Chapter 4, Leela 3: Das Ganu’s Bath in Prayag

Leela:

The Hindus believe that a bath in the holy Tirth of Prayag, where the Ganga and Yamuna meet, is very meritorious, and thousands of pilgrims go there at particular times of the year to have the sacred bath. Once, Das Ganu thought that he should go to Prayag for a sacred bath, and came to Baba to get His permission to do so. Baba replied to him, "It is not necessary to go so far. Our Prayag is here, believe me." Then wonder of wonders, when Das Ganu placed his head on Baba’s Feet, out flowed streams of Ganga and Yamuna water from both the toes of Baba. Seeing this miracle, Das Ganu was overwhelmed with feelings of love and adoration and was full of tears. Inwardly, he felt inspired, and his speech burst forth into a song in praise of Baba and His Leelas.

 

Based upon 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), p20

 

Teachings from Leela:

1)    When you go off-track in your spiritual path, wasting effort on activities of little or no spiritual benefit, God will help you by bringing you back on track

Our tradition mentions various practices for the bhakta (a seeker on the Path of Bhakti).  In a previous blog post (note 4), I have mentioned nine forms of Bhakti, in order of progression, where each form of bhakti is more subtle and advanced than the previous one:

1)    Sravana (hearing of God's Lilas and stories),

2)    Kirtana (singing of His glories),

3)    Smarana (remembrance of His Name and presence),

4)    Padasevana (service of His feet),

5)    Archana (worship of God),

6)    Vandana (prostration to the Lord),

7)    Dasya (cultivating the Bhava of a servant with God),

8)    Sakhya (cultivation of the friend-Bhava) and

9)    Atmanivedana (complete surrender of the self).

Das Ganu was at a very high level in the path of bhakti, but he was going off-track by wanting to perform an activity belonging to a very early level of spirituality.

The performing of acts that are understood to be spiritually meritorious, without even needing to show any bhakti (love) towards God, are useful to someone not yet on the path of spirituality and completely caught up in the day-to-day world. By performing the activity, the person is at least acknowledging that he needs to perform some actions towards his spiritual development. 

By wanting to perform a holy pilgrimage to Prayag, at a specific time in the year as it was considered auspicious, Das Ganu wanted to perform an activity at a level far below in spiritual merit.  More importantly, he had the great fortune of living in close presence of his Sadguru, a huge blessing he was willing to forgo in order to perform this act of merit.

By diverting his wish to travel the long distance to the holy Tirth of Prayag, and by showing him the miracle of the flowing Ganga and Yamuna water from His toes, Baba taught Das Ganu that being in the presence of your Sadguru was far more spiritually important. The Sadguru was easily able to offer him whatever simple merit he craved from the pilgrimage.  With this miracle, Baba made Das Ganu realize how blessed he was, by being in such close proximity with his Sadguru, and being so carefully guided by Him.

 

Here is the song (Pada) that Das Ganu spontaneously sang in praise of Baba after his overwhelming experience on this occasion (from Indira Kher version, which is a verse by verse translation of the Pothi by Dhalbokar, in Marathi, Page 33, verse 107):

 

O Sadguru, boundless is your power, marvelous your leelas!
To ferry the dull and the ignorant across the Ocean of life,
you are for ever the ark.  (Refrain)

Veni Madhav you became and brought Prayag at your feet,
Only to make Ganga and Yamuna flow from your toes.  (1)

The Lotus-born (Brahma), the consort of Lakshmi (Vishnu),
and Shiva-Har(Shankar), the quintessence of the Trigunas,
You have yourself become, O Sai Samarth, as you walked on this  earth. (2)

Wisdom of Brahma pours out of your words, sometimes;
Sometimes, you assume the terrible form of Shiva, to show ‘Tamas’. (3)

Like Shri Krishna, you indulge, sometimes, in childish pranks;
And at times, you are the fabled swan on the lake of your devotees’ hearts. (4)

If a Muslim, sandalwood-paste was (like Hindus) dear to you,
But if a Hindu, how happily you stayed always in the mosque!     (5)

To call you wealthy, - but you want your rounds, begging for alms,
And should you be a fakir, your munificence has put even Kuber (note 1) to shame!     (6)

If the mosque be your abode, there is always,
fire Burning in the dhuni, to provide Udi to the people.  (7)

From dawn gather the faithful to worship you,
Till the sun is at Zenith, and the mid-day arati is performed.  (8)

All round the devotees stand, as the divine attendants on God,
Holding the chowrie-chamar (note 2) to wave softly over your head. (9)

Cornets resound, clarions make melody, the bells clang aloud,
As the chopdar, (note 3) impressive with this belt,
stands at the door proclaiming your glory.   (10)

On your resplendent seat, you are as Lord Vishnu, during arati,
But you are Shankar (destroyer of Cupid)
as you sit before the dhuni, in the evenings.     (11)

Such leelas of the Trinity, we experience – in you, day after day,
 O Baba Sai.   (12)

Even so, my mind wanders idly;
To steady it, is all I pray to you, now.  (13)

Vilest among the vile, a great sinner that I am; seeking refuge at your feet I come;
avert the threefold afflictions of Das Ganu, O Gururaya!    (14)

 

Putting into Practice

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

When you go off-track in your spiritual path, wasting effort on activities of little or no spiritual benefit, God will help you by bringing you back on track

 

If you are on the Path of Bhakti (devotion), the general direction you are heading is towards an ever-deeper love for God.  Similarly, if you are on the Path of Jnana (knowledge), your direction will take you towards deeper and subtler understanding of the true nature of God.  With the Path of Karma, you are moving towards an attitude of selflessness, detachment and universal affection of the world around you.

 

As you progress down your chosen path, you may well be attracted to other activities that appear to have spiritual merit.  Sometimes it may not be clear to you whether you should perform a new spiritual activity that you come across.  While you should not ever abandon your chosen path, use your judgment on adding new spiritual activities to your practice. You can contemplate on whether the new activity will move you towards your spiritual goal, or will cause you to move further away from your goal, or perhaps not have any useful effect whatsoever.

 

This leela teaches that if you make a mistake in judgment, your Sadguru will give you the guidance you need.

 

 

Notes:

1)     Kuber is the name of the treasurer of the gods, the Indian Plutus, and hence, appellatively, a rich man.

2)     A fan made from the tail of Bos grunniens, a domestic yak found in the Himalayan region.  It is used to whisk off flies.

3)     Chopar is the Mace-bearer.

4)     https://at-the-feet-of-baba.blogspot.ca/2016/11/chapter-9-leela-6-tarkhad-family-father.html

 

 

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.