UNIT OF RELIGIONS
The Hindu calendar is punctuated by many festivities that take place throughout the year. The teaching of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba greatly enriched this traditional calendar by adding several Christian, Buddhist, Muslim holidays... thus giving concrete form to the message of universality and inclusiveness that he propagated throughout his earthly presence.
As a priest, Swami Ajay organizes many traditional devotional rituals such as Pujas, Yagyas, Abishekam... always giving them a form adapted to the universal teachings of Sanathana Dharma, allowing everyone to participate and emphasizing that rituals are means of communicating with God. They are not reserved for a particular religion : we are all children of the same God even if our practices differ. He never imposes dogmas in his speeches when he goes to a foreign country. On the contrary, he insists that one can learn from all religions, by explaining different sacred texts. He gives out spiritual practices adapted to each and transmits the message while remaining faithful to his original Brahmin tradition. Because what really counts in spirituality is humanism, values, sincerity and Love. His compassion and adaptability help him to reach seekers of all religions...
In his work as a priest and spiritual guide as well as in his personal life, Swami Ajay puts the teachings of Shri Sathya Sai Baba into practice daily. He gives them a simple and modern form in his devotion... and thus shows the way by means of exemple, especially through the celebrations and activities he organizes with the Sai Trinity Seva Trust in his Bhajan Hall in Mauritius, as abroad with local groups. Organized religious festivals are not just cultural programs for entertainment: they are Sadhanas, spiritual disciplines. These practices are done with love and dedication, defying obstacles by surrendering to the will of God, and considering that every living being is a form of God. This is why Swami Ajay organises Pujas and Yagyas regularly, where everyone can participate with a meticulous organization! According to him, spirituality is not separate from life: it is its heart, its center. Everything revolves around it, provided we understand it in its true meaning.
Swami Ajay: " To do this type of work, one must have a great inner transformation. The word alone is not enough: we also need to have the teachings integrated and put into practice daily. "God" means to smile, "God" means to have a spirit of positivity, of love and acceptance despite the difficulties. From the moment you start to practice and from the moment you see this transformation in yourself, you really feel very happy. Because God dwells in the human heart. It is he who manifests himself in you, because he himself is happy. You are happy, He is happy. And it helps us daily in our life. "
THE UNIVERSAL MESSAGE AND ITS PRACTICE
Explanation of each holiday
correspondence of calendars
TO FIND OUT MORE, MOUSE OVER THE MONTHS OF THE INTERACTIVE CALENDAR ABOVE: ONLY MAJOR HOLIDAYS CELEBRATED IN MAURITIUS ARE REPRESENTED. THE HINDU CALENDAR IS DIFFERENT FROM THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.
TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES AND FESTIVITIES CELEBRATED IN MAURITIUS, DOWNLOAD THE PDF.
“Let the different religious beliefs exist, let them flourish and let the Glory of God be sung in all languages and in all kinds of melodies… that is the ideal. Respect differences in beliefs. Recognize them as valid and equal, as long as they do not extinguish the flame of Unity…”
- SHRI SATHYA SAI BABA
What is the importance of these programs ?
Swami Ajay uses religious celebrations as a means of uplifting the human spirit and conveying the universal message of tolerance, love of neighbor and peace, following the example of his divine master Shri Sathya Sai Baba. The ceremonies are filled with symbolism, allowing us to remember this teaching. What is performed at Prashanti Nilayam is thus adapted by Swamiji according to his inspiration and according to the place of celebration. Some excerpts from Shri Sathya Sai Baba's speeches may help us understand how:
What are rituals made for?
For all religious celebrations in an Ashram, a devotional and cultural program is usually put in place. It is made up of songs, music, dramas, offering, Yagyas... These rituals make it possible to honor God externally and internally, through different forms which are associated with stories, embodying certain exemplary values. Worshipping them allows us to bring them back to our memories, and to try to get closer to them. All religions share this approach and celebrate the birth of great spiritual personalities. These traditions have a common goal, which we must see under the apparent diversity...
“ To develop true humanity, everyone must foster a sense of spiritual unity.
This sense of unity constitutes true religion :
all are children of God. "
" You must act with the conviction that the same Divine Spirit resides in everyone...
Religion means :
realize who you really are. "
- SRI SATHYA SAI BABA
Spirituality is truly a school
Thus, rituals are spiritual disciplines (called “Sadhana”) that help on both a collective and personal level. They help mankind in developing abilities and devotion, but also have an impact on the atmosphere, pollution and the invisible world. They establish divine vibrations that purify the environment, releasing blocked beings and all knots/negativities. They erase sins and resolve past karmas. This is why we feel so good in spiritual places! Rituals act as a cleansing by accelerating positive energy. This is why the Yagyas in particular are called: 'Rituals of purification'. The ritual can therefore be a tool but also a means of expressing our love to God. Swami Ajay also explains that the different devotional practices are like steps that help us to progress, to increase our spiritual level and get closer to the goal.
