Leela:
Fakir Pir Mohamad of Malegaon, alias Bade Baba, was much respected by Sai Baba, and was always seated in a place of honour on Baba’s right side. Only after the chillum (clay pipe used by Hindu monks) was first smoked by him, was it then offered to Baba and others. When meals were served, Baba respectfully called out for Bade Baba and made him sit on His left side, and would only begin eating after Bade Baba began. Baba also gave him money out of the amount collected as dakshina every day. Whenever Bade Baba would leave for some distant place, Baba would accompany him for the first hundred steps. Such was his position with Baba.
Once, somebody brought a goat to the Masjid. It was weak, old and about to die. Soon people gathered around to see him. Baba asked Bade Baba to behead it with one stroke, and offer it as an oblation. He refused, saying, "how can I kill him without any reason?"
Next, Baba asked Shama to kill the goat. Shama went to Radhakrishna Mai to borrow a knife from her and placed it before Baba. After finding out the purpose for which the knife was taken, she had it recalled. Then Shama left to borrow another knife, but didn’t return.
Then came Kakasaheb Dixit’s turn. Baba asked him to get a knife and kill the goat, to relieve him of his suffering and pain. He went to Sathe's Wada and returned with a knife. He was ready to kill it at Baba's bidding. Kakasaheb was born in a Brahmin family and had never known killing in his entire life. Though averse any act of violence, he found the courage to kill the goat in his shraddha for his Guru. The people gathered at the Masjid were amazed to see that, while Bade Baba had refused to kill the goat, a pure Brahmin was making preparations to do so. Kakasaheb tightened his dhotar (traditional men’s garment), raised the knife with a semicircular motion, and looked at Baba for the final signal. “So Baba, must I now strike him? Tell me, just this once”.
Baba said, "Hmm! Kill him now! What are waiting for? ".
Then, when the hand was just about to come down, Baba said, "No, no Kaka! Stop. Oh, how heartless you are! Being a Brahmin, you are willing to kill? Is there no consideration in your heart?"
Kakasaheb immediately obeyed, and put down the knife.
It was settled that the goat should be disposed of near a place called Takkya,
where fakirs used to sit. When the goat was being removed to that place, it
fell dead on the way.
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), p123
Based on Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, G. R. Dhalbokar, Translated by Indira Kher (Slovenia: Bird Publisher, 2009), p196
Teachings from Leela:
The Sadguru has intimate knowledge of his devotee’s spiritual progress and of the level of shraddha in him, and therefore does not need to test him. If a Sadguru does subject his devotee to a test of shraddha, it is to communicate this result to other devotees, to inspire them.
In our tradition, we have very high regard for our Sadguru. Here is how Guru Gita defines a Guru
"I always bow to the Guru who is bliss incarnate, who bestows happiness, whose face is radiant with joy. His essential nature is knowledge. He is aware of his true self. He is the Lord of yogis, he is adorable, he is the physician who cures the disease of birth and death."
Sri Guru Gita—verse 93.
Upon reading this leela, one might conclude that it displays a devotee’s surrender to their Sadguru. It is in fact not surrender, but their high level of shraddha, which enables them to immediately follow their Sadguru’s command without hesitation. In my previous blog, Chapter 12, Leela 2: Bhausaheb Dhumal, I have discussed the difference between surrender and shraddha. By obeying a Sadguru’s command, a devotee is not demonstrating surrender, but shraddha in his Sadguru, his reliance on the judgement of a trusted guide and expert.
Here is a beautiful story of a disciple’s steadfast devotion to his Sadguru (note 1):
Padmapaada was the favorite student of Shri Jagadguru Aadi Shankaraachaarya. His original name was Sananda. Once Shri Aadi Shankaraachaarya overheard His other students complaining amongst themselves that their Guru liked Sananda the most. What is so great about him?
In order to show the steadfast devotion of Sananda to his other students, Shri Aadi Shankaraachaarya decided to stage a scene. One day, Adi Shankaracharya was alone on one bank of Ganga river, while all his students were on the opposite bank. Suddenly he shouted, “Sananda! Come here, quickly!” All who heard the Guruji’s shout wondered how Sananda was going to cross the river. The boat was on the other side of the river, but Sananda could only think of obeying his Guru’s command, and without any doubt, with his heart full of devotion to his Guru, he started to run across the river.
The river Ganga, acknowledging Sananda’s devotion, made lotus flowers appear below Sananda’s feet as he ran across the river. These lotuses helped carry Sananda to his Guru, while the other students watched this miracle of nature in awe. From that day onwards, Sananda came to be known as Padma-Paada. Padma, meaning lotus and Paada meaning feet.
