Shri Sai Satcharitra Chapter 7

Chapter – 7

Wonderful Incarnation - Behavior of Sai Baba - His Yogic Practices - His All Pervasiveness - Leper Devotee’s Service – Master Khaparde’s Plague Case - Going to Pandharpur – Wonderful Incarnation

Sai Baba knew all the yogic practices. He was well versed in the six processes, including dhauti (stomach cleaning by a moistened piece of linen 3 inches wide and 22 ½ feet in length), khanda yoga (separating His limbs and joining them again) and Samadhi etc. If you think He was a Hindu, He looked like a Yavan. If you think Him to be a Yavan, He looked like a pious Hindu. No one knew definitely whether He was a Hindu or a Mohammedan. He celebrated the Hindu festival of Rama Navami with all due formalities, and at the same time, permitted the ‘Sandal’ procession of the Mohammedans. He encouraged wrestling bouts in those festivals and gave good prizes to winners. When the Gokul Ashtami came, He had the Gopal Kala ceremony duly performed and on Id festivals, He allowed the Mohammedans to chant their prayers (namaj) in His masjid. Once, in the Mohurum festival, some Mohammedans proposed to construct a tajiya or tabut in the masjid, keep it there for a few days, and then take it in procession through the village. Sai Baba allowed them to keep the tabut for four days, and on the fifth day, He removed it from the masjid without the least compunction. If we say he was a Mohammedan, His ears were pierced (i.e. had holes according to Hindu custom). If you think He was a Hindu, He advocated the practice of circumcision (though according to Nanasaheb Chandorkar, who observed Him closely, He was not Himself circumcised. Vide article in ‘Sai Leela’ on “Baba Hindu ki Yavan” by B.V. Deo, page 562.) If you call Him Hindu, He always lived in the masjid; if Mohammedan, He always had the dhuni (sacred fire). He also allowed the following Hindu practices which are contrary to the Mohammedan religion, i.e. grinding on the hand-mill, blowing the conch, ringing bells, oblation in fire, bhajan, giving of food, and worshiping Baba’s holy feet by means of arghya (water). If you think He was a Mohammedan, the best of Brahmins and Agnihotris, leaving aside their orthodox ways, fell prostrate at His feet. Those who made inquiries about his nationality, were dumbfounded and were captured by His darshan, so none could definitely decide whether Sai Baba was a Hindu or a Mohammedan.*(see below paragraph) This is no wonder, for he who completely surrenders himself to the Lord by getting rid of his egoism and body consciousness and thus, becomes one with Him, has nothing to do with any questions of caste or nationality. Sai Baba was such a saint. He saw no difference between the various castes or even between beings and beings. He took meat and fish with fakirs, but did not grumble when dogs touched the dishes with their mouths.

[* Note - (1) Mhalasapati, an intimate Shirdi devotee of Baba, who always slept with Him in the masjid and Chavadi, said that Sai Baba told him that He was a Brahmin of Pathri and was handed over to a fakir in His infancy. When He said this, some men from Pathri had come and Baba was inquiring about various men from that place. (vide ‘Sai Leela’ 1924, pg. 179) (2) Mrs. Kashibai Kanitkar, the famous learned woman of Poona says in experience No. 8, published on page 79, ‘Sai Leela’ vol. 14, 1934, “On hearing of Baba’s miracles, we were discussing according to our theosophical convention and fashion whether Sai Baba belonged to the Black or White Lodge. Once, when I went to Shirdi, I was thinking seriously about this. As soon as I approached the steps of the masjid, Baba came to the front, and pointing to His chest and staring at me, spoke rather vehemently, “This is a Brahmin, pure Brahmin. He has nothing to do with black things. No black practitioner can dare step in here. He dare not.” Again, pointing to His chest, “This Brahmin can bring lacs of men on the white path and take them to their destination. This is a Brahmin’s masjid and I won’t allow any black practitioner to cast his shadow here.”]

Such a unique and wonderful incarnation was Sai Baba! On account of the merits in my past birth, I had the good fortune to sit at His feet and enjoy His blessed company. The joy and delight I derived there from was incomparable. In fact, Sai Baba was pure ananda and consciousness. I cannot sufficiently describe Him, His greatness and uniqueness. He was established in His own Self and we took delight at His feet. Many sannyasis, sadhakas and all sorts of men aspiring for salvation came to Sai Baba. He always walked, talked and laughed with them and always uttered the words ‘Allah Malik’ (God is the sole owner). He never liked discussions or arguments. He was always calm and controlled. Though irritable at times, He always preached full vedanta and nobody knew until the last, who Baba was. Princes and poor people were treated alike by Him. He knew the innermost secrets of all, and when He gave expression to them, all were surprised. He was a treasure of knowledge, still, He feigned ignorance. He also disliked honor. Such were the characteristics of Sai Baba. Though He had a human body, His deeds were godly. All people considered Him as the Lord God in Shirdi.

