Shirdi Sai Baba

Sri Sai Satcharitra: The Wonderful Life of Shirdi Sai Baba, A Modern Rendering of Hemadpant by Monika Penukonda 

If a man utters my name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes and increase his devotion. If he sings earnestly of my life and my deeds, I shall surround him in front and back and on all sides. Those devotees who are attached to me heart and soul will naturally feel happiness when they hear these stories. Believe me, if anybody sings my leelas I will give him infinite joy and everlasting happiness. ~ Shirdi Sai Baba

From this episode:

Now let us turn for a moment to Baba’s life. Shirdi had become a place of pilgrimage on account of Baba’s staying there. People from all quarters began to flock there, and both the rich and the poor were benefited in more ways than one in some form or other. Who can describe Baba’s boundless love, his wonderful natural knowledge and his all-pervasiveness? Blessed is he who could experience any or all of these. Sometimes Baba observed long silence, which was, in a way his dissertation on Brahman. At other times he was consciousness and bliss incarnate, surrounded by his devotees. Sometimes he spoke in parables, and at other times indulged in wit and humor. At times, he was quite unambiguous and at times he seemed enraged. Sometimes he gave his teachings in a nutshell, at other times he argued at length. Many a time he was very plain. In this way, he gave varied instructions to many, according to their requirements. His life was inscrutable, beyond the view of our mind, beyond our intellect and speech. Our longing to see his face, to talk with him and hear his leelas, was never satisfied; still we were overflowing with joy. We can count the showers of rain, tie the wind in a leather bag, but who can measure his leelas? Now we will look at one aspect of them, how he anticipated and foresaw the calamities of his devotees and warded them off in time...

Listen to the full recording of Chapter Twenty-Two today!

Get an eBook or printed copy of the full book here.

Learn more about Shirdi Sai Baba in this online course.

Visit and be a part of an online community celebrating the life of Shirdi Sai Baba.

Sri Sai Satcharitra: The Wonderful Life of Shirdi Sai Baba, A Modern Rendering of Hemadpant by Monika Penukonda 

If a man utters my name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes and increase his devotion. If he sings earnestly of my life and my deeds, I shall surround him in front and back and on all sides. Those devotees who are attached to me heart and soul will naturally feel happiness when they hear these stories. Believe me, if anybody sings my leelas I will give him infinite joy and everlasting happiness. ~ Shirdi Sai Baba

From this episode:

In reality, the jiva (individual soul) transcends the three gunas (qualities)––sattva (purity), rajas (activity) and tamas (inertia)––but being deluded by Maya he forgets his nature. His true nature is satchitananda––existence, consciousness and bliss. He thinks that he is the doer and enjoyer and so entangles himself in endless miseries and does not know the way of deliverance. The only way of deliverance is through loving devotion to the guru’s feet. The great player or actor, Baba, has delighted his devotees and transformed them into his own nature. We regard Baba as an incarnation of God for all the reasons already stated, but he always said that he was an obedient servant of God. Though an incarnation, he showed people the way to behave and carry out the duties of their respective stations in life. He never emulated others in any way, nor asked others to have something done for him. For him, who saw the Lord in all movable and immovable things of this world, humility was most appropriate. He disregarded or disrespected none, for he saw God in all beings. He never said, “I am God,” but said that he was a humble servant and he always remembered him and uttered, “Allah Malik.” (God is One, God is the sole proprietor)....

Listen to the full recording of Chapter Twenty-Three today!

Get an eBook or printed copy of the full book here.

Learn more about Shirdi Sai Baba in this online course.

Visit and be a part of an online community celebrating the life of Shirdi Sai Baba.

Sri Sai Satcharitra: The Wonderful Life of Shirdi Sai Baba, A Modern Rendering of Hemadpant by Monika Penukonda 

If a man utters my name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes and increase his devotion. If he sings earnestly of my life and my deeds, I shall surround him in front and back and on all sides. Those devotees who are attached to me heart and soul will naturally feel happiness when they hear these stories. Believe me, if anybody sings my leelas I will give him infinite joy and everlasting happiness. ~ Shirdi Sai Baba

From this episode:

To say that we shall state such and such in this or the next chapter is a sort of egoism. Unless we surrender our ego to the feet of our sadguru, we will not succeed in our undertaking. If we become egoless, then our success is assured.

