My Baba – Sai Devotee Sriveena

We never know when Lord Sai Baba wants us to be in His fold. I guess it is His Master’s intervention that He is directed to do so and we become His Kids.

Sai Sister Sriveena from India says: Omm Sri Sai Nathaya Namah. First of all I would like to dedicate my experience on the Lotus feet of Sri Sai Baba. How to share my experiences with limited words is really one of the most difficult task for me. My own Experience is not limited in the numbers of one or two rather it seems to be an unending process, then what to share? Every moment is a part of experience in itself, when I start thinking about Baba. Really the essence of this lies in the ‘realized’ man himself. Anyway I am here to share one of my, what can be said ‘vital’ experience of life.

I have been a devotee of Sri Sathya Sai Baba from my childhood days. On those days, I was totally ignorant about, Who Shirdi Sai Baba was. I used to pray Sathya Sai Baba and continued this devotion towards Him till the middle of 2010, when I passed my +2 Science exam with enough percentage of marks. Then I decided to take Medical coaching from Aakash Institute, Bhubaneswar. But at that time our financial condition was not so sound to admit me in Aakash. Also some of our close relations (my family members except my parents) denied admitting me for Medical Coaching rather to admit me in B.Sc. As according to them, I could not succeed in Medical entrance exam because it was too hard and finally decided to study engineering or B.Sc. What was the reason behind this advice I don’t know? But, why they made this statement even they knew my standard very well.

Their statement became a fact of depression for me. I started thinking it again and again. I started to lose my confidence on myself. Why Baba, why this obstacle is going to prevent me to reach at my target? And then I started crying before Baba’s photo. Oh no, what then occurred undoubtly proves, Baba cannot leave His devotees in the midst of sorrow. Just my tears were going to touch the ground, I could hear a sound of my mother that somebody had come from Shirdi and wants to meet every member of our family. When I came outside, I saw a wheatish colour man holding a Hindi book in his right hand on which there was a photo of Shirdi Sai Baba in His blessing figure. He immediately told me to show my hand. He said that enemies are trying to make you weak mentally. You need not to listen their words and firmly get attached to your duty and have faith in Baba. You have nobody to think your good except your parents and Baba. So don’t get nervous because Baba is always with you and nobody can defeat you if you are on the way of truth, which is the path leading to Baba. Then why you need to worry, when Baba’s blessings are always with you. Finally he said that Baba can’t tolerate the harm of His devotee and He has His own way to punish the evil thinkers, who try to put His devotees in problem. I promise that nobody can defeat you and you shall finally become successful to reach at your goal, but one thing you must remember it will take some time, till that you need to have patience.

I can remember one of His sayings “Baba unki pyare bhakto ki kathhor parikshya letehe, likin unko nirash nehin karte, kyunki baba ke dariya dil hai, baba ke upar bharosa rakho tum dekhoge tumhara sab dukh aur kast mit jayega”. Finally he said that Baba had come to our home, but unfortunately we could not identify Him. After saying this, he wanted us to give him some Dakshina (money) and then he left our home saying that I am now going Shirdi. I got surprised that his every word was denoting the situations we were suffering from. All things he said about us were true. His statements were the real figure of what was going on in our life and he provided the subsequent solution to this making only one statement “Have Faith on Baba”. After sometime of his leaving, we asked some of our neighbours about him, but everyone denied that no one from Shirdi had come to their house. Then who was he? I and my parents finally came to conclusion that he was no one except Baba. I remember those moments when he was advising me and I was listening his words silently with no reply. I had neither any word to reply him nor any questions to ask him as he had the great ability to translate my confusion into advice. No question of my mind left unanswered during an interval of few minutes only. The words were so inspirational that its sense seems to have its roots in spiritual power or say some divine blessings. I felt that I was not alone.

Something was there around me which was protecting me from every bad situation, filling confidence in me when I feel lack of confidence, guiding me on my way to choose the path that leads to truth by giving me the ability to easily distinguish what is wrong and what is right and so on. In this way I came in contact with Shri Shirdi Sai Baba. This was the interpretation of how I for first time got Baba as a father, mother, friend, protector, guide, or say anything, who wishes good of yours.

Finally I got admitted in Aakash Institute. My duty became God for me and I wanted not to spend even a second except my study. At this time, I didn’t know any prayer of Baba, however I prayed Him with Sri Vishno Sahasranam, Maha Mrutunjaya Mantra, and Hanuman Chalisa etc. as I believed they all are one, who created us. It was about the end of August, a serious problem stood before us. But nothing felt serious to us as it was soon solved, while it was in fact a very serious issue that I don’t want to mention here because it is a long topic that may take hours of times to describe. However I would like to say this was another attempt that made us mad to run before Baba with love on Him and great devotion. My as well my parent’s devotion and belief became hundreds times greater than it was before or say existing one. We started a routine to go Tankapani Sai Mandir at least once a week. This was the second step towards Baba. We started knowing more about Baba with reference of Sri Sai Satcharitra. Really the life history of Baba touched our heart. The devotion increased to such a level that we started to worship Baba only. Baba for us became Lord Jagannath, Lord Siva, Lord Krishna, Lord Vishno and everything. Always we were in search of that object, which could make us know more about Baba. We could feel a heavenly peace, while sitting on the floor of Tankapani Sai Mandir before Baba’s idol that we never felt anywhere else. That was so because Tankapani Mandir was the first Sai Mandir we visited and for the first time in life.

