Introduction - The
Avatar's Pen
Baba speaks of Himself as
the mother yearning to feed an unruly
child who, in its ignorance, refuses to
eat what will cure its hunger. The child
has to be coddled and coaxed, wheeled
and petted, even caught unawares
sometimes by means of a story or a song,
to induce it to accept the food it
needs. Baba's immeasurable Love,
persuades Him to pack a medicinal dose
in a sweet smile, a panacea in a
palatable parable or a profound thought
in a syrupy joke. Let us dip into the
books Baba has given Mankind in order to
draw it to the feast that He has
prepared for its hunger. His books are
an invitation to His presence, fresh and
fascinating as they are.
Baba
writes in simple and elegant, colloquial
Telugu or English prose. The message is
always extempore, His ideas receiving
expression as mellifluous poems and
songs, showering exquisite delight.
Poetry and melody shine through each
sentence and behind each phrase and
clause lays a form that is apparently
human, but is suffused with Divine
Wisdom.
All
the immortal pieces flowed from Baba’s
pen as articles for the Ashram magazine
‘Sanathana Sarathi’ (The Eternal
Charioteer) during its early years.
Prof. Kasturi, the first editor of
Sanathana Sarathi, who used to collect
material from Bhagawan every month for
the magazine, narrates the following
remarkable experience regarding
Bhagawan’s Omniscience and the innate
simplicity with which Bhagawan wrote the
Vahinis.
Grandeur of the
Omniscient Teacher
Prof. N.Kasturi,
writes –
“Baba
decided on a small book on the
Upanishads, the Upanishad Vahini, in
order to rivet the world to the efficacy
of Vedanta. As editor of the magazine,
which published serially the chapters of
this book, I had an amazing experience,
every month. After dispatching the
magazine on the 16th of every month, I
would go to him for the next part of the
series. Announcing the name of the
Upanishad Himself, He would ask me to
wait for a while in His room and proceed
along the verandah with a notebook and
pen, towards the room where they stood a
table with a chair by its side and
nothing else besides.
Once,
it was the turn of the Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad, to be summarized and
simplified. It is the biggest and the
profoundest of the ten. I am certain
that Baba had never read it or consulted
others who could talk on it. And there
was no copy available anywhere within
miles. But forty minutes after he moved
out with a pen and the notebook as His
sole possessions, I could descend the
eighteen steps from His room with a
ten-page dissertation on the truths this
Upanishad enshrined! I peeped into the
script as I walked towards the Press and
my eyes fell on the Telugu words, which
said, ‘the grandeur of the intellect of
Sage Yajnavalkya is impressively evident
in this Upanishad’. I told myself, the
grandeur of the Omniscient teacher that
Baba is, is now impressively evident to
me.”
The Vahinis
It was
Prof. Kasturi who collated all the
articles that Baba had written for the
‘Sanathana Sarathi’, the Ashram
Periodical, and brought out in a book
form as the “Vahini Series” as Baba used
to title all His articles as Vahinis.
Vahini meaning flow or stream.
There
are 15 vahinis in all, written in Telugu
by Baba and translated into English by
Prof. Kasturi. The Vahinis like ‘Prema
Vahini’ and ‘Dhyana Vahini’ are little
gems, classics of the spiritual life
from the moment that Baba wrote them.
Their simplicity, which, at the same
time, contains such a depth of meaning,
is unique. They speak of Peace,
Meditation, Love and Wisdom. They seek
to acquaint the reader with the
Upanishads and the Geeta. In a class by
itself stands ‘Sandeha Nivarini’, the
Doubt Dispeller. It raises various
metaphysical problems and answers them.
