Saburi

[SS91]

Saburi

Alas! Life is full of challenges and problems. How we wish it were smooth sailing without any tides and waves? But it rarely happens and what more; when everything goes our way and there are no challenges in life we have nothing to brace for in life, and living gets arduous and boring. Life gets into a rut; it is like eating the same bland food day in and day out. We do not know our strengths and capabilities. It is only when we are faced with a challenge and we face it bravely we know our capacity and capability. We feel good about being able to rise to any occasion. That quality is manliness. Ability to face any situation at any given time and come out victorious leaves a sense of euphoria in us. Precisely for this reason alone God never promised a smooth sailing life not for demi gods and gods. Often when faced with difficulties we lose patience and lack confidence in ourselves and keep questioning our ability to handle the situations. And when going gets rough we give up and sometimes take drastic measures to end our life only to suffer 100 folds in the next birth according to the Hindu Sastras.

In chapter 18/19 BABA said "Saburi (patience) will ferry you across the sea of this mundane existence. Saburi is manliness in man, it removes all sins and afflictions, gets rid of calamities in various ways, and casts aside all fear, and ultimately gives you success." Further BABA describes the importance of faith or Nishta, which is grossly lacking in present materialistic world where everything is calculative and follows the law of give and take. There is no trust; and one does not know into what relationship they are entering and what they get out of it when they interact with other person. Life and living is mechanical and inhuman without involvement of emotions of love, trust, empathy, and feeling of unity, almost robotic.

No doubt, this situation is due to the games played by Law of Nature where a great imbalance is brought into the world with the havoc played by Maya only to make way for setting the balance, which again is controlled by Nature (God). It is during these tremulous situations that a man should come out of the cocoon of comfort and braves the uncertainties by using intellect bestowed upon him by God in choosing the right path and making a calculative decision for the good of mankind. In life man always has two choices - Good (Shreyas) and pleasant (Preyas) but He who has earned grace of God through faith and patience and recognizes the cosmic nature of the almighty; he alone will be guided by the Supreme Power to choose Good over pleasant.

As Baba said, "There are two sorts of things viz., the Good and the Pleasant; the former deals with spiritual affairs, and the latter with mundane matters. Both these approach man for acceptance. He has to think and choose one of them. The wise man prefers the Good to the Pleasant; but the unwise, through greed and attachment, chooses the Pleasant." Man is fortunate to be bestowed with intelligence; why not use it by His guidance and execute that action which will bring out the best in us? We can make informed decision, as managers think and come out with best choice and also know our potential in facing grave situations in life. Mind is the biggest enemy if left unrestrained it gallops like a pack of wild horses and looses it path leading towards the destination. If it registers in Mind that it cannot cope with a situation then body runs away from the source of problem and eventually from life itself. He who recognizes the weakness of mind and acknowledges the fault within self alone will be able to control the mind and set in the right path by the blessings of BABA. In Baba's philosophy, there is no room for escape of duties and responsibilities. No short cuts what so ever. One should diligently and sincerely discharge the responsibilities while constantly thinking of God and know that HE alone is the charioteer who leads us to our destination. Even Avataar Meher BABA said "Be brave! Don't feel dejected or despondent with difficulties and inconveniences. Face it all - that's manliness, that's heroism." (LORD MEHER, Vol. Six and Seven, Bhau Kalchuri,)

(Contributed by Anitha Kandukuri, Canberra, Australia)  



OM SAI SRI SAI JAYA JAYA SAI!!!
Let us pray at the feet of Sai Baba who is the incarnation of all gods and protector of all, to show mercy on us, and increase our devotion towards him.