In actual life persons have various tendencies and have also the principle of variation

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" In actual life persons have various tendencies and have also the principle of

variation. When a person goes on in a downward current from sin to worse sin,

from crime to worse crime, some former touch with holy persons or places comes

suddenly as an element of variation to interrupt the chain of worsening

consequences - the chain of evil to greater evil - and thus stops him. Ajamila

is one instance.

 

For another instance, Veerabhadappa and Basappa case may be cited. They were two

persons who bowed to Baba in one janma and had bitter differences.

Veerabhadrappa by reason of his greed for money with considerable power and

personality was wrath with Basappa for claiming the property which came to

Gowri, the wife of Veerabhadrappa. Basappa, greedy enough to get at that

property, had that loathsome quality called cowardice, and lack of strength, and

Veerabhadrappa vowed to drink the blood of Basappa.

 

Basappa sought refuge with Baba, and Baba agreed to protect him. Before the

revenge was carried out both died, and Veerabhadrappa to carry out his hatred

and to kill his opponent was born as a cobra; Basappa was born as a frog. The

cobra was in the next janma proceeding to catch that frog, when Baba in that

janma intervened and told Veerabhadrappa, Cease from your hatred. Give up your

attempt to harass your enemy Basappa. Then Veerabhadrappa the snake gave up the

frog. Baba said, Ones evil karma will continue till ones contact with

Satpurushas saves one from further consequences'.

 

From hatred to murder was Veerabhadrappa's natural downfall. But Baba came in

and gave him a warning. So the working of the previous evil vasanas was suddenly

stopped and a new element got into Veerabhadrappas life, namely, self-control,

giving up of hatred and these would lead to good results. So the law of karma

for good persons promotes good, and for evil persons promotes evil. So, in

itself the law of karma is not a matter for regret. One must always remember

that there are laws of one's own being and Gods plan for all creatures.

 

Anyone who wishes sincerely to achieve his own soul's welfare would pause to

study what his duties are and seek the help of great ones and Gurus to guide him

in his path, then by surrendering himself to great ones, allow his evil vasanas

to be crushed out and good vasanas to be developed, and ultimately to get both

sets of vasanas which are part of ones personality to be drowned in the

contemplation of the Guru-God. This is the teaching about karma to sadhakas of

Baba.

 

The law of karma is decried by people who do not understand it. Some say that

Karma can never be got rid of. There is an element of truth in that statement.

But the way in which it is put as above is misleading and wrong. The law of

Karma is merely the law of cause and effect. To say that an effect cannot be

rectified or modified is absurd. If cause A produces the effect B, it is absurd

to say that B must always continue to be B and nothing can change it.

 

Just as cause A produces effect B, cause C impinging upon B may make changes in

the effect. The fact is that most acts done with a purpose are producing certain

tendencies and certain other results. One should not confuse the actual result

or reward earned by an act with the tendency. The tendency can and should always

be met if it is an evil tendency. To say that karma is inexorable, and nothing

can change it, is positively absurd. Generally people think of tendencies when

putting forward that proposition, and it is about tendencies that one can be

positive that all tendencies may change by stimuli producing opposite

tendencies.

 

Sinfulness is a tendency and it can always and should always be met by virtuous

actions, virtuous contacts, holy readings, Satsang, etc. As for the rewards it

is often said

 

Avascyam anubhoktavyam kritam karma scubha ascubham

 

That is, what one has earned as a reward or punishment for one's act, good or

evil, must of necessity by endured. This is generally speaking, true. But it is

not true in the way in which it is baldly put. A person who commits murder is

liable to be hanged. But he may also have other forms of punishment either

immediately or later on. The sentences may be altered, reduced and even

completely condoned on such occasions as King's Birthday pardons, etc.

Therefore, it is not correct to say that the reward or punishment earned by

conduct is unalterable.

 

Everything on earth is liable to change or mitigation and if we remember this,

we shall be very often able to meet the objections sometimes raised to Sai

Baba's statement about karma. In the very opening Charters of Baba's Charters &

Sayings, we find the statement of Baba. 'If one puts his foot on Shirdi soil,

his karma is abolished'. Many a man wonders whether that is possible, especially

in view of the dictum quoted above, " Avascyam Anubhoktavyam'. Baba also told

Chandorkar that certain broad decisions arrived at as to the birth and death of

people are treated as facts resulting from previous acts of inviduals.

 

Regarding birth of a child, death of son-in-law, etc., about which Chandorkar

was anxious to make Baba work on his behalf, Baba declared that they were the

result of previous karma and could not be altered. In a sense that is true.

Certain births and certain deaths are all fixed by series of antecedent events,

but yet Baba is able to mould these and shape these at certain stages and modify

these for the benefit of the concerned devotees.

 

When talking of Dr. Chidambaram Pillai, Baba explained the correct doctrine. Dr.

Pillai had intense suffering from guinea worm. He told a friend to go and report

to Baba that his sufferings were intolerable and to request Baba to transfer

these sufferings to some ten later births of his and leave him free from the

sufferings in this janma. When this was reported to Baba, the latter sent for

Pillai and told him, 'What! you want ten janmas? What has to be endured in ten

janmas can be crushed into ten days by the power of satpurushas.'

 

So, Baba ordered him to remain with his legs outstretched at Dwarakamayee and he

told him that a crow would come and peck at his wound and cure him. In a few

days, Abdul, Baba's permanent attendant, carelessly put his foot down upon

Pillai's 'wound and crushed all the guinea worms out of it, merely by accident

as he (Pillai) would have thought. But nothing done at the Mosque to Pillai

could be considered as an accident, and Baba said that Abdul was the crow, and

that no further crow was wanted to peck at Pillai's wound. Pillai was then asked

to go home, and in ten days, the entire suffering from guinea worm was cured.

 

In another case, that of Bhimaji, who had serious chest disease, asthma,

tuberculosis, etc., Baba first told Shama, 'Shama, in bringing this thief to me

what a load of responsibility you ate placing on me!' Baba meant that the

tuberculosis, asthma, etc., from which Bhimaji suffered were the result of

Bhiinaji's karma in a previous janma consisting of theft. Bhimaji felt Baba's

declaration a blow.

 

At once he surrendered himself to Baba and said, 'Helper of the helpless! I am

helpless. Pray show thy pity and grace to me'. Then Baba's tone changed. Baba

told him, 'The Fakir (God) is merciful, and your disease will be cured'. He was

suffering from the results of a karma, but that could be mitigated, and so the

man was sent to live and sleep in a wet verandah. Bhimaji did so. There, he had

two very dreadful dreams. In one dream, he was mercilessly birched by a school

master. For, in the dream he fancied he was a boy and the master was birching

him.

 

So, he felt the pain in the dream and he roared out. In the second dream, it was

even worse. He felt that someone was placing a stone roller and rolling it over

his breast. He suffered all the horror of instant death approaching him. All the

pain of a hanging sentence and whipping sentence were endured by this man in the

course of one night. Baba thus changed the punishments which he had earned by

his previous karma, and told him that he was thus free from karmic effects. He

then recovered his health. The above instances go to show that most of our

conceptions about karma are nebulous and ungrounded, and that the safest course

for us to follow would be to be guided by the dicta of Satpurushas like Sai

Baba. " .....