Life History of Sai Baba -VII

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Om Shanti! Shanti! Shantihi!

The time-wheel was moving fast. Along with it Sai Baba’s name had spread to all places in Maharashtra. Devotees from different places visited Sai Baba and got solutions to their problems.

In the nights, Mhalsapathi and Tatya slept with Baba in the mosque. They slept in such a way that all their heads were in the centre and their legs stretched in different directions. They discussed several matters. Mostly Baba answered their questions . Sometimes, Baba used to teach them about matters connected with Atma. Now and then Shama also joined them. Sometimes, Baba used to keep Mhalsapathi’s hand on his chest and ask him to put his ear close to the hand and hear the sounds that came from Baba’s heart. Mhalsapathi used to hear God’s "Nama japa" from Baba’s heart. When he slept keeping his hand on Baba’s chest, he woke him up by calling him "Arre Bhagath" and asked him to sleep properly. At any time of the night, if anyone woke up, Baba used to call him by his name. From this it is clear that Baba never slept. Though his eyes were found closed he was having only "Yoga Sleep" as told by Mhalsapathi.

That was in the year 1886 ( full-moon night ) in the month of Margashira. At about ten in the night, Baba and Mhalsapathi were discussing something. Baba was suffering from asthma and he told Mhalsapathi. "Now I will be leaving my physical body and going up. After three days I will re-enter this body. You should take good care of my body for these three days. In case I do not come back after three days, bury my body opposite to the mosque and put two flags on top." So saying Baba put his head on the thigh of Mhalsapathi and left his physical body. Tatya who came just then saw the happening and was surprised. News spread through Shirdi village that Baba died. Many gathered near the mosque. Only Tatya and Shama believed the words of Mhalsapathi who narrated what Baba had told him. Others disbelieved and thought that Baba had really died. Taking this as a good opportunity, the village munsif Bhate began criticising that for a person with so many divine powers, where was the need to die?

By daybreak all the villagers of Shirdi gathered before the mosque. Bhate with his followers tried to move the physical body of Baba from its place. Mhalsapathi opposed the move. Since Baba had promised to come back to his body after three days, the body should not be moved till then. Some villagers agreed with Mhalsapathi and therefore Bhate could not do anything. But he still insisted that a dead person can never come back alive, and that Mhalsapathi, out of his blind faith in Baba, was believing this and it was better to get a doctor and get the body examined. He sent for a doctor from Ahmednagar. The doctor came to Shirdi on the morning of the third day. He examined the body carefully and declared that the dead body was three days old. But there were no such symptoms of a dead body. He cautioned that as there was a plague prevalent in nearby places, it was not advisable to keep the dead body thus. The villagers came to a decision that if life did not return to the body after completion of three days, then the last rites would be performed. But in the early hours of the fourth day, the body started breathing. There was movement of the limbs. In a few minutes Baba sat up . Mhalsapathi, overjoyed, said loudly, "Sri Sainath Maharaj ki Jai"! Tatya and Shama also repeated this. Hearing all this, the villagers came to Dwarakamai and prostrated before Sai Baba.

Seeing Baba moving about, Bhate, who thought Baba to be dead, duly certified by the doctor, was so wonderstruck that he now started fully believing in Baba as the incarnation of God. From that day, he became the greatest devotee of Baba and brought several people to Baba with a request to get salvation.

After this incident in 1886, Baba showed several miracles and drew several persons from far and near to Shirdi. He brought about several changes in his devotees. We shall know more about such leelas as we proceed further.

In fact, the miracles and leelas shown by Sai Baba were more from this time onwards. The life history of Sai Baba from the year 1890 to 1918, for a period of 28 years, is very important for us. All of Baba’s teachings, miracles and leelas occurred only during this period. We pray to Sai to make us continue the Parayana of the remaining life history with great devotion and understanding, in correct perspective.

