Baba's Help

Baba's Help

BABA'S HELP IN MARRIAGES

People now that the greatest difficulty of a family, at least a Hindu family, is to procure a suitable bridegroom for a girl. But equally, some houses amongst Hindus, and much more amongst Muslims and others, felt difficulty in getting a boy married. Help in discovering a proper match for a girl or a boy is therefore a veritable boon. We will first deal with the marriage of girls.

G.D. Pandit of Colaba was greatly troubled for inability to discover a good bridegroom for his daughter. He made a vow that if he should secure a groom in 15 days, he would start on a pilgrimage from Colaba to Shirdi to see Baba and pay his respects. Then, from distant Hyderabad a young gentleman cam of his own accord to Pandit's house, took a fancy for his daughter, and also married within 15 days.

Ganesh Keshav Rege, an Amin, and a staunch devotee of Baba, in poor circumstances had the misfortune, as he called it, of having many daughters so much so that he believed that paradise would the only place where a man would be free from the anxiety to dispose of daughters in marriages. He had succeeded in getting 3 daughters married. For his 4th daughter, he was knocking about from pillar to post and post to pillar, and could not find any suitable husband.Sometimes, success seemed to be within reach, but unkind Fate scattered his hopes to the winds at the crucial moment. In great disgust he sat his Anjangaon in deep despair. Suddenly he heard a voice: `Go to Jirapur'. The words were very loud and clear, but there was no person visible who could have uttered them. This, he thought, was Baba's Asariri Vak for his benefit. He felt that Baba had issued this order to settle the marriage problem. But how could a visit to Jirapur serve any useful purpose? There was none at Jirapur whom he knew, and he had no influence there. So, when he was lost in surprise and confusion, he got an order `Transferred to Jirapur. Go and join duty there'. This was Baba's gift. He was going to an official, an Amin there, and a Government post always carry influence with it, however low it might be. So he went and joined in Jirapur, and made enquiries about the matrimonial possibilities of that new field. He found at Soyath, a few miles from Jirapur, that there was an eligible person. He started negotiations quickly, and within a month of that Asariri Vak, his daughter was wedded.

Mr. Ganesh D. Vaidya had a daughter to be married. Repeated efforts to find a groom were failures. He was feeling very much worried. As he was sleeping one day, Baba appeared in a dream and said, `Arre, why are you anxious? Keshava Dixit has a son'. Baba showed him thefigure of that boy. Then he got up. He had never heard of Keshava Dixit or seen a boy like that shown in the dream. When he mentioned these facts to his son, the latter told him that in his office there was a Dixit, son of Keshava and a boy had the very features described by his father. They found the community to which the boy belongs was just their community, and the boy was good and willing. The marriage was then performed.

The cases of Baba's intervention after his Mahasamadhi are similar to those of his intervention and benefit before his Mahasamadhi. So, we shall describe a few post – Mahasamadhi cases of help. A poor orphan girl had innumerable obstacles in finding a match for herself. She was advised to make a pious study of Dabolkar's Sai Sat Charitra, which is called, Sai Ramayana. She sat before Baba's picture and started that study. The next day someone came and saw her at the parayana, took interest in her, made the necessary enquiries, and married her within a week.

This had parallel in Madras, which will be mentioned later. But we will first mention the remaining Maharashtrian cases. Gopal Ganesh Shirian, an ardent devotee of Baba, had entered into a "gentleman's agreement" with a friend that Shirian's daughter should wed his friend's son, after both of them completed their education. The agreement was made in 1924. As he has passed, the boy's progress in collegiate education raised his value in the marriage market, and hisfather resiled from the agreement and was entering into negotiations with other persons who would give a good karini, that is a high bridegrooms price. When Shirian heard of this, he went before Baba's picture and gave vent to his sorrow. Sai in a dream gave him assurance `Do not worry yourself. I will get the same boy for your son-in-law in two years' time'. Meanwhile so many proposals were being made for that amount of karini and this amount of karini, which were all for above the capacity of poor Shiriyan to pay. But each one of these negotiations of his friend fall through for some reason or other, and at the end of two years, the boy felt ashamed and told hisparents that they had broken the gentleman's agreement for no benefit at all and had only lost their reputation by their mercenary efforts. At last, the friend confirmed the original pact, and the marriage was celebrated in two years as fixed by Baba.

Another interesting case is that of a sister of Mr. Moreshwar Balakrishna Chouhan. In 1923, a certain gentleman had come and seen that lady, and expressed himself satisfied, and said that a formal letter of acceptance would be sent by him to complete the contract in a week. But many weeks passed, and for nearly six months no letter of acceptance came. Mr. Chouhan's mother was despairing of hearing from that gentleman at all. One night she approached portrait of Baba that she daily worshiped and told Baba, `You use your miraculous powers for the sake of all and sundry. Why not give it us? My daughter is still a spinster, and my mind is greatly worried/ If you have any power, then I must get a reply approving of the match by to-morrow.' Then she went to sleep. That night she dreamt that the following morning (9.00 a.m.), while she was serving food to her son to send him to office, the post man dropped the letter of acceptance from thehesitating party. She forgot all about it till breakfast time the next day. And only then she remembered the dream and mentioned it to her son. Her girl was married.

Now we shall come to Madras cases. One Ethirajammal is an ardent devotee of Saibaba, and she had two daughters of whom one was marriageable age, but there was very difficulty in finding a match, expenses of the marriage and the cost of presents to made. So they prayed to Baba. Luckily a groom agreed to marry her daughter and a contractor came to the Sai Samaj, Mylapore, behind which she was living, and offered to help. A programme was fixed upon, and Rs.1700was the amount required for the performance of the marriage. This sum was not with her family but the contractor came to Samaj, learnt of their condition, and was kind enough to promise Rs.1700 for the marriage. So, arrangements were being made for the marriage, and whenit was just a few days before the date fixed for the marriage, suddenly the mind of contractor changed. He said that he could not and would not give even a pie. The girl came with her parents to the Samaj thoroughly disconsolate. It was a Thursday bhajan, and she sang in heart-trending tones the well known bhajan song. What, Baba, are you testing us still? It was so heart-melting that Sri B.V.N. Swamy, the President, who was present, earnestly appealed to Baba to help the poor lady. Then they went away. Next morning another contractor came to the Samaj and learning about their pitiable condition at once provided the money. He wrote out a cheque for Rs.2000 odd and placed it in the hands of the President and asked him to give it to the girl. The marriage of the girl was celebrated in the Sai Mandhir

(Sai's Help, by His Highness Pujyasri B V Narasimahswamiji)