Complete surrender to the Guru encompasses several dimensions, as elucidated in the Shri Sai Sat Charitra:
Devotion and Remembrance: This entails a total surrender of oneself while consistently recalling the Guru’s presence, with the necessity of continually chanting the Guru’s name.
Seeing the Guru in all beings: Engaging in meditation on the Guru allows one to perceive Him within every being, thereby bestowing eternal bliss. A true devotee regards every Guru as Krishna.
Lack of Egoism: This principle mandates the relinquishment of pride and ego, thereby surrendering to the Guru who resides within one’s heart. The removal of egoism and the complete trust in the Lord liberates one from worldly constraints.
Service: True surrender requires Sarvaswa Sharangati (total surrender) to the Sad-guru, where one must recognize that they are not the sovereign of their own body; rather, the body belongs to the Guru and exists solely to serve Him.
Faith and compliance: A disciple’s duty and dharma necessitate implicit and prompt adherence to the Guru’s directives.
Channeling Senses to the divine: Prior to indulging the senses, mind, and intellect in their respective pursuits, it is incumbent to remember the Guru; such remembrance serves as an offering to Him.
Experiencing Oneness: The individual who approaches the Guru achieves oneness with Him, akin to a river merging with the sea.
Desirelessness: The Guru liberates His devotees from desires, rendering them free.
Love: The Guru desires nothing but love for all sentient beings. Genuine love requires earnest affection; thus, where there is true yearning and feeling, God reveals Himself.
Mindfulness: Regularly chanting the Guru’s name and engaging in meditation fosters the ability to perceive Him in all beings, which in turn grants eternal bliss. A definitive indication of this practice is the attainment of a calm and peaceful mind.
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learning from experience
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Complete surrender to the Guru involves
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Study materials available to Foreigners, interested in Shirdi Sai Baba.
Foreign individuals seeking to understand the life, teachings, and global influence of Shirdi Sai Baba have access to a wide array of study materials.1. Academic Works
Academic studies offer a structured, critical, and contextual understanding of Shirdi Sai Baba, often distinguishing historical facts from hagiographical embellishments.
As per (Thanks) Oxford Bibliographies:-
“Academic study of Shirdi Sai Baba has emerged within the past several decades as scholars of religion in South Asia began to engage in a wide array of studies of popular saints and gurus;
and as they observed the rapid growth in devotion to Shirdi Sai Baba in particular within the Indian subcontinent and, eventually, beyond India.
White 1972 provided the first academic analysis of Shirdi Sai Baba, noting his growing popularity in western India and attributing it to the unifying bond created between Sai Baba’s devotees, a bond that crosses distinctions of caste, class, and social status.
Antonio Rigopoulos 1993 is the first book-length academic study of Shirdi Sai Baba, which presents a biography of Sai Baba in the first half that draws upon Hindu-authored hagiographies, and presents Sai Baba’s key teachings in the second half with an emphasis on interreligious tolerance.
Warren 2004 includes a valuable translation of the diary kept by Abdul Baba, a Muslim follower of Sai Baba in Shirdi, and draws upon that to present an interpretation of Sai Baba as a Muslim fakir who traveled the Sufi path.
McLain 2016 traces Shirdi Sai Baba’s rise from small village guru to global phenomenon, using a wide range of textual, material, and visual sources to investigate the different ways that Sai Baba has been understood and the reasons behind his skyrocketing popularity among Hindus in particular.
The edited collection Srinivas, 2022 provides insight into the worship of Sai Baba beyond the village of Shirdi in the early twentieth century, with essays that examine more contemporary worship at multiple sites within India as well as in Asia and Africa.
Several articles also make valuable contributions to the study of Shirdi Sai Baba:
Hardiman 2015 analyzes the miracle healing cures associated with Sai Baba and the relationship between his spiritual power and secular science;
Rigopoulos 2012 analyzes some of Sai Baba’s miracles in connection with yoga powers;
Vicziany 2016 examines the worship of two syncretic figures, Shirdi Sai Baba and Haji Ali, in the city of Mumbai, India; and
Loar 2018 compares the hagiographies of Shirdi Sai Baba that were written by two of his Hindu followers, Dabholkar and Narasimhaswami.”- Thanks Oxford for your article at www.oxfordbibliogrsphies.com.
Cambridge University
Cambridge University have explored aspects of Sai Baba’s life and the movement he inspired.
