Moves
in His Game
Interludes
Death is our
birthright, a gift everyone can claim. It is a
relief for the tired and a refuge for the
persecuted, a lesson for the wayward, a jolt for
the epicurean, a milestone for the pilgrim,
punishment for the poltroon and paradise for the
faithful.
Baba's elder
sister's husband died at a young age, when he
was just twenty-five years old. Baba chided me
for shedding tears. He asked,
"If
there is to be no birth and no death, how am I
to spend My
time?"
Death is but a move in His game, an 'exit' in
the divine play, at which the player has to
leave the stage. Baba says that the finitude of
the body and the infiniteness of the soul have
to be stoically accepted. He creates ash and
applies it to our brow to remind us of death,
and the change of the body thereafter into a
heap of ashes. That helps us develop detachment
towards worldly things and turn our gaze towards
lasting values.
Baba has come
to assign death its legitimate place in the
scheme of existence, neither more nor less. He
brought Walter Cowan back from the region beyond
death because, as He said, "he has not completed
the work he has to do." Baba does not will the
effacement of death.
"Why
do living beings
die?"
we ask. "For
the reason they are
born,"
He answers. Anything put together has to
disintegrate; anything that originates has to
end. But man can escape rebirth by cutting off
the roots, namely the deposits of
karmas[*],
good and bad, that burden his account in the
book of God. Achieve a nil balance not by the
renunciation of your physical, mental and
intellectual activity, but by the renunciation
of the fruits thereof. Doing your righteous
duty, be indifferent towards the fruit of your
actions. God gave you body, mind and intellect;
God also planted desire and designed the entire
plan. Let the fruit of His grace belong to Him.
Then, there is neither plus nor minus in your
account. You need not come again to balance it.
So long as your actions are not totally selfless
and duty-bound, you must accoutre yourself in a
physical body in order to transcend from the
limited to the unlimited. Baba told Schulman,
"I
know how your past has shaped you and I watch
you shaping your future. I know why you suffer,
how long you have to suffer and when your
suffering will
end."
While gifting
a rosary of 108 pearls to Indra Devi, Baba said,
"Keep this on the sick person and help him to
pray for recovery. He will be cured." "Of any
illness?" asked Indra Devi. "No," said Swami,
"not if the illness is a form of payment for
karmic debt." A rosary was given by Baba to
Shrimati Venkatamuni of Madras. When her aged
mother-in-law approached the threshold of death,
her bed surrounded by many of her kith and kin,
she placed the rosary on her chest and prayed
for her recovery. Her mother-in-law did regain
consciousness and sat up to greet the dawn of
another day, curious to know the reason why the
house was so full of people. When her own son,
afflicted with frequent fits since childhood,
was dangerously on the verge of death, Shrimati
Venkatamuni ran to her room to bring the rosary.
But her fingers could not hold it; it slipped
out of her grasp again and again. When she could
at last hold it and take it to her son, it was
too late. The illness was a form of repayment of
karmic debt which, when repaid, gave him
release. Baba told her later that her son was
here to liquidate the balance of his debt and he
had now attained the region of everlasting
bliss. "If you have genuine affection for him,"
He said, "be happy that he has been relieved of
the body that gave him no peace."
Father
and Son
Shri
Soundararajan, the renowned singer of South
India, was pathetically distraught when doctors
declared that his daughter's heart could be
saved by an operation possible only in the USA.
But Baba cured her in a remarkably short time.
He created a Rudraksha seed and directed her to
drink the water in which it had been
ceremonially washed. Shri Soundararajan's son
had been ailing from a malignant type of
jaundice. When the doctors gave up all hope, he
was brought home and placed before a portrait of
Baba, at his own request. Shri Soundararajan put
through a telephone call to Baba at Prasanthi
Nilayam. He was able to contact Baba, but the
line was subject to so much disturbance that
neither could his prayer be conveyed to Baba nor
could he catch the voice of Bhagavân. His
son passed away with the name of Baba on his
lips. Later, Baba told Soundararajan that his
son was a great soul who had achieved liberation
from the bonds of birth and death after paying
off the little balance of his karmic
debt.
