Miracles of Sai Baba

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Miracles of Sai Baba

 

The villagers of Shirdi and afar soon found out that

this was no ordinary fakir but an avatar incarnation)

of a very high order. He demonstrated through his

miracles and utterances, the purpose and intention for

which he had come. He would often say, " My Leela is

inscrutable " . To each one he met, he imparted

knowledge according to the capacity of the recipient

to absorb it. Baba's Leela's (miracles) were plenty

and varied, and we recount just a few which occurred

during and after his lifetime.

 

Baba's Leelas ( Miracles )

 

Lighting lamps with water Long before Sai Baba's fame

spread, he was fond of burning lights in his Masjid

and other Temples. But for the oil needed in those

little earthenware lights that he lit, he depended on

the generosity of the grocers of Shirdi. He had made

it a rule to light earthenware lamps in the masjid

every evening and he would call on the grocers for

small donations. But there came a time when the

grocers got tired of giving oil free to Sai Baba and

one day they bluntly refused to oblige him, saying

they had no fresh stocks. Without a word of protest

Sai Baba returned to the masjid. Into those

earthenware lamps he poured water and lighted the

wicks. The lamps continued to burn deep into the

midnight. The matter came to the notice of the grocers

who now came to Sai Baba with profuse apologies.

Wouldn't Sai Baba kindly pardon them? Sai Baba

pardoned them, but he warned them never to lie again.

" You could have refused to give me the oil,

but did you have to say that you didn't have fresh

stocks? " he admonished them. But he had made his

point.

 

Premonition of burning fields Once, harvesting in

Shirdi had been completed and the foodgrains of the

entire village had been stored in a yard. The summer

was on. The heat was intense as only those who have

lived in Shirdi know. One afternoon Sai Baba summoned

Kondaji Sutar and said to him: " Go, your field is on

flrel " Frightened, Kondaji ran to his field and.

frantically looked around for any sign of fire. There

wasn't any. He returned to the masjid and informed Sai

Baba that he had looked everywhere but had found no

trace of fire and why did Baba have to frighten him?

Unfazed, Baba said : " You better turn back and look

again. " Baba was right after all. Kondaji noticed that

a sheaf of corn was indeed on fire and smoke was

billowing from it. A strong wind was fanning the fire

and word had gone round to the villagers who now came

running to the scene. " Sai Baba, " the people shouted

" help us, help us put the fire out! " Thereupon, Sai

Baba walked casually towards the yard, sprinkled some

water on a stack of sheaves and said: " There now! The

fire will die down! " And so it happened.

 

Stopping the rain There is the story of one Rao

Bahadur Moreshwar Fradhan who had come to Shirdi to

take Sai Baba's darshan along with his wife. As

the couple were about to leave, it began to rain

heavily. Thunder and lightning rent the air. As the

Pradhan couple looked round in dismay, Sai Baba

prayed. " Oh Allah! " he intoned, " let the rains cease.

My children are going home. Let them go peacefully! "

The storm thereupon ceased, the downpour reduced to

slight drizzle and the Pradhans were able to reach

their destination safely.

 

Raising the water level in well When Sai Baba first

came to Shirdi it had of no basic facilities. There

was a well put only in name. It had no natural spring

water and if ever there had been one, it must long ago

have dried up. Water had to be fetched from a

distance. When, therefore, Sai Baba gave his

permission to the villagers to celebrate the Ram

Navami Fair, (Baba's Birthday) the big problem facing

the organizers was one of water supply. So What should

they do but go to Sai Baba with their problem? " 'Oh

yes, " said Sai Baba, 'so you want plenty of water, do

you? Here, take this and drop it in the well and wait

and see. " " 'This, " turned up to be a platter of

flowers on which some prasad (blessed

food) had been placed along with the remnants of alms

Baba had received earlier in the day. The villagers

had no qualms about doing as they were did. Their

faith in Sai Baba was total. No sooner had that

platter of leaves been dropped in the well, it is

said, water rose from the bottom as if by divine

command and completely filled it. And great was the

rejoicing of the people.

