Navavidha Bhakti

నవవిధ భక్తి 

We read so many books and we listen to songs in our daily life. Some of these become our favorites and some of them make us forget ourselves. But what we experience in Bhakti is total bliss and it is second to none. If we immerse ourselves in this sea of devotion, the experience we feel is indescribable and words cannot describe those feelings. Mere reading is a waste of time till the meaning is not experienced, for which the blessings of a Guru, who has the knowledge of the Brahman, is required. Mere bookish knowledge is futile.  We might have bhakti, but do we experience this so called bliss and can we comprehend this?

If we have to reach this stage, what do we need to do? Baba showed an excellent path, that is Navavidha Bhakti. Baba told this through Anathrao Patankar and he did us great favor by giving this path. Of course this was mentioned in Bhagavata purana, but Baba gives us personal experience through his mercy. What was the situation and what made Baba give us this parable about Navavidha Bhakti.

The story from Satcharita goes as follows;

Once a resident of Pune, whose name was Anantrao Patankar, who had developed respect for Sai’s darshan, came to Shirdi soon. He had heard all the Vedas and read the original Upanishads, along with the commentaries; but his mind remained always restless and peace of mind eluded him. When he had taken Sai Samartha’s darshan, Patankar’s eyes were rewarded. After bowing down at his feet he worshipped him with ritualistic accuracy. Afterwards, with folded hands, he sat in front of Baba, very close to him. Anantrao, who looked very lovingly, asked him with extreme humility: “I have read many books, including the Vedas, the Vedangas and the Upanishads. I have listened to the holy Shastras and Puranas. Yet, why is my mind so despondent? I now feel that whatever I have read has been wasted. I think that even the illiterate devout devotee is better off than me. All my study of books, learning of Shastras is a waste. All this bookish knowledge is futile as long as my mind remains unsteady.Oh how empty is the effort I have made over the study of etymology; to what purpose is the japa and mantra which does not give peace of mind! How will I then ever acquire the knowledge of Brahman? By word of mouth I have heard that by Sai’s darshan all worries are removed and that you show the right direction even in your humorous talk, very easily. Therefore, Maharaj, treasure trove of austerities, I have reached your feet. Give me your blessings, by which I may have peace of mind. ” Upon which, Maharaj told him a humorous parable by which Anantrao  was satisfied and enjoyed the fulfillment of his learning. Those few words are the entire essence of knowledge. I will tell you that story. Be ready to hear it. It is humorous but meaningful. Who can disregard such words?

Baba said, in reply: “Once a merchant came along and at that time a horse passed nine balls of stool in front of him. The merchant was very efficient. He immediately took off his wrap, and spread it out, collected all the balls and tied a knot and was able to achieve concentration of mind. ”

‘What has Sai Samartha said? What could be its meaning? Why the collection of the stool by the merchant?’ He did not understand anything. Thinking thus, Anantrao came back and related the conversation, from the beginning to the end, to Kelkar and said: “Who was the merchant? What was the purpose of those balls of stool? Why was number nine mentioned? Please reveal the meaning to me. Dada, what kind of riddle is this? I find myself incompetent to solve it. Tell me something which will open Baba’s heart clearly to me, in plain words. ” Dada said: “ I too, do not understand. Baba’s talk is always of this kind. But I will tell you whatever I am able to understand, as he inspires me. The horse is God’s Grace. This is how the puzzle of the nine-fold devotion could be explained. Without devotion one cannot       have a union with God and knowledge will not be acquired.

Sravana (hearing of God's Lilas and stories)

Kirtana (singing of His glories)

Smarana (remembrance of His name and presence)

Padasevana (service of His feet)

Archana (worship of God)

Vandana (prostration to Lord)

Dasya (cultivating the Bhava of a servant with God)

Sakhya (cultivation of the friend-Bhava) and

Atma nivedana (complete surrender of the self).

With full faith, even if one of these ways of devotion is practiced, Sree Hari who longs for devotion will appear in the home of the devotee.

