Griha Balam Emi?

[Guest guest]

…… " In Damodar Rasane' s case, he was more fortunate.

He had heard of Sai Baba and went up to meet him. Sai

Baba had kept apart 8 mangoes to be given to him from

a basket of mangoes that were sent to Baba. The

children were the recipients of the rest of the

mangoes and some children wanted more. When Baba said,

'There is nothing,' the children pointed to the eight

mangoes. Baba said, 'They are for Damia.' But the

children said, 'Damia is not here'. 'I know that.

 

He is on the way. He is coming', said Baba. Then, when

Baba went out, some of these petted children of Baba

stole away four mangoes, and when Rasane came, there

were only four mangoes remaining. As soon as he came,

Baba gave him those four mangoes. 'Eat and die. People

are clamouring for mangoes.' Eat and die-Damodar was

perturbed by hearing the inauspicious word die, and

Mahlsap,athy noting his perplexity told him that it

was a blessing to die at the feet of Baba.

 

Baba was enjoying the humour all the time, as the word

die, which he had used, did not refer to the physical

death but only to the spiritual death, which is the

same as Bhramh or Pramada coming upon one who gets

deeper and deeper in samasaric life with the birth of

a child after child and the death of several of them.

 

Pramada a Marityuraham bravimi

 

that is, It is the intoxication of the world that

makes us forget the Real Life; that I call death said

Sanatkumara - Sanat Sujatiya.

 

Baba came to the rescue and said, 'Damia do not eat

these fruits yourself. Give them to your wife.' Damia

wanted to know to which wife were the fruits to be

given. Baba said, 'The second wife.' Baba also said,

'She will have eight children. The first and second

would be boys. Name the first Daulat Shah and the

second Thana Shah.' Taking up his note book

immediately, Damia wrote down the names.

 

Then the fruits were taken and given to his second

wife, and, unlike the heroine of the Bhagavata

Mahatmya, she did eat the four fruits. She begot, as

stated by Baba, exactly eight children, one after

another, their sexes being in the order given by Baba.

It took fifteen years for all the children to be born.

Therefore, it was clear that the planetary influence

in Damia's case was not quite as deadly as that in the

Bhagavata case. Perhaps there is an astrological

explanation also.

 

There, in the written horoscope, at Damia's birth

there was no Guru balam to overcome the papi's

influence. But the All-knowing and-All powerful Guru

of Damia was Baba, and his balam was there in 1897,

and his Baba's veekshanyam could overcome all the

adverse influences of all the planets put together. As

Sri Thyagaraja says,

 

Griha Balam Emi?

Sri Ramanugaraga Balame Balamu.

 

It may be noted teat of the eight mangoes representing

eight children that Baba set apart for Damia, four

were stolen away. Corresponding to that loss, of the

eight children that were born to Damia, four were

filched away by Yama. The remaining four are living

now, healthy, strong and flourishing.

 

The first named Daulat Shah is now known as Nana Saheb

Rasane and is a trustee of the Sai Sansthan. Daulat

means prosperity and fame. With the wealth already

acquired by Damia, the children started or carried on

a successful business, and they are keeping up the

name of Damia for wealth and generosity. In addition

to the above, Nana Saheb, the eldest son, was helped

by Baba in his spiritual development. He is now

carrying on Sai propaganda, spreading the Sai faith by

lectures, etc., and is fully deserving of the name,

Daulat Shah. When Daulat Saheb was five years old, and

when he first began writing the letters Hari on the

slate, Baba held his hand and helped him to write. " ……