13–20 minutes
Baba’s sayings about General Moral Teachings
Para Number in the Book ‘BCS” About Moral Teaching and general corrections
203. Bapu Sahib Jag: Baba, I have served you so long with concentration (Ananya Bhava). How can I discover when its fruition comes?
Baba: The fruition of your service that will gladden both our hearts will be when you wear a kupni and beg your food, as I do (i.e., identify yourself with me and be free from all attachments)
Baba’s Moods, as Devotee of God
- Baba- “I am myself a devotee of God (Rangari), though the Hindus worship me. I remember God”
- Baba- “I am requesting Allah. He will comply with my request” (i.e., a son will be be born to H.V.S.)
- Baba- ” I say things here. There, they happen.’
- Baba- ” O God, Enough. Stop the rain! My children have to go back home. Let them go back without difficulty “(and rain stopped M.W. Pradhau went safe}
Contentment and Surrender
267. “God is great. He is the Supreme Master.
Allah Malik: How great is God! No one can compare with him.
He creates, supports and destroys. His sport (Lila) is inscrutable.
Let us be content to remain as He makes us, to submit our wills to His. Allah Rakega Vahisa Rahena. Take what comes. Be contented and cheerful. Never worry. Not a leaf moves, but by His consent and will.
We should be honest, upright and virtuous.
We must distinguish right from wrong.
We must each attend to his own duty.
But we must not be obsessed by egotism and fancy that we are the independent causes of action. God is that Actor. We must recognise His independence and our dependence on Him and see all acts as His. If we do so, we shall be unattached and free from Karmic bondage. “
Love All Creatures
268. Baba- “Love all creatures; Do not fight with any; nor retaliate, nor scandalise any. When anyone talks of you (i.e., against you) pass on, unperturbed. his words cannot pierce into your body. Other’s act will affect them alone and not you. It is only your own acts that will affect you.”
IDLENESS
- Baba- “Do not be idle. Work, utter Gods name, read scriptures.”
Other Moral Teachings.
- Baba to chandra bai Borker: “We should not harbour hatred, envy, rivalry or combative disposition towards others. If others hate us, let us simply take to Nama Japa and avoid them.”
- Baba to Bapu Rao N. Chandorker; “Hearken to the words of your parents. Help your mother in her task. Speak the truth alone. No one cares to take from me what I give abundantly. But they want from me what I am unable to give, Mother is God.”
271A Baba to N.G. Chandorkar. “Look at this Haridas who leaves you and goes away. Have friends that will stick to you till the end, through thick and thin.
Baba to H.S.D. (who proposed that Baba and he should start for Bombay and take a devotee with them to leave him in the middle at a wayside station): “I will never leave (i.e. desert) any one in the middle.”
Spirits
- A devotee: Baba, do spirits really exist?
Baba: Yes. We have nothing to do with them.
- R.A.T. one night went out. He saw a spectre under a tree, got frightened and then thinking of Baba, got courage and went back to his lodging at Shirdi.
Next morning Baba himself when meeting him referred to the topic.
Baba: What did you see last night?
RAT: I saw a spirit.
Baba: That was I.
RAT: No, Baba. It was a spirit.
Baba again: That was I. Go and ask your Ayi.
RAT: went and asked his mother, who said that all spirits were under Baba’s control.
Baba: And Am I not inside all of them? Hello! Bhutas etc., will do nothing (no harm) to us. Have I not told you this last year.
MEEKNESS
274: Baba to Mrs. M W Pradhan: “If anyone talks ten words at us, if we reply at all, let us reply with one word. Do not quarrel, retaliate or bandy words with anyone, giving tit for tat.”
PATIENCE
275. Uddhavesa Bua (at the first interview); Where is my Moksha Guru? How is he to be got’?
Baba- ” Wait for five years and you will know. How can you gulp an entire bread? Wait for five years and see.”
Persevering faith in case of Doubt
- A Prarthana Samajist went to Baba. However before seeing baba, he had a discussion with somebody else as to whether Baba had the characteristics of a Stitha Prajna as defined in Gita. This unsettled his mind and he wavered in his faith and went to Baba.
Baba: Syama, take him and tell him something.
Then, Syama took his wada and gave his advice. 1) “Despise irresponsible and uninformed people’s talk, 2) Place your mind at Baba’s feet, 3) All will be safe”.
Then they returned to Baba.
Baba: Follow Syama’s advice.
OVER ASCEPTICISM
- Baba: “Do not get over-ascetic, e.g., by giving away all food, play and exercise. Rather regulate your meals, rest, etc. (cf “Yuktahara Vihara”.)
