Chapter 39, Leela 1: Baba's Interpretation

Leela:

Please Note: There are different versions of this leela in the Indira Kher translation (a verse-by-verse translation of Hemadpant’s original Marathi pothi) and the Gunaji version, which is more of a summary. The Gunaji version of this leela has additional material not in the original pothi. For the purpose of these blogs, we are focusing on original leelas and teachings of Baba as captured by Hemadpant. Therefore, we will look only at the Kher version for this leela.

Once, Chandorkar, a true devotee, was sitting in the mosque, pressing Baba's feet and, at the same time, murmuring verses from the Bhagavad-Gita. As his hands pressed Baba’s feet, he busied his tongue in murmuring the fourth chapter of Shri Bhagavad-Gita. Just see the marvel of what happened then!

 

At verse thirty-four, his recitation came to a halt. “Nana”, Baba said, “What are you murmuring? Do say clearly what you are softly muttering! Allow me to hear what you are murmuring so indistinctly”. The moment he was thus commanded, Nana obeyed at once and recited all the four lines of the stanza.

 

tad viddhi praṇipātena

paripraśhnena sevayā
upadekṣhyanti te jñānaṁ

jñāninas tattva-darśhinaḥ

 

Baba then asked him to explain clearly, its significance. With great humility, with folded hands, Nana very happily answered in sweet words and explained the significance of Bhagavan Shri Krishna’s intent.

 

tat—the Truth; viddhi—try to learn; praṇipātena—by approaching a spiritual master; paripraśhnena—by humble inquiries; sevayā—by rendering service; upadekṣhyanti—can impart; te—unto you; jñānam—knowledge; jñāninaḥ—the enlightened; tattva-darśhinaḥ—those who have realized the Truth.

B.G.IV-34

 

Nana was very well-versed and had done a deep, prolonged study of the commentaries on the Gita. He began to explain the significance of the verse word by word. Very courteously, with great humility and in sweet words, Nana was ready to give an exposition, after carefully arranging the words from verse into prose. He said,

 

‘He who prostrates in obeisance at the guru’s feet, is ready to give up his life in the guru’s service and puts a question to the guru very respectfully, to him the Jnanis will knowledge with exposition.

 

‘In brief, what Shri Krishna, Kindness Incarnate, said so lovingly to Arjun was this, that guru-service and guru-worship alone, are the means of attaining knowledge. O Arjuna, if you go along this way, then the Self-realized Jnanis will show you the way to knowledge. Baba, this is the significance that I understand. Shankaracharya, Anandgiri, Shankaranand, Shridhar, Madhusudan and Neelkantha – they have all described this way of Bhavan Shrikrishana’s giving instruction in their commentaries.

 

Sai Samarth accepted the exposition of the first two lines. But as for that of the remaining half of the verse, listen to what Sai said. The other devotees too, sat there open-mouthed, to listen, gazing on Baba’s face, like the Chakor bird gazing at the moon to savour the particles of nectar.

 

Baba said:

 

“Nana, try to understand the complete third line, once again. Add the elision mark before the word ‘Jnana’ and then see the significance. Do not think needlessly that I am saying something quite to the contrary, reducing sense to nonsense; how can earlier commentaries be all untrue? You say that the masters of knowledge who have seen the Truth, will instruct thee in that wisdom. But when you take the word ‘Ajnana’ in place of ‘Jnana’, you will get the true significance.”

 

As it was, Nana was already full of humility. On hearing this sweet exposition, he prostrated at Baba’s feet, making obeisance with both his hands.

