EMERGENCE OF FIRST BABA MANDHIR IN SOUTH INDIA

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HOW FIRST BABA MANDIR IN SOUTH INDIA EMERGED

What is Baba’s expectation on construction of His Mandir, He said, "What I want

is, feeling and devotion. So give, if you like, anything of your own" in Sri

Sai Satcharitra Ch. XLVII.

In 1940, Baba told Sri Ramanaiah of Gudur, in his dream that he should build His

temple on the site which lay north to his house. But the site did not belong to

Ramanaiah but to another person, a labourer by name Pichivadu.

Ramanaiah was a devotee of Baba, but the other person had not heard of Baba.

Soon after Ramanaiah’s dream Pichivadu saw in the jungle a fakir, who told him

to hand over his site to Ramanaiah for the construction of Baba temple. The

direction was repeated a second time. Pichivadu confronted Sri Ramanaiah with

these facts, and when asked how the fakir looked like, he showed him Baba’s

picture in Ramanaiah’s house. Pichivadu soon after gifted his plot of land to

Ramanaiah.

Baba told Ramanaiah in his dream the dimension and specifications of the temple

to be built. When people came to know about these happenings, some people gave

bricks for the walls, some for the foundations and terrace, some provided with

rafters, some provided wood for doors etc. Pichivadu also contributed with

labour.

With the help of the people a small temple of the size of 100 feet X 8 feet was

built in less than four week’s time. Dr M K Rajagopalachari of Nellore

contributed a Baba Portrait. Sri Narashima Swamiji, Sri Panini Rao and others

attended the temple opening ceremony. This is how Sai Baba’s first temple in

South India came to be built.

(Taken from the book "The Eternal Sai")

 

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