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| Sainath |
Once an old lady named Radhabai (mother of Khasaba Deshmikh) came to Shirdi along with a few people from Sangamner after hearing about the mysticisms of Sai Baba. She felt peace in her soul after meeting Baba. In her heart, she gave to Baba the sacred seat of her Guru. She was determined to receive diksha from Baba and attain discipleship of the great Master. She was so determined about the diksha that she vowed that she would observe fast until Sai Baba agreed to grant her diksha and that she wouldn't break her vow even if she died. Returning to her place of stay, she gave up food and water. Three days passed in this way, I was extremely terrified at the severe penance of the old lady, and ran to Baba, "Oh divine one! What I this that you are doing? Through the power of your Will, you attract so many towards your divine presence. And it is you who called this old mother to you, didn't you? That she is so stubborn is not unknown to you either. If you don't grant her diksha and if something bad happens, the people will only blame you saying that a poor woman sacrificed her life as Baba refused to grant her diksha. So please have mercy on her and fulfil her demand."
Seeing the unmovable determination of the old mother, Baba called her by his side, and explained with great affection, "Oh mother! Why do you inflict so much pain upon yourself? Why do you wish to embrace death? You are my mother, and I am your child. Please have mercy upon your child and listen attentively to whatever I say. I am going to narrate to you my own life story hearing which you shall feel peace in your heart. My Guru was an enlightened Master of the highest order and he was the embodiment of ultimate compassion. I served him for a long time, but he never whispered any mantra into my ears. I could not stay away from him even for a moment's time. It was my deepest desire to serve him day in and day out and subsequently attain the diksha mantra from him. His path, however, was completely different. At first, he had my head shaven and then he asked for an offering of two pennies from me, which I readily gave to him.
You might ask why would a man of such exalted spiritual stature ask for two coins of money from me, what need had he for such materialistic trifles? How can one call him a renunciate monk if he still nurtured such mundane desires? The answer is, he never had anything to do with such mundane wealth for he was beyond the slightest need for them. The two pennies that he asked from me were not the worldly kind. Those were -
1. Perseverance.
2. Patience.
When I offered these two things to my Guru, he was very pleased with me. I have spent twelve years in the service of his lotus feet. He was the one who fed me and took care of me. And so I had never any dearth of food or clothes. He was the very embodiment of love, or rather it can be said that he was the very incarnation of love. How can I ever begin to describe his immensity, for he had such indescribable affection for me and it is a matter of rare fortune to have him as my Master? I only used to keep looking at him intently with unblinking eyes, and it seemed to me that he was absorbed in deep meditation. In those times we would both be absorbed in deep joy. Incessantly, through days and nights, I would remain seated before him, simply gazing at his divine form. I had no hunger, nor was there any feeling of thirst. Not looking at him would make me restless. There was no other trace of thought in my mind other than the thought of service to my Guru. This was the only thing I was ever aware of. All this comprised my one penny of offering to him, The second penny was patience. With the greatest patience in my heart, I served my Guru for a long period of time. It is this patience that shall take you, too, across the ocean of life The practice of patience is the only humanitarian service for the whole of humanity. Through the path of patience, all worldly attachments and sins get destroyed; every obstacle and fear gets washed away from the mirror of the mind.
In this way, you too shall stick to the ultimate path of patience. Patience is the treasure trove of all goodness and it is the mother of high thinking. Patience and perseverance - these two are like twin sisters for each one have immense bonding with the other.
My Guru never wished to have any material goods from me. He was never negligent about his care for me and always protected me. Although I was forever seated before his, there were times when he had to leave his seat to go elsewhere; even his those times the pull of his loving protection never left my side. He always had his hand of pure grace over my head just as the mother turtle's love for her babies acts as an invisible string through which she nurtures the young, be it from her nearness to them or from far across the river. Thus, oh my dear mother, how can I teach you a mantra when my own Guru has taught me none? Just bear in your mind always that it is through the Guru's turtle-like invisible hand of love that we attain contentment in life. And so, don't needlessly try to obtain diksha from anyone. Make me the only anchor of your actions and thoughts and you shall certainly attain that supreme goal. When you shall keep looking at me with steadfast eyes, I too shall keep looking at you in the same manner. Sitting in this mosque, I only utter that which is truth. There is no need to do any spiritual practice or to read any scriptural knowledge. Faith in your own Guru is enough. Have a firm belief in the fact that the Guru is the only doer of all your actions. He alone is the director. He who has perceived the true essence of Guru and his glory and has seen him as Brahma, Hari and Har, is a truly blessed one.
Hearing Baba's words the old woman attained her calm. She prostrated before him and gave up her fasting.
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