Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: March 31, 2021 at 6:21:41 PM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Asia]: Rudert on McLain, 'The Afterlife of Sai > Baba: Competing Visions of a Global Saint' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Karline McLain. The Afterlife of Sai Baba: Competing Visions of a > Global Saint. Seattle University of Washington Press, 2016. 278 > pp. $95.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-295-99551-9. > > Reviewed by Angela Rudert (Colgate University) > Published on H-Asia (March, 2021) > Commissioned by Sumit Guha > > Karline McLain's multilayered, multitextual, and multisited study, > _The Afterlife of Sai Baba_, vividly and compellingly depicts the > complex and evolving 100-year legacy since the death of famous > Maharashtrian saint, Sai Baba from Shirdi (aka Shirdi Sai Baba). > Tracing the development of the movement centered upon the saint since > his death in 2018, McLain effectively offers readers a window into > how a local saint's devotional cult may grow to national and global > prominence. Shirdi Sai Baba, a religiously composite saint whose own > religious belonging is difficult to pin down, seems to have begun his > religious journey as a Sufi, but countless Hindu devotees also were > drawn to his remarkably syncretic theological teachings and > practices, and importantly, still are. Previous researchers have > demonstrated what is termed the "Hinduization" of the Muslim/Hindu > composite saint, a process through which the religiously fluid figure > has become a Hindu deity (avatar) in death. However, none have > demonstrated the complexity of this so-called Hinduization, nor have > they asked about what McLain sees as a more productive inquiry: what > can Sai Baba's Hinduization tell us about modern Hinduism and modern > Hindus? McLain explores this convincingly, instructively, and in such > accessible language that her book will be useful not only to scholars > and other specialists in South Asian history, culture, and religion > but also to undergraduate students, and possibly to general readers > as well. > > In _The Afterlife of Sai Baba_, McLain draws upon foundational > academic studies on Shirdi Sai Baba by Antonio Rigopoulos and > Marianne Warren; while not denying the fact that "Hinduization" has > occurred, and in fact, building upon this established claim, McLain > "decenters" her study from the saint himself and his own religious > belonging to focus on the multiple interpretations of him (pp. 6, > 217).[1] In doing so, the author reveals an intricate process of > development, through proselytization of the saint in different, > particularized contexts of several of Shirdi Sai Baba's champions, > both humanoid and celluloid, which culminates as a pan-Indic and, via > the Hindu diaspora, even a global phenomenon. > > McLain's methodologies include critical textual and archival > examination (in Marathi, Hindi, and English), visual culture > analysis, and ethnographic fieldwork, making hers the most > multilayered study of this important modern saint that we have. > McLain examines each media artifact within its particular historical > context--whether that be British colonial India, the anticolonial > struggle, newly independent India, or contemporary North America--and > for its complicated interweaving of caste, religious, and sectarian > communal belonging. At the book's most substantive layer, it examines > the major devotional biographies about Sai Baba, paying crucial > attention to the saint's various hagiographers themselves--some gurus > in their own right--as well as the temples, trusts, and legacies they > built. The book engages another significant layer, popular culture, > to survey the growth of Sai Baba's fame and development of his > after-death persona in printed image and film. The monograph's > ethnographic layer, from fieldwork conducted in Shirdi and in the US, > frames the research and keeps readers cognizant of Sai Baba's > continued relevance across the globe. McLain's book begins in > Maharashtra, India among pilgrims visiting Sai Baba's Samadhi Mandir > in Shirdi, and ends in the United States, at two temples to Sai Baba > recently established in Chicago, Illinois and Austin, Texas. Aside > from its framing in the contemporary, the book follows a mostly > linear historical chronology, beginning in chapter 1 with Sai Baba's > earliest devotee biographers, who personally knew the saint, one a > Hindu and one a Muslim Sufi, then tracing the lives of two more of > Sai Baba's "key Hindu interlocutors" in chapters 2 and 3 before > examining Bollywood's "visual hagiographies" in chapter 4 (p. 11). > Chapter 5 takes readers to present-day temples to Sai Baba in > America, in what may at first seem a bit like a leap out sync with > the rest of the work but nonetheless proves to be quite a useful > contribution. > > In chapter 1, McLain draws in readers in much the same way that many > devotees are first drawn to Shirdi Sai Baba, through his iconic print > images. Her rich discussion of these provides an entrée for > comprehension of the saint's composite Hindu-Muslim identity. This > continues through an examination of Sai Baba's two earliest > biographies and their authors--one, Abdul Baba, a Muslim who > understood Sai Baba to be his Sufi master, and the other, Govind > Dabkholar, a Hindu who took Sai Baba as his guru. The author traces > the early history of the movement, from the time of the saint's > passing to the establishment of the tomb housing his remains. This > sacred site, at first, served as both a _dargah_ to Muslims and > _samadhi_ shrine to Hindus and was managed by Abdul Baba until his > death, after which Hindu