SHIRDI DIARY - 6

[Guest guest]

After the Wada Arti I went to the Masjid to attend the procession to Chavadi &

the Sheja Arti there. Sayin Saheb exhibited an angry mood, abused those that

had got on to the roof of the Masjid for lighting lamps, and at the time when

the procession started he threw his stick at Mrs. Tai Jog the wife of

Bapusaheb. At the Chavadi I thought he would beat Bapusaheb Jog for he

approached the latter held his hands and demanded why arti was done, but after

a while he beat Bala Simpi with his stick and later on TrimbakRao whom he calls

Maruti. Bala Simpi ran away but TrimbakRao received the blow standing and

prostrated himself before Sayin Saheb. I think he received a full measure of

favour and got ahead by at least a stage.

At about 8 p.m. Baba commenced distribution of gifts of money. A large retinue

of people regularly received alms at his hands and all these gathered in the

front yard of the mosque. Baba would thrust his hand into his pockets very

quickly and strangely, precisely the amount he regularly paid to the particular

recipient would come into his hands without the need for any counting. If it

were a new recipient the money he really needed would come to Baba’s hand. Baba

gave the money gratis and never expected any work in return. Why he gave them no

one knew.

One day Baba had nothing to give and he did not distribute money. One man

insisted that he wanted money then and there. At last Baba thrust his hand into

his empty pocket and picked out a few pieces of change and gave the man. The man

left the place immediately.

To scrutinize the source of Baba’s income and to levy a tax, the British

Government appointed intelligence. A Christian officer was specially chosen for

the purpose for fear that a Hindu or Moslem might very soon turn into a devotee

of Baba and favour him. But this officer too failed to understand whence Baba

got his amount. For even when the day’s collections of dakshina from his

devotees was not more than Rs. 25/- he never gave away anything less than Rs.

300/-. Instances of the regular distribution of Baba’s money were as follows:

Bade Baba Rs. 55/-, Tatya Rs. 35/-, Jamle Musalmanin Rs. 7/-, Bhayyaji Patil

Kote Rs. 4/-, Bhagoji Rs. 4/-, Ramachandra Patil Rs. 4/- and so on.

Besides, there were other sundry payments to others. Of the regular recipients

of money, Ramachandra Patil used to give four pieces of sugar candy in return

for his payment. Whenever newly wedded couples of Shirdi visited him for his

blessings, Baba invariably gave them Re. 1/- each. This distribution of money

went on every day till his Mahasamadhi. During the Ramnavami celebrations he

used to give two bundles of one-rupee notes to Dada Kelkar and Bade Baba, to be

distributed to the poor after the celebrations.

Similarly, the naivedya offered to him everyday by his devotees at the

Dwarakamai was also given away to those who lived by it, fakirs and bairagis

who lived in nearby hutment. To each of them Baba gave a quarter rupee per day.

Later Baba left Dwarakamai for the chavadi in this usual pomp and eclat

displayed by the procession of his devotees. He slept there for the night in

the right wing of the chavadi, which is now enclosed by railings and separated

from the left wing where some of the devotees slept. On the days on which Baba

slept in the mosque, Mahlsapathy invariably slept there with him.

When it was time for Baba to leave for chavadi the usual routine was as follows:

Abdul and Radhakrishna Ayi removed, with their own hands, even the pig dung,

swept the road and sprinkled it with water and drew ornamental designs

(rangoli) on them in white. Then they spread a cloth all the way from mosque to

the chavadi for Baba to walk on. Then Tatya Patil came to the mosque and invite

Baba to the chavadi. When Baba got ready to step down from the mosque Pilaji

Gurave would begin to play on his shehnai. There were also a whole band of

devotees that started bhajan (chorus chanting of devotional songs). Then

Shamsuddin (or Shyamakarna) the horse went before Baba; behind the horse and

the palanquin were offered to Baba for use, he never mounted them but always

walked behind them. Baba’s shoes were placed in the palanquin. The ceremonial

umbrella was held over his head as he walked the chavadi.

When he arrived at the corner of the Masjid, Baba would stop there in front of

the Hanuman temple and make mystic signs. Then he would proceed to chavadi.

On such days the night arti took place in the chavadi. Artis of saint Tukaram

and saint Jnaneswar were sung first and finally the arti was sung to Sai Baba.

When arti was sung to the glory of Tukaram and Jnaneswar, Baba sat in attention

and did obeisance (namaskar) to them. After that Baba rested there for the

night. As there were too many mosquitoes, the devotees tried to fix up a

mosquito-curtain for him. But Baba would not permit them. He got wild and threw

it out more than once, when they forcibly fixed it up but finally he acquiesced.

As his bedstead he used a gunny at first. Later on he used the clothes offered

to him by devotees, a number of them, as his bed in the chavadi. If, in placing

them the devotee overlooked a very slight fold in any one of them, Baba insisted

on all the clothes being removed and the fold being set right. At about 9 p.m.

Tatya Kote Patil used to get naivedya of rotis to Baba. Baba took a little of

it. It was at this time that he gave

Tatya his daily payment of Rs. 35/-.

Early next morning, the same group of disciples brought him to the Dwarakamai in

a procession with music and bhajan and left him there.

(Source: Sai Baba the Master)