By: Seetha ‘Priya’
The only person we must live with, all through our lives, is ourselves. That is why the first person we need to make peace with, is our own self. Do we have the strength to be alone? Do we look at ourselves compassionately? Do we spend time enriching our inner selves? Or, do we berate and belittle ourselves?
If we are leading a flawed existence, we will have many mental and emotional forces working against us. That is one reason why people run away from themselves. They do this in various ways. Some over socialize or go from one activity to another without pausing and leaving time to breathe. Everything is one big rush, with a packed schedule of engagements and things to do.
Rushing around, we have little time to think. This can affect our personality development and spiritual evolution. But the moment realization sets in that self-discovery requires an investment of time and energy, we seek moments of privacy, we invest time in spiritual pursuits, we set aside some time and we turn to Vishnu Sahasranama, meditation – all ways to discover our real selves.
The tenth shloka of Vishnu Sahasranama is an eye-opener in this aspect.
‘Sureshah Sharanam Sharma Vishwaretah Prajabhavah
Ahah Samvatsaro Vyalah Pratyayah Sarvadarshanah’
Lord Vishnu is ‘Suresha’ the Lord of Devas, is the refuge for all as ‘Sharana’, He is the blissful ‘Sharma’ and happens to be ‘Vishwaretah’ the cause and source of the Universe. He is ‘Prajabhava’ the source of all beings. He is ‘Aha’ the day, ‘Samvatsara’ the year, ‘Vyala’ difficult to grasp, Absolute Consciousness ‘Pratyaya’ who is Omnispective ‘Sarvadarshanah’.
When we trace the lives of Nana Saheb Chandorkar and Dasa Ganu Maharaj we find them to be great apostles of Sai Baba. Initially, they refused to even bow down to Sai Maharaj. The author of Sai Satcharita, Hemadpant was through and through a non-believer. In all these great devotees we find that they have developed a single gift or a few gifts and made it to the top. Earlier the life of such people was in a mess and it was Sai Baba who blessed them meaningfully with a blissful life.
Some would like to make a 360-degree turn once they realize who they really are. That becomes difficult. Some have this realization at the time of impending death. Since we are creatures of long habits, it becomes difficult to all of a sudden change direction.
Once we are in the quest for self-discovery, we begin to think differently. We realize the newness of life every morning. We do not always hit sixes, but we are able, to some extent, to control our lives and make amends for what went wrong.
Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji prescribed Vishnu Sahasranama as the great means of ‘self-discovery’. It is the kind of power that comes from living a good life. When we discover our true selves, our attitudes to work and play will change. We will not feel the need to run away from every mistake we may have made, and neither will we rest on our laurels. Instead, we will find that we relate to others and all beings in the universe in a much more meaningful way.
Vishnu Sahasranama will make us feel less and less, the need to compare ourselves to others. Comparison can be unhealthy when it makes us feel inadequate, jealous, or envious of the success of others. That is because we have not discovered our self-worth.
Sri Narasimha Swamiji states “Self-worth is not about reaching the top. Self-worth is all about discovering our own potential and co-ordinates. There is a purpose and a divine plan for each of us. In the fulfillment of that plan lies our true destiny. We will then no longer feel the urge to run away from ourselves because we will have discovered the secret in the inner core of our beings that makes us face everything in the best way possible without fear or ill-feeling.
A few of Sai Baba’s assurances are:
“Without some special bonds of past lives, no one comes to us. May it be a dog, pig, or a fly. So do not repulse anybody.” (Sai Satcharita – Chapter 3, Ovi-81)
“How will anyone be longing for worldly pleasures, who thinks of my name, worships me, studies me, whose holy readings are of me, who meditates on me and who continuously thinks of me?” (Sai Satcharita – Chapter 3, Ovi-16)
“I am under my devotees’ obligations. I am always beside them. I am always hungry for love. I am at their beck and call.” (Sai Satcharita – Chapter 11, Ovi-76).
“Unless I so desire who can cross his threshold? Who will get ‘darshan’ by his own volition or come to Shirdi (Sai Satcharita – Chapter 35, Ovi-153-154)?
“None can come here unless I bring him” (Sai Satcharita – Chapter 35, Ovi-153).
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