SOME GLIMPSES OF BABA'S LIMITLESS POWERS

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Sai Baba Sai Baba had limitless powers, which He was most reluctant to show but was compelled to exercise to sow the seed of Faith in his devotees. Sai Baba’s miracles are a sure sign of His divine descent.

Baba’s miracles should not become more important than Himself then surely they defeat their own purpose as their prime objective is to sow the seed of Faith and pull the devotee towards the spiritual path. Temporal benefits were given by means of miracle and the man who got a temporal benefit is pushed in the spiritual direction with faith. They act as an incentive to a further understanding of His divine nature and purpose. God, the Almighty, has four attributes, they are unlimited existence, unlimited power, unlimited knowledge and unlimited love. Perfect Masters, working on behalf of God and carrying on the Divine game, possess these powers but always use them for the good of the devotees and scarcely for their own good. Baba’s miracles are never ending and run into volumes, a few have been narrated in “Life of Sai Baba†written by Shri Narasimha Swami (3 volumes) and “Shri Sai Satcharitra†by Anna Saheb Dabholkar. In fact, Baba never performed miracles. They occur spontaneously. The Perfect Masters generally do not create miracles, God creates miracles for them - The very fact off his perfect realisation, in its interaction with the nature, caused the 'miracle' to take place. These were conceived by the devotees as His thrilling 'Leela' (Divine play). He demonstrated through His utterances and miracles, the purpose for which He had come. He would often say, "My Leela is inscrutable". Baba's ‘Leelas' (Divine plays) were abundant , we recount just a few here:

Turning waters into Oil to lamp the lights Cholera prevention through Wheat grinding Jamner Miracle Baba controlling the five elements Saving devotee’s child from distance. Ganga & Yamuna flowing through Baba’s Sacred feet Baba’s prophecy about coming glory to Shirdi

 

Turning waters into Oil to lamp the lights

Sai Baba was very fond of lighting lamps every evening in the Masjid and other temples. For the oil needed in those little earthenware lamps that he lit, he depended on the generosity of the grocers of Shirdi. So he would call on the grocers for donations of some oil everyday. One day as he approached the grocers they bluntly refused to oblige him, saying they had no fresh stocks. Without a word of protest Baba returned to the mosque and kept the dry wicks in the lamps. The local vendors were watching him with curiosity. Baba took some water in the tin pot that contained very little (a few drops) of oil, and filled all the lamps with it and lighted them. To the surprise and dismay of the watching local vendors, the lamps began to burn, and kept burning deep into the midnight.

Vendors who refused to give oil were stunned to see the miracle and fell at Baba’s feet and sought forgiveness for their wickedness. Baba readily forgave them and advised them to never tell a lie, and said “Falsehood displeases Godâ€. He said that their conduct was unsociable and unwanted. He asked them never again to take pleasure in other’s distress.

 

Surprisingly, the first public miracle of Christ was turning water into wine and the first public miracle of Shirdi Sai Baba was turning water into oil (Sri Sai Satcharitra Chafter 5)

Cholera prevention through Wheat grinding

It was sometime after 1910 AD there was an epidemic of cholera in Shirdi. The administration tried everything they could to alleviate the sufferings of people. At last some people approached Sai Baba and pleaded with him to help. The Fakir was moved. He went to a nearby house, picked up a grinding stone and began to make preparations for grinding wheat. He spread a sack on the floor; and thereon set a grinding stone and started grinding the wheat by putting few handfuls of wheat. Devotees thought "What business Baba had with the grinding of wheat, when he possessed nothing and stored nothing, and as he lived on alms!" Immediately, this news of Baba's grinding wheat spread into the village, and at once men and women ran to the Masjid and flocked there to see Baba's act. Four bold women, from the crowd, forced their way up and pushing Baba aside, took forcibly the

peg or handle into their hands and singing Baba's Leelas (Divine play) started grinding. At first Baba was enraged, but on seeing the women's love and devotion, he was much pleased and began to smile. While they were grinding, they began to think that Baba had no house, no property, no children, none to look after, and he lived on alms, and therefore he did not require any wheat-flour for making bread or roti what will he do with this big quantity of flour? Perhaps as Baba is very kind, he will distribute the flour amongst us. Thinking in this way while singing, they finished the grinding and after putting the hand-mill aside, they divided the flour into four portions and took them one per head. Baba, who was calm and quiet up till now, got wild and started abusing them saying, " Have you gone mad? Whose father's property are you looting away? Have I borrowed any wheat from you, so that you can safely take the flour? Now do this, "Take the flour and sprinkle it on the village borders." On hearing this, the women felt abashed and whispering amongst them, went away to the outskirts of the village and spread the flour as directed by

