When Sri Saibaba was in the body he was called [known] as the precious gem among his contemporaries and all the great saints, the divine souls. His brilliance still shines in Shirdi and he made Shirdi holy by making it his heavenly abode on earth.

In this day and age it is said so about our Guruji, Sri Sainathuni Sarath Babuji, and it is no surprise that not only the great realized souls but also the common man is able to recognize the most priceless precious gem with all its brilliance, even he is among the most ordinary human beings.

After seeing Guruji, the disturbed mind finds peace and solace just as it was when devotees came to have Sri Saibaba’s darshan, when Baba was in the body. Blessed are Shirdi and the people of Shirdi to have such precious wealth of divinity amidst them. Even time and nature are at the disposal of such divine souls.

Sri Saibaba is here with us as he promised but it is the light of our faith in him that shines in our mind, body, heart and soul where Baba is present within us for us to see that guiding light helping us to see Baba in our Guruji. It is the power of our love towards Baba and the strength of our faith in him that help us to cross all the hurdles in this lifetime.

In actuality, it is that love and faith that is the essence of Baba to come back for us in the form of our beloved Guruji. The love of Baba and faith in him are the best medicine for a troubled life prescribed by the best doctor, our Guruji, Sri Sainathuni Sarath Babuji.

As for me I see my beloved deity and my parent, Sri Shirdi Saibaba in my Guruji. I have come to believe that Sri Saibaba’s and Guruji’s form and soul are one and the same. It is the form and soul of our God Almighty, however with different names maybe.

Divine souls like Sri Saibaba and our Guruji are the forms of God because Sadguru Sri Sainath Maharaj is the personification of God. Sadguru Sri Sainathuni Sarath Babuji, our Guruji, is Sri Saibaba incarnate. He is the embodiment of kindness, generosity, perfection, grace, and above all LOVE.

Whatever we feel and think Guruji always knows those feelings and thoughts. He is the omniscient soul, from whom nothing is hidden. He provides us with what we need without asking asking for it. He knows when, where and how to provide everything for us.

I believe there is a time, day and occasion for everything that happens and that needs to happen. Only Guruji knows that time, day and occasion. He knows what is good for us better than anyone who loves us, including ourselves. All we need to do is to be in Baba’s smaran, thus become closer and dearer to Guruji.

When problems are left to the grace of Guruji, solutions are found without any effort on our part, thus increasing our dependency on Baba and Guruji. We can have all our problems solved by simply loving, being faithful and humble, and wholeheartedly surrender at the holy lotus feet of Baba and Guruji. We surrender ourselves at their holy feet because that is where we will find our heaven and salvation. Our ego is wiped out of our personality by their grace through surrendering. Baba and Guruji help us to be in their smaran, thus providing us with the much needed peace of mind to our troubled minds.

Being in Baba’s and Guruji’s wholehearted smaran (meditating upon and chanting their names) and service is the best lesson learnt. If we can practise to become an avid student by remembering the lesson learnt, we need no more teachings and lessons.

Our Guruji is the All-Pervasive creator who creates situations and circumstances for us to learn from our daily lives. He is the father who, with all his love, always opens a new door into this wonderful world of experiences at very bend of the road of life.

One of the devotees who came to Sri Saibaba was crying while taking Baba’s leave. Sri Sai Baba said to him, “Why are you behaving so silly? Am I not with you always? Whosoever thinks that Baba is only in Shirdi has not known me at all.” He never lets us feel lonely when we believe in him. Nowadays, Guruji is giving his devotees the experience of his omnipresence time and again.

Guruji is forever benevolent and forbearing. Guruji’s concern is always that his devotees should benefit from being in Baba’s smaran and service. The reward of a lifetime is to lead a good life with Baba’s and Guruji’s sweet grace and loving blessings.

Guruji is always clear, cool and composed. He has always remained the same – calm and unperturbed through all the events in his life. He is least concerned about the future as he relays on Baba to take care of it for him. Just as all devotees relay on Guruji to take care of their futures for them.

Why worry about the future when Guruji reminds us always of the popular saying of Baba, “Why fear when I am here?” As in when Guruji and Baba are with us, why do we need to fear or worry about tomorrow? So, live today to the fullest with Baba’s and Guruji’s blessings and ever loving grace. One would experience peace and serenity in life when no time is wasted on fear and worrying.

