4th Saying My tomb shall bless and protect my devotees

[Guest guest]

Among these nine types of devotion, devotees should develop faith

in at least one of them. God too will be happy, if the devotee masters at least

one part to proceed to Godhood. Soon, God himself will appear in the hearts of

the devotees. All Sadhanas or efforts like Japa, Tapa, yoga and recitation

of religious texts will all be useless, if there is no devotion. There are

people who deliver discourses very interestingly but without any devotion. Such

oratorical skills and lectures too are a waste if there is no devotion. Without

devotion, the knowledge of the Vedas and popularity as a scholar will be of no

avail. Even bhajans and singing to the glory of God

will not serve any purpose if there is no love for God in our hearts. What is

needed is love, love and love for God. And that is real devotion.

 

We thus find that devotion alone is very important. The moment we

mention the word devotee, we remember great rishis

like Yagnavalkya, Bhrigu, Parastar, Narada, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, Santakumara, Shuka, Shaunaka, Vishwamitra, Vashishta, Valmiki, Vamadeva, Jaimini, Vaishampayana, Navayogindra and the present yogis like Gnanadeva,

Janardana, Eknath, Namadeva, Tukaram, Annamaya, Tyagaraya, Purandardasa, Mirabai, Ramdas, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

and Vivekananda, Markandeya, Kannappa

and Shabari are distinctly shining as the very

embodiments of devotion. India is a land

of great devotees.

 

Even the greatest flower of Gnana should

have the fragrance of devotion. Else it will not be worthy of an offer at the

feet of the Lord. The fulfillment of Gnana is Bhakti. Devotees of divine love are ever under the protection of

God. These devotees are born exclusively for the purpose of worshipping God.

They live in God and they merge in God. God takes special interest in showering

his protective blessings on them. God feels that it is his duty, responsibility

and Dharma to look after the devotees. See how Baba has protected his devotees.

Balasaheb Mirikar took Shyama and the cart started from Shirdi. When he took leave

of Baba, Baba cautioned him about the impending dangers. However, he also

assured that nobody can harm the children of DwarakaMai.

At 9’0 clock in the night, Mirikar and Shyama reached Chitali. In a temple of Hanuman, they

stayed that night.

(to be contd….)

(Source Eleven Holy Sayings of

Shirdi Sai Baba by Pujya Shri

Ananda Sai Swamy)