Sheet-Anchor of Everyone By Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji

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Sheet-Anchor of Everyone

By Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji

I Found God

I opened the shell of life, and discovered the brightest pearl-God.

I broke the almond of the world, and tasted the sweetest kernel-God.

I caused the bud of Truth blossom, and reveal rare charm and

fragrance-God.

By His grace all things possible. Seek the grace and be blessed.

 

Sai Baba made His sudden appearance at Shirdi under a Margosa tree while

He was in His teens. Even at that early age Baba had developed

extraordinary spiritual powers. He was not affected by heat or cold,

wind or rain or by any of the dwandas. He was almost always in a state

of trance in the Nirvikalpa Samadhi. The people of Shirdi wondered as to

how a very young man of His age could possess such wonderful yogic

powers. The saint then began to reside in an old dilapidated mosque at

Shirdi.

 

Baba in His life worked many miracles and thus convinced many people of

His greatness. His love for humanity knew no bounds. He had realised

that God is love. He constantly preached that in order to reach the

abode of God one should have real and sincere love and bhakti. To those,

who went to Him for spiritual illumination and for the cure of their

physical sufferings, He gave His nectar-like udi saying Allah bhale

karega. The sufferer did become all right very soon.

 

He made no distinction between this man and that man. To Him all were

equal. The poor man was as much entitled to His love and attention as

the rich man. The saint first satisfied the worldly desires of the

people who went to Him in order to attract them to Himself. He then

gradually purified the minds of His bhaktas and turned them slowly but

surely towards spiritual desires. He thus made His devotees fit for

realizing God and attaining mukti. He very often said, " Why should any

one suffer when I am here? "

 

People belonging to different castes and creeds began to flock to Him in

large numbers for spiritual advice. The saint had the same respect for

all castes and creeds. He strongly advised His bhaktas not to forsake

the Gods of their faith, but to worship them in all sincerity and

devotion. He preached that the goal of all the religions was one and the

same, namely the attainment of mukti. He was not a believer in

proselytism. In fact, He discouraged conversion from one faith to

another. He was a great advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity and worked with

might and main for the realization of this great ideal.

 

The Hindus worshipped the saint in accordance with their sastric modes,

using mantras in the worship. The saint had a deep knowledge of the

Hindu scriptures as well as of the Quran, the scripture of the

Mohammedans. He often expounded the tenants of these religions in a

wonderful way to His devotees. He often gave money to poor Mohammedan

pilgrims for pilgrimage to Mecca. The holy name of Allah was always on

the lips of Sai Baba. He gave His pictures and Padukas to His Hindu

devotees and asked them to worship them. He exhorted the Mohammedans, to

perform their Namaz regularly and without fail. He deprecated strongly

the idea of a man praising his own religion and belittling the religion

of another.

 

It is Sai Baba who has proclaimed in unequivocal terms from the hilltop

of His spiritual eminence, " Why do you fear when I am here? Cast off all

your burdens on Me, I will bear them. " Surely, spiritual history cannot

boast of a greater and noble declaration than the one made by the saint

of Shirdi. This great declaration is the sheet anchor of every devotee's

hope of attaining mukti.

(Source Shri Sai Padananda July 2001)