Sri Sai Satcharitra Sārāmsh - Conclusion

Sri Ganeshayanamaha      Sri Saraswatyainamaha      Sri Gurubhyonnamaha

 Sri Sai Ramachandrayanamaha

Sri Sai Satcharitra Sārāmsh

(Nitya Paarayana Granth)

Source: Sri Sai Satcharitra written by Sri Hemad Pant and published by Shirdi Samsthan

Abridged by: Ch. K. Surya Prakasa Rao, Visakhapatnam (A.P., India), 

Sai Devotee

 Translated by: Suryanarayana Vulimiri, Morrisville, NC USA, 

Sai Devotee

CONCLUSION

I would like express my heart-felt gratitude to Brahmasri Suryaprakasa Rao garu who took lot of efforts in writing a condensed version of Sri Hemad Pant’s “Sri Sai Satcharitra” published by Shirdi Sansthan into a small booklet titled “Sri Sai Satcharitra Saramsh”.  He spoke about this precious message on Guru Poornima day (July 25, 2010) to enthusiatic Sai devotees.  In order to make it available to all Sai devotees, he entrusted me to put it into print.  Its a great pleasure in carrying out Sai seva by typing the text first into Telugu font and then translating it into English.  I am really greatful to Sri Suryaprakasa Rao garu for showering fatherly affection on me and giving me the opportunity to get invovled in the service of Sri Sai..

With warm regards

Sai Devotee

Suryanarayana Vulimiri

Morrisville, North Carolina, USA

September 09, 2010. 

Sri Sai Satcharitra Sārāmsh - Wednesday Paarayan

Sri Ganeshayanamaha      Sri Saraswatyainamaha      Sri Gurubhyonnamaha

 Sri Sai Ramachandrayanamaha

Sri Sai Satcharitra Sārāmsh

(Wednesday Paarayan)

Source: Sri Sai Satcharitra written by Sri Hemad Pant and published by Shirdi Samsthan

Abridged by: Ch. K. Surya Prakasa Rao, Visakhapatnam (A.P., India), 

Sai Devotee

 Translated by: Suryanarayana Vulimiri, Morrisville, NC USA, 

Sai Devotee

45^th Chapter:

                Baba’s physical or finite form disappeared from our view. But his infinite power and spiritual form will remain forever.  Even now what we need is heart-felt devotion for Baba. Our intellect, mind and all the senses should be unified in the service of Baba. None of our kith and kin, such as father, mother, brothers or relatives will be able to help us in attaining self-realization in life. We have to find our way and continue to travel to attain this goal.

                In Kali yug there is only one way to attain liberation. It is nothing but seeking the refuge at the divine feet of Guru or Hari (God). Always chanting Guru’s name and meditating on him gives us eternal bliss. Baba once said to Mahalsapati, “Whether it is good or bad, whatever it belongs to us remains with us, while others have what belonged to them”.

46^th Chapter:

                Although Baba’s image is invisible now, if the devotees keep faith in him they can experience all the leelas that had happened before he attained samādhi. If Baba accepts someone as a devotee he will stay with him round the clock and also will follow him even he is at a far off place. If a devotee goes to a place of his interest, Baba would arrive there ahead of anybody and always show up in an unanticipated form. Based on the story of the two goats it is apparent that Baba loves animals so much.

47^th Chapter:

                Pure and blessed is the face of Sai. If we cast a glance at Sai for a moment, He will get rid of the sorrow we acquired from the past several births and confers great bliss on us. His looks of grace and mercy would make us free of the bondage of karma in no time and we will be laid to happiness. Everyone has to reap the fruits formed in this birth due to the seeds sown in the previous birth, and there is no escape.  There is no use in worrying over the past. God will always rush to the rescue of the devotees in times of necessity. This has been exemplified in the story of Veerabhadrappa-Chenna Basappa (Snake-Frog story).

Moral: From this story we learn that we need to experience the effects of our own past deeds. Besides, we may have to experience the troubles that come due to our relationship with others. There is no way one can escape. If we have enimity with others, we have to be liberated from that. You have to repay a debt if you owe anything to others.  Unpaid debt and uncleared enimity  always makes you suffer mentally. Those who are greed and avaricious end up in misery, eventually leading to destruction.

