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This black-and-white photograph appears to have been taken in the
mid-1970's. This is an estimate based on: 1) the small size of the crowds,
2) Sai Baba's apparent age, and 3) The early photographs of Sai Baba were
all in black-and-white. Very few black-and-white photographs have been
taken of Sai Baba since about 1985.
What is remarkable about this photograph is the shadow cast by Sai Baba, which is clearly in the form of a monkey. Turn this photograph any way you like and it will be impossible to figure out how such a perfect shadow of a monkey was cast. With that said, there is a deeper miracle. One of the most ancient Vedic texts is the story of Rama, or the Ramayana. In that epic of battle of good over evil, the main players were Lord Rama, Goddess Sita, and Hanuman, the monkey God, who is a symbol of the greatest devotion to the Lord. Hanuman was the tireless, selfless servant, whose role and goal was to carry out the good deeds and wishes of Rama. It is the guess of those familiar with this photograph that the shadow is that of Hanuman. Once it is realized that this amazing shadow (amazing in itself) may be that of Hanuman, the plot thickens, for in this picture Sai Baba is the servant of the poor, personally feeding, out of his own hands, the poor in the villages of Southern India. Sai Baba demonstrates by his actions that which he speaks about. Just as he is demonstrating selfless service to the poor and needy, his shadow tells the same story, but from a different epic in history. |
