Extract taken from Ramayana: a Divine Drama Vol.4:
A woman ascetic living in the hermitage of her teacher, Sage Matanga, a great sage; it is he who cursed Vali.; Rama gave her salvation. (Glossary of the Vahinis)
Shabari was a helpless and hapless old woman with no one to look after her. Her preceptor (Sage Matanga) told her about Lord Rama. She was yearning for the arrival of Ramachandra whom she considered to be her saviour. She was deeply absorbed in the contemplation of Rama’s name at all times and in all places. (SSS Vol.25, pp.184-185) Shabari was a great devotee of Rama. (SSB 1996, p.53)
Shabari was an illiterate old woman. (SSS Vol.19, p.147)
Her master, Sage Matanga, at the time of casting away his body, had told her that Rama and Lakshmana would come there, and that she should wait for their arrival. (SSB 1996, p.53) Sage Matanga said to her, ‘O, Shabari, Lord Narayana has descended on the earth in the form of Rama. He is living in the garb of an ascetic. He will be soon arriving here. But I will not be alive at the time of his arrival. He is an embodiment of immaculate purity. Greet him and honour him with devotion’. (SSS Vol.25, p.184) Though extremely old, she held on to life in order to obey the command of Sage Matanga, and to receive Rama and Lakshmana in the hermitage. (SSB 1996, p.53-54)
Shabari’s story of how she came to stay at the Hermitage:
How she came to Matanga Rishi and stayed at the hermitage is a very interesting story. Her marriage was arranged by her parents, and as was the custom among the Adivasis, a goat was to be offered to the tribal Goddess, on the night previous to the ceremony, in order to win the Grace for the couple. When Shabari came to know about this slaughter, she wept, and fell at the feet of her parents, praying to them to save the goat. She asked, ‘How can our married life be happy, when the dying bleat of this goat is the prologue?’ But, the father pushed her aside and proceeded with the cruel rite. That night, Shabari stole out of that den of torture, and hid herself in the depths of the jungle that was not far off.
When day dawned, her parents as well as the groom s party were plunged in grief and anxiety; they combed the area, even where she was lying low amidst the thick bushes, and they went back, saying among themselves, ‘She could not have gone to the hermitage, for no woman would be given asylum there’. She heard these words and so, she concluded that the hermitage was the safest place for her. She felt that some monk will take pity on her, and not send her back. Matanga espied her and gave her permission to be in his habitation. He told her that God in the Form of Sri Rama was coming to the hermitage someday, since he has been exiled into the forests for 14 years and He is eager to save the monks and seekers doing Tapas in the forests from the ravages of the demonic enemies of peace! Rama, he said, was proceeding from one region to another, with His consort, Sita and His brother, Lakshmana.
From that day Shabari had no other thought than of Rama, no other desire than the desire to have the Darshan of Rama, the chance to touch His Feet and the opportunity to speak with Him. Her heart was saturated with the Ramarasa, the sweetness of, the Rama Principle. She had no other Japam or Dhyana or spiritual She spent her time, preparing for the visit of Rama to the hermitage; just as she cleaned the paths, she cleaned her heart, too. Pebbles and thorns disappeared from both, through her efforts. She walked through the undergrowth, and removed overhanging creepers and briars, for she imagined Rama would not have combed His hair and it might get caught. She broke the lumps of earth, for she feared the tender soles of Sita would be hurt when she walked over them. (SSS Vol.7, pp.380-383)
Shabari started preparing herself for the arrival of Sri Rama. Since she thought that Rama might ask her to give him something to eat, she would gather all sorts of fruits, and to satisfy herself that the fruits were sweet, she would taste them first and keep only the sweetest ones for her Lord. (SSS Vol.25, pp.184-185)
