Satsang BABA ANSWERS PRAYERS PROMPTLY

BABA ANSWERS PRAYERS PROMPTLY
Janakraj Laroiya

Prayer to Shirdi Sai Baba is an experience of bliss and
delight. That is why Baba prescribed "prayers" for all his
devotees. One of the assurances given to his devotees
by Baba before he took mahasamadhi (Eternal Rest) in
1918 is "TRUST IN ME, AND YOUR PRAYERS SHALL
BE ANSWERED". Numerous Sai-devotees have
benefited by his kindness.

A prayer to Baba is a release from the miseries of human
life, viz:, disease, poverty, etc. Prayers invoke the
blessings of the Lord. Prayer offered with depth and
sincerity enables the devotee to feel Baba's physical
presence in his midst. The words of Gandhiji are very
much relevant. He said, "A heartful prayer is not only a
recitation with lips, it is a yearning from within which
expresses itself in every word, every act, nay, every
thought of man." An important characteristic of prayer
dedicated on the lotus feet of Baba is that it is answered
very promptly. The devotee has not to be fussy about
the manner of worship or the offerings. He has not to
indulge in costly undertakings. The most essential
ingredient for prayer before Baba is deep devotion and
complete surrender with an offering (if desired) of just
a flower, fruit, water or a leaf. Of course, one must
eradicate both ego and anger before actually offering
prayer to him.

A few days ago, my wife and I went to our bank in
Delhi for withdrawing some jewellery items from our
locker for use by our daughter-in-law on the eve of
a marriage in the family. After the function was over,
the jewellery was again to be deposited in our locker
for safe custody. On account of certain unavoidable
circumstances, it took us about a fortnight before we
could go back to the bank. In the meanwhile, we
made a packet of the precious articles very carefully
and placed it in a briefcase.

When we finally got time to go to the bank for this
purpose, we took the briefcase and in order to avoid
risk, travelled all the way to the bank (about 35 kms
away from our Noida residence) in an autorickshaw
instead of usually a bus.

After completing bank formalities, when we entered
the 'Locker Room', to our dismay, we found that the
packet of jewellery was not there. We tried to
recollect but could not find any reason as to why it
was missing from there.

Eventually we returned home and searched for it
everywhere we could think of but in vain.
The same evening we went to Baba's temple and
silently prayed to him to come to our help. This
was followed by regular prayers, morning and evening,
for the next one week or so. It was a disgusting time
for us because, on one side we had suffered a big
financial loss and on the other, we had to bear the
criticism of our children for "gross negligence" on
our part. One day, on our return from the temple in the
morning, we found that our pet dog had completely
spoiled our double bedding with his loose stools and
vomitting. it was rather strange because for the last
five years our dog had never jumped on to our bed
especially during our absence. However, this required
complete replacement of the bedsheets including the
matresses. In the process, we spotted the jewellery
packet lying with the wastepapers on the double bed
and on opening, everything was found in-tact.

How it came to be there, the circumstances which
forced us to remove the beddings and its recovery
beneath, still remains a mystery. It was, of course
certainly a quick answer to our prayers to Baba.

Moral:
Communion with Shirdi Sai Baba results in the
removal of ignorance and thus ensures happiness
and peace.
"Sri Sai Baba is the master of existence, the Sat
Guru, the bosom of bliss, the ocean of peace, the
store house of power, the revealer of truth, the
master being sporting the. hearts of all beings,
move able and imnovable, Take refuge in his oceanic
compassion and be at perfect ease, leading a
carefree life. 'Remember the words of Sai who
scattered the bread of Grace even to the poor,
the wretched, the lowliest and the los. Why should
you fear, when I am here, Cast all your burdens
upon me, and
I Shall bear them
-SwamiSivananda Saraswati