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.

 

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.

 

Source http://www.saibharadwaja.org)