YOU ARE UNDER BABA'S CARE - HAVE FULL FAITH

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YOU ARE UNDER BABA’S CARE – HAVE FULL FAITH

Abdulla Jan, originally of Tarbella, Mazra district near Peshawar, was a Pathan,

living at Korhale, near Sakori, is next Muslim devotee of Baba who had some

spiritual and some material touch with Baba. He had left Tarbella when a young

boy, as he had none to support him. He simply roamed abroad, and wanted some

one to help him to go to Mecca for that is one of the cardinal duties of all

Muslims. He walked on and travelled up to Manmad. At Manmad, instead of going

to Mumbai, as he originally intended, he heard that Sai Baba was at Shirdi, 30

miles further south and so, as he heard that Baba was showering money on

fakirs, he hoped that Baba would send him to Mecca. He went to Shirdi in 1913.

When he entered the gate of the Masjid, Baba was in the main building. Their

eyes met. At once, he had the feeling that Baba was his Guru. So, he stayed on

at Shirdi, as Baba was feeding every fakir abundantly and instead of going to

Mecca. Abdulla Jan wanted to live an easy life at Shirdi. He was aged only 17.

He had no serious views about life. But as he stayed at Shirdi, there were

noticeable changes in his mentality, which illustrate Baba’s way of

promoting Hindu-Muslim Unity. When he first came to Shirdi, he like other

Pathans, regarded Hindus as enemies and proper prey. After staying 3 years with

Baba, this hatred passed away, and he began to view Hindus as his brethren. He

gradually absorbed the national feeling and regretted very much that at Mumbai,

Hindus and Muslims were fighting with each other destroying Mosques and temples,

and he thought that if they wiped each other out the foreigners only would have

the whole country to themselves.

When Baba passed away in 1918, he was 22. Even then he was not sufficiently

serious to have any development on the religious side. He felt however grieved

at Baba’s disappearance and started off on his travels again. In 1926, he

was going back North. Then in the Swat valley (Malekand Agency) he found the

tomb of a great saint, Akun Baba, who was a Sayyad, a direct descendant of

Mohamed. His miraculous powers were the subject of popular legends. That Akun

Baba is said to have locked up Lord Roberts on a hill for three months and 11

days. During Abdulla Jan's stay there, one night he had a dream in which a

saint appeared. ‘Who was it?’ It was not Akun Baba that he had

prayed to, but Sai Baba who was seated on a chair near his head. When he woke,

he remembered the dream. So, he found he was still under Baba’s care,

though it was eight years since Baba passed away. As Sai was kind enough of his

own accord to give him Sakshatkar, 1500 miles away from Shirdi, his reverence

for Sai increased and his former idea that Sai Baba had deceived him by giving

him no help during the five years of his stay, was found to be wrong. At This

discovery he returned to India with full faith in Sai Baba.

Written by: HH Pujyasri B. V. Narasimha Swamiji

(Vasuki Mahal Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Trust, Coimbatore 641001, India)