Baba and Miracles: A Muslim View

This article is written by an old-time devotee who is teaching in Anantapur College for Girls, the first college established by Bhagavan Baba for women. Here she compares the teachings of Islam to those of Swami to bring out the similarities.

Every day the sunlight in Prasanthi Nilayam silently illumines lines of men and women and children, sitting quietly for hours. They wait patiently, forgetting that they are rich or sick, ragged or aged, that the ground is hard, the sun hot, their postures uncomfortable. They have left their social, political, intellectual commitments outside the gates. Hours tick restlessly in their hearts, yet they squat, hoping and yearning. And then, a hush ripples over them. They are all eyes now. Time ceases. Movement stops. Some even forget to breathe: Divinity has arrived.

Some call it hypnotism, others have labeled it as magic. But an astute student of Islamic history will only interpret it as a miracle—”a Divine act.” We can find similar examples in the life of Prophet Mohammad and in the courtyards of Khan-khas (the ashrams) of Sufi Saints where emperors have stood in reverential humility.

The Quran does not mention the word “miracle,” but the inexplicable episodes in the life of a divine being are repeatedly termed as “signs” and “proofs” of reality.

Prophet Mohammad once commented that every saint and messenger of truth had special gifts, and observing them, people would believe in the validity of their mission. Following this tradition, Muslim saints have cured incurable diseases, mysteriously helped their devotees in distress, enriched the poor with sudden wealth, fulfilled numerous, impossible desires, created objects from nowhere, and brought back to life men pronounced as dead.

To me, as a Muslim, Baba’s miracles exhibit the same divinity that has been manifested by the Prophet Mohammad and later Muslim mystics. One example is enough to establish the parallel. In many devout houses, Baba’s pictures exude vibhuti or amrita or kumkum [holy ash, divine nectar or vermilion powder]. As a young girl I have seen a similar sign of divine grace. My father’s richest treasure is a hair of the Prophet of Islam. Within a span of a few years, I have observed a single hair multiply into several new ones and grow into a tiny, glossy black lock. There can be no rational explanation given for the appearance of vibhuti or a new hair. To reject them or to doubt them is to reject or doubt truth.

Miracles or magic

However, uncouth minds have always accused these happenings as magic. In his own city, Mecca, Mohammad was shunned and feared as a magician. Even today, Baba is not spared. Sometimes even his own devotees wonder about Swami’s leelas [divine sport] and try to explain “how?” or “wherefrom?” They only have to turn the pages of famous biographies to feel ashamed of their weak faith. “All Muslim philosophers have come to one conclusion in relation to difference between magic and miracle,” wrote Shibbi in his biography of the Prophet. “The man of miracles uses his power to do good to the world, the magician uses it for entertainment or selfish ends.” (Vol. III, Pg. 66).

Muslims accept the miracle as a direct act of God, whereas magic is the result of manipulation of physical and psychic conditions. The aim of a miracle is to strengthen faith and to promote truth among mankind. The goal of magic is limited satisfaction of the human ego. To mistake a miracle for magic is also an act of ego. To doubt it is even worse. In Islamic terminology it is called “hypocrisy.” Quran views the subject more severely: “when truth came to unbelievers they said this was magic.” (XLVI: 7)

The lives of Christ, Mohammad, and Sai Baba confirm the validity of the miracles that they perform. They live a life of truth and dedication. They strive to purify the human heart. Their preternatural actions change the attitudes and life of their devotees. Their lives and their message manifest the truth in speech and action.

Miracles as grace

The Muslim world has accepted miracles as the first step toward faith in the all-powerful, uncreated reality: Allah. The dictum “God has power over everything” is repeated as many as eight times in Quran. Baba has elaborated it further by elucidating how sound, time, physical strength and the human heart are under the full control of the Lord (Sai Avatar II: 130). Under these guidelines miracles, when beneficial, are forms of grace—“Visiting Cards” from the Lord, as Baba has aptly described them.

On a human level, historians have group-ed these visitations from divinity into two types, according to their influence on the faith of common man. The first type includes those happenings that are not of practical value but are given out as “signs” of divinity. After preaching Islam for nine years and to show an extraordinary “proof” of truth, the Prophet divided the full moon into two pieces with a single movement of his forefinger. The miracle is alluded to in the Quran. For years Baba has produced a lingam [symbol of creation] on Mahasivaratri night. In His own words, it is a “sign” for men to understand.

“It is not possible for you to understand the Divine and gauge its potential or know the significance of its manifestation. In order to bear witness to the fact that Divinity is amongst you, it becomes necessary for me to express this attribute of Mine.”

The inset picture of the jyoti lingam in Dr. Fanibunda’a book, Vision of the Divine, has a clear star and crescent image on a dark green background. Only a hardened heart can reject this symbol of divinity. On a mini scale there are the episodes of weeping saris and crying pillar. The reject-ed saris wept and moisture was seen on them because Baba had not chosen them for distribution. The pillar in the mosque cried like a baby and people heard its moaning when Mohammad no longer sat resting His back on it.

These events are more than supernatural happenings. They are a “proof” as well as an indication of the constant love and grace of God for men who have done little to deserve it.

The second type of miracles, almost uncountable, are instances of helping devotees. Their range in terms of situation and variety cannot be comprehended. There was, for example, the curing of Ali’s diseased eyes and weak limbs by the Prophet. The young man became so strong that he won the battle of Khaibar (7th Hijra) and pulled out, single-handedly, the iron gate of the castle that even seven men could not lift without difficulty. In the 20 century, there is the case of a young boy in Hyderabad who was a victim of polio, until a Muslim fakir [ascetic] asked his parents to visit Puttaparthi and taking the boy to Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba. Needless to say that the boy has not only been cured but is the city’s leading lawyer today.

