In plain words
Why fear when I am here. Hearing such words, Sāthe took great courage. Little by little his … uncle Dādā Kelkar also came and made his settled home in this Shirdi. He would send money from Poona, and his maternal uncle would put up buildings and develop the place: in this way they went on, immersed in the work. In this way Bābā first took Sāthe as an instrument. And from then on, in all His works, He regarded Sāthe as the chief person. Here, because Bābā too drew Sāthe very close and handed every task to Sāthe, envy of Sāthe kept growing among the people of Shirdi.
When they do nothing themselves no quarrel is born, but seeing others do, they cannot bear it; drawing near the giver, as though their own wealth were lost, jihvalōḍa they keep carrying tales.
Many gathered round Bābā and in many ways kept carrying tales against Sāthe. ‘What name should such people be given? They should be given the name enemy of cinnatulaku,’ He said. What is that enemy? Dogs. You see! He said that those who carry such tales are the equals of dogs.
Then, with Bābā, there were two chief things He did. Whoever came, He would first take money. Dakṣiṇa. Never very much. Five rupees, two rupees, three rupees: like this He would …. What He took here He gave here, right in front of them. He was not one to keep even a single coin by Him. One day a man called ‘Pradhān’ came. He had made up his mind to give Shirdi Sai Bābā twenty rupees. In those days there were no five-, two- or one-rupee notes. It was all in coins. Silver rupees, cekkili. Not muttunāgamu and the like, as today's are. Today the coins are all being made of aluminium. Not even copper. In those days a rupee held a tola of silver. Thinking, how am I to give so much in small coin, he took … gold coin (a sovereign) and went and gave it. Bābā turned it this way and that and looked at it. ‘What …? I have never seen this before!’ He said. The one beside Him said, ‘Swami, this is a gold coin.’ ‘I do not need this. Give Me rupees; I do not need this. Take this back,’ He said. This coin: how many rupee… does it come to? Then he asked for 15 rupees for a sovereign, got them, and gave the 15 rupees. This Pradhān. When he gave the 15 rupees, Bābā said, ‘Pradhān, I am still to get 5 rupees.’ He was a judge. What is this, now? For a sovereign it is just 15 rupees. I gave the correct amount! Why is He asking like this. He says 5 rupees more must …!