LIFE OF SAI BABA
VOLUME II
PART II
V Anna Saheb Dabolkar
(Hemadpant)
BY
Sri B.N. Da tar. Home Minister, Govt. of India
H.H.B.V.
Narsimha Swamiji, the Founder-President of the All India Sai Samaj, Madras, has
requested me to write a foreword to this very interesting publication on Shri
Sai Baba's Apostles and Mission. I gladly do so in my personal capacity for a
variety of reasons.
In the first
place, I myself have been under the guidance of the Saint of Shirdi for the
last 18 years. In a way, Swamiji has been responsible for rousing in me a
desire to know Shri Sai Baba and to seek His Grace. It was in or about 1937
while both of us had been at the Ramanashrama at Tiruvannamalai that I came to
know that Swamiji had visited Shirdi and had been trying hard to collect
material for a detailed study of the mysteries of the manifold life of this
great saint. It was my conversation with him that enkindled in me a great
curiosity to visit Shirdi and to seek His Blessings. I did so early in 1938,
and have since then been visiting it off and on.
I have read,
amongst others, all the publications of Swamiji on Shri Sai Baba and the
experiences of His direct disciples.
To my good
fortune, we have ever been in touch with each other. I have learnt not merely
to respect but to revere Swamiji for the selfless and enthusiastic manner in
which he has been working day and night during the last 20 years over the
spread of the Divine Message of Shri Sai Baba. His missionary zeal in this
cause has been to me a matter of deep spiritual gratification.
Swamiji has been ever in
communion with the Saint and Mystic that Shri Sai Baba was, and, if I were to
say so, Swamiji has been growing young in his advancing years, because of his
complete dedication to the cause of Shri Sai Baba.
His writings
are marked by a great critical and rational spirit that goes to the core of
things without disturbing one's faith in and reverence for the things of the
spirit. In fact, these feelings are strengthened thereby. That has always to be
so if one were to know correctly and adequately the purpose behind the lives
and the mission of such Avatars.
In an earlier
publication on the life of Shri §ai Baba, Swamiji has, in a very erudite but
entertaining manner, placed before us the fundamentals of our faith and
spiritual traditions. One knows by his writings not only the salient features
of the lives of great saints like Shri Ramana Maharshi and Shri Sai Baba, but
also realises, as if by a God-given glimpse, the great purpose or purposes for
which these high Souls descended to the earth and fulfilled in their own ways
the Divine promise of maintaining righteousness in and uprooting wickedness
from society.
During the last 20 years, thanks to
Swamiji's energetic propaganda and publicity, Shri Sai Baba has attracted
devotees from far and near, as also from all sects, communities and religions.
They come from all sections of the society and, in particular, from its
intelligentsia. In the case of the latter, one has to carry them across the
fields of doubt and scepticism before they reach the other shore of spiritual
enlightenment, and are safely and for ever established on the bedrock of faith
in and devotion to the Divinity that Shri Sai Baba was and is.
The present
volume gives us a glimpse into the lives of the immediate and illustrious
devotees and followers of Shri Sai Baba. They came from all faiths and while
achieving blessedness and maintaining complete devotion to the Saint, ever
remained enlightened members of their religions. Almost all of them had the good
fortune of having known the Saint, at close quarters while He was living on
this earth in flesh and blood.
It is to me, as
it will be to other readers, a matter of great spiritual satisfaction to know
how these direct disciples of the Saint came under His influence and protection
and achieved blessedness.
Shri Sai Baba
never believed in what can be called a formal initiation, I know, however, from
the experiences of many including that of my humble self, that, in fact, there
is such an initiation, though of an imperceptible but highly effective type.
The moment you go under His influence you become a changed man and are ever
convinced that all your burdens are borne by him, that you feel so light on
account of His guidance, and that, at the same time, so purposefully united
with Him, and through Him, with the Higher Forces that are working in the
universe for the uplift of mankind.
I deem it a
privilege to confess that I have learnt many new and stimulating things from a
perusal of this great publication. It has in a way strengthened the impressions
that I have formed from Gandhiji's writings on spiritual matters.
I, therefore,
very gladly recommend this book to all those that seek Divine Light and
guidance.
Om Tat Sat.
B.N. Datar.
Bihar
Governor's Camp
To
B.V.N. Swami
Dear Friend,
I have your two
letters from Madras and also the second volume of the Life of Sai Baba.
It is only recently that hagiology is being studied rationally and scientifically. Otherwise it was a matter of 'take it or leave it'. Those who had faith believed everything blindly. Those who were sceptic scoffed both at the faith and the object of faith.
Today, I think
it would be unscientific to reject anything simply because it has not yet been
explained or it is not obvious. Books such as 'Man the Unknown' by Dr. Alexis
Carrel have opened the eyes even of the most critical people to the unknown
powers that lie behind man's apparent consciousness.
From that point
of view the publication of authentic lives and incidents that have taken place in
connection with saints is a first step towards trying to understand the sources
of saintly power and saintly achievement. The two volumes, therefore, on Shri
Sai Baba should be welcomed by all those who are interested in "man the
unknown".
Yours sincerely
R.R. Diwakar
Sai Baba
is indeed an ocean unfathomable and illimitable. One can pick up any direction
and go as far as one likes and yet not exhaust Sai. As for the depth, human
beings cannot get to the bottom of Sai either as to the number of his acts or
to the extent to which they can be interpreted as benefiting humanity. Even the
surface of the field or sea of Baba is absolutely uncharted. The human
combination with the divine is unlimited and defies definition and description.
No one is yet able to say what exactly are the origins of Baba, the early
environment, and the early and later forces moulding the entity called Baba and
resulting in the ultimate product now known to us as Sai Baba. An attempt has
been made previously to describe his earlier origins and early influences, but
such attempts must always remain very imperfect and superficial. Something has
been said or written but when one goes through all the matter till now written,
one still feels dissatisfaction because from any point of view, the matter
given is certainly not sufficient and certainly not satisfactory. An attempt
has however to be made to understand what we can pick out from what is
available.
Baba's entire
life, to say nothing of the beginnings, is shrouded in mystery. Nobody knew his
father or grandfather or family or even to what community by birth he belonged.
Some were so much staggered at this difficulty that they propounded a theory
that Baba was "Ayonija" (not born of woman), that is as much as to
say he was produced like Minerva from the head of Jupiter. But in modern days,
people are not always prepared to accept "Ayonijatva" for any
person they have seen. Baba himself has furnished particulars enough to explode
the Ayonija theory, and hence an actual attempt has been made to explain
what the heredity of Baba was and what the earliest environment and forces
acting upon him were. In spite of the scarcity of material, an explanation has
been given of how Baba grew up to be what he became in the strangest possible
manner. Born of Brahmin parents of a very poor and pious sort, and having been
handed over to a fakir for his sustenance and care at the very early age of one
year or so, Baba seems to have been fitted by Providence to overcome all
differences, especially differences of race, religion, creed, etc. The fakir
who took charge of him and kept him for five years seems to have been a very
pious, real and loving fakir, and the impress of that fakir left on Baba is to
further purify, and deify the pre-existing elements which may be supposed to be
inherent in him, as a result of age-long growth (Bahunam Janmanaam ante,
Jnaanavan maam Prapadyate). Differences between God and God, caste and
caste, race and race could not possibly exist in that fakir's ideas and
upbringing. But the essence of the fakir's training seems to have been the
immersing entirely of the little Baba into the loving care of the fakir. To
Baba, "that fakir" meant always the living God that looks after every
one of us with equal mercy. That evidently represents or sums up the earliest
span of life that Baba had. Providential arrangement for Baba has always been
to promote the divine aim of his life, namely, the realisation that God is Love
and Love is God, the unification of the different trends of Indian thought and
life in matters of religion, etc. The fakir, who died when Baba was aged about
five, directed his wife to take Baba to a great and pious Brahmin saint who was
also a Prince, namely, Gopal Rao Deshmukh, Prince of Selu, who was at the same
time a Prince of piety, a master of devotion, and "infused
contemplation", one who had thoroughly identified himself with God in the
form of Tirupati Venkatesa. This Gopal Rao, known as "Venkusa",
because he was identified with Tirupati Venkatesa whom he worshipped, became
the all-in-all of Sai Baba, the food giver, the soul giver, the Guru, the
protector, the friend, and everything to Baba. Baba loved him with ananya
prema, as the only thing he cared for and that love was fully responded to.
