Shri Sai Satcharitra Chapter 6

Chapter – 6

Rama navami festival and masjid repairs - Efficacy of the Touch of the Guru’s Hand - The Rama Navami Festival - Its Origin, Transformation etc. - Repairs to the Masjid

Before describing the Rama Navami Festival and masjid repairs, the author makes some preliminary remarks about the satguru as follows:

Efficacy of the Touch of the Guru’s Hand

When the satguru is our true helmsman, we are carried safely and easily beyond the worldly ocean. The word satguru brings to mind Sai Baba. He appears to me as if standing before me, applying udi (sacred ash) on my forehead with His hand placed on my head in blessing. Then, joy fills my heart and love beams through my eyes with the power of the wonderful touch of the guru’s hand. The subtle body (consisting of thoughts and desires) which cannot be burnt by the world dissolving fire, is destroyed by the mere touch of the guru’s hand and the sins of many past births are cleansed and washed away. Even the speech of those who feel annoyed when they hear religious and godly talk attains calmness. Just seeing Sai Baba’s handsome form overwhelms the heart with emotion and floods the eyes with tears. It awakens in us, ‘I am He (Brahma)’ consciousness, and manifests the joy of Self-realization. Dissolving the distinction of I and Thou, the satguru makes us one with the supreme One reality. Whenever I read the scriptures, I am reminded constantly of my satguru, Sai Baba, who assumes the form of Rama or Krishna and makes me listen to stories of His life. For instance, when I sit and listen to Bhagwat, Sai becomes Krishna and I think it is He who sings the Bhagwat or Uddhava Gita (song of Lord Shri Krishna’s teachings to his disciple, Uddhava) for the welfare of the devotees. When I begin to chitchat, I am at once reminded of Sai’s stories which enable me to give suitable illustrations. When I personally start to write anything, I cannot compose even a few words or sentences, but when Baba, of His own accord, makes me write, I go on writing and writing with ease. When the disciple’s egoism pops up, He presses it down with His hand. The bhakta then acknowledges it is God alone who is the creator and doer. If anyone prostrates before Sai and surrenders heart and soul to Him, then, unsolicited, all the chief objects of life, viz. dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (desire), and moksha (deliverance) are easily attained. The four paths of karma, jnana, yoga and bhakti respectively lead us separately to God. Of these, the path of bhakti is thorny and full of pits and ditches and thus, difficult to traverse. But if one, relying on the satguru, walks straight, the destination (God) will surely be reached. So says Sai Baba.

After philosophizing about the Self-Existent Brahma, His power (maya) to create, sustain and dissolve this world and universe, and stating that all these three are ultimately one and the same, the author quotes Sai Baba’s words guaranteeing the welfare of the bhaktas: “There will never be any dearth or scarcity regarding food and clothes in My devotees’ home. 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 ever fixed on Me. Lord Krishna has also said the same in the Gita. Therefore, do not strive too much for food and clothes. If you want anything, beg of the Lord. Leave worldly honor. Do not be deluded by it. Try to get the Lord’s grace and blessings and be honored in His court. The form of the deity should be firmly fixed in the mind. Let all the senses and mind be ever devoted to the worship of the Lord. Let there be no attraction for anything else. 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 carefree. This is the sign of the mind being well engaged in good company. If the mind be 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 more detailed account, as published in ‘Sai Leela’ magazine, 1925, page 197, is also referred to and a summary of the festival as related in both these accounts is attempted here.

Origin

Mr. Gopalrao Gund, a Circle Inspector at Kopergaon, was a great devotee of Baba. He had no issue. With Sai Baba’s blessings, a son was born to him. In the joy that he felt regarding this event, an idea of celebrating a fair or ‘urus’ occurred to him. In the year 1897, he placed it for consideration before other Shirdi devotees, viz. Tatya Patil, Dada Kote Patil and Madhavarao Deshpande. They all approved of the idea and got Sai Baba’s permission and blessings. Then, an application for getting the collector’s sanction for celebrating the urus was made. The village kulkarni, however, reported against holding the fair, and the sanction was refused, but as Sai Baba had blessed the idea, they tried again and ultimately succeeded in getting the collector’s sanction. After consultation with Baba, the day for the ‘urus’ was set for the Rama Navami Day. It seems Baba had some end in view in this, viz. the unification of the two fairs or festivals, (the Urus and the Rama Navami), as well as the unification of the two communities - the Hindus and the Mohammedans. As seen in future events, this end or object was achieved.

Though the permission was obtained, but other difficulties cropped up. Shirdi was a village and there was a scarcity of water. There were two wells in the village. The one which had been in use, dried up and the water of the other was brackish. This brackish water was turned into sweet water by Sai Baba throwing flowers into it. The water of this well, however, was insufficient, so Tatya Patil had to arrange to get water from another well at a considerable distance by fixing moats (leather sacks) thereupon. Various arrangements had to be made in preparation for the festival. Temporary shops had to be constructed and wrestling bouts were arranged. Gopalrao Gund had a friend named Damu Anna Kasar of Ahmednagar. He, too, had been similarly unhappy in the matter of progeny, though he had married two wives. He, too, was blessed by Sai Baba with sons and Mr. Gund prevailed upon him to prepare and supply a simple flag for the procession of the fair. He also succeeded in inducing Mr. Nanasaheb Nimonkar to supply an embroidered flag. Both these flags were taken in procession through the village and finally placed at the two ends (or corners) of the masjid, which was called Dwarkamai by Sai Baba.

