SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM - IV

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Om Sri Sai Ram

SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM

The Life Stories of the Two Avatars of the Age – IV

SHRI SAI SATCHARITA

The Life of the Divine Avatar Sai Baba of Shirdi

By Hemadpant

CHAPTER IV

PRAYER

Asatho Ma Sat Gamaya - Oh Lord Lead me from Untruth to Truth Tamasor Ma Jothir

Gamaya - Oh Lord Lead me from Darkness to Light Mruthyor Ma Amruthanga Maya -

Oh Lord lead me from Death to Immortality OM Shanthi Shanthi Shanthi Hi

SAI BABA’S FIRST ADVENT IN SHIRDI

Mission of the Saints - Shirdi a Holy Tirth - Personality of Sai Baba - Dictum

of Goulibuva – Appearance of Vithal - Kshirsagar’s Story - Das Ganu’s Bath in

Prayag - Immaculate Conception of Sai Baba and His First Advent in Shirdi -

Three Wadas.

In the last Chapter, I described the circumstances, which led me to write

Sai-Sat-Charita. Let me now describe the first advent of Sai Baba in Shirdi.

MISSION OF THE SAINTS

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita (Chapter IV, 7-8) that "Whenever there is a

decay of Dharma (righteousness) and an ascendancy of unrighteousness, I

manifest Myself; and for the protection of the virtuous, the destruction of the

vicious and for the establishment of righteousness, I manifest Myself in age

after age".

This is the mission of Lord, and the Sages and Saints, Who are His

representatives and Who appear here at proper times, help in their own way to

fulfill that mission. For instance, when the twice born, i.e. the Brahmins, the

Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas neglect their duties and when the Sudras try to

usurp the rights of the higher classes, when spiritual preceptors are not

respected but humiliated, when nobody cares for religious instructions, when

every body thinks himself very learned, when people begin to partake of

forbidden foods and intoxicating drinks, when under the cloak of religion,

people indulge in malpractice, when people belonging to different sects fight

amongst themselves, when Brahmins fail to do Sandhya adoration, and the

orthodox their religious practices, when Yogis

neglect their meditation, when people begin to think that wealth, progeny, wife

are their sole concern, and thus turn away from the true path of salvation,

then do Saints appear and try to set matters right by their words and action.

They serve us as beacon-lights, and show us the right path, and the right way

for us to follow. In this way, many saints, viz. Nivritti, Jnanadev, Muktabai,

Namdev, Gora, Gonayi, Ekanath, Tukaram, Narahari, Narsi Bhai, Sajan Kasai,

Sawata, Ramdas, and various others did appear at various times to show the

right path to the people, and so presently came Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi.

SHIRDI - A HOLY TIRTH

The banks of the Godavari River, in the Ahmednagar District, are very fortunate

for they gave birth and refuge to many a Saint, prominent amongst them being

Jnaneshwar. Shirdi also falls in the Kopargaon Taluk of the Ahmednagar

District. After crossing the

normal">Godavari River at Kopargaon, one gets the way to Shirdi. When you go

three Koss (9 miles), you come to Nimgaon, from whence, Shirdi is visible.

Shirdi is as famous and well known as other Holy places like Gangapur,

Narsinhwadi, and Audumbar on the banks of Krishna

10pt">River. As the devotee Damaji flourished in and blessed Mangalvedha (near

Pandharpur) as Samarth Ramdas at Sajjangad, as Shri Narasimha Saraswati at

Saraswatiwadi, so Sainath flourished at Shirdi and blessed it.

