Thursday Message From Sai Satcharitra

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Thursday Message :All the

things that we see in the universe are nothing but a play of Maya -- the

creative power of the Lord. These things do not really exist. What really

exists is the Real Absolute. Just as we mistake a rope of a garland or a stick

for a serpent on account of darkness, we always see the phenomena, i.e. things

as they outwardly appear, and not the Noumenon which underlies all the visible

things. It is only the Sad-guru that opens the eyes of our understanding and

enables us to see things in their true light and not as they appear. Let us, therefore,

worship the Sad-guru and pray to him to give us the true vision, which is

nothing but God-vision.

Inner Worship

Hemadpant

has given us a novel form of worship. Let us, he says, use hot water in the

form of tears of joy to wash the Sad-guru's feet, let us besmear His body with

sandle-paste of pure love, let us cover His body with the cloth of true faith,

let us offer eight lotuses in the form of our eight Sattwik emotions and fruit

in the form of our concentrated mind; let us apply to His head bukka

(black-powder) in the form of devotion and tie the waistband of Bhakti and

place our head on his toes.

After decorating the Sad-guru with all jewelry in this way, let us offer our

all to Him and wave chamar of devotion to ward off heat. After such blissful

worship, let us pray thus:- "Introvert our mind, turn it inward, give us

discrimination between the Unreal and the Real and non-attachment for all

worldly things and thus enable us to get Self-realisation. We surrender

ourselves, body and soul (body-consciousness and ego). Make our eyes Yours, so

that we should never feel pleasure and pain. Control our body and mind as You

will and wish. Let our mind get rest in Your Feet".

Now let us turn to the stories of this Chapter.

Bhakta Pant

Once it so

happened that a devotee by name Pant, a disciple of another Sad-guru had the

good fortune of visiting Shirdi. He had no mind to go to Shirdi, but man

proposes one way and God disposes the other. He was travelling in a B.B. &

C.I. Rly. train where he met many friends and relations bound for Shirdi. They

all asked him to accompany them and he could not say nay. They alighted at Bombay while pant got

down at Virar. There he took the permission of his Sadguru for the Shirdi trip

and after arranging for the expenses, left with the party for Shirdi. They all

reached the place in the morning and went to the Masjid at about 11 A.M. Seeing

the concourse of the devotees assembled for Baba's worship, they were all

pleased, but Pant suddenly got a fit and fell senseless. They were all

frightened, still they tried their best to bring him to his senses. With Baba's

grace and with pitchers of water which they poured over his head, he regained

his consciousness and sat upright as if he was just awakened from sleep. The

omniscient Baba knowing that he was a disciple of another Guru, assured him

fearlessness and confirmed his faith in his own Guru, by addressing him as

follows :- "Come what may, leave

not, but stick to your Bolster (support, i.e. Guru) and ever remain steady,

always at-one-ment (in union) with him." Pant at once knew the

significance of this remark and thus he was reminded of his Sad-guru. This

kindness of Baba he never forgot in his life.

Harishchandra Pitale

There was a

gentleman by name Harishchandra Pital in Bombay.

He had a son, who suffered from epilepsy. He tried many allopathic and

ayurvedic doctors, but there was no cure. There remained only one way of

remedy, viz. resorting to the saints. It has been stated in Chapter XV that Das

Ganu by his inimitable and splendid kirtans spread the fame of Sai Baba in the

Bombay Presidency. Mr. Pitale heard some of these kirtans in 1910 and learnt

therefrom and from others that Baba, by His touch and mere glance, cured many

incurable diseases. Then a desire arose in his mind to see Sai Baba. Making all

preparations and taking presents and fruit-baskets, Mr. Pitale came to Shirdi

with family, wife and children. He then went to the Masjid with them,

prostrated before Baba and placed his sick son on Baba's Feet. No sooner Baba saw

