{"id":1217,"date":"2026-09-20T16:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/?page_id=1217"},"modified":"2026-09-20T16:18:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:18:14","slug":"life-of-sai-baba-volume-3-chapter-8-h-v-sathe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-3-chapter-8-h-v-sathe\/","title":{"rendered":"Life of Sai Baba \u2014 Volume 3, Chapter 8: H. V. Sathe"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.ap-story-page{--ap-ink:#17324d;--ap-muted:#49657e;--ap-teal:#08736e;--ap-line:#dde7ea;--ap-soft:#eef8f6;color:var(--ap-ink);font-family:Inter,system-ui,sans-serif;line-height:1.7}.ap-story-wrap{max-width:1060px;margin:0 auto;padding:8px 0 54px}.ap-story-kicker{color:var(--ap-teal);font-size:.78rem;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase}.ap-story-dek{max-width:780px;color:var(--ap-muted);font-size:1.2rem;margin:.45rem 0 1rem}.ap-story-subtitle{font-size:1.05rem;color:var(--ap-muted);margin:0 0 18px}.ap-story-grid{display:grid;grid-template-columns:minmax(0,1fr) 300px;gap:34px;margin-top:28px}.ap-story-main,.ap-story-card{background:#fff;border:1px solid var(--ap-line);border-radius:12px}.ap-story-main{padding:clamp(22px,4vw,46px);box-shadow:0 12px 28px rgba(16,52,80,.05)}.ap-story-main h2{font-size:1.8rem;margin-top:0}.ap-story-main h3{font-size:1.25rem;margin-top:2rem}.ap-story-main p{margin:0 0 1rem}.ap-story-main p:first-of-type:first-letter{float:left;font-size:4rem;line-height:.8;padding:.1rem .5rem 0 0;color:var(--ap-teal)}.ap-story-aside{display:grid;gap:16px}.ap-story-card{padding:20px}.ap-story-card h2{font-size:.8rem;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--ap-teal);margin:0 0 .7rem}.ap-story-card p{margin:.45rem 0}.ap-story-card a{color:var(--ap-teal);font-weight:700}.ap-story-source{background:#fbfcfc}.ap-story-teaching{background:var(--ap-soft);border-left:4px solid var(--ap-teal)}.ap-story-tag{display:inline-block;border-radius:999px;padding:4px 10px;margin:4px 4px 0 0;background:#e8f4f2;color:var(--ap-teal);font-size:.82rem}.ap-story-note{border-top:1px solid var(--ap-line);margin-top:24px;padding-top:16px;color:var(--ap-muted);font-size:.86rem}.ap-story-nav{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;gap:12px;margin-top:24px;padding-top:18px;border-top:1px solid var(--ap-line)}@media(max-width:760px){.ap-story-grid{grid-template-columns:1fr}.ap-story-nav{display:grid}}<\/style>\n<section class=\"ap-story-page\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-wrap\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-kicker\">Chapter 8 \u00b7 Life of Sai Baba \u00b7 Volume 3<\/div>\n<p class=\"ap-story-dek\">H. V. Sathe<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-subtitle\">The devotee who built a refuge for pilgrims and helped establish congregational worship at Shirdi.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Sai Baba<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Devotee experience<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Volume 3<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ap-story-grid\">\n<article class=\"ap-story-main\">\n<h2>The chapter<\/h2>\n<p>Rao Bahadur Hari Vinayak Sathe was a Deputy Collector and Settlement Officer when he first went to Shirdi in 1904. He had lost his wife and had only daughters. When Baba heard that Sathe had no son, he said, \u201cShadi Karega to Allah Bachcha Dega\u201d\u2014if he married, God would give him a child. An astrologer independently said that male progeny would come after Sathe\u2019s fiftieth year.<\/p>\n<p>Sathe married Dada Kelkar\u2019s daughter in 1906. The first children were girls, but Baba assured Dada Kelkar that Allah would grant a grandson. In 1912 a healthy grandson was born. Sathe then acted on his wish to provide accommodation for pilgrims and built the Sathe Wada at Shirdi, incorporating the remains of the village wall, the neem tree and the place Baba identified with his Guru\u2019s tomb.<\/p>\n<p>Sathe\u2019s second major service was connected with Megha. Sathe found the orthodox Brahmin repeating \u201cNamas-Sivaya,\u201d taught him Sandhya and Gayatri and sent him to worship Shiva. He then sent Megha to Shirdi, explaining that Shiva was present there in the living form of Sai Baba. At the railway station Megha learned that Baba was regarded as a Muslim and refused to go. When he finally reached the Masjid, Baba drove him away in anger.<\/p>\n<p>Megha spent a year and a half at Trimbak worshipping Gangadhareswarar and suffering abdominal pain. He returned to Shirdi with faith, and Dada Kelkar interceded for him. Baba then allowed him to stay and worship. Megha began bringing Godavari water to pour over Baba\u2019s head, and his intense devotion helped establish the congregational worship and arati traditions remembered at Shirdi.<\/p>\n<h2>What this account invites us to reflect on<\/h2>\n<p>Sathe\u2019s account joins a fulfilled family blessing with two lasting acts of service: a wada for pilgrims and the sending of Megha to Baba. Baba\u2019s work is shown through both outward institutions and an inward change that turns resistance into worship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-note\"><strong>Editorial note:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ap-story-nav\"><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-3-chapter-7-rao-bahadur-s-b-dhumal\/\">\u2190 Previous chapter<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-3-chapter-9-g-g-narke\/\">Next chapter \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<aside class=\"ap-story-aside\">\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-source\">\n<h2>Referenced source<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Life of Sai Baba<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By <em>Sh. B. V. Narasimha Swami<\/em><br \/>Volume 3, Chapter 8: <em>H. V. Sathe<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-3-08-h-v-sathe.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">View original chapter PDF \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-by-sh-b-v-narasimha-swami\/\">View the complete book \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card\">\n<h2>People and places<\/h2>\n<p><strong>People:<\/strong> Sai Baba \u00b7 Devotees<\/p>\n<p><strong>Places:<\/strong> Shirdi<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-teaching\">\n<h2>Related teaching<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Love, compassion and equality<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This account may be read alongside Sai Baba\u2019s teachings on faith, patience, equality, love and compassion.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/teachings-and-parables-of-sai-baba\/\">Explore teachings and parables \u2192<\/a><\/section>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chapter 8 \u00b7 Life of Sai Baba \u00b7 Volume 3 H. V. Sathe The devotee who built a refuge for pilgrims and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1217","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1218,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1217\/revisions\/1218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}