G.S.Khaparde –Dadasaheb (Part- 3)

Khaparde Part -3 Telugu talk (Click here)

Baba saving Master Khaparde: 

Dadasaheb Khaparde’s young son was staying with his mother and enjoying the pleasure of Baba’s company. As it is, the boy was very young and he got very high fever. The mother’s heart grew anxious and she became agitated. Her home was at Amravati. Therefore, she thought of going there. In the evening, at the proper time, she came to take Baba’s permission. While doing his evening rounds, Baba came near the wada. There, the woman bowed down at his feet and told him what had happened? As it is women are timid by nature. And, besides, the son’s trembling did not stop. Also, there was the scare of plague. Therefore, she told him what had happened.

Baba lovingly assured her with these words. “Know that the skies are overcast. The rains will come and the harvest will ripen. The clouds will clear up. Why are you afraid? ” saying this, he lifted his kafni up to the waist and showed everybody the fully developed bubos. In four places, there were four bubos of the size of a hen’s egg.

He said: “See, I have to bear this because of your difficulties”. People were amazed to witness this divine and unique ordeal. How the Saints suffered for the sake of their devotees!

Their heart is softer than wax – just like butter appears, outwardly. They have selfless love for the devotees as if they are his kith and kin. Some times as devotees of Baba, we can see how much Sai took upon himself our troubles. Do we want him to take all our troubles? Can we sustain some pain in our lives so that our faith and patience will improve? It might be difficult to bear pain at times and Baba knows that. He won’t let us suffer. But we should really feel for Baba, whether we want him to take away the pain completely or ask him to give us the strength to endure this.         

Changes in Khaparde’s life:

Sai not only took away the diseases, pain in our lives but he is assisting us walk the spiritual path. He tries to find the bad habits in our psyche and eliminate them through our experiences. This is how he brings change in our lives and he influences our minds. He also wants us to adopt good habits so that we can advance in our quest. That’s why a guru is the best psychiatrist. We just have to surrender to Guru. Then only he can transform us the way we need to be. This is what exactly happened in Khaparde’s case also.

Referring to Mr. Khaparde's ambition, Baba stated that the ambition was deeply ingrained and evident in a previous life also. Baba stated that in a former birth, 'You (Khaparde) were with me for two or three years, and went into royal service, though there was enough at home to live in comfort.'

There is so much meaning behind these words. In a way we are like that too. We drifted away from the meaning of life and goal of life. But we run for momentary happiness and towards worldly objects. We want recognition and fame. Everyone has to accept our way. We thrive for praise. We know that God is in control still we want all these things in our lives. To achieve all this we run after money and power. We become slaves to pleasures and objects. All this is hindrance to progress in spiritual path. Here we have to be careful and cannot misunderstand Baba. He never said that you should not earn, work etc. All he wanted was to fulfill our role in the society with righteousness. He wanted us to develop faith and patience. He himself used to say “Allah Malik”  all the time reminding us the importance of God in our lives.

Khaparde acquired lot of fame and made himself a well-known person in the society. He enjoyed the riches of life. But Baba wanted to teach him the dispassion, devotion, knowledge about supreme, and free him from ego. He wanted him to perfect Faith and Patience. Based on these, Sai used the circumstances in Khaparde’s life to bring changes in his mind. He himself sometimes created some situations so that he can make Khaparde to adopt and learn what he wanted to teach.       

Humility and a readiness for poverty were the prerequisites for one to benefit by contacting a Samartha Sadguru. In the case of Khaparde, he (Khaparde) notes that, when his wife massaged the feet of Baba, the latter said that Dixit should give Rs. 200 to her. This at once mortified Khaparde. His pride felt wounded at the idea that he, a practicing lawyer, should be thought so low as to make his wife receive Rs. 200 from a Bombay lawyer like Dixit, though his (GSK's) funds were indeed very low and he badly required Rs.200 or more. Later he understood that the Rs. 200 was only symbolical, that it meant Dixit's achievement of (1) poverty and (2) patience or contentment with his poor lot. Khaparde rebelled at this idea also. He did not want poverty. He did not go to Shirdi to remain poor forever. On the other hand he wanted to amass wealth and attain high position and Sai was his cat's paw to get at the desired things. This is where Baba wanted to teach him about dispassion and ego. In his later life this incident could have helped Khaparde family.

