Baba's Storytime - The Sacred Fruit of Action

One Saturday, a father was involved in worshipping the Lord and he called his son and told him to get some plantains for one rupee. This son was a good boy; he purchased the plantains, but on his way he saw a mother and son, who were very hungry, standing on the road. 

When the hungry boy saw the plantains, he ran towards him. The hungry mother, who saw the boy running, ran after him and caught him but both of them collapsed of hunger. When this young man found these people suffering so much from hunger, he thought that it was much better to feed hungry people than take the bananas home. He gave the bananas to this mother and son and later brought water and gave it to them. These people were so relieved of their hunger and thirst that they expressed their gratitude in many different ways and shed tears of joy. 

This young student went home empty handed and when the father asked him if he had brought the bananas, he replied in the affirmative. When asked where the bananas were, the son replied that the bananas were sacred, would not rot and could not be seen. The son explained that he fed two hungry souls with the bananas and the fruits, which he brought home, are only the sacred fruits of the action. 

The father then felt that his son was worthy of him and he felt that all his prayers had been answered that day. The father developed great affection for the son that day and they came much closer to each other.

(From the Divine Discourses of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Baba's Storytime - Compassion to Living Beings

Once an animal fell into a pit of mud.  When it put its one foot out of the pit in the effort to come out, the other foot slipped deeper into it.  The helpless animal was thus put to a lot of suffering.

Two days passed in this manner.  None of the passersby who passed that way tried to bring an end to its suffering.  Some feared that if they tried to pull the animal out, they might themselves slip into the mud pit.  So they went without doing anything.  For some mischievous youngsters who stood there, it was great fun to watch the animal as it tried to come out and slipped again into the mud pit.

Meanwhile, a Sadhu passed that way. He was very much distressed to see the pitiable condition of the animal.  Without thinking a bit, he immediately jumped into the mud pit. At this, the onlookers remarked with derision, "When so many strong men are here who could not venture to bring the animal out of the pit, how can this lean and thin renunciant perform this arduous task?"

The holy man however paid scant attention to the remarks of the onlookers. With the name of God on his lips, he prayed to God for help and strength.  Invoking thus the grace of God, he slowly and steadily brought the animal out, half by pulling and half by carrying it on his shoulders.  He made it drink some water after this.  The mischievous youngsters remarked derisively, "What an act of Seva!  But for this, we could have had fun for some more time."  The only man said to them,"Dear ones!  What I have done is not Seva. Neither is it an act of benevolence. I have saved this animal to relieve myself of the agony that I underwent on seeing its suffering.  I performed this task only to get over my own distress.  Now I am relieved of my agony."  Saying this, the holy man went his way.

(From the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Baba's Storytime - Leave What Must be Left

Once a king went to a forest for hunting.  There he was separated from his entourage and lost the way.  While walking in darkness, he slipped and fell into an old well.  Fortunately, he firmly caught hold of some roots of the branches of a nearby banyan tree as they were hanging in the well.  Thereby, he saved himself from falling into the well.

After some time, a person doing Nama Sankirtan happened to pass that way.  Hearing the sound of groaning coming from a nearby place indicating that someone was in distress, he came near the well and peeped into it.  Seeing someone hanging in the well, he managed to procure a rope from somewhere to pull him out.  Throwing the rope in the well, he addressed the person in trouble, "Catch hold of this rope firmly.  I will try to pull you out slowly."  The king had a doubt: what should I catch at - the roots of the branches of the banyan tree or the rope?

In the same way, man becomes the victim of doubts in certain situations and loses his discrimination.  First, the roots of the branches of the banyan tree were the means by which the king saved himself.  but to come out of the well, he should have left those roots and caught hold of the rope.  Here, the roots symbolise the world which man keeps holding.  but some day or the other, he has to know the path which can lead him to his redemption.  Leaving the roots and catching the rope are the means which lead him to the path of his liberation.

