Shri Sai Satcharita Chapter XX

Shri Sai Satcharita Chapter XX 

Das Ganu’s Problem Solved by Kaka’s Maid Servant

In this chapter Hemadpant describes how Das Ganu Maharaj’s problem was solved

by Kakasaheb Dixit’s maid servant.

Preliminary

Sai (Lord) was originally formless. He assumed a form for the sake of His bhaktas.

With the help of the actress maya, He played the part of an actor in the big drama of the

universe. Let us remember and visualize Shri Sai. Let us imagine Shirdi and carefully

visualize the program after the noon arati. When the arati ceremony was over, Sai Baba

would come out of the masjid, and, while standing on its edge and gazing lovingly at His

devotees, distribute udi. The bhaktas would respond with equal fervor. Some would clasp

His feet, and others would remain standing and stare at Him in awe adoringly. Everyone

would enjoy the shower of udi. Baba distributed handfuls of udi into the palms of His

devotees and marked their foreheads with udi with His fingers. The love He bore for them

in His heart was boundless. He then addressed the bhaktas as follows: “Oh Bhau, go take

your lunch. You Anna, go to your lodgings. You, Bapu, enjoy your meal.” In this way, He

conversed with every devotee and sent them home. Even now these scenes of Baba can

be visualized and enjoyed if the imagination is brought into play. Thus, bringing Sai before

our mental vision, let us meditate on Him, from His holy feet to His benevolent face, and,

prostrating before Him, humbly, lovingly and respectfully, revert to the story of this chapter.

Ishavasya Upanishad

Das Ganu once started to write a Marathi commentary on the Ishavasya Upanishad.

Let us first give a brief idea of this Upanishad before proceeding further.

It is called a ‘Mantropanishad’ as it is embodied in the mantras of the Vedic Samhitas. It

constitutes the last or 40th chapter of the Vajasaneyi Samhita (Yajurveda) and it is,

therefore, called Vajasaneyi Samhitopanishad. Being embodied in Vedic Samhitas, this is

regarded as superior to all other Upanishads which occur in the Brahmanas and Aranyakas

(explanatory treatises on mantras and rituals).

Not only this, other Upanishads are considered to be commentaries on the truths

mentioned briefly in the Ishavasya Upanishad. For instance, the biggest of the

Upanishads, viz. the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, is considered by Pandit Satwalekar to be

a running commentary on the Ishavasya Upanishad.

Professor R.D. Ranade says, “The Ishopanishad is quite a small Upanishad and yet

it contains many hints which show an extraordinary piercing insight. Within the short

compass of 18 verses, it gives a valuable mystical description of the atman, a description

of the ideal sage who stands unruffled in the midst of temptations and sorrows, an

adumbration of the doctrine of karma yoga as later formulated, and finally, a reconciliation

of the claims of knowledge and work. The most valuable idea that lies at the root of the

Upanishad is that of a logical synthesis between the two opposites of knowledge and work,

which are both required according to the Upanishad to be annulled in a higher synthesis.”

(page 24 of the Constructive Survey of the Upanishadic Philosophy). In another place he

says that “The poetry of the Ishopanishad is a commixture of moral, mystical and

metaphysical thought .”

From the brief description given above about this Upanishad, anyone can see how

difficult it is to translate this Upanishad into a vernacular language and bring out its exact

meaning. Das Ganu translated it in Marathi Ovi metre, verse by verse, but as he did not

comprehend the gist or essence of the Upanishad, he was not satisfied with his

performance. He, therefore, consulted some learned men regarding his doubts and

difficulties and discussed the Upanishad with them at great length. They did not help his

comprehension, nor did they give him any rational satisfactory explanation, so Das Ganu

was a little restless over the matter.

Satguru Only Is Competent and Qualified to Explain

As we have seen, this Upanishad is the quintessence of the Vedas. It is the science

of Self realization. It is the scythe or weapon which can rend asunder the bondage of life

and death and make us free. Only he, therefore, who has himself attained Self-realization,

can give us the correct interpretation of this Upanishad. When no one could satisfy Das

Ganu, he resolved to consult Sai Baba about this. When an opportunity arose to go to

Shirdi, Das Ganu went directly to Sai Baba, prostrated himself before Him, mentioned his

difficulties about the Ishavasya Upanishad, and requested that Baba give the correct

interpretation. Sai Baba blessed him and said, “You need not be anxious. There is no

difficulty about the matter. The maid servant of Kaka (Kakasaheb Dixit) will solve your

doubts at Vile Parle on your way home.” The people who were present heard this, thought

Baba was joking, and said, “How can an illiterate maid servant solve the difficult meaning

of this Upanishad?” Das Ganu, however, thought otherwise. He was certain that whatever

Baba said, must come true.

Baba’s word was the decree of Brahma (Almighty).

