Sai
Baba Protector and Sustainer
When we come into this world our mother is everything to us, she is our life support. With love and sacrifice, she nurtures and protects us from harm. She does her utmost to ensure we get what we need so that we can lead a good and meaningful life. Without her we are lost. In the same way, the Lord is our Divine Mother. From one birth to another He is our guardian and guide at the physical, mental and spiritual level.
Living in a world where a lot happens everyday, we sometimes feel controlled by situations, people, etc. At such times, we feel confused and need guidance. Fortunately, the Lord is there to protect and guide us on our journey. He will never forsake us because we are His children. However we are, we are His!
In this age, we are indeed very fortunate that the Lord has come down Himself in the human form of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. His name Sai Baba itself means Divine Mother and Father.
Swami is the embodiment of compassion and love. Because of His love for us, He constantly guides and protects us. In fact, His whole life is dedicated to the service of mankind. Every single moment of His life is used to help us. Swami says “I am Your divine caretaker. I bear the burden of your welfare, both material and spiritual. I am always walking by your side. With one arm I am supporting you and with the other guiding you. When you are in pain I even carry you. Know that I am always watching over you and protecting you. Therefore, rid yourself of all burdens and step forth lightly onto the stage of life with confidence and enthusiasm.”
The Lord has declared time and again, “Whenever there is a decline in righteousness, I will incarnate from age to age.” He has said that when virtuous persons seeking to live a good life are tortured by circumstances, cruelty and negligence, the Saviour comes. He says, “If your illness or poverty hampers your spiritual progress, I rush with Grace towards you and set it right by coming closer to you.”
In this Kali Age, Swami has come again to promote righteousness, virtue and goodness in people. Therefore, one of the names given to Him in the Namavali is “Om Sri Sai Sadhu Jana Poshanaya Namaha”. This means that He guides and guards those who follow the path of righteousness.
Once, on His tour of the Himalayas, Swami visited the Vashishta caves where Purushotamananda was residing with his disciples. Purushotama always meditated on the form of Lord Padmanabha. While in the cave, Swami asked everyone to go out and shut the opening to the cave. He then reclined on the 70 year old Purushotamananda. The physical frame of Swami grew in size filling up the cave and a bright glow emanated from His body illuminating the entire cave and beyond. What a sight! The disciples were wonderstruck at this miracle. Swami later mentioned that He gave Purushotamananda vision of Lord Padmanabha.
Further, He reminded the people there of incidents during their initial days at the cave and how they struggled through the troubles and trials they faced. He told them that He had been there saving them from all dangers.
Swami has come to fulfill the promise given in the Gita. In order to be eligible for Swami’s protection, we do not have to renounce everything and reside in the mountain cave. According to Swami, a Sadhu is not only a renunciant but one who is truthful, humble, ready to help others and reluctant to see fault in others.
Swami is restoring vigour, vitality, self-confidence and self-knowledge among men who have lost faith in themselves and God. As long as we are treading along the right path, or even if we have the desire to do so and make a sincere attempt, He will be there to take us through.
During the Mahabharata war, Sri Krishna was on the side of the Pandavas for the simple reason that they followed the path of righteousness. Despite the huge and extremely powerful army that opposed them they won the battle. It was the Grace of the Lord that saw them through.
Swami is constantly guarding us from harm whether we realise it or not. We may at times feel that trouble befalls us even after He enters our life but this may be the result of our karmas in this birth, or many past births. Despite our karmas, Swami intervenes and makes the situation better and He also gives us the courage, strength and ability to handle situations that come our way. His presence is very important because courage and faith in God can move mountains and help us to recognize our strength within.
He is the protector, He can go where no man can. But we constantly try all ways possible within our means to secure ourselves at the physical and emotional level, not realising that the security we seek is subject to the limitations of this world. God is beyond and above all this so instead of trying to look for safety in creation, it would be better to look to the Creator Himself for support.
Although Swami is almighty, His Will ceases to happen through us when our egos takes hold. Therefore, one of the names given to Him in the Namavali is “Om Sri Sai Saranagatha Thranaya Namaha”. This means that Swami saves all those who sincerely surrender to Him.
All are God’s children. He is the one who created us. But when we think that we are the doers, when we want our will to prevail, and when we believe we know what is best for us, Swami steps back and allows us to go our own way, until we realise that He is the controller of not only the earth but the whole the Universe. He is the underlying energy/living force behind all mankind. This may not be easily visible or understood but it is the Truth.
