Gifts of Sai Baba by By Dr. V. N. Shiradhonkar

Gifts of Sai BabaBy Dr. V. N. Shiradhonkar"The ignorant runs after false pleasures and falls into the wide net ofdeath. The wise knows what is eternal; he does not expect anything oflasting value from the inconstant pleasures of life."- KenopanishadSAI-brother K. N. Narayan Swamy has made an appeal-'Dedication to Sai' - inthe January 1988 issue of Sai Padananda, in which he has called upon Saidevotees to contribute articles / experiences on Sainath to several Saimagazines. Prompted by his appeal, my mind mused over the gifts that SaiBaba has conferred upon us.Shirdi Sai Baba is a phenomenon. His physical body has disintegrated intothe elements many years ago. But today belief in him and his power to assistpeople in times of distress is growing. Sai Baba started no cult and spreadno religion which one could identify with him. His teachings have been theessence of all religions. His believers are countrywide and include Hindus,Muslims, Parsis, Christians, and others and several others abroad.Saints exist to give devotees temporal and spiritual benefits. Sai Baba hassaid: "I have come to give such good things to the devotees". Once when oneof His devotees objected to people going to Sai Baba for temporal benefits,Baba told him: "Do not do that. My men first come to me on account of thatonly. They get their heart's desires fulfilled and comfortably placed inlife, and then they follow me and progress further. I bring my men from longdistance under many pleas. I seek them and bring them to me. They do notcome of their own accord. I draw them to me". These words are law eventoday.His assurances (11 sayings) are fulfilled in the case of each Sai devotee inhis own inimitable manner. Sai Baba did not care for money or gifts duringhis life time: He begged for food and ate along with dogs, pigs, beggarsetc. He had a perfect conquest of the palate and perfect sense of equalitythat He displayed to all the living creatures. They indeed see the veryperfection of what the world's scriptures had conjoined for the true seekersof God, viz., not minding what one eats and treating all life as one.What gift can we give Sai Baba who in fact is sustaining us in every momentof our life? We breathe Sai, talk Sai and live Sai. I can only borrow a lineof G.S. Khaparde from his 'Shirdi Diary' -"From the moment I approached Him,all the load of my worldly cares disappeared though only a few minutes,before, it was felt to be exceedingly oppressive and such as to causedisgust in life". So let us contribute our two-pice 'dakshina' - Sraddha andSaburi to our Sai Maharaj.Sourcehttp://www.saileela s.org/magazines/ saipadananda/ july1988. htm