The Wondrous Saint Shirdi Sai Baba - Saints see much farther when favours are refused.

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III. SAINTS SEE MUCH FARTHER

WHEN FAVOURS ARE REFUSED

The ways of saints are often mysterious. The favours they grant or

sometimes perplexing as also their refusals; and it takes quite a

long time for the votary to realise that they see much farther.

Prof. G. G. Narke mentions several incidents of that type in his

statement on Sri Sai Baba. Here is one :

"In 1914 or thereabouts a rich old gentleman of Harda came with a

lady to Shirdi. He was suffering from T. B. consumption. During

the space of one month there was noticeable improvement in his

health. So he made Shirdi his residence. At the end of the second

mouth, he grew worse and his end seemed to be approaching. One day

the ladies of his house and their friends told me that his

condition was critical and there was no senior male to go and ask

Baba for help and some one to ask for the Udhi. I went up. Baba

told me that the man would be better for quitting this earth.

"What can the Udhi do? Anyhow take the Udhi and give it, as it is

wanted/' So I took and gave the Udhi but, of course, refrained

from intimating Baba's words to any one*'.

'Saved from Pain :

"The condition grew worse. Then another of has relations arrived

and went to Baba and told him of the imminent death. Baba appears

to have said "How can he die? In the morning he will come to

life," This was taken \uto mean that the old man would not quit

his body. So they placed lamps all round the corpse and waited

till noon. Life was not restored to the corpse. Funeral ceremonies

followed. The Harda gentleman's relations thought that Baba had

given them false hopes and went away from Shirdi. For three years

they did not return to Shirdi".

"Then one day a relative of the deceased saw Baba in a dream,

with, with the deceased's head over his own and Baba disclosed the

lungs in rotten state, and said "From the torture of all this, I

have saved him." Thereafter, he and his relations renewed their

visits to Shirdi. Baba's words "How can he die? He will come to

life'* evidently referred to survival of human personality after

death and taking up new forms of life in fresh bodies.

(Adopted from The Wondorous Saint Sai Baba of Shirdi by Pujya

Narasimha Swami Ji, This book can be read at www.saileelas.org)