Realizing the Chicago Pilgrimage

Realizing the Chicago Pilgrimage

Practical Demonstration of Four Yogas 

People who were in Chicago during the weekend of November 15th, 2014, to attend the tenth year anniversary of Shirdi Sai temple of  Chicago (located in the Hampshire suburb), were definitely fortunate and blessed, without a doubt. Needless to say, it was a pilgrimage like no other for Sai devotees and followers of Guruji C.B Satpathy Ji.

            Of the many takeaways from this spiritual trip, this is one of them. Our trip started with some challenges. People across North America, New Zealand, Europe and India had booked their tickets flying in to Chicago. A week before the event, a rare polar vortex hit the upper Midwest breaking all records of winter temperatures pounding snow all over. The storm slowly approached the great lakes area and was forecast to hit Chicago with a snow storm, during the event. Travelers started getting all precautionary emails regarding the weather and had to prepare well for the trip. With devotion in their heart and faith in Sai, travelers and organizers both went ahead with the planning as scheduled. It was a test of Baba which surely did raise some concerns in the minds of devotees. 
             As it has always been, Baba's kids are always protected. It was evident as the weather became dry and sun was shining as people stared landing in Chicago. Faith conquered the first psychological challenge. As people reached Chicago, Guruji's Sai family started adding more and more members. The warmth of emotions and brotherhood was something to feel. Weather was challenging but not as harsh as expected. The protection of Baba was already reflecting.
              Swami Vivekananda had said " Every Soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature : External and Internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy - by one, or more, or all of these - and be free." As per the Vedanta philosophy and also practices prescribed by Shirdi Sai and Guruji, the four paths of yoga are - Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga. Shirdi Sai Temple Chicago is a true demonstration of the the paths mentioned above. This is how it goes - The temple complex was divided into distinct four parts each reflecting one of the four paths.

Bhakti Yoga - Divinity through worship. The main temple hall where Baba's statue resides, you can feel only one thing - the ever compassionate presence of Shirdi Sai Baba. What emanates from Baba's hall is pure and serene bhakti (devotion). His presence is in the life-like form of His statue in this temple. His compassionate love can be experienced in the hall filled with hundreds of portraits of characters associated with Shirdi Sai Baba during His stay in Shirdi. Also in this Hall, you would see Baba's paintings and photographs performing his divine leelas. Baba and His Bhaktas (Devotees) who saw the 'God who walked on earth', adorn this hall.

Jnana Yoga - Divinity through philosophy. Just below Baba's hall, there is 'Guru Sthan' - The abode of the Gurus. Photographs of many realized saints or Gurus from the past adorn the Guru Sthan. You will see Guruji C. B Satpathy Ji's portrait above entry to Guru Sthan. These Gurus with their divine knowledge had transformed the society and still guide millions of people towards God realization through the Jnana or knowledge imparted. Their divine knowledge acts as the lighthouse for millions of souls drifting in the ocean of Maya.

Raja Yoga - Divinity through psychic control. Adjacent to the main temple, there is a meditation hall. Baba with a hookah adorn this hall generating a divine and serene environment for devotees to meditate on God. Raja yoga is the practice of meditation.  The meditation hall is the place to practice the same.

Karma Yoga - Divinity through work. Adjacent to the meditation hall is another building which houses the temple office and kitchen. All of Baba's work in the temple and reaching out to devotees across the globe is being carried out here. During the event, the volunteers in the basement kitchen incessantly fed thousands of devotees every single day, only with devotion towards Baba and selfless service without any thought of gain or reward. Such is the work done every week in the Baba's temple for years. The true path of divinity through service to mankind is reflected here.

                 After having visited Chicago temple and having experienced this in person, its is needless to say that  in the background of all the events, there lied a powerful message of Guruji and Baba which people would sooner or later start to realize more divinity as they revisit the Chicago events in their mind in the months to come.

What do we seek from God ?

Recently a friend of mine said “ Please pray to Baba to bless me for my exams” And I said spontaneously “ Baba’s blessings are always with us, we just don’t realize It” As I said that , it brought two interesting questions to my mind.

1) First – Do Baba’s blessing(s) come for specific  purpose(s)?

When we seek blessings for our sick child, our healing of sorrows, for success in a venture, for help in desperation, does the Supreme Lord bless us then and there with some powers that cater only to solve the problem we sought help for? I am amazed sometimes to think that over and over again we have been trying to realize the formless and unlimited God and still seek for packaged blessings for small little things and hurdles in our life. Why? If God who is infinite, who is ‘One’, chooses to bless His devotees , why would He chose to bless with finite and multiple blessings for innumerable times we seek? If after all, the sole purpose of God’s blessing(s) is raising our consciousness and uplifting the soul in us, wouldn't it be justified that blessing (and not blessings) come as one?  It’s just the limitation of human memory  that we keep forgetting -  He, the creator and operator of the universe is always present in us and governing us. He being aware of both happiness and sorrows, the giver of both gain and pain is always blessing us. We just need to realize the blessing in every moment we live.

