Sai Baba Step by Step I Reach You!

From Canada again I am at Puttaparthi,
But see you not ambling gracefully
On the red carpet, a golden halo
On the head and letters in palm’s hollow.
Or scooting in the automobile gently,
For diverse devotees to see you fully!

The crunch of people all day long,
Pushing, shoving, seeking a good spot,
Is shrunk now almost to a knot,
Nor is the seva dal so rude or taut.
I don’t grumble your stark absence,
As I seek you inside me in silence.

Lately I felt the bliss you talk about,
A beatitude that you bestowed on me.
Was it a sneak sample of the Higher
Or the illuminated mind? I know not.
Surely it was a rare ineffable glee,
A hint of what God’s grace can be.

Now I often recite namasmaranam,
A talisman that guards me from harm.
I seek purity and make trio of thought,
Word, and deed an effective balm,
A panacea prescribed by my Bhagavan.
I daresay it gives me peace and calm.

A leafy villa, college degrees, progeny
And more, all that I sought over time,
Seems mere tinsel and sheer frippery.
A pyrrhic win that fetched me the tribe:
Lust, greed, pride, and jealousy,
To produce a perverted personality.

Now I turn the mind’s key aright
To let in faith, compassion, and love,
And see God in all and everywhere.
All that’s showy, wrong, or transient,
I discard gladly after a critical review.
Yes, I am zero and you are my hero!

~Prem Kumar