March 25th, 2007
“Parallels Between the Teachings of Sai Baba and Rama”
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
I am extremely happy to be back with you again after a long time away. In the interim, I experienced a tragic loss, and I would like to thank all my numerous friends who sent their condolences and shared their grief regarding my mother’s passing.
Every festival is a reminder of the value of life
We’ll soon be celebrating a very important and grand festival, Sri Rama Navami, which falls on the 27th of March. In Indian culture, we have a celebration each month which, though it may serve to bolster our number of annual holidays, reminds us of the value and goal of life: to wake up. That’s the reason we have a celebration every month. Wake up, friends, and see what life is—that’s the way we should view these festivals.
Celebrations are social events, and each has its own traditions and specific rituals; but behind each lies a profound and deep inner significance. Every celebration has a particular message to convey.
Our country is unique in that our ancient culture has endured several foreign invasions. If you examine world history, you will find that the existing culture in almost every country has been replaced by that of a foreign invader at some point. Only here has the original ancient culture prevailed. It has not been and could not be wiped out. Impossible! It continues to thrive today. That’s the reason why we call it the Sanathana Dharma: the eternal culture, the ancient culture.
How is it possible that our ancient culture could endure in this country and not elsewhere? Why could others not destroy and replace it? The reason is that strict observance of these festivals awakens our people. The festival’s unique message rekindles the light in their heart. That is why we celebrate each festival with gaiety, joy, thrills and excitement.
The same festivals are repeated every year, yet every year each festival feels new. My friends, the moment we feel that something is repetitive, particularly a festival, we have lost interest in life. Everything should be fresh and radiant; it should be fragrant. Everything should feel new such that we when we experience it, we experience a new life, a new vigour, a new enthusiasm and dynamism—something sweet and beautiful.
study the spiritual values as well as the story of The Ramayana
The upcoming festival, Sri Rama Navami, provides an occasion to celebrate the birth of an Avatar by the name of Rama. I do not want to go into too much detail about His story because it is already so well known. Of all the epics, the Ramayana is the most popular. Every villager knows the story, and it is even popular in other countries. In Thailand, on the walls near the royal palace, a painting depicts the story of the Ramayana in a most beautiful way. The message of the Ramayana holds appeal for all humanity because it conveys such a universal spiritual message.
Various Authors of the ramayana
Several authors have written books on Rama’s life. The most famous version is the Ramayana, written by a saint named Valmiki. Valmiki’s Ramayana is the standard, but there are many others including Ram Charithra Manas, Kambha Ramayana, and Mula Ramayana. Each author has his own vision, his own interpretation of the story, and all these versions are very popular. The Ramayana’s story is sung in every home, and in every village, town, and city. Illiterate and literate alike sing it. Every wedding will certainly have a musical presentation on the Ramayana. It is an extraordinarily popular and therefore important story.
While the Ramayana recounts the actual story of Lord Rama’s life, the book entitled Adhyatma Ramayana, a story by the sage Vyasa, tells of its inner significance and spiritual aspects. Because of this combination of story and human values, the Ramayana has lasted for ages and ages. If it were merely a story, it would have been lost to history, be dead and gone; but it is not simply a good tale.
Everyone has feelings. No one can honestly say, “I have no feelings.” Even to say you have no feelings is a feeling. As we all have sentiments, emotions, passions, ambitions, and feelings, the epic Ramayana beautifully captures and portrays them.
We modern folk should study both aspects. The story should be learned to enjoy its beauty, its literary value, and in order to experience the fundamental human emotions embodied within it. We should also make sure to study the spiritual aspects of the story.
PArallels between Bhagavan Baba and Sri Ramachandra
In reviewing the story, it is astonishing to note the parallels between the present Avatar Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Sri Ramachandra.
Ramachandra belonged to the age called Tretha Yuga, and Sathya Sai Baba belongs to this modern age, the Kali Yuga, yet their message is the same; their values, mystery, and idealism are strikingly similar.
No Avatar is born in the usual way. Jesus Christ, Krishna and Sai Baba were not born in the usual way and neither was Rama. The Ramayana tells us that Sri Ramachandra’s father, Dasaratha, could not have children for a very long time, and so he prayed and prayed and did penance and performed the Putra Kameshthi Yaga (fire sacrifice to have sons). He made payasa, an offering, to the fire god and distributed the prasadam (consecrated food) to his wives. As a result of all of this, Rama was born. So Rama was born because of his father’s strict penance, his offering to the fire, and his performance of the Yaga Putra Kameshthi.
