WONDEROUS SAINT SRI SAIBABA-PART 34

BY PUJYA SRI NARASIMHASWAMY JI

SRI SAI BABA AND NATIONAL UNITY

The peaceful atmosphere of Sri Sai Baba's sansthan was never disturbed by politics or other controversies. In his own quiet unostentatious way,'Baba was however laying the solid foundations of Indian Unity, and affording both by example and precept valuable suggestions for Indian's welfare. The greatest stumbling block in its way is the difficulty of yoking together the two great communities to the common cause and making them pull in unison and amity. Let us note Baba's contribution to this great task.
While at Bombay and in other places, heads were being broken, temples, mosques and houses were burnt down, at Shirdi each of these groups built or lent a hand in building the others' temples, mosques and houses.

Happy Co-operation :
A Hindu Revenue Inspector gave Baba stones for the reconstruction of His mosque and Baba gifted them all away for the reconstruction of the Hindu temples in the village. The Hindus later collected thousands of rupees and reconstructed His mosque.
A devotee of Sri Sai Baba viz., Sri Upasani Maharaj has put up at Sakori (3 miles off Shirdi) a neat little mosque within twenty yards of the local Siva and Maruti temples, without any disturbance of public or private tranquillity. Hindus and Muslims have always joined together for the processions and celebrations in honour of Sri Sai Baba, and for prayers at the tomb and both partook of the vegetarian offerings (Naivedya) brought by both to Baba, after due pronouncement of Namaz.

Against Coaversion :
Sri Sai Baba symbolised the coming unity of the two creeds in himself and in his abode,Like Kabir.Baba said he was Kabir in a former birth, he combined in himself the Hindu boring of ears with Muslim circumcision. He dressed like a Muslim Fakir, but was painted, garlanded and ornamented like a Hindu image. He spoke to Muslims in their Hindustani and to Hindus in their Marathi and quoted the Koran to the former and the Puran to the latter. He gave advice and help suited to each and was the friend and father of all. He was strictly conservative and kept each group or individual to its or his customary observances and lines of progress. He hated proselytism. Once when Bade Baba, the Malegaon Fakir, brought with him a Hindu recenly converted to Islam, Baba mockingly asked the latter (knowing, offcourse, that the conversion was external and not a change of heart), "Well, have you changed your father?"

Pooja and Koran :
The building In which Baba resided was the 'masjid’ of the Muslims; but it was styled 'Dwarika-Mayi' by Baba himself and the Hindus. It contained the niche in the western wall called 'nimbar' representing the Caaba of Mecca, to which all orthodox Muslims should turn at times of prayer, and also a perpetual fire, with its sacred ashes, a platform round the sacred tulsi for Pradakshina, and a garlanded portrait of Baba for pooja. Hindu scriptures were read there by day and the Koran by night. And at noon, worship of Baba was carried on with Hindu hymns to the accompaniment of deafening music. Fully justified was Baba's remark, "This is Brahmin's mosque."
But this strange, though not unprecedented, assimilation of the two religions into one was not achieved without the exercise of the vast powers, the intense love and watchful zeal of Sri Sai Baba for many decades. And at times, especially at the outset, there were occasions for friction. But under Baba's care, actual friction was averted. These instances were very few not more than 3 or 4 during a period of 3 or 4 decades, and they are the exceptions which prove the rule. We shall notice them very briefly.

Defies a Threat :
Painting Baba with sandal and worshipping him at the mosque was the first and foremost cause of dissatisfaction to Mussalmans. In fact, Baba himself disliked these and was long preventing their performance. But the loving heart of Sai could not long resist the persistent ardour of his Hindu 'children' and he finally yielded his reluctant assent. The Muslims of Shirdi, however, were not at first inclined to yield their assent. On the other hand, they invoked the aid of Sangamner Kazi and held a council of war at which it was resolved that further discreation of the mosque should be stopped by the use of force. They resolved to beat Mahlsapathy—this was probably in ths nineties of the last century, when he was the only regular worshipper of Baba—in case he continued to paint and worship Baba at the mosque. When that feeble-bodied devotee learnt of the mischief that was brewing he stood outside the mosque and carried on his pooja of Baba.But Baba knew his own power, the weakness of the opposition and the vast advantages to the public of the development of his worship. He called Mahlsapathy into the mosque and ordered him to go on with the usual painting and pooja,defying terrorism to lift its head, if it dared. The Moulvi and other present were cowed down by the firmness of this Shirdi Wizard, and gave up all idea of molesting Mahlsapathy or any other worshipper.

Pathan's Terrible Offer :
More than a decade after the above incident, when the worship of Baba had become general, marked and assertive, a few die-hards tried to stem this current and stop the "desecration of the mosque and the transformation of a Muslim fakir into a Hindu Idol". One midnight, in 1915 when Baba was sleeping at the chavadi along with R. A. Tarkhad, some other Hindus and a fierce Pathan, the last got up and telling Baba that the Hindus were "spoiling" and ruining him begged permission to cut all the Hindu throats immediately. R. A. Tarkhad woke up and shuddered at the prospect of being murdered in cold blood. But Baba the watchful mother that he was, came to the rescue. He took the entire responsibility for all the heterodox practices at the mosque on himself, and declared that it was his madness that spoilt the Hindus and that consequently his own throat might be cut, if that was desired. As this zealot for the purity of Islam was not willing to go so far, the matter was dropped.

Punished on the Spot:
A little later, another Pathan who left Police service for a fakir's life, was staying with Baba at Shirdi. His zeal first spent itself in shounting out the 'Kalam", throughout the night of the proximity of Baba. The villagers whose sleep was thus disturbed wished to drive him out. But Baba supported him, fed him and maintained him there. This "Rohilla" (as he was incorrectly named) though convinced by Baba's vast powers and goodness, that Baba was nothing less than Paygambar (i.e. Prophet) felt at the same time that Baba was striking at the root of Muslim orthodox traditions. This feeling gathered strength in a short time and one day this "Rohilla" decided to murder Baba and approached him from behind with a club. But the omniscience of Baba was equal to the occasion. He simply turned back and with a glance and a touch pinned the would-be-murderer to the ground whence he was unable to lift himself without other's help. This was probably the last attempt at interference with the peaceful and united celebration of Baba's worship at Shirdi.

After Death :
When Baba passed away in October 1918, disputes arose as to the disposal of his mortal remains. Some Muslims were anxious to assert their right to this "Muslim” saint's tomb, and to keep it under their own control. The majority of worshippers being Hindus resisted the demand. The ease with which the problem was solved showed how greatly Baba had toned down creed asperities at Shirdi. When the disputes were going on, and the corpse remained unburied, the customary Hindu worship was proceeding. The public authorities that came on the scene took a plebiscite, through mahazars which showed that the majority of devotees were in favour of respecting Baba's own wish to be interred in a recent edifice of his Hindu devotee, G. M. Buty. The Muslims agreed, stipulating only that they should have free access to the tomb and mosque as usual. The utter absence of mutual violence on this occasion speaks volumes for the toleration and co-operation so sedulously cultivated by Baba at Shirdi.
There are numerous saints all over the country, who have a following among both the communities. Is it too much to hope that they also would develop the spirit of toleration and amity as at Shirdi and render real Hindu-Muslim unity an accomplished fact?