F. F. F. F.
Bhagavan Baba says follow the four Fs, which are Follow the Master, Face the devil, Fight to the end, and Finish the game. The following article illustrates that this is true in Christianity and in other religions.
The first commandment of Swami is: “Follow the Master.” It is much more than a command. It is an assurance, a guarantee, a guideline, and reinforcement. Following the Master is not simplistic either. There are enemies built into our lives—physical and mental illnesses, lack of proper understanding, want of constant vigilance and awareness. We must not and cannot follow the Master mechanically or unintelligently. It has to be deliberate, spontaneous, and joyous, with every step placed on His footprints, advancing along the direction marked out by Him.
The second command is a corollary of the first, the very purpose of that prescription—Face the devil. One cannot follow the Master without facing the devil, who tries to block every step of ours. The devil dispatches his most insidious lieutenant, no doubt to prevent our progress. Possessed by doubt, we begin to doubt our own experience, our own conclusions and convictions of the Master. We see footsteps other then those of the Master and waver in hesitation. The devil is anxious to nip in the bud our attempts to follow the Master, since the Master Himself reinforces us once we turn our faces toward Him. Though the devil and his minions try to lead us away, the Master whom we follow is sure to lead us on. Facing the devil and foiling its strategies become easier with the Master’s grace.
Sri Krishna, as the charioteer of Arjuna, emboldened him to take up arms on the battlefield. He counseled him on critical occasions to face the enemy and overcome them. The Lord had in his hands only one weapon—the whip. He used it seldom on the horses and never on Arjuna. But His ridicule, repartee, and reassurance served to awaken Arjuna’s heroism and self-confidence. Swami has declared that He has taken on the role of charioteer for every one of us so that He may awaken in us the awareness of our innate impregnability. Swami does not wield even the whip. He has come with a disconcerting smile, an all-conquering love, and a penetrating and probing eye. While following such a Master, we can confidently face the devil and his ubiquitous throng.
But if the Master’s call is sought to be interpreted and bypassed through the devil’s dictionary and logic, we are heading for a fall with our eyes open. When we are tempted to ask, “Why did the Master advise me so?” We have immediately to condemn the thought and pray to the Master to help us to keep the tempter away.
The story of the temptation as recorded in the second chapter of Genesis is a warning to every one of us. Adam and Eve could not “follow the Master”, the Lord God, and obey His injunction: “You may eat from every tree in the garden but not from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for, on the day that you eat it, you will certainly die.” The reason was the devil’s temptation. They had no strength to face the devil that came as a serpent and, as Eve confessed to God, tricked her. The devil has many tricks up his sleeve; and his words are soaked in sweet poison. But, the Master whom we follow will surely help us to escape his allurements.
The Bhagavad-Gita describes the nature of men who yield to the devil’s allurements and give up following the Master (XVI—8, 12, 14, 15, 16). The devil has succeeded in polluting their brains. According to the Gita: “They say that the world is without a presiding God, a basic overlord who adheres to truth. They ask, what else is there except lust? They are immersed in lust and anger and entangled in hopes and expectations. They are led away by pride to boast, ‘I am the Lord, I am powerful and happy. I am rich and well-born.’ The asura [demonic] qualities are judged as really beneficial and desirable by the victims. The Gita pictures their fate thus, “Maddened by many thought currents, caught within the snare of confusing values, addicted to lustful gratifications, such people fall into dirty hell.”
No wonder Swami, in His infinite compassion, has given us the third Commandment: Fight to the end. Perpetual vigilance is the price for progress. The higher the climb, the greater the risk. The Master we follow appreciates single-pointed attention to the message He has condescended to give us. As the Bible advises, “Be alert! Be on the watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Be firm in your faith and resist him, because you know that your fellow believers in all the world are going through the same kind of sufferings.” [1st Peter 5:8-9]
Again, “God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and mountains fall into the ocean depths, even if the seas roam and rage and the hills are shaken by the violence.” (Psalms 46)
“Fight to the end.” What exactly is the end that we have in mind through all the years of Following, Facing, and Fighting? Swami has denoted it by another F, the fourth: “Finish the game.” “Life is a game, play it,” says Swami. The world is the arena, the gymnasium, and the field for playing games. Every game has its own rules; respect them. Do not take to the game with fanatic frenzy. The victor in the game is rewarded by Him who sent you to play it and watched over your conduct until the final whistle. The reward is Himself. The ocean is the reward awaiting the river that does not stray into the Dead Sea but follows the call of the waves, faces rocky barriers, and leaps over precipices until it achieves consummation.
~Taraka Das
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, April 1987
