Sri Saisatcharita chapter - 8

Every day the sun rises and the sun sets. Thus the years roll on. Half of life is spent in sleep and the remaining is not enjoyed peacefully. As children our life is mostly spent in fun activities and lot of school education. Then we are running for worldly pleasures and when we become old all kinds of ailments bother us. Childhood, youth and old age are the stages through which everybody goes; but how naturally they come and go is not understood by anybody. We spend almost half of our life in sleep and rest of the time we do not even enjoy what we have. The human body is the home of germs and viruses, harbors various diseases, not long-lasting and ends within a short period. It is an accumulation of flesh and muscles, the cage or skeleton of bones and skin. But still this body is the only way through which purity of God can be reached. The cycle of birth and death is continuous. Even the very idea of death is extremely horrifying. This life will pass away without any inkling. This is the essence of human life and we are not born just for this reason. This is the point that was emphasized in the beginning of the chapter 8.

Baba told us about the significance of human life and what is the goal of human life. In case of such short-lived human life, the time which is spent in reading the scriptures and listening to the stories of God is fruitful, while the time spent otherwise is a waste. This is the best thing to do in our life but nobody can own this feeling until they make a deep study of life and experiences this one self. One should keep permanent peace and happiness as one’s goal of life and think about it. Serve all beings as God – this is the most beneficial faith in life. Baba says to leave the attachment to the body but protect enough to live, do not pamper. Life passes quickly in looking after the progress of the family. But time never forgets its duty and readily keeps count of the tenure of life. A person gets human birth because of past good deeds and after so many animate and inanimate births. Therefore, every moment should be used well. Life is not to be lived only for doing work, to fulfil one’s wishes to acquire wealth and for earning money. Until one survives, one should study the philosophy of life. That is the aim of life.

The knowledge of reality is oneness. That is also the knowledge of Brahman, as prescribed by the Upanishads. That is itself the worship of God. That is the real God for the devotees. Guru and Brahman are not two separate entities. Remove ignorance through knowledge. Go beyond both knowledge and ignorance. Reach the stage of Pure Self-realization. This is the only goal for a human life. To reach this we need a Guru in our life. Sai is our Guru. The salt water from the sea evaporates and comes as the rain water which is potable. Similar is the happiness of being at the feet of Sai.

In this chapter Hemadpanth writes about how Baba went for Bhiksha (alms) every day. He was using a cloth like Jholi to put rice and bread. Then he also had a Tumrel in which he gets vegetables, curry, buttermilk and all kinds of liquid items. His tongue has never known passion for taste. He used to leave the food in Kolamba so that dogs, birds and other animals can eat this food. Initially Bayjabai used to search for Baba to feed him but later on when Baba settled in Masjid her task became easier. But she worked hard to serve him with full joy. She did this service without expecting anything in return. Of course Baba will help us anyway. By taking alms Baba took away our sins so that we can be free from the negative deeds. Then Hemadpanth talks about how Tatya, Mhalsapati and Baba used to sleep in the Masjid with their heads toward North, East and West. If Tatya doze off, Baba used to press his head and wake him up. This went on for 14 years for Tatya and when his father died Tatya started sleeping at home. This was incredible to be with Baba all these years. Baba wakes us if we doze off from God by pressing our heads also. Baba will make sure we walk in right path. Here sleeping means deviating from spiritual path.

Later in the chapter Satcharita talks about how Baba blessed Kushalchand in Rahata. Baba never went beyond Shirdi except Rahata and Neemgaon. When he goes there people used to welcome him with so much devotion. Now let us look at the whole chapter and the sequence of stories that were told. First it talks about the importance of human life and goal of life. So we are born on this earth after doing some good deeds. Then it tells you how to use time and what we need to do. By taking alms, Baba took away sins from his devotees. Then bayjabai serving Baba was mentioned which means we have to serve our Guru or God with lots of devotion without expecting anything in return. We have to love God for God only. Not for anything else. By doing this our hearts will be pure. Then only we will be eligible for Satsangh with Guru. This is like Tatya and Mhalsapati staying with Baba. Once we have Satsangh and Guru in our life, then comes the grace from God. Baba will show us the right path only if we let him. If we keep running for worldly objects then our spiritual quest will be delayed. We may not be sure that we will get human form in the next life. So Sai devotees let us walk the path that Sai showed and ask Sai to give us the strength to do so.

Sri Sainathaarpanamasthu!