Jaya Guru Datta. Nireekshana (waiting patiently/looking forward). Liberation itself will come in search of one who has unwavering devotion towards the Guru’s feet, unbounded faith in his words and unlimited dedication in following his command, even if he doesn’t study the scriptures or does not undertake Yoga/Tapasya. There is no penance greater than devotion to the Guru. Shabari’s story is evidence for this. During Sri Rama’s time, there used to be a lady called Shabari who belonged to the tribal community. Everyone knows Shabari’s life history. There is perhaps no one in the world that does not know her life history. Yet, one should repeatedly recall the stories of such pious souls. She was such a great devotee. She was such an ardent devotee. Shabari was the devotee of Maharishi Matanga. She used to live on the banks of river Pampa. We remember Lord Anjaneya when we hear of river Pampa. The mind of this tribal lady was very pure. That is why she got to live in the Ashrama premises of Maharishi Matanga. Such a pure mind she had. She would always sweep the Ashrama and keep it clean. When Maharishi Matanga was about to depart for the divine worlds, he said, “Shabari, Sri Maha Vishnu will come to this Ashrama in his incarnation as Lord Rama. You must wait patiently for him. You will receive his grace”. These were the words of her Guru. While immersed in chanting Sri Rama’s name, Shabari who had unwavering devotion and faith in her Guru was patiently waiting for Sri Rama thinking, “When will my Rama come? When he comes, how should I serve him?” “When will he come?” “When will he come?” Observing severe austerities and disciplines, she lived like a Sanyasini/renunciate. She heard that during his exile in the forests, Sri Rama had come to Chitrakoota. Thinking, “He will come here tomorrow”, “He will come here tomorrow”, she would clean her hermitage everyday, adorn it with rangoli, decorate the place and collect beautiful fruits and flowers for Sri Rama. Every object in the Ashrama seemed like it was waiting for Rama. Even the elephants in the surrounding area would cause no trouble in the Ashrama. Shabari’s devotional vibrations were so strong. That is why, the cruel animal around the Ashrama would never cause any harm. Even the elephants would cause no harm. Every object that Shabari had eagerly looked forward to Rama’s arrival. In additional Shabari had the Sadguru’s command that she had to have darshana of Rama. One day Rama did arrive. Accompanied by Lakshmana in search of Sita, he came to the area where Shabari lived and gave her darshana. Shabari was ecstatic to have darshana of Sri Rama. She washed Rama’s feet and welcomed him into the Ashrama. Her patient wait finally bore fruit after such a long time. That patient wait that she did, that is real penance. The wait, “My God will come, my Lord will come” is so beautiful. She was overjoyed offering him fruits she already tasted. She would taste each fruit to see whether or not it was sweet and only offer the sweet fruits to him. Let us see what happens ahead. We are talking about Shabari’s devotion. Jaya Guru Datta.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 02:19:55 +0000
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