SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM - III

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SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM

The Life Stories of the Two Avatars of the Age – III

SHRI SAI SATCHARITA

The Life of the Divine Avatar Sai Baba of Shirdi

By Hemadpant

CHAPTER III

Sai Baba’s Sanction and Promise - Assignment of Work to Devotees - Baba’s

Stories as Beacon - Light - His Motherly Love - Rohilla’s story - His sweet and

Nectar - like Words.

SAI BABA’S SANCTION AND PROMISE

As described in the previous chapter, Sai Baba gave His complete assent to the

writing of the Sat-Charita and said, "I fully agree with you regarding the

writing of Satcharita. You do your duty, don’t be afraid in the least, steady

your mind and have faith in My words. If my Leelas are written, the Avidya

(nescience) will vanish and if they are attentively, and devoutly listened to,

the consciousness of the worldly existence will abate, and strong waves of

devotion, and love will rise up and if one dives deep into My Leelas, he would

get precious jewels of knowledge."

Hearing this, author was much pleased, and he at once became fearless and

confident, and thought that work was bound to be a success. Then turning to

Shama (Madhavarao Deshpande) Sai Baba said.

"If a man utters My name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes, increase his

devotion. And if he sings earnestly My life and My deeds, him I shall beset in

front and back and on all sides. Those devotees, who are attached to Me, heart

and soul, will naturally feel happiness, when they hear these stories. Believe

Me that if anybody sings My Leelas, I will give him infinite joy and

everlasting contentment. It is My special characteristic to free any person,

who surrenders completely to Me, and who does worship Me faithfully, and who

remembers Me, and meditates on Me constantly. How can they be conscious of

worldly objects and sensations, who utter My name, who worship Me, who think of

My stories and My life and who thus always remember Me? I shall draw out My

devotees from the jaws of Death. If My

stories are listened to, all the diseases will be got rid of. So, hear My

stories with respect; and think and meditate on them, assimilate them. This is

the way of happiness and contentment. The pride and egoism of My devotees will

vanish, the mind of the hearers will be set at rest; and if it has wholehearted

and complete faith, it will be one with Supreme Consciousness. The simple

remembrance of My name as ‘Sai, Sai’ will do away with sins of speech and

hearing".

DIFFERENT WORKS ASSIGNED TO DEVOTEES

The Lord entrusts different works to different devotees. Some are given the work

of building temples and maths, or ghats (flight of steps) on rivers; some are

made to sing the glories of God; some are sent on pilgrimages; but to me was

allotted the work of writing the Satcharita. Being a jack-of-all-trades but

master of none, I was quite unqualified for this job. Then why should I

undertake such a difficult job? Who can describe the true life of Sai Baba? Sai

Baba’s grace alone can enable one to accomplish this difficult work. So, when I

took up the pen in my hand, Sai Baba took away my egoism and wrote Himself His

stories. The credit of relating these stories, therefore, goes to Him and not

to me. Though Brahmin by birth, I lacked the two eyes. (i.e. the sight or

vision) of Shruti and

Smriti and therefore was not at all capable of writing the Satcharita, but the

grace of the Lord makes a dumb man talk, enables a lame man to cross a

mountain. He alone knows the knack of getting things done, as He likes. Neither

the flute, nor the harmonium knows how the sounds are produced. This is the

concern of the Player. The oozing of Chandrakant jewel and the surging of the

sea are not due to the jewel and the sea but to the rise of the moon.

