Born in India in 1926
, a popular Indian guru . Today, around 10 million followers
in the world. Spreads in over 100 countries in worldwide.
His child hood name is Sathya Narayana
Raju. On May 23rd 1940, when he was fourteen, he claimed
to be the reincarnation of the fakir Shirdi Sai Baba
and subsequently took the fakir's name. He says that
he is an avatar (incarnation) of Shiva and Shakti and
an embodiment of love with divine powers such as omniscience
and omnipresence.
He declared that he had come to this world
to re-establish the principle of Righteousness, to motivate
love for God and service to fellow man. Since then,
he has consistently called on all mankind to Love All,
Serve All and has repeatedly asserted that the essence
of all scriptures is Help Ever, Hurt Never!. The once
rural hamlet of Puttaparthi has been transformed into
a thriving international city where thousands flock
to see the Guru.
In his childhood he was already manifesting
extraordinary powers -- plucking things out of the thin
air, on one occasion even transfixing a scolding teacher
to his chair! The smiling, frizzy-haired lad was half-prankster
and half-conjurer in his schoolmates' eyes. He was bright,
showing flair not only for academics, but also music,
dance and drama.
Teachings
Beliefs and Practices in the Sathya Sai Organisation
Primary teachings
==Love - for all creatures.
==Service - to others.
==Put a ceiling on one's desires.
==The world is maya (illusion), only God is real.
==Every person is God in form, though most do not experience
this as their reality.
==Meditation - Baba teaches two techniques, so ham (Upanishadic
mantra for repetition and focus) and jyoti (Light meditation).
==Inclusive acceptance of all religions as paths to
realizing the One (God).
Ahimsa (non-violence), shanthi (peace), dharma (right
conduct, living in accord with natural law), and sathya
(truth).
Nine-Point Code of Conduct
Center members are expected to do their best to practice
the Nine-Point Code of Conduct in order to be examples
of Sathya Sai Baba's teachings:
1) Daily meditation and prayer (Jap).
2)Group devotional singing (bhajan) or prayer with family
members once a week.
3) Participation in Sai Spiritual Education (Bal Vikas
Programme) by children of the family.
4) Participation in community service work and other
programs of the organization.
5) Regular attendance at the Center's devotional meetings
(Bhajan or Nagar Sankirtan).
6) Regular study of Sathya Sai Baba literature.
7) The use of soft, loving speech with everyone.
8) Not speaking ill of others, especially in their absence.
9) Narayana Seva. Practice placing a ceiling on desires
- consciously and continuously strive to eliminate the
tendency to waste time, money, food and energy - and
utilize the savings for service to mankind.
Sathya Sai Baba resides much of the time
in his main ashram called Prashanthi Nilayam (Supreme
Abode of Peace) at Puttaparthi, Andrah Pradesh, India.
In the hot summer he leaves for his other ashram called
Brindavan in Whitefield , a town on the outskirts of
Bangalore.
He can be seen in person performing what he claims are
miracles daily in the form of materializations of small
objects, for example jewelry such as bracelets, rings,
watches, rosary beads and especially vibhuti (holy ash)
and kum kum. According to him he can heal diseases of
his devotees sometimes by his spiritual power and sometimes
by taking on the disease himself. There is anecdotal
evidence that supports this claim.
Followers attribute many miracles to him which they
have witnessed in his presence and in their own countries,
such as spontaneous vibhuti manifestations on the pictures
of the guru in their homes, and bilocation the appearance
of Sai Baba in their own presence while he is also in
another place. Followers also report that he has materialized
out-of-season fruit several times. He says he performs
these miracles to attract people and then to transform
them spiritually. He gives little importance to his
miracles and stresses Divine Love as being his greatest
miracle.
One important practice in his ashrams is darshan (spiritual
sight). During darshan Sathya Sai Baba walks among his
followers. He may listen to a few chosen persons, accept
letters, or materialize and distribute vibhuti (sacred
ash).
