“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.
Category: Complete Surrender
Full faith can be seen as the foundation of belief, whereas complete surrender is the action taken based on that belief
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Blessed knows the greatness of his Guru
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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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Would You like to come with me?
“I will show you what you want,
but he alone who believes in what I say,
will be successful”
Baba’s Guru to Baba
SSSC-Ch 32
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Mahlsapaty
Mahlsapathy is the First & top most person in Sai Baba’s Court-Member of King’s Dharbar, and one among the VIBGYOR* member of Baba’s Dharbar.
Sai Baba stayed at one Chandbhai’s [headman of Dhoopkheda village] home for some days. The nephew of Chandbhai’s wife got betrothed to a girl from Shirdi. So, Baba came to Shirdi in that wedding procession, in 1872.
The marriage party had alighted at the pounding grounds, near Khandoba’s (incarnation of Shiva) temple, outside the village. When Baba went to the Khandoba temple, He met Mhalsapaty there.This Mhalsapaty was a resident of Shirdi and a goldsmith. As he was a devotee of Khandoba, and regular visitor of Khanderaya (Deity of Jejuri, who is also Khandoba), since many generations. As soon as Mhalsapaty saw Him, he welcomed Him with the words: “Welcome Sai”. Then, all the devotees of Sai Baba called Him “Sai Baba or Sai or Baba”.
Mhalsapati brought Sai Baba into the village and introduced Him to his friends Kashiram Shimpi and Appa Jagale. These three usually served, according to their capacity, the sadhus, saints , fakirs and ascetics visiting the village, and graciously took care of them.Baba was an absolute “Vairagya Purusha” and never cared for wealth or women. Mahlsapalhy, being himself highly detached i.e. of a vairagya temperament and not being overned by lust or other low urges, could easily appreciate Baba, from the very beginning was drawn to Baba;
when other people began to worship Baba, only when they saw Baba’s psychic powers e. g. when he turned water into oil to feed his lamps, and then they regarded him as God.
An important event in Mahlsapathy’s life that was- “Baba’s trying to leave his body about 1886 and returning to it three days later”.
Baba had made him the guardian of his body and told him, “Arre Bhagat, look after this body for three days. I am going to Allah. If I do not return, then get it buried in due course at that place, (that is, near the sacred gode neem tree).”
Mahlsapathy supported Baba’s body on his own knee, and when officers, including the village headman karnam, etc., held an inquest over the body, declared it dead, and wanted it to be buried. Mahlsapathy with the help of others stoutly opposed their proposal, and saved Baba from losing his body.
Thus, he rendered a valuable service in 1886, after which Baba lived for 32 years to create this huge Sai movement that has covered this World.
If Mahlsapathy had failed in his duty, and Baba had been buried, perhaps the course of history might have been different.
‘Whatever a person thinks of at the time of death he reaches’. When Mahlsapathy’s death was approaching, he retained full-consciousness and control of his mind.
That was on 11th Sep 1922, Monday (in the month of Badrapada, Ekadasi Somavara, sacred to Shiva and Khandoba), having finished all his puja, he said to his family, ‘To-day is my father’s Shraddha day. Finish cooking soon. To-day, I close my earthly life and go to Heaven’.
So, a Brahmin came and finished the Sraddha at once; and finished the gift of balis to crows, cows, etc, and guests were fed. Then the family meals were finished.
Mahlsapathy took betel and nuts after his meal. After chewing a bit, he put on a kupni. Having near him, Bala Gurav, Ramachandra Kothe, etc., he told them all to do Ramachandrajapa Japa.
Muhlsapaty said to his son that ‘Spend time piously in Uttama Bhakti Marga i.e. in holy devotion. All that I told you will happen.” Then Mahlsapathy uttered the word ‘Ram’ and breathed his last.
Thus he passed away in calm, faith and cheerfulness, on the 11th September 1922. This death was a fitting termination to a pure, lofty and dedicated life—a life of Love, faith and total surrender.
His remains are interred in a tomb at Shirdi, which is still worshipped by many.
* 1. Mahlsapathy 2. Narayan Govind Chandorkar 3. Das Ganu Maharaj 4. H.S. Dixit, 5. Hemadpant 6. Sri Upasani Baba and 7. G.S. Khaparde.
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Have you promised God?
You may be worried because you have promised Me something, and later, you are tempted to break your word.
Now, do not hesitate. When you promise that you will not smoke, or will not attend films, the promise must be clear, firm and complete.
I do not gain by your promise nor do I lose, if you break it.
You gain self-confidence, you gain strength, you gain moral fibre, you gain Ananda: Yes, your Ananda is My Food. So, I gain, too!
The snows on the mountain peaks soften during the day as a result of the Sun; they harden during the night since the Sun is absent. So too, your hard heart hardens Me; your soft hearts soften Me.
Understand this: Each of you knows the love of a single mother only.
But My affection, My love towards every one of you is that of a thousand mothers! Do not deny yourself of that affection, that love, by denying Me your Love!
– Divine Discourse by Puttaparti Satya Sai Baba, on Oct 04, 1970. -
Depressed as to why God gave troubles and sorrows?
Every act in this world, the tiniest one, is happening as per the Divine Will. A particular act of God may bring you some inconvenience or sorrow. That is at your individual level.
