In the Sree Sai Samartha Satcharita, several incidents in Shirdi Sai Baba’s life and teachings directly address anxiety, generalized worry, overthinking, and feeling mentally overwhelmed.
Below is a list of these incidents and Baba’s specific guidance:
1. Dharamsi Jethabhai Thakkar: Overthinking and Imaginary Burdens
- The Incident: Dharamsi, a wealthy solicitor from Bombay, was financially prosperous and free from physical ailments, yet he was constantly caught in “needless anxieties” and “imaginary problems,” carrying an unnecessary mental burden wherever he went.
- Baba’s Intervention: When Dharamsi visited Shirdi, Baba narrated a parable about a prosperous but fickle-minded man who carried unnecessary burdens and wandered without peace, advising him: “Keep your faith in any one place. Why do you unnecessarily roam like this? Stick quietly to one place.”. Realizing Baba was revealing his exact mental state, Dharamsi’s doubts and chronic anxiety vanished instantly.
2. Gopal Narayan Ambdekar: Mental Overwhelm and Despair
- The Incident: After losing his job and enduring seven years of severe financial hardship, Ambdekar became utterly depressed and mentally overwhelmed by his family’s plight. In 1916, he traveled to Shirdi and intending to commit suicide by jumping into a well.
- Baba’s Intervention: As Ambdekar sat at night waiting for a quiet moment to end his life, Sagun Meru Naik handed him a book on Akkalkot Maharaj’s life. Ambdekar opened it randomly to a story of a suffering devotee who tried to drown himself in a well; Akkalkot Maharaj pulled him out and taught that past karma must be endured rather than escaped through suicide. Ambdekar recognized Baba’s omnipresent guidance working through the book, abandoned his suicidal plan, and found mental fortitude.
3. Anantrao Patankar: Intellectual Overthinking vs. Peace of Mind
- The Incident: Anantrao Patankar had thoroughly studied the Vedas, Upanishads, Vedangas, and Puranas, yet his mind remained constantly restless, anxious, and despondent despite his vast academic knowledge.
- Baba’s Teaching: Baba gave him a humorous parable of a merchant collecting “nine balls of horse stool”. The nine balls represented Navavidha Bhakti (the nine forms of devotion). Baba demonstrated that bookish overthinking and intellectualizing bring no peace; only surrendering through pure devotion calms an agitated, overthinking mind.
4. Kakaji Vaidya: Mental Turmoil and Fickleness
- The Incident: Kakaji Vaidya suffered severe mental turmoil and agitation due to continuous adverse times. He prayed to Goddess Sapta Shringi, who directed him in a dream to seek out Baba to quiet his mind.
- Baba’s Intervention: When Kakaji arrived in Shirdi and took darshan, Baba did not utter a single word, ask any questions, or grant formal blessings. Yet, mere physical presence at Baba’s feet caused Kakaji’s mental restlessness and fickleness to evaporate immediately, filling him with deep peace.
5. Bapusaheb Butti: Restlessness Over Astrological Predictions
- The Incident: An astrologer named Nana Dengle warned Bapusaheb Butti that an inauspicious day had arrived and predicted a calamity or death, leaving Butti deeply restless and worrying constantly.
- Baba’s Assurance: When Butti sat in the Masjid, Baba immediately confronted his fear, asking: “Well, what does this Nana say? Does he predict your death? You have nothing to fear.”. Baba dispelled his fear and protected him when a venomous snake appeared later that night.
6. Radhabai Deshmukh: Anxious Obsession and Fasting for a Mantra
- The Incident: An elderly woman, Radhabai Deshmukh, came to Shirdi anxious to receive a secret Guru-mantra from Baba. She undertook an inflexible three-day fast, refusing food and water, prepared to die if she did not receive it.
- Baba’s Teaching: Baba called her and shared his own spiritual journey: His Guru demanded only two pice—Nishta (Faith) and Saburi (Patience/Perseverance)—rather than secret mantras. Baba explained that patience (Saburi) is the true courage of a human being that wards off worries, anxieties, and fears, calming her mind and leading her to surrender.
7. Bhimaji Patil: Fear of Death and Severe Disease
- The Incident: Afflicted with incurable tuberculosis, coughing blood, and exhausted by failed medical treatments, Bhimaji Patil arrived at Shirdi in deep despair and terror of dying.
- Baba’s Assurance: When Bhimaji fell at Baba’s feet, Baba smiled compassionately and said: “Sit down and stop worrying. Wise people do not worry. No sooner you stepped into Shirdi, your destined miseries have got over… he who climbs the steps of the Masjidmai will ride on a wave of happiness.”. Baba cured his disease through dream-visions.
8. Core Teachings of Baba on Overcoming Worry & Anxiety
Throughout the text, Baba repeatedly provided timeless principles for dealing with mental overwhelm:
- The Command to remain Cheerful: “Do not worry in the least. Remain always cheerful. Do not have any anxieties until death.”.
- Endurance and Equanimity: When Dr. Pillai was in agonizing pain from guinea-worms and begged for death, Baba taught: “What has been destined must be borne with equanimity. One should not be confounded like this… Good or bad, pleasure or pain, come as per destiny. Be neither happy nor miserable.”.
- Mind Control over Sense Impressions: When Nana Chandorkar felt embarrassed and anxious after being mentally distracted by a passing beauty, Baba instructed: “Nana, why is your mind disturbed? Let the senses behave according to their inherent nature. Do not interfere… If there is no evil thought in us, why should one be afraid of anyone? The mind will get steady and calm, slowly and gradually.”.
