SRI SATCITANAND SATGURU SAINATH MAHARAJ KI JAI SRI SAI SATCHARITA CHAPTER 1 Hemadpant begins the work of Sri Sai Satcharita by making his obeisance to Lord Ganesh, Goddess Saraswati, Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, His deity Narayan Adinath. He also gives his salutations to Bharadwaj Muni, his ancestors, to his future readers and lastly to his Guru Shri Sainath. The Author goes on to relate the following story. The Story Of Grinding Wheat And It‟s Philosophical Significance One fine morning around 1910 when I went to the Masjid in Shridhi to take the Sai Baba‟s Darshan I was wonderstruck to see Baba making preparations for grinding wheat. He spread sack on the floor and he put few handfuls of wheat in the upper opening of the mill and started rotating by hand. None had the courage to ask Baba, not even me why he was doing so. Immediately this news spread in the village and at once villagers flocked to the Masjid to see Baba‟s act. Suddenly four women came out from the crowd; pushing Baba forcibly aside then took over the handle and started grinding wheat, while singing Baba‟s Leelas. At first Baba was very angry, but seeing the women‟s love and devotion he was much pleased and gave a beautiful smile. While the women were grinding various thoughts came in their mind about why Baba was doing such an act as he needed nothing? Maybe they thought that he would distribute the flour amongst them. Finally they completed the grinding and divided the flour into four portions amongst themselves. Seeing this Baba got very angry and scolded them for being so selfish. Baba ordered them to take the flour and throw in The outskirts of the village. The women religiously followed the instructions of Baba and completed the work. When I asked the people of Shirdi why Baba did this they told me that it was Baba‟s remedy to protect the village from Cholera epidemic. It was not the wheat but the Cholera epidemic itself was ground to pieces and pulled out of the Village. As time passed by the epidemic subsided and the villagers were happy. I kept thinking what earthly connection was there between wheat flour and Cholera. I was very contented and my heart was filled with joy. This incident inspired me to write Baba‟s life - The Sai Satcharita. Philosophical Significance of Grinding Apart from the above meaning of grinding wheat there is also a philosophical significance to it. Baba lived in Shirdi for about 60 years and during this period he did grinding everyday, not of wheat alone but the sins, mental and physical afflictions and the miseries of his innumerable devotees. The significance of his two stones are Karma which is the lower and Bhakti which is the upper one. The significance of the handle is dhyana. Baba firmly believed that knowledge of self realization is not possible unless the grinding of our sins, consisting of three Gunas Sattava, Rajas , Tamas and Ahankar is done. This reminds me of Sant Kabir who once told his Guru “I am sad because I have been crushed under the wheel of worldly existence like the corn in the Hand mill‟ to this his Guru replied “Do not be afraid hold to the handle of knowledge of this mill and don‟t let it go instead look inwards to the centre and you are sure to be saved. Bow to Sri Sai -------------- Peace Be To All CHAPTER 2 In this Chapter the Author Hemadpant mentions the reason why he undertook to write the life of Baba and narrates his ambitious thoughts. The Object of writing This Work In my first Chapter I described how Baba grinded the wheat to save the village from the cholera epidemic, similarly I heard many miracles of Baba which I truly believed would be interesting and instructive for Baba‟s devotees and help them to remove their sins. This very essence of philosophy inspired me to write the sacred life and teachings of Sai Baba. I truly believe that the life of saints always shows us the true path to salvation. Incapacity And Boldness In Undertaking The Work Hemadpant expresses that he had no confidence to undertake this divine work And further said “I do not know my myself very well, then how can I write the life of a Saint or describe the nature of incarnations which even the Vedas were unable to do? Although to write a life of a Saint is extremely difficult and therefore took Sai Baba‟s blessings. According to Saint Dnyaneshwar Maharaj, Lord loves those who write the lives of Saints, and saints also have their peculiar method of assigning the service. In the year 1700 the poet Mahipati was inspired to write the lives of saints. Similarly in 1800 Das Ganu wrote 4 works – Bhakta Vijay, Sant Vijay, Bhakta Leelamrut and Saint Leelamrut beside‟s that he also composed sweet poems on Sai Baba. Other names worth mentioning are Mrs. S Raghunath Tendukar author of Sainath Bhajan Mala and Mr. Amidas Bhavani Mehta who has written some books on Baba in Guajarati and also published his work in Magazines. When so much is written on Baba what is the necessity of Satcharita? The answer is very simple. The life of Sai Baba is like a vast ocean of knowledge wisdom and Bhakti, his stories and teachings give immense peace and happiness to people who are drowned in worldly sorrows and miseries. If the teachings of Sai Baba are listened to and meditated upon devotees desired will be fulfilled both spiritually and materially. So I thought I should collect these stories together, which would benefit all those who have never seen nor had the opportunity to have Baba‟s Darshan. My inspiration was to surrender my entire ego at Baba‟s feet so that my path is clear and happy for this world and the next world. I did not have the courage to take permission of Baba myself, so I asked Shama Baba‟s closest devotee to speak to him on my behalf. Shama told Baba that “Annasaheb wishes to write your biography if you bless him with your grace because without your consent no work can be accomplished”. When Baba heard this he was very overwhelmed gave me his divine blessings. Baba told me to keep collection of his stories and experiences. Baba explained to me that, I was just an instrument but the actual work of writing his autobiography will be done by he himself thus satisfying the wishes of his devotees. Baba also told me to surrender myself totally at his sacred feet, and therefore he would help me in every way. Baba also mentioned that “I myself shall enter into you and write my own life. This will evolve faith in my devotees and they will easily get self realization and eternal bliss”. Significance Of Prophetic Title The word “Discussion” provoked me to tell the story how I got my title Hemadpant. It so happened that I was in friendly terms with Kakkasaheb Dixit and Nanasahed Chandorkar who were pressing me to go to Sirdhi and have Baba‟s darshan, which I promised to do. But circumstances prevented me to go to Shirdi At that time my friend‟s son fell sick with very high fever. My friend tried all possible treatments but his fever would not abate. He even asked his Guru to come and bless his son but nothing seemed to work. I began to have all negative thoughts about Gurus in general that they were of no use. This prevented me from postponing my Shirdi trip. But the inevitable happened for me. Mr. Nanasaheb Chandorkar was on a tour to Bassein, did not go there, instead came to see me in Bandra and convinced me to go to Shirdi. I was so delighted that I decided to start for Sirdhi the same night. I planned to go to Dadar and then catch the train to Manmad from there. As I boarded the train for Dadar suddenly a Mohammeden came hastily to my compartment and asked me where I was going. I told him my plan. He suggested I go straight to Borribunder instead, as the Manmad mail did not stop at Dadar. If this miracle had not happened I would not have reached Shirdi the next day, my fortune favoured me. Bhausaheb Dixit came to receive me and I went to Sathe Wada . While getting down from the tonga a great devotee of Baba Tatyasaheb Noolkar told me that Sai Baba was at the corner of the Wada and that I must go and have his darshan now and then after bath see him at leisure. Hearing this, my joy had no bounds and I went and took Baba‟s darshan. The moment I touched Baba‟s feet my thoughts changed, I felt an attitude of gratitude of all those people who inspired me to take the darshan of Baba. Soon I began to feel detached to the worldly things. I truly believed that the good Karmas of my past lives have helped me to receive the divine darshan of Sai Baba. Hot Discussion The day I arrived in Shirdi, I was having a discussion with Balasaheb Bhate about the importance of a Guru in one‟s life. My point was “Why should we submit to others and loose our freedom.” To this Mr. Bhate started talking about Destiny. He said “Whatever is destined to happen will happen, man proposes God disposes at this point our knowledge, pride nor egoism works”. This discussion went for hours but the net result was a big zero. Later on I came to a conclusion that egoism breeds discussion. Then we went to the Masjid with others, Baba asked Kakasaheb Dixit about what discussion was going on in Sate Wada and what did Hemadpant say? Hearing this I was very surprised and started thinking how could Baba know our discussion? I began to think why Baba called me by the name of Hemadpant. this word is a distorted form of “Hemadripant”. I knew that Hemadripant was a well-known minister of kings in the Yadav Dynasty. He was very learned, good natured and a famous author. He also invented accounts and shorthand in Marathi, comparing him I was just the opposite, this puzzled me immensely. Then a thought came to my mind this title was given to me to destroy my ego. Looking back we see that Hemadpant went on to manage Sai Sansthan, maintained accounts and became the author of Sai Satcharita which leads to salvation in all walks of life. Thus the name Hemadpant was the most appropriate to him. About The Necessity Of A Guru Hemadpant left no notes about the above topic but Kakasaheb Dixit Has published his own notes regarding this matter. Kakasaheb asked Baba to show him the way to go to his destination. To this Baba replied that there are many ways, but there is one way from Shirdi which is difficult as there are many tigers and lions. To this Kaka asked Baba “What if we take a guide.” To this Baba answered “Then there is no problem as the guide will take straight to your destination avoiding all obstacles.” Mr. Dobholkar who was present at that occasion also realised that it was Baba‟s way of answering about the necessity of a Guru. He came to a conclusion It is the Guru alone who shows the true path to self- realization, and the only virtues necessary for such a progress are faith and patience. Bow To Sri Sai -------------- Peace Be To All CHAPTER 3 Sai Baba‟s Sanction And Promise As mentioned in the previous chapter Baba already had given permission to Hemadpant for writing the Satcharita and said the following “ I give all my support for writing of the Satcharita, all you have