Interesting Article About Baba

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prayers, a son was born to Devagiriamma on September 28th, 1835. That child was

SAI BABA. On account of the passage of time and circumstances, no one knew the

exact dates of Baba's birth and passing. In this context, the mystery relating

to Baba's birth should be noted. Gangabhavadya and Devagiriamma were living

in Pathri village, they were ardent worshippers of Ishwara and Parvati. They had

no offspring for a long time. They intensified their prayers. Gangabhavadya used

to ply a boat near the village for living. One night, when it was raining

heavily, Gangabhavadya left his house to take care of the boat, telling his

wife that he would not return that night. After the husband had left,

Devagiriamma took her food and went to bed early. At 9 p.m. there was a knock

at the door. Devagiriamma opened the door expecting the likely return of her

husband.

Instead, a very elderly man entered the house. He pleaded, "It is very cold

outside. Please permit me, mother, to stay inside." Being a pious woman,

Devagiriamma allowed him to stay in the verandah and went inside the house

after bolting the inner door. A little while later, there was a knock on the

inner door. She opened the door. The old man said:

Roman">"I am feeling hungry, give me some food." Finding that there was no food,

the woman mixed some flour with curds and gave it to him. There was again

another knock after some time. When she opened the door, the old man said, "My

legs are aching. Mother, will you massage them? " Devagiriamma went inside, sat

in the prayer room and prayed: "Oh Mother! Why are you testing me like this?

What should I do? Should I serve him or refuse? " Going out of the house by the

back-door she went in search of someone who could be engaged to render this

service. No one was available. Again there was a knock by the old man. At the

same time a woman knocked at the backdoor. The woman asked, "It appears you

came to my house and sought some feminine help. I was away at that time. Please

let me know what service I should render." Feeling happy

that Goddess Parvati herself had sent the woman in response to her prayers,

Devagiriamma sent the newcomer to the verandah for serving the old man and

closed the door. The old man and the woman who came to render help were none

other than Parameswara and Parvati. Parameswara told Parvati "Fulfill the

cherished desire of this lady." Parvati replied, "You are the Supreme one.

Please shower your grace on her Yourself."

Style" size="2">Eswara said "I came to test her. You came in answer to her

prayers. Hence You must bless her". They knocked the door once again. This time

Devagiriamma promptly opened the door, because of the presence of another woman

emboldened her. Parvati and Parameswara appeared before her in their Divine

form. Unable to contain her joy, Devagiriamma fell at their feet. Parvati then

blessed her: "I grant you a son to maintain the lineage and a daughter for

Kanyadana (a girl to be offered in

marriage)." Then Devagiriamma fell at the feet of Eswara. Eswara said: "I am

immensely pleased with your devotion. I shall take birth as your third child."

When Devagiriamma got up, the Divine couple were not there. Feeling, ecstatic

over this experience, Devagiriamma was eagerly expecting the return of her

husband in the morning to relate to him the whole story. The husband returned

in the morning. Eagerly awaiting his arrival she

related to him all that had happened the previous night. The husband said:

"Devagiri! What is all this fanciful tale! It is all a dream. Parvati and

Parameswara appearing before you and giving darshan! It is pure fantasy!"

Gangabhavadya dismissed the whole episode as incredible and fanciful. But, as

years passed, Devagiriamma became enceinte and a son was born. A year later a

daughter was born. Gangabhavadya was convinced that the birth of the two

children was the result of the blessings conferred by Parvati and Parameswara.

He told his wife,

"You had the good-fortune of having the darshan of Parvati and Parameswara. I

did not have that luck." When Devagiriamma conceived again, Gangabhavadya began

to feel an urge to give up hearth and home and go in search of the Divine

couple. He announced to his wife that he was leaving for the forest to do

penance. The devoted wife that she was, Devagiriamma decided to follow him,

though she was in the ninth month of her pregnancy. After following her husband

for some distance,

she developed labour pains. She delivered a boy. Wrapping the babe in a piece of

cloth, she left the child by the road side and followed her husband. In the same

village there lived a Sufi Fakir. As he was also childless, he found and took

charge of this child and brought him up in his home. The boy stayed in the

fakir's home for four years (1835 to 1839). The fakir passed away in the tide

of time. The fakir's wife, who had lavished

great affection on the child, was grief-stricken. To add to her worries, the boy

was behaving in a troublesome manner. In those days, Hindu-Muslim differences in

that area were growing alarmingly. There was considerable bitterness between the

members of the two communities. The boy used to visit a Hindu temple and sing

songs in praise of Allah. "Mein Allah hoo!" (I am God). "Allah Malik hai!"

(Allah is the supreme Lord). He used to declaim in this manner in the temple.

