Sathyam Sivam Sundaram - Part I

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in the bud-like ear, it seems the baby smiled, for was it not He Himself who

must have unobtrusively suggested that name be given? How else can we explain

the fact that the first requisite for spiritual advancement, now propounded by

Sathya Sai Baba, is Satya or Truth and Narayana or "God in man?" The embodiment

and exponent of Truth could not have given Himself a more appropriate name.

The child became the pet of the entire village of Puttaparthi, and the farmers

and cowherds vied with each other in fondling and feeding the infant and

playing with his lovely silken curls. His charming smile attracted everyone.

Pedda Venkapa's house was always filled with visitors who came on any pretext

and lingered around the cradle singing lullabies, showering caresses, and

forgetting their humdrum lives.

0.5in">Soon the fragrance of "the Jasmine Bud" filled the air. As a lighted

lamp, Sathya moved about the house, and laughter tinkled in the street when he

lisped his vocabulary of sweet sounds. It was noticed by all with wonder that

he delighted in having broad Vibhuti (Sacred Ash) markings worn by men on his

forehead, and that he insisted on the marks being renewed as soon as they wore

off. He also desired to have a circular Kumkum dot, the red saffron dot worn by

women in the center of his forehead. The mother seldom satisfied this desire; so

he had to seek out his sister's box of Kumkum and dab it on himself. He was

Style'">Siva, he was Sakti, "God and the Power of God." He must have both the

Sacred Ash and the saffron dot of the Consort. He kept away from places

where pigs, sheep, cattle, or fowl were killed or tortured, or where fish were

trapped or caught. He avoided kitchens and vessels used for cooking flesh or

fowl. When a bird was selected to be prepared for dinner, little Sathya would

run to find the bird, clasp it to his bosom and fondle it, as if the extra love

he poured on it would induce the elders to relent and spare the fowl. He was

called by the neighbors Brahmajnani, a "Realized Soul," because of this type

aversion to killing and this measure of love toward creation. At such times

Sathya would run to the home of the village accountant nearby, for they were

Brahmins and vegetarians; he would take the food offered by Subbamma, the aged

lady residing there. He rarely retaliated when he was handled roughly by

playmates. Information of such ill-treatment came to the parents through other

toddlers who witnessed the affair, never from Sathya, who seemed not in the

least to suffer pain or discomfiture. He spoke the truth always and never

resorted to the

usual subterfuges by which ordinary children try to cover up their mistakes. So

distinct was his behavior that a youngster once nick-named him "the Brahmin

child!" It was a fitting description. Little did this youngster know that,

while in the previous body, this child, at whom he now laughed, had declared at

Shirdi, "This Brahmin can bring devoted men onto the White Path and take them to

their destination!" At the tender years of three and four, "this Brahmin"

showed that he had a heart that melted at human suffering. Whenever a beggar

appeared at the door and raised his cry, Sathya left his play and rushed inside

to force his sisters to hand out grain or food. The

adults were naturally irritated by the endless procession of outstretched hands.

They easily lost their tempers and sometimes turned the beggar away before

Sathya could bring relief. This made the child weep so long and loudly that

only by bringing the dismissed beggar back could the elders stop the wailing.

On occasion in order to put an end to what the elders thought was expensive and

misplaced charity, the mother caught hold of Sathya, and with a finger raised in

warning said, "Look here! You may give him food, but mind you, you will have to

starve." That did not daunt the child. He would run inside and bring out food

to the hungry man at the door and later stay away from lunch or dinner himself.

Nothing and no one could persuade him to come for his food which was left

untouched! Sathya had a mysterious visitor who was feeding him. Whenever he

refused food and persisted in the refusal for some days, he showed no sign of

starvation in his appearance and activities. He would tell his mother that he

had eaten and would say that an Old Man had fed him sumptuously, giving him

milk-rice. The full stomach was proof of that. Besides the child volunteered to

give another indisputable piece of evidence. He would hold out his right hand

for his mother to smell, and lo, she inhaled from that tiny palm the fragrance

of clarified butter, milk and curds of a type she had never before enjoyed! The

wonder remained, however. Who was this unseen visitor, this strange nourisher of

this little child?

Style'"> (The Jasmine Bud To Be Continued…) SaiRam.