Now, after reading directly from Satcharita, let’s explore what they are:

First three Sravanam, Kirtanam and Smaranam will purify our mind. Then seed of bhakti is ready to grow. Then if we can incorporate Padasevana, Archana and Vandana seva, the seed starts growing in to a shrub. Guru will bless us and at that point we have to use Dasya and Sakya. Finally we merge in to Paramatma by Atmanivedana. This is the goal of human life.

Kardama Prajapati and Devhuti:

To understand all this we have to go back to creation. In Satcharita, bhakti is compared to a Horse (female). In the beginning of creation, Lord Brahma created Manu and Satarupa as first male and female. They had a daughter by name Devhuti. She gets married to Kardama Prajapati. Kardama was very pious, embodiment of knowledge. She did extreme penance by serving her husband.  

Once the sage Kardam noticed that Devhuti has aged and Shriveled by harsh living, and pleased by her dedication, Kardam asked her to seek a boon. Devhuti only begged that there should never be any lethargy in any service on her part towards him. Pleased again by her pure feelings Kardam provided her with heavenly luxuries. Together they enjoyed those luxuries for many years during which nine daughters were born to them. All those daughters symbolized the Navadha Bhakti (nine kinds of devotion) and were married to nine Prajapatis like Marichi etc. Thus kala was married to Marichi, Anusuya to Atri, Shradha to Angira, Havirbhu to Pulatsya, Gati to Pulah, Shanti to Atharva, Krita to Kratu, Khyati to Bhrigu and Arundhati was married to the sage Vashishtha. 

These daughters are the nine forms of Navavidha Bhakti. All the Maharshis represent the Jnana (Knowledge) and their consorts were forms of Bhakti (Devotion).  Whenever we worship God with utmost devotion, then only we merge with God. Then there is no difference between God and Devotion. This is the Sakti- Chaitanya form together. This is Paramatma (supreme soul) & Sakthi (Maya) combined.

Sai is the kind of Parama Guru, who will make us experience this Navavidha Bhakti rather than just preaching us. Baba taught this on several occasions but mainly in two situations. One was with Ananthrao Patankar and another with Laxmi bai. Let’s us explore Navavidha Bhakti forms individually now.

1) Sravana:  Sravana is hearing of God's virtues, glories, sports and stories connected with His divine Name and Form. The devotee gets absorbed in the hearing of Divine stories and his mind merges in the thought of divinity; it cannot think of earthly things, the mind loses, its charm for the world. The devotee remembers God only even in dream.

One cannot attain Sravana-Bhakti without the company of the saints or wise men.

An experienced man is necessary to instruct the devotee in the right path.

The company of the wise, even for a moment, becomes the boat to cross across the ocean of Samsara.

The fort of Sadhana should be built on the foundation of Satsanga. Mere austerities are not the end of Sadhana. Satsanga illumines the devotee and removes his impurities. It is only then that subtle truths are grasped well by the devotee.

King Parikshit attained Liberation through Sravana. He heard the glories of God from Suka-Maharshi. His heart was purified. He attained the abode of Lord Vishnu in Vaikuntha. He became liberated and enjoyed supreme Bliss.

2) Kirtana:  Kirtana is singing of Lord's glories. The devotee is immersed in Divine Emotion. He loses himself in the love of God. He weeps in the middle when thinking of the glory of God. His voice becomes choked and he flies into a state of divine Bhavana. Wherever he goes he begins to sing and praise God. He requests all to join his Kirtana. He sings and dances in ecstasy. He makes others also dance. Such practices should be the outcome of a pure heart, and they should not be merely a show. God knows the inner secret of all and none can cheat Him. He becomes Sattvic and pure at heart.

3) Smaranam:  Smarana is remembrance of the Lord at all times. This is unbroken memory of the Name and Form of the Lord. The mind does not think of any object of the world, but is ever engrossed in thinking of the glories of the Lord alone.

The mind meditates on what is heard about the glories of God and His virtues, Names etc., and forgets even the body and contents itself in the remembrance of God.

Remembrance also includes hearing of stories pertaining to God at all times, talking of God, teaching to others what pertains to God, meditation on the attributes of God, etc.

