RASALEELA

RASA LEELA ...

Bala Krishna was very mischievous; He would go with His playmates to the houses of Gopis, break butter pots and steal butter. The Gopis were not annoyed because they enjoyed the Lord’s mischief. This bala leela, childhood play of the Lord, captivated the hearts of the Gopis; they felt very blissful.There are millions of people in the world. Each one of us have differing nature and experience countless moods from time to time. From morning to night, we have moods like anger, fear, apathy, happiness, anxiety, peace, hatred, etc. We should see them all as the Lord’s play.Let us take the example of a family. We should see the members of the family and their moods as Krishna’s bala leela or we may react to them showing our feelings. Fear, anger, hatred will arise in us. These emotions will be registered in the mind and they become samskaras, deep impressions causing rebirth. Like food that is made sweet, salty or spicy according to our individual taste, we take birth according to our deep impressions.We must see everything as the Lord’s play. How? First one should realize that the universe is the play of the Supreme Consciousness. There is only the One who has become many, this is 'Ekohum bahushyam'.
An example. The same vegetable is used in many different ways. For instance, potatoes can be cooked in a variety of different ways; as fries, sambar, chips, etc. Similarly, the primal source of all creation is God. One may be good or bad, the Lord is the Indweller in all. If we know this truth we will not react to the moods of others. All is His leela. Only if we realize this, we will feel the sweetness of the Lord at all times. We should know to drink the rasa, the sweet nectar of the Lord. Then the whole world will be a Rasaleela. Rasa means nectar, so we call it Rasaleela.If someone in the family is angry with you, think that it is the anger of Bala Krishna and enjoy it as His mood. Poet Barathiyar sang,‘Kanha, You are very naughty,You are throwing dust on my beautiful new sari!’Like Kanha, who plays with you mischievously, you should think that the person’s anger is the Lord’s leela. If you are disappointed by someone’s behavior you should think of the following lines of the poet.‘You are giving me a fruit to eat Kanha,When I am relishing its taste, You suddenly snatch it away!’This is how you should accept failure and disappointment thinking that it is the Lord’s play. If you take everything as His leela you will enjoy bliss.
In the book on Yoga Sutra, I have said that pranayama is absorbing the Prana shakthi, the universal life force fully into us. How can we do this? Connect everyone and everything to God, see only the good in all, then their life force flows into us. Never find fault with others. You should see the Truth in all and enjoy bliss. This is Raasleela, the divine play of the Lord.I have written a song in my youth about the bliss of the Lord’s play...Bliss! Infinite Bliss!See the wonderful play of Lord SaiYou are blessed.Take refuge at His feetYou are blessed.Bliss! Infinite Bliss!Get the grace of the Lord,All your sorrows dissolve.Attain Him,He is the fruit of your birth!The Lord is bliss. If we see Him in everything at all times, we will have the Rasaanubhava, the experience of bliss. Rasaanubhava is Raasleela. Radha and Gopis experienced this bliss. They saw Krishna everywhere. The world is Krishna leelamritha, the divine nectarine play of Krishna. Look! How much bliss is there in the world! High rising mountains, low flowing seas, the green carpeted plains, many shades of trees in the valleys, blossoms of different kind, singing birds, dancing peacocks, prancing deer, fleeting butterflies.., do not all these give you bliss? If not, then you are not a human being.Among people, we see great souls like the mountains, there are mean people like the lowlands, and there are restless ones like the waves of the ocean. There are hard hearted ones like the rocks and there are soft hearted souls like the creepers that sway in breeze.Like birds, there are free souls that fly in the spiritual sky, there are also selfish men trapped like snails in their shells. Many different types of people! Learn to enjoy their nature. Seeing only the differences without recognizing the basic unity of all will make impressions in the mind and sow the seed for rebirth.
Another song....How many different kinds of people?How different their nature?Oh my Sai! All show only Your grace!This creation is Yours my Sai,So finding a relationship binding my mindis ignorance.This creation is for the Creator. One has to see everything as the Lord’s. Instead, if we identify ourselves as mother, father, husband or wife, our mind gets caught and causes bondage. Bondage is the mind caught in duality, it is the differences we see. Moksha is the freedom from bondage, it is the bliss of Oneness. We must learn to enjoy this bliss.
The inner meaning of Raasleela is to see the rasa or the sweetness of the Lord in everything and enjoy bliss. I am seeing the Sai rasa, the Sathya rasa in everything, so my life has become blissful; I am dancing the Raasleela with my Lord every moment. Mukthi Nilayam is the stage for Raasleela. Here we connect every moment, every object with God. So we are enjoying infinite bliss. The Sai rasa fills us.Raasleela was performed in Brindavan by Krishna and the gopis. Swami said, “Mukthi Nilayam is Brindavan.” Now I understand why only those who are in Brindavan can dance the Raasleela and enjoy Krishna Rasa.Once Rukmini and Sathyabhama met Radha. They asked her to dance the Rasa leela. After the dance, they asked Radha if it was like the Raasleela of Brindavan. She said, “When we danced in Brindavan the trees, plants and creepers showered their blossoms in great joy and the spring season arrived.”The Raasleela in Brindavan changed the season. This is the uniqueness of Raasleela danced in Brindavan. It can be danced in other places, but only in Brindavan the wonder of the change in the season happen. A severe winter or a hot summer season would change into cool spring! In the same way, the Mukthi Nilayam Raasleela will make the entire world experience spring forever. All hearts will be immersed in joy as in springtime. The world will become rasa maya, filled with sweetness. All are going to drink the sweetness of the Lord.Saint Thyagaraja sang, ‘Pibarey Rama rasam,’Come! come! I call all of you to drink Sai Ram rasa. Join hands with the Mukthi Nilayam children and dance the Raasleela. I invite all people of the world!Let the milky moon shine it’s cool rays.Let all hearts blossom with the colors of spring.Let the fire of wisdom rage.Let the Lord’s flute echo the OmkarLet hearts be flooded in sweet music and dance.Let the whole world be immersed in the bliss of Raasleela.The mistaken notion that Raasleela is a dance of Krishna with some women should be removed.
Gita Govinda and Raasleela should be the two eyes of Jeevatma and show the path to attain Paramatma!

