It is interesting to see how Baba has made these details available to us through the agency of a devotee. Lieutenant Colonel M B Nimbalkar (retired) is a Sai devotee who lives in Pune. He learnt through his friends that the Sapatnekar family, whose account was given in Chapter 48 of Sri Sai Satcharita, was also living in Pune. He got their address from the phone directory and met them on 13.9.1983. First he met Sri Dinakar, Sapatnekar's third son. From him he learnt that the eldest son, Muralidhar, who was born by Baba's grace and blessings, was also living in Pune and that by the most happy coincidence, their mother was living with him. Nimbalkar was very happy to hear this as he had not imagined that Mrs. Sapatnekar would still be alive some 65 years after Baba entered samadhi. He was ecstatic that, by Baba's grace, he was able to meet someone who had seen Baba physically and received his blessings. He looked upon this opportunity as a gift from Baba.
Mrs. Parvatibai Sapatnekar was 88 years old at the time Nimbalkar met her. She answered all his questions without any lapses of memory. This is her account of her experiences with Baba.
"I was married when I was thirteen. My husband, Sri Mahadev Waman Sapatnekar, was thirty-three years old at the time of our marriage and I was his second wife. His first wife and their only son had both passed away due to a disease of the throat. My in-laws were staying at Madhegaon at that time. However, my husband was practising law at Akkalkot, the district headquarters. My husband was very sad that his only son had died and was always unhappily thinking about him. To add to his woes, I was childless for about four to five years after getting married, so he would always be moping about with a gloomy countenance. My father-in-law then told him to visit Sri Sai Baba of Shirdi as many people had gone there and found peace.
We had heard of Baba many times from Sri Shevade, who was my husband's friend and classmate. My husband, however, had no belief in Baba and was unwilling to go to Shirdi for his darshan. As he could not disobey his father he went to Shirdi in 1913, taking his brother Panditharao along with him. He left me in my mother-in-law's place at Madhegaon before leaving for Shirdi. I had been very eager to have Baba's darshan for a long time, but in those days, even to stand in front of the husband was a great departure from tradition. To talk to him and tell him what I wanted was out of the question, so I could not tell him of my desire to go to Shirdi for Baba's darshan.
While my husband was in Shirdi, Panditharao's wife and I were sleeping in the same room. I had a divine dream. A great light flashed in front of me. I suddenly remembered that there was no water in the house and left for the Lakadshah well with a pot to get water. In those days daughters-in-law were forbidden to go anywhere unattended, so I was hurrying so that I could get the water before my father-in-law returned from court. As I neared the well, I saw a fakir standing nearby. He had a piece of cloth tied around his head and was wearing a kufni (a long shirt-like garment coming down to mid-calf). He drew near and said, "Woman! Why do you trouble yourself like this? I will fill your pot with clean water." I was scared that he might think of doing me harm. In the meanwhile, flouting all sense of decency, he lifted his kufni and squatted to urinate right in front of me. My apprehension of his mischievous intentions deepened and I thought that he might try to molest me, so I ran towards our house. He followed me repeating, "Do not run away, oh woman! You will repent later. I have come here to give you one thing." I reached home fast and slammed home the bolts and locked all the doors. He was still standing outside the house and throwing pebbles through the small window, which was open. "I want to give you one thing, oh woman," he kept saying. I did not know what to do and tried to scream for help. My dream vanished and I was awake. I woke up Panditharao's wife and asked her the time. She got up and asked me if I was unable to sleep.
I was telling my mother-in-law of my dream the following morning, when my father-in-law overheard from the next room. He walked in and wanted to know all the details. After hearing me patiently to the end he said that it must have been Sai Baba who came to me in my dream. He said that it was very auspicious that Baba had come and that it boded well for our family. While this was going on, my husband returned from Shirdi and told us the details of his trip.
It seems my husband went to the mosque and approached Baba to touch his feet and salute him. As he bent down to touch Baba's feet, Baba suddenly shouted, "Chal hut!" (Go away!) and pushed him away so hard that my husband's headdress fell a long way. My husband was woebegone and came out of the mosque. He stayed for two more days and tried to have Baba's darshan with the help of the other devotees present there, but whenever Baba saw my husband, he would shout "Chal hut!" again and would not even let him draw near. Disheartened, my husband realised that Baba's darshan and blessings were impossible, and returned to Madhegaon full of despair. He blamed his father for causing him this anguish as he had sent him to Shirdi on this fruitless venture.
