Balasaheb Deo

Balasaheb (B. V.) Deo was the Mamlatdar of Dahanu and a devoted follower who never let his work come before Baba. When his mother held an udyapan, a ceremony to complete her vows, Deo wrote to Baba asking him to attend. Baba replied through Bapusaheb Jog that he would come with two others. On the day of the feast, a sannyasi arrived with two companions and was fed with great respect. Later Baba said that he had kept his promise, and Deo understood that the sannyasi was Baba himself.

Baba also guided Deo's reading. Deo wanted to read the Dnyaneshwari but could never find the right time. Baba appeared in his dream, sat with him and told him to read it daily, slowly and with understanding. Later, in Shirdi, Baba asked him whether he had been reading and corrected his hurried habits, teaching him to read a little each day with full attention.

Deo was a learned man and a careful writer. He edited the Shri Sai Leela magazine for some years and, after Hemadpant's death, completed and edited the last part of the Shri Sai Satcharitra. Through his work, generations of devotees came to know Baba's life.