This chapter is all about Baba curing His devotees with rather unusual modalities, and they are beautifully described, like Bala Shimpi was asked to feed a black dog curd rice, and he was relieved of the relentless malarial fever, or curing Booty of severe gastroenteritis with a milkshake full of almonds, pistachios and walnuts. He also cured Kaka Mahajani of a severe bout of diarrhoea by giving him roasted peanuts to eat. Bhimaji Patil was cured of his pulmonary tuberculosis through a series of dreams, where he received a good thrashing for not reciting a poem that his teacher asked him to recite. This was followed by another terrifying painful dream, where someone sits on his chest and then crushes it with a road roller. And the next morning, he feels refreshed and his tuberculosis disappears. He cured the Alandi Swami of an earache just by his beatific glance, and blessed him saying, "Allah bhala karega."
Leela number 1: Padmanabhendra Swami from Alandi
This Leela is given in the Shri Sai Satcharita, chapter 13. In the Sai Leela magazine of 1923, the Swami himself has written a detailed account, where he states, "Following the advice of beloved Shriman Hari Sitaram Dixit, residing in Mumbai, I visited Shirdi." He further states, "By the grace of Shri Sai Baba, I am enveloped by an abundance of joy. After my pilgrimage to Shirdi, I returned on Thursday, the 29th of January, and proceeded to Alandi. There, I attended the Punya Thithi of Shri Guru Maharaj Tukaram on the 2nd of February. On the following day, which was Tuesday, I went to Mumbai. There, I consulted Dr. Underwood regarding the swelling behind my ear extending to the neck. His advice was that no surgery was required. Then he gave me an injection of some serum, saying that it will take care of the swelling. He then narrates his experience in Shirdi, "It is impossible to describe the lustrous divinity of Shri Sai Maharaj. The effect is mind-boggling, and I got immense peace. Many of the devotees gathered there had advised me to tell Sai Maharaj about the swelling. But from my heart and soul, I was disinclined to do so. The reason for not doing so was that I had gone solely to have his Darshan without any ulterior motive. I strongly believe that Prarabdha Karma has to be borne by me. However, ultimately I asked Madhavrao Deshpande to tell Maharaj about the problem. Accordingly, he brought up the topic while I was having Darshan. Maharaj lovingly said, 'Allah sab accha karega.' At that very moment, my troubled mind became calm. The doctor at Nagpur had advised surgery, so had the doctor from Alandi. They were consulted prior to my visit to Shirdi, but the doctor from Mumbai said the surgery was not required and administered the serum injection, following which, the swelling shrunk a lot, and the pain subsided completely. All this happened after Shri Sai Maharaj spoke these words. Thinking about it, it leaves me wonderstruck and happy. On the first day of my visit, Maharaj asked for Dakshina. I replied, 'Maharaj, I am a Sanyasi. Where will I have money?' After I had Darshan, Baba said to Madhavrao Deshpande, 'I wanted to know if he will give me something, but he won't give me anything. Since he has come to me, I will give him something.' From the very moment these words were uttered, I became trouble-free. What can I say about this Siddh Purush, except that He is Shri Narayan in human form. This Leela was taken from Sai Leela magazine, ank 5, year 1, 1923.
In Leela number 2, He cures Chandrabai Borkar's husband
Chandrabai's husband was posted in a small town called Asavali near Nasik. One day, her husband, Ramchandra Borkar, returned from work with a high temperature. Chandrabai was extremely worried as there were no doctors nearby, nor was medical aid easily available. Chandrabai had some of Baba's Udi with her. She had immense faith in Baba, and knew that Udi was a panacea for all maladies. She made her husband as comfortable as she possibly could, and sat beside him. The temperature was 103 and was steadily rising. At about 2 a.m., her husband fell asleep. So, she curled up at the foot of the bed and took a nap. At three o'clock in the morning, she had a vivid dream. In the dream, she saw an old Kafni-clad Fakir, who said, "Bai, don't be worried. In a little while, he will perspire profusely. Apply Udi all over his body, and the fever will abate. However, do not let him go out of the house after 11 o'clock." Then, the Fakir disappeared. She followed the instructions and her husband started sweating profusely at that time. She wiped up the perspiration and applied Udi. Then, she told her husband about the dream, but her husband lacked faith in Baba. Not heeding her advice, he went to the railway station, which was very close to their home. At that time, the passenger train going to Mumbai had just arrived. From her home, she could see her husband standing on the tracks and talking to his friend. The Mail arriving from M...
