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.
"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.
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