Untold stories of Lord Sai
The Rich Gentleman
There was a rich gentleman who was very prosperous in his life. He had amassed a large quantity of wealth, houses and lands and had many servants and dependents.
When Baba’s fame reached his ears he said to a friend of his that he was not inwant of anything, and so he would go to Shirdi and ask Baba to give him Brahma Gyan, which if he got, would certainly make him more happy. His friend dissuaded him, saying, ‘ It is not easy to know Brahman and especially for a avarice like you, who is always engrossed in wealth , wife and children. Who will in your quest of Brahma- Gyan will satisfy you, who does not give away even a paisa in charity”
Not minding His friend’s advice, the fellow came to Shirdi, and after seeing Sai Baba fell at His lotus feet and said, “ Baba , hearing that , You show the Brahma to all who come to you, I too have come all the way from a distant place. I am much fatigued by the journey and if I get the Brahma- Gyan from you, my troubles will be paid and rewarded.
Baba then replied,’’ Oh my dear friend do not be anxious, I shall show you the Brahma. Many people come to Me and ask for wealth, health, power, honor, position, cure of diseases and other temporal matters. Rare is the person who comes to me and asks for the Brahma Gyan. There is no dearth of persons asking for worldly things but persons interested in spiritual matters are very rare.I think it is a fortunate and an auspicious moment when persons like you come and ask me for Brahma Gyan. So forthwith I show to you the Brahma with all its accompaniments and complexities.”
Then Baba called a boy and told him to go to one Nandu Marawadi and get from him a loan of Rs.five.
The boy left and returned immediately saying that Nandu was absent and his house was locked. Then Baba asked him to go to the Bala grocer and get from him the said loan. This time also the boy was unsuccessful. This experiment was repeated again and again with the same result.
Sai baba as we all know is the living and moving Brahma incarnate. Then someone may ask, “ Why did He want the paltry sum of five rupees and why did He try hard to get it? Really He did not want the sum at all. He must have fully known that Nandu and Bala were absent, and He seemed to have adopted this procedure as a test for the seeker of Brahma Gyan. The gentleman had a roll or bundle of currency notes in his pocket and if he was really earnest he would not have sat quiet and be an onlooker when Baba was frantically trying to get a paltry sum of Rs. five. He knew that Baba would keep His word and repay the debt and the sum wanted was insignificant. Still he could not make up his mind to advance the sum. Such a man wanted from Baba the greatest thing in the world , the Brahma Gyan!
When the gentleman asked Baba to show Brahma gyan soon Baba replied,” Oh my dear friend did you not understand all the procedures that I went through, sitting in this place to enable you to see Brahma..” Baba told him that the first important thing to do to know the Brahma Gyan is to have the quality of Surrender. Baba further gave a long discourse to make the rich gentleman understand the qualification of a mumukshu or the seeker of Brahma Gyan.
Moral - Unless one gets detached to his mortal possessions and thoroughly surrenders, one is not qualified to receive BrahmaGyan, The Knowledge of the Supreme. One should understand importance of humility, sacrifice and infinite love and cultivate these qualities by meditation to get the vision of the supreme.
Baba’s control over Vayu
Once at evening time there was a terrible storm at Shirdi.The sky was overcast with thick clouds. The winds began to blow with the great force, the clouds roared and the lightening began to flash and the rains started pouring in torrents.
In a short the whole place was flooded with water. The terrible storm frightened all the living creatures. The birds left their homes…
The animals left their sheds… The people were very scared to see a huge terrible storm.
So all of them flocked to the masjid to seek Baba’s shelter. There are many local deities in Shirdi but none of them came for their rescue. So they all prayed to Baba – their only savior who was fond of their devotion, to intercede and quell the storm. As they all sought for protection from Baba, He was very moved.
Baba came out and standing at the edged of the masjid, addressed the storm in a loud and a thunderous voice,” Stop, Stop You Fury and Be Calm !