trustees of the Sai Baba Sansthan Trust > installed a divine image of Sai Baba for worship (_murti_), > establishing the site as a Hindu temple and thus alienating the > saint's remaining Muslim devotees. Significantly, after Abdul Baba's > death, Dabkholar's biography takes on a new life of prominence and > precedence at the saint's shrine and beyond, being translated into > multiple languages and distributed widely, while Abdul Baba's diary > is kept in the shrine's museum. The chapter lays out important and > related events that together, previous scholars contend, mark the > beginning of the composite saint's Hinduization. > > Pedagogically, this chapter sheds light on the deification of saints > in India and serves as a notable example of fluid boundaries in > Indian religiosity in a world that tends to highlight more polarized > and polarizing forms of Hinduism and Islam. For faculty teaching > religion courses, this and following chapters provide a notable > example of the ways in which deceased saints' (or founders) lives and > teachings can be molded to fit those left behind, shaped by the > understandings of particular important devotees close to the saint, > and folded into the particular needs of people among their devotional > followings. > > Chapter 2 takes readers on a deep dive into Maharashtrian _bhakti_ > traditions in its study of Das Ganu, a crucial Hindu proselytizer for > the movement, both during Sai Baba's lifetime and long after the > saint's life ended. A police inspector employed in colonial British > service and part-time composer of nationalist and other secular songs > when he met Sai Baba, Das Ganu, upon influence of the saint, turned > into a full-time _kirtankar_, a composer and performer of devotional > hymns (_kirtan_), and eventually brought many followers into Sai > Baba's fold through his public performances. Today, Das Ganu's kirtan > lives on in Sai Baba temple liturgy. McLain examines the fascinating > life and work Das Ganu through his many writings and hymns; biography > written by own disciple, Athavale; and Narasimhaswami's biographical > account in which Das Ganu figures prominently, in a book recounting > experiences of Sai Baba's close devotees. > > Das Ganu's own position in regard to his Brahmin caste brings to the > fore issues relevant to caste injustice within Maharashtra's > religio-political environment during colonial rule. Adding to the > book's teachability in courses on modern South Asia, McLain connects > Das Ganu's concern with caste to the alternate movements addressing > the scourge of untouchability during pre-nationhood--Gandhian reform > versus Ambedkarite abolition. Das Ganu's complicated relationship > with caste, embodying what Novetzke has called "Brahmin double" (p. > 59), allows McLain to consider limitations on high-caste Hindus' > ability to reform caste. > > In chapter 3, McLain examines the life and writings of Narasimha > Iyer, aka Narasimhaswami, arguably the greatest of all Shirdi Sai > Baba's Hindu proselytizers. Narasimha's profound experience of the > already eighteen-years deceased Sai Baba, at his Samadhi Mandir in > Shirdi, shapes the remainder of his life, inspiring him to author > more than three books (one of them four volumes) about Sai Baba, > adding to his expansive corpus of biographies of saints living during > his time, and to establish the All India Sai Samaj in 1940, an > institution responsible for constructing eighty temples in India by > the time of his death in 1946. McLain complicates theories that blame > Narasimhaswami, most among others, for "Hinduizing" Shirdi Sai Baba. > According to McLain, Narasimha's writings reveal his understanding > that Sai Baba had two missions, the "spiritual uplift of individuals > and the temporal uplift of India" (pp. 93-94). Whereas authors have > previously overlooked Narasimha's passionate concern with this second > mission, McLain emphasizes both missions. Despite experiences with > many great saints of his day, Narasimha's own personal uplift comes > from his intimate connection to the saint whose grace did not succumb > to limitations of the grave. In terms of temporal uplift, Sai Baba's > composite body, teachings, and actions, for Narasimhaswami, must be > interpreted as the future of religion, a plea to Hindus to embrace > religious pluralism and see "that Sai Baba was instrumental to the > peaceful cohabitation of Hindus and Muslims in the newly independent > and pluralistic nation of India" (pp. 118-119). Would this > pluralistic religion be Hinduism? Narasimhaswami calls for a nation > built upon a composite religiosity, monistic and inclusive, yet as > McLain qualifies, "less a synthesis ... and more a liberal recasting > of Hinduism" (p. 132). > > The book as a whole, and chapter 3 in particular, is a gem for > scholars and students interested in guru devotion. Narasimha > envisioned Sai Baba as his _samartha sat_ guru, and McLain shares the > contours of his devotion and his understanding of the efficacy of the > guru/disciple relationship as a way to attain god-realization. > Narasimha's iconic long search for a master, in which he meets one > great teacher after another, each somehow pointing him elsewhere, > eventually right to Sai Baba's Samadhi Mandir, speaks to a number of > elements common to the guru path (_guru-marga_). As a bonus, the > chapter also reveals information about teachers Narasimha spent > substantial time with, including Ramana Maharishi, Meher Baba, and > Upasini Maharaj, all prominent twentieth-century gurus about whom > scant scholarship exists. > > In chapter 4, McLain brings readers to the 1970s, a golden age for > Bollywood and one of turmoil for Indian politics. The year 1977 > brought