By: P.L. Goyal
Baba draws his devotee to himself by showing him some ‘Leela’, big or small, which is often termed as a miracle and which becomes the instrument for him to take to Sai bhakti. In reality, the path of bhakti shown by Baba in his lifetime was extremely simple and easy to adopt. But we, his devotees are constantly making it cumbersome by adding age-old practices therein. By doing so, while we are losing track of ourselves, we are also laying out incorrect traditions for others to follow. It is therefore, the primary duty of Sai devotee that he should study ‘Shri Sai Satcharitra’ deeply and take to the path of Sai bhakti as detailed therein with utmost honesty. I am confident that by doing so, he shall be able to experience a nearness to Baba.
Bhakti or devotion is not a commodity that could be displayed, measured,or weighed. It is an ornament of the soul of an individual. Even assessing devotion in one’s bosom correctly many a time goes awry. Length of sustained devotion is also meaningless and many a time proves wrong. The face of a person particularly his eyes, his way of talking, his reaction to events and situations, in fact, his whole bearing, the halo around him, and the vibrations his presence emits, all combine
to make an impact on his bhakti. A devotee himself would also not be able to assess his own devotion which is an ever-growing phenomenon, and which never provides satisfaction to the bhakta. Let us remember that devotion can only enter a heart that is guileless, pure, simple, straightforward, and in the person whose whole bearing becomes child-like. For such a devotee, it may no longer be necessary to visit Shirdi and/or Baba’s local temples; or count the number of times he says his beads and not even sit for a fixed number of hours performing puja. The only requirement is that Baba should become a part of his life and the life lived by Baba on earth should become a part of the way of his life and become ingrained within him. All this and even more shall then become his lifestyle and such a devotee will neither know nor even talk or proclaim the depth of his bhakti. Compassion and pity shall become the ornament of his life and he shall share his food and amenities of life with others. The songs emerging from his heart shall reflect his longing for his ‘Aaradhya’. Meekness, not arrogance, shall become a part of his nature. His ‘Mansa-Vacha-Karma’ shall then emit the rays of Shubbra, Shuddha, Satvik Bhakti and he shall then become the ‘Ankita’ bhakta of Sai of which Hemadpant has talked of in Shri Sai Satcharitra. He shall also spread the fragrance of Sai bhakti all around him. The difference between him and his Sai will gradually diminish. He shall then cease to look for miracles around him. To him every day of life lived shall be a miracle of Baba. Let us ourselves make an assessment of ourselves and see for ourselves, how much progress have we been able to make after having taken to the path of Sai Bhakti. But let us have a firm faith that if we have surrendered heart and soul to our Baba, sooner or later, we are sure to achieve our goal.
According to ‘Narad Bhakti Sutra’, there are nine kinds of bhakti. My purpose is not to produce a treatise on bhakti. What I write is pure and simple bhakti of a devotee for his Lord – The Great Sai Nath of Shirdi.
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