Quotes Of Bhagawan Satya Sai Baba

Bhagawan's speeches are real Pearls Of Wisdom. His quotes contain a wealth of Spiritual  Knowledge and the summary of entire philosophy of the ancient texts. By following them or at least trying our best to follow them will give us peace and happiness.

I will be posting these some at a time.

Where there is FAITH, there is LOVE; 

Where there is LOVE; there is PEACE; 

Where there is PEACE; there is GOD; 

Where there is GOD; there is BLISS.

LIFE is a mosaic of pleasure and pain - 

Grief is an interval between two moments of joy. 

Peace is the interlude between two wars. 

You have no rose without a thorn; the diligent picker will avoid the pricks and gather the flower. There is no bee without the sting; cleverness consists in gathering the honey nevertheless.

Wealth that you hoard is not yours; wealth that you have given is really yours

Meera-Prem Diwani -II

    Lord Krishna

Meera brings along with her the idol of Lord Krishna and installs it at her quarters in her new home. She continues with her Krishna Bhakti despite threats from her in-laws. Her husband though does not like it first, learns about her devotion and appreciates her. He goes on a pilgrimage with her to many places including Pandharipur. He like to listen to her devotional songs or bhajans and takes up canting of Lord's name. He even builds her a very beautiful temple for Krishna at Chittorgarh.

See the temple and also the fort of Chittorgarh.

http://www.asrema.com/tpa/India-Rajasthan-Part2-MLT/slides/Rajasthan-Chittorgarh-Krishna_Temple.htm

Meera never had any interest in leading a life of ordinary married women. She was spiritually inclined and loved only lord Krishna. However she did not neglect her duties, attended to them and after completion, she used to go to the temple of Lord Krishna, to worship, sing and dance. At first the temple was meant for queen Meera. 

Many devotees, sadhu and sant (sages) hearing her soulful rendering want to visit the temple. So the temple is opened for the public. Many devotees, commoners, sadhu and sant used to frequent the temple. Interaction with these great saints increased the spiritual inclination in Meera more and more. 

Meera's mother-in-law, sister-in-law (Udabai) and other ladies of the palace did not like it at all. They did not understand the feelings or devotion of Meera. They were of the opinion that a lady after her marriage has to attend to her in-laws and her husband only. Her mother-in-law forced her to worship Durga and would taunt her often. Her sister-in-law too would complain against her to her brothers. They did not like Meera to go freely and mingle with men, sadhu and sant as Rajput women maintain purdah system and were strictly confined to their homes-especially the royalty. They put many restrictions on her. They complain against Meera saying that Meera's behaviour was tarnishing the image of their family,clan and that of Rajputs'. But Meera remained steadfast and unfazed.

This made the ladies of the palace even more enraged. Meera’s sister-in-law conspired against her and began to defame her by spreading many stories. She informed Rana Kumbha that Meera was in secret love with some one, she goes to the temple to meet her lover, and that she would show him the person if he would accompany her to catch them red handed. Meera's husband loved her a lot and had trust in her pious nature. So he refused to believe these concocted stories or rumours. 

However his sister was very persistent with her accusations. As this went on and on Meera's husband began believing these scandals and one day he rushed into his quarters in great anger, with sword in hand to kill Meera,  A relative of the Rana counselled him and pacified him. He advised him to enquire into the allegations carefully with a calm mind for finding out the truth. Out of sheer jealousy the ladies might have spread rumours against her to defame her. He pointed out that Meera was a great devotee of the Lord Krishna , very pious natured and for this reason he had married her.  Kumbha calmed down.

However his sister urged him to punish Meera for her illicit relationship (allegedly). So he accompanied his sister to the temple. He broke open the door, rushed inside and found Meera alone in a trance talking and singing to the idol.

He could find no one so he demanded that Meera should show him her lover who she meets daily. Meera points out at the idol of Krishna and replies, "There He is -My Lord, My Lover—who has stolen my heart". Rana is ashamed that he listened to his sister's concocted stories and returns back.

Meera continues her devotion and keeps on meeting the saints who visit her from far of places hearing about her great devotion and her melodious singing. She renounces all luxuries and wears simple clothes and no jewellery. Her songs, in simple language of Braj, sung soulfully, set to beautiful melodious music, attracted the listeners and transported them to a spiritual plane. Her singing and her devotion became very famous in North India and were much talked about. She was known as Meera-Prem Diwani (mad with Love) and as an incarnation of Radha.

  

The ladies of the palace unable to bear this(in those days ladies from royal families and of good lineage were not supposed to mix with or talk freely with men outside their families) floated rumors that Meera was mixing very freely with sadhus or saints and talked ill about her. They kept on torturing her through their malicious gossips, carrying tales to her husband and through other activities.

Meera does not like these interruptions or the restrictions on her devotion. She seeks the advice of Goswami Tulasidas, by writing a letter to him, who advises her to leave those who don't believe in Ram or Shyam and seek the Lord.

