The message of Easter is full of sorrow and at the same time, full of joy. It was a very sorrowful week because the Lord Jesus was crucified on Friday. Three days later, on the day that is now called Easter Sunday, He rose up and He appeared in different ways to His apostles.
Easter was a joyful day for Thomas and Bartholomew, two apostles of Jesus, who saw Him in His form. At first Thomas was doubtful. He was thinking, “Jesus was crucified and buried, how could He rise up?” But when Jesus showed him the wounds which the nails had made on Him, Thomas accepted. Bartholomew, of course, had no doubt. Though Jesus rose up for these two, the rest of the world was having sorrow.
Lord Jesus rose up from the pit, and He walked away from Jerusalem along with these two apostles. He walked down through Burma to India. Nobody knew about it. Still people think that was the end of Lord Jesus, when He was crucified. Nobody can understand His work, His divine Leela (Sport).
Why the Lord comes down on earth age after age, nobody knows. The same Ancient One is responsible for Creation, because He was the first One who came to know who He really was. The responsibility for Creation came to Him, and He cannot leave His responsibility for Creation. That is why He comes down on earth age after age. He does not take form on any other planet, though there are innumerable planets in the gross sphere.
After He rose up, The Lord was walking and walking, all over India. He went to Ayodhoya, the place where Ram (the Avatar, Christ or Prophet) had taken birth. Also He went walking to Sri Lanka to the place where Ram killed Ravana. (Ram had also gone walking to Sri Lanka and because He had to take His army, the army made a bridge and they walked down the distance. Lord Jesus went to Mathura and Brindavan, where Krishna was born.) He also went to Dwarka, where Krishna’s kingdom was founded. He went to Sarnath, where Buddha’s ministry was established. He would go on walking and walking, to many different places of pilgrimage. No one has any idea of how He did this.
Thomas (who is called “Doubting Thomas”) and Bartholomew were with Him. No other apostles knew about it; even Mother Mary did not know. Lord Jesus had given instructions to John to take care of Mother Mary, and he was doing that. No other apostles knew about Jesus’ going to India after the Crucifixion.
He went on walking and walking, and ultimately He went to Srinagar, Kashmir. There is one place six miles away from Srinagar called Harvan. He lived there for many years, and afterwards, He dropped His physical body and was buried in Harvan where there is a mountain. Beloved Avatar Meher Baba has said that after the Ancient One drops His body, His Manifestation takes place after one hundred years. But at the time of Jesus, it took more than one hundred years. Why? The reason is that He did not drop His body at the time of His crucifixion. He rose up after three days and He came to India. Then, He spent many years for walking and walking and doing His internal work.
What is the internal work? Beloved Meher Baba has explained it very, very clearly. He has said:
There was no beginning and no end, but God was in His Beyond-Beyond state. He was neither conscious nor unconscious. That state cannot be described. One enters into the state of Nirvana, which is the state of annihilation of mind. It is the complete vacuum state, but it is just for a moment. Then one experiences the state of God, consciously. The first One who experienced this state is called the Ancient One, and He has got the whole responsibility of the Creation.
In the state of Beyond-Beyond God, He got the Whim, “Who am I?” It requires ages and ages to find the real answer to that question, “Who am I?” Beloved Avatar Meher Baba has explained it in story form. There are two stories. One is called “The Mischievous Chicken,” and one is called “The Two Kings.” I have written these two stories in the book The Nothing and The Everything. I have also written in that book the story about Adam and Eve. This story is also about the beginning and end of illusion in creation, though it is in a different form. Also, according to the Vedas, I have written the story about Ganesh. All these stories depict the same theme of creation - though the stories are in different forms, and people don’t understand the stories. In Islam also, there is another story…but they are all one and the same...
[SHIVA, BHAU INDICATED BABA HAD TOLD THEM SUCH A STORY, BUT HE CAN’T REMEMBER IT]
The truth behind the stories, nobody knows. One who knows becomes the secret himself. In order for one to know that secret, Creation is created. We say the Ocean has innumerable drops, but we don’t know that each drop is the Ocean. When one comes to know that “I am the Ocean,” one becomes the secret.
What is this drop form? God is indivisible and God is One. God cannot be divided. In each drop the Ocean is there, undivided. But in order to reply the question of the Whim, “Who am I?” the mind is created. How does illusion survive? It survives because of the sanskaras we create. So long as the sanskaras are in the mind, we remain in drop form. As soon as the sanskaras are wiped out, the mind is annihilated, and we are the Ocean. That is the secret.
