Haridasas customarily wear full dress for the Kirtan — head-dress, long coat, dhotar, uparane. Once Das Ganu came to bow to Baba dressed in this fashion. Baba said:
"Well, bridegroom! Where are you going dressed so beautifully like this?"
When Das Ganu answered "For performing a Kirtan," Baba replied:
"Why do you want all this paraphernalia — coat, uparani and pheta? Doff all that before Me. Why wear them on the body?"
Das Ganu took them off and placed them at Baba's feet. From that day he performed kirtan with chiplis in his hands, a garland round his neck, and bare above the waist — closer to the Naradiya manner.
Mr. Cholkar's Vow
Mr. Cholkar of Thana, a poor candidate in the Civil Courts, attended one of Das Ganu's kirtans at the Koupineshwar temple and was moved. He silently vowed to Baba: if he passed the departmental examination and got a permanent post, he would come to Shirdi, fall at Baba's feet, and distribute sugar-candy in his name.
He passed and got the post. To save the cost of the trip he gave up sugar entirely — even taking his tea without it — and saved money. Eventually he came to Shirdi, took darshana, offered a coconut and the sugar-candy as vowed, and told Baba his desires were fulfilled.
He was lodging with Bapusaheb Jog. As the two were about to leave the masjid, Baba turned to Jog and said:
"Give him (your guest) cups of tea, fully saturated with sugar."
Cholkar understood at once: Baba had known the secret vow to take tea without sugar. He fell at Baba's feet weeping.
Two Lizards
A devotee sitting before Baba in the masjid heard a lizard tick-tick and asked Baba whether it was a good omen. Baba said:
"The lizard is overjoyed; her sister from Aurangabad is coming to see her."
The devotee sat silent. Almost immediately a gentleman from Aurangabad rode up on horseback. His horse was hungry; he took a bag of grams from his shoulder and dashed it on the ground to remove dirt. A lizard came out from the bag and climbed up the masjid wall. Baba asked the devotee to mark her. She went strutting to her sister; the two embraced, whirled and danced together.
Verbatim Sai Baba quotes documented in this chapter
(To Das Ganu before his kirtan) "Well, bridegroom! Where are you going dressed so beautifully like this? Why do you want all this paraphernalia — coat, uparani and pheta? Doff all that before Me."
(To Bapusaheb Jog, indicating he knew Cholkar's secret vow) "Give him cups of tea, fully saturated with sugar."
(Before the lizard arrived) "The lizard is overjoyed; her sister from Aurangabad is coming to see her."
Source: Shri Sai Satcharitra by Govind Raghunath Dabholkar (Hemadpant), 1929. English adaptation by N. V. Gunaji.
Original chapter text:
saibaba.org/satcharitra/sai15.html.
This page is a factual summary with verbatim quotations from the source. We add no commentary attributed to Baba.