It has been quite some time since we visited Jillellamudi. I woke up at 3:30 a.m and got ready. As planned, C arrived at our house by 5 a.m. At 5:15 a.m, we started to Jillellamudi by road. We crossed the city outskirts before sunrise and passed through the cool breeze from the fields under the early morning sky. Pleasant sunrise invited us.
Whenever I start to Jillellamudi, very intense emotional feelings arise in me. I can’t even describe Charan’s state. To add to this, a bengali song “Ami mantra tantra kuch ni jaani nema” (Mother, I do not know any mantra or tantra, all I know is that I am your child) from the sweet voice of Pannalaal Bhattacharya was being played on the stereo. All of us were in silence. High frequency vibrations started all around us. We travelled a good distance while experiencing the song and its meaning in silence. In the meantime, we heard Charan’s voice breaking the silence.
C: “Mother once said “What was the karma behind Sri Rama and Sri Krishna taking birth?”. What is the meaning of this? Is karma the reason behind birth? Is this a rule?”
I felt delighted to listen to the question. A laughter arose in me.
I said, “Look. The answer to this is in the Gita. We do not know the context in which Mother has spoken these words. One has to understand the words of Mahatmas within the context spoken. Those words should not be applied to all other contexts. In the Gita, at one instance, Sri Krishna said that “In the world, I do not have any karma or duty”. In another instance, He says that “Due to the effect of My Maya, I am self-manifesting in the world, but people are thinking of Me as an ordinary person. My Maya is creating such an illusion in them.”
“While playing with kids, a dad acts as if he fell down and is not able to get up. He ties up himself with a string and acts as if he cannot untie himself. This does not mean that he is not capable of getting up or untie his bonds. Similarly, for ordinary people, past karma is the reason behind their birth, for gods, sankalpa (intention) is the reason behind their birth. Their lives are not bound by karma. They do not have karma.”
I observed that C still had his doubts intact in this regard. With a smile, I said, “Please wait, your doubts will be cleared in Jillellamudi”.
C: “Brother, you told me about a person in Sri Ramakrishna’s life, the person had the power to emit light from his body. Could you please tell me that story again?”.
I told him the following story, “Sri Ramakrishna knew two people named Chandra and Girija. They became acquainted with Sri Ramakrishna during his Tantra sadhana days. One of them had Siddhi (supernatural power). One day, Sri Ramakrishna, after discussing many topics late into the evening, started walking to the Kali temple. Due to pitch darkness, he was finding it difficult to follow the path. Then, Girija, lifted his hand and spread a flood light throughout the path. In this light, Sri Ramakrishna was able to go to the temple. Everyone knows the story till this point. But, there is another unknown part to this. After this incident, Girija could not do this trick again because that light never obeyed his command. This is because, Sri Ramakrishna had attracted that power into himself and set Girija free from the slavery of this Siddhi (supernatural power). Siddhis (supernatural powers) are obstacles in the Sadhana path. Hence, he took away these Siddhis upon Himself and made Girija lighter. Girija was not aware of this. Showing one’s powers before an Incarnation is like jumping before Lord Hanuman. There was another seeker named Chandra. He had Gutika siddhi, due to this he had gone through a lot of trouble. Later, he left this power and was able to continue on the path of Sadhana”.
During the trip, in many places, we found people standing in groups in the middle of the road and not moving even after honking at them several times. After seeing this, C said, “Are they people or animals? I feel animals are better, upon hearing the sound of a horn, they at least make way for us. People are worse than animals”. I said, “You are mistaken C, they are all our gurus, they are trying to teach us patience”. C remembered Jesus’s saying, “O Father in Heaven, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing”.
I said, “Very good saying, brother. All great people feel alike. They think that way by looking at worldly people. By looking at our ignorance, laziness, stubbornness, every great saint thinks like that.”
C: “Brother, may I ask you another question?”.
Without shifting my sight from the road and with a smile, I said, “Ask, is permission necessary to ask?”.
C: “Mother once said, “My child, there is no such thing called Time”. I understood many statements of Mother to some extent, but this statement I am not able to understand at all. What is your opinion on this?”.
I said, “It is an ultimate statement emanating from the indivisible and undifferentiated state of Being, but not applicable to poor mortals like us”.
With a smile, I said, “Brother, since you have read a lot about Mother, I too have a question for you. Did Mother mention to anyone about other worlds and rebirth? Please don’t quote Mother’s saying, “Reading books does not lead one to Liberation”.
C: “Dear brother, If Mother is saying that there is no concept of time, then how will she say anything about worlds and rebirth”.
I said, “Mother would not have said that to everyone. It is not possible to express such thoughts to everyone as each person is in a different state of mind. Great people do not generalize and talk about such matters. Only when close people are around them, they say things such as so and so person has taken birth here or this person was so and so in the past birth, or that she has sent so and so person to some world. Did you read any such literature about Mother?”.
C: “No, brother, I haven’t read any such literature and also never heard”.
I said, “All these are true. Other worlds and births are all present, but great people do not reveal these mysteries during normal conversation with ordinary people, they just talk about general topics of spirituality. Such secrets must not be discussed in the presence of everyone. No one would even do so. However, such things do happen”.
C: “Let’s ask those who saw and lived with Mother. Sister Vasundhara is also here, we can ask her”.
I waved my head in approval. Soon we reached Bapatla. We had breakfast there and within half an hour, we reached the outskirts of Jillellamudi. We entered the village after crossing the bridge and taking a turn to the right. Everytime we travel through the path, the same thought arises in us, “Many great people travelled on this path to visit Mother”. As we were thinking of this, we arrived at the village. After going a little farther, we saw a board saying, “Everyone’s home”. As soon as we entered, we saw brother Mallu and others standing there with a smile. We felt very happy upon seeing them.
To be continued...
All rights reserved. This article has been translated by Ganesh A which was originally posted in teluguyogi.net on July 24, 2012. The content or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher.