Javhar Ali & Sai Baba

Once a fakir named Javhar Ali from Ahmednagar, came to Rahata with his disciples and stayed in a Bakhal (spacious room) near Virabhadra temple. 

Javhar Ali was learned, could repeat the complete Koran, and was a good speaker. Many religious and devout people of the village came to him and looked at him with respect.

 With the help of the people, he started to build an Idgah ( a wall before which Mahomedans pray on Idgah day), near the Virabhadra temple. There was some quarrel regarding this, Javhar Ali had to leave Rahata. 

Then he came to Shirdi and lived in the Masjid with Sai Baba. People were captivated by his sweet talk, and he began to call Sai Baba his disciple. 

Baba did not object to this and consented to be his Chela. Thereafter both of them decided to return to Rahata and live there. 

The Guru (Teacher) never knew his disciple’s worth, but the disciple(Sai baba) knew the defects of the Guru, still, he never disrespected him and did all his duties properly. 

He even served the Master in many ways. They used to come to Shirdi often, but their mainstay was in Rahata. The beloved devotees of Sai Baba in Shirdi did not like this, that Sai Baba should stay away from them in Rahata! 

So they together went to bring Sai Baba back to Shirdi. When they met Baba near the Idgah and told the purpose of their visit, Sai Baba said to them that the Fakir was an ill-tempered person and he would never allow him to leave Rahata and that they should therefore return to Shirdi without him, before the return of Javhar Ali. 

While they were thus talking, Javhar Ali came there and he was very angry with them for trying to pursue his disciple to leave him. 

There were some discussion and altercation between the devotees of Sai Baba and Javhar Ali. Finally, it was decided that both the Guru and Chela should return to Shirdi. And so they returned and lived in Shirdi. 

But after a few days, there was a competition between Javhar Ali and another learned person named Devidas. And it was decided that if Javhar Ali won then Sai baba would continue to be his Chela and if vice-versa then Sai baba would be free and would no longer be the Chela of Javhar Ali. 

 Twelve years before Sai Baba had arrived in Shirdi with the marriage party of Chand Patil, Devidas aged around 10 or 11 years, had come to Shirdi and lived in the Maruti temple. Devidas had fine features with brilliant eyes, and he was dispassion incarnate and a Jnani!

Many persons, namely Tatya Kote, Kashinath, and others regarded him as their Guru. They brought Javhar Ali in his presence, and in the discussion that followed, Javhar was defeated had to leave Shirdi. He went and stayed in Bijapur and returned after many years to Shirdi, and prostrated himself before Sai Baba. 

The delusion that he was Guru and Sai Baba his Chela, was cleared away, and as he repented, Sai Baba treated him with respect. In this case, Sai Baba showed by actual conduct how one should get rid of egoism and do the duties of a disciple to attain the highest end, i.e. self-realization.