OMNISCIENT SAI
Sathya Sai Baba is an incarnation of God. No doubt exists. God is omniscient,omnipotent, and omnipresent. Nowadays, mankind is so immersed in their selfish agendas,that most of them do not believe in God.If love of God and fear of sin are absent in society, society get ruined through perverted attitudes of mankind. World is in great chaos,even possibility of third world war can't be excluded.Let me tell you some real stories to high light my points so that people reading all these will develop faith unto God and His divine protection.
To deliver justice to my topic,I like to relate experiences of some devotees of Sathya Saibaba.First,I like to say my father's experience.My father came to join service at Super Hospital,Puttaparthi from Mumbai in 1999 and got down at Dharmavaram railway station.He had some luggages,few boxes,my mother and elder sister as a child.He managed to load his big luggages by help of a porter to the top of bus at Dharmavaram railway station.After loading,he asked bus conductor to help him unload the luggages at Super hospital bus stop.But conductor said he could not do that.My father can't unload so many heavy luggages from top of bus and again how will he get auto rickshaw at evening time;he was wondering.At that time,auto rickshaws were less,mostly at evening time.He prayed to Baba to arrange unloading and transportatation of all luggages to hospital quarter but he was at a loss.He did not believe,Baba will really do it.When th ebus stopped in hospital bus stop,my mother with her child got down.My father followed with one suitcase and bag.By the time he got down,he heard one man with white dress ordered aniother man to take out all luggages from top of bus.He thought,must be savadol and may be his wife asked for the help.But actually,my mom was not that smart to ask someone's help and she was busy with her child and vanity bag etc.When my father was out of bus,he saw the same sevadol called one auto,only one at that dark hours to load the luggages one by one.My father told that sevadol ot take care of his wife and child,and he took three trips inside hospital complex to take all luggages to his quarter.At last trip,he took Mom and my sister inside,at that time he said,'thank you' to sevadol in hurry and tension to reach quarter and thought to say more when he would meet him again..Later ,he never saw any such autorickshaw man and any sevadol as he saw on that day.He could not say his special gratituide to white dressed unassuming man..You can guess who was that sevadol.He is omniscient,so he came to know the distress of his devotee,he became sevadol and directed luggage unloading,thus proved He is omnipotent as well as omnipresent.Almost 45 miniutes,He was standing on road side to safeguard my mom with her child when dad was going to and fro to carry luggages to his quarter.
Experience of Prof Anil Kumar Kamaraju :
He was about to take his bath, when there was sudden power cut. The power went off and the water was not ready for his bath. So he causally washed his face and went for darshan.
He sat in the darshan, Slowly, came the gentle figure, the short with broad smile, holding his robe with one, and weaving the hand in circles with the other. He stood in front of him looking into the empty space and waved both hands, saying, “There are some who come for darshan without having bath.
He was wonder struck and said,”How do you know?” He replied, “Where am I? I am in your bed room and I AM in your bath room. I am everywhere ” Then he, ran to his room and took a double bath. He returned and sat on the verandah. Baba came suddenly after bhajans. He came straight to him and said, “A normal bath is enough, don’t worry. The omnipotence and omnipresence are qualities of divinity to let us know that the Avatar is not less than the divine personally."
Once Bhagavan said to an old man, “Today is the death anniversary of your wife.” Bhagavan even told him more details. He may have met so many people in between. Yet He remembers everything and everyone. Omnipotence,Omnipresence and omniscience. The person may have forgotten but not Bhagavan.
Once there was a couple who came to Him. The couple had been having heated argument back at home. Bhagavan called the wife, and naturally the husband followed obediently. Both of them were given an interview. Then Swami came out of the interview room and said, “You fight at home, so fight here also, I will give you time. So, here you can experience directly the omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience."
Once in KodaiKanal he was with all the seva dal in the garden. They were giving ice creams, so he also received one. Swami came to the mandir and he stretched out his hand. Swami said, “You have taken ice cream already outside.” I said, Swami, I did not say I have not eaten.” “Then Swami said why do you stretch your hand here? . “there, the seva dal give you icecream" .Then he said , "But Swami I want from your divine hands, therefore I am asking." Then He gave me one with His divine Hands. He then asked me “Is it nice? OK, take two.” So this kind of omnipresence will make you happy and it will be beneficial to mankind. Another incidence of
Omniscience and omnipresence...
Looking at the six hundred students there,SaiBaba mentioned the names of four students -- Vipin, Sai Charan, Deepak and Vinay. He just mentioned four names. These boys got up. Who are they?
He looked at them and said, “You are the four boys sure to get 100 percent.”
The fellows immediately ran and fell at His Feet and took padanamaskar.
And then He said, “Today’s physics paper was easy. I know. Most of you got questions that were very well known to you”.
When Swami speaks like this about the students, their examination, their marks, calling them by their names, it is not only a revelation of Bhagavan’s omniscience and omnipresence, but it also strengthens our faith in Him, as He is revealing His Divinity to us.[From: Anil Kumar's "Sai Pearls of Wisdom", Part 16]
The passport to God - recognizing His omnipresence in our lives
An intellectually invigorating ‘awareness’ class
He vividly remember a discussion during the “Awareness” class of his MSc days at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. The teacher present was Prof.G.Venkataraman, a highly reputed and accomplished man of science in India. The professor had his unique style of conducting awareness classes. He would force us to think deeply to arrive at answers to profound question. He would stitch together deep spirituality with the practical problems the world faces. He always looked forward to questions because he believed that life is not about getting the correct answers but about asking the right questions. In fact, he remembered his inspiring presence in the classroom with excitement when his Master, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba told him to join Radiosai as his place of work. GV as he is popularly called was the director under whom he had to report.
The discussion in class that day was about the omnipresence of God. It started with a question from the professor.
“What is God?” he asked the whole class.
Among the plethora of answers that came was one which said,
“God is the omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient one.”
“Okay”, challenged GV sir, “what do you mean by omnipresent? How is it that God is omnipresent?”
There were no satisfactory answers in the beginning but soon, one boy stood up and answered,
“Sir. God is energy. Energy is God. Since every atom is a storehouse of energy, God is everywhere.”
“Very good”, GV sir was happy, “that is something that everyone recognizes - energy in all matter. In fact, the great Albert Einstein even equated mass with energy with his famous equation. And since everything in the universe has some mass, everything has energy. But that is only one level of God’s omnipresence. He is present in a subtler plane as well. What is that?”
Again, a lot of discussion and thought resulted in the next answer,
“God is life. Life is God. Life is subtler than energy and that is probably why nobody has been able to define what exactly life is. But everyone recognizes life - and when it leaves.”
“Beautiful!” exclaimed the professor, “That is precisely why a son or daughter kneels before the body of the father crying - Father! Why did you leave me? - The body is still there and yet the child knows that the father is gone. Life is sacred. Life is God. Good. But then, there is the subtlest way in which God is present. Do you know that?”
Since there was a muted silence now, the professor threw a hint.
“Everything in the universe is made up of atoms and thus contains energy. However, plants and animals are considered special because they have ‘life’ which the other things of the universe don’t have. Man is considered even more special because he exhibits God present in yet another level. What is that?”
There were no answers and GV sir answered,
“God is present in man as the conscience. No doubt God is present in us as the life force or praana but that alone too would not help to develop awareness; if that was the case, then donkeys and camels would have turned spiritual long ago. Humans alone have that ability because God is present in humans at a third and higher level, as the conscience or the divine voice in our spiritual heart. However, though each human is gifted with the conscience, it is so subtle that one can often get disconnected from it. It is the birthplace of all goodness and nobility in man. Just ensure that you experience God’s omnipresence at all these three levels and you are good to go. That is true awareness - to recognise God’s omnipresence at all these three levels.”
With that, we can move on to an experience at the passport office that gave him an insight or two about God’s presence in our lives.
A passport to travel
His passport issued in 1997 was a handwritten one (and not a ‘machine-readable passport’ or MRP). The Indian government had released a circular advising all the citizens to upgrade. The brief was as follows:
All handwritten passports with pasted photos earlier issued by Government of India are considered non-MRP passports. Indian citizens residing in India and abroad and holding
handwritten passports as well as 20-year passports with validity beyond the 24th November 2015, should, therefore, apply for re-issue of passports and obtain MRP passports well before the deadline in order to avoid any inconvenience in obtaining foreign visa or in immigration.
Therefore, he decided to go to the excellent and efficient passport site to file an application for re-issue of his passport. Having done that in a matter of minutes, he sought an appointment at the Passport kendra in Begumpet, Hyderabad, for the 18th of July, 2014. That was the beginning of the adventure.
He had heard of horror stories of the difficulties one had to go through to get a passport. But all those that had recently obtained their passports told me that things had been made very easy. I was glad.
“Still, I will need Swami’s grace to get the passport”, he told myself and said a prayer to Him. (‘Swami’ is the term we generally use to refer to Bhagawan Baba.) He was at the passport office promptly at 9:15am, on Friday the 18th.
The two levels of His omnipresence
He has always sought Swami’s permission and blessings whenever he had to travel out of the country. And He has been gracious and kind every time so far. His permission and blessings too have always been on three different levels of subtlety. Every time, he was able to realize and fathom two levels and was completely ignorant to the third level. He did not even think that a third level existed. It is the discovery of that third level that has spurred him to share this experience.
