Chapter – 51
Epilogue
Having
completed Chapter 51, treated as chapter 50, we will proceed with the last chapter
(no.52 in the original text). It is here that Hemadpant wrote his concluding
remarks and promised to provide an index, giving the contents of all the
chapters in verse as is given in Marathi sacred books. Unfortunately, the index
was not found in Hemadpant’s papers. It was therefore composed and supplied by
an able and worthy devotee of Sai Baba, Mr. B.V. Deo (retired mamlatdar of
Thana). As English books provide an index in the beginning with contents of
each chapter described at the beginning of each chapter, we will not consider
the last index chapter here. Thus, the final chapter shall be regarded as the
epilogue.
Unfortunately,
Hemadpant did not survive to revise the last chapter’s manuscript to prepare it
for the press. When it was sent to the press, Mr. Deo found it to be incomplete
and unintelligible in certain places, but it had to be published as it was
found. The main topics dealt therein are briefly given below.
Greatness
of Satguru Sai
We
prostrate ourselves before Sai and take refuge in His grace, for it is He who besets
all animate and inanimate things in the universe. It is He who pervades all creatures
equally without differentiation. It is He to whom all devotees are alike and
who knows not honor nor dishonor, like nor dislike. If we remember Him and
surrender to Him, He fulfills all our desires and leads us to the goal of life,
Self-realization. The ocean of mundane existence is very hard to cross. Waves
of infatuation beat high against the banks of bad thoughts, causing trees of
fortitude to fall down. The breeze of egoism blows forcibly and makes the ocean
rough and agitated. Crocodiles in the form of anger and hatred move there
fearlessly and eddies in the form of the ideas “I and mine” whirl there
incessantly. Innumerable fish in the form of censure, hatred and jealousy swim
about. Although this ocean is so fierce and terrible, Satguru Sai is its agasti
(destroyer) and the devotees of Sai have no fear of it. Our satguru is the
boat which will safely take us across this ocean.
Prayer
Let us
worship Sai Baba, bow to His lotus feet, and make the following prayer: Let not
our mind wander and wish for anything but Thee. Let this work, Shri Sai Satcharita,
be in every house and let it be studied daily. Ward off the calamities of those
who study it regularly. Om Shri Sai Ram.
Fala
Shruti (reward of study)
Now a
few words about the reward you get from a study of this work. After bathing in
the sacred Godavari, and after taking the darshan of the samadhi in the samadhi
mandir in Shirdi, you should read, or listen to the reading, of the Shri Sai
Satcharita. If you do this, all your threefold afflictions will vanish.
Casually thinking about the stories of Sai, you will become interested in
spiritual life and if you continue to read and study this work with love, all
your sins will be destroyed. If you wish to be free from the cycle of births
and deaths, read Sai’s stories and always remember Him. If you dive into the
sea of Sai’s stories and then tell them to others, you will receive an ever new
flavor of them and save the hearers from perdition.
If you
go on meditating on Sai’s form, it will, in the course of time, disappear and lead
you to
Self-realization.
It is very hard to realize the nature of Self or Brahma, but if you approach sagun
(form) Brahma through the form of Sai, your progress will be easy. If the
devotee completely surrenders himself to Him, he will lose his individuality
and become merged in Him in all of the three states, viz. waking, dream and
sleep. Thus, he will be rid of the bond of samsara. If anyone, after
bathing, reads Shri Sai Satcharita with love and faith, and completes it
within a week (saptaha), his calamities will disappear. If he hears or reads
it daily and regularly, all his dangers will be warded off. By its study, a man
striving for success in his life will achieve it, and the devotee striving for
Self-realization, shall attain his goal. The reward will be according to the
faith and devotion of the individual.
If Shri
Sai Satcharita is read respectfully, Sai will be pleased, and will remove
your ignorance and poverty, blessing you with knowledge, serenity and
prosperity. If you read a chapter daily with concentrated mind, it will give
you unbounded happiness. One, who has his welfare at heart, should study it
carefully and then he will ever remember Sai gratefully and joyfully, in birth
after birth.
This
work should be read at home, especially on Guru Pournima (Ashada full moon day),
Gokul Ashtami, Rama Navami and Dasara (Baba’s anniversary day). If you study this
one book carefully, all your desires will be satisfied, and if, in your heart
and mind, you always remember Sai’s holy feet, you will easily cross the bhava
(samsar) sagar. By its study, the diseased and sick will receive health, - the
poor, wealth, - the mean and afflicted, prosperity, and the mind will be rid of
all ideas and gain steadiness.
Dear
good and devoted readers and listeners, we bow to you all and make a special request.
Never forget Him whose stories you have read day by day and month by month. The
more fervently you read or listen to these stories, the more encouragement and blessings
Sai bestows on you.
Prasad
Yachana
We
close this book with a prayer to the Almighty for the following prasad or
favor: May the readers and devotees develop complete and wholehearted devotion
to Sai’s feet. May His form be ever fixed in their eyes and may they see Sai
(the Lord) in all beings. Amen!
Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all
Arati
Oh,
Sai Baba, we wave lights before You, the bestower of happiness to the jivas.
Give us, Your servants and devotees, rest under the dust of Your feet. Burning
(destroying) desire, You remain absorbed in the Self and show the Lord (God) to
aspirants. As one feels intently, You give Your devotees experiences or
realizations accordingly. Oh kind hearted, Your power is such! Meditation on
Your name removes our fear of samsar. Your method of work is really
unfathomable, as You always help the poor and helpless. In this Kali age, You,
the all pervasive Datta, have really incarnated as Saguna Brahma. Ward off the
fear of samsar of the devotees who come to You so as to enable them to see the
holy feet of the Lord. Oh beloved Sai, may our treasure be the service of Your
holy feet. Bless we who sing Your praise. Amen!
Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all