She kept them every day, for no one knew when Rama will arrive! And, she took no risks. She tasted every fruit, whether it was bitter, sour or sweet, so that Rama could eat the best. She smoothened the surface of all stones that lay by the side of the tracks in the jungle for, she expected Rama, Lakshmana or Sita to sit upon anyone of them when they got tired of walking. She hoped that one of them would rest awhile. on one of the rocks she had polished with great care. Thus her heart became Rama hridaya (Rama’s heart). (SSS Vol.7, pp.380-383) That was how Shabari transformed herself into a Sattvika devotee. Rama responded to her inmost prayers and Shabari in the end merged herself in Rama. (SSS Vol.25, pp.184-185)
Shabari’s story of meeting Rama and Lakshmana:
Rama, the large-hearted lover of all, moved on from that spot, walking on foot, with his brother as sole companion. They soon came across an old woman—she had a stoop. Her head could not be held erect. Her eyesight had become dull. Her hands were quivering. She was coming towards them, with a basket of fruits on her head! She saw the charming figures of the brothers and inferred that they were the two, who were described with excitement and delight by the Rishis of the forest! Placing the basket on the ground, she stood on the track, whispering ‘Rama’ ‘Rama’ in reverence and thankfulness. Lakshmana guessed that this too was an impersonation by some wily Rakshasa to harm them. But Rama knew that his guess was wrong. He proposed to sit under a nearby tree, the tree that was adjacent to the very hermitage where the old woman was residing. Shabari, the old woman, noticed the lotus-petal-like eyes, the ringlets of hair on their foreheads, the long arms that reached down to the knees, and the dark-blue complexion of Rama. She could contain her ecstasy no longer. She could not suppress her adoration. She ran forward and fell at the feet of both. She asked, ‘Where are you coming from? What are your names?’ Rama replied, smilingly and coolly: ‘Mother! We are coming from Ayodhya. We are residing in the forest. I am called Rama. This brother of mine is known as Lakshmana.’ At this, Shabari exclaimed, Father! My long-cherished desire has been fulfilled, I have been waiting for your arrival, day and night, and looking for you into the distance, until my eyes have become dull and insensitive. I have achieved success. My longing has had its result. My vigil and fasts have borne fruit. Ah! I have been rewarded! This is the result of my Guru’s Grace. This is the mysterious working of God.’ She brought the basket near Rama. Meanwhile, Rama asked her, ‘Mother! You speak of a Guru. Who is he, this Guru of yours?’
She said, ‘His name is Matanga Rishi. But since women are not taken as pupils in the hermitage, I listened to the lessons, hiding behind bushes and trees. I served my Guru and other Rishis, removing the thorns from the tracks that led to the rivers where they take their bath, mostly by rolling over the ground, for I had to do it pretty early, before dawn. I also removed the pebbles and stones that might hurt their feet. I lived on fruits and tubers as the other pupils did. I served the masters unseen, and spent my days in the recesses of the jungle. Matanga, the Mahatma, who knew the yearnings of my mind, told me one day, ‘Mother! Your body has a ripe old age. If you strain so much, you will soon be exhausted. So, come inside in the hermitage and take good rest. While I was spending my days thus in the service of this hermitage, the Rishi desired to quit the body and called me beside him. He said, ‘Shabari! The task on which I have come is over. I have resolved to leave this body now. You shall remain in residence at this hermitage itself. Within a short time, Rama will come into the forest. Invite him to enter the hermitage and offer what little service you can to him. Let this hermitage be sanctified by the touch of his feet.’ I protested a great deal. I told him how I could never be happy in the hermitage without him. I prayed to him to take me too, through death to where he was proceeding. My Guru was not in a mood to accede to my wishes. He said that I had to be here awaiting the arrival of Rama and that I could not avoid that responsibility or lose the joy. From that day, I exist here, with arms outstretched to welcome you, with eyes watching the horizon, and carrying with me the decrepit body, so that I may live to see you and serve you. Oh Rama! Lord! Oh, compassionate of the Afflicted, Oh Dweller in the hearts of Rishis! The wish of my Guru has been fulfilled. The hermitage is just a few feet off. Please sanctify it by entering it.’ Shabari fell at Rama’s feet and entreated him to accede to the last request of her Guru.