Baba addressed
a mammoth meeting at a football field at
Rajahmundry. Two weeks later He received a
letter from one who, with his son by his side,
had heard Him speak that day. "My son was so
inspired by the discourse and by the
Bhajans
that he became totally immersed in You. He was
constantly doing
Bhajan
and reciting Your glory and Your majesty. He
passed away while he was in that heightened
consciousness. I am glad I could claim such a
pure soul as my son. We gladly performed the
last rites knowing that he had attained the
highest goal attainable by man." There are
cases of Baba conferring this boon directly,
when prayed for.
The
eight-year-old daughter of a lady known as
Chincholi Rajamma, used to visit Puttaparthi
with her mother in the forties. She skipped and
ran, laughed and crooned, and flitted about like
a ray of sunshine in the presence of Baba. One
evening, while Baba was about to proceed with a
small group of devotees to the Chitravathi
sands, she brought His sandals and placed them
on the ground before Him. Baba patted her on her
head and said, "What do you want? Tell me." She
surprised everyone and shocked her mother by her
reply: "I want to be absorbed in You." Baba
said, "You are a child; you have to get married,
bring up a family and make your mother happy."
But the girl insisted that these things were
trivial when compared with mergence in Him.
Where from did she learn all this, people
wondered. Baba wiped her tears and said, "Your
father is no more; you have to be with your
mother." But she protested "If, as you say, I
get married, I will still have to leave my
mother. No, I wish You would shelter me for
ever." Baba was silent for a while. His response
to the agony of the tender heart was, "Good,
Good," and He tweaked her cheek. Five days later
at Bangalore, on a Thursday, she died
peacefully with her eyes fixed on a portrait of
Baba which she had herself adorned with garlands
barely three hours before, while continuously
reciting Bhajans. The mother is now grateful
that the Lord has welcomed her daughter into His
arms.
Sri Ranajodh
Singh was for some years, in the thirties of
this century, the inspector-general of police in
Mysore state. His daughter was suffering from
acute colitis which prevented her from taking
food and drink. Her parents were devotees of
Baba and she, too, had deep faith in His
divinity. It was a Thursday when Baba
surprised them with a visit. He spoke
compassionately to the patient and, creating a
dosa - hot, tasty and crisp, with the fragrance
of fine ghee - gave it to the girl to eat. When
Sri Ranajodh Singh prayed that He bless them
with a visit the next Thursday also, Baba did
not reply but left the house. On the ensuing
Thursday, the girl sat up on her bed, had a bath
and did puja
before Baba's portrait. Then saying, "See! Baba
is calling me!" she left her body behind. Baba
had long ago created for her a silver plate with
the markings of two feet which He called
Vishnu Padam
(the Feet of Vishnu), which was always
reverentially kept under her pillow. When she
died, the plate disappeared and was never traced
again in spite of an intensive search. The
parents were filled with supreme gratitude for,
as some Americans who tended a young man named
Steve at Whitefield, when he was nearing his end
through cancer, declared, "If only people knew
how resplendent it is to die in Baba." On his
last day, Steve stopped 'reliving his days of
drugs and alcohol' and emerged from the
purificatory ordeal with an illuminating prayer
on his lips and an expression of delight on his
face, when his prayer was answered by
Baba.
Dr. Kraemer of
Honolulu writes in the same strain of gratitude,
"This is to inform you of the sad yet glorious
news of Meeke's passing away. She must have
passed straight into the hands of Baba. She was
so peaceful, so smiling, so completely without
the slightest trace of apprehension or anxiety,
and she could think of Baba's name until the
very last moment."
On
His Palm They Saw
A certain
person was a captain during the second world
war, but since he died of a commonplace disease
in a civil hospital, his widow did not get much
by way of pension. So she had to earn some money
teaching music, in order to keep her three
children - two daughters and a son - in
elementary ease. The son passed his B.Sc.
examination with a first class from the Madras
University, while still in his teens. The army
authorities gave him a job in their cantonment
office at Bangalore. His mother, who was
overwhelmed with joy, sent him to offer homage
to the family deity, Venkatachalapathi
[Venkateshwara, Venkateshwer or
Venkatachalapathi,
is another form of Lord Vishnu who is also very
popular as a Hindu deity], in the temple
on the Thirumalai Hills in Andra Pradesh, so
that he could join duty at Bangalore with divine
blessings.
