Laxman Bhatt Joshi

As I was quite a boy when I was with Sai Baba, my thoughts were not serious and I cannot repeat the talks he gave. I would run about doing miscellaneous work at the Mosque and do odd jobs for Radhakrishna Ayi. Madhav Fasli did the same. We would sleep with Baba at the chavadi. We were allowed to be with him when none else were allowed. ‘Bhai, carry that log of fuel here,’ ‘Bhai, bring that tub of water’ etc., Baba would tell us. I would be feasted on the perpetual flow of edibles that would be presented to and distributed by Baba. He would have basketful for fruits often times and we would occasionally purloin some. Baba would occasionally catch us and say humorously ‘do not take too much’. Often he would abuse me. Once or twice he beat me with his hands. He would occasionally send for me. At night at the chavadi, he occasionally asked me to sing. ‘Sing Ganu’s songs or Tukaram’s. What does Ganu say?’ He would say. I would joke with him by singing songs in his praise light-heartedly Raham najara karo abomore Sai etc. He liked both tune and subject matter of the songs. I have heardly any command of music. Baba would occasionally himself get into an elation of spirits and then (when none else was present) at dead of nighty would sing songs himself. Kabir’s songs, etc. I do not remember anything now of what he sang.

Baba’s cures I have mostly forgotten. Leprosy was moderated or lessened by him in the case of one Dagdubai. The progress of disease was arrested. That was all. It was not cured. But after he attained Samadhi, say about 1922, there was the wife of Dr. Rane, a Marathi lady, from Bombay. She and her husband would come here and stay four or five months or even one year. She would bathe in Baba’s abishek tirtha and apply udhi all over her sores. She would even get a bucketful of tirtha carried to Bombay for the purpose. In two years or so she got thoroughly cured. Formerly she had spots all over the body of the size of a pulse - discoloration of the skin etc. Later, the skin became quite ordinary and she was free from disease. Dr. Rane has not been seen here for some years.

As of consumptions, a Gujarathi girl of ten years came here and had to be carried to Baba at first. In some short time, she began to walk and greatly improved during Baba’s lifetime.

As for cursing the blind, I remember no cases, the crowd of visitors was very great in Baba’s days, one room in the village would fetch Rs.4 per mensam. Now none will pay that for the house itself. In such large crowds, I never cared to inquire into details of name, caste etc., and the extent of benefit of each. As for Baba’s averting premature death, Akala marana* I remember no case.

Some people easily imagine experiences and communicate them to magnify their importance-even here, we have to discount such utterances.