Leela:
Megha of Viramgaon was a simple and illiterate Brahmin cook of Rao Bahadur H. V. Sathe. He was a devotee of Shiva and always chanted the five syllabled mantra 'Namah Shivaya'. He did not know the sandhya (mandatory daily rituals required of Hindus of the first three castes), nor its chief mantra, the Gayatri.
Rao Bahadur Sathe, interested in Megha’s welfare, had him learn the sandhya and the Gayatri. Sathe told him that Sai Baba of Shirdi was the embodied form of the God Shiva and made him start for Shirdi. Megha inquired about Baba’s caste, and Sathe said that even he did not know what it was. Sathe mentioned that some call him avindha (one with unpierced ears, a muslim).
From Megha’s perspective at the time, muslims were mean, and it was unthinkable to have a muslim as his sadguru. He prayed to his master not to send him to Shirdi. His master however, insisted on his going there and gave him a letter of introduction to his (Sathe's) father-in-law, Ganesh Domodar, alias Dada Kelkar at Shirdi, to introduce him to Sai Baba.
When Megha reached Shirdi and went to the Masjid, Baba wore a stern, severe look on His face and picked up a stone, saying, “don’t you dare put your foot on the step! This is a place inhabited by a yavan (muslim). Oh, you are a high caste Brahmin, and I, the meanest of the mean, a yavan! You will be polluted. Go back, return this minute”.
Hearing these words, Megha began to tremble with fear. As Baba advanced upon him, he backed away. He wondered how Baba knew what was passing in his mind. He stayed in Shirdi for some days, serving Baba in his own way, but was not fully convinced. Then he left.
After a while, Megha began to long to return to Shirdi. When he finally returned, at the intercession of Dada Kelkar, he was allowed to enter the Masjid to offer his salutations to Baba, and to stay in Shirdi. Megha began to look upon Sai Baba as an incarnation of Shiva, and was one of His most ardent devotees, until he passed away in 1912.
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), p149
Based on Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, G. R. Dhalbokar, Translated by Indira Kher (Slovenia: Bird Publisher, 2009), p238
Teachings from Leela:
1) Never miss an opportunity to have God’s or a Saint’s darshana
The moment Megha found out that Baba was a Muslim, he became dejected. Megha’s mental state is well described in Indira Kher’s version, page 239:
If he were to say "no", Sathe would be angry and if he said "yes", he would descent into hell. What should he do, he could not think? He was caught between Devil and Deep Sea. His mind was wavering and restless. Sathe urges him to go, so he decides to at least have darshan.
Little did he know that darshan of a saint or God is a two-way process. He thought, as most did, that darshan is one-way and he will get over with it by just having Baba’s darshan and that would satisfy his employer Sathe, whom he respected as his guru.
What is darshana
Darshana is two-sided visual connection between a devotee and a Saint or God. Whereby the devotee sees the divinity and vice versa. This visual contact with the divine could take place in a private setting, or in overcrowded temples where the devotee in the midst of an enormous crowd. It is believed that even if a devotee takes darshan in such crowded places, the energy from the divine reaches the devotee as blessings from the divine darshan. This spiritual energy has the power to transform lives. It comes from the simple act of seeing and been seen. This is the power of darshan.
Darshana can be compared to a life of a bud, whereby nothing happens until unfoldment takes place. If it encounters a caring gardener, it unfolds into a beautiful flower, the same is true with the soul. The unfolding of the soul begins with the simple act of divine darshana.
Importance and benefits of darshana
The importance of Guru darshana is that, it helps the devotee to make spiritual progress. It also helps to purify the devotee’s mind, which the devotee would not be able to do so on his own.
The benefit of Guru darshan can be understood using the following analogy. If you go to the perfume store, even if you do not buy the perfume, the fragrance of that perfume lingers with you. Over time, by having darshana of the divine, your body, mind and senses will transform and, and you will grow spiritually. So, the darshana of the divine is important for our own spiritual enlightenment.
