Shiridi Sai Baba Bhaktas - M E G H A

(When  Megha  poured   whole  pot  of  water  on  Baba, water  had  fallen on the  head only without  touching  Baba’s  body.  He  was  the  first  pujari  to  Baba  to  perform  puja in  a congregational form).

Megha or Meghasham or Megharaj was a very peculiar orthodox Brahmin who was illiterate. He did not even know his Gayathri Sloka.  Sathe found him living at Viramgaon when he was the Deputy Collector. He became a cook with Sathe.  He found Megha always repeating Namas-Sivaya. So, finding that he was sufficiently pious, Sathe taught him Sandhya and Gayathri sloka and sent him to Broach to worship Siva there. After he did Siva worship at Broach, Sathe asked and sent him to Shirdi telling him that Siva was in flesh and blood at Shirdi in the form of Sai Baba and gave him the necessary money for his journey. But at the Broach railway station, Megha learnt that Sai Baba was a Muslim and he was immediately shaken. By nature, he did not wish to go near any Muslim or have any thing to do with the worship related to Muslims.  “What? Have I to go and bow to a Muslim and pray?”. He thought. He requested Sathe not to send him to Shirdi. But Sathe insisted and gave him a letter to Dada Kelkar who, he said, would introduce him to Baba and make him understand Baba. But when Megha went to the masjid in Shirdi, Baba got angry and would not allow him to get into the masjid. Baba said, “Kick out that rascal” and asked, “What a fool is this Saheb to send this man here?” Megha then went away to Triambak and worshipped Gangadareswar for a year and half. He suffered there from severe pains in his abdomen and after some time became alright. There he visited a Shiva temple where he saw Sai Baba in the place of Shiv Lingam in that temple.  After that time, he developed faith in Baba and came back to Shirdi. Dada Kelkar interceded on his behalf and Baba allowed him to stay in Shirdi and he started worshipping  Baba in the masjid.

Baba’s worked on Megha by internal spiritual development. Baba did not give any oral instructions at all. But by that internal change. Megha became the most remarkable devotee of Sai Baba, whom he considered really as Lord Siva. Megha, being a hardy man, would go to Godavari DAILY, which is locally called Ganga (5 miles away from Shirdi en route to Kopergaon station),  and used to bring Ganga water and pour it on the head of Sai Baba whom he considered as Siva. Whenever Megha was performing puja to Baba, he used to stand on one leg and perform the puja rituals with utmost devotion.  Purandhare, a staunch devotee of Baba, mentioned about one miracle about Baba. Once Megha on a Sankranti day had brought a pot full of water from Godavari river to do abhishekam on Baba. But Baba told him to put only a few drops on Baba's head as head was the important organ of the body. But the impetuosity of Megha’s bhakti made him take up the whole pot and turn it upside down over the head of Baba. Strangely, not a drop of water fell on the body of Baba. The whole pot of water had fallen on the head only without touching Baba’s body. So, just as Siva had tied up Ganga in his own tuft, Baba also used his head for retaining and throwing away the water so as not to touch his body or clothes.

Megha was given better treatment by Baba and Megha became a staunch devotee of Baba. As Megha developed a good liking in Siva worship, Baba gave him a Pindi or  Shivlingam, an elongated round stone which is worshipped as Siva, when placed in the hollow portion of another stone, which is called yoni. A follower of Ramdasi sect had once brought this Shiv Idol to Baba, and Baba presented it to Megha and asked him to perform its worship. This was installed in Sathewada, and Megha worshipped the Siva Idol in that place. Just immediately before this pindi came, Baba appeared in Megha’s sleep and told him, “Draw up a Trisul” that is, Siva’s Trident. Megha wondered how Baba’s voice could be heard inside Sathewada. So, he went to the masjid and asked Baba whether he gave the order. Baba said he did, and when asked how he could get entrance into Sathewada when door was bolted from inside, Baba cleared his doubts by saying, “Bolted doors do not bar access to me”. Baba also said that he was formless and could move any where and every where.  Megha was also given a huge picture of Baba by H. S. Dixit, an ardent devotee, to be placed by the side of his Shiv Idol  so that he could worship the Siva Idol together with Sai Baba’s picture which he did.

Observing his peculiar idiosyncrasy to worship all the gods in the temples of the village, that is, Devi, Sani, Siva, Maruti and Khandoba, told him, Baba once told him “after worshipping all these, come and worship Me”. Megha did so regularly. Megha was impressed with Baba’s omnipresence, by his directions on some occasions. One day when he went to Khandoba’s temple, Upasani Maharaj, who lived there, had bolted the door from within, and Megha could not enter into the temple and could not worship Khandoba. So he returned to Baba. Khandoba’s temple is very far away from Baba’s masjid and is not in visible distance from the masjid. When Megha went to worship Baba on that day, Baba told him, “You have not yet done worship at Khandoba’s temple. If you go there now, you will find the door open. Do the puja of Khandoba and then come here.” Megha then went to Khandoba's temple and saw the door open as stated by Baba. After doing the puja there, he came back to the masjid to worship Baba. 

Though puja was done to Baba till then, it was only individual puja as there were no fixed rituals with songs coupled with arati worship. Krishnarao Bhishma, a devotee of Pandharpur Vithoba and famous kirtankar came and wrote some songs on Baba on the Pandharpur model and also another arati song composed by Madhav Adkar, also on the Pandharpur model. Baba got these songs approved by Nanasaheb Chandorkar,  and thereafter these songs were being sung at Baba’s aratis. And some of the songs composed by Das Ganu and Upasani Baba,  were also sung at Baba’s aratis. With Das Ganu’s kirtans, eulogizing Baba’s miracles thoughout Maharashtra, a large number of pilgrims started visiting Shirdi and then a need was very much felt for a priest with congregational form of puja for Baba and that need was solved with the arrival of Megha who became the first pujari of Baba. Megha started performing puja rituals in congregational form. He served Baba for about two years doing puja very sincerely with utmost devotion.

Megha died in 1912 at Shirdi. Baba’s appreciation was shown by his coming to the corpse and placing his hands over it saying, “This was a true devotee of mine”. Baba bore the expenses of the funeral dinner and Kaka Saheb Dixit carried out Baba's order. Such was the great devotion with which Megha served Baba. 

 

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Om Sai Ram...