The Man on the Tyne Bridge

by Sri Ajit Halder

It was a hot summer day and the sky was clear and sunny over the city of Newcastle-upon Tyne.  A gentle breeze was blowing and the freshness of the weather cast a magical spell on the sun-seekers who escaped from their homes and office buildings.  And out they came in hundreds into the parks.   Some chose just to sit down, sip orange drinks and relax in the pavement cafes: others took the opportunity to roam around with no fixed destination in mind.  The warmth of the weather was so welcome to people that they came out to soak up the sun to their hearts’ content. 

The majestic Tyne Bridge was silhouetted in the sky like a painting on a broad canvas and was a popular place for a stroll.  The river Tyne invited me towards her bank and I noticed the crowd assembled on the bridge and traffic on the approach road was unusually heavy.  As I walked towards the lower level of the bridge I sensed that the whole atmosphere was charged with an air of expectancy.  I also saw that several thousand pairs of eyes were focused upwards as though some unusual event were taking place at a higher level almost touching the skyline.

It was not easy to make my way through the crowd as there were people jostling everywhere to find a vantage point.  I became curious to know what was it that engrossed so many people.  I met an elderly woman who was busy restraining her little puppy.  The poor dog was visibly frightened by the commotion.  I was the woman what the huge crowd was after and what was happening.  She drew my attention to the topmost point of the bridge.  What I saw was a tiny male figure perched precariously up there.  The woman told me: “That man has been seen up there from early morning and he is in no mood to climb down.    No one knows exactly knows what his real intention is and when he might come down”.  A passer-by, aiming his comment to one in particular, said loudly, ”He is probably going to commit suicide by jumping into the river.  I wonder what is holding him back.  He has no chance of survival from that height”.  

So that was the main attraction which gave an additional boost to the imagination of the public.  They all were there to enjoy the show which was laid on free for their amusement.  The public would even forego other duties but would not miss this entertainment, however tragically might it end.

Looking around, I could see a band of helmeted policemen who were working hard to control the crowd and make a passage for an ambulance to drive through.  A fire engine was standing by but even its fully extended ladder could not reach the man on the bridge.  I heard a voice saying that a rained social worker was up there to persuade the distraught man to climb down but he failed, the wretched man was determined to take his own life.  I heard also that when the social worker came closer to the man his own life was in danger because the man threatened to push him off the arch.  

All attempts to persuade the man to climb down failed and the police resorted to a waiting game, leaving the man to his whims.  Undisturbed, the man stayed-put high up on the arch and down below the crowd waited patiently for the moment to arrive when he would jump to his death.  A sightseer peering through his binoculars alerted the public because he saw the figure make some movement but it was a false alarm and spectacular did happen.  Video cameras were held in readiness to capture the last few moments of his life.  Ice-cream vendors, Doughnut-sellers and Hot-Dog men did a brisk trade. They provided the much needed munching and nourishment to the crowd tired and exhausted after hours of suspense, waiting to see the man plunge into the river to meet his watery grave. 

At about 4 O’clock in the afternoon the show was over.  The man was seen cautiously crawling down the span of the bridge.  All the waiting to witness a man’s fatal jump had been in vain.  When he reached the bottom of the rail, a uniformed man grabbed him and helped him to the waiting ambulance.  The assembled crowd began to drift away indignantly.  Having been denied a great treat they felt they had been cheated by the man on the bridge.  I heard one frustrated youth shout out: “Why did he not jump?  Why did he keep us for nothing?  His climb down is a disgraceful.  The man must be a coward.”  His view was shared by dejected and disappointed spectators who then made their way back home.  Normality and sanity returned to the vicinity of the Tyne Bridge. 

My account of the event that took place on the Tyne Bridge is significant because its theme is similar to that of Somerset Maugham’s fictional short story ‘Gigolo and Gigolette’.  In Maugham’s story, Stella, a performing artist of a Casino, entertains guests with her dangerous act of diving from a sixty feet high platform into a shallow, five feet deep flaming tank.  The spectators gather over and over again expecting that one day Stella will kill herself in her act, just like the huge crowd waited in expectation that a man would jump from the Tyne Bridge to take his own life.  Maugham’s story illustrates that a fiction often mirrors what happens in reality.

Welcome to the Buddha Purnima issue of e-Sanai

by Sri Sandip Dasgupta

Dear fellow seekers,

Welcome to the Buddha Purnima edition of our electronic magazine. In this issue, I will try to highlight a few teachings of our Master and attempt to comment on those.

