The Last Days

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Shadows of Death:

About the same time Ramachandra Patil, became seriously ill. He was counting

his days in despair. Sai Baba appeared before Ramachandra Patil, physically.

Patil held His feet firmly and asked Baba to tell him the exact time of his

death. Baba was moved and said, " Don't be anxious, your death-warrant has

been withdrawn and you will soon be all right; but I am worried about Tatya

Patil. He will pass away on the Vijayadashmi day. Do not divulge this to

anyone. " Indeed Ramachandra Patil recovered, but he was afraid of Tatya's

safety.

 

On the 3rd October 1918, Raghuvir Purandare and H. S. Dixit were at Shirdi

but Baba sent them to Bombay. He said: " I will go ahead and you follow Me. "

He gave them permission saying " My turbot (tomb) will speak, my muff (dust)

will give you replies; My name will speak. " As the terrible day neared,

Tatya fell ill and was bed-ridden. Though Baba was also down with fever,

Tatya had full faith in Baba that He would save his life.

 

Tatya's condition worsened and at one stage Tatya felt his end was certain.

He was getting udi regularly from Baba. One day Baba summoned Tatya. As

Tatya could not walk, he was carried thither by a devotee. Then Baba gave

him rice boiled in milk which he ate with difficulty. Baba looked

enquiringly at Tatya, applied udi to Tatya's forehead and said, " Tatya at

first I got two swings ready for both of us. But now I've changed My mind. I

don't want to take you now. I am going alone, Go home! " Then Baba gave him

udi and Tatya was taken home.

During this period, Baba made one Mr. Vaghe read 'Rama Vijaya' once in a

week. Next, Baba made him go through it a second time, non-stop in three

days. A third round was also finished. When the man was exhausted Baba let

him go and observed silence.

 

It was four days to go for Vijayadashami. Mrs. Andu Marwadi was sitting

before Him, and then Baba told her, " Bat, I am tired of Dwarakamayi and

Chavadi. I will go over to the Booty's wada where big people will look after

Me. " At that time Baba's health was far from satisfactory. He stopped His

trips to Lendi and His begging rounds and sat in the mosque.

He told them that He did not feel well there and asked them to take Him to

the Dagdi (stone) wada to Booty. Saying these last words, he leaned on

Bayaji's body and breathed His last. Bhagoji noticed that His breathing

stopped and told Nanasaheb Nimonkar who was sitting below. Nanasaheb then

brought a little water and poured it in Baba's mouth but it all came out.

Then Nanasaheb burst out weeping.

 

It was a terrible blow to the countless devotees and the whole of Shirdi

felt like a corpse with its spirit gone. The news spread fast and the whole

village rushed to the mosque weeping and crying. Strangely, Tatya recovered

very rapidly and could sit up by noon. Devotees felt that Sai made the

supreme sacrifice of His life to save Tatya from certain death. For did not

Sai say that He would even give His own head to save His devotee?

 

Samadhi or death?

 

Mrs. M. W. Pradhan, one of Sai Baba's devotees records her experience:

The night after Baba's departure, I saw His body in a dying condition in my

dream and said, 'Baba is dying'. Baba replied, 'People do not talk of saints

as dying, but as taking samadhi'. His body was still. People were mourning.

Such was the dream. I felt sad. I woke up at 12-30 midnight. In the morning

we got from Anna Chinchinikar a post-card that Baba passed away at 3-00 p.m.

on holy Dasserah, 15-10-1918. "

 

On the day following His Mahasamadhi i.e., on 16th of October, Baba appeared

to Das Ganu in his dream at Pandharpur and said, " The masjid has collapsed;

all the oil men and grocers of Shirdi have teased Me a lot; so I left the

place. I therefore came to inform you here; go there quickly and cover Me

with Bhakkal flowers. " Das Ganu came to Shirdi and started bhajan and kirtan

before Baba's samadhi which he garlanded. Later he fed a large number of

people in Baba's name.

A little later Baba appeared in the dream of another lady and told her to

send the pitamber (light yellow silk dhoti) in her trunk to cover His

samadhi. So she did. When the thirteenth day after the samadhi neared He

appeared in the dream of yet another devotee and told him to celebrate the

day.

 

Thus Baba rightly declared:

" I shall be alive and vigorous from the tomb also. "

" Even after My Mahasamadhi, I shall be with you the moment you think of Me

at any place. "

And He stands by His word even today. And that is taking samadhi. "

" It is Death that's dead, not He! "

To live is, in itself, a value judgment to breathe is to judge.

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