SHRI SAI LEELA

JANUARY    1977

CONTENTS

1.         Editorial                                    Incarnation

2.         The Science of Religion             Swami Chinmayananda

3.         Shri Gurucharitra                      Shri S.N.Huddar

4.         Mystery of Birth                       B.Ramanadha Rao

5.         Saint Gadgemaharaj                  Dr.S.D.Parchure

6.         Pran Pratishta 'Installation Mahotsava' of the idol of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi

7.         Shri Sadguru Sainath Math at Swargate, Pune

SHRI SAI LEELA

( Official  Organ of Shirdi Sansthan )

VOLUME 55

JANUARY  1977

No.  10

Importance of Silence

Our work, our activities, our organisations and institutions seem to have almost annihilated silence. We are vocal, we are active, we are dynamic, we are building up big institutions at the cost of the richest treasure of life, viz. silence.

Editor :

Shri K. S. PATHAK Receiver, Shirdi Sansthan of Shri Sai Baba

Executive Editors:

Dr. S. D. Parchure M. A., Ph. D.

Sadanand Chendwankar B. Sc., S. T. C, R. B. Pravin

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EDITORIAL

Incarnation

On the full moon day of the month of Margashirah, Datta-jayanti is celebrated every year. It was celebrated on the 6th of December this year. Shri Datta is the son of Atri and Anasuya and is supposed to be the incarnation of the three Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.

In the Puranas, ten incarnations of God have been described along with their achievements. In the Bhagavadgeeta, which is a part of Mahabharat, the idea of incarnation is described by Lord Krishna himself in the following manner :-

Out of the two great epics of India viz, Ramayan and Mahabharata, the former was composed first and the latter was composed in the Dwapar yug. The authors, who composed the Puranas, mainly in the first eight centuries of the Christian era, caught this thread of the incarnation of God, described in the Mahabharata and wrote the biographies of these incarnations. The chronological order of the incarnations (Awatars) is as follows :-

1) Matsya (fish), 2) Koorma (Tortoise), 3) Varaha (hog), 4) Narsimha (Man with the lion's head), 5) Waman (A pigmi), 6) Parashuram, 7) Ram, 8) Krishna, 9) Budha and 10) Kalanki.

Darvin's theory of evolution says that, ages before there was no life on the earth. The first appearance of life then took place in water and various types of living beings, living entirely in water were born. Thereafter a few species were born, who remained partly in water and partly on land. This was followed by the species that started living fully on land and used water only for drinking, for taking bath and for washing utensils etc. It is very strange to know that this same order is followed in our Awatars as described in the Puranas. The first incarnation was a fish, that could not remain out of water for a moment. The tortoise was a species that remained partly in water and partly on the land. The hog, which was the next incarnation, remained entirely on land. These were the species which were other than the human beings. In the Narsimha incarnation, we see a being who is a beast in part and a human being''in the other part. The next Awatar is no doubt a full human being;' but he is not a man of average height. He is a pigmi. All the Awatars after Waman are fully grown up men. Darvin also has stated that the process of evolution continued for ages and the monkey ultimately developed into a man Darvin's theory was published many centuries after the composition of the Puranas. So we have to conclude that though, the authors of the Puranas did not put forward any theory in plane words, still they knew it fully and they put it in the form of a story.

Leaving aside the theory of the incarnations, the object of the incarnations, the purpose for which God felt like being born as a human being, has been described in plain words in the two shlokas from Bhagawadgeeta referred to earlier in this article. The first shloka says that the lord takes birth on the earth, when the religion is on the decline. He further says that the purpose of his birth is to set the things right by removing the unright­eousness. In the second shloka (4/8) the purpose of the incarnation is made clear still further. The lord says that in order to protect the good people, to destroy the bad element and to put the religion on a sound footing, He takes birth from time to time.

In this behalf, "Allah Malik" were the words constantly in the mouth of Shri Sai Baba. It is therefore very clear that He thought "Allah" to be the master of everything. He also mentioned on several occasions that He was the humble servant of God and not God himself.  He is also stated to have said that the supreme power of doing and undoing things lies with God and He is only an instrument or a tool in His hand.

One more thing is notable about Shri Sai Baba that different people considered him as an incarnation of different Gods.  Why Shri Sai Baba appeared to these people in different forms is also worth considering.    He knew that faith cannot be generated in a person by outside agency by advice,    howsoever  authoritative the person giving the advice may b.  It is a very common knowledge that most of the families in this country   have   got some   family deity or God, who is supposed to be the guardian of the family and who is supposed to protect the family through thick and thin. Hence the practice of  worshipping that   deity is a   tradition of that family and the natural faith of every member of that family is in that God.   To change   that faith  overnight  is not an easy matter and  hence in order to convince that person that Shri Baba is none else than that deity itself,   Shri  Sai Baba appeared before that person in the form of that  deity.

            Shri Sai Baba had also to show to the people at large that all Gods were alike  and as He could manifest Himself in  all different forms, the several Gods that people think about and worship are  not different;   but there is only one God who appears in different forms.   It was because of this deep rooted faith of a person in a particular God, that Shri Baba always used to advise that person,   who came to him, to continue the worship of his family God and not to change to any other God overnight.

The idea of incarnation of God exists in all religions in some form or the other.  Shri Sai devotees have a record that Shri Sai Baba appeared to them in the form of Shri Vitthal and Shri Ram. The remarkable incident of Shri Moolay Shastri from Nasik to whom Shri Sai Baba appeared as his Guru Gholap-swami is particularly noteworthy. There Shri Baba showed that by His yogic power, He not only could take the form of other Gods, but He could also appear like other human beings revered by others. Certain class of devotees believe that Shri Baba was an incarnation of Shri Datta.  Shri Sai Baba may thus be considered by different people as an incarnation of different Gods, still He is to us as our reverred Sai Baba and as the great English dramatist Shakespeare has said in his famous play, Romeo Juliet. ''What is there in a name. For that which we call rose will smell as sweet by any other name". Similarly Shri Sai Baba may be supposed to be an incarnation of any deity, still He will continue to shower His favours on all His devotees and hence we have to continue our faith in Him wholeheartedly and without any doubt in our mind.

THIRD GATHERING AT SHIRDI

The Third Gathering of the contributors to Shri Sai Leela magazine will be held at Shirdi on the 30th and 31st of January 1977. The inaugural Session will be held at 9 a.m. on 30-1-77. All delegates should try to remain present at Shirdi before 10 p. m. on 29-1-77 and should report to Shri Sadanand Chendwankar on their arrival at Shirdi. — Editor.

