Sathyam Sivam Sundaram - Part I

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published in 1944, "He was my student in the eighth grade. He was a simple,

unostentatious, honest, and well-behaved boy." Unostentatious! With what great

self-control must Sai Baba have suppressed His manifold divine powers in order

that the world might become ready for the Announcement! Sri V.C. Kondappa,

another teacher, who later revered the student as divine, writes in the same

book, "He was very obedient and never spoke more than necessary. Coming early

to school, he would gather the children and install an image or picture in the

schoolroom. With the flowers he brought with him, he conducted worship, waved

burning camphor, and distributed Grace in one

form or another. The boys, gathered around him for the things he 'took' out of

his empty bag! When asked about it, he said that a certain 'Angel' obeyed his

will and gave him whatever he wanted!" One of his teachers was personally to

experience the force of that "Angel" on one occasion. Sai Baba was generally

listless in class, engaged most of the time in what he later described as

composing chants and copying them for distribution among his classmates. One

day the teacher discovered that Sathya was not taking down the notes he

dictated. "He is setting a bad example for the whole class," thought the

teacher, and shouted, "All those who are not taking notes, stand

up!" Sathya was the solitary culprit and was asked why he was not taking notes.

He answered in an innocent and straightforward tone, "Sir why should I take

notes? I have understood what you dictated. Ask me any question on it and I

shall answer correctly." But the teacher's pride was injured, and the boy must

suffer. He ordered Sathya to stand upon the bench and remain standing until the

last bell of the day. Sathya obeyed. All the boys hung their heads in sorrow.

None of them could feel happy that day sitting down while his Guru was poised

uncomfortably upon a bench. When the hour-bell rang, the teacher for the next

class came in. It was Janab Mahbub Khan, who

loved and respected little Sathya beyond words. He taught English, and his

approach and method were so earnest and appealing that every boy learned every

lesson thoroughly. He was an elderly bachelor, and he treated Sathya with a

unique affection. (Sai Baba even today extols Mahbub Khan as a highly evolved

soul.) Mahbub Khan would offer sweets and savories to Sathya, enticing him to

eat by means of a hundred different artifices. He told Sathya that his house was

specially cleansed for the preparation of the food, because he knew Sathya would

not eat food having the remotest contact with non-vegetarian dishes. He would

say that he had not eaten, as he wanted Sathya

to partake of the food first. He would sit quietly for long periods, stroking

Sathya's hair and whispering, "Oh, you are a wonderful boy! You will help

thousands; you are a great power." When Mahbub Khan entered the classroom,

he was shocked to find Satyanarayana standing on the bench and the teacher

still sitting on the chair. He asked the teacher why he was not vacating the

chair for the next class. The teacher whispered that he could not get up

because when he tried to get up, the chair, too, rose up with him! The whisper

was caught by the boys who quietly laughed at the teacher's plight and said it

must be due to Sathya's "Angel." Mahbub Khan also

suspected this was so, and suggested that the teacher ask Sathya to come down.

The teacher acquiesced. Immediately the chair fell away, and with great relief

he moved about unencumbered! Years later, while relating this story, Baba

said that He willed it to be so, not out of anger - for He had no anger in Him

- but purely to demonstrate Himself and gradually prepare men's minds for the

Announcement of His Mission and Identity.

0pt">(The Rhythm of His Feet To be continued..) SaiRam.