Leela:
Once a Mamlatdar (public officer in charge of a district) came to Shirdi with a doctor friend of his. The Doctor was a righteous man, a great devotee of Lord Rama, and a scrupulous follower of tradition. He cautioned his friend that he would not be able to bow before a Muslim, and was reluctant go to Shirdi. The Mamlatdar replied that no one would press him to make a bow, and he so agreed to join him.
When they arrived in Shirdi, they went to the Masjid for Baba's darshan. The Mamlatdar was surprised to see the Doctor going ahead and saluting Baba. When asked why he forgot his resolve and bowed before a Muslim, the Doctor replied that he saw only the beautiful form of his beloved Lord Rama on the seat and therefore prostrated before Him.
As he was saying this, he saw Sai Baba on same the seat he had seen Lord Rama a moment ago. Being dismayed, he said, "Is this a dream? How could He be a Muslim? No, he is a great Yogasampanna (full of Yoga), an incarnation of God”.
The next day, the doctor made a vow to not step inside the Masjid unless Baba blessed him with his Grace, and began to fast. Three days passed and on the fourth day, a close friend from Khandesh, someone he hadn’t seen for nine years, turned up, and the doctor was very happy to see him. Forgetting his vow, the doctor accompanied his friend into the Masjid for Baba's darshan.
After the salutation, Baba pointedly asked him whether anybody had gone to call him, so that he had come. Hearing this question, the doctor remembered his vow and was filled with sadness and regret.
The same night he was blessed by Baba and experienced the Supreme Bliss in his sleep. Then he left for home and experienced the same state for fifteen more days. Thus his devotion to Sai Baba increased manifold.
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), p70
Based on Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, G. R. Dhalbokar, Translated by Indira Kher (Slovenia: Bird Publisher, 2009), p99
Teachings from Leela:
1) Spiritual practice is beyond worldly religions and worldly differences
Baba, who usually dressed as a Muslim, performed a miracle by appearing as Lord Rama to the doctor. By displaying the form of Lord Rama, Baba assured him that conventional forms and divisions in our physical world, such as physical appearance and clothing, and the allegiance to a specific religion, do not apply when it comes to God, and to spiritual pursuit.
2) When the student is ready, the Sadguru appears
The doctor was already on the path of spirituality and devoted to the Lord Rama. Baba revealed Himself to the doctor as his Sadguru, by giving him the vision of Lord Rama and by letting it be known that He was aware of the vow that the doctor thought was only his secret.
As mentioned in my previous blog, Chapter 49, Leela 1: Hari Kanoba, a true Sadguru never demands blind faith. He will never intimidate His devotees. He will never demand love and respect from them either, as they must be earned and a true Sadguru will surely earn them. Once such a Sadguru has taken a devotee under His wing, He will work with them, even if it takes many life-times, to help them in their spiritual journey to moksha.
Baba performed another miracle for the doctor by giving him the experience of the Ananda (Supreme Bliss), an aspect of satchitananda (Truth-Conscious-Bliss, a synonym for Brahman), for fifteen days straight. He did this to establish and deepen the doctor’s shraddha in him.
3) To make spiritual progress, you must have the discipline to follow through on your commitments
Via this leela, Baba wants us to realise the importance of discipline and commitment in our spiritual journey, which will also help us in our day to day lives to achieve our goals to become successful.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, commitment is a state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.
Baba directly challenged the doctor by reminding him of his broken vow to not step in the Masjid. When we make commitments to ourselves, we often break them and come up with excuses for not being able to fulfill them. We must realise that we are accountable even for the commitments we make to ourselves. We must be very honest with ourselves in this regard, as it will not only help us achieve positive results, but also help us build a strong moral character.
When distractions appear, the strength of our conviction to maintain our commitments must stand up to them. Commitments towards our spiritual progress must not be taken lightly and must be followed through.
Putting into Practice
Here are some suggestions on how we could use this leela in our daily lives.
1) Spiritual practice is beyond worldly religions and worldly differences
Once on the spiritual path, you must distance yourself from divisions and conflicts between worldly religions. The competition and conflict between religions are a matter for the material world, and have nothing to do with spiritual development.
A major theme in Baba’s teachings was to maintain harmony between worldly religions, so that spiritual progress can be available to all.
As a seeker, you must seek knowledge and wisdom from wherever you can find them, question each for their merits, and in the end, either accept or reject them. Baba was also clear that you must not change your religious allegiance in order to be on the spiritual path. Accepting knowledge and wisdom from another tradition does not mean you have to change your religion.
2) When the student is ready, the Sadguru appears
If you have found your Sadguru in Baba, you are fortunate.
If you haven’t found a Sadguru yet, don’t worry. The right Sadguru will appear in your life at a time appropriate for your spiritual development, and will provide you the evidence you need to trust them.
Beware of false gurus. True Sadgurus will not demand anything of you. They will instil shraddha in you through their actions, not through coercion. They live exemplary lives themselves, not surrounded by material luxuries, uncorrupted and with humility.
3) To make spiritual progress, you must have the discipline to follow through your commitments
Have you made any commitment related to your spiritual progress? In today’s fast paced world, we are very busy making ends meet and our minds are pre-occupied. Spend some time to divert the attention of your mind towards your own spiritual progress and set goals for yourself. This will help you discipline your mind to shift its focus away from the rat race and spend some quality time dedicated to your spiritual practice. In the end what matters is how have you grown spiritually. Are you utilizing your time well in this lifetime?
When you make commitments towards your spiritual practice, they must be meaningful and significant. When you are about to make such a commitment, contemplate on its importance to you, and the stubborn resolve you must bring to ensure its fulfillment.
It requires a lot of discipline to face the challenges you must face to fulfill your commitments. At times it will require you to work outside your comfort zone to achieve results. Do not hesitate to work hard and overcome these challenges by reminding yourself about the teachings of this leela and why Baba wants us to have the discipline to follow through our commitments.
Take some time and sit down quietly to reflect on the commitments you have made so far, and how many of them you were able to follow through to completion. If you were seriously committed, then chances are that you were successful. If not, then think about what you need to change to order to follow through with them.
Don’t be overly ambitious at first. Only take on spiritual commitments you can keep, and then keep them. As you are successful with them, you can gradually become more and more ambitious.
Let us all make a commitment to make spiritual progress by dedicating some part of our everyday life, however small, to work towards 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment