Godliness of Satya Sai Baba by Mahendra Mathur
Sai Baba has dominated the world scene for half-a-century as a great Saint. Sathya Sai Baba asserts that he is an avatar of God in whom all names and forms ascribed by man to God are manifest. He also says that everybody else is God and that the difference is that he is aware of this and others have yet to realize it. He stresses humans should always be free from desires and states that desires bring mental pain (depression, anger, jealousy etc).
Sathya Sai Baba preaches love and the unity of all world religions and asserts that people who follow him do not need to give up their original religion. His followers view his teachings as syncretic (uniting all religions), but his message remains fundamentally Hindu. He says that he has come to restore faith in and encourage the practice of the teachings in the Vedas. Several books and discourses by him, such as the book Ramakatha Rasavahini, teach the literal interpretation of Hindu mythology and advocate the practice of Hindu Dharma.
Apart from teaching the unity and equality of all the religions Sathya Sai Baba places particular emphasis on the role of women (especially mothers) in society. He has stated that mothers build society. That is why he teaches respect for parents, especially for the mother. He also said that the level of a nation depends on their respect for women.
Across the globe local Sathya Sai Baba groups assemble to sing bhajans, study Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings, do collective community service, and teach Education in Human Values. Baba’s movement is not missionary and Baba discouraged publicity for him in a public discourse in 1968. Bhajans are sung at nearly every meeting with the names of the traditional Hindu deities as well as saints and prophets of other religions occasionally replaced by Baba’s name.
Based on Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings, his organization advocates the five basic human values. These values are truth, right conduct, living in accord with natural law, non-violence, love for God and all his creatures and peace.
Other primary teachings are:
Love for all creatures and objects.
Putting a ceiling (limit) on one’s desires
Celibacy after age of fifty.
Everything that has been created is maya (illusion), only God is real.
Every creature and object is God in form, though most do not experience this as their reality.
Vegetarianism, moderate and sattvik diet.
Abstinence from drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and taking drugs.
Detachment from the material world.
Meditation (dhyan). Baba teaches four techniques: repetition of the name of God, visualizing the form of God, sitting in silence, and jyoti (Flame/Light meditation).
Inclusive acceptance of all religions as paths to realizing the One (God).
Importance of bhakti (devotion) to God.
Developing virtues (prashanti) and eschewing vices of character.
Japa and other sadhana (spiritual exercise) to foster devotion.
Reverence for parents, teachers and elders.
Sense control
Highly committed devotees use the phrase “Sai Ram” as a salutation.
Women should strive to realize stri-dharma, the inherent virtues of womanhood.
Altruism
Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings are said to be realized by observing the following four principles:
There is only one Caste, the Caste of Humanity;
There is only one Religion, the Religion of Love;
There is only one Language, the Language of the Heart;
There is only One God and He is Omnipresent
Dr. Arnold Joseph Toynbee (1889-1975) the great British historian:
His massive research was published in 12 volumes between 1934 and 1961 as `A Study of History’. Author of several books, including Christianity: Among the Religions of the World and One World and India. Toynbee was a major interpreter of human civilization in the 20th century. What follows are some extracts of his writing that reveal that it is only Hindu teachings such as propagated by Sai Baba that would save the world in the Twenty-first Century.
‘It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in self-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerous moment in human history, the only way of salvation is the ancient Hindu way. Here we have the attitude and spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together in to a single family. So now we turn to India.
This spiritual gift, that makes a man human, is still alive in Indian souls. Go on giving the world Indian examples of it. Nothing else can do so much to help mankind to save itself from destruction.
‘This is a hard saying for adherents of the higher religions of the Judaic family (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), but it is a truism for Hindus. The spirit of mutual good-will, esteem, and veritable love … is the traditional spirit of the religions of the Indian family. This is one of India’s gifts to the world. At the close of this century, the world would be dominated by the West, but that in the 21st century “India will conquer her conquerors.”
We are now well within 21st century and for the ‘spirit of mutual good-will, esteem and veritable love’ to prevail among all people it is desirable that verses like the ones from Surah 6, that are quoted below, are removed from Quran.
30. If you could but see when they will be held (brought and made to stand) in front of their Lord! He will say: “Is not this (Resurrection and the taking of the accounts) the truth?” They will say: “Yes, by our Lord!” He will then say: “So taste you the torment because you used not to believe.”
49. But those who reject Our Ayât, the torment will touch them for their disbelief (and for their belying the Message of Muhammad).
Such verses only mark violent differences borne from belief in some metaphors. That these verses are metaphors was perhaps in the mind of the 18th century British historian Edward Gibbon when he wrote in the Chapter 50 of the History of decline and Fall of Roman Empire: “The faith which, under the name of Islam, he preached to his family and nation is compounded of an eternal truth, and a necessary fiction, That there is only one God, and that Mahomet is the apostle of God.”
In the next paper we shall try to understand the concept of enacting positive change in the Society as advocated by Jiddu Krishnamurti.
Colonel Mahendra Mathur prematurely retired from the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army in 1975 to build a highway in Tobago. Subsequently he was appointed Director of National Emergency Management Agency of Trinidad and Tobago before retiring in 1998. You can contact him at <mmathur@tstt.net.tt>
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July 5th, 2009 03:08
Namaste Colonel Mathur Ji,
What are your thoughts on what BBC has documented about Satya Sai Baba called ‘Secret Swami’?
-Sai K.
