DMC Night

This morning, during the daily meeting of our 35 security cadres, I had the uncomfortable task of asking for a volunteer to stay and guard Baba’s house during the DMC speech and varabhaya mudra . 51

“Whoever sacrifices himself for the welfare of others is guaranteed Baba’s special grace,” I said. “I know you’ve all come here looking forward to the DMC speech. Nevertheless, I’m sure at least one of you will selflessly relinquish his rights for the sake of the others.”

My words met only silence. No one moved. A few seconds passed, and then one brother stepped forward. It was a young Margi from Ireland.

“Thank you, Sundara,” I said. Honestly, I felt sorry for the lad.

Usually on DMC day Baba holds a special meeting of avadhutas to discuss some interesting matters and to bless us. This evening the answer to one question was, for me, especially imbued with mystical significance.

By then twenty minutes of the meeting had passed and the air was electric.

“Each avadhuta has a singularly extraordinary role to play,” He said. He paused and then asked, “What is the purpose of the avadhuta?”

“The purpose of an avadhuta… is … to exist.”

As all the nuances of this statement gradually sunk into my heart, my spine shivered, then shook strongly.

DMC is an abbreviation for Dharma Mahachakra. Maha means “great," and “dharma-chakra” means group meditation, so DMC literally means “the great group meditation.”

It consisted of a series of formal darshans by Baba over a few days. On the last evening of the gathering, Baba would end His discourse with a special mudra, His varabhaya mudra.

“Vara” means boon, and “abhaya” means fearlessness due to feeling completely protected. So “Varabhaya” can be said to mean “blessing of fearlessness, or blessing with protection and without fear,” and mudra means “meaningful hand gesture.”

This was the greatest attraction to Dharma Mahachakras. Almost everyone felt their consciousness expand dramatically as an immediate result of this mudra, and Margis often became absorbed in the supreme state, losing awareness of the external world or experiencing ecstatic bliss.

Immediately before Baba gives the daily darshan speech, kaoshiki is demonstrated by a few sisters, and then both kaoshiki and tandava by a few brothers. 52

Because it was DMC night I felt something special in the air. Nevertheless, the announcement in the dark surpassed my expectation: “Tonight’s tandava will be performed by 100 brothers!”

Within a single shocking moment 100 torches burst in flames—the dancers leapt high in the eerie light, chanting BABA NAM KEVALAM at ear-splitting volume.

Guru’s lips curled slightly in pleasure. His eyes burned, and His body shifted into a powerful pose. Soon after, in that mood, He gave the DMC speech.

Late at night, standing outside Baba’s house, I heard fragments of several Margis’ discussions about the DMC.

“Never before was my mind so concentrated”… “I thought my head would break, it throbbed so strongly”… “Well, I felt nothing, but somehow was still inspired” … “He was beautiful” … “These things are too subtle to be analyzed” … and so on.

Just before I went inside, Amita, a middle-aged lady from Norway, said, “And none of you saw it?”

“What?” they said in chorus.

“I was sure everyone saw it…” she said.

“Saw what?”

“The smoke coming out of His hands during the mudra. It completely filled the hall.”

Kaoshikii is a yogic dance which helps cure over thirty diseases, while generally exercising and energizing the body, it is especially beneficial to women, but also valuable for men.

Tandava, a powerful jumping dance, stimulates the male hormones—it should not be done by women. It was invented by Shiva 7000 years ago. Statues and paintings of Shiva often depict him in this dancing pose.

Tandava is the only yogic exercise which stimulates all the body’s glands. It even invigorates the brain. Shiva encouraged his warriors to perform tandava because it also helped in rousing their courage.

A skull or a snake is held in the left hand while dancing to symbolize death. In the right hand a dagger or burning torch is held to symbolize life. The dance is a struggle between life and death, between dynamicity and staticity. Of course, life is the victor.

Baba once said, " You should learn it in a disciplined way. Tandava represents life and vitality. Tantra is a cult of life, it is not a cult of death. You should be strong—physically, mentally and spiritually. Lord Shiva says that all your expressions, all your manifestations must be based on present tense. So Tandava is the starting phase of Tantra.”

Sacrifice paid back 100 times

Today is our last day in Switzerland. Baba consented to hold a special meeting with the brothers and sisters who had worked as security volunteers throughout the week.

All stood at attention, forming a perfect line, facing Baba. I stood in the front together with the Didi in charge of the sister volunteers. One brother came forward and garlanded Baba with a wreath made of green pine needles.

“I regret to have troubled you all,” Baba said. “You sacrificed your comforts. You nobly sacrificed your time for the sake of assisting me and serving your Margi brothers and sisters. For this I humbly thank you.”

He spoke a bit more, then slowly walked over to the line. As he passed each cadet, He looked into their faces. At the end of the line He came to Sundara.

Baba removed the wreath from His own neck, placed it on Sundara, and then patted the top of his head. At that moment the blood rushed to Sundara’s face, and he looked so high that I would not have been surprised if he had collapsed in spiritual ecstasy. I think he remained standing only out of a sense of duty.

Afterward Sundara said, “When Baba touched me, it was the highlight of my life. He paid me back a hundred times over for missing DMC.”

Revealing His knowledge

Geneva airport. Once we entered the doorway of the immigration hall, we were at last free from the emotional mass of Margis.

There were 14 of us, 11 from India, plus economist and best-selling author Ravi Batra, Karunanandaji and myself. While waiting, Baba sat in a chair. I stood next to Him.

From nowhere, several Italian Margis appeared. Without formality, they abruptly sat on the floor at Baba’s feet, smiling with full gusto.

One of them named Vikranta stood up, saying, “Baba, can we sing You a song?”

“You are most welcome,” He said.

Though the melody was sweet, I could hardly follow the meaning— which I thought strange in light of my grasp of Italian. I understood only that it was a love song.

Vikranta stood up again, “Baba, I want to explain the meaning in English. The dialect is from Venice; it’s different from normal Italian.”

Ah, so that’s why I couldn’t understand it, I thought. As Vikranta gave the translation, he visibly savored every moment with Baba.

Baba’s eyes turned misty. He said, “Your song was ambrosial. The translation was likewise excellent. But would you mind if I were to add a little something to your interpretation?”

“Oh, please. Baba, yes, yes!” They were excited.

Then Baba translated the song again, completely, line by line, giving detailed and charming explanations for the difference between His version and that of Vikranta.

The plane was called. As we walked away, leaving behind the tearful-eyed Venetian devotees, I thought of the difference between this experience and the one a few days ago with Parimal.

Berlin wall and the swastika

West Berlin. Our field walk today took us to the infamous Berlin wall which divides Western democracy from Eastern communism.

Baba stopped, looked at it, and said, “This wall symbolizes the brutal suppression by Communism of human liberties. It is a kind of artificial madness. In the near future you will all see this wall crumble piece by piece, stone by stone. East and West Germany will be united as one.”

Then He added, “In 1941, Germany came under the influence of a star called Magha, a bad star. Magna causes disruption and breaks into pieces the object on which its projection falls. Now its effect is finishing, and soon a good time is coming.”

After that He explained the swastika. He said the literal meaning of swastika is “a condition of goodness which will continue to exist.” Thus it means victory.

He drew our swastika, which He said is positive. Then He drew the reverse swastika, and said it is negative. He warned us never to use the negative swastika because it brings complete annihilation. The Nazis mixed these two swastikas, often using the negative one.