to redeem us and show us the true path for our salvation. To the extent we ordinary mortals can get even a glimpse of Bhagavan's Mission and Message, He has embodied everything of the messages of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna to lead us out of darkness through His path of the Universality of all Religions and Beliefs synthesized in Love as the medium and panacea of all ills to overcome evil, first in ourselves, before we can even think of carrying His Message to others.
This is not an easy journey and it is a long one. We can embark on it with Bhagavan as our Sole Guru and with confidence as He assures each of us that He is with us, within us and all around us, to realize God in ourselves in the recognition that Man — minus ego + desire is God, as the 'Atma' in the mortal is a part of the 'Paramatma'; a drop of water no different to the water in the ocean of His creation.
I grew up in a religious home which made me conscious that there is a God and I was a witness of the unwavering faith of my parents but my wife had no belief in God nor any kind of faith. But neither of us can really claim to have real belief in God or having done anything to express it, other than sporadic ritualistic puja or invoking God as a reflex action when faced with what seemed to be insurmountable problems. Our journey to realizing Bhagavan Baba as God Incarnate on earth began in 1973 when, on the urgings of my sister-in-law who was a devotee, we visited Shirdi and felt the aura of Sai. Shortly thereafter, my wife, hospitalized at Breach Candy in Bombay, was presented Howard Murphet's book 'Man of Miracles', followed closely by visiting the Kamani family in Bombay who gave us a beautiful picture of Bhagavan and a number of books about Him and His teachings. We framed the picture keeping it in our bedside and read about Bhagavan. We began to believe and see Bhagavan as Divine. From 1973 to 1980, we started attending Bhajans at the homes of devotees from time to time, involved ourselves in trying to do some little good in furtherance of Bhagavan's tenets and became part of a small group, calling itself ANOSAG (coined out of Anonymous Sai Group) made up of devotees to do Seva and set up medical assistance to the poor and needy. Then we saw a beautiful film on Bhagavan, creating a hunger to have His Darshans in person that knew no bounds. During those years when visiting Bangalore on work, I had the great good fortune of having Bhagavan's Darshans on a couple of occasions sitting under the banyan tree in Brindavan, Whitefield, near Bangalore. On these occasions ego took the upper hand desiring to be singled out by Bhagavan to touch His feet. This did not happen.
Then, quite out of the blue, a Mr. Raghavendra Rao of Hyderabad, whom we had never met, visited our home in Calcutta and came to see me in my office. We look upon this as a miracle and Mr. Rao as a messenger from Bhagavan. His visit gave us conviction and made it possible to move closer to Him to change our lives. Mr. Rao told us his wife was a doctor in Bhagavan's hospital in Whitefield and his son (popularly known as Cheena) was Bhagavan's Sevak He talked about Bhagavan and His Divinity. Between 1981 and 1989, my wife and I have gone to have Bhagavan's Darshans at Brindavan and Prasanthi Nilayam, Puttaparthi, on more than one occasion every year. These times, having Bhagavan's Darshans, we cherish more than anything else and consider ourselves blessed, always praying to Him to help us to be devotees as He would wish us to be. We have been blessed to be in the presence of Bhagavan and in close proximity to Him in His audience on more than one occasion. But this too has not quenched our endless thirst to have more and more of His Darshans, to recharge our flagging batteries and to receive His Grace. For each visit to Bhagavan is a new revelation.
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| Sri Sathya Sai Darshan at Brindavan under the Banyan Tree |
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| Darshan at Prasanthi Nilayam in the early 1980s |
Whether it is at Brindavan or Prasanthi Nilayam, as devotees sit in silence for Darshans, as soon as Bhagavan emerges from the Mandir, the very first sight of Him raises the spirit in everyone, giving a feeling of great joy and happiness. To the extent that one can almost see and hear the silent aura of something unworldly indeed of Divinity, with the feeling that Bhagavan is reaching out to every individual out of just His presence. The faces of the students, who Bhagavan terms as his only property and who are more disciplined than can be witnessed anywhere, glow with love and reverence; this is something to be seen to understand the intensity. The total atmosphere is so charged by His presence, that it seems that it is something real that can be cut with a knife. At discourses, when Bhagavan asks someone to speak, and before doing so, the person (young or child) seeks His blessings by touching His Lotus Feet, He blesses with one hand and protects the head of the speaker with the other, so that the table which is in front of Bhagavan does not hurt him; how simple and yet how deep. When the Arati is done and Bhagavan does inside the Mandir, the Darshan leaves everyone in a euphoric state as though flying in the clouds and full of contentment. The love is so great that the devotee hungers for it, dreading the thought that, as Howard Murphet’s puts it, the time may have come to be put into the workshop to learn how to overcome ego.
