A new beginning; a renaissance

“It is time to change direction,” He said. “You might go back to the old style as and when but for the moment it is time to share something different.” He prompted again. His voice, loud and clear.

Baba’s word is our command. 👩‍🎨He conveyed it directly via thoughts and reiterated through a bhakt, Meera, who left her thoughts on a blog post, suggesting sharing chapter wise learning from the Sai Samarth Satcharita. Thanks Meera🙏 for watering the seed that Baba had sown a little earlier! Your words are a reaffirmation that He, seated in the mind, had certainly stirred the thoughts. So wherefrom arose even an inkling of doubt?

Undoubtedly, Om Sai Ram, Baba’s blog, eagerly awaits your beautiful experiences, to share them with the world and will continue to do so, in out of turn blogs, if needed. But we all look for a change, don’t we? Modification is good. It cuts the repetition and amends the style.

What does Baba want to see on these pages now? “Open up the blog a bit.” I wait to ‘hear’ more. And He adds, “Let more people share their thoughts; more learning then.” Pause. “Talk about my Satcharita.”

Aye Aye Baba Sai! 💂‍♂As always every idea of yours is awesome and humbly bowing🙇‍♀ to each is the best way forward.

Should I go chapter wise?😬

“Of course!” comes the prompt response, as if it was the most obvious thing to do. “And try to link it to some experience.” (hmmm experience. But what kind? This time, I was left to my own devices. Any ideas that you would like to share?)

Pranam Malik. Obeisance to you before this new beginning. 🙇‍♀In bowing to you I bow to every Goddess and God, seek their loving blessings for the Divine rest in you and You are the Divine. 🙇‍♀

The first post on Om Sai Ram in its new Avatar; sharing the summary of chapters and the writers limited understanding of them.

The book: Shree Sai Satcharita  Author: Shri Govind Raghunath Dabholkar alias Hemadpant alias Annasaheb

“Like the waves of the sea, love upsurged within me and I felt like singing the sweet tale of Baba to my heart’s content,” Govind Raghunath Dabholkar. Ovi 139

Shree Sai Satcharita: Chapter 1, The Invocation

Summary: Chapter 1 calls out to the Gods, paying obeisance. Inviting God and thanking His various forms for their presence, it seeks their guidance; extolls their kindness, their generosity. Annasaheb beckons at first the remover of obstacles on the path, Lord Ganesh, our loving Vighnaharta. This prayer is taken forward to appeal to other Goddesses and Gods as per the guidance they provide. Annasaheb then remembers the holy saints and their immense contribution to the spiritual realm. Humble as he is, Hemadpant, thanks his relatives and friends for all their help throughout his life, finally arriving at the doorstep of the eternal guide, the Sadguru. A deliberate and thought out order is adopted as per tradition and religious practices. He extolls the innumerable virtues of the Guru sharing how life becomes a smooth sail with his loving help.

The second half of the chapter deliberates upon the experience which became the trigger point for the entire Satcharita: Baba grinding a sack of wheat one morning, seated in the Dwarkamayi. In Hemadpant’s words, “From that instance was born the whole idea of the Satcharita.” (Ovi 105)

The essence and analysis of Chapter 1: Praying to Gods makes for an auspicious beginning to every task, small or big. Why? This is done not merely with the aim of attaining success but more essentially to build those qualities in us that would ensure accomplishment. Virtues of humility and readiness to listen and learn. Qualities of confidence and faith in the presence of the Almighty and His grace and blessings. Thoughts of courageous surging ahead, overcoming risks and obstacles. Each of these is born and grow right after invocation.

Why adopt a structured approach to offering prayers? The nature of one’s work determines that. Hurdles are bound to pop up along the path and none other than Lord Ganesh can deal with them! To write well,  we seek the blessings of Maa Sarasvati. Calling upon the Guru whose proximity to a bhakt is the most is of supreme significance because the Guru alone, is a strong medium between God and us. God remains to us a much revered, yet distant entity and as humans our ability to reach out to the Almighty, to communicate, with Him is met seamlessly by our Guru, making things easier. The Guru leads us to the path and helps us stay on it so that we attain our ultimate purpose- that of attaining God. Acknowledging the role of each one from God to the friends and relatives is a sign of utmost humility whereby one surrenders all rights to doership of any action. And it is this down to earth approach alone that leads to success.

And what about the grinding of the wheat story? Why does Hemadpant share this story in the first chapter while reaching out to all Gods and Goddesses?

The story about the churning of wheat has one basic lesson of social ethics. No work is too lowly, nor any man too highly placed to do it if it entails the welfare of loved ones and ensures their safety. No second thoughts about such deeds. An indication of the humility of a great saint, who picked up a big sack of wheat, pulled out his grinding stone and vigorously ground it to flour,  this incident had a far reaching impact on Annasaheb. It was a moment of epiphany that led him to write the Satcharita, a book that gives an insight into Baba and His magnificent ways, which would have been otherwise lost to posterity.

In a nutshell, praying to Gods creates a security circle around us. Praying to the Guru helps add strength to our determination. The grinding of wheat represents grinding of germs, all those attacking viruses that gnaw at our thoughts, warping and distorting them, thus, marring our spiritual progress. Grinding it fine Baba rids us of our sins, making the journey of life full of happiness and peace. Trust Him entirely so that he removes our transgressions from the very pages of our life.

Grateful to you Baba for the above thoughts. 🙇‍♀🙏❤Do inspire the readers to share their views.

Would you like to respond to this learner’s prayers? Please do. Welcome aboard. Let’s initiate a discussion in the comments section. Not difficult at all! All you need to do is follow Baba’s blog, enter your email id (used only for notification about a new post. No mal intent yet a WordPress requirement) Trust the writer! Sharing email id has absolutely no nuisance value unless receiving notifications via email to facilitate reading and sharing is one. 😊

Baba and the writer look 👀forward to your valuable analysis of Chapter 1. Please🙏 fill the blankness below with your rich thoughts.✍

Sai Ram!

SPS: Meera please share the changes you might want to see to help make future posts better and more useful. Thanks.