Chapter 10, Leela 2: Nanavalli

Leela:

There was in Shirdi, a very quaint and queer fellow, by name Nanavalli. He looked to Baba's work and affairs. He once approached Baba who was seated on His Gadi (seat) and asked Him to get up, as he wanted to occupy the same. Baba at once got up and left the seat, which he occupied. After sitting there awhile Nanavalli got up, and asked Baba to take His seat. Then Baba sat on the seat and Nanavalli fell at His feet, and then went away. Baba did not show the slightest displeasure in being dictated to and ousted.

 

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), p61

 

Teachings from Leela:

1)    Egoism is an obstacle to our spiritual growth

Egoism is the arrogance, self-pride and sense of entitlement that comes from one’s status in society, or from what one possesses. Attachment to worldly pleasures results in egoism, which is the root cause of suffering in this world.  If there is even a little threat of losing your prestige or your possessions, you are likely to react with wrongful thoughts or actions. Because of this, you must detach yourself from these pleasures.

Detachment does not mean that you must give up the pleasures; it means that you are easily able to accept the loss of the pleasures without any anger or resentment. When you practice detachment from worldly pleasures, you will gain wisdom to know the difference between the temporary (as all worldly pleasures must come to an end) and the permanent (moksha), which will help you progress in your spiritual journey.

It is only when the mind becomes detached to the attractions of the world that spiritual progress can result. Baba’s Gaddi consisted of mere sackcloth, nothing more. When Nanavalli asked Baba to get up, he immediately did so with full humility and without taking any offense. Baba had no attachment or egoism of claiming his exclusive rights to the Gaddi and did not show any anger towards Nanavalli’s demand.  

2)    The love, honour and respect that really matter, come to the person, not the position.  Yet you must not allow even these to interfere with your spiritual progress

We don’t know what was going on in Nanavalli’s mind when he asked Baba to get up from his seat, but he could have 2 possible reasons for doing so:

·         Nanavalli wanted to test Baba to see how He would react when asked to get up from His seat (this has already been discussed above).

·         Nanavalli thought that he too could receive the same love, honour and respect as Baba just by sitting on His seat.

Baba’s seat consisted of mere sackcloth, nothing more. His devotees honour and revere Him greatly, and by doing this, have put Him on a symbolic Seat of adoration. Upon sitting on the seat, Nanavalli would have realized that the honour and reverence is not aimed at the sackcloth, but at the person of Baba. He would also have noted that, along with that honour and reverence, came tremendous responsibility towards the devotees, which he was incapable to fulfill. Realizing this, Nanavalli fell at Baba’s feet.

Baba, as Sadguru, has taken responsibility for each of his devotees’ spiritual development. Baba guides each of them, tailoring his help to the way best suited for them.  He, upon occasion, also takes upon some of his devotees’ suffering, where this allows the devotees to better focus on their spiritual progress instead of using up their energies to deal with the suffering.

 

Putting into Practice

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

1)    Egoism is an obstacle to our spiritual growth

How can we detach from worldly pleasures?  Below is an example given by our Vedanta teacher, Rita Nayar, to help us understand how to practice detachment by first attaching to something more conducive to our spiritual development.

Observe a child playing with toys. If you realise that she picked up some sharp, potentially harmful object, you will try to take it away. Every parent knows that you must first give her something that will be of interest, so that she will release her hold of the sharp object and grab the new object. Similarly, as adults, we must practice developing our attachment to God (bhakti), which will help us to detach ourselves from this world’s pleasures.

Another approach to reducing attachment is to practice Karma Yoga, which is self-less service without any expectation of reward or recognition. This will teach you humility and work to reduce your ego. 

Either practice can be started with a modest time commitment, but must be practiced consistently over time.

2)    The love, honour and respect that really matter, come to the person, not the position.  Yet you must not allow even these to interfere with your spiritual progress

If you find yourself the subject of praises and honours, you must not stop to bask in the praises, or any of the worldly rewards that come with your position. Focus on your responsibilities and detach yourself from the praises and honours, as they can easily entangle themselves in your ego and become an obstacle to your spiritual development.

