| Sai Satchritra
- Chapter III
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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