Sai Satcharitra-Shirdi Sai-Frog And The Snake-Ch-47

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.

Sai Ram. These stories or rather Baba"s reminiscences go to show us the inviolable laws of karma, we reap what we sow, sooner or later. No doubt firm faith in Sadguru helps us to sooner or later burn off these seeds of karma and become liberated from the cycle of birth and death, a Jeevanmukta like Baba Himself. Sai Ram.

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.

Sai Ram. 'Teerthi kurvanthi Teerthani' goes the saying. A river becomes a Teertha (sacred spot capable of cleansing our sins) only because the spot was / is visited by a Saint, Sant or Mahatma. If we recall, Ganga and Yamuna sprang up from the toes of Baba (Sri Sai Satcharitra – Chapter 4 – Das Ganu"s bath in Prayag), just as the Ganga river took birth from the toe of Lord Vishnu. Thus a Saint / Sadguru is verily the Lord Sri Hari and has come there to purify the river (in addition to the purification performed by Sun, Wind and earth). Remembering Guru"s sacred name is similar in its effect of cleansing us from within. Sai Ram.

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 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: -

Sai Ram. This indeed is a beautiful story and is very cleansing. Pl. read and enjoy. Sai Ram.

To be continued

Sai Satcharitra

Sai Satcharitra, a spiritual text, is the reflection of the story of Shirdi Sai (baba), a noted Indian Saint and His teachings, written by Hemadpant, a direct devotee and disciple of Shirdi Sai. This article is an excerpt from Sai Satcharitra-Chapter 47 which talks Shirdi Sai's reminiscing the past lives of the frog and the snake.

About the author

S V Swamy

Swarna Venkateswara Swamy, (also known as Venkateswara Swamy Swarna, S.V.Swamy or simply Swamy) is a physicist and a metallurgist by education. He considers Sai Baba of Shirdi as his Sadguru but respects all Gurus. He is an avid reader, a book reviewer and an editor. He has an abiding interest in holistic health systems.