Do not eat and excrete this .

Dear readers
Efforts are being made to write about close devotees of Baba and about their association with baba. .How each devotee had Babas influence in their life ,what were the ways Baba associated with each one of them .

The most important thing is we shall also come to know Baba's nature in detail .

Of so many devotees ,one such close devotee was Bayyaji Apaji Patel. He was Land owner and Revenue and Police Patel of Biragaon, residing at Shirdi .He was blessed soul of Baba as described below .Bayajis name is mentioned in the Holy book Shri Sai Satcharitra .

Bayaji knew Baba since His babyhood days as his house was one of the houses from which Baba took Bhiksha from the time Baba came to Shirdi till the end.

Baba would go for bhiksha to their house 8 times during the day and beg for His bread which kept going till 3 years.

Than in next 3 years Baba visited their house 4 times a day.

Than 2 times a day for 12 years,and last 12 years he visited once a day.

When Bayaji was 7 year he started serving Baba and during that year Ramnavami –Urus started (1896) ,during this time Baba allowed Hindus to apply sandal ,allowed pooja to him and Moslems to read Koran before Him in the Masjid.

Ramanavami Urus celebration began. It was then that Baba began to allow Hindus to affix sandal or to do pooja to him and moslems to read Koran before him at the masjid. This Urus was started by Appa Kulkarni out of gratitude to Baba for his acquittance in the embezzlement charge .When Hindus affixed sandal paste to Baba, the latter applied sandal marks with the hand (Punja marks) on the walls of the Masjid and other Moslems did the same. Baba then applied sandal paste to Mahalsapathy's forehead and Moslems.

Mahalsapathy also applied sandal to Baba's fore­head.

Baba then allowed Namaz to go on at the mosque and enjoined silence on all others while Namaz was going on. Baba Himself recited the Namaz sometimes. That was only on Saturdays.

When Pedas or other sweets were brought to Baba, He uttered the Kalama (which is the same as Fatia) over the sweets etc., and then distributed them to all - Hindus and Moslems alike. Baba finding that Hindus and Moslems would have differences as to the way and manner of celebrating the Urus allowed Sandal Panja to be put on all - Hindus and Moslems alike.

Bayaji's father , Nana Sahib Chandorkar, Tatya Patel and others, all bore the expenses of the celebration.

One day, when Bayaji was 11 years old (1901-2) Baba stopped HIM from going away to tend cattle. Then He sud­denly spoke angrily at Bayaji and others, and broke four earthern pots . He blew "Bum Bum" on the back of His hand - indicating that death or some inauspicious event was com­ing. This was at 9 A.M. or 9-30 A.M.

That night Bayaji's father's sister's son Daji Kote, aged 30 died of fever.

During the last 14 years of Baba's life, He gave Bayaji daily 4 rupees. Even on His last (Samadhi) day, He gave Bayaji four rupees. As to the use of His gift, Baba once told Bayaji neither to lend the moneys He gave, nor make a gift of them.

"Do not eat and excrete this. Do not give it away to others."

So Bayaji invested it in pur­chases of land and he purchased 84 acres of land out of Baba's gifts. More shall be written in next post .

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