Level of Shraddha
We can perform the mental exercise of imagining situations where our Sadguru commands us to do something, and examine our own responses. Would we immediately act upon the command, or would we instead start contemplating the consequences of acting upon them because we might have trouble dealing with the consequences? If our Sadguru asked, would we be willing to abandon our worldly lives, if so required? Could we set aside our status in the world, worldly possessions, the relationships with those around us?
Obstacles to Shraddha
Let us explore why we might be unable to act on our Sadguru’s command, if He or She asks us to do something beyond our capacity to immediately obey. Here are some obstacles:
1. Doubt: You still have some doubts about the competency of your Sadguru
It is possible to have some doubts, in the beginning, regarding the competency of your Sadguru. It is normal to have doubts since we are living in the day and age where there are many false Gurus who have the potential to cause you great harm and take advantage of you.
When you encounter a true Sadguru, all your doubts will be resolved over time. When you will experience His presence in your life, you will notice changes within you which were not present before and which you did not do anything to create. I remember my husband and I noticed we had peace of mind after our first visit to Shirdi.
Baba has performed many miracles to increase his devotees’ shraddha in Him. In many of the leelas recorded in the Sai Satcharitra, when devotees tested Him, Baba took on the challenge and helped to clarify their doubts.
2. Your Ego: You trust your Sadguru, but believe that you know how to handle some areas in your life better than Him
Ego, in Sanskrit is called “Ahamkara”. “Aham” means “I” and “kara” means “doer”. When we identify ourselves to our body, we create a feeling of “me” or “mine”. Until we are attached to our body and are ignorant of our true nature, we think it is against our freedom to submit to the commands of our Sadguru, but if you contemplate upon this, you will find that what you call your own freedom is, in fact, slavery to your own ego. Gaining victory over your ego is true freedom. When we are still attached to our ego, it is hard to follow our Guru’s command without hesitation.
To overcome this inadequacy, your own self effort is required. Your effort towards your spiritual practice will, over time, diminish your ego and your worldly attachments. Your Sadguru is your guide in this spiritual journey.
3. Conflict with Ashrama
Dharma: You
trust your Sadguru but see a conflict between His command and your responsibilities
to your family
Baba never tested
anyone’s shraddha by opposing it to their Grihasta ashram dharma
(responsibilities in one’s householder phase). He, in fact, insisted that His
devotees go home and take care of their families and household duties as soon
as aarti was over.
If you are in the stage of life whereby your Grihasta ashram duties are complete, and upon contemplation, you still feel that you will not able to act immediately upon your Sadguru’s command, then you need to examine your mind to understand what is stopping you from doing so, and then work towards removing these obstacles.
4. Conflict with Varna
Dharma or Religious Practice: You trust your Sadguru, but see
conflict between his command and traditionally prescribed religious practice
By
asking Kakasaheb Dixit, who belonged to the Brahmin varna, to perform a task which
was disallowed to him, Baba challenged rigid perceptions and made it be known
that, in advanced spiritual practice,
traditions and religious restrictions must be set aside.
To overcome this obstacle, you must contemplate upon the differences between
spiritual development, which is universal to all life, and historically
accumulated religious doctrine and practice. As you advance on your spiritual
journey, you will find this distinction easier to make.
To conclude, a Sadguru will never put a
disciple through the ordeal of a severe test unless they are ready for it. A
Sadguru is aware of each and every disciple’s level of shraddha they have attained so far. Via
this leela, Baba wants us to understand that, by testing Kakasaheb Dixit and
ordering him to kill the goat, knowing fully well that he was an orthodox
Brahmin, He expects us to be willing to set aside various restrictions we have
accepted upon our actions, be they religious or otherwise.
By following Baba’s command without hesitation, Kakasaheb displayed the ultimate
level of shraddha in Him.
Baba wanted this displayed to His other devotees as an example to strive for.
Putting into Practice
Here are some suggestions on how we could use this leela in our daily lives.
1) When a Sadguru tests His devotee, it is to display to other devotees, his ultimate level of shraddha in Him and to set this up as an example for others to strive for
To build your shraddha to the level demonstrated by Kakasaheb Dixit, you need to first understand your current level of shraddha. As described above, one way to do this is to contemplate upon your reaction to potential commands your Sadguru may make to you.
If you find that you would hesitate to obey some commands, you must next identify the obstacles in your way towards this deep level of shraddha, and work towards diminishing them, and eventually removing them.
|
Listen
to the stories with reverence; Reflect upon them deeply. Shirdi Sai Baba Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, Chapter 3, verse 18 |
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://www.region7saicenters.org/saidocuments/Seven%20Stories.pdf
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