When a passenger gets on the train, whether he carries his luggage on his lap, head or shoulder, or whether he keeps it down on the train, the weight of that luggage is added onto the train. If the luggage is left down on the train the passenger will travel light. If he does not trust that it will be safe left down and instead he carries it on his lap or shoulder, he will not travel in comfort and he may suffer pain should he not carry it properly. In this latter situation he will have to face the consequences accordingly.
This is the same with man! God is always there for us but if we choose to act like the doers then we have to face the consequences, like the man in the train who decides to carry the luggage. However, if we decide to surrender, like the man who leaves his luggage on the train, then we should do it wholeheartedly not expecting any results but instead totally trusting His will.
Swami says real surrender is giving up of oneself without any desire on one’s part for a response from God. It is unconditional. By such an act, the Lord is completely bound by the devotee in golden fetters. He becomes the slave of His devotee and is duty bound to look after him and take care of him at every step.
In the Bhagawad Gita, seated as the Charioteer of the vehicle they rode in, Lord Krishna spoke to Arjuna. Likewise, Swami is declaring that He is the timeless, ever present, eternal and invisible Charioteer of all beings, of all the vehicles of our souls. Therefore, if we surrender, we will be saved.
A story tells of a devotee who surrendered to the Lord’s will. The devotee was performing bhajans regularly in his house. One day he received a threatening letter. It read: “You cheat people by telling lies. You have to stop the bhajans within seven days of receiving this letter otherwise your head will be sheared.” The devotee did not get disturbed in the least.
His conscience was clear. He continued the bhajans without any change. He knew very well that the name of Sai is the best shield against all threats. Seven days lapsed. The man who wrote the letter was very angry and decided on a plot to execute the devotee the next morning. He silently entered the house of the devotee very early in the morning. The devotee had gone into the bathroom to have his bath and to get ready for morning prayers. Blinded by his anger, the man aimed a knife at this devotee and attempted to deliver a blow. Suddenly, an aura with an orange light appeared in front of the devotee. A soft hand pushed him to a corner of the room. The knife missed the target and fell down with a loud noise.
On hearing the sound of the knife falling and the running of a man, the devotee’s wife and others came running. There was a fragrance of vibuthi filling the room. They could see vibuthi all over the body of the devotee. They were dazed. They realised that Baba had come to save the devotee in time.
We know that if we surrender to Swami completely, He will definitely take care of us. Often, how ever much we try we do not succeed because of our limitations, our ignorance and ego. Still Swami does not forsake us, He is our loving Mother and Father. So even though we suffer in our life because of our karmas, He still intervenes and protects us.
“Om Sri Sai Aapannivarine Namaha” is another name given to Him. By this name, we offer salutations to the One who protects us from sudden calamities, misfortune, distress and adversity.
Since all these are inevitable consequences of our actions, He saves us from all this by:
* Strengthening us so that we can bear the
impact.
* Helping us to cultivate Bhakti (devotion) towards Him.
* Teaching us to develop equal mindedness under all circumstances.
* Bearing the illness Himself.
* Himself appearing as some person to totally avert the calamity in time.
Pain is an indication that something is wrong. It is a warning to us to examine the cause and repair the damage. Suffering is pain with purpose. It prompts us to examine our attitudes and actions, and alerts us to seek God-realisation before our time expires. Baba says “Those who suffer have my grace. Only through suffering will they be persuaded to turn inward and make the inquiry. Without turning inward and making inquiry they can never escape misery.’’
On one occasion, a man wanted to commit suicide. He made a plan and sent his wife and children for a holiday to his in-laws’ place. Then, the following morning, he was about to shoot himself when the doorbell rang. He quickly put the gun away to get the door first. One of his very old friends turned up, totally unexpected. At the very same time, Swami who was in Puttaparthi shouted “Don’t shoot.”
The visitor cheered the man up and also inspired him generally by his talk. As a result, the man changed his mind about committing suicide. Some time later, this man visited Swami in Puttaparthi where he discovered that the visitor was Swami himself.
As we can see, Swami is constantly protecting His devotees all over the world. He continues to protect us, more than we can ever imagination. A lot happens beyond our control but He continually assures us of His omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience. He is here, within us, around us. What more can we ask for?
Out of the 108 sacred Names, only three have been mentioned here. These Names have been chosen because they demonstrate His love for us. Just like these, there are countless other Names given to Swami. We can try to understand what the Names mean so that we get a better understanding of the qualities and attributes of the Lord as our protector, instead of thinking of Him as someone we cannot relate to.
By doing so, we can feel kinship with Him and, most importantly, constantly feel His presence!
