By: D. Sankaraiah
Hari Sitaram Dixit sought Baba’s permission to build a Wada in 1910. It was meant for him to stay and for visiting pilgrims. In the 1970s, Dixit Wada was used as a dining hall for pilgrims while the upstairs room remained a Memorial to Kaka Dixit with three chairs wherein three Sai Stalwarts used to discuss Sai Maharaj for hours together.
Dr. S.D. Parchure, the then Executive Editor showed these chairs and explained that one chair represents solitude, the second for friendship, and the third one for society.
Nana Saheb Chandorkar availed Dixit Wada for
solitude and Contemplation and for propagating Sai Maharaj among the higher strata of society. He came to Shirdi in 1892. He brought over two thousand devotees to Baba. Nana Saheb Chandorkar and Dasganu are the earliest Sai-Pracharaks. He used to read and re-read books and scriptures and most often discussed with Sai Maharaj. Gita Parayan, meditation kept him busy at Dixit Wada.
The space or chair for solitude was suitable for Nana Saheb even though he was not an introvert. We wholeheartedly agree with Nana Saheb Chandorkar’s words: “I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time.” But the more extraverted among the three of them focus on the second or third — giving at least connectivity among other friends who were devoted to Baba.
The second chair belongs to Anna Saheb Dabholkar who was given the title ‘Hemadpant’ by Sai Baba. This again works in different ways. Some of us have a few close friendships, others believe that everyone they meet deserves the title ‘friend’. We find it interesting how Anna Saheb Dabholkar had clear ideas on friendship. He spoke of friends as those who ‘elevate one another’ — and bring out the best in each other. It is a two-way process; to nurture and to be nurtured; being a giver and a receiver.
The third chair is a reminder of our relationship with society. Kaka Dixit or Hari Sitaram Dixit was a man of, for, and to the society. He was a widely respected Solicitor, and the British Government feared him. For Dixit, society was an active involvement. He did whatever he could to make the world better.
The thing is that all three of these needs of solitude, friendship, and society are deeply necessary for each of us, but balance is important for our well-being.
The three Sai Stalwarts used to meet in a conclave till they were absorbed into Sai Maharaj. Nana Saheb Chandorkar passed peacefully at Kalyan on 21st August 1921 – Ekadashi day, at the 
age of sixty-one. Sai Baba had assured Kaka Dixit a trip to heaven through a divine aircraft and accordingly while traveling to Mumbai from Shirdi on 5th July 1926 – Ekadashi day in full Dhyana on Sai Maharaj, at the age of Sixty-two. Anna Saheb Dabholkar passed away on 20th July 1929 – Ekadashi day at his Bandra residence at the age of seventy years in full contemplation of Sainath Parabrahman.
Baba has blessed them with all three, concentrating too much time on anyone adversely affecting the others. It is good to reflect — and self-reflection can be a first-chair task — about which chair you spend excessive time on, to the detriment of the other two. Are you not just self-reflective but rather, too self-absorbed? Do you give too much importance to friends, to be liked by them, and for a social image, using the interactions to avoid understanding yourself better? Do you work for a ‘noble cause’ yet damage personal relationships? How do you give these compelling and often competing needs of solitude, friendship, and society each their due?
We would also like to think that the three chairs could stand for three aspects of spirituality, helping us frame various aspects of our spiritual life. Solitude allows us to spend time on self-discovery and is an ongoing process. Here we would like to use the words from Divine Life Society, Rishikesh to consider how “…We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things we ought not to have done…” This covers everything at any given moment in our lives.
As for our friendships, when we engage with one another person face to face and in real time, we allow ourselves and others to be vulnerable, share, celebrate, and learn. This is our key to developing empathy.
And as we begin to see, all three of our spiritual chairs connect: our understanding of self, and caring personal connections pave the way for our social sensitivity and commitment.
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