Thursday, October 26, 2006

Bhagavan Ramana on surrender, free will and Divine Grace


Forwarded by a kind reader:

Referring to Sri Krishna's telling Arjuna: "Deluded by Maya you refuse to fight, but your own nature will force you to fight;" a devotee asked Bhagavan whether we have no free will at all. Bhagavan replied: "You always have freedom not to identify yourself with the body and the pleasures and pains that come to it as its prarabdha."
One summer afternoon I was sitting opposite Sri Bhagavan in the Old Hall with a fan in my hand and said to him: "I can understand that the outstanding events in a man's life, such as his country, nationality, family, career or profession, marriage, death, etc., are all predestined by his karma, but can it be that all the details of his life, down to the minutest, have already been determined? Now, for instance, I put this fan that is in my hand down on the floor here. Can it be that it was already decided that on such and such a day, at such and such an hour, I would move the fan like this and put it down here?"
Bhagavan replied: "Certainly." He continued: "Whatever this body is to do and whatever experiences it is to pass through was already decided when it came into existence."
Thereupon I naturally exclaimed: "What becomes then of man's freedom and responsibility for his actions?"
Bhagavan explained: "The only freedom one has is to strive for and acquire the Jnana which will enable him not to identify himself with the body. The body will go through the actions rendered inevitable by prarabdha (destiny) based on the balance sheet of past lives, and a man is free either to identify himself with the body and be attached to the fruits of its actions or to be detached from it and be a mere witness of its activities."
From various other talks that I had with him, I am convinced that this was Bhagavan's teaching. I will only refer here to the classic reply he gave to his mother when, as a young Sage, he rejected her tearful request to go back home with her. "The Ordainer controls the fate of man according to his prarabdha. What is destined not to happen will not happen, try as you may. What is destined to happen will happen, try as one may to prevent it. This is certain. So the best course is to remain silent."
However, if the law of karma as pure cause and effect is so supreme as to be absolutely inviolable and inexorable, one may ask of what use is religion, God or prayer. There seems to have been no time when man did not turn to an all-powerful and all-loving God who could save him from his sins and suffering and give him peace and bliss. Starting from the Vedic times and passing through the period of the great bhaktas, both Saivite and Vaishnavite, and down to comparatively recent times, there is a great mass of religious literature which states quite clearly that whatever sins a man may have committed, God in His mercy can save him. They have also stated that all karma, including prarabdha, can be destroyed by the Grace of God, like cotton by fire. Western saints and mystics have said the same thing and have ridiculed the idea that because God is just, impartial and righteous He cannot save the sinner but must punish him first for his transgressions. For if that were so, what would become of the other attributes of God such as Mercy, Love, Fatherhood and Motherhood? The Vaishnavites stress the quality of Vatsalya or loving-kindness in God and illustrate it by the vatsalya of a cow which, as soon as its calf is born, begins to lick it all over, oblivious to the fact that it is unclean. They say God does not wait for the sinner to become pure before He can save him, but saves him just as He finds him if only the man desires, cries out for and supplicates salvation. If a man who is suffering turns to God for help and relief in full faith that God can save him he is sure to be saved. That is what the scriptures say and what countless saints have declared. Christ said: "Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Fear not." Lord Krishna said almost the same thing. When Arjuna, after hearing what Krishna had to say about all the different kinds of yoga which could secure Liberation, complained that he was confused by all these instructions and felt that he could not follow them, Krishna said: "Then give up all dharmas and take refuge only in Me. Grieve not. I will save you from all your sins.