THE SCIENCE OF RELIGION

By •  Swami Chinmayananda

Conditions  for Meditation

The root of human distress is the sense of alienation from the natural order in the universe around us and this generates a nameless, elusive fear in the heart. We feel that we are exiles, cruelly banished from an inner life of harmony and fulfillment. Not knowing how to return and reach home, we roam about in a jungle of vanities and passions, of competitions and aggrandisements, of greeds and lusts. All of them give but a tepid relief, perhaps; none of these can satisfy ever the depths in us. By the very nature of man he can never be satisfied with the fleeting joys that he derives from the enchantments of the world.

We seek, in and through life's passions, the end of our deep sense of alienation, - - - alienation from the harmony, which secretly we know to exist between us and the world around us. Meditation lifts us from this sense of limitation and alienation to the heights of spiritual experience.

Some important conditions for meditation are discussed in the following three verses. The Lord declares, (VI-10) "A Yogi should constantly practise concentration of his mind, intellect, remaining in a quiet place, alone, with his mind and body subdued, and free from hope and the hunger to possess". Here is the Call. A student of self-development) is asked to "constantly practise concentration of his mind-intellect equip­ment", Meditation is not achieved by merely applying oneself to it at fixed hours of the day. Success in meditation depends upon the quality of the mind-intellect, called in the scriptures as the HEART.

This subtle pre-meditational  preparation of the  "heart" is elaborately indicated by the  Oeeta Acharya  in   this verse  :

(I) remaining in a quiet place; (2) alone (3) with mind and senses subdued,  (4) By living free from hopes and plans for future sense-satisfactions and (5) relieved from the hunger to possess, and consequently from all anxieties and fears.  These five instructions are, it is very clear, meant to lift from the mind its load of worries and agitations because of which it becomes extrovert; and, an outgoing mind is unfit for deeper meditations.

These instructions are easily given.  But to live and to practise them, they must be more practical and simple.  Here Krishna gives out even the most elementary details.  He describes the place and the seat of meditation, (Vl-11) "Having in a clean spot established firmly his seat, neither too high nor too low, made up of a cloth, a skin and dry grass, arranged in this very order…. ".  Here are the details regarding  the  seat  of meditation.  In a clean spot, make a firm seat --- without springs and spongy rubber mattresses. First spread dry grass on the floor to avoid dampness - - - a clean jute mat can be used quite conveniently; over it spread a deer-skin, and over it a clean cotton sheet. This seat should not be perched too high, as fear of fall may distract the mind;, nor should it be too low, deep in some grave cave, where sufficient oxygen may not be available. The place of meditation must be well-ventilated.

"Having established this seat, instruction upon what one is to do is being now detailed by Lord Krishna (VI-12) "There, seated on that seat, making the mind single-pointed, subduing the functions of the mind and senses, let him practise Yoga for the purification of the heart".

"Make the mind single-pointed" the mind is itself nothing but "thought-flow". This thought-flow in its meanderings has no force or flow. The mind of an average man wanders from object to object, in time and in place, and such a disintegrated mind can achieve little in life. A meditator must first forge an efficient mind, trained to beam out with Laser-like precision and directness.  Such a mind, in full concen­tration is the instrument by which men achieved greatness in science and art, in commerce and trade, in war and peace.

Having thus "Laserised'" the mind, learn to subdue the functions of the imaginations within and of the senses without. These are the two main sources of all disturb­ances in the mind. The sense organs bring storms of agitations from the world-of-objects, and the mind has a knack of remembering the past and imagining the future sense-pleasures and breeding agitations within itself. Such agitations shatter the powers of concentration in the mind.

Thus having controlled the outgoing tendencies of both the mind and the senses, and having cultivated the ability to think upon one topic with a single-pointed mind, sit in your sent of meditation and meditate upon the Lord, the Self within --- practise the Yoga of Meditation.

With the Laserised mind contemplate upon the Light of Consciousness that illumines all our sense perceptions, mental emotions and our intellectual thoughts.

This process is not easy. An intelligent man is ever utili­tarian in his point-of-view in life. So he will not willingly put forth his efforts, if he is not informed of the immediate benefits he will gain by doing so. Krishna is smart enough to anticipate this in Arjuna, and so He says, "Such a mental exercise is for the purification of one's own heart" --- “heart" meaning the mind-intellect equipment. With a single-pointed mind when a seeker steadily strives to contemplate upon the nature of the Lord, the Self, his heart gets purified of all dross expressed cons­tantly as mental agitations. An agitated mind is an impure mind ---a pure mind is steady and highly concentrated. Thought disturbances arise from the vasanas - - - the subconscious and the unconscious in us. Through meditation, the vasanas get burnt up, and they can no longer germinate into thought distur­bances. Hence the heart - - - meaning the mind-intellect - - -becomes calm and quiet.

Now, calmer the mind, greater the concentration - - - and therefore deeper gets the meditation. When we meditate deeply and penetrate the nature of the Self, greater is our realisation. Thus, a cycle of reactions starts within us which builds up to lift us, above the mundane and finite, into the very Experience of the Infinite Self Divine. Religion is indeed an awakening in experience.

Final Adjustments for Meditation

Many detailed guidelines for meditation have been given so far. But Krishna feels that this act of meditation being so intimate and subjective, a seeker may not quite realise its full implications. So he gives out another three verses about the final adjustments necessary for the take-off in meditation.

The Geeta Acharya waxes eloquent in giving details when he sings, (VI-13) "Let him (the meditator), keep his body motionless, with his trunk, neck and head erect and still, with his attention fixed as if at the tip of his nose, without allowing it to wander about in different directions." Sit with the head, neck and trunk steadily held perpendicular to the seat, and see that no part of the body is shaking. Keep the entire frame motionless. The restlessness of the mind often vibrates the body. And the body in resonance, grows fidgety, and rocks. When the body is consciously held motionless, and firmly seated in a reverse influence, the mind in resonance with the still body grows calm and quiet.

Similarly, fix all your attention as it at your nose-tip. Here the passage is often interpreted as an instruction to turn the eyeballs to literally gaze at the tip of the nose. Such physical acrobatics with the eyeballs will only give the seeker a painful and faithful headache ! All your attention is to be turned in a direction as though in line with the nose-tip, ie, forward, steady, unwavering, at the feet of the Lord- then our gaze cannot but be right. Such elementary instructions are necessary for the beginners, for they are often of great help to them.

