Star Sai

Sairam friends,

I would first like to go back to the times approx 1853 in the village of shirdi, India. What would have the village men, women and little children thought of a yound boy who looks like a 16 year old sitting under the Neem tree and practicing penance.

Imagine you were a Kid in Shirdi when Saibaba first came to Shirdi

We have read in Sai satcharitra that Saibaba was found as a young lad sitting under the neem tree in Shirdi Village and people were ashtonished to see his boy doing dedicated Meditation not minding the cold nights and hot day light.

I wonder if i will be able to run my imagination of those beautiful days when saibaba first came to shirdi.

“The Neem tree Days of Shirdi Saibaba “

Friends, Have you ever imagined what if you had been a villager in late 18th century and found a yound boy sitting under the neem tree and do such meditation. If i was living in shirdi those days as a small boy, i would have run to the spot as soon as i got the news.

Then i would have gathered bunch of my village friends and watched what the boy is doing sitting under neem tree. probably as the kids would always try to get attention, Me and my friends would have screamed and shouted to get attention of this Young boy.HA HA…am sure saibaba would have asked us to come near him and done a leela.

Probably this might have been the first real leela of saibaba. Sai would have given all the kids sweets by his miraculous powers . That would have been a tasty leela. But all this is just imagination to make all of you go back to the first few days of saibaba.

The reason i want you to take back to the Neem tree days of Shirdi Saibaba :

Friend, We all see saibaba as a saint who fulfills our wishes but we forget his hardships right from his day one in Shirdi Village . How Saints has suffered for our welfare friends. How much Saibaba would have sacrificed as a young boy doing meditation remembering God and not going to play like other kids.

I want to write more such articles in StarSai which helps us see Saibaba as a Saint of PAST. For most of us the first thing that comes to our mind when we see a Shirdi Saibaba portrait in our house is our own desires . At times we relate saibaba photo to his place Shirdi, The Samadhi Mandhir, Dwarakamai , Chawdi , Kandoba temple …

Do we try to even think one second about How saibaba would have spent his days and nights under the neem tree. Have you ever slept under the neem tree. I sleep in my house comfortably under Fan. Even then mousquites bites me and i get irritated.

How many mousquites and insects would have biten our little saibaba who came there to shirdi village just for welfare of millions who would be his followers in the years to come. Did Saibaba mind when the kids, young and old passed comments on him. Am sure someone would have called the boy as a Mad. Little did they know this so called “Mad Boy” under the neem tree is going to rule the hearts of Millions in the next 100 years.

We all have a Shirdi Saibaba Photo in our house friends. We light lamps , agarbathi and offer flowers to saibaba. During such pooja let us all remember Saibaba’s sacrifice for us , You can imagine your own way of events and beautiful incidents that would have happened during the

Neem tree days of Shirdi Saibaba.

Saibaba has said “Who ever chants my name Sai, Sai Sai, and always remembers my leelas, i will always protect him and take him away from dangers and evils.”

At times its beautiful to imagine sai leelas too friends. We can bring infront of our mental eyes, the beautiful divine little Boy who was doing penance under the Neem tree in Shirdi Village . How beautiful were those days.

Wish i was really a little boy in shirdi and had bunch of friends when sai came there and i had got sweet mitai as i imagined in this article.

Now i request you to close your eyes and run your own imagination friends.

See a old shirdi with few huts

Many beautiful trees

Greenish

A well

Village women and men walking here n there

Kids of shirdi playing some old games of india like kabadi..ha ha

Now saibaba the yound lad is sitting under neem tree and you go there …

Bow to sai saraswathi for helping me write this article

Om sainathaya namaha

C.VenkatRaman

18 :09:2009