Shri Bhakta Leelamrut by Dasganu Maharaj - Chapter 33

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Shree Ganeshayanamah.Oh Lord, you are full of the three Gunas and also devoid of them. You are inside as well as outside the Universe. You are full of Truth, Knowledge and Bliss. You always bless the devotees. You are the beginning. You create the sound and you are the sound too. One cannot separate you from anything. You are behind every auspicious thing. Your form is benevolent. Since I am tied up to you, I need not worry about anything inauspicious. It can not even touch me.

After a few days, Chandorkar went to Shirdi for Baba's Darshan. He prayed at Baba's feet and requested him to kindly continue with his advice. Baba was pleased by this request and said. "Now, I will tell you how to act to reach the state of absolution (Mukta Sthiti) which follows the end of pleasure and pain.

One must keep a balanced mind and always consider what is good and what is bad and accept one's destiny. The natural happenings are one's destiny. Those things that are the results of one's deeds are not a part of one's destiny. Those who steal are punished. This is not their destiny. This is the fruit of their deeds.

A clerk kills his master and takes his place. This also is not a part of his destiny. Then, the crook, on becoming the master enjoys his wealth, moves about in cars, carts and on horse backs and says that he has become happy. He has, infact, sinned by betraying his master. This Karma is added on to his existing Karma. This will cause his rebirth. Wise people understand this, foolish ones can not. His position as a clerk, which he had earned due to his past Karma also remains as a balance for the next birth. Thus, he prepares himself for the next birth. How-can such a person avoid the cycle of birth and death? Death occurs on consumption of poison. This is not destiny. It is the fruit of one's deed.

You see a number of graduates hold high positions, some go around the world and simply deliver lectures, some become Yogis, some run shops whereas some teach children in schools. All the above graduates have taken same efforts but they follow different professions. You will now, understand that this difference is due to their destiny and is not the fruit of their efforts.
Listening to this, Chandorkar said 'Stealing makes one a thief and we say it is the fruit of his deeds'. Is it (profession) not his destiny?

Listen to Baba's reply to the query of the loving devotee. He said, Oh gentle Narayan, You are stretching your imagination and asking me silly questions. There are a number of real thieves but they are acquitted as there isn’t any substantial proof against them. This is their destiny. One thief you find locked up in the jail whereas another is moving about free as a gentleman. Both are responsible for similar deeds but one is locked up and the other is free. Thus, the destiny has nothing to do with what the individuals do. However, the sin of the free moving thief will not go unpunished. This will be the cause for his next birth. I therefore, have to tell you to follow the ethical ways while accepting your destiny.

One must be in the company of righteous people only, avoid even the shadow of the wicked, bad and the undevout ones. One must not eat the prohibited food, should not get involved in disputes or make a false promise. Once you give your word, you should fulfill it without grumbling. Breaking one's promise takes one away from the Lord. If you are overtaken by bodily desires, enjoy with your spouse only. Do not give yourself to the desires by seeing somebody else's wife. Have pure enjoyment with your spouse but within normal limits only. A person with uncontrollable desires does not stand a chance to achieve absolution.

Kama is the mightiest of the six enemies. This one is of a different kind hence one must enjoy oneself with full control over Kama. Tie up the encumberance of reasoning around its neck. Put Kama under control. Don't you ever be controlled by him. One who acts like this should be considered wise. Oh good devotee, limit the six enemies only up to the necessity of their use in your destiny. Have the desire for the name of the Lord, anger against unethical deeds, hope for the absolution, fascination for the ultimate object and hatred towards bad deeds. Win the Lord with devotion. Do not give way to pride. Listen to the glories of holy men, keep the mind clean, respect the learned and the parents. Mother is greater than thousand holy places. Father is worthy of worship. So bow down to him.

