Rao Sahib Yeshwant Janardhan Galwankar
A dream instruction, a touch of Baba’s hand, and a pilgrimage answered by grace.
Sai BabaDevotee experienceVolume 3
The chapter
Rao Sahib Yeshwant Janardhan Galwankar, son-in-law of Hemadpant, was a Superintendent in the Bombay Secretariat. His first visits to Sai Baba made little impression, but Baba later appeared in a dream, asked for two rupees dakshina, and gave him two instructions: to behave with integrity and to remain chaste. Galwankar followed both with care.
In 1917 Baba placed his palm on Galwankar’s head. Galwankar lost awareness of his surroundings and entered an ecstatic state. Baba told those present that Galwankar’s integrity and purity had been preserved through previous births and that Baba himself had placed him in his mother’s womb. Baba also taught that he was not limited to a body three and a half cubits high, but should be seen everywhere.
After Baba’s Mahasamadhi, Galwankar became more serious about spiritual life. During a 1921 family pilgrimage to Prayag and Kasi, he prayed to Sai Baba for the sight of a saint. Minutes after leaving Baradwajasram, he encountered a rare saint whom the guide said visited Prayag only once in several years. The saint welcomed Galwankar, blessed his family, and accepted the few annas he carried.
In 1932 Baba appeared again in a dream and asked what Galwankar wanted. He replied that he wanted only prem, love. Baba blessed him, and Galwankar thereafter experienced waves of love while meditating, reading and at other times. His brief contact with Baba before Mahasamadhi thus ripened into a deeper spiritual life afterwards.
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.