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O
Sai ! Thou
art the Datta Tattwa, Who
teacheth us to learn from everything... O
Baba ! The year 1910 is written in gold on the heart of each of
Your devotees, for that was the year that Govind R. Dabholkar alias
Hemadpant visited Shirdi.
On seeing You grinding wheat, his curiosity was aroused, and he wished
with all his heart to write Your biography. When he did bow before You
to seek Your permission through Shama, You were moved, and blessed him
by giving him Your Udi (Vibhuti) and placing Your boon-bestowing
hand on his head with these words... “Make a collection of stories and
experiences; keep notes and memos; I’ll help you. You are only an
outward instrument. I should write myself my autobiography and satisfy
the wishes of my devotees… When your ego is completely annihilated and
there is left no trace of it, myself shall enter into you and shall
write myself.”(Shri Sai Satcharita, Chapter 2) And
Baba ! Rest is history, - history of the God Who descended on earth, - history
of the God Who walked on the soil of Shirdi for 60 years. Nay, Baba !
Nay, it is the history of the God Who is still, and ever will be with
His devotees wherever they be. O my Sadguru ! Yes, it is
Your history, which Hemadpant inscribes, after Your ‘entry into
him’, in Shri Sai Satcharita. Your ‘entry into him’ made
him experience an epiphany, a spiritual flash that You are an
‘incarnation of Lord Dattatreya’ (Shri Sai Satcharita, Chapter 1) O
Sai ! Dattatreya descended into the realm of the world as progeny
of Atri and Anusuya, a sage couple of the Vedic age. Seer Atri was one
of such seers who had ‘seen’ and experienced the Brahma-gnyan,
the eternal wisdom; and Anusuya became famous for her devotion to her
husband. She was the embodiment of chastity. One
story tells that once a Brahmin named Kaushik was staying in a town
called Pratishthan. He used to go to a whore in spite of being a Brahmin
and having a devoted wife Nalayani. Later, he suffered from leprosy and
was thrown out by the whore. Then, he came back to his wife who accepted
him still. However, he still did not care for the wife, and was thinking
about the whore all the time. One day he asked his wife to take him to
that whore. In that town, the sage Mandavya had been spiked instead of a
real thief; and he was lying on the spike in the forest. While walking
through the deep forest in the night, Kaushik happened to hit his leg by
mistake to Mandavya sage who cursed him to death before the sunrise. To
stop the curse, Kaushik’s devoted wife, with her powers of austerity,
restrained the sun from rising, upon which all the activities ceased,
and created havoc. The Gods, alarmed by this, went to Lord Brahma for
counsel. Lord Brahma said, “Majesty is subdued by majesty indeed, and
austerities also by austerities, O ye immortals ! Hearken, therefore, to
my advice. Through the might of the faithful wife, the sun does not
rise; and from its not rising, loss befalls mortals and you. Hence do
ye, through desire that sun should rise, propitiate Atri’s faithful
wife Anusuya who is rich in austerities.’’ Having been so
instructed, the Gods sought the help of the wife of the sage Atri. When
they submitted their desires, she replied, “The might of a faithful
wife may not be lost in any wise. Hence, while honouring that good lady,
I will liberate the day”, and requested Kaushik’s wife to let the
sun rise. At Anusuya’s exhortation, Nalayani relented; the sun rose,
and Kaushik died; but he was restored to life by the virtuous Anusuya. Then,
there fell a shower of flowers, accompanied with the strains of heavenly
instruments and other musical instruments. And, the Gods were delighted
and said to Anusuya, “In as much thou hast accomplished a great job
for the Gods, the Gods will be pleased to grant thee a boon, O ascetic
lady ! Therefore, choose a boon, O blessed lady !” Anusuya
spoke, “If ye Gods headed by Brahma, being favourable, will grant me a
boon, and if ye deem me worthy of a boon, then let Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva become sons to me, and let me in company with my husband attain
religious devotion, to the end that I may be delivered from
affliction.” “Be it so !” exclaimed Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva,
and the other Gods to her; and they departed, duly honoring the ascetic
lady. Another
story tells that such was the spiritual power of Anusuya, which induced
jealousy and envy in others. Once, sage Narada poisoned the minds of the
three Goddesses Saraswati, Laxmi and Parvati by telling them that
Anusuya was much greater than them. Incensed by this, they requested
their husbands to go and violate Anusuya’s ‘Pativrata Vrata’.
However, the three Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva decided to prove their
jealous and envious wives, how wrong they were. They
transformed themselves into mendicants, approached the hermitage of sage
Atri and begged for alms. At that time sage Atri was away at the river
offering his daily oblations. Anusuya came out and offered food to them.
