DAS GANU’S FIRST STEP ON SPIRITUAL PATH

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DIVINE GRACE – DAS GANU’S FIRST STEP ON SPIRITUAL PATH

Again for a second time Das Ganu refused to resign. Having so far successfully

duped Baba, he thought he was safe. But he hardly knew how many strings Baba

had to his bow. The third occasion came and then Das Ganu was in a tight fix.

When he was the second in command at the station, the station officer left him

in-charge. And Das Ganu in a lordly way wanted to enjoy his time, and went home

leaving a constable in charge of the station. Just at that time, a village

munsif had sent up a thoti with a fine collected from some persons against whom

a warrant had been sent for collection. That money, Rs. 32/- was left by the

thoti with the constable there in charge, without any person to witness. The

constable told the thoti that the Station Officer was on leave, that no receipt

would be granted then, that he might go away and the receipt would be sent to

the village in due course. So, the poor thoti went away, and the constable

swallowed up the money.

Ganpat Rao (Das Ganu) knew nothing of it. However, the authorities finding that

Rs. 32/- had not been collected, sent up second warrant for the collection of

the fine. The party showed the receipt from village munsif. The village munsif,

when asked, said that he had sent the money to Ganpat Rao’s station, and

so the enquiring officer came to the station and asked the station officer who

pointed out that at the particular time and date when the money came, he was on

leave. Then who was in charge? Ganpat Rao was in charge. Ganpat Rao was the man

who swallowed that (fine) amount of Rs. 32/- was the conclusion arrived at by

the enquiring officer.

Ganpat Rao was asked for an explanation. He said he know nothing. But there was

no escape the fact that money had been sent that day, and was paid at the

station as the thoti testified. Then Ganpat Rao, finding that there was not

only no chance of his getting the Sub Inspectorship but a good chance of

getting into the jail, solemnly swore to Baba that this time he would

positively quit service. He went further and mentioned his willingness to

resign to the enquiry officer who, thereupon, made him pay up Rs. 32/- and then

discharged him, taking of course his resignation also.

Thus Baba succeeded in making Ganpat Rao quit his service, a service, which

would prevent Ganpat Rao from becoming the high spiritual personage that he was

subsequently to develop into. Baba used to call him ‘Ganu’. When

Ganpat Rao came and said, ‘I have now left my service; I and my wife have

to stand in the streets, as we have no property or income.’ Baba said,

‘ Ganu, I shall provide for you and your family’. (Compare Sri

Krishna’s promise "Yoga Kshemam Vahamai sham" BG (9) (22). Baba then

asked him to go on with his Brahminical duties, puranic studies, and kirtans at

which he was excellent.

>From the day of his loss of service, i.e., 1903, up to this time (the time of

publishing this volume by HH Pujyasri B.V.N. Swamiji), Ganpat Rao was never in

want either for food or for clothing, and has even become the owner of some

lands yielding him sufficient support. (And in 1919 his wife died issueless,

leaving him without any encumbrances).

Baba told him to attend to his kirtans. He had a fine metallic voice and he was

a very able performer of kirtans. He would hold an audience of 2000 people

spell bound in rapt attention listening to him for six or eight hours, and as

he never asked for even one pie and made no collections, his kirtans were

popular, and in all his kirtans, he would place Baba’s picture next to

him and even though his katha was about Tukaram or Namdev or Jnanadev, yet he

would always refer to Sai Baba as the living Saint or Sat purusha i.e., as the

present Great Saint, whom it would be a great blessing for people to have

darsan of, as the very darsan would purify and benefit the visitor.

As soon as his kirtans ended, people started in numbers to go to Shirdi and see

Sai Baba. These numbers included high officials of good and great positions, as

also the poor. Thus he has been the means of sending some tens of thousands of

people to Baba. He is still living (1955) and justly styled Hari Bhakta

Parayana Kirtankar. Baba developed his nature and purified it by making him

spend his time whenever he went to Shirdi in reading Vishnu Sahasranama at a

temple there. Das Ganu Maharaj thus got highly purified and was highly devoted

to Baba. His purification and development are marked in various ways, and

Baba’s favour to him on the spiritual side is so vast and varied that it

is impossible to sketch them out,

Courtesy: HH Pujyasri B. V. Narasimha Swamiji

(Vasuki Mahal Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Trust, Coimbatore-641025, India)