Dear Sai Bandhus!
“SwadeshikasyaivaKeertanamSwayantuAnantasyaSivasyaKeertanam |
SwadeshikasyaivaNaamasmaranamSwayantuAnantasyaSivasyaNaamasmaranam ||”
(Meaning:- Singing
the Glory of One’s Guru is same as singing the Glory of the Supreme One
and remembering the holy name of One’s Guru is nothing but
remembering the Supreme One)
These words were uttered by none other than the Universal Lord
Siva to Mother Parvathi (this conversation between Lord Mahadev and
MaaParvathiis famous as “GURU GEETHA” from SkandaPurana) extolling the
greatness of GURU and explaining to the latter the
Oneness of Siva and Guru. Infact, Siva himself says that a true bhakta should
identify and find no difference between Guru and Siva (i.e. Supreme One),
further he adds that one who tries to draw a line of distinction between Guru
and the Lord has failed to understand the greatness of Guru (Siva
Gurorabhinnatva).
The unique feature of Guru is that, though he is one with the
Supreme Spirit (in other words SaakshaatParabrahman) still assume a form and
manifests to uplift the mankind by guiding them in the right path through his
valuable teachings, warding off obstacles along their spiritual path and
finally making them reach their goal. Thus speaking about the Guru tathva ,
Lord Siva goes to the extent of saying that “….such an unique quality exists in
Guru alone. Hence Oh Parvathi! Guru should be revered first and next everyone,
nay Guru is greater than God himself”. How wonderful and prophetic are the
words of Lord Shankara!
The manifestation of Parabrahman as an edifice of Guru Thatva is
present in totality in Lord Saibaba of Shirdi. To speak of Sai in his
Sagunaroopam alone itself is a tough job then let alone his Nirguna aspect
where we are speechless, left spellbound just becoming a mere spectator of his
myriad creation.
The Unmanifest Non dual Supreme Self manifested as our beloved Sai
Samartha in the tiny hamlet of Shirdi. Dear brotherhood, Sai is our Guru, God
and everything, nay our very breath. Sai attained Samadhi in 1918, but it is
only with respect to his body (i.e. casting away the mortal coil in accordance
to the scriptures which say- PatanaavadhiMaranaavadhiShareerah) and not his
eternal principle. This eternal principle or Thatva is existent in every atom,
every particle and every miniscule of this creation and is extending beyond the
terrains of the creation itself as the never ending, imperishable principle
(AnaadyantaAvinaashitatvam). To understand this Leelavishwambharatvam of Lord
Sai one has to invariably resort to “Sree Sai Satcharitra” which was authored
by Sri AnnasahebDhabolkaralias Hemadpanth (in reality, it was Sri Sai Baba
himself who said to the author “Shed your egoism at my feet, I shall myself
hold your hand and make you write my charitra”. Devotees kindly refer to
Hemadpanth’sSai Satcharitra, chapter-2).
Dear brotherhood, I am again referring to the words “resort toSai
Satcharitra”. If this raises a question why only Sai Satcharitra?? Kindly allow
me to say a few words from our BhaagavataPurana which is considered as the
essence of Brahma Vidya also called as “ParamahamasaSamhita”. In
SrimadBhagavatam, the Supreme Lord manifests in the form of a divine Swan in
front of Lord Brahma (the four faced creator) and bestows the knowledge of
Brahman (Brahma Jnaana) in a few couplets (Shlokas) which is famous as the
“HamsaGeetha” (Song of the divine Swan). Though the number of couplets are
small in number, yet each and every letter, word and psalm in it have an
in-depth meaning of the Veda vedaantasaara which help us unite with the Supreme
Self. Similarly every letter, every word in Sai Satcharitra is impregnated with
Brahma Jnaana. To attain Brahma Jnaana, one has to make continuous saadhana in
his life. AdhyaatmaSaadhana doesn’t begin with Brahma chintana, bhajana,
poojana, vrataaacharanaetc etc. It begins with how well we integral with
ourselves, how well we have fulfilled our responsibilities in the society in
which we have taken birth (it may be as a son, daughter, husband, wife, citizen
or by profession). If this is untrue, then why did Lord Krishna speak of Karma
maarga to Arjuna? So, to progress in the AdhyatmaMarga one has to first fulfill
the duties of his Saamajikamarga. These duties are of course bound with
materialism. Now. It is left to the discretion of the people who would like to
pick up the “Needs” or “Wants” of this materialism. A prudent one would resort
to the former because it always keeps the saadhaka’s feet firmly rooted on
ground and is the first step of progression in Adhyaatmamarga. But the latter
is like an unquenched thirst, the more we earn the more we crave – the source
reason for our downfall. Now, coming back to our point- We read Sai Satcharitra
which is gold mine of Brahma vidya with an intention of fulfillment of the
desires (Kaamitaarthasiddhyarthe), is it wrong??? The answer is an affirmative
“NO”. Sai Baba and Sai Satcharitra are no different (how can Brahman and Brahma
Vidya be different!). Lord Sai clearly says in Satcharitra…” How can ocean turn
away the rivers? How can a mother turn away its child? Similarly how can I turn
away the people who come to me? “ .. Guru is veritably a loving mother
incarnate and never hates anyone who comes to him either with desires of
materialism or spirituality. The uniqueness of Sadguru is he bestows the
materialistic needs of his devotees (provided those needs are sane and proper
ones) initially, then makes him feel all his mundane desires are but an
obstacle to his adhyatmayaatra thereby lighting a lamp of knowledge in the
saadhaka’s mind. So, a devotee should not get carried away saying that, “I did
Paarayana of Satcharitra and got this desire of mine fulfilled”. No doubt Sai
Satcharitra is indeed the Wish fulfilling Tree (Kalpavruksha) to all of us. But
dear Guru Bandhus, Sai Satcharitra is also a book which will give us the state
where we have no more wishes left (Nirvikalpaavasthaa or Vishayaanaasaktataasthiti).
