Sai Satcharitra
Sai Satchritra - Chapter XXVI
Stories of (1) Bhakata Pant (2) Harishchandra Pitale and (3) Gopal Ambadekar.
Preliminary
All the things that we see in the universe are nothing but a play of Maya -- the creative
power of the Lord. These things do not really exist. What really exists is the Real
Absolute. Just as we mistake a rope of a garland or a stick for a serpent on account of
darkness, we always see the phenomena, i.e. things as they outwardly appear, and not
the Noumenon which underlies all the visible things. It is only the Sad-guru that opens
the eyes of our understanding and enables us to see things in their true light and not as
they appear. Let us, therefore, worship the Sad-guru and pray to him to give us the true
vision, which is nothing but God-vision.
Inner Worship
Hemadpant has given us a novel form of worship. Let us, he says, use hot water in the
form of tears of joy to wash the Sad-guru's feet, let us besmear His body with sandlepaste
of pure love, let us cover His body with the cloth of true faith, let us offer eight
lotuses in the form of our eight Sattwik emotions and fruit in the form of our concentrated
mind; let us apply to His head bukka (black-powder) in the form of devotion and tie the
waistband of Bhakti and place our head on his toes.
After decorating the Sad-guru with all jewelry in this way, let us offer our all to Him and
wave chamar of devotion to ward off heat. After such blissful worship, let us pray thus:-
"Introvert our mind, turn it inward, give us discrimination between the Unreal and the
Real and non-attachment for all worldly things and thus enable us to get Self-realisation.
We surrender ourselves, body and soul (body-consciousness and ego). Make our eyes
Yours, so that we should never feel pleasure and pain. Control our body and mind as
You will and wish. Let our mind get rest in Your Feet".
Now let us turn to the stories of this Chapter.
Bhakta Pant
Once it so happened that a devotee by name Pant, a disciple of another Sad-guru had
the good fortune of visiting Shirdi. He had no mind to go to Shirdi, but man proposes one
way and God disposes the other. He was travelling in a B.B. & C.I. Rly. train where he
met many friends and relations bound for Shirdi. They all asked him to accompany them
and he could not say nay. They alighted at Bombay while pant got down at Virar. There
he took the permission of his Sadguru for the Shirdi trip and after arranging for the
expenses, left with the party for Shirdi. They all reached the place in the morning and
went to the Masjid at about 11 A.M. Seeing the concourse of the devotees assembled
for Baba's worship, they were all pleased, but Pant suddenly got a fit and fell senseless.
They were all frightened, still they tried their best to bring him to his senses. With Baba's
grace and with pitchers of water which they poured over his head, he regained his
consciousness and sat upright as if he was just awakened from sleep. The omniscient
Baba knowing that he was a disciple of another Guru, assured him fearlessness and
confirmed his faith in his own Guru, by addressing him as follows :- "Come what may,
leave not, but stick to your Bolster (support, i.e. Guru) and ever remain steady, always
at-one-ment (in union) with him." Pant at once knew the significance of this remark and
thus he was reminded of his Sad-guru. This kindness of Baba he never forgot in his life.
Harishchandra Pitale
There was a gentleman by name Harishchandra Pital in Bombay. He had a son, who
suffered from epilepsy. He tried many allopathic and ayurvedic doctors, but there was no
cure. There remained only one way of remedy, viz. resorting to the saints. It has been
stated in Chapter XV that Das Ganu by his inimitable and splendid kirtans spread the
fame of Sai Baba in the Bombay Presidency. Mr. Pitale heard some of these kirtans in
1910 and learnt therefrom and from others that Baba, by His touch and mere glance,
cured many incurable diseases. Then a desire arose in his mind to see Sai Baba.
Making all preparations and taking presents and fruit-baskets, Mr. Pitale came to Shirdi
with family, wife and children. He then went to the Masjid with them, prostrated before
Baba and placed his sick son on Baba's Feet. No sooner Baba saw the child than an
untoward thing happened. The son immediately revolved his eyes and fell down
senseless. His mouth began to foam and his whole body began to perspire profusely
and it seemed as if he breathed himself out.
Seeing this, the parents became very nervous and excited. The boy used to get such
fits very often, but this fit seemed to persist long. Tears began to flow ceaselessly from
the mother's eyes and she began to wail, crying that her condition was like that of a
person, who being afraid of the robbers ran into a house which collapsed on him,or like a
cow fearing a tiger, ran into the hands of a butcher, or like a traveller, who being
tormented by the heat of the sun went to take refuge under a tree, which fell upon him,
or like a devout person going for worship into a temple which collapsed upon him. Then
Baba comforted her saying - "Do not wail like this, wait a bit, have patience, take the boy
to your lodging, he will come to his senses within half an hour." They did as directed by
Baba and found that His words came true. As soon as he was taken into the Wada, the
boy recovered and all the Pitale family, husband, wife and others were very delighted
and all their doubts disappeared. Then Mr. Pitale came with his wife to see Baba and
prostrated himself before Him very humbly and respectfully and sat shampooing His legs
and mentally thanking Baba for His help. Baba then smilingly said - "Are not all your
thoughts, doubts and apprehensions calmed down now? Hari (Lord) will protect him,
who has got faith and patience". Mr. Pitale was a rich and well-to-do gentleman. He
distributed sweet-meat on a large scale and gave Baba excellent fruits and pan (betelleaves).
