Summary of Leela
Baba used to carry two
unbaked pitchers filled with water to a barren land, and break them there. This
course went on for 3 years; and with Sai Baba’s toil and labour, there grew a flower-garden
which is now known as Lendi Baug.
Shri Sai Satcharita, The wonderful life and teachings of Shri
Sai Baba, Translated by Nagesh Vasudev Gunaji (Mumbai:
Shri Sai Baba Sansthan, Shirdi, 20th Edition 2002), p25.
Teachings
from Leela
- A small effort, done with dedication on a regular
basis, can achieve great results over time.
This leela had such a tremendous impact on me that it inspired me to start writing a book. When contemplating upon it the thought came to me that Baba had conveyed to his devotees a valuable lesson in such a simple way.
Baba converted barren land and made it fertile by this simple act. Similarly, in everyday life, if we want to accomplish something or change our distressed situation we can add a simple positive activity into our day towards that goal. Over time, we be surprised at how this simple act performed with dedication can lead tremendous positive results. This applies to our spiritual development too. - Prepare the soil before planting the garden.
The word barren means not being able to produce or being incapable of producing fruit. This means that even if you sow any amount of seeds on a barren land you will not be able to see results.
In this leela Baba is trying to teach us to first care for the soil before planting seeds which will bear fruit. By adding the clay from the broken pots to the land, he was preparing the soil. Only after he had prepared the soil over three years, could he add seeds that would grow into a garden. In the same way a mind full of negative attributes is not ready for spiritual thoughts. It needs to be first prepared so that the spiritual knowledge planted within it could thrive and grow.
Putting
into Practice
Here are some
suggestions on how we could use this leela in our daily lives.
1.
A small effort, done with
dedication on a regular basis, can achieve great results over time.
Albert Einstein said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”. Start with a small change in your life.
Albert Einstein said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”. Start with a small change in your life.
Start
as small as you can, and do that small thing every day.
The reasons we resist change is because change
means more work to an already overburdened life, and because we fear failure.
According to Livestrong website, Losing 1 pound of body weight weekly is not only safe, but it helps you keep lost weight off for the long term, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To achieve a weekly weight loss of 1 pound, reducing your current calorie intake by 500 daily is often effective. For example, if you normally eat 2,000 calories daily, consume 1,500 calories a day to shed 1 pound per week.
You can start small and reduce your calorie intake by 250 daily and achieve the same results over 2 weeks instead of one.
Another way to do this is to reduce your calorie intake by 125 calories and expend the other 125 calories per day by boosting physical activity.
According to Livestrong website, Losing 1 pound of body weight weekly is not only safe, but it helps you keep lost weight off for the long term, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To achieve a weekly weight loss of 1 pound, reducing your current calorie intake by 500 daily is often effective. For example, if you normally eat 2,000 calories daily, consume 1,500 calories a day to shed 1 pound per week.
You can start small and reduce your calorie intake by 250 daily and achieve the same results over 2 weeks instead of one.
Another way to do this is to reduce your calorie intake by 125 calories and expend the other 125 calories per day by boosting physical activity.
2.
Prepare the soil before
planting the garden.
Simply observe your thoughts in daily life and during meditation: It is extremely important to know that you can do much of the witnessing practice in daily life right in the middle of your other activities. You will surely want to do this at meditation time as well, but tremendous progress can be made without having to set aside a single minute of extra time for this practice. You can do this while you are doing selfless service to others.
How to witness? Imagine you are a ticket taker at a theater and there is a long line of people coming into the theater. What do you do as a ticket taker? Wouldn’t you turn to the next person in line, and maybe say “Next!” as you greet, accept and acknowledge that person as well? The previous person will just move on automatically. This is exactly what we must do with individual thoughts standing in line to come forward into our minds.
Simply observe your thoughts in daily life and during meditation: It is extremely important to know that you can do much of the witnessing practice in daily life right in the middle of your other activities. You will surely want to do this at meditation time as well, but tremendous progress can be made without having to set aside a single minute of extra time for this practice. You can do this while you are doing selfless service to others.
How to witness? Imagine you are a ticket taker at a theater and there is a long line of people coming into the theater. What do you do as a ticket taker? Wouldn’t you turn to the next person in line, and maybe say “Next!” as you greet, accept and acknowledge that person as well? The previous person will just move on automatically. This is exactly what we must do with individual thoughts standing in line to come forward into our minds.
To quiet thoughts by trying
to stop them would be like trying to stop the line of theater-goers from coming
in the door. The line will back up; people might get pretty upset and start to cause
trouble. Instead of blocking thoughts, take the attitude of inviting them to
come: “Next…. Next…. Next…”. Then let them go by.
Witnessing the flow of mind
brings a peaceful state of mind, which allows the deeper aspects of meditation
and Samadhi to unfold.
I found these useful articles (see links
below) which explains very beautifully how we may prepare the soil of our soul
to grow the garden of spirituality.
http://www.swamij.com/inviting.htm
Perform a small activity of charity on a weekly basis: Another practice, described in the Shrimad Bhagwat Gita as one of the paths to mukti, is Karma Yoga.
Perform a small activity of charity on a weekly basis: Another practice, described in the Shrimad Bhagwat Gita as one of the paths to mukti, is Karma Yoga.
A small activity of charity, but with no
expectation a reward (or even acknowledgement) in any form, is said to prepare
one for deeper bhakti and jnana. Over time you will begin to see calmness and
peace increase within you. You will find
yourself drawn to more spiritual endeavours.
I would encourage all of you to please share your interpretations,
learnings and experiences on how you have put this leela into practice.
Om Sai Ram.
1 comment:
Jai Shri Sai
Very beautifully explained.
Thanks Laxmi
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