 

Based on Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, G. R. Dhalbokar, Translated by Indira Kher (Slovenia: Bird Publisher, 2009), p334

 

 

 

Teachings from Leela:

BACKGROUND   What is Ajnana Ajnana is most commonly defined as ignorance. Ignorance is defined as lack of knowledge, but it can be misleading if we think of ignorance as just lack of knowledge. Ajnana is not just lack of knowledge but lack of true knowledge. Ajnana, then, is not simply ignorance but spiritual ignorance. It is ignorance of our true self and of the true nature of reality. Ajnana is our spiritual ignorance that hides jnana (our true self) from us.   Here are some examples Ajnana which stand in the way of a seeker’s spiritual development. 1.     I am a Jiva (creature), an individual, separate from all other jivas 2.     I am my body.  When my body dies, I die. 3.     God, the world and Jiva are different.   An Ajnana Example in Detail   I am a Jiva (creature), an individual, separate from all other jivas.   Let us understand this using the following analogy:   Let’s say there are several empty pots on the ground. Each pot feels that the space within it is its own space, and it identifies itself with this space. Each pot feels that it is separate from other pots, and that the space within it is different from the space outside. When all the pots are broken, the individuality of each pot is destroyed, and they realise that there was only one space in and through each pot. The feeling of individuality was a delusion.   Similarly, when this delusion, that we are individual conscious beings separate from all other jivas, is removed, the knowledge of our true nature appears. We realize there is no distinction and separation between our individual consciousnesses, and we all share a single consciousness, the One Universal Consciousness’.      In order to achieve true spiritual knowledge, we must remove ajnana, the delusion that we are all separate beings, which hides jnana underneath, that we are actually all the One Universal Consciousness.   Maya Maya is the power in creation, by which limitations and divisions seem to exist in the Oneness that is true reality. Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi, Chapter 5   Maya at its core is nothing but ignorance or Ajnana. In order to hide our true reality from us, Maya uses its two magical powers, the Āvaraṇa-śakti (veiling power) and the Viksepa śakti (projecting power).   The Āvaraṇa-śakti (veiling power) hides the truth about ourselves from ourselves. Due to darkness of ignorance we do not see the reality as it is.   The Viksepa śakti (projecting power) projects an illusory untruth.   The Snake and the Rope Suppose you are walking down a narrow path and it is getting dark. Suddenly you realise that there is something ahead which is dark and coiled up. You think it is a snake and you are afraid to go near it. You are terrified due to the appearance of the snake but must go through this narrow path to get to your destination. So, you gather courage, pull out a flashlight and point it towards the imaginary snake. When the light falls on it, you realise your mistake, that it is a rope and not the snake you imagined it to be. Your fear disappears, you feel relieved and you are then able to happily walk down the path.   Now let us analyse this situation to understand the implications of this mistake.   What mistake did we make? We received some incomplete information (a view of something dark and coiled up where there was not enough light to see clearly) and jumped to a premature conclusion. We immediately projected a snake in place of the rope, which was an illusion and not true. An Illusion is an appearance of something which is different from what it truly is. We did not realize our illusion as illusion. We did not see the reality as it was. The true existence of the rope was replaced, and the illusory snake appeared in its place. The fear of the snake took over us and we began to suffer from the fear.   Does the rope have to be there for us to make this mistake? The existence of the rope is absolutely necessary for the illusion of the snake to occur. If there was no rope, we would not see a snake. The illusion was made possible because of the reality hidden behind it.   How can we rectify this mistake? We must make sure that we do not jump to conclusions without sufficient information. We must realize we do not have enough light to see clearly. We must take the trouble to turn on a light, go closer and see for ourselves that it was a rope and not the snake we assumed it to be. With the proper lighting, the false illusion will immediately disappear, and the reality of the rope will be established. The rope will appear as a rope and not the snake. Our fear too will disappear as soon as we realise that it was a rope and not a snake.   The Snake and the Rope - a Vedantic perspective This is the classic example used in Advaita Vedanta (Non-Dualistic Vedanta) to explain how we make the mistake of identifying ourselves with the body and mind based on an incomplete understanding of our personal experience. In this world of Maya, due to our ignorance of our true nature, we do not realize that our reality is One Universal Consciousness, i.e. Sat-chit-ananda or Brahman (the universal consciousness).   Maya’s Āvaraṇa-śakti (veiling power) hides the rope, or the truth about ourselves from ourselves. We do not see that we are the One Universal Consciousness.   Maya’s Viksepa śakti (projecting power) projects an illusory untruth, which is the snake. We instead believe that we are separate individuals limited to our body and mind.   The error is that we do not know the rope as the rope and we mistakenly project a snake in its place. This projected, illusory non-existent snake brings us suffering.   Since when did the One Universal Consciousness become many, separate Individuals? If we are One Universal Consciousness, then since when did this ignorance begin? I remember asking this question to Swami Prakashanandaji (Chinmaya Mission). He replied that our ignorance of the One Universal Consciousness is anaadi (beginning-less, always existed).   The following example will illustrate this point. If you ask the question to someone who doesn’t know Sanskrit, “since when do you not know Sanskrit”?  If they answer, “from birth”, you then ask, “Oh, then did you know Sanskrit before birth?” This questioning helps us understand that ignorance is beginning-less, that it always existed. However, once someone learns Sanskrit, their ignorance of Sanskrit ends. Ignorance has no beginning, but it could have an end.   In the same way we, the jivas, never knew the truth about the One Universal Consciousness. For countless births, we have carried this ignorance with us. Even though this ignorance always existed (is beginning-less), the good news is that it need not be end-less. Once we realise our true nature, our ignorance ends.   What can we do to overcome this ignorance? When we discover the rope as the rope our ignorance disappears. We do not see ignorance and reality together. When we perceive the snake, we do not see the rope at all; and when we see the rope, we do not see the snake at all. When we see illusion, we do not see reality, but when we see reality, the illusion vanishes. Similarly, we need to remove the ajnana created by the two powers of Maya, in order to overcome this ignorance and for jnana to shine forth that was hiding behind it.   When we turn on the light, we realise our mistake and the fear of the snake disappears. There is no snake but our ignorance had created a fear of the snake. As soon as the light of knowledge shines, it dawns upon us that the rope is the rope and not the snake. We successfully remove the ajnana and jnana reveals itself, which was always hidden behind ajnana.    If we do not make the effort to carefully examine our day-to-day experience in this world, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that we are our body and mind, and we are trapped within the powers of Maya. However, when we follow a sadhana (daily spiritual practice) of bhakti, naam jaap or meditation we will be able to remove this ajnana.   One direct meditative method, called self-inquiry, is to look within ourselves, such as that prescribed by Ramana Maharishi With this method it will become clear to us that our awareness is separate from our mind and our body.

