Shri Sat CharitraChapter - one
According to ancient and reverered custom, Hamanpant begins the work, Shri Sat Charitra, with various salutations.
1. First, he makes obeisance to the God Ganesha to remove all obstacles and make the work a success, and says that Shri Sai is GOD Ganesha Himself.
2. Then , to Goddess Saraswati to inspire him to write the work and says tat Shri Sai is one with this Goddess, and that HE is Himself singing His own life.
3. Then , to the Gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shankar – the creating, Preserving and Destroying Deities respectively, and says that Sai Nath is one with them and HE, the great teacher, will carry us across the river of the wordly existence
4. Then, to his tutelary deity Naryan Adinath, who manifested himself in Kokan – the land reclaimed by Parashuram from the sea; and to the Adi Purush of the family.
5. hen, to Bhardwaj Muni, into whose gotra (clan) he was born and also to various Rishis, Yagnyavalkya, Bhrugu, Prashar, Narad, Vdvyas, Sanak, Sanandan, Sanatkumar, Shuka, Shouak, Vishvamitra, Vaishishtha Valamiki, Vamadev, Jaimini,Vaishamapyan Nava Yogindra etc., and also modern saits, such as Nivrutti, Dnyanadev, Sopan, Muktabai, Janardan,Eknath, Namdev, Tukaram, Kanha and Narhsri etc.
6. Then, to his grandfather, Sadashiv, father Raghunath and his mother, who left him I his infancy; to his paternal aunt, who brought him u and to his loving elder brother.
7. Then, to the readers ad prays them to give their whole and ndivided attention to his work.
8. And lastly to his Guru Shri Sainath – an incarnation os Shri Dattatreya, who is his sole refuge and Who will make hi realize, that Bharma is the reality and the world an illusion and incidentally, to all beings, in whom the Lord God dwells.
After describing in brief the vaious modes of devotion accordingly to Parasar. Vyasa and Shandilya etc., te author goes on to relate the following story:
“ It was some time after 1910 that I went, one fine morning, to the Masjid in theShirdi to have darshan of Sai Baba I was wonder-struck to see the following phenomenon. After washing His mouth and face Sai Baa began to make reparation for grinding wheat. He spread a sac on the floor, and thereon set a –hand-mill. He took some quantity of wheat n a winnowing fan and then, drawing up sleeves of His Kafni and taking hold the peg of the hand-mill, started grinding the wheat, y putting a few hand full of wheat n the upper opening of the mill and rotation it. I thought, “ What business Baba had with the grinding of wheat, when He possessed nothing and stored nothing, and He lived on alms!” Some people who had come there thought otherwise, but none had the courage to ask Baba, what He was doing. Immediately, this news of Baba grinding wheat spread into the village, and at once men and women ran to the Masjid and flocked there to see Baba’s act. Four bold women, from the crowd, fored their way up and pushing Baba aside, forcibly too the peg or the handle into their own hands, and Baba’s Leelas started grinding. At first, Baba was enraged, but on seeing the women’s love and devotion, He was much pleased and began to smile. While they were grinding, they began to think that Baba had no house, no property no children, and none to look after and He lived on alms, and therefore , He did not require any wheat-flour for making bread or roti, what will He do with this large quantity of flour? Perhaps, as Baba is very kind, He will distribute the flour amongst us. Thinking this way and while singing, they finished the n and after putting the hand-mill aside, they divided the flour into four portions and began to remove them by taking one o per head. Baba, who was calm and quite up till now, got wild and started abusing them saying, :Ladies, have you gone mad? Whose father’s property, are you looting away ? Have I borrowed any wheat from you, so that you can safely take te flour ? Now do this ! Take the flour ad throw it on the village borders!” On hearing this, the women felt abashed and whispering amongst, went to the out skirts of the village and spread to flour, as directed by Baba.
I asked the Shirdi people , “ What was this that Baba did?” They replied that,
As cholera epidemic was spreading in the village this was Baba’s remedy or the same; it was not wheat, that was ground, but cholera itself was ground to pieces and pushed out of the village.
From this time onward, the cholera epidemic subsided and the people of to village were happy. I was much pleased to know all this , but at to same time my curiosity was also aroused. I began to ask myself……what earthy connection was there between wheat flour and cholera ? The incident seems to be inexplicable. I should write something on this and sing to my heart’s content Baba’s sweet Leelas, thinking in this way about this Leela, my heart was filled with joy and I was thus, inspired to write Baba’s Life - The Sai Satcharitra.
And as we know,with Baba’s grace and blessings this work was successfully accomplished.
Philosphical Siginficance Of Grinding.Apart from the meaning, which the people of Shirdi put on this incident of grinding wheat, here is we think, a philosophical significance too. Baba lived in Shirdi for about sixty years and during this long period, He did the business of grinding almost every day – not, however wheat alone, but the sins, the mental and physical afflictions and miseries of His innumerable devotees. The two stones of His mill consisted of Karma and Bhakti; the former being the lower one and, the latter the upper one. The handle, with which Baba worked the mill, consisted of Dhyan. I was the firm conviction of Baba that knowledge or self-realization is not possible, unless there is the prior act of grinding of all our impulses, desires, sins” and of three gunas, viz. Sattva, Rajas, Tamas, and the Ahankar, which is so subtle and therefore, so difficult to get rid of.
This reminds us of a similar story of Kabir, who seeing a women grinding corn, sad to his Guru, Napatniranjan, “ I am weeping, because I feel the agony of being crushed under this wheel of worldly existence, like the corn in the hand-mill, “ Nipatniranjan replied, ‘Do not be afraid, hold fast to the handle of knowledge of this mill, as I do, and do not wander far away from the same, but turn inward to the centre, and you are sure to be saved.”
Bow to Shri Sai -- Peace be to all.
Posts
