Baba — Human and Divine — Humour

The chapter

A saint who appeared only as divine perfection would be difficult for ordinary people to approach. Baba’s body, speech and humour made contact possible, while his knowledge and powers showed that the human appearance did not exhaust his nature.

G. D. Pelaspi came to Baba because a debtor named Bapu Saheb was delaying payment of Rs. 4,000. Baba asked, “What is Bapu Saheb doing?” and said that he should be beaten. The people around him thought he meant Bapu Saheb Jog, but Baba meant Pelaspi’s debtor and enjoyed the misunderstanding.

When Shama was bitten by a cobra, he ran to Baba instead of the Bairoba temple. Baba first shouted, “Do not get up, Brahmin. Get back,” then called him up and said the fakir would cure him. The command was addressed to the poison: it must not rise through Shama’s body. Baba sent him home with instructions that he be kept awake for twenty-four hours.

Kusa Bhav kept an Ekadasi fast but ate what he called kanda, sweet roots. Baba turned the word into kaanda, onion, teased him before visitors and then produced sweet potato when he vomited. Baba’s humour was human play, but the cobra incident shows the same words carrying a protective and apparently supernatural command.

Editorial note: This page is a concise paraphrase for web presentation and does not reproduce the complete chapter. Please consult the original PDF for the full account and wording.