As hinted in the last Chapter, Hemadpant now explains at
length, in his preliminary remarks, on the importance of
human birth; and then proceeds to relate how Sai Baba
begged His food, how Bayajabai served Him, how He slept
in the Masjid with Tatya Kote Patil and Mhalsapati and
how He loved Khushalchand of Rahata.
Importance of Human Birth
In this wonderful universe, God has created billions (84
lacs according to Hindusastra calculation) of creatures
or beings (including Gods, demigods, insects, beasts and
men) inhabiting heaven, hell, earth, ocean, sky and
other intermediate regions. Of these, those creatures or
souls, whose merits preponderate, go to heaven and live
there till they enjoy the fruits of their actions, and
when this is done, they are cast down while those souls,
whose sins or demerits preponderate, go down to hell,
and suffer the consequences of their misdeeds for so
long a time as they deserve. When their merits and
demerits balance each other, they are born on earth as
human beings, and are given a chance to work out their
salvation. Ultimately when their merits and demerits
both drop down (are got rid of) completely, they get
their deliverance and become free. To put the matter in
a nutshell, souls get their births or transmigrations
according to their deeds and intelligence (development
of their minds).
Special Value of the Human Body
As we all know, four things are common to all the
creatures, viz. food, sleep, fear and sexual union. In
the case of man, he is endowed with a special faculty,
viz. knowledge, with the help of which he can attain
God-vision, which is impossible in any other birth. It
is for this reasons that Gods envy man's fortune and
aspire to be born as men on earth, so as to get their
final deliverance.
Some say, that there is nothing worse than the human
body, which is full of filth, mucus, phlegm and dirt,
and which is subject to decay, disease and death. This
is no doubt true to a certain extent; but inspite of
these drawbacks and defects, the special value of the
human body is - that man has got the capacity to acquire
knowledge: it is only due to the human knowledge that
one can think of the perishable and transitory nature of
the body itself, and of the world and get a disgust for
the sense-enjoyments and can discriminate between the
unreal and the real, and thus attain God-vision. So, if
we reject or neglect the body because it is filthy, we
lose the chance of God-vision, and if we fondle it, and
run after sense - enjoyments, because it is precious, we
go to hell. The proper course, therefore, for us to
pursue is the following; that the body should neither be
neglected nor fondled, but should be properly cared for,
just as a traveler on horse-back takes care of his pony
on the way till he reaches his destination and returns
home. Thus the body should ever be used or engaged to
attain God-vision or self-realization, which is the
supreme end of life.
It is said that though God created various sorts of
creatures he was not satisfied, for none of them was
able to know and appreciate His work. So he had to
create a special being - Man, and endow him with a
special faculty, viz. Knowledge and when He saw that man
was able to appreciate His Leela - marvellous work and
intelligence. He was highly pleased and satisfied.
(Vide, Bhagawat 11-9-28). So really it is good luck to
get a human body, better luck to get birth in a Brahmin
family, and best one, to get an opportunity of having
recourse to Sai Baba's Feet and surrendering to Him.
Man's Endeavour
Realizing how precious the human life is, and knowing
that Death is certain and may snatch us at any time, we
should be ever alert to achieve the object of our life,
we should not make the least delay but make every
possible haste to gain our object, just as a widower is
most anxious to get himself married to a new bride, or
just as a king leaves no stone unturned to seek his lost
son. So with all earnestness and speed, we should strive
to attain our end, i.e., self-realization. Casting aside
sloth and laziness, warding off drowsiness, we should
day and night meditate on the Self. If we fail to do
this, we reduce ourselves to the level of beasts.
How to Proceed?
The most effective and speedy way to gain our object is
to approach a worthy Saint or Sage - Sadguru, who has
himself attained God-vision. What cannot be achieved by
hearing religious lectures and study of religious works,
is easily obtained in the company of such worthy souls.
Just as the sun alone gives light, which all the stars
put together cannot do, so the Sad-Guru alone imparts
spiritual wisdom which all the sacred books and sermons
cannot infuse. His movements and simple talks give us
'silent' advice. The virtues of forgiveness, calmness,
disinterestedness, charity, benevolence, control of mind
and body, egolessness etc. are observed by the disciples
as they are being practiced in such pure and holy
company. This enlightens their minds and lifts them up
spiritually. Sai Baba was such a Sage or Sad-Guru.
Though He acted as a Fakir (mendicant), He was always
engrossed in the Self. He always loved all beings in
whom He saw God or Divinity. By pleasures He was not
elated. He was not depressed by misfortunes. A king and
a pauper were the same to Him. He, whose glance would
turn a beggar into a king, used to beg His food from
door to door in Shirdi, and let us now see how He did
it.
