BIRTH AND REBIRTHS

[Guest guest]

SAI ON BIRTH AND REBIRTHS

ABOUT SAIBANISA:

Om Sri Ganeshayanamaha, Om Sri Saraswathyainamaha, Om Sri Samardha

Sadhguru Sainadhayanamaha.In those days, with the divine blessings of

Sri Shirdi Sai,Hemadripanth and Dasagunu maharaj took upon the task

of spreading Shirdi Sai's philosophy, much earlier to Baba's attaining

Mahasamadhi.Later many devotes continued the tradition by adopting

three methods i.e. by writing about Baba's Leelas,by singing songs

praising Baba and by delivering discourses on His saintliness,

including the human touch practiced and preached by Baba to utmost

perfection.

Presently, one of His devotees, Sri Ravada Gopala Rao, well known by

many people and fondly addressed as SAI BANISA is devotedly engaged in

spreading Shirdi Sai's philosophy by delivering discourses about Sai Baba.

He was born in the year 1946 to Smt Ravada Venkata Ramanamma and

Ravada Venkata Rao.He took voluntary retirement from Government

Service at the age of 54 yrs and since then he is working for the

noble cause of spreading Shirdi Sai's philosophy. He started

delivering discourses in India and abroad in his mother tongue Telugu

as well as in English, Which were well received.

He delivered lectures on " Sai Tatva " in English at Chicago in the year

2000 and at Orlando in the year 2003 in United States of America .He

was invited there for delivering lectures on Shirdi Sai under the

auspices of " SAI UTSAV " organised by Vishwa Sai Bhakta Sammelan.

He is bestowed with the unique quality of taking references from the

great Epics and Mythology and the art of co-relating them with the

incidents drawn from Sri Sai Satcharita, authored by Hemadripanth,

with convincing examples. He is a widely read man with sufficient

insight into the inner depths 0f the life style of the great Saint of

our times –Shirdi Sai Baba.

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Om Sri Ganeshayanamaha, Om Sri Saraswathyainamaha, Om Sri Samardha

Sadhguru Sainadhayanamaha

Baba in chapters- 10 and 15 of Sri Sai Satcharita said that He is

servant of His devotees and that HE can be found in everybody's

hearts. Before proceeding to the actual topic, I request you to accept

my humble pranams as Saibanisa.

The topic chosen for today's discourse is centred on Atma,

Paramatma, Birth and Rebirth as told by Lord Sri Krishna in Srimadh

Bhagavad-Gita and by Lord Sainath in Sri Sai Satcharita. I will also

be covering some of my experiences that I have undergone with Sainath

during meditation. I shall consider myself a blessed soul if my

efforts to make you understand the facts about janma and punarjanma.

Sri Sai used to advise His devotees to read Jnaneswari. In the chapter

41 of Sri Sai Satcharita. Baba had made one of His ardent devotees

B.V.Deo to read Jnaneswari. Marathi speaking people call Bhagavad-Gita

as Jnaneswari. Initially Deo was not able to understand anything from

Bhagavad-Gita. Baba appeared in the dream of B.V.Deo on 2nd April,

1914 and briefed him the method to be followed for reading

Bhagavadgita. Thereby Baba helped B.V.Deo in his spiritual growth.

Therefore I would like to make a beginning with Birth, rebirth, Atma,

and Paramatma as mentioned in the Sankyayoga, the second chapter of

Srimadh Bhagavad-Gita. Later I will touch upon the same subject matter

as covered in Sai Satcharita. Please listen with attention.

In Slokas 12 and 13 of chapter-2, i.e. Sankhya yoga of Srimadh

Bhagavad-Gita.

……………………………………………………………………….

Sri Krishna said- " Oh Arjuna! There is no moment when either of us is

non-existent. We will continue our existence even in the coming

future. Atma, the soul is permanent and always present. Death comes

only to the physical body. The Jivatma inside the body undergoes all

experiences in different phases of one's life span like Balya,

yauvvana, koumarya, and vardhakya. Jivatama after destruction of the

body enters into another body. Therefore a courageous man will not be

affected by the happenings in the surroundings.

