THE SAPATNEKAR FAMILY'S SHIRDI PILGRIMAGE

[Guest guest]

THE SAPATNEKAR FAMILY'S SHIRDI PILGRIMAGE

It is interesting to see how Baba has made these details available to us through

the agency of a devotee. Lieutenant Colonel M B Nimbalkar (retired) is a Sai

devotee who lives in Pune. He learnt through his friends that the Sapatnekar

family, whose account was given in Chapter 48 of Sri Sai Satcharita, was also

living in Pune. He got their address from the phone directory and met them on

13.9.1983. First he met Sri Dinakar, Sapatnekar’s third son. From him he

learnt that the eldest son, Muralidhar, who was born by Baba’s grace and

blessings, was also living in Pune and that by the most happy coincidence,

their mother was living with him. Nimbalkar was very happy to hear this as he

had not imagined that Mrs. Sapatnekar would still be alive some 65 years after

Baba entered samadhi. He was ecstatic that, by Baba’s grace, he was able

to meet someone who had seen Baba physically and received his blessings. He

looked upon this opportunity as a gift from Baba.

Mrs. Parvatibai Sapatnekar was 88 years old at the time Nimbalkar met her. She

answered all his questions without any lapses of memory. This is her account of

her experiences with Baba.

"I was married when I was thirteen. My husband, Sri Mahadev Waman Sapatnekar,

was thirty-three years old at the time of our marriage and I was his second

wife. His first wife and their only son had both passed away due to a disease

of the throat. My in-laws were staying at Madhegaon at that time. However, my

husband was practising law at Akkalkot, the district headquarters. My husband

was very sad that his only son had died and was always unhappily thinking about

him. To add to his woes, I was childless for about four to five years after

getting married, so he would always be moping about with a gloomy countenance.

My father-in-law then told him to visit Sri Sai Baba of Shirdi as many people

had gone there and found peace.

We had heard of Baba many times from Sri Shevade, who was my husband’s

friend and classmate. My husband, however, had no belief in Baba and was

unwilling to go to Shirdi for his darshan. As he could not disobey his father

he went to Shirdi in 1913, taking his brother Panditharao along with him. He

left me in my mother-in-law’s place at Madhegaon before leaving for

Shirdi. I had been very eager to have Baba’s darshan for a long time, but

in those days, even to stand in front of the husband was a great departure from

tradition. To talk to him and tell him what I wanted was out of the question,

so I could not tell him of my desire to go to Shirdi for Baba’s darshan.

While my husband was in Shirdi, Panditharao's wife and I were sleeping in the

same room. I had a divine dream. A great light flashed in front of me. I

suddenly remembered that there was no water in the house and left for the

Lakadshah well with a pot to get water. In those days daughters-in-law were

forbidden to go anywhere unattended, so I was hurrying so that I could get the

water before my father-in-law returned from court. As I neared the well, I saw

a fakir standing nearby. He had a piece of cloth tied around his head and was

wearing a kufni (a long shirt-like garment coming down to mid-calf). He drew

near and said, "Woman! Why do you trouble yourself like this? I will fill your

pot with clean water." I was scared that he might think of doing me harm. In

the meanwhile, flouting all sense of decency, he lifted his kufni and squatted

to urinate right in front of me. My apprehension of his mischievous intentions

deepened and I thought that he might try to molest me, so I ran towards our

house. He followed me repeating, "Do not run away, oh woman! You will repent

later. I have come here to give you one thing." I reached home fast and slammed

home the bolts and locked all the doors. He was still standing outside the house

and throwing pebbles through the small window, which was open. "I want to give

you one thing, oh woman," he kept saying. I did not know what to do and tried

to scream for help. My dream vanished and I was awake. I woke up

Panditharao’s wife and asked her the time. She got up and asked me if I

was unable to sleep.

I was telling my mother-in-law of my dream the following morning, when my

father-in-law overheard from the next room. He walked in and wanted to know all

the details. After hearing me patiently to the end he said that it must have

been Sai Baba who came to me in my dream. He said that it was very auspicious

that Baba had come and that it boded well for our family. While this was going

on, my husband returned from Shirdi and told us the details of his trip.

It seems my husband went to the mosque and approached Baba to touch his feet and

salute him. As he bent down to touch Baba’s feet, Baba suddenly shouted,

"Chal hut!" (Go away!) and pushed him away so hard that my husband’s

headdress fell a long way. My husband was woebegone and came out of the mosque.

He stayed for two more days and tried to have Baba’s darshan with the help

of the other devotees present there, but whenever Baba saw my husband, he would

shout "Chal hut!" again and would not even let him draw near. Disheartened, my

husband realised that Baba’s darshan and blessings were impossible, and

returned to Madhegaon full of despair. He blamed his father for causing him

this anguish as he had sent him to Shirdi on this fruitless venture.

