A Blessed Experience

When the two lady devotees of Sai Baba, whom I shall call Mdm. M. and Miss M. came to the temple for prayers the other day, I excitedly told them of the dream I had of Sai Baba appearing before me. They were thrilled and told me that no one can dream of him unless he wills it.


I felt very flattered that such a great teacher would want to visit me in my dreams! I had probably earned this good karma from doing meritorious deeds in my past lives, but I hated to think what I had done in my previous life for me to take birth as a cat in this life!


Miss M explained to me why Sai Baba is called an “avatar”- a divine being who has taken human form “to straighten out the world”, so to speak. She described his ashram in India and promised to show me photos on her next visit to the temple.


She also told me that he is able to produce holy ash with a wave of his hand. Known in Sanskrit as “vibhuti”, it has miraculous powers and has cured many people of their sickness. It has also appeared on Sai Baba's pictures in many devotees' homes which indicated his blessings for the residents. She opened her handbag and took out a small pink packet with his picture printed on it. It contained vibuthi and I took a sniff of the stuff. It had a very pleasant smell. She told me to keep it carefully and to use it not only for myself when I needed it but also to help others. I tucked the little packet under the cushion in my basket and forgot about it.


The next morning, I woke up and found that a few nuns had gathered around my basket. They were pointing at me and giggling. What’s so funny, I asked, a little annoyed. They said, “Vege Cat, you’re so vain! You're wearing powder all over your head and face!” Powder? What in heaven’s name were they talking about? I walked over to a nearby mirror and got the shock of my life. There were indeed patches of light grey powder on my forehead and cheeks. "If this is some kind of a joke..." I started to yell and then stopped short. I had caught a whiff of the “powder” and it was not powder, it was vibhuti!


I dived into my basket, thinking someone had taken my vibhuti and sprinkled it on me as a joke, but the packet was intact. Miss M. had put it in a small envelope and sealed it, and there were no signs of it being tampered with.


This could only mean one thing – Sai Baba himself had put the holy ash on my head! My heart soared, my legs trembled with excitement – I wished Miss M. could come to the temple right there and then. For the rest of the day, I walked around on Cloud 9 showing off my “blessing”. Unfortunately not many understood what it was all about except for Head Nun who had read a little of Sai Baba but I didn’t really care.


The great master had visited me - ME, a lowly cat with many flaws and nothing to my name. As we cats shout when we are dizzy with happiness - MEOW, Meow, MEOW!!