Let me first elaborate a little on the first two levels. The first level is the ‘direct’ level which each of us can fathom instantly - You go to Swami and seek His blessings. He smiles and responds positively. That is the go-ahead for you. You are happy that Swami blessed your journey and travel plans. That was what happened when he planned his first trip overseas, to Singapore. Swami showered profuse and direct blessings which brought along with them an unforgettable experience in fearlessness and desirelessness.
A similar blessing arrived even after the so-called ‘Mahasamadhi’ of Baba. This was when he was contemplating a trip to Trinidad & Tobago. He did not know what to do to seek His permission because His physical frame was not present any more. He prayed at his altar and placed before Him the proposal and invitation that he had received. Within hours, he saw the permission being granted along with profuse blessings. Though the circumstances were different, the feelings that arose within me were exactly the same. I could feel His powerful omnipresence in my life.
Having travelled to these ‘foreign’ nations, he never felt like a foreigner there. And that is the second level of His presence . The love, affection, care, attention to detail and the humility of his hosts during these visits just overwhelmed him and his wife. It was as if Swami had brought them along with Him to visit these countries. He found no difference in the love and reverence that was showered on these ‘foreign’ trips with his wife and the trips which he had made to Hadshi, Mumbai, Delhi and Shimla with Swami. It was simply overwhelming and they were sure that it was much more than they deserve. But with the Lord, it is only Love that matters - deservedness is conferred!
He had been accustomed to these two levels of His presence in his life. And he was grateful to Him for that. He hadn't even realized that there was the third level too. That he discovered during his trip to the passport office.
The third level of His omnipresence
One has to go through 3 stages in the passport office - Processing, Verification and Granting. He walked to counter 6 of the Processing stage when his token number displayed on the screen in the waiting hall. Since his passport was a ‘re-issue’ case, he just needed to bring some proof of his ‘change in address’. He had checked this on the website.
As his picture was taken and all the details entered into the system, the lady suddenly asked him,
“Sir could I have your marriage certificate?”
Ah! How could he forget? Since the last time he had obtained his passport, he had been married. The website had not shown him the need for the marriage certificate because he had entered that only his address had changed.
“Oops! I am sorry. I don’t have it with me now.”
“Then, I shall put your passport in hold. Please get it on any weekday between 8:30am and 9:30am.”
“Can I get it tomorrow?”
“Saturday is a holiday sir. The earliest you can get is Monday.”
Oh God! he would have to extend his leave. His plans of returning to Puttaparthi by Sunday morning were shattered. He would have to cancel tickets and make rebookings. He sighed and resigned to fate. Little did he realize that all this ‘drama’ was actually a blessing for him to understand the subtlest, third level of Swami’s presence in his life!
“Sir! I would also need your 10th grade marks certificate.”
“Why?”
“This is a minor’s passport. You are not just applying for a passport ‘re-issue’ but you would need an upgrade in status from ‘minor’ to ‘adult’.”
She then leafed through the pages of his passport, almost studying the immigration stamps of the different countries. She had a slightly confused look on her face and seemed lost in thought. He was hoping that she had not found any other problems. As she continued to stare at his passport and give a check again, he asked,
“Okay. Anything else?”
“That's it sir", she nodded somewhat hesitantly, "Please go straight to the exit and collect your letter of acknowledgement. That would give you access directly to the ‘Verification’ and ‘Granting’ stages here on any weekday within a year.”
He thanked her and said that he would be back on Monday. He collected his letter from the exit and walked out.
He reached home.He and his wife had been staying at her cousin’s place in Hyderabad. He recounted with a sad face all that had happened at the passport office.
“Great!”, said her cousin, “you guys will stay on for a couple more days with us.”
He smiled at that - some positive thing about the whole affair. And then came the stunner. Pooja’s cousin Padma, leafing through his old passport said,
“How on earth did you make four foreign trips on an invalid, minor passport?”
His ears perked! Even as Padma spoke on, he realized the reason behind the confused look on the face of the lady at the passport office.
“It is a minor passport but that does not make it invalid. See, the validity in the passport is up to 2017. The Government also released that such handwritten, 20-year validity passports are valid up to 2015.”
“But that is for normal passports. Yours is a minor’s passport!”
A quick Google search revealed the ‘minor’ rules on the immigration help site.
Passports for children up to 18 years of age will be valid for 5 years from date of issue or until the child attains the age of 18 years, whichever is less. If a child is over 17 years but less than 18 years, a normal five-year validity passport will be issued, for a normal fee.
In the best-case scenario, if he had got his minor’s passport when he was 17 (Heactually got it when he was 15), it would be valid till I turned 22. And his four foreign trips were all made after he turned 27!
The writing on the wall is very clear!
Gratitude for His presence in life
His jaw dropped as the realization hit him of what he had apparently achieved! It became clear that all his trips had been possible not because of Swami’s blessings also but because of Swami’s blessings alone! Technically, it was an invalid passport but does it matter when the greatest validating authority is on his side?
He went to the passport office on Monday and completed the formalities. His father had sent across the necessary certificates through an acquaintance via Saturday’s train to Hyderabad. Though it took 2 hours of waiting, the entire thing went on without any problem. Even as he await the arrival of his new passport, he celebrate the awareness of His presence in their lives.
God is so humble that unlike us, He does not announce or seek acknowledgment for all that He keeps doing, day in and day out, for us. Though He is not bound by any duties, He keeps working for us tirelessly, behind the scenes. A silent worker indeed! And he was grateful to Him that He chose to reveal one such behind-the-scenes working. How blessed it would be if we were able to see His hand in everything that happens in our life, for nothing happens without His hand being in it! Then, we would have truly experienced His omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience.
Next,let me tell you experience of Subbhha Rao in his words:
MIND BOGGLING MIRACLES OF SATHYA SAI
By Sri Ghandikota V. Subba Rao That it is not possible to fully understand Swami is aptly expressed by Baba Himself when he stated: "In order to understand me, you will have to stand under me for so long that your legs are likely to collapse!". Then, what about experiencing Him? To this Swami replied that experience is something like experimentation, with yesterday's experience being different from today's and one's experience being very different from other's. Experimentation is "mentation"- a mental act and the Lord cannot be reached, understood or experienced by the mind, APRAAPYA MANASA SAH as the THAITTIREEYA UPANISHAD states. If one cannot fully understand or experience, what then, Swami? He says, Enjoy - be in joy and end (your mind) in joy! Just as in the Upanishad saying AANANDHO BRAHMANO VlDHVAAN - The knower lives in Braahmic Bliss alone.
[Mr. Ghandikota V. Subba Rao has been a devotee of Swami for many years. He served with UNICEF and the United Nations, as head of the Energy Section, for 34 years and took early retirement in 1985 to return to India to be with his 92 year old father, Sri Ghandikota Subrahmanya Sastry, the Rishi of the Sathya Sai Gayathri and a renowned Vedic scholar. Mr. Subba Rao has been living in Prasanthinilayam since 1985, on occasion translating Swami's speeches, giving lectures to overseas devotees, and editing publications of the Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust.]
SHIRDI SAI AND SATHYA SAI CONNECTION
That Baba knows our thoughts - indeed our past as well as future, has been repeatedly attested to by a large number of devotees. Just one such example from this writer's own experience is recounted here.
For many years, I developed a deep yearning to visit Shirdi. I made several attempts to pay my respects at Shirdi Sai shrine at Shirdi itself but to no avail. The closest I could come to the point of realizing this dream was in 1983, when I planned on my home-leave trip from New York to India to visit Shirdi after our landing in Bombay. Unfortunately, the whole family developed a stomach virus after our first meal in India at a Santa Cruz airport five-star hotel - precluding any extensive surface travel all the way to Shirdi. It was once again a great disappointment. I was thinking of this escapade while intensely gazing at Shirdi Sai's shining silver idol and his giant size picture in the background of the Prashanti Mandir Bhajan hall, and also wondering about the connection of Shirdi Baba with Parthi Baba, about which I found numerous references in the Sai Literature. I closed my eyes, with Shirdi Baba in my mind, when to my utter amazement Parthi Baba stood right in front of me while I continued in my reverie. Swami waited till I fully opened my eyes, when with a burst of bliss I clasped His soft lotus feet and hung on to them like a child. Swami beckoned me inside the interview room and materialized a rather large silver ring with an inlaid multi-colored enamel picture of Shirdi Sai - saying that 'I am He'. I was stunned and electrified and I blurted out that at long last my long-cherished desire was fulfilled now! The shining large Shirdi ring on my finger used to attract the attention of my diplomatic acquaintances during my frequent elevator rides in the forty-story UN headquarters building in New York, leading to many inquisitive queries on the strange-looking personality on the ring-face. One thing led to another and before long I found myself presenting Sathya Sai literature to the UN Secretary General in his office!
SRI SATHYA SAI STUDY CIRCLE AT THE UN
Sensing the growing interest in the story of the glory of Baba, we had founded, with Baba's blessings, a Study Circle at the United Nations headquarters, with regular Thursday gatherings in delegates' meeting rooms situated right underneath the UN General Assembly Hall, and sometimes under the Security Council Chamber. Before long, Sai Bhajans began to reverberate in the after-office hours in the United Nations! The annual celebrations of the Study Circle attracted a large number of UN staff members and country delegates. I remember the occasion when the president of the International Court of Justice came rushing along with a couple of delegates seeking Sai Vibhuthi (sacred ash). He proudly showed me a picture of Baba in his wallet!
