Florida Shirdi Sai Temple

Shri Guru Charitra
Chapter I

Namdharak sees Shri Guru in Dream.

A devotee of Shri Guru by name Namdharak, greatly worried due to domestic miseries, left home and started on foot with the intense desire of seeing Shri Guru. While on his way, he was praying to Shri Guru all the time.

"Oh,Guru,all say,'Thou art Paras' (the Philosopher's stone that turns iron into gold by mere touch). But then why should I be required to suffer so much, though I have been reciting your name all the time, and having full faith in you?"

"In this Kaliyug, you are the incarnation of Trimurti (three principal Gods - Brahma,Vishnu and Maheshwar.) Oh,Shri Narasimha Saraswathi, you are the Guide to and treasure of the kindness to the devotees."

"As a mother does not forsake her child, in the same way please do not keep me away from yourself, as you are my mother, father, brother, sister, friend, relative - one and all."

"You are the protector of this Universe, donor of Gods, you have all the knowledge. You made Bali, the king of Patal, you gave Bibhishan the Kingdom of Lanka (Ceylon). You made this Earth devoid of the Kshatriya race and then gave it in charity to the Brahmins. You offered ever-lasting place to Dhruva. But what did you receive in return from every one of these? If you have received nothing, then what can an innocent human-being like myself offer you, who Himself the Lord of Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth) is?"

"When a child, on the lap of its mother, opens its mouth to drink milk, what does the mother expect from the child? It does not become you, a great Giver of boons, to first receive and then to give."

"All the wells on the earth do not adore Varun, the God of rains, but yet Varun gives rains in abundance to one and all."

"My forefathers have been your devotees for generations. I possess only this treasure of services of my family unto you.

Kindly give me some loan from this treasure, as I am in very peculiar circumstances. I am seeking your shelter considering and You, on your part, overlook my misdeeds and do not be angry with me."

"If a mother is angry with the child, the child seeks father's shelter. You are my Mother and Father too. So will you not protect me, an innocent child? Are you not even inclined to listen to my miserable tale?"

Being tired of walking, he sat down under a tree and soon he was asleep. In his dream, he saw a Personality with hair-locks on head, ash markings on all the body and face full of kindness. He soon recognized him to be Shri Guru, who applied ashes to his forehead and placed his blessing hand on his head.