However, what
did happen was that the boy got drowned in the
holy tank of the temple. His body was in police
custody for two days as it was unidentified. The
anxious mother was confronted by the photograph
of her son's corpse which appeared in the daily
papers. But, Baba appeared to her in a dream and
directed her to come to Puttaparthi. There she
was taken by a mysterious stranger to the
Presence. Bhagavân called her and her
children for the precious interview. "Don't
weep," He said, "for your son who led a
disciplined life and was full of devotion, has
now merged with God. When he has found the lotus
feet of Bliss, you should not indulge in grief."
But she could not be consoled.
Then Baba
said, "I know your heart is broken since you
could not have even a last glimpse of his body.
See, it is here." Saying this, He spread His
palm in front of her, and she could clearly see
the events of that fateful pilgrimage appear
upon it: The son slipped on the steps of the
tank, and a few people jumped in to save him. It
was too late. Even first-aid could not revive
him. A lotus-like bunch of flames rose from his
body and proceeded towards the innermost shrine
where the idol of Venkatachalapathi is
installed, disappearing in a blaze of glory at
the Lord's feet. Then she saw the idol come
alive and change into a charming image of Baba
Himself.
After some
time Baba spoke to her,
"Mother,
the one you loved as your son was a staunch
devotee of the Lord during his previous life. He
was engaged in Tapas for twelve years on the
steps of this very holy temple tank. His deepest
desire was to attain Jala Samadhi
(Water-mergence) in those sacred waters. To
fulfil that desire he took birth again and, as
your guru, has led you to Me. Remain in
Puttaparthi, ever singing the glory of
Venkatachalapathi, who has accepted your son
into His fold."
Today
is Thursday
Sri
Ramakrishna, professor at the Victoria college,
Palghat, was returning home during the afternoon
recess, when an old man stopped him in the
middle of the road. He appeared to the
astonished professor as the very embodiment of
the Sai Baba of Shirdi. He said in Tamil,
"Today
Is Thursday,"
as if that was a strange piece of news, "so I am
taking Ramesh with me." Ramesh was the
professor's fourteen-year-old son. He had left
for school that morning. The professor hurried
home to discover that Ramesh had come home from
school with high fever. He kept himself alive
only until he could see his father and mother
together at his bedside. The father wrote to me,
"How kind of Baba to tell me that He was taking
Ramesh, whom He had given me as a boon, and that
too on a Thursday, the day when He advises us to
offer ourselves at His feet." Some weeks later,
at Ootacamund, Baba called in the professor and
his wife for an interview, and confirming His
announcement, blessed the boy's picture in his
bungalow with showers of
Vibhuti.
The mother of
Lynn, a girl from San Diego on the pacific coast
of America, also had the consoling thought that
it was a
Thursday
when her daughter fell from a tree and died,
while attempting to save her younger brother
from a dog. Lynn adored Baba. She was the
brightest child in her
Bal Vikas
group. Her mother bore the calamity courageously
and calmly, for Baba had granted her the wisdom
to bear such blows of fate.
On 31st
December 1973, I had a letter from New Delhi
from a bereaved father. He wrote, "I know I will
not get any reply from you, as you are very
busy. But I must write what I feel, because it
helps me in getting nearer to my Lord, Sai
Baba."
"I lost my
daughter in Safdarjung hospital on 21st December
1973. She died of burns. During the eight days I
was with her, Baba was always 'with me'. His
presence gave me so much courage and peace that
I could face the ordeal without a tear or
murmur, and could accept it as His doing. I know
that her death was so ordained; that is why my
prayers to Baba failed. But His blessings were
constantly with us, and His
Charanamrit
and
Vibhuti
were given to her before death. You will be glad
to know that her end was very peaceful. Her
bodily agony was not anywhere as great as
similar patients in her ward. Please convey my
thanks to the Lord."
