Allah Malik Dwarkamai Shraddha Saburi Shirdi Sai

Sunday, October 14th, 2012

The lines that cherishingly cascade here are dedicated to our Lord’s endearing appearance as the Sai of Shirdi…kafni, satka, tumrel, chillim, handi, kala or hodge-podge, dhuni, et al. On Tuesday, 15th October, 1918 at 2:30 pm Shirdi Sai Baba chose to withdraw this adored Finite Form…into its rudimentary aspect as the Formless Infinity…All Encompassing Eternity…Transcendental Consciousness… until the much awaited next incarnation as Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba…a poem by Sri Jullie Chaudhuri.


Dwarkmai mey Tu tha viraja, Sub raajon ka ek Tu Raja….
Ek baar phir darsh dikhade…Ek baar phir laut ke aajaa…
Oh Shirdi ke Baba…Oh merey Sai Baba…
Yajur Mandir mey Tu tha viraja, Hum bhakton ka ek Tu Baba…
Oh Parthi ke Baba..Oh merey Sai Baba…
Sai darsh dikhaja….Baba laut ke aaja…

In fulfilment of a vow granted to Bharadwaj Rishi,
So as to initiate the Appearance,
Of the foremost of the triple incarnation,
It was time enough for the Divine Advent,
Lord Shiva riveted His gaze upon…and chose His parents,
And thus accordingly,
He was ‘born’ to Ganga Bhavadia and Amma Devgiri…

By then the father was overcome with dispassion,
For this Child Divine he felt no attraction,
Earlier having disbelieved Devgiriamma’s most holy vision,
He was now obsessed with a similar realization…
An intense commitment…to embrace renunciation…
Worldly ways he did shun,
Walking away from his ‘son’,
Choosing to leave behind the temporal – ever so uncertain,
Seeking to be absorbed in the path of deliberation,
Meditation and contemplation…

In accordance with ‘stree dharma’,
Devgiriamma,
Making no exception,
Sans any celebration,
Decided to follow her husband,
Bidding a bitter sweet adieu,
Holding close for a short while,
Her ‘newborn’ gem…her priceless possession…

The ‘new born’ was ‘discovered’ by a Fakir along the way,
While handing over the infant to his wife he did say,
‘All praises to the Almighty!
We have received a gift from Allah today…’

Soon, however the Fakir shed his mortal coil, His wife did her loving best,
But the antics of the ‘child’, Left her in a mystifyingly tizzy turmoil…

And so, not quite knowing what to do,
With this ‘tiny’ bundle,
Who shone with incomprehensible wisdom,
She approached Sage Venkusa thence,
Exasperated by this child’s playful indulgence -
Due to Him holy places of worship faced a vice versa -
In the Temple,
He would chant and call out to God as Allah,
And then intone the holy Quran…
While in the Mosque,
 He would insist upon reciting the sacred name of ‘Ram’…
But the masses were not as yet ready,
For this straightforward source to all tranquility and calm,
As for those with narrow devotional dogmas,
This did serve to raise a threat and an alarm…

Therefore to this Venka Avdhoota she handed over her cherubic son,
Not an inkling had she that He was the Supreme One,
He was her little darling…the apple of her eye,
However,
She had no inkling He would soon reveal His identity,
Be known and loved across all continents as -
Beloved Shirdi Sai…

The rest remains snug in the arms of history, He continues to enchant all with His charming story…For some He is the only beacon of hope, granting limitless scope, that ability to cope, through dark abysses that make you grope, the worldly fog so perplexingly dense, laying bare the drama of illusion and pretense, upon the stormy waves of material existence…

For innumerable others He is their sole source of love and light,
Bestowing comfort through karmic pain and anguish,
A ‘never ending’, ‘ever present’ stream,
Of succor and delight…
Mother, Father, Friend, Guru and Guide…

If you look to Me…I will look to you…
If you cast your burden on Me, I shall surely bear it,
If you seek My advice and help, it shall be given to you at once,
There shall be no want in the house of My devotees,
All those that place their feet on Shirdi soil,
Their sufferings will come to an end,
The wretched and miserable will rise to joy and happiness as soon as they climb the steps of the mosque,
 I am ever living to help and guide all who come to Me, who surrender to Me and who seek refuge in Me…
These are some of the assurances that were bequeathed,
Upon me and you,
Now come along,
In the Dwarkamai a wondrous scene let us joyfully view…

To the astonishment of all, in the Dwarkamai, drawing up His kafni, Baba sat down, seemingly to winnow the chaff from the grain. None understood the spiritual significance -
The impact meant for individual and cosmic benefit and gain…

Then Baba put the grain in the upper opening of the hand mill, and rotated it as though a mundane drill.

But this grinding of wheat had a much deeper import, Unfathomable to all was the purport of Baba’s sport…
This incident so inspired Hemadpant, that in bliss afloat,
He wrote – The Shirdi Sai Satcharitra, Of Baba’s divine leelas a celestial treatise…a wondrous report, for countless millions a sacrosanct text…a treasure trove of solace and hope, Of strength and guidance a veritable fort…

Once the grinding was over, The villagers were advised, By the One who constantly uttered - ‘Shraddha…Saburi…’…To scatter the flour around the village boundary, Putting an end to the raging cholera epidemic miraculously…

So, what was the causal connection between wheat flour and plague? How did it bring about such an astounding release? Can a finite mind ever fathom the ways of the infinite…?

Through the years that Baba graced the soil Shirdi, This ‘grinding’ was quite a common sight,
What could the philosophical implication be…? What inner meaning did this routine connote and imply…?
Oh! Indeed mysterious are the ways,
Of that enigmatic Faqir…Whose Abode was the Dwarkamai…

As did explain Beloved Shirdi Sai -
Enlightenment and illumination, Was not possible without purification…
Refinement of impulses, of desires, of the three gunas was necessary,
Realising the self…meant a release, In actual fact – a liberation,
From the subtle clutches of the ego, of pride…of Ahamkar,
The act of grinding wheat, the hand-mill with its upper and lower stones and a handle,
Pointed to the dark chasm…the web of karma, Along with a hint towards the light of right action – Jnana and Bhakti,
Through knowledge and devotion,
Or does it refer to a steadfast devotion to knowledge,
Or gaining a superlative knowledge of devotion…?

While grinding the wheat grain,
The Supreme Master was simply assisting those that did surrender,
And seek refuge in Him wholly,
He was removing the sins -
The physical, mental, emotional, spiritual afflictions,
Thereby conferring a fresh lease…
Such was the love of this Ultimate Guru for His devotees…
The earthly sojourn of that immortal Faqir is an everlasting classic …
His words resonate to form an eternal epic,
Exhorting all to surrender to God Almighty – Allah Malik…
Was there ever such a timeless mystic…?
Were sage lyrics ever so rhythmic…?
For the Oneness of all religions,
Of all life forms…was there ever a call so distinctly unique…?
Open wide were His arms for all,
For the crow…the dog…the rich, the poor,
The healthy and the sick,
The devout as well as the skeptic…
Sabka Malik Ek…
An ageless technique…
…a sublime epic…transcendental and cosmic,
Allah Malik…Dwarkamai…
Shraddha…Saburi…Shirdi Sai…

II Samasta Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II

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