THE MESSAGE OF THE SAINTS

Editorial:

In modern days we are using the Word "Dharma" as a synonym of the word 'religion;' but in the days of Mahabharata it did not have that meaning. It only meant good and righteous deeds, to perform which is everybody's duty, as opposed to wicked deeds. Hence when Lord Krishna told Arjuna in Bhagwatgeeta that :-

Lord Krishna never meant Hindu Religion by the word Dharma.' In fact, the religion which is now known as Hindu religion must not be being known by that name in the days of Mahabharata. Christian, Muslim, and Jew religions took birth out of India and they sprang up much later after the Aryans settled well in India. In consideration of the time of composition of the Mahabharata, we may say that only one religion must be known at that time and it might be being called Aryan or Vedic Religion. Hence when Lord Krishna says, " I take birth when Dharma is declining and when wicked and bad practices are thriving" he means that he takes birth to drive away all the wicked and bad elements and also so create conditions which will be favourable for the growth of good and righteous deeds. In fact the Lord has stated thus in the shloka next to the above shloka :

Lord Krishna clearly states here that he takes birth for protecting the Sadhus (Good and righteous people), for destroying the wicked elements and for re-establishment of 'Dharma'. It is therefore, very clear from this that the incarnation of the Lord is primarily for giving protection to the good and for destruction of the wicked element, which prevents the good people from leading a peaceful life and consequently the existence of righteousness itself is threatened. If therefore, the good are protected and the bad element is destroyed, the righteousness will thrive without any hindrance. This will therefore, lead to the reestablishment of Dharma.

The Mission of the Saints

The saints are in existence in all the countries and communities of the world. They enjoy a very high regard in the minds of the public at large and their existence leaves a clear stamp of their personality on their period. The saints preach about the observence of good and righteous deeds. They also try to bring the bad element on the path of truth. There are many examples where the wicked people have come on the right path because of the advice of the saints. The saints are, therefore, performing more or less, the same duty as pointed out above by Lord Krishna. The saints are therefore rightly called the reincarnations of the God in some form or other. For example Shri Sai Baba is supposed to be the incarnation or 'Awatar' of Shri Datta. Similarly Samartha Ramdas was said to be the' Awatar ' of Maruti and so on. The saints appear to have been born in this world only to fulfill certain mission and to mould their surroundings on certain lines so as to drive away the calamities falling on the religion and to create favourable conditions for its up-lift.

Saints of Maharashtra

Maharashtra came to be known as a political state only in recent years; but it existed in the minds of the Marathi speaking people for the last eight centuries or so. In fact, the Maharashtri language existed much earlier than the Marathi language and the people who were speaking that language came to be known as Marathas. The Marathi language also owes its origin to the Maharashtri to a great extent. Thus all the saints, who dedicated their lives for the uplift and religious well being of the people living in the area which is now known as Maharashtra, can safely be called as the Saints of Maharashtra. The peculiarity of these saints is that most of them, except perhaps Namdeo and Ramdas, did not move much outside Maharashtra. They also preached their message in the Marathi language. Hence their lives as well as their literature and teachings are not much known outside Maharashtra. The message of these Saints has also remained confined only to the Marathi knowing people. The people who do not know Marathi have therefore not had the good luck of listening to the message of these saints and putting it into practice. We, therefore, intend to place before our readers the life and work of one Maharashtrian saint every month. We hope that this series of articles will be liked and appreciated by our readers as it will be informative and instructive.

From this issue, Shri Sai Leela has completed 52 years of its publication, and entered into 53rd year. It is realy a great achievement for a monthly magazine of this type, which is devoted entirely to religious and philosophical subjects, to have continued its publication for so long a time; but because of the graceful and benevolent look of Shri Sai Baba and the unique and faithful Support from the Sai Devotees, it has been possible to continue the publication of Shri Sai Leela for so long a time. The new series about the Maharashtrian Saints, which we are starting from this issue is also on the same lines as other religious and philosophical articles and it is hoped that it will continue to keep up the traditions of Shri Sai Leela