A Wonderful Paradox

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

One of the great things about the universe is that it has been created as a paradox. Everywhere we look there are examples of this and I’m going to share with you such an example here; a truly wonderful example.

The philosophy of Stoicism has come in for a lot of criticism over the centuries because it is viewed (wrongly) as the philosophy of doom and gloom merchants; people who are constantly agonising over pain and death etc. But if you look at Stoicism it is exactly the opposite. It was apparent to me very quickly that the principles of Stoicism are the exact same principles that form the basis of all the worlds major religions. That there is an individual in-dwelling spirit within the human physical body which is a part of the One Universal Spirit, that all of nature is interconnected with that self-same Universal Spirit and that each of us as individuals are responsible for our own lives; and that it’s not our circumstances that determine whether we are happy or not, it’s the way we deal with them.

One of the early Stoicist philosophers was the Greek Epictetus who was born into slavery. He was moved to Rome by his master but later moved back to Greece after being granted his freedom. Marcus Aurelius, one of only five Roman Emperors ever to have been considered “good”, also became a great philosopher who based his work on the teachings of Epictetus. What a truly wonderful paradox, that Marcus Aurelius, a rich and powerful Roman Emperor who became a world-renowned and revered philosopher, was influenced by, and based his philosophy on, the work of Epictetus; a man who was born into slavery. You really couldn’t make it up, and this inspiring and heart warming story truly and aptly illustrates the wonder of paradox.

Elephants Are Human Too

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

It is probably the greatest love story in the history of the planet; The Avatar, Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Sai Gheeta the elephant. Years ago a tiny elephant was crying out in the bush, all alone and afraid. Some miles away in the village of Puttaparthi a “young” Avatar in the shape of Baba heard the infant’s cry and went to its rescue. The elephant was so small that Baba was able to pick it up and put it in the back of a Land Rover; and so was born, the greatest love story ever. Swami called the elephant “Sai Gheeta” and the two were together until May 2007 when Sai Gheeta departed this earth. The elephant absolutely loved Baba beyond words and would get very agitated if ever he had to go away. On one occasion Sai Gheeta kicked up such a fuss when he sensed Baba was leaving the ashram that Baba actually abandoned his engagement.

I remember watching a video that aptly demonstrated the pure and unconditional love that existed between Avatar and elephant. Baba, in pristine orange robe, was petting Sai Gheeta who had a lot of saliva coming from his mouth. Swami’s upper robe became drenched with elephant saliva but he simply carried on petting his loving devotee and didn’t even bat an eyelid.

After Sai Gheeta left his body Swami acquired another elephant, a female this time, who we were told was called “San Gheeta”. During my first visit to Puttaparthi it did not even occur to me to find out where the elephant was kept and go and pay my respects; in fact, during my first visit in October 2009 I did not even realise that Sai Gheeta was no longer in his body. However, during my second visit in February 2010 my then girlfriend, Ciara, mentioned Baba’s elephant and said we should find out where it’s kept and go and have a look. We established that the elephant compound was up the road from the ashram, past The Hill View Stadium and on the other side of the road; approximately three-quarters of a mile away. So, towards the end of our stay we decided to pay the elephant a visit. We did a recce and found the compound and also found out the time when San Gheeta would be let out for her daily exercise.

The time came to go and visit the elephant compound, but as we set out we had no idea that Baba was to shower us in his blessings and grace beyond our wildest dreams. The designated time for San Gheeta to appear was 4.00 p.m., but, as anyone who has visited India will be able to tell you, this is 4.00 p.m. Indian time. What this means basically is that it could be anytime. But we arrived outside the compound gate and waited patiently. A seva dal arrived soon after and he confirmed that 4.00 p.m. was indeed the time for San Gheeta’s exercise. As you can imagine 4.00 p.m. came and went and there was no sign of San Gheeta. We looked through the wrought iron gate for any sign of activity, but there did not seem to be anything going on. I should also point out that you are not normally allowed inside the compound.

