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Scribblings of A Shirdi Sai Devotee
by Suresh Chandra Gupta
An offering at the Lotus Feet of
the Master Shri Sai Baba
of Shirdi
The Apostle of Love & Compassion
The Messiah of the poor & forlorn
The One who
scatters the bread
of His Grace on all
who surrender to
Him, heart and soul.
Dedicated to
Late Shri Kameshwar Nath Yagnik
of Jaipur who showed me the path of Sai Bhakti
&
My wife late Smt Vidya Gupta,
an ardent devotee of Baba,
who helped me at every step,
in treading the path of Sai Bhakti.
"Sri Sai Baba is the master of Existence, the Sat Guru, the bosom of Bliss, the
ocean of Peace, the store-house of Power, the revealer of Truth, the master-
being sporting the hearts of all beings mobile and immobile................ Take
refuge in His oceanic compassion and be at perfect ease, leading care-free life.
Remember the words of Sai who scattered the bread of Grace even to the poor,
the wretched, the lowliest and the lost.
'Why should you fear when l am here. Cast all your burdens upon me and I shall
bear them"'.
- Swami Sivananda Saraswati.
Sai Baba is not a myth or a non-historic personality. The Saint lived with
us in flesh and blood till 15 Oct. 1918 - the Vijai Dashmi Day on which He took
His Mahasamadhi. He has been and still is the all pervading living force that
moulds and transforms the lives of million of His devotees regardless of their
religion-Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Parsees alike.
Who was Sai Baba? What was He? What did He live for?
In fact Baba had no name. Mahalsapati, a devout Brahmin, when first saw
Him, accosted Him as 'Sai' - a name by which he came to be known. His origin is
unknown. As a young man about sixteen, He came to the village of Shirdi in the
Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra near about 1854 and made His abode under
a Neem Tree. Day in and day out people saw Him sitting on a rock talking little,
meditating much. To many of the simple folk who passed that way, He appeared
to be mad. It was not given to them to recognise His greatness, let alone divinity
when they saw it. All the same, in the simple ways of villagers, they tried to give
Him alms; He neither refused nor did He accept them.
He lived within Himself. There was not much give and take between Him
and the villagers. He did go out amongst them to take what was given, but never
asked for more. Many times He came back empty handed. He held communion
only with Himself and with God.
Certain truths were uttered by Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi in His life time
during His talks with various persons on different occasions. These reflect on His
'Sat - Chit - Anand' Swarupa and his omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient
character. These truths apart from revealing different aspects of Baba's
philosophy and method of functioning, also convey the assurances given by Baba
to His devotees: how one should take to Him; what Baba expects from His
devotees and finally how one can merge in Him and become one with Him. A
study of these passages again and again, reflecting on them in calmer moments
and imbibing them in one's own life would certainly help an aspirant onto the
path of Sai bhakti as also remove the doubts lurking in his mind. Selections from
these utterances are reproduced below for the benefit of the aspirants:
1. I am God. I am Mahalaxmi. I speak the truth sitting as I do in this
Dwarkamayee. I amVithoba. I am Ganapati. All offerings made to Ganapati have
reached me. I am Dattatraya. I am Laxmi Narayan. Why go for Ganga elsewhere.
Hold your palm at my feet, Ganga flows here. I am Maruti.
2. I am the attributeless 'Nirguna'. I have no name and no residence.
3. I embroiled myself in 'Karma' and got this body. 'Brahman' is my father
and 'Maya' is my mother. I am formless and in everything. I fill all spaces and
solitary wilderness. I am in the fire and ether.
4. I am not the body or the senses. I am the eternal 'Sakshi'(witness).
5. I require no doors to enter. I have no form nor do I have any limitations. I
am always existent in all animate and inanimate objects. I am the wire puller of
all actions of the man who trusts me and merges in me and ultimately provide
him Liberation.
6. Be wherever you like; do whatever you choose; remember this well that all
what you do is known to me. I am the Inner Ruler of all and am seated in theii
hearts.
7. I need no paraphernalia of worship either eight-fold or sixteen-fold. I
dwell where there is full devotion.
Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi belongs to that category of Sages an Saints who are
born 'Puma Siddha' and who are made t come down on this earth for a specific
purpose. Their descen on earth is not governed by the ordinary rules applicable t
human beings. So also, in the case of Sai Baba of Shirdi, nobody can say with
certainty who his parents were, where He was born, what creed or community he
belonged to, where did he receive his early grooming and who his Guru was. All
such questions Baba allowed to remain buried in the garb of secrecy for reasons
only known to him. But when he told Madhav Rao Deshpande (Nee Shama) that
he had been living with him for 72 lives past, surely he wasn't referring to
ordinary life as we live on earth. This statement had a deep significance. Baba
had made similar such statements in the case of some other devotees also.
During my last forty two years' contact with Baba's name, I too have had a
vivid feeling at times that this self also had some contact or the other with its
Master in earlier births -may be merely as a creature in the dust beneath His feet.
It is my firm belief that on the spiritual path, what we are today is the result of
sadhna in lives past. This is how I establish my relationship with my Baba.
I got the chance of seeing the picture of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi for the first
time in Nov. 1959, in the bed-room of my mother-in-law at Jaipur (Rajasthan),
where I had gone to, a few weeks after the death of my mother on Vijai Dashmi,
the 4Ih Oct. 1959. Sitting on the rugged stone, wearing a torn kafni, eyes full of
compassion endeavouring to penetrate into the deep within you, Baba seemed to
me the very epitome of Love and Mercy. My mind, however, refused to submit to
him. It was, however, left for January 1960 for me to know more about the great
Saint of Shirdi, who was to play a dominant part in the rest of my life and become
the sheet anchor of my existence thereafter.
In January 1960,1 had again to go to Jaipur on long leave to appear in an
administrative rervice examination. One day while I was passing through the
Chandpol Bazar with my brother-in-law, who was studying medicine at SMS
On Bhakti
In pure 'Satvik' bhakti, there is no place for desires. When desires end, real
bhakti starts. The desire to multiply temples; erect monuments in the chosen
deity's name; count the holding of 'Nam Saptahs' and the number of idols
installed; and the like, may form part of 'Rajsik’ bhakti but surely not of pure and
unadulterated 'Satvik’ bhakti.
*******
Pure bhakti generates absolute faith and faith leads to complete surrender.
The joy of surrender is unique. It can only be experienced and not talked about.
Blessed is the devotee who has acquired it through the grace of Baba. No treasure
in the world, not even knowledge, can match it. If one is a bhakta and some
unpleasant happening takes place in life which he attributes to Baba saying that
while Baba was there, how could such a thing happen to him and consequently
gives up his devotion to Baba, take it for certain that this person is not a true
bhakta. He was merely bartering his bhakti with Baba's Grace. A true devotee will
not, even in his dream, attribute this happening to Baba, what to talk of giving up
his faith in Him. He would accept it a result of his 'Prarabdha'. This reminds me
of a devotee of Baba who gave up his worship of Baba after his wife died of
Cancer, saying that how could he have faith in Baba who could not save his wife
who had served Him heart and soul. In His life time, when a lady told Baba as to
how her son could die when He was there, Baba told her, "Mother ! please do not
come to me if you feel there should be no deaths in your family. I cannot change
the Prarabdha."
*******
Baba prescribed the simple path of bhakti to His devotees. It is also laid
down in our scriptures that in 'Kaliyug' God can be realised by doing mere 'Naam
Japa'. Baba would tell His devotees that there was no need for them to indulge in
other hard spiritual practices, such as Ashtang Yoga, Jap, Tap and sixteen fold
A Hymn to Sai
Why offer flowers to thee,
Who art the creator of flowers.
Why burn incense
Why perform rituals
And lie prostrate before thee.
Why offer to thee food which is thy own creation
What is this mockery of chanting hymns and mantras
Is not, the light that flickers in thee
Part of my own being
Then why make thy own self prostrate before thee.
1. Prayer
0' bounteous Sai!
You are my Father,
You are my Mother,
Bestow your grace on me.
I may not be your worthy child,
I may not have surrendered to you heart and soul,
So what?
I have certainly made you
The sheet anchor of my life,
I beseech your Grace
Have mercy on me
Lift me up to your bosom
And make me one with you.
• 1
whatever said comes out true.
****************
Every thing is within us, there is nothing outside, howsoever one may keep
on wandering in its quest for ages. Merely to recognise it difficult.