PERSONALITY OF SAI BABA

It is on account of Sai Baba that Shirdi grew into importance. Let us see what

sort of a personage Sai Baba was. He conquered this Samsara (worldly

existence), which is very difficult and hard to cross. Peace or mental calm was

His ornament, and He was the repository of wisdom. He was the home of Vaishnava

devotees, most liberals (like Karna) amongst liberals, the quint-essence of all

essences. He had no love for perishable things, and was always engrossed in

self-realization, which was His sole concern. He felt no pleasure in the things

of this world or of the world beyond. His Antarang (heart) was as clear as a

mirror, and His speech always rained nectar. The rich or poor people were the

same to Him. He did not know or care for honour or dishonor. He was the Lord of

all beings. He spoke

freely and mixed with all people, saw the acting and dances of Nautch girls and

heard Gajjal songs. Still, He swerved not an inch from Samadhi (mental

equilibrium). The name of Allah was always on His lips. While the world awoke,

He slept; and while the world slept, He was vigilant. His abdomen (Inside) was

as calm as the deep sea. His Ashram could not be determined, nor His actions

could be definitely determined, and though He sat (lived) in one place, He knew

all the transactions of the world. His Darbar was imposing. He told daily

hundreds of stories; still He swerved not an inch from His vow of silence. He

always leaned against the wall in the Masjid or walked morning, noon and

evening towards Lendi (Nala) and Chavadi; still He at all times abided in

the Self. Though a Siddha, He acted like a Sadhaka. He was meek, humble and

egoless, and pleased all. Such was Sai Baba, and as the soil of Shirdi was

trodden by Sai Baba’s Feet, it attained extraordinary importance. As Jnaneshwar

elevated Alandi, Ekanath did to Paithan, so Sai Baba raised Shirdi. Blessed are

the grass-leaves and stones of Shirdi, for they could easily kiss the Holy Feet

of Sai Baba, and take their dust on their head. Shirdi became to us, devotees,

another Pandharpur, Jagannath, Dwarka, Banaras (Kashi) and Rameshwar,

Badrikedar, Nasik

10pt">, Tryambakeshwar, Ujjain, and Maha Kaleshwar or Mahabaleshwar Gokarn.

Contact of Sai Baba in Shirdi was like our Veda and Tantra; it quieted our

Samsara (world consciousness) and rendered self-realization easy. The Darshan

of Shri Sai was our Yoga-Sadhana, and talk with Him removed our sins.

Shampooing His Legs was our bath in Triveni Prayag, and drinking the holy water

of His Feet destroyed our desires. To us, His commands were Vedas, and accepting

(eating) His Udi (sacred ashes) and Prasad were all purifying. He was our Shri

Krishna and Shri Rama who gave us solace and He was our Para

normal"> Brahma (Absolute Reality). He was Himself beyond the Pair of dwandwas

(opposite), never dejected nor elated. He was always engrossed in His Self as

‘Existence, Knowledge and Bliss.’ Shirdi was His Center; but His field of

action extended far wide, to Punjab, Calcutta, North India, Gujarat, Dacca (Now

in Bangladesh) and Konkan. Thus the fame of Sai Baba spread, far, and wide, and

people from all parts came to take His Darshan and be blessed. By mere Darshan,

minds of people, whether, pure or impure, would become at once quiet. They got

here the same sort of unparalleled joy that devotees get at Pandharpur by

seeing Vithal Rakhumai. This is not an exaggeration. Consider what a devotee

says in this respect.

DICTUM OF GOULIBUVA

An old devotee by name Goulibuva, aged about 95 years, was a Varkari of

Pandhari. He stayed 8 months at Pandharpur and four months - Ashadha to Kartik

(July - November) on the banks of the Ganges. He had an ass with him for

carrying his luggage, and a disciple, as his companion. Every year he made his

Vari or trip to Pandharpur and came to Shirdi to see Sai Baba, Whom he loved

most. He used to stare at Baba and say, "This is Pandharinath Vithal incarnate,

the merciful Lord of the poor and helpless." This Goulibuva was an old devotee

of Vitoba, and had made many a trip to Pandhari;

and he testified that Sai Baba was real Pandharinath.

VITHAL HIMSELF APPEARED

Sai Baba was very fond of remembering and singing God’s name. He always uttered

Allah Malik (God is Lord) and in His presence made others sing God’s name

continuously, day and night, for 7 days. This is called Namasaptaha. Once He

asked Das Ganu Maharaj to do the Namasaptaha. He replied that he would do it,

provided he was assured that Vithal would appear at the end of the 7th day.

Then Baba, placing His hand on his breast assured him that certainly Vithal

would appear, but that the devotee must be ‘earnest and devout’. The Dankapuri

(Takore) of Takurnath, the Pandhari of Vithal, the Dwarka of Ranchhod (Krishna)

is here (Shirdi). One need not go far out to see Dwarka. Will Vithal come here

from some outside place? He is here. Only when the devotee is bursting with

love and devotion, Vithal will manifest Himself here (Shirdi).

