The Indian Christ

Dreams can be effective means for spiritual growth if understood and applied correctly. They can also be divine guidance from the spiritual world. Great insights are gained and inspirations are drawn from dreams sometimes. One of the profound insights I gained into the mystery of suffering came to me from a dream I had in 1984. I dreamt of Lord Jesus Christ, taken down from the cross and laid naked in the lap of his mother Mary. Below were the bold words 'Sahana Yoga Mukti Marga. I was greatly taken up by the vision of the Divine Master and his mother, and did not think much about the words inscribed below. Sometime later, a Protestant Pastor was referred to me by my guru, Poojya Swami Ranganathanandaji of Ramakrishna Mission. The Pastor was doing a study on Swami Vivekananda. He took an appointment and came to meet me. He asked me many questions about Swami Vivekananda and his concept of 'Raja Yoga’. After a prolonged discussion, he asked me, “What is the yoga you are promoting?” Straight came from my mouth the answer, “Sahana Yoga.” I had not even thought of anything like that earlier! The Pastor asked me to explain 'Sahana Yoga’! I only said it was the 'yoga of the cross' taught and demonstrated to the world by Lord Jesus Christ. The Pastor made a note of it and took leave. I sat there wondering about the whole episode. I started thinking about 'Sahana Yoga!’ I re-read a number of times the New Testament, especially the Gospel narratives on the suffering death of Christ on the cross. One day while walking down to Secunderabad Railway station from St. Mary's Basilica after attending a Church service there, suddenly a voice was heard within me repeating the words 'surrender, service, sacrifice with love!’ I stood there transfixed for a few minutes. It gradually dawned on me that those words explained 'Sahana Yoga’, about which I was contemplating during those days. This happened four decades ago during my early practise years. Over the years I have developed 'Sahana Yoga' into the core 'sadhana' of my spiritual life and the spiritual foundation of non-violent social transformation. I have also discovered a spiritual principle that has enabled me to solve the 'mystery' of the cross and find a meaning and purpose for human suffering. 'Sahana Yoga' is defined as 'forgiving, enduring and self-sacrificing love' as taught and demonstrated by Lord Jesus Christ. It is the 'mukti marga' (path of liberation) from evil forces and evil structures. Gandhiji understood this principle very well and applied it effectively to win political freedom for India from the greatest Christian empire of his time. He thus became the 'Indian Christ' for me. In course of time, I have come to accept him as my 'spiritual father’.