|| Shri Swami Samarth ||
In the month of Kartik, Chintopant Appa Tol went to Akkalkot and Maharaj went with him. Tol had arranged two horses, one for Maharaj and one for himself, and a servant who would walk with them.
When they had barely traveled ten kilometers, a messenger from the collectors' office came riding with a message for Tol. He had been asked to return to Solapur in order to attend to a work emergency.
Tol gave strict instructions to the servant, "Stay here with Maharaj until I return, and don't allow Him to go anywhere!"
The servant nodded and Tol rode off with the messenger back to Solapur. As soon as he had left, Maharaj dismounted from the horse and wandered into a nearby garden. The servant followed, pleading with Maharaj to not go any further.
However, Maharaj does what He wills, and is not bound by anyone's instructions. Maharaj disappeared from the garden and appeared in Akkalkot seated in the Khandoba temple, leaving the Tol's servant worried about what explanation he would give to his master.
Here, Tol wound up his work at Solapur and swiftly rode back to the place where he had left Maharaj. Noticing only his servant, Tol chastised him for having let Maharaj leave even as the poor man explained that he did all he could to stop Swami from leaving. They looked around in the nearby area but there was no sign of Samarth. Tol then hastened towards Akkalkot, worried that he may never see Swami again.
The Khandoba temple is on the outskirts of Akkalkot on the route to Solapur. As Tol approached Akkalkot, he noticed Swami seated in the Khandoba temple. His joy knew no bounds and he dismounted and ran towards Maharaj.
He pleaded with Maharaj, "Please come home, Swami."
Swami replied, "My home is different."
Even after much pleading, Swami did not agree to go with Tol, so with a heavy heart, after offering his obeisance to Shri Swami Samarth, he returned back to Solapur. Maharaj then left the Khandoba temple and sat at the village entrance, not yet entering Akkalkot. He sat there without food for three whole days.
On the fourth day, Ahmed Alikhan, a soldier, mockingly asked Shri Maharaj, "Do you smoke chilim?", to which Maharaj replied, "Yes I do!". Alikhan handed an empty chilim to Maharaj which He put to his mouth and took a puff.
A thick smoke emanated from the chilim and this convinced Akikhan that Maharaj was an avaliya. Alikhan had noticed that Shri Maharaj had not eaten for three days and thought of arranging food for Him from a Brahmin home. Cholappa lived nearby and would surely make arrangements.
Cholappa brought food for Maharaj and went with Alikhan to where Maharaj was. He prepared a plate and offered it to Maharaj, who asked Alikhan to touch the plate.
Alikhan was understandably hesitant to touch the food prepared by a Brahmin.
Sensing his hesitation, Swami reassured him, "Don't be scared, hold it in your hands."
At the insistence of Shri Swami, he touched the plate and placed it in front of Samarth who ate with great joy.
At women of Cholappa's household were livid because Cholappa brought Swami home. They criticized his actions, called him names, and made life miserable for him. Swami did not make life easy for Cholappa either: He would feed the grains and lentils to the cows, would pass stool wherever He wanted, and would donate household items to the needy.
But, even through all these tribulations, Cholappa's devotion to Maharaj only grew stronger.
|| Shri Swami Samarth ||
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