1. Academic Research and Publications:
* Cambridge Core: Cambridge University Press has published academic works that discuss Shirdi Sai Baba and the broader Sai Baba movement.
* Smriti Srinivas’s article, “Sai Baba: The Double Utilization of Written and Oral Traditions in a Modern South Asian Religious Movement,” published in Diogenes, examines the origins of the Sai Baba movement rooted in Shirdi Sai Baba.
* Another article in Comparative Studies in Society and History titled “Miracle Cures for a Suffering Nation: Sai Baba of Shirdi” explores his popularity and perceived ability to provide miraculous cures.
* The “Cambridge Companion to New Religious Movements” features a chapter by Tulasi Srinivas on the Sathya Sai Baba movement, which originated from Shirdi Sai Baba’s legacy.
* Cambridge University Library: Kevin R.D. Shepherd, a British author, conducted private research at Cambridge University Library for twelve years, focusing on the history of religions and philosophy. He has authored books such as “Sai Baba of Shirdi: A Biographical Investigation” and “Investigating the Sai Baba Movement.”
2. Perspectives on Shirdi Sai Baba:
* Syncretism: Some scholars highlight Shirdi Sai Baba’s image as a unifying figure between Hindu and Muslim traditions, emphasizing the composite nature of Indian culture in the growth of his devotion.
* Miracles and Faith: His devotees often attribute miraculous abilities to him, which contributed to his widespread popularity. Academic analysis has also focused on these aspects.
* Historical Context: Research connects the rise of Shirdi Sai Baba’s popularity with the Indian nationalist movement and the search for unifying symbols.
3. Mentions in Other Contexts:
* Sathya Sai Baba: Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, and his movement have also been subjects of academic study, including publications by Cambridge University Press.
* Educational Initiatives: Cambridge University Press has collaborated with Indian educational institutions for programs like the “SAI-Cambridge Reading Quest,” although this is related to language skills development and not directly to the study of Sai Baba.
While Cambridge University’s press has published scholarly articles and books that analyze his life, teachings, and the socio-religious movements associated with him. Individual researchers connected to the university have also contributed significantly to this field of study.
Teachings and Philosophy
Social and Cultural Significance
- Karline McLain’s Be United, Be Virtuous: This work investigates the role of Sai Baba’s teachings in promoting religious harmony and examines the movement’s cultural impact within Indian society.
- Edited Volumes (e.g., Devotional Spaces of a Global Saint): These collections often feature contributions that analyze the institutional development of the Sai Baba movement and its place in the lives of modern devotees.
Miracles and Belief Systems
- Analytical Perspectives on Miracles: Academic literature explores the narrative function of miracles in constructing Sai Baba’s authority, examining their sociological and psychological dimensions and drawing comparisons with miracle traditions in other religions.
Global Spread and Contemporary Practices
- Studies on Globalization: Scholars analyze how Sai Baba’s devotion has transcended geographic boundaries, highlighting the establishment of temples and devotional practices in international contexts.
- Media and Technology: Contemporary research considers how digital media platforms are employed to maintain global devotional networks and disseminate teachings.
Methodological Approaches
Engagement with academic resources introduces foreign learners to various methodological frameworks—historical criticism, sociology of religion, and anthropology—that enable a comprehensive and critical study of religious figures and movements.
2. Devotional and Informational Websites
In addition to academic works, several online platforms provide accessible resources tailored to the needs of international devotees.
Websites for International Devotees (e.g., shirdisaibaba.international)
- Curated Publications: These platforms offer English-language articles, news updates, and publications, suited for global audiences.
- Translations of Key Texts: They often provide details of translated versions of significant devotional texts and biographies.
- Community Engagement: Discussion forums and community pages offer a space for interpretation, Lists of Sai Baba temples in countries like the USA, UK, Canada, Singapure, Dubai…and sharing of experiences, reflecting the living tradition of Sai Baba devotion.
Official Temple Trust Website (sai.org.in)
- Authoritative Information: Offers official narratives, details of temple rituals, and historical overviews from the perspective of the temple trust.
- Online Resources: Includes downloadable material, videos, and frequently asked questions, all primarily in English, facilitating introductory-level engagement.
3. Key Considerations for Foreigners
Language Accessibility
The wide availability of English-language materials—both academic and devotional—greatly enhances accessibility for non-Indian audiences.
