Till last hour of his visit to Omaha, I was not sure whether Swamijee would be visiting us in Omaha. It is because it was a visit long awaited, so desperately needed and filled with such an enormous pour of blessings & ecstasy that I had never imagined that it would ever be true as a living experience in my life. Anyway, my (physical) family (self, wife, Pratima; daughter, Pooja; and son, Atul) were at least 1-2 minutes away from his feet touching Omaha and our meeting. Pratima had been so tirelessly preparing for the visit for last two weeks that she was at the Airport only for the joy of receiving him personally. [Hope such moments come again and again in our life]. Pratima was so much exhausted that, had it not been for Swamijee, she would not have the strength to come to Airport and continue further. Swamijee had blessed her and the moment we sat in the van, she experienced the power of upward movement of energy from the Kundalini as was taught to others couple of weeks back in Kundalini Yoga sessions conducted by another Spiritual Teacher at the Hindu Temple in Omaha. She was all energized and had no trace of any exhaustion from that time on till about 3 am we were with Swamijee uninterrupted! That is the power of his grace, presence and blessings and the result of the receptivity by devotees!
It is very difficult to describe the experiences in words, neither spiritual experience should be revealed outright to others. Still I would try my best to put couple of things in right perspective.
I have been a follower of Sri Aurobindo & the Mother (Pondicherry) since 1971. Last year (April 1998) when I first talked to Swamijee on phone while he was in Chicago, it was only on the instruction of the Mother. When Swamijee first entered our house, he said: "As if I am entering a temple." The presence of the Divine Mother is there all the time unless I am unaware of the Presence. And since Swamijee stayed in the room and moved around the house, very often I feel his presence. Surprisingly, while Swamijee was taking rest in Atul’s room, since the next day, Atul would designate that room as "Baba’s Room" and Atul would address him as "BABA." None of us taught him (2.5years old) to call Swamijee, Baba. This is the power of receptivity of an innocent child to the presence of Divine’s Grace.
Since the day he sang Bhajans in our house during Puja (Worship), the whole house is, as though, vibrating with the same sound echoing and reechoing all the time. Even if we are working or driving, his voice of Bhajans would be heard all the time from inside our hearts…it is so clear and candid as if he has been sitting inside and singing constantly. That is the third state of the Transcendental Meditation (the Mantra Recitation Technique of Meditation). At this stage, you need not forcibly utter the "mantra" with your lips, or repeat the "mantra" inside, rather the inner being keeps repeating the "mantra" uninterrupted all the time without you making any effort. This is the power of His invisible Presence and Grace, "the Divine is the worship and the Divine is the worshiper." as per Geeta. It is the Divine who does Sadhana/ Tapasya in you as per Sri Aurobindo. It has been not only our experience but that of many friends as well who visited Swamijee this time in Omaha.
Only recitation of Sanskrit Shlokas, "mantras" and performing rituals cannot be considered worship of God. Only lectures and discourses on Geeta, Poorans, Upnishads and Vedas cannot be considered worship of God. Rather any form of prayer in any language and in any corner of the universe is meditation and worship of God. Do you think that the recitation of passages from the Vedas by a Hindu would only please God and not the stanzas from Bible and prayers of a Christian? Devotional songs were the only means of prayer and worship for Meera, Tukaram and Gorang Maha-Prabhoo to Lord Krishna. The Path of Devotion (Bhakti Yoga) in Kaliyooga is also considered the quickest and easiest way to Divine Realization in this Yooga (era of universe). Swamijee seems to teach this path in the simplest way. Swamijee synthesizes the two Paths of Yoga – the Path of Knowledge and Devotion- simultaneously in his worship session. He lights up the lamp, offers flowers to God and sits down to converse with devotees (lovers of God, not necessarily followers of him) and also sings devotional songs now and then. It is a unique and marvelous synthesis of the two branches of Yoga (unification of yourself with Divine’s Consciousness). During conversation with devotees he would talk many past things with details -sometimes- without making very "personal". [Many people think it too personal, then for such people, better not attend his session.] The bottom line is: how are you going to believe that the Presence of God is everywhere and Divine is also manifesting through this human form (Swamijee), if he cannot give you such evidence by talking about the past of several unconnected and countless people who have never met him till date?? On the contrary, if he talks only about your future, are you going to believe him since he has not substantiated his integrity and truth with his observation of your past life??? That is the reason, I believe, he always talks about both your past and future -- the "past" to lay a foundation of your belief on him and God, and the "future" to convey that the manifestation of God is always there to guide you if you are open to Him.
Nothing is unknown in front of him. You are truly transparent in front of him. Don’t show your intellectual wisdom and knowledge in front of him, neither try to "test" him about him manifesting a form of God. He always says: "God can manifest through you, me, him, her and anybody." " It is God, Baba who is talking to you." But if you truly don’t believe Him and are unable to perceive His Presence, it is due to your level of spiritual growth and evolution. It is exactly like the condition that most of the second generation children of Indian origin believe that their parents -whether "brain surgeons" or top-notch rocket scientists- are simply wasting their time by visiting temples or listening to Bhajans or lecturers of that kind.
He can guide you if you are open to him. If you are not, neither he nor anybody can do anything about it. It is your choice to open or close to anybody else. "God is ONE, He cannot be TWO", that is his message. If you have true faith in any form of God, you would be able to realize the presence of Divine in him. Otherwise he is an ordinary person to you; as for animals, all "human" beings are same "human" beings irrespective of the attainment of power and knowledge either in form of the President of USA, Albert Einstein or Charles Shobraj.
In every era of the evolution, divine personalities have been criticized, insulted and even punished. Those who are exposed to Hindu scriptures, would recall some of these incidents. Didn’t the demon Mashishasur use insulting words to Goddess Durga? In full court house of Kansa, didn’t the cousin brother Shishupal use bitter insulting words against Lord Krishna? Didn’t the people of Ayodhya condemn Lord Rama for accepting "corrupt" Sita after they returned home? Did everybody follow Lord Jesus? Was he not crucified on the Cross for spreading message of God?….. By not recognizing him in divine way, you may not necessarily be doing many harms to yourself. However, by "insulting" him, you are bound to hurt yourself not him. It is not because he wanted you to be hurt or he cursed you, rather because by doing so you have invited "undivine" forces to act on you freely, because you have denied the divine protection by insulting him.
"No human will can finally prevail against the Divine’s Will. Let
us keep ourselves exclusively and deliberately on the side of Divine and
His Victory is certain." --The Mother (Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry,
India).
From:
Dr. Hemant & Pratima Tewary,
Omaha, U.S.A.