Life History of Sai Baba -VI

Please do post some comments on the blog so that i can improve the way i'm presenting.Your comments are very precious to me..it makes me feel that someone is reading my blog! It will be a great source of motivation for me to continue the good work.Your comments will be respected,so if you fell like to suggest anything..please go forward and do it! I'll be a lot lot thankful to you !

Om Shanti! Shanti! Shantihi !

After starting Dhuni in Dwarakamai, Baba used to sit leaning on the wall opposite to Dhuni, most of the day. Thus sitting in front of his mother who gave him this physical body, he would tell about his feelings to her. He frequently used to say "Masjid Mai" which meant mosque mother. Now and then he used to convey his feelings to the mother.

As long as the physical body is there, attachments will be there. Once the life leaves the body, then there are no such attachments. For sages, saints and those who want to free themselves from this lifecycle, this state gives them peace and happiness to their soul. But ordinary people after their death, seek rebirth as they are not able to come out of their worldly desires. If you do not have such desires, then there will not be a rebirth or punar janma. This is moksha or mukthi or salvation.

With great detachment, having got moksha, Gurudhan, Dwarakamai and Venkusa in the form of jyotis were in Shirdi only for the welfare and prosperity of the masses and not for the sake of themselves. Under such a state, there would not be any relationship as mother and son. All were equal and in such a state only, all were at Shirdi. Sai was visible in the human form whereas the other three were not - this was the only difference.

After devotees like Mhalsapathi and others worshipped Baba in the morning, he used to sit opposite the Dhuni and do some soul-searching . At about noon, he went into the village for alms. He put solid foods like roti in his bag and the liquid in a small vessel. If his visit was not noticed by someone, he would softly call out "Fakir has come mother" . If some looked into his eyes at the time of giving alms, they used to get full happiness and they desired to have any number of re-births just to look at the eyes of Baba. Such things were experienced only by devotees who realised Sai’s divinity. Persons like Bhate, the village munsif,who never came near Sai or spoke to him used to criticise and abuse him. But Baba, for whom bouquets and brickbats were the same, ignored such things.

He used to take rest in the afternoons. In the evenings, he grew flower plants in the backyard of the mosque and also in the vacant land called Lendi Bagh on the west side of Gurusthan. Tatya, who was a small boy when Baba came to Shirdi, who used to sit on the lap of Baba and played, had now grown up and spent most of his time with Baba. Baba was more precious to him than his own life. They should have been together in the previous birth also. Tatya attended to all the needs of Baba. He kept the mosque clean and attended to all the needs of Baba. He kept the mosque clean and attended to its repairs, bringing firewood for the Dhuni, changing the dress of Baba and watering the flower plants in Lendi Bagh. Mhalsapathi similarly had come close to Baba.

Now and then Baba used to feed the poor with the amount that he received by way of dakshina. On such occasions he went personally to the market and purchased all the required material. Tatya would assist Baba in bringing them to the moque, in cooking and serving the food. Baba used to personally check to see whether the salt etc. were put in the correct proportions in the food. Sometimes Baba cooked and served non-vegetarian food. He put his hand in the vessel to stir the boiling food. But nothing happened to his hand even then.

One day Baba personally cooked food and fed the poor. The food had to be cooked two to three times as hundreds of poor people attended and this went on till sunset. That day for some reason or the other, Tatya did not come to the mosque in the daytime. Baba had to attend to the entire work all alone. Tatya came in the evening and learnt about the feeding of the poor and how Baba had to attend to the work all alone. He regretted very much for not having assisted Baba. He found Baba completely exhausted which worried him. Meanwhile, Mhalsapathi came there. Tatya told him about the condition of Baba and sought his advise as to how to make Baba rest. In spite of tiredness Baba went near the Dhuni and sat there. Mhalsapathi told Tatya that if they could bring a nice big stone and put it outside the mosque, then Baba could take complete rest sitting on the stone in the moonlight and enjoy the cool breeze.