SHIRDI RING REPLACED BY SATHYA SAI RING
A few years after Baba gave me the Shirdi Baba ring, Swami called me again for a brief interview, and suddenly inquired of me whether I still wanted the old man or was now ready for the younger man! I then replied that having lived with the old man till then, I would welcome the change into company of the younger man! Swami graciously took out the somewhat worn-out big Shirdi ring which then disappeared right in front of my eyes and, then and there, materialized a well-fitting similar silver enameled ring with a picture of Swami showing His Abhaya Hastham - a raised palm assuring protection. This creative gesture and gift signified to me my spiritual (mental) journey from Shirdi to Parthi guided by Bhagavan Sathya Sai Himself. As a result, I found myself and family settling at Baba's Lotus Feet in Prashanthi Nilayam - indeed the very abode of peace.
THREE SIDED OBLONG STONE
This leads me to remember another miraculous manifestation of a triple-sided gray stone Baba materialized for me ten years earlier. Not knowing what to do with it, I kept it as a curio in my UN office desk drawer for two years. On my subsequent home-leave trip, in an interview with Baba, I held up the three sided stone and asked Baba about its meaning and significance. Baba then endearingly chided me for keeping it aside in a drawer and asked me seriously whether I was interested in knowing the meaning (Artha) of its shape or in reaping its beneficial effects (Phala). I replied categorically that my interest was in the benefit it would yield me!
Baba then explained that the triple-headed stone was given as a protective talisman in my numerous global air travels, and therefore I should wear it on my chest. A thought crossed my mind as to how I could wear an odd-shaped piece of stone on my chest. Baba sensed my inner doubt, took the stone from my own hand, held it up and blew, and lo and behold there appeared a twine-sized hole running through the point of the stone. Only a laser could drive a hole of that size through the sharp points on the opposite ends of the oblong stone. Swami then instructed me to insert a string or a thin wire and wear it like a chain around my neck with the stone resting on my lower chest.
MATERIALIZATION OF GANESHA'S IDOL
Whatever article Swami materializes has a powerful purpose behind it. His materializations are not for exhibition (Pradharshana) but they are purposive evidence (Nidharshana) of their beneficial effects on the receiver. Around the early 1970s, Baba materialized for me a silver idol of Ganesha, saying that this would help me overcome obstacles in my spiritual and professional efforts. That was the time of our founding aGanesha temple in New York, practically the first traditional Vedic style temple in the Western Hemisphere. A stone frieze of the Sarva Dharma Symbol of all religions adorns the entrance of the Ganesha temple. This symbol was earlier strongly resisted by some of the tradition-bound Hindu devotees of the temple but after Swami appeared in the dreams of several trustees, the opposition melted away to the point that the temple management welcomed the holding of Sai Bhajans in the main hall of the temple facing the Sanctum Sanctorum itself! Today, the Sathya Sai Bhajan Mandali at the Ganesh temple in New York - dating back over twenty-five years - is perhaps the oldest, the most well-attended regularly organized Bhajan group in the western hemisphere. Hail to the Sai devotees in the New York Ganesha temple!
VIBHUTHI STORM IN CONNECTICUT
That the mind-boggling miracles of Sathya Sai are not confined only to India but spread across the world has been attested to by many overseas devotees. Suffice it here to cite just one striking example repeatedly witnessed by this writer - a virtual Vibhuthi storm for a continuous period of nearly two weeks in the house of a Connecticut Sathya Sai devotee. I was overwhelmed by the unending flow of Vibhuthi in practically all rooms of that devotee's house and by the Amrith (nectarine fluid) on the Sathya Sai pictures taken and kept by this writer in that house. Inevitably such a miracle draws a large number of curiosity seekers disturbing the Sadhana of the devotees and Swami therefore advises against any undue publicity to such miracles.
REVELATION OF SATHYA SAI GAYATHRI
Some of my most unforgettable experiences of Baba's miracles relate to my father, the late Sri Ghandikota Subrahmanya Sastry, a great doyen of Vedic learning and wisdom. A collection of the talks and articles on Baba by this great Vedic scholar was published in Telugu as SRI SATHYA SAI AVATHARA VAIBHAVAM - the Glory of Sri Sathya Sai Incarnation. My father had received in his long life, many honors, but none of these compared with the joy and bliss conferred by Baba on this venerable Vedic scholar who was chosen by Baba as one of the founding members of the Prashanthi Vidhvan Mahaa Sabha,and who was often invited by Baba to preside over the Dassera Yagna Ceremonies and to deliver Vedic discourses in Baba's august presence. This revered Vedic Pandit was inspired to reveal, in the presence of Baba on the Christmas eve of 1977 in Brindavan, Bangalore - the vision of Sri Sathya Sai Gaayathri, and electrified the gathering by his subsequent exposition of its meaning and significance. At the insistence of the late Kasturiji, I transcribed this event into an article in Sanathana Sarathi of April 1979. The Sathya Sai Gaayathri conforms to the Vedic mould and characteristics similar to the other Gaayathri Mantras and reads as follows:
Om Sayeeshwaraaya Vidmahe
Sathya Devaaya Dheemahi
Thannassarvah Prachodhayaath
It means: 'We realize that Sai is the Supreme Lord. We meditate on this God of Truth. Let that All-in-All entity inspire and enlighten us.
Baba called this Vedic scholar a Maha Rishi - a seer and revealer of Vedic manthra - and showered on him compassion and grace in abundance.
RESCUING A VEDIC SCHOLAR FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH
When my revered aged father was completely bed-ridden with severe complications after a compound fracture of the hip, one morning he even passed into a long coma and the doctors warned us of the impending doom. When we gave up all hope, a telegraphic message reached us in our home town that all would be well soon and that I should bring my father to Puttaparthi for Baba's sixtieth birthday celebrations. My father woke up shortly thereafter with a smile on his lips and narrated, to the astonishment of the doctor, that all through that period Baba was sitting close to the bed, conversing with him, and even invited him for Baba's 60th birthday celebrations. When I inquired with my father whether it could have been a dream or hallucination, he emphatically declared the divine presence of Baba at his bedside and wondered why we did not notice it! The learned Vedic scholar also asserted that when Baba was speaking to him, Vedic passages flashed across his mind and that Baba was indeed the Veda Purusha (embodiment of Vedas) Himself, exuding the fragrance of Vibhuthi all around.
With all these happenings, there was no doubt in my mind that the devoted Vedic scholar was rescued by Baba from the very jaws of death. The Vedic scholar lived for a year and a half in Prasanthinilayam where he received Baba's darshan, sparshan and sambhashan, i.e. seeing. touching and conversing with divinity practically every day.
BABA - SHIVA SHAKTHI SWARUPA
A few years earlier Baba lovingly performed the 90th birthday ceremony of my venerable father, when He materialized a most beautiful 42 diamond-studded automatic gold watch with gold wrist band. He also materialized a picture of His Shiva Shakthi form, reiterating His Avataric source as SATHYAM (Truth), SHIVAM (goodness) and SUNDARAM (divine beauty).
During my father's stay at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan towards the end of his life, Baba used to materialize Vibhuthi (sacred ash) frequently and would himself put it in the mouth of this renowned Vedic scholar and devotee. Once Swami manifested for my father a Shiva Linga of Neelakanteshwara - the blue throated form of Shiva, and instructed that he daily drink the water poured on it for his better health. Another time Baba pulled from the air a small silver medallion of Shiva on one side and the Shiva Panchaakshari Manthra (five syllable holy formula of Shiva) on the other side. He inserted, with great dexterity, this medallion onto the sacred thread worn by my father. Swami then stated that Shiva being my father's favorite deity, the silver medallion still wet with sandal paste was brought by celestial Sai messengers as Prasaadam immediately after Shiva Puja in Kailasha (abode of Shiva)! Hail to the glory of Shiva Shakthi!
THE GHANDIKOTA SECRET REVEALED
A day prior to the passing away of my revered father, Swami spoke to me in the verandah of the Prashanthi Mandir and somewhat cryptically told me that my father would go home the next day, being the first day of the Dassera festival, and that Swami would come to our apartment. Since my father's condition was improving, I interpreted Swami's remarks to imply that my father would return home from the hospital the next day. But something prompted me awake at 5 AM of that fateful day, and I sleep-walked my way from the ashram apartment to the hospital nearby. My father's eyes lit up as I lifted him up in my arms when, saying SAI RAM, he passed away in serenity and peace. That same evening after the cremation was over, Baba graciously visited our apartment in Prashanthi Nilayam and consoled us, explained the mystery of birth and death and declared that my father's life was fulfilled in Vedic and Vedantic terms and that he attained final liberation as he was a Brahma Jnaani - steeped in Braahmic consciousness. On the tenth day of my father's passing away, Swami once again visited our apartment and later in the Poornachandra auditorium, Swami eulogized Subrahmanya Sastriji for his unsurpassed Vedic wisdom and his Vedantic living, called him an immortal soul, and declared that this Vedic scholar lived in the strong conviction of the Truth that Sri Sathya Sai is the embodiment of all divinities. When I heard the last statement from Swami's lips I recalled exactly the same words in Sanskrit imparted and thrice repeated in secret confidence a month earlier by my father. The secret Manthra was revealed by Baba Himself to devotees in Poornachandra auditorium.
