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Sairam,

 

Happy BABA's day to you all. One more day in our life, to take another step towards the love of Sai.

 

For a person to be closer to BABA they have to follow HIS teachings, lead a humble life, do charity, be kind, compassionate and empathetic towards others feelings and troubles. When you do charity observe your feelings, why are you doing charity, to make yourself feel good, increase your position in the society and earn name and fame as a philanthropist? Or is it because you feel compassion, your heart reaches out to the troubles of the poor and want to share their worries and that is why you offer them money. One has to constantly evaluate the feelings and actions to see if one is right on the path that BABA asks us to follow. Simplicity, humbleness are valuable ornaments of a true devotee of BABA. Merely worshiping baba is not enough to call ourselves devotees, we have to live the life He wants us to lead. HEre is the message for the week.

 

 

"Dakshina - Mimansa

Now we shall close this Chapter with a few remarks about Dakshina. It is a

well-known fact that Baba always asked for Dakshina from people who went to see

Him. Somebody may ask a question, "If Baba was a Fakir and perfectly

non-attached, why should he ask for Dakshina and care for money?" We shall

consider this question broadly now.

First for a long time, Baba did not accept anything. He stored burnt matches and

filled His pocket with them. He never asked anything from anybody--whether he be

a devotee or otherwise. If anybody placed before Him a pice or two, He purchased

oil or tobacco. He was fond of tobacco, for He always smoked a bidi or Chilim

(an earthen pipe). Then some persons thought that they could not see the Saints

empty-handed, and they, therefore, placed some copper coins before Baba. If a

pice was placed before Him. He used to pocket it; if it was a two pice coin, it

was returned immediately. Then after Baba's fame had spread far and wide, people

began to flock in numbers; and Baba began to ask Dakshina from them. It is said

in the Shruti (veda) that Puja of the Gods is not complete, unless a golden coin

was offered. If a coin was necessary in the Puja of the Gods, why should it be

not so in the Puja of the Saints also? Ultimately, the Shastras laid it down

that, when one goes to see God, King, Saint or Guru, he should not go

empty-handed. He should offer something, preferably coin or money. In this

connection we may notice the precepts recommended by the Upanishads. The

Brihadaranyak Upanishad says that the Lord Prajapati advised the Gods, men and

demons by one letter "Da". The Gods understood by this letter that they should

practice (1) "Dama" i.e. self-control; the men thought or understood that they

should practice (2) "Dana" i.e. charity; the demons understood that they should

practice (3) "Daya" i.e. compassion. To men Charity or giving was recommended.

The teacher in the Taittiriya Upanishad exhorts his pupils to practise charity

and other virtues. Regarding charity he says, "Give with faith, give with

magnanimity, i.e. liberally, give with modesty, with awe and with sympathy. In

order to teach the devotees the lesson of charity and to remove their attachment

to money and thus to purify their minds, Baba extracted Dakshina from them; but

there was this peculiarity, as Baba said, that He had to give back hundred times

more of what He received. There are many instances, in which this has happened.

To quote an instance, Mr. Ganpatrao Bodas, the famous actor, says in his Marathi

autobiography, that on Baba's pressing him often and often for Dakshina, he

emptied his money-bag before Him. The result of this was, as Mr. Bodas says,

that in later life he never lacked money, as it came to him abundantly.

There were also secondary meanings of Dakshina, in many cases, in which Baba did

not want any pecuniary amount. To quote two instances - (1) Baba asked Rs.15/-

as Dakshina from Pro. G.G.Narke, who replied that he did not have even a pie.

Then Baba said, "I know you have no money; but you are reading Yoga-Vashistha.

Give Me Dakshina from that." Giving Dakshina in this case meant - `Deriving

lessons from the book and lodging them in the heart where Baba resides'. (2) In

the second case Baba asked a certain lady (Mrs. R. A. Tarkhad) to give Rs.6/- as

Dakshina. The lady felt pained, as she had nothing to give. Then her husband

explained to her that Baba wanted six inner enemies (lust, anger, avarice etc.)

to be surrendered to Him. Baba agreed with this explanation.

It is to be noted, that though Baba collected a lot of money by Dakshina, He

would distribute the whole amount the same day, and the next morning He would

become a poor Fakir as usual. When Baba took His Mahasamadhi, after receiving

thousands and thousands of Rupees as Dakshina for about ten years, He had only a

few Rupees in His possession.

In short, Baba's main object in taking Dakshina, from His devotees was to teach

them the lessons of Renunciation and Purification. " Satcharita chapter 14

 

BABA bless us and guide us always.

 

Sairam

Anitha Kandukuri

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