to do is do your duty, don‟t be afraid. Steady your mind and have faith in my words. If my Leelas are written, the ignorance will vanish. If my leelas are devotedly listened to detachment will come about and devotion will rise and if one dives deep into it he would get precious jewels of knowledge.” Hearing these words of Baba Hemadpant was much pleased and gained confidence and thought positively that this work would be a success. Then turning to Shama, Baba said “Whoever takes my name with love I shall fulfil all his desires and increase his devotion. Those devotees who are attached to me solely will feel inner peace and happiness by listening to my stories, and those who sing my leelas will receive infinite joy and contentment. I will free any person who surrenders completely to me, worships and meditates on me with all devotion. I shall draw out all my devotees from the jaws of death and all diseases will be got rid of. This is a way of Happiness and contentment. The pride and egoism of my devotees will vanish and they will attain supreme consciousness. Just by chanting my name one can do away with sins of speech and hearing. Different Works Assigned to Different Devotees The Lord assigns different jobs to different devotees. Some are given the work to built temples, some make ghats and there are some who sing glories of Lord, some are send on a pilgrimage, but I was allotted the work to write the Satcharita. I knew very well that I was unqualified for this job, but with Baba‟s grace alone I could accomplish this difficult task. Being a Brahman I had neither sight nor vision to do this task. When I took my pen to write, Baba took away all my egoism and he himself started writing his stories. He alone knows all ways of getting things done. Thus in any work the Grace of Lord is needed to accomplish any work. Baba‟s Stories As Beacon As Light Lighthouses are constructed in the sea to enable ships to sail safely avoiding any dangers, similarly Baba‟s stories protect us in the ocean of worldly existence and show us smooth spiritual path. When the stories of Saints enter our hearts egoism will vanish, doubts will disappear, pride will fall and wisdom will accumulate in abundance. Baba‟s name alone will destroy the sins of his devotees, a simple sadhana for attaining salvation. Sadhana can be done in many ways like sacrifice, meditation and concentration, which is difficult to achieve, but singing and hearing the stories of Sai Baba is very easy only full attention is needed which in turn will give self realization. With these beautiful thoughts I was very fortunate that Sai Baba chose me to write his stories as Satcharita and thus will be beneficial to all his devotees with the divine grace of Sri Sainath. Motherly Love Of Sai Baba The way the cow loves her calf, similarly a human mother loves and takes . particular care of her child and looks after her/him in every possible way. This gives immense joy to the mother as the love of the mother is extraordinary. Similarly Satgurus feel this motherly love towards their disciples. Sai Baba had the same love for me too, I give an instance of it below. In 1916 when I retired from the government service my pension was not sufficient to maintain my family. On Gurupurnima day when I went to Shirdi for Baba‟s darshan, Mr. Anna Chinchanikar who was very concerned about me spoke to Baba “Please kindly look into him, his pension is not enough to maintain his growing family, kindly give him other job and remove all his worries. To this Baba replied “ He will get some job later but for the moment he should serve me and avoid the company of atheists and wicked people. Should be modest and humble to all and worship whole heartedly. If he does this he will get eternal happiness and he will live in abundance. Rahila‟s Story One day a person named Rahila came to Shirdi. Day and night he recited the holy Koran and shout Allah O Akbar. The people of Shirdi got fed up of his harsh cries and shouts. They could not even have a proper sleep at night and felt much trouble and inconvenience. They suffered this nuisance for some days in silence but could not stand it anymore. Baba did not attend to their complain, instead asked the villagers to mind their own business. Baba explained to the villagers that Rahila had a very bad wife to tried to trouble Rahila and himself, but hearing his prayers she dare not enter and they were at peace. Infact Rahila had no wife, by his wife Baba meant evil thoughts. As Baba love prayers of God he took Rahila‟s side and asked the villagers to bear the nuisance, which would abate in due course. Baba‟s Sweet And Nectar Like Words One day after the noon Arti when the villagers were returning home Baba gave the following beautiful advice: “Be wherever you like. Do whatever you chose, but remember one thing all that you do is known to me. I am your inner ruler and is seated in your heart, I envelope all creature movable and immovable and the wirepuller of the show of this Universe. I am the mother of all beings. Creator, Preserver and Destroyer. Nothing will harm those who turn their attention towards me or else the Maya will whip and lash those who forget me. All beings living or nonliving are my form. Hearing these precious words I decided to serve no one but my Guru only, but one question was constantly in my mind about Baba‟s reply about my job, wether it would come true or not. But future events showed Baba‟s words did come true, I did get a government job for a short