By worshipping Baba we attain both aims, worldly and spiritual, are fixed in our true nature, and attain peace and happiness. Therefore, those who want to gain their welfare should respectfully hear Baba’s leelas or stories and meditate on them. If they do this, they will easily attain the aim of their life and get bliss.

Generally, everyone likes wit and humor, but they don’t like jokes when they are at their own expense. Baba’s method was peculiar. When accompanied with good gestures, it was interesting and instructive and people did not mind being held up to ridicule. Hemadpant gives his own instance below...

Listen to the full recording of Chapter Twenty-Four today!

Get an eBook or printed copy of the full book here.

Learn more about Shirdi Sai Baba in this online course.

Visit and be a part of an online community celebrating the life of Shirdi Sai Baba.

Sri Sai Satcharitra: The Wonderful Life of Shirdi Sai Baba, A Modern Rendering of Hemadpant by Monika Penukonda 

If a man utters my name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes and increase his devotion. If he sings earnestly of my life and my deeds, I shall surround him in front and back and on all sides. Those devotees who are attached to me heart and soul will naturally feel happiness when they hear these stories. Believe me, if anybody sings my leelas I will give him infinite joy and everlasting happiness. ~ Shirdi Sai Baba

From this episode:

We begin this chapter bowing with all our eight limbs to Sai Baba, who is an ocean of mercy, God incarnate, who is Parabrahman (Absolute) and the great Yogeshwara (Lord of Yoga). Victory to Baba, who is the crest-jewel of the saints, who is the home of all auspicious things, who is our Atmaram (dear self) and the able refuge of devotees. We prostrate ourselves before him who has attained the aim and end of life.

Baba is always full of mercy. What is wanted on our part is wholehearted devotion to him. When a devotee has firm faith and devotion, his wishes are soon fulfilled. When the desire arose in the mind of Hemadpant to write the life and leelas of Baba, Baba immediately had it written by Hemadpant. When the order ‘to keep memos’ was given, Hemadpant was inspired and his intellect got strength and boldness to undertake and finish the work. He was not, he says, qualified to write the work, but the gracious blessings of Baba enabled him to complete the undertaking. So you have this Satcharitra, which is a somakant (jewel nectar) from which nectar, in the form of Sai leelas, oozes out for the readers to drink to their hearts’ content. Whenever a devotee had complete and wholehearted devotion to Baba, all his calamities and dangers were warded off and his welfare attended to by Baba. The story of Damu Anna illustrates this...

Listen to the full recording of Chapter Twenty-Five today!

Get an eBook or printed copy of the full book here.

Learn more about Shirdi Sai Baba in this online course.

Visit and be a part of an online community celebrating the life of Shirdi Sai Baba.

Sri Sai Satcharitra: The Wonderful Life of Shirdi Sai Baba, A Modern Rendering of Hemadpant by Monika Penukonda 

If a man utters my name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes and increase his devotion. If he sings earnestly of my life and my deeds, I shall surround him in front and back and on all sides. Those devotees who are attached to me heart and soul will naturally feel happiness when they hear these stories. Believe me, if anybody sings my leelas I will give him infinite joy and everlasting happiness. ~ Shirdi Sai Baba

From this episode:

Once it so happened that a devotee by the name Pant, a disciple of another sadguru, had the good fortune of visiting Shirdi. He had no mind to go to Shirdi, but man proposes one way and God disposes the other. He was traveling in a railway train when he met some friends and relations bound for Shirdi. They all asked him to accompany them and he could not say no. They got off at Mumbai while Pant got off at Virar. There he received permission from his sadguru for the Shirdi trip, and after arranging for the expenses, left with the party for Shirdi. They all reached the place in the morning and went to the masjid at about 11 am. Seeing the crowd of devotees assembled for Baba’s worship they were all pleased but Pant suddenly had a fit and fell senseless. They were all frightened. Still, they tried their best to bring him to his senses. With Baba’s grace and the pouring of pitchers of water over his head, he regained consciousness and sat upright as if he was just awakened from sleep. The omniscient Baba, knowing that he was a disciple of another guru, inspired fearlessness and confirmed his faith in his own guru by addressing him as follows, “Come what may, leave not, but stick to your support (guru) and remain ever steady, always at one with him.” Pant at once knew the significance of this remark and was reminded of his sadguru. Throughout his life, he never forgot this kindness of Baba...

Listen to the full recording of Chapter Twenty-Six today!

Get an eBook or printed copy of the full book here.

