Hello,
Thank you for your message. I have read your question:"What is Sathya Sai Baba's attitude toward the Christian festival of Easter what does he say and do about Easter?" with interest.
A cursory search of Sai Baba's discourses between 1974 and 2000 reveal some 69 references to Jesus. The most frequent reference is to the Divine Names:
"There is no Divinity other than love. You may adore Him as Jesus, Zoroastra, Allah, Rama, Krishna, Buddha or Guru Nanak. You may call Him by any name. " So, very frequently, Sathya Sai Baba names Jesus as one of the names of the Divine Supreme Absolute, reaffirming Jesus acclamation of Divine Oneness - "The Father and I are One".It is often on Christmas Day that Sathya Sai Baba speaks about Jesus and tells one or another facet of his life, some of it obviously in the bible, some of it not in the bible or not yet discovered. Sai Baba has told that Jesus' name was Isa, that he asked his mother for permission to teach the Good News about God to his people, and that Jesus left Palestine at the time of his 14th birthday in a caravan with his uncle, Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus spent 17 years in India.
While delivering his Christmas discourse in 1996, Sathya Sai Baba referred to a book compiled in Britain around 1530AD, containing all the information gathered about Jesus in the preceding centuries. The Russians condensed all this material, which they preserved in a place by the coast of the Black Sea. Sathya Sai Baba then materialized a miniature of the book and indicated that it contained an entirely new account of the life of Jesus.
Easter, the central Christian celebration of Jesus' passion, death and resurrection is not observed in Prasanthi Nilayam. This celebration dates back in time before the church proper existed and celebrated with formal rituals and rubrics. Followers of Jesus used to visit the empty tomb annually on the festival of Passover, and tell each other the story of Jesus in their lives. Archaeological excavations reveal traces of a pilgrimage site, and a tradition of visiting places sacred to the memory of Jesus, such as the Garden of Olives, Calvary, and the place of the Upper Room where the last supper was held.
Approximately twenty years after the death of Jesus, manuscripts with sayings and parables of Jesus were being circulated among the communities which were meeting on the first day of the week, breaking bread, sharing bread and wine, selling all that they had and giving alms to the poor. This was the rudimentary Church, and it was this group that was visiting the tomb annually, and built up the various traditions by which the community's memory of Jesus was preserved. Over the centuries, this was to be known as Easter, the period generally extending from Thursday to Sunday, occurring annually at the same time of the Jewish Passover.
Sathya Sai Baba has, during his divine discourses, revealed aspects of the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus did not eat for nine days prior to the crucifixion; His mother Mary was at the foot of the cross, and heard an ethereal voice tell her not to be sad, and that 'death was the dress of life'. Sathya Sai Baba has also told about Jesus on the cross:
"When Jesus was being crucified, he cried out to God, "O God, Why do You punish me like this?" Immediately he realized the Truth and said, "O God, let your Will prevail. It is You who has created me, sustained me and protected me. I will not act against Your Will. It was a mistake on my part to blame you." When he recognized his mistake, an ethereal voice said, "All are one my dear son, be alike to everyone." Once you recognize your mistake, Divinity manifests. Man today does not recognize his mistakes; instead he looks for mistakes in others. Do not be bothered about others faults, search for your own faults and rectify them. Only then your life will be sanctified."It is pertinent that Sathya Sai Baba gave this on Vijaya Dasami day, 1998. Vijaya Dasami is the day of victory of the forces of good over the forces of evil. This reference to Jesus and his death is also relevant to the victory of the forces of love and truth over evil. Sathya Sai Baba frequently makes reference to the ideals by which Jesus lived, and the redemption gained by Jesus. One must live the values that Jesus taught. Sathya Sai also gave a definition of JOY
Jesus first
Others next
Yourself last
Seems to be eminently sensible and fully compatible with the teachings of other religions.
Easter is a time the Church recalls and celebrates with some vigour the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus; it is certainly an event from which the church takes its foundation, and, the centrality of life is the risen Lord Jesus and the revelation of God's love in that action; this makes Easter a wonderful celebration of faith. However, Easter recalls the passion, the betrayal, arrest, scourging and crucifixion of Jesus. Crucifixion is ugly, with the suffering and atonement for sin, reparation for the ills of humanity; older forms of piety and devotion focussed totally on the recall of the passion and suffering of Jesus.
Remembrance of the sufferings of Jesus was origin of the 40 days of Lent and the Christian focus on fasting and abstinence. For thousands of years, the church recommended abstinence from meat on Fridays, in order to bring to mind the suffering and reparation won by Jesus on the Cross. This original pious objective was lost and meat eating on Fridays was elevated to mortal sin and the gates of heaven barred to those sinners who ate meat on Fridays. This is a typical illustration of devotional praxis elevated to rubric and "thou shalt not do" causing an unwelcome, and largely useless focus of devotion and penance.
When you have life with you in the form of One whom you have selected as your Guru, spiritual teacher and guide, why does one need to immerse and be caught up in the rituals and rubrics of crucifixion and death? Being with Sai Baba is first a process of personal self enquiry and enquiry into His nature, his miracles and his teachings. Sai Baba asks only for devotion to his teachings, not his form. Sai Baba himself is the source of life, and the creator of the Universe; that is how this author perceives and venerates Sai Baba, What you see and perceive is largely due the results of your own self enquiry.
Nevertheless, let us return to the topic of your question: What is Sathya Sai Baba's attitude toward the Christian festival of Easter what does he say and do about Easter?" Sai Baba has no festival celebrating death or separation. Sorrow over the loss of a loved one is an all too human response, albeit fruit of detachment. Wailing and weeping with droning dirges is incompatible with the teachings of the Sai Avatar. Here, he himself sets the example for his devotees to follow:
For example, Easwarmma day is celebrated on the anniversary of the death of Sathya Sai Baba's mother. The day is a day of celebration and happiness, and is celebrated as Children's' Day. Sai Baba does not recall the death of his mother, he speaks of the values that she embodied and her ceaseless service as 'mother' to one and all, Sathya Sai Baba, included. Easwaramma Day is now celebrated as Childrens' Day, and service to the poor, clothing the poor is done by Sai Baba Centers in India on that day, and Sai Baba himself has done this service to the poor personally, on this day.
The meaning of Easter certainly has transcendence beyond the ritual and rubric of Good Friday. The focus of the Christian revelation is "love one another as I have loved you", and "love thy neighbour as thyself". Certainly the gospels tell us the story of Jesus, but its truth and significance and relevance is only known within. One has an experience of the Risen Lord, not the dying crucified in the tomb.
Sathya Sai Baba has made mention of the redemption of Jesus in his Christmas Day discourses. The ideals and values that Jesus taught are found in all religions. He has repeatedly told that the proper way to celebrate the birth of Jesus is through practice of the values and teachings he transmitted, not via eating and drinking to excess on the anniversary of his birth. Sathya Sai Baba celebrates the eternal transcendental truths that Jesus taught, God is love, and by love alone does man gain immortality.