 

 

 

Mantra:

Om, Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ

Sarve santu nirāmayāḥ

Sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu

Mā kashchit duḥkha bhāgbhavet

Oṁ Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ

Meaning:

May all be prosperous and happy

May all be free from illness

May all see what is spiritually uplifting

May no one suffer

Om peace, peace, peace

 

This above mantra is from the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/seekingshanti/2015/09/hinduprayerforeveryone_globalgoals/

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.

 

Chapter 15, Leela 1: Naradiya Kirtan-Paddhati

Leela:

Generally our Haridasas, while performing the Kirtan, wear a gala and full dress. They put on a head-dress, either a pheta or a turban, a long flowing coat with a shirt inside, an uparane (short dhotar) on the shoulders and the usual long dhotar from the waist below. Dressed in this fashion for some Kirtan in the Shirdi village, Dasganu once went to bow to Baba. Baba asked him - ""Well, bridegroom! where are you going dressed so beautifully like this?"" 'For performing a Kirtan' was the reply. Then Baba said - ""Why do you want all this paraphemalia-coat, uparani and pheta etc, doff all that before Me, why wear them on the body?"" Dasganu immediately took them off and placed them at the Baba's Feet. From that time Dasganu never wore these things while performing the Kirtan. He was always bare from waist upwards, a pair of `chiplis' was in his hand and a garland round his neck. This is not in consonance with the practice generally followed by all the Hardidasa, but this is the best and the purest method. The sage Narada, from whom the Kirtan-Paddhati originated, wore nothing on his trunk and head. He carried a 'veena' in his hand, and wandered from place to place everywhere singing the glory of the Lord.

 

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), p83

 

Teachings from Leela:

1)    For spiritual practice, your inner preparation is very important, but your outward appearance is not

Baba taught us via this leela that there is no need for pomp and show while praying to God. To prepare for prayer, ritual or other spiritual practice, pay attention to your inner self, as your inner spiritual experience is what’s truly important. Your outward appearance, and the outward appearance of your prayer or ritual, is irrelevant.

2)    During your spiritual practice, avoid outer distractions and focus your mind

Focus your energy inwards so that your mind will not wander. It is important to keep your mind calm, peaceful and care-free during your practice. Fix your mind on God.

 

Putting into Practice

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

1)    For spiritual practice, your inner preparation is very important, but your outward appearance is not

Guard yourself from getting caught up in physical appearances when following your spiritual practice, prayer or ritual.  You will find this is most likely to happen when you are practicing this with a group. 

 

2)    During your spiritual practice, avoid outer distractions and focus your mind

You might have noticed that when you pray, your mind wanders to mundane thoughts and you have to struggle to bring it back to task over and over again.   You will find that, if at the start of your practice, you take a minute to remind yourself how important this task is to you and that you need to give it your undivided attention, you will find this to be less of a struggle.  Also, this will get better with practice.

 

 

Mantra:

Om, Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ

Sarve santu nirāmayāḥ

Sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu

Mā kashchit duḥkha bhāgbhavet

Oṁ Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ

Meaning:

May all be prosperous and happy

May all be free from illness

May all see what is spiritually uplifting

May no one suffer

Om peace, peace, peace

 

This above mantra is from the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/seekingshanti/2015/09/hinduprayerforeveryone_globalgoals/

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.

 

Chapter 27, Leela 1: Granting Consecrated Book

Leela:

The variety of imparting instructions followed by Baba has already been noticed in the previous Chapters. In this, we shall deal with one aspect of it. It was the habit of some devotees to take some religious books, of which they wanted to make a special study, to Baba and to receive the same back from Him, after they were touched and consecrated by Him. While reading daily such books, they felt that Baba was with them. Once, Kaka Mahajani came to Shirdi with a copy of Ekanathi Bhagwat. Shama took that book to read and taking it with him went to the Masjid. There Baba took it from him, touched it and turning some pages here and there gave it back to Shama and asked him to keep it with him. When Shama said that it belonged to Kaka and had to be returned to him. ""No, no"", said Baba. ""As I have given it to you, better keep it with you for safe custody; it will be of use to you."" In this way many books were entrusted to Shama. Kaka Mahajani after a some days came again with another copy of the same Bhagwat and gave it in Baba's hand. Then Baba gave it back as Prasad and asked him to preserve it well and assured him that it would stand him in good stead. Kaka accepted it with a bow.

