Introduction
Hope the title of this post made you start thinking that we are claiming something unrealistic. We are only sharing what we learned from our Sai Baba. Mysterious are His ways to suggest to us what topic we need to write about in the next post. Every post that is written here is a combination of our thoughts and Baba’s affirmation through some leela while are contemplating the idea. We are not going to share leela which leads us to this post. If we do so, then it would mean we are into writing a granth. Baba, willing and guiding will be taken up for sure, but as of now, we are concentrating on a highly sensitive message that we wish to convey. Towards the end of this post, you will understand we aren’t into anything that can be defined as unrealistic.
The eleven assurances of Sai Baba are the few early texts that Sai devotees come across in Sai Sagunopasna. Every devotee gets attracted to these promises considering them as promises of Sai Baba. Yes, they are, but these promises are deliverance of the message of Baba for which He descended on the earth. However, there is no convincing proof about the original author of the text. It looks like it has been circulated much and so we see distorted meaning when it is translated into other languages. We have taken the Marathi script of the promises, which we suppose, is the original one. For the ease of devotees who are not familiar with Marathi, we have shared the promises in other languages as well. However, we going to consider the Marathi version for the discussion.
11 Promises Of Sai Baba – Sai Baba Ke Gyarah Vachan – ஷீரடி சாய்பாபாவின் 11 வாக்குறுதிகள்
- When Your Feet Touch The Soil Of Shirdi, All Your Sufferings Will Be Prevented From Happening.
- Whoever Climbs The Steps Of My Samadhi, His Sorrow Will Be Defeated.
- Even If I Cast Off This Mortal Body, Nevertheless I Will Come Running To The Aid Of My Devotees.
- My Samadhi Will Fulfil Your Vows. Have Intense, Implicit & Steadfast Faith In Me.
- I Am Immortal, Know This Truth. And Forever Get Experiences Of My Immortality.
- Show Me. Do Show Me Anyone Who Sought Refuge In Me And Forsaken.
- With Whatever Intensity, Passion And Devotion A Devotee Prays To Me, With The Same Intensity I Respond And Reciprocate.
- I Will Carry The Burden Of Your Life Forever, Till Eternity. Or This Promise Of Mine Will Be Untrue.
- Know That They Who Seek My Help Will Receive It Abundantly. And They Shall Receive Whatever They Ask For.
- He Who Surrendered To Me Completely, That Is Total Surrender Of His Body, Speech, Mind, Senses, Intellect And Innate Being, I Am Indebted To Him Forever.
- He Who Is Ardently Devoted To Me And Whose Faith Is Steadfast At My Feet And Continuously Chants ‘sai Sai’ And Becomes One With Me Will Be Filled With My Grace And Blessings.
11 Promises Of Sai Baba – Explained
Promise 1
Our interpretation: We consider here the word ‘अपाय’ as bad karma of a soul. If the soul is transiting many bodies and reaches Shirdi, all the bad karmas are washed off. Let us consider this as well, if any soul can’t reach Shirdi in a body, it doesn’t mean its bad karma will be with it. Just by taking the name of Baba, we can ward off the effect of bad karma. To get rid of bad karma it doesn’t mean we need to do good ones which will nullify the effect of bad actions. So remembering Baba, making a Shirdi in our hearts, installing Him there, and mentally worshipping Him will help us move forward.
Promise 2
Our Interpretation: In this promise, Baba is inviting His devotee to have a darshan of His Samadhi and ensuring the end of physical affiliation. However to attain joy we need to be in a blissful state of mind. Then no physical suffering can affect us even if it exists. To be in a state of blissfulness we need to feel the presence of Baba everywhere. If done, then we can experience being in Shirdi all the time. The longing of the heart to go Shirdi will slowly start to cease. Being in this state the sorrow and happiness will be the same. Thus we feel we are in Shirdi with Baba.
Promise 3
Our Interpretation: Many of us will give our testimony of this promise. We have experienced that Baba is more active and vigorous after His MahaSamadhi. He became Omnipresent and can appear anywhere at any time. He was pure consciousness and He took Avtar of our Baba to show us the way to reach that state. Considering Him fulfilling His promise, we need to fulfill our duty to consciously carry on worldly activities while sticking to the Brahma Gyan. Having this sense we can see Baba everywhere. But most importantly we can see Him in our hearts. So our heart will become Shirdi.
Promise 4
Our Interpretation: Sai Baba descended on this earth with a mission. The mission was to transcend suffering people to a peaceful soul. The utmost need of such souls is a guide Who can help them realize what their true nature is. The elevated souls naturally feel the bondage and want to be free. When a guide arrives to rescue the soul, the soul’s needs are satisfied. Baba did this when He existed in His earthly body and now that He is the absolute consciousness and He is more active. Being devoted to Baba we become naturally eligible to regain the freedom, that is to realize and become the absolute truth. Let me rephrase this, as a devotee, with utmost love we become naturally eligible to be our Sathguru Sainath Maharaj, yes for an ardent devotee Moksha or merging with Sai Consciousness is all one. But we should be earnest and hold on to the inner consciousness. This way you will feel constant communion with Baba and He will take you to the extent you won’t have dreamt of. Also, you are fulfilling your dream of being in Shirdi all the time.
