Devotee readers who have missed earlier chapters can read from the links below. Devotee readers who have missed earlier chapters can read from the links below.
Beads from the necklace of Sai Bhakti
1. Bhakti is not something to be exhibited. It needs to be cultivated, nurtured and absorbed within and assiduously taken deeper and deeper into the crevices of the heart. In course of time, every pore of the body of the ‘Sadhak’ would start emitting the fragrance of bhakti.
2. I am merly a blade of straw which the wind may blog aways into oblivion any moment. What is signifact, of abiding valued, is my Baba who saves many a straw from being blown away and yet never let the straw know the secret of its existence.
3. Sai is Compassion Incarnate. He is Love Incarnate. He is the Slpendour of the Soul, the Distiny of His Bhakta. He is the glorious and ecstatic chant that emgerges from the heart of His devotee. Merge the Self in Him, live in Him and become one with Him.
4. By living a life of austerity upto the endo fHis life on earth when He could have lived a highly obstenatious life, Baba set an example of supremse simplicity. Aren’t we His followers making it complex at every step by adding luster to everything connected with Baba? Let us ponder!
5. The Parbrahm standing bare footed, with a begging bowl, outside the houses of the poor village folk of Shirdi asking for a piece of bread or two – the very epitome of the poorest of the poor – should we not visualize His picture in our minds and imbibe a little of what Baba lived for, in our own lives and in all that we do in Baba’s name.
6. The path of pure Satvik Bhakti, Baba showed to us should become the sheet anchor of our lives and inspire us to share the pleasures of life with our fellow beings, men and animals alike.
7. Blessed is the devotee who has endeavored to make Baba the be all and end all of his life, who lives in Baba, thinks of Baba, dreams of Baba, whose every thought and deed is propelled by the desire to imbibe more of Baba in himself, whose eyes get streams of tears, whose hairs on the body stand erect and whose throat gets choked with emotion on the very utterance of the word ‘Sai’.
8. Even the thought of rendering self-less service is a ‘Karma’ which binds one to his prarasdha. O’mind! Give up this thought also, howsoever pleasant and peace giving it may appear to be and become submerged in the Self which is pure ‘Sat-Chit-Anand’ – beyond desire, pleasure and pain. As we close our eyes and withdraw ourselves into nothingness, a strange quiteness enwraps out being. Our thoughts become still, the soul experiences a supreme bliss and in that state we get nearer to our Sai and feel Him within us and outside us. Even the longing to reaming in that ecstatic state ceases to arise.
9. The truth we are trying to seek is within us. If we constantly endeavor to turn over mind and sense inward and close the portals of our mind to thoughts flowing in from outside, we might perhaps get a glimpse of the Truth, if not immediately, with constant effort, in course of time.
10. The fragrance of Baba’s love is flowing all round us. Let us feel it, experience it and learn to live in it. Baba is ‘Love Incarnate’. While we are blessed to receive His Divine love, why should we then seek from Him the material comforts of life which might give us momentary pleasures but are certainly not going to add to our progress on the spiritual path, which shall provide us eternal happiness. When diamonds are lying scattered a little ahead of us, why then settle for pebbles, immediately available us. Let us generate love and scatter its fragrance all round us. The bliss that shall emanate from it is waiting to fill our being with love, abounding love, all emcompassing love.
11. ‘Dasya Bhav’ or ‘Service to God’ is one of the nine paths of Bhakti. But this ‘Seva’ has to be selfless without any expectation in return. The use of the word ‘Sai Seva’ is being made in common parlance all around us today. Many a devotee has assumed the prefix of ‘Sai Sewak’. But let us look within ourselves and ponder, whether our seva being vendered to Baba is selfless or are we simply seeking a platform to project our ego, to earn name, fame or even the Grace of Baba. If we go deeper and deeper within ourselves and analyse, we might find that even our use of this title is redundant. A real sewak would perhaps not even know that he was serving his Lord. He would be completely lost in his Master and might not even be aware of what he was doing. At that stage perhaps even the ‘Dasya Bhav’ will cease to exist which is a constituent Nava Vidha Bhakti.
12. It is a common practice in temples and at public functions organized in Baba’s name to offer a garland, a shawl and a coconut to a devotee as a mark of respect to him and perhaps rightly so. The devotee being honoured feels happy and elated on receiving such an honour. But does he realize that it is his body which is being garlanded and offered shawl and not his bhakti which is beyond all this. A bhakta needs no outside paraphernalia of show. When a devotee is placed in such a situation, it might perhaps be appropriate for him to remember Baba at this moment and pass on the honour to Him, who has bestowed on him the capability or even provided the occasion to receive this external honour.
Continued…Chapter 6 Part 2
More E-Books To Read
The Fragrance Of Devotion In Sai
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