Baba
Story: How Baba taught me surrender
Note: The following story was recounted by Ac Karunananda Avt to margiis of Suva sector on the occasion of Shravanii Purnima (Aug 2022). Sadly, Ac Karunananda underwent his mahaprayan approximately 3 months later in November 2022. This story stands as a great devotional treasure for all sadhakas and the greater humanity. Those present for the occasion will recall the very loving and spirited way in which Dada told this story.
Namaskar,
The below series of events took place when Dada Karunananda ji was posted to Berlin sector in 1972. Dada ji became a Wt in 1966 and was still quite young when he first left India to go to Germany. Ultimately, Dada ji had a long career working overseas, traveling to over 90 countries during his time as a Wt. The story is recounted in the first-person so the “I” refers to Dada Karunananda ji.
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Getting posted overseas
I was first posted abroad in 1972, and that was a big hurdle and a difficult job for a young, Indian boy. I had no formal or organisational contacts in Europe and no guaranteed place to stay. Indeed, the working culture in AMPS is quite unique. Securing the money and plane ticket for an overseas posting are the headache of the individual Wt, not the headquarters. So just getting to one’s posting is a mighty task. Then, once there, the situation is the same. You are on your own to figure it all out.
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Anyway, on 27 June 1972, I traveled from Delhi to Berlin via Paris. So I flew directly to Paris and then made an overland journey to Berlin. While in Delhi, I had met one young margii 17-year-old boy who lived in Germany, and he had said that when I arrived in Berlin I should contact him and stay with him. His name was Anshudeva, and he was my sole contact in all of Berlin sector. My train from Paris was three hours late arriving in Berlin; nonetheless, brother Anshudeva was there to pick me up, and he brought me to his home.
His mother was a single parent raising three children (two boys and one girl) in their small flat, and with great motherly affection she took one look at me and said, “You are so young to be a priest.” So here I was in this new land, and I was not at all sure how to begin. Anshudeva was a 17-year-old boy with little money, and with great sacrifice he generously offered me all that he had: 100 Deutchmarks. We used 50 DM for making copies of our leaflet, and the other 50 DM was for my bus travel back and forth to town.
Trying to do pracara
The leaflet proclaimed that an Indian yogi was in town to talk about mental peace and yoga, yet at that time I had no mental peace myself, what to speak of being able to help others attain such a state. That was my beleaguered condition. Even then, every day I left the apartment in the early morning in order to generate interest. The host mother would pack up some bread and butter for me, and I would spend the whole day out in town as I did not want to be a burden to my host family. So I was out all day distributing my leaflets. I went everywhere: pubs, discos, shops - all over. And after about a month of doing this, all my leaflets were gone, my money had dried up, and I had absolutely nothing to show for it.
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I was quite sullen, thinking that I would not be successful. In India, people had told me that the culture was different in Europe, and I was feeling very defeated. This field seemed untenable. On the top, the locals were thinking that I came to Berlin just to make money. So it was a double problem: The way of life here was materialistic, and they had some bad experiences in the past with fake sannyasis from India.
Surrender: I tore up my plane ticket
Finally, one night I was just overwhelmed and began crying for Baba. It was just impossible to work here. I was just thinking again and again about my return ticket, which was scheduled for three months after the day that I arrived here. I was just constantly thinking about that ticket, and how I would be going back to India and not work here. The next day also my mind was drawn again and again to that plane ticket. Ultimately, I took Baba’s name, ideated on Him, and tore up the ticket. So now there was no way to leave.
The next morning I was wondering what to do. I had no money to get to town so I just wandered here and there and finally over to a park, utterly drowned in feelings of loneliness. I thought, “Karunananda, you have no money, no plane ticket - nothing, except Baba.” When this idea arose, then from deep within I had a distinct feeling that something good would happen today. As I entered the park, an elderly man of around 80 years of age approached me from behind and did namaskar. He spoke in very plain and simple English, “Young yogi, the Lord has ordered me to help you. I have a love letter for you.” And he handed me an envelope with his name and phone number on it. He added, “I wish I could be more helpful. If I were younger I could help you more.” Then he said he was in a hurry, and he left.
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With great curiosity I opened the “love letter” and was astonished to find that there were 30 notes of $100 (US), so $3,000 total (US). Then this great spiritual romance came in my mind. I thought, “Karunananda, why were you so worried? Baba is here.” I reflected upon how surrender means when you have nothing - no money, no ticket etc - and you raise your hands and only depend on Him. That is surrender.
Baba arranges everything
Next, I wondered how I would get back to the house. The money this man had given me was in US dollars, and I had no clue about how to do any type of money exchange. There was one last day bus back which I thought I would take, but I drifted in my walking and arrived at a disco. A young fellow had just come out from the disco, and he seemed extremely disturbed and was not at all interested in talking to me. Even then I thought I should help and approached him and said, “I am a social worker from India.” I could see he was holding a handful of pills, but he began to open up to me. He said that he had had severe abdominal pain the previous night and thought he would die. And he reasoned that instead of undergoing that same pain tonight, he would rather die by eating a bunch of sleeping pills. We continued to talk, and he began to feel better. Slowly, step by step, I inspired him, by Baba’s grace, and he took initiation.