277-A. To Kusa bhav, Baba: “When you come next, come two of you (i.e., get MARRIED and come).”
BABA AGAINST UNNECESSARY FAST
- H.S.D. wanted to fast at night and to make it a rule. B.aba- “Kaka, Prepare food for the night and eat it.” H.S.D. gave up his idea of fasting.
279. One Mrs. Gokhale wished to visit Shirdi for the Scingha holiday and to fast there while staying at Shirdi as the guests of Data Kelkar.
Baba (to Dada Kelkar): “Will my children fast during Scingha festival? I cannot permit that.”
Next day the lady turned up at Shirdi and sat before Baba.
Baba (himself mooting the subject): “Why should we fast? Go to Dada Kelkars, prepare Pooran Poli, eat it and give it to all in the family.”
Mrs. Gokhale went back to Dada’s found Mrs. Dada was in her period and therefore she, though a guest, had to do the cooking. She prepared Pooran Poli and ate it as directed by Baba.
280 Baba (to S.B. Nachne): “Have you taken your meal?”
Nachne: This is an Ekadasi Day (which Nachne wanted to observe on that occasion, though not observing at home, because two of friends who had accompanied him were very orthodox and were observing it)
Baba: These two people are mad. You had better go and eat.
Nachne went to Bala Bhav’s hotel; but Bala Bhav being orthodox, the meal was refused, as it was especially before Arati. So nachne returned with Bala Bhav to Mosque at Arati time.
Baba: (to nachne) Have you taken food?
Nachne: Baba, it is Arati time and meal can come after Arati time.
Baba: No. You go and take meal. Arati will wait for you.
So, Bala Bhav was forced to give Nachne his meal. After meal, Nachne and Bala Bhav returned to Dwaraka Mayee. Just then Mavusi brought and presented to baba a number of bidas (i.e., rolled betal and nut).
Baba to nachne: Chew this.
Nachne took a bida; but hesitated, as it is not customary to chew bida on Ekadasi Day.
Baba: Never mind, Go on, Chew it.
And Nachne chewed it.
Yoga and Onion-Eating
- N.G.C. took with him a student of yoga who wished to consult Baba on matter of Yoga; but when they went to the Mosque, Baba was eating onion. And the Yoga student thought that Baba, as one who ate Tamasic food as onion, could not help in Yoga.
Baba- ” Nana, what harm is there in eating onion, if one could digest it (overcome its tamasic effects)?”
The Yoga student noticed that Baba knew his thoughts and hence must be a master of Yoga.
HOW BABA MADE DAS GANU EAT ONION
- The orthodox Das Ganu Maharaj dislike onions.
Baba (to Das ganu): Prepare Pitla, sauce of onions. Give me a part and eat the rest of it.
Das Ganu: Yes.
Next day DG prepared the onion dish and touched the onion with the tip of a finger and drew the finger near the nether lip as a token of tasting and then washed his fingers and face. then he went to Baba.
Baba: Have you eaten onions?
DG: Yes.
Baba: He pretends he eats, but only touches it with his finer and brings the finger near lip.
Baba actually showed what DG did.
Baba: Ganu, you must really eat onion and not pretend.
DG: Yes.
DG was eating onion at Shirdi (as long as Baba was alive) on ordinary days, i.e., except on Ekadasi Day.
KUSA BHAV – ONION
283. On an Ekadasi day Kusa Bhav (i.e., Krishnaji Kasinath Joshi of Mirzgaon) sat by Baba’s side.
Baba: What do you eat to-day?
Kusa: Nothing. Today is Ekadasi.
Baba: What does “Ekadasi” mean?
Kusa: A day for “Upavasa”
Baba: What does Upavasa mean?
Kusa: It is just like “Rojas”
Baba: What is Rojas?
Kusa: We fast, i.e., do not eat anything except Kanda Moola. (Meaning sweet potatoes etc.,)
Baba: Ob, Kaanda (i.e., onion) you eat. Well, here you have onion. Eat it.
Kusa: (finding baba forcing on him unorthodox food) Baba if you eat it, I will eat.
Baba ate some; and Kusa Bhav ate some, and then visitors arrived. Baba wished to have some fun.
Baba: Look at this Bamniya (corrupt and contemptuous form of the word Brahmin). He eats onion on Ekadasi.
Kusa: Baba ate it and I ate it.
Baba: No. I ate Kanda, i.e., sweet potatoes. See.
Baba then vomited out sweet potatoes.
