Illness Strikes – Oakland 1975
During his stay at the new Oakland Ashram in late
July of 1975 Baba underwent his first major health challenge. During the night he began to have a series of
powerful seizures. His attendants later
said they were terrified themselves as they had never seen Baba in such a condition
and they did not know what was happening. As he was undergoing these terrible
convulsions he was quietly and calmly directing them on what to do, and who to
call.
“ Don’t be frightened I am just experiencing the fruits of my own karmas….” he said, reassuring them.
Baba was taken to the hospital where he remained
for some time. It seemed his blood sugar levels had gotten seriously out of
balance and the seizures were connected to his diabetes. All over the world devotees began to express
their concern and devotion with ongoing Guru Gita chanting. The doctors were intent upon Baba taking
complete rest and restricted visitors.
But soon Baba was himself calling people on the telephone and telling
them to come see him at the hospital. The waiting room on that floor turned
into a kind of reception room as people came with gifts of flowers and fruit. Clearly the hospital staff, doctors and
nurses had never seen such a patient who generated such an atmosphere of caring
for all around him.
He described his experiences to one visitor. “ My Guru’s grace is great and I feel that
the sickness has left me now. As soon as
I was admitted they gave me an injection (IV) and the strokes stopped. During
this time I have had a real test of my inner state, and now I am happy. As these seizures were coming my attendants
had to hold me down. The photo of my
Baba was in front and I kept looking at the pictures with love and smiling. My attendant said, “How is it that you are
smiling and laughing?” I said, “ Should
I cry or weep? This is my destiny what
should I do? “
He went on, ”It’s not a great thing to experience
such a disease but the real test is to endure it. There is not even a single saint who was not
affected by some disease or another in the last phase of his life. My Baba had
something similar, I saw many Siddhas with illness in their later years. Ramakrishna Paramahansa had cancer during his
last years. Because of this condition, I
have not lost any of my spiritual strength.
I am very happy because I have realized that Guru’s grace can nullify
the effects of our parabdha karma[1], and
make it meaningless.
“After all of this trouble, I feel quite happy and
joyful. Perhaps this is the result of
giving shaktipat to so many people in such a mass scale.”
At the retreat in Arcata, that had begun even
without Baba being there, Malti told a story
that was to be repeated numerous times in the coming years.
“ There was a seeker by the name of Ramanuja. He received the mantra from his Guru and the
Guru told him he must not reveal it or tell it to anyone. He asked the Guru, “What will happen to me if
I do?” The Guru replied, “You will go to
hell.” “And what will happen to the
people who receive it?”, Ramanuja enquired. “They will go to heaven,” was Guru’s reply.
With the greatest of intentions, Ramanuja went to the rooftop and
shouted the mantra out so that all who heard it could go to heaven. “What does it matter if one man goes to hell
for the sake of thousands of people? “
he would tell those around him.
As Baba was speaking to his friend the Psychologist,
a very lovely young woman with a bandaged head came into the room. Baba told his visitors, “The doctors used to
come to me and say she was going to die.
But I told them, “She will not die”, then I gave her the mantra and told
her,’ even if you are going to die, it is all right, at least repeat this
mantra, it will protect you.’ Now she is
all right.” The girl obviously had great love for Baba.
Other
relatives of patients came in and asked for Baba’s blessings for their loved
ones. Daily Baba made the rounds of the
floor of the hospital greeting and befriending the patients and their families.
Nurses, laboratory technicians, as well
as old devotees were collecting outside of Baba’s room to experience Baba’s
loving grace, even at such a time. One
girl came and offered to pay Baba’s hospital bill. Baba patted her affectionately and told her,
‘Don’t cry now, I am quite all right.
You have such a generous heart, you have offered to pay my hospital
bill. Werner and others have also
offered. I am thinking about it.”
I went to visit him at the hospital. After waiting outside my turn came to go in to pay my respects. I bowed at the side of the bed where he was
sitting upright greeting visitors. “Poor
Baba”, was in my mind, “he’s sick.” I felt a tugging of my hair as he pulled me
up to his level and looked me intently in the eyes. Powerful rays of light
shone from his eyes which entered into my eyes and immediately flooded my
heart. I was a little dazed as I staggered out of the room. The idea
‘poor Baba’ I realized was my ignorance, clearly his inner power and
vast heart were untouched by the travails
of his physical body. Baba was not like an ordinary person who
succumbed to fear and lamentation about his body and health.
He went on to describe the situation to his
visitors:, “ For yogis this is our test.
As the strokes were occurring I never once asked my Baba, ‘save me save me.” I
kept looking at his picture. Now I am completely cured, I feel like a newly
born young man and I will be able to do a lot more work than before. I can walk around the hospital and I am just
waiting for the doctors to tell me I can go home so that I can be with
everyone. ‘
After Baba
was released from the hospital he rested in his room waiting to be able to join
his devotees at a month long retreat
that had already started in Arcata.
Chatting with some people over the next few days he related his experiences of his illness. “ The
nurses used to come and ask me, ‘Aren’t you in pain?” I said “I don’t feel it.” They said they had never seen such a patient
in the hospital; some of the doctors
and nurses came and asked to receive a mantra card from me.
“There is great joy in the inner Self. Once established in that joy you won’t feel
any pain, there is no suffering in this world. Whatever suffering you might
have, you won’t feel it.”
Speaking with a group who had come from Atlanta he
said, “There is no greater temple than the heart. There is no greater God than your inner
Self. If you know just that…that’s
enough. Be peaceful no matter where you
are. Do your work, live your life, you
can’t depend on the body, you never know what will happen at what time to your
body. You will never know what illness you will go through. I had such a strong
body, but still this happened. But I
have recovered very well, and there is no lingering effect of any disease
because I had the grace of my Guru and he saved me. All the time constantly
repeat Guru Om, Guru Om, don’t trust the future you never know what will come
after the next moment. Believe in the
present moment which you are living in now and remember God, he is right inside
of you. If you do this much, remembering
Him every moment, it doesn’t matter where you are or what happens to you. Just live your life, do your work and be
happy.”
He gave darshan from his bedroom window to the
ashramites who assembled in the
courtyard below. “ The doctor keeps
calling and telling me, “Don’t talk to people too much and don’t walk too
much.” I’m very well and very
peaceful. Those strokes benefitted me a
lot…all the time my mind remained very quiet and all the unsteadiness of the
mind has disappeared. No matter where I
sit, I pass into meditation, and if I am around other people in that state it
will be good for them, too.”
“You people have given me so much love, you
chanted a lot, chanted Guru Gita only for my sake. The doctors keep calling to check with my
people, “Is he listening to us? Is he talking less, is he getting good
sleep?”
Baba went on to the Arcata retreat in time for the
anniversary of his initiation from his Guru, August l5th.
“Still I do not have the permission of the doctors
to speak, I was told to wait until the last two days of the retreat. What is
the guarantee the body will last, what is the guarantee that I will be able to
give you a talk later on. “
After Baba recovered more fully, he resumed his
work of meeting people, and actively giving shaktipat in Intensives. The demand
from people seemed to be endless. The numbers of people in the Intensives increased to several hundred people and he
continued to touch each and every one with his boundless compassion,
disregarding the effects on his personal health.
No comments:
Post a Comment