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Sai
Baba’s Sanction and Promise - Assignment of Work to
Devotees - Baba’s Stories as Beacon - Light - His
Motherly Love - Rohilla’s Story - His sweet and Nectar -
like Words.
Sai
Baba’s Sanction and Promise
As
described in the previous chapter, Sai Baba gave His
complete assent to the writing of the Sat-Charita and
said, "I fully agree with you regarding the writing
of Sat Charita. You do your duty, don’t be afraid in the
least, steady your mind and have faith in My words. If My
Leelas are written, the Avidya (nescience) will vanish and
if they are attentively, and devoutly listened to, the
consciousness of the worldly existence will abate, and
strong waves of devotion, and love will rise up and if one
dives deep into My Leelas, he would get precious jewels of
knowledge."
Hearing
this, author was much pleased, and he at once became
fearless and confident, and thought that work was bound to
be a success. Then turning to Shama (Madhavrao Deshpande)
Sai Baba said.
"If
a man utters My name with love, I shall fulfill all his
wishes, increase his devotion. And if he sings earnestly
My life and My deeds, him I shall beset in front and back
and on all sides. Those devotees, who are attached to Me,
heart and soul, will naturally feel happiness, when they
hear these stories. Believe Me that if anybody sings My
Leelas, I will give him infinite joy and everlasting
contentment. It is My special characteristic to free any
person, who surrenders completely to Me, and who does
worship Me faithfully, and who remembers Me, and meditates
on Me constantly. How can they be conscious of worldly
objects and sensations, who utter My name, who worship Me,
who think of My stories and My life and who thus always
remember Me? I shall draw out My devotees from the jaws of
Death. If My stories are listened to, all the diseases
will be got rid of. So, hear My stories with respect; and
think and meditate on them, assimilate them. This is the
way of happiness and contentment. The pride and egoism of
My devotees will vanish, the mind of the hearers will be
set at rest; and if it has wholehearted and complete
faith, it will be one with Supreme Consciousness. The
simple remembrance of My name as ‘Sai, Sai’ will do
away with sins of speech and hearing".
Different
Works Assigned to Devotees
The
Lord entrusts different works to different devotees. Some
are given the work of building temples and maths, or ghats
(flight of steps) on rivers; some are made to sing the
glories of God; some are sent on pilgrimages; but to me
was allotted the work of writing the Sat Charita. Being a
jack-of-all-trades but master of none, I was quite
unqualified for this job. Then why should I undertake such
a difficult job? Who can describe the true life of Sai
Baba? Sai Baba’s grace alone can enable one to
accomplish this difficult work. So, when I took up the pen
in my hand, Sai Baba took away my egoism and wrote Himself
His stories. The credit of relating these stories,
therefore, goes to Him and not to me. Though Brahmin by
birth, I lacked the two eyes. (i.e. the sight or vision)
of Shruti and Smriti and therefore was not at all capable
of writing the Sat-Charita, but the grace of the Lord
makes a dumb man talk, enables a lame man to cross a
mountain. He alone knows the knack of getting things done,
as He likes. Neither the flute, nor the harmonium knows
how the sounds are produced. This is the concern of the
Player. The oozing of Chandrakant jewel and the surging of
the sea are not due to the jewel and the sea but to the
rise of the moon.
Baba’s
Stories as Beacon- Light
Light
houses are constructed at various places in the sea, to
enable the boatmen to avoid rocks and dangers, and make
them sail safely. Sai Baba’s stories serve a similar
purpose in the ocean of worldly existence. They surpass
nectar in sweetness, and make our worldly path smooth and
easy to traverse. Blessed are the stories of the saints.
When they enter our hearts through the ears, the body -
consciousness or egoism and the sense of duality vanish;
and when they are stored in the heart, doubts fly out to
all sides, pride of the body will fall, and wisdom will be
stored in abundance. The description of Baba’s pure
fame, and the hearing of the same, with love, will destroy
the sins of the devotee and, therefore, this is the simple
Sadhana for attaining salvation. The Sadhana for Krita Age
was Shamadama (tranquillity of mind and body), for Treta
Age, sacrifice, for Dwapara, worship, and for Kali
(present) Age, it is singing of the name and glory of the
Lord. This last Sadhana is open to all the people of the
four varnas (Brahmins, etc.). The other Sadhanas, viz.
Yoga, Yagya (sacrifice), Dhyana (meditation) and Dharana
(concentration) are very difficult to practice, but
singing and hearing the stories and the glory of the Lord
(Sai Baba) is very easy. We have only to turn our
attention towards them. The listening and singing of the
stories will remove the attachment to the senses and their
objects, and will make the devotees dispassionate, and
will ultimately lead them to self-realization. With this
end in view, Sai Baba made me or helped me to write His
stories, Sat-Charitamrita. The devotees may now easily
read and hear these stories of Sai Baba and while doing
so, meditate on Him, His form and thus attain devotion to
Guru and God (Sai Baba), get detachment and
self-realization. In the preparation and writing of this
work, Sat-Charitamrita, it is Sai Baba’s grace which has
accomplished everything, making use of Me as a mere
instrument.
