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      Though Mahalsapati was pulled towards the young Fakir, his lifelong prejudices prevented Mahalsapati from inviting Baba inside the Lord Khandoba Temple. Though Mahalsapati wanted to embrace the young Fakir; he abstained from doing so. Baba was clothed in the typical fakir dress code. He had long hair that reached way below His back. He wore a green cap and though He wore a loose white shirt and a dhoti, there was a green shawl wrapped around His shoulders. Baba Sai smiled and then left the celebrations and wandered into the forest.

      Baba would sit under various trees, deep in meditation. He spoke only when He was spoken to. He spent days and nights in this state of meditation, irrespective of the weather or the hardship. For the first few weeks, at certain times when He was not meditating He would wander all around Shirdi and in the nearby villages. Children thought Him to be mad, as often Baba would speak to Himself, sometimes laugh and often curse. Children by nature are either very innocent or extremely heartless and they would taunt Him and even throw stones at Him. Depending upon Baba’s mood, He would either indulge them or throw stones right back at them.

      During this time, a number of evolved souls and Saints met Baba. Sometimes Baba would sit in the Chavadi, with Devidas. Devidas was a high soul, considered a Saint and had been living in Shirdi for a long while. Baba often sat inside Lord Hanuman’s Temple as well. There was another evolved soul, a Saint by the name of Janakidas Gosavi who would spend time with Baba. Baba was fond of Janakidas and they would often talk. Then there was Gangagir who was considered to be a Vaishya household Saint, when He met Baba, Gangagir said, ‘blessed is this Shirdi to have this Jewel among men…He is not an ordinary Man, and Shirdi is blessed to have this Jewel staying here’. Once a famous Saint by the name of Anandnath, who was a disciple of Swami Samarth of Akkalkot, saw Baba and said, ‘He is a precious Diamond…though He looks like an ordinary man, He is not an ordinary stone but a Diamond…today He lies neglected in a rubbish heap but He is a Diamond….remember well these words of Mine….later on you will be reminded of them’.

      Baba loved gardening and tending to plants. He would go to Rahata, which was close by and bring saplings of jasmine, marigold, jai and jui. He planted them in a very isolated place and He took care of all that He had planted. He watered the plants with a lot of love. He used to be deep within Himself, lost to the world, absorbed in chanting and taking care of the plants.

      Vaman Tatya was a follower and believer of Baba since day one. He knew that this young Fakir was no normal human being. People made fun of this Fakir, children taunted Him, elders avoided Him, shopkeepers were rude to Him but Vaman Tatya knew that this young Sai was precious. He would supply two unbaked earthen water vessels to Baba daily. Baba would fill these pitchers, water the plants and at the end of the day He would keep these vessels under His Neem tree. The moment He would place these pitchers under the Neem tree, the pitchers would crack. The next day Tatya would provide Baba with two new earthen pitchers. For the next three years Baba tended to this garden. There were some people in Shirdi who believed in Baba and some who thought Him to be a mad Fakir.

      Mahalsapati’s earlier turmoil had diminished. Every time he saw Baba, he was certain that Baba was no ordinary Fakir and that Baba was His Guru. He was a traditional Hindu priest. How could he make a Fakir his Guru? As time passed, Mahalsapati’s love for Baba overpowered his prejudices and he began to spend time with Baba. Baba fondly would call him ‘bhagat’, which means a disciple, a follower, a devotee.

      Mahalsapati had two friends, Kasinath, who was the village tailor and another friend called Joge. These three friends began to spend time with Baba. They offered Him food, tobacco and a rag cloth which Baba used for sitting or sleeping under the trees. Baba loved the margosa and the neem trees and He was usually found meditating under them. The relationship between Mahalsapati and Baba began to grow and became steadfast. Mahalsapati was convinced that Baba was his Guru and in reality he was the first disciple of Baba. He began to treat Baba as God incarnate long before the world acknowledged Baba’s Godhood; when for the world Baba was a mad, abusive, temperamental Fakir.

      One day, a devotee of Swami Samarth who was called bhai wanted to go to Akkalkot and pay his respects, offer prayers and bow down to the Padukas of Swami Samarth, which were installed in Akkalkot. He decided to make plans to go for the Pilgrimage from Bombay (Mumbai). The night before he was to leave for the Pilgrimage, he had a dream. Swami Samarth appeared in his dream and told him, ‘at this moment I reside in Shirdi…go to Shirdi’. Bhai left for Shirdi and resided in Shirdi for six months. He installed Swami Samarth’s Padukas under the Neem tree.

      All this while Baba used to dress more like a village wrestler and not in the usual attire which He wore for the rest of His life. One day, Baba and Mohiuddin Tamboli bhai got into an argument. Mohiuddin bhai would sell betel leaves, areca nuts, tobacco and local cigarettes called bidis. The argument got more heated and in no time, Baba and Mohiuddin bhai began to wrestle with each other. The bout lasted for a long while. It was a passionate fight and equally matched. Both were well-versed with wrestling and for a long while it was evenly matched but after a while Mohiuddin defeated our Baba, as the former was physically stronger than Baba. It was after He lost this wrestling fight that Baba changed His attire. He began to wear the long robe (kafni) and began to tie a cloth around His head. This is the way we know Baba, and see Baba.

Was there a reason for this change of attire and why did Baba begin to wear the Kafni only after losing in a fight? Did Baba don the clothes of a Fakir to embrace His divinity, within Him even more or not to be caught in the workings of the laws of Karma? Was this the last pending Karma which He had with the world? Baba never divulged. He would keep telling one and all, that Allah is a friend of the poor. He chose the colour white, to signify that He was beyond religion. He was neither a Hindu nor a Muslim, He was Sai, the King of Oneness.

      Peace be to all. Glory to our Sai, our Lord and Master. Jai Sai. 

I would like to thank Mrs. Mona Narayan Ramprasad for her invaluable editorial inputs for this Book.

Bibliography

  Govind Rahunath Dabholkar (Hemadpant). Translated by Indira Kher. Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba (English). Sterling Publishers Private Limited. New Delhi. 1999.

  Govind Rahunath Dabholkar alias ‘Hemadpant’. In English by Nagesh Vasudev Gunaji. Shri Sai Satcharitra, The Wonderful Life and Teachings of Shri Sai Baba (English). Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi. Mumbai. 2018.

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  Acharya Ekkirala, Bharadwaja. Sai Baba: The Master. Ongole, Andhra Pradesh: Sri Guru Paduka Publications, 1993.

  Dabholkar, G. R. Sri Sai Satcharita. Translated by Indira Kher. New Delhi: Sterling, 1999.

  Kamnath, M. V. and V.B. Kher. Sai Baba of Shirdi: A Unique Saint. Bombay: Jaico Publishing House, 1991.

  Khaparde, G.S. Shirdi Diary of the Mr Hon’ble G. S. Khaparde. Shirdi: Shri Sai Baba Sansthan, 1918.

  Narasimhaswami, B.V. Life of Sai Baba. 4 volumes. Madras: All India Sai Samaj, 1955-56.

  Anand, Sai Sharan. Shri Sai: The Superman. Shirdi: Shri Sai Baba Sansthan, 1962.

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