A more nuanced view on medium messages related to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
An email response from a correspondent to the contents of a previous blogpost, Claimed paranormal connections via mediums to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba; Splinter devotee groups, was about how he had a pleasant and unpleasant experience with a 'postman' job of delivering a real-life Swami message to another person. That led me to do some more thinking on medium messages and arrive at a more nuanced view on medium messages related to Swami, as given below.
What would I do if I received a message from Swami in a dream to be passed on to somebody (known to me)?
Hmm. I would be in quite a dilemma as it has never happened to me so far and I hope and pray that I never land into such a dilemma in future :). I think I may be very frank with the intended recipient and tell him/her that I simply don't know why I got the message in a dream, and that I felt it is my duty to pass on the message. He/she is free to consider the message seriously or to reject it completely. I will also mention that Sai organization leaders have provided many quotations from Swami discourses where Swami strongly discourages giving importance to such messages delivered via others (as against Swami directly giving the message to the person in a dream or vision). But even if one does it in such a careful way, if the message is a very sensitive one (e.g. related to sensitive family issues or critical job issues) the recipient may treat it as an unwelcome interference in his/her personal affairs. I think the Muddenahalli (and Kodaikanal) medium(s) may be facing similar challenges when delivering supposed Swami messages to devotees. Being such a medium must be involving a lot of mental strain not only on the medium but also on his family and close friends, I guess.
What would I do if I received such a message from another person like a medium/intermediary?
Once again, it will be a dilemma, at least for the first such message. I think if the medium/intermediary is somebody who I know and respect I will carefully listen to/read the message, and thank him/her for it, though I will also say to him/her that I need to contemplate on the message. Later I would try to connect to the inner Swami/conscience and try to get some inner guidance/comfort level on the message. Depending on that inner connection/inner voice outcome I will either act in accordance with the message or not act on it.
In this context I should also mention that sometimes the medium/intermediary may pass on some information which is known only to oneself and persons very close to one, who the medium/intermediary does not have access to. That may make the recipient believe in the medium's divine powers. I believe that some mediums/intermediaries acquire some such powers like being able to tap into one's past (similar to Naadi reading) but that may be only a limited power and should not lead one to believe that the medium/intermediary has (directly/indirectly) infallible mystic power. For example, my experience in my Naadi reading, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadi_astrology, sometime in 1993-94 if I recall correctly, was that the reader was very mystifyingly accurate in his account of my past. I could not sleep properly for the next few nights as I was stunned that somebody was able to read out/interpret from palm leaf records (claimed to have been made by Saga Agasthya, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agastya, in this case), such intimate details of my past. But some of the specific predictions made for my future did not happen - these were clear and unambiguous failures of the Naadi reader predictions. However, his general sense of how my future would play out, especially on the spiritual side of my life, has been quite correct, so far. [The Naadi readers claimed that they were from the famed for Naadi reading Vaitheeswaran Koil (temple) in Tamil Nadu, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaitheeswaran_Koil, and they had come along with a set of Naadis from Vaitheeswaran temple to Navi Mumbai, where I met them, on a (commercial, I presume) visit.]
But what about the fear factor in not obeying the instructions/advice passed on by the medium?
This fear factor may be a critical one for many devotees who get such messages. Well, my view is that Swami is famous for his saying, Why Fear When I am Here. Swami is also famous for his AbhayaHasta (don't fear) gesture, http://www.saibabaofindia.com/june2011/mother-ma-sri-sathya-sai-baba-blessings-abhya-hasta-mudra.jpg. And Swami has said so many times that he is in the depth of our hearts. So one can pray deeply to Swami in our hearts (inner Swami) asking for directions on the message passed on by the medium as well as courage. If the inner Swami/inner voice/conscience does not give any indication towards accepting the message then one can ignore the message and also pray to inner Swami for protection. That, IMHO, should take care of the fear factor involved, for most persons if not all persons, when ignoring advice/instructions passed on by a medium.
What would I do if I received a message from Swami in a dream to be passed on to somebody (known to me)?
Hmm. I would be in quite a dilemma as it has never happened to me so far and I hope and pray that I never land into such a dilemma in future :). I think I may be very frank with the intended recipient and tell him/her that I simply don't know why I got the message in a dream, and that I felt it is my duty to pass on the message. He/she is free to consider the message seriously or to reject it completely. I will also mention that Sai organization leaders have provided many quotations from Swami discourses where Swami strongly discourages giving importance to such messages delivered via others (as against Swami directly giving the message to the person in a dream or vision). But even if one does it in such a careful way, if the message is a very sensitive one (e.g. related to sensitive family issues or critical job issues) the recipient may treat it as an unwelcome interference in his/her personal affairs. I think the Muddenahalli (and Kodaikanal) medium(s) may be facing similar challenges when delivering supposed Swami messages to devotees. Being such a medium must be involving a lot of mental strain not only on the medium but also on his family and close friends, I guess.
What would I do if I received such a message from another person like a medium/intermediary?
Once again, it will be a dilemma, at least for the first such message. I think if the medium/intermediary is somebody who I know and respect I will carefully listen to/read the message, and thank him/her for it, though I will also say to him/her that I need to contemplate on the message. Later I would try to connect to the inner Swami/conscience and try to get some inner guidance/comfort level on the message. Depending on that inner connection/inner voice outcome I will either act in accordance with the message or not act on it.
In this context I should also mention that sometimes the medium/intermediary may pass on some information which is known only to oneself and persons very close to one, who the medium/intermediary does not have access to. That may make the recipient believe in the medium's divine powers. I believe that some mediums/intermediaries acquire some such powers like being able to tap into one's past (similar to Naadi reading) but that may be only a limited power and should not lead one to believe that the medium/intermediary has (directly/indirectly) infallible mystic power. For example, my experience in my Naadi reading, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadi_astrology, sometime in 1993-94 if I recall correctly, was that the reader was very mystifyingly accurate in his account of my past. I could not sleep properly for the next few nights as I was stunned that somebody was able to read out/interpret from palm leaf records (claimed to have been made by Saga Agasthya, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agastya, in this case), such intimate details of my past. But some of the specific predictions made for my future did not happen - these were clear and unambiguous failures of the Naadi reader predictions. However, his general sense of how my future would play out, especially on the spiritual side of my life, has been quite correct, so far. [The Naadi readers claimed that they were from the famed for Naadi reading Vaitheeswaran Koil (temple) in Tamil Nadu, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaitheeswaran_Koil, and they had come along with a set of Naadis from Vaitheeswaran temple to Navi Mumbai, where I met them, on a (commercial, I presume) visit.]
But what about the fear factor in not obeying the instructions/advice passed on by the medium?
This fear factor may be a critical one for many devotees who get such messages. Well, my view is that Swami is famous for his saying, Why Fear When I am Here. Swami is also famous for his AbhayaHasta (don't fear) gesture, http://www.saibabaofindia.com/june2011/mother-ma-sri-sathya-sai-baba-blessings-abhya-hasta-mudra.jpg. And Swami has said so many times that he is in the depth of our hearts. So one can pray deeply to Swami in our hearts (inner Swami) asking for directions on the message passed on by the medium as well as courage. If the inner Swami/inner voice/conscience does not give any indication towards accepting the message then one can ignore the message and also pray to inner Swami for protection. That, IMHO, should take care of the fear factor involved, for most persons if not all persons, when ignoring advice/instructions passed on by a medium.
Comments
Post a Comment