To amplify this instruction, Krishna himself explains, "without looking all around"  ie, without allowing your attention to wander and get scattered helter-skelter in a variety of directions, Laser-beam it into one single channel of concen­trated attention.

Continuing his loving instructions to the seekers, Lord Krishna says, (VI-14) "With heart serene, all fears gone, firm in the contemplation of Brahman, with mind controlled, ever thinking of Me, let him sit (in meditation) having Me as his supreme goal". (I) "With his inner personality serene", meaning,-with the desires, that disturb the heart, all conquered; (2) with "fears gone" meaning, in the assimilated know­ledge of spiritual experiences our fears of ending the individuality must leave us completely; (3) "firm in the contemplation of Brahman",  meaning, our entire attention turned into our reflections upon the glory of the infinite Self; (4) "with mind controlled", meaning, controlling the mind which may roam into remembered memories, or fancied worries, and disturb the meditator's quietude; (5) "ever thinking of Me", meaning, fixing all the mental attention upon the Infinite, conceived as the enchanting form of Lord Krishna; (6) "having Me as the supreme Goal", so that there is no chance of the meditator's personality getting distracted from his spiritual altar, ......... ''let him thus sit in meditation".

These six adjustments make the entire personality of the   seeker Laserised towards one single purpose and end.

But why these difficult six self-adjustments within? They all seem so unnatural, so hard, so exhaustingly redundant Why? Why should we struggle thus? To what ultimate end? Says Krishna, (VI-15) 'Thus always keeping the mind steady, the meditator (Yogi) of subdued mind, attains to the Peace residing in Me - - - the Peace that culminates in "Nirvana", the total liberation." By striving to preserve the above-mentioned six adjustments in the inner personality, we come to subdue our minds. Then a peace divine, the "peace that passeth all understanding", wells up in the bosom. In this unearthly, dynamic peace, the Supreme is revealed, and we get liberated from our personality encumberances --- the persecutions of the flesh, the tyrannies of the emotions and the stampedes of the intellect. This state of freedom is called "Nirvana", or ''Moksha", in our scriptures.

In all great experiments, scientists usually indicate in detail, the essential precautions we must take in order to make the experiment a success. Meditation is an experiment within ourselves and each one must successfully perform it in himself. Conditions under which alone the experiment can be successful have already been enumerated as the six essential inner personality adjustments. Indicating the precautions we must take for a rewarding meditation. Krishna declares, (Vl-16) '"Successful meditation (Yoga) is not for him who eats too much or too little, nor Arjuna, for him who sleeps too much or too little." In short, a student of meditation should avoid all extremes. He should neither overeat, too often, large quantities of food, nor should he starve himself and neglect his body. Remember, a healthy body is the pad from which the mind takes off! Similarly, one must neither sleep too much nor too little.

Again the Lord declares, (VI-17) 'To him who is temperate in eating and recreation, in his efforts at work and in his sleep and wakefulness, meditation (Yoga) becomes the destroyer of miseries." Habits of temperate eating and drinking and of regulated sleep for say six hours a day, are instructions, the import of which any seeker can easily understand. But the ins­truction that we must be temperate in our efforts at work seems strange and unfamiliar and its import seems thickly veiled.

To do any work, one employs certain physical movements. A sloppy person uses more such movements, dissipating more energy. Based upon this, we have today in the industrial world, an entire science developed which helps to plan a scheme for division of labour for more efficient production. The instruction is only aimed at conservation of energy.

If the six adjustments are carefully brought about, there is no reason why there cannot be a total transmutation of our personality into the glory of our spiritual awakening.

Meditate !   And Meditate !!   And Meditate !!!

Sincerity and regularity alone are the secrets of its final success.

(Courtesy : Geeta Office, Powai)

 

 

SHRI GURUCHARITRA

By:- Shri S.  N.  Huddar

(Continued  from   December   1976  issue)

CHAPTER 48

Amarja Sangam and the Greatness of Ganagapur

On the Parva day of Ashvin Vad 14, Shri Guru said to the disciples, 'We shall have bath at Tristhali (3 Holy places i. e. Prayag, Kashi and Gaya) with family and children.

The disciples said, 'For such a long journey, we require some time for preparations'.

Shri Guru, -These holy places are near about. So there is no need of special preparation.

Saying this he went with them all to the Sangam. All took bath there. Shri Guru said, 'This Sangam is like Prayag. Bhima flows here northwards. This Amarja Sangam is as holy as the Ganga-Yamuna Sangam of Prayag. There are other eight holy places (Tirthas) near about.'

The disciples, - 'Why this river is called Amarja?'

Shri Guru, - 'Jallundhar Rakshas conquered the earth and kept Gods in his custody. Gods and Rakshasas were on War. Indra went to Shri Shankar and said, 'We kill Rakshasas but from each drop of their blood, new Rakshasas are born and they have spread in three Lokas. They have killed many Gods.'

Hearing this, Shri Shankar was enraged and he started to kill the Rakshas in the form of Rudra. Indra said, 'You will kill the Rakshas; but kindly suggest any device to make the Gods alive.'

Shri Shankar recited Amrutmantra and gave a jar filled with nectar. Indra sprinkled the nectar on the Gods and made them alive.  While Indru was going with the jar of the remaining nectar, some drops fell on the earth an,) a river thus created was called 'Amarja’. Ruth in this river prevents diseases and untimely death. This river meets Bliima and this Sangam ; like Triveni Sangam .-of Prayag. Bath in the Kartika and Magh months, on Somwati, Sankranti Grahan eclipse) Parva at this Sangam is very virtuous.

Before this Sangam is the Ashwatdia, hath near which fullfils  the desires. I also live here. After worshipping this Ashwattha,  worship the Sangameshwar'  with devotion. This is like the Mallikarjuna of Shri Shailya. Bow to Nandi and Chandi, have 3 rounds and see Shri Shiva Shankar.

There is the 'Varanashi' Tirth i- e. Kashi one mile ahead. One Brahmin of Bhardwaj Gotra was a great devotee of Shri Shiva. He roamed everywhere without clothes, people called him 'mad'. He had two brothers Ishwar and Pandurang. They were thinking of going to Kashi. At this time one devotee of Shri Shiva came there and said to his brothers, 'Why do you go to Kashi? This is Kashi Vishveshwar.' The brothers said, 'Where is it? Show us'.

