LIFE HISTORY OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA Part 16 To 18

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Om Sri Sai Ram

 

LIFE HISTORY OF SHIRDI SAI BABA

 

By Ammula Sambasiva Rao

 

English Translation by Thota Bhaskara Rao

 

 

Chapter XVI

 

How Sai saved Sathe from Ruin

 

Sathe moved close with Baba. But there was not much spiritual

progress in him. Though he grew older he could not control his desire

for lust.

 

In Shirdi was a beautiful woman who attracted males desirous of

satisfying their lust. Sathe once went to see Baba, before visiting

her. On seeing him, Baba asked him whether he is on his way

to `Saala', the place of the ill-repute woman. But Sathe, not aware

of this nickname for the place, thought Baba was asking him about

school (meaning Saala) and gave some vague answer. Afterwards, he

went to the house of the woman and sat in the verandah, indulging in

some pleasant talks. The talks appeared to take Sathe on a ruinous

path. When he opened the doors of the room, he was shocked to find

Baba standing there and staring at him with his sharp eyes, as if to

caution Sathe. Baba also made some gestures with his hand, which

appeared as though he was questioning him whether he had all the way

come to Shirdi only to get ruined. He immediately turned back and

came to the mosque. He fell on the feet of Baba and took a vow not to

visit that woman again during his lifetime. Then Baba blessed him

with his hand raised. In this incident Baba did not speak much, but

did everything silently. Baba corrected the wrongs of his devotees in

such a way that only those who committed them would understand

without others knowing about them.

 

Meghashyam

 

Meghashyam was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. He regarded Baba as an

Avatar of Shiva. When some devotees gave Baba Shiva's idol from

Panipat, he presented it to Megha in appreciation of his devotion to

Shiva. Megha did Abhishek to this idol everyday. After some time, the

idol was put below the Neem tree in Gurusthan, which can be seen even

now.

 

One afternoon, Megha was sleeping in his room in Sathe Wada bolting

it from inside. Baba appeared to him in his dream and said " Megha!

Draw the trident (trishul) near the Sivalingam and sprinkle some

Akshata (rice) on it. " When Megha woke up and looked around, he did

not find Baba. But he found the Akshata sprinkled by Baba all over

the room.

 

Megha went to Dwarakamayi and asked Baba whether he had come to Wada

and ordered him to draw the trident (trishul). Baba replied in the

affirmative. Megha then asked him how he entered the room when it was

bolted from inside. Baba replied, " Son, do you think that Baba is

only the physical body that you are seeing? I am everywhere. Walls

and doors cannot obstruct my movements. "

 

Megha died in the year 1912. Baba touched his dead body and declared

that he had been a real devotee, and tears fell from his eyes. He

entrusted the work connected with cremation and the obsequies of

Megha to Kaka Dixit. After a few days, Shama asked Baba when he was

alone, " Baba, we are unable to understand your actions. You used to

tell us that death is only to the body and not Atma, which is

permanent. But then Megha died you shed tears and also accompanied

the body for some distance. Why did you have this special affection

for Megha? " At this Baba smiled and said, " Shama! You have put a wise

question. The two doubts you are entertaining are true. But it is

necessary to understand properly the connection between them. Every

issue is connected with the prevailing conditions in this world and

also the timing of the actions. Keeping these in mind, one should try

to understand the matter. When this is absent, sometimes the Guru

will be viewed critically. When the disciple is in a position to

criticize his Guru, he does not stand to benefit anything from him,

but on the other hand misunderstandings may develop. Things, which we

cannot properly understand, should not be left to our limited

knowledge. Every disciple will face such a situation. But those who

offer everything to their Guru wholeheartedly will consider the

actions of the Guru for our good only. In such case, there will not

be room for duality in thoughts and actions.

