The Leela included Aum Sai Shri Sai Jaya Sai in very clearly gives us an indication about the importance of Manmad and Kopargaon railway stations connected to Shri Sai Baba. Manmad Railway station played a vital role in the Leelas (enigmatic happenings) and writing of sacred Book Shri Sai Satchaitra by Shri Govind Raghunath Dhabholkar. His travel to Shirdi; he was on friendly terms with Kakasaheb Dixit and Nanasaheb Chandorkar. They pressed him to go to Shirdi and have Baba’s Darshan and he promised them he will do so. But an event meanwhile prevented him from going to Shirdi. His friend’s son at Lonavala fell ill and his friend tried all possible means, physical and spiritual, but the fever would not abate. At length he got his Guru to sit by the side of his son’s bed. This sort of guarding his son against death was to no avail and the young lad died. Hearing this Dhabholkar was disheveled and thought, ‘what was the efficacy of the Guru, if he could not save my friend’s son? If the Guru can’t do anything for us, why should I go to Shirdi at all?’ Thinking in this way, he postponed his trip to Shirdi. However, the inevitable must happen and it happened in his case as follows.
Shri Nanasaheb Chandorkar, who was a Prant (place, area) Officer, was going on tour to Bassein. From Thana he came to Dadar and was waiting for a train bound for Bassein. Meanwhile, a Bandra Local turned up and he sat in it and came to Bandra and sent for Dhabolkar. He took him to task for putting off Shirdi trip. Nana’s argument for his Shirdi trip was convincing and agreeable, and so he decided to go to Shirdi. That same night he packed his bag and started for Shirdi. He planned to go to Dadar and catch a train to Manmad. As he sat in the train headed for Dadar, a Mohammedan gentleman came hurriedly to him and seeing his paraphernalia asked Dhabolkar where he was bound to. Dhabolkar told him his plan and he was guided by the gentleman to go to Boribunder and not get down at Dadar for, Manmad Mail does not halt at Dadar at all. If this little advice was not given to him at the nick of time Dhabholkar’s enthusiasm to reach Shirdi would have lessened again. He would not have reached Shirdi next day as planned and many more doubts would have assailed him. But that was not to be; as fortune favoured him, he reached Shirdi and the rest is history; we have our Shri Sai Satcharita.
In Chapter 46
Remembering Shri Sainath’s words “After doing Kashi and Prayag I will be ahead of you”. Shama’s hair stood up and he burst into tears. His throat choked, and he began to sob looking at Baba’s portrait in Gayawala’s home. (This incident was at Gaya) Gayawala thought that Shama was scared of plague prevailing there and therefore was crying. Shama enquired of Gayawala whence he got Baba’s portrait which was hanging in his home. Gayawala replied that he had 200 or 300 agents working at Manmad and Punatambe looking after the convenience of the pilgrims to Gaya and from them, he heard about Baba’s fame. About 12 years ago he went to Shirdi and took Baba’s darshan. There he expressed his wish to have Baba’s portrait hung in Shama’s house and with Baba’s permission Shama had given it to him. This was the same portrait Shama was looking at and remembering Baba’s words, “After doing Kashi and Prayag I will be ahead of you”. Gayawala’s joy knew no bounds when he learnt that the same Shama who obliged him before, was his guest now. Gayawala gave him a right royal welcome. He was a very rich man. He arranged a palanquin and made Shama ride an elephant and attended to all his comforts and conveniences in a grand manner.
In Chapter 50
Shri Vasudevanand Saraswati
We come to the next story, which shows how Saints love each other with fraternal affection. Once Shri Vasudevanand Saraswati, known as Shri Tembe Swami encamped at Rajamahendri (Andhra Pradesh), on the banks of Godavari. He was a devout, orthodox, Jnani and Yogi Bhakta of the God Dattatreya. One Pundalikrao, a pleader of Nanded (Nizam State) went to see him, with some friends. While they were talking with him, names of Shirdi and Sai Baba were casually mentioned. Hearing Baba’s name, Swami bowed and taking a coconut gave it to Pundalikrao and said, “Offer this to my brother Sai, with my pranam (respectful greeting) and request Him not to forget me, but ever love me.” He also added that Swamis do not generally bow to others, but in this case, an exception had to be made. Pundalikrao consented to take the fruit and his message to Baba. Swami was right in calling Baba a brother, for as he maintained an Agnihotra (Sacred fire) day and night, in his orthodox fashion; Baba too kept His Agnihotra, i.e., Dhuni ever burning in the Masjid.
One month later Pundalikrao and others left for Shirdi with the coconut and reached Manmad. They felt thirsty and went to a rivulet for drinking water. As water should not be drunk on an empty stomach, they took out some refreshments, i.e., Chivda (flattened rice mixed with spice). Chivda tasted pungent and in order to soften it, someone suggested and broke the coconut and mixed its scrapings with it. Thus they made the Chivda more tasty and palatable. Unfortunately, the coconut they used turned out to be the same one that was entrusted to Pundalikrao by Tembe Swami. As they neared Shirdi, Pundalikrao remembered his promise of giving the coconut to Shri Sai Baba and was very sorry to learn that it was broken and utilized. Fearing Baba’s anger he came to Shirdi; Baba the all-pervading God knew about the coconut from Tembe Swami.
He asked Pundalikrao first to give the things sent by His brother (Tembe Swamy). Pundalikrao held onto Baba’s feet confessing his guilt and negligence and asked for Baba’s pardon. He offered to give another fruit as a substitute, but Baba refused to accept it saying that the worth of that coconut was by far, many times more than an ordinary one and that it could not be replaced by another one. Then Baba added, “Now you need not worry yourself any more about the matter. It was on account of my wish that the coconut was entrusted to you, and ultimately broken on the way; why should you take the responsibility of the actions on you? Do not entertain the sense of doership in doing good, as well as for bad deeds; be entirely prideless and egoless in all things and thus your spiritual progress will be rapid.” What a beautiful spiritual instruction Baba gave! These are only few references given for Manmad from Shri Sai Satcharitra.
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