The devotee took a bath and sat in meditation, Shri Shankar appeared before him. The devotee requested him to create an idol tit" Kashi Vishveshuar there for daily worship and darshan. Shri Shankar conceded and Manikarnika kund was created first and the shrine of Kashi Vishveshwar came out of it. A river flowing northward like Bhagirthi also came into existence. All (no principal places of Kashi were thus created here. Both the brothers then worshipped Kashi Vishveshwar. These brothers lived in Pundharpur and were known as 'Aradhye'.

Hearing   this   from   Shri   Guru;   all   took   bath   there and worshipped Shri Vishveshwar with devotion and observed other rites.

Shri Guru - 'Here is 'Papavinashi Teerth' bath in which destroys all sins.' Shri Guru called his sister Atnai here and said, 'You had killed a cat with a stick and therefore you are having leprosy. You bathe in this Tirth daily and your disease will disappear.' As advised, she bathed here for three days and her disease was wiped off.

A little further is 'Kothi Tirth'. One should bathe here on Sankranti, Grahan, Purnima and amavasya and give a cow with a calf in charity. Further to this is 'Rudra Tirth'. It is as holy as Gaya. Observe Shraddha here.

Further is 'Chakra Tirth' like Dwarka. Beyond 'Manmath Tirth'. To the east of it, is 'Kalfeshwar' like Gokarna Mahabale-shwar. Take bath in the Manmath Tirth and worship the Kalleshwar. By doing this, eight glories are attained'.

Shri Guru thus narrated the greatness of the eight holy places and all were pleased. They bathed and observed other rites and returned to Ganngapur with Shri Guru. A grand samaradhna was arranged jointly".

CHAPTER 49

The Gist of Shri Guru Geeta

Namdharak bowed to Shri Siddhamuni with folded hands and said, - "Gurudeo, you have narrated to me the life of Shri Guru and have given me the real dhyan (knowledge) which has wiped off my karma and by your blessing, I have known the essence of religion. Devotion to Shri Guru is like the Kalpataru and Rishis like Vashishta and Shuka also follow this path. Now kindly tell me the path of Sadguru." '

Being pleased with the question, Shri Siddha said, Namdharak, you are very fortunate as you have asked a question regarding the eterrfal principles, knowing which illusion and ignorance are wiped off and the ‘mind becomes as clear as the tight of the sun.'

Once when Shri Shankar was sitting on a beautiful point of Kailas, Devi Parvati with folded hands said to Him with devotion, "Great God of Gods, Guru of the universe, give me Gurumantra and kindly tell me the means by which one's soul becomes united with Brahma".

Shri Shankar said, "Dear devi, this is a question which has never been asked to me so far by anybody. You are my second form. So 1 shall tell you this gist and this will benefit all the people also".

“Veda, Shastra, Purana, Itihas, Mantra-tantravidya, Smriti Jaran-maran (using the power of doing miracles by the devotees of shiva and shakti) and other various sciences put one in illusion. Without knowing the gist of devotion to Guru, people perform sacrifices, observe penance, vrat, charity, recitation and go to the holy places but only after the rise of the light of Shri Guru, difficult vidya, wordly illusion and ignorance are all wiped off. By serving Shri Guru, all sins perish and the soul becomes pure and united with Brahma.

Taking the holy water, touched by the lotus like feet of Shri Guru, is like a bath at a holy place. This tirth is as holy as Kashi or Prayag.

Always remember Shri Guru. Recite Shri Guru's name all the time, obey his orders, serve and worship Shri Guru with devotion. Doing this, one can even attain to my position.

The alphabet Gu (3) means darkness and Ru (5) means light. Guru means the knowledge of the light of Brahma, that destroyes darkness of ignorance. 'Gu' is the first alphabet to creat illusion and other attributes. ‘Ru’ is the second alphabet of Brahma which destroyes illusion and vain appearance. This power of Guru is supreme and is difficult even for the Gods to obtain.

A Sadhak   (disciple)   should   offer to Shri   Guru good seat, bed, clothes,   ornaments,   conveyances etc.    He   should serve him with devotion for getting one's position, ashram, caste and pray him with body, speech and mind. He should disclose his miseries regarding body, senses, money, son, wife, etc. clearly and should not be ashamed to lay prostrate before him.

Men go to hell by living in family life as one's body is full of worms, night-soil, urine, phlegm, blood, flesh and bad odour. Bow to Shri Guru, who liberates a person from the worldly miseries.

Shri Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh and Para-Brahma. He is the cause of the creation of universe, liberator of persons from this worldly sea and giver of the knowledge of all the vidyas.

By applying the ointment of Shri Guru's knowledge to one's eyes, closed eyes are opened, parents, brothers and good men who give real knowledge of worldly life, are all Gurus. Though there is diversity in the universe, yet there is oneness. Shri Guru protects one from all difficulties, showing the cause and effect.

If Shri Shankar or Shri Vishnu are enraged, Shri Guru protects the devotees; but when Shri Guru himself is enraged, even Shri Shankar or Shri Vishnu cannot protect them.

Just as the blind man cannot see the light of the Sun, so the dull persons do not see the nectar-like appearance of Shri Guru, which is visible only to the eyes of the thoughtful. Shri Guru is like a monarch, who is witnessing the drama of creation and destruction of the universe.

Three Nath, Ganesh, 3 Bhairava Peethas, Siddha, 3 Batus, 2 Pad, 3 Dooties, Shri Shankar, 4, 6, 8, 9 Veeresh, 5 Veeravalies are all associated with the best 'Shri Malini' mantra. Bow to this Shri Guru mandal.

To think about Shri Guru's body is like thinking about ever­lasting Shri Shiva and to recite Shri Guru's name is to praise the eternal Shiva's qualities.

Shri Guru is birthless, devoid of oldage and has no beginning He is self created, devoid of change, full of bright Bliss, minutest of the minute, greatest of the great and eternal. He is self shining, spotless, sky pervading, everlasting and has no decrease Vedas and Manu describe Shri Guru's penance in this way. Therefore always remember Shri Guru.

By the knowledge of self, which is pervading all the universe, moveable and immoveable, sins of several births are atoned. There is no greater principle than the knowledge of self. There is no greater penance than the service of Shri Guru and there is no deeper knowledge than the advice of Shri Guru.

Shri Guru is Jagannath (lord of the universe) and the Guru of the 3 Lokas. Shri Guru is the universe and our soul is the soul of all the creation. Bow to Shri Guru, who gives this knowledge.