Guru darshan enables the devotee to receive His divine grace and blessings.
How Megha benefitted from Baba’s darshana
Megha had a complete transformation of his prejudices towards Muslims. In the end he accepted Baba, whom he thought was a Muslim, as an incarnation of Shiva, and became a staunch devotee. Had it not been for Baba’s darshana, he would not have worked through his prejudices. Baba triggered an internal transformation within Megha which helped him grow spiritually. He become a true devotee of Baba, as declared by Baba Himself, in Sai Satcharitra (Gunaji), chapter 28, page: 152:
After continuous service of Baba for many years, doing regular worship and Arati every noon and evening, Megha passed away in 1912. Then Baba passed His hands over his corpse and said, "This was a true devotee of Mine."
2) When you come across saints, regardless of their religion, you must respect and worship them as you would your own Sadguru
A Leela, from the Sai Satcharitra, chapter 11, illustrating the Proper Way of Approaching Another Saint
Dr. Pandit, a friend of Tatya Saheb Noolkar, once came to Shirdi for Baba’s darshan. During prayer’s Dr. Pandit took sandal paste out of the pooja dish and drew a 'trupundra' (three horizontal lines), on Baba’s forehead. Everyone was surprised as Baba never allowed anyone to apply sandal paste on His forehead, only Mahalsapati used to apply it to His throat. They thought that Baba would not allow Dr. Pandit to do so, but that did not happen. So, Dada Kelkar asked Baba the reason for this inconsistent behaviour. Why did he allow Dr. Pandit to apply sandal paste on His forehead, but denied others to do so? Baba responded, in the following way:
As per Indira Kher version, Chapter 11, Page 88, verse 62-64:
62. "Dada, remember, his guru is a Brahmin, and I, a Muslim. Yet, regarding me the same as his own guru, he offered me gurupooja.
63. "Not once did the doubt arise in his mind that 'I am a Brahmin, pure and holy and he, an impure Muslim. How can I worship him?'
64. "And that is how he deceived me, leaving me no other option. Far from my denying him, it was he who won me over completely."
Via this leela, Baba is teaching that, when we come across other saints, we too must respect and worship them, irrespective of their religion, just as we would our own Sadguru.
Why did Baba appear to be angry with Megha
As we all know, Baba never revealed His religion, no matter how much the devotees tried to find out. In fact, He went to great lengths to create ambiguity and confuse devotees about this. For example, when He was with Hindu devotees, He referred to God as “Allah”, but when He was with Muslim devotees, He referred to God as “Ram”.
Sathe himself did not know Baba’s religion but mentioned to Megha that some in Shirdi believed Baba to be Muslim. Megha took this to mean that Baba was a Muslim, and holding a prejudice against Muslims, felt that it was not possible for him to have a Muslim Sadguru.
Baba wanted Megha to realise that whenever we come across a saint, or anyone for that matter from another religion, we must treat them like how we would treat them as though they were from our own religion. Religion must not determine how we treat people.
Outwardly Baba acted angry with Megha, but your Sadguru never gives up on you even if you, due to your prejudices, attempt to deny Him entry into your life.
Baba wanted Megha to realise that spirituality is above religion.
The Difference between Religion and Spirituality
While there are many religions, there is only one spirituality. Religions emerged from different civilizations and points in history, and often contradict each other. Spirituality attempts to examine the deep and meaningful experiences common to all.
Spirituality and individual religions are not in conflict with each other. Each religion shows us a path to reach God. People on a spiritual path often use religious practices from what they know to advance on their spiritual path.
It is your intensity and personal effort that determines how far along you are on the spiritual path. People who have made spiritual progress in different religions have common traits. They tend to be calmer, more understanding and empathetic, more caring and more inclusive. This is why we conclude that spirituality is above religion.
We must respect all religions. Every religion contains practices which will help you to advance spiritually. However, we need not support religious conversion. As mentioned in Life of Sai Baba, Volume IV, page 70, by Pujya H.H.Narasimha Swamiji, Baba got very upset with anyone who changed their religion.