 

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), p140

 

Teachings from Leela:

1)    Even a momentary desire for spiritual growth expressed by you will be nurtured and encouraged by Baba

As described in Indira Kher’s version, Page 226, verse 48:

“Madhavrao conveyed to Baba in clear words that the book did not belong to him, but to Kaka Mahajani, and that he had just felt a momentary desire to read it. Hence he had brought it with him…”

When Baba notices even a faint desire in his devotee’s mind to gain spiritual knowledge, he acts to fulfill it. Baba is always ready to help you grow spiritually, but you must have the desire to do so. 

2)    Spiritual Knowledge is not meant to be read only once; you must refer to it often and bring it into your everyday life

Baba instructed Shama to keep the book carefully, and that it would be useful to him. When Kaka brought another copy of the book to Baba for blessing, he instructed Kaka to preserve the book and that it would stand him in good stead. Lessons learned from spiritual books such as the “Ekanathi Bhagwat” must be put into practice, and to do so, we must refer to them often.

Putting into Practice

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

1)    Even a momentary desire for spiritual growth expressed by you will be nurtured and encouraged by Baba

Once you accept Baba as your sadguru, he is always available to you, helping you at every step of the way towards your spiritual growth.  As you develop spiritually, you will wish for more knowledge to help you move forward.  You will find that Baba responds to your wishes and creates opportunities for you to gain this knowledge.  It is up to you to take advantage of it.

The above applies to seekers of the Jnana Marg (path of knowledge). This also applies to seekers in the other Margs (paths of bhakti, karma and yoga); Baba will respond to your development in these paths as needed.

2)    Spiritual Knowledge is not meant to be read only once; you must refer to it often and bring it into your everyday life

The spiritual journey of the seeker requires constant effort and practice.  It is not enough to watch a spiritual discourse or read a spiritual book, and then return to your normal, everyday life. 

 

You must contemplate upon the teachings, question them to remove any doubts, and once convinced, permanently add them to your everyday activities. This may require for you to return to the discourse or the book on occasion, to remind yourself of the teachings there.

 

The Ekanathi Bhagwat

If you’re wondering what that book was about that Baba blessed for Shama and Kaka, it was an essay by Sant (saint) Eknath in the 16^th century, on the 11^th Adhyaya (section) of the Bhagawat Puran.  This ancient text contains stories about the various incarnations of Lord Vishnu, spread over 12 adhyayas.

Sant Eknath was instructed by his Guru, Shri Janardan Swami, to write an explanation of the eleventh adhyaya, which is a dialog between Lord Krishna and Uddhava.  This dialog discusses how to attain freedom from bondage of this world. This work is known as ‘Eknathi Bhagwat’, whose purpose was to explain the Sanskrit work in Marathi, so that it would be more accessible to the common people.

The essence of Eknathi Bhagwat

In order to attain moksha, there are 2 pre-conditions:

1.    Repentance

The seeker must be aware that he may meet death any time, and should ask himself, “what is the purpose of this valuable human body? Have I used it poorly, for enjoyment of objects of senses? Have I lost a great opportunity of leading a life of spirituality!”

2.    Desirelessness

Once a seeker repents, the next pre-condition he must fulfill is desirelessness.  This desirelessness is the pure state of mind where no pleasure of the senses and no stroking of the ego have any appeal.  The seeker is indifferent to anything this world offers; his heart and mind are fully captivated by the one desire to be with God.

 

 

Srimad Bhagwatam, 11th Adhyaya (Uddhava Gita)

Here are some excerpts from the original work, upon which Sant Eknath’s work is based:

The effects of the influence of the three modes of material nature - goodness, passion, and ignorance—are described. Such knowledge ultimately culminates in an understanding of the transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord.