They made a strange request; the food be prepared and served to them by
Anusuya, in the nude. In the Indian tradition any ‘Atithi’
(guest) cannot be turned away, as he is considered to be an aspect of
God. Hence, she was placed in a dilemma. She smiled to herself and
reflected thus :- ‘I am totally purified by the long association
with the holy sage Atri. What harm can the God of lust ever do to me ?
So, I do fear nothing. As they have sought food from my hands, I look
upon them as my own children and not as strangers and grown up men !’
Her thoughts – the thoughts of a pious and chaste person – instantly
became reality; the elderly guests became babies ! Sage
Atri, on his return to the hermitage, saw his wife Anusuya fondling
three babies. Anusuya said, “These children are the gift of God to us
who have been childless so far”. Sage Atri was overjoyed and named
them Datta,
which means ‘given’.
At this, the three Gods reverted to their real forms and disclosed the
truth. They extolled the power of chastity and purity of Anusuya, which
vanquished the combined and colossal powers of all the three of them.
Sage Atri and Anusuya prayed that they should remain as their sons. They
consented and the three Gods merged into one body. This is how Lord
Dattatreya incarnated. O
my Lord Sainath ! I bow to Lord Dattatreya, Whose Avatar art
Thou : My
salutations to Dattatreya, Who
in the beginning is Brahma the Creator, Who
in the middle is Vishnu the Preserver, Who
in the end is Shiva the Destroyer, And
the Lord Who represents the Trinity. O
Baba ! I now hearken unto Your words, which You uttered one day, while
the devotees were returning from Your Dwarkamai-Masjid to
their lodgings after the Aarati at noon : “Be
wherever you live, do whatever you choose, remember this well that, all
what you do is known to me. I am the Inner Ruler of all and seated in
their hearts. I envelope all the creatures, the movable and immovable
world. I am the Controller - the Wire-puller of the show of this
Universe. I am the Mother - origin of all beings - the Harmony of three Gunas,
the Propeller of all senses, the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer.
Nothing will harm him, who turns his attention towards me…” (Shri
Sai Satcharita, Chapter 3) O
Sai ! My humble prostrations unto Thee. O
Baba ! You have indicated, through many events narrated in the various
Chapters of Shri Sai Satcharita, that You are
the incarnation of Lord Dattatreya. Here, it shall be delightful
to recall the story of the gentleman from Goa , who was a
Datta devotee, and made a pilgrimage to Shirdi to have Your Darshan.
You demanded the Dakshina of Rs.15/- from him, which he owed to
Lord Dattatreya. In fact, this gentleman had once gone to Goa in search
of a job for himself, and had taken a vow to Lord Dattatreya that if He
blessed him with an employment, he would offer Him his first month’s
salary. Although by the grace of His Lord he got an appointment with a
salary of Rs.15/- per month, yet he did forget to keep his word. O Baba
! You just reminded him of his vow, and recovered Rs. 15/- from him. It
was, in fact, not Dakshina as one may think it to be, but a
realization of an old debt and fulfillment of long forgotten vow. O Sai
! You, being the incarnation of Dattatreya, were the rightful claimant
of that amount of money. (Shri Sai Satcharita, Chapter 36) O Baba ! Thou
art, in reality, the Datta Tattwa, who reminds the forgetful of
his vow : O
Sai ! Thou
art the Datta Tattwa, Who
teacheth us to learn from everything... O
Sai ! Nor less fascinating is the story of one of Your ardent devotees
Nanasaheb Chandorkar, who had an equal devotion for Lord Dattatreya.
Whenever he was on his way to Shirdi, it was his usual practice to first
make, even in his eagerness to reach You as early as possible, a visit
to the Datta temple at Kopargaon. O Baba ! It so happened once
that he arrived at Shirdi along with his co- son in law, skipping
his salutations to Lord Dattatreya at Kopargaon, despite the fact
that his co-son in law too was an ardent Datta devotee. O Sai ! On his
reaching Shirdi, You cautioned Nana against repeating the mistake in
future- certainly, to make him realize that the Datta temple was
actually the turning point where Your devotee could have Your
preliminary darshan.( Shri Sai Satcharita, Chapter: 38) O
Baba ! Thou art, in reality, the Datta Tattwa, who reminds a forgetful
devotee of his routine: O
Sai ! Thou
art the Datta Tattwa, Who
teacheth us to learn from everything... O
Sai ! It is said that when Dattatreya put his hand on someone’s head,
even that of an idiot, then that person instantly acquired the knowledge
of the Vedas and the Shastras. One day his hand
inadvertently touched the head of a milkmaid who used to come to his
residence. On her way home, she was taunted by some pundits, ‘O
milkmaid ! What do you learn there ?’ She replied, ‘I learn brahma-gnyan.’
They asked, ‘What is brahma-gnyan’. She replied, ‘It is the
same as separating pieces of stone from rice with the help of a
winnowing basket. You throw away the stones and keep the rice to use.’