What is demanded here is total surrender to God by throwing oneself completely on God's Mercy and not desiring anything for oneself. Leaving everything to God the all-loving and all-knowing is not so easy as it may sound. However, the point I want to make here is that Grace is all-powerful and that even the law of karma by which, they say, a man must reap what he has sown, with no exception whatsoever, can be overcome. I am strongly inclined by temperament to believe this, and I believe that Bhagavan has confirmed it for me. I will quote here what I wrote on the subject on pages 100 and 101 of my little book My Recollections of Bhagavan Sri Ramana
"Another point on which I more than once argued with Bhagavan is the extent to which Grace can override prarabdha or destiny. My main line of argument throughout was (and my conviction now as ever is) that God is all-powerful and that nothing is impossible for Him, and that if one got and could get only what one had worked for and merited, there would be no place at all for Grace. Most often Bhagavan remained silent when I indulged in such arguments either by myself or with others, some of whom took my side and others the opposite side; but from various remarks and observations that he made on different occasions I have come to the conclusion that the following is his attitude in the matter: 'Of course, nothing is impossible to God, but everything happens according to the order established by God's will or plan and exceptions are very few. How many Markandeyas, are there in our Puranas?'
"On the other hand, many authoritative books have clearly said (and Bhagavan has quoted them with approval) that one look from a Jnani can save us from the effects of all our karmas, past or present, prarabdha included. And Sri Janaki Matha has published in her Tamil journal that when she discussed this question once with Bhagavan, maintaining that His Grace can help one even to overcome prarabdha, he told her: 'If you have such faith it will be so.' "
I find that I cannot usefully add anything to this quotation, but I should perhaps explain the reference to Markandeya. It is said in the Puranas that Markandeya was destined to live for only sixteen years and that he prayed to Siva and received the boon that he would be perpetually sixteen. Bhagavan mentioned it to stress his point that the obvious and spectacular intervention of Divine Grace is very exceptional.
It is said in the Upanishads that one cannot say when or why or to whom Grace will come. It is said that it will fall only on him whom it chooses. A hundred might make the effort and yet only one or two of them might be chosen. No one can predict anything about Grace except that it is unpredictable.
It will be interesting here to turn to the following quotations from Paul Brunton given in my book Day by Day with Bhagavan.
"Divine Grace is a manifestation of the cosmic free will in operation. It can alter the course of events in a mysterious manner through its own unknown laws, which are superior to all natural laws, and can modify the latter by interaction. It is the most powerful force in the universe.
"It descends and acts only when it is invoked by total self-surrender. It acts from within, because God resides in the heart of all beings. Its whisper can be heard only in a mind purified by self-surrender and prayer."
The above two quotations were contained in a book called Divine Grace Through Total Self-Surrender by one D. C. Desai, and Bhagavan himself, on going through the book, read them out to us.
My saying that God's Grace is unpredictable and has power to remit sins and erase karma should not be taken to mean that this Grace can be obtained without effort. On the contrary, great effort is necessary. A man, recognising that he cannot raise himself by himself, must fall at the feet of God and cry: "Lord, I am weak and powerless. You alone can save me. I take refuge in You. Do what You will with me." This is the effort that must be made: an effort towards attainment of effortlessness after realizing the uselessness of our own puny efforts.
Bhagavan has strongly commended the path of total self-surrender as a sure way to salvation and has called devotion the 'Mother of Jnana'. That well-known early devotee of Bhagavan, Sivaprakasam Pillai, for whom Who am I? was written, says in one of his poems: "To everyone you give only this instruction: 'Find out who you are.' If, after that, they humbly ask for more guidance, you tell them as your final word: 'There is a power which moves you and me and all others. Lay your ego at the feet of that Mother.' "
From various actions and remarks of Bhagavan I have not the slightest doubt that he regards the path of surrender as the best way for me. It is true that he maintained quite definitely that final Liberation is only possible through Knowledge of the Self, which is being the Self, because Knowing is Being; but that comes inevitably to one who has completely surrendered.
-- The Mountain Path, 1967, Vol. 4, No. 2

