Miracles

Sai Baba performed numerous miracles that inspired complete surrender and profound devotion in His followers. These miracles often demonstrated His omniscience, omnipresence, control over natural elements, ability to heal, and deep compassion, leading devotees to see Him as the Supreme Being.

Here is a list of such miracles from the sources:

• Converting Water into Oil: Baba once went to shopkeepers for oil for His lamps, but they refused to give it. Unperturbed, Baba returned to the Masjid, took a tin pot containing a few drops of oil, added water to it, drank some, and then poured the mixture into all the lamps. To the surprise of the watching shopkeepers, the lamps burned brightly throughout the entire night. The shopkeepers repented and apologised, and Baba forgave them, asking them to be truthful in the future.
• Obtaining Fire and Water by Striking the Ground: When Sai Baba first accompanied Chand Patil’s marriage party to Shirdi, they prepared to smoke a Chilim (pipe), but lacked fire and water. Baba took His prong, thrust it forcibly into the ground, and a live burning coal emerged, which He placed on the pipe. Then, He dashed His Satka (short stick) on the ground, and water began to ooze out, which He used to wet the chhapi for the pipe. Witnessing this, Chand Patil was “wonderstruck” and realised Baba was a great saint (Avalia), leading him to invite Baba to his home.
• Stopping Rain and Fire:
  • Quelling a Storm: One evening, a terrible storm with thick black clouds, strong winds, lightning, and torrential rain enveloped Shirdi. People, frightened, flocked to the Masjid for shelter and prayed to Baba. Baba came out, stood at the edge of the Masjid, and addressed the storm in a loud, thunderous voice, saying, “Stop, stop your fury and the calm.” Within minutes, the rains subsided, the winds ceased, and the storm stopped, allowing the moon to rise.
  • Controlling Fire in the Dhuni: On another occasion, the sacred fire (Dhuni) in the Masjid burned so brightly that its flames reached the rafters. People were unsure what to do, but Baba, sensing the situation, took His Satka and dashed it against a pillar, commanding, “Get down, Be calm.” With each strike, the flames lowered and slowed, and the Dhuni returned to normal. These incidents convinced people that Baba was “an Incarnation of God” and that whoever surrenders to Him will be freed from calamities and attain God-vision.
• Helping in Conception and Childbirth:
  • Blessing Gopalrao Gund with a Son: Mr. Gopalrao Gund, a devotee, had three wives but no children. With Sai Baba’s blessings, a son was born to him.
  • Blessing Nanasaheb Dengale’s Younger Brother: Nanasaheb Dengale’s younger brother had no son despite two marriages. Balasaheb sent him to Baba for darshana, and with Baba’s grace, Nanasaheb got a son.
  • Blessing Ruttonji Wadia with Issue: Ruttonji Wadia, a wealthy Parsi contractor, was miserable because he had no children. On Dasganu Maharaj’s advice, he went to Shirdi. Baba blessed him, saying, “Allah (God) would satisfy his heart’s desire.” Later, Ruttonji was blessed with a son, and eventually had twelve children, with four surviving. This miracle confirmed his faith in Baba’s omniscience, especially as Baba had referred to a previous offering Ruttonji had made to another saint, Moulisaheb, knowing the exact amount of Rs. 3-14-0 spent, which linked Baba’s identity with other saints.
  • Damu Anna’s Mango Miracle for Children: Damu Anna, who had three wives (or two, according to his statement) and no children for 27 years, was given four mangoes by Baba with the instruction to give them to his junior wife. Baba promised her “four sons and four daughters“. This prophecy proved true, and “Baba’s words turned out true and not those of the astrologers,” strengthening Damu Anna’s faith.
  • Mrs. Aurangabadkar’s Son: A lady from Sholapur, married for 27 years without issue, sought Baba’s blessing. After a significant exchange with Shama, Baba yielded and said, “She will have an issue,” specifying, “In 12 months.” She delivered a son within a year, confirming Baba’s words.
  • Sapatnekar’s Sons: Mr. Sapatnekar, who had lost his only son, was blessed by Baba. Baba declared, “Now I will do this I will again bring that very child back in his wife’s womb.” With these words, Baba placed His blessing hand on Sapatnekar’s head and comforted him, saying, “place entire faith in Me and you will soon get your object“. He was later blessed with a son, named Murlidhar, and two more children, confirming that Baba’s words were “never untrue and unfulfilled”.
• Similar Miracles Resulting in Complete Surrender/Profound Faith:
  • Grinding Cholera Epidemic: Hemadpant was “wonder-struck” when he first saw Sai Baba grinding wheat. He later learned from the Shirdi people that this was Baba’s remedy for a cholera epidemic, grinding the “Cholera itself… to pieces and pushed out of the village.” From that time onward, the epidemic subsided, filling Hemadpant’s heart with joy and inspiring him to write the ‘Satcharita’. This understanding deepened his resolve to dedicate himself to writing Baba’s life story, seeing it as “My best Upasana“. Baba Himself later confirmed this, instructing Hemadpant to “get rid of his ego, place (or surrender) it at My feet,” stating that “When his ego is completely annihilated… I Myself shall enter into him and shall Myself write My own life”. This direct instruction led to Hemadpant’s complete surrender of his ego to Baba.
  • Yogi’s Doubt Dispelled: A Sadhak (Yoga practitioner) who sought Baba’s help for concentration, doubted Baba upon seeing Him eat stale bread with raw onion. Baba, reading his mind, remarked, “Oh Nana, he who has the power to digest onion, should eat it and none else.” This immediate revelation of his thoughts made the yogi “wonder-struck,” and he “fell at Baba’s Feet with complete surrender,” receiving a solution to his difficulties.
