Shri Sai Satcharitra - Chapter 8 - V

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Man's Endeavour

Realizing how precious the human life is, and knowing that Death is certain and may snatch us at any time, we should be ever alert to achieve the object of our life, we should not make the least delay but make every possible haste to gain our object, just as a widower is most anxious to get himself married to a new bride, or just as a king leaves no stone unturned to seek his lost son. So with all earnestness and speed, we should strive to attain our end, i.e., self-realization. Casting aside sloth and laziness, warding off drowsiness, we should day and night meditate on the Self. If we fail to do this, we reduce ourselves to the level of beasts.

Sai Ram. Here, we find the two paths to Self-realization. One has already been described in the earlier paragraph, i.e. total surrender to Guru. Surrendering to Him is a very significant statement. He is not Sai in the physical body, but the Self, manifesting as that body for that period of time. Now the second path described is Self-enquiry, or 'meditate on the Self'. By the constant meditation on the Self, the same realization comes, as by surrender to self - namely that the individual ego that has no separate existence from the Self and the feeling of separation is an illusion developed by the ego over ages. Sai Ram.

How to Proceed?

The most effective and speedy way to gain our object is to approach a worthy Saint or Sage - Sadguru, who has Himself, attained God-vision. What cannot be achieved by hearing religious lectures and study of religious works is easily obtained in the company of such worthy souls. Just as the sun alone gives light, which all the stars put together cannot do, so the Sad-Guru alone imparts spiritual wisdom which all the sacred books and sermons cannot infuse. His movements and simple talks give us 'silent' advice.

Sai Ram. The 'silent' advice is a reference to Dakshinamurthy, that form of Sri Siva, portrayed as eternal 16-year young Guru, Who clears all doubts of physically much elder Sages like Sanaka, Sanandana etc., not by speaking, but by making them transcend the mind. Since doubts are a part of mind, transcending the mind clears all doubts too. So, they withdraw from the senses and still the mind. In the stillness of the mind, real knowledge shines, just as the image of the Sun is clear when the water is unruffled by breeze. Sai Ram.

The virtues of forgiveness, calmness, disinterestedness, charity, benevolence, and the disciples observe control of mind and body, egolessness etc. as they are being practiced in such pure and holy company. This enlightens their minds and lifts them up spiritually. Sai Baba was such a Sage or Sad-Guru. Though He acted as a Fakir (mendicant), He was always engrossed in the Self. He always loved all beings in which He saw God or Divinity. By pleasures He was not elated. He was not depressed by misfortunes. A king and a pauper were the same to Him.