SIGNIFICANCE OF BABA'S MAHASAMADHI

SIGNIFICANCE OF BABA'S MAHASAMADHI

It is most appropriate that in the Dusserah month we should refer not only to the actual Mahasamadhi of Sri Sai Baba but to the general question of the meaning and importance of death. Death is a term, which frightens many, and few people care to be addressed on the subject of death. They consider it Amangalam and wish to avoid the very thought of it and heartily dislike any discussion about it; but if they can face the question, then death far from being a terror become a necessary part of their culture and their heritage. They discover that death and life are two sides of a lens. They are component part of one machine, i.e., progress of all life consist of the preceding form and birth of the succeeding one. Change is the essence of all existence' and change is but another name for death; and once persons face this death as a form of change, they grow bolder and wiser and discover that every animal, every person, every creature and every particle of every living animal or vegetable is undergoing change. This change is a matter of joy to every creature and every vegetable. Once it is realized that change is ordained by nature to bring about the great denouncement, then change becomes a matter of great pride and braces up every one for the necessary effort to face life. This will become clearer if we examine how Sai Baba spoke about it not only as the universal Spirit inherent in all bodies but also as a personal ego connected with the individual body called by people Sai Baba. He sported with that ego and utilized it for carrying out his leelas, which changed every one who came in contact with it immediately or after a long time. It is said that Sri Sankara kept up sufficient ego for the purpose of becoming world teacher impressing the entire world with the lofty truths that he had absorbed in himself and was well fitted to deliver to the world. Similarly Sai Baba kept up an ego for the purpose of carrying out his obligations to the thousands that were connected with him by pre-natal obligations spoken of by him as `Rinanubandha'. The very idea of Rinanubandha imports that he considered himself as a person dealing with a number of limited jivas receiving from them and returning to them various obligations etc., Now Sai Baba entered upon his worldly life for that very purpose and came at the age of 16 to Shirdi to draw to himself the thousands that were to benefit by his contact in this birth again, after their previous contacts in previous janmas. In 1886 i.e., about 32 years before passing away, Sai Baba said to Mahlsapathy his true and most worthy disciple that he was going to have Bheti of Allah and added that he might away from the body for 3 days for that purpose and that in case he did not return to the body, he might be buried near the ghod neem (sweetmargosa) and that in case he returned, he would look after his body himself. For 3 days Sai Baba's body was a corpse in the Shirdi Mosque. After that he did return and by re-entering his body carried on his lilas or activities through that body for 32 years. We are faced in this connection with two questions. First, what is this process of the soul leaving the body and returning to it after a considerable length of time like three days? In the case of Shankaracharya, it is said, that he returned to his dead body after 30 days. The question then arises as to the nature of this process whether it is actual death or not. That was the very matter discussed when Baba left his body in 1886. Officers opined that he was dead and wrote the inquest report making mention of that as an established fact. But even then the official decision in that report was found to be incorrect, as Baba was temporarily dead and did come back to life. In what state the soul is after it parts from the body, is an interesting puzzle. Referring to Lazarus being revived by esus 4 days after his death, his sister asked "Where were thou brother, those 4 days?" for which there was no recorded reply. But Sai Baba gives his reply that he was at the feet of Allah. In case of souls having wonderful powers like Sai Baba, they leave their bodies and enter into new bodies or simply merge in the above.

Bhishma had this power of death at will and he chose the time when he should quit his body, namely, after Maharasankaranthi. Rarely do we find a person that can regulate his death and fix the time at whichhe would give up his body. But there are such persons who are by no means true Avatars or distinguished amsas of God. they are pious and well-developed at the time of death, and they can fix or discern the time at which they can depart, and they develop the power of will, with which they hold on to life up to the moment fixed by them for departure.
In the case of such an exalted personage like Sai Baba, it goes without saying that he can regulate the time at which he can leave his body. He had the power, when his physical body was seen at Shirdi, to take up other bodies and proceed to carry on his lilas in various places with those bodies. This is a wonderful phenomenon, which will naturally make us think and ponder over the meaning of the change from one body to another in the process called death. If during life, we can pass from one body to another, can that also not be called death? And if Sai Baba was doing thus a dozen times, he had, we may say, births and deaths in various places by appearing in and withdrawing from various forms. For example, when Mahlsapathy went to Jejuri with his kavadi procession, he was horrified to find the whole place under a deluge of cholera. Baba suddenly appeared before him at Jejuri, producing his personal form before the eyes of Mahlsapathy. Jejuri is about 150 miles from Shirdi, Mahlsapathy, recognized at once the form of Sai Baba and got emboldened. When the mother is near, the child has then no fear. He went on with his kavadi and came back safe without catching cholera infection. Scenes like this have come within the experiences of numerous Bhaktas.