Kusa Bhav seeing the miracle, voraciously swallowed the potato as prasad.
Baba beat him and said:
“Rogue. why do you eat the vomit?
But Kusa Bhav did not mind the blows. Baba’s heart melted.
Baba: (placing a palm on Kusa’s head) I bless you. Think of me and hold forth your Palms. You will have my prasad.
KUSA BHAV now holds up his empty palms and WARM UDHI (BABA’S PRASAD) falls from it, and this is given as BABA’S PRASADA UDHI by Kusa Bhav.
DADA KELKAR AND ONION
284. Dada Kelkar, an over zealous Brahmin, abhorred onion and in his overzeal objected to visitors and Sathe Wada using onion. He fell foul on S.B.Nachne’s mother-in-law for using it. Then his grand-child had sore eyes.
DK: Baba, the child has sore eyes. What should I do?
Baba: Use onion for fomenting the eyes.
DK: Where can I go for onion?
Baba: Take it from this mother (pointing to S.B. Nachne’s mother-in-law)
S.B. Nachne’s Mother-in-law: “Baba DK abused me for using onion. So I do not like to give him anything. If you order it, I will give.”
Baba: “Give.”
Then the lady gave the onion and Baba, through her, humiliated DK for his intolerant over-asceticism.
Hospitality
Baba shares food and smoke.
- (a) Baba(to D.V.Sambhare): “Boy. Come near. Why keep afar? Have a smoke.”
- (b) Baba- “Feed the hungry first. Then feed yourself.”
- (c) Baba (By way of joke about A.D.): “Oh, it is his habit. He eats sweet things by himself, i.e., without sharing them with others”, (cf.Eka Swadu Na Banjitha.)
- (d) Baba added: “Am I not near you at meals? Do you give me a morsel?”
(e) cf., Baba’s interpretation of Athiti and advice to N.G.C.(vide ante)
HARMONY
- Baba: If you avoid rivalries and bickering, God will protect you.
Return not evil for evil. Return good for evil.
Other’s words cannot harm you.
- Baba: Life is lived in vain if no yoga, Yaga, Tapas and Jnana be achieved.
- Baba (in a message to a Devotee): “Will you sit idle (merely) eating your food. Have Saburi (patience and courage).”
- Baba: (to some one to his face)- “Our (your) end will get so better or wretched. Once or twice, I will warn. The end will be hard indeed if one does not heed the advice given. Even the child in the womb, we will cut to pieces and throw away if it falls athwart.”
292-A. BABA REMOVES HANKERING FOR DRINK
- 1) Baba to D V Sambare (who was getting addicted): ‘Boy, why do you behave like this? See, I give you this warning first, that you should give up drink. If you do not heed this, I will not warn you again but leave you to your fate.’ DVS forswore liquor. He was free of the hankering.
- One day his superior invited him to a dinner, a big party and came up to see that the glassful kept before him was not drunk by DVS. The latter offered excuses which were laughed at.
- In this perplexity of DVS, all the hall lights were extinguished suddenly. The host went to look at the cause. Mean while an obliging neighbour drank up DVS’s glass. The host returned, saw the glass empty and thanking his pleading was successfully went away. Baba performed a chamtkar to save DVS, – for none could discover how the lights were extinguished and again lit up by themselves.
- 2) Baba to (a) Santaram and (b) a goldsmith boy who were addicted to drink: “Stay six days here.” From that time love of drink left them and they continued free from that vice even after they left Shirdi.
BABA’S TAPAS OF PLANK VIGIL AT THE MOSQUE
293. Once Baba talked of the plank he used to lie upon. It was only 5 feet long and about 15 inches broad and lamps were loosely placed on it. It was suspended from the rafters of the ceiling of the mosque by weak shreds of cloth. The wonder was, how it could support him, and another wonder was how Baba could swing himself up into it (it was hung up 6 or 7 feet high) and jumped down from it, without upsetting the lamps and snapping the shreds.
Das Ganu and others went to see the wonder and Baba, in anger or disgust, broke the plank into pieces.
H.S. Dixit offered to give Baba a cot then to lie upon.
Baba: No. Am I to lie on a cot, leaving Mahlsapathy on the floor? Far better would it be that I should be on the floor and that he should sleep higher.
Dixit: I will give two planks, one for you and one for Mahlsa.
Baba: “He will not sleep on a plank. he will sleep only on the ground.
Sleeping on the plank is no joke, who will sleep keeping eyes open, all awake like me? Only such a person can lie on the plank. When I lie down on the ground, I ask Mahlsapathy to sit by me and keep his palm on my chest.