2) Second – Are Baba’s blessings time bound?

We mostly reach out to God begging when the situation propels us to. In the best of out time, we hardly feel the necessity of seeking help from anyone, leave alone God. Only when things start getting out of our hand and incidents beyond our understanding, we get desperate and feel the necessity of some powerful God to hold our hand, to comfort us and save us. We expect a miracle to happen. Parambrahma or the Supreme God is timeless then how come His blessings come to action within limited boundaries of time defined by human beings?  He who governs births and rebirths of living beings, He who governs the creation-destruction-reconstruction of universes, He who operates beyond the human time, how can His blessing be time bound?

With our limited wisdom we categorize moments and situations to be pleasure  vs pain, happiness vs remorse, gain vs loss and react accordingly. Why do we differentiate good as the blessing and unpleasant as a curse? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves before we seek His blessing any given day.

Relevance of Guruji in our lifetime

The relevance and purpose of birth of Saints and Sadgurus on this earth is completely beyond the comprehension of mankind. For a layman like me, this could be my vain attempt in trying to write this article. Before I start, I seek forgiveness from Sri Sainath and Guruji for writing something purely out of my imagination which sprouted from the very limited knowledge that I have gained in my life. I would like to quote from Bhagwat Gita:

paritraanaaya sadhuunaam vinaashaaya chadushkritaam |

dharma samsthaapanaarthaaya sambhavaami yuge yuge ||

Meaning - For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the evil and for the establishment of dharma (righteousness), I (the Lord) am born from age to age.

                         Very fortunate are we who have been born to live in the era of Guruji Chandra Bhanu Satpathy Ji. It is one thing to be guided and and inspired by spiritual books but being in the direct contact of a spiritual master like Guruji brings a completely different perspective to one's spiritual journey. Similar would have been the experiences of devotees and followers who had come in contact with Sai Baba at Shirdi, Sri Ramakrishna at Dakhineswar, Anandamayee Maa at Haridwar. Many experiences of the devotees get documented and many more which stays only in the memories of the witnesses. It wont be long when tales and experiences of followers with Guruji will become a remarkable Grantha in the spiritual world. 

Shirdi Sai and other Sadgurus:
                    The relevance of saints and spiritual masters has always been tied to the time or era in which they walked the earth in a human body. There is always predetermined relevance about the time of their birth, self realization, spirit evolution, becoming a social inspiration, becoming a spiritual guide for devotees, entering Mahasamadhi (leaving the human body and merging with the Param Brahma, the ultimate reality), and then becoming the spiritual lighthouse for all generations to come. From the pre-historic times, through the middle ages and the modern day world, each master had specific purpose for their descent on earth. All events surrounding a spiritual master mostly seem to be mere coincidences to a layman. 
                    As we all know from Guruji, Baba appeared at Shirdi, India at the time of the confluence of three religions - Hinduism from prehistoric times, Islam brought by the Mughal empire and Christianity brought by the British rule. As with many saints, religious rules were broken, the traditional ways of worship was questioned, differentiating factors across religious lines were dissolved. People from all walks of life irrespective of their religious beliefs and caste and language came together under the umbrella of Sri Sainath. People who came in contact changed and evolved. They started throwing their weaknesses and practices which obstructed them from accepting others who were different. Love and affection towards people, focus on one and ultimate nirakaar God while worshiping their own deity(sakaar) was being realized. Charity, benevolence and tolerance started to take precedence, the utmost qualities one needs to develop for God realization.
                   Similarly Ramakrishna's transcendental love and longing for Maa Kali at Dakhineswar and later becoming  a Paramhansa had it's influence in the lives of millions around the world. He practiced and experienced all other religions , yet was beyond them. The greatest of Sri Ramakrishna's disciple, Swami Vivekananda de-intellectualized himself in order to realize the omnipresent and omniscience God. He became the foremost torchbearer to expand the vedanta philosophy in the whole world. It was time when missionaries considered it necessary for Indians to learn and follow a global religion, Vivekananda's speech at the Parliament of Religions in 1893 amazed the whole world.The western religious leaders and philosophers were left baffled at what young Vivekananda had to say. Vivekananda's talks on Hindu philospohy and vedanta studies on universal acceptance, tolerance and, how all religions merge into one ocean of God realization would soon become the epitome of 'Oneness of God and universality of religions'. Similar are the lives of Ramana Maharshi, Anandamayee Maa, Kabir, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and other sadgurus..

Spirituality Today:
                    In this age of tele-communication and internet, spirituality and acceptance by the society has been facing unthinkable challenges. With the advent of television, started the mass broadcast of religion with customized discourses, religious gatherings, yoga camps and meditation. Catch words were created and they made their way into the common man's dictionary and psyche. Seekers now need not travel far way to visit holy lands or experience spiritual awakening. They were available on the television which could be enjoyed relaxing on the couch. Religion, yoga, merchandise, gemstones etc. came in a package for the modern day devotee. People got more indulged into rituals and practices they never were able to comprehend.

