Although most people might have read 'Sai Satcharitra' written the greatest disciple of Sai, Hemadpant, only a few are really following what is said in the book. To express the life of Sai in simple words so that everyone can easily follow in his foot steps, I will be writing about his life, what we should be really doing and how we should follow in the foot steps of Sai. I hope that my sincere effort will atleast enlighten a few minds and I am sure that by Sai's grace I will be able to achieve this.
Sai Baba, one of the foremost saints of modern India, lived in the little village of Shirdi in the State of Maharashtra for sixty years and elevated it to the status of a great spiritual center.He never preached, toured, nor discoursed. He never advertised himself. He rather shunned and discouraged unnecessary publicity. Yet by the sheer brilliance of his spiritual fire he did draw innumerable devotees to him from all over the country, irrespective of their caste or creed. When he took samadhi in 1918 (i.e., left off his physical body) he never installed anyone as a successor to his spiritual throne at Shirdi. Yet his very power to mould and develop his devotees spiritually is such that even more than 50 years after his samadhi, Sai Baba is still a dynamic spiritual force which countless Indians invoke for their spiritual and material welfare. If he were an ordinary guru would this be possible???
Sai is PARAMAGURU (The greatest of all Sadguru's who came to this earth to spread the truth). He came to this earth to give his devotees "gynam" (gyana or knowledge/understanding). He did with the power of "SAKTHIPATAM". This will be explained in detail in subsequent posts.
Many books have been written of him in various Indian languages. Many great guru's have learnt from his sayings and spreading the "gynam". One such great guru is Sri. Ramanananda Maharshi. Saibaba transfered the power of knowledge to Sri. Ramanananda through Sakthipatam. You can find more about Sri. Ramanananda from the website http://www.shirdisaianugrahapeetam.org/
He has written some great books, sang some great songs. Please visit the website to learn more.
Saibaba Relevance in this present world
What is of special relevance to present day India in Sai Baba’s gospel and example is that religious and communal differences are meaningless in matters of the spirit.Yet surprising as it may sound, a god-man of his stature and fame is without a name. No one knows his original name, time and place of birth, his religion and caste, not even of his parents. He never revealed the same to anybody. ‘Sai Baba’, the name by which he came to be known, is what has been used by one of his first devotees to greet him on his second arrival at Shirdi. ‘Sai’ means ‘saint’ and ‘Baba’ means ‘father’. The name is thus just an expression of love and reverence due to such a spiritual giant as he, and is not a personal name. He allowed himself to be addressed as such, ever since.All that we definitely know of Sai Baba is that his arrival at Shirdi was very sudden. One day he appeared as a boy of sixteen or seventeen, seated under a neem (or margosa) tree in the outskirts of the village of Shirdi, about the year 1854. However, even this date is not definitely noted.
An old woman of Shirdi, mother of one Nana Chopdar described him thus - “This young lad, fair, smart and very handsome, was first seen under the neem tree, seated in an asana. The people of the village were wonder-struck to see such a young lad practicing hard penance, not minding heat and cold. By day he associated with none, by night he was afraid of nobody. People were wondering and asking whence this young chap turned up. His form and features were so beautiful that a mere look endeared him to all. He went to nobody’s door, but always sat near the neem tree. Outwardly he looked very young but by his action He was really a great soul. He was the embodiment of dispassion and was an enigma to all. One day it so happened that God Khandoba possessed the body of some devotee and people began to ask him “Deva (god), you please tell us what blessed father’s son is this lad and whence did he come?” God Khandoba asked them to bring a pick-axe and dig in a particular place. When it was dug, bricks were found and underneath that, a flat stone. When the stone was removed, a corridor was seen in which four samayis (earthen lamps) were burning. The corridor led to a cellar where cow-mouth shaped structures, wooden boards and necklaces were seen. Khandoba said, “ ‘This lad practiced penance here for 12 years’. Then the people began to question the lad about this. He put them off the scent by telling them that this was his guru’s place, his holy watan (tomb or resting place), and requested them to guard it well. The people then closed the corridor as before.”