Thursday, October 19, 2006

More on Sri Matha

A kind reader sends us more details on the life of Sri Bhagavan. We discover, to our joy, a great devotee of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi .

"Always nurture divine thoughts, obliterate likes and dislikes and passions, and surrender to the Guru"
 
From the biography of Sri Matha...

[Sri Matha was a Bhakta-Jnani, an incarnation who, according to the biography, Ramana considered a born Jnani and to whom he was just the Causal (Karana) Guru. Her enlightenment experience confirms Ramana's description and includes realization of the One, Universal, Transcendental Self as Heart-Light and Amrita Nadi as a "pillar of light", rising up to the sahasrara and above, as described by Ramana. It is noteworthy according to this biography that Sri Yatindra, who spent much time with Ramana early on, and whose questions which Ramana answered formed the basis of Chapter 18 of Ramana Gita, had wandered all over India and considered Sri Matha as one with great attainment, unequalled in Guru Bhakti. At the age of eight, she heard an old pious man speak of the Supreme Lord, and "enquired as to who God was and where he could be found". She was initiated into a mantra and within a few days was regularly visited with a divine vision of Lord Krishna from the nearby temple. Even as a child, she exhibited all the characteristics prerequisite for a successful sadhana, being peaceful, humble and having faith in God, desiring the life of a sadhu. Although having no physical guru before she met Ramana, she was served through grace in finding a husband who supported her spiritual endeavor, and through her spontaneous meditations and pujuas, and devotion to Sri Subrahymanya, who appeared to her and guided her in subtle form and in the guise of wandering ascetics who came to her. After one visit, she began to spend the night not in a sleep of ignorance but "...in a state of awakening, with glorious revelations of the manifold aspects of the Supreme Self. "...Once while meditating on the all-pervasive nature of the Creator, she saw a dried up plant, with no life in it. A voice was heard: "My ommipresent and all pervasive nature in the cosmos is like this." With these words, a jyoti in the form of a ray of lightning flashed into the dried up stem of the plant. In an instant [the plant] was full of fresh green and tender leaves radiant with life..." A whole night, she enjoyed the Eternal Dance of Sri Krishna and Radha. "...Sri Matha always says that the dance of Sri Krishna with Radha should not be looked upon in the earthly sense of the term. It symbolizes the merger of the purified Jivatma (individual soul) with Paramatma (The Universal Self)..."One day, Sri Subrahymanya appeared as an ascetic at her door and told her he was giving her guruhood (preceptorship) on a par with his. She asked him for a physical guru; "...however wonderful and marvelous our spiritual achievments may be, it is possible that before obtaining real perfection, we may be under a sort of hallucination and believe that Real Wisdom has dawned upon us, while we may actually be for from it..." and was told: "...Am I not your Guru? Anyhow, if that be your wish, there is a Mahatma by name Sri Ramana Maharshi in Tiruvannamalai. You may go and have his darshan..."

[October 1936] "...It was said that without the guidance of a Guru an aspirant could fall into mental disorder, and Bhagawan, who was God to her, was reported to have said that he was not a Guru and had no disciples...Probably in response to her thoughts, Bhagawan suddenly got up from the couch and went out of the hall, contrary to his daily routine. Considering this a gesture of the Grace of the Lord, Sri Matha also went out....Soon, she saw Bhagawan coming from the side of the cattle shed with an attendant and her heart throbbed with joy. In an instant, she lay prostrate at the Holy Feet of Bhagawan in obeisance, with tears of joy trickling down her cheeks. The attendant ordered her roughly to get up and not obstruct Bhagawan's path. Riled by this remark, Bhagawan told him curtly to stand aside. Mathaji quickly pour out her heart before him, telling him of her spiritual experiences and beseeching him for protection and removal of the obstacles in her quest for Liberation. She mentioned also her fear of becoming deranged through having no Guru to guide her on her quest. Bhagawan, whose compassion is infinite, replied: "Who told you that you have no Guru? Don't get disheartened. I am here as your Guru; nothing will upset your mind..."

[11th December 1937] "...While keeping wide awake, Sri Matha had a glorious vision of Lord Krisha, dazzling her eyes and pervading all things in the universe, animate and inanimate...The Holy Spirit of the Universal Lord was vibrating its unbounded radiance to her in an endless fashion...The grace of Bhagawan was flowing in its entirety toward her...The whole of the next day she saw the eternal dance of the Lord Krishna on the Kaliya, in her heart...According to Sri Matha the hideous hoods of the Snake King Kaliya represent egotism, lying dormant in the physical body, prarabdha karma, and birth and death...So an aspirant should, by all efforts at his command, strive to acquire the means for self-realization rather than aim at realization itself, which comes spontaneously when the means are acquired..."

"...[October 12, 1937, at about 11 p.m.] Sri Matha felt what seemed to her like a powerful explosion on the back of her head. She leapt up from bed, unable to bear the strain. There was a flare-up throughout the spinal cord from the muladahara right up to the sahasrara in the brain...like lightning all along the sushumna...It even tried to burst open the top of her skull and she had the impression that the force was trying to escape into the ether beyond...[After 26 days of ordeal she went to see Ramana]...Even before Sri Matha informed Bhagawan of her experience, in a mellifluent voice, Bhagawan spoke to her about a similar experience He had in his early [pre-enlightenment] days: "Look here. Don't get frightened. One day while I was lying in bed in Tiruchuli I felt as if I were being bombed from inside at the back of my head"..."

"...[11 January 1938]...Maha Maya appeared before Her, opened a window and pointing to the open expanse outside said "Look at the Void. For a week from now on I will keep myself away from you". This, according to Sri Matha, implied that Saguna Parashakti became one with Sir Matha in Nirguna (Formlessness)..."
(12th January 1938) [Sri Matha's Moment of Realization] "...In a few seconds she [Sri Matha] was drowned in meditation. Right from her feet, her limbs became rigid gradually and soon there was no sign of life in the body up to the stomach. She also could not stretch out her hands, With the torpidity slowly gaining ground, Sri Matha thought that she was nearing her end and that he life would soon be extinct. But as she was ever ready to shuffle off her physical body, there was no fear of death. Her mind withdrew itself from all thoughts of objectivity and was beholding Bhagawan Sri Ramana in her heart.