Remembrance of God alone can destroy all worldly Samskaras. Remembrance of God alone can turn away the mind from sense-objects.

Lord Krishna says in the Gita: O Arjuna! He who fixing his mind on Me, constantly remembers Me, I am easily attained by that Yogi, ever united with Me. The Gita is an authority on the nine modes of Bhakti. Lord Krishna illustrates with authority that the various modes of devotion shall lead one to the Supreme.

4) Padasevanam: Padasevana is serving the Lord's feet. We see Lakshmi serving Lord Narayana’s feet. No mortal being has got the fortune to practice this method of Bhakti for the Lord is not visible to the physical eyes. So what we can do is serve God’s idol, or picture. For Sai we have the great opportunity to serve his feet as he allowed his devotees to worship him this way. As Sai taught us that he is everywhere, to serve other people & animals is also his Padasevanam. The whole universe is only Virat-Svarupa (Universal form). Service of the world is service of the Lord.

Sri Lakshmidevi is enjoying this practice of devotion and she is ever serving the feet of Lord Hari. Lord Vishnu is resting His feet on the lap of Sri Lakshmidevi and she is the example of one engaged in Padasevana-Bhakti. Can we serve Sai’s feet that way?

5) Archana: Archana is worship of the Lord. Worship can be done either through an image or a picture or even a mental form.

Worship can be done either with external materials or merely through Manasa Puja (worship in the mind) with strong feeling. Manasika puja (Mental prayer) is an advanced form of worship which only men of purified intellect can do.

The purpose of worship is to please the Lord, to purify the heart through surrender of the ego and love of God.

Serving the poor people and worshipping saints is also worship of the Virat-Svarupa of the Lord. The Lord appears in all forms. He is everything.

The devotee should have Sai Bhava or Isvara-Bhava in all beings. He should consider all creatures, down even to the worm, as merely God. This is the highest form of worship.

During worship the mind of the devotee should always be concentrated on the form of the Lord. It should think of His attributes, His Infinite Nature, Bliss, Immortality, etc. It should not think of earthly things. It is the feeling of love for God that God takes into account and not the material that is offered. He is pleased even with leaves and mere water.

6) Vandanam:  Vandana is prayer and prostration. Humble prostration touching the earth with the eight limbs of the body (Sashtanga-Namaskara), with faith and reverence.

 The devotee should bow before everything in absolute devotion, thinking that he is bowing before God Himself.

The object or purpose of Devotion is to realize God through exclusive love. The ego or Ahamkara is effaced out completely through devout prayer and prostration to God. The Divine grace descends upon the devotee and man becomes God.

7) Dasya:  Dasya Bhakti is the love of God through servant-sentiment. To serve God and carry out His wishes, realizing his virtues, nature, mystery and glory, considering oneself as a slave of God, the Supreme Master, is Dasya Bhakti.

Serving and worshipping the Idols in temples, sweeping the temples, meditating on God and mentally serving Him like a slave, serving the saints and the sages, serving the devotees of God, serving poor and sick people who are forms of God, is also included in Dasya Bhakti. Radhkrishna mai used to sweep whole area where Sai had to walk. This is Dasya Bhakti also.

Mhalsapati, Shyama, Bhagoji along with several others, followed Dasya kind of bhakti. By doing this they were ever with Sai in order to offer services to Him and win His Divine Grace and attain thereby immortality.

8) Sakya Bhakti: Sakhya-Bhava is the cultivation of the friend-sentiment with God. We do everything for our dear friends. Sometimes we put all our priorities behind to take care of this friend.   

To be always with Sai, to treat Him as one's own dear relative or a friend belonging to one's own family, to be in His company at all times, to love Him as one's own Self, is Sakhya-Bhava of Bhakti-Marga. Physical love is turned into spiritual love. There is a transformation of the mundane into the Eternal.

He is supremely joyful if anything of his own comes to the service of God. He longs to see God. He does not want to leave the Lord even for a moment.

Sai should be the innermost and the dearest of friends. All friends may desert a person, but Sai will never desert His devotees. He loves you even if you do not love Him. The devotee feels himself merged in the ocean of joy on seeing, touching or thinking of the Beloved.