All of a sudden, out of the blue, a seva dal came and unlocked the gate and ushered us inside (along with another man with a small child). We couldn’t believe our luck! As we entered the compound the Samadhi (tomb or resting place) of Sai Gheeta was on the right. We were ushered a bit further on and then around to the left was San Gheeta with her mahout (keeper). At first we did not like what we saw. The elephant had chains around her feet and appeared to be in distress. But we came to the conclusion that she was quite boisterous and would need to be restrained at times; she would also have been excited knowing that it was time for her exercise. She was obviously very young, but absolutely huge. The mahout unfastened the chains and guided her out of her little compound within the compound.

Ciara had a camera with her and the seva dals said we could take as many photos as we liked, and we took full advantage of this (see pic below). She was absolutely beautiful. Her eyes were just like human eyes, only much bigger, and she was gurgling just like a baby. But what was really amazing was that she was SMILING. Yes, San Gheeta was smiling; and her smile looked so human. She just stood there while we petted her; it was such a fantastic experience and we knew that it had been engineered by Swami. It was soon time to take the elephant out for her exercise and we followed as the mahout guided her to the compound gate. Once outside she was guided right, down along the main road through Puttaparthi. It was quite amusing really because she was just plodding along, looking so happy with this grin on her beautiful face, but because she was so huge we had to almost jog to keep up. There was a video facility on Ciara’s camera that allowed five minutes recording time, so I recorded a five-minute video of proceedings. Outside the compound we were joined by a Russian lady with her child who tried to feed San Gheeta bananas as she thundered along the road. We then turned left into The Hill View Stadium, which sadly, meant that our amazing experience with the most beautiful of creatures was over; it all seemed to happen so quickly. In the photo below, San Gheeta can be seen exiting the Samadhi of Sai Gheeta. We were told that she likes to go into the samadhi as if she is making a spiritual connection with her departed “brother”, and this is exactly what she did on her way out of the compound.

Ciara and I split up soon after returning to England so I no longer have access to that video. But I often think about the time we spent in the company of San Gheeta, all because of the loving grace of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. I will never forget her eyes, her gurgling sounds and her wonderful smile. Who says elephants aren’t human!

One Who Thinks Rationally

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

Have you ever wondered why, that in spiritual texts and scriptures the word “man” is always used to describe the human race, with no mention of “woman”? Also, have you ever wondered why there is a tendency to always describe something that could either be male or female in the masculine; as though one half of the human race is being completely ignored?

Well, I have often wondered why this is so, and simply put it down to the fact that in the old days there was some very archaic ideas as to the role of women in society, and therefore anything and everything that could be either male or female was described as being male as a matter of course. Well, things certainly seem to have evolved in that way, for example, God is always deemed to be male, but believe it or not, that’s not how it was actually meant when the ancient scriptures were originally written.

In his book, The Yoga of Jesus, Paramahansa Yogananda gives a wonderful explanation of how the word “man” came to be used as a generalisation. He explains that the use of “man” in more modern-day translations of spiritual scriptures came from the Sanskrit word manas, meaning “one who thinks rationally”, and I would like to offer my own humble interpretation of why this word would have been used. The term “one who thinks rationally” applies to any human soul who has taken birth into flesh. The reason being that “rational thinking” only applies here within the earthly dimension; the realm of the relative. As humans we rationalize everything, we apply logic to everything; everything must be “hot or cold”, “sweet or sour”, “up or down”, “in or out”. We always think in terms of “I am happy” or “I am sad”, “I am feeling pleasure” or “I am feeling pain”. Everything has to have a label and everything belongs in its own box, therefore the term “one who thinks rationally” applies to any individualised being of spirit who has incarnated into the realm of rational thinking. In our Divine form we are neither male nor female, yet we are both, so manus does not refer to male or female but rather to any individual soul.

Yogananda went on to say that it made things so complicated having to differentiate between male and female all the time, that in the end, the word “man” was adopted as a generalisation. And that, my friends, is why, that in this modern age, where women are much more appreciated and have careers of their own and positions of power in society, spiritual texts and scriptures can appear to be so sexist and outdated.

