Thursday, June 11, 2009

FEW INFORMATION FROM M. B. REGE'S LETTER

FEW INFORMATION FROM M. B. REGE'S LETTER

Let me first say that if you got the impression that I personally witnessed the miracle of Baba going up a plank to sleep, it is incorrect. As far as I recollect, I told you that my Revered brother Shri Dasganu Maharaj had told me about it. There was no question of peeping through because Baba slept in the open Masjid and Shri Dasganu told me that he had stood in the open space in front of the Masjid to find how Baba went up; and that he saw Baba either on the floor or on the plank. I told you that Shri Dasganu would not invent a story and that I believed him as though I had been with him myself.

My information about the criminal case in which Baba gave evidence is that a person from Shirdi committed theft of gold ornaments. He was put up for trial and his defense was that Baba had given him the ornaments. A summon was issued to Baba and later a warrant was also ordered. On a petition by some devotees and others, the magistrate agreed to His examination on commission. Baba said people called him Sai, His father was Allah, and his residence everywhere and asked about the ornaments, it is said that He replied, "who else gives things". The magistrate accepted his statement as of a person who was one with God but held that the accused was guilty and sentenced him to imprisonment. When the people told Baba about the sentence, He said, "Who gave the sentence, He who gave the ornaments also gave the sentence".

Shri Radhakrishna Ayee once told me that she was three years senior to me. I met her in 1910, when I was 22. She came from Ahmednagar to Shirdi according to her statement in 1907. She did not cook food for Baba until about 1911 when devotees celebrated some occasion like Guru Poornima when her room was used for her and the devotees cooking food. Otherwise as far as I know she did not cook even for herself because she used to get her food out of Baba's Bhiksha. After 1912 a part of the Bhiksha was sent to her and for me when I was there since I was also asked not to take food elsewhere.

To my knowledge she did not go in front of Baba nor sing bhajan in front of him. Whenever I visited Shirdi she and I with occasionally one or two others used to wash the floor of the Masjid when Baba went to the Lendi and just, two months before she passed away in 1917, she came out after washing the Masjid, put her head on the open verandah where Baba used to wash himself in mornings and apparently went into a trance. Baba returned from the Lendi and patting her on the back said, "Ramkrishni, why are you worry when I am there". She started and ran away to her house. That was the only occasion when I saw Baba saying anything to her personally but on a number of occasions I found Baba having a sort of telepathic communication with her.

(Our grateful thanks to Sri. K. Ramaswami, Past President, All India Sai Samaj, Chennai for supplying this information from Sai Sudha)

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