Chapter 18&19 - Historical Commentary - a podcast by Sai Babas Devotee Speaks

Chapters 18 and 19 of the Sri Sai Satcharita beautifully describe the story of Sathe, Radhabai Deshmukh and Dabholkar, and the Leela of Baba climbing on top of the roof of Radhakrishna Mai's house to cure her of her illness. Other stories included in these chapters are of Baba taking a devotee to task for criticising and slandering another devotee, and setting him on the right path. Thus, it is also a warning for all of us to refrain from slandering others. Baba encouraged devotees to study various spiritual texts and benefit from them, both spiritually and mentally.

The Dakshina of Nishtha and Saburi

The moment Sathe saw Baba, he became calm. He then completed a Saptaha of the Guru Charita. That night, he dreamt of Baba, who explained the part that he was reading at that time, and told him to do another Saptaha because by reading the Guru Charita, the mind becomes pure, peaceful, spiritual and full of Vairagya. Dabholkar heard about Sathe's dream and thought, 'Sathe is blessed just by doing a Saptaha, while I've been reading it for 40 years without being blessed.' As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Baba asked him to go to Shama's home and bring Rs. 15 as Dakshina from him and chat with him. When Dabholkar went to Shama's house, Shama told him the story of Radhabai Deshmukh, an elderly lady, who was determined to fast until she obtained Guru Mantra from Baba. Shama had become concerned about the lady and had asked Baba to speak to her.

Heeding Shama's advice, Baba spoke to Radhabai thus: "Mother, I stayed with my loving divine Guru for 12 years, serving him from morning to night. My Guru was the only thought and the only Sadhana that I had. He asked me to give him two paise as Dakshina, which symbolised Nishtha and Saburi. I willingly gave these to my Guru, who looked after all my needs. When he did not whisper any Mantra in my ear, how can I give you any Mantra? My Guru was like a mother tortoise, who, though on the opposite bank, nurtures and gives sustenance to her young ones just by glancing lovingly at them. So, day and night, just think only of me and me alone, and your spiritual goal will be achieved." After narrating this story to Dabholkar, Shama accompanied Dabholkar to attend the Aarti, when Baba blessed Dabholkar saying, "Forever keep this story in your heart and soul, and your mental state will be as sweet as this candy. Your spiritual goal will be achieved and you will be blessed a million times."

In this Leela, Guru Dakshina is given by Sathe in the form of Parayan of the Guru Charita. Baba blessed him with a dream vision, wherein Baba explained the chapter to him. On the other hand, Shama gave Baba 15 Namaskaars in lieu of 15 rupees, and Baba blessed him by making him His spokesman. Dabholkar gave Guru Dakshina of Nishtha and Saburi, and Baba blessed him with sugar candy and showered him with total Guru Bhakti.


Purandhare longs for Baba's Darshan

Once, Purandhare decided to accompany his family to his hometown. Suddenly, he had an irresistible urge to go to Shirdi, so after making arrangements for his family, he proceeded to Shirdi. Purandhare got off at Kopergaon, and Hassan, the Tongawala, informed him that both Baba and Radhakrishna Mai were very ill. It was about 9 a.m. in the morning when he reached Shirdi. He went straight to the Dwarka Mai. Baba was surrounded by many devotees, as everyone was concerned about his health. Purandhare went into the sanctum sanctorum. Baba said, "Bhau, you have come at last. For the past three or four days, I have been waiting for your arrival. Now, don't leave me, but go to Ramkrishni and stay there." Purandhare was filled with anguish for Baba, who had stopped eating, but there was no change in his daily routine. He still went for Bhiksha rounds and to Lendi Baug with the help of three or four devotees. Purandhare was extremely saddened by the condition of Baba's health. He had lost weight and was very weak. One day, Purandhare started sobbing, "Baba, I will carry you when you go to Lendi Baug and for Bhiksha." Baba pacified him, saying, "Don't cry. I will be alright in four days. Allahmiya has given me this illness and it has to be borne by me, so don't cry. Why should you cry? Some days are good but other days are not. Why should you fear?"

