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Shri Sai Satcharitra [Ch. XLVII]

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Shri Sai Satcharitra [Ch. XLVII]

Tue, 14 May 2002 16:15:34 +0530

Om Sri Sai Ram

Shri Sai Satcharitra

Chapter XLVII

Baba's Reminiscence

Story of Veerbhadrappa and Chenbassappa (Snake and frog).

The last Chapter described Baba's reminiscences about two goats. This one

describes more such reminiscence and relates the story of Veerbhadrappa and

Chenbassappa.

Preliminary

Blessed is the face of Sai. If we cast a glance at Him for a moment, He destroys

the sorrow of many past births and confers great Bliss on us; and if He looks at

us with grace, our bondage of Karma is immediately snapped away and we are led

to happiness. The river Ganges washes away the dirt and sins of all people, who

go to her for a bath; but she intently longs for the Saints to come to her; and

bless her with their feet and remove all the dirt (sins) accumulated in her.

She knows, for certain, that this accumulation can only be removed by the holy

feet of the Saints. Sai is the crest-jewel of the Saints, and now hear from Him

the following purifying story.

The Snake and the Frog

Sai Baba said-One morning, after taking My breakfast, I strolled along, till I

came to a small river bank. As I was tired, I rested there, washed My hands and

Feet and had a bath and felt refreshed. There was a footpath and a cart track,

sheltered by shady trees. The breeze was also blowing gently. As I was

preparing to smoke chillim (pipe), I heard the croaking of a frog. I was

striking the flint and lighting the fire, when a traveler turned up, sat by My

side, bowed to Me and politely invited Me to his house, for meals and rest. He

lit up the pipe and handed it over to Me. The croaking was heard again, and he

wanted to know what it was. I told him that a frog was in trouble, and was

tasting the bitter fruit of its own Karma. We have to reap now the fruit, of

what we sow (do) in our past life, and there is no use in crying about it. Then

he smoked and handed over the pipe to Me, and said that he would go there in

person and see for himself. I told him, that a frog was caught by a big snake

and was crying. Both were very wicked in their past life; and were now reaping

the fruit of their actions in these bodies. He went out, and found, that a huge

black serpent was holding a big frog in its mouth.

He turned to Me and said that in about 10 or 12 minutes the frog would be eaten

up by the snake. I said, No, this couldn’t be. I am its father

(protector), and I am here now. How shall I allow the snake to eat it up, am I

here for nothing? Just see how I release it. After smoking again, we walked on

to the place. He was afraid and asked Me not to proceed further, as the snake

might attack us. Not minding him, I went ahead and addressed the creatures

thus:- Oh Veerbhadrappa, has not your enemy Bassappa yet repented though he has

been born as a frog, and you too, though born as a serpent, still maintain

bitter enmity against him? Be ashamed of yourself, give up your hatred now and

rest in peace. On hearing these words, the snake left the frog quickly and

dived into the river and disappeared. The frog also jumped away, and hid itself

in the bushes.

The traveler was much surprised; he said that he could not understand how the

snake dropped the frog and disappeared at the words uttered. Who was

Veerbhadrappa? and who was Basappa and what was the cause of their enmity? I

returned with him to the foot of the tree, and after sharing again a few puffs

of smoke with him I explained the whole mystery to him as follows: -

There was ancient holy place sanctified by a temple of Mahadev about 4 or 5

miles from My place. The temple was old and dilapidated. The residents of the

place collected funds for its repairs. After a large amount was collected,

arrangement for worship was made and plans with estimates for repairs were

prepared. A rich local man was appointed the treasurer and the whole work was

entrusted to him. He was to keep regular accounts, and be honest in all his

dealings. He was a first class miser and spent very little for the repairs,

which consequently made very little progress. He spent all the funds, swallowed

some amount himself; and spent nothing from his pocket. He had a sweet tongue,

and was very clever in offering plausible explanations, regarding the poor and

tardy progress of the work. The people again went to him and said that unless

he lent his helping hand and tried his best, the work would not be complete.

They requested him to work out the scheme and again collected subscriptions,

and sent the amount to him. He received it, but sat as quiet as before, without

making any progress. After some days, God (Mahadev) appeared in his wife's dream

and said to her – You get up, build the dome of the temple, I will give

you a hundred fold of what you spend. She told this vision to her husband. He

was afraid that it would involve him in some expenses; and therefore, laughed

it out, saying that it was a mere dream, a thing not to be relied and acted

upon, or else why did not God appear to himself in the dream and tell him about

it? Was he far off from her? This looks like a bad dream, having its object of

creating ill feeling between husband and wife. She had to remain quiet.