Attachment is the source of all misery. So to remedy it Guruji encourages us to grow attachment (rinanubandha) with Baba, and only Baba, with love and no other beings. When we are so deeply attached to Baba, with all the love our hearts could contain, we tend to depend on Baba more. When we depend on Baba for every little thing in this lifetime, we tend to leave the analyzing and the consequences on Baba to be taken care too. Thus our minds are given more time to be in his smaran rather than being involved with the petty things of human nature.

Guruji never accepts any form of gifts but never stops giving the gifts of love, life, grace and his blessings to everyone who come to him. Guruji is very soft-spoken and generous at heart. He is all-ears and very attentive when devotees come to him with their problems. Yet, he hardly speaks much while answering their prayers with just a few syllables.

Guruji always seems attached, yet he is very much a detached soul. His spirit is with his body but always in the smaran of Baba, the only God he worships; where he is one with Baba. Observing him and the events happening in our lives with his blessings, we need to be happy with that Baba gives to us. Accept Baba’s decision without a second thought as the best and know that whatever he does, he always does it for our betterment. One should accept what Baba wants to bestow upon us, with open arms and be happy knowing that, at that moment he thought, we deserved it. Doing so and practising so daily in every aspect making it a sadhana will soon attain us the oneness we deserve with Guruji and Baba.

Guruji is a divine soul in human form yet has the perfect command over his senses. Guruji never discourages anyone from having desires, wants and needs. But Guruji says to first know our needs, so we can then differentiate between the wants and needs in order for us to prioritize.

Solitude is a quality Guruji suggests only for those who need it. To talk less, to turn our attention towards soul searching rather than while the hours away in mindless chatter and to see the greatest truth of all - the God within. As Baba himself said, he is life and is present in all living things.

So Guruji as the and guide and mentor is showing us the way to find, reach and be one with Baba. We can acquire peace and progress on the path of spirituality when we are alone. There is less distraction, therefore concentration is better in solitude.

To be one with one’s work – completeness is concentration at its best. The best example is our very own Guruji who hardly rests, nor has his meals for a stretch of time without coming out of his shell of concentration till he decides to himself.

I believe our Guruji possesses the two gems shradha (concentration) and saburi (patience) in abundance to the perfection which Sri Sai Baba always suggested, to make a man divine. Since Guruji is none other than Baba himself, he is teaching us the great value and importance of possessing the wealth of shradha and saburi by serving as an example himself.

When we do any of Baba’s work automatically, our personal work is also being done without an efforts on our part. Sri Saibaba’s form and disposition as praised by Sri Upasani Baba, aham bhavahinam prasanathma bhavam is that Baba is the persona of egoless and peace in all its entirety. Sri Saibaba said, “To bless is the purpose of my avatar.” All those devotees who have not seen Sri Saibaba when he was in the body, can see the same qualities and virtues in the epitome of modern times, fulfilling the purpose of his avatar, in our beloved Guruji, Sri Sainathuni Sarath Babuji.

As per great saints’ teachings we should worship and meditate on the guru, we believe in, as our God and surrender at his feet.

The guru is the only savior we have who is God’s representative in lifting us above the sins and sorrows of our human lives. He is also the only one making us one with himself. That is our atma becoming one with our paranatma, thus being one with our creator, GOD.

Baba’s loving grace is always showered on one and all equally and continuously. It is our own ignorance that acts as an umbrella and obstructs the showers of Baba’s nectar of loving graces from falling upon us. With Guruji’s grace we are able to receive that treasure freely distributed and showered on everybody equally. The utmost love and affection we show in offering is reciprocated by Guruji in receiving and vice versa.

Hence I believe that Sri Babuji is my Sri Saibabaji’s come back to save me from the quick sand of a life full of problems and sorrows.

I believe in surrendering to Baba and Guruji with everlasting love automatically removes all the obstacles. This is the only way to attain fulfillment and reach the pinnacle of happiness.

Finally, I would like to say – with experience – that we can never fail in our life if we follow the instructions and the footsteps of our eminent Guruji, Sri Sainathuni Sarath Babuji.