Shri Sai Satcharitra - Chapter 8 - Part I

Add as a preferred source on Google

Sai devotees may skip the Spiritual Gems portion presented in italics and follow the main Satcharitra given in the normal font, especially if they are doing a Parayana. Sai Ram.

Importance of Human Birth - Sai Baba Begging Food - Bayajabai's Service - Sai Baba's Dormitory - His Affection for Khushalchand.

As hinted in the last Chapter, Hemadpant now explains at length, in his preliminary remarks, on the importance of human birth; and then proceeds to relate how Sai Baba begged His food, how Bayajabai served Him, how He slept in the Masjid with Tatya Kote Patil and Mhalsapati and how He loved Khushalchand of Rahata.

Sai Ram. We have completed (at least for the time being) the first day's parayan of Sai Satcharitra, when we delved into Chapter 7 and enjoyed the spiritual gems. Now, with a prayer to Sai to guide us and help us at every step, we take up the second day's parayana starting with Chapter 8. Sai Ram.

The number 8 has great significance in numerology, the interesting science of numbers and their influence on us. And this chapter has very special significance to all Sai devotees (all seekers on the spiritual path are Sai's devotees, since He is One with all Gods and Gurus!), whose lives are strongly influenced by number 8, which is ruled by Saturn, the great planet God who teaches humility and who teaches us that destiny is supreme and can't be over-ruled (He also teaches us a simple trick to overcome destiny! surrender to God/Guru).

Hemadpant (let us bow to him) discusses at length the importance of the human birth, Sai's begging for food, Bayajabai's brilliant service etc. Let us take up first things first. Sai Ram.

The importance of human birth is stressed by Scriptures and Shri Hemadpant, contrary to his protestations is well read and thus brings out nicely the secret of the human birth, viz., the great purpose. And that is to get Salvation, Moksha, Mukti, Liberation, Enlightenment, call it by whatever name appeals to you. How to get it? What is that liberation? Liberation from the bondage of birth and death. To put the matter in a nutshell, souls get their births or transmigrations according to their deeds and intelligence (development of their minds).

The intelligence that Shri Hemadpant is talking of is not intelligence in worldly matters or bookish philosophy. The intelligence which he is talking of is the intelligence that automatically regulates our behavior at the thought level. Trikarana Suddhi. Cleanliness at three levels, manasa (mental), vaacha (speech level) and karmana (action level). And that cleanliness is possible only when Kama (desire, desire for the fruit of one's action, the action-reward-reaction trap) is burnt off, washed off, uprooted etc. For that the steel crowbar of our ego needs to be heated in the Dhuni of True Knowledge (Brahma Jnana), quenched in the water of pure Bhakti (devotion), and hammered by the great Master so that a fine point which is very hard and tough, capable of digging deep into the psyche and removing the roots of desire is produced. Yes. The ego needs to be trained to uproot the desires produced by the same ego! Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi used the metaphor of a thorn being used to remove another thorn that has pierced our heel and is troubling us. Sai Ram.