As it is said time doesn’t wait for anyone, then how could we be exception to this saying. Months passed, Year passed and my exam time got closer to me. The entrance that I had to appear had its centers at Nagpur, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi. My option was to make it at Hyderabad so that we could make our trip to Sathya Sai Baba, Puttaparthi. But what went in my father’s mind I don’t know, he reserved our train ticket to Shirdi first. That was like this, we would go to Shirdi first then after our return, I would join at my entrance exam which was too held at Hyderabad. On that evening, I thought deeply that we would get no time then to visit to Sathya Sai Baba. I became sad, but just I turned on TV, I came to know that Satya Sai Baba was serious due to accumulation of water in his lungs. Here I want to mention one thing that my exam was going to held on 17 April 2011. So if we would visit to Puttaparthi on that day after my exam over, we never could have a Darshan of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, because on those days he was already admitted to the hospital for treatment. So this was the way that Baba made to take us Shirdi.

It was 11th February 2011, on which day at 01.10pm, we had to leave Cuttack station for Shirdi. That day is not forgettable. My aim before putting my experience was to share only this experience that I am going to put now which undoubtedly proves Baba is there who can listen the call of His devotees and cannot leave His devotee in crying state for any reason. We woke up from bed about at 03.30am for preparation of luggage, night food, exam materials, pooja materials etc. My mother started worshiping Baba with Kakad Aarti, which we could see live in Sadhana channel and it was about 04.35am.

My father was busy in searching something from the uppermost shelf which was at enough height from ground likely about 6 feet and 5 feet from the bed. My father used the fridge to stand on it as there was nothing in our house to use for bringing things from such a height. Generally we don’t put any important thing there except unwanted things and also my father never use fridge to bring things from such a place as there was nothing important thing that would useful for him. Then why he did such is unknown to us. I was just preparing to go to the bathroom, a heavy sound I could listen. The sound is like that as if a heavy stone dropped on the bed resulting in the breakage of the bed. Immediately I could hear the roaring of my mother. I left my work and turned back to the next room, where I saw my father is lying on the bed in such a figure as if he was dead. It was about 04.45am, when the town was totally silent. Only there was the voice of Baba’s Aarti. My mother was roaring. In fact I lost my consciousness, what was going on? What made me crying? The eyes of my father were half opened, heart beat had almost stopped, and no respiration was there. Lying straight on the bed like a dead body, who had fallen from a height of about 8 feet. Also the bed was of hard wood on which there was nothing soft material like mattress even no bedsheet to protect him against such heavy collision between his back head and bed. Please believe me that even a fall from half feet above such hard bed again it should be back head can cause the death of the person, then what to say about 8-9 feet. What was spending in me is only known to me. Tears had no way to stay inside me rather they came outside. Even there was Aarti sound around me. I was unable to hear any sound of it as there was only the roaring of my mother I could hear.

I became sure that my father was dead, but how so easily I could accept this, when we had to go Shirdi on that day. What are you doing Baba? I don’t know when I asked this to Baba. I became hopeless, sat down before my father’s body lying parallel to the ground and having no life in it, tried to bring it into sitting posture. Same thing I felt the hands were not working, his body took the shape as we gave it, nothing was in his control, which is because there was no life in him. Aarti was just going to end, but we had no interest in Aarti and Baba. But again a miracle occurred. My mom stood up and within a second she brought some UDI and put it on the whole body of my father. Just she is trying to make her hand away from my father’s head. He slowly opened his eyes, immediately looked around, and asked us why we were crying and what happened to him. We described the matter before him, but he had no interest to listen us, rather he was looking around again and again. Finally he ordered my mother to read Sai Satcharitra. But my mother had no will to leave him in such condition even for a second. He forced her once again to do so and went for his preparation. All his activities were normal and he suffered from no pain on that day even now he is free from suffering any pain for his head. He got cured without the help of any doctor or needed any hospital for this. Really there is no doctor in this world greater than My Baba and also there is no hospital in this world better than Shirdi.

Baba returned my father’s life to us for which I have no words to thank Baba. I have no capacity to realize Baba’s existence and his vastness. He is the almighty. We went Shirdi on that day and reached there on 13.04.2011. This was our first visit to Shirdi. There also I came across with many experiences that cannot be described in short. This experience that I described above is not a simple one as it may seem to others with general sense. I only know how deep this experience is. However it can be realized by every Sai devotee if one will try to go through the roots of the spirit of my experience. There is no experience offered by Baba which is common. Every experience has its own structure that is a source of unlimited potential for that person who himself/herself felt it, which may be regarding his own problem or others. In general, it can be said, the experience offered by Baba is the means for the progressive enlargement of human consciousness through the service of poor as according to my concept. With this, it also devotes the meaning that Baba is omnipresent and can read one’s feelings easily, thereby His immediate task becomes to release His devotee form the sad, sorrow, misery and other problems His devotees suffering from. Obviously these experiences have changed my life.

I realize today that He was Baba, who came to give me inspiration, when it was necessary for me. Now I am in search of that success of becoming a Doctor through implementing my own duty with firm belief on Baba. Now I can see Baba in everything in this world, it’s true. Now I strongly feel that Baba is truth and truth is Baba. Every time I go to Shirdi, try to request for something to give me before Baba’s Murti, but what happens to me at that time is out of my concern. I start forgetting what to request. In some case, when I try to say something before the Idol of Baba, I feel He is saying me that why to tell Me, I know what you want and you will surely get that. Till that time to come you have to have patience and belief on Me. This is the experience offered by Baba every time; I go to Samadhi Mandir with some wills.

Now I am ending this experience here with prayer to Baba that let everyone to realize Your diving blessings so that they can find a verse to comfort themselves with a spiritual inspiration in the midst of sorrow and sadness. Man is amenable to change in this materialistic world that is so because all of us are essentially one fragment of same almighty father (You). So it is your responsibility to protect Your children (We). Sri Sacchidananda Sadguru Sai Nath Maharaj Ki Jay.

© Devotees Experiences with Shirdi Sai Baba