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