Sai Miracles Continue

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Sai miracles continue. They do. Always. Forever. Continuously. That is the reason we convincingly say that Sai is forever alive. But what is a miracle? A miracle is generally understood by the believer as a wonderful event that seems impossible and is believed to be caused by God or a god. It is a blessed event that happens even though you did not expect or think it was possible. But this is just a belief. A half-baked truth. New horizons are being explored and conquered every day. Scientific advances, inventions and discoveries are being made at the blink of an eye. So many mysteries are being solved. All this leads many people to think and, subsequently, believe that miracles are nothing but dark corners of the maze called life where light is yet to reach. Then, are miracles for real? Spiritually accomplished avatars like Sai Baba do not perform miracles. They do leelas and their leelas seem like miracles to the beginner but they are far bigger in impact and reach, and are customised, pin pointed and well-timed. 'Impossible' just doesn't exist for Baba.

What seems impossible to us is often not so actually. We must reconcile to the fact that we have a belief about what we can mentally, physically or spiritually achieve. This is a pre-conceived notion. We define our own limits. Anything, any work or any accomplishment beyond these limits seems impossible to us. But we all have read about Hanuman. He got stranded at the sea-shore in the search for missing Seeta and did not realise that he was blessed with powers that could conquer the vastness of the huge sea. It was Jambavant, the wise old bear, who reminded Hanuman of his abilities and strengths. Jambavant said Hanuman possessed great strength, intelligence and the ability to fly in the air, and encouraged him to use these abilities to help Lord Ram rescue his wife Seeta from the demon king Ravan, who had taken her to his kingdom of Lanka. It was this reminder that led Hanuman to make the legendary leap across the ocean to Lanka and eventually played a significant role in the ultimate defeat of Ravan.

What seems impossible to us is not impossible to people who have vaster and higher limits in terms of physical, mental, financial and spiritual capabilities. Then leelas take place. A leela is a sport of the Supreme Power. It is created out of bliss, by bliss and for bliss. A leela indicates a spontaneous sportive activity of the formless Almighty as distinguished from a self-conscious wishful effort. The concept of leela signifies freedom as distinguished from necessity.

Let us understand it this way. We are all slaves of our destiny and destiny, by the law of cause-and effect, is a cumulative outcome of our previous karma. We reap as we sow, goes the dictum. Destiny is just the outcome of what all we have 'deliberately' and 'consciously' - voluntarily or involuntarily done in the past including in previous births. Writing of our destiny by the, otherwise, inactive and afunctional, Supreme Power is leela. Destiny is definite and nobody can escape it but the effects of our destiny can get mellowed down by the closeness and proximity of a sadguru. Sai Baba, in Shri Sai Satcharita, has assured us that by listening to His leelas and constant name-chanting, the effects of destiny begin to soften and all present and future karma begin to fall in place. This softening of destiny changing the impossible into possible - is leela of Sai Baba who does it out of compassion arising out of unconditional love for bhakts like us. Sai Baba wants us to break free from the shackles of destiny.

The God who continues to walk this earth, who lives amongst the populace, guiding and leading, nudging and steering them to the righteous path is Sai Baba. A book dedicated to Sai Baba's marvels and his divine blessings, which we commonly refer as miracles, should rightly inform about His greatness and glory, without missing out the specifics. Ironically, there are very few personal details known about Him.

Sai Baba's birth date, birth place and names of parents remain a mystery. But what is well acknowledged is that Baba was seen on the outskirts of Shirdi as a lad of sixteen or so. That's the guesstimate. Who spotted Him? An elderly woman, Nana Chopdar's mother. She was taken in by the divine glow on the youth's countenance and declared - He is no ordinary human. She lived in a small village called Shirdi, as did several other families. Nondescript and unknown then, the village currently occupies a place of prominence on the map of the world, its fame has spread out to all corners of the globe.

It is widely believed that Sai Baba, after manifesting as a teen outside Shirdi, lived there for a couple of years, unafraid of beast or storm, lost in deep thought of the Divine. He disappeared as mysteriously as He had appeared, only to return a few years later, as a youth of twenty plus years or so. He came along with a wedding procession, at the invitation of a gentleman called Chand Patil, who may be regarded as Baba's first follower.