On Feb 23, 1988, Sri Sri Babathakur said the following at Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi:

o   I am neither a Sadhu, nor an a-Sadhu.

·            According to him a Sadhu is a person who has lost all desires – and an a-Sadhu is a person who has desires. But if one is immersed in the Science of Oneness, there can be no desires (desires happen only when there is more than one person/thing). Since our Master is completely identified with the Supreme One Absolute, he doesn’t need to lose any desires. He is thus never an a-Sadhu – therefore he doesn’t need to become a Sadhu.
 

o   I don’t engage in the criticism or discussion of others.
 

o   I rule over my mind by telling the mind that:

·            I will not fulfill your wants and needs

·            I will not be obedient like a pet dog and sit at the mind’s door

o   Jealousy and hatred happen only when there is more than One. 

In my limited understanding, I feel that the above tip which Sri Sri Babathakur had given us for controlling our minds, is an excellent tool for use in everyday life. In our experiences, we see that our mind controls our behavior and everyday activities. We forget that our mind is a reflection of our Supreme One, and that we constantly feed our mind with new objects, ideas and desires.  This has a multiplicative effect, and we keep moving more and more away from our real Self.  On the other hand, if we follow the tip given by our Master – we will (re)gain control of our mind and get closer to our real Self.
 

On the same day, Sri Sri Babathakur narrated a very interesting story of a mother who had lost her only son at a very young age in an accident. This boy was very brilliant in his studies and had always topped his exams upto the M.Sc. level. The mother had become very distressed and violent. She was brought to Sri Sri Babathakur by a devotee.  The lady’s first question to our Master was “Why did you take away my son?”

Our Master politely explained to her that she was only playing the role of a mother in this divine drama. With great compassion, our Master explained to her that her son was keeping quite well in the bosom of the Real Saccidananda moyee Ma. He further explained that her son was being hurt by her sorrow (she had not eaten for 4-5 days, not taken a bath, not slept for several days) – and that she should desist from this kind of behavior.

He further encouraged her to resume her normal life, so that her son’s worries and sorrows could decrease. He further asked her to become a mother of other sons – not just the one who was no longer with her. He asked her to start feeding her son’s friends and find him within them. By this, he urged her to become the Real Ma – Jagat Janani, and emerge from her current role of being the Mayarupi Ma. 

What a beautiful application of the Science of Oneness! Can we all begin to reflect on the Science of Oneness that has been showered on to us by our Master, and apply it at every stage of our life? 

Joy Babathakur!  Joy Babathakur!  Joy Babathakur!

Satsamga - Part 1

by Sri P.C. Lahiri

Satsamga, as commonly understood, means the company of a saint/worshiper of God/an ascetic/holy person.  In such company, people generally look forward to hearing Godly talks& stories, singing the glory of God, receiving boons, celebrating religious festivals, learning from ancient scriptures and so on - as per their personal religious faith, belief and understanding. This faith, belief and understanding varies from person to person.  Such differences in understanding are fueled & nurtured by the innumerable gurus with their own organizations, preaching their own philosophy, theory, thesis/doctrine - in the name of a past God-incarnate, a well-recognized past saint, or religious scriptures. Thus in the name of God, what has got nurtured are blind belief, rivalries, divisions, hate and chaos, instead of proper education, unification, love and peace.  Recently two so-called saints in India, following their own separate paths and boasting millions of followers with hundreds of ashrams all over the country and abroad, were convicted of rape of their own disciples after protracted criminal proceedings in which they tried to use their clout in any which way to delay the legal process and save themselves.  Such incidents have happened and continue to happen in the educated and developed world as well, with only the face and qualification of the protagonist changing from a religious guru to a high profile wealthy and powerful celebrity.

So, what and where is the root cause?  In India, many believe that it is because of a lack of education and poverty. Is it correct?  Educated and well established persons in India are also followers of such make-believe gurus.  The poor people donate whatever they can to their guru which shows that they are not just seeking wealth.  What is the cause in the western world where lack of education and poverty cannot be cited as the reasons?  In the western world, the main reason is greed and in India the main reason is blind faith.  In both cases there are other minor contributing factors as well; however in both the cases, the root cause is lack of right education.  Education in the material world is generally geared for the creation of name, fame and wealth. This education is very aptly described by the Master (Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur) as the building of a multi storied structure without proper foundation.  From another angle, He says¾ it is like gathering more and more information without inner formation. Right use of the gathered information is possible by an individual when he has inner formation, otherwise not. Along with this, there is something called religious-education in India given by the above mentioned gurus which is sectoral, very narrow and tends to drive one towards blind faith.  How do we build absolute faith, the opposite of blind faith?  Through Satsamga.  What is Satsamga?  That which gives us right education. Let us see what the Master has to say.
 

