The Sai Religion as I Experienced It
The truest test of a Godman, according to the scholar‑statesman Dr. K. M. Munshi, is the capacity to instill faith in human beings. By this yardstick alone, there is hardly anyone to compare with Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Before I met Swami, ‘divine love’ and ‘grace’ were mere words that I read in pious books and poems. I thought they were either the exclusive experience of sages in the past or naive and idealistic visions of impractical people. But within hours of my meeting Sai Baba at Dharmakshetra in Bombay, I started physically and mentally experiencing ecstatic joy for which I could discern no physical reason. The nearest analogy I could hazard is the way someone would feel if he got an international award or a distinction in a university examination or a first prize in a lottery. My social science background dispassionately questioned the feelings I was experiencing—was this a delusion?
I had gone to Sai Baba to seek solace in a personal crisis. Little did I know that He would mercifully include me then in a group interview. Still less did I know that He would materialize a silver locket engraved with the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic script. Baba was so loving, merciful, and informal. Within minutes of being in His presence, He put me at ease by touching my shoulder and addressing me in His sweet voice as ‘bangaru [the golden one],’ a Telegu endearment.
He made me feel as though He had known me for many years and showered me with affection and warmth. I was probably the only novice to Sai culture there, as the others in that interview, such as the sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, Hindi film star Manoj Kumar, and Beatles’ singer George Harrison, were devotees of long standing. Since then though, Baba has granted me darshan [sight of a holy person] and interviews in the company of my wife and children.
Response to need
Though some might feel that Baba shows more interest in the rich or the highly placed, one who is exposed to His ways over a period of time realizes that this is a totally erroneous impression. Baba knows the psychological needs of his devotees and He responds in proportion to the sincerity of devotion and the pressing needs of His bhaktas [devotees].
On my second visit to Baba, I was accompanied by my wife. On that occasion, we had to wait for more than five days to be recognized by Him. My wife told me that a number of Harijan [the weaker sect] women from Rajasthan were called in for an interview the very same day they came, and that quite a few American disciples, along with educated and affluent Indian women, were overlooked by Baba for days in succession, perhaps because Baba knew that the needs of the humble working women of Rajasthan were more pressing.
All religions are reinforced
Sri Sathya Sai Baba has never told me, or anyone else I know, to give up his or her own religion or cultural tradition. He advises us rather to follow our own religion and reinforce faith in God as we understand Him. Some of my friends and relatives were worried that I may be culturally and religiously diluted after I came into contact with Baba. The reality, however, is that after my surrender to Sathya Sai Baba, I can modestly claim to be a better Muslim in terms of faith in Allah, tolerance of other religions and improved ability to practice at least a few precepts of my own religion about which I could formerly only talk.
In various ways, Sai Baba reinforces what is contained in the major religious texts so that the faith of believers is strengthened. The Koran [religious book of the Muslims] says that God reveals His universal message to different people at different times, through prophets and messengers of God, and that there is no distinction between the messages of any of these prophets. Sai’s teachings do not contradict anything contained in the Bible, the Koran, Bhagavad-Gita [song of God], Zendavestha [Zoroastrian scripture], Vedas [supreme sacred knowledge given to Hindu seers], Dhammapada [Buddhist scripture], Upanishads [treatise on the Vedas], and other holy books of mankind. On the other hand, Sai deepens one’s insight into the universal power of God. All religions emphasize that surrender of the doubting intellect and complete faith in God are almost preconditions for receiving grace. One experiences this when one approaches Sai.
The Koran states that God does not need anything from man and that even man’s devotion to God is only for the benefit of man. This is true of Sai bhakthas [devotees] from whom Sai Baba does not expect anything but devotion; even that is for the bhaktha’s own solace and well-being. Islam teaches that human effort will be followed by divine support, and Sai emphasizes that grace flows in proportion to human effort. The Holy Koran says, “God does not change the condition of a human being unless first he himself makes an effort to change it.” Sathya Sai has taught me that mere devotion is not enough but must prompt loving action.
The Islamic view of Allah as most merciful, most compassionate, and most forgiving is embodied in the physical presence of Sathya Sai who has been more kind, forgiving, and beneficial to me than both my parents, my wife, four children, my brothers, maternal and paternal grandparents, uncles, aunts, and all the relatives and friends put together.
Sai fosters love
To me the foremost qualities that Sai embodies are love, affection, kindness, goodwill, and forgiveness. This is what I understand as the Sai ‘religion.’ He personifies the very best that any civilization has held up as ideal. He is close to men and women, children and old men, rich and poor, healthy or sick. Each sees in Sai the divine power of love, forgiveness, and acceptance. In Prasanthi Nilayam and Brindavan, I have met Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, Parsis, and Hindus, both men and women, from far away places such as Mexico, Spain, Argentina, USA, Germany, Australia, Canada, Fiji, England, Mauritius, Holland, Nepal, Sweden, Kenya, Tanzania, Iran, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. Many people come from nearby Kurnool, Anantapur, Hindupur and from the different corners of India—Kashmir, Assam, Kerala, and Gujarat. They belong to such professions as psychiatry, plastic surgery, government service, music, aviation, engineering, industry, teaching, social work, politics, armed forces, to mention just a few. They come because Sai instinctively perceives the needs of everyone and responds with compassion. He can see the future, the past, and the present simultaneously. He knows everyone’s problems better than their closest family members.
