SHRI SAI BABA MAHARAJ KI JAI!

Many good wishes & Greetings to you for starting this pious venture which would benifit all. On my part I would, with SAI's Blessings, start telling my story which maybe close to a miracle as it has changed my meaning of life & devotion.

" It was in the year 1989 when I was detailed by my boss to establish & oversee a small shop in DUBAI retailing handknotted carpets, dhurries, handicrafts such as leather items & onyx (green marble) crafts. First I contemplated over the assignment but later supported by my wife (an ardent believer of Sai Baba of Shirdi, I was not at that time so keen on such beliefs) I ventured out with my associate colleague to start this new business. In the initial period we were very busy acquiring the trade licence and our own residential & employment permits, cleaning the store, a mere 8' x 22' dimension in the main lobby of a 4 star Hotel and later clearing and receiving the goods for display & sale. Once the store took shape we surveyed the hotel for prospective customers besides venturing outdoors to solicit business. Though tourists were plentiful out on the market square below none were interested to come to the hotel. The hotel manager had issued a strict policy for us not to distribute our company brochures/flyers to the hotel guests in the lobby. For many days we just sat inside our small store waiting for buyers to come in. In the evening after we closed shop while walking down to our apartment we would try to give out our promotional brochures to passerbys hoping they would visit us one day. But it became difficult as we weretold not to solicit business on the road without a trading licence? Being in a foreign land not fully accustomed to their ways we lost all our savings on food & rations which ere slowly being depleted. For the next three days still waiting for a sale to happen we were out of food/rations and starving not being able to seek help in a strange land. After closing shop and feeling the pangs of hunger we strolled down to the riverside where I sat on a bench and my colleague stood by the grill watching the dhows plying the river carrying people from our side to the other side called bur dubai. While I was sitting on the bench a thought occured to me why not try to appeal to SAI BABA of SHIRDI in whom my wife had complete faith and she was all praise for Him for His teachings and miracles. So I thought why not just try and ask if this SAI BABA would hear my plight and help out?? So I opened my heart and prayed to SAI BABA to help me and my friend/colleague out of our misfortune and make our business successful. If my wish came true I promised Him I would visit his Asharam in Shirdi. Once I finished my prayers & appeal I found myself in tears and shaking. Hearing my cries my friend came running and so did some other passerbys who queried me at my condition. I told him my tale and we both laughed out and returned to our apartment for a good nights sleep on an empty stomach. Once awake in the morning I dressed for work and walked down to our store completely forgetting my confession to BABA. In the afternoon we were surprised to find not one but two parties of customers, one Japanese the other Korean who bought many items of Onyx and other small handicrafts for a good sum. This sale kept our spirits high and we sold more such items later in the evening to other prospective buyes. When we closed shop we counted our sale amount and the first thing we did was to buy groceries and fill our fridge. In jest my friend commented that "your BABA has really answered your prayers". I was totally transfixed by hearing this and immediately prostrated facing South in reverence to SAI BABA of SHIRDI thanking Him for listening to me and giving me the courage to work hard. From then on every morning at first light I would wake up say my prayers and then thank SAI BABA for showing true light. We prospered after that and on returning to my home country made efforts to visit Shirdi as promised. I did visit SHIRDI the same year and was overwhelmed by the sheer multitude of people from all walks of life gathered at the site who had their own stories to tell. Again a year later I had another chance to visit SHIRDI.

WHAT A MIRACLE! OM NUM SAI! OM NUM SAI! OM NUM SAI! ANATKOTI BRAMANDNAYAK RAJA DI RAJ SATGURU SHREE SAINATH MAHARAJ KI JAI."

Darius Dastur (SAI BHAKHT)

PS: REGRET FOR THE LONG DISCOUSE, BUT FELT DETAILS NECESSARY FOR GRASPING THE SITUATION, YOU MAY EDIT AS YOU LIKE. THANK YOU.....

Regards & Best Wishes........
DD