A New Year’s Blessing

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

I’ve never been a great lover of New Year’s Eve and tend to just hibernate until it’s all over. This year was no different, but at 00:45 a.m., just 45 minutes into 2012 I decided to start the year with a meditation; and what a wonderful meditation it was. I lit some candles and got comfortable; very quickly blocking out the sound of fireworks from outside. It wasn’t long before I was enfolded in the most amazing celestial presence. It was like being covered in candy floss but without the stickiness; the energy was so soft and gentle. My celestial friend sat next to me and held my hand as I opened my heart and shared my hopes and fears for the coming months.

I have to say that this kind of thing is not uncommon, in fact it’s quite a regular occurrence, and I also have to say that sometimes I do forget just how lucky I really am. I have experiences on a regular basis that many will only ever dream about, and these experiences are as natural to me as switching on a light or making a cup of tea.

As if I wasn’t blessed enough at the onset of 2012, later in the day I made the trip to Bath to attend New Year bhajans with my friends in the Bath Sai Baba Group. We had a wonderful shared lunch followed by devotional singing; it really was a lovely afternoon.

Yes I am a very, very lucky man indeed and I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to God for all the blessings I have received over the years, all the blessings I continue to receive today and the many blessings I will receive in the future….. and to you dear reader I would like to wish you a 2012 of peace, health, happiness and golden opportunities.

May God be with you always.

The Divine Teaser Part Two

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Author Richard F Holmes

In part two of The Divine Teaser I would like to share with you a little story that relates to my second visit to Prasanthi Nilayam, in February 2010. As in part one, this event happened on my last day and it is also a prime example of Sai humour.

I went with a companion on my second visit, my then girlfriend, Ciara. We decided to stay the first night in a good hotel and then see about accommodation on the ashram or find a simple apartment. A significant thing also was that when we planned our trip we did not realise that it would coincide with Maha Shivaratri; one of the busiest festival times of the year. The ashram had been unbelievably busy during my first visit, which coincided with Diwali and Gujarati New Year, but this time the volume of people was just unreal. Because Ciara had a stomach condition, that meant she was in a great deal of pain for most of our stay, we ended up just staying in a very basic apartment for the duration. Once the festival was under way we didn’t have much choice anyway because it would have been nigh-on impossible to find an alternative, what with the sheer numbers of people in the village. I’d known before we set off that this trip was about her and not me. I knew in my heart that Swami was calling Ciara; I also knew that he was aware of her stomach pains and that the harsh conditions of the ashram would have been too much for her to cope with.

Our apartment was down a side street but opposite a shop that sold T-shirts. The motifs on the T-shirts were machined on the premises and the noise from the sewing machine was deafening. As a result we did not sleep that well during the whole of our stay, but we kind of got used to it as the days passed.

Because of the volume of people in Puttaparthi (and on the ashram itself), I didn’t even bother to go through the business of laying my cushion down early in the hope of getting a place in the first line; I was just content to sit anywhere in Sai Kulwant Hall, and quite often I just sat at the back. However, by the time we reached the last day of our stay Shivaratri was over, the crowds subsided and I decided that I was going to have one last go at getting as close as I could to Sri Sathya Sai Baba. I knew that it would not only be my last darshan of the trip, but my last darshan ever, because Swami had already let me know that I would not be returning to Puttaparthi. Baba has a way of letting you know things on an inner level, in the same way that he calls the millions and millions of devotees to the ashram; it’s just something that you know; words and physical presence are not necessary.

So, come mid-morning I lay my cushion down in the line to reserve my place and then went off about my business. Early-ish afternoon I returned and took my place with my cushion along with the other hopefuls, and waited for the comedy capers to begin. For the benefit of anyone reading this who has never been to Prasanthi Nilayam for the darshan of Sri Sathya Sai Baba I shall briefly explain the process of “the lines”. Once morning darshan has finished you are allowed to go and place your cushion down in a designated area in order to reserve your place in the queue for evening darshan. Once your cushion has been placed you can disappear until mid afternoon (but in the meantime hope that nobody steals your cushion and/or your place in the queue). Once the first line of cushions stretches back up the hill until it can’t go any further, another queue is formed next to it. At around 2:00 to 2:30 p.m. the queues are moved down alongside Sai Kulwant Hall. This is where the fun begins because you get people who have not been queueing trying to sneak in and this can develop into pushing and shoving. The two lines are then formed into four lines alongside the hall. At some point the four people at the head of each line are invited to draw a token out of a bag, and whichever line draws token number one gets to go into the hall first, thus getting the chance to sit right at the front and get close to Baba. Running is supposed to be strictly forbidden in such a sacred place, but as soon as people get inside they go tearing down to the front as though their lives depend on it.

