Sai Mahabhakta Dr. Rajaram Sitaram Kapadi was an M. B. B.Ś.Doctor by Profession. On the 6th of April 1896 Dr. Kapadi was born at Sangameshwar, in the Ratnagiri District, in a well-to-do family. After completing his primary education upto Marathi fourth standard at Sangameshwar, the question of his further education cropped up and Dr. Kapadi moved to a village named Ozare, which is ten miles away from Sangameshwar, for his secondary education. Sangameshwar is a Taluka place and it is also a place of historic importance, because it was at this place that Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was arrested by the Mughal army through treachery; but during those days there was no provision of getting secondary education at Sangmeshwar. At Ozare however one Shri.Pangu Jagushte had started a private school for teaching English and therefore Dr. Kapadi stayed at that place. In this village Dr. Kapadi prosecuted his studies of the English language; but in the absence of other suitable arrangement he had to cook his own food. Dr. Kapadi thereafter moved to Bombay and completed his education upto Matriculation at Bombay. He studied in Bombay in the Elphinstone High School, which was located in a building near Dhobi Talao. At present this building is mostly occupied as offices.

After passing the Matriculation examination Dr. Kapadi joined the Wilson College at Bombay. Here he completed his course of Inter Science and joined the Grant Medical College at Bombay for the M. B. B. S. course In the meanwhile Mahatma Gandhi started the non-cooperation movement in 1920 and gave a call to all the students studying is schools and colleges to leave them and to join the national movement. Like a true patriot Dr. Kapadi left the college in 1921 and joined the non-cooperation movement. He also joined as the Head Master of a national school which was started at Alibaug in the Raigad District under the name Vaishya Vidyalaya. Sometime after Dr. Kapadi again joined the Medical College but during 1927-28 he suffered from dysentery and he had to leave the college and go to his native place for taking rest. Ultimately he completed the M. B. B. S. course in 1931. After taking some post-graduate training in the colleges at Bombay and Madras, Dr. Kapadi left Bombay and started medical practice at his native place. At that time there was good scope for practice in Bombay; but Dr. Kapadi wanted to give some medical relief to the people of his native place with whom he played in his childhood and who fondled him at that time. During his stay at his native place, Dr. Kapadi served the villagers very sincerely. He went for visits at odd hours of the day and night when he was summoned. He travelled for his visit even on foot and reached the nook and corner of the Western Ghats. Some times he had even to travel in country crafts for miles in order to go to the house of the patient and examine him there. He did many delivery cases and helped many patients suffering from Cholera during this period of his life.

Social Work

While practising at Sangameshwar Dr. Kapadi did lot of social work for the uplift of the local people. Dr. Kapadi worked hard along with Shri Sardal Guruji to start an Anglo-vernacular school, which was opened at the auspicious hands of Barrister V. D. Sawarkar. As chairman of the Paisa fund institution at Sangameshwar Dr. Kapadi strived hard & arranged to get permission for starting a high school there. He thus got satisfaction that he could provide some facilities for education at Sangameshwar when he used to often remember the inconveniences which he had to withstand in his childhood for getting education.

Another field in which Dr. Kapadi worked was the amalgamation of subcastes and the marriages amongst them, Dr. Kapadi worked with Shri Sardal Guruji and the local leaders for holding a convention of the Vaishya community staying in Maharashtra. This caused awakening in the Vaishya community staying in the Konkan and they carried out many social reforms such as abolition of sub-castes and taking food with people of other subcastes and giving their daughters in marriage to them.

Dr. Kapadi's father was a merchant. The elder brother of Dr. Kapadi, Shri Sakharam S. Kapadi, took interest in the business of his father and prospered very much; but unfortunately he expired in the Influenza epidemic that swept all over India in 1918, after the first world war. Before his death Dr. Kapadi's brother had the good fortune to have darshan of Shri Sai Baba and it was because of his devotion to Shri Sai Baba that Dr. Kapadi was also attracted to Sai Baba. Dr. Kapadi's father wished that his son (Dr. Kapadi) should undertake their ancestral business; but Dr. Kapadi had the attraction of the medical course Under these circumstances Dr. Kapadi had great tension on his mind; but Sadguru Shri Sai Baba gave him definite instructions to continue his medical course. In the month of May 1918, Dr. Kapadi had the good fortune to take the darshan of Shri Sai Baba when he was alive in flesh and blood. After the Mahasamadhi of Shri Sai Baba, Dr. Kapadi had visited Shirdi along with his younger brother Shri Keshav S. Kapadi. At that time the devotees had to get down a few steps in order to take darshan of Shri Baba's Samadhi.

