← Meetings with Sages and Saints

FOUR SUFI MYSTICS

The content of consciousness in every being created by God - the Higher Power - is the same in everyone. It is pure! It is sunya, empty! It is poorna, fullness! For, God created man in His own image. His image, Sages say, is the content of Consciousness, the ‘ I AM ’ . This consciousness is the ‘Life’ given to us by Him. Another name for life according to the scriptures is ananda, happiness! The Vedas declare, “Ananda alone exists”!

The mystery of human living is so complex that the more one tries to unravel it, understand it logically, intellectually the greater the confusion, doubts, and non-understanding. The usual analogy cited is of a person caught in quicksand – the more forcefully one tries to come out of the mire, the deeper it sucks one in! Generally, the affected person is advised to wait and not struggle. To wait with an attitude of quietude is the true content of prayer. When one is in such a state of total surrender, help assuredly comes.

In the spiritual realm, help, in the form of guidance, rushes to the one who needs it, through the Grace of the Guru, or, Sages and Saints. When such guidance comes, the true seeker should be alert enough to recognize it and accept it, unconditionally.

In my life, such guidance arrived through four different Saints – strangely or not so very strangely, as anything can happen in a spiritual aspirant’s life – all of them were Sufi Saints - Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, Sufi Baba, a ‘Mad’ Muslim and Sai Mirchandani.

Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

BAWA MUHAIYADDEEN

Life

Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen was a Sufi mystic. The name ‘Muhaiyaddeen’ means ‘giver of life to the true faith’. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, true to his name, succeeded in awakening and strengthening peoples’ faith in God.

Very little is known of his early life. Records indicate pilgrims while traveling through the jungles of Sri Lanka, caught glimpses of this holy man in the early 1900s. So overwhelmed were they by the depth of divinity and knowledge he imparted, that one devotee invited him to a nearby village. Thus, began his public life as a teacher. Though he was an unlettered man, people of different religions and from all walks of life came to him seeking wisdom.

He often referred to himself as an ‘ant man’, i.e., a very small life in God’s creation. According to an account from the 1940’s, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen had spent time in Kataragama, a jungle shrine in the south of the island, and in Jailani, a cliff shrine dedicated to Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani of Baghdad. His association with that Shaikh indicates his connection to the Qadiri order of Sufism. Many of his followers who lived around the northern town of Jaffna were Hindus and addressed him as ‘Swami’ or ‘Guru’. He often healed medical and spiritual illnesses, including cases of demonic possession.

In 1971, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen accepted an invitation from an American woman to visit Philadelphia. She had been corresponding with him after being introduced by a university student from Sri Lanka. She and her associates arranged for his travel to the United States and for his stay in Philadelphia. People from all religious, social, and ethnic backgrounds came to hear him speak. By 1973, a group of his followers formed the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, which hosted a meeting house that offered several public meetings a week.

In May 1984, the mosque of Shaikh M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen was completed on the grounds of the Bawa Muhayaiddeen Fellowship. Thousands were touched by his wise words in his interviews on Psychology Today, Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Philadelphia lnquirer, and Pittsburgh Press. Wherever he went, he tirelessly answered the many personal and mystical questions that people brought to him, until his death on December 8^th, 1986.

The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship now serves as a thriving community dedicated to studying and disseminating the vast treasury of his teachings. Just south of the small city of Coatesville, is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen’s mausoleum or Mazar in Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is a place of pilgrimage for Sufis and their Sheikhs, as well as Muslims and followers of other religions. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen established vegetarianism as the norm for the community and meat products are not permitted at the Fellowhip Center in Philadelphia or at the Fellowship Farm.

‘ Mazar’ of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen at Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA

Sayings of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

( Breathing was supreme to his teaching. However, it is different from all other pranayamas - yogic breathing exercises )

“People pray daily three to five times to the Lord. One starts the prayer and completes the prayer. Thus, our prayers are limited. God is limitless - ஆதியும் இல்லை அந்தமும் இல்லை (No Beginning, no end). So how can one offer a prayer to the limitless through limitations ?. One has to breathe to live. Breathing has no limitations. If one prays along with breathing, the prayer too would be non-stop, without limitations. This is dhikr or zikr - a powerful form of devotion, chiefly associated with Sufism.”

“Every time when one breathes, one necessarily breathes out the gases that are used up and breathes in, the life-giving oxygen. Such cleansing takes place at every moment in everyone - all the time. Let prayer be associated with breathing. Thus, one should offer a prayer with every breath. Then, prayer becomes continuous and non-stop.”

“Breathe out through your left nostril - ‘Not I or I am not’ or ‘La Ila Ha’ or ‘I is an illusion’. Breathe in through your right nostril - ‘Only You are’ or ‘Illa ILa Ha’. In Tamil, ‘நான் இல்லை ; இருப்பது நீ ஒருவனே . உன்னை தவிர வேறு எவரும் இல்லை’. This is the highest form of prayer.”

