(Baba, being moved by Dixit's request about the excruciating pain of Dr.Pillay,
said to Dixit,"Tell him to be fearless. Why should he suffer for ten births? In
ten days he can work out the sufferings and consequences of his past Karma." Accordingly
Baba removed his karma & cured him in ten days.)
One Dr. Chidambaram Pillay was an intimate Bhakta of Baba. He was much liked by
Baba, who always called him Bhau (brother). Baba talked with him off and on and
consulted him in all matters and wanted him always at his side.This Pillay suffered
once very badly from guinea-worms. He said to Kakasaheb Dixit, "The pain is most
excruciating and unbearable. I prefer death to it. This pain, I know, is for repaying
past Karma, but go to Baba and tell Him to stop the pain and transfer the working
of my past Karma to ten future births of mine." Mr. Dixit went to Baba and told
him his request. Then Baba, being moved by his request, said to Dixit,"Tell him
to be fearless. Why should he suffer for ten births? In ten days he can work out
the sufferings and consequences of his past Karma. While I am here to give him temporal
and spiritual welfare, why should he pray for death? Bring him here on somebody's
back and let us work and finish his sufferings once for all".The doctor was brought
in that condition and was seated on Baba's right side, where Fakir Baba always sat.
Baba gave him his bolster and said, "Lie calmly here and be at ease. The true remedy
is, that the result of past actions has to be suffered and got over. Our Karma is
the cause of our happiness and sorrow; therefore put up with whatever comes to you.
Allah (God) is the sole Dispenser and Protector, always think of Him. He will take
care of you. Surrender to His feet with body, mind, wealth and speech, i.e. completely
and then see what He does." Dr. Pillay said in return that Nanasaheb had put a bandage
over the leg, but Dr.Pillay found no relief. "Nana is a fool," replied Baba. "Take
off that bandage or else you will die. Now a crow will come and peck you, and then
you will recover." While this conversation was going on, one Abdul, who always cleaned
the masjid and trimmed the lamps, turned up in the masjid. While Abdul was attending
to his work of trimming, his foot accidentally fell upon the stretched leg of Dr.
Pillay. The leg was already swollen and when Abdul's foot fell upon it and pressed
it, all the seven guinea-worms were squeezed out at once. The pain at once became
unbearable and Dr. Pillay bawled out loudly. After some time, he calmed
down and began to sing and cry alternately. Then Pillay enquired when the crow was
coming for pecking. Baba said, "Did you not see the crow? He won't come again. Abdul
was the crow. Now go and rest yourself in the Wada and you will be soon all right."
By application of the udi and by taking it in the stomach with water, and without
taking any other treatment or medicine, the disease was completely cured in ten
days as promised by Baba.
Baba's life was replete with several instances where Baba Himself took over the
illness/suffering of the devotees and reduced or eliminated the karma of the devotees
and in the process Baba Himself either took over on Him the devotee's illness or
underwent the suffering Himself instead of by the devotee. Baba would also spread
over the severity of the karma of the devotees in such a way that the devotees could
be in a position to bear easily the spread-over karma. All these steps would result
in the happiness of the devotees.
Once some big dogs were running away when chased by a small white dog which was
a rabid and big dogs were afraid of its bite. Some people in the village armed with
sticks in their hands, went after the small white dog and wanted to kill it. The
small white dog ran up the steps of the masjid and stood behind Baba, seeking protection
and the chasing people were afraid of entering into the masjid. Seeing all these
happenings, Baba abused them vigorously as they did not have any sympathy for a
poor dumb creature. They expressed that the dog was mad and that it should be killed.
Dr.Pillay and Jayker, another staunch devotee, were in the masjid, sitting very
near Baba and the dog, and they also knew that the dog was mad and felt internally
that both of them were in danger. But finally the men went away and the dog was
saved. Then both felt that Baba was so generous that he cured the dog and saved
its life. How merciful was Baba. Even animals and creatures also knew that Baba
would protect them as he was God. This miraculous incident had happened during May,
1917.
Jayker, and Dr.Pillay, were initially moving with Nanavalli who also once beat Dr.Pillay.
Then Baba warned Nanavalli and cautioned both of them not to move with Nanavalli.
Once Dr.Pillay, Bapu Saheb Buti, Kaka Saheb Dixit, and Tatya got together for dinner
at Radhakrishnamai’s house. At that time, Tatya openly narrated
his own experience regarding Radhakrishnamai. He said that once he had some conflict
of opinion with Radhakrishnamai, at that time her anger was at its height. After
that he went to his farm and got busy in his farm work. But he observed that some
stones came flying from somewhere and started hitting him on his legs but could
not understand and find out who was throwing the stones at him. At last he realized
that this work must be at the instance of Radhakrishnamai only.
Dr.Pillay was consulting Baba on several matters. He got settled in Shirdi and was
also doing service to the residents in the village. On one occasion Booty had an
attack of cholera, and suffered from severe thirst. Dr. Pillai tried all sorts of
medicines which could not give him any relief. Then he went to Baba and consulted
Baba as to what he should drink to allay his thirst and also asked for the remedy
for curing the attack of cholera. Baba prescribed an infusion of almonds, walnuts,
pistachio (dry fruit), boiled in milk with sugar. Normally this would be considered
as something which would aggravate the illness by any doctor or physician, but Booty
obeyed Baba's orders strictly and drank the infusion so prepared and his illness
was cured immediately. This was quite strange and this became a miracle—as it was
Baba’s desire which cured him and not by the drinking of the infusion.
Upasani Baba, while forgetting the glorious future promised by Baba, felt that he
would soon die in 1912-13 in Shirdi and with this feeling he told Dr.Pillay that
he was being tortured like a dumb brute. Dr.Pillay was close to Upasani Baba who
used to vent his feelings to the doctor. On another occasion, when Upasani Baba
was in Shirdi, he was starving without food almost for about a year during 1913-14.
His body was sturdy and even when he was starving, his bodily frame did not shrink
but he lost considerable weight. And even at that time also, he was capable of drawing
stone rollers on the road. Dr.Pillay used to examine his pulse rate at that time
and found it at 40 per minute in April 1913 before starving and at 20 per minute
in July, 1913 during the course of starving. Even during that time also, he was
capable of doing any hard labour work. Such was his energy that was provided by
Baba’s Grace. Baba also indicated that Upasani Baba was reaching the highest point
in the spiritual achievement during July-August, 1913. However, Upasani Baba decided
to leave Shirdi stealthily with the help from Dr Pillay and Ganapat Rao of Shinde
even without completing the
4 year novitiate period in Shirdi under the direction of Baba. Having left Shirdi,
Upasani Baba visited Shinde, Nagpur, Kharagpur and several other places of pilgrimage.
Thus Dr.Pillay was treating the devotees and other general public by giving medicines
and at that time the general public was moving as a team under the Divine Leadership
of Baba.