Motherly
Love of Sai Baba
Everybody
knows how a cow loves her infant calf. Her udder is always
full and when the calf wants milk and dashes at the udder,
out comes the milk in an unceasing flow. Similarly a human
mother knows the wants of her child and feeds it, at her
breast in time. In case of dressing and adorning the
child, the mother takes particular care to see that this
is well done. The child knows or cares nothing about this,
but the mother’s joy knows no bounds, when she sees her
child beautifully dressed and adorned. The love of mother
is peculiar, extraordinary and disinterested, and has no
parallel. Sadgurus feel this motherly love towards their
disciples. Sai Baba had this same love towards me, and I
give an instance of it below: -
In 1916
A.D. I retired from Government Service. The pension that
was settled in my case was not sufficient to maintain my
family decently. On Guru-Pournima (15th of Ashadha) day of
that year, I went to Shirdi with other devotees. There,
Mr. Anna Chinchanikar, of his own accord, prayed to Baba
for me as follows: - "Please look kindly on him, the
pension he gets is quite insufficient, his family is
growing. Give him some other appointment, remove his
anxiety and make him happy." Baba replied - " He
will get some other job, but now he should serve Me and be
happy. His dishes will be ever full and never empty. He
should turn all his attention towards Me and avoid the
company of atheists, irreligious and wicked people. He
should be meek and humble towards all and worship Me heart
and soul. If he does this, he will get eternal
happiness".
The
question Who is this HE, Whose worship is advocated, is
already answered in a note on "Who is Sai Baba"
in the prologue, at the beginning of this work.
Rohilla’s
Story
The
story of the Rohilla illustrates Sai Baba’s all
embracing love. One Rohilla, tall and well built, strong
as a bull, came to Shirdi, wearing a long Kafni (robe) and
was enamoured of Sai who stayed there. Day and night he
used to recite in a loud and harsh tone Kalma (verses from
Holy Koran) and shout "ALLAH HO AKBAR" (God is
Great). Most people of Shirdi were working in their fields
by day and when they returned to their homes at night,
they were welcomed with the Rohilla’s harsh cries and
shouts. They could get no sleep and felt much trouble and
inconvenience. They suffered in silence this nuisance for
some days, and when they could stand it no longer, they
approached Baba, and requested Him to check the Rohilla
and stop the nuisance. Baba did not attend to their
complaint. On the contrary, Baba took the villagers to
task, and asked them to mind their own business, and not
the Rohilla. He said to them that the Rohilla had got a
very bad wife, a Zantippi, who tried to come in and
trouble the Rohilla and Himself; but hearing the
Rohilla’s prayers, she dare not enter and they were at
peace and happy. In fact, the Rohilla had no wife and by
his wife Baba meant DURBUDDHI, i.e. bad thoughts. As Baba
liked prayers and cries to God better than anything else,
He took the side of the Rohilla, and asked the villagers
to wait and suffer the nuisance, which would abate in due
course.
Baba’s
Sweet and Nectar-like Words
One
day at noon after the Arti, devotees were returning to
their lodgings, when Baba gave the following beautiful
advice:-
"Be
wherever you like, do whatever you choose, remember this
well that all what you do is known to Me. I am the Inner
Ruler of all and seated in their hearts. I envelope all
the creatures, the movable and immovable world. I am the
Controller - the wirepuller of the show of this Universe.
I am the mother - origin of all beings - the Harmony of
three Gunas, the propeller of all senses, the Creator,
Preserver and Destroyer. Nothing will harm him, who turns
his attention towards Me, but Maya will lash or whip him
who forgets Me. All the insects, ants, the visible,
movable and immovable world, is My Body or Form".
Hearing
these beautiful and precious words, I at once decided in
my mind to serve no man henceforward, but my Guru only;
but the reply of Baba to Anna Chinchanikar’s query
(which was really mine) that I would get some job began to
revolve in my mind, and I began to think whether it would
come to happen. As future events showed, Baba’s words
came true and I got a Government job, but that was of
short duration. Then I became free and solely devoted my
self to the service of my Guru-Sai Baba.
Before
concluding this Chapter, I request the readers to leave
out the various hindrances viz. indolence, sleep,
wandering of mind, attachments to senses, etc. and turn
their whole and undivided attention to these stories of
Sai Baba. Let their love be natural, let them know the
secret of devotion; let them not exhaust themselves by
other Sadhanas, let them stick to this one simple remedy,
i.e. listening to Sai Baba’s stories. This will destroy
their ignorance and will secure for them salvation. A
miser may stay at various places; but he always thinks of
his buried treasure. So let Sai Baba be enthroned in the
hearts of all.
In the
next chapter, I shall speak of Sai Baba’s advent in
Shirdi.
Bow
to Shri Sai - Peace be to all
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