B.V. Dev

You wish to know if Sai Baba spoke anything about or advanced any person to Adwaita Avesta. I doubt if anyone, who went to him was an Adhikari for such a course. There were Nana Saheb, H.S.Dixit. Dabholkar and Mahaslapathy with him. Perhaps, these were in the front rank of his devotees. Each had his merit of characteristic. Mahalsapathy were very meek, obedient, pious and firmly adhering to ‘Holy Poverty’ and Baba kept him to it. Dixit was blindly obeying Baba and had firm faith in him and was made to study Eknath to promote his spiritual condition. In these matters, he was but a beginner. Mahalsapathy had neither learning nor culture. Nana Saheb Chandorkar knew Sanskrit and he was a student of the Gita. I retired in 1911 and went to Baba. I tried to do Pada Pooja at the bidding of Dixit. Baba stopped me. ‘You need not worship. You have given me Dakshina. That is enough’.

My questioning Balakram, Baba’s anger and Baba’s giving me order to read Jnaneshwari, are all set out in Dabholkar’s Satcharitra. Baba took from me one after another four sovereigns. Then
he said ‘I have received one’. I said ‘Baba, I have given you 4’.

B: I did not deny it. But when you have given 4, Baba received one only.
I: I do not understand it.
B: You will come to understand it.

Later, when I was touring along, a young Fakir came to my compartment and asked me for something. I gave him once pice. He said he wanted 4. I gave him a four-anna piece. He then said he had got one. Again I met an old hermit, he wanted something. I gave him one coin. He wanted 4.

So I understand Baba, as appearing in all these forms to teach me that though I gave him four (i.e., Manas, Buddhi, Chitta and Ahankar etc.) He receives but one, the soul or jiva.

I tried to learn Asanas from a Hatayogi. Baba appeared in my dream and tried to dissuade me. I agreed to give it up. Then he showed me how to sit in Sukhasana and get on.

27th September, 1936 ¶

Chandorkar was a good student of Vedanta. He had read Gita with commentaries and prided himself on his knowledge of all that. He fancied that Baba knew nothing of all this or Sanskrit. So, Baba, one day, pricked the bubble. These were days before crowds flocked to Baba, when Baba had solitar talks at the mosque with such devotees. Nana was sitting near Baba.

Baba: Nana, what are you mumbling to yourself?
Nana: I am reciting a sloka in Sanskrit.
B: What sloka?
N: From Bhagvat Gita.
B: Utter it audibly.

(Nana then recited B.G.IV, 34, tadvidvi etc)

B: Nana, do you understand it?
N: Yes.
B: If you do, then tell me.
N: It means this: 'Making Sashtanga Namaskar (i.e.) prostration, questioning the guru, serving him, learn what this jnana is. Then those jnanis that have attained to real knowledge of the Sat Vastu (Brahman) will give you ‘upadesh of jnana’.
B: Nana, I do not want this sort of collected purport of the whole stanza. Give me each word, its grammatical force and meaning.

Then Nana explained it word by word.

B: Nana, is it enough to make prostrations merely?
N: I do not know any other meaning for the word pranipata than “making prostration”.
B: What is pari prasna?
N: Asking questions.
B: What does prasna mean?
N: The same.
B: If pari prasna means the same as prasna (question), why did Vyasa add the prefix pari? Was Vyasa off his head?
N: I do not know of any other meaning for the word pari prasna.
B: Seva. What sort of seva is meant?
N: Just what we are doing always.
B: Is it enough to render such service?
N: I do not know what more is signified by that word seva.
B: In the next phrase, upadesyant te Jnan can you so read the phrase as to read any other word in lieu of jnan?
N: yes,
B: What word?
N: Agnanam
B: Taking that word (instead of ‘Gnana’) is any meaning made out of the verse.
N: No, Shamkara Bhashya gives no such construction.
B: Never mind. If he does not, is there any objection to using the word ‘Agnanam’ if it gives a better sense.
N: No. But I do not understand how to construe the stanza by placing ‘agnanam’ in it.
B: Why does Krishna refer Arjuna to jnanis or tatwadarsis to do his prostration, interrogation and service? Was not Krishna a tatwadarsis - infact, jnana itself?
N: Yes. He was. But, I cannot make out why he referred Arjun to jnanis.
B: Have you not understood this?

Nana was humiliated. His pride was knocked on the head. Then Baba began to explain.

(1) It is not enough merely to prostrate before Jnanis. We must make Sarvaswa Saranagati to the Sadguru.

(2) Mere questioning is not enough. The question must not be with any improper motive or attitude or to trap the Guru and catch at mistakes in the answer or out of idle curiosity. It must be serious, and with a view to achieve moksha or spiritual progress.

(3) Seva is not rendering service retaining still the feeling that one is free to offer or refuse service. One must feel that he is not the master of the body, that the body is the guru’s and exists merely to render service to him.