Change of attitude
I belong to the discipline of mass communication. The highest achievement in this field is the ability to change human attitudes; hundreds of dissertations and thousands of research articles have been written on this topic. Despite this, communication specialists find it very difficult to make a dent in the consciousness of human beings or to change long-held attitudes.
To me, Baba’s greatest miracles are the changes in mental attitude that He inspires. My wife was brought up in an orthodox but affluent and educated Muslim household given to daily non‑vegetarian food. But Baba’s compassion and kindness were so overwhelming that she resolved to follow His direction regarding food; she totally gave up eating non‑vegetarian food of her own accord. This is the kind of attitude change that only divinity can bring about.
Humility is considered a virtue in any religion, but no holy book or priest could make me really accept this. But after meeting Sai, I have started striving to cultivate humility because of my love for Him. My small children who met Baba only once remember Him and like Him much better than those whom they have met many times and from whom they have received costly presents.
Nowhere but in Baba’s ashram have I seen so many highly placed men and women—judges, doctors, scientists, professors, government and army officials, film actors, writers, musicians, businessmen, management experts—not to mention numerous ordinary people, being motivated to serve food to others, sweep the floor, sleep on mats, or squat on the floor up to six hours at a stretch—all out of their devotion to Sai and their love for Him. They are prepared to do anything for Him for they have received love and kindness beyond measure from Him. Could there be a better object lesson in motivation?
Two other examples of Baba’s ability to transform people come to mind. My daughter was depressed as she felt that she had not fared well in one of her papers in the S.S.C [Secondary School Certificate] exam. As soon as she met Baba, and without her saying anything, He confirmed this fear, saying that she thought she would get 45% to 55% in biology. My daughter agreed that this was accurate. Neither my wife nor I had known what our daughter thought of her performance in biology, as she never told us. Baba told her that she would get a first class anyway, and that she need not worry. She not only got a first class with 76%, but in the biology paper she got the highest marks—89%.
Further, when I introduced my first son to Baba, I informed Him that he got a first class in the I.S.C. [Indian School Certificate] exam. However, Baba ignored my son, though He gave silver lockets inscribed with the word ‘Allah’ to my three other children. He later told my oldest son that He would not give him anything until he promised to watch the type of company he kept. Later, my son admitted that he had had doubts about Sai Baba as a result of his friends’ attitudes. How Baba perceives the inner motivations of human beings is a divine mystery, but He gradually transforms people who come into contact with Him through His mercy, compassion, divine guidance, and protection.
Today my whole family is devoted to Sai without any reservation and we enjoy His grace in abundance. Above all, we have found that He has strengthened our faith in Islam and the concept of Allah as the universally merciful and beneficent power.
Beyond reason
Swami does perform miracles, but these are clearly to instill faith in doubting minds. Where pedantry, scholarship, and research advance the path of civilization by careful plodding, Sai breaks the limitations of reasoning and points to the ultimate solution in an instant. His teaching is the quintessence of all religions. He stills the unsteady intellect, gives stability to wavering minds, and His vision contains the vision of all prophets.
How does Sai achieve this? It is fruitless to analyze His ways, for limited human minds cannot fathom Divinity. But one thing is certain. If God is love, Sai embodies it more than anyone present on earth today. “It is your prema [love] for Me and My prema for you that produce results.” Sai demands nothing from His devotees except purity of heart, devotion, sincerity, and surrender. These are the most difficult to cultivate however, and there is no shortcut to Sai’s grace. Unless one develops bhakti [devotion], complete humility and abject surrender, the grace does not flow, but conversely, once these qualities exist, the flow of grace is definite.
We should deem it a supreme privilege to surrender at Sai’s feet because He redeems us from fear, worry, doubt, and ill‑health. The great nationalist poet, Dr. Mohammed Iqbal, summarized the meaning of surrender to God when he said that, “the one prostration (before God) which you consider burdensome will free you from prostrating before thousands of others.” Anyone who has become a Sai disciple knows the peace of mind and the freedom he gains by submitting to Him. Sai removes hatred, resentment, ego, pride, and anger, and replaces them with modesty, affection, goodwill, fellowship, and the growth of creative faculties, ensuring success both in the material and spiritual sense.
The worth of any phenomenon is apparent only in the results it produces. Sai’s divinity produces results though it confounds the intellect. The Sai ‘religion’ is the living embodiment of the good contained in all the religious teachings that are the heritage of mankind. I invite my brothers and sisters of all religions to come forward boldly and to strengthen their faith in the fatherhood of God and fellowship of man through this path.
~Prof. S. Bashiruddin, Director of Communication,
National Institute of Rural Development,Hyderabad
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Jan. 1978