Prema
Vahini
- The Stream of
Divine Love
Dhyana Vahini -
The Practice of Meditation
Dharma Vahini -
The Path of Virtue and Morality
Jnana Vahini -
The Stream of Eternal Wisdom
Geeta Vahini -
The Divine Gospel
Prashanthi Vahini
- The Supreme Bliss of the
Divine
Sathya Sai Vahini
- Spiritual Message of Sri
Sathya Sai
Prasnothara Vahini
- Answers to Spiritual Questions
Sandeha Nivarini
- Clearance of Spiritual Doubts
Leela Kaivalya Vahini
- The Cosmic Play of God
Sutra Vahini -
Analytical Aphorism on Supreme
Reality
Vidya Vahini -
Flow of Spiritual Education
Upanishad Vahini
- Essence of Vedic Knowledge
Bhagavatha Vahini
- The story of the Glory of the
Lord
Ramakatha Rasa Vahini,
Part - I - The Sweet
Story of Rama’s Glory
Ramakatha Rasa Vahini,
Part - II - The Sweet
Story of Rama’s Glory |
For complete text of all the Vahinis
online in pdf format, please click here
Prema Vahini
(The Stream of Divine Love)
Baba
has said that if He were to be
identified by one characteristic more
than any other, He could most aptly be
called ‘Prema Swaroopa’, the Embodiment
of Love. The very first Vahini (stream)
that flowed forth from his pen to
fertilize the mind of man was the book,
‘Prema Vahini’. Narada, the great
exponent of love as a spiritual
discipline, defines the path of love as
equivalent to supreme devotion. The love
is described as Supreme, because it is
full and free, with no conditions, no
trace of bargaining, no taint of fear.
Once such love is practiced and
experienced all distinctions drop,
duality ceases and only the truth
remains.
Baba
quotes the love of the simple milkmaids
and cowherds of Brindavan towards
Krishna as the best example of this
parama prema (Supreme Love). Krishna
Himself appreciated it thus: they long
for Me so deeply, their thoughts, words
and deeds are so imbued with Me, that
they have no sense of time or space, no
consciousness of their bodies and their
needs. They are so absorbed in Me that
they are like rivers that have merged in
the ocean and lost their individual
names and distinctions.
Baba
says in Prema Vahini only through love
can faith become steady; only through
faith can knowledge be gained; only
through knowledge can parabhakthi
(complete devotion, self surrender) be
ensured and only through parabhakthi can
the Lord be realised.
To
read ‘Prema Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Dhyana Vahini
(The Practice of Meditation)
Today
quacks with new-fangled ideas lay down
rules for Dhyana (Meditation), says
Baba. Each one has his own special
prescription and claims that his system
can confer more benefit than that of
others. But none have themselves
experienced its sweetness of sanctity.
That is the real reason why Dhyana has
drawn out upon itself the cynical
laughter of many. My intention is to
instruct such people and guide them on
the right path.
Baba
goes on to reveal in these words the
origin of His book, ‘Dhyana Vahini’.
Even the most potent drug will not cure
when it is only extolled in elaborate
phrases at the bedside of the patient.
The drug must be taken in and allowed to
walk its way into the blood stream. Your
reading what I write on Dhyana will not
make it easier. The mind is a mad
pleasure seeker, running after mirages
seen through the inefficient and
therefore, deceptive senses of
perception. The multifarious desires
that infect the mind have to be quelled
and the mind focused on Ananda (bliss)
only. Of course, it will itself turn to
God. When knowledge is accepted as the
master, when the mind is denied the food
that breeds depravity, when the senses
are tamed by firmness and faith, Dhyana
will surely lead you to that Goal.
Baba
distinguishes between concentration,
contemplation and meditation.
Concentration is an unwavering
determination in one's daily life, in
the realm of the senses, the feelings
and the intellect. Contemplation is
achieved when the senses withdraw for
some time and attachment to the
objective world slackens, when you have
completely broken away from all
attachment, you enter a state of
meditation, says Baba.
Baba
gives the guidelines for meditation and
mind control in Dhyana Vahini. He says
that Dhyana is as life sustaining as
dhanya (food). Baba explains the choice
of place, posture, time-table and the
curriculum, but lays greater stress on
the compassion of the Lord who responds
to the prayer embodied during Dhyana.
Since
God assumes, for the sake of the
sadhaka, the name and form that he
meditates on, Baba assures us that
Dhyana need never be a barter endeavour;
the summit can be reached by
perseverance, for He rises up to Himself
the struggling and the exhausted.
Baba
warns us against nine enemies that
waylay the earnest sadhaka. Three of
them are physical: adulterous urges,
greed to possess things or gain
exclusive love and the tendency to
injure living beings; three are verbal:
delight in causing panic by false alarm,
speaking lies and spreading scandal; and
three are mental: craving for what
belongs to others, envy and cynicism.
