KRODHA

[SS91]

KRODHA

   Krodha means anger. It would include hatred, disgust, and kindred feelings. In the usual sense, anger is that which tends to vent one's full force against the adverse creature or person. Therefore, it is extremely unsocial. All the same it is a necessity.

Creatures are together in this world, and there is the struggle for the survival of the fittest, and creatures have to obtain objects coveted for by more than one and, therefore, the obtaining of an object requires the venting of one's full force against adversaries or adverse forces. Hence, anger is sometimes treated as a virtue, and, in any case, a necessity of the situation in the worid as it goes (especially in war). Therefore, for a virtuous person like Rama, the epithet applied is 'Jitakrodhah', Anger-controller, that is, not that he had no anger, but that he had conquered it.

 For Shirdi Rama (that is Sri Sai Baba) also, we can use the same epithet) namely, 'Jitakrodhah'. 'When the anger was on, Rama is described by Valmiki as 'Kalagni Sadruscah Krodhah'. That is, 'When in anger, he (Rama) resembled the terrific fire that devours the world at its end'- Rama put on this anger for purposes of battle when he went to meet Ravana. He checked it when he found that Ravana had been beaten to the ground. He told him then, 'You had better go home. Come tomorrow again for battle' showing that Rama was a Jitakrodha, that is he could rouse anger up at one time and stop it at the proper time and place.

Baba also had need for anger, a physico-psychical need that could be understood only by persons who thoroughly studied Baba's physico-psychical organism. Anyhow, it has been noticed that Baba himself was in towering rage at times, and this appeared to be an ungovernable rage to people. They would regard Baba at those times as mad with rage.

G. G. Narke once saw Baba in such a condition, and thought for the moment that Baba was a mad man. Mahlsapathy also had similar impressions. Baba corrected G. G. Narke when he came to bow to him, and said, 'Narke, I am not a mad man', knowing his momentary thought. That is, even when he was in a towering rage, he could read Narke's mind.

Now reading another's mind is the result of the clairvoyant power which requires a considerable degree of placidity, satva guna, clear buddhi, and scaanti. So, Baba had all these even when he was in a towering rage.

Baba, when apparently under a wave of anger, was really placid enough to note with calmness who had come, what for, and how they required to be accommodated immediately e.g. Uddhavesa Bua, Police Sub-Inspector Samant, and Pleader Joshi of Thana each separately; and each on a separate occasion noted that Baba suddenly stopped his rage, carried out their wishes, gave them calm and cool replies and udhi. This is "Jitakrodhah."

Rouse up your anger, use it for a time, and when you do not want it, put it back into its scabbard; this is the proper use of anger. But people do not always understand it, and may plead Baba's anger as an excuse for their own. If they really wish to have anger like Baba, they must be able to shut it up at will; but that ability they have not.

 Baba however put down anger as the staunch enemy of all equanimity so absolutely essential for one's upward march in realising the final state of life called saanti (Om santih, santih, santih). So he told a Ramdasi, who was overpowered by anger when he learnt that his Vishnu Sahasranama had been taken away without his permission or knowledge and given away to Shama.

Jaisairam.

[SS91]

When Jog got angry with Baba who asked him for dakshina, Baba told him not to give way to anger. Some devotees are generally short tempered, and to such devotees Baba gave the special advice that they should not yield to that weakness. R. B. Purandhare and Mrs. Pradhan were two such persons.

Baba said to Purandhare (B.C. & S. para 210), 'If any body comes and abuses you or punishes you, do not quarrel with him.

If you cannot endure it, speak a simple word or two or else leave the place. But do not battle with him and give tit for tat. I feel sick and disgusted when you quarrel with others'. He told Mrs. Pradhan, 'If any one talks ten words at us, let us answer with one word, if we reply at all. Do not battle with any one'. On another occasion, Baba said (B.C. & S. 208),

'If any one is angry with another, he wounds me to the quick. If any one abuses another, I feel pain. If any one bravely endures the abuse, I feel highly pleased.'

   Baba's self-controi and carrying out this same advice has been noticed at times. A half-crazy sadhu called Nana Wali, on one occasion came to Baba and, standing before him, said, 'Baba, get up, I want to sit in your seat'.

 Any other person would have kicked Nanawali out, but Baba quietly vacated his seat and the impertinent Nana Wali occupied it. After sitting on it a few moments, the crazy man thought he had done too much. So, he got up, requested Baba to resume his seat, and fell at his feet, and Baba was calm throughout. This shows to what extent Baba could control his anger.

 In paragraph 215, Baba has said, 'I get angry with none. Will a mother harm her little ones? I love devotion. I am the bondslave of my devotees'. He also told Nana on one occasion, 'I an not angry with you'. Baba told Mrs. Pradhan, 'You see I did not get angry with any one today.' On one occasion, when he was uttering words in a towering rage, he uttered in the middle, 'Let blessings be to all', [BCS 218] c.f. "sarve janah sukhino bhavantu". This blessing cannot coexist with anger.