Purandhare was equally concerned about Mai's illness and asked Baba for medicines to be given to Mai, but Baba told him that she would recover within two days. The very next day, early in the morning, Purandhare came running to Baba and told him, "Mai is just not getting up. She is groggy and weak. Her condition is deteriorating. Give me some medicine for her. I will not leave until you do." Then, Baba gave him some remedy and explained how to prepare and administer it.

That afternoon, Baba got a ladder, placed it against the wall of Gondkar's house and climbed it. From there, He crossed the roof of Mai's house and wanted to descend on the other side. This was a miracle in itself. Baba was so weak that he needed two or three people to help him walk. Yet, he got on top of the roof without anybody's aid. By then, all the devotees had gathered below to watch. Tatya Patil was amongst them. Baba called out to him and asked him to help him get down. Tatya asked what He would give him in return for his help. Baba replied, "10 rupees. I climbed up here because I panicked. I felt that a lot of people were threatening to beat me." After this episode, Radhakrishna Mai recovered completely. Venku Shimpi Kamlekar was the person who fetched the ladder and he was paid two rupees by Baba for this work. The other devotees objected, saying that Baba had paid too much. Baba told them that any work that was done should be paid for promptly and adequately. Kamlekar had no children, but after he received the money, he prospered and had two sons.
This Leela is taken from Shirdiche Sai Baba, written by K. B. Gavankar.

From the Leela of Radhabai Deshmukh, we learn that we can give Guru Dakshina to Baba by reading His Charita and trying to incorporate it into our lives by living His teachings. Baba taught that in order to get knowledge (realisation of the self), Dhyana (meditation) is necessary: "If you practise it continuously, your thoughts will be pacified. Being quite desireless, you should meditate on the Lord, who is in all creatures, and when the mind is concentrated, the goal will be achieved. Meditate always on my formless nature, which is Knowledge Incarnate, Consciousness and bliss. If you cannot do this, meditate upon me, from top to toe, as you see me here day and night. As you go on doing this, your thoughts will become one-pointed, and the distinction between the Dhyata (meditator), Dhyana (act of meditation), and Deha (thing meditated upon) will be lost, and the meditator will be one with Consciousness and be merged in the Brahman. The mother tortoise is on one bank of the river and her young ones are on the other side. She gives them neither milk nor warmth. The young ones do nothing but remember and meditate upon their mother. To them, their mother's glance is a downpour of nectar, the only source of sustenance and happiness. Similar is the relation between the Guru and the disciple.
This is taken from the Life of Sai Baba written by Narasimha Swamiji.

Baba's love for spiritual texts

Baba conducted Brahma Yajna or Rishi Yajna everyday in Shirdi, and gave a lot of importance to reading religious scriptures aloud. In Shirdi, each and every day, certain devotees read the scriptures and religious texts at different times of the day. Baba asked Jog to read the Jnaneshwari, a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita written by Sant Jnaneshwar. Every morning, Jog and his wife would go to the Dwarka Mai and give Baba His breakfast, after which Jog would return to his room and read a chapter from the Jnaneshwari. Baba often sent a devotee to go to him on some pretext, and the devotee would get the answer of his doubt from the chapter that Jog was reading that day.

In another story, a devotee named Pansare visited Shirdi. He and Jog became friends, and Jog would ask Pansare to sit and listen to him while he read the Jnaneshwari. But, Pansare, not paying any heed to this, would go and sit in the Dwarka Mai. One day, Baba sternly said, "You don't listen to the Jnaneshwari being read by Jog, nor do you read it yourself. And as soon as you get up, you come here. Now go and sit with Jog." Pansare had no other choice but to obey Baba.

Dikshit read the Bhavartha Ramayan every night without fail, and Bhate, Khaparde, Bhishma, Upasani, and several other devotees would listen to him. In the evening, Bhishma and Upasani would read the Panchadasi (comprehensive manual of Advaita Vedanta) and Dasbodh, which is a sacred text written by Ramdas Swami. If, for some reason Khaparde failed to attend the reading, then Baba did not approve of it. In Khaparde's diary, he states: In the evening they held classes on reading of the Para Amrit, and then Upasani would have discussions and discourses on the portion that was read. Dikshit read the Eknath Bhagwat (that Baba loved) during the day, and the Bhavartha Ramayan at night, without fail. Baba often gave one person's book to another, thereby ensuring that the spiritual text was tailor made for the spiritual progression of that devotee. These are the books that the devotees read: Guru Charita - Sathe, Dabholkar and Khushabhau; Eknath Bhagwat - Shyamdas, Uddaveshbua, Bapusaheb Jog, Mai and Dikshit; Jnaneshwari - Jog; Dasbodh and Yoga Vasisth by Khaparde, Upasani, Jog and Ram Maruti.

