The Nine Steps
Sri Ramachandra responded to the enquiry of Shabari, the simple ardent devotee, and named the nine steps in the path which will take man to the Lord:
Shravanam Kirtanam Vishnusmaranam
Padasevanam Vandanam Archanam
Dasyam Sneham Atmanivedanam
These nine steps are just as essential today as we have to make our pilgrimage to our reality through the sadguru [true teacher] Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Avatar of the age.
The first step in this pilgrimage is shravanam [hearing]. Baba has said that shravanam means “developing a desire to listen to the glory and grandeur of God and the various awe-inspiring manifestations of divinity.” This is the starting point. It is by hearing about the Lord again and again that we can transform ourselves into divinity. Our interest in spiritual matters often begins by hearing from a friend or through a book or an article about Baba. We hear about His miraculous powers of materializing various gifts of grace and their curative properties. We also read about his incisive wisdom that can penetrate through the thickest of mental fog. We are told that a visit to Him will cure most incurable diseases and solve formidable problems! In fact shravanam continues to be an important step throughout our sadhana [spiritual effort]. We always like to hear about Him and His leelas [divine play]; we are never tired of repeating them!
The first step of shravanam usually leads us to the second step: kirtanam [singing the praise of the Lord and His magnificence]. A friend asks us to attend the Thursday bhajan [devotional singing]; we go, hesitatingly, to the group that gathers in his house. We sit rather uncomfortably on the ground along with strangers. Before we realize what is happening, the entire group starts chanting in unison, `Om’ and suddenly we become conscious of the power of this primordial sound that we had never heard before! Then the bhajan begins, song after song, praising the Lord’s many names and soon we discover in us the hidden talent for singing. “The tongue is a post; bhajan, of the name of God, is the rope; with that rope you can bring God almighty near you and tie him up so that His grace is all yours,” says Baba. Baba stresses the importance of satsang [good company] that “makes you meet other souls (individuals) of like nature and create the contacts that manifest the inner self.”
We see pictures of Baba beautifully decorated with flowers. During bhajan, all of a sudden, a flower falls and the devotees feel that Baba has responded to their hearts’ cry. We see vibhuti [sacred ash] and kumkum [vermillion powder] on His pictures and we start to wonder how that is possible. It challenges our scientific mind and we return home with wonder and doubts, only to be drawn further into enquiry by reading His books, and thinking about Him.
Namasmarana [chanting the name of the Lord] within the silence and solitude of your own heart is very beneficial. Namasmarana can be elaborated also into nagarsankirtan [singing devotional songs in public areas]. This has both individual and social consequences. When you inhale foul air, your health suffers. Unwholesome vibrations pollute the air when people shout hateful slogans or even talk without love and reverence. Nagarsankirtan purifies the atmospheric vibrations so that they are holy, healthy, and happy even before the citizens get up with break of day. So we join the nagarsankirtan and that also helps to reduce the ego, as it requires some courage initially to go out into the street and sing!
Our interest to know Baba becomes stronger; the urge to go to Puttaparthi [in Andhra Pradesh where Baba has His main ashram] becomes intense. Just then a friend invites us to accompany him and everything seems prearranged and we reach Prasanthi Nilayam [Abode of Peace]. As soon as we reach there, we are told that Baba has just come out of the mandir [temple]. We rush and stand bewildered at this beautiful red-robed figure that looks more beautiful than any of His pictures! How slowly He moves! What compassion in His eyes! How graceful is His beckoning to the distressed! How bewitching His smile!
We feast on His sweetness and charm for the next few days and eventually get the much-coveted interview when He draws us in a shower of prema [love] and assures, “Why fear when I am here!” “I am with you.” “Do not be afraid.” Baba says, “Prema is My distinctive mark and not the creation of material objects. You might consider what you call ‘miracles’ as the most direct sign of divinity, but the prema that welcomes you all, that blesses you, that makes Me rush to the presence of the seekers, the suffering and the distressed in distant lands or wherever they are, that is the real sign!”
