Satsang SAI BABA AND FOOD

Sai Baba's ideas must be on the same lines probably. That is
why He never advised His devotees to give up non-veg food.
Sometimes jokingly as in Ch. 38, He used to ask an orthodox
Brahmin, like Dada Kelkar to go and buy mutton from the market
or as in Ch. 23, His order to His great Brahmin devotee
Kakasaheb Dixit to kill a goat with a knife.

But, this was only to test their readiness to execute, whatever
order given by Him, their Guru; and, therefore, before the person
started acting, He used to stop them. Similarly, to the devotees,
in whose religion or caste only veg-food, was in vogue, He never
tempted or encouraged to eat non-veg food. Baba's method of
resisting His devotees from eating non-veg food was quite different
and unique. He oft and on used to tell His devotees that He was
present in every creature, moving about. In Ch. 9 to Mrs. Tarkhad
He said,

"The dog, which you saw before meals and to which you gave the
piece of bread, is one with Me; so, also the other creatures (cats,
pigs, flies, cows etc.) are one with Me. I am roaming in their forms.
He, who sees Me in all these creatures, is my beloved. So, abandon
the sense of duality and distinction and serve Me as you did today."

Once, one is thoroughly convinced of this idea, who will dare to eat
non-veg food? Will it not be given up automatically? Thus, Sai Baba
also preached 'nonviolence' in food, but in a very realistic, practical
and tactful manner.

ONION

What applies to non-veg food also applies to onion. Sai Baba, Himself,
used to eat onion with bread daily and did not like anybody expressing
disgust towards it or not eating it; because of its bad smell. His
incidents of teasing and ridiculing Dada Kelkar, Das Ganu and Kusha
Bhau are well-known. He also once surprised a student of yoga by
eating bread and onion in front of him and later gave a proof to him of
His Super Yogic Powers. As if Sai Baba wanted to tell people that,
because of baseless customs and beliefs, you are depriving yourself
of onion and garlic, which are greatly praised by the ayurveda (Indian
medical science) and are excellent health-giving foods. Isn't the poor
and hard-working farmer able to perform labourous task of ploughing
his field by eating bread and onion only? If a person faints, a crushed
onion is the quickest and simplest first-aid in the far off villages.
Recently, the western countries, after research, have declared garlic
as excellent cure for heart disease and high blood pressure and since
then we Indians have started buying costly tablets (Lasona) containing
essence of garlic.

FASTING
Other important advice of Sai Baba concerning food was that of fasting.
Sai Baba never kept a fast Himself, nor did He allow others to do so.
In Ch. 32, Mrs. Gokhale wanted to keep a fast for 3 days at Shirdi; but
Baba asked her to go to Dada Kelkar's house to cook, as Kaka's wife
was in menses and not permitted by custom to cook. Further, He not
only ordered her to feed Kaka and his family members with sumptuous
and delicious 'puran polies' (sweet-stuffed breads) but asked her to feed
herself also to heart's content by giving up the fast.

to be contd....
(Source Shri Sai Leela Magazine, September-October 1993)