CHAPTER I

"It was sometime after 1910 A.D. that I went, one fine morning,to the Masjid in Shirdi for getting a darshan of Sai Baba. I waswonderstruck to see the following phenomenon. After washing Hismouth and face, Sai Baba began to make preparations for grinding wheat.He spread a sack on the floor; and thereon set a hand-mill. He tooksome quantity of wheat in a winnowing fan, and then drawing up thesleeves of His Kafni (robe); and taking hold of the peg of the hand-mill,started grinding the wheat by putting a few handfuls of wheat in theupper opening of the mill and rotoated it. I thought- ‘What businessBaba had with the grinding of wheat, when He possessed nothing andstored nothing, and as He lived on alms!’Some people who had comethere thought likewise, but none had the courage to ask baba what Hewas doing. Immediately, this news of Baba's grinding wheat spread intothe village, and at once men and women ran to the Masjid and flockedthere to see Baba's act. Four bold women, fro m the crowd, forced theirway up and pushing Baba aside, took forcibly the peg or handle intotheir hands, and, singing Baba's Leelas, started grinding. At first Babawas enraged, but on seeing the women's love and devotion, He wasmuch pleased and began to smile. While they were grinding, they beganto think that Baba had no house, no property, no children, none tolook after, and He lived on alms, He did not require any wheat-flour formaking bread or roti, what will He do with this big quantity of flour?Perhaps as Baba is very kind, He will distribute the flour amongst us.Thinking in this way while singing, they finished the grinding and afterputting the hand-mill aside, they divided the flour into four portionsand began to remove them one per head. Baba, Who was calm3and quiet up till now, got wild and started abusing them saying, "Ladies,are you gone mad? Whose father's property are you looting away?Have I borrowed any wheat from you, so that you can safely take theflour? Now please do this. Take the flour and throw it on the villageborder limits." On hearing this, the women felt abashed and whisperingamongst themselves, went away to the outskirts of the village and spreadthe flour as directed by Baba.I asked the Shirdi people - "What was this that Baba did?" Theyreplied that as the Cholera Epidemic was spreading in the village andthis was Baba's remedy against the same; it was not wheat that wasground but the Cholera itself was ground to pieces and pushed out of thevillage. From this time onward, the Cholera Epidemic subsided and thepeople of the village were happy. I was much pleased to know all this;but at the same time my curiosity was also aroused. I began to ask myself- What earthly connection was there between wheat flour and Cholera?What was the casual relation between the two? and how to reconcilethem? The incident seems to be inexplicable. I should write somethingon this and sing to my heart's content Baba's sweet Leelas. Thinkingin this way about this Leela, my heart was filled with joy and I wasthus inspired to write Baba's Life - The Satcharita.And as we know, with Baba's grace and blessing this work wassuccessfully accomplished