After the Saptaha was over, Vithal did manifest Himself in the following manner.

Kakasaheb Dixit was, as usual, sitting in meditation after the bath, and he saw

Vithal in a vision. When he went at noon for Baba’s Darshan, Baba asked him

point-blank - "Did Vithal Patil come? Did you see Him? He is a very truant

fellow, catch Him firmly, otherwise, he will escape, if you be a little

inattentive." This happened in the morning and at

10pt">noon there was another Vithal Darshan. One hawker from outside came there

for selling 25 or 30 pictures of Vithoba. This picture exactly tallied with the

figure that appeared in Kakasaheb’s vision. On seeing this and remembering

Baba’s words, Kakasaheb Dixit was much surprised and delighted. He bought one

picture of Vithoba, and placed it in his shrine for worship.

BHAGWANTRAO KSHIRSAGAR’S STORY

How fond was Baba for Vithal worship was illustrated in Bhagwantrao Kshirsagar’s

story. The father of Bhagwantrao was a devotee of Vithoba, and used to make

Varis (annual trips) to Pandharpur. He also had an image of Vithoba at home,

which he worshipped. After his death, the son stopped everything - the Vari,

the worship and shraddha ceremony etc. When Bhagwantrao came to Shirdi, Baba on

remembering his father, at once said - "His father was my friend, so I dragged

him (the son) here. He never offered naiveidya (offering of food) and so he

starved Vithal and Me. So I brought him here. I shall remonstrate him now and

set him to worship."

DAS GANU’S BATH IN PRAYAG

The Hindus think that a bath in the holy Tirth of Prayag, where the Ganga and

Yamuna meet, is very meritorious and thousands of pilgrims go there, at

periodical times, to have the sacred bath there. Once, Das Ganu thought that he

should go to Prayag for a bath, and came to Baba to get His permission for doing

so. Baba replied to him - "It is not necessary to go so long. Our Prayag is

here, believe me." Then wonder of wonders! When Das Ganu placed his head on

Baba’s Feet, out came or flowed streams, of

blue; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Ganga - Yamuna water, from both the toes of Baba. Seeing

this miracle, Das Ganu was overwhelmed with feelings of love and adoration and

was full of tears. Inwardly, he felt inspired, and his speech burst forth into

a song in praise of Baba and His Leelas.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF SAI BABA AND HIS FIRST ADVENT IN SHIRDI

Nobody knew the parents, birth or birthplace of Sai Baba. Many inquiries were

made, many questions were put to Baba and others regarding these items, but no

satisfactory answer or information has yet been obtained. Practically we know

nothing about these matters. Namdev and Kabir were not born like ordinary

mortals. They were found as infants in mother-of-pearls, Namdev being found on

the bank Bhimrathi River by Gonayi and Kabir on the bank Bhagirathi

10pt">River by Tamal. Similar was the case with Sai Baba. He first manifested

Himself as a young lad of sixteen under a Neem tree in Shirdi, for the sake of

Bhaktas. Even then He seemed to be full with the knowledge of Brahman. He had

no desire for worldly objects even in dream. He kicked out Maya; and Mukti

(deliverance) was serving at His feet. One old woman of Shirdi, the mother of

Nana Chopdar, described Him thus. This young lad, fair, smart and very

handsome, was first seen under the Neem tree, seated in an Asan. The people of

the village were wonder-struck to see such a young lad practicing hard penance,

not minding heat and cold. By day he associated with none, by night he was

afraid of nobody. People were wondering and asking, whence this young chap had

turned up. His form and features were so beautiful that a mere look endeared

Him to all. He went to

nobody’s door, always sat near the Neem tree. Outwardly he looked very young;

