The challenges for future seekers.

Conversation with Padiyar Swami (Shree Swami Sadananda of Kanhangad)

Madhav Padyar (Sadanand Swami) used to say “Baba said, “Soon, even stones shall speak.” This we can see today, we have so many so-called saints moving into the market. Every alternate person is a preacher and is ready with Upadesh -guidance. So-called saints have become industrialists who spin money by selling religion in addition to malas, yantras, trinkets, books etc. They advise all but none of them walk their talk. They are slaves of wealth,  sense pleasures, name and fame. We see several self-proclaimed Swamis, Acharyas, Babas, Avadhuts, Paramhansas, Mahamandaleshwars and saints today who own very large properties, and estates, travel by air, stay in five-star hotels and live a very luxurious life. Not that living in luxury is wrong and that compulsory austerity is a virtue. But becoming addicted and attached to these comforts is slavery. They give lectures for money and patronize the rich and famous to get large donations and talk on sacrifice, austerity, detachments, etc.

One Baithak – event in a city like Mumbai fetches several millions of rupees. We need to take prior appointments and follow protocols to meet them. They start by using their Guru’s image and soon the Guru’s image is replaced by placing their photos and also their photos with famous politicians, film artists and industrialists. That they are patronized by the rich and famous gives them authenticity and is used to attract more people. Slowly the Guru moves far into oblivion and is mentioned only to reestablish their hold on the legacy. They have large ashrams all over the world, but some of them often lose control over their activities. Such gurus then get governed by the governing bodies of these ashrams and soon lose free will of their own. All their movements and actions are under the direction of others. Bhagavan used to say “A Sadhu without freedom, is no Sadhu.”

A true Master, even if he is living in the best of the house, can give up all his possessions within a fraction of a second without any worries for the future. They live for every moment and are beyond any duality, be it wealth or poverty, rich or poor, name or obscurity. When the king of Akalkot visited Swami Samarth with all his regal retinue and paraphernalia, Swami just gave him one tight slap and asked him to get out of his ashram and return as an ordinary man. When Bhagavan moved from Vaikunt Ashram to Kailash Bhuvan, He instructed that nothing be taken out from Vaikunt to Kailash. Similarly, when He moved from Kailash to Bangalorewalla Bhuvan, he left things as it is behind.

Baba Nityananda used to say “A true Sadhu has Tyag (let go, sacrifice, detachment, etc.) in him. He is full of compassion and sacrifice. Without Tyag one cannot become a sadhu.” A Sadhu owns everything but possesses nothing. He is as comfortable when he is sitting on a king’s throne as when he sits on garbage. Even if all the riches and comforts are with him, he can leave all of it and just walk out into the streets possessing nothing. He is neither worried about loss of property, name, fame or wealth nor he is anxious to get them.

True Master doesn’t run any bazaar to sell religion, moksha or awakening of kundalini. They do not conduct classes and training where instant nirvana is sold. Bhagavan Nityananda used to say “Any gathering of people for training in pranayam, and meditation without first giving them the technique for inculcating Sudha Bhavana within is nothing but holding a ‘circus’. It is important to be first free of all desires and learn to discriminate between Real and Illusion, Permanent and Transient, etc. Unless the field is cleaned of weeds and ploughed properly any attempt to sow seeds would go to waste. It is important to get the field ready before planting seeds and so also for the seed of spirituality to germinate the heart has to be pure, the mind has to be free of desires and intelligence to be trained to be alert from external onslaught and vigilant against internal ones of Vasans and Moha. When a Sadhak is thus qualified, in the presence of a true Master, the pranayam automatically happens without any effort like an automatic bomb. 

 Living with a Living Master is a continuous classroom of learning. Saints like Sai Baba, Akalkot Maharaj, and Bhagavan Nityananda, did not preach, their life and way of living were itself preaching. Living with Bhagavan Nityananda was a virtual classroom and every moment there was something to learn.

Baba was more than a simple Avadhut. Baba said “’This one’ has no Guru, no disciples. No ashram or mutt, no religion or philosophy. ‘This one’ is ever free.” He did not belong to any school of philosophy, religion, sect, and race. Tulas Amma used to describe Bhagavan Nityananda as “He was a self-sustaining standalone entity, eternal, manifestation of joy, and all-encompassing and all-pervading”. 

