Gentle Charms Of Syncretism

From the bare floor outside the samadhi, a wide window gives a magnificent side view of a marble statue of the saint, seer, mystic, mendicant, sant, fakir, healer and granter of wishes with whose name Shirdi is indelibly associated. The Sai Baba of Shirdi means many things to many people; he is an enigma revered by Hindus, Muslims and people of other faiths. To this day, thousands and thousands of his followers throng Shirdi to seek the blessings of the saint reputed to have lived mostly in the 19th century and attained samadhi in 1918.

Sai Baba’s appeal lies in the simple moral and spiritual lessons he imparted, sometimes through actions that were ran­dom and seemingly inconsistent. The intermingling of Hindu and Muslim  reli­gious sensibilities only made him more inscrutable. However, his ability to sense people’s problems and resolve them miraculously increased his following.

When people approached the Sai Baba with problems, he distributed  udi (sac­red ash) from a continuously burning dhuni, kept alive to this day. It is believed to have the power to heal. The miracles the Sai Baba performed have been well documented in the Sri Sai Satcharita and other texts. He is said to have lit lamps with water and once his divine powers prevented a cholera outbreak.

The Satcharita, a biography by Govind Raghunath Dabhol­kar in Marathi, says, “Nobody knew the parents, birth or birthplace of the Sai Baba....” He was first seen under a neem tree, seated in an asana. Through a series of events villagers realised that here was a great soul. The priest of the local temple called him Sai and the name stuck. What made Sai Baba a mystery was his constant references to the Faqir and to Allah. His white robe (kafni) resembled that worn by Sufi mendicants. It is believed that Sai was born to Brahmin parents in Pathri in Marathwada, and later adopted by a childless Sufi fakir and his wife.

Today, the Samadhi Mandir houses Sai Baba’s tomb and was originally constructed as a large private house by a wealthy man during Sai’s last years. A life-like marble statue sits on a solid gold throne behind an enclosure at the samadhis. The daily routine begins at 4 am with bhoopali, a morning lilt, and the kakad aarti. The statue and the samadhi are cleaned with hot water. At 10 pm in the night, after the shej aarti is sung, the temple shuts down. On three occasions, the temple is kept open overnight: on Gurupurnima, Dussehra, and Ramnavmi. Every Thursday, and on each festival, a paalki (or palanquin) with Baba’s photo is taken out from the temple.

Baba’s  philosophy is encompassed in two words:  shraddha (faith) and saburi (patience). These are two essential attributes for a man to succeed.

(The writer is country head, public policy, with Google. The views expressed here are personal.)