Lastly comes the example of the rivers. The current of devotion is attained by losing one’s own entity or existence in that of the divine or the end of the course. The river is inevitably drawn down. Does water go back or upward? It is drawn downward and downward, and finally it meets the ocean. The waters of the rivers were originally part of the ocean, and after being held up in the form of water vapor, cloud and rain, they take the shape of a river. So, it is the oceanic waters that flow through the rivers and get back to their original source. The devotion of the river that was issued out of that immense, endless, infinite expanse called the ocean makes it get back to that ocean and be lost in it. Once the rivers Ganges, Indus, get in to the ocean, they cannot be segregated again as Ganges or Indus water. Purna laya is the end of the devotion and that is obtained by the jives surrendering themselves, that is, making atma nivedana, which is the last mode mentioned in the navavidha Bhakti. That is both devotion and also absorption. After that there is nothing further to reach.
Thus the various stages, attitudes, and relations of a Bhakta can be very well dwelt upon and learnt by studying the above illustrations and applying them to oneself.
A number of loving bhaktas are ever remaining in one’s heart who show how Bhakti achieves its ends. The end of Bhakti is not achieved by the offer of money to God or by mere learning or by age or beauty of a person; God does not want any of these. God wants only heart, that is, your self, and he will not be satisfied with anything else.
For the hunter Kannappa, what Achara or religious course of conduct had he?
For Dhruva, What was his age?
For the elephant Gajendra, what education or degrees and titles had He?
Had Vidura, favourite of Krishna, any qualification in respect of caste? He was the son of a slave or dancing girl.
For the king of Yadavas called Ugrasena, who was favoured by Krishna, what manliness had he? He was a great coward.
For Kubja, who was favoured by Krishna, had she any great beauty? She was deformed.
For Sudhama, known as Kuchela who also was favoured by Krishna, had he any wealth?
Therefore, God is pleased with and wants only Bhakti or devotion. God is captured by love or prem. The above facts refer to well known bhaktas who received great help or favour from Krishna or God on account of their Bhakti. One’s profession or conduct, that is, whether one is a hunter or Vaideek Brahmin, whether one is younger old, whether one is highly learned or a creature without education, whether one is a high caste person or the son of a slave whether one is a brave man or a coward, whether one has beauty or wealth, none of these are the reasons for God’s help and favour. God is pleased by Bhakti alone and Bhakti can capture Him.
This contains the essence of the doctrine of Bhakti or devotion, and therefore, earnest readers who are anxious to study the history of Sai Baba, who realized in himself the perfection of Godhead by attaining Purna laya, concentrating his mind always on God with intense love from his earliest period of life, and thereby attained Aikya, so that he could say Mai Allahum, that is Aham Brahmasmi could exhibit all the powers of God; would find the use of the above stanzas. Sai identified himself with Krishna and with every other form of God. As the object of everyone should be to please God in Sai form or in any other form, one may note how in point of historical fact, from this biography, numbers of people were drawn to Sai Baba and achieved the love olf Sai Baba, and thereby achieved every object of human existence. The succeeding chapters of this book would deal with the details of a large number of devotees being drawn to and benefiting from Baba, and would fully illustrate the truth of the above verses. At present we have sufficiently satisfied highly sensitive readers who wish to have the essence of Sai Baba’s Marga placed before them, before we deal with the expansion of the Sai movement and the details of persons who approached him, and the problem that arise for consideration in the life of Baba.
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