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Chapter
XXII
Rescues
from Serpent-bites - (1) Balasaheb Mirikar (2) Bapusaheb
Booty (3) Amir Shakkar (4) Hemadpant - Baba's Opinion
Regarding Killing of Serpents.
Preliminary
How
to meditate on Baba? No one has been able to fathom the
nature or the form of the Almighty. Even the Vedas and the
thousand-tongued Shesha are not able to describe it fully;
but the devotees cannot but know and look at the form of
the Lord, for they know that His Feet are the only means
of their happiness. They know no other method of attaining
the supreme goal of life, except meditating on the Holy
Feet. Hemadpant suggests an easy way of devotion and
meditation as follows:-
As the
dark fortnight of every month wears out gradually, the
moonlight also wanes in the same degree and on the newmoon
day, we do not see the moon at all, nor do we get her
light. Therefore, when the bright fortnight begins, people
are very anxious to see the moon. On the first day, the
moon is not seen and on the second day also she is not
clearly visible. Then the people are asked to see the moon
through an opening between the two branches of a tree, and
when they begin to see through this aperture eagerly and
after concentratedly, the distant small crescent of the
moon comes, to their great delight, within their ken.
Following this clue, let us try to see Baba's Light. Look
at Baba's posture, how fine it is! He is sitting with His
legs folded,the right leg held across the left knee. The
fingers of His left hand are spread on the right-foot. On
the right toe are spread His two fingers-the index and
middle ones. By this posture Baba means to say, as it
were-if you want to see My Light, be egoless and most
humble and meditate on My toe through the opening between
the two branches-index and middle fingers-and then you
will be able to see My Light. This is the easiest means of
attaining devotion.
Now let
us turn for a moment to Baba's life. Shirdi had become a
place of pilgrimage on account of Baba's stay. People from
all quarters began to flock there, and both the rich and
the poor began to be benefited in more ways than one and
in some form or other. Who can describe Baba's boundless
love and His wonderful natural knowledge and His
all-pervasiveness? Blessed is he, who could experience one
or all of these. Sometimes Baba observed long silence
which was, in a way, His dissertation on Brahman; at other
times He was Consciousness-Bliss Incarnate, surrounded by
His devotees. Sometimes He spoke in parables, and at other
times indulged in wit and humour. At times, He was quite
unambiguous (clear) and at times He seemed enraged.
Sometimes He gave His teachings in a nut-shell, at other
times He argued at length. Many a time He was very plain.
In this way, He gave varied instructions to many,
according to their requirements. His life was, therefore,
inscrutable, beyond the ken of our mind, beyond our
intellect and speech. Our longing to see His face, to talk
with Him and hear His Leelas was never satisfied; still we
were overflowing with joy. We can count the showers of
rain, encircle (tie) the wind in a leather bag, but who
can gauge or measure His Leelas? Now we deal here with one
aspect of them, viz. how He anticipated or forestalled the
calamities of His devotees and warded them off in time.
Balasaheb
Mirikar
Balasaheb
Mirikar, son of Sirdar Kakasaheb Mirikar was Mamlatdar of
Kopergaon. He was going on tour to Chitali. On the way he
came to Shirdi to see Sai Baba. When he went to the Masjid
and prostrated himself before Baba, usual conversation
regarding health and other matters commenced, when Baba
sounded a note of warning as follows:-"Do you know
our Dwarakamayi?" As Balasaheb did not understand he
kept quiet, Baba continued - "This is our Dwarakamayi,
where you are sitting. She wards off all dangers and
anxieties of the children, who sit on her lap. This
Masjidmayi (its presiding Deity) is very merciful, she is
the mother of the simple devotees, whom she will save in
calamities. Once a person sits on her lap, all his
troubles are over. He, who rests in her shade, gets
Bliss". Then Baba gave him Udi, and placed His
protecting hand on his head. When Balasaheb was about to
depart, He again said- "Do you know the "Lamba
Bava" (long gentleman), Viz. serpent?" And then
closing the left arm like fist He brought it near the
right elbow, and moving His left arm like the hood of a
serpent, He said- "He is so terrible, but what can he
do to the children of Dwarakamayi: When the Dwarakamayi
(its presiding deity) protects, what can the serpent
do?"
All who
were present there, were curious to know the meaning of
all this and its reference to Mirikar, but none had the
courage to ask Baba about this. Then Balasaheb saluted
Baba and left the Masjid with Shama. Baba called Shama
back and asked him to accompany Balasaheb, and enjoy the
Chitali trip. Shama came to Balasaheb, and told him that
he would go with him according to Baba's wish. Balasaheb
replied that he need not come as it would be inconvenient.
Sharma returned to Baba and told Him what Balasaheb said
to him. Baba said, "Alright, do not go. We should
mean well and do well. Whatever is destined to happen,
will happen".
In the
meanwhile Balasaheb thought over again, and calling Shama
asked him to accompany him. Then Shama going again to Baba
and taking His leave started with Balasaheb in the tanga.
They reached Chitali at 9 P.M. and encamped in the Maruti
temple. The office-people had not come; so they sat quiet
in the temple, talking and chitchating. Balasaheb was
sitting on a mat reading a newspaper. His Uparani (upper
dhotar) was spread across his waist and on a part of it a
snake was sitting unobserved. It began to move with a
rustling sound which was heard by the peon. He brought a
lantern, saw the snake and raised an alarm- 'serpent,
serpent'. Balasaheb was frightened and began to quiver.
