Which is The Easiest Path?

Hearing the stories of the Saints and Being in their Company

Though Sai Baba acted outwardly like an ordinary man, His actions showed extraordinary intelligence and skill. Whatever He did, was done for the good of His devotees.

He never prescribed any asan, regulation of breathing, or any rites to His Bhaktas. He did not blow any mantra into their ears.

He told them to leave off all cleverness and always remember “Sai” “Sai”. “If you did that” He said, “all your shackles would be removed and you would be free”.

Sitting between five fires, sacrifices, chantings, eight-fold Yoga are possible for the Brahmins only. They are of no use to the other classes.

The function of the mind is to think, it cannot remain for a minute without thinking. If you give it a Sense-object, it will think about it.

If you give it to a Guru, it will think about Guru. You have heard most attentively the greatness, grandeur of Sai. This is the natural remembrance, worship and Kirtan of Sai.

Hearing the stories of the Saints is not so difficult, as the other Sadhanas mentioned above. They (stories) remove all fear of this Samsar (worldly existence), and take you on to the spiritual path. So listen to these stories, meditate on them, and assimilate them. If this is done, not only the Brahmins, but women and lower classes will get pure and holy.

You may do or attend to your worldly duties. Give your mind to Sai and His stories. Then, He is sure to bless you.

This is the easiest path, but why do not all take to it? The reason is that without God’s grace, we do not get the desire to listen to the stories of Saints.

With God’s grace everything is smooth and easy. Hearing the stories of the Saints is, in a way, keeping their company.

The importance of the company of Saints is very great. It removes our body-consciousness and egoism. It destroys completely the chain of our birth and death. It cuts asunder all the knots of the heart. It takes us to God, Who is pure Consciousness.

It certainly increases our non-attachment to sense-objects, and makes us quite indifferent to pleasures and pains, and leads us on the spiritual path.

If you have no other Sadhana, such as uttering God’s name, worship or devotion etc., but if you take refuge in them (Saints) whole-heartedly, they will carry you off safety across the ocean of wordly existence. It is for this reason that the Saint manifest themselves in this world.

Even sacred rivers such as the Ganges, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri etc., which wash away the sins of the world, desire that the Saints should come to them, for a bath and purify them. Such is the grandeur of the Saints.

It is on account of the store of merit in past births that we have attained the feet of Sai Baba.