Sairam - FACTS ABOUT SAI BABA'S IDOL FOUND IN WELLINGTON`NEW ZEALAND - Om Sainath Jala Saibaba - Wellington Please refer our earlier communication regarding Shirdi Saibaba Statue found in Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, Wellington. Subsequently we heard different versions from different people. Hence we decided to visit the place to meet the right people and ascertain the facts. Thulasi, Saikrishna and I visited the place on 30th April/1st May, met the owners along with our Wellington based members Srinivas Gazula & Dharmesh Patel. Mr John Peters Presley hails from Madhya Pradesh and is self employed. His wife Charlene is also from MP, India but settled in UK. They have been living in Wellington for the past 13 years and now own 6 acres of land in Wainuiomata, a serene place surrounded by mountains on all sides. They built a house 2 years back and planned to subdivide the balance land for residential purpose. There was a water spot next his house with a little water, where wild birds and his domestic sheep used to drink water. His daughter suggested to dig the pond deep , so that there could be sufficient water for all the birds and animals. With this in mind Mr Presley started digging the land and found the idol of Baba in September'09. He washed the statue to get rid of the mud and saw a man in sitting posture. He thought it could be a Maori artefact but his Maori friends confirmed it wasn't. He then showed it to a Fiji Indian who said it could be the statue of a British monarch. Later he came to know through someone that it was none other than Saibaba. He googled ' Saibaba ', and came to know that he was worshipped by a large number of people world over.    He kept the statue inside his house, not knowing what to do as they were staunch Christians. The news spread by word of mouth and devotees started visiting them at all hours, wanting to have darshan and to offer their prayers. They never turned anyone away. Being ardent Christians, they were not too happy with this and decided to give it away. Several people offered to buy it but a Hindu friend suggested not to do so as finding a statue of Shirdi Saibaba on his property was a good omen. So in Feb 10 the couple decided to put the statue back where they found it. At present the statue is on a wooden platform, chained to the ground in the waterhole, so that it is safe and not taken away. Flood lights and security cameras have been put up by the owners. Dharmesh made a small wooden shelter to protect Baba from rain. Scores of people started visiting the place and some suggested to build a temple in March 2010. Because of his religious belief, he suggested these devotees to take initiative and agreed to give necessary support from his side. Charlene said they wanted that part of the land with pond where the statue was found, to be allocated for Baba's mandir. When enquired about concrete plans of building a temple, both said they intend to keep Baba in the same place in a lotus structure in the middle of the pond and make a glass room around the pond with a nice garden surrounding it like Lendi Bagh. We had similar thoughts and they echoed with what we felt, which was a strange coincidence! It's just an idea at this stage and may change when they meet the architect this week We met Mr & Mrs Peters next day along with Dharmesh Patel and some devotees who intend to form a Trust. They decided to name the trust as - "Shri Shirdi Saibaba Holy Land Trust ", with Mr & Mrs Peters as main trustees. Devotees can have Darshan of JALA SAIBABA at 195, Wise Road, Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, Wellington. We take this opportunity to thank Mr & Mrs Peters for their kindness, for giving us the information and for letting the devotees pray to Baba. They are quite happy for devotees to visit the place but wish their privacy to be respected. We pray to Baba to bless the couple and the family Regards, Bhaskar Duvvuru Secretary Shri Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan of NZ Inc P.O. Box: 16142, Sandringham, Auckland - 1025 Ph: +649 820 2534 (Res) +64 21 2923 807 (Mob) Email: info@shirdisaibaba. org.nz secretary@shirdisai baba.org. nz bhaskarad@gmail. com Web: www.shirdisaibaba. org.nz  Sairam, rOhit beHAL |
Thursday, May 6, 2010
FACTS ABOUT SAI BABA'S IDOL FOUND IN WELLINGTON`NEW ZEALAND
