DEVOTEES' EXPERIENCES OF SRI SAI BABA BY H.H. NARASIMHA SWAMIJI - PART II

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Sairam,Devotees Experiences - Rao Bahadur S.B.DhumalRAO BAHADUR

S.B.DHUMAL, B.A., LL.B, Pleader, Brahmin, aged 63, Nasik, says:I have

one great difficulty in answering the question "What are your

experiences of Sai Baba?" All hours of day and night, I am having

experiences of Baba. There is no incident or event in my life

which I do not connect with Him -however trivial it may appear to

be. I firmly believe that everything in my life is swayed by

Baba. What then is to be mentioned as my experience? Of course,

the outside world will not be ready to accept my belief as correct or

well-founded. But that, matters nothing to me. In fact, that very

disbelief of people seems to be a reason for refusing to disclose

one's experience. Every devotee feels that his experiences are his

own, and are given to him for his own spiritual and temporal benefit

and not for ventilation or publication to the general public which,

of course, includes masses of Ignorant, irrelevant carping critics

and scoffers. Yet ardent biographers are anxious to ferret out

one's innermost secret and sacred experiences to embellish their

work. But the devotee whom they delve into feels that in the very

act of dragging the secret experience into light, its reality and

life are destroyed. The anatomist anxious to examine the living

organism inch by inch cuts out what he wants and places it under his

microscope, but in that very act, life is destroyed and what he

examines with his instrument is dead tissue and not the living

organism. The best way of understanding Baba is to experience Him

oneself. Where is Baba gone? He is still alive and active - more

active, if that were possible, than He was before His Mahasamadhi.

Anyone in downright earnest can get Into touch with Him, to-day and

at once. But if one will not do that, but wants experiences, second

hand, third hand or even fifth hand, he will get but poor stuff. I

feel also very strongly the regrettable facts that experiences which

get their significance and full force when expressed in our

vernacular are to be now expressed to you and by you in English and

that the loss in transition will be serious. Anyhow as you want some

facts about Baba I shall narrate some that I can personally vouch for

i.e., about myself chiefly.I was first (in 1903) devoted to Gajanan

Maharaj whom I took to Srimant Gopal Rao Buti. About 1907 I went to

Sai Baba. From my very first visit, I was greatly impressed with His

extraordinary personality. At His unspoken command, I took Buti to

Him and at once Buti also became His devoted follower. Among the

services of the latter to Baba, perhaps the most momentous and

memorable is His allowing His huge stone-pile (Dagdiwada) to be used

as the temple for the reception of the mortal remains and the worship

of Baba. It Is difficult to sort out my recollections of Baba, as I

consider that every act of mine and every event in my life is moulded

and directed by Him. I may quote some sayings and acts of His which

throw light on what Sai Baba is, has done, and is doing for devotees

(like me).Once Baba told me "At every step of yours, I am taking care

of you. If I did not, what will become of you, God knows". This was

no overstatement. At another time, when we two were alone, Baba told

me "Bhau, the whole of last night, I had no sleep".I: Baba, why so?

Baba: I was thinking and thinking of you, all the night.At this

declaration, I was overpowered by a sudden gush of love, gratitude,

surprise etc. feelings which could find no other expression than a

free flow of tears. What intense love He had for me! What an amount

of trouble He took for my sake! Just as I was always thinking of Him,

He was kind enough to think of me - with this difference. My thought

of Him, though loving, was weak, and I could render Him no real

service. But His love was accompanied by such vast insight and such

power that I was helped in every act and event. He could and did

foresee things far ahead and took every required step to avert the

evil and accelerate or promote the good that was coming to me. There

are numerous instances that may be cited to show this. Outsiders may

not be convinced that every such benefit derived by me was and is due

to His guidance and ordering. But some instances of His help are so

glaring that any fair-minded inquirer who is open to conviction, will

be immediately convinced of the truth of what has been stated by Baba

and by me.

 

- to be contd

 

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