The Time has Come
At the end of our article on cycles, The Four Stages of the Mahayuga, we said that divine Law is now pushing humanity forward on the upward scale of the unfolding of consciousness. Indeed, several factors work together to bring this about.
When Brahma Starts Off the Second Half of His Life
The first factor is that according to Hindus, Brahma has just started off the second half of his long Life of 100 divine years. Indeed, His Life is divided into two equal halves of 50 divine years each, and each half is called a Parardha. Consequently, just like man who, in the second half of his existence reaps the results of his learning and experience from the first half and so moves on to higher values, it is normal for Brahma to enter a phase of reorientation in the second half of His Life. Now, since we are only small elements of His Life, whatever happens to Him affects each human being on a smaller scale and also humanity as a whole.
The Natural Growth of Humanity
The second factor is the history of the normal evolutionary growth of humanity itself. Just like a child who is born, grows up and reaches adulthood, in the same way, when the human race leaves God's bosom at a new Life of Brahma, it first of all goes through involution, i.e. it progressively goes down into matter. Next, there comes a time when spirit and matter balance out; man then acquires thinking consciousness and becomes conscious of himself. From then on, he is ruled by the law of karma from which, up till then, he was exempt as he went down into matter, since he was irresponsible. And, thanks to repeated experiences in successive incarnations, he makes progress.
First of all he is only interested in material things and those which bring worldly satisfaction. But with time, his soul, which up till then was waiting for man's earthly personality to be formed, starts to influence him little by little. Indeed, this going down into matter and the formation of the earthly personality are indispensable for his spiritual growth. This earthly personality which, in fact, is only the ambassador of the soul, will be a sort of stepladder onto which the soul will lift consciousness. This consciousness will thus be able to access the higher planes. All this has been magnificently summarized in one sentence by Shri Aurobindo: “Ego was the helper; Ego is the bar.” In other words, the human personality is indeed indispensable as a stepladder, but it also becomes an obstacle because man ends up identifying himself with it instead of going past it.
When the soul begins to intervene in man's life, he then feels the need for “something else” which is not material or purely worldly. He then goes in quest of this “something else” until he realizes that spiritual values is what he needs. As a result he progressively turns towards spiritual things, incarnation after incarnation. However, matter and mundane interests still play an important role in his life.
After progress through many incarnations, there comes a time when he has to make decisive progress towards spiritual values (this does not necessarily mean becoming a monk or nun) or stagnate. It is a very difficult choice since material values and those of the outer personality have a certain attraction on man due to the fact that he has lived with them for thousands of years, and quite naturally, those are the ones towards which he most easily goes. Moreover, although when following a spiritual discipline, he does not yet know the deep joy of the soul, heralding the bliss of which saints speak. Thus the call of the heart may seem to be a temptation towards a chimeric world. This inner battle between the soul and the lower self manifests itself in his life in two ways: on the one hand through frustrations and psychological dissatisfactions, and on the other through trials of all sorts day by day (health, family and social life). All these frustrations and trials are the manifestations in his daily life of this inner struggle, for it is said that “As above, so below”, and “Inside as outside”.
The Time to Make One's Choice
It is this choice between spiritual and material values that humanity as a whole has to face today. This explains the origin of World Wars I and II, the economic crises which come around regularly, natural disasters, pandemics, violence which has spread all over the planet and all the other ills which strike more and more. This will unfortunately go on until humanity understands that security is not to be found in a life devoid of spirituality. The great saint, Shri Hans Raj Maharajji Sacha Baba, (he became Sacha Baba through incorporating within himself the powers of his Master, who in turn had inherited those of his own Master Sacha Baba Girnari; moreover let us remember that "Sacha Baba" is a title and not a name) leading the present shift of consciousness in humanity has said that man has to choose spirituality if he does not want to experience disaster after disaster. This is not a threat or the wish to frighten, for he never threatens or frightens anyone, as his disciples can confirm. This is rather what the inner eye of a very great saint sees about the future of humanity, in the way that the average person would see a picture in front of him.
The Divine Government Watching Over Humanity
The third factor is the divine Government which watches over man and his progress in all domains of human expression. This Government is made up of Great Beings who have long gone past the stage of humanity (sometimes as long as centuries, thousands of years and even millions of years ago for the core of this Government). It only works altruistically for the good of humanity so that it can go back to its divine origin and find happiness, wisdom and love which men have been trying to find for eons. Let us note right away that this divine Government does not get mixed up in either politics or finance in the world of men, for its only aim is to bring humanity up to an enlightened consciousness. It therefore has nothing to do with so-called occult organizations which pull the strings in world politics or finance for personal profit.
