- There are of three kinds of disciples of a Guru:
- (1) First or Best
- (2) Second or Average and
- (3) Third or Ordinary.
- The best kind of disciples are those who
- guess what their Gurus want and
- immediately carry it out and
- serve them
- without waiting for an order from them.
- The average disciples are those who
- carry out the orders of their Masters to a letter,
- without any delay, and
- the third kind of disciples are those, who
- go on postponing the carrying out of their orders and
- making mistakes at every step.
- The disciples should have
- firm faith,
- backed up by intelligence
- and if they add patience to these,
- their spiritual goal will not be distant.
- Control of
- breath (ingoing and outgoing), or
- Hath-Yoga (Balancing Sun and Moon force of Human Body) or
- other difficult practices
- are not at all necessary.
- When
- the disciples get the above mentioned qualities,
- they become ready for further instructions and
- Masters then appear and
- lead them on, in their spiritual path to perfection.
Category: Art of living
Ia Good standard of Living in this Materialistic World
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Classification of disciples
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Various teachings and practices, prescribed by Baba
- Baba lovingly urged many to remember His name and to surrender to Him,
- Yet for those seeking to understand ‘who they truly were’ (the ‘Who am I’ enquiry), He gently recommended Shravanam (study) and Mananam (meditation).
- To some, He lovingly guided
- the remembrance of God’s name,
- to others, the joy of hearing HIS Leelas /Plays,
- to some, the sacred worship of His Feet,
- and to others, the reading and studying of the Adhyatma Ramayan, Jnaneshwari, and more sacred scriptures.
- Some He tenderly invited to sit near His Feet,
- while others He lovingly sent to Khandoba’s temple,
- He advised some
- to repetition the thousands of names of Vishnu,
- and others to engage in the study of the Chhandogya Upanishad and Geeta.
- To some, He offered His guidance directly in person, and to others, through the precious visions in their dreams.
- He lovingly explained certain Mantras, such as ‘Guru Brahma’, “Raja Ram’ in their dreams.
- To one devotee,
- who was earnestly practicing Hath-Yoga,
- HE conveyed a gentle message to leave those practices aside,
- to sit in quiet and embrace patience (Saburi).
- Truly, it is an immense task to describe all of His ways and methods, each filled with love and compassion.
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Sense of differentiation is the barrier to Happy or Union
“If anybody wants any money from you, and you are not inclined to give, do not give, but do not bark at him, like a dog.
Let anybody speak hundreds of things against you, do not resent by giving any bitter reply. If you always tolerate such things, you will certainly be happy.
Let the world go topsy-turvy, you remain where you are. Standing or staying in your own place, look on calmly at the show of all things passing before you.
Demolish the wall of difference that separates you from Me; and then the road for our meeting will be clear and open.
The sense of differentiation, as I and thou, is the barrier that keeps away the disciple from his Master, and unless that is destroyed the state of union or atonement is not possible, “Allah Malik”
Baba in SSSC-Ch 18 & 19
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If any men or creatures come to you, do
- “Unless there is some relationship or connection, nobody goes anywhere.
- If any men or creatures come to you, do not discourteously drive them away,
- but receive them well and treat them, with due respect.
- Shri Hari (God) will be certainly pleased, if you give
- water to the thirsty,
- bread to the hungry,
- clothes to the naked, and
- your verandah (Platform outside to House) to strangers for sitting and resting. “
It is on account of Rinaubandh (former relationship) that we have come together, let us love and serve each other and be happy. He, who attain the supreme goal of life, is immortal and happy”
Baba in SSSC-Ch 18 & 19
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Wants to get rid of cycle of births and deaths?
- Baba, as a God incarnated in this divine form,
- “if any devotee
- meditates on Him
- day and night with
- complete self-surrender,
- they will joyfully experience
- profound union (without any difference) with Him,
- like the delight of sweetness and sugar, the harmony of waves and sea, the togetherness of eye and its sight.
- He, who aspires to transcend the cycle of births and deaths,
- should embrace a righteous life,
- with a calm and composed mind.
- Engaging in good actions is essential,
- diligently fulfilling his duties and
- surrendering himself, heart and soul, to Baba.
- With this dedication, he need not fear anything at all.
- Those who place their trust in Him completely, hear and share His Leelas/play, and focus solely on Him, are surely destined to attain the bliss of Self-realization.
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Now, How to visualize Baba
- Let us remember and visualize Shri Sai, now.
- Let us go to Shirdi, and see carefully the programmes, after the noon-Arati. After the Arati ceremony was over, Sai used to
- come out of the Masjid, and
- standing on its edge,
- distribute udi to the devotees with
- very kind and loving looks.
- The Bhaktas also got up with equal fervour,
- clasped His Feet, and
- standing and staring at Him,
- enjoyed the shower of Udi.
- Baba
- passed handfuls of Udi into the palms of the devotees and
- marked their foreheads with Udi with His fingers.