but by His action he was really a Great Soul. He was the embodiment of

dispassion and was an enigma to all. One day it so happened, that God Khandoba

possessed the body of some devotee and people began to ask Him, "Deva (God),

you please enquire what blessed father’s son is this lad and whence did He

come". God Khandoba asked them to bring a pickaxe and dig in a particular

place. When it was dug, bricks were found underneath a flat stone. When the

stone was removed, a corridor led to a cellar where cow-mouth-shaped

structures, wooden boards, necklaces were seen. Khandoba said - "This lad

practiced penance here for 12 years." Then the people began to question the lad

about this. He put them off the scent by telling them that it was His Guru’s

place, His holy Watan and requested them to guard it well. The people then

closed the corridor as before. As Ashwattha and Audumbar trees are held sacred,

Baba

regarded this Neem tree equally sacred and loved it most. Mahalasapati and other

Shirdi devotees regard this site as the resting place (Samadhi-Sthana) of Baba’s

Guru and prostrate before it.

THREE WADAS

(1) The site with the Neem tree and surrounding space was bought by Mr. Hari

Vinayak Sathe, and on his site a big building styled Sathe’s Wada was erected.

This Wada was the sole resting-place for pilgrims, who flocked there. A Par

(platform) was built round the Neem tree and lofts with steps were constructed.

Under the steps, there is a niche facing south and devotees sit on the Par

(platform) facing north. It is believed that he who burns incense there, on

Thursday and Friday evenings will, by God’s grace, be happy. This Wada was old

and dilapidated and wanted repairs. The necessary repairs, additions and

alterations have been made now by the Sansthan. (2) Then after some years

another Wada, Dixit’s Wada was constructed. Kakasaheb Dixit, Solicitor of

Bombay, had gone to

England. He had injured his leg by an accident there. The injury could not be

got rid of by any means. Nanasaheb Chandorkar advised him to try Sai Baba. So

he saw Sai Baba in 1909 AD, and requested Him to cure rather the lameness of

his mind than that of his leg. He was so much pleased with the Darshan of Sai

Baba that he decided to reside in Shirdi. So he built a Wada for himself and

other devotees. The foundation of this building was laid on 10-12-1910. On this

day, two other important events took

place. (1) Mr. Dadasaheb Khaparde was given permission to return home and (2)

the night Arti in Chavadi was commenced. The Wada was complete and was

inhabited on the Rama-Navami day in 1911 AD, with due rites and formalities.

(3) Then another Wada or palatial mansion was put up by the famous millionaire,

Mr. Booty, of Nagpur. Lots of money was spent on this building, but all the

amount was well utilized, as Sai Baba’s body is resting in this Wada, which is

now called the Samadhi Mandir. The site of this Mandir had formerly a garden,

which was watered and looked after by Baba. Three Wadas thus sprang up, where

there was none formerly. Of these, Sathe’s Wada was most useful to all, in the

early days.

The story of the garden, attended to by Sai Baba with the help of Vaman Tatya,

the temporary absence of Sai Baba from Shirdi, and His coming again to Shirdi

with the marriage-party of Chand Patil, the company of Devidas, Jankidas and

Gangagir, Baba’s wrestling match with Mohdin Tamboli, residence in Masjid, love

of Mr. Dengale and other devotees; and other incidents will be described in the

next Chapter.

BOW TO SHRI SAI - PEACE BE TO ALL

*****

SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM - Part I

The Life of the Divine Avatar Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

By N. Kasturi, M.A., B.L.

THE CATTLE FAIR

Since Sathya had to go outside Bukkapatnam for his education, it was decided

that he should go to be with his brother, Seshama Raju, who had married the

daughter of Sri Pasupathi Subba Raju of Kamalapur. This arrangement seemed

satisfactory to his parents, who planned to give Sathya a college education so

that he might become an officer. Hence they were prepared to part with him and

send him to far off Kamalapur where his studies could be continued. There he

attended school regularly as he had at Bukkapatnam. He was a quiet well-behaved

boy, a favorite with the teachers.

Whenever a drama was performed in town, Sathya sang the opening prayer before

the curtain went up. Those who heard his sweet voice spread the news that a

fine singer had come to town. Soon he was the only one called on to sing at all

public functions.

