Baba's Pillow - The brick - This is more valuable that the whole world to me
Baba had with him an old well baked brick with him. He used to love that brick more than he did his life. He would use it every day as his pillow when he slept. Nanasaheb Chandorkar saw this and said, "Baba why do you use that brick as a pillow? I will have a nice pillow stitched for you. Please throw that brick away." Baba then replied, "Even if you bring a hundred thousand pillows they will not equal this brick. This was presented to me by my Guru. This is more valuable that the whole world to me. This is my meditation as well as the object of my meditation. Nobody can estimate its value. It is breaks; my life will depart this body. My guru's feet had touched this brick; that is why I have made it my pillow. He who keeps his head on the lotus like feet of his guru; his shadow is also holy. That is why I keep my head on this brick which touched my guru's lotus feet. By this I am becoming one who every day keeps his head on his Gurus feet. Nana! You all come and salute me in the mornings. I in turn present all your salutes to my guru. In the manner that the Godavari River takes all the water that joins it and consigns it to the sea, in the same way I consign your salutes to my guru. When I had put this brick at the feet of my guru, my guru who loved me as a mother did her child, laughed with pleasure at my devotion. He said, 'Well done. In the past Pundaleeka had presented Krishna a brick and asked him to stand on that. Now you are doing me same thing and asking me to put my feet on that. By the dint of the excellence of your devotion, I have to stand steadily on this brick forever. What body is in samadhi, the same body will also be in this brick.'
This is the truth. My Sadguru had commingled with Lord Sri Venkateswara and had become Venkateswara himself. He is now in the form of Lord Venkateswara. Sri Venkateswara's footprints are on this brick. That is why I call my guru Venkusa (Venkateswara Swami). The power of this brick is beyond compare. Have you now seen what it is?" Nanasaheb Chandorkar and the other devotees heard Baba and prostrated at his feet in devotion.
Chandorkar was an ardent devotee of Sri Sai Baba. He died in the holy Sravana month in 1923 at Poona and reached the holy feet of Sri Sai Baba. I prostrate before Chandorkar.
