Shri Sai Satcharitra Chapter 49

Chapter – 49

Stories of: Hari Kanoba - Somadev Swami - Nanasaheb Chandorkar

Preliminary

The Vedas and the Puranas cannot sufficiently praise (describe) Brahma or the satguru. How then can we, who are ignorant, describe our satguru, Shri Sai Baba? We think it is better to keep quiet in this matter. In reality, the observance of the vow of silence is the best way of praising the satguru. The good qualities of Sai Baba, however, make us forget our vow of silence and inspire us to speak. Delicious dishes taste flat if there be no company of friends and relations to partake of them with us, but when they join us, the dishes acquire additional flavor. The same is true of the Sai Leelamrit - the nectar in the form of Sai’s leelas. This nectar should be enjoyed in the company of our friends and relations - the more, the better.

It is Sai, Himself, that inspires these stories and gets them written as He desires. Our duty is to surrender completely to Him and meditate on Him. Practicing penance is better than vows, sacrifices, charity, or making pilgrimages, and worshiping the Lord is better than penance. Meditation on the satguru is the best of all. We have, therefore, to chant Sai’s name, ponder His sayings, meditate on His form and feel real love for Him in our heart. All these actions must be done for His sake. There is no better means than this for snapping the bondage of samsar. If we do our duty in accordance to this, Sai is bound to help and liberate us. We now revert to the stories of this chapter.

Hari Kanoba

A gentleman from Bombay named Hari Kanoba heard of Sai Baba’s leelas from his friends and relations. He did not believe in them, as he was a doubting Thomas. Since he wanted to test Baba himself, he went to Shirdi with some of his friends from Bombay. He wore a jari bordered turban on his head and a new pair of sandals on his feet. Seeing Baba from a distance, he thought of going over to Him and prostrating himself before Him, however, he did not know what to do with his new sandals. He decided to place them in a corner of the open courtyard and then return to the masjid to receive Baba’s darshan. Having done so, Hari Kanoba made a reverential bow to Baba, took udi and prasad from Him, and returned to the open courtyard. When Hari reached the corner wherein he had placed his new sandals, he was shocked to find they had disappeared. He searched for them in vain and returned to his lodging very dejected. He bathed, offered worship and naivedya, and sat for meals, but all the while, he was thinking only about his missing sandals. Upon finishing his meal, he went out to wash his hands and saw a Maratha boy coming toward him. The boy had a stick in his hand, on top of which was suspended a new pair of sandals. The youngster told the men who had come out to wash their hands that Baba had sent him with this stick and sandals and had asked him to go about the streets crying, “Hari Ka Beta. Jarika Pheta.” He continued that Baba told him, “If anyone claims these sandals, first assure yourself that his name is Hari and he is the son of Ka, i.e., Kanoba, and that he wears a jari bordered turban. Only then, give the sandals.” Upon hearing this, Hari Kanoba was pleasantly surprised. He went over to the boy, claimed the sandals as his own, explaining that his name was Hari and he was the son of Ka (Kanoba). He then showed the child his jari bordered turban. The boy was satisfied and returned the sandals to him. In rethinking what had happened, Hari Kanoba realized that his jari bordered turban was visible to everyone and Baba might have seen it, but how could He know his name was Hari and that he was the son of Kanoba, as this was his first trip to Shirdi? After all, he came to Shirdi with the sole object in mind of testing Baba, and with no other motive. Thus, he came to know by this incident, that Baba was a great satpurush. Hari Kanoba got exactly the proof he wanted and returned home well pleased with Sai Baba.

