A description has been given about the Tarkhad family in Sai Satcharitra in Chapter 9. Blessed were the souls who were in Baba’s company and could see Him with their eyes, could feel His presence, could take food with Him. Ah they were unforgettable days of His Bhaktas. Now I will proceed to the main story fo Mr. & Mrs. Tarkhad.
It was the practice of Ramchandra Atmaram Tarkhad to give some money to his wife for expenses of the whole day. That day in hurry Ramchandra Tarkhad forgot to give money. Tarabai Tarkhad stood near the window and asked for money. Ramchandra Tarkhad had a one rupee coin in his pocket, but as he was in hurry and due to his laziness, he said that I don’t have even a coin in my pocket and left for office. Ramchandra Tarkhad was a sansaari purush and these petty things are quickly forgotten as they are very normal.
After this incident both husband wife went to the holy land of Shirdi. When they went to Dwarkamai the Malik of Dwarkamai said, Maji, in this age can we believe people of our own house? They deny even if they have money in their pocket. Sai Baba is omnipotent, He keeps watch on each and every deed of His Bhaktas. Even He points out the wrong deeds of His devotees and corrects them. He takes His devotees to the heights of the devotion.
All days are not the same for every one. There are push and pulls on each and every step. If they are not there then we humans could not understand the importance of happiness. No one could feel the sweetness of the life without tasting its bitterness. That’s only the reason why even Gods and Goddess are eager to take birth on this earth. Their wish would become more intense after they see the devotees of Baba who got His company in Shirdi.
With the passage of time, Ramchandra Tarkhad had to leave the job of Khatau mill. He was serving on high post there. But in a short while it was not possible for him to get another job with same post. So he had to remain unemployed for many days. He had to narrow down his expenses. At last he decided to sort refuge to Sai Baba and so he and his wife proceeded for Shirdi.
Tarkhad was aware that Sai Baba was omnipotent, resides in every being and was aware of the state of His devotee, so he did not tell Sai Baba anything about his financial crisis. After spending a good time in Sai Baba’s company in Shirdi they both started to leave and went to take permission from the lord of Shirdi. Sai Baba said, you want to go, you can go. Instead of going from Manmad, go the Pune first and then proceed to Mumbai. Now Tarkhad was in a fix. The expense of the journey would increase if they go to Pune and obviously he had to put some control over his expenses in that time of crisis. But who had the courage of ignoring Baba’s order? He had immense faith in Baba so acted accordingly and preceded to Pune from Shirdi.
Now see the love of my beloved Sai for His devotees. After reaching Pune Tarkhad couple resided in the house of their relative. In the course of exchanging thoughts about themselves, his relative informed Tarkhad that his friend was searching for a suitable candidate for supervision work in his mil. The next day Tarkhad and his relative went to the mill of the friend and instantly he got the job there.
What a greatness of Sai Baba! He sits in Shirdi and takes care of His devotees around the world, even if they are seven seas away from Him. He had kept His promise that there would never be derth of food and clothes in the house of His true devotee before His Mahasamadhi and also after His Mahasamadhi. We experience this in every step of our life. If we just say Sai Sai from deep within we can find Him standing with helping hand.
Bow to Shri Sai and Peace Be to All
Source : Translated from Gujarati Book “Sai Sarovar“
© Shirdi Sai Baba Life Teachings and Stories
May Baba bless all ..