BABA’S STORIES AS BEACON- LIGHT

Lighthouses are constructed at various places in the sea, to enable the boatmen

to avoid rocks and dangers, and make them sail safely. Sai Baba’s stories serve

a similar purpose in the ocean of worldly existence. They surpass nectar in

sweetness, and make our worldly path smooth and easy to traverse. Blessed are

the stories of the saints. When they enter our hearts through the ears, the

body – consciousness or egoism and the sense of duality vanish; and when they

are stored in the heart, doubts fly out to all sides, pride of the body will

fall, and wisdom will be stored in abundance. The description of Baba’s pure

fame, and the hearing of the same, with love, will destroy the sins of the

devotee and, therefore, this is the simple Sadhana for attaining salvation. The

Sadhana for Krita Age

was Shamadama (tranquility of mind and body), for Treta Age, sacrifice, for

Dwapara, worship, and for Kali (present) Age, it is singing of the name and

glory of the Lord. This last Sadhana is open to all the people of the four

varnas (Brahmins, etc.). The other Sadhanas, viz. Yoga, Yagya (sacrifice),

Dhyana (meditation) and Dharana (concentration) are very difficult to practice,

but singing and hearing the stories and the glory of the Lord (Sai Baba) is very

easy. We have only to turn our attention towards them. The listening and singing

of the stories will remove the attachment to the senses and their objects, and

will make the devotees dispassionate, and will ultimately lead them to

self-realization. With this end in view, Sai Baba made me or helped me to write

His stories, Satcharitamrita. The devotees may now easily read and hear these

stories of Sai Baba and while doing so, meditate on Him, His form and thus

attain devotion to Guru and God (Sai Baba), get detachment and

self-realization. In the preparation and writing of this work, Satcharitamrita,

it is Sai Baba’s grace, which has accomplished everything, making use of me as

a mere instrument.

MOTHERLY LOVE OF SAI BABA

Everybody knows how a cow loves her infant calf. Her udder is always full and

when the calf wants milk and dashes at the udder, out comes the milk in an

unceasing flow. Similarly a human mother knows the wants of her child and feeds

it, at her breast in time. In case of dressing and adorning the child, the

mother takes particular care to see that this is well done. The child knows or

cares nothing about this, but the mother’s joy knows no bounds, when she sees

her child beautifully dressed and adorned. The love of mother is peculiar,

extraordinary and disinterested, and has no parallel. Sadgurus feel this

motherly love towards their disciples. Sai Baba had this same love towards me,

and I give an instance of it below: -

In 1916 AD I retired from Government Service. The pension that was settled in my

case was not sufficient to maintain my family decently. On Guru-Poornima (15th

of Ashadha) day of that year, I went to Shirdi with other devotees. There, Mr.

Anna Chinchanikar, of his own accord, prayed to Baba for me as follows: -

"Please look kindly on him, the pension he gets is quite insufficient, his

family is growing. Give him some other appointment, remove his anxiety and make

him happy." Baba replied - “He will get some other job, but now he should serve

Me and be happy. His dishes will be ever full and never empty. He should turn

all his attention towards Me and avoid the company of atheists, irreligious and

wicked people. He should be meek and humble towards all and worship Me heart and

soul. If he

does this, he will get eternal happiness".

The question who is this HE, Whose worship is advocated, is already answered in

a note on "Who is Sai Baba" in the prologue, at the beginning of this work.

ROHILLA’S STORY

The story of the Rohilla illustrates Sai Baba’s all embracing love. One Rohilla,

tall and well built, strong as a bull, came to Shirdi, wearing a long Kafni

(robe) and was enamored of Sai who stayed there. Day and night he used to

recite in a loud and harsh tone Kalma (verses from Holy Koran) and shout "ALLAH

HO AKBAR" (God is Great). Most people of Shirdi were working in their fields by

day and when they returned to their homes at night, they were welcomed with the

Rohilla’s harsh cries and shouts. They could get no sleep and felt much trouble

and inconvenience. They suffered in silence this nuisance for some days, and

when they could stand it no longer, they approached Baba, and requested Him to

check the Rohilla and stop the nuisance. Baba did not attend to their

complaint. On the

contrary, Baba took the villagers to task, and asked them to mind their own

business, and not the Rohilla. He said to them that the Rohilla had got a very

bad wife, a Zantippi, who tried to come in and trouble the Rohilla and Himself;

but hearing the Rohilla’s prayers, she dare not enter and they were at peace and

happy. In fact, the Rohilla had no wife and by his wife Baba meant DURBUDDHI,

i.e. bad thoughts. As Baba liked prayers and cries to God better than anything

else, He took the side of the Rohilla, and asked the villagers to wait and

suffer the nuisance, which would abate in due course.

BABA’S SWEET AND NECTAR-LIKE WORDS

One day at noon after the Arti, devotees were returning to their lodgings, when

Baba gave the following beautiful advice: -

"Be wherever you like, do whatever you choose, remember this well that all what

you do is known to Me. I am the Inner Ruler of all and seated in their hearts.

