Sathyam Sivam Sundaram - Part I

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May, 1940, the fourteen year old Sathya rose from bed as usual, but soon

afterwards called the members of the household round him and presented them

with sugar-candy and flowers taken from "nowhere." At this the neighbors rushed

in. He gave each a ball of rice cooked in milk, also flowers and sugar-candy,

all manifested by a mere wave of the hand. Sathya seemed to be in such a very

jovial state that Venkapa Raju was sent for to see him in this welcome happy

mood. Venkapa Raju rushed in and had to squeeze his way through the crowd. The

people asked him to wash his feet, hands, and face before approaching the Giver

of Boons. This incensed Venkapa Raju. He was not impressed at all, thinking it

was a trick and that Sathya was hiding things somewhere and producing them by

sleight of hand. At least that was what he

confessed to the author many years later. He wished that this confusing chapter

in their lives be closed before it developed into a tragedy. So he laughed a

bitter laugh and accosted the boy within everyone's hearing, "This is getting

too much; it must be stopped." Arming himself with a stick, he moved a step

nearer and threatened to beat it out of him. "Are you a God, or a ghost, or a

mad- cap? Tell me!" he shouted. Promptly came the answer, the Announcement that

had been held back so long, "I am Sai Baba." Further argument became

impossible; Venkapa Raju was stunned into silence; the stick fell from

his hands. He stood staring at Sathya, trying to grasp the implication of that

Announcement, "I am Sai Baba." But Sathya continued, "I belong to Apastamba

Sutra, the school of Sage Apastamba and am of the Spiritual Lineage of

Bharadwaja; I am Sai Baba; I have come to ward off all your troubles; keep your

houses clean and pure." He repeated the two names again and again that

afternoon. Brother Seshama went near him and asked, "What do you mean by 'Sai

Baba'?" He did not reply, but only said, "Your Venkavadhootha prayed that I be

born in your family; so I came." Who was this

Venkavadhootha? When Seshama was asked who he was, he told of a tradition in

the family that a sage called Venkavadhootha, who was looked upon as a Guru by

the people in hundreds of villages around, had been born in the family years

ago. The villagers heard the name "Sai Baba" with fear and

amazement. When they made inquiries, they came to know that a certain officer

who was an ardent worshipper of the Muslim recluse, Sai Baba of Shirdi, had

come to Penukonda sometime ago. So they proposed that Sathya be taken to him,

for he was reputed to be well-versed in the lore of Sai Baba of Shirdi. He must

know what Sathya was suffering from and would suggest a way out. He condescended

to see the boy but was in no mood to examine his history. He pronounced it as a

clear case of mental derangement and advised them to remove Sathya to an

institution. Sathya interposed and said, "Yes, it is mental derangement, but

whose? You are but a blind servant. You cannot recognize the very Sai whom you

are worshipping!" So saying,

He took from "nowhere" hands full of Vibhuti, the Sacred Ash, and scattered it

in all directions in the room where they were. The father felt that

Sai Baba was speaking through the boy, and asked, "What are we to do with you?"

Sathya answered promptly, "Worship Me! When? Every Thursday! Keep your minds and

houses pure."

FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'"> Later, on one Thursday, someone

challenged Sathya, asking Him, "if you are Sai Baba, show us some proof now!"

They asked in the same spirit that the rustics question the priest of the

village temple when he dances in ecstasy while apparently possessed. Baba

replied, "Yes, I shall." Then everyone came nearer. "Place in My hands those

jasmine flowers," He commanded. It was done. With a quick gesture He threw them

on the floor and said, "Look." They saw that the flowers had formed while

falling the Telugu letters, "S A I B A B A."

'Bookman Old Style'">The Serpent Hill (To be continued..) SaiRam