Bhagavan has said that if we take one step towards Him, He will take ten towards us and we can pass our burdens on to Him. When my wife is faced with serious anxieties, she always prays to Bhagavan for His help and sometimes also writes a letter. These are followed by seeing Bhagavan in her dreams. That this has happened on almost every such occasion. With vividness, followed by relief from the worry expressed, leads us to believe that these are visitations by Bhagavan in response to calling out to Him, and not just the symptoms of an overworked mind. In February 1974, in bed with severe thrombophlebitis, on the critical day of the illness, the Doctor said Bhagavan was at her bedside, her prayer would be heard, and it was, to make a complete recovery. In 1977, when she was in England, her prayer on anxieties connected with our son's health just when he was to sit for his Bar exams and about my problems at work in India, were answered by dreaming of Bhagavan coming to the house, asking for something to eat and then blessing everyone. The worries were resolved and our son distinguished himself in his examination. In August 1984, Bhagavan appeared to her in a dream when she, her mother and sister were surrounded by water and said you want miracles, you cannot believe without them? In the dream, He took one scoop and emptied all the water. Soon, thereafter, her brother was seriously ill and the worst was believed, when she wrote a letter to Bhagavan and, as in the dream, all came out well.
Bhagavan teaches us that health is wealth. He always knows when we are in need and becomes the Divine Healer. My wife is convinced that Bhagavan put her thrombophlebitis right. On another occasion, having fallen and fractured her left foot in America in 1982, she developed trouble with the motor nerve being trapped causing constant pain, a limp and making it very difficult for her to walk The trouble persisted despite all the medications till 1984 when, in Brindavan, Bhagavan knowing what her trouble was, said she should come to Puttaparthi and He would cure her. This is exactly what occurred. In 1985 our grand-daughter suddenly developed white spots. In panic, my wife wrote to Bhagavan. The spots started disappearing. Later we took her for Bhagavan's Darshans in 1987, He remembered her problem of the past, blessed her and has, since then, on several occasions remembered our grandchildren and given us chocolates for them. Whenever Bhagavan has given us an audience, as the Divine Healer. He has always asked me about my health. My answer has always been that I am well and, as the All Knowing, He has always pointed out when this has not been so. On one occasion, I arrived in Brindavan with three broken ribs on my left side and was in severe pain. Bhagavan enquired, I said, I was well. He called me closer, materialized some vibhuti, lifted my kurta and rubbed the vibhuti over the three exact broken ribs. I was almost instantly healed and never had to see a doctor after that. On another occasion, I was suffering from a stone in the kidney and was having bad bouts of renal colic. Immediately, after check-up x-ray showed the stone clearly in a very awkward position. I went to Hyderabad on my way to Puttaparthi. The colic struck me in Hyderabad through one night; on the following morning I flew to Bangalore, drove to Puttaparthi and a day later was in audience with Bhagavan. He enquired. I said, I was well. He turned to my wife and said, every time I ask Haksar how he is, he says well, when I know he is not, is that not so? My wife blurted the truth. Bhagavan called me to His side, put His hand on my head, saying it was gone and then cautioned me about prostrate problems for which I should never get operated but go to Him. Immediately upon returning to Delhi, I had another x-ray check-up and told the doctor he would find nothing. When this turned out to be true, the doctor asked me how I knew as this was not possible! There have been other instances.