Even now Sathya Sai Baba speaks of a drill instructor there who commanded the

respect of the entire school by his instinctive love for children. He was also

the scoutmaster and was eager to have Sathya in his troop. Through friends and

directly, he began persuading the boy to join. There were two other boys,

children of the head of the Revenue Office, who sat at the same desk with

Sathya and who were very friendly to him. They pleaded with him and even thrust

a nice new scout uniform into Sathya's desk to encourage him to join. They all

knew that Sathya would be the life of the troop, and if he joined it, the

elders of the town would sponsor the troop. Otherwise they might mistake it for

a group of idlers and do-nothings intent only on hikes and picnics.

Sathya joined at last, just in time to attend the Fair and Cattle Show at

Pushpagiri where the scoutmaster planned to take his troop. There was

opportunity enough for the boys to earn merit because of the huge crowds that

attended. Children could get lost, pilgrims had to be supplied with drinking

water, sanitation had to be supervised, and first aid provided on the spot. The

camp fee was fixed at ten rupees per boy.

Sathya had no money! He had to demonstrate that service is its own reward, that

a loving heart conquers everything. He decided that the chance to teach and

inspire his companions should not be lost. He determined to walk to Pushpagiri,

thus saving bus fare. He told the scoutmaster that his people were coming for

the Fair and that they would look after him. (The people who came for every

pilgrimage were his people!) He calculated that five rupees would be enough for

him at Pushpagiri. He sold to a needy boy the books of his previous year's

class, which he had seldom read, and which therefore were as good as new. He

accepted not the twelve rupees the boy offered but just the five rupees he

required. Then he walked to Pushpagiri, reaching there about 9:00 o'clock of

the night previous to the inauguration of the Fair.

He was very tired. With a small bag containing his clothes and money, he lay

down and slept on the sand of the river, together with the multitude gathered

there. When he awakened the next morning, both the purse and the bag had

disappeared!

When relating these incidents, Sathya Sai Baba often tells those around him that

he was not worried at all. He says he moved about the place quite unconcerned

and found on a stone trough a coin and a packet of cheap handmade cigarettes.

He took the coin and proceeded to the market place. There he found a man

sitting in front of a contraption, promising profit to men with luck! On a

circle drawn in white paint on a piece of black cloth were some hieroglyphics.

He had attached some monetary value to a few figures and no value at all to the

rest! He had an iron rod sticking up from the center and a movable pointer on

the top. He asked his customers to place a coin beside him and give the pointer

a quick turn. If it stopped on top of a section which had a figure such as 2, 3,

or 4, he would give the

customers two, three, or four times the amount of the stake. Otherwise he would

keep the stake. Sathya had to try his luck. He turned the pointer a number of

times. Each time he won, thus collecting twelve annas in all. He says that he

could have won more, but he sympathized with the poor fellow whose earnings

were slim!

Those twelve annas sufficed for one week. As previously mentioned, he had a

miraculous power not only of providing food for himself but also of proving by

the scent of his hand that he had eaten. (On occasions even now when people

doubt he has eaten, he may be heard to say, "I have had lunch," and allows them

to smell his palm, thus quelling their doubts.) Thus the scoutmaster was led to

believe that Sathya was being well fed by some of his relatives at the Fair;

therefore he made no distinction between Sathya and the other boys in assigning

work. Sathya entered enthusiastically upon his task of inspiring his classmates

to do selfless service. (Today this is still the theme of Sai Baba's teaching

of service: Service to others is service to oneself, for the other is only

oneself in another form with

another name!)

When it was proposed that the scouts return to Kamalapur by bus, Sathya quietly

slipped out of the camp because he had not paid his share of the bus fare. He

walked back the entire distance as a matter of principle.

While Sathya was at Kamalapur, he was not only separated from his parents but

also from his brother who had gone away to undergo training as a teacher. When

Sathya needed clothing and other items, he wrote popular ditties for the use of

a merchant, Kote Subbanna, who had a shop featuring medicines, tonics,

glassware, articles of fashionable wear, umbrellas, etc. Their arrangement was

that when Subbanna desired to promote a new article on the market or boost the

sales of a patent drug, he would stop Sathya on his way to school and give him

the necessary information. By evening Sathya had prepared an attractive song

praising the merchandise in well written poetry. In return for the songs, which

soon became popular, Subbanna gave Sathya cloth, books and other articles he

needed. The songs were full of

verve and lilt, capable of catching the ear when sung in chorus by a band of

hired urchins who would march along the streets, with the name-boards in their

hands, singing the slogan-filled songs and apparently enjoying their task!

