Bliss comes from the Spirit Within
Once on the behest of Shirdi Sai Baba, Das Ganu stayed with Kakasaheb Dixit. The next day, while enjoying his morning nap, he heard a poor girl singing a beautiful song in clear and melodious tones. The song was about a crimson colored sari, how nice it was, how fine its embroidery, how beautiful its borders etc. Das Ganu liked the song so much that he immediately went outside and found it was being sung by a young girl, the sister of Namya, who was a servant of Kakasaheb. The girl was cleaning vessels and was wearing only a torn rag. Das Ganu was amazed by her jovial temperament in spite of being in an impoverished condition. He took pity on her and the next day, when Rao Bahadur M.V. Pradhan gave him a pair of dhotars, he requested a sari be given to the poor little girl. Rao Bahadur bought a good sari and presented it to her. Like a starving person receiving delicious foods, the little girl’s joy knew no bounds. The next day she wore the new sari and out of great joy and merriment, she whirled, danced round, played fugadi with the other girls and excelled them all. The following day, however, she kept the new sari in a box at home and came to work wearing her old, torn rags. Nevertheless, she looked as merry as she did the previous day. Seeing this, Das Ganu’s pity for her was transformed into admiration. He knew that the girl, being poor, had to wear a torn rag, but now she had a new sari which she kept in reserve. Having put on the old rag, she displayed no trace of sorrow or dejection. Thus, Das Ganu realized that all our feelings of pain and pleasure depend upon our attitude of mind. Bliss is something which comes from the spirit within, not without, and is not dependent on external objects or circumstances from the transient material world.
In this particular case, the impoverished condition of the poor girl, her torn rag, her new sari, the donor, the donee, and the acceptance were all parts of the Lord’s plan and were pervaded by Him. The young girl was joyful when she had only torn rags to wear, was joyful when she wore her new sari, and was joyful when she once again was wearing her torn rags. Thus, her joyful attitude came from her inner spirit, not from the conditions of her life.
As quoted in Shri Guru Bhagavat:
Sukhara bele sabubhala || Duhkha hin pareekshaara bela
Duhkhe ja’ shradhaa thaae sthira || Bipade nahue kaatara
Gurubhakti die saahasa || Dhairjyara saatheere bishwaasa
Prasanna chitte sabu sahi || Gurumukhaku thaae chaahin
Everything looks good at the time of happiness (but only) adversity is the time of test. One whose ‘Shraddha’ (faith or devotion) is firm, he does not get perturbed at the time of adversity. ‘Guru-Bhakti’ builds courage and confidence with patience. Tolerating anything and everything with contentment, he (the devotee) always looks up to the Guru.
Sources:
1. Shri Sai Satcharita, Chapter 20
2. Shri Guru Bhagavat Vol.1 by Dr. C B Satpathy