Story
of Veerbhadrappa and Chenbassappa (Snake and frog)
The last chapter described Baba's reminiscences about
two goats. This describes more such reminiscences and
relates the story of Veerbhadrappa and Chenbassappa.
Preliminary
Blessed is the face of Sai. If we cast a glance at Him
for a moment, He destroys the sorrow of many past births
and confers great bliss on us; and if He looks at us
with grace, our bondage of Karma is immediately snapped
away and we are led to happiness. The river Ganges
washes away the dirt and sins of all people who go to
her for a bath; but she intently longs for the saints to
come to her and bless her with their feet and remove all
the dirt (sins) accumulated in her. She knows for
certain that this accumulation can only be removed by
the holy feet of the saints. Sai is the crest-jewel of
the saints, and now hear from Him the following
purifying story.
The Snake and the Frog
Sai Baba said - "One morning after taking My breakfast I
strolled along till I came to a small river bank. As I
was tired, I rested there, washed My hands and feet and
had a bath and felt refreshed. There was a foot-path and
a cart-track sheltered by shady trees. The breeze was
also blowing gently. As I was preparing to smoke chillim
(pipe), I heard the croaking of a frog. I was striking
the flint and lighting the fire, when a traveller turned
up, sat by My side, bowed to Me and politely invited Me
to his house for meals and rest. He lit up the pipe and
handed it over to Me. The croaking was heard again and
he wanted to know what it was. I told him that a frog
was in trouble and was tasting the bitter fruit of its
own karma. We have to reap now the fruit of what we sow
(do) in our past life, and there is no use in crying
about it. Then he smoked and handed over the pipe to Me
and said that he would go there in person and see for
himself. I told him that a frog was caught by a big
snake and was crying. Both were very wicked in their
past life and were now reaping the fruit of their
actions in these bodies. He went out and found that a
huge black serpent was holding a big frog in its mouth.
He turned to Me and said that in about 10 or 12 minutes
the frog would be eaten up by the snake. I said, "No,
this can't be. I am its father (protector) and I am here
now. How shall I allow the snake to eat it up, am I here
for nothing? Just see how I release it."
After smoking again, we walked on to the place. He was
afraid and asked Me not to proceed further as the snake
might attack us. Not minding him, I went ahead and
addressed the creatures thus:- "Oh Veerbhadrappa, has
not your enemy Bassappa yet repented though he has been
born as a frog, and you too, though born as a serpent,
still maintain bitter enmity against him? Fie upon you,
be ashamed, give up your hatred now and rest in peace."
Hearing these words, the snake left the frog quickly and
dived into the river and disappeared. The frog also
jumped away and hid itself in the bushes.
The traveller was much surprised; he said that he could
not understand how the snake dropped the frog and
disappeared at the words uttered, who was Veerbhadrappa
and who was Basssappa, and what was the cause of their
enmity. I returned with him to the foot of the tree and
after sharing a few puffs of smoke with him I explained
the whole mystery to his as follows:-
There was ancient holy place sanctified by a temple of
Mahadev about 4 or 5 miles from My place. The temple was
old and dilapidated. The residents of the place
collected funds for its repairs. After a large amount
was collected, arrangement for worship was made and
plans with estimates for repairs were prepared. A rich
local man was appointed the Treasurer and the whole work
was entrusted to him. He was to keep regular accounts
and be honest in all his dealings. He was a first class
miser and spent very little for the repairs, which
consequently made very little progress. He spent all the
funds, swallowed some amount himself and spent nothing
from his pocket. He had a sweet tongue and was very
clever in offering plausible explanations regarding the
poor and tardy progress of the work. The people again
went to him and said that unless he lent his helping
hand and tried his best, the work would not be complete.
They requested him to work out the scheme and again
collected subscriptions and sent the amount to him. He
received it, but sat as quiet as before without making
any progress. After some days, God (Mahadev) appeared in
his wife's dream and said to her - "You get up, build
the dome of the temple, I will give you a hundred-fold
of what you spend." She told this vision to her husband.
He was afraid that it would involve him in some expenses
and therefore laughed it out saying that it was a mere
dream, a thing not to be relied and acted upon, or else
why did not God appear to him and tell him? Was he far
off from her? This looks like a bad dream, having for
its object the creation of ill feeling between husband
and wife. She had to remain quiet.