SEE GOD IN RITUALS AND NOT RITUALS IN GOD
Just a few minutes after my father passed away in my very arms, I received a telephonic message of condolence from Baba, and that if we wished the arrangements could be made for the body to be taken to our home town for cremation. On my stating that our sole refuge as well as that of my just departed father was Baba's lotus feet only, Baba promptly made arrangements in the minutest detail for the large funeral procession led by a number of Vedic chanting priests in front and Bhajan singing devotees at the back and for the cremation of the body on the river bed of the nearby dried Chitravathi river. Amazingly by the day of the bone-interring ceremony, unexpectedly the river swelled to such an extent as to wash away the bones and ashes - a sign of ritual fulfillment and a miracle in itself!
As promised, Baba visited our apartment the next day to console us personally. He directed me to perform post-funeral ceremonies for a period of ten days in strict Vedic style. When I expressed my ignorance and inability to perform them in the strict scriptural manner and wondered at the necessity of performing elaborate rituals, Baba stated that it was my bounden duty to perform them in memory of my learned father who, for a long period of his life, strictly followed Vedic Karma Kaanda - ritual actions. Swami arranged for a priest who was not only an expert in funeral rites but also learned in their significance. Swami instructed me to first understand the importance of each of the numerous ritual actions, before I performed the actual ritual on the ground. The daily rituals used to begin at 8 o'clock in the morning and ended in the late afternoon with a repeated number of baths and fire sacrifices. Swami advised one to read the Garuda Purana during this period. When Baba visited us again on the tenth day, he explained why He insisted on my performing these esoteric rituals strictly. Having been abroad all these years, I was like a cooking vessel kept far too long in the attic gathering grime and dust. The vessel had to be thoroughly cleansed and rubbed free of dirt. Baba made it clear that my departed father, being a Brahmajnani steeped in Brahmic consciousness did not require these funeral ceremonies. But it was I that needed purification and understanding through the performance of rigorous disciplines or penance! Initiated, I thought, by Baba Himself into Vedic ritualism, I took to it like a duck to water, with the zeal of a "new convert"! Baba sensed this and promptly applied the brakes. He cautioned me about priestly ritualism and when I remonstrated that it was Swami who got me into it, He told me that the substance of spirituality should not be sacrificed for the shell of ritualism . He opened my eyes when He stressed that loving remembrance and expression of heart-felt gratitude to our forefathers is more important than mechanistical ritual action and that Ashru Tarpanam (offering of tears of gratitude) is more important than Thila Tarpanam (offering of sesame seeds with water).
SWAMI AS A VEDANTIC GURU PAR EXCELLENCE
Swami is primarily a Divine Aadhyaatmic Guru; He imparts profound spiritual lessons to the devotees on an individual, group and collective basis. His teachings are the quintessence of Advaitic nondualistic Supreme Reality. A few experiences of this writer in this regard are given below.
Once this writer, just on the eve of his departure from Puttaparthi in a hurry to catch a plane that very morning in Bangalore, was called by Swami to His modest living-cum resting room in the upstairs of Prashanthi Bhajan Mandir. Without being told that I was studying THAITTIREEYA UPANISHAD during my week end spare time in Delhi (where I was then a resident representative of a UN agency) Baba, in His infinite Grace expounded for nearly one full hour the essence of this famous Upanishad. When I began to write it all down, Baba remarked that there was no need to take notes; He assured me that whenever the need arose, I would automatically recall His teachings! While Baba's teaching was proceeding, Kasturiji came up to request Baba for Swami's article for the monthly Sanathana Sarathi, the issue of which was just then going to the printer. Swami, with a wave of His hand, produced the article and gave it to Kasturiji in my direct presence! When Swami concluded His Upanishadic teaching, He materialized a king-sized hot laddu (a type of Indian sweet) as His prasadam to be distributed to members of my family. Furthermore, Swami assured me that I would definitely catch the plane as it was flying late that day. I reached Bangalore airport with all anxiety but to my pleasant astonishment I was the last passenger on the long delayed flight!
I recall another individual teaching session with Baba also in the Prasanthi Mandir upstairs room. Baba explained to me for almost an hour the five most significant Brahamasutras - analytical aphorisms on the supreme Reality. As the saying goes, Brahma Vidhyaa Vidhyaanaam - the Brahmic knowledge is the acme of all learning. The teaching by Swami was marked as usual by profundity and simplicity, using parables, and filled with good-hearted humor on the other side. Apart from these exclusive individual teaching sessions, I had the greatest good fortune of listening in the interview room to Baba's teachings on the Bhagavad Gita. Thus I was initiated by Baba himself into the Vedantic lore of the holy scriptural Texts called Prasthana Trayee, viz. Bhagavad Gita, Brahma Sutras and Upanishads! Hail to Bhagavan Sathya Sai, The GNYAANA BODHAKA GURU.
When He performed the Upanayanam of my eldest son in the early 1960s and also of my youngest son in the early 1980s, He not only materialized turmeric-anointed Yagnopaveetham (holy threads) but also patiently taught the Vatus (the young boys) the meaning and significance of Gaayathri Manthra recitation, the Sandhyavandana (daily prayers) ritual, and the importance of celibate living. Salutations to the World teacher Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Sankalpa refers to the powers of Siddha Purusha with acquired - and therefore depletable Yogic powers, whereas Sankalpa Sidda signifies the state "mere WILLING IS FULFILLING"! Swami's undepletable miraculous powers are the most natural and spontaneous manifestations of His love and grace to the devotees.!
Sri Ghandikota V. Subba Rao translating Bhagavan's Divine Discourse in Ooty.
Experience of Mr Murali Krishna,a Swami's student:
Bhagawan once said in his Discourse to the Students in the Hostel in 1995 that before anyone leaves this Hostel or college, each and every boy will be touched by his grace, love and Compassion. Many boys have experienced Swami's Love, Compassion, Grace in some way or the other, The Greatest aspect of Bhagawan is that He treats every student living in Prasanthi Nilayam, that is why every student has some personal experience with Bhagawan to narrate and share with all. Ask any Student or teacher to come out of the portals of any Sai Institution and he will narrate an experience to treasure for a lifetime. Yesterday I have narrated Some Experiences of mine. Itis really a out of the World Experience to see Bhagawan Talking to the Boys at any time, He gives them Love, Compassion which they treasure the most.He told as follows:
"The Village that I stay is next to the Sea Coast, the Sea is calm most of the time and the people had nothing to fear. As December'26th'2004 was a Sunday, I wanted to go down to the Sea Shore on that Day as I did every Sunday , At around 8.30 As I was getting ready I heard a Loud Noise of Glass Shattering in the Next Room and as I rushed into the Room, I found that Swami's Photo had fallen down with its glass broken, I cleaned the Photo, and Removed the glass pieces which took around 30 minutes, as I was throwing the Pieces out,There was a huge roar of water and a Huge cry by Villagers that the sea was in Spate,As I ran away, I saw a Huge Volume of Water coming ,and I climbed on
top of a tree and waited as the Water came roaring down, the Tree was uprooted and then I was washed away, as the Waters came Surging ahead, I saw a Huge Tree Trunk Floating and scrambled on it and
Dramatically after 10 minutes the Waters receeded. The Scene was utter devastation, Everyones belongings were including mine, As I went into the remains of my House I saw Swami's Photo which had fallen from the Wall,
safely on the hinges on the Only Door left in the Whole village. My parents miraculously were in Nellore Town on that Particular day as they had gone to meet someone. On January'13th'2005 when One of Friends
Shyam Prasad had gone to Parthi Swami told him "I had to save your Brother by Smashing myself with Glass and dropping my own Photograph, Swami Never forgets anyone". the Lord is omnipotent in every form, I would
have surely been swept away into the sea if I had gone to the Shore, What Prevented me for 30 Minutes was Swami's Photo falling down and me cleaning it. Swami never forgets anyone in distress, this is a great example of it.
My Friend Shyam Prasad was on the Marina Beach in Chennai on that Fateful day, He had come with some friends to the beach, Just a few minutes before the Water started receeding and the Tsunami Striking, the got a Phone call on his Cell saying that his Mother had fallen from the Staircase and was in a serious condition. He immediately left the beach and took a Auto home and to his great Surprise His Mother opened the Door, He was shocked beyond Words, Also his mother who told him that she was hale and hearty, When He tried Contacting that Cell Number the response was that it did not exist. On 13th'January'2005, When Swami mentioned about me He Also told him "I had to use a cellphone to save you, Swami always remembers his children". Swami never forgets anyone at any time, Trials, tribulations are a part of life, Faith in God, Love of God, Devotion towards him are important. Swami once told the Students of the Higher Secondary
School a Wonderful Story: Once a Man saw before his eyes all the events of his life passing by, and as He looked closely he found that in some Phases of his life there were 2 sets of Footprints, Then to his great Joy he saw that those
were the moments in life where there was great Happiness and Joy,He prayed to God saying "You were always with me at every stage in my life, I shall never forget you at any time ", Then as he saw more closely there were some periods in his life where there were only One Set of Footprints, And as he observed more closely he saw that those moments were his Darkest days full of DEspair, Unhapiness, Sorrow and suffering, then he exclaimed to God "You were with
me in my moments of happiness and joy, but I walked alone in my moments of sadness and sorrow, Why did you forsake me, I have never forgotten you at anystage in life?", Then God said " During your moments of Happiness and Joy I walked with you, In your Moments of Despair and Sadness, It was I who carried you ".