The Hindus used to chastise the boy in various ways for his misbehaviour. Nor

was that all. He would enter a mosque and declare: "Rama is God", "Siva is

Allah". His behaviour in singing about Rama and Siva in a mosque and about

Allah in a Hindu temple was a puzzle to the public. Members belonging to both

the communities went to the fakir's wife and complained about the boy's

behaviour. Unable to deal

with the situation the fakir's wife handed the boy over to pious scholar, Gopal

Rao Deshmukh, who was called Venkusa by the people on account of his

scholarship and wisdom. The boy stayed in Venkusa's ashram for 12 years from

1839 to 1851. Venkusa was extremely fond of the boy. In every matter, he used

to give priority to the young Baba's views. Seeing this, in course of

time, members of the ashram developed envy towards the boy. One night in 1851,

the boy left the ashram. He reached Shirdi, a very small village at that time.

At Shirdi Mahalaspathi saw Him entering the local temple. Looking at His

appearance as a Muslim, Mahalaspathi turned Him out of the temple. The boy went

back and sat under a neem tree. He was only 16 years old at that time. No one

knew then what His name was. If anyone asked His name, He would give no answer.

He could sometimes retort saying: "Why do you want to know my name?" Because of

this, nobody could find out His name. Some villagers from nearby places used

to visit Him under the tree and get relief from their aliments. He would take

out some leaves, crush them and give them to the ailing persons as a medicine.

In this manner He cured many a person of their illness. News of His healing

powers spread all over the surrounding villages. As a result, a large number of

people used to come to Him, receive the crushed leaves from Him and get cured of

their ailments. Suddenly, one morning He disappeared. A futile search was made

in the nearby areas to trace Him. He stayed in Shirdi for barely two months and

then went about wandering from place to place. Later in 1858, He returned to

Shirdi again. There was a village called Dhoop in Aurangabad. A person by name

Chandubhai Patel, belonging to a middle class family, lived in Dhoop. As no

other form of transport was available in those days,

Old Style" size="2"> people used to go only on horseback. Chandubhai went on his

horse to Aurangabad on some urgent business. When he had finished his business

there at the end of three days, he found that the horse was missing.

Disappointed over the missing horse, Chandubhai was returning to Dhoop passing

through dense forests on the way. On his way he saw a fakir sitting under a

tree. The fakir appeared to be lost in His own thoughts. Suddenly, the fakir

hailed Chandubhai with the words: "Hey, Patel! Come here." The fakir

liked to smoke chilim (hookah). As there was no water nearly, the fakir hit the

ground with a stick and water gushed forth from the place. He hit again another

place with a stick and there was a fire. Using the water and the fire, he

started smoking his hookah and offered it to Chandubhai also. Chandubhai

declined the offer. The fakir asked Chandubhai: "What is worrying you Patel?"

Patel asked, "How did you know I am Patel?I know everything," replied the

fakir. "You are worried about your horse. You are keeping your eyes on the top

of your head! You must lower them to trace the horse. Your horse is gazing

under the tree there." Chandubhai saw his horse there. He had a search

conducted for the horse in the same place with the help of some workers, but

could not find it. But, now he saw it under a tree close to him. Chandubhai was

astonished that the fakir had

produced water and fire out of the earth and had located his missing horse. He

appealed to the fakir: "Swami! You have rendered great help to me. Please come

with me and share my hospitality.All right, let us go," the fakir replied.

About this time, the marriage of Chandubhai's niece, who was residing in

Shirdi, was settled. Chandubhai had to go to Shirdi for the wedding. He

requested the fakir to come along with them. They went in carts to Shirdi.

Mahalaspathi saw the fakir getting down from a cart and went to Him and said:

"Aayiye! Baba! Aayiye Sai!" The name "SAI" was given by Mahalaspathi. Till

then, no one had conferred a name on him. Sometime latter, Baba was involved in

a criminal case. He had to give evidence in a case which related to the theft of

some valuables from a rich man's house by a gang of thieves. The police caught

the thieves and questioned them about the stolen articles. The thieves said

that the valuables had been given to them by a fakir. Searching for the fakir,

they came to Baba. They asked Him, "Fakir, did you give these articles to them?

Yes", He said.

New Roman">"Wherefrom did you get them? " was the next question. Baba replied,

"They have come from the same place from which all things come.Who gave them

to you? I gave them myself." was His reply. Baba gave such

intriguing answers, which the police could not understand "I am the giver of

everything. How can anyone get anything without my sanction?" declared Baba.

