Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Maha Samadhi Message - 15.10.2008

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SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA MAHA SAMADHI MESSAGE - 15.10.2008

 

In chapter 47 of the " Shri Sai Satcharitra " written by Late Shri

Govind Raghunath Dabholkar (Hemadpant), there is a story told by Shri

Sai Nath Maharaj to one of his devotees. Baba has depicted the story

as His own experience with two characters Veerbhadrappa (a snake) and

Bassappa (a frog) with whom He had relationship in their earlier

lives. As the story goes, Baba once heard the painful sound of a

frog, when he was moving in a village. Being moved by the painful

sound he searched for the frog and found him on the river shore and

saw that a snake was trying to swallow it. Baba had divine

capabilities of knowing the past, present and future of all those who

came in contact with him. On seeing the snake and the frog in the

situation of deadly animosity, he tried to separate them by reminding

them of their inimical relationship in their past life. Baba told the

snake i.e. Veerbhadrappa, that he and the frog had killed each other

in the past life due to a bitter rivalry. As a consequence of their

evil deeds, they were born in the form of a snake and a frog and

since their evil thoughts against each other had been carried forward

to the present life, they were unconsciously propelled to restart the

fight in this manner. He advised the snake to let go of the frog so

that the seed of enmity between them brought forward from the past

life is not carried forward to the next life. Listening to what Baba

said, Veerbhadrappa (the snake) released the frog (Bassappa) who

jumped to the river and escaped. This depiction is in the style of a

beautiful parable told to children in Hindu folklores. However, an in-

depth understanding would reveal that Shri Sai Nath Maharaj was

propounding the basic tenets of " Karma " (Karma Theory) of Indian

Spiritual Science.

 

The first principle is that the reactions of actions (good and evil

both) of the past lives are bound to come into play in the next life

(or lives). Those with whom one had good relationship in the past

life will be friends in the next life and those with whom one had bad

relationship in the past lives will become enemies. The second

principle is that the law of nature through its unseen mechanism will

bring them together and precipitate the good or bad events as

ordained from the past. The third principle is that due to the play

of " Maya " (Human Illusions created by nature) such human

relationships will be established in the form of any social

relationship e.g. friend friend, brother brother, husband wife,

master servant, father son, lover beloved etc. Such relationship can

even be extended to a human being animals / birds relationship or

animal animal relationship. Baba was categorical in making the

statement that no one develops some sort of a relationship with

another person unless there has been a relationship brought forward

from previous life (lives) even if one doesn't remember the past life

experiences. In our daily life we experience that many a times the so

called social relationships lead to unpleasant /acrimonious events.

We also experience that sometimes person(s) with whom we have no

family /social relationships become our best friends. History is full

of such instances of bitter animosity between fathers and sons,

brothers and brothers, husbands and wives leading to a miserable

state of existence and mutual destruction. Unless something is done

in the current life of the individuals to end this continued state of

antagonism, it will spread over few lives more.

 

Shri Sai Nath Maharaj therefore prescribed to the snake and the frog

that they should not indulge in further actions of rivalry and that

they should wipe-out the evil thoughts towards each other to burn the

seed of antagonism. This is what most of the spiritual masters like

Lord Buddha and Christ preached and practiced. In short, the

principle is to " Forgive and Forget " . Many people try to practice

this principle as advised by the masters in their life. However,

problems arise and the best benefit doesn't accrue to them due to

limited or partial understanding of this concept. In a set of

relationships people mostly try to adjust because of certain

social /economic compunctions and forgive the actual or perceived

injustice they think has been committed against them. Some people at

times think that they have forgiven when actually they haven't. The

act of forgiving can never be complete without forgetting. Such acts

of forgiveness can at best be termed as temporary solutions because

usually in unguarded or stressful moments the old negative thoughts

re-appear with double vengeance. It is difficult to forgive others

when one thinks that he is totally correct or is less blameworthy

than the other person who is totally wrong or mostly blameworthy. It

is more difficult for the person whose memory is more intense and

long lived to re-adjust /forgive his actual or perceived adversary.

 

It is easier for simple, egoless or light hearted people to wash-out

the feelings of hurt and naturalise / normalise the course of life.

The more the grudge one carries against someone, consciously and sub-

consciously, the more miserable he becomes, cloistered in the cave of

his memory. Psycho-analysis reveals that if one person intensely and

continuously picturises another person as his enemy, the other

person, even if he is not his enemy, will gradually develop adverse

feelings towards the originator of such negative thoughts. This is

the most common method of creating enemies through our sub-conscious

thought process. Similarly by generating positive thoughts towards

others one can create friends. " I can forgive, but I can't forget, is

only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to

be like a cancelled note tore in two and burned up, so that it never

can be shown against one " Henry W. Beecher. And Mahatma Gandhi

said " the weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the

strong " .

 

In view of what has been stated, one cannot but agree with the

prescription of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba given to His devotees while

narrating the story of Veerbhadrappa (a snake) and Bassappa (a frog).

The only way to get mental peace and evolution in life is to control

the negative thought processes generated in our mind so that one

doesn't create further negative 'Karma' which one has to suffer in

the same life or the next chain of lives. May Shri Sai bless us all

to get out of our negative 'Samskaras' reflected in our thoughts and

consequential activities.

 

Jai Sai Ram

 

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