 

" In the present issue, it is a fact that Atma is permanent and the

body only dies. Usually those who die are born again with some other

body. But Megha had completely detached himself from all worldly

things. He attained Moksha (salvation). In the shape of Atma he is

going far beyond the sun and the moon. That is the reason why I

grieved about him. "

 

Mahalasapati, hearing these clarifications of Baba, was pleased and

satisfied with them. Baba looked at Mahalasapati and said, " Bhagat!

One who does not seek answer to his doubts will remain ignorant. But

one who seeks answer will be ignorant only till he asks and after

that he will be a learned person. "

 

Baba Sanctifying the Religious Books

 

Some devotees of Baba, before reading the religious books gave them

to Baba. Baba opened the books, looked into some pages and returned

them to the devotees. The devotees believed that by reading those

books touched by Baba, they would properly understand the contents,

and the Parayana would continue unhindered.

 

Once Kaka Mahajan brought the book Ekanath Bhagawat to Shirdi. Shama

came to the mosque with this book, wanting to read it. Baba took the

book from Shama, touched it and returned it to him, asking him to

keep it with him only. But Shama told him that the book belonged to

Kaka and therefore should be returned to him. But Baba replied, " I am

giving this book to you. " In this way Baba gave several books to

Shama. Shama was an innocent person with a blind devotion. He had no

education and had not read many religious books. Hence, Baba gave him

a number of religious books.

 

Once a devotee Ramdas came to Shirdi. He was a great devotee of Lord

Rama. He stayed at Shirdi for some days. Every day sitting in the

front side of the mosque, he read Vishnu Sahasranama and Adhyatmic

Ramayana. He made this Parayana several times. One day, while he was

reading the Vishnu Sahasranama, Baba sent him out on an errand. He

obeyed Baba and stopped the Parayana in the middle. After Ramdas

left, Baba took the Vishnu Sahasranama book of Ramdas and gave it to

Shama, saying, " Shama, this Vishnu Sahasranama book is very valuable,

which gives good results. I am presenting this to you. You read this

sincerely with devotion. Once when my heart was beating rapidly, I

suffered a lot and thought that my life was in danger. Under such

difficult conditions, I put this book on my heart. It did a lot good

and the suffering reduced. I thought Allah had come personally and

cured my ailment. I am giving such a powerful book to you. If you

read daily one Namam also, a lot of good will happen to you. "

 

But Shama hesitated to take the book as it belonged to Ramdas, who

was an angry and quarrelsome person and a quarrel might take place

when Ramdas returned. But he failed to understand that Baba's aim was

to do him good. On his return, Ramdas learnt about this and created a

scene even though Shama narrated the facts. Then Baba called Ramdas

and said to him, " Ramdas, why are you in an angry and quarrelsome

mood? Shama had nothing to do in the matter. I gave the book to him.

Is he not our man? Why are you quarreling with him unnecessarily?

Always talk softly and with love. Even though you read sacred

religious books daily, your mind still is not purified. A real Rama

Bhakta should practice equality and detachment and not attachment.

With money you can purchase any number of books but not persons.

Think well and act intelligently. You know this book " by heart " . Let

Shama also read this and be benefited. If you desire, you can have

some other book from Shama in exchange for your book. "

 

Hearing this loving advice from Baba, Ramdas cooled down and took the

book Pancharatna Gita from Shama, in exchange for his book. The above

speech of Baba was not only intended for Ramdas but to all of us.

Even though we read a lot of religious books or spend our time in the

worship of God, there will not be any benefit unless our hearts get

purified.

 

Attachments to outside things and the words " I " and " mine " should be

rid of from us. We must always think that all are one and equal.

Everyone should try for such a change of hearts.

 

Once Bapu Saheb Jog took the Gita Rahasyam (Secrets of Bhagawad Gita)

written by Tilak, along with him to Baba's Darshan. Baba took the

book from Jog and after seeing some of the inside pages, he took out

a rupee coin from his pocket and returned the book to Jog along with

the Dakshina, and blessed him saying that a lot of good would come to

him if he read the book sincerely with devotion.

