GOD, PLEASE MAKE ME LIGHT

NEVER RELY UPON USELESS HUMAN HELP

NEVER RELY UPON USELESS HUMAN HELP

 

As for Dixit's own financial position, there was, for a long time, a period of depression, but there was no positive distress. Contentment was ingrained in Dixit', and he was always saying to himself,

 

Tevile Anante, Tase Rahave, which is the same as

 

Alla Rakhega Vyso Rahena

 

Maula Rakhega Vysa Rahena

 

This means, 'We must be content with the lot assigned to us by God.' So, he was generally contented and retained his mental peace in the midst of lack of funds and income. However, special occasions arose and his faith in Baba was tested and confirmed. Sometime after Baba passed away, Kaka had to meet a heavy obligation of Rs. 30,000 to be paid to a Marwadi. The day for payment was drawing near, and Kaka could not see how to get funds for meeting this large demand. One night, as he was sleeping, he had a dream, and in his dream, his creditor was pressing him for payment. In the dream, he assured the creditor, "Oh, don't you fear. I have my friend Sir Chunnilal, Sir Chimanlal etc., all of them knights, and they will provide the money". Suddenly, he woke up and remembering the dream, he bitterly repented his stupid folly in relying upon 'Sir' this and 'Sir' that who are just persons who will fail to help at the crucial moment. He felt that the only person on whom he could rely for getting help was Baba, and cursed his folly in relying upon such useless human help. He resolved not to think of these 'Sirs' at all, and to rely confidently and boldly upon Sai Baba alone to furnish him with funds and that too in time. His views are thus expressed in stanza 343 of Sai Natha Mananam,

 

Nathe nah purushottame trijagataam

 

Ekadhipe chetasaam

 

Sveye swasya padasya datari Vibhow

 

Sayeescvare tishtati

 

Yam Kamchit purushadhamam

 

Laghubalam Sarakhyam Alpartadam

 

Sahyartham mrigayamahe naram aho

 

Mudha Varakaa vayam

 

Which means – "While there is our supporter Purushothama, i.e., the supreme person, the Lord of the three worlds, worthy of soul's worship, the omnipotent Sayiswara, we (i.e., I) turn to some weak and low persons with the title 'Sir' who gives little, for help! Alas what folly is this!"

 

He sat up in his office room on a chair and was waiting and waiting till the actual date of payment came. Till the last moment, no money was forthcoming. But at the last moment, a young man, the son of a rich friend of his, came asking for his advice. He said that after his father's death, he was managing his property, and had to find an investment for his money. He said, just then he had brought with him Rs. 30,000/- and wanted to know from Dixit what would be best investment. Kaka, after explaining the pros and cons of other investments, finally told him that he was in urgent need of Rs. 30,000/- and he would be glad to have it on any reasonable terms, but that it was his duty to explain to the lender that his practice had gone down, that his income was very low, though his properties in the shape of bungalows were there, and that it was his duty to point out the danger and disadvantage of lending to such person. The young man, however, made up his mind to lend the money to him on account of his being his father's friend, and thus the creditor of Dixit was paid in time. But who could know where the sum of Rs. 30,000/- was with a person with a mind to be influenced to lend it to Dixit? Baba alone could know. Baba alone could influence the possessor of the funds. It is just like this that at the crucial moment Baba acts often! For instance Baba operated on the minds of Brahmins to come to do Pitru Sraddha for Jog just at the neck of time. (BCS 377-8). He influenced the appellate Magistrate's mind to deal summary justice to his convicted servant Raghu. He influenced the minds of Government members to refrain from granting sanction against Khaparde for prosecution (BCS 402-5) He influenced the minds of all sundry to turn Upasani Maharaj back to Shirdi in June 1911 (BCS 635) It is this Baba who knows all facts and grips all minds who brought Kaka's friend's son in time with Rs. 30,000/- to clear off Kaka's debt, and Kaka had many instances like this confirming him in his attitude of utter childlike relations on his Guru even in financial matters.

 

Written by: HH Pujyasri B V Narasimha Swamiji

 

PRACTICAL HINTS ON SAI NAMA JAPA SADHANA

PRACTICAL HINTS ON SAI NAMA JAPA SADHANA

 

Beloved Sairam,

 

By now many of us experienced the miracle powers of Sai Nama Japa Sadhana in our life. This Sai Nama Japa Sadhana is a infinite, limitless and continues process and will go as long as this world exists. This japa sadhana is ageless tradition followed by our ancesters, being continued by us, and will be followed by our future generations too. In short, this spiritual sadhana will exist as long as the world exists.

