Tribute to Shirdi Sai Baba

Thus Spake Sai Baba of Shirdi

Supreme Avatar – SAI BABA

• Allah is the protector of the poor. There is nothing besides Him.
• Look at me and I will look to you. Trust the Guru fully. That is the only sadhana. Guru is all the Gods.
• Sit quiet. I will do the needful.I will take you to the goal.
• I will not allow my devotees to fall. Night and day, I think of my people.
• My tomb will speak and move with those who make their sole refuge. I shall be active and vigorous from the tomb also.
• My name will speak. My mutti (dust) will reply.
• If one meditates on Me, repeats My name, sings My deeds, and is thus transformed into Me, his karma is destroyed. I will stay by his side always.
• I draw My devotee to Me at the time of his death, though he may die a thousand miles away.
• If one sees Me only, always listens to talk about Me, and perpetually repeats “ Sai Sai”, with a heart overflowing with devotion, and is devoted to Me alone, he will reach God; he need not fear or worry for his body and soul.
• If one never tastes food before offering it to Me, I am his slave.
• I will never leave anyone in the middle.
• In the abode of my devotees, there will be no dearth of food and clothing.How can I allow my children to fast or starve?
• I will not allow my men to get away from Me.

Baba about Himself

Beyond all Dualities exist a Sadguru

• Iam the slave of God. God is the Lord and the Master
• This is a Brahmin, a white Brahmin, a pure Brahmin. This Brahmin will lead lakhs of people to the subhra marga (White path or path to Self Realisation) and take them to the goal, right up to the end. This is a Brahmin Masjid.
• Brahman is my father and Maya is my mother. As they interlocked, I got this body. I am Parvardigar ( God). I live in Shirdi and everywhere.
• All things are mine, I give everything to everyone.
• All this universe is in me.
• All that you see taken together is Myself. He who thinks that Baba is only at Shirdi has totally failed to see Baba.
• I look on all equally. Not a leaf moves except by My grace.
• I get angry with none. Will a mother get angry with her kids? Will the ocean send back the water to the several rivers?
• I do not instruct (anyone) through the ear. Our traditions are different.

Baba’s Teachings

A Sadguru’s Life itself is His Teaching

• Be the real and true sons of the mother ( Dwarakamai). And fully stock your magazine. What is to become of us? Earth will return to earth, and air ( breath) will return to the air. This opportunity will not return.
• Give up all desires and dwell in your mind upon God-in-all. If the mind is thus concentrated, the goal is achieved.
• For Dhyana ( Meditation), meditate on me as formless, mere Ananda. If that is hard, then think of my form, just as, you see it here. Think of it night and day. With such meditation, the mind dissolves into unity. The difference between the subject, object and the act of contemplation  will be lost. This results in Chaithanya Ghanatha ie, Brahma Samarasata.The Guru’s glance is bread and milk for the desciple.
• If you make me the sole object of your thoughts and aims, you will attain paramartha, the supreme goal.Look at me with undivided attention; so will I look at you. This is the only truth that my Guru had taught me. The four sadhanas and the six sastras are not necessary. With entire confidence, trust your Guru. That is enough.
• Stick to your Guru with unabated faith, what ever the merits of other Gurus and however little the merits of your own.
• It is not the Guru that makes himself your Guru. It is you who must regard him as your Guru., ie, place faith in him. Take a postherd and regard it as your Guru and see if your goal or aim is reached or not!
• My Guru, after depriving me of everything, asked me for two paise. I gave them to him. He did not want metallic gifts. What he asked for was 1.Faith ( Nishta) and 2. Saburi ( Patience or cheerful endurance.)
• One should not stay in any place where saints (or one’s Guru) are spoken ill of.
• If anybody is angry with another, he wounds me to the quick. If anyone abuses another, I feel pain. If anyone bravely endures abuse, I feel highly pleased.
• If anybody comes and abuses you or punishes you, do not quarrel with him. If you cannot endure it, speak a simple word or two, or else leave the place. But, do not battle with him and give tit for tat. I feel sick and disgusted when you quarrel with others….Do not fight with any; nor scandalize any. When one talks ill of you, pass on unperturbed. His words cannot pierce your body. Others acts will affect only them and not you. Its only your acts that will affect you. If others hate us, let us take to Nama Japa ( Chanting God’s name) and avoid them…..Do not bark at people; do not be pugnacious. Bear with other’s reproach….This is the way to happiness. Let others and the world turn topsy-turvy, but do not mind that; keep on to your own straight course. The world maintains a wall…..between oneself and others. Destroy this wall. Allah Malik (God is the supreme Lord.)
• Have regard to Rinanubandha. Who ever or what ever creature comes to you, do not drive it away, but receive it with due consideration. Give food to the hungry, water to the thirsty and clothes to the naked. Then  God will be pleased.
• If anyone begs anything of you, if you can grant the request or get it granted, do so, Don’t say ‘No”. If you have nothing to give, give a suave ‘no’; do not get angry with him. If you do not like to part with what you have, do not say falsely that you have nothing to give. Decline to give it in polite terms and say circumstances and desires stand in the way.
• Work, utter God’s name, read scriptures. If you avoid rivalries and bickerings, God will protect you.
• We should never kill a snake.Because it will never kill us unless it is ordered to do so, by God. If  God has so ordered it, we cannot avoid it.
• If anyone talks ten words to us, let us answer with one word, if we reply at all. Do not battle with any…. Who is whose enemy? Do not say anyone that he is your enemy. All are one and the same.
• Among the six vikaras (feelings) jealousy is the easiest to conquer. In this vikara, there is no question of (actual) gain or loss to ourselves. Jealousy ( Matsara) is the inability to endure another’s profit and prosperity. If another gets fortune and power, we cannot put up with it; we scandalize him. When he meets with a loss, we rejoice.But, is this good? When that man attains prosperity, what loss have we really suffered? But, people do not consider this point. If he benefits, let us consider ourselves benefited; or let us strive to attain equal good. That should be our desire and determination. What has he taken away of ours? Nothing! He received the prosperity that is the result of his Karma.
• Never accept gratis, the labour (or property) of others. This should be the rule of your life.
• You must always adhere to truth and fulfil all the promises you make.Have faith and patience. Then, I will be always with you wherever you are.
• What ever you do, do thoroughly. Else, do not undertake.
• Adhere to vairagya (dispassion). Women are a great danger to an ascetic.Think of God and kill out the ego. A person that has not overcome lust cannot see God.
• Do not borrow for celebrating a feast or festival, or for pilgrimage.
• Athithi (guest) is what ever creature is hungry and comes to you  at  the lunch time, whether it is human being or a bird, beast or an insect. All these seek food. The real athithi that you get, that you do not regard as such ….At Kakabali (offering food to crows) time, take plenty of boiled rice outside the house and leave it there. Do not shout or call for any creature nor drive any away. Whatever the creature that comes to eat, let not that disturb your mind. You get – thus – the merit of feeding lakhs of guests!
• Eat very little. Do not go for a variety of eatables. A single sort, ie, dish will suffice.
• The earth bears seeds. Clouds rain on them. The sun sends his rays, and makes them sprout. When these sprout, earth, clouds and sun keep on their happy course in all directions. They neither exult at the growth nor deject at the destruction of the sprouts. You should be unaffected like these.If you are, when can sorrow come to you? Mukti ( liberation) is this absence of sorrow.
• We are not to bother ourselves about the beauty or ugliness of the person, but to concentrate solely on God underlying that form.
• What God gives is never lost and what man gives never lasts.
• People wrongly think they are different from one another.  Iam inside you and you are inside me. You continue to think in this way. Then you will realize it.