ELUSIVETHIEF

Elusive thief ... Sai Krishna



All are sad that they are not able to think of God, whereas I am crying that I am not able to forget Him. My continuous thoughts of Swami make me insane, I am not able to do the daily chores and I am unable to sleep. In order to forget Swami I traveled to various places but I remained the same. So I always cry at His feet. One day, I wrote a letter to Doctor Kothandapani explaining my state. He replied with the following:A Gopi was doing penance at Brijbhoomi. A sage appeared...Sage: Why do you do penance?Gopi: To forget Krishna.Sage: Did you succeed in your effort?Gopi: No. As I try to forget, the thought of Krishna increases further.The sage then prostrated at her feet and told her “You are my Guru.”Doctor said that the state of the Gopi reflected my own state. Yes, as I tried to forget the elusive thief Parthi Kanha, He only caught hold of me more....
Why am I fascinated with Your unforgettable form?Why do I follow you with unbreakable bond?Are my cries lullabies to You?Do my tears bathe You in bliss?Oh Saieshwara! Have You no compassion for me?
Why should an Atma sadhaka seek proof for his experiences? His extraordinary experiences are proofs themselves for the outpouring of Truth. How I was realizing this! Being unable to bear the force of attraction, the power of love, I lost myself. Sometimes I lamented and cried, sometimes I bathed in bliss; my life became a battle with myself.Each and every one who reads this can see God here itself right now. This is my life; this is how I saw my Kanha. Swami Himself told me that I had become insane in devotion and had made Him insane too. This is the peak of Madhura bhava. I have reached it after a thirty-five year Godward journey. Following this, I had many revelations.You too can join me in this journey to attain God and reach the peak of spirituality.
-- Vasantha Sai

