Sai003. A Sanyasi Under A Tree Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

SHIRDI SAI BABA

At the outskirts of Shirdi, a small village
Of Maharashtra, a boy of young age,
Sat under a neem tree, in deep meditation,
All of a sudden, just noticed by a few men.

Maybe in the year 1854, by a guess,
In an age, sixteen or seventeen years,
With his beautiful face and eyes closed,
He was found there, in his search for God.

By day, he had no contact with anyone.
By night, with no fear, he was alone.
In Shirdi, it was the talk of everyone,
How, as a Yogi, this boy was chosen?

In reply, he asked them to dig a place
Where four burning earthen lamps
Were found there, by a surprise,
His late Guru's final resting place.

At that spot, he did his penance,
For a period of twelve years,
And he told to the surprise of all
To guard his Guru's Samadhi well.

They closed it well with a stone,
And worshiped him, as a Saint born,
As a Divine Force behind the Truth,
And as a simple Soul on this Earth.

He became Sai Baba then onwards,
‘Sai' means ‘Saint, ' ‘Baba' means
‘Father, ' and so a ‘Saint Father' came
For his devotees' to chant by this name.

He was far above the common man.
A pure Soul and a very simple man,
That was what the villagers found
Who lived there, in and around.

The first three were, who took an interest
On Sai Baba, Mahalsapathy, the Priest
Kasinath, the tailor was the second,
And Appa Jogle came as the third.

Bayajibai, a lady took her daily food
Only after she served him his food
That showed her deep devotion,
To him as a true living God-man.

Thus everyone began to love him
And paid their respects to him,
Day in and day out, as their Saint,
‘Sai Baba, ' what they really meant.