At the feet of Baba: 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