All of them finished taking their night meal and everything was silent. Late in the night, Tatya told Mhalsapathi that he would go to the nearby mountainside and bring a big stone for Baba. But Baba who was hearing their conversation,asked Tatya not to go during the night, but he was stubborn.

Baba told Tatya that a big stone for him to sit in the open yard would come and he need not go to bring it. But Tatya insisted on getting it immediately, saying that he would not have satisfaction if somebody else brought the stone and hence, he himself would bring it. So saying he went out of the mosque. As Baba did not want to give trouble at such an odd hour in the night, he lifted his two hands and made some gestures and talked something to himself. Suddenly, there was a big lightning. Tatya and Mhalsapathi, unable to withstand the lightning, closed their eyes. On opening their eyes, they found a big flat stone with red and white colours in front of the moque. Both were surprised at this. Baba in the moonlight sat on the stone with one leg over the other. Lifting his right hand, he showed them his Abhaya Hastha. Mhalsapathi saw Lord Shiva in Baba, While Tatya saw Maruthi in Baba. Thus Baba appeared to them in two forms simultaneously . Out of joy, Mhalsapathi’s eyes brimmed with tears and he recited some slokas on Shiva. When they came back to their original state, Baba made them sit down and personally served them meals.

He cautioned them not to reveal to anyone what they had seen of the leelas of Baba. He always concentrated on his Guru and got maximum satisfaction loving him. Thus he had the complete blessings of his Guru. He merged himself with him. When one gets into such a state, one can see in one’s Guru, Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Gurudevo Maheshwarah, Guru Sakshat Parabrahma. But if one simply utters "Guruji" without following his teachings, then the word ‘Guru’ will remain only a word used to give respect to the Guru. But such a pupil cannot obtain any benefit from his Guru.

Because of Baba’s state of concentration, all siddhis and aishwaryas (prosperities) came to his feet. These siddhis were capable of misguiding even yogis and destroying them. Hence, Baba discouraged them. He did not even look at them. All those powerful siddhis were lying at Baba’s feet for nearly 30 years. He did not exhibit his extraordinary powers till 1886.

I pray that readers be blessed with devotion, jnana and detachment and that those who read this chapter with devotion be endowed with concentration of their minds.

Life history of Sai Baba-V

keep reading the blog regularly,couldn't post new posts as i was busy on some research work related to after-death of baba for the last three months,got some leisure now and would be posting regularly from now on..Om Sai Ram!

Om Jai Sai Ram!

When our country was under foreign domination, the State of the Nizam with Hyderabad as his capital extended upto Aurangabad, presently in Maharashtra State.

In this State, there is a small village named Patri, situated among green fields, trees and other natural settings and taking the villagers to divine heights.

The water flowing in the rivulet adjoining this village had the effects of the water from river Ganga, curing several ailments. In this village, there lived a pious couple named Ganga Bhavajya and Devagiri Amma. They lead a happy and contented life. They did not have any property worth the name.

Ganga Bhavajya used to ferry a boat in the adjoining river and lived on this meagre earnings. Though, they were poor in terms of wealth, they were contented, tolerant, tactful and had peace. Ganga Bhavajya used to worship Lord Shiva and Devagiri Amma used to worship Gowri Devi. Under any circumstances, the worship of Lord Shiva and Gowri Devi would be done before the couple attended to other items of work for they believed that there was divine presence in their house, protecting them every moment. But sadly they were not blessed with children. So they used to pray to Shiva and Parvathi to bless them with children.

One day in Kailash, Shiva told Parvathi that the time for him to take birth on earth had come as promised to Bhoodevi. Then Parvathi pleaded with Lord Shiva that she be allowed to take birth on earth and assist Shiva in his Avatar. But he did not agree, that in his new Avatar, he proposed to practice strictly what he intended to preach and Parvathi would have no role to play in his ‘Fakir’ life. He then showed Parvathi, Ganga Bhavajya and Devagiri Amma on the earth, telling her that they are the couple to whom he would be born.

