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Chapter
XXX
Drawn
To Shirdi
(1)
Kakaji Vaidya of Vani - (2) Punjabi Ramalal of Bombay.
In this
Chapter the story of two more devotees that were drawn to
Shirdi, is narrated.
Preliminary
Bow
to the Kind Sai Who is the Abode of Mercy and Who is
affectionate towards His devotees. By His mere darshan, He
does away with their fear of this 'bhava' (samsar) and
destroys their calamities. He was first Nirgun (formless),
but on account of the devotion of His Bhaktas, He was
obliged to take a form. To give liberation - self-realisation
to the Bhaktas is the mission of the saints, and for Sai -
the Chief of them, that mission is inevitable. Those who
take refuge in His Feet have all their sins destroyed and
their progress is certain. Remembering His Feet, Brahmins
from holy places come to Him and read scriptures and chant
the Gayatri mantra in His presence. We, who are weak and
without any merits, do not know what Bhakti is but we know
this much, that though all others may leave us, Sai won't
forsake us. Those whom He favours get enormous strength,
discrimination between the Unreal and the Real and
knowledge.
Sai knows
fully the desire of His devotees and fulfills the same.
Hence they get what they want and are grateful. So we
invoke Him and prostrate ourselves before Him. Forgetting
all our faults let Him free us from all anxieties. He who
being overcome with calamities remembers and prays Sai
thus, will get his mind calmed and pacified through His
grace.
This Sai
- the ocean of mercy, says Hemadpant, favoured him and the
result of this, is the present work - Sai-Satcharia.
Otherwise what qualifications had he and who would
undertake this enterprise? But as Sai took all the
responsibility, Hemadpant felt no burden, nor any care
about this. When the powerful Light of knowledge was there
to inspire his speech and pen, why should he entertain any
doubt or feel any anxiety? Sai got the service in the form
of this book done by him; this is due to the accumulation
of his merits in the past births and, therefore, he thinks
himself fortunate and blessed.
The
following story is not a mere tale, but pure nectar. He
who drinks it will realise Sai's greatness and
all-pervasiveness. Those who want to argue and criticise,
should not go in for these stories. What is wanted here,
is not discussion but unlimited love and devotion.
Learned, devout and faithful believers or those, who
consider themselves as servants of the Saints, will like
and appreciate these stories, others will take them to be
fables. The fortunate Bhaktas of Sai, will find the
Sai-leelas as the Kalpataru (Wish-fulfilling Tree).
Drinking this nectar of Sai-leelas, will give liberation
to the ignorant Jivas, satisfaction to the house-holders
and a sadhana to the aspirants. Now to the story of this
Chapter.
Kakaji
Vaidya
There
lived in Vani, Nasik District, a man named Kakaji Vaidya.
He was the priest of the Goodness Sapta-Shringi there. He
was so much overwhelmed with adverse circumstances and
calamities that he lost peace of mind and became quite
restless. Under such circumstances one evening he went
into the temple of the Goodess and prayed unto Her from
the bottom of his heart and invoked Her aid to free him
from anxeity. The Goddess was pleased with his devotion
and the same night appeared to him in his dream and said
to him, "You go to Baba and then your mind will
become calm and composed". Kakaji was anxious to know
from Her who that Baba was, but before he could get any
explanation, he was awakened. Then he began to think as to
who might be that Baba, to whom the Goodess has asked him
to go. After some thinking, he resolved that this Baba
might be 'Tryambakeshwar' (Lord Shiva). So he went to the
holy place 'Tryambak' (Nasik District) and stayed there
for ten days. During this period, he bathed early in the
morning, chanted the 'Rudra' hymns, did the 'Abhishekam'
(pouring unceasingly fresh cold water over the Pindi) and
did other religious rites; but with all that, he was as
restless as before. Then he returned to his place and
again invoked the Goddess most pitifully. They night She
again appeared in his dream and said - "Why did you
go to Tryambakeshwar in vain? I mean by Baba - Shri Sai
Samarth of Shirdi."
The
question before Kakaji now was 'How and when to go to
Shirdi and how to see Baba? If anybody is in real earnest
to see a Saint, not only the Saint but God also, fulfills
his wish. In fact the 'Sant' (Saint) and the 'Anant' (God)
are one and the same; there is not the least difference
between them. If anybody thinks that he will go himself
and see a Saint, that will be a mere boast. Unless the
Saint wills it, who is able to go and see him? Even the
leaf of the tree won't move without his bidding. The more
anxious a Bhakta is for the saint's visit, the more devout
anf faithful he is, the more speedily and effectively is
his wish satisfied to his heart's content. He who invites
anybody for a visit, also arranges everything for his
reception, and so it happened with Kakaji.
