Sai Satcharitra-Let us all read it together, a little everyday

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Chapter XVI & XVII

These two Chapters relate the story of a rich gentleman, who wanted

Brahma-Jnana, quickly from Sai Baba.

Preliminary

The last Chapter described how Mr. Cholkar's vow of small offering was completed

and accepted. In that story, Sai Baba showed that He would accept with

appreciation any small thing offered with love and devotion, but if the same

thing was offered with pride and haughtiness, He would reject it. Being Himself

full of Sat-Chit-Anand (Existence, Knowledge and Bliss) He did not care much for

more outward formalities but if an offering was made in meek and humble spirit,

the same was welcome and He accepted it with pleasure and avidity. In fact

there is no person more liberal and benevolent than a Sadguru, like Sai Baba.

He cannot be compared to the Chintamani jewel (the Philosopher's stone which

satisfies desires), the Kalpataru (the Celestial Tree which fulfills our

desires) or the the Kamadhenu (the Celestial Cow which yields what we desire),

for they give us only what we desire; but the Sadguru

gives us the most precious thing that is inconceivable and inscrutable (The

reality). Now let us hear, how Sai Baba disposed of a rich man, who came to Him

and implored Him to give him Brahma-Jnana.

These was a rich gentleman (unfortunately his name and whereabouts are not

mentioned) who was very prosperous in his life. He had amassed a large quantity

of wealth, houses, field and lands, and had many servants and dependents. When

Baba's fame reached his ears, he said to a friend of his, that he was not in

want of anything, and so he would go to Shirdi and ask Baba to give him

Brahma-Jnana which, if he got, would certainly make him more happy. His friend

dissuaded him, saying, "it is not easy to know Brahman, and especially so for

an avaricious man like you, who is always engrossed in wealth, wife and

children. Who will, in your quest of Brahma-Jnana, satisfy you that won't give

away even a pice in charity?"

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'.

Sai Baba then gave rather a long discourse on the subject, the purport of which

is given below"Gurur Brahma Gurur VishnuGurur Devoh Maheshwar;Gurur Shakshat

ParambramhaTashmai Shri Gurur Veh Namah"May the Merciful Sri Sai Baba always

shower His grace on us and our families and remove our problems and anxieties

by giving us all - strength , goodluck, success and happiness with peace of

mind.Sai bhakt,Deepa

Hdebu7366 Do You

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