Sathya Sai Baba claims that his darshan
has spiritual benefits for those who attend it. Usually
people wait hours to get a good place for darshan. Sathya
Sai Baba sometimes invites people for a group interview
with him in a room in the 'ashram's 'mandir' (Hindu
temple). Followers consider it a great privilege to
get such an interview. Sometimes a person from this
group is invited for a private interview.
Followers generally do not proselytize.
Bhajans are sung at nearly every meeting.
Sathya Sai Baba interacts with all people on a heart-to-heart
basis. Every day for more than 50 years, Sathya Sai
Baba has walked among and talked with the spiritual
pilgrims who gather around him in increasing numbers.
He offers solace and inspiration to all sincere seekers
of truth.
Sathya Sai Baba places great importance on proper education
for young people. Parents and community leaders are
urged to concern themselves with the informal as well
as the formal experiences to which their children and
young adults are exposed.
Social Works
He has established a model education system, includes
primary schools, secondary schools, and an accredited
university with three campuses, offering undergraduate,
Masters, and Ph.D. degrees. No fees are charged (except
for food charges) to students, and admission is open
to all, regardless of race, religion, or economic condition.
Sathya Sai Baba's system of "integral education"
is designed to foster self-discipline and pro-social
conduct.
Students are required to take courses on morality and
spirituality and to devote several hours each week to
some form of community service. Baba says that "the
end of education is character".
He has built an ultra-modern 300-bed hospital
close to the university and ashram. There is absolutely
no charge to the patient for professional or hospital
expenses (only charges incurred are for out-of-hospital
medications).
Motivated by the desire to serve humanity, doctors,
nurses, and workers in the hospital render extraordinary,
compassionate, and loving care to all patients.Service
to those in need. Recently, Sathya Sai Baba initiated
a project to provide an adequate supply of pure water
to 1.5 million inhabitants of the State of Andhra Pradesh
(India) who were living in drought conditions. Baba
demonstrates that it is the duty of society to ensure
that all people have access to the basic requirements
for the sustenance of human life.
Sathya Sai Organization
All the local Sai Samithis (Sathya Sai Baba groups)
are part of a hierarchical structure called the Sathya
Sai Organisation. The chairman of the organisation is
Michael Goldstein of the USA.
The logo of the Sathya Sai organization
is a stylized lotus flower with the text five human
values on its petals.
These values are sathya (truth), dharma (right conduct),
ahimsa (non-violence), prema (love) and shanti (peace).
The logo also has symbols of the 5 or 6 world religions
on the petals.
The Sri Sathya Sai central trust was founded
in 1972 and is mainly involved in charities such as
the Rayalaseema water project. The trust has tax exempt
status and is a major recipient of charitable donations
from abroad.
The Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust is the
official publisher of the Sathya Sai Organisation. It
publishes the international monthly magazine called
Sanathana Sarathi. In various nations similar publication
trusts maintain in their own native language.
Text of Sathya Sai Baba
Baskin, Diana “Divine Memories of
Sathya Sai Baba” (1990)
Goldthwait, John “Purifying the Heart” (2002)
Guillemin, Madeleine “Who is in the Driving Seat?”
(2000)
Hislop, John My Baba and I
Kasturi, Narayana Sathyam Sivam Sundaran Part I, II,
III & IV available online in Microsoft Word format
Krystal, Phyllis “The Ultimate Experience”
Murphet, Howard Man of Miracles (1971)
Sandweiss, Samuel H. The holy man ..... and the psychiatrist
(1975)
Sandweiss, Samuel H “Spirit and the Mind”
(1985)
Thomas, Joy “Life is a Game – Play it”
Meditation of Sai Baba:
Prayer versus meditation
Prayer makes a supplicant at the feet of God. Meditation
(dhyana) induces God to come down to the mediator and
inspires to raise with God.
It tends to make mediator come together, not place one
in a lower level and the other on a higher.
Teaching meditation
It is possible to teach a person the posture,
the pose, the position of the legs, feet, or hands,
neck, head or back, the style of breathing, or its speed.
