LIFE OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA |
Sri Sai Baba, the foremost saint of modern India, lived in the village of Shirdi, Maharashtra for nearly sixty years and elevated it to the status of a great pilgrimage centre. He initially stayed on the outskirts of the village for some time and as more people become acquainted with his divine nature, he finally shifted to a dilapidated mosque in the heart of the village. The birth and parentage of Sri Sai Baba are wrapped in mystery and Sri Sai himself always eluded such questions. The historical facts of his life were of no relevance to Him. The blessed saint of Shirdi, in whom the light of Divinity was fully manifest, had come to awaken man to his Divine nature, and save them for delusion and ignorance and to inspire them to strive for self-realisation. Yet some facts of this life are important as they lead us to better understanding of who He was and His mission on earth. It was during his stay at Shirdi from 1858 to 1918 that he performed His thrilling Leelas (Divine Play), miracles of spiritual transformation and granted liberation to innumerable creatures-human beings and animals alike, who were drawn to Him, by an unseen force. |
He lived as a muslim fakir in a dilapidated mosque he called “Dwarakamayee Masjid“. He begged for alms twice or three times a day from only five chosen houses and shared what he got with his devotees as well as those animals and birds Which lived in His ambience. His external appearance was that of a fakir - simple, illiterate, traditional, moody and empathetic - at times fiery and abusive - at others, full of humane concern and compassion.
He enacted all his simple yet charming Leelas (Divine Play), for six decades, only to hide His real identity as the God incarnate.
The villagers of Shirdi and afar soon found out that his was no ordinary fakir but an avatar (incarnation) of a very high order. He demonstrated through his miracles and utterances, the purpose and intention for which he had come. He would often say, “My Leela is inscrutable”. To each one he met he imparted knowledge according to the capacity of the recipient to absorb it. Baba’s Leela’s were plenty and varied, and we recount just a few which occurred during and after his lifetime.
Baba’s Leelas
Long before Sai Baba’s fame spread, he was fond of burning lights in the masjid and other Temples. But for the oil needed in those little earthenware lights that he lit, he depended on the generosity of the grocers of Shirdi. He had made it a rule to light earthenware lamps in the masjid every evening and he would call on the grocers for small donations. But there came a time when the grocers got tired of giving oil free to Sai Baba and one day they bluntly refused to oblige him, saying they had no fresh stocks. Without a word of protest Sai Baba returned to the masjid. Into those earthenware lamps he poured water and lighted the wicks. The lamps continued to burn deep into the midnight. The matter came to Sai Baba with profuse apologies. Wouldn’t Sai Baba kindly pardon them?
Sai Baba pardoned them, but he warned them never to lie again. “You could have refused to give me the oil, but did you have to say you didn’t have fresh stocks?” he admonished them. But he had made his point.
Once, harvesting in shirdi had been completed and the foodgrains of the entire village had been stored in a yard. The summer was on. The heat was intense as only those who have lived in shirdi know. One afternoon Sai Baba summoned Kondaji Sutar and said to him: “Go, your field is on fire!”
Frightened, Kondaji ran to his field and frantically looked around for any sign of fire. There wasn’t any. He returned to the masjid and informed Sai Baba that he had looked everywhere but had found no trace of fire and why did Baba have to frighten him?
Unfazed Baba said: “You better turn back and look again.”
Baba was right after all. Kondaji noticed that a sheaf of corn was indeed on fire and smoke was billowing from it. A strong wind was fanning the fire and word had gone round to the villagers who now came running to the scene.
“Sai Baba,” the people shouted, “help us, help us put the fire out!”
Thereupon, Sai Baba walked casually towards the yard, sprinkled some water on a stack of sheaves and said: “There now! The fire will die down!”
And so it happened.
Was it a miracle?
There was that other occasion when many thought that the masjid which housed Sai Baba itself would be consumed by fire from the flames which leapt up from the dbunt. All that Baba did was to take some swipes at a wooden pillar in front of him. With every blow the flames subsided and the fire died down.
“Miraculous, “ said his devotees. Often they would notice him stirring some hot concoction over the kitchen fire, not with a ladle but with his bare hands. There was a time when his hand was scalded. What supernatural powers did he have?
On yet another occasion, Sai Baba was partaking of food with three of his devotees in the masjid when, without any cause for provocation, he exclaimed: “Stop!” Then, as if nothing had happened, the four continued with their meal. Lunch over and the dishes cleared, they stepped out of the masjid, when large chunks of the ceiling fell on the very spot where they had been seated only a few minutes earlier. Did Sai Baba’s powers extend even to inanimate matter, the devotees wondered.
Instances have been quoted by his devotees as to how Sai Baba commanded the rains to stop and the winds to cease. There is the story of one Rao Bahadur Moreshwar Pradhan who has come to Shirdi to take Sai Baba’s darshan along with his wife.As the couple were about to leave, it began to rain heavily. Thunder and lightning rent the air. As the Pardhan couple along round in dismay, Sai Baba prayed. “Oh Allah!” he intoned, “let the rains cease. My children are going home. Let them go peacefully!” . The storm thereupon ceased, the downpour became but a slight drizzle and the Pradhans were able to reach their destination safely.