Baba loved and respected all spiritual texts. When Khaparde came to Shirdi with a copy of the Gita Rahasya, written by Lokmanya Tilak, and placed it at Baba's feet, Baba objected and said, "This spiritual text should be placed on the head and not at my feet."

Baba asked devotees to read religious texts every day. Some devotees were advised to read the Bhagavad Gita, while others were asked to read the Jnaneshwari. Every day, there was regular reading of the Bhavartha Ramayan, Dasbodh, Tukaram's Gatha, and other spiritual texts. However, Baba laid special emphasis on Eknath Bhagwat. The text was Baba's favourite, and he lovingly called it the 'Vrindaban Pothi'. Baba wanted devotees reading the Eknath Bhagwat to study it, understand it and meditate upon it. In this way, the devotee could ultimately inculcate its doctrine in his life by following its tenets. In Mai's Shala, all these texts were studied on a regular basis. As Mai considered Eknath Maharaj to be a Guru, his Bhavartha was read there every single day, and following the reading, discourses were held. Mai never failed to ask the devotees to adopt the teachings in their daily lives.

It is interesting to note that not only human beings, but also creatures and animals benefited by listening to the scriptures, like the scorpion on Dabholkar's shoulder (reference: Sai Satcharita, chapter 22) and the frogs, dogs and cats of Shirdi, whose mention is made in the following stories.

Ramchandra Deshmukh was a resident of Shirdi, but he didn't believe in Baba. Once, his daughter fell ill and had a relentlessly high fever and was admitted to the Gondkar Hospital. Her blood and urine tests confirmed the diagnosis of typhoid. She was administered the appropriate antibiotics, and the best possible care was given to her. Deshmukh was, however, displeased as the recovery was slow, and she had to remain in the hospital for 45 days. His wife, who was an ardent devotee of Baba, gave the child Udi mixed in water and the child regained her health. This was the turning point in Deshmukh's life and he became a devotee. The very next day, Deshmukh bought a Marathi Charita and started doing Parayan. The moment he started reading it, a big frog appeared and sat in front of him. Every day, the frog appeared just as he started reading, and listened intently to him as he read the chapters assigned for the day. Upon completion of the chapters, the frog would scamper away. On the seventh day, Deshmukh completed the Parayan and the frog listened to it. Then, the frog disappeared, never to be seen again. This was taken from Ambrosia in Shirdi, written by Ramalinga Swami.

Lucky are the dogs of Shirdi who get the opportunity to listen to all the Aartis, the Vishnu Sahasranam and Stavan Manjari, that are played everyday on the loudspeaker in Shirdi.

A devotee narrates this incident: "Vikram would come every evening at about 5 p.m. and read aloud the Bhavartha Sri Sai Satcharita written by Dilip Pawar Kaka. Vikram was very knowledgeable, and he would patiently explain the Charita to me. There was a stray dog that lived below my apartment, and I called him Laali as he was brown in colour. From the very first day we started our Charita class, Laali would appear out of nowhere and sit next to me. Often, he would nudge me and lay his snout on my lap, and attentively listen to what was being read. As soon as we finished reading, he would scamper away. I noticed this habit of Laali and told Vikram about it. At first, he was skeptical and said, "Laali comes and sits next to you as he expects you to feed him." But, I was in the habit of feeding the stray dogs in the morning itself. One day, Laali got sick and was running a high temperature. I gave him an antipyretic mixed in milk, but he didn't drink it. That evening, we were reading the 15th chapter of the Charita. This chapter is known as Sankat Mochan. Laali listened to it and went away as usual. The next day, I learnt that Laali had died. Laali had the good fortune to listen to the 15th chapter, which, when heard, removes both the physical and mental afflictions. I am sure that Laali and all the stray dogs in Shirdi will have a better rebirth. I am certain that Laali will be born in Shirdi, and be utterly devoted to Baba."

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