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- The Rama-Navami Festival
- Repairs to The Masjid
Before describing the Rama-Navami Festival and Masjid Repairs, the author makes some preliminary remarks about the Sadguru:
Efficacy of the Guru’s Touch
When the Sadguru is the helmsman, he is sure to carry us safely and easily beyond the worldly ocean. The word Sadguru brings to mind Sai Baba; He appears to me, as if standing before me and applying Udi (sacred ashes) to my forehead and placing his blessing hand on my head. Then joy fills my heart and love overflows through my eyes. Wonderful is the power of the Guru’s touch; The subtle body (consisting of thoughts and desires) cannot be burnt by the world-dissolving fire, but it is destroyed by the mere touch of the Guru’s hand and the sins of many past births are washed away. Even the minds of those who feel annoyed when they hear religious talk, attains calmness; seeing Sai Baba’s handsome form chokes our throats with joy, makes the eyes overflow with tears and overwhelms the heart with emotions. It awakens in us “I am the Brahman” consciousness, manifests in us the joy of self-realization, dissolves the distinction of “I and Thou” and immediately makes us one with the Supreme Being (One Reality). When I begin to read scriptures, at every step I am reminded of my Sadguru and Sai Baba assumes the form of Rama or Krishna and makes me listen to his Life. For instance, when I sit and listen to the Bhagwat, Sai becomes Krishna from top to toe and I think he sings the Bhagwat for the welfare of His devotees. When I begin to talk, I at once remember Sai’s stories to enable me to give suitable illustrations. When I myself start to write anything, I cannot compose a few words or sentences; But when He, of his own accord, makes me write, I go on writing and and there is no end to it. When the disciple’s egoism props up, He presses it down with His hand and gives him His power, makes him gain His object and thus satisfies and blesses him. If anyone prostrates before Sai and surrenders heart and soul to Him, then unsolicited, the main objects of life− Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth), Kama (Desire) and Moksha (Deliverance)− are easily attained. The Four paths, of Karma, Jnana, Yoga and Bhakti(devotion) lead us separately to God. Of these, the path of Bhakti is thorny and full of pits and ditches, and thus is difficult to traverse. But if you, relying on your Sadguru, avoid the pits and thorns and walk straight, it will take you to the ultimate destination (God).
After philosophizing about the Self-Existent Brahman, His Power (Maya) to create this world, the world thus created and stating that these three are ultimately one and the same, the author quotes Sai Baba’s words guaranteeing the welfare of His devotees:
“There will never be any dearth or scarcity of food and clothes in any devotees’ homes. It is my special characteristic that I always look to and provide for the welfare of those devotees who worship Me wholeheartedly, with their minds always fixed on Me. Lord Krishna has also said the same in the Gita; Therefore, strive not for food and clothes. If you want anything, beg of the Lord; forget worldly honors, try to get the Lord’s grace and blessings and be honored in His court. Do not be deluded by worldly honor. The form of the Deity should be firmly fixed in one’s mind. Let all the senses and mind be devoted always to the worship of the Lord and let there be no attraction for any other thing. Fix the mind in remembering Me always, so that it will not wander elsewhere, towards body, wealth and home. Then it will be calm, peaceful and care-free. This is the sign of the mind being well engaged. If the mind is vagrant, it cannot be called well-merged.”
After quoting these words, the author goes on to relate the story of the Rama-Navami festival in Shirdi. As Rama-Navami is the greatest festival celebrated in Shirdi, another fuller account, as published in the Sai Leela Magazine of 1925, is also referred to and a summary of the festival as related in both these accounts is attempted here.
Origin
Mr. Gopalrao Gund was a Circle Inspector at Kopergaon. He was a great devotee of Baba; He had three wives but initially had no children. With Sai Baba’s blessings, a son was born to him. Due to the joy that he felt about this, the idea of celebrating a fair or Urus occurred to him in the year 1897 and he placed it for consideration before other Shirdi devotees, like Tatya Patil, Dada Kote Patil and Madhavrao Deshpande (Shama). They all approved of the idea and got Sai Baba’s permission and blessings. Then an application to get the Collector’s sanction for celebrating the Urus was submitted. But as a village official was against holding the fair, the sanction was refused. But as Sai Baba had blessed it, they tried again and ultimately succeeded in getting the Collector’s sanction. The day for the Urus was fixed on the Rama-Navami day, after consultation with Sai Baba. It seemed He had some reason for doing this− the Unification of the two fairs or festivals, the Urus and the Rama-Navami and thereby the unification of the two communities (the Hindus and the Muslims). As future events showed, this objective was achieved.
Though permission was obtained, other difficulties cropped up; Shirdi was a small village and there was a scarcity of water. There were two wells in the village, the main well dried up very soon and the water from the second was brackish. This brackish water was turned into sweet water by Sai Baba, by throwing flowers into it. The water of this well was still insufficient and so Tatya Patil had to arrange to get water from a distant well. Then temporary shops had to be constructed and wrestling bouts were arranged. Gopalrao Gund had a friend named Damu Anna Kasar, of Ahmednagar; he was also similarly unhappy in the matter of progeny, though he had married twice. He too was blessed by Sai Baba with sons and Mr. Gund prevailed upon his friend to prepare and supply a simple flag for the procession in the fair. He also succeeded in inducing Mr. Nanasaheb Nimonkar to supply another embroidered flag; Both these flags were taken in procession through the village and were finally fixed at two corners of the Masjid. This is being done even now.