The dead do not return to this world; but sometimes they do. The story of William Cowan is too well-known among Sai devotees. Similarly, the Muslims are well aware of a drowned couple who were brought back to life by the ninth century mystic, Sheikh Addul Qadir Jeelani. These are a few examples where the law of nature is overlooked but the Quran asserts, “The Lord can do anything.”

The Lord’s hands are a source of wonder as each moment is miraculous in healing and curing not only external illness but the diseased heart. The mere touch produces an incessant stream of vibhuti [holy ash] on Dasara day. Amritum [nectar] has flowed from delicate fingertips on birthdays nourishing hundreds of devotees. Similarly, historians relate how the Prophet instantly healed wounds and burns of body by passing his hands over them. Shibbi, the most authentic biographer of Mohammad has described how, on several occasions water streamed from His fingers, quenching the thirst of hundreds of his followers. (Vol. III. PP 454-58)

To the same group of miracles belong episodes that occur to amuse or strengthen the faith of devotees. Mr. Murphet describes how Baba has produced out-of-season a fig for an American visitor. An almost identical story is told about Al-Hallaj, ninth century mystic, whose devotees yearned for figs in the midst of a journey. He stood up and asked them to shake him like a tree. Figs showered down his feet to the amazement of people around him. How-ever, the real seat of a miracle is not the physical world but the human heart where the Divine is enshrined. There are instances where Baba has often changed a man by a look, a word, a thought. “Heart to heart” communication is emphasized most. There are cases where mere recitation of Quran softened the hearts of enemies of the Prophet and those who came to kill stayed to serve.

Time and distance are no obstacles for Divine help. Ram Gopal in his book on Baba Farid Shakar Ganji of Punjab narrates how the family of a brahmin devotee of the Saint has been saved from dishonor. By the orders of the Saint this family for years received part of vegetarian prasad [blessed food] offered at his tomb. The greedy caretakers planned to stop it and one day filled the basket with pieces of meat instead of sweets. The innocent devotee was stopped and accused by intriguers; after a hot exchange of words the basket was uncovered. There was no meat; the basket was full of “laddos [Indian sweets]”. 

Is it a wonder that a Syrian princess finds her way in 1979 to Puttaparthi guided by Sai Baba? For years she has been helped and graced by Him before she came to India. Who can offer comment? The only answer is found in a Quranic statement “God has promised to help believers” (XXX: 47). Baba has made it clear: “I shall guard you as the lids guard the eye. I shall be beside you, behind you, before you, inside and outside, now and forever.”

The greatest miracle

An avatar or a Prophet’s greatest miracle is his own personality. The weak perception of man is unable to rise above the human aspect. Pointing to this blemish Baba has remarked:

“Since I move with you, eat like you and talk to you, you are deluded into the be-lief that this is but a human phenomenon—But any moment My Divinity may be revealed to you; you have to be ready, prepared for that moment.”

(Satyam Sivam Sundaram III, pg. 11-12)

A Quranic verse points to the same human failing. “A whole life-time before this I (Mohammad) tarried amongst you. Will you not then understand? (X: 16).

There are people, just a handful, who recognize Divinity without any external help. For them everything about an avatar is a miracle. They see it in the unfathomable beauty of His eyes; hear it in the pristine softness of His voice; sense it in His loving message of truth. Khadija, the first person to believe the Prophet saw it in the purity of His character; Ali, Abubaker and Osman, His foremost companions found it in His daily behavior. Najjashi, the Abyssinian king realized it in Quranic verses.

The love offered to young Satyanarayana Raju by Subbamma, the accountant’s wife, and Mahboob Khan, the school-teacher at Puttaparthi, the respect and faith of bhajan mandali children for their seven-year-old guru were not the result of an obvious, visible, material miracle.

They were instances before He announced to the world at 14: “I am Sai Baba.” Their devotion was the magnetic pull of Divinity. “A prophet’s face and voice,” said the Sage of Persia, Rumi, “is a miracle for the heart that knows the taste of truth.”

On the contrary there are people who fail to see, refuse to believe. The main reason for their rejection is ego. The Quran has defined such people as proud men: “Those who behave arrogantly on the earth in defiance of right—then will I turn them away from My signs. Even if they see all signs, they will not believe in them.” (VII: 146). They are further described as men who are cruel and ignorant, “who follow their own lusts” (XXVIII: 50), and finally “God does seal up the hearts of those who understand not” (XXX: 59).

For such Homo sapiens, unfortunate as they are, there is one more phase to be witnessed: In Quranic language it is called “God’s way” and “the way of the ancients (prophets).” Ordinary language defines it as a prophecy, and the world history is eloquent on how these have been fulfilled.

Mystique of miracles

Yet only an ignorant mind will disregard the most powerful force behind a “sign.” It is love. All miracles point out this one aspect of Divinity that is elaborated in the Quran: “I was a hidden treasure, I wanted to be known and so I created the world.” The Sufi call it unity behind diversity, and love for everything. A mystic believes in “Hama oost (All is Him).” This love is the source of all creation and evolution. When viewed from this angle, each miracle is an outcome of divine love. Sri N. Kasturi rightly said, “Baba uses the very love with which He wins our loyalty as a weapon of chastisement in order to chasten us.”

The limited human mind can neither comprehend this love nor enlist all miracles. At best it can accept the mystic truth that Baba is the lover, love, and beloved. And as such a devotee can only follow the one “straight path” of the Quran, which Baba has shown us: “There is only one rule that binds Me: love. That will quieten you; it will comfort you; it will inspire you to merge with Me.”—Baba

~(Mrs.) Zeba Bashiruddin
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, January 1980