{"id":1253,"date":"2026-09-20T16:33:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/?page_id=1253"},"modified":"2026-09-20T16:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:51:08","slug":"life-of-sai-baba-volume-4-chapter-1-baba-and-school-of-philosophy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-4-chapter-1-baba-and-school-of-philosophy\/","title":{"rendered":"Life of Sai Baba \u2014 Volume 4, Chapter 1: Baba and School of Philosophy"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.ap-story-page{--ap-ink:#17324d;--ap-muted:#49657e;--ap-teal:#08736e;--ap-line:#dde7ea;--ap-soft:#eef8f6;color:var(--ap-ink);font-family:Inter,system-ui,sans-serif;line-height:1.7}.ap-story-wrap{max-width:1060px;margin:0 auto;padding:8px 0 54px}.ap-story-kicker{color:var(--ap-teal);font-size:.78rem;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase}.ap-story-dek{max-width:780px;color:var(--ap-muted);font-size:1.2rem;margin:.45rem 0 1rem}.ap-story-subtitle{font-size:1.05rem;color:var(--ap-muted);margin:0 0 18px}.ap-story-grid{display:grid;grid-template-columns:minmax(0,1fr) 300px;gap:34px;margin-top:28px}.ap-story-main,.ap-story-card{background:#fff;border:1px solid var(--ap-line);border-radius:12px}.ap-story-main{padding:clamp(22px,4vw,46px);box-shadow:0 12px 28px rgba(16,52,80,.05)}.ap-story-main h2{font-size:1.8rem;margin-top:0}.ap-story-main h3{font-size:1.25rem;margin-top:2rem}.ap-story-main p{margin:0 0 1rem}.ap-story-main p:first-of-type:first-letter{float:left;font-size:4rem;line-height:.8;padding:.1rem .5rem 0 0;color:var(--ap-teal)}.ap-story-aside{display:grid;gap:16px}.ap-story-card{padding:20px}.ap-story-card h2{font-size:.8rem;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--ap-teal);margin:0 0 .7rem}.ap-story-card p{margin:.45rem 0}.ap-story-card a{color:var(--ap-teal);font-weight:700}.ap-story-source{background:#fbfcfc}.ap-story-teaching{background:var(--ap-soft);border-left:4px solid var(--ap-teal)}.ap-story-tag{display:inline-block;border-radius:999px;padding:4px 10px;margin:4px 4px 0 0;background:#e8f4f2;color:var(--ap-teal);font-size:.82rem}.ap-story-note{border-top:1px solid var(--ap-line);margin-top:24px;padding-top:16px;color:var(--ap-muted);font-size:.86rem}.ap-story-nav{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;gap:12px;margin-top:24px;padding-top:18px;border-top:1px solid var(--ap-line)}@media(max-width:760px){.ap-story-grid{grid-template-columns:1fr}.ap-story-nav{display:grid}}<\/style>\n<section class=\"ap-story-page\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-wrap\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-kicker\">Chapter 1 \u00b7 Life of Sai Baba \u00b7 Volume 4<\/div>\n<p class=\"ap-story-dek\">Baba and School of Philosophy<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-subtitle\">Why Sai Baba\u2019s own words and actions cannot be reduced to one school of philosophy.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Sai Baba<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Devotee experience<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Volume 4<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ap-story-grid\">\n<article class=\"ap-story-main\">\n<h2>The chapter<\/h2>\n<p>When R. A. Tarkhad reached Shirdi after quarrelling with a police constable for a seat at Manmad, Baba asked him, \u201cWith whom were you persisting in contest?\u201d Tarkhad first heard a rebuke about the quarrel. He later understood \u201cWho are we?\u201d as a question about the one Self beneath social distinctions.<\/p>\n<p>Baba did not answer every devotee from one philosophical system. He directed N. G. Chandorkar and others toward the Advaitic teaching in the <em>Jnaneswari<\/em>, but he gave practical guidance to people who were not ready for abstract philosophy. His words had to be read with the person and situation to which he spoke.<\/p>\n<p>A Bombay woman asked Baba for freedom from birth and death. He told her, \u201cThink who you are.\u201d Her husband explained that Baba was asking her to examine the difference between the limited <em>jiva<\/em> she imagined herself to be and the divine Self. Baba later confirmed that she should hold this understanding.<\/p>\n<p>At Puntamba, Baba found two parties fighting over a pot of coins. He quietly moved the pot away and asked, \u201cWho am I? Whose is the pot?\u201d When Kondaji\u2019s haystack burned, Baba protected neighbouring stacks by drawing a line of water around them and told Kondaji not to identify his true self with the body or with the haystack. These incidents carry Baba\u2019s teaching on \u201cI\u201d and \u201cmine\u201d more directly than a label such as Advaita or any other school.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-note\"><strong>Editorial note:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ap-story-nav\"><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-4-front-matter\/\">\u2190 Previous chapter<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-4-chapter-2-sri-sai-baba-and-propaganda\/\">Next chapter \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<aside class=\"ap-story-aside\">\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-source\">\n<h2>Referenced source<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Life of Sai Baba<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By <em>Sh. B. V. Narasimha Swami<\/em><br \/>Volume 4, Chapter 1: <em>Baba and School of Philosophy<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-4-01-baba-and-school-of-philosophy.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">View original chapter PDF \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-by-sh-b-v-narasimha-swami\/\">View the complete book \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card\">\n<h2>People and places<\/h2>\n<p><strong>People:<\/strong> Sai Baba \u00b7 Devotees<\/p>\n<p><strong>Places:<\/strong> Shirdi<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-teaching\">\n<h2>Related teaching<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Love, compassion and equality<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This account may be read alongside Sai Baba\u2019s teachings on faith, patience, equality, love and compassion.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/teachings-and-parables-of-sai-baba\/\">Explore teachings and parables \u2192<\/a><\/section>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chapter 1 \u00b7 Life of Sai Baba \u00b7 Volume 4 Baba and School of Philosophy Why Sai Baba\u2019s own words and actions [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1253","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1253"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1286,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1253\/revisions\/1286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}