Sai Baba Shirdi Sai Baba Biograpy

Sri Saibaba of Shirdi lived between 1838 and 1918, whose real name, birthplace and date of birth are not known. An Indian spiritual guru and a fakir that transcended the barriers of religions, Saibaba of Shirdi was regarded with great reverence by both Hindu and Muslim followers. He lived in a mosque and after death his body was cremated in a temple.

Life Of Sai babaHis philosophy ingrained 'Shraddha' meaning faith and 'Saburi' meaning compassion. According to him Shraddha and Saburi were the supreme attributes to reach the state of godliness.

It is believed that at a tender age of 16 yrs Shri Saibaba arrived at the village of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and remained their till his death. He found shelter in Khandoba temple, where a villager Mahalsapathi in the temple addressed him as Sai or Saint.

Saibaba of Shirdi lived an extremely simple and austere life, sleeping on the floor of temple and later taking a ruined mosque as his shelter. With his arrival to Shirdi, in no time he began exhibiting a hypnotic attraction among people as they began flocking to him. He is attributed many miracles doing things that were beyond a mortal's power. He never discouraged these attributes and soon his fame spread like wild fire. Many pilgrims came seeking his blessings. Such was his hypnotism that even the mundane of his activities attracted large crowds.

Popular among both Hindus and Muslims, Shri Saibaba became a great building force between the two disparate communities. He regularly recited Hindu and Muslim prayers. His Hindu followers considered him to be an avatar or reincarnation of Shiva and Dattatreya. Sai Baba did not leave any written works. All his teachings were oral and catchy. His sayings were short, crisp and in layman language with which the common mass could easily associate.

Saibaba encouraged charity and said, "Unless there is some relationship or connection, nobody goes anywhere. If any men or creatures come to you, do not discourteously drive them away, but receive them well and treat them with due respect."

Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi was unique in the sense that he lived his message through the essence of his being. He lived among the common people adorning a torn kafni (long robe), sleeping over a mat while using brick as his headrest and got his food by begging. Such was his smile that radiated a mystical charisma and deep seated inward look that hypnotized the people who visited him.

His most concise message for one and all alike was "Why fear when I am here".
Saibaba said that he was a slave in the service of those who loved him. He was ever living to help those who turn to him and that he has to take care of his children day and night.

Saibaba's mission was to restore belief in god and according to him, "I give people what they want in the hope that they will begin to want what I want to give them (knowledge of the Ultimate)." He then taught values of total surrender to the Almighty Master (ALLAH MALIK EK- The only ONE) and experiences his grace.

Today, Shri Saibaba has millions of devotees in India and abroad. Shirdi, the obscure village in Maharashtra has become a pilgrimage destination much as Bethlehem, Jerusalem or Varanasi. With over 25,000 pilgrims thronging in here each day the number of pilgrims climb to over a hundred thousand on holidays and festival days. There are over 2,000 major Sai temples in different parts of India and 150 abroad in places as far-flung as Canada and Kenya, Singapore and England.

Osho, Osho Rajneesh, Bhagwan Osho Rajneesh Biography

Bhagwan Shree Osho Rajneesh

Osho or Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was born in 1931 in Central India. He was a charismatic and gifted speaker who became the leader of a worldwide new spiritual movement. It is said that at the age of 21 he attained enlightenment or Samadhi. At the time he was studying philosophy at the University of Saugar. On receiving a masters degree he taught philosophy at the University of Jabalpur for nine years.

As well as teaching philosophy he also began to attract disciples to follow his own eclectic mix of philosophy and religion. In 1966 he decided to leave his teaching post and give full attention to his role as spiritual Master. In 1974 he moved with his disciples to Pune, India. Here he established a new ashram in a comfortable setting of 6 acres. In 1980 he was attacked by a Hindu fundamentalist who disagreed with Osho’s unconventional stance on religion and spirituality. It is said that due to police incompetence the assailant was never convicted.

Due to failing health Osho decided to leave India for America where he would be able to receive better medical treatment. His disciples bought a large plot of land near Antelope, Oregon. Here they wished to build a large ashram and other buildings. There was often friction between the local townspeople and the ashramites. There was a clash of cultures and the local townspeople felt threatened by the influx of devotees. Because of this many building permits were denied. This led to ashramites trying to get elected directly to the town council. There were also allegations made that followers of Osho were involved in illegal activities such as spreading salmonella in a local restaurant. More seriously there were allegations of Murder made against some followers of Osho. Two were eventually convicted of the murder of Charles Turner who had tried to close the ranch.

In 1987 Osho became fearful of investigation by the authorities so he decided to leave the compound in Oregon and went to South Carolina. Here he fell foul of US immigration law. He had arranged false marriages and other violations of immigration laws. He was given a suspended sentence on the condition that he leave the country. Therefore he reluctantly decided to leave for Puna in India. It was at this time that he decided to change his name from Rajneesh to Osho. This is said to be a Japanese word for “Master”, although others say Osho comes from the term “oceanic experience” Osho died in 1990, his birth certificate gave a reason of heart failure. Although some followers alleged poisoning by the CBI, although these allegations had little evidence to support them.

