Chapter 7, Leela 4: Baba’s All-pervasiveness and Mercy

 

Leela:

"In the year 1910 A.D., Baba was sitting near the Dhuni on Divali holiday and warming Himself. He was pushing fire-wood into the Dhuni, which was brightly burning. A little later, instead of pushing logs of woods, Baba pushed His arm into the Dhuni; the arm was scorched and burnt immediately. This was noticed by the servant Madhava, and also by Madhavrao Deshpande (Shama). They at once ran to Baba and Madhavarao clasped Baba by His waist from behind and dragged Him forcible back ward and asked, ""Deva, for what have You done this?"" Then Baba came to His senses and replied, ""The wife of a blacksmith at some distant place, was working the bellows of a furnace;her husband called her. Forgetting that her child was on her waist, she ran hastily and the child slipped into the furnace. I immediately thrust My hand into the furnace and saved the child. I do not mind My arm being burnt, but I am glad that the life of the child is saved."

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Shri Sai Satcharita, The wonderful life and teachings of Shri Sai Baba, Translated by Nagesh Vasudev Gunaji (Mumbai: Shri Sai Baba Sansthan, Shirdi, 20^th Edition 2002), p42.

 

Teachings from Leela:

1)    Act calmly even when anxious or under stress.

As described in The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, Translated by Indira Kher (a verse-by-verse translation of the Dabholkar’s complete Pothi into English), Page 57, verse 78:

"Hearing her husband call out to her, the smith's wife began to blow the bellows vigorously, out of fear, while holding the child..."

When the blacksmith’s wife heard her husband call out to her, she reacted out of fear and haste instead of staying calm.  As a result, her mind was not alert and she completely forgot that her child was on her waist. Baba wanted to point out in this leela to practice Sthitaprajna.

Sthita means firmly established in. Prajna is the combination of Pra (higher) and jñā (jnana), meaning a higher state of mind where one is clearly aware of the reality of Brahma, his own true nature, and his dharma.  Sthitaprajna is a state of mind where the person has developed the ability to have a stable (equanimous) mind that can act calmly even under stress. This type of person is in a state of equilibrium while facing the ups and downs of life.

http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/01/shri-krishna-on-sthitaprajna-or-ideal.html

In the second chapter, verse 54 of the Bhagavad Gita:

Arjuna asks:

sthitaprajñasya kā bhāṣā samādhisthasya kēśava.

sthitadhīḥ kiṅ prabhāṣēta kimāsīta vrajēta kim..2.54..

Krishna answers:

uḥkhēṣvanudvignamanāḥ sukhēṣu vigataspṛhaḥ.

vītarāgabhayakrōdhaḥ sthitadhīrmunirucyatē..2.56..

Meaning of Arjuna’s question:

What is the description of a man of steady wisdom who is Self-absorbed?

Meaning of Krishna’s Response:

He whose mind is not shaken by adversity, who does not hanker after pleasures, and is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady wisdom.

https://indiaspirituality.blogspot.ca/2013/04/qualities-of-sthitapragna-self-realized.html

2)    Baba is always on the alert to help his devotees

Baba will immediately respond (even if the danger is just a split second away) and help his devotees during an emergency, even though he is physically at a distant place. Showing no concern about his own injury, he quickly pushed his hand into the dhuni to save the life of his devotee. This shows how he is watching over us each and every moment, and will quickly respond to avert our dangers in life if necessary.

 

3)    Baba takes on the sufferings of his bhaktas

Even though Baba had the capacity to stir food in a boiling pot with his bare arm (see leela 38.1, Baba's Handi), his arm never got burnt.  However, in this leela his arm did get burnt, the reason being that he took on the karma of his bhakta. He was glad to save the life of the child and did not mind his arm being burnt in exchange. The Karma of the child and the parents still existed, but Baba was able to divert its effect and take on the consequences upon himself.

 

Putting into Practice

Here are some suggestions on how we could use this leela in our daily lives.

1)    Act calmly even when anxious or under stress.

No matter how serious your situation is, always stay calm and alert. Staying calm under pressure will improve your ability to focus on the right things, at the right time, and in the right way. It will help you to make more effective, intelligent and emotion-free decisions. Such a person will not lose control of his/her senses and avoid becoming a victim of situations.

While this idea appears very convincing why are we not able to practice it?

Learn from the Tortoise

Lord Krishna provides a simple method by which we can avoid such situations in our life. He points to the example of a tortoise. A tortoise (kūrma) is endowed with a capability to withdraw all of its body into the shell the moment it senses some danger. Since it is covered with the hard shell outside it is protected from any physical damage that could happen to it. After some time it slowly withdraws its four limbs outside. Lord Krishna advises us to take a similar approach in life.

 

We become the victim of a situation simply because of our inability to control our senses.

Lord Krishna suggests that the moment we sense that a situation is getting out of control, we need to immediately withdraw our senses as a tortoise does. A sthita prajña trains his mind to behave exactly the way Lord Krishna has advised. The idea here is not to instantaneously react to the situation. We must respond with full awareness and deliberation during an unpleasant situation, such as an angry conversation or a fight. With this alone, more than 80% of our problems will be solved. We will not regret our action later. We will have avoided an unpleasant situation of compromising the honour and respect of the people involved in the situation. We will have also avoided unnecessary mental stress and loss of credibility.

 

A practical way to implement this is to create a little gap between the stimulus (the action provoking us) and our response. This is what modern‐day psychologists also advise. Typically, they advise us to mentally count to 10 before giving a response to a situation. A better way is to remember Lord Krishna and the tortoise example. That not only saves us from the situation but also showers on us the divine Grace of Lord Krishna. We will have also laid the first important step in building a happy family, better relationships, and a more contended self.

 

http://www.iimb.ernet.in/sites/default/files/03%20Avoid%20being%20a%20victim%20of%20situations_1.pdf

 

2)    Baba is always on the alert to help his devotees

If you are going through life under stress, difficulties and problems, remember that Baba will come to your rescue in a split second when he thinks it is necessary. Always remember him even if you think that trouble is just a split second away.

 

3)    Baba takes on the sufferings of his bhaktas

If you find yourself in an unhappy situation facing the advent of suffering, remind yourself that Baba will take on some of your suffering if it becomes intolerable. Remember him often.

It also becomes your duty to keep your deeds clean so that you do not create new bad karmas, the consequences of which Baba will have to suffer unnecessarily, as he is bound by his duty to protect you.

When you find yourself in a situation where it appears you have got away with less harm than potentially could have happened, consider the possibility that Baba took on some of the consequences. On contemplating this, you will realise that your faith in him deepens.

You will also realise that in taking some of the consequences Baba has made some room for you. Instead of being fully occupied with the allotted suffering, you have been given the gift of time, which you should make the best use of, by applying it towards your spiritual growth.

 

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.