The ‘Sandal’ Procession

There was another procession started in this fair. This idea of ‘sandal’ procession originated with Amir Shakkar Dalal, a Mohammedan bhakta of Korahla. The sandal procession is held in honor of great moslem saints. Sandal, i.e. chandan paste and scrappings, are put in thali (flat dishes), which are carried in procession through the village to the accompaniment of band and music and burning incense. Then, after the return to the masjid, the contents of the dishes are thrown on the ‘nimbar’ (nitche) and walls of the masjid by hand. This ceremony was performed by Amir Shakkar for the first three years and thereafter, by his wife. Thus, on the same day, the procession of the ‘Flags’ by the Hindus and that of ‘Sandal’ by the Moslems, went on simultaneously and has been carried out peacefully each year thereafter, and it is still going on without any hitch.

Arrangement

This festival was very dear and sacred to the devotees of Sai Baba. Most of them turned out for the occasion and took a leading part in the management of the fair. Tatya Kote Patil handled all external affairs, while the internal management was left entirely to Radha Krishna Mai, a female devotee of Baba. Her home was full of guests for the occasion and she had to look after their needs, as well as arrange all the paraphernalia for the fair. Another task which she willingly performed, was to clean and white wash the entire masjid, its walls and floor, which were blackened and full of soot on account of the ever burning dhuni (sacred fire) of Sai Baba. She did this work the previous night when Sai Baba went to sleep in the Chavadi. (Sai Baba alternated nights, sleeping one night in the masjid, and the next in the Chavadi, and so forth.) Radha Krishna Mai had to take out all the things from the masjid, including the dhuni, and after thorough cleaning and whitewashing, she had to replace everything as it was 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 preparing various sweet dishes, was done in Radha Krishna Mai’s house. Various wealthy devotees took a leading part in this work.

Transformation of the Urus into the Rama Navami Festival

The celebrations continued in this way and the fair was gradually increasing in importance until 1912, when a change took place. That year, a devotee by the name of Krishnarao Jageshwar Bhishma, (the author of the pamphlet “Sai Sagunopasana”), came to the fair with Dadasaheb Khaparde of Amraoti and was staying in the Dixit Wada. While relaxing out on the verandah, Bhisma saw Laxmanrao, alias Kaka Mahajani, carrying puja materials to the masjid and an idea arose in his mind. He thus called out to Kaka, “There is some providential arrangement in the fact that the urus, or fair, is celebrated in Shirdi on the Rama Navami Day. This day is very dear to all the Hindus. Why, then, not begin the Rama Navami Festival - the celebration of the birth of Shri Rama - here on this day?” Kaka Mahajani liked the idea and it was arranged to get Baba’s permission in this matter. The main difficulty was how to secure a haridas who would perform kirtan (sing the glories of the Lord on the occasion). But Bhishma solved the difficulty, saying that his Rama Akhyam (composition on Rama’s birth) was ready and he would do the kirtan himself, while Kaka Mahajani would play the harmonium. It was also arranged that Radha Krishna Mai would prepare the sunthavada (ginger powder mixed with sugar) for the prasad. Having made all the arrangements, they immediately went to the masjid to get Baba’s permission. Baba, who knew all things and what was transpiring there, asked Kaka Mahajani as to what was going on in the wada. Being rather perturbed, 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 Baba’s permission for such, which Baba gladly gave. All rejoiced and made preparations for the Jayanti Festival. The next day, the masjid was decorated with buntings etc. A cradle in honor of the birth of Lord Rama was supplied by Radha Krishna Mai and was placed in front of Baba’s seat. The proceedings began and Bhisma stood up to sing the kirtan and Mahajani played the harmonium. Then Baba took a garland from the nimbar (nitche) and placed it around Kaka Mahajani’s neck and sent another garland for Bhishma. The kirtan then commenced. When it came to a close, cries of “Victory to Rama” rang out everywhere and gulal (red powder) was thrown all around in the air amidst band and music. Everyone was overjoyed, when suddenly, a roar was heard. The red powder thrown freely all around somehow entered into Baba’s eyes. Baba became wild and began to scold and abuse loudly. Those intimate devotees who knew Baba well took these scolding of Baba as blessings in disguise. They thought that in honor of when Rama was born, it was proper for Baba to get wild and enraged, to kill Ravana and his demons in the form of egoism and wicked thoughts etc. Besides, they knew when something new was undertaken at Shirdi, it was quite usual for Baba to get wild and angry, and so they kept quiet. Radha Krishna Mai was rather afraid and thought Baba might break her cradle, so she asked Mahajani to get the cradle back. When he went to loosen and unfasten the cradle, Baba went over to him and told him not to remove it. Then, after some time, Baba became calm and the day’s program, including mahapuja and arati, was finished. Later, Mahajani asked Baba’s permission to remove the cradle. Baba again refused, saying that the festival was not yet finished. The next day, another kirtan and Gopal-Kala ceremony were performed whereby an earthen pot containing parched rice mixed with curds was hung, then broken after the kirtan, and the contents thereof distributed to all (as was done by Lord Krishna amongst his cowherd friends). Afterward, Baba allowed the cradle to be removed. While the Rama Navami Festival was thus going on, the procession of the two flags by day, and that of the ‘sandal’ by night, went on with the usual pomp and show. From that time onward, the ‘Urus of Baba’ was transformed into the Rama Navami Festival.

