Shradha & Saburi - What they mean for a Sai worker

For many who have heard of Saint Shirdi Sai, these two words are synonymous with the Saint - Shradha and Saburi. A century ago when a lady went to the Saint Sai Baba in Shirdi and asked for Guru Mantra (Mantra/Hymn/Statement given by the Guru for the disciple for spiritual upliftment), Baba had uttered two words which became not only the mantra for that devotee but for millions of devotees across the world for more than a century. Lot has been written and discussed over these two words in the path of Saint Sai. Here I would like to quote a portion of an essay written by Rev. Dr Chandra Bhanu Satpathy in the book 'The Age of Shirdi Sai'

"For His devotees, Baba has set two cardinal principles for the path of devotion. The first is shraddha, which means devotional faith and the other is saburi, which means tolerance with patience"

"Unflinching devotional faith (or Shraddha) is the most difficult state of mind to achieve."

"Rapid evolution takes place when, under all circumstances, the devotee patiently waits for the mercy of Baba. Saburi is therefore, an essential factor for the creation , sustenance and growth of devotion. The qualities of faith and patience are complimentary to each other. Faith without patience is a contradiction in terms and patience without faith is an exercise in futility. They are like two sides of a balance beam - if one comes down, the other goes up."
                                                                                      - The Age of Shirdi Sai, Chapter 5, Page 20-22

So intricately defined by Satpathy Ji in the excerpts from the book. This, in the context of a Guru-Shishya or Master-Disciple relationship is the building block in the path of evolution. The two entities that can be clearly visualized while studying the same is your 'Guru' and you, the disciple.

As the journey progresses, out of millions of devotees, the Guru eventually starts to test the devotees and after much scrutiny gives a few of them an opportunity to carry out small tasks. As they progress further, fewer devotees are assigned bigger tasks. Every step of this, the disciple goes through equally tougher tests and scrutiny. The ego is slowly destroyed and the Shishya(disciple) is evolved into a selfless Sevak(worker). By the grace of the Guru, the sevak no longer seeks the blessings of the Guru to remove his or her materialistic hardships, rather he or she only seeks to serve(or seva) the Guru.

Now, comes the time for the worker to build and work for an organization(Also known as Math or Ashram) under the ever protective umbrella of the Guru. Working for the Guru in an organization is much tougher than the mere devotion of any other devotee for his Guru. The fundamental difference is that in an organization, the disciple is not alone. He or she will be associated with many more workers who are dedicated to the same Guru and His mission. But, the cardinal principles as defined above for the disciple still holds relevance for the worker - Shraddha and Saburi. 

Having reached this stage, shraddha of the devotee for the Master is well established. In addition to that, Shraddha for a Guru-worker also gets fortified as 'Affection for other workers and devotees'. And 'Saburi with your self', that was a pre-requisite for establishing a disciple's relationship with the Guru, additionally becomes 'Patience with other workers and devotees' for the worker. Every single step that a worker takes in serving the Guru can no longer be solitary, rather has to be unanimous. Principles needed to keep the workers united, and carry out the mission of the Master are the same that was needed as a pre-requisite for a devotee. In carrying out the day to day activities as a sevak(worker), affection towards your fellow workers will help you bond with them, similar to what you have with your family members. With all the differences  you have with your siblings, elders and young ones are in your family - what binds you together is the belongingness. The same brotherhood and bonding will come into play while working in an organization. Similarly, shraddha resulting in the qualities of affection and caring for others, will help you to be patient with them in the organization. They are like the two sides of a coin as defined by Dr Satpathy - necessary for a disciples spiritual evolution towards the Guru, and later for a worker doing seva(service) towards the cause of the Guru.

Karma Yoga – Relevance of fulfilling materialistic needs in life

Karma Yoga – Relevance of fulfilling materialistic needs in life

Reading spiritual and religious books is often considered challenging to the common man. First of all, people assume that by reading such books, we would drift away from materialistic world and care less for things around us – our worldly affairs, ambitions to achieve and to fulfill our materialistic needs. Often while talking to friends and colleagues, I have realized that people appreciate someone who is spiritual and religious, studies spiritual books and follows a Guru. But, at the same time when it comes for them to make an attempt in doing the same, they step back. They withdraw with the fear that by following that path, he or she might drift away from day to day life and lose focus on their goals. They fear that being spiritual would make them demotivated to be an achiever.

Ask someone who is a scholar of religious scriptures – and they would just smile! This idea of withdrawal can be associated with the tradition where in the person who preaches religion or does commentary on spirituality, philosophy and scriptures is often projected as a detached human being who has renounced all worldly commitments and lives a life of aimlessly wandering soul. In Hinduism they are known as Sanyasi, A mendicant priest in catholic order of Christianity, A dervish in Sufi order of Islam and a monk in Buddhism and Jainism. A worldly man would like to listen to them, take their blessings and advise on certain matters and move on. A family man is not encouraged to venture into the other world with a fear that it might break the balance which is holding the family and society together. Most common prescription is ‘ That is good, but not for you’.

Now you will be amazed to read that God never wanted the all the worldly man to become monks and quit their duties and walk away. Only a Guru (Spiritual Master) would be able to comprehend scriptures properly and teach the man what the laws expect of a worldly man. As prescribed in Bhagwat Gita

Na buddhi-bhedam janayed
ajnanam karma-sanginam
Josayet sarva-karmani
vidvan yuktah samacaran

-Bhagwat Gita, Ch.3(The Eternal Duties of a Human Beings), Verse 26

Meaning : The wise should not create discord in the mind of ignorant people attached to fruititive actions; instead the wise man with persistence and precision, should induce others in activities, keeping them fully engaged.

This clearly says that for the unintelligent human being, the concept of working without expecting any fruits or results is meaningless. Working selflessly and being unattached to your actions is only for the evolved human being. Work devoid of desire is an exalted state given to the enlightened few. This philosophy is too high for the common man to understand. To work for results is far superior to being given to laziness born of inertia. The indolent man must be roused to ambitions and exertions leading to pleasures and prosperity. Unable to comprehend this philosophy of ‘work devoid of desire’ man would be given to escape-mentality from actions on earth. Care should be taken no such confusion is created in the mind of the indolent and ignorant.

                                    -                         Commentary by Swami Chidbhavananda

Question may arise if scriptures approve of working for desires, how does a man ever get to the selfless work? The answer may be derived from the teachings given by Sadgurus. By following the scriptures and instructions of a Guru , a sincere man eventually achieves what he desires for. After having fulfilled all his materialistic goals and enjoyed the pleasures of life, there comes a time when the same person has nothing more to wish for. He or she contemplates on his or her life and with the same inertia of action, continues to work unattached to the results thus generated. Those results or fruits of ones action thus reach out to others in need. Since all actions and results thereof are contained within the nature, the outcome of ones good work is utilized somewhere else.

Taking various examples from the life of Sadguru Sai Baba of Shirdi as described in Sai Satcharitra, we can find that thousands of people flocked to Shirdi for the fulfillment of various needs in life. Some came seeking to be blessed with a child, some came to be cured of illness and some came to seek blessings and advice on business deals and financial troubles. Being a spiritual master who knew that these worldly needs are temporary and man should rather seek spiritual advice, Baba fulfilled their desires. But if you look at how the lives of these men and women who came transformed later, you will be astonished. Most of them came back to Baba and served humanity with all they had. They sacrificed what they sought from the Guru, devoted their lives in serving others and propagating the message of their Master. Fulfillment in life and seeking for it is an important aspect in the path of spirituality and growing as a human being.

Bow to my Guru!

                                                                                                            -Santanu