When Baba calls!

Source : Internet

Devotees of Shirdi Sai Baba know that unless Baba calls one cannot go to Shirdi.
The call came to me all  of a sudden in the form of my uncle who one day said: Vijay, pack up, we are leaving for Shirdi.

The flight to Mumbai, like any other flight in India, was uneventful and boring. We are not even offered coffee on board. And sitting for two-and a-half an hours was in my opinion 'a criminal' waste of time.

I thought of Baba. A simple man, a mad fakir, a man of God who had only a couple of 'annas' in his tumbler when he died. Today, I was on my to the samadhi of that 'mad fakir'.

To a man of this world, to a man who is a stranger to Baba and his ways, Shirdi is a tourist spot. People are there everywhere, choc-o-bloc. The roads overflow with human traffic, guest houses are full, and hotels are busy 24/7 serving plain and tasteless food.

To a man chosen by Baba, the air is tense. You do not know when he would appear, in what form. Something is in the air, and in a subtle form, you do not see today's Shirdi, but the village where Baba begged and lived, surrounded by simple folks from rural Maharashtra.

It is not just the Samadhi mandir that attracts people like me. When I go Lendi Bagh, I see the well whose  bitter and brackish water Baba made sweet by sprinkling flowers. In Shama's house, I see the old school master welcoming me. In Lakshmi Bai Shinde's house, I look at the nine coins that Baba gave to this great soul. If you have the eyes, the place is rich with associations of Baba.

I visited all these places with a simple prayer in my heart--Baba, make my life meaningful.