Chapter 4 (Part 5) – Scribblings of A Shirdi Sai Devotee

Devotee readers who have missed earlier chapters can read from the links below.

Stray Thought on Receiving Messages from Baba

Recently I have come across two books in which messages purported to have been received from Baba, have been reproduced. These are as under:

a) ‘How I found God – The life story of Yogi M.K. Spencer compiled and edited by Dr. S.P. Rauhela.

b) ‘Sri Sai Sandesh’ by Shri Uma Maheshwar Rao.

Some time back, I was taken to a centre in a Sai temple, where, it was stated that Baba would descend on a medium after burning a lot of incense, who would then answer questions put to him. Much earlier, in my life as a Sai devotee, had met one Shri Bhagwat, a Maharashtrian gentleman, who would similarly answer devotees’ questions after the presence of Baba.

While I am not qualified, in any way, to comment on the Phenomenon, I may kindly be permitted to give vent to my Personal experiences on the subject.

As a young man also, I have had some experience this phenomenon. A childhood friend of mine would write to me about his spiritual pursuits. Later, he wrote that a friend of his had started receiving messages in spiritual matter from some spirit which called itself Babaji while sitting in Sadhana, and that spirit would also provide guidance as i how to proceed further. This continued for many years.’ Babaji would fix a particular date when they would profound spiritual experiences. But not much spiritual progress was discerned. Years later I was told that the guiding spirit was of an eight hundred years old saint. My friend continues his way of worship even though he is above eight, years of age. His friend who was receiving messages from that spirit has since died of cancer in December 2000.

I can recollect another such incident. I was instrument in getting a person recruited in the Army as Education Havildar. This person had a Master’s Degree and wrote regularly write to me letters often enclosing poems written by him in Hindi. Suddenly he stopped writing to me. Later when he came to see me, he told me that suddenly Lord Hanuman had come into his life. In the beginning Hanumanji would appear to him in dreams and later he could see Hanumanji and His retinue with open eyes also as his own assertion. The expressions on his face and eyes had also changed. Now this person has retired from the Army but I can say that he is no where near having achieved spiritual heights.

So far as my knowledge goes there are innumerable spirits hovering all around us in the universe. A particular spirit chooses a particular person as its medium and acts through it. Sometimes these spirits could be of highly evolved souls while at other times, of souls of a lower denomination. They may appear to the medium in the form of their choice. Certainly, these are not of Lord Hanuman or any other deity. This could also be the hallucination of the individiual. This is how I look at this phenomenon. May be, I am far away from truth.

In 1964 or so, I had seen an illiterate young man who would lie flat on his back and cover himself with a sheet of cloth and within no time a spirit would enter his body and make him recite Sanskrit verses in the voice of some particular Rishi and in another voice some one else would ask him questions. This process would last for full one hour, at the end of which this fellow would regain his consciousness and return to his original self – a complete illiterate. Researchers from U.K., USA, Japan and other countries came to see this person and would record whatever he said. I understand that slokas and verses recited by him could not be found in any of our written scriptures. I don’t know what happened to this person later or to the research carried out on him. In my view the antenna of the brain of this person had caught the spirit of this Rishi and through this medium his voice was being reproduced. I understand that the voice never dies.

The aforesaid experiences have convinced me that it is generally some spirit which gives messages or provides guidance in such cases. It is neither Baba nor Hanumanji or any other deity. It is unthinkable to me that Baba Who is omnipotent and omnipresent would come down to answer questions at such gatherings or provide messages pertaining to worldly matters of life. To me, my Baba is ‘Parabrahma’ and far above, from such mundane exhibits.

I reiterate that I am not a ‘Gyani’ and whatever I have written is based on my personal experiences and limited knowledge. I would love to be enlightened on this aspect of spirituality. Moreover, to me such episodes are experiences of a much lower plane.

Another such experience which has come to my knowledge and which I had forgotten to narrate earlier is of a lady disciple of a Saint in Allahabad. This lady would fill a plate with powdered ‘Misri’, (a product of sugar) and on surface of this ‘Misri’ would appear some writings, which were only visible to her and she would read them and scribble them on a piece of paper. Later, she stopped receiving these messages.

On to the path of Bhakti, I am convinced that such diversions should not be allowed to disturb a devotee’s ‘Sadhna’. I would, however, not deny the fact that to His devotees Baba does provide guidance at the appropriate time, both in dreams or in the waking state.

Continued…Part 6 of Chapter 4

More E-Books To Read

The Fragrance Of Devotion In Sai

Kakasaheb Dixit Diary

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