Religion: Sai Baba's teachings

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Thursday January 5, 2006

RELIGION: Sai Baba's teachings

Sai Baba believes that he is a reincarnate of the original Sai Baba and thus

continues his teachings. He believes strongly in the one God and encourages

others to do so through devotion. Most of his ideas are based on the Hindu

tradition but he takes a more practical approach; he expands the context to

include doing pious works and helping the world. Thus, he and many of his

followers do volunteer service in India and other countries. Below are more

details of his beliefs. Dedication to the Guru and God In the Sai Baba

religion, there is only one true God although he is called by many names: Allah

by the Muslims, Krishna or Vishnu by the Hindus, or Lord by the Christians. It

does not matter what people call him as long as they believe in him because

only an unreligious person is wrong. Thus, Sai Baba welcomes all religions and

encourages unity although he mainly takes his ideas from Hinduism. Guru is a

Sanskrit (ancient Indian language) word meaning teacher. In this case, Sai Baba

is the teacher who leads his followers on the path of God. Followers must be

devoted and hold trust in the Guru. They must also offer puja, religious

offerings such as food, to God. There is a spiritual progress, or a bond of the

guru and disciple, in the process of Bhakti; Bhakti is when God communicates to

the devotee and the devotee participates in the love by offering himself only

to God. Sai Baba is a divine incarnation (not God himself) destined to be the

intermediary in this process. Devotion to God is foremost important and it can

come in many forms. The forms are: 1) Repeating God's name, or mantras, many

times. 2) Reading holy texts or listening to religious talks. 3) Singing God's

hymns while talking about his exploits. 4) Deep contemplation or meditation

called dhyana. 5) Murmuring passages from the Scriptures. 6) Sitting quietly

and clearing the mind to attain moksha. (Rigoplouso, 1993: 270-285) Source:

http://www.centralchronicle.com/20060105/religion.htm

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