the child than an untoward thing happened. The son immediately revolved his

eyes and fell down senseless. His mouth began to foam and his whole body began

to perspire profusely and it seemed as if he breathed himself out. Seeing this,

the parents became very nervous and excited. The boy used to get such fits very

often, but this fit seemed to persist long. Tears began to flow ceaselessly

from the mother's eyes and she began to wail, crying that her condition was

like that of a person, who being afraid of the robbers ran into a house which

collapsed on him,or like a cow fearing a tiger, ran into the hands of a

butcher, or like a traveller, who being tormented by the heat of the sun went

to take refuge under a tree, which fell upon him, or like a devout person going

for worship into a temple which collapsed upon him. Then Baba comforted her

saying - "Do not wail like this, wait a bit, have patience, take the boy

to your lodging, he will come to his senses within half an hour." They did

as directed by Baba and found that His words came true. As soon as he was taken

into the Wada, the boy recovered and all the Pitale family, husband, wife and

others were very delighted and all their doubts disappeared. Then Mr. Pitale

came with his wife to see Baba and prostrated himself before Him very humbly

and respectfully and sat shampooing His legs and mentally thanking Baba for His

help. Baba then smilingly said - "Are not all your thoughts, doubts and

apprehensions calmed down now? Hari (Lord) will protect him, who has got faith

and patience". Mr. Pitale was a rich and well-to-do gentleman. He

distributed sweet-meat on a large scale and gave Baba excellent fruits and pan

(betel-leaves). Mrs. Pitale was a very Sattwik lady, simple, loving and

faithful. She used to sit near the post staring at Baba with tears of joy

flowing down from her eyes. Seeing her of an amicable and loving nature, Baba

was much pleased with her. Like Gods, Saints are always dependent on their

devotees who surrender and worship them with their heart and soul. After

passing some happy days in Baba's company, the Pitale family came to the Masjid

to take Baba's leave to depart. Baba gave them Udi and blessings and called Mr.

Pitale close by and said to him - "Bapu, I had given you before, Rs. two, now

I give you Rs. three; keep these in your shrine for worship and you will be

benefited." Mr. Pitale accepted these as Prasad, prostrated himself again

before Baba and prayed for His blessings. A thought arose in his mind, that as

that was his first trip to Shirdi, he could not understand what Baba meant,

when He said that He had given Rs. two previously. He was curious to have this

mystery solves, but Baba kept silent. When Mr. Pitale returned to Bombay, he

narrated to his old mother all that had happened at Shirdi and the mystery

about Baba's giving him Rs. two formerly. The mother also did not understand

the mystery, but, thinking seriously about that, she was reminded of an old

incident, which solved the mystery. She said to her son - "As you now went

to Sai Baba with your son, so had your father done when he took you to

Akkalkot, for the darshana of the Maharaj there many years ago. That Maharaj

was also a Siddha, Perfect Yogi, omniscient and liberal. Your father was pure,

devout and his worship was accepted. He then gave your father Rs. two for being

kept in the shrine and worshipped. Your father worshipped them accordingly till

his death, but thereafter the worship was neglected and the rupees were lost.

After some years the memory of these two rupees also disappeared and now, as

you are very fortunate, the Akkalkotkar Maharaj has appeared to you in the form

of Sai Baba just to remind you to your duties and worship, and to ward off all

dangers. Now beware henceforth, leave off all doubts and bad thoughts, follow

your ancestors and behave well; go on worshipping the family gods and the

rupees, appraise properly and take pride in the blessing of the Saints. Sai

Samartha has kindly revived the spirit of Bhakti in you, cultivate it it your

benefit." Hearing the remarks of the mother, Mr. Pitale was very much

delighted. He came to know, and was convinced about the all-prevasiveness of

Baba and the significance of His darshan. From that time he became very careful

about his behaviour.

Mr. Ambadekar

Mr. Gopal

Narayan Ambadekar of Poona

was a devotee of Baba. He served for ten years in the Abkari department in the

Thana District and in Javhar state, from where he had to retire. He tried to

get some other job, but he did not succeed. He was overtaken by other calamities

and his condition grew from bad to worse. He passed 7 years in this condition,

visiting Shirdi every year and placing his grievance before Baba. In 1916 his

plight became worst and be decided to commit suicide in Shirdi. So he came

there with his wife and stayed for two months. One night while sitting in a

bullock cart in front of Dixit's Wada, he resolved to end his life by throwing

himself into a well close by. He proposed to do one way but Baba wished to do

something else. A few paces from this place, there was a hotel and its

proprietor Mr. Sagun, a devotee of Baba, came out and accosted him thus -

"Did you ever read this Akkalkotkar Maharaja's life?" Ambadekar took

that book from Sagun and began to read it. Casually, or we may say providentially

he came across a story which was to this effect. - During the life time of

Akkalkotkar Maharaj a certain devotee suffered very much from an incurble

disease and when he could endure the agony and pain no longer, be became

desperate and to end his miseries threw himself one night into a well.

Immediately the Maharaj came there and took him out with his own hands and

advised him thus - "You must enjoy the fruit - good or bad - of your past

actions; if the enjoyment be incomplete, suicide won't help you. You have to

take another birth and suffer again; so instead of killing yourself, why not

suffer for some time and finish up your store of the fruit of your past deeds

and be done with it once and for all?"

Reading this appropriate and timely story, Ambadekar was much surprised, and

moved. Had he not got Baba's hint through the story, he would have been no

more. On seeing Baba's all-prevasiveness and benevolence, his faith in Him was

confirmed, and he became a staunch devotee. His father was a devotee of

Akkalkotkar Maharaj and Sai Baba wanted him to walk into his father's footsteps

and continue his devotion to Him. He then got Sai Baba's blessings and his

prospects began to improve. He studied astrology and gained proficiency in it

and thereby improved his lot. He was able to earn sufficient money and passed

his after-life in ease and comfort.

Sairam Baba Guide us all At the Feet of my Sathguru Sai Manisha ~Shirdi Sai Baba Blog ~ http://sathgurushirdisaibaba.blogspot.com/http://templesofshirdisaibaba.blogspot.com/ http://.blogspot.com/