(Quoted from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Baba's Storytime - Endless Cycle of Birth and Death

Once Maharshi Agastya met a farmer. Though a man of virtues, the farmer was undergoing a lot of suffering as he was mired in the problems of worldly life.  Maharshi's heart melted at the suffering of the farmer and he proposed to him, "My dear!  Come, I will take you to Vaikuntha (heaven)."  Without denying the offer of going to heaven, the farmer said, "Swami, my sons are very young.  I will definitely go with you after ten years."

After ten years, the Maharshi went to him and said, "My dear!  The period of ten years asked for by you was over yesterday.  Now come with me to heaven."  The farmer said, "Swami!  During this period, my elder son got married.  I will go with you after seeing my grandson."

After the passage of another ten years, the Maharshi went to the farmer's house and stood before it.  The farmer was nowhere to be found.  Maharshi saw a dog near the courtyard of the house.  By his yogic power, the Maharshi recognised that it was the farmer who had taken birth as a dog after his death.  Giving knowledge to the dog with his power, the Maharshi asked, "Will you go with me now?"  But the dog said, "My young grandsons do not know that these are difficult times as thieves frequent this place at night.  I have to guard this house.  I will come to heaven after ten years."

After ten years, Maharshi Agastya went to that house again.  There was no dog.  The entire house had undergone change.  By his yogic power, the Maharshi came to know that the farmer had taken birth as a snake and it was living in a hole at the back of the house.  Below the hole was the money hidden in the ground by the farmer.  The snake was protecting that money.

The Maharshi decided that this person should somehow be granted liberation this time.  He called the inmates of the house and told them, "There is a lot of money under the hole at the back of your house.  But first you should kill the snake which is holed up there."  All the inmates of the house joined together and started breaking the hole with iron rods.  The snake was forced to come out.  The grandsons of the farmer killed the snake with iron rods.  The very persons, for the protection of whose money the farmer took birth as a snake, became the cause of his death.  From that day, his attachment to life came to an end.  That was the end of Moha (attachment).  Did it bring Moksha (liberation)?

What is the lesson we learn from this story?  The fundamental cause of man taking birth again and again are his desires and his actions with attachment.  In spite of being shown the path of liberation, the farmer in this story did not make use of it.  Why?  The iron chains of attachment pulled him down!

(Quoted from the Divine Discourse of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Fear Kills

A Sanyasi once met the Cholera Goddess on the road returning from a village where she had thinned the population.  

He asked her how many she had taken into her lap; she replied, "Only ten.  But really speaking, the casualties were a hundred."  She explained, "I killed only ten; the rest died out of fear."

Man is Atmaswarupa, that is, Abhayaswarupa.  If he knows his real nature, he will give no room for weakness or cowardice.

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Kabir's Pitambara for the Lord

Kabir was weaving a pitambara for the Lord, his Rama.  He had to work the loom alone by hand.  He recited Rama Rama Rama Rama and went on weaving ceaselessly.  The cloth had become twenty yards long but Kabir did not stop; his tapas continued unabated; the pitambara was becoming longer and longer.

The Ananda of the craft, devotion to his Lord, were enough food and drink for his subsistence.  When he gave it to the temple priest for clothing the idol of Rama, the pitambara was just the size, just the length and breadth, not a finger more!

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Where Is He Not?

Once a Guru sent a pupil for further guidance to a mendicant in a Siva temple.  

When he reached the temple, he found a fellow reclining in the central shrine with both his legs resting on the sacred lingam.  The pupil was naturally enraged at the man's insolence; when he spoke angrily against his behaviour, the man said, "Please lift my legs and place them where the lingam is not."

When he did so, there was a lingam under the feet in the new position.  Wherever he deposited the man's legs, a lingam rose to give hem rest!

That was the lessen the beggar taught him - God is everywhere; win the vision to see Him so.

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

The Tongue and The Eye

There was a monk once who as the first two steps in ascetic practice decided on two vows: (1) not to injure any living thing and (2) not to speak falsehood.

While he was engaged in meditation under a tree in the thick jungle, invoking the aid of God to confirm him in these two vows, he saw a beautiful deer running in terror from some hunters and taking refuge in a bower behind his hermitage.  The hunters came to him seconds later and asked him about the whereabouts of the deer.

