The Kerala Onam

Following is an excerpt from a discourse by Bhagavan Baba on the occasion of Onam, a festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, a state on the west coast of India. Swami says the tax humans must pay to get His grace is in the form of devotion and purity of heart.

The story of the Onam festival is that of Bali [a virtuous demon king of ancient India], who was an embodiment of sacrifice but who suffered from traces of egoism. However, due to the predominance of other virtues, Bali was even able to overcome the ill effects of egoism, burying it deep in hell through the grace of Lord Vishnu [the Hindu Trinity’s God of preservation], who appeared before him in the form of a Brahman ascetic named Vamana.

Bali was far superior to Indra

Bali was dedicated to ruling his subjects by observance of, and strict adherence to, the principles of dharma [righteousness]. He was the son of Virochana and the grandson of Prahlada, so it is not surprising that Bali possessed rich, traditional qualities of devotion. Once after obtaining permission of his guru, Sukracharya, Bali wanted to perform a great sacrifice called Viswajit. Viswam means “the totality of the five elements, senses, and regions or sheaths of the human body.” Victory over all this is what the word viswajit symbolizes.

Indra is so called because he is ruler of the indriyas (senses), and the ruler of the senses in man is the mind. The nature of the interplay between the senses is such that you can gain as well as lose through it. Indra wanted to rule heaven, but Bali wanted nothing of the sort. To achieve what he desired, Indra used to propitiate and beg Vishnu, but Vishnu Himself descended in the form of Vamana to beg from Bali. Thus Bali proved himself to be far superior to Indra.

Vamana belonged to the famous Siddhashram (known as such because all resolutions could be realized at this sacred hermitage), which was founded by Kasyapa (representing man) and Aditi (representing the feminine aspect—nature). It is through the union of man and nature that spiritual perfection (in the form of a Brahman ascetic, the embodiment of the Vishnu aspect) was born. Siddhashram was located on the banks of a sacred river called pavitra, which represents life. Spiritual perfection will always be found on the banks of flowing life whenever purity of mind and heart predominate in man.

After Rama [Hindu deity] and [His brother] Lakshmana helped [the sage] Viswamitra successfully complete his sacrifice, he let them reside at this ashram for some time. It was at this ashram, too, that Bali attained liberation. When the nature of Vishnu is thought of as expanding to the three worlds, it is known as Trivikrama tatwa. This aspect of Vishnu is represented by the Gayatri mantra’s “Bhur Bhuvah Suvah.” The Bhurloka, Bhuvarloka, and Suvar-loka constitute Trivikrama tatwa. It is wrong to conceive of these three worlds as existing one on top of the other and thus capable of being reached by climbing a ladder. In fact, the three worlds are intertwined with each other, and one exists within the other.

The real meaning of three worlds

The real meaning of this kind of geometrical configuration of the three worlds is that the five senses, elements, and sheaths of man’s body are Bhurloka; the vital air power or mental nature is Bhuvarloka; and the microscopic state of bliss represents Suvarloka. Thus it can be said that the three worlds—Bhurloka, Bhuvarloka and Suvarloka—are nothing but the essential nature of body, mind, and bliss respectively, and that the totality of these three represents the Trivikrama tatwa.

Again, these three aspects can be understood in terms of the three states of an individual—that is, the one you think you are, the one others think you are, and the one you really are. Hence, only by proper spiritual discipline can you transcend from Bhurloka through Bhuvarloka to Suvarloka. The attainment of Suvarloka is called liberation, and it represents the stage of complete mergence with the Lord. Since it is a state where the aspect of attachment is made to disintegrate, it is known as moksha (moha [attachment] + kshaya [disintegration] = mokshya).

Practice Bali’s ideals

Bali was an embodiment of renunciation and he personified the qualities of charity and righteousness. Since Onam is a festival day to be celebrated in memory of the reappearance of Bali in his microscopic subtle form, it is imperative for everyone to remember and practice the ideals for which he stood when he was alive. It should be remembered that Bali, as portrayed above, should be visiting you every day and not just once a year. But you forget this because in your daily life you leave ample room for the cultivation of undesirable traits, such as greediness, selfishness, and egoism, which in present-day man are reaching gigantic proportions. It is precisely because of this kind of a situation that the world periodically gets plunged into wars. Bali’s life message is that these traits in man should be eliminated at all costs, thus rendering the heart pure for the Lord to reside in.

Another important aspect of Bali’s life is his demonstration that selfless sacrifice should be an integral part of your actions. All beings perform actions, but only man, if he so desires, can act while making sacrifice an integral component of his actions. Again, the existence of this trait in man is possible because of his ability to think and reflect. Unfortunately, man uses these God-given faculties to enunciate theories and preach, but never to practice what he preaches.

Sacrifice all and attain liberation

Thousands of Onams have come and gone, and people have been preaching for years about what Onam signifies. Yet the hearts of men remain impure. Bali practiced what he preached, whereas his revered guru, Sukracharya, did not, as was evident by his intervening to stop Bali from giving away everything he possessed to Vamana. Preaching and practicing are like the two eyes. Since Sukracharya only preached and did not practice, one of his eyes was symbolically made ineffective. A man with a dual mind is half blind. In your lives, you must be Balis and not Sukracharyas. You should realize that to get one thing, something else must be sacrificed.

Bali demonstrated through his sacrificing nature that if you sacrifice everything, you will attain liberation. Real sacrifice involves first realizing the cause of your bondage in this life and then severing this bondage. Man mistakenly thinks that wealth, a family, etc. are keeping him in bondage and that by severing connections with them he will be able to sacrifice everything and become eligible to attain liberation. But these things are not the cause of man’s bondage. His bondage results from his ignorance in identifying himself with his body. He who cuts off this bondage, as Bali did, will attain liberation. To cut off this bondage, purifying the heart is very necessary. Purifying the body with soap and water and by application of perfume does not result in purifying the mind.

In this Iron Age [age of unrighteousness], constant remembrance of God is the easiest way to purify your mind, and surrendering to God with a pure mind is the surest way to attain liberation. Bali offered two of his three aspects—namely, his body and his life—for the two feet of space demanded by Vamana. As for the third foot of space Vamana required, Bali offered his soul aspect to the Lord, thus surrendering to Him completely. That is why the Lord placed His third step on Bali’s head and pushed him into hell, thus completely pushing all traces of Bali’s ego into the bottommost layers of the universe. Bali was thus delivered from the bondage of birth and death.

The essence of the Onam message

The word bali means “charge for service render-ed” or “tax.” You pay money to the department that supplies water, knowing full well that it is not responsible for the creation of the water. But what charges are you paying to the creator of the water? Nothing. Yet you wish to get His grace. How is it possible to get His grace without giving the tax? The tax that the Lord expects is devotion and purity of heart. This is the essence of the Onam message. Onam is not to be treated as a yearly festival, but as an event with a message that should become a way of life for everyone. The three events that Onam symbolizes should always be kept clear in your mind: (1) the incarnation of Lord Vishnu as a Brahman ascetic [Vamana], (2) Bali’s attainment of liberation, and (3) mergence of Bali with the Lord.

Every man is engaged in searching for something lost. Life is the chance afforded to him to recover the peace and joy he had lost when last he was here. If he recovers them now, he need not come again. But he loses them through ignorance of their value and of the means of retaining them.

Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. XIV