Shri Sai Satcharita Chapter 20

Chapter – 20

Das Ganu’s Problem Solved by Kaka’s Maid Servant

In this chapter Hemadpant describes how Das Ganu Maharaj’s problem was solved by Kakasaheb Dixit’s maid servant.

Preliminary

Sai (Lord) was originally formless. He assumed a form for the sake of His bhaktas. With the help of the actress maya, He played the part of an actor in the big drama of the universe. Let us remember and visualize Shri Sai. Let us imagine Shirdi and carefully visualize the program after the noon arati. When the arati ceremony was over, Sai Baba would come out of the masjid, and, while standing on its edge and gazing lovingly at His devotees, distribute udi. The bhaktas would respond with equal fervor. Some would clasp His feet, and others would remain standing and stare at Him in awe adoringly. Everyone would enjoy the shower of udi. Baba distributed handfuls of udi into the palms of His devotees and marked their foreheads with udi with His fingers. The love He bore for them in His heart was boundless. He then addressed the bhaktas as follows: “Oh Bhau, go take your lunch. You Anna, go to your lodgings. You, Bapu, enjoy your meal.” In this way, He conversed with every devotee and sent them home. Even now these scenes of Baba can be visualized and enjoyed if the imagination is brought into play. Thus, bringing Sai before our mental vision, let us meditate on Him, from His holy feet to His benevolent face, and, prostrating before Him, humbly, lovingly and respectfully, revert to the story of this chapter.

Ishavasya Upanishad

Das Ganu once started to write a Marathi commentary on the Ishavasya Upanishad. Let us first give a brief idea of this Upanishad before proceeding further. It is called a ‘Mantropanishad’ as it is embodied in the mantras of the Vedic Samhitas. It constitutes the last or 40th chapter of the Vajasaneyi Samhita (Yajurveda) and it is, therefore, called Vajasaneyi Samhitopanishad. Being embodied in Vedic Samhitas, this is regarded as superior to all other Upanishads which occur in the Brahmanas and Aranyakas (explanatory treatises on mantras and rituals). Not only this, other Upanishads are considered to be commentaries on the truths mentioned briefly in the Ishavasya Upanishad. For instance, the biggest of the Upanishads, viz. the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, is considered by Pandit Satwalekar to be a running commentary on the Ishavasya Upanishad. Professor R.D. Ranade says, “The Ishopanishad is quite a small Upanishad and yet it contains many hints which show an extraordinary piercing insight. Within the short compass of 18 verses, it gives a valuable mystical description of the atman, a description of the ideal sage who stands unruffled in the midst of temptations and sorrows, an adumbration of the doctrine of karma yoga as later formulated, and finally, a reconciliation of the claims of knowledge and work. The most valuable idea that lies at the root of the Upanishad is that of a logical synthesis between the two opposites of knowledge and work, which are both required according to the Upanishad to be annulled in a higher synthesis.” (page 24 of the Constructive Survey of the Upanishadic Philosophy). In another place he says that “The poetry of the Ishopanishad is a commixture of moral, mystical and metaphysical thought.” From the brief description given above about this Upanishad, anyone can see how difficult it is to translate this Upanishad into a vernacular language and bring 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 learned men regarding his doubts and difficulties and discussed the Upanishad with them at great length. They did not help his comprehension, nor did they give him any rational satisfactory explanation, so Das Ganu was a little restless over the matter.

Satguru Only Is Competent and Qualified to Explain

As we have seen, this Upanishad is the quintessence of the Vedas. It is the science of Self realization. It is the scythe or weapon which can rend asunder the bondage of life and death and make us free. Only he, therefore, who has himself attained Self-realization, can give us the correct interpretation of this Upanishad. When no one could satisfy Das Ganu, he resolved to consult Sai Baba about this. When an opportunity arose to go to Shirdi, Das Ganu went directly to Sai Baba, prostrated himself before Him, mentioned his difficulties about the Ishavasya Upanishad, and requested that Baba give the correct interpretation. Sai Baba blessed him and said, “You need not be anxious. There is no difficulty about the matter. The maid servant of Kaka (Kakasaheb Dixit) will solve your doubts at Vile Parle on your way home.” The people who were present heard this, thought Baba was joking, and said, “How can an illiterate maid servant solve the difficult meaning of this Upanishad?” Das Ganu, however, thought otherwise. He was certain that whatever Baba said, must come true. Baba’s word was the decree of Brahma (Almighty).

