Miracles of Shirdi Sai Baba
Supernatural Acts Of God-Sai Baba
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The villagers of Shirdi and afar soon found out
that this was no ordinary fakir but an avatar (incarnation) of a very high
order. He demonstrated through his miracles and utterances, the purpose
and intention for which he had come. He would often say, "My Leela is
inscrutable". To each one he met, he imparted knowledge according to the
capacity of the recipient to absorb it. Baba's Leela's (miracles) were
plenty and varied, and we recount just a few which occurred during and
after his lifetime.
Baba's Leelas ( Miracles )
Lighting lamps with water
Long before Sai Baba's fame spread, he was fond of burning lights in his
Masjid and other Temples. But for the oil needed in those little
earthenware lights that he lit, he depended on the generosity of the
grocers of Shirdi. He had made it a rule to light earthenware lamps in the
masjid every evening and he would call on the grocers for small donations.
But there came a time when the grocers got tired of giving oil free to Sai
Baba and one day they bluntly refused to oblige him, saying they had no
fresh stocks. Without a word of protest Sai Baba returned to the masjid.
Into those earthenware lamps he poured water and lighted the wicks. The
lamps continued to burn deep into the midnight. The matter came to the
notice of the grocers who now came to Sai Baba with profuse apologies.
Wouldn't Sai Baba kindly pardon them? Sai Baba pardoned them, but he
warned them never to lie again. "You could have refused to give me the
oil, but did you have to say that you didn't have fresh stocks?" he
admonished them. But he had made his point.
Premonition of burning fields
Once, harvesting in Shirdi had been completed and the foodgrains of the
entire village had been stored in a yard. The summer was on. The heat was
intense as only those who have lived in Shirdi know. One afternoon Sai
Baba summoned Kondaji Sutar and said to him: "Go, your field is on flrel"
Frightened, Kondaji ran to his field and. frantically looked around for
any sign of fire. There wasn't any. He returned to the masjid and informed
Sai Baba that he had looked everywhere but had found no trace of fire and
why did Baba have to frighten him? Unfazed, Baba said : "You better turn
back and look again." Baba was right after all. Kondaji noticed that a
sheaf of corn was indeed on fire and smoke was billowing from it. A strong
wind was fanning the fire and word had gone round to the villagers who now
came running to the scene. "Sai Baba," the people shouted "help us, help
us put the fire out!" Thereupon, Sai Baba walked casually towards the
yard, sprinkled some water on a stack of sheaves and said: " There now!
The fire will die down!" And so it happened.
Stopping the rain
There is the story of one Rao Bahadur Moreshwar Fradhan who had come to
Shirdi to take Sai Baba's darshan along with his wife. As the couple were
about to leave, it began to rain heavily. Thunder and lightning rent the
air. As the Pradhan couple looked round in dismay, Sai Baba prayed. "Oh
Allah!" he intoned, "let the rains cease. My children are going home. Let
them go peacefully!" The storm thereupon ceased, the downpour reduced to
slight drizzle and the Pradhans were able to reach their destination
safely.
Raising the water level in well
When Sai Baba first came to Shirdi it had of no basic facilities. There
was a well put only in name. It had no natural spring water and if ever
there had been one, it must long ago have dried up. Water had to be
fetched from a distance. When, therefore, Sai Baba gave his permission to
the villagers to celebrate the Ram Navami Fair, (Baba's Birthday) the big
problem facing the organizers was one of water supply. So What should they
do but go to Sai Baba with their problem? "'Oh yes," said Sai Baba, 'so
you want plenty of water, do you? Here, take this and drop it in the well
and wait and see." "'This," turned up to be a platter of flowers on which
some prasad (blessed food) had been placed along with the remnants of alms
Baba had received earlier in the day. The villagers had no qualms about
doing as they were did. Their faith in Sai Baba was total. No sooner had
that platter of leaves been dropped in the well, it is said, water rose
from the bottom as if by divine command and completely filled it. And
great was the rejoicing of the people.
Saving a child from drowning
One report has it that word had spread that the 3-year old daughter of a
poor man called Babu Kirwandikar had fallen into the well and had been
drowned. When the villagers rushed to the well they saw the child
suspended in mid-air as if some invisible hand was holding her up! She was
quickly pulled out. Sai Baba was fond of that child who was often heard to
say : I am Baba's sister!" After this incident, the villagers took her at
her word. "it is all Baba's Leela", the people would say philosophically.
They could offer no other explanation.
Flow of Godavari (river) from Baba's feet
These were instances of things they had seen with their own eyes. It was
not secondhand information they had gathered. Sai Baba was to them as real
as their homes and their fields and their cattle and the distant hills.Das
Ganu once had an unforgettable experience. On a festive occasion, he
sought Baba's permission to go to a place called Singba on the banks of
the Godavari to have a bath in the holy waters. "No," Baba replied
resolutely, "where is the need to go all the way when the Godavari is here
right at my feet?" Das Ganu was vexed. He was willing to concede that
Ganga the holy river (Baba frequently referred to Godavari as Ganga) rose
from the feet of Sri Narayana (one among the Hindu trinity of Gods)
himself, but his faith was not deep enough to believe that the waters of
the Godavari could spring form the feet of his master, Sri Sai. Baba who
was reading Das Ganu's mind decided that this was the time to strengthen
Das Ganu's faith. He told his devotee: "come closer to me and hold the
hollow of your palms at my feet!". As soon as he did so water flowed
freely out of the toes of the master's feet and filled the hollow of Das
Ganu's palms in no time. His joy knew no limits. He sprinkled the water on
his head and his body and distributed some more among the assembled
devotees as tirtha (holy water).
Other miracles
There was that other occasion when many thought that the masjid which
housed Sai Baba itself would be consumed by fire from the flames which
leapt up from the dhuni. All that Baba did was to take some swipes at a
wooden pillar in front of him. With every blow the flames subsided and the
fire died down. "Miraculous," said his devotees. Often they would notice
him stirring some hot concotion over the kitchen fire, not with a ladle
but with his bare hands. There never was a time when his hand was scalded.
What supernatural powers did he have? On yet another occasion, Sai Baba
was partaking of food with three of his devotees in the masjid when,
without any cause for provocation, he exclaimed- "Stop!" Then, as if
nothing had happened, the four continued with their meal. Lunch over and
the dishes cleared, they stepped out of the masjid, when large chunks of
the ceiling fell on the very spot where they had been seated only a few
minutes earlier. Did Sai Baba's powers extend even to inanimate matter,
the devotees wondered. Instances have been quoted by his devotees as to
how Sai Baba commanded the rains to stop and the winds to cease.
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