“God has a home inside of our heart. We must find a home inside of God’s home inside of our heart.”

“The things that change are not our real life. Within us, there is another body, another beauty. It belongs to that ray of light which never changes. We must discover how to mingle with it and become one with that unchanging thing. We must realize and understand this treasure of truth. That is why we have come to the world.”

“My children, very few people will accept the medicine of wisdom. The mind refuses wisdom. But if you do agree to accept it, you will receive the grace, and when you receive that grace, you will have good qualities. When you acquire good qualities, you will know true love, and when you accept love, you will see the light. When you accept the light, you will see the resplendence, and when you accept that resplendence, the wealth of three worlds will be complete within you. With this completeness, you will receive the Kingdom of God, and you will know your Father. When you see your Father, all your connections to karma, hunger, disease, old age will leave you.”

“My grandchildren, this is the way things really are. We must do everything with love in our hearts. God belongs to everyone. He has given a common wealth to all his creations, and we must not take it for ourselves. We must not take more than our share. Our hearts must melt with love, we must give lovingly to make others peaceful. Then we will win our true beauty and liberation of our soul. Please think about this. Prayer, the qualities of God, the action of God, faith in God and worship of God are your grace. If you have these, God will be yours and the wealth of the world to come will be yours. My grandchildren! Realize this in your lifetime. Consider your life, search for Wisdom, search for Knowledge, and search for that Love of God which is Divine Knowledge, and search for His qualities, His love, and His actions.”

Dhikr or Zikr : ‘La Ila Ha ‘ (‘NOT I or I am NOT’) ‘Illa ILa Ha’ (‘ONLY YOU ARE’)

BAWA AND ME

‘Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship’

In the latter half of the 1960s perhaps, I got a call from Bangalore from one Dr. Ganesh of Sri Lanka. He said he would be coming to the Ashram en route to Chennai airport and that he is bringing a Sufi Baba. (While in Bombay, I often visited Haji Ali, the samadhi shrine of a Sufi Saint of that same name. I used to feel very happy there! ) By evening, a car drove into the Ashram ( a very rare incident in those days ! ) The car came up to the common guest room and I was very impressed to see a simple looking Sufi Baba with a profound spiritual aura.

I took him around Sri Bhagavan’s Samadhi shrine, which then was still incomplete, and then to the Old Hall. Bawa was silent all the while, though visibly moved to ecstasy in both places. He bent down and offered his obeisance to the Shrine while at the Old Hall he sat and meditated for a few minutes in total absorption. After that, I invited them both into the old office near the Ashram well and offered cow’s milk which I had very specially arranged for them. Baba kept looking at me all the time - even as he sipped the milk.

After drinking the milk, he looked at me straight and then, in a melodious voice, said, “Though I came to pay my homage to Sri Bhagavan, I also have a message for you! Stay here. Don't go away anywhere searching for the Truth! ‘Sri Bhagavan’ is the Truth! ‘Arunachala’ is your Home! The Lord's blessings are on you fully!” Then, they went to the car and Bawa got inside - I didn't go near the car. The car started and suddenly stopped. Dr. Ganesh came out and almost ran towards me! In an emotional tone, he told me, "Bawa sent me to narrate to you what happened before coming to the Ashram. We were to go from Bangalore on the direct route to Chennai and then leave for USA, by flight via Bombay. When we entered the car, Bawa told me to take a detour to Tiruvannamalai - that's why I telephoned to you. When we reached Chengam, 20 miles from here, he stopped the car and told me, ‘The manager of the Ashram to which we are going will not be there. His son will be there and I have a message to give him. He will offer milk to me - don't refuse it. (Bawa was not in the habit of eating outside.) Now, go and tell him he is a rare being and has many good things to do’,” he added. That whole night I was swimming in the ocean of bliss!

In 1990, Yogi Ramsuratkumar commanded me to go abroad and give talks on Sri Bhagavan's ‘Direct Teaching’. From then on, almost every year, he would give me the same instruction! I don't remember the year that I started staying at AHAM Center, Asheboro, North Carolina. Students of AHAM began to get attracted to the way of my communicating and sharing the Teaching with them.

Shujaat Qayyum

During that time, one Shujaat Qayyum, a wonderful spiritual aspirant, staying at Tarrytown near New York, became very close to me. He often visited Bel Air (Maryland) where I spent a few weeks with Anuradha’s son, Dr.Sankar and his family. A couple of times, Shujaat came and took me in his car from there to AHAM, North Carolina -- a seven-hour drive!

