During the days of shradh, when as a ritual, brahmins are offered meals in remembrance of close family members who are no more, one lady devotee came for seva to Darbar and told Sai that my son and other children insisted that you go for seva and we shall do the needful. Sai said, “When I myself am so strict about rules and principles, how can I ask you to be here for seva. Your first duty is towards your family, so go home and make the necessary preparations to feed the brahmin and let your children follow this later after you.”
Even those disciples, devotees who come to Darbar everyday, Sai always advises them to first look after their families, as that is their prime duty. Especially when there is any eventuality in any devotee’s house, Sai does not permit them to come to Darbar. Sai says that compassion and compatibility is very essential between family members in order to perform their duties towards each other. If the wife is a devotee of God and the husband is a drunkard, it becomes difficult to fulfill the duties. If the husband is religious minded and wife is extra socializing types and without any devotion towards God, again it creates difficulties. Good feelings are a requisite between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law also and if that is not the case, even good deeds done in the past will be lost because of this.
Sai in this way gives us advise with clarity and assures us that He is always with us even when we are discharging our duties towards our family!