Purandhare Part -1

R. B. Purandhare Part 1 Telugu talk (click here)

There could be many people who can worship a Guru but people who can really love his Guru are rare to find. This is possible only if we have utmost faith and patience towards our guru. We worship different Gods with different kinds of objects, different paraphernalia. We also perform different services in the name of God. When it comes to a Guru it is very difficult to overcome the external factors like his body, dress, his appearance etc. Our mind wanders in different directions. This love we are talking about is beyond external appearance.

If we want to love someone we have to cross the external factors and see their inner beauty. This kind of love is permanent. We want to love Baba! Then we have to know him and read about him. We always have to think about him. We have to experience his presence. Then only that ultimate love will burst out.

Of all the devotees of Sai, Purandhare was the one who established this kind of love. When it comes to love, he is not inferior to any of the Sai devotees. In fact he is the foremost of all of them and even Baba mentioned this. Purandhare’s full name is Raghuvir Bhaskar Purandhare. He was very ordinary person with a modest life. His emotions will flow freely and he expresses his anger or love with lot of emotion. He always had the urge to meet saintly people. He was leading his life as a head clerk. He had a wife, mother, a brother and a daughter. His monthly salary was only 35 rupees. He had to survive and take care of his family with this income.

Sri Pujya B.V Narasimha Swami gave us some details about Purandhare. Purandhare gave an interview to Pujya Swami ji in 1936. Purandhare was 60 years old at that time. He was born in Bramhin family and his father’s name was Bhaskar Purandhare. He lived in Bandhra. He named his residence as Sainath ashram.  Some of the details came in to light through Sai leela Magazine.

First meeting with Baba:

Purandhare heard about Sai Baba for the first time in 1909 and went to see him. He was always desirous of association with Sadhus-saintly people. He heard he was a Saint, so he felt attracted to Baba. Sai appeared in his dream and called him to Shirdi. He fixed upon a certain day to leave for Shirdi, and if we see what he did, we will see exactly what love does. He was naturally to go with his wife and mother. But his young child was unwell and the mother thought that it was foolish to risk taking a little child with fever for such a great distance. He decided to leave inspite of his mother’s protest.

He took his wife, child, and his mother with him to Shirdi. He remained there (first visit) for thirteen days. On the third day of his visit, the child got alright. Baba did not permit him to go back till the thirteenth day. He did not ask him about any matter. Perfect faith was instilled in Purnadhare’s mind. He felt so much love towards Baba. When Purandhare’s mother told Baba to look after him, Baba’s reply was, “I have known him for generations. I have guarded him from his infancy in front and behind. I will not eat even a bit of food without him”. That is, as much as to say that Baba remembered the love between Purandhare and himself in former lives.

Here Purandhare had lot of issues like his child’s ill health, his mom’s protest, his financial situation etc. The burning enthusiasm of his love for Baba bore down all considerations of ordinary precautions or medial advice and they did go. His love was accompanied by intense faith. So, Baba justified his faith and his love in what followed. When the child was taken with an illness to Shirdi, it quickly regained health instead of suffering. As devotees of Sai we need to understand this love factor. How it proliferated unconsciously. 

As stated rightly in Bhagavadgita:

Purvabhysena Tenaiva Hriyate Hyavasopi sahah,

Jignasurapi Yogasya Sabdha Brahmati Varthathe

Purva Vasanas (Past impressions), that is, traits in the soul existing in previous births follow one in subsequent births also.

Baba’s teachings during the first visit:

 He told me to continue my previous Upasana. I was and am fond of worshipping Vishnu and of prayers. I continued the same. He asked me several times for Rs. 2 only. Once I asked him what for he asked always for Rs. 2. He then said " It is not these Rupees I want. I want Nishta, le., concentrated faith and Saburi (patience)." I re­plied I had given these-faith in him and was patiently await­ing progress. He told me to keep up Nishta and to be strict and anxious to fulfil all promises I made. "You should have truth always with you. Then I will be always with you, wherever you are and at all times." I promised to try my best and wanted his help for controlling my mind. "Please get that done by me" I told him. He agreed. All this was at my very first visit.

Owning house- Baba’s persistence:

Sai taught modesty but in case of Purandhare he insisted that he needs to build a house. He was a poor clerk and had no worldly financial ambitions. He was living as a tenant in some house and had to face a lot of trouble in consequence. The idea that a clerk on Rs. 35 monthly salary could purchase a plot of land and build a bungalow on it was so queer that Purandhare could not think of it. When Purandhare came to Shirdi, Baba told him definitely, ‘Bhav, you had better buy a plot of land and build a bungalow on it’. Purandhere naturally thought it was beyond his means, and he could not act upon it. Baba was impatient.

