THE TIME TABLE OF BABA'S DAILY ROUTINE - 4

[Guest guest]

THE TIME TABLE OF BABA’S DAILY ROUTINE – 4

Ahmed Nagar district was reeling under a famine in 1876, two years after Baba

came to Shirdi. Baba would then only beg at the houses of those who were

relatively well off - Nanduram and Bayaja Bai. He would get half a roti at both

of these houses during the famine.

Later when the devotees recognized the divinity in Baba, they started coming to

Shirdi in droves. Even when the richer devotees placed the choicest delicacies

in front of him, he still begged his food and ate whatever he got as alms. He

never even looked at the luxuries and rich articles surrounding him. He, who

came to be known to this world as a fakir, lived on as a fakir till the end. He

never cooked solely for himself, nor did he keep anything for tomorrow. Even in

the last days when he was so unwell that he could not go for alms himself, he

would send someone else in his stead and eat whatever was obtained.

Baba sometimes suffered from constipation and diseases of the intestines. Then

he would make soup of the sonamukhi leaf and some other herbs and drink it and

also give some to the devotees who were present. When he suffered from eye

ailments such as conjunctivitis, he would make a paste of black pepper and put

it in his eyes. Apart from these occasional illnesses, he suffered a lot from

asthma. Close devotees would cry to see Baba’s suffering when he had a bout of

asthma. Once when Raghuvir Purandare saw him suffering badly from asthma and

started weeping, Baba had to console him, "Oh Brother, what do you think has

happened to me? Do not worry. It will be better shortly."

Baba would not desist from going begging even when he was so ill. Sometimes when

he was ill and in no state to even walk, the devotees would support him and take

him around to the five houses. Once when Baba was severely ill a devotee

presented him with a wheelchair. We can see this wheelchair today in Chavadi.

Baba touched it once and set it aside. He never used it. When he was too ill to

go for alms some close devotees would go in his stead. Some of these fortunate

souls were Sri Madhavrao Deshpande (Shama), Sri Balakram, Sri Wamanrao Patel

(Sri Sai Sarananand) and Professor G. G. Narke.

Sri Sai Sarananand wrote thus in his memoirs, "Once, as Sri Balakrao was away

from Shirdi, I had the opportunity to go for Baba’s afternoon round of alms for

many days. I used to get alms from Sri Jog’s house and milk from another house."

G. G. Narke, seeing the fortunate Sri Sai Saranananda, thought in his mind that

he should also have the good fortune of begging food for Baba. Once, he did not

have time to change his clothes, and came to the mosque dressed in his normal

suit and a hat. Baba said, "This man will go today for alms for me." Narke went

happily for alms in those clothes. He got the rare chance of begging alms for

Baba for a period of four months.

Baba would put a cloth alms-bag around his shoulder and carry a tin when he went

begging. He would put all the solid stuff such as rotis and curries in the bag

and the liquids, such as milk and curds in the tin. He never hankered after

tastes and would instruct the devotees to disregard taste. Baba always followed

the same alms route every day. He started from Dwarakamai and after crossing in

front of Chavadi went to the houses of Sakharam Shelke and Wamanrao Gondkar. He

then went to the houses of (Appaji) Bayayaji Patil and Tatyakote Patil

(Bayajabai) which were a little distance away. Lastly he went to Nanduram

Marwadi’s house.

In those days, there was a small heap of stones on the way coming from Bayyaji

Patil’s house. Baba would stop there and would feed the dogs and crows from the

alms he had received. Baba’s padukas have now been installed there as a

commemoration. As soon as Baba reached Dwarakamai after completing his rounds,

he would place a little food in the dhuni as an offering, and would put the

rest in the earthenware plate (kolumba) placed inside the mosque. As there was

no cover on top of the kolumba, the dogs, cats, ants and flies would eat their

fill from it. Anyone could take food from it. No one would be stopped from

taking his or its fill. The woman who cleaned the mosque would freely take

seven or eight rotis every day.

- Suchitradevi in Sai Padham

 

Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears