Shri Sai Satcharitra Chapter 3

Chapter – 3

Sai Baba’s Sanction and Promise - Assignment of Work to Devotees - Baba’s Stories as Beacon Light - His Motherly Love - Rohilla’s Story - His Sweet and Nectar-like Words

Sai Baba’s Sanction and Promise

As described in the previous chapter, Sai Baba gave His complete consent to the writing of the Satcharita and said, “I fully agree with you regarding the writing of the Shri Sai Satcharita. You do your duty. Don’t be afraid in the least, steady your mind and have faith in My words. If My leelas are written, avidya (nescience) will vanish, and if they are attentively and devoutly listened to, consciousness of worldly existence will abate and strong waves of devotion and love will rise up. If one dives deep into My leelas, he will get precious jewels of knowledge.” Hearing this, the author was very pleased and immediately felt fearless and confident and thought the work was bound to be a success. Then, turning to Shama (Madhavrao Deshpande), Sai Baba said: “If a man utters My name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes and increase his devotion. If he earnestly sings My life and My deeds, him I shall beset in front and back and on all sides. Those devotees who are attached to Me heart and soul, will naturally feel happiness when they hear these stories. Believe Me, if anyone sings My leelas, I will give him infinite joy and everlasting contentment. It is My special characteristic to free any person who surrenders completely to Me, worships Me faithfully, and who remembers and meditates on Me constantly. How can they, who utter My name, worship Me, think of My stories and My life and who thus always remember Me, be conscious of worldly objects and sensations? I shall draw My devotees out of the jaws of death. If My stories are listened to, diseases will be cured. So, hear My stories with respect and think and meditate on them. Assimilate them. This is the way to happiness and contentment. The pride and egoism of My devotees will vanish, and when the mind of the hearers will be set at rest with wholehearted and complete faith, oneness with Supreme Consciousness will be attained. The simple remembrance of My name as ‘Sai Sai’ will do away with sins of speech and hearing.”

Different works assigned to Devotees

The Lord entrusts different works to different devotees. Some are given the work of building temples and maths, or ghats (flights of steps) on rivers; some are made to sing the glories of God; some are sent on pilgrimages, but to me was allotted the work of writing the Satcharita. Being a jack of all trades, but master of none, I was quite unqualified for this job. Why then should I undertake such a difficult job? Who can describe the true life of Sai Baba? Sai Baba’s grace alone can enable one to accomplish this difficult work. So, when I picked up my pen, Sai Baba took away my egoism and wrote His stories Himself. The credit of relating these stories, therefore, goes to Him and not to me. Though Brahmin by birth, I lacked the two eyes (i.e. the sight or vision) of shruti and smriti and, therefore, was not at all capable of writing the Satcharita, but the grace of the Lord makes a dumb man talk and enables a lame man to cross a mountain. He alone knows the knack 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 player. The oozing of the chandrakant jewel and the surging of the sea are not due to the jewel and the sea, but to the rise of the moon.

Baba’s stories as beacon light

Light houses are constructed at various places in the sea to enable boatmen to avoid rocks and dangers, thus allowing safe sailing. Sai Baba’s stories serve a similar purpose in the ocean of worldly existence. They surpass nectar in sweetness and make our worldly path smooth and easy to traverse. Blessed are the stories of the saints, for when they enter our hearts, our body consciousness, or egoism, and the sense of duality vanishes. When these leelas are stored in our heart, doubts disappear, pride of the body falls away, and we are filled with wisdom. The description of Baba’s pure fame and the hearing of the same, with love, will destroy the sins of devotees, and therefore, this is the best and most simple sadhana for attaining salvation. The sadhana for Krita Age was sham-dama (tranquility of mind and body), for Treta Age was sacrifice, for Dwapara, worship, and for Kali (present) Age, it is the singing of the name and glory of the Lord. This last sadhana is open to all people. The other sadhanas, viz. yoga, yaga (sacrifice), dhyana (meditation) and dharana (concentration) are very difficult to practice, but singing and hearing the stories of the glory of the Lord (Sai Baba) is very easy. We have only to turn our attention towards them. The listening and singing of the stories (leelas) will remove the attachment to the senses and their objects and will make the devotees dispassionate, ultimately leading them to Self-realization. With this end in view, Sai Baba made me, or helped me, to write His stories, Sat Charitamrita. The devotees may now easily read and hear these stories of Sai Baba and while doing so, meditate on Him, His form, and thus attain devotion to guru and God (Sai Baba). They will develop detachment and attain Self-realization. In the preparation and writing of this work, Shri Sai Satcharita, it is Sai Baba’s grace which has accomplished everything, making use of me as a mere instrument.

