Sai Baba Chalisa — Word-by-Word Meaning

First I bow my head at Sai's feet; I shall tell the whole story of how Sai came to Shirdi. Who his mother was, who his father, no one ever knew; where Sai took his birth has remained an unsolved riddle. Some say he is Lord Ramachandra of Ayodhya; some say Sai Baba is Hanuman, the son of the wind. Some call him the auspicious-formed Lord Ganesha (Gajanand); some say Sai is the charmer of Gokul, the son of Devaki (Krishna). Many devotees take him for Shankara (Shiva) and keep worshipping Baba; some call him an incarnation of Dattatreya and worship Sai so. Hold him to be whoever you will, yet Sai is the true Lord, most merciful, the friend of the destitute, who has granted the gift of life to so many. I shall tell you of an event of many years ago: the wedding party of some fortunate soul once came to Shirdi. Along with it had come a very beautiful boy; he came, settled there, and made the town of Shirdi holy. For many days he wandered, begging alms from door to door, and showed such divine play (leela) as became immortal in the world. As his years increased, so too did his glory; in every home of the town the praise of Sai Baba began to be sung. Then the name of Sai began to echo to every horizon; to protect the poor and the suffering was ever Baba's work. Whoever went to Baba's feet and said, 'I am destitute,' upon him fell Baba's mercy, and the bonds of his sorrow were loosed. Sometimes one would beg the boon, 'Baba, give me a child'; saying 'so be it' (evam astu), Sai would grant him the boon. Baba himself would grow sorrowful at the sight of the plight of the poor and suffering; the heart of Sai was as vast as the ocean. A devotee from Madras came, the master of a very wealthy house; his goods and treasure were boundless, only a child he had none. He began to entreat Sainath: 'Baba, have mercy on me; my boat is tossed by the storm, you alone carry it across.' 'Without the lamp of my line (a son), darkness has spread over my home; therefore, Baba, I have come, taking refuge in you. Lacking an heir, the illusion of wealth is in vain; today, becoming a beggar, Baba, I have come to your shelter.' 'Grant me the gift of a son; I shall remain in your debt all my life. I have no hope in any other, my trust is in you alone.' He pleaded long and humbly, laying his head at Baba's feet; then, well pleased, Baba gave the devotee this blessing. 'Allah will do you good, a son shall be born in your house; His grace will rest upon you and upon that child of yours.' Until now none has ever found the limit of Sai's grace; granting the man from Madras the jewel of a son, he blessed his whole world. Whoever worships him with body and soul is uplifted in this world; truth is never scorched by fire, and falsehood is always defeated. I am ever under his support and shall remain his servant forever; I have found a Lord like Sai, and is that hope a small thing? I too had such a day when I could not get even bread; clothing was far from my body, only a small loincloth remained. Though a river was before me, I stayed thirsty upon thirsty; my evil days rained down a forest-fire upon me. Apart from the bare earth I had no support in the world; become a beggar, I stumbled from door to door. In such a state I met a friend who was a supreme devotee of Sai; free of all entanglements, yet in this world he too was like me. For the sake of Baba's darshan the two of us took counsel together, and made ready for the darshan of the mercy-formed Sai. Going to the holy town of Shirdi and beholding that rapturous form, blessed became our birth when we saw the face of Sai. Ever since we took his darshan, all sorrow vanished like camphor; all our troubles were erased and our calamities came to an end. Honour and respect we received as alms from Baba; we shone forth in the world, mirrored in the radiance of Sai. Baba has given me honour and dignity in this life; taking this alone as my support, I shall go through life smiling. The play (leela) of Sai had such an effect upon my mind that it seems he fills every atom of the world. Kashiram, a devotee of Baba, lived in Shirdi; 'I am Sai's and Sai is mine,' he would tell the world. Sewing cloth himself, he sold it in the markets of village and town; the strings of his heart vibrated with the music of Sai. The night was still; the moon and stars slept in the lap of darkness; in that gloom one hand could not make out the other. Alas, Kashi was returning from the market, having sold his cloth; by a strange chance, that day he came alone. Wicked, lawless men stood blocking his road; 'Beat him, cut him, rob him!', only such cries were heard. Having robbed and beaten him, the villains fled the place; wounded to the core by their blows, he lost consciousness. For a long while he lay there in that very state; who knows when a little sense stirred again beneath his eyelids. Unknowingly the name 'Sai' had escaped his lips, and its echo, in Shirdi, reached Baba's ears. Baba's mind grew agitated; he became distraught, as if the whole event were taking place before his very eyes. Then, like one possessed, Baba began to wander here and there, hurling down whatever objects came before him. And into the blazing embers Baba thrust his own hand; all there grew fearful, beholding that strange, furious dance. Everyone understood that some devotee had fallen into danger; all stood there shaken, lost in wonder. It was to save him that Baba was distraught that day; his inmost being was afflicted with that very man's pain. Just then the Divine revealed its wonder, beholding which the river of the people's faith surged. Bearing the unconscious devotee, a cart arrived there; seeing his devotee before him, Sai's eyes filled with tears. Calm, steady, deep as the ocean was Baba's inner heart, yet that day, who knows why, it grew restless again and again. That day the very image of mercy had himself become the healer; and for his devotee that day the Lord had become a doorkeeper-servant. That day Kashi had passed the hardest