But Akbar's visit to Meera was the turning point. Akbar the famous Moghul Emperor, was a very powerful ruler and rival of the Rajputs especially Rana. But he was interested in various religious paths. He had heard about Meera's devotional and melodious singing. So Akbar and his famous court musician Tansen came in disguise to Chittor to hear her songs. They went and sat in the temple and listened to her soul - stirring songs to their heart’s content. Before his departure, Akbar touched the feet of Meera and placed a necklace made of precious gems in front of the Krishna's idol as a gift. 

This news reaches the Rana Kumbha. He became furious and angrily tells Meerabai, that she brought disgrace to the family by meeting their arch rival Akbar and accepting a gift from him. So he orders her to drown herself in the river and never show her face in future. 

Meera obeyed the king's(her husband's) orders and proceeded to the river to drown herself. She sang chanting Krishna's name as Giridhari, Govinda and Gopala and dances in ecstasy on her way to the river. 

When she enters the river, a hand from behind grasps her and embraces her. It was none other than her beloved Giridhari. She faints on him. After a few minutes when she opens her eyes, Lord Krishna smiles and gently whispers "My dear Meera, your life with your mortal relatives is over now. You are absolutely free. Be cheerful. You are and have always been mine. Go to Brindavan where you can peacefully seek me"

She obeys the divine guidance and leaves her home for Brindavan-where lord Krishna spent his child hood and youth.

She travels bare foot on hot sands of the desert, singing and dancing in ecstasy. Where ever she goes she is welcomed with great love and affection as well as devotion. Her fame spreads far and wide. her singing and her bhajans become popular with the common folk as well as the learned.

To be continued......

Update -2-4-2015:

This post has been modified slightly (the last paragraphs) for a more clearer picture of Meera Bai's life.  

Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba Passes away

It is with great sorrow and heavy heart that I share with you the most shocking news of the departure of Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba at 7.40 pm today to his heavenly abode. He was 86 years old and was admitted to Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences at Puttaparthi of Anantapur district of Andhra Paradesh. He was admitted to hospital on March 28th suffering from respiratory problems. 

Millions of devotees across the world were praying, conducting uninterrupted Bhajans, Yagyas, prayers ardently for His recovery. Our family was also praying for him. We all were convinced that He will be safe-nothing will happen to Him. Some where a small hope burned alive like a small lamp, even in the gloom of despair, that He will not leave us. 

There is what is called Law Of Nature. Though this has been established by God Himself, He too follows it scrupulously. There is a Rhythm, there is a discipline in Nature. Every thing that takes birth has to die. So God also adheres to it. Even the Avtars (incarnations of God) Rama or Krishna left this world when they accomplished their missions. 

When God wishes He appears on the earth as incarnation or what ever form He wants and withdraws at his will. The great souls like Shirdi Sai Baba, Vivekananda, Ramkrishna Parmahamsa etc visit this earth and take birth here to accomplish great missions as per the directions of God. Such great Souls or Masters are sent on to the earth to educate us, lead us and guide us spiritually as per God's wishes. They know about God's wishes. That is why some great souls have Ichha Marnam or death at their will-like Bhishma. 

Baba waited till today. Why? Because today is the most auspicious day-Sunday, Sapthami(7th day of our calender), Poorva Aashadha  star, Siddha Yoga- Planet Sun in Mesha(Aries) all these make it a favourable time for leaving His physical body on a divine journey. He knows it all, who are we to question Him?

But for us, we don't have any say in our births or deaths. We are all guided by our actions(Karma) and its affect. We can only come out of this Chakra or cycle by following the spiritual path as per Guru's guidance.

How can people like us who are spiritual illiterates know about great souls or their missions. We attach ourselves to what we see with our eyes and the physical body or presence. 

Now Bhagawan meaning God as people believe Him to be, always used to say that He is beyond birth and death. His body is not His but for our sake which we worship and follow with great devotion. 

The greatest spiritual Guru of modern times, he has crores and crores of disciples not only in India but from various countries of the world. He spread the message of Love, Peace and Service. He and his Trust do a lot of charity work, support educational institutions, hospitals and many more across the world.

As I am writing all this I am crying and all my family and friends are shocked. After all Baba was like our, mother, father, guru, friend and God all rolled into one. As long as His physical presence was there, we felt that he was there to safe guard us. 

One thing we have to remind ourselves is He is not just an ordinary human. He is a great soul and He will always be there with us. In our thoughts, in our actions, in our words, in everything we do-He is always with us. If we call ourselves His followers, His devotees then we have to adhere to what he taught us through his messages. Love all-serve all;Help ever, Hurt never.

Baba always taught us about Prema or Love-The Universal Love. This is the time when there is so much strife, so much unrest, so many calamities-that we need to spread His message of Love and Peace. Even if we begin this at our homes, our relatives, our friends and with those whom we come into contact, it is more than enough. We should follow Baba and lend a helping hand to those around us who need it the most. It need not be big, it need be colossal-just a small something; a hug, a smile, a pat on the back, a shoulder to cry, a warm handshake...small things which mean a lot to someone.