34. In the creation of God, the animals came into existence first and the man
subsequently. In the world of today, both are available in large numbers.
In case we get rid of our animal instinct, we shall emerge as pure human
beings.
35. Ever since our birth, it is hammered into our mind, "Do not commit sins".
After all, what is 'Paap' (sin) and what is 'Puniya' (good deads) and who
has created these? What was a sin till yesterday, has it not turned into
'Puniya' today. When the man loitered in the jungles and his development
had not taken roots, he was not bound by the limitations of Father,
Mother, Brother and Sister - condition which is discernable amongst
animals and birds even today. Shall we not then say an act which was not
paap till yesterday has changed into 'Puniya' today? Has this condition not
been given to it by man itself! Even a thought of it, creates havoc in the
mind. Does the definition of 'Paap' and 'Puniya' keep on changing? And
I sing my songs
For you alone, O’ Sai
Whether someone else likes these or not,
Is not my concern.
I endeavor merely to dress up
My feelings with the clothes of words
And when my songs emanate
From the core of my heart
And provide bliss to my soul.
How could it then be that my Sai remains
Unaffected by their joyous strains?
It my firm belief
My Sai likes my songs
How otherwise could He
Keep on listening to the out-pouring of my heart
Day in and day out
How otherwise could He keep in bearing the burden
Of my tuneless strains.
And the perennial flow of blissful tears from my eyes.
I, a mere ignorant child,
What do I know of the intricacies of music.
But who could prevent me
From crying?
From the cries of its child
The mother knows what it needs
4. Sai Woke Me Up
I was lying fast asleep
Sai came and woke me up
Regaining consciousness
As I got up
My world had changed
My heart was wrapped
In a thick blanket of bliss
Every part of my body
Was emitting a sweet fragrance
My goals in life
My desires, my ambitions,my expectations
Me view of looking at things
The feelings of my heart
Had all changed
I felt as though
I had been reborn
Not from the womb of my physical mother
But by the grace of my unseen mother-Sai.
O’ my devotees!
Before assuming the mantle of being called my ‘Bhakta’
Look within your own self, and determine
Is it not merely your thus claiming?
Have you been able to surrender to me
Your Heart and soul?
If not, your claim to be a devotee
Is merely an hollow assertion
Neither shall you be able to attain God nor Godhood.
6. Realm of Ecstasy
When my physical frame is at complete rest
And the mind tranquil
The soul within experiences
A celestial bliss
And exuberates abounding love
Capable of engulfing the whole universe.
In those moments of ecstasy,
You ‘O’ my Baba!
Stealthily enter the portals of my heart
And provide it an immortal joy
The feeling of oneness with you.
In those blissful moments
Nothing but ‘I’ and ‘You’ remains
And share the bliss within.
‘O’ my Baba!
Take me more often to this realm of ecstasy
So that the ‘I’ in me stops bothering me
Leaving me unaffected
By all that is happening outside me
Good or bad
And I remain in this world
Yet away from it
Totally immersed in you.
7. Loneliness
In the silent valley of my heart
Where peace eternal prevails
Birds sing celestial songs
But Baba!
May I ask You a simple question?
To this moment
My eyes have carried your image alone
The heart has sang your praises
The soul has experienced celestial bliss
All out of your manifested form.
Have I to give it all up
In quest of what I haven’t seen
Nor anyone else seems to have seen.
May be this thought is a mere hallucination of the mind
Which keeps on playing mischief?
Shall I not be a fool
If I give up what I see
And my soul experiences
Entrapped in this physical frame?
My surrender to you
May not have been complete
Even if so,
Ignore it
For I am your child.
Come, Come, Baba Come!
Lo!
The saint of Shirdi-Sai
Emerges from the Dwarkamayee
Shama holding His right arm
Buty, His left,
Baba’s left hand holding His torn ‘Kafni’
Right hand His ‘Satka’
He stops while walking
Bare footed
But his face wears a divine glow
Eyes an intoxicated look
As if drums of wine have gone down his throat
Shyam Sunder at the back
Accompanies His Master
A celestial sight indeed!
If one is compassionate
He would not care for his own comforts
The concern of the less fortunate, the neglected and the poor
Will become his own.
O’ My Master!
