The Living Tomb by Maj. D.V. Tangri

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The Living Tomb

Maj. D.V. Tangri

“A man dies, shall he live again? " is a question, that

is found in every sob in times of bereavement.

It is a question that knocks with gloved hand on the door of the

weeping heart. But how strange to say 'if - 'If a man dies?' There is no if,

all of us must die. Is life possible after death? That is the question.

Millions of people have experienced the living presence of Shirdi

Sai Baba. The facts concerning Sai Baba are that He lived; He died on 15th

Oct. 1918 and

arose from the dead. He is as active as before. Can we justify such a

contention?

He lived as no intelligent student can deny. He died. That fact

nobody need deny. He died at 2.30 p.m. on the 15th Oct. 1918, leaning on Bayaji's

body. Bhagoji Shinde

noticed that His breathing had stopped and he told that to Nana Sahib Nimonkar, who was sitting below.

On that fateful afternoon, Shirdi was reflected in the hopelessness

of His devotion. As the afternoon sun threw, the lengthening shadows of

devotees gathered near Booty-wada a brooding sadness

descended upon His devotees, who looked at each other in a puzzled grief that

knew no speech.

Two years before, the Master had given an indication of His

passing away. His 'Seemollanghan'

(crossing the border). Now that His flame had died away, they had all

become orphans. Such was their mood.

Nana, Kaka and Shyama remained the

despairing survivors of a broken cause, as they stumbled blindly in the Buty-wada, their eyes filled with tears, they could not

stop.

They were the very picture of man without any

hope, utterly pushed.... beaten.....disappointed. In their faces there was the

stark dreadful look of hopeless despair.

Sai Baba was a dead man now, very much like any other dead man. On

Wednesday morning i.e. 16th of Oct. 1918, Baba appeared to Laxman

Mama Joshi in his dream and drawing him by His hand said " Get up son, Bapu Saheb thinks that I am dead

and so he won't come; you do the worship and do the Kakad

Arathi. " After the vision, he came with all the

pooja materials and did the pooja and Kakad Arathi with all formalities neglecting the objections from

the Muslim brethren. Bapu Saheb

Jog came with all others and went through the Noon-Arathi

as usual.

At that time, Das Ganu

was at Pandharpur. On the same Wednesday morning Sai

Baba appeared in his dream and said to him " The Masjid

collapsed, and I have left the place. I therefore come to inform you here.

Please go there quickly and cover Me with ample

flowers. " So Das Ganu

came to Shirdi. He started bhajans and kirtans himself wearing a garland of flowers studded with

" Harinam " he placed it on the Samadhi and

gave a mass feeding in Baba's name.

It may be noted here that with making preparations for His last

rites that the Baba's body did not get stiff, though it was exposed for more

than 36 hours and all the limbs were elastic and His Kafni

could be taken out without being torn into pieces.

In that new tomb, which had belonged to Sai Baba, there was a

stirring, a fluttering of unseen forces - whirling of angel wings. The rustle as of the breath of Sai Baba moving through Shirdi.

Strong immeasurable forces poured life back into the dead body they had laid

upon in Buty-wada, and the dead Sai Baba rose up,

came out of the tomb and entered the heart of each of His devotees.

We can almost hear in our hearts the faint sign as the life spirit

fluttered back into Sai's body, and smell in our own

nostrils the medley of strange aroma that floated, when Sai Baba served food in

the Masjid.

At distant Bombay, when Kaka Saheb Dixit expressed helplessness; Sai Baba solved his doubt by

appearing in the dream of Ananda Rao Pakhade and directed that surrender to Guru's feet is all

that required of Him to attain salvation.

If we believe in ever loving Sai Baba, it is one of the loveliest

stories in literature. It is a story over which, without shame we might weep.

It is a story that we cannot read without feeling a lump in our throat. If we

do not believe it is a clever and shameful lie.

Does it sound like a lie to you? Does it have a hollowing

uncertainty of falsehood? Do you not rather get the feel of truth in it? St. Augustine had said " He loves each one of us as if

there were only one of us. " Sai has said: " Though I am at Shirdi,

what you do beyond the seven seas cannot escape Me. Is

it all a trick? Are we deluded fools?

No, we are not deluded - no fact in Sai Satcharitha

is better established that this one. Sai Baba continues to be active ever

since. Now, if one man says he has seen a dead person alive, you may believe

him or not, according to your opinion of his trustworthiness. If ten men tell

you that they have, at the same time, seen the dead person alive, talking,

walking in newness of life, you begin to be impressed. If thousand men tell you

that they have seen someone who was dead - well, you must admit that you are in

a startling minority. If you deny the reality of Sai Baba in your day to day

life, you are precisely that minority.

Do you think that this story is an invention? Could you invent

that sort of story? No. Why would anyone persist in a life?

When Das Ganu

sang arathi after Sai Baba was cremated, what he saw

Baba's intimated devotees believed. The word 'See is not to behold as one looks

at a spectacle, not to see as the watch repairer, who peers through his

magnifying glass. It means to see with inner sight that leads one to a

conclusion. It is perception, reflection, understanding, more than sight.

Do you see? -Then what happened - the undeniable fact is this:

Devotees of Sai Baba were shattered, downcast, and hopeless, with a sense of

tragic loss and then, with the knowledge of continued presence of Sai Baba,

they were completely changed. They were all thrilled beyond fear in the

stupendous knowledge that Sai Baba was alive.

Is it true? Is Sai Baba really raised from the dead? As that

question begins to knock gently on your heart's door, you realise

that you have gone back to 15th October 1918, when the world was 80 years younger, back to

the country of bullock-cart-back to the Imperial Flag fluttering in the British India, back to the days of freedom struggle. And in

that quiet October morning you are standing in front of a grave in Booty-wada and you see the tomb communicating - is moving. And

before you are aware of it, you will realise suddenly

that Sai Baba is standing in front of you, and your eyes are fixed on His 'Ashirwad' bestowing hand.

 

And as a great realisation dawns over

you, you hear His voice " Lo, I am with you always. " Because we cannot

stand it any longer in the secret place of our heart, we cry out for help and

then it comes, the supreme miracle for which we have been seeking.

 

It is stupendous a thing, that we cannot describe it. It is so

delicate a thing that we cannot bring it into views for anybody else to look

at. We can never explain it to anybody else. We know only that it is true.

 

The voice has said " I am with you always. " Our heart

knew all along it must be so. It was what we wanted to hear and now that we

have heard it, we feel that we have solved the mystery of life. Yes, because

Sai Baba is ever living and active. Aye and I too shall live, because I know it is true.

 

(Source Shri Sai Padananda July 2001)