Shri Sai Satcharitra Chapter 14

Chapter – 14

Ruttonji Wadia of Nanded - Saint Moulisaheb - Dakshina - Mimansa

In the last chapter, we described how Baba’s word and grace cured many incurable diseases. Now we shall describe how Baba blessed Mr. Ruttonji Wadia with an issue.

The life of Sai Baba is thoroughly sweet. His various actions, eating, walking and His words are completely pure. His life is bliss incarnate. Sai Baba bestows these blessings as a means for His devotees to remember Him. He gave them various stories of duty and action, which ultimately led them to true religion. Baba thought people should live happily in this world, but more importantly, they should be ever cautious and gain the object of their life, viz. Self-realization. We get a human body as a result of merits in past births and it is worthwhile that with its aid, we should attain devotion and liberation in this life. We should, therefore, never be lazy, but always be on the alert to gain our end and aim of life.

If you hear the leelas (stories) of Sai daily, you will always see Him. Day and night you will remember Him in your mind. When you assimilate Sai in this way, your mind will lose its fickleness and if you go on in this manner, it will finally be merged in pure consciousness.

Ruttonji of Nanded

Now let us come to the main story of this chapter. At Nanded, in the Nizam state, there lived a Parsi businessman by the name of Ruttonji Shapurji Wadia. He had amassed a large amount of money and acquired fields and lands. He had cattle, horses and conveyances and was very prosperous. To all outward appearances, he looked very happy and contented, but inwardly, he was not so. Providential dispensation is such that no one in this world is completely happy and rich. Ruttonji was no exception to this. He was liberal and charitable, gave food and clothing to the poor, and helped all in various ways. The people took him to be a good and happy man, but Ruttonji thought himself miserable, as he had no issue, male or female. As kirtan (singing glories of the Lord) without love or devotion, pilgrimage without repentance, or proficiency in all arts without common sense are useless, so, too, Ruttonji thought that his life would be incomplete without a son. Ruttonji always brooded on this matter and mentally asked, “Would God ever be pleased to grant me a son?” He looked morose and had no relish for his food. Day and night he was enveloped with anxiety as to whether he would ever be blessed with a son.

Ruttonji had a great regard for Das Ganu Maharaj. He met him and opened his heart to him. Das Ganu advised him to go to Shirdi, take Baba’s darshan, fall at His feet, seek His blessing, and pray for an issue. Ruttonji liked the idea and decided to go to Shirdi. In a few days he went to Shirdi, took Baba’s darshan and fell at His feet. Then, opening a basket, he took out a beautiful garland of flowers and placed it around Baba’s neck and offered Him a basket of fruit. With great respect, he then sat near Baba, and prayed to Him saying, “Many people who find themselves in difficult situations come to You and You relieve them immediately. Hearing this, I have anxiously sought Your feet. Please do not disappoint me.” Sai Baba then asked him for dakshina of Rs. 5/ which Ruttonji intended to give, but Sai Baba then added that He had already received Rs. 3-14-0 from him and so he should pay the balance only. Hearing this, Ruttonji was rather puzzled. He could not make out what Baba meant. He thought to himself, since this was the first time he went to Shirdi, how was it Baba said He had already received Rs. 3-14-0 from him? He could not solve the riddle, but sat at Baba’s feet and gave the balance of the dakshina asked for. He explained fully to Baba why he came to seek His help, and prayed Baba would bless him with a son. Baba was moved and told him not to be worried, because from this point on, his bad days had come to an end. Baba then gave him udi, placed His hand on his head and blessed him, saying that Allah (God) would satisfy his heart’s desire.

Taking Baba’s leave, Ruttonji returned to Nanded and told Das Ganu all that took place in Shirdi. He said everything went well there, that he received Baba’s darshan and blessing with prasad, but there was one thing which he could not understand. Baba had said to him He had previously received Rs. 3-14-0 from him. Ruttonji then asked Das Ganu what Baba meant by this remark. He said to Das Ganu, “I never went to Shirdi before, so how could I give Baba the sum to which He referred?” This puzzled Das Ganu as well, so he pondered the matter seriously for a long time. After a while, it struck him that some days ago, Ruttonji had received a Mohammedan saint in his home by the name of Moulisaheb and had spent some money for his reception. This Moulisaheb was a cooly saint well known to the people of Nanded. Just when Ruttonji decided to go to Shirdi, this Moulisaheb accidently came to his house. Ruttonji knew him and loved him, so he gave a small party in his honor. Das Ganu got from Ruttonji the yadi (or memo of expenses) of that reception and everybody was wonderstruck to see the expenses amounted to exactly Rs. 3-14-0, nothing more, nothing less. Thus, everyone came to know Baba was omniscient. Although Baba lived only in Shirdi, He knew the past, present and future and could identify Himself heart and soul with anyone. In this particular instance, how could He have known about the reception given to Moulisaheb and the amount spent for such, unless He could identify Himself with him and be one with him?

Ruttonji was satisfied with this explanation and his faith in Baba was confirmed and increased. Later, in due time, he was blessed with a son and his joy knew no bounds. It is said he had in all a dozen children, out of which only four survived. In a foot note toward the end of this chapter, it is stated Sai Baba told Rao Bahadur Hari Vinayak Sathe after the death of his first wife, to remarry and that he would have a son. R.B. Sathe married a second time. The first two issues by his new wife were daughters and he, therefore, felt very despondent, but the third issue was a son. Baba’s word turned out to be true and Sathe was satisfied.