Feeling that it was futile to question him further, the police prepared a

report. Baba received a summon from the magistrate to give the evidence in the

case. Chandubhai Patel did not want Baba to go to the Magistrate and so he

arranged for Baba being examined by a commission (in Shirdi itself). During the

examination by the commission, Baba was asked: "What is your father's name." He

replied: "Baba". (Baba means father and the reply meant that the father's name

was father). Q: "What is your religion? " A: "The religion of God." Q:

"Wherefrom did you come? " A: "I have come from the Atma." Q: "What is your

caste? " A: "The caste of the Divine." Baba answered all the questions in

this manner. Earlier He had been hailed as 'SAI'. In His examination, He had

given His father's name as Baba. By the combination of these two names, He was

therefore called "SAI BABA". No one knew when and where Sai Baba was born and

who gave Him that name. After He came to Shirdi second time in 1858, He did not

move out of Shirdi from that time. He remained there for sixty years, till 1918

and Baba lived for eighty years. While at Shirdi, Baba used to converse with

those coming to Him, give advice to them regarding their problems and offer

courage and solace to them with regard to their troubles. In this manner,

Baba's activities came to be known all over the country. At that time there was

in the Maharashtra area, a deputy collector and settlement officer by name Hari

Vinayak Sathe. He was grief stricken over the passing away of his wife. Prof.

G.G. Narke, a friend of Sathe, came to his house and advised Sathe that there

was no purpose in grieving over his loss and that it was advisable for him to

have a change of place to get over his sorrow. He suggested that it was good to

have the darshan of some saint and persuaded him to come to Shirdi. Sathe was

quite an extraordinary person. On reaching Shirdi, he and Narke had darshan of

Baba. On several occasions, looking at Sathe, Baba used to laugh, sing and make

strange gestures. Doubts arose in Sathe's mind whether Baba was a real sage or

an eccentric person. No one mentioned anything about Sathe to Baba. Sathe and

Narke merely went to see Baba and sat in his presence. Baba told Sathe: "Don't

worry about any thing. Bodies are like water bubbles. Do not develop

any attachment to the body. Develop your attachment to the Indwelling Spirit

(Dehi). Worries are like passing clouds. They happen to every individual. Have

courage. Protect your child." The last remark had reference to the fact that

Sathe's wife had died giving birth to a child. Even Narke had not heard about

the survival of this child. On hearing Baba's words Sathe realised that Baba

was not a crazy person but one who was a Trikala Jnani, who knew the past,

the present and the future. Sathe who had intended to stay for a short while

just to have darshan of Baba, prolonged his stay by two more days. Making

frequent visits to Shirdi, Sathe was the first to realise that there were no

proper amenities at Shirdi for those coming to Baba. He provided residential

accommodation for visitors at a place known as "Sathe Wada". Sathe was the

first to set up apartments at Shirdi. While serving in this manner, Sathe went

again to Shirdi after he began to feel whether there was any purpose in his

continuing to earn income and accumulate wealth. On

seeing Sathe, Baba smilingly said "You appear to be losing interest in your job.

You are wondering how to dispose the wealth you have acquired. Why give it to

anyone? Use it for good cause. Build a 'Kothi' in Shirdi." Sathe told Baba

"Swami! I am not a millionaire. How can I build a mansion here?" Baba replied:

"Go on doing as much as you can. Why fear when I am here?"

Style" size="2"> Baba encouraged Sathe in this manner. In due course, Sathe's

maternal uncle, Kelkar, settled down in Shirdi. Sathe used to send funds from

Poona and his uncle used to carry on the constructions in Shirdi. In this way,

Baba used Sathe as His instrument. He regarded Sathe as His right hand with

regard to all matters. Because Baba was keeping Sathe close to Him and relying

on him for everything, the residents of Shirdi grew jealous towards him.

"Many are content to do nothing themselves, but they cannot bear seeing others

do things and will carry tales against them." Several persons used to come to

Baba and tell stories against Sathe. What is the appropriate name for such

tale-bearers? They should be called "enemies of beggars" (namely, barking

dogs), declared Baba. At Shirdi, Baba used to do notable things. One was to

receive money from whoever came to him. He used to ask for

New Roman" size="3">"Dakshina" (cash offering). He did not ask for large sums.

