THE PROGENITOR OF THE FORMAL WORSHIP OF SRI SAI BABA: SRI TATYA SAHEB NOOLKAR

[Guest guest]

As he was sleeping in the Sathe Wada that night, he got up suddenly and told

Nana Saheb Chandorkar that he wanted to eat pan. Nana did not have the habit

of chewing pan, so he could not oblige him. At exactly this time, at the

masjid, Baba called a devotee and giving him four pans told him, "Give these

to the old man who has come with Nana and is staying in Sathe Wada with

him." As Noolkar saw the man bearing pans from Baba he was astounded by the

omniscience of Sri Sai Baba. Whatever remaining doubts he had had about Baba

vanished, never to return again. He developed rock-devotion and total faith

in Baba from that moment on. Even though he had to go back to Pandharpur, he

started visiting Shirdi whenever he could for the darshan of Sri Sai Baba.

He became an intimate devotee of Sri Sai Baba in a very short time.

Noolkar's eye ailment and its cure

At one point Noolkar started to suffer from a dangerous eye disease. He was

unable to bear the raging pain in his eyes and was slowly turning blind. He

consulted various eye specialists but they were unable to cure him. He

finally took refuge in Baba. He took leave from court and stayed at Sathe

Wada at Shirdi. He sat in the room for two days chanting the Sai Nama

without a break. He went for the darshan of Sri Sai Baba at the masjid on

the third day. As he entered the masjid Baba was keeping his hands upon his

eyes and was saying to Shama, "My eyes are paining badly today for some

reason." The very instance these words came from Baba, the pain in Noolkar's

eyes lessened and shortly his vision became normal.

At this time, when Noolkar was at Shirdi, there was a discussion about this

at the Pandharpur court in the lawyers' restroom. Many deplored the fact

that even an educated person such as Noolkar depended on sadhus and such

charlatans to cure his ailment rather than trust modern medical science.

They commented that it was indeed a pity that even educated people behaved

so foolishly and superstitiously. They even made fun of Sri Sai Baba during

this discussion. Time passed and one of the lawyers who had taken part in

the discussion came to Shirdi and had the darshan of Sri Sai Baba. He

reverently saluted Baba's feet, gave dakshina and sat a little way away from

him at the masjid. Baba made a general comment to the people in the masjid

saying, "How devious these people are! They bend in obeisance and salute one

repeatedly in one's presence. They give dakshina and behave with great

outward politeness, piety and humility. But in one's absence they abuse and

talk lowly of one." The shafts struck whom they were meant for. The lawyer

from Pandharpur stayed silently in the masjid. Later when he came out, he

confessed it all to the fellow devotees. He lauded and saluted the

omniscience and greatness of power of Baba who came to know the conversation

held many years ago and in distant Pandharpur. He learnt the lesson that one

should never speak badly of the others (see Sri Sai Satcharitra

Chapter -21).

 

 

(To be continued)....

 

Source (source www.saipatham.org) Saipatham August 2002 Magazine