Learn more about Shirdi Sai Baba in this online course.

Visit and be a part of an online community celebrating the life of Shirdi Sai Baba.

Sri Sai Satcharitra: The Wonderful Life of Shirdi Sai Baba, A Modern Rendering of Hemadpant by Monika Penukonda 

If a man utters my name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes and increase his devotion. If he sings earnestly of my life and my deeds, I shall surround him in front and back and on all sides. Those devotees who are attached to me heart and soul will naturally feel happiness when they hear these stories. Believe me, if anybody sings my leelas I will give him infinite joy and everlasting happiness. ~ Shirdi Sai Baba

From this episode:

When a man takes a plunge into the sea, he gets the merit of bathing in all the tirthas (holy waters) and sacred rivers. Similarly, when a man takes refuge at the feet of the sadguru, he gets the merit of bowing to the trinity––Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva––and also Parabrahman. Victory to Sri Sai, the wish-fulfilling tree and ocean of knowledge who gives us self-realization. Oh Sai, create in us a regard for your stories. Let the readers and audience devour them with the samerelish with which the  chatak bird drinks the water from the clouds and becomes happy. While listening to your stories, let each person and their families have all the sattvic (pure) emotions–– let their bodies perspire, let their eyes be full of tears, let their prana (life force) be steady, let their minds be composed, let their hair stand on end, let them cry, sob and shake, let their hostilities and their distinctions, great and small, vanish. If these things happen, that is a sign of the grace of the guru dawning upon them. When these emotions develop in you, the guru is most pleased and will certainly lead you on to the goal of self-realization. The best way to get free from the shackles of Maya is our complete and wholehearted surrender to Baba. The Vedas cannot take you across the ocean of Maya. It is only the sadguru who can do so and make you see the Lord in all creatures...

Listen to the full recording of Chapter Twenty-Seven today!

Get an eBook or printed copy of the full book here.

Learn more about Shirdi Sai Baba in this online course.

Visit and be a part of an online community celebrating the life of Shirdi Sai Baba.

Sri Sai Satcharitra: The Wonderful Life of Shirdi Sai Baba, A Modern Rendering of Hemadpant by Monika Penukonda 

If a man utters my name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes and increase his devotion. If he sings earnestly of my life and my deeds, I shall surround him in front and back and on all sides. Those devotees who are attached to me heart and soul will naturally feel happiness when they hear these stories. Believe me, if anybody sings my leelas I will give him infinite joy and everlasting happiness. ~ Shirdi Sai Baba

From this episode:

Sai Baba is not finite or limited. He dwells in all beings, from ants to insects to Brahman. He pervades all. Baba was well versed in the knowledge of the Vedas, as well as in the science of selfrealization. As he was proficient in both of these, he was fit to be a sadguru. Even though a person is learned, if they are unable to awaken the disciples and establish them in self-realization, they do not deserve to be called a sadguru. Generally, the father gives birth to the body and death invariably follows life. But the sadguru does away with both life and death, so he is more kind and merciful than anyone. Baba often said whatever distance his devotee is, even if it is a thousand koss away from him,he will be drawn to Shirdi like a sparrow with a thread tied to its feet. This chapter describes the story of three such sparrows...

Listen to the full recording of Chapter Twenty-Eight today!

Get an eBook or printed copy of the full book here.

Learn more about Shirdi Sai Baba in this online course.

Visit and be a part of an online community celebrating the life of Shirdi Sai Baba.

Sri Sai Satcharitra: The Wonderful Life of Shirdi Sai Baba, A Modern Rendering of Hemadpant by Monika Penukonda 

If a man utters my name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes and increase his devotion. If he sings earnestly of my life and my deeds, I shall surround him in front and back and on all sides. Those devotees who are attached to me heart and soul will naturally feel happiness when they hear these stories. Believe me, if anybody sings my leelas I will give him infinite joy and everlasting happiness. ~ Shirdi Sai Baba

From this episode:

It was in the year 1916 that a party consisting of a man, his wife, daughter and sister-in-law started on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Benares. On the way, they heard there lived a great sage named Sai Baba in Shirdi who was calm, composed and very generous. Everyday he distributed money to his bhaktas and skillful people who demonstrated their skill. A lot of money in the form of dakshina was collected daily by Baba. From this, each day he gave one rupee to a three-year old girl, Amani, and six rupees to her mother, Jamali. Sometimes he gave two, five, ten, and even 50 rupees to bhaktas as he pleased.