9) Atma-Nivedana:  Atma-Nivedana is self-surrender. The devotee offers everything to God, including his body, mind and soul. He keeps nothing for himself. He loses even his own self. He has no personal and independent existence. He has given up himself for God.

This self-surrender is Absolute Love for God exclusively. There is nothing but God-consciousness in the devotee. Even against his own wishes, the devotee shall become one with God and lose his individuality. This is the law of being. The Highest Truth is Absoluteness and the soul rises above through different states of consciousness until it attains Absolute Perfection when it becomes identical with God. This is the culmination of all aspiration and love.

Conclusion: By practicing these nine modes of devotion, we can reach new heights in Sai worship. Let us ask for his blessings so that he can give us the strength to follow this path. Even if we can practice at least one of the methods, Sai will bless us with utmost love.

Baba's grace & How to surrender?

శరణాగతి -బాబా అనుగ్రహం 

Great Sadgurus usually teach us through experiences only, but not just by oral teaching. Some times we don’t even realize that they were teaching us something if we do not pay attention to that. But we gain some kind of wisdom from those teachings because these teachings are powerful and burn our accumulated sins. What we need is love towards our Guru. Baba always followed this kind of teaching method. He wanted us to learn that God is every where and in each organism. That’s why he appeared in different forms for different people. This is Paramatama (Supreme soul) manifesting in different forms. So how can we follow these teachings and get some experience from this.

We want to experience God but we need to work hard for this. We are asking for a Universal experience and this is not an ordinary life related issue. We need devotion for this because what we are asking is experience with infinite. Our desires also make God to be transient even though he is permanent. How much time can we dedicate to God? Do we really deserve such an experience? We might have some bhakti, we worship God and we believe in him. But is this sufficient?

Our Bhagavad Gita teaches us like this:

Devotion to God is graded based on knowledge of God:

The nature of God is revealed in Holy Scriptures. The understanding of the people depends on their level of intelligence. Among those who are devoted to God based on their knowledge of God, there are three grades.

Grade 1: There is God (There is only one form and name for the God)

People, who acknowledge the presence of God, will be devoted to a personal god. However, they assume that their god is the only the god and will not respect the gods of other religions and sects.

Such devotees think God as an independent entity will pray to God with respect. They will praise the God for all his powers and glories.

Grade 2: There is only one God. (God is the name for all forms)

When people gain more maturity, they will understand that there is only one God, who is being worshiped by different people by different names and forms.

It does not matter what name one addresses the God because the true God does not have any name or form. Such devotees are aware that the God, who is formless and nameless, is the same God that appears in different names and forms in the minds of other devotees. Therefore, unlike people in the Grade 1, they do not assume that other devotees are in the wrong path. They are aware that people pray to the same God by different names and forms because their limited intelligence.

Such devotees know that the God is the intelligence cause of the universe.

Grade 3: There is nothing but God. (God is formless and forms are illusion)

This is the ultimate understanding of God. People in this grade are truly devoted to God, since they are aware God being not only the intelligence cause of the creation but also the material cause.

This means there is nothing in the universe that is not God.

Such people are not under the delusion that they are independent of the universe. The entire creation is seen as one entity. Whatever actions they do, it is done as a service to God.

All these grades are good. But we know where we need to go from this analogy. But our mind plays so many tricks on us. We become slaves to this mind. We don’t use our intellect (buddhi) all the time and we get caught up in this viscious cycle most of the time. We all have to make an effort to reach the ultimate stage in this Bhakti grade system.

That’s why Baba taught us Navavidha Bhakti (nine modes of worship). Same thing was explained really well by Prahlada in Bhagavata purana. His father did not tolerate him being a Vishnu Bhakta (devotee) and he tortured him with various means. Even these methods were viewed by Prahlada as a form of Vishnu. That’s why nothing could hurt him or bother him. He was at that highest stage of grade system we talked about earlier. What a stage to be in. When Saints reach that stage they do not see any thing else. They are immersed in the nectar of God. Baba used to talk about his service to his Guru. There was no one like him who can serve a Guru. He did not expect any thing from the Guru and he did not see any thing else other than his Guru.