July 6th, 2009 01:31
BBc is known for its anti-Hindu and pro -Muslim bias. After all the Archbishop of Canterbury had even suggested adoption of Sharia law in UK! That means if adopted, the Law could be used to cut off hands of thieves and stoning of adultresses. The comments of Bill Aitkins (an expert in comparative religion and a travel writer) on the Doucumentry, quoted below, are instructive.
“The latest in these so called exposes is a BBC documentary whose agenda was so predetermined to denigrate Baba that it stooped to the unethical use of a spy camera. In a last farcical gesture, the producer hired some roadside entertainers to attempt to simulate Baba’s chamatkar. The result is so ludicrous that it leaves the viewer wondering as to who is funding this bizarre display of hostile reporting. The BBC is ultimately governed by the Anglican establishment, and churches in the west are losing out financially to the appeal of the Sai Baba movement. As a commercial broadcaster, the BBC’s opting for sleaze would have the dual advantage of discrediting a rival as well as getting good audience rating. The Church of England can have no objection to programmes that weaken perceived threats—like the papacy or Hindu holy men—to its (declining) influence in the world. Posing as a lion in Asia, the BBC is a mouse in Britain. It dare not criticise public icons like the Queen, who happens to be the supremo of the Anglican church.”
July 15th, 2009 16:44
some thoughts (not disrespect intended at all)
i seek guidance from the gita because it’s law passed down directly from a divine source. sai baba on the other hand is merely a human. we should focus our attention on what god teaches rather than praising gurus.
what is referred to as “sai baba’s teachings” are actually teachings already documented in our holy books.
July 15th, 2009 19:22
You are right - all the teachings are from our scriptures. And if you can follow them without a Guru it is great. But these articles are not meant to praise the Gurus or to instruct the already instructed but to reinforce the Sanatana Dharma’s teachings from the interpretation of the these Gurus for those who may find it useful. Remember ‘Tattva’ is a magazine for the youth. Though the great scientific truths are there in the text books, students still learn them from University lecturers.
July 24th, 2009 15:04
To Mathurji, very eye-opening I did not know about it. Thanks for the description!
To Raviji, Well you bring up a good point but living in a scientific world and a techonological one at that I think as people get more educated and understand religious views they also come to question the existance of God in some way. Living in a material world, no one knows what God looks like or where God is. In hinduism we goto a temple to see a deity, it is because God kindly shows himself in this deity that we are able to worship him other than that we do not know if God exists, even though we think. >>>When you speculate in this way people come to accept what is more material and what is more human rather than what is more ‘beyond human’. In this case, I’m a devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba, he is a human yes but he is also a great Yogi. Remeber that there are good Yogis and also Bogis. A Yogi like the Shirdi Sai Baba basically preached what the Bhagavad Gita, Advaita Vedanta said. Let’s say you are very speculative of their peachings, at this point you should look at their actions. When you look at what these Yogis did, was their final result beneficial to society? or no? must be the question. If these Yogis provide a sense of hope and light to people in misery, if they preach Bhakti, Jnana, and Karma Yoga and actually perform it, if they work together so that both Muslims and Hindus can live side by side…and thus have such a great positive impact on the people, then why not follow them? We follow these ‘humans’ because they are the closest thing to God we can AS HUMANS relate to. That is the reason, I believe the importance of such people.
If you are on a quest to seek a Spiritual Master, I would suggest you read some of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s books. He distinguishes between the Yogi and the Bogi. He shows how to pick the right spiritual master, who teaches based on knowledge and truth and not pleasure for material things. Who teaches as a representative of Godhead instead of calling himself the Godhead. Hope it helps.
September 18th, 2009 17:32
When love glows in your heart then only You can realise Sathya Sai’s divinity.You can not judge his divinity by his miracles.Miracles are small part of his divinity.When Lord Sri Rama and Krishna were in human form only few could understood their divinity.Though Krisna had all the powers,he was several times defeated by demon Jarasanda.That was also Krishna’s will.Only spiritual enlightend persons without ego can understand a bit of divinity of incarnations.Sri sathya Sai and his actions are beyond human comprehesion.
September 18th, 2009 17:33
When love glows in your heart then only You can realise Sathya Sai’s divinity.You can not judge his divinity by his miracles.Miracles are small part of his divinity.When Lord Sri Rama and Krishna were in human form only few could understand their divinity.Though Krisna had all the powers,he was several times defeated by demon Jarasanda.That was also Krishna’s will.Only spiritual enlightend persons without ego can understand a bit of divinity of incarnations.Sri sathya Sai and his actions are beyond human comprehesion
October 27th, 2009 17:14
To understand the divinity of great people, we need to travel in the spiritual path. Selfless devotion whichever God you like is must. Few years of strong dedication and devotion may make a person understand the divine nature. Generally the assumption is that whoever passed away where true saints and the ones now are all hoax. This theory has been propogated by quite a few people. but these people fail to understand that even those great people or incarnations have faced quite a few criticisms in their lifetime. So that is not a strange story anyway.
If you look at the current conditions, we almost destroyed the nature and we are amongst the most turbulent times in the recent history. Given this as a situation, it is logical to expect a stronger power to come to earth to save humanity from self destruction. So let us take off from our mind that all the divine persons who are available today are hoaxes. Off course there are some who may not be genuine, but Sathya sai baba certainly not in that category. Many enlightened masters of recent past and present have regarded Sathya sai baba in high esteem. If Sri Krishna saying in Geeta(To destroy the evil and save the good, he incarnates time and again) is true, then we have strong reason to believe such great power is there now amongst us.