Brief Description of Aarathi*

The Tradition of Arati to Saibaba
A Brief Description of Aarathi

III. ARATI
(Composed by : Shir Krishna Jogiswar Bhishma)

Jaya devajaya deve dattaa
avadhutaa sayee avadhutaa
Jodoonikara tava charanee ttevito maathaa
Jaya deva...
Avataraseen too yaetaan dhanrtaante glaanee
Naastheekaanaahee too laavsi njiabhajanee
Daavissi naanaa leela asankhya roopaanee
Harisee dheenanchee too sankata dinarajanee
Jaya deva...
Yavana swaroopee alikhyaa darshana twaan
dhidhale
Samsaya nirsunyaan thathdwaitaa ghaalavil
Gopeechandaa mandaa twaanchee uddharile
Momina vamsee janmuni bkaan tarriyael
Jaya deve....
Bhed na tathwee Hindoo yavanaancha kaanhee
Dawaayaansee twatpadanata vhaave
Paramaayaamohita janamochana jhanin vhaave
Twakripayaa sakalaanche sankata nirasaawe
Deshila tari de twadhyash krishnaane gaave
Jaya deva...
Kaliyugee avataara sagunabrahma saachaara
Avateema jhaalaase swami datta digambara
datta digambara
Aattaan divasaan guruwaaree bhakta karitee waaree
Prabhupada pahaavayaa ,bhaavabhaya niwaaree,
bhaya niwaaree.
Maajzaa nija dravaya tteesaa tav charan rajasevaa
Maagane hechiyaataa tumhan
devaadhideva devaadehideva
Tchchita deena chaatak nirmal toya nijasookha
Paajaawe maadhavaa yaa saambhal
aapulee bhaaka appulee bhaaka

Translation

Hail unto thy glory. Oh Sai Avadhut, who art Lord Datta incarnate. With folded hands, I humbly lay my head at thy feet;
When dharma (righteousness) is in peril, thou incarnate in this world and demonstrate the truth of divinity in innumerable ways, making even come around to sing thy glories. Very vigilant thou art, day and night, to ward off the troubles of thy devotees.
Thou hast manifested in the form of a Muslim Fakir and strived to destroy the sense of difference, between Hindus and Muslims, thus uplifting many stupid and ignorant folk (from heinous religions bigotry). To uplift humanity thou hadst taken birth in a Momins (Muslim weavers) Family (as Kabir).
To reiterate the truth that there is absolutely no meaning in the different between Hindus and Muslims, thus human form (as Sai Baba). Those lovingly look upon both Hindus and Muslims with an equal eye. Thou hast proved that One all pervading consciousness dwells in all beings.Lord Sainath, humble prostrations at thy Holy Feet! Pray, liberate all ignorant folk from the snares of maya. By thy grace, ward off the trouble (wordly and spiritual) of all. Pray, kindly bestow on me (Krishna Jogiswar Bhishma, the psalmist) the ability to sing thy glories.

Commentary

This psalm is significant in many ways. It lucidly brings forth many salient features of Sri Sai Baba's manifestation and his mission. "My business of give blessing", declared Baba, If we are to sum up Baba's life, it is the spontaneous overflow of bounteous grace inundating in the form of spiritual and temporal well-being, those who take refuge in him. It is the wall of separateness, to put it in Baba's own words., bricked with sense of ego (ahankar) and cemented by the proclivities of caste, creed, religion and orthodoxy, that stands out as a barricade on the road to truth, damming the flood of Baba's grace. What Baba has asked us is to 'pull down the wall' that differentiates us from one another and separates us from Baba. Is Baba a Hindu or a Muslim ? "He is neither a Hindu nor a Muslim, he is above both", states Sri. S. D. Dhumal, one of the close devotees of Baba, perhaps very aptly ! While Sri Dhumal said it, he might be unconsciously voicing the unspoken insight which Baba has bestowed upon most of his devotees. In the present psalm, Sri Bhishma also addresses Baba as Datta Avadhut and Sai Avadhut. Datta is synonymous with the concept of perfect manifestation of the Divine as Sadguru and, Avadhut means one who has eschewed or transcended all religious formalities. In spite of the fact that Baba had donned the trappings of a Muslim their own or any other creed. Then, what must have been Baba's religion ? It is kabir, as has been avowed by Baba himself. Kabir did not identify himself with any religion. In one of his dohas (couplets) Kabir declares unequivocally. "Hindu kahoon tho mein nahin, Musalman bhee naahin !" (I am neither a Hindu nor a Muslim; I am none of them.) Baba not only declared that his religion was Kabir, but also 'disclosed' that he was Kabir himself in his previous incarnation ! He said, "I was kabir and used to spin yarn." Sri Bhishma points this out in the present psalm saying that kabir has been reincarnated (Daya ya Si Zhala punarapi naradehi) as Sri Sai Baba. It would not be irrelevant in the context of the present arati-psalm, to take note of a verse of Kabir which is included in the Sikh's Adigranth (Maru-4) In it Kabir says :

So the man who looketh on all with an equal eye shall become pure and blessed with the infinite. Why should I return to this world ? Transmigration take place by God's order, he who obeyeth it shall blend with him. I devote myself to and perform the duties which, God assigned me.

Like Kabir, Baba too strived to strike a harmonious rapport between the Hindus and the Muslims and looked upon both wiht an equal eye. Yet all the time remaining beyond both. The popular notion is that Baba expressed himself as a Hindu and Hindus and to Muslims as a Moslem and so on. But in most cases he acted vice versa ! He insisted that the Hindus and the Moslems should accept him as a Fakir and a Brahmin respectively, crossing the barriers of caste and creed. Many close devotees of Baba such as Dasganu Maharaj, Nanasaheb Chandorkar, H.S. Dixit, G. S. Khaparde, Upasani Maharaj, Bade Baba, Abdul Baba, Shamsuddin Rangari, Abdulla Jan and others, in spite of their flora for orthodoxy, accepted Baba as he was and adored him as their Guru-God. They did not stoop down to the intellectual hypocrisy of projecting him as one of their own creed. Cherishing any kind of heinous prejudices of creed or religion ill becomes a true Sai devotee.
Surrender Shri Sai Completely,Stupendous Delectation and Deliverance be there!
(Shri Sai Leela Magazine from July-August 1996 to May-June 1997)
Courtesy : Sahasra Sai