by Sri P.C. Lahiri
Ten years ago twin girls were born to a young couple living in a cohesive joint family in a
metropolis in India. One child started displaying very odd mental and physical
behavior. Investigations revealed that the child as being highly autistic, her
autism rating 8.5 to 9 on a scale of 10. Autism is a lifelong neurobehavioral
disorder, characterized by impaired social communication skills,
excessive rigidity, and strong emotional tendencies which can be homicidal in
highly autistic children. The diagnosis sent shock waves through the family. However
through extensive study and deep internal deliberations (rather than courtesy of
any significant external intervention), the couple was able to “accept” the
situation “as it appeared”. At that time they were not in touch with the
teachings of the Master (Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur). What followed is
the subject matter of this piece, presented in light of what was revealed
to and has been narrated by the Master.
The well-educated and ambitious modern-day mother quit her
well-paying and emotionally satisfying job to take care of the child herself
without depending on helping hands. Good and proper treatment of an autistic
child is astronomically expensive. The whole financial burden fell on the
father. Undeterred, the couple went about their respective tasks with full
determination and effort. In the beginning, almost every step they took was
followed by a setback. Frustration,
anger and helplessness mounted, but they carried on with every bit of life left
in them, always supporting and encouraging each other. Late in the evenings, they would share their
experiences, draw inspiration from each other and get ready to dive headlong
into the tasks of the next day. A stage
came when they stopped anticipating results and with further continued practice,
they finally arrived at a state where none of them was even looking at results.
“Acceptance of all that appeared and as it appeared” in and around their
daughter was the key mantra for both
of them. It is an amazing example of a
two-man army unknowingly following the principles revealed by the Master
against all odds. It is not that the
Masters of yore did not talk about the principle of “acceptance”; those directions
however are lost now, being buried in the folds of time due to lack of
use/misuse. There was a need of presenting this Supreme Principle all over
again in a form suitable for this age and in a perfectly scientific manner.
Nature is subservient to the perfect Masters. Master has revealed that nature sits like a
pet dog at the feet of Supreme Realizers waiting to fulfill Their command of
any kind. However the level of
desirelessness and the state of absolute Unity is so perfect and complete within
Them (the Masters), that not even a thought arises of using the open offer. An
example of this state appeared in the life of Jesus Christ just before the end
of the mundane existence of His physical body when death by crucifixion was
ordered; had even a thought arisen within Him, all perpetrators would
have been burnt alive then and there. However what came out was a prayer― Oh Father! Please forgive them for they do not know what
they do. This is also a perfect demonstration of Absolute Acceptance without
any second thought whatsoever. What followed after crucifixion is the golden
history of spiritual development of humanity. The other angle to this has
reference to that revelation of the Master wherein He calls His body-instrument
as the Sanai (a musical instrument
like flute) in the hands of the Supreme Divine Mother. He further states that
Mother plays It any which way She wants to fulfill Her ‘sportful dramatic
sameside game of Self-Consciousness’. This means that each and every word that
has emanated from the lotus lips of the Master is for the fulfillment of the
‘sportful dramatic sameside game’ of this universe and beyond. Hence isn't
obvious that anyone sincerely following the path revealed by the Master has to
receive all round support sooner or later, without asking for it or even
looking for it?
That is exactly what happened in the life of this couple and
continues to happen. Their acceptance of everything related to their daughter
and consequently changing/re-adjusting their lifestyle in totality, resulted in
rare achievements and fulfillment. The father as a consultant started getting
higher paying assignments along with strong recommendations, which in turn has created
a continuous chain of assignments. There is always help/suitable advice
available at hand for activities centered in and around their daughter without
asking. When they need an idea or a specific solution to new issues that
keep cropping up, support arrives. There have been miraculous incidents in this
direction. The child now attends a proper school of able children as the “lone
student with special needs” allowed in the whole school. The fact that she has
been admitted to a regular recognized school is an unprecedented phenomenon in
itself. The mother drives the child to
school, is with her during the school (by special permission) and at the end of
it, drives her back home. If the child’s development continues on expected
lines, then a time may come when she will be able to manage herself all alone
in school. Her twin sister has accepted
everything in totality at this young age to become her best friend and
playmate. She has been and still is
compassion personified when her sister goes through regression, a typical
emergency situation with autism. She has
accepted in totality the fact that her sister gets and always will get all the
attention. At the age of 10, she comes
across as a cool, calm, mature and very steady child. The parents have now become a “go to” couple
for many others all over the world. They
openly share their knowledge and experiences without any hesitation and go out
of the way to help others in all possible ways. They are now finding joy and
happiness in whatever they are doing.
Recently a young upcoming female film maker and director produced a
National Award winning documentary on this case featuring real life situations
at home, school, therapy sessions, playtime etc.
In this connection I would like to share a principle that was
revealed to and subsequently narrated by the Master. People who look at faults
of others are ghataks
(killers/treacherous persons), those who look at their own faults and make
sincere efforts to rectify them are sadhaks
(efficient ones/devotees), those who have corrected faults and filled the gaps
in life are siddhas
(accomplished/perfected ones) and those who freely make available their
perfection to one and all are maha-siddhas
(supremely accomplished and perfected Ones). Let us apply this principle to
the case in hand. When the calamitous truth dawned on this couple, they
accepted the calamity wholeheartedly, joined hands, and went about working
towards all possible solutions like sadhaks,
instead of blaming others for their own fate. As life unfolded before this
sincere, devoted and hard working couple, they made right use of the experience
to become the accomplished ones (like siddhas)
in their area of operation. Going
further with the same intensity, they have now become benevolent leaders (like maha-siddhas) who treat all affected
families and persons similar to their own case.
It has been a very inspiring experience for me and continues
to be so. If the above can happen by the wholehearted acceptance of a very
difficult lifelong situation, then why cannot one fully realize the Absolute
within by ‘all-acceptance & all-embrace’ formula revealed to and narrated
by the Master. The basic principle to be applied in both cases is the same. The
wholehearted acceptance of a calamitous lifelong family scenario can be
expanded to the wholehearted acceptance of all or the wholehearted embrace of
all.
Submitted at the lotus feet of the Master.
