The Ultimate Dharma

ln a lighthearted yet profound talk at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference in May 1997, Dr. Raghavendra Prasad, who often organizes the Overseas Medical Camps during festivals in Prashanti Nilayam, spoke about his spiritual journey. We share below excerpts from his talk.

Swami says that of the various dharmas (codes of conduct) we have, the highest dharma is atma dharma (code pertaining to the soul). Sometimes a lower dharma can be sacrificed for the sake of the higher dharma. Buddha did that. We have a responsibility to our family, to the society we live in and, at a higher spiritual plane, to find out who we are. Normally we sacrifice a higher dharma for the sake of lower dharma, but Swami says it should be the other way around. To us, Buddha appears very cruel, leaving behind a beautiful wife and newborn son so mercilessly, but he had to do that for the sake of the higher atmic dharma. Krishna also seems cruel. Arjuna approached Him and asked how he could possibly kill his beloved grandfather, his teachers, and his kith and kin. But Krishna reminded him of his higher dharma, which dictated that he had to sacrifice everything. This higher atmic dharma is being aware of the brotherhood of man and fatherhood of God, based on the understanding that we are basically all one.

Find Unity in Diversity

Unity is the reality of diversity. It is the truth of diversity. It is the very goal of diversity. Swami says diversity is a projection on the screen of unity. He says that this play between unity and diversity is an eternal cycle. If you take a straight line and prolong it infinitely, it becomes a circle. God, or Divinity, is a circle whose center is everywhere and in each one of us. In fact, it is in every speck of the cosmos. The periphery, or the circumference, of Divinity is nowhere—meaning He is infinite. He is all-encompassing, but nothing can encompass Him.

Yesterday we enjoyed the beautiful weather and the mountains. Eventually, rain came prompting us to go inside the hall, bringing us together, closer and uniting us. Nothing is a coincidence; everything is Sai-incidence of a master plan. He is teaching us unity. We come here not only to listen to speakers or sing bhajans (devotional songs) but to see what we can achieve in unity. Swami’s mission is not only having us achieve the goal of our moksha (liberation) but experience the beauty of the process as well. Swami projects that into all the activities we partake in here; people who do not know each other work together in unison. Swami says one plus one is not two, but much more than that. Unity brings purity, and that leads to Divinity.

The Journey Home

Each day, when we get up from deep refreshing sleep, we play our various roles. At day’s end, we look forward to coming home and going back into deep sleep. If we do not get that deep sleep for a few days, we may go to a doctor because we think it is abnormal. We love the deep sleep state in which everything merges and goes back into unity and from which we can come out every day to play our various diverse roles. Every child born in the universe cries as he enters the world; the word he resounds is kohum (who am I?). From the purity of kohum, he grows into the world of diversity and looks for happiness in the outer world. Slowly and steadily his demands increase—and each thing he acquires gives him happiness but only for a few days. He is always in pursuit of happiness in the outer world. When that search fails, he goes back to square one and says kohum. Finally, at some point, he turns inwards; that is the beginning of his spiritual journey.

Someone asked Ramana Maharishi “What is the goal and the purpose of life?

“To know who you are,” he answered.

“How do I do that?”

“Go back to the source where you began,” he replied.

Basically, it is a journey home. The raindrops in the showers we had this morning had their source in the mighty ocean. Water evaporated from the ocean and became clouds, taking a different name and form. The water comes down as raindrops; some of the drops drain into channels, which join rivers, which have only one direction even though they have different names and colors, depending upon the soil they travel through. Eventually, they merge back into the ocean. But once the water joins the ocean, it loses its different names and become simply the ocean. As Swami puts it, “It merges into the satchidananda sagar (ocean of being, awareness and bliss).” In that sense, all of us are co-travelers until we reach the ocean of sohum (I am that).

Why do we Need a Guru?

I had the opportunity to read scriptures at the Chinmaya mission and the Ramakrishna mission. Although I had all the information, I still felt some unhappiness because I did not have the direct experience of That (Supreme Reality). The life histories of sages and saints have one thing in common. When they describe the indescribable, they cannot explain it fully in words, but there is some sweetness and beauty in the description of it. I always wondered why I did not feel that beauty and sweetness. This is the point at which I hit a rock wall in my spirituality—with all the information I could not travel beyond the wall. The barrier was powerful and strong. Swami says scriptures are like road maps. They don’t get you to the destination, but they guide you in your travel to reach it. What I needed was the help of a guru who had experienced the Supreme Reality. A fresh medical graduate though knowing the sequence of a surgical procedure, would-still need an experienced person to walk him / her through it. I knew I needed the help of a guru to guide me to the goal; I began a search for one who was easily approachable.

