By the Grace of God

Because of a disturbing event, I tried time and time again to counter the action of a `superior.’ I tried often just to hand it over to Baba. I reasoned that it was His sankalpa [will]. That was on Friday, November l, 1968. Last night, on Sunday, November 3, endeavors to go deeper into dhyana [meditation] were unsuccessful. A high condition of consciousness was granted; yet, toward dawn, I entered a “sleep” state, with the “happenings” at the place of employment still bothering me.

“Baba! Should I counter with an opposing attitude to show another his fault?” I asked in prayer. Within a very short while, I found myself rising and I began to reach among some nearby papers and writing sheets. There, I immediately found that little gem book of light, “Teachings of our Lord.” The very first page I turned to was page 35. There were Baba’s words: “Do not harbor anger or vengeance against persons who point out your faults; do not retort, pointing out the faults of those persons themselves, but show your gratitude to them.” Baba had quickly “cured” me, and it was just before dawn that I slipped into a samadhi [deep contemplation]-like sleep.

Let me share with you now the lesson Baba then gave to me. The final significance of the amazing events that you will hear about is beyond this devotee’s understanding.

Baba showed me a scene. A slave who had all but been torn to pieces by the brutal lashes of a slave master’s leather whip lay bleeding, and probably dead upon the barren rocky ground. Sprawled on some rocks some twenty paces to the right was the gratified slave master, with a sadistic look on his face that grew even more contented as he eyed the bloody mass. But standing just to the right of the slaver was a tall man with clear eyes that blazed at him. He was a man of tremendous self-control and he spoke thus:

“You have already become, in the eyes of the Lord a vicious reptile. Already you are crawling through the muck and slush of swamps in the upper reaches of the river beyond the hills. Already reptiles of your own kind are tearing at your dragging living mass. You see not the open jaws lying in wait for you to increase your pain. The pain you inflicted here, you will feel a thousand times greater and longer,” vowed the brave one.

“And who are you to have the courage to risk your life admonishing me who is armed with death in this right hand?” angrily shouted the slaver.

“The Master calls me John,” replied the staunch one.

“Who is this Master, and where does He live?” demanded the slaver.

“He is Jesus. He lives in that small village yonder. The village is called Nazareth,” clearly cried John.

“And what can this Master of yours down there do here where I am master,” sneered the slaver holding the great whip tightly.

It was at this point that I saw John approach the torn one on the ground. He touched him it seemed, and to my amazement the slave rose. As he stood on his feet, his wounds were healing. He was very tall, and as he walked toward the startled slave master, all his wounds were gone. He began to become enfolded in a great light. Within a few feet of the slaver, the “risen” one became resplendent in light and completely vanished. At this point Baba began to speak again.

Baba began to explain the strange reference to the slaver becoming a reptile—a pain racked crocodile! I had pictured to myself the terrible pain being felt by the reptile from the jaws of the others—the gouging and the tearing.

“Man can, by the grace of God, be granted a role befitting his acts. He can reap for himself the pain he causes others with planned malice and an unforgiving heart. Man metes out his own treatment. Transgression from beast to man is not the only direction that can be taken,” Baba explained.

“Likewise, among those reptiles, there are some that never harm or cause pain, maliciously like the unrepentant slave master did. By God’s grace, the reptile too can progress. Therefore, just as man fluctuates on his path to Me, so does the beast,” Baba thus revealed.

“That man has evolved from the lower strata of life is accepted by many; few know that it is possible to return to the lower state. Without donning even the bodies of reptiles, some people have already sunken even beyond that level of life,” Baba said sadly.

“It is the very same life within all creatures, whether they have no legs, two legs or four. When man has his chance to use his capacity to elevate himself even higher, what a pity it is that so many choose to endure the struggle all over again,” Baba concluded.

With the dawn already ushered into the room, I “awoke” with that wonderful feeling of beauty that comes with the union of Baba. Words are so poor a means of expressing the depth of this event. Baba had turned back time almost two thousand years, showing an incident to uncover a great truth.

Baba’s naming the witness to the crime as John is in itself a lesson; for was it not this one that was known as “the beloved disciple?” John represents the highest power and the strongest quality, love. John the disciple says, (1 John 4:8) “God is love.” And how often have we heard Baba say, “God is love—love is God.” Jesus loved the disciple John as a brother, and John too was the first to recognize Jesus after the resurrection.

~Charles Penn
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Dec. 1968