I serve within his house - Baba

[Guest guest]

Baba takes charge of his bhaktas even when he does not expressly use the words which he used to Dixit "Kaka why have you any cares, all cares are mine". Baba said of Dabolkar "I serve within his house" i.e. Baba agreed to look after the temporal welfare as well as the spiritual welfare of Dabolkar.

 

The reality of this protection and guarding influence not only in his case but also in those of his relations, Dabolkar noted time and again. Having found Baba a precious gem or mine, he took with him to Baba his two sons-in-law, one after another (R. R. Samant and Galwankar) as also the rest of his family. The experiences of these two sons-in-law are found in Devotees' Experiences, Vol II, published by All India Sai Samaj, and they prove how Baba looked after their interests.

 

Galwankar's statement is specially interesting. He stated in 1938 when he was still in official harness that Baba fixed him birth after birth on the high moral and spiritual level of truth and integrity and provided satisfactorily for all his wants. Once Baba appeared to Galwankar and asked him "What do you want?" Galwankar wanted nothing but Baba's grace and he got it. He used to get sudden spells of bliss of Baba. In the midst of his official work he would suddenly stop and for some moments he would be enjoying the bliss of Baba. His services to Sai Baba are his gift of sites, etc. and what he did when appointed as trustee of Sai Sansthan, an office which he held upto his death in 1945. The benefits to other relations are not recorded by Dabolkar or others, but some of the benefits to Dabolkar himself have been recorded. We shall just refer to one and close.

The receipt in miraculous circumstances of Baba's portrait is considered of great value. In Chapter 40 of Sai Satcharitra Oabolkar records such a favour. One Ali Mohamed, a friend of his, had many big pictures of saints including Sai Baba. To a very orthodox Mohamedan, pictures of saints are taboo.

 

In a fit of iconoclastic zeal all the pictures he had were thrown away in the ocean near Bombay but strangely enough Sai Baba's picture which was over the door escaped notice and was not thrown away and AlIi Mohamed did not want to destroy Baba's picture. He came and gave it to Dabolkar on the Holi festival of 1917. Just a few hours earlier Dabolkar had a dream or vision. A sanyasi (evidently a form taken by Baba) came to him and said that he would attend the Holi dinner as Dabolkar's guest.

 

So while serving leaves and dishes to the entire family, a central seat with a fully served leaf was placed in expectation of the Sanyasi or Baba in any other form. None appeared and the family was just about to start their meal when steps were heard on the stairs. Dabolkar got up and met the visitor, Ali Mohammad, who then gave him the picture, promising to account for the presentation at a more convenient time later on. The picture reverently received was placed in the seat of honour, the central seat, reserved for the guest. Thus Baba kept up the promise made the previous night to attend the Holi or Shimga dinner.

 

That convenient occasion came only in 1926. Then Ali narrated to Dabolkar how Ali was operated on for a swelling in the leg and had to stay for months at Bombay in his brother-in¬-law's use. That brother-in-law told him that his (Ali's) health would improve if he threw away or destroyed all the pictures of saints kept in Ali's Bandra house.

A manager was sent to carry out the order for destruction and all other pictures had been taken and thrown away or destroyed. For some unaccountable reason, Baba's picture alone escaped the fate of the rest. Ali had faith in Baba and yet did not dare to keep his portrait. So after consultation with some friends, he took it to Dabolkar as the proper recipient for the same. The presentation following the dream vision impressed Dabolkar, as a remarkable chamatkaric favour of Baba to himself.