I couldn’t believe my luck when the line I was in drew token number one. Now before I go any further I will just say this. Anyone who has had experience of Swami will know that he quite often plays Divine games (leelas), not only that, he sometimes gives us our own personal leela. So, there I was in the line that drew token number one; things just couldn’t get any better, I was going to see my loving Lord’s Divine form one more time before leaving. I got into the hall and sure enough people started running towards the front. I tried my hardest to be disciplined but the trouble is, because of the runners, even though you may be in line one, if everyone runs past you and takes up all the spaces on the front row, then you wont get your prime spot. So, seeing what was happening I convinced myself that Swami wouldn’t mind and I broke out into a trot. However, because of other people’s selfishness I did not get my place in the front row. But I still got a great position in row two directly opposite where Baba comes out. There was two people sitting in front of me but I was sitting directly in the middle of their two sets of shoulders so I had a really good view; I was very excited and thanked Swami for getting me this spot. As I have mentioned in previous posts it had got to the stage where Baba very rarely came out for morning darshan anymore, but you could bet your shirt on him coming out for evening darshan.

So I sat in my prime position, the Vedas were chanted and the bhajans were sung. The time was getting on, so “anytime now” I thought to myself; I would see that orange robe in the distance and my heart would explode with love and my eyes would fill with tears of joy. Then I would watch in anticipation as Baba came closer and closer to where I was sitting and I would get a really good glimpse of him. “You never know”, I thought, “I might even get that all elusive eye contact.” The bhajans went on and on, “yes, anytime now”, I thought again; and on and on they went. Then I noticed something that I must admit, I found rather amusing. There was an older Indian man sitting near me who kept looking around as though he was trying to attract the attention of anyone who would entertain him. As he looked around with a very indignant look on his face he kept pointing at his watch, as if to say “what time does he call this”. Then he would point and gesticulate with his hands as if miming “just who does he think he is, keeping us waiting like this”. Then to my amazement ararthi* was called and the man got up and walked off in a huff. The realization then dawned on me that Baba was having a bit of amusement in the way that only Baba can.

Every now and then Swami used to remind us that we were becoming far too attached to his physical form, and this was one such occasion. I also felt that this was his way of telling me that I shouldn’t take things for granted. I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that my dear Swami never came out, knowing that I wouldn’t see his physical form again, but I also saw the funny side and had a good old chuckle to myself. In truth the whole thing was just one of Swami’s leelas. There I was running (I’m ashamed to admit it) in Sai Kulwant Hall because I was scared of losing my place in the front row, but the reality is that we only ever sit where Swami puts us. We all think that we are in control but all the time the Divine puppet master is having his play. I have no room for complaint anyway because dear Baba had already blessed us beyond our wildest dreams before this incident occurred, and that will be the subject of a future blog post.

As long as I remain on this Earth I will never forget the sight of that man pointing at his watch and complaining that Sri Sathya Sai Baba was keeping us waiting; absolutely priceless.

*Arathi, aarthi or aarti (from the Sanskrit term Aaraatrik) is the ritual performed at the end of every darshan, in which the flame from wicks soaked in camphor is offered to the Divine. Aartis also refers to the song which is sung as darshan comes to a close.

The Divine Teaser

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Author Richard F Holmes

There were times when dear loving Swami could be such a teaser, and I’m going to share two of my own personal experiences with you here.

