Ashish Joshi
There was a news item recently that a prominent Indian politician spent many crores in getting his daughter married with pomp and ceremony. Simplicity has gone out of our lives. At this moment of gross materialism, let us recall some of the instances when Sai Baba of Shirdi, one of India’s best-known saints, worked his magic to relieve the suffering of those around him. Sai Baba had no love for the material world and he spent his time in self-realisation. He taught everyone a moral code of love, forgiveness and devotion to God. He never made any distinction between caste or religion.
The whole universe is manifested with five elements -water, fire, ether, air and earth. Sai Baba’s Divine personality was such that all the elements of nature complied with His will. There was an incidence when Sai Baba wanted to light his clay pipe for having a smoke. He struck the ground with his stick and there emerged an ember from the earth, which he held to the tobacco in his pipe. After lighting the pipe he needed some water to wet the cloth (to be used as filter) he again struck the ground with the stick and water sprang from the same spot!
On the occasion of organising the Ram Navami fair (Birthday celebrations of Lord Ram) acute shortages of water posed serious problem to the organisers. They sought help from Sai Baba. Baba gave them a platter of flowers with a few remnants of the blessed food, which he had received in alms earlier in the day. As the villagers dropped the platter of petals in the well, the water rose high from the bottom as if following a divine command!