 

Quantification of Maha mantra such as billions and trillion marks for a certain period of time is easily achievable, yet we are lacking the system of co-ordination and collection of information. The world had already crossed all those landmarks on Japa quantification. Recently Sai Sevak Sri SrinivasaRao Kasturi Garu sent me an e-magazine, 'Glory of Shirdi Sai' Volume-V. In that magazine, H H Saibhakta Ramdass Swamiji had written foreword message for the book "The Incridible Sai Baba - by Arthur Osborne" during 1957. This Saibhakta Ramdass Swamiji stressed the importance of Nama Japa Sadhana and leading many devotees towards this Nama Japa cult in India and abroad. His Anandashram in Kanhangad, Kerala recently published in their official journal 'The Vision' February 2003 issue, that they want to make 15 billion Nama Japa in one year period and achieved 5.5 billion up to December 2002.

 

Now let us consier some practical hints on Sai Nama Japa Sadhana. First of all, let us begine with Baba's words, "The simple remembrance of My name as "Sai, Sai" will do away with sins of speech and hearing. He alone knows the ways of getting things done, as he likes. Neither the flute, nor the harmonium knows, how the sounds are produced. This is the concern of the players. .... this is the simple Sadhana for attaining salvation." (Sri Sai Satcharitra Ch.III).

 

Baba said, Sai Nama Japa Sadhana is not only a simple Sadhana for a sadhaka but also Supreme Sadhana for our salvation. It is possible to make the mistake that only certain things in the world are aids in the realisation of truth, and that others are obstacles. But this is not true, because everything in the world is interconnected and it is not possible to divide the necessary from the unnecessary, the good from the bad, etc., except in a purely relative sense. The so-called unnecessary items or the useless ones are those subtle connections with our central purpose in life is not clear to our minds. This happens, when our minds are carried away by sudden emotions or spurts of enthusiasm.

It is impossible to concentrate on Sai Nama Japa Sadhana unless one has a firm conviction and faith that whatever one expects in this world can also be had from Japa Mantra; nay, much more than all these things which the world has as its treasures and values. It is difficult to have the vision of one's Aim of Life, when the mind goes out of meditation to whatever it longs for in the world. "If there be even a little trace of greed in mind, all the Sadhanas (spiritual endeavours) are of no avail. " (SSS Ch.XVI & XVII) "Being quite desireless, you should meditate on God, who is in all the creatures and when the mind is concentrated, the goal will be achieved". (SSS Ch.XVIII & XIX)

 

Hence, a deep study of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, the Srimad-Bhagavata, Sri Sai Satcharitra and such other scriptures is necessary to drive into the mind the conviction about the Supremacy of God.

 

Study or Svadhyaya, Japa of Mantras, and Meditation are the three main aspects of spiritual practice. Svadhyaya does not mean study of any book that one may find anywhere at any time. It means a continued and regular study, daily, of selected holy texts, or even a single text, from among those have been suggested above. A study in this manner, done at a fixed time, every day, for a fixed duration, will bring the expected result.

 

The Nama Japa of the Mantra should, in the beginning, be done with a little sound in the mouth so that the mind may not go here and there towards different things. The loud chant of the Mantra will bring the mind back to the point of concentration. Later on, the Japa can be only with movement of lips, but without making any sound. In the end, the Japa can be only mental, provided that the mind does not wander during the mental Japa. A convenient duration, say, half an hour, or one hour, should be set up at different times, so that the daily Japa Sadhana should be at least for three hours a day. It can be increased according to one's capacity, as days pass.

 

During Japa, the mind should think of the meaning of the Mantra, the surrender of oneself to the Deity of the Mantra, and finally, the communion of oneself with that Great Deity. Baba said, "I always think of him, who remembers Me." (SSS Ch. XL) Hence effort should be put forth to entertain this deep feeling during Japa, every day.

 

Meditation can be either combined with Japa, or it can be independent of Japa. Meditation with Japa means the mental repetition of the Mantra and, also, at the same time, meditating deeply on the meaning of the Mantra, as mentioned above. Meditation without Japa is higher stage where the mind gets so much absorbed in the thought of God, surrender to God and union with God, that in this meditation Japa automatically stops. This is the highest state of Meditation.

 

Throughout one's Sadhana, it is necessary to feel the oneness of oneself and the universe with God. Let us conclude this article by taking an advice from Sri Ramana Maharishi on Nama Japa Mantra sadhana. One devotee asked Maharishi, "Can people wipe out the consequences of their bad actions by doing Mantras or Japa or will they necessarily have to experience or suffer them?" then Maharishi replied, "If the feeling 'I am doing Japa' is not there, the bad actions committed by a man will not stick to him. If the feeling 'I am doing the Japa' is there, the consequences of bad actions will persist."

 

Beloved blessed Sai bandhus, please consider this important practical hint among other hints while performing Sai Nama Japa Sadhana.

 

OM SAI SRI SAI JAYA JAYA SAI

Ever yours

At the Feet of the Master

Sivanandam

(Courtesy: Glory of Shirdi Sai, Issue No. 6)

 

FEED HUNGRY – GOD WILL DO YOU GOOD

FEED HUNGRY – GOD WILL DO YOU GOOD

 

Sagun stayed away at Shirdi running a hotel and he wanted nothing. He then realized why Sri Tembe Swamiji Maharaj said that he was the man of a great darbar and what Sadhu meant when he said, fourteen years earlier, "When are you coming to me?"

 

Sagun Hotel was situated just opposite the place where pilgrims to Shirdi alighted. One such pilgrim was Tendulkar from Betul District. After taking bath, he had darshan of Sai Baba in the Masjid and he invited Baba to lunch with him. Baba smiled and kept quite. This went on for four of five days, and everyday Tendulkar ordered two meals, ate one and asked Sagun to keep one covered up.

 

One night at 10 o'clock Sagun was cleaning his vessels for milking his cows. A sadhu approached him and said, "Give me the meal kept for me." Sagun was a little surprised at his demand but served him cheerfully from what was kept covered up. After finishing his dinner, he said, "Call the man who ordered this for me". Sagun sent for Tendulkar but he was sleeping soundly and did not wake up. "Let it be", said the sadhu, "I belong to the Nath panth (Nath tradition). Be feeding the hungry like this. God will do you good."

 

All devotees of Sai Baba at Shirdi came to know of this incident. Shama asked Baba whether he went to Sagun for meal the previous night. Baba smiled and said, "I ate and returned. If anyone comes to us for food we should not turn him away. If we have nothing to give, atleast a little jaggery should be given."

 

(Written by: HH Pujya Acharya E Bharatwaja in Sai Baba the Master)

 

DEATH IS NOT ALWAYS AN EVIL

DEATH IS NOT ALWAYS AN EVIL

 

We have already seen how Baba looked after Kaka's daughter Vatsali when an almirah tumbled down upon her. How did the fall of the almirah, with the heavy articles inside, not hurt the girl? In Baba's Charters and Sayings #35, Baba says, "I will not allow my devotees to come to harm I have to take thought for my devotees. I stretch out my hands, four hands, at a time to support them".

 

There were some cases, however, in which Baba finds himself prevented from doing anything, and that is what happened finally in the case of Vatsali. When she was in Shirdi, she got fever and Dixit was simply trusting Baba. But this time instead of saving her, when the fever had far advanced, Baba appeared to her in her dream, and said, "Why should you be down here? Come and be lying under the margosa tree". This was ominous, and the very next morning, Baba asked Shama, "Is Kaka's girl dead?" Shama replied, "O, Deva, why are you speaking so inauspiciously?" Then Baba replied. "She will die in the afternoon." She did accordingly at that time.

 

To enable Dixit to beat the blow, Baba gave him prescription. Kaka took in his hands Bhavartha Ramayana and handed it over to Baba. Baba then dipped hands into the book, and opening it, at the page in Kishkinda kanda, where Rama kills Vali and consoles his widow, asked Kaka to read and digest the same.

 

When death is inevitable, Baba wants his devotees to be strong-minded enough to recognise the fact of its inevitability and bear the separation. Death is not always an evil. Baba conveyed this truth to Kaka at least on one other occasion.

 

An old woman with her only son was at Shirdi, and a cobra bit that boy. The old woman ran to Baba, and asked for udhi to save the life of her son. Baba did not give any udhi, and then the woman went out. But soon she returned beating her breast wailing aloud that her son was dead. She implored Baba to revive her son. Baba gave neither udhi nor other help, and said nothing. But Dixit was there. His sympathy was very much excited, and he requested Baba to help her, "The woman's plight is heartening. Please revive her dead son for my sake."

 

Baba replied, "Bhav, do not get entangled in this. What has happened is for good. He has entered a new body. In that body, he will do specially good work which cannot be accomplished in this body, which is seen here. If I draw him back into this body, then the new body he has taken will die, and this body will live. I will do this for your sake. Have you considered the consequences? Have you any idea of the responsibility, and are you prepared to take it up?" H. S. Dixit desisted from pressing his request.

 

The current idea of the worldly man that death is always evil is incorrect and the wise man is he who cares for life only as long as it lasts and meets death without fear when it comes.

 

 

Written by: HH Pujyasri B V Narasimha Swamiji

 

THERAPY OF THANKSGIVING

THERAPY OF THANKSGIVING

"Oh, Sainath, we do not know how to redeem Your obligations, therefore we prostrate ourselves before You, bless us poor helpless fellows, henceforth let Your holy feet be our sole refuge. Many thoughts and ideas trouble us in waking and dream states, so turn away our minds from them to Your bhajan and bless us." –Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch XLVIII.

Of a Sufi dervish it is said that, one day, as he took bath in a river, he was bitten in foot by a crocodile. Blood flowed freely out of the heel of his foot. He swam to the riverbank, as he sat there; he uttered the word of praise: "Shukur! Shukur!"

A man who witnessed the scene, was amazed at the strange behaviour of the man of God. To him he said: "How is it that even though bitten by a crocodile, you can still say, Shukur? What have you to feel grateful for?"

The dervish calmly answered: "I feel grateful to God that I fell into the mouth of the crocodile: I did not fall in sin!"

The dervish was a man of faith.

If your attention is on sufferings – they get magnified beyond all proportions. In the midst of suffering, let us count our blessings. Usually, we suffer only in one area of our life. There are so many other things for which we should be grateful. Take a piece of paper and make a list of all the blessings you still have. There was a man who started from scratch and build up a flourishing business but one day he becomes bankrupt. The first thing he did was to take up a sheet of paper and write down all the things he still possessed. He found, he still had a great deal to be thankful for. With gratitude in his heart, he started a new and builds up a larger business. If we count our blessings, our suffering recedes in the background.

In all conditions of life, let us thank the Lord. Let us make it a habit to praise the Lord at every step, in every round of life. Even in the midst of fear and frustration, worry and anxiety, depression and disappointment, let the words come out of the very depths of our hearts: "Thank you, God! Thank you, God!" And we will be filled with a peace that will amaze us. When we thank the Lord all the time, we build for ourselves a ladder of consciousness which we can climb and touch the very pinnacle of peace.

LET US PLEASE OUR MASTER

LET US PLEASE OUR MASTER

Baba said, "I had a Guru. He was a great Saint and most merciful. I served him long, very long; I had a keen desire, never to leave him but to stay with and serve him" in Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. XVIII & XIX.

Ragged boy with a violin under his arm once roamed the streets of a great European city. Because he had no home or family, he wandered from place to place for food and shelter.

This urchin had a strange gift for music. He had somehow gotten hold of a violin, and he stands on the street corners and play for the passing crowed. They were entranced by what they heard and would gather around to listen. When he had finished playing, they would toss some coins at his feet. In this way he made an honest but meagre living.

In the same city was a famous musician. One day he happened to pass by the place where the ragged boy was playing. His attention was arrested by the unusual quality of the music. He lingered until the crowd had passed on and then said to the little violin player, "Son, to whom do you belong?"

"I don't belong to anybody," the boy answered.

"Well, where do you live?" was the next question.

"I don't have any place to live. I just sleep on the streets and wherever I can."

The man thought for a moment and then said, "How would you like to be my boy and come to live with me" I'll teach you all I know about how to play the violin."

The boy's eyes sparkled through the dirt and grime, and he said, "Mister, I'd love it!"

So the great musician took him to his own home. He had him cleaned up and dressed up, and he became like a father to him. For several years he poured into the eager young mind and heart all that he knew about playing the violin.

Finally the boy was ready for his first public recital, and the word went out that a great new musical prodigy was about to appear on the concert stage. On the night of the performance the house was filled to capacity; even the balcony was packed.

