SHRI SAI SATCHARITRA - Ch. XXIX and XXX

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XXIX Stories of (1) Madrasi Bhajan Mela - (2) Tendulkars (Father and son) - (3)

Dr. Captain Hate – (4) Waman Narvekar This Chapter described other

interesting and wonderful stories of Sai Baba.

10pt; COLOR: fuchsia; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> Madrasi

Bhajan Mela

mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">It was in the year 1916 that a Madrasi Bhajan Mela

(Party of the Ramadasi Panth) started on a Pilgrimage to the holy city of

Banaras. The Party consisted of a man, his wife, daughter and sister-in-law.

Unfortunately their names are not mentioned. On their way, the party heard that

there lived at Shirdi in Kopergaon Taluka, Ahmednagar District, a great sage

named Sai Baba, who was calm and composed, and who was very liberal and who

distributed money every day to His Bhaktas and to skilful persons, who went and

showed their skill there. A lot of money in the form of Dakshina was collected

daily by Sai Baba and out of this amount, He gave daily one rupee to a three

year old girl Amani, the daughter of a Bhakta Kondaji and Rs. 2 to 5 to some,

Rs. 6 to Jamali, the mother of Amani and Rs. 10 to 20 and even Rs. 50 to other

Bhaktas as He pleased. On hearing all this party came to Shirdi and stayed

there. The Mela did very good Bhajan

and sang very good songs, but inwardly they craved for money. Three of the party

was full of avarice, but the chief lady or mistress was of a very different

nature. She had a regard and love for Baba. Once it so happened, that when the

noon-day Arati was going on, Baba was much pleased with her faith and devotion,

and was pleased to give her Darshan of her Ishtam (Beloved Deity). To her Baba

appeared as Sitanath (Rama) while to all the others the usual Sainath. On

seeing her beloved Deity, she was very much moved. Tears began to flow from her

eyes and she clapped her hands in joy. The people began to wonder at her joyful

mood; but were not able to guess its cause. Late in the afternoon she disclosed

everything to her husband. She told him how she saw Shri Rama in Sai Baba. He

thought that she was very simple and devout, and her seeing Rama might be a

hallucination of her mind. He pooh-poohed her, saying that it was not possible,

that she alone should see Rama while they

all saw Sai Baba. She did not resent this remark, as she was fortunate enough to

get Rama Darshan now and then, when her mind was calm and composed and free from

avarice. Wonderful Vision

yes"> Things were going on like this, when the husband got a wonderful vision

in his dream one night as follows: - He was in a big city; the police there

had arrested him, tied his hands with a rope, and put him up in

a cage (lock-up). As the police were tightening the grip, he saw Sai Baba

standing quiet outside, near the cage. On seeing Baba so near, he said in a

plaintive tone - "Hearing Your fame I came to Your Feet and why should a

calamity befall me when You are standing here in person?" Baba said - "You must

suffer the consequences of your action" He said - "I have not done anything in

this life, which would bring such a misfortune on me." Baba said - "If not in

this life, you must have committed some sin in your past life. " He replied, "I

do not know anything of my past life, but assuming that I did commit some sin

then, why should it not be burnt and destroyed in Your presence, as dry grass

before fire? "Baba - "Have you got such faith?" He - "Yes." Baba then asked

him to close his eyes. No sooner did he shut them than he heard a thumping

sound of something falling down, and opening his eyes, he saw that he was free

and the police had fallen down, bleeding. Being much frightened he began to

look at Baba who said - "Now you are well caught, officers will now come and

arrest you." Then he begged - "There is no other savior except You, save me

anyhow." Then Baba again asked him to close his eyes. He did so and when he

opened them, he saw that he was free, out of the cage and that Baba was by his

side. He then fell at Baba's Feet. Baba then asked him - "Is there any

difference between this Namaskar and your previous ones? Think well and reply."

