Spiritual and Ethical learnings from Sai Baba Of Shirdi

Learn introverted vision. Only when the mind attains introverted vision, your senses will get introverted. Without introversion of the mind, without introversion of the senses, none could attain self- knowledge in this universe. ( translated from Sai's quotes)

Sai Baba of Shirdi, an Indian Spiritual Master, regarded by His devotees as a manifestation of God, was revered equally by both Hindu and Muslim communities. A Saint and Fakir, He was born around the year 1838 and left His earthen body on 15th October 1918 at Shirdi. Sai lived an ascetic life; dressed in a knee length one piece KAFNI robe with a cap, in a dilapidated mosque named as द्वारकामाई, practicing both Hindu and Muslim rituals. A sacred fire ( धूनी ) was always lit there from which Sai gave ash( उदी ) to His guests. अल्लाह मालिक and सबका मालिक एक had been two of His regular recitations.

Sai preached the importance of " Realization of Self" and criticized love towards perishable things. His teachings concentrate on a moral code of Love, Forgiveness, Helping others, Charity, Contentment, Inner Peace and Devotion to God and Guru. He advised His devotees to lead a moral life with love for every living being and practicing of two important traits-- श्रद्धा ( Faith) and सबूरी ( Patience) in their behavior.

Baba belonged to Humanity and revered by all communities. While some Hindu Saints declared Sai to be a " Spiritual Diamond" and even " जगतगुरु ", a few others considered Him to be an incarnation of Supreme Reality. Muslim Devotees too, revered Him in high esteem. One of such example is of Abdul Baba, a close devotee of  Sai, who served as a caretaker of Sai Shrine from the year 1918 to 1922. Sai was revered by Zoroastrians as well in which one of the prominent figure Meher Baba declared Sai to be a " Qutub-e- Irshad ", meaning Master of Universe in spiritual hierarchy. 

Baba's utterances and simple messages have been translated and edited into Spiritual literature, TV serials and Films impacting the society at large, all over the globe.  Several Sai temples within India and abroad are a testimony to the impact of Sai's teachings and messages. Some of the key messages stemming out of the same are as below,