Multiple Perspectives
A balanced approach that includes both academic and devotional materials provides a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of Shirdi Sai Baba.
Cultural Context
Academic studies help situate Sai Baba within the broader Indian religious and cultural milieu, an essential context for foreigners unfamiliar with the subcontinent’s spiritual traditions.
Critical Engagement
By engaging with academic sources, foreigners are encouraged to critically examine the narratives surrounding Sai Baba, differentiating between historically substantiated facts and devotional interpretations.
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Where certain actions or entities are considered better than others
- A human body is better than other bodies–
- Despite its filth, mucus, and susceptibility to decay, disease, and death, the human body’s special value lies in its capacity to acquire knowledge and attain God-vision, which is impossible in any other birth.
- Love is better than intelligence-
- The pure love of Shirdi women, despite their ignorance, inspired them to compose poems, implying that love is more inspiring than intelligence.
- Giving food is better than other charities-
- While other charities like giving away wealth, property, and clothes require some discrimination, offering food requires no such consideration.
- Also, the merit of feeding lame, crippled, blind, and diseased paupers is much greater than that of feeding able-bodied persons and relations.
- Butter-milk (Leelas) is better than Milk (Darshan)-
- If one desires to see Sai Baba’s but they did not get any opportunity of taking His darshan, their quest for milk (darshan) will be, to a great extent, satisfied by the butter-milk (Leelas).
- Remembering and chanting Hari’s and Guru’s name confers salvation is better than getting the powerful Bhakti of the Nathas-
- one Madhavarao did not like Kakasaheb’s pessimistic attitude of how to get the powerful Bhakti of the Nathas, as he said, ‘has not Baba told us authoritatively that remembering and chanting Hari’s and Guru’s name confers salvation? Then where is the cause for fear and anxiety?’
- The observance of the vow of silence is the best way of praising the Sad-guru-
- In reality, the observance of the vow of silence is the best way of praising the Sad-guru.
- Having recourse to Sai Baba’s Feet and surrendering to Him is the best luck-
- The best luck is to get an opportunity to have recourse to Sai Baba’s Feet and surrender to Him, than any other
- A human body is better than other bodies–
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Mastering Dispassion: A Guide to Spiritual Liberation with Baba
Baba’s physical or finite form has undoubtedly vanished from our sight; however, the infinite or spiritual essence (Spirit of Baba) endures eternally.
Baba’s plays continue:
- The divine Leelas (play) that transpired during His earthly existence have been extensively discussed till now.
- Since His departure, new Leelas (play) have emerged and continue to unfold even now.
- This clearly illustrates that Baba remains ever-living and extends His assistance to His devotees as before.
About Those contacted physically Baba:
- Those who were blessed to have contact with Baba during His lifetime were indeed fortunate;
- nevertheless, if any of them failed to cultivate dispassion for worldly possessions and pleasures, or did not turn their minds toward the Lord,
- it is purely a matter of their misfortune.
Now what is necessary:
- What was necessary then, as it is Now, is a wholehearted devotion to Baba.
- All our
- senses,
- organs-faculties, and
- minds should collaborate in worshiping and serving Baba:
- to engage only certain faculties in worship, while neglecting others is of no use.
- Should one partake in worship or meditation, it ought to be undertaken with one’s full mind and soul.
- All our
Can anyone assist us in achieving?
- The love that a devoted wife holds for her husband is frequently, likened to the devotion a disciple offers to his master (Guru).
- Yet, the latter is unparalleled and far surpasses the former.
- No individual, be it a father, mother, brother, or any other relative, can assist us in achieving the ultimate purpose of life (self-realization).
- We must delineate and navigate the path of self-realization independently.
- We are tasked with
- discerning the Unreal from the Real,
- renouncing the desires and pleasures of this world and
- the next, mastering our senses and minds, and
- aspiring solely for liberation.
- Rather than depending on others, we ought to place total faith in ourselves.
Practice What? and How?
- As we begin to practice discernment,
- we come to realize the transitory and illusory nature of the world, and
- our passions for worldly matters gradually diminish,
- ultimately leading to dispassion or non-attachment.
- We then acknowledge that the Brahma,
- which is none other than our Guru, is the sole reality;
- as it transcends and pervades the apparent universe,
- we begin to worship it in all beings.
- By wholeheartedly worshiping the Brahma or Guru, we become one with Him and attain self-realization.
