Serving Brahma

Many of Baba’s sadhaks would come to Machnur to seek blessings after life events. There was one such disciple, an older sadhika, who came to Machnur after her son’s wedding to organize a Brahmin bhojan, as per tradition. Brahmin bhojan is a form of preparing and serving food to those who are devoted to serving the divine. 

During that time, on his way to Solapur, another sadhak dropped of his daughter at Machnur. Although she was quite young, she knew and enjoyed the routine there. 

On the morning of the Brahmin bhojan, the young sadhika woke up, helped to sweep the floors and got ready before all the other women. She went to the kitchen and decided to help prepare for the day by making dal.

Then the older sadhika arrived and did all of the cooking preparation. Meanwhile, Baba was taking a walk in the garden. Seeing her there, he called out to her, inquiring about the Brahmin bhojan happening today.

After this exchange, Baba continued on his walk. The young girl overheard this interaction and as more people started filling into the kitchen, she noticed that she was the only non-Brahmin person in the kitchen. It suddenly made her feel self conscious and she ducked out of the kitchen almost immediately, not wanting to feel out of place. 

After leaving the kitchen, she decided to roam around the area. At the same time, Saguna Tai, was separately preparing Baba’s meal. 

Once all the cooking was done, and it was time for everyone to eat, Baba called out for the young girl. “Chhakuli! Chhakuli!”¹ But initially, she had no idea that Baba was calling out for her, and was confused as to who he was calling.

Then Baba called out again, but this time with her name. She ran over to where Baba was sitting down to eat. Baba brought her close to him, and through that simple act, she felt comforted and her worry about caste assuaged, all that mattered was her devotion and commitment to the divine. He asked her to go and serve him his food, because he wanted to eat from her hand.

This sadhika, so young and surrounded by older women, who she knew had more experience than her in all of these things and who she deeply respected for their spiritual journeys, was suddenly terrified of the prospect of such a task. She was confused and had no idea what to give to Baba. But then Saguna Tai ran a hand over her back and told her, “Don’t worry, all the food is ready. I’ll put all of it in the plate. You just take the plate, a jug of water and a cup, and give it to Baba. 

When she brought everything to Baba, he asked her to sit next to him, “Sit, sit down and eat with me.”

After lunch, she went back to spend time with the other girls her age. As soon as she got back, they said to her, “Oh my gosh! While you were over there, a crisis was averted here!” 

She asked about what had happened and the girls told her that, “There were seven Brahmins who were going to participate in this Brahmin bhojan. All the rangolis were drawn, lamps were lit, the seven guests had arrived, and the plating of the food had begun. And right at that moment, the dal that they had made fell to the ground and spilled.” The dal that this young sadhika had made earlier that morning was intentionally put aside, and kept somewhere out of sight so it wouldn’t be used, and they had made another dal for the meal. So in that moment, with their dal spilled, someone immediately instructed the others to take out the dal that the young sadhika had cooked. Everyone had washed their hands and was seated, waiting for their food. They didn’t have the time to make more dal from scratch. It was 1pm, lunch time. In this rush, they ended up serving the dal that the young, non-Brahmin sadhika had made in their Brahmin bhojan. 

Still, this was not the young sadhika's real Brahmin bhojan.

A Brahmin is someone who knows Brahma, not just a demographic title. The young girl, despite initially feeling discouraged about her role in the classical Brahmin bhojan, had served Baba, with so much love, without realizing that this experience was a real Brahmin bhojan. Caste did not matter. It was the devotion and desire to wholeheartedly do something for someone who has truly awakened Brahma within him -- nay someone who was a true incarnate of Brahma himself.

¹Chhakuli is a term of endearment, typically reserved for a young girl