It was two rupees or five rupees. He would receive the money and give it away

immediately in their presence. He kept nothing with himself. One day a man by

name Pradhan came to Baba. He had intended to offer twenty rupees to Baba. In

those days, there were no currency notes everything was in silver coins, unlike

the alloy coins of today, in those days every rupee contained one tola

(eleven grams) of silver. Pradhan thought that instead of offering so many

silver coins, it would be better to offer one gold sovereign to Baba. Baba

turned the sovereign this way and that way and remarked, "How is it I have not

seen such a coin before? " A person near Baba said: "It is a gold coin." Baba

then observed, "I do not want this. Give Me money in rupees." He asked how much

the sovereign was worth. At that time it was worth fifteen rupees. Getting back

the sovereign, Pradhan gave fifteen rupees to Baba. Immediately Baba remarked,

"Pradhan! You have to give me five more rupees!" Pradhan was a judge at that

time. Pradhan as well as persons around him wondered why Baba was demanding

five more rupees when a sovereign was worth only fifteen rupees. Noticing

Pradhan's hesitation, Baba told him, "First hand over the five rupees and then

think about it." Pradhan gave the five rupees. Then Baba observed, "When you

set out of your home, how much did you want to offer to Baba? You intended to

give twenty rupees. You gave only fifteen. So I was entitled to ask for five

more." When Pradhan heard these words,

Old Style" size="2"> he was stupefied. He admitted that SAI BABA was a good

Judge. In this manner, Baba was in the habit of collecting money from those who

came to Him and to give it away to the needy. One day, He summoned Kelkar and

told him, "Today is Gurupoornima. Perform guru puja to Me." No one there knew

the meaning of Guru puja. Kelkar asked Baba what Guru puja meant. Baba asked,

Style" size="2"> "Whom do you think as a guru? It is not the pontiffs of maths

who are gurus. Nor are sanyasins (renunciants) gurus, God alone is the guru

(preceptor).Brahmanandam, Paramasukhadam, Kevalam Jnaanmurthim,

Dwandwaatheetham, Trigunarahitam, Tasyamasyadilakshyam" (He is supreme Bliss,

the giver of Divine happiness, the embodiment of the highest advaitic knowledge

and one who transcends all qualities. He is the supreme Divine preceptor). "He

is the Supreme Absolute. Salutations to that Supreme Guru. The true Guru is one

who combines the three forms of the trinity, the Gods who preside over creation,

protection and dissolution. Thus God alone is the real guru" declared Baba. On

hearing this Kelkar asked, "Should I worship Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra?" Baba

declared in voice of assumed anger. "Eh Saitan! Here I am! Offer worship

to Me!" Thereby Baba made known that He was Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. All those

present felt that Baba was the Divine Incarnate. As days passed, the residents

of Shirdi developed hatred towards Sathe because he was collecting all the

offerings to Baba in a Hundi so as to use the money to build a mandir. Just at

that time, a silver chariot with silver horses, which was in Sathe's keeping,

was stolen by some thieves. Sathe was the principal trustee. The people of

Shirdi suspected Sathe of complicity in the theft. One day one of the residents

planned to strike Sathe with an axe, on the way. Getting wind of this, his

maternal uncle called Sathe and urged him to leave immediately as it was too

dangerous for him to stay there. He told Sathe that he could worship Baba

wherever he might be. Reluctantly Sathe left Shirdi. Baba used to ask for Sathe

ceaselessly. But Sathe was not there. Baba appeared to be in great distress.

Sathe was near and dear to Baba. The devotees felt that Baba was sorely

affected by the absence of Sathe. Many people used to have doubts about

Baba's transcendental powers. One day, the birth anniversary of Dattatreya was

to be celebrated in the month of Margasirsha (9th month of the Hindu calendar)

on Panchami (fifth day of the lunar calendar). Several devotees had assembled

in Shirdi. Among them was a wealthy man, a great scholar called Kaijack. He is

not to be confused with "highjack"! His name was Balmant Kaijack. As he was

approaching the masjid, Baba took his stick and marked it at the devotees,

asking them to get away. He even beat some of them, shouting, "Saitan!

Saitan!". No one could understand why Baba was behaving like this. "I am

suffering labour pains. Get away, all

of you!" He shouted. In those days, Baba not only used to shout at people, but

also wield the stick on them on occasions. He even used to throw the stick at

fleeing persons. Everyone used to be afraid of Him. They all left the place.

Sometime later, He called all of them to come. "Balmant Kaijack, come!" He

said. When Balmant came, Baba went

inside the masjid. Balmant went in and found that Baba was not there. He found a

three-headed baby on the floor. Baba had declared that He was suffering from

labour pains and there was a baby there. The three headed child appeared to

represent Dattatreya. It was a small baby with a number of hands. Balmant

recognised the child as Dattatreya and called other devotees to come inside.

They went in and on seeing the child closed their eyes. At that instant Baba

reappeared there. From that time onwards, people started looking upon Baba as

the incarnation of Dattatreya. A controversy arose among the local people as

to whether Baba was a Muslim or a Hindu. At one time he used to say: "Allah

Malik! Allah Malik!" At other times, he would say, "Dattatreya Malik!" Whenever

he shouted "Allah Malik!" Muslims used to come to him in the masjid. His

appearance was very much like that of a Muslim. Hence, many Muslims used to

come to him. Hindus also used to come and offer incense to Him. The Muslims did

not approve of what the Hindus were doing. The Hindus did not like the way

Muslims revered Baba. Consequently, bitterness developed between the two

communities. One

day, Mahalaspathi was sitting near Baba and doing some service to him.

