(Puj Dada Ratanchandji at the altar of Puj Bhole Baba)
(Puj Dada Ratanchandji at the altar of Puj Bhole Baba)
Sibsagar in Assam is a very popular spot and is considered by some to be a holy spot as Bhole Baba used to live there. Bhole Baba used to always roam around. Bhole Baba was of a different temperament. People used to come to Bhole Baba for advise and he would sometimes slap the person who was asking for his advise. Devotees believed that to be a remedy from Bhole Baba because after getting a slap from Bhole Baba, the particular problem of the devotee would be solved.
Generally devotees make offerings of fruits or flowers to their Guru. But in the case of Bhole Baba it was different. Bhole Baba was very fond of smoking. When devotees would bring Bhole Baba a packet of cigarettes, he would smoke one and throw the rest of the cigarettes in the pond. It is said that one can still find cigarettes floating in the pond. At times, Bhole Baba would sit in the textile shops or kirana shops and talk to the people. Many of the people who have met Bhole Baba in their lifetime, often tell of the pleasant encounters that they had with him.
It is believed that Bhole Baba knew when he would leave this world. It is said that he predicted that he would leave this world three days after holi (16th March 1960 at 5:50 PM). The Samadhi of Bhole Baba is in Jorhat which is a two hour drive by car from Dibrugarh in Assam. The Samadhi was built with the help of many people. The supervision was done by Mr. Mahesh, a businessman and the contractor was Mr. Pradeep Khemka. Initially the site was very deep and about 300 truck loads of sand had to be got to fill it up.
Due to some of the remedies given by Bhole Baba and his predictions, he was considered unusual and great by the people. On the day before he was to depart from this world, Bhole Baba called for a barber to shave his hair and beard. The barber secretly took some hair which he wanted to preserve as a momento. As it were to happen, the barber could not speak after that. It was made to be known that it was because the barber had stolen Bhole Baba's hair. The next day, the barber came and returned the hair and begged Bhole Baba for his forgiveness. Bhole Baba forgave the barber for his folly and his voice came back after that, although it was a little feeble.
There are many incidents about Bhole Baba that the elders pass on to their children. Many devotees visit the Samadhi of Bhole Baba and break a coconut. Puja is performed in the mornings and evenings.