(Even now Sai Baba regales those around him with the recitation of these old

time "commercials.")

There is a saying current among the older devotees of Sai Baba: "He manifested

himself at Uravakonda, but spread the glory from Kamalapur." This statement is

a tribute to the quickness with which the people of Kamalapur responded later

to the Call without the cynicism of ignorant conceit. After Sathya returned to

Puttaparthy, they organized public receptions and gatherings for worship of

"Bala" Sai, the Child Sai.

Seshama Raju completed the training prescribed to qualify him as a teacher of

the southern Indian language Telugu and was assigned a post at the High School

at Uravakonda. He welcomed this as a good omen, for he could have Sathya with

him and give personal and immediate attention to his progress in higher

studies.

THE SERPENT HILL

Uravakonda derives its name from the hill that dominates the place. At first the

name was Uragakonda, uraga meaning serpent and konda meaning hill. The

promontory on the hill, formed by a single huge boulder about 100 feet high, is

in the shape of a many-hooded serpent.

The High School at Uravakonda will be ever famous because of Sathya's attendance

there. The fame of the boy preceded him. The students told each other that

Sathya was a fine writer, a good musician, a genius in dance, a student wiser

than any teacher, and one able to peer into the past and peep into the future.

Authentic stories of his achievements and divine powers were on everyone's

lips. The people who had come into the town from places such as Bukkapatnam,

Penukonda, Dharmavaram and Kamalapur circulated them. It was related and heard

with wonder that, even as a toddler, he had the unique power of getting from

nowhere and nothing, fruits, flowers, and sweets by a mere wave of his hand!

"What a wonder!" they said.

People gathered around Sathya's brother, the new Telugu teacher, eager to hear

stories of the boy's capabilities. Every teacher wanted to be assigned some

work in the section in which Sathya was admitted - some out of curiosity, some

out of veneration, and some out of a mischievous impulse to prove it all

absurd.

Sathya soon became the pet of the entire school and the cynosure of all eyes in

the town. He was the leader of the School Prayer Group and ascended the dais

every day when the entire school gathered for prayer before classes commenced.

It was his voice that sanctified the air and inspired both teachers and

students to dedicate themselves to their allotted tasks. He was the life and

soul of the school's dramatics and the backbone of the athletic team, for he

was a fast runner and played gudugudu, an outdoor running game, exceedingly

well. He excelled in the school scout movement.

The teacher in charge of the drama department, Sri Thammi Raju, once asked

Sathya to write and produce a play, and Sathya plunged into the work

enthusiastically. The drama was a great success, not only because the hero of

the play was a little boy, a role enacted by Sathya himself, but also chiefly

because it had as its theme the eternal sin of man, hypocrisy. The title of the

drama was, "Do Deeds Follow Words?”

The scene opens revealing a lady reading and explaining to a number of women

some verses from the Bhagavatha Purana, a legendary history. She is telling

them that it is the duty of a housewife to give charity only to the deserving

and to the defective who cannot earn a living, not to the stalwarts who lead

idle parasitic lives. The women then disperse and the lady is left alone with

her little son, Krishna, who has been an interested listener. Sathya plays the

role of

10pt">Krishna.

Presently a blind beggar enters and seeks to attract attention, but he is

rebuked and sent away. Then there appears a hefty priest with a pompous paunch

and a polished copper vessel filled with grain. On his arm is a richly

ornamented musical instrument, the tambura. The mother respectfully welcomes

him and offers him rice and coins. She falls at his feet, asking for his

blessings. Krishna is non-plussed. He asks his mother why she did not follow

what she herself had extolled a few minutes previously. The boy is dismissed

with the curt answer, "Can we act as we say?" The mother

is irritated by the impertinence of the son who dared question the ethics of

adult behavior. She drags him to a room where his father, an accountant, is

busy with files.

