Shabri, the Saint

Shabri and Lord Rama
Shabri and Lord Rama

Capt Purushottam Sharma
Shabri, the paragon of devotion, had bound the Lord with the string of ‘bhakti’ and made Him to put his presence at the door-steps of her hermitage. She was the daughter of a king of the Sabaras  Tribe and loved wild life very much. When she came of her age, her marriage was fixed and her father made elaborate arrangements for the ceremony as per the family traditions. These included herds of wild animals and birds rounded up for killing for the feast during the celebrations which were cruelly treated and subjected to starvation and thirst. Shabri was full of compassion for them and experienced one-ness with them. Her awareness suddenly widened and dispassion overpowered her attachment for her family and tribe.
Although she failed to free those poor innocent animals but she decided to free herself from the shackles of worldly life sacrificing her leisure and left her ancestral house at midnight reaching near an Ashram of sages in a forest. After selecting a solitary spot surrounded by green foliage around, she put up a small hermitage for herself. Leading an ascetic’s life, living on wild fruit and roots, she always found profound elation to see the sages from a distance.
She decided to serve them by collecting wood from the forest and dropping in the Ashram stealthily at night. This made the Ashram inmates to know of the identity of the person trespassing the premises and providing them the wood for use in their Ashram. So they kept discreet watch and one day found young Shabri dropping bundle of wood. They scolded her for violating the sanctity of the Ashram and stopped her from supplying wood to them in future. Shabri abandoned this service and took to sweeping the path that led from Ashram to Pampa Sarovar and cleaning the banks of the Sarovar where the sages bathed. She worked at night and finished before the ‘rishis’ came for their morning dip in the ‘pampa sarovar’.
One early morning when she was busy in sweeping, Matang Rishi happened to appear for bath. At his sight, Shabri got frightened and attempted to run away. Matang Rishi very kindly and politely treated her demanding of her identity. With folded hands and bowed head, she humbly narrated the  tale of leaving her home. She pointed out towards a small hermitage she lived in and said that the look of the sages was feast to her eyes and that she had no other desire except to serve them.  Being a tribal girl and that too of low caste, was incapable of undertaking severe austerities. She could not make entry into Rishi Ashram and had, therefore, taken to sweeping and cleaning work outside the Ashram which brought her great joy and satisfaction. Saying this Shabri broke down.
Matang Rishi’s heart was filled with compassion. He consoled her with motherly touch and unfolded to her the fruit of service to the saints which sanctifies and tears the veil of delusion  that hid the Reality.
Ridiculing caste, sex, status and worldy possessions as considerations in devotion, he invited her to shift herself within the Matang Ashram and fearlessly render whatever services she could. Upon this, Shabri beseeched that her stay in Ashram may cause him defame and worry. Appreciating her apprehensions, Matang Rishi said that her stay in the Ashram will add to her virtues of compassion and sainthood. And it is the compassion which made her to leave her hearth and home, it is again the compassion that saved the lives of hundreds of innocent animals and birds and thus prevented her from committing the sin of kilings.
It is now by virtue of compassion that he was providing her shelter in the Ashram. He explained that every practicant aspiring God Realization needs to cultivate many virtues. Among all the virtues, compassion is the mother of sainthood.
Shabri’s happiness was beyond any measure and tears of joy streamed down her cheeks. She made a hermitage for herself in close proximity of her Guru’s and served him and other Rishis with ardent love, diligence and humility. With her Guru’s grace and care, she was spiritually elevated and was sure to swim across the ocean of ‘samsara’ and attain Liberation.
With propitious  hand of her Guru over her head, waiting Lord Rama to come her way, Shabri repeating Rama Naama in state of calm, lived a  long life in Matang Ashram in beautiful ‘matanga vana’ on the Western banks of Pampa Sarovar after Matang Rishi and other Rishis of the Ashram had shed their  moral coils.
Lord Rama accompanied by Lakshmana arrived at Shabri’s hermitage as per revelations made to her by her Guru at the time of his shedding earthly body. In joy ineffable, Shabri stood, in face to face with the Lord, with folded hands. She prostrated and then washed their feet most reverentially. Took ‘charanamrit’ and sprinkled the sacred water on her body. She worshipped them with great love and devotion and offered wild fruit and roots she had been growing on the banks of ‘pampasar’ for the Lord. Much has been said and written on her offer of ‘berries’ to Lord Rama and Lakshmana.
Lord Rama inquired of her whether she had  achieved conquest of the Self by overcoming the negative propensities like  lust, wrath, greed, attachment, infatuation hatred prejudices, jealousy, egoism, repugnance, indolence, sleep etc and received the reward of her service to her Guru and other sages. She replied that all her evil impulses and tendencies had vanished and, with Guru’s grace, she has ‘Rama Darshan’ today and was now destined to state of immortality after the Lord had cast at her His blissful and benign look. At the behest of Lord, Shabri conducted them to beautiful Matang Vana pulsate with spiritual fervor.
Lord Rama unfolded to Shabri Nine Forms of Devotion, namely,
* Association and service of saints
* Preaching holy Scriptures and Divine words and hearing them from the spiritually illumined souls.
* Opening the secret meaning of Divine virtues
* Unfolding the secret meanings of words of Holy scriptures and those flowed from the lips of the Lord.
*Service of Guru with humbleness and detachment with strict self-discipline
* Worship of the Lord and to meditate on Him (Antar-yami, the All-Knower) with unshaken faith.
* Repetition of Rama Mantra with Omkara that was received  by the practican from the Guru.
* Worship Lord’s devotees and experience Him in all beings.
* Fixing thought on Sachdananda Parabrahma (Truth, Consciounesss, Bliss Supreme God)
Shabri shed her earthly body making Lord Rama to stand and wait till she merged with the Infinite.

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