 

1)    Sadguru helps remove Ajnana from your mind, revealing the self-luminous Jnana hidden underneath

One important ajnana which stands as a major obstacle in our spiritual path is the belief that we are the body and mind.

We are NOT the body

Even though, in our own experience, it feels to us that we and our bodies are the same, this is an ajnana that we need to remove, so that we can realise our true hidden Self.  Let us take this following example to get a deeper understanding of this ajnana:

Suppose the unfortunate situation where someone loses their legs in an accident. If the person is the body, should they not become less aware or conscious after losing a major portion of their body? We know that the person experiences the same level of awareness and consciousness, so it cannot be true that we are our body.

 We are NOT the mind either

As we witness the thoughts in our minds, it feels to us that we are our minds, but the fact is that we are actually the witness of the thoughts in our minds, totally detached from our minds, not the thoughts themselves.

If there was no consciousness illuminating our thoughts and giving the thoughts awareness, the thoughts would come and go without us being aware of them. It would not matter to us whether our thoughts were joyful or sorrowful, and we would be completely unaffected by them, as if we were robots. Our thoughts, by themselves, are inert (inactive). It is our consciousness, our sense of awareness, that gives life to our thoughts, and not our thoughts which give rise to our consciousness. Thus, we are not our mind.

When we observe the thoughts in our minds, we might think that it is the mind witnessing itself. This is actually true. When we observe our thoughts, we are using one part of our mind to watch over the rest of our mind – which is a kind of mindful meditation, and a great meditative practice.

While this practice does not really allow us to experience the sakshi (witness) behind our thoughts, it does allow us to experience a distance from our thoughts, allowing us to observe our thoughts without being too judgmental.

