Chapter 28 - Historical Commentary - a podcast by Sai Babas Devotee Speaks

Chapter 28 describes the incredible ways in which Baba drew his devotees to Shirdi. Baba pulled Lala Lakhmichand, the Burhanpur lady and Megha to Shirdi, like a boy who pulls a sparrow with a string. Lakhmichand and the Burhanpur lady dreamt of Baba, while Hari Vinayak Sathe sent Megha to meet Sai Baba.

A devout man named Lakhmichand once dreamt of a saintly person, and a few days later, he attended a Kirtan by Das Ganu in Dattatreya Bijur's house, and became totally devoted to Baba. That very night, his friend, Shankar Rao, asked him to accompany him to Shirdi. Lakhmichand eagerly accepted, and borrowing 15 rupees for his expenses, he set out, with his friend, to Shirdi. At Shirdi, he experienced Baba's compassion and all-pervasiveness when Baba asked, "What was the necessity to borrow 15 rupees to make this pilgrimage?" Baba disapproves of His devotees borrowing money to go on pilgrimages. Next is the story of the Burhanpur lady. Unfortunately, her name is not mentioned. She dreamt that Baba came to take Bhiksha of Khichdi from her. After some time, her husband got transferred to Akola. So, without further delay, they went to Shirdi. However, for the first fortnight, she was unable to make her offering of Khichdi to Baba. So, one day, she prepared the Khichdi and went to the Dwarka Mai, but the curtain was drawn. Not minding this, she went up and served her Khichdi, and Baba ate it with great relish.

Now for the story of Megha, who was so greatly transformed that Baba wept on his demise. Here is how Megha was first drawn to Shirdi. One Hari Vinayak Sathe was working in Kheda, where he met Megha, a Gujarati Brahmin from Viramgaon. Sathe was interested in Megha's spiritual welfare, and urged him to go to Shirdi and meet his Sadguru. Megha was reluctant to go as he felt that he would descend into hell if he bowed before a Muslim. However, he did eventually go to Shirdi, and as soon as he entered the Dwarka Mai, Baba flew into a rage and threatened to beat him, and drove him away. Nonetheless, Megha stayed on and performed service to Baba in a quiet manner. After a few days, Megha left Shirdi only to soon return for he considered Baba to be the living form of Lord Shiva. He ceaselessly chanted the name "Sai Shankar, Sai Shankar" from morning till night. He prayed to Lord Shankar with a childlike innocence, and as Shankar was fond of bael leaves, he was determined to worship his Sai Shankar with Bilva Patra. As there were no Bilva Patra in or around Shirdi, he trudged two or three miles every day to procure them from the forest. He also collected wild flowers that Baba loved, and after worshipping all the deities in the village, he came to the Dwarka Mai, and performed ritualistic worship of Baba. Megha also performed the noon Aarti for Baba. This he did by standing on one foot. He held the Aarti platter in his right hand, and with his left hand, he rang the gong of the bell. Baba evidently liked the way he performed Aarti, and would delay the Aarti if Megha was late.

On Makar Sankranti day, Megha was keen to give Sai Shankar a bath with the holy water of the Godavari. He pestered Baba to allow him to do so. Baba gave in to his requests and agreed. At once, Megha set out barefoot with an empty vessel, unmindful that he had to walk back and forth a total distance of 16 miles. In those days, the road to Kopargaon was a treacherous one. The road was an uneven dirt road full of holes and pits. It was lined by dense trees, where dacoits hid and waylaid the unsuspecting traveller. Megha, however, was not bothered by these thoughts, as his heart was filled with devotion and joy. After fetching the holy water, he asked Baba to be seated so that he could bathe Him. Baba tried His level best to dissuade him, but Megha was determined. Finally, Baba said, "Megha, the head is the most important part, so just pour water on my head." However, Megha, in his zeal, poured the entire pot all over Baba. Megha was then astounded to see that only Baba's head was wet, and the rest of His body was dry.

Baba, on one occasion, gave Sakshatkar to Megha, saying, "Megha, draw a trident." A few days later, a Ramdasi presented Baba with a Pindi, which Baba presented to Megha. Thus, Baba blessed him and also strengthened his faith in his Ishta Devta, Lord Shiva. Upon Megha's demise in 1912, the Shiv Ling was housed in the Gurustaan.

