Sai Devotee who is responsible for getting Samadhi Mandir - Ramachandra Dada Patil
Ramachandra Dada Patil owned and lived in the building which is called the Narasing Lodge. It comes on the left side of the Palkhi Road where it takes a curve while going towards Shinde Wada.
Ramachandra Patil was born in Shirdi. He was the only son of Radhabai and Dada Kote Patil. Ramachandra Patil had three Sisters. He was born into affluence. His ancestral property spread far and wide in Shirdi and neighboring villages which yielded many types of grain and sugar cane. Hence he used to supervise manylaborers.
Ramachandra Patil was a very bright student. He studied up to 7th Standard in Marathi Medium. But he was interested in law and the legal system. He was responsible for incorporating the village of Beragaon into Shirdi. Maruti Mandir has two idols of Hanuman; one is for Shirdi and the other one for Beragaon. It is said that in those days the boundary of Shirdi was up to the Chavadi beyond which was Beragaon.
At the young age of eleven, Ramachandra Patil started performing Baba's Seva. In 1916 he was extremely sick and dying of Influenza (Refer Shri Sai Satcharitra, Chapter 42). Baba gave him a vision and said, "Tu gabro nakos, tula pushkal aayuse ahaya" (don't be afraid, you have a long life ahead of you). Ramachandra Patil was greatly relieved to hear this and he immediately asked about his friend Tatya. Baba however said, "Two years from today Tatya will pass away, but don't tell this to anyone". Ramachandra Patil recovered in due course of time. But he could not bear the thought of losing Tatya. As Baba's words were always true, he confided in Bala Shimpi who was his dear friend. Tatya and Ramachandra Patil were dear friends since childhood and they grew up together. Baba strengthened this bond between them by making them eat out of the same plate daily in the Dwarakamai.
Ramachandra Patil was married to Sitabai and since they did not have any children, he married again and had two sons from his second wife.
After Baba's Maha Samadhi the devotees were working the whole night to get the Samadhi ready. Mir Shakar, a body builder of Korhale saw the developments and sought the help of Appaji Kote Patil who was the grandfather of Ramachandra Patil. He convinced him that it was bad, to keep a dead body in the village. This appealed to Appaji and he called a meeting of the villagers and told the villagers his views. Then the villagers agreed to take the body out of Shirdi. Ramachandra Patil heard this and disagreed vehemently saying that Baba's last wish should be followed and honoured. This enraged Appaji and he told him not to step into his house again. Ramachandra Patil agreed as he was determined to honor Baba's last wish at any cost. He did not enter his grandfather's house for almost 12 years although his first wife Sitabai stayed there. Ramachandra was successful in convincing the villagers of Shirdi for Baba's Maha Samadhi in Shirdi and succeeded inhonoringBaba's last wish.
The Body was placed in the Samadhi after a grand procession through the village. On the 13th day, Ramachandra Patil arranged for a feast. The devotees distributed Laddus to thousands of devotees. To the Wonderment of devotees even after distributing thousands of Laddus, the same amount of Laddus remained. Hence, the Laddus were distributed for almost 2 months to the devotees who could not attend the Mahasamadhi. We, Sai Devotees should be grateful to Ramachandra Patil and Gopal Rao Butti for gifting us the Samadhi and Samadhi Mandir.
Ramachandra Patil was a village official of the Shirdi Village Panchayat for 20 years. The Shirdi Nagar Palika has a photograph of Ramachandra Patil hung in their office even today. In addition to his official duty, Ramachandra Patil actively participated in the activities of Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan and was the Joint Secretary of Sansthan for a long time.
Ramachandra Patil used to get up early in the morning and have a cup of tea after which he would not eat anything till the Noon Aarti. He attended the Aarti daily and was never sick for a single day. He died at the age of 70. That day he had invited some guests for lunch and they were late. So his family suggested that he should finish his lunch. He replied that he would wait for the noon Aarti. He sat down, as he was feeling giddy. Before they could seek medical help, he quietly and peacefully breathed his last.
Ramachandra Patil's descendants still live in Shirdi. However, they sold his house to Sakharam Shelke along with the rest of his property. Now his descendants live in a small bungalowoff the highway near the ShirdiPolice Station.
(Source: Baba's Anurag by Sai Bhakta Vinny Chitluri )
