Amity without differences, love without limits

 

You Are Tall, Tiny Am I Baba,

Baba, You are so tallI am a tiny-tot to fondly tell

With an elderly nature You playfully kiss

A tiny-tot, I became the pupil of your eyes

While very poor am I, so precious are You

Yet, You are fond of me as much I am fond of You

Amity without differences, love without limits

Humiliations in the Path of Righteousness Are Baba's Blessings in Disguise

Those who are free from problems, adversities and oppositions, always getting publicly acclaimed in life are akin to a bed of roses, have not entered the spiritual path to God.

Only one who gets burnt in the fire of hardships is transmuted into spiritual gold and is worthy of adorning God as an ornament. It is illusion which always attempts to tempt man's mind away from God.

Pain and pleasure, power and glory, positions and prestige are all but traps thrown before us by illusion. One who is determined to reach God will abide by the rule of honesty. No doubt, some temporary annoyances are bound to surface.

But one's right conduct will make illusion get frustrated and leave.It is but natural to encounter public criticism and humiliation while preaching and practicing the right conduct. Yet our efforts will be crowned with success if we seek Baba's help.

The world has mistreated several great souls as fools. The ecstatic delight the saints experience in the presence of God is not understood by common people because of ignorance. God-realized souls would dedicate their lives for the uplift of the world.

The humiliations one face on the path of Dharma are, in fact, the blessings and steps arranged by Baba to reach Him.

We Need not be a Millionaire to Give Charity

All the earthly riches are but a gift of Baba. In return for the gifts, Baba expects from us devotion, honesty, uprightness and self-surrender. Baba wants us to put the wealth, which He gifted us, in the service of the needy. It is charity. Charity is virtue. 

Only a few are blessed by Baba to have a heart of charity. Some people think that one can make a charity if one is very rich, but not when one has little wealth.

Baba explained through His noble deeds that riches are secondary but a desire to donate is vital. In fact, the spirit of sacrifice can be found in Nature itself. Rivers provide clean and fresh water. 

Trees bear the sweetest fruit and man being a part and parcel of nature must emulate the spirit of sacrifice. When we compare the pleasure obtained by the receiver with that of the happiness of the giver, the amount given in charity seems insignificant. 

Liberality awakens spirituality. Greed and selfishness cause poverty. 

Baba taught us the value of charity by explaining it in the simplest form, "give and grow richer". We need not be a millionaire to give charity. We can give away cheerfully whatever wealth we can afford to give and Baba will increase our riches. Baba's grace will not only multiply our worldly wealth but blesses us with the spiritual wealth of merit and ever-new joy.

Blessed Souls in the Service of Sai

When Baba first came to Shirdi to attend the wedding of Chand Patil's nephew, it was Mhalsapathy, Baba's fond devotee who first addressed, "Welcome to You, Sai".

What a wise soul that Mhalsapathy was to sense the Divinity of Sai and became His blessed devotee by making known Baba to the world as 'Sai'. It is again he, who initiated the practice of applying sandal paste to Sai's forehead and perform Pooja.

Another great devotee Radhakrishnamayi, never saw Baba's face but adored Baba as her Beloved Lord Krishna and initiated the daily worship of Sai by singing hymns in Baba's praise, sheltering, feeding the devotees and arranging royal honours to the Cosmic King, Sai. Gajanan Pathekar served Baba and became, Baba-blessedly, a mystic of fame by the name of Gajanan Maharaj.

Though Kashinath, an orthodox Brahmin, suspected Baba to be a Muslim and distanced Him, the All-Knowing Baba took care of his spiritual evolution and groomed him into sainthood, to be later adored by all as Upasani Maharaj.

When Vaman Rao, an ardent Baba devotee, was freed of house-holder attachments, he became a recluse by Baba's blessings and changed his name as 'Sai Sharan'.

From the very day of His Avataric Advent on the earth, Sainath has been blessing His devotee children to grow and glow in the Light of Wisdom and Divine Delight. 

We are Never Alone when God Dwells within Us

For the people who believe in the Omnipresent God, the entire world will stand in support. They are not alone. When we have the treasure of God's love with us, what more is needed? Believing in God, wherever we are, we will be in His safe hands. 

 

God is eternal. It depends on our point of view to speak about His existence or non-existence. God will be with us only when we believe in His presence and dwell in His consciousness. 

 

As long as we are devoid of His consciousness and float in the earthly thoughts, He is not visible to us. Just because Baba has not appeared the moment we thought of Him, can we say that He is non-existing? He is in His Divine State of Ever-New Delight. 

 

It is, indeed, our folly not to remember Him and should not think that Baba did give us up. He will not desert his devotees once He holds them in His Hand. Baba makes us come closer to Him when we try to move away from Him. It may take some time, but Baba will be behind our back and will draw us closer to Him.

 

 It is our weak faith that causes delays, and not Baba. Our assumption of being alone is caused by our failure to acknowledge God in the form of Baba. 

 

Hence, we should behold Baba in our inward eye and hold Him in our heart.

Weakness can be Overcome when Divine Support is Coupled with Determination

Every individual possesses a combination of some good and bad qualities. We must try to get rid of negative qualities and attempt to cultivate noble ones. It is a common experience that we all face both favourable and adverse times.

God has given freedom to us to either choose a good environment and strive to cultivate good qualities or yield to temptations. Baba leaves the choice to us whether we swim against the fury of the water current or glide along the smooth current.

Our minds get fortified if we choose the right path and walk on it. When we tread the right path, Baba empowers our minds to live boldly and gladly.

Even Baba energizes us with His Spirit-Power.We will surely get the due returns to our firm faith, right frame of thoughts and discipline.

One who swims against the powerful current with iron will and faith in God will certainly reach the destination. Baba, God Incarnate, moulds our characters, fills our souls with His Holy Spirit, enthuses and shapes our destinies for good.

Just as ebb and flow and whirlwinds are unavoidable in an ocean, troubles and problems are quite common in life.

To overcome all these factors with determination and courage, the four-lettered miraculous word, "BABA" is enough to eliminate our weaknesses.

When Baba is with us we can Easily Cross Over the Ocean of Worldly Life

We should keep our minds on God and always contemplate on Him in order to cross the ocean of life. If not, at every stage, there would be obstacles, failures, humiliations and insults, leading to chaos in life. For the believers in Baba, no troubles would cause harm. 

 

With minds fixed on Baba, if we move ahead with a feeling that "You are making me walk, Father", Baba will turn the abysmal ocean of life into a knee-deep canal and ensures smooth passage by holding and leading us by His Hand. 

 

Though cursed by poverty, a devotee of Baba, Mhalsapathy's life never faced any troubles. At the very first encounter, he addressed Baba as 'Sai' and could as well recognize Baba's Divinity. We commit blunders with our limited knowledge by ignoring the enormous love and kindness of Baba. 

 

Do we have faith that our victory in every work is the gift of Baba? Do we show gratitude to Baba for every success and accept it as Baba's gift? We need to search our souls. Most of the devotees seek fulfillment of physical desires. 

 

Again, the devotees who would ask "Baba, I seek you, I need Your presence always, I have no other worldly desires" are very few. 

 

On focusing our mind on Baba, every step that we take will lead us on the path of devotion and helps us reach Sai, the Guiding Light of our Lives.