Mahalaspathi was the priest in the Kandoba temple. The Muslims who were opposed

to the presence of a Hindu priest near Baba, came with sticks and beat up

Mahalaspathi. At every stroke, Mahalaspathi cried out. "Baba!", "Baba!". Each

time he shouted the name of Baba, the blow was borne by Baba. Mahalaspathi fell

to the ground. Muslims had great reverence for Baba. Baba roared at the Muslim

crowd, "Saitan! On one side you worship Me and on the other you beat Me. Is

this your devotion? " Baba was bleeding all over the body. The Muslims saw it

and asked Baba who had beaten him. "Did you not beat Me?" said Baba pointing to

several men in the crowd. They said, "We did not come near you at all. We only

beat Mahalaspathi.Who is in Mahalaspathi? I am in him," declared Baba. "He

has surrendered to Me and hence all his troubles are Mine". On hearing this,

the Muslims fell at Baba's feet and craved for His forgiveness. Baba then

summoned the Hindus and Muslims and told them. "Dear children, you are all the

progeny of one mother." Thereby Baba demonstrated the fatherhood of God and the

brotherhood of man. He wanted all differences of caste and creed to be eschewed.

What mattered for mankind was the heart. "You must seek the divine within you.

Baba pointed out that all caste and creed distinctions related only to the

body. Therefore, you should seek the supreme in your inner consciousness," He

advised. One day, a pundit came to Baba and said that Baba's biography should

be written. His name was Hemadpant. He is the author of "Sai Sat

Charita". He entreated Baba to disclose factors about the place of His birth,

His parentage, His name and His early life. He could not get any information.

Baba did not reveal anything to anyone. But, on one occasion, when He was alone

with Mahalaspathi, Baba disclosed His date of birth to him. Mahalaspathi was no

scholar. He had learnt only a few mantras to conduct the pooja the temple. He

noted down the date of birth on a piece of paper. This came into the hands of

Hemadpant. With

this, he began to write the life of Baba. No one knows the real truth about

Baba. The world knows some facts about His life only after His 16th year. He

was born on September 28, 1835 and attained samadhi on Vijayadasami day in

1918. During His lifetime He taught many things to the people and performed

many remarkable deeds. He was worshipped by many devotees. Dada, Nana, Shama,

Abdul Baba, Mahalaspati

New Roman" size="3">, Chandarkar and Das Guna were always with Him. Abdul Baba

was active till recently. He was a fervent devotee of Baba. In his view it did

not matter to what religion one belonged. All were one in their devotion to

God. Kaka Dixit was a judge whose son stayed in Brindavan (White field) for

twenty years. Kaka Dixit maintained a diary in which many facts about Baba have

been recorded including his statement about when he would pass away. In my

previous body (as Shirdi Sai Baba) every one was taught through actions. For

example Damu and Nana were rendering service to the Lord (Shirdi Baba). Baba

collected a few copper coins and was playing with them, by tossing them from

one hand to another and also testing them in various ways. He appeared to

examine them individually. He did not exchange a word with Damu and Nana. He

went on playing with the coins for half an hour in this manner. Curious to know

what Baba was doing, Nana asked him why he was scrutinising the same coins again

and again. Baba replied, "Baba (Dear Son), it is true that I am repeating the

same action again and

again, repeating the same words. Look at that mango tree in front of you. It is

in full bloom. The leaves are hardly visible. If all the flowers in the tree

were to become fruits, will the branch be able to bear the weight? But it does

not happen that way. Most of the flowers are swept away by the wind. Many

others drop of their own accord. Only some of them become fruits of these some

are eaten by squirrels, birds or monkeys. In this way ninety percent of the

flowers do not result in fruits. Only ten percent remain on the tree. Is it not

so?In the same manner thousands of devotees are coming to Me. Are they all

ripening into good devotees? Many drop away in the middle. Some came for

getting their desires fulfilled. Some seek wealth. Many are coming

either for study or in connection with jobs or marriage or other personal

desires of their own. In each of them there is some defect, no one comes for My

sake. I have precious thing to offer in My coffers. But no one seeks it. It is

for this reason that I am examining them (Coins). Among these coins there are

some which are worn out, some which are debased and some which are twisted and

worthless. Just as I am examining the defects in these coins, I am also looking

for the defects among the devotees who come to me. I am trying to find out what

defects are there in these people and whether, with those defect, they can

really comprehend My Truth. They want Me, but all their desires are related to

mundane objects. How can they attain Me with this attitude? How can you reach

your destination if you get into a wrong train going in some other direction?

They want Me, but

they don't make efforts for realising Me. Among the many who come to Me, it is

only one in thousand who really makes the efforts to realise Me. The minds of

the so called devotees are turned in the wrong direction. If their desires are

fulfilled, they praise Me. But, once a desire is not realised they go to the

extent of even reviling Me. Even while they are attempting to understand Me

they harbour doubts from head to foot. Some even leave me, when their worldly

desires are not fulfilled. These are not sincere devotees at all. They are

infact worst sinners. How can they reach Me?" Said Baba. At one time a wealthy

man came with a lot of money to Shirdi Baba with the object of gaining

Brahmajnana, the supreme wisdom. He boasted about his wealth. Baba

asked him "How long will you be here?" He replied that he had came by a taxi

fixing to and fro charges and had to return in a day or two. Baba said, "When

you have greed for wealth, how can you realise God? It is not a goal that can

be accomplished in a fixed time. Get away." Baba noticed that He was still

sitting and became furious. He chased him out, wielding a stick. To one who

sought His grace with purity of heart and selfless devotion, Baba conferred His

grace abundantly. Mathaji Krishna Priya was one such devotees. Living in Nagpur,

she used to worship Krishna and considered Baba also as another form of Krishna.

