The Lords Footsteps Last night I had a dream,I dreamt I was walking on the sandswith the Lord Himself,and on the screen of the night I sawlike in a movie, all the days of my life.As I looked at my past, on every single day,two footsteps appeared on that screenone was mine and the other the Lord’s.So I carried on until all the days allottedto me were gone. Then I stopped and looked back. In someplaces, there was just one footstep ……….Those places coincided with the most difficultdays of my life, the days of greatest suffering,fear, and pain …………. Then I asked Him: “O Lord, You told me You would have stayedwith me throughout all days of my life, and Iaccepted to live with You. Please tell me whyin those worst moments You left me alone?” And the Lord answered: “My child, I love you and told you I was goingto stay with you throughout this journeyI would never leave you alone,not even for an instant, nor did I leave you …… When you saw a single footstep on the sand on those daysI was carrying you.” ~ANONYMOUS (A devotee from Lima, Peru, sent the above poemwith a note that it belongs to the Brazi­lian tradition. ‑ Ed.)

Baba is Everything To me Baba is everything;I am but insignificant thing;I write because He holds my pen;He alone sings and teaches all men. I echo when He sings or talks;I am nothing but a chatterbox;He alone helps all, good or bad;He has come to make all people glad. I always think of Him for my good;I always think that He gives me food;I always pray that all may be happyHealthy, wealthy, wise, and free.                                                 ~K. VaidyanathanSource: Sanathana Sarathi, April 1962

Delay No More I am the water of life,Come to Me in the fullness of your mortalityAnd fill your cup and drink theWater of immortality. I shall cleanse you, and purify you.I shall quench your thirst and fill you with the fullness of My love.I shall energize you. Like the dam that generates electricity and light,I shall turn you on to radiate like the sun.Like the coolness of the moon, I shall fill your days with the cool waters of peace and tranquility. I am the breath of life, I come and go singing the song of Oneness, “Soham”, from birth to death.I am the food that nourishes as I travel through the intricate, circuitous network of the body.I am in the seen and unseen cells. I am in the smallest and biggest organs.You are water, too, but you proclaim your mortality. I proclaim: “I am the waters of immortality.’ Your eyes cannot behold My vastness even as you look into the distant shores. I am infinite.Your mind cannot comprehend My depth, I am fathomless,The immensity of My vastness ramifies into riverbeds, streams, and lakes like a million limbs.Yet, I am beginningless. Endless. I move on from day to day, from season to season, in and through the substrata of My creation.I fall from the heavens and mountaintops into streams and valleys, and into the farthest corners, quenching the parched souls of all creation.I play and dance with the wind, I come and go.I am here and there. I am everywhere. In different shapes and forms you see Me, but you do not recognize My essence.I am the dewdrops of early morn, and the showers that gently fall.I, too, am the rain that comes loud and strong in torrents when the monsoon tolls.I fall gracefully from the clouds as soft, crystalline flakes to become sleet, hail, or snow.In winter I freeze and harden. In spring I change form and flow again. I follow the cycles of nature. I am nature.I am that which flows and pulsates. I am life.I am that which gives abundantly, endlessly. I am love.I create and guide the destinies of men and of all nations. I am omnipotent.I know the thoughts and emotions that play in man’s mind and body. I am omniscient.I am near and far. Above and around. Within and without everywhere, I am omnipresent.I have no age. I trace no birth or death. I am ancient. Beginningless. Endless.I am the water of life.I am eternal.I AM GOD. Come, my child, delay no more. Hasten your steps.I have come back for you. Take hold of Me now and surrender, at My Lotus Feet, the mortal chains that bind you life after life.And fill your cup and drink of the waters that flow but never end.It shall fill you with My essence: Love, joy, peace and bliss.And liberate you into immortality.This is your destiny.  ~Valen B. Patacsil, Miami, Florida, USASource: Sanathana Sarathi, Jan. 1986

His Children Our wonderful Lord is so greatThere is none whom He will hateBy following him, we His childrenShall surely prosper in life’s long run. His powers are so greatHis word makes our fateIn difficulties, He gives us a footholdAnd our faith increases a thousand-fold. As a token of love, He gives us many thingsFrom small sweets to large ringsThese we accept with a lot of joy,All of us, each and every boy. It is Him we adore forever,Our faith in Him shall never waverThis is the promise we shall takeAnd prove that it is not a fake. ~Gopi Krishna, IX Class, Prasanthi NilayamSource: Sanathana Sarathi, Oct. 1987

Mystery of Mysteries Thou art the light of all creation, my well beloved!From out Thy lips doth blow the mighty windsThat sway the trees in dancing rhythms,And yet again Thou art the very treesWhose swaying boughs whisperThe ancient aum of all creation. Thou art the One and All.Thou art the raindrops merging with the earth,Thou art also, the face of mother earthUplifted to receive Thy bounteous gift of rain.Thy hand outstretched gives blessings rare,Ah! mystery of mysteries Thou art!For Thou art the beginning and the end of all creation,And yet even before the beginning, Thou art,Thou art the never ending life that flows. Yea, my beloved Lord,Thou art the light of all creation,And I am Thine own true SELF ~Hilda CharltonSource: Sanathana Sarathi, Nov. 1969

