Operation Smile
As Baba devotees, we are all aware of the forceful influence of the Baba smile. It is the most charming aspect of His multifaceted personality. It is also His most effective instrument for teaching, inspiring and reforming us. We have all been deeply affected by that smile; to regain it and to bask in its illumination has been the cherished desire of every one of us.
But why? What is there in this smile that makes thousands of people travel halfway around the globe to see it spreading along those red lips and to catch a glimpse of those twinkling eyes? That is His secret. But does He keep it from us? When He stands over your supercilious ego and flashes a knowing smile at you or pours His love and compassion on that miserable ego, something begins to happen. This process occurs so suddenly and so charmingly that you are bewildered: your mind totally misfires, and you fail to take stock of it. You feel like you are being burned in a chalice. And leaving you to the flames that destroy your ego, He walks away to take on another ego victim.
Wait, look within. Is it not for this process that we devotees hasten all the way to Him, hazarding our comforts and money to get this inner ash? Yes it is, and we do not regret it, for we derive greater comfort in knowing that our formulated existence is breaking down. We begin to crack under the impact of that smile, no doubt, but we begin to see a new horizon, a new blueprint for our lives.
In this way, our unique world teacher transforms us. When we are too much in the world, when it is too much with us, when our petty selves are overwhelmed by the whirlwinds of desire, when we are angry against God and man, and when we curse life as a madman’s meaningless song, He begins His work—Operation Smile. Either in person (if we happen to be anywhere near Him) or through His photograph when it catches our eye, He corners us with His smile. We get a bang, a pat, a shock, or a lightning streak up our spine. That smile stops us and persuades us to reexamine our thoughts, words, and deeds. Our old ideas refuse to fit into the new design the mind would fain weave for itself. Something somewhere has gone wrong, we feel. We get ashamed of our past; we become hopeful for our future.
The sunshine of that smile lifts us to a higher level of purity; we realize the utter childishness, the futile foolishness, of all our pursuits, complaints, grievances, indulgences, and prejudices. That smile prods us to rehabilitate ourselves; it calms our shattered nerves. We begin to sing devotional songs, or we find a new zest in singing them. We join in the early morning Om recitation; we go to some quiet spot—up to the banyan tree planted by Him if we are in Prasanthi Nilayam [Sai Baba’s main ashram]—and attempt meditation. We look at people and around us with a new confidence, for we have a far tighter hold on ourselves now. As soon as we receive the smile, we vow to extricate ourselves from some evil habit, like smoking, drinking, or gambling.
And all this has been achieved by a short-lived, sublime, wordless smile. Have you ever heard of anything that has the impact of this smile or known anything of this magnitude happening to a person in such a short time? But note, this is but the beginning of the end. Our earlier convictions and beliefs, ideas and ideals, ideologies and theologies, assume new colors and new angles; they are now more satisfying to us and to the society we live in. The “truths” we clasped to our breast lose their glamour; we speak to ourselves with a chuckle, truth? My dear boy, what do you know of truth? It is all-encompassing, all-transcending. We are dwelling in the part and reveling in it, claiming not to have known the whole.
Come, let us forget our ills and “wells” and immerse ourselves in His smile, which reveals to us the way as well as gives us support. We seem to agree with Jesus when he says: by dying, we enter into life; by giving up, we really attain everything. Let us hold on to the understanding that the smile has conferred as long as possible; let us not allow alien winds to touch our faith. When that knowledge becomes part of our life, we are a step up in spiritual practice. Baba points out the importance of this perseverance when He says, “Don’t deny your own experiences, cherish them, dwell upon them, and move on from one experience to another.”
The smile sets us on the path of spiritual practice. Everything seems endowed with a new glory, for everything is lit by that smile. We hear a devotional song from every bird that sweetens the air. We find new meaning in life. And we know that we cannot stay where we are; we have to rise and march until all discordant tunes are harmonized in one glorious orchestra that celebrates His majesty.
~B. K. Misra
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, August 1977