Swami carries everyone during our moments of Sadness, It is we who sometimes forget him, He never does.
The Omnipresent & Omnipotent Sai as experienced by
Dr. Sara Pavan
Born in Malaya (now Malaysia) in 1938 and educated in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Dr. Sara Pavan graduated from University of Ceylon with MBBS in 1962. Since his marriage to Dr. Devi in 1965 he started a life of learning, travelling and broadening his horizons, commencing in Singapore. He specialised in Anaesthesia in England in January 1969. The couple lived in several countries including New Zealand and Australia.
The Pavans have been devotees of Swami since 1980 and had actively worked for the Sai organisation in Australia. He was the editor of the quarterly Australian Sai Newsletter 10 years from its inception. The couple moved to Prasanthi Nilayam in 1993 and have served in Swami’s hospitals since then.
On our very first visit to Puttaparthi in December 1980 I had brought along my first video camera. It was hefty two-piece video equipment – separate camera and cassette recorder. With a recorder weighing 10 kg hanging on my left shoulder and a camera weighing 7 kg resting on my right shoulder, I started capturing my first video of the Lord of the Universe as He glided majestically on the golden sand of the hallowed darshan grounds of Prasanthi Nilayam.
Devotees were allowed to use their cameras at darshan in those days and the merciful Bhagawan gave me the strength to carry such a load on my shoulders and keep the tape rolling. Thereafter the compassionate Lord enabled me to place the burden of the camera upon a tripod planted at a vantage point inside the compound with the recorder on the ground. The sevadals were very helpful and I videoed all the darshan during the five days of our brief visit to the Abode of Peace.
Sai devotees in a couple of countries we visited on our return journey, as well as those in Australia, were thrilled to watch such unedited footage of Sai Darshan for the first time. It was not until a month prior to my second visit to Prasanthi Nilayam in October 1981 that I got down to editing, which included adding some music, titles and some occasional commentary.
It was hard work for me as I had limited resources and expertise with video editing. My experience was limited to making personal home movies with Super 8 movie cameras and splicing the developed reels of film. There was no music during darshanin those days. But for the occasional chirping of birds, there was pin-drop silence during darshan, and one could even hear one's own breathing! Somehow, I managed to make a master of my “Sai Darshan” video, which I hoped Swami would bless.
I made four copies of the master on VHS cassettes hoping to give Swami a copy and one each to an uncle of mine in Colombo, who was then a member of the Sathya Sai World Council, and two friends from Malaysia and Singapore, who were of great help to a fledgling devotee like me in the beginning. En route to Bangalore I stopped over in Colombo and gave away my first copy.
I had in my possession the master and three copies of the video when I landed at Madras airport. I had a rough time with customs, who wanted to record a full inventory of all the items I had brought with me, even the four videotapes. When the customs officer tried to enter them on my passport to ensure that I take them back when I left India, I requested him to reduce the number of videotapes to three, because I was intending to give Sai Baba copy. He obliged me with an amused look on his face.
I left a bag at the hotel in Madras to reduce my baggage to Prasanthi Nilayam, leaving some clothing and two videotapes that were intended for my friends in Malaysia and Singapore. With less baggage I proceeded to Bangalore, taking the master copy of ‘Sai Darshan’ and the copy intended for Swami.
At Bangalore airport the secretary to the Governor of Karnataka, personally received me on arrival on the tarmac and drove me straight to his residence within the Rashtrapati Bhavan compound. This gentleman happened to visit our home in Sydney for abhajan a couple of months earlier and was keen to host me in Bangalore.
I got carried away by the red-carpet treatment in Bangalore, given the rough time I had at Madras airport the previous day. So I foolishly gave away to the governor’s secretary the copy of ‘Sai Darshan’ that was intended for Swami. My mind had tricked me into assuming that that Puttaparthi was far behind the rest of the world with modern amenities. I presumed that there might not even be a VCR or TV in the ashram.
Days went by in Prasanthi Nilayam and Swami ignored me. I prayed to Him to bless my master copy of ‘Sai Darshan’ and take the bundle of letters as well as a small gift I had brought for Him. An adhesive blank strip of paper was stuck on the master copy for Swami to bless with His autograph.
I kept offering the video cassette to Swami at every darshan with a pen in hand. All this was of no avail. Swami was completely ignoring me. At the end of a week I became distraught. An old-time photographer of Swami tried to pacify me by telling me that Baba had already blessed the video by the very fact that He had allowed me to shoot it in the first place.
I told him that I wanted Swami to sign on the video cassette and that alone would be proof that He had blessed the master.
“Do you need to prove this to anybody?” he shot back. I had no answer.
When I returned to my room my words to the customs officer at Madras airport flashed into my mind, when I had asked him to count one cassette less because I had planned to give a copy to Swami.
I realised that Swami might be giving me the hard lesson I needed to remind me of His omnipresence, that He Himself was there watching everything in the airport customs area, I decided to make a same day-return dash to Bangalore by taxi to bring back the video cassette from my friend in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
While trying to arrange a taxi I came to know that Swami Himself was leaving for Brindavan the next day. So I too, decided to leave for Bangalore after Swami’s departure.
An hour after Swami left, I headed towards Bangalore by taxi. In the vicinity of Devanahalli our taxi knocked down a little boy who darted across the road with a basketful of peanuts on his head.
A split-second before the impact I screamed ‘Sai Ram’! The boy went rolling on the road after the impact and lay unconscious. An army of monkeys from the nearby trees instantly climbed down and started gathering the scattered peanuts.
I rushed towards the boy and examined him, running my hands over every part of his body to check if he had any broken bones. A small crowd started gathering around us. Miraculously the boy did not appear to have any fracture. Suddenly I saw from the corner of my eyes something white appearing and coming to a halt. I lifted my head to see Swami in His white Mercedes Benz looking penetratingly at the boy and myself. Standing up, I offered my namaskar. Before I could approach His car to pray for help Swami signalled the driver to move on. I was stunned to have this most unusual darshan.
Here I was, totally ignored in Prasanthi Nilayam, now experiencing an intimate one-to-one darshan in such an exceptional situation! I stood still gazing at the white car until it disappeared from my sight. I turned around to look at the boy and he was awake and somewhat dazed. Squatting swiftly the boy went about salvaging the remaining scattered peanuts and I joined him to minimise his losses.
The boy started walking away from the scene with his basket of the remaining peanuts. I began to wonder how Swami could have made His mysterious appearance at this time despite leaving Prasanthi Nilayam an hour before me.
I also was puzzled why Swami left the scene without a word of inquiry? I then realised it was unnecessary for Him to speak with me. The omnipresent and omnipotent Lord had already saved the boy from nasty injury in response to my calling “Sai Ram”, just as Krishna had made His mysterious appearance to protect Draupadi in the court of Kauravas.
As soon as I reached Bangalore I retrieved the video cassette from my friend, promising him that I would send him another copy later and checked into a hotel. I wrapped the cassette nicely and took it along with the bundle of letters from our centre devotees and the small gift of aftershave lotion for Him in my shoulder bag for darshan in Brindavan the following morning.
My confidence was so low that I did not expect Swami would even look at me, let alone bless the master copy. I decided not even to hold it up. All I prayed from Swami was for His unequivocal forgiveness and to positively indicate to me that He had done so by at least taking His copy of the video.
It happened to be Thursday and it was my first visit to Brindavan. I was given a seat in the third row, a few feet away in front of Swami’s chair on the right hand side of the chair in the shed, commonly known as the ‘Sairam’ shed, under the huge tree. Behind the chair stood a beautiful statue of Krishna on an elevated platform next to the tree trunk.
The atmosphere was vibrant with expectation and all eyes were glued to the archway entrance of Swami’s Brindavan residence. The bhajan commenced and Swami appeared at the gate. He swiftly walked towards the shed, some 75 yards away. He took a few letters and gave padanamaskar to some devotees seated along His passage before sitting on His chair. Swami was deeply immersed in the bhajan for some time, there was a multitude of expressions on His radiant face, while He gestured.
I was silently pleading with Swami to forgive me for all my failings. Choked with emotion and eyes blurred with tears I could not even sing. I prayed to Swami in silence: “Swami! Please forgive me for my blunder. You have made me remember Your omnipresence for the rest of my life. Your copy of the tape is with me. Please take it as confirmation of Your act of mercy and forgiveness.”
Swami’s gaze fell on me and my tears started rolling down. His gaze locked with mine and Swami gracefully stood up and glided in my direction and stood in front of me still not taking His gaze away from me.
I had three items to hand over – the cassette, the letters and the small gift of love. I was still able to get my priorities right. I did not have the confidence to give all three of them in one go. So, I first pulled out the cassette from my bag and stretched my hand up over the heads of the couple of rows of men.
Swami stretched out His right hand and graciously received the cassette and passed it on to the sevadal accompanying Him, while the men in the front row blissfully clasped His Lotus Feet.
Still staring at me He stood there and I quickly dug into my bag and pulled out the bundle of letters the devotees from our centre had given me. Swami received all the letters and slowly returned to His chair to take arati to end the bhajan. He did not give me any chance to hand Him my small gift, a bottle of after-shave lotion. That did not matter because Swami had already offloaded a mountain of my mental burden.
