From Form to Formless...

       Today is Mother Eashwaramma day. The day when 39 years ago, the Avatar's chosen mother shed her physical coil. The day which since then has been celebrated as one dedicated to the "Chosen Mother", in gratitude, for conferring on mankind the greatest gift- the avatar of the age, the most beautiful of all human forms, the very embodiment of all that is auspicious, truth and beauty. And on this day, I have chosen to write down about the passing away of that amazing beautiful form, the form that captivated millions for over eight decades, the form that gave strength and solace untiringly to hundreds of thousands, the form that inspired love, purity and selflessness in thousands on a scale that the world has never seen. The form that claimed to be the "embodiment of all forms of divinity"- sarva-devata-swaroopa. The form that was my anchor, my rock of Gibraltar, my most cherished object on the face of this planet. That form is no more. Or should I write, that form chose to transcend to become formless. That form, which was described as "ocean in a ink bottle", chose to break free and again become the boundary-less all encompassing ocean. But what ever I might say, the passing away of that form will leave behind a gaping hole in the hearts of the millions who had the greatest good fortune to have come to His presence, to have been touched by His inexpressible sweetness. 

    Swami, you will be dearly dearly missed, though we know You will continue to live in the deepest recesses of our hearts, and around us as the Cosmic Sai.

They declared it on April 24th:

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is no more with us physically. He left His earthly body on 24th April, 2011, at 0740 hrs. due to cardio-respiratory failure.

Bhagawan Baba's Body will lie in state at Sai Kulwant Hall for two days (Monday and Tuesday). Arrangements will be made for Darshan after 1800 hrs. today, at Sai Kulwant Hall.

     And with this declaration, curtain came down not only to the most amazing phenomenon on the planet, but also to the earnest prayers in the heart of the millions, who fervently hoped and prayed their dearest Swami will not disappoint them and pull His self up from the hospital bed and be in their midst again. But it turned out the Avatar had chosen a different plan for Himself.

     A week before He was hospitalized because of His irregular heart beat, on March 20th, He folded His hands in a gesture of thanking to the assembled devotees in Sai Kulwant Hall. With this one gesture of Namaskar, of gratitude, of a final good bye, or perhaps apologizing to all His millions of devotees- that it is time now to put an end to His self-imposed limitations and return to His formless infinite state, a gesture he had never ever done before, he conveyed so much. It reveals that this was exactly how the Avatar willed it. That this was part of the master-plan. That this was not outside the script the Avatar had wrote for Himself. That He was till the end in complete control.


 During the preparation of His 85th birthday last November, he gave indication to make all the arches and decorations to be made of a permanent nature, unlike previous years, when they were made only for the occasion to be brought down after the celebrations. Such were the Divine hints of the imminent exit. But poor hapless humans that we are, we failed to look through the Divine Plan.

        I was talking with my mother over phone, and constantly refreshing the www.radiosai.org and the www.sssbpt.org on that fateful Saturday night (It was Sunday morning in India). Usually they put that day's morning health bulletin by 830-845 pm our time (I was in Arizona, USA, in PST time zone). But that evening it was almost 9 15 pm , and there was no update. I started to have a bad feeling, when soon I discovered that they have declared Swami was physically no more.For sometime I went blank. I did not know how to react, what to react. A feeling  of utter despair and sorrow engulfed me, and my heart wanted to burst out crying. But not a drop of tear flowed out of my tear-ducts, as if all the fluids in my body had dried up. 

    Swami's passing was the only news on all the channels, all over India. What Swami did not do in His life, with all His mega service projects, with all His Divine display of superhuman powers, He did that in His shedding of the physical form. Sai's name resonated from every home, from every corner of the country of 1.2 Billion. Nay from all parts of the world. All major newspaper all around the world reported on Him. The little boy of a god-forbidden nondescript Rayalseema village, was hailed as the Avatar of the Age, and seemed to have plunged the entire planet into mourning. The hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life, the Presidents and the Prime-ministers, the cricketing gods and the silver-screen divas, the yoga gurus and the corporate honchos, all were united in their grief and paying obeisance to the One who was so many things to so many people. When was the last time humanity saw such unity of purpose on one man’s passing?

     For me those moments that I was supremely blessed to be in His presence will remain my most precious possessions for all the time to come. They will be my shield in times of challenge, my source of inspiration when I'll be in gloom, most cherished memories etched in my consciousness till my last breath. They will be the memories that I will relive with my friends and family, children and grandchildren,  when they will be awed and incredulous listening to those marvelous mind-boggling stories. 


    Swami, may those memories remain as fresh as ever, may time have no influence on them, may I feel your touch and your Love that I saw in your eyes for ever and ever, may those amazing words in your amazing inimitable voice ever ring on my ears. May I remain always aware of your all encompassing Presence. For ever and ever. 

-May 6, 2011.