Previously Posted
| Chapter No. | Part No. | Content of the Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| NA | NA | Introduction (Preface, Foreword, A Devotee Speaks and A Thought) |
| Chapter 1 | Part 1 | In Moments of Ecstasy |
| Chapter 1 | Part 2 | In Moments of Ecstasy |
| Chapter 1 | Part 3 | In Moments of Ecstasy |
| Chapter 1 | Part 4 | In Moments of Ecstasy |
| Chapter 2 | Part 1 | The Heart Overflows |
| Chapter 2 | Part 2 | The Heart Overflows |
| Chapter 2 | Part 3 | The Heart Overflows |
| Chapter 2 | Part 4 | The Heart Overflows |
| Chapter 2 | Part 5 | The Heart Overflows |
| Chapter 2 | Part 6 | The Heart Overflows |
| Chapter 3 | Part 1 | Listen O’ Fellow Travellers |
| Chapter 3 | Part 2 | Listen O’ Fellow Travellers |
| Chapter 3 | Part 3 | Listen O’ Fellow Travellers |
| Chapter 3 | Part 4 | Listen O’ Fellow Travellers |
| Chapter 3 | Part 5 | Listen O’ Fellow Travellers |
| Chapter 4 | Part 1 | On The Wings Of Thought |
| Chapter 4 | Part 2 | On The Wings Of Thought |
| Chapter 4 | Part 3 | On The Wings Of Thought |
| Chapter 4 | Part 4 | On The Wings Of Thought |
“To awaken, sit calmly. Let each breath clear your mind and open your heart”.
– The Buddha
(I)
The Author’s Note
“The joy of Bhakti is supreme and blissful. It elevates the ‘Aatma’, cleanses it, nurtures it and takes it to heights unimaginable”.
Modes may differ but the base of ‘Bhakti’ is and shall always remain LOVE – All encompassing love, selfless love, supreme love and love which knows no return. So also is the goal of Bhakti – ‘Aatm Samarpan’ (Self Surrender). The advantage to Sai Devotees is that it is only less than 100 years back that Baba had lived on this Earth and shown the path of ‘Bhakti’ to His Devotees. Infact, His devotees feel His presence even today.
In the following pages of this book, an effort has been made to reproduce the words pertaining to Bhakti that flowed from the lips of Baba and found a place in ‘Shri Sai Satcharitra’ as also what Shri Govind Raghunath Dabholkar alias Hemadpant himself wrote on the subject, translated word by word from the original Marathi into English by Smt. Zarine Taraporewala.
In the recent past, as more and more people are taking to Baba, Sai worship is being made more and more cumbersome by bringing therein the age old rituals and splendours. As we know, Baba lived like a ‘Fakir’ upto the end of His life, wore a torn Kafni, slept on the floor with a brick under His head and begged food from a few houses every day. All His life, He preached simplicity and unpretentiousness in life and living. It would, therefore, only be in the fitness of things if His path of Bhakti is also allowed to remain simple, ‘Sehaj’, dogma free and without any external show offs. Huge amounts of money being spent on holding His Pujas followed by feasting in the name of Bhandaras should beavoided and the money thus saved, be spent on the cause of the poor, the miserable and the neglected, who were so dear to Baba.
Shouldn’t the path of Sai Bhakti, not be dogma free, simple, ‘Shudhh’, unritualistic, so that it retains its universality of approach? Let the readers give it a thought!
“Offer him the throne of firm faith, decorate it with the right ‘satvik’ emotions and bathe him with tears of joy. He will then be pleased.
Put around his waist a girdle of devotion, ward off the evil eye with salt and lemon etc; surrender yourself to him and thereafter, do his arati”. – Govind Raghunath Dabholkar alias Hemadpant (Chap. 37, Ovi 39-40)
(II)
Highlights of Sai Bhakti
Shri Sai Baba:
“Such pious persons have become my followers whose sins have been destroyed and they have understood me.
If you recite ‘Sai, Sai,” always, I will take you beyond the seven seas. If you believe in these words, you will be certainly benefited.
I do not need elaborate worship either sixteen fold or eight fold. Where there is infinite faith, I reside there”. – (Chap. 13, Ovi 11-13)
Govind Raghunath Dabholkar alias Hemadpant:
“Let my tears of joy be the warm water to wash your feet; let me besmear your body with the sandal paste of pure love; and let me cover your body with the cloth of true faith.
May this puja from my heart propitiate you better than the outward ritualistic one and endow you with pleasure and happiness.
Let us offer the eight lotuses in the form of our eight very pure, satvik emotions and the fruit in the form of our concentrated mind.
Let us apply ‘buka’ of devotion to the forehead, tie the girdle of deep devoutness and place our neck on your toes. Then let us enjoy the tender and wonderful celebration.
Adorning him with the jewels of our love, let us wholeheartedly ward off the evil eye. Make a ‘chanvar’ with our five ‘pranas’ and wave it before you to ward off the heat.
After concluding such blissful worship, let us do the eightfold obeisance, offer fragrance and oblations of water. In this manner, we shall worship you, Sairaja, for our own welfare”. – (Chap. 26, Ovi 27-32)
You do not need ceremonies to complete the rituals, you do not need fasting to torture the body; you do not need to visit the tirthas. It is sufficient to listen to the story. – (Chap. 3, Ovi 182)
“For the worship of other deities, the articles required and the rituals are specific. But, for your worship, there is nothing in the world which is worthy of you!”
© Author – Late Shri. Suresh Chandra Gupta – Explicit Rights To Publish To Shirdi Sai Baba Books.com (Member of SaiYugNetwork.com)
