The Glory of Saibaba lives on!

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Alas! The fateful day dawned. It was on Tuesday 15 October 1918,the festival of

Dasara that Baba gave up his mortal coil. Baba asked His devotees to leave Him

alone and in the meantime to have their lunch. The devotees obeyed Baba's

order, but a few devotees namely Laxmi Bai, Bhagoji, Bala Shimpi and Nanasaheb

Nimonkar stayed back with Baba. At about 2.30 P.M before the devotees could

finish their lunch, they received the heart -breaking news of Baba leaving his

body. Devotees from various places rushed to Shirdi. What could they offer to

merciful Lord except their tears of love and sorrow? The sorrowful cries of

devotees- "Baba! Baba rent the skies. The body of Baba was kept for 72 hours

and later as per the wishes of Baba, when he was living in the flesh, he was

laid to rest in what is now called the Samadhi Mandir the present temple at

Shirdi.

Baba continues to live on in the hearts of every devotee and therefore he is

living. Just as He lived his mortal frame at Shirdi, so He remains, now and

forever, as the formless, Immanent Force. To this day Baba continues to answer

the heartfelt prayers of His devotees and showers His blessings on them. He

comes to the rescue of those who earnestly appeal to Him for succor. Baba met

and fulfilled all the needs of His devotees and through his unlimited grace

enabled them to tread the spiritual path. Baba used to say," My treasury is

full and I can give whatever one needs, but before I give, I must test whether

one deserves it or not." Baba used to bring out the defects in a person and

correct them in such a way that the devotees themselves were made to realize

their shortcomings and improve upon them. It was not that Baba merely insisted

upon His devotees to cultivate qualities conductive to spiritual advancement

..He emphasized the need for righteous

thought and action, which are the first steps of salvation and as such gave

paramount importance to purity of thought, word and deed.

Baba never tolerated indolence and carelessness on the part of His devotees. "I

am the self seated in the hearts of all beings." As declared by Lord Krishna in

the Srimad Bhagawad Geetha, Baba proclaimed that He was present in all beings

and every creature on earth was one with him. Besides this, Baba also described

that God is more concerned with the purity of mind, charitableness, brotherhood

and kindness towards all creatures on earth than all the costly and vain

offerings of the world. Sai Baba's life was distinguished in being exemplary to

all of mankind. His attire was simple. He wore a long, flowing gown called

"kafni" and covered His forehead and hair with turban. With all these Baba

radiated an indescribable glow that was altogether divine and captivating. God

incarnates come in to this world with specific objective of "Protecting the

innocent, destroying the wicked and re-establishing the righteousness." As soon

as their mission is completed,

they dispense with their mortal frame and leave this world, attaining "Maha

samadhi". With the passing away of Sai Baba, one should not consider it the end

of glorious chapter. Contrarily, the blessed phase has just begun. Baba left

behind us a legacy of priceless Possessions- the Illimitable Divine Treasure of

His teachings, saturated with the nectar of Love, compassion and Humanness. He

left His Divine footprints in the shifting sands of time, footprints that

remain deeply embedded even as time passes relentlessly. His wonderful

teachings are like precious jewels, set in the golden crown of Eternity, ever

shining bright not withstanding the passage of time just as a freshly Diamond

shines in all its maiden glory catching the brilliant light of the dazzling

sun! Since the last one and a quarter of a century, many seasons have come and

gone, many years have passed by. The days have changed, man has changed, the

world has changed, but the wonderful leelas of Sai Baba remain

unaltered. The glory of Sai Baba lives on!

Source:saibaba.org

Arun Reddy Nukala

+44 7946 595063

http://groups.msn.com/

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