Love your brothers and take care of your sisters if you can afford to. Treat your wife with care but don't be henpecked. Consult her in household affairs only. Do not interfere with your son and daughter-in-law's affairs. Do not disturb their privacy. Do not joke with the children. Do not be friendly with the servants. Do not sell your daughter. Do not offer her hand to an old man for his wealth. The son-in-law should be a gentleman and should be suitable to the daughter. These are the principles to be followed while dealing with the world.

To serve one's husband is the Dharma of a lady. There is no other Dharma for the ladies. Husband is her god so, she should have a pure devotion at his feet and she should lead a blissful life. When the husband gets annoyed, the wife should remain calm and polite. One who helps her husband in daily affairs is really, a great lady, the goddess of the house. One who makes her husband suffer is indeed, a bad wife. She is not worthy of even talking to. Ladies should not leave politeness, should not talk to male strangers in solitude. She should not be alone even with her brother.

The body of a woman is a prey to immorality and hence, one should be careful. A goat is a prey of a wolf. So people protect it by keeping it fenced with thorns. This is the rule here too. The female body should be protected by the fence of religious vows. She should satisfy her husband's worldly desires and should be very alert about her children by telling them good stories so as to enable them to follow the path of morality. She should not envy the in-laws and should develop love for a co-wife if any. She should lead an exemplary life and take religious vow if she wants to and follow the instructions of the husband. If the husband dies due to past Karma, she should remain absolutely celibate throughout the life. If she is destined to be a widow, she should not sleep on soft mattresses or wear perfumes. She should try to please the Lord through a vow of fasting on an Ekadasi day and by taking a simple vegetarian diet.

Widows should always listen to religious discourses and should refrain from a diet which can inflame their desires. They should read the holy books, worship with full devotion, think about own religious upliftment and lead an ascetic life. These are the general, principles to be adopted by men and women. The state of being bound, to the cycle of birth and death. {Baddha Stithi) will, automatically, stay away if these principles are adhered to. Now pay attention to me. I am going to explain to you the properties of the state of being bound.

One who does not care for good and evil, who does not respect the Lord and the one, one who does not have good intentions is bound by the cycle of birth and death. One who is crafty, talks bitterly and is a great sinner is also bound. One who does not respect holy men, indulges in worldly affairs, does not think of charity, and is always arguing is certainly, bound. Oh Nana, one who does not repay loans, praises oneself and slanders the holy men and gentlemen is also bound. One who pretends to be a holyman and follows the path of immorality, one who slanders others to glorify oneself is also bound. One who betrays one's friends: who creates enmity with his own Guru, who does not believe in the Vedas is also bound.

One who reads a lot of holy books and recites a number of good sentences but cannot purify his heart is also bound. Such a person can not get absolution, he cannot keep good company and ultimately, he goes to Hell to suffer a lot.

Now I will explain to you the properties of a person who is desirous of absolution (Mumukshu). You must listen to me carefully with faith. One who is sick with the state of being bound, one who knows good from the bad and is keen on meeting with the Lord is a Seeker (Mumukshu).

If a person repents his past deeds can attain absolution even though he was a sinner. A person who is happy with his destined state, one who is afraid of sins, one who does not lie is a seeker. One who is sincere to God, who is polite to holymen and who follows the path of morality is a seeker. One who does not leave good company, even for a moment and whose tongue is busy with the name of Hari is a Follower (Sadhaka).

One who realizes that the worldly desires are poisonous, and who tries, every day to understand the Adhyatma Vidhyas is a follower. One who prays to the Lord in solitude should be called a follower. One who is overpowered with joy while listening to the name and acts of the Lord is a follower. One who does not allow the Lord to escape from his mind and the one who serves the holymen without caring for his own vanity is a follower.

One who considers praise and slander, honour and insult, people and the Lord same, is called a Siddha. One who is not affected by the six enemies, one who is through with his wishes, who considers others as saints, who has no place for suspicion or desire, who has no sense of duality is a Siddha. A Siddha knows that he is the Bramhan. He does not care for the body. He is devoid of pleasure and pain.

