Chapter 3, Leela 3: Rohilla's story

Leela:

The story of Rohilla illustrates Sai Baba’s all-embracing love. Rohilla, tall and well-built, strong as a bull, came to Shirdi, wearing a long Kafni (robe). He used to recite day and night in a loud and harsh voice, the Kalma (verses from Holy Koran), and shout ""ALLAH HO AKBAR"" (God is Great). Most people of Shirdi worked in their fields all day, and when they returned to their homes at night, they were welcomed by Rohilla’s harsh cries and shouts. They could get no sleep. They suffered this nuisance in silence for some days, and when they could stand it no longer, they approached Baba and requested Him to speak with Rohilla and stop the nuisance. Baba did not attend to their complaint. On the contrary, He took the villagers to task and asked them to mind their own business. He said to them that Rohilla had a very bad wife, who tried to trouble both Rohilla and Himself, but upon hearing Rohilla’s prayers, she dared not enter and they were at peace and happy. In fact, Rohilla had no wife, and by his wife Baba actually meant durbuddhi (bad thoughts). As Baba liked prayers and cries to God better than anything else, He took Rohilla’s side and asked the villagers to wait and suffer the nuisance, which would abate in due course.

 

Based on 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), p14

 

Teachings from Leela:

1)    Remembering God frequently throughout the day improves the quality of your thoughts and helps to purify your mind.

Through this leela, Baba taught the usefulness of remembering your chosen deity often. When you remember your deity, thoughts about Him or Her appear in your mind, reducing the space for negative thoughts. When you reduce negative thoughts, the overall quality of your thoughts improves and this helps to purify your mind.

2)    When you appeal to your Sadguru to intervene in a problem in your life, his response may not be what you expect, but will be what is best for you.

The villagers did the right thing by approaching Baba for help when things went out of control. They expected an outcome from Baba in their favour, but, on the face of it, it seemed that Baba ignored the villagers call for help, but in fact he did what was best for them. He even knew that this problem was temporary and would be resolved on its own, in a short time. Baba pointed out the importance of repeating God’s name day and night.

Putting into Practice

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

1)    Remembering God frequently throughout the day improves the quality of your thoughts and helps to purify your mind.

We have control over improving the quality of our thoughts but not over the quantity of our thoughts. The quality of thoughts can be improved with conscious effort, such as remembering, singing or hearing our deity’s name.

People, on average, have 7 to 42 thoughts per minute. Often, one thought leads to another of the same theme or subject matter. One negative thought can lead to several other negative thoughts. Similarly, a consciously injected positive thought can lead to several other positive thoughts.

We can take advantage of this feature of our minds by building habits to think of positive thoughts as we perform specific activities or arrive at certain places throughout our day. When we discipline our minds in this way, it will help us become freer from the bondage of worldly pleasures and closer to a state of permanent joy.

We can further improve the quality of our thoughts by following these simple processes described in Yoga Vasistha:

a.    By being intellectually alert: We must become conscious of the flow of thoughts in us. Recognize the good and bad tendencies without justification or condemnation. We must not pretend not to see, nor should we try to hide what we do see, but rather we should accept whatever is there in us. This choiceless awareness of our thoughts hastens the process of cleansing.

b.    By analysis: A doctor examines a patient, diagnoses the disease, understands the factors that aggravates the symptoms and then suggests the cure. Similarly, we must analyze the good and bad thoughts that come to us and think about what sustains them, what aggravates them and what stops them. When we see that, by brooding over thoughts, we are encouraging them, we should avoid brooding. We should also avoid the company of bad people, reading those books or seeing those programs, etc., which bring out the worst in us. These should be scrupulously avoided, just as a recovering alcoholic would avoid thinking about drinks and liquor bars.

Reference: Yoga Vasistha Sara Sangrahah, Translated by Swami Tejomayananda (Mumbai: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, 2010), p31.

 

2)    When you appeal to your Sadguru to intervene in a problem in your life, his response may not be what you expect, but will be what is best for you.

Even though it might appear that Baba is not responding to your prayers or you are not getting the desired results from him, he is working on your spiritual progress internally. You must not give up or lose faith in Baba.  Do not be disheartened, accept things as they are, as God’s plan is in the best interest for all concerned.

Look for deeper meanings behind the situation surrounding you. You might be able to see what Baba expects you to learn from it.  

 

 

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.

Chapter 23, Leela 3: Cholera Epidemic

Leela:

Once, Cholera was raging virulently in Shirdi. Its residents were much frightened and they stopped all communication with the outside world. The panchayat (village council) decided upon two ordinances as a remedy to check the Epidemic. They were (1) No fire wood should be allowed to come into the village, and (2) No goat should be killed. Anybody disobeying these ordinances would be heavily fined.

 

Baba knew that all this was mere superstition. While the ordinances were in force, a fire wood vendor came with his cart. The villager’s stopped the cart at the village boundary and would not allow it in. Baba came to know of this. He came to the spot and asked the vendor to take the cart to the Masjid. None dared to raise their voice against this action. Baba kept His Dhuni (sacred fire) ever burning all day and night, and for this, He always stocked fire wood. Baba's home, i.e. the Masjid, was free and open to all. It had no lock and key. Some of the poorer villagers took some fire wood for their cooking. Other, more deceitful, villagers also did the same.

