SHRI SAI THE SUPERMAN - Birth Race and Family

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SHRI SAI THE SUPERMAN

by

Swami Sai Sharan Anand

 

 

1. BIRTH, RACE AND FAMILY

 

Though I am unborn, whole soul, Lord of all creatures, taking to my

life-nature, I manifest myself by my powers. (Bh. Gita 4-6.)

 

The self same soul has transformed himself principally into the Sun,

the Moon, Brahma the creator, Vishnu the protector, Shiva Shakti the

Destroyers with his Goddess. I bow to that excellent light of lights.

 

My salutations to that Bhagwant, Lord who is free from anger,

attachment, above Maya and devoid of three states of wakefulness,

dream and sleep. The best of gods, ascetics do not know the farther

end of your Maya Power. The demons were most powerful; you forced

them to give up their egotism When the world is beset with worst

calamities, you manifest yourself and come upon the earth, Oh Lord.

 

Vallabh Bhagwat IV, VIII Chs. 7&17.

The Primordial, original, perfect Reality, the thing In-itself beyond

name and from inspired by the force of devotee's religious merit

automatically manifested itself as Sai Nath, Sai Baba for the purpose

of leading the lost souls to the path of Truth. When asked, His only

reply was "Brahma is my father, Maya is my mother and this Universe

is my house." That He descended on this earth through some human

mortals has not yet been established through reliable source. No

conflict of opinion exists however as to His being an extra-ordinary

incarnation of God or the highest of perfect beings.

 

Brahman by His Maya Power manifests itself as human being, when

irreligion stalks unchecked in this world. He comes and places

religion on sound foundations dispelling the clouds of doubts and

degmatism. He descends in particular to protect the good, the saintly

and to destroy the bad and the wicked.

Though beyond (above) limitations of time, space, causation, body,

mind, intelects etc. pure Brahman, has by Maya power the capacity of

assuming such form male or female-as would satisfy the devotees'

desires and their ideals. It is ever ready to please its real devotee

in this respect and even serves him incognito, Saints who have

attained oneness with this Brahman that is who have ceased to be

bodily minded, who have without their knowledge transformed

themselves into Bhrahman by constant meditation on the same are

Brahman with all its Powers. Etc.(Mundak UP. 3-2-9)

 

Shri Sai Baba falls in this category and so His devotees have seen in

Him their ideal of God realised and so they have described Him in

many different ways as their ideals of Guru or God have differed. To

staunch devotees of Shri Ram, Shri Sai appeared as Ram, to those of

Shanker, Maruti, Krishna, Vithoba, Akkalkot Swami, Gholap Swami and

Ali irrespective of their race, caste, creed or religion. They all

look upon Sai as their God, Saviour, or Prophet and worship Him as

such in their own way, propitiate Him and crave blessings from Him.

As an out-come of this propitiation each one of them feels and

realises that he has been lucky enough to find in Him his benign

father, protector, benefactor, a helper in distress, a safe refuge

amidst the turnulent waters of this world. Each one has realised He

is omnipresent, omniscient omnipotent.

 

Recipients of such experiences seldom care to ascertain how and

whence this rarity descended upon this earth, who His blessed parents

were, who His master or teacher was and yet there are amongst

intelligent educated devotees some persons who have bestowed much

labour and done a deal of research to hit upon proper and

satisfactory answers on these points.

 

