Life of Sai Baba — Volume 2, Chapter 6: Sri Upasani Baba

The chapter

Kasinath Govind Upasani, later known as Sri Upasani Baba, was born into an orthodox Brahmin family and grew up amid religious learning, ritual practice and the expectations of a traditional household. His early life did not follow a smooth spiritual path. Marriage, family responsibilities, illness and repeated journeys formed the background to a restless search for the truth.

He travelled through different places and tried various forms of religious practice, but neither learning nor external observance gave him the certainty he wanted. When he came to Sai Baba at Shirdi in 1911, he found a Guru who did not flatter his expectations. Sai Baba recognised both his capacity and his weaknesses and took him into a severe period of training.

Four years at Khandoba temple

Sai Baba directed Upasani to remain at the Khandoba temple and practise in solitude. The discipline was not a comfortable retreat. He endured poverty, heat, insects, hunger, illness and the pressure of people who did not understand what was taking place. Baba kept him under close observation and prevented him from simply returning to his former life or following every impulse that arose in him.

For several years Upasani lived in an austere condition, absorbed in meditation and exposed to the tests that Baba considered necessary. Baba sometimes appeared to disregard him, yet the neglect itself was part of the training. Upasani’s contact with Baba was meant to break dependence on outer approval and to burn away the habits of ego, attachment and spiritual self-importance.

Baba spoke of Upasani as a disciple who could receive great power. He said that the period at Shirdi would prepare him to carry spiritual influence and that Shama would eventually draw him out of his solitude. Devotees therefore began to hope that Upasani might continue Baba’s work after Baba’s bodily passing.

Separation from Shirdi

Upasani did not complete the full period of direct novitiate in the way Baba had intended. After about three years he left the continuous environment of Shirdi and travelled through places including Scinde, Nagpur and Kharagpur. The author presents this separation as decisive: in Shirdi Baba’s presence provided constant correction, while outside Shirdi Upasani had greater freedom to develop along his own lines.

At Sakori, Upasani’s own reputation grew. People came to him for spiritual instruction, religious observances, mantras, vows, meditation and help with worldly and devotional aims. He drew many people away from materialism and encouraged them toward religion. His endurance was remarkable; during an operation in Scinde he refused chloroform and remained calm through the surgeon’s painful work.

A distinct path at Sakori

The chapter carefully distinguishes Upasani’s later path from Sai Baba’s. Sai Baba lived without accumulating wealth, had no household of women around Him and emphasised the direct transformation of the heart. Upasani, by contrast, built an ashram at Sakori and developed a distinctive religious institution with its own practices, explanations and traditions.

The author also describes Upasani’s teaching concerning women disciples and the group of women associated with the Kanyasthan. These ideas and arrangements were presented by Upasani in religious and symbolic terms, but they were plainly different from the discipline Sai Baba had maintained at Shirdi. The chapter records this difference so that admiration for Upasani’s service does not become a claim that he continued Baba’s mission in exactly the same form.

Upasani’s followers nevertheless saw him as a powerful saint and as one through whom Sai Baba’s influence had worked. His writings referred to Sai Baba’s greatness and to the extraordinary experiences associated with Baba. His own powers of endurance, insight and religious influence attracted thousands, and many devotees received real moral and spiritual benefit from his work.

What this account invites us to reflect on

The author does not dismiss Upasani because his life later diverged from Sai Baba’s ideals. Instead, he asks the reader to hold two truths together: Upasani rendered immense service to religion and to the Sai movement, yet his later institution and teaching should not be confused with a complete continuation of Baba’s life and method.

The chapter’s final lesson is an appeal to discernment without hatred. Great service should be acknowledged, and defects should not erase a person’s benefit to humanity. At the same time, the disciple’s independent development must be judged honestly against the Guru’s example. Sai Baba’s teaching that God lives in every person requires devotees to recognise good, avoid needless condemnation and keep their own devotion free from pride.

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.