Page 52 - My Father-Final Book

visit. During this visit a few others were also accompanying them. They stayed at Shirdi for a few days in Dixit Wada, at a walkable distance from Sai Baba Temple. My father was reading the Gurucharitra Scripture as a ritual to be completed in few days.While he was reading the Gurucharitra on one day, all others including Krishnanatha Maharaj went to the Shirdi Sai Baba temple shrine where the Arati Prayers took place. After exiting the residence, they latched the door from outside so as to cause no disturbance to my father who was reading inside. A while after they left, my father felt that someone was calling him to the temple shrine. As this calling became profound, he stopped reading and went to the temple. When he reached the temple, he learnt that the door was latched from outside, but it became open for him to reach the shrine. So, he was a little confused. At this Krishnanatha Maharaj told him that he knew who had called him to the shrine. When my father approached the shrine, the garland from the Samadhi Shrine of Saibaba flew from the shrine into the hands of my father. At this Krishnanatha Maharaj told my father that Shirdi Saibaba was very pleased and had blessed my father. My father became very happy. At the night, suddenly someone woke my father and he saw Shirdi Saibaba present in front of him. He was very confused as well as scared. At this Krihshnanatha Maharaj told him not to worry and that Sai Baba would be graceful to my father always. This made a permanent connection of my father to Shirdi Sai Baba. And, he became a devotee of Sai Baba over any other gods and goddesses! He did continue to worship other gods, but Sai Baba was his whole and sole. Whenever he prayed to Shirdi Saibaba with invocation, Saibaba would immediately be present there, not just philosophically. The Yoga Shastra (spiritual science) talks about development of such one- pointedness. My father had mentioned to me during my chats with him that one does not start a real spiritual journey until one develops a single ideal.
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