Baba
directs that the meditation on the form
be accompanied by an unbroken absorption
of the sweetness of the name by which
that form is identified. When the form
slips from attention, the name will soon
bring it back; when the name drops from
awareness, the form will restore it to
the mind. Thus, the constant presence of
God in the consciousness is ensured,
says Baba.
To
read ‘Dhyana Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Dharma Vahini
(The Path of Virtue and Morality)
Baba
says, Dharma (Right Conduct) is like the
river Saraswati, flowing unseen beneath
the deeper levels of human
consciousness, feeding the roots of
activity, filling the springs of
thought, cleansing the slushy eddies of
feeling. When the river runs dry or is
clogged by greed and hate, the avatar
comes to let in a torrent of grace and
restore its fresh, free flow.
Baba
in Dharma Vahini has installed dharma on
an unshakable foundation as the unity of
all life, indeed, of creation: Whoever
conquers the ego and overcomes the
natural tendency to regard the body and
its furniture as his true self, is
surely on the path of Dharma, for he
would soon discover the truth behind all
the scintillating multiplicity. He would
realise that the objective world is like
a gem-studded wheel, over Brahman, which
is the one and only truth. Sarvam
Khalvidam Brahman (All is verily
Brahman, God).
When
man is aware of this truth, there will
be no other; all will be you. Since you
love yourself most, your love will flow
in full measure towards all and
encompass the living and the non-living.
Dharma has to be built on the deep
understanding of the depths of Being.
Build your life, says Baba, on the Atmic
plinth, the faith that you are a wave
upon the ocean of bliss, a spark of the
cosmic intelligence.
Then
He asks, When you worship an idol, what
is it that you really do? First, a form
of God is imprinted on your mind, after
that, you meditate on His Power, Grace
and Omnipresence and project these
qualities upon the idol, thus enabling
your consciousness to transcend it and
become unaware of the lithic substance
before you.
In the
same manner, imprint on your
consciousness that form of God which
delights you most and fills you with
illumination and project that form on
every man, beast, bird and insect, on
every tree and plant, on every rock and
hill; this sadhana (spiritual practise)
will make you true, good and beautiful.
This is the fundamental norm: Atmic
awareness - the unceasing remembrance of
the One appearing to be many.
To
read ‘Dharma Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Jnana Vahini
(The Stream of Eternal Wisdom)
Whenever
the gross and even the subtle are
transcended, when the intelligence is
clarified, when the self is free from
feelings, impulses and instincts, what
remains in the consciousness is the true
self only. The person, then, is one with
Eternal Truth, the One beyond
everything. He becomes Brahman or
Paramatman says Baba. This awareness is
the acme of Ananda (or bliss).
In the
Taittriya Upanishad it is declared that,
from Ananda all this is born and through
ananda all this lives, in Ananda all
this is merged, and in Ananda all this
rests. The greater the awareness of
Paramatman (Supreme Divinity), the more
the Ananda.
Baba
summarises the Truth in one sentence.
Awareness is Life and then goes on to
reveal that all men are Divine like
Myself: the only difference is that they
are yet unaware of their divinity. They
have come into this karmic prison
through the karmas of many lives. I have
taken to this mortal form out of My own
free will. They are bound to the body,
while I am free of this bondage.
To
read ‘Jnana Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Geeta Vahini
(The Divine Gospel)
Baba's
Geetha Vahini is the holy Bhagavad Geeta
retold in order to save modern man from
the myopia of egoistic materialism. It
is not a resume or a commentary or an
abridgement. It is the voice of Krishna
Himself, ringing over the clash of hate
and greed and calling us into more
worthwhile victories. He has declared
that He has come to unify and clarify,
fructify and fortify the holy
aspirations of man. The doubts and
delusions, which torment us while we are
engaged in the battle with our outer and
inner kith and kin, are treated here
with love and sympathy by Sai Krishna,
who also provides us with the answers.
We are
encouraged in Geetha Vahini to offer
Baba the prayer he puts into the heart
of Arjuna (in the great epic
Mahabharata) – ‘as You are guiding this
chariot, guide me also and show me the
way’ - for, He is in fact the charioteer
installed in everybody. The Geetha, as
expounded by Baba, is a textbook of Yoga
and a guide for spiritual practise. It
is a yoga shastra and Brahma vidya
(Knowledge of the Self) rolled into one.
