Shirdi Sai Baba
(from "Quintessence of Sai Satcharitra"):
Everything is predetermined. In this universe, everything happens by a divine design. Everything waits for its own precise time. After Sainath's advent in Shirdi, many years passed, and countless people, rich and poor, literate and rustic, received bounties of his grace, and their prayers fulfilled. But nobody had this pure intention and desire to collect the stories of this mysterious man and write the biography to serve as light on the path of millions of devotees who loved Baba and would follow his teachings in times to come. Finally, the time had come; the unmanifest willed for self-manifestation. The unreachable stretches out in boundless love and compassion to his devotees, its pure will of divine manifesting itself. The great yogi of Baradi, Baba Lokenath, used to say, "I willingly reveal myself to you so that you can reach me. Otherwise, it is impossible to reach me." Sainath also manifested in the heart of Hemadpant moved by infinite compassion for his devotees.
He called Hemadpant. Hemadpant came and prostrated before Baba with humility and surrender. Baba picked holy ash, udi, from the sacrificial fire in front of him and put it on the head of Hemadpant, blessing him and transmitting his divine powers.
He said, "Let him collect all the stories, or divine leela, in one place. I will write my own biography to fulfill the wishes of my devotees. Those who endeavor to work for me with pure heart, I will help them in every way. When his ego dissolves completely, without the slightest trace of it, I will manifest in his heart and write my biography myself. My life and teachings will inspire in the hearts of devotees intense faith, and awaken the deepest spiritual experience and everlasting bliss. In this book, no effort should be made to establish any opinion or any debatable controversies."
The sole objective of the Sadguru is to annihilate the false ego. That is the only purpose of his advent. His birth is not only to manifest in the gross human body. He descends as Avatara in the egoless heart of a pure devotee. He who is all-pervasive manifests in the heart of a pure devotee only to fulfill the wish of devotees. Baba speaks to one and all by his words to Hemadpant. He who is unmanifest is equally eager to manifest. It is only egotism that creates the barrier and distance. That is the reason Baba insists before embarking on such a divine task that one should make sure that the ego is removed from the path. In Bhagavat Gita [11.23], Lord Krishna says the same thing to Arjuna, nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sāchin - "Oh Arjuna! Become a pure instrument!" The very essence of Sanatana Dharma is encoded in this instruction. The more flawless the instrument is, the easier it is for the divine Lord to sing the eternal song through such instruments.
Baba uttered an incredible statement, "I myself would write my own biography. All my devotees would have the fulfillment of all their desires by reading that biography." This is a unique example of the love and compassion of an enlightened Master. He is not doing anything to bless any one individual devotee by manifesting his divine self but is creating something for the redemption of humanity for times to come. But before doing that, he is emphatic about tuning the instrument just as Lord Krishna did to Arjuna.
Baba also warned us to be careful not to get involved in sharing opinions and unwanted controversies in our lives, too. Baba is hinting that we should not get involved in egocentric opinion-mongering. For Baba wanted us all to understand that in all those debates and controversies, the ego is fueled, but with no spiritual gain
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