She frequently visited Shirdi to seek Baba's blessings. Once, Dada's wife

brought her child to Baba with the intention of staying for some time at

Shirdi. She got her husband's

reluctant approval for the visit. At that time plague was rampant in Shirdi. On

the second day of her arrival the child developed fever and had boils all over

the body. The mother felt sorry that she had not acted on her husband's advice

and lamented as to who would protect her child from the affliction. She

immediately rushed to Baba and cried aloud, "Baba!, Baba!" Baba asked her what

she had come for, "Is your child having fever? Are there boils on his

body? Not only the child but I am also having boils. You look at them." So

saying He lifted His Kafni and showed the boils on His body. Mahalaspathi who

was standing near, exclaimed "Swami! what large boils are these?" He touched

Baba's body and found that He was having high fever. The temperature might be

as high as 105(F or 106(F. The mother cried, "Oh Baba! has the disease affected

not only my son, but also you? Who will protect you?" She was in deep distress.

Baba said, "Is there any other to protect the one who is the protector of all?"

The mother immediately begged for Baba's forgiveness. A short while thereafter

Baba's fever came down. The mother returned home feeling happy. She saw that

the fever and boils had vanished from her child also. She exclaimed, "Baba! Did

you take on my child's illness?" In the same manner, Shirdi Baba used to

demonstrate His powers as and when the occasion arose. What was the reason for

this? It was solely due to the total faith (Paripoorna Viswasam) which people

had in Baba. The devotees followed implicitly whatever Baba directed them to

do." Around the time when Sathe left Shirdi, the parents of Shyam came to

Shirdi with a two year old child. Shyam's father had just retired from service

and decided to settle down in Shirdi. The boy's name was Mohan Shyam. The

parents called him Mohan, While others called him "Shyam". The boy was put to

school at Shirdi and in due course he completed his studies and received

training as a teacher. He was appointed as a teacher at Shirdi. The school

adjoined Baba's room. During the day, Shyam would be teaching at school. There

was a ventilator in the wall separating Baba's room and the classroom. Shyam

used to watch Baba at nights through the Ventilator. He used to notice Baba

talking to himself, getting angry at times, or laugh to himself, or doing other

curious things. Baba used to sleep on an eighteen inch wide plank suspended from

the ceiling. Shyam was apprehensive that Baba might fall off from his lofty but

narrow perch during sleep. Once he mustered courage to ask Baba while

massaging his feet

New Roman" size="3">, "Swami! You don't seem to sleep at all at nights. You are

laughing to yourself or talking what is the secret of all this?You

simpleton! Do you imagine you are the only person about whom I am concerned in

this world? There are numerous persons who are praying to Me. I am speaking to

all of them," replied Baba. "When I turn my finger, I am turning their minds.

When I move my lips, I am talking to them. When I laugh, I am amused at their

follies. These are the things I am doing for my devotees, dear child." Shyam

prayed to Baba "Swami! my classes don't take up much of my time. Let me stay

with you during the rest of the time and serve you." At that time there was a

woman called

Lakshmi Bai who used to cook food for Baba. Shyam used to go to her and assist

her in the preparation of jowhar rotis. Baba had a great liking for brinjals.

Shyam went to Lakshmi Bai to learn how to prepare brinjal dishes. Shyam went on

serving Baba in this way and he alone knew the joy he derived from such service.

Baba often used to fly into temper. This was only an outward appearance.

Sometimes he used to throw a stick at some one ten feet away. Shyam once asked

him, "Swami! you are hurling the stick at the man in such a rage. Supposing

something happened to him and he died, will you not get a bad name?" Baba

replied sharply, "Saitan! You keep quiet. That fellow's life is in My hands. He

will die only if I permit him. You better mind your business. Why are you

bothered about others? That man will come to his senses only if he sees Me in

this manner. If I am indulgent they will try to ride the horse." Thus, in this

way, Baba used to discipline people by threats and harsh words. It is only with

this aim and not for any other purpose. This secret was revealed by Baba only

to Shyam and none else. Baba's life was really a saga of love and nothing else.

Keeping Shyam near Him and allowing him to serve Him, Baba spent many years.

One day, Baba called Pradhan and asked him to construct a small tank. Pradhan

was thus the first to be involved in the building of a samadhi for Baba. The

Lord is all prema. He has no anger or Dwesha in him. Once at Shirdi, a certain

Dr. Pillai came with much suffering, and he prayed that he might be given ten

births with the chance of dividing the pain into

ten parts, so that he could suffer a little each time and pay off his karmic

debt, without being hard pressed of having to pay it all off in at one birth.

