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 |
31
Wheresoever I bowed with reverence, As I lifted my head I saw my Sai. In the temple I found Sai Sai was seen in the mosque When I bowed my head I found Sai sitting in my heart. What is this story of yours, Baba Why do you keep us in delusion? You are in every thing The difference lies in perception alone.
32
Baba I have been endeavouring to look for you in your physical form. Surely, your body was a mere sheath of the Tatva that you are. In that search, I have today reached here where I stand. Now I have to go further towards the destination, whereto every seeker on the path has to reach in his quest. But in this quest, this body has already become worn out and incapacitated. Now it appears that no more strength is left in me to proceed further. So what? The destination may be far off but it is you who had said that if one finds the true navigator, one is sure to reach the goal. The control of my life is with you, my Sai and there is no doubt that I shall positively reach my destination. I have only to maintain my faith and calm.
33
Baba! Make my heart the temple of your worship Slowly rising strains of Veena Ringing therein May sing your praises And the skies be filled with your pure divine light You be sitting on the stone, smiling, Oozing out the fragrance of ‘Neel Padam’ (Blue coloured Lotus) The chorus of ‘Sai Sai’ flowing in low tones In this atmosphere of absolute silence My Aatma be lost in you, And my ego standing at the door of the heart May feel nervous In those moments of ecstasy Allow not my ego to come near me If somehow it managed to enter within me My ‘Sadhana’ of life after life will come to naught And you shall have to labour on me again
34
At every step in my life, O’ my Baba, I have experienced your grace. In that period of my life, when I did not know you in the form of Sai, I had felt that a hidden power, in every state – good or bad, and at all times, whether I was experiencing pleasure or pain, would come to me from somewhere and share with me the joy or sorrow of the situation. Whether this power came in the form of Lord Siva or Hanuman or some Aulia (Muslim Saint), depended on my faith at the time, but today I can say with confidence, that this power was none other than yours. You have been with me birth after birth and have been having your hand of protection on my head. This relationship of ours shall continue till my soul merges in you. The feeling of pleasure and pain is experienced by this body, which comes and goes, but you are eternal and my own.
35
Sai why do you keep on worrying for me at all times? Why do you feel pity on the wretched condition of my body? Whatever I am, and in whatever state I am in, is the result of my past karmas (actions). Let me reap the fruits of ‘my karmas’. Allow my body to undergo the heat of penances. When it shall come out of the fire sparkling, it shall shine like gold and be ready to merge in you. And then your worry for me shall stop for all times to come.
36
O’ my Baba bestow on me the capacity to become your flawless devotee and fill my heart with urge to distribute this bhakti amongst all who yearn for it. From every pore of my body should rise up the chant of your name and the whole animate and inanimate existence should get lost in it. I assure you Baba that even if you bestow this munificence on me, your ‘Jholi’ (bag) shall remain full, as is today.
37
The ground was wet with morning dew, The grass was green, The blowing breeze was sweet And the whole existence was quiet As I walked on, The soul got up from its slumber I was transported into the realm of ecstasy Time stopped moving Silence absolute descended slowly, Sai appeared on the scene And spoke thus: “I am silence wrapped in the deep of silence, I am peace wrapped in the deep of peace, I am truth wrapped in the deep of truth, I am consciousness wrapped in the deep of consciousness, I am bliss, I am ecstasy I am there where nothing else exists Where there is purity absolute – Of heart, of soul, of the whole existence, Where truth reigns supreme That is my abode”
38
Sai said: “I am the same Fakir who existed on earth. I came on the earth as a Fakir and went away as a fakir. The man of today is playing games with me. Sometimes he makes me to occupy a silver throne and at other times a gold throne. Sometimes he wraps me in silken valuable robes and sometimes in ordinary cotton sheets. He forgets that the things by offering which he seeks happiness, is merely his own feeling. I am neither in the valuables nor in the ordinary cotton sheets. I am ‘Pure Consciousness’ and away from all this. I need no external appearances. The one who understands this truth moves forward towards me and is my beloved. Yes, I do shower my Grace on everyone in the hope that they would some time understand my true self”.
Related: Scribblings of A Shirdi Sai Devotee
39
Sai! Everything in the world has a price, by paying which one obtains that thing. But my Baba! It is the ‘Sanskars’ (Virtues) of a person which cannot be purchased. Whether it be a King or the commoner; a man or the animal, everyone is born with his sanskars which it inherits on birth and is the earning of it in lives past.
40
Sai! How fascinating are you! The person, who looks into your eyes full of compassion, becomes enamoured of you and takes to the path of seeking you. You are extremely clever. When that fellow is drawn to you, you pull him up to yourself and in a short time showing him your so called miracles of sorts, you entice him and make him your own. Most people get lost in the shine of your miracles. Only a few are left who hanker to seek the real Sai, caring not for the glittering objects lying on the path. The warmth of their love and bhakti forces you to occupy their heart and carry them towards the state of ‘Parmanand’ to become your own and make you their own. All your cleverness become redundant then and you become their own.
41
I have given my heart and soul to my Sai and in return my ‘Aatma’ has experienced perfect peace and tranquility in itself. The joy of ‘being’ reigns supreme within me and it seems that the whole existence is Bliss Incarnate.
42
When intensity of love for Baba grows within, bhakti matures. When we love somebody, do we have to make a conscious effort? No. Love is an effortless effort and so is bhakti.
43
When peace is established deeply within me and my whole being is quietened, in those moments of ecstasy, I and my Sai become one. The self in me gets wrapped in the thin layers of peaceful silence of consciousness.
44
Baba, you descended on earth In the form of Sai, Shone like the sun on the horizon of time, Scattering the fragrance of your love and compassion On everything that came into contact with you - animate & inanimate. And today the whole existence Sings the songs of your omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience. You are a boon To the suffering humanity of to-day.
45
I am a devotee of my Sai and carry no desire in my bosom to ever be more than a devotee. I am a mere particle of dust under the feet of my Sai. How can a particle ever claim to be more than its size? The ‘Noor’ (Divine light) coming out of this particle is so dazzling that my body is unable to stand it. If I aspire for more, how will the body be able to accept it? I shall go ‘phut’ and that which I call ‘I’, shall be left with no existence of its own.
46
Bhakti is an extremely sacrosanct urge of the soul. It cannot grow in a heart which is not placid.
If one has taken to the devotion of Sai in word and deed, from his whole being must flow the waves of peace and tranquility. All his thoughts, his eyes, his bearing, the words that come out of his lips, should all be wrapped in the sheath of tranquility and emit the rays of calmness and serenity.
Bhakti and tranquility go hand in hand and are the fulfillment of the finest urge of man.
In the next post, we shall read more in moments of ecstacy.
© Author – Late Shri. Suresh Chandra Gupta – Explicit Rights To Publish To Shirdi Sai Baba Books.com (Member of SaiYugNetwork.com)
Love you Deva! Jai Sai Samarth!