The
Teacher
Devotees have
succeeded in persuading Baba to grant them the
pleasure of welcoming and worshipping Him in
their own towns and homes. On such occasions it
is but natural that they should desire more and
more people to receive the benefit of His
discourses. Baba has often agreed to these
requests, and at Chittoor, Trivandrum, Bombay,
and other places, many have had the chance of
personally paying homage to Him. He has also
held public meetings at many towns, thus giving
thousands the unique and unforgettable pleasure
of listening to His captivating voice and
strength-giving words.
Baba has love
toward all. He does not make any distinction
between a village or a city. He responds readily
to requests of seekers to visit remote villages,
and is at home in either a governor's palace or
a grass covered hut. When He visits
devotees in their homes, His party consists of
only a few, because He does not like to impose
hardship upon the devotees' time, hospitality,
and purse. He is very able to look after Himself
and can dispense with the aristocratic
impediment of an entourage. His kindness and
consideration toward those who accompany Him is
such that they are apt to feel they are a burden
on Baba's attention rather than a
help!
Baba has
traveled a number of times through Tamilnad,
visiting such places as Coimbatore,
Trichinopoly, Tanjore, Salem, also Tinnevelly.
He has been to Hyderabad many times and traveled
through the towns and villages of Telingana. He
has visited Ellora and Ajanta to show them to
His devotees, for He has no need to go to places
in order to see them! He can describe any place
anywhere to the minutest detail without actually
having been there physically. He has journeyed
to Delhi, Rishikesh, Kashmir, Mathura,
Brindavan, and Bombay. He has traveled many
times along the East Coast road from Madras to
the Krishna and Godavari Deltas, stopping at
Nellore, Ongole, Guntur, Nuzvid, Chebrole,
Rajahmundry, Peddapuram, Samalkot and
Masulipatam, meeting devotees and others. He has
visited distant places such as Bhadrachalam and
Aukiripalli. In Karnataka Baba has been to
Bellary, Hospet, Mercara, Mysore, and Mandya,
and has spent many weeks in Madras, Kodaikanal,
Cotacamund, and Nandanavananm in Whitefield near
Bangalore.
A
devotee once told Baba, "I heard that your
Kerala tour was most pleasant and
wonderful.
I am sad that I was not destined to join." Baba
replied, "Have the confidence and hope that when
next such an opportunity arises you may be able
to join. Meanwhile listen to the account given
by those who joined, and be happy." The devotee
was referring to a very dramatic, indeed
astonishing, miracle which happened at
Kanyakumari. In the evening, when the sky was
transformed into a carnival of colors, pinks and
purples, and the clouds bedecked themselves with
golden fringes, Baba proceeded to the seashore
with His party and played in the waves of the
three seas that mingle there. Each wave appeared
to be more eager than the previous one to touch
His lotus Feet, to offer Him its own special
homage. Suddenly, as if aware of the yearning of
the seas, Baba stood facing the waters and said
to those beside Him, "See! The ocean is
welcoming Me with a garland."
At that very
moment a stately wave a few yards away,
advancing majestically toward the shore, swept
over Baba's Feet and receded. Imagine the wonder
and amazement of everyone when they found around
His Feet an exquisite pearl garland swaying and
swinging with every surge of the waves! One
hundred and eight translucent pearls, each a
priceless gem strung on a thread of gold! How
charming Baba looked!
Some of the
questions answered by Baba on that great day
were:
"Is all this
creation just illusion?"
"No.
Taking it as creation is the
illusion."
"Are epic
poems such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata
true?"
"True?
They only give some part of the Truth; for
example, when you speak about Me to others, you
are not able to describe Me fully, are
you?"
"Why should
God come down as man to reinstate morality and
spiritual striving? Is not mere will
enough?"
"Of course, it can be done by mere will; but how
are you to get all this bliss if God does not
come in human form? When there is a small local
disturbance, a police constable is enough to put
it down; when the trouble is threatening to
develop into sizable proportions, a police
inspector is sent; when it grows into a riot,
the superintendent of police himself has to
quell it; but when as now, all mankind is
threatened with moral ruin, the inspector
general comes down, that is, the Lord comes down
with His army of saintly men and
seekers."
