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Chapter
XXVI
Stories
of (1) Bhakata Pant (2) Harishchandra Pitale and (3) Gopal
Ambadekar.
Preliminary
All
the things that we see in the universe are nothing but a
play of Maya -- the creative power of the Lord. These
things do not really exist. What really exists is the Real
Absolute. Just as we mistake a rope of a garland or a
stick for a serpent on account of darkness, we always see
the phenomena, i.e. things as they outwardly appear, and
not the Noumenon which underlies all the visible things.
It is only the Sad-guru that opens the eyes of our
understanding and enables us to see things in their true
light and not as they appear. Let us, therefore, worship
the Sad-guru and pray to him to give us the true vision,
which is nothing but God-vision.
Inner
Worship
Hemadpant
has given us a novel form of worship. Let us, he says, use
hot water in the form of tears of joy to wash the
Sad-guru's feet, let us besmear His body with sandle-paste
of pure love, let us cover His body with the cloth of true
faith, let us offer eight lotuses in the form of our eight
Sattwik emotions and fruit in the form of our concentrated
mind; let us apply to His head bukka (black-powder) in the
form of devotion and tie the waistband of Bhakti and place
our head on his toes.
After
decorating the Sad-guru with all jewelry in this way, let
us offer our all to Him and wave chamar of devotion to
ward off heat. After such blissful worship, let us pray
thus:- "Introvert our mind, turn it inward, give us
discrimination between the Unreal and the Real and
non-attachment for all worldly things and thus enable us
to get Self-realisation. We surrender ourselves, body and
soul (body-consciousness and ego). Make our eyes Yours, so
that we should never feel pleasure and pain. Control our
body and mind as You will and wish. Let our mind get rest
in Your Feet".
Now let
us turn to the stories of this Chapter.
Bhakta
Pant
Once
it so happened that a devotee by name Pant, a disciple of
another Sad-guru had the good fortune of visiting Shirdi.
He had no mind to go to Shirdi, but man proposes one way
and God disposes the other. He was travelling in a B.B.
& C.I. Rly. train where he met many friends and
relations bound for Shirdi. They all asked him to
accompany them and he could not say nay. They alighted at
Bombay while pant got down at Virar. There he took the
permission of his Sadguru for the Shirdi trip and after
arranging for the expenses, left with the party for Shirdi.
They all reached the place in the morning and went to the
Masjid at about 11 A.M. Seeing the concourse of the
devotees assembled for Baba's worship, they were all
pleased, but Pant suddenly got a fit and fell senseless.
They were all frightened, still they tried their best to
bring him to his senses. With Baba's grace and with
pitchers of water which they poured over his head, he
regained his consciousness and sat upright as if he was
just awakened from sleep. The omniscient Baba knowing that
he was a disciple of another Guru, assured him
fearlessness and confirmed his faith in his own Guru, by
addressing him as follows :- "Come
what may, leave not, but stick to your Bolster (support,
i.e. Guru) and ever remain steady, always at-one-ment (in
union) with him." Pant at once knew the
significance of this remark and thus he was reminded of
his Sad-guru. This kindness of Baba he never forgot in his
life.
Harishchandra
Pitale
There
was a gentleman by name Harishchandra Pital in Bombay. He
had a son, who suffered from epilepsy. He tried many
allopathic and ayurvedic doctors, but there was no cure.
There remained only one way of remedy, viz. resorting to
the saints. It has been stated in Chapter XV that Das Ganu
by his inimitable and splendid kirtans spread the fame of
Sai Baba in the Bombay Presidency. Mr. Pitale heard some
of these kirtans in 1910 and learnt therefrom and from
others that Baba, by His touch and mere glance, cured many
incurable diseases. Then a desire arose in his mind to see
Sai Baba. Making all preparations and taking presents and
fruit-baskets, Mr. Pitale came to Shirdi with family, wife
and children. He then went to the Masjid with them,
prostrated before Baba and placed his sick son on Baba's
Feet. No sooner Baba saw the child than an untoward thing
happened. The son immediately revolved his eyes and fell
down senseless. His mouth began to foam and his whole body
began to perspire profusely and it seemed as if he
breathed himself out. Seeing this, the parents became very
nervous and excited. The boy used to get such fits very
often, but this fit seemed to persist long. Tears began to
flow ceaselessly from the mother's eyes and she began to
wail, crying that her condition was like that of a person,
who being afraid of the robbers ran into a house which
collapsed on him,or like a cow fearing a tiger, ran into
the hands of a butcher, or like a traveller, who being
tormented by the heat of the sun went to take refuge under
a tree, which fell upon him, or like a devout person going
for worship into a temple which collapsed upon him. Then
Baba comforted her saying - "Do not wail like this,
wait a bit, have patience, take the boy to your lodging,
he will come to his senses within half an hour." They
did as directed by Baba and found that His words came
true. As soon as he was taken into the Wada, the boy
recovered and all the Pitale family, husband, wife and
others were very delighted and all their doubts
disappeared. Then Mr. Pitale came with his wife to see