Sat means existence - an existence that is eternal.  So, the immediate meaning that comes out of the word Sat-samga is the company of the eternal Existence. How is that possible? By the company of that One who is unified and identified with Sat, the eternal Existence. How do I get to know that he/she is unified and identified with the eternal Existence? Also how can I find him/her? You can’t find him/her, nor can you know his/her Supreme State armed with your untrained mind-intellect-ego.  So?  Master says you can do something which is very much within your control.  Create utmost longing/desire for the Supreme One. You can desire so many things during your life which even if they get fulfilled, don’t fulfill you for all time. Fulfillment of one desire leads to the creation of two other desires. So, why not have that one desire which will fulfill all desires for all time. With that one utmost desire the Supreme One will appear of Its own accord before you in one form or the other, gradually reveal His/Her identity, and finally build that absolute faith in you.  Armed with that weapon of absolute faith, you will be able to cut asunder all contradictions and many-ness to ultimately discover one and all (including the personified Supreme One) as verily your own Self.  Master has described the sword in one of the hands of Goddess Kali as jnan asi (the sword of knowledge) which destroys all ignorance.  Absolute faith developed through Satsamga is like this jnan asi which will destroy all our ignorance or ajnan.  Master has brought all kinds of ignorance prevalent in this universe under one phrase, the sense of duality/many-ness.  One of the hallmark of a Real Master is the spontaneous ability to simplify, present and solve the most intricate and complicated issues in the world in such a way that a common man can also understand.  It is a different matter if one does not try to understand/accept them for one’s own reasons.  I have seen so many common men as well as men of repute, knowledge and standing saying that it is so difficult to understand Master.  Without a basic understanding it is not possible to accept.  If acceptance happens without understanding, it is either due to some compulsion or just blind faith. True blind faith (this phrase may sound odd) without understanding is a very rare phenomenon.  I have heard from the Master the story of Ananda, disciple of Adi Shankaracharya, who was a blind follower of his Guru and the Guru openly showed His love for him. Ananda used to do all the cooking, cleaning, washing etc. for the Guru. Other disciples, who were studying very hard to really understand and imbibe the advait (non-dual) philosophy of Guru, felt very jealous. One day they could not contain themselves and asked the Guru why Ananda could get so much of His love despite having scant knowledge of His teachings. Guru said you are right and immediately called for Ananda who was washing Guru’s clothes sitting on the other side of the river to avoid disturbance in Guru’s class. Ananda immediately responded to Guru’s call. He was told openly about the complaint of all his fellow Guru-brothers and was ordered to speak about his understanding of Guru’s philosophy.  Ananda spontaneously spoke non-stop for a few hours. It turned out that his understanding was way beyond that of all others. He was so honest that when questioned later on by fellow disciples he openly declared that he did not know what he spoke, it just happened. He was a totally surrendered soul and Sadguru had taken charge. We heard Swami Vivekananda say something exactly like this regarding His Chicago speech but some argue that Swamiji was highly erudite and so could do it.  There may be very few such exceptions and these exceptions prove the law that we first need an intellectual understanding to move further with any idea.

Right education is that which completes one’s education cycle once and for all. We are taught that there is no end to learning. One keeps learning throughout one’s life; so say the intellectuals, peers, elders and all educational institutions of the world. True spiritual Masters who have discovered God, universe and humanity within their own Self as One Absolute Being say that there is an end to learning when witnessing starts.  The pinnacle of learning is the unification and identification with the Witness Self within all of us.  Why should one lead the life of a struggling agent or an ever learning agent as perpetrated by the mundane education and preached by the so-called religious gurus all over the world who just want to rule over others?  The learning that one gets from the True Masters is the technique to rule over our own lower self (not others). This training ultimately leads to the supreme experience of perfect unity within and without. I shall continue with this topic of satsamga in the next piece.

Jai Guru Jai Maa.