God Knocks, Asks, and Gives
Onam, the name given to the festival that is celebrated with great joy by Keralites [people from the Indian state of Kerala], is derived from the Sanskrit words sravanam [listening to the glory of God] and sronam, indicating the ascendant star of the day. Onam falls in the month of Shravanam. That word reminds people of the very first step in sadhana [spiritual practice], the first of the famous nine, namely, listening to the glory of God and imbibing joy from this.
People from Kerala believe that the Lord who incarnated as Vamana, and Emperor Bali (who was immortalized by the grace of that Avatar) bless that region of India on this day by their presence together. In every home they are worshipped with flowers and incense, ritual offerings, song, dance, and sports. It is said that the emperor prayed for the chance to re-visit the area that he had ruled over and loved, and he insisted that the Lord who led him into Self-realization must guide him. This faith has resulted in visions of both Vamana and Bali in many a household.
Bali was an asura [demon] by birth, but he emulated both his father, Virochana, who had risen to great spiritual heights through deeds of self-sacrifice, and his grandfather, Prahlada, one of the foremost devotees of the Lord. He ruled over his vast empire with vigilant care and affection. His subjects were healthy, happy, and filled with gratitude. People were so prosperous and holy that there was not a single needy person in the entire realm.
Guru should practice what he preaches
Bali was engaged in an elaborate yajna, (Vedic ritual sacrifice) under the guidance of his guru (preceptor), Shukracharya. He was engaged in giving away to priests and scholars, land, homes, cattle, and gold, when the Lord appeared as a young, dwarfiish mendicant named Vamana. Bali tempted Him with gifts of dominion, riches, and power, but Vamana asked only for a patch of space, as much as could be measured by three steps of His feet.
The Emperor’s preceptor realized that the mendicant was the Lord Himself and that the three steps would encompass Bali’s empire and beyond. He warned his disciple of the disaster that would ensue. He tried to intervene by using his superior powers to enter the spout of the vessel used by the Emperor to conclude the rite of gifting. When blades of grass were inserted into the spout to clear the obstruction, Shukracharya lost an eye. Teaching and practicing what he preaches are the two eyes of the guru. Shukracharya taught but did not honor his own teaching. So, the loss of the eye was highly symbolic.
The “three feet” of space that the Lord wished to accept and sanctify after magnifying Himself into trivikrama (three-fold conqueror) are often identified as the earth, space and outer space—the bhuloka, the bhuvarloka, and the suvarloka. But, the Lord, who has projected the cosmos by His own will, does not crave for a fraction of His own creation. Nor are the three lokas [worlds] situated one over the other. They are regions of consciousness, existing contemporaneously in Bali and in everyone else. When you pay attention to the lokas, the individual personality does not impinge on your attention; when the individual personality is cognized, the lokas recede from view.
The Lord resides in a pure heart
When you look upon this chair as a chair, you are not aware of the word; when you observe the word, the chair passes out of view. Take, for example, the idol of Shirdi Sai Baba in silver. When you adore it as Shirdi Sai Baba, you are not aware of the silver; but when you focus on the beauty of the silver, you pay no attention to Sai Baba. So, too, when man concentrates on the bhuloka in him, the other two are beyond cognition.
The bhuloka in man is the dehaloka (the physical home or body that he carries about, and in which he resides). The bhuvarloka in him is the pranaloka (the vital equipment or sheath that activates the bhuloka and the principle of consciousness encased therein), and the suvarloka is the inner treasure chest, the ananda (delight), which prompts by its very presence the spiritual bud to blossom. Vamana sought Bali’s willing acquiescence in the divine process of purifying and sanctifying these three levels of his being—the body, the awareness, and the cosmic essence. Vamana spoke of this blessing, symbolically, as three ‘foot-measures’ of land!
Bali, unaware of the inner meaning, agreed to give Vamana what He obviously wanted. The emperor was indeed in great ecstasy at the unique chance to offer to the Lord what He claimed from what He had himself given!
Vamana assumed His cosmic form and measured the three steps, covering the cosmos, including Bali. Bali surrendered totally to the Divine will and was amply rewarded. He lived up to the heritage handed down to him by his father Virochana and grandfather Prahlada. The Bhagavad Purana [scriptures] declares that he was consigned to Suthala, the most sacred of the nether regions. In other words, Bali was blessed with an inner vision of the Lord in his heart. The Lord assured him that He would grant him His constant presence in the suthala region. The message of Onam is that the Lord is won by means of total surrender of the ego. When the heart is pure, the Lord resides therein and guides man to Himself.
Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 17