Sai Spoke Thus Pray thus: Let my thoughts, pure and holy, arise, O Lord, as incense to Thee. Let my Heart—Thy shrine—beat in rapture, O Lord, for Thee. Let my hands bestow radiant acts of service, Lord, to Thee. Let my feet, in joyful cadence dance along the lighted path with Thee. Say thus: Sai and i do the dance of life; I live in His Cosmic Form; Never were we ever apart; never was I born; Within His galaxies of Space, I’ve lost myself in His shining face. Soaring, blending, pure and free, … … I am He; He is me. Before you close the door to someone’s need before you turn aside before you retreat into selfish solitude Ask yourself … … what would Sai Baba Do? What door does He close? When does He turn aside? To where does He retreat? What solitude does He seek? The reply you get is “Never, nowhere, none.” See Sai in every pair of eyes; Hear Sai in every sound; Breathe in Sai with every breath; Recline in Sai as a planet reclines in spate. Be Sai to everyone you are involved with. Love and lift. That is My message and My work. ~Denise EversoleSource: Sanathana Sarathi, July 1974

I ask Myself Am I a real Sai Devotee?Am I striving always to deserve the grace of Sai?Am I true in word, thought, and deed?Have I read and understood the instructions for a good life that Sai gives?Do I engage myself in the manana [contemplation] on these instructions?Do I believe in silence, where I can hear the voice of Sai?Have I learnt humility? Have I suppressed the ego?Can I forget and forgive the harm done by others? Do I love them never‑the‑less?Do I feel the urge to help and serve the weak, the distressed, and the disabled?Do I lose faith in Sai when something goes wrong?Do I review my conduct off and on and correct myself if I have strayed?Do I feel frustrated and broke when my plans do not fructify?Have I grown lukewarm toward bhajan, nagarsankirtan, etc?Do I get the thrill and joy out of these?Do I fear to indulge in scandal or vengeance? Am I gluttonous or greedy?Am I clear about the goal I should strive for and the sadhana that will take me to success?Do I seek the company of the good and the God‑fearing? And, do I benefit by their simplicity, sincerity and steady devotion to Sai, who is manifesting as all names and forms of God? ~Muktinath BardoloiiSource: Sanathana Sarathi, July 1974

Of Whom All Scriptures Speak With fiery tremor, my heart sighs His Name.Silent, scarcely with breath, in profound rapture,He appears …All the sweetness of the worldin one tiny Form!Graceful as a dancer, He approaches. No. My Lord!Look not into my eyesfor, I am unpreparedfor such beatitude.Today,I’m too full.You’ve filled my being,with your Divine presence. Ah! But, near me, He stands, He­—around whom my very Soul revolves.His feet press the rose petals strewnin tribute along His path.Tears of joy trace rivuletsdown my cheeks;suppressed sobsknock at my lungs.I gazeat His face;every caress of my gazea fervent prayer“Sathya Sai Baba”“Sathya Sai Baba.”What prayer, more sublime, could I utter? Small is His form,yet, mighty in manner is thisunassuming Lord.Serenely He walks,among the adoring, the doubtful,the sincere, the skeptic, bestowingHis grace, like sunlight, on all. Upturned faces—demanding, imploring, weeping, expectant,complacent, desperate,from all directions, they come,across the globe, to see, to earn, to learn.What?Most do not know; some think they know;who knows? This Radiant Font of Goodness and Beautyis God in human form.This is He, surely, of whom all scriptures speak.He moves among the people; tender as a mother’s is that face,He pinches the chubby cheek of a child; He holds an old man’s hand,sacred ashes appear in His palm to heal the old woman there.Each heart is known to HimEvery wish finds its answer through Him.In Him, all journeys end; all destinations merge!And, peace is known. ~Denise Eversole, Santa BarbaraSource: Sanathana Sarathi, Feb. 1974

The Sarathi The Sarathi calls on every heart Offering His equestrian art; He will curb the fiery steeds Of tongue, the eye, and ear; He will overwhelm your wily foe With His will, though He holds the whip. He will teach you all the stratagems To foil the furious fate; He will warn and wake, alert, advise And prompt, each movement from within! When the fog of fear, the ego cloud, The dust of ‘mine’, ‘my kith and kin’ Does clog the eye and smog the mind, When pseudo-wisdom prattles on the tongue, He cures, consoles, conferring courage, faith! He sings the song that opens wide The gates of light! He is the ancient Sarathi Who leads all beings in the fray, Seat Him on your heart, Let Him lead you where He will You sure can win the victory— ‘Tis your due, soon or late. ~TarakadasSource: Sanathana Sarathi, March 1969

The Holy See Those days, those daysin Prasanthi, not a care in the worldwaiting for the Lord of the Universe Rainbow sequined saris flutter likecolorful prayer flagsin the sultry, warm breezes Women devotees, buzzing honeybees,breathlessly squeeze into granite window openingsoutside the mandirstraining to see, hoping their adoring eyeswill be blessed by the nectarine vision of Sai Avatar Seva Dal angels in vivid orange and yellow scarvesmanage to bridle the swooning, burgeoning, euphoriccrowds with spirited “Sairam, Sairams“ O Babawhat we wouldn’t give for a chance to once moresee your airborne Lotus feet floating toward uson the golden sands of Puttaparthi Reverently, I press my fingertips to my eyelidstaking padnamaskarthese orbs, these orbsonce gazed upon the holy sight ofBhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~Sonya Ki Tomlinson