We return home and then the next step starts, smarana [remembering]. We remember His kindness when we meet harshness; we shed tears of joy when we think of His karuna [compassion]. Whenever we are afraid, we remember Him; when we are in trouble we recollect His sweet face assuring us, “Don’t be afraid.” When we slide back into a bad habit, we remember His gentle admonition and try to give it up. The process of cleansing has started.
We also remember Baba’s discourse wherein He explained many wonderful concepts simply and directly. We remember His bold statement that He is God, and the incredible revelation that we also are Gods only, He is always conscious of His Divine nature, but we are not because we think that we are merely human!
The fourth step is padasevanam [serving the Lord’s feet]. How beautiful are His feet! He was gracious enough to allow padasevanam when we were in the interview room. He had slightly lifted His robe and allowed us to touch His lotus feet saying “Chesko! Do padaseva!” We purchased a picture of His feet and His other pictures. His pictures together with those of other Godheads adorn our shrine room. We begin worshiping the Lord by concentrating or honoring the feet. We remember His assertion, “My life is My message,” and try to follow in His footsteps. Baba says that He wants practical “heroes” and not platform speakers. “If you get angry go and lie down or drink a glass of water,” says Baba. So, when we get angry we remember His advice. We also remember the keen interest He takes in whatever He does at any particular moment and we begin to understand that this is the Yoga that Lord Krishna explained as karma sukaushalam [skill in work].
We begin to understand the real meaning of worship. We look at the beauty of the flower and its fragrance that we offer Him. The Lord in the Bhagava Gita has said that He is in everything. Baba says that all nature is a manifestation of the Lord and that is His Vishwarupa [universal form].
Baba stresses that work is worship; all the activity whether at home or in the office is an act of worship. “Wherever you are, whatever work you do, do it as an act of worship, dedication, and for the glorification of God, who is the inspirer, the witness, and the Master. Do not divide your activities as `these are for my sake’ and `these are for the sake of God’. See all work as one.” He gave the talent, the ability, and the intelligence and therefore we must offer it to him with all sincerity. Who granted you the chance, the intelligence, the success? The Lord. You are helpless without Him. He chose. He prompted. He executed. It was His doing. Be humble.
Baba also says that He is in everything! “See Sai in all,” he reminds us. “If you hate somebody, it is like hating Me,” He said. Worship takes a new meaning and we start learning the true art of worshipping which is to make all activities of life His worship. Baba stresses, “In every home, however, there are living Gods whom the sages ask you to serve and worship. They are your parents—be kind, be soft, and sweet to them. Do not be rude. Try your best to make them happy. Obey them. That is the way to worship them.”
The aspirant begins to see the favorite form of God, which he likes to worship, in all beings and all objects, wherever he turns, and so, he develops an attitude of vandana or reverence towards nature and life.
“This develops into a total propitiation of the Lord, and systematic, ritualistic worship, in which the aspirant gets inner satisfaction and inspiration,” this is archana [worship]. We recite His one hundred and eight names and dwell on the glory of each name. We also do sahasranamarchana [recite His thousand names], and do puja [prayer] to our hearts’ content. Baba has recognized this need for archana, which the devotees delight in, and has transformed it into a meaningful “ritual.” He has advised that we may do archana with rice. Collect this sanctified rice and at the end of the month cook fit and offer it to the poor as prasadam [blessed food].
Baba also warns that we should not get lost in ritualistic worship. “God should not be worshipped only in pictures, images, idols but should be recognized in all living beings, in beauty, harmony, melody, truth, and goodness. Offering of incense, flowers, repetition of hymns of praise and other rites are commendable ways of utilizing time—a good activity! Unless they cleanse the heart, widen sympathies, and deepen faith in one’s own divinity, they are unworthy of the name of sadhana [spiritual effort].” His direction is very clear: “Give up the rosary in its bag and activate yourselves in relieving distress—that is the true spiritual path. God is subtler than ether, filling the smallest crevice with His Majesty. Know this and serve His manifestations, wherever you meet them.”