• " God is my religion. God is my caste", Baba once said, implying upon the need of " Unity of all mankind" and the need of understanding that God being the Master of Universe, all creatures are part of one big family.
• We must sow good to reap good in this life and the next.
•  Insisted on adherence to Truth. Some other attributes visible in His day to day behavior were Self Control, Equanimity, Generosity, Purity, Regularity, Self denial and Strength. 
• Opposed all persecution based on Religion or Caste. He encouraged His devotees to pray, chant God's name and read holy scriptures of their religion. Baba interpreted religious texts of both Hinduism and Islam for helping His devotees tide over various issues.
• Encouraged Charity and stressed upon the importance of sharing.
• Advised His devotees to receive others with respect and understanding. As per Sai, God (हरि ) will be pleased if people gave Water to thirsty, Bread to hungry, Clothes to naked and Verandah to strangers for sitting and relaxing.
• Emphasized the importance of Performing one's duties without attachment to earthly matters and being contented.
• Demonstrated strong support for His devotees who placed their implicit faith in Him. For them, Sai was a Living God, a felt presence, inspiring, aiding & guiding them at every turn of their life. Quoting Baba's words," You are in me and I in you. If you wish to serve me, give up discrimination and differentiation." Quoting another message of Baba," I will not allow my devotees to come to any harm. If a devotee is about to fall, I stretch out my hands to save him."
• Created in His devotees an intense yearning for Self Knowledge and bestowed them with Peace. He consciously and consistently cared for their Spiritual Growth, besides helping them in   resolution of problems in their material life.
• Advised people to avoid Enmity with anyone , even if they had a genuine reason since as per Baba, enmity leads to extroversion of mind and destroys mental peace. He repeatedly stressed upon getting rid of anger for the sake of universal brotherhood.
• Baba's explanation on essence of Gita had great impact. As per Him " The goal of  कर्मयोग  is to control and reform the senses. The goal of भक्तियोग is to identify and eliminate the weaknesses and sorrows Or what we call as inadequacies within us. The goal of ज्ञानयोग is to attain suitable intellect or विवेक which helps in understanding about God in true sense.
• Stressed upon people to accept and practice two positive values in their life ie Unswerving Faith in God and Tolerance. He asked them to get rid of thoughts of " I" (अहम् ) and " Mine" (ममता ), the two root causes of all the sorrows and disturbances in one's life.  further
• Emphasized that our superiority complex ( ego) distances us away from God and makes us closer to our body, senses and the world. He advised people to shun Ego from their lives.
• Advised people to possess gratitude towards God at all times for all the things bestowed by Him in our lives. He further added that if we constantly contemplate upon God with our mind, its habit of extroverting thru senses will get reduced.
• Happiness and Sorrows are part of every life and Sai advised people to remain unperturbed by these changes. In Sai's words," You neither gain anything by being praised by others, nor lose anything by being blamed by others. It is only your delusion that makes you feel so,"
• Stressed upon the need of Righteousness in Life, which helps as a means to Liberation, the ultimate goal. Sai added that one can not attain Self Realization without possessing Divine Qualities, in the same way as one can not build a Building without a strong foundation.
• Emphasized upon the essential of reforming our own behavior rather than criticizing other's behavior. He wanted us to transcend Fear, Jealousy, Duality and Sorrow. 
•  Advised people to accept failures as a part of life. Quoting Baba," Never feel Failure. All failures in our life are only stepping stones for success."
•  Advised people to minimize expectations from others. He said," Expect nothing and nothing will disappoint you."
• Wanted people to solve their problems themselves and avoid blaming others when things go wrong. He added," Be courageous enough to change if change is necessary. Be serene enough to accept what you can not change."
• Demonstrated complete detachment to material things namely real वैराग्य  and ( निष्काम कर्म ) or selfless working.
• Never disobeyed either any moral law or the laws of the land and the country. His accessibility to all and at all hours was a remarkable feature. He had no interests to serve, no acquisitions to safeguard, no institutions to maintain, nothing to conceal or be ashamed of and thus perfectly demonstrated freedom from care and anxiety.

 To His devotees, Sai once declared," Whatever you do, wherever you may be, ever bear this in mind that I am always aware of everything you do." Baba never gave any Mantra, Tantra or उपदेश . He never lectured but gave hints , a word or a small phrase to help His devotees.  His language on several occasions was highly cryptic-- full of symbology, parables & metaphor.

Sai had different ways of  assisting different people or devotees who came for redressal of external worldly issues. Baba's touch to devotees conveyed certain impulses, forces or ideas for resolution of the issue. His devotees believed that Sai invisibly operated on the concerned issue, leading to its resolution. His devotees have shared scores of instances of Sai's invaluable timely help when there was a risk, danger or trouble in their life. They felt that Baba had vast knowledge of past, present and the future, not only of their life, but also of the nation or the world at large.

" Reaching God is the aim," Sai told His devotees. He never told them to aim for मोक्ष  nor advocated विवेक  or वैराग्य . He never spoke of माया . He always took the commonsense view that this world and the worlds beyond are real and that we have to make the best of them, here and hereafter. Baba had star like shining peaceful eyes, divine smile, wonderful compassion and unending love for humanity. Thru धूनी or विभूति, He tried to tell people," Don't become proud of your wealth or power or position or beauty since ultimately everything is going to turn into ashes".

As per Sai's devotees, Baba performed several miracles such as Bilocation, Levitation, Mind Reading, Materializations, Exorcisms, Entering State of Samadhi at Will, Lighting of Lamps with Water, Curing the Incurables and other miraculous ways of helping them in crisis situations. As per them, Baba gave them दर्शन   in various forms, depending upon their faith. Many of them feel that Sai is a living personality today, guiding and helping them as per their need.

One can go on writing endlessly on Sai's life and His contribution to humanity. However. keeping with the limited purpose of my Blog, let me close the same with another powerful message from Baba's quotes.

 God is not cruel by nature but He becomes cruel towards those who hurt and cause pain to holy, pure, flawless and kind hearted people.