Sometime earlier, Sai Baba in the form of a fakir, was sitting under a tree, preparing a chillum (a clay pipe) to smoke, when Chand Patil saw Him. The fakir had helped Patil locate within minutes a lost mare which he had been searching for weeks. This fakir had tapped the earth and let out a spring of water and also banged iron tongs on the ground to extract embers, both needed for the chillum. Chand Patil was overawed and humbled with the experience. He understood the greatness of the fakir and brought Him home with due reverence. The fakir remained there, in the village of Dhoopkheda, until a wedding procession brought Him to Shirdi. This fakir was the very same lad who had been spotted outside Shirdi a few years earlier.

The Shirdi residents noticed both his effulgent aura and Muslim-like apparel, and one among them, the village priest Mhalsapati, addressed Him respectfully, 'Ya Sai!' Welcome Sai! (God or Saint). The fakir was requested to stay outside the village.

After living under trees for some time, He chose a dilapidated masjid as His abode, lovingly naming it Masjidmayi. The next six decades of His life were spent in the masjid, meditating most of the time, initially dispensing herbal medicine and later Udi or holy ash to cure the ailing. He looked after, guided and improved the spiritual life of residents who chose to be with Him.

Gradually, Sai came to be addressed as Sai Baba or Fatherly God and so He remained for every resident as well as visitor. Masjidmayi came to be called 'Dwarkamai'.

Rinanubandh of Sai and His son Sujay
Most of you know the meaning of the word 'rinanubandh', but let me explain my understanding of it for clarity. Rinanubandh is a reunion in the current life of that which is said to be continuing from several previous births.

A few words about my being
I was born into a business family and that's what I witnessed during my growing days, eventually becoming a part of it. Today, by Sai Baba's grace, my elder brother Ajay Bhaiya and I run a successful business which has its branches spread across India and headquartered in Kolkata. Our factory units are in the suburbs of Kolkata.

Having been brought up in a religious and spiritual environment at home, courtesy my mother and father, devotion and worship of gods and goddesses has been an integral part of me since early days. Call it a cosmic design that my connect with the Divine began in the pre-teen years. At that time, I asked my father to gift me a Shivalinga (an iconic representation of Lord Shiva) because from my childhood, I was attracted towards divine forces without understanding their significance.

How I met Sai
I strongly believe that every relationship in life is pre-designed by the Ultimate Power of this universe, with inherent reasons.

Riya is a graceful and beautiful lady. Her virtuous persona, wisdom, humility and ability to love are inspiring. Her complement her nature perfectly, making her an interesting company. A dog lover, a genuine human, she evokes smiles with her presence.

My wife, Riya Khandelwal, was instrumental in making me meet my God, my Guru, Shri Sainath Maharaj. She connected me to Him, which changed my life eventually.

My first visit to a Sai temple was during our courtship period. Riya took me to the Sai mandir near her house in Kolkata. The year was 1998. Those were times when I prayed to God to please my mother, that is, for her happiness and satisfaction. Nothing more. However, in the Sai temple, it was different. I just wanted to be there. I was amazed to see pictures and idols of Hindu, Sikh and Christian Gods together along with Muslim symbols, sharing space, which was a novelty for me. It was all unusual. I felt intrigued. The place endorsed Baba's eternal and divine teaching 'Sabka Malik Ek'.

After my first visit, follow-up visits to Sai temple became frequent. Visits to seek blessings, visits on special occasions, visits to seek His approval for new ventures, became a regular practice. I cannot recall a specific date or time, but meeting Baba became a part of my life. I found His aura magnetic.

My marriage with Riya was fixed in 1999 and as per tradition of presenting the first invitation to God, our wedding invitation card was placed before Sai Baba. Thanks to my first Guru, my late father Shri Shiv Shanker Khandelwal's guidance, I never visited a mandir to ask for any material things but just to seek blessings. I would repeat the golden words my father had taught me.