Mrs. Pitale was a very Sattwik lady, simple, loving and faithful. She used to sit
near the post staring at Baba with tears of joy flowing down from her eyes. Seeing her of
an amicable and loving nature, Baba was much pleased with her. Like Gods, Saints are
always dependent on their devotees who surrender and worship them with their heart
and soul. After passing some happy days in Baba's company, the Pitale family came to
the Masjid to take Baba's leave to depart. Baba gave them Udi and blessings and called
Mr. Pitale close by and said to him - "Bapu, I had given you before, Rs. two, now I give
you Rs. three; keep these in your shrine for worship and you will be benefited." Mr. Pitale
accepted these as Prasad, prostrated himself again before Baba and prayed for His
blessings. A thought arose in his mind, that as that was his first trip to Shirdi, he could
not understand what Baba meant, when He said that He had given Rs. two previously.
He was curious to have this mystery solves, but Baba kept silent. When Mr. Pitale
returned to Bombay, he narrated to his old mother all that had happened at Shirdi and
the mystery about Baba's giving him Rs. two formerly. The mother also did not
understand the mystery, but, thinking seriously about that, she was reminded of an old
incident, which solved the mystery.
She said to her son - "As you now went to Sai Baba with your son, so had your father
done when he took you to Akkalkot, for the darshana of the Maharaj there many years
ago. That Maharaj was also a Siddha, Perfect Yogi, omniscient and liberal. Your father
was pure, devout and his worship was accepted. He then gave your father Rs. two for
being kept in the shrine and worshipped. Your father worshipped them accordingly till his
death, but thereafter the worship was neglected and the rupees were lost. After some
years the memory of these two rupees also disappeared and now, as you are very
fortunate, the Akkalkotkar Maharaj has appeared to you in the form of Sai Baba just to
remind you to your duties and worship, and to ward off all dangers. Now beware
henceforth, leave off all doubts and bad thoughts, follow your ancestors and behave
well; go on worshipping the family gods and the rupees, appraise properly and take pride
in the blessing of the Saints. Sai Samartha has kindly revived the spirit of Bhakti in you,
cultivate it it your benefit." Hearing the remarks of the mother, Mr. Pitale was very much
delighted. He came to know, and was convinced about the all-prevasiveness of Baba
and the significance of His darshan. From that time he became very careful about his
behaviour.
Mr. Ambadekar
Mr. Gopal Narayan Ambadekar of Poona was a devotee of Baba. He served for ten
years in the Abkari department in the Thana District and in Javhar state, from where he
had to retire. He tried to get some other job, but he did not succeed. He was overtaken
by other calamities and his condition grew from bad to worse. He passed 7 years in this
condition, visiting Shirdi every year and placing his grievance before Baba. In 1916 his
plight became worst and be decided to commit suicide in Shirdi. So he came there with
his wife and stayed for two months. One night while sitting in a bullock cart in front of
Dixit's Wada, he resolved to end his life by throwing himself into a well close by. He
proposed to do one way but Baba wished to do something else. A few paces from this
place, there was a hotel and its proprietor Mr. Sagun, a devotee of Baba, came out and
accosted him thus - "Did you ever read this Akkalkotkar Maharaja's life?" Ambadekar
took that book from Sagun and began to read it. Casually, or we may say providentially
he came across a story which was to this effect. - During the life time of Akkalkotkar
Maharaj a certain devotee suffered very much from an incurble disease and when he
could endure the agony and pain no longer, be became desperate and to end his
miseries threw himself one night into a well.
Immediately the Maharaj came there and took him out with his own hands and advised
him thus - "You must enjoy the fruit - good or bad - of your past actions; if the enjoyment
be incomplete, suicide won't help you. You have to take another birth and suffer again;
so instead of killing yourself, why not suffer for some time and finish up your store of the
fruit of your past deeds and be done with it once and for all?"
Reading this appropriate and timely story, Ambadekar was much surprised, and moved.
Had he not got Baba's hint through the story, he would have been no more. On seeing
Baba's all-prevasiveness and benevolence, his faith in Him was confirmed, and he
became a staunch devotee. His father was a devotee of Akkalkotkar Maharaj and Sai
Baba wanted him to walk into his father's footsteps and continue his devotion to Him. He
then got Sai Baba's blessings and his prospects began to improve. He studied astrology
and gained proficiency in it and thereby improved his lot. He was able to earn sufficient
money and passed his after-life in ease and comfort.
Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all