“Mahalsapathy was probably the first to introduce himself to Sri Sai Baba; he was so much impressed with the conversation he had with Baba that he thereafter saw him daily and introduced baba to his friends, Kasinath the tailor and Appa Jogle, saying that a fakir Sai Baba had made a sudden appearance on the outskirts of the village near the debris of the village wall, that he is far above the common man, a pure and holy man worth paying respects to. From that time onwards he came to be known as Sai Baba. This trio-Mahalspathy, Kasinath and Joge-daily went to Baba, paid their respects to him and supplied whatever little requirements he had. The news that one Sai Baba had manifested himself near the nimb (neem) tree on the outskirts of the village reached the ears of the late Appa Patil Kote and one day he, with his wife, went to Baba to pay his respects. He (Baba) left his seat, got up and welcomed Appa and told his wife that she had been veritably his sister. The lady Bayajibai, on seeing Baba, was so much impressed that she there and then resolved never to take her food without first feeding Baba.”
At first Sai Baba prescribed and gave medicines to the ailing visitors who sought his help but never charged nor accepted any money for the same. Not only that; if he found that there was none to look after or nurse the patient, he would himself be the nurse and serve him. Once it so happened that his patient failed to observe the rules of diet, etc., that Sai Baba had prescribed and henceforth Baba gave up administering medicine and gave only his ‘udi’ or holy ashes for their relief.Raghuji Gannapat Scinde Patel refers to this incident in his account: “As soon as Baba came to Shirdi, one Amanbhai, a Moslem gave him food. That Amabhai was visiting my mavusi’s (grand mother’s) house occasionally. Her son Ganapat Hari Kanade, aged thirty five, had leprosy and fever. Amanbhai told her that a holy man had come to his house and that he could treat her son. Then Baba came in and saw the patient and told Ganapat to catch a cobra courageously, as the cobra would not bite a leper. Ganapat caught a cobra and out of its poison, the medicine was prepared and given to Ganapat. He began to improve in a few days. But he did not observe Baba’s injunction to avoid sex-pleasures. So Baba stopped giving him further treatment. The disease developed and Ganapat died.Baba came to this very house to treat my younger brother Bhagoji, who was suffering from fever, at a very critical period, when death was imminent. Baba gave him some medicine and further had him branded with red-hot irons (one on each temple and one on the back). Bhagoji recovered his health, escaped death and fever.”Young ‘Sai Baba’ (even this title was not conferred on him by that time) stayed under the neem tree for about three years but suddenly left Shirdi. No one knew where he went or why. After a year or so, he again returned to Shirdi and stayed on there till his mahasamadhi in 1918 i.e., for sixty years.Where Saibaba was during the interval between his first and second visits to Shirdi is not definitely known. However, some vague hints are given by some devotees. For instance, Amoolchand Chandrabhan Seth of Rahata says. “My elder cousin Khusal Bhav who died on 5-11-1918 has told me that Sai Baba lived in a chavadi (now in ruins) at Rahata for some months or so; that previously Sai Baba lived with a Moslem saint Ali (Akbar Ali perhaps) whose portrait is still kept in our gin i.e., ‘Rahatekar’s gin’ near Wadia Park at Ahmednagar; that Daulu Sait had seen Baba with the saint at Ahmednagar and that Baba came from Ahmednagar to live at Rahata and then went to live at Shirdi.”