 

In the same way as Baba used to touch the religious books, and bless

his devotees even now when the devotees purchase the books, they keep

them on the Samadhi of Baba and only then commence the Parayana. The

same is also in the case when the devotees purchase new articles.

 

Sai Yuga

 

Shirdi Sai Baba was the human incarnation of Lord Shiva of Kailas.

For the good of the world, he stopped the poison in his throat and

suffered for the sake of others. Repeating the name of such a Sai

make us happy. Worship of Sai is auspicious. Devotees experienced

complete bliss when they were in the company of Sai Baba frequently

said, " Allah Malik " . Sai, without aspiring for Moksha or complete

merger of God, has remained in the service of all living beings

considered by him as facets of God. Sai means love, selfless love,

sacred love. Sai's love was not only to mankind but all living

things. People in the name of wealth, caste religion, nationality,

regions and political parties swindle and become millionaires. If

necessary they are prepared to kill some. In the present society, we

find a lot of such persons who call themselves leaders and servants

of people. To curb this, we should publicise Sai philosophy on a

large scale, spreading brotherly love in society. All should have

peace and happiness permanently. This is shall be the aim of Sai

philosophy in all nooks and corners of our towns and villages of the

country. Sai Yuga is going to set in. All castes, all religions and

all philosophies will merge into one and the philosophy of `One

family' will be established and we be lucky to be a part of this

movement. Let us pray to Sai Baba to form an army of dedicated

devotees (Sai Army) and establish a Sai empire.

 

" Om Shanti! Shanti! Shantihi "

 

Chapter XVII

 

God sends yogis to different places in this world to propagate

spiritual matters to counter the growing evils and balance this to a

certain extent. This is the main aim of the yogis or religious

leaders. Though they function at different places, they know each

other and from where they are functioning. As Vasu Devananda

Saraswathi said, Shirdi Sai Baba was like an elder brother to all

such yogis.

 

We come in contact with yogis because of our good actions of the

previous birth. Persons who did not do good in their previous births,

will fall prey to desires and lead the lives of animals as they

cannot put their minds to divine ways. Because of the good actions in

our previous birth, today we are lucky to do Parayana of the Life

History of Shirdi Sai Baba, who is the king of all yogis.

 

Appa - The Kannada Yogi!

 

Thakur was working as a clerk in the Revenue Department. Once he

visited the Kannadiga Yogi Appa and touched his feet in reverence.

Appa gave him a book on Vedanta titled Vichara Sagara and asked him

to read it without fail as this would fulfill his wishes. He

said, " Sometime in the future when you go in the northerly direction

on official work, you would be lucky to come in contact with a great

yogi. By his Darshan you will have peace of mind and happiness. He

will show you the proper way to your life's journey. " After sometime

Thakur was transferred to a place called Jinner. To reach it he had

to cross a deep valley by riding on a buffalo. He suffered a lot

while he was at Jinner. After sometime he was transferred on

promotion to Kalyan. There he learnt about Baba and his greatness

through Nana Chandorkar. He came to Shirdi and by touching Baba's

feet, he experienced a lot of happiness. Baba who is omnipresent told

Thakur, " The road here is not as easy as what Appa told you. It is

also not as easy as traveling on a buffalo in the valley. One should

work had relentlessly. Walking on this road is like walking on a

sharp-edged sword. "

 

Without asking Thakur who he was, from where he had come and the

purpose of his visit, Sai Bhagawan knew everything. After hearing

Sai, Thakur's eyes were fully of tears out of joy and he experienced

complete bliss. He found that what the Kannadiga yogi Appa had said

was true. With complete devotion he prostrated at the feet of Baba.

After putting his hand on Thakur's head in an act of blessing, Baba

told him, " What Appa had told you is true. But you have to learn them

and put them into practice. No useful purpose will be served by

simply reading the holy books. The knowledge obtained from the books

without the blessings of Guru will be of no use. " Every word that

came out of Baba was like nectar. The readers should not only take

this nectar but also continue on their life's journey in a peaceful

manner.