The first one took place on the last day of my first visit to Prasanthi Nilayam back in October 2009. It had been quite an eventful first visit, experiencing life on the ashram and Baba’s leelas, and I’d decided that on the last night I was going to treat myself to a comfortable hotel room. Even the most expensive hotels in Puttaparthi are very cheap by UK standards so I booked myself into the Sai Towers Hotel, just opposite one of the main gates to the ashram. The good thing was that it was a 24 hour reservation, meaning that because I arrived at around 7.00 p.m. I had the room until 7:00 p.m. the next day. Also, for the previous two or three days there had been rumours circulating that Swami would be leaving the ashram to inaugurate a new ashram in Pune. Where Swami is concerned you can never pay much attention to any rumours that may be flying around, however, this is one rumour that turned out to be true. On the final day of my visit Baba was indeed off to Pune.

Even though my room was very comfortable I did not sleep that well and I arose quite early. At some stage I heard chanting coming from the ashram. I didn’t think anything of it at first but then I realised that it was only about 07:00 a.m. and the Vedic chanting on the ashram does not usually start until 08:00 a.m. In my naive innocence I presumed that there was an earlier than normal darshan because Baba was going away for a few days. This was not the case however and I can only presume that the chanting was to honour “God in human form” and to see him on his way. For some reason I decided to head downstairs. I say “for some reason” because there was no logical reason for me doing so. It was still early and I didn’t feel like breakfast at that precise moment, but nonetheless I found myself heading down the stairs.

When I reached the ground floor I noticed that there was people lining the street. For a moment I wondered what was going on; and then the realisation hit me. I ventured outside to a hive of activity, and within a few moments of me being out there, Baba’s car swung out of the gate and turned to head right past me. I couldn’t believe it, my loving Lord engineered my own personal “car darshan” for me on my last morning in Puttaparthi. As the car went past with Swami’s tiny figure in the back seat I was screaming and pleading in my head for him to make eye contact with me. But did he do it? No, of course not; he teased and tantalized me with a view of his Divine human form, he engineered my own personal darshan with precision timing, but he wasn’t going to make eye contact with me. Ever the Divine teaser, it was as though Baba handed me a bag of sweets, let me eat some and then took them back before I could get to my favourites. But what he did do was suffuse my heart with his love, and what a feeling it was; my heart just melted. I felt so blessed that Swami did that for me, and to this day, when I look back on that event I always have a little chuckle to myself at how he manages to tease us until we are on the verge of bursting. I’m sure there are millions of devotees all over the world who have similar stories to tell.

Watch this space for part two.

Festive Greetings

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Author Richard F Holmes

Wherever in the world you may be, whatever your race, colour, creed or religion I wish you heartfelt Christmas greetings and love, light, happiness and golden opportunities for 2012.

Thank you for supporting my blog and God bless you.

Christmas With Baba

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Author Richard F Holmes

On Saturday 17 December 2011 a very special event took place at the Punjabi Community Centre in Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom. It was a Christmas celebration and carol service organised by the Sri Sathya Sai Service Organisation UK. Nothing so special about that maybe, except that in the past all the SSSSO UK Christmas celebrations have been on a regional basis. 2011 was the first time it was ever held as a national event, and it was a blessing that it just happened to be held in region 7, which covers the area where I live. So, it was with great anticipation that I set off on that Saturday morning and drove the 22 miles or so to Swindon Punjabi Centre.

: The wonderful stage at the national SSSSO UK Christmas celebration in Swindon 17 December 2011

What never fails to amaze me whenever I attend a Sai event is the amount of sheer hard work and organisation that goes into them. Every minute detail is covered, and this event was no exception.

Because Christmas is, by and large, a Christian celebration, the organisers enlisted the services of two Christian Ministers to conduct the service AND we were also blessed with a gospel choir who travelled all the way down from Leicester. The event started with some devotees singing songs based on Christian Taize chanting. This was followed by the carol service. There then followed an interval for lunch where we feasted on traditional Western Christmas vegetables and stuffing, washed down with non-alcoholic red and white fizzy wine. Once again I feel I have to mention the tremendous hard work that was put in by the volunteer chefs and food servers in feeding the hungry hoards.

During the second part of the proceedings we were treated to the singing of the gospel choir, and the hilarious antics of “Santa” who blessed us by making a surprise appearance. Our wonderful Omnipresent Swami, Sri Sathya Sai Baba made his presence felt throughout the afternoon, and I for one had great difficulty joining in properly with the singing because our Lord constantly filled my heart with his love and my eyes kept filling up with tears.