- In summary:
- consistently chanting the name of the Guru and
- meditating on Him, enables us to
- perceive Him in all beings.
- It bestows upon us eternal bliss.
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Baba is a Scientist in Teaching Education
Pedagogics is the art and science of teaching and education. It involves not only conveying information, but also understanding how people learn. It requires creating environments, that foster growth and development.
Sai Baba is also not only delivering information, but create environment for learning and growing of His devotees. viz:
- One,
- totally devoid of any book study, but
- possessed of
- perfect self-surrender,
- humility,
- trust, and
- love towards the Guru Baba,
- was and is the person who could derive
- the fullest benefits from Baba.
- The idea that
- one has understood all about Jiva and Paramatma and
- the methods by which Paramatma could be reached by a Jiva,
- forms the greatest obstacle to one’s progress.
- It is
- not the intellect, the keenness of intellect, that is
- wanted from a person approaching Baba.
- It is
- humility,
- receptivity, and
- a readiness to receive all that Baba gives, that counts.
- As Baba pointed out to the Valambi Station Master,
- persons (evidently with much conceit of learning etc.) came to him
- like vessels the mouth of which was kept inverted; and were therefore
- incapable of receiving any benefits from him.
- In the case of Nana (Devotee),
- his very high learning and
- great ability in official and other matters were naturally accompanied
- by a high degree to self-assertion and egotism;
- which make for success in
- literary study,
- official matters, and to a certain extent even in
- spiritual matters.
- But for the highest results in spiritual matters, it is just the opposite, namely,
- utter reduction of egotism,
- the power to relax the Ego and
- keep it relaxed for long periods, that is essential.
- This is why
- the consumption of water, that was used to washing of the feet of the Guru, and
- the acceptance of his Uchchishta tirtha (the remnants of food that have been contaminated by the Guru’s saliva) are emphasized in the
- “Guru Gita” for a pupil’s advancement,
- as these practices foster a profound annihilation of Ahamkara, or Ego,
- through deep reverence for the Guru, culminating in Love.
- In Baba’s system,
- the Guru-Teacher imparts virtue after virtue to the sishya-Student.
- HE trains him step by step to secure these virtues and the knowledge, he wishes to equip the pupil with.
- This process is just as the cat carries its kittens to safe and good places.
- The first essential preparatory step in Baba’s course is thus,
- not book learning, but the
- development of
- humility and
- receptivity.
- These would result from
- perfect faith, absolute faith,
- unlimited and powerful faith in the Guru.
- The Guru must be everything to the sishya,
- the giver of bread,
- the giver of life and light and
- the giver of all that life is worth living for, and
- at one stroke.
- He must not regard anything else. This alone is the tyaga of Tan, Man, Dhan – body, mind and possessions.
LoSB-Vol II’ Ch 2
- Baba’s company was the highest education one could get. As a Mahratta saying goes, ‘Let us stay with saints. If they do not give us Upadesa, let us note what they do and say. That is the best Upadesa‘.
- One,
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Summary of Soul Science
- The heart, full of purity and poise (Satwa) is the Ocean of milk.
- Steady contemplation of the Divine, either as i) your own reality or ii) as ideal to be reached, is Mandara mountain,
- placed in it as a churning rod Vasuki, the serpent wound round the churning rod as a rope,
- is the group of senses,
- emitting poisonous fumes
- during the process of churning and
- nearly frightening the asuras (demons) who held the head.
- The rope is
- held by good and bad impulses and
- both struggle with the churning process,
- eager for the results, which each has set the heart on!
- Grace of God is the
- Tortoise incarnation,
- for the Lord Himself comes to the rescue
- once
- HE knows that you are earnestly seeking the secret of Immortality!
- He comes,
- silently and
- unobserved,
- as the tortoise did,
- holding the reflection (manana) process
- unimpaired and
- serving as the steady base of all spiritual practices!
- Many things emerge from the mind, when churned,
- but the wise wait patiently
- for the appearance of the guarantor of immortality, and
- seize upon it with avidity!
- That is the lesson of the legend. It is a summary of Atma-vidya!
– Puttaparti Satya Sai Baba in the Divine Discourse on Jan 13, 1965
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You are God, you are mighty and opulent
Shishya (disciple) like the Sad-guru is really embodiment of Jnana.
The difference between the two lies in the attitude, high realization, marvellous super-human Sattva (beingness) and unrivalled capacity and Aishwarya Yoga (divine powers).
