My Lord Of Shirdi, SAINATH MAHARAJ reached Shri Kshetra, abode of Lord Jagannath before my reaching

My dear Sai Bandhus!

Here is another incident, where our Lord proved again that sincere prayers are heard by Him.

In Sai Satcharitra, we found Baba reaching GAYA before SHYAMA, now even after ninety one years of His Maha Samadhi My Lord Sai enacted same incident for me.

Now all of you might have known that I am from Oarissa. I am in Orissa since the past 35 years, but my Lord pulled me to His path some 19 months ago at Puri, where I am posted.(View my post dated January 23, 2009 in these columns)

Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Khurda Road, Puri, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Attabira, Sonepur, Koraput, Jeypore and Rayagada are some places where Telugu Speaking people are settled in Orissa. We all by now know that due to efforts of Sai Vyasa HH B.V.Narasimhaswami ji, Late Bapatla Hanumantha Rao, Late Vemuri Venkateswarlu and numerous Ankita Bhaktas of Sai, Sai cult spread like wild fire among Andhrites since the past 60 years. Though Andhraites settled down in Orissa since the past 40 to 50 years their devotion to Sai has been some how confined to their homes only.

It was in 1992 that first ever Sai temple was built in Orissa at Khurda Road, revenue name of the town is Jatni due to efforts of Guru Chandra Bhanu Satapatiji. Since then numerous Sai temples are built across Orissa. Shri Dwarika Mohan Mishra, once eminent CPM leader, Shri GB Rao, Guru Chandra Bhanu Satapati and numerous others spread the Sai movement in the state by constructing Sai mandirs in Orissa.

Now in Orissa there is Sai mandir even in smallest village , but surprisingly there is no mandir at Puri where Lord Jagannath is manifested and presiding deity. Since my initiation into the path by Lord Himself, I have been wondering and praying for this.

My Lord called me to His abode, Shirdi at the time of Last Punya Tithi (I would share another instance in this regard) and I had been to Shirdi. I was fortunate to attend all the Aratis during my three days' stay there and my only prayer and question to my Lord then was 'why are you not coming to Puri, please come to Puri as Sai Jagannatha'. All along my stay there this was only my prayer.

After reaching back home, I had been to my office to resume on duty on 16th October 2008, Thursday little knowing that my Lord reached Puri before me. My colleague Shri Jani who is always somewhat reserved in nature, wished me immediately on my entering the office to inform me that 'Sai today I saw a peculiar thing on the side of Railway level crossing at NCC gate'. I inquired 'what was that peculiar thing?' 'A big hoarding was erected there whereon was it written with bold letters 'Shirdi se Sriksheta Giri tak Sab ka Maalik ek' and your Saibaba's picture on stone was painted and this is the first time that I saw such a hoarding in Puri as I am staying in Puri since the past 40 years', he exclaimed. I heard the news with total astonishment.

I prayed my Lord at Shirdi, to come to Puri and see He was here before my arrival. I called one of my junior colleagues to bring his bike to go to the site to see the hoarding and we both went there around 12 noon. On seeing the hoarding which was painted on flexiboard with blue back ground, Baba sitting on stone and written on it with bold letters in Oriya as above. (For the information of readers Puri is called as Shri Kshetra, Jagannatha Dham) I could not control tears that rolled down even as my astonishment furthered as to no information about the owner of the hoarding is mentioned on the board.

My colleague Satapati who is acquainted with the area consoled me and we started searching for the owner of the hoarding. After two hours of search of knocking each and every door there, finally we zeroed down to a Rickshaw puller who was sitting in the out house of a vacant land. He was the person to give us the name of owner of that hoarding and its purpose.

The owner is boss of this Rickshaw puller who bought land for constructing Sai mandir there and the Rickshaw Puller gave the phone number.

We spoke to him. Now the efforts are on with the help of that gentleman for construction of Temple by forming a trust. He informed us that he bought the land for the purpose in the year 1999 and lost hope of building the temple as he knows no Sai devotee in this place. He was almost in tears when we contacted him.

We were awestruck when we read such incidents in Sai Satcharitra.

But now after 90 years of Maha Samadhi, see How my Lord proving Himself that He is Hari and He is Jagannath.

Sairam
Ever in the lap of Sai,