It was getting late, and now again I was wondering how I would get back as I still did not have any Deutschmarks to pay for the bus. The young man sensed my concern and asked me what was wrong. When he understood my predicament, he said that he has a car and that he would drive me home. At that point, I was immersed in the devotional feeling that Baba is taking care of absolutely everything. He is taking care of even my tiniest problems. And indeed, I got a very comfortable ride home to my door that evening.
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Like living in a dream
The next morning I was called to the phone at 6am. The young man whom I had met last night had called and said he wanted to meet with me urgently. So we met at the park that morning. And he proceeded to narrate how he was an only son, his parents had divorced, his sister was marrying a district judge, and his father was a big building contractor and real estate mogul. The young man explained how his father had given him a multi-story building that had 25 - 30 apartments, and that he gets all the revenue. The young man then told me that from today onwards I would live in a deluxe apartment in his building. So he told me to gather my bags, and we would go there immediately. But even then that was not all. The young many volunteered that, “All my money is yours, and I will be your driver to take you all around.”
Hearing all this, I felt like I was living in a dream. The night before I had no money for even a simple bus ticket, and now I have everything. I was now living in my own beautiful flat that was absolutely enormous. And I had plenty of money including an ongoing revenue stream. It was all so unbelievable. “Baba has arranged everything” - that was the feeling percolating in my heart.
Ultimately, this young man drove me all over Europe, and we began doing pracara like wildfire. You may not be able to comprehend this, but I was conducting 300 - 400 initiations every day. Verily, thousands were initiated as we were in a complete whirlwind, traveling from country to country.
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Reflection
What I wish to share here is that people mistakenly think that they are doing Baba’s work. In reality, Baba has already planned everything, and things are unfolding according to His grand plan. We foolishly think that we are doing something. But when a person thinks, “I am doing”, then nothing will happen. Things only happen when you realise that you are not doing anything. Just His entire cosmic plan is playing as per His wish. We may think we are surrendering, but surrender only truly happens when He graciously creates the circumstances by which we can surrender fully unto Him. Surrender only happens by His grace.
In Him,
Raghava Deva
(Robert Garner)
Note: In the above story, the “I” refers to Acarya Karunananda Avadhuta.
~ In-depth study ~
Baba says, “Remember, you have to offer your own identity – not money, rice plantains or other crude objects. The give-and-take of crude things is a business transaction. If you want to attain the bliss of Brahma, you must offer your own self. If you want to have the Great “I”, you must give away your own little “I”. You have to give the full sixteen annas, (the full rupee). Giving fifteen annas and holding back one anna will not do. You must completely surrender. To attain that Infinite One with the help of your mental concentration and strength, you have to surrender yourselves. But, remember self-surrender does not mean suicide. On the contrary, your soul will have its full expression. Your existence will not become contracted, for contraction is inert in principle. Hence in the Sádhaná of self-surrender the ego is expanded, not contracted. In the Mahábhárata, when Duhshásana was pulling the sari of Draopadii, she was tightly holding the cloth to her body with one hand beseeching lord Krśńa with the other. “Oh! My lord, save me!” But the Lord did not then come forward to save her from shame. When Draopadii found no means of escape, she then released her hold on the cloth and appealed to the Lord most piteously with both hands out-stretched, crying, “O Lord, I surrender my all to you. Do what you think is best”. And the Lord immediately rescued her. That is why I say that you will have to dedicate yourselves to His feet wholly and unreservedly. You will earn godliness in proportion to the extent that you surrender yourselves, and finally, after merging that acquired godliness of yours in His Entity, you will attain eternal bliss.” (1)
Reference
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 3, Vibration, Form and Colour
Plagiary?
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
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Death explained
Everything in this universe is temporary and subject to change; only Parama Purusa is permanent - lasting.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "Amrta means “immortal”. Do you know what death is? Death means a change of form. A boy of five years became a young man – now, the body of that boy underwent death. That young man became old – the body of that young man underwent death. That old man died and he again came here in the form of a little boy – the body of that old man underwent death. Death means a change of form." (1)
Reference
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 24, The Causal Matrix
Recent postings
Other topics of interest
It is the accepted international standard and Baba's system not to copy another's work and publish it in your own way. Baba has given a very strict rule on plagiarism. Why is Baba against plagiarism or stealing someone's work? There are many reasons:
1) It is against the code of asteya (non-stealing).
2) Countless stories of bhaktas need to be published. But some do not want to do the hard work of compiling and writing these stories, so they just steal them from others. But new stories need to be told, otherwise so many unpublished stories of sadhakas will be lost and forgotten forever. So watch out for story thieves, and kindly help them not to steal by posting on social media in their own way. If you want to forward this story then attach the following yellow section with the story:
“Courtesy of unknown bhakta via Ananda Marga Universal (https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/)”
This will be treated as the standard protocol.
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The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
* * *
== Section 2: Important Teaching ==
Everything in this universe is temporary and subject to change; only Parama Purusa is permanent - lasting.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "Amrta means “immortal”. Do you know what death is? Death means a change of form. A boy of five years became a young man – now, the body of that boy underwent death. That young man became old – the body of that young man underwent death. That old man died and he again came here in the form of a little boy – the body of that old man underwent death. Death means a change of form." (1)
Reference
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 24, The Causal Matrix
== Section 3: Links ==
AMUC Youtube ChannelRecent postings
Other topics of interest
