“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.
Tag: Numbers in Baba’s life
Ob Numbers in Baba’s life and HIS messages
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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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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
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EIGHT
I
The life of Sai Baba is as wide and deep as the infinite ocean. All can dive deep into the same and take out precious gems (of knowledge and Bhakti). They can then distribute them to the aspiring public.
The stories, parables, and teachings of Sai Baba are very wonderful. They will give peace and happiness to the people. These people are afflicted with sorrows and heavily loaded with miseries of this worldly existence.
They will also bestow knowledge and wisdom, both in the worldly and in spiritual domains. If these teachings of Sai Baba, which are as interesting and instructive as the Vedic lore, are listened to and meditated upon, the devotees will get, what they long for, viz., union with Brahman, mastery in eight-fold Yoga, Bliss of meditation etc
II
Bow with all our eight limbs to Sai Baba, Who is an ocean of mercy, the God incarnate, who is Para-Brahman and the great Yogeshwara (Lord of Yoga). Victory be unto Sai Baba, Who is the crest-jewel of the Saints.
He is the home of all auspicious things. He is our Atmaram (Dear Self). He is the able refuge of the devotees. We prostrate ourselves before Him, Who has attained the aim and end of life.
III
Hemadpant has given us a novel form of worship.
- Let us, he says, use hot water in the form of tears of joy to wash the Sad-guru’s feet,
- let us besmear His body with sandle-paste of pure love,
- let us cover His body with the cloth of true faith,
- let us offer eight lotuses in the form of our eight Sattwik emotions and fruit in the form of our concentrated mind;
- let us apply to His head bukka (black-powder) in the form of devotion and tie the waistband of Bhakti and place our head on his toes.
- After decorating the Sad-guru with all jewelry in this way, let us offer our all to Him and wave chamar of devotion to ward off heat.
- After such blissful worship, let us pray thus:-
“Introvert our mind. Turn it inward. Give us discrimination between the Unreal and the Real. Enable us to have non-attachment for all worldly things. Thus, enable us to get Self-realisation.
We surrender ourselves, body and soul (body-consciousness and ego). Make our eyes Yours, so that we should never feel pleasure and pain. Control our body and mind as You will and wish. Let our mind get rest in Your Feet”.
IV
See where and how Baba slept:
Mr. Nanasaheb Dengale brought, for Sai Baba, a wooden plank, amount 4 cubits in length and only a span in breath, for sleeping upon. Instead of keeping the plank on the floor and then sleeping on it, Baba tied it like a swing to the rafters of the Masjid with old shreds or rags and commenced to sleep upon it.
The rags were so thin and worn out that it was a problem how they could bear or support even weight of the plank itself, let alone the weight of Baba. But somehow or other-it was Baba’s sheer Leela that the worn out rags did sustain the plank, with the weight of Baba on it.
On the four corners of this plank, Baba lighted panatis (earthen lamps), one at each corner, and kept them burning the whole night. It was a sight for the Gods to see Baba sitting or sleeping on this plank!
It was a wonder to all, how Baba got up and down the plank. Out of curiosity, many careful observers kept watching the process of mounting and dismounting, but none succeeded. As crowds began to swell so to detect this wonderful feat, Baba one day broke the plank into pieces and threw it away.
Baba had all the eight Siddhis (powers) at His command. He never practiced nor craved for them. They came to Him naturally, as a result of His perfection.
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Four Sadhana for Four Ages
Baba’s Stories as Beacon- Light:
- Light houses are constructed at various places in the sea, to enable the boatmen to avoid rocks and dangers, and make them sail safely. Sai Baba’s stories serve a similar purpose in the ocean of worldly existence.
- They surpass nectar in sweetness, and make our worldly path smooth and easy to traverse. Blessed are the stories of the saints.
- When they enter our hearts through the ears, the body-consciousness or egoism vanishes. The sense of duality disappears. When they are stored in the heart, doubts fly out to all sides. Pride of the body will fall. Wisdom will be stored in abundance.
- The description of Baba’s pure fame and hearing it with love will destroy the sins of the devotee. Therefore, this is the simple Sadhana for attaining salvation.
- The Sadhana for
- Krita Age was Shamadama (tranquility of mind and body); for
- Treta Age, sacrifice; for
- Dwapara, worship, ;and for
- Kali (present) Age, it is singing of the name and glory of the Lord. This last Sadhana is open to all the people of the four varnas.
- The other Sadhanas, viz. Yoga/Yagya (sacrifice), Dhyana (meditation) and Dharana (concentration) are very difficult to practice, but singing and hearing the stories and the glory of the Lord (Sai Baba) is very easy.
- We have only to turn our attention towards them. The listening and singing of the (Baba’s) stories will remove the attachment to the senses and their objects, and will make the devotees dispassionate, and will ultimately lead them to self-realization.
- With this end in view, Sai Baba made me or helped me[ie Hemapant] to write His stories. The devotees may now easily read and hear these stories of Sai Baba. While doing so, they can meditate on Him and His form. Thus, they attain devotion to Guru and God (Sai Baba). They also gain detachment and self-realization.
If any one prostrates before Sai and surrenders heart and soul to Him, then unsolicited, all the chief (Four) objects of life viz. Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth), Kama (Desire) and Moksha (Deliverance), are easily and unsolicitedly attained. SSSC Ch-6
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SIX
Lord or Bhagwan (GOD) is said to have six qualities, viz. (1) Fame, (2) Wealth, (3) Non-attachment, (4) Knowledge, (5) Grandeur, and (6) Generosity. Baba had all these in Him. He incarnated in flesh for the sake of the Bhaktas. Wonderful was His grace and kindness!