'Tvameva Sarvam Mamadeva deva'. Such a person who was very broad and
universal in his views, while deeply feeling the essence of God or religion
within himself, naturally promoted Baba's peculiar way of looking at God as the
one great beneficial, powerful loving father supporting all people equally with
equal kindness. This was his Guru.
Providence
again directing Baba's life cut short his novitiate under this princely Guru
when he was just getting to be a man or major according to Indian ideas, that
is, arriving at the age of 16. Baba had to part with him under peculiar
circumstances. The parting was indeed painful, but it was a necessary part of
divine ordinance for Baba and for the country. Before parting, Baba was vested
with all the powers as well as the piety of the Guru, and Baba thereafter
passed into obscurity, became a fakir among fakirs, and had the apparently
severe trial of having nothing to feed upon with no one to care for him. But
really that was never the case. There was always God to look after him, and God
always provided for all his needs, temporal and spiritual, both for body and
soul. Vairagya and contentment, trust and calm, were the food for the soul;
Baba got on and felt nothing was wanting. This training was a continuation of
the two previous novitiates in order to ripen Baba for the great and grand work
he had. We have faintly described this in previous publications. What now
required to be done further about Baba to enable persons to understand Baba
more fully is to set out his task of dealing with the world. For a fakir who
was resting on God's care and getting on whether he got or did not get food or
places for rest, no work or duty, according to ordinary spectators, existed or
belonged to him. Yet the ways of providence are strange. It is this unconcerned
fakir that must become the all-in-all of the entire world, certainly of the
entire millions that came into contact and are coming into contact with him.
How that happened or could happen is itself a very interesting chapter of
Baba's biography.
Baba who did
not care for anything had to be brought into contact with the devout and
religious. There must be some devout and religious person first to pick him
out, discover his inner worth and start his worship. Hence the development of
Baba's work must start of with an account of how his worship started and later
on how it spread, and still later what the mysterious ramifications and
implications of this worship were. The person worshipped must be really
God-like. Many a person is worshipped on account of certain social or other
position or level but is unable to exert any divine influence upon the
worshipper. In Baba's case, Providence ordained that the worship should be real
and effective. The worshipper, if he intends to attract to himself the entire
force and personality of the object worshipped, must be pure, sincere and
earnest, must reach great heights of faith and surrender, and must lose
himself, his individuality in the object of worship, till ultimately he becomes
that. Brahmavit Brahmaiva Bhavati (that is, the worshipper becomes the
object of worship) is the aphorism that applies to the case. Such a worshipper
was needed to draw Baba out of his cocoon.
Baba had by his
previous training fully developed himself in self-realisation and God-realisation.
His Guru had blotted out (see BCS 72A) his ideas that he was the body and made
him realise that he was nothing but the soul, Paramatma or Parameswar. In Baba,
this Parameswar essence of his began to beam out with increasing effulgence.
The more he was worshipped, the more the divine in him beamed out, asserted
itself and proved itself to be really divine. And the proof is still going on.
So the next process or stage of Baba's biography must be the sketching of how
the poor beginnings of worship by some one's lucky discovery of his merit let
others to copy that example, and how, by observing the increased benefits
flowing from such worship millions adopted that worship and began to yield
themselves completely to the divine influence of the object worshipped so as to
become not merely successful and happy in the world but also to become
themselves expressions of love, the power of the inner Being of the entire
Universe. Baba's nature or influence is simply indescribable, its extent and
nature cannot easily be sketched out and the number of persons carrying on his
worship now is beyond calculation. But in the beginning they were few and some
of them could be called apostles. Therefore the stage has now been reached in
Baba's biography for piecing out a few and terming them apostles of Baba and
describing their work and also for describing the mission which Baba has and
which Baba is increasingly manifesting. It is difficult to stop the sketching
out of lives at any particular set of facts. But that difficulty has to be
faced. So only just enough of the innumerable facets of Baba's life are pieced
out here to present a rough outline or broad idea of Baba's apostles carrying
out his mission, carrying on the work that Baba was intent upon. That being the
object of this present volume, readers are requested to overlook the numerous
defects in the presentation or other defects and to make the best of what is
presented and putting their hearts into it, derive as much benefit as they can
or as they care to.
A word or two
will not be amiss here about the object of this work and the manner of
approach. Previous works on Sai Baba have sometimes been taken up by readers or
reviewers and approached in a spirit that might be considered natural but
cannot be considered by the author as being the most proper or appropriate
approach. A book on Sai Baba written by one who has drunk deep from the
fountain of Sai's grace, wisdom and life must naturally have an abundant
recognition of the place Sai fills up in one's life. Sai completely envelops
the devoted sadhaka and leaves no part of him unaffected or uncovered.
Therefore one might be under the impression that the life of Sai should deal
with every possible point of view for a serious minded sadhaka. The fact
however remains that many of our readers are not sadhakas at all nor sadhakas
of the most earnest type. Some wish to get a cursory knowledge of a great saint
whose name is heard here, there, and everywhere in this country especially. A
sort of genteel curiosity, a desire to be acquainted with grand things, just to
be acquainted, without any particular idea of being influenced thereby, is the
outlook of many a reader. There is nothing to be said against that sort of
approach, but a person who is in dead earnest about life, who has tasted the
power of Sai to deal with the profoundest and deepest of life's problems cannot
rest satisfied with that approach. A serious reader treats Sai as the Guru
primarily and next as the all-in-all of himself and of every one who is prepared
to surrender to him. Dealing with a Guru naturally necessitates the examination
of the general principles governing gurus and Sai Baba, and the attempt at
defining what the gurus and sishyas are and what their mutual relations should
be. This naturally entails an examination of accepted authorities on this
subject and free quotation from their dicta. Such quotations have not been
particularly pleasing to certain readers, and one review pointed out that the
interest in the book (meaning the story interest) was lost by what was
considered to be an unnecessary intrusion of extraneous or foreign matter. But
one, who resorts to a thorough study of a saint for the most complete
assimilation of his (saint's) influence for the best effects in one's own life,
would welcome such so-called digressions and episodes. A serious minded author
has to keep in view all sets of readers, especially the more serious readers
who wish to get the greatest benefit out of the book.
A saint's life
is the milk of ocean from which a few interesting bits of saintly biography, a
collection of apothegms, counsels, reflections and other miscellaneous items
might be extracted. But the main interest is still the milk of ocean which will
yield an infinite and inexhaustible supply of divine nectar. One important
truth that has been gaining strength in the author's mind, as he studied more
and more of Baba and came more and more fully into contact with him, is the
fact that entire portions of serious scriptures already studied by him or are
still being studied by him are covered up by the saint's life, his
leelas, his sayings, etc. The essentials of the Bhagavad Gita for instance,
which has always been regarded as a valuable religious mine, were and are found
to be nothing but the embodiment of what is contained in Sri Sai's life. Sri
Krishna and Jesus Christ are better understood after studying Sai Baba's life
than without such study. Interpretations of what is found in the Bible and in
the Gita occur to one as one deals with Sai Baba and as one goes on
surrendering to Sai Baba's influence and seeing what happens. It is no
exaggeration to say that without the fleshy embodiment of religion in the life
and activities of Sai and kindred saints, religion would be a dead mass of
writings or thoughts and would leave humanity cold and helplessly struggling in
the mire of darkness and ignorance. Sri Krishna is not usually understood by a
person who merely reads the Gita, Mahabharata, or the Bhagavata. What Sri
Krishna was and what he said puzzled this author and puzzled so many other
persons, and, after seeing what Sai Baba said and did, all these puzzles
disappeared, and clear light dawned upon everyone. When Sai said, 'I am Sri
Krishna, I am Lakshminarayan, I am Vittal, I am Allah, I am God', etc., a moslem
reader of Sai Baba's Gospel declared Baba a madman, but to the author and
kindred spirits, dicta like these found in our ancient scriptures began to
produce a clearer impression on the hearts. 'Aham Brahmasmi' sounds most
queer at first. But Sai's life shows what 'Aham Brahmasmi' or 'Maim
Allah hum' means and how one can have that feeling and yet live amongst
fellow creatures. The description given of a perfectly realised Brahma Jnani or
Iswara Bhakta found in the Bhagavad Gita and other sources is found to apply
word for word, letter for letter, to the case of Sri Sai and get a meaning only
when we see how Sai Baba (or for that matter any other great soul like Him)
acted. 'Sarva bhuta Hite ratah' (interested in the welfare of every
creature) is given as the description of a perfect realiser or perfect devotee.
