Sathyam Sivam Sundaram - Part I

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ordinary boy, that He was indeed some superior manifestation. Occasional

glimpses of His Divinity had been revealed through an extraordinary precocity

in song, dance, music, and poetry. He had demonstrated His Power of journeying

outside His Body, His freedom from pain and suffering, and now He had resolved

to announce to the world His Reality. Seshama still had not given

up his plans to push Sathya through the High School Course, regardless of

everything. He took Him back to Uravakonda in June and had Him admitted to the

school. Now Sathya attracted the attention of everyone, for they had all

heard of His "madness" and of the frantic efforts of the parents to "cure" Him.

The boy was acclaimed as a mysterious prodigy, a tiny "prophet," and was looked

upon as a rare curiosity. On Thursdays the house was full of pilgrims from

various villages who stayed until the small hours of the night sitting around

Sai Baba, offering Him flowers and sweets. He used to point out Seshama to them

and say, "Senseless man, he does not believe!" The headmaster of the school

bowed before the young pupil; assistant masters, Tammiraju and Sesha Iyengar,

saw through the veil and listened to His inspiring words.

Thursdays became big events in Uravakonda. Sathya surprised all when He

materialized pictures of Sai Baba of Shirdi, pieces of orange cloth that He

said were from the kafni that Sai wore, date fruits that were the offerings at

the Shirdi Shrine, as well as flowers, sugar-candy and "Ash." The "Ash" was not

the kind taken from a fireplace, but taken straight from "nowhere." One day the

teachers of the High School came in a team intent on testing Him, bringing a

number of questions which they cast at Him from all angles, helter-skelter. He

gave them the answers in the same order as they were put to Him, calling upon

each individual teacher to listen carefully to the answer to his particular

question. Apart from the aptness and correctness of the answers, the

performance was remarkable even as only an intellectual feat!

0in 0pt"> It was then that an invitation from some townsmen from

Hospet gave an idea to Seshama. Hospet is a few miles away from the ruins of

Hampi, the capital of the ancient Vijayanagara Empire. The deputy inspector of

schools, the health officer, the engineer, some municipal councilors and

merchants wanted Sathya to be brought to their town. The brother took the

opportunity to go, thinking the long journey and a picnic enroute might improve

the mental health of the boy. The Dasara holidays in October came in handy for

the trip.

0pt"> The group arrived at the Hampi ruins. They trudged along the

roads once lined by men and women of all the nations of the East as well as

travelers and traders from the Middle East and the Mediterranean shores. They

saw the elephant stables, the Palace of the Queens,

the Coronation Mound, and the Vittalanatha Temple. They proceeded to the huge

stone chariot. Finally they came to the Temple of Lord Virupaksha, the patron

deity of the Vijayanagara Emperors, who protected and cherished Hindu culture

for almost three centuries from 1336 A.D. to 1635 A.D.

FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'"> It was noticed that throughout the

morning Sathya was moving among the ruins unaware, as one in a dream. A

reverend sage sitting in front of one of the temples said of him, "This boy,

believe me, is Divine." When the party went into the Temple of Lord Virupaksha,

Sathya too went with them, but he was more interested in the height and majesty

of the

FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'">Temple gate than in the worship at the sanctum

sanctorum. He stood outside and no one pressed him to enter with the others.

After a while the priest waved the flame of camphor before the idol of the

lingam. (The lingam is the representation of the Formless emerging into Form or

the Form merging into the Formless. It is usually oval in shape.) He asked the

pilgrims to see the illuminated shrine as the flame lit the interior. Inside

the shrine they saw to their utter amazement none other than Sathya! He was

standing in the place of the lingam, smiling and erect, accepting their

reverent greetings. Everything about the vision of the boy was so thrilling and

unexpected that Seshama wanted to verify whether He had not perhaps actually

strayed into the shrine evading everybody's notice. So he hurried outside only

to find Sathya leaning against a wall,

staring at the distant horizon! The amazement of the members of the

party can be better imagined than described. They offered special worship for

Him that day, though it was not a Thursday, for their faith in Him as a

Manifestation was confirmed. The people of Hospet were alive with expectation

and excitement. The story that He was seen in the shrine of Virupaksha while

really outside it had spread to the town long before the party's arrival. The

next day, Thursday, Sathya, as Sai Baba, cured a chronic tuberculosis

patient by His touch and made him get up and walk a mile. He created from

"nowhere" a variety of articles for the devotees, and the enthusiasm of the

people knew no bounds. Bhajan and Namasamkirtan, chanting and singing together

the praises of the Name of God, continued far into the night; no one was in a

mood to stop. The Serpent Hill (To be continued..) SaiRam