In the next year (1913), the items in the program of Rama Navami began to increase. Radha Krishna Mai started a ‘Nama Saptaha’ (singing the glory of God’s name continuously day and night for seven days) on the first day of Chaitra. In this program, all devotees took part by turns and sometimes Radha Krishna Mai joined them early in the morning. As the Rama Navami Festival is celebrated in many places all over the country, the difficulty of getting a haridas again arose, but five or six days before the festival, Mahajani accidentally met Balabuva Mali, who was known as a modern Tukaram, and requested him to perform the kirtan that year. In the following year, (1914) Balabuva Satarkar of Birhadsiddha Kavathe, District Satara, could not act as a haridas in his own place as cholera was prevailing in his town, so Kakasaheb Dixit arranged for him to come to Shirdi (with Baba’s permission). He did the kirtan and was sufficiently recompensed for his labor. The difficulty of getting a new haridas every year was finally solved by Sai Baba, who entrusted this function to Das Ganu Maharaj permanently. After Das Ganu Maharaj expired, this function became entrusted to an employee of the Shirdi Sansthan.

Since 1912, this festival began to grow gradually year by year. From the 8th to the 12th of Chaitra, Shirdi looked like a bee hive of men. Shops began to increase. Celebrated wrestlers took part in wrestling bouts. Feeding of the poor was done on a large scale and the exertions of Radha Krishna Mai turned Shirdi into a Sansthan (State). Paraphernalia increased. A beautiful horse, a palanquin, chariot, and many silver utensils, pots, buckets, pictures, mirrors, etc. were presented. Elephants were also sent for the procession. Though all this paraphernalia increased enormously, Sai Baba ignored all these things and maintained His simplicity as before. It is to be noted that the Hindus and the Mohammedans have worked in unison in both processions, as well as during the entire festival, with no quarrel between them. At first, about 5,000 to 7,000 people used to congregate, but the figure increased to 75,000 in later years. Still, there was no outbreak of any epidemic or any riots of note during these many past years.

Repairs to the Masjid

Another important idea occurred to Gopal Gund. Just as he started the ‘urus’ or fair, he thought he should have the masjid put in order. At first, Baba was unwilling to allow them to have these repairs done, but with the intervention of Mhalasapati, a local devotee of Baba, His permission was secured. In order to carry out the repairs, Gopal Gund collected stones and had them prepared. Then, Nanasaheb Chandorkar set to work to do the stonework restoration. The pavement work was assigned to Kakasaheb Dixit. The pavement in the masjid was completed in one night and Baba took a small gadi for His seat, discarding the usual piece of sack cloth used before. In 1911, the sabha-mandap (courtyard) was also put in order with great labor and exertion. The open space in front of the masjid was very small and inconvenient. Kakasaheb Dixit wanted to extend it and put a roof over it. At great expense, he had iron posts, pillars and trusses hauled in and started the work. During the night, all the devotees worked hard and fixed the posts, but Baba, when He left the Chavadi the next morning, uprooted them all and threw them out. Once, it so happened that Baba got very excited, caught a pole with one hand, began to shake and uproot it, and with the other hand, caught Tatya Patil’s neck. He forcibly took Tatya’s pheta, struck a match, set it on fire and threw it in a pit. At that time, Baba’s eyes flashed like burning embers. None dared look at him. Everyone became terribly frightened. Baba then took out a rupee from His pocket and threw it on the fire, as if it were an offering on an auspicious occasion. Tatya was very frightened. None knew what was going to happen to Tatya and none dared to interfere. Bhagoji Shinde, the leper devotee of Baba, boldly advanced a little, but he, too, was thrust aside by Baba. Madhavarao (Shama) was also similarly treated, he being pelted with brick pieces. So all those who went to intercede, were dealt with similarly. But after some time, Baba’s anger cooled down. He sent for a shopkeeper, from whom He got a jari embroidered pheta, and tied it on Tatya’s head Himself, as if it was a special honor. All the people were wonderstruck to see this strange behavior of Baba. They were at a loss to know what enraged Baba so suddenly, what led Him to assault Tatya Patil, and why His anger cooled down the very next moment. Baba was sometimes very calm and quiet and talked affectionately, but soon after, with or without any pretext, He would become 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 they occur to me.

In the next chapter, the question as to whether Baba was a Hindu or a Mohammedan will be taken up. His yogic practices and powers and other matters will be described.

Bow to Shri Sai Baba - Peace be to all