Thursday Message from Sri Sai Satcharitra

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been born in this planet earth. But where as in the case of Sri Sai Baba Guru of

Gurus, the great Saint incarnation it is totally different. He is a

personification of God himself, either the Trinities or Jesus or Allah or any

other holy person, he/she will find them in Sai Baba. One of the messages we

get here is Sai Baba has appeared here on this earth to emphasise that All

religions are one and all the Prophets or Saints who have appeared on earth are

the representatives of the one God the Almighty and as all tributes go and join

the river and the river goes and joins the Sea, So also all religions preach

the same and the source to which we have to go and join is one and the same

that is the Parabrahma or God, who is the source of all living and non living

things in the Universe. This can be seen by the demonstrated by the practical

experience to Kakasaheb Dixit, Bhagwantrao Kshirsagar and Das Ganu Maharaj.

0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> Baba is timeless, He was

there in yester years, He is there in present days, and He will be there in

future too. Cause he is god incarnate. Fortunate are the people of Shirdi, who

enjoyed His presence virtually, We are also fortunate, because we are also

experiencing His presence even after 80 years of His Mahasamdhi in some way or

the other depending on the individual devotees perception. We are fortunate

enough to get a Mahamantra, which is very easy to utter, very easy to remember

and which we can practice very easily. And Baba himself has assured that

chanting this Mahamantra is very powerful and will destroy mountains of Sins

accumulated through the different janmas and it

is also very easy to cross this Ocean of world existence through this

Mahamantra, and the Mantra is a simple three lettered word “SAI”. So Dear

Devotees let us decorate our heart with the petals of Love and arrange Simhasan

with Firm Faith and Patience and invite Sri Sai Baba with at most devotion to

come and sit in our heart, and lets offer Him the Chandan of good words and

good works, offer Him our pure heart like fragrance flowers and totally

surrender Him for Sarwasya Saranagati and lets be ever thankful to Him always

for He always had our benefit in mind, and Sai is so kind hearted that He who

gave us this

Satcharitra which is full of his love and nectar in the form of His Leela for us

to drink. So dear devotees lets us not run here and there in search of God or

Peace or Love cause and waste our precious time, When Our Baba is an Incarnation

of God and the Ocean of Peace and Love, so lets strive our best to dive deep

into the ocean of Peace and Love and enjoy the bliss and let us work out our

salvation by chanting this Simple yet Powerful Mahamantra (SAI).

___ Chapter IV SAI

BABA’S FIRST ADVENT IN SHIRDI Mission of the Saints - Shirdi a Holy Tirth -

Personality of Sai Baba - Dictum of Goulibuva - Appearance of Vithal -

Kshirsagar’s Story - Das Ganu’s Bath in Prayag - Immaculate Conception of Sai

Baba and His First Advent in Shirdi - Three Wadas. In the last chapter, I

described the

circumstances, which led me to write Sai-Sat-Charita. Let me now describe the

first advent of Sai Baba in Shirdi. Mission of the Saints Lord Krishna

says in Bhagvadgita (Chapter IV, 7-8) that "Whenever there is a decay of Dharma

(righteousness) and an ascendancy

of unrighteousness, I manifest Myself; and for the protection of the virtuous,

the destruction of the vicious and for the establishment of righteousness, I

manifest Myself in age after age". This is the mission of Lord, and the Sages

and Saints, Who are His representatives and who appear here at proper times,

help in their own way to fulfil that mission. For instance, when the twice

born, i.e. the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas neglect their duties