 

The Nine Forms of Devotion

 

Ananta Rao Patankar of Poona was a Vedic scholar. Though he read all

the Vedas, Upanishads and the eighteen Puranas he had no peace of

mind. He came to Shirdi and visited Baba. On seeing him he

experienced a lot of happiness, which he did not experience in his

life till then. He fell at Baba's feet and pleaded with him to show

compassion and bless him. Then Baba said, " Once a merchant came to

me. He wanted to put some questions to me but could not do so. He was

looking straight at me. Just then a mare in front of him passed

stools in the shape of nine balls. The merchant collected all the

nine balls and put them in his upper cloth by which he was able to

concentrate his mind and thus have peace. " But the scholar Patankar

did not understand the analogy between peace of mind and the nine

balls. A devotee, Dada Kelkar, at the instigation of Baba, explained

the significance of the story as follows.

 

" Merchant means a person having special qualities not found in

ordinary people, a Jnani. A mare means God's Grace. Nine balls of

horse's excretion means nine kinds of devotion. The devotee in search

of God should fix his mind on the Sadguru, and serve the Guru

sincerely. Then God will pity him and show him the nine devotional

ways. The devotee can choose any one of the nine ways and reach God.

The nine ways are :

 

1.Shravan - Hearing divine stories and reading the Puranas.

2.Kirtan - Singing devotional songs in praise of the greatness of

God.

3.Smaran - To recollect what one had heard through Shravan, and-

always remembering them.

4.Pada Seva - Worship of the feet and prostration.

5.Archana - Different kinds of rituals performed daily.

6.Namaskar - Bowing the head in respect, and salutation.

7.Dasya - Doing service to God like a servant.

8.Sukhyatva - Considering God as a friend and making friendship.

9.Atma Nivedan - Surrendering one's life and Atma to God.

 

Devotion is of nine kinds. As we progress and the mind begins to

settle down, we can worship God in all the nine ways. Let us make

sincere efforts to reach God through the nine devotional ways like

the Jnani in the story.

 

The Story of Avasthe

 

P.R. Avasthe was a judge at Gwalior. Hearing of the greatness of Baba

through Rege, he wanted to see him. In 1914, on his way to

Pandharpur, he came to Shirdi along with Rege. Those were the days of

the First World War. These two were traveling by train from Gwalior

to Manmad. When the train reached Mhow where there were a large

number of troops, all the passengers in the train were asked to

alight so as to enable the transport of the troops. Avasthe and Rege

also had to get off the train. They prayed to Baba to help them. In

the meantime the Military Commander came and after inspecting their

carriage told them that this was too small to accommodate the troops

and told them that they need not get down. The whole night Avasthe

sang devotional songs and prayed to Baba. They reached Shirdi the

next day morning. When they went to the mosque to see Baba, he asked

Rege who the unstable devil with him was. He said, " They tried to

disembark my children from the train. But I told the captain that you

are my children and let them come to me. But this Avasthe was by my

side the whole night, calling `Baba! Baba! "

 

From the above incidents we learn that Baba always protects the

devotees who fully believe in him. Previously Avasthe had a Yogini as

his Guru. He thought that now if he started worshipping and serving

Baba, he might be considered as unfaithful to the Yogini who was his

Guru. But Rege told him that his Guru was also integrated in Sai Baba

who is considered to be the incarnation of God and Guru for the

entire world (Jagatguru). Hence, if he worshipped Sai Baba it amounts

to worshipping his Guru Yogini. But Avasthe desired to have some

proof of this. For the afternoon Aarti, he took a rice ball kept in a

small vessel covered with a cloth. He thought within himself that if

Baba personally asked and took the rice ball, then he would

definitely belief that his Guru Yogini was also in Baba. He started

climbing the steps of Dwarakamayi when the rice-ball fell down

accidentally. What he had wanted to keep as a secret became public.

