Essence of Bhagavatha ..Part 1 (teachings of Baba)

The name Bhagavatha can be applied to every account

of the experiences of those who have contacted God

and the Godly (Bhagavan and Bhaktha). God

assumes many Forms and enacts many activities. The name

Bhagavatha is given to the descriptions of the experiences

of those who have realised Him in those Forms and of those

who have been blessed by His Grace and chosen as His

Instruments.

The great Work known by that name is honoured by all

masters of the Vedas. It is a panacea which cures physical,

mental and spiritual illnesses. The Bhagavatha is saturated

with sweetness of nectar, it shines with the splendour of God.

The principle of Avathara or the Descent of God on

Earth, the Incarnation of the Formless with Form, for the Uplift of Beings—this is the basic fact that makes the

Bhagavatha authentic. By Bhagavatha we also mean those

with attachment to God, those who seek the companionship

of God. For such, the book, Bhagavatha, is most precious;

it is the breath of their life. To be in the midst of such

Bhagavathas is to foster one’s own devotion. Unless you

have a taste for Godward thoughts, you will not derive joy

therefrom. To create that taste, the Bhagavatha relates stories

relating to incarnations to the earnest inquirer. Then, one

develops the yearning to experience the thrill of God, through

all the levels of consciousness. He who has this intense

yearning can be a true Bhagavatha.

People believe that incarnations of God happen only

for two reasons: the punishment of the wicked and the

protection of the righteous. But those represent only one

aspect of the Task. The granting of peace and joy, of a

sense of fulfilment to seekers who have striven long—this

too is the Task.

The Avatar, or Form Incarnate, is only the concretisation

of the yearning of the seekers. It is the solidified sweetness

of the devotion of godly aspirants. The formless assumes

the Form for the sake of these aspirants and seekers.

They are the prime cause. The cow secretes milk for

the sustenance of the calf. That is the chief beneficiary. But

as we see, others too benefit from that milk. So too, though

the Bhakthas are the prime cause and their joy and sustenance

the prime purpose, other incidental benefits also accrue,

such as the fostering of Dharma, the suppression of evil,

the overwhelming of the wicked.

There is no compulsive rule that incarnations should

occur only on the earth and in human form. Any place, any

form, can be chosen by the Fully-free. Whichever place,

whatever Form, promotes the purpose of fulfilling the

yearning of the devotee, that Place and that Form are chosen

by the Will of God. God is above and beyond the limits of

Time and Space. He is beyond all characteristics and

qualities; no list of such can describe Him fully. For Him,

all beings are equal. The difference between man, beast,

bird, worm, insect and even a god is but a difference of the

‘vessel’ (the Upadhi).

It is like the electric current that flows through various

contrivances and expresses itself in many different activities.

There is no distinction in the current; it is the same. To

speak of it as different is to reveal one’s ignorance (Ajnana).

So too, the one single God activates every vessel or Upadhi

and gives rise to manifold consequences. The wise see only

the one uniform current. The ignorant feel that they are all

distinct. God appreciates the consciousness of Unity, as

the basic motive of acts. He does not appreciate the activity

itself being one, without variety; it is suited to the various

needs. The fruits of karma or activity appeal only to those

who identify themselves with the body and not for the

others, who know that they are the indestructible Atma (soul,

inner motive force in everything).

Again, you must know that there is no end to the

incarnations that God indulges in. He has come down on

countless occasions. Sometimes He comes with a part of

His glory, sometimes with a fuller equipment of splendour,

sometimes for a particular task, sometimes to transform an

entire era of time, an entire continent of space.

It is the story of the last of these that the Bhagavatha

elaborates. The drama enacted by the Avatara, and the

Bhakthas drawn towards Him, is the subject matter of the

Bhagavatha. Listening to it promotes the realisation of God.

Many sages have testified to its efficacy and extolled the

Bhagavatha, which they helped preserve for posterity.

Generally speaking, man gets drawn to sense objects

for he is the victim of instincts. Instincts easily seek sense

objects. They come along with the body and are not derived

by any training. The infant seeks milk from the mother’s

breast; the new-born calf nestles at the udder. No training is

needed for this. But for the infant to walk and talk, some

training is necessary. The reason is that they are not

automatic. They are socially prompted, by example and by

imitation of others.

