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"Baba, the Arab, in Saudi Arabia" is the 34th Leela in the series. In this clip, Vinny Ma talks about Nandu who was working in Saudi Arabia, a country with very strict laws. Nandu had a cook who started doing mischief, and one day he poured a whole lot of salt in the meal, rendering it inedible. Nandu lost his temper and ran after the cook, who went and hid in a nearby mosque nearby. Nandu followed him and slapped the cook. The cook promptly lodged a false complaint that Nandu assaulted him while he was doing his Namaz. Nandu was severely penalised, jailed. and was to have an arm and a leg amputated.
It was only Baba's divine intervention that prevented this from taking place. This Leela illustrates that Baba's mercy knows no bounds; all that He needs from us is Shraddha and Saburi.
Transcript
In Saudi Arabia, the enforcement of law is very strict and harsh, and no mercy is shown. Nandu Haldankar and his friend were living there. They had a Muslim cook who would prepare meals for them. One day, the cook started acting up and poured a whole lot of salt into their meal. When the two friends came home for lunch, they could not eat even a morsel. Nandu lost his temper and jumped from the chair and lunged towards the cook, who escaped and hid in a mosque nearby. Nandu followed him into the mosque and slapped him. The irate cook lodged a complaint against him, stating that Nandu had assaulted him while he was doing his Namaz.
The police took immediate action and locked Nandu in a cell for 22 days until the trial began.
The punishment was to be the loss of an upper arm and a lower limb. Nandu’s friend wrote to his parents and informed them of the grim consequence. Nandu also wrote to them, and asked them to forget him, but he requested them to go to Baba’s temple and pray for him, although there was no hope for his acquittal. Nandu said that Baba was his last resort and nothing else could prevent the outcome.
His parents didn’t know what to do. They took his horoscope to an astrologer, who hearing about the crisis politely returned the horoscope and asked them to pray fervently to Baba. Nandu was sentenced by the authorities, and was taken by the police to execute the order. The order was to chop the hand that slapped the cook, and a leg. At that moment, an Arab arrived on the spot and spoke to the Kazi in a very soothing voice. Finally, the Kazi agreed to set Nandu free, provided he paid the damages, which was indeed a very huge amount. The unknown Arab paid the hefty damages and Nandu was released.
One fine morning, Nandu stood in front of his parents with all four limbs intact, and a heart full of gratitude for Baba. Baba’s grace is unfathomable, and the only prerequisite is to have Shraddha and Saburi.
This Leela is taken from the Sai Leela magazine, vol. 64, no.5. August 1985.
A special podcast series by Dr. Vinny Chitluri which is on Baba's leelas and life history.