Part 2 – Chapter 7 – Baba’s Teachings – ShirdiChe Sai Baba

Previously Posted

Chapter No	Part No	Contents of the Chapter
NA	NA	Note By G.P.Sinha
NA	NA	Publisher’s & Translator’s Note
NA	NA	Foreword
NA	NA	About The Author
NA	NA	Preface
NA	NA	Introduction
Chapter 1	Part 1	Our Anna
Chapter 1	Part 2	Our Anna
Chapter 1	Part 3	Our Anna
Chapter 2	Part 1	Arrival Of Sai Baba In Shirdi
Chapter 2	Part 2	Arrival Of Sai Baba In Shirdi
Chapter 3	Part 1	Shama
Chapter 3	Part 2	Shama
Chapter 3	Part 3	Shama
Chapter 4	Part 1	Baba’s Dakshina
Chapter 4	Part 2	Baba’s Dakshina
Chapter 5	Part 1	Mahalasa – Importance Of Nama-Japa
Chapter 6	Part 1	Thirst For God Realization
Chapter 7	Part 1	Baba’s Teachings

CHAPTER 7

Continued: Baba’s Teachings [Bhagwad Gita as told to Nana.]

After a period of few months Nanasaheb came to Shirdi. When he went for darshan again the history was repeated. Baba neglected him and did not show any sign of acquaintance. Nana knew that Baba was angry. But why? He could not guess. With a sincere urge he requested Baba and asked the reason of His disfavour.

Baba said in a scolding tone, “He, who does not practice the lesson taught, deserves my disfavour. You are guilty! Then why should I talk to you?” Nanasaheb was confused. He tried to remember but he could pick out any such incident. Responding to his silence Baba reminded him, “That beggar woman was asking for the whole stuff of bhajani, prepared by your wife; Okay? But you could have told your refusal in soft words and in a polite way. Why did you ask your servant to drive her out? She would have hovered around your house for sometime and then gone. I do not approve of your action in anger.”

Nanasaheb then remembered the whole episode. He was surprised and also happy that Baba Himself had come to test him in the disguise of the beggar woman. He had never imagined Baba would do that. He realized that Baba was very much keen about the practice of His teachings. His love for Baba grew deeper and his faith became more firm. Nanasaheb’s heart was overflowing with love for Baba, the Supreme God. But he was struggling to conquer his fickle mind.

One day Nanasaheb, Mhalsapati and a few others were sitting in Dwarkamai. A wealthy person from Bijapur came for Baba’s darshan with his paraphernalia. They were Muslims, so the ladies were wearing the veils, according to their custom. Seeing them Nanasaheb bashfully got up to accommodate all of them. Baba gestured at him to sit down.

The ladies had come for darshan; so they naturally lifted their veils from their faces. One of them was an old lady and the other was in her prime youth and was very beautiful. Nanasaheb was fascinated. He wanted to cast a second glance at her. But it was not possible with people being around. He also felt ashamed, as he was sure that Baba would have understood his state of mind. He sat down with his eyes fixed on the ground. Baba suddenly exclaimed, “Mind is always volatile and unstable. By its character it is like a butterfly. But one must try to control its fickleness. Even if senses get disturbed, have a control over the body. Never rely on the senses. Do not provide them with the subjects of their interests. Practise this with determination. Then slowly the mind and the Chitta will calm down and become stable. Do not fall under the influence of the senses and also do not try to suppress them. Be their master and keep them under your control”. (For this advice, Refer Sai Sat Charitra Chapter 49, verses 158 to 161 & 173, 174)

Nanasaheb was a satwik Brahmin. He used to observe and perform all the daily rituals as told in the sacred books. After the worship of Gods in his home-shrine, he used to offer prepared food to fire (i.e. Vaishvadev) and then going outside the front door he would keep some food for a crow (Kakabali). Then he would wait for a guest who may come to his house without intimation or invitation. Then only Nanasaseb would take lunch, in the company of the guest. It was his daily practice because it was written in the sacred scriptures. The guest who comes to the house on foot all the way, will therefore be tired, weary and hungry. Such a guest should be welcomed and given food as per the scriptures.

Nanasaheb had a usual experience that it was difficult to find such a guest everyday. When he went to Shirdi he asked Baba this question. Baba answered, “Nana, you have a wrong notion in your mind. What do you understand by the term ‘Guest’ (Atithi)? A guest means not only a human being and specially a Brahmin. Definition of ‘Guest’ is not so narrow. That Jiva who is agitated by hunger and desperate for food is your guest. Let it be a human being or any animal or a bird or an insect like an ant. All these are included in the term ‘guest’. All animals and birds have to constantly wander in search of food. That is why they are always exhausted. But they are beyond your attention. You have limited the meaning of ‘guest’ only upto a human being, that too a Brahmin. But when you offer Vaishvadev and Kakabali, various such guests come to you. But you fail to recognize them. Because you did not know the core meaning of ‘Guest’. That is why you are unable to win a credit of feeding them. Now, when you go outside to offer Kakabali also keep plenty of rice. Any Jiva, animal or bird, will come and share it. Let them eat that. Do not shelter any doubts in your mind and then you will gain the merit of feeding many guests”.

