Leela:
Once Nanasaheb Chandorkar came to Shirdi with Biniwale, his brother-in-law (wife's sister's husband). When they went to the Masjid, they made obeisance to Baba and sat before Him, exchanging greetings with other devotees. Baba spoke to Nanasaheb angrily, "Nana, how could you forget this? Is this all you have learnt after spending days with me? You, who have been in my company, is this all that it has come to, in the end? Oh, how could your mind be so deluded? Tell me everything carefully".
Nanasaheb was quite shaken. He searched his mind for reasons which might cause Baba to be upset, but could not think of any. After trying for a while, Nanasaheb humbly asked Baba why He was angry with him.
Baba said, “when you have been in my company for many years, why is the state of your mind still this way? What has happened to you?” He continued, “When did you reach Kopergaon, and what happened on the way? Did you stop over anywhere, or did you drive the tonga (horse carriage) straight here? Did anything unusual happen along the way? I wish to hear everything in detail. Tell me what happened, and where, whether it is trivial or otherwise”.
When Nanasaheb heard this, he realized his mistake at once. He narrated to Baba how, at first, when they had hired the tonga, it was to come straight to Shirdi, but his brother-in-law, being a Datta devotee, wanted to stop off for darshan at Shri Datta’s shrine, which was on the way, at the banks of the Godavari. Nana, being in a hurry, convinced his brother-in-law to not stop at Shri Datta’s shrine, promising him that they would stop there on their way back from Shirdi. Later, when Nana stopped to bathe in the Godavari, a large thorn got embedded in his foot, causing him pain and distress until he was, with great difficulty, able to pull it out.
Baba warned him, “Such haste is not good. This time you have been let off lightly, with only a thorn-prick, for skipping the darshan. When a holy tutelar deity like Datta was waiting on the way to give darshan, with hardly any effort on your part, will I ever be pleased with the unfortunate one who skips that darshan?”.
Based on Shri Sai Satcharita, The wonderful life and teachings of Shri Sai Baba, G. R Dhabolkar, Translated by Nagesh Vasudev Gunaji (Mumbai: Shri Sai Baba Sansthan, Shirdi, 20th Edition 2002), p204
Based on Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, G. R. Dhalbokar, Translated by Indira Kher (Slovenia: Bird Publisher, 2009), p329-330
Teachings from Leela:
Nanasaheb was himself not interested in obtaining Shri Datta’s darshan, but clearly interested in bathing in the Godavari, which he considered a holy river. His brother-in-law, being a devotee of Shri Datta, very much wished to obtain this darshan. Nanasaheb claimed that he was in a hurry, and convinced his brother-in-law that they did not have enough time for the darshan this time. However, he did have the time to bathe in the holy river, a practice he deeply wished.
Nanasaheb acted in a very selfish way, by ensuring that all of his desired spiritual practices were fulfilled, at the cost of blocking his brother-in-law’s spiritual practice.
Baba spoke to him quite sternly on this, making it clear to Nanasaheb that this action was not acceptable. Baba also let him know that the thorn was a modest punishment for this behaviour, and that he was being let off easy this time.
2) Always give priority to spiritual activities even at the cost of delay
Here is a great explanation of darshan:
In Sanskrit, the word “Darshan” means the sight, or the vision, or the apparition, or the glimpse. It is used for the vision of the divine mainly of a god or a very holy person or artifact. Darshan is the way to see with reverence and devotion in order to receive the grace and blessings.
The Supreme Being comes to dwell in the temple to accept worship and attract the eyes to concentrate and meditate on the Deity.
In time, the body, the mind and the senses of the devotee become spiritualized through darshans. So, the darshan of the god is important for spiritual enlightenment.
One more important thing to note here is that darshan is not simply a matter of viewing the Deity in the temple, but to one who is spiritually realized it is a matter of experiencing the Deity and entering into a personal, reciprocal exchange with the Supreme Personality in the form of the Deity.
When the devotee views the deity with all pure feelings and adoration, the deity is also believed to gaze at the devotee. Then there will be a spiritual exchange wherein the god begins to reveal his personality to his devotee.
For those who have experienced this spiritual exchange with god, the worship of the Supreme Being in the form of deity moves up to a different level with no limit for the spiritual love shared between the deity and the devotee (Note 1)
Baba made the point to Nanasaheb that Shri Datta was waiting to give darshan, Nanasaheb could easily obtain it, as it was not out of the way in his journey. By skipping this opportunity, Nanasaheb made a great mistake, and missed out on an important event towards his spiritual progress.
Putting into Practice
Here are some suggestions on how we could use this leela in our daily lives.
1) Don’t prioritize your own spiritual practice over the spiritual practice of someone else, thereby becoming an obstacle in their way
This leela will help you become more conscious of how you must behave when your spiritual practices are at odds with the spiritual practices of others around you. You must avoid any selfish thoughts that put your spiritual practices above others. This would be a very serious transgression in your spiritual journey. If you find yourself having such selfish thoughts, remember Baba’s rebuke of Nanasaheb in this leela.
2) Always give priority to spiritual activities even at the cost of delay
If a new opportunity for a spiritual experience comes your way with very little effort on your part, seize the opportunity. Your Sadguru is constantly working to help propel you forward in your spiritual path, and the experience offered is likely important to you in your journey.
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) http://temples.newkerala.com/Temples-of-India/Darshan.html
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