One must actually see or feel what Sai did and said to get an idea of 'Sarva
bhuta Hite ratah' or Sarvabhutatma bhutatma. God's omnipotence and
omniscience and equal mercy towards all and immanence in all creatures (Aham
Atma) are well known to the intellect of religious students, but for
realising them at heart, one must devote one's deepest attention to what Sai
said and did. A person like Sri H. S. Dixit. who noted almost every minute of
his life after he approached Sai Baba, that Sai knew everything and looked
after everything connected with himself, whether he was at Bombav or Shirdi or
elsewhere, and controlled events for securing the greatest happiness of
himself or other devotees and their families, would at once form the conclusion
that Sai was divine, and could say with perfect sincerity as H, S. Dixit did
when Sai Baba asked a question as to what took place in the wada, 'Baba, you
knew it all.' There was nothing unknown to Baba whether as to the contents of
any book or as to the contents of the minds of persons near or remote or as to
the events that happened in any place at any time. The distant past, the
present, and the remote future or the near place and the remote were all one.
This we find is the description given of a divine personality in the Gita—(7)
26.
Vedaham
samatitaani vartamanani cha arjuna,
Bhavishyaani
cha bhutaani maam tu veda nakaschana.
This means, (Krishna said) 'I know the
past, the present, and the future. But no one knows Me'. The same has been said
by Sai and the same has been proved by him in innumerable instances. This is as
to knowledge. Similarly as to power, equality of vision, kindness, etc., Sri
Upasani Maharaj correctly summed up the way in which people derived the notion
that Baba was God in these words of 'Sai Mahimna Stotra' composed by him in
1912—
Aneka aascruta aatarkya leela vilaasaih
Samaavishkrita iscana bhaasvatprabhaavam Ahambhaavaheenam prasanna aatmabhaavam
Namaami iswaram sadgurum sainatham.
This means, 'I
bow to Sadguru Sainath who is God, who manifested or betrayed his divinity by
many inscrutable, unheard of, miraculous leelas, who yet has no egotism
(ahambhava) and who is benignly gracious'. This Upasani's process of arriving
at and appreciating Sai's divinity is adopted almost unconsciously by hundreds
of persons in their every day life, after Baba left the flesh. All of them with
one voice acclaim Sai as Divine, and that is the same as saying that He is Sri
Krishna or Sri Rama or any other name or form that one has been applying or
adopting to denote divinity, c.f. Sairupadhara Raaghavotamam Bhakta kama
kalpatamtn. There are numerous, or one might say innumerable, instances of
Baba's conduct and mode of life running on exactly similar lines to those of
Sri Krishna or Sri Rama in respect of their divinity. It is thus that the
conviction gained greater strength and depth in the mind of this author that,
apart from name and form, Divinity is the same, whether manifested in Sai Baba
or in Sri Krishna or for that matter in Jesus Christ etc. Thou art human and
divine' is a statement that can be applied to all these. The divine portion
within the human frame has so powerfully radiated its light as to throw out or
drown out the human side and impress on us that we are dealing with the divine
when dealing with Sai Baba as with the other great names mentioned above. The
divine and the human blend together and are both necessary to make up the
entity that gives human beings their impression of God. Without the human
element, no approach is possible, and without the divine element, the approach
is worthless, for we do not wish to approach mere finite entities like human
beings but rather wish to approach the divine, though the divine may be
enshrouded for the time being in a human casing.
Therefore, the
author has felt that if any work is written about such a divine person and if
the author is able to express or shadow forth what is really divine in him,
then the work should be considered to be highly imperfect or useless if the
reader is not impressed in the same way as the author has been with the
divinity of the subject and the reader is not enabled to derive at least as
much benefit from a study of Baba and contact with him as the author has had. A
properly written life of Sai (like all saintly biography c.f. Sant toch Dev,
i.e. Saint is himself God) would therefore be a scripture in itself. One
should rise from that study with the feeling that he has been through scripture
and mentally keep in touch with God and derive all benefit necessarily flowing
from such contact. The benefits are temporal, intellectual, moral, spiritual,
etc. There is no limit to the benefit one can derive from such contact.
Therefore one would expect that a proper book on such a subject as Sai should
attract the earnest soul to read it over and over again, may be scores of
times, without exciting any feeling of tiredness or disgust. One ought, on the
other hand, to experience increasing delight and increasing joy at noting that
new readings open up new lights and vistas before the mind's eye and that
benefits are derived over and over again. Even in respect of poetic classics,
e.g. Hamlet or Sakuntala, such experiences are derived by enthusiastic souls. A
study of holy lives properly written must have at least a similar effect. It is
the ambitious aim of this writer to put forward as perfect a study as is
possible of this great and wonderful Being that is the subject of this volume.
To some it may
be surprising that an account of the universalistic Sai movement and its
leaders should begin with Mahlsapathy, an uncultured poor village goldsmith.
But that fits in with the movement starting from the obscure wretchedly poor
hamlet of Shirdi in a nook of a nookshotten Kopergaon taluk (Kopergaon means
corner village) and also with the lodestar or dynamo of the movement being Sri
Sai, an unknown" and supposedly crazy fakir as he was taken to be at
first. If absence of literary culture were an objection to Mahlsapathy being
the leader of the army of Sai bhaktas, it must be applicable equally to Sai
himself, the centre or pole star of the Sai movement. Sai who knew everything
had no school or book education; no University conferred its diplomas on him.
The man who began his worship (M) had only the elementary education which the
village veranda schools impart. He would however read his castemen's Bible,
namely, Mahlsapathy Purana, and would carry on the traditional worship of
Mahlsapathy at home and abroad. In one respect, it is a fact of happy augury
that the person who started Sai worship was a pious and orthodox Hindu, who
first raised the orthodox objection to Baba's stepping into and residing at the
Khandoba temple in his charge, but soon developed into the most zealous admirer
and ardent worshipper of Baba. It is this zealous admiration and ardour of the
highly virtuous goldsmith that forced Baba to reverence him in turn and to
accept the flowers, sandal, and other things placed on his feet by way of
homage. His self dedication and great attachment to Sai Baba were irresistible
for a large-hearted soul like Sai, and so he (Mahlsapathy) was the first and
only person allowed for a long time to worship Sai. The worship no doubt was
hardly worship at the beginning. It is difficult to distinguish worship from
regard, reverence, and honour evidenced by offer of flowers, sandal, and
eatables. Worship has grown throughout the world out of regard, reverence, and
a desire to placate. All these were in Mahlsapathy, and his placing flowers and
sandal at the feet of Baba and offering him milk were obviously marks of
respect. Sai Baba the fakir could not object to them even though these were
offered in the Mosque. When these grew definitely more and more like worship,
then Baba himself felt how incongruous Hindu worship of himself was in the
Mosque, though it had to grow and develop from there. Its growth in the Mosque
turning it finally into a "Dwarka-mayee" controlled entirely
by a Hindu Board reminds us of a small shoot of a banyan creeping through the
cleft of a rock, which a plant cannot easily go through; but yet the banyan
grows through it and pushes the pieces of rock aside and grows into huge
dimensions. Such was the growth and development of the Hindu puja of Baba.
Mahlsapathy the weak Bhikshuk was pre-eminently fitted to be the person who
should play the part of the banyan seed. Hence it is not inappropriate to begin
the account of Sai history and Sai movement and its leaders with an account of
Mahlsapathy.
Mahlsapathy
was, as already stated, a hereditary goldsmith (sonar) of the village of
Shirdi- The sonars vie with Brahmins and others in their social and religious
observances and sometimes style themselves Brahmins and wear the sacred
thread. Even in that community, he was noted for his fervent devotion to his
tutelary deity Khandoba (known also as Mahlsapathy). Mahlsapathy Purana was his
Bible or Ramayana for daily study and for sacred reading at the periodical
gatherings of sonars and at the temple (family temple). Every year he went on a
pilgrimage of 150 miles to distant Jejoori carrying a Kavadi or palki along with a band to worship at the
great temple of that deity. Full fruition of Mahlsa bhakti resulted in his
getting that god's obsession in trance (Avesa); and oracular utterances came
from that god through his lips. He was Khandoba. He was perfectly pure,
straightforward, righteous, and truthful, for only such a guileless person can
be favoured by the god coming on his body (Avesa). He was fairly free from
worldly desires. The family had a scanty income from the voluntary offerings at
their temple which went to the temple maintenance; and all that he owned was a
mud house in the village for residence, yielding no income, and 71/2 acres of land
evidently barren land without water supply, which also yielded practically
nothing. The very old building outside the village, the Mahlsapathy temple, a poor mud structure, was dedicated
to the public or to God. To eke
out his living therefore he had the hereditary profession of a
goldsmith. But in a
poor village with very few houses
and very few visitors,
even this brought very little income.