- The love He bore for them in His heart was boundless. Then He addressed the Bhaktas as follows:-
- “Oh Bhau, go to take your lunch;
- you Anna, go to your lodgings;
- you Bapu, enjoy your dishes”.
- In this way He accosted each and every devotee and sent them home.
- Even now, you can enjoy these sights if you bring into play your imagination. You can visualize and enjoy them.
- Now bringing Sai before our mental vision, let us meditate on Him, from His Feet upwards to His face, and prostrating before Him humbly, lovingly and respectfully
Baba in SSSC-Ch20
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Blessed knows the greatness of his Guru
“Make me the sole object of your thoughts and actions. You will, no doubt, attain Paramartha (the spiritual goal of life).
Look at me whole-heartly; and I, in turn, look at you.
Sitting in this Masjid, I speak the truth, nothing but truth.
No sadhana or proficiency in the six Shastras, is necessary. Have faith and confidence in your Guru. Believe that, Guru is the sole Actor or Doer.
Blessed is he, who knows the greatness of his Guru and thinks him to be Hari, Hara and Brahma (Trimurti -Gods) Incarnate.”
Sai Baba in SSSC-Chapter 18 & 19.
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Baba’s treasury is full
“My treasury is full, and I can give anyone, what he wants,
but I have to see whether he is qualified to receive My gift.
If you listen to Me carefully, you will be certainly benefited.
While sitting in this Masjid, I never speak any untruth”
Baba in SSSC-Ch 16&17
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Dearth of persons asking for spiritual matters
“Oh, My dear friend, do not be anxious, I shall immediately show you the Brahman; all My dealings are in cash and never on credit.
So many people come to Me, and ask for wealth, health, power, honour, position, cure of diseases and other temporal matters.
Rare is the person, who comes here to Me and asks for Brahma-Jnana. There is no dearth of persons asking for wordly things, but as persons interested in spiritual matters are very rare”
Baba to avaricious Man in SSSC -Ch21 When ask him to “surrender five things to get self-realization”
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Who, When, How and Why Shri Sai SatCharitra (SSSC) created?
- When seeking facts about Sai Baba,
- the remarkable work that stands out is ‘Sai Satcharitra’ by HemadPant, known as Anna Saheb Dabolkar.
- It is written in the Marathi language.
- This wonderfully crafted poetical masterpiece spans 53 vibrant chapters and over 1000 pages, narrating incidents from Sai Baba’s inspiring life.
- Written in rich and expressive Marathi, it beautifully fulfills the purpose of Puranic study, serves daily parayana.
- It offers readers a path to deeper understanding and devotion.(LoSB p6)
- Baba conveyed his heartfelt blessing to Hemadpant in 1916, when asked permission to write Baba’s life teachings and expressions,
- by providing him with udhi and placing his Asirvada hand upon Dabolkar’s head, proclaiming,
- “Let him compile a collection of My stories and experiences,
- diligently maintaining notes and memos.
- I shall assist him in this endeavor.
- He is merely an external instrument. It is I who should document my life and fulfill the aspirations of my devotees.
- When his ego is entirely extinguished, leaving no remnants, I shall personally enter within him to narrate my life.
- Listening to my stories and teachings will instill faith in the hearts of devotees, facilitating their journey toward self-realization and eternal bliss.“
- Hemadpant diligently gathered information concerning the lilas of Baba and, as a proficient writer possessing a profound command of Marathi verse and prose, along with a solid foundation in religious literature,
- aspired to compose a comprehensive study of Baba’s lilas, thereby creating a significant chronicle of Baba’s life.
- This endeavor would align with the framework established by Saraswati Gangadhar’s Guru Charitra, offering solace and happiness to individuals burdened with sorrow and the afflictions stemming from worldly existence.
- Additionally, it would provide them with Jnana, or knowledge and wisdom, regarding both temporal and spiritual matters.
- Baba’s lilas would serve as both instructive and engaging, akin to the Vedas,
- and, upon contemplation, they would facilitate laya, or union with Brahman, as well as mastery of Yoga and Yoga Ananda.
- Consequently, he resolved to compile these narratives, considering the publication as a form of upasana, or worship, of his Guru.
- This collection would be particularly invaluable to those unable to experience Baba in person, allowing them to form an understanding of Baba through this compilation.
- Baba’s teachings and expressions were the natural outcome of his boundless self-realization; it was Dabolkar’s belief that Baba himself inspired this initiative to gather and present his life’s essence.(P376. )
Shri N.V.Gunaji adapted the above Shri Hemanpant’s “Sri Sai SatCharita” and translated into English and donated the entire proceeds to the Sai Sansthan Trust, Shirdi.
- When seeking facts about Sai Baba,
"I draw to Me, My man from far off or even across the seven Seas to Shirdi, like a sparrow with a string fastened to its feet"-Shirdi Sai Baba, Indian Spiritual Guru-God 