The true goal is to become aware of the sakshi within us, the sense of awareness that is in our minds, the sense that we are here, that we can sense our thoughts. This sense of awareness is not a thought in our minds. It is our individual consciousness, the witness of the thoughts in our minds. It is the witness consciousness that actually makes us aware of the thoughts in our mind.

This witness consciousness helps us understand how Sat-chit-ananda or Brahman (the universal consciousness),  the universal witness consciousness witnesses everything in this Maya world.

Ignorance of our true Self leads us to suffering in this Maya world.

When we mistakenly believe “I am the body”, we believe that the lives of our loved ones end when their physical forms die. We believe that we have a short existence, of a limited number of years. A great deal of sorrow, anxiety and suffering comes from this. "I am the body" is a great delusion and is a cause of our bondage and suffering.

When we mistakenly believe “I am the mind”, we are held hostage by our thoughts. We feel joy when we have happy thoughts, and sorrow when we have sad thoughts. Unfortunately, most of us have mainly thoughts filled with sadness, anxiety, fear and doubt, and this leads to suffering.

Why is this ignorance or ajnana a problem?

According to Hinduism, a jivatma (individual self) is born again and again until its ignorance is removed, and it becomes perfected and reaches moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death). The jivatma passes through many births and deaths, entering many bodies and assuming many forms. This cycle of births and deaths continues almost endlessly, allowing it to burn off the fruit of previous karma, and exposing it to the risk of creating new, bad karmas, creating a vicious cycle of sorrow and suffering.  

All we need to do to remove ajnana is to unlearn the wrong notions, and the truth that is hidden by this ajnana will reveal itself.

It is easy to learn something but most difficult to unlearn it. Nobody has to remind you that you are the body. It comes naturally to you. Nobody has to remind me that I am Laxmi. We do not have to meditate on it.

On the contrary, to unlearn this delusion, we need to meditate and constantly remind ourselves that we are not the body and not the mind. If I am not the body and mind then I must be the consciousness illuminating my thoughts, which is Sat-Chit-Anand hiding behind our delusion.

Our Sadguru helps us unlearn the false knowledge that we have learnt so far about our true nature

The discussion on Ajnana described above will help us understand the wrong notions of ajnana we have accumulated over several lifetimes. It is our Ajnana that holds us back from knowing the truth. Thus, a true Sadguru helps us remove our Ajnana. Once this Ajnana is removed with the Sadguru’s grace, we understand our true nature which Sat-Chit-Anand and we attain bliss. When Ajnana is removed, what remains is Perfect Jnana.

In my previous blog, Chapter 9, Leela 5: Baba Fed Sumptuously, Baba is teaching us how to unlearn the false knowledge we have learnt so far about our true nature. Baba said, "Eating that lovely bread I am heartily contended, and I am still belching. The dog which you saw before meals and to which you gave the piece of bread is, one with Me, so also other creatures (cats, pigs, flies, cows etc.) are one with Me. I am roaming in their forms. He, who sees Me in all these creatures is My beloved. So, abandon the sense of duality and distinction, and serve Me, as you did today." What Baba is trying to teach us is that every person or creature that you come across in your daily life is truly one with God. The consciousness you experience is only One, and all other creatures who also experience consciousness are experiencing the exact same consciousness you are. There is no difference between you and them.

 

2)    You cannot have even a little bit of arrogance in front of your Sadguru, as your Sadguru knows everything you know and more

Baba noticed a bit of arrogance in Nana’s mind and wanted to prick his bubble. Nana was no doubt well versed in Vedanta and Gita and thought that He knew Sanskrit and the scriptures which he assumed Baba didn’t. Nana lacked humility, an important quailty for his spiritual progress.

 

Just because you did not see your Sadguru speak Sanskrit or perform certain tasks in front of you, do not make assumptions that He does not know it.

 

Baba took the opportunity to bless him at this opportune time when he was reading the appropriate verse from the Gita to prick that bubble, and that made Nana realise that in order to gain knowledge from a Sadguru we must give up our arrogance. Baba, having reached moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death) Himself, became Omniscient. Do not be surprised that He knows everything that everyone knows. Therefore, He has access to all the details in the whole universe.