So come let us all take a Pledge that from today we will follow His Messages, spread Love and Peace, what little we can do to serve others we will do. we will always chant the name of God and Baba. 

He is definitely with us around us and in us.......we just need to call Him SAI RAM...

OM SAI RAM...............

Meera-Prem Diwani -I

                                                    

Lord Krishna

India is the land of saints, seers, sages, poets. So many great souls who gave so many great messages. They not only stood as role models on the spiritual path but left back a great legacy of great thoughts, wisdom, philosophy, poetry, writings and sayings. One just needs to tap those to follow the proper path to Godhead.

In Hinduism there are many paths of devotion. One can choose a convenient path to reach the Lord. Female saints like Meera, Andal, Akkamahadevi and many more kept the spiritual knowledge and the paths of the ancient seers alive. One common factor amongst these three women was that they accepted the Lord as their husband or bridegroom and devoted their lives to Him.

One of such great souls was Meera or Mira also known as Meera Bai. She was the exponent of Prem Bhakti-spiritual love or devotional love. She was a great devotee of Lord Krishna, loved Him intensely and took Him to be her husband and Lord. She wrote beautiful love poetry or rather songs set her own tunes. She sang them melodiously immersed in her love for her Lord. Such was her power of singing and her songs that whoever listened to her were mesmerised. 

Even today her songs known as Meera Bhajans are very popular and sung with great devotion.

It is difficult to write about her details exactly as there are many stories, many versions, and some facts and may be some fiction. I have tried my best to give as accurately as possible from the available information.

She was born in 1504 AD at Chaukari village in Merta a small state in Marwar District of Rajasthan. Some say she was born in Kurki in Plai district in 1498. It is difficult to give the exact year and place as there seems to be no historical evidence.

The place was ruled by the Rathores. Her father’s name was Rana Ratan Singh. She lost her mother at an early age and was raised by her grandfather Rao Duda.

Rathores were great devotees of Vishnu. Like in any Rajput families, her education included knowledge of Vedic scriptures, music, and also war fare. She grew up amidst an atmosphere of total Krishna bhakti or devotion, which was responsible in moulding her thoughts to complete devotion towards Lord Krishna.

When she was just four years of age, she happened to watch a marriage procession. She asked her mother innocently, "Mother, who will be my bridegroom?" Her mother, half in jest and half in earnest, pointing towards the idol of Lord Krishna replied, "My dear child, Lord Krishna - Neela Megha Shyama-this handsome black one – will be your bridegroom". This was etched on Meera's tender mind and heart. 

As Meera grew up, her desire to be with her Krishna grew intensely day by day and she firmly believed that Lord Krishna would marry her. As time went by, she was firmly convinced that Krishna was to be her husband. She was completely devoted to lord Krishna.

Meera was very gentle, soft spoken and was gifted with a melodious voice. Since she was from a religious family, she would sing in praise of Lord. She was one of the most extraordinary beauties of her time and the fame of her beauty spread far and wide to many princely states. Many kings and princes vied to marry her.

Rana Sangram Singh(Rana Sangha), the powerful King of Mewar, approached Rao Duda for MiraBai’s hand in marriage to his son Bhojraj (also known as Rana Kumbha or KumbhaRana). 

Rana Kumbha had seen Meera and fell in love with her beauty and wanted to marry her for her beauty, pious nature and divine intent. Rao Duda also agreed to it. However, Meera could not bear the thought of marrying a human being as all along she considered Lord Krishna as her husband. She pleads and argues. But her family forces her to the marriage as it was by then very difficult to guard a beautiful daughter against the princes and kings who wanted to marry her even by waging a war.

She agrees to the marriage out of her respect to her grandfather. She marries Rana Kumbha in 1518. She was hardly 14 years of age. But child marriages were common in those days and 14 was considered to be much older age.

She leaves for Mewar(Chittorgarh) with the Rana Kumbha her husband. She discharges all her duties to her in laws and her husband as any wife would. 

                      To be continued........

Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba hospitalised

Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba was hospitalised on 28th of March. Since then all his devotees across the world are anxious. Just this afternoon it was announced that his condition was serious. But now hospital sources say He is responding to treatment.

Crores of his devotees across the world are conducting Akhanda Bhajans, chanting mantras  etc praying for his recovery. We all are worried about him. Such a great soul who has helped the society and still helping in many ways. We did not celebrate Ugadi much because He was unwell.

All the South channels have been tracking His condition for the past two days or so and more so today. But is the North media sleeping? I have not seen any of the channels even mention about His ill health. The media that catches up and flashes the news when Sharukh sneezes or Katrina Yawns, does not feel this news news worthy at all. What a shame what a shame. Such a great soul He is and many devotees would be interested to know about Him.

Those of you who follow Him please pray. We all have been praying for His recovery. Such people can do more service than all of us put together. So I do pray to God Almighty that Bhagwan recovers.