Through smile and story, sneer and
laughter, banter and reprimand, question
and counter-question, Baba pours into us
the nectar of wisdom in this beautiful
volume.
At
Kurukshetra (the battleground in
Mahabharata), Krishna said that the mind
and its vagaries could be tamed by
Abhyasa (discipline) and Vairagya
(detachment). In Geetha Vahini, Sai
Krishna adds Vichara (discriminative
reasoning). Baba also analyses the
concept of Kshetra (place), Yagna
(sacrifice), Yoga and Maya (illusion)
and sheds light on many corners, which
the lamps of ancient masters did not
illumine. The ideal of Nishkama Karma,
(selfless action), gets a glow of
heroism when He interprets it as a
conscious refusal of the fruits of
activity, a courageous turning away from
both triumph and failure.
There
are many passages on ‘Geetha Vahini’ of
self-revelation by Baba, where it
becomes difficult to determine who is
speaking to us so intimately Krishna or
Sai? How can I ever forget Him who never
forgets Me? is the question, Baba asks.
Forgetting is a human frailty. Let me
tell you, there is no need for Yoga,
Tapas (penance) or even Jnana (wisdom).
I only ask you to fix your mind on me,
dedicate it to me. That is all I demand
and all that you need to do, says Baba.
This
is the promise of Grace, which all
devotees can hope to receive. Grace
revives us when we are in great pain and
restlessness. It revives us when we
totter through the great alleys of our
meaningless and empty lives. It revives
us when our disgust for our own being,
our own indifference, our weakness, our
hostility and our total lack of
direction and composure has become
intolerable.
It
revives us when year after year, the
longed-for perfection does not appear,
when the stale compulsions reign within
us as they have done for decades, and
when despair destroys all joy and
courage. Sometimes, at that moment, a
wave of light breaks into our darkness,
saying, You are accepted.
Geetha Vahini also condemns fanatic,
blinkered gurus and pompous exponents of
the Geetha whose oratory sounds hollow
because they do not themselves practice
what the Geetha preaches.
To
read ‘Geeta Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Prashanthi Vahini
(The Supreme Bliss of the Divine)
Baba's
book Prasanthi Vahini, gives us the key
to the treasure house of that peace
which escapes understanding and defies
logic, namely ‘Prasanthi’ (or supreme
peace), which the Geeta calls the goal
of human endeavour.
‘Santhi’
means peace unaffected by desire, greed,
hatred or anger. It is not curtailed by
adversity or multiplied by windfalls.
Baba says that we must cultivate the
three virtues of viveka (intelligence),
vairagya (detachment) and vichakshana
(discrimination) in order to equip
ourselves with Prasanthi. He prescribes
the Viveka Chudamani, composed
by Adi Sankara, as the text, which can
develop in us these three virtues.
Baba
says, Like the children playing with
dolls you, too, call some beings
elephants and others horses, some
friends and others enemies, and spend
your entire life in such make-believe.
Once you realise that without the spirit
they are the same inert substance, the
notion of many and the diversity of name
and form, both disappear, and there can
be no liking and disliking any more. You
laugh and weep, love and hate, live in
joy, sorrow, anger and fascination, but
all these varied reactions do not make
the objective world less unreal.
Vairagya (detachment) gets a new meaning
in Prasanthi Vahini. ‘Raga’ means
attachment and vairagya comes when you
realise that the stone to which you were
attached is really god. The stoneness is
like a veil cast by your ignorance upon
what is really of the same substance as
you yourself. The vairagya that results
from this illumination is lasting and
most sublime, Baba explains.
To
read ‘Prashanthi Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Sathya Sai Vahini
(Spiritual Message of Sri Sathya Sai)
Bhagawan has announced Himself as the
Divine Teacher of Truth, Beauty and
Goodness. By precept and example,
through His writings and discourses,
letters and conversations, He has been
instilling the supreme wisdom and
instructing all mankind to translate it
into righteous living, inner peace and
universal love.