The poor monk was in a fix.  If he told them that he saw it entering the bower, they would catch it and kill it.  That will go against his first vow.  If he told them that he does not know its whereabouts, it would be against his second vow.

He avoided breaking both his vows in a very clever way.  He said, "The eye that sees cannot speak.  The tongue that speaks cannot see.  I cannot compel the eye to speak nor the tongue to see."

The hungers went away quietly and the deer was saved.  The monk had not uttered falsehood!

(From the Divine Discourse of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

The Camera

"Our mind is like the lens of a camera.  If you want to get the picture of the people on the right side, and you turn the camera to the left, how can you succeed?  Our body is the camera, our mind is the lens, our heart is the photographic plate, our thought is the flash bulb, our buddhi or intelligence is the switch.  If you want peat and happiness imprinted on your heart, turn the lens towards the activities and things that can give them, without any mixture of sorrow and misery."

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Baba's Storytime - Hanuman's Devotion

 

 

After the coronation, one day, Sita and the three brothers of Rama met and planned to exclude Hanuman from seva of Rama and wanted that all the various services for Rama should be divided only among themselves.  They felt that Hanuman had enough chances already.

So they drew up a list, as exhaustive as they could remember, of the services from dawn till dusk, down to the smallest minutiae and assigned each item to one among themselves.  They presented the list of items and assignees to the Lord, while Hanuman was present.

Rama heard about the new procedure, read the list and gave His approval, with a smile.  He told Hanuman that all the tasks had been assigned to others and that he could now take rest.  Hanuman prayed that the list might be read and when it was done, he noticed an omission - the task of "snapping finger when one yawns".  Of course, being an emperor, Rama should not be allowed to do it himself.  It has to be done by a servant, he pleaded.  Rama agreed to allot that task to Hanuman!

It was a great piece of good luck for Hanuman, for it entailed Hanuman's constant attendance to his Master, for how could anyone predict when the yawn could come?  And he had to be looking on that heart charming face all the time, to be ready with the snap, as soon as one yawn was on!  He would not be away for a minute nor could he relax for a moment!

You must be happy that the seva of the Lord keeps you always in His presence and ever vigilant to carry out His behests.

(Quoted from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

This Will Not Last

The senses are the villains, they instil the delusion that you are the Upadhi.  Curb them as the bull is curbed by the nose-ring, the horse by the bit in the mouth, the elephant by the goad.

When the Pandavas were traversing the Himalayas towards the end of their careers, Dharmaraja was still affected by mental anxieties and so he prayed to Krishna to spend some time with them.  On His departure from their dwelling, Krishna gave Dharmaraja a note, which he was to read to himself whenever he was affected by joy or grief.

The note read "Eppudoo undathu" (It will not last for ever).  That is one method by which mental agitation can be calmed.

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Baba's Storytime - Rama Blesses Govardhana Hill

 
The bridge towards Lanka was being built over the straits, so that Rama and His army could march across to the region of the demon King, Ravana, where Sita was interned.  The valiant monkeys were plucking mountains and leaping vast distances in space with those peaks hoisted on their shoulders, so that they could be thrown into the sea to create a passage for Rama.  The monkeys had formed a queue all the way from the Himalayas down to the southern most point, where the bridge was fast coming up.  When the causeway was completed, word went fast along the queue that no more hills are needed and each monkey placed on the ground, wherever it stood, the hill it had on its shoulder at the time.

One hill, however, did not sit quietly.  It started bewailing its fate!  "Why was I removed from where I was and why am I now refused?  Alas!  I was elated that I am destined to serve a Divine Purpose; I was overjoyed that the armies of Rama and Rama Himself will walk over me.  Now, I am neither there, nor where I was!"  It shed profuse tears.

News reached Rama and His compassion was great.  He sent word that in His next Avathar, when He will come again upon His Mission in human form, He will certainly bless the sorrowing hill.  This was the Govovardhana Peak which the Lord (as the boy Krishna) lifted on His finger and held aloft for a full seven days, in order to save the cowherds of Gokul from the deluge of rain that Indra dared to inflict on them!