The next day my father-in-law told my husband of my dream and urged him to go to

Shirdi again and to take me along this time. My husband prevaricated saying that

it was because I had the desire to go to Shirdi and had gone to sleep with that

desire uppermost in my thoughts that that this dream had come and too much

should not be read in to it. But my father-in-law was firm, "If Sri Sai Baba

was angry with you there must have been some failing of yours. You should take

this dream as a good augury and go to Shirdi with her. It is certain that Baba

will do you good." He ordered, "Take along your elder sister-in-law too as she

has only girls and no male progeny yet." My husband could not disobey his

father and so we all left for Shirdi.

When we reached Shirdi Baba was just returning from Lendi Gardens. I was

wonderstruck to see that it was the same fakir who had appeared in my dream.

Immediately on seeing me, Baba held his stomach and bending and twisting as if

in severe pain said, "Oh, my stomach, and my back; the pain, it is unbearable."

I was worried for Baba and anxiously inquired of the devotees nearby what had

happened to him. They told me not to worry as it was a frequent practice of

Baba to take the pains of his devotees and act thus. They said that Baba took

the pains and diseases of his devotees on to himself to give them relief and

the devotees would become free of them as a result. I was surprised and also

laughed a little at Baba for his dramatic performance in showing the pain.

Ingrate that I was, I did not realise at that time that Baba in his mercy had

done it all for my sake. I had been suffering from severe pain in my back and

stomach for a long time and I realised only two or three months after

Baba’s darshan that these pains had vanished from the moment Baba had

acted out his charade. I was deeply moved that Baba had taken my debilitating

pain on himself, experienced it, and given me relief. I thanked him sincerely

from the bottom of my heart and repented for having laughed at his pantomime at

the time."

That day, we took fruit, flowers and other gifts, and went for Baba’s

darshan after he was seated in the mosque. My husband led the way and I

followed him. The moment Baba saw my husband, he again shouted "Chal hut" as

before. My husband felt hurt and sadly left the mosque. It was then my turn. I

went forward and, putting my head on Baba’s feet, saluted him. Baba took

a handful of udi and put it all on my head. "Take! One, two, three, four!" said

Baba, "Take as many as you want." I was immersed in bliss and forgot myself

totally. My husband, however, was sunk in the depths of despair. All those who

came to Shirdi were most joyfully having the darshan of Baba. They were happily

carrying away Baba’s blessings and going home in eager anticipation of

good things to come. And here he was – the only blessing he got from Baba

was a "Chal hut!"

My husband gave this serious thought. He realised that Baba’s intransigent

attitude was indeed a reflection of his own lack of faith in Baba. He remembered

that when he and Shevade were studying law, Shevade had told him of Baba’s

power and the miracles wrought by Baba. He had then talked ill of Baba as if he

was a charlatan, and had laughed at Baba and Shevade. He now sincerely repented

of his behaviour and wanted to make amends. He resolved that he would not leave

Shirdi without obtaining Baba’s blessings and kind grace.

He got his chance a few days later. One afternoon my husband noticed that Baba

was sitting alone in the mosque. He at once ran to Baba and, clasping his feet,

started weeping piteously. He told Baba that he had been blind to Baba’s

greatness earlier and earnestly begged Baba to forgive his previous

transgressions and shower his grace on him. Baba’s heart melted and

placing his hand on my husband’s head, he blessed him and bade him sit

near Him.

Meanwhile a shepherdess had walked in and sat massaging Baba’s feet. Baba

in his usual manner, started telling her a story. As my husband listened to the

story, he was dumbfounded to realise that it was all about him. He was awed by

Baba’s omniscience. Pointing to my husband Baba said to the shepherdess,

"This man accuses me of killing his son. Do I kill people’s children? Why

does he come here and start weeping? I will put the same child in the womb of

his wife. Tell him to go now." My husband was ecstatic with happiness. He

saluted Baba repeatedly, thanking him for showering us with his grace, and

returned from the mosque."

He recounted to me all that had happened in the mosque with Baba. He said that

Baba was an ocean of kindness and a realised soul. He told me to get ready for

the arati with puran polies (chapatis with a sweet filling) as an offering for

Baba. However, one of the priests there told us that halva would make a better

offering, so we prepared some halva and took it on a plate to the mosque. After

the arati, the offerings to Baba were put in front of him. Even though our plate

was slightly far away, Baba bent down, and taking a handful of halva, ate it

with relish. Our happiness knew no bounds. We offered our heartfelt thanks to

Baba for the kindness he showed us."

