Ramachandra Vaman Modak, B.A., Engineer, Seths' House (near Peru's gate) Sadasiv pet, Poona (Sai Leela Masik, Vol III, part 9, p.399: Udhi used to drive off snakes from the house) continues:
I had, however, my usual inclination to rely on my Vedantic and religious studies. I had also not taken to Sai with the great earnestness, which so many devotees evince. I was still very much in the world. In 1914, I had a confirmatory experience of what I had received at the hands of Sai in 1912. Another great saint gave me impressive hints of the value of Sai as a guide and of the experience he (Sai Baba) had imparted to me. A lady had asked me to go to Govind Bua at Sonegir, more especially as it lay on my way home i.e., to Dhulia. But, I had engaged a tonga to take me direct to Dhulia and fixed up a programme not providing for an intermediate halt. But, as fate would have it, the cart in which I and my cook travelled, broke down, the iron tyre came off clean and at least three hours would be needed to mend the wheel and continue the journey. The place where it broke down was Sonegir. My cook went, bathed and took darshan of the Bua and without any bidding from me asked him if I (his master) could come up for darshan. "Yes", was the answer, "let him come after a bath." So I bathed and went to him with a coconut and a rupee. Then, he said, "Hallo, you rogue, you have had a precious thing given to you. You tasted it for a while, and yet run hither and thither after worthless things." That, of course, was a reference to Sai Baba's gift to me in 1912 during those six days. I understood it in that way. He further said "In any case, you have come to our own house" and thus identified himself with Sai Baba. Thereafter, he asked me to provide biksha. "Prepare sira and puri for me". That means, I found, that I had to pay for the day's prasad or food at the Mutt. I did so. The Bua sat up for the meal at my request. We had a lota cup and filled it with water and placed it near Bua's seat. The Bua dipped his finger into the cup of water extracted from it miraculously a thin puri and ate it saying "Here also we prepare puri." The puri he brought out of cup of water was thin and nice. That prepared for the biksha was thick and rough. How puri could be extracted from a cup of water was wonder. It impressed us with his wonderful power. Such a mighty man assured me of the value of the experience I got from Sai Baba in 1912.
I had not many opportunities of seeing Sai Baba. In 1916 was my last visit to him. Then, with my wife who also had great devotion to him, I went to Baba and returned the same day. In 1919, I retired. Sai Baba is not dead. He is still as ever. It is in a strange invisible ethereal manner. I feel his guidance, direction and control in my affairs. I have felt it on many occasions. For instance, in 1919, I retired on a pension of Rs. 81-8-0. But retiring was good for me. As soon as I retired, I joined a friend in working certain mills and from 1919 up to 1930, I had a monthly income of about Rs. 250. This was Sai's provision for me.
I have always had indifferent health and actually my eyes have given me great trouble. I have lost one eye, and I am slowly developing a cataract in the other. But Sai Baba, whom I am worshipping every Thursday and remembering constantly have been looking after my interests here and hereafter. I feel no anxiety for my temporal or spiritual future. Both are in Baba's hands; and I am safe. Here is another instance of Baba's kind care for me and mine. In 1916, I was laid up with fever, cough etc., at Nasik. An old friend of mine in the medical service undertook my treatment and had prescribed chloral hydrate for my cough or bronchitis, as he diagnosed it to be. My wife had, however, a fear that my case was not so simple. She prayed to Sai Baba and sent for Col. Buckley. As soon as the Colonel came and examined me, and looked at the bottle of chlorohydrate, he took the previous doctor (who was his subordinate) to task for his poor diagnosis and declared the case to be one of pneumonia
-–double pneumonia, and threw away the chloralhydrate as harmful, before it was administered to me. Then, under his treatment and by Baba's grace, I pulled through. It was really by Baba's grace that my wife was inspired to send for an able doctor and that the wrong prescription and treatment were changed at the very neck of time – just when the wrong and harmful drug was about to administered to me.
(Written by HH pujyasri B. V. Narasimha Swamiji in Devotees Experiences on 23rd May 1936)
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