As for Bhagavan Baba, His birth came out of the Sathya Narayan Swami puja. His father offered worship to a god named Sathya Narayan Swami. After the puja, Baba’s mother Eswaramma partook of the prasadam. As a result, Bhagavan Baba was conceived, not in a normal pregnancy (prasava) but rather as pravesa, entry of Divinity into the womb. As Eswaramma was drawing water out of the well, a blue light entered her womb. It is the entering of that blue light into the womb that occurs with pravesa, as explained by Bhagavan Baba Himself.
Therefore Sri Ramachandra’s birth was the result of yagna payasa, the offering, and Baba’s birth was the result of Sathya Narayan Swami puja.
We also understand that the moment Rama was born along with His brothers, there was a shower of flowers. Right from heaven, all the angels showered flowers! At the time birth of Bhagavan Baba, musical instruments started playing by themselves without a musician. These are signs of the joy at the Advent of an Avatar.
Rama always represented dharma: righteous, uncompromising action. We should also follow dharma in our own way. (When dharmic action does not interfere with our selfish interest, we don’t mind following dharma; but if it seemingly conflicts with our selfish interests, we postpone acting rightly and righteously, dharmically, putting it off until tomorrow. . . or maybe even until next year!)
Bhagavan Baba has openly declared what dharma is, and He has openly condemned its reversal—not doing that which should be done. He is uncompromising about this. Such an uncompromising nature is also present in the story of Rama. Such strictness does not make for a philosophy based on convenience.
We also find that idealism is embodied in both the stories of these Avatars. In them, we find that ideals, such as Truth, have taken a human form. If you speak of Truth, you can’t but refer to Sri Ramachandra, because Rama means Truth.
“Truth is Rama,” Baba says. “Truth is God; God is Truth. Live in Truth.” The name ‘Sathya Sai Baba’ itself means ‘the One Who Reclines on Truth’. Truth is an uncompromising ideal that shall never change. Once the Truth is uttered, it must transpire. For example, when Rama said, “I’ll follow this line of action. I’ll follow my father’s command,” then that was exactly what happened.
Even His own brothers Lakshmana and Bharatha tried to convince Him otherwise once or twice. Upon hearing of His exile, they said to Him, “There is no doubt Father wanted you to go to the forest. We accept that. However, in the palace and in the public court, he said that you are now the king, so which statement is valid? The statement made in the court, in front of all kings, is valid. The statement that he made in the bedroom in the presence of his wife was not a public statement, and it is therefore not valid.”
But Sri Ramachandra responded, “Whether it was said privately or publicly, please hush now. Father’s wish was that I should go to the forest and that is therefore what I shall do.”
Had you and I been in His position, we would have taken advantage of this contradiction to take the easy way out. For example, I would have said, “He told me to be the king, and because publicly he said that I am the king, I’ll follow that!” But I am not Rama. Sri Rama adhered to dharma.
When Baba was in Kodaikanal in 1989, He described these arguments between Rama and His brothers. As Baba described their heated arguments, I felt as if the court were before my own eyes, with Bharatha and Lakshmana arguing one side and Rama responding. What a beautiful debate it was!
Once Rama had decided upon His line of action, Bharatha made a second point, saying, “Alright! I accept Your statement; but according to the law, the eldest son should be the king, not the second oldest one. You are the eldest in this family and therefore you should be king.”
Rama then responded, “No. Father’s wish is that you should be the king and so it shall be.” So Bharatha also lost his second argument.
Then Bharatha put forth a third argument, saying to Rama, “Swami, alright, I am the king now; and so as king, I give this kingdom back to you. As king, I command you to be king.”
What a nice thing! A very nice offer indeed! But Rama did not agree to it. He said, “Who are you to pass on the kingdom to me? Because our father said that you should be the king and not I, again, you shall be king and not I!” Such was nature of Rama’s adherence to dharma.
As for Baba, when His grandfather distributed his material property among his sons, he insisted that Sathyam Baba be his own share of the property, that Swami remain by his side. The young boy did not say, “Let me go be with my father” or “I should be with my parents.” He stayed with His grandfather. Such was His uncompromising commitment to dharma.
the tree grows where the seed falls
Baba strictly follows what He believes in. That is dharma. When He first created the ashram here, the Pata Mandir of His younger days, many people visited from distant cities like Bombay, Delhi and Madras. Many asked Baba to move His residence to somewhere more convenient, but Baba wanted this ashram here in remote Puttaparthi.