Baba." From this time onward the cholera epidemic started to subside, patients recovered and Shirdi was completely free from this doom of cholera. What earthly connection was there between wheat and cholera and how to reconcile their significance? The incident seems to be inexplicable and a part of Baba’s limitless powers. (Sri Sai Satcharita Chafter 1)

Jamner Miracle

About 1904 A.D., Nanasaheb Chandorkar was Collector at Jamner, in the Khandesh district, which is more that 100 miles away from Shirdi. His daughter Mainatai was in a difficult confinement. The pains were so very severe and prolonged that her condition was quite serious. Further more there was no medical help available nearby. Nanasaheb remembered words of Baba "wherever you are and whatever you do, I am always with you" and hoped that by His grace the crisis would be tide over. There in Shirdi, one Ramgirbuva, wanted at this time to go to his native place in Khandesh. Baba knowing the predicament in which the daughter of his devotee was involved, called him and told him to stop at Jamner on his way home, and give the Udi (sacred ash) to Nanasaheb. Ramgirbuva said that he had only two rupees with him; and this amount was barely sufficient for the railway fare up to Jalgaon, and it was not possible for him to go from Jalgaon to Jamner, a distance of about 30 miles. Baba assured him that he need not care, as everything would be provided for . Then Baba asked Shama to write a well-known Aarti composed by Madhav Adkar and give a copy of it with Udi (sacred ash) to Ramgirbuva, to be delivered to Nanasaheb. Then relying on Baba's words Ramgirbuva left Shirdi and reached Jalgaon at about 2-45 A.M. To his great relief he heard somebody calling out `Who is Ramgirbuva of Shirdi?' He went to him and told him, that he was the person Ramgirbuva. Then the peon, professing to be sent by Nanasaheb, took him out to an excellent Tonga with a good pair of horses. They both drove in it and they reached Jamner at dawn. Ramgirbuva alighted to attend a call of nature, and returned within a few minutes, but found that there was no Tonga, no driver. He was dumbfounded. Then he went to Nanasaheb's house, and gave Baba's Udi (sacred ash) and Aarti. At this time, Mainatai's case was in the most serious condition, and all were in deep anxiety about her. Nanasaheb called out his wife and asked her to give the Udi, mixed with water, to their daughter to drink. He thought that Baba's help

was most opportune. In a few minutes came the news that the delivery was safe and that the crisis had passed off. When Ramgirbuva thanked Nanasaheb, for the peon, tonga and the refreshments etc., the latter was greatly surprised as he had sent none to the station, and was not even aware of any person coming from Shirdi. (sri Sai Satchartitra Chafter 33)

Baba controlling the five elements

 

