Houses of Sai Baba Devotees -Part3

 Sathe Wada

   Sathe Wada (now demolished)   

Just behind the Gurusthan was this Sathe Wada. Baba told Hari Vinayak Sathe " Pull down the village wall and build", meaning to build a residential building there and to include the village wall. So he bought the land and built the Wada. (SSS Ch IV).  This wada was the sole resting place for the pilgrims who flocked there.  When the construction was going on, the walls had to be raised, and some of the branches of the Neem tree had to be cut off. No one dared to touch it, but Baba said "Cut off so much as interferes with the construciton. Even if our foetus lies athwart, the womb must be cut". Still non dared, then Baba came Himself and cut the obstructing branches. This Wada was bought by Navalkar and then by the Sansthan.

This wada occupies a significant place in the history of Baba's Shirdi as it was built on Baba's instruction, and was the first of its kind. Moreover, it was during preparations for its foundations that Baba revealed that this was the place of his guru. Furthermore, several of the devotees whose names have gone down in history stayed here. For example, it was here that Khaparde wrote part of his informative Shirdi Diary, that Jog did daily parayana as asked by Baba, that Dada Kelkar lived, and where Hemadpant had his first darshan of Baba standing outside; arati to Baba's picture was conducted regularly at the wada. By providing what was, at that time, the only accommodation for visitors to Shirdi, Sathe rendered valuable service to pilgrims.

H. V. Sathe was a man of considerable social standing who worked in the colonial government as a Deputy Collector. Four years after his wife died in 1900, he came to Baba to ask whether he should remarry. Baba advised him that if he did so, he would have a son. Sathe did remarry and the couple had two daughters and a son. Sathe became a keen devotee and played a prominent part in life around Baba. He was also responsible for bringing Megha (who became Baba's pujari and faithful devotee) into contact with Sai Baba.

The wada was built in 1908 on a site between the Gurusthan neem tree and where Booty Wada (now the Samadhi Mandir) was subsequently constructed. Sathe describes the building's inception as follows:

Near Baba's favourite neem tree were the remnants of the old village wall. Baba told me: "Pull down the wall and build." Baba's suggestion was for building residential quarters there and for including the village wall in the construction. So I bought the land there and using the remnants of the village wall built a wada enclosing or surrounding the neem tree.

In 1924 the wada was bought by R. S. Navalkar and in 1939 his heirs gave it to the Sansthan. Two years later the Sansthan added four rooms for the use of pilgrims.

Until 1998 part of the wada still stood and was being used by the Sansthan as an administrative office. It was pulled down during the restructuring of the Temple Complex.

Houses of Sai Baba Devotees -Part2

Dixit Wada

  

Dixit wada 

Although the face of Shirdi has changed dramatically since Sai Baba was physically present here, some of the build- ings from that era still remain. As they include the houses of some of his closest followers with whose names devotees will be familiar, we include them here. Among them were two purpose-built wadas constructed by devotees from outside Shirdi. A third, Booty Wada, became the Samadhi Mandir.

 

 

H. S. Dixit

Dixit Wada is to be found just opposite Gurusthan. Work on the building began with Baba's permission in late 1910, the year after Dixit had taken his first darshan of Baba and been so touched by him. The building took about four months to complete and was inaugurated on Ramnavami the following year. Dixit lived in a modest room on the first floor and generously kept the rest of the building, including a small dining hall, for the use of visiting pilgrims. Many people benefited from the facility - Hemadpant, author of Sri Sai Satcharitra, always stayed here when he was in Shirdi and the wada is mentioned several times in the literature. Baba sometimes sent people to the wada to attend the parayana that Dixit did every day and puja was also conducted regularly. It was while lying on the verandah here that Sri Bhishma conceived the idea of celebrating Ramnavami, a festival that grew in size each year and is one of the grandest events in the Shirdi calendar.

Hari Sitaram Dixit, better known as Kakasaheb Dixit, was a close and exemplary devotee of Sai. He came to Baba in 1909 as an influential lawyer, active in politics, through his good friend Nana Chandorkar. While studying in London, Dixit had injured his leg in a train accident which left him limping and lacking in confidence. It was ostensibly for his recovery that Nana persuaded him to visit Sai Baba. How this trip came about and the beautiful way in which Baba arranged it, with Shama as his escort, is described in the Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. 50. Upon having Baba's darshan, Dixit forgot why he had come and reported that the handicap of his leg was nothing compared to the limitations of his mind.

Baba apparently once asked Dixit, "Why are you anxious? All care is mine."Dixit accordingly entrusted all responsibility for his material, physical and spiritual welfare to Baba. In each area he received ample and dramatic help, including being saved from a near fatal fever and unexpectedly getting last minute relief from a huge debt. There are many inspiring instances of his deep devotion to Baba and of Baba's response. Baba once promised that he would "take Kaka in a vimana" (i.e. secure him a happy death). This transpired in 1926 when Dixit passed away peacefully while travelling on a train with some close fellow devotees, as he was fondly recalling the greatness of his beloved gurudeva.

Dixit bequeathed part of the wada to the Sansthan and later it was given the whole building. Until the mid-1990s the building was used as a canteen. A small part of it is now open as a reading room. In a recent extension to the wada a few of Baba's things have recently been put on display in a small museum with a sign above the door: "Museum Hall". The Sansthan is planning to expand the display.