In our fast-paced digital world, we often take for granted the conveniences that modern technology provides—until they suddenly disappear. What happens when our internet connection fails, and we’re forced to confront our dependency and impatience? A simple internet repair incident offers profound life lessons that surprisingly align with the timeless wisdom found in Shirdi Sai Baba’s teachings about patience, respect for labor, and recognizing the value in every interaction.
When the Connection Fails: A Lesson in Humility
Yesterday, I spotted two technicians working diligently on a utility pole outside my home. Soon after, the dreaded red light on my router confirmed my fears—the internet was down. When I approached them, they assured me service would be restored within a couple of hours.
Three and a half hours later, with no connection in sight despite their announcement that work was complete, my initial calm gave way to frustration. Drawing on outdated knowledge from my previous experience in the tech industry, I began to argue: “I didn’t ask for this junction box replacement. You did this work, so you need to fix it.”
When one of the technicians offered to check my apartment, I resisted. “The problem is on the pole, not in my home,” I insisted, clinging to my assumptions about the source of the problem.
Eventually, I relented and allowed the technician inside. Though he wasn’t particularly communicative, he worked methodically, using a device connected to my router to communicate with his colleague at the pole. Within minutes after he left, the green light returned, and my internet connection was restored.
In that moment of reflection between frustration and resolution, I realized something important: these two men had been working in the hot sun for nearly four hours while supervisors came and went. They had their own methods and expertise that I had initially dismissed because they didn’t align with my preconceived notions.
The Wisdom in Recognizing Value
This experience revealed three important truths:
- Knowledge requires constant updating to remain relevant
- Past conditioning can cloud our judgment and prevent us from seeing situations as they truly are
- All honest labor deserves respect and fair compensation
As the internet returned, I remembered Shirdi Sai Baba’s wisdom about compensating hard work. In a simple gesture of gratitude and respect, I brought the technicians water bottles—a small acknowledgment of their effort and expertise.
Sai Baba’s Teachings on Valuing Labor and Patience
This personal experience echoes the profound wisdom found in Chapters 18 and 19 of the Sai Satcharitra, where Baba emphasizes the importance of properly valuing others’ work and exercising patience.
In these chapters, Baba demonstrates the principle of fair compensation through his own actions. When workers brought him a ladder to climb onto a roof, he immediately paid them two rupees each—a generous amount at that time. When questioned about this generosity, Baba explained: “Nobody should take the labor of others in vain. The worker should be paid his dues, promptly and liberally.”
The Twin Virtues: Faith and Patience
Throughout these chapters of Sai Satcharitra, Baba emphasizes two essential qualities for spiritual growth: Nishtha (Faith) and Saburi (Patience). When instructing an elderly woman named Radhabai who was determined to receive spiritual guidance from him, Baba shared the story of his own spiritual journey:
“I gave these two paise or things to him [his Guru]—Firm Faith and Patience or perseverance—and he was pleased,” Baba explained. “Saburi (Patience) is the other paise. I waited patiently and very long on My Guru and served him. This Saburi will ferry you across the sea of mundane existence.”
Baba describes patience as “the manliness in man” that “removes all sins and afflictions, gets rid of calamities in various ways, and casts aside all fear, and ultimately gives you success.” He further explains that “Nishtha (Faith) and Saburi (Patience) are like twin sisters that love each other very intimately.”
Modern Applications of Ancient Wisdom
The parallels between my internet repair experience and Sai Baba’s teachings are remarkably clear:
- Respect for expertise: Just as Baba taught respect for all forms of service, I learned to respect the technicians’ methods and expertise, even when they differed from my expectations.
- Patience in frustration: Baba emphasized Saburi (patience) as essential for navigating life’s challenges. My impatience with the repair process only created unnecessary tension and did nothing to speed the resolution.
- Fair compensation: Baba demonstrated the importance of promptly and generously acknowledging others’ work. My simple act of offering water mirrored this principle in a small way.
- Openness to learning: Baba taught that true wisdom comes from remaining open to new knowledge. My experience reminded me that my past knowledge needed updating and that I could learn from those I initially underestimated.
Breaking Down Barriers of Differentiation
Perhaps most importantly, Baba’s teaching about breaking down the walls of differentiation resonates deeply with this experience: “Demolish the wall of difference that separates you from Me and then the road for our meeting will be clear and open. The sense of differentiation, as I and thou, is the barrier that keeps the disciple away from his Guru.”
In my interaction with the technicians, I initially created a barrier through my assumptions about their capabilities and methods. Only when I let go of these assumptions—demolishing the wall of difference—could the problem be resolved.
Living the Lessons
Sai Baba’s instruction to “receive well and treat with due respect” anyone who comes to us applies perfectly to this modern encounter. His guidance reminds us that “unless there is some relationship or connection, nobody goes anywhere.” There was a purpose in this interaction, a lesson to be learned about patience, respect, and the value of every person’s contribution.
As we navigate our technology-dependent world, these timeless teachings from Sai Baba offer a valuable framework for maintaining our humanity and finding deeper meaning in even the most mundane interactions. The next time your internet fails or you face a service disappointment, consider it an opportunity to practice Saburi and to recognize the value in every person’s labor—a small but significant step toward embodying the wisdom that Sai Baba shared with his devotees over a century ago.
In Baba’s own words: “Let anybody speak hundreds of things against you, do not resent by giving them any bitter reply. If you always tolerate such things, you will certainly be happy. Let the world go topsy-turvy; you remain where you are.”
Perhaps our greatest modern challenges aren’t technological failures, but tests of our patience, understanding, and respect for others—opportunities to apply ancient wisdom to contemporary life.