Mahlsapathy was not much perturbed about it, being absorbed in his
religious ideas and practices. He had
frequent Avesa, i. e.,
visions and trances with
obsession; and his goal in life
like that of most pious Hindus, was to get free from
the cycle of rebirths
(Samsara) and attain
Liberation (Moksha) through
the grace of Khandoba. Khandoba is an Avatar of Siva
and thus the
Grantor of liberation. 'Moksham Ichchet
Maheswarat' {which means, 'If you want liberation, go to
Maheswara—Rudra or Siva), is the popular Neeti
sloka. To achieve
this goal, Mahlsapathy, besides having a satvic temperament, had the great help of Sat Sangha, i.e.,
contact with holy men (Sadhus, Saints, etc.) (Cf.B.S- XI (II)
25). Though conservative he was
not fanatical; he had
no hatred of Moslems of men of other faiths. On the other hand, he and other friends of his own temperament, viz., Kasiram Simpi and Appa
Bhil, used to receive and help not only Hindu saints
such as Devidas, Janakidas, etc., but
also fakirs when these visited
the village or stayed there.
Kasiram and Appa had some
means, but poor Mahlsapathy offered his
services and zeal, and
these three worked
together. It was
Mahlsapathy's good
fortune, due perhaps to
Rinanubandha, that he had very close contact with Sri
Sai Baba for a very long
period-over 40 (nearly 50) years. It
was about 1872 perhaps that
Sai Baba entered the
village along with a "Barat", i.e. a bridegroom's party of Moslems headed by Chand Bhai, Patel of Dhupkeda (in the "Nizam's
State"). Then Sai Baba separated from the marriage group very near
Khandoba temple at the outskirts of Shirdi and sauntered along almost till the
threshold of Khandoba temple. Mahlsapathy, who was inside worshipping Khandoba,
noticed Baba's presence and, with usual civility and regard, invited him to
sit. After a few minutes, the fakir Baba remarked- "How secluded and quiet
a place is the Khandoba temple, best fitted for a Fakir to be in". Then it
was that Mahlsapathy put his conservative back up and protested against the
proposal that a Moslem should reside in Khandoba temple which in his opinion
was unthinkable. Most Moslems are iconoclasts, (i.e. breakers of images) and,
therefore, Mahlsapathy prevented Baba from entering the temple which contained
the images of Khandoba etc. Finding Mahlsapathy's objection to be natural, Baba
said, 'God is one for Hindus, Moslems, and all, but, as you object to my entry,
I shall go'. So saying Baba went away.
Baba in his
earliest days was acting in ways wholly unintelligible to the villagers, and
even Mahlsapathy considered that he behaved at times like a mad man (See M's
reminiscences). But while others lost their respect for Baba on that account,
Mahlsapathy always had great regard for Baba, perhaps remembering, as many
Hindus do, that there is always a class of saints known as the Unmattha
siddhas, crazy saints. Anyhow, the occasional crazy conduct of Baba at least in
the view of Mahlsapathy and some others did not bulk large enough to prevent
the great esteem which the general conduct of Baba evoked in serious and
thoughtful minds, Baba was an absolute
"Vairagya Purusha'' and never cared
for wealth or women.
Mahlsapalhy, being himself highly
detached i.e. of a vairagya
temperament and not being overned by
lust or other low urges, could easily appreciate Baba who
had the same virtues of purity
and non-attachment in a higher degree and therefore,
from the very beginning was drawn to
baba. Other people began to
worship Baba only
when they saw Baba's
psychic powers e. g. when he turned
water into oil to feed his lamps, and then they regarded him as God. But
Mahlsapathy esteemed Baba
for his good qualities of purna
satva and vairagya, that is, purity and
non-attachment; and he found that compared
even with Devidas, Janakidas,
and other saints with whom Baba
was often keeping company; Baba shone
brilliantly, and that
even those saints,
highly regarded Baba.
So, Mahlsapathy and his friends
considered Baba as well fitted to be a Guru for themselves. Mahlsapathy in that group was the first to
honour and then to worship Baba. He went
to Baba's Mosque and
placed flowers and sandal on Baba's feet or neck and offered him milk. Baba would not allow
others to do even this; only Mahlsapathy was allowed to do it. This developed later into regular puja by the use of sandal paste and flowers on
Baba's feet, neck, and finally on his forehead also. Even after that, local magnates like Nana Saheb
Dengle, who wanted to do Baba's puja,
were not allowed to do it. Baba
would tell them: 'There
is the pillar in this Dwarakamayi
(Mosque). Do puja to the
pillar”. That of course, they did not care to do. Nana Saheb Dengle later requested the
intersession of Dagdubhai, a constant companion of Baba and, encouraged
by his words, did puja and
became Baba's second
worshipper, Baba gradually
allowed others to do his puja, and then Baba's puja became general. Few
realised the part played by Mahlsapathy as the pioneer of Sai puja and the Sai
movement.
Mahlsapathy's
contact with Baba was on very close terms. By reason of the
death of his only son (in the eighties
of the last century
perhaps) and his
having only three daughters, he
was disgusted with life. His land
yielded nothing, and
the goldsmith's profession
yielded also practically nothing.
So, he was ready for the orders
of his own
Ishta Devata, Khandoba. Khandoba came upon him,
that is, possessed his
body, and gave him Drishtanta, that
is, visions. In the
first vision, he was told that
he was to take Khandoba (i.e.
movable images) from the Khandoba
temple to his own
house,
and worship him there with concentration. In another vision, Khandoba appeared as an old Brahmin and said to him, “What? Can
you not get your bread without your profession
of goldsmith?[1]” Then
Mahlsa-
pathy
answered the vision.
'Yes. I shall give
up'. Then the vision said,
'Touch my feet, and hold
to my feet This
meant evidently,
'Hereafter, regard your subsistence as being dependent purely
upon your holding to my feet and not upon your doing goldsmith's work*.
From that time forwards, he gave up
goldsmith's work in perfect trust (NISHTA AND SRADDHA) and lived by begging,
that is, he became really a Sanyasi
"Monk" or Bhikshaikari, though living with a family of a wife and
three daughters. Being disgusted with
life, he did not care to sleep
at home for that
would develop his family cares
and burdens, i.e. Samsara, still further. He enjoyed Baba's Company day and night and was greatly benefitted thereby.
At the Mosque and at the chavadi, Baba slept on alternate nights and to
both places Mahlsapathy went and had his
bed along with Baba.[2]
Mahlspathy's main work
was to be
with Baba. and he never failed
to be with and sleep with Baba. But
on one occasion, early in
life, about 1896,
Baba himself said, “Arre Baagat,
listen to my fakiri words, which are always true. You are coming and sleeping here and not with
your wife. But you have got only
daughter (the only son he had
must have died
before 1896.) Daughters are
like tamarind fruit but a
son is like a mango fruit. You go and take bed in your house, and you
will then get a son," In spite of
Baba's pressure, he declined to go
home as he did not want his
family (samsara) to increase.
But his friend Kasiram Simpi compelled him and took him home and left him there. Thereafter
he took his bed in his house. He started it on the Janmashtami of 1896, and on
the next Janmash-tami (1897) a son was born to him. Baba's words are ever true
and never false. But, having got a son, he resumed his old vow of not
developing Samsara and ever afterwards slept only with Baba, in the Mosque, and
at the chavadi. Mahlsapathy would spread his own cloth and on that Baba (when
not lying on the plank) would lie on one half, and he would lie on the other.
Baba also gave him very hard duties which others could not possibly undertake.
Baba would tell Mahlsapathy, "You had better sit up. Do not go to sleep.
