WONDEROUS SAINT SRI SAIBABA-PART 30

BY PUJYA SRI NARASIMHASWAMY JI

TRANSFORMS A PRIESTLY BIGOT
SRI SAI BABA'S CARE FOR CHILDREN

Babu, the little pet of Sri Sai Baba whose rebirth as the son of Rao Bahadur M. W. Pradhan has already been described, was the instrument for the conversion of an orthodox Telugu priest, who had bean carrying on extensive pooja's etc. for the benefit to the Pradhan family. When Babu once fell ill, the priest look the view that the sickness was due to the family worship of Baba, (whom he took to be) a Muslim neglecting ,"Datta". One night when the child was lying very ill upstairs, its mother thought of sending for the priest Meanwhile the priest himself climbed upstairs and mentioned remarkable vision. He saw a figure, like that of Sri Sai Baba, sitting on top of the staircase, holding a baton in one hand. That figure told him "What do you mean? I am the Lord of this house". The priest was so much influenced by the sight that he began to pray to Baba and said that in case the child should be able to swallow milk within five minutes and recover health from the next day, he would recognise Baba to be Datta, go to Shirdi and pay him a dakshina of Rs. 120. The child took milk within five minutes and began to play some hours later. The priest was converted into a devotee of Baba and fulfilled his vow.

A Timely Warning :
A child of Mr. Pradhan was getting occasional fits which caused considerable anxiety while they stayed. One night at 11 p.m. Mrs. Chotubai Pradhan was thus addressed by Baba in her sleep : "Are you sleeping? Get up. Your boy will have convulsions". At once she woke up with a start and looked at her boy. He was alright then. But Baba's kind warning should not be ignored. So she set about getting all the accessories needed for treatment of 'fits' ready. For e.g a charcoal fire, hot water, Eau-de-cologne, etc., and kept watch. At 2 a.m. the boy awoke with convulsion and all the family were roused. The presence of everything needed helped to combat the disease and in half an hour it passed off. How kind of Baba to give such timely warning of an impending danger!
Even in little matters Baba used his omniscience. Ant-tir-jnana as the Bombay devotees term it, for their benefit. Mrs.Chotubai was once worshipping Baba at the mosque. He suddenly stopped her and bade her go back to her lodgings. Going there she found that her little baby was crying, and she put it to sleep and came back. ''Now do your pooja" remarked Baba on her return to the masjid. What vast concern for a crying baby! The masjid was too far off from her lodgings to let her hear the baby's cries. But Baba heard all cries anywhere and he came to the rescue.

At Danger Points :
Baba's care was not confined to children born with a silver spoon in their mouth. There was a humble family of Babu Kirwanaikar at Shirdi with a little daughter aged 3 and named Shanti. She used to say that she was Baba's sister. Baba was fond of her. One day she slipped into a well and it might have proved fatal, as the neighbours thought. But going up to the well they found that the child was floating above water holding on to a ledge. "Baba held me up" said the child. There was no other explanation for her safe escape. The fall had not injured her in the least.
A child ran one day along a water-covered lane of Shirdi. By the side of the lane, a very deep trench had been cut for building the foundation of a house.The trench was full of storm water and was about 5 feet deep. The child walking in full dress with a cap and umbrella slipped into the trench, unnoticed by anyone but somehow it came out of the trench, without knowing even how to swim. "Baba showed me that there were steps to climb up and I walked up those steps" said the child.