He gives Krishna a long lecture on the value of education and how people should

study and be promoted from class to class, whatever the difficulties. Suddenly

a schoolboy pops in and asks for just one rupee to pay his school-fees to avoid

having his name dropped from the rolls and thereby failing to have the record of

attendance required for promotion. The father says that he has no money with him

and shows the boy his empty purse as proof. A few minutes later a group of young

accountants belonging to his firm rushes in. They hold out a subscription list

requesting contributions for a

welcome dinner in honor of an officer who is to take charge of their office in a

few days. The father is jubilant at the idea, says that it must be done

aristocratically so that the new man may be pleased. He offers to make a speech

at the dinner and, pulling out the drawer of the table, gives them the large sum

of twenty rupees!

Krishna is aghast at this behavior and asks the father why he went against his

own words and why he uttered a lie to the schoolboy. The father turns angrily

to him and asks, "Should deeds follow words?" He rages at the child and

commands him to go to school without delay.

The scene now shifts to the school. Krishna enters. The teacher is in a mood of

great excitement because the inspector of schools is to visit the next day. He

coaches the children intensively for the occasion. He explains that the

inspector may ask, "How many lessons have been done? They are all to say not

twenty-three, the actual number, but thirty-two. He says that when the

inspector comes he will teach lesson number thirty-three on Harischandra, the

king who never uttered a lie. He drills them on that lesson so that the next

day the answers may come quickly, and threatens them with

severe punishment should anyone whisper that the lesson had already been

reviewed in class. He says, "It must appear as if I'm doing it for the first

time tomorrow." When the class is over, all the other boys leave. Krishna alone

remains. He asks the teacher the question he has already asked twice that day.

"Why do you not follow the advice you give? Why do you tell us of the nobility

of the king and then yourself not follow his footsteps?" He gets the same

rebuff as previously, "Do you mean to say that the adviser should follow the

advice?"

"Hypocrisy, hypocrisy everywhere!" thought Krishna.33

The scene is changed to Krishna's home. It is the next day, school time, but

Krishna refuses to go. He throws away his books, says that going to school is a

waste of time, and states his resolve not to study in school. The distracted

parents send for the teacher who comes rushing in. Then

#339966; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Krishna says, "If all that you instruct as mother,

father, and teacher is only to be spoken and written; if all that one learns is

to be discarded when it comes to action, I do not understand why I should learn

anything at all." This opens their eyes to their shortcomings. They praise

Krishna as their Master and decide henceforth to speak and act only the truth.

This was the theme of the drama Sathya wrote at the age of twelve and presents a

glimpse into his farsightedness, intelligence, and enthusiasm for true

education.

Sathya was often sought after by people who had lost articles of value, because

he was known for his intuitive perception, which revealed to him their

3whereabouts. Sai Baba now says that in those days he used to give his friends

only the first and last letters of the names of the persons possessing the lost

articles. He would leave them to their own resources to recover the goods.

A typical incident was that of a teacher who had lost a valuable pen and

persuaded Sathya to disclose the identity of the person who had taken it

without permission. In this instance Sathya revealed the name of a servant, but

the teacher dismissed the idea because of the servant's faithfulness and

honesty. Furthermore a search in the servant's room did not disclose the lost

pen. Sathya persisted in his statements. He said that the man had sent the pen

to his son who was studying in Anantapur and offered to prove this fact. He had

a letter written to the son as if from the father, who was illiterate and always

needed the services of a letter writer. After the usual inquiries about the

son's health and welfare were made, the son was asked how the pen the father

had sent was writing. The father advised

him to be careful when using it because it was costly and might easily be

"stolen!" There was enclosed a self-addressed card for reply. Within four days

the reply came into the teacher's hand! The card read that the pen was writing

magnificently, would be carefully kept because of its value, and was considered

as a precious gift from the father. Thus Sathya's miraculous power was

vindicated. Everyone concerned complimented him.

Sathya also won the respect of the common man in Uravakonda by an incident

similar to one in the life of Sai Baba of Shirdi. A Muslim was frantically

searching for his horse which had either strayed or been stolen. The horse was

used to pull a cart transporting men and goods and was the Muslim's sole source

of livelihood. Now he was desperate, for he had searched the entire area and his

friends had combed the countryside far and wide. There was no trace of the

animal. At last someone told the Muslim about Sathya. He came to the boy and

poured out his grief.