and when the Shudras try to usurp the rights of the higher classes, when

spiritual preceptors are not respected but humiliated, when nobody cares for

religious instructions, when every body thinks himself very learned, when

people begin to partake of forbidden foods and intoxicating drinks, when under

the cloak of religion, people indulge in malpractices, when people belonging to

different sects fight amongst

themselves, when Brahmins fail to do Sandhya adoration, and the orthodox their

religious practices, when Yogis neglect their meditation, when people begin to

think that wealth, progeny, wife are their sole concern, and thus turn away

from the true path of salvation, then do Saints appear and try to set matters

right by their words and action. They serve us as beacon-lights, and show us

the right path, and the right way for us to follow. In this way, many saints,

viz. Nivritti, Jnanadev, Muktabai, Namdev, Gora, Gonayi, Ekanath, Tukaram,

Narahari, Narsi Bhai, Sajan Kasai, Sawata, Ramdas, and various others did

appear at various times to show the right path to the people, and so presently

came Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi. Shirdi - A Holy

Tirth The banks of the Godavari river, in the Ahmednagar District, are very

fortunate for they gave birth and refuge to many a Saint, prominent amongst

them being Jnaneshwar. Shirdi also falls in the Kopargaon Taluka of the

Ahmednagar District. After crossing the Godavari River at Kopargaon, one gets

the way to Shirdi. When you go three Koss (9 miles), you come to Nimgaon, from

whence; Shirdi is visible. Shirdi is as famous and well known as other holy

places like Gangapur, Narsinhwadi, Audumbar on the banks of Krishna River. As

the devotee Damaji flourished in and blessed Mangalvedha (near Pandharpur) as

Samarth Ramdas at Sajjangad, as Shri Narasimha Saraswati at Saraswatiwadi, so

Sainath flourished at Shirdi and blessed it. Personality of Sai Baba It

is on account of Sai Baba that Shirdi grew into importance. Let us see what

sort of a personage Sai Baba was. He conquered this Samsar (worldly existence),

which is very difficult and hard to cross. Peace or mental calm was His

ornament, and He was the repository of wisdom. He was the home of Vaishnava

devotees, most liberal (like Karna) amongst liberals, the quint-essence of all

essences. He had no love for perishable things, and was always engrossed in

self-realization, which was His sole concern. He felt no pleasure in the things

of this world or of the world beyond. His Antarang (heart) was as clear as a

mirror, and His speech always rained nectar. The rich or poor people were the

same to Him. He did not know or care for honour or dishonour. He was the Lord

of all beings. He spoke freely and mixed with all people, saw the actings and

dances of Nautchgirls and heard Gajjal songs. Still, He swerved not an inch

from Samadhi (mental equilibrium). The name of Allah was always on His lips.

While the world awoke, He slept; and while the world slept, He was vigilant.

His abdomen (Inside) was as calm as the deep sea. His Ashram

could not be determined, nor His actions could be definitely determined, and

though He sat (lived) in one place, He knew all the transactions of the world.

His Darbar was imposing. He told daily hundreds of stories; still He swerved

not an inch from His vow of silence. He always leaned against the wall in the

Masjid or walked morning, noon and evening towards Lendi (Nala) and Chavadi;

still He at all times abided in the Self. Though a Siddha, He acted like a

Sadhaka. He was meek, humble and egoless, and pleased all. Such was Sai Baba,

and as Sai Baba’s Feet treaded the soil of Shirdi, it attained extraordinary

importance. As jnaneshwar elevated Alandi, Ekanath did to Paithan, so Sai Baba

raised Shirdi. Blessed are the grass-leaves and stones of Shirdi, for they

could easily kiss the Holy Feet of Sai Baba, and take their dust on their head.

Shirdi became to us, devotees, another Pandharpur, Jagannath, Dwarka, Banaras

(Kashi) and Rameshwar, Badrikedar, Nasik, Tryambakeshwar, Ujjain, and Maha

Kaleshwar or Mahabaleshwar Gokarn. Contact of Sai Baba in Shirdi was like our

Veda and Tantra; it quieted our Samsara (world consciousness) and rendered

self-realization easy. The darshana of shri Sai was our Yoga-Sadhana, and talk

with Him removed our sins. Shampooing His Legs was our bath in Triveni Prayag,

and drinking the holy water of His Feet destroyed our desires. To us, His

commands were Vedas, and accepting (eating) His Udi (sacred ashes) and Prasad

was all purifying. He was our Shri Krishna and Shri Rama who gave us solace and

He was our Para Brahma (Absolute Reality). He was Himself beyond the Pair of

dwandwas (opposite), never dejected nor elated. He was always engrossed in His

Self as ‘Existence, Knowledge and Bliss.’ Shirdi was His centre; but His field

of action extended far wide, to Punjab, Calcutta, North India, Gujarat, Dacca

(Now

in Bangladesh) and Konkan. Thus the fame of Sai Baba spread, far, and wide, and

people from all parts came to take His darshana and be blessed. By mere

darshan, minds of people, whether, pure or impure, would become at once quiet.