Baba Begging Food
Blessed are the people of Shirdi, in front of whose
houses, Baba stood as a beggar and called out, "Oh
Lassie, give Me a piece of bread" and spread out His
hand to receive the same. In one hand He carried a
Tumrel (tinpot) and in the other a zoli or choupadari,
i.e., a rectangular piece of cloth. He daily visited
certain houses and went from door to door. Liquid or
semi-liquid things such as soup, vegetables, milk or
butter-milk were received in the tinpot, while cooked
rice, bread, and such solid things were taken in the
zoli. Baba's tongue knew no taste, as He had acquired
control over it. So how could He care for the taste of
the different things collected together? whatever things
He got in His zole and in the tinpot were mixed together
and partaken by Baba to His heart's content. Whether
particular things were tasty or otherwise was never
noticed by Baba as if His tongue was devoid of the sense
of taste altogether. Baba begged till noon, but His
begging was very irregular. Some days He went a few
rounds, on other days up to twelve noon. The food thus
collected was thrown in a kundi, i.e. earthen pot. Dog,
cats and crows freely ate from it and Baba never drove
them away. The woman who swept the floor of the Masjid
took some 10 or 12 pieces of bread to her house, and
nobody prevented her from doing so. How could, He, who
even in dreams never warded off cats and dogs by harsh
words and signs, refuse food to poor helpless people?
Blessed indeed is the life of such a noble person!
People in Shirdi took Him in the beginning for a mad
Fakir. He was known in the village by this name. How
could one, who lived on alms by begging a few crumbs of
bread, be revered and respected? But this Fakir was very
liberal of heart and hand, disinterested and charitable.
Tough He looked fickle and restless from outside. He was
firm and steady inside. His way was inscrutable. Still
even in that small village, there were a few kind and
blessed people who recognized and regarded Him as a
Great Soul. One such instance is given below.
Bayajabai's Brilliant Service
Tatya Kote's mother, Bayajabai, used to go to the woods
every noon with a basket on her head containing bread
and vegetables. She roamed in the jungles koos (about 3
miles) after koss, trampling over bushes and shrubs in
search of the mad Fakir, and after hunting Him out, fell
at His feet. The Fakir sat calm and motionless in
meditation, while she placed a leaf before Him, spread
the eatables, bread, vegetables etc. thereon and fed Him
forcibly. Wonderful was her faith and service. Every day
she roamed at noon in the jungles and forced Baba to the
partake of lunch. Her service, Upasana or Penance, by
whatever name we call it, was never forgotten by Baba
till his Maha Samadhi. Remembering fully what service
she rendered, Baba benefited her son magnificently. Both
the son and the mother had great faith in the Fakir, Who
was their God. Baba often said to them that "Fakir (Mendicacy)
was the real Lordship as it was everlasting, and the so
called Lordship (riches) was transient". After some
years, Baba left off going into the woods, began to live
in the village and take His food in the Masjid. From
that time Bayajabai's troubles of roaming in the jungles
ended.
Dormitory of Trio
Even blessed are the Saints in whose heart Lord Vasudeo
dwells, and fortunate, indeed, are the devotees who get
the benefit of the company of such Saints. Two such
fortunate fellows, Tatya Kote Patil and Bhagat
Mhalsapati, equally shared the company of Sai Baba. Baba
also loved them both equally. These three persons slept
in the Masjid with their heads towards the east, west
and north and with their feet touching one another at
the centre. Stretching their beds, they lay on them,
chitchatting and gossiping about many things, till late
at midnight. If any one of them showed any signs of
sleep, others would wake him up. For instance, if Tatya
began to snore, Baba at once got up and shook him from
side to side and pressed his head. If it was Mhalsapati,
He hugged him close, stroked his legs and kneaded his
back. In this way for full 14 years, Tatya, leaving his
parents at home, slept in the Masjid on account of his
love for Baba. How happy and never to be forgotten were
those days! How to measure that love and how to value
the grace of Baba? After the passing away of his father,
Tatya took charge of the household affairs and began to
sleep at home.
Khushalchand of Rahata
Baba loved Ganpat Kote Patil of Shirdi. He equally loved
Chandrabhanshet Marwadi of Rahata. After the demise of
the Shet, Baba loved his nephew Khushalchand equally or
even perhaps more, and watched his welfare, day and
night. Sometimes in a bullock cart, at other times in a
tanga with intimate friends, Baba went to Rahata. People
of that village came out, with band and music, and
received Baba at the Ves or gate of the village and
prostrated before Him. Then He was taken into the
village with great pomp and ceremony. Khushalchand took
Baba to his house, seated Him on a comfortable seat and
gave Him a good lunch. Then they talked freely and
merrily for some time, after which Baba returned to
Shirdi, giving delight and blessing to all.
Shirdi is midway between and equidistant from Rahata on
one side (south) and Nimgaon on the other (north). Baba
never went beyond these places during His life time. He
never saw any railway train nor travelled by it. Still,
He knew exactly the timing of arrival and departure of
all trains. Devotees who acted according to Baba's
instructions (re : their departure)which were given by
him at the time of taking His leave fared well, while
those who disregarded them suffered many a mishap and
accident. More about this and other matters will be told
in the next Chapter.
|
