Chapter 7 provides a detailed analysis of why Sai Baba could not be confined to a single religious identity. It presents a series of paradoxes: if one called him a Hindu, he looked like a Yavana (Muslim), yet if called a Muslim, he bore the noble marks of a Hindu. Physically, his ears were pierced in the Hindu tradition, but he was also circumcised as is customary in Islam. Behaviorally, he resided in a mosque, a Muslim place of worship, yet maintained a constantly burning Dhuni (sacred fire) and allowed bells, conches, and foot-worship—all Hindu practices. As the chapter concludes, he was neither Hindu nor Muslim, but a holy incarnation beyond such classifications, whom even the most devout Brahmins would worship.
Analyze the evidence presented in Chapter 7 that makes it impossible to definitively classify Sai Baba as either Hindu or Muslim.
📖 Chapter 7