A slight digression is necessary here. Reference has been made to this divine Government in Hindu Texts where they speak about certain great Beings or certain Gods. For example, they speak of Narada, Son and Messenger of God who teaches men spiritual truths. They speak of Rishis, but also of the King and legislator called Manu who rules over humanity for a long cycle of more than 306 million human years called Manvantara. It is indeed said in the Puranas that during each Day of Brahma, 14 Manus follow one another, and the names of these Manus are given for the present Day of Brahma. Thus, since the beginning of this Day, it is the seventh Manu who is now ruling. It is said that men descend from the Manu who rules over each Manvantara and He is the one who is in charge of them.
However, this divine Government is not limited to Manu. The fact that the average devotee or disciple does not see the members of this government does not mean that they do not exist. Otherwise where do these great founders of religions come from, or these great prophets, great avatars, these beings of exceptional power and stature who appear from time to time, if they are not envoys and sometimes members of this Government? And this divine Government can decide to give an impulsion to humanity's evolution when it finds it necessary.
Nurturing Cosmic Energies
Cosmic energies are constantly nurturing humanity... Painting Johfra The fourth factor is the zodiacal and cosmic energies together which constantly come down upon our Earth to nurture physical, psychical and spiritual life and whatever is found there. Each cycle is characterized by its own colour and set of energies. Thus, each particular cycle is different from the others.
When Things Speed Up
It happens that during long cycles, these energies come in a soft way, just enough for the upkeep of these three levels of one's being. Then cycles come on the scene with energies arriving more and more intensely. It is like when a sportsman who up till then was training moderately, suddenly undertakes intensive training. In the beginning such a sportsman will find it difficult to adapt to this change, for such a rhythm will make him suffer more than usual. Then if he shows willingness, he will eventually adapt and as a result will see his performance improve. It is exactly the same thing for every human being as far as his psychic and spiritual development is concerned. Now, for the past few centuries, the energies which influence man have got stronger, especially at the beginning of the 20th century. They have grown even more in intensity during these last decades and will continue their impact during the centuries to come. Let us note their influence in the domain of science and technology for example, which has known spectacular progress since the beginning of that same 20th century. Nobody will be able to avoid their powerful influence and one will have to harmonise with them or else be swept away by them, for no one can oppose their action.
If we consider the different factors we have just spoken about, it is enough for just one or the other of them to come about for a speed-up in the evolution of humanity to then take place. But it can sometimes happen that two, three or even the four factors are present together. Then the impact of the forward push on man and on all human affairs is considerable. So upheavals of all kinds take place until human beings harmonize with the new conditions so that things will progress rapidly and smoothly. Today, the four factors may indeed be present.
The Sacha Lineage and the Parivartan
Well, what is the present situation? We have learnt that at the beginning of the 20th century in India, two mysterious saints put their powers and aspirations together so as to regenerate humanity. Their names were Kacha Baba and Sacha Baba Girnari. They were thus the first avatars of the Sacha lineage in its present expression, with a two-fold mission in this cycle: help humanity take the turn towards a higher level of consciousness, and bring enlightenment to those of their disciples who are ready.
This is the mission pursued by Shri Hans Raj Maharajji Sacha Baba. He says that humanity must turn to God at present for it is now time. It is even more so because the Divine Mother is pushing man in that direction, and one way or the other, men will have to turn towards spiritual values so as to be able to enjoy a stable and harmonious life.
Shri Hans Raj Maharajji Sacha Baba
Maharajji has also said that whatever the religion or spiritual path one has chosen (and each person is free to choose the path he wants), he must put God in the centre of his life by practising that path with his heart, without any fanaticism whatsoever. He has said that fundamentally all religions have the same teachings. For him, it is especially the heart which brings one closer to God, the religious denomination to which one belongs being only a means — important indeed, but only a means.
For Maharajji, every man is divine, having emanated from God, and we should love each human being whatever his belief, philosophy, race or social class. It is everyone's duty to love God, love all men and love the whole creation, for it is the law of each being. Indeed God is Love and every man who is an emanation of God is, himself, love in essence.
The story of this marvellous lineage of which the present Torch Bearer is Shri Hans Raj Maharajji Sacha Baba is given in three other articles: The Parivartan, The Greatest Saint and The Great Work.
At the present time, the winds are very favourable to sail more easily towards spiritual heights, because of all the factors present at this time. But will we listen to the voice of our hearts or to that of our earthly desires? That is a question for each of us and for the entire humanity. Our future depends on our answer, for each person shapes his destiny. It is never written in advance.
Peace be with all !
OM Shanti, Shanti Shanti !
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