Understanding the Sri Sathya Sai Phenomenon – By Dato J. Jagadeesan

An agnostic until the age of 32 asking the question – Did God create man or man created God? I thought I was an atheist at heart until Bhagavan Baba Himself called me an agnostic. A graduate at 21, travelled around the world several times in my official capacity in Government service, successful, with wife, children, house, car etc.-Who needed God? 

Baba came into my life at the age of 32 — only to be faced with an anti-Sai tirade that I launched on all devotees who came within the radii of my relationship. It was on June 8, 1976 in Kuala Lumpur that Lord Sai appeared. I asked Him mentally. “If you are truly what you are — show me a sign! The sudden materialization of the Vibhuti on His picture, the stunning revelation, the realization that “Oh God! There is truly a power beyond science and this power can reach into my world even in a physical form”, that was the moment of my transformation — that began my Journey to God. 

Subsequently, my life changed and my travels around the world – both on behalf of the Government and on behalf of the SAI EHV Programme have made me come in contact with a great number of beautiful people, SAI devotees, sometimes in very strange places. Though many devotees know of the SAI groups and Centers in USA, South America, Europe, Japan, Australia, Fiji, etc. — very few may be aware that SAI Devotional Groups exist in East Berlin (even before the fall of the Berlin wall) and that SAI groups exist in Seoul, South Korea and Beijing in China … the world which for ever has been and will be the mansion of the cosmic Divine principle, is rapidly becoming the mansion for the “manifested Divine principle.” 

Understanding the Sri Sathya Sai Phenomenon

We all know that the world is God’s mansion, but the fact that the advent of SAI, in His physical form, is being recognized all around the world during His Life time is perhaps one of the spiritual phenomena of the century, in fact of several centuries. 

What about the Omnipresent, Divinity principle? Well! Bhagavan is introducing His “calling cards” everywhere. In my travels around the world, I have seen for myself and shared miraculous experiences with others regarding His Omnipresence. Manifestation of Holy ash, Amrit (Divine nectar) from statues and photographs are happening not only in India, Malaysia, Fiji, USA, Europe, Africa, etc. but most recently I was thrilled to see a photograph of Vibhuti manifestations in the home of a Japanese devotee in Japan. The picture was covered with holy ash and there was a huge Vibhuti ‘OM’ (in Sanskrit) and what appeared like gold flakes over HIS palm. We can but only stand in awe when we see the miracles that take place in homes of devotees thousands of miles away, in different continents, within different cultural heritages – with only but one Universal bond the bond of LOVE: — this perhaps is the greatest Divinity principle that Baba displays. 

But other-than the manifestations of ash and Amrit, what about the water that flowed for two days from the knees of a Christ figure on a cross in the home of a SAI devotee in Fiji, what about the strange Indian man in orange robe and Afro-hair-do who got into a cab of a Chinese taxi driver in Malaysia, who only a week later realized it was Baba; what about the shower of bangles, the materialization of dates, pendants, small statues, etc. that appear on altars of devotees in Malaysia and around the world; what about the lady in an African village who was comforted by a strange, bearded man, only to recognize him a week later as Shirdi Sai Baba (as was the case of one of the first Chinese devotees in Malaysia); what about the miraculous cures, that occur not even by consuming Vibhuti but by just calling out Baba’s name from the depth of one’s heart as was the case of an African lady in Zimbabwe who went to  hospital to undergo heart surgery, who on the way, called to Baba to manifest His Love and was sent back home the same day by the hospital saying there appears to be nothing wrong now”. 

And thus it goes on, in every part of the world, from Argentina to Zimbabwe, from Japan to Chile, from Fiji to the West Indies, Baba’s Love, the Divinity principle manifest in every room (country) of His Mansion (world), comforting, guarding, guiding. But greater than all the physical manifestations, the cures, the physical manifestations of SAI Himself, greater than all these miracles is the miracle of the ‘TRANSFORMATION OF MAN’. Agnostics, drunkards, drug addicts, gamblers, businessman and politicians, who had made money and power their God, have now turned to the God of Spirituality and have started the process of transformation, of self-improvement, to make themselves useful to themselves, their families and society. One cannot guess the number of tearful wives and mothers raising their hands in thankful prayer to Bhagavan Baba for the transformation that He has wrought in their husbands or children. 

