Chapter 22 - Historical Commentary - a podcast by Sai Babas Devotee Speaks

In chapter 22 of the Sai Satcharita, the incredible Leela of Das Ganu's wish to go to Prayag and have a bath in the Sangam, or the confluence, of the Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswathi rivers is described. Hindus believe that having a bath there will nullify their sins, purify the mind and body, and they will attain Satgati (salvation). Baba, however, tells Das Ganu that he need not go that far, and from the big toes of His feet, produces the Ganga and Jamuna. Das Ganu is overwhelmed by this, and sings Baba's praises. This is a lesson for all of us that if we clutch tightly on to Baba's feet with love and devotion, then He will surely put us on the path of salvation. The main Leelas of this chapter are about how Baba prevents the accidental deaths of Bapusaheb Booty, and Bala Sahib Meerkar, and how Baba cures Amir Shakkar of his nagging pain of rheumatism. And finally, Baba tells Balasaheb Bhate, Dabholkar, and all of us, that God resides in all creatures, be it venomous snakes or scorpions. So, if we see such creatures, we ought not to pounce upon them and kill them, because if God has not ordained our death by them, they will not harm us.

The first Leela is about Meerkar, who came to the Dwarka Mai before going to Chitale for his duty. Baba warns him of his death by snake bite. Nonetheless, He assures him that anyone taking refuge in the lap of Dwarka Mai will be saved from mishaps. As Meerkar is leaving, Baba asks Shama to accompany him. At first,
Meerkar is reluctant to take Shama with him, but eventually agrees. At Chitale, their peon noticed a serpent sitting on Meerkar's Uparna. He raises an alarm and the snake is beaten to death as it slithers away. Two points to be noted here are that Baba asks Shama to accompany Meerkar; and secondly, Baba sat in the Dwarka Mai facing the southern direction. The possible reason for asking Shama to accompany Meerkar was to prevent Apamrityu. Baba Himself, in the form of Shama, keeps energising the soul of Shama in Chitale, and thus has driven away Kaal Purusha. Dakshin, or the south facing direction is the dreaded direction of Yama Raj, the Lord of Death. Baba, being the supreme Rudra Himself, is capable of driving away Yama Raj whenever He chooses. Thus, Baba, as the Rudra, is able to sit in the Dwarka Mai facing the dreaded South direction, or the direction of Yama Raj.

The ensuring stories are some of the Leelas where Yama Raj accepts defeat in front of Baba.

Malanbai, the daughter of Shri D. R. Joshi Devgaonkar, suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis. All sorts of treatments, remedies and poultices were tried, but nothing worked. Malanbai could not bear the pain and coughing bouts. She insisted on being taken to Shirdi. Upon seeing her, Baba let out a volley of abuses and asked her to lie on a blanket and drink nothing but water. She stayed in Dixit Wada for a week, carefully following Baba's orders. Early one morning, she stopped breathing and died. Her family were mourning her loss, and making preparations for her cremation. That morning, Baba did not leave the Chavadi, although it was past 8 a.m. It seemed that Baba was in a rage. He shouted for no apparent reason, hitting the floor with his Satka. It looked as if He was driving away some unseen object or force. Still shouting, He strode to Dixit Wada and paused a moment, shaking His Satka vigorously. Then, just as suddenly as he had flared up, he calmed down, and went away. The family was oblivious of Baba's actions. But as they were getting ready to bathe the body, they noticed the girl breathing. She opened her eyes and looked around frightened. She told the family what took place: “A demon like black person was carrying me away. I was terrified and couldn't do anything. So I called out to Baba to help me. He at once came and beat the black man quite badly. Then He snatched me from his hands and carried me to the Chavadi.” She gave a vivid description of the Chavadi, although she had never seen it. The family, hearing this, shed tears of joy. Was it any wonder that Baba sat in the Masjid facing south? South, the dreaded direction from which Yama Raj comes. But every day, and all day long, Baba sat facing Yama. Not for a moment was He without His Satka, the magical wand.
(Reference: Ambrosia in Shirdi, by Ramalinga Swami.)