Every time, he would suggest to me: "There is a ‘Mazar’, the tomb of a Sufi Saint on the way. I go and meditate there quite often. I would like to take you there. You will love it." At least two or three times, I would have told him, "Next trip, we will go there...". The last time, perhaps in 2014, when I was travelling from Bel Air to New Jersey to give talks at house of Sri Bhagavan’s devotee -- Nandini Kapadia -- , he was emphatic: "This time, I have an irresistible urge to take you there. I am positive that it is Baba who is inviting you there!" During that car journey, Shujaat asked me about how I got associated with Sufi Saints. I narrated in full detail about the Sufi Baba who visited me at the Ashram and how he had passed on an important message to me, decades back and how it was all taking place, now.

Nandini Kapadia

He then took a detour and reached a large tract filled with trees. He said this was the place. He became very emotional since he was very devoted to the Bawa and to his Mazar. I was still seated in the car while he rushed into the garden, assuring me he would read the notice board and come back. He returned and said, "This time, they have printed the picture of Bawa, too, on the notice board.” I got interested as I am totally devoted to the bodily presence of Saints, Sages or to their pictures if they have dropped their bodies.

When I saw the notice board, I was thrilled! I almost shouted to Shujaat, "This is the same ‘Sufi’ Saint who visited me at the Ashram in the 1960's and blessed me! See! His compassion! He has been inviting me to come to his Mazar all these years through you! This is the love and compassion of true Saints"! I went in, prostrated fully to the Mazar and offered my prayers and pranams, shedding profuse tears! "

The supreme climax (or should it be anti-climax of the episode?) is that neither Bawa Muhaiyaddeen nor Dr. Ganesh ever visited India! This was revealed to me by Shujaat. I was meditating inside the Mazar, when Shujaat brought me a leaflet on the life and teaching of Bawa wherein Bawa specifically states, “I longed to be in India. But, I did not get an opportunity to do it!”

Who then came to the Ashram? How had I been blessed by Bawa and his instructions! And now, how had he attracted me to his Mazar to bless me and assure me of his guidance? It was only a couple of years later that this mystery was unraveled to reveal its mystic magic.

Bawa tending a Jackfruit tree at his Ashram in Sri Lanka

TAILPIECE

Anu Ma and I reached the United States by end of April, 2016. She accompanied me to the AHAM Center in Asheboro and arranged to make my three-month stay there comfortable. After twenty days, she left to be with her son and his family in Maryland after entrusting the responsibility of taking care of me to Kumaravel and his wife Gayatri Devi, both good devotees of Sri Bhagavan.

As this project, ‘Meetings with Sages and Saints’, was entrusted to Anuradha, we discussed threadbare the entire content of these twenty or more articles on the Sages during those twenty days. When it came to Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, she suggested that we visit Philadelphia and get the mystical aspects of Bawa’s visit to Sri Ramanasramam confirmed, as Dr. Ganesh the person who had accompanied Bawa there, was still alive and active!

Kumaravel and Gayatri Devi

After completing twelve talks on twelve Sages and Saints, I returned to Bel Air, Maryland, en route to Arunachala. While there, a devout couple, Valapet Badri and his wife Hema, came and volunteered to take us to Philadelphia. They contacted Dr. Ganesh and we all went to Philadelphia. Dr. Ganesh and his wife were exceptionally kind. To a query by Anuradha, Mrs. Ganesh answered, “We are very happy that Bawa and my husband went to Sri Ramanasramam and guided our Ganesanji. We do not find this strange! Bawa has done the same for devotees living in China, Sri Lanka, Phillipines and other countries, while living with us and giving talks here at Philadelphia!” Mrs. Ganesh then delightedly recalled the story of a child who was sick in China. “The people in China claimed Bawa visited them while Bawa was still in America. When asked, Bawa said, ‘I had to go to China to perform a surgery on the child!’ There are many dimensions in the spiritual field and assuming a psychic body to guide devotees is very rare. Bawa’s special mission seemed to be to dwell in such psychic realms, only to help the needy!”

Hema and Valapet Badri

Dr. Ganesh affectionately recalled what Bawa once told him:

Dr. Ganesh at Philadelphia

“According to the science energy comes from food. Look at the potato plant. It draws energy from ‘somewhere’ to make that potato. But brothers, you go to the store, buy the potato, clean the potato, cook, eat and digest it. Until you become like that potato plant when you know how to draw energy from ‘somewhere’, you have to continue to go to the store, buy it cook it and eat it - what a wasteful and lengthy process ! ”

After narrating this, he gave us an excellent lunch. Then we were taken to Bawa’s Mazar - half an hour drive from Philadelphia. There, the Sufi Saint’s Samadhi Shrine brims with peace, quietude and silence.

We returned to Maryland, with a happy, overflowing heart!