Sai “Pitha” Aur “Matha” Sai

 

Kumar was a student in the Sathya Sai College in Puttaparthi.  Swami allotted his parents ground floor accommodation in the eastern block close to his own residence.  At the evening prayer one day, Kumar sang a bhajan, "Sai Pitha Aur Matha Sai" ("Sai is the father and Sai is the mother"), as Swami sat on his throne quite close by and nodded His head in tune with the song.  Swami's eyes were swimming with kindness and compassion.  No sooner had the first stanza of the song ended, than Swami abruptly got up and hurried out.  The boy felt that his singing was not probably to Swami's liking.  Swami walked into the residence of Kumar's parents.  Devotees who watched the scene were surprised.  In recent times, no one had seen Swami thus leave His residence and proceed beyond its precincts.

In the residence of Kumar's parents, his mother had a heart attack and was struggling for life.  Baba hastened into the house, gave her a glass of water and materialized vibhuthi for her.  After a few words of solace and encouragement to the lady, He returned to the bhajan hall and resumed His throne; just then, Kumar's bhajan song was coming to a close.  When it was over, Swami spoke to Kumar, "Do you know why I hurried out?  Your mother was on the verge of dying and I went to save her.  Here you were singing : 'You are the father; You are the mother'.  How could I sit here enjoying your song when your mother was in agony there?  I had to reach her urgently and save her."

The lady's husband was all the time present in the bhajan hall among the devotees.  His son too was there singing.  All the same, only God could rescue the suffering lady.  God, undoubtedly, is the closest and the most intimate of one's kith and kin - closer than even husband.

MAYA, THE TERRIBLE DOG

 

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba once described the power of Maya in a metaphorical way. He said, “God is the Master of maya (delusion; illusion; ignorance). Maya is like a terrible dog standing guard at the entrance of the God’s home and does not allow outsiders to come near Him. If you are earnest about reaching God, there are only two ways. The first course is to put on the form of the Master. Then the dog does not harm you at all. This is known as saroopya, that is, assuming God’s form. But you should not make the slightest mistake; otherwise the dog will not spare you.

“The second course is to cry out for the Master in a loud voice. He will hear your cry. He comes  to you, receives you with open arms and, holding your hand, leads you inside with overflowing kindness. This is called sameepya, that is, being in closest company with God. The dog will not do any harm to you, as you are with his Master. Being God’s pet dog, maya obeys Him. If He Wills it not to give you trouble, you will not be touched; you will know no fear.”

What a simple and beautiful parable Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai has given us! He has revealed how He, of His own violation, surrenders to His devotee. How easy is the second course! The devotee has only to call God most earnestly, with all his heart, with agony in his voice, with yearning suffusing his whole being. This is nama smaran. Millions of Sai devotees have found through personal experience that God responds to nama smaran and presents Himself before His devotee with boundless mercy and compassion.

Baba’s exhortation is that incessant nama smaran of a deity so elevates the devotee that he attains the form of that deity. Bhagavan says that incessant smaran of Lord Sri Rama’s name by his brother Bharatha, resulted in Ramayana, in the latter looking like Sri Rama to all. A similar thing happened with Uddhava in Sri Maha Bhagavat who did uninterrupted smaran of Lord Sri Krishna’s name.

-- Book Tapovanam – Chapter 16