Shirdi has always been an abode of peace for me. Time and again, it has redefined and restructured my spiritual being. Having stayed in United States for almost a year, I thought that I had left this part of my life long behind. That said there is always an inner quest for truth that pulls me like a string to this place. As if I were never away from this place, as if some strings attached so tight that you just cannot cut it away.
Mind was much perturbed and the clamor around will not allow its ripples to settle. Samadhi Mandir was reverberating with the noise of devotees who came to take the darshan; Shirdi is always flocked by ever increasing crowd whose quest is a better life, life much transient than the deity would be glad to impart. Much dejected, I proceeded to the Parayan hall near the Datta Mandir.
I found few reading the life of Sai Baba, few humming his name, few immersed in silence gazing at something beautiful within. Unlike Samadhi Mandir, the Parayan hall was tuned to a mystic music so immense that it overwhelmed me with its divinity. After reading few pages from the book Sai Satcharita, I came to the open courtyard of Datta Mandir
From the time of Sai baba, till the time today, Saints and Seers meditated timelessly near Nanda Deep and the image of deity in the Datta Mandir. These saints wore a peace on their face and were oblivous to the clamor around. I would always see them circumambulating the Nanda Deep or the image of Lord Datta during the prayer time. They would not mind children playing in the courtyard, the villagers gossiping in a group. All they knew was that they loved their lord and loved him so deeply. They reflected the faith, the purity of the soul, the discipline of Sadhana and the quest of the truth. I realized that it’s the attitude of your inner self that brings peace to you rather than the ambience around you.
I decided to visit the Samadhi Mandir again. Strangely, as I walked towards the deity in the queue, my mind felt no ripples; it was much engrossed in the magnificence of the silence. As I bowed to the deity, I felt immense peace; I realized that with Faith and Patience, I would see the light towards the end of the tunnel.
