Shyamdas and Dwarka

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Shyamdas and Dwarka

A group of pilgrims along with Shyamdas set out to Dwarka by

steamer. Shyamdas had the tickets for the steamer along with his money

in a purse, while the tickets for the ferry boat had been separated and

kept in his pocket. That evening, while he stood at the railing of the

steamer, his purse accidentally fell into the sea. The Officials of the

steamer, when told about it, were considerate, as he had tickets for the

onward journey. But, having no money posed a problem.

That night, Gopal Giridhar (Shyamdas's father) had a vivid dream. A

Fakir came into his bedroom and awakened him by shaking him. " Send money

to your father at Dwarka " , he said. Giridhar looked around but found

nobody. Then he fell asleep again. Again, the same Fakir appeared and

rather angrily said, " I told you to send money to your father. He is

stranded there, while you are sleeping. " This time he got up and went to

the door to look for the Fakir. But, the door was locked and there was

no Fakir anywhere.

He sat up and thought over the dream, then realized that his

father must be in trouble, and stranded at Dwarka. That very day, he had

received some money from an insurance company. He decided to send that

money to Shyamdas. He waited anxiously for daybreak and then sent the

fifty rupees. Shyamdas was pleasantly surprised to receive the money and

completed the pilgrimage with ease. Upon returning from Dwarka, he met

Giridhar and asked him how he managed to send the money at the opportune

moment. Giridhar related the leela in vivid detail.

When Shyamdas went to Shirdi, at Kopargaon, he had some

difficulty at getting a tonga. But, as soon as he finished his ritual of

bathing at the Godavari, doing jap and pooja at the Datta Mandir, a

tonga with two passengers stopped before the Mandir. The passengers

asked him to accompany them, as the third passenger could not make his

trip to Shirdi. Upon reaching Shirdi, the tonga driver asked him for

Re.1/- fare and not the customary Rs.5/-. He went to Dwarkamai for

'dhule' darshan and found Baba sitting with Butti, Balasaheb Bhate,

Chinchanikar and other Bhaktas. Baba was sitting near the railing and

was handing Bade Baba a chillum when he saw Shyamdas. Shyama said,

" Deva, will you see, Shyamdas has come for your darshan. " Then Baba

said, " I've been looking after him since a long time and will look after

him hence. " Then Baba added, " How you drowned the money in the sea?

Allah Malik gave you money. He also gave you water to drink. "

Shyamdas was overwhelmed by Baba's love and caring. He went

and laid his head on Baba's feet for about 15 minutes. Then, Baba patted

his head and said, " Get up Shyamdas, sit a while with Me. "

Baba's grace enveloped Shyamdas and continued even in the

later part of life.

 

(Source Sai Leela Magazine)