But meditation is a function of the inner man; it involves
deep subjective quiet, the emptying of the mind and
filling oneself with the Light that emerges from the
divine Spark within. This is a discipline that no text
book can teach and no class can communicate.
Mediator needs not rely on another for success in mediation
and soft repetition of the name (dhyana and japa) and
await contact with some sage in order to get from him
a mantra for recitation. After that can receive guidance.
Schedule for meditation
Recommended time is before dawn (between
3 and 6 AM, 'auspicious time is 4:30-5:15 AM'
It must be regular. It is necessary to look at any object
--flame, idol, or picture for 12 seconds with total
concentration amd without blinking eyelids. This is
concentration (dharana). Twelve dharana concentrations
make one meditation (dhyana). This means that meditation
should last for 12x12 = 144 seconds. Thus, proper meditation
need not last more than 2 minutes 24 secs. Twelve meditations
equal one samadhi, which amounts to 12x144 seconds =
28 minutes 48 seconds.
However, it is not something that one does by sitting
for a couple of minutes or hours.
Posture for meditation
Mediator should follow following instruction:
Sit on a special mat/piece of cloth/cushion in straight
position. This acts as an insulation for not earthing
the body currents.
Relax the hands in two ways:
(a) place hands in lap, with one palm on top of the
other with thumbs touching at the tips or
(b) rest arms on the knees with the palms facing upward
and the fingers in chin-mudra posture as shown. The
symbolism of the fingers in this posture is explained
in the section on soft repetition (japa).
To regulate the breath for Soham session, keep the tip
of the tongue gently on the rear of the
teeth.
Concentration, contemplation, and meditation
There are the three stages: concentration,
contemplation, and meditation. Gearing all the senses
into action is concentration. Right from dawn to dusk,
whatever activities perform, they are done with concentration.
There is a border between concentration, which is below
senses, and meditation, which is beyond senses is known
as contemplation.
There are three aspects in the meditation :
a) Who is doing the meditation (subject)
b) The object of meditation (God)
c) The act or process (the rapport that the subject
is trying to establish with the object).
In the state of meditation, the mediator,
the object of his meditation and the process of meditation
have fallen away and there is only One, and that One
is God.
In the stage of contemplation, the body is totally forgotten.
It cannot be forced. It comes about by itself and is
the stage that naturally follows concentration.
Light (jyoti) meditation
Universality of light (jyoti)
The flame never does diminish in luster, however many
lamps may be lit therefrom. So, the flame is the most
appropriate symbol of the eternal Absolute. Light symbolizes
divinity in man. The importance of the light in contrast
to other things is that other things are decreased by
sharing, but the light remains shining in all its splendor
even after a thousand or more have lit their candles
or lamps by it. This explains the universal soul, from
which all beings come as individual souls.
The idea of moving the light within the body and then
into the universal stage, the idea of universality is
that the same divine light is present in everyone and
everywhere. To impress this universality on the mind,
most do the spreading of the light outside one's own
body.
According to Baba it is the most universal and the most
effective form of meditation.
Process
Have a lamp or a candle before you with an open, steady,
and straight flame. Sit in front of the candle in the
lotus posture or any other comfortable sitting position.
Look on the flame steadily for some time, and closing
your eyes try to feel the flame inside you between your
eyebrows.
Let it slide down into the lotus of your heart, illuminating
the path. When it enters the heart, imagine that the
petals of the lotus open out by one, bathing every thought,
feeling, and emotion in the light and so removing darkness
from them. There is no space for darkness to hide. The
light of the flame becomes wider and brighter.
Let it pervade your limbs. As the light reaches up to
the tongue, falsehood vanishes from it.
Let it rise up to the eyes and the ears and destroy
all the dark desires that infest them and which lead
you to perverse sights and childish conversation.
