Baba’s Sayings and his practical wisdom and mystical rites
Para Number in the Book ‘BCS” About HIS Wisdom and Rites
- Bade Baba (Fakir Baba), brought with him a recent Hindu Convert (Ibrahim) to Islam to the mosque.
Baba, slapping that convert on the cheek: “Ah! you have changed your father!”
Baba’s Prayers
- Sai Baba: I speak things here. Things take place there (in accordance with my words). This is all God’s sport (lila).
(Re.M.W.Pradhan), Baba : “O God. Let the rain stop. My children have to go home. Let them go back comfortably (And the rains stopped till M.W.P. reached the Railway Station).
596a. (Re.H.V. Sathe) Dada Kelkar: “When are we to have a grandson?
Sai Baba- “I am requesting Allah. He will comply with my request.” (Next year a grandson was born).
- “I have been considering long and thinking day and night. All are thieves; but we have to deal with them. I prayed to God night and day for their improvement or removal. But God delays and does not approve of the (my) attitude, and grant the prayer. I will wait for a month or two and see. But living or dead, I will have what I have been praying for. I will not go to Teli or Vani. I will never beg of them. The people are not good and devoted. They are unsettled in mind etc. A few friends will gather together and talk divine wisdom, and sit and contemplate.”-Baba (G.S.K. diary)
- In 1886. (Baba to Mahlsapathy):”I am going to God.”
- (Re. his hand burnt)Baba: “It is all God’s play. He himself will cure. Why should we be anxious? Allah is my doctor.”
Baba, to R.B.P.- “In two or four days I will be all right. Allah has given me this sickness and He will make me all right within that period. You need not cry.”
Baba’s Practical Wisdom and detachment
- Baba was seated at the mosque. The season for custard apple (Seethapal) had just began. A woman with these fruits was coaxing Baba to take fruits. She demanded very high prices first. Baba- “I do not want your fruits. Take them away.”
Then the woman begged of him to take six fruits for ten annas. The fruits were bought. A little later, before the woman was paid, another woman with Seethapal turned up and Baba bargained with her. B.- ” For ten fruits, I will give only six annas.” The woman agreed.
B.. Shama, what is the total to be paid to these women.
Syama: Deva, one Rupee.
Then Baba addressing some one present (Kaka Mahajani?): “Bhav, will you give me Rs.2?”
That man gave the two rupees asked for.
Then Baba calling the first woman: Have this. Take the money.
And he paid her one rupee.
Then Baba called the second one and paid her also one rupee.
The devotee, who paid two rupees said, “Baba, I do not understand all this, will you make me understand?
B.: What is the difficulty? When the first basket came, fruits were scarce and so 10 annas for six was settled.
When the second basket came, fruits were not so scarce, and so 6 annas was fixed for 10 fruits. As for the actual payment, each was paid according to her Bhagya (poorva Karma etc.).
- In 1890 Nana Saheb Nimonkar voluntarily offered a ten rupee note. B.: “I will not take this. I am a fakir.”
- Mr.Kanitkar went with his family about 1907 to Baba, and found Baba in the chavadi using obscene language by way of abuse and wondered at it. One of his clerks said that Baba was a great saint. Then Kanitkar said “I will consider Baba a great saint, If he returns all the dakshina he has taken from members of my family.” Then when his wife and family went to Baba, B.” Here is all the money you have given till now. Take it away.”
Mrs. K.: It may be useful for purchase of fuel etc. Keep it B.: “I do not want it.”
- Baba (to S.B. Nachne) “whatever you do, do thoroughly. Else do not undertake it.”
- Baba: “Do not borrow for celebrating a feast or festival, for a pilgrimage or other journey.”
- Baba.: “Always take your meal, before you start for a journey.”
Conservatism re. Death- Pollution, when observed by the devotee
606. Baba (to Haribhav K.karnik): “Do not get up the steps of the mosque. Go back straight to your home (Dahanu) without halting on the way.”
Haribhav went back and found that his grandson’s wife had died just two hours before Baba spoke.
607. Mrs. Gokhle was coming into mosque with others. Baba(to Mrs. Gokhale). “Do not climb into the mosque.”
She went back, purified herself and again tried to enter it. Baba (again): “Do not enter.”
Then Mrs. Gokhle went home and found that when she tried to enter the mosque, she was under pollution arising from the death of a relation.
Baba’s Mystical Rites and Wisdom
608, (a) Village women to Baba:You are grinding wheat into flour. Let us also help you. Baba:”Do”.
After some grinding. Women: Baba, you do not prepare bread so we will take away the flour.