Somadeva Swami

Now hear the story of another man who came to test Baba. Bhaiji, brother of Kakasaheb Dixit, was staying in Nagpur. When he had gone to the Himalayas in 1906, he made the acquaintance of Somadeva Swami of Haradwar at Uttarkashi in the Gangotri valley. Both took down each other’s names in their diaries. Five years later, Somadeva Swami came to Nagpur as Bhaiji’s guest. There, he was pleased to hear of Sai Baba’s leelas, and a strong desire arose in his mind to go to Shirdi to see Him. He got a letter of introduction from Bhaiji and left for Shirdi. After passing Manmad and Kopergaon, the swami took a tanga and drove to Shirdi. As he approached Shirdi, he saw two flags waving high up over the masjid. Generally, various paraphernalia are associated with different saints, as well as different modes of behavior and styles of living, but these outward signs should never be a standard with which to judge the worth of a saint. Somadeva Swami, however, was influenced by such. When he saw the flags flying over the masjid, he thought, “Why should a saint take a liking for these flags? Does this denote sainthood? It simply implies the saint’s hankering after fame.” Thinking in this manner, he then wished to cancel his Shirdi trip and told his fellow travelers that he would go back. They immediately replied to him, “Then why did you come so far? If your mind becomes restless at the sight of flags, how much more agitated would you be on seeing the ratha (car), the palanquin, the horse and all the other paraphernalia?” The swami became more confounded and said, “I have seen so many sadhus with horses, palanquins and tom-toms that it is better for me to return than see any more such sadhus.” So saying, he started to leave. The swami’s fellow travelers pressed him not to go back, and urged him to proceed with them. They asked him to stop his crooked way of thinking and told him that the sadhu, i.e., Baba, did not care a bit for flags, fame or paraphernalia. It was the people, His devotees, who displayed all the paraphernalia out of love and devotion to Him. Finally, the swami was persuaded to continue his journey, go to Shirdi, and see Baba. When he went and saw Baba in the courtyard, he melted inside, his eyes filled with tears, his throat constricted and all his evil and crooked thoughts vanished. He remembered his guru’s saying, “Our abode and place of rest is where the mind is most pleased and charmed.” The swami wished to roll himself in the dust of Baba’s feet, but then he approached Baba, he was startled as Baba became wild and cried aloud, “Let all our humbug (paraphernalia) be with us. Go back to your home! Beware if you come back to this masjid! Why take darshan from one who flies flags over His masjid? Is this a sign of sainthood? Do not remain here for even one moment!” The swami was taken aback by surprise. He realized Baba could read his mind. The swami recognized Baba was omniscient, pure and noble and that, he, himself, was least intelligent. The swami looked on as Baba was embracing devotees, touching someone with His hand of grace, comforting others, staring kindly at some, laughing with others, giving udi and prasad and pleasing and satisfying all. The swami wondered why he alone should be dealt with so harshly. Thinking seriously about the matter, he came to realize that Baba’s conduct responded exactly to his inner thoughts and that he should take a lesson from that and improve. The swami realized that Baba’s remote conduct and wrath was a blessing in disguise. It is needless to say that later on his faith in Baba was confirmed and he became a staunch devotee of Baba.

Nanasaheb Chandorkar

Hemadpant concludes this chapter with a story of Nanasaheb Chandorkar. Once, when Nanasaheb was sitting in the masjid with Mhalasapati and others, a Mohammedan gentleman from Bijapur came with his family to see Baba. When Nanasaheb saw the gosha ladies who accompanied the gentleman, he became anxious and wanted to go away, but Baba prevented him from doing so. The ladies came and received darshan from Baba. When one of the ladies removed her veil before honoring Baba’s feet, Nanasaheb, who saw her face, was so smitten with her rare beauty that he wished to see her face again. Knowing Nana’s restlessness of mind, Baba spoke to him after the lady had gone and said, “Nana, why are you getting agitated in vain? Let the senses do their allotted work. We should not meddle with their work. God has created this beautiful world and it is our duty to appreciate its beauty. The mind will become steady and will gradually calm itself. When the front door is open, why use the back one? When the heart is pure, there is no difficulty whatsoever. Why should one be afraid of anyone, if there be no evil thought in his mind? Let the eyes do their work. Why should you feel shy and tottering?” Shama was present while Baba was speaking to Nana, but he could not follow the meaning of what Baba said, so he asked Nana about it on their way home. Nana told him about his restlessness at the sight of the beautiful lady, how Baba knew it and advised him about it. Nana explained Baba’s meaning as follows, “Our mind is fickle by nature, but it should not be allowed to run wild. The senses may get restless, but the body should be held in check and not be allowed to be impatient. Senses run after objects, but we should not follow them and crave those objects. By slow and gradual practice, restlessness can be conquered. We should not be swayed by the senses, but at the same time, they cannot be completely controlled. We should curb them rightly and properly according to the need of the occasion. Beauty is the subject of sight. We should look fearlessly at the beauty of objects. There is no room for shyness or fear and we should never entertain any evil thoughts. Making the mind desireless, we should observe God’s works of beauty. In this way, the senses will be easily and naturally controlled and even in enjoying objects, you will be reminded of God. If the outer senses are not held in check and if the mind be allowed to run after objects and be attached to them, the cycle of births and deaths will not come to an end. Objects of the senses are harmful and take us away from the spiritual goal of Self-realization. With viveka (discrimination) as our charioteer, we should control the mind and not allow the senses to go astray. With such a charioteer, we reach the Vishnu-pada, the final abode, our real home from which there is no return.”

Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all