Telagi is a small town in Bijapur district of Karnataka, where Baba spent his boyhood for 12 years from 1950-62. It is true, he used to travel around to nearby places, but the major part of 12 years he spent in Telagi. There are various guess works as to how he came to Telagi to spend 12 years of his boyhood. One opinion says Baba was extensively peripatetic and while on one such move he came and continued to stay there. Another guess work is that, Baba as a young boy was naughty and used to indulge in boyish pranks like entering any shop, taking things he liked and eating them, threatening other children through wild gimmicks, chasing boys with stones in hand etc. Citizens of the town got tired of his pranks and wanted to drive him out. Once they chased him for a long distance till Baba climbed a nearby hillock. People abandoned the chase. When Baba got down from other side of the hill there was a horse, as if by God’s command. He rode on it and it bought him speedily to Telagi and in fact to a temple of village goddess. The horse with the rider entered the temple through a narrow and short door and came out without the rider and disappeared. The people then realized that Baba was not an ordinary boy. They welcomed him and took care of him. Baba used to enter the temple and spend time there. Whenever he is at temple there used to be a roar; as if coming from a tiger (tiger is the vehicle of the goddess). May be Baba might have played with tiger.
At Telagi Baba stayed at the residence of Basappa Eerappa Mosabinal. Once in his house when god’s worship was going on, the boy Baba came to the oil lamp kept near by the sacred plate took the burning wick and put it in his mouth and swallowed. This incident convinced the villagers that Baba was not an ordinary human being, but the god’s messenger. This assumption made the villagers accept Baba as a respected extraordinary person coming to the world with a purpose. Their devotion for him enhanced and he became a respected messenger of God.
During the stay at Telagi, there used to be a daily worship and bhajan and on every full moon day and no-moon-day there used to be a village fair. Thousands of people of surrounding villages used to come for Baba’s darshan and blessings. Those who attended pooja used to bring coconuts. There used to be a small hill of coconuts on such days. Baba’s devotees would get his blessings and would lead happy life. Baba would attract devotees by performing some miracle or the other. Once Baba went for meals to the house of a devotee, Shivalingappa Chimmalgi. There a woman visitor talked low of Baba. So Baba immediately turned himself into a snake and the woman terrified, went running, shouting on road. People came to that house to see the wonder. They saw the snake and bowed before it, praising Baba’s power for miracles. The woman, who had criticized Baba, died after some days.
These are many instances where Baba lighted a stove or a lantern or light gas by using water as fuel. Many times when petrol of the car in which he was travelling exhausted, he advised the drivers to use water and drive. One day when, with M.R. Goni and B.H. Beedadinni, he had gone in a car to Kolhav and while returning to Telagi, petrol was exhausted and the car stopped. When all were worrying, Baba said to the driver to drive on and actually the car moved and reached Telagi without any further trouble.
Near Hanuman temple of Telagi there is a huge tree. Baba once climbed it up and slept on a not so strong but on a thin weak branch. People below requested him to get down. But Baba did not respond and slept on. Many devotees sat at the foot of the tree, so that they can avoid an injury to Baba in case he fell down. But nothing like that happened and Baba came down smiling in the morning.
There are some examples of Baba forewarning his devotes of the coming danger to their lives and saving them Near his Telagi Ashram a blind boy used to sit. The boy’s father was the devotee of Baba and the father was always worried about this son’s future. Once he requested Baba to grant the boon of sight to his son. Baba was already pleased with the father’s devotion. The father was one of the group who had prayed for safe descent of Baba from tree. So Baba took pity on him and told him that his son will get the sight. It really happened so. The father was grateful and happy. Those who prayed sincerely; never were disappointed by Baba.
There are also examples of Baba anticipating the forthcoming difficulties to his devotees and releasing them from such dangers. Near Telagi railway station there was a Baba’s devotee named Sharanamma. She was by profession a midwife. Her husband was also a Baba’s devotee. One day Baba had gone to her house and told her “Today you do not go out of your house. Danger is awaiting you”. Sharanamma said “I can’t remain in house, there is a woman in labour pains and if I do not go there she may die. As a midwife it is my duty to save women. So I will go there. Please bless me and wish me success”. After some three-four days of this incident Sharanamma was washing clothes near a well. At that time she felt somebody pushed her in the well. She fell in the well and cried for help. At that time she remembered Baba’s warning. Thinking he only could save him, she prayed to Baba to save her. As if in answer to her prayer some people came there and saved her. But her difficulties did not end there. A few days after this, Baba came to her and told “Be careful. You are to die in a few days hence”. A true devotee, she replied “Baba you can save people; you can make them die, as well. I am your devotee and 1 have surrendered my life. It is for you either to save me or kill me. After 4-5 days Sharanamma fell sick. All were worried. Then she went in coma. All around her left hopes. But Baba came there. When she felt Baba’s presence she shouted and opened her eyes. When Baba asked her “How do you feel now, Sharanamma”, she said “Through your kindness I am reborn”. Man is always subject to his fate. What is to happen, none can by his teaching make the life of devotee happy one as long as the devotee lives. Baba has taken up welfare of his devotees, as his life’s aim. There is a shloka in Sanskrit.