48^th Chapter:

Qualities of Sadguru:

                A sadguru is one who creates distaste in us towards worldly pleasures; one who inculcates interest in us towards self-realization; one who has both theoretical and practical knowledge in self-realization. He is deserved to be called as sadguru. A saduguru is an epitome of peace and is never restless or ruffled. They never show pride for their learning. The rich, the poor, the great and the small are all equal to them. Sri Shirdi Saibaba is such a sadguru. Thus, devotees should fill the lamp of their heart with the oil of faith and dovotion and use love as the wick. When they kindle the lamp with the flame of  knowledge it will glow brighter. God will manifest where there is true yearning and superior expression. It is nothing but love, which shows the path to liberation.  Thus, whatever the experiences the devotees had while Baba was physically present, the same experiences are felt by those who instilled complete loyalty to him even today.

49^th Chapter:

                Practising penance (tapasya) is always superior than pilgrimage, vow, sacrifice or charity. Worshipping Hari is better than penance. However, meditation of Sadguru is superior to all the above. If we fulfill our duties sincerely, Sai Sadguru definitely helps us and eventually liberates us. Once Baba said to Nana, “Why are you getting agitated unnecessarily? Let the senses perform their assigned duties. We should not interfere with them. God has created this beautiful world. It is our duty to look at this beauty and enjoy it. As long as your heart is pure there is nothing wrong with it. When we do not harbor evil ideas why should we scared of others? Eyes will do their duty of seeing and enjoying. You need not feel ashamed. “If you can not control the external senses, and let your mind run after objects of desire, and be attached to them, you will never be able to break the cycle of birht and death”.

50^th Chapter:

                The stories of Sai Baba give solace and comfort to the readers. Those who tell or listen to Sai stories are blessed and holy. The mouths of those who tell and the ears of those who listen are pious. Baba says to devotees, “Do not entertain the sense of doership in doing good or bad deeds; be entirely prideless and egoless in all things and thus your spiritual progress will be rapid”. “During your terminal stages of life I will take you in an air coach”. Baba always says that if the devotee does not belong to Him, he will neither be attracted to Him nor gets a glimpse of Him.

51^st Chapter: (This is equivalent to Chapters 52 and 53 from Sai Satcharitra)

                These are the last chapters. In this Hemadpant gave his concluding remarks.

Greatness of Sadguru Sai:

                We prostrate ourselves infront of Sadguru Sai and seek his refuge. He pervades equally in all living creatures and animals as well as in inanimate objects without any differentiation. If we remember Him and seek his shelter, He will fulfill all our wishes and makes us attain the goal of our life. It is very difficult to traverse the ocean of mundane existence. Sadguru Sai helps us being like a boat to safely take us across this ocean.

Sri Sāinātha’s Ēkādasha Sūtras:

  1. Stepping on Shirdi soil will bring all your sorrows to an end.

  2. The wretched and miserable who climb the steps of my samadhi will get comforts and prosperity.

  3. I will be awake and active even after leaving this physical body.

  4. My devotees get the protection from my Samādhi itself.

  5. I will carry out all my chores from the Samādhi itself.

  6. My mortal remains would speak from the Samādhi.

  7. It is my duty to protect those who surrender to me and seek refuge in me.

  8. If you look to me, I will look to you.

  9. If you cast your burden on me, I shall bear it for certain.

10. If you seek my help or advice, I shall be given to you at once.

11. There shall be no poverty in the house of my devotees. 

Phala Shruti (Reward of Study)

Let us talk about the benefits of reading this book.  One should read Sai stories in order to escape from the cycle of birth and death.  And always remember them.  Always seek shelter at His divine feet. Worship Him with devotion. As you continue to meditate Sai’s Form, eventually it leads you to the path of self-realization. If a devotee surrenders himself completely to Baba, he will forget himself and at the end will join the God just like the rivers merge into the great ocean.

                Every day after taking bath who ever reads this book with devotion, love and complete faith and finishes in one week, will ward off all their troubles or sorrows. Even if you can read one chapter every day by focusing your mind, it gives immense happiness.  If you belive in seeing only Sai’s holy feet in your heart you can easily cross the ocean of mundane existence.  Always the rewards depend on the extent of one’s faith and devotion.

Prasad Yachana

We conclude reading this book with the prayer of the Almighty. We beseech Him for showing mercy on us.  Let those whoever read this book shall get heart-felt complete devotion at the feet of Sri Saibaba. Let Sai’s Form stay in their eyes forever. They would see Sai in all beings. Let it be happen.

Sri Satchidanand Sadguru Sainath Maharaj Ki Jai!

Sri Sai Satcharitra Saramsamu is complete.

It was possible to write this book only because of the mercy of Sri Sai.

