To earn the grace of the Divine, the easy way is to surrender at the Feet of the Lord. ... There is so much power in the Feet of the Lord which you cannot understand. The feet form the basis for not only the physical frame of the body but also for spiritual and ethical purposes. ... It is the feet that support the entire body. ... The Vedas proclaim the unity of all classes of people by describing them as limbs of one body. The Vedas proclaim the importance of the feet. Even in ordinary life, we advise a person who has harmed another to fall at the latterÕs feet and beg his pardon. There is a close link between the different parts of the body. ... When the foot is injured, the eye sheds tears. ... Similarly, in the body of the Divine, the Brahmins, Kshatriyas,Vaisyas, and Sudras [these are the four castes: Brahmins, warriors, business people, and laborers] form an integral part. If a Sudra [laborer] is in trouble, the Brahmin should be concerned. When such feelings develop in the world, there will be peace and harmony in society.
Sathya Sai Baba, Sanathana Sarathi, August 1995
At this time of year, we look for ideas for service indoors --and also ideas that can help others live more comfortably in the cold and the wet season coming up. Such an idea comes to us from a description of a project sent in by the Sai Center of Wappinger Falls, NY, for the album on The Earth--Help Ever Hurt Never to be offered to Swami at Birthday time.
The Wappinger Falls Center collected over one hundred pairs of used shoes and sneakers. Over a two-week period, they cleaned, repaired, and polished these shoes --while singing devotional songs and watching videos of Swami. Then, they distributed the shoes to the needy. Since that initial two-week period, Swami has blessed them with many more shoes to clean, repair, and distribute!
The person who instigated the project first prayed to Swami, asking Him whether the Center should do the project. Then, in a most beautiful dream, an amazing shower of sparkling and colorful shoes came down from heaven. Hanging on a clothesline were glistening sneakers and shoes. This was interpreted as a positive sign, the project was proposed to the Center, and the project was carried out in the next two weeks.Later, a Center member pointed out the quote at the beginning of this page, which talks about the importance of feet.
We talk about Swami's Lotus Feet. Well, all forms are His, all feet are His! Use this project to help others keep their feet comfortable. We all have old shoes lying around, shoes we may never wear again. Why not put them to use? Collect them, clean them, repair them, polish them Ñand then give them to more needy people. What a wonderful idea!
Distributing shoes
How can the shoes be distributed? The answer to this question will
change from city to city. The Wappinger Falls Center distributes them at
the soup kitchen, where they serve. Shoes could also be taken to shelters
for the homeless, to orphanages, and to organizations that collect clothes
for the needy. If you are not sure how to distribute shoes, ask your local
volunteer organization. Better yet, take time out to talk inwardly to Swami
for guidance, and the answer will come in one way or another.
Hint
ShoeGoo works great on non-leather products like sneakers.
Sai Interview
Hislop: Each devotee is so anxious to touch Swami's feet. What is the
meaning of touching the feet? Swami: God is positive. Man is negative.
If contact is made, the divine current flows from positive to negative.
For this reason, [we have] the Indian tradition of touching a divine person.
But without some form of discipline and limitation, people would be touching
face and body. Hence, the custom of touching the lotus feet. (from Conversations
with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, XXXVI, p. 131)
Sai Story
I sat blissfully in darshan
thinking of His beautiful feet. Absentmindedly, I drew the outline
of His foot in the sand before me. It was wonderful. I drew the other foot
beside it, and then a heart around them. A Seva Dal came running over and
erased His beautiful feet. "You're not supposed to draw in the sand!,"
he exclaimed. I was crushed. Swami came out. He came direct ly to me, stood
exactly where the drawings of His feet were, and granted me padnamaskar.
[touching his feet] My message was: loving God's feet supercedes all the
rules. A devotee
There is only one religion ... the religion of love,
There is only one caste ... the caste of humanity,
There is only one language ... the language of the heart,
There is only one God ... and He is Omnipresent.
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