The Need of Sadguru Shri Sai Nath in Present Times
“Sai Raham Nazar Karna, Bacchon Ka Palan Karna” This verse is a request to Sadguru Shri Sai Nath of Shirdi who has been regarded as an ascendant master of this era. It is a request to protect us and nourish us with right spiritual knowledge. It is also a request to have mercy on us for our ignorance. The question arises why this protection is more important nowadays. To appreciate this we need to understand the concluding speech of Swami Vivekanand in the Parliament of religion.
“If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything to the world, it is this: It has proved to the world that holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character. In the face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written in spite of resistance: "Help and not fight," "Assimilation and not Destruction," "Harmony and Peace and not Dissension."
- Swami Vivekanand
We see that people representing various religions are behaving as frog in a well. They have a habit of seeing everything from the prism of their own faith and religion. For them what they know and what they have been taught by the custodians of their own religion is the only truth. A devout Hindu who doesn’t understand the religion and practices of Muslims or Christians can feel that these practices are unholy or devilish. Muslims and Christians may have similar views about Hinduism or other religion. The basic essence of spirituality is to get rid of ego so that the grace of God can descend on the devotees. However, because of religious bias people start judging others leading to their own spiritual destruction. In such cases religion fails to evolve human being in their pursuit of divine knowledge. People fail to appreciate that the essence in each religion is the same. It is the same God which we pray but by different names.
Sai Baba of Shirdi can be regarded as a present day incarnation. He took birth just to teach us that whatever path we choose it will lead us to the same God. To set a prime example he followed a life style which explained everything. Some say that Shri Sai Baba had Hindu parents. He was initially raised by a Muslim fakir who later handed him over to Venkusa who was a Hindu saint and a devotee of Lord Vishnu. When the spiritual life of Shri Sai Baba started he entertained people of all religions and faiths. He joined in both Hindu and Muslim festivals. Muslims used to read Holy Quran in his company. Hindus used to read Bhagwat Gita and Ramayana in front of him. He lived in an old mosque and named it as Dwarkamayee in remembrance of Lord Krishna. He lighted a “dhuni” (sacred fire) in Dwarkamayee. He used to do offerings to fire just like an agnihotri Brahmin. In his entire life none was able to understand about the religion followed by Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi.
Sai Baba’s spiritual energy helped his devotees in Shirdi. Being linked to the universal thought process he also influenced the thought process of his era. He was able to help in Hindu and Muslim unity which paved way for India’s independence struggle. Spiritually attained leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak and others were influenced by the thought process of Sadguru Shri Sai Nath. These leaders were able to garner support of both Hindus and Muslims in the independence struggle. This fact is evident as Mahatma Gandhi came to have darshan of Shri Upasani Maharaj who was a disciple of Shri Sai Nath of Shirdi after Shri Sai Baba took his Maha Samadhi.
We pray to Shri Sai Baba to have mercy on us and show us the right path so that we see people of all faiths as brothers and sisters. This is the only way to help our country and the world.
Written by: Anand Sagar Pathak