Lord Jesus rose up from the pit [sepulchre?] where He was buried [His body lay?] after the crucifixion. He lived in the body many years, walking and walking in different places of India. Ultimately, He dropped His body in Harvan, Kashmir. Afterwards, it took one hundred years for His manifestation. That is why in Lord Jesus’ life, we find that it took more than one hundred years. Why so? Because He did not die on the cross. The Lord rose, and He went walking to India.
Easter is a very important day as is it depicts the glory of Lord Jesus. How secretly He was doing His Universal Work. He was doing it so secretly that nobody knew. But many people who would see Him, even from a distance, would feel that He was something. That is why there are many Christians in India. What was He doing? He was collecting those sanskaras which were creating obstruction from each one, for the progress of consciousness.
“Who am I?” That question is in every drop, and every drop is searching for the answer to the question. This search creates sanskaras, good and bad. They are unnatural sanskaras, because they are binding. Those sanskaras which are created to give the answer to the question are called natural sanskaras (“impressions.”) These sanskaras remain in the gross sphere. One experiences them through gross consciousness. Actually, from stone to animal form, the sanskaras are more or less natural. But they become unnatural in human beings, because the desires and wants increase in the gross sphere, and gross consciousness remains strong. That is why in the gross sphere, particularly on earth, one can experience only one percent of divinity - if one has love for God and one follows God with faith wholeheartedly. After many, many ages, when love for God is there, the gross sanskaras are wiped out. Subtle sanskaras remain in the subtle world; actions and thoughts are subtle and there is subtle consciousness. In the mental world, mental sanskaras remain; thoughts and actions are mental, there is mental consciousness. But then, from the mental world one is on sixth plane, and one experiences the infinite effulgence of God, and longing becomes unimaginable. One crosses the mental sphere, and after passing Nirvan, one knows that one is nothing but God.
What is the appropriate message that Easter gives us? It gives the message that we should love God wholeheartedly and follow His Wish. Then only can we enjoy the infinite joy of God in the form of bliss, knowledge and power. Lord Jesus rose up from the pit in order to wipe out the obstruction of those sanskaras which were checking the consciousness from making further progress according to the Whim, “Who am I?”
The Ancient One always comes down on earth in order to suffer and suffer and suffer, and He suffers because He takes away the binding sanskaras which check the progress of consciousness. His coming on earth is to give a Universal Push, because the lower kingdoms which have the natural progress from stone to animal kingdom are exploited by human beings, through different scientific means. This is the age when the consciousness of the lower kingdoms is exploited very much, because this is the end of cycle of cycles. There are so many scientific developments, and by their uses the consciousness of the lower kingdoms is made to remain stagnant, and further progress is not possible. That is why the Ancient One comes down on earth, to wipe out these undesirable impressions which create obstructions for further progress of consciousness, from stone to human being, according to the Whim, “Who am I?” It is called the Universal Push.
People think that Lord Jesus suffered the crucifixion, but no one has any idea how much infinite suffering He was passing through after His crucifixion. To collect these obstructive impressions is infinitely difficult. Only He can do it. A Perfect Master can not do this work. He passes through involution and evolution of consciousness, and then has God Realization, and he comes down in Creation-consciousness through the mental, subtle and gross spheres.
The Ancient One had passed through involution and evolution of consciousness, got God-Realization, and then He came down to Creation consciousness. He was the first One, and it is always this first One, the Ancient One, who comes down directly to Creation-consciousness, directly from God form to human form. The divine plan is a very definite plan, and it cannot be altered or changed by the Perfect Masters. Only the Christ or the Avatar can make any change, but it seldom happens, because it is a very definite plan.
There are always five Perfect Masters on earth, and they work under the divine plan. When the Universal Push is required, the Ancient One has to come down directly as the Avatar, Christ, or Prophet. He gives the Universal Push. The Avatar gives the Universal Push, while a Perfect Master cannot. The Avatar or Christ becomes everyone and everything, while a Perfect Master just acts. For example, if the Perfect Master shows that he is sick, he just acts. He does not actually fall sick. But the Avatar actually becomes sick. He comes down to every level of consciousness - for human beings, He remains human; for animal, He becomes animal; for ant, He is an ant. He remains in every level of consciousness. His role, only He can play. No one can play His role, even a Perfect Master cannot.
Easter gives us such a message that it makes us follow the Wish of God, lovingly, honestly, sincerely, and wholeheartedly, in order to make His burden less. How He feels relief when we submit to His Wish, but when we do not follow His Wish, He suffers more. That is why it is said, “Keep your head bowed down at His feet, and never lift it until the mind goes away.” It does not mean that one should do it physically, but that His Wish should be followed one hundred percent, without any doubt. The doubts may come, and if they come, do not worry. Resolve to follow His Wish wholeheartedly.
One incident took place in 1957, when Dr. Harry Kenmore came to Meherazad. He was a blind chiropractor from New York. When he heard about Beloved Baba’s accident, he came direct to Meherazad. He had heard about the pain He was suffering because of the accident. Baba permitted him to give Him treatment, so Dr. Kenmore arranged his chiropractic table in Mandali Hall. And when Baba would come in the morning to Mandali Hall, he would give Him treatment. For the first two days, Baba would express His happiness.
Then he would come to give treatment, but he would ask, “Baba, how is the pain?”
Baba would say, “It is more than yesterday,”
He would think and think about it. “Why does Baba’s pain increase?” He would remain unhappy the whole day, and he would not sleep at night. He would remain restless. Again he came the next morning, and he said to Baba, “Baba, how is your pain?”
Baba said, “It is more than yesterday.”
Dr. Kenmore was very much worried. He would think, “I have come here to give relief to Baba, but what relief am I giving to Him? I am increasing His pain more and more.” He was very, very unhappy. Afterwards, he went to Eruch. He had tears in his eyes. Eruch thought at first that he must be shedding tears because of love.
He was quietly shedding tears, and Eruch was looking at him. Then Eruch asked him, “How are you, Harry?”
He said, “I am very, very sad. I had thought that I would relieve Baba’s pain and for that purpose, I have come here. But I am increasing Baba’s pain instead of giving relief.”
Eruch said, “No, Harry, you love Him. We all realize, Baba also realizes, it is not so.” Then he told the story about Krishna and Namdev.
In Pandharpur, there was a temple in which there was one devotee called Namdev. He would remain near the statue of Krishna all day and night. His mother, brother, sister or father would bring food for him at the temple. He would remain there; he would not go anywhere, and all the time, he would say “Vithoba, Vithoba,” (which means “Krishna, Krishna.”) He would eat just a little, but all day he kept saying, “Krishna, Krishna, Krishna…”
One day when his food came, He said to Krishna, “Krishna you eat first, and unless you eat I will not eat.”
Hours and hours he waited, and he did not eat because he wanted Krishna to eat first. And what happened? The statue of Krishna ate the food! People then were very much touched because of his devotion.
Harry heard the story from Eruch and thought, “Just see, Namdev made the statue eat food! What love he had - I am just nothing. I just show that I love Baba but I don’t.” The whole night he did not sleep. The next day he came to Baba very y much worried.
Baba looked at him, “Why are you worried? Did you sleep last night?”
Harry replied, “No. I have just come thinking that I love you, but I don’t love you. Namdev, his love was so much that he made the statue to eat. But here I am, and I am just increasing Your pain!”
Baba laughed and said, “Harry, do you know why I am having pain? Do you understand? I have taken on this pain, I have taken on the burden, that is why I am having this pain from the accident. This pain will go away when my Work is completed. It does not require any treatment, and because you have come here to treat me, that is your love. But don’t expect any result according to your own want. Leave it to Me, and I will be happy.
“Love seeks the pleasure of the Beloved, while devotion seeks whatever one wants. There is a world of difference between love and devotion. Namdev made the statue of Krishna eat food - it was his pleasure, not Krishna’s pleasure. You are treating Me and I am happy. Why am I giving you this opportunity? Because it is your pleasure to be treating Me. But don’t seek the result. When the time comes, My pain will go away. You will see.”
Easter gives us the opportunity to think of the Beloved’s Wish, and to put it into action, and that is love. About Easter, I can only say, “O Beloved, make us worthy to follow Your Wish and seek Your pleasure. You suffer for the whole creation, and therefore, if we abide by Your Wish, we are celebrating Easter within our heart. We should seek Your pleasure, and not our own. We must have love for You and remain dedicated to Your Wish. This is your command - we have to follow Your Wish.”
This determination will make us celebrate Easter without outward expression. Eat well, sleep well, remain happy and cheerful, but remain firm in this determination to follow His Wish. That is the real Easter for us.
In His love and service,
Bhau