The Philosopher

Sai Baba

The face

The background

Nationality:
Indian
Schools:
Hinduism, Islam
Period:
19th century

The synopsis

Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838–15 October 1918) was an Indian spiritual master considered to be a saint, revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his lifetime. According to accounts from his life, Sai Baba preached the importance of "realisation of the self" and criticised "love towards perishable things". His teachings concentrated on a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace, and devotion to God and Guru. Sai Baba condemned discrimination based on religion or caste. He had both Hindu and Muslim followers, but when pressed on his own religious affiliations, he refused to identify himself with one to the exclusion of the other. His teachings combined elements of Hinduism and Islam: he gave the Hindu name *Dwarakamayi* to the mosque in which he lived, practised both Hindu and Muslim rituals, and taught using words and figures that drew from both traditions. According to the *Shri Sai Satcharita*, a hagiography written shortly after his death, his Hindu devotees believed him to be an incarnation of the Hindu deity Dattatreya.

The works

The quotes

Life is a song - sing it. Life is a game - play it. Life is a challenge - meet it. Life is a dream - realize it. Life is a sacrifice - offer it. Life is love - enjoy it.
Sai Baba
Man learns through experience, and the spiritual path is full of different kinds of experiences. He will encounter many difficulties and obstacles, and they are the very experiences he needs to encourage and complete the cleansing process.
Sai Baba
I give people what they want in the hope that they will begin to want what I want to give them!
Sai Baba
You must be a lotus, unfolding its petals when the sun rises in the sky, unaffected by the slush where it is born or even the water which sustains it!
Sai Baba
The life ahead can only be glorious if you learn to live in total harmony with the Lord.
Sai Baba
The wretched and miserable would rise into plenty of joy and happiness as soon as they climb the steps of my mosque.
Sai Baba
Man seeks to change the foods available in nature to suit his tastes, thereby putting an end to the very essence of life contained in them.
Sai Baba
Let love flow so that it cleanses the world. Then man can live in peace, instead of the state of turmoil he has created through his past ways of life, with all those material interests and earthly ambitions.
Sai Baba
I am the Attributeless, Absolute, Nirguna. I have no name, no residence.
Sai Baba
I had a Guru. He was a great saint and most merciful. I served him long - very, very long; still, he would not blow any mantra in my ears. I had a keen desire never to leave him but to stay with him and serve him and at all cost receive some instruction from him.
Sai Baba
What is new in the world? Nothing. What is old in the world? Nothing. Everything has always been and will always be.
Sai Baba
Look out into the universe and contemplate the glory of God. Observe the stars, millions of them, twinkling in the night sky, all with a message of unity, part of the very nature of God.
Sai Baba
If you seek my help and guidance, I will immediately give it to you.
Sai Baba
Love one another and help others to rise to the higher levels, simply by pouring out love. Love is infectious and the greatest healing energy.
Sai Baba
A house must be built on solid foundations if it is to last. The same principle applies to man, otherwise he too will sink back into the soft ground and becomes swallowed up by the world of illusion.
Sai Baba
Man is lost and is wandering in a jungle where real values have no meaning. Real values can have meaning to man only when he steps on to the spiritual path, a path where negative emotions have no use.
Sai Baba
My eye is ever on those who love me.
Sai Baba
I shall be active and vigorous even from the tomb.
Sai Baba
I am the protector of all lives. I am present even before the creation. I am prime God.
Sai Baba
What matters is to live in the present, live now, for every moment is now. It is your thoughts and acts of the moment that create your future. The outline of your future path already exists, for you created its pattern by your past.
Sai Baba
All action results from thought, so it is thoughts that matter.
Sai Baba
Do not be misled by what you see around you, or be influenced by what you see. You live in a world which is a playground of illusion, full of false paths, false values and false ideals. But you are not part of that world.
Sai Baba
I am formless and everywhere. I am in everything. I am in everything and beyond. I fill all space. All that you see, taken together, is Myself. I do not shake or move.
Sai Baba
You must pass your days in song. Let your whole life be a song.
Sai Baba
My tomb shall bless and speak to the needs of my devotees.
Sai Baba