FROM LIFE OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA BY NARASIMHA SWAMI

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FROM " LIFE OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA " BY NARASIMHA SWAMI

 

……“He was once asked by a Prarthana Samajist, 'Shall I ask you a question?

'Yes', said Baba. The Prarthana Samajist asked, 'Do you look upon all people

equally?' Then Baba said, 'Yes, I look upon all equally'. It requires some sense

to ask a question. The point is that Baba had several persons to whom he showed

great consideration, for example Nana Chandorkar, Tatya Patil, M.B. Rege and

others just as Sri Krishna showed special affection for Arjuna. Baba distinctly

stated that he was anxious to help Chandorkar, Patil and Rege, and did actually

help them. Yet, Baba has said that he is impartial and does not prefer one to

another. What is the explanation? The same as in Sri Krishna’s case. If anyone

has previously been loving Baba and getting attached to him with repeated

efforts, the natural law of psychology and of ethics makes Baba respond to him

more vigorously and constantly than to others. Thus he seems to favour those

persons who have been

constantly drawn to him in the past. Nana Chandorkar had been his sishya for

four janmas, and the affection of four janmas cannot go for nothing. That is why

he sends for Chandorkar when he has not sent for any one else in the world.

Similarly he takes the naivedya of Mrs. Khaparde first without touching any of

the previously offered ones, because for several janmas, one after another, she

has been anxiously and lovingly taking up naivedyas and giving milk and food to

him. Baba said, the food she gives me is sweet, with her love. Similarly towards

Tatya Patil, Baba showed considerable concern, and helped him to get a large

income on which income-tax was levied. He was well known to be the pet of Baba.

The reason was what Baba himself gave out and what everybody knew. Tatya

Patil’s parents were greatly attached to Baba from the very beginning of

Baba’s visit to Shirdi when he had made no name and exhibited no powers. Tatya

Patil’s mother would run

into the jungles taking food in her hand to feed Baba, a self-forgetful fakir,

who did not care for his food. She was looking after Baba with so much love even

in this janma. Baba’s nature like Bhisma’s nature had gratitude as its

bedrock, and he could never forget such ardent and loving service. He also

explained that Tatya’s mother was his sister in several previous janmas, and

she was always feeding him. Therefore, Tatya, being a son of his sister of so

many janmas, was expressly called by Baba his nephew, and Tatya always called

Baba his Mama, that is, maternal uncle. The effects of so many janmas cannot be

forgotten or brushed aside, and that is why Baba paid so much attention to

Tatya. Tatya’s own conduct towards Baba was also one of great surrender and

attachment. Tatya used to sleep in the Mosque along with Baba and Mahlsapathy

for many years, that is as long as he was a bachelor, and Baba used to attend to

his body and soul. Baba would

massage his legs, make passes over his head and see that he did not come to

grief. Tatya was a person of no education, and would ordinarily get easily

ruined in the countryside. But Baba’s company kept him up to a pretty high

mark of culture and morality, and thus saved him from spiritual and moral

shipwreck. There were also factions in the village, and bickerings of various

sorts were common. Baba occasionally helped Tatya even in those bickerings where

he had sufficient reason. He would help him even with chamatkars, that is super

normal powers. Some men of Tatya’s faction like Raghu were charged before the

Kopergaon Magistrate for outraging the modesty of a Marwadi woman. On the

evidence of six eye witnesses, Raghu and his set were all sentenced to

imprisonment. This was the result of faction. The case was not true. When Raghu

was crying in the Ahmednagar Jail, Baba appeared to him in a dream and told him

that he would be released quickly. Tatya

took up the appeal papers first to some lawyers in Ahmednagar who thought that

the case was too strong to have any success in appeal. But when the papers were

taken to Baba, Baba ordered the papers to be taken to Bhav, S.B. Dhumal, Pleader

of Nasik, to be presented by him with an appeal memo before the Ahmednagar

District Magistrate. Baba by a wonderful chamatkar gripped the mind of the

District Magistrate and made him acquit Tatya’s whole set of men, Raghu and

others without sending for the papers or reading the judgment or the appeal

memo, or issuing notice to the respondent. This might be considered to be a very

strong piece of evidence showing Baba’s love of Tatya leading to the disregard

of Law. That is true. But still, if Baba secured justice without caring for and

observing the formalities in a special case, there seems to be nothing wrong in

it, for in the annals of civilian trials, there may be several extraordinary

instances showing

disregard of laws of evidence and procedure. Coming back to the question of

Baba's love for his devotees, his love for Rege was the return of a powerful

love by the young Rege to him. In Rege’s vision, Sri Narayana appeared and

pointed out the figure of Baba to him as his Guru. In a vision Baba had told

Rege that he was bound to him and that he Rege, need now bow to Him. On the

first day of Rege’s visit at Shirdi, Baba appeared to give Rege a rebuff, but

told him in the afternoon that Rege was his child, and embraced him. He loved

Rege and encouraged Rege, because Rege's bhava was Putra, that is, the child of

Baba. Baba offered to give any promotion that Rege wanted or anything else that

he wanted. But Rege wanted only that janma after janma, Baba should be with him.

He cared for nothing else. That is the proof of his strong affection. Allam

bhakta Paradenah that is, I am subjugated by the love of my devotee is a

statement not merely of Narayana but

also of Sai.

 

Baba also said, If one ever dwells on me in his mind and will not even taste

food before offering it to me, I am his slave. So also if he hungers and thirsts

after me, and treats all else as unimportant. I am bhaktaparadheena the bond

slave of my devotee. I love devotion.â€â€¦â€¦