In Slokas 18 and 19 from chapter-2 of Srimadh Bhagavad-Gita.

……………………………………………………………………….

All that appears in a physical form has to come to an end whereas

Jivatama has no end. Be aware of this simple fact and participate in

the War. Those who believe that Atma is responsible for the killings

and Atma in turn can be killed by others are both in the state of

ignorance. In reality Atma can neither engage in killing others nor

can be killed by others.

In Slokas 20 and 21 from chapter-2 of Srimadh Bhagavad-Gita.

………………………………………………………………………

Atma never takes birth at any given time. As said earlier, Atma

neither has a beginning nor an end. Atma is permanent, as old as time

immemorial. Atma inside the body has no death. Oh! Partha! How can a

man fully knowing this truth, be the cause of death for anybody's Atma

which keeps moving from one body to another. Atma therefore cannot be

destroyed, is permanent, and itself does not undergo any life and

death process.

In Slokas 22 and 23 from chapter-2 of Srimadh Bhagavad-Gita.

……………………………………………………………………………

Just as a man wears new clothes after discarding the torn and old

ones, Jivatama leaves the present physical body after the death, and

enters into another new body.

Atma cannot be destroyed by weapons, fire, water and even wind.

In Slokas 24 and 25 from chapter-2 of Srimadh Bhagavad-Gita.

……………………………………………………………………………

Atma can neither be split into parts nor is penetrable. Atma is

permanent, stable and static in nature. Atma cannot be perceived by

Indriyas, and beyond the reach of mind. Oh Arjuna! Therefore there is

no point in lamenting after knowing fully the truth about Atma.

In Slokas 26 and 27 from chapter-2 of Srimadh Bhagavad-Gita.

……………………………………………………………………………

Oh Arjuna! Even if you think that Atma has life and death, do not

grieve. Everybody having born has to die some day or other. Every one

dying has to be reborn again. Do not grieve over unnecessary matters.

In Slokas 5 and 6 from chapter-4 i.e.jnana, Karma and Sanyasa yoga of

Srimadh Bhagavad-Gita.

……………………………………………………………………………

Oh Arjuna! You may not be aware that our association is carried over

from many janmas over a number of years. I know all about our past.

Only I am free from all these common happenings. Like Atma, I also

have neither a beginning nor an end. I take different forms with my

Yoga Shakti, and keep everything under my control.

The same message is conveyed by Baba in chapter-36 of Sri Sai

Satcharita to Shyama " Shyama-You are with me for the past seventy two

janmas. Can you recall a single event when I hurt you " ?

Again in the chapter -3 of Sri Sai Satcharita, Baba said to his devotees:

" I am the ruler to control the Indriyas, mind and body of people. I

live in everybody's hearts. My presence is spread all over the living

life. Every action in this universe moves and happens with my command.

I am the cause and effect of all the happenings. I am the Jaganmatha

and I am the symbol for Trigunas. I am the Srusti-Sthithi, layakaraka " .

Baba therefore in Kaliyug has conveyed the same message as was

conveyed by Lord Sri Krishna to Arjuna in Srimadh Bhagavad-Gita.

So far I was talking about Atma which neither has a beginning nor an

end as told in Bhagavad-Gita. I would now like to place before you my

view points on the topic, as understood by me.

Initially, when process of creation had begun, Atmas have emerged from

one single source that is Paramatma. God has created fixed number of

Atmas. The numbers of Atmas merging in God are one in billions and

billions and nature had its own mechanism to auto correct the minimal

unbalance so created.

In Ramayan to avenge the killing of its kith and kin by Kaikeyi

maharaj, the lady deer was born as Mandhara. As per chapter-27of Sri

Sai Satcharita, a cow was born as Lakshmi khaparde after doing good

deeds continuously in the next five janmas.