An old woman of Shirdi, mother of one Nana Chopdar described him thus - “This young lad, fair, smart and very handsome, was first seen under the neem tree, seated in an asana. The people of the village were wonder-struck to see such a young lad practicing hard penance, not minding heat and cold. By day he associated with none, by night he was afraid of nobody. People were wondering and asking whence this young chap turned up. His form and features were so beautiful that a mere look endeared him to all. He went to nobody’s door, but always sat near the neem tree. Outwardly he looked very young but by his action He was really a great soul. He was the embodiment of dispassion and was an enigma to all. One day it so happened that God Khandoba possessed the body of some devotee and people began to ask him “Deva (god), you please tell us what blessed father’s son is this lad and whence did he come?” God Khandoba asked them to bring a pick-axe and dig in a particular place. When it was dug, bricks were found and underneath that, a flat stone. When the stone was removed, a corridor was seen in which four samayis (earthen lamps) were burning. The corridor led to a cellar where cow-mouth shaped structures, wooden boards and necklaces were seen. Khandoba said, “ ‘This lad practiced penance here for 12 years’. Then the people began to question the lad about this. He put them off the scent by telling them that this was his guru’s place, his holy watan (tomb or resting place), and requested them to guard it well. The people then closed the corridor as before.”
“Mahalsapathy was probably the first to introduce himself to Sri Sai Baba; he was so much impressed with the conversation he had with Baba that he thereafter saw him daily and introduced baba to his friends, Kasinath the tailor and Appa Jogle, saying that a fakir Sai Baba had made a sudden appearance on the outskirts of the village near the debris of the village wall, that he is far above the common man, a pure and holy man worth paying respects to. From that time onwards he came to be known as Sai Baba. This trio-Mahalspathy, Kasinath and Joge-daily went to Baba, paid their respects to him and supplied whatever little requirements he had. The news that one Sai Baba had manifested himself near the nimb (neem) tree on the outskirts of the village reached the ears of the late Appa Patil Kote and one day he, with his wife, went to Baba to pay his respects. He (Baba) left his seat, got up and welcomed Appa and told his wife that she had been veritably his sister. The lady Bayajibai, on seeing Baba, was so much impressed that she there and then resolved never to take her food without first feeding Baba.”
At first Sai Baba prescribed and gave medicines to the ailing visitors who sought his help but never charged nor accepted any money for the same. Not only that; if he found that there was none to look after or nurse the patient, he would himself be the nurse and serve him. Once it so happened that his patient failed to observe the rules of diet, etc., that Sai Baba had prescribed and henceforth Baba gave up administering medicine and gave only his ‘udi’ or holy ashes for their relief.Raghuji Gannapat Scinde Patel refers to this incident in his account: “As soon as Baba came to Shirdi, one Amanbhai, a Moslem gave him food. That Amabhai was visiting my mavusi’s (grand mother’s) house occasionally. Her son Ganapat Hari Kanade, aged thirty five, had leprosy and fever. Amanbhai told her that a holy man had come to his house and that he could treat her son. Then Baba came in and saw the patient and told Ganapat to catch a cobra courageously, as the cobra would not bite a leper. Ganapat caught a cobra and out of its poison, the medicine was prepared and given to Ganapat. He began to improve in a few days. But he did not observe Baba’s injunction to avoid sex-pleasures. So Baba stopped giving him further treatment. The disease developed and Ganapat died.Baba came to this very house to treat my younger brother Bhagoji, who was suffering from fever, at a very critical period, when death was imminent. Baba gave him some medicine and further had him branded with red-hot irons (one on each temple and one on the back). Bhagoji recovered his health, escaped death and fever.”Young ‘Sai Baba’ (even this title was not conferred on him by that time) stayed under the neem tree for about three years but suddenly left Shirdi. No one knew where he went or why. After a year or so, he again returned to Shirdi and stayed on there till his mahasamadhi in 1918 i.e., for sixty years.Where Saibaba was during the interval between his first and second visits to Shirdi is not definitely known. However, some vague hints are given by some devotees. For instance, Amoolchand Chandrabhan Seth of Rahata says. “My elder cousin Khusal Bhav who died on 5-11-1918 has told me that Sai Baba lived in a chavadi (now in ruins) at Rahata for some months or so; that previously Sai Baba lived with a Moslem saint Ali (Akbar Ali perhaps) whose portrait is still kept in our gin i.e., ‘Rahatekar’s gin’ near Wadia Park at Ahmednagar; that Daulu Sait had seen Baba with the saint at Ahmednagar and that Baba came from Ahmednagar to live at Rahata and then went to live at Shirdi.”