Learnings from the thinking & philosophical insights of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

 

Love thy neighbour as thyself because you are your neighbour. It is illusion that makes you think that your neighbour is someone other than yourself - Dr S Radhakrishnan 

Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan ( Sept 1888- April 1975) has been one of the most distinguished 21st century Indian Scholar, Philosopher and Statesman. His academic excellence and professional skills were recognized by some of the topmost Educational Institutions, Universities and International Organizations all over the globe, where he held prestigious positions with highest standards of Ethics and Dignity.

For his immense contribution and achievements, he was awarded Knighthood in 1931, Bharat Ratna in 1954, Order of Merit & honorary membership of British Royal in 1963 and many more. He was also elected chairman of UNESCO's Executive Board during 1948-49. He was also nominated for Noble Prize in literature and Noble Peace Prize repeatedly for several years, as a recognition of his exemplary contribution in the field of education & literature, global issues and humanity in general.

Although he held topmost positions of Vice President and the President of India, he maintained his literary passion for teaching, writing as well as sharing of thoughts at all times.

 Besides his in- depth reading of key World Religions, he possessed immense knowledge of European Philosophy and the literary works of some of the greatest International Philosophers. He was well read into the Classics of Hinduism including the Upanishads, the Bhagwat Gita and others besides in depth understanding of spiritual works of some of the topmost scholars of Hinduism namely, Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva &Nimbkara. He had great understanding of the scholastic works of  Buddhism & Jainism religions.  He advocated non- aggression and conveyed a Universal Reality of God, that embraced love and wisdom for all.

 His philosophy was grounded in अद्वैता वेदान्ता। He defended Hinduism and shaped its understanding in both India and the West, many a times acting as a bridge builder between India and the West. He believed that Teachers should be the best minds in the country. His birthday is celebrated as " Teachers Day" in India.

 He wrote several books viz Indian Philosophy, The Philosophy of Upanishads, Eastern Religion & Western Thought, Religion and Society, The Bhagwat Gita: with introductory essay and many more. He also shared his views regularly on subjects of Ethics, Religion as well as Idealist view of life  in several journals of repute. I am sharing below some of selective learnings from his vast treasure of literary knowledge and experience. 

ON RELIGION & RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES

• A man without Religion is like a horse without bridle. It is the conquest of fear; the antidote to failure and death.
• True Religion is a revolutionary face; it is an inveterate enemy of oppression, privilege and injustice. The Religion of a True Religious is a simple one, without any shackles of creeds, dogmatic sentiments or supernatural elements.
• Every civilization is the expression of a Religion. It signifies faith in absolute values & a way of life to realize them. Religious Faith gives us the passion to preserve in the way of life & if it declines, obedience degenerates into habit & the habit slowly withers away.
• All Religions owe their inspirations to the Personal insights of their Prophet Founders. Religious theories may be mere speculations. We can not be sure what is true, or whether anything is true at all. Different Religions represent not Truth, but views or apprehensions of Truth.
• We employ the Energies and Emotions of Religion. In several situations, Religion has been identified with feelings, emotions and instinct, cult & rituals, perceptions, beliefs & faith and these views are right in what they affirm, though wrong in what they deny.
• Religion is the Binding Force which deepens the Solidarity of Human Society in-spite of its shortcomings. It is a summon to Spiritual Adventure, not theology alone, but practice and discipline. It is the only remedy for the pride of spirit which has divorced itself from the Eternal. Religion helps in restoration of the lost relationship between the Individual and Eternal.
• The common goal of all Religions is Spiritual life. If we compare one Religion with others, we will see that the differences relate to the formulas and practices only.
• Comparative Religion enables us to study faiths other than our own without contempt. No God seems to be final & no Religion perfect. Every Religion is moulded by fallible & imperfect human instruments. 
•  Religion has been the instrument of social reforms and hence Humanism comes into focus alongside the Philosophy of any Religion. Humanism contends that this World is our chief interest & Perfection of Humanity our one of the ideal. Humanism demands a disciplined life & insists on Wholeness and Harmony. Humanism is concerned with Values while Religion relates Values to Reality. There is no conflict between Religion & a Reasonable Humanism.
• To do justly, to love beauty & to work humbly with the Spirit of Truth is the highest Religion. Therefore Religion, in ultimate sense is Behaviour & not mere Belief.