But perhaps even greater than the mere turning of man away from his negative habits, perhaps even greater than the miracle of tuning all these millions to the path of God, is the greater miracle of transforming selfish individuals, who had only concern for family and friends, into beings of love, dedicating their time, skill. Money and effort to serve the sick, the poor and the needy. This transformation, in the context of the modern world, where individuals and families caught in the rat race of modern living feel that they have not time for anything else but themselves, manifesting often the ‘I’ and ‘My’ first and last…. everything else be damned, attitude, is perhaps the greatest manifestation of Bhagavan Baba’s divinity principle and the SAI phenomena. 

But over and above all the manifestations, and miracles, over and above all this transformation of man, is there any other proof of the Divinity principle that Bhagavan Baba manifests? 

Where is God? What is God? For every individual, according to his religion and cultural background, the word God creates conditioned reflexes, reciprocating ingrained mental images. For a Hindu, the word God conjures in the mind’s eye the beautiful form of Krishna or Rama, the powerful face of Shiva, or the gentle aspect of ‘Divine Mother’ for the Christian God would conjure the picture of Christ, the Shepherd, or Christ on the Cross; for the Buddhist – though “God” may not be in the context of their worship, the closest image would be the meditating Buddha; for Muslims it would be the formless Allah…. and so it goes on. Though no spiritual or religious text in the world describes God by His physical features, all tests do describe the characteristics of God —i.e. He is Omnipresent, Omniscient, He can create, preserve, dissolve, He can grant boons, He can cure and save, He is love, Glory, beauty, etc. This all religions will agree. 

We have someone in this world, a being who is manifesting not just to one or two people but to hundreds of thousands every year, all characteristics that man has traditionally ascribed to the formless divine or God as they know in their tradition. Thus Baba has incarnated within Himself all the characteristics and power of Divinity; thus to that extent He is a manifestation, an incarnation of a Divine principle—What the Hindus refer to as AVATAR.

There is another way that the Divinity Principle can be examined. If tomorrow the sky was to open up and from the Heavens above a Divine voice thundered to mankind — what would the voice say? Surely words to the following effect 

1) Belief in God: Truly believe that He exists, and is able to listen and respond if the call is from the genuine love of devotees. However, He is called by many names and this is the source of misunderstanding and conflict. Rise above this. All are one, be alike to everyone. 

2) Follow your Religion but do not be a hypocrite: Study and understand the teachings of your religion and put these into practice in daily life – not merely the rituals and prayers. Understand that the practice of your religion does not even begin in your chosen hall of prayer — your real religion manifest itself the moment you leave your hall of prayer, be it a temple, mosque or church. Every thought, word and deed in daily life is the true manifestation of your religion.  

3) Respect all Religions: All religions have been motivated by the ONE DIVINE principle. No religion urges negative behavior in life — all religions exhort man to see well, speak good, think, act and hear good. All religions try to move man from the state of animal behavior, through human to Divine. All religions are royal roads to Divinity. It is how you practice your religion in daily life that differentiates the religious or spiritual person from others – not the religious label you wear or profess. 

4) Perform selfless service to the sick, the poor and needy. Without thought of name, fame or reward, if you truly believe in the brother hood of man and the fatherhood of God, the only way to manifest that belief is by action. As you would visit your own sick blood brother in hospital to give comfort, spend some time serving your other brothers—all are children of God. However, that service should not seek its fruits, recognition, name or even gratitude; serve and thank God that He gives you the opportunity of strength, love and grace to serve. 

5) Uphold in life and thus promote the five great Human Values of TRUTH, RIGHT CONDUCT, PEACE, LOVE and NON VIOLENCE. Do not parrot-like merely chant these values in song and verse – make it a dynamic part of your life, at home, at work. From these five values all other values emanate and they enrich every part of the human personality, ultimately transforming all these who pursue this path into divine incarnations. 

Dato J. Jagadeesan has been Director, Industrial Promotion, Malaysian Industrial Development Authority, and Kuala Lumpur. He has authored the book ‘Journey to God: The Malaysian Experience with Sai Baba’, ‘Journey to God II: Sai Baba and the World’, ‘Unity of Faiths and The Mission’ and ‘The Message: Some Often asked questions about Bhagavan Baba.’ He has also served as President of Sathya Sai Central Council for Malaysia.

-devotional India