Penance For A Pen

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Prof. N. Kasturi was the Editor of Sanathana Sarathi, from its inception in 1958 till he attained the Divine Lotus Feet in the year 1987.

I got the good news pretty quick; Baba had come to Bangalore. He was staying in Sri Vittal Rao"s house on the 9th Cross Road, Wilson Gardens, only five minutes away from my residence, "Ashoka" on the 12th cross.

Knowing that there was a possibility of His coming to His place, I had tipped the dry cleaner, who attended to the washing and ironing of his door and window curtains, to inform me as soon as he delivered the wash to Vittal Rao. I had noticed that he had the curtains washed and ironed as part of house cleaning, preliminary to Baba"s visit. When the news leaked at last, I posted the little daughter of my domestic help on a slab of stone facing his house, with directions to keep watch for a big car and an orange robe.

So within ten minutes of Baba"s stepping into his house, Vittal Rao was amazed to find me on his verandah! "Wait! Wait! He pleaded. But Baba spotted and came towards me with His palm ready to fall on my shoulder. "Now, you have work at Puttaparthi", he said. "A monthly magazine will start soon. Guess! How is it named?" He asked. I confessed I could not delve into His will. Yet He drew out from my reluctance a few names. "The Godward Path", "Karma Dharma", "Prema Yoga". He waved aside the titles I suggested and announced that he had decided to designate it as "sanathana sarathi".

That name is a clarion call. It is the conch of Vishnu, awakening the sleeping. It is the drum of Siva challenging the unruly to shed their waywardness. 'Sarathi" means 'he who holds the reins", 'Sanathana" means 'Eternal". So, that title would announce to the world that Baba is the 'Omni-will', which is moulding and manipulating, since times began, the wills of living beings from the amoeba to the astronaut. "Recognize God as the 'Sarathi', yield wholeheartedly to His direction, reach your destination in good shape", was the message Baba was conveying through that name. I was elated, elevated.

"This is the 32nd year of the Avataric Career and it is time He stood forth as the world Teacher," I said to myself, recalling His first public discourse during Dasara, 1953. It was while the Lord was the Sarathi for Arjuna that the Bhagavad Gita was conferred on mankind through him. The Lord is therefore known as Partha (Arjuna) Sarathi. Baba is now standing forth as sanathana sarathi – the Sarathi for every one, everywhere.

A few days prior to the release of the first number of the magazine, Baba declared before a gathering on the Chithravathi sands, "The Bhagavad Gita is a guidebook, a map for the aspirant to peace and liberation. The Lord has installed Himself in every heart as the charioteer. Ask Him for the proper direction and He will answer and lead. You can hear a Gita specially designed for you, if you call upon the Lord". The "sanathana sarathi" was therefore intended as the "Bhagawan Uvacha" (Thus saith the Lord) for a world that has jumped the rails and is in fatal jeopardy.