test of devotion; the townsfolk thronged just for the sight of him. Whenever and wherever any devotee falls into trouble, Baba comes in a moment to protect him. This is a truth of age upon age, no new story: when a devotee is beset by calamity, the Indweller (Antaryami) himself goes to him. Beyond all discrimination, Sai was a worshipper of humanity; as dear to him as Hindus and Muslims were Sikhs and Christians too. Baba shattered the divisions of temple and mosque; Ram and Rahim were all his, Krishna, Karim and Allah the Almighty alike. With the echo of the temple-bell every corner of the mosque resounded; Hindus and Muslims embraced one another, and their love grew doubled day by day. How beautiful a miracle this body made known, for Baba filled even the bitterness of the neem with sweetness. Sai gave affection to all and loved all in equal measure; whatever anyone desired, Baba gave him just that. Whoever ever chants the name of so loving a refuge, though his grief be like a mountain, in a moment it is removed. A giver like Sai, ah, we have seen none; by whose darshan alone all calamity departed. Sai in the body, Sai in the mind, keep chanting 'Sai, Sai'; losing all awareness of your own body, keep your awareness fixed upon him. When you give up thought of yourself and keep your thought upon Baba, and night and day repeat only 'Baba, Baba,' then Baba, ah, will be bound to take heed of you; he will have to fulfil your every wish. Wander not, O madman, through forest after forest seeking Baba; in one place only, in Shirdi, will you find Baba. Blessed in this world is the soul that has found Baba, who in sorrow and in joy, through all eight watches of the day, has sung only the praise of Sai. Though mountains of trouble fall, though the very lightning strike, take ever the name of Sai and stand firm before them all. Hear the wonder of this old one (Baba) and you will be amazed, a marvel that left so many clever, wise folk dumbstruck to hear. Once a sadhu, some impostor, came to Shirdi and deluded the simple, trusting townsfolk. Showing them herbs and roots, he began his speech: 'Listen, O hearers, my home is Vrindavan.' 'I have a certain medicine, and a wondrous power is in it; merely by taking it one is freed from all suffering. If you would be free from trouble and from sickness, then this is my humble request to every man and every woman.' 'Buy it, then; its ways of use are unique; though a trifling thing, its virtues are exceedingly great. Whoever here is without offspring, if he eats my medicine, will gain the jewel of a son, yes, he will obtain the very fruit he asks for.' 'Whoever does not buy my medicine will regret it all his life; scarcely will a being like me ever come here again. The world is a fair of but two days, so enjoy its pleasures too; if everything is gained from this, then take it, you as well.' The people's astonishment grew as they watched his trickery; he too was delighted in his heart at the people's folly. A servant ran to carry this news to Baba; hearing it, Baba's brow knit, and all his composure was forgotten. He ordered the servant: 'Quickly seize the wretch and bring him, or drive the deceiver far beyond the bounds of Shirdi. While I am here, who is so base as to dare to cheat the simple, trusting people of Shirdi?' 'In a moment I shall hurl such an impostor, this vile, deceitful robber, into the great pit of utter ruin for the rest of his life.' The cruel, crooked trickster caught the faintest hint that doom now danced over his head, that Sai had grown angry. In a moment he shut down his whole show and fled in a panic, thinking to himself, 'By God, there is no safety now.' True it is, a giver like Sai cannot be found in the world; Sai Baba is a portion of the Lord, and nothing in this world is hard for him. Whoever, wearing the ornaments of love, virtue and courtesy, advances in this world along the path of service to mankind, he wins the very heart of every person on earth; a single sadness of his moves the whole world to anguish. Whenever the burden of sin grows ever heavier upon the world, it is to wipe it away that an avatar comes. Taking away all the sin and injustice of this earth, he drives the demons of the world far off in a single moment. A stream of the nectar of love begins to rain down upon this world; person embraces person, and all are joined together. Such an avatar was Sai: coming into this mortal world, he taught this lesson of equality, effacing his own self for the sake of all. Sai named the mosque in Shirdi 'Dwarakamai'; he wiped away the pride, the heat and the anguish of whoever came. Ever absorbed in the remembrance of Ram, Sai would sit; through all eight watches of the day, Sai kept chanting the name of Ram. Dry or stale, fresh, or fine delicacies, to Sai, who hungered only for love, all were the same. Whatever the people gave with their affection and faith, Baba would hallow that food and eat it with great relish. Now and then, to ease his mind, Baba would go into the garden; beholding the beauty of nature, his heart would grow glad. The many-coloured flowers of the garden, swaying softly to and fro, would fill even a wild and desolate heart with the waters of love. Even in so sweet an hour, those struck by sorrow, misfortune and calamity would crowd around Baba to tell the grief of their hearts. Hearing their piteous tales, his lotus-eyes would brim over; giving them sacred ash (vibhuti), he would take away every grief and fill peace into their hearts. Who knows what wondrous power lay in that ash; whoever bore it upon his brow, it took away all his sorrow. Blessed are those men who gained the living darshan of Baba Sai; blessed their lotus-hands by which they touched his lotus-feet. Would that you too, O fearless one, might meet Sai face to face; then the garden of one's heart, desolate for years, would bloom again this very day. Had I caught hold of his holy feet, I would not have let go my whole life long; surely I would have won him over, had Sai ever grown displeased with me.