two Hindi-language films that magnify Sai Baba's fame, one a > mythological film about the saint, titled _Shirdi Ke Sai Baba_ and > modeled on the success of 1975 film _Jai Santoshi Maa_, which sparked > pan-Indian devotion to a little-known goddess, and the other the > year's biggest blockbuster film, _Amar Akbar Anthony_, in which three > brothers separated in early childhood and raised alternatively in > Hindu, Muslim, and Christian settings are reunited through the grace > of Shirdi Sai Baba. McLain explains that in _Shirdi Ke Sai Baba_, > filmmakers display the inappropriateness of religious and caste > identity, utilizing cinematic conventions, notably elite upper-class > and upper-caste villains, to suggest that "Hinduism needs to be > reformed" (p. 149). In _Amar Akbar Anthony_, the salvific and > pluralistic vision of Shirdi Sai Baba, which one devotee-interlocuter > calls the "darshanic pull" (p. 153), miraculously brings the family > back together. While the separation occurs in front of Gandhi's > statue, the film suggests that Shirdi Sai Baba may be able to > accomplish a religious pluralism and uplift of the destitute that > Gandhi could not. > > In chapter 5, McLain introduces C. B. Satpathy, whose life path > stands as testament to the power of film to transform. New Delhi > police officer Satpathy, "on a whim," rented _Shirdi Ke Sai Baba_ in > the 1980s and felt so transformed by the film that he left for Shirdi > the next morning, where he vowed to build 108 temples to Shirdi Sai > Baba (p. 191). He has since founded over two hundred temples in India > and has collaborated with devotee-temple-builders around the globe, > including some of the temple founders in the United States. > > The primary task of this chapter, however, turns to the construction > of Sai Baba temples in the Hindu diaspora, with special emphasis on > new temples in Chicago, Illinois and Austin, Texas, the latter with > connections back to Satpathy. This final chapter, set across the > globe in the 2010s, may seem somewhat out of sync with the rest of > the book, which has focused on the tensions between composite > spirituality and Hinduism majoritarianism that have played out in the > "Hinduization" of Sai Baba. Even in the US, where Hinduism is a > minority religion, however, some of the same tensions play out in new > ways. Looking at two very differently styled and founded temples, > McLain finds a related tension in what she terms "the paradox of > ritual" in which Sai Baba devotees purportedly not concerned with > Hindu ritualism nonetheless find themselves succumbing to it in > particular ways, revealing "an important ambivalence about ritual" > (p. 209). Ethnographic details from this chapter underscore again the > importance of film and printed image media in Sai Baba devotion. This > circling back, alongside rich new ethnographic content, merits this > chapter's inclusion and makes it less an add-on or start to a new > study than an invitation, a call for scholars of diaspora Hinduism to > include Shirdi Sai Baba Hindu in their conversations. > > This book offers important scholarship about Sai Baba that > incorporates multiple viewpoints of the major hagiographers and > proponents of Sai Baba faith. Importantly, McLain's "decentering" in > this study, from the saint to the movement that burgeoned after his > death, allows readers to comprehend the ways in which Hindu devotees > have variously interpreted the saint and have sought, through their > understandings of him and his teachings, to reinterpret Hinduism. > Like previous scholars, McLain reveals a process of Hinduization that > is ongoing, yet McLain's depiction allows readers to see the > complexity of this process, one in which this composite saint's Hindu > interlocutors not only Hinduize him but also redefine the contours of > what we might call Hinduism. Instead of "lamenting" the > "Hinduization" of the religiously composite saint, McLain finds it > "more productive to ask why Hindus have turned to Sai Baba for their > spiritual fulfillment and what this choice tells us about their > relationship with modern Hinduism" (p. 13). This work reveals how > Hindu devotees, despite their "Hinduization" of Sai Baba, have also > sought, through the composite saint's example and their own > devotional models, to critique society, reform caste, promote a > pluralistic nation-state, provide service initiatives, and create > intercommunal peace and open temples. One important reality_ The > Afterlife Sai Baba_ points us to is the inclination of many modern > Hindus away from majoritarianism toward more cosmopolitan, spiritual, > and religiously composite theologies. > > McLain contextualizes well the "competing visions" she refers to in > her subtitle, to examine not just the fact that the composite saint > was Hinduized, but how so, why, and for what reasons. She asks us to > consider what the saint's Hinduization can tell us about the ways > that Hindus have sought to envision Hinduism in increasingly > globalizing contexts, from the time of the saint's death through the > twenty-first century. > > Note > > [1]. Antonio Rigopoulos, _The Life and Teachings of Sai Baba of > Shirdi_ (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993); Marianne > Warren, _Unravelling the Enigma: Shirdi Sai Baba in the Light of > Sufism_. Rev. ed. (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 2004). > > Citation: Angela Rudert. Review of McLain, Karline, _The Afterlife of > Sai Baba: Competing Visions of a Global Saint_. H-Asia, H-Net > Reviews. March, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=54210 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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