If this is done, the sadguru will show you what the jnana referred to in the previous stanzas.

Nana did not understand what is meant by saying that a guru teaches ajnana.

Baba: How is Jnana Upadesh (i.e.) imparting of realization to be effected? Destroying ignorance is jnana. 87th verse on 66 ch.XVIII in Jnaneshwari says ‘Removal of ignorance is like this, O Arjun. If dream and sleep disappear, you are yourself. It is like that’. See also V.83 of Jnaneshwari on B.G. V. 16, where he 'Is there anything different or independent in jnan besides the destruction of ignorance? Expelling darkness means light. Destroying duality (dwaita) means non-duality (adwaita). Whenever we speak of destroying dwaita, we speak of destroying darkness, we talk of light. If we have to realize the adwaita state, the feeling of dwaita in ourselves has to be removed. That is the realization of the adwaitic state. Who can speak of adwaita while remaining in dwaita? If one did, unless one gets into that sate how can one know it and realize it?

(Again) the sishya, like the Sadguru is really the embodiment of Jnan. The difference between the two lies in the attitude, high realization, marvellous superhuman Sattha (beingness) and unrivalled capacity and Iswarya Yoga (i.e.) divine powers. The Sadguru is Nirguna Satchit Ananda. He has indeed taken human form to elevate mankind and raise the world. But his real Nirguna nature is not destroyed thereby, even a bit. His beingness (or reality), divine power, and wisdom remain undiminished. The disciple also is in fact of the same swarupa. But, it is overlaid by the effects of the Samskaras of innumerable births in the shape of ignorance which hides from his view that he is Suddha Chaitanya, see B.G.Ch.15 Asanenavritta Jnan tenamujati jatav.

As stated therein, he gets the impression. ‘I am jiva, a creature, humble and poor’. The guru has to root out these offshoots of ignorance and has to give upadesh or instruction. To the disciple held spell-bound for endless generations by the ideas of his being a creature, humble and poor the guru imparts in hundreds of births the teaching ‘You are God, you are mighty and opulent’. Then, he realizes a bit that he is God really. The perpetual delusion under which the disciple has been labouring, that he is the body, that he is a creature (jiva) or ego, that God (paramatma) and the world are different from him, is an error inherited from innumerable past births. From action based on it, he has derived his joy, sorrows and mixtures of both. To remove this delusion, this error, this root ignorance, he must start the inquiry. How did the ignorance arise? Where is it? And to show him this is called the guru’s upadesh. The following are instances of ajnana:

1. I am a jiva - creature.
2. Body is the soul (I am the body).
3. God, world and jiva are different.
4. I am not God.
5. Not knowing that body is not the soul.
6. Not knowing that God, world and jiva are one.

Unless these errors are exposed to his view, the disciple can-
not learn wha is God jiva, world, body, how they are interrelated and whether they are different from each other or are one and teh same. To teach him these and destroy his ignorance, is this instruction in jnana or ajnana. Why should jnan be imparted to the jiva (who is) a Jnanamurthi? Upadesh is merely to show him his error and destroy his ignorance.

Baba added: (1) Pranipata implies surrender. (2) Surrender must be of body, mind and wealth: (3) Why should Krishna refer Arjun to other jnanis?

Sadbhakta takes everything to be Vasudev B.G.VII, 19, (i.e. any guru will be Krishna to the devotee) and guru takes disciple to be Vasudev and Krishna treats both as his prana and atma (B.G.XII, 7). As Sri Krishna knows that there are such Bhaktas and Gurus, he refers Arjun to them so that their greatness may increase and be known.

13th December, 1936 ¶

On the question as to how far I can give instances of Baba’s acting like Jesus Christ in curing leprosy (congenital or acquired) blindness, deafness, palsy, devil possession, effects of sorcery and black magic and purifying vile halots and other sinners, I know of clear particulars. But, as to his reproving vice, thee are numerous instances. In my own case, he reproved lobha or love of wealth. I shall give the incident in full.

After the close of my full period of service, I got an extension of 3 months and after that was over, I naturally desired to have an extension of one year, and the Collector mooted the question and I mentioned my wish to continue for one year. The matter was thus practically settled and I had one year’s extension. At that time, I had a dream. Therein I saw Sai Baba seated with some body. Before him I prostrated.

Baba: Do you know what these books are?
I: No.
B: They are you accounts. I am looking into you accounts.
I: My account, Baba?
B: yes, Here are these. Look here. Dies 17 come after 16 or 16 after 17?
I: How can that be, Baba?
B: See, is it not so? Here is your account.

He threw the account book open before me. I read it and found it was my own account. ‘Yes Baba, here 16 comes after my 17. How is that?’ Then I thought over the meaning of my dream. I concluded.