BABA COMES TO OUR RESCUE (August 1983) by Kumari Usha

[Guest guest]

BABA COMES TO OUR RESCUE (August 1983)

 

It is now our experience that Baba’s spirit always follows His sincere

devotees. If the devotees are sick or stranded or needy in other respects,

Shri Baba is there to take care of them. It happened to us in the month of

May 1983 when we were returning from Bombay. The Railway authorities at

V.T. issued tickets keeping the passengers in the waiting list and we were a

few among them. We did not ask for it, but having taken full fare even on

the berths our names appeared only in the waiting list. To our

disappointment we saw that we were not allotted any berths in the Madras

Mail and somehow we boarded a coach intended for Madras passengers, though

we were to go to Sholapur.

 

We breathed a sigh of relief that we were at last in a coach; but our

happiness was only momentary. After the train left V.T. station we were

informed by the Coach conductor that all berths intended for Madras were

full and not a single was available and we should make our arrangements at

the next station. He could not oblige us in any manner. When the train

arrived at Dadar station our option was either to get down at Dadar, where

the train halts only for five minutes or to get down at Kalyan where we

might have sufficient time to make alternate arrangements. As Kalyan would

be too far, we thought of getting down at Dadar and seek accommodation in

other compartments. Accordingly we got down with out suit cases at Dadar

and in a few minutes the train started. We became panicky and we were

almost certain that we would be stranded at Dadar station. Even when the

train had not started, we made an effort to get into another sleeper coach,

but the inmates of that coach did not open the door on one side. When the

train left we thought that we would be stranded at midnight and our money

paid for the tickets would go waste as we might be required to purchase

fresh tickets for another train. We were remembering Baba in our minds but

the train left and we thought that we were rendered helpless. In the

meanwhile a Sikh gentleman opened the other door of the same sleeping coach.

He waved his hand towards us to come immediately and we rushed with our

luggage to that door, kept it in a moving train and virtually we were pushed

inside the compartment after us and we experienced that the moving train

which was slowly gaining momentum, reduced its speed and it almost came to a

halt. Due to great anxiety and panic I had become restless and when I sat

on a seat which was available, the Sikh gentleman consoled me with his palm

on my head, addressing me as “Behanji” and asking me not to worry. The

Sikh gentleman and the T.T.I. and two others sat in a part of the same

compartment and they walked away at Kalyan, never to be seen again. Some

of the passengers consoled us. As the compartment was vacant till Poona,

from where students had reservations, we had a good sleep in independent

berths. Even at Poona we were not disturbed and we reached Sholapur quite

comfortably.

 

My parents and I started thinking on reaching Sholapur who that Sikh

gentleman might be. We had no occasion to thank him though my father

wanted to meet him again and express his thanks. It is still ringing in

our mind. It must be the great Baba, who came to our rescue at the hour of

our need and made us to reach our destination as scheduled and without any

discomfort. Thus we traveled in comfort by His grace and blessings,

thought we were not allotted any berths or any seats in the sleeper coaches

and entering into the general compartment, as everybody knows, is wholly

impossible and insecure in these days. We offer our ‘Pranams’ to the great

Baba.

 

Kumari Usha

Daughter of D.P. Hiremath,

District Judge, Bijapur.

 

(The experiences of Devotees as published in Shri Sai Leela Magazine, can be

read at www.saileelas.org/magazines/SAILEELA/exp.htm)