He was informed through Kakha Sahib that he should fall at the feet of Baba and

as he did so, Baba got the pain transferred to Himself. For ten minutes Baba

suffered, at the rate of one minute for each janma, and thus he rid Dr. Pillai

of his obligations. Baba was quite normal as soon as the 10 minutes were over.

In 1917

Roman" size="3">, Baba called Abdul Baba, Nana Chandarkar, Mahalaspathi, Das

Ganu and others and started asking each of them, "Do you know who you are?"

Each of them replied, "I am your sishya (Disciple).

Roman">" Baba said, "Nonsense! Don't use that term any longer. I have no

disciples in this world. I have countless devotees. You do not recognise the

distinction between a disciple and a devotee. Anyone can be a devotee. But that

is not the case with the disciple. A disciple is one who carries out implicitly

the commands of the guru (the preceptor). The mark of the Sishya is total

devotion to the preceptor. Only the man who say, 'I have none in the world

other than the preceptor,' is a disciple. How far have you respected my

injunctions? How are you entitled to claim that you are my disciples? Only the

one who follows me like my shadow can claim to be my disciple. The devotee is

one who pray to the Lord wherever he may be. Hence there is a big difference

between a disciple and a devotee. The disciple and the preceptor are like two

bodies with one spirit. The disciple should have no sense of separateness from

the preceptor. He should feel, 'I and you are one.' There are no such disciples

to be found in the world. There are millions of devotees, but no disciples."

On hearing this,

Shyam was in deep pain. He felt within himself, "Apart from serving at your

feet, I have no other concern." Baba then went into another room and called

Shyam inside. "In this entire world, for Me you are the only disciple. All

other are my devotees." At that moment, Shyam fell at the feet of

a Baba, and cried out, "you alone, you alone" (are my refuge) and breathed his

last. In all his life of over 82 years, Baba had never shed a tear in the

presence of devotees. When Shyam passed away he shed three drops of tears. The

devotees present there said,

New Roman" size="3">"Swami! Why do you feel so grieved? All are in your hands."

Baba replied, "Dear boys! I am not grieving at all. Almost all his sins had

been wiped out already. By the three tear drops I shed, the remaining sins (of

Shyam) have been washed away." All that Baba said or did was for the good of

the devotees alone. Towards the end, Abdul Baba came to Baba. Baba told him, "I

shall appear again and give you darshan.When will that be?" asked Abdul. Baba

told him, "It will be after eight years.The first advent of Sai was in

Maharashtra. The Second advent will be in Madras," Baba said. It should be

noted that when this form (Sathya Sai) made Its advent, Andhra Pradesh was a

part of Madras Presidency. When he was asked in what form the next advent would

take place, Shirdi Baba told Abdul Baba alone, "I will give darshan in the name

of Sathya for upholding Truth." That is the present advent. The two bodies are

different, but the divinity is one. The First advent was for revealing

divinity. The

second advent is to awaken the divinity (in human beings). The next advent is

for propagating divinity. The three Sai are: Shirdi Sai, Sathya Sai and Prema

Sai. Baba had told his close devotee, Kakaji in the year 1916, that Dada

would be shedding his mortal coil in 1918. Kakaji thought that he was

mentioning only about Dada sahib, and never thought the reference was to Baba

himself. On September 28th, Baba developed high temperature. Two days earlier

he had collected food by seeking alms in some houses. He took that food and at

noon, He expressed his wish to his devotees that he should be taken from the

Choultry to Booty wada. He hoped to have a quiet time there. In that ward, a

Muralidhar temple had been built by a devotee by name Booty. He wanted Baba to

install the idol of Krishna in the temple. But Baba was putting off the

installation on one pretext or other. Booty did not want to install the idol

without the blessings of Baba. Till his end Baba did not say anything about the

installation of the idol. He directed Booty and Kakaji to go and take their

lunch. Feeling that Baba was better, they went out. Baba had nine one-rupee

coins under his pillow. He took them out and gave them to Lakshmibai. Then Baba

passed away. It was the year 1918 Pradhan's wife, who was living in her native

village, had a dream in which Baba appeared to have passed away. Pradhan was in

Shirdi on waking up, Pradhan's wife started crying over the passing away of

Baba in her dream. At the moment she heard a voice in the house declaring

Roman" size="3">, "Don't say that Baba has died. Say that Baba is in a state of

Samadhi. 'Samadhi' means equal mindedness, Life and death are alike. Joy and

sorrow, profit and loss are all the same. Hence there is no such thing as death

for Baba" this was what the voice declared. When she was trying to find out

wherefrom this voice came, she received a message from her husband conveying

the news of the passing away of Baba. That occurred on the Vijayadasami day (in

1918). September 28th 1835 was his date of birth. On Vijayadasami day, he gave

up his body. Mathaji Krishna Priya came to know that Baba had left his mortal

coil at 2:30p.m. on Vijayadasami day in 1918. She felt very sad the whole day.