3) When a Sadguru takes charge of a devotee who has certain prejudices which are obstacles to the devotee’s spiritual growth, the Sadguru will work internally to help His devotee overcome them.
What is a Sadguru
It is said that a seeker on the spiritual path will eventually have the need of a guru who can help him surmount the obstacles found on the path. The translation of guru is simply teacher: “gu” means "darkness of ignorance" and “ru” means "that which dispels".
However, it is no ordinary guru you need on the spiritual path, but a Sadguru. We can have many teachers in our life but only one Sadguru. A Sadguru has the unique qualification of having already walked the spiritual path all the way to its end, which is moksha, also known as realizing our true nature. i.e. Sat-chit-anand.
Such a one is uniquely qualified to lead the seeker on his or her journey toward the goal. The blind cannot lead the blind. It is with the help of such a Sadguru that one makes spiritual progress. It is difficult to cross this ocean of worldly life without such a guide. Once such a Sadguru has taken a devotee under His (or She of course, but I’ll use the masculine for convenience) wing, He will work with His devotees to overcome any obstacles on their path to help them grow spiritually. He will work with them, even if it takes many lifetimes, to help them complete their spiritual journey to moksha.
What was Megha’s Transformation
By displaying to Megha that He knew what was going on in his mind, Baba made him understand what not to do. When Baba confronted Megha on his prejudices at their first meeting, it is noteworthy that Megha did not deny it or become defensive but accepted it and was awed with Baba’s ability to read his innermost thoughts and prejudices. This started him on a trajectory, transforming him to the mental state that Baba wanted him to have.
Up until he arrived in Shirdi, Megha was not even aware that his way of thinking about people from other religions was incorrect. Baba made him aware of his prejudices towards other religions, and of His power by reading his mind.
Megha realized he had done something wrong, and he had done it in front of a genuine saint. His transformation began at that point. Transforming a prejudiced mind is not an overnight process. It takes time.
With Baba’s grace and Megha’s own efforts, it took several months for his mind to be transformed. Once Megha’s prejudices dissolved, his attraction towards his Sadguru began to grow. Over time, constant longing for Baba grew within him and he came back to Shirdi.
Megha accepted Baba as his Sadguru and worshipped him with complete devotion, accepting him as an avatar of Lord Shiva.
Putting into Practice
Here are some suggestions on how we could use this leela in our daily lives.
1) Never miss an opportunity to have God’s or a Saint’s darshana
Your Sadguru is constantly working to help propel you forward in your spiritual path and could create opportunities for divine darshan to transform you in your spiritual journey.
If you receive an opportunity to visit a saint but hear that He is of a different tradition or religion, give Him the benefit of the doubt and go see for yourself, as you might miss a rare opportunity for advancement towards your spiritual progress.
We must learn from this leela that just as Megha, even though initially reluctant to meet with Baba, did not miss the opportunity to have Baba’s darshana, we too must never miss an opportunity to have divine darshana, irrespective of the saint’s religion. Always remember this leela, when such an opportunity comes your way and seize it for your own spiritual progress.
2) When you come across saints, regardless of their religion, you
must respect and worship them as you would your own Sadguru
If you ever come across an opportunity to meet with other saints who might be of a different tradition or religion, remember this leela, and worship the Saint or Sadguru just as you would perform your worship to Baba.
If they are genuine, they will whole-heartedly accept your worship and aid you towards your spiritual progress.
3) When a Sadguru takes charge of a devotee who has certain prejudices which are obstacles to the devotee’s spiritual growth, the Sadguru will work internally to help His devotee overcome them.
We all have some ill-conceived ideas or limitations, which
come in our way towards making spiritual progress. Your Sadguru will find out your
limitations and point them out to you, and then work with you to overcome your
limitations.
Baba worked on Megha internally to overcome his limitations. Just as Baba
removed Megha’s limitations, we pray to Baba to help us overcome our
limitations and help us make progress on our spiritual path to Moksha.
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.