I will place one more example before you. In Mahabharatha, princess by

name Amba was born as Sikhandi to take revenge on Bhishma.

In chapter- 47 of Sai Sai Satcharita, a lady by name Dubaki was born

as Chenna basappa to take revenge on Veera bahdrappa.

A sage by name Jadabharata was having special attachment towards a

deer cub in his ashram. After death he was reborn as a deer to

continue his attachment towards the deer cub.

In the chapter- 46 of Sri Sai Satcharita, Chenna basappa and Veera

bhadrappa were born as snake and frog and continued their enmity.

One thing that gets clear is that there is no guarantee that a human

being will be born as a human being after death. But one thing is sure

that human beings can be born as animals and vice versa can also

happen depending upon their karmic deeds. So the sum total of the

Atmas remains the same as that was at the time of creation.

Baba in the chapter- 42 of Sri Sai Satcharita had said that same Atma

is inside the bodies of human beings as well as animals. There is no

change in the characteristics. Let us recollect what Baba had said to

Lakshmi. Baba said- " Lakshmi, why are you disturbed unnecessarily?

Satisfying the hunger of dog is as good as feeding me. Even a dog has

Atma. Form of Life is different, but everybody feels the hunger in

the same way " . Thus Baba concluded that Atma in human beings and

animals is one and the same.

For a moment, Let us draw our attention to what scientists said on

this aspect. We know that certain types of living life are slowly

vanishing. In other words, their Atmas are getting migrated into human

bodies and perhaps, leading to an increase in human population. Atmas

in animals with their good conduct and behaviour are born as human

beings. Therefore, we should always aim to be born as human beings in

our next birth also.

Also our elders have said that Atmas in human beings demonstrate

outstanding qualities on a continuous basis, through out their life

shall merge with Paramatma. As an example, let us take the history of

Druva from Bhagavtham. He ruled his kingdom extremely well for Twenty

six thousand years .With the blessings from Sri Maha Vishnu became a

star in the sky, named after him as Druvatara. In chapter- 31 of Sri

Sai Satcharita, we can come across one such personality, Tatya sahib

Noolkar. Baba grievingly said at the time of his death, " Tatya had

left before us. He has no rebirth " . In this way, Baba has granted

Sadgathi to some of his devotees.

Let us listen to

In Slokas 3 and 30 from chapter-7 i.e. Jnana, Vijnana

yoga--------------------of Srimadh Bhagavad-Gita " .

Lord Sri Krishna said-

" Only one or two out of thousands of my devotees put efforts to know

me. Very rarely one from such a lot realise the 'Real Me'. Only such

people knowing me and My Swaroopa with efforts shall merge in me to

set themselves free from the endless cycle of birth and rebirth once

for all.

Let us now see to what Baba said about rebirths in the chapter -31 of

Sri Sai Satcharita. A sick tiger was brought to Baba's darbar by its

keepers. Baba said- " This tiger in the previous life was a human being

indebted to you. It was born as a tiger and cleared all your previous

debts and attained Sadgathi in Dwarakamayi " .

Prof.G.G.Narke, one of the ardent devotees of Baba was Principal of

Deccan Engineering College, Pune. Baba appeared in one of his dreams

and showed him a man cutting woods. Baba said- " Narke, this man was

your friend from the previous janma. You indulged in good activities

in the past life, now studied well to become the Principal of an

Engineering college. Whereas the other man by virtue of his bad deeds

carried over from the previous janma is presently leading the life of

a wood cutter to earn his livelihood " . Narke considered this as a mere

dream. After few days he visited Dwarakamayi to have Baba's darshan,

strangely by coincidence a wood cutter entered Dwarakamayi, who

supplied firewood for the dhuni in Dwarakamayi. Baba called upon Narke

and told him " he is your friend from the previous janma. You buy

firewood for Rs2/- from him " . Narke was dumbstruck by the words of Baba.