Let your head be surcharged with light and all wicked
thoughts will flee therefrom. Imagine that the light
is in you more and more intensely. Let it shine all
around you and let it spread from you in ever widening
circles, taking in your loved ones, your kith and kin,
your friends and companions, your enemies and rivals,
strangers, all living beings, the entire world.
Namasmarana (remembrance of the Lord's
name)
The Name of God, if recited with love and faith, has
the power to bring upon the eager aspirant the grace
of God. The Name has the overmastering power of even
leaping over the ocean. It can award unimagined strength
and courage.
Benefits of repetition of the name (namasmarana),
==The best antidote for all ills.
==A boat that will take you across the sea of birth
and death.
==Will give you consolation, courage, and the true perspective,
main discipline for this age.
==Enough to give you all the results of every type of
spiritual practice (sadhana).
==The fountain of primal energy, guard and guide you
throughout life.
==The one hope for man; remembrance (smarana), being
an inner activity, helps that inner
transformation.
==Will keep the antics of mind under control.
==The life-giving nectar.
==It's like moonlight for the waves of the inner ocean
in mind.
==A nearness to God is attainable.
==The operation of boring in order to tap the underground
water.
==Previous birth effects (prarabdha) will melt away
like fog before the Sun.
==Reliable for a trouble-free journey.
==The spring of all consciousness (Chaitanya).
==The thunderbolt that pulverizes a mountain of sin.
==The unfailing cure for the deadly sin of delusion.
==Vitamin G, which is required for the nutrition of
the mind. Withdraws the mind from the sensory tangle.
There are two ways of doing repetition
of the name (namasmarana):
1)With a rosary (japamala), turning the beads automatically
around, just as mechanically and as punctually and as
carefully as any other routine act of daily life.
2)As it ought to be done, repeating the name, regardless
of the target number, dwelling deeply on the Form it
represents and on the divine attributes connoted by
it, tasting it, reveling in it, enjoying the contexts
and associations of the Name, relishing its sweetness,
lost in its music.
Silent Recitation (japa)
The little finger, the ring finger, and the middle finger
represent the three characteristics (gunas), viz. dull
(thamasic), passionate/dynamic (rajasic) and balanced/pure
(sathwic). The middle finger thus signifies purity (sathwa).
The forefinger, that is, the pointer finger, is called
the life finger; it symbolizes the individual (jiva)
aspect of man. The thumb signifies Brahman. The joining
of the forefinger with the thumb, and the three other
fingers stretched together apart, indicates the desire
for the emergence of the individual with god (deva).
This is called 'chin mudra'. While performing silent
repetition of the name (japa), the rosary (mala) should
be put on the middle finger, which represents the pure
quality (sathwic guna), thereby isolating and separating
the individual (jiva) from the qualities (gunas).
With the tip of the forefinger touching the thumb, go
on rotating bead by bead. This signifies the aspiration
of the individual (jiva) to merge with Brahman. In this
process, even if the forefinger were to touch slightly
the middle finger, it would acquire only the pure (sathwic)
quality and not all the qualities
Soham
Before starting meditation (dhyana), meditation session,
chant Soham, inhaling So and exhaling Ham. Soham means
'He is I'; it identifies you with the infinite and expands
your consciousness. Harmonize breath and thought. Breathe
gently, naturally; do not make it artificial and laboured.
Slow breath quietens and calms the emotions. The mood
of relaxation produced by this Soham recital is a precondition
for a profitable session of meditation.
Repeat Soham with every breath: So when you take in
and ham when you exhale. 'So' means He and 'ham' means
I. When you complete the inhalation and exhalation,
feel that 'So' (namely the Lord) and 'ham' (namely 'I'
i.e. (you)) are One. Later, after long practice, the
idea of He and I as separate entities will disappear
and there will be no more So and ham. These sounds will
be reduced to O and m, that is to say it will be Om
or the Pranava. ...This Soham recitation is a good means
of restraining the mind from running away with you.