Why did I want Swami to bless the master tape by signing on the label? I was mainly to prove to others that Swami had approved it. It was my ego demanding this approval from Swami. Wasn’t my conscience enough? Swami always says, “Follow your Heart.”
After lunch and satsang with Bob Lowenburg at his residence in Whitefield I returned to my hotel in Bangalore. Bob Lowenburg was a well-known Sai devotee from South Africa residing in Whitefield and who had written the book, ‘At the feet of Sai.’ He was also the chairman of the Whitefield samithi then.
I was scheduled to fly to Madras the next day for my return journey to Australia. The thought of leaving Swami triggered a deep sense of disappointment because I had neither been able to speak with Swami, nor touch His Lotus Feet on this visit, let alone give Him the small gift I had brought from Australia.
At least, I thought, I could send the after-shave lotion to Swami by registered post. I directed the taxi driver to take me to a post office in the city. When I handed the parcel over the counter, the post office staff would not accept my parcel wrapped in paper for registered post; only parcels wrapped in cloth, sewn and sealed were acceptable. This was totally new to me. However they suggested that I could ask a tailor across the road to do the needful.
While the cloth bag was being sewn I quickly wrote a letter to Swami for inclusion with the parcel. I expressed my gratitude to Him for forgiving me by taking His copy of the videotape, but lamented that I would be returning to Australia without a padanamaskar(sparshan) and conversation (sambhashan).
After dispatching the parcel I reached my hotel late in the afternoon to rest. Having unloaded both my physical and mental baggage by then, I decided to re-visit Brindavan in the evening, just to sit peacefully under the ‘Sairam shed’ and absorb His divine vibration on the eve of my departure, even if Swami didn’t show up.
On the way I saw Mr & Mrs. Lowenburg taking an evening walk towards Brindavan and I gave them a lift. They told me that Swami generally did not come out in the evening. There were no more than 40 devotees seated under the tree. I sat in prayer thanking Swami for everything and meditated for some time.
Dusk had set in and many devotees had left by then leaving just a few of us. Unexpectedly, Swami appeared at the gate and looked in our direction. My heart was pounding away with great excitement, but Swami disappeared behind the Kalyana mandapam and a few more devotees left.
Ten minutes later Swami emerged from behind the mandapam and again looked in our direction. It was already getting dark but He suddenly headed towards us and my joy knew no bounds.
When He was in front of me I told Him how grateful I was for His love and forgiveness and said that I was leaving for Australia the next morning.
As Swami replied, “Happy”, I touched His Lotus Feet.
The registered parcel with my letter was handed over at the Post office in the city only at 3.00 PM that day and was not expected to reach Brindavan for another few days. The Omniscient Lord most compassionately responded to my plea in my letter and came out of His way, so late in the evening, to converse with me and let me take padanamaskar. There is nothing that Swami does not know or anything that He cannot do. He is the Totality; He is All That is.
Now,I say you experience of Professor Frank Baranowski, a psychologist and regression therapist, specializes in research on auras, the energy patterns that surround all living beings, and works at the university of Arizona. He is an expert in bio-magnetic field radiation photography. He has photographed and interpreted the auras for numerous men and women using the ultra-sensitive Kirlian camera.
Professor Baranowski had read several books about Sri Sathya Sai Baba, including Samuel Sandweiss’s “Sai Baba, the Holy man and the Psychiatrist.” He wondered whether such a person could really exist and whether all that was written about him was factual. As he was, at that time, writing a book on reincarnation based on case studies and other findings, he was interested in Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s claim of being a reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba.
During Christmas 1977, Professor Baranowski was a guest at a home where a Bhajan (devotional songs) session was in progress. A stranger to this form of worship, he withdrew to a room upstairs. He was resting there quietly in the dark room when, to his astonishment, a candle on the table suddenly burst into flames.
The bright flame illuminated a nearby picture of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He could not understand who could have lighted the candle. He was alone in the room. There had not been any sound and no one had come in. How could a flame appear all of a sudden on the wick of the candle? He stared at the picture and it did many things to him. It seemed to penetrate into him and to beckon to him. To a man of science, this occurrence was totally inexplicable.
The thought of Sri Sathya Sai Baba lingered in him long after the candle experience. He decided to go to India and visit Sai Baba. Here is the account of his encounter with Baba for the first time, in his own words:
Sathya Sai Baba? Yes, I had heard of Him but with a lot of mixed emotions. The stories that were attributed to this man bordered on the incredible. As a man of science, I am aware of psychosomatic healings, and I have seen miraculous healings done by such notable personalities as Olga Worrell, and at such famous places as Lourdes. Yet, here were rumours of a man from India who could heal people by His mere touch. The story hinged on the unbelievable.
In July of 1978, I found myself at the first World Peace Conference at Bangalore. I had heard that Sathya Sai Baba resided in a place called Whitefield. This small community boasts of a college founded by Sathya Sai Baba and dedicated to science and commerce. As I arrived by taxicab, the first thing I noticed was the refreshing cleanliness of the area.
Though hot and stiflingly humid, hundreds of Indians and foreigners crowded the grounds surrounding Sathya Sai Baba's ‘ashram’ or residence. I joined the patient assemblage, sitting squat-legged among the Eastern visages. I didn't have to wait long until Sathya Sai Baba appeared. I must confess, this first time I saw Him I was not impressed.
He was of small stature and walked among the people as if He were distracted. He would hardly take the time to look at a person or to talk with them - then He would suddenly turn His head as if looking for someone else. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized I was seeing an individual who possessed gifts beyond description.
It was about five o'clock in the morning, and the followers had been singing their devotional songs and chanting during a parade around the compound at Whitefield, when Sathya Sai Baba came out of His residence.
Now, I have always been able to see the human aura. The auras around average people extend as much as three to five feet. Auras are composed of every imaginable colour and these colours change as a person's emotional, physical and mental states change. In general, whenever the colour blue is evident in a person's aura, it is an indication of deep spirituality; green is a healing color; yellow indicates high intelligence; and red means anger or frustration.
The colour pink, which is rarely seen, typifies a person capable of selfless love, and this was the colour that Sathya Sai Baba had around Him. The aura around Sathya Sai Baba went beyond the building reaching thirty or forty feet in all directions. Never having seen any aura like this before, my first reaction was to look for fluorescent lights, which may have been shining on Him. But as I watched, the beautiful pink energy pattern moved as He moved; there was no doubt that this was His aura.
Entranced by this remarkable sight, I barely heard the devotional songs that were being sung, and before I knew it, Sathya Sai Baba had gone. The crowd settled in the now-familiar cross-legged positions and prepared themselves to wait until Sathya Sai Baba's next appearance, four hours later.
I have had the pleasure of meeting such personalities as ex-president Gerald Ford, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, and Pope John Paul II, and I have studied their auras as well as tens of thousands of others, I say this not as a testimonial but as a fact; not one person I have ever seen has an aura to compare to the size and colour of Sathya Sai Baba's aura
The heat was remarkable; the humidity hung like a wet cloth over the gathering. Amid chanting, a few anxious eyes watched the threatening skies, Dark clouds gave foreboding signs of torrential storms, but all around me devotees were assuring each other "Sathya Sai Baba won't allow it to rain".
Then, there He was again, I felt my heartbeat quicken as He turned in my direction. Soon He stepped beside me, looked at me, and then made a quick motion to the man seated beside me. Suddenly crushed lilies began to appear in the palms of His hands, and as they poured forth, the petals filled the cupped hands of the seated man. But the flower petals didn't stop coming; they went on to fill the waiting hands of a second, a third and then a fourth person!
As this great man turned away, He glanced in my direction as if to say, "Have you noticed what I have just done?" I couldn't have helped witnessing what had happened. To answer possible arguments, Sathya Sai Baba's sleeves reached His elbows. So it was not by magic tricks that these petals appeared. And I was not hypnotized into believing I was seeing them, for I am a licensed hypnotist myself and am very difficult to hypnotize. Within my limited understanding, it was difficult to believe I had just witnessed this miraculous demonstration. I sat there, in that same position, for a very long time, dumbfounded by what I had seen.
The very next morning I felt myself drawn back to the very same compound, sitting in the lotus position and waiting for Sathya Sai Baba to appear once again.
As I sat quietly, I heard a voice in my mind tell me that I must cross the field, walk through the area where the women were standing and talk to a man who was standing against a building there. I did not feel comfortable approaching a stranger, especially in a strange country where there is a language barrier, but I could no longer ignore the voice in my mind. I went across the field and found a man standing against the building. I spoke to him.
"I hope you speak English. I have a voice in my mind that says I must speak to you”. He introduced himself as Prof. Narender, and he said, "You must be the lecturer Sathya Sai Baba said would speak to me today”.
I am a lecturer; I have given approximately 9000 lectures all over the world. But how did this man know that?
In the next four days I watched Sathya Sai Baba with His people. He calmed them; He gave them hope. As He walked among them, the beautiful pink colour in His aura permeated the violent red colours in the crowd. His selfless love transcended their fears and worries. Perhaps you have to meet this man to understand His gifts. He gives of Himself to thousands of people from all around the world who await His blessings.
Prof. Narender's message to me proved to be that I was to speak to Sathya Sai Baba's college on Friday afternoon. Eight hundred students and later one hundred teachers listened to my lecture. As I stood next to Sathya Sai Baba, I could see His aura reach beyond the platform. It surrounded all the people in the room. Soon His love - and that's the only word I can use for the warm, buoyant, totally immersing emotion we experienced that evening - reached each and every person in that room and they began to sing and chant devotions to this man.