At last the boy came out, put the violin beneath his chin, and began his concert. He played such music as the crowd had never heard before. At every pause there was deafening applause.

For some reason, however the boy did not seem to pay any attention to the ovation. He kept his eyes turned upward and played on and on. The audience was mystified by his strange manner. Finally one of the persons present said, "I don't understand why he is so insensible to all this thunderous applause. He keeps looking up all the time. I'm going to find out what is attracting his attention!"

Moving about in the concert hall, the observer found the answer. There in the topmost balcony was the old music master, peering over the banister towards his young pupil. He was nodding his head and smiling, as if to say "You are doing well, my boy; play on!"

And the boy did play on, not seeming to care whether the audience laughed or applauded. He kept his gaze upward. He was playing to please the Master only.

TAMASO MA JYOTIRGAMAYA….

He was taking a walk when he heard a stone cutter saying "thanks" at each hammer stroke. "My good man" the poet asked, "Whom are you thanking?"

"God."

"Had you been wealthy, I would think it only natural for you to thank God, but God thought of you only once when He made you, He then gave you a hammer and has not thought of you any more."

"You claim that God thought of me at least once?"

"Of course."

"That's nothing to be sneered at. Just imagine God actually gave a lowly stonecutter a thought! Thanks, God, thanks!" and he kept on cutting stones

WHAT SORT OF RAMADASI YOU ARE!

WHAT SORT OF RAMADASI YOU ARE!

Baba said, "Why do you scold him unnecessarily. How is it that you are so quarrelsome? Can you not speak soft and sweet words? You read daily these sacred books and still your mind is impure and your passions uncontrolled. What sort of a Ramadasi you are! You ought to be indifferent to all things" in Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. XXVII.

Anger is a passion which burns up brotherhood, friendship, social solidarity, spiritual fellowship. Muhammad's great disciple, Ali, was once insulted. Ali bore the insults for a long time; but he lost patience, at last: then Ali returned tit for tat! Muhammad, who was present all the time, got up and walked away, leaving Ali and his opponent to themselves. Meeting Muhammad in the evening, Ali said: "Master! Why did you go away when you saw that I was being insulted? Why did you leave me in the lurch?"

Quietly answered the Prophet: "O my friend! That man who insulted you was, indeed, rude and cruel: and I was happy to see that you were silent. I saw that there were, at that time, ten angels keeping guard over you and blessing you. But as soon as the angels saw that you gave tit for tat, they left you, and I, too, came away."

Ali lost his purity: Ali defiled his mind and his mouth. Every one of the senses must be kept pure: the eye, the vak (voice, speech), and the prana (breath) must be kept pure. If we control speech only but not the vibration of prana, we get bad dreams. To be pure, so train yourself in the school of brahmacharya that your dream state, your sub-conscious life may also be pure. Therefore repeat "Om" or "Hare Ram" or any other "Guru Mantra" as often as you can, by day and by night. Men of prayer can achieve much, because prayer, repetition of Om or Guru Mantra, purifies the prana.

Purify, also, the sense of "hearing" and the sense of touch and taste. Purify, too, your mind and heart.

India cannot be truly great if Indians squander their bala or bodily vigour. Religion must build up strength. Don't squander your life-force! Develop your vigour and use in it the service of man. So may you be as the light gay grass, humble yet strong. So purified you may see the Beauty of Nature and the Truth of God. Blessed are the pure: for they are the builders of the Race.

TAMASO MA JYOTIRGAMAYA…..

TIME DOES NOT PASS, TIME STANDS STILL.
ONLY WE ARE PASSING. THAT'S WHY WE GROW OLD AND TIME ALWAYS REMAINS YOUNG.

GOD’S PERFECTION

GOD'S PERFECTION

"None He disregarded or disrespected" Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. XXIII.

In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while other can be mainstreamed into conventional schools.

At a Chush fundraising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son Shay? Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?"

The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and stilled by the piercing query. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that He seeks is in the way people react to this child." He then told the following story about his son Shay:

One afternoon, Shay and his father walk past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they will let me play?" Shay's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Shay's father understood that if his son was chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging.

Shay's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We are losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth innings. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning." Shay's father was ecstatic as Shay smiled broadly.