 

Saving a child from drowning One report has it that

word had spread that the 3-year old daughter of a poor

man called Babu Kirwandikar had fallen into the well

and had been drowned. When the villagers rushed to the

well they saw the child suspended in mid-air as if

some invisible hand was holding her up! She was

quickly pulled out. Sai Baba was fond of that child

who was often heard to say : I am Baba's sister! "

After this incident, the villagers took her at her

word. " it is all Baba's Leela " , the people would say

philosophically. They could offer no other xplanation.

 

Flow of Godavari (river) from Baba's feet These were

instances of things they had seen with their own eyes.

It was not secondhand information they had gathered.

Sai Baba was to them as real as their homes and their

fields and their cattle and the distant hills.Das Ganu

once had an unforgettable experience. On a festive

occasion, he sought Baba's permission to go to a place

called Singba on the banks of the Godavari to have a

bath in the holy waters. " No, " Baba replied

resolutely, " where is the need to go all the way when

the Godavari is here right at my feet? " Das Ganu was

vexed. He was willing to concede that Ganga the holy

river (Baba frequently referred to Godavari as Ganga)

rose from the feet of Sri

Narayana (one among the Hindu trinity of Gods)

himself, but his faith was not deep enough to believe

that the waters of the Godavari could spring form the

feet of his master, Sri Sai. Baba who was reading Das

Ganu's mind decided that this was the time to

strengthen Das Ganu's faith. He told his devotee:

" come closer to me and hold the hollow of your palms

at my feet! " . As soon as he did so water

flowed freely out of the toes of the master's feet and

filled the hollow of Das Ganu's palms in no time. His

joy knew no limits. He sprinkled the water on his head

and his body and distributed some more among the

assembled devotees as tirtha (holy water).

 

Other miracles

 

There was that other occasion when many thought that

the masjid which housed Sai Baba itself would be

consumed by fire from the flames which leapt up from

the dhuni. All that Baba did was to take some swipes

at a wooden pillar in front of him. With every blow

the flames subsided and the fire died down.

" Miraculous, " said his devotees. Often they would

notice him stirring some hot concotion over

the kitchen fire, not with a ladle but with his bare

hands. There never was a time when his hand was

scalded. What supernatural powers did he have? On yet

another occasion, Sai Baba was partaking of food with

three of his devotees in the masjid when, without any

cause for provocation, he exclaimed- " Stop! " Then, as

if nothing had happened, the four continued with their

meal. Lunch over and the dishes cleared, they stepped

out of the masjid, when large chunks of the ceiling

fell on the very spot where they had been seated only

a few minutes earlier. Did Sai Baba's powers extend

even to inanimate matter, the devotees wondered.

Instances have been quoted by his

devotees as to how Sai Baba commanded the rains to

stop and the winds to cease.

 

Understanding Sai Baba

 

Baba always maintained the " Dhuni " or the perpetual

fire. The realisation that all the phenomenons of the

nature are perishable and unworthy of our craving, is

signified by " Udi " which Sal Baba distributed to all.

Baba never left Shirdi. He talked to people who came

to see Him. Sal Baba would often speak in symbols and

parables leaving his devotees to work out the answer -

such as, " A man had a beautiful horse, but no matter

what he did, it would not run in harness. An expert

suggested that it should be taken back to the place

from where it had come. This was done and it become

tracable and useful " . The explanation of this story is

that the horse is the Ego. As commander of the

physical and mental powers of man, it is useful but

self-willed and therefore cause endless trouble.

Taking it back to its source is re-absorbing it in the

spirit source which it arises. It is the return to the

source which purifies and enlightens. From there the

ego issues forth again, no longer an ego, but a

conscious agent of the spirit. Baba would ask for

Dakshina (money offered with respect to the Guru) from

some of those who came to see Him. This was not

because he needed their money. This was one of Baba's

methods for testing out the devotee's attachment to

worldly things and willingness to surrender his ego.

Once one has surrendered himself totally to Him, Baba

takes care of all His spiritual and temporal needs.

