Shirdi Sai Ashtotramala –Meaning,
Meditation and Miracle
Day -77. “Om Shri Sai Teerthaya Namaha.”
Meaning:
Humble salutation to Him, who is the
embodiment of all holy places. (Shirdi Sai Trust).
Meditation:
Recently my close friend and her huband went for a
Teerth Yatra. They undertook Kailash Yatra through Kathmandu in Nepal. The
yatra bookings were made nearly twelve months back and the yatra was completed
about two months back. It was indeed a wonderful experience for them. Nearly
twelve months of divine association with a purpose. Elaborate preparations,
many uncertainties, anxieties, thrills, nature, weather, little problems, the
greatness of Himalayas, their magnificent and majestic peaks, roaring rivers, Nature in its full glory- all gave
them a range of experiences in the name of Lord Shiva. At every stage they were
reminded of the Brahmam, God, of Guru who created the Kailash and bowed,
identified themselves and were united in those thoughts. Not only them we all,
their well wishers and relatives, were so happy to participate in the feelings
and shared their divine experience.
Every Teerth in our great country is capable of
creating this atmosphere.Be it Kashi, BadriNath, KedarNath, AmarNath,
VaishnavaDevi, Amirtsar, SomNath, Ujjain, Shirdi, Puri, Thirupathi, Rameshwaram,
Pithapuram, Sabarimala or any other Holy
place, they can give wonderful and
divine experiences just if the devotee
is focused on God. All Teertha’s unite the soul to the Brahmam, God or Guru and
give the same experience of alternating
between worldly challenges and divine presence ,bliss, unification and
realization.
The devotee who goes through these Teerth yatras
gradually reaches that stage in which focusing on his Guru or Ishta Devata through
intense meditation can truly experience these divine feelings without the
physical travel and time, as sage Agasthya attended the marriage of Lord Shiva
and Goddess Parvathy or as described by Paramahamsa Yogananda about his Guru
Lahiri Mahasya in his “Auto Biography of an Yogi”.
“The Hindus think that, a bath in the holy Tirth of
Prayag, where the Ganga and Yamuna meet, is very meritorious and thousands of
pilgrims go there periodically, to have the sacred bath there. Once, Das Ganu
thought that, he should go to Prayag for a bath and came to Baba to get His
permission for doing so. Baba replied to him, “ It is not necessary to go so
far. Our Prayag is here, believe Me!” Then wonder of wonders! When Das Ganu
placed his head on Baba’s feet, out flowed streams of Ganga- Yamuna water from both
the toes of Baba. Seeing this miracle, Das Ganu was overwhelmed with feelings
of love and adoration, and tears filled my eyes. Inwardly he felt inspired, and
his speech burst forth into a song in praise of Baba and His Leelas. (Shri Sai
Satcharita- Ch: 4).
A devotee of Akkalkot Maharaj, by name Bhainkrishnaji
Alibagkar, worshipped the photo of Akkalkot of Maharaj. He once thought of going
to Akkalkot ( Solapur district), take the darshan of the Padukas ( foot-prints)
of the Maharaj and offer his sincere prayer there, but before he could go
there, he got a vision in his dream. Akkalkot Maharaj appeared in the vision
and said to him,” Now, Shirdi is my resting place, go there and offer your
worship!” So, Bhai changed his plan and came to Shirdi, worshipped Baba, stayed
there for six months and was happy. As a reminiscence of this vision etc, he
prepared the Padukas and installed them on an auspicious day of Shravan, Shaka
1834 ( 1912AD.) under the Neem tree with due ceremonies and formalities,
conducted by Dada Kelkar and Upasani. Once Dixit Brahmin was appointed for
worship, and the management was entrusted to devotee Sagun.( Shri Sai
Satcharita- Ch: 5).
For the melodious Das Ganu Maharaj, He brought Prayag
to Shirdi and showed that the true devotee can find Ganga and Yamuna in Him
without making a Yatra. From Los Angeles to Auckland wherever a temple is built
for Him, devotees find the place becoming a Teerth. He is Teerthaya.
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