You can also listen to the free audiobook version of this Chapter on Youtube: Chapter 9
- Effect of Compliance and Non-compliance with Baba’s Orders
- The Necessity of Mendicancy
- The Tarkhad Family’s Experiences
- How Baba was fed sumptuously
At the end of the last chapter, it was briefly stated that devotees who obeyed Baba’s orders at the time of taking leave, fared well; while those who disobeyed them, suffered many a mishap. This statement will be amplified and illustrated with a few striking instances.
The Special Characteristic of a Shirdi Pilgrimage
One special feature of a pilgrimage to Shirdi was that no one could leave Shirdi without Baba’s permission; and if he did, he invited untold sufferings. But if anyone was asked to leave Shirdi, he could stay there no longer. Baba gave certain hints when devotees went to bid him goodbye. These suggestions had to be followed. If they were not followed or were departed from, accidents were sure to befall those who acted contrary to Baba’s directions. A few instances are given below.
Tatya Kote Patil
Tatya Kote was once going in a tanga(horse-drawn cart) to the Kopargaon bazar. He came hastily to the Masjid, greeted Baba and said that he was going to the Kopargaon bazar. Baba said, “Don’t hurry; wait a little, forget the bazar and don’t leave the village”. On seeing his anxiety to go, Baba asked him to take Shama (Madhavrao Deshpande). Disregarding Baba’s directions, Tatya Kote immediately drove off in his tanga. Of the two horses that pulled the tanga, one was very active and restless; After passing a well, it began to run rashly, sprained its waist and fell. Tatya was not badly hurt, but was reminded of Mother Sai’s directions. On another occasion, while proceeding to Kolhar village, he disregarded Baba’s directions again and drove in a tanga which met with a similar accident.
The European Gentleman
A European gentleman from Bombay once came to Shirdi with an introductory note from Nanasaheb Chandorkar. He had some objective in mind and was comfortably accommodated in a tent. He wanted to kneel before Baba and kiss His hand. Therefore, he tried thrice to step into the Masjid, but Baba prevented him from doing so. He was asked to sit in the open courtyard below and receive Baba’s darshan from there. Not pleased with the reception he got, he wanted to leave Shirdi at once and came to bid goodbye. Baba asked him to go the next day and not to hurry. People also requested him to abide by Baba’s directions. Refusing to listen to this, he left Shirdi in a tanga; The horses ran all right at first, but upon passing a well, a bicycle crossed their path. The horses saw the bicycle, were frightened and ran faster. The tanga overturned and the gentleman fell and was dragged some distance. He was immediately rescued, but had to be admitted to the Kopargaon hospital for the treatment of his injuries. Because of such experiences, everyone learnt the lesson that those who disobeyed Baba’s instructions met with accidents in one way or the other, and those who obeyed them were safe and happy.
The Necessity of Mendicancy
Now we return to the question of mendicancy. A question may arise in the minds of some— ‘If Baba was such a great personage−God in fact− why should He have recourse to the begging bowl all His life?’ This question may be considered and addressed from two standpoints:
(1) Who has the right to live by the begging-bowl?: Our religious scriptures say that those persons who get rid of the three main Desires− for progeny, wealth and for fame− and accept Sannyas are fit to live by begging. They cannot make cooking arrangements and dine at home. The duty of feeding them rests on the shoulders of householders. Sai Baba was not a householder. He was a celibate Sannyasi. His firm conviction was that the universe was His home and He was the Lord Vasudev−the Supporter of the universe and the Imperishable Brahman. So He had the right to have recourse to the begging-bowl.