(Quoted from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

The Most Amazing Thing on Earth

"When once Brahma asked the sage Narada what was the most amazing thing he noticed on earth, Narada replied, "The most amazing thing I saw was this - the dying are weeping over the dead.  Those who are themselves nearing death are weeping over those who have died, as if their weeping has any effect, either to revive the dead or prevent their own death!"

Brahma asked him to tell another.

  Narada said, "Another sequence is: Everyone fears the consequence of sin but goes on sinning nevertheless! Everyone craves for the consequence of punya (meritorious acts), but everyone is reluctant to do any meritorious act!"

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Bhakthi Is Above All

Once Narada was asked to name the most noteworthy among the things of the world.  He answered that the Earth was the biggest.  But he was told water has occupied three-fourths of the Earth; it threatens to swallow up the balance too, bit by bit.  So water, he had to agree, was more powerful.  

However, water too was drunk up by the sage Agasthya and the oceans were rendered dry by him, and he, in turn, is now just a star in the sky!  

Is the sky the biggest, then?  No.  For it was covered by one single foot of the Vamana-avarhara of the Lord.  

And the Lord?  O, He enters the hearts of the devotees and resides there. 

 So Narada had to conclude that the hearts of Bhakthas are the grandest things in creation!

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

The Victory of Virtue

King Ambarisha performed a Yaga, but at the crucial moment, the animal intended for the sacrifice escaped. Now the priests ordained that to make amends for this sinful neglect, a human being should be offered as a substitute to the Gods.

The King promised 1,000 cows in exchange for a son, but which father will send a son to death, even when 1,000 cows are given in exchange? 

There were also other conditions: the King’s messengers should not ask anyone for the son. They should not commit the sin of equating 1,000 cows as equal to a human being. The father too should not break the sad offer to the son. The offer to immolate himself must come unasked from the son, without any prompting or persuasion. It is only such a son that will be accepted by the Gods. 

Now, Sunasshepa heard the news by himself and approaching his father, he said he would go, and gladly too. For, what greater good fortune can a mortal expect than ascending to heaven through the sacrificial flame?

Sunasshepa persuaded his father that his wish to proceed to the Yajna and offer himself was legitimate and approvable, and left for the capital. On the way, he went to his maternal uncle, Viswamitra, who tried to prevent the boy from going to the sacrifice. 

“This is all just foolish superstition. Can any one substitute a man for a cow?” Viswamitra asked. Sunasshepa replied that all men are cattle, for until Viveka and Vairagya (wisdom and renunciation) dawn, they are but animals. So, in spite of his uncle’s arguments, arguments like the ones used by some to dissuade persons from coming to Puttaparthi, Sunasshepa managed to reach the Yagasala. 

In the same way as the lights before us are lit when a switch is moved up at Penukonda (which is 40 kms from Puttaparthi), when the Lord decides on something, it has to happen so. Well, the Lord is not a rock or a stone. His Heart melted at the plight of the boy. Indra appeared in the sacrificial fire and departed showering blessings on his head.

It was Indra who had carried away the original cow and elaborated this entire plot, to bring Sunasshepa and his greatness to light and to bless him.

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

What is Real Wealth?

Once there was a rich and powerful king who wanted to invade and conquer a neighboring country. While passing over a snow-covered mountain with his army, the king met a holy man who had no clothes. The king thought the poor fellow must be cold, so he tried to give the holy man his grand and expensive cloak.

The holy man had grown wise from his many years of prayer and meditation. He said to the king, "The Lord has always taken care of my every need. Oh king. Give the cloak to someone who is poor - not to me." The holy man went on to say very sweetly to the king, "If you are so unhappy with all your riches that you must conquer another kingdom, and cause your soldiers to risk their lives, then keep the cloak. You are a poor man; you need it more than I do."

The king was wise enough to understand the teaching the holy man was giving him. The king realized how poor and empty his life was. He asked the holy man for the secret to his peace and happiness.

The holy man answered, "I am happy because I have no desires; without desires you are the master of everything."

Then and there, the king called off the war and took his army home. The citizens of his country welcomed him as a hero, for the king indeed had conquered and won a great victory. He no longer had any desires!