The word "Avatar” is often used when referring to Sathya Sai Baba, meaning one who has Christ-like powers, or God-like power and one who may even be God Himself.
Now, I am a devout Catholic. Yet I would be a fool if I did not recognize the powers this man has. Amidst the singing and chanting, the Avatar turned to me and said, "Because you are a man of such great love….” and He showed me the empty palm of His hand.
He circled His hand in the air three times and produced a ring with the nine precious gems of the world embedded in gold. He said, "It will only fit the first finger of the right hand”. And indeed, that is the only finger it fits.
It's magnificent! It's a beautiful ring! But it holds special meaning to me because this great man, this Avatar, graced me with His words: "Because you are a man of such great love…. "
The next day I was once again honoured by Sathya Sai Baba as I was granted a private audience with Him. I was anxious to discuss not only reincarnation with Him, but also my grandson. The boy was born with a heart defect. At the age of one year he weighed slightly less than seven pounds. Numerous operations left him with little hope for a normal life, even if he survived at all.
But before I could mention this to Sathya Sai Baba, He told me that there would be an operation on the day I arrived home (in Arizona) and that the baby would be well. I said, "You must be wrong. The baby is not old enough to have this operation. The physicians said the minimum age for the operation would be at age two, even two and a half." Sathya Sai Baba just smiled, and said, "No, it will be on the day you arrive home."
He was right. On the day I arrived in Arizona, the baby was operated on. The doctor who performed the surgery gave my grandson little hope of survival. When my daughter introduced the doctor to me, I discovered he was from India. I told him I had just returned from there, and mentioned some of the places I'd been to. When I mentioned Whitefield he interrupted me and asked, "That's Sathya Sai Baba's country, isn't it?"
I said yes, and showed him the ring I had been blessed with. The doctor looked at me with the eyes glowing, and said, "The child will live," as if all that was needed was the mention of Sathya Sai Baba's name.
The child did survive.
Perhaps of all the miracles I witnessed in my ten days in India, no miracle is as great as the miracle of one man giving so much love to so many people. In my estimation and experimentation, Sri Sathya Sai Baba is, aura-wise, exactly what He says He is and what He asks everyone to be. He is love, pure and simple. He is love walking on two legs. Such unselfish love is nothing other than Divinity.
His own words say it best –
"Love. Continue to love and all will be well."
Here is another story:
Joel Riordan, Hollywood film producer, writer and director, has an interesting story about how Baba changed his sceptic mind and sowed the seeds of faith in his heart. When Joel visited Prasanthi Nilayam along with his wife, Diana, who was a sincere devotee of Baba, he came with the intention to ‘expose’ Baba whom he sarcastically called ‘character’.
Joel has narrated his thrilling first encounter to Mr. Howard Murphet, which he recorded it in his book,“Sai Baba Avatar”:
‘Diana had been over to India a couple of times with her mother, Analise, and both of them used to talk about Sai Baba's miracles. I thought they must both be mad, or at least going mad. I seriously considered divorcing Diana. But there was my daughter Chrissie to think of. Anyway, I finally decided that, before doing anything drastic, I would go over and see this “character”, Sai Baba, for myself.
My parents had been show people and I was just about brought up in a circus. I was keenly interested in conjuring, and had seen what went on behind all the stage tricks. I figured that even if this character in India was a second Houdini, I would be able to expose him as a conjuror, and not a holy man miracle worker, as people claimed.
Just before I left Hollywood, I was having lunch with an important guy and - to give him a laugh - told him what I was planning to do. He seemed to have heard of Sai Baba, or read about him - may be in Schulman's book, or yours - any way, he said: "What are you going to ask him for, Joel?" The idea came to me then.
I answered: "They say this character is God-so I'll ask him for something only God can make - a rainbow". He laughed, and we talked about other matters. But I decided that was what I would ask for.’
When asked by Howard Murphet, whether his friend had known any Sai devotees in California, Joel replied: 'I checked on that later - for the same reason as you ask. No, he did not. He lived in a different world from them. No chance that anyone carried the story to Swami.
Anyway, a few days after that I flew to India, bringing Diana and Chrissie with me. It was early afternoon when we arrived in Puttaparthi, and an hour or so later we went for a walk up that hill behind the hospital. It was a hot, dry day, and we went up for a breath of air. We sat on some rocks and looked out over the country. It looked grim and parched-made me feel dehydrated just to see it.
Then in the western sky a bright rainbow appeared, Odd, I thought, how can you have a rainbow without a drop of moisture in the air? Something else struck me as peculiar. Instead of being curved in the usual way, the rainbow stood straight up in the sky like a column. I felt a bit spooky about it. Had this “character” heard my words right across in America, and caused this phenomenon?
Then the colours started to fade out from the bottom up. I felt I needed a drink. But of course there's no alcohol at Puttaparthi, and even the water was warm in that season.'
In answer to Howard Murphet’s query whether his wife Diana had known about his unusual wish, he replied:
'Yeah, I mentioned it to her on the way over on the plane. She saw the rainbow all right - ask her, yourself.
Afterwards, we came down from the hill, and there was a message that Swami wanted to see us. Diana got more excited about that than about the rainbow, but as we had come a long way, it seemed natural enough to me that He would see us on the first day.
When we walked into the interview room, Swami's first words knocked me out: "Well, character, how did you like your rainbow?"
'I was too dumbfounded to answer. He knew my name for Him, and what I was going to ask for, and had put that odd rainbow in the sky! It all blew my mind.
Well, I sat with the others on the floor, hardly hearing, and not understanding, what He was talking about. In fact, my mind was racing about like a rat in a trap, trying to find a way back to the common-sense world I knew. Granted he was a mind reader; telepathy does exist between people. It's been proved scientifically. But the rainbow must have been a hallucination or I had been hypnotized.
“I'll give him another test”, I thought to myself, “I will ask Him to produce some fresh fruit-out-of-season fruit - right here in this room, without warning.”
A few minutes after I'd had this thought, Swami stopped talking and waved his hand in his usual way. When he turned it up I saw a fresh fig sitting on his palm. He handed it to me without a word.
I ate it later. It was as fresh, as if had just been picked. Yet, figs were out of season and, as I learned later, none grew in that area anyway.’
Another true incident:This amazing episode of how Bhagawan miraculously revived Walter Cowan after he had died of a massive heart attack is narrated by Mr. John Hislop in his book, ‘My Baba and I’:
Walter died in his room at the Connemara Hotel in Madras. He and his wife, Elsie, had arrived there on December 23, 1971 to see Baba, who was in Madras to preside at an All-India Conference of Sai Organizations.
Early on the morning of December 25, a rumour quickly spread that an elderly American had died of a heart attack. My wife, Victoria and I immediately thought of Walter. We went to the hotel and found Elsie (Walter’s wife) there. Walter had fallen to the floor in the early morning hours. Elsie had called Mrs. Ratanlal whose room was just down the corridor. The two women managed to lift Walter to the bed, and he passed away in Elsie's arms a few minutes later. An ambulance was called, The body was taken to a hospital, pronounced dead upon arrival, placed in an empty, storage room, and covered with a sheet to await daylight and decisions about the funeral.
Elsie and Mrs. Ratanlal had already been to see Baba when we arrived. He had told them He would visit the hospital at 10 a.m. The two ladies were ready and waiting to join Baba at the appointed hour. They did go to the hospital, but Baba had arrived earlier and had already departed. To the joy of the ladies, but also to their total amazement, they found Walter alive and being attended to. Nobody saw Baba with Walter, nor has Baba chosen to say how or why Walter was resurrected, but on returning to the devotee family who were his hosts, Baba told the people there that He had brought Walter back to life.
Walter's own story throws some light on what happened, and later on, I was a party to a fascinating episode; for Walter's life continued to be in danger and, in fact, Baba told me that Walter died three times and had to be returned to life three times.
Walter described his experience. He said he realized that he had died and that he had remained with the body, in the ambulance, looking at it with interest. Then Baba came and together they went to a place, which seemed to be at a great height. There they entered a conference room where people were seated around a table. There was a presiding chairman who had a kind face and who spoke in a kindly way. He called for Walter's records and these were read aloud. The records were in different languages and Walter did not understand what was said until after some time when Baba started to translate. Walter was surprised to hear that he had occupied a lofty status in various times and cultures and had always been dedicated to the welfare of the people. At length, Baba addressed the person presiding and asked that Walter be given over to Baba's care, for Baba had work for Walter to do. Then, when Baba and he departed the room, Walter felt himself descending towards a place where his body was, but felt great reluctance. In terms of direct experience, he had realized that he was not the body, and he had no wish to be subject again to anxieties and miseries.
After hearing Walter, I asked Baba if Walter was just imagining the incidents. Baba replied that it was not imagination. They had occurred in Walter's mind and Baba himself had guided the thoughts. I then asked if everyone had a similar experience at death. Baba answered that some people had similar experiences and some did not. Several years later, I brought up the question again. Baba answered that the corpse was common to all, but beyond that there was no common experience.