Shama was also amazed. Then he and others moved
noiselessly and took sticks and clubs in their hands. The
snake got down slowly from the waist and it moved away
from Balasaheb; it was immediately done to death. Thus
this calamity, which was prophesied by Baba, was averted
and Balasaheb's love for Baba was deeply confirmed.
Bapusaheb
Booty
A
great astrologer named Nanasaheb Dengale told one day
Bapusaheb Booty, who was then in Shirdi, "To-day is
an inauspicious day for you, there is a danger to your
life". This made Bapusaheb restless. When they, as
usual, came to Masjid, Baba said to Bapusaheb- "What
does this Nana say? He foretells death for you. Well, you
need not be afraid. Tell him boldly "Let us see how
death kills." Then later in the evening Bapusaheb
went to his privy for easing himself where he saw a snake.
His servant saw it and lifted a stone to strike at it.
Bapusaheb asked him to get a big stick, but before the
servant returned with the stick, the snake was seen moving
away and soon disappeared. Bapusaheb remembered with joy
Baba's words of fearlessness.
Amir
shankar
Amir
Shankar was a native of the village Korale, in Kopergaon
Taluka. he belonged to the butcher caste. He worked as a
commission agent in Bandra, and was well-known there. He
once suffered from Rheumatism, which gave him much pain.
He was then reminded of God, and so, he left his business
and went to Shirdi, and prayed to Baba to relieve him from
his malady. Baba then stationed him in the Chavadi, which
was then a damp unhealthy place, unfit for such a patient.
Any other place in the village, or Korale itself would
have been better for Amir, but Baba's word was the
deciding factor and the chief medicine. Baba did not allow
him to come to the Masjid, but fixed him in the Chavadi,
where he got very great advantage. Baba passed via Chavadi
every morning and evening; and every alternate day Baba
went to the Chavadi in a procession and slept there. So
Amir got Baba's contact very often easily. Amir stayed
there for full nine months, and then, somehow or other, he
got a disgust for the place. So one night he stealthily
left the place and came to Kopergaon and stayed in a
Dharmashala. There he saw an old dying Fakir, who asked
him for water. Amir brought it and gave it to him. As soon
as he drank it, he passed away. Then Amir was in a fix. He
thought that if he went and informed the authorities, he
would be held responsible for the death as he was the
first and sole informant, and knew something about it. He
repented for his action, viz. leaving Shirdi without
Baba's leave, and prayed to Baba. He then determined to
return to Shirdi, and that same night he ran back,
remembering and muttering Baba's name on the way, and
reached Shirdi before day-break, and became free from
anxiety. Then he lived in the Chavadi in perfect
accordance with Baba's wishes and orders, and got himself
cured. One night it so happened that Baba cried at
midnight- "Oh Abdul, some devilish creature is
dashing against the side of My bed". Abdul came with
a latern, examined Baba's bed but found nothing, Baba
asked him to examine carefully all the place and began to
strike ground with His satka. Seeing this Leela of Baba,
Amir thought that Baba might have suspected some serpent
had come there. Amir could know by close and long contact
the meaning of Baba's words and actions. Baba then saw
near Amir's cushion something moving. He asked Abdul to
bring in the light, and when he brought it, he saw the
coil of a serpent there, moving its head up and down.
Thereupon the serpent was immediately beaten to death.
Thus Baba gave timely warning and saved Amir.
Hemadpant
(Scorpion and Serpent)
(1) At
Baba's recommendation Kakasaheb Dixit was daily reading
the two works of Shri Eknath Maharaj, viz., Bhagwat and
Bhawartha Ramayana and Hemadpant had the good forturne to
be one of the audience when the reading of the works was
going on. Once when a portion from the Ramayana relating
to Hanuman's testing Rama's greatness, according to his
mother's instructions, was being read, all the listeners
were spell-bound. Hemadpant was one of them. A big
scorpion (none knew where it came from), jumped and sat on
the right shoulder of Hemadpant, on his Uparani (upper
dhotar). First it was not noticed, but as the Lord
protects those, who are intent on hearing His stories, he
casually cast a glance over his right shoulder and noticed
it. It was dead silence, not a bit moved here or there. It
seemed as if, it also enjoyed the reading. Then by the
Lord's grace, Hemadpant without disturbing the audience,
took the two ends of his dhotar, folded them, and brought
them together, enclosing the scorpion within. Then he went
out, and threw it in the garden. (2) On another occasion
some persons were sitting in the upper floor of
Kakasaheb's Wada, just before nightfall, when a serpent
crept through a hole in the window frame and sat coiled
up. A light was brought. Though it was first dazzled, yet
it sat still and only moved its head up and down. Then
many persons rushed there with sticks and cudgels, but as
it sat in an awakward place, no blow could be dealt. But
hearing the noises of men, the serpent went out hastily
through the same hole. Then all the persons there felt
relieved.
Baba's
Opinion
One
devotee named Muktaram, then said that it was good that
the poor creature escaped. Hemadpant challenged him saying
that serpents should better be killed. There was a hot
discussion between them - the former contending that
serpents, and such creatures, should not be killed, the
latter that they should be. As night came on, the
discussion came to an end, without any decision being
arrived at. Next day, the question was reffered to Baba,
who gave His settled opinion as follows:- "God lives
in all beings and creatures, whether they be serpents or
scorpions. He is the Great Wirepuller of the world, and
all beings, serpents, scorpions etc., obey His command.
Unless He will it, nobody can do any harm to others. The
world is all dependent on Him, and no one is independent.
So we should take pity and love all creatures, leave off
adventurous fights and killings and be patient. The Lord
(God) is the Protector of all.
Bow
to Shri Sai - Peace be to all
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