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Oral Testimonies on Sai Baba As Gathered During a Field Research in Shirdi and Other Locales in October-November 1985 e-ISSN 2724-1149 Maestri, testi e fonti d’Oriente ISSN 2724-0665 Masters, Texts and Sources of the East 2 — Oral Testimonies on Sai Baba As Gathered During a Field Research in Shirdi and Other Locales in October-November 1985 Antonio Rigopoulos Oral Testimonies on Sai Baba Maestri, testi e fonti d’Oriente Masters, Texts and Sources of the East Serie diretta da | A Series Directed by Giuliano Boccali 2 Maestri, testi e fonti d’Oriente Masters, Texts and Sources of the East Editor-in-Chief | Direttore scientifico Giuliano Boccali (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italia) Advisory Board | Comitato scientifico Ester Bianchi (Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italia) Nicoletta Celli («Alma Mater Studiorum» Università di Bologna, Italia) Thomas Wolfgang Peter Dähnhardt (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia) Lucia Dolce (SOAS, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK) Emiliano Fiori (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia) Anna Greenspan (New York University of Shanghai, China) Gianni Pellegrini (Università degli Studi di Torino, Italia) Stefano Pellò (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia) Sabrina Rastelli (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia) Silvia Rivadossi (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia) Francesca Tarocco (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia) Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim (University of London, UK ) Ida Zilio Grandi (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia) Direzione e redazione | Head Office Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia Dipartimento di Studi sull’Asia e sull’Africa Mediterranea Department of Asian and North African Studies Palazzo Vendramin, Dorsoduro 3462, 30123 Venezia https://www.unive.it/dsaam [email protected] e-ISSN 2724-1149 ISSN 2724-0665 URL https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/en/edizioni/collane/maestri-testi-e-fonti-doriente/ Oral Testimonies on Sai Baba As Gathered During a Field Research in Shirdi and Other Locales in October-November 1985 Antonio Rigopoulos Venezia Edizioni Ca’ Foscari - Digital Publishing 2020 Sai Baba seated on a stone. This famous oil painting displayed in the mosque of Shirdi is based on an original black-and-white photograph. The owner of the painting, D.D. Neroy of Bombay, gave it to his guru Kammu Baba who later gave it to the Shirdi Sansthān. To Sai Baba devotees, this is the most familiar image of the saint Oral Testimonies on Sai Baba. As Gathered During a Field Research in Shirdi and Other Locales in October-November 1985 Antonio Rigopoulos © 2020 Antonio Rigopoulos for the text and the figures | per il testo e le immagini © 2020 Edizioni Ca’ Foscari - Digital Publishing for the present edition | per la presente edizione cb L’opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Qualunque parte di questa pubblicazione può essere riprodotta, memorizzata in un sistema di recupero dati o trasmessa in qualsiasi forma o con qualsiasi mezzo, elettronico o meccanico, senza autorizzazione, a condizione che se ne citi la fonte. Any part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission provided that the source is fully credited. Edizioni Ca’ Foscari - Digital Publishing Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia | Dorsoduro 3246, 30123 Venezia http://edizionicafoscari.unive.it | [email protected] 1st edition November 2020 | 1a edizione novembre 2020 ISBN 978-88-6969-446-2 [ebook] ISBN 978-88-6969-447-9 [print] Printed on behalf of Edizioni Ca’ Foscari - Digital Publishing, Venice in January 2021 by Skillpress, Fossalta di Portogruaro, Venice Printed in Italy Oral Testimonies on Sai Baba. As Gathered During a Field Research in Shirdi and Other Locales in October-November 1985; Antonio Rigopoulos — 1. ed. — Venezia: Edizioni Ca’ Foscari - Digital Publishing, 2020 — 218 p.; 25,5 cm. — (Maestri, testi e fonti d’Oriente. Masters, Texts and Sources of the East; 2). — ISBN 978-88-6969-447-9. URL https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/it/edizioni/libri/978-88-6969-447-9/ DOI http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-446-2 Oral Testimonies on Sai Baba As Gathered During a Field Research in Shirdi and Other Locales in October-November 1985 Antonio Rigopoulos Abstract The interviews and original audio recordings comprised in this volume are the outcome of a field research to Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh which I conducted in October- November 1985 for the preparation of my BA thesis on the life and teachings of the In- dian saint Sai Baba of Shirdi (d. 1918), which I discussed in June 1987 at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy. In Shirdi and surrounding areas, I was accompanied by a local interpreter who led me from house to house and who translated the words of my re- spondents from