Suresh Chandra Panda - Shirdi Sai Baba: The Perfect Master

Preface

Shri Shirdi Sai Baba is the Sadguru or the Perfect Master of this age. Who could imagine in the year 1918, when Baba took Mahasamadhi (left his mortal coil), that this remote village of Shirdi in the Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra would attract such a large crowd, like a magnetic force, and that Babas sayings and philosophy would bring about a sea-change in the lives and attitudes of millions of His followers. Today, Babas photographs adorn millions of homes of devotees. Hundreds of temples of Baba have sprung up in remote corners, in India and abroad. This only goes to prove that Sadgurus play a definitive role in the transformation of an individual follower as well as the society, whether they are in the body (embodied) or even after leaving the body (dis-embodied). Baba had told a number of His devotees many times, I shall be active and vigorous even after leaving the body and my tomb shall be speaking for the welfare of my devotees.

That one day we, husband and wife together, would write a book on Sainath was beyond our imagination. Friends and acquaintances often ask us the question, When and how did you get attracted towards Baba? This is not an easy question to answer. Probably the answer lies in what Baba used to say, time and againall our relations come up due to rinanubandha (relations accrued from previous lives).

But there is no denying the fact that we were greatly attracted towards Sai Baba after coming in contact with Guruji Shri Chandrabhanu Satpathy, a highly evolved devotee of Sai Baba. Though by profession he was an IPS officer, and retired as D.G.P. from UP, he has played a key role in spreading Sai consciousness throughout India and abroad, through scores of Sai temples that have come up under his inspiration and through the composition of several audio-video CDs, as well as printed publications, which are in circulation.

It was a chance meeting with Guruji at Delhi Airport in 1994 which drew Suresh to his divine aura. Later, when he contacted Guruji at his Delhi residence, Guruji told him, It is just not a coincidence that we have met. There is a greater purpose behind this meeting. You will realize it later. With his inspiration, we were associated with the construction of Shirdi Sai Temple at Tankapani Road, Bhubaneswar, in the years 1995 to 1997. After its inauguration in April 1997, this temple has become a nerve-centre in spreading Sai consciousness in Odisha. Now many more Sai temples have come up in Odisha and numerous kinds of Sai literature is being published through these temples.

We are deeply indebted to Guruji for having led us on this path, under his benevolent guidance, and this book is a small offering to Shri Sainath. It is, in fact, a compilation of articles delineating different aspects of our Perfect Master, some of which were published earlier in different magazines like Sai Leela, Heritage of Shirdi Sai, Sai Chetna, Sai Arpan, and Sai Vani. Many kind readers have, from time to time, encouraged us to publish these in a book form for the benefit of the vast mass of Sai devotees. It is their inspiration which has led us to publish them.

This book is a humble attempt to portray the Divinity of the great Sadguru Sai Baba, who, although was God incarnate, lived with a human body, suffering and enduring the physical afflictions, pains, and miseries of His devotees. The different aspects of Babas innumerable qualities have been put across to the readers in a simple and lucid manner for clear understanding and easy comprehension. The description of Babas numerous sayings and superhuman deeds might have been repeated in different chapters in order to describe the many divine aspects of Sadguru Sainath. We beg the kind indulgence of the readers to bear such repetitive and hagiographic descriptions.