Kaka’s Maid Servant

Fully believing in Baba’s words, Das Ganu left Shirdi, arrived at Vile Parle (a suburb of Bombay), and stayed with Kakasaheb Dixit. The next day, while Das Ganu was enjoying his morning nap (some say he was engaged in worship), he heard a poor girl singing a beautiful song in clear and melodious tones. The song was about a crimson colored sari, how nice it was, how fine its embroidery, how beautiful its borders etc. Das Ganu liked the song so much, he went outside and saw it was being sung by a young girl, the sister of Namya, who was a servant of Kakasaheb. The girl was cleaning vessels and was wearing only a torn rag. Seeing her impoverished condition and her jovial temperament, Das Ganu felt pity for her and so the next day, when Rao Bahadur M.V. Pradhan gave him a pair of dhotars, he requested a sari be given to the poor little girl. Rao Bahadur bought a good chirdi (small sari) and presented it to her. Like a starving person receiving delicious food to eat, the little girl’s joy knew no bounds. The next day she wore the new sari and out of great joy and merriment, she whirled, danced round, played ‘fugadi’ with the other girls and excelled them all. The following day, however, she kept the new sari in a box at home and came to work wearing her old, torn rags. Nevertheless, she looked as merry as she did the previous day. Seeing this, Das Ganu’s pity was transformed into admiration. He knew that the girl, being poor, had to wear a torn rag, but now she had a new sari which she kept in reserve. Having put on the old rag, while keeping her new sari at home safe in a box, she strutted about showing no trace of sorrow or dejection. Thus, Das Ganu realized that all our feelings of pain and pleasure depend upon our attitude of mind. Bliss is something which comes from the spirit within, not without, and is not dependent on external objects or circumstances from the transient material world.

In this particular case, the impoverished condition of the poor girl, her torn rag, her new sari, the donor, the receiver, and the acceptance were all parts of the Lord’s plan and were pervaded by Him. The young girl was joyful when she had only torn rags to wear, was joyful when she wore her new sari, and was joyful when she once again was wearing her torn rags. Thus, her joyful attitude came from her inner spirit, not from the conditions of her life. Thinking deeply over this incident, Das Ganu realized one should be content and at peace with one’s lot in life in the firm conviction that everything is pervaded and ordained by God. Das Ganu got a practical demonstration of the lesson of the Ishavasya Upanishad - that it is our attitude of mind which determines our feelings. Lasting happiness and bliss come from the inner spirit, and not from the material world.

Unique Method of Teaching

From the above incident, the reader will see Baba’s teaching method was unique and varied. Though Baba never left Shirdi, He sent some devotees to Machhindragad, some to Kolhapur and others to Sholapur for practicing sadhanas. To some, He appeared in His usual form; to others, He appeared in waking or dream states, day or night, and satisfied their desires. It is impossible to describe all the methods Baba used in imparting instructions to His bhaktas. In this particular case, He sent Das Ganu to Vile Parle where he had his problem solved through the maid servant experience. To those who say it was not necessary to send Das Ganu away, that Baba could have personally explained the meaning in the Ishavasya Upanishad, we note Baba followed the best course, for how else could Das Ganu have learnt the great lesson provided by the experience of the poor maid servant and her sari, which in turn helped him understand the meaning of the Ishasvasya Upanishad?

We now close this chapter with another beautiful extract about this Upanishad.

The Ethics of the Ishavasya Upanishad

“One of the main features of the Ishavasya Upanishad is the ethical advice it offers. It is interesting to note that the ethics of this Upanishad are definitely based upon the metaphysical position advanced in it. The very opening words of the Upanishad tell us God pervades everything. As a corollary of this metaphysical position, the ethical advice it offers is that a man ought to enjoy whatever God bestows on him in the firm belief that as the Lord pervades everything, whatever is bestowed on him by God must be for his good. It follows, naturally, that the Upanishad should forbid us from coveting another man’s property. In fact, we are fittingly taught here a lesson of contentment with one’s own lot in the belief that whatever exists, is divinely ordained. The Upanishad also gives the moral advice always to spend one’s lifetime in doing good actions, especially the karmas detailed in the shastras, in a mood of believing and joyful resignation to His will. Inactivity, according to this Upanishad, would be the canker of the soul. It is only when a man spends his lifetime in doing good actions, that he can hope to attain the ideal of naishkarma. (However, we need God’s grace to allow us to perform good actions.) Finally, the text goes on to say that a man who sees all beings in the Self and sees the Self as existing in all beings, in fact, for whom all beings and everything that exists have become the Self, cannot suffer infatuation. What ground would such a man have for grief? Loathing, infatuation and grief verily proceed from our not being able to see the atman in all things. But a man who realizes the oneness of all things, for whom everything has become the Self, must ipso facto, cease to be affected by the common foibles of humanity.” (pages 169-170 of the Creative Period by Messrs. Belvalkar and Ranade.)

Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all