2) Now from the standpoint of, Pancha-soon (the five sins and their atonement). We all know that in order to prepare meals, householders have to go through five actions or processes: Kandani (Pounding), Peshani(Grinding), Udakumbhi (Washing pots), Marjani (Sweeping and cleaning) and Chulli (Lighting hearths). These processes involve the destruction of a lot of small insects and creatures, and thus the householders incur a lot of sin. In order to atone for this sin, our holy scriptures prescribe five kinds of sacrifices namely, Brahma-Yajna and Vedadhyayan (offerings to Brahman or the study of the Vedas), Pitra-Yajna (offerings to the ancestors), Deva-Yajna (offerings to the Gods), Bhoota-Yajna (offerings to the spirits), Manushya-Atithi-Yajna (offerings to human uninvited guests). If these sacrifices enjoined by the scriptures are duly performed, the purification of their minds is effected and this helps people to get knowledge and self-realization. Baba, in going from house to house, reminded the residents of their sacred duty and fortunate were the people who received this lesson from Baba.
Devotee’s Experiences
Now we to return to another more interesting subject; Lord Krishna has said in the Bhagwadgita (9-26) “Whosoever devoutly offers to me a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, that offering I wholeheartedly accept.” In the case of Sai Baba, if a devotee really longed to offer anything to Sai Baba and if he afterwards forgot to offer the same, Baba reminded him about the offering and then accepted it and blessed the devotee. A few instances are given below.
The Tarkhad Family (father and son)
Mr. Ramachandra Atmaran, alias Babasaheb Tarkhad—formerly a Prarthana-Samajist, was a staunch devotee of Sai Baba. His wife and son loved Baba equally or perhaps more. It was once proposed that Master Tarkhad would go with his mother to Shirdi and spend his vacation there, but the son was unwilling to go, as he thought that in case he left his home at Bandra, the worship of Sai Baba in the house would not be properly attended to. He felt that as his father was a Prarthana-Samajist, he would not care to worship Sai Baba’s enlarged portrait. However, when his father pledged that he would perform the worship exactly as the son had been doing, the mother and the son left for Shirdi one Friday night.
The next day (Saturday) Mr. Tarkhad got up early, bathed and before proceeding with the prayer, prostrated himself before the Shrine and said, “Baba, I am going to perform the prayer exactly as my son has been doing, but please let it not be a formal drill.” After he performed the prayer, he offered a few pieces of lump-sugar as naivedya (an offering of food), which was then served at lunch time.
That evening and on Sunday, everything went well. The following Monday was a working day and it also passed well. Mr. Tarkhad, who had never performed Puja like this all his life, felt great confidence in that everything was passing quite satisfactorily and in accordance with the promise given to his son. On Tuesday, he performed the morning prayer as usual and left for work. When he came home at noon, he found that there was no naivedya to serve with the meal. He asked the cook, who told him that no offering had been made that morning and that he had completely forgotten to perform that part of the prayer. Upon hearing this, he left his seat and prostrated himself before the Shrine, expressed his regret, at the same time chiding Baba for the want of guidance in making the whole affair a matter of mere drill. Then he wrote a letter to his son, stating the facts and requested him to lay it before Baba’s feet and ask for forgiveness for his mistake. This happened in Bandra on Tuesday at noon.
At about the same time, when the noon Arati was about to commence in Shirdi, Baba said to Mrs. Tarkhad, “Mother, I was at your house in Bandra looking for something to eat; I found the door locked. I somehow got inside and found, to My regret, that Bhau (Mr. Tarkhad) had left nothing for Me to eat. So I returned hungry.”
The lady could not understand anything, but the son, who was close by, understood that there was something wrong with the worship in Bandra. He therefore requested Baba to permit him to go home. Baba refused the permission, but allowed him to perform the pooja in Shirdi. Then the son wrote a letter to his father, stating all that took place at Shirdi and implored his father not to neglect the worship.
Both these letters crossed each other and were delivered to the respective parties the next day.
Is this not astonishing?
Mrs. Tarkhad
Let us now take the case of Mrs. Tarkhad herself. She offered three things− Bharit (roasted eggplant mixed with yogurt and spice), Kacharya (circular pieces of eggplant fried in ghee) and a Peda (a sweet). Let us see how Baba accepted them.
