Makara Sankranti Message

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The very premise of worshipping a Sadguru or a Perfect Master is

termed 'Bhakti'. The two major attributes of Bhakti, as defined by

our Master Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi, are faith Shraddha) and Saburi

(Patience). The history of different Bhakti movements has shown us

that the maintenance of steadfast faith in the Master is 'Perhaps'

easier when He is in a bodily form and not as easy when He has left

His body. That is so because a Master in a human form can communicate

and carry on with His numerous visible activities over and above His

subtle and invisible activities. When in a bodily form, the Sadguru

can be communicated with by the devotees through the different

cognitive instruments of their body (ear, eyes, mouth etc.) but the

same is not possible with the Master's statue, photograph or

painting. Those devotees who, during the period of human embodiment

of the Master evolve spiritually and establish a system of subtle

mental communication with the Master (even when physically away from

the Master), don't find it difficult to communicate with Him even

after His taking Samadhi. However, those devotees who did not evolve

when the Master was there or had never seen, heard, touched or smelt

the Masters body or items (through the use of their gross physical

instruments), find it difficult to maintain their devotion and faith

as steadfastly as before, once the Master left His body. Gradually

there is a possibility of their devotion and concentration on the

form of the Master getting affected. The devotees usually get what

can be termed, as a 'spiritual feeding' or 'spiritual vitalization'

when in the presence of the Master. Once His body enters the tomb

(Samadhi), they worship the tomb not because of its aesthetic value

but because underneath the tomb lies the body of the Master whom they

continue to love.

 

For devotees born after the Samadhi of the Master, it is a different

issue altogether. Their devotion emanates from the knowledge they

get/receive from old and experienced devotees. They also get lots of

information from the print media (books, magazines etc.) and

audiovisual media (Movies, T.V., Radio etc.) about the divine

personality and qualities of the Master. Today, they can get the

requisite information through the medium of the internet. Thus when

they start following a Master, they read the available literature on

Him, ask questions about Him, participate in discussions about Him.

Once influenced by His superior divine and humane qualities, they

start worshipping Him. In this process, they establish a mental and

emotional connectivity with the omnipotent spirit of the Master and

also realize that the spirit of the Master can guide them in the path

of spiritual evolution and protect them from worldly miseries.

 

However, there is one school of thought which posits that a Sadguru

in a mortal form alone can guide and protect His devotees. Once a

Sadguru leaves His body, he cannot actively help His devotees.

Therefore, they insist on following, what they call a " living

Sadguru " .

 

Let us take the case of our Master Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi. Before

leaving His body, Baba gave certain assurances to His devotees in

unequivocal terms, popularly known as the eleven sayings (Gyarah

Vachan) of Baba. The gist of these eleven sayings is that, Baba will

protect and guide His devotees (old or new) from His Samadhi, where

His body is entombed. Once when in a mood of divine ecstasy, Baba

made a forecast to a group of devotees that in the future, Shirdi

would be visited by an un-imaginable number of devotees - both big

and small - and they would make a bee-line to His tomb and also that

He would be present in 'Guli-Guli' (correct pronunciation Gali- Gali

in Hindi which means 'every lane') of Shirdi. Let us examine whether

Baba's forecasts have come true ninety years after His Samadhi (1918

to 2008).

 

During the last 90 years and particularly during the last 20 years or

so, the spread of the name and fame of Sai Baba and the increase in

the number of His devotees is phenomenal. There has been a

mushrooming growth of temples and other related activities (medical,

educational, social and religious) in the name of Baba all over the

country. The number of books, magazines, souvenirs etc. created

exclusively for spreading the name and preaching of Baba in different

Indian and foreign languages is too numerous to be listed herein. Not

only are hundreds of new temples coming up all over the globe, but

also in many existing temple complexes, His statues and images are

being consecrated. Various audiovisual media such as Television

channels, internets etc. are regularly displaying various facets of

His life and His preaching. Many devotees are experiencing His kind

divine interventions in times of distress as a result of their

prayers. This 'Sai Movement' is an intensely dynamic process that is

flowering and prospering day by day.

 

This naturally leads to the belief that a Sadguru or a Perfect Master

is as potent without a body as He is with it. Therefore, the devotees

of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi do not have to lament that they could not

experience the physical presence or the divine activities of the

Master when He was in His mortal embodiment. He is omnipresent and

omnipotent and the mere lack of a physical manifestation of His power

need not make His devotees lose faith and hope. This is what Baba

said and this is what we should follow.

 

In closing, on this New Year, I pray Shri Sainath Maharaj to bless

the millions of His devotees, grant them health and happiness and

lead them on the path of spiritual evolution.