Who is Baghwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba?......!!! Jai Sai Ram

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Who is Sri Sathya Sai Baba?

 

"I am God. And you too are God. The only difference between you and

Me is that while I am aware of it, you are completely unaware."

This is the answer Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba gives to people who

query Him about His identity and divinity. This fundamental truth of

man's divine nature is at the heart of His message and mission.

Indeed, in His discourses to devotees, He addresses them

as "Embodiments of the Divine Atma". All who experience His pure

and selfless love, and benefit from His illuminating counsel, and

witness His miraculous nature get a glimpse of the glory and majesty

of God, and therefore of what one potentially and inherently is.

 

Sri Sathya Sai Baba was born as Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23,

1926 in the village of Puttaparthi, in the state of Andhra Pradesh

in South India. Even as a child, His spiritual inclination and

contemplative nature set Him apart from other children of His age,

and He was known as `Guru' and "Brahmajnani' (knower of Brahman

or Godhead) among His peers and others in the village. However, it

was not until October 20, 1940, the day He made the historic

declaration of His Avatarhood, (Avatar - Divinity Incarnate) that

the world at large learnt of this divine phenomenon. Today, millions

of devotees from all over the world, professing various faiths, and

hailing from various walks of life worship Him as an `Avatar', and

an incarnation of the Sai Baba of Shirdi. Thousands gather every day

at Prasanthi Nilayam, His ashram established beside the village of

Puttaparthi, for His Darshan, when He moves among devotees blessing

them and providing spiritual succour and solace.

 

Revealing the purpose of His Advent, Sai Baba has said that He has

come to re-establish the rhythm of righteousness in the world and

repair the ancient highway to God, which over the years has

systematically deteriorated. In His own words, "This Sai has come

in order to achieve the supreme task of uniting the entire mankind

as one family through the bond of brotherhood, of affirming and

illuminating the Atmic Reality (Atma – The Self) of each being, to

reveal the Divine which is the basis on which the entire cosmos

rests, and of instructing all to recognise the common Divine

Heritage that binds man to man, so that man can rid himself of the

animal and rise up to the Divine, which is the goal."

 

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is an integral manifestation who

combines two very significant roles. Firstly, He is a great

spiritual Master, famed for His simple and sweet exposition of the

greatest and most intricate of spiritual truths which form the

fundamental teachings of all the religions of the world. Elucidating

on His mission, Bhagawan declares "I have come not to disturb or

destroy any faith, but to confirm each in his own faith, so that the

Christian becomes a better Christian, the Muslim a better Muslim and

the Hindu a better Hindu." His formula for man to lead a meaningful

life is the five-fold path of Sathya (Truth), Dharma

(Righteousness), Shanthi (Peace), Prema (Love) and Ahimsa (Non-

Violence). Love for God, fear of sin and morality in society – these

are His prescriptions for our ailing world.

 

Secondly, He is an inexhaustible reservoir of pure love. His

numerous service projects, be it free hospitals, free schools and

colleges, free drinking water supply or free housing projects, all

stand testimony to His selfless love and compassion for the needy

and less privileged. True to His declaration - "My Life is My

Message", He has inspired and continues to inspire millions of His

devotees worldwide by His personal example to live the ideal that

service to man is service to God. The Sri Sathya Sai Organization

today has a presence in over 167 countries in the world and members

undertake group service activities that benefit their immediate

community.

 

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is thus a beacon of hope in a world

that is desperately seeking an end to the unrest and sorrow

prevalent today. His message of "Brotherhood of Man and the

Fatherhood of God" is a spiritual salve that will lead mankind from

the darkness of ignorance to the light of immortality. Indeed, very

rarely does such a divine power walk the earth. As one devotee

said, "Bhagawan Baba is nothing but Love walking on two feet".

Mankind must use this golden opportunity to follow in His footsteps.

That is the way to its redemption and its salvation.

 

The Concept of Avatarhood

Who is an `Avatar' and why does He incarnate?

 

Who is an Avatar?

 

An `Avatar' is defined as an incarnation (physical manifestation)

of the Supreme Being. The word `Avatar' is derived from the

Sanskrit word `Avataranam' which means `descent', and usually

implies a deliberate descent of the Divine into the mortal realms to

reveal the Absolute Truth to humanity and remind them of their true

divine nature. Though Avatars may appear in different forms at

different times, places and circumstances, yet they are all the

manifestations of the One Supreme Lord.

 

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Avatar of the Age, has succinctly

explained the meaning and the reason for the descent of the Avatar

in the following Telugu verse:

 

"Avatarinchuta yanutalo Arthamemi?

Janulapai Preethi Vaatsalya Paratha thoda

Vaari Sthaayaiki Daivambu Vachchu Bhuviki

Jeeva Prajnatho baatuga Daiva prajna"

 

He says that Formless God takes a form and descends upon the Earth

as an expression of His boundless love and affection towards

humanity. The Avatar is an enigmatic, yet delightful blend of

individual consciousness and the Divine Consciousness. The Avatar

behaves in a human way so that mankind can feel kinship with Him,

but rises to His super-human heights so that mankind can aspire to

reach those heights.