When
the ‘Ramakatha Rasavahini’, the uniquely
authentic nectarine stream of the Rama
story, was serialised in full in the
‘Sanathana Sarathi’ (the ashram
monthly), Bhagawan blessed readers with
a new series, which He named ‘Bharathiya
Paramartha Vahini’ (The Stream of Indian
Spiritual Values). While these precious
essays on the basic truths, that foster
and feed Indian culture since ages
before history began, were being
published, Bhagawan decided to continue
the flow of illumination and instruction
under a more comprehensive and
meaningful name, ‘Sathya Sai Vahini’
—the holy stream from the Lotus Feet of
the Lord—“The Flow of Divine Sai Grace.”
This book, therefore, contains the two
Vahinis that have merged in one master
stream.
Inaugurating these series, Bhagawan
wrote, for publication in the Sanathana
Sarathi, “Moved by the urge
to cool the heat of conflict and to
quench the agonising thirst for
‘knowledge about yourself’ that you are
afflicted with, see, here it comes, the
Sathya Sai Vahini, wave behind wave,
with the Sanathana Sarathi as the medium
between you and me.”
With
infinite compassion, this Sathya Sai
incarnation of the Omniwill is giving
millions of persons in all lands freedom
from disease, distress and despair,
narcotics, narcissism and nihilism. He
is encouraging those who suffer gloom
through wilful blindness to light the
Lamp of Love in order to see the world
and the Lamp of Wisdom to see
themselves. “This is a tantalising
true-false world. Its apparent diversity
is an illusion. It is One, but is
cognised by the maimed multiple vision
of humans as Many,” says Bhagawan. This
book is the twin Lamp He has devised for
us.
‘Sathya Sai Vahini’ reveals to us in
unmistakable terms that the self in man
is “no other than the Overself or God.”
We are told that this is true not only
of mankind but of all beings, everywhere
and anywhere. In fact, “Will causes this
unreal multiplicity of Cosmos on the One
that He is. He can by the same Will end
the phenomenon.” “Being (God) is behind
the Becoming and Becoming merges in
Being. This is the eternal Play,” says
Bhagawan.
To sum
up, the ‘Sathya Sai Vahini’ is the holy
gospel given to us by the Person who, as
The Eternal Charioteer, is eager and
ready to hold the reins of our senses,
mind, consciousness, ego and intellect,
and guide us safely to Prasanthi
Nilayam, the Abode of Supreme peace, the
goal of all mankind.
To
read ‘Sathya Sai Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Prasnothara Vahini
(Answers to Spiritual questions)
Prasna means
“question.” Uttara means
“answer,” and Vahini indicates “a
stream.” This book is the stream of the
questions that have evoked answers from
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Among the
tasks that Bhagawan has assumed while
incarnating, He has declared as basic,
the one which He calls, “the
clarification and purification of the
religious scriptures of mankind.” Every
Vahini emanating from Him
has done this service to some aspect or
other of the spiritual upliftment of
man.
This
Vahini is one of the earliest in the
series, since it seeks to elucidate the
fundamental concepts and precepts of
religion, especially the technical words
and expressions that seek to concretise
them. For some years, this was published
as an Appendix to a single Vahini, the
Geetha Vahini, but later it was placed
in the hands of seekers as a key
publication, helpful for readers of all
the Vahinis.
The
Ancient Wisdom (Sanathana Dharma),
the Perennial Path, has been
communicated to posterity in words that
have suffered distortion, devaluation,
dilution and denigration through the
efflux of time and the controversies
among commentators. Varna (social system
based on profession), Asrama (stages of
life according to ancient religion),
Yoga, Sanyasa (renunciation), Yajna
(sacrifice), Karma (action), - these are
interpreted by dialecticians and
practitioners of varied schools and
sects, in confusing and contradictory
versions.
Bhagawan has resolved these tangles. His
exemplary love and patience sweeten not
only every answer but every question
too, for, He has, by posturing as the
interrogator, made the clarifications
full and fruitful.
To
read ‘Prasnothara Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Sandeha Nivarini
(Clearance of Spiritual Doubts)
A
series of Baba's articles published to
remove the weeds of doubt growing wild
in the hearts was collectively entitled
‘Sandeha Nivarini’. Even in his teens
and twenties, Baba took delight in
prodding those who gathered at His feet
to ask Him questions on spiritual
matters. These became the cues for
dissertations, short and long, with many
an interspersed parable, poem or song,
to lead the questioners from darkness to
light.