"Where does an
incarnation take place?"
"At
the place where spiritual exercises can best be
undertaken."
"How can we
know that you are Sai Baba of Shirdi?"
"It
is difficult for you; when I 'went' the other
day as an old man to save Venkataraman's child
on the road near Bagepalli, he did not recognize
Me. He believed that I was a villager named Jodi
Adipalli Somappa, when I gave that
name!"
"How can we
realize the identity between this body and the
Shirdi body?"
"Those
who worship Sai Baba of Shirdi have not
understood Him; and you, too, have not
understood Me. It is only those who have
understood both who can pronounce judgment, is
it not so?"
The next day
the party reached Courtallam on the way to
Surandai. In the evening there was chanting
outside the Travancore House. Baba invited
questions in answer to which He gave these
inspiring words of guidance.
"I
am behind every spiritually earnest student. He
turns back to see Me, but how can he? I am still
at his back. Sometimes in a flash, I give him My
Vision out of My own Will."
"God
is beginningless, but people have started
quarreling because they say, 'God is mine,
mine!' In the realm of individuals, there is
both good and bad; in the realm of angels,
there is only good; in the realm of souls, both
are equal; in the realm of the Oversoul, there
is neither good nor bad."
"There
is no atheist or sinner; all will realize God
sooner or later".
"I
shall pardon a hundred faults of yours. First
examine whether you have followed My advice, and
then judge whether My words have come
true."
"There
are tests held every week and every month and
there are quarterly and half yearly examinations
in school. But it is only after the final
examinations are held and the papers are marked
that the results are announced and you are
declared 'passed' or 'failed.' Do well in each
test and earn the Grace of the
Examiner".
"You
can either destroy or make your destiny; the
attitude which you cultivate can either burn it
or breed it. Indians have to learn this from the
Westerners. People of this country instill fear
even into the minds of young children. 'You will
fall; you will hurt yourself,' they are told.
Children are not trained to climb trees or swim
or do a hundred other useful actions. They are
warned about ghosts, thieves, and they grow up
in mortal dread. Children must learn
self-reliance, courage and
enthusiasm".
"There
are three stages of spiritual struggle - the
ordinary man, the man who strives spiritually,
and the man who becomes one with the Lord of
all. First there are three entities: World,
living-being, and Lord; then they reduce
themselves to two: Living-being and Lord.
Finally, only Lord remains as all three. All
this creation has been made possible with only
these two: Matter and consciousness."
"Vidwan
Chowdiah, the violinist, plays 400 musical
themes - not with a violin of 400 strings, but
with a violin having four strings, doesn't he?
God and His Power have made this world! Here all
are impersonations of the Oversoul; one asks,
ten listen; one answers and all are
satisfied."
"When
the rays of the sun are caught and concentrated
on a point by a piece of glass, it produces
fire; when the rays of the Lord's Grace are thus
concentrated, it will light up the Higher
Mind."
"The
Lord has ordained sorrow, for without sorrow,
man will not cling to God; it is something like
dietary and other restrictions which the doctor
prescribes in order to supplement the effect of
his drug."
"Faith
will come only if you develop hunger for God; a
man who does not feel hunger will not relish a
feast."
"For
concentration and meditation, there are certain
steps and stages which have to be followed;
random pursuit of spiritual ideals is no
good."
"If
you ask Me which is more useful, recitation of
the Name or contemplation of the Form, I will
say, 'that which induces steadier faith in
you."
"In
the meditation the lips and the tongue should
not move; meditation has to be mental. If you
adhere to the path of truth, failure will not
appear as failure; misery will not appear
miserable."
Wherever Baba
stays, He grants personal interviews following
the same procedure as at Prasanthi
Nilayam.
He confers the boons of consolation, courage and
faith on all who seek them. He encourages people
to arrange for the singing in chorus of the Name
of the Lord. Very often He trains them in the
singing of songs. Thus Baba moves from place to
place, making all hearts bloom in joy, showering
His Blessings on all who are afflicted or who
seek comfort, proving by miracles every moment
that He has assumed the human form for the
upliftment of mankind.
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