The whole universe is manifested with five elements -water, fire, ether, air and earth. The Omnipotence of Sai Baba's Divine personality was such that all the elements of nature complied with His will. There was an incidence when Sai wanted to light his clay pipe for having a smoke. He struck the ground with his stick and there emerged an ember from the earth, which he held to the tobacco in his pipe. After lighting the pipe he needed some water to wet the cloth (to be used as filter) he again struck the ground with the stick and water sprang from the same spot! There was another occasion when the flames from 'dhuni' were rising higher and higher as though they would consume the rafters of “Dwarkamai†mosque. The devotees sitting around Baba were visibly panic. Sai Baba gazed at the flames and commanded 'come down, come down' striking his baton on the ground and with every blow the flame subsided to embers. On yet another occasion Sai Baba was partaking of food with few of his intimate devotees in the mosque when without any cause or provocation he exclaimed 'stop!’ Then as if nothing has happened they continued with their meal. After they were through with it and stepped out of the masjid (mosque) large chunks of the ceiling collapsed at the very spot where they were seated a few minutes back. On the occasion of organizing the Ram Navami fair (Birthday celebrations of Lord Ram) acute shortages of water posed serious problem to the organizers. They sought help from the divine grace of Sai Baba. Baba gave them a platter of flowers with a few remnants of the blessed food, which he had received in alms earlier in the day. As the villagers dropped the platter of petals in the well, the water rose high from the bottom as if following a divine command! The devotees, as how Baba commanded the rains to stop have narrated the experiences. Once a couple was about to leave Shirdi after taking Sai Baba's 'darshan' , it began to rain heavily. The lashing rains and lightening made it quite difficult to set out on journey. Baba calmly appealed, ‘Let the rains cease. My children are going home, let them go peacefully'. After a short while the downpour turned into light drizzle and feeble winds and the devotees left for their destination safely. One evening there was a terrible storm at Shirdi, and the village and its farms were flooded with incessant rains. The many local deities and nature gods were sought to be appeased but in vain. At last people came to Baba and prayed to him to quell the storm. Baba calmly came out to the edge of the masjid and ordered the storm to cease its fury. At once the winds and the rains obeyed his behest. The peerless Master touched upon all the animate as well as inanimate matter of the universe through his spiritual perfection, and nature had simply become his subservient in this regard. (Sri Sai Satcharitra Chafter 5/6/11)

Saving devotee’s child from distance.

Baba by virtue of limitless powers had complete knowledge of events and occurrences anywhere in the universe. A devotee’s call for help, no matter how far away from Shirdi never went unanswered. In the year 1910 AD, Baba was sitting near the Dhuni (sacred fire) on the day of Diwali, ( the festival of lights in India) and warming Himself. He was pushing firewood into the Dhuni, which was brightly burning. A little later, instead of pushing logs of woods, Baba pushed His arm into the Dhuni; the arm was scorched and burnt immediately. The couple of devotees near Him noticed this. They at once ran to Baba and clasped Baba by His waist from behind and dragged Him forcibly backward and asked, "God, what have You done this?" Then Baba came to His senses and replied, "The wife of a blacksmith at some distant place, was working the bellows of a furnace when her husband called her. Forgetting that her child was on her waist, she ran hastily and the child slipped into the furnace. I immediately thrust my hand into the furnace and saved the child. I do not mind my arm being burnt, but I am glad that the life of the child is saved."

(Sri Sai Satcharitra Chafter 7)

Ganga & Yamuna flowing through Baba’s Sacred feet

The Hindus think that a bath in the Prayag Sangam (at Allahabad in India), where the Holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna meet, is very meritorious and thousands of pilgrims go there at periodical times, to have the sacred bath there. Once, Das Ganu thought that he should go to Prayag for a bath, and came to Baba to get His permission for doing so. Baba replied to him - "It is not necessary to go so long. Our Prayag is here, believe me." Then wonder of wonders! When Das Ganu placed his head on Baba's Feet, there out flowed streams of Ganga - Yamuna water, from both the toes of Baba. Seeing this miracle, Das Ganu was overwhelmed with feelings of love and adoration. Inwardly, he felt inspired, and his speech burst forth into a song in praise of Baba and His divine 'Leelas'. (Sri Sai Satcharitra Chafter 4)

Baba’s prophecy about coming glory to Shirdi

Long before 1908 when Shirdi was quiet and humble village, Baba told one of his devotees, 'mansions will rise in this village, big people will come here, guns will be fired, grand processions will be held and people would make a bee-line here!' On hearing this people laughed, as these were most unlikely in such a worthless hamlet. The meaning of His divine utterance was not understood then. But in the due course of time all this came true. Baba can never be wrong as He had knowledge of the past and the future, not only of individuals meeting Him but also about past and future events before and beyond the duration of His physical existence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today on an average One lakh people visit Shirdi everyday. The number runs into several lakhs on significant occasions. Persons from high offices of government line up to bow down to Shri Sai. There are adequate facilities to meet the demands of a cross section of devotees coming from all parts of the country and abroad. Shirdi is emerging as the top most pilgrim centre of India. At the time of Baba, about 20 to 125 people used to visit Him every day. But today, the average crowd visiting Shirdi is about One hundred thousand persons a day and the number is ever on the increase. To meet this contingency the Temple administration has launched an expansion scheme of the temple premises. Jai Sai Ram

 

 

Bow to Sri Sai-Peace be to all