 

In Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Sri Krishna, the Avatar of the Dwapara Age,

declares thus:

 

"Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya Glanirbhavathi Bharatha

Abhyukthanam adharmasya Thadathmanam Srujamyaham."

"Parithranaya Sadhunam Vinashaya cha Dhushkrutham

Dharma samsthapanarthaya Sambhavami Yuge Yuge"

 

Whenever there is a decline of Righteousness and rise of evil, the

Lord incarnates from time to time to uphold Righteousness, to

protect the Virtuous and to uproot the evil.

 

The Avatar appears whenever the world is passing through a spiritual

and moral crisis. The Avatar comes in order to uphold Dharma

(Righteousness) and raise the universal consciousness.

 

Why does He incarnate?

 

One may ask - why should the Lord Himself incarnate? Why should He

not set about the task of restoring Dharma through the many minor

gods and angels that He has at His command? The Mughal Emperor Akbar

once posed the same question before the courtiers, for he scoffed at

the Hindu idea of the Formless adopting a Form and descending into

the world as an Avatar to save Dharma. Tansen (the celebrated

courtier in Akbar's court, known for his wit and wisdom) asked for

a week's time to answer the question. A few days later, when he was

in the pleasure boat of the emperor, sailing across the lake with

his family, Tansen threw overboard a doll made to look like the

emperor's little son, crying at the same time, "O, the prince has

fallen into the water!" Hearing this, immediately the emperor jumped

into the lake to rescue his son. Tansen then disclosed that it was

only a doll and that the prince was safe. He allayed the anger of

Akbar by explaining that he had to perforce enact this drama in

order to demonstrate the truth of the Hindu belief that God takes

human form to save Dharma without commissioning some other entity to

carry out that task. Akbar could have ordered one among the many

personnel he had on board to jump in and rescue his son. But his

affection was so great and the urgency so acute that the emperor

himself plunged into the lake to save his son from drowning. The

decline in Dharma is so acute a tragedy and the intensity of

affection that the Lord has for good men is so great that He Himself

comes to the rescue.

 

The Triune Sai Avatar

 

The Divine mysteries cannot be fathomed by the human mind, unless

God himself chooses to unlock them out of His immense love and

compassion. Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, in a landmark discourse on

6th July, 1963, the Guru Poornima Day, declared the secret behind

His advent. He revealed that the Sai Avatar is a triple incarnation

of the Shiva-Shakthi Principle – Shiva as Shirdi Sai Baba, Shiva and

Parvathi embodied as Sri Sathya Sai Baba and the Shakthi Principle

that will incarnate as Prema Sai in the Mandya District of the state

of Karnataka. Click here for the complete text of the Guru Poornima

Discourse of 6th July 1963.

 

Even in His childhood days, Swami used to refer to `The Saint of

Shirdi' in the songs that He taught His companions. Very few in

that region had ever seen or heard about Shirdi or Sai Baba. Little

did they realize that the child in their midst, singing and dancing

so captivatingly would, in a few years, make their village another

Shirdi to which hundreds and thousands would come seeking the same

Baba!

 

Sai Baba of Shirdi was born in a remote village called Pathri in

Maharashtra on September 28, 1835 to the couple, Gangabhavadiya and

Devagiriamma. Gangabhavadiya, overcome with a feeling of intense

renunciation immediately after the child's birth, decided to retire

into a forest. With Devagiriamma religiously following her husband,

the newborn was left in nature's care. A pious Muslim and his wife

took care of the abandoned child till He was four years of age. Then

they handed Him over to a spiritual master by name Gopalrao Deshmukh

(also known as Venkusa). For 12 years, till 1851, Baba stayed in Sri

Venkusa's ashram. One night in 1851, for the first time, Baba came

to Shirdi. However, He left after a two month stay. He returned to

Shirdi again in 1858 and stayed there for 60 long years. Just prior

to His shedding the mortal coil in 1918, Shirdi Baba told some of

His devotees that He would reappear in the Madras Presidency in 8

years time. Sri Sathya Sai Baba, born in 1926, declared that He was

Shirdi Baba come again.

 

Sathya Sai Baba invariably refers to Shirdi Baba as 'my previous

body' whenever He speaks about Him. He often describes to His

devotees, how He in His previous body dealt with people and

situations, what illustrations He gave to clarify certain points,

what questions were asked, etc. Many devotees of Shirdi Baba have

had experiences confirming the unity of the two Sais. Click here to

read some of these instances.

 

http://srisathyasai.org.in/Pages/SriSathyaSaiBaba/Introduction.htm

 

Jai Sai Ram

Swamy Mahadevan

Bow to Shri Sai-Peace be to all

Baba Bless you ever!!!