God does not like big subscriptions and donations
collected against the wishes of the donors, but He likes
ever trifling amounts given with love, devotion and
appreciation. Some days after, God again appeared in her
dream and said - "Do not bother yourself about your
husband and the collections with him. Don't press him to
spend any amount for the temple. What I want is, feeling
and devotion. So give, if you like, anything of your
own." She consulted her husband about this vision and
decided to give God her ornaments given by her father.
The miser felt disconcerted and decided to cheat even
God in this item. He undervalued the ornaments at
Rs.1,000/- and bought them himself and in lieu of the
amount gave a field to God as endowment or security. The
wife agreed to this. The field or land was not his own,
it belonged to one poor woman named Dubaki who mortgaged
it to him for Rs.200/-. She was not able to redeem it
for long. So the cunning miser cheated all, his wife,
Dubaki and even God. The land was sterile, uncultivated
and worth nothing and yielded nothing, even in best
seasons.
Thus ended this transaction and the land was given in
the possession of the poor priest who was pleased with
the endowment. Sometime later on, strange things
happened. There was a terrific storm and heavy down-pour
of rain; lightning struck the house of the miser, when
he and his wife both died. Dubaki also breathed her
last.
In the next life, the rich miser was born at Mathura in
a Brahmin family and was named Veerbhadrappa. His devout
wife was born as the daughter of the priest of the
temple and was named Gouri. The woman Dubaki (the
mortgagor) was born as a male in the family of the Gurav
(attendent) of the the temple and was named Chenbassappa.
The priest was a friend of Mine, He often came to Me,
chatted and smoked with Me. His daughter Gouri was also
devoted to Me. She was growing fast and her father was
seeking a good husband for her. I told him not to worry
about this as the bridegroom himself would come seeking
her. Then there came a poor boy named Veerbhadrappa of
their caste, wandering and begging his bread to the
priest's house. With My consent Gouri was given in
marriage to him. He was also at first devoted to Me as I
recommended his marriage with Gouri. Even in this new
life he was hankering after money and asked Me to help
him to get it as he was leading a married man's life.
Strange things happened. There was a sudden rise in
prices. By Gouri's good luck, there was a great demand
for land and the endowment land was sold for one lakh of
rupees (100 times the worth of her ornaments). Half the
amount was paid in cash and the remaining was to be paid
in 25 instalments of Rs. 2,000/- each. All agreed to
this transaction, but began to quarrel over the money.
They came to Me for consultation. I told them that the
property belonged to God and was vested in the priest
and Gouri was his sole heiress and proprietress and no
amount should be spent without her consent and that her
husband had no right whatsoever to the amount. Hearing
my opinion Veerbhadrappa was wroth with Me and said that
I wanted to establish Gouri's claim and embezzle her
property. Hearing his words, I remembered God and kept
quiet. Veerbhadrappa scolded his wife (Gouri) and she
came to Me at noon and requested Me not to mind the
words of others and not to discard her as she was My
daughter. As she thus sought My protection I gave her a
pledge that I would cross seven seas to help her. Then
that night Gouri had a vision. Mahadev appeared in her
dream and said - "The whole money is yours, do not give
anything to anybody, spend some amount for temple
purposes in consultation with Chenbassappa and if you
want to use it for some other purpose, consult Baba in
the Masjid (Myself)." Gouri told Me the vision and I
gave her the proper advice in the matter. I told her to
take the principal or capital amount to herself, give
half the amount of interest to Chenbassappa and that
Veerbhadrappa had nothing to do in the matter. While I
was thus talking, both Veerbhadrappa and Chenbassappa
came there quarreling. I tried My best to appease them
and told them God's vision to Gouri. Veerbhadrappa got
wild and angry and threatened to kill Chenbassappa
cutting him to pieces. The latter was timid, he caught
my feet and sought my refuge. I pledged Myself to save
him from the wrath of his foe. Then after some time
Veerbhadrappa died and was born as a snake and
Chenbassappa died and was born as a frog. Hearing the
croaking of Chenbassappa and remembering my pledge, I
came here, saved him and kept My word. God runs to His
devotees for help in times of danger. He saved
Chenbassappa (the frog) by sending Me here. All this is
God's Leela or sport."
The Moral
The moral of the story is that one has to reap what one
sows, and there is no escape unless one suffers and
squares up one's old debts and dealings with others, and
that greed for money drags the greedy man to the lowest
level and ultimately brings destruction on him and
others.
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