The next day my father-in-law told my husband of my dream and urged him to go to Shirdi again and to take me along this time. My husband prevaricated saying that it was because I had the desire to go to Shirdi and had gone to sleep with that desire uppermost in my thoughts that that this dream had come and too much should not be read in to it. But my father-in-law was firm, "If Sri Sai Baba was angry with you there must have been some failing of yours. You should take this dream as a good augury and go to Shirdi with her. It is certain that Baba will do you good." He ordered, "Take along your elder sister-in-law too as she has only girls and no male progeny yet." My husband could not disobey his father and so we all left for Shirdi.
When we reached Shirdi Baba was just returning from Lendi Gardens. I was wonderstruck to see that it was the same fakir who had appeared in my dream. Immediately on seeing me, Baba held his stomach and bending and twisting as if in severe pain said, "Oh, my stomach, and my back; the pain, it is unbearable." I was worried for Baba and anxiously inquired of the devotees nearby what had happened to him. They told me not to worry as it was a frequent practice of Baba to take the pains of his devotees and act thus. They said that Baba took the pains and diseases of his devotees on to himself to give them relief and the devotees would become free of them as a result. I was surprised and also laughed a little at Baba for his dramatic performance in showing the pain. Ingrate that I was, I did not realise at that time that Baba in his mercy had done it all for my sake. I had been suffering from severe pain in my back and stomach for a long time and I realised only two or three months after Baba's darshan that these pains had vanished from the moment Baba had acted out his charade. I was deeply moved that Baba had taken my debilitating pain on himself, experienced it, and given me relief. I thanked him sincerely from the bottom of my heart and repented for having laughed at his pantomime at the time."
That day, we took fruit, flowers and other gifts, and went for Baba's darshan after he was seated in the mosque. My husband led the way and I followed him. The moment Baba saw my husband, he again shouted "Chal hut" as before. My husband felt hurt and sadly left the mosque. It was then my turn. I went forward and, putting my head on Baba's feet, saluted him. Baba took a handful of udi and put it all on my head. "Take! One, two, three, four!" said Baba, "Take as many as you want." I was immersed in bliss and forgot myself totally. My husband, however, was sunk in the depths of despair. All those who came to Shirdi were most joyfully having the darshan of Baba. They were happily carrying away Baba's blessings and going home in eager anticipation of good things to come. And here he was - the only blessing he got from Baba was a "Chal hut!"
My husband gave this serious thought. He realised that Baba's intransigent attitude was indeed a reflection of his own lack of faith in Baba. He remembered that when he and Shevade were studying law, Shevade had told him of Baba's power and the miracles wrought by Baba. He had then talked ill of Baba as if he was a charlatan, and had laughed at Baba and Shevade. He now sincerely repented of his behaviour and wanted to make amends. He resolved that he would not leave Shirdi without obtaining Baba's blessings and kind grace.
He got his chance a few days later. One afternoon my husband noticed that Baba was sitting alone in the mosque. He at once ran to Baba and, clasping his feet, started weeping piteously. He told Baba that he had been blind to Baba's greatness earlier and earnestly begged Baba to forgive his previous transgressions and shower his grace on him. Baba's heart melted and placing his hand on my husband's head, he blessed him and bade him sit near Him.
Meanwhile a shepherdess had walked in and sat massaging Baba's feet. Baba in his usual manner, started telling her a story. As my husband listened to the story, he was dumbfounded to realise that it was all about him. He was awed by Baba's omniscience. Pointing to my husband Baba said to the shepherdess, "This man accuses me of killing his son. Do I kill people's children? Why does he come here and start weeping? I will put the same child in the womb of his wife. Tell him to go now." My husband was ecstatic with happiness. He saluted Baba repeatedly, thanking him for showering us with his grace, and returned from the mosque."
He recounted to me all that had happened in the mosque with Baba. He said that Baba was an ocean of kindness and a realised soul. He told me to get ready for the arati with puran polies (chapatis with a sweet filling) as an offering for Baba. However, one of the priests there told us that halva would make a better offering, so we prepared some halva and took it on a plate to the mosque. After the arati, the offerings to Baba were put in front of him. Even though our plate was slightly far away, Baba bent down, and taking a handful of halva, ate it with relish. Our happiness knew no bounds. We offered our heartfelt thanks to Baba for the kindness he showed us."