When Nanasaheb understood the universal meaning of the word Guest (Atithi), he was very much satisfied and relaxed. He was impressed by the knowledge of Baba and his devotion for Him increased immensely. (Readers of this book also will admire and appreciate the explanation given by Sai Baba). Baba imparted His teachings not only to Nanasaheb but He also taught different lessons to many other devotees. His immense love for devotees could not restrain Him from teaching them.

One day He said to Maisaheb, Nanasaheb’s wife, “My mother constantly grinds the grains with a stone-grinder. But the flour is not fine. It’s all granular.” She did not understand the hidden meaning of what Baba had said. She conveyed Baba’s words to Nanasaheb, who then explained, “You do Japa (chanting God’s name) with utter faith. But you do not do it with full concentration. Just muttering the name is of no use. Nama should be associated with Smaran. (While uttering His name one must remember Him) Mere mechanical muttering is not Japa”.

She registered the lesson given by Baba properly in her mind. Then she started doing Japa with full attention. Here are some more details about Japa. At lower end of the spine in human body, there is pelvic plexus, Mooladhar Kamal where ‘Eternal will power’ is situated in the form of Kundalini. ‘Paranada’ (Sound) originates in this Kamal. When it ascends to Swadhishthan Kamal, is called as “Pashyanti’. When it gradually raises upto Anahat Kamal, it gets blended with the intellect principle and it gets the name ‘Madhyama’. When this Nada (sound) reaches Vishuddha Kamal in the throat region, it is know as ‘Vaikhari’. And one has to remember that Japa should originate from Para i.e. Mooladhar. (Other schools of thoughts differ in accepting these origins. They believe that the origins of Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari are Manipur-kamal, heart, larynx and mouth respectively.)

Inspite of the differences, all agree that Japa should come from the deep, Para Namee (whose name is being chanted) should be concentrated upon, in the Nama. Then only it is a true Japa. Saint Tukaram has said, “When you utter the name of Lord in your Vishuddha Kamal, He appears before you” When a human being is born, The Prana enters into him from the palate. Then it trickles down gradually and pervades the whole body. This fact is mentioned in the Aitaresh Upanishad. With the further growth of the infant the palate gets closed. In our body there are six Chakras or Plexii. To reach the state of Realisation (Sakshatkar), which is supposed to be the goal of human birth, we have to penetrate these six plexii or Chakras. For that purpose, it is necessary that all energy forces should flow in one and the same direction. To accomplish this, one pointed concentration is needed. And that can only be achieved by the destruction of the mind. Now, how the mind is to be destroyed? The solution is Namasmaran or Japa.

First we should know more about the Chakras. They are six in number. Let us start from the lowest one, which is a Mooladhar Chakra. It lies at the bottom of the spine. Above it, there is Swadhishthan Chakra. The third one Manipur that is situated in the navel region. So it is also called as Nabhi Chakra. Fourth one is Anahat Chakra or Rhut Kamal as it is in the heart region. Fifth one lies in the larynx. It is Vishuddha Chakra. Sixth one is found exactly between the two eyebrows and is known as Aadnya Chakra. This Chakra is like a two petaled flower. That is why it is called as Dwidal Kamal. All these are Dnyana Chakras. Many people deny their existence. They claim that they are imaginary. But this perception is totally wrong. Because Anatomy Science supports their existence.

All our body functions dependent on the nerves and the nervous system. Main controlling organs of this system are the brain and the spinal cord. Spinal cord runs through the backbone spine. Movements of our external organs like hands, feet, eyes etc. are under our control. They are carried out by the voluntary nerve fibres. But functions of heart, liver, intestine etc. are not under our control. These functions are carried out by the involuntary nerve fibres. When we know this we will realise the importance of Pranayam Kriya. When we have control over Prana, we can establish control over functions of other organs. First we can gain control on the organs which partially under our free-will. And by thorough practice we can gradually bring those things under our control, which are involuntary. There is one more nervous system in our body that is known as Sympathetic System. We have no control over the nerves in this system. These nerves are connected to various important organs. If there is any sort of malfunction these nerves, respective organs get affected.

This sympathetic system consists of Ganglia and Plexii. Ganglia are knots of nerve-fibres and plexus is an intricate network of nerve-fibres. These plexii lie by backbone but are on the abdominal side. There are six plexii from coccyx (monkey bone) to mid-eyebrow region. They are at a definite distance from each other. Their locations, structures and spheres of their actions etc. are known to Medical Sciences. They do not contradict with the ancient theories of these Chakras as stated by the Rishis, which is known spiritual science. Therefore intellectuals should not hesitate to agree that Spiritual Science is fancy or imagination but it has a strong scientific foundation. Our ancient Rishis and great Saints had the knowledge of the Chakras.