Of course, to attain a state where we have no wishes, first our
wishes (kindly note only the good ones that take us ahead in our path and the
negative ones have the reverse effect) must be fulfilled. As Guru Bhaktaas, we
must remember at every step of our life that whatever materialistic need we are
asking Lord Sai for or reading Sai Satcharitra for, should be centered on a
strong dictum- “Baba! I am praying you or doing Parayana of Sai Satcharitra for
the fulfillment of this desire only with the intention that, once this need of
mine is addressed then I am minus one bondage or duty as a samsaari. I shall
consider this need not just as a materialistic gain but as a stepping stone for
my future path towards you.” If we pray Lord Sai or do Satcharitrapaarayana in
this manner no doubt our needs are addressed but also our progression in
Adhyaatmamarga is guaranteed. Slowly such a Saadhaka will start feeling
detached from his bondages and finally will pray to lord Sai, “Baba! I have one
final desire and that is the desire that I should become desire less”. This is
the beauty of a Sadguru which is manifest in totality in Sai Baba.
Like “HamsaGeetha” of SrimadBhagavatam , “Sai Satcharitra” is our
“Sai Geetha” which was sung by the divine Swan (Paramahamsa) Lord Sai himself
though Hemadpanth for the upliftment of mankind , nay the entire Universe. It
is doubtless that Lord Sai is “JAGADGURU” himself. If someone questions
the valediction of Sai Satcharitra being a filtrate (Saaram) of the scriptures,
it is my humble request to those learned seers who consider themselves as the
fountain heads of knowledge to kindly read the Satcharitra properly.
If studied with attention one can hear the leonine roar of
Vedanta in chapters dealing with a gentleman coming to Lord Sai asking for
quick Brahma Jnaana, one can perceive the humming of the bee personified with a
sadhaka for the nectar in the form of Brahma Jnaana from the fully bloomed
lotus (i.e. Sadguru) in the pond of Vedanta in the chapter where Baba explained
the bhaavartha of Ishaavasya Brahma to Dasganu through Kakasaheb’s maid sevant.
The words of Geethacharya (Sri Krishna) echoes in each and every chapter (i.e.
karma, bhakti and jnaanayogas) of the book. The samanvaya or the establishment
of equity between the various ideas of Brahma niroopana well explained in
chapter 2, 3 and 4. The essentiality of having firm faith in one’s own Guru as
depicted in Mule Shastri’s story, realizing the oneness between Guru and God as
in the story of Meghashyam and Offering whatever we partake before we eat to
the Lord (I.e. doing
Brahmaarpana) by making Anna SahebDhabolkar as a medium. Annasaheb recounts the
same story in Satcharitra by recollecting the story of Sri Krishna and Sudhama.
This story of Sri Krishna and Sudhama has to be essentially understood with
spirit of Vedanta that whatever we partake has to be first offered to the
Supreme Lord first (remember the Vedic verse which says “Brahmaarpanam Brahma
havihBrahmaajnauBrahmanaahutam……”). Let us not argue over the point whether the
aforesaid story of Krishna Sudhama had been taken from VyaasaBhagavata nor
consider this as a sacrilege committed towards Sudhama by the author
Hemadpanth. When we read Satcharitra clearly, we realize how great a devotee
(Bhagavad Bhakta) Sri Heamadpath was. In fact, if Hemadpath
(AnnasahebDhabolkar) was not a true bhakta then how would Sai Maharaj choose
him as a medium to write his Charitra.Dhabolkar with all his humility said in
Satcharitra that he was but a “Jada heenamandamathi” (i.e. dullard of an
intellect) and it was Sai who out of compassion on the former showered
blessings and wrote his own Charitra by making the former as a medium. Who but
a ripe, humble and realized soul (paripakhvajnaani) like AnnasahebDhabolkar
speak this way? In fact, Sri Hemadpanth was adept with all Vedantic works and
scriptures. Still, he never used this scriptural knowledge for name and fame
nor did he use this for any criticisms, instead felt that all this “Bookish
Knowledge” was useless without the grace of Guru and hence in quest of Guru,
finally arrived at Shirdi and found his Preceptor in Sai Baba who was an
embodiment of Brahmavidyaa. Can such a Bhagavad bhakta like Dhabolkar speak
lowly of BhagavatottamaSudhama?
