Glutton Baba

See this article in Russian.

"There is an axiom believed in by men of old, which says: 'One meal a day makes a Yogi, two meals a day make a Bhogi and three meals a day make a Rogi. Yogi is the contented God-centred man. Bhogi is the man revelling in sensual pleasure. Rogi is the man ridden by illness. Yes. The quantity of food intake by the well-to-do is now much beyond essential requirements. Over-eating has become a fashion." - Sai Baba, 12/10/69

No wonder Sai Baba's gaze is full of trepidation in the picture above. It's almost as if he knows what's coming. Or, on the other hand, he could just be eyeing up those delicious poppodums in the corner. They do look delicious, don't they?

A recent covery story by The Week has thrown up some interesting anecdotes about Sai Baba. Commentary on it may be forthcoming here in the near future, but a colleague has recently pointed out how a statement in this article reveals an aspect of Sai Baba's behaviour - his dining habits - and how it is out of line with his public position as evidenced in the above quote.

Here are the relevant sections from the article that recount a typical day in the life of Sai Baba, with slight edits:

Some say Baba never sleeps, or only for short periods. He has 'raagi kanji' (porridge) and gets ready for the 7 a.m. darshan. This is when he picks the people for a personal darshan.

Lunch is between 10 and 10.30 a.m. The meal is prepared by the wife of the late Janakiramaiah, Baba’s youngest brother. "When food arrives, it is handed over to the attendants and they serve it to Baba," says Ratnakar, Janakiramaiah’s son, who has the privilege of being the closest nephew of Baba.

At 1 p.m. he has fruit and confers with a different set of functionaries. Before long, it is time for his 3.30 p.m. darshan. Even as the car drives down the ramps, Baba listens to the chants of the Vedas.

Baba gives personal interviews during the evening session too and then stays back for the bhajans at 5.30 p.m. An hour later he has a light dinner of one puri or some rice and curry, and fruit.

At 7 p.m. he retires to his room to read letters.

This clearly constitutes four meals, which makes Sai Baba worse than a rogi. Interestingly enough, on some Sai Baba-related websites the saying is included to state: "One who eats four complete meals a day is DROHI (a greedy person)".

Does Sai Baba seem to care? Obviously not, as you can see:

Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!