How can we understand Surrender?

Here we will see a story; Once upon a time a pious devotee of God was travelling in a valley area. By accident he fell in to the valley and while falling down, he prayed to God very sincerely. He was able to hang on to a tree branch but still in grave danger. He thought that he was lucky and looks down the valley, gets scared again. He starts praying to God again. God appears and says leave that branch I will save you. We can imagine that Bhakta’s dilemma. He could not let go that branch. God wanted him to trust him. Even though he is a staunh devotee, but could not surrender himself completely. What if a snake was about to come on to that branch? God knows what is best for us. But this bhakta do not know and he feels safe at that moment by hanging on to that branch. We can imagine that situation in our daily life where we can not surrender our selves to God.

Shyama bitten by a snake:

Once Shyama was bitten by a snake and the posion was spreading all over the body. He is about to die. There was one custom in the Shirdi village that they will take a person who was bitten by a snake to a temple in the village. But Shyama told the villagers that no matter what happens to him, he has to go to Baba only.   By the time they reach the Dwarakamai, posion was already spreading all over. His condition presented to be very grave. Of course Baba saved him. Shyama is a great soul and he is a perfect example of pure devotion and faith. We have to thrive for that kind of devotion.

How to cultivate the seed of Bhakti:

The seed of bhakti that we have inside us has to grow in to a big tree. For a seedling to grow, ideal circumstances have to be present. It needs adequate Sun light, water and air along with other nutritional elements. More over when it is growing any animal can graze and eat it. In a similar way if we want to love God we need a seed called Faith (shradda) and provide adequate circumstances for this bhakti to grow. We have to protect this bhakti from worldly objects because they can consume us if we are not careful. You have to cultivate love towards Baba every day. You have to give this seed light - jnana (knowledge), water – Sabhuri (patience like water) and air – fill it with Bhakti. We have to know about God, do read the scriptures and try remembering God’s name all the time. Stay away from bad influences.

 Baba taught a good lesson to Hemadpant through grains story (Chana leela).

Let’s look at that story and Baba’s teaching. Hemadpant gives this narration in Satcharita as follows:

Once Hemadpant was massaging Baba’s feet and doing his service (seva). At that moment Shyama laughed and remarked: “What Annasaheb! What are these grains here which seem to be stuck? ” Saying so, Shyama touched the sleeve of the coat with his fingers, when from the folds of the coat, grains were found. How did the grains come to be stuck to the coat?  Everybody was wondering how these grains came there.

Then Baba said: “He has a bad habit – that of liking to eat alone. Taking advantage of the market day, he came rubbing the grams in his palms (to take off the skin). It is not good to eat alone. But I know his habit. These grams give the proof. What is there to be surprised about? ”.

 Then Hemadpant said: “Baba, till this day, I have not seen the Shirdi bazaar. If I went there, I could buy the grams. And the question of eating them would arise only later. I never eat anything without sharing it with someone who so ever has this liking may do so, but this is not my habit”.

Now observe Baba’s skill. How he made devotion firmer to himself! Hear with attention, to what he said after listening to my clear denial.

Baba then said; “You share the food with whosoever is near you. But what do you do, when you are alone? What can I also do? Do you remember me? Am I not beside you? Do you offer me a morsel? ”

Meaning behind the story:

Thus he made the grams a mere pretext and deeply impressed upon this principle. Eating food without offering to Indra and other deities, the five ‘pranas’, the fire and defrauding them of it or without offering to all deities made by presenting oblations to the fire before meals, or without offering it to the unexpected guest makes the food highly impure.

In principle, this appears insignificant. But its application in daily life is very important. Enjoying the flavor of the food is not the only implication – all the five senses and other enjoyments are included. One who panders to his senses can never hope to achieve spiritual progress. He who has a tight control over the senses alone can succeed.

The Shrutis proclaim: “Yada Panchavatishthante ” i.e. when all the five senses and the intellect become steady it is considered the highest state of Yoga. That was emphasized by Baba, through this joke.

