Mandalamanjari (An Old and Rare Book)

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Mandalamanjari - a bouquet of Mandalas - is a tribute offered to Sadguru Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba by Sathya Ramavataram. Through Baba's Grace, Sathya was accorded glimpses of the wisdom contained in the Upanishads and other texts of the Vedic tradition with regard to the age old questions - "Who am I?", "Where did I come from?", "Where am I going?" and "How will I get there?" This book describes a personal discovery of the answers to these questions under three broad themes - i) Some Facets of Brahman Revealed in the Upanishads, ii) The Evolution of the One into the Many, and iii) The individual Soul and Its Evolution. The inspiration to present this experience in the ancient Indian art form, the Mandala, also came from Baba. The Mandalas, grouped under the above mentioned three themes are presented in the first section of the book along with a brief description of the spiritual messages they convey. A more detailed discussion of the three themes and the underlying Vedic tradition is given in the second section of the book. The Vedic view is compared with the ideas of other ancient spiritual traditions and the underlying fundamental universality is brought forth in this section.

Mandalamanjari is offered to you with the hope that you too will experience the beauty and joy of the journey towards the Eternal!

The Dream and a Command to "put it together":

In the late 80's, I was introduced to the teachings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba by a good friend of mine, Mala Saxena, who has been His devotee since her youth. In 1989, I was in India, visiting my sister and mother in Hyderabad. I tried very hard to go to Puttaparthi (a small village in Andhra Pradesh where Baba has His Ashram) and have His Darshan; but all attempts failed. One night, I went to bed dejected that I was not able to see Him on this trip; then, I had a dream. I was in a big hall amongst a large group of people. Baba came into the hall and as He went around the gathering, He was distributing 'prasad' (an offering blessed by God, usually a sweet) to everyone. I stretched out my palm hoping that He will also give me some so I could enjoy it. When He came near me, instead of the prasad, He poured a few gold petals into my palm, one by one slowly and said "Here! You should be able to put it together!" I was very disappointed that He was being so stern with me and assigning 'homework' like a teacher. The meaning of this dream became clear many years later.

In 1992, I moved to Stamford, Connecticut and got the opportunity to become a member of the Sathya Sai Center in the nearby City of Norwalk. From then on, my spiritual journey with Baba took on a momentum of its own. Suddenly, the great yearning I had as a child to understand the mysterious relationship between me and God and my role in the scheme of His creation returned in full force. I could not resist the urge to reorganize my priorities and devote more time to spiritual matters.

This book is a record of how one individual's spiritual journey began, totally unexpectedly, under the guidance of a great Teacher. From the depths of ignorance, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has brought me to a level of understanding that I had never dreamt of reaching in this lifetime! Like many people growing up in India, I was totally unaware of the richness and depth of the spiritual tradition that we had inherited from the great sages of the past. In my home, festivals and rituals were celebrated meticulously. These religious activities were carried out to commemorate the birthday of an Avatar (Rama or Krishna and so on), or to mark the change of seasons, etc. Generally speaking, these were mostly occasions for families to get together. As for the young people, those of us were who were fortunate enough to have an elderly member in the family, like a grandmother for example, learnt something about the religious significance of these events through the associated mythological stories.

As a child, I was fascinated by these stories and I remember reading the Puranas such as the Srimad Bhagavatam or the Mahabharata with my grandmother during the summer vacation. I also remember that, in the texts, whenever we came to a section involving a philosophical discussion, she would say "Let's skip that part. You will not understand it now!" My grandmother was also a great cook. However, she would not allow me or my sisters into the kitchen, partly because she was very orthodox and mostly because she wanted us to spend our time on school work. She would say "Cooking is not Brahmavidya. When you have to manage your own home, you will automatically learn how to cook." It did not occur to me then to ask her what Brahmavidya was and why she considered it to be such a challenge! Almost five decades later, Baba helped me understand what Brahmavidya really is. My grandmother knew, I am sure, that this science of the Self can only be learnt under the guidance of an enlightened Master!

The study of the Vedas was not even considered as a possibility for most of us. Parents who could afford to send their children to school wanted them to get an education that will lead to a safe career and provide a good income. The study of the Fine Arts, for example, was not encouraged because of the uncertainty of making a good living. So, many of us grew up knowing very little about Art and its value in life. Fortunately for me, life has taken me through many countries and cultures; observing these societies, I have realized that appreciation of the arts can broaden one's horizons. Now, Baba has taught me that Art can even be a pathway to spirituality.

The glimpses into Vedic wisdom that Baba has so generously given me have been expressed through the Mandalas. This exercise has served me well on making progress on the spiritual path. These drawings are presented in this book as an expression of my deep gratitude to Him. If there is any misrepresentation of the purport of these scriptures in this book, it is entirely due to my own limited understanding and I pray to Baba to forgive me.