Message for the Week.

April 8, 2010

Sairam,

BABA bless us and guide us always. May our love towards Him many folds. We have done Satcharita parayana many times, but have we ever sat for a minute and asked ourselves - am I following what BABA has asked me to do? Introspection is the first stepping stone towards BABA. One who inspects their personal feelings, thoughts and ideas and aligns them with the teachings of BABA only such person is called true devotee of BABA. We can inspect our feelings from simple actions. BABA speaks about Dana, charity, let us inspect our feeling when we are doing service in the name of BABA. Do we have a sense of pride when we do charity, or we feel to be superior and others inferior. What emotions go through us when we do service. Do we feel that BABA's work cannot be done without us? Pride, ego, are the worst kind of vices which throws a man down to the bottom of the earth. One should do charity with a sense of gratefulness that BABA has given this opportunity to Serve HIM through serving others. Serve with awe, kindness, and humility. 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. " Chapter 14 Satcharita.

BABA bless us and guide us always.

Humble pranams

Sairam

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