My Leela is inscrutable

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Shirdi Sai Baba would often say, "My Leela is inscrutable." Deep bow to Him

Lighting lamps with water Long before Sai Baba's fame spread, he was

fond of burning lights in his Masjid and other Temples. But for the oil needed

in those little earthenware lights that he lit, he depended on the generosity

of the grocers of Shirdi. He had made it a rule to light earthenware lamps in

the masjid every evening and he would call on the grocers for small donations.

But there came a time when the grocers got tired of giving oil free to Sai Baba

and one day they bluntly refused to oblige him, saying they had no fresh stocks.

Without a word of protest Sai Baba returned to the masjid. Into those

earthenware lamps he poured water and lighted the wicks. The lamps continued to

burn deep into the midnight. The matter came to the notice of the grocers who

now came to Sai Baba with profuse apologies. Wouldn't Sai Baba kindly pardon

them? Sai Baba pardoned them, but he warned them never to lie again. "You could

have refused to give me the oil, but did you have to say that you didn't have

fresh stocks?" he admonished them. But he had made his point.

 

Premonition of burning fields Once, harvesting in Shirdi had been

completed and the foodgrains of the entire village had been stored in a yard.

The summer was on. The heat was intense as only those who have lived in Shirdi

know. One afternoon Sai Baba summoned Kondaji Sutar and said to him: "Go, your

field is on flrel" Frightened, Kondaji ran to his field and. frantically looked

around for any sign of fire. There wasn't any. He returned to the masjid and

informed Sai Baba that he had looked everywhere but had found no trace of fire

and why did Baba have to frighten him? Unfazed, Baba said : "You better turn

back and look again." Baba was right after all. Kondaji noticed that a sheaf of

corn was indeed on fire and smoke was billowing from it. A strong wind was

fanning the fire and word had gone round to the villagers who now came running

to the scene. "Sai Baba," the people shouted "help us, help us put the fire

out!" Thereupon, Sai Baba walked casually towards the yard, sprinkled some

water on a stack of sheaves and said: " There now! The fire will die down!" And

so it happened.

 

Stopping the rain There is the story of one Rao Bahadur Moreshwar

Fradhan who had come to Shirdi to take Sai Baba's darshan along with his wife.

As the couple were about to leave, it began to rain heavily. Thunder and

lightning rent the air. As the Pradhan couple looked round in dismay, Sai Baba

prayed. "Oh Allah!" he intoned, "let the rains cease. My children are going

home. Let them go peacefully!" The storm thereupon ceased, the downpour reduced

to slight drizzle and the Pradhans were able to reach their destination safely.

 

Raising the water level in well When Sai Baba first came to Shirdi it

had of no basic facilities. There was a well put only in name. It had no

natural spring water and if ever there had been one, it must long ago have

dried up. Water had to be fetched from a distance. When, therefore, Sai Baba

gave his permission to the villagers to celebrate the Ram Navami Fair, (Baba's

Birthday) the big problem facing the organizers was one of water supply. So

What should they do but go to Sai Baba with their problem? "'Oh yes," said Sai

Baba, 'so you want plenty of water, do you? Here, take this and drop it in the

well and wait and see.'This," turned up to be a platter of flowers on which

some prasad (blessed food) had been placed along with the remnants of alms Baba

had received earlier in the day. The villagers had no qualms about doing as they

were did. Their faith in Sai Baba was total. No sooner had that platter of

leaves been dropped in the well, it is said, water rose from the bottom as if

by divine command and completely filled it. And great was the rejoicing of the

people.

 

Saving a child from drowning One report has it that word had spread that

the 3-year old daughter of a poor man called Babu Kirwandikar had fallen into

the well and had been drowned. When the villagers rushed to the well they saw

the child suspended in mid-air as if some invisible hand was holding her up!

She was quickly pulled out. Sai Baba was fond of that child who was often heard

to say : I am Baba's sister!" After this incident, the villagers took her at her

word. "it is all Baba's Leela", the people would say philosophically. They could

offer no other explanation.

 

Flow of Godavari (river) from Baba's feet These were instances of things

they had seen with their own eyes. It was not secondhand information they had

gathered. Sai Baba was to them as real as their homes and their fields and

their cattle and the distant hills.Das Ganu once had an unforgettable

experience. On a festive occasion, he sought Baba's permission to go to a place

called Singba on the banks of the Godavari to have a bath in the holy waters.

"No," Baba replied resolutely, "where is the need to go all the way when the

Godavari is here right at my feet?" Das Ganu was vexed. He was willing to

concede that Ganga the holy river (Baba frequently referred to Godavari as

Ganga) rose from the feet of Sri Narayana (one among the Hindu trinity of Gods)

himself, but his faith was not deep enough to believe that the waters of the

Godavari could spring form the feet of his master, Sri Sai. Baba who was

reading Das Ganu's mind decided that this was the time to strengthen Das Ganu's

faith. He told his devotee: "come closer to me and hold the hollow of your palms

at my feet!". As soon as he did so water flowed freely out of the toes of the

master's feet and filled the hollow of Das Ganu's palms in no time. His joy

knew no limits. He sprinkled the water on his head and his body and distributed

some more among the assembled devotees as tirtha (holy water).

 

Other miracles There was that other occasion when many thought that the

masjid which housed Sai Baba itself would be consumed by fire from the flames

which leapt up from the dhuni. All that Baba did was to take some swipes at a

wooden pillar in front of him. With every blow the flames subsided and the fire

died down. "Miraculous," said his devotees. Often they would notice him stirring

some hot concotion over the kitchen fire, not with a ladle but with his bare

hands. There never was a time when his hand was scalded. What supernatural

powers did he have? On yet another occasion, Sai Baba was partaking of food

with three of his devotees in the masjid when, without any cause for

provocation, he exclaimed- "Stop!" Then, as if nothing had happened, the four

continued with their meal. Lunch over and the dishes cleared, they stepped out

of the masjid, when large chunks of the ceiling fell on the very spot where

they had been seated only a few minutes earlier. Did Sai Baba's powers extend

even to inanimate matter, the devotees wondered. Instances have been quoted by

his devotees as to how Sai Baba commanded the rains to stop and the winds to

cease.

 

Source:

http://home20.inet.tele.dk//miracles_of_shirdi_sai_baba.htm