One day he gathered all his close ones and told them, "My time has come." The blind saint then allowed his disciples to bathe him. He had prayers read and a section of the Bhagavad Gita recited. He called the boy to him and lovingly gave him his own dhoti (a white loincloth-like garment worn around the waist to the ankles). Sai reverently accepted it. Gopal Rao imparted some final instructions to his disciples and, lying down, quietly severed his connection with his physical body. By handing over his garment to the youth, Gopal Rao transferred his spiritual charge with all its responsibilities and burdens to the boy. Sai thoroughly understood its significance. From the cloth of his Master's dhoti, the young lad had a kafni made for himself which he always wore.
Soon after Gopal Rao's death, Sai, then sixteen, left Shelwadi and sought seclusion in a forest. One day a man named Chand Patil was passing through the forest when he came upon the young fakir seated under a tree. Without any introduction, the young man asked Chand Patil, "Have you lost your horse?"
Startled, the man replied, "Yes and I have been unable to find it."
"Go to a nearby stream," said the young fakir, "and you will find it there." Chand left and was happily surprised to find the horse exactly where the young ascetic had indicated.
When Chand returned to thank the fakir, he saw the youth filling a chillum with tobacco. Anxious to light the pipe for the fakir, Chand rushed forward, but then he realized he did not have any matches. The young man waved him away and, thrusting a stick in the ground, unearthed a piece of burning charcoal and held it to his pipe. This remarkable feat convinced Chand Patil that the young fakir was someone great and holy. He invited the young man to accompany him to the small village of Shirdi, where he and those with him were journeying to attend his nephew's wedding, and the fakir agreed to join them.
The entire village turned out to welcome the visitors, little knowing what a distinguished guest they had among them. As the wedding procession passed by a Khandoba temple, a Hindu priest named Mhalsapati caught sight of the young fakir and called out in Marathi, " Ya , Sai, aao ! [Welcome, Holy One, come!]" From that day on, the young fakir came to be known as Sai Baba .1
Footnotes
- 1.He was also called Sai Maharaj by early followers.