Perth retreat  2 May 2009 Questions and Answers. Part Three

Question:
Baba, just wondering – the mind, the brain, it all sometimes gets too much. Isn’t it better to just have blind faith in the Master and just let it go?

Babaji:
You ask yourself how far and how much that you can have a blind faith with the Master! Your mind itself will not allow it to happen easily. It will ask questions inside: “Why this is happening? How does the Master handle? Why is Master keeping quiet for this thing? Why is Master not reacting for this thing? Why is Master reacting like this?” So if it can surrender there is nothing like that. If it can have a blind faith you are Liberated. That phenomena is wonderful if anybody can have that faith – total faith, just faith. If the Master asks you to cut your head, cut. But that is not possible, it’s not easy. So if that can happen then all these things are not required. What I am trying to tell is, that is also not easy. You cannot simply think, “Instead of this brain, mind, meditation, all complications, it is easier to have a blind faith.” That is also equally complicated.

Question (same questioner):
So which is easier Baba?

Babaji:
[Laughs] Whichever appeals to your mind, then that thing becomes easier. If the devotion, if your attachment to the Master becomes natural, and one hundred percent if your mind can go and sit, means just like my Master used to tell, “If I cut Seenu into pieces and throw him into the river, he will join and come back.” If that type of faith can happen it becomes easy. That’s how that thing became easier for us but that happened naturally. I cannot explain the formula or phenomena of how it happens, it’s very difficult, an inexplicable thing if that happens. So whichever appeals, that becomes easy.

Question (same questioner):
So the Grace of the Guru is important? Because as we get closer to the Guru…

Babaji:
The Grace of the Guru is flowing. Reception of the student’s mind is also important. The television waves are all here, it is important that set also needs to be functioning properly.

Question (same questioner):
So what You’re saying is that there’s no short cut!

Babaji:
[Laughs] You see, the student tries to be clever all the time, tries to trap the Master so that the Master can simply take and give you an ice-cream. The Master has become more clever now!

Question:
Babaji, how then can we explain – this is personally myself – I have never met Swamiji but the love I feel for Swamiji, the attachment, the attraction that I feel for Swamji is really very strong, but I have personally not met Swamji, and how is that possible? I mean this is someone you have not seen but you have only read about. And going to Adivarapupeta last year, it was just such an overwhelming experience for me; it was I think one of biggest highlights I personally feel that I’ve had in my life was to be there. And I didn’t think that would be such a powerful impact and to someone that I have never met in my life or never known.

Babaji:
You see, to fall in love it does not require a physical meeting. This is one phenomena that is working in this world. That is the Divine’s Grace actually that happens. So also it is quite possible if the soul’s consciousness is connected to that Master in the previous lives and when you hear about that Master that triggers inside your mind and the mind becomes receptive and gets connected to the vibrations that are flowing. So that’s when these experiences happen to a person. To another person it may not have happened at all. So to you it has happened like this. So whenever your mind has become receptive, it has happened, the vibrations have been caught, that is why you have experienced these things.

Question (same questioner):
So you don’t need to know, meet the person, know the person…

Babaji:
Physically there is no need to meet.

Question:
Babaji, what can a sadhak do to attract Grace or catch the Grace?

Babaji:
One important thing is that you pray with total mental concentration. Because when the mind gets totally concentrated, at that time if you have any resolution, with that resolution the mind touches the Divinity that is going introverted. Just like you touch a live electric wire it will give you the shock. In the same way, when you pray with total concentration and touch the Divinity, the mind automatically touches, then automatically the Grace flows. There is no other way, the Divine cannot refuse. He has no powers to refuse. It will come because the technology is like that one. That is why in bhakti marga, bhakti means total devotion and faith, surrender, these things are taught always. If you cultivate and keep it with you then you will be benefited.

Devotion means seriously having a reverence. So when you are devoted you’re attention always should be on your Deity, on the Guru, or on the God, so your mind cannot forget the remembrance, whatever you are working, the mind’s thoughts are always like that one. So that’s what it is. So when you have that attention and prayers with total faith, when you have faith also your mind concentrates. When there is confusion only the mind distracts and expands in this world. Otherwise when it has total faith it will concentrate. So with all these things you can obtain the Grace.

Question:
Babaji, so is that alone enough for total concentration or total faith?

Babaji:
Your faith and also effort. So if you put in effort for a total concentration so that is what is faith. If you have a faith automatically the mind becomes more concentrated. So both ways it is, if you cannot have the natural faith then practice the concentration. If you have a faith also the mind becomes concentrated.