Godly qualities, such as tolerance and self control are manifestations of the mode of goodness. Material desires, feverish endeavor, and false pride are indications of the predominance of the mode of passion. Foolishness, uncontrolled anger, and insatiable greed are characteristics of the mode of ignorance. Every conditioned soul is influenced by a mixture of these thee modes, and according to one’s situation under the modes of nature, the false ego of “I” and “mine” take on various aspects in terms of one’s behavior, personality, concept of religion, and engagements in sense gratification. A person primarily influenced by the mode of goodness certainly worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a matter of duty, without consideration of personal profit. One who worships the Supreme Lord in the hopes of some kind of material improvement is primarily influenced by the mode of passion. Crime and violence are exhibited by those who have sunk deeply into the influence of the mode of ignorance. Although these modes of nature direct the thoughts and activities of all the conditioned souls, they have no effect upon the Supreme Lord, who remains fixed in His transcendental position.

Whatever is experience in this world—the time, place, circumstances, results of karma, objects, activities, performers of activities, one’s faith, development of consciousness, the destination after death, and so on—are permeated by the three modes of material nature. However, everything in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead—everything employed in His service, places of His pastimes, activities offered for His satisfaction, the performer of devotional service, time spent in His devotional service, and so on—is transcendental to the three modes of material nature.

The energy of the Lord is manifested in an unlimited variety of conditions of life for the living entities who are rotating within the cycle of birth and death. All such conditions of life are manifestations of the three modes of material nature, and they are the results of the conditioned souls’ fruitive activities. One can free himself from the influence of the three modes of material nature by engaging in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. Human life is the opportunity for cultivating knowledge of the Absolute Truth and any sane man will surely avail himself of this rarely obtained facility. By a careful cultivation of the mode of goodness, one can overcome the influence of the lower modes of passion and ignorance. Thereafter, one can advance even further by rising above the mode of goodness to the transcendental platform of devotional service. When one is fixed in the devotional service of the Lord, his ultimate destination is the association of the Supreme Lord in the spiritual sky, which is attained when, by His grace, the gross and subtle coverings are dissolved at the time of death.

Those who are in the mode of goodness are awake to their real self-interest. Those who are predominantly in the mode of passion are sleeping on the lap of the material nature, dreaming of becoming happy by means of sense gratification. Those who are in the mode of ignorance are in the deep slumber of nescience, which is practically a state of unconsciousness. However, those who cultivate the mode of pure goodness are always under the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, where there is no influence of mundane goodness, passion, or ignorance

Sättvika happiness is that which is derived from the practices of self-realization. Räjasika happiness is derived from enjoying sense gratification, and tämasika happiness is of a perverse nature and is derived from foolishness. Nirguëa, or transcendental happiness, is derived under the shelter of the Supreme Lord after surpassing the three modes of material nature.

Therefore, intelligent persons, having received the human form of body, which enables one to cultivate spiritual knowledge and its practical application, should give up the association of the three material modes of nature and continuously engage in My service.

The Supreme Lord describes the process of bhajana. The word niùsaìga means “without any tinge of karma, jïäna, and so on.” One may question, “What should one do if he has faith in the Supreme Lord, but also possesses sättvika, räjasika, or tämasika faith? The answer is that if one is exclusively engaged in devotional service, by the strength of that transcendental activity, he will be able to conquer the three modes of material nature. The Supreme Lord Himself has earlier confirmed this. If one’s activities are all engaged for the satisfaction of the Lord, one can rise above the three modes of material nature. One should carefully cultivate the mode of goodness and thus subdue the modes of passion and ignorance.

Being situated on the platform of transcendental satisfaction, when a devotee transcends even the mode of goodness, he is situated on the platform of pure devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Simply by the influence of devotional service, the two propensities of material enjoyment and detachment which are exhibited on the platform of goodness are dispelled. When a liberated soul is engaged in the transcendental service of the sac-cid-änanda Lord, the modes of material nature cannot touch him. In this chapter, Lord Kåñëa enumerated the characteristics of the three modes of material nature and described the devotional service of the Lord as being transcendental to these modes. Lord Caitanya has recommended that in this age, one should incessantly chant the holy names of the Lord as the best means of engaging in devotional service and thus transcending the modes of material nature.

