Sadguru Sai Baba’s Boundless Glory

Quran - Namaaz; Pooja - Archana - Granthawaachan : The aim of all paths of worship is same

One must consider the feelings that the then Muslim devotees had in their mind. It will be appreciated that as Muslims experienced Baba as their ‘Parvardigar’, while He was also the ‘Aaradhya Daivat’  of Hindus.

Narasimha Swami has compiled the experiences narrated by Hindu and Muslim devotess in his compendium ‘Sai Baba & His Deovtees’ Experiences’.

Shirdi’s Abdullajaan writes - “There I heard that an Avalia named Sai Baba is whowering money over Fakirs. As I entered the Sabha-mandap door my eyes came into contact with His eyes. And, it was at that very moment I realized that ‘He is my Guru !’ Therefore, I resolved to stay there permanentaly... As I stayed near Baba, there was a positive change in my mental set-up. When I first came to Shirdi, I considered the Hindus to be my enemies. But, this feeling of enmity started diminishing slowly and vanished completely – so much so that I started likening Hindus to be my brothers.’’

Abdullajaan was once making preparations to go to sleep near Akun Baba’s tomb. He prayed that, ‘‘With your blessings, I have been fortunate enough to be under the shade of Baba’s umberella. Now take me under the umbrella of your blessings.’’ At that time, Baba was not Dehadhari. However, He appeared in the dream of Abdullajan. He seemed to be sitting on a chair near his bed. Abdullajan writes - ‘‘I woke up. And I felt that I am still under the umbrella of Baba’s blessings. Because, at that time, I had prayed to Akun Baba and not to Sai Baba.’’

Another staunch Muslim devotee from Nagpur named Abdullakhan had come to Baba. He once angrily said to Him - ‘‘I have observed the type of practices you follow here. You are trampling on the basic principles of Islam. Therefore, you must be beheaded.’’ Baba heard this, gave him a glance and smiled. The next moment – as if by magic – there was a transformation in Abdullakhan. He apologized to Baba and Baba smiled once again.

Rajaballi Mohammed Khan writes - “Baba is a saint whose powers are very wide. As per Muslim religion, a saint never dies. He merely moves from one sphere to another.’’

Adam Dalal from Bandra, Mumbai writes - ‘‘I am a devotee of Sai Baba since long. He was very compassionate and large hearted. On many occasions He has come to my help. Who would have come to my rescue besides Him ? He bas blessed me with His Darshan – once as a Brahmin and once as a Marwadi.’’

Anwarkhan writes - ‘‘Baba told me to recite 101 times the Mantra from Quran’s first chapter.’’

Shirdi’s Abdul Baba says - ‘‘I used to recite Quran sitting next to Sai Baba. Sometimes Baba opened a page from Quran at random and told me to commence recitation from that page. On some occasions He used to recite Quran rapidly from memory. He is the Parwardigar. Every word uttered by Him is sacred. I have jotted down His utterances in my notebook. His guidance through His remarks was accurate. I use them to resolve problems of others also and it is useful. Baba sometimes uttered sacred couplets from Quran.’’

Imambhai Chhotekhan of Vijapur writes in this regard... ‘‘Baba knew language spoken by Arabs. He used to teach Quran to Abdulla. I have also seen Baba performing Namaaz sitting near Dhuni. Others kneel on their knees and bend their bodies while performing Namaaz. However, Baba did not do so.’’

But, Dasganu Maharaj’s observations differ in this respect. He says - ‘‘Many Muslims observe Namaaz as many as five times a day. Leave aside five times, I have not heard Baba performing Namaaz even once in a day. However, He sometimes gave Fatya or on rare occasions He recited couplets from Quran.”

Baba respected recitation of Quran and the practice of observing Namaaz. He similarly held in high regard the prayers and holy books of Hindus. In the Masjid, occasionally, there used to reading of Satyanarayan Pooja Pothi, Ram-vijay, Dnyaneshwari, and Vishnu-Sahastra-Naam. Further, with Baba’s permission, the devotees sat in the Masjid and read various holy books. Baba also followed the principles stated in various great religious books such as Dnyaneshwari, Eknathi Bhagwat, Tukarama’s Gaatha etc. and also forced His disciples to follow suit.

Baba directed Kakasaheb Dixit to read Bhavartha Ramayan and Eknathi Bhagwat and Bapusaheb Jog  to read Dnyaneshwari and Bhagwat every day. Baba Himself got some of His devotees to read him tomes like Gurucharitra, Vishnu-Sahastra-Naam, Bhagvad Geeta etc.

If any devotees visiting Him needed clarification on religious and personal matters, Baba advised him saying - ‘‘Go to Dixit or Bapusaheb !’’ After the devotee did as guided, he would automatically get the required clarification on hearing the recitation of holy books which was going on there.

Over the years, Baba placed several books in the hands of Madhavrao Deshpande and told him, ‘‘Keep these ! They will be of lot of use later on.’’

Mainatai Kuvlekar (daughter of Nanasaheb Chandorkar) has written that ‘‘Many times Baba recited Shlokas from Bhagvad Geeta. Many devotees followed practice of buying religious books and getting them blessed by Baba. It was observed that later on, after reading the books, the devotees benefited immensely from Parmarthik point of view.’’

It was Megha who first performed the three daily Aaratis of Baba. After, Megha’s demise the task was handed over to Bapusaheb Jog by Baba Himself.

Some devotees have written that ‘‘At the time of the Aaratis of Gurudev Datta, Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram, Baba’s eyes used to twinkle and He nodded His head.’’

The present day Aaratis – which are being sung from that time – repeatedly refer Baba as ‘Datta-Digambar’. There is Aarati ‘‘Jaydev Jaydev Datta Avadhoota Ho Sai Avadhoota’’ which was penned considering Baba as ‘Datta’. It clearly says - ‘‘You have appeared as a Muslim to unite people. You have taken birth in Momin Vansh to rescue people.’’

(Serially)

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