The next day was a Thursday and we attended the Chavadi Festival. The glory of

that festival cannot be explained in words – it has to be experienced to

be known in its totality. It was a beautiful sight. The festival procession was

led by devotees with various musical instruments, such as drums, cymbals and

gongs. The decorated silver palanquin came next, and lastly Baba, accompanied

by his devotees. One devotee held Baba’s ceremonial umbrella, others held

the ceremonial whisks and waved them as is done to royalty. We were told that

Baba never sat in the palanquin, although sometimes the devotees lifted him

forcibly and placed him in it. But the next second he would vanish and reappear

on the ground, to the amazement of all the devotees present. When the devotees

danced in joy, immersed in devotion to Baba, Baba would also dance, immersed in

the joy of devotion. It was wonderful, the way Baba danced. He would

rhythmically place now a foot forward, now a foot back, all in tune with the

pulsating drums and the clashing cymbals. It was the dance of a master of the

art. I can still see Baba’s dance in my mind's eye. Baba’s awesome

glory and his effulgence was a thing to be seen and experienced during the

Chavadi festival. Words could never do justice to explaining the festival or

its glory. I was surprised to see the same divine aura around Baba that I saw

around Panduranga in Pandaripur."

We decided to leave for Madhegaon the next day. When we were setting out for the

mosque to get Baba’s permission to leave, my husband said, "I have decided

to give one rupee as dakshina to Baba. If he asks for more I will give him

another rupee. I would like to give him more but we don’t have any more

money on us. So we might have to sell my ring and your bangles to raise the

money for dakshina."

We went to the mosque, saluted Baba with devotion in our hearts, and asked him

for permission to leave for home. Baba assented and asked for dakshina. My

husband offered the rupee to Baba. Again Baba asked him for more dakshina and

my husband put the second rupee in Baba’s hand. Baba took it and said,

"Don’t worry – I won’t ask you for more or you will have to

sell your ring and your wife’s bangles, won’t you?" My husband was

speechless with awe that Baba knew our private conversation. He was enchanted

by the omniscience of Baba. This reverence for Baba helped to strengthen his

devotion and confidence in Baba’s abilities and divinity. Any remaining

doubts he had about Baba vanished."

A year after that, in 1915, my elder son Muralidhar was born. We took him to

Shirdi for Baba’s darshan when he was eight months old. Then we had two

more sons – Bhaskar and Dinakar. We took them to Shirdi for Baba’s

darshan too. I remember one incident of that time very well. When Dinakar was

two months old we placed him in front of Baba’s feet. Baba picked him up

and threw him up into the air. My heart stopped with fear, but nothing happened

to Dinakar. Another devotee who was sitting beside Baba caught him and handed

him to us. Perhaps Baba knew in advance that the devotee would catch Dinakar,

otherwise he would not have flung the child up and sat quiet, making no attempt

to catch him again."

I had a total of eight sons and a daughter. Only then did I realise the full

meaning of the boon granted by Baba when I went the first time to Shirdi.

"Take! One, two, three, four!" said Baba at the time. "Take as many as you

want." He gave me as many children as I desired.

My husband also became a staunch devotee of Baba in the course of time. His

faith and devotion to Baba increased day by day. One incident will suffice to

show the extent of his devotion. Our second son, Bhaskar, died when he was ten.

My husband did not fall into a depression as he had when his first son died, but

accepted it as the will of Baba. He took all the children to the puja room, and

lining them up in front of Baba there, said, "Baba you may take all these too

if you wish, but the faith and devotion I have for you will stay firm as a

rock."

Smt. Parvatbai Sapatnekar finished her account of her reminiscences of Sri Sai

Baba. Lt. Col. Nimbalkar next interviewed her son, Dinakar Sapatnekar. It seems

the Sapatnekars were from a village called Sapatne, hence the name Sapatnekar.

They then settled in the taluka headquarter village of Madhegaon. They were a

family of lawyers. Their grandfather was a lawyer and so was their father,

Mahadev Waman Sapatnekar, who was a prominent, successful and rich lawyer of

Akkalkot.

Dinakar disclosed another interesting fact about his father. He said that his

father was a devotee of Sri Datta and would frequently go to Gangapur. When his

first wife and son both died, Sapatnekar was so disillusioned with life that he

wanted to commit suicide by drowning himself in the river there at Gangapur. It

seems Datta himself saved him from committing suicide and ordered him to

Akkalkot. Then Baba drew him to Shirdi in 1913 and made him his devotee.

Dinakar Sapatnekar had been employed as a judge in the service of the state of

Maharashtra and was retired, being 68 years old at the time of this interview.

Nimbalkar interviewed Smt. Parvatbai Sapatnekar on 13.9.1983. She breathed her

last about a month and a half later on 30.10.1983.

_Courtesy Sai Leela July 1986