Month: August 2021

During the Bhagwat Katha, Krishna Janam is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm everywhere. They make some child wear a dress of Krishna, make him sit in a basket and the devotees turn by turn wish and sing his praises! Offerings are also given which are then taken by the person doing the Katha.
When once Pandit Dindayal was doing this Katha in Darbar Sahib, he asked Sai whom to dress up as Krishna, as his birth would be celebrated on the following day. Sai replied that Krishna had taken birth 5000 years back, today who can be made like him? This way Krishna birth was celebrated in a formless way and praises were sung and best wishes offered! The kathakar, the reciter admitted that this is first time that Krishna Janam during the Bhagwat Katha was celebrated by the Lord being in a formless form!
It is a miraculous coincidence that this point has come up on its own for this time, today being Janmashtami!

Every one adopts different ways and means to earn money. It has become extremely difficult to find a true saint and if one finds someone, it is difficult to recognise him. Today people just want money and even saints want devotees who will keep giving them money! Truth and sincerity in worship is completely absent today.
Sai narrated an incident when He visited a temple, where some numbers like 11, 21, 51, 101, 501 were displayed in a showcase, neither were rupees nor paisa written against them. Sai asked the saint there, whether these figures were of some lottery or of coupons? The saint said they are related to the tawiz (mascot). Sai again asked, “Tawiz?” The saint said, yes, may be you do not understand. Sai said, “Yes, I do not understand. God has made me only for eating, drinking, wearing good clothes and roaming around.” The saint further explained that tawiz is like a mantra, the one costing Rs 11 is the cheapest, the one costing Rs 500 is the most expensive and with that wishes are fulfilled faster! Sai said, “Give me the one costing Rs 500, as one of my devotees is going to fail in his exam, I will give it him so that he passes!”
While all this was going on, one 80 year old senior saint was watching all this from a corner, he came ahead and asked Sai, “Please tell us who you really are?” Then he offered a chair to Sai and said, “You are Mathadish yourself, I am sure you know all this!” Sai told him, “You all have become dishonest and untruthful.” The elderly saint broke down and said, “I am very distressed and unhappy. There is a court case going on against me. The trustees have shifted me here, please suggest some good lawyer.”
Sai said, “Why don’t you wear your own tawiz, don’t you trust or have faith in it?”
Sai says that we saints, who are actively involved in katha kirtan, if we ourselves don’t have faith in what we say or do, how can the followers be expected to believe in it?

Whenever the topic of temples comes up, Sai remarks that where earlier the katha and stories of Lord Sri Ram used to be played, nowadays merely His foot prints are kept and worshipped rather mechanically!
Places where Lord Krishna was worshipped, today innocent and simple devotees are being cheated. Temples are being run only to achieve own personal goals and chanting or singing praises of the Lord is completely missing.
Earlier, godmen who would sit in penance and chant, achieve and teach true spirituality, today they are busy filling their stomachs with tasty meals, etc.
This way, all places of worship have been reduced to places of earning a livelihood, there is no sanctity or seriousness of propagating true religion!

Sai once visited Adarsh Nagar Darbar on insistence of many devotees. There many persons from abroad had come and they were constantly taking out money from their purses and giving it to those doing kirtan. Even Sai were requested to sing. During kirtan, Sai pays full attention to it and alerts the listeners too, to listen to it attentively. Sai saw that those same persons were again putting their hands into their purses. He asked them to quietly sit down. After the kirtan, Sai told them that you have to sit with humility and devotion in front of a Saint, money is given this way to snake charmers! They all became quiet and their faces lost colour.
This had a great impression on their minds and in the evening they came to Darbar Sahib to meet Sai. They said we have never met a Saint who explains everything so beautifully. We thoroughly enjoyed your kirtan, please visit us, we all would like to hear your kirtan.
Sai told them that I have visited most of the places all over the world, but have never done kirtan anywhere. If you are desirous of it, you come over here, here 16 hours in a day kirtan goes on. How can a well go to the thirsty to quench their thirst?

Once a devotee from Rajkot informed Sai that we are a group of about 400 Sindhis, who are on our way to visit some religious places like Amritsar, Haridwar, Delhi, Jaipur, Ajmer, etc, especially places where there are Sindhi Darbars. On reaching Ajmer, he again called Sai to request that we all want your darshan and visit Darbar Sahib also. Sai agreed and asked them to reach at 6.45 in the morning the next day and attend Satsang.
They all reached on time, quietly attended the whole session and when they wanted to give their offerings, Sai refused and said, “I have not called you here for offerings. I am glad so many Sindhis have planned to go out together especially with their senior family members.” Dal pakwan with khirni was served as breakfast to all and they were all very happy.
When Sai inquired from them about the expenses of the trip, they informed that we all have collectively shared the same, but since we have visited more number of places than originally planned, the budget has gone up by about Rs 1.5 lakhs, out of which Rs 1 lakh was being contributed equally by 2 rich and well off members of the group and the balance was to be collected from senior citizens, who had been given some concession earlier.
Sai smilingly told them that it gives me great pleasure to see so many Sindhis together, so do not collect this from the senior citizens, I am giving you this balance of Rs 50,000 and Sai happily gave it to them.
Many of them with folded hands told Sai that we have visited so many temples, Darbars, places of worship all over the country, but no where were their offerings not taken and at no place had the Saint interacted with them with so much love and affection. They said that the greatness and glory we had so far only heard about Darbar Sahib Halani, today we have actually witnessed it!