Shay was told to put on a glove and go out to play short centre field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind three. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded with potential winning run on base. Shay was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay WAS GIVEN BAT. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved up a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay should at least be able to make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. One of Shay's teammates came to Shay and together they hold the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay and his teammate swung at the ball and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.

Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first. Run to first. "Never in his life had Shay run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Shay, who was still running. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head.

Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second." Shay ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home. As Shay reached second base, the opposing team short stop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third." As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Shay run home." Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just a 'grand slam' and won the game for his team.

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection."

(Source: Mira, Jan-Feb 2005)

TAMASO MA JYOTIRGAMAYA…

We become what we love, if we love the world, its pleasures, possessions, power, we become worldly. If we love God, we become divine.

WHY SUFFERING?

WHY SUFFERING?

Baba said, "The true remedy is, that the result of past actions has to be suffered and got over. Our Karma is the cause of our happiness and sorrow; therefore put up with whatever comes to you. Allah (God) is the sole Dispenser and Protector, always think of Him. He will take care of you. Surrender to His feet with body, mind, wealth and speech, i.e. completely and then see what He does" in Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. XXXIV.

With a few of his friends, Anjali sat out in the open, beneath the canopy of twinkling stars. He spoke to them of the love of God and of His mercies which endure from everlasting to everlasting.

"In all that happens," he said, "behold ye the Hand of God, the Ever Gracious Mother of us all. In suffering and defeat, as in joy and triumph, greet the Light of the Mother's mercy. Suffering, then, will cease to sting and victory will not make you vain."

A woman happened to pass by. Deep sorrow sat heavy upon her heart. She heard Anjali's words. She said to him, "It is easy for you to speak thus. The wound of suffering is known alone to those who, like me, suffer day after day. You talk of God and the Light of God's mercy. Alas! It is a dark world in which we live – a world where the wicked flourish and the righteous endure the agony of hell!"

Anjali looked up at her: in her arms she carried a baby. Anjali said to her, "Drop the baby upon the floor! Drop him!"

Taken aback, the woman exclaimed, "What a strange man you are! How shall I drop the baby upon the floor? He will be killed!"

"Will you do it for a thousand rupees?"

"Not for as many pieces of gold as there are stars in the skies above!" the woman answered.

"Are you sure you will not drop the baby even if you offered a kingdom?"

"Sure as the moon doth shine behind yon tree. I shall not drop him for anything. He is more precious to me than all the wealth of the world!" So saying, she hugged the baby to her bosom.

Then said Anjali, "Mother, do you think you love your children more than Lord loves His?"

The woman understood: it was as though a new realization dawned upon her. "If the Lord really loves us, why is there so much of suffering in the world?" she asked.

Anjali said, "Suffering has its place in the Divine Plan. When your child falls ill, you force him to swallow bitter medicine: you pay no heed of his cries and tears. Our souls are sick: God, the Divine Mother, sends us the bitter pills of suffering and pain. Do not run away from suffering. Do not seek to escape it: but accept it in the right spirit. It is an experience which will enrich your life and strengthen your soul. It will polish the mirror of your heart and, looking therein, you will behold the Beauteous Face of the Lord. Then you will know that there is a meaning of mercy in all that happens. For all is well, a hundred times well, both today and a thousand years hence. Do not ask God to remove suffering, but ask Him for the blessing which may make you His true child!"

Om Sai Sri Sai Jaya Jaya Sai

QUALITY NOT QUANTITY

QUALITY NOT QUANTITY

Baba said, "God does not like big subscriptions and donations collected against the wishes of the donors, but He likes ever trifling amounts given with love, devotion and appreciation" in Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch.. XLVII

A King built a Cathjedral in the middle ages. Many came forward with their contributions. A poor widow had nothing to give. There were a few worn out mats spread on the follor of her cottage. As bullock carts, carrying marble for the temple, passed by her cottage, she fed the bullocks with strands of straw which she pulled out of her mat and breathed out the prayer, "Lord, this be my humble offering towards the building of Your temple."

When the Cathedral was ready, a holy man came to consecrate it. He said, "Last night, I had a dream. In the dream I heard a Voice say, tell the people that the great Cathedral has been built not by the king but by the poor widow who dwells by the side of the road leading to the Cathedral."

The king was mystified. How could a poor widow build a huge Cathedral? The widow was called for and asked what her contribution had been.

"Nothing," answered the widow. "All I did was to give bits of straw to the bullocks that carried the marble for the Cathedral."

