Leela:
Once Bhausaheb Dhumal, a lawyer, was going to Niphad for a case. As Shirdi was on the way, he stopped there and took Baba's darshan, with a plan to proceed immediately to Niphad. Baba did not give him permission to leave Shirdi, and in fact, made him stay in Shirdi for over a week.
In the meanwhile, the magistrate at Niphad suffered from intense stomach pain and the case was adjourned. When Mr. Dhumal was finally allowed to proceed to Niphad to attend to his case, it went on for some months and was tried by four magistrates. Ultimately Mr. Dhumal won the case, and his client was acquitted.
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, 20th Edition 2002), p68
Based on Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, G. R. Dhalbokar, Translated by Indira Kher (Slovenia: Bird Publisher, 2009), p95
Teachings from Leela:
In this leela, Bhausaheb Dhumal came to take Baba’s darshan with the intention to leave immediately after His darshan, but when Baba denied him permission to go, he stayed there for over a week, even though he had to attend a court case in Niphad. Bhausaheb Dumal showed a humble willingness to accept his Sadguru’s judgment to make certain decisions.
Acceptance of one’s Guru’s wishes is usually interpreted as “Surrendering to your Guru”. In the English language, surrender has a negative connotation. It is used in a situation when someone gives in and accepts failure or defeat, usually due to over-whelming force.
Bhausaheb’s act of assigning some of his decisions to his Sadguru is not based on over-whelming force, nor does it indicate his failure or defeat. Bhausaheb is showing shraddha in his Sadguru’s judgment. Here shraddha is referring to Bhausaheb’s trust that his Sadguru will make a decision that is best for his devotee’s spiritual progress. Bhausaheb is not surrendering his right to his Sadguru, but relying on the judgement of a trusted guide and expert, which is no different from having your trusted family doctor of many years, to make health decisions in your best interest.
Shraddha
Baba asked only 2 things from his devotees, shraddha and saburi. Shraddha is commonly translated into English as faith, which the Oxford Dictionary says is the “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”.
Baba’s teachings of shraddha (single-pointed devotion and trust) and saburi (patience) will help an aspirant make progress on the path of spirituality.
The closest word for Shraddha in English is Faith, but Shraddha has a much deeper meaning than that. It is definitely not blind faith
Swami Vivekananda, in his Complete Works, Volume 5, describes shraddha in this way:
The word Ekâgranishthâ (one-pointed devotion) conveys, to a certain extent, the meaning of the word Shraddha. If you meditate on any truth with steadfast devotion and concentration, you will see that the mind is more and more tending onwards to Oneness, i.e. taking you towards the realisation of the absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss (note 1).
As a devotee of Baba, practicing shraddha, loyally and steadfastly focuses on his Sadguru, his mind gradually moves towards Oneness with his Sadguru, and therefore oneness with Brahman. On the path of spirituality, with his Sadguru as his guide, the devotee trusts Him to make certain decisions which are best for his spiritual development.
This leela provides an example of a devotee who displays complete shraddha towards his Sadguru. He does not argue or try to convince Baba that he must leave, but instead he immediately accepts Baba’s decision for him to stay in Shirdi. As we all know from this leela and many such leelas of Baba, that those who accepted His judgement never suffered, but benefitted.
Shraddha for a Nirgun Sadguru
Bhausaheb Dhumal was fortunate to have access to Baba in sagun (physical) form. For devotees like us today, for whom Baba is in nirgun (unmanifest) form, are there decisions which we must trust Him to make for us?
Though at times we cannot receive verbal instructions from Baba, we must practice shraddha (one-pointed devotion). However, as He is nirgun (without form), we cannot assign decisions to Him. Instead of this, we must become more accepting when things don’t go in our favour, recognizing that they are moving as per His plan, and trusting His judgment to do what is best for us.
Imagine a scenario where you must get to an important meeting, but for some reason you are delayed and unable to attend, even though it was very important to you, and you had worked hard to prepare for it. When things do not go your way, instead of being agitated and upset, accept it as your Sadguru’s will. This approach to life will give you peace of mind and the strength to deal with the unfavourable effects of the outcome. In the end, you will realise that it was ultimately in your favour to miss the meeting, and know that Baba is helping you even though He is not in His physical form.
Putting into Practice
Here are some suggestions on how we could use this leela in our daily lives.
2) Shraddha means that you must remain steadfastly devoted to your Sadguru, trust in Him, remain fearless and accept any unfavourable outcomes as His will.
To develop Shraddha in your everyday life, you must make an effort to do 2 things:
1. Improve your focus upon
Baba.
You can do this by identifying events throughout your day, where you give full
attention to Baba. For example, each time you sit at a meal, you could take a
few seconds before you begin, to completely focus upon Him. As these practices
become a habit, you can gradually add more events.
2. Learn to accept unfavourable
outcomes in your life as His will.
For any task you perform, you must learn to always put in your best effort.
However, after all your efforts, the results might not be what you expected, or
some unfavourable event might happen which is beyond your control. You must
learn to let go of your strong desire to have things happen in the way you
want.
When you have a quiet moment to yourself, contemplate upon Baba, and then a
recent unfavourable outcome and think about the aspects that were under your
control, and the aspects that were not. With repetition of this practice, you
will gradually realize how little control you actually have over some outcomes.
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:
2 comments:
Very true. Nicely explained
Jai Sai Ram, Thanks Pardeep.
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