Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Abdul Baba the man in service of Sai Baba in Shirdi


Abdul Baba was son of Sulatan of Naded in Khandesh. Abdul Baba visited Shirdi in 1889 and served Sai Baba uptill Sai Baba left his physical body in 1918. Even after then Abdul use to live in the Samadhi Temple, then called Buti Wada and serve the tomb of Sai Baba.

The story of visit to Shirdi for the service of Sai Baba is amazing as most other events that took place then in Shirdi.

Abdul was under a Sufi Fakir named Amiruddin of Naded and in service of him. Sai Baba appeared to Amiruddin in dreams, as he did and still does to so many of his devotees to help them in both the ways, temporal and spiritual. This time though he appeared in Fakir Amiruddin's dream for the spiritual uplift of his then server Abdul. Sai Baba in the dream gave two ripe mangoes to him and ask him to send, Abdul with those fruits to him in Shirdi. When Amiruddin woke up he found the two fruits delivered by Sai Baba materialized on his bed. According to the dream, he sent Abdul with the two fruits to Shirdi, telling him about his dream.

Accordingly, Abdul at the young age of around 18 years went to Shirdi with the fruits where Sai Baba welcomed him with the words "My crow has come" ( mera kavala ala). In the book Shirdi Sai Baba in the light of Sufism, is given the explanation of this enigmatic statesman of Sai Baba.

'It states that, birds, however, are often used in Sufi poetry for the symbolic imagery, so that mention of dove,falcon, crow, etc. will evoke a particular image or quality.'

It is to be noted that Abdul Baba all through his life was to serve Sai Baba, and was given much mundane activities for the same. He used to keep the five lamps in Masjid (Dwarkamai) constantly filled with oil. He also and was the only one to go with Sai Baba in the Lendi garden every morning with Sai Baba, where he had to take care of the permanently burning lamp lit by Sai Baba, which was then protected by pieces of metal sheets. He also used to fill the pots with water and put them near Sai Baba near the lendi lamp. Abdul said that he never saw Sai Baba gazing at the lamp there and Sai Baba used to sit behind the Lendi pillar, which enclosed the lamp and not in front. According to Abdul Baba,Sai Baba would sit near the water filled pots and would pour water in all directions. In book Lord Meher it says

" Sai Baba of Shirdi once explained that he contacted his spiritual agents on the inner planes during his lendi ceremony. It is said that a Perfect Master or the Avatar is doing work specifically on the gross level during the relieving of his bowels."

Also included in the service was cleaning the streets, Abdul Baba said in the interview taken by Narasimhaswami, Said, " I swept the the mosque, the Chavadi and surrounding places, lit the lamp in these places, fed the them and the Lendi lamp with oil. I merely not swept the village streets but also removed night soil(excrement). Baba called me Halalkoor (scavenger) and 'my miriambi'. "

Sai Baba had called him by the name of crow as he knew the work to be done by Abdul Baba.

Sai Baba did much to spiritually elevate Abdul Baba, that will be written in next post. Also about the names given this was not the only case. Sai Baba had welcomed Dabholkar with the name of Hemadpant(a welknown scholar,an author of works related to spirituality and inventor of new methods of account), which showed that he knew that Dabholkar would be the author of a gem of spirituality Sri Sai Satcharitra which is blessed by Sai Baba and also managed the accounts of Sai Sansthan very intelligently and nicely.

Sai Baba used to call Radhakrishna ayi as avadasha (tragic state), Radhakirshna ayi was a spiritual evolved soul who had completely surrendered her life to spirituality and also had many miraculous powers. However the time of leaving her body was quite tragic in Kopergaon district hospital.

Kakasaheb Dixit, a wealthy devotee who had went to Sai Baba for the cure of his lame leg, on seeing Sai Baba was overpowered by the spiritual ecstasy, and rather asking for the cure for laming leg asked for the cure of lame mind. He was called langda kaka (lame uncle) by Sai Baba, whose physical lameness persisted throughout his life. Dixitwada was built by Kakaheb Dixit so that he could spent most of his time in Shirdi with Sai Baba, which was also for great use for the devotees visiting Shirdi, in those times.

There are few more such names given by Sai Baba which at present does not comes to mind. Will be written in some post to come in future.

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