I envelop all the creatures, the movable and immovable world. I am the

Controller - the wire puller of the show of this Universe. I am the mother -

origin of all beings - the Harmony of three Gunas, the propeller of all senses,

the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer. Nothing will harm him, who turns his

attention towards Me, but Maya will lash or whip him who forgets Me. All the

insects, ants, the visible, movable and immovable world, are My Body or Form".

Hearing these beautiful and precious words, I at once decided in my mind to

serve no man henceforward, but my Guru only; but the reply of Baba to Anna

Chinchanikar’s query (which was really mine) that I would get some job, began

to revolve in my mind, and I began to think whether it would come to happen. As

future events showed, Baba’s words came true and I got a Government job, but

that was of short duration. Then I became free and solely devoted my self to

the service of my Guru-Sai Baba.

Before concluding this Chapter, I request the readers to leave out the various

hindrances viz. indolence, sleep, wandering of mind, attachments to senses,

etc. and turn their whole and undivided attention to these stories of Sai Baba.

Let their love be natural, let them know the secret of devotion; let them not

exhaust themselves by other Sadhanas, let them stick to this one simple remedy,

i.e. listening to Sai Baba’s stories. This will destroy their ignorance and will

secure for them salvation. A miser may stay at various places; but he always

thinks of his buried treasure. So let Sai Baba be enthroned in the hearts of

all.

In the next chapter, I shall speak of Sai Baba’s advent in Shirdi.

BOW TO SHRI SAI - PEACE BE TO ALL

*****

SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM - Part I

The Life of the Divine Avatar Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

By N. Kasturi, M.A., B.L.

THE RHYTHM OF HIS FEET

When he was eight, Sathya was declared ready to proceed to the Higher Elementary

School at Bukkapatnam, two and a half miles from Puttaparthy. He had to trudge

the distance in hot sun or rain over stony mounds or slushy fields, wading

through neck-deep water, as the season dictated. His bag of books would be

securely held above his

head. He had to start early in the morning after a meal of delicacies such as

cold rice and curds or cooked rice and chutney. He trekked regularly to

Bukkapatnam with companions, carrying his afternoon meal in a bag.

Sri B. Subbannachar writes in a book published in 1944, "He was my student in

the eighth grade. He was a simple, unostentatious, honest, and well-behaved

boy." Unostentatious! With what great self-control must Sai Baba have

suppressed His manifold divine powers in order that the world might become

ready for the Announcement!

Sri V.C. Kondappa, another teacher, who later revered the student as divine,

writes in the same book, "He was very obedient and never spoke more than

necessary. Coming early to school, he would gather the children and install an

image or picture in the schoolroom. With the flowers he brought with him, he

conducted worship, waved burning camphor, and distributed Grace in one form or

another. The boys, gathered around him for the things he 'took' out of his

empty bag! When asked about it, he said that a certain 'Angel' obeyed his will

and gave him whatever he wanted!"

One of his teachers was personally to experience the force of that "Angel" on

one occasion. Sai Baba was generally listless in class, engaged most of the

time in what he later described as composing chants and copying them for

distribution among his classmates. One day the teacher discovered that Sathya

was not taking down the notes he dictated. "He is setting a bad example for the

whole class," thought the teacher, and shouted, "All those who are not taking

notes, stand up!" Sathya was the solitary culprit and was asked why he was not

taking notes. He answered in an innocent and straightforward tone, "Sir why

should I take notes? I have understood what you dictated. Ask me any question

on it and I shall answer correctly." But the teacher's pride was injured, and

the boy must suffer. He ordered

Sathya to stand upon the bench and remain standing until the last bell of the

day. Sathya obeyed. All the boys hung their heads in sorrow. None of them could

feel happy that day sitting down while his Guru was poised uncomfortably upon a

bench.

When the hour-bell rang, the teacher for the next class came in. It was Janab

Mahbub Khan, who loved and respected little Sathya beyond words. He taught

English, and his approach and method were so earnest and appealing that every

boy learned every lesson thoroughly. He was an elderly bachelor, and he treated

Sathya with a unique affection. (Sai Baba even today extols Mahbub Khan as a

highly evolved soul.)