Kaka’s Maid Servant

Fully believing in Baba’s words, Das Ganu left Shirdi, arrived at Vile Parle (a suburb

of Bombay), and stayed with Kakasaheb Dixit. The next day, while Das Ganu was enjoying

his morning nap (some say he was engaged in worship), he heard a poor girl singing a

beautiful song in clear and melodious tones. The song was about a crimson colored sari,

how nice it was, how fine its embroidery, how beautiful its borders etc. Das Ganu liked the

song so much, he went outside and saw it was being sung by a young girl, the sister of

Namya, who was a servant of Kakasaheb. The girl was cleaning vessels and was wearing

only a torn rag. Seeing her impoverished condition and her jovial temperment, Das Ganu

felt pity for her and so the next day, when Rao Bahadur M.V. Pradhan gave him a pair of

dhotars, he requested a sari be given to the poor little girl. Rao Bahadur bought a good

chirdi (small sari) and presented it to her. Like a starving person receiving delicious food to

eat, the little girl’s joy knew no bounds. The next day she wore the new sari and out of

great joy and merriment, she whirled, danced round, played ‘fugadi’ with the other girls and

excelled them all. The following day, however, she kept the new sari in a box at home and

came to work wearing her old, torn rags. Nevertheless, she looked as merry as she did the

previous day. Seeing this, Das Ganu’s pity was transformed into admiration. He knew that

the girl, being poor, had to wear a torn rag, but now she had a new sari which she kept in

reserve. Having put on the old rag, while keeping her new sari at home safe in a box, she

strutted about showing no trace of sorrow or dejection. Thus, Das Ganu realized that all

our feelings of pain and pleasure depend upon our attitude of mind. Bliss is

something which comes from the spirit within, not without, and is not dependent on

external objects or circumstances from the transient material world.

In this particular case, the impoverished condition of the poor girl, her torn rag, her

new sari, the donor, the donee, and the acceptance were all parts of the Lord’s plan and

were pervaded by Him. The young girl was joyful when she had only torn rags to wear, was

joyful when she wore her new sari, and was joyful when she once again was wearing her

torn rags. Thus, her joyful attitude came from her inner spirit, not from the conditions of her

life. Thinking deeply over this incident, Das Ganu realized one should be content and at

peace with one’s lot in life in the firm conviction that everything is pervaded and ordained

by God. Das Ganu got a practical demonstration of the lesson of the Ishavasya

Upanishad - that it is our attitude of mind which determines our feelings. Lasting happiness

and bliss come from the inner spirit, and not from the material world.

Unique Method of Teaching

From the above incident, the reader will see Baba’s teaching method was unique

and varied.

Though Baba never left Shirdi, He sent some devotees to Machhindragad, some to

Kolhapur and others to Sholapur for practicing sadhanas. To some, He appeared in His

usual form; to others, He appeared in waking or dream states, day or night, and satisfied

their desires. It is impossible to describe all the methods Baba used in imparting

instructions to His bhaktas. In this particular case, He sent Das Ganu to Vile Parle where

he had his problem solved through the maid servant experience. To those who say it was

not necessary to send Das Ganu away, that Baba could have personally explained the

meaning in the Ishavasya Upanishad, we note Baba followed the best course, for how else

could Das Ganu have learnt the great lesson provided by the experience of the poor maid

servant and her sari, which in turn helped him understand the meaning of the Ishasvasya

Upanishad?

We now close this chapter with another beautiful extract about this Upanishad.

The Ethics of the Ishavasya Upanishad

“One of the main features of the Ishavasya Upanishad is the ethical advice it offers.

It is interesting to note that the ethics of this Upanishad are definitely based upon the

metaphysical position advanced in it. The very opening words of the Upanishad tell us

God pervades everything. As a corollary of this metaphysical position, the ethical advice it

offers is that a man ought to enjoy whatever God bestows on him in the firm belief that as

the Lord pervades everything, whatever is bestowed on him by God must be for his good.

It follows, naturally, that the Upanishad should forbid us from coveting another

man’s property. In fact, we are fittingly taught here a lesson of contentment with

one’s own lot in the belief that whatever exists, is divinely ordained. The Upanishad

also gives the moral advice always to spend one’s lifetime in doing good actions, especially

the karmas detailed in the shastras, in a mood of believing and joyful resignation to His will.

Inactivity, according to this Upanishad, would be the canker of the soul. It is only when a

man spends his lifetime in doing good actions, that he can hope to attain the ideal of

naishkarma. (However, we need God’s grace to allow us to perform good actions.) Finally,

the text goes on to say that a man who sees all beings in the Self and sees the Self as

existing in all beings, in fact, for whom all beings and everything that exists have become

the Self, cannot suffer infatuation. What ground would such a man have for grief?

Loathing, infatuation and grief verily proceed from our not being able to see the atman in all

things. But a man who realizes the oneness of all things, for whom everything has become

the Self, must ipso facto, cease to be affected by the common foibles of humanity.” (pages

169-170 of the Creative Period by Messrs. Belvalkar and Ranade.)

Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all