Bestow on me the priviledge of your seva
While doing your ‘Pad Puja’
Sai! I know
The moment you let loose your control
The vagabond mind will go stray
You know full well
This nature of the mind.
1. To Baba
O’ My Baba! The Purest of the Pure, the Knower of the Absolute Truth, the
‘Tatwa Gyani’. You have in your magnanimity, mercy and compassion
accepted me, an absolutely ignorant child, the receptical of your Grace.
Neither have I the purity of heart, nor of thought and action, nor humility and
meekness, nor unflinching faith, nor patience, nor sense of exaltation for your
inconceivable greatness, nor abounding love, nor burning desire to listen to
the stories of your leelas, nor have I been able to surrender to you heart and
soul, nor acquire discrimination and understanding of your ‘Sat-Chit-Anand
Swaroopa’, nor have I been able to still my thoughts and ‘vasnas’; nor do I
have a burning desire for ‘Moksha’, nore have I so far been able to control my
‘Indrias’.
I am full of ego, no virtues do I have, nore renownced ‘Maya’ and ‘Moh’, nor
have I imbibed the virtues of love, compassion and truth.
Neither have I sought the company of saints and seers and received their
grace, nor have I studied the scriptures and known the hidden truths
contained therein.
I prostrate again and again at your lotus feet and implore you to bestow on me
your perfect devotion in thought, word and deed, since I am your child.
Intoxication is bad but to forget ones own self, after getting intoxicated, is still
worse. There is, however, one type of intoxication on experiencing which all
pleasures of the world, all its materialistic achievements, all its joys and sorrows,
lose their luster and seem lifeless. This intoxication is the intoxication of bhakti.
Blessed are the people who have experienced the taste of this intoxication. At that
level, the difference between the devotee and the God ceases to exist. Every
moment of the devotee’s life is spent in his completely getting lost in his Lord. No
pleasure or pain of the world can bring him down from this high pedestal. The
devotee continuously and at all times and in all situations keeps on experiencing
a limitless divine bliss. His eyes continuously keep on shedding tears of
abounding love. While eating and drinking, sitting and standing, sleeping or in
waking state – in all situations, he keeps on experiencing the grace of his God and
the vibrations of abounding love arising from his heart. Every pore of his body
emits the fragrance of bhakti. The atmic anand which he experiences is supreme.
In dreams he is taken to visit mountains, jungles and riviers of which it is not
known as to where these exist. In this state of his mind, no power on earth can
make him afraid of anything. He stands before a tiger, like a child, fearless and
before his inner power, the tiger experiencing his love, starts licking his feet.
Come on! Let us also surrender ourselves at the lotus feet of our Sai. He shall
have to bestow on us His Kripa some day and then we shall be able to experience
eternal bliss. Within us lies buried a whole treasure of infinite bliss. We only need
to develop a feeling to live in it continuously.
1. Learn to live in God, for it shall provide you a support to ascribe your joys
and sorrows to in life, and a source of strength.
2. Learn to live for others for the joy it provides to your soul will make your
own life worth living.
3. Live a simple, natural, guileless, unpretentious and unostentatious life for
it will help you to keep your needs under control and thus occasions to
make you feel the need to give up your path to enable you to keep pace
with the world, shall minimize.
4. Learn to withdraw yourself occasionally inward, for your shall then be able
to control the wastage of your own energies, make a correct assessment of
your own self, control your emotions and mind and not allow them to
stray.
5. Accept responsibility gladly and try to discharge it to your capacity, for the
sense of satisfaction it shall provide you will give you ‘Atmic Anand’.
6. Trace out the beauty in each soul, you come into contact with, appreciate it
for it shall make your own life happy, easy and smooth at every step.
4. Devotional Couplets
Thus says ‘Das Suresh’, O Baba! Confer on me this boon. From every pore of my
body should emnate your name. wherever I move in this wide world, with your
name on the lips, the fragrance of your Bhakti should engulf the whole
atmosphere.
Whosover inhales that fragrance, should start chanting your name. that Sai is a
great Saint, should start flowing incessantly from His being.
Sai! You are unique indeed, since you make the dumb to speak, I am a mere fool
who is not aware of your infinite powers.
Taking me as an ignorant child provide me ‘Sharan’ at your lotus feet. Life after
life I may remain your ‘Das’, is my request to you.