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sects influenced by Islam and Muslims
Sai Baba Controversy: Shankaracharya should also speak on many other Hindu sects influenced by Islam and Muslims
By Abdul Rashid Agwan, MM News,
Dwarakapeeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand is in the whirlwind of controversy by calling Hindus to refrain from Shirdi ke Sai Baba as he was a ‘Muslim Fakir’. He denounced that the cult of Sai Baba has become so much popular among Hindus that the total income of the Sai temple is nearing that of Tirupati temple. He also blamed that Sai Baba was said to be disinclined to take bath in Ganga River, a sign that he was not conforming to the Hindu beliefs. According to him, Sai Baba was non-vegetarian and hence cannot be revered by Hindus. He also blamed that Sai Baba was a product of the British design to divide Hindus.
Dwarakapeeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanandhappened to visit Sai Mandir at Lodhi Colony, New Delhi in 1987 where we used to put a book stall of Islamic literature on every Thursday for the benefit of devotees coming over there. I saw at that time that there were no idols in the ground floor of the two-storied temple building and a clean green velvet sheet could be seen on a platform where devotees used to offer rose petals by scattering them on the sheet. A kind of sweet called Sinni, typical of any Muslim Dargah, was distributed by the devotees who happened to pay homage at the ground floor to other devotees. At the upper story there was a typical Hindu section full of idols of Hindu pantheon along with an idol of Sai Baba himself. Hindu rituals were practiced there during the worship of Sai Baba. Thus, Sai Temple at Lodhi Road seemed to me a curious example of mixed spirituality.
One strange incident happened there. After our earnest experiment on the site for the introduction of Islam to the thronging visitors for 2-3 Thursdays, some of the Hindu venders, selling various items of worship outside the temple, complaint to the management of the temple against selling of Islamic books there. A policeman along with a Pujari came and objected the presence of our stall. Just when I was arguing with them, a gentleman coming from outside interrupted. I saw the Pujari saluting him. The gentleman, we came to know during our talk that he was from Kanpur, heard our appeal and allowed us to continue our work and told that his father was in the top hierarchy of the temple management and he could be contacted if any one objects our initiative further. However, we could not continue our strange experiment in interfaith interaction any more, being unwanted there.
This reminiscence gives a distinct view regarding the Sai cult. May be it originated from a Muslim saint and preserved many features of Sufi traditions but it has fallen in total control of Hindu devotees who worship Sai Baba along with other Hindu deities; however, many of these devotees do not have any aversion against Islam and Muslims.
Shankaracharya’s information that Muslims do not form part of the devotees of Sai Baba is only partially true as many Muslims could be seen visiting Sai temples in Delhi, Shirdi and other places but definitely their visibility is much less.
However, it looks strange why the Shankaracharya raised the issue at the present time and while rejecting a large group of Hindu devotees to be Sanatani Hindus? His media reported comparison of the incomes of Tirupati Balaji Temple with Shridi Sai Temple may be taken as a clue.
Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan Trust has recorded Rs 1441 crore of income during five years ending in 2013, with 22 per cent higher donations received every year, whereas the current budget of Tirupati Devsthanam reached Rs 2400 crore this year. The annual income of Veshno Devi temple is considered to be around Rs 500 crore. The most revered shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath respectively score incomes of Rs 10 crore and 5 crore a year.
Jagannath Mandir’s income stands lower than Rs 150 crore. Thus, it is only the Shridi Sai Baba temple, which is competing with the richest deity in the country, Balaji of Tirupati.
It is reported that about 20,000 devotees used to visit the Saibaba’s shrine daily some five years back, but the present figures show that around 60,000 people come to visit the temple everyday and the number goes up to about one lakh on weekends. In terms of devotees, Sai Baba of Shirdi has overtaken the Balaji of Tirupati which is thronged by 50,000 pilgrims a day.
The Shankaracharya’s opinion that Sai Baba of Shirdi is coming in the way of Ayodhya movement may be substantiated from the fact that only 7000-8000 pilgrims visit Ayodhya per day as compared to eight times more visitors per day to Shirdi and all efforts to make Ayodhya acquire religious eminence among Hindus have so far failed.
The controversy has inadvertently brought Islam and Muslims into the debate. Sai Baba of Shirdi preached monotheism by inculcating that “Lord of all the people is One”. He spread his precepts from a small mosque in Shirdi village of the time, called by him as Dwarkamai Masjid. Such an approach instill a tolerant tendency among Hindus as regards other persuasions.
Sai Baba is not a single example of Muslim saints’ influence on the Hindu society. There are instances of many Sufi saints whom mainly Muslims revere but they also receive devotion of many Hindus. The typical example of the shrine of Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer may be considered here. Shirdi gives a reverse view wherein Hindus are the main devotees and Muslims are lesser in number. However, the Balaji Temple of Tirupati, many Rama temples of Ayodhya, Veshno Devi of Katra, Jagannath temple of Puri, Kedarnath-Badrinath temples, Kashi Vishvanath temple of Varanasi, etc enjoy exclusive devotion of Hindus.
Kabir Panth is a typical sect now pursued only by Hindus, although all the modern objective studies depict Kabir as a discrete Islamic preacher. Kabir’s preaching illuminated the way of many great saints of medieval time such as Guru Nanak. In a way the entire Bhakti movement echoes of Muslim influence under the waves of teachings of Kutban, Manjhan, Jayasi, Abdur Rahim Khankhana, Ras Khan, Dadu and many others. Raja Ram Mohan Roy formed Brahmo Samaj by synthesizing teachings of Islam, Christianity and Hinduism. Ram Krishna Paramhans is known for his appreciation for Islam. The modern maestros as Shri Ram Sharma, the founder of Gayatri Pariwar movement and J. Krishnamurti founder of another Hindu movement are said to be the descendants of lesser known chains of Muslim saints.
By raising a controversy on the increasing devotion of Hindus on Sai Baba of Shirdi, the Shankaracharya of Dwarka has only negated the whole legacy of Bhakti movement. His attempt to discredit any meaningful movement among Hindus having inclination towards a Muslim saint reveals the increasing intolerance among some sections of the country and also the frustration on the declining support for the Ayodhya movement in spite of all recent efforts by Hindu organizations.
The Shankaracharya blames the followers of Sai Baba cult for dividing the Hindu society but his own attempt to create an issue out of a non-issue may lead to this divide in an unimagined way. Already members of Ramakrishna Mission have declared themselves as non-Hindus. If the present controversy goes on unabated then the adherents of Sai Baba may also follow suit.
[The contributor is a known interfaith activist and an author of many books including his recent rendering “Islam in 21st Century: The Dynamics of Change and Future-making”. He may be contacted on agwan@rediffmail.com]
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