SAYEEN'S APPEARANCE

SHREE SAINATH MAHARAJ KI JAI!

Sayeen Nath, the divine Incarnation of the Ultimate Supreme Personality of Godhead, possessed all nine royal qualities of the Lord. These are, Gracious Nature, Divine Beauty, Unparalleled Valor, Supreme Wit, Best Riches, 8 Siddhis, Shower of Kindness and Sweetest Existence. All avatars of God possess one or more of these qualities. Baba had them all at His Feet. He was the fearsome Lord of Destruction as well as the Lord of Creation. He had valour that not even the King of Gods, Indra, possessed; His Grace was kinder than that of an ideal mother, even twisting the laws of nature in some cases. His Beauty could put the majestic Sun to shame. His wit was superior to Brahma’s, the Divine Creator of Vedas. He was wealthier than Kubera, but for the sake of His present Avatar as a Fakir, He kept it aside. The 8 Siddhis were always at His Feet, at His every beck and command. He served His nectar-like kindness to one and all who came to Him, indiscriminate about their vices or virtues, and helped all forms of life. His Existence converted the darkness of Kali Yuga to the bright age of Satya. Nature bowed to Him and followed His Commands.

This divine Incarnation walked the soils of Shirdi as a commoner, talking, eating and living the life of any ordinary Sanyasi (sage). He was the Lord of all of this Universe, but still He possessed nothing. He lived in an abandoned Masjid, before which He lived under a Neem tree, absorbing all of its bitterness. His height is recorded in different ways by different devotees, though the Satcharitra agrees with 5 feet and 6 inches. Blessed were the devotees who were able to witness the growth of this Mahayogi from the form of a 16 year old lad, when He first appeared, till His Mahasamadhi, when He was aged at around 84. He walked around merrily, living as any sanyasi would, taking Bhiksha for food and minding His own business. He talked to His people, teaching them Atma Gyaan with mere words of humour or, at times, with only a graceful glance. His words soothed even the most restless minds and distributed the taste of Divine Bliss to whoever wished. With simple, everyday anecdotes, He imparted the knowledge which even a library of books or many hours of lectures of scholars would fail to. He knew all religious works by heart, because after all, He was the Author of all those works.

Now, the question that lies with many of our fellow-devotees who are not blessed enough to wash their eyes with the divine darshan of Baba, is regarding the appearance of Sainath. How did He walk? How tall was He? Was He fair? What eyes did He have? How did He dress Himself? Did He wear any footwear?… and so on, endlessly. I will try my level best to share what I know, by Baba’s grace.

It is a miraculous fact that Baba looks different in different photos, all taken without much differences in time. In one photo, He has a cute face, the one that the Samadhi Mandir has. The other is a longer face with thin mustache. Another variation is the long face with thin eye-brows and thick beard. in one, He looks small and short, while in another, He is very tall. However, all faces have the same broad nose.

Thus, referring to photographs will only put us in confusion. The only solution i can offer is that, visualise Baba in any way you want. Ultimately, Baba is the Nirguna Brahman who has adopted this physical body of five and a half cubits to fulfill the missions He had in mind. 

Baba was a fair young lad of 16 when He first wandered into Shirdi. After that, His complexion varies in as many numbers as many the reports. Some claim that He grew dark, while some state that He was Fair. Another bunch claim that He had a golden-sandal toned skin. In this way, His complexion also varies.

Baba had sharp and squint eyes. Many say that they were liquid blue in color, while another group record the eye color to be Brown or even black. His eyes would wash through the deepest thoughts of a mind with a mere glance. When He feigned anger, His eyes would blaze up like live embers. Otherwise, they were compassionate, with Motherly love overflowing. In His last years, these eyes had sunk deep into their sockets, but their glances were just as piercing and penetrating as ever. 

Sainath, ever since coming to Shirdi, till His Mahasamadhi, wore only a Khafni and a Khafna. Khafni is the long coat, which can be seen in all pics of Baba. Khanfa was the head-gear which He always sported (All Fakirs wear this kind of clothes). His Khafni was very long, falling below His Knees, and the sleeves were gathered at His forehand so that they did not cover His entire arm. It also had pockets as stated in many instances of Satcharitra. His khafni had many holes, but He never changed it until it was beyond the condition of wearing. To make Baba change HIs khafni, Tatya Kote Patil would sometimes tear the small holes into bigger ones. His Khafna was never changed and it is believed that Baba's Guru had given it to Him. 

Baba's Padukas (khadava / chappals / footwear) are preserved and kept by the Sansthan even today. These to  gifted to Baba by a devoee as He used to walk bare-feet. But, Baba just put His feet inside the footwear once and gave it back to him to keep It in his pooja-ghar (small worship place at home).          


Shree Jagatguru Sayeen ki Jai!