Having narrated this incredible story, I will take the opportunity to narrate some more Leelas. The first Leela is about Nanasaheb Chandorkar's father, Govind Chandorkar. Once, it so happened that there was a misunderstanding between Govind and the local Muslims. Upset with this, he told his family members not to associate with any Muslim. In his family, his word was law, so his family members distanced themselves from their Muslim friends and neighbours. At that time, his son, Nana, was away on a tour. When he returned, the family briefed him about the turn of events, and of his father's decision to stay away from Muslims. This made Nana quite uncomfortable as he knew that his father thought that his Guru, Sai Baba, was a Muslim. He wondered how he was going to convince his father that Baba was neither Hindu, nor Muslim, but was way above these distinctions. He was unsure of his father's stance in this matter, and he felt that he would rather die than forsake Baba. Nonetheless, he told his father that he would like to discuss something with him. He couldn't believe his ears when his father said, "My Guru is Sakaram Maharaj, but your Guru is Sai Baba. So, even if Sai Baba is a Muslim, He is still your Guru, and you may most certainly continue to worship Him. There is no objection from me on this." Nana gratefully thanked his father. He was overjoyed and amazed at the way Baba influenced his father's orthodox mind and changed it for the better, just as He had done with Megha. What was it that this Guru could not do? Time and again, Baba had changed people, both internally and externally. Going back to when Megha first visited Shirdi to take Baba's Darshan, Baba roared at him, saying, "You are a high class Brahmin, and I'm the meanest of means, a Yavana! You will get polluted, so go back this very moment!" This was Baba's Rudra Roop at display. Baba was waiting to develop Megha spiritually, which He did by working on him internally, by showing him Leela after Leela. Megha, on the other hand, was changed for life. Every time he did the Aarti, he saw Lord Shiva in the place of Baba.
(Reference: Ambrosia in Shirdi, by Ramalinga Swami.)

In another incident, there was a devotee who experienced Baba's Leela during the course of his work in the customs office. Unfortunately, this devotee's name is not mentioned. One day, a bundle of custom bills were checked and verified by a customs officer and given to him. He was sure that he had kept them safely in the drawer of his desk. Knowing that the officer would recall them later, he wanted to keep them ready on his desk. But to his utter dismay, they were not to be found. He made a thorough search, but could not trace them. He feared that he might be reprimanded, or worse, might even lose his job. So he prayed to Baba. That day passed without the officer asking for the bills. The next day, rather scared, he went to the office and found the bills neatly placed on the table. He wondered who could have done this as he was the last person to leave, and the first person to enter the office. He remembered locking the office in the evening before leaving, and opening it in the morning. Who, but Baba, could have entered the closed office and done this?
"No door is necessary for my entry. I have neither shape nor size. I am always everywhere," Baba had once said to Megha, when He had asked him to draw a trident.
(Reference: Ambrosia in Shirdi, by Ramalinga Swami.)

Baba had a unique way of drawing his devotees to Shirdi. Professor R. Vishkanta, a resident of Bangalore, was one such devotee who was fortunate to be blessed by Baba when he was just seven years old. The professor states, “Way back in 1944, when I was seven years old, my father passed away under tragic circumstances on June 30th. After the eleven-day rituals, I went to school on the twelfth day, and returned home at about 12:15 p.m. My mother was in the kitchen preparing lunch for us. As lunch was not yet prepared, I started playing in the corridor of our home. Our home was situated at the rear end of a huge plot of land. Suddenly, I saw a young lad of about nine years standing at the front gate. He was very handsome, with a light complexion. He was wearing a white Kafni and had a white cloth tied around his head. At that time, we knew nothing about Sai Baba. Possibly, Baba thought that I would be scared if He appeared as an old man wearing a Kafni, hence He appeared as a young lad.

“The young lad approached me and said in a very pleasant voice, ‘I would like to meet your mother.’ This he said in Kannada, the local language of Bangalore. At that time, we were residing in Gandhinagar. In those days, needy boys would come to our home at lunch time, and my mother provided them with a nutritious, satisfying meal. They were referred to as ‘Varada Anna’ which means ‘he who comes once a week.’ I thought the lad was one of those boys, so holding him by his hand, I dragged him along the corridor and stopped a few yards away from the kitchen. Then I shouted, ‘Amma, someone has come to meet you.’ The young boy was standing on my left side and had placed his right hand on my shoulder. His foot was crossed at the right ankle and was resting on top of his left foot. He was standing exactly as Baba is seen standing in the photograph on His way to Lendi Bagh.

“On hearing me call out, my mother came out of the kitchen. In dismay, she said, ‘Oh, you have come on a very wrong day. I have nothing to give you at this moment, but if you can wait till the meal is cooked then I will surely feed you.’ My mother was full of anguish and despair because after my father passed away, the creditors from whom my grandfather had borrowed money had seized everything that we owned. We were virtually left with nothing, except the clothes on our back. In a very pleasant voice, the young lad said, ‘Amma, that is why I have come. I know you are in deep trouble.’ Then he handed my mother a small photograph of Baba in his ‘Abhaya Hasta’ pose (with his right hand raised in a blessing posture). He then said, ‘This is Sai Baba of Shirdi. Worship Him and all your troubles will cease.’ He then patted me on my shoulder and left. Unfortunately, that photograph got lost when we moved from the affluent Gandhinagar to a less affluent neighbourhood in Malleswaram. In reality, without our knowledge, Baba had drawn us close to Him, as we had moved to our new home that was very close to a Baba temple.”

These are Baba’s words: “My man, even if he is in another country or thousands of miles away, I shall bring him to me by tying a rope to his legs” (Ovi 15, chapter 28, Shri Sai Satcharitra). Just like a small boy would draw a sparrow to himself by tying a string to its leg and pulling it, Baba drew his devotees to Him in a similar manner.

Once you are drawn into His flock, worship Him earnestly by placing Him in your heart. Then all your troubles will cease, and when troubles do crop up, Baba will pull you out of them in His own incomparable way.
(This Leela was narrated by Professor R. Vishkanta in 2015.)

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