Unplanned trips just magically happen when He calls us (Prabha Narasimhan)

I was a believer of Shirdi Sai Baba but not like many others. I never gave it a moment to say that I would be going to Shirdi. But three times my friends just made the booking and said that we are going to Shirdi tomorrow or the day after.  There was no planned trip for each of these trips.  I just hopped on to the plane and there I was with my friends at Shirdi.  I had no particular desire or dream to visit Shirdi.  It just happened. 

But my husband is an ardent devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba. He is so crazy over  Baba that his life starts in the morning and ends with Baba yet he couldn't accompany me all the three times. He was telling me “I haven't been called by Him yet. I don't know when I will go”. That’s all he said. 

All these years, my husband hadn't been to Shirdi even though he used to pray to Baba so much.   Even the little van that comes on the road playing Saibaba bhajans and collecting donations, he used to give money and say that he hopes that one day he would go to Shirdi. 

Every time my friends called me, I just hopped on the plane and went. I developed more and more faith in Baba with each trip. It’s amazing that all the four times there had been no planning and each time the travel happened within 2 days. So I think when the time comes, nothing stops you.

My parents had strong faith and belief in Shirdi Sai Baba and they had been to Shirdi but I had never been with them. I never thought even in my wildest dream that I would go. So, even if parents are devotees of Shirdi Baba, He takes care of children too.

When I went to Shirdi for the first time, I was just a simple Saibaba's devotee when I just went to the famous Baba  temple on ECR Road on the beach in Chennai  where my friend runs the place there.  I watch the afternoon Arati, eat and come. I just had that kind of faith. My connection to Baba kept increasing because again and again, people are just calling me and I am going with them. It was with different combinations and permutations of close friends  that I am going with where I am a constant. 

Out of the blue, when my husband and I were discussing about how he hasn’t been to Shirdi yet, my friend calls me and says “I have booked the tickets for you and your husband and we are all going to Shirdi on 3rd of April. It will be my treat and it's my gift for everybody”. So the right time had come for him now.  He was on the plane and five of us went to Shirdi. So I think when the time comes, nobody can stop and he wants us there. My friend had made all the arrangements there through a gentleman Mr. Ramani who is connected to Shirdi Sai Baba temple on ECR. And I never got such a beautiful darshan like I got on this fourth visit. I told my husband that your call has come. He called you and gave a beautiful darshan. 

First time, when I went to Shirdi, we were a group of 12 women , the second time we were  2 women, the third time we were a group of 5 women and the fourth time we were a group of 5 (3 women and 2 men) and all of them were my dear friends. Different people had called me at different times and booked my tickets. I have not even booked once. It's amazing. Literally Baba had called me. 

My husband's trip was totally a miracle. Whenever I got to go with my friends, he was thinking his time hasn’t come but at least let her go. Then his time also came. In Shirdi, I went for one Arati in the evening as I was not able to get up for Kakad aarti but my husband and friends went for two aratis - kakad and evening. So they got two darshans. My husband was overjoyed and I don't think he's been so happy ever.

And now he says, even if I don't go again, it’s ok as I got beautiful darshan. Now he does Annadhanam in Sai temple at Mandaveli, once a week. We go to Sai temple in ECR, once in a while too. We had been to Tirupati multiple times and we felt very lucky. Now we had been to Shirdi too. So he feels complete. For him, Baba is everything. Whatever I talk to him, he is like, I am not bothered, Baba will take care. He developed it on his own. My husband is already a spiritual man and he is on another level whereas I am not on his level but I learn a lot from him.  He is more attached to Baba than even Venkatachalapati, our family God for Iyengars. That was worrying me and saddening me that I couldn't take him to Shirdi with me three times. Even though he knows how to go to Shirdi by himself, it didn't happen for many years.