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

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ES">June 1936, Poona. das ganu maharaj, i.e., Gaiipatrao Dattatreya

Sahasra-buddhe. Brahmin, Kirtankar, aged about 78, residing gener­ally at

Nanded. (Nizam's State) says: I have known Sri Sai Baba for a long time and I

have given some account of Him in my books (1) Bhakti Saramrita Ch. 26,65,66

and 67 (1925) (2) Bhakta Lilamrita Ch.31 (1906) and Ch 32 and 33 and (3)

Santakatamrita Ch 57 Ch 31 of No.2 and Ch. 57 of No.3 were published in Baba's

lifetime.

mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Some facts i.e.,

autobiographical reminiscences came from Baba's own mouth. But they were very

few. Besides, I had not spent much time with Baba. I rarely saw Him. When I was

at Shirdi, Baba did not allow me to stay long at the masjid. He made me go away

to the Vittal temple where I stayed to write lives of saints, or to spend my

time in repeti­tion of Vishnu Sahasranama etc. I made some inquiries about Baba

also before writing these works. Some facts were within my personal knowledge. I

was in active (police) service as a Havildar. I had however my literary and

histrionic learnings. I took great interest in Tamashas (village plays) and

took part in them. I composed poems impromptu, in lavani and other metres.

While I was in service and Nana Saheb Chandorkar was D.C. or Collector's

chitnis, he took me to Sai Baba. Even from the outset Sai Baba foresaw my

future and wanted to save me from my own ways and

choice of profession and pastime. He told Nana Saheb even in my presence. This

man is fond of Tamashas, and of his service. Let him give it all up". He

told me the same and Nana Saheb also. But I liked my pastimes and service.

Gradually I gave up taking part in Tamashas i.e., Village plays. As for

service, I could not think of giving it up. Each time I was advised to give up

service, I said "I will see." Baba then said that only by sheer compulsion

i.e., by being impaled. I could be made to quit service. So for about 10

years, Baba went on dinning into me directly and indirectly, that I should

give up service, I shall

mention later how in 1903 I was reduced to giving up service after several

disasters in which Baba's grace saved me from punishment, disgrace, trouble of

various sorts, and even death. First I shall narrate how some facts about

Baba's an­tecedents were revealed at an examination of Baba as a wit­ness.

There was a thief charged with theft etc., of jewels in the Dhulia Tahsildar

Magistrate's Court. The accused pleaded that Sai Baba of Shirdi had given him

the jewels and cited Baba as a witness. Summons came. Baba refused to

receive it and had it thrown into His dhuni (fire). Anyhow the report was sent

the summons had been served on Baba. But Baba did not go to Dhulia for the

trial. So a warrant was issued by the Dhulia Court for producing Sai Baba to

give evidence-at Dhulia. The warrant came to Ganapatramji, the Chief

Constable of Kopergaon. He brought the warrant to Baba and informed him of

its contents and requested Baba to go with him to Dhulia. Of course he had not

the courage to arrest Baba. Baba was defiant. He cursed and swore and asked

the constable to

throw the warrant into some foul place. The constable was perplexed. I was

there and told him to consult Baba's devotee Nana Saheb Chandorkar then Dep.

Collector at Ahmednagar. N.S.C, was consulted and he said that if Sai Baba

and the devotees disliked his going to Dhulia, the people should get a Mahazar

prepared and get numerous signatures to it and send it up to Dhulia. This was

done. The Mahazar stated that Sai Baba of Shirdi was an extraordinary person,

worshipped as God by vast numbers of devotees, that the enforcement of ordinary

Court's process against Him was neither proper nor desirable in view of the

consequences that might follow etc., and that if His evidence was

necessary, a Commissioner might be sent to Shirdi to take His evidence, the

Dhulia Court then sent a Commission. One Nana Joshi, 1st Class Magistrate,

Assistant Collector came down to Shirdi to take the evidence of Baba. To

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

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