BABA'S DIRECTIONS NEVER GO WRONG

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BABA’S DIRECTIONS NEVER GO WRONG

Damia’s first named Daulat Shah is now known as Nana Saheb Rasane, and is

a trustee of the Sai Sansthan. Daulat means prosperity and fame. With the

wealth already acquired by Damia, the children started or carried on a

successful business, and they are keeping up the name of Damia for wealth and

generosity. In addition to the above, Nana Saheb, the eldest son was helped by

Baba in his spiritual development. He is now carrying on Sai propaganda,

spreading the Sai faith by lectures, etc., and is fully deserving of the name,

Daulat Shah.

When Daulat Shah was five years old, and when he first began writing the letters

Hari on the slate, Baba held his hand and helped him to write. After that he

was, taken to a school at Shirdi. At his marriage also, Baba helped him. When

there were several girls offered for this rich man’s son, Baba was

requested by Damia to select the one, which he considered proper out of four

horoscopes. Then Baba selected a poor girl’s horoscope; and that was the

girl that Rasane married, and that was a happy marriage. It took place at

Pandharpur and Damia went to Baba to invite him to Pandharpur. Baba replied "I

am with you. Do not fear. Wherever you think of me, there I am with you." Still

Damia pressed him to attend. Then Baba said, "Without God’s permission,

nothing can be done by me. I will send Shama to attend the marriage as my

deputy." And Shama attended the marriage.

The manner, in which Damia got children by his wife consuming mangoes, naturally

reminds one of the way in which the Ayodhya king Dasaratha got his children.

Dasaratha was also childless, and after consulting Vasishta, his Kula Guru, he

was advised by the Guru, to perform an Asvamedha Yaga and Puthra Kameshti Yaga.

In the latter yaga, conducted by Vasishta, a divine person Rishyasringa came out

of the fire with a vessel full of nectarine, payasam and that was offered to

Dasaratha with the direction that his wives should drink the same and thereby

have issue. Dasaratha distributed it amongst his wives and, in consequence of

it, had four sons. In the case of Damia, he was not rich enough to conduct an

Asvametha Yaga, not were there any rishis to conduct a Puthra Kameshti Yaga,

and yet he got his four children just like Dasaratha. Sai Baba represented in

his own personality and in the mangoes that he gave, the Asvamedha Yaga, Puthra

Kameshti Yaga, Vasishta, Rishyasringa and divine nectar. So, the childless

devotees of Sai Baba look upon him as a never failing giver of the boon of

children, and others who are afflicted by being in the bad books of the planets

look to him for getting rid of their other evils.

Above all, the words of Baba as to issue proved strictly true. There was not a

single mistake about them. Our astrologers, as Baba himself has said, make

declarations about future and only half of them come true. In the case of Baba,

there was no such thing as missing. This may be described in various ways by the

learned – Satyavak, Satyasankalpa. Some may call it Vaksiddhi. Others may

call it Trikala jnana. Some others may refer to it, as Yatha Sankalpa

Samsiddhi. Still others may call it, Isatvam. These names are found in

Patanjalini’s Yoga Sutras in the Srimad Bhagavata, and in the Chandogya

Upanishad. Some others may say, it is merely pre-cognition, that is knowledge

of the future. But whether the future is fixed enough for one to have knowledge

of is a moot question, and the difficulty of its being unfixed is overcome by

people putting forward an alternative explanation of Baba’s faculty,

calling it either knowledge of the future or control of the future.

Rishinam Punar Adhyanam

Vacham Artho Anudhavati

This means, In the case of ancient rishis, events follow their words, that is,

where they declare a thing is, there that thing comes about by their will power

– Satyavak Satyasankalpa.

Therefore, Damia’s having derived a blessing of this very rare sort was

the means by which Baba’s fame for the grant of issue and other similar

blessings even in the face of adverse planetary influences got widely published

in the town of Ahmednagar and in the neighbourhood. This was around 1895 to

1897. Damia wishing to show his gratitude undertook to pay the expenses of a

grand ceremony of ‘The standards procession’ on every Ramanavami

Day. Two very tall standards were nicely decorated and carried from the Mosque

through the streets of Shirdi on that day every year and finally brought back

to be planted at Baba’s Masjid to remain there as a mark of the residence

of the weird saint. Damia, not content with this service, was always ready to

undertake further trouble and expense for Baba in other matters. At the time of

the reconstruction of the Masjid, he made his contribution as also on other

similar occasions.

But the best contribution that Damia made was his becoming an Ankita or child of

Baba, whom Baba looked after wherever he was and wherever he thought of Baba.

Baba told him, "I am with you wherever you are and whenever you think of me."

This was said when Damia was afraid that Baba would leave his body and would no

longer be helping him personally with his presence. Baba’s assurance,

Damia says in his statement in 1936 has been, perfectly true. Baba is with him

and frequently appears before him. When he is not personally present, Damia

casts chits before Baba, and the chits always give the answers of Baba. He says

in the innumerable cases that he consulted Baba on chits, not even on one

occasion was Baba’s direction found to be wrong..

Written by: HH Pujysri B. V. Narasimha Swamiji

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