According to the locations of the Chakras, they can be given the names as follows:

[1] Mooladhara	Pelvic plexus
[2] Swadhishthan	Aortic plexus
[3] Manipur or Nabhi Kamal	Solar plexus Or Abominal Brain
[4] Anahat	Cardiac plexus
[5] Vishuddha	Cervical plexus
[6] Aadnya	Optic plexus
[7] Sahastradal Kamal	Brain

The seventh Chakra is the SahastradalKamal as it has a structure like a thousand petaled lotus and it is situated in the brain.

The locations of the Chakra can be better explained with one example. Nabhi Kamal lies at the level of navel. But it is not in the abdomen. It lies in the navel plane but touches the vertebra in that plane. All Chakras thus lie one over the other in the respective regions. (Readers should keep in mind that the author of this book was a medical doctor.) While doing Sadhana (spiritual practice), the Sadhaka (the aspirant) has to penetrate these Chakras one by one. Penetration is a rising of Pranashakti. From Mooladhara Prana comes to Swadhishthan and then to Manipur. This is a very important Chakra as the Kundalini lies here. Dnyaneshwar Maharaj has given a beautiful description of the rising of Prana. This is the path towards the goal, the Realisation (Sakshatkar). An aspirant goes through different spiritual experiences in this process.

Kundalini is in the form of three and a half circles. These are the three and a half Matras of the Pranav (Om). These three circles open one by one. Each mantra perishes step by step. Pranav is inspiration of Brahma. Therefore Kudalini is Maya. And it merges with Brahma. Because of ignorance the human tendencies are extrovert, so Kundalini turns downwards. When the tendencies turn inside with proper practice and knowledge, Kundalini turns towards upper direction. Kundalini is a form of energy. It is a Shakti! Just as electricity, it also cannot be shown. Electricity sometimes manifests in the form of light when friction occurs. Similarly, by the practice of Hathayoga and Rajayoga, when the Matras perish one by one, Kundalini also manifests in the form of light. When this energy gets activated, it is called ‘Kundalini Jagruti’, which can be achieved through Nama-Smaran, Mita-Bhashan, Dhyana, Vrutti-Nirodh Deha-Laya, and Mano-Laya, i.e. Chanting God’s name, talking less, meditation, control over tendencies are the respective English words for the first four terms. Deha-Laya is to know ‘I am not a body, but atma and Mano-Laya is to become desireless.

If an aspirant progresses as mentioned in above paragraph he is sure to get the spiritual experiences and he can establish control over his body functions, voluntary and involuntary. Baba had given a lesson to the wife of Ramchandra Atmaram Tarkhad, that one should see God in each and every being’. (Bhooti sadaiva pahava Bhagawant). One day, when she was in Shirdi, she started to eat her lunch with a plate in hand. At the same time there came a dog and started barking. She offered a piece of roti to it. Later she forgot about it. When she came to Dwarkamai in the afternoon Baba said to her, “Oh Mother, today you have fed me. I was very hungry. And you gave me bellyful roti. I was satisfied. Yes, it is true. Observe this as a rule. Feed the hungry before you eat.”

The woman was puzzled. She asked, “Baba, when did I give you roti? It is impossible”. Baba reminded her that she had given a piece of roti to a dog when she was eating her lunch. He told her to be always compassionate to all beings. She was happy that she had done a good action which had pleased Baba. She was also thrilled to understand the fact that Baba (God) was everywhere, and was present in all beings. Baba had always said, “Do not rebuff anybody or reject anybody with contempt. Whosoever, even cat or dog comes to you, it may have some unknown connection with you. Always there is some purpose behind it. So welcome one and all”. Baba was a perfect preceptor. He would not only keep preaching but He would also give practical lessons to illustrate His sayings. Two hours after the above incident, those who were present there, went to the Wada, and sat down to take lunch. Coincidently, there came a dog. By impulsive reaction they expelled it. The dog went next door where somebody thrashed it. When it started yelling and barking, they remembered Baba’s latest lesson. They thought, ‘If we had fed it, it would not have gone to the next door and would have been saved from that thrash. All of them felt sorry for the dog and were ashamed of not following Baba’s teachings.

Again, in the evening, when they went for listening to Kirtan (stories of glory of the God) rendered by Dasganu Maharaj, he too told a story concerning a dog. It was as follows:

God Vitthal went to saint Namdev’s house in the disguise of a dog. It snatched a roti from the plate and ran away. Namdev started running after it with a bowl full of pure ghee in his hand. He was calling the dog. “Deva, (oh God,) do not eat that dry roti. Eat this ghee with it; dry roti will harm your stomach.” Namdev was seeing God in all the beings, Dasganu Maharaj had emphasized. All these incidents regarding a dog took place on the same day. Surely it was not a coincidence. It was Baba’s Leela. Purpose of such Leelas was to teach the lessons to devotees. Nanasaheb was a fortunate devotee who received many such lessons directly from Sai Baba. All those who were fortunate had the opportunity of staying in the proximity of Mother Sai.

END OF CHAPTER 7

© Author – Dr. Keshav Bhagwant Gavankar (Annasahib Gavankar) – Explicit Rights To Publish To Shirdi Sai Baba Books.com (Member of SaiYugNetwork.com)