She could see the whole of her inside in an X-rayed fashion. Sri Krisha with his captivating looks was sitting in her sahasara padma (centre of illumination) as the 16 year old Shyama Sundara, shedding the radiance of divine beauty. With a wink of his eyes, he glanced invitingly at the muladhara nodding his head. Next moment, his glorious form slipped into the void; some mysterious power hurried down to the hridaya (heart, seat of consciousness) and at the same time, kundalini sakthi from muladhara rushed up in one jump with a banging noise, tearing open as it were, the confronting obstructions. All knots were untied and they met each other at the anahatha (the heart), lost their individualities and with the way made clear by knocking open the door in the cavity of the heart, there was a grand confluence in the form of a Blazing Pillar of Light (Transcendental Limitless Self), which made haste to the sahasrara. To put in a nutshell, the subtle dynamic force, representing sakthi lying dormant in the umbilical region which has thus been aroused, ascended up and the Paramatma (The Supreme Self) came forward to welcome and embrace it. It was the merging of the jivatma (finite soul) with the Paramatma (Universal Self). The Formless Eternal Blissful Self danced in the sahasrara. It was Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. By the limitless grace of Bhagawan Sir Ramana, Sri Matha became a Jivanmukta (a liberated soul will living in the body) even before she completed thirty two years of age. The highest knowledge had dawned upon her..."

"...[17th January 1938, right after enlightenment] In the final stage, all the diverse manifestations sank into the Void and there was the Transcendental Self shining with a fascinating brilliant radiance. It was the Sun of Knowledge, Bliss of the Atman, Supreme Self, Atma Jyoti and Sri Matha has been and is in constant awareness of Her identity with the Atma since then. Just as the flame of wick mixes with a blazing fire, just as a tumbler of water mixes with an infinite mass of water, Sri Matha merged into the Paramatma as one with it without any distinction..."

[Now what did Ramana have to say of all this...?]

"...She stepped into Ramanashram at 5-30 a.m. on 17th January, 1938, knelt at the feet of Bhagawan in obeisance and stood aside deferentially. Bhagawan, that dazzling Son of Jnana (Knowledge of the Absolute) cited the famous quotation from the Gita: ["Real Wisdom dawns on an aspirant after millions of births. Then realizing everything as permeated by Me, he surrenders to Me. Extremely rare is such a lofty soul to be found"]. He dwelt at length on the glorious nature of the Transcendental Self with Sri Matha was sporting at that moment...[later]...pointing at her, Bhagawan put a question and answered it himself: "Where is Vaikuntam (the abode of Vishnu)? The mind that draws no distinction between it and the Univeral Self is Vaikuntam. It is just here...[later Ramana said]..."Let This [referring to Sri Matha] sit here"...[later (19th January, 1938) Ramana said]..."Can one get this for the mere asking of it? It seeks after the heart where it wants to shine. This is a sequel to your last birth's attainment, I am just a Karana Guru (Causal Guru) to you."
[19 January 1938, when Sri Matha asked Ramana about becoming a renunciate] "Did I ask you to become a Sanyasini? Look at me: I have not taken sanyas and do not wear the ochre cloth. You have only one family, but I have to shoulder the burden of all these devotees and their families." It dawned on her then that rununciation must be in the heart and that inner purity is more important than outer renunciation..."

"...Though Bhagawan was sitting motionless, Sri Matha saw in him Shiva dancing in rapturous joy. Simultaneously Sakthi inside her joined him in the cosmic dance. It was the reveling of the Jivatma in the union of Paramatma..."

"Lord Krishna had revealed to here earlier how all things in the world, sentient and non-sentient, were permeated by him. Now he stood in her heart and said: "The whole world is a manifestation of Audi Sesha (on whose head he was standing)" He took her through hills and dales, dense forests and deep oceans and made them rotate around Him at jet speed and declared: "I am the indweller in all objects. The whole universe spins around me." His form was then drowned in the transcendental self. Sri Matha saw the whole universe in her head, and in each and every thing that consitute the universe, she saw her own self..."