In another story, a woman named Rukmini started living in Amalner after getting married to Malhari Bendre, who worked as a sanitary inspector. Her father, Krishnaji Brahma, alias Abha Sahib, was devoted to Baba. He lived in Ahmednagar where he worked as a police officer and had the good fortune of meeting Baba several times. Baba blessed him and gave him Udi, hence his entire family worshipped Baba and visited Shirdi often. After his retirement, he lived with his elder brother, Lakshman, in Bhadgaon. Later, Lakshman was transferred to Amalner and they, along with Abha, moved into a house nearby. Abha visited the library daily, and on the way, visited Rukmini. One day, he failed to visit her, so the following day, Rukmini got worried and went to meet him.
Abha was running a high fever, and Rukmini's mother was giving him a cold compress. He looked at her with affection and his eyes filled with tears. He said, “I doubt I will recover from this illness.” The doctor was summoned, and he administered some injection and advised bed rest and fluids. The fever continued relentlessly for 8 days, despite the treatment, and soon Abha lost his voice.

On the 9th day, his condition took a turn for the worse, and at midnight, he shrieked loudly in a strange tone of voice. Then half an hour later, he shrieked again, so the family gave him a sedative, but he continued to be restless. Two days later, his temperature started decreasing and returned to normal. He gestured to them that he wanted to write something. Lakshman and Malhari helped him to sit up, and handed him a slate and chalk. Abha then wrote, “Sai Baba was there at the foot of my cot protecting me. I screamed when I saw four hideous-looking men coming to carry me away. They asked Baba to move away from my bed so that they could take me away. Baba menacingly shook his Satka at them, and at that very moment, several dogs started barking outside. The four men fled for their lives. Then, Yama, the Lord of Death, came there. He was more hideous than his messengers. I shrieked again. He was extremely enraged and his eyes were bloodshot with rage. When he saw Baba, he calmed down a little. Baba, however, calmly said, 'This is an ardent devotee of mine, and I am his Guru. Let him stay and continue doing my work for some more time.' Yama said, 'Alright, if you so desire. Let me know when I am to take him away. I will wait for your orders and follow them.' Then, he bowed to Baba and left." Abha recovered completely after that dream vision.
(Reference: Sai Prasad Magazine, Deepavali issue, 1993.)

In another Leela, a devotee, whose name is not available, narrates how his faith in Baba saved his child's life: “Ever since I got transferred to Calcutta, my second daughter was not keeping good health. At that time, Baba advised me in a dream to send 1 rupee to Shirdi. I did this immediately as I have great faith in Baba. I had a premonition that something terrible would happen to my daughter. On the night of 27th April 1941, the child’s condition was going from bad to worse. We prayed to Baba and put Udi in the child’s mouth and rubbed some on her body. I could not sleep because I was extremely anxious. At 2.30 a.m., Yama, dressed in black with bells around his waist, entered through the front door of my home. Simultaneously, Baba came out swiftly from my ‘prayer room’ and shouted 'Hut, hut' and drove Yama out of my house. Then, at that hour, Yama entered the house next to ours, and carried away their child. I could hear loud wails and cries that their child had died. I peeped out of the window and saw a crowd of people, and everyone was lamenting the death of the child. I then woke my wife up and related everything that had happened. We bowed down and thanked Baba for His protection. We were thrilled that Baba was protecting us even after so many years of His taking Maha Samadhi."
(Reference: Sai Sudha Magazine, Volume 2, no. 3, August 1941.)