Vedanti devotees of Baba Shri Sai look upon Him as the manefestation

of knowledge incarnate, the joyful Brahman, the giver of highest

happiness, free from dualities, ether like knowable by the four Maha

Vakyas (key-sentences) of Vedas, the sole, the permanent, the pure,

non-changing, the Universal witnessing Intelect, the one beyond

emotions and the three gunas-pure, mixed, and impure-tendencies, the

Master, teacher of Reality. The non-mohamaden devotees of this class

firmly, believe that if Shri Sai Baba had adopted Hindu Mohamaden

mixed ways of life and prayers it was simply for the purpose of

drawing the attention of these devotees to the cardinal truth, the

soul has no caste of race; that their object of proper worship is not

of any caste; and what are castes? They are not skin, blood, flesh

nor bones; but these castes are fixed for the purpose of the smooth

running of this world. Hindu devotees of Baba particularly, Brahmins

and other Dwijas believe that if Baba had donned Mohamaden garb and

adopted some Mahomaden ways of worship (without giving of the ways of

the purest of pure Brahmin sages) it was for the purpose of killing

or removing the wrong interpretation of Veda and drawing attention to

the truth that everything all without exception-is Brahman; that

difference of diversity or duality does not exist; that if Veda says

that Brahmins are God's mouth, Kshatriyas His hands, Vaishyas his

body and Shudras His legs, the intention of the Vedas is not to show

the inferiority or superiority of any one of these castes but to draw

attention to the fact, that each is these castes but to draw

attention to the fact, that each is a part and parcel of the same

Holy body of God. Similarly about the genesis of races' if one

Upnishad states that Non-Aryans came from the nether part of God, it

is to root out the hatred and bitterness that might have been raging

between these races and to rivet the attention on the oneness of the

Holy Body from whom the Non-Aryans have also emerged. Vedas and

Upnishads teach us to look at the unity in diversity and preach only

oneness of soul, no difference, dissention. Discord but unity. Peace

and accord is the burthen of the Veda, Upnishad and Vedanta. Veda and

Upnishads have no doubt prescribed worships of different God's but

these are only for persons who hanker after material happiness and

are not satisfied with mere realisation of Truth. Baba called upon

persons of the latter class to follow His directions to achieve the

ends of their material desires and they had their desires fulfilled.

His guidence and His sole worship have obtained for these devotees

what they desired and in this way also He encouraged one worship and

not multiple worship, Viewing Vedas. Upnishads and Baba's ways,

Vedanti devotees have always believed that to root out the ego of

castes pride and to teach them the oneness off all pervading all-

knowing, all powerfull god, irrespective of race, caste, or creed,

Baba adopted the special ways of life that he did. In fact His life

laid stress on the essentials of religions, discarding the non-

essential parts thereof.

 

Most of the devotees of Shri Sai Baba fall under this class. The late

Hon;ble Hari Sitaram Dixit B. A., LL.B., solicitor, the late Shri

Nana Saheb Chandorkar, B. A., EX-District Deputy Collector, the late

Shri Anna Saheb Dabholkar, the learned auther of Shri Sai Satcharit,

the late Rao Bahadur Moreshwar Pradhan, J.P., ex-member of the Bombay

Legislative Council, the late Shri G.S. khaparde, B. A., LL.B., ex-

member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly, the late Rao Saheb

Yashvantrao G. Galvankar B. A. Shri M.B. Rege. Indore judge as also

the Sai Baba Sansthan Committee members of 1953 held and hold and

hold this view.

There are other devotees who have been worshipping some other deities

or are followers of some other religious teachers-all these seen in

Sai Baba their own deity, or their own religious teacher and worship

Him for the realisation of truth through Him, Sai Baba. Worshippers

of Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Vithal, Pandurang, Ramchandra, Goddesses,

Guru Dattatraya, Swami Akkalkot Gholap etc. all come under this

category, Baba actually assumed the form of these gods and goddesses.

And satisfied the devotees of these gods & goddesses. For the

disciple of Gholap Swami, he assumed the form of the Sanyasi Gholap

Swami and of that intent of His. He gave an inkling to his other

devotees by asking them to fetch for Him (Gerua) redochre Clay,

Devotees of Swami Akkalkot identify Him with Akkalkot Swami from what

He said to Shri Pitale of Bombay, "I have already given you Rs.2,

take these three more, keep them safe.' Pitale's father had been

given Rs.2/- by Akkalkot Swami; and so the reference that Baba gave

those two rupees, unequivocally stating that He Himself had given him

those two rupees, clearly goes to indicate that He Himself was none

other than the Swami of Akkalkot. Some Devotees of Guru Dattartraya

trace the pedigree of Akkalkot. Some Devotees of Guru Dattartraya

trace the pedigree of Akkalkot. Some Swami to Guru Dattatraya through

Nirsinha Swami, the last incarnation of Guru Dattatraya. Other

devotees of Guru Dattatraya state that Shri Akkalkot Swami was the

contemporary of Shri Manik Prabhu, the well-known incarnation of Guru

Dattatraya and that it is an undisputed fact that Shri Sai Baba was

none other that Swami Shri of Akkalkot. Shri Baba was therefore an

incarnation of Shri Guru Dattatraya. We have nothing to state against

this theory of Shri Baba being an incarnation of Dattatraya but we

simply state that a person is what he is not because he can be shown

to be a member of the high pedigree of certain Gods or gurus, since

they are born great, the high pedigree could not in any way go to

make them greater. Apart from this as well they are great, not only

great but none in human form could be greater, none can surpass them.