Baba regarded money like everything else, in a

symbolical manner. He once said, " I ask only from

those who the fakir (God) points out and in exchange I

give them ten times as much " . By the end of the day,

all the money Baba had earned was distributed to the

destitute, poor, sick and the needy. Baba used to

feed the fakirs and devotees and even cook for them.

For those who were accustomed to meat, he cooked meat

and for the others vegetarian fare.

 

The Dwarakamayee of Sai Baba was open to all,

irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Among those

who came to see him and got his darshan (establishing

spiritual contact with the Guru) and blessings were

ministers, government officials, business people and

village folk. He was the common man's God. He Stayed

with them, hejoked with them, He slept and ate with

them, he smoked a chillum (pipe) with them, he sang

and danced with them, having no pretensions of a God.

But all of them Knew that He protected them. Even

today, though He has left his gross body, they feel

his presence and realise his worth all the more. Baba

would also refer to the sounding of the drum of the

beginning of eternity within the soul. This " anahat "

sound emerged from Baba's heart from every limb, every

bone and pore of his body. It was permeated with

divine essence and Baba claimed that though one day

his physical body will not exist, his remains will

communicate with from the grave. Therefore, the most

important place in Shirdi is Baba's temple - the

Samadhi Mandir is his grave, which literally millions

have visited and still continues to draw many more.

Shirdi Sai Baba was one who had crossed the barriers

of caste and creed, and spoke the universal language

of love. Baba spent most of his time in a Masjid (

mosque) and called it Dwarkamai! (Mother Dwarka, the

home of Lord Krishna) Mostly everyone who knows Baba,

is

aware that Baba came to Shirdi, accompanying Chand

Patil, whose sister was to be married to a boy in

Shirdi. What a lot of people may not know is that,

Baba predicted accurately, where Chand Patil's lost

mare was. Chand Patil watched in amazement, as Baba

hit the ground, and out came a spurt of water. Sai

thrust a pair of tongs into the ground, and drew out a

burning ember.

 

Various were the miracles that Baba performed, but

they were not performed to impress. What others would

describe as miracles, came naturally to him. Baba lit

lamps with the aid of water instead of oil, much to

the delight of the local children. Dropping some

leaves with some blessed food, into a dry well, Baba

made the water in it, overflow, and the celebration of

the birth of Sri Rama during Ramnaomi, was not

cancelled. Baba lit a fire, that until today burns

constantly, in Dwarkamai. The udi (ash), that comes

out, is known to have cured many ailments.

 

When Baba was asked, what power the 'udi' possessed,

he answered: 'The power of faith! "

 

There are many miraculous and touching stories of the

faith, of his devotees, in the 'udi' that Baba gave

them. Baba would often say that he was one with all

living creatures. Thus, Baba would continue, if one

fed a beggar, dog, pig or even an insect, he (Baba)

would receive the nourishment.

 

Baba taught that God is everything. He is perfect

infinite and eternal. He is the one who creates, He is

the One who protects and He is the One who destroys.

He is all pervasive. He just Is. One must seek Him

within Oneself and in every form of Creation. One must

only develop the ability to recognize Him.

 

Baba said that One was not required to be very

knowledgeable or highly intellectual to

recognize the Lord. In fact, He said: " The simpler the

mind, the easier it is to find God. Entrust

your mind to the Guru. Let him be your guide on this

journey. And you shall find God. All you

need is Patience (Saburi) and Faith (Shraddha). It's

simple really. "

 

Baba is every where just feel him and keep on saying

‘Om Sai Ram’ to whom so ever you meet.

 

OM SAI SRI SAI JAI JAI SAI!!! Let us pray at the

lotus feet of Bhagwan Baba who is the incarnation of

all gods and protector of all, to show mercy on us,

and increase our devotion towards him

 

Let us pray Shri Sai to give us the intellect and

wisdom to make tomorrow's world a happier place to

stay by following his principle of " Shraddha " and " Saburi

 

 

Source: Shri Sai Satcharita

 

Jai Sai Ram

Swamy Mahadevan

Bow to Shri Sai-Peace be to all

Baba Bless you ever!!!