It is characteristic of a peaceful and loving frame of mind. Baba, therefore, might be considered during his towering rage to be driving away spells of thought or other ethereal waves which might be coming to harm his devotees or the public and the anger might be necessary to quench and beat back those waves. Two such instances of useful anger may be pointed out here.

Jaisairam.

[SS91]

When B.V.Dev  wanted  Baba to overcome some  wretched force of destiny which prevented him from completing his study or pothi or parayan of Jnaneswari  whenever he started it, Baba first repeatedly took large dakshinas from him.

Finally fell foul of him, got suddenly  angry, and used these words,  'Why  are you stealing my  rag? Is it your way  to steal and that despite your grey hairs? I will kill you with a hatchet’. This might be a special  shock treatment needed  for Dev's  mental  state.  Dev wondered what this thunder of anger meant. Then Baba cooled down and said.  'Does not matter. Give me Rs.  12 dakshina', Dev gave the dakshina. Then Baba said,  'Go on reading pothi’. Dev then started reading pothi, namely. Jnaneswari.

Till that time, his pothi reading was ending in failure. After Baba's anger directed evidently against adverse forces, there was no more obstacle, A very  similar incident took place  when Gadgi  Bua (who  was building a big dharmasala at Nasik for which funds first came in lakhs and later no money was forthcoming), approached Baba in order to overcome the unseen unlucky (duradrishta) forces.

As soon as he came near, Baba used angry and bad words and curses and abused him. The Bua laughed out, Baba also laughed out. Gadgi Bua went away. Baba had driven away the adverse forces,

and Gadgi Bua again got plenty of funds, and the dharmasala was completed. Thus Baba's anger  is not to be understood literally. It is evidently directed against unseen forces. Similarly when Baba came as a young fakir and stayed in some lonely place, he used to shout with anger, laugh, or do other things. He

was evidently always dealing from the beginning with  unseen forces and directing  his anger,  laughter, etc.  at them.  G.S. Khaparde notes several times in his diary that Baba used "hard words" meaning foul and angry abuse, the cause of which the persons present could not understand.

      Before leaving the subject of anger, we may also refer to other instances of Baba's outbursts of anger which had special purpose, and which were not mystic processes like the above. Sometimes they were cases of "double entendre." One instance may be immediately given.

Shama, that is Madhav Rao Deshpande, was bitten by a snake, and his life was in danger. People are accustomed to take such patients immediately to a particular temple.

In Shama's case, however, Baba was all the God he knew, and he wanted to go to the Masjid straight away and he accordingly went there. Baba, instead of treating him civilly, flew into a furious rage, and said, 'Do not climb up Bamnia. If you do, take care. Get down. Get down, Hat Mage Hat Mage, Bamnia. Var Mar Jav, Hat Mage, Hal Mage".

Shama thought that his refuge was gone, that Baba was not protecting, but driving him away. Just one minute later, Baba coolly and quietly said, 'Shama, come up' and gave him directions to be observed by cobra-bitten patients, and asked him to go home, and there observe the usual directions of keeping awake and moving about and not going to sleep for 24 hours. Shama was thus saved, and he survived the cobra venom. Then what did the words mean? 'Hat Mage, Ha! Mage' did not mean that Shama was to go down but only the poison should go down from his system. "Bamnia Var Mat Jav" should not be construed as addressed to the Bamnia Brahmin, namely Shama, and as asking him not to come up. But they were addressed to the poison. The poison was not to go up, but it should go down the Brahmin Shama.

      Another instance of a similar sort was where Baba's outburst of anger was merely a device to enable a diarrhoea patient to get groundnuts. Kaka Mahajani had diarrhoea, and he carried a (chombu) vessel of water with him, and was in front of the Dwarakamayee.

Baba was inside, and there were plenty of persons outside. Suddenly Baba burst out into violent rage and people fled in all directions. See B. C. & S. 392. People took to their heels and cleared the premises, Kaka Mahajani also was slowly moving towards his "chombu" and wanted to go out.

Baba suddenly came and stopped him and sat next to him. There was a packet of groundnuts left by some one who was eating them, and who in his hurry to escape safe, left the groundnuts behind. Baba took up the groundnuts and shared it with Kaka Mahajani saying, 'Let us eat groundnuts'. They both ate the groundnuts, and Baba asked Kaka Mahajani to drink water on top of it. This is not exactly the treatment for diarrhoea which any doctor would dare to give, for that would aggravate it. But Baba said ‘Your anal sphincter is now tightly closed'. This cured Kaka Mahajani of his diarrhoea.


Jaisairam.