Shama's
Vows
When
Kakaji was thinking his visit to Shirdi, a guest came to
him at his place to take him to Shirdi. He was no other
than Shama, a very close and intimate devotee of Baba. How
he came to Vani at this juncture, we shall just see. Shama
was severely ill when he was very young and his mother had
taken a vow to her family Goddess Sapta-Shringi at Vani,
that if the son got well, she would bring and dedicate him
at Her feet. Then after some years the mother herself
suffered much from ring-worms on her breasts. At that time
she again took another vow to her Deity that if she got
all right, she would offer Her two silver breasts. These
two vows remained unfulfilled. At her death-bed she called
her son Shama to her and drew his attention to the vows
and after taking a promise from him that he would fulfills
them, she breathed her last. After some time, Shama quite
forgot about these vows and thus 30 years elapsed. About
this time a famous astrologer had come to Shirdi and
stayed there for a month. His predictions in the case of
Shriman Booty and others came true and everybody was
satisfied. Shama's younger brother Bapaji consulted him
and was told that his mother's vows, which his elder
brother promised to fulfill at her death-bed, were not yet
fulfilled; hence the Goddess was displeased with them and
bringing troubles on them. Bapaji told this to his brother
Shama who was then reminded of the unfulfilled vows.
Thinking that any further delay would be dangerous, he
called a goldsmith and got a pair of silver breast
prepared. Then he went to the Masjid, prostrated himself
before Baba and, placing before Him the two silver breath,
requested Him to accept them and free him from the vows as
He was to him his Sapta-Shringi Goddess. Then Baba
insisted upon him to go himself to the temple of
Sapta-Shringi and offer them in person at the feet of the
Goddess. Then after taking Baba's permission and Udi, he
left for Vani and searching for the priest came to
Kakaji's house. Kakaji was then very anxious to visit Baba
and Shama went there to see him at that very time. What a
wonderful coincidence is this!
Kakaji
asked him who he was and whence he had come, and on
learning that he came from Shirdi, he at once embraced
him. So overpowered was he with love! Then they talked
about Sai-leelas and after finishing the rites of Shama's
vows, they both started for Shirdi. On reaching the place,
Kakaji went to the Masjid, and fell at Baba's Feet. His
eyes were soon bedewed with tears, and his mind attained
calmness. According to the vision of the Goddess, no
sooner did he see Baba, that his mind lost all its
restlessness and it became calm and composed. Kakaji began
to think, in his mind, "What a wonderful power is
this! Baba spoke nothing, there was no question and
answer, no benediction pronounced; the mere darshana
itself was so conducive to happiness; the restlessness of
my mind disappeared by His mere darshan, consciousness of
joy came upon me - this is what is called 'the greatness
of darshan'." His vision was fixed on Sai's feet and
he could utter no word. Hearing Baba's Leelas, his joy
knew no bounds. He surrendered himself completely to Baba,
forgot his anxiety and cares and got undiluted happiness.
He lived happily there for twelve days and after taking
Baba's leave, Udi and blessings returned home.
Khushalchand
of Rahata
It
is said that a dream, which we get in the small hours of
the morning, generally comes out true in the walking
state. This may be so, but regarding Baba's dreams there
is no restriction of time. To quote an instance :- Baba
told Kakasaheb Dixit one afternoon to go to Rahata and
fetch Khushalchand to Shirdi, as He had not seen him since
long. Kakasaheb accordingly took a tanga and went to
Rahata. He saw Khushalchand and gave him Baba's message.
Hearing it, Khushalchand was surprised and said that he
was taking a noon nap after meals when Baba appeared in
his dream and asked him to come to Shirdi immediately and
that he was anxious to go. As he had no horse of his own
nearby, he had sent his son to inform Baba; when his son
was just out of the village-border, Dixit's tanga turned
up. Dixit then said that he was sent specially to bring
him. Then they both went in the tanga back to Shirdi.
Khushalchand saw Baba and all were pleased. Seeing this
Leela of Baba, Khushalchand was much moved.
Punjabi
Ramalal of Bombay
Once
a Punjabi Brahmin of Bombay named Ramalal got a dream in
which Baba appeared and asked him to come to Shirdi. Baba
appeared to him as a Mahant (Saint), but he did not know
His whereabouts. He thought that he should go and see Him,
but as he knew not His address, he did not know what to
do. But He Who calls anybody for an interview makes the
necessary arrangements for the same. The same happened in
this case. The same afternoon when he was strolling in the
streets, he saw a picture of Baba in a shop. The features
of the Mahant, he saw in the dream, exactly tallied with
those of the picture. Then making enquiries, he came to
know that the picture was of Sai Baba of Shirdi. He then
went soon after to Shirdi and stayed there till his death.
In this
way Baba brought His devotees to Shirdi for darshan and
satisfied their wants, material as well as spiritual.
Bow
to Shri Sai - Peace be to all
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