The next day she closed all the doors and windows in her house because of a

severe cold in Simla. While she was resting in the house, a tall and well built

monk arrived at the next door and enquired about Mathaji's house. He made

enquiry not because that he did not know where Mathaji lived, but only to make

others know that He was physically present in Simla. The neighbour sent a

servant with an umbrella as it was snowing to show the stranger Mathaji's

house. He knocked at the door. Mathaji opened the door and could not believe

the evidence of her eyes. She wondered how Baba, who had passed away the

previous day, could came to Simla. She asked, "How did you manage to come so

soon. It takes atleast three days to come from Shirdi to Shimla. " Baba said,

"Beti (dear daughter), I am everywhere. You have worshipped Me in the form of

Krishna. Is this all that you know about Me? I am feeling the cold. First get

me hot tea." She prepared tea and offered it to Baba. After taking tea, Baba

said that he was hungry after his long journey. Krishna Priya brought him

chapatis and brinjal curry which Baba used to like very much. After taking the

food Baba washed his hands and wiped them in a towel. He then told her, "The

purpose for which I came is over and I am going away. " In those days there was

nobody to exchange words with Baba. If anybody opposed or said anything to the

contrary, Baba would wield the stick against them. He never brooked any

contradiction. Hence Krishna Priya could not tell him anything. He gave her a

jasmine garland. Krishna Priya watched Him as He went out walking through the

bazaar. In Simla, on the road side, there are usually deep valleys. As Baba was

walking along

New Roman" size="3">, some workmen were engaged in some road work. Noticing that

Baba had fallen down from the road, they ran to rescue Him. But they could find

nobody there. Baba had just disappeared. Before taking leave of Krishna Priya,

Baba whispered in here ears. "See Me in 1926." She did not know where to see

Him. When I went to Simla, Krishna Priya came to see Me. She was shivering on

account of age and the cold weather. She asked, "Baba, have you forgotten the

promise that you made to me long ago ?" I told her, "It is you who have

forgotten, not I. I never forgot what I promised." When Shirdi Baba sought to

impart wisdom, it was not through discourses. Everything was taught by stern

methods. It was because of the conditions prevailing in those days. On

September 28th

Roman" size="3">, 1918, Baba developed fever. For 17 days thereafter he was

quite well. On October 15th, Baba was not to be found anywhere. Nana, Kaka, Das

and Lakshman Rao made a search for Him all over the place. There was a small

well nearby and they went to see whether He had fallen there. When they

returned Baba's abode, they found Him standing near the door. Baba told them

Roman" size="3">, "Where are you searching for Me? I am in one place and you

search for Me elsewhere. I am in all pure hearts. You are searching for Me in

all polluted places. How can you find Me?" He then sat down. Baba left his body

only on October 15th. After Baba left His body, several controversies arose.

Mohammadans came there and claimed that the body belonged to them. The Hindus

claimed that the body belong to them. Baba used to declare from time to time,

"Allah Malik! Allah Malik!"

Old Style" size="2"> On account of this, Mohammadans claimed that Baba was a

Muslim. At other times, Baba used to say, "Rama Malik! Krishna Malik!" for this

reason the Hindus claimed He was a Hindu. Because of these rival claims, the

body was kept for 36 hours as no decision could be arrived as regarding the

manner of disposal of the body. To prevent clashes between the people,

officials arrived there.

They asked all the residents of Shirdi to assemble there. They decided to take

the vote of the people to find out how the majority of the local population

wanted the last rites to be done for Baba. Everybody favoured the Hindu way of

disposal of the body. When this decision was arrived at, a pit was dug in the

Booty Mandir. Some persons opposed the digging. The dispute went on and

ultimately the collector and the police arranged for the samadhi to be

consecrated in the Muralidhar temple. That temple is the present samadhi shrine

of Baba. At this time a remarkable incident occurred in Simla. The garland given

to Mathaji Krishna Priya was placed on the idol of Krishna by her in the

presence of all in her residence. Many wondered why she was garlanding the

Krishna idol when she was a devotee of Sai Baba and there was a picture of Sai

Baba there. Bhajans were going on at

that time. The garland placed on the Krishna figure dropped on the picture of

Baba. The garland placed on Baba's picture moved to the figure of Krishna.

Everyone in Simla rejoiced in the discovery that Krishna and Sai Baba were one.

When all the people came there the next morning, they found that the garland

given by Baba was no longer on the figure of Krishna. That garland was found on

the samadhi of Baba in the Booty Mandir. Why did Baba manifest such miracles? In

those days there were bitter differences between Hindus and Muslims. With a view

to end such communal differences, Baba wanted to show through his miracles the

truth that Baba is the supreme master of all beings. He had no differences

of caste or community. His religion is common to people of all faiths. It is

good for everyone. It is observed by all godly persons. This is the creed for

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