In
Sandeha Nivarini Baba says, I am happy
when anyone asks Me about the things he
has not understood. Of course, you have
every right. Then he asks the pupil, but
are you reflecting on the answers I give
and practicing what has been told you,
with the conviction born of faith? What
am I here for? Is it not for explaining
to you the things you do not know? Ask
me without hesitation or fear. I am
always ready to answer. Only, the
enquiry must be earnest, emerging out of
a genuine desire to know and to practice
what is good.
It can
be revealed now that the bhaktha
(devotee) who visits Baba with
questions- personal, philosophical and
religious in every chapter of Sandeha
Nivarini is a creation of the Divine
pen. Baba reveals through this
character, His infinite compassion
towards the samsayatma, the
person afflicted with doubts. He poses
the problems and provides the answers.
He
writes, Bhaktha! I converse with you
about every point you place before Me,
and allow many to take part in this
conversation. The sun's light falls upon
the mirror, the light from the mirror
upon the walls of the bungalow and the
light from the walls upon the eye.
Similarly, this Sandeha Nivarini has
been planned in order that the
illumination of My teaching may fall
upon you and thence on to the pages of
the ‘Sanathana Sarathi’, so that the
effulgence may illuminate the world and
bring the light and harmony into the
heart of mankind.
To
read ‘Sandeha Nivarini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Leela Kaivalya Vahini
(The Cosmic Play of God)
The
‘Vedas’ (ancient Indian scriptures)
originated from the breath of God; each
syllable is sacred. Each word is a
manthra. It exhorts all men to pursue
the same holy desire. All hearts must be
charged with the same good urge. All
thoughts must be directed by noble
motives towards holy ends. All men must
tread the one path of truth for all are
manifestations of the One.
The
world is enchanting, because it is
tantalising in appearance, though it is
fundamentally untrue. It is a
phenomenon which is fading out. When
this truth is realised, one becomes
aware of the Cosmic Sport of God and the
Eternal Universal Being.
‘Leela
Kaivalya Vahini’ is a cool crystal clear
stream that flows from the Divine pen of
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to dissolve
all obstacles like doubts and dogmas,
purposeless arguments and flimsy fancies
of the sadhaka (spiritual aspirant).
These
articles, originally published in the
‘Sanathana Sarathi’ (the Ashram
periodical), were given a book form and
placed at His Lotus Feet on the
auspicious occasion of His 65th
Birthday, which eventually fell on the
50th year of proclamation of Avatarhood.
To
read ‘Leela Kaivalya Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Sutra Vahini
(Analytical Aphorism on Supreme Reality)
An
aphorism (sutra) expresses the
genus of its meaning in a few terse
words. The Brahma Sutras systematically
explain the basic principles of
Vedanta, the science of Supreme
Reality. When contemplated, they reveal
the innermost metaphysical secrets.
Today, harmony is the need of the hour.
The ephemeral world needs spiritual
awareness, and this is what the
Vedantins (propagators of Vedanta)
visualise. Vedic scriptures offer
comforting counsel. They throw a kindly
light.
In
the words of Bhagavan Baba, “Acquisition
of the higher knowledge alone can
fulfill the main purpose of
human life. Such knowledge makes one
aware that one is not the inert
insentient body, etc., but that one is
consciousness itself manifesting as the
embodiment of being – awareness - bliss
(satchidananda). When this truth dawns
and is experienced, one becomes a person
liberated while alive (jivan-muktha)”.
This is the state of realization of the
innate nature of a people —the divinity
of humanity.
In
this Stream of Aphorisms (Sutra Vahini)
on Brahman, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
has lighted the universal lamp of the
wisdom (vidya) of Atma/Brahman (Divine
Self). This stream of aphorisms first
appeared in serialized form in
‘Sanathana Sarathi’, the Ashram
periodical. Bhagavan, in His infinite
love, elaborated on the “Essence of
Brahma Sutras in twelve selected
aphorisms”.
Bhagavan's sublime and profound words
and spiritual wisdom are indeed highly
elevating and illuminating. Bathing in
this pellucid Stream of Aphorisms, a
person develops correct or true vision
of Reality, bestowing supreme delight.
