Sai Baba the Master by E.Bharadwaja

[Guest guest]

V

 

The writer expresses his thanks to the Sai Baba Samsthan, Shirdi, All

India Sai Samaj, Madras and Sai Spiritual Centre, Bangalore, for the

kind

permission accorded to him to utilize the material available in all

their

publications and journals. Thanks are also due to all other writers of

books published in Hindi, Gujarathi and Marathi for the material drawn

from them. My special thanks go to those devotees of Baba, like Sri

Marthand Mahalsapathi, Sri Nanasaheb Rasne, late Sri Sai

Sharananandaji,

who shared the reminiscences of their life in the immediate presence

of

Baba. Finally, I acknowledge with thanks the immense assistance

extended

to me by Sri Sivanesan Swami of Shirdi in reading out to me from the

back

numbers of “Sai Leela” (Marathi), the official organ of the Sai

Samsthan,

Shirdi.

The Master Calls Me

My quest for truth was awakened by the tragic demise of my nephew in

1955

on the occasion of my initiation (sacred thread) ceremony. Now I see,

in

retrospect, that it was indeed an initiation. The initial heartbreak

had

left and, in its wake, several fundamental questions arose in me: “Is

there a Supreme Spirit? What is the nature? How can we contact it?

What is

life? What is death? Is there a soul? Why hasn’t man found a way out

of

death? What is Time?” and such others. The search went on unanswered

till

1960. One evening in that year, when I was taking a stroll, something

mysterious occurred somewhere deep in me and all the questions

vanished in

a trice and peace prevailed. These questions seemed out of place, of

no

value any longer. A book on Zen which came to my hand quite unasked

for,

contained a description of inner illumination or satori which came

nearest

to my experience. It was a pleasant surprise and a promise. The quest

took

on a richer hue.

 

 

V

The writer expresses his thanks to the Sai Baba Samsthan, Shirdi, All

India Sai Samaj, Madras and Sai Spiritual Centre, Bangalore, for the

kind

permission accorded to him to utilize the material available in all

their

publications and journals. Thanks are also due to all other writers of

books published in Hindi, Gujarathi and Marathi for the material drawn

from them. My special thanks go to those devotees of Baba, like Sri

Marthand Mahalsapathi, Sri Nanasaheb Rasne, late Sri Sai

Sharananandaji,

who shared the reminiscences of their life in the immediate presence

of

Baba. Finally, I acknowledge with thanks the immense assistance

extended

to me by Sri Sivanesan Swami of Shirdi in reading out to me from the

back

numbers of “Sai Leela” (Marathi), the official organ of the Sai

Samsthan,

Shirdi.

The Master Calls Me

 

 

 

My quest for truth was awakened by the tragic demise of my nephew in

1955

on the occasion of my initiation (sacred thread) ceremony. Now I see,

in

retrospect, that it was indeed an initiation. The initial heartbreak

had

left and, in its wake, several fundamental questions arose in me: “Is

there a Supreme Spirit? What is the nature? How can we contact it?

What is

life? What is death? Is there a soul? Why hasn’t man found a way out

of

death? What is Time?” and such others. The search went on unanswered

till

1960. One evening in that year, when I was taking a stroll, something

mysterious occurred somewhere deep in me and all the questions

vanished in

a trice and peace prevailed. These questions seemed out of place, of

no

value any longer. A book on Zen which came to my hand quite unasked

for,

contained a description of inner illumination or satori which came

nearest

to my experience. It was a pleasant surprise and a promise. The quest

took

on a richer hue.

 

In 1963, my elder brother Sri E. Vedavyas invited me to join him on

his

visit to Shirdi. Though I had little faith in saints at that time, I

consented just to give him my company. On the 8th of February we

reached

Shirdi at sunset and we went straight to the samadhi mandir to attend

the

arti. The deep faith that shone on the faces of the congregation for

the

saint who left off his physical frame nearly half a century ago, was

surprise to me. Soon after, the devotees dispersed and the shrine was

mostly empty. My brother showed me the tomb at close quarters and told

me

that Sri Baba’s mortal remains were kept in it. That being my first

close

look of a tomb, I was shocked. My first reaction was to imagine in

what a

putrefied condition the body must have been. The marble structure of

the

tomb and the profuse incense that was burnt there made me suppose that

it

was intended to keep out any stench that might possibly leak out. The

thought was revolting and nauseating. I at once took leave of my

brother

and slept in the room, unable even to relish food, in the wake of the

shock.

 

 

 

Next morning, a keen apetite woke me up and I made straight for the Madras

hotel. As I passed before the samadhi mandir, I found that the morning

arti was over and the place was almost vacant. The sight of the marble

statue over the samadhi attracted my attention and I wanted to have a

close look at the form that continues to charm so many devotees. I

stepped

in and stood at a little distance from the statue and looked at it. It

is

quite life-like and I felt that the saint must have looked precisely

like

that. The sculptor must have been divinely inspired in capturing that

mysterious smile and the inward look. The look captured my gaze. “What

does his face, especially his look and smile, indicate of his

attitude?

Was he elated that so many visited him to pay their homage, adore and

worship him? Or was he overwhelmed with compassion for them? Or, in

that

mood, was he oblivious of his separate existence, his gaze fixed on

the

divine mystery, the one omnipresent spirit? Or was it a look of

recognition of that ancient spirit, of his contacts with those teeming

crowds that had contacted him through their countless previous lives?

And,

was that smile of reunion pregnant with his joy of their future

possibility of reaching the spiritual summit? Or was he just oblivious

of

all this, lost in his ceaseless contemplation of the one spirit, in

his

at-one-ment? And is the mysterious Monolisa-smile a manifestation of

that

peace which passeth understanding? Or is there a possibility that at a

higher level of consciousness all these attitudes could coexist

without

the one interrupting the other?”

 

This last thought flashed with a particular intensity and my spirit

leapt

forth to comprehend how, in that state, he was viewing all this

existence:

“Is the universe of myriad forms an image projected in his

consciousness?

And am I, then, too, a thought in his Mind and are all these my

thoughts

parts of it?” The intuition took off and wafted my being into far-off

states. I knew of nothing else. My being was still, taut with a

particular

illumination and my thoughts were both existent and non-existent. I am

aware how absurd these words must look to anyone. But what else can

they

be when I verbalize what cannot be conveyed?

 

 

Source http://www.saibharadwaja.org)