He said "There is a lot of

difference; my former Namaskaras were offered with the object of getting money

from You, but the present Namaskar is one offered to You as God; besides,

formerly I thought resentfully that you, being a Mohammedan, were spoiling us,

the Hindus". Baba "Do you not believe in your mind in Mohammedan Gods?" He said

"No". Then Baba said - "Have you not got a Panja (Emblem of Hand) in your house

and do you not worship the same in Tabut, i.e. Moharum festival? Also there is

in your house another Mohammedan Deity by name Kadbibi, whom you propitiate and

appease on your marriage and other festivals. Is it not so?" He admitted all

this. Then Baba said, "What more do you want?" Then a desire arose in his mind

to get the Darshan of his Guru Ramdas, when Baba asked him to turn back and

see. And when he turned, lo, Ramadas was in front of him. No sooner did he

begin to fall at His Feet, Ramadas vanished. Then he inquisitively asked Baba,

"You look old. Do You know Your age?" Baba -

"What! Do you say I am old! Just run a race with Me and see." Saying this Baba

began to run and he too followed. Baba disappeared in the dust raised by His

footsteps while running and the man was awakened. After awakening he began to

think seriously about the dream vision. His mental attitude was completely

changed and he realised the greatness of Baba. After this, his grabbing and

doubting

tendencies disappeared and true devotion to Baba's Feet sprang in his mind. The

vision was a mere dream, but the questions and answers therein were most

significant and interesting. Next morning when all the persons assembled in the

Masjid for the Arati, Baba gave him as prasad two rupees' worth sweetmeats and

also two rupees from His pocket and blessed him. He made him stay there for a

few more days and gave him His blessing, saying, "Allah (God) will give you

plenty and He will do you all good". He did not get more money there, but he

got far better things viz. Baba's blessing which stood him in good stead all

along. The party got plenty of money afterwards and their pilgrimage was

successful, as they had not to suffer any trouble or inconvenience during their

journey. They all returned home safe and sound, thinking of Baba's words and

blessings and the Anand (Bliss) they experienced by His grace.

0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> This story illustrates one of the methods,

which Baba followed (and is following even now) in some cases to improve and

reform His devotees.

10pt; COLOR: fuchsia; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">Tendulkar

family There lived in Bandra (a suburb of Bombay) a Tendulkar family, all the

members of which were devoted to Baba. Mrs. Savitribai Tendulkar has published a

Marathi book named "Shri Sainath Bhajan Mala” containing 800 abhangas and padas

describing the Leelas of Baba. It is a book worth reading by those who are

interested in Baba. The son, Babu Tendulkar was studying hard day and night and

wanted to appear for the medical examination. He consulted some astrologers.

Examining his horoscope they told him that the stars were not favourable that

year and that he should appear for the examination next year, when he would be

certainly successful. This cast a gloom over him and made him restless. A few

days afterwards his mother went to Shirdi and saw Baba. Amongst other things

she mentioned the gloomy and morose condition of her son, who was to appear for

the examination in a few days. Hearing this Baba said to her, "Tell your son to

believe in Me, to throw aside horoscopes and predictions of astrologers and

palmists and go on with his studies. Let him appear for the examination with a

calm mind, he is sure to pass this year. Ask him to trust in Me and not to get

disappointed". The mother returned home and communicated Baba's message to her

son. Then he studied hard and in due course

appeared for the examination. In the written papers he did well, but being

overwhelmed by doubts he thought that he would not secure sufficient marks for

passing. So he did not care to appear for the oral examination. But the

examiner was after him. He sent word through a fellow- student, stating that he

had passed in the written examination and that he should appear for the oral.

The son being thus encouraged appeared for the oral examination and was

successful in both. Thus he got through the examination that year successfully

by Baba's grace, though the stars were against him. It is to be noted here that

doubts and difficulties surround us just to move us and confirm our faith. We

are tested as it were. If we only hold on steadily to Baba with full faith and

continue our endeavours, our efforts will be ultimately crowned with success.

COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> The father of

this boy, Raghunathrao was serving in some foreign mercantile firm in Bombay.

As he grew old, he was not able to attend to his work properly and so he had to

take leave and rest. As he did not improve during the period of leave a further

extension of leave or retirement from service was inevitable. The Chief Manager

of the firm decided to retire him on pension, as he was an old and a reliable

servant. The question regarding the amount of pension to be given was under

consideration. He was getting Rs.150/- p.m. and his pension i.e. half the

amount viz. Rs. 75/- would not be enough to meet the expenses of the family. So

they were all anxious about this matter.

Fifteen days before the final settlement, Baba appeared to Mrs. Tendulkar in her

dream and said, "I wish that Rs. 100/- should be paid (settled) as pension, will

this satisfy you?" She replied "Baba, why ask me this? We fully trust in You".