108 Namavali (Lord's Names) Chanting
This is also a kind of meditation , recite the 108 Names
(ashtothara satha namavali) or chant just one name 'Om
Sri Sathya Sai Baabaaya Namah'. all 108 names start
with 'Om (the pranava, the sound of the universe)' and
end with 'salutation (namah)'. The sound of pranava
is the basis of all other types of sound. A mantra or
Name (namavali) without pranava is like a gun without
a bullet. 'Sri' means glory in all its aspects. The
Name in the middle is a description of an aspect, a
characteristic, the depiction of an event, etc. The
number 108 is sacred because man breaths 21600(=200x108)
times a day, and it becomes 9 by adding up each number
(=1+0+8). 9 is Brahman's number.
108 or 1008 Names is recommended in the scriptures because
there is just a chance that people will utter at least
one Name out of the Namavali with the sincere yearning
to which the Lord will respond and bless.
Namah
'Na' means no, nil, or not. 'Ma' signifies the delusion
that makes one identify with the inert body (ego) and
thereby subjects one to ignorance, misery ,and death.
'Namah' signifies the surrender of one's ego to the
Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent God in recognition
of the truth that we are also part of that Supreme Reality.
Namah must be done with the mental resolution 'not mine'
but 'Thine' (Na Mama).
A corollary of this explanation would suggest that one
should worship the Lord without desire (nishkama), for
God knows what is good for the devotee.
Comparing with Shrdi Sai :
when Sai Baba was fourteen, he claimed to be the reincarnation
of the fakir Shirdi Sai Baba and subsequently took the
fakir's name, who was not well known in that area. Shirdi
was, at the time, just a small village near Kopergaon
in Maharashtra. It has now become a place of pilgrimage
for millions of devotees because Sai Baba spent his
life there. Shirdi Sai lived in Shirdi upto the Dussehra
of 1918. Hemadpant in his Sai Satcharita, has recorded
the experience of euphoric devotees in Shirdi as they
served their Lord who, in turn, showered them with His
blessings and His love as He led them on the spiritual
path of self-less service and devotion. On Dussehra
day of 1918, Shirdi Baba cast off his mortal coil and
took Mahasamadhi to save the life of His most beloved
devotee Tatya Patil. Sharada Devi, alias 'Pedda Bottu',
who lived at the time of Shirdi Sai Baba, said that
Sai Baba predicted his rebirth in Andrah Pradesh to
her. When Sharada Devi heard about a man in Andrah Pradesh
calling himself the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba,
she immediately went to see him. Sathya Sai Baba immediately
recogized her, called her close and told her about being
with him in his previous body at Shirdi.
Shrdi Sai baba was a person with extraordinary
godly powers. Such powers are not known or present in
normal human beings.
Baba preached his principle of love and faith in humanity
to all his disciples. He always felt anguished over
the fact that all those who came to him were more for
their own personal problems and not for attaining the
ultimate goal of reaching God which he felt could be
attained only by true servicing of humanity , strongly
believed in uniformity of religion and he never distinguished
anyone on the basis of caste, creed or religion.
Sai Baba was Unique, in that, he lived his message through
the Essence of his Being. His life and relationship
with the common man was his teaching.
The divine role of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi in the present
embodiment covered a period of about 64 years between
1854, when He made his first appearance in Shirdi, and
1918 when he left His body.
- He practiced and preached humanism and universal brotherhood
- prophet like.
- He established the superiority of love and compassion
above egoism - Christ-like.
- He taught simplicity of livelihood and excellence
of human virtue reflected in day to day conduct, Buddha-like.
All devotees of Baba find His promise come true, even
eighty years after He left the mortal body. Baba used
to call His devotees as children, and like the true
father, kept busy day-in and day-out for their temporal
as well as spiritual upliftment. There are numerous
miracles of Baba during his lifetime.Aarti is a from
of worship by which the devotee is able to express his
devotion to the Lord.
The aarti is a significant part in Sai worship. Sai
Baba is the living manifestion of the abstract concept
of God, from whom he seeks protection, guidance and
support.
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