Behavior of Sai Baba

Frail that I am, I cannot describe Baba’s miracles. He had all the temples in Shirdi repaired. Through Tatya Patil, the temples of Shani, Ganapati, Shankar-Parvati, Village deity and Maruti were put in order. His charity was also remarkable. The money He used to collect as dakshina was freely distributed. He used to give Rs.10/ to Rs. 50/ to any one at His sweet will.

People were immensely benefitted by having a darshan of Baba. Some became hale and hearty. Wicked people were changed into good ones, and many people had their desires fulfilled. In some cases, kushta (leprosy) was cured. Without any herbal juice or medicine being put into the eyes, some blind men got back their sight, and some lame ones were able to walk again. No one could comprehend the extent of His extraordinary greatness. His fame spread far and wide and pilgrims from all over flocked to Shirdi. Baba always sat near the dhuni and eased himself there and always sat in meditation, sometimes with, and at other times, without a bath. In the early days, He wore a white turban, a clean dhoti and a shirt. He started practicing medicine in the village, examined patients and gave them medicine. He was always successful and He became famous as a hakim (doctor). A curious case may be narrated here. One devotee’s eyeballs were quite red and swollen. A doctor was not available in Shirdi, so some devotees took him to Baba. Other doctors would use ointments, anjans, cow’s milk, camphorated drugs, etc. in such type cases. Baba’s remedy was quite unique. He pounded some ‘beeba’ (carpus ana cardium - i.e. marking nut), made two balls, thrust them in each eye of the patient, and bandaged the eyes. The next day, the bandage was removed and a stream of water was poured over the eyes. The inflammation subsided and the pupils became clear as before. Although the eye is a very delicate organ, still, the beeba caused no smarting, and removed the disease from the poor man’s eyes. Many such cases were cured by Sai Baba.

Baba’s Yoga Practices

Baba knew all the processes and practices of yoga. Two of them are described here:

(1) Dhauti or cleaning process: Baba used to go to the well near a banyan tree at a considerable distance from the masjid, wash his mouth and have a bath. On one occasion, He was seen to vomit out His intestines, clean them inside and outside, and place them on a jamb tree for drying. There are people in Shirdi who have actually seen this and who have testified to this fact. Ordinary dhauti is done by a moistened piece of linen, three inches wide and 22 ½ feet long. This piece is gulped down the throat and allowed to remain in the stomach for about half an hour where it is then reacted upon. It is then taken out. But Baba’s dhauti was quite unique and extraordinary.

(2) Khanda yoga: In this practice Baba severed the various limbs from His body and strewed them separately at different places in the masjid. Once, a gentleman went to the masjid and saw the limbs of Baba lying here and there. He was very terrified. He immediately thought of running to the village officers to inform them about Baba having been hacked to pieces and murdered, but then realized he would be held responsible, as he was the first informant and knew something of the affair, so he decided to keep quiet. The next day when he went to the masjid, he was very much surprised to see Baba hale and hearty, just as sound as before. He thought the horror he had seen the previous day was only a dream.

Baba practiced yoga since his infancy and nobody knew or could guess the proficiency He attained. He charged no fees for His cures and became famous by virtue of His merits. He restored health to many a poor and suffering person. This famous doctor of doctors did not care for His own interests, but rather, always worked for the good and welfare of others, suffering Himself unbearable and terrible pain many a time in the process.

One such example, showing the all pervasive and most merciful character of Sai Baba, will now be described.

Baba’s All Pervasiveness and Mercy

In the year 1910 during the holiday of Diwali, Baba was sitting near the dhuni warming Himself. He was pushing fire wood into the dhuni which was burning brightly. A little later, instead of pushing logs of wood, Baba shoved His arm into the dhuni. His arm was scorched and burnt immediately. This was noticed by the servant Madhava and also by Madhavarao Deshpande. They ran over to Baba at once. Madhavarao clasped Baba by His waist from behind and dragged Him forcibly backward and asked, “Deva, why have you done this?” Baba then came to His senses and replied, “The wife of a blacksmith in a distant place was working the bellows of a furnace when her husband called her. Forgetting that her child was wore on her waist, she ran hastily, and the child slipped into the furnace. I immediately thrust My hand into the furnace and saved the child. I do not mind My arm being burnt, because I am glad that the life of the child was saved.”

