[Speech delivered by H. H. Sri Sai
Padananda Radhakrishna Swamiji on the occasion of the opening of the Kalyana
Mandira and Installation of Baba's Portrait and Idols of Rama, Laxmana, Sita
and Maruti in it at Pavagada, Tumkur District, Karnataka State.]
Sri Sai is to
me a loving Mother, a tender Father, a Spiritual Guide and Divinity Himself. He
protects all and protects me. His love is as unfathomable as the depth of the
ocean and his unfailing grace is unlimited as the sky.
His love is
universal because it pervades the whole universe and it reaches every body and
is available to every being in the Universe. It is not human being alone who
enjoys the blessings of His Love, Mercy and Grace as there are so many myriads
of beings including those apparently lesser than human being in the
evolutionary order, who reside on the earth. Sri Sai's Love extends to them
all, irrespective of nationality, caste, creed, colour, health, wealth, etc.
It is devoid of selfishness which is the root cause of all evils.
The progress in
this path of universal love which Baba teaches, once started, will not stop
with mere realisation of the fact, but it will lead us to the Truth that the
function of Love is to serve and sacrifice and to spread happiness and
lessen misery. There is no greater end than this in life .Love is nothing but
Truth and Truth is nothing but Love.
Human happiness
will be commensurate with this awareness and the faith and faithfulness with
which this true and straight path is trodden. We shall then not noly be
ourselves happy but we shall spread happiness among others. This is the path
not merely shown but also trodden by all saints and sages at all times and
climes. True happiness is that happiness that no outside agency can take it
away from us.
There can be no
beauty where there is misery; There can be nothing but ugliness where there is
selfishness; there cannot be violence or hatred where there is Love. Love is
Beauty, Bliss Absolute and Baba is Beauty, Love and Truth.
Baba is the
embodiment of Love because he knows only to give without asking for anything in
return. This is true Selflessness, the force that binds mortals to mortals and
mortals to immortals.
Baba passed
away in Shirdi in Ahmadnagar district in the yeaj 1918. His entire life was
devoted to the amelioration of the state of the suffering people who nocked to
him in their thousands for succour and relief. His manner and means were
superhuman and marvellous. Among his devotees were Hindus, Muslims, Parsis and
Christians, rich and poor, men and women, and aged and the very young. They
knew but one Saviour ,but one God, and that was Baba. And His love was
superhuman because His sacrifice was superhuman. His power was superhuman
because His love was superhuman, a love that knew no bounds. Boundless love,
boundless sacrifice, boundless power, boundless service, that was Baba, that
is Baba.
In His
immediate presence, Baba's devotees and disciples were filled with feelings of
fraternity towards each other and they pulled together as his children.
"Love ye one another as I Love ye all," was his mandate. Baba wants
us to realise this truth, the truth of the identity of Love and Truth, the
Truth that Love and Truth are not different, the Truth that the Love that
unites us in brotherhood is also the SUPREME LOVE that binds us to God.
Let us bow to
Baba, who is Supreme Bliss and who alone can give us Supreme Bliss, the Bliss
that goes beyond pain and pleasure. Let us bow to Baba who is SUPREME
CONSCIOUSNESS who alone can take us beyond the pairs of opposites. Let us bow
to Baba who alone can teach us the Truth of Upanishadic Mahavakya—
TAT-TVAM-ASI—"That thou art." Let us bow to Baba who abides in
our hearts as the immaculate and eternal witness, who sees all, knows all.
This is a happy
occasion and an auspicious occasion when we are installing the portrait of Baba
and Idols of Rama and others in this Mandir. ON THIS HAPPY OCCASION LET ME
INSTAL IN YOUR HEARTS, IN THE HEARTS OF EVERY ONE OF YOU, THE PORTAIT OF BABA.
We are all
grateful to Sri Shankar Setty who has built the Kalyan Mandir in the name of
his father of revered memory and has arranged to instal Baba's Portrait so that
it may also serve as Baba Mandir, where Baba's ideals will be honoured in
letter and spirit by the devotees. I pray for the welfare and prosperity of Sri
Shankar Setty and all his family members, who have set an example of service
and sacrifice by their noble act of donating the Mandir for a worthy cause.
Let us all pray. Let all true and sincere
disciples and doevtees of Baba pray with me, for the welfare of all mankind,
for the all-round peace and prosperity of the entire humanity.
May all be
happy. May all be healthy. May good befall all. May none know sorrow.
May blessedness
prevail everywhere.
Om Shantih!
Shantih! Shantih!
SAI PADANANDA
RADHAKRISHNA SWAMIJI
Pavagada,