"SAI ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE" by P. V. Satyanarayan Sastry B. A.

"SAI ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE"

The devotees could never approach Baba unless he
meant to receive them If their turn did not come,
Baba did riot remember them. ('SRI SAI SATCHARITA')

Saint Purandaradas is a household name in South India.
He is the grand father of Karnatac Music, while Saint
Thyaga-raju is considered the father of that form of
music.

The original name of Purandaradas was Srinivas Nayakar.
!-'He-was a multi-millionaire carrying on business in gold
and dia­monds. He was a confirmed miser. He spent his
life in business and never for a second, thought of God.
By the accumulation of merit of many previous births, his
turn for acceptance by the Lord came. Panduranga (Vithal)
of Pandharapur came to him, one day, as a Brahmin and
requested him for charity for perfor­ming the marriage of his
daughter. Srinivas asked him to come the next day. When
the Brahmin turned up the next day, Srinivas asked him to
come on the morrow. Thus the Brahmin was made to
come daily to Srinivas for six months. The Brahmin at last
approached the wife of Srinivas and told her of his plight.
The generous- wife presented the Brahmin with her
diamond nose-ring worth some thousands of rupees. The
Brahmin took the nose­ring to Srmivas and offered it for
sale. Srinivas immediately recognised it as his wife's
and striking the bargain asked the Brahmin to-come the
next day for the-money. He kept the nose­ring in- his
iron safe and locked it up and went home and asked
his wife for the-nose-ring. The wife, who knew the
temperament of her husband, went inside a room and
wanted to end her life by taking diamond poison.
Accordingly she prepared the poison and was on the
point of swallowing'it, when Loj something fell into the
cup making sound. when she put her hand into the cup
she found her own nose-ring. Tears of gratitude flowed
from her eyes profusely and she heartily thanked the
Lord for the timely succour. She took the nose-ring
and gave it to her husband. The husband was frightened.
He immediately ran to his shop, opened the iron safe and
found the nose-ring missing. He was all the more dumb
founded. He went home and asked his wife to tell the
truth. The wife narrated everything in detail. The mental
eye of Srinivas was opened. He now realised that the
Lord himself came in the form of the Brahmin to redeem
him. He recollected how he spent this precious human
life in fleeting pleasures of the flesh and money. He was
now a changed man by the grace of the Lord. He gave
away his enormous wealth in charity to the poor and
became a begger. He, with his wife, wandered from
place to place singing the glory of Lord Vithal living
on a begger's food. He brought the Lord numerous
homes and created spiritual atmosphere wherever he
went. He occupies a prominent place in the galaxy of
the devotees of Lord Panduranga (Vithal.)

Balasaheb Bhate spent his life even as a student in a
wild manner. He was a confirmed "Charvaka" (atheist)
having the motto "Eat, drink and make merry for,
tomorrow we may die" which happens to be the essence
of Charvaka Philosophy. He became, in course of time,
the Mamlatdar of Kopergoan and earned the reputation
of an honest and efficient officer. He was loved by the
English Collectors and Commissioners of the day. Several
friends of his, became devotees of Sainath. On their way
to Shirdi, they used to stay with Bhate for the night or for
a day. Bhate used to scoff at them for their devotion to
Sai. The fri­ends used to remonstrate. "If you only go to
Sai, you will come to know what he is. Without seeing
Him, without knowing Him, why should you criticise Sai
and laugh at us". Bhate never took their remonstrances
seriously and indulged in reveling i>ai and His devotees
whenever an opportunity afforded. Things were going on
like this for some-time, turing the course of his official
tour of his Taluq, Bhate once happened to camp at
Shirdi. Out of curiosity, with no serious purpose, he
went to Dwaraka Mayi and sat before Sai. Sai, all of a
sudden, covered his head with cloth. Bhate was at
once transformed. All his vasanas and .samskaras
(uatencies) were completely eradicated. He became a
devotee of Baba and spent his life at the feet of Baba.
As one affected by religious melancholia, he was
prematurely retired and granted a pension by the then
ruling Britishers. It is this Bhate that argued with
Hemadpant of pre-destination as against free will.
Bhate performed the obsequies of Baba along with
Upasani Baba, after his Mahasamadhi. Every friend
and acquaintance of Bhate was surprised at the
transformation of this virtual Char-vaka into a great
and staunch devotee of Baba. This transfor­mation
took place while Baba was in his mortal soil Baba
similarly effected transformation in the case of a
con­firmed atheist some thirty six years after his
Mahasamadhi.

(to be contd....)
P. V. Satyanarayan Sastry B. A.

Retired Tahsildar, GUNTUR 1 (A. P.)

(Source Shri SaiLeela May 1975
this magazine can be read at www.saileelas.org