Miscellaneous

A True Master Remains Simple and unassuming

• Never argue. Reply to 10 words with one.
• God is afraid of evil and evil is afraid of God.
• Whenever 10 persons join, there is a rub.
• Money says, “ If you use me well, I shall serve you well.”
• Food (meal) says , “ Cook me well and I shall serve you well.”
• A Yogi is always better than a bhogi.
• He who, being a king, wears a beggar’s robe is good.
• People have a house each – I have none.
• The fruit of good is great; of evil, very little.
• I travel thousands of  kos ( 1Kos = approx 3miles) to protect thousands of people.
• This ( Baba himself) is no servant of anyone; this is the slave of Allah only.
• One should be content to remain as God keeps him.
• One should know the Master. Or else, Why have you come?To collect dung cakes?
• One should know the inmates of Wada ( lodge)
• The name of Allah is eternal; Allah is all-in-all.
• Once the strings are entrusted to the Sadguru ( Absolute Master), there is no cause for grief.
• There is a low-born one ( Mahar) in the body; he should be evicted.
• Either we must resort to someone or we must show the path to others.

Golden Words of Sai Baba ( Excerpts from Baba – The Master by Acharya E. Bharadwaja. Deepest Pranaams to Sri Bharadwaja, the self-realized one.)

Another Excerpt – Relevant for all times:

Curious to know what Baba was doing, Nana asked him why he was scrutinizing the same coins again and again. Baba replied, “Beta (dear son), it is true I am repeating the same action again and again, repeating the same words. Look at the mango tree in front of you. It is in full bloom. The leaves are hardly visible. If all the flowers in the tree were to become fruits, will the branches be able to bear the weight? But it does not happen that way. Most of the flowers are swept away by the wind. Many others drop of their own account. Only some of them become fruits. Of these some are eaten by squirrels, birds, or monkeys. In this way ninety percent of the flowers do not result in fruits. Only ten percent remain in the tree. Is it not so?” They agreed, that it was so.
Baba continued, “In the same manner thousands of devotees are coming to me. Are they all ripening into good devotees? Many drop away in the middle. Some come for getting their desires fulfilled. Some seek wealth. Many are coming either for study or in connection with jobs, marriage or other personal desires of their own. In each of them, there is some defect or other. No one comes for My sake. I have a precious thing to offer in my coffers. But no one seeks it. It is for this reason that I am examining them (coins). Among these coins there are some which are worn out, some which are debased, and some which are twisted and worthless.”
“Just as I am examining the defects in these coins, I am also looking for the defects among the devotees who come to Me. I am trying to find out what defects are there in these people and whether, with those defects; they can really comprehend My Truth. They want Me, but all their desires are related to mundane objects. How can they attain Me with this attitude? How can you reach your destination if you get into a wrong train going in some other direction? They want Me, but they don’t make efforts for realizing Me. Among those who come to Me, it is only one in a thousand who really makes the efforts to realize Me.”
“The minds of the “so called” devotees are turned in the wrong directions. If their desires are fulfilled, they praise Me. But, once a desire is not realized they go to the extent of even reviling Me. Even while they are attempting to understand Me, they harbor doubts from head to foot. Some even leave Me, when their worldly desires are not fulfilled. These are not sincere devotees at all. They are in fact worst sinners. How can they reach Me?” said Baba.

I surrender all my sundry expressions at the feet of Lord Sai Bhagawan