When several devotees approached Baba for being anointed as his heir Baba categorically said “Nobody can dare to sit on this seat which is fire. Here, no Guru, no disciples. Only those who have desires still in them,  care for building ashrams, and organization and seek to perpetuate by installing disciples.” He was as happy living in the small hut that was made next to Shree Bhimeshwar Temple as He was in the Kailash or Bangalorewalla building. There were devotees who were ready to give Him the best of things, but He chose none. When Governor of Maharastra asked Him where He could be of any help, Bhagavan said “‘This One’ needs nothing. Everything is there ‘Here’. Gods, goddesses, deities, Gandharvas, Yakshas, and Yogini wait upon ‘This One’ in servitude ever ready to offer their services.”

True yogis have Tyag (sacrifice) within. They are pure in mind and are manifestations of forgiveness. They do not look at shortcomings in others; they find ways to bring transformation. They live for ‘here and now’ and do not carry any luggage from the past or worry about the future. Baba used to often say ‘Fakhir hai to Fhikir nahien, Fhikir hai to Fakhir nahien‘. (If he is a monk then there are no worries for him, if he has worries then he is not a monk). The difference between an ordinary man and a saint is ‘A man possesses everything but owns nothing, a saint possesses nothing but owns the entire world.’ Hey vishvachi maje ghar – this whole world is my home.

Another aspect of a Sadhu is ‘He is his word.” When a monk says or declares something, he will ensure that he does it. Here Padiyar Swami gives an incident from the life of Ramkrishna Paramhansha. It so happened that once, Ramkrishna had promised a devotee from Calcutta that he would visit his house and it so happened that Ramkrishna forgot all about it. It was late in the night that he remembered his promise. He immediately woke up one of his attendants and expressed that he wished to go to Calcutta then and there. The attendant expressed that it was impossible to arrange the travel to Calcutta in the middle of the night as all the boatmen who could carry them across the river Ganga had long retired for the day. Moreover, even the devotee must have retired and it would look out of place to visit him at the uncivilized hour and would serve no purpose. Ramkrishna would not relent and said “No matter what, I am going to his house even if I have to swim the river. A monk never lets his word fail.” Finally, the attendant managed to get him to the devotee’s house who was fast asleep. Ramkrishan pushed their main door and put his foot in the door so that his feet touched their house. He thus kept his word. A monk needs to keep his word. Bhagavan Nityananda, Shaligram Swami and Swami Janananda not only kept their words on ordinary matters but also about their Mahanirvan. Bhagavan had declared that the Gurupurnima of 1961 would be his last one and on 8th August 1961, a few days after Gurupurnima, Bhagavan took Mahasamadhi. Shaligram Swami had declared that he would take Mahasamadhi ahead of Bhagavan and accordingly gave up his body on 27th April 1961. Swami Janananda had declared that on the Datta Jayanthi of 1982, ‘the earth shall merge with sky’ and took Mahasamadhi on 27th December 1982.

In today’s world Gurus are dime a dozen. Identifying and recognising the perfect guru is indeed challenging. It is important to test the authenticity before you accept somebody as a Guru. Bhagavan Nityananda said “Only one who is absorbed in God and one who can show (give you experience) you God can be taken as Guru. There is no need of running hither and thither.” Just as you are in search of a Guru, a Guru too is in search of a good disciple. One should practice sadhana with dedication – Abhyas Yog, and wait for the Guru to come. On the parched land, the trees wait patiently with open arms (surrender) for rain to come. At the right time, the clouds come searching and shower the nectar. Similarly, when we have done our sadhana regularly, the shower of Guru’s grace will be on us. The practice of intense sadhana prepares us to recognize our Guru when he approaches us. It does not matter whether the Gurus are alive or dead. A formless Guru can be as effective as a Guru who is physically present. If you have experienced the grace of a formless Guru then we need not go in search of any other Guru. The formless Guru is the most powerful. Bhagavan used to say “Find the Guru within you.”

You live in Sadguru and Sadguru lives in you. When Sadguru bestows his love and grace on us, we live in our Sadguru. When we practice our sadhana, chanting the mantra given by our Sadguru, we take life as it is, accepting it as the will of God, the Guru then begins to live in us. During our sadhana and in our life, if we encounter hurdles, pain and trouble Sadguru protects us and takes us beyond them. Even now when Baba is no more in physical form, just by standing in front of his Samadhi at Ganeshpuri and making a sincere request from the bottom of our hearts for his help, Baba will surely help us. Several devotees have experienced this. This is the sign that Baba and I have become one.