sadhana

Uninterrupted Sadhana ...
For the thirty five years I had been doing “Tapas”। How did I do it? You may be curious to know more about it। I am giving below a summary of my daily schedule। Mostly I would get up at 3 A.M. I would look at both palms of mine and chant the sloka “Karagre Vasathe Lakshmi....” “These two hands should always be giving; never the receiving’ I would pray. This sloka is there even in the Balavikas book of Baba.Before putting my foot down on the ground, on getting up, I would pray and offer my pranams to Mother Earth and seek Her pardon for trampling on Her. Then I would take seven steps towards north, and saying “Dinam, Dinam SriRenga Darsanam”offer pranams in the direction of SriRengam. Saying “Dinam, Dinam Puttaparthi Darsanam” I would take seven steps in that direction and offer pranams. While washing the face and brushing the teeth, I would contemplate on slokas of Bhagavad Gita. Gandhiji used to keep a black board containing some slokas of Geetha and while brushing teeth he would look at this board and memorise these slokas. This I have read in his book “My Experiments with Truth” and so I am following him in this activity.Then I do meditation. After completing it I get into the kitchen where I keep vibuthi in a container. I take this and write on the ovens and the gas cylinder “Om Sri Sai Ram.”Then only I light the oven. “Mathru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Agni Devo Bhava, Atithi Devo Bhava” - so saying. I pray to the fire God, “May the food I cook with your help be instrumental in growing sathva guna. I kindle only the fire of a yajna here,” so saying I light the oven and start my kitchen work. While cooking, I sing bhajans or converse with Bhagavan. His picture is there in the kitchen also.

