Note: The second paragraph of this leela is
repeated twice only in the Gunaji's version, 20th edition
2002, chapter 27, page 143, paragraph: Vitthal Vision
Leela:
Sai Baba was very fond of remembering and singing God’s name. He
always uttered Allah Malik(God is Lord) and in His presence made others sing
God’s name continuously, day and night, for 7 days. This is called Namasaptaha.
Once He asked Das Ganu Maharaj to do the Namasaptaha. He replied that he would
do it, provided he was assured that Vithal would appear at the end of the 7th
day. Then Baba, placing His hand on his breast assured him that certainly
Vithal would appear, but that the devotee must be ‘earnest and devout’. The
Dankapuri (Takore) of Takurnath, the Pandhari of Vithal, the Dwarka of Ranchhod
(Krishna) is here (Shirdi). One need not go far out to see Dwarka. Will Vithal
come here from some outside place? He is here. Only when the devotee is bursting
with love and devotion, Vithal will manifest Himself here (Shirdi).
After the Saptaha was over, Vithal did manifest Himself in the following
manner. Kakasaheb Dixit was, as usual, sitting in meditation after the bath,
and he saw Vithal in a vision. When he went at noon for Baba’s darshana, Baba
asked him point-blank - "Did Vithal Patil come? Did you see Him? He is a
very truant fellow, catch Him firmly, otherwise, he will escape, if you be a
little inattentive." This happened in the morning and at noon there was
another Vithal darshana. One hawker from outside, came there for selling 25 or
30 pictures of Vithoba. This picture exactly tallied with the figure, that
appeared in Kakasaheb’s vision. On seeing this and remembering Baba’s words,
Kakasaheb Dixit was much surprised and delighted. He bought one picture of
Vithoba, and placed it in his shrine for worship.
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), p19
Here is the full leela from Indira Kher
version, which is a verse by verse translation of the Pothi by Dhalbokar (in
Marathi):
82.
With
his great fondness for chanting God's name, Baba repeated 'Allah Malik',
ceaselessly and would often make his devotees hold a naam-saptah (a week-long
chanting of the Name), in front of him which would go on day and night,
continously.
83.
Once,
Das Ganu was commanded to start a Naam-saptah, and Das Ganu said, 'Yes, but
Vitthal must appear to me'.
84.
Laying
his hand on his heart, Baba said peremptorily, "Yes, yes, Vitthal will
appear in form, before you! Only, the devotee must have faith enough!
85.
"Dankapuri
(Dakore in Gujarat) of Dakurnath, or Pandharpur of Vitthalraya, or Dwarka of
Ranchchod, __ everything is Shirdi itself. You do not have to seek it far.
86.
"After
all, is Vitthal going to appear from a secret place? Moved by the intense love
of his devotees, he will incarnate in this very place, for you.
87.
"By
his devoted service to his old parents, Pundalik had won over the Lord of
Lords, who stood resting on a single brick, just for the love and devotion of
Pundalik."
88.
And
so, as the saptah came to an end, it is said that Das Ganu did have the
Vitthal-darshan, in Shirdi itself! So much for the truth of Baba's words
89.
Once,
Kakasaheb Dikshit was sitting in meditation after his early morning bath, as
was his daily practice, when he had the darshan of Vitthal.
90.
Later,
when he went for Baba's darshan, see the wonder of what Baba said to him,
"So, Vitthal Patil had come, isn't it? And you did meet him, I'm sure!
91.
"But
mind you, that Vitthal is very elusive! Hold on to him fast and fix him in
place, forcibly. Or else, he will give you the slip, if you are inattentive,
even for a moment."
92.
But
this was just the incident of the morning, while later in the day, as the sun
came overhead at noon, see how there was yet another proof of the glorious
vision of Vitthal.
93.
Someone
from another village came to Shirdi bringing with him quite a few pictures of
Vithoba of Pandharpur, with the intention of selling them.
94.
And
Dikshit was simply amazed to find them the exact replicas of the Vitthal who
had appeared to him during his meditation, that morning! Baba's words at once,
came to his mind.
95.
With
great love Dikshit bought one of the pictures, paying the price to the seller
and with great devotion installed it for pooja.
Teachings from Leela:
1) To advance in your spiritual path of Bhakti (devotion), you must
make effort to deepen your Shraddha (faith, devotion, commitment)
The path of Bhakti is much more than devotion. It includes practices and spiritual activities
aimed at refining one's state of mind, knowing God, participating in God, and
internalizing God (note 1).
Baba asked Das Ganuji to do a naam saptah, which was the
continuous chanting of God’s name, day and night, for 7 straight days. This
practice is usually done with the help of a group of devotees, who take turns
so each can rest when needed. Even with the help, this is very demanding for
the person taking on the commitment. This practice helped Das Ganuji in 2 ways:
a.
