Sri Sai Baba and Speech

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Sri Sai Baba and Speech

 

Telling the Truth Always- In our scriptures, repeated

stress is laid on speaking the truth always. Our

national motto is Satyameva Jayate (Truth only

succeeds). In Mahabharata, we have heard of Dharmaraj,

the eldest amongst Pandavas, who always spoke the

truth, but once in life he told a lie and, therefore,

had to spend few hours in hell. Sai Baba was always

practical and realistic in His teachings. He never

told His devotees by words not to tell a lie and speak

the truth always. But, the devotees knew that Sai Baba

was Antardnyani (knew the secrets of every being's

heart) and would certainly catch them, if they told a

lie, hence, they dared not to speak untruth in His

presence. Hemadpant in his original Marathi Shri Sai

Satcharita rightly says:

Asatya chalena Sainprati

Asatyen nahin Sainchi prapti

Asatyen janen adhogati

Antin durgati asatye

Adhyay 38, 138

(Untruth does not work before Sai and Sai cannot be

procured with untruth. Untruth means downfall. Untruth

in the end takes you to hell.)

Khote sanguni bhagena kaj

Sai Maharaj sarvasakshi

Adhyay 51, 159

(Success is not possible by telling a lie. Sai Baba is

omniscient.)

 

However, there are some instances in Sai Baba's life,

where Sai Baba Himself has told lies. In Ch. 27, Sai

Baba wanted to give one Ramdasi's Vishnu-Sahasra-Nama

(a book, giving a thousand names of Vishnu and held

second in importance to Bhagwat Geeta) to His devotee

Shama for initiating him in its recitation. So, He

called Ramdasi and told him a lie that He was

suffering from intense stomach-pain and asked him to

go to the bazaar and bring some sonamukhi (a mild

purgative drug). When Ramdasi went to bazaar, Sai Baba

got up from His seat, picked up the copy of

Vishnu-Sahasra-Nama and gave it to Shama-although he

was not willing to take it.

 

Similarly, in Ch. 33 for reaching Udi and Arati

urgently for the safe delivery of Nanasaheb

Chandorkar's daughter at Jamner, Sai Baba Himself took

the form of tonga-driver and told a lie to Bapugir,

that the tonga and the refreshments also was sent by

Nanasaheb Chandorkar himself from Jamner.

Now, how do we interpret such acts? Firstly, the

saints do not have to bear the consequences of their

acts - whether good or bad, since the saints do not

claim the doership of these acts to themselves.

Secondly, even if such acts are sinful, the saints are

prepared to bear their consequences for the sake of

their devotees. In the first instance, Sai Baba wanted

to favor His devotee Shama with some religious

practice and hence, He enacted this drama. Normal

advice by words would not have been that effective. In

the second instance, Sai Baba wanted to respond to

Nanasaheb Chandorkar's fervent prayers to save the

life of his pregnant daughter Mainatai, who was having

severe labor pains and not delivering at Jamner. In

this case, there was urgency to reach Udi and Arati

more than 100 miles away and that too in the night.

Hence, not only Baba prompted Bapugir to go to his

native place at that odd hour but helped him to reach

Jamner from Jalgaon Railway station in a tonga by even

speaking all sorts of lies to convince Bapugir. Thus,

saints would do anything to favour their devotees or

to help them in their calamities. Haven't we heard a

number of instances, where saints have taken on

themselves serious and painful diseases of their

devotees and suffered them willingly!

 

Sai Baba Himself in Ch. 7 had taken on Himself four

fully-developed bubos of Dadasaheb Khaparde's young

son and suffered them. How then saints would ever

hesitate to perform sinful acts for the sake of their

devotees and suffer the consequences if any?

Telling the truth - nothing but the truth - sometimes

becomes problematic in everyday life. Now a day there

is a shortage of change, while traveling in a bus or

rickshaw. The conductor or the rickshaw-driver always

demands the exact amount saying he has no change. Now,

even if we have the change, we would need it for the

return journey. So, we are tempted to tell a lie,

since telling the conductor or rickshaw-driver, that

we need the change for return journey will not work,

and thus telling the truth will end in serious

difficulties on our return journey. Actually, the

conductor or the rickshaw-driver himself, many a

times, bluffs, that he has no change. So, what should

we do? Follow the principle of 'Satyam Vad' (Tell the

truth always) or not?

 

 

 

(Contributed by Source: Shri Sai Leela Magazine, 1993)