Minkie the cat

One incident which occurred on the 23rd of November deserves to be highlighted in the Sai chronicle. About sixty devotees had arrived from far-away Gauhati, the capital city of Assam. They had travelled in a special railway coach for seven days before they reached Bangalore, and they had before them another week-long ordeal to get back home. Baba appreciated their devotion and gave them Darshan and a short spiritual discourse at the prayer hall. He filled their hands with the precious gift of vibhuti. He saw in the group a girl named Lakhi and he gave her vibhuti a second time, saying, "This, for the cat."

The cat was Minkie, whom she had rescued from the city drain on a rainy day and brought home to keep warmed and fed. The kitten was not, however, welcomed by her elder sister who was a nurse in the biggest hospital in the city, but who could not stand cats. She blamed Lakhi for bringing the horrid thing and keeping it as a pet. One night when a few guests had arrived for dinner, the cat stole into the kitchen and ran off with a bite of fish. This enraged the lady so much that all her bellicose adjectives exploded in one burst at Lakhi's face. Lakhi could bear it no longer. She caught Minkie by the neck and spanked her severely with a longish stick. The poor thing yelled in pain. Suddenly, every picture of Sai Baba in the house - there were sixteen of them hanging with garlands after the Thursday bhajans - fell on the floor! The guests ran out of the house into the open courtyard, for they were sure that an earthquake had struck.

But the lady noticed that only the pictures of Baba had dropped; all others were intact on the walls! It was then that she realized that Baba had given a sign to save the cat. She shouted to her sister, "Lakhi! stop! stop! Don't kill it! Baba is angry with us!" Lakhi placed Minkie on the table. She was in tears, and her sister, too, was sobbing. The cat tried to allay her pain by shaking in quick quivers. The guest had come back by now and they too witnessed the struggle of the cat to regain her poise. Lo and behold! When Minkie shook herself, puffs of fragrant vibhuti emerged from her fur and fell thick on the table! The fragrance announced that Bhagavan had blessed the cat.

Six months later, on 23rd November, when Lakhi was present with many other devotees from Assam at the Prasanthi Nilayam prayer hall, Bhagavan, in His infinite compassion, remembered Minkie, the unwelcome cat, and sent to her His most valuable prasad. He instantly detects every denial of love and warns us when we miss our way. His hand reaches beyond the horizons of space and the chronologies of time. He teaches us, by example, to wish well for every form of life, be it man, beast, bird or plant. His love has no limit, for He is in all

Source: SSS IV

Cat photo:  model picture