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

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none">Baba expressed my nature aptly by saying i.e., Saheb is quite simple and

un­sophisticated. And as that was His view, He never beat or abused me, though

He beat and abused others. Only-once He threatened to beat me, and I knew that

I was then at fault. It was a Dhanur Masa celebration at my Shirdi lodgings and

living away from my father-in-law as we were not on the best terms I then

invited others for the ceremony but not my father-in-law . I went however to

invite Baba. Then He cried "Fetch that stick," I stood quiet. His mood changed

at once and He said " Never mind. I will come." There was another fault

committed by me that day which also would account for Baba's displeasure. That

day I had gone to a Marwadi

to intercede in one of his affairs or disputes. Baba did not like that. When I

had boasted that I was the only devotee of Baba who had not got a beating at

His hands, Madhav Rao Deshphande communicated this to Baba in my presence and

asked Him the reason. Baba said "Why should I beat him? There is his

father-in-law to beat him" Baba evidently con­veyed thereby the idea that I was

being constantly "Fined" by my father-in-law's excessive demands and collections

of money from me. Baba's help to me on the spiritual side was often to keep me

off from vanity, pomp or sin in thought or action. Here are some instances.

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At the time, when in the Wada (i.e., Sathe wada), the foundation stone was laid,

there was no previous intimation of the date to me. It was however on a Poornima

day. Myself and Bere started the previous day to go to Shirdi without

pre­viously intimating our intention to go there. At Kopergaon which we reached

in the evening, Bere induced me to halt for the night as Baba could not easily

be visited, by us at night. Next morning we went to Shirdi. Baba was then

coming from the Lendi. There was a crowd of 80 to 90

spectators waiting to see him. We also went and prostrated. Baba told me "You

have come just in time. The foundation stone is to be laid". I fancied that I

must go through the pompous ceremony in high style. I took up a hatchet to dig

up a bit of the founda­tion and stone. Baba stopped me at once and said "Why do

you go there? What have we to do with all this? The masons and other workmen

will do it." So no formal ceremony of laying the foundation stone was gone

through. My father-in-law told me that he knew the previous day that I was

arriving at Shirdi on the Poornima day and so fixed up that date for laying of

the foundation stone. When asked how he knew of it, he said that Baba was

saying the previous day "Saheb is coming tomorrow. The washer-woman told me of

this as Saheb's tent had come to her for washing". In fact there was no tent

sent and no washerwoman could have got intimation of our arrival. Bere's

stopping me at Kopergaon was

useful. To Be contd ---DEVOTEES CAN READ THIS BOOK FROM THE BOOK SECTION OF

WWW.SAILEELAS.ORG/BOOKS/EXPPART3.HTM

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