 

Baba did not grumble about this. He saw that the whole universe was pervaded by the Almighty, and so He never bore enmity or ill-will to anybody. Though perfectly detached. He behaved like an ordinary house-holder to set an example to the people.

 

Based on 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), p122

Also see: Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, Translated by Indira Kher (Bird Publisher, 2009), p195, verses 72-88

 

Teachings from Leela:

1.    Protect and hold on to your dharma, even if it means you have to stand up and challenge authority

The village gram panchayat (village council) put these ordinances in place out of fear and ignorance. Baba defied the ordinance by allowing the fire wood to be brought into the village and to be unloaded at Dwarkamai. 

Before we proceed to understand the teachings of this leela, let us understand a few concepts of Dharma and Dharan.

Dharma is about being true to your conscience. Inside everyone the Lord resides in the form of conscience. When people wholeheartedly follow this, they are being Dharmic. Living from your heart is righteousness and lying to yourself is Adharma. The saints, who have conquered their lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride and envy are being true to their conscience and they are Dharmic (note 1). Tulsidas, author of Ramcharitmanas, has defined the root of dharma as compassion (note 2).

The sanskrit word Dharan (Sanskrit धारण) literally means bearing or holding. Dharan also refers to protecting, maintaining or preserving (note 3).

Thus dharma, is the noble path of righteousness, and dharan is to hold on to that path.

If in doubt, how could one be sure that they have followed dharma and made the right choice?

When you use your selfish motives, and declare it to be your dharma, you will experience doubts, fear and negativity, but if you truly follow dharma, without swartha (selfless motives), then your heart will tell you that you have made the right choice. You will not face any moral dilemma and you will be able to stand behind your conviction of truth without any doubts or fear.

Via this leela, Baba is trying to teach us to stand up to those who try to rationalize their wrong actions based on Ignorance or authority. Follow your dharma, even if it means you have to challenge authorities.

The ordinance was not going to be of any use to anyone. It would only cause great pain and hardship to the poor due to lack of fire wood for cooking, Baba followed his dharma and defied the ordinance.

 

Putting into Practice

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

1.    Protect and hold on to your dharma, even if it means you have to stand up and challenge authority

Life is a battlefield in which a fierce battle rages inside each individual between the good and the evil. When such battle is going on, we have to stay vigilant and challenge any of our tendencies to do wrong based on either ignorance or selfishness. Be prepared to identify and fight this battle for dharma.

As described in The Hindu website (note 4)

Your Dharma is not an instruction which is imposed upon you by an institution or religious authority. It is what you are born with. It arises because you are an aspect of Brahman and in some respects Brahman Himself. It is a part of your previous Samskaras. You cannot just wish it away. You practice it because you want to be in harmony with yourself and the world in which you live, not because society or an institution has imposed the code upon you. You are one of the musical notes in the symphony of life, and you cannot sound discordant and disrupt the melody. If you are born with a particular sense of duty and your family or society tries to manipulate you with their own sense of values you have the right and freedom to choose your own, as long as your actions or decisions do not disrupt the social and moral order. This is where Hinduism gives freedom to each individual to live according to their discretion (buddhi). It is where it helps you to break free from conformity, conditioning and the authority of institutions and traditions.

 

For example, your dharma, is to follow the instructions of your employer, but if he asks you to do something illegal or unethical, then you must either politely refuse or walk away from the job. 

 

In our culture, we are taught to respect our elders and not contradict them in any way.  When our elders do something clearly wrong and hurtful to a younger member of the family, it is your dharma to challenge them, but you should do so politely and respectfully. 

 

 

 

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.

Notes:

1.     https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/9907/what-is-dharma

2.     https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-dharma-1770048

3.     https://www.pitarau.com/meaning-of-dharan

4.        http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduwaycorrect.asp

 

 

Chapter 35, Leela 5: Power and Efficacy of Udi

Leela:

Once it happened that, at Balaji's death anniversary, a certain number of guests were invited and dinner was prepared for them. At dinner-time, three times more people showed up than expected. Mrs. Newaskar was in a fix. The quantity of food she had prepared would not suffice for the people assembled, and if it fell short, the honour of the family would be at stake. Her mother-in-law comforted her by saying, "Don't be afraid, it is not ours, but Sai's food. Cover every dish with a cloth, after putting some Udi in it. Serve from underneath the covering. Sai will save us from embarrassment." She did as she was advised, and found to her surprise and joy, that not only did the food suffice for all, but plenty of it was left over.

 

Based on 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), p191

 

Teachings from Leela:

1)    In times of trouble, remember Baba with shraddha, and He will be there for you as promised

Mrs Newaskar’s mother-in-law had complete Shraddha (faith and confidence) in Baba. She knew that, in this difficult situation, when family honour was at stake, she could rely on Baba to help them.

When the situation arose, she was helpless as nothing could be done to overcome the shortage of food on short notice.