The persons, who are proud of penance and knowledge and who are engrossed in the worldly affairs, are like the pots moving on the wheel of a pot-maker. Gods, Gandharvas, fore fathers, yaksh, kinnar, Rishi, siddha, who do not serve Shri Guru do not get salvation.

Bow to Shri Guru, who is the supreme joy and who gives the best pleasure. He is shrine of knowledge, above division, sky pervading, knower of 'Tattwam Asi' (that thou art) principle, only one, eternal, pure, immoveable, who witnesses everything and who is devoid of existence and three qualities (Satwa, Raj and Tarn).

To know one's self is the supreme knowledge and the utmost goal of life. This is attained only by the favour of Shri Guru.

Remember Shri Guru till death. Even if he is fickle minded, do not forget or forsake him.

The wise should not speak about Shri Guru with disrespect. Do not tell a lie before him.

I hope who despise - Shri Guru go to hell. Those who discuss vainly with Shri Guru become Brahma Rakshas and have to live in barren and waterless places.

Oh Parwati, Shri Guru protects his disciples, even if God, muni or pannag curses. Gods and munies are weak before Shri Guru, whose curses can destroy them in no time.

O Devi, according to Smrities and Vedas, Shri Guru is Parabrahma. Guru is a mantra of two syllables.

Bow to Shri Guru, who is pervading all the universe from Brahma to grass, who is eternal, whole, formless, devoid of qualities, engrossed in self-knowledge, above divisions and full of real bright-joy. (Sat - chit - Anand rup).

Brahma is eternal like the fragrance in camphor and flowers and like the coolness and warmth in an object. This knowledge can be got only through Shri Guru. So worship and serve him with pure and clear heart and singular devotion. One, who is united with Brahma in meditation, realises Kundalini, Brahma Randhra and formlessness and gets salvation without doubt.

The ignorant wins over the worldly sea and the wise besides gets knowledge of actions and no-actions by following the path of Shri Guru.

Those, who read, hear or write Shri Guru Geeta and give it in charity with money, all their desires are fulfilled. Always read Shri Guru-Geeta to get rid of the miseries of the worldly life.

Each and every syllable of Shri Guru Geeta, is like the best mantra. Reading of Shri Guru Geeta destroyes all sins and poverty and gives many other benefits.

Reading of Shri Guru-Geeta enables to win death, remove all difficulties and fear of yaksha, Rakshas, ghosts, thieves, tigers and diseases. It gives the power of using Bhasma, mesmerism, and hypnotism.

O Devi, read Shri Guru-Geeta, sitting on a site of kush grass (darbhasan) or white blanket with attentive mind. Use a white seat for peace, red for mesmerising, black for punishing the evildoers and yellow for getting wealth. For peace, sit facing the north, for mesmerising facing the east, for punishing the evil­doers facing the south and for wealth facing the west.

Recitation of Shri Guru-Geeta, gives one retentive power, develops one's qualities, destroyes evil acts, makes good acts successful, removes fear of Grahas (planets), destroyes evil dreams, gives issues even to steriie women, gives goodluck to the married wo-men,(keep their husbands alive all their lives) and gives peace of mind.

If a widow reads Shri Guru-Geeta without object, she gets salvation. If she reads with desire, she will get a good husband in the next birth and all her miseries, difficulties and curses will perish.

Shri Guru-Geeta is like a Kamdhenu to those who read it with some expectation. It is like a Kalpataru to those, who read it with desires. It is like a chintamani to the thinkers of every­thing good. If you read it for salvation you get salvation, if you read it for worldly pleasures, you will get them.

One can read Shri Guru-Geeta with some object, sitting on the bank of a river or the sea shore, in the mandir of Vishnu, Shiva, Devi or other God, math, cowshed, under vat, awala, mango tree or near a plant of Tulsi or Dhotra or in the cremation ground at a lonely but clean and neat place.

Even though a devotee of Shri Guru may be a fool still he is great, all his good acts, penance, vrat, diksha become successful. They are never futile.

As Shri Guru knows Brahma, He is always pure and where-ever He goes, there is the presence of God, Tirth and Peeth. One who reads Shri Guru-Geeta sitting or lying on a bed, standing, walking, speaking, riding on a horse or an elephant, is pure. He has no rebirth.

A soul is one with God. Just as the water in the sea, the milk in the milk-pot, the ghee in the ghee-pot and the sky in the broken pot are one with them, similarly the Dhyani, (learned) is united with God and lies lost in himself day and night.

O Parwati, when one is blessed by Shri Guru, all his doubts vanish, Goddess Saraswati resides on his tongue and he gets both the pleasures and salvation by the favour of Shri Guru. One's recitation, vrat and penance of several births bear fruit

O Waranane (having good face), I told you, this principle of Sankhya shastra. One God, one religion, one devotion, one penance are nothing else but Shri Guru Himself. There is no higher principle than that of Shri Guru.

The home, where there is devotion of Shri Guru, parent, family and race, is fortunate. Those, who do not adore Shri Guru due to vanity of knowledge and penance, are unfortunate.

Even to Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, Gods, Rishi, Fore-fathers, Kinnar, siddha, charan, yaksh, munies, the favour of Shri Guru, is like the great holy Tirth. Shri Guru's Tirth is the root of all the Tirths.

If one reads Shri Guru-Geeta in travel, or during war, at the time of the attack of an enemy, he gets victory in life and salvation at death.

If Shri Guru-Geeta is read with evil acts, at evil places and with fickle mind, it gives evil effects.

As you are dear to me, I have told this gist to you. Keep it with yourself. Tell this to one, who is not engrossed in worldly pleasures and has devotion; but do not tell it to him, who is not devoted, who is a deceit, cunning, atheist and who discusses vainly.”

Here ends the gist of Shri Guru-Geeta in the form of a dialogue between Ishwar and Parwati, included in the Uttarkhand of Skand Purana.

(to be continued).

MYSTERY OF BIRTH

( Continued from December 1976  issue )

 

18. But should a man with moral binding, integrity and mental firmness seek this path of dedication, devotion, meditation and surrender to the Almighty, atleast, sooner or later after his Gnhasthasrram, in this mundane world, after attaining maturity of mind and body by gaining worldly experience in this material life, there is the chance to get the status, power and sense of realisation, provided his change towards salvation is firm, realising and repenting for his past actions, when the Almighty will certainly pardon and give him remission as in the imprisonment to a prisoner with a view, henceforth to purify him, from further misdeeds or sins, from this mundane world and thus grant him salvation, Mukti or Moksha.

