Swami Vivekananda and Shri Saibaba (contd....)

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Non-Injury (Ahimsa)

 

" Never producing pain by thought, word and deed, in any Living being is

what is called Ahimsa, non-injury. There is no virtue higher than

non-injury. There is no happiness higher than what a man obtains by the

attitude of non-offensiveness to all creatures " (Vol. 1-189).

 

Sai Baba also preached non-injury all His life, He insisted on real

non-injury by thought, word and deed. He asked his devotees not to use

bitter and piercing words against anybody even if that person used them. He

advised his devotees that if anybody approached them for something and if

they did not want to give it to him, they may refuse but should never bark

(shout) at him like a dog. He asked his devotees not to be jealous of

anybody and not to aspire other man's (even own brother's) wealth and least

of all to fight for it. For this He narrated very useful parables (viz. the

story of two goats and story of the snake and the frog chapters 46 and 47).

He also condemned slandering and criticizing others actions and wasting time

over it. As to animals like cats, dogs and birds, He always preached

compassion towards them and encouraged feeding such dumb creatures Advice to

Mrs. Tarkhad in chapter 9 and to Mrs. Laxmibai Shinde in chapter 42. So much

so that when questioned whether injurious and wicked creatures like serpents

and scorpions be also, let loose without killing, He replied, " God lives in

all beings and creatures whether they be serpents or scorpions. Unless He

wills it, nobody can do any harm to others. So we should take pity and love

even such creatures and avoid killing them. The Lord (God) is the Protector

of all " , (chapter 22)

 

Religion

" The end and aim of all religions is to realise God (Vol. Vl-82). There are

differences in non-essentials but in essentials they are all one (Vol I,

318). That each tribe or nation should have its own particular God and think

that every other is wrong, is a superstition that should belong to the past.

All such ideas must be abandoned. " (Vol. II. 67)

 

''No man, no nation, my son, can hate others and live. India's doom was

sealed the very day they invented the word 'Mlenchchha' and stopped

communion with others " . (Vol. V. 52).

 

How true are these ideas in Sai Baba's case, who always preached equality

and brotherhood of all religions especially amongst Hindus and Muslims in

His days! Sai Baba never preached in favour of any particular religion but

preached the essentials of ALL religions such as truth, non-injury, love,

non-attachment to wealth, service to the poor and distressed and compassion

towards the lowest of human beings and animals. He discouraged His devotees

from changing their religions or for that matter their deity of worship or

Guru also.

 

Guru

“Through thousands of years of chiseling and modeling, the Jives of the

great prophets of yore came down to us; and yet, in my opinion not one

stands so high in brilliance as that life which I saw with my own eyes,

under whose shadow I have lived, at whose feet I have learnt every thing the

life of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, " (Vol. III. 312-13)

 

" Only the knower’s of Brahma are the spiritual teachers of mankind. This is

corroborated by all Scriptures and reason too. It is only the selfish

Brahmins who have introduced into this country the system of hereditary

Gurus, which is against the Vedas and against the Shastras " . (Vol. VI,

464-65)

 

Sai Baba also had similar love and regard for His Guru from whom He claims

to have learnt everything in his younger days. As to leaving a disciple to

carry on His task, we already know that Sai Baba did not follow this useless

tradition and preferred to work Himself through His tomb after leaving the

mortal body.

 

God

" From highest Brahman to the yonder worm, and to the very minutest atom,

every where is the same God, the All-Love friend; Offer mind, soul body at

their feet. These are His manifold forms before thee, Rejecting them, where

searches! thou for God? Who loves all beings, without distinction, He indeed

is worshiping best his God”.

(Vol. IV 496)

 

Source Shri Sai Leela June 1985.