Present Everywhere...

"Once Mrs. Tarkhad, after preparing food for everyone in the house, was about to serve the dishes, when she heard a hungry dog barking. She immediately took a piece of bread and threw it to the dog, who ate it with great satisfaction.

"Later, when she went to the masjid, Baba said to her, 'Mother, you have fed me sumptuously. My afflicted pranas have been satisfied. Acts like this will stand you in good stead. Sitting in the masjid, I never speak the untruth. First give bread to the hungry and then eat yourself. Note this well.

"Mrs. Tarkhad was puzzled and did not understand what Baba was saying. Therefore, she questioned him, 'Baba, how could I feed you when I am dependent on others and take my food as payment?'

"Baba replied, 'Eating that lovely bread, I am heartily content, and am still belching. The dog you saw, and to whom you gave the piece of bread is one with me. I roam in their forms. He who sees me in all these creatures is my beloved. So abandon the sense of duality and distinction and serve me as you did today.'

"Baba thus explained that he was present everywhere and in everyone."



Prof. Dr. B. H. Briz-Kishore
_A Solemn Pledge:
True Tales of Shirdi Sai Baba_
New Delhi: New Dawn (imprint of Sterling), 2000, p. 63