BABA'S TAPAS OF PLANK VIGIL AT THE MOSQUE

[Guest guest]

BABA’S TAPAS OF PLANK

VIGIL AT THE MOSQUE

Once Baba talked

of the plank he used to lie upon. It was only 5 feet long and about 15 inches

broad and lamps were loosely placed on it. It was suspended from the rafters of

the ceiling of the mosque by weak shreds of cloth. The wonder was how it could

support him, and another wonder was how Baba could swing himself up into it (it

was hung up 6 or 7 feet high) and jumped down from it, without upsetting the

lamps and snapping the shreds. Das Ganu and others went to see the wonder and Baba, in anger

or disgust, broke the plank into pieces.

H.S. Dixit offered to give Baba a cot then to lie upon.

Baba: No. Am I

to lie on a cot, leaving Mahlsapathy on the floor?

Far better would it be that I should be on the floor

and that he should sleep higher.

Dixit: I

will give two planks, one for you and one for Mahlsa.

Baba: He will

not sleep on a plank. he will sleep only on the

ground. Sleeping on the plank is no joke, who will sleep keeping eyes open, all

awake like me? Only such a person can lie on the plamnk.

When

I lie down on the ground, I ask Mahlsapathy to sit by

me and keep his palm on my chest. So you see that a plank will be of no use to

him. ‘I lie down making mental Namasmarana.’

So, I say to Mahlsapathy, “Feel it by placing

your hand on my heart. If you catch me napping, wake me up.’ Such was and

is my order to him.

(THe ordinary sleep is a hindrance to the Yoga trance, it

resembles it in some respects, but the heart-beat at the Namasmarana

stage of trance differs from the heart-beat of natural sleep)

(Source Sai Baba Charters and

Sayings)

http://www.saileelas.org/books/babasayings.htm