Sathya immediately told him to go to a certain grove a mile and a half away from

the town. When he did so, the horse was found grazing all alone, quite

unconcerned at the furor its disappearance had caused. This made Sathya famous

as a wonder boy in the Muslim community. Many times thereafter drivers of carts

stopped when seeing Sathya and insisted on giving him a lift to or from school,

for they felt his presence would bring them good fortune.

Incidents such as these continued, with an occasional glimpse of wonders, a tiny

indication of the might and majesty hidden in the slender body of the young lad

now thirteen years old.

On March 8, 1940, the entire town was shocked to hear that a "big black

scorpion" had stung Sathya. It was at dusk, about seven o'clock, when Sathya

gave a shriek and leaped up grasping his right toe as if he had been bitten!

Although no scorpion or snake was discovered, he fell as though unconscious and

became stiff. He did not

speak and his breathing became faint.

When such an occurrence happens to Sai Baba now, devotees do not feel shocked,

for they are accustomed to His leaving His gross body and going out in the

"subtle body" to other places.

As they were then as yet unaware of the reason for these divine instances,

brother Seshama Raju and others became alarmed.

There is a belief current in Uravakonda and the surrounding country that no one

can survive a snakebite or scorpion sting received in that vicinity. It is

primarily because of the many-hooded "serpent stone" that has given its name to

the area that the dread superstition has spread, for the rock looks as if a

serpent has raised its head to strike with its poisonous fangs.

Seshama brought in a doctor who gave Sathya an injection and left some medicine.

Sathya was "unconscious" throughout the night. However, an incident occurred in

the night, which clearly showed that he was not unconscious at all. On the

contrary, he was actually supraconscious! Thinking that the condition of the

boy might be due to some evil spirit's possession of him, someone suggested

that Muthyalamma, a spirit in a cave near the hill, should be propitiated.

Volunteers hurried to the temple, climbed down a ladder into the sanctum

sanctorum, and offered worship by placing flowers, burning incense, and

breaking a coconut. Just when they were doing this in the cave, Sathya, who was

to all intents unconscious, said, "The coconut has broken into three pieces,"

and when the volunteers came home with the

offerings, they had with them three pieces of coconut instead of the customary two!

The doctor came again the next morning and declared that the boy was out of

danger. Sathya revived in a day or two, and then began to behave in an

extraordinary manner. This was sometimes explained as "a complete

transformation of the personality - the occupation of Sathya's physical frame

by Sai Baba of Shirdi."

Nothing could be further from the truth. Sai Baba has said that He Himself

initiated the process of manifestation, for he could not wait any longer

playing about as a mere boy with "brother,sister,classmates," and other

secular bonds. He wanted to demonstrate that he was unaffected by poison or the

poisonous objective world.

Seshama had informed the family at Puttaparthy about the state of affairs at

Uravakonda. He wrote his parents that Sathya was not answering anyone who spoke

to him and that it was a Herculean task to make him accept food. He told them

Sathya was spending his time mostly in silence, sometimes bursting into song

and poetry, sometimes reciting long Sanskrit verses, sometimes expounding the

philosophic wisdom of ancient India. Because of unforeseen and inexplicable

difficulties, which arose to delay them, the parents did not arrive for about a

week.

Seshama's anxiety increased. He found a man who agreed to travel to Anantapur on

a bicycle and to proceed from there to Bukkapatnam and Puttaparthy. While he was

describing to the man the route he was to take to reach his parents, Sathya

interposed and said, "Why, you need not send for them now; they will be here in

half an hour." True to his word, they arrived in exactly one half hour!

The parents caught the infection of fear upon seeing the condition of Sathya,

for he sang, spoke, and behaved in a strange manner. Also his body would become

stiff intermittently, and he appeared to leave the body and go elsewhere. It was

all so mysterious!

One day while Sathya was reposing, seemingly without any awareness of his

surroundings, he made reference to the Scripture Reader next door, saying to

his parents, "He is reading the Sanskrit book all wrong; he is explaining it in

the wrong way. Go and bring him here," he commanded.

The Reader would not come. "What does that boy know about this holy book and the

right or wrong of the meaning which I give? How did he hear it, by the way? Tell

him to mind his own business," he said, and continued his exposition. But Sathya

persisted, and the Reader had to come at least