-LoSB: Ch X
BABA said that “My Guru never expected any other thing from Me. He never neglected Me, but protected Me at all times. I lived with him, and was sometimes away from him; still I never felt the want or absence of his love. He always protected Me by his glance, just as the tortoise feeds her young ones, whether they are near her or away from her on the other side of the river bank, by her loving looks. Oh mother,
My Guru never taught Me any Mantra, then how shall I blow any Mantra in your ears? Just remember that Guru’s tortoise-like loving glance gives us happiness. Do not try to get Mantra or Upadesh from anybody.
Make Me the sole object of your thoughts and actions; and you will, no doubt, attain Paramartha (the spiritual goal of life) . Look at Me whole-heartedly, and I in turn look at you similarly. Sitting in this Masjid, I speak the truth, nothing but the truth.
No Sadhanas, nor proficiency in the Six Shastras, are necessary. Have faith and confidence in your Guru. Believe fully, 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) Incarnate.”
-LoSB: Ch XVII
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Seven
There was a gentleman named Mr. Sathe, who had attained some publicity many year ago during Crowford Regime, which was put down by Lord Reay, the then Governor of Bombay.
He suffered servere losses in trade. Other adverse circumstances gave him much trouble, and made him sad and dejected. Being restless, he thought of leaving home; and going out to a distant place.
Man does not generally think of God, but when difficulties and calamities overtake him, he turns to Him and prays for relief. If his evil actions have come to an end, God arranges his meeting with a Saint, who gives him proper directions regarding his welfare.
Mr. Sathe had similar experience. His friends advised him to go to Shirdi, where so many people were flocking to get Sai Baba’s darshan, for getting peace of mind and the satisfaction of their wants. He liked the idea, and at once came to Shirdi in 1917.
Seeing Baba’s Form, which was like Eternal Brahma, Self-luminous, Spotless and Pure, his mind lost its restlessness and became calm and composed. He thought, that it was the accumulation of merits in his former births, that brought him to the Holy Feet of Baba.
He was a man of strong will. He at once started to make a parayana (study) of Guru-charitra. When the reading was finished in the saptaha (seven days), Baba gave him a vision that night. It was to this effect: Baba with Guru- charitra in His hand was explaining its contents to Mr. Sathe, who was sitting in front and listening carefully. When he woke up, he remembered the dream and felt very happy.
He thought that it was extremely kind of Baba. Who awakens souls like his that are snoring in ignorance, and makes them taste the nectar of Guru-charitra.
Next day, he informed Kakasaheb Dixit of this vision, and requested him to consult Sai Baba regarding its meaning or significance — whether one saptah (seven days) reading was sufficient or whether he should begin again. Kakasaheb Dixit, when got a suitable opportunity, asked Baba –
“Deva (Oh God), what did you suggest to Mr. Sathe by this vision? Whether he should stop or continue the saptaha? He is a simple devotee, his desire should be fulfilled and the vision explained to him, and he should be blessed.”
Then Baba replied – “He should make one more saptah(seven days) of the book; if the work be studied carefully, the devotee will become pure and will be benefited, the Lord will be pleased and will rescue him from the bondage of the mundane existence.”
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One simple remedy
I request the readers to leave out the various hindrances viz. indolence, sleep, wandering of mind, attachments to senses, etc. and turn their whole and undivided attention to these stories of Sai Baba.
Let their love be natural, let them know the secret of devotion;
let them not exhaust themselves by other Sadhanas, let them stick to this one simple remedy, i.e. listening to Sai Baba’s stories. This will destroy their ignorance and will secure for them Salvation.
A miser may stay at various places; but he always thinks of his buried treasure. So let Sai Baba be enthroned in the hearts of all.
SSSC Ch-III
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Three Wadas (Big Building)
(1) The site with the Neem tree and surrounding space was bought by Mr. Hari Vinayak Sathe, and on this site a big building styled Sathe’s Wada was erected, at Shirdi Gurusthan
This Wada was the sole resting place for pilgrims, who flocked there. A Par (platform) was built round the neem tree and lofts with steps were constructed.
Under the steps, there is a niche facing south and devotees sit on the Par (platform) facing north. It is believed, that he who burns incense there, on Thursday and Friday evenings will, by God’s grace, be happy. This Wada was old and dilapidated and wanted repairs. The Sansthan has made the necessary repairs, additions and alterations now.
(2) Then after some years another Wada, Dixit’s Wada was constructed. Kakasaheb Dixit, Solicitor of Bombay, had gone to England. He had injured his leg by an accident there. The injury could not be got rid of by any means. Nanasaheb Chandorkar advised him to try Sai Baba. So he saw Sai Baba in 1909 A.D., and requested Him to cure rather the lameness of his mind than that of his leg.
He was so much pleased with the darshana of Sai Baba that he decided to reside in Shirdi. So he built a Wada for himself and other devotees. The foundation of this building was laid on 10-12-1910.
On this day, the night Arti in Chavadi was commenced.
The Wada was complete and was inhabited on the Rama- Navami day in 1911 A.D., with due rites and formalities.
(3) Then 3rd Wada or palatial mansion was put up by the famous millionaire, Mr. Booty, of Nagpur.
Lots of money was spent on this building, but the entire amount was well utilized, as Sai Baba’s body is resting in this Wada, which is now called the Samadhi Mandir.
The site of this Mandir had formerly a garden, which was watered and looked after by Baba. Three Wadas thus sprang up, where there was none formerly. Of these, Sathe’s Wada was most useful to all, in the early days.
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