Leper Devotee’s Service

On hearing the news from Madhavarao Deshpande of Baba’s hand and arm being burnt, Nanasaheb Chandorkar, accompanied by the famous Doctor Parmanand of Bombay with his medical supplies consisting of ointments, lint and bandages etc., rushed to Shirdi and requested Baba to allow Dr. Parmanand to examine the hand and arm and dress the wound caused by the burn. This offer was refused. Ever since the burn occurred, the wound was dressed by the leper devotee, Bhagoji Shinde. His treatment consisted of massaging the burnt part with ghee and then placing a leaf over it and bandaging it tightly with pattis. Nanasaheb Chandorkar solicited Baba many a time to unfasten the pattis and get the wound examined, dressed and treated by Dr. Parmanand, the object being that the wound would heal quickly. Dr. Parmanand, himself, made many requests, but Baba postponed the help and would not allow His wound to be examined, saying that Allah was His doctor. Dr. Parmanand’s medicines were not exposed to the air of Shirdi, as they remained unopened, but he had the good fortune of getting the darshan of Sai Baba.

Bhagoji was allowed to treat the wound daily. After a few days, the wound healed and all were happy. Still, we do not know if any trace of pain was left or not. Every morning Bhagoji went through this procedure of loosening the pattis, massaging the arm with ghee, and tightly bandaging it again. This went on until Baba’s samadhi. Sai Baba, the perfect siddha that He was, did not really want this treatment, but out of love for His devotee, He allowed the ‘upasana’ service of Bhagoji to go on and on, uninterrupted. Bhagoji was greatly blessed by Baba. When Baba would start out for Lendi, Bhagoji would hold an umbrella over Him and accompany Him. Every morning when Baba sat near the post close to the dhuni, Bhagoji was present and started his service. Bhagoji was a sinner in his past birth. He was suffering from leprosy, his fingers had shrunk, and his body was full of pus and stunk badly. Though outwardly he seemed so unfortunate, he was really very lucky and happy, for he was the premier servant of Baba and had the benefit of His company.

Master Kharparde’s Plague Case

I shall now relate another instance of Baba’s wonderful leelas. Mrs. Khaparde, the wife of Dadasaheb Kharparde of Amraoti, was staying at Shirdi with her young son. The son developed a high fever which then developed into bubonic plague. The mother was frightened and felt most uneasy. She thought of leaving Shirdi for Amraoti and went to ask Baba during His evening rounds (while He was approaching the wada, i.e. the present Samadhi Mandir) for His permission. She informed Him in a trembling tone that her dear young son was down with plague. Baba spoke kindly and softly to her, saying that the sky was beset with clouds, but they would melt and pass off. Everything would be smooth and clear. So saying, He lifted up His kafni to the waist and showed to all present, four fully developed bubos, as big as eggs, and added, “See how I have to suffer for My devotees? Their difficulties are mine.” Seeing this unique and extraordinary deed (leela), the people were convinced as to how the saints suffer pains for their devotees. The minds of saints are full of compassion. They love their devotees without any idea of gain, and regard them as their true relatives.

Going to Pandharpur and Staying There

I shall now close this chapter after relating a story illustrating how Sai Baba loved his devotees and anticipated their wishes and movements. Nanasaheb Chandorkar, who was a great devotee of Baba, was mamlatdar at Nandurbar in Khandesh. His devotion to Sai Baba bore fruit as he received an order of transfer to go and stay at Pandharpur, which is regarded as ‘bhuvai-kuntha’ - heaven on earth. Nanasaheb had to take charge immediately, so he left Nandurbar for Pandharpur right away, without writing or informing anybody at Shirdi. He wanted to make a surprise visit to Shirdi - his Pandharpur, see and salute his Vithoba (Baba), and then proceed. Nobody dreamt of Nanasaheb’s departure for Shirdi, but Sai Baba knew all about this, as His eyes were everywhere (omniscient). As soon as Nanasaheb approached Neemgaon, a few miles from Shirdi, there was a stir in Baba’s masjid. Sai Baba was sitting and talking with Mhalasapati, Appa Shinde, and Kashiram, when He suddenly said, “Let’s all four of us do some bhajan. The doors of Pandhari are open. Let us sing merrily.” They then began to sing in chorus, the theme of the song being, ‘I have to go to Pandharpur and I must stay on there, for it is the house of my Lord.’ Baba sang and the devotees followed Him. In a short time, Nanasaheb arrived with his family, prostrated before Baba, and requested Him to accompany them to Pandharpur and stay with them there. This solicitation was not necessary, as the devotees told Nanasaheb that Baba was already in the mood to go to Pandharpur and stay there. Hearing that, Nanasaheb was moved and fell at Baba’s feet. Then, getting Baba’s permission, udi (sacred ashes) and blessings, Nanasaheb left for Pandharpur.

There is no end to Baba’s stories, but let me now make a halt here, reserving for the next chapter other topics, such as the importance of human life, Baba’s living on alms, Bayajabai’s service and other stories.

Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all