Rama was naturally happy at the dedication and devotion of the old woman. He was the very embodiment of spontaneous surging love. So, he rose and walked towards the hermitage with his brother, Lakshmana, entering it. Shabari was overcome by a flood of joy. The flood broke all limits and expressed itself in ecstatic thrill and speech. The gem among women was until the moment too weak to tread a few paces. Now, she found herself endowed with strength of a thousand elephants! She marched buoyantly to the river and brought, in quick time, cool limpid water that was eminently sweet. She tasted first the fruits she chose from the basket and she offered to the brothers those found sweet and ripe. While they ate, she looked happily and with gratitude at their charming face, and faces, and when they had finished, she washed their feet and placed on her head the drop of water sanctified by the contact. ‘Lord, I have no more desire. For what shall I live on? I survived until now for that one piece of good fortune – the Darshan of Rama. I have had the Darshan. Now, save me by merging this life, this breath, in Thy Lotus Feet, I have heard glory extensively from the sages and saints. Today, I have witnessed it. I am full of gratitude and joy.’ Rama relished the fruits she offered with so much devotion. While partaking of them he said, ‘Mother! These fruits are as sweet as you own heart. Really, these are not fruits that grow on trees. Why, the wild fruits that grow in jungles are not sweet so sweet at all. They can never be. These fruits have grown on the holy tree of life, on branches of the pure mind, in the sunshine of love.’ Rama ate the fruits extolling their taste all the time.
Lakshmana appreciates the devotion of Shabari:
Seeing Rama in this mood, Lakshmana was happy beyond words; for Rama had not eaten fruit with such joy since long. All these days Lakshmana had to persuade him to taste a few, with a good deal of parley, pleading and praying, even after the fruits were peeled, cut and placed before him. Rama was so afflicted by separation from Sita. In spite of all efforts of Lakshmana, Rama would eat only half a fruit or so. Never was Lakshmana was satisfied with the quantity that his brother ate. Today, Shabari gave him fruits which had dropped ripe from the trees. She used to dust them and clean them and keep them for him every day, and when Rama did not arrive she consumed them herself as sacramental food, given to her by Rama himself! Day after day, she roamed the forest in search of sweet ones to be placed before Rama. Thus, daily the fruits were saturated with her love and devotion and the fruits became doubly desirable. Lakshmana noticed that this was the reason Rama was eating them with joy. He was filled with delight and he admired the devotion of Shabari that was so richly rewarded. He appreciated the divine joy that had filled herself with as a result of her long years of spiritual study and practice.
Handicaps in the path of faith: Egoism is the mightiest enemy
Egoism is the mightiest enemy that has to be overpowered and destroyed. When Rama was proceeding from one hermitage to another in the forest, the Rishis who were expecting Him to visit them made elaborate preparations to receive Him; they prepared lists of grievances to be presented to Him, and hoped to win His grace by competitive pomp and adulation, by exhibition of superior asceticism! The old woman, Shabari who was the attendant of the sage Matanga, was told by her dying master, that Rama will be passing that way and so, she longed in sincere anguish that she must be spared until she could wash the Lotus Feet of Rama with her tears. The Rishis sneered at her audacity and laughed at her foolish hope, Rama visited the hermitage of the egotistic ascetics on his way; they read out the verses of welcome they had composed; they presented a petition in which they had listed atrocities committed by the Rakshasas; they complained that the river water which was their only source of supply was contaminated and had become undrinkable. Rama told them in His reply, that the water will be rendered pure and potable as soon as they stop reviling Shabari and start appreciating her simple, sincere yearning for God. Shabari had strong and steady faith; that was enough to bring Rama to her lowly hut. Austerity, scholarship, power, authority, experience, riches – these are handicaps that obstruct the acquisition of that simple, sincere faith that God will accept. (SSS Vol.6, pp.143-144)
Sai Baba’s advice to Bala Vikas teachers giving the example of Shabari:
The children of the Sathya Sai Bala Vihar (now Bala Vikas) must know the Sathya Sai is residing in their hearts. Teachers also must take it as a Puja of Sai Rama. How to reveal the Sai Ram is residing in the hearts to the children? – That is the problem that must be directing your work. Sai Ram has to move about in the jungles of your heart; so, render the tracks, wide and smooth, free from thorn and pebbles.