When he was picking up the rice ball from the floor, Baba called him

and asked him to give it to him and said that he in turn would send

it to the person for whom it was intended. Avasthe felt very happy.

His Guru Yogini had attained Samadhi long back. He decided to have

Baba as his Guru. Even afterwards Avasthe used to come to Shirdi and

consult Baba whenever he wanted advise in worldly matters;

spiritually also he advanced much by seeking Sai's advise.

 

Accepting Sai Baba as Guru

 

From the above story, the moral we learn is - If the devotees of Sai

have had some other Gurus previously, and so think that they are

being unfaithful to them, if they treat Sai Baba as their Guru now,

no such doubt need be entertained by them, since Sai Baba is the Guru

of Gurus, Samartha Sadguru King of Gurus and yogis. He has powers to

command the entire world and also to control the five elements. If

any disciple of a Guru comes under protection of Sai, the Guru will

be pleased. Some gurus with an eye on the wealth and power of their

disciples, will try to create some unpleasant situations with some

concocted stories.

 

Baba also was not for changing Gurus. He always checked to see what

type of disciple he was and under what circumstances he had left his

previous Guru and come to him. There are a number of disciples who

would worship a particular Guru or God for some time and if they did

not gain anything, they would change their Gurus or Gods. They would

run to the Guru or God who fulfilled their wishes. Such persons are

after material benefits and not spiritual advancement, being without

faith and patience. When they came to Baba, he would tell them, " What

is required for you is not another Guru. If you cannot have

undeterred devotion and gratitude towards your Guru, but come to me,

no useful purpose will be served and you cannot benefit anything.

Therefore, first of all you should learn how to serve your own Guru

in the correct manner and do not keep changing your Guru. " To those

who approached Shirdi Sai Baba and saw his greatness personally, and

were unable to surrender themselves completely, our appeal to

them: " Previously there was no Guru equal to Sai Baba. In future also

we cannot get such a Guru. Let us prostrate to this Satchidananda

Samartha Sadguru, and request him to make us understand this true

Avatar, before we complete the Parayana of his Life History. We will

also pray to him to see that we have abundant devotion for him with

his devotion lasting our lifetime. When the life goes out of our body

our kith and kin and material things do not come with us. We also

pray to Sai to be with us in our solitary journey and to give us

Moksha or higher form of life in the next birth and be with us in all

the future births.

 

" Om Shanti! Shanti! Shantihi "

 

Chapter XVIII

 

The Story of Two Goats

 

That was the month of May in the year 1909. Geographically situated

at a higher altitude, Shirdi had acute shortage of water during

summer months. The severe summer made the people very uneasy. In the

nights the villagers slept outside in the open though there was no

breeze. But in the early hours there was a cool breeze, which the

villagers enjoyed very much, thinking it to be God-sent. The morning

climate was pleasant like the innocent smile of babies laughing.

 

Baba was going from Dwarakamayi towards Lendi Bagh. Behind him were

Shama, Tatya, Balashimpi, Bhagoji Shinde and others.

 

Just then a heard of goats passed that way. Baba caught hold of two

goats from the herd. Bhagoji Shinde went to assist Baba. He talked

with the owner of the herd and purchased the two goats for Rs.32. The

actual cost of the two coats would not be more than Rs.7. Baba

ordered for five seers of chana dal (Bengal gram) and fed the goats.

Seeing the strange behaviour of Baba, Shama questioned him about

this. Baba replied, " I have neither a house nor family and therefore

I should not accumulate wealth. " Even then Tatya and Shama were

discussing seriously among themselves about the transaction. Baba

gave away the two goats to the owner of the herd. Baba explained his

strange actions and also the story of the two goats, to the devotees

thus; " These two goats were humans in their previous births. They

were with me for some time. They were brothers born to the same

mother and were affectionate in the beginning. As they grew up,

enmity grew between them. The younger brother earned a lot of money

with his intelligence. The elder brother, out of jealousy, tried to

kill his brother and steal all his money. In this way the two

brothers tried to kill each other. At last both of them died at the

same place and time by killing each other. Because of their actions

in the previous birth, now they are born as goats. When they were

passing by me, I recognised them and drew them near to me. From the

happy human life they have come down to animal life in this birth and

are suffering. In view of their connection with me in their previous

births, I wanted to keep them with me and make their lives happy. But

you all made a fuss about my transaction and so I returned them to

their owner. "

 

From the above-mentioned story of the two goats we learn two things.

