Shri Sai Satcharitra Chapter 26

Chapter – 26

Stories of (1) Bhakta Pant (2) Harischandra Pitale and (3) Gopal Ambadekar

Preliminary

All the things 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 or a stick for a serpent when it is dark, we always see the phenomena, i.e. things as they outwardly appear, and not the noumenon which underlies all visible things. It is only the satguru that opens our eyes to understanding, enabling us to see things in their true light and not as they appear. Let us, therefore, worship the satguru and pray to him to give us true vision, which is 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 satguru’s feet. Let us besmear His body with the sandal 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 sattwic emotions and fruit in the form of our concentrated mind. Let us apply bukka (black powder) in the form of devotion to His head and tie His kafni with the waistband of bhakti. Let us place our head on His toes.  Decorating the satguru with 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: Lord, turn our mind inward that we may develop discrimination between the unreal and the real and nonattachment for all worldly things, enabling us to get Self-realization. We surrender ourselves, body and soul (body consciousness and ego). Make our eyes Your eyes, so that we should never feel pleasure and pain. Control our body and mind as You will and wish. Let our mind find rest at Your feet.

Now let us turn to the stories of this chapter.

Bhakta Pant

Once it so happened that a devotee by the name of Pant, a disciple of another satguru, 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 traveling 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 decline. They alighted at Bombay, while Pant got off at Virar, where he received permission from his satguru for the Shirdi trip. After arranging for his expenses, he joined his friends and relations on their trip to Shirdi. Everyone reached Shirdi in the morning and went to the masjid at about 11 a.m. Seeing the concourse of devotees assembled for Baba’s worship, they were all pleased, but Pant suddenly had a seizure and fell senseless. Everyone was frightened and tried their best to bring him to his senses with pitchers of water which they poured over his head. Pant, with Baba’s grace, regained his consciousness and sat upright as if he had just awakened from sleep. The omniscient Baba, knowing Pant was a disciple of another guru, dissolved his fears 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 (in union) with him.” Pant knew at once the significance of this remark, and thus he was reminded of his satguru. Pant always remembered this kindness of Baba throughout his life.

Harischandra Pitale

There was a gentleman in Bombay named Harischandra Pitale. He had a son who suffered from epilepsy. He tried many allopathic and ayurvedic doctors, but found no cure. Only one remedy remained, viz. resorting to the feet of 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 learned that Baba, by His touch and mere glance, cured many incurable diseases. A desire arose in Mr. Pitale’s mind to see Sai Baba. Thus, making all the necessary preparations and taking presents and fruit baskets, Mr. Pitale came to Shirdi with his family, wife and children. He then brought them to the masjid, prostrated before Baba, and placed his sick son at Baba’s feet. No sooner had Baba seen the child, and then an untoward thing happened. The son immediately rolled his eyes and fell down senseless. His mouth began to foam, his whole body began to perspire profusely, and it appeared he lost consciousness. Seeing this, the parents became very nervous and agitated. The boy used to have these fits very often, but this fit seemed to persist for a long time. 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 robbers, ran into a house which collapsed on him or who, being tormented by the heat of the sun, took refuge under a tree which fell 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 Baba directed and found His words came true, for as soon as the child was taken into the wada, he recovered. The entire Pitale family, i.e. husband and wife and near relations, were delighted and all their doubts vanished.

Following this miracle, Mr. Pitale and his wife, filled with gratitude, went to see Baba and humbly and respectfully prostrated before Him. Mr. Pitale began to shampoo Baba’s legs and mentally thanked Him for His help. Baba then smilingly said, “Are not all your thoughts, doubts and apprehensions calmed down now? Hari (Lord) will protect he who has faith and patience.”

Mr. Pitale was a well to do, rich gentleman. He distributed sweet meats on a large scale and gave Baba excellent fruit and pan (betel leaves). Mrs. Pitale was a very sattwic lady, simple, loving and faithful. She used to sit near the post staring at Baba with tears of joy flowing down her cheeks. Seeing her amicable and loving nature, Baba was very pleased with her. Like gods, saints are always dependent on their devotees who surrender and worship them with their heart and soul.

After passing many happy days in Baba’s company, the Pitale family went to the masjid to take Baba’s leave to depart. Baba gave them udi and blessings and asked Mr. Pitale to come close, saying to him, “Bapu, I have previously given you two rupees, now I will give you three rupees. Keep these in your shrine for worship and you will be benefitted.” Mr. Pitale accepted them as prasad, prostrated himself again before Baba, and prayed for His blessings. A thought arose in his mind, that as this was his first trip to Shirdi, how could Baba have given him two rupees previously? He was curious to have this mystery solved, but neither husband nor wife would say anything regarding the matter. When Mr. Pitale returned to Bombay, he told his old mother all that had happened at Shirdi and the mystery about Baba’s having given him two rupees previously. The mother also did not understand the mystery, but thinking seriously about it, she was reminded of an old incident which solved the question. She said to her son, “As you now went to Sai Baba with your son, so too, had your father many years ago, when he took you to Akkalkot for the darshan of the Maharaj. That Maharaj was also a siddha, a perfect yogi, omniscient and liberal. Your father was pure and devout and his worship was accepted. He then gave your father Rs. 2/ to be kept in the shrine and worshiped. Your father worshiped 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, Akkalkotkar Maharaj has appeared to you in the form of Sai Baba just to remind you of your duties and worship, and to ward off all dangers. Now beware henceforth and leave off all doubts and bad thoughts. Follow the example of your ancestors and behave well. Go on worshiping the family gods and the rupees and appraise them properly. Take pride in the blessing of the saints. Sai Samartha has kindly revived the spirit of bhakti in you. Cultivate it to your benefit.”

Hearing the remarks of his mother, Mr. Pitale was very delighted. He came to know, and was convinced about the all pervasiveness of Baba and the significance of His darshan. From that time on, he became very careful about his behavior.

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, Javhar State, from which he had to retire. He tried to get a different job, but did not succeed. He was overtaken by other calamities and his condition grew from bad to worse. He passed seven years in this state, visiting Shirdi every year and placing his grievance before Baba. In 1916 his plight became worse and he decided to commit suicide in Shirdi, so he went there with his wife and stayed for two months. One night, while sitting in a bullock cart in front of Dixit’s Wada, Ambedekar resolved to end his life by throwing himself into a nearby well. Although he intended to act this way, Baba willed he do something else. A few paces from the wada, there was a hotel and its proprietor, Mr. Sagun, a devotee of Baba, came out and accosted Ambedekar thus, “Did you ever read about the life of Akkalkotkar Maharaj?” Ambadekar took the 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 lifetime of Akkalkotkar Maharaj, a certain devotee suffered greatly from an incurable disease, and when he could endure the agony and pain no longer, he became desperate. One night, in order to end his miseries, the devotee threw himself into a well. Immediately, the Maharaj went to the well 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 will have to take another birth and suffer again, so instead of killing yourself, why not suffer for some time and finish up the fruit of your past deeds and be done with it once and for all?” Reading this appropriate and timely story, Ambadekar was quite surprised and moved. Had he not gotten Baba’s hint through the story, he would have been no more. Seeing Baba’s all pervasiveness and benevolence, his faith in Him was confirmed and Ambedekar became a staunch devotee. His father had been a devotee of Akkalkotkar Maharaj and Sai Baba wanted him to walk in his late father’s footsteps and continue his devotion to Him. Ambadekar then received Sai Baba’s blessings, and his prospects began to improve. He studied astrology and gained proficiency in it, thereby improving his lot. He was able to earn sufficient money and passed his later life in ease and comfort.

Bow to Shri Sai - Peace Be to All