Then Parvathi said that since she would not take birth on earth along with Lord Shiva,they should visit Ganga Bhavajya and Devagiri Amma now. He agreed and in the first instance sent Ganga Devi to fill Patri village and its surroundings with water. There was a heavy downpour, inundating the village and surroundings. Fearing that the boats would be washed away in the floods, Ganga Bhavajya proceeded to the nearby river to take care of the boats after taking his night meal.

At about 9.00 p.m. in the night, there was a knock at the door of Ganga Bhavajya’s house. Thinking that her husband had returned, Devagiri Amma opened the door. But it was not her husband. An unknown old man entered the house. In this small village Devagiri Amma knew everyone. But this old man was unknown to her and that too coming at such a later hour. She tried to find out who he was. The old man pleaded with her to allow him to remain inside the house for sometime as it was very cold outside. Being a pious lady,Devagiri Amma asked the old man to sleep in the verandah, while she went inside her room, locking the door from inside. After sometime, the old man knocked at her door. She opened the door. The old man said, "Mother, I am hungry. Please give me some food." She felt helpless since whatever food she had cooked had been eaten and nothing was left . She searched in the house for some eatables but found only a small quantity of flour. She mixed this flour with curds and served it to the old man who gratefully ate it. She then went into her room and prepared to go to sleep, locking the door from inside. Again after sometime there was a knock at her door. She opened the door only to again find the old man standing there. He told her that his legs were paining and requested her to massage them. She was perplexed at the way in which a complete stranger was behaving when her husband was not in the house. She wondered whether the old man was really a human being or whether Lord Shiva had come to test her. Without knowing what to do under such circumstances, she wept and prayed to Parvathi. She went out through the back door to procure the services of two or three servants for massaging the legs of the old man. She was willing to pay them liberally, but found none. She returned home disappoined and wondered what to do now, whether she ought to massage the legs of the old man or not.

Who was this old man ? She prayed to Parvati wholeheartedly to show her a way out of this predicament. The old man knocked at her door again. Just then a woman entered through the back door and addressed Devagiri Amma, "Mother, it seems you came to my house to engage me for massaging the legs of an old man. But at that time I was not in the house. Now I have come, please tell me to whom I should do the service?"

Devagiri Amma felt very happy. She presumed that on hearing her prayers, Parvati must have sent this woman and she expressed her gratitude to the goddess. She sent the woman to the verandah to massage the legs of the old man while she went to her room and shut the door. After some time she opened the door again but she did not find either the old man or the woman sent to massage his legs. But in their place she saw Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Her happiness knew no bounds and she fell at their feet. Then Parvati blessed her, "You shall have one son and one daughter." On hearing this, she again fell at the feet of Lord Shiva who blessed her, "Mother, I am pleased with your devotion, I will myself take birth as your third child." By the time she got up, both Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati had disappeared.

She lay awake the whole night, waiting for her husband’s return , to break the happy news of the visit of Lord Shiva and Parvati to their house. She saw only Lord Shiva and Parvati, whether she closed or opened her eyes. At daybreak, her husband returned home and she narrated everything to him. But he did not believe it. He told her sarcastically that she had gone mad or was dreaming. How could the gods come to their house ? However much she tried to convince him about their visit he did not believe her.

In due course, Devagiri Amma gave birth to a male child and a female child a year after. As the children were born after so many years and that too blessed by Parvati Devi, Ganga Bhavajya started believing the visit of the gods to their house and the boons granted to his wife. From then onwards a lot of change came over him and he decided to do penance to have a vision and blessings of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. He began to think that family attachments were obstacles for his penance.

While such ideas were taking concrete shape in him, the third child started growing in the womb of Devagiri Amma. One day, Ganga Bhavajya took firm decision and informed his wife that he was retiring to the forests. As duty bound Devagiri Amma followed her husband. Without any money, placing complete faith in Lord Shiva and Parvati, they proceeded towards an unknown destination in thick forests. On one hand Devagiri Amma felt elated that shortly Lord Shiva would be born to her. On the other hand, she was worried and fearful of the aimless journey through forests. With these mixed feelings, they continued their journey.