If we indulge in enmity and quarrels, we will come down from human

life to animal life in our next birth. Though the goats were with him

in the previous birth, Baba could not keep them with him because his

present colleagues started murmuring. We must always do things, which

are liked by all around us, and not hurt the feelings of those who

are with us.

 

Hari Kanoba

 

A resident of Bombay, Hari Kanoba, on hearing the greatness of Baba

came to Shirdi to test the greatness of him. When he went to the

mosque he put on his best dress, wore new footwear and sprayed scent

on his dress. He did not know where to keep his costly footwear

before entering the mosque. He kept them in a corner near the mosque

and went in. He waited till his turn came and greeted Baba with

folded hands. Baba gave him udi as prasad. All the while he was in

the mosque, his mind was on the new footwear left outside and not on

Baba. When he came out of the mosque, he was shocked to find his new

footwear missing. Then he began thinking - on hearing of Baba's

greatness he had come, but lost his footwear and blamed Baba for what

had happened. He went to his room. While he was eating a boy with a

stick, at the end of which the footwear was tied, was announcing

loudly " Hari Ka Beta, Zari Ka Peta " , meaning son of Hari and sporting

zari headgear. Kanoba came out of his room on hearing the

announcement and found his new footwear on the stick carried by the

boy. He called the boy and on enquiry he was told that Sai Baba had

given him the footwear and asked him to go round the place announcing

as stated and if someone responded to this, then to give the footwear

to him.

 

Kanoba then went inside the room and brought and showed the zari

headgear to the boy, and claiming the footwear, felt immensely happy.

He thought that Baba might have known his name and about the zari

headgear. But how could he know about his father's name? Thus Kanoba

who had come to test Baba, found him to be of all-pervasive.

 

Fakir Maddhu Shah

 

In the year 1913, Madhu Shah, a resident of Meerin village near

Jalgaon, came to Shirdi and requested Baba for Rs.700, which was

urgently required for a good cause. At the instance of Baba, Jog gave

Rs.700 in coins to two youths, Lakshman and Gulab with a direction to

give this money to Maddhu Shah. But the youths gave only Rs.500 to

the fakir, Maddhu Shah, and kept for themselves the balance of

Rs.200.

 

Maddhu Shah told Baba that he received only Rs.500. Baba appearing

not to have taken note of it, gave the fakir udi as prasad and sent

him away. The fakir traveled for about two miles and was near

Neemgaon, when a Tahsildar named Erun Shah, passed in a Tonga. On

seeing the fakir he got down from the Tonga, gave the food packet he

was carrying and also Rs.200. The fakir took the money and food

packet, and feeling very happy, continued his journey after some

rest.

 

Erun Shah, the Tahsildar, reached Shirdi and stayed in the house of

Tatya Patil. He told him about a dream he had. In his dream someone

told him, " Come to Shirdi in a Tonga. On your way near Neemgaon you

find a fakir with a tiger skin on him. Give him Rs.200 and also some

food. " He finding such a fakir near Neemgaon he gave him Rs.200 and

some food.

 

Six months after the above-mentioned incident, the two youths,

Lakshman and Gulab, came to Erun Shah and gave him Rs.1000 each in

some other connection. That day again Erun Shah had a dream. Someone

told him in his dream, " In your dream about six months back, as per

my direction you gave to a fakir Rs.200. Today, I am giving you ten

times that. " What moral we learn from this story is, Baba collected

ten times the amount from Lakshman and Gulab, which they had

misappropriated, not caring for Baba's instructions and made the two

youths pay to Erun Shah, who obeyed Baba's instructions, ten times

the money he had paid to the fakir. Those who steal God's money will

have to pay back ten times that during this birth or in the future.

