A brief Introduction to Shirdi Sai Baba, the Spiritual Master

 

Note: Adding this post at the request of some readers. It is not a usual post examining a leela. It is an introduction to Shirdi Sai Baba for those new to Him.

 

Those of you seeking spiritual knowledge are probably aware that there have been, over the centuries, many guides who have brought spiritual instruction and solace to millions of people.

In this blog I will take you in depth through the teachings of one such Spiritual Master, Shirdi Sai Baba. Sai Baba, or Baba as he is popularly known, did not give any formal discourses or teach philosophy, but blessed his devotees with a tremendous store of knowledge which he conveyed through stories, also called leelas.

Many of His leelas are captured in the book, Shri Sai Satcharita, which is a collection of true life stories. These stories are incidents that happened around Him when He was alive, captured by a devotee who was appointed by Him during his life time.

It was Baba’s way to teach valuable spiritual lessons by using real life examples, rather than relaying them through the written or spoken word, so that even village folk, disadvantaged from being illiterate, could benefit from them.

In ancient Indian tradition, the process of learning is described to be in 3 stages:

·         Sravanam: listening to the teachings

·         Mananam: reflecting upon the teachings until all doubts are addressed

·         Nididhyasanam: contemplating and meditating upon the teachings until you internalize them

In my future blog, I will examine the leelas found in the Shri Sai Satcharita, one story at a time, and I will be doing so from an Advaita (non-dual) Vedanta perspective. If I find the need to explain a Vedantic concept is prerequisite to the understanding of a leela, I will briefly introduce it.

For those of you not familiar with Vedanta, I will come back to it later on in this blog. I have been blessed to be introduced to Advaita Vedanta by our beloved guru, the late Rita Nayar, who has had a great impact on my life, and you may hear me quoting her from time to time.

To introduce Vedanta concepts, I may draw upon modern English translations of ancient Advaita Vedanta works from Ramakrishna Mission, Chinmaya Mission Ramana Ashram and others.          

Who was Shirdi Sai Baba

It is not precisely known when or where Shirdi Sai Baba was born, but we do know that he lived most of his life in the small, remote village of Shirdi in western India.

During the 60 years He lived in Shirdi, he drew people to Himself, at first in small numbers, but later by the thousands. He helped many of them overcome various forms of suffering and helped many others in their spiritual quests. He often helped many achieve their worldly desires of wealth, fame, and family, but lamented that, though He had spiritual treasure for people to take away by the cart-load, most unfortunately only sought worldly treasure. He fulfilled His devotees’ desires in the hope that, some day, they would ask for what He wanted to give them.

He taught spiritual development which was easily accessible, universally applicable to all and not tied to any specific religion.

During His lifetime, devotees witnessed many extraordinary events which could only be explained through Baba’s omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence.  There exist witness accounts of hundreds of such events from His time, and many of the leelas in the Sai Satcharitra speak of them. Even today, devotees of Baba continue to experience such extraordinary events.

In the present day, approaching the centenary of His Maha Samadhi (whereby a saint consciously makes the decision to transcend their body), His teachings have resonated with millions, and His following continues to grow rapidly.  Shirdi sees tens of millions of visits to His shrine each year.

What is The Spiritual Path

In our tradition, it is required that you approach spiritual development with the attitude of a seeker rather than a believer. You must keep your mind open and clear, so that you are able to process unexpected answers, and subtle, so that you can understand the fine nuance of the teaching. The metaphor of the path implies a journey where you make incremental progress as you move along it. 

There are many spiritual paths and you must choose one or more of these based on your own inclinations and preferences.  Each of these paths can deliver you to your destination. The most common alternates are bhakti, which is devotion, jnana, which is knowledge, karma, which is action without expectation of reward, and raja yoga, which is development of mental faculties to better manage your mind.

The Role of a Guru

It is said that a seeker on the spiritual path will eventually have the need of a guru who can help him surmount the obstacles found on the path. The translation of guru is simply teacher: “gu” means "darkness of ignorance" and “ru” means "that which dispels".

However, it is no ordinary guru you need on the spiritual path, but a Sadguru. We can have many teachers in our life but only one Sadguru. A Sadguru has the unique qualification of having already walked the spiritual path all the way to its end.

Such a one is uniquely qualified to lead the seeker on his or her journey toward the goal. The blind cannot lead the blind. It is with the help of such a Sadguru that one makes spiritual progress. It is difficult to cross this ocean of worldly life without such a guide. Once such a Sadguru has taken a devotee under His wing, He will work with them, even if it takes many life-times, to help them complete their spiritual journey. Baba is one such Sadguru.

How can you find your Sadguru?

There is a common saying that "when the disciple is ready the teacher appears". In fact, the Sadguru always existed and waited for the disciple, but the disciple could not see the Sadguru due to lack of his or her own abilities. 

If you have found your Sadguru in Baba, or in another Sadguru, you are fortunate.

If you haven’t found a Sadguru yet, don’t worry.  The right Sadguru will appear in your life at a time appropriate for your spiritual development and will provide you the evidence you need to trust them.

Beware of false gurus. True Sadgurus will not demand blind faith from you.  They will instil shraddha (a term I will explain in my later blog) in you through their actions, not through coercion. They live exemplary lives themselves, not surrounded by material luxuries, uncorrupted and with humility.

A Very Brief Introduction of Vedanta

Now a very quick introduction to Vedanta.  “Vedanta” is a combination of two words: “Veda” which means “knowledge” and “anta” which means “the end of” or “the goal of.” They say it is the “end of all knowledge” as it is the knowledge that leads to enlightenment. In this context the goal of knowledge here means the knowledge of our own divine nature. Vedanta then is the search for Self-knowledge.

Three central ideas in Vedanta are Brahman, the ultimate reality, Jivatma, the individual living being and Prakriti, the world you perceive around you.

Advaita means "not two" or non-dual, which is to say that all instances of consciousness are simply one universal consciousness. Advaita Vedanta is a school of Vedanta philosophy that considers the individual consciousness of the jivatma, the individual living being, to be the same as the universal consciousness of Brahman, the Ultimate Reality.

According to this philosophy, spiritual liberation can be acquired through knowledge of one's true identity as Brahman. It holds that Brahman is the singular reality and everything else is either a projection or delusion. Upon their liberation, individual jivatmas merge into Brahman and thus become free from the cycle of birth and death and the bondage of suffering.

 

Listen to the stories with reverence; Reflect upon them deeply. After reflection, contemplate on them. This will bring great satisfaction. Shirdi Sai Baba Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, Chapter 3, verse 18

 

 

Mantra:

Om, Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ
Sarve santu nirāmayāḥ
Sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu
Mā kashchit duḥkha bhāgbhavet
Oṁ Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ

Meaning:

May all be prosperous and happy
May all be free from illness
May all see what is spiritually uplifting
May no one suffer
Om peace, peace, peace

 

This above mantra is from the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/seekingshanti/2015/09/hinduprayerforeveryone_globalgoals/

I would encourage all of you to please share your interpretations, learnings and experiences.

 

Om Sai Ram.