For instance, at Harda, Sadhubhayya and three or four of his friends were walking on; and suddenly in front of them and coming against them was seen the figure of Sai Baba. They were greatly surprised.Baba came right upto them and thrust his hand into the hand of Sadhubhayya, passes behind him and disappeared. One of the group was sceptic and asked the others `What is it you have seen?' Sadhubhayya retorted `Whether you consider it a delusion or a fact, there is one thing which nobody can deny. When I came along with you, I had nothing in my hand. After Baba put his hand into mine, you see here I have got a toothpick, which Baba thrust into my hand.' Then, said the sceptic, `This must be capable of verification,' and they wrote to Shirdi and asked whether Baba really came to Harda and gave a toothpick to Sadhubhayya. The letter came and Shama put the query to Baba. Baba in reply directed Shama to reply and ask Sadhubhayya to come up in person. Sadhubhayya then went in person and narrated the facts. As directed by Baba, he narrated the facts before Bade Baba and others. Every one was convinced that Baba did really appear at Harda, and Bade Baba was weeping tears and tears at the thought that Baba could produce forms by will and withdraw from those forms, i.e., to use the ordinary language, Baba was born and dead within a few minutes.

Are these births and deaths, if we may term them so, matters for exultation and weeping? If they are not, then there is no greater reason for one's talking seriously to heart the appearance of Baba on earth and disappearance therefrom. Baba himself gave his Bhaktas the strong faith that his actual death was really no death.

Mrs. M. W. Pradhan at the time of Baba's passing away had a dream in which she saw Baba passing away, and she said `Hallo, Baba is dead." Baba at once corrected her in the dream and said that saints are not dying. The term to use in their case is that they attain Samadhi. Saints never die. Several devotees were frightened at the idea of Baba leaving them to themselves by leaving his body. Baba told one of them, a Bombay lady, "Mother I do not die. Wherever you are, I you think of me, I am there at any time you please (whether I am in the body or out of it), and Damodar Rasane was given the same assurance. The latter informed B.V. Narasimha Swami that after Mahasamadhi of 1918, Sri Rasane saw physical, living and moving body of Sai Baba with his own (Rasane's) eyes any number of times and talked and moved with that body. If this is not proof of Baba'' survival, it is difficult to conceive what can be termed proof. It is not only persons like Rasane who had physically met Baba before 1918 that haveseen and moved with Baba'' figure, but also persons born long afterwards.

Infants at Madras have seen Baba and had udhi smeared on their foreheads to cure them of their fever. An elderly Vaishya lady at Madras who heard of him only recently sees him frequently. These are only a few out of many which prove that Baba is not dead. All this arguments is necessary only in the case of those who are not perfectly convinced that life survives beyond the process termed death, that life is ever life and never extinguished, i.e., in other terms that souls do never die.

Long ages back in Sanath Sujathiya, Sanathkumar said that there is no such thing as death i.e., extinction of the jiva. This ancient truth as generally been disregarded by people, and that is why vast masses are dreading the approach of death for themselves or for those that they love. the life of ordinary human being is so little understood that this has always been a very important question amongst the thinkers and philosophers. In the Brahadaranyaka Upanishad, Yagnavalkya invited questions and undertook to answer all of them. one question put to him by Arthabhaga was "What becomes of the soulwhen death overtakes the body?" Yagnavalkya instead of answering it openly took him aside for a secret talk and then told him that this was a matter very ill-understood and was therefore a matter ofsecrecy. He added that souls passed beyond the physical life and good souls were rewarded for their good deeds and wicked souls were punished for their wickedness in their after life.

Similarly at the time of Katopanishad, embodying the Nichiketas tradition, Nichiketas went to Yama and received from him the right to ask for 3 boons. The highest and most important boon that he asked for was that Yama (God of death) should reveal to him what was beyond death i.e., in effect, the nature of the process called death or extinction – whether it extinguished life or whether life survived beyond the grave and if so, in what form? Yama requested Nichiketas not to press this question as even gods had no clear information on the subject and as it was a very intricate and mysterious one. Nichiketas insisted on reply being given by Yama, Yama declared then that he had only tested the earnestness of the pupil Nichiketas. Finding him sufficiently earnest and deserving of a reply, Yama informed him that the question was tantamount to the other great problem, namely, whether all phenomena which appear and reappear are permanent or whether there were transient and if so, whether they left any reality behind or beyond them. in the second place the question, he added, may be treated as a question relating to the phenomenon of bodily death and wanting information as to the state or phenomenon pertaining to the soul after experiencing death. He answered both the aspects are parts of the question. In the firstplace he said that all phenomena are fleeting and that death (meaning change) inevitably overtakes everything that appears or comes to life, and that the only thing that does not die and is perpetual isBrahman which is present in the hearts of persons as in all the phenomena experienced outside the persons. He then answered the meaning of the phenomenon, death i.e., what we ordinarily call death.he said souls after their experience of death pass on to other states where they receive good as their reward for good deeds and punishment for their evil deeds, the punishment necessitating their taking uplower forms as beasts and reptiles.

(Courtesy: H H Pujyasri B. V. Narasimha Swamiji)