The day after Walter returned to life was one of high interest for me. Sri Appa and I accompanied Baba to the home of a devotee. From there we went to a meeting of lady members of the Nigara Sai Samithi where Baba was to give awards and speak. Sri Appa and I were sitting on the platform, just a few feet from Baba, and were able to observe him closely. He made the awards and gave a spiritual discourse, all without any break or any moment of hesitation. From that meeting, we were to go to the home of a devotee for lunch. As soon as we got in the car, Baba turned to us and said, "While I was talking in the meeting, Mrs. Cowan called me. I at once went to the hospital and did what was necessary. Mr. Cowan's health had taken a turn for the worse."
So, even while busy on the speaker's platform, Baba had gone to the hospital, and had done what was necessary. But, to the eyes of Sri Appa and myself, Baba had continued in action and speech on the platform for the whole time without any break or hesitation whatsoever. How does one explain this mystery?
When we arrived at the devotee's house for lunch, Baba turned to us and said, "You will not be able to join me for lunch. Take this Vibhuti to the hospital, give Mr. Cowan some in his mouth and rub the rest on his forehead and chest. If you will walk to the corner there, you will find Mrs. Hislop in a taxi. She will take you to the hospital."
Now the fact was, that my wife had been following in a car. However, she had taken great pains to stay out of sight, but her effort was to no avail for, as usual, Baba knew everything. When we reached the hospital with the Vibhuti, Mrs. Cowan said, "Walter took a very bad turn just a little while ago. I thought he was dead, and I was terrified. I at once called Baba in a loud voice. Now, Walter seems a little improved. When I called Baba I felt his presence at once." At the hospital, Elsie experienced exactly what Baba had told Sri Appa and myself in the car.
Other instances of Baba's powers of resurrection are also known. The Raja of Ventagiri told me how some twenty or so years ago, he had witnessed Baba's resurrection of a man dead some six days in whom body decomposition was taking its normal course. About these mysteries, one can make no comment; they are outside one’s common experience.Next episode is about Subamma:
Subamma was wife of the Karnam (landlord) of Puttaparthi. She had great affection for young Sathya, and after the declaration of Avatarhood, her house served as the first Mandir where devotees gathered for Darshan of Bhagawan. The moving story of Subbamma’s final moments are narrated by Prof N. Kasturi in ‘Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram’:
Subbamma was the person most anxious about Swami’s "health" and most worried about the hundreds of pilgrims who gathered at Puttaparthi. Baba even now recalls that the grinding stone in her house was always busy, preparing chutney (an Indian dish) out of the heaps of coconuts that the pilgrims offered. She had immense love and devotion to the Lord and Baba had said that He would satisfy her one desire... to have the Darshan of Baba in her last moments. It is indeed a thrilling story, the story of those moments and that Darshan.
Subbamma fell ill; she was taken to Bukkapatnam; but in spite of her illness, she came over one day in a bullock cart to see Prasanthi Nilayam, which was then under construction; she was soon bedridden; she could not move; her condition worsened; and, Baba was away, at Bangalore!
Subbamma, in her delirium, talked about Baba and the vision of Shirdi Sai Baba that she had been privileged to see, of the manifold Leelas of Sai Krishna that she had witnessed, and, when she came to, her talk was about the same incidents and the same Person. She was in the midst of relatives who did not have much sympathy with these sentiments, for they felt that her love for the strange little miraculous Boy had taken her away from attachment to her kith and kin. They told her that her Baba was a hundred miles away, and so, it would be better for her to concentrate her failing attention on men and matters, nearer and closer. But, her faith did not falter.
Meanwhile, Baba left Bangalore for Tirupathi, where He spent some time with the devotees of His own Concretised and Consecrated Image. Of course, Baba knew that Subbamma's soul was struggling to free itself from the mortal coil, and that she was rolling in her deathbed at Bukkapatnam. The people around her announced that she had breathed her last. But, some peculiar glow on her face, made them nervous to take the body to the cremation ground. The wise people of the village shook their heads when it was suggested that she had died. They advised patience, and admonished the relatives; "The bird has not flown yet," they said.
How could the bird fly, even though the door of the cage was lying open? She must have the Darshan and she must wait, until Baba comes. And, Baba too was hurrying towards her bedside. He left Tirupathi by car, and arriving at Puttaparthi, proceeded to Bukkapatnam, three full days after the first announcement of Subbamma's end!
Her eyes had lost the glint, she was placed on the floor and people were evincing an uneasy impatience. Baba sat by her and in a low voice, called out, "Subbamma," "Subbamma," just twice and no more! Then, to the wonderment of everyone crowding around, Subbamma opened her eyes; her hand extended towards Baba and grasped His palm firmly and began to stroke it lovingly; Baba put His Fingers to her lips; her mouth opened a little, as if she knew that Baba was giving her something to slake the thirst of the soul. From the fingers of Baba there poured into her mouth the Immortal Ganga and Subbamma joined the ranks of the Released! Let us see another story:
Swami Satchidananda, a distinguished monk of Divine Life Society of Rishikesh, and a close disciple of Swami Shivananda Saraswati, narrated this astounding incident in the presence of Baba on the 29th of June 1957, on the occasion of the Inauguration of the Tapovana (Meditation grove) in Puttaparthi. This incident convinced Swami Satchidananda beyond doubt about the divine nature of Bhagawan. Prof. Kasturi has recorded this incident thus:
Swami Satchidananda was in Baba's room one afternoon in the bungalow on Kodaikanal. Baba was reclining on His bed. Suddenly, He stood up and shouted, "Don't shoot", in Telugu and fell upon the bed, in what is called a 'trance,' but is best described as 'going on a transcorporeal journey.'
His body became stiff and remained in that condition for about an hour. When He returned and took charge of His physical frame, He looked at those around Him and wanted a telegram sent urgently to an address at Bhopal! He dictated the message and the address. It ran, "Don't worry; the revolver is with Me, Baba."
Swami Satchidananda expressed a doubt whether the postal authorities would accept the message for transmission, for it spoke of revolvers, which come under the Arms Act. Others too supported him and there was some argument on the pros and cons.
Baba wanted that it should go quickly to Bhopal and alternative words to bypass the rules were discussed. Swami Satchidananda suggested the word, 'instrument,' for 'revolver' and Baba agreed that it would convey the meaning intended, so far as the recipient was concerned. The wire went quick, and fast, to Bhopal, a thousand miles away!
Every one was anxious to know what the nature of the averted tragedy was, but Baba parried all attempts to draw the information from Him. But, on the fourth day, a letter arrived from Bhopal, which was read out to all, a letter revealing that Baba was indeed the same Lord Vishnu who had saved Gajendra and Prahlada, and the same Lord Krishna who had come to the rescue of Draupadi!
The author of the letter, whose wife was an ardent devotee of Bhagawan, had served in the Second World War and was now occupying a high position in Government Service. He was very much upset by the administrative rearrangements following the Reorganisation of States, for persons far junior in service were hoisted on top of him. He had no one nearby to assuage or comfort or even to listen to his tale of woe.
His wife was away at her parents' village. Disappointed by the unlucky turn in his career, he decided to end his humiliation by means of a revolver. There was one handy; he tried one shot, just to see whether his hand would be steady for the fatal second; but before he could shoot next... Baba had shouted, "Don't shoot!"
When suddenly, there was a loud bang at the door! Baba had come! Not as Baba, of course, but as an old college-mate accompanied (!) by his wife and a Chaprasi (porter), with a trunk and a holdall, to make the picture complete in every detail!
The officer ran into the bedroom, placed the revolver on the bed, threw a sheet over it, hurried back into the front hall, adjusted his lineaments to the new situation, and opened the door!
There, lo and behold, were the three forms of Bhagawan, ready to play their part. The college chum was very boisterous and demonstrative; Baba had become by instantaneous materialisation a friend, who had just the qualities that would remove melancholy and who could give the officer, the tonic that would cure him of despair.
He responded to the treatment and became quite normal, very soon. He even smiled and laughed at the jokes of his old friend, and as the conversation proceeded, all thoughts of suicide melted away.
The lady too joined in the talk, but, when they discovered that the mistress of the house was away, the visitor put on an air of profound disappointment and said that he would prefer to stay with another friend. In spite of the appeals of the person whom he had saved, the friend departed forty-five minutes after he materialised, with the lady, the porter, the trunk and the holdall, thus drawing down the curtain on the excellent dramatic performance!
After seeing them off, the officer hurried into the bedroom; he was stunned to find that the revolver was not there nor anywhere in the house! Who could have removed it?
He locked his house and ran in hot haste to the address to which the college-mate said he would be going. He got his doubt confirmed; there was no one there; the three visitors had melted into thin air, with the trunk and the holdall!
Back home, he was turning over in his memory the stunning events that had happened that day, when he was startled by another knock at the door! It was the telegraph messenger! The wire from Kodaikanal; "Don't worry; the instrument is with me - Baba."
Swami Satchidananda said that this incident is much stranger than the Parakayapravesam extolled in Puranas. Parakayapravesam is entering into another body which is existing at that time, but, this is Kayasrishti, the creation, at the very moment of willing, of three bodies and making the bodies act their roles of existing individuals, correct to the minutest detail of voice and inflection, gait and gesture, idiom and idiosyncrasy, and the recitation of incidents and anecdotes relating to decades past when they were both students of the same college!
This, concluded Swami Satchidananda, is possible only for an Avatar.
LIke these,I can say so many instances of His omniscience,omnipotence and omnipresent episodes.We should utilise the import of those incidences and develop complete surrender to Him so that we can get self realization in this life only by following his teachings in our day to day life.
By Dr. Debadas Bagchi
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