From Leela to Learning 2

Pushpanjali

An Offering of Flowers

Abhang by Tulas Amma pg 114

O Shri Guru, embodiment of non-dual bliss,
Ocean of immeasurable joy and peace.

Awaken within me Your living light, O Guru,
Let new understanding arise in inner sight.

You reveal countless Leelās, O compassionate Guide,
And carry innumerable children safely across the tide.

Destroying ignorance, O revered Guru,
Grant the knowledge of innate, eternal joy.

Abiding in pure and stainless bliss,
I, Nirmala Anandi, meditate upon Shri Guru Nityananda alone.

Leelā 2: Changing the Climate

Ganeshpuri experienced extreme climatic conditions in those days. Winters were bitterly cold, and summers were unbearably hot. Being a region with volcanic origins, there were several hot springs in and around Ganeshpuri. During peak summer afternoons, the heat was oppressive, with no breeze at all. There was no electricity then—no fans, no coolers, no means of relief. The afternoons were silent and still, as no one ventured out in the scorching sun. Baba would remain seated in His rooms, and visitors were few.

Once, a wealthy businessman—an old devotee and a regular visitor to Ganeshpuri—came for Baba’s darshan. Baba asked him to stay for a few days. It was peak summer. The heat was oppressive, but the businessman somehow endured the first day. By the second day, however, his condition worsened. His entire body felt as if it were burning. Being fair-skinned, he had turned red all over and was covered with prickly heat. He began to feel unwell.

Unable to bear it any longer, he approached Baba, who was seated on the steps leading to His room, and pleaded,
“Baba, however much I may wish to stay, I am unable to tolerate this heat any longer. My whole body is burning, and I feel I will collapse if I stay. Please permit me to return home.”

Baba looked at him and roared,
“Don’t go! Everything will be fine!”

The businessman was bewildered. The afternoon sun was fierce, pouring down mercilessly. How could everything suddenly be fine?

Baba then began to laugh and gently wave His palm, as though fanning the surroundings. As He did so, a remarkable change occurred. Gusty winds began to blow, raising dust into the air. The bright noon sky darkened rapidly as thick clouds gathered. The temperature dropped noticeably, and within minutes, rain began to fall.

The businessman stood watching, stunned, as the scorching summer heat transformed into cool, soothing rain. Overcome with emotion, he fell to his knees and prostrated at Baba’s feet. Tears filled his eyes—not from astonishment alone, but from being touched by Baba’s compassion and care.

He remained in Ganeshpuri and stayed until Baba Himself permitted him to return home.

On another occasion, a lady devotee arrived at Ganeshpuri in the late afternoon. Bhagavan, ever attentive to the simplest needs of His devotees, arranged for boiled rice with pickles to be served to her. The devotee was genuinely hungry, yet she hesitated. The pickle was spicy, and she wished to drink some water before eating.

The only water available at the time was from the Kund, the hot-water spring, which had a strong sulphur odour. Unaccustomed to it, she found the smell unpleasant and felt reluctant to drink that water. Though it was a bright, cloudless summer afternoon, she quietly expressed her discomfort to Bhagavan and said that she wished she could have fresh water instead of the Kund water.

Bhagavan listened, smiled gently, and then laughed aloud, lifting His gaze toward the open sky. In that moment, the clear sky began to change. Dark clouds gathered swiftly, as if summoned, and within moments, it started raining heavily—an extraordinary sight in the heat of an Indian summer afternoon.

Turning to the devotee, Bhagavan said playfully,
“There you are! Collect the water flowing down from the roof.”

At once, the lady devotee and Gangubai brought all the available vessels and eagerly collected the fresh rainwater streaming down. With her need met in the simplest yet most unexpected manner, the devotee partook of her meal with gratitude and joy.

Through this Leelā, Bhagavan demonstrated that what appears impossible to the human mind is effortless for the Sadguru. A simple wish, free of demand or insistence, was fulfilled not through ordinary means, but through divine play.

Truly, as the saying goes:
“Ashakya te shakya kari Sadguru” —
The Sadguru makes the impossible possible

2. Contextual understanding

This Leelā occurs:

In open public space, not in seclusion
In response to physical suffering, not spiritual curiosity
Without any ritual, mantra, or invocation

The businessman did not ask Baba to change the weather. He asked only for permission to leave. The transformation occurred without demand, which is central to understanding Bhagavan’s work.

3. Antarārtha

a) Nature obeys not the body, but Consciousness

Baba did not “control” nature. Rather, Nature realigned itself in the presence of one established in Sahaja Avasthā.

This reflects a Vedantic truth:
When individuality dissolves, the distinction between inner and outer collapses.

b) Compassion precedes instruction

Baba did not teach the devotee endurance through words. He first removed the immediate suffering. Only then did surrender deepen naturally.

c) Faith is not rewarded—faith is recognised

The businessman’s regular devotion had already placed him in Baba’s care. The Leelā is not a reward; it is an alignment response.

4. Alignment with Bhagavan’s teachings

This Leelā echoes Bhagavan’s lived teaching of Sabh Mithi—where heat and coolness, comfort and discomfort, are ultimately the same to the Jnani.

Yet, compassion flows without violating detachment. Baba remained untouched, even as the climate changed.

5. Relevance for the seeker

The Guru does not always ask you to “bear” suffering
When endurance serves no inner growth, Grace intervenes
True surrender is staying because the Guru says so, not because conditions improve