I also feel that I need to mention here the amazing Patrick (of whom I have spoken in a previous post. Please click on the link to view this post https://richardfholmes.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/sri-sathya-sai-baba-never-forgets-his-children-part-one/ ) As usual, speaking to Patrick was a great inspiration, but I was also amazed yet again at what he told me. If you look at the photo of the stage (above) you will notice the white figures. Well, dear Patrick, noted for his stagecraft skills, was asked at short notice if he could come up with something for the event; and he most certainly did. This amazing man made those figures, working late at night and early morning because he also has a day job. With another colleague he set off from Bath very early in the morning whilst most of us were still in dreamland, in order to arrive in good time at The Punjabi Centre so that the stage could be erected.

I know that it is not Sai policy to single out individuals for special praise, and this is why I want to end this post by mentioning once again the incredible work that all the organizers and volunteers put into this event. As well as the lovely food we were also kept supplied with as much tea, coffee and soft drinks as we needed and there was also the usual sweets and cakes. The Sri Sathya Sai Book Shop, based in North London, also sent some representatives to set up a makeshift shop. I personally acquired two wonderful photos taken from Swami’s final darshan and a fantastic book of spiritual quotes taken from the religions of the world.

Dear friends as we get ready to celebrate this very special time of the year and then welcome in 2012, we should bare in mind that for all of us as individual beings of spirit, our own personal Christmas day will be the day we awaken the Christ Consciousness within ourselves.

A True Story

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Author Richard F Holmes

For some reason I was reminded today of a true story that demonstrates just how God really does answer our prayers. Unfortunately, we humans seem to have fixations on exactly how we expect our prayers to be answered, and because of this we quite often miss God’s reply.

The story concerns a man who was in need of a new car. He was not in a position financially to buy one, so he sent up prayers to God explaining his predicament and asking for his needs to be met. Around two weeks later he received a phone call from an aunt who explained that she was buying a new car. She further explained that she no longer had any need for the car she currently owned, therefore he could have it as a gift. The man’s response was “oh no, I couldn’t possibly accept your car as a gift”, so the aunt duly disposed of the surplus vehicle by other means. Six months later the man is shaking his fists to the heavens because God has failed to answer his prayer….. I ask you ….. some people!

As a footnote to this tale, have you ever wondered why God is referred to as “God The Father” and why we always turn to him when we want something? Well, cast your mind back to when you were a child and you wanted something fixing. Who did you ask? Why good old dad of course, and that’s why God is called God the Father; because G-O-D stands for Good Old Dad.

The true story also reminded me of another story. An untrue story this time, but nonetheless a story that demonstrates the same lessons. A very pious man lived in a town that was hit by serious flooding. The Emergency Services were in the process of evacuating the area, and on calling at the man’s house were told “it’s ok, God will save me”. The floods worsened and the streets became rivers. Some rescue workers came by in a boat and told the man to get in, to which he replied “it’s ok, God will save me”. The floods got even worse and the water levels rose to the extent that the man had to climb up on the roof. At this point the Emergency Services sent a helicopter to rescue him. But he shouted up “it’s ok, God will save me!” He drowned!

He arrived at the pearly gates and knocked. When St Peter opened the gates the man gave him a real earful, complaining that he’d always been a good servant of the Lord so why did God let him die. St Peter said “you were sent a boat and a helicopter, what more did you want?”

The moral of these stories is that everything we receive is a gift from God. It doesn’t matter who or what the source may be. The source is simply the method chosen by God to act as a channel for the gift. Gifts can also be translated as opportunities and we should always grasp them with both hands instead of allowing ourselves to be blinded by our own logic.

Rockin With Swami

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Author Richard F Holmes

An optimist and a pessimist were arguing as to whether the glass was half full or half empty. Whilst they were arguing a “doer” came along and simply picked up the glass and drank.

The moral of the story is that actions speak louder than words. This can also translate to “hands that serve are holier than lips that pray”.