| willytex@yahoo.com 2006-03-25, 1:32 am |
| "The men were all clean shaven and had their best suits on. Worst of
all, there couldn't have been more than fifteen Westerners, all total;
the very top of Maharishi's Western organization, all there by personal
invitation from Maharishi himself, and all sitting in the front row in
full view of the main entrance.
So much for "blending in." Behind the Westerners sat hundreds of
exuberant brahmin boys whom Maharishi was instructing in the Vedas. The
few ladies I saw were the top administrators of Maharishi's "Thousand
Headed Mother Divine Course." I sat down directly in front of Maharishi
who was sitting about fifteen feet away on his dais. To his left, and
above him on his own dais was the present Shankaracharya of
Jyothirmath, the spiritual "pope" of North India, Sri Swami
Vishnudevananda.
To his left, sitting on an even higher dais, was Guru Dev's successor
(appointed by Guru Dev himself, in his will), Shri Swami Shantanand
Saraswati Maharaj, retired Shankaracharya of Jyothirmath. These two sat
under the gold and red umbrella of the Shankaracharya, on the
throne-like chairs of their position. Surrounding them were about fifty
of the most illustrious looking orange-clad swarmis I'd ever seen. This
was the top of India's spiritual tradition in the flesh. The stage area
was surrounded by hundreds of lights (candles, oil and ghee lamps)
which are traditionally lit for Diwali. The scene was a blaze of
spiritual light.
As I was sitting down Marc looked up at me with an inquisitive, raised
eyebrow and silently conveyed, "What in the hell are you doing here ...
what's with the beard and the dhoti, are you completely out of your
mind?" The other Westerners were also checking me out, having, of
course, immediately recognized me. I didn't even want to know their
thoughts. All I could think was "God, when you fulfill a desire you
really go all out. Since this is probably the last time I'll see
Maharishi for not being properly invited, I must thank you for the
fabulous send-off."
I drank in the whole scene. I'd stepped into the ageless, fiery world
of the Swami Order of Lord Shankara. A Sanskrit puja was underway in
which Maharishi was the deity. A couple of old pujaris were chanting,
with one making offerings to Maharishi splashing Ganges water on him,
adorning him with green leaves, offering incense, light from ghee
lamps, etc. It reminded me of a silent film I'd seen of Maharishi's
master, Guru Dev, in which he was worshipped as Shankaracharya in
similar fashion.
This was a great honor for Maharishi, and demonstrated in the most
symbolic way possible that he was held in highest esteem by the present
Shankaracharya Order; with both the reigning and retired
Shankaracharyas of Jyothirmath in attendance. They obviously regarded
Maharishi as the most enlightened disciple of their own guru, Swami
Brahmananda Saraswati (Guru Dev). I had heard that Swami
Vishnudevananda was supporting Maharishi and his movement in recruiting
Indians for the mass group practice of the TM-Sidhi program.
Maharishi always generates a feeling of eternality and transcendent
silence around him that is the most profound I've ever felt, but I had
experienced this most often in the context of large gatherings of
Westerners in Europe. In the midst of his own people, including the
most illustrious of the Swami Order itself, the feeling was deeper,
more natural, because the land and its spiritual history supported it.
This was the "Whole Thing, the Real Thing" as Guru Dev used to say.
If this were to be my last sight of the master, I had picked the right
night. I felt God smiling on. For the entire evening, Maharishi
remained in samadhi, eyes closed. That doesn't mean he was completely
lost to the world, though, because at one point I felt as if he were
"scanning" me checking me out with his inner vision. He's far too
powerful to not have his attention felt by his teachers. I felt him
look right through me, my organs, subtle body, mind, everything. While
this was going on, I tried to send him the telepathic message: "Lord
Shiva got me in here as a boon."
If Maharishi was upset about my being here, it was his own fault-he was
the one who taught me, in person, the highly effective techniques for
locating transcendental consciousness and fulfilling desires through
That. I was living proof of his own success this night. I'd gotten
through his carefully selected, highly effective human shield and then
been delivered at his feet as a VIP. That is the power of the Lord.
The deep velvety-red umbrellas of Swami Vishnudevananda Saraswati and
Swami Shantanandji Saraswati, embroidered with large gold Sanskrit
letters, were obviously very old. To me, they represented the cosmic
umbrella that one gets under for spiritual protection when initiated by
an enlightened guru into the ancient tradition of the Sanatan Dharma.
Each umbrella was imbued with the deep spirituality of ancient India
and great men of cosmic consciousness.
I was mesmerized by the rare darshan (sight) of Swami Shantanand
Saraswati. He must have been in his eighties at the time, but still had
the wrinkle-free face of a baby. The glow on his face was more pure,
more translucent, than I had ever seen on any human being before. He
looked like the transcendent personified. He remained seated in deep
meditation the entire evening. He never moved, never opened his eyes.
He looked serene, breathless, in his all-time natural state of cosmic
conciousness. From his whole body he radiated powerful waves of love.
He was a sensory feast to behold, seated in the highest position in the
room on his "throne" chair that was placed directly underneath what
looked like the same unbrella that Guru Dev had sat under as
Shankaracharya. The man had a pure white halo that encircled his whole
body."
Source:
"Galaxy of Fire"
by Jay Latham
Sunstar, 2000
p. 550-553
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