SOURCE: http://www.krishnapath.org/Library/Uddhava_Gita.pdf

 

 

 

Mantra:

Om, Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ

Sarve santu nirāmayāḥ

Sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu

Mā kashchit duḥkha bhāgbhavet

Oṁ Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ

Meaning:

May all be prosperous and happy

May all be free from illness

May all see what is spiritually uplifting

May no one suffer

Om peace, peace, peace

 

This above mantra is from the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/seekingshanti/2015/09/hinduprayerforeveryone_globalgoals/

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.

 

Chapter 5, Leela 7: Turning Water into Oil

Leela:

Sai Baba was very fond of lights. He used to borrow oil from shop-keepers, and keep lamps burning the whole night in the Masjid and temple. This went on for some time. The Banias, who supplied oil gratis, once met together and decided not to give Him oil. When, as usual, Baba went to ask for oil, they all gave Him a distinct No. Unperturbed, Baba returned to the Masjid and kept the dry wicks in the lamps. The banias were watching Him with curiosity. Baba took the Tumrel (tin pot) which contained very little (a few drops) of oil, put water into it and drank it and forced it fall in the container. After consecrating the tin-pot in this way, He again took water in the tin-pot and filled all the lamps with it and lighted them. To the surprise and dismay of the watching Banias, the lamps began to burn and kept burning the whole night. The Banias repented and apologized. Baba forgave them and asked them to be more truthful in future.

 

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), p28.

 

Teachings from Leela:

1)    Perform charity without ego of doer-ship

The merchants initially did give the oil away for free for a few days. They did this from a sense of charity, but after a few days the sense of charity wore out and they probably thought to themselves “How long are we expected to keep giving our products away for free?”.

By performing the miracle, Baba made them rethink their role in performing charity. After all, what did it mean for ordinary people to give charity to a great spiritual being like Baba, who had the power to get whatever he wanted?  Baba made them realize that the giver must not take self-pride in the act of giving, as what they’re giving is not even really theirs.

Consider the story of a young child wanting to give a gift to her mother. She looks around the house, picks something up, and runs to her mother to give the gift. The mother is happy just by the demonstration of giving, even though everything in the house belongs to the mother.

2)    Do not take pleasure in the suffering of others

The merchants knew that Baba used the oil to fuel lamps to honour the house of worship, by keeping it lighted through the night. That day, they conspired to all refuse Baba at the same time as a prank, and then expected to have fun in watching Baba’s desperation. The merchants felt shame when they realized who they had pulled the prank on.

The leela teaches to not take pleasure from the suffering of the helpless and the needy. If we cannot provide the requested help, then we must politely refuse; we must not deprive others and then take pleasure in their desperation.

Putting into Practice

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

1)    Perform charity without ego of doer-ship

The giving of charity must be done without any ego. Remember that everything belongs to God. If someone in need comes to you for charity and if you have the capacity to give, then consider yourself fortunate to be chosen to act as a medium through which the act of charity is taking place. 

3)    Do not take pleasure in the suffering of others

 

When presented with the opportunity to perform charity, you may find yourself getting annoyed, or perhaps you may feel pride in your own generosity.  Neither feeling is warranted.  If you cannot give, you should politely refuse.  If you can, do the giving in all humility and empathy for the needy.

 

 

Mantra:

Om, Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ

Sarve santu nirāmayāḥ

Sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu

Mā kashchit duḥkha bhāgbhavet

Oṁ Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ

Meaning:

May all be prosperous and happy

May all be free from illness

May all see what is spiritually uplifting

May no one suffer

Om peace, peace, peace

 

This above mantra is from the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/seekingshanti/2015/09/hinduprayerforeveryone_globalgoals/

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.

