The All-Powerful, Healing Word of Baba The food we usually consume gets sanctified upon offering it to God. Likewise, ordinary words that we utter become words charged with mystic power when taught by a Guru. Words have great power to accomplish extraordinary tasks when heard from the mouth of the Sadguru as His teachings. From where and how do they get such power? A Sadguru who has a clear grasp of the meanings of words and mastered their essence can speak words of power. The thought, word, deed get unified and as actions reflect one's thought, the very words uttered by such good souls vibrate the Spirit-Power and they prove to be mantras which can command the matter to obey them.A snake had bitten Shyama on his little finger. While Shyama was climbing up the steps to seek Baba's healing help, Baba shouted "beware! Get down". Shyama felt bad, but in the process the poisonous effect got weakened. Baba's words were directed to the poison. When Shyama's cousin fell sick with plague, Baba said "Send the Udhi. You go tomorrow and come back quickly". He meant the plague to be sent out and visit his cousin to know the condition. On several occasions, Baba's words worked like miracles. This is the difference between the word and mantra. Every word Baba uttered was a holy mantra. As devotees of Baba, our word and deed must do good to others.

Never Disheartened While Reaching Your Goal
<img style="min-height: 219px; text-align: center;" alt="" border="0">
The journey of life is nothing but striving to reach our life's goal. We get tired in this long sojourn. Several hurdles are encountered on the way. To overcome them, we need enormous strength of mind. Mind is the source of it. Fearing the advent of obstacles, some people would not start any work and remain where they are. Many of us belong to this category. They have no desire to grow either materially or spiritually. Some people would start any work with much fan-fare. But one set-back would draw them away from work. They are the weak and the fallen ones. Very few people have the ability to withstand and remain firm in the face of tests or set-backs. They taste success. The difference between them is the resolute mind and endurance.Body gets nourished by the intake of food. Mind gets strengthened only by practice. The Ever-Compassionate Baba, will grant the much-needed mental strength to His devotees through rigorous practice. Baba says, "Look to Me, Your burden is indeed Mine". If such assurance of Baba is with us, we can climb any mountain of hardship. Just as the mountaineer takes the support of the rock, the devotee can reach the pinnacle of life with the mighty support of Baba's Grace. One could face the challenges of life with a stout heart and resolute mind. With Baba's Grace, we can reach the Abode of Self-Liberation.

I am Ever Living to Help and Guide All who Come to Me, who Surrender to Me and who Seek Refuge in Me We are told that, mother, father and teacher are the three visible forms of God. Baba assures that He would don the role of all the three and guide us on the path. Self-surrender to God is not an easy thing. It needs firm faith and deep devotion. We have to surrender our body, mind and soul, in full faith, totally, at the feet of God. One should set aside one's intelligence, skills, talents, pride of mastery of scriptures and sciences, human effort and surrender to God without a speck of doubt. Baba says that once we approach and take refuge at His Feet, He would safeguard us against all dangers and hardships. In helpless situations, when we seek shelter, only people with divine qualities of mercy and kindness would come forward and lend support to us, as best as they can. It is clearly manifested in the life of Shirdi Sai Baba. Although the divine incarnation, Baba behaved like a Fakir saying that He is a servant of humanity and reminded us of what 'duty' is. Sai, the Supreme Spirit, is simplicity personified, who made it clear that protecting the hapless and needy is His primary duty. We should understand that Baba's protection is forthcoming to us, forever. Therefore, we should always remember Baba's saying that "Whoever seeks My shelter, protecting them at all times is My primary duty".

Don't ill-treat any Creature, treat it with Kindness Baba declared 'I am living in every creature. Good treatment of them would mean treating Me well. Any insult or ill treatment of them is like mistreating Me'. Baba used to feel pained that people recognize Him when He comes only in a human form, not when He comes in other forms. Sai had to bear the abuses and thrashings of the devotees whom He saved them or corrected their behaviour assuming different forms like cat or dog etc.,One day a devotee prepared and brought tasty dishes to the Masjid and offered them to Baba. He immediately clapped and called a black dog staying there and allowed it to eat the dish. On noticing it, the woman devotee felt disgusted in her heart. Instantly, Baba pushed the plate aside and said 'I don't want this plate. Take it'. Baba told her that she insulted Him by insulting the hungry dog through which He partook the dish she brought. He always used to say 'when a creature comes near you with hunger, don't ill-treat it; but be kind to it'. Baba reminded His devotees that He dwells in all beings and in everything and hence loving them is like worshipping Him. He taught that all living creatures are an image of Himself and that they must be treated with love and concern. Thus, it becomes a true service to Baba if we keep Baba's all pervading nature and divine love in our heart and treat every creature with kindness.

Remembering Sai's Name is Our Sheet Anchor
Though we may not vividly sense Sai's Presence by constantly remembering Him, yet the practice of remembering Him and chanting His name makes us calm. A kid will remain in his world by playing with dolls. How long does it remain so? As long as the kid is self-assured that mother is at home, and that there is nothing to worry about or fear. It gets engrossed in its play. But the nuisance that the child creates when mother leaves the house cannot be described. Likewise, as long as we constantly remember Sai, despite our worldly affairs and domestic problems, there will not be any room for worry or tension in our minds. The secure feeling a child gets when mother is at home is similar to our tension-free happiness we experience when Baba dwells in our heart. The joy of taking refuge at Baba's feet has to be experienced, not to be explained.Baba pervades in every atom. But we fail to experience His presence or His nearness to us. Only by constant remembrance of His name can we experience Baba's presence in every moment. When Baba, the Divine Beloved, is within us and in our reach and always watching over us, how can we commit any sin? By constant remembrance of Sai, our weaknesses and wild qualities get destroyed. Pure and intense love for Sai will serve as our ever-protecting sheet anchor and shelter.

