Shri Sai Satcharitra · Chapter 03

TL;DRChapter 3 contains one of the most-quoted passages of the entire Satcharitra: Baba's promise to those who hear and pass on his stories ("I will give him infinite joy and everlasting contentment").

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Editor’s note

Chapter 3 contains one of the most-quoted passages of the entire Satcharitra: Baba's promise to those who hear and pass on his stories ("I will give him infinite joy and everlasting contentment"). For the devotional tradition this passage functions as the warrant of the parayana practice — the weekly seven-day reading still observed by Sai devotees worldwide. Beyond the famous promise, the chapter introduces the allegorical Rohilla episode, in which Baba defends a fakir whose loud Koranic recitation has disturbed the villagers — and explains that the "wife" he protected the man from was not a real woman but durbuddhi (bad thought). The chapter therefore models the interpretive method readers should bring to the rest of the text: Baba's actions are often defences against unseen interior enemies rather than literal interventions in social life.

Chapter III — Sai Baba's Sanction and Promise; The Rohilla's Story; Baba's Nectar-like Words

Source: Shri Sai Satcharitra, trans. Gunaji
Marathi original: Sai Satcharita (archive.org scan) · Devotee testimonies: Narasimha Swami 1936 (Internet Archive) · Full bibliography: /sources.html

URL: https://www.saibaba.org/satcharitra/sai3.html

Sections

Sai Baba's Sanction and Promise

Baba confirms his consent for the writing of the Satcharita, instructing Hemadpant to "do your duty, don't be afraid in the least, steady your mind and have faith in My words." On hearing his Leelas, he tells Shama (Madhavrao Deshpande):

"If a man utters My name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes, increase his devotion. And if he sings earnestly My life and My deeds, him I shall beset in front and back and on all sides." "Believe Me that if anybody sings My Leelas, I will give him infinite joy and everlasting contentment." "I shall draw out My devotees from the jaws of Death. If My stories are listened to, all the diseases will be got rid of." "The simple remembrance of My name as 'Sai, Sai' will do away with sins of speech and hearing."

Hemadpant's Reflection on the Writing Task

He acknowledges his unfitness for the task — "though Brahmin by birth, I lacked the two eyes of Shruti and Smriti" — and frames himself as a mere instrument: "Neither the flute nor the harmonium knows how the sounds are produced. This is the concern of the Player."

Motherly Love of Sai Baba — Episode of 1916 Pension

After retiring from Government service in 1916, Hemadpant came to Shirdi on Guru-Pournima (15th of Ashadha). The pension was insufficient; Anna Chinchanikar prayed to Baba on Hemadpant's behalf. Baba's reply:

"He will get some other job, but now he should serve Me and be happy. His dishes will be ever full and never empty. He should turn all his attention towards Me and avoid the company of atheists, irreligious and wicked people. He should be meek and humble towards all and worship Me heart and soul. If he does this, he will get eternal happiness."

(Hemadpant notes that later events bore this out: he received a Government job for a short time, then dedicated himself fully to Baba.)

The Rohilla's Story

A tall, well-built Rohilla (Muslim Pathan) wearing a long kafni came to Shirdi and stayed near Baba. Day and night he loudly recited Kalma (Koranic verses) and shouted "Allah ho Akbar." Villagers, returning home tired from work in the fields, found the loud cries disturbing and could not sleep. After enduring some days they came to Baba asking him to silence the Rohilla. Baba refused — and instead rebuked the villagers, saying:

"The Rohilla had got a very bad wife, a Zantippi, who tried to come in and trouble the Rohilla and Myself; but hearing the Rohilla's prayers, she dare not enter and we were at peace and happy."

Hemadpant explains the "wife" was an allegorical figure: in fact the Rohilla had no wife — by "wife" Baba meant durbuddhi (bad thoughts).

Baba's Nectar-like Words (after a noon arati)

"Be wherever you like, do whatever you choose, remember this well that all what you do is known to Me. I am the Inner Ruler of all and seated in their hearts. I envelope all the creatures, the movable and immovable world. I am the Controller — the wire-puller of the show of this Universe. I am the mother — origin of all beings — the Harmony of three Gunas, the propeller of all senses, the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer. Nothing will harm him, who turns his attention towards Me, but Maya will lash or whip him who forgets Me. All the insects, ants, the visible, movable and immovable world, is My Body or Form."

Verbatim Sai Baba quotes documented in this chapter

"If a man utters My name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes, increase his devotion."
"I shall draw out My devotees from the jaws of Death. If My stories are listened to, all the diseases will be got rid of."
"The simple remembrance of My name as 'Sai, Sai' will do away with sins of speech and hearing."
(To Anna Chinchanikar re: Hemadpant) "He will get some other job, but now he should serve Me and be happy. His dishes will be ever full and never empty."
(Re: the Rohilla) Allegorical defence — durbuddhi (bad thought) is the unseen "wife."
(Noon arati teaching) "Be wherever you like, do whatever you choose, remember this well that all what you do is known to Me… I am the Inner Ruler of all and seated in their hearts."

Frequently asked about this chapter

What is the central promise of Chapter 3 of the Satcharitra?

Baba's recorded promise to those who lovingly utter his name or hear and sing his deeds: "I will give him infinite joy and everlasting contentment… I shall draw out My devotees from the jaws of Death. If My stories are listened to, all the diseases will be got rid of." This passage is the foundation of the Sai-parayana weekly reading practice.

Who was the Rohilla and what is the moral of his story?

A tall Muslim Pathan who came to Shirdi wearing a long kafni. He recited the Kalma loudly day and night and the villagers, exhausted from field-work, complained. Baba refused to silence him. He told the villagers that the Rohilla's recitation had been keeping a "wife" away — and Hemadpant explains that the Rohilla had no wife. The "wife" was durbuddhi (bad thought), kept at bay by continuous recollection of God.

Did Baba claim to be God in any of these passages?

The "Nectar-like words" passage at the close of Chapter 3 — "I am the Inner Ruler of all and seated in their hearts. I envelope all the creatures, the movable and immovable world" — is the Satcharitra's clearest statement of Baba speaking from the standpoint of Brahman, not as a personal claim but as instruction in non-dual perception. The framing is consistent with the Upanishadic teaching of the Self.

How does this chapter relate to Hemadpant's pension worry?

Hemadpant retired from government service in 1916 and arrived at Shirdi on Guru-Pournima (15th of Ashadha) with insufficient pension. Anna Chinchanikar interceded; Baba answered: "He will get some other job, but now he should serve Me and be happy. His dishes will be ever full and never empty." The chapter notes that this came true — Hemadpant did get further employment briefly, then devoted himself entirely to Baba.

Source: Shri Sai Satcharitra by Govind Raghunath Dabholkar (Hemadpant), 1929. English adaptation by N. V. Gunaji. Original chapter text: saibaba.org/satcharitra/sai03.html. This page is a factual summary with verbatim quotations from the source. We add no commentary attributed to Baba.

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Ch. 02 — Object of Writing; Hemadpant title; Necessity of a Guru

Ch. 04 — Sai Baba's First Advent in Shirdi