Walking with
Meherwan this morning, we were actually having a conversation about dog breeds
(the Meherazad dogs were with us, of course) and I was telling him about one of
the new breeds which forms very deep attachments to it’s humans, making it
impossible to rehome. They are known to
die if separated from their human. This
got us on the subject of how varied Baba’s creation is, and how there are some
with more heart and others with more brain connection, how some are strong and
others weak.
Because it is
a subject that I often wonder about, I asked my uncle, why are we still
here? Baba said that Illusion was
created so God in the Infinite, Formless state could answer the question He
asked Himself on a whim, “WHO AM I?” My
point was, once the first soul got God-realized, why didn’t He just shut up
shop and say, “There, I know who I am now, I am GOD!” Why would He continue with this Illusion
Game, millenia after millenia? In
universal terms we are less than the millionth of an atom to the power of a
million, so what really are we still doing here? And Meherwan replied, “Yes, we are
infintesmal, but these infinitesmal specks that we are contain the
Infinite. So this Illusion Game can
never end, because it is infinite. But
we don’t have to worry about that because we end the game as individual drop
souls when we attain God-Realization. That
is why we don’t need to do anything at all, apart from making Baba our constant
Companion and taking His Name all the time.” Simply profound!!
However, I still feel that if it had been me coming up to being the first drop soul to become God-Realized, I'd have stood back and let someone go on before me! Imagine, you have to come back, suffering guaranteed because of the nature of the Avataric advents, every 700 to 1400 years. And your task is not limited to this planet, which we will probably destroy in a few decades or so. No, you have to come again and again, and there are even planets waiting in a queue for the privilege of being the one where the Avatar will incarnate, once our dear Earth is no more...no escape for the Avatar.
Going on to
the question of Saakaar and Niraakaar God – we both are big fans of
Purshottamdas Jalota singing the Atma Shatakam - verses composed by Adi Shankracharya when he was just 8 years
old, I was saying how the Formless (Niraakaar) is so beyond anything. Meherwan said, "Of course, but don't forget that the path to Niraakaar is through Saakaar. It is only by our total focus on the Form that we can move beyond it and know the Formless. But the Atma Shatakam is a perfect description of the Niraakaar side of Baba." I could not find a version sung by Jalota on YouTube, but I've pasted a link to a version that has the story behind the verses, as well as the transliteration and translation, for you all to listen, read and enjoy. But back to our story.
There was a professor at Deccan College called Pandurang Shastri. He used to walk past Guruprasad while on his constitutional, and often wondered what was going on inside. One day he came in to find out, and Baba allowed him to be in His presence. After that Pandurang Shastri would come regularly. Baba used to get him to sing the Atma Shatakam before Him. Meherwan recalled, "Pandurang Shastri sang the verses before Baba and then started to translate the Sanskrit. Baba stopped him with a smile and gestured, "I know what the Sanskrit verses mean. You just go on singing them!" and Shastri had the first-hand experience of the 'Infinite Knowledge' part of Beloved Baba's advent in a very small way. A while ago I wrote in a blog about Madhusudhan's Sanskrit bhajan that Baba was very concerned should be correct. Pandurang Shastri was the one Baba send Bal Natu to, to find out if it was so.
There was a professor at Deccan College called Pandurang Shastri. He used to walk past Guruprasad while on his constitutional, and often wondered what was going on inside. One day he came in to find out, and Baba allowed him to be in His presence. After that Pandurang Shastri would come regularly. Baba used to get him to sing the Atma Shatakam before Him. Meherwan recalled, "Pandurang Shastri sang the verses before Baba and then started to translate the Sanskrit. Baba stopped him with a smile and gestured, "I know what the Sanskrit verses mean. You just go on singing them!" and Shastri had the first-hand experience of the 'Infinite Knowledge' part of Beloved Baba's advent in a very small way. A while ago I wrote in a blog about Madhusudhan's Sanskrit bhajan that Baba was very concerned should be correct. Pandurang Shastri was the one Baba send Bal Natu to, to find out if it was so.
By this time we had almost finished our walk, but Meherwan had not forgotten the start of our conversation. Going back to the subject of dogs and humans, he said that it was important to love our pets but not get too attached, because any attachment is an obstacle on our path to becoming one with God. So here's to detachment, and to a relatively obstacle-free journey to each and every one of my readers...Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!
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