Worship
How personal reverence for Sai Baba grew into an established devotional practice.
Sai BabaSpiritual studyVolume 1
The chapter
Worship often begins before a person has formed a theory about religion. Fear, illness, loss, hunger or another urgent need turns the mind toward a higher power. Sometimes the impulse is different: a serious desire to understand life and one’s relation to the mysterious universe. The chapter calls the first person the sufferer who seeks help and the second the seeker who turns toward spiritual understanding.
Why a person or form becomes an object of worship
The chapter argues that worship requires both the perceived power and willingness of the object to help and a corresponding movement in the devotee. In the Hindu understanding presented here, God’s presence is not confined to one object. The Divine may be approached through the universe, through parents, teacher and guest, or through a saint whose virtues and spiritual power make the invisible more tangible.
This is why serious devotees such as Mahlsapathy, Appa Bhil and Tukaram Darji respected Sai Baba even before the wider public was impressed by miracles. His purity, asceticism, benevolence, harmlessness, non-attachment and readiness to help the suffering marked him as a saint and Guru.
How Sai Baba’s worship began
For the wider village, the decisive event was the lighting of the mosque lamps with water after the oil merchants refused to supply him. Baba’s extraordinary act led people to regard him as a living manifestation of divine power. Flowers, fruit, scents and sandal paste began to be offered at his feet, and the villagers called him a talking and walking God.
Baba initially objected. He asked devotees to return to the images and forms of worship they used in their homes and temples. They would not listen, because they saw the miracle as evidence of a deeper spiritual reality. The chapter presents this as the beginning of a long journey: worship may start with wonder or a practical benefit, but through time it can lead the devotee toward knowledge of the self and the Supreme Self.
Obstacles around the mosque
The worship was controversial because Hindus were applying sandal paste and performing music and ritual before a human figure inside a mosque. Baba’s own preference was for poverty, obscurity and inward absorption. He wandered, accepted whatever food came to him and bore insult without concern for reputation. Even when crowds began to honour him, he had no personal need for praise, offerings or public attention.
Muslim objections also became more serious. The question was not only whether a Muslim-looking fakir should be worshipped, but whether Hindu ritual should be carried out in a mosque. The earlier conflict involving Jawar Ali and the continuing resistance to Baba’s worship did not end the movement; instead, opposition gave devotees time to deepen their attachment and drew attention to Baba’s ability to stand beyond narrow religious labels.
From personal reverence to a wider mission
Baba gradually allowed the worship to continue because he foresaw benefits far beyond his own comfort. Individual worship attracted more visitors, then developed into congregational worship, and eventually took on the elaborate forms associated with places such as Pandharpur and Tirupati. The later growth included aratis, pujaris, music, processions, a palanquin, a horse and other ceremonial forms.
What this account invites us to reflect on
The chapter presents worship as a movement from need and wonder toward love, understanding and surrender. Baba’s own reluctance to receive honour makes the development significant: the worship was not built around his desire for status, but around the devotees’ recognition of the spiritual presence they encountered in him and the mission he allowed that recognition to serve.
Editorial note: This page is a concise paraphrase for web presentation and does not reproduce the complete chapter. Please consult the original PDF for the full account and wording.