When Purandhare went to him again and again without building the house, Baba got provoked and even threw stones at him. Baba told others, for instance, Bade Baba, to go and tell this R.B. Purandhere, whom he called ‘Ram Bhav’, ‘Ask that man whether he thinks me to be a man or a beast? Why does he not act on my words?’ When Bade Baba came and asked Purandhare and found out what Baba’s advice was, he also thought that it was not a question of practical politics for this Rs.35 clerk to buy land and build a bungalow on it. Baba also complained to both Nana Chandorkar and Kaka Dixit  about this idea. When Nana Chandorkar went to Purandhare and asked him what Baba referred to, Purandhare frankly told him the situation. Then Nana went back at once to Baba’s feet and said, ‘this matter is beyond his means; if you so desire, we will build a house for him and give it to him’. Baba’s reply was most remarkable, he said, ‘I do not want anybody else to pay for it’. There is a lot of money of this Ram Bhav in My Sirkar and I alone will enable him to build. Nana could not understand how this Sirkar was going to work, and there the matter seemed to end. But Baba kept on digging into Purandhare.

At last it occurred to Purandhare that he might get at least a site. There were plenty of sites available at Bandra. A site in a place far away from popular quarters would be fairly cheap. Anyhow even that price was unavailable. At once that friend instead of saying anything else came and placed the money before him so that he could at once take the plot. Purandhare asked whether he should execute a document for the money and what interest he should pay. That friend declined to have any document or any terms. He simply said, ‘Go on; build, Let every other thing wait’. Purandhare then bought the land and secured the title deed for the land. So he had taken one step in the direction in which Baba wanted him to move. But it is one thing to have a site and a totally different thing to have a bungalow built on it. Those who have built bungalows know to their cost that actual building far exceeds the original estimate. Purandhare was faced with further difficulties. He did not build. But when he went up to Baba without building it, Baba got angry with him and found fault with him for everything and for nothing. The conduct of Baba seemed to be to others most unaccountable.

It occurred to him that the office lent to the establishment some sums for building purposes for building a tenement. So he applied and got from his office a sum of Rs. 500 and got ready some materials like bricks, etc., for building the bungalow. He was too unwell to look to the building. So his brother went up and looked after the building work. Quick building is jerry building and is bound to have serous defects. The wada or bungalow that was put up in the course of a month by Purandhare’s brother was built so hastily that in a short time, in a year or so, there were cracks on the walls. It must be remembered that the building was built on agricultural land without any settu or hard foundation. Evidently the hasty foundations laid for this wada were insufficient to keep the walls together and in perpendicular position. So cracks developed. Anyhow it was built rapidly in a month, and Purandhare with his orthodox ideas wanted to do Vastupuja himself on the building before occupying it. So he went up and did Vastupuja and strangely enough, only after he went and occupies this bungalow, his neuralgic headache ceased.

Here is a strange instance of Baba’s Love forcing a man to get a bungalow when he could hardly afford it. There were other defects besides this jerry building. The site was a lonely site in the midst of a waste. There were no neighboring houses to give one safety of company. Purandhare was simply afraid of that, with young wife and child at home, things were not safe, especially when he went away to his office. Baba told him however, ‘Don’t you be afraid. I am there guarding your wife all the time’. This was found to be true, because, though Baba’s form was not always seen, no danger befell this family living a solitary life in the midst of a waste.

This is one good instance of Baba’s forcing benefit on those whom he loved and loves. Baba’s conferring of benefit could be found in every direction.

Baba saving Purandhare’s wife from Cholera and dangers of pregnancy:

Few days after he built his new house, Purandhare’s wife got an attack of cholera and the doctor gave her up as hopeless. She had severe case of diarrhea and became very weak. Then Purnadhare did not know what to do. He goes out side and sees Baba at the side of Datta Mandir in front of my Dadar house and Baba ordered him to give the Udhi and Tirtha. He goes inside and gave her the Udhi and Tirtha. Half an hour later, she had recovered sufficient warmth and the doctor felt hopeful of her recovery and she recovered. The Doctor felt shocked and asked the family about the medicine that she got. They told him it was Baba’s udhi and tirtha.  

Another time Purandhare’s wife was pregnant and she became dangerously sick. Baba appears in her dream applies Udhi (Sacred ash) on her body. She immediately wakes up form the sleep and starts telling people that Baba came and applying fresh Udhi from the Dhuni and my body is warm. After that she became healthy with out any major issues. She reportedly saw Baba several times in her dreams.

Baba appearing as Vittal to Purandhare’s Mother:

 Purandhare used to love his mother so much. In 1913 she felt like going to Pandharpur to have a glimpse of Vittal. She asked Purandhare to take her for a visit. Purandhare did not tell Baba about this issue. When his mother came to see Baba, he immediately asked her “Mother when are you going to Pandharpur? Then Baba appeared as Vittal to both Purandhare’s mother and wife. He gave dharsan as vittal along with his consort Rukmini. They became ecstatic. Baba later asked the mother about going to Pandharpur. She said “Baba this is our Pandharpur. My God is right here”.