To
read ‘Sutra Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Vidya Vahini
(Flow of Spiritual Education)
Baba
has clarified that the word ‘Vidya’ used
for this Vahini (Stream of Thought),
means (Ya) that which (Vid) “illumines.”
It is this sense that is highlighted in
expressions like Atma Vidya, Brahma
Vidya, etc., or even the name Vidyagiri
given to the college campus of Prasanthi
Nilayam which comprises the Institute of
Higher Learning.
Baba
makes us aware of the comparatively less
beneficial lower learning which deals
with theories, inferences, concepts,
conjectures and constructions. The
Higher Learning hastens and expands the
universal urge to know and become Truth,
Goodness and Beauty, Sathyam Sivam
Sundaram. Baba has come as Man
among men on a self-imposed mission to
correct the wrongs inflicted on mankind
through the fanatically blind pursuit of
lower learning. The human race has to
voyage on an even keel; it is leaning
too alarmingly towards the briny grave;
the lower learning is lowering it into
the bottomless pit. ‘Vidya’ alone is the
remedy.
From
His childhood days, Baba has stood forth
as an educator, a Guru as the villagers
loved to address Him. He warned, without
hesitation, elders at Puttaparthi,
teachers in the schools, and headmen of
castes against cruelty to animals and
exploitation of labour, usury and
gambling, pedantry and illiteracy,
hypocrisy and pomp. Through gulps and
jests, parody and satire, songs and
plays, the young teenager Teacher
ridiculed and reformed the society which
honoured or tolerated such evils.
Through Bhajans sung in chorus by groups
of men and women, He reminded them of
the universal human values of Truth,
Morality, Peace, Love and Non-violence
as early as 1943, when he was barely
seventeen. These were the basic
acquisitions that ‘Vidya’, the Higher
Learning, can confer on votaries.
As
Lord Krishna, He said to Arjuna, “Adhyaatma
Vidya, Vidyaanaam” meaning, “Among
all the types of knowledge, I am
Atma Vidya - the search for Atmic
Truth.” The world can be saved from
suicide only through this knowledge. The
search for Truth and Totality, for Unity
and Purity is the means; the Awareness
of the One is the consummation of the
process.
This
Message is the sum and substance of
every Discourse of His, from the time He
first spoke in the early 1950s. This
precious book provides us the chance to
peruse nineteen essays He wrote in
answer to appeals for the elucidation of
the principles which must guide us while
rehabilitating Education as an effective
instrument for establishing peace and
freedom in us and on Earth.
To
read ‘Vidya Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Upanishad Vahini
(Essence of Vedic Knowledge)
Upanishad
Vahini is a synoptic review of the ten
principal Upanishads with a prologue and
an epilogue on the rare text called the
‘Brahmanubhava Upanishad’. These
Upanishads are esoteric and highly
cryptic, but they elucidate the highest
truths discernable to the intellect of
Man.
Vedic
literature is classified as ritualistic,
consecrational and metaphysical (karma,
upasana, jnana), and the Upanishads are
grouped under the third category. But
Baba says that each principal Upanishad
deals with all the three and is,
therefore, instructive for all types of
spiritual aspirants. Besides special
rites described in most of them, the
adoration of preceptors or deities is
also recommended.
Baba
says, The Upanishads enshrine the
whisperings of God to Man. About the ten
on which Adi Sankara and other scholar
saints have written detailed
expositions, Baba says, Humanity stands
to gain or fall by these ten. They are
the synthesis of human thought,
experience and aspiration at the
highest. They confirm the possibility of
human perfectibility, they declare and
demonstrate that man can secure the
awareness of God as his reality, if only
he casts off the veil of ignorance that
he now delights to wear.
To
read ‘Upanishad Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Bhagavatha Vahini
(The Story of the Glory of the Lord)
The
Geetha is a central gem in the crest
jewel of the great Indian epic, the
Mahabharata. Sage Vyasa wove this
intricate tapestry of sublime heroism
physical, mental, moral and spiritual.
He had also codified the Vedic hymns and
rituals. He prepared a magnificent
garland of aphorisms summarizing the
basic philosophic truths. In spite of
His encyclopedic scholarship and great
creative skill in the realm of thought,
Vyasa was afflicted by a deep inner
sadness. He had no sweetness or peace
left in him.
