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. Smt. Kasibai Hansraj was the widow of Sri.Hansraj who was residing at Sakori about 5 Kilometer from Shirdi. She belonged to Vani Vaste. She and her husband went to Shirdi 20 years ago. In Margasira about December, 1916, just after Radhakrishna Ayi died, they went and stayed for about 6 months. Her husband had Asthma. Narasinga Baba Maharaj of Nasik had told him that as an evil spirit had possessed his body, they had no issue and that he should go to Shirdi Sai Baba who would give him two slaps and exorcize it. That is why they came to Sai Baba. Baba gave her husband two Slaps saying, “Evil spirit be off." From that time they started living there. Her husband’s asthma abated. It was operating during the day but did not trouble him at night. Before they came to Shirdi it was troubling day and night. Baba was caughing away at night when they lived there. At the end of our 6 months’ stay Asthma ceased to trouble her husband by day even. Before she mentioned that, a chamatkar on Baba’s part in healing him has to be mentioned. Soon after they settled in Shirdi Baba told her husband that he should be strict in following his diet and avoid curds, and other acid and pungent articles of food. When it came to acting on this advice, her husband found it hard to follow it, as these were what he liked most. He did not relish his food without curds etc. He would sooner give up life than curds, he declared. So every day for two months they were trying to prepare curds at home, because in Shirdi village curds were not easily to be had at noon. They kept milk heated and cooled for curdling every night and then they would go and attend the Noon-Arati of Baba at the Mosque. Everyday almost for two months a cat used to stealthily come to their lodgings in their absence, jump up the sling in which the curd pot was kept and drank it off. As their meal had to be after Aarti, her husband found that there were no curds to take. One day he resolved to catch the thief in the very act and so stayed away from the Noon Aarti. The cat came in, her husband allowed it to get in, to watch how it could possibly reach the curd pot which was kept so high in a sling. But it did. Anyhow the cat had dipped its mouth into the curd pot and the curds were not fit for use. He quickly watched its drinking and when it got down he used his stick severely on its back, by way of summary punishment for its larceny. In the afternoon, people resorted to Baba at the mosque and got Udhi from his hands. They also went there to take Udhi from Baba. Bapu Saheb Jog, Madhav Rao Deshpande, Kaka Saheb Dixit, Bapu Saheb Buti etc., was also present there. Baba addressing them referred to her husband and said “There is an upantiya (i.e. one who does the reverse of what he is asked to do) who wants to die by eating sour and pungent things. But I would not allow him to do that. Today I went to him in the form of a cat. That fellow has given me a caning on the back. See here." Then Baba exposed his back from under the Kafni; and there everyone could see a weal or stripe such as caning might cause. What a wonder! Thereafter her husband wanted no more curds to be prepared and no more acids etc., to take. This accelerated his improvement very probably. Baba was not for giving him any medicines. First she gave her husband daily some medicine for the Asthma. Baba then said that he also had Asthma and that as she was giving medicine to my husband he had thousands of women who would give him medicine; “But what is the use?” He added “Allah Malik hai - God is the Lord". So she stopped giving medicines. It is without resort to any medicine that Baba got her husband’s asthma cured. That cure lasted for a year or so. Then her husband had again his Asthma. That was in 1918 or 1919 and then he was cured by Upasani Baba when the latter went to Sion. Sai Baba used to say many things. Kasibai remembers some of them. While he was all along living at Shirdi alone he would suddenly declare “I have been to Kasi and had a bath and just now I have returned. Why do I want a bath here?” or “I have been to Kolhapur, or Audumbarwadi and I have just now returned”. Jog told Kasibai that Sai Baba gave him darshan of himself as Akkalkot Maharaj, at his (Jog’s) request.
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