After hearing this, the party went to Shirdi. They sang very good bhajans but inwardly they craved for money. Three of the party were full of avarice, but the chief lady was of a very different nature. She had regard and love for Baba. It so happened that when the noon Aarati was going on, Baba was much pleased with her faith and devotion. He gave her darshan of her beloved deity Rama. Baba appeared to her as Lord Rama while to all the others he was the usual Baba. On seeing her beloved deity, she was deeply moved. Tears began to flow from her eyes and she clapped her hands in joy. The people began to wonder at her joyful mood but were not able to guess its cause. Later in the afternoon, she disclosed everything to her husband. She told him how she saw Lord Rama in Sai Baba. He thought that as she was very simple and devout, her seeing Rama might be a hallucination of her mind. He discounted what she said, saying that it was not possible that she alone should see Rama while everyone else saw Sai Baba. She did not resent this remark, as she was fortunate enough to have Rama’s darshan now and then when her mind was calm and composed and free from avarice....

Listen to the full recording of Chapter Twenty-Nine today!

Get an eBook or printed copy of the full book here.

Learn more about Shirdi Sai Baba in this online course.

Visit and be a part of an online community celebrating the life of Shirdi Sai Baba.

Sri Sai Satcharitra: The Wonderful Life of Shirdi Sai Baba, A Modern Rendering of Hemadpant by Monika Penukonda 

If a man utters my name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes and increase his devotion. If he sings earnestly of my life and my deeds, I shall surround him in front and back and on all sides. Those devotees who are attached to me heart and soul will naturally feel happiness when they hear these stories. Believe me, if anybody sings my leelas I will give him infinite joy and everlasting happiness. ~ Shirdi Sai Baba

From this episode:

Bow to the kind Sai who is the abode of mercy and who is affectionate towards his devotees. By his mere darshan, he does away with their fear in samsara and destroys their calamities. He was first nirguna (formless) but on account of the devotion of his bhaktas, was obliged to take a form. To give liberation—self-realization—to bhaktas is the mission of the saints and for Sai, the chief of them, that mission is inevitable. Those who take refuge in his feet have all their karmas destroyed and their progress is certain. Remembering his feet, Brahmins from holy places come to him, read scriptures and chant the Gayatri mantra in his presence. We who are weak and without any merit do not know what bhakti (devotion) is, but we know this much, that although all others may leave us, Sai won’t forsake us. Those whom he favors get enormous strength, knowledge and the ability to discriminate between the unreal and the real.

Sai fully knows the desires of his devotees and fulfills them. They get what they want and are grateful. So we invoke him and pranam before him. Forgetting all our faults let him free us from all anxieties. Whoever is overcome with calamities and remembers and prays ‘Sai,’ his mind will become calm and peaceful through Baba’s grace....

Listen to the full recording of Chapter Thirty today!

Get an eBook or printed copy of the full book here.

Learn more about Shirdi Sai Baba in this online course.

Visit and be a part of an online community celebrating the life of Shirdi Sai Baba.

Sri Sai Satcharitra: The Wonderful Life of Shirdi Sai Baba, A Modern Rendering of Hemadpant by Monika Penukonda 

If a man utters my name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes and increase his devotion. If he sings earnestly of my life and my deeds, I shall surround him in front and back and on all sides. Those devotees who are attached to me heart and soul will naturally feel happiness when they hear these stories. Believe me, if anybody sings my leelas I will give him infinite joy and everlasting happiness. ~ Shirdi Sai Baba

From this episode:

The last wish or thought that a man has at the hour of death determines his future course. Sri Krishna said in the Gita, “He who remembers me in his last moments comes to me, and he who meditates on other things goes to what he looks for.” We cannot be certain that we will be thinking a particular good thought at our last moment. More often than not, we are likely to be frightened and terrified by different causes. This is why constant practice is necessary to enable us to fix our mind on a desired good thought in any moment. All saints recommend that we always remember God and always chant His name so that we may not be confused when the time of departure comes. For their part, devotees surrender themselves completely to the saints, fully believing that the all-knowing saints will guide and help them in their last moments. A few such cases are noted here...

Listen to the full recording of Chapter Thirty-One today!

Get an eBook or printed copy of the full book here.

Learn more about Shirdi Sai Baba in this online course.

Visit and be a part of an online community celebrating the life of Shirdi Sai Baba.