- A human body is better than other bodies–
- Despite its filth, mucus, and susceptibility to decay, disease, and death, the human body’s special value lies in its capacity to acquire knowledge and attain God-vision, which is impossible in any other birth.
- Love is better than intelligence-
- The pure love of Shirdi women, despite their ignorance, inspired them to compose poems, implying that love is more inspiring than intelligence.
- Giving food is better than other charities-
- While other charities like giving away wealth, property, and clothes require some discrimination, offering food requires no such consideration.
- Also, the merit of feeding lame, crippled, blind, and diseased paupers is much greater than that of feeding able-bodied persons and relations.
- Butter-milk (Leelas) is better than Milk (Darshan)-
- If one desires to see Sai Baba’s but they did not get any opportunity of taking His darshan, their quest for milk (darshan) will be, to a great extent, satisfied by the butter-milk (Leelas).
- Remembering and chanting Hari’s and Guru’s name confers salvation is better than getting the powerful Bhakti of the Nathas-
- one Madhavarao did not like Kakasaheb’s pessimistic attitude of how to get the powerful Bhakti of the Nathas, as he said, ‘has not Baba told us authoritatively that remembering and chanting Hari’s and Guru’s name confers salvation? Then where is the cause for fear and anxiety?’
- The observance of the vow of silence is the best way of praising the Sad-guru-
- In reality, the observance of the vow of silence is the best way of praising the Sad-guru.
- Having recourse to Sai Baba’s Feet and surrendering to Him is the best luck-
- The best luck is to get an opportunity to have recourse to Sai Baba’s Feet and surrender to Him, than any other
Category: Order
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Where certain actions or entities are considered better than others
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Time is Divine
Give up the notions of one’s own doership, man must regard God alone as the doer.
He is the giver, He is the recipient and He is also the object that is given.
Time is the very form of God. Birth and death are encompassed by Time. Everyone, therefore, should regard Time as Divine and utilise it for performing sacred actions.
You should not waste a single moment. Time wasted is life wasted.
The fruits of your actions are determined by Time. All your experiences are the results of your actions, whether it is happiness or sorrow, affluence or poverty. Hence, good and bad depend on what you do. As are your actions, so are the fruits thereof.
The way you utilise your time determines the outcome.
Hence, this new year, which is a form of the Divine, should be put to right use.
– Puttaparti Satya Sai Baba in the Divine Discourse on Jan 01, 1991 -
Take pity and love all creatures
- “God lives in all beings and creatures, whether they are serpents or scorpions.”
- HE is the Great Wirepuller of the world: and all beings, serpents, scorpions etc obey His command.
- Unless He will it, nobody can do any harm to others.
- The world is all dependent on Him, and no one is independent.
- So we should take pity and love all creatures, leave off killings and be patient (until the serpent went off on its own, but keeping you in safe).
- The God is the Protector of all.”
Baba in SSSC-Ch 22
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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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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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Characteristic of Shirdi – Pilgrimage
Blessed is Shirdi and blessed is Dwarkamayi where Shri Sai lived and moved until He took Mahasamadhi.
Blessed are the people of Shirdi, whom He obliged and for whom He came such long distance.
Shirdi was a small village at first. It attained great importance due to His contact. It became a Tirtha, a holy place of pilgrimage.
Equally blessed are the womenfolk of Shirdi, blessed is their whole and undivided faith in Him. They sang the glories of Baba while bathing, grinding, pounding corn and doing other house- hold work. Blessed is their love, for they sang sweet songs which calm and pacify the minds of the singers and listeners.
One special peculiarity of Shirdi-pilgrimage was this, that none could leave Shirdi, without Baba’s permission;
- and if he did, he invited untold sufferings,
- but if any one was asked to quit Shirdi, he could stay there no longer.
- Baba gave certain suggestions or hints, when Bhaktas went to bid good-bye and take leave. These suggestions had to be followed.
- Accidents were sure to befall those who did not follow Baba’s directions. Problems occurred if they departed from them..
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Baba gave varied instructions
Sometimes Baba observed long silence which was, in a way, His dissertation on Brahman; at other times He was Consciousness-Bliss Incarnate, surrounded by His devotees.
Sometimes He spoke in parables, and at other times indulged in wit and humour. At times, He was quite unambiguous (clear) and at times He seemed enraged. Sometimes He gave His teachings in a nut-shell, at other times He argued at length.
Many a time He was very plain. In this way, He gave varied instructions to many, according to their requirements.
His life was, therefore, inscrutable, beyond the ken of our mind, beyond our intellect and speech. Our longing to see His face, to talk with Him and hear His Leelas was never satisfied; still we were overflowing with joy
SSC Ch22
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What to do, If any man or creature come to you?
“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 to strangers for sitting and resting.
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” i.e.
God is the sole Proprietor, nobody else is our Protector. His method of work is extra-ordinary, invaluable, and inscrutable. His will will be done and He will show us the way, and satisfy our heart’s desires.
It is on account of Rinaubandh (former relationship) that we have come together, let us love and serve each other and be happy.
"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 