Motherly Love of Sai Baba

Everybody knows how a cow loves her infant calf. Her udder is always full and when the calf wants milk and dashes at the udder, out comes the milk in an unceasing flow. Similarly, a human mother knows the wants of her child beforehand, and feeds it at her breast just at the right time. In the dressing and grooming of the child, the mother takes particular care to see this is well done. The child knows or cares nothing about this, but the mother’s joy knows no bounds when she sees her child beautifully dressed and adorned. The love of a mother is peculiar, extraordinary, protective, and has no parallel. Sat Gurus feel this motherly love towards their disciples. Sai Baba had this same love towards me and I give an instance of it below:

In 1916, I retired from government service. The pension amount settled in my case was not sufficient to maintain my family decently. On Guru Pournima day (15th of Ashada) of that year, I went to Shirdi with other devotees. There, Mr. Anna Chinchanikar, of his own accord, prayed to Baba for me as follows: “Please look kindly on him. The pension he receives is quite insufficient and his family is growing. Please give him some other appointment, remove his anxiety, and make him happy.” Baba replied, “He will get another job, but right now he should serve Me and be happy. His dishes will be ever full and never empty. He should turn all his attention toward Me and avoid the company of atheists and irreligious and wicked people. He should be meek and humble toward all and worship Me heart and soul. If he does this, he will get eternal happiness.”

Rohilla’s Story

The story of the Rohilla illustrates Sai Baba’s all embracing love. A Rohilla, tall and well built, strong as a bull, came to Shirdi wearing a long kafni (robe) and, being enamored of Sai, stayed there. Day and night he used to recite Kalma (verses from the Holy Koran) in a loud, harsh tone and shout, “ALLAH HO AKBAR” (God is Great). Most of the people of Shirdi were working in their fields by day, and when they returned to their homes at night, were welcomed with the Rohilla’s harsh cries and shouts. They could get no sleep and felt much trouble and inconvenience. They suffered in silence with this nuisance for several days and when they could stand it no longer, they approached Baba and requested him to check the Rohilla and stop the nuisance. Baba did not attend to their complaint. On the contrary, Baba took the villagers to task and asked them to mind their own business and not that of the Rohilla. He told them the Rohilla had a very bad wife, a zantippi, who tried to come in and trouble the Rohilla and Himself, but upon hearing the Rohilla’s prayers, she dared not enter, and so they were at peace and happy. In fact, the Rohilla had no wife, and by his wife, Baba meant durbuddhi, i.e., bad thoughts. As Baba liked prayers and cries to God better than anything else, He took the side of the Rohilla and asked the villagers to wait and suffer the nuisance, which would abate in due course.

Baba’s Sweet and Nectar-like Words

One day at noon after the arati, devotees were returning to their lodgings when Baba gave the following beautiful advice: “Be wherever you like; do whatever you choose. Remember this well: all that you do is known to Me. I am the Inner Ruler of all and seated in their hearts. I envelope all creatures in the movable and immovable world. I am the Controller - the wire puller of the show of this universe. I am the mother - the origin of all beings - the harmony of the three gunas - the propeller of all the senses - the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer. Nothing will harm he who turns his attention towards Me, but maya will lash or whip who he forgets Me. All the insects, animals, the visible, movable and immovable world, is My body or form.”

Hearing these beautiful and precious words, I immediately decided in my mind to serve no man henceforth but my guru, but the reply of Baba to Anna Chinchanikar’s query (which was really mine - that I would get some job), caused me to ponder. I began to wonder whether it would actually happen. As future events showed, Baba’s words came true and I did get a government job, but it was of short duration. I then became free and solely devoted myself to the service of my guru - Sai Baba.

Before concluding this chapter, I request the readers to ignore the various hindrances, viz. indolence, sleep, wandering of mind, attachment to senses, etc. and turn their whole and undivided attention to these stories of Sai Baba. Let their love be natural. Let them know the secret of devotion. Let them not exhaust themselves with other sadhanas. Let them stick to this one simple remedy, i.e. listening to Sai Baba’s stories. This will destroy their ignorance and will secure for them salvation. A miser may stay at various places, but he always thinks of his buried treasure. So let Sai Baba be enthroned in the hearts of all.

In the next chapter, I shall speak of Sai Baba’s advent in Shirdi.

Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all