Shabari’s high level of Sadhana:
Shabari was so immersed in Rama that the ascetics (of Sage Matanga Ashram) lost all awareness of her sex; they allowed her to remain in the hermitage after Matanga related to them her high level of Sadhana. Matanga also left this body and gave up his hermitage to Shabari, saying, you alone deserve to when Rama arrives!
The Sadhana that Shabari did to earn the bliss of serving Rama, you do, when you serve Sai Rama in these children. By this service, you realise the Self. (SSS Vol.7, pp.382-383)
God’s Grace will overflow, unasked:
Many sages begged Rama for favours and waited for Him in their hermitages. Instead of rewarding them, Rama chose to go Shabari. Shabari didn’t ask Him anything directly but only through her heart. God knows what to give to whom, when, where and how. Therefore, do your duty and God’s Grace will overflow, unasked? (SSB 1995, p.25)
Strong faith is enough to bring God to the devotee
Egotism is the mightiest enemy that has to be overpowered and destroyed. When Rama was proceeding from one hermitage to another in the forest, the Rishis (sages) who were expecting Him to visit them made elaborate preparations to receive Him; they prepared lists of grievances to be presented to Him, and hoped to win His Grace by competitive pomp and adulation, by exhibition of superior asceticism! The old woman, Shabari, who was the attendant of the sage Matanga, was told by her dying master that Rama will be passing that way and so, she longed in sincere anguish that she must be spared until she could wash the Lotus Feet of Rama with her tears. The sages sneered at her audacity and laughed at her foolish hope.
Rama visited the hermitage of the egotistic ascetics on his way; they read out the verses of welcome they had composed; they presented a petition in which they had listed the atrocities committed by the Rakshasas (demons); they complained that the river water which was their only source of supply was contaminated and had become undrinkable. Rama told them in His reply that the water will be rendered pure and potable as soon as they stop reviling Shabari and start appreciating her simple, sincere yearning for God. Shabari had strong and steady faith; that was enough to bring Rama to her lowly hut. Austerity, scholarship, power, authority, experience, riches--these are handicaps that obstruct the acquisition of that simple, sincere Faith that God will accept. (SSS Vol.6, pp.143-144)
Shabari is an example of devotees who got God s grace through their deep devotion, without any other special qualification. (SSS Vol.19, p.161)
Follow the path of Devotion:
When Sri Rama came to Shabari, she asked him in the following manner, while Sri Rama was gladly partaking of the feast of roots and fruits, selected and reserved by Shabari for him after herself tasting every individual item.
‘Lord! I am but a woman, in addition, I am of feeble intellect. Above all, I am low-born. How can I praise You? I do not know what to do or how!’ Then, Sri Rama smiled and said, ‘Shabari! My mission is only the kinship of Bhakti. I have no kinship of race or caste. Of what use is it to have status, wealth and character, without Bhakti? (Prema Vahini, pp 51-54)
The significance of devotees’ offerings to the Lord
In the field of devotion, there is room for making certain offerings to God. God utilizes the acceptance of such offerings to reward the devotee a hundred-fold. Devotees should recognize the significance of such acceptance by the Divine. For instance, the Lord asked Kuchela what he had brought for Him. The Lord as Vamana asked for three feet of land from Emperor Bali. In the Rama Avatar, He went to Shabari and asked her to appease His hunger. All that Shabari could offer to Rama were a few sweet berries collected from the jungle.