The next day was a Thursday and we attended the Chavadi Festival. The glory of that festival cannot be explained in words - it has to be experienced to be known in its totality. It was a beautiful sight. The festival procession was led by devotees with various musical instruments, such as drums, cymbals and gongs. The decorated silver palanquin came next, and lastly Baba, accompanied by his devotees. One devotee held Baba's ceremonial umbrella, others held the ceremonial whisks and waved them as is done to royalty. We were told that Baba never sat in the palanquin, although sometimes the devotees lifted him forcibly and placed him in it. But the next second he would vanish and reappear on the ground, to the amazement of all the devotees present. When the devotees danced in joy, immersed in devotion to Baba, Baba would also dance, immersed in the joy of devotion. It was wonderful, the way Baba danced. He would rhythmically place now a foot forward, now a foot back, all in tune with the pulsating drums and the clashing cymbals. It was the dance of a master of the art. I can still see Baba's dance in my mind's eye. Baba's awesome glory and his effulgence was a thing to be seen and experienced during the Chavadi festival. Words could never do justice to explaining the festival or its glory. I was surprised to see the same divine aura around Baba that I saw around Panduranga in Pandaripur."
We decided to leave for Madhegaon the next day. When we were setting out for the mosque to get Baba's permission to leave, my husband said, "I have decided to give one rupee as dakshina to Baba. If he asks for more I will give him another rupee. I would like to give him more but we don't have any more money on us. So we might have to sell my ring and your bangles to raise the money for dakshina."
We went to the mosque, saluted Baba with devotion in our hearts, and asked him for permission to leave for home. Baba assented and asked for dakshina. My husband offered the rupee to Baba. Again Baba asked him for more dakshina and my husband put the second rupee in Baba's hand. Baba took it and said, "Don't worry - I won't ask you for more or you will have to sell your ring and your wife's bangles, won't you?" My husband was speechless with awe that Baba knew our private conversation. He was enchanted by the omniscience of Baba. This reverence for Baba helped to strengthen his devotion and confidence in Baba's abilities and divinity. Any remaining doubts he had about Baba vanished."
A year after that, in 1915, my elder son Muralidhar was born. We took him to Shirdi for Baba's darshan when he was eight months old. Then we had two more sons - Bhaskar and Dinakar. We took them to Shirdi for Baba's darshan too. I remember one incident of that time very well. When Dinakar was two months old we placed him in front of Baba's feet. Baba picked him up and threw him up into the air. My heart stopped with fear, but nothing happened to Dinakar. Another devotee who was sitting beside Baba caught him and handed him to us. Perhaps Baba knew in advance that the devotee would catch Dinakar, otherwise he would not have flung the child up and sat quiet, making no attempt to catch him again."
I had a total of eight sons and a daughter. Only then did I realise the full meaning of the boon granted by Baba when I went the first time to Shirdi. "Take! One, two, three, four!" said Baba at the time. "Take as many as you want." He gave me as many children as I desired.
My husband also became a staunch devotee of Baba in the course of time. His faith and devotion to Baba increased day by day. One incident will suffice to show the extent of his devotion. Our second son, Bhaskar, died when he was ten. My husband did not fall into a depression as he had when his first son died, but accepted it as the will of Baba. He took all the children to the puja room, and lining them up in front of Baba there, said, "Baba you may take all these too if you wish, but the faith and devotion I have for you will stay firm as a rock."
Smt. Parvatbai Sapatnekar finished her account of her reminiscences of Sri Sai Baba. Lt. Col. Nimbalkar next interviewed her son, Dinakar Sapatnekar. It seems the Sapatnekars were from a village called Sapatne, hence the name Sapatnekar. They then settled in the taluka headquarter village of Madhegaon. They were a family of lawyers. Their grandfather was a lawyer and so was their father, Mahadev Waman Sapatnekar, who was a prominent, successful and rich lawyer of Akkalkot.
Dinakar disclosed another interesting fact about his father. He said that his father was a devotee of Sri Datta and would frequently go to Gangapur. When his first wife and son both died, Sapatnekar was so disillusioned with life that he wanted to commit suicide by drowning himself in the river there at Gangapur. It seems Datta himself saved him from committing suicide and ordered him to Akkalkot. Then Baba drew him to Shirdi in 1913 and made him his devotee. Dinakar Sapatnekar had been employed as a judge in the service of the state of Maharashtra and was retired, being 68 years old at the time of this interview.
Nimbalkar interviewed Smt. Parvatbai Sapatnekar on 13.9.1983. She breathed her last about a month and a half later on 30.10.1983.
_Courtesy Sai Leela July 1986
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