Shirdi

Shirdi Saï Baba 1838(?) - 1918

His most concise message for one and all alike was "Why fear when I am here". To take refuge in Sai, is to enter into ajourney to reach the Divine Oasis of Love and drink deep from the Fountain of Life, the source of all Spiritual Energy.Wherever the devotee is, Baba makes him recognize within himself his highest aspirations and goal and at one stroke, his conduct and the attitude to fellow beings is touched with the awareness of love, understanding, patience and faith. This is the promise that Sri Sai Baba holds out to all who come to Him. Sri Sai Baba was beyond the limitations of Time and Space and thus caste, creed, position dogmas and doctrines were fundamentally unimportant to him. Nobody really knew his parentage, where he came from or which religion he practised. He claimed no possessions nor accepted any disciples or gave any specific teaching.

This anonymity lent a strange facet to his interaction with the people who came to him for guidance. To the Hindus he was an orthodox Brahmin, with a sacred fire, enjoining the worship of many gods and the devout study of various Hindu scriptures. He lived in a mosque but always referred to it as "Dwarkamay!" (Lord Krishna's birth place is Dwaraka). To the Moslems he was a fakir living in a mosque observing the disciplines of Islam, uttering "Allah Malik" (God is the master) guiding Muslim seekers along the lines c)f their own religion. To the Parsis he was the sacred rire worshipper. His life was a living manifestation c)f the Sermon of the Christ and of the Eight-fold path of the Buddha.

Sai Baba's attraction and appeal lie in this fact that he was a perfect model of the harmony of all religions, for whom this world - with all its sectarian and religious antagonism, had been waiting. Sai Baba lived to awaken and lead mankind to the varities of spiritual life. He set in motion a wave of spirituality, which is now spreading all over the globe. All his life's activities constituted the upliftment of mankind. By first conferring temporal benefits, he drew unto himself countless souls caught up in ignorance (darkness) and opened their eyes to the true meaning of life. The miracles which manifested through Sai Baba were just such as were needed to create faith in the people and to make his devotees ethically and spiritually better evolved. Baba did not purposefully perform miracles to show his powers. The very strength of his perfect realisation, in its interaction with nature, caused "the miracle" to take place. Thus he drew people from their deluded pursuits after earthly objects of a transitory nature and induced and inspired them to strive for self-realisation. He continued this glorious work until the last moment of his human embodiment in Shirdi.

Why fear when I am here?

I am formless and everywhere

I am in everything and beyond. I fill all space.

All that you see taken together is Myself.

I do not shake or move.

If one devotes their entire time to me and rests in me, need fear nothing for body and soul.

If one sees me and me alone and listens to my Leelas and is devoted to me alone, they will reach God.

I get angry with none. Will a mother get angry with her children? Will the ocean send back the waters to the several rivers?

Surrender completely to God.

If you make me the sole object of your thoughts and aims, you will gain the supreme goal.

I am the slave of my devotee.

What is our duty? To behave properly. That is enough.

My eye is ever on those who love me.

Whatever you do, wherever you may be, always bear this in mind: I am always aware of everything you do.

I will not allow my devotees to come to harm.

If a devotee is about to fall, I stretch out my hands to support him or her.

My treasury is open but no one brings carts to take from it. I say, “Dig!” but no one bothers.

My people do not come to me of their own accord; it is I who seek and bring them to me.

All that is seen is my form: ant, fly, prince, and pauper

This body is just my house. My guru has long ago taken me away from it.

Those who think that Baba is only in Shirdi have totally failed to know me.

Without my grace, not even a leaf can move.

I look on all with an equal eye.

I cannot do anything without God’s permission.

God has agents everywhere and their powers are vast.

Meditate on me either with form or without form, that is pure bliss.

God is not so far away. He is not in the heavens above, nor in hell below. He is always near you.

I stay by the side of whoever repeats my name.

Whoever makes me the sole object of their love, merges in me like a river in the ocean.

Look to me and I will look to you.

What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get.

Recognize the existence of the Moral Law as governing results. Then unswervingly follow this Law.

All gods are one. There is no difference between a Hindu and a Muslim. Mosque and temple are the same.

When you see with your inner eye. Then you realize that you are God and not different from Him.

Have faith and patience. Then I will be always with you wherever you are.