" However ; it is incorrect of you to say that you love ONLY Rama, ONLY Krishna, or Siva or Sai Baba. There is only one God, he is omnipresent. Don't hate other religions. A Hindu should become a better Hindu. A Christian should become a better Christian. A Muslim should become a better Muslim. Someone who has no love in his heart cannot be called a Muslim, or a Christian, or a Hindu, or a Sikh. In truth, he is a demon on this Earth. Only people who don't have love make differences based on religion. You will attain and find the unity of all religions only when you fill your hearts with divine love. "
“All beliefs and religions are different paths that lead to a single and unique destination.
They aim for excellence of the heart, thanks to which one can live harmoniously in society and then unite with God.”
“Names and forms are varied, but God is One, the One without a second. Religions are only ways of apprehending Him. "
- BHAGAWAN SHRI SATHYA SAI BABA
“To sanctify human life, the nine types of devotion (Navavidha Bhakti) are truly essential. We have: sravanam (attentive listening), kirtanam (devotional song), Vishnusmaranam (contemplation on God), Padasevanam (service at the feet of God), vandanam (obedience), archanam (worship, offerings), dasyam (servitude), sneham ( friendship and relationship with God) and Atmanivedanam (complete self-surrender to God). Man can sanctify his life by this process : sravanam, mananam, nidhidhyasanam (listening, digesting and contemplating on what one has heard). You will not gain fulfillment in your life by simply having darshan, sparshan or sambhashan of holy and noble souls.
(i.e.: seeing the physical form = darshan. Touching the feet = sparshan. Discussion = sambhashan. These are three graces enjoyed when a pure soul is close to us, but having that is not enough. It also takes a sincere effort on our part to tread towards transformation.)
You will only gain peace and quiet if you have these three . ”
“There are two types of love: one of them attaches you to God, the other ones attach you to the world. The mind is responsible for these two states.
It's like a padlock. If you turn the key to the right, the padlock opens. If you turn it to the left, it locks. The heart is the key to open the padlock of the mind... If you turn the key to the world, you get attachment and enslavement. You must be careful that hatred and desire do not lodge in the mind. Do not hold any grudge against anyone and avoid the company of those who are malicious. By cultivating a holy surrounding, you will be able to elevate yourself, for your bad qualities are diluted by your association with good people – just like sewage when it enters the sea.
In the Ramayana it can be seen that Vibhishana, Ravana's brother, was transformed into a great devotee of the lord by his association with Hanuman. On the other side, Kaikeyi was disowned by her child and reaped the death of her husband because of the influence her malevolent servant, Manthara, exerted over her. She only gained the estrangement of her noble son, Bharata.
In the Mahabharata, we find the example of Dharmaraja who had to endure great hardship and humiliation because of his addiction to dice games, born out of a brief association with the malevolent Kauravas. Surrounding yourself with the wrong people can lead to endless problems.
Choose to avoid such an entourage, at all costs. Seek the company of the saints and do whatever it takes to get it. An entourage made up of good people brings you close to God. Spiritual practice or Sadhana makes you dear to God. When you are both near and dear to God, you become One with Him. Once you have realized God, you have it all. Without God, nothing else has value.
All religions, all sacred texts, all spiritual teachings point to a single and unique Truth: the Unity of humanity.
You can chose to believe in whatever you like. But you should never criticize someone else's Faith. It is a distortion of devotion. The propaganda in which some propagators of Christianity have indulged consists in devaluing all other beliefs. This behavior seriously damages the personality of Jesus and his image. There are many people who are deeply devoted to Jesus... Their duty is to glorify the message of Jesus. The most important message of Jesus is the establishment of Peace on Earth and benevolence between human beings. Without this peace, Humanity will never be able to progress in any domain, whether material, spiritual or moral. "
“With melted sugar, several types of sweets can be shaped. We can give them the shape of a fox, a doll, a cube, a horse... The shapes created then appear to our eyes as different from each other and varied. But the essence of all these forms and all these names is unique: the sugar which composes them is the common factor. Whatever candy we choose from these forms, if we take it and break off a small piece and then put it on the tongue, the taste will still be sweet. This taste that we then discover has nothing to do with the shape of the candy... It is the sweetness of the sugar that is its essence. "
Embodiments of love !
Although clay is a unique raw material, the products made from it vary in shape and name. Although gold is a single and unique material, various and diverse ornaments are made of it. Although milk is a single substance, it can come from cows with different coats. Likewise, although the essence of the Divine is One, He manifests in various forms with different names.
The joys and sorrows that man experiences in his daily life, his attachments and his aversions, his pursuit of sensory pleasures… all of this is due to the vagaries of the mind. As long as the human is subject to the feeling of duality , he cannot free himself from attachments and hatred. There can be no escape from dualism until Man recognizes his inherent divinity. Today, few people recognize this unity in diversity. Meanwhile, many intellectuals are engaged in promoting difference and division. The world today needs upright and virtuous humans to promote unity. The mind is the cause of differences ; it is only by controlling it that the differences can be eliminated.