The Lord asks of us not big things but little offerings made to Him in devotion and love.

Om Sai Sri Sai Jaya Jaya Sai

No Substitute for.......

Baba said, "Do your duty, leaving all attachment to the things of this world and next" in Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. XXXI.

Thomas Alva Edition was an indefatigable innovator. He experimented constantly, trying out new solutions, searching for new methods to solve old problems.

At one stage in his career, he experimented ceaselessly to try and find a substitute for lead, in the manufacture of storage batteries. He carried out over 20,000 experiments on this problem – all to no avail! Success eluded him, despite his phenomenal perseverance.

A reporter who came to interview him, asked him, "Aren't you discouraged by this failure? 20,000 experiments – and all your efforts have gone in vain!"

"In vain?" exclaimed Edison. "That may be the way you look as it. As for me, I have discovered 20,000 things that can't substitute lead!"

SUCCESS IS NOT WHAT WE TAKE IT TO BE

SUCCESS IS NOT WHAT WE TAKE IT TO BE

 

Baba said, "If you can do anything, do some good unto other" in Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch X.

 

Everyone wants to be successful in life. But there are few who know the elements of success, the factors that go to build up success. Today, success is being confounded with making money, with amassing millions and billions. John D. Rockefeller was such a multimillionaire, to whom success did not bring him happiness. His biographer tells us that by the time Rockefeller was 53, his life was a wreck. He was the richest man in the world and yet he was miserable! He was sick – physically, mentally and emotionally. All his millions could not make him happy.

 

Rockefeller turned a new leaf. He stopped accumulating wealth, and began to give away his wealth. Thus was born the Rockefeller Foundation, which sponsors and supports education and medical care throughout the world. John Rockefeller re-wrote and re-defined the meaning of success for himself. Some people equate success with power and position. A fond mother said to me that her son had achieved success in life at the young age of 23. He had been appointed as the Managing Director of a large industrial concern. But a few days later, heard that the young man was rude to his colleagues and unpopular with his workers; that he had a foul temper, and that he had fallen a victim to the two vices of gambling and drinking. Would you describe this young man as being successful?

 

Many of us tend to equate success with visible material acquisitions. There was a young woman who wore expensive clothes and diamond jewels; her handbag was stuffed with currency notes, she drove about in a Mercedes. Everyone agreed that she was indeed a woman who had achieved success in life. But when this young woman had problems too. She was one of the unhappiest women on earth. Her husband was constantly running after other women and paid no attention to her. Would you call this young woman successful?

 

Jay Gould, the American millionaire, amassed great wealth. But as he lay dying, he lamented, "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth!" There is no happiness in wealth, but there is considerable wealth in the experience of happiness.

 

What is the definition of success? What is true success? I believe that true success is in some way or the other, related to inner happiness and peace of mind. It has been rightly said that if you lose your wealth, you lose but little. If you lose your health, you lose something. But, if you lose your peace of mind, you have lost everything!

 

Outer things, external achievements, are not the yardstick for success. Power, prestige, position, social influence, higher degrees awarded by universities – all these are outer things. They only touch the fringe of life; they don't enter the depths within. A man may have all this, and yet he may be intellectually barren; he may be emotionally unbalanced, spiritually sterile. Would you call such a man successful?

 

What then, is success all about? One can define success as the ability to be happy and make others happy; the ability to love and be loved; the ability to remain in peaceful harmony with oneself, with those around you and with God's cosmic laws.

 

Let me tell you the story of such a man, who achieved success in life.

 

You may have heard of Dunlop tyres. They were manufactured by George C. Dunlop. As a young man, Dunlop was far from wealthy. But he genuinely cared for an old woman, who was an invalid. She was confined to a wheel chair, and George would often propel the chair for her. He found she suffered severe jolting and discomfort, when steel rims of the wheel chair moved on rough terrain. He wanted to do something that would reduce her discomfort.

 

In those days, a new material was much talked about. People were beginning to marvel over its flexibility and softness. It was nothing but rubber! Dunlop took strands of rubber and wound them around the steel rims of the wheel chair and found that this smoothened considerably, the movements of the wheel, giving a great deal of comfort to his invalid friend. Thus began the story of Dunlop tyres – first designed to bring comfort to an invalid's life, they made George Dunlop a wealthy man many times over!

