Patience

Aum Sairam

Sri Sai demanded dakshina [the term given to money or other material offered to the Guru by the disciple]. It is known that He did not ask for it from everyone that visited Him. His demands did not seem to conform to a particular pattern, neither did He receive it from everyone who wanted to offer. It was as if a divine predisposition dictated the matter of asking and receiving dakshina. Shri Sai Satcharitra reveals several incidents where Sainath had asked specific amounts of money from those who visited Him only to be confirmed later that the dealings existed beyond the knowledge of the giver.

On a metaphorical note, Sri Sai always insisted on two pice as dakshina to be given to Him by His followers. Faith and patience are considered as those two pice that this saint God wanted from His children. Patience is realized as a universal virtue that needs no explanation. However, patience that Sri Sainath wants from His devotees is unique.

The patience a devotee must possess should be similar to the one that a war horse exhibits in a battle field. Amid the deafening sounds of cannons, lingering death knell, chaos, and cacophony, the horse bears the weight of its rider and surges forward without any fear for his life. This is a patience coupled with valor and enthusiasm. This is the patience that Sri Sai wants His children to exhibit.

A passive act of waiting because of lack of alternatives may not be construed as patience that Sri Sainath demands from His followers. Patience has to be an active phase of courage, hope, and enthusiasm that arise out of one's surrender to His predisposition. Such a patience will reap a rich harvest, material and spiritual.

Allah Malik