On one hand Sai was working on their minds and on the other hand he was doing Shaktipata (transmitting energy) through his blessings. In his diary Khaparde mentions this several times how just by looking at some body Baba was transmitting energy during the arathi times. This is the reason why Khaparde made so much progress while he was in Shirdi. He used to teach major scriptures like Panchadasi, Dasa Bodha and Yoga vasista to other people. These are not our regular scriptures and we need lot of understanding and blessing from our guru. Upasini Maharaj once said Khaparde is also my Guru in some way as he taught me all these scriptures. Here we have to understand Sai’s greatness in granting this kind of understanding so that he can teach someone. Khaparde really enjoyed the good company in Shirdi. He used to get upset whenever he got some letters from home. He used to bounce back quickly in the presence of Sai. 

After Baba’s Mahasamadhi, Khaparde lived in Amaroati and participated in the activities of Shirdi Sansthan. When Tilak met Baba, Baba told them that Tilak should retire from politics and we will get freedom through Gandhi. In August of 1920Tilak died. We learned about the book written by Bala Ganghadahr Tilak (Geeta rahasya) in Sai Satcharita. After Tilak’s death, Khaparde tried to follow his principles but adopted Sai’s teachings to change his life.

Mrs. Khaparde’s last days:     

After 1928, Laxmibai’s health began declining. Periodic attacks of fever and asthama harassed her and she was affected by inflammation of the knees with the result that she could not walk.  There is an entry in Dadasaheb’s diary of 30-4-1928 that she had headache and high fever.  The deterioration in her health thereafter was fast and medicines ceased to act.  She must have had a premonition of events to come.  She suggested that a group photograph of the family should be taken.  This was done on 11th July, 1928.  Thereafter a touching scene took place which is best described in Dadasaheb’s words.  The following is a translation of the extract from Dadasaheb’s biography in Marathi.

“While I was doing my Sandhya just before luncheon, my wife came and worshipped me in the same way in which an idol is worshipped. I was puzzled and asked her why she was doing this today when she had not done anything of the kind all these years. She said, ‘I wish to depart from the world with a peaceful mind.’ I think she has been unwell for the last few days and has given up all hope of survival. I asked her to trust in God and to submit to His will.”

The above incident did not become known to the sons and their wives until they had read the description in the diary. After the above incident Laxmibai was confirmed to bed and within eight days thereof i.e. on 20th July 1928 she passed away quietly and happily after having the darshan of her Sadguru Sai Baba.  The description of her end is best given in the words of Dadasaheb recorded in the diary for that day.

I went down stairs to see my wife.  She apparently had a bad night, but appeared calm and collected.  At the suggestion of my eldest son all the family bathed early and had something to eat which they could and we all watched by her bedside.  I spent the whole time practically near her bed. We removed her from the room in which she was to the chowk and laid her in front of the room allotted to our family deities. Her breathing became harder and harder but she was cool and calm and passed on at about 3-15 p.m. 

I felt overcome and could not control myself for some time. At last I got over it…… Everybody said she was very fortunate in passing away during my life time…… After we returned from the funeral I heard from my sons that my wife distributed her ornaments, clothes among her daughters-in-law and their children a few weeks ago and told that she had discharged all her assets and blessed them to be happy…. She had the darshan of her Guru…. So I think she had a fairly correct idea of passing on. She never asked for medicine and showed no anxiety to be cured. She passed away very happily and I have no doubt she is very happy now.”

He portrayed this incident in his diary as it happened.

The last days of Khaparde:

Khaparde wrote almost 45 diaries in his life time. His diaries were of size 12.5 “ long and 8” wide. He used each page as a day. He carried this diary with him all the time. He used to write even at midnight some times. After a while he wrote next day in the morning. He wrote diary every day except a day before his death and on the day he died. He died on July 1^st 1938 with Sai’s name in his mouth and thinking about Sai.

We really owe Khaparde for his documentation of Sai’s stories in his diary. So many parables of Baba came in to light. We are all blessed to listen to these kind of stories.

OM SAI RAM!