Though SaiSatcharitra is a work of this great poet of 20th
century,it still carries the essence of all the scriptural knowledge which take
us to the portals of Brahman. Every letter, every word in this book is as great
as a psalm (mantra) or verse (shloka) of our ancient scriptures. In this dark
age of kali, where the true meanings to the great scriptures are being confabulated
according to whims and fancies of the interpreters, where there is paucity of
understanding the true spirit of Sanaatana Dharma then would the stories of a
Guru would stand as the beacon light guiding all those who reverentially sing
it to the heart’s content? By reading the Guru Charitra, a saadhaka gets all
his materialistic needs fulfilled, does all his actions (karma acharana) in
light of attainment of the ultimate goal and finally reach the same. Here the
Guru’s charitra can be the life of any Sadguru- it may be “Sri Sai Satcharitra”
or it can be “Sri Guru Charitra” (story which deals with the advent of the holy
trinity in one form as Dattatreya and his first two incarnations as
SripadSrivallabh and Sri Nrisimhasarswathi). Sri Guru Charitra speaks of
Sadguru a union of the holy Trinity (HariHara Brahmaatmakah Guru). The Shaktis
(spoken as consorts in our scriptures) of the holy trinity also manifest in the
Guru as his thatva. A saadhaka, by worshipping SadguruSamartha who is trimurthi
personified automatically gets the blessings of the shaktis associated with the
trimurthis (Saraswathi with Brahma who bestows knowledge of Jnaana, Lakshmi with
Narayana who bestows wealth of
Bhakti and Paravathi with Siva
who bestows the power of
Vairagya). Further Lord Dattatreya clearly states in Guru Charitra that HE is
no different from HIS Charitra. So, devotees, our Guru Charitra is Sai
Satcharitra and if our SadguruSai is “SakshaathSaraswathiswaroopa”, then
certainly every letter, every word, every sentence in Satcharitra is
“SaaraswataVidya” nay veritably “MaaBhagavathiSaraswathi” herself.
On the day of Guru Poornima (which falls on the full moon day of
the month of Ashaada) all the Guru bhaktaasworship the Guru as Parabrahman.
Guru Poornima happens to be the birthday of Sage Veda Vyasa and hence also
famous as “VyasaPoornima”. The word “Vyasa” means to divide. Sage Vyasa was
instrumental in dividing the entire Vedic knowledge into four Vedas (Rigveda,
Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharva Veda) and vedangas (theirauxiliary branches),
further he penned the famous Mahabharata and all the Puranas. Vedas and Puranas
are rich in knowledge of Brahman and properly guide a saadhaka in his path
towards the goal ultimatum. Since, Sage Vyasa was responsible for accomplishing
such a herculean task, all his disciples reverentially worshipped him as Guru
(i.e. the one who properly guides everyone from the darkness of ignorance
towards the light of Knowledge) on the full moon day of Ashaadawhich has
henceforth become famous as “Guru Poornima”. All the principles of Veda
vedaantasaara that properly guide a spiritual aspirant are completely manifest
in Sadguru and hence the tathva of a Guru is but the Vedanta tathva.
When I use the word “Sadguru” here, am making no distinction
between various Gurus. If I should call myself as a Sai Bhakta then I should
see my dear Sai Samartha in all the Gurus and make no distinction between
anyone. In fact, the “Guru Parabrahmathatva” is the same in all the Gurus may
it be BhagavanRamanaMaharshi or Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa or Sri Vivekananda
or Sri Sankaracharya and others. In other words, if the Vedanta thatva
propounded by VyasaMaharshiis completely manifest in a Sadguru, then the latter
should also be considered as one with Sage Veda Vyasa. It would be futile to
discuss whether one Guru is greater than the other when it is the same
“Parabrahmasadvastu” that shines in both VyasaMaharshi and Lord Sainath.
Sai Maharaj is SaakshatNirgunaParabrahma himself and Sai
Satcharitra is our Vedapramaana. We seek refuge in none but “Sai Baba” and
resort to his abhinnatathva “Sri Sai Satcharitra”. May Sai samartha bless all
with clarity of mind, thoughts and action.
- Jaya JayaSadguru Sai Samartha-
- AnanthakotiBrahmaandaNaayaka Sri SainaathaParabrahmaneNamah-
- SamarthaSadguruSriSainaathayaMangalam-
- JayatuJayatu Sri SadguruSai SatcharitrasarvadaaDigvijayataam-
- AnanthakotiBrahmaandaNaayaka Sri SainaathaParabrahmaneNamah-
- SamarthaSadguruSriSainaathayaMangalam-
- JayatuJayatu Sri SadguruSai SatcharitrasarvadaaDigvijayataam-
By Dr. P.V. Sivacharan