Yetkrupa tamhum vande paramananda madhavam
This indicates with God willing, a dumb can speak and a lame can climb a mountain. Therefore, Madhava, I bow to you. God doesn’t do this himself, but get it done through a true guru. This was actually seen at Telagi when a man, dumb from birth, started speaking as soon as he saw Baba. Another example is curing the patients from Asthma, by making them run from Telagi village to Telagi Station – a distance of 3 to 4 furlongs.
Baba during his stay at Telagi used to cure many patients coming from nearby places by giving them to drink water from a nearby pond as medicine. Baba at Telagi used to perform such miracles, not as a showmanship or with any self-interest but for good of his devotees who were also sincere devotees of God. He would never perform miracles so that people should severe him, as a showoff, but for well-being of all.
Baba had a proactive of celebrating a fair once a year at Telagi in which thousands of people took food. Once, there was no big vessel for cooking as sufficient funds had not been collected so that new one could be purchased. When organizers were worried, Baba told “Go to Sarwad Swami Math. In the neighborhood of that Math there is a thorny bush. There you will get sufficient rupees for buying the vessel”. So one Kadeppa Chimmalgi went to the spot, saw the money took it and brought the vessel, which is still there in that Math.
Similar is the case with Shantayya Hiremath who was told to go near a plantain tree on the top of which he would find Rs.5/- note. It was there and Hiremath brought it and gave it to Baba.
Baba would, sometimes, indulge in some pranks on his devotees. Once he wanted a cigarette. In that small village it was not available. Nearby Baba, was sitting a poor man, Basappa with Rs.10/- note in his pocket. Baba took out the note, rolled a tobacco in it and smoked it as a cigarette. Basappa was worried. Baba saw this and said “you are worried, you have lost Rs.10/-wait I will give you”. He then collected the cigarette-ash which was dropped on ground, converted it into a Rs. 10/- note and gave it to Basappa.
Once Baba told his two devotees Chandrasekhar and Mallappa to go to nearby Hanuman temple and bring Prasad. Those two told Baba that Maruti temple is locked. Baba told “Go to temple, push the door, it will open”. It happened like that exactly and Baba got the Prasad.
Every year in the Sravana month (September) there used to be Sangameshwar fair where the pilgrims were fed with a sweet dish prepared of rawa. Once when such rava was boiling in a big vessel, devotees were stirring it with a rod. Baba went there, threw away the rod and stirred the boiling rava mixture with his hand. The devotees were worried about Baba’s hand, but when Baba took it out nothing had happened.
One day a cobra bit Baba. Baba caught hold of it and cut it into piece and threw away. It is believed that if cobra is killed the poison rises in blood and the person dies. Devotees were worried whole night they kept watch on Baba, but Baba slept well, got up as if nothing had happened. This showed that he had in his blood an antidote to snake poison.
Bheemappa, one of the Baba’s devotees, was addicted to smoking pipe. Once he filled his pipe with tobacco, put a cotton on it, but he did not have a match box to light it. When he was restive for a pipe smoke Baba saw him, took his pipe, took the cotton in his hand, ignited it with just breathing on it and gave it back to Basappa to smoke it.
One more wonderful act of Babaji was in the plantation of Shankarappa of Tadalgam in Indi Taluka. He asked Shankarappa to bring water from a nearby well. When water was brought, Baba turned it into ghee, surprising Shankarappa. Baba’s gimmicks did not end there. He turned himself into a tiger. Shankarappa scared and started running. Baba stopped him after attaining original form. There were gimmicks, but Baba did some lasting good turn to Shankarappa. He had no children and he begged Baba. Baba blessed him and said he will have children. It happened so.
The sages and saints are always busy in doing well to people around them. Majority of their followers are common men desire welfare of such sages and saints. But there are some wicked elements who want to harass and even kill good men. Baba was not free from such enemies. The extent to which such enemies went to harass Baba in unbelievable and cruel. We can accept people not serving saints, but harassing them is unbelievable.
Baba had a big milky white horse and he liked to ride it as and when possible. Once when Baba was not in Ashram, a miscreant just to put Baba into trouble, went to the horse shed and without cutting the rope tied it to its leg, pulled out the stump to which the rope was tied, freed the horse. It started moving here and there. Then the miscreant brought a mare near the horse which started chasing the mare. Running, both neared to market place which was crowded that day being a weekly market day. There were shouts and scramble. The stump hit some people causing injuries. It also hit on the stomach of a young girl of 10-12 years, who succumbed to the injury. The people around these got wild and in a rage carried the girl’s body to the Ashram, with her mother following crying. Baba was flabbergast and Shankarappa nearby also did not know what to do. Baba knew it was a mischief of cruel man which killed the innocent girl. He covered the child’s body with white cloth and started meditation. After sometime the cloth started moving and when removed it was that the girl was alive and she got up as if from sleep. Everyone was happy. The fool who wanted to trouble Baba could never know Baba’s transcendental capacity.