Dakshina Mimansa

Now we shall close this chapter with a few remarks about dakshina. It is a well known fact Sai Baba always asked for dakshina from people who went to see Him. Someone may ask a question, “If Baba was a fakir and perfectly non-attached, why should He ask for dakshina and care for money?” We shall consider this question broadly now. At first, and for a long time, Baba did not accept anything. He stored burnt matches and filled his pocket with them. He never asked anything from anyone, whether he be a devotee or otherwise. If anyone placed a pice or two before Him, He purchased oil or tobacco. He was fond of tobacco, for He always smoked a bidi or chillim (a clay pipe). Later on, some people thought that they could not see the saint empty handed and they placed some copper coins before Baba. If a one pice coin was placed before Him, He would pocket it. If it was a two pice coin, it was returned immediately. As Baba’s fame began to spread far and wide, people began to flock to Shirdi in numbers and Baba began to ask dakshina from them. It is said in the Shruti (Veda) that puja of the gods was not complete unless a golden coin was offered. If a coin was necessary in the puja of the gods, why should it not be so in the puja of saints as well? Ultimately, the Shastras state that when one goes to see God, king, saint or guru, he should not go empty handed. He should offer something, preferably coins or money. In this connection we may notice the precepts recommended by the Upanishads. The Brihadaranyak Upanishad says that the Lord Prajapati advised the gods, men and demons by one letter, “Da”. The gods understood by this letter that they should practice (1) dama i.e. self control; men, that they should practice (2) dana i.e. charity; the demons understood they should practice (3) daya i.e. compassion. To men, charity was recommended. The teacher in the Taittiriya Upanishad exhorts his pupils to practice charity and other virtues. Regarding charity, he says, “Give with faith, give with magnanimity, i.e. liberally; give with modesty, with awe and with sympathy.” In order to teach the devotees the lesson of charity and to remove their attachment to money and thus purify their minds, Baba extracted dakshina from them, but with this peculiarity - Baba said He had to give back one hundred times more than what He received. There are many instances in which this has happened. To quote an example, Mr. Ganpatrao Abodas, the famous actor, says in his Marathi autobiography, that Baba had often pressed him, again and again, for dakshina, and he had emptied his money bag before Him. The result of this, as Mr. Abodas says, was that in later life he never lacked money as it came to him abundantly.

In many cases, there were secondary meanings of dakshina in which Baba did not want any pecuniary amount. To quote two instances: (1) Baba asked Rs. 15/ as dakshina from Professor G.G. Narke, who replied that he did not have even a pie. Baba then said, “I know you have no money, but you are reading Yoga Vashistha. Give me dakshina from that.” Giving dakshina in this case meant ‘deriving lessons from the book and lodging them in the heart where Baba resides’. (2) In the second case Baba asked a certain lady, Mrs. R. A. Tarkhad, to give Rs. 6/ as dakshina. The lady felt pained as she had nothing to give. Her husband then explained to her Baba wanted six inner enemies (Kaama - lust, Krodha - anger, Lobha - greed, Moha - attachment, Mada - pride and Maatsarya -malice) to be surrendered to Him. Baba agreed with this explanation.

It is to be noted that though Baba collected a lot of money as dakshina, He would distribute the whole amount that same day, and the next morning, He would become, as usual, a poor fakir. When Baba took His mahasamadhi, after receiving thousands and thousands of rupees as dakshina for about ten years, He had only a few rupees in His possession. In short, Baba’s main object in taking dakshina from His devotees was to teach them the lessons of renunciation and purification.

Post Script

Mr. B.V. Deo of Thana, retired mamlatdar and a great devotee of Baba, wrote an article on this subject (dakshina) in ‘Shri Sai Leela’ magazine, vol. VII, p. 6-26, in which he says, amongst other things, the following:

“Baba did not ask dakshina from all. If some gave dakshina without being asked, He sometimes accepted it, and at other times, refused it. He asked it from certain devotees only. He never demanded it from those devotees who thought Baba should first ask them for it and then they should pay it. If anybody offered it against their wish, He never touched it, and if He kept it there, He would ask that it be taken away. He asked for small or large amounts from devotees according to their wish, devotion and convenience. He asked dakshina even from women and children. He never asked all the rich for it, nor from all the poor.”

“Baba never got angry with those from whom He asked dakshina, but who would not give any. If dakshina was sent via some friend who forgot to turn it over to Baba, He reminded the person to give Him said dakshina. On some occasions, Baba would return a portion of the dakshina and ask the donor to guard it or keep it in his shrine for worship. This procedure benefitted the donor or devotee immensely. If anyone offered more than he originally intended to give, Baba returned the extra amount. Sometimes Baba asked more dakshina from some than what they originally intended to give and, if they had no money, He would ask them to beg or borrow the amount from others. From some, Baba demanded dakshina three or four times a day.”

“Out of the amount collected as dakshina, Baba spent very little for His own sake, i.e. for buying chillim (clay pipe) and fuel for His dhuni (sacred fire). He distributed the remainder as charity in varying proportions to various individuals. All the paraphernalia of the Shirdi Sansthan was brought by various rich devotees at the insistence of Radha Krishna Mai. Baba always used to get wild and would scold those who brought expensive articles.”

Women and wealth are two difficult obstacles in the way of paramartha (spiritual life), and Baba provided two institutions for learning self-control in Shirdi, one being dakshina, the other, Radha Krishna Mai. Whenever people came to Him, He demanded dakshina from them and asked them to go to the “school” (Radha Krishna Mai’s house). If they stood these two tests well, i.e. if they showed they were free from attachment to women and wealth, their spiritual progress was rapid and assured by Baba’s grace and blessings.

Mr. Deo has also quoted passages from the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads to show that charity given in a holy place and to a holy person conduces to the donor’s welfare to a great degree - and what is more holy than Shirdi and its presiding deity - Sai Baba!

Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all