Narada, the sage who propagated the
validity of devotion as a means of
achieving bliss, had advised Vyasa to
describe the glories of God, who had
incarnated as Krishna. The exposition
that did emerge from this advice is
called the ‘Bhagavata Purana’. Baba has
given it to us again in a sweeter and a
more concise form as ‘Bhagavata Vahini’.
Baba's
Bhagavata Vahini flows clear and cool,
straight from the page to the heart. The
book splendidly narrates the leelas
(divine sport) of Krishna and of the
dedicatory acts of those who received
His Grace. It also includes the regions
mapped by Vyasa under the compulsions of
scholastic norms. As a result, Bhagavata
Vahini is not just a book, it is a
tonic, a balm, a pilgrimage, a
hallelujah, a clarion call and a beacon
light.
It is
designed by Baba to loosen our bondage
from the trivial and to tame the
wildness of our minds. Vyasa's son Suka
had recited the Bhagavata for the
benefit of King Parikshit who had been
cursed to die at the end of seven days.
The recitation occupied those seven
days. Since the king had filled his mind
with this narrative of the glory of the
Lord, he died with the name of the Lord
on his lips and the form of God before
his eyes.
Each
one of us is under such a sentence of
death, only we do not know when death
will confront us. The Bhagavata Vahini
can save all those who choose to be free
from the fear of death and prepare them
for passing beyond the realm of life,
cheerfully and hopefully.
To
read ‘Bhagavatha Vahini’ online,
Click here. (It’s a PDF file, You
will need Acrobat Reader for this).
Rama Katha Rasa Vahini
(The Sweet Story of Rama’s Glory)
Ramakatha
Rasa Vahini is a lucid narrative of
Rama's life. Baba has announced that He
is the same Rama, come again to carry
out His mission through his horde of
followers. Drawn by His Love, we have
the same good fortune now to share in
his task of remoulding man after His
image.
The
Ramayana (or the Rama Story) is an
intensely human drama where God
impersonates as man and gathers around
Him, on the vast world-stage, the
perfect and the imperfect, the human and
the subhuman, the beast and the demon,
to confer on us, by precept and example,
the boon of Supreme Wisdom. It is a
story that plays its tender fingers on
the heartstrings of man, evoking lithe,
limpid responses of pathos, pity,
exultation, adoration, ecstasy and
surrender, rendering us transformed from
the animal and the human, into the
Divine, which is our core.
Sai
has declared that He is the same Rama
come again, and that He is searching for
His erstwhile associates and workers in
order to allot them roles in His present
Mission of resuscitating Righteousness
and leading man into the Haven of Peace.
While recounting the incidents in His
life as Rama, Baba has included in His
narrative, certain details of dialogues
and diversions not contemplated by
Valmiki or any other subsequent author.
He mentions many additional events and
encounters, which fill the lacuna that,
have long disturbed admirers of the
Ramayana.
He
has now deigned to tell us Himself the
story of this one epic Act in that
Drama, wherein He took on the Rama role.
As Rama, Sai instructed, inspired and
invigorated, corrected, consoled and
comforted His contemporaries in the
Tretha Age. As Sai Rama, He is now
engaged in the same task. While reading
these pages, readers will often be
pleasantly struck by the identity of the
Rama of this story and the Sai Rama they
are witnessing.
The
controversy over whether Rama is to be
reckoned as a historic prince or as God
Incarnate has been set to rest by Baba.
The ‘Ramakatha Rasavahini’ is the very
nectar of the great epic, Ramayana.
The
whole volume of Rama’s story is divided
into two parts. The first part deals
with the story of Sri Rama from His
birth till His banishment into the
forest and the installation of Rama’s
sandals on the throne of Ayodhya. The
second part begins with the stay of Rama
in the forest till the installation of
Lava and Kusha on the throne of Ayodhya,
the end of Ramayana.
To read ‘Rama Katha Rasa Vahini, Part-I’
online,
Click here.
To
read ‘Rama Katha Rasa Vahini, Part-II’
online,
Click here.
For complete text of all the Vahinis
online in pdf format, please click here
(These
are PDF files, You will need Acrobat
Reader for these).
Download Acrobat Reader
Source:
http://www.srisathyasai.org.in/Pages/SriSathyaSaiBaba/HisWritings.htm