Place your hand on my heart. I will be going on with remembrance of Allah, Nama
Smaran, that is, a half conscious trance, and during that Nama Smaran, the
heart beat would clearly show you that I am still having Nama Smaran. If that
suddenly goes away and natural sleep supervenes, wake me up." The heart
beat during natural sleep would be evidently different from the heart beat of
the contemplative trance. Thus neither Baba nor Mahlsapathy would sleep at
night. Both would keep awake, Baba for directly communing with God, and by that
means doing service to numerous devotees in various places, and Mahlsapathy for
sharing the merit (punya) by keeping the vigil with Baba and benefiting
himself morally and spirtually by his pious service. His tapas was the
same practically as the tapas of Baba, that is, vigil for holy purposes. He
also had great control over all his senses (Indriyas), not merely over the sex
urge but also over hunger and other urges and cravings, though he was not able
to overcome sleep always. At times for a fortnight he would go without food,
purely by the power of his will, and sometimes his family also would suffer as
shortage of food was the consequent of Mahlsapathy's having no profession and
no earning and his rejection of offers of money and goods. This is a very important
point to note about Mahlsapathy. His attitude towards acceptance of alms is one
which very orthodox Hindus would understand. He regarded all acceptance of alms
from others as a direct interference with his own perfection of power. (See SB
XI (17) 41). Pratigraham manyamanah Tapas tejo Yesconudam i. e. "accepting
gifts as destructive of austerities, power, and fame". His ‘’Apoorva’’
i e. stored up merit was heightened by lasting, vigils, and other
"punya karma,'' such as reading of sacred literature, etc., and if he
accepted gifts (dana) from others, he believed (as many other orthodox Hindus
believe) that his merit or Apoorva would be lost, "diminished, or
transferred at least to some extent to the donor whose gift he accepted.
Therefore he was strongly opposed to accepting any gifts (except Biksha food)
even though he and his family might be starving. His family also completely
accepted that axiom and they also would generally reject offers of help in
money, materials, etc.[3]
Baba himself several times tried to press him to accept money. When Baba was
getting large incomes, (1880-1918) he was daily showering
Rs. 30 on one, Rs. 15 on another, Rs. 10 on a third, and so on. Baba
told Mahlsapathy several times;-'Take this Rs. 3. Go on taking it'. Mahlsapathy
invariably refused. Baba even added. 'Go on receiving Rs. 3. I will make you
well-to-do, and other people will come to you and depend on you and look to
your favour; make your life comfortable." Mahlsapathy invariably replied:
'I do not want all that. I want only to worship your feet.' He counted his
avoidance of gifts and contentment with his lot as far above his attaining or
retaining material wealth. He (M) would not sleep on cots. He would not care to
have comforts of any other sort, even though these were available or offered to
him. He strongly reminds us of the holy poverty of St. Francis of Assissi, the
Akinchanya, which is so highly praised in scripture (see especially M. B.
Moksha Dharma Scanti P. ch. 165 Samyaka upadesa. 5-11, 16 & 22). Baba had
to offer inducements of "Abhaya" and support, etc. to various
people to raise them to high spiritual effort. But in tha case of Mahlsapathy,
no inducements and assurances were required, as Mahlsapathy had already
achieved the high, water mark of purity, viitue, austerity (tapas), and wisdom
(Jnana), so far as that was possible in his circumstances.
An important
event in Mahlsapathy's life that he was connected with was Baba's trying to
leave his body about 1886 and returning to it three days later. Baba had made
him the guardian of his body and told him, *Arre Bhagat, look after this body
for three days. I am going to Allah. If I do not return, then get it buried in
due course at that place, (that is, near the sacred gode neem tree).'
Mahlsapathy
supported Baba's body on his own knee, and when officers, including the village
headman karnam, etc., held an inquest over the body, declared it dead, and
wanted it to be buried he with the help of others stoutly opposed their
proposal and saved Baba from losing his body, as Sankaracharya's is said to
have been lost (See Sankara Vjaya) when he tried a similar attempt to leave and
re-enter his body in order to enter a grihasta royal body by parakaya
pravesa. Thus, he rendered a valuable service in 1886, after which Baba lived
for 32 years to create this huge Sai movement that has covered this land. If
Mahlsapathy had failed in his duty, and Baba had been buried perhaps the course
of history might have been different.
One incident we
may mention as to bow he (M) served Baba and carried out his pious efforts. As
usual, he had spread his cloth and Baba was lying on one half of that cloth,
and he was lying on the other. Then Baba told him. 'I say, come on. To-day we
shall be on the watch. The rude Rohilla (death from plague) is wanting to take
away the wife of the Nigoj Patil. I am praying to Allah to prevent that by Nama
Smaran. You had better see that no one comes and disturbs me in my Nama
Smaran.'
Accordingly
Mahlsapathy kept awake to try and see that no disturbance took place. But,
unfortunately, in the middle of the night the Nivas Mamlatdar had come. He and
his peons took a fancy to take Baba's darsan, which could be had for nothing,
so, at midnight, the peon of the Mamlatdar came and stating that Darsan was
wanted and udhi was wanted, made a noise. Mahlsapathy tried to prevent it but
who could prevent official hauteur or jabardas ? Mahlsapathy was
trying to oblige the poen by getting down the steps to give him some udhi, but
the noise made disturbed Baba's trance (contemplation), and Baba sat up, and
hurled foul curses and told Mahlsapathy. 'Arre Bhagat, you are a man with
family! And don't you know what is taking place at Nigoj? This disturbance has
caused a failure in my efforts. That Patil's wife is dead. Let that go. What
has happened is for the best'. In his anger, Baba threw away Mahlsa-pathy's
cloth on him, telling him that he should not allow disturbance like that to
Baba's holy work of contemplation and prayer.
Baba, for about
40 years must have benefited Mahlsapathy in innumerable ways the details of
which are not available, and above all kept him to the high water mark of
devotion, surrender and self abnegation. As usual, Baba used his wonderful
Supranormal powers and knowledge e.g. His knowledge of the present in all
distant places, which is called "clairvoyance" and knowledge of the
future, immediate or remote, to benefit Mahlspathy. He used also his control
over minds and matter (including human bodies) for his devotee's benefit and
kept watching him to secure his welfare whether he was near or far, even 150
miles off and gave him warning and afforded relief where necessary.
Baba's
"eye of vigilant supervision is ever on those who love him". Baba's
watch over Mahlsa saved him from shipwreck in his food problems. At times, for
long periods the starvation of the devotee and his family came perilously-near
the danger point. Then Baba suddenly made the devotee relax his vow. On one
such occasion, H. S. Dixit was somehow made aware of the danger. He wished to
send up a ten rupee note to Mahlsapathy- To make sure that it should not be
rejected, he enclosed it in an envelope and took it to Baba and without any
other words asked Baba "Shall I send this"? Baba Said "Yes"
He sent it, and it was accepted. Baba had his Antarjnan of the gift and had
told Mahala's wife some hours earlier: "Tell your husband, Baba is coming
to the house, and he should not reject Baba". So when the envelope with
the 10 rupee note came, Mahlsapathy was sure that Baba's message referred to
the envelope and he accepted it.
The snake infested Shirdi
was full of danger to its inhabitants. One evening as Mahlsapathy was leaving
Eaba's Mosque, Baba told him that he was likely to meet two thieves (snakes) on
the way, and accordingly Mahlsapathy found one at his doorsteps and the other
at the neighbouring house. One day Baba told him. 'When you return, come with
a lamp, for you will find a thief at the gate'. Accordingly, Mahlsapathy came with a lamp in his hand, and
found a snake at the gate, and cried out 'snake, snake'. The neighbours
gathered and killed it.
Baba once
warned him in general words, 'Don't put your back against the earth'. Not
remembering this advice, and in his usual slovenly way, Mahlsapathy, having
consumed too much of Burfi got giddy, sat on the floor, and losing his
consciousness, glided down. He then was with his bare back on the ground He was
dreaming or delirious and talking in his dream, keeping his legs stretched on
the bare earth all the time. When he returned to consciousness and sat awake,
he found he could not bend his leg. His daughters had to massage his knees and
legs, and thereafter he was able to walk upto Baba. When he arrived there, Baba
told him, 'Did I not tell you not to put your back against earth?’ On one occasion,
Baba gave him warning that something wrong would happen at Khandoba's, and
that, however, he need not be afraid as Baba would do the needful. Then very
soon, his wife and daughter fell ill and soon after, the other members of his
family also fell ill. This was after 1908, after which date the number of
Shridi visitors increased including many doctors. Meanwhile Baba told
Mahlsapathy, 'Let the sick people keep to bed', and walking round his Mosque
with a short stick in hand Baba was waving his short stick and using
threatening words :—'Come, whatever may be your power, let us see! I shall show
you what I can do with my chota stick, if you come out and face me'. This was
Baba's treatment of the disease. However, amongst the numerous visitors, there
were doctors who gave medicines to Mahlsapathy to be given to his sick family.