19. Who on earth can say that a drop of Dhathu Bhindu will make or mar a man's career? It all depends on his past karma and accident of birth. It lies in him to make the best of himself with his discriminary and discreteful powers endowed to him and brought into the world - and as such he is not to get lost in the dark woods of the world, forgetting the very object and the purpose he has to fulfil. He should therefore strive, strain, exert every nerve to attain Moksham, Mukti or Salvation or God realisation.

20. Here again a man by mere reading, preaching, propagating or advocating (without himself adhering) gospels of vedanta, spiritual scriptures hymns and slogans, without the inner voice and sense (Glow) set firmly for spiritual attainment seriously and sincerely with all his heart, will not, cannot and shall not attain Mukti as it would only be a show or imitation, with his ego and pride for false fame and honour, in the garb of a saint or philosopher by dress and talk.

21. The saints or sages in jungles or in Himalayan mountain caves, who do tapas or meditation, do not know or like to know the mundane world. They never go out for any preaching or propagating the

God-cult. They strive and strain to solve their own problems of attaining Moksha - as the proverb goes charity begins at home-each man for himself and no man for any man. But since the saint or the sage is a pure and holy man, while his prayers are for himself, they are for all too, since his is a selfless service and sacrifice, without any show, egoism or worldly false fame or notion.  Since, such a change in the mind will only scumble, tumble and perish one's own progress towards attaining Moksha or Mukti, he is away from it.

22. The illustration given below will explain a man's lust, craze and greed for power, pomp and prosperity and material glory, which are all unreal and transitory illusions as a mirage in a sandy scorching desert, as compared and equated to the action of a man as said hereunder.

23. A frog interested and concentrated in its attention on its prey in front of it, is unaware of the fate awaiting ahead of it, where a snake concentrating in swallowing the frog is closely following, crawling at its back. The snake in its turn is ignorant of its fate ahead, while a vulture or a kite howering over in the sky is closely following the snake. The bird concentrated in carrying away the snake, is ignorant of its fate ahead while a hunter, down below, with his arrow set at the bird is waiting to shoot it down, and this hunter in his turn is ignorant of the fate ahead of him, where a snake under the grass is crawling across to bite him. The hunter lets his arrow out and hits the kite which falls dead, at the same time the hunter, bitten by the snake, falls dead to the ground. Thus neither the kite nor the hunter survive in this chain as the destiny rules. It is interesting to note here that each one did not know- its own fate but was only anxious to attain its object, meet its own, end foolishly, blindly and ignorantly trying to conquer for its individual benefit, least realising where how and when its end comes.

24. From this illustration, it could he seen similarly that a man veiled by ego, pride and haughtyness, foolishly, blindly both in mind and eyes though placed in high position and status, for acquiring worldly benefits, pleasures, fame and honor (which are transitory illusions), drowned in the storm of mundane world, stoops to such vicious and nefarious and wicked acts, by destroying and distressing the innocent and weak persons without allowing them to live in peace and comfort. In ripe time when it cannot be tolerated by the Almighty, the egoism of a proud man meets its end.

To quote narrow-minded, wicked, jealous and selfish a man is, although born for a superior magnanimous, sacred and selfless service and how he is bent upon in such nefarious activities by his egoism, emotion with the mind set at acquiring power, pomp fame, prosperity and false honor stoops to an act of disgrace and disrepute brutally instead of expanding his mind with his ideals with morals for puritv, sincerity and honesty with cherished ideals towards the uplift of humanity, is well depicted and explained in the following quotation.

An eagle, a far sighted bird (an eagle-eye) though gifted  fly so high in the sky, from such a high level, only casts its eyes on ugly, stinking carcasses and corpses but does not set its atten­tion on superior and good things with its sharp eyes, thus misusing the, gifted sight, towards ugly things instead of lofty high ideals.

The curiosity of the nature created by the Almighty is in that how ugly, wicked and unwanted creatures and things are more abundantly made in the world, than useful and good things which are comparatively far and few, is explained by the realistic fact that in the jungles ferocious, ravaging, and wild beasts like tiger, cheeta, jackals which live on other weak, innocent and harmless creatures like deer, stag, hare etc. are more in number, only to terrorise, frighten and destroy the beauty and calm of the jungle, filled with pretty, pleasant and harmless creatures.  So is the man with his ill-got wealth and power, who destroys the weak and innocent persons.

These timers and cheetas etc. bring forth three or four young ones at a time, what for, only to destroy the innocent not to speak of the pigs in towns, bringing forth dozens at a time ugly, nasty ones - the natural scavengers. You may see a wide contrast here that the good, pretty, pleasing, entertaining, beautifying and useful creatures like pigeons, peacocks, parrots etc. and the swan of course a rare specimen are not as abundant as those unwanted ones - to make a particular mention of a quadruped  cow, worshipped as sacred and holy Kamadhenu- a most vital and useful cow to mankind by its milk, so essential for humans, whose usefulness is beyond description as ordained by the Lord, delivers only one calf at a time. He or she - both equally useful for mankind.

25- From the above narration, it could be judged and a conclusion drawn, how evil is abundant in this mundane world and how limited and few are good ones. This also reflects on the theory that good men are few and the bad are more. That is the creation of the Almighty for the man to realise and disciminate between good and bad and to choose the right path for his salvation and pious living-this path he should seek to live and lead both to help the humanity and himself attain salvation or Mukthi.

26. It will be interesting to note how a generous, pious, good man and a wicked and jealous man are compared, is illustrated by the fact that a lion-the jungle king-though living on the ground-not like birds in air looks forward for its hunger, an elephant for its prey but never stoops low to ugly and meek creatures, as the vulture or a kite though high in the sky, with its sharp sight droops down upon ugly and nasty carcasses, corpses etc. but not at good and superior things.

27. In just manner endowed with decretory and discriminating power between good and bad and blessed with the position and status occupying highest pedestal in life, instead of viewing things broad-mindedly and magnanimously with sympathy and reason and redress the grievances and problems on humanitarian grounds, by uplifting the poor and needy and thus follow the path of give and take policy -forget and forgive - the mother of virtue of an ideal man realises and feels the pulses and difficulties of others as his own; but not develop paired with narrow selfish, ugly jealous mind, only aiming at individual self progess and prosperity, pomp, power and fame acquired by ill-got wealth and honour at the cost of others which are transitory illusions not eternal. He should have perspective view on higher ideals with a bent of mind and a determined effort to help humanity, as Abobenatham said, "Love your fellow men and I will love you - as service to man is service to God or humanity is servitude."

