2.1- Baba’s Earliest Period

The birth of Sai Baba are covered in mystery. We have not come across a single person who has any direct knowledge of them. Sai attained his fame at Shirdi in the Bombay state by the end of the 19th Century when he was already gray. It is known that he was not a native of Shirdi. He was very young when he first came there. In the beginning he left Shirdi off and on, and returned to it. The date of his first arrival at shirdi cannot be fixed. A very old lady, the mother of Nana Chopdar, said in 1900 that when she was young she first saw Sai Baba at Shirdi, when he was a prepossessing and attractive lad without a moustache, probably in his early teens, and of whom nothing was known. That so little is known about his early life proves that even then he was leading a secluded life, a real fair not longing after the good things of the world but concentrating his attention on higher aims. He was often in solitude, not infrequently under the well known margosa tree called the Gode neem, meaning that the leaves of one of its two branches are not so bitter as margosa leaves usually are and as the leaves of the other big branch are. He had no fixed residence – real fakirs have none. He would roam about in the fields and sit at any tree-foot, and had no interest in any worldly matter. One of his later visits to Shirdi, probably the final visit, was on the momentous occasion of Chand Bhai Patel’s arrival to Shirdi. Chand Bhai Patel was a rich and influential village Patel or Headman, of Dhupkeda village in the Nizam’s State not far from Shirdi. His Wife’s nephew was to be married a bride at Shirdi, and so on in 1872, he came in the evening or night with a huge procession and Sai Baba accompanied him on that occasion from Dhupkeda to Shirdi. After that time except for two months when he was under Jawar Ali Moulana, Sai Baba never left Shirdi but only made a few occasional visits off and on to the neighboring villages of Rahata or Nimgam, from which he immediately returned to Shirdi. So his final residence was Shirdi from about 1872 till the end of his life in 1918.

He discouraged questions on his family background, and gave mostly mystifying answers. On one occasion, he said, his father was Purusha and his mother was Maya or Prakriti, and that in consequence, he came into this world of phenomena. At another time he said that his uncle had brought him to Shirdi from Aurangabad. Very late in his life, on one occasion, he revealed to Mahlsapathy the interesting fact that his parents were Brahmins of Patri in the Nizam’s State. Patri is part of Parvani taluk, near Manwath. Sai Baba added, in explanation of the fact that he was living in a Mosque, that while still a tender child his Brahmin parents handed him over to the care of a Fakir who brought him up.

This is fairly indisputable testimony, as Mahlspathy was a person of sterling character noted for his integrity, truthfulness and vairagya. All persons including Sai Baba, H.S.Dixit, and others held him in very high esteem, and none would doubt his veracity. Sai Baba occasionally showed his interest in Patri and Parvani when people from those parts came to him, by questioning them about the residents of those places. This does not throw more light on the issue. But this is all that we have about the birth and parentage of Sri Sai Baba.

But who ever his parents were it is quite important to remember that from his earliest influency he had all the associations of disassociation or detachment a true vairagi or jnani should have. Having no parents or kinsmen, and being brought up by a fakir, he easily picked up his foster-father’s vairagya and spiritual turn of mind. Even that fakir passed away within four or five years after taking charge of him. The fakir directed his wife to take the young child, Baba, and leave him in charge of a noted saintly zamindar, Gopal Rao Deshmukh at Selu. The designation Deshmukh was not meaningless in the case of Gopal Rao but denoted an actual appointment as Deshmukh of Provincial Governor for Jintur Parganna, and the title or sanad of Deshmukh had been conferred on him by the descendents of the Peshwas. The exact date of the title cannot be discovered. There are ballads and some old manuscripts in the possession of Deshmukh’s descendents which show that somewhere about the first quarter of the last century, the Peshwas recognized his military capacity which enabled him, Gopal Rao, to bring Jintur Parganna under his control with his own horsemen and other followers. Young Baba, left under the care of this Gopal Rao Deshmukh spent the best and the most impressionable part of his life at Selu which was the center of that Parganna, and which had a fort very greatly attached to his master, and the master in turn was deeply interested in the boy. Consequently the boy was with the master at all times, whether the latter was in the field or at puja, where he was in the garden or in the court. Baba seems to have no education given to him at any time, that is, no book study, and no masters either in the regional language that must have been Marathi or Telugu or in any other language. But real education of the highest sort, he had in plenty. This Deshmukh, unlike many other Deshmukhs or Zamindars of his times, was not a dissolute and sensuous person of brutal nature reveling in cruelty and violation of all moral rules or scruples. On the other hand, he was an extremely pious devotee greatly attached Tirupati Venkatesa whose image he worshipped daily in his own castle. He was rich, and liberal, and patronised learning and piety. Hence the young child Baba when attending on his master could pick up an abundance of real education. This Deshmukh’s worship of Venkatesa was not of the ordinary sort. He had direct communication with his Ishta Devata, and the guidance of the Ishta Devata in all His affairs made his life remarkable spiritual, and temporal success. He maintained his political sovereignty against all odds, and the ballads of his time show that his regiment was greatly esteemed by the Peshwas whom he helped and feared by the Muslim Nizam whom he opposed. This Deshmukh, however, spent much of his time in holy pastimes. He went round visiting holy places, and at one of those places, and at one of those places a remarkable incident took place showing his nature. He occupied, with his retainers, a haunted house. The original owner of the house had died and become a Brahma Rakshatha, who would appear suddenly at midnight and kill the occupants. But Gopal Rao, the pious worshipper of Venkatesa, was not afraid. He carried on the puja of Venkatesa, and Saligram right up to the middle of the night. The evil spirit, disheveled and hairy all over, appeared and demanded in terrific voice, “Who are you? How dare you come to my house?” Then Gopal Rao coolly replied that the statement that the house was his was a mistake when there was nothing in common between him and the materials making up the house. The spirit, infuriated, tried to approach him, though with some fear. Gopal Rao waited, and when the spirit came within a few yards, he hurled the abikshekam water on the head of the spirit. At once this effected a marvelous change. The spirit fell down prostrate, and recited its past history and prayed that Gopal Rao should take possession of the vast hoards of wealth that the spirit had made when alive and which it had kept in the house and watched over and to utilise all that; to release it from its Brahma Rakshatha state. Gopal Rao agreed, and carried away the reassures to Kasi where he performed the requisite rites for the liberation of the Brahma Rakshatha.

Another noteworthy incident in his travels was at Ahmedabad. There at the tomb of Suvag Shah which he approached, a remarkable incident occurred. The tomb actually perspired with joy and spoke to him. It stated that Gopal Rao was formerly Ramanandha of Kasi and that now he had become a ruler but all the same, his former devotee Kabir would be coming to him soon. It was after this, that the fakir’s widow brought young Baba to him, and Gopal Rao recognized him as Kabir.