Once the police caught a known thief with a bag full of jewels. The thief told the police that he had gotten the gems from Sai Baba. An inspector came to Shirdi to investigate the matter and interrogated the fakir at length. The policeman filled out his report as he questioned the Master:
"What is your name?" he inquired.
"They call me Sai Baba."
"What was your father's name?"
"Also Sai Baba."
"What was your guru's name?"
"Venkusha [God]."
"What is your creed or religion?"
"Kabir."1
"What is your caste?"
"Parvardigar."2
"How old are you?"
" Lakhs [hundreds of thousands] of years."
"Will you solemnly affirm that what you are going to say is the truth?"
"I am the Truth."
"Do you know the accused?"
"Yes, I know him. I know everyone."
"The man says he is your devotee and has stayed with you. Is that so?"
"Yes, I live with everyone. All are mine."
"Did you give the accused some jewels as alleged by him?"
"Yes, I gave them to him. Who gives what and to whom?"
"If you gave him the jewels, how did you get them?"
"Everything is mine! Everything has been given to me."
The police inspector left perplexed.
Each night, Sai Baba would keep a dhuni (fire) burning in the Dwarkamai mosque. He would also keep a small oil lamp burning there and would obtain kerosene by begging from different shopkeepers in Shirdi. On one particular day, however, not one shopkeeper would give him any oil. Sai returned to the mosque and filling the lamp with water, lit it! The lamp thus burned without fuel, and when early the next morning the villagers came to know of this "miracle," their faith in Sai was kindled.
A Perfect Master sees all who are closely connected with him. One day in 1910, Sai Baba was sitting near the dhuni when suddenly, instead of putting wood on the fire, the Master pushed his arm into the flames. A devotee rushed toward him and pulled his arm out, but it was seriously burned. When asked why he had done this, Sai explained, "One of my followers is a potter not far from here. His wife was just then working at the kiln with her daughter on her lap. Hearing her husband call her, she got up and the child accidentally slipped into the furnace. At that moment, I thrust my arm into this fire. I do not mind these burns; the child was saved. Had I not done this the little girl would have died."
Footnotes
- 1.Kabir (1440–1518) was an Indian Perfect Master and a renowned poet.
- 2.Parvardigar is a Sufi name of God, meaning the Protector or Preserver of creation. It is the same One who is known as Vishnu in Vedanta.