Though Baba said Rs.100/- still he was given ten Rupees more i.e. Rs.110/- as a

special case. Such wonderful love and care did Baba exhibit for His Bhaktas.

Captain

Hate Captain Hate, who was staying in Bikaner, was a great devotee of Baba.

Once Baba appeared to him in his dream and said "Did you forget Me?" Hate then

immediately held Baba's Feet and replied, "If a child forgets his mother, how

could it be saved?" Then Hate went into the garden and took out fresh walpapadi

vegetables, and arranging 'shidha' (ghee, wheat-flour and dal etc.) and

Dakshina, was about to offer all this

to Baba when he was awakened and came to know that the whole thing was a dream.

Then he decided to send all these things to Baba at Shirdi. When he came to

Gwalior some days afterwards, he sent Rs.12/- by money order to a friend, with

instructions that Rs. 2 should be spent in buying shidha articles and walpapadi

vegetables, and those should be offered to Baba with Rs. 10 as Dakshina. The

friend went to Shirdi and purchased the things mentioned, but walpapadi was not

available. In a short time a woman turned up with a basket on her head, which

curiously enough contained the vegetables. It was purchased and then all the

things were offered to Baba on behalf of Captain hate. Mr. Nimonkar prepared

the 'naivedya' (rice and walpapadi vegetables) next day and offered the same to

Baba. All the people were surprised to see that Baba while dining, took and ate

walpapadi, and did not touch rice and other things. Hate's joy knew no bounds

when he heard of this from his

friend. Consecrated Rupee At another time Captain Hate wished that he should

have in his house a coin of rupee consecrated by Baba with His touch. He came

across a friend who was bound for Shirdi. With him Hate sent his rupee. The

friend went to Shirdi and after the usual salutation gave first his Dakshina

which Baba pocketed. Then he gave Hate's rupee, which Baba took in His hand and

began to stare at it. He held it in front, tossed it up with His right thumb and

played with it. Then He said to the friend, "Return this to its owner with the

Prasad of Udi, tell him that I want nothing from him, ask him to live in peace

and contentment." The friend returned to Gwalior, handed over the consecrated

rupee to Hate, and told him all the h0appened at Shirdi. This time Hate was

much pleased and realised that Baba always encouraged

good thoughts, and as he wished intently, Baba fulfilled the same accordingly.

Waman Narvekar

Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> Now let the readers hear a different story.

A gentleman, named Waman Narvekar loved Baba very much. He once brought a

rupee. On one said (obverse) of it were engraved the figures of Rama, Laxman

and Sita and on the other (reverse) side was engraved the figure of Maruti,

with folded hands. He offered it to Baba with a hope that He should consecrate

it with His touch and return it to him with Udi. But Baba immediately pocketed

it. Then Shama spoke to Baba, regarding Womanrao's intention and requested Him

to return it. Then Baba spoke in the presence of Wamanrao as follows: - "Why

should it be returned to him? We should keep it ourselves. If he gives Rs.25/-

for it, it will be returned." Then, for the sake of that rupee, Wamanrao

collected Rs.25/- and placed them before Baba. Then Baba said, "The value of

that rupee far exceeds 25 Rupees. Shama, take this rupee, let us have it in our

store, keep this in your shrine and worship it." No one had the courage to ask

Baba why He followed this particular action. He only knows what is best and

most suitable to each and all. Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all

10pt; COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> Chapter

XXX Drawn To Shirdi Kakaji Vaidya of Vani - Punjabi Ramalal

of Bombay In this Chapter the story of two more devotees that were drawn to

Shirdi, is narrated. Preliminary Bow to the Kind Sai who is the Abode of

Mercy and who is affectionate towards His devotees. By His mere Darshan, He

does away with their fear of this 'bhava' (samsar) and destroys their

calamities. He was first Nirgun (formless), but on account of the devotion of

His Bhaktas, He was obliged to take a form. To give liberation -

self-realisation to the Bhaktas is the mission of the saints, and for

Sai - the Chief of them, that mission is inevitable. Those who take refuge in

His Feet have all their sins destroyed and their progress is certain.

Remembering His Feet, Brahmins from holy places come to Him and read scriptures

and chant the Gayatri mantra in His presence. We, who are weak and without any

merits, do not know what Bhakti is but we know this much, that though all

others may leave us, Sai won't forsake us. Those whom He favours get enormous

strength, discrimination between the Unreal and the Real and knowledge.

TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Sai knows fully the desire of His devotees and fulfills the

same. Hence they get what they want and are grateful. So we invoke Him and

prostrate ourselves before Him. Forgetting all our faults let Him free us from

all anxieties. He, who being overcome with calamities remembers and prays Sai

thus, will get his mind calmed and pacified through His grace. This Sai - the

ocean of mercy, says Hemadpant, favoured him and the result of this, is the

present work - Sai-Satcharitra. Otherwise what qualifications had he and who

would undertake this enterprise? But as Sai took all the responsibility,

Hemadpant felt neither burden, nor any care about this. When the powerful Light

of knowledge was there to inspire his speech and pen, why should he entertain

any doubt or feel any anxiety? Sai got the service in the form of this book

done by him; this is due to the accumulation of his merits in the past births

and, therefore, he thinks himself fortunate and blessed.

yes"> The following story is not a mere tale, but pure nectar. He who drinks it

will realise Sai's greatness and all-pervasiveness. Those who want to argue and

criticise should not go in for these stories. What is wanted here, is not

discussion but unlimited love and devotion. Learned, devout and faithful

believers or those, who consider themselves as servants of the Saints, will

like and appreciate these stories; others will take them to be fables. The

fortunate Bhaktas of Sai will find the Sai-Leelas as the Kalpataru

(Wish-fulfilling Tree). Drinking this nectar of Sai-Leelas will give liberation

to the ignorant Jivas, satisfaction to the

householders and a sadhana to the aspirants. Now to the story of this Chapter.

Kakaji Vaidya

mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> There lived in Vani, Nasik District, a man named

Kakaji Vaidya. He was the priest of the Goodness Sapta-Shringi there. He was so

much overwhelmed with adverse circumstances and calamities that he lost peace of

mind and became quite restless. Under such circumstances one evening he went

into the temple of the Goddess and prayed unto Her from the bottom of his heart

and invoked Her aid to free him from anxiety. The Goddess was pleased with his

devotion and the same night appeared to him in his dream and said to him, "You

go to Baba and then your mind will become calm and composed". Kakaji was

anxious to know from Her who that Baba was, but before he could get any

explanation, he was awakened. Then he began to think as to who might be that

Baba, to whom the Goddess has asked him to go. After some thinking, he resolved

that this Baba might be 'Tryambakeshwar' (Lord Shiva). So he went to the holy

place 'Tryambak' (Nasik District) and stayed there for ten days. During this

period, he bathed early in the morning, chanted the 'Rudra' hymns, did the

'Abhishekam' (pouring unceasingly fresh cold water over the Pindi) and did

other religious rites; but with all that, he was as restless as before. Then he

returned to his place and again invoked the Goddess most pitifully. They night

She again appeared in his dream and said - "Why did you go to Tryambakeshwar in

vain? I mean by Baba - Shri Sai Samarth of Shirdi."

COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> The question

before Kakaji now was 'How and when to go to Shirdi and how to see Baba? If

anybody is in real earnest to see a Saint, not only the Saint but God also,

fulfills his wish. In fact the 'Sant' (Saint) and the 'Anant' (God) are one and

the same; there is not the least difference between them. If anybody thinks that

he will go himself and see a Saint that will be a mere boast. Unless the Saint

wills it, who is able to go and see him? Even the leaf of the tree won't move

without his bidding. The more anxious a Bhakta is for the saint's visit, the

more devout and faithful he is, the more speedily and effectively is his wish

satisfied to his heart's content. He, who invites anybody for a

visit, also arranges everything for his reception, and so it happened with

Kakaji. Shama's Vows

mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> When Kakaji was thinking his visit to Shirdi, a