Words, touch, form, are related to this principle. How full of advice is this teaching of Baba, in relation to this incident!

“Before the mind, the intellect and other senses enjoy these objects; remember me first so that they become an offering to me. The senses can never remain without their objects; but if these objects are first offered to the Guru, the attachment for them will naturally vanish.

If you desire anything, desire me only! If you are angry vent your anger on me only! Offer me your pride and stubbornness. Be devoted only to me.

 Whenever desire, anger, pride arise strongly make me the object towards which to direct them. In this way, one by one, the Lord will help you in eradicating all the ‘Vrittis’. The Lord will certainly calm the strong waves of these three venomous qualities. In fact, this disturbed mental state would be absorbed in my form or would become one with me. A state of peace will be yours at my feet”. If you practice this, desires will become weak, on their own, and with the passage of time desires will be destroyed from their very roots. The mind will be free from all such tendencies.

Knowing and believing that the Guru is close by such a person would never be disturbed by such tendencies. Once such a good habit takes firm root, the bondage of the world will loosen. The Guru’s form will be seen in every desirable object. Thus desire itself becomes the form of the Guru.

If there is the slightest desire for the enjoyment of these objects; and you think that Baba is close by, the question whether the object is fit to be enjoyed or not will at once arise. The object that is not fit to be enjoyed will be easily shunned. In this way, the devotee’s vicious addictions will disappear and an aversion towards the undesirable will develop.

He will be ready to obey the rules for the control of the senses, as mainly stated in theVedas. Then, the enjoyment of the objects will be as per the rules and there will be no indiscriminate indulgence. When such a habit is developed, the thoughts about enjoyment of the sense objects are weakened. The desire for the worship of the Guru arises and pure knowledge will sprout. When pure knowledge grows, the bondage of body-consciousness will break and the intellect will be merged in spirit consciousness, leading to infinite bliss. Even though the body is perishable, it is a means towards gaining enlightenment, which is really more desirable than salvation, because through it, we can experience ‘bhakti’. This fifth rung of gaining enlightenment is superior to the other four ‘kama, artha, dharma and moksha’. They cannot be compared to ‘bhakti’. Invaluable are the gains of ‘bhakti’.

One who achieves fulfillment by serving the Guru can fully understand the implication of this statement. He alone will achieve enlightenment by understanding the inherent meaning of ‘bhakti’, knowledge and detachment. One who thinks of the Guru as different from God is like a man reading the whole Bhagavat without realizing who God is.

 Desire for the objects of senses will be destroyed from the root when you serve the Guru, with a pure heart. The mind will become pure and sinless and your Self will manifest with effulgence. So be it. Given the strong desire, it was an easy matter for Baba to produce roasted grams! He needed no special time for the enactment of the most miraculous deeds. A popular conjurer or juggler, merely to earn his livelihood, can produce whatever you ask for, by waving his magic wand. But Sainath is a divine conjurer! What can be said about the prowess of his miracle? When he wished, he produced innumerable grams, on the spur of the moment.

 Moral of this story:

This story expands our horizons and if we can follow these principles in our daily life; we will become pure in our heart. Then we will be saved by our Guru from this life death cycle.

Let us concentrate on it. ‘Do not enjoy any object with any of our five senses without first remembering Baba’. When the mind is trained in this way, we will be always reminded of him. The attention will be at Sai’s feet in all transactions.

That Incarnation of Pure Brahman will ever remain before the eyes and then devotion, liberation and non-attachment would arise.

Salvation will be achieved. When this beautiful form is fixed before our mental vision, we forget hunger, thirst and the mundane existence.

The consciousness of worldly pleasures will disappear and our mind will attain peace.

OM SAI RAM!

Understanding God & Importance of Devotion

భక్తి అంటే ఏమిటి ? భగవంతుడు ఎవరు ?

What is Bhakti?

 Love for God is called Bhakti.

Complete and unconditional Bhakti is called surrender (Saranagati).

If we want to love someone, we need to know them and we have to really like them. In a similar way if we have to love God, we need to understand God and we have to know him. Then only we can love him.

