History behind The Baba's Photograph And The Stone At Dwarkamai

On the eastern wall of Dwarkamai , opposite the steps leading up to the Dhuni, hangs a large framed Swarup of Baba which is the most famous image of Baba. It is a painting of an original photograph of Baba SAI.

Baba is seated on a large stone with his right leg crossed over the left thigh, his left hand resting on the crossed foot. He is wearing a torn Kafni, a Headscarf Knotted over his left shoulder, and he sits relaxed yet alert, leaning forward slightly. His expression is at once intense, all-knowing and compassionate, but above all, unfathomable. For Us (Sai devotees), this is the most familiar image of Baba. This posture was a common one of Baba's. This Swarup is treasured as one of only six or seven orginal photos that we have of Baba.

Until Baba sat on this stone, it was used by devotees for washing their clothes. One day Baba sat down on it and someone took the opportunity to photograph him. Once he had sat on it, the stone was considered sacred and no longer used for washing. It is that stone, set with a pair of Padukas, which is now under Baba's photo. The owner of the original painting of this photo, Shri D. D. Neroy from Bombay, gave the painting to his guru, (Kammu Baba), who later gave it to the Sansthan. It is likely that this was the swarup that the Sansthan gave as a model to the sculptor who carved Baba's statue for the Samadhi Mandir..

We (Devotees) meditate on and worship this Swarup of SAI. Baba has said that there is no difference between his physical self and his image and swarups. Indeed, he even proved this on a number of occasions. When Balabua Sutar came to see Baba SAi for the first time in 1917, Baba said that he had known him for four years. This puzzled Shri Sutar, but then he remembered that he had prostrated before a picture of Baba in Bombay four years previously, and it was that to which Baba was alluding. Even more dramatically, Baba once came to Shri Hemadpant Ji in a vision and told him he would be coming for lunch that full moon festival day. In an extraordinary chain of events, a picture of Baba was unexpectedly delivered to Hemadpant's house just as the midday meal was about to be served..

Om Sai Ram..