The Sandal Procession
There was another procession which was started during this fair. The idea for a Sandal procession originated with Mr. Amir Shakkar Dalal, a Muslim devotee from Korhla. This procession is held in honor of great Muslim Saints. Sandal paste and scrapings are put on a flat dish and these are carried, with incense burning in the dish, through the village with music playing in the background. And after returning to the Masjid, the contents of the dishes are applied on the Nimbar (niche) and walls of the Masjid by hand. This work was managed by Mr. Amir Shakkar for the first three years and then afterwards by his wife. Thus, on the same day, the two processions− the Flags by the Hindus and that of Sandal by the Muslims− went on side by side and are still going on without any hitch.
Arrangement
This day was very dear and sacred to Baba’s devotees. Most of them turned up on the occasion and took a leading part in the management of the fair. Tatya Kote Patil took care of all outward affairs, while the internal management was left entirely to Radha Krishna Mai (a female devotee of Baba). Her residence was full of guests on the occasion and she had to take care of their needs and also arrange for all the paraphernalia of the fair. Another task which she willingly did was clean and white-wash the entire Masjid. Its walls and floors, which had been blackened by soot due to the burning Dhuni (sacred fire) that Baba maintained, were cleaned and white-washed. She did this during the night, when Sai Baba went to sleep every alternate day in the Chavadi. She had to take all the things out, including the Dhuni itself, and after thorough cleaning and white-washing, replace them as they were before. Feeding the poor, which was so dear to Sai Baba, was also a great item in this fair. For this purpose, cooking on a grand scale and the preparation of various sweet dishes was done in Radha-Krishna Mai’s house. Various wealthy devotees played a leading part in this process.
Transformation of the Urus into the Rama-Navami Festival
The fair was operating in this way and was gradually increasing in importance until 1912, when a change took place. That year, a devotee, Mr. Krishnarao Jageshwar Bhisma (the author of the pamphlet “Sai Sagunopasana”), came for the fair with Dadasaheb Khaparde of Amraoti and was staying in Dixit’s Wada. While he was lying on the verandah and while Kaka Mahajani was going down with Puja materials to the Masjid, a new thought arose in his mind and he accosted the latter thus, “There is some providential arrangement in the fact that the fair is celebrated in Shirdi on the Rama-Navami day. This day is very dear to all the Hindus too. Then why not begin the Rama-Navami Festival (the celebration of the birth of Shri Rama) on this day? Kaka Mahajani liked the idea and it was arranged to get Baba’s permission in this matter. The main difficulty was finding a Haridas who would perform the Kirtan (singing songs in praise of the Lord) on the occasion. But Bhishma solved this difficulty by saying that his Rama Akhyan (composition on Rama’s birth) was ready and that he would do the Kirtan himself, while Kaka Mahajani would play the harmonium. It was also arranged to get the Sunthavada (ginger-powder mixed with sugar) as Prasad prepared by Radha-Krishna Mai. So they immediately went to the Masjid to get Baba’s permission. Baba, who was omniscient, asked Mahajani what was going on in the Wada. Mahajani could not catch the purport of the question and remained silent. Then Baba asked Bhishma what he had to say. He explained the idea of celebrating the Rama-Navami festival and asked for Baba’s permission and Baba gladly gave it. Everyone rejoiced and made preparations for the Jayanti festival. The next day, the Masjid was decorated with buntings; a cradle was supplied by Radha-Krishna Mai and placed in front of Baba’s seat and the proceedings began. Bhishma stood up for the Kirtan, while Mahajani played the harmonium. Sai Baba sent a man to call Mahajani. He was hesitant to go and doubted whether Baba would allow the festival to go on. But when he went to Baba, the latter asked him as to what was going on and why the cradle was placed there. He answered that the Rama-Navami festival had commenced and the cradle had been placed there for that purpose. Then Baba took a garland and placed it around Mahajani’s neck and sent another garland for Bhishma. Then the Kirtan commenced. When it came to a close, shouts of “Victory to Rama” were heard and Gulal (red – powder) was thrown all around. Everybody was overjoyed, when suddenly roaring was heard; The red powder, thrown promiscuously all around, went up and somehow entered Baba’s eyes. Baba got wild and began to yell loudly. Most people got frightened by this scene and took to their heels. Some intimate devotees, who knew Baba well, took this scolding as a blessing in disguise. They thought that when Rama was born, it was proper for Baba to get wild and enraged to kill Ravana and his demons (egoism and wicked thoughts). Besides, they knew that whenever a new thing was undertaken at Shirdi, it was normal for Baba to get wild and angry and so they kept quiet. Radha-Krishna Mai was rather afraid and thought that Baba might break her cradle, and she asked Mahajani to bring the cradle back. When he went to loosen and unfasten the cradle, Baba asked him not to remove it. Then after some time, Baba became calm and that day’s program, including the Mahapuja and Arati, were completed. Later on, Mahajani asked Baba for permission to remove the cradle and Baba refused, saying that the festival was not yet finished. The next day, another Kirtan and Gopal-Kala ceremony were performed and it was then that Baba allowed the cradle to be removed. In the Gopal-Kala ceremony, an earthen pot containing parched rice mixed with curd is hung, only to be broken after the Kirtan. The contents of the pot are distributed to everyone. This was done by Lord Krishna among His cowherd friends. During the Rama-Navami festival, the processions, of the two flags during the day and that of the Sandal by night, went off with the usual pomp and show. From this time onward, Baba’s Urus was transformed into the Rama-Navami festival.