Promise 5
Our Interpretation: Sai Baba took bodily form to help us know what our ultimate goal is. He is with us always active and vigorous from don’t know how many births we went through. He was accompanying the soul in its journey from the time it came into existence. But Baba just doesn’t want the soul to take birth after birth. He wants the journey of the soul to end and that is why He also came to us. He knows the journey of every soul and its status of elevation. The devotees who took birth in His times were elevated souls and thus were attracted to Him. Now it is on our part to remember Him all the time and experience Him with every breath. This way He can slowly reach the state of consciousness and ultimately to the original form of Baba.
Though Baba is everywhere and He is the absolute truth with this statement “My Samadhi Will Fulfill Your Wow”. Baba declares He is omnipresent even in all non-living things. This we can take as His Moorthy (idol of Shirdi Sai Baba) too. Having his Saguna Moorthy installed in the place we live and in the place we work, the Moorthy also represents His presence with us all the time. So we are in Shirdi every moment.
Promise 6
Our Interpretation: Whosoever goes to Sai Baba becomes His. Baba makes sure He revives the soul. The souls that are attracted to Him are floating in bliss and become Sai Baba. Baba made sure they are elevated and that is the reason why it is the experience of every devotee, He claims that being a devotee of Sai Baba is not out of his/her choice. They were picked by Baba Himself. Baba knows the past, present, and future of the souls and He knows how much more the soul has to go through and how near he/she is near to the goal. So we can ask Baba to show us the path of salvation and ask Him to guide us all the time by residing in our Hearts as He resided in Shirdi.
Promise 7
Our Interpretation: This one directly affirms what we have discussed in the last six points. He responds the way we call Him. If we ask for worldly things, He will grant it for sure in a hope that we take from Him the boon of self-realization. If we ask Him for the salvation He will first free us from the clutches of karmas and take us there. So let us ask Him what He wants to give us and let us move towards our final destination. Let us focus on the goal and carry on the duties along with devotion and prayer to Baba to guide us in that direction. Thus making our hearts Shirdi.
Promise 8
Our Interpretation: Such a simple way our Sai Baba has shown to make us feel that we can completely rely on Him. Clinging to the faith and devotion to Him, we can reach our destination easily. We need to surrender ourselves completely to Him and in turn gain salvation. Humans are constantly engaged in worldly achievements. When these tasks are offered to Baba, surrendered in His Feet, and given the controls, we can dedicate ourselves to attaining wholesomeness. Isn’t it an easy way to create Shirdi everywhere by ourselves becoming Baba?
Promise 9
Our Interpretation: This point again reaffirms our interpretation that if we surrender to Him the problems that we are facing, He is going to take care of them so that we start thinking about what we want next. Once we are devoid of worldly achievements we try finding Moksha and that’s what Baba is ever ready to give. Let us have firm faith in Him and lodge Him in our hearts to experience Shirdi at any place and be in Sai consciousness all the time making your heart Shirdi.
Promise 10
Our Interpretation: Baba is love incarnate. He reciprocates our simple acts of love. His love for the tormented souls only made Him take Avtaar Whom we call Sai. So if a kind and noble heart pray to Him, He becomes of that devotee. It will be degrading to call Him “Indebted”, but it can be seen from a different perspective, if a person surrenders to Him with all the means and senses, Baba will be present with the devotee every second turning every thought and word of the devotee into a reality. Gods always yearn for the love of devotees. The devotees when surrenders, Baba, Who is Parabrahm Himself will reciprocate in the same manner. The happiness of being devoted to Baba will make Him feel close to Him like in Shirdi.
Promise 11
Our Interpretation: The last point deals with the greatest means of Sadhana of this Kaliyug to make it Sai Yug. Imagine if Baba is worshipped by at least one member of a family in this world, Baba will be taking care of all the members of the family. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see the whole world chanting Sai Sai? So to change society only one member of a family can adopt the path of Sai. While being devoted to Him it is not expected to do Artis four times a day or chant mantras for a certain number of times. All we have to do is to continuously go on chanting Sai Sai and your Atman will shine beyond your five senses. He has made the process very simple which He showcased in Dwarakmayi in Shirdi, but with our ignorance, we didn’t realize anything. So nothing to worry about now, let us just chant “Sai, Sai” and the rest is with Him, Our Sai! He will make us feel we are in Dwarkamayi in Shirdi for sure.
So we would like to conclude by saying that there are two Shirdi(s), the one in Ahmednagar and the other one in our “Aham”! (heart).
All the images are specially curated for our readers and they can download them from here.
“Shraddha (Faith) and Saburi (Patience)”
“நம்பிக்கை மற்றும் பொறுமை”
© Shirdi Sai Baba Life Teachings and Stories – Member of SaiYugNetwork.com
