By: Seetha ‘Priya’
Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji has stated – “A desireless person is a veritable Emperor”. He supplemented it by saying –‘Desiring to be desireless’. Many have grossly misinterpreted Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji’s emphasis on ‘desirelessness’. He would have known only too well that without desire there can be no existence. But what he was pointing to was the importance of operating out of a state of inner fulfillment rather than inner hankering. Once this is accomplished, your life becomes an expression of bliss, not a pursuit of it. Your desire does not evaporate; instead, it becomes conscious. Your desire is no longer the unconscious fuel for your personal identity. It is the conscious tool by which you function. You can now desire the well-being of the entire planet.
The 24th shlokoula of Vishnu Sahasranama is –
Agrani Gramani Shreeman Nyayo Neta Sameeranah
Sahasramurdha Viswatma Sahasrakshah Sahasrapat
Lord Vishnu is the top leader(Agrani) and Director (Gramani) of a group and is all auspiciousness (Shreeman), who is just (Nyaya), Regulator (Neta) of the breath (Sameerana). This many-headed (Sahasramurdha) Universal Soul (Viswatma) is many-eyed (Sahasraksha) with many feet (Sahasrapat).
Hari Sitaram Dixit, also known as Kaka Dixit was an eminent Lawyer in Mumbai. Once he earned a trunk-load of silver coins for defending a case in litigation. Kaka Dixit’s wife was happy that her husband came home with a trunk full of one rupee silver coins! But Dixit wanted to gift away the entire money to Sai Baba!
On the same night, Kaka Dixit left for Shirdi with the trunk full of one rupee coins. Kaka Dixit reached Shirdi and offered the entire money to Sai Baba. Baba distributed it to all those present in the mosque – poor villagers, needy devotees, fakirs, and others dependent on his Dakshina money.
As the treasure in the trunk was coming to its end, a poor farmer came with his two sheep and a half-dead goat. He sought thirty-two rupees for the two sheep and nothing for the goat. Baba paid him fifty-two rupees adding twenty for the goat. The farmer was pleased and started to go. Baba made him sit in the mosque. He obtained two seers of gram and fed the sheep. The goat did not even touch as it had no strength to masticate the grams.
Baba returned the sheep and gave ten seers of grams as a bonus. He asked the farmer to feed them properly and whenever his money position did not permit proper feeding of the sheep, he could approach Baba. The farmer left the place. Madhava Rao grumbled – “Baba what kind of bargain is this? You paid sixteen rupees for a sheep worth not even three! You returned the sheeptoo and retained this dying goat! We have lost money
and sheep!” Baba explained – “Shama, bargaining is only in the materialistic world. How would you know the divine practicality of such a bargain? Do you know they were brothers in the past birth? They loved each other! They would come to me always together – the elder one was a lazy chap! He did nothing to earn. The younger one was active and earned a lot. This made the elder brother envy his prosperity. Both started fighting over the money. And one day that ended in their killing each other with axes. The result was that they are born again – but as two sheep! That is why I repeatedly tell – ‘Do not have this infatuation for money! It makes you suffer life after life! Seeing them today I took pity on them and so after feeding sent them away! You regretted that I lost money and sheep! But what is this money, Shama? Man does not love man. He loves his money. Just now I gave money to so many! Tell me how many of them factually love me?”
Many in the crowd said – “Baba, we love you, we love you. Do test us.” Kaka Dixit was quiet. He was wondering at the lesson of ‘freedom to Desire limitlessly’ that Baba offered through such an anecdote!
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