Marāṭhī into English. The interviews of each day are preceded by excerpts taken from my personal diary. Keywords Sai Baba. Shirdi. Oral testimonies. Oral Testimonies on Sai Baba As Gathered During a Field Research in Shirdi and Other Locales in October-November 1985 Antonio Rigopoulos Acknowledgments My special thanks go to Prof. Franco Michelini Tocci of the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Prof. Mario Piantelli of the University of Turin, who, with their advice and encourage- ment, patiently guided my research. Without their inspiration and constant support this work could have never been accomplished. It gives me great pleasure to thank all those who helped me during my sojourn and field research in India, in Autumn 1985. In general, to the Shirdi and Puttaparthi Sansthāns for their hospitality and cooperative spirit, and to all Sai Baba devotees, who have proved so kind, generous, and supportive. In particular, I wish to thank the Agrawal family and especially H.J. Agrawal and Murlidhar Agrawal for offering me hospitality in their homes in Bombay and Khamgaon, providing me with transportation and introducing me to several ashrams and holy men and women. I owe a debt of gratitude to my guide and interpreter during my permanence in Shirdi, Swami Shekhar Rao. Indeed an ascetic, he patiently and earnestly accompanied me for two weeks around the village as well as to Sakuri, introducing me to several old devotees of Sai Baba. Thanks are also due to Shri S.N. Tipnis, secretary and administrator of the Śrī Upāsnī Kanyākumārī Sthān, who introduced me to Sati Godavari Mata of whose blessings I am unworthy of, and to Shri Baldev Y. Girme and his wife Aruna of Kopargaon. The latter couple helped me to meet and interview various people in Shirdi and Sakuri, and made possible my encounter with the venerable Swami Ram Baba in Bombay. Finally, my thoughts turn with deep reverence to Bhagawan Shri Sathya Sai Baba, who, through his touch, blessed the package containing all my tapes, casting a benign glance upon me. In Venice, Italy, my gratitude goes to Dr. Mahesh Jaiswal, Hindī lecturer at Ca’ Foscari University, who listened to all my tapes and found the translations from Marāṭhī into English to be reasonably accurate, and to my dear mother Sally Ann Rigopoulos, who read, reread, and corrected my English, always giving useful suggestions along the way. I am also grateful to my good friend Paolo Schiavon, who helped me transfer all the original audio tapes to CD. Heart-felt thanks go to my beloved wife Emanuela Botta, who always inspired me along the way, and to our dear children Sofia and Giovanni, who must have wondered precisely what it was that kept me busy in my studio for so many hours every day. Last but not least, I am grateful to Massimiliano Vianello of Edizioni Ca’ Foscari for his encouragement and utmost care in the preparation of this book along with its audio visual materials. Antonio Rigopoulos Venice, Italy November 2020 Oral Testimonies on Sai Baba As Gathered During a Field Research in Shirdi and Other Locales in October-November 1985 Antonio Rigopoulos Table of Contents Preface 13 1 Shirdi 17 Tuesday, October 15, 1985 2 Shirdi 21 Wednesday, October 16, 1985 3 Shirdi-Sakuri-Shirdi 25 Thursday, October 17, 1985 4 Shirdi 53 Friday, October 18, 1985 5 Shirdi-Kopargaon-Shirdi 67 Saturday, October 19, 1985 6 Shirdi-Sakuri-Shirdi 87 Sunday, October 20, 1985 7 Shirdi-Kopargaon-Shirdi 125 Monday, October 21, 1985 8 Shirdi 137 Tuesday, October 22, 1985. Mahāsamādhi celebrations 9 Shirdi 151 Wednesday, October 23, 1985 10 Shirdi-Sakuri-Shirdi 163 Thursday, October 24, 1985 11 Shirdi 173 Friday, October 25, 1985 12 Shirdi-Bombay 185 Saturday, October 26, 1985 13 Bombay 189 Sunday, October 27, 1985 14 Bombay 191 Monday, October 28, 1985 15 Bombay 197 Tuesday, October 29, 1985 16 Bombay 201 Wednesday, October 30, 1985 17 Prasanthi Nilayam 203 Friday, November 8, 1985 Bibliography 215 Oral Testimonies on Sai Baba As Gathered During a Field Research in Shirdi and Other Locales in October-November 1985 Antonio Rigopoulos Preface The interviews comprised in this volume are the outcome of a field research to Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh which I conducted in October-Novem- ber 1985 for the preparation of my BA thesis on the life and teachings of the Indian saint Sai Baba of Shirdi (d. 1918), which I discussed in June 1987 at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (title: Un maestro dell’India moderna: il Sāī Bābā di Śirḍī. L’uomo, l’ambiente, gli insegnamenti). All interviews were taped, transcribed into Italian, and included in the thesis as an Appendix to it. The reason that has prompted me to publish these materials after thirty- five years is that several of these conversations record the words and sto- ries of the last old men who knew the saint during his lifetime. They are by all standards precious primary sources for the study of Sai Baba’s life and teachings, and I hope they may be of interest to both scholars and devotees.
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