Mahbub Khan would offer sweets and savories to Sathya, enticing him to eat by

means of a hundred different artifices. He told Sathya that his house was

specially cleansed for the preparation of the food, because he knew Sathya

would not eat food having the remotest contact with non-vegetarian dishes. He

would say that he had not eaten, as he wanted Sathya to partake of the food

first. He would sit quietly for long periods, stroking Sathya's hair and

whispering, "Oh, you are a wonderful boy! You will help thousands; you are a

great power."

When Mahbub Khan entered the classroom, he was shocked to find Sathyanarayana

standing on the bench and the teacher still sitting on the chair. He asked the

teacher why he was not vacating the chair for the next class. The teacher

whispered that he could not get up because when he tried to get up, the chair,

too, rose up with him! The whisper was caught by the boys who quietly laughed

at the teacher's plight and said it must be due to Sathya's "Angel." Mahbub

Khan also suspected this was so, and suggested that the teacher ask Sathya to

come down. The teacher acquiesced. Immediately the chair fell away, and with

great relief he moved about unencumbered!

Years later, while relating this story, Baba said that He willed it to be so,

not out of anger - for He had no anger in Him - but purely to demonstrate

Himself and gradually prepare men's minds for the Announcement of His Mission

and Identity.

True to the nickname Brahmajnani, or Knower of God, which he had earned by his

true and pure nature, Sathya showed by precept and example that the little joys

of this limited world were quite inferior to the Supreme Bliss attained through

prayer, concentration, renunciation and contentment. He delighted only in

stories of saints endowed with these qualities.

As Kondama Raju's sons and one of his daughters shared the same home, Sathya

grew up in the midst of about twenty children. It was necessary that a child be

clean and honest in order to win Sathya's approval and get the peppermints he

"took" out of empty bags. Sathya was always the example they sought. Kondama

Raju once said that, when the tailor called to make the children's shirts out

of various types of dyed cloth which had been brought from a Bukkapatnam

market, Sathya would say, "Let each one be given the cloth he selects; what

remains is good enough for me."

In later years at the Prashanthi Nilayam, where Sai Baba lives when at

Puttaparthy, He said, "I have no lands to call My own and on which to grow My

food; every bit is registered already in the name of someone else. Just as

landless people wait for the village tank to get dry so that they may scratch

the bed with a plough and quickly grow something for themselves, I too grow My

food, namely, joy in the dried tank-beds of afflicted hearts."

Kondama Raju did not realize at the time the significance of Sathya's attitude

of renunciation; he just felt proud of the boy!

Even as a child, Sathya was against all sports and games, which caused cruelty

or pain. He would not allow his companions to witness the annual bullock cart

race held on the sands of the river bed during one of the village festivals. He

objected to the twisting of the tails of the bullocks and the flaying of their

backs with sticks for the vicarious glory of the owner.

Years later Sai Baba summoned back to the Prashanthi Nilayam, a party of

devotees who had left by bullock cart. They were proceeding across the river to

their cars, which were parked at a village on the other side of the bank. Sai

Baba waved His Blessings when they got into the cart; it crept out of the main

gate into the road beyond. Suddenly he sent someone running to bring the

devotees back to Him. He commanded them, "Listen! When you reach the sands, you

must all get down and walk across. The bullocks should not be forced to drag all

your weight through the sands; do you understand?"

Bear baiting, cock fighting, and other similar village entertainments Sathya

condemned, and his group of boys did not attend such activities.

Whenever a touring "talkie picture show" pitched its tent in those days at

Bukkapatnam or Kothacheruvu, it caused a stir for miles around. Village folks

sacrificed their small earnings to meet the expense of seeing as many films as

they could. Pedda Venkapa Raju often tried to take Sathya, together with the

other children, but Sathya protested and refused. He spoke of the degraded

standards of the films, how they vulgarized the Gods, and made a muddle of

music. He said they only exhibited the seamy side of family life and praised

cruelty, cunning, and crime.

Even to this day, Sai Baba is a relentless critic of the arts, especially of

literature and films which willfully drag ideals down in order to make money.

