Shri Sai Satcharitra - Chapter 7, Part I

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Wonderful Incarnation - Behaviour of Sai Baba - His Yoga Practices - His All-pervasiveness - Leper Devotee's service - Master Khaparde's Plague-case - Going to Pandharpur.

Wonderful Incarnation

Sai Baba knew all Yogic Practices. He was well versed in the six processes including Dhauti (Stomach-cleaning by a moistened piece of linen 3" in breadth and 22 1/2" in length), Khandayoga, i.e., separating His limbs and joining them again, and Samadhi, etc. If you think that He was a Hindu, He looked like a Yavan. If you think Him to be a Yavan, He looked like a pious Hindu. No one definitely knew whether He was a Hindu or a Mahomedan. He celebrated the Hindu festival of Rama-Navami with all due formalities, and at the same time permitted the 'Sandal' procession of the Mahomedans.

Sai Ram. Yes, Sai Baba was indeed a wonderful incarnation. Incarnation means the Avatar of Divinity in human form, in flesh and blood. God took pity on simple and ignorant folk like us and took that particular form, so mysterious and yet so accessible in the form of Sai Baba of Shirdi. He had a very clear purpose in coming to Shirdi and spending those 60 years there. His objective was to bring harmony between all classes of people.

It is those divisions of rich and poor, pious and dirty, Hindu and Mohamedan etc. (the basic duality of I and not I) that Sai addressed in His inimitable way and taught all the art of " live and let live". He always avoided the question of who He was and where from He came for the simple reason that He was not His Body. He was not His Mind. And since He did not have an ego, He was not His ego also. Then who was He? He asked us to look into our hearts. He is the In-dweller, seated in our Hearts, and watching us always and guiding us always. He is our Atma Ram.

He celebrated all the festivals with equanimity giving all the due importance. While Sai Baba allowed devotees to practice all rituals, He never believed in equating the ritual with Faith. Faith in a Higher power is different from ritualistic practices. He was not bound by any rules, regulations etc. but by the devotion of His devotees! Sai Ram.

He encouraged wrestling bouts in this festival, and gave good prizes to winners. When the Gokul Ashtami came, He got the 'Gopal-Kala' ceremony duly performed and on Id festivals, He allowed Mahomedans to say their prayers (Namaj) in His Masjid. Once in the Moharum festival, some Mahomedans proposed to contruct a Tajiya or Tabut in the Masjid, keep it there for some days and afterwards take it in procession through the village. Sai Baba allowed the keeping of the Tabut for four days, and on the fifth day removed it out of the Masjid without the least compunction. If we say that He was a Mahomedan, His ears were pierced (i.e. had holes according to Hindu fashion). If you think that He was a Hindu, He advocated the practice of circumcision (though according to Mr. Nanasaheb Chandorkar, who observed Him closely, He was not Himself circumcised. Vide article in Sai Leela on "Baba Hindu Ki Yavan" by B.V. Deo, page 562). If you call Him Hindu, He always lived in the Masjid; if Mahomedan, He had always the Dhuni - sacred fire there, and the following things which are contrary to Mahomedan religion, i.e., grinding on the handmill, blowing of the conch and bells, oblation in the fire, Bhajan, giving of food, and worship of Baba's Feet by means of ARGHYA (water) were always allowed there. If you think that He was a Mahomedan, the best of Brahmins and Agnihotris, leaving aside their orthodox ways, fell prostrate at His Feet.

Sai Ram. By their Tapas and by His grace, these people could overcome the Maya and could see Sai as the Jnana Bhaskara, the Glorious Sun of Knowledge, the Yoga Agni, which burns all their Sins and Avidya. One becomes sacred only when He undergoes various Samskaras (Purification Rites) - not for His body, but for his body-mind-intellect-ego and thus gets the true Brahma Jnana. An Agnihotri is one who worships Fire God daily and it is well known that Fire purifies and burns all the Ignorance and Sins. So, they could see Sai to be what He truly was, not confined to the five feet six inches of body nor confined to Shirdi location. He was seen as the Satchidananda Parabrahma.