These remarks equally apply to devotees who trace Sai Baba to the

Nine Masters, Matsyendranath, Gorakhanath and others. Some of Baba's

prominent devotees hold the same view.

 

 

(1) One Shri Ganpatrao Dattarya Sahasrabuddhe alias Das Ganu actually

seeing the holy Ganges trickling down from Shri Sai's feet in a small

stream, just when he desired to have a dip in the holy river, in the

fervour of his love for Baba, composed a prayer describing Baba as

Brahma Vishnu and Mahesh (i.e. Gods of creation, protection and

destruction).

 

(2) Another personage of this class is the great Upasani Maharaj. In

the course of his three years' stay at Shirdi, he was fully convinced

that Shri Baba had not only realised Brahman but had been (become)

perfect Brahman and so in the fervour of that enthusiasm he composed

a prayer of several hymns on Sai Baba; the first verse of which said,

"'Baba was the original Sat Chit Anand Swarup, the primordial cause

of original existence and destruction of the Universe and that Baba

had appeared (Manifested Himself) as human being as the outcome of

the ardent desire of His devotees to see Him as such." The recurring

burthen of the eight verses of this prayer is, "I bow to that God-

Sadguru Sai Baba.' In the eighth verse of the said prayer he declares

Sai Baba to be "The unborn, The veritable Brahman.' Looking to the

most important task of moulding and regenerating the lives of

thousands of males and females (by imparting to them godly knowledge)

That awaited him in future Shri Sai Baba got him to practise severe

penance for three years at Shirdi and awarded him in return powers of

clairvyance, assuming all forms at will becoming invisible at will

etc. which subsequently drew to him people in thousands. He did

appreciate all this and to show this, going to Benaras with his

devotees he performed the obsequial ceremony of Baba and other bygone

saints spending thousands of rupees.

 

(3) Another great devotee is the late lamented Shri B.V. Narsinha

Swamiji, a law graduate and an ex-member of the Legislative Council,

author of the lives of several saints, who had dedicated the last 29

years of his life to spreading the name and fame of Shri Sai Baba

throughout the length and breadth of Madras. He declares that Baba

was born of Brahmin parents of Pathri-a village of Nizam Hyderabad

and then he was given over to a Fakir for being trained.

 

(4) Shri Sathya-Sai-Baba, who claims to be reincarnation of Shri Sai

Baba of Shirdi, states that as Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi, he was born

at Pathri on the banks of the Godavari of very pious parents and that

as a result of Shri Shanker's boon they got Him; but that at the time

He was, born, both the parents had got so much detached from the

world that they left the Sai Baba child under a tree to the mercy of

God and went away to practise penance. A childless Fakir couple

passing by the way picked up and brought Him up as their child. When

however the little Sai Baba grew up, He was found so much attached to

the worship of Shanker's Shivaling that the Fakir drove him away; so

he came to Shirdi and settled down there. (Life of Shri Sathya Sai

Baba Part I by N. Kasturi; Pages 210 to 216, 2nd edition.)

 

(5) Another personage Madhvnath a great saint also told his disciple

that Shri Sai Baba was the eldest of the three sons of a Yajurvedi

Deshasth Brahmin of Pathri and that he was handed over to a Fakir,

for the parents thought that the sons born to them were the outcome

of the blessings that the then childless parents had received from

that Fakir in lieu of the services rendered by them for him.

 

Shri Sai Baba's own utterances in this respect should also be

considered.

 

(1) The oldest, most pious and revered devotee of Shri Sai Baba the

late Shri Mhalasapati, who had the unique honour of sleeping with

Baba on every alternate night for 30 to 40 years in the Dwarkamayi

said that Baba had once told him. "I am a Brahmin of Pathri and when,

young, my parents gave me over to a Fakir for being trained under

him."

 

(2) In December 1912 when the writer went to Shirdi, he was anxious

about his father's life, as the father had dropsy and dropsy was in

those days considered to be a fatal disease. Unasked Baba said,

"Bring that big bellied man here." I said to myself. "Bring that big

bellied man here." I said to myself. "How is it possible when he

takes you to be a Mussalman?" This clearly shows Baba considered

himself to be a Brahmin.