When he was ten years of age, Sathya formed in Puttaparthy a Pandari Bhajan

Group, or a group of carolers, for the presentation of songs of love and

devotion to God. The group was modeled after similar groups, which existed in

the neighboring villages. It consisted of about eighteen boys, uniformly

dressed in ochre robes. Each held a flag and wore jingle-bells as anklets. They

danced to the tones of folk songs and ballads depicting the yearning of pilgrims

for Darshan or the blessing by sight of the Panduranga Shrine. Sathya taught the

children in poetry and song the ordeals of the long pilgrimage, the pilgrim's

anxiety to reach the shrine quickly, and their joy at the sight of the pinnacle

of the temple.

He composed some songs from the legendary Life of Krishna known in India as the

Bhagavatham Puranam. In these songs the milkmaids complain to Yasoda, Krishna

normal">'s foster mother, of the unceasing pranks of Krishna. Yasoda chides the

boy for his thievery and mischief, but Krishna pleads innocence. With actresses

and actors of Sathya's group performing the parts of Yasoda and Krishna in the

center of the circle, and with others

playing the role of the milkmaids dancing on the circumference, the scene was a

great attraction in the village. Sathya played the role of either the mother or

the child. His dance, dialogue, and music added to the charm of the devotional

songs.

He also included with the traditional themes, songs concerning a pilgrimage to a

new Deity and new shrine of which no one had yet heard. No one had the faintest

idea who the new Deity was. The shrine, Shirdi and the Deity, Sai Baba? Sai

Baba of Shirdi? Who could it be? How did this little boy know of that

Mohammedan ascetic of Shirdi? The elders wondered as the children danced in the

streets.

The Bhajan Group collected a subscription of an anna per month from each house

for oil, parched rice, joss sticks, camphor, and other sundries needed for

worship. The oil was used for the lamp, which they carried with them when they

walked around the village. The parched rice was given to everyone as Grace. On

festival occasions they collected larger amounts, perhaps two annas, and

proudly bought a petromax light, which they brought all the way from

Bukkapatnam. The children of the Raju family and others provided the musical

accompaniments.

Sathya was the central figure of the group as organizer, treasurer, teacher,

composer, and leading singer. He portrayed every role so wonderfully that the

villagers could envision before their eyes Mathura and Brindavan where the Lord

lived as Krishna, and boy Krishna as a cowherd with His flute enchanting the

milkmaids, the cows, calves, the trees, and the river Yamuna.

Once, while a song describing the prowess and achievements of Narasimha, the

"Man-Lion Avatar of Vishnu," was being enacted and the line, "From out the

pillar of steel the giant Lion jumped," was sung, Sathya suddenly leaped like

the Lion-Man manifestation of the Lord personified. His face was transformed

into such ferocity, indignation, and benediction that the entire village was

frightened. No one, not even experts in wrestling holds, could control the boy.

At last, after a number of people had offered worship and waved camphor and

broken coconuts before the manifested Lord, Sathya became normal and resumed

the song.

This incident spread the fame of the Pandhari Bhajan Group. Word was spread that

God actually manifested Himself when this group sang and danced - as the people

of Puttaparthy witnessed! When cholera swept like a poisonous simoom over the

area and killed entire families in the surrounding villages, Puttaparthy did

not feel the blast of death. Wise men told one another that the divine

atmosphere generated by the Bhajan Group was responsible. Thereafter the group

was invited to many villages to sing in order to protect these places from the

anger of the Gods. Very often carts were sent as transportation for the group,

but sometimes the little saviors, carrying their food with them, had to walk

ten or twelve miles, resting during the hottest part of the day in some grove

along the way. The

people in these villages also heard the strange names of Shirdi and Sai Baba and

wondered what and who they were. Because they did not understand, they plunged

into their routine tasks again.

There were dramas and open-air operas where Puranik (Indian legend) themes were

represented by dialogue, dance, and costume, and where Rakshasas (demons),

Asuras (ungodly ones) , and the powers of evil were defeated by the forces of

Good. These dramas were written, rehearsed, and produced in various households

in which Sathya visited.

