By: Sri Narasimha Swamiji
To the question ‘What should be the object of one’s love?’, Shankaracharya in his ‘Prashnottara Ratnamalika’ answers, ‘kindness towards the miserable and friendship with the good’. He goes to say that even the Gods offer their salutations ‘to the one whose main virtue is daya, and kindness’. For devotees of Sai Baba, compassion is the highest virtue.
Compassion means placing one’s mind in the other’s favor, to understand the other from his own perspective. It involves active sympathy or willingness to share the pain of others and to alleviate their suffering.
The dictionary meaning of compassion is ‘sympathetic pity and concern for others’. Compassion is the state of mind in which one sees all living beings as part or extension of one’s own self. In it everyone’s suffering is seen as one’s own suffering. It is an attempt to ease the suffering of all living beings, including the ones who are strangers; even those who are one’s foes.
Compassion is not a passive state of mind. It is not merely wishing for the happiness of others but adopting means and engaging in acts that lead to the removal of such suffering. It is an active endeavor to free others from their suffering.
Genuine compassion according to Sai Baba must have both wisdom and loving kindness. That is, understanding the nature of suffering (wisdom), and experience intimacy and empathy with other sentiment beings (loving kindness).
Sai Baba led a life in which there is no ‘other’ in compassion. Í am Brahman, so are you’. Since all beings are manifestation of Brahma, there is an essential identity between all beings. There is no boundary separating a person from all else in the universe. So, alienation from others amounts to alienation from oneself.
While Baba was on his begging rounds, two or three dogs followed him wagging their tails. The mothers who happily offered food to Baba never even once bothered about these hungry dogs! Baba was aware of this!
On reaching the mosque, Baba would lovingly call the dogs, the birds and the pigs that watched him from a distance. He would pour the contents of his sack and tumbler into a stone bowl kept at the entrance. The dogs and pigs rushed, and the birds swooped to feast on this free-for-all meals! Baba moved away to light up his ‘chillum’ while these creatures barked, growled and clamored – but ate together their daily fare which they got without any effort. Baba watched it all as he smoked but never chased them away.
Satisfied with the feast, the animals moved away leaving only a little for Baba. Baba then came near the bowl and ate the cribbles left for him! With that he satisfied his hunger – as he did in those early days! Baba was God in human garb and practiced what he preached. He believed that divinity is present in all creatures. To show disrespect towards them is like disregarding the divinity that existed in each of them!
Apart from this, in the initial stages, Baba was the village Doctor. He used to treat all diseases. Whether it was Leprosy, Plague or Cholera he used to treat all patients. For Baba Saheb Dengale and his brother Nana Saheb Dengale from Neemgaon, he gave progeny. He treated eye disorders tying up with mashed anacardium nuts
In his early days at Shirdi, Baba had undertaken the mission of service to the sick and disabled. He would visit them, treat them and nurse them at their homes with herbs and medicinal plants. Sitting near them He would reassure them with His sweet and compassionate words. His loving behavior made them happy and their bodies and minds recovered in no time! The miracle on the Deepawali day in 1860, attracted many villagers from the neighborhood to seek his blessings and hopes of divine healing many incurable diseases and other miseries. Many lepers had come for cure!
Sai Baba is a role model of our Vedic prayer:
“My He protect us together
Nourish us together
May our studies shine and be effective and
May we not hate others.”
Our motto should be:
“Be good and do good
Simple living and high thinking.”
Our prayers should be – “Let noble thoughts come to us from every side”
In short, compassion is the most efficacious way for all to realize Sai Baba. It equally applies to the learned and the illiterate. At the very first step of Sai-Bhakti all distinctions of birth, and social status vanishes. Once we develop compassion, Sai Baba will ensure our steady progress.
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