You see that a plank will be of no use to him. ‘I lie down making mental Namasmarana.’ So, I say to Mahlsapathy, “Feel it by placing your hand on my heart. If you catch me napping, wake me up.’ Such was and is my order to him. “
(THe ordinary sleep is a hindrance to the Yoga trance, it resembles it in some respects, but the heart-beat at the Namasmarana stage of trance differs from the heart-beat of natural sleep)
Advice to Sadhakas
- Baba to Abdul: “Eat very little. Do not go for a variety of eatables. A single sort, i.e., dish will suffice. Do not sleep much. Have Dhyan on what is read. Think of Allah.”
294-A. Benefit of Humility etc.,” Baba’s advice to Abdul (whom he named Halakoor (i.e., scavenger) and miriambi (because he rendered low services) (1) “Your clay is (being) transformed into gold; (2) you will cross the seven oceans; (3) high mansion is erected (for you).”
SCANDAL
- When a devotee of Baba was reviling another behind the back, Baba went out and met him near Lendi.
Baba: Do you see that?
Dev ; It is a pig.
Baba. What is it doing ?
Dev : Eating filth.
Baba: You see with what gusto the pig is gorging itself on night soil. Behold how it revels on human ordure. But we feel it disgusting. That is your conduct. People fret and fume against their own brethren and kinsmen to their hearts’ content. After performing many deeds of merit, one is born a man. Is he to go to Shirdi and yet commit moral suicide ?
- Baba (to Mathradas, who had been indulging in scandal at Sagun’s tea shop): “What was Sagun saying ?” Mathradas felt ashamed.
Baba- “The good and the wicked alike come here. Why draw their frailties and foibles to public notice, by depicting them.”
AHlMSA
(a) Mahlsapathy and Bitch
- One day Mahlsapathy hit a bitch full of sores with a stick and he went later to Baba.
Baba- “Bhagat, there is in the village a bitch sickly like myself and everyone is hitting it.”
Mahlsapathy felt that Baba was rebuking him and so repented for his mistake.
(b) H.S. Dixit and Serpent
- H-S-D.: “The serpent kills people; so when one sees a serpent, should he not kill it ?”
Baba- “No. we should never kill it. Because it will never kill us, unless it is ordered by God to kill us. If God has so ordered, we cannot avoid it.”
MERCY TO MAD DOG
299. In Vaisak 1917 a small dog bitten by a rabid dog began to chase big dogs. the villagers, club in hand, then chased the small dog. It ran through the streets and finally got into Dwaraka Mayee, stood behind Baba and made him its sanctuary.
Villagers: Baba, that dog is mad. Drive it out and we will kill it.
Baba: You mad fellows, you get out. You want to persecute and kill a poor creature.
Thus baba saved the life of that dog and it proved to be not rabid.
Non-Resistance to Evil
300. (a) Baba to Attar- “Aunt, let him eat. It is only Anna (your own father) that eats (what he has gifted to you.) Do not sue him. God will give you plenty.
(b) Baba (to H.V. Sathe, who was pushing down Nana Wali the aggressor) ” Saheb, do not do so.”
Satsanga, Yama, Niyama etc.
313. Baba: “Satsanga, i.e., moving with the good is good. Dussanga, i.e., moving with evil-minded people is evil and must be avoided.
Yama, Niyama. Restrain yourself from forbidden food and drinks. Avoid needless disputation. Avoid falsehood. Have restraint of speech.
Fulfil promises.
Restrain Lust-Wholly in respect of others’ wives, and partly in respect of your own wife.
Enjoyment of marital pleasure is permissible. But be not enslaved by it. MUKTI is impossible to persons addicted to lust. Lust ruins mental balance, and strength or firmness. It affects the learned also.
Unruly buffaloes are controlled by tying a log to their neck as a clog to their movements. Viveka (i.e., prudence and discrimination) must be tied to one’s mind when sex attracts.
Desires must be controlled. You must master them and not be their slave.
Yet you can (and must) use them, the ‘6 Inner Enemies’ within limits. e.g.,
- Besides Kama(Lust) for the wife
- have krodha (Anger) against unrighteousness.
- have Lobha (Greed) for Hari Nama, uttering God’s name.
- have Moha (Fondness) for Mukti (salvation)
- have Matser (Hatred) for evil action; and
- have no mada (Pride)
"I draw to Me, My man from far off or even across the seven Seas to Shirdi, like a sparrow with a string fastened to its feet"-Shirdi Sai Baba, Indian Spiritual Guru-God 