Philosophy and Beliefs of Osho

Osho was born into a Jain family. He though never believed in any one religion but combined elements of many religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. However he also added new types of meditation practise. His philosophy was a type of Monism that God was in everything. All human beings were in essence divine, it was just that there were different manifestations of that divinity. He introduced a new type of meditation that involved letting go of all attachments to the past and future and ego.
If a seeker could attain a consciousness where there was "no past, no future, no attachment, no mind, no ego, no self.” Then he would attain enlightenment. One different practise he advocated was to practise physical exercise just before meditation. Unlike many Indian gurus Osho taught that sex was not an obstacle to spiritual progress. Although many of his disciples led fairly simple and frugal lifestyles Osho was well known for his love of cars. It is said he amassed over 20 Rolls Royces.

It is estimated over 50,000 westerners spent time seeking enlightenment with the Guru. At its peak there were over 200,000 members world wide, although this dropped off after the scandals of the late 1980s. Osho never wised to appoint a successor but he did appoint 21 followers to administer the Osho foundation which continues to provide an outlet for the dissemination of his teaching.

Resources on Osho

• Osho Biography

Ramana Maharshi Biography

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi was probably the most famous Indian sage of the twentieth century. He was renowned for his saintly life, for the fullness of his self-realization, and for the feelings of deep peace that visitors experienced in his presence. So many people came to see him at the holy hill of Arunchala where he spent his adult life that an ashram had to be built around him. He answered questions for hours every day, but never considered himself to be anyone's guru.

He was born on December 30, 1879 in a village called Tirucculi about 30 miles south of Madurai in southern India. His middle-class parents named him Venkataraman. His father died when he was twelve, and he went to live with his uncle in Madurai, where he attended American Mission High School.

At age 16, he became spontaneously self-realized. Six weeks later he ran away to the holy hill of Arunachala where he would remain for the rest of his life. For several years he stopped talking and spent many hours each day in samadhi. When he began speaking again, people came to ask him questions, and he soon acquired a reputation as a sage. In 1907, when he was 28, one of his early devotees named him Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, Divine Eminent Ramana the Great Seer, and the name stuck. Eventually he became world-famous and an ashram was built around him. He died of cancer in 1950 at the age of 70.

Ramakrishna Paramhansa Biography

Born: February 18, 1836
Died: August 16, 1886

Ramakrishna Paramhansa was one of the foremost Hindu spiritual leaders of the country. His teachings are still deeply revered by the people. He also played a key role in the social reform movement in Bengal in 19th century.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa's original name was Gadadhar Chattopadhyay. He was born on February 18, 1836 in the village of Kamarpukur, in what is now the Hooghly district of West Bengal. Gadadhar Chattopadhyay's parents were Khudiram and Chandramani. Ramakrishna was born in a poor family and his parents were hardly able to make both ends meet. Ramakrishna disliked going to school, and was not interested in the pursuit of money. Ramakrishna loved nature and liked meeting monks who stopped at his village on their way to Puri.

Right from childhood Ramakrishna Paramhansa was an iconoclast. At his investiture ceremony (Upanayna) he shocked everyone when he declared that he would have his first alms as a Brahmin from a certain Sudra woman of the village. No argument or appeal was able to budge him from his position. Finally, Ramkumar, his eldest brother and the head of the family after the passing away of their father, gave in.

Ramakrishna's elder brother Ramkumar ran a Sanskrit school in Calcutta and also served as priest in some families. During this time, a rich woman of Calcutta, Rani Rashmoni, founded a temple at Dakshineswar. She approached Ramkumar to serve as priest at the temple of Kali and Ramkumar agreed. Ramakrishna decorated the deity and when Ramkumar retired, Ramakrishna took his place as priest.

When Ramakrishna started worshipping the deity Bhavatarini, he began to question if he was worshipping a piece of stone or a living Goddess. This question disturbed him day and night. He prayed to Goddess Kali to reveal Herself to him. One day he was so impatient to see Mother Kali that he decided to end his life. He seized a sword hanging on the wall and was about to strike himself with it, when he is reported to have seen light coming from the deity in waves. He is said to have been soon overwhelmed by the waves and fell unconscious on the floor. Ramakrishna prayed to Goddess Kali for more religious experiences and he is believed to have experienced number of them.

Soon he became popular and drawn by the magnetism of Sri Ramakrishna's divine personality, people flocked to him from far and near. People of all ages, caste, and religion visited him. Ramakrishna Paramhansa's small room in the Dakshineswar temple garden on the outskirts of the city of Calcutta became a veritable parliament of religions.

Ramakrishna emphasised that God-realisation is the supreme goal of all living beings. Hence, for him, religion served as a means for the achievement of this goal. Ramakrishna's mystical realization, classified by Hindu tradition as nirvikalpa samadhi (constant meditation), led him to believe that various religions are various ways to reach the Absolute, and that the Ultimate Reality could never be expressed in human terms.

Ramakrishna Paramhansa taught ceaselessly for fifteen years the basic truths of religion through parables, metaphors, songs and by his own life. He developed throat cancer and attained Mahasamadhi on August 16, 1886, leaving behind a devoted band of 16 young disciples headed by the well-known saint-philosopher and orator, Swami Vivekananda.