“There are no approach roads,” they argued, “and we have to travel up to one place by train, the next by bus, and then we must walk. There are no facilities here, no accommodations, and we have to sleep under the trees. You want to stay here? No, no, no! Why don’t you settle in someplace like Bangalore? Why can’t we build an ashram in Bombay where there are airports and other nice facilities?”
Baba replied, “The tree grows were the seed falls. Here is the seed and where the seed sprouts, it germinates into a huge tree. You’ll never find the seed in one place and the tree in another. The Avatar has taken birth here and therefore Divinity will manifest here. All will come under the shade of this Divine tree.” That reflects Baba’s uncompromising adherence to dharma.
God is present in all Beings
It was Ramachandra’s nature to treat all equally, be they a boatman, a monkey, a bird, a saint, an elderly lady, a bird, a squirrel, even a demon like Vibhishana. All received the warmth of His love equally. He made no distinction. How can this be explained—that a bird, beast, animal, monkey, and squirrel would all receive His love in equal proportion—how is that possible?
Ramachandra’s underlying philosophy was Iswar Sarva Bhutanam, that God is present in all beings, be it bird or beast or animal. Be it a squirrel or a monkey, God is present in all the beings. Vasudeva Sarvamithi Anor Aniyan Mahato Mahiyan: Everything is Divine, from microcosm to macrocosm. Because Ramachandra was able to see His own reflection in all other beings, in all of creation, He could give them shelter, bless them, and call them all near.
Rama and Baba treat all beings alike
And what about Baba? Swami loves birds and surrounds himself with them. He loves dogs, who are always found in His company. Cows, elephants, peacocks, He loves them all! He loves their company so much that when He visited Africa, He was very particular about going to the jungles to watch them. When He speaks of His trip to Uganda, to Kampala, He gets lost in reverie, recalling the wonderful animals He saw. He really forgets time when He recollects those days!
When He describes those days, we see, in our mind’s eye, Swami in His car in a thick African jungle when suddenly an elephant comes, extends its trunk, and touches the car. Wah! When we hear these stories, we shiver in our shoes. He loves to tell them! He describes how He saw cheetahs and lions, how He saw herds of elephants bathing. It all sounds so very nice! He speaks of seeing a lion feeding its younger one, and a tiger feeding its cub. He wasn’t afraid of these creatures. He loves them. All these creatures received His blessings equally.
Just as Ramachandra trekked through the Dandakaranya forest and the wild animals there received His countless blessings, so do we find Bhagavan showering His blessings on all sorts of creatures. You must have seen the photograph in which a parrot rests in Swami’s hand. We all know so many pictures of Swami with His beloved animals. You see dogs basking in His love quite close to Him. You must have noticed in the Mandir a tiger skin on which He sits. So there is no question about it, He loves the whole of creation!
Love All Alike
A question was once put to Swami, “How is it that You believe in everyone and we don’t believe in anyone?”
Baba responded, “I believe in all of you because I know that you and I are one. I am you. I know that. That’s why I believe in you. I believe in Myself. You don’t believe in anybody because you don’t know this. You think you are separate. You think you are different and therefore, you don’t believe. But I consider us as one, and therefore I believe.” Therefore, love all alike. Love each equally, be they a boatman, a servant, a saint, or whomever.
How Swami blesses servants! I remember very well what happened in Bangalore when I was there. Some servants were working in the garden. Swami stood there and suddenly called one servant and said, “Your wife is pregnant! Give her prasad.”
During His recent trip in Madras, Swami came out of His Mandir there, Sundaram, in His wheelchair. As He was moving about, He called somebody from the crowd and gave them prasadam. He knows no rank, no file. All are alike to Him, and He loves them all equally. The same was true for Rama.
Declarations of Avatars always come true
It was Rama who said to the rishis, “Don’t worry! You are doing this yagna here in this forest. You may have been disturbed by all these demons, but don’t fear. Be sure that I’ll protect you. I’ll kill all of them. Be sure of My blessings.” He declared it and that is exactly what He did.
Likewise, Swami said, “Be sure that I will have educational facilities. This area will have medical facilities. This area will have a supply of fresh water,” and He did it. That is how strong His Will is. It isn’t about planning or budget allocations or committees or voting. He just makes firm declarations and it simply becomes so. Both Baba and Rama have done this consistently.