When an aged
devotee, Raval Seshagiri Rao was on the last
breath of life, Baba entered his room at
Prasanthi Nilayam and revived him while helping
him sip coffee. He was privileged to have been
in charge of the shrine for over fourteen years.
He was well-versed in the scriptures and very
regular in japa
and puja.
As a matter of fact, he was passing out with the
Upanishads
on his tongue and Baba before his eyes.
"The
five fundamental elements which, in combination,
became this body of mine, are now parting
company,"
He said. "What a glorious death," I said to
myself. But Baba knew that he had yet to pay the
last instalment of his
karmic
debt. So He turned to him and reprimanded him
saying, "Why did you embark on this journey
without first securing a ticket from Me? Get
down! Do your shrine duties as usual. Attend the
forenoon
Bhajans
and perform Arati."
[see also: Signs
and Wonders,
for the story of Raval Seshagiri Rao] There
is no need to add that he did as he was
told.
You
Cannot Die
Let us
consider the confession of a person living in
Bangalore, who was preparing to die. Vrajlal P.
Parekh wrote on 18th August 1972, "Six years
ago, I sat in the
Darsan
line around the Sai Ram tree at Brindavan in
Whitefield. Baba granted me a private interview.
He exposed my private thoughts and worries and
blessed me with the words, 'Be confident; have
peace of mind. Baba's blessings are with you.' I
was not blessed with
vibhuti.
My faith in Him strayed hither and thither when
my luck ran down in business, and I was caught
in much anxiety. Though I had secured a diploma
in commerce in 1938, I found myself unfit in
modern business techniques, and was financially
completely ruined. I was sorely dejected, and
decided to separate my soul from this body. I
purchased a bottle of Tik-20 and kept it in a
secret place. After having deeply thought over
the matter, I decided to make use of the poison
on 4th September 1970, the night of Ganesh
Chaturthi.
"But my elder
sister, who had been ailing for a few months,
passed away suddenly that very day, as if
bidding me to postpone my suicidal act. I could
not understand the mysterious ways of Baba. I
became more gloomy and finally fixed the date
and time as 4 p.m., Friday, 11th September 1970,
to swallow the poison with a pinch of
vibhuti,
so that I might have a peaceful end. I went to
my shop early that morning with the bottle in my
pocket. I was alone and no customer was expected
in the afternoon. I was feeling happy as the
time fixed for death was approaching. I was
reading the
Sanathana
Sarathi
which had come at noon by post, wondering how I
would experience the miracle of Baba while dying
into Him.
"At 1.30 p.m.
two plainclothes men walked into my shop and
wanted me to accompany them to the Seshadripuram
police station. I could not imagine why I was
wanted. In a terribly confused state, I closed
the shop and went with them. The bottle was in
my shirt pocket. At the station I was told that
the inspector had gone out. I was told that
there was a warrant for my arrest from a
magistrate at Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. Then I
realised that a case had been filed by a
Moradabad merchant for non-payment of a bill by
me. I had explained my difficulties to him and
pleaded for being allowed some time to make the
payment, but he did not believe me and proceeded
against me in court, charging me with cheating.
The warrant was bailable, but I had to present a
surety.
"Meanwhile I
was asked to go into the 'lock-up'. The police
officer said, 'Take out all the articles in your
pockets and place them on this table before you
go in.' I hesitated on account of the bottle. I
said that it was only a civil case and prayed to
him not to send me in. He sympathised with me
and allowed me to sit on a bench beside him. I
then sent for my elder brother, who arrived
there very soon. I handed over the tell-tale
bottle to him just as it was, wrapped in paper,
and asked him to keep it at home without telling
anyone. He was also to get someone to stand
surety for me.
"Just on the
stroke of 4 p.m. (!) the inspector of police
arrived and ordered that I be put in the cell.
He would not give ear to my pleadings or
explanations. I recalled Bhagavân's
assurance, 'Baba's blessings are always with
you.' I felt most happy when I discovered that
Baba had prevented my suicide. I saw Baba in the
cell, laughing at me for my folly.