Those who went to make enquiries about his nationality were dumb-founded and were captured by his darshana. So none could definitely decide whether Sai Baba was a Hindu or a Mahomedan*. (See below this paragraph) This is no wonder; for he who completely surrenders himself to the Lord, by getting rid of his egoism and body consciousness; thus becomes one with Him, and has nothing to do with any questions of caste or nationality. Such a one as Sai Baba was, saw no difference between caste and caste and even beings and beings. He took meat and fish with Fakirs, but did not grumble when dogs touched the dishes with their mouths.

Sai Ram. Sai Baba had this wonderful power of blanking the mental thought waves of those who went to Him, so that they could not remember to ask Him the questions, which He didn't want them to ask! And since He looked upon all food as Brahma (Annam Brahma - Food is Brahma, Annamannada evacha - He is Food and He is also Food Giver - Vishnu Sahasranama; many such aphorisms can be found), He didn't differentiate between vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, the dog and Himself etc. In later chapters, we will read the wonderful story of how Sai gave some deep spiritual lessons to some chosen devotees by accepting their food assuming the form of dogs! He never looked upon food as something to be enjoyed. For Him, the sole role of food was to nourish the body. And He downplayed the importance of hygiene since He was One with all living and non-living beings. But at the same time, He never encouraged people to go out of their Varnasrama Dharma, since such transgressions are motivated by desires for pleasures.

[* Note--(1) Mhalsapati, an intimate Shirdi devotee of Baba, who always slept with Him in the Masjid and Chavadi, said that Sai Baba told him that He was a Brahmin of Pathari and was handed over to a Fakir in his infancy, and when He told this, some men from Pathari had come, and Baba was enquiring about some men from that place. Vide sai Leela 1924, Page 179. (2) Mrs. Kashibai Kanitkar, the famous learned woman of Poona says in the experience No.8, published on Page 79, Sai Leela Vol. 11,1934, - "On hearing of Baba's miracles, we were discussing according to our theosophic convention and fashion whether Sai Baba belonged to Black or White Lodge. When once I went to Shirdi, I was thinking seriously about this in my mind. As soon as I approached the steps of the Masjid, Baba came to the front and pointing to His chest and staring at me spoke rather vehemently -"This is a Brahmin, pure Brahmin. He has nothing to do with black things. No Musalman can dare to step in here. He dare not." Again pointing to his chest - "This Brahmin can bring lacks of men on the white path and take them to their destination. This is a Brahmin's Masjid and I won't allow any black Mahomedan to cast his shadow here." ]

Such a unique and wonderful incarnation was Sai Baba. On account of the merits in my past birth, I had the good fortune to sit at His Feet and enjoy His blessed company. The joy and delight I derived therefrom was incomparable. In fact Sai Baba was pure Anand and Consciousness. I cannot sufficiently describle Him, His greatness and uniqueness. He who took delight at His Feet, was established in His own self. Many Sanyasis, Sadhakas and all sorts of men aspiring for salvation came to Sai Baba. He always walked, talked and laughed with them and always uttered 'Allah Malik' (God is the sole owner). He never liked discussion or arguments. He was always calm and controlled, though irritable at times, always preached full Vedanta and nobody knew till the last who Baba was. He treated princes and poor people alike. He knew the inmost secrets of all, and when He gave expression to them, all were surprised. He was the repository of all knowledge, but feigned ignorance. He also disliked honour. Such were the characteristics of Sai Baba. Though, He had a human body, His deeds testified to His Godhood. All people considered Him as the Lord God in Shirdi.

Sai Ram. Who was Baba? He was the indweller, Antaryami, He was the Paramatma, the Supreme Soul, The Self of all of us. He knew the inmost secrets of all, because He was the indweller of all of us. We, because of Maya, ignorance, were identifying ourselves with our bodies, minds and limited consciousness, and thus with our individual egos. He was above all these frailties and was one with the Universal Self. He took a human body and stayed in Shirdi to bless devotees like us.

The difference between a God and a devotee is only this. God is ego less and so is one with all. The devotee is still in dwaita bhava, dualistic mode of worship. The devotee is looking outside his heart to an external symbol in the form of a living Guru or an idol. The Guru or the God also takes that form so that with this ritualistic worship, the mind of the devotee gets purified and becomes fit to receive the true Knowledge. The devotee is enlightened about the fact that the external is but a representation of the internal. Further he becomes aware that the body of the Guru or the idol is but a symbol, to help the devotee to focus his attention, to still the restless mind.