Training is essential even for the proper pursuit of sense

pleasure, for it is the wild untrained search for such pleasure

that promotes anger, hatred, envy, malice, conceit. To train

them along salutary lines and to hold them under control,

certain good disciplines like Japa (recital of name of the

Lord), Dhyana (meditation), Upavasa (fasts)

Sandhyavandana (worship at dawn and dusk), etc. are

essential. But however much their value may be praised and

their practice recommended people do not develop a taste

for them. This is because the desire for sensory pleasure

has struck deep roots in the human heart. When one is asked

to do spiritually salutary acts, one has no inner prompting

at all. Still one should not give up in despair. Until the taste

sprouts, the disciplines have to be strictly followed. This

taste is the result of training; no one has it from the very

beginning. Constant practice will create the zest.

The infant does not know the taste of milk. By taking

it daily, it develops an attachment for it which is so deep

that when milk is to be given up and rice substituted, it

starts to protest. But the mother does not despair. She

persuades the child to take small quantities of cooked rice

daily and by this process it starts liking rice and it gives up

milk. Milk was once its natural food. By practice, rice became

its natural food, so natural that if no rice is available for a

single day, it becomes miserable.

So too, though sense-pleasures are “natural” at first,

by means of practice and training and listening to the

commendation of the wise, slowly the greater and more

lasting pleasure derivable from the glories of the Lord and

their recapitulation is grasped. Thereafter, one cannot exist

without that atmosphere even for a minute. One feels that

there is nothing as sweet as the experience of listening to

the splendour of the Lord. The company of the worldly

who chatter about the senses and the sense-objects will no

longer attract. The company which exults in praising the

Lord will draw and hold.

This is the real hallmark of the good. Sadhakas

(spiritual aspirants) and votaries of the Lord are to be judged

by these, not by external apparel or appearances. If one

mixes with men who revel in sensory talk and activities then,

he puts himself out of court. Spend your time in the company

of the godly, engaged in godly affairs. Avoid getting mixed

with the company of the ungodly. Do not see their activities

or listen to their accounts. Only those who avoid them can

be called Bhagavathas, or God’s own.

Reading and enjoying the stories of the glory of Krishna

in some sacred spot or some temple or prayer-hall shrine or

hermitage of a saint or sage, or in the company of the virtuous

and the good—that is a source of great inspiration and joy.

It makes people forget everything else. Else, one can

approach pious men and serving them, listen to their

exposition of the glories of God. Taste for such wholesome

literature is the result of accumulated merit and endeavour.

It is that merit that rewards one with such company. Listening

will be enough in the beginning. Later, the stories will arouse

interest in the nature and characteristics of God and the

aspirant will seek and find for himself the path to realisation.

Listening to expositions by the wise is much better

than reading oneself; or, one can be looking into the text

while listening. It is preferable to listen in company, rather

than alone. Of course, it is excellent to listen with a number

of earnest aspirants. If the person who expounds has had

the thrill of genuine experience, then it is the most supreme

luck, for it yields best results. For, his face will blossom

into joy, his eyes will shed tears of joy at the very

contemplation of the glory of the Lord. Those who listen to

him will catch that inspiration. They will experience the joy

themselves. In the midst of a group that weeps, tears will

spring out of the eyes of those who have come in. When an

infant smiles, those around will also smile in unison. So

too, the words of those who are saturated with devotion to

God will saturate the hearts of those who listen. It is

impossible to measure the profit that one can derive while

in the company of the great.

Through that process of listening, a dirt-laden heart

will be transformed into a clean, illumined heart, shining

with genuine light. To the foul odours of sense-pursuits,

keenness to listen to the glories of God is a valuable

disinfectant, besides being in itself so full of sweet fragrance.

The listening will cleanse the heart through the prompting it

gives for good work.

Such a cleansed heart is the most appropriate altar, or

tabernacle. In that fragrant bower, the Lord will establish

Himself. At that very moment, another incident too will

happen. The group of six vices that had infested the place

will quit without so much as a farewell.