"I was in the
cell for hardly four minutes. My brother came
with the surety and I was released. My brother
scolded me severely for having kept poison in my
pocket. Baba had foiled my first attempt by
causing the sudden death of my sister,
simultaneously releasing her from the painful
ailment which she could not endure in her old
age. Again, he foiled my second attempt by
causing a warrant from 1.800 miles to be served
on me, and have me go into the cell without the
bottle at the exact time fixed by me for
suicide. It is indeed beyond human comprehension
to gauge His mystery."
You
Have Come
Many who have
come within the horizon of heavenly grace have
died in peace and joy, pronouncing the name of
Baba or even declaring that they had been
blessed by Baba's darsan.
Baba says that we cry
koham
at the
time we are born, puzzled by the problem,
'Who
am I?'
Likewise, when we die, we should draw the last
breath in joy, uttering
Soham,
'I
am That.'
"Baba is calling me," "Baba is here by my side,"
profess devotees before they pass away. On the
day when Baba had the Cowans with Him at
Whitefield to shower further grace on the
resurrected Walter and his wife, He asked Walter
to narrate his experience at Madras while
ostensibly accompanying Baba to the Seat of
Judgement. When Walter had finished his
narration, there was a strange flutter in the
minds of all present. Indra Devi spoke on the
overwhelming compassion of Baba. She described
how Baba had fulfilled a boon which He had
granted years earlier to my mother: "I shall
give you divine nectar when you leave this
world," Baba had said. She left for her heavenly
abode one noon, at
Prasanthi
Nilayam,
when Baba was at Brindavan. But a few minutes
before she died, nectar gushed from the idol of
Shirdi Sai Baba kept near her bed, from the toe
of the right foot that was placed over the left
knee. She noticed it and held her cupped palm to
receive the gift.
Kasturi
helped her sit up and drink the nectar, about
two ounces of fragrance and sweetness. Then she
lay down again and passed into Sai." Baba
listened to her narrative and then said, "Yes, I
keep My word to those who are steady in their
faith. I also give
Darsan
when death calls on those who have dedicated
their lives to Me."
While on the
topic of deathbed darsans, I must also relate
here the narration of my revered guru,
Mahapurushji, of the Sri Ramakrishna Mission,
about the 'shower of peace' from Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa: A sweeper named Rasik lived at
Dakshineswar. One day, as the Master was
returning from the direction of Panchavati,
absorbed in a spiritual mood, Rasik knelt before
him and prayed, "Father, why don't you bless me?
What will be in store for me?" The Master
assured him, "Your wish shall be fulfilled. You
will see me at the time of death." A few years
later, as the moment of death approached, Rasik
cried out in joy, "You have come, Father! You
have really come!" and saying this, breathed his
last.
When we find
Sai devotees facing death or enduring the
departure of their beloved ones, we are apt to
judge them as insensitive and dull. No. They
meet death heroically, for they are certain that
Baba will be their guide, guardian, friend and
teacher, through as many births and rebirths
they may have to pass. He is at all times with
us, in us, beside us, before us and behind us.
So, instead of being anxious at the time of
death, devotees approach this final act as
children being led to school by loving parents,
or as graduates attending the convocation, or as
a mountaineer approaching the summit, or as
rivers merging into the sea.
There was a
doctor serving in the hospital at
Prasanthi Nilayam.
He was about 60 years old and appeared to enjoy
good health in spite of a damaged heart. One
evening Baba sent for him, and he left off
eating his lunch. "Bhagavân is calling
me," he said, and hastened towards the Mandir.
Just as he neared it, he fainted and did not
recover. Death was sudden and painless. His
wife, who had imbibed Baba's teachings on
karma,
on the
Atman
and on the eventual mergence in
Paramatman,
bore the blow with courage and wisdom. She told
the women who ventured to console her, "Perhaps
you fear that I am a hardhearted woman because I
do not weep. No. It is only because I know that
weeping is futile and foolish." Mr. Sethu from
Delhi, writes in a letter, "I believe that
whatever Baba does, it is for our own good,
though it may not immediately seem so to
us."
'On
the road, on the way to Sai'
|Previous
|Next
|
Bhajans
[*]
See Bhagavad Gîtâ, for example,
Chapter 5:2
, Chapter 12:11
& Chapter 18:2-9.