It is to shower His grace on the devotees that the Lord seeks small offerings from them. What does He need from any one when the whole cosmos is contained in Him? It is the Lord who protects one and all in innumerable ways. There is a simple way to secure the grace of God. You must get near to God. Surrender yourself to Him. Become one with Him. Instead of following this easy path, man today immerses himself in petty desires and keeps away from God. There is no trace of selfishness in it. But, because of their own selfish natures, they attribute selfishness even to God s love. This is merely a reflection of their own nature. God s love is not a reflected love. It is love pure and simple. A reflected love carries the taint of the original. That is not the case with the Divine love, which is pure and unsullied. (SSS Vol.31, pp.61-62)
Shabari was a tribal woman, illiterate and uncivilised. But all of them had won God’s Grace in abundance, because of their wholehearted devotion, love and surrender. Follow the example of Shabari, who always thought of Sri Rama and His happiness, and dedicated all her thoughts, words, and deeds to Him alone, so much so that every action of hers was transformed and sublimated into the highest tapas (penance.) From her example, you must learn the lesson that meditation does not mean sitting idle in a particular posture of the body, as if you are posing for a photograph. As in her case, your entire life must become a continuous meditation wherever you may be staying and whatever you may be doing. Whatever you eat or drink must be offered to God as naivedya or holy offering. In this manner, if you offer everything to the Lord, you will naturally be prevented from engaging yourself in bad actions or evil ways in your life. (SSB 1990, p.87)
True yoga lies in unifying your love with the Divine
Control of desires leads to sense control, which in turn leads to Divinity. Sage Patanjali said, ‘Yogah citta vritti nirodaha,’ controlling the vagaries of the mind is yoga and allowing the senses to have their own way is roga (disease). Today’s man has become a rogi (diseased one) because of lack of sense control. One should become a yogi, not a rogi.
Yoga is attained not by bhoga (worldly pleasures), but by tyaga (sacrifice). Once you attain yoga, you will never be afflicted with roga. Yoga does not mean leading the life of a recluse in a forest. Some people mistake physical exercises like sitting cross-legged, standing on one leg etc., for yoga. True yoga lies in unifying your love with the Divine.
God does not want anything from you. He never insists on your doing meditation or yoga. He only wants you to fill your hearts with principles of love and sacrifice. If you obey His commands with sincerity and devotion, He will take care of all your needs without your asking. The lives of Shabari and the bird Jatayu bear ample testimony to this truth. (SSS Vol.32 Part II, pp.158-159)
Adugakuve O Manasa!
Adugu Koladi Adi Adugunu Padunani
Adugakunna Pani Vadigaanagunani
Adugani Sabarini Aadarinchade! (Telugu Poem)
Do not ask, O Mind!
The more you ask, the lower it is placed.
Without asking, the task proceeds quickly.
Shabari, who never asked, was showered with Grace!
(SSB 1995, p.24)
O mind, do not ask for anything.
Ask, and it shall be delayed.
Do not ask, and it shall be granted soon.
Did He not shower His grace on Shabari, who never asked?
Did He not perform the last rites of Jatayu and
grant him liberation, without his asking?
So, you do not need to ask God for anything. If you have purity of heart, He will Himself take care of you, just like a mother who attends to the needs of the child without its asking. Be like a child, and the Divine Mother will take care of you. That is total surrender. Leave everything to the Will of the Mother. Do not ask for petty things lest you should lose Her proximity. The one who asks for food will be directed to the kitchen, but the mother will feed the child herself who cannot ask. Only those with ego and those immersed in worldly life ask. But the one, who surrenders himself to the Will of the Divine Mother like a child, will lead a peaceful life. (SSS Vol.32 Part II, p.158-159)
Shabari describes Rama as a blemish-less Moon:
The effulgence of the Lord is equal to that of one crore of Suns. The Lord s face is beaming with the brilliance of the Sun. On being struck by the radiant effulgence in Rama s face, Shabari became ecstatic and described it as that of the blemish-less full moon. (SSS Vol.27, p.134)
Need for discrimination
Students! You are not being respected for your education, nor for your personality. You are being respected for your conduct. When a man s behaviour is good, he is respected without any enquiry. Did not Rama confer His grace on Shabari and Jatayu without their asking Him? But Rama did not respond to the entreaties of Dasharatha. Even the sages in the forests who were earnestly praying to him were not recognized by Rama. The Divine alone knows when and whom to bless, for what reason and where and in what form. You have to seek the Divine s grace in the right form, at the proper time and place. This calls for discrimination regarding time and circumstances. This is mostly absent today. This discrimination is called ‘Constant Integrated Awareness.’ It is described as ‘Prajnanam Brahma,’ the humanness that is the Divine Itself. (SSS Vol.28, p.149