When these vices quit, the wicked retinue of evil

tendencies and vulgar attitudes which live on them will break

camp and disappear without leaving even their addresses!

Then, man will shine in his native splendour of Truth and

Love (Sathya and Prema). He will endeavour without

hindrance to realise himself; and finally, he will succeed in

merging with the Universal and Eternal. He will liberate himself

from the tangle of ignorance, or Maya. His mind will fade

away. The long-hidden secret will be revealed to him. He

will discover his Madhavathwa (Divinity).

Man’s nature is Prema, Love. He cannot survive a

moment, when deprived of Love. It is the very breath of his

life. When the six vices, to which he was attached so long,

disappear, Love is the only occupant of the heart; but Love

has to find an object, a Loved one. It cannot be alone. So,

it is directed to the dark-blue Divine Child, the charming

cowherd Boy, who is Purity Personified, who is the

embodiment of service, sacrifice and selflessness, who has

taken residence in that cleansed Altar. There is no scope

now for any other attachment to grow. So, step by step,

this Love for Madhava becomes deeper, purer, more self-

denying, until at last, there is no other need for thought and

the individual is merged in the Universal.

When Vaasudeva enters the heart of man, vasudeva

has no longer a place therein. In other words, when the

deva of vasu or wealth is seated in the heart, the divine

Vaasudeva or Krishna cannot dwell therein.

Any attempt to accommodate both in the heart is bound

to fail. Darkness and light cannot exist at the same time and

in the same place; they cannot continue together. Dhanam

and Daivam cannot be joint ideals. When Dhanam or riches

are sought, Daivam or God cannot also be achieved. If

both are sought by man what he will achieve will be neither

Dhanam nor Daivam but Dayyam (the Devil).

It is creditable if man behaves as man. It is laudable if

he behaves as the Madhava, he really is. But to behave as a

demon or as a beast is despicable indeed. For, man was

long born a mineral and died a mineral. Then, he promoted

himself as a tree. He was long born a tree and died as a tree;

but in the process, he got promoted as an animal; but he

has now risen into the status of man. This rise from one

scale to another has been acknowledged by science and

spiritual experience. Now alas, he is born as man and dies

as man. It is a greater shame if he slides into the beast or a

beastly ogre. Praise is his due, only if he rises to the Divine

status. That is real fulfilment of his destiny.

Therefore, avoid contact with vices; develop

attachment to virtues; transmute the heart into an altar for

the Lord. Destroy all the shoots and sprouts of desire; then,

your Manasa sarovaram (the Lake of your Inner

Consciousness) will be sublimated into a Ksheerasagara,

(the Pure Ocean of Milk, whereon the Lord reclines on the

Serpent-couch). Your real Self will, like the Celestial Hamsa

(swan), revel in the placid waters of that Lake, thus

transformed. It will discover endless delight.

Who can mark the beginning of the continuous waves

of the ocean? It is an impossible task. If anyone decided to

do so, the wave with which he starts the calculation will be

considered as the beginning, the wave with which he stops

his calculation will be for him the last, the end. There is a

beginning and an end for his count. There is no beginning

or end for the process. No one can visualise either, in that

boundless illimitable expanse. God’s Glory is the shoreless

ocean. When one starts describing it, it begins for him. When

he finishes his description it is the end, so far as he is

concerned. But His Glory is beyond space and time. Only

little minds, limited minds, will argue that God’s Glory has

a beginning and an end. The stage on which He plays (His

Leela) has no boundaries.

The story of His Leela is all Nectar; it has no other

component, no other taste, no other content. Everyone can

drink his fill, from any part of that Ocean of Nectar. The

same sweetness exists everywhere, in every particle. There

is nothing inferior to mar the sweetness.

The love of god and the love for god are both eternally

sweet and pure, whatever the method of your accepting or

attaining them. Such love is holy and inspiring. Sugar is

sweet when eaten during day or during the night. For it is

night or day for the person who eats, not for the sugar.

Sugar behaves uniformly always.