Now I will place before you an incident from the book titled " The

Incredible Sai' by Arthur Osborne. Once a boy was bitten by a snake in

Shirdi and collapsed. Mother of the boy carried the body and placed it

before Sai and prayed Him to save the boy. Baba had not agreed to her

request. Kaka sahib dikshit was unable to bear the site of grieving

mother and pleaded on her behalf with Baba to save the boy, but in

vain. Sai said- " I can save him, but it is better for the boy that he

dies. He has already entered into the womb of another woman. After

rebirth, he is going to perform many good deeds, which he cannot do

living in his present body. I have to put back life into him now at

the cost of the life already begun in another woman's womb. I can do

all this for your sake, but can anyone take the responsibility " ?

All those gathered there were astonished and ultimately convinced the

mother and performed the last rites for the dead body.

Here I may have to talk about few incidents to make things more clear.

Baba saved Shyama from the snake bite. The reason being that Shyama in

this life had to complete many more good works left undone in this

life. Baba in the boy's case had not agreed to save the life because;

the boy has many more good deeds to be performed in his coming janma.

Baba in the year 1886, on a full moon day, had left his physical body

in the state of Yoga Kriya Samadhi for seventy two hours and

re-entered his body later. With all this it can be concluded that

there is no death for Atma.

Baba in the chapter -32 of Sri Sai Satcharita said, " This body will go

into the earth. Breath will disappear into air. There can be no such

opportunity again. I may go anywhere, may sit anywhere " . It means that

some day or other, one has to leave the body to take rebirth again.

Therefore from Lakhs of years, Baba's Atma is taking many janmas and

continue in future also.

A man dying in one form means to be reborn in some other form. It is

only a process of shifting as far as Atma is concerned.

I entered into Sai's fold from the year 1989 and since then I am in

the habit of regular reading of Sri Sai Satcharita. I happened to pray

him on one night to indicate as to how my next janma would be.

The dream contents are very interesting and I would like to share them

with you. The day Atma leaves the body means physical death. Atma

entering into another body means rebirth.

In the dream, I was shown with a visual. My Atma holding the hand of

Sadhguru crossed a forest, a river and then a mountain top. On the top

of the mountain, was a Fort with four minarets. As per our traditions,

we engage in Godhaan on the tenth day of death to see that Atma

crosses Vytharani River without facing any difficulty. It is general

belief that Atma holds the tail of the cow and swims across Vytharani

River.

After crossing the river, Atma reaches the fort with four minarets.

Fort is symbolic with the life of a human being. The four minarets are

the four qualities to be achieved in human life. They are: Dharma,

Artha, Kama and Moksha. A man can earn the first three with his

efforts, but the fourth one Moksha is to be attained only with the

grace of Sadhguru. Holding the hand of Sadhguru Atma reached up to the

fourth one, tallest of all minarets. Sadhguru stopped there and

told- " I will not come beyond this point with you. Reach the Lotus feet

of the Lord chanting His name. But keep in mind not to look down " .

Here I would like to remind you about what is mentioned in our

Puranas. " Chanting the name of the Lord or the name of the Sadhguru in

divine form will ferry one across the ocean full of difficulties.

My Atma then promised to stick to the Guru's advice and then commenced

further journey, i.e. walking into the sky. But the curiosity to look

down towards the earth has dominated. I ignored Guru's advice only to

fall down to ground from the sky and quickly re-entered into the womb

of another woman. Atma had failed to heed to the words of the Sadhguru

and thus a beginning is made for one more new janma. As far as Atma is

concerned, it is rebirth.

So far we have understood the underlying aspects of birth and rebirth

with examples drawn from Bhagavad-Gita, Sri Sai Satcharita, by

Hemadripanth, and from the book " The Incredible Sai " by Arthur

Osborne.You can obtain this discourse with Sanskrit Slokas in AUDIO

-CD from

saibanisa@...

and with these words I will close my discourse on Sai on births and

rebirths.