When Sai Baba first came to Shirdi it boasted of no basic facilities. There was a well but only in name. It had no natural spring water and if ever there had been one, it must long ago have dried up. Water had to be fetched from a distance. When, therefore, Sai Baba gave his permission to the villagers to celebrate the Ram Navami Fair, (Baba’s Birthday) the big problem facing the organizers was one of water supply. So what should they do but go to Sai Baba with their problems?
“Oh yes,” said Sai Baba, “so you want plenty of water, do you? Here, take this and drop it in the well and wait and see.”
“This,” turned up to be a platter of flowers on which some prasad (blessed food) had been placed along with the remnants of alms Baba had received earlier in the day.
The villagers had no qualms about doing as they were bid. Their faith in Sai Baba was total. No sooner had that platter of leaves been dropped in the well, it is said, water rose from the bottom as if by divine command and completely filled it. And great was the rejoicing of the people.
One report has it that word had spread that the 3 - year old daughter of a poor man called babu Kirwandikar had fallen into the well and had been drowned. When the villagers rushed to the well they saw the child suspended in mid-air as if some invisible hand was holding her up! She was quickly pulled out. Sai Baba was fond of that child who was often heard to say: “I am Baba’s sister!”. After the incident, the villagers took her at her word. “It is all Baba’s Leela“, the people would say philosophically. They could offer no other explanation. These were instances of things they had seen with their own eyes. It was not second - handed information they had gathered. Sai Baba was to them as real as their homes and their fields and their cattle and the distant hills.
Das Ganu once had an unforgettable experience. On a festive occasion, he sought Baba’s permission to go to a place called Singba on the banks of the Godavari to have a bath in the holy waters.
“No,” Baba replied resolutely, “where is the need to go all the way when the Godavari is here right at my feet?”.
Das Ganu was vexed. He was willing to concede that Ganga the holy river (and Baba frequently referred to Godavari as Ganga) rose from the feet of Sri Narayana (one among the Hindu trinity of Gods) himself, but his faith was not deep enough to believe that the waters of the Godavari could spring from the feet of his master, Sri Sai.
Baba who was reading Das Ganu’s mind decided that this was the time to strengthen Das Ganu’s faith. He told his devotees: “come closer to me and hold the hollow of your palms at my feet!”
As soon as he did so water flowed freely out of the toes of the master’s feet and filled the hollow of Das Ganu’s palms in no time. His joy Knew no limits. He sprinkled the water on his head and his body was distributed some more among the assembled devotees as tirtha (holy water).In the present time Sri Sai, has been relentlessly continuing with his Leelas.
Baba always maintained the “Dhuni” or the perpetual fire. The realisation that all phenomena in nature are perishable and unworthy of our craving, is signified by “Udi” which Sai Baba distributed to all.
Baba never left Shirdi. He talked to people who came to see Him. Sai Baba would often speak in symbols and parables leaving his devotees to work out the answer - such as, “A man had a beautiful horse, but no matter what he did, it would not run in harness. An expert suggested it should be taken back to the place from where it had come. This was done and it become tractable and useful”. The explanation of this story is that the horse is the Ego. As commander of the physical and mental powers of man, it is useful but self-willed and therefore causes endless trouble. Taking it back to its source is re-absorbing it in the spirit or self from which it arises. It is the return to the source which purifies and enlightens. From there the ego issues forth again, no longer an ego, but a conscious agent of the spirit.
Baba would ask for Dakshina (money offered with respect to the guru) from some of those who came to see Him. This was not because he needed their money. This was one of Baba’s methods for testing out the devotee’s attachment to worldly things and willingness to surrender his ego. Once one has surrendered himself totally to Him, Baba takes care of all His spiritual and temporal needs.
Baba regarded money like everything else, in a symbolical manner. He at once said, “I ask only from those who the fakir (God) points out and in exchange I give them ten times as much”.By the end of the day, all the money Baba had earned was disturbed to the destitute, poor, sick and the needy.
| Baba used to feed the fakirs and devotees and even cook for them. For those who were accustomed to meat, be cooked meat and for the others vegetarian fare. The Dwarakamayee of Sai Baba was opened to all, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Among those who came to see him and got his darshan (Establishing spiritual contact with the guru) and the blessings were ministers, government officials business people and village folk. |
He stayed with them, he joked with them, he slept and ate with them, he smoked a chilim (pipe) with them, he sang and danced with them, having no pretensions of a God. But all of them knew that He protected them. Even today, though he has left his gross body, we feel his presence and realise his worth all the more.
Baba would also refer to the sounding of the drum of the beginning of eternity within the soul. This“anahat” sound emerged from Baba’s heart from every limb, every bone and pore of his body. It was permeated with divine essence and Baba claimed that though one day of his physical body will not exist, his remains will communicate with you from the grave.
Therefore, the most important place in shirdi is Baba’s temple - the Samadhi Mandir is his grave, which literally millions have visited and still continues to draw many more.
to all mankind on the path of goodness, love and understanding.
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