Promoting Love

Sai Baba actively promoted love and unity, both among his devotees and towards animals, through his teachings, actions, and the examples he set. Here’s how the sources illustrate these aspects:

• Unification and Harmony:
  • Sai Baba worked towards the unification of communities, particularly Hindus and Muslims.
  • He celebrated Hindu festivals like Rama-Navami with all due formalities.
  • He also permitted the ‘Sandal’ procession of Mahomedans and allowed Muslims to offer prayers (Namaj) in his Masjid. This demonstrated his disregard for religious distinctions and his wish for communal harmony.
  • His constant advice was that “Rama (the God of the Hindus) and Rahim (the God of the Mahomedans) were one and the same.” He emphasized that their devotees should not quarrel. Instead, they should “join hands and bring both the communities together” for national unity.
• Fostering Unity and Eradicating Duality: Baba emphasized the importance of dissolving the sense of difference between individuals and with God.
  • He explicitly stated, “Demolish the wall of difference that separates you from Me; and then the road for our meeting will be clear and open. The sense of differentiation, as I and thou, is the barrier that keeps away the disciple from his Master, and unless that is destroyed the state of union or atonement is not possible“.
  • This teaching directly supports universal love by promoting the realization of oneness.
• He also encouraged his devotees to love their Guru with whole-hearted affection. He advised them to surrender completely. He suggested prostrating reverentially before Him to attain this unity.
• Direct Instruction on Conduct:
  • Baba provided invaluable general advice for interacting with others:
  • “If any men or creatures come to you,
    • do not discourteously drive them away,
    • but receive them well and treat them, with due respect.
  • Shri Hari (God) will be certainly pleased, if you give water to the thirsty, bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked, and your verandah to strangers for sitting and resting“.
  • This emphasizes hospitality, compassion, and respectful treatment of all.
• Discouraging Slander and Gossip: Baba strongly disliked slander.
  • He stated, “He who carps and cavils at others, pierces Me in the heart and injures Me, but he that suffers and endures, pleases Me most“.
  • In one instance, he corrected a slanderer by pointing to a pig eating filth and comparing the slanderer’s actions to the pig’s,
  • thereby teaching a powerful lesson against reviling others.
• Personal Relationships and Care: Baba demonstrated deep personal love and care for his close devotees.
  • He shared his dormitory with Tatya Kote Patil and Bhagat Mhalsapati for 14 years, showing immense affection and intimacy.
  • He loved Khushalchand of Rahata and “watched his welfare, day and night,” even visiting him.
  • He exhibited “motherly love” towards his disciples, knowing their wants and feeling boundless joy when they were adorned.
  • He ensured the proper execution of religious functions in devotees’ homes, even attending a dinner in Mr. B.V. Deo’s house through an appearance.
  • His “anger” was often a disguise for blessings or tests, as seen
    • when he appeared enraged with the women grinding wheat but later smiled at their devotion, or
    • when he seemingly scolded Haji Sidik Falke only to then show him great favor.
• He sometimes appeared in dreams or visions to guide and comfort his devotees, like the instance of Hemadpant’s Shimga dinner.
• Importance of Guru-Disciple Relationship: Baba emphasized
  • complete surrender and unwavering faith in the Guru, assuring that such
  • devotion leads to spiritual progress and self-realization. This deep bond fosters profound love and trust.
• Saints, like Baba and Shri Tembye Swami, are shown to love each other with “fraternal affection,” indicating a wider spiritual family bound by love.

Promoting Love with Animals:

• Oneness with All Creatures: Sai Baba explicitly taught the principle of seeing God in all beings, including animals. When Mrs. Tarkhad fed a hungry dog, Baba told her, “The dog which you saw before meals and to which you gave the piece of bread is, one with Me, so also other creatures (cats, pigs, flies, cows etc.) are one with Me. I am roaming in their forms. He, who sees Me in all these creatures is My beloved. So abandon the sense of duality and distinction, and serve Me, as you did today“. This is a profound teaching that directly connects compassion for animals with devotion to God.
• Compassion and Non-violence: Baba’s conduct consistently demonstrated compassion for animals. He never drove away dogs, cats, or crows that ate from his food pot, indicating his acceptance and care for them. He also gave a clear opinion on the killing of serpents, stating, “God lives in all beings and creatures, whether they be serpents or scorpions… So we should take pity and love all creatures, leave off adventurous fights and killings and be patient. The Lord (God) is the Protector of all“.
• Reminiscences of Past Lives: In a remarkable instance, Baba purchased two goats for a significantly high price, explaining to his surprised devotees that these goats were formerly two human brothers who had fought bitterly and killed each other. He bought them out of pity, fed them, and then returned them. This story highlights Baba’s boundless love and compassion for all creatures, acknowledging their karmic journeys.
• Protection of Animals:
  • Baba saved his devotees from potential harm from animals like snakes,
  • sometimes by foretelling the danger and
  • other times by direct intervention,
  • but he always advised against killing them,
    • emphasizing universal love and the divine presence in all creatures.
  • Even a fierce tiger was drawn to his feet and found a blessed end in his presence, demonstrating Baba’s all-encompassing mercy towards even wild animals.