  • Moolay Shastri Seeing His Guru: An orthodox Agnihotri Brahmin, Moolay Shastri, initially kept a distance from Baba due to his strict beliefs. When he tried to offer flowers, he suddenly saw his late Guru Gholap Swami on Baba’s seat. This profound vision led him to discard “all pride of caste and ideas about sacredness,” and he “fell flat at his Guru’s feet” (Baba). This directly caused him to surrender his previous rigid views.
  • Doctor Seeing Rama: A doctor who refused to bow to Baba, considering Him a “Mahomedan,” was astonished when he entered the Masjid and saw his beloved deity, Rama, on Baba’s seat. He instinctively prostrated. After a three-day fast and a subsequent vision, he was “blessed by Baba, and he experienced the Bliss supreme,” which “increased manifold” his devotion to Sai Baba.
  • Kakasaheb Dixit’s Obedience and Surrender: During a cholera ordinance, Baba asked Kakasaheb Dixit, an orthodox Brahmin who abhorred violence, to behead a goat. Despite his deep aversion, Kakasaheb “made himself bold to kill the goat” in implicit obedience. Baba stopped him just as he was about to strike, questioning his action as a Brahmin. Kakasaheb’s response, “Your nectar-like word is law unto us, we do not know any other ordinance. We remember You always, meditate on Your Form and obey You day and night, we do not know or consider whether it is right or wrong to kill, we do not want to reason or discuss things, but implicit and prompt compliance with Guru’s orders, is our duty and dharma,” powerfully illustrates his complete surrender of personal will and beliefs to Baba’s command.
  • Reading Lala Lakhamichand’s Mind: Lala Lakhamichand, who came to test Baba, was “wonderstruck” when Baba spoke about his dream and his decision to take a loan to come for darshana, saying, “Cunning fellow, he does bhajan on the way and enquires from others. Why ask others? Everything we should see with our own eyes… Is the heart’s desire now satisfied?“. This, along with Baba revealing his thoughts about wanting sanza (wheat-pudding) and suffering from back pain, caused him to fall prostrate at Baba’s Feet, declaring, “There is no other God to me in this world except Your Feet. Let my mind be ever rapt in Your Bhajan and Feet.“.
  • Madrasi Bhajani Mela Member’s Vision and Transformation: A man in a Bhajani Mela group, who inwardly craved money and doubted Baba as a “Mahomedan,” had a dream where he was arrested for sins. Baba appeared, questioned his faith, freed him, and then showed him his Guru, Ramdas. This vision “completely changed his mental attitude,” eliminating his “grabbing and doubting tendencies,” and establishing “true devotion to Baba’s Feet”.
  • Mr. Thakkar’s Doubts Dispelled: Mr. Thakkar, Kaka Mahajani’s employer, came to Shirdi to test Baba. When offered raisins, he disliked them and secretly thought Baba, if a true saint, would know this. Baba immediately offered him more raisins, which, to his surprise, were seedless. Further, when Thakkar internally wished for the raisins to be given to Kaka first, Baba ordered exactly that. These incidents were “sufficient for Thakkar” to be convinced of Baba’s omniscience and power, solving all his doubts.
  • Mr. Sapatnekar’s Transformation: After losing his son and finding no peace through other means, Mr. Sapatnekar came to Baba, but was initially met with “Get away.” He persevered, and Baba, revealing details of his life and the death of his son, promised, “Now I will do this I will again bring that very child back in his wife’s womb” and advised him to “place entire faith in Me and you will soon get your object“. This led him to bathe Baba’s feet with his tears and later declare, “henceforth let Your holy feet be our sole refuge” after his wife conceived.
  • Das Ganu’s Ishavasya Upanishad Doubts Solved: Das Ganu, struggling to understand the Ishavasya Upanishad, was told by Baba that a “maid-servant of Kaka (Kakasaheb Dixit) will solve your doubts at Vile Parle.” Despite initial skepticism from others, Das Ganu, believing Baba’s word was “the decree of the Brahma,” went and witnessed a poor girl’s contentment with her old, torn sari despite receiving a new one. This incident provided him a practical demonstration of the Upanishad’s lesson on contentment and realizing God’s pervasive presence in all things, leading him to understand that “all our feelings of pain and pleasure depend upon the attitude of our mind”.
  • Balaram Mankar’s Revelations: After his wife passed away, Balaram Mankar went to Shirdi. Baba sent him to Macchindragad to meditate. There, Baba appeared to him in person, revealing that he was sent to quiet his mind and show that Baba was not confined to His physical body in Shirdi but was all-pervading. Later, Mankar received a second revelation when a villager (Baba in disguise) gave him a train ticket. These experiences led him to remain at Baba’s feet, “always following His biddings and advice” until his passing in Baba’s presence.
  • Tiger Attaining Salvation: Seven days before Baba’s Mahasamadhi, a sick tiger was brought to Shirdi by its keepers. The tiger, suffering and restless, became calm upon seeing Baba’s lustre, moved its tail thrice, and fell dead at Baba’s feet. The Derveshis realized it was meritorious for the animal to meet its end in Baba’s presence, signifying its salvation due to accumulated good karma. This unique incident highlighted Baba’s compassion and power to grant liberation even to animals.

These instances illustrate how Sai Baba’s divine interventions, teachings, and demonstrations of extraordinary power consistently led devotees to abandon their doubts, prejudices, and worldly attachments, resulting in complete surrender to Him as their Guru and God.