I would dedicate it to my parents. I always surrender to Him.

Sai Devotee

Ch.K.Suryaprakasa Rao, Visakhapatnam

Camp: USA, NorthCarolina, Morrisville.

Date: 25^th July 2010. 

Sri Sai Satcharitra Sārāmsh - Tuesday Paarayan

Sri Ganeshayanamaha      Sri Saraswatyainamaha      Sri Gurubhyonnamaha

 Sri Sai Ramachandrayanamaha

Sri Sai Satcharitra Sārāmsh

(Tuesday Paarayan)

Source: Sri Sai Satcharitra written by Sri Hemad Pant and published by Shirdi Samsthan

Abridged by: Ch. K. Surya Prakasa Rao, Visakhapatnam (A.P., India), 

Sai Devotee

 Translated by: Suryanarayana Vulimiri, Morrisville, NC USA, 

Sai Devotee

38^th Chapter:

      Sri Sai is the Sadguru and an embodiment of purity. He protects and nourishes those who surrender to him and seek his refuge. Baba used to prepare food with his own hands and used to feed vegetarians with vegetarian food and others with meat-based food. Baba used to mix the food with his bare hands while the food was cooking on a stove. Even then he never got his hands burnt. Our scriptures say it aloud that we should perform tapasya (penance) in Kruta yug, acquire jnyana (knowledge) in Trētā yug, yagyna (sacrifice) in Dwāpara yug, and dān (charity) in Kali yug. Of all the charities, anna-dān (food-donation) is the greatest.  “Annam Parabrahma Swaroopam”, meaning food is the symbolism of the superior divinity.  

      
      Baba never liked if someone ridicules Gods or their abodes such as temples. He used to get all the temples repaired which needed some attention in the Shirdi village. Some people used to think that Baba is a Hindu while others used to think that he is a Muslim. But in reality, Baba never belonged to any caste or religion. Nobody knew where Baba was born or his parents.

Kala mixture (hodge-podge): His devotees used to mix all the prasādam brought by different people and offer it first to Baba and then used to take it as his prasādam.

      
      Being aware that he will be going into the Samadhi soon, Baba gave a vessel full of buttermilk to Hemad Pant and asked him to drink it. This tells us that Baba is omniscient. All the readers should salute to Hemad Pant. Because he drank a vessel full of buttermilk and in turn gave the amrit (nectar) of Baba’s leelas (miracles) to everybody in the form of Sai Satcharitra. Let us rejoice by drinking this amrit as much as we can.

39^th Chapter:

      Dwārakamāyi is as auspicious as Shirdi. Becaused Sai lived, moved, roamed and ultimately attained Mahā Samādhi there.  When Nana, a close follower of Baba felt out of pride that Baba does not know Sanskrit, Baba recited the 34^th shloka “tadviddhi pari prānēna pari prasnēna sēvayā, upadēksyamti tē jnānam jnāninās tatva darsinaha” from the 4^th Chapter of bhagavad-geeta, and explained its meaning in detail.  Baba emphasized few points: “service is not something you do when you like it and not do when you don’t like it”. “This body is not yours, you are not its owner, instead you should assume that it belongs to the guru and it is meant for serving the guru.  Here guru means the God. A true devotee always thinks that everything what he possesses belongs to the supreme Lord Krishna.

Construction of Samadhi Mandir:

      Baba never used to let anyone know of what he is going to do. When Sriman Bapu Saheb Buti and Shyama told Baba that they would like to build a spacious temple in Shirdi where they intend to install the idol of Muralidhar (Srikrishna), the omniscient Baba said “Once you complete the temple construction, I will go and live there”. “We should only use the temple after the completion of construction”. It is true that it is impossible for anyone to know the depth of Baba’s life or intensions.

      
      Baba’s words during the time he fell sick just before his samādhi “place me in the stone temple (Buti wāda)” are suggestive that he himself is Muralidhar. Since Baba was engraved in Buti wāda, we should realize that Baba is actually Muralidhar and the Buti wāda is the Samādhi mandir.

40^th Chapter:

      Just as the rivers flow into the ocean during the rainy season, his devotees are energized when they meet Him. Baba said “I will not forget those who remember me. I do not need a vehicle or a train or a tāngā or an aeroplane.  Anyone who calls me with love, I will appear in front of them in no time”.  If devotees seek the shelter of sadguru with complete surrender, the sadguru will make sure that ominous things happen in the devotees’ homes all the time.