The pundits were taken aback by the milkmaid’s reply. She answered all
their questions with understanding. O
Baba ! Isn’t this story analogous to the one related with Kaka Saheb
Dixit’s maidservant. (Shri Sai Satcharita, Chapter: 20)
Das Ganu once started to write a Marathi commentary on the Ishavasya
Upanishad.It was really a difficult task to translate it in a
vernacular language, and brief out its exact meaning. Das Ganu
translated it in Marathi ‘Ovi’ metre, verse by verse, but as
he did not comprehend the gist or essence of the Upanishad, he was not
satisfied with his performance. He, therefore, consulted some scholars.
But they failed to satisfy Das Ganu. O Sai ! When nobody could satisfy
Das Ganu, he resolved to consult You. Then, O Baba ! You blessed him and
said, “You need not be anxious, there is no difficulty about the
matter; the maidservant of Kaka Saheb Dixit will solve your doubts at
Vile Parle(a suburb of Mumbai). The devotees, who were present there and
heard that, thought that You were just joking. They whispered, “How
could an illiterate maidservant solve the difficulties of this
nature”, but Das Garu thought otherwise. He was sure, that whatever
You spoke, must come true. Your words were the decree of the Brahma
(Almighty) as... O
Sai ! Thou
art the Datta Tattwa, Who
teacheth us to learn from everything... O
Sai ! Armed with full faith in Your words, Das Ganu left Shirdi and came
to Vile Parle, and stayed with Kakasaheb Dixit. There the next morning,
while Das Ganu was still half-awaken’d, he heard a girl singing a song
in clear and melodious tones. The subject matter of the song was a
crimson colored Sari, how nice it was, how fine was its embroidery, how
beautiful were its ends and borders etc. He loved the song so much that
he came out, and found that it was being sung by the maidservant of Kaka
Saheb. The maid was cleaning utensils, and had only a torn rag on her
person. On seeing her impoverished condition, and her jovial
temperament, Das Ganu felt pity for her. Next day he gifted her a sari.
Like a starving person getting luckily good dishes to eat, her joy knew
no bounds. Next day she wore the new Sari, and out of great joy and
merriment, whirled, danced round and played ‘Fugadi’ with other
girls and excelled them all. The day after she kept the new Sari in her
box at home and came with the old and torn rags, but she looked as merry
as she did the previous day. On seeing this, Das Ganu’s pity was
turned into amazement. He thought that the girl being poor had to wear a
torn rag, but now she had a new Sari which she kept in reserve and
putting on the old rag, strutted herself, showing no trace of sorrow or
dejection. Thus he realized that all our feelings of pain and pleasure
depend upon the attitude of our mind. On thinking deeply over this
incident, he realized that a man ought to enjoy whatever God has
bestowed on him in the firm conviction that He besets every thing, from
behind and before, and on all sides and that whatever is bestowed on him
by God must be for his good. In this particular case, the impoverished
condition of the poor girl, her torn rag and the new Sari, the donor,
the dance and the acceptance were all parts of the Lord and pervaded by
Him. Hence, Das Ganu got a practical demonstration of the lesson of the
Upanishad - the lesson of contentment with one’s own lot in the belief
that whatever happens is ordained by God, and is ultimately good for us.
O Baba ! To those who say that it wasn’t necessary to send away Das
Ganu to Vile Parle and that, You could have Yourself taught him, the
simple answer is: O
Sai ! Thou
art the Datta Tattwa, Who
teacheth us to learn from everything... O
Sai ! Lord Dattatreya had twenty four teachers from Nature. “Many are
my preceptors,” he told King Yadu, “selected by my keen sense, from
whom acquiring wisdom freely, I wander in the world.” Aye, Baba ! Aye,
once he saw an eagle flying with a piece of meat in its beak. Then
another eagle snatched the piece of meat, and the eagle that lost the
piece of meat was left free. But the other eagles started fighting over
that piece of meat. O my Sadguru ! Datta realized from this experience
that where there was accumulation, there was insecurity. Where there was
no accumulation, nobody cared. There were no robberies in a beggar’s
house. In
twenty-four different situations, Dattatreya gained knowledge from
earth, air/breeze, sky, fire, the sun, pigeon, python, sea, moth,
elephant, ant, fish, Pingala the courtesan, arrow-maker, infant/playful
boy, the moon, honeybee, deer, bird of prey, maiden, serpent, spider,
caterpillar and water. They are his twenty-four preceptors. O Baba ! You
are an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya: O
Sai ! Thou
