"Believe Me, though I pass away, My bones in My tomb would be speaking,
moving and communicating with those, who would surrender themselves
whole-heartedly to Me. Do not be anxious that I would be absent from you.
You will hear My bones speaking and discussing your welfare. But remember Me
always, believe Me heart and soul, and then you will be most benefited. " --SAIBABA
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SHRI SAI SATHCHARITHA
"Sada Nimbarvrikshasya mooladhiwasat,
Sudhasravinam tiktamapi-apriyam tam,
Tarum Kalpavrikshadhikam sadhayantam
Namameeshwaram Sadgurum Sai Natham"
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Chapter 1
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Salutations -- The Story of Grinding Wheat and Its Philosophical
Significance.
According to the ancient and revered custom, Hemadpant begins the
work, Sai Satcharitra, with various salutations.
First, he makes obeisance to the God Ganesha to remove all obstacles and make
the work a success and says that Shri Sai is the God Ganesha.
Then, to the Goddess Saraswati to inspire him to write out the work and says
that Shri Sai is one with this Goddess and that He is Himself singing His own
life.
Then, to the Gods; Brahma, Vishnu and Shankar - the Creating, Preserving and
Destroying Deities respectively; and says that Sainath is one with them and He
as the great Teacher, will carry us across the River of Wordly Existence.
Then, to his tutelary Deity Narayan Adinath who manifested himself in Konkan
- the land reclaimed by Parashurama, (Rama in the Hindi version) from the sea;
and to the Adi (Original) Purusha of the family.
Then, to the Bharadwaja Muni, into whose gotra (clan) he was born and also to
various Rishis, Yagyavalakya, Bhrigu, Parashara, Narad, Vedavyasa, Sanak,
Sanandan, Sanatkumar, Shuka. Shounak, Vishwamitra, Vasistha, Valmiki, Vamadeva,
Jaimini, Vaishampayan, Nava Yogindra etc, and also modern Saints such as
Nivritti, Jnanadev, Sopan, Muktabai, Janardan, Ekanath, Namdev, Tukaram, Kanha,
and Narahari etc.
Then, to his grandfather Sadashiv, father Raghunath, his mother, who left him
in his infancy, to his paternal aunt, who brought him up, and to his loving
elder brother.
Then, to the readers and prays them to give their whole and undivided
attention to his work.
And lastly, to his Guru Shri Sainath - an Incarnation of Shri Dattatreya, Who
is his sole Refuge and Who will make him realize that Brahman is the Reality and
the world an illusion; and incidentally, to all the Beings in whom the Lord God
dwells.
After describing in brief the various modes of devotion according to
Parashara, Vyasa and Shandilya etc., the author goes on to relate the following
story:
"It was sometime after 1910 A.D. that I went, one fine
morning, to the Masjid in Shirdi for getting a darshan of Sai Baba. I was
wonder-struck to see the following phenomenon. After washing His mouth and face,
Sai Baba began to make preparations for grinding wheat. He spread a sack on the
floor; and thereon set a hand-mill. He took some quantity of wheat in a
winnowing fan, and then drawing up the sleeves of His Kafni (robe); and taking
hold of the peg of the hand-mill, started grinding the wheat by putting a few
handfuls of wheat in the upper opening of the mill and rotoated it. I thought
‘What business Baba had with the grinding of wheat, when He possessed nothing
and stored nothing, and as He lived on alms!’ Some people who had come there
thought likewise, but none had the courage to ask baba what He was doing.
Immediately, this news of Baba's grinding wheat spread into the village, and at
once men and women ran to the Masjid and flocked there to see Baba's act. Four
bold women, fro m the crowd, forced their way up and pushing Baba aside, took
forcibly the peg or handle into their hands, and, singing Baba's Leelas, started
grinding. At first Baba was enraged, but on seeing the women's love and
devotion, He was much pleased and began to smile. While they were grinding, they
began to think that Baba had no house, no property, no children, none to look
after, and He lived on alms, He did not require any wheat-flour for making bread
or roti, what will He do with this big quantity of flour? Perhaps as Baba is
very kind, He will distribute the flour amongst us. Thinking in this way while
singing, they finished the grinding and after putting the hand-mill aside, they
divided the flour into four portions and began to remove them one per head.
Baba, Who was calm and quiet up till now, got wild and started abusing them
saying, "Ladies, are you gone mad? Whose father's property are you looting away?
Have I borrowed any wheat from you, so that you can safely take the flour? Now
please do this. Take the flour and throw it on the village border limits." On
hearing this, the women felt abashed and whispering amongst themselves, went
away to the outskirts of the village and spread the flour as directed by Baba.
I asked the Shirdi people - "What was this that Baba did?" They replied that
as the Cholera Epidemic was spreading in the village and this was Baba's remedy
against the same; it was not wheat that was ground but the Cholera itself was
ground to pieces and pushed out of the village. From this time onward, the
Cholera Epidemic subsided and the people of the village were happy. I was much
pleased to know all this; but at the same time my curiosity was also aroused. I
began to ask myself - What earthly connection was there between wheat flour and
Cholera? What was the casual relation between the two? and how to reconcile
them? The incident seems to be inexplicable. I should write something on this
and sing to my heart's content Baba's sweet Leelas. Thinking in this way about
this Leela, my heart was filled with joy and I was thus inspired to write Baba's
Life - The Satcharita.
And as we know, with Baba's grace and blessing this work was successfully
accomplished.
Philosophical Significance of Grinding
A
part from the meaning which the people of Shirdi put on this incident
of grinding wheat, there is, we think, a philosophical significance too. Sai
Baba lived in Shirdi for about sixty years and during this long period, He did
the business of grinding almost every day - not, however, the wheat alone; but
the sins, the mental and physical afflications and the miseries of His
innumerable devotees. The two stones of His mill consisted of Karma and Bhakti,
the former being the lower and the latter the upper one. The handle with which
Baba worked the mill consisted of Jnana. It was the firm conviction of Baba that
Knowledge or Self-realization is not possible, unless there is the prior act of
grinding of all our impulses, desires, sins; and of the three gunas, viz.
Sattva, Raja and Tama; and the Ahamkara, which is so subtle and therefore so
difficult to be got rid of.
This reminds us of a similar story of Kabir who seeing a woman grinding corn
said to his Guru, Nipathiranjana, "I am weeping because I feel the agony of
being crushed in this wheel of wordly existence like the corn in the hand-mill."
Nipathiranjana replied, "Do not be afraid; hold fast to the handle of knowledge
of this mill, as I do, and do not wander far away from the same but turn inward
to the Centre, and you are sure to be saved."
Bow to Shri Sai -- Peace be to all