ETHICAL & MORAL LIVING

• The Vedanta requires us to respect Human Dignity and demands the recognition of man as man. Every individual is to be regarded as our Co-Equal & treated as an End, not a Means.
• Moral life is an unremitting active energizing, which is never exhausted. It takes endless forms and the process goes on forever, until Perfect Knowledge is gained, which consumes the seed of " कर्मा " and makes rebirth impossible.
• All our world organizations will prove ineffective if the Truth that Love is stronger than Hate does not inspire them. Here ,quoting Guru Nanak," Truth is higher than everything but higher still is True Conduct"; Quoting another great spiritual philosopher Rumi," Only narrow souls are divided; all great souls are united and form a single community."
• Tolerance is the homage which the Finite Mind pays to the inexhaustibly of the Infinite.
• We should not do to others what will be offensive to us. This is धर्मा in essence. We must look upon others as ourselves.
• Good produces Good; Evil, Evil. Love increases our power of love; Hatred our power of hatred. It emphasizes the great importance of Right Action. The law of कर्मा  says that each individual will get the return according to the energy he puts forth. Faith in कर्मा  induces in us the mood of True Justice and Charity, the essence of Spirituality.
• All Ethical goods, bound up as they are with the world of distinctions, are valuable as means to the end. While Self Realization is the Absolute Good, Ethical Goods are only relative since these help in Realization of the Infinite.
• The Ethical Problem arises because there is constant struggle between the Infinite Character of the Soul and the Finite Dress it has clothed itself in.
• Every individual must Subdue his Senses, which calls for Self Assertion; Pride must give place to Humility, Resentment to Forgiveness and narrow attachment to family to Universal Benevolence.
• Moral growth consists in a gradual correction of the individualistic point of view. The end of morality is to lift oneself up above Ones Individuality and become one with the Impersonal Spirit of the Universe. Man has to purify himself from the defilement of the World, strip off all clothing and leave behind everything unworthy. He must break away from the slavery of Self-Hood, Passion and Senses.

PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE AND SPIRITUALITY

• "A Persian poet has compared Universe to an old manuscript of which first and last pages are lost. Ever since man attained consciousness, he has been trying to discover these lost pages". Dr Radhakrishnan quoted and added that Philosophy is the name of  this quest and its results.
• Every phenomenon of Cosmic Evolution is characterized by activity, change or motion. All things undergo infinitesimal changes of growth & decay. In the smallest instance of time (क्षण ), the whole universe undergoes a change. This world is neither Real nor Unreal. It exists in the Eternal form of  प्रकृति and passes away in its transitory manifestations.
• Our life is a step on a road, the direction and goal of which are lost in the Infinite. On this road, death is never an end or an obstacle, but at the most, the beginning of the new steps. The development of the soul is a continuous process, though it is broken into stages by the recurring Baptism of death.
• The Ultimate Self is free from sin, free from old age, free from death and grief, free from hunger and thirst, which desires nothing and imagines nothing.
• The knowledge that the Supreme Spirit dwells in the heart of every living creature is the abiding root principle of all धर्मा.
• Pragmatism rejects Absolute Truth as a myth and holds that All Truths are Human and Relative. A Truth is tested by the value of its consequences.
• Meditation is the way to Self- Discovery. To know the Truth, we have to deepen ourselves & not merely widen the surface. Silence and Quiet are necessary. Discipline and Restraint help us to put our consciousness into Relationship with Supreme.
  