In a few minutes, the rain subsided, the winds ceased to blow and the storm came to a stop. Then the moon rose in the sky and people went back home well pleased.
Moral - In happiness or Distress one should always seek the shelter of Guru.
Baba Begging Food
Blessed are the people in Shirdi , in front of whom Baba stood as a beggar and called out, “ O Mai, give me a piece of bread.!” And spread out His hands to receive the same. In one hand He carried a Tumrel ( a tin pot) and in the other a Zoli or a Choupadari i.e. a rectangular piece of cloth. He daily visited certain houses and went from door to door.
Liquid or semi liquid things such as soups, vegetables, milk or buttermilk were received in the tin pot while cooked rice, bread and such solid things were taken in the Zoli. Baba’s tongue knew no taste, as He had acquired control over it. So how could He care for the taste of different things mixed up together?
Whatever things He got in the Zoli and in the tin pot were mixed together and partaken by Baba to His heart content. Whether particular thing was tasty or otherwise, was never noticed by Baba as His tongue was devoid of sense of taste all together. Baba begged till noon but His begging was very irregular. Some days He went up to few rounds and other days up to twelve noon.
The food thus collected was kept in the kundi an earthen pot. Dog, cat and crows freely ate from it and Baba never drove them away.
The woman who swept the floor of the masjid took some 10 to 12 pieces of bread to her house and nobody prevented her from doing so. How could He, Who, even in dreams never warded off cats and dogs by harsh words or signs, refuse food to the poor helpless people?
Blessed indeed is the life of such a Noble Person! People in Shirdi took Him in the beginning for a mad Fakir. He was known in the village by this name.The Fakir was very liberal at heart, detached and charitable. Though He looked restless from outside , He was firm and steady inside. His way was inscrutable. Still in that small village. There were a few kind and blessed people, who recognized and regarded Him as a Great Soul.
Moral - The lives of Saints are only meant for the benefit of Humanity.
Turning water into oil
Sai Baba was fond of lamps. He used to borrow oil from shopkeepers and keep his lamps burning the whole night in the masjid and temple. This went on for sometime.
One day, the banias who supplied oil graties, once met together and decided not to give Him oil anymore.
When as usual Baba went to ask for oil, they all gave Him a distinct “ No”.
Unperturbed , Baba returned to the Masjid and kept dry wicks in the lamps. The banias were watching him with curiosity.
Baba took the tumrel (tin pot) which contained very little ( a few drops) of oil, put water into it and drank it.
And then forced it fall into the container.
After consecrating the tin-pot in this way, He again took the water from the tin pot and filled all the lamps with it and lighted them.
To the surprise and dismay of the watching banias, the lamps began to burn and kept burning he whole night.
The banias repented and apologized Baba who forgave them and asked them to be truthful in future.
Moral - A self realized mystic yogi is never dependent upon anyone for his welfare
Two Lizards
Once Baba was sitting in the Masjid along with a devotee sitting in front of Him, when a lizard tick-ticked.
Once Out of curiosity the devotee asked Baba, whether this tick-ticking of the lizard Signified anything good or was it bad omen?
Baba said that the lizard was overjoyed as her sister from Aurangabad was coming to see her. The devotee sat silent not making out the meaning of Baba’s words.
Immediately a gentleman from Aurangabad came on horse back to see Baba. He wanted to proceed further but his horse would not go as it was hungry and wanted grams.
He took out the bag of grams from his shoulders and dashed it on the ground to remove all the dirt. A lizard came out there from and in the presence of all climbed up the wall.
Baba asked the devotee to mark her well. She at once went struggling to her sister.
Both sisters met each other after a long time, kissed and embraced each other, whirled round and danced with love! Where is shirdi and where is Aurangabad for the lizard? And how should Baba make the prophecy of meeting the two sisters? All this is really wonderful and proves the omniscience- the all knowing nature of Baba.
Moral - One who becomes one with the Omniscient Supreme achieves the nature of knowing the external and internal forces of the world.