I was once returning for a vacation to my home town at Shahjahanpur (Bareilly) during Dassera. This was the first time in my life when I was travelling such a long distance alone.

I had to change bus at Mathura; but when I reached there I was told that all the buses from Mathura to Bareilly had already left. As I didn’t know what to do, I called my father; but he was not at home and was also informed that he had left his mobile at home.

I was left with the only option - to travel by train, when a ticket is booked the time of purchase gets printed on the ticket. I bought the ticket at 7.20 p.m. and mistook it to be the time of departure. I looked at my watch, it was 7.15 p.m., and I ran towards the platform and saw a train standing there. After enquiry, I came to know that the train was going to Bareilly and was about to leave, so I ran and caught the train.

I settled down and thanked Baba. But, it was cold and perhaps due to running around, I caught fever. I was shivering and suddenly a stranger appeared in the train, he was dirty and had tied a white cloth around his head, he came to me and asked me, “Kuch paise de do” (Give me some money) ! Shivering from fever and tired of running all the day, I got irritated and rebuked him; but ironically he simply smiled and went away. He did not ask money from anyone else, his behaviour seemed strange to me.

After about half an hour, my father returned home and called me. I told him that I was already in a train returning home comfortably. He was confused that how could I be travelling home; because there was no train from Mathura to Bareilly before 11.00 p.m. I was puzzled and I enquired from my co-passengers, whether the train was going to Bareilly. They replied in affirmative. I again called my father and said that the train was indeed headed for Bareilly !

On hearing this, my father enquired from Mathura railway station and came to know that this train started from that very day itself. He was thrilled and thanked Baba for all His leelas - the way I mistook the ticket purchasing time with train arrival time and how that train actually commenced from that very day ! But, the leelas don’t end here.

My father started from Shahjahanpur for Bareilly to receive me; but in hurry, he sat in a wrong train. After a while, he realized this, he became anxious and got down at the next station. But, he came to know that there was no train for Bareilly from that station on that night. As I was travelling such a long distance for the first time, and to top it all I was running a temperature, he got even more worried. He immediately ran towards the bus stop and came to know that there was a strike that day and no public transport was working. So, he walked upto the bus station, only to know that they stop plying buses after 9.00 p.m. After all these futile efforts he was almost in tears.

He was informed that at night robbers lurked in that area, hearing this, my father started trembling with fear and started praying to Baba and Lord Hanuman. Suddenly, he saw a man driving a scooter approaching him. The first thought that crossed my father’s mind was that he was a robber; but that the stranger approached my father and requested him to sit on the scooter. My father told me later that he doesn’t know what came over him and how he acquiesced to the stranger. My father said nothing, but the stranger drove the scooter towards Bareilly. (Bareilly is not far from that town). After an hour, the scooter stopped and the stranger said that Bareilly railway station was close by. My father was all through the journey was in a semi-conscious state, so did not talk to that man, nor did he inform him where he wanted to go, so he was stunned, thinking how did the stranger know, where my father was going ! Before my father could say anything, the man said, “Deepak tum mujhe bahut pareshaan karte ho” (Deepak - my father’s name - you disturb me very much) !, saying this, the stranger went away.

My father was dumbfounded, it was clear that Lord Sainath Himself had helped my father; my father did sashtaang namaskar (prostrated) on road itself. But, he was in confusion whether the strange man was Lord Hanuman or Lord Sainath ? While he was pondering, he saw a unkempt man with a white cloth tied round his head, who came to my father and asked for water. My father went to a nearby tap to fill his bottle; but when he returned there was no one there. He asked some people in the vicinity if they had seen a dirty man; but everyone denied seeing anyone of the description that my father gave.

Now, my father realized that Lord Sainath had come to clear his doubts, my father started crying seeing Baba’s leelas. At the same time my train arrived at Bareilly and I met my father at the station. Later, when my father described the appearance of that dirty looking man, I had tears in my eyes, as the person who wanted some money from me in the train was none other than Sai Baba. I felt ashamed that I insulted my Baba instead of giving Him dakshina. I apologized in front of Baba’s photo. My whole family had tears in their eyes.