And what love Ramachandra had towards people! How people loved Him and how He loved them! In those days, there were kings and kingdoms. Today in our democracy, we have in our midst Bhagavan Baba, the King of kings, the king-maker.
People love Him too, and He loves all people. As hot as it was in Madras recently, He moved for hours on end among the people who had come there, blessing everybody regardless of how hot or sunny the day was. His love is limitless—it is infinite. For people’s sake, He is ready to do anything.
Promises once made will never be Withdrawn
In Madras, at one time Colonel Jogarao asked Baba, “We don’t have enough money, so how are You going to accomplish these water projects?”
Well, Baba simply said to him, “Don’t worry. That is my problem. You don’t need to raise your blood pressure over this. (Laughter) Just calm down. That is My problem.”
When Baba declared thus, Colonel Jogarao’s blood pressure really shot up. He went on, saying, “But Swami, there is no money in the bank! We need hundreds of crores to create this project, so how are we going to do it?”
Swami just gently responded, “It is My problem. Just be happy.”
That’s all Baba said. To Jogarao’s surprise, when he went to the bank that very same day, he found hundreds of crores of rupees deposited in the bank by a devotee. That is the Divine touch. When Baba says it will happen, it is certain to happen. There is no question regarding the outcome. His promise, once given, will never be withdrawn.
When Rama gave refuge to Vibhishana, people at Rama’s side raised a number of objections. “Swami! This fellow is dangerous. He is a spy. Don’t encourage him. Send him away.” But Rama said, “Once I have said that I’ll protect him, I will protect him, come what may. Once a person surrenders to Me, he belongs to Me. I’ll take care of him.”
We find many such people around Bhagavan, such as journalists who have written things against Him. There was one journalist named Thakur who wrote against Him some 30 years ago in a magazine called Current. In the magazine he wrote this: “When Baba was giving darshan, looking at Him, I thought He must have been a film star, a Hollywood film star, with a halo of hair. Is that hair genuine or is it a wig?”
Some time later, Baba came close to him during darshan and said, “Thakur, do I look like a film star?” (Laughter) He took Thakur’s hand and put it on His head and asked, “Would you like to test to see if this is My real hair?”
At this, Thakur started shivering, pleading, “Pardon me, Swami. Pardon me, pardon me. What a blunder I have made!”
And then Swami said to him, “Don’t worry, you are a genuine seeker of Truth. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry.”
to Give and Forgive is the theme of their lives
Repentance is enough to regain the favor of the heart of God. Vibhishana repented, and he could therefore enjoy Sri Ramachandra’s shelter. Once you say, “I belong to you,” that is enough.
Why else do you think that Swami would go to Karunanidhi’s home on His recent visit in Madras? This old man who, of all people, was an atheist all his life, a real champion of atheism! How else could Baba have visited this man’s residence? Why did He do it?
“Baba! You have done good work. You have given water to these people. I am grateful to You,” is what Karunanidhi uttered and melted Baba’s heart, and so Swami visited his residence. This man may be an atheist, he may be anything, yet he said, “I am grateful to You. The state is grateful to You for Your generosity, for Your compassion.” That was enough. That caused Swami to visit him at his home.
That is forgiveness. To give and forgive is what Ramachandra did throughout His life. Give and forgive is what our most beloved Bhagavan, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, has done throughout His life. Really, as we think about it, there is no difference at all between Ramachandra and Baba.
Divine is biggest among the big and smallest among the small
As the king, Rama wore a crown and sat on the throne; but when He was among the people, in the forest, or even when in the midst of sages, He was very ordinary.
Swami, while sitting on His chair at the time of Convocation, or when seated at the side of the President of India, is so dignified and majestic; but when He comes down to see the primary school children, He becomes a child again in their midst, asking them questions such as, “What did you eat today, idli or dosa? How many?” (Laughter)
When He sits with primary school children, He becomes as a child; but in His chair at the side of the President or Prime Minister, yes, He is above them as a king, dignified and majestic. He is the smallest of the small, the biggest of the big. That is Divinity!
The spirit behind the offering is more important than the offering
We also know the story of Sri Ramachandra accepting the fruits given to Him by Shabari, a poor elderly lady living in the forest. She gave him second-hand fruit that she had already tasted. And Rama accepted these fruits, this offering from a poor lady.