Once, Mr. Raghuvir Bhaskar Purandare of Bandra, a great devotee of Baba, left for Shirdi with his family. Before they left, Mrs. Tarkhad went to Mrs. Purandare and gave her two eggplants and requested her to prepare Bharit with one and Kacharya with the other. She asked Mrs. Purandare to serve Baba with both these dishes. After reaching Shirdi, Mrs. Purandare went with her dish of Bharit to the Masjid. Baba was just about to start his meals and found the Bharit very tasty. So He distributed it to everyone and said that He wanted Kacharyas now. A word was sent to Radha Krishna-Mai that Baba wanted Kacharyas. She was in a fix, as that was no season for eggplant. When an enquiry was made as to who had brought the Bharit, it was found that Mrs. Purandare was also entrusted with the duty of serving Kacharyas. Everybody then came to know the significance of Baba’s enquiry regarding Kacharyas, and were wonder-struck at Baba’s all-pervasive knowledge.
In December 1915, Govind Balaram Mankar, wanted to go to Shirdi to perform the obsequies of his father. Before he left, he came to see Mr. Tarkhad. Mrs. Tarkhad wanted to send something with him to Baba. She searched the whole house but found nothing, except a Peda(an oval shaped sweet) which had already been offered as naivedya. Govind was in mourning and yet out of great devotion to Baba, she sent the Peda with him, hoping that Baba would accept and eat it. Govind went to Shirdi and saw Baba, but forgot to take the Peda with him. Baba simply waited; When he again went to see Baba in the afternoon, he again forgot to take the Peda with him. Baba could wait no longer and asked him, “What did you bring for me?” “Nothing” was the reply. Baba asked him again and the same reply came forth again. Then Baba asked him the leading question, “Did the mother (Mrs. Tarkhad) not give you some sweet for Me?” Govind then remembered the whole thing. He felt abashed, asked for Baba’s pardon, ran to his lodging, brought the Peda and gave it to Baba. As soon as Baba received it, He put it into His mouth and swallowed it. Thus, the devotion of Mrs. Tarkhad was recognized and accepted. “As men believe in Me, so do I accept them” (Gita, 4-11) was proved in this case.
How Baba Was Fed Sumptuously
Once, Mrs. Tarkhad was staying in a certain house in Shirdi. At noon, meals were ready and dishes were being served, when a hungry dog turned up there and began to bark and whine. Mrs. Tarkhad got up at once and threw the dog a piece of bread, which the dog gulped with great relish. In the afternoon, when she went to the Masjid, Sai Baba said to her, “Mother, you have fed Me sumptuously up to my throat and My afflicted pranas (life-forces) have been satisfied. Always act like this and this will stand you in good stead. Sitting in this Masjid, I shall never ever speak anything but the truth. Take pity on Me like this; First give bread to the hungry and then eat; Note this well.” She could not at first understand the meaning of what Baba said. So she replied, “Baba, how could I feed You? I am myself dependent on others and take my food from them on payment.” Then Baba replied, “Having eaten that lovely bread, I am very content and am still belching. The dog which you saw before your meal and to which you gave the piece of bread, is one with Me and so are all the other creatures on earth. I roam in their forms; He, who sees Me in all these creatures is My beloved. So abandon the sense of duality and distinction and serve Me, as you did today.” Upon hearing these nectar-like words, she was moved, her eyes were filled with tears, her throat was choked and her joy knew no bounds.
Moral of the Story
“See God in all beings” is the moral of this story. The Upanishads, the Geeta and the Bhagwat, all exhort us to perceive God or Divinity in all creatures. By the instance given at the end of this Chapter and others too numerous to mention, Sai Baba has practically demonstrated to us how to put the Upanishadic teachings into practice. In this way, Sai Baba stands as the best Exponent or Teacher of the Upanishadic doctrines.
Bow to Shri Sai – Peace be to all