In the Gita, the Lord says that from time to time when righteousness is
on the decline He incarnates. Swami has added that He has come to save
scriptural knowledge and to protect devotees of the Lord. This raises the
question: “Who exactly is a devotee of the Lord?” Operationally, any one who
has devotion for the Lord might be described as a devotee. However, as we all
know, there are all kinds of devotees; in fact, five thousand years ago,
Krishna identified four major categories. They are
1) those who come to the Lord because they want their personal problems
solved,
2) those who want the Lord to grant them wealth and prosperity,
3) those who would like the Lord to guide them in acquiring Wisdom, and
finally
4) those who want nothing whatsoever and are content to enjoy Bliss
immersed in God.
This was the classification given five thousand years ago and it still holds.
The question now is: Which of these categories of devotees is eligible for
protection? This in turn raises another question as to what exactly we mean by
protection. But meanwhile, it is useful for us to note that Lord Krishna has
said that He relates to devotees the very same way they relate to Him. Swami
has amplified this with the remark that to a child He is a child; to a man He
is a man, and so on. In other words, Swami is to us, what we think Him to be.
What has all this got to do with God’s protection? We are coming to that. Let
us start with the question, whom does God protect? He certainly responds to
prayers and offers His protection in some measure, but only to the extent we
are eligible. Devotees often forget this aspect of eligibility and imagine God
to be something like a slot machine. We pray and God has to respond – that is
the way people think God should operate. Is that correct? Let us take the slot
machine. When we insert a coin into a slot machine and press the button, the
machine delivers a chocolate bar or whatever. But when the stock of the goodies
is over, even if one inserts a coin, one would get nothing. The same is true of
God’s Grace. When one has limited credit and that credit runs out, then prayers
will not provide the protection one prays for. So it boils down to how to build
up a good credit.
Lord Krishna and Swami have made one thing very clear. God’s insurance office
is open 24/7 and is accessible in all parts of the world from the North Pole to
the South Pole. But if one wants comprehensive coverage, and God does have that
plan, then one has to make proper payment of premium. And what exactly is the
premium? Swami has indicated that. Basically, it consists of two words:
Aushadam and Pathyam. Aushadam means medicine and Pathyam means diet
restrictions. Swami says that when one goes to a doctor with an illness like
stomach upset, for example, the doctor prescribes medicines and also diet
restrictions; the same is true of the Divine Doctor, says Swami.
What exactly does Swami mean by these two words? Swami has explained that also.
He says that the medicine is the constant chanting of the Name. OK, but what
about the Pathyam or so-called diet restrictions? Swami says the Pathyam is
TOTAL obedience of Swami’s commands.
We would now like to make some comments about the latter. From time to time, we
get reports that Sai devotees in some place or the other, are actively playing
host to a person, sometimes male and sometimes female, who claims that Swami
has sent him or her, creates vibhuti or whatever, and ends up collecting money,
of course, for some cause authorised by Swami – that is what the self-appointed
agent says. This sort of thing seems to happen in all parts of the world the
East to the West.
Times without number, Swami has declared openly in so many Discourses that He
has no middlemen. Times without number, Sanathana Sarathi has published
warnings about specific persons going round claiming to act for and on behalf
of Swami. The Organisation too has sent circulars asking Centres and Office
Bearers to stay clear of such self-appointed “messengers”. And yet, people seem
to be drawn to such “messengers”. Not only that, devotees invite them to Sai
Centres, make them sit on Swami’s Chair and even offer Aarathi to them.
Jesus once said, “Why call ye me Lord, when thou does’t not follow what I say?”
One can similarly ask: What is the meaning of we calling Swami God and all
that, when we are bent on ignoring His emphatic declaration that He has no
middle persons?
If this were an isolated phenomenon, we would not write about it. But we are
constantly getting reports about such people from all over. That such people
exist should not surprise us; the world is full of who would like to take
advantage of the gullible. But what we find astonishing is that people who
claim to be devotees of Swami insist on violating His command.
People are free to follow whom they want, but they should be aware of the
consequences. In the Gita, Krishna makes it very clear that those who follow
the manes go to the manes; those who follow the deities, go the deities; but
those who follow Him, go only to Him. Could anything be clearer? Think about it!