Baba and prostrated himself before Him very humbly and
respectfully and sat shampooing His legs and mentally
thanking Baba for His help. Baba then smilingly said -
"Are not all your thoughts, doubts and apprehensions
calmed down now? Hari (Lord) will protect him, who has got
faith and patience". Mr. Pitale was a rich and
well-to-do gentleman. He distributed sweet-meat on a large
scale and gave Baba excellent fruits and pan
(betel-leaves). Mrs. Pitale was a very Sattwik lady,
simple, loving and faithful. She used to sit near the post
staring at Baba with tears of joy flowing down from her
eyes. Seeing her of an amicable and loving nature, Baba
was much pleased with her. Like Gods, Saints are always
dependent on their devotees who surrender and worship them
with their heart and soul. After passing some happy days
in Baba's company, the Pitale family came to the Masjid to
take Baba's leave to depart. Baba gave them Udi and
blessings and called Mr. Pitale close by and said to him -
"Bapu, I had given you before, Rs. two, now I give
you Rs. three; keep these in your shrine for worship and
you will be benefited." Mr. Pitale accepted these as
Prasad, prostrated himself again before Baba and prayed
for His blessings. A thought arose in his mind, that as
that was his first trip to Shirdi, he could not understand
what Baba meant, when He said that He had given Rs. two
previously. He was curious to have this mystery solves,
but Baba kept silent. When Mr. Pitale returned to Bombay,
he narrated to his old mother all that had happened at
Shirdi and the mystery about Baba's giving him Rs. two
formerly. The mother also did not understand the mystery,
but, thinking seriously about that, she was reminded of an
old incident, which solved the mystery. She said to her
son - "As you now went to Sai Baba with your son, so
had your father done when he took you to Akkalkot, for the
darshana of the Maharaj there many years ago. That Maharaj
was also a Siddha, Perfect Yogi, omniscient and liberal.
Your father was pure, devout and his worship was accepted.
He then gave your father Rs. two for being kept in the
shrine and worshipped. Your father worshipped them
accordingly till his death, but thereafter the worship was
neglected and the rupees were lost. After some years the
memory of these two rupees also disappeared and now, as
you are very fortunate, the Akkalkotkar Maharaj has
appeared to you in the form of Sai Baba just to remind you
to your duties and worship, and to ward off all dangers.
Now beware henceforth, leave off all doubts and bad
thoughts, follow your ancestors and behave well; go on
worshipping the family gods and the rupees, appraise
properly and take pride in the blessing of the Saints. Sai
Samartha has kindly revived the spirit of Bhakti in you,
cultivate it it your benefit." Hearing the remarks of
the mother, Mr. Pitale was very much delighted. He came to
know, and was convinced about the all-prevasiveness of
Baba and the significance of His darshan. From that time
he became very careful about his behaviour.
Mr.
Ambadekar
Mr.
Gopal Narayan Ambadekar of Poona was a devotee of Baba. He
served for ten years in the Abkari department in the Thana
District and in Javhar state, from where he had to retire.
He tried to get some other job, but he did not succeed. He
was overtaken by other calamities and his condition grew
from bad to worse. He passed 7 years in this condition,
visiting Shirdi every year and placing his grievance
before Baba. In 1916 his plight became worst and be
decided to commit suicide in Shirdi. So he came there with
his wife and stayed for two months. One night while
sitting in a bullock cart in front of Dixit's Wada, he
resolved to end his life by throwing himself into a well
close by. He proposed to do one way but Baba wished to do
something else. A few paces from this place, there was a
hotel and its proprietor Mr. Sagun, a devotee of Baba,
came out and accosted him thus - "Did you ever read
this Akkalkotkar Maharaja's life?" Ambadekar took
that book from Sagun and began to read it. Casually, or we
may say providentially he came across a story which was to
this effect. - During the life time of Akkalkotkar Maharaj
a certain devotee suffered very much from an incurble
disease and when he could endure the agony and pain no
longer, be became desperate and to end his miseries threw
himself one night into a well. Immediately the Maharaj
came there and took him out with his own hands and advised
him thus - "You must enjoy the fruit - good or bad -
of your past actions; if the enjoyment be incomplete,
suicide won't help you. You have to take another birth and
suffer again; so instead of killing yourself, why not
suffer for some time and finish up your store of the fruit
of your past deeds and be done with it once and for
all?"
Reading
this appropriate and timely story, Ambadekar was much
surprised, and moved. Had he not got Baba's hint through
the story, he would have been no more. On seeing Baba's
all-prevasiveness and benevolence, his faith in Him was
confirmed, and he became a staunch devotee. His father was
a devotee of Akkalkotkar Maharaj and Sai Baba wanted him
to walk into his father's footsteps and continue his
devotion to Him. He then got Sai Baba's blessings and his
prospects began to improve. He studied astrology and
gained proficiency in it and thereby improved his lot. He
was able to earn sufficient money and passed his
after-life in ease and comfort.
Bow
to Shri Sai - Peace be to all
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