28. From this narration it could be seen and it is evident that all scriptures of all religions will speak alike. One theory, one philosophy which lead to one and the same goal and for the whole universe the Almighty is one and that there is that Almighty. Different saints at different times and in different parts of the world made their own individual scriptures on philosophy and religion to their own group of followers with a perspective idology as inspired in them by God but all leading to one and the same goal.

29. That is LIFE-  That is BIRTH- living and aim, the beginning and the end. That is man's living and aim, the beginning and the end.

30. I am Saidas the writer or the author of this article - an insignificant man-an atom of Brahman brought into this world by HIM with a purpose to fulfill my mission and thus made to seek HIS LOTUS FEET, to meditate, dedicate and surrender to HIM to attain salvation, Mukthi or Moksha.

31.With the intuition given by HIM, the power and strength to write (by Shirdi Sri Sai Baba), I place these few lines for the information, guidance, if need be, of Sri Sai Devotees and those like-minded persons, Bhaktas and devotees which is open for correc­tions, suggestions, wherever felt necessary.

32. This is the EYE of the man.  This miracle of birth or creation which cannot be artificially or scientifically done.

B.  Ramanadha Rao

Madras,  Tamil Nadu,  Pin Code 600 011

FEED THE COW

The people in Bombay want to collect merit at every step. Resourceful people have made it a lucrative business to feed their own cows at the cost of others and create an opportunity for the people to acquire merit. A number of persons with a cow or a calf and a bundle of grass can be seen waiting outside the temples in Bombay, requesting people to feed the cow for acquiring merit. Some of them are still more obliging. They come to your house with the cow only with the sole intention of creating an opportunity for you to acquire merit!

Once a gentleman, who was passing by the road, was accosted by a lady and was requested to feed the cow, when the gentleman asked, "What is the fruit of this feeding?"

The lady replied "Why? Don't you know, the doors of the heaven will be thrown wide open to you because of the merit that you will acquire by feeding my cow?"

The gentleman replied, "If a mere handful of grass is so meritorious, why don't you feed your cow with the whole bundle? The doors of heaven will thereby remain open to you for ever!"

SAINT GADGEMAHARAJ

By  Dr.  S. D. Parchare  M. A., Ph. D. (Continue: in  December 1976 issue)

Though Dhebuji and his family members were thus handi­capped and were not getting enough and good food to eat, still Dhebuji never neglectedthe cattle in his house, especially the bullocks. In those days tractors were not known. The agriculture was dependent entirely on these bullocks because it was the bullocks who ploughed the land. Similarly chemical fertilizers were also not known. The only fertiliser that was being used with advan­tage, was the cow-dung. The cattle, that every farmer used to-maintain, gave him this dung and it may he because of these two reasons that all the farmers used to take care of their cattle. As a farmer Dhebuji also knew this use of the cattle and was taking care of his cattle like  other farmers; but apart from this he always had a humanitarian outlook on life and because of this he always took utmost care of these dumb mutes in his house. Even under these adverse circumstances therefore, Dhebuji always saw that his bullocks were property fed and cared for.

Dhebuji was thus pulling his days with the hope of a bright future. The Sawkar, with whom the land was mortgaged, was coming regularly at the harvest time and was taking away the produce against the interest due. Of his own accord, he never passed a receipt for the corn he took away. This pinched Dhebuji very often. In view of tie selfish attitude shown by the Sawkar so far, Dhebuji did not feel like believing in him any more. He therefore went to him from time to time and requested him to pass receipts for the corn taken away by him; but he always avoided to pass the receipts on some ground or the other.

Once when Dhebur went to the Sawkar, he found some other farmers sitting and talking with him. They had taken some loans from him and were thus under his obligation. Dhebuji was therefore in two minds whether he should request the Sawkar for the receipt or not; but from his past experience he decided not to take things easy. He therefore requested the Sawkar for the receipt of the corn recently carried away by him. The Sawkar as usual said, with a smile, "Dhebuji, you are a young man with very hot blood. Do not show such doubt in me; believe in me My Munim is taking note of all that is being received by me and it is being written in tie account books against your account".

On hearing these words from the Sawkar, all the farmers unanimously told  Dhebuji, "Oh boy! Do not worry about the Sawkar's receipt. He is a very honest man and he has obliged so many of us here, by advancing timely loans to us. The marriages in many of our houses would not have taken place, if the Sawkar would not have risen to the occasion. We are all paying our interest and grain to him from to time; but we are never asking for any receipt. We are always assured by the Sawkar that every pie that would be paid by us, would be noted down in the account books by his clerk and hence there does not seem to be the necessity of a receipt; besides where is the place in your house to keep the receipts in safe custodv? We have therefore put full faith in the Sawkar and his Munim and never ask for a receipt. The staff of the Sawkar are honestly recording the receipts and you need not worry about it in the least." Such talk by the farmers, sitting in the Sawkar's house, strengthened his case and Dhebuji had to come home without pressing further for the receipt!

Three years elapsed in this fashion During this period, the Sawkar took away the produce from the fields regularly under the pretext of collecting interest on the amount of the mortgage; but took great care not to pass a single receipt for the produce thus collected. This was done by him with the ulterior motive of swallowing the land under the ground of non - payment of the amount of the mortgage. Hence one day he sent his Munim to Dhebuji, whom he told in the name of the Sawkar that the land on the bank of the Puma river still stood in the Government records in his name and hence he should return the same to him. Dhebuji was surprised at this strange message and he got totally upset; but after a little while he recovered from the shock and sent back the following message to the Sawkar, "My maternal uncle, late Chandrabhanji has paid the full purchase price of the land and hence the land is now ours. The land is being tilled by me for the last twelve years or so and hence the question of handing it over back to you does not arise". As a token of his good will, Dhebuji even offered to pay produce tor one year more to the Sawkar.

At this reply of Dhebuji, the Sawkar got enraged, and said. "Dhebuji is trying to defy my wish. He does not know my power. He must be taught a lesson for his life". With these words the Sawkar started his preparations for taking forcible possession of the land. He therefore gave it a wide publicity and made it known throughout the village that on a certain day, he would go to the fields along with his men and would take forcible possession thereof.

