Material Wealth
"Ramathe Raam.. Aaaojee.. Aaaojee.. ..udiyaan ki goniyaan laaojee.."
(Oh Playful Rama.! .come on..and bring with you sacks of udi.)
Baba used to sing merrily, whenever He was in a cheerful mood. The power and greatness of udi, the sacred ash, is well known. It is believed that udi confers upon the devotees, health, prosperity, freedom from anxiety, and many other worldly gains. One peculiarity of this Saint God is that He encouraged His followers to seek material wealth. There were several incidents where Sainath Himself brought about a particular longing of the devotees during casual conversation, and benefited them appropriately. One famous parable of Sai Baba goes as follows: "My coffers are always open.. Come and fill your sacks as much as you want.." Now, material wealth, non-attachment, self surrender, salvation...How can they be all together? Don't they seem contradicting each other? How can one ask for worldly riches yet at the same time develop non-attachment?
Asking and receiving the material benefit confirms one's faith in Sadguru, the most important aspect of the spiritual journey. How can one know that he/she will get something unless he/she asks for it and gets it? Receiving benefits through His grace confirms and increases the faith in Him. This should be taken as a cognitive assurance from the Guru and logically, it must make one to pay careful and close attention to what the Guru says. Material and spiritual benefits are two separate entities and by separating them so, the need for each of them is well defined. Usually, it is a practice to justify one's wants based on the needs. However, a careful observation will reveal that there is no end for human needs and material wants are akin to a never-ending chain of temporary events perpetrated by the myth. Faith in Guru and His dispensation will also lead to the sense of contentment with the material wants. If one contemplates on Sadguru Sainath's coffers, it will be evident that the reference made was to something beyond material. Something that is perennial and something that results in everlasting happiness of His company.