There are so many wonderful Leelas of Baba where He protects His devotees from accidental deaths. In one such story, the mother of Ramchandra Deshmukh was staying with him in Shirdi. While Deshmukh was not devoted to Baba, his mother had visited Shirdi in 1918 and had met Baba, and was totally devoted to Him. Despite her age, she attended all the Aartis, and used Udi everyday. She never failed to go to the Dwarka Mai, and worship Baba's photograph there. There was a well on the land near their home, and everyone was aware of it. Early one morning, at 4 a.m., when Ramchandra's mother was going to the latrine, she fell into the well. No one was aware of the accident. At about 5 a.m., a village woman came to draw water from the well, and found the old lady floating in it. Somehow, they managed to pull her out. Immediately, they got a doctor to examine her. The doctor shook his head and said, "It is due to Baba's grace that she is alive. The depth of the well is more than 48 feet deep, and the water is very cold. She is aged, frail and weak. The cold that she was exposed to for such a long period of time can cause hypothermia, which could have been fatal. Just keep her warm and give her plenty of hot fluids and apply Baba's Udi to her entire body." Ramchandra's mother was drenched from head to toe, and her daughter-in-law removed her wet clothes. While doing so, she was surprised to find that the old lady had not been hurt or bruised anywhere. She got her into dry clothes, then gave her a cup of hot tea. She asked her how she survived when she did not know how to swim. Ramchandra's mother said, "When I fell into the well, I called out to my saviour, saying, 'Sainath, you can save me from drowning.' Immediately, my Sainath came running and held me with His thousand hands. So, I was afloat until the lady came to draw water from the well." She chuckled and said, "I am sure that it was Baba who sent the lady to draw water from the well so early in the morning." A short while later, after having tea, Ramchandra's mother felt better and went about her normal routine. She often said that she survived because of Baba's grace.
(Reference: Ambrosia in Shirdi, by Ramalinga Swami.)

In another Leela, Madhukar Khare, a resident of Badlapur, decided to clean the roof of his home before monsoon. He wanted to ensure that the electric wires running to the house were alright and free from debris. He worried that there may be a fire resulting from accidental short circuit. The front of his home had an awning about six feet high, while the roof top was about 15 feet high. He climbed on the roof and cleaned it thoroughly, but while doing so, he slipped and fell and with him the awning also fell with a loud crashing sound. Hearing the noise, the neighbours ran to help him. There was a huge pile of debris and everyone feared the worst. Madhukar, however, was standing safely in a corner, unhurt. He said, "Just as I was falling, I saw a bright, dazzling light before my eyes, and then I felt someone lifting me and placing me in the corner. The only recollection I have is that the person whose hand lifted me was clad in a white Kafni." Then he went inside and stood before Baba's photograph, and thanked Him for saving his life and the lives of both his children. who had just returned from school just before the awning fell. However, they had entered the house to keep their school bags inside. Had they been under the awning, they would have been crushed to death.
(Reference: Shri Sai Leela magazine, volume 67, no. 8, January 1989.)

There are other miraculous stories of children being saved by Baba, like the one about five-year-old Shanti Kirwandekar. Shanti loved Baba and often told everyone that she was Baba's sister and that Baba reciprocated her love and called her Bai. One day, she fell into the well that was behind Sathe Wada. She was rescued after a very long time, but surprisingly, she was not hurt at all. The villagers were amazed to see her hale and hearty. When they asked her about her fall, she said, "When I fell into the well, I called out to my Baba, and He held me for a long time. That is why I have no injuries."
(Reference: Shri Sai Leela magazine, Ashad, ank 5, year 1, 1923.)


I shall conclude this chapter with another Leela of a little boy who had unshakeable faith in Baba. On a rainy day, when the boy was going to school, he accidentally fell into a huge pit that had been dug for laying the foundation of a building. The workers came running to his aid. However, the little boy came up on the other side without a single bruise. When the workers asked him how he managed to come out of the pit without any problem, he said, "When I fell, I called out to my Baba, and He made steps for me to climb out of that pit."
(Reference: Ambrosia in Shirdi, Ramalinga Swami.)

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