Mahabali

What does ‘incarnating’ mean?
It is God appearing on earth
Filled with affection and love
For mankind, everywhere—
Divine consciousness in human form.

Bharat [India] has gained wide renown through many sons and daughters who have sacrificed everything for the common good. The seed has to renounce its identity and become one with the soil so that the tree might emerge. So, too, the ego has to sacrifice itself so that man’s divine nature can manifest itself. Mama iti mrityu [‘mine’ is death; ‘not mine’ is immortality]. Tyagah shantih anantaram [renunciation results in peace]. The golden key of non-attachment opens the lock that keeps the door to heaven shut.

The most valuable sadhana [spiritual practice] is to renounce animal and even human failings and earning the awareness of the Divine. Consider the heroes of renunciation from the past—they were mostly rulers and the rich, who could afford power and plenty—Emperor Sibi, Emperor Mahabali, King Karna. Consider also later heroes—Tanaji and Bhagat Singh. These two sacrificed their lives for the sake of the nation and the world.

Mahabali, the asura (demon) ruler, renounced everything for the sake of God. His father and grandfather were also very famous for the same reason. However, his great-grandfather Hiranyakashipu could not tolerate the very mention of the name Hari [Vishnu, God]. He [Hiranyakashipu] swore that he himself was God! He was a fanatical rationalist. He had a son named Prahlada, whose devotion, dedication, and surrender to God was complete, without any reservation. He passed triumphantly through travails and tortures. The name Hari was the armor that saved him from the anger and hatred of his father. The persons who tortured him in obedience to his father’s command were struck at the calm heroism and the utmost peace he enjoyed as a consequence of his steady repetition of the Lord’s name.

God’s incarnation as Vamana

Prahlada’s son was Virochana. He ruled this kingdom righteously, and he became popular and famous on account of his gifts to the poor and the learned. Mahabali was Virochana’s son. He celebrated the efficacious and complicated Vishwajit yajna [sacrifice for cosmic victory], and as a result he became the Lord of heaven, displacing Indra! While Mahabali ruled over the world, no one suffered from hunger and thirst, no one had fear or anxiety, the earth yielded rich harvests and people had holy thoughts and intentions.

God willed at that time to teach the world the valuable lesson – renounce and win. The ocean collects all the rivers and is always receiving offerings. It does not give up pearls and corals of its own free will; it hides them and gives out only shells. Its water cannot quench thirst; it only inflames thirst. But the cloud is anxious to give itself fully as rain; so it rises high while the ocean lies at the lowest level. God decided to grant salvation to Bali, for he had become worthy of that supreme gift. He had purified his mind through good actions, he had realized the divinity in every being through his devotion, and he had achieved the wisdom that could liberate him from illusion.

Meaning of the three steps

It is generally believed that God incarnated as Vamana [incarnation of Vishnu] in order to uproot Bali’s ego. This is not the truth for Bali had not an inkling of ego in him. The purpose of the incarnation was to confer the boon of liberation. When Vamana asked for “three feet of ground” from him, his guru tried his best to prevent Bali from granting the boon: “My dear fellow! This is no ordinary mendicant. He is Lord Narayana Himself. If you agree to give Him what He asks for, you are certain to be mined!” But Emperor Bali replied, “Whoever it be, he has asked me, and giving what is asked of me is my duty. It is my great good fortune that Lord Narayana has come, with hands extended to receive a gift from me. I shall not listen to your teachings now. The hand that gives is on top of the hand that receives. This is indeed unique luck.”

The mendicant was the Trinity [Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva] in one, requiring three feet of ground. The three steps are the physical (adhibhoutik), the mental (adhidaivik), and the spiritual (adhyatmic). The first two steps covered earth and sky, and for the third, Emperor Bali’s heart was the most appropriate gift! Since the heart was offered to God Narayana, his body sank into patala (the nether regions). The first two steps meant that the identification with the body and the mind was eliminated.

Bali had achieved the stage of total surrender. His heart, mind, and intelligence belonged to the Lord. He had dedicated the results of all his actions to God. The ‘I’ in him had been displaced by ‘He.’ He had realized the triviality of worldly power and decided to give up every desire except the longing for the Lord. Through his sacrifice, the sins of his great- grandfather, Hiranyakashipu, were washed away and the entire dynasty was sanctified. The three flowers of Hiranyakashipu’s clan—Prahlada, Virochana, and Bali—saved him.

Bali alone had the resources and the renunciation to give the Lord what He solicited. That is the reason why the Lord approached him. There are many in history who have renounced their wealth and even their lives. There are many who have given away gems, houses, and land. But Bali surrendered all of that and also surrendered himself.

Surrendering is sadhana

Emperor Sibi saved a dove from being eaten by a vulture, but the vulture claimed flesh equal to the weight of the bird from him [Sibi]. He cut an equal weight of flesh from his own body, but the dove appeared to be too heavy to be weighed against even the biggest slice. So he sat himself on the pan, and gave himself up as food for the vulture.

Tanaji heard the call to fight for his country even as he was on the floral seat at his wedding. He plunged into battle clothed as a bridegroom! He died, happy that he had done his duty to his family, his community, and his country. Bhagat Singh ascended the gallows, full of joy that he was able to offer his life for the liberation of his motherland. Bharat had millions of such sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives for her sake.

But these days, we do not notice the spirit of tyaga (sacrifice). We find only raga and bhoga [attachment and enjoyment]. Tyaga alone can promote yoga. It is indeed the good fortune of the people of Kerala state that they adore the personality and ideals of Mahabali every year during the Onam festival. We have to celebrate the festival not only with feast and song but also with acts of sacrifice, charity, and renunciation. The sadhana of tyaga involves the elimination of the feelings of I and mine. The ‘I’ will persist so long as we are embodied, but one has to minimize its hold on thought, word, and deed.

Be like Mahabali

So long as man is bound to the body, his God also has to be in a body like his own. It is often said disparagingly that God is conceived as having eyes, nose, tongue, and limbs. When the person who worships has these, the worshipped, too, must have them in order to make the worship meaningful. Only when one is unaware of his form can he adore the formless! It is surprising that those who laugh at God being pictured with a body do not laugh at their own self being enclosed in a body! When man has to be corrected and liberated, God has to come as man, as Narayana had to do to save Mahabali.

Bali had understood the glory and majesty of God. He told his guru, “The hand that grants boons to countless devotees, that hand is stretched to receive what I offer in answer to the Lord’s desire. That hand has all the worlds in its grasp. And, what does the Lord wish to get from me? He is asking only for that which He has given me! He has come to me in this form to ask from me all that I have because that is what He has given me.” Bali had convinced himself that the Lord gives and the Lord takes, that he was but an instrument and his destiny was to merge in the Lord.

So on this festival day, when we celebrate Bali’s dedication and renunciation, we must strengthen our faith that God’s will must and does prevail over all human effort. And we must realize that tyaga is the highest sadhana. Be like Prahlada and Bali. Do not be Hiranyakashipus, for they are blinded by egoism. Prahlada and Bali received blessings from God while Hiranyakashipu earned curses. Pray to God; let prayer be your breath. Do not conflict with God and be cursed. Take this as the message on this Onam day.

Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 15