Do we have Bhakti or not? This is the question we need to ask ourselves. If we say that we do, are we capable of surrendering to God. Baba always gave importance to Shradda (Faith). What is Shradda? It is nothing but unwavering faith towards what you believe in. If we do not have this, then we will remain as normal devotees. We always want worldly things from our God. We do some kind of business with Guru or God. But Guru is so merciful that he fulfills all our needs and wants. Baba used to say that, all my devotees come to me first with these desires. Once I bring them to me, I will try to make them realize the importance of spiritual path. But in this process, they stray and run after more desires. They drop out lacking Shradda like the pollen of Mango tree. They do not show the patience that is Sabhuri. They will fall as unripe fruits. Those who can follow me to the end are real Bhaktas. I will take them to the Moksha. These words he reiterated to Damu Anna at one time.                

Surrender to God does not signify any physical act. It is the mental attitude resulting from our understanding of our limitation to liberate ourselves from the clutches of the Illusion. When we know God is the master of Illusion, we practice Bhakti Yoga, which is to love god completely. Lord Krishna calls this as surrender to God. In life, we strive to achieve various objects of desire like name, fame, money and such. Whenever we are successful, we assume that the success is due to our hard work, perseverance and such positive qualities. The real reason for our success is God's grace.

When we cannot even adopt Shradda, when can we learn to be Patient with Sabhuri. Why is all this happening? Why we cannot be pious in our attempts towards loving God.

Importance of Bhakti (Devotion):

Once upon a time, the great Veda Vyasa was so despondent and had a feeling, which he could not describe. Some thing was empty even after categorization of Vedas, writing Brahma sutras, Mahabharat (panchama Veda) with Bhagavadgita (the gist of Upanishads). Then Narada Maharshi happened to come there. Then Vyasa asked him about his condition and to show some kind of resolution. Then Narada acknowledges his situation and advises him to write Mahabhagavatam describing avataras (Incarnations) and leelas of supreme God Vishnu. You wrote everything except praising God’s qualities. Humans need Bhakti in their lives to advance in the spiritual realm. Without devotion towards God they cannot get rid of Ahamkara (Ego). So please compile all the avatars (incarnations) of God and his supreme qualities. Then you will attain that mental peace that you are asking for. This will become popular as Mahabhagavat. This will lead human beings to Bhakti marga (path).

Bhagavat means knowing God, adopting the ways of Bhakati, and surrendering to God. In this devotion whenever humans forget themselves in this ecstasy, then they are at the last chapter of Moksha. We can lose our ego (Ahamkara) in this process easily, rather than by any other path. We worship and love our demi gods (devatas) according to our family traditions. This love could be of various degrees. But we might not know much about our own family God. Here we fall in to the clutches of Maya (illusion). The worldly objects are pulling us in different directions and we tend to thrive more in these objects. This is where we fall in to these clutches of Maya. We feel like we cannot live without these objects. This kind of thinking leads us to the destructive path. That’s why Baba made some of his devotees read Bhagavat especially 11^thScanda. This scanda explains the importance of Bhakti where Krishna gives Uddava Gita.
 

Choosing God over other objects:

 In Mahabharat, once Arjuna and Duryodhana came to see Krishna Paramatma prior to war. When Krishna wanted them to choose either him or his army, Arjuna chooses Krishna, and Duryodhana wanted the whole army. He was afraid that Arjuna will choose the entire army because Krishna said that he is not going to participate in the real war. He was happy when Arjuna chose Krishna. Duryodhana goes back to his palace and tells everyone that Arjuna was foolish. In reality Arjuna chose God but not the objects made by him.

When we have God in our lives, we do not need anything. The whole universe is in him. If you have God, you have everything. Our job is always to choose only God but not the objects made by him. Because these objects are not permanent, and we do not take anything with us when we die. The only thing we take with us is our karmas and devotion that we had towards God. We should never make God as a machine that grants our boons. The day we really learn this truth and we combine this Jnana (Knowledge) with Bhakti, we will succeed in our quest for Mukthi (salvation). We will start loving God unconditionally.