 

A person who is not humble can never attain wisdom. This is very well explained in the following example.

 

EXAMPLE: If a pitcher is empty and one wishes to fill it with water, it is not enough that a person goes to the river. The pitcher only needs to lean down as the river does everything else for it. The pitcher cannot get water from the river by itself. It leans down and the river fills it up with water. If the pitcher is not ready to lean down then it will float on the river, throughout the duration of its life and remain empty, without even a drop of water falling inside it.

 

When we fall our head at the feet of the great saints. The head represents our ego. What this gesture is saying that one's own sense of greatness that is stored in one's head is now being placed at the feet of the saints and therefore when they are complete, it is just because of this great saint. This is what humble reverence is. It is an acceptance that you are empty, and you want to be filled just like the pitcher.

 

Via this leela, Baba not only pointed out to Nana, but to all His devotees, to get rid of arrogance in order to seek true knowledge.

 

 

3)    Your Sadguru sometimes emphasises specific teachings from the scriptures which are relevant for your spiritual progress

The Absolute Truth cannot be fully understood merely by our own contemplation. The Pañchadaśhī states, “Only through a Guru can you understand the Vedas.” (1.2) [v31]. We are clouded with ignorance from several lifetimes. We cannot remove this accumulated ignorance by our own efforts. We need the help of a self-realized Saint, who has successfully removed this ignorance in Himself and who can show us how to acquire this true knowledge.

 

Via this leela, Baba wanted to point out to His devotees this verse from Bhagvad Gita, which explains the process of acquiring true knowledge by first removing false knowledge to help us make spiritual progress. Let us look below the specific teachings that Baba wanted to point out to us.

 

What are the important learnings from chapter 4, verse 34, of the Bhagvad Gita, that Baba wants us to know?

a.    Humble Reverence (see discussion in Teaching (2) above)

 

b.    Spiritual Inquiry

Do not ask a guru questions out of idle curiosity or to measure him, but to humbly attain true knowledge. Mere questioning is not enough. The question must not be made with any improper motive or attitude or to trap the Guru and catch at mistakes in the answer, or out of idle curiosity.

Ask questions with the shraddha (faith based upon knowledge and trust) that you will benefit from the answers to achieve moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death) or spiritual progress. The questions must be serious and with a view to achieve moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death) or spiritual progress.

 

c.     Seva (service to your Sadguru)

Approach your Sadguru with an attitude of Seva, indicating that you value His teachings and are willing to do what little service you can in return, to acknowledge and respect them, fully realizing that your service is no match in value to the knowledge He is imparting to you.

 

You must not ask Him for any favours but let Him decide what He wants to give you. You must humbly accept everything as His prashad.

 

4)    When reading the scriptures, pay close and careful attention to every detail in order to understand its true essence and significance

By asking for a word-by-word meaning of the sloka Nana was reading, Baba wanted us to realise that we must not gloss over or blindly accept what we read. We must carefully weigh each word and ask questions until we clear all our doubts and are ready to accept what is read with a clear understanding.

While reading something we must read it with full concentration and attention to detail. In order to understand the true essence and significance of what we read we must analyze, reflect and contemplate on what is read, reviewing the material repeatedly, until we understand it. Then with humility, we must explore any doubts we might have by posing questions to knowledgeable sources.

Baba asked Nana to substitute the opposite of the word Jnana, which is Ajnana, in order to get the true significance of what is being read. Via this Leela, Baba has shown us a technique we could use to understand the true essence and significance of what is read. Similarly, we must play with words, switch them around or substitute them to understand why the text has a particular choice of words, to get the true essence of what is being read.

Putting into Practice

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

1)    Sadguru helps remove Ajnana from your mind, revealing the self-luminous Jnana hidden underneath

Via this leela, Baba is helping us to understand that we are deluded in our understanding of ourselves and our reality, and that when this delusion is removed, we will automatically understand the truth about ourselves and our reality.