The Search for a Guru

In 1989 I went to India in search of a guru. On Krishna Janamashthami (Hindu holy day), I ended up in Prashanti Nilayam. I had not read a single book about Swami, even though my father and brother are Sai devotees. I would not listen to them until had directly experienced His divinity myself. As I entered Puttaparthi, Swami had just finished His discourse and was going to the college. That was my first darshan (sight of a holy person) of Him from the car.

Even though it is very difficult to get accommodations we got them right away. But as the room had no mattresses, in my ignorance I returned the keys, left and stayed outside in a hotel. On my last scheduled day at Puttaparthi, I was sitting in the darshan line when Swami came out. Suddenly, out of nowhere, it started pouring rain. Swami looked up, and it stopped. At that time, I thought it was a coincidence, but now I know better. I left, and in every other ashram I went to, the person in charge was away. When I got home, I started weeding out guru candidates. The first one I weeded out was Swami because of His apparent unapproachability.

On October 1, 1989, in the early morning hours, Swami came in my dream. Some of you may have seen a U.S. Army poster in which Uncle Sam is pointing his finger and saying, “I want you.” Similarly, Swami was pointing a finger at my face and saying, “Why are you still looking for another guru?” That was the end of the dream. It was so vivid and real. I called a friend who is in the Sai fold and said, “Your guru appeared in my dream.” I asked him the meaning. He said that Swami does not come in your dreams unless He wills it. From that day onwards, I attended the local Sai Center.

At that time, it was very difficult for me to put a picture on my altar other than that of Lord Venkateswara (another name for the Hindu deity Vishnu). I questioned myself about whether I had jumped onto the Sai bandwagon too quickly, before really looking for a good guru. While this was still going through my mind, Swami gave me a “slide show” in my vision. He went through all the gurus I was seeking and finally merged them into Himself, saying, “All the gurus are Me.”

I was getting a dream almost every night, and whatever spiritual question I had was answered in the form of a story. One of my important demands was that He should be approachable. And here He was coming to my bedroom in my spare time and giving me answers. What a nice guru I had. Then one day He didn’t come in my dream. Like a spoiled brat, I said, “I will not get up from my bed nor go to the office until He gives me the lesson for the day.” In five minutes, I went to sleep, and I had the most important dream I needed at that time. Swami came as Lord Venkateswara Himself. That day I put Swami’s picture in front of Lord Venkateswara’s picture, because now I didn’t see any difference between Lord Venkateswara and Swami Himself.

The Second Visit

I went for my second trip to India in November 1989. I was sitting in the first row and because my monkey mind was still questioning, I challenged Swami. I said to myself, “You are supposed to be omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. Then You should know what is in my thoughts. When I open my eyes, I should see You right in front of me.” At the end of my meditation, I opened my eyes and Swami was standing right in front of me. He took the challenge. In my ignorance, I had challenged Divinity. When I asked Him for padnamaskar (touching the feet of the guru), He said in Hindi, “Kijeeye” (do). When I touched His feet for the first time in my life, I felt the unexplainable peace and joy that the seers and saints talk about. I felt as if a million volts of electricity jolted through me, as if lightening had hit me. I was clinging to His feet, but when I opened my eyes, I was kissing the ground because Swami was long gone.

The Third Visit

When I went back home after the trip, Swami came in a dream and said, “The last five times you came to Prashanti, I neglected you. Next time you come, notify Me, and I will take care of you.” I was wondering why Swami said five times until I realized that three times I had visited Swami in Prashanti Nilayam in dreams. Before I went for my third trip, I cabled Him, “Swami I am coming. You asked me to notify You.”

During this visit, Swami was in Whitefield. I was able to talk with Him and touch Him practically every day because the crowds were much smaller. Since I had accepted Him as my guru, I felt I had to have His permission to leave, but every day He kept telling me to wait. I asked my wife to consult my friend in the United States. He said that Swami’s words have so many meanings that we could wait there for years, so if our dharma dictates that we should come back, then we should do so. I left for Madras for a business meeting before my departure for the States. The business meeting was delayed, and I missed my flight. As the flight was on alternate days, I drove back to Whitefield for the day. I again asked Swami for permission to leave. Swami said, “You are saying everyday that you want to go. Where did you go? Where can you go? You went and came back.” Swami knew that I had left, missed my flight and come back.