- Excerpted from Bal Vikas Magazine for Children 1 to 99, Italy
January/February 2004 

Prayers Must Emanate from the Heart

Listen to what happened to sage Ramadas of Bhadrachalam, the singer who was imprisoned by the Nawab of Golconda, for misappropriation of public funds (to renovate the Rama temple at Bhadrachalam), whose liberation from jail was effected by Rama and Lakshmana themselves paying the Nawab the sum appropriated!

Ramadas had piled up a large mass of palmyra leaves on each of which he had written with his stylo a song on Rama.  When his eyes fell on the heap one day, a thought struck him: "Did I compose these songs for my pleasure?  Or for pleasing Rama?"  He wanted to know those songs which had pleased Rama and fling away those which did not.  He decided to throw the whole bundle into the Godavari river and let Rama save those which He approved.

Almost the whole lot sank to the depths, only 108 floated and were rescued.  They alone had arisen from the heart; the rest smacked of cleverness, artificiality, punditry, pedantry. 

Prayers must emanate from the heart, where God resides and not from the head, where doctrines and doubts clash.

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Implicit Faith is the Road to Spiritual Success

Once Krishna and Arjuna were going together along the open road.  

Seeing a bird in the sky, Krishna asked Arjuna: "Is that a dove?"  He replied, "Yes, it is a dove."  

He told Arjuna "It is an eagle".  Arjuna replied promptly, "Yes, it is an eagle."

 "No, Arjuna, it looks like a crow to Me.  Is it not a crow?" asked Krishna.  

Arjuna replied, "I am sorry, it is a crow beyond doubt."

Krishna laughed and chided him for his agreeing in whatever suggestion was given.  But Arjuna said, "For me, Your words are far more weighty than the evidence of my eyes: you can make it a crow, dove or an eagle and when you say it is a crow, it must be one."

Implicit faith is the road to spiritual success.

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

The Mother Cat

  

 

The mother cat, it is said, carries its newly born kittens, still with unopened eyes, from house to house, depositing them in seven different homes.  By the time the seventh house is reached, the kittens open their eyes and can see well and clearly.  Man changes home every birth but his eyes do not open to the truth of God, even after his changing home (lives) many and many a time.

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Overcoming Karma

Once when the sage Narada was proceeding to Vaikuntha,the heavenly abode of the Lord, he espied a yogi (renunciant) who was engaged in severe ascetic practices. 

The yogi prayed to Narada to bring back from Vaikuntha information about the date of his becoming entitled to enter into the Lord’s abode. Narada promised to do so. 

When Narada stood in the presence of God, he pleaded on behalf of the yogi and asked that he may be informed of the date. 

The Lord replied, "Tell him that he will be coming here after as many more births as there are leaves on the tree under which he is currently doing penance."

Narada felt sad and dispirited when he thought of the grief into which the yogi would be thrown into on hearing this disheartening verdict of the Lord. But he mustered courage to announce it nevertheless, for the yogi insisted on learning the news that he had assured to bring.

When Narada at last broke the demoralizing decision of the Lord, contrary to his expectations, the yogi was transported into a realm of joy; he was not dispirited in the least.

 He jumped and danced in glee. He was lost in the thrill of his dream being so near actual fulfillment. He became oblivious to the world around and was filled with ecstasy thinking of the Lord and offering Him his profound gratitude. 

The Lord was so pleased with the joy of the yogi that He himself appeared before him and offered him Vaikuntha immediately. But, the yogi said, he would bide his time, for he did not like the Lord's word, which Narada had brought, to be falsified! 

The Lord now had to convince him that good deeds, noble thoughts and sacred feelings can wipe out the tracings of bad; therefore, by his enthusiastic acceptance of the Lord's will,

he has actually overcome the consequences of past actions.

The Law of Karma is not an iron law; by dedication and purification, which invites Divine benediction, its effects can be modified, and its rigour mitigated. Do not despair; do not lose heart. When vices hold sway over your heart it becomes foul and sooty; the flames of kaama, krodha and lobha (desire, anger and greed) char the heart. What quenches these flames is the Grace of the Lord. Grace confers bliss (anandam), which the evil tendencies (kama, krodha and lobha) can never confer.

 

(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)