I have explained these four states to you. You must think over this. Everything, living and non-living, is a form of the Lord. There is nothing without Him. He is everywhere. Everything is filled with Him. Due to the Illusion (Maya), we cannot understand his existence. You, Madhav, Maruti, Pandharinath, Mhalasapati, Kashinath, Adkar,Haripant, Sathe, Tatya, Ganesh Beray, Venu, Bhalchandra and I are the parts of the Lord. Therefore, no one should hate anyone. One should not 'forget that the Lord is present in even.' person. Knowing this, a person reaches the state of being devoid of enmity. At this state, everything follows automatically. The human mind, then, is unrestrained. One must try to stabilize it.

A fly sits on everything but when it sees fire, it moves away from its direction. Similarly, the human mind is delighted with everything but at the sight of Bramhan (Knowledge) it turns its face away. Oh Narayan, unless this mind is united with the Bramhan, the cycle of birth and death cannot be avoided. One must free oneself from this cycle in this human birth because there is no better chance except in this birth. To stabilize the mind, one must perform Idol Worship though an idol is not the God. When such worship is performed, the mind is concentrated. Without the concentration of mind, it cannot be stabilized. After this, one should read holy books and think deeply and try to act accordingly.

Knowledge of the Soul (Self Realization) is the supreme amongst all the sciences. It is like the Mount Meru amongst the mountains. When one masters this knowledge, absolution walks to him and the Lord Hari becomes his slave. Though the steps for climbing the ladder of this knowledge are difficult. I will tell a simple way for you. Maruti Kaka, Haripant, Beray and other devotees, too, should follow with you to achieve absolution. You must act according to my advice which I gave you and Nimonkar in the past. Everybody should surrender to the Lord and no one else. Have Siddha Darshan regularly with good faith. Due to this merit you will be fully conscious at the time of your death. At that time, with full concentration, think about the Lord only. Think of your own Deity and meditate on Him. When your life ends in this meditation, you will get absolution (Samipata Mukti). As Bannu from Bodhegaon has recently achieved absolution, Adkar and Venu will also achieve it by self realization.'

So saying Baba placed his hand over Chandorkar's head. I pray to Sai Maharaj. Chandorkar folded his hands and bent down at Baba's feet politely and said. "Oh Lord of the Universe. Oh Merciful. Oh my father and mother, you are my sail boat to cross the ocean of obstruction to absolution. You have taken us to the other side of this ocean by giving the Divine Knowledge to us - the ignorant ones. Please shower your grace upon us. Baba assured them, "You are all my devotees. You need not worry-. I always remember you.
The Lord will give you a pleasant abode. He will fullfil all your desires very fondly. Remember, these are My Words.'

Oh Seeta Bedre. know the greatness of Baba. Come along for Baba's darshan. We shall bow down at his feet. Though we are not worthy, even, of his devotee's torn shoes, Baba, the Mother of the orphans (spiritually) will save us. Baba's devotees.

Chandorkar, Haripant and others have gathered today. Baba has arranged a feast for them.

Knowledge, devotion and desirelessness are the dishes he has offered them and he is asking them to have as much as they want. Baba tells his devotees to take whatever they can digest. Let us stand at his door like dogs. Oh, Seeta Bedre! He will throw us a piece. That piece will be sufficient to satisfy ourselves. Rush there Oh Sita! We may not get such a golden opportunity again. Oh readers, you will get the credit of performing one hundred Ashwamedh Yajnas by simply reading this chapter only once.
These three chapters on Sai are like the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the Saraswati in prayag. Take a dip into it says Ganu.

This Shri.Bhakta Leelamrut is narrated truthfully as per my intellegence. Let this save the devotees.This is Das Ganu’s prayer.

Also Read:
Shri Bhakta Leelamrut - Chapter 31
Shri Bhakta Leelamrut - Chapter 32


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