She invoked Baba’s help via the Udi and Baba answered her call for help. Baba had promised to help anyone who called out to Him with complete Shraddha during times of trouble. He kept that promise.

           

Putting into Practice

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

1)    In times of trouble, remember Baba with shraddha, and He will be there for you as promised

When you find yourself in a difficult situation which is beyond your control, remember Baba and seek His help. He is always ready to help you. All you need is Shraddha (faith and confidence) and Saburi (patience).

This does not mean that you can neglect your own duties and expect Baba to bail you out.

 

 

 

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.

Chapter 8, Leela 1: Baba Begging Food

Leela:

Blessed are the people of Shirdi, in front of whose houses Baba stood, as a beggar, and called out, Oh daughter, give Me a piece of bread". In one hand, He carried a Tumrel (tinpot), and in the other, a jholi, a piece of cloth. Everyday, He went from door to door of certain houses. Liquid or semi-liquid things such as soup, vegetables, milk or butter-milk were received in the tinpot, while cooked rice, bread, and such solid things were collected in the jholi. Baba's tongue knew no taste, as He had mastered control over it. Whatever He got in His jholi and in the tinpot was mixed together and partaken by Baba to His heart's content. Whether particular things were tasty or otherwise was never noticed by Baba. It was as if His tongue was totally devoid of the sense of taste. Sometimes Baba visited the same homes more than once and some days as many as twelve times.

 

The food thus collected was put into a wide earthen jar. Dog, cats and crows freely ate from it and Baba never drove them away. The woman who swept the floor of the Masjid took some 10 or 12 pieces of bread to her house, and nobody prevented her from doing so. How could, He, who even in dreams never warded off cats and dogs by harsh words and signs, refuse food to poor helpless people?

 

Blessed indeed is the life of such a noble person! People in Shirdi took Him in the beginning for a mad Fakir. He was known in the village by this name. How could one who lived on alms, by begging a few crumbs of bread, be revered and respected? But this Fakir was very liberal of heart and hand, detached yet charitable. Though He looked fickle and restless from the outside, He was firm and steady inside. His way was inscrutable. Yet even in that small village, there were a few kind and blessed people, who recognized and regarded Him as a Great Soul.

 

Based on 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), p48

 

Teachings from Leela:

1)    Take care of the hunger and thirst of all creatures around you, before you feed yourself

Baba said that if you do not want to give charity, you can politely refuse. However, giving of food and water to creatures in immediate need is not something you should refuse. The feeling of hunger is universal amongst all beings, and each of us must be able to have compassion based on this need. If you sincerely believe that the other creatures are just like yourself how could you possibly deny them? It is important to feed the hungry around you before you feed yourself.

In this leela, Baba wanted to teach us compassion for all beings. There is no point in worshipping God while ignoring the basic needs of the other beings around you.

Contemplating upon this leela, we can both broaden and deepen our compassion and love for other beings.  In fact, Baba instructs us here to put others’ needs before our own: “First give bread to the hungry, and then eat yourself”.

2)    Love all beings equally

Baba loved all beings equally, including animals. Most of us would be hesitant to eat food which was first eaten by an animal. He let the dogs, cats and crows eat freely from the food he collected as alms and later ate the left overs.

Via this leela, Baba showed us that we must love all creatures equally. We might be comfortable eating left overs from our own kid’s plate, but we still have a long journey to reach that level of love for all, including animals.

3)    Pleasures of the senses are temporary and we must eventually learn to detach from them

Baba demonstrated that He had freed himself from attachment to pleasurable taste. Instead of relishing the flavour of each item separately He mixed them altogether. Enjoyment of worldly pleasures increases your attachment to them. Via this leela Baba is showing us the path of detachment which we will have to eventually follow.

Putting into Practice

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

1)    Take care of the hunger and thirst of all creatures around you, before you feed yourself

My Dad used to say, “Where there is daya (compassion), there is dharma (righteousness), and where there is dharma, there is God”.

In this leela, Baba has already provided practical instruction on how to apply the teaching to your own day-to-day life.  Use your understanding of your own basic needs as a guide on how to relate to the needs of others.  Contemplate on this, from the point of view of other creatures in need, to deepen your compassion. Look for opportunities to put this into practice.

Following this teaching does not mean that you must subject yourself to manipulation by others, or over-extend yourself beyond your capacity.  Develop wisdom to tell when the need is genuine, and is a basic need for survival, not a frivolous want.  Understand the limitations of your resources and capabilities. (Note 1)

2)    Love all beings equally

Practice extending the boundary of your love through bhakti, which is intense spiritual love and devotion towards God. This bhakti for God will eventually lead you to find divinity in all beings and will increase your love for them.

3)    Pleasures of the senses are temporary and we must eventually learn to detach from them

Realise the difference between what is permanent and temporary. When we attach ourselves to tastes, likes and dislikes we stay attached to this Maya world which is temporary. First detach yourself from temporary pleasures in life that will help you to attach to the permanent divine God.

 

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.

Note

1)     Also see leela 9.5 https://at-the-feet-of-baba.blogspot.ca/2017/04/chapter-9-leela-5-baba-fed-sumptuously.html