From the very next year (1913), the items on the program of the Rama-Navami festival began to increase. Radha-Krishna Mai started a Nama-Saptaha (singing the glory of God’s name continuously day and night for seven days), from the 1st of Chaitra. For this, several devotees took part in turns and she also joined it, sometimes early in the morning. As the Rama-Navami Festival is celebrated in many places all over the country, the difficulty of finding a Haridas was felt again. But 5 or 6 days before the festival, Mahajani accidentally met Balabuva Mali, who was known as modern Tukaram, and got him to perform the Kirtan that year. The next year (1914), Balabuva Satarkar from Brihadsiddha Kavate, could not perform as a Haridas in his own town, as plague was raging in his town. So he came to Shirdi and with Baba’s permission, which was secured through Kakasaheb Dixit, performed the Kirtan and was sufficiently recompensed for his labor. The difficulty of getting a new Haridas every year, was finally solved in 1914; Sai Baba, entrusted this function to Das Ganu Maharaj permanently. He successfully conducted the Kirtans for several years.
Since 1912, this festival has grown gradually every year. From the 8th to the 12th of Chaitra, Shirdi looked like a bee-hive of people. Shops began to increase, celebrated wrestlers took part in wrestling bouts and feeding of the poor was done on a grander scale. The hard work and sincere efforts of Radha-Krishna Mai turned Shirdi into a Sansthan(organization). Paraphernalia increased too; a beautiful horse, a palanquin, chariot and many silver things (pots, buckets, pictures and mirrors etc.) were donated for the festival. Elephants were also sent for the procession. Though all this paraphernalia increased substantially, Sai Baba ignored all these things and maintained His simplicity. It is to be noted that both Hindus and Muslims have been working in unison during both the processions and during the entire festival. There has been no hitch or quarrel between them so far. At first, about 5000 to 7000 people used to attend, but that figure went up to 75,000 in some years and yet there has been no outbreak of any epidemic or riots worth mentioning, in all these years. This is a testament to Baba’s power to unite people of all religions.
Repairs to the Masjid
Another important idea occurred to Gopalrao Gund; Just as he had started the Urus or fair, he was inspired to put the Masjid in order. In order to carry out the repairs, he collected stones and had them dressed. But this work was not assigned to him; This was reserved for Nanasaheb Chandorkar and the pavement was assigned to Kakasaheb Dixit. At first, Baba was unwilling to allow them to have this work done. But with the intervention of Mhalsapati, a close devotee, His permission was secured. When the pavement was completed in the Masjid, Baba began to use a small cushioned pad for His seat, discarding the usual piece of sack-cloth used till then.
In 1911, the Sabha–Mandap (courtyard) was also repaired with great labor and effort. The open space in front of the Masjid was very small and inconvenient. Kakasaheb Dixit wanted to extend it and put roofing on it. At great expense, he bought iron posts, pillars and trusses and started the work. At night, all the devotees worked hard and fixed the posts; Baba, when he returned from the Chavadi the next morning, uprooted them all and threw them out. Once, it so happened that Baba got very angry, caught a pole with one hand and began to shake and uproot it and with the other hand, held Tatya Patil’s neck. He took by force Tatya’s Pheta (piece of cloth that is tied on the head like a turban), struck a match, set it on fire and threw it in a pit. Baba’s eyes flashed like burning embers and no one dared to look at Him. Everyone got terribly frightened; Baba took a rupee from his pocket and threw it there, as if it were an offering on an auspicious occasion. Tatya was also very frightened. No one knew what was going to happen to Tatya and no one dared to interfere. Bhagoji Shinde, the leper devotee, made a bold advance but was pushed away by Baba. Madhavrao was also similarly treated and was pelted with pieces of brick. All those who went to intercede were similarly dealt with. But after sometime, Baba’s anger cooled; He sent for a shopkeeper, bought from him an embroidered Pheta and tied it on Tatya’s head, as if he was being given a special honor. Everyone was wonderstruck to see Baba’s strange behavior. They were at a loss to know what enraged Baba so suddenly, what had led Him to assault Tatya Patil and why His anger cooled down the very next moment. Baba was sometimes very calm and quiet and said sweet things with love, but soon afterwards, with or without any pretext, got enraged. Many such incidents may be related, but I do not know which to choose and which to omit. I therefore refer to them as Baba inspires me to.
Bow to Shri Sai Baba – Peace be to all