I remember very well once when Bhagavan visited the College in Bangalore. He arrived at the office suddenly and nobody was there. Underlings came immediately to receive Him. They offered Him popcorn (Laughter). Yes, Swami had some popcorn and said, “Very nice, very nice.” He gave them padnamaskar. What do you say now? Popcorn offered by office underlings to Swami, and forest figs and fruits collected by a rustic, poor lady Shabari and offered to Rama. Each Avatar has accepted these gifts with gratitude and love.
The most important point here is that the spirit behind the offering is more important than what is actually offered. The offering may be worth its weight in gold, yet He cares only about the spirit in which the offering is made and not about its value.
How close He goes to those who make offerings in the spirit of devotion! We may see a boy holding out cloves in his hands while others offer Him cheques. He will collect the cheques and throw them back at the people; but then He will take the clove and put it on His tongue. Clearly cloves are more valuable than bank cheques when the spirit behind the offering is one of devotion.
‘Rama’, ‘Sai’ and ‘Aum’ have similar Meanings
Rama’s name stands for three important aspects. There are three letters in His name: Ra, Aa, Ma. Each letter signifies an important deity—the fire, the sun, and the moon. Ra is the fire that burns. Similarly, when we utter the name of Rama, all our sins are burnt. Then there is Aa, the sun. When there is sunlight, darkness is dispelled. When we say “Rama”, the darkness of our ignorance is gone. Then there is the moon, Ma. Moonlight is calming and comforting. Similarly all our emotions and passions are calmed by the moonlight of this matchless name, “Rama”.
So Ramanama burns our sins, dispels our ignorance, and pacifies our emotions. That is the name Rama, and the name Sai means and does the same.
You must have heard of another most sacred word, Aum. Aum has three letters—A, U, and Ma. They stand for these three aspects: destroying our sins, making us knowledgeable and wise, and giving us comfort.
Therefore the name Rama is equal to the name Sai which is equal to Aum. This information is all taken from Baba’s Divine discourses. This is not my interpretation. I am neither capable of interpreting things, nor do I want to. We have enough Sai literature--100 volumes or more! This world does not need my interpretation or confusion or perversion or distortion. I just want to pass on His message to you in a distilled and concentrated way, without diluting it.
‘Rama’ means ‘attraction’ and Sai is attraction
Baba has said, “The name of this country is Bharath. Bha—God, rath—attraction.”
The word Rama and Sai are also other names for attraction. How people run after Sai, be it midday or midnight, be it evening or sunrise, dawn or dusk. When people come to know that He is going to the Gokulam, people run after Him. When they hear that He is going to the Hospital, they run after His car. When He goes to Kodaikanal, a hundred cars are in tow. When He goes to Bombay, all the flights are full!
You have seen Him here, so why do you also need to go there to see Him? You have seen Him in the morning, so why do you need to see Him again in the evening? Would you like to see me again and again like that? I’m sure you wouldn’t! (Laughter) You are surely already fed up with me, so why would you want to rush to see me again? We don’t feel like seeing the same people constantly, repeatedly, but we feel like seeing at Swami again and again and again.
He walked among us in the old days, but now He is in a wheelchair, so why do we still want to look at Him? Since He began giving darshan in a wheelchair, the crowds have actually gotten larger! And now that He now mostly gives only car darshan, the crowds are still increasing. More people are coming today than ever before. Why? Attraction! What’s the attraction? Divine attraction. Magnetic attraction. Electrifying, energising attraction.
Therefore, the term Rama means attraction and Sai is attraction, the Divine attraction. Bharath, meaning attraction to God, attraction toward Divinity, is the name of this country. That’s what we find in Swami and Lord Ramachandra.
Baba removes evil qualities and saves our liVES
We also know how the wicked are killed and the pious were saved by Rama; but Sai Rama has chosen a different method. Why? In Rama’s days, certain people were wicked and others were pious and good. But today we are each pious in the morning, emotional in the afternoon, and by night we are bestial. We are sathwic in the morning, rajasic in the afternoon and tamasic by night. All these qualities are within you and me.
If Baba, like Rama, finished off all the wicked people now, He alone would remain! Therefore, He wanted to take a different route altogether. He said, “I will remove the bad qualities in man and save him.”
Remove the ulcer to save a man; don’t kill him because of the ulcer. Remove the appendix--don’t allow him to die because of appendicitis. Remove these things. Do surgery. Save the patient: that’s what Baba does. He removes all our evil qualities and saves our lives.
