Sai Baba the Master by E.Bharadwaja

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Introduction

 

Man, in the first flush of scientific advancement, has considered religion

to be a relic of superstition of primitive humanity. Today, the very advance

of science has brought back the sense of awe and wonder at the immensity of

the cosmos. Every step forward in science has made us aware how imperfect

and tentative our knowledge has been, and is bound to be. The universe, with

its mind-shattering dimensions, distances and speeds, down to the sub-atomic

particles is basically a mystery.

 

That our knowledge should be incomplete can be easily understood: If the

entire history of life on earth be equated to a hundred years, man’s history

occupies about a hundred minutes and that of modern science, a mere two

seconds. That our knowledge is bound to be imperfect and incomplete can also

be understood: “We know nothing of the universe beyond the effects that its

happening produce on our senses, either directly or through the intervention

of instruments,” says Sir James Jeans. The sense organs register the various

stimuli as vibrations and convey them to the brain. Our mind assembles its

image of the external universe from them. The range of perception of our

sense is very limited and there are bound to be vibrations which they cannot

capture. Thus our experience of the universe is only a fraction of what it

is; that too, a subjective projection of it. For we never can experience the

source of even the vibrations that our senses gather.

 

This brings us to our knowledge of ourselves. Psychologists tell us that we

are aware of only a minute fraction of our psyche, our being, i.e., of our

potential for knowledge. Ancient spiritual philosophy which underlies

religions and is confirmed by all great saints has a lot to offer us in this

realm. It tells us that while our common means of knowledge is the mind

functioning outwards through the senses, perceiving the discreteness of

things in nature, the introverted mind of the saint goes deep down to the

spiritual core of our being and experiences the spiritual unity of all that

is. The latter thus realizes that Reality is normally veiled by the very

make and functioning of our senses and by our normal awareness which is

conditioned by them. In the mystic experience, on the other hand, man

recognizes his identity with the Reality of all existence. The common form

of knowledge is knowledge of particular things and does not affect our

being, while mystical experience is knowledge of the unity of all existence

which alchemizes our being. It transcends the limitations of individuality

and leads to profound bliss and ‘peace which passeth understanding’. The

genuine spiritual experience of great mystics and even of some common

individuals should enable us not to confuse their knowledge with the

subjective delusions of deranged minds. The perfect blossoming of spiritual

values in a genuine mystic, the peace and bliss he experiences and emanates

are the promises which spiritual life holds out to humanity.

 

 

II

 

The significances of an accomplished mystic to religion is inestimable. All

major religions sprang from the mystic experience of such - the Rishis of

the Vedas and Upanishads; the Masters of Taoism, the Buddha, the Christ and

prophet Mohammad. All religions are sustained too, from time to time, by the

saints who demonstrate in their lives, the truth of the promise of religious

life, that any mortal can realize the Spirit through genuine effort. The

individual seekers too derive the true interpretation of the scriptures from

the lives and teachings of such. Upanishads say that a disciplined seeker

has to seek the guidance of a realized sage and Sri Krishna says the same in

The Bhagavadgita (ch. iv : 34). The third of the three vows of Budhism,

“Sangham Sharanam Gacchami”, affirms the need to seek the association of the

wise. The Chirst says, “No one can come to the Father save through me”. He

finds it so essential to spiritual life that he chooses to seek baptism from

John the Baptist “for righteousness’ sake”. The esoteric school of Islam,

Sufism, enjoins a seeker to resort to the Pir-O-Murshad. Even modern saints

like Guru Nanak and Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa were divinely directed to

Masters even at an advanced stage of sadhana.

 

The point is driven home even more powerfully in world’s mythologies. In

Hinduism, Lord Dattatreya is the Avatar that manifests Himself to awaken and

lead mankind to the verities of spiritual life. It is he that reveals

himself in all the world’s perfect masters of wisdom. The Budha and the

Bodhisattvas are said to reincarnate for the same end. Every Christian saint

had declared at the moment of realization that Christ lives in him and not

he. Sai Baba of Shirdi has demonstrated that the One spirit of wisdom of all

saints is He.

 

Further, all the world’s mystical works say that association with a Master

is of greater value than the study of scriptures. For the Master interprets

the scriptures in a manner which is appropriate to his times and to the

individual seekers and thus enables them to live up to the spirit (rather

than the letter) of religion.

 

III

 

Yet it is hard to recognize genuine spiritual masters among the

teeming

half-baked ones with false claims. It is the latter class that make

organized religion an odious mess that repels the cultured today. To

help

the common seekers to find genuine Masters, all religions have adopted

some common means. Firstly, the lives and teachings of great masters

bring

into relief the hall marks of such a one. Some scriptures even clearly

spell them as The Bhagavadgita does the qualities of a sthithaprajna,

or

one who is firmly established in wisdom.

 

Even with this help, not all can discern a true Master, For there are

several clever ones who can successfully deceive people - “wolves in

the

lamb’s coat”, as the Bible says. Here certain religious traditions

have

pointed to a higher law which can help. It is said that when the

seeker is

earnest in his efforts and ripe to receive the Master he is sure to

arrive. The Bridegroom knocks and we have to be watchful. All that we

can

and ought to do lies in preparing to receive the Master.

 

The most potent means of self-preparation is the devout and

intelligent

study of the lives and teachings of the great Masters. The Master is

the

bridge between the human and the Divine, objectively. When a seeker

reads

his life, the human in the seeker intuits and intuitively contacts the

Divine in himself and the inner bridge is thus built. When the process

is

complete, his accomplishment is corroborated by the external contact

with

the Master and eventually, the external and the internal become one.