If Baba’s Grace is Added to Our Sadhana, WeBecome Complete Beings
Of all the species in the universe, human birth is the greatest one. The spiritual quest and human values make human life greater. Guided by human values, man must become perfect, worthy to be called a human being. The spirit of humanity is becoming a thing of the past. Which is why modern man is starved of peace of mind. To change this situation, man has to become wise. For this, man has to undertake spiritual practices. It is but common for the practitioners to face obstacles. Some people pride themselves in the little progress they have made in their spiritual practices. Baba set an example, as to how one can overcome obstacles encountered in spiritual practices by being obedient to Guru's word and persisting in 'Sadhana'.If we cultivate such qualities, our problems get easily solved. We cannot fix a time frame for spiritual progress. It is an endless process and might take longer time because man is only a spiritual child. Similar to the needs like food and exercise for child's growth, love, compassion, perseverance and devotion will make a man spiritually wise. Baba is easily accessible to the devotees. If we seek His support, by constant sadhana, it becomes easier for us to progress spiritually. Therefore, let us pray to Baba to crown our spiritual sadhana with success

Merit Lies in Confessing One's Weaknesses
Certain humiliations, errors and weaknesses are part and parcel of everyone's life. What we need to do is to properly introspect and thoroughly examine ourselves. While accepting our own failures and confessing the mistakes committed by us, a sincere effort should be made to amend ourselves. Simply because God did not punish us, it should not be taken for granted that we did not make any mistake. Had we been punished long time back, we would have been thrown into hell by now. Those who fail to honestly correct their own errors, will repeat the same with others. Baba is an ocean of compassion. He would always provide an opportunity to rectify ourselves. Circumstances may not always be under our control. But we can regulate our behaviour. Hence we should strive to correct our bad character and develop the good qualities in thoughts, words and deeds. We should repent for our bad behaviour and beg God to forgive us. The Merciful God conferred on us the power of discretion and the capacity to appreciate selfless love. Despite several short-comings in our character, God implanted in our mind the thought of worshipping Him and the spiritual stamina to endure sufferings and succeed in our spiritual endeavours.


<img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 316px; min-height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" border="0">

Appreciation Redoubles One's Enthusiasm It is but natural for humans to expect kudos and appreciation for the work accomplished. An appreciative word will redouble enthusiasm and boosts one's self-confidence. For the people suffering from inferiority complex, a word of praise serves as a tonic to their brain and an appropriate pat on their backs will act like a potion of strength. A simple word of praise will lift their confidence and causes a sea-change in their behaviour and makes them reckon their strength. All said and done, there would be none who would not be happy with words of appreciation. If we speak a word of appreciation of the good deeds of a person, it acts like a fertilizer applied at the right time to the soil and will yield harvest of happiness.If a landlord recognizes a hard-working farmer and appreciates, "You have done well", he feels elated and works with renewed enthusiasm. Baba used to appreciate His devotees even for little accomplishments in order to bring out their latent talent. It could be in the word-form of appreciation or an article of love for inducing them to do some more good deeds. Baba's philosophy is to give bigger rewards even for a little effort. To seek liberation, it is sufficient to serve the society which is the other image of God. To get Baba's reward that blesses us live in enduring bliss, we have to appreciate and encourage good deeds.

Not Just Pleading, Learn to Listen to Baba Many people would very well remember things that they would expect to receive but never will they think of what they have to give to others. Just as man enjoys certain rights, he has certain duties to perform. Some people dare to ask Baba, "Baba! Since you have created me, don't you have the responsibility to protect me as well". But, we too should have the responsibility of showing gratitude to our Creator. "Do you thank God at least once a day with a grateful heart"? "Do you bow your head before the Almighty"? Do you appeal to Baba to make you tread the right path and thank Him for giving you such a nice birth? One feels annoyed if someone asks such questions. They would speak with despair that they pleaded Baba to fulfil a desire and since the desire was not fulfilled, they stopped praying to Him and would even justify their stand.Just as we take food everyday, we have to pray to God at least once a day. We should realize that we have to bear the effects of the accumulated sins of the past life and that pains and gains are part and parcel of life. When troubles surround us, we should pray to Baba to forgive our sins and condone our mistakes. We owe responsibility to sincerely apologize, repent for our sins and pray with ardent devotion. Thus, we have to pray to Baba, mend our mistakes and wait for His response.

Let us Utilize the God's Gifts of Talent
Every human being is gifted with a talent, which is latent in him. The talent, merit and ability are all but the divine gifts. God appreciates if we make a good and effective use of the talents He gifted us with. The more we make a greater use of our talents, the more our ability and efficiency would increase. Hence, we should not hesitate to put our efforts, befitting our abilities.Just as a bumper harvest is reaped by sowing seeds and cultivating with care, so also we are assured of God's blessings when we repose faith in Him and render selfless service to the society by the talents He gifted us. Depending on individual talents, each person will have a different set of skills. A singer, by singing hymns in praise of the glories of God, can inculcate devotion in the hearts of people. Another one could beautifully describe God, His divine works in a fascinating manner and can create picture of God in the eye of public mind. Thus, if we make proper use of our talents, the Omnipresent Sai will richly reward us with His Grace. The Creator will be highly pleased if we devotionally offer a garland of flowers as service to Him from the very flowers He has created. If we put our Baba-blessed talents in serving and making people happier, Baba would be immensely pleased. We, therefore, shall become pure souls worthy of dwelling in Him.



<img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 307px; min-height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" border="0">