Mahlsapathy consulted Baba regarding the medicines, but Baba dissuaded him from
administering the medicines to the sick at home. In the result, all got well
without medicine. Baba's way of fighting disease is not the modern way of
medicine, but it was unmistakably effective.
Baba's watching
was often of great benefit to Mahlsapathy in other domestic matters also. Once
M's wife had gone to her mother's house at a distant village. When she was
there, she developed a painful tumour near her- neck, but she did not
communicate that to her husband. But Baba’s watching eye of supervision, which
rests on all those relying on him with loving trust, noted this fact. He told
Mahlsapathy at Shirdi : 'Your wife has a tumour in the throat. None can cure it
except myself, and I shall cure it'. Mahlsapathy knowing nothing about his
wife's health simply said 'Yes, Baba'. Later he received a letter mentioning
the painful tumour, and adding that it had been cured.
Baba used his
knowledge of coming events for "Bhagat" as Baba called this bhakta
Mahlsapathy, and revealed them to him when necessary. He was a poor man,
whose three daughters were married to people at various villages. His Sambandis
(i.e. fathers-in-law of those daughters) had no regard for him. The reader may
remember Lamb's essay on "A Poor Relation". On one occasion, one of
the Sambandis at a distant village invited him to dine with him, and
Mahlsapathy went to take Baba's leave. When granting leave. Baba said,
"You are going to be insulted there'. Mahlsapathy went along with his
friend, but when he went to his Sambandi's house, he found the Sambandi's
people had already finished their meal and were washing their hands without
caring to wait for the arrival of their poor relation Mahlsapathy. This was an
obvious insult and he returned refusing to take his meal. He returned to Baba
and told him all the facts.
On another
occasion, one Ram Bhav Harde, a Sai Baba bhakta, invited Mahlsapathy to go to his
village 'Astinagram' some six or ten miles away from Shirdi. There was to be a
Mahlsapathy Purana reading by Mahhapathy to be followed by a dinner. So it was
an interesting occasion, and Mahlsapathy went to take leave of Baba. Baba said,
'Do not go. There will be a fight there'. Yet having been invited, he could not
avoid goiiig, and he went to that village. He sat and read Mahlsapathy puraram
there, and while that was going on the host's graceless, sturdy and rowdy boys
with other boys sat for their meal and began to exchange hot words. From words
they quickly came to blows with sticks, and on account of the free use of the
cudgels, the audience that was present for the Purana reading fled in fright
and Mahlsapathy also had to pack up his purana and follow their wise
example. He returned to Shirdi and
told Baba, 'Your words have proved true to the letter'.
Long before N.
G. Chandorkar and others arrived, i.e. in the eighties of the last Century,
Baba spoke of the future of Shirdi. Baba told Bhagat and others who were with
him at the chavadi, 'In this place (Shirdi) there will be huge storeyed
buildings rising, big fairs will be held, and big men, Subedars, and others
will be coming. My Brahmins will gather and elephants, horses and Shankar Nana
will also come’ Guns will be fired (Dhadanga Dishe Udenga)'. People hearing
this began to smile. They thought, 'What, all this for this worthless nook of
an insignificani hamlet’. But some decades later, every one of Baba's
statements came true, and that nook of an insignificant village has already
become a small town with big storoyed buildings, sugar factories with
machinery, annual fairs, festivals, etc., and the daily puja of Baba attracts
thousands including ladies and gentlemen of the highest position from all parts
of India.
Baba knew the
future of this devotee but gave him only hints. When Mahlsapathy got a male
child in 1897 and took him to Baba and talked of Namakarana, i.e. the name to
be given to the child, Baba, evidently to prevent his being too much attached
to the son, told him "Look after the child for 25 years and that
would be sufficient". The father's business is only to look after this
new arrival in a detached spirit, knowing that the connection is only for a
fixed time. Mahlsa did not understand all this, or that 25 years period
indicated the length of his life which was to end in 1922; but with true
humility and submission he told Baba that "looking after" the child
was not in his power-but only in Baba's power. Baba's reply was still more significant.
"Be thou, the Nimitta" i.e. the apparent instrument, said Baba,
reminding us of Sri Krishna's direction to Arjuna to fight the MahaBharata
battles as a mere instrument in His hands "Nimittamatram Bhava
Savyasachin". Mahlsapathy though a surrendered soul could not have
banished his ego and risen then to the full height indicaled above i.e. to
treat all acts done by his body as the acts of the Supreme. Baba was leading
him on to that height on the above and other occasions.
But more
interesting to common folk than this is Baba's keeping watch over him night and
day. When Mahlsapathy often obtained leave of Baba to go for his night meal,
Baba used to say, 'Go. I am with you." No harm then befell M. Though Baba
was not physically accomponying M, his invisible guardianship was evident.
Baba's watch
over Mahlsapaty was also for his moral benefit. Though Mahlsapathy was
generally of a pious disposition, sometimes he committed mistakes. Every night
he used to feed a crippled bitch, and one day, having fed it, he said, 'Go',
But the creature did not stir. He took a stick and gave it a beating,and then
it howled with pain and ran away. That right when Mahlsapathy went to the
Mosque and shampooed Baba's legs, Bapu Saheb, Dada Kelkar and others were with
him. Baba said, 'Arre, there is a bitch, sickly like me, in the village.
Everybody is beating it'. Then at once Mahlsapathy, remembering his behaviour
repented his mistake. This is not trivial, as we shall see further on.
Baba's company,
Seva, example and help kept Mahlsapathy very high up in his spiritual level. He
bore great love to Baba. When Baba passed away in 1918, he, on account of his
attachment, declined all food and fasted for 13 days. Probably to prevent a
shock, Baba had given him hints of his (Baba's) impending final departure. It
was Mahlsapathy's custom to spend all his time with Baba except when he went
for his meal, etc Later Baba would send some one or other to fetch him from his
house. Then he would light up chilm (i.e. smoking pipe), do odd jobs for
Baba, and prepare Baba's bed, which was a very peculiar arrangement. Baba
always kept his head on an old brick (which is believed to be the brick given
to him by Venkusa with a torn cloth). Madhav Fasle, a servant of Baba used to
hand over that brick to Mahlsapathy every night and along with it, a tattered
cloth (believed to be Venkusa's gift) to be placed over it and other cloths to
be spread on the ground as bed for Baba. Mahlsapathy would first place the
brick and then the tattered cloth, and then spread the other cloth or cloths.
Ten or twelve days before 1918, Dassara, Madhav False, in handing over the
brick, allowed it to slip down to the ground, and it broke into two Then the
broken pieces were placed as pillows for Baba. Baba asked 'Who broke the brick?
Mahlsapathy mentioned that Madhav False broke the brick. Baba got very angry
with Madhav and placed his hands on his own head and felt extremely sad. Baba
said 'Sopat tutali’ i.e , the companion is broken. Next day, Kala (HS. Dixit)
came and said there was no need to deplore the breaking, as he would join the
pieces with silver joints. Baba said: "Even if you join them with gold,
what is the use? This brick is my Sobatya (companion) (evidently from
his Selu days) and its breakage betokens evil." From that time onwards
Baba was disspiritod. At least Mahlsapathy thought so. Baba, even before this,
had given Mahlsapathy a hint. He told him once when he (Mahlsapathy) was
preparing to light a lamp and fill up Baba's pipe, (Arre Bhagat, in
a few days from this, I will be going somewhere. After that, you come at night
for 2 or 4 years'; This was not understood by Mahlsapathy. But Baba's spirit
passed beyond our ken into AVYAKTA on 15th October 1918, and Mahlsapathy was
able to do his nightly usual puja to Baba only for 2 or 4 years, for he passed
away on 11—9—1922.
Baba'g help to
Mahlsapathy in his religious efforts and in securing a good end may be noted,
because dying on on Ekadasi day is conducive to or indicative of Sadgati.