Guruji Chandra Bhanu Satpathy:

Guruji who on one hand is a successful family man, a respected administrator, an admired writer and poet is also a realized soul of the highest order. I could only imagine one of his many purpose to have come to our lives.I believe, He comes to cleanse the process of spiritual seeking in this era of commercialized spirituality. Time had come to show the world the reality and explain the true meaning of God seeking.The mythical world created by numerous present day Gurus with their self proclaimed God realization and building an empire around them are growing. People's faith in the ultimate God is being tested as they get lured into the corporate level marketing of spirituality. Shirdi Sai Baba's philosophy of simplicity in the path of God seeking through one's actions in day to day life has become the greatest of the mantras. It could not have been more relevant than what it is today. Through his books, music and discourses, Guruji is spreading the much needed SAIISM in the world.  Guruji through his work has touched millions of lives around the world and is inspiring millions to follow the same path - Being in this mundane world, in your limited lifetime, you can realize God through love and respecting people of all faiths in the world. Difference of opinion should not lead to difference of mind. By self correction and being self less, you can achieve self realization. By understanding death, you will understand the value of your life. 'Bhava' is more important than rituals and mantras. Being spiritual means expansion of one's consciousness. Acceptance rather than rejection is the tool for evolution. In order to get Sadguru's kindness, you have to be kind to others.
                         One would need a separate book to record all of his teachings and philosophies. I have stated a few lines. Through his epic Guru Bhagawat which is a five part series explains in detail the simpler aspects of spirituality and the different realms of Guru-Shishya relationship. A true sense of religion and bhakti can be experienced in all of his books and music alike. The misconceptions pertaining to one's own religion and associated practices can be removed if one studies Guruji's work. His discourses on simplicity of bhakti towards your Guru are eye openers. One who follows Guruji would definitely realize how omnipresent he is and how active Sri Sainath of Shirdi is from his tomb. He continues to give directions to many seekers, holds the hand of the distressed, comforts the sorrows of his followers, takes care of all like a mother and gives strength like a father. He stands like a light house for the drifting souls until they reach the ultimate shore.

Question, Devotion, Exploration

Many times we come across this question on How to develop a steady faith on someone? How to focus on the teachings of a Sadguru? How to increase devotion towards your Guru and Paramatma? How to believe in what you see? How to find the hidden divine purpose in events, both joyous and unfortunate in our lives?
A simple answer to all these questions is a steadfast devotion. And the only way to develop this and is proven in my life is a through a three step method.

Controlling the Mind:             
                 Step one is the most difficult of all. It is to shut down your mind, in other words, to control your mind and put the question generating machine to a dormant state. Mind is like a volcano which generates innumerable questions. We fail to find answers to many questions that arise which in turn creates confusion leading to frustration and disbelief. In its most active form, the volcanic mind would gush out hot lava of inquiries about everything we see and want to believe. Mind as its functionality was design to be inquisitive and hence question. But when not in control, this volcanic eruptions of questions hinders the growth of belief. Once we can control this mind and make it dormant, we can focus on the next step.

Devotion in Heart:
             The next step is something which would not need an effort and practice like the first step. It is of devotion. Devotion comes out of knowing, believing and slowly increasing the faith in what you know. Growth of faith in our Guru is a continual process and it develops in every heart throughout our life in various ways. Once in a while there will be someone who will show you the path. We get ample opportunities in getting introduced to your Guru. You will experience this many times in your life. With appropriate understanding you will be able to chose your perfect master and you will realize the perfect moment. There will be a divine intervention. Now that you have controlled your mind, your devotion in your master will grow without a single question. If you have questions midway in this phase of developing faith, either you have not chosen the perfect master or else you have not fully controlled your mind. Let this faith grow into devotion which will fill your heart and touch your soul. We should then learn and practice what our Guru teaches. We have to take His guidance in exploring the spiritual world, holding His hand. Every single day from here on, the journey will be pleasant and spirit will rise. We will be at peace with ourselves and ready for the next step.

Conscious Exploration:
            This is the stage of exploration. I believe when we are soaked in the pure devotion of our Guru and have taken on the path shown by Him, our mind is ready to explore every dimension of Dharma, the universal law. Exploration leads to questions, but having come this far, our questions are now directed towards learning rather than creating conflicts in the mind. These conscious questions are generated in the confluence of the controlled mind and the devotional heart. The exploring phase of questions now become the tools to study religions, spiritual books, the masters, the yogis, the practices, the beliefs across the world. By exploring the lives of other spiritual practitioners, we can not only get some of their joy but also will help us gain skills helpful in our own search. Every question in this stage will help us purify our thoughts and elevate our consciousness towards Him. We would be able to see that all the religions and all the practices eventually merge and the conflicts will diminish slowly and slowly. The questions that once created confrontation in the first step will now be able to generate smile in your face. At this stage, the questions come with answers. Every moment from here on will boost you with knowledge and that in turn will increase your devotion, until you find Him.