Baba Brings about Voluntary Transformation
Who is the surgeon? The Divine surgeon is Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. What is His Divine instrument? Simple, He doesn’t talk to you. That is enough. How painful is His surgery? It is much worse than physical surgery. After all, surgery is done over a couple of hours and thereafter we are fine; but this Divine surgery may continue for some months, even for a number of years. I know some friends under the Divine surgical treatment of spiritual surgeon Baba Himself! Trust me, it is not easy! (Laughter)
And all He uses is His silence! At first, He won’t talk to you, and then He will ignore you completely. He will look at other people and avoid you, as if you were a non-entity. This has happened to me many times, and that only means that I underwent repeated spiritual surgeries. So this silence, when He ignores you, when He neglects you, is only given so that you’ll introspect, examine, evaluate, and reform yourself.
He also does not use force in this surgical reformation and transformation. The process is totally voluntary—you change yourself. That is the Divine technique.
a prompt from within
A gentleman said to me yesterday, “Anil Kumar, I have tasted every sort of non-vegetarian food under the sun, from all over the world.”
“So what now?” I asked him.
He said, “I am a vegetarian now.”
I asked, “Shall I pity you?”
“No. I was looking at Swami one day and I got a message that I should be a vegetarian. Since that day, I have not touched any non-vegetarian dish.”
Baba did not tell him to stop it or say, “Be a vegetarian from today onward.” This man himself decided. That is the Divine technique. It is His Divine technology. He makes you resolve things within yourself, without being told specifically what to do. I know many people who stopped drinking, many who stopped smoking, many who started suddenly sacrificing. I know many people who started serving, who were selfish until the moment they decided to change.
There is a call from within that says, “Get up. Come on. Do it. Get up. Don’t sleep. Get up, fellow. Get up and do it.”
He prompts you and directs you from within. What a wonderful phenomenon it is! What a democratic way it is! If He tells you directly to do something, it would be an imposition, like a military command done by force. But when you feel it yourself, people will soon look at you in surprise and think, “How has this fellow become so loving? Yesterday he was barking like an Alsatian dog and now we find him just wagging his tail? (Laughter) So friendly! What is wrong with him—or is it me?”
Transformation takes place within. That is His democratic way of divinising humanity.
Motherland is greater than heaven
After having conquered Lanka and having killed Ravana, Rama’s brother said to Him, “Lanka is so beautiful, so full of trees. These trees are all bear lovely fruit, and the gardens are so beautiful. They are brindavans exceeding any garden full of money or palace built of gold. Ah! Why can’t we settle here? Leave Ayodhya to your younger brother. After all, he has been ruling it for the last fourteen years.”
(According to the law, if you live in any house for more than fourteen years, it belongs to you. Therefore, we should ask our tenants to vacate occasionally or else we will lose our property. The house owners must be careful about this as, according to the law, if any tenant stays more than 12 to 14 years, you can give up any hope of recovering your property.)
Rama listened to him and then said, “No. Janani Janma Bhoomischa Swarga Dapi Gariyasi. Motherland is greater even than heaven.”
Baba reflected a similar devotion to His Motherland when He promised His mother, “I’ll not leave Puttaparthi. I’ll stay here and make this village a global and ideal village, an international center. From here, the messages of Love, fraternity, and the unity of religions will spread all over the world, from Puttaparthi.”
Bhagavan asks His students now, “Why do you go abroad with a begging bowl? Why don’t you serve your own country? Why don’t you serve the villages where you were born?”
Just because another woman is more beautiful than your mother, you don’t start calling that lady your mother. Your mother may be ugly, but you don’t disown her. Similarly, the country where you are born may be poor, but you must love it! Patriotism, a national spirit, should reside in your heart. That’s what Sri Ramachandra said.
The Divine Mission is Constant
There are so many more parallels between the two Avatars. God willing, if we meet next week, I’ll continue with this and discuss a few more parallels between these two Avatars. You know Ramayana and you know Baba, but we should know the parallels between the two because the Divine mission is constant. If we understand the continuity of the Divine mission, irrespective of the names and forms of Divinity at different points in time, we are reaching our goal. If we understand the thread and hold on to it, we will be able to understand its beauty.
Thank you very much for being here and for your time. God bless you. I wish you all a very happy Sri Rama Navami on the 27th of this month. Sai Ram!
OM…OM…OM…
Asato Maa Sad Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya
Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti