Welcome to the 2010 Buddha Purnima edition of e-Sri Sanai

by Sri Sandip Dasgupta


Welcome to the 2010 Buddha Purnima edition of e-Sri Sanai. Let me first begin with a few announcements.

a) Talks on Self-Identity is now being broadcast at 9am (IST) on Sunday mornings. Viewers outside India can watch the same by subscribing to http://www.watchindia.tv/.

b) The Canadian chapter of Saccidananda Society has now been registered as a non-profit body.

c) The US chapter’s application for recognition as a non-profit body is still pending with the Internal Revenue Service.

d) This summer, we will be having several bhajan programs in Canada during the week of Jun 21, 2010. Please contact Mr. Partha Guha at 1-416-432-1194 for all the details. All the artists have received their Canadian visas.

The following artists will be performing at these programs:

o Mr. Kedar Narayan Bodas (Vocal)
o Ms. Shaoni Mitra (Vocal)
o Ms. Arupa Lahiry (Bharat Natyam dancer and disciple of Chitra Viswesaran)
o Mr. Debasish Ghosh (Harmonium)
o Mr. Pritimoy Goswami (Tabla)
The USA chapter’s application for a P-3 visa was refused by the Department of Homeland Security. Hence a bhajan program will not held in USA.

In this issue, I will attempt to further explore Sri Sri Babathakur’s august proclamation “All Divine For All Time As It Is”. For the last few years, I have had the privilege of attending discourses in Vedanta given by Br. Prabodh Chaitanya of the Chinmaya Mission in San Jose, California. During the last couple of years, Prabodhji had extensively expounded on the teachings contained in the 10th and 11th chapter of the ‘Bhagavat Gita’. As I heard Prabodhji speaking vividly about Lord Krishna, I was constantly reminded of Sri Sri Babathakur and His words. Every word that He had spontaneously spoken to us now appears to have come out of Sri Krishna’s mouth. Let me elaborate:

In Chapter 10, Sri Krishna describes the Divine glory to Arjuna. Let me quote some translations from Swami Chinmayananada’s book on the Bhagavad Geeta.

Verse 3 – He who amongst the mortals, knows Me as unborn and beginningless, as the great Lord of the worlds, he is undeluded and is liberated from all sins.

Verses 4 and 5 – Intellect, wisdom, non-illusion, forgiveness, truth, self-restraint, calmness, happiness, pain, birth or death, fear and also fearlessness; Non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, beneficence, fame, infamy (all these) different kinds of “qualities-of-beings” arise from Me alone.

Verse 8 – I am the source of all; from Me everything evolves; understanding thus, the wise, endowed with ‘loving consciousness’, worship Me.

Verse 20 – I am the Self, O Gudakesa, seated in the hearts of all beings; I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all beings.

Verse 21 – Among the (twelve) Adityas I am the Vishnu; among Luminaries, the radiant Sun; I am Marichi among the Maruts; among asterisms the moon am I.

Verse 22 – Among the Vedas, I am the Sama Veda; I am Vasava among the Gods; among the senses I am the mind; and I am the intelligence among living beings.

Verse 23 – And among the Rudras I am Sankara; among the Yakshas and Rakshas the Lord of wealth (Kubera); among the Vasus I am Pavak (Agni); and among the mountains I am the Meru.

Verse 24 – And among the houselhold priests, O Partha, know Me the chief, Brihaspati, among generals, I am Skanda, among lakes, I am the ocean.

Verse 25 – Among the great Rishis I am Bhrigu; among words I am the one syllable “OM”; among sacrifices I am the sacrifice of silent repetition (Japa-Yagna); among immovable things, the Himalayas.

Verse 26 – Among all tress (I am) he Pipal-tree; among Divine Rishis, Narada; among Gandharvas, Chitraratha; among the Perfected ones, the Muni Kapila.

Verse 27 – Know Me among horses as Ucchaisravas, born of Amrita, among lordly elephants, the Airavata, and among men, the King.

Verse 28 – Among weapons, I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am Kamadhuk; I am Kandarpa, the Cause for off-springs; among serpents I am Vasuki.

Verse 29 – Among Ananta among Nagas; I am Varuna among water deities; I am Aryama among Pitrus or ancestors; I am Yama among controllers

Verse 30 – I am Prahlada among Daityas, Time among reconers, the Lord of beasts (Lion) among beasts and Vainateya (Garuda) among birds.

Verse 31 – Among purifiers, I am the wind; among warriors, I am Rama; among fishes, I am the shark; among rivers, I am the Ganges.

Verse 32 – Among the creations, I am the beginning, the middle and also the end, O Arjuna, among sciences I am the Science of the Self and I (am) the logic in all arguments.

Verse 33 – Among letters I am the letter ‘A’, among all compounds and the dual (Co-ordinates), I am verily, the inexhaustible or the everlasting-time; I am the (All-faced) Dispenser (of fruits of actions) having faces in all directions.

Verse 34 – And I am all-devouring Death, and the prosperity of those who are to be prosperous; among the feminine qualities (I am) fame, prosperity, speech, memory, intelligence, firmness and forgiveness.

Verse 35 – Among hymns also I am the Brihat Saman; among metres Gayatri am I; among months I am parts of December-January (Marga Shirsha); among seasons I am the flowery spring.

Verse 36 – I am the gambling of the fraudulent; I am the spendor of the splendid; I am victory, I am determination (of those who are determined), I am the goodness of the good.

Verse 37 – I am the Vrishnis I am Vasudeva; among the Pandavas, (I am) Dhananjaya; also among the Munis I am Vyasa; and among the poets I am Ushana, the great Seer.

Verse 38 – Among punishers I am the Sceptre; among those who seek victory, I am Statesmanship; and also among secrets, I am Silence and I am the Knowledge among knowers.

Verse 39 – And whatsoever is the seed of all beings, that also am I, O Arjuna; there is no being, whether moving or unmoving, that can exist without Me.

Sri Sri Babathakur’s famous words – “All Divine, For all Time, As It Is” captures all of these glories and also expresses the timelessness of the “I-Reality”. He always reminded us that “He” was always present in the good as well as in the evil. If we ever made the mistake of asking Him “How are you?”, he would immediately shoot back to us and “I am as I was, as I am and as I will be”!

The different manifestations of the “I-Reality” were described by Sri Sri Babathakur as “Sportful dramatic Sameside game of Self Consciousness”. Just like there are two sides of the same coin, different gold patterns made of the same substance (gold), different waves made from the same ocean water, different electric objects (bulb, heater, computer etc.) running on the same electricity – each and every object and individual being in this universe is a manifestation of the same “I-Reality”.

One of the bhajans revealed to Sri Sri Babathakur, during his Samadhi was “Jivan ke Udyaan mein …). In English, the rough meaning is as follows:

Oh Lord,
You are the Guardian of this garden of life
You are verily the Gardener too
You are the soil, you are the nutrients, you the luscious fruits
You are the six seasons —Summer, Monsoon, Autumn, Fall, Winter and Spring
In the blue sky you are the rainy clouds
You are the seven hues of the iridescent rainbow
You are the birds Doel, Koel, Shyama, Sukasari and Chandana
In all their chirps and noise, you are the tunes
The mellifluous notes you are in their beautiful songs
You are the self-effulgent Sun
With your bright light, you illuminate the living world
You are beautiful, placid and calm, the cool breeze of the evening
You are the medicinal herbs and the big trees
Comforting us in your cool, green shades
The picturesque lake, You are with the blossoming lotus buds
You are the charming blooms of the arbors of flowers
You are their fragrance floating in the air
You are the humming bees drawing nectar from flower to flower
You are the eternal Consciousness in the form of Prana
You are the driving force in the domain of Mind
The cause and reason of our Intellect
You are Consciousness Absolute, the Divine Glory
You verily are the Atman in all of us
You in Your very essence are friend to all.

Finally, I am reminded of a picture that was sketched by the renowned Delhi artist, Mr. Arup Das. In that picture, Mr. Das depicts Lord Krishna coming to Sri Sri Babathakur and getting merged into him. It reminds me of how lucky we all have been to have received His Grace and His teachings directly. Yet we have frittered away the wonderful opportunity of making the most of His teachings by just not being ready. However it may not be too late for us to contemplate on His teachings, practice them, feel His presence in each and every one of us and move towards the goal of perfection. As Swami Vivekananda once said, ‘Arise, Awake and stop not till the goal is reached’ – the goal referred to by Swamiji being that of realizing the I-Reality which is present within all of us.