Sai Baba
Long time ago, at the beginning of eighteenth century a young bearded
man with sparkling eyes took shelter in a mosque, in Shirdi Village (of
Maharshtra State, In India). Nobody knew from where this stranger had come or
who he was, since he hardly spoke a word to anyone.
Gradually the curious villagers started offering food to the man, but he
never asked anything from them. Sometimes he shared his food with the animals.
Soon the young fakir, as he was started to be addressed, started expressing his
view points with few elderly villagers. His simple language of expression and
his special power of solving the problems of poor needy and destitute people made
this less known fakir, to become Sai Baba.
Who is Sai Baba
Sai Baba, was a great spiritual master who was and is regarded
by his devotees as a saint, fakir, avatar or sadguru, according to their individual
beliefs. He was respected by both his Muslim and Hindu devotees, and it has remained
uncertain till now if he was a Muslim or Hindu.
Sai Baba stressed the importance of surrender to the
guidance of the true Sadguru. He had no love for perishable things and his sole
concern was self-realization. He taught a moral code of love, forgiveness,
helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace, and devotion to God and
guru.
Sai Baba's teaching combined elements of Hinduism and Islam. He gave the Hindu name Dwarakamayi to the mosque he lived in (Lord
Krishna's birth place is Dwaraka). He is skilled in using words and figures that drew from both traditions, and was
buried in Shirdi. One of
his well-known sayings, "Sabka Malik Ek" ("One God
governs all"). He also said, "Trust in me and your prayer shall be
answered". He always uttered "Allah Malik" ("God is King").
The Name Sai Baba
No verifiable information is given regarding Sai Baba's
real name, place or time of birth. When asked about his past, he often gave
elusive responses. The name "Sai" was given to him in Shirdi by Mahalsapati, a local temple priest, who greeted him
with the words 'Ya Sai!', meaning 'Welcome Sai!'. Sai or Sayi is a Persian (Iran Language) title given to Sufi (Islamic) saints, meaning 'poor one' and in Banjara language, "sayi" means good one.
The honorific "Baba" means "father; grandfather; old man;
sir" in most Indian and Middle Eastern languages. Thus, Sai Baba means "holy father",
"saintly father" or "poor old man". Sai may
also be a short form of the Sanskrit term "Sakshat
Eshwar", a reference to God. Sakshat means "incarnate" and Eshwar means "God" (source
Wikipedia).
Early Life
Little has been officially documented on the early life of Shirdi Sai Baba. There is no reliable evidence for a particular birthplace or date of birth. He spent considerable periods with Muslim fakirs, and his attire resembled that of a fakir. He did not discriminate based on religion and respected all forms of worship to God.
According to the book Sai Gurucharitra (written by Das Ganu), Sai Baba grew up in Pathri, with a fakir family. Das Ganu calls the young Sai Baba the reincarnation of Kabir, a poet and an Indian saint. On the other hand, Narasimha Swamiji in his book, Life of Sai Baba, claims that Sai Baba was born to Brahmin parents. It is stated that Sai Baba has once revealed to Mahalsapati that his parents were Brahmins of Pathri in the Nizam's State. In explanation of the fact that Sai Baba was living in a Mosque, that whilst still a tender child, his Brahmin parents handed him over to the care of a fakir, who brought him up. This testimony is as true as it gets, as Mahalsapati was a person of genuine character noted for his integrity, truthfulness and vairagya."
According to the book Sai Satcharita, Sai Baba arrived at the village of Shirdi in the Ahmed Nagar District of Maharashtra, India, when he was about 16 years old. He led an ascetic life, sitting motionless under a neem tree and meditating while sitting in an asana. The people of the village were wonder-struck to see such a young guy practicing hard penance, not minding heat or cold. By day he associated with no one, by night he was afraid of nobody.
His presence attracted the curiosity of the villagers, and he was regularly visited by the religiously inclined people. Some people considered him mad and threw stones at him. Sai Baba left the village, and little is known about him after that. However, there are some indications that he met with many saints and fakirs, and worked as a weaver. He claimed to have been with the army of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
It is generally accepted that Sai Baba stayed in Shirdi for three years, disappeared for a year, and returned permanently around 1858, which suggests his birth year to be 1838. (Source: Wikipedia)
To be continued.................