It was the 28th day of September 1835, Ganga Bhavajya and Devagiri Amma were continuing their journey. The sun was rising throwing light red-coloured rays on the earth. Devagiri Amma went into labour pains. She slowly reached a big banyan tree and lay down on its shade. Goddess Parvati was beside her unseen, giving her courage. All other gods were witnessing from above, this unique occasion of Lord Shiva being born in human form on the earth. This new ‘Avatar’ would put an end to religious fanaticism, jealousies, hatred, arrogance, egoism and attachments prevalent in the humans and would generate peace, jnana , love and equality among them. The gods showered flowers from above, unseen, and jubilant over the occasion. Great sages all over the world, for a moment became still and in that state witnessed the arrival of Lord Shiva in human form as Devagiri Amma’s child. Finally Devagiri Amma delivered the child. No one knew that the new born Avatar of Lord Shiva would one day be known as Shirdi Sai Baba and that he would respond at once to the prayers of devotees, that he would show the way to a number of devotees for attaining salvation by becoming their Sadguru, and that even after his Samadhi he would protect his devotees.

Devagiri Amma was very happy that Lord Shiva himself was born to her. But Ganga Bhavajya was not satisfied by looking at the human child form of Lord Shiva. He was determined to see the real Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, as was seen by his wife. After sometime, he prepared to set out on his journey. It was a testing moment for Devagiri Amma. One one side was her husband and she was duty bound to follow him. On another side, it is the just born child, apart from her weakness due to delivery. Finally, she decided to follow her husband, leaving the child in the forest. She prepared a small bed of leaves and spread a soft cloth over it. She placed her newborn child on the bed. She began weeping as other mothers do and the warm tears began to fall on the child. These tears were the last attachment between mother and child. She wept bitterly for not being in a position to provide food and shelter for her child. Perhaps, she was not aware that Adi Sankara, who can protect all the creations, does not require her protection.

No such thoughts were in Ganga Bhavajya . His aim was to have vision of Lord Shiva only. For achieving this , family bonds and attachments would be hurdles. So he desired to be away from such attachments and go into the forest and do penance. He started to proceed towards his goal, his wife following him. For every step taken by her, the motherly love towards her newborn child began to melt into tears which flowed from her eyes continuously. She kept looking backwards at her child though advancing. The tears blocked her vision and she was able to see only a blurred image of her child. After proceeding for some more distance, she lost sight of her child completely and she followed her husband blindly. In the coming chapters, we shall see where and how their aimless journey ended.

On the golden Kailash mountain, Lord Shiva should have been in the company of Parvathi and other gods. But in his new ‘Avatar’ he was under the banyan tree, as a newborn child, moving his legs and hands playfully and waiting for the person who would find him and look after him. Lord Shiva knew who that person was. That Mahatma named Roshan Sha came in the form of fakir (mendicant). When he was walking with his wife, he heard the cries of a small child. As they did not have any children, he picked up the child and gave him to his wife as a gift from ‘Allah’ .

We find no words to praise Roshan Sha and his wife who bathed Lord Shiva and fed him. The child grew for four years till 1839 in the fakir’s house. The actions of God cannot be gauged. How and when some persons come together and again get separated is beyond the understanding of common people. The fakir died oneday. His wife brought up the child affectionately as her own.

In those days there were clashes between Hindus and Muslims. Under such conditions, the behaviour of this boy used to be peculiar. He would suddenly enter into a temple one day and start yelling, "Rama is God, Shiva is Allah". Both Hindus and Muslims used to admonish and punish him. On seeing this, Roshan Sha’s wife used to suffer a lot. Finally, unable to withstand the complaints against the boy, she decided to hand over the boy to a Sadhu by name Venkusa in a nearby village.