41^st Chapter:

      Baba loves those who are keen in spiritual thinking. Besides, he removes their problems and makes them happy.  Baba lives in every devotee’s heart. Baba does not like it when someone asks others to know about him or other devotees.  Baba says “When I am here why should you ask others about me? Why don’t you ask me directly?”.

42^nd Chapter:

Baba attaining Samādhi:

      All our troubles will go away if we remember the divine feet of sadguru. Even ‘death’ looses its nature. Worldly sorrows will go away. Those who wish to be secure should listen to Sai’s miracles.  It purifies their mind.  Baba prophesied the time of his death and averted the death of his devotees Ramachandra Patil and Tatya Kote Patil.  Instead, Baba left the world on 15^th October, 1918. This indicates that Baba always showered love and affection upon his devotees.

      
       Once at the instance of Baba, a devotee Lakshmi Bai ran in haste, made roti (bread) and brought to Baba.  Baba fed it to a dog saying “The appeasement of the dog’s hunger is the same as mine”. “Know for certain that whoever feeds the hungry really serves Me with food. This suggests that Baba is present in all creatures great and small. Baba is omni-present, birthless or deathless. He is immortal. It is said that yogis come to this earth wearing a body on a mission. Once the mission is accomplished they exit smoothly, quietly and peacefully just the way they came.

43^rd & 44^th Chapters:

Period after Baba’s Samādhi:

      Whoever thinks about spiritual matters and withdraws from worldly things at the time of death would reach upper worlds naturally and easily.  Although Baba is an incarnation of God and does not need such help, in order to set an example he asked a devotee Mr. Vaze to read the holy book Ramavijayam to him for 14 days.

      
      Even after his demise Baba appeared in the dream of Lakshman Mama Joshi, a maternal uncle of Shyama and said “Get up soon, Bapusaheb thinks that I am dead and so he won’t come. You do the worship and the Kakad (morning) Arati for me!”.

      
      Baba’s body did not get stiff, though it was exposed for 36 hours and that all limbs were elastic and that His Kafni could be taken out without being torn to pieces. Some days before Baba’s departure a brick against which Baba used to lean or rest in the mosque, was broken into two pieces when a boy accidentally dropped the brick while cleaning. When Baba came to know this said, “It is not the brick, but My fate has broken into pieces. It was my life-long companion, with it I always meditated on the Self, it was as dear to Me as My life, it has left Me today”.  About 32 years before this incident, i.e. in 1886 Baba went into samādhi for 72 hours and finally returned to life again. It is a point to ponder for the readers to consider whether Baba was the three and a half cubit’s body that He occupied or He was the self (ātma) inside!

Baba’s nectar-like words:

      Baba said “Those who love Me most, always see Me. I am dependent on those who do not eat anything without first offering it to me. I feel indebted to those who surrender themselves completely to Me without having even a little bit of pride or egoism. I shall repay their debt by giving them salvation (self-realization).  See Me inside yourself as well as in all beings. If you practice this, you will realize all-pervasiveness, and thus attain oneness with Me. He, who carps and cavils at others, pierces Me in the heart and injures me, but he that suffers and endures, pleases Me most”.

Sri Satchidananda Sadguru Sainath Maharaj Ki Jai!  

Sai Satcharitra Sārāmsh - Monday Parayan

Sri Ganeshayanamaha      Sri Saraswatyainamaha      Sri Gurubhyonnamaha

 Sri Sai Ramachandrayanamaha

Sri Sai Satcharitra Sārāmsh

(Monday Paarayan)

Source: Sri Sai Satcharitra written by Sri Hemad Pant and published by Shirdi Samsthan

Abridged by: Ch. K. Surya Prakasa Rao, Visakhapatnam (A.P., India), 

Sai Devotee

 Translated by: Suryanarayana Vulimiri, Morrisville, NC USA, 

Sai Devotee

31^st Chapter:

      The future of a person will be decided by the thought or desire present in the person’s mind at the time of death. In shlokas 5 and 6 of the 8^th chapter of bhagavad-geeta, Lord Srikrishna says “whoever thinks of me during the last moments of life, they can reach me”. “If they think of something else they get what they think at that time”. Those who lay down their life at the feet of yogis are always protected. Unless they acquire such punya they do not attain such a holy future.

32^nd Chapter:

      Even if a person is a pundit and well-versed with Vedas and Vedanta he may not reach his destination safely without a guide (guru). If there is a guide who helps in showing the right path (mārgadarshi), that person can avoid the pitfalls and escape from wild beasts and will have a smooth transit in reaching the destination.

