Shirdi Sai Satcharitra Chapter 23 - English Audiobook
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This chapter covers the following:
Yoga and the Onion
Shama Cured of Snake Bite
Baba breaks the Cholera Ordinance
And The Ordeal of Guru-Bhakti.
Preliminary

In reality, this Jiva (human soul) transcends the three qualities−Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas− but being deluded by Maya, he forgets his nature which is “Existence-knowledge-bliss”; and thinks that he is the one who does things and thus entangles himself in endless miseries and does not know the way of deliverance. The only way of deliverance is loving devotion towards the Guru’s feet. The great Player or Actor, the Lord Sai, has blessed His Bhaktas and transformed them into Himself (His nature).

We regard Sai Baba as an incarnation of God for reasons already stated, but He always said that He was an obedient servant of God. Though an incarnation, He showed people the way to behave satisfactorily and carry out the duties of their respective stations in this life. He never emulated others in any way, nor asked others to have something done for Him. For Him, Who saw the Lord in all movable and immovable things of this world, humility was the most appropriate. He did not disregard or disrespect anybody, for He saw Narayan (Lord) in all beings. He never said, “I am God,” but that He was a humble servant and that He always remembered God and always said the words, “Allah Malik” (God is the sole proprietor or Owner).

We do not know Saints well enough− how they behave or what they do. We only know that by God’s grace they manifest themselves in this world to liberate ignorant and bound souls like us. If there is a store of merits on our account, we get a desire to listen to the stories and Leelas of Saints. Let us now turn to the main stories of this Chapter.

Yoga and the Onion

Once it so happened that a keen scholar of Yoga came to Shirdi with Nanasaheb Chandorkar. He had studied all the works on Yoga, including the Yoga-sutras of Patanjali, but had no practical experience. He could not concentrate his mind and attain samadhi even for a short time. He thought that if Sai Baba was pleased with him, He would show him the way to attain samadhi for a longer time. With this object in mind, he came to Shirdi and went to the Masjid; There he saw Sai Baba eating bread with onion. On seeing this, a thought arose in his mind, “How can this man, who eats stale bread with raw onion, solve my issues and help me?” Sai Baba read his mind immediately and said to Nanasaheb, “Nana, only he who has the power to digest onion should eat it and none else”. Hearing this remark, the yogi was wonder-struck and he fell at Baba’s Feet in complete surrender. With a pure and open mind, he explained his difficulties and had them solved by Baba. Thus being satisfied and happy, he left Shirdi with Baba’s Udi and blessings.

Shama Cured of Snake-Bite

Before Hemadpant begins the story, he says that the Jiva is very similar to a parrot, since they are both bound− one in the body and the other in a cage. Both think that their present bound state is good for them. It is only when a Helper, their Guru, comes along and, with God’s grace, opens their eyes and liberates them from their bondage, that their eyes are opened to a greater and larger life.

In the last Chapter, we saw how Baba anticipated the calamity that was to befall Mr. Mirikar and rescued him from it. Now let the readers hear an even grander story.

Once, Shama was bitten by a poisonous snake. His little finger was stung and the poison began to spread into his body. The pain was severe and Shama thought that he would die soon. His friends wanted to take him to the God Vithoba, where such cases were often sent, but Shama ran to the Masjid to His Vithoba (Sai Baba). When Baba saw him, He began to yell at him; He got enraged and said, “Oh vile Bhaturdya (Priest) do not climb up! Beware if you do so!” and then roared, “Go! Get away! Come down!” Seeing Baba thus red with wrath, Shama was greatly puzzled and disappointed. He thought that the Masjid was his home and that Sai Baba his sole refuge; but if he was driven away like this, where should he go? He lost all hope of life and sat there dejected. ..........

Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all

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