SABURI
SABURI Gauri Nandana Baala Gajaanana Gaja Vadana Gananaatha Gajaanana Gauri Nandana Baala Gajaanana Mahaganapathe Sai Gajaanana Gajaanana Sai Gajaanana (Worship the Lord of Lords, Lord Sai Gajaanana, Lord of Demi-Gods and beloved of Gauri )
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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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nanasahebchandorkar. |
Chapter XVI |
bhagojishinde |
Preliminary
Not minding his friend's advice, the fellow engaged a return-journey tanga and came to Shirdi. He went to the Masjid, saw Sai Baba, fell at His Feet and said, "Baba, hearing that You show the Brahman to all who come over here without any delay, I have come here all the way from my distant place. I am much fatigued by the journey and if I get the Brahman from You, my troubles will be well-paid and rewarded." Baba then replied, "Oh, My dear friend, do not be anxious, I shall immediately show you the Brahman; all My dealings are in cash and never on credit. So many people come to Me, and ask for wealth, health, power, honour, position, cure of diseases and other temporal matters. Rare is the person, who comes here to Me and asks for Brahma-Jnana. There is no dearth of persons asking for wordly things, but as persons interested in spiritual matters are very rare, I think it a lucky and auspicious moment, when persons like you come and press Me for Brahma-Jnana. So I show to you with pleasure, the Brahman with all its accompaniments and complications."
Saying this, Baba started to show him the Brahman. He made him sit there and engaged him in some other talk or affair and thus made him forget his question for the time being. Then He called a boy and told him to go to one Nandu Marwari, and get from him a hand-loan of Rs. five. The boy left and returned immediately, saying that Nandu was absent and his house ws locked. Then Baba asked him to go to Bala grocer and get from him, the said loan. This time also, the boy was unsuccessful. This experiment was repeated again twice or thrice, with the same result.
Sai Baba was, as we know, the living and moving Brahman Incarnate. Then, some one may ask - "Why did He want the paltry sum of five rupees, and why did He try hard to get it on loan? Really He did not want that sum at all. He must have been fully knowing, that Nandu and Bala were absent, and he seems to have adopted this procedure as a test for the seeker of Brahman. That gentleman had a roll or bundle of currency notes in his pocket, and if he was really earnest, he would not have sat quiet and be a mere onlooker, when Baba was frantically trying to get a paltry sum of Rs. five. He knew that Baba would keep His word and repay the debt, and that the sum wanted was insignificant. Still he could not make up his mind and advance the sum. Such a man wanted from Baba the greatest thing in the world, viz., the Brahma-Jnana! Any other man, who really loved Baba, would have at once given Rs. five, instead of being a mere onlooker. It was otherwise with this man. He advanced no money nor did he sit silent, but began to be impatient, as he was in a haste to return and implored Baba saying- "Oh Baba, please show me the Brahman soon." Baba replied - "Oh my dear friend, did you not understand all the procedure that I went through, sitting in this place, for enabling you to see the Brahman? It is, in short this. For seeing Brahman one has to give five things, i.e. surrender five things viz. (1) Five Pranas (vital forces), (2) Five senses (five of action and five of perception), (3) mind, (4) intellect and (5) ego. This path of Brahma-Jnana of self-realization is 'as hard as to tread on the edge of a razor'.
Devotees Experiences
After staying for two to three years in the mosque, Baba changed his residence to the area of dense vegetation between the Lendi and Sira rivulets. He stayed there for two and a half years. During this period, one of his devotees would take him food every day. Raghu Patil, and four or five other kids and myself visited him there during this period, but by then we had given up our juvenile pranks. Sri Nanasaheb Dengle and other devotees also came for Baba’s darshan in those days.
A mahatma called Gangagir Bua organized a nama saptaha (chanting of God’s name continuously for seven days and nights) in Shirdi in 1896. Only a few villagers took part, and this lack of interest provoked Gangagir Bua, he went angrily to the mosque and indicating Baba to the villagers, said, “This is a diamond. And now this diamond is lying on this dung-heap of a village. Heed my words all of you! He will change the very shape of Shirdi.” Gangagir stalked away angrily and left Shirdi. I followed him to Rui village and had his darshan. I begged forgiveness on behalf of all the villagers of Shirdi and asked him to organize the nama saptaha once again. At first he did not agree. I then followed him to many places and took part in the nama saptahas with him and he eventually softened and came to Shirdi for the Dasara Festival. I think I was 17 or 18 at that time. When I told Baba about my attending the nama saptahas he was very happy about it. From then onwards I started going to the mosque quite often. Baba loved me as his own child and never let me go anywhere without his permission.”