Beloved children,
Om Namo Sainathaya
One day, Sai Maharaj was walking towards Lendi Baug. He was accompanied by Sri Hari Vinayak Sathe, who built ‘Sathe Wada, the first lodge at Shirdi for visitors from outside. On the way they saw Nanawalli who hung himself upside down from a tree branch, swinging to and fro, like a monkey. Sai Maharaj asked him why he had assumed this strange position. Nanawalli replied that he was doing this to learn how to gain control of his mind. Sai Maharaj, laughing, exclaimed that it was the mind that was directing him to hang himself upside down and Nanawalli was listening to his mind, so how on earth would he expect to control his mind to which he was enslaved?
Baba told Nanawalli that when you walk, talk, eat, jump, laugh, and cry, you are merely following what your mind is directing you to do. Whatever action you undertake, is all being orchestrated by your mind. ‘Mannmadaari, tum Bandar – you are the monkey, dancing to the tune of the mind. To gain control over your actions and thoughts, you need to become aware of the very mind. So, go beyond the monkey mind to be able to control it.
What lies above and beyond the mind? It is ‘buddhi’, intellect. So, use your intellect to gain knowledge and understanding that will help you to step back and see the larger picture. The lower self is such a tiny speck of a speck of a speck. But because we have identified ourselves with it, we magnify it beyond all proportions in our daily lives. This ego self sits on our consciousness and easily captures us.
But there is the larger self, the nobler and true self, in the words of the Bhagwad Gita, it is the Self Supreme. This supreme Self is the divine power, that lies hidden within us and will unfold and we will find wonderful things happening in our daily lives.
Hari Vinayak Sathe was listening to Baba’s advice. He had complained to Baba that Nanavalli and his friends were always harassing him and his father-in-law Dada Khelkar at Sathe Wada. Baba laughed and told Hari Vinayak Sathe that Nanavalli was a Yogi-in-cognito. Baba asked him to trample his sense of ego or I-ness and treat Nanavalli with love and affection.
Yours Sai Babaly
The Sai Aura Team
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