Venture Beyond your Comfort Zone

By : Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji

In his masterpiece ‘Life of Sai Baba’, Sri Narasimha Swamiji refers to many parables from Sai Baba’s life. Similarly, in the ancient epics of Ramayana and Bhagawatha the lure has not dimmed. Each time I have read anything on Sai Baba or in the ancient epics, I have found something new.

One of my favourite domains is Sai Baba’s reference to previous births and in Mythology the existence of extraterrestrials and our interaction with them. Surprised? I do not know why you should be. Life is eternal, birth after birth unless we attain ‘Moksha.’ Similarly, Gods and Goddesses are there, right before us. We always assumed that deities’ extra limbs, heads and eyes are symbolic. Each explains of some virtue. But what if they were actual extraterrestrials with anatomy like ours, yet slightly different? Could they have travelled through space to earth and tried to replicate themselves? Many myths have subtle clues pointing to a story behind a story.

Let us travel back in time a bit. Revathi was the only daughter of a proud and powerful king called Kakudmi. He ruled the wealthy kingdom of Kusasthali which was under water but also included some land. This king was proud of his daughter and considered few to be worthy of her. So, he drew up a list of people and went along with his daughter to seek Brahma’s counsel. When they reached, Brahma was enjoying a dance of Gandharvas. Father and daughter waited patiently for Brahma’s attention. When the performance ended, King Kakudmi respectfully presented his request.

Brahma informed the king that the short time they had waited on this plane of existence was equal to four chatur yugas on earth and by this time all the eligible men would have passed away. Seeing the father’s downcast face, Brahma suggested that he find Balarama who had incarnated along with Krishna. He would make her an ideal husband. Happy to hear of this, father and daughter returned to earth and found Balarama. Because of the difference in their ages, Revathi was much taller than Balarama. So, he tapped her on the head, and she became more natural to that age.

Now zoom into the story. Did anything catch your attention? For example, did you find the time difference part odd? How can four chathur yugas pass away in such a short time? How is it possible unless the duo travelled out of the planet into space? Just like light travelling from the Sun to the Earth takes a certain time to reach, so will any human travelling time to voyage in outer space. For four chathur yugas to pass, imagine how far Brahma’s planet must have been?

Can you find any hint in this story? Are you adventurous or brave enough to look for a mystery in those ancient words? It requires an effort, but it can extremely rewarding, I assure you!

Many such anomalies lie hidden innocuously in the ‘Life of Sai Baba.’ One just needs to spot them, rather like fitting the parts in a puzzle. The next time you read on Sai Baba, read it with fresh perspective. Read between the lines and you will be surprised at the wonderful things you get to see!

One such hidden messages can be understood when we read about Sai Baba’s two sheep and a weak goat incident in which Shama grumbles, “Baba what kind of purchase is this? You paid sixteen rupees for a sheep worth not even three! You returned the sheep too and retained a dying goat! You have lost money and the sheep!” Baba explained: “Do you know the divine practicality of this bargain! They were brothers in the past birth! They loved each other! They would come to me always together – the elder one was a crazy chap! He did nothing to earn. The younger one was active and earned a lot. This made the elder brother envy his prosperity. Both started fighting over the money. One day that ended in killing each other with axes. The result was that they were born again– but as two sheep! It makes you suffer life after life! Seeing them today I took pity on them and so after feeding sent them away! In the story of Veerabhadrappa and Channabasappa, Sai Baba implicated a personal touch of three births.

Watch the way Sai Baba treated Mrs. Khaparde. Baba explained “Once she was a cow belonging to a Bania. Everybody was pleased with her sweet milk! Later she was born in a Mal family and then as a Kshatriya and now a Brahmin lady married to Khaparde! Everybody cooks food, but she puts her heart in it! She pours love in it! And with affection she serves it to all!”

We look at everything from our personal hologram. So, if we want to make a change it is just a question of shifting the hologram and perhaps out of our own comfort zones. Then the legend and stories come alive.