duration and then I became free and devoted myself solely to the service of Sai Baba. Before concluding this chapter I request the readers to give their whole undivided attention in the service of Sai Baba . Let them develop natural love and divine devotion and stick to the simple remedy of listening stories of Sainath. This alone will destroy their ignorance and lead them to the path of salvation. Let Sai Baba enthroned in the hearts of all. Bow To Sri Sai -------------- Peace Be To All CHAPTER 4 Mission Of The Saints Lord Krishna said in the Gita that “whenever the sins increase in the world I manifest myself age after age to protect the Dharma and to destroy injustice.” This divine mission of Lord is represented by Saints and Sages who appear at appropriate times and work their own way to fulfil that mission. When people of all casts neglect their duties, when religious teachings are disrespected and humiliated. When people began to take forbidden food and intoxicating drinks, when people engage in various malpractices, when people fight among themselves, when Brahmins fail to do their duty, yogis neglect meditation, when people go in wrong direction and turn away from salvation, at that point saints appear and try to turn matters right by their words and action. They serve us in the beacon light and show us the true path of salvation. There have been many saints who appeared at various times to show us the right path, but the most recent one is Sai Baba Of Shirdi. Shirdi The Holy Tirth The Banks of the Godavari has given refuge to many saints, among them was Sant Dnyaneshwar. Shirdi also falls in Kopargoan or Ahmednagar district. After crossing the Godavari River in Kopergoan, travelling 9 miles to Nimgoan Shirdi is visible a well known holy place blessed and flourished by Sri Sainath. Personality Of Sai Baba It is because of SaiBaba Shirdi gained its importance. He conquered the world and attained wisdom. Peace was his mental ornament. He had no love for worldly things and was always engrossed in self realization. His heart was crystal clear and his speech rained nectar. He did not distinguish between rich and poor and nor did he care about honour or dishonour. He was lord of all beings. He spoke freely and mixed with people of all ages. Although he witnessed the worldly pleasures, he always remained in a meditative state and the name of Allah was always on his lips. While the world was awaken he slept, and while the world slept he was awake. He was as calm as the sea and his actions could not be determined. Although he sat in one place he knew what was happening around in the world. He told lot of stories each day but remained in silence. Baba leaned against the wall in the Masjid, walked 3 times a day in Lendi and Chavadi. He was meek, humble, and egoless and pleased all. He was truly a sadhak. The soil of Shirdi was trodden by Sai Baba‟s feet and gained extraordinary importance. Thus Shirdi became the important Tirthasthan. Darshan of Shri Sai was our yog sadhana, and rendered self realisation. Talking to him removed our sins, shampooing his legs was like our bath in the Tribeni River, and drinking the holy water of his feet destroyed our sins. To us his commands were Vedas, and having Udhi and Prasad was purifying. He gave us solace and was our absolute reality. He was always engrossed in knowledge and bliss. Shirdi was his centre but his actions extended far and beyond, thus the fame of Sai Baba spread and people from everywhere came to take his Darshan and be blessed. By mere darshan peoples mind became pure and were filled with immense joy. Examples what the devotees have said in this respect has been given below. Dictum Of Goulibua A 95 year old devotee of Baba He spent 8 months in Pandharpur and 4 months in on the Banks of the Ganges. He had a donkey for carrying his luggage and a disciple as his companion. Every year he came to Shirdi to see Sai Baba, whom he loved the most. He use to gaze at Baba saying “This is Pandharninath incarnation of Lord Vithal” the merciful Lord of the poor and helpless. This Goulibua was an old devotee of Vitthoba and testified that Sai Baba was a real Pandharinath. Vithal Himself Appeared Sai Baba was very fond of singing God‟s name. He always uttered Allah Malik (God is Lord) and in his presence made others sing God‟s name continuously day and night, all 7 days a week. This is called Namsaptah. Once Baba asked Das Ganu to do the Naamsaptah, to this Das Ganu replied that me would only do it if provided he got the surety that Vithal would appear at the end of the 7th day. Baba assured him that certainly Vithal would appear but for that the devotee must be earnest and devout. Everything is in Shirdi one need not go to Dwarka to see Vitthal, he is here. Only when a devotee is bursting with love and devotion, Vitthal will manifest here. After the Saptah was over Vithal did manifest himself. It so happened when Kaka Saheb Dixit was sitting for his morning meditation he saw Vitthal in a vision. When he saw Baba at noon Baba advised him to catch hold of Vitthal very firmly as he could escape from his hands. Then a hawker came to sell 30 pictures of Vitthoba. One of the pictures looked exactly the same as what Kaka saw in his vision. On seeing this he remembered Baba‟s words and he was much surprised and delighted. He bought one picture of Vitthoba and placed it in his shrine of worship. Bhagwantrao Kshirsagar‟s Story How fond was Baba of Vitthal worship was described in Bhagwantroa‟s story.