Sri Babuji provided a novel way to approach the question of who is a Brahmin. Does one become a Brahmin by birth? What is the function of a Brahmin? Brahmins are supposed to spend their time meditating on the sacred name of Gayithri but how many Brahmins by birth do that today? Sri Babuji responded to these questions by recounting the story of Rohitdas.

Although Rohitdas was born in a caste that was deemed low, his mind was forever concentrated on the Paramatman and he could see the Lord with his physical eyes. In the same village, there was an accomplished Brahmin scholar by the name of Prachanda, but despite his learning, he could not see the Lord. He went and complained to the king that Rohitdas had no right to serve the Lord as he was born in a low caste?

“A person becomes a Brahmin,” declared Sri Babuji, “only when the feeling of Brahminism disappears. There is no use in proclaiming castelessness on public platforms; instead it should be demonstrated in practice.” In other words, the distinction between the four classes of Brahmins (intellectuals involved in teaching), Kshyatriyas (warriors involved in fighting), Vaishyas (traders involved in commerce) and Shudras (workers involved in labour) evoked in the Bhagavad Gita were drawn on the basis of qualities of people and not by birth.

If a seeker has a genuine thirst for self-revelation, there can be no doubt that “God himself will come to you in the form of a Guru to take you along the road to moksha. You should treat Guru as the embodiment of God. Do not get deceived by His physical appearance that may appear similar to your own. On the contrary, worshipping the Mahatma as you would worship the Paramatman will grant you the glory of liberation.”

The awesome power that is wielded by a Mahatma can be gleaned from Sri Babuji’s utterances on the nature of a Satya Guru or an authentic master: “It is possible to see God wit form and experience bliss (with no form) and merge in that bliss. That is salvation. A person who is in that state requires nothing. That is the natural state of trance. A true master will always be in that state. The five elements and the entire universe will be under His grip. Such a Mahatma always promotes the welfare of humanity. Just by entertaining that very thought, He can keep the entire universe in a prosperous state. Even if there is one such mahatma, it is enough. He can save countless people.”

     Babuji often spoke of India as a special country: “Our country is a land of genuine diamonds. They are not ordinary diamonds but diamonds of wisdom. In this country, there are as many Mahatmas as there are letters in the Bhagawad Gita. Foreigners are following our traditions. But it is a great pity that “our own people are forgetting them.”