Chapter 4, Leela 1: Vithal Himself Appeared

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, 20^th 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