He Knows

During darshan I was sitting in the line with my eyes closed. When I opened my eyes, Swami was coming. Just a few days before, I had established in my mind that Swami has a pattern of going clockwise around the tree and that He was only calling white foreigners for interviews. So guess what? Today He walked counterclockwise and called some devotees from Africa and me for an interview. As I was entering the room, Swami pointed at me and said, “Don’t you ever doubt.” I introduced my son-in-law and myself. Out of the blue, Swami said, “I’ll give you a grandson.” After we left the interview room, Swami told the other devotees that we were two doctors from Los Angeles. At that time my son-in-law was nowhere near medicine; he was a management consultant. But today he has completed his medical degree. Two years after the interview, my daughter had a son.

Once when I was in Prashanti during Guru Poornima, I could not get permission from Swami to leave. So, wondering, I went to visit the Hanuman (Hindu deity) statue in the Stadium and while I was there, I thought in my mind, “Wouldn’t it be nice if Swami came here now.” And before the thought was even completed, Swami’s red Maruti came up the hill. Swami gave me padnamaskar and permission to leave. So how far is Swami from us? He is only as far as our thoughts are.

Swami’s Glory

Only Swami knows the totality of the plan. When we go to see Swami, without speaking with Him our doubts are cleared and our questions are answered. Swami, as a guru, can reach even a stone. He says that there is no greater medicine than love. All the medicines in the world have only illusory value, while the real medicine is love and compassion.

Swami is all the avatars put together. Who can declare with surety that he will live for 96 years? Only Swami can. Who can take on such mega projects and complete them in such a short time span? Only Swami can. Swami spoils you in one visit with a lot of attention, and in the next visit He looks right through you. This is His detachment. Nothing disturbs Him and His activities. He shows us that nothing should disturb us, come rain, hail or storm.

Before my second interview, when I was sitting in the line, Swami said to the person sitting next to me, “Remove everything and come. I will give you.” I heard that, and while I was waiting on the veranda, I removed my watch and other jewelry and put them in my pocket. I was so ignorant that I thought of the physical things when actually Swami meant, come with empty hands, without desires, and I will fill you with bliss. In the interview room, He asked what I wanted. I said, as usual, “You, Swami.” He replied/’You removed everything and put it in your pocket, and now you want me?”

We Are His Instruments

As part of the 70th Birthday Celebrations a medical camp was to be inaugurated on the 18th November 1975 and the supplies were to arrive on the 17th. Dr. Goldstein decided to advance the camp date to the 14th. When I went to the hospital and saw the bare facilities with no supplies, I got cold feet. The whole night I was worried and could not sleep. Just when I decided that I would tell Dr. Goldstein in the morning that I couldn’t go on with the camp, in a flash of thought Swami came to me and said, “Don’t worry! I will take care of everything.” Peace came to me and all the hesitations vanished.

Next morning, Dr. Goldstein was very worried, but I was calm and collected. I kept telling him not to worry. Finally, he got irritated and said, “Did Swami come and tell you?” In my heart I said, ‘Yes.” The next morning, I woke up very early and went to the camp. Soon I got a message that an aged man was gasping for breath. We took him in the ambulance to the hospital. On the way he died in my arms. I was very disturbed when I went for darshan. While waiting for Swami, I saw a beautiful vision Swami divided me into two halves, one shedding tears and the other trying to resuscitate the patient. Further, He showed me that this gentleman had come to Prashanti to die in Swami’s hands. Swami’s hands are not only those which are attached to His body; we are all His hands. When we have love and compassion, we become one with Swami. Later in the morning, I bought a garland for the dead man but could not go to him myself because of an emergency at the camp. So, I sent it with a nurse. When she reached the place, people were waiting for a garland for Swami, and without asking her, they took it and garlanded Swami. Swami showed me that the old man had merged in Him.

We are His instruments. We say that we are the devotees of Sathya Sai Baba. Swami says that that is not what is important. It is Swami who should say we are His devotees. Anyone will claim to be the son of a rich man, but only when the son becomes good and great and pious and pure does the father proudly declare to the world, “This is my son.” Swami says, “My devotee’s life is my message.” We should always keep Him within us; that is the atmic dharma. If we do that, then whatever we do in the world becomes Sai’s activity.

~Dr. Raghavendra Prasad
Houston, Texas, USA