Mahlsapathy passed away, in circumstances to be described more fully later, on
an Ekadasi day in 1922 after a life of religious striving. In the case of
Mahlsapathy, his firm faith was in Khandoba, and Baba treated Khandoba,
Vittoba, and Allah as the same c. f. BGIV 11 & VIII 21-All worship is God's
worship. God reaches us in the form we choose.' Khandoba's grace to
Mahlsapathy was manifested several times, and whenever there was a difficulty
for Mahlsapathy, Khandoba gave him visions. In one of those visions, Khandoba
asked him to go and see Vittal at Pandharpur, and in the case of such a poor
man like Mahlsapathy, who had to beg his bread for himself and family, a
pilgrimage to Pandharpur was no joke. But by Khandoba's grace, he got some
pecuniary help for the journey, and a well-to-do family as his companions. With
them he reached Pandhari. At Pandharpur, the crowds were always unmanageably
large, and it was not easy for one to cut his way through the mass to Vittal.
Then there were the professional priests demanding coins to take a man to the
Vittal image. But Mahlsapathy had no coins, and so specfal interference on his behalf by Khandoba was
necessary. As he was moving with the crowd nearer and nearer to Vittoba,
suddenly people began to note that Mahlsapathy's face was exactly like Khaidoba's
and said that Khandoba had actually come to take darsan of Vittoba and cleared
a way for him The Pandas also must have been similarly impressed. That made
Vittal darsan easy for Mahlsapathy.
Similar
instances of help for himself and party were manifested at his pilgrimage to
Jejuri. Once when they were going on their horses, the police intercepted them
on the way and examined their passes. Finding one having no pass, they stopped
him and put him into the police station; and the procession could not start
from the village. That man had to go and get a pass from the Kulkarni. That
Kulkarni showed his talent for taking work gratis from all persons. A Niti
sloka says rightly :—Makshiko Maruto vescya yachako mushakas tatha
gramanirganakas chaiva saptaiate para badhakah''. i.e gnats, winds, courtesans,
beggers, rats, village headmen and karnams (i.e. kulkarnis) these seven are
pestering parasites. He delayed the issue of a pass and said 'You go on
splitting fuel for me'. He gave Mahlsapathy's man an axe to split fuel i.e. to
do work gratis. Then the man took up the axe and after a few strokes, the
handle was broken. Then the Kulkarni gave him a second handle. The second
handle also broke. Then a third handle was given, and that also shared the same
fate. Then the Kulkarni said, 'God does not allow you to work', and gave him
the pass.
Baba's watch
over the pilgrimages of Mahlsapathy and his other movements shows Baba's great
and mysterious power and His wonderful love and guardian-stip of the bhaktas.
These are well illustrated in many instances of which a few more may be
mentioned, On one occasion when Mahlsapathy and party reached Jejuri,
150 miles from Shirdi, plague was raging there, and Mahlsapathy sat down
dejected leaning against his palki (Kavadi), not knowing what to do. Suddenly
he saw Baba behind him; and Baba vanished. Then he got embolde-and told his
companions : 'Baba is with us and we need not worry'. Accordingly the
pilgrimage was satisfactorily over, and there was no loss of life. When he returned
to Shirdi, Baba told him, 'I found you leaning against the Palki at JeJuri'.
Mahlsapathy was convinced that his eyes did not deceive him at Jejuri and that
Baba was everywhere guarding his bhaktas.
On another
occasion when Mahlsapathy and his group had gone for an annual Jejuri
pilgrimage, they were returning followed by another group i.e. Malam Bhagat
Pilki. Then they met thieves who were armed with axes and who wore masks or
were covering their faces with thick blankets. As they approched the Palki to
rob it, Mahlsapthy courageously took out a handful of Bhandar, i.e. coloured
rice and sandal and threw it at them as prasad. Then they quietly retreated to
an adjoining wood. Then Mahlsapathy and his friends went on followed by Malam
Bhagat palki, and they noted that there was no image in their own palki. All
the party looked into it (i.e., Mahlsapathy's palki) to see whether all their
images were there. They found none. Then some one said. 'Are we to carry an
empty palki to Shirdi?. That day was a Sunday, which is Khandoba's day. At the
very outset. M said, 'No pilgrimage on Sunday' But the others had disagreed,
and now Mahlspathy told the others, 'This is the evil of doing pilgrimage on
Sunday’. Suddenly Mahlspathy got in .to a trance, and Khandoba talking through
him said, ‘Arre, what day is this? Is it not my day? Why are you
carrying palki? To-day I am busy hunting out on a hill. After hunting is over,
I will come to Shirdi. You had better go now'. Then he woke up from trance, and
the palki went on and came to Kandoba's temple at Shirdi. People at Shirdi, for
instance, Shakaram Kandukar and others came to the palki to take Darsan.
Shakaram looked into the palki and found all the images ' there. 'What is the
talk of all the images missing?' he asked the people. He showed them, and said
'Here are alt the images'.
Mahlsapathy's
case is an excellent instance of Baba's method of unifying religion and creeds
successfully. Mahlsapathy was only an ordinary, conservative, orthodox
worshipper of Khandoba. Sai Baba, he considered a Muslim and even objected to
his entry into Khandoba's temple when Sai Baba came to Shirdi with Chan Bhai
Patel's party. This same man became Baba's ardent devotee and worshipped him.
In fact not only was he the first in point of time amongst the worshippers, but
he was also the foremost in excellence. Mahlsapathy felt that Baba was God.
Whatever may be the difference in name and form, Scanker, Scani, Ganapati, and
Khandoba are all one, and Baba with divine power was the same. M also went to
Pandharpur to worship Vittal (a form of Maha Vishnu and had no sectarian i.e.
(Siva Vishnu) prejudices. He and his group honoured all saints, Hindu and
Muslim, and they applied Tukaram's famous saying 'Jo Sant, Toch Dev! o Dev,
Toch Sant', meaning 'God is the same as the Saint and the Saint is the same as
God' to fakirs as well as Hindu saints. He was the first to do puja to Baba and
even apply sandal to him. Baba's objection to his being worshipped in that
fashion melted away under the keen sense of Mahlsapathy's love and devotion. As
Mahlsapathy made no difference between Khandoba and Baba, and as all thoughts
of men were known to Baba, Baba could not object to any of the ways adopted for
worship at the Khandoba temple being applied to him. Baba's divine heart of
love responded to the outpourings of Mahlsapathy's love; and so, Mahhapthy
became Baba's ANKITA SISHYA. Baba said (if not expressly at least by unmistakable
utterance and conduct). 'He is mine'. The Arati song says.
Jo Sanduchya ankita
Jiva Jhala,
Tyacha Ase
Bhara niranjanala.
This means, the
devotee who is stamped as mine by a Sadhu, has no more burden or responsibility
to bear, as all his burdens and responsibilities rest on the Saint (or the Guru
God). Baba showed his assumption of responsibility in innumerable ways.
Especially when he sent him in the evenings away from the Mosque, he would be
saying 'Go, I am with you' i.e. *I will protect you.' And he did. Baba's cure
of Mahlsapathy's wife's tumour at a distant place far off from Siiirdi, and the
cure of her children of their disease at other times are excellent instances of
Baba's protection and love. When the bhakta had no son, and yet refused to go
and live with his family, it was Baba's repeated assurance that he would get a
male child that induced him to go and sleep at home and thus get a son. This
son is named Martanda and is still living and worshipping at his father's tomb.
This is considered important, as dying without a son will take a man to Hell
(Put Naraka). Mahlsapathy's response to Baba's love was evidenced by M’s
dedication of himself to Baba's service. Mahlsapathy not only shared his cloth
bed with Baba every night at the Mosque and chavadi, but also shared his night
vigil. Mahlsapathy's help to rouse Baba when the vigil stopped and gave way to
natural sleep was a specal help to Baba, and through Baba to everybody.
Mahlsapathy's effort to keep the Baba body for three days in 1886 against the
mischance of being buried on the compulsion of the officers was a signal
service not only to Baba but to the entire Sai bhaktas and the public at large.
Baba's recognition of this attachment closely resembling Hanuman's attachment
to Rama was expressed by Baba's calling him Bhagat i.e. Bhakta. B. V- Dev calls
Ma Bhakta Manickya and a Mahatma in his preface to M's reminiscences. Both
epithets are apt and just.
The end of such
a soul when life passes away must necessarily be a good end, (sadgati). Baba
made this assurance doubly sure and granted him the merit of dying on an
Ekadasi day (with God in his mind and on his lips) just as he did this for
several other bhaktas of his. Dying on an Ekadasi day is conducive to departure
in a holy mood from this life (through the bright and smokeless path). B, Gita
VIII 6 says.