How can Man discover his own unity with the Divine, if he does not seek to know his true nature ? …
Nine forms of devotion were indicated to the human to lead him to realize his own divinity, beginning with attentive listening (Sravanam) and culminating in total self-surrender (Atma nivedanam). Of these nine types of devotion, the best is the last. But what is Surrender? to what, in whom? … when this question is pushed to its limit, in a query to find the answer, the human discovers that the entire universe is made up of 5 elements, which are a manifestation of God. The human, too, is a manifestation of God.
God is not separate from Man… but Man is unable to recognize this because of his identification with his body, which is nevertheless only an instrument. When the human gives up the idea that he is this body, he will have the experience of the Self. The process of devotion, which begins with the worship of physical objects, eventually leads to the realization of the Divine. Without this languid and emotional quest for God, the active pursuit and search for the Divine is not possible. During this quest, you can worship a picture of God, but do not worship God as a picture. You can see God inside a photo, but the photo is not God. No object can exist and take shape without the immanence of the Divine within... Thus, every object must be raised to the level of the Divine. Treat any object as a manifestation of God but never reduce God to the level of a material object.
He is present in all things, but cannot be contained in any. When devotion develops, one resorts to the path of action. And then, we begin to investigate what is transient and what is permanent, what is real and what is unreal. Discernment is an essential faculty for the spiritual aspirant to carry out this inquiry. However, it is abused in the name of rationalism. This process of inner search has taken strange forms. Too many young people today are misled by so-called rationalism, to make a mockery of spirituality. And few people seek the true meaning of things. By misinterpreting and creating confusion, many are going down the wrong path. Human life is precious, sublime and full of meaning. But by engaging in purely worldly pursuits, the greatness of human birth is forgotten. Without values, human life has no meaning. Where there is purity in thought, word and deed, human values are practiced…and unity of heart, head and hand is essential.
Today, unity is absent among the people. This is why humans become inhumane. "
- SSS Vol 27 – n°32
“ All beliefs are facets of the one and only truth which may be described as : Love, Purity, Charity, Sacrifice, and Surrender of personal will. All Human beings love someone or something, even those who deny God and degrade morality... Despite everything, they must speak the truth to be believed, keep their purity to satisfy their own conscience and the conventions of society. They also seek inner peace and joy... This Truth, this Love, this happiness that human beings desperately seek is God. "
- Baba
Swami Ajay: “There is a word in Sanskrit : “ Ishta Devtaa ”. It means : your favorite God. All of us were born with a favorite form of God ! but we did not have the knowledge. The priests, the masters... they didn't give us all that, they didn't explain to us what our identity is. Why did we come? How important is our life? What is our job on earth? They left us all alone... without giving away the teachings. For example: with baptism, there is also a teaching. We must explain to you the cause and reason for your birth on Earth ! What do we have to do ? What is our relationship with God? How to evolve? ... "
“ Choose one name and persevere. As Ramakrishna said so well, do not dig in ten different places crying for not having found water. Dig very deep, in the same place, with perseverance and Faith : you will end up with a well. And even if you don't find water at the bottom, don't despair: the rain of Grace will fill it with water.
Regularity, sincerity and the repetition of the same thing while being constant in one's practice : here are the ingredients for success. This is called “ Sadhana ” : a discipline. You will be rewarded for it. If you say you don't have time, I would tell you that laziness is speaking for you. The day is 24 hours long. How can any other activity claim its superiority and legitimacy over contemplation and sacred repetition ? ... It is for this unique activity that Man was born."
“ Embodiments of Love!!
Your names and your appearances (forms) are different. But the principle of love is the same in each of you. This is why I address you by saying: “Incarnations of Love, Premaswarupulada”. Because Love is always One, it should never be divided or cut into pieces. Regard God as One and love Him with all your heart. Only such love directed toward God can be called "sincere devotion."
Devotees like Jayadeva, Gauranga or Eknath have developed such divine love and thereby sanctified their lives. Likewise, Mira and Sakhubai had unfailing love and devotion to God. They did not worship multiple names and multiple forms. They followed one path, the one they had chosen. They had installed only one Lord in their heart, with only one name and only one form… and they contemplated this divinity incessantly. Those whose minds are in duality change paths regularly. Those are doomed to ruin their lives... That's why I tell you not to have a mind that gets lost in duality. Experience the Divine with what is called Ekatma Bhava (the Lord and I are one heart.)
You can choose any name you like: Rama, Krishna, Easwara, etc. – and contemplate on its form.
If you do, you will achieve the Purpose of life. Lead your lives with the mind always focused on the goal. "
- SSS Vol 38, n°9