The publicity given by the Sawkar had the desired effect. There was panic in the whole village and specially in the house of Dhebuji. His old grandfather Hambirrao started lamenting over the unscrupulous ways of the Sawkar. He told Dhebuji not to dispose the Sawkar in any way and allow him to take possession of the fields. Dhebuji did not argue much with his grandfather, but told him that truth was on their side and they should not therefore worry. Because of this control over his mind, Dhebuji did not worry of the threat given by the Sawkar, though he had already decided in his mind the course that he should follow. As usual he therefore attended the Bhajan in the temple in the night time and came home. He very soon got sound sleep.

'Next morning he got up. Had his bath as usual and went to the field along with his bullocks for the work in the fields. At about eight O'clock, the Sawkar came to the field on horseback.

Along with him he hid brought eight ploughes and ten servants. He had decided to start ploughing the fields with his ploughes and men, thus establishing his right over the fields and by ploughing the fields he wanted to show that he had taken their possession. Dhebuji saw from a distance that the Sawkar was appro­aching the fields along with his paraphernalia. He however conti­nued his work in the field coolly not showing any disturbance due to the approaching crowd. Because of the rainy season, that had just set in, all the farmers were working in their respective fields surrounding Dhebuji's land and they all alerted themselves on the approach of the Sawkar, as they expected some commotion. Old Hambirrao had come to the field in order to tell Dhebuji not to resort to violence. On coming near Dhebuji's field, when the Sawkar gave Dhebuji a stern warning from the horseback. Hambirrao again requested Dhebuji, ''The Sawkar is a moneyed person. He has enough wealth to maintain a group of servants.

He will go to any extent and the Govemnent servants also will side with him You are all alone. The servants of the Sawkar may finish you.  All the neighbouring people are under, his thumb, because of the loans granted by him to all of them. Hence nobody would come to your help because they will thereby incur displeasure of the Sawkar. So do not oppose him in any way".

Dhebuji listened to the words of Hambirrao; but gave no reply. He stood silently but firm in the field. When however the Sawkar ordered his people to start the plough in the field and the bullocks started entering the field, Dhebuji gave such a blow to one of the bullocks that he started running away. This disturbed the other bullocks and they all started running helter ,selktar. The Sawkar could not tolerate this and he asked his people to catch Dhebuji. When a man started approaching Dhebuji, he said to that man, "Do you know who I am? I have got enough strength to kill at least one or two people. I do not care for my life; but know that if you are killed, this wicked Sawkar will not give even a handful of corn to your family members. They will then have to starve without food".

These words had salutory effect on the Sawkar's servant approaching Dhebuji and he got back a little, for Dhebuji almost looked like the god of death himself at that time and the person knew that putting a step further was embracing death itself. When one servant thus retreated, the Sawkar got upset. He called two other strong servants, whom he had specially brought with him with the expectation of some trouble, and ordered them to catch Dhebuji and overpower him. They immediately ran to Dhebuji and caught him from both the sides. As described before, Dhebuji was a well-built man, six feet in height. He never liked laziness. He was therefore always working in the field or in the house. The servants of the Sawkar. who caught Dhebuji from either side, did not therefore have the exact idea of Dhebuji's strength. He proved more than a match for both of them and with a strong jerk, he got himself freed from both of them. This tyranny of the Sawkar was too much for him and he could no more keep control over himself. He took up a stick that was lying in the field and ran towards the Sawkar. Seeing the red and rolling eyes of Dhebuji and his temperament, the Sawkar, though mounted on the horseback, got terrified and turning his horse on the other side, he simply ran away from the scene as he thought that his life was in danger!

The farmers working in the fields round about were watching this commotion silently as was expected. None of them came to mediate. The servants of the Sawkar too got dismayed by the unexpected turn that the situation took and they did not exactly know what to do. However as the Sawkar, who was giving them orders, had himself runaway from the scene, they also deci­ded to withdraw from the scene and slowly returned to the Sawkar's house along with the ploughs and the bullocks!

Dhebuji thus   silenced   the   Sawkar's   opposition.    He   also returned home on that day.    On   the   next   day, he   went to the fields as   usual   and   sowed   the   corn.    He continued the further operations and got the full produce of the fields as usual.

Though the Sawkar was thus defeated, he could not afford to sit silent. If it was known to his other tenants, they would also likewise attempt to oppose him and throw away his yoke. He therefore approached one Shri Sonaji Raut, who was an influential person from Dapuri, and requested him to mediate in the matter. He approached Dhebuji and requested him to come to some reasonable settlement. Dhebuji was adamant as the land was his own, his uncle having paid its price in full; but because of the wish of his old grand-father, Hambirrao, he ultimately came to a compromise. Out of the total land covered by the mortgage deed, the Sawkar returned fifteen acres of land to Dhebuji and also passed on a clear receipt for having received his dues in full! Thus ended this troublesome episode in the early life of Dhebuji; but it had so deep an impression on his mind and it wounded his heart so much that he became a staunch enemy of the money-lenders. Throughout his later life he never missed any opportunity to advise the people to remain out of the clutches of these wicked and unscrupulous Sawkars.

(to be continued)

 

Prana Pratishta 'installation Mahotsava'

of the Idol of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi

at the SAI MEMORIAL,   17,  Institutional  Area

Lodi  Road,   New  Delhi

From  30th  September to 3rd October,   1977 The   -Prana Pratishta ceremony of the life-size idol of Shri Sai  Baba of Shirdi, in  white takrana  marble,  was performed  on the 2nd October,  1976 – Sai Baba's Mahasamadi Day (Vijayadasami), between  12-00 Noon to 7-00 P. M. in the Prayer Hall of the   Sai Memorial   Building   at  17, Institutional Area, Lodi  Road, New Delhi, under the auspices   of Shri Sai Bhakta  Samaj   (Regd.), New Delhi.  The Samaj was founded in  1968 for the sole purpose of propagating Shri Sai  Baba's teachings, ideals and gospels and to carry out and promote services of all kinds which Shri Sai Baba himself had rendered to humanity during his eventful life time.  The   four-storeyed  Sai Memorial building was inaugurated in March 1974.

The 'Prana Pratishta' was done according to Vedic rites. The pujas and 'yaganas' were conducted by a group of learned South Indian Brahmin Pandits well-versed in the Shastras. The pattern of the 'Prana-Pratishta' ceremony of the idol of Shri Sai Baba at Shirdi in 1954, was followed with the addition of a few ceremonies found necessary.

Ganapati   Puja and Ganapati Yagna were performed on the 30th September, followed by    Navagraha   Puja, Vishnu Puja, Navagraha Yagna, Vishnu Yagna and Pavamana Pancha Sukta on the 1st October, 1976.    On the 2nd  October,