First-person testimony · Part I

Mrs. Tarabai Sadasiv Tarkhad

Context

The Tarkhad family of Bandra are the subjects of Chapter 9 of the Satcharitra — perhaps the most concentrated cluster of Baba-omniscience episodes in the canonical biography. Ramachandra Atmaran (Babasaheb) Tarkhad was a Prarthana-Samajist solicitor who became a staunch Sai-devotee; his wife and son were equally devoted. The Satcharitra records four key episodes involving the family: (1) the sugar puja Mr. Tarkhad forgot one Tuesday morning while his wife and son were at Shirdi — and Baba's same-noon remark at the masjid that he had "been to your house in Bandra" and found nothing to eat; (2) the brinjals Mrs. Tarkhad entrusted to Mrs. Purandare (Bharit and Kacharyas), of which Baba asked for both at the masjid though only the Bharit had been brought; (3) the peda Mrs. Tarkhad sent via Govind Mankar in December 1915, which Baba asked for by name; (4) the dog-and-bread teaching at Shirdi when Mrs. Tarkhad fed a hungry dog before her own meal — Baba's answer: "The dog you saw before meals and to which you gave the piece of bread is one with Me… I am roaming in their forms."

About the 1936 statement

Mrs. Tarabai's first-person 1936 statement (Sai Literature HTML edition, page 67) provides the family witness side of these episodes. The Satcharitra's Chapter 9 narrative was published 1929; Tarabai's statement seven years later corroborates and expands the household details.

Verbatim excerpt from Narasimha Swami (1940s)

a, when I went to sleep there. Yet he, Sai Baba, was kind enough to come to me of his own accord, (to help me) in Swat Valley, 1,500 miles off Shirdi. My idea that SaiBaba had de ceived me by giving me no help during the five years I was with him at Shirdi was evidently not right. I got more faith in Baba from the time of that dream or vision in the Swat Valley. I returned back to this side and I have full faith in him now. (I am married since 1924 and live with my family at Koshale, four miles from here). Baba ap pears before me once in two or four years. I moralise on the past sometimes and see the vanity of my poor existence. Baba was sur rounded by crowds in his lifetime and it was hard to find room in the Mosque on account of these crowds. What a number of dogs, etc., were swarming round him! Now there are very few men and hardly any dogs to be seen at the Mosque which is as a rule deserted. If Baba’s splendour was so short lived and if it faded away so quickly, what of me, a poor gnat? I have heard of or seen no “Rohillas” staying with Baba. But I have known and heard of some intolerant Pathans who came to him. The late Baba Saheb, i.e., R.A.

Source: B. V. Narasimha Swami, Devotees' Experiences of Sri Sai Baba (All India Sai Samaj, Madras, 1940s; reprint Akhanda Sainama Sapthaha Samithi, Hyderabad). PDF on Internet Archive · OCR full text. Excerpt matched on the term: Tarkhad. This is the canonical English excerpt; please consult the original PDF for context.