 

Another time in 1916 when one Shantaram Nachne Dehnukar went to

Shirdi and he forgot to pay to Baba a two-anna paisa that his friend

V.S Samant had given for Baba along with a coconut etc., and he asked

Baba's permission to return home giving him coconut etc., Baba had

reminded him of the said two anna paisa by saying, "You may go, but

why have you been retaining the two anna paisa of this poor Brahmin?"

Whereupon Dehnukar at once paid the two-anna piece requesting Baba to

pardon him for the lapse of his memory.

 

 

When on the behest of his master Shri H.V. Sathe one Megha came to

Baba, taking Baba to be a Mahomaden, Baba became angry on seeing him

and did not allow him to mount up the steps of the Dwarkamayee

threatening him with a stone, that if he came up to see Him, He would

assured kill him with the stone, and bawled out, "I am the lowest of

the low, a Yawan (Mahomaden) and you are a Brahmin of the highest

caste." This clearly shows Baba's dislike for those who considered

him to be Mahomaden.

 

 

Baba putting His hand on His chest said to Mrs. Kashibai Kanitkar of

Poona. "This is Brahmin. This Brahmin will lead lacks of people to

the Shubhra Marga (The White Path as opposed to the Black Path of

demons0 and take them to the goal right upto the end. This is a

Brahmin's Masjid." (Baba Charters and Sayings Page 57. Nrisinh

Swami.)

 

 

All this clearly shows that if Baba was really born, He was born in a

Brahmin family. Born or unborn Baba thought He was Brahmin and got

offended with all those who thought He was Mahomaden.

 

 

We may therefore say with the late Shri Nrisiah Swami "The birth and

parentage of Sai Baba are wrapped in mystery. We have not come across

a single person who has any direct knowledge of them."

 

 

It is however common knowledge that the people of all castes, creeds,

races and religions Hindus, Mussalmans, Parsis, Christians and other

come to Baba and soon become attached to Him. They all gradually

recognise him to be their long-lost philosopher, friend and guide.

They see in Him their God, their Prophet, their Son of God, their

Saviour or their best and dearest friend. They realise that Sai Baba

is always present. He controls their hearts and knows all their

actions good bad or indifferent. They are also convinced that He

knows their most secret thoughts and their wicked actions and yet He

is full of mercy and never gives up those who remember him. He cares

not to look at the family, caste creed or religion even the action of

His devotees; but as soon as the devotees remember Him, he runs up at

once with or without assuming a forms and defends them against fell

diseases, calamities, worldly difficulties, ill-repute etc. etc. For

instance, He assumed the form of a farmer for His devotee Balakram

Mankar and banded over to him a rail ticket for his destination-

Poona. For another devotee Nanasaheb Chandorkar, He became (assumed

the form of) a tanga, horses and a coach-man, when Shri Sai Himself

dispatched His Udi with one Ramgir. He had taken that Ramgir to

Nana's house and saved by that Udi Nana Saheb's daughter from a

mortal delivery. Even after He left His body, He has been helping

devotees in the same way. Thus he put Dhumal's hand-hand-signature on

about a thousand municipal papers one night when Dhumal was unable to

find time for the purpose. For another devotee Nachne, of Prabhu

caste, he assumed the form of a peon called Himself Ganpatishankar.

Attended on him till he reached Nasik and thereafter also he helped

him in the performance of the obsequial ceremonies of his wife for

three days and as soon as the ceremonies were over, He left him

saving Him services were wanted by His Master. Persons visiting

Shirdi have known that if only they would remember him, he would

without fail stretch His helping hand and render such help as they

would require. These devotees look upon Sai Baba as their own god,

prophet, Saviour and as such they try their utmost to draw or attract

Him to them by propitiaing Him and by rendering such services as they

can. They sole yearning of these devotees is to obtain His grace, for

they know that therein only lies their material and spiritual

welfare; they little care to know His parentage, family, race or His

guru. They have ever believed that the kind and merciful God though

ever formless has for their benefit assumed a form and so if they are

wise they should without delay try their level best to obtain His

grace, the root cause of all earthly and heavenly happiness, leaving

all other matters about His family etc. to logicians, the worldly

wise and wiseacres. They definitely believe and assert-God is only

one; there are no separate Gods for the various races, castes and

creeds and yet He has powers to assume such forms. as His devotees

yearn for and ardently desire to behold with their material eyes. And

the living testimony of this is Shree Sai Baba.