Children's Stories (Preface and Chapter 1)

Advertisements

Dedicated to my Late Father Shri C.M.Mehta and Mother Smt.Sneh Mehta Ji Two Prayers
(1) Dear Lord Sri Sai Nath we, your children pray to you for mercy. You are The Lord Almighty and we all are the sinners. We have gone through various cycles of rebirth in search for you and the eternal truth but we have been always distracted from the path shown to us by you. We pray to you Dear Lord, for your supreme vision and guidance to refrain us from the material distractions of the world.
Baba, we your ignorant children, pray to you that your love and affection may always be bestowed on us. May our belief in you be unshakeable. May we always remember your sayings and follow your teachings.
(2) Dear children, you are fortunate to get a special place in Baba's heart only because of your good deeds (karmas). You should have a firm determination to walk the path shown to us all by Baba Himself. May you remember Baba each day of your life. May Baba always rule your mind, body and soul. Your unshakeable faith in Him will always help you to achieve success in all goals of life. We should never forget that He is always there to look after his children, both in rough and smooth times in life.
Dear children! Sri Sai Nath always believed and preached simple living. It is very unfortunate that His simple teachings were not understood and practiced by all. Some of these teachings are stated below as examples:
(1) To remember God and to offer Him food before you eat.
(2) Whether humans, birds or animals, you must offer food to all present before you eat. In case someone really needy requires the food more than you, you should have no hesitation in giving all that you have.
(3) According to your capacity, you should share your wealth with the poor and needy. You should never cheat anyone in order to obtain material gains.
(4) To try to see God in everything.
(5) To respect one's parents.
(6) To have firm belief and faith in your Lord.
(7) If it is not in your capacity to share your belongings with another person then you may not give him anything but at the same time you should refuse politely rather than insult and humiliate the person.
(8) One should chant "Sai, Sai" without self interest.
Children! The credit of this creation only goes to Sri Shivneshan Swamiji because neither there was full faith in this body nor there was devotion in action. It was only due to the kindness of Sri Swamiji who got this work done very well.
Preface
The place of Sri Sai Baba of Shirdi is extraordinary amongst several saints, noble souls and incarnations, who were born in our country. Baba in His prime youth came to Shirdi along with a marriage party of a Mohammedan and made a small village of Maharashtra His lifelong residence. He lived in an old mosque, which was named "Dwarkamai" and always kept a lit Dhuni (sacred fireplace) there. Nobody ever knew about Him, His place of birth, who His parents were and also whether He was a Hindu or a Mohammedan by birth?
Sri Sai Baba incarnated at a time, when differences were growing between Hindus and Mohammedans. Baba in His daily life assured His devotees at every step that the 'Ram' of Hindus and the 'Rahim' of Mohammedans was one and the same and there was no difference between the two. Why is it then that the ignorant people quarrel with each other and create a wall of discrimination? He used to tell the Hindus that Allah would do well and He would tell the Mohammedans that Ram would do good. He presented a living example of coordination and coexistence of all religions before His devotees.
Sri Sai Baba is not a story taken out from the history books. He was seen leading a saintly life on earth just 80 years ago.
During the year 1918 He obtained Mahasamadhi. Before deserting His body Baba told His disciples, "After my departure, my tomb (Samadhi) will inspire a ray of hope in my devotees and answer their questions." Today millions of people in the country and abroad feel the significance of these words. They feel the living existence of Baba in their daily life and feel His kindness at every step.
By presenting the life and deeds of Baba in the present book "Children's Sri Sai Baba" Shri Vikas Mehta has done a good work which is appreciable. I believe the children who study this book, will enjoy reading about the joyful actions of Baba. Undoubtedly they will become good people and will serve the nation without any discrimination.
Smt. & Shri Arun Raj Malhotra of Siddharth Publications and the artist Shri Pratap Gill also deserve appreciation.
It is prayed that Sri Sai Prabhu should bestow His blessings on the devotees so that they learn from His teachings and bring about the welfare of society.

1) Arrival in Shirdi

Dear Children!
Like Saint Namdev and Kabir, Sri Sai Baba was also born with supernatural powers. Saint Namdev was found by Gonai on the banks of Bhimrathi river and Saint Kabir was found by Tamaal on the banks of Bhagirathi river. Similarly, Sri Sai Baba was first seen in Shirdi in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra sitting under the Neem tree when he was just 16 years old. In the middle of the 18th century, Shri Nana Chopdar's mother saw Baba in Shirdi sitting under the Neem tree. He would meditate under the Neem tree during the day and at night would be seen wandering in the streets of Shirdi. Suddenly, one day he disappeared from the village of Shirdi.
Bow to sri sai-peace be to all