Baba’s Reminiscences
Story of Veerbhadrappa and Chenbassappa (snake
and frog)
The last chapter described Baba’s reminiscences about
two goats. This chapter describes more such reminiscences, 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 the touch
of their feet and remove all the filth (sins) accumulated in her. She
knows, for certain that, this 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 foot-path 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 traveller turned up, sat by My side, bowed down 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 in our past life, and there is no use crying about
it now. 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 past actions in
the present bodies. He went and found that a huge black serpent was
holding a big frog in its mouth.
He returned to Me and said that in about 10 or 12 minutes the frog
would be eaten up by the snake. I said, “No, this can’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 up 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 hold
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 traveller was much surprised; he said that he could not
understand, how the snake dropped the frog and disappeared on hearing
the words. Who was Veerbhadrappa? And who was Bassappa? 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 an ancient holy place sanctified by a temple of Mahadev1
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 expenses, and therefore, laughed it off saying
that it was a mere dream, a thing not to be relied and acted upon or else
why did not God appear to him in the dream and tell him about it? Was
he far off from her? This looks like a bad dream, having its object in the
creation of 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 ever trifling amounts
given with love, devotion and gratitude. 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
money for the temple. What I want is, bhava 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. 1000/- and bought them himself and
in lieu of the amount gave a barren 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 the best
season.
Thus, ended this transaction and the land was given in the
possession of the poor priest, who was pleased with the endowment.
Some time later strange things happened. There was a terrific storm and
heavy downpour; lightning struck the house of the miser, when he and
his wife both died. Dubaki also breathed her last.
In the next life, the rich miser was born at Mathura in a 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 (attendent) 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 wandering and
begging his bread, to the priest’s house. With My consent Gouri was
given in marriage to him. He was also, devoted to Me initially, as I
recommended his marriage with Gouri but later became miser. 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 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
instalments or Rs. 2000/- 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 annoyed 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 others
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
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
quarrelling. I tried My best to pacify them and told them of God’s vision
to Gouri. Veerbhadrappa got wild and angry and threatened to kill
Chenbassappa cutting him to pieces. The latter was timid, he caught
My Feet and sought refuge in Me. I pledged Myself to save him from the
wrath of his foe. Then, 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 Leela 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 dealings with others, and that, greed for money drags the greedy
man to the lowest level, and ultimately brings destruction for him and
others.
Bow to Shri Sai – Peace be to all
Story of Veerbhadrappa and Chenbassappa (snake
and frog)
The last chapter described Baba’s reminiscences about
two goats. This chapter describes more such reminiscences, 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 the touch
of their feet and remove all the filth (sins) accumulated in her. She
knows, for certain that, this 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 foot-path 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 traveller turned up, sat by My side, bowed down 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 in our past life, and there is no use crying about
it now. 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 past actions in
the present bodies. He went and found that a huge black serpent was
holding a big frog in its mouth.
He returned to Me and said that in about 10 or 12 minutes the frog
would be eaten up by the snake. I said, “No, this can’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 up 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 hold
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 traveller was much surprised; he said that he could not
understand, how the snake dropped the frog and disappeared on hearing
the words. Who was Veerbhadrappa? And who was Bassappa? 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 an ancient holy place sanctified by a temple of Mahadev1
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 expenses, and therefore, laughed it off saying
that it was a mere dream, a thing not to be relied and acted upon or else
why did not God appear to him in the dream and tell him about it? Was
he far off from her? This looks like a bad dream, having its object in the
creation of 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 ever trifling amounts
given with love, devotion and gratitude. 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
money for the temple. What I want is, bhava 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. 1000/- and bought them himself and
in lieu of the amount gave a barren 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 the best
season.
Thus, ended this transaction and the land was given in the
possession of the poor priest, who was pleased with the endowment.
Some time later strange things happened. There was a terrific storm and
heavy downpour; lightning struck the house of the miser, when he and
his wife both died. Dubaki also breathed her last.
In the next life, the rich miser was born at Mathura in a 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 (attendent) 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 wandering and
begging his bread, to the priest’s house. With My consent Gouri was
given in marriage to him. He was also, devoted to Me initially, as I
recommended his marriage with Gouri but later became miser. 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 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
instalments or Rs. 2000/- 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 annoyed 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 others
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
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
quarrelling. I tried My best to pacify them and told them of God’s vision
to Gouri. Veerbhadrappa got wild and angry and threatened to kill
Chenbassappa cutting him to pieces. The latter was timid, he caught
My Feet and sought refuge in Me. I pledged Myself to save him from the
wrath of his foe. Then, 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 Leela 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 dealings with others, and that, greed for money drags the greedy
man to the lowest level, and ultimately brings destruction for him and
others.
Bow to Shri Sai – Peace be to all
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