They got here the same sort of unparalleled joy that devotees get at Pandharpur

by seeing Vithal Rakhumai. This is not an exaggeration. Consider what a devotee

says in this respect. Dictum of Goulibuva An old devotee by name

Goulibuva, aged about 95 years, was a Varkari of Pandhari. He stayed 8 months

at

Pandharpur and four months - Ashadha to Kartik (July - November) on the banks of

the Ganges. He had an ass with him for carrying his luggage, and a disciple, as

his companion. Every year he made his Vari or trip to Pandharpur and came to

Shirdi to see Sai Baba, Whom he loved most. He used to stare at Baba and say,

"This is Pandharinath Vithal incarnate, the merciful Lord of the poor and

helpless." This Goulibuva was an old devotee of Vithoba, and had made many a

trip to Pandhari; and he testified that Sai Baba was real Pandharinath.

Vithal Himself Appeared

justify">Sai Baba was very fond of remembering and singing God’s name. He always

uttered Allah Malik (God is Lord) and in His presence made others sing God’s

name continuously, day and night, for 7 days. This is called Namasaptaha. Once

He asked Das Ganu Maharaj to do the Namasaptaha. He replied that he would do

it, provided he was assured that Vithal would appear at the end of the 7th day.

Then Baba, placing His hand on his breast assured him that certainly Vithal

would appear, but that the devotee must be ‘earnest and devout’. The Dankapuri

(Takore) of Takurnath, the Pandhari of Vithal, the Dwarka of Ranchhod (Krishna)

is here (Shirdi). One need not go far out to see Dwarka. Will Vithal come here

from some outside place? He is here. Only when the devotee is bursting with

love and devotion, Vithal will manifest Himself here (Shirdi). After the

Saptaha was over, Vithal did manifest Himself in the following manner.

Kakasaheb Dixit was, as usual, sitting in meditation after the bath, and he saw

Vithal in a vision. When he went at noon for Baba’s darshana, Baba asked him

point-blank - "Did Vithal Patil come? Did you see Him? He is a very truant

fellow, catch Him firmly, otherwise, he will escape, if you be a little

inattentive." This happened in the morning and at noon there was another Vithal

darshana. One hawker from outside came there for selling 25 or 30 pictures of

Vithoba. This picture exactly tallied with the figure that appeared in

Kakasaheb’s vision. On seeing this and remembering Baba’s words, Kakasaheb

Dixit was much surprised and delighted. He bought one picture of Vithoba, and

placed it in his shrine for worship.

FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> Bhagwantrao Kshirsagar’s Story How fond was Baba for

Vithal worship was illustrated in Bhagwantrao Kshirsagar’s story. The father of

Bhagwantrao was a devotee of Vithoba, and used to make Varis (annual trips) to

Pandharpur. He also had an image of Vithoba at home, which he worshipped. After

his death, the son stopped everything - the Vari, the worship and shraddha

ceremony etc. When Bhagwantrao came to Shirdi, Baba on remembering his father,

at once said - "His father was my friend, so I dragged him (the son) here. He

never offered naivaidya (offering of food) and so he starved Vithal and Me. So

I brought him here. I shall

remonstrate him now and set him to worship." Das Ganu’s Bath in Prayag The

Hindus think that a bath in the holy Tirth of Prayag, where the Ganga and

Yamuna meet, is very meritorious and thousands of pilgrims go there, at

periodical times, to have the sacred bath there. Once, Das Ganu thought that he

should go to Prayag for a bath, and came to Baba to get His permission for doing

so. Baba replied to him - "It is not necessary to go so long. Our Prayag is

here, believe me." Then wonder of wonders! When Das Ganu placed his head on

Baba’s Feet, out came or flowed streams, of Ganga - Yamuna water, from both the

toes of Baba.

Seeing this miracle, Das Ganu was overwhelmed with feelings of love and

adoration and was full of tears. Inwardly, he felt inspired, and his speech

burst forth into a song in praise of Baba and His Leelas. Immaculate

Conception of Sai Baba and His First Advent in Shirdi Nobody knew the

parents, birth or birthplace of Sai Baba. Many inquiries were made, many

questions were put to Baba and others regarding these items, but no

satisfactory answer or information has yet been obtained. Practically we know

nothing about these matters.