Before taking bath, I touch the water and think of Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswathi, Godavari, Mahanadhi, Cauveri, Tamraparni, Chitravathi, Krishna, Sindhu, Brahmaputra and seek their presence in the water. I pray to Mother Ganga so that she could wash all my sin. Chanting vibuthi kavacham I complete my bath. “Let it protect. Let it protect. Sai’s vibuthi, Let it protect my head always. let it protect both my eyes.” So saying, for every part of the body using soap, I finish my bath. Then I do “Abhishekam" for Swami’s Padukas.I imagine that Bhagavan is standing before me on the Padukas. After the abishekam, I do naivedyam offering whatever I prepare during the course of the day all the time, tiffin or meals. Without offering food to Swami, we never start eating.Even while doing household work, I think of Swami. If I sweep the floor, I think I am sweeping the temple floor. If cleansing the vessels, I would say I am cleansing the pooja vessels. Whenever I attend to children, I say to myself, I am attending on child Lord Sri Krishna. Whatever be the pressure of work I would not allow my meditation time to slip out of my hands; I would never compromise or alter the timingsPreviously I used to chant Sri Vishnu and Baba Sahesranam in the morning; Sri Vishnu Sahasranam in the morning; Sri Vishnu Sahasranam in the evening. If I travel, as soon as I am seated in the bus, I would start chanting Vishnu Sahasranam. To be brief, our life should be a 24 hours pooja to God.Any word you hear, immediately learn to connect it to God. For example, if you hear the word peacock, you think of the form of Madhava who wears the plumes of a peacock. If you hear about the cuckoo bird, think of the melodious music that flows from His flute.If someone asks you “When did you arrive?" start thinking “When did I arrive? From where did I arrive?Did I arrive?"If someone asks you “when are you leaving?" start thinking “which is my place? Where Bhagavan resides, that is my place. But how do I go there?" It may be difficult initially to practice this. But in due course, it would and it must become a habit. While travelling in the bus, you may see name boards.For example you may see “Sankar Sakthi Cements" - you should think of Lord Sankara and Parvathi Devi. If you read ‘Mathura’, think of Lord Krishna. If you see “Vasanth and Co’. think of Vasantha Sai Mantra.Getting trained like this, after sometime we would see God in everything. “Pleasure or pain everywhere in this world, I see You and You only." "My old desires and karma bindings are all gone." If you can say this, you will feel happy. As the great poet Subramanya Bharathi wroteWherever I see Nandalala, I see your green Nandalala !If I introduce my finger in fire, I feel as though I am touching you !This is true. It was also proved by Prahalada. When he was thrown into flames, the Narayana mantra chanted by him without a break, saved him.When the asuras set fire to the tail of Sri Anjaneya (Hanuman) He was unaffected. These are all reported only in the Puranas - one may say.But we experienced it in real life On 15-6-2000, when we did Panchagni Tapas, the fire did not affect us. We did not feel the hot sun. The sacred name of the Lord has the capacity to control all the five bhuthas (elements). This is seen practically. Let it be any yuga. It has now been proved that His name would convert even fire into a cool breeze.This has been my tapas for the past 35 years. All of you can follow this easily. Remain all the 24 hours thinking of God. That is tapas. You need not go to a forest or cave; you need not even observe difficult vratas and fasting. You need not have this panchagni. Whatever you do, please do it remembering God. You would get everything.First we have to do the sadhana. With control and steadfastness, with patience and perseverance, we have to purify ourselves and do sadhana. Then everything would follow automatically.Purity of mind is important. Every second watch the thoughts that arise in your mind and keep them corrected. If we start purifying ourselves, God’s grace will flow. Everyone of us can attain this stage. We have to. That is the goal of this birth as a human being.After the morning meditation, I would stand before the portraits and pictures of God and worship. We have a large number of the pictures of Lord Sri Renganatha in our house.When I pray to Him, like Sri Andal I should merge with Sai Ranga with this body. Standing before Lord Sri Krishna I would pray to Him and request Him tO accept His Radha. Before the picture of Gandhiji, I would pray for an attitude when I would consider SathYa and ahimsa as my two eyes. I would pray to Sri Ramakrishna and beg Him to banish my attachment to pleasures and money.I would then look at the picture of my late father and say “My dear father, you brought me up like Sri Mahalakshmi; but she was taken by Sri Vishnu only; but you are not alive today to see this!" Baba has told me a number of times that my father had the aspect of Periyaazhwar in him. (Periya azhwar was the father who adopted Sri Andal). He adopted Sri Andal but Lord Ranganatha snatched her away. Today your daughter Radha (Vasantha) is snatched away by Sai Ranga. Before the picture of Sri Andal I would say “You are my role model in life, I want to attain the Lord like you, with this body; please grant me this boon."As a general prayer, "All jeevas of this world! All aspects of creation! Jnanis, Bhakthas, Mukthas, Jeevan Mukthas, chiranjeevis, Siddhas, All Devatas!”, I bow before you all. This I utter everyday. Even if I forget, my lips would repeat them; that has become my second nature; that is the result of practice! Good habits can be built up by practice.If everyone of us could spend every second of our life time like this in divine thought, definitely we can enter the kingdomof God. Practice and detachment are important for spiritual sadhana. “Perhaps we could bind air and contain it; but not the five senses" lamented Arjuna. Sri Krishna then said in Geeta, "It is possible to control the senses by hard and continuous practice." It is not enough if you do it once, for one day and so on. Like a stream of oil, it should flow uninterrupted continuously. Doing it for a few days and leaving it totally is not practice!Vairagya (Detachment) relates to the stability of mind. Avoiding evil thoughts, keeping vigilance and remaining alert, is part of it. If you can discover a path, be it after a lot of your suffering, it becomes easy at least for others to follow. Why should I suffer and work hard like this? Only if I do tapas, others can arrive at this point to follow the Prema Marga.There is a temple on top of a hill. Someone discovers and makes all efforts to create a neat clean path to reach the temple. It may mean hard work for him. But it becomes very easy for others to follow the path and reach the temple. After I completed writing all this, I received the June issue of “Sanathana Sarathi” in which Swami wrote like this:‘A man without sathya and dharma is blind , because these are like the two eyes of man. All the shastras were born from the vision of these. Without the eyeball and the pupil, where is creation? Where are shastras? All shastras, Upanishads and vedas are born out of the love emanating from the heart of man. Whether one is a multi millionaire or pauper, Prema is important. This was spoken by Swami on the Easwaramma Day. I was praying that Sathya and Dharma should be my two eyes. Swami had written the same in the Sanatana Sarathi.When we get involved in sadhana in the name of sathya, definitely it will get the approval of Swami. Now Swami speaks more about Prema only.Likewise, “Na karmana na prajaya na dhanena thyage naika amrutatvamana su:” was quoted by me in this book. Swami echoed and wrote about sacrifice and approved of my statement. Also He says Atma in Prema.Daily, when I get up, very humbly, without any vanity or pride, I would pray to Him to grant me honesty, ahimsa and patience. This is my tapas, it is being done for the past 35 years. Anyone can follow this. Think of God all the 24 hours. That is it. No other extra effort. No need to run away to a forest or cave. Wherever and whatever you do, think of Him. That is sufficient.Watch the mind and correct it. Purify yourself and then start sadhana. Keep trying. God’s grace will definitelY flow in your direction. Anyone can practise this; that is the very purpose and goal of life.Sri Andal became one with Sri Ranganatha then; but now Vasantha Sai should merge with Krishna when she turns eighty. This is my prayer.It is only the job of routine daily cooking. The same fire, I consider as the sacred Homa fire. The oven itself is a Homa kunda. When you contemplate like this, you will get a power. Even small, ordinary and routine work, if you do it for Bhagavan, that becomes karma yoga. Only our attitude is important. “Yat bhavam tat bhavathi.” Thus, our daily routine work can be converted to yoga.

