To Our Dearest Lord Sai on His 96th Birthday

Almost half a century ago, Lord Sai entered our lives, lives of all,
What a sweet change swept over us! From mundane to sublime!
Lost in a dark and dull slumber that must have lasted many ages,
His glance cast at us, a family of me and my consort with four kids,
As we went in search of a savior who could teach the sacred truth,
A search that ended in the far away valley of the Abode of Peace,
We became transfixed, silent, and still under the magic spell of Sai,
Words lose their power, struck dumb to express the glory of Sai.

Was it some deep longing within that drew us to Sai? We know not,
Perhaps His compassion to save humanity from its piteous plight,
A plight that let us all wallow in the murky slush of negative forces,
A sorry state that set man against man, divine gift of earth ruined,
That stirred the supreme consciousness to descend amongst us all,
The descent of divine power into the sweet form of Sai grandeur,
Manifested in a humble abode in a village tucked away in a valley,
And taught the truant humanity the sacred path to find eternity.

At this sunset stage of my life, my mind is steeped in Sai memories,
Recalling my first sight of our Lord as He walked amongst devotees,
Thrilled to the core of the divine spectacle of the Lord in His glory,
In a garb of orange hue with a divine halo that stretched far and far,
He came, He walked amongst the gathered crowd, exuding divinity,
He smiled, He talked, He patted some, He collected letters from us,
A splendid figure of divine charm, He exuded love and compassion,
As He walked through, there was stillness, not a stir, not a murmur.

Ever since that miraculous day when we beheld His brilliant shine,
A shine that surpassed the brightness of thousand suns in the sky,
Ever since our karmic merit led us to the powerful Presence of Baba,
We as a family, surrendering at His Lotus Feet, hailed Him as Guru,
Our supreme Guru who would lead us all from darkness to light.
He graciously did, taught us to find within gem of our own divinity,
Shrouded behind layers of illusion, beset in darkness so tragically,
He taught us internal purity, freed us from the iron grip of vices,
He patiently showed us how to open the fountain of love in us,
That could embrace all creation with expansive love and a smile,
Like a shining star in our horizon, He powerfully led us to the end.

All the first forty years passed with His physical Presence in India,
Beckoning us now and then, from the early years of close proximity,
To the latter years of difficult access with thousands milling around,
We had darshans when His divine energy poured in plenty as always
As we sat there open to His flow of energy that embraced everyone,
We had personal interviews where He rained His love in a free flow,
We listened to His discourses that set us astir to search for Truth,
We truly became dearest devotees to our Lord Sai in full surrender.

But alas, to the dismay of devotees, our Lord decided to withdraw,
From form to formless, from visible to invisible for us to grow fully.
Like a loving mother who weans her children from utter dependence
To grow sturdy and strong on their own right to find their own truth,
So did our Lord Sai on a sad Easter Sunday withdrew from our sight,
And left us first to mourn yet instilled the wisdom to find Him within.
Ten years have passed since He left us, with all His teachings intact,
We soon shall celebrate six and ninety years of His glorious entry.
As November dawns, we wait to rejoice in our memories of Lord Sai,
Hail to Thee Our Beloved Sai! Hail to Thy ninety-six years of Glory!

    ~Kanaga Ranganathan, November 2, 2021