Sathya's father also became a celebrity on the popular stage, mainly for his

role of Banasura, a famous Titan of mythology, then even more for his

inimitable depiction of Yudhishthira, the eldest of the five sons of Pandu, the

holy follower of divine law and the never wavering adherent of the Lord.

A number of plays were produced at this period in order to collect funds for

famine relief. "Banasuram,Ushaparinayam,Draupadi Manasamrakshanam," and

"Kamsa Vadha" were the plays most preferred. These plays were concerning

mythology, the protection of the honor of Draupadi, and about Kamsa, the tyrant

king and persecutor whom Krishna finally killed. Young Sathya selected several

roles, especially those of Krishna and Mohini. The audiences applauded his

acting, singing, and above all, his dancing. There was a rhythm in his feet, a

sense of time and tune, and a litheness and loveliness they had seldom seen. To

them it seemed that he never touched the earth and that he belonged to an

ethereal sphere.

Within a short period he was enacting more and more roles. In the popular story

of Kanakatara, he played the role of the mythological Tara so effectively one

night that his mother, who was present in the audience in the tent, rushed onto

the stage to prevent what she believed to be the "execution" of Tara. She forgot

that it was all

make-believe!

Sathya sometimes assumed more than one role in the same play to satisfy the

audience. In the drama Krishna Lila, the sport of Krishna, he was Devaki, the

mother, the boy Krishna, and also the danseuse regaling King Kamsa with her

dances in Durbar Hall! At other times he played the role of Draupadi, wife of

the five Pandava

Brothers.

Soon a professional dramatic troupe visited the area and presented a number of

musical plays, which attracted large audiences. They put up their stage at

Bukkapatnam and later moved to Puttaparthy, Kothacheruvu, Elumalapalli, and

other large villages. Their performances became the talk of the entire

district. Their group included a girl dancer whose stage name was

Rishyendramani, who performed a series of gymnastic dances with music. Her

highlight was a dance in which she kept time to the music while balancing a

bottle on her head. She would bend low, sit down, lay herself on the floor,

raise her back up, and clasp with her teeth a kerchief placed on a matchbox on

the floor. With the kerchief between her teeth, she would then sit up, rise,

and standstill balancing the bottle on her head! A

challenging assignment! By a great deal of practice she had trained herself for

this difficult feat. No wonder she won the acclaim of her audiences.

Sathya went with others to witness the plays of these professionals and saw this

act. After he came home, he tried to do it himself. To the surprise of all, he

could do it easily! When the elders asked to be shown this new item in Sathya's

repertoire, he withdrew within himself and hesitated. But the news spread, and

some enterprising young men persuaded him to agree to perform this feat at

Kothacheruvu during the village carnival. They had the temerity to announce

that the famous Rishyendramani herself would appear, for they felt very

confident that Sathya could succeed in the impersonation and would not

disappoint them. Sathya's sisters dressed him as Rishyendramani, complete with

hair-do and personal decoration, and took him to Kothacheruvu. When Sathya's

father heard about it, he feared the

consequences of this foolhardy adventure into which Sathya had been inveigled.

The day of the performance arrived. The curtain rose, "Rishyendramani" tripped

her way into the Durbar Hall of Kamsa. The audience was too wild with

excitement to notice any difference. The famous dance number began. Sathya had

improved upon it and substituted a needle for the kerchief. The needle had to

be lifted by the eyelids! The "Rishyendramani" of that day accomplished it, but

not without dire consequences!

The carnival president insisted on pinning a medal on the dancer's person.

Sathya's mother and others who were at first thrilled with the tributes of

praise, the invitations to repeat the feat at other places, and the silver cups

and gold medals being pressed into Sathya's hands, became afraid of the "evil

eyes" which the boy provoked. Their tears proved true. His eyes developed a

dreadful affliction. They swelled, became red, and exuded tears profusely. His

temperature rose.

One night his mother heard heavy footsteps, as of one wearing wooden sandals,

entering the house and proceeding straight to Sathya. It was all very

mysterious. She got up, went to her boy's room, and placed her hand on his brow

to check his temperature. She found the fever gone! She brought a light and

looked into his eyes. They had improved beyond all expectations! Sathya was

quite well the next day.

CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brother M. Palaniswamy

/