Chapter 8, Leela 2: Bayajabai's Brilliant Service

Leela:

Tatya Kote's mother, Bayajabai, used to go to the woods every noon with a basket on her head containing bread and vegetables. She roamed in the jungles koss (about 3 miles) after koss, trampling over bushes and shrubs in search of the mad Fakir, and after hunting Him out, fell at His feet. The Fakir sat calm and motionless in meditation, while she placed a leaf before Him, spread the eatables, bread, vegetables etc. thereon and fed Him forcibly. Wonderful was her faith and service. Every day she roamed at noon in the jungles and forced Baba to the partake of lunch. Her service, Upasana or Penance, by whatever name we call it, was never forgotten by Baba till his Maha Samadhi. Remembering fully what service she rendered, Baba benefited her son magnificently. Both the son and the mother had great faith in the Fakir, Who was their God. Baba often said to them that "Fakir (Mendicacy) was the real Lordship as it was everlasting, and the so called Lordship (riches) was transient”. After some years, Baba left off going into the woods, began to live in the village and take His food in the Masjid. From that time Bayajabai's troubles of roaming in the jungles ended.

 

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), p49

 

Teachings from Leela:

1)    Though you can have many types of relationship with God, aspire for that of a parent to a child, which is one of unconditional love

In the spiritual path of bhakti (devotion), it is said that it is useful to establish a relationship with God patterned after the relationships we understand, such as that of a friend with a friend, a parent with a child, or child with a parent. In each of these relationship patterns, except that of a parent with a child, we tend to expect something from God in return. For example, if we think of God as a father, we are quite comfortable in asking Him for help or favours. 

Only when we think of God as a child who we love and care for, do we have no further expectations of Him. This is similar to a state when seekers on the bhakti path, having fully understood and accepted the need to bear the consequences of all their actions, and having shed much of their worldly attachments, no longer have the need to ask God for anything more. They only wish to give Him their unconditional love.

This is not to say that you must reject the other types of relationships in favour of that of “parent to child”.  All types of relationships with God are immensely valuable.  It is just that a relationship of unconditional love is the ideal you will naturally move to, as you move forward in the bhakti path. It is the ideal that you must aspire to.

In this leela, Bayajabai is a living example of a motherly love and devotion towards her Lord (Baba). She took it upon herself to feed Baba just as a mother would take care of her child. She did this selflessly, with full dedication, no matter how many difficulties came her way. She mustered the courage needed to roam the jungles mile after mile, trampling over bushes and shrubs, looking for Baba in order to feed him, before eating food herself. She had no expectations in return.

2)    An attitude of complete detachment is far superior to possession of worldly riches

A fakir is a spiritual person who has taken a vow of poverty.  He has completely rejected the need to strive for basic shelter or sustenance, let alone any comforts. He relies on the community to provide him food and is content to sleep wherever fate takes him (note 1).  This way of life is closest we can get to a complete state of worldly detachment.

Baba said that Fakiri (the attitude of being a Fakir) was the real Lordship as the happiness it brings survives death, while Amiri (Lordship) based on earthly power or riches ends with this life.

 

Putting into Practice

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

1)    Though you can have many types of relationship with God, aspire for that of a parent to a child, which is one of unconditional love

If you have not chosen a pattern of relationship with God, you will find it useful to do so.  Choose the relationship that fits best for you, one that you can use as a basis for your conversations with Him.  In our tradition, there are plenty of examples of this, most commonly that of Krishna, who is prayed to in the form of an infant, a mischievous child, a beloved, or a close friend.

Most of us are not at that state of spiritual development where we feel we do not need to cry out to God for help when we are in anguish or serious need.  There is nothing wrong with this. 

As we develop in our spirituality we will eventually move to the ideal state.  Use the knowledge of this ideal as a guide in your day to day life.  Eventually you will find it will give you more strength to face life’s challenges and hardships.  It will start to grow compassion within you for God.

When you do relate to God as a child under your care, you will notice that you cannot stop yourself from constantly thinking about Him, as you feel that you are responsible for His well being. You will not be able to eat food without first offering it to Him, so this will automatically help you remember Him constantly and increase your love for Him. Just as those of you who are parents will agree with me that, when you have a baby to take care of, no matter what activity you are doing as part of your daily routine, you will constantly think about your child to ensure his well being.

2)    An attitude of complete detachment is far superior to possession of worldly riches

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 has picked up some sharp, potentially harmful object, you will try to take it away. Every parent knows that you must first give her a replacement object that will be of interest, before she releases her hold on the sharp object and grabs the new object.

Similarly, we must practice developing our attachment to God (bhakti), which will help us to release our hold of this world’s pleasures.

Another approach to reduce attachment is to practice Karma Yoga, which is selfless service without any expectation of reward or recognition. Bayajabai, in this leela, did just that by offering her selfless service to Baba.

Either practice can be started with a modest time commitment, but must be practiced consistently over time (note 2).

 

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 in the Wikipedia article on Fakir,
at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fakir

2)     This topic has also been discussed in the following leela:
https://at-the-feet-of-baba.blogspot.ca/2017/01/chapter-10-leela-2-nanavalli.html