When she left, Ramana said: "You doctors [her husband was a doctor] say that the heart is at the left side of the chest. Buth the whole body is the heart for yogis; Jnanis have their hearts both within and without. [Looking at Sri Matha] I am always with you."

"...Sri Matha wrote to Bhagawan about her ignorance of mantras, Sri Vidya, etc. Promptly came the reply: "When you are the source from which all the mantras have sprung up, where is the need for mantras?"

When devotees began to pour in, Sri Matha went to Sri Ramanashram, taking a few of them with Her. Passing through the gate, She saw Bhagawan coming down the sacred hill of Aruanchala, with some attendants. On seeing her Bhagawan exclaimed: "Here she is! Just now I was talking about you." Sri Matha was glad that Bhagawan had a loving remembrance of her.

Sri Matha: "All these people seek me as their guru. But I can not be indifferent to pleasure and pain, distress and delight like Bhagawan. I can rest contented only if those around me are happy and well. I shudder to think of their sufferings and miseries, as my heart starts sweltering under their heat. Moreover, I had never wished to be a Guru. I would request Bhagawan in all humility to kindly accept these devotees and Bhagawan's disciples."

Bhagawan: "When you are above likes and dislikes, desires and aversions, let things take their own shape. To the extent they believe in you, they will reap. I will protect those who, with full faith, put their trust in you."

"...Sri Matha maintains that mukti is not the result of karma (action and fruits), it can neither be bestowed on others nor can it be received from an external agency. The moment mind gets disentangled from the fetters of desires, worldly pleasures and wants, and seats itself steadfastly in the region of Eternal Peace, it gets lost in the Infinite and that is mukthi...To the few who have no option but mukthi, she preaches: " Always nurture divine thoughts, obliterate likes and dislikes and passions, and surrender to the Guru"..."

Sri Matha: "It is said that one has to work out, at all costs, his prarabdha in this world and that there can be no escape from it. Every disciple coming to me will have a weighty load of karma. Is it not possible to escape from the jaws of prarabdha by bhakthi?"

Ramana: "If there is so much bhakthi, it is possible."

"...With full faith in Bhagawan's words, Sri Matha postulates that the grace of the Satguru mitigates the potential force of the prarabdha. The Guru filters the major part of the disciples prarabdha by taking upon himself the full force of it and allowing them to experience and exhaust only traces of it. However, prarabdha has to be worked out by everyone during his lifetime, for every action has its own reaction...But the Guru's grace goes a long way in curtailing the aggressiveness of the vindictive force, ameliorates the punitive effects and protects the devotees from major calamaties..."

Sri Matha on liberation at death: "...Concentrate your thoughts on the Personal God you like most. You will abide in him the moment you leave your body...[For those drawn to her] "Meditate on Him [Ramana] in your heart. He will take you into his fold..."Imagine your body as a room and my heart as another just in front. At the last momement, come rushing to this room (my heart) [with as much joy and cheer as you did in life]..."

Sri Matha on Ramana: "...Behind every incarnation of God, there was a definite purpose. Each of them was for fulfilment of a particular objective. The recent incarnation of Bhagawan Sri Ramana was to establish the Dhyana Marga (The Path of Meditation) on this earth. This is not something new, but forms a part of Jnana Vasishta which is nothing but the upadesa of Sage Vasishta to Sri Rama....Such is the greatness and glory of the guru that even in the world of Gods, each manifestation mutually respects each other as its guru. Such a universal guru is Bhagawan..."

Ramanashram's Sarvadhikari on Sri Matha: "...Though big rivers are an asset to the country and account for its prosperity and fertility, it is indeed the tiny streams and brooks that go to irrigate the fields and give us crops. In the same way, Bhagawan is a perennial river and what is needed is streams and rivulets like Sri Matha, through which alone grace can flow and reach the scorched earth and needy millions..."

Her (deceased) Husband on Sri Matha in his last days: "...I have studied you for the past 36 years of my life. Your mercy and compassion are unparalleled and your readiness to grant boons and dispense divine blessings is something unheard of..."

Please also see Sri Mata

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Faith in the Lord

Came across this example of faith in Direct Path - Ramana Gyaan (June 2006):

Lord Rama and His brother Lakshmana were to cross the river Ganga. They sought the services of a boatman. But the boatman declined to take them across, saying:

"O Lord, First let me wash your feet dustless. What indeed is the difference between a stone and my boat made of wood?
The story is now afoot that the touch
Of the dust of your feet
Transforms (the inert) into Humans.
Only after completely cleaning Your lotus feet
Shall i take you across, else
There is a real danger
Of my ferry becoming a  fair damsel
And then if that happens, O Lord
Know that it will cause mighty harm
To my family, my livelihood"

For another example, see the quote of Sadhu Om, in O My Beloved Lord

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Turning inwards

When a man forgets that he is a Brahman, who is real, permanent and omnipresent, and deludes himself into thinking that he is a body in the universe which is filled with bodies that are transitory, and labours under that delusion, you have got to remind him that the world is unreal and a delusion.