The parents of Dr. Kapadi were religious minded persons. His mother died early but his father lived upto 80 years. His ancestors from his father's side have a tradition of long life. His grand-mother (father's mother) died at the age of 90 years. His younger brother was 85 years old and his younger sister was 83 years of age while his last brother was also aged 80 years as of 1983. All his brothers and sister enjoyed good health.

At Kolhapur

At about 1941, the children of Dr. Kapadi became of college going age. At that time there were no colleges at Taluka places as they are today. Hence Dr. Kapadi went to Kolhapur in that year and settled there. Since that time he practised at Kolhapur. Due to his stay at Kolhapur Dr. Kapadi was able to give College education to his children, who also occupied high positions and well-settled in life.

Dr. Kapadi inherited devotion to God and saints and a religious bent of mind from his parents. So he liked to take darshan of saints who were alive and also to visit the shrines of the saints, who have attained Mahasamadhi. He also liked to read the biographies of saints and also the books written by them. In his childhood he was taught to learn by heart many stotras and other religious hymns. He had the habit of reading epics like Mahabharat, Ramayan and Bhagwat by St. Eknath and Dasbodh by Saint Ramdas and such other books in Marathi. He had taken darshan of many saints among whom were Shri Balkrishna alias Dadamaharaj from Patgao, Shri Narayan Maharaj of Kedgaon, Shri Siddharudh Swami from Hubli, Shri Meherbaba, Shri Sai Baba, Shri Upasani Baba, Shri Harikaka from Vyankatmadhi, Shri Nana Maharaj, Shri Shyam Maharaj, Shri Chile Maharaj, Shri Anna Maharaj from Bijrapur and many others.

Dr Kapadi had also visited the shrines of the following saints, who have attained Mahasamadhi :-

Shri Brahma Chaitanya Maharaj of Mangaon, Gondavalekar Maharaj, Shri Manik Prabhu Maharaj from Hnmnabad, Shri Balekundri Maharaj from Belgaum, Shri Dnyaneshwar Maharaj from Alandi, Shri Swami Samartha from Sajjangad, Shri Tukaram Maharaj from Dehu, Dattavtar Balkrishna Saraswati Maharaj from Kolhapur, and some other shrines also have been visited by him.

Dr. Kapadi had studied the biographies of Bidkar Maharaj from Pune, Gajanan Maharaj from Shegaon, Shri Shankar Maharaj from Pune, Shri Akkalkotkar Maharaj, Shri Sadhumaharaj from Karnatak, Shri Uplekar Maharaj from Phaltan, Shri Kane Maharaj fram Belgaum, Shri Laxman Maharaj from Kolhapur and some others. Dr. Kapadi had also written short biographies of some of the above saints.

After coming to Kolhapur Dr. Kapadi continued his work in the social and educational fields also. He continued to do the work of Maharashtra Vaishya Parishad. Work of abolishing the subcastes and encourging the marriages among different castes was also done by him. Dr. Kapadi also helped educational institutions to thrive further. He was the President of the Kolhopur District Co-operative Housing Society Federation for over thirteen years.

Dr. Kapadi was also fond of drama, From his young age he was acting important roles in many dramas. He had written seven dramas which were staged and were applauded much by the audience. He acted many roles in the dramas presented by the Karweer Natya Mandal and Sai Natya Mandal. In the year 1982, he played an important role in one famous play written by Ram Ganesh Gadkari, a famous Marathi playwrite.

An illustrious personality Dr. Kapadi was the President of annual gathering of the contributors to Shri Sai Leela Magazine in the year 1983.

(Source: Shri Sai Leela Magazine, January 1983)