Under any circumstances one should be willing to spend for God but if

one is tempted to take God's money then one will have to suffer.

 

Desiring Mantropadesa from Baba

 

An old woman called Radha Bai Deshmukh treated Baba as her Guru and

she wanted to have Mantropadesa and also Atma Sakshathkaram. With

this determined desire, she went to Shirdi and requested Baba to

teach her mantras. But Baba kept silent. Then she went on a fast and

decided not take food or water till Baba taught her mantras. Her fast

continued for three days and she became very weak. Shama noticed this

and fearing that Baba might get a bad name if anything happened to

her, requested Baba to interfere in the matter and save the woman.

 

The Baba sent for her and told, " Mother, I am like your child, You

are like my mother. Why are you undergoing this agony and desiring

death? I am a fakir. Show kindness to me. My Guru was a

great `Satpurush'. When I approached him, he asked me two coins as

Dakshina. They are not ordinary coins. One is shraddha (faith) and

the other is saburi (patience). Shraddha means faith, doing work

correctly and saburi means patience - equanimity in the face of

difficulties. As soon as he asked for them, I improved these two

qualities in me and gave them to my Guru as Dakshina. He immediately

got my head tonsured and accepted by Dakshina.

 

When my Guru was in meditation, I used to sit in front of him, and

then focus my eyes on his face, without diverting it on other

matters; this went on for days, forgetting hunger and thirst. He also

used to look at me with love. On such occasions we used to be full of

mutual love and happiness. I could not withstand our separation even

for a moment. There was no other goal for me except my Guru He also

desired to have my love only and nothing else. He used to radiate his

affection on me always.

 

" I will never tell a lie sitting in this mosque. My Guru did not tell

me any mantra in my ear. So I cannot also give any advice to you. If

you want to have me as your Guru, you must behave as I did in the

case of my Guru. Keep me as the goal for your thoughts and ideals.

See me with undeterred sincerity and I will also see you in the same

manner. Some drawbacks and pressures in life will try to separate us.

Without yielding to such things you should exercise patience and be

happy. Unless you act like this, you cannot reach your life's goal.

You need not bother about the four kinds of practices, six Shastras

or eight kinds of yoga. With strong devotion, if you serve your Guru

that is enough. This is the only true thing that my Guru taught me. "

 

These nectar-like words of Baba changed the heart of the old woman

and she gave up the fast. That day Baba made her sit next to him and

eat her food.

 

Sai's philosophy is about mantras, Poojas and procedures coming down

from ages, and also the blind beliefs. What are required to be given

to Sai Baba are our heart, mind and ego. When we offer these three to

our Guru, then the five senses will lose their power. A person who

controls the five senses will be deemed to have won the world. As

advised by Baba, if we focus our eyes on the Guru, some changes will

take place in our body. Let us see what these changes are. All our

senses will desire external pleasures. This is the natural tendency

of the senses. But if we concentrate our mind on the Guru, then the

mind will not stray. Then the desires will disappear and the mind

will be focused on Guru only. In the olden days they did penance to

achieve this only. If we concentrate our mind on Guru keeping this as

our life's aim, then this is equivalent to penance.

 

Ekalavya could learn and master the arts of warfare, by concentration

of his mind and meditation on Dronacharya. Baba's teaching about

devotion to Guru is also like penance. Keep these in mind and read

the words of Baba once more. In these days, where weaker sections of

our society cannot do sacrificial rites, Sai who descended from

Kailas has shown this easy way to attain Moksha. Wishing all the

readers will go in the Sai Marga and enjoy peace and happiness.

 

" Om Shanti! Shanti! Shantihi "

 

To be continued…