These steps lead us to the next stage i.e. dasyam [service to the Lord]. “Established in this bent of mind you become a devoted servant of all, with no sense of superiority or inferiority. This is a vital step, which presages great spiritual success,” says Baba. This stage is more fruitful than reciting the name or counting beads or spending hours in meditation. This is the richest, the most satisfying, and the most difficult step of the nine steps of worship. We should not only be the servant of the Lord, but must have the same attitude for all His manifestations!
The prime purpose is to provide a chance to train ourselves to attain humility, readiness, and reverence that are essential for our own happiness. Service is basically an action arising out of the yearning to win the grace of God. In fact, the most important step is to erase the ego! For as long as we have not eliminated ego we cannot attain divinity. We have to serve all because we are the all for there is no others but ourselves. Through seva [service] alone can man be a master and attain Divinity.
“Eventually the seeker makes the Lord his confidant and comrade, the companion and friend; he shares his triumphs and achievements with God and becomes His sakha [friend], just as Arjuna had become Krishna’s friend. This step is sneham [friendship]. Baba says, “My place is among you, with you, and wherever you are. Do not place Me on a pedestal far from you. I am part of you, your partner and partaker, inspiring you, instructing you when you need Me.” Baba has said, “placing God at a distance from you and praising Him as omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent does not please Him. Develop nearness, proximity, kinship with God by obedience, loyalty, humility, and purity.” And to demonstrate this, He sits on the floor and not on the chair specially kept for Him during bhajans! He wants us to cultivate this attitude of friendship that He is the only true friend. Yearn for and earn good friends who will keep you on an even keel. Have above all, God, as your unfailing guide and friend. Friendship is an expression of unshakeable love that is noble, pure, and free from desire or egoism. Sai is our best friend.
As can be inferred, this is the prelude to the final step of total surrender or atmanivedanam [self-surrender], yielding fully to the will of the Lord that the seeker knows through his own purified intuition. It is very difficult to cultivate the attitude of surrender. Baba has often chided us when we use this word loosely. He asks, “What have you got to surrender? You can only surrender that which belongs to you! You have no control over your emotions or your mind. You become a victim of the vagaries of the mind. First control your mind. Then surrender your mind.”
This is atmanivedanam. Then you have eliminated the limitations of the ego and have reached the stage of Madhava [God]. Baba says, “Sharanagati [taking refuge], is the highest form of bhakti [devotion].” Bhakti and the attitude of sharanagati will lead to the final fruit that is vairagya [renunciation]. Once you have vairagya you have the courage to face anything as nothing bothers you. Sharanagati is the main gate to enter the mansion of mukti [liberation]. Entrust your mind to the Lord, before it is too late, and let him shape it. If liberation means the stoppage of grief and acquisition of joy, then it is easy. What you have to do is to place all your burdens on God, which makes you carefree and grief-free. Then, when you take everything as the leela of the Lord you love, you are full of ananda whatever may happen.” Atmanivedanam also means the final merger of the atman, the self, with the Brahman—the I with the Universal.
If manava [man] has to become Madhava, which is his true nature, he must take these nine steps. If you seek to transform yourself into Madhava, you have to melt the mind in the fire of jnana [knowledge], sankirtan, japa, dhyana, and renunciation. The avatar has come to guide us and take us step by step to the goal. That is why Baba has come in all His glory.
We hear about His Divine nature, feel attracted toward Him through enquiry, then see Him in His most beautiful physical form and become conscious of the immense power of His love. His bewitching smile makes us remember Him and His message that we try to emulate. Gradually our ego diminishes and we recognize that everything is the manifestation of the Lord and start loving it.
We also understand that spirituality is not to escape from our duties and obligations to society. Society is a training ground for seeking the Lord hidden in His own creation. Then all work becomes worship and we cultivate an attitude of friendship with all, because He is in all; there is nothing other than ‘He.’ When we help our neighbor, we help ourselves. Our enemy is our self as he is no other than our own base nature that we hate! When the entire world becomes one then who is there to hate? This leads to the elimination of the ego, our petty little idiosyncrasies, and each one becomes a fully integrated. We are no longer small men but have emerged from the chrysalis of the ego to soar and be one with Divinity.
~M. Venkatanarayan
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, March 1976