art the Datta Tattwa, Who
teacheth us to learn from everything... Lord
Dattatreya appears with a Jhola (a bag) hung on his shoulder, and
so do You, O Sai ! He has all the powers of God viz. creation,
preservation, and destruction, and so have You, O Baba ! He lives as a
Fakir (a beggar), and so do You, my Lord ! He goes for Bhiksha or
alms, and so do You, O Brahmaanda Naayaka ! The spiritual meaning
of this Bhiksha or alms-begging by You is that You are asking
Your devotees, “Give Me all your sins”. You ask for the sins of the
devotees’s past and present lives. You collect, and swallow, and
digest these sins: O
Sai ! Thou
art the Datta Tattwa, Who
teacheth us to learn from everything... O
Sai ! Your required no special place, nor any special time for giving
instructions to Your devotees. Whenever any occasion demanded, You
taught them freely. Once it so happened that one of Your devotees
reviled his brother behind his back in the presence of so many of Your
devotees. O Sai ! You have your own method of correcting the scandal-mongers.When
You met the slanderer, You pointed out to him a pig that was eating
filth near the fence and said to him - “Behold how, with what relish
it is gorging dung. Your conduct is similar. You go on reviling your own
brethren to your heart’s content. After performing many deeds of
merit, you are born a man, and if you act like this, will Shirdi help
you in any way ?” (Shri Sai Satcharita, Chapters: 18-19)
O Baba ! Needless to say, that the devotee took the lesson to his heart,
and went away:- O
Sai ! Thou
art the Datta Tattwa, Who
teacheth us to learn from everything... O
Baba ! On an another occasion, one day at noon, You came near the house
of one of Your devotees Radha-Krishna-Mai
and said, “Bring Me a ladder.”
The ladder was immediately brought, and set against the house as
directed by You. You climbed up on the roof of the nearby house, passed
the roof of Radha-Krishna-Mai’s house and then got down from the other
corner. What object You had, none could know ! Radha-Krishna-Mai was, at
that time, suffering from fever. It may be to drive off that fever, that
You may have gone there. Immediately after getting down, You paid Rupees
two to the person who brought the ladder. Somebody asked You, “why did
You pay so much for this ?” And promptly came Your reply, O Baba !
“Labor should always be engaged on wages, and handsome remuneration
should promptly be paid. (Shri Sai Satcharita, Chapters: 18-19) O
Sai ! Thou
art the Datta Tattwa, Who
teacheth us to learn from everything... Jaya
Deva Jaya Deva Datta Avadhutaa, O
Sayee Avadhutaa Jodooni kara tava charanee
ttevito maathaa, Jaya
Deva Jaya Dev Hail
Lord ! Datta Avadhuta ! (a divine Incarnation) O Sai Avadhuta ! With my
folded hands, I place my head at your feet. Hail Lord ! Hail Lord ! Avataraseen
too yaetaan dharmaante glanee, Naastheekaanaahee too laavisi
nijabhajanee Daavisi naanaa leela asankhya roopaanee, Harisee dheenanche
too sankata dinarajanee Jaya Deva Jaya Deva… You
take Avatar (Incarnation) when Dharma (purity and righteousness)
declines; Even the non-believers devolopfaith in you. Showing many types
of Leelas (Graces) in your innumerable forms; you remove the miseries of
your devotees, day and night. Hail Lord… Yavana
swaroopee aikhyaa darshana twaan dhidhale, Samsaya nirsuniyaan
thathdwaitaa ghaalavile Gopichandaa mandaa twaanchee uddharile, Momina
vamsee janmuni lokaan taariyale Jaya Deva Jaya Deva… You
gave Darshan (divine vision) to someone in the guice of Moslem. By
removing all doubts, you set him on the path leading towards the unity
with the Self. Even Raja Gopichanda and the river Mandakini (Ganges)
were purified by you. Born of a Moslem family of weavers you had brought
salvation to all the people. Hail Lord Sai… Bhed
na tathwee hindoo yavananchaa kaanhee Daawayaansee jzaalaa punarapi
naradehee Paahasin premaane too Hindu yavanaanhee, Daavisi aatmatwaane
vyaapaka haa sayee Jaya Deva Jaya Deva… You
do not distinguish between Hindus and Moslems. In the present human form
taken by you, you give the same look of love both to the Hindus and
Moslems and establish the universality of your love. Hail Lord Sai… Devaa
Sayeenaathaa twatpadanata vhaahe, paramaayaamohita janamochana jhanin
vhaave Twakripayaa sakalaanche sankata nirasaawe, deshila tari de
twadhyash krishnaane gaave Jaya Deva Jaya Deva… O
the Lord Sainatha, I would always like to be at your feet, Liberate the
mankind stepped in worldly illusions and remove their difficulties by
your grace. If you desire to give me anything, then give
me the ability to sing your prayers. Hail Lord… – Dr. Subodh Agarwal Mobile : 09897384814 Tel. & Fax : 0135-2622810 e-mail : subodhagarwal27@gmail.com qqq |
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