AN OFFERING OF LOVE

The incarnation of perfect love, the veritable embadiment of God, the supreme spirit, the saviour of the meek, Lord Sai is born in this era ‘Kaliyuga,' to rule everything that can or cannot move in this universe, and ttansfonn this globe into the joyous Kingdom of Heaven. The way He is converting everyone into votaries of love through the use of the mightiest of weapons, love, and thercby gently awakening the humanity dornnant in people, ís really something to be happy about. So is His explaining the hidden significance of life in easy-to-understand language, His attaching great importance to human values, and His achieving a change of heart in people, with His loving and enthusing words on how people should behave like people, and not like demons. By emphasizing that all are children of the same God, that the truth preached by all religions is one and the same, He confines everyone in the net of His love, and makes them all walk on the Sai Path. This is indeed something unheard of till now, something unprecedented in history, something whose colossal nature inspires, awes and deserves high praise. The rare fortune of being born as the contemporaries of this quintessence of love, in this sacred land, has necessarily to be the result of merit earned from many previous lives.

As in the famous saying of Pothana!, “Ramabhadra is the one who is making me speak these words,” everything ] have written, and everything that ís inspiring about this book is Sai’s doing. Through the very selection of the name ““Anyadha Saranam Nasthi,” Swami is conveying a profound message to us. Anyadha: In anyone other than you; Saranam

! Pothana : Author of’ Bhagavatham wrote that he was anly a channel through which Lord Rama's words found expression.



Nasthi: 1 shall not seck refuge. The prayerful entrcaty of the Elephant King in Gajendra Moksha (There ensucd a battle between an elephant and a erocodile for many years. The clephant.after failing to be liberated, helplessly cried for the merey of God. At onee,Lord Vishnu rushed forward to save the elephant king, forgetting His Mace and Wheel. Unless you surrender, God will never rescuc you). “] know of no saviour other than you,’ should become our goal. Whenever we seek Sai’s protection, we think, “Lord, my body, mind, wealth, all are yours.” But, this in itself is not surrender. Free from the least trace of egotism, we should try to remain beyond the reach of prestige or pride, praise or blame, joy or sorrow. We should cultivate supreme love and supreme devotion. ‘That alone is true seeking of refuge. Lord Hanuman, whose every hair has assimilated Rama’s name, or Draupadi who, in happy times or times of trouble, fearlessly relied on Krishna with steadfast faith, or Prahlada, who declared that any father who denies worshipping Narayana is no father at all, Bhaktha Siriyala, who served guests the cooked flesh of his own son, are all great souls who have imbibed the essence of surrender. Merely to mouth statements like, “God, You are my all,” and then flouting them when the time of trial arrives, is a betrayal of God. As our mother, father, teacher, God, relative and friend, as our all-in-all at every step, Swami is leading us onto the path of righteousness, and showering on us the nectar of His love. He is the resplendent image of our highest ideals. With the words “I am God and you are also God,” He is opening our eyes (to the ultimate in philosophic wisdom). He is thoroughly demonstrating the truth of His assertion, “MY LIFE IS MY MESSAGE ,„” through His play, His songs and His path.