The

Master is thus within (as “the Kingdom of heaven” is) and without (as

the

Christ is) too. The Master and the seeker thus become one in the

Spirit.

 

 

In the earlier stages of such reading, the seeker is charmed by a vision,

in the Master, of his own infinite spiritual potentialities being

realized

and is thus spurred on to zealous, optimistic endeavour. The infinite

power and love of the Master grips the seeker’s heart in steadfast

devotion. From the lay stage of craving for worldly good in prayer, he

becomes a true seeker of the Divine which is Love and Bliss, for its

own

sake. Such a one would most willingly bear the cross of worldly

suffering,

his heart set on the goal, the end of all sorrow, and follow the

Master.

Let us remember that all true Hindu, Buddhists, Christians and Muslims

are

people who are drawn to true religion by the lives of the sages, the

Buddhas, the Christ and the Prophet. This tradition is represented by

the

works, Sri Gurucharitra in Maharashtra (India), and by Periyapuranam

in

Tamilnadu. In ancient India Th Gurugita and The Bhagavata were widely

used

for the purpose. The instances of readers who were divinely directed

to

their Masters by such study are legion. The most famous is the

instance of

young Venkataraman being galvanized into an ardent seeker by a study

of

The Periyapuranam and, after his subsequent Self-realization which can

be

traced to it, he became famous as Sri Ramana Maharshi.

 

The immediate presence of a sage is a myriad times more effective than

all

of one’s own spiritual endeavours. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Sri

Ramana Maharshi were emphatic about it. But such association is not

possible for all to the needed extent. To one such, Sri Ramana

Maharshi

said, “Satsang is association with the Divine Reality which is eternal

and

omnipresent. To be aware of it at all times is satsang. Devout study

of

lives of those who are realized too can constitute satsang, or

association

with the enlightened ones.”

 

 

To most of us, the study of the lives of perfect masters is even more

effective. For human nature being such, even when we live with a sage,

we

tend to focus our attention more on his physical frame than on his

realization which is the essence of it all. Even the apostles of

Christ

faltered when their boat was tossed by a storm and the Christ chid

them as

those of “little faith”. Arjuna confesses to such an error in regard

to

Krishna in the Bhagavadgita. But when we study the life of a Master,

we

unfalteringly focus our attention on the Supreme wisdom-in-action

which is

the Master. Thereby, we are trained to do the same when we eventually

contact a living Master, as it happened in the case of Sai Baba; or

our

contact with the Master might remain at a purely spiritual level and

alchemise us, as happened in the case of Sri Ramana Maharshi. For when

a

devotee asked the sage how he happened to realize without the help of

a

guru, he said that he too had one, though not in the form which the

devotee expected.

IV

In this context, the life of Sri Sai Baba of Shirdi, I feel, is

unique. He

does not merely teach about the omnipresent Spirit. Indeed, his verbal

teaching is minimal. For there are scriptures galore to do that. But

mere

verbal teaching cannot strike deep root in the hearts of common folk.

Sri

Sai Baba has therefore taught through direct experiences. He baptized

mostly through the Holy Ghost. He showed unerring, at-one-ment with

all

gods of Hindus, all saints, all creatures and even with so-called

inanimate objects. He was ever aware of what transpired within and

without

his devotees everywhere. His devotees had no choice but to be aware of

an

omnipresent and omniscient Baba. The result is that at one stroke,

their

conduct and attitude to fellow-creatures were bound to conform to the

highest codes of altruism. Wherever the devotee was, he was made to

recognize that Baba was, in spirit, with him indeed. The implications

of

this aspect of Baba are rich beyond measure. The heart of all

spiritual

endeavour is to cultivate the presence of the Spirit uninterruptedly

and

this was secured for the Sai devotee - how remarkably, the succeeding

chapters illustrate.

 

Beside this, the manifestation of the Spirit as Sri Sai Baba is unique in

another respect. No one knows his caste, creed, or parentage. This

anonymity lent a strange facet to his teaching. To the Hindus he was

an

orthodox brahmin with sacred fire, enjoining the worship of the many

gods

and the devout study of various Hindu scriptures; he even named the

mosque

as Dwarakamai and planted the Tulasi in its frontyard and then allowed

himself to be worshipped by his devotees in the Hindu fashion. To the

moslems, he was a moslem, a pir, living in a mosque, observing the

discipline enjoined for a fakir, always uttering the Islamic Allah

Malik,

guiding moslem seekers like Abdul Baba along the Islamic line. To the

Parsis, he was the sacred fire-worshipper. His life, too, is a living

manifestation of the Sermon of the Christ and of the eight fold path

of

the Buddha. Thus, in him were have a perfect model of harmony of all

religions for whom this world, with all its sectarian and religious

antagonisms, has been looking forward.

 

A third feature that specially belongs to him is this: Most of the

religious scriptures and holy men seem to suggest that one ought not

to

aspire for this or that material goal, in being devoted to a guru or

god.

Sri Sai Baba never laid down such a rule. Indeed, once, when a

self-assured devotee dissuaded a few visitors who came to Sai Baba for

the

fulfilment of material needs, the Master told him not do so.

 

The fourth unique feature is the phenomenally large number of

instances in

which the great fakir has been physically appearing before his

devotees,

even decades after his mahasamadhi literally fulfilling his verbal

assurance on the great event.

 

Source http://www.saibharadwaja.org)