It is my duty to look after the welfare of the devotees who surrender and take refuge in me Baba

[Guest guest]

Let us whole-heartedly prostrate ourselves and offer

our pranams with full and sincere devotion to Baba the

God and pray to him for the full meaning of the

seventh holy saying. Baba is an incarnation of God. He

is no other than parabrahman. He is a great

yogeshwara. He is a great lord of compassion. Glory to

the great Sai Nath; All blessings and benedictions to

the devotees who worship the auspicious Baba our

Atmaram! For the fulfillment of our ideals and goals,

may we now invoke the blessings of the great God Sai

Baba.

 

Who has really taken refuge at the altar of Sai Baba?

Who has surrendered fully at the feet of Sai Baba? How

did Sai Baba protect his devotees? Why did Baba

consider it to be his duty to protect the devotees?

What did the devotees of Baba obtain from him?

 

Many people might have visited Shirdi. But how many of

them a self-surrendered? Many might have seen Sai

Baba. But how many of them had absolute faith in him?

Those, who without any doubt had depended upon him

fully, are the real devotees. It is the duty of Baba

to protect them.

 

What type of protection do the devotees need? Why

should God's devotees need any protection at all?

 

He who drives away Maya and sees Baba is a real

devotee. It is not easy to throw away Maya. Family

bondage itself is a great Maya. It is almost

impossible to get rid of family. In the place of

family you should establish your Guru and worship him.

'For this one has to fight against Maya. Only a Guru

can drive away your Maya. With his loving looks, he

constantly protects the devotees. This is real

protection. Without this protection devotees may face

difficulties.

 

Baba cannot see any devotee suffering. He saves him

like a mother. Baba is more than a mother while

protecting his devotees. Let us see the lives of his

devotees who had absolute faith in Baba.

 

The devotees are like the children of Baba. Baba is

their godfather. Those who believe in Baba are his

real devotees.

 

One such devotee is Mahalsapati, Sai Baba himself

called him, " The bhagat " (devotee). He was able to

make full use of Sai Baba's grace for

self-realization. He was dependent on God for

everything. Baba did not give him any worldly

prosperity. He gave him only spiritual wealth. He

permitted him to draw any amount of spiritual wealth

from Baba. Mahalsapati enjoyed the real spiritual

bliss.

 

Sai Baba is Shiva. Shyama is his Nandi or bull.

Without seeing the Nandi, you cannot see Shiva. Such

important place was given to Shyama by Baba. He was

Baba's beloved. He, as a representative of Baba,

received the worship and admiration of many. He

visited many pilgrim centers. He considered Baba to be

God and addressed him as Deva. If there were any

lapses while serving Baba, he felt sorry for them. He

was one who could recognize the divinity of Baba. He

was unable to grasp the highest spiritual knowledge

given to him by Baba. But he was able to experience

and enjoy the pure love of Baba. Baba himself gave him

silver shoes, idols and photograph. Shyama is a very

great devotee of Baba.

 

Upasani Baba was another great devotee, who was able

to raise moral spiritual heights by the grace of Baba.

Because he was unable to implicitly obey the order of

master, he was unable to reach the expected peaks of

spiritual benefits. Firm determination and strong will

are present in him. Therefore, he was able to get

certain rare powers. He was able to get many divine as

well by the grace of Baba. He was able to see Baba

everywhere. In due course, he himself developed into a

Guru and established an ashram at Sakori. He also

wrote certain spiritual books describing his

attainments.

 

(to be contd….)

 

(Source Eleven Holy Sayings of Shirdi Sai Baba by

Pujya Shri Ananda Sai Swamy)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

______________________________\

____

Never miss a thing. Make your home page.

http://www./r/hs