On the western wall of the mosque - in the direction of Mecca - is a nimbar or niche, with a set of lamps in front of it. The nimbar is a standard feature of all mosques, but the lamps were put there by Baba. In Dwarkamai this spot, which is near where Baba used to sit, is decorated with a garland of flowers.
The Shri Sai Satcharitra relates that it was here that Baba used to have his midday meal, sitting behind a curtain with his back to the nimbar, and a row of devotees on either side of him. This is also the place where Baba would sleep with his head pointing towards the nimbar, with Mhalsapati on one side of him and Tatya Kote Patil on the other.
Baba occasionally did namaz (ritual prayers) here and Muslims would sometimes come for this purpose. A group of elders once came from the local Muslim headquarters of Sangamner, a town about fifty kms away, to investigate Baba following complaints of his heterodoxy from local Muslims. When they arrived they found Baba smearing fresh cowdung paste on the floor (a common practice in rural India). After answering their questions Baba suggested they do namaz together as it was already noon. Seeing the wet floor and their own clean clothes, they hesitated. "If you do namaz with a clean heart, no dirt will stick to you," counselled Baba. "Let's start...Allah Malik." The men had no choice but to kneel down. Afterwards they were astonished to see their clothes still in pristine condition. They concluded that Baba was a great saint and therefore no formal procedures were necessary for him.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment