Devotee by Swami Kesavaiahji (contd..)

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Devotee by Swami Kesavaiahji (contd..)

 

A mere child Pralhad was subjected to every unimaginable torture, such

as letting loose on him a mad elephant, exposing to the bites of

venomous snakes, dropping from the top of a moun-tain or shutting up in

a death room filled with poisonous gases, But he neither feared nor did

he meet with death. What was the secret of Pralhada's power? His firm

faith in God; Shri Sai Baba often used to stay that once a person has

faith in God, he has achieved everything. There is nothing greater than

faith. Shri Rama, who was God himself, had to build a bridge to cross

the sea to Lanka, but Hanuman, who had immense faith in Rama cleared the

sea in one jump. Shri Ramakrishna says, " As is a man's mediation, so is

his feeling of love. As is a man's feeling of love, so is his gain. And

faith is the root of all " . Saint Mirabai drank the cup of poison in one

draught and Haridas bore gladly the strokes of the lash, all the while

repeating the name of Hari and praying God to pardon his persecutors. A

devotee, who has such intense faith, does not bear any ill-will towards

his enemies. His faith is so unshakeable that he actually sees that the

whole world is full of God and everything in it is a manifestation of

God.

 

The extraordinary patience displayed by a devotee towards those who harm

him should not be interpreted as cowardice. The devotee's heart is full

of virtues like forgiveness, spirit of non-violence, compassion and

love. He prefers to suffer inconve-niences himself rather than

persecutors. Thus, forgiveness, non-violence, compassion etc., are the

virtues of the hero and the characteristic of a true devotee is

courageous patience or Saburi as Shri Sai Baba has put it.

 

There are different types of devotees. It is the lot of many to tread

the hard and steep path through suffering, sacrifice and toil. They need

long and arduous spiritual discipline and practice. There are some who

are " Nitya Siddhas " . Since their birth, their spiritual consciousness is

awake. They are born like Shri Sai Baba to impart spiritual illumination

to others to lift a little of the heavy Karma of the World. There is yet

another class of devotees- " Kripa Siddhas " on whom the grace of God

descends all of a sudden. Within a short time, they attain great vision

and knowledge. In short, a true devotee is one " who cannot live without

God; so also God cannot live without His devotee " . He has humility and

he loses all traces of the ego. He has surrendered completely his body

and soul to God. He has abundant faith (Nishta), and courageous patience

(Saburi). These are the high hallmarks of a true devotee. Judging by

this touch-stone, let each fix bearings in the wide ocean of life and

follow the distant light which is within every one of us.

Swami Kesavaiahji

Madras

Source Shri Sai Leela Magazine May 1979