B.: “No, no, no. Come on. Let us carry all the flour.”
Then Baba led the way to the streamlet which forms the northern boundary of Shirdi.
B. “Now let us throw all this flour alongside of the stream on its bank. These epidemics, cholera, plague etc. come in the shape of Goddesses and they will be satisfied with this flour, which we offer and will go away from the village. In point of fact, when Baba threw the flour alongside of the streamlet the threatened epidemic did not visit the village.
(b) Baba rubbing coins.
Baba when alone used to take out coins from his pocket and rub their surface with his fingers, (as a result of which all the letters etc. were rubbed out) saying;
“Nanache Nanache (i.e., Nana’s Nana’s) Kakache. Kakache; Somyacne somyache etc.
By this, adverse circumstances against these persons were rubbed out. That is what the devotees felt and believed.
(c) Baba watching over the safety of devotees.
Baba to Abdul: “Abdul, place some buckets of water nex to that (Akhandam) in the Lendi garden see that, That lamp (Akhandam) is perpetually burning. Feed it always oil.”
Baba, after the buckets, full of water, were placed near the Akhandam, would sprinkle water from them in all the cardinal directions, and he would also stand up and walk a few steps in each direction and intently speak at the horizon in each direction evidently to note and avert evils befalling his devotees.
(d) Baba one day suddenly put his hand up to the elbow very close to the Dhuni fire at the mosque or even into the fire. His skin was burnt.
Shama : Baba, why do you do so ? (So saying, Shama pulled him off.)
Baha: “Let the cursed hand go. A child had fallen into the fire and I was picking it out.”
Later, information was received that in some place, not far off, a blacksmith’s child had fallen into the fire and was picked out before any danger to its life happened.
(e) Mystical rites: In March 1911, just before Arti. Baba: “Hallo ! I have intense pain in the belly fetch a turban”. A turban was brought. Baba wound it round his body and wanted each end of the turban to be pulled by each of two men standing on his right and on his left side.
Baba: “Pull. Pull, I have not yet got relief”. Later: Baba “You may stop now. I have relief”. None could make out what the matter was.
A little later news came from Nimgaon, 2 miles off, that a lady devotee having unbearable pains of parturition thought of him and then had safe delivery. Evidently this mystic rite helped in that delivery.
(f) An ardent lady devotee that was not allowed to approach or appear before Sai Baba at any time, was seriously ill. Evidently to effect her cure, Baba got over a neighbouring house top, walked over the terrace of the house where in the patient lay, arrived at the top of another house and sent for a ladder to descend therefrom. On descending, he paid Rs.2 to the person that brought the ladder, saying that services should not be accepted gratis, (see 226). The patient recovered.
(g) Vastu Paoja, etc. when the Shirdi mosque was reconstructed (about 1911), Baba often pulled down what the masons put up. After that was built, a dandal with pillars supporting a zinc sheet roofing was being put up in the open yard in front of the mosque evidently ignoring the directions contained in Vastu Sastra.
Baba came up angrily, seized Tatya Patel, pulled out one of the pillars just then planted, burnt Tatya’s cloth and inserted the ashes of that cloth and a silver coin in the hole from which the pillar was pulled out, then reinserted the pillar and allowed the work to go on. Baba was obviously observing the directions of Vastu Sastra. i.e., that relating to house and temple construction.
(h) Baba frequently made gestures, waving his hands or fingers or a stick held in his hand (1) before the Dhuni fire; (2) before the chavadi; (3) when he came in procession to a spot from which Maruti temple is seen (see about this 58 supra); (4) before G.S. Khaparde at the mosque: (5) and on other occasions and at other places. Each had its own significance.
(i) When in the terrible heat of the noon day sun, a kid came up to the mosque, fell down whirling and appeared to be dead. Baba came round it and sprinkled water drops on it. It jumped up and ran away.
Baba similarly came round the burning stack of a marvadi and drew a thin line of water all round it, and said “This stack alone will be burnt”. The stacks near that were all safe, though a strong wind was blowing. (See 342.)
(j) Abdul Kadir wanted fakiri, spiritual uplift, evidently through Vairagya and the acquisition of higher states.
Baba held up his clenched fist in the air and waved it towards that man opening the pam finally, as though he threw something at him, saying Lev. From that moment that man was full of Vairagya and indifference to all his temporal affairs. His relations were displeased and he also behaved in an erratic way.
Then Baba extended his hand towards him and withdrew the fist saying “Lao” i.e. Give back. That man regained his original mentality and attended to his affairs. These were witnessed by Chotekhan.
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