Advent into Shirdi! The neem tree!

Victory be unto Samartha Sadguru Sainath!  By singing his glories one can easily cross this wicked sea of samsara called life. It is only by his grace that all things are accomplished. I once again stress on the fact that I am indeed unqualified to write on my samartha sadguru, for I am verily a dullard. It is only the Sadguru who inspires me and who writes through me this blog. I therefore offer my ego at his feet and beseech him to guide me in this most difficult task.

I described the experience I had on the day before Guru Pournima here in Dallas. I shall now describe Baba's advent into Shirdi, the neem tree and the eyewitness account of on Nana Chokdar's mother, who described the 16 year old Baba  and his habits in detail..

Shirdi before the advent of Baba was a small hamlet. The name Shirdi itself has come from the Sanskrit original name "Shaylidi","Shiladi" and later came to be called Shirdi. It belongs to the district of Ahmednagar. Before the advent of Baba, this was a quiet village, with  few families

 scattered around. The people were essentially simple village folk. But they were very meritious indeed, for Lord Dattatreya himself came down in the form of Baba and stayed there. Even after taking Mahasamadhi, Baba is still active and vigourous, helping the devotees and guiding them.

Baba was first spotted by the village people near the neem tree. He seemed to be in his teens, was very handsome and had a radiant face. He did not speak to anyone and was always immersed in meditation. One mother of Nana Chokdar, an old lady described young Baba thus, "The lad was of about sixteen years of age. He was a handsome lad with a radiant face. He always seemed immersed in the self, and never interacted with anybody unless spoken to. Then one day, Lord Khandoba entered into someone. The people asked Lord Khandoba who the lad was? Khandoba asked the people to dig near the roots of the neem tree. On digging, the people were flabbergasted. There was beneath the roots a tunnel. Inside the tunnel, were four lamps burning brightly. There were also strange objects carved of wood shaped like the mouth of a cow within the tunnel. The lad said that it is the samadhi of his guru

 and asked the people not to disturb it.  The people then replaced the lid on the opening of the tunnel."

Thus did the people of Shirdi get a glimpse of Baba's spiritual prowess.  But then, mysteriously Baba disappeared from Shirdi. After three years of having been away from Shirdi, a miraculous incident occure

d. One Chand Bhai Patel, a muslim chieftain of the village of Dhupkhed had lost his favourite mare. He went looking for it. He looked for it everywhere but could not find it. When he was totally exhaus

ted and had almost given up, he was accosted by a fakir, who had bright eyes, wore a kafni and a cloth was wrapped around his head. The fakir spoke to him thus, "What is wrong Chand?Looking for your mare?". Chand Bhai Patil was shocked to see that the fakir knew all 

about him. He admitted that he was and asked the fakir to help him out. The fakir asked him to look near a pond. When he went near the said po

nd, Chand found his mare. He then went to thank the Fakir, who asked him to smoke a chillum (Clay pipe). Now two things were required to smoke this pipe. Water to wet the cloth on top of the chillum and a buring coal to start the chillum. Chand noticed that the two things were missing and pointed out the same to the fakir. The fakir then struck his satka to the ground and lo! out came a burning charcoal. Then he struck the ground once more and out came water to wet the pipe. Thus did Chand realize that the fakir he was talking to was not an ordinary man but was a special pir or paigambar (a representative of god). Chand asked the fakir to accompany him to his nephew's wedding, which was to take place in Shirdi. The fakir, who was none other than Baba, went to DhoopKhed and then accompanied the marriage party to Shirdi.

He stayed again near the neem tree initially. Then when the temple priest Mhalsapathi saw him, he addressed him thus "Aoon Sai" (Welcome Lord)! Thus the name struck and the fakir and the young yogi came to be called Sai Baba. 

Baba came to the Khandoba temple, where Mhalsapathi was the temple priest. Mhalsapathi though realized the spiritual power of Baba, he still thought that Baba was a Muslim, and thinking that Baba was looking for a mosque. Thus he pointed Baba to an old broken down mosque nearby. This Baba made his permanent residence and it is hear that Baba stayed for more than 60 years. The mosque came to be called Dwarkamayee. It is here that Baba started the udi, an ever burning fire, like a pure agnihothri Brahmin. It is the udi or Vibuthi that was obtained from this fire that cured many diseases and acted like nectar. Mhalsapathi later became one of the most  prominent devotees of Baba.

Thus is the story of Lord Sainath and his advent to Shirdi. This is the wonderful way in which Lord Dattatreya came in the guise of a fakir to Shirdi. I close this blog by bowing before the lotus feet of Samartha Sadguru Sainath.

Bow to Shri Sai! Peace be to all!