We feel proud to call ourselves devotees of Sai Baba and while introducing ourselves as Sai Devotees, we make a checklist of what we do and how do we behave like Sai devotees. For eg. we will start counting the number of times we visit Shirdi in a year or how many miracles we encountered or how many nine Thursdays vrat we observed or how many times we chant any mantra of Sai Baba or write it, or how we are reading Sai Satcharitra with discipline as a part of Global MahaParayan or how many parayans we take up or how much Annadan you do every month or a year or how we are carrying out social services or how images of Sai Baba are adorning your devices or sharing pictures of Sai Baba on social media or reading Sai Baba blogs or how your kids are attracted towards Him and so on. On a lighter note, we are into spiritual service for Sai Baba for almost 15 years and that is how we introduce ourselves 😜
However, the time for introspection is always in our hands and we should do it regularly making it a habit and seeing how effective it is. We too are presenting this article based on our introspection. In fact. Let us stop and each start thinking about What makes us a Sai Devotee by real means. All the activities listed above are for our wishes and desires to stand true to the position of a Sai Devotee. They create an impression to others that we are following what Baba has taught us and what is written in Shri Sai Satcharitra. We all know the core mantras and directions of devotion to Sai Baba are Shraddha and Saburi. To measure “how much” is “just enough” is always difficult because there are no set parameters. A popular post “How to become a sincere devotee of Sai Baba” gives an idea of those parameters. To achieve the simple traits mentioned therein we need to understand a few concepts.
We live in a society and a nation. We are just not responsible towards our own families but to society and the nation as well. There are few codes of conduct formed for the smooth functioning of society and each one has a protocol to follow to play their part based on their positions.
For eg: A businessman does a business to earn profit. But that doesn’t mean he can ignore the value of the product or services to his consumers. Another example is a salaried person who earns money as a salary. Though he is going to be paid month on the month he has to be vigilant in delivering his role and try his best to give the utmost value of his presence to the company. Like this, following the protocols and code of conduct, society runs smoothly and so does the nation. The role of every person contributes to society.
Do these examples look out of track because we discuss spiritual talks here and this is something not relatable? It will be relatable and make absolute sense toward the end of the post. In the above two examples, if a businessman thinks about his profit only ignoring his responsibility of adding value to his product and services, he is not a selfless person. His Selfishness will not allow him to succeed as a businessman. When he balances his profit share and the value he is following Swadharma. The same goes for the salaried person and all others who are the shapers of society.
How Do Shraddha And Saburi Shape Society?
Now let us take an example of the same businessman. He is a devotee of Sai Baba and follows Shraddha and Saburi. His faith in Baba is so strong that he does not think of his profit and goes on delivering value. This blind faith leads him to nothing. Considering vice versa, though he has faith in Baba, he thinks he has to only earn money for survival and other needs of his family and himself and doesn’t consider delivering value, which won’t lead him to anything. In both circumstances, he is not showing the true nature of a Sai Devotee. One who has strong Shraddha Saburi Towards Baba will have Swadharma and the one who is full of selfishness and self-centeredness, his faith will be feeble and the greed in them will be visible.
We are devotees of Sai Baba. Definitely, it’s a matter of pride because we have been chosen by Sai Baba and not vice versa. So we should be clear about our Swadharma. In the presence of strong Shraddha and Saburi, Swardharma automatically shows up. If a person goes on singing his glory as a Sai Devotee and curbs his Selfishness for the show-off. The real identity of the person (so-called devotee) will peep out then and there and it clearly shows that the two qualities have not been imbibed in him. Strong Shraddha and Saburi back up Swadharma and that differentiates a Sai devotee from the rest of the other Sai Devotees and that makes him a real Sai Devotee. Before allowing greed to pop in, there will always be a strong will to back off and if one succeeds, it is a clear sign of following Swadharma.
Thus, as devotees of Sai Baba, we are expected to take care of our Swadharma along with having strong Shraddha and Saburi. Whatever we do and wherever we are, our actions are known to Baba and He is witness to our inner thoughts and visions. So we should make Him proud for choosing us as His devotees. That will make us Sai Devotees. Our actions should always be in the direction of not just making Baba happy with us but also having His confidence in us to be a stable human being emotionally. Being a Sai Devotee also means we are eligible for self-realization, but we have to work to gain It. We all remember the story of a devotee who goes to Baba for Brahma Gyan and what Baba teaches him in Chapter 16 & 17 of Shri Sai Satcharitra. Baba lists out ten points about the eligibility to attain Brahma Gyan and all points towards Swadharma in a nutshell. Let us pledge to make ourselves Sai Devotees in the real sense taking small steps towards Swadharma.
At the end of each post, we will conclude with a relevant Shloka from Bhagavad Gita and its meaning, to provide deeper insights and inspiration for our readers.
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुण: परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् | स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेय: परधर्मो भयावह: ||
— Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3 – Karma Yoga, Verse 35
Transliteration: shreyan swa-dharmo vigunah para-dharmat sv-anushthitat swa-dharme nidhanam shreyah para-dharmo bhayavahah
Translation word by word: shreyan— far better; swa-dharmah — personal dharma (dharma – duties, thoughts, and actions that are perfectly in synch and appropriate for us and for the society); vigunah — with meager faults; para-dharmat — than others prescribed duties; su-anushthitat — done with perfection; swa-dharme — in one’s dharma; nidhanam — death; shreyah — better; para-dharmah — dharma of others; bhaya-avahah — fraught with fear
Our Interpretation: It is far better to perform one’s dharma (dharma – duties, thoughts, and actions that are perfectly in sync and appropriate for us and for the society) , even though with some faults, than other’s dharma perfectly. Death or destruction in the course of performing one’s own dharma is better than engaging in another’s dharma, to follow another’s dharma is dangerous for one’s own self that will lead to disharmony both in and out.
We welcome our devotee readers to drop in comments the incidents where they felt that they followed Swadharma or if any guidance is needed to follow it. We will be happy to read about your experiences and reply to you with any queries.
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