• The Divine is both in us and out of us. God is neither completely transcendent nor completely immanent. He is Divine Darkness as well as Un-Encompassed Light.
• God lives, feels & suffers in every one of us, and in course of time, His Attributes, Knowledge, Beauty and Love will be revealed in each one of us.
• The conception of God as Wisdom, Love and Goodness is not a mere abstract demand of thought, but is the concrete reality, which satisfies the religious demand. The Hindu conception of God as ब्रह्माः , विष्णु & शिव illustrate and represent the three stages of The Plan, The Process and The Perfection. God also works as a Creative Genius does. Salvation comes from the grace of God through भक्ति & Trust with God.
• The existence of Reality is to be experienced and is beyond Logical Proof or sense perception. This Reality is Absolute, Truth of Truth and Light of Light. It is both concealed & manifest, both transcendent & immanent as well as indescribable & unknown. How can immeasurable be measured or evaluated? Though beyond all thought & word, He does exist and dwells within and outside ourselves.
• Reason is subordinated to Intuition. Life can not be comprehended in the fullness by logical reason. Self Consciousness is not the ultimate category of the universe. There is something transcending the consciousness of the self, to which many names are given-- Intuition, Revelation, Cosmic consciousness and God Vision. 
• According to धर्मकीर्ति , we perceive the four Truths of Buddhism, which are beyond ordinary means of knowledge, by means of Yogic Intuition, which is free from error and intellectual taint. By constant practice of Meditation, a man may acquire super-sensuous vision, and may apprehend all objects near and far, past and future, remote and hidden. The highest kind of Insight has the immediacy of Intuition. What is a miracle for us is a natural power of great Seers.
• मोक्ष is supreme felicity marked by perfect Tranquillity and freedom from Defilement. It is not the destruction of self, but only of Bondage.
• A Perfect God does not require the world for His satisfaction. If it is said that the world is for His enjoyment, the God is no God, but only a संसारी. If we say that God has determinations, personality, perfections or other traits, it is difficult to conceive how these can co-exist with Absoluteness. The reality of God transcends our natural powers of conceiving as well as comprehending. We can be certain of God only if we resort to the spiritual insight of great Seers as recorded in the scriptures.
• ईश्वर is error free from अविद्या. The limitations of माया do not affect His knowledge since माया is His energy, His inherent force, by which He transforms the potential into the actual world. It is the creative power of the Eternal God and is therefore Eternal. माया is synonymous with प्रकृति. It is both subjective and objective, individual and universal.
• The Believer in God should love the whole universe, which is a product of God. True peace and excellence lie not in self assertion, but in offering oneself as a contribution to the True Being of the universe.
• The Soul is by nature Blissful, though it is subjected to pain and suffering, on account of connection with material bodies due to its past कर्मा. So long it is not freed from its impurities, it wanders about in changing forms of existence. Bliss becomes manifest at the time of Release.
• The जीवः in संसार, with their souls shrouded in bodies, believe that they are not so much modes of God as products of  प्रकृति. Their inner light is obscured by the outer darkness of garment of nature, which it mistakes for its True Self and turns its face away from God. 
• A mere Act of Goodness or contemplative insight may, for the moment, seems to lift us out of the narrowness of our individuality, but it can not give us permanent satisfaction, which is only the experience of Brahma (ब्रह्म अनुभव ). It is the supreme state of joy & peace and the perfection of individual development.

Though, learnngs from his several other literary writings are phenomenal, yet, I will fail in my duty here if I do not mention some of these from his book," Bhagwat Gita", in which, his commentary and expressions on each of 700 verses as well as Introductory Essay are exemplary. As per him, Bhagwat Gita is more a Religious Classic rather than a Philosophical Treatise. It is both metaphysics & ethics, ब्रह्मविद्या & योगशास्त्र, the science of reality and the art of union with reality.

As per Dr Radhakrishnan, Gita points out that there is a Divine Creator, who imposes His forms on the abysmal world. He is Supreme. He resides in the heart of every being. He is the source and sustainer of values. He is Supra-Cosmic, Eternal, Space-less and Timeless ब्रह्म , who ensouls the cosmic forms. He is पुरुषोत्तम and परमेश्वर.

As per him, the pupil Arjuna, fighting with the forces of darkness, falsehood, limitation and mortality, appeals to Krishna, his teacher, the जगतगुरु for the grace of enlightenment and a clear rule of action. The Gita is a mandate for action and focuses on it rather than renunciation of action. Gita advocates detachment from desires and not ceasation from work. It gives us a religion, by which the rule of कर्मा , the natural order of deed and consequence, can be transcended.

Let me end the blog by another quote of Dr S Radhakrishnan.

A life of joy and happiness is possible only on the basis of knowledge.