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| Ajit Haksar with Sri Sathya Sai at the Prasanthi Nilayam interview room |
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| Sri Sathya Sai in Prasanthi Nilayam interview room |
The reader may well ask what have been the 'products' of the journey to Bhagavan and of His 'Upadesh' so far? Those common to my wife and me are:
(1) Belief in God as the Supreme knower and the need to have Faith.
(2) Belief in Baba, as God on earth in human form, as the Divine Anchor and Harbour around and in which the ship of life can sail in calm waters, protected from the storms in the open sea; as the Divine Master guiding us to try and realize ourselves for what we are to attain peace; as the Divine Father under whose "charge" we can find solace as do children from parents.
(3) The regimen, out of desire, to try and meditate every day, praying to Bhagavan as our Divine Guru; the desire is such that until this is done or when it is delayed, we feel uneasy.
(1) Belief in God as the Supreme knower and the need to have Faith.
(2) Belief in Baba, as God on earth in human form, as the Divine Anchor and Harbour around and in which the ship of life can sail in calm waters, protected from the storms in the open sea; as the Divine Master guiding us to try and realize ourselves for what we are to attain peace; as the Divine Father under whose "charge" we can find solace as do children from parents.
(3) The regimen, out of desire, to try and meditate every day, praying to Bhagavan as our Divine Guru; the desire is such that until this is done or when it is delayed, we feel uneasy.
Although there is still a long way to go, for myself, I feel I have come nearer, compared with the past, to:
(1) Inner confidence and strength with less ruffled feathers to deal with and tackle the problems in life.
(2) Tranquility of mind and inner peace.
(3) Banishing the urge to acquire things material with a ceiling on desires.
(4) Greater humility in respect of intellectual conceit and arrogance that may go with it
(5) being a more sensitive and better human being.
(6) The ability to cope with worries and anxieties in my stride.
(7) Happiness that comes from contentment.
(8) Always seeing the 'positive' in people and issues.
(9) Better battling with ego.
(10) Understanding fellow man together with a desire to be of greater help.
As a student of management, Bhagavan has led me to have a better insight and understanding of: (1) The purpose of Education with practical training and experience following the classroom at every stage to progress from learning to wisdom, knowledge to judgement and to the final goal of discrimination.
(1) Inner confidence and strength with less ruffled feathers to deal with and tackle the problems in life.
(2) Tranquility of mind and inner peace.
(3) Banishing the urge to acquire things material with a ceiling on desires.
(4) Greater humility in respect of intellectual conceit and arrogance that may go with it
(5) being a more sensitive and better human being.
(6) The ability to cope with worries and anxieties in my stride.
(7) Happiness that comes from contentment.
(8) Always seeing the 'positive' in people and issues.
(9) Better battling with ego.
(10) Understanding fellow man together with a desire to be of greater help.
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| Book authored by Ajit Haksar |
(2) The treasure in our heritage and ancient books that can help in developing our own national style of management.
(3) The importance of Nature, a divine Creation, and learning from it
(4) Managing people as fellow human beings through Consciousness, Conscience, Consideration, Concern, Care, Compassion and Credibility.
(3) The importance of Nature, a divine Creation, and learning from it
(4) Managing people as fellow human beings through Consciousness, Conscience, Consideration, Concern, Care, Compassion and Credibility.
Bhagavan Baba.
We are Thy servants, use us as your instruments to serve Thee,
Drown us in our faith in Thee and in the shadow of Thy Glory,
Give us the knowledge, wisdom, enlightenment to tread the path of Sathya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema, Ahimsa without ego, desire, envy, jealousy,
Take care of our health, body and mind and shield us against evil and our enemies,
Show us the way,
Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
About the author:
Mr. Ajit Haksar, after having done his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School U.S.A. in 1949, was with ITC Limited and rose from a pupil (Training) in Marketing to be Chairman of ITC Limited (June 1969 to January 1983). He was Chairman Emeritus of ITC Limited from 1983 till his death in 2005. He was also Founder Member of the Board of Studies of Business Management at SSSIHL.
Source: Sai Vandana 1990
Source: Sai Vandana 1990
SAIRAMS....SAIRAMS.... AMEN...
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