Why? Because his vision which has forgotten its own Self is dwelling in the external, material universe. It will not turn inwards into introspection unless you impress on him that all this external material universe is unreal. When once he realises his own Self he will know that there is nothing other than his own Self and he will come to look upon the whole universe as Brahman.
                                   -- Sri Ramana Maharshi

Thursday, October 12, 2006

The touching story of Sri Janaki Mata

A kind reader forwarded us the story of a devotee of Bhagavan, Sri Janaki Mata.

The story is a must read for those on the path of bhakti to Bhagavan. Three small excerpts are presented here.
Sri Janaky Mata

Sri Janaky Matha was a wife, mother of seven children, community volunteer, devotee of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi and an enlightened soul. Her amazing life of inner visions, spiritual yearning, surrender and bhakti inspires all to pursue the spiritual ideal, delve into the Supreme Self and not waste even a minute in the process.

To some people she would advise, "Lead a righteous life and discharge your duties to the family, conduct family worship, practise charity, have an abundant life and learn to gradually still the waves of passion." To others who wanted to know more about Liberation, she taught, "Always nurture Divine thoughts, obliterate likes and passions and surrender to the Guru."

Sri Matha's life stands as a shining example of perseverance to the ideal of Liberation and devotion to Bhagavan Ramana. Once, when some of her devotees were having a lengthy discussion of Bhagavan's 'Who am I?' enquiry, she halted them saying, "Enough of this discussion! My head begins to swim with such dry and useless discussions. Amma knows only one thing - to show devotion to Sri Bhagavan."

It was through such steadfast devotion that Sri Matha achieved Liberation. Please read the full story here

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Give your whole Self to Him

I open the book Self-Realization by BV Narasimha Rao, and this quotation from Shankara greets me (p233).

If the mind is not reverently absorbed at the feet of the Master (Guru) what good is there, what good indeed in possessing or achieving anything else?
- Shankara, Guru Ashtakam

I open another page (117) where I find (FW Humphreys):

How can you best worship God? Why, by not trying to worship Him (but) by giving up your whole Self to Him and showing that every thought, every action, is only a working of that one Life (God) -- more or less perfect according as it is unconscious and conscious.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Shirdi Sai and Siva

A kind friend brought to notice that Shirdi Sai (c. September 27, 1838 - October 15, 1918), a very popular Indian saint, was a Shiva Dattatreya incarnation. According to wikipedia, many of His Hindu followers considered that. He had a large Muslim following too.


Sai Baba made eleven assurances to his devotees:
  1. Whosoever puts their feet on Shirdi soil, their sufferings will come to an end.
  2. The wretched and miserable will rise to joy and happiness as soon as they climb the steps of the mosque.
  3. I shall be ever active and vigorous even after leaving this earthly body.
  4. My tomb shall bless and speak to the needs of my devotees.
  5. I shall be active and vigorous even from my tomb.
  6. My mortal remains will speak from my tomb.
  7. I am ever living to help and guide all who come to me, who surrender to me and who seek refuge in me.
  8. If you look to me, I look to you.
  9. If you cast your burden on me, I shall surely bear it.
  10. If you seek my advice and help, it shall be given to you at once.
  11. There shall be no want in the house of my devotee.

His eleven famous sayings are:

  1. No harm shall befall him who sets his foot on the soil of Shirdi.
  2. He who cometh to My Samadhi, his sorrow and suffering shall cease.
  3. Though I be no more in flesh and blood, I shall ever protect My devotees.
  4. Trust in Me and your prayer shall be answered.
  5. Know that My Spirit is immortal. Know this for yourself.
  6. Show unto Me he who sought refuge and been turned away.
  7. In whatever faith men worship Me, even so do I render to them.
  8. Not in vain is My Promise that I shall ever lighten your burden.
  9. Knock, and the door shall open. Ask and ye shall be granted.
  10. To him who surrenders unto Me totally I shall be ever indebted.
  11. Blessed is he who has become one with Me.
Please read the full wikipedia entry here

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