One way to remove our delusion is via bhakti marg (the path of devotion). When we engage in devotional service to our Sadguru, His krupa (grace) showers over you, removing the obstacles in your spiritual progress, including delusion.

The privilege of human birth gives us the opportunity to remove ajnana (our delusions) and gain jnana (knowledge of the Absolute Truth). Act wisely in this human birth and take advantage of this opportunity to grow spiritually.

By carefully contemplating upon this leela, you can overcome your delusion and ignorance. Have complete shraddha (faith based upon knowledge and trust) in your Sadguru that He will help you along the way, in this long and difficult journey to moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death).

2)    You cannot have even a little bit of arrogance in front of your Sadguru, as your Sadguru knows everything you know and more

The practice of humility is the only cure for arrogance.

What is Humility?

As per the Bhagvad Gita, chapter 13, verse 8, when we become proud of the attributes of our individual field, such as beauty, intellect, talent, strength, etc. we forget that God has given all these attributes to us.  Pride thus results in distancing our consciousness from God.  It is a big obstacle on the path of self-realization since it contaminates the entire field by affecting the qualities of the mind and intellect.

In order to receive your Sadguru’s krupa (grace) you must get rid of your abhiman (arrogance) and ahankar (ego). Approach your spiritual master with absolute humility, not with even a trace of arrogance.

Here are some examples of arrogance, and tips for you to practice to overcome this arrogance, as you contemplate upon this teaching:

                          i.    Do you find yourself believing that you know more than your Sadguru?

Such feelings must be overcome in order to continue your spiritual progress. Your Sadguru, enlightened by achieving moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death), is omniscient and it is impossible for you to know more than Him.

                         ii.    Do you consider people as objects to be used and manipulated for personal gain?

You must change this attitude and practice gratitude by showing appreciation for others. Remember, every person around you is the embodiment of Brahman (the universal consciousness), and it is important to leave your cleverness behind and treat everyone with respect, and perhaps a bit of reverence.

                        iii.    Do you push back with excuses and justifications when someone confronts you when you do something wrong?

Practice the right way to respond to constructive criticism by asking questions to understand what you’re doing wrong and then learn from it to improve for the future.

3)    Your Sadguru sometimes emphasises specific teachings from the scriptures which are relevant for your spiritual progress

Throughout the Sai Satcharitra, we have witnessed that Baba has pointed out relevant teachings to individual devotees for their spiritual progress.

He has also repeated certain universal teachings in many leelas, such as, shraddha (faith based upon knowledge and trust), saburi (patience), the importance of realizing that He is manifested in all creatures (dogs, pigs, etc.), and that He is always aware of His devotees’ true thoughts and intentions. Take these teachings to heart and apply them to your daily life.

Since your Sadguru is your spiritual guide, have shraddha (faith based upon knowledge and trust), in Him as He will guide you along this path and introduce you to specific teachings needed for your spiritual growth.  

4)    When reading the scriptures, pay close and careful attention to every detail in order to understand its true essence and significance

Do not take anything you read literally, especially on the internet. In today’s day and age, where there is massive amount of biased and distorted information available on the internet, we must use our ability to reason and question the source of what is read and not take everything at face value. We must be active learners, ask lots of questions and clarify our doubts before accepting the information, instead of being passive recipients of information.

We are what we think. In order to improve the quality of our thoughts, we must systematically pick and choose quality information. In order to choose quality information, we must first make sure that our sources of information are authentic and reliable.

Once we have done our due diligence regarding the source of the information, we must then carefully proceed to examine the information to extract the significance of what is being read.

When studying the scriptures, such as the Gita, the Upanishads, the Puranas, don’t gloss over details. Weigh each word carefully and ask yourself why this word was chosen instead of another. Is there a subtle difference in meaning between the words, and what nuance is this teaching you? This is what Baba is trying to teach us via this leela.  

 

 

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 from the Sai Satcharita and your experiences on how you have put this leela of Shirdi Sai Baba into practice.

Om Sai Ram.