The Sad-guru is Nirguna, Sat-Chit-Ananda. He has indeed taken human form to elevate mankind and raise the world. But his real Nirguna nature is not destroyed thereby, even a bit. His beingness (or reality), divine power and widsom remain undiminished.
The disciple also is in fact of the same swarupa. But, it is overlaid by the effect of the samaskaras of innumerable births in the shape of ignorance, which hides from his view that he is Shuddha Chaitanya (see B.G. Ch. V-15). As stated therein, he gets the impressions – “Iam Jiva, a creature, humble and poor.”
The Guru has to root out these offshoots of ignorance and has to give upadesh or instruction.
To the disciple, held spell- bound for endless generations by the ideas of his being a creature, humble and poor, the Guru imparts in hundreds of births the teaching – “You are God, you are mighty and opulent.” Then, he realizes a bit that he is God really.
The perpetual delusion under which the disciple is labouring, that he is the body, that he is a creature (jiva) or ego, that God (Paramatma) and the world are different from him, is an error inherited from innumerable past births. From actions based on it, he has derived his joy, sorrows and mixtures of both.
To remove this delusion, this error, this root ignorance, he must start the inquiry.
How did the ignorance arise? Where is it? And to show him this, is called the Guru’s upadesh.
SSSC-Ch 29
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Last thought, man has at death-hour, determines his future
The last wish or thought that a man has at the hour of death, determines his future course.
Shri Krishna has said in Gita (VIII-5-6) that “he who remembers Me in his last moments, comes verily to Me, and he who meditates otherwise at that time, goes to what he looks for.”
We cannot be certain that we can entertain a particular good thought at our last moment, for, more often than not, we are more likely to be frightened and terrif ied by death.
Hence constant practice is necessary, for enabling us to fix our mind on any desired good thought at any moment.
All Saints, therefore, recommend us to always remember God and chant His name always, so that we may not be puzzled when the time for departure comes.
The devotees on their part surrender themselves completely to the Saints, fully believing that the all-knowing Saints (Sai Baba) would guide and help them in their last moments.
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Classification of disciples
- There are of three kinds of disciples of a Guru:
- (1) First or Best
- (2) Second or Average and
- (3) Third or Ordinary.
- The best kind of disciples are those who
- guess what their Gurus want and
- immediately carry it out and
- serve them
- without waiting for an order from them.
- The average disciples are those who
- carry out the orders of their Masters to a letter,
- without any delay, and
- the third kind of disciples are those, who
- go on postponing the carrying out of their orders and
- making mistakes at every step.
- The disciples should have
- firm faith,
- backed up by intelligence
- and if they add patience to these,
- their spiritual goal will not be distant.
- Control of
- breath (ingoing and outgoing), or
- Hath-Yoga (Balancing Sun and Moon force of Human Body) or
- other difficult practices
- are not at all necessary.
- When
- the disciples get the above mentioned qualities,
- they become ready for further instructions and
- Masters then appear and
- lead them on, in their spiritual path to perfection.
- There are of three kinds of disciples of a Guru:
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Various teachings and practices, prescribed by Baba
- Baba lovingly urged many to remember His name and to surrender to Him,
- Yet for those seeking to understand ‘who they truly were’ (the ‘Who am I’ enquiry), He gently recommended Shravanam (study) and Mananam (meditation).
- To some, He lovingly guided
- the remembrance of God’s name,
- to others, the joy of hearing HIS Leelas /Plays,
- to some, the sacred worship of His Feet,
- and to others, the reading and studying of the Adhyatma Ramayan, Jnaneshwari, and more sacred scriptures.
- Some He tenderly invited to sit near His Feet,
- while others He lovingly sent to Khandoba’s temple,
- He advised some
- to repetition the thousands of names of Vishnu,
- and others to engage in the study of the Chhandogya Upanishad and Geeta.
- To some, He offered His guidance directly in person, and to others, through the precious visions in their dreams.
- He lovingly explained certain Mantras, such as ‘Guru Brahma’, “Raja Ram’ in their dreams.
- To one devotee,
- who was earnestly practicing Hath-Yoga,
- HE conveyed a gentle message to leave those practices aside,
- to sit in quiet and embrace patience (Saburi).
- Truly, it is an immense task to describe all of His ways and methods, each filled with love and compassion.
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