Sai Baba on Asking For Help

(A short Essay)

The Omnipresent Sai Baba of Puttaparthi promised that he would protect those who called on him.

He said, “Ask me, when you need any help.  Extend your hand only for Grace from God.  Ask Grace as a right, not in a groveling style.  Ask as a child asks the father; feel that God is nearest and dearest.”

I used to think asking God for help showed that I had not completely surrendered to his will.  But there was some thing I lost that I could not get back. A long time ago, someone I loved rejected me—my only daughter.  I was not sure why; I guessed it might be because of my spiritual beliefs. I accepted this as my karma.  

“Grace is showered on those who seek, “Swami Sai, my Guru, said. “Knock, and the door shall be opened; ask, and food will be served; search, and the treasure will be yours.  You may complain:  Yes!  Swami!  We have been knocking, asking and searching since years but, the door is yet unopened, the food is still not forthcoming, the treasure is still beyond our reach!”

This was definitely how I felt.  

“But let me tell you this,” The Beloved Lord of Puttaparthi said, “You have been asking the devil, not the deity, knocking at the devil’s door and digging for the treasure at the devil’s realm.  The devil’s realm is the object world, outer nature.  She is a clever enchantress!  You have been propitiating her, believing that she can confer peace and Ananda!  She tantalizes you and leads you from one disappointment to another.  She enhances your ego and sense of achievement, until you collapse from a swollen head!  You are knocking at the wrong door—the door of hell which is ever open.  You are searching for paltry pleasure not permanent treasure!”

Had I been doing this? Bhagawan Baba, the ever-blissful, taught, “Don’t ask God for things in life, like a cup of tea which you can get easily.  Only ask for things that you need and that you can’t get by your own efforts.”

No matter how persistent my spiritual practice, some days I still feel I don’t know where to turn.  

 “When in difficulty, pray for guidance before jumping in any direction.  Men will give you advice only as far as their cleverness can reach; but the Lord who transforms dullness into intelligence will reveal to you the way out of the dilemma.  Ask the Lord and He will answer.”

 So, I continue my prayers, asking God for help. I do not beg or grovel.  But I ask for the Grace to see me through this problem.  For a mother to let go of her only daughter is not easy. My tears of loss had burned my cheeks for many years.

Then one day I realized though my daughter is my child, she, like all of us, belongs to God.  If she is his and I am his then we are together on a soul level, always. And by his Grace, we may one day be happy together again face-to-face.