Display of Baba's articles
Inside the shrine, behind a glass
window on the left side as you face the samadhi, some things associated with
Baba are on display. These include three pairs of sandals (though Baba was
almost always barefoot), his folded clothes in a glass-fronted cupboard,
several chillims, ornaments for Shyam Sunder the horse, cooking pots and a
silver palanquin.
There is one other item here which,
though insignificant looking, perhaps holds the greatest fascination for Sai
devotees, and that is Baba's satka. This short, sturdy stick played a role in
many of Baba's leelas. It is not that Baba gave it so much importance (as he
did, say, to the brick), but whenever someone or something was to be chastised
or driven out, we usually find that the satka is there, being shaken, waved
threateningly or beaten on the ground. For example, when a sudden cyclone hit
Shirdi, trapping the devotees in the mosque and causing them to fear for their
lives, crops and livelihoods, Baba, upon being appealed to, simply shook his
satka and ordered it to stop. In a similar way, he once commanded the wildly
leaping flames of the dhuni to be calm. The satka was also once used to
intimidate a group of Muslims waiting to threaten Mhalsapati outside the
mosque.
On another occasion, Baba used the
satka for healing purposes. He had warned Mhalsapati that some misfortune would
strike his family, but that Mhalsapati should not worry as he would take care
of it. Soon after, several members of Mhalsapati's family fell seriously ill.
Some devotees who were doctors offered Mhalsapati medicine, but Baba
discouraged him from using it, saying simply that the sick should stay in bed.
With that, he walked around the mosque waving the satka exclaiming, "Come
on, show us your power! Let's see it, such as it is, and I will show you the
power of my satka if you [dare to] come and face me." This was the way
Baba treated the disease and cured it without any other medicine.
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