Offerings to Shirdi Saibaba

Sairam friends,

I have 5 minutes to write this.  Every day I used to offer a glass of water after lighting lamp to Sai and all the Gods in my Pooja place. I love doing this especially because It makes me feel lively. There are Sai devotees who live in a place where they cannot do regular pooja or offer any sweet or other food. You can to offer any little food in a small plate to Sai, After sometime, you can have it prasad. If not, you can simply have a separate Glass to offer water to Sai and after few minutes drink it as prasad.

I mix udi in the water and give it for my parents to drink.

Sai accepts offerings to him done with love and devotion as the biggest gift a devotee could give him. Once there was a very old women who came to see Saibaba by walk all the way to Shirdi. It was after 1910 when there was huge crowd to see Saibaba. The old women could not stand in the que and was feeling dizzy. Looking at this women, Tarkad held her by shoulder and took her to saibaba.

Sai asked the old women “What did you bring for me?”

She replied “Baba, I brought a bread and onion to offer you. On the way, I was too tired. Hence I ate half loaf of bread and now have another half to offer you.”

Sai took the half loaf of bread and immediately had it as if its the sweetest delicious food he can have.

From this leela we can understand Saints show differentiation in taste. Saints considers every offering we do with love as the most delicious meal and have it happily. Here, we can understand its not what we give/offer to sai. Its in how deeply we are devoted to Sai when we offer it.

Many times Sai asks our inner enemies – Ego, anger and other bad qualities to be offered as dakshina to him.

Sai, You are my heart. You are my soul

Tata

Venkat