guest came to him at his place to take him to Shirdi. He was no other than

Shama, a very close and intimate devotee of Baba. How he came to Vani at this

juncture, we shall just see. Shama was severely ill when he was very young and

his mother had taken a vow to her family Goddess Sapta-Shringi at Vani, that if

the son got well, she would bring and dedicate him at Her feet. Then after some

years the mother herself suffered much from ringworms on her breasts. At that

time she again took another vow to her Deity that if she got all right, she

would offer Her two silver breasts. These two vows remained unfulfilled. At her

death-bed she called her son Shama to her and drew his attention to the

vows and after taking a promise from him that he would fulfills them, she

breathed her last. After some time, Shama quite forgot about these vows and

thus 30 years elapsed. About this time a famous astrologer had come to Shirdi

and stayed there for a month. His predictions in the case of Shriman Booty and

others came true and everybody was satisfied. Shama's younger brother Bapaji

consulted him and was told that his mother's vows, which his elder brother

promised to fulfill at her deathbed, were not yet fulfilled; hence the Goddess

was displeased with them and bringing troubles on them. Bapaji told this to his

brother Shama who was then reminded of the unfulfilled vows. Thinking that any

further delay would be dangerous, he called a goldsmith and got a pair of

silver breast prepared. Then he went to the Masjid, prostrated himself before

Baba and, placing before Him the two silver breath, requested Him to accept

them and free him from the vows as He was to him his

Sapta-Shringi Goddess. Then Baba insisted upon him to go himself to the temple

of Sapta-Shringi and offer them in person at the feet of the Goddess. Then

after taking Baba's permission and Udi, he left for Vani and searching for the

priest came to Kakaji's house. Kakaji was then very anxious to visit Baba and

Shama went there to see him at that very time. What a wonderful coincidence is

this! Kakaji asked him who he was and whence he had come, and on learning

that he came from Shirdi, he at once embraced him. So overpowered was he with

love! Then they talked about Sai-Leelas and after finishing the rites of

Shama's vows; they both started for Shirdi. On reaching the place, Kakaji went

to the Masjid, and fell at Baba's Feet. His eyes were soon bedewed with tears,

and his mind attained calmness. According to the vision of the Goddess, no

sooner did he see Baba that his mind lost all its restlessness and it became

calm and composed. Kakaji began to think, in his mind, "What a wonderful power

is this! Baba spoke nothing, there was no question and answer, no benediction

pronounced; the mere Darshan itself was so conducive to happiness; the

restlessness of my mind disappeared by His mere Darshan, consciousness of joy

came upon me - this is what is called 'the greatness of Darshan'." His vision

was fixed on Sai's feet and he could utter no word. Hearing

Baba's Leelas, his joy knew no bounds. He surrendered himself completely to

Baba, forgot his anxiety and cares and got undiluted happiness. He lived

happily there for twelve days and after taking Baba's leave, Udi and blessings

returned home. Khushalchand of Rahata

mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> It is said that a dream, which we get in the small

hours of the morning, generally comes out true in the walking state. This may be

so, but regarding Baba's dreams there is no restriction of time. To quote an

instance: - Baba told Kakasaheb Dixit one afternoon to go to Rahata and fetch

Khushalchand to Shirdi, as He had not seen him since long. Kakasaheb

accordingly took a tanga and went to Rahata. He saw Khushalchand and gave him

Baba's message. Hearing it, Khushalchand was surprised and said that he was

taking a noon nap after meals when Baba appeared in his dream and asked him to

come to

Shirdi immediately and that he was anxious to go. As he had no horse of his own

nearby, he had sent his son to inform Baba; when his son was just out of the

village-border, Dixit's tanga turned up. Dixit then said that he was sent

specially to bring him. Then they both went in the tanga back to Shirdi.

Khushalchand saw Baba and all were pleased. Seeing this Leela of Baba,

Khushalchand was much moved. Punjabi Ramalal of

Bombay Once a Punjabi Brahmin of Bombay named Ramalal got a dream in which

Baba appeared and asked him to come to Shirdi. Baba appeared to him as a Mahant

(Saint), but he did not know His whereabouts. He thought that he should go and

see Him, but as he knew not His address, he did not know what to do. But He who

calls anybody for an interview makes the necessary arrangements for the same.

The same happened in this case.

The same afternoon when he was strolling in the streets, he saw a picture of

Baba in a shop. The features of the Mahant, he saw in the dream, exactly

tallied with those of the picture. Then making enquiries, he came to know that

the picture was of Sai Baba of Shirdi. He then went soon after to Shirdi and

stayed there till his death. In this way Baba brought His devotees to Shirdi

for Darshan and satisfied their wants, material as well as spiritual.

mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all TO BE CONTINUED…

mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;

mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">With Sai love from Sai

brothers – ‘’

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