B. V. DEV AND POTHI PARAYANA

[Guest guest]

B. V. DEV AND POTHI PARAYANA

B. V. Dev was at the close of his life a trustee of the Shirdi Sai Sansthan. He

went to see Sri Sai Baba for the first time in about 1910 being drawn through

Chandorkar. Chandorkar was the Deputy Collector under whom he was the

Mamlatdar. His brother wrote to him that Chandorkar had faith in Sai Baba and

consequently Dev might try to derive information and contact through the Deputy

Collector. When Chandorkar gave him some of his experiences and advised him to

go to see Sri Sai Baba, Dev wondered whether he should not also like Chandorkar

wait for a call from Sri Sai Baba. That implied some degree of egotism that if a

Deputy Collector was worth a call, he, as Mamlatdar, also was worth a call. But

later he gave up that absurd attitude, for it was not the official position of

Nana Chandorkar that merited the call. It was the previous contact of four

janmas with Baba and the great work of an apostle that he was to be entrusted

with, that made Baba send for him. Similar reasons could not apply to B.V. Dev.

Anyhow being pressed by Chandorkar and finding that a visit to Baba would be

productive only of good, he made up his mind to go. His first impression of

Baba was fairly good. He had his own ways of viewing spiritual matters and he

was a good student of sacred literature especially in Marathi. He was studying

Eknath’s and Jnaneswar’s books, making fairly good progress in

spirituality, as ordinarily understood. But there was something very peculiar

in his case. Jnaneswari is used as pothi, a daily parayana book by most people

and they succeeded in effecting one complete parayanam within a specified

period, the reading going on from day to day. In Sri. B. V. Dev’s case,

however, on the first occasion, on the second and also on the third, whenever

he began the parayana of Jnaneswari, obstacles of various sorts sprang up, and

he could not finish the reading in a continuous fashion. He was very puzzled

and also disgusted. There must be some unseen reason behind the obstacle. What

it could be, he could not guess. This was one of the things, which brought him

nearer to Baba. When he went to Shirdi with Jnaneswari, he was anxious to get

Baba’s aid for overcoming the unseen obstacle. He gave Baba the

Jnaneswari with one rupee so that the book might be returned to him for study.

Baba: Why one rupee? Bring Rs. 20.

Dev brought and gave Rs. 20, but still Baba said nothing about Pothi. That night

Dev was trying to talk to Balakram Manker, who derived much spiritual benefit

from Baba and asked him to narrate his experience with Baba, showing how he got

into His Grace. Balakram Manker put off the narration till the next evening.

Next day Baba asked Dev, "Give me Rs. 20." Dev paid it and went back and was

talking to Balakram. Balakram was just beginning his narration. Just then Baba

sent for Dev and Dev went.

Baba: What are you talking? With whom and where?

B. V. Dev: At Dixit wada I was talking with Balakram about your greatness and fame.

Baba: Fetch Rs. 25.

Dev fetched and paid Rs. 25 to Baba.

Baba: Sit here in Mosque.

Baba then suddenly grew angry and said, "Why are you stealing my rag? Is it your

way to steal and that despite your grey hairs? I will kill you with a hatchet".

Baba’s asking dakshina and his sudden anger might ordinarily be supposed

to act as shock to his mind, but in whatever way they were intended to operate,

Baba did not make it clear at once. Dev was benefitted and did not know what the

rag was and what the anger would lead to. After ten minutes of such fiery anger,

Dev was sent back. Half an hour later, Baba sent for Dev and all the others came

to the Masjid. Then Baba addressing Dev, said, "Tambye Bhav, have I wounded you

by talking of the rag? If there is theft, it has to be mentioned. There is no

other go. Be it so. God will look to everything." Then he asked Dev for Rs. 12

dakshina, which Dev procured and paid.

Baba to Dev: What are you doing?

Dev: Nothing.

Baba: Go on reading Pothi daily in the morning at the wada. When I wished to

give you a nice lace shawl in its entirety why do you go and steal a tatter?

Dev then began reading Jnaneswari as Pothi and thereafter there were no more

obstacles. This was a sure proof to him of Baba’s controlling powers and

there was no necessity for him thereafter to enquire about the experience of

others. Dev realised that such personal experiences formed a full lace shawl

given by Baba and picking up secondhand information from others of their

experiences of Baba amounted to stealing rags of Baba.

Though Dev succeeded in reading Jnaneswari without obstacle, he had made no

progress in understanding its meaning. Baba then appeared in his dream and

asked. "Do you understand the meaning of what you read?"

Dev with tears: "No. How can I understand unless you grant it by your grace?"

Baba: "You are reading too hastily. Sit by my side and read."

Dev: "What shall I read?"

Baba: "Adhyatma."

Dev went in and brought Adhyatma Ramayana. Then dream ended and Dev woke up.

When Dev found that his completion of Jnaneswari was evidently a chamatkar of

Baba, by which he overcome the unseen obstacles to the completion of his

parayana of Jnaneswari, he understood that this chamatkar of Baba was a full

lace shawl while the stories about Baba’s lilas which he would glean from

Mankar would be second hand stories of other people’s experiences

Written by: HH Pujyasri B. V. Narasimha Swamiji

(Vasuki Mahal Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Trust, Coimbatore 641025, India)