songsfromthesoul

SONGS FROM THE SOUL
The poems on this page are some of the outpourings from Her heart, over the course of many decades of Her yearning for Swami.
One of Radha's nineteen qulalities is her ever changing emotional nature. Here the piqued Radha chastises Yasodha for her lack of proper motherly care for her beloved Kanha ...
What kind of a mother are you Yashoda? You have hurt my dear Kanha!What... Did Yashoda hurt Krishna ... How?”You let Putana clutch my LordYou let an Asura snatch my KingYou let the neighbors complainYou let Him go cow herdingYou bound the One who breaks our bondageYou scared the Bud of beautyYou hit Him with a churner in rageOh what a pity!My heart bleeds to see His ruby feetOn the stones and thorns strewn arids.Alas! He is grazing cattleIn the snake and tiger lurking torridsTarrying with stick in handWeary on His errand, oh!Compared to you YashodaEven Kaikeyi wasn’t so harsh!
Oh fragrant breeze will you help me?Will you go to my Lord?He has forgotten me!He has forsaken me!Oh cool moon will you help me?Will you tell Him my plea?My dear Lord has forgotten me!He has forsaken me!Oh rain cloud will you help me?In his thought I know no sleepMy beloved Lord has forgotten me!He has forsaken me!Oh stars of heaven will you help me?At His feet I want to beMy divine Lord has forgotten me!He has forsaken me!Sleeplessly, I lamented in the nights Sending all those I saw as messengers.The pain of Prema is unimaginable,..It cannot be described in words. When one melts like this, God showers His Grace.