 

ALL MULTIPLICITY WHEN IT REACHED TO BABA - BECOMES ONE

ALL MULTIPLICITY WHEN IT REACHED TO BABA - BECOMES ONE

 

Baba occasionally gave B. V. Dev hints for his spiritual progress. But it was not always that Dev could understand them correctly. Baba asked Dev once, "Bhav, give me dakshina" B.V. Dev gave one guinea.

 

Baba: Give more.

 

Baba, after getting four guinea said, "Though four were given by you, Baba has got only one."

 

Dev: "Baba I have given four."

 

Baba: "Yes, but I have only one. You will know."

 

The obvious interpretation is, though the devotee surrenders his fourfold Antahkarana Manas, Buddhi, ahamkara and Chitta, Baba receives only the Jiva and all multiplicity when it reached God – Baba, becomes one. So, the mind must surrender multiplicity unto the Guru God to attain unity.

 

Baba helped B.V. Dev to surrender himself more and more and derive Baba's help at every stage and hence, B.V. Dev in his turn becomes a means of spreading Baba's glory. Though not quite on the large scale in which Chandorkar did work for Baba. Dev also absorbed Baba's magnetism through Chandorkar and also directly, and communicated Baba's magnetism to others. But it is not always easy to make people derive full faith in Baba. A karnam under B.V. Dev, having learnt about Dev's attachment to a great Satpurusha called Sai Baba, came to him to get Baba's help to decide an important question for himself and his family. That karnam had his own Guru who for his own purposes wished to get a new image to replace the karnam's former image and have a grand installation ceremony, hoping to derive consider pecuniary profits from the proposed ceremony. So, while the priest of the karnam insisted on it, the karnam himself had some doubts and came to Dev and through him consulted Baba as to whether the new image should be brought and installed. Baba was consulted, and gave his opinion that the new image should not be brought in. the consultation was through Shama. The karnam, being very anxious to get his priest's advice confirmed, wanted to ask Baba, "What would happen if the new image was brought?" Baba gave a story. He said he and a companion had gone together and he told his companion not to buy an animal. Inspite of his advice, that animal was bought and brought to the village, and at once an epidemic of plague broke out as the result of the animal coming in. Baba left it there. The karnam, not fully impressed by Baba's All-knowing character, tried to please his Guru and brought in the new image. At once an epidemic broke out and the karnam's own wife was attacked first. The karnam asked his Guru to help him, but that Guru wanted half the property of the karnam to be made over immediately to the priest, and was trying in various ways to deprive the karnam of his property. The karnam woke up. He went to Dev and mentioned how things had turned out. Then on Dev's advice he removed the new idol and reinstalled the old idol. By Baba's grace he was saved from further harm.

 

Dev's services for Baba were mainly through Sai Sansthan and through his researches into matters connected with Sai Baba and the Sansthan. These researches he made after great trouble. For instance, he made researches into the ancient history of Shirdi and into the meaning of certain words and phrases. These articles appeared in the Sai Lila Masik which was the organ of the Shirdi Sai Sansthan, of which he was a member, and signed them with the pseudonym, Babache bal that is, child of Baba. He had a very good command of Marathi and even in Sanskrit his proficiency enabled him to compose brilliant verses which have appeared from time to time in Sai Lila Masik. He took very active interest in promoting the welfare of the Sansthan, and spent a very large part of his time at Shirdi. He had a good physique and could endure thirst, hunger or troubles for long periods. He had assisted various enquiries into matters on Sai and enabled them to become staunch Sai bhaktas. In the statement he has given to the author, some hints may be found of the way in which he helped the Sai Sansthan. He worked to the last as a trustee of the Sansthan, and he passed away dying in harness so to speak. He has written a good deal in Marathi and these would be appreciated by those who know that language. The accuracy of some interpretations he has given to Baba's Sayings has appeared, however, to the author to be doubtful but one cannot be positive in these cases. Taking first the conclusion in Baba's Charters and Sayings in paragraph 245 mentioned earlier, the interpretation given to Baba's statement is the author's and not Mr. Dev's for Mr. Dev thought that he should keep Baba's teachings secret and did not reveal how he interpreted Baba's statement that he gave four. Baba received only one. Dev's services have now been continued by his son Sri. S.B. Dev, who is now also a trustee of the Sansthan, doing yeoman service for Baba.

 

Written by: HH Pujyasri B. V. Narasimha Swamiji