But in God’s creation, there is nothing like sorrow. Whatever God does is for the welfare of humanity.
Some people feel depressed and wail as to why God gave them troubles and sorrows. But sorrows and difficulties are our own making. God does not differentiate or cause trouble to anyone. Sorrows and difficulties are only your feelings.
Everything in God’s creation is meant to provide happiness and convenience to the living beings. That is what I have been repeatedly emphasising. Whether you are in sorrow or enjoying happiness, always think that everything is for your own good.
One has to develop a firm conviction that whatever God does is for one’s own good and not to trouble one. Unable to realise this truth, man experiences all sorts of difficulties and sorrows.
One has to strive to recognise the truth underlying God’s creation.
– Divine Discourse by Puttaparti Satya Sai Baba, Oct 17, 2004.
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FURTHER RESULTS OF WORSHIP-III Doctrine of Devotion
The One Stages, further up in Devotion:
The devout reader would like to have a further sketch of the nature and the works of devotion at this stage . So, we may refer to Sri Adi Sankaracharaya who, describes what Bhakti is as the
i) seeds of the or plant are re-grasped by the parent tree,
ii) parent magnetic block attracts needles one behind another,
iii) Chaste wife clasps her husband,
iv) tendril (creeper) clings to the adjoining tree and mounts upward and upward,
v) waters of the rivers are for ever drawn downward and downward, till they reach the ocean and get inextricably and indistinguishably lost in it,
similarly the heart of the devotee longs after the Divine feet of Pasupati, God Siva to be ever there. This is called Bhakti.
Each illustration takes bhakti one stage further up.
I. Ankolam – even vegetables is to get back to the original source and get reabsorbed in it. Similarly, we are parts/ sparks from God, must reach the original source of all creation, namely, God.
II. Magnetic stone -a string of even seven needles might be found attached one behind another to a big magnet. Similarly every growing bhakta tends to attract others and impart his devotion to them; and through them to others ad infinitum.
III. Chaste wife longs for her husband, and even his slightest absence for even a short period makes her full of unrest, (EVEN now, wife calling husband frequently and asking Where are you? When are you coming? etc.). Similarly The Bhagavata treats all devotees as females, Gopis, and the only male in the Universe is Krishna.
iv) The creeper– go further and further upward and upward till the top of the tree is reached, to get more light from the Sun, more of air and more of freedom and safety from animals. Similarly, devotee tends to mount up higher and higher in his spiritual levels to achieve nobler and nobler objects; and to transform himself into more and more of the like-ness of God, till he reaches full Sarupyam, Sameepyam and Sayujyam (Bliss)
v) Rivers – The waters of the rivers were originally part of the ocean, and after being held up in the form of water vapour, cloud and rain, they take the shape of a river. Similarly Purnalaya is the end of the devotion and that is obtained by the Jivas surrendering themselves, that is, making Atma-nivedana, which is the ninth mode mentioned in the Navavidha bhakti.
That is both devotion and also absorption. After that there is nothing further to reach. Thus the various stages, attitudes, and relations of a bhakta can be very well dwelt upon and learnt by studying the above illustrations and applying them to oneself.
Loving bhaktas/ Important Devotees:
The Names of a number of loving bhaktas; so that they may ever remain in one’s heart and show how bhakti achieves its ends. The end of bhakti is not achieved by the offer of money to God or by mere learning or by age or beauty of a person, God does not want any of these. “God wants only your heart, that is, your self”,
As ,
1. For the hunter Kannappa, what Achara or religious course of conduct had he?
2. For Dhruva, what was his age? (At the age of 5, God appeared before him. Also His name is given to Pole Star)
3. For the elephant Gajendra, what education or degrees and titles had he?
4. Had Vidura (favourite of Krishna) any qualification in respect of caste? He was the son of a slave dancing girl.
5. For the king of Yadavas called Ugrasena, who was favoured by Krishna what manliness had he? He was a great coward
6. For Kubja also was favoured by Krishna, had she any great beauty? She was deformed in person.
9. For Sudhama, known as Kuchela ( favoured by Krishna), had he any wealth?
God is pleased by bhakti/Devotion alone and bhakti can capture Him. This contains the essence of the doctrine of bhakti or devotion
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Nine types of Devotion
Nine forms or types of Devotion (Bhakti) are, viz.,
- (1) Shravana (Hearing);
- (2) Kirtana (Praying);
- (3) Smarana (Remembering);
- (4) Padasevana (resorting to the feet);
- (5) Archana (Worship);
- (6) Namaskara (Bowing);
- (7) Dasya (Service);
- (8) Sakhyatva (Friendship);
- (9) Atmanivedana (surrender of the self). These are the nine types of Bhakti.
If any of these are faithfully followed, Lord Hari will be pleased and manifest Himself in the home of the devotee.
All the sadhanas, viz. Japa (vocal worship), Tapa (penance), and Yoga practice are quite useless. Studying the scriptures and expounding them are also quite useless. These activities need to be accompanied by Bhakti, i.e., devotion. Knowledge of the Vedas, or fame as a great Jnani, and mere formal Bhajan (worship) are of no avail. What is wanted is Loving Devotion.
Think of yourself as someone searching for the truth. Be anxious and eager like the seeker to collect or cultivate the nine types of devotion. Then you will attain stability and peace of mind.
SSSC Ch 21
"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 