Namdev and Kabir were not born like ordinary mortals. They were found as infants

in mother-of-pearls, Namdev being found on the bank Bhimrathi River by Gonayee,

and Kabir on the bank Bhagirathi River by Tamal. Similar was the case with Sai

Baba. He first manifested Himself as a young lad of sixteen under a Neem tree

in Shirdi, for the sake of Bhaktas. Even then He seemed to be full with the

knowledge of Brahman. He had no desire for worldly objects even in dream. He

kicked out Maya; and Mukti (deliverance) was serving at His feet. One old woman

of Shirdi, the mother of Nana Chopdar, described Him thus. This young lad, fair,

smart and very handsome, was first seen under the Neem tree, seated in an Asan.

The people of the village were wonder-struck to see such a young lad

practising hard penance, not minding heat and cold. By day he associated with

none, by night he was afraid of nobody. People were wondering and asking,

whence this young chap had turned up. His form and features were so beautiful

that a mere look endeared Him to all. He went to nobody’s door, always sat near

the Neem tree. Outwardly he looked very young; but by His action he was really a

Great Soul. He was the embodiment of dispassion and was an enigma to all. One

day it so happened, that God Khandoba possessed the body of some devotee and

people began to ask Him, "Deva (God), you please enquire what blessed father’s

son is this lad and whence did He come". God Khandoba asked them to bring a

pickaxe and dig in a particular place. When it was dug, bricks were found

underneath a flat stone. When the stone was removed, a corridor led to a cellar

where cow-mouth-shaped structures, wooden boards, necklaces were seen. Khandoba

said - "This lad practiced penance here for 12

years." Then the people began to question the lad about this. He put them off

the scent by telling them that it was His Guru’s place, His holy Watan and

requested them to guard it well. The people then closed the corridor as before.

As Ashwattha and Audumbar trees are held sacred, Baba regarded this Neem tree

equally sacred and loved it most. Mhalasapati and other Shirdi devotees regard

this site as the resting place (Samadhi-Sthana) of Baba’s Guru and prostrate

before it. Three Wadas

Verdana">(1) The site with the Neem tree and surrounding space was bought by Mr.

Hari Vinayak Sathe, and on this site a big building styled Sathe’s Wada was

erected. This Wada was the sole resting place for pilgrims, who flocked there.

A Par (platform) was built round the neem tree and lofts with steps were

constructed. Under the steps, there is a niche facing south and devotees sit on

the Par (platform) facing north. It is believed, that he who burns incense

there, on Thursday and Friday evenings will, by God’s grace, be happy. This

Wada was old and dilapidated and wanted repairs. The Sansthan has made the

necessary repairs, additions and alterations now. (2) Then after some years

another Wada, Dixit’s Wada was constructed. Kakasaheb Dixit, Solicitor of

Bombay, had gone to England. He had injured his leg by an accident there. The

injury could not be got rid of by any means. Nanasaheb

Chandorkar advised him to try Sai Baba. So he saw Sai Baba in 1909 A.D., and

requested Him to cure rather the lameness of his mind than that of his leg. He

was so much pleased with the darshana of Sai Baba that he decided to reside in

Shirdi. So he built a Wada for himself and other devotees. The foundation of

this building was laid on 10-12-1910. On this day, two other important events

took place. (1) Mr. Dadasaheb Khaparde was given permission to return home, and

(2) the night Arti in Chavadi was commenced. The Wada was complete and was

inhabited on the Rama-Navami day in 1911 A.D., with due rites and formalities.

(3) Then another Wada or palatial mansion was put up by the famous millionaire,

Mr. Booty, of Nagpur. Lots of money was spent on this building, but the entire

amount was well utilized, as Sai Baba’s body is resting in this Wada, which is

now called the Samadhi Mandir. The site of this Mandir had

formerly a garden, which was watered and looked after by Baba. Three Wadas thus

sprang up, where there was none formerly. Of these, Sathe’s Wada was most

useful to all, in the early days. The story of the garden, attended to by Sai

Baba with the help of Vaman Tatya, the temporary absence of Sai Baba from

Shirdi, and His coming again to Shirdi with the marriage-party of Chand Patil,

the company of Devidas, Jankidas and Gangagir, Baba’s wrestling match with

Mohdin Tamboli, residence in Masjid, love of Mr. Dengale and other devotees;

and other incidents will be described in the next Chapter. Bow to Shri Sai -

Peace be to all

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