NACHNE Part - 2

నాచ్నే 2

Baba saving Nachne from a mad man:

During S. B. Nachne’s 1913 visit, Baba said, “We should not trust mad man’, to a group in which Santaram was present. Santaram did not think that the remark applied to him. But next year, it was seen by Santaram to be a forewarning aimed to him. He was then posted at Dahanu as Treasury Master. He was at home doing Pooja to Baba’s photo and other gods. Then one Radhakrishna Balwant Panse, whose mind was deranged, was standing at the door of the kitchen room, some distance away from the pooja room. He was thought to be harmless. But when the pooja went on, the man suddenly darted into the pooja room and grasped Santaram’s neck with both his arms and tried to bite Santaram’s throat saying, “I will drink your blood”. Santaram was thunderstruck. But a thought entered him, evidently by Baba’s Grace. Taking out the uddharani spoon he thrust it into the open mouth of the man and right into his throat. The mad man however bit Santaram’s hand and fingers, which were in his mouth. The spoon got stuck up in the throat. Though the fingers were hurt, his life was saved. When, with the other hand Santaram tried to extricate the injured hand, his mother and others rushed and pulled off the mad man. Meanwhile, Santaram lost consciousness. After a time, he recovered. But the nails of the mad man had dug into the flesh of his neck and left injuries thereon. He had been nearly strangled to death, but luckily escaped death. The injuries on the fingers were healed. 

The same year when he went to Baba, Baba addressed Anna Chinchinikar, and pointing to Santaram, said, “Anna, if I had delayed one instant, this man would have indeed perished. The mad man seized with his hands even his throat. But I extricated him. What is to be done? Of I do not save my own children, who else will?”

The words ‘I extricated’ in Baba’s statement showed his extreme kindness and love towards devotees. Baba’s statement, I extricated him, shows his command of all the siddhis. This extrication was first through Santaram’s own idea of putting the uddharani into the mad man’s mouth and next through the timely presence of his mother and others pulling off the mad man. So, here Baba’s statement that he had acted through the Indriyas of Santaram and his mother. This is the siddhi called Prapti mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavata as one of God’s Ashta Mahasiddhis. Baba had any number of siddhis at his disposal. He himself had said, ‘God has agents everywhere, they have vast powers. I have very great powers’. He used these powers to save his children.

Baba protecting Nachne from a Tiger:

In 1915, another instance occurred to Baba’s grace and protection. Santaram with H.M Panse and others were travelling in a bullock cart at night in a dense jungle. This was at the Ranshet pass, notorious for its being infested with tigers. It was a dark night. Suddenly the bulls of the cart took fright and were moving backwards. Luckily, they were not dragging the cart sideways, as it was a hill pass, with a steep slope on one side of a narrow road. Had the bulls dragged the cart that side, it would have been all over with them. Then Panse pointed with his hand to something and Santaram saw the gleaming eyes of a tiger couching on the road. Panse wished to save the cart from being pushed into the ravine, and so wanted to get down and place big stones or sticks as a brake to the wheels. So, he asked Santaram to hold the reins of the bulls. As he held them he roared, ‘Hail Sai Baba! Run Sai Baba to our help’. The others also begin to shout and the tiger got frightened at the volume of sound and ran away by the side of their cart. So, it was faith in Baba and the courage that Baba infused in to Santaram that saved the situation.

Baba saving Nachne from a drowning accident

In 1916 Baba saved Santaram from drowning. One night, he had to return his house across a creek. There was no ferry boat there. So, he took a canoe with a boy to paddle. Just as he was in the middle of the Creek, Santaram, a rather bulky man, moved aside just a bit within the canoe; but that made a big difference and the canoe capsized. He was deep in the waters. At once he thought of Baba. The boy was a good swimmer, and he pointed to a rope which was above the water connecting a buoy with a ship at a distance, and asked Santaram to hold on to that rope. At once Santaram caught it and held on to it. Then the boy hallooed to the ship and thus got men rescue Santaram.

Two annas and candy

In 1915, after this incident, Santaram started for Shirdi. At the railway station, one V S Samant gave Santaram a coconut and two annas to buy sugar candy to be presented to Baba. When Santaram went to the Shirdi Masjid, he gave Baba the coconut, but forgot all about the two annas or the sugar candy. He asked Baba leave to go back. Baba said, '‘yes, you may go via Chitale, But why keep back a poor Brahmin’s two annas?.’  Santaram had frequent experiences like this of Sai Baba’s eye of supervision and antarjnana of everything that happened to his bhaktas everywhere. When Santaram gave the two annas, Baba said, ‘Whatever you undertake to do, do it thoroughly. Else do not undertake to do it’.  This is a very valuable instruction applicable to everyone and to all departments of life.

Baba asking for rupees 64 as dakshina

Another instance of prophecy was when Santaram with Shankar Rao Vaidya had gone to Shirdi, and Baba had asked them for Rs. 16 as Dakshina first. When they said, “We have no money.” Baba asked them for Rs. 32. Again they said, “No money”. Baba again asked them for Rs. 64. Then Nachne said. “We are poor people. We can’t afford to pay such large sums.” Then Baba asked, “Then collect and give.” This proved to be a prophecy. Sometime later (1916) Baba fell ill. A big sapta was performed for his restoration to health and subscriptions were raised for mass feeding. Then Sankar Rao and Nachne collected subscriptions at the request of Dabolkar, they found the total sum collected and sent up to be Rs.64/-.

Baba giving silver padukas to Nachne

Baba used to give some articles given by devotees to others. Usually the devotees wanted to take these objects themselves with Baba’s blessings. But Baba gave these articles to others who really he wanted to bless that day. Sometimes the articles he gave were more essential to the people he was blessing. Once in 1915 Nachne went to Shirdi along with his friend Shankar rao Vydya. Vydya brought silver padukas so that he can have them after Baba blesses them. But Baba gave these Padukas to Nachne. After a while Nachne gave them back to Vydya. But Shyama intervenes and tells Nachne to keep these Padukas. Vydya had another set of padukas and Baba did the same thing again. Then Nachne told Baba about Vydya wanting these padukas and they belong to him. Then Baba says “you keep them for now and worship them. Later you can give them to Vydya”. Nachne followed Baba’s order and gave one set of Padukas to Vydya later.

OM SAI RAM!