Yam yam vapi
Smaran Bhavam
Tyajati ante
kalebaram
Tarn tam eva
eti kounteya
Sada tad bhava
bhavitah
That is 'Whatever a person thinks of
(being in constant touch with it) at the time of death he reaches'. When
Mahlsapathy's death was approaching, he retained full-consciousness and control
of his mind. That was on 11th Sep. 1922 Monday (in the month of Badrapada,
Ekadasi Somavara, sacred to Shiva and Khandoba) Having finished all his puja,
he said to his family, ‘To-day is my father's Shraddha day. Finish cooking
soon. To-day I close my earthly life and go to Heaven'. So, Laxman, the
Brahmin, came and finished the Sraddha at once and finished the gift of balis
to crows, cows, etc, and guests were fed. Then the family meals were finished.
Mahlsapathy took betel and nuts after his meal. After chewing a bit, he put on
a kupni. Having near him, Bala Gurav, Ramachandra Kothe, etc., he told
them ;all to do Ramachandrajapa Japa went on. His son was there, and he
gave him his stick. Muhlsapaty said to his son, 'Spend time piously in Uttama Bhakti
Marga i.e. in holy devotion. All that I told you will happen." Then
Mahlsapathy uttered the word 'Ram’ and breathed his last. Thus he passed
away in calm faith and cheerfuhess on the 11th September 1922. This death was a
fitting termination to a pure, lofty and dedicated life—a life of Love, faith
and total surrender— a death that may be envied by many who may not be prepared
to adopt the rigorous course that led up to it and ensured it. His remains are
interred in a tomb at Shirdi which is still worshipped by many.
Some may fancy
that merely rebuking Mahlsapathy for mercilessly hitting a bitch for not moving
out when told to go is a mere ordinary lesson in Ahimsa or fair
treatment of brutes. But from the standpoint of Baba's development of pupils,
it is much more. Any one who is capable of hitting a bitch naturally thinks
poorly of a bitch and highly of himself, and does not hesitate to injure a
"lower creature". This is not merely a vice but evidence of Rajasic
Tamasa obscuring the soul's light-a very serious obstacle to the attainment of
equal vision, c.f. (I) Somatvam yogauchyate (2) Nirdosan hi samam Brahman
Tasmat Brahmani te sthilah BGV. 19 to the attainment of 'Sarvabhutatma
bhutatmatvam', that is, realising God or the Self in every creature and paying
reverence to it. BVG. 7. First, about equal vision, it will be noted that alike
In the B Gita and Krishnoddhava Samvada, (SBXI) samatva of Equal View is
repeatedly stressed as a qualification for and a mark of the Jnani. If a man
has realised Brahman (i e. got Jnana), then all creatures are alike Brahman,
and he treats them all equally and makes no invidious distinctions between
them, worshipping one, beating another, etc. Vidya Vinaya sampannc Brahmane
Gavi hastini Scuni chaiva Scvapakecha Panditah Samadarscinah. BGV. 18. The want
of samatva denotes a failure to rise above vulgar mediocrity; and
beating shows the need for a great deal of effort to rise to heights of equal
vision. Equal vision is sometimes considered a mere poetical ideal which is not
practical-Many may think it not worthwhile, when they are in active life, when
still living in the family, to aim at equal, vision-samatva. But Baba did not
take that view. Mahlsapathy was a family man, 'grihasta' living with his
family up to the last and died in the midst of his relations, Yet Baba raised
him nearer and nearer to the level of equal vision, and the first step in that
effort is to stop cruelty to animals. So his warning against the beating of the
bitch must be viewed in the light of the need for achieving equal vision.
Higher steps are not achieved merely by stopping the beating of animals. Higher
steps are accelerated by Baba's highest plank, namely, seeing of Himself or God
in all creatures: Saravabhutatma bhutatmatvam. That is Baba wanted his
highest bhaktas to feel strong enough about his (Baba's) being God. They should
feel his being in all animals and consequently God being in all animals, a
result which should be manifested by either mental or even actual physical
worship offered to some animals at any rate. Namdev's recognition of Vittal in
a dog, after he had been trained by the Guru Visoba Kesar in equal vision and
in the treatment of all objects as manifestation of God, has already been
mentioned in the previous volume, Mahlsapathy was the best fitted to gain that
faculty of seeing (Sai) God in a creatures or to sing or feel with Kabir
"Sabghata Atma Rama Govinda-Hari Bole Hari Bole Bhai". In the
Bhagavata recognising the difficulty of actual physical worship being offered
to all creatures, the advice is given that the worship may be mental, and the
stanza runs—
Manasaiva etani
bhutani
Pranamet
Bahumanayan
Iswaro Jiva
kalayo
Pravishto
Bhagavaniti
This means,
'Remembering the fact that all these creatures have an Atma or Soul and that
the Soul is but the reflection or part of God, one should feel that God is in
all these creatures, esteem them and worship them only mentally'. It is
not known whether Mahlsapathy, Chandokar, or any other devotee actually did
this worship as a sadhana when he met creature after creature or any creature
or succeeded in feeling that God's reflection, that is, God Himself in another
form was in every creature. But this was evidently Baba's intention, and one
might presume that some of the bhaktas of Baba did achieve a fairly high degree
of progress in this sadhana. One Lakshmi going to Baba's tomb, shortly after He
passed away, was bemoaning his loss and prayed to him to show his form to her.
As she was moving out, she met a serpent on her way. At once she cried out,
'Baba, if you show me your form in this serpent shape, how am I to get on?'
This is an interesting instance. If even a rustic woman, not presumed to know
anything about higher culture or the higher sadhanas in the Sastras was able to
recognise or treat Baba as being in a snake, surely other bhaktas of Baba may
be presumed to have made some advance in this all important matter. The great
importance of this step of recognising God in all creatures can be inferred
from the fact that the lesson is repeated more than a dozen times in the
Bhagavata Gita and in the Ekadasa Skanda of Bhagavata i.e. Uddhava Gita.
Naturally the utterance in the Upanishad 'Sarvam kaluidam Brahma’, that is,
'All this manifested Universe is God' cannot be achieved by one who fails to go
even through the first step, namely, treating the living creatures in the
Universe as manifestations of God. God is power plus mercy, plus sameness, or
equality and omniscience and omnipresence. One can magnify the bits of these
qualities found in animals and treat them as potentially infinite or as tiny
reflections of Godhead. So one
ought to first view the creatures around him as manifestations of God, and
their bodies as temples (Deho Devalayah Proktah Sivo Jivah Sanatanah) and
mentally reverence them. The practical difficulties of reverencing all
creatures and observing equality of vision have been referred to by great
saints like Sri Ramakrishna and solutions have been given by them for practice
to overcome such difficulties. If a tiger is to be treated as God, when it is
coming to attack one, It will be over with the man, and there is no further
sadhana practicable for him. So one has to keep the tiger or lion
(Mriga-namcha mrigendroaham BGX, 30-) at a distance and mentally reverence it,
overcoming one's fear as part of one's sadhana, no doubt taking good care to
see to one's safety. The same applies to snakes and other destructive
creatures. Amongst human beings also there are unfortunate specimens of
uttermost heights of vice and cruelty and other and unsociable features, and
these cannot be approached by any ordinary sadhaka. A Chaitanya may no doubt go
out and beard the lion in his den and meet the murderous robber in his own
haunt and may come off victorious, but that, however, cannot be copied safely
by ordinary sadhakas. Hence, one may stress the word 'Mansaiva' in the
above quotation from the Bhagavata with reference to this practice.
After reverence is achieved, then comes the question of identity. Sri Sai Baba, the highest realiser and teacher of Brahma Nishta, viewed everything as Brahman. 'I am Brahman; all this is Brahman; I am all' said Sai, as a great realiser that he was might be expected to say. As a stepping stone to that position, reverence to all is an important achievement and that reverence is made possible by the Ahimsa lesson taught by Baba to Mahlsapathy, This is the chief recorded lesson in Mahlsapathy's memoirs taken down by his son to his dictation, but one may be sure that when Mahlsapathy lived for four or five decades at least along with Baba, day and night, in the Masudi and Chavadi, up to the last moment of Baba's earthly life, numerous other instances of ahimsa and view of creatures as manifestations of God and identification of oneself with all that is, must have occurred and must have been noticed by Mahlsapathy to his great advantage. Mahlsapathy however was not a cultured man and the few memoirs that he dictated at the fag end of his life to his less cultured son show that he had no neat power even of recalling, arranging, and narrating-all his experiences. Taking, for example, the account he gives of Baba's Svecha marana and return to the body in 1886, we see how poor his pow