Love Sai like Mhalsapati:

   Mhalsapati faced so many worldly difficulties with extreme poverty. He did not have any food to feed his family lot of times. His family fasted without food on several occasions. He never yielded to this pressure. Baba offered to give him some money but he refused to take and used to say “Sai I just need your blessings not monetary benefits from you. He was goldsmith by profession but a poor village like Shirdi could not give him any business to survive. His lands were barren. He was worshipping his Khandoba (Lord Shiva) in the form of Sai all the time. Even at the height of his poverty, he showed Ananyabhakti (unconditional devotion). His greatness and unconditional worship (shradda) was evident when he did not ask or say anything about his son’s death. He could have asked Baba to get his son back like all other devotees but he did not. Because he knows what he needs to get from a great Guru like Sai? Can we learn this kind of Shradda and love our Sai to the extent that Bhakta Mhalsapati did. This could be our golden standard for spiritual development in loving Sai.

Understanding God:

When our kids ask us about God, do we have a correct answer?

Are we trying to understand God ourselves?

Once Nana Chandorkar asked Baba the following questions:

(1)   Who is God?

(2)   What is He like?

(3)   Where is He?

(4)   How are we to see Him?

Baba: I will tell you later on.

Baba: Baddhas, (the very worldly) do not know or observe the difference between right and wrong or what God is. They have no moral tendencies. Ever immersed in the world, (and impure in heart), having no faith in Scriptures or saints, they do not get to God-but go to Hell.

The Mumukshus, disgusted with the baddha state, begin vichara and viveka and thirst for the sight of God. They are devoted to God and observe the Moral Law. They become sadhakas, by adopting sadhanas e.g., repetition of God’s name (Japa) and (Dhyana) meditation on god, in solitude, withdrawing their minds from objects of senses. They love to move with Saints. These, when perfect are called Siddhas. At that stage, God becomes the same as man; praise, the same as blame etc., they have no desires. They are past the notion that the body is their home or their self. They feel their self to be identical with God. “I am Brahman” is their feeling.

To know God, see how God is viewed by each of these, at each stage. Then ultimately, God is seen as manifested in all forms – moveable and immovable.

God is everywhere. There is no place from which he is absent. But behold the power of Maya that does not allow Eswara to be seen and recognized (in all). I, you and the entire world are one Amsa i.e., parts of the Lord. Therefore let none hate others, forget not that God is in every place. Thereby Love (Non-hatred) is there, of itself. When that springs up, everything is achieved.

This was amazing answer one can give and here Baba makes it very simple. For the ages, people have been teaching us about this truth, why is that we cannot understand this reality. This truth is not able to penetrate in to our intellect. We are not able to experience this truth that easily despite our renewed interest in the spiritual world. So what is the solution?

Baba blessed us with a practical solution and that is Shradda and Sabhuri. Unconditional devotion towards God is sufficient to reach God. Baba demonstrated this by saying, “Allah Malik” all the time. He wanted us to show utmost faith towards him and he can take us to the end. For example, when we were in school, teachers made us learn most difficult things by repetition. We became perfect after we practiced what was deficient. You become perfect by learning about the topic more intensively. In a similar way we can do God’s Smarana (Repeating his name and thinking about him) all the time. Our shastras (scriptures) say that in this age of Kaliyuga, humans can reach God by Bhakti alone. Baba also told us that we can travel this path with a guide so that we do not lose our path and direction.

Omnipresence of God:

Baba revealed the omnipresence (Sarva Vyapakatvam) so that we can understand this principle. He appeared as different Gods, came as human forms and as animal also. He tried to convince us that there is only one God; he is everywhere and in every organism in this universe. Baba always wants us to understand this truth and he will continue to guide us along this path. Whatever Lord Krishna taught us in Bhagavadgita through Vibhudhi Yoga, Baba demonstrated this practically by appearing in different forms. He never had to travel anywhere but he was all over. So Parama Gurus like Shirdi Sai can only make us experience this truth. So Sai Bandhus cultivate unconditional love towards Sai, and he will help you to achieve life’s goal that is Self-realization.

OM SAI RAM!