 

Chapter 5, Leela 6: Wresting Bout with Mohdin Tamboli and Change in Life

Leela:

There was a wrestler in Shirdi, by name Mohdin Tamboli. Baba and he did not agree on some items, and both had a fight. In this Baba was defeated. Thenceforth, Baba changed His dress and mode of living. He donned Kafni, wore a Langot (waist band) and covered His head with a piece of cloth. He took a piece of sack-cloth for His seat, sack-cloth for His bed and was content with wearing torn and worn out rags. He always said that ""Poverty is better than Kingship, far better than Lordship. The Lord is always brother (befriender) of the poor."" Gangagir was also very fond of wrestling. While he was once wrestling, a similar feeling of dispassion came over him, and at the proper time he heard the voice of an adept, saying that he should wear out his body, playing with God. So he too gave up Samsara and turned towards God-realization. He established a math on the banks of the river near Puntambe, and lived there with disciples.

 

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), p27.

 

Teachings from Leela:

NOTE: All the interpretations in this blog are based on the Sai Satcharita, from either Gunaji or Indira Kher’s versions. The interpretations are based only on Baba’s words or actions described in the leelas. No attempt is made to explain Baba’s thinking when he was performing the actions or speaking the words.

In this leela, no attempt is made to guess as to what were Baba’s thoughts and intentions when he got into a physical fight with Mohdin;   

1.    Accept defeat gracefully

Baba could have used his supernatural powers to win, but he acted only physically and accepted his defeat. Baba is teaching us via this leela that we must accept defeat without any bitterness, grudge or ill-will. Upon losing, Baba gave up wrestling permanently and donned on Kafni (funeral cloth) as his dress going forward, signifying detachment from his physical body.

2.    Giving up egoism will end the cycle of action-reaction responses  

The ego is that part of your mind, which has the self-pride, that cannot accept losing to others. Having lost, its normal reaction is to want further opportunities to challenge and win. By choosing to completely put the incident behind him, without any anger or bitterness, Baba showed us how to put an end to this cycle of action and reaction. 

 

Putting into Practice

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

1)    Accept defeat gracefully

Life is a series of moments of success and failure. It takes courage to admit failure, embrace the lessons, and choose to move on.  Failure itself is not the issue. It’s how you feel about it that turns the experience into bitterness. You need a tremendous amount of courage to accept failure. Admitting failure is the most logical choice, but it’s not the most familiar option. Instead of taking responsibility for the situation, you may start looking to the outside world to place blame.

When you fail, it hurts. When you let it in and accept it, the hurt heals faster and, in the long run, is less painful to you. If you reject how you really feel, these emotions will pop up at unexpected times, bringing on feelings of bitterness, anger and sadness.

We are not all born equal and we all have our own strengths and weaknesses. Be satisfied that you have put in your 100% effort, but if you still fail, then accept it gracefully. Remember that, for the purposes of your spiritual journey, your effort and action matters, but not the consequences.

2)    Giving up egoism will end the cycle of action-reaction responses 

 

When two persons with significant egos get into a conflict, it results in a continuous cycle of action and reaction which traps them both, and obstructs their path towards spiritual development. Baba showed us by his conduct that you have the power to put an end to this cycle simply by controlling your ego.

Sometimes it is appropriate to admit defeat and move on. It is the wise choice and not a sign of weakness. On the other hand, there are some conflicts that you must not abandon. These are situations where you are fighting for dharma (righteous cause) and there is nothing personal to gain.

Another approach that might help you to break the cycle is to forgive. Understand that forgiveness is up to you. Forgiveness and reconciliation differ greatly because reconciliation requires both parties to work together, whereas forgiveness only requires yourself. Forgiving someone doesn’t mean letting her off the hook, it simply means that you accept what happened and you are willing to move on.

 

Mantra:

Om, Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ

Sarve santu nirāmayāḥ

Sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu

Mā kashchit duḥkha bhāgbhavet

Oṁ Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ

Meaning:

May all be prosperous and happy

May all be free from illness

May all see what is spiritually uplifting

May no one suffer

Om peace, peace, peace

 

This above mantra is from the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/seekingshanti/2015/09/hinduprayerforeveryone_globalgoals/

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.