      Bookish knowledge alone is useless. We need to fulfill our assigned duty (karma) and surrender our body, mind and pancha prānas (5 lives) at the feet of the guru, the God who is pervading. Baba says that in order to have such feeling one should develop deep and eternal belief. Baba is an incarnation who is an epitome of knowledge and who is free of passions or worldly attachments. Dharma (righteousness), artha (prosperity) and kāma (desire) are attainable with our efforts, but the fourth one, mōksha (liberation) is achieved only with the help of a guru. Baba never observed fasting. Also, he never allowed anybody to observe fasting. He thinks that the minds of those who observe fasting will not be steady. First one has to pacify the ātma (soul).

33^rd Chapter:

Udi (holy ash) Mahima (miracle) 1: The way Baba taught.

      All the objects in the world are temporary like the ash. Our body is made up of the pancha bhutas, but ultimately becomes ash after we enjoy all the worldly pleasures. For everybody to remember this fact, Baba used to give Udi prasadam to all devotees. By giving Udi to everyone Baba taught that brahmam is permanent or perpetual, but the world is transient or temporary and that in reality all our kith and kin (e.g. father, mother, son etc) in this world do not belong to us. We come into this world alone and leave this world alone. Udi used to treat all bodily and mental ailments. It used to bring health and wealth and emancipate everybody from anxieties. Baba used to teach two things, the first one is Udi which provides knowledge, and the second one dakshina (fee) which makes one being ascetic. Without these two qualities one can not cross the samsāra sāgara.

      
      For those who wish to get the benefit of Udi, should wear it on the forehead or mix it in water and drink as holy teertham after taking a bath. At the time of Samadhi Baba gave Lakshmi Bai 9 rupee coins. They represent 9 forms of devotion (navavidha bhakti).

34^th Chapter:

Udi mahima 2:

                                       

      Baba says “Whoever comes to this mosque will never suffer from any disease in this birth. This is not a mosque. This is dwāravati. Whoever steps in this place will get healthy and happy. They will overcome their troubles or problems”.  Our karma is responsible for our troubles or pleasures. Allah is the only one who abates the suffering.  Always keep him in the prayers. You need to surrender to him completely. Then you watch  his actions.

      
      The path of karma is intriguing. Baba says, “I am neither a God nor a ruler. I am God’s trusted servant. I will always remind you of Him. Whoever tosses up his/her ego and salutes to the God, whoever trusts him completely, they will be devoid of their attachments and attain moksha”.

35^th Chapter:

Udi mahima 3:

      Baba says, “If I have to take 1 rupee as dakshina from anybody I need to give them 10 times worth of it. I will not take anything from anybody just like that. I will not ask anyone indiscriminately.  Whomever the fakir (saint) shows me, I will take from those persons. Also I will take money from those who owe me from their previous birth. As they give the dakshina to me, their detachment will increase. As a result they will inherit bhakti (devotion) and jnana (wisdom).

Baba’s message for those who suffer from sleeplessness:

      “Before you go to bed every night, wear udi on your forehead and keep the rest of the udi packet under the pillow”. Once at someone’s house there were three times more number of guests than they invited. When the daughter-in-law of the house was worried, her mother-in-law instructed her to cover all the food with a cloth and with reciting Sai’s name sprinkled some udi on top of the cloth. When they removed the cloth they were surprised to see surplus amounts of food that even after feeding all the guests still lot of food was left over. That is the mahima of udi. This is Sai’s miracle.

36^th Chapter:

      With regards to accepting the dakshina, Baba said to Shyama “You don’t know anything. I will not accept anything from anybody. The masjid-mai (mother mosque) asks to repay the debt. Those who are indebted would get emancipated by paying the dakshina”.  Baba never begged to anybody and he never allowed his devotees to beg around. He always considered money or wealth to be dangerous and a hindrance to attain moksha.

      
      To confirm that he is omniscient, Baba pinched Shyama’s cheek and told him that he is related to Shyama for the past 72 births. A married woman who did not have children for almost for 27 years since marriage bore children with the blessings of Baba. This suggests that Baba is omniscient, omnipresent and is the incarnation of Dattatreyaswami.

37^th Chapter:

Chavadi utsavam: (Chavadi procession)

      Among the Sai devotees whoever remembers chavadi utsavam before going to bed, will be blessed with comfort, pleasure, happiness, satisfaction, piece of mind and Sai’s blessings.

Sri Satchidananda Sadguru Sainath Maharaj Ki Jai!