Devkamta Dixit ji asked Baba about
his uncle's idea of holding a bhandara
at Chitrakut. Baba gave his consent for the auspicious work and asked
him to go with his family. Dixit ji asked Baba to grace the occasion
with his presence. Baba agreed and said, "At the end of
the bhandara, three saints will come. Receive
them well." They did not fix the date of the bhandara
at that time because Baba had asked Dixit ji to go with the family,
whose schedules needed to be consulted. Keeping in mind the children's
school holidays, they decided to hold the function during Navaratra
(the nine days and nights dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga).
Dixit ji could not inform Baba of the date since Baba's whereabouts
were unknown, so he left his brother Dr. Dixit at home, thinking that
if Baba arrived there, he could then escort him to Chitrakut.
Upon his arrival in Chitrakut, Dixit ji met an unknown sadhu
who helped him make arrangements for the bhandara,
gave good suggestions, and provided all sorts of facilities. After Vijayadashmi,
Baba arrived in Kanpur on Ekadashi day and asked
Dr. Dixit, "Has the bhandara been
done?" Dr. Dixit could not give any definite reply, and
Baba himself said, "It is not done yet. It will be held
tomorrow." The bhandara was held
on Dwadashi, the twelfth day. Baba arrived in
time with Dr. Dixit and left after having prasad.
The bhandara lasted until evening. Thousands of
holy men had prasad. At about 5 p.m. the three
saints Baba mentioned arrived. They were well received and fed. Each of
them had as much prasad as would satisfy many
people.
When the feast ended, Dixit ji's uncle remembered the services and help
of the unknown sadhu
and wanted to give him a pullover to protect him against the coming
winter. Devkamta immediately bought a woolen pullover for him, but when
he went to give it to the sadhu, he had
disappeared.
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