IT was a chilly winter morning when Chand Bhai of Dhoopkhede village near Aurangabad lost his horse. He searched for it everywhere but could not find it. Thoroughly dejected, he decided to look in the nearby forest. While walking and looking around here and there, his eyes fell on a fakir sitting in a white dress under a tree. He drew close to the bearded fakir and asked him if he had seen a horse somewhere nearby. The fakir told him, “Yes, go and look behind the tree as your horse will be grazing there.”
Chand Bhai went behind the tree and found his horse busy eating grass. He was surprised at the fakir’s information and wondered how he knew where the horse was unless he was some great man. He returned to the fakir and asked, “I am grateful to you for your help. May I ask who are you?”
The fakir replied, “I am known as Sai Baba. Come and sit near me.” So saying he rubbed his chimta (a pair of tongs) on a piece of rock and lighted a fire.
On seeing his, Chand Bhai became convinced that the fakir was no ordinary human but was some enlightened soul. He invited the fakir to his house for his nephew’s wedding, which was scheduled for the next day.
The next day the fakir reached Chand Bhai’s house and found the baraat (the wedding procession) ready to leave for the bride’s home in Shirdi. Chand Bhai invited the fakir to accompany them to Shirdi.
In Shirdi, the baraatis decided to rest in Khandoba Temple. After the wedding got over, Chand Bhai and his guests returned to Dhoopkhede while Sai Baba remained behind at Shirdi.
The next day, Sai Baba decided to go and stay in the temple in its clean surroundings. When he sought the temple priest’s permission to stay there, the latter, on seeing the stranger’s odd white outfit, mistook him for a Muslim and guided him to the mosque a short distance away.
Sai Baba left and began to stay in the mud mosque which was not very comfortable. However, he named it Dwarka. As time passed, both Chand Bhai and the temple priest became great friends and ardent devotees of Sai Baba.
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