God does not like big subscriptions and donations collected against the wishes

of the donors, but He likes even trifling amounts given with love, devotion and

appreciation. Some days after, God again appeared in her dream and said-Do not

bother yourself about your husband, and the collections with him. Don't press

him to spend any amount for the temple. What I want is, feeling and devotion.

So give, if you like, anything of your own. She consulted her husband about

this vision and decided to give God her ornaments given by her father. The

miser felt disconcerted and decided to cheat even God in this item. He

undervalued the ornaments at Rs.1,000/- and bought them himself and in lieu of

the amount gave a field to God, as endowment or security. The wife agreed to

this. The field or land was not his own, it belonged to one poor woman named

Dubaki who mortgaged it to him for Rs.200/-. She was not able to redeem it for

long. So the cunning miser cheated all, his wife, Dubaki and even God. The land

was sterile, uncultivated and worth nothing and yielded nothing, even in best

seasons.

Thus ended this transaction and the land was given in the possession of the poor

priest who was pleased with the endowment. Sometime later on, strange things

happened. There was a terrific storm and heavy downpour of rain; lightning

struck the house of the miser, when he, the rich miser, and his wife both died.

Dubaki also breathed her last.

In the next life, the rich miser was born at Mathura in the Brahmin family and

was named Veerbhadrappa. His devout wife was born as the daughter of the priest

of the temple, and was named Gouri. The woman Dubaki (the mortgagor) was born as

a male in the family of the Gurav (attendant) of the temple and was named

Chenbassappa. The priest was a friend of Mine, He often came to Me, chatted and

smoked with Me. His daughter Gouri was also devoted to Me. She was growing fast

and her father was seeking a good husband for her. I told him not to worry

about this, as the bridegroom himself would come seeking her. Then there came a

poor boy named Veerbhadrappa of their caste, wandering and begging his bread to

the priest's house. With My consent Gouri was given in marriage to him. He was

also at first devoted to Me, as I recommended his marriage with Gouri. Even in

this new life he was hankering after money; and asked me to help him to get it,

as he was leading a married man's life.

Strange things happened. There was a sudden rise in prices. By Gouri's good

luck, there was a great demand for land and the endowment land was sold for one

Lakh of rupees (100 times the worth of her ornaments). Half the amount was paid

in cash and the remaining was to be paid in 25 installments or Rs. 2,000/-

each. All agreed to this transaction, but began to quarrel over the money. They

came to Me for consultation. I told them that the property belonged to God and

was vested in the priest, and that Gouri was his sole heiress and proprietress

and no amount should be spent without her consent and that her husband had no

right whatsoever to the amount. On hearing My opinion, Veerbhadrappa was angry

with Me and said, that I wanted to establish Gouri's claim and embezzle her

property. On hearing his words, I remembered God and kept quiet. Veerbhadrappa

scolded his wife (Gouri) and she came to Me at Noon and requested Me not to

mind the words of other and not to discard her, as she was My daughter. As she

thus sought My protection, I gave her a pledge, that I would cross seven seas

to help her. Then that night Gouri had a vision. Mahadev appeared in her dream

and said- The whole money is yours, do not give anything to anybody, spend some

amount for temple purposes in consultation with Chenbassappa and if you want to

use it for some other purpose, consult Baba in the Masjid (Myself). Gouri told

Me the vision; and I gave her the proper advice in the matter. I told her to

take the principal or capital amount to herself, give half the amount of

interest to Chenbassappa and that Veerbhadrappa had nothing to do in the

matter. While I was thus talking, both Veerbhadrappa and Chenbassappa came

there quarreling. I tried My best to appease them and told them God's vision to

Gouri. Veerbhadrappa got wild and angry and threatened to kill Chenbassappa

cutting him to pieces. The latter timid, he caught My Feet and sought My

refuge. After some time Veerbhadrappa died and was born as a snake and

Chenbassappa died and was born as a frog. On hearing the croaking of

Chenbassappa and remembering My pledge, I came here, saved him and kept My

word. God runs to His devotees for help in times of danger. He saved

Chenbassappa (the frog) by sending Me here. All this is God's Leelas or sport.

The Moral

The moral of the story is that one has to reap what one sows, and there is no

escape unless one suffers and squares up one's old debts and dealing with

others, and that greed for money drags the greedy man to the lowest level and

ultimately brings destruction for him and for others.

Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all

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