By
taking on a task he thought beyond his capability, Das Ganuji was demonstrating
a deeper level of commitment, both to himself and to God. By accomplishing
it successfully, he raised his practice to a higher level.
b.
Just
as when two people become closer after facing a difficult experience
together, Das Ganuji came closer to God, deepening his Shraddha, after
sharing this difficult ordeal in His presence.
Das Ganuji did have Vithal Darshan, as described in Indira
Kher’s version (see above, verse 88).
2) On the spiritual path of Bhakti, you can practice Roop Dhyana (meditation
of form). To do so, you must hold an image of God in your mind continuously,
without even a moment of lapse.
When Kakasaheb Dixit was meditating one morning, he saw Vithal
in his vision. This image of Vithal turned out to be the same as a picture offered
for sale by a visiting hawker later that day. The appearance of Vithal in
Dixitji’s mind, and in the form of pictures for sale, fulfilled the promise to
Das Ganuji that Vithal would appear at the end of the Saptah.
However, we must take careful note of Baba’s instruction to
Dikshitji: "Vitthal is very elusive! Hold on to him fast and fix him in
place, forcibly. Or else, he will give you the slip, if you are inattentive,
even for a moment."
When you focus on God intensely, you cannot avoid contemplating
upon Him. In doing this, you consider each of his qualities and find many
qualities that you deeply admire. As your familiarity with God grows in His
presence, and your admiration of his qualities grows, so does your Shraddha.
Putting into Practice
Here are some
suggestions on how we could use this leela in our daily lives.
1) To advance in your spiritual path of Bhakti (devotion), you must
make effort to deepen your Shraddha (faith, devotion, commitment)
The best worldly metaphor for devotion to God is the love for
another person. This love is not to be confused with infatuation or
attraction, which are temporary; it is a deep and growing love, embodying
affection, admiration, caring and selflessness. This love grows slowly and
gradually between two people as they become familiar with each other. They discover
qualities in each other, develop mutual respect and admiration, and share
common experiences. The bhakta (follower of the spiritual path of Bhakti) is
in the process of developing this deep love for God.
Our tradition mentions various practices for the bhakta. In a
previous blog post, I have mentioned nine forms of Bhakti:
https://at-the-feet-of-baba.blogspot.ca/2016/11/chapter-9-leela-6-tarkhad-family-father.html
In this leela, Baba provides a very specific example of a
practice that will bring a bhakta closer to God, which involves you sharing a
common and difficult experience with God. You need not start with a 7 day Naam
Saptah – you could start with something much more modest, perhaps with chanting
God’s name for 15 minutes. You could also be inventive, sharing your time with
God when confronting other challenges in your life, imagining Him with you
throughout the experience.
2) On the spiritual path of Bhakti, you can practice Roop Dhyana
(meditation of form). To do so, you must hold an image of God in your mind
continuously, without even a moment of lapse.
In
this leela, Baba describes another, very specific, practice, which is
traditionally called Roop Dhyana. In this practice, you must form an image of
God in your mind, and then hold it there without losing even a moment of
concentration (note 2).
Bhakti-yoga-meditation.com
says:
When we feel emotion, the mind
is adoptive. In other words, it is deeply influenced by the object that is
being meditated upon with feeling. That emotion could be either positive
(affection) or negative (animosity)
For example, if you melt wax
and add dye to it, the dye can't be extracted. When the wax hardens, the dye
becomes a permanent feature of the wax.
Similarly, the mind
"melts" when emotional, and the qualities of the object that inspired
that feeling enter the mind. Your mind then adopts and retains the qualities of
that object. If you meditate deeply on an object for a long time, the quality
of your mind becomes identical with the quality of the meditated object.
Instead of trying to remove
thoughts from the mind, in bhakti yoga meditation we learn how to meditate
using this adoptive quality to transform the mind. (note 2)
You
can start by practicing Roop Dhyana for a modest period, such as 15 minutes.
First, make sure that your surroundings are conducive to meditation: the place
must be quiet and uplifting. It may help to light a candle or incense to set
the mood. It also helps to form an image of God that is bright, colourful and
vivid; in our tradition, you have the benefit of choosing from among thousands
of images. Hold on to the image as long as you can, but don’t fret if your
concentration drops. Just return to the image as soon as you realize your mind
has drifted away. As you get proficient, you can extend the time.
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.
Notes:
1)
See description
under heading “Bhakti (worship)” in the Wikipedia article on Hinduism,
at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism
2)
This is an excellent
website, which discusses Roop Dhyana in more detail.
Please visit http://www.bhakti-yoga-meditation.com/how-to-meditate.html