My yearning calls and criesHave brought Your blissful form.Prahlada created NarahariMy Prema created my Lord.Who gave Your body the fragrance of roses? I, with the call of my soul.Who made Your divine Lotus feet? I, with my desolate cries.Who drew Your enchanting face? I, with the flood of my tears.Oh! The beauty of Your bewitching smile Is it not the unending reign of my love?The redness of Your lipsIs the beauty of my devotion.Your teasing eyesYour name in my blood.Your dancing golden feetThe music in my heart.
I am a small straw floating in the flood of time.I am but one among the many living beings,A small bubble in the ocean.Swami reveals Himself in ever so many waysTo a poor insignificant soul like me.I pray to Him to reveal to all His divinity.
Of all the four yugas, Kali age is the best to experience the divine play.
Now, we are the most fortunate to have this chance.
Only a few knew of Rama and Krishna's divinity; but today the whole world knows Sri Sathya Sai Baba as the Parabrahma and gathers at His feet. Our past good deeds have brought us to His feet. Let us immerse ourselves in His ocean of mercy. His never-ending compassion flows to one and all.I have written a song about this:I am not Indra to behold Your splendour with a thousand eyes!I am not adishesha to sing Your Glory with a thousand tongues!I am not Karthaveerya to hold Your lotus feet with a thousand hands!I am born only as an ordinary mortal in this dark world!

सोंग्स फ्रॉम थे soul

SONGS FROM THE SOUL
The poems on this page are some of the outpourings from Her heart, over the course of many decades of Her yearning for Swami.
One of Radha's nineteen qulalities is her ever changing emotional nature. Here the piqued Radha chastises Yasodha for her lack of proper motherly care for her beloved Kanha ...
What kind of a mother are you Yashoda? You have hurt my dear Kanha!What... Did Yashoda hurt Krishna ... How?”You let Putana clutch my LordYou let an Asura snatch my KingYou let the neighbors complainYou let Him go cow herdingYou bound the One who breaks our bondageYou scared the Bud of beautyYou hit Him with a churner in rageOh what a pity!My heart bleeds to see His ruby feetOn the stones and thorns strewn arids.Alas! He is grazing cattleIn the snake and tiger lurking torridsTarrying with stick in handWeary on His errand, oh!Compared to you YashodaEven Kaikeyi wasn’t so harsh!
Oh fragrant breeze will you help me?Will you go to my Lord?He has forgotten me!He has forsaken me!Oh cool moon will you help me?Will you tell Him my plea?My dear Lord has forgotten me!He has forsaken me!Oh rain cloud will you help me?In his thought I know no sleepMy beloved Lord has forgotten me!He has forsaken me!Oh stars of heaven will you help me?At His feet I want to beMy divine Lord has forgotten me!He has forsaken me!Sleeplessly, I lamented in the nights Sending all those I saw as messengers.The pain of Prema is unimaginable,..It cannot be described in words. When one melts like this, God showers His Grace.

My yearning calls and criesHave brought Your blissful form.Prahlada created NarahariMy Prema created my Lord.Who gave Your body the fragrance of roses? I, with the call of my soul.Who made Your divine Lotus feet? I, with my desolate cries.Who drew Your enchanting face? I, with the flood of my tears.Oh! The beauty of Your bewitching smile Is it not the unending reign of my love?The redness of Your lipsIs the beauty of my devotion.Your teasing eyesYour name in my blood.Your dancing golden feetThe music in my heart.
I am a small straw floating in the flood of time.I am but one among the many living beings,A small bubble in the ocean.Swami reveals Himself in ever so many waysTo a poor insignificant soul like me.I pray to Him to reveal to all His divinity.
Of all the four yugas, Kali age is the best to experience the divine play.
Now, we are the most fortunate to have this chance.
Only a few knew of Rama and Krishna's divinity; but today the whole world knows Sri Sathya Sai Baba as the Parabrahma and gathers at His feet. Our past good deeds have brought us to His feet. Let us immerse ourselves in His ocean of mercy. His never-ending compassion flows to one and all.I have written a song about this:I am not Indra to behold Your splendour with a thousand eyes!I am not adishesha to sing Your Glory with a thousand tongues!I am not Karthaveerya to hold Your lotus feet with a thousand hands!I am born only as an ordinary mortal in this dark world!