Applause is not for a Dying Man

During discourses and speeches, audiences tend to welcome the speaker on stage with applause. 

Once, Saint Baba Maharaj Arvikar held a discourse at the old Vitthal temple in Solapur. On the day itself, the entire space was tightly packed with eager listeners before Baba had even arrived! Eventually, upon seeing Baba enter the temple, the audience started clapping, as a welcome. The applause continued for a while and only stopped once Baba had reached the stage. 

Saint Baba Maharaj Arvikar brought his hands together, prayed to Vitthal, and then began with his usual, lovable greeting, “My dear siblings…” (premal bhavandanno)

He then said, “Clapping is a respect which resonates with the sound of the divine. It encompasses both enthusiasm and the spirit of surrender. It is a demonstration of the devotion to and the remembrance of god. That is why, let clapping or applause always be associated with chanting the names of ‘Shri Hari.’ For a dying man, ‘Ram Ram,’ or a simple namaskar is enough.”

Saint Baba Maharaj Arvikar says that the form of Shri Guru is that of the soul. It is an enlightened spiritual state, and not a physical shape. Meditating (dhyan) on Shri Guru is the true sound of experiencing a pure, divine, enlightened spiritual state.