CONFERRING BENEFIT – Even you don't like, Baba will impose on you
When Baba, with His wonderful powers loved Purandhare, He could not endure the idea of this good fellow being ill-treated by all those whom he had to contact in occupying a rented house. So, the firstthing that struck Baba was that He should make this poor clerk own a bungalow of his own. The idea that a clerk on Rs. 35 monthly salary could purchase a plot of land and build a bungalow on it was so queerthat Purandhare could not think of it. Yet, very early in his contact with Baba, Baba told him definitely, `Bhav, you had better buy a plot of land and build a bungalow on it'. Purandhere naturally thought itwas beyond practical politics, and he could not act upon it. Baba was impatient. When Purandhare went to Him again and again without building the house.
Love endureth all things. Love does not blame. Love does not find fault. So he quietly endured without offering a word of explanation. Then Baba treated him in a different way. Having exhausted the threats and abuses, Baba inflicted on him, by His own mysterious means, a severe neuralgic headache, which Purandhare went on enduring, nights and days.
Once Bade Baba came and asked Baba to give Purandhare some palliative, Baba simply said, `That fellow would not listen to me'. Then Bade Baba said, `He is working heart and soul in your service.So kindly give him some treatment'. No treatment given to Purandhare would give him relief. It was not Baba's idea to give him relief till he finished his building. So all the time he stayed at Shirdi, he suffered intense pain. He was asked to go back his home and carry on his work. Purandhare went home fully convinced that this headache inflicted by Baba would only cease, as Baba said, after he built the house. How is he to get the money?
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
Now let us examine this method of exhibiting love. When we have a person, we want to confer benefits. Baba loved Purandhare and was conferring a bungalow on him. But in what way? By first violent abuse, threats and finally by inflicting prolonged pain, which was hard to endure. Anyone else other than Purandhare would have doubted whether the game was worth the candle, whether it was worthwhilegetting a bungalow after enduring all this trouble and taking the burden of loans, which he could only repay very slowly on account of his very low pay. Yet Purandhare, being a sincere enthusiastic lover,never questioned Baba's kindness or omniscience or guardianship of himself and family and never complained to anybody. When he was in the worst pangs of head ache, he simply wrote to Radhakrishna Ayi, "Tell mother Baba that I am unable to endure this pain and that he must kill me and take me to his feet or cure me"" But what could poor Ayi do? Baba was adamant and had his own way and did succeed in making a petty clerk own a bungalow and that too in double quick time. This is one good instance of Baba's forcing benefit on those whom he loved and loves. Baba's conferring of benefit could be foundin every direction.
When Baba, with His wonderful powers loved Purandhare, He could not endure the idea of this good fellow being ill-treated by all those whom he had to contact in occupying a rented house. So, the firstthing that struck Baba was that He should make this poor clerk own a bungalow of his own. The idea that a clerk on Rs. 35 monthly salary could purchase a plot of land and build a bungalow on it was so queerthat Purandhare could not think of it. Yet, very early in his contact with Baba, Baba told him definitely, `Bhav, you had better buy a plot of land and build a bungalow on it'. Purandhere naturally thought itwas beyond practical politics, and he could not act upon it. Baba was impatient. When Purandhare went to Him again and again without building the house.
Love endureth all things. Love does not blame. Love does not find fault. So he quietly endured without offering a word of explanation. Then Baba treated him in a different way. Having exhausted the threats and abuses, Baba inflicted on him, by His own mysterious means, a severe neuralgic headache, which Purandhare went on enduring, nights and days.
Once Bade Baba came and asked Baba to give Purandhare some palliative, Baba simply said, `That fellow would not listen to me'. Then Bade Baba said, `He is working heart and soul in your service.So kindly give him some treatment'. No treatment given to Purandhare would give him relief. It was not Baba's idea to give him relief till he finished his building. So all the time he stayed at Shirdi, he suffered intense pain. He was asked to go back his home and carry on his work. Purandhare went home fully convinced that this headache inflicted by Baba would only cease, as Baba said, after he built the house. How is he to get the money?
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
Now let us examine this method of exhibiting love. When we have a person, we want to confer benefits. Baba loved Purandhare and was conferring a bungalow on him. But in what way? By first violent abuse, threats and finally by inflicting prolonged pain, which was hard to endure. Anyone else other than Purandhare would have doubted whether the game was worth the candle, whether it was worthwhilegetting a bungalow after enduring all this trouble and taking the burden of loans, which he could only repay very slowly on account of his very low pay. Yet Purandhare, being a sincere enthusiastic lover,never questioned Baba's kindness or omniscience or guardianship of himself and family and never complained to anybody. When he was in the worst pangs of head ache, he simply wrote to Radhakrishna Ayi, "Tell mother Baba that I am unable to endure this pain and that he must kill me and take me to his feet or cure me"" But what could poor Ayi do? Baba was adamant and had his own way and did succeed in making a petty clerk own a bungalow and that too in double quick time. This is one good instance of Baba's forcing benefit on those whom he loved and loves. Baba's conferring of benefit could be foundin every direction.
This Purandhare had a lot of financial difficulties and official troubles. He knew so little of how to provide for every contingency. Baba anticipated everything and gave him mysterious warnings in dreams and visions, and enabled him to go through all ordeals without breaking under them. We will take one example. When he went back from Shirdi to his house in Bombay, his wife contracted cholera, and therewere so many motions so as to thoroughly exhaust her. The doctor who came and examined her found the pulse feeble and the breath very slow. So he gave up hope and went away. But Purandhare was not the man to give up hope and faith. He knew his God was the Shirdi Sai and with the fullest faith, he went about and found Baba suddenly standing in front of the Maruti temple near his house. Baba told him.`Don't be afraid; give her udhi and tirtham' and disappeared. Purandhare acted boldly on that advice. He had udhi with him, took up some tirtham and mixed up the two, administered that cold water to the patient. Some others got frightened and said that he should not do this, as it would aggravate the disease. But Purandhare's faith in Baba was unshakable and he did give this mixture. With what result?In an hour's time, the sick lady had drunk up all the water and after a little time her breath began to revive strongly. Her body heat began to revive also. Her facial expression improved very much. When the doctor came thereafter, he said that he noticed a very remarkable change for the better and that there was much hope of the patient's recovery. He asked what was the medicine given to her. Purandhare's reply was `Nothing but udhi and tirtham'.
Courtesy: HH Pujyasri B. V. Narasimha Swamiji
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