Sai Gospel and the Quran
The subtlest, strongest relationship in life is between God and man. This is confirmed by modern Jungian psychology, though the Divine is termed and alluded to as the Self.
Yet, in the external glamour of the world’s rat-race and temptations, we often forget Him who is the innermost reality of our existence, the One who loves us best. We forget until a need arises, a calamity breaks our defenses, and a dire helplessness impels us to call out to Him: “Lord, where are You?” We remember Him only when the ugly countenance of dissolution threatens us.
Sai Gospel and the Quran [holy book of the Muslims] affirm how God’s grace unconditionally flows to every being that calls Him in the hour of need. The Quran enjoins:
When my servants ask You (Prophet Mohammad) concerning Me, I am indeed close to them: I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he calls Me. (II: 186)
There is a similar assurance given to the devotees in the Sai Gospel:
“I shall be ever with you, wherever you are, guarding and guiding you…” (Sai Avatar: P. 669)
In yet another significant statement, the Divine [Sri Sathya Sai] pen wrote on a copy of the Quran given to be blessed. The sentence reads:
“I am in you and around you, be happy. —Baba”
The blessing was aptly not dated because time is a redundant factor. The promise was eternal, for all mankind, provided they remember. It has never failed those whose psyche rises to the conscious levels of supplication.
The fulfillment
Few are the chances, when we are plunged in the depths of despair, to realise that God’s love is the most redeeming factor in a crisis. But, for Him, there is neither rescue nor help. One such incident relates to my family. The incident is ingrained so deeply in our hearts that its memory uplifts our souls in gratitude and wonder at God’s marvelous love.
It was a wintry evening, and three of my children between the ages of 16 and 24 had gone to execute a difficult transaction. The hazards of city life, the delays, and the fact that they were inexperienced made me anxious. I sat alone with my 80-year old mother, my thoughts centered on my children. I was weighed down by worries about their inability to handle a complex transaction and for their safety on the road. It was very late. My mother was equally anxious.
I waited on the front steps, scanning the road as far as the eyes could see, as the twilight deepened into a cold night. But my old mother kept praying. She is not a believer in the saguna [personal] aspect of God, but is a very devout Muslim. She has also never seen Baba. Perceiving my agony, she continued to chant the [Divine] name she was devoted to. After some time she put aside her rosary, and was quiet, her eyes closed. About 15 minutes passed.
“Your Baba wears a long robe that falls to his feet?” Her voice, breaking the silence, surprised me.
“Yes, but how do you know?” I was naturally perplexed.
“And he has abundance of hair around his head?” Her hands indicated the shape of Baba’s luxurious lovely hair.
‘’Yes, but…”
“His eyes are large and red,” was her third remark.
“Yes, that’s Him. But you’ve never seen Him. How do you know?” Her answer was even more incredible.
“Looking at your panic”, she replied quietly, “I started reciting the Quranic verse of the throne (most efficacious for protection). But my vision revealed your three children and Baba was standing with them. I stopped reciting because he was already with them. They were under his protection.”
Gratitude, remorse, and shame rent my heart. My mother was able to see fulfillment of God’s eternal covenant, repeated so often in the Quran, while I sat, befogged by illusions. She was able to experience the universality of grace and oneness of Divinity.
The Divine unity
Much later, she expounded on another spiritual aspect of Islamic mysticism when she spoke about Baba:
“Baba’s reference to ‘I’ is not an indication to the body but to the Divine principle. His vibhuti [the holy ash] is a symbol of a state of total annihilation of otherness.” She then added an Urdu couplet in Baba’s praise:
“All faces are Yours—Thou greatest of players.”
Yet she knows Him only as Allah while I call Him Baba, and we love the One whose two aspects we adore. Often in the evening now, when we are together, we recite the remarkable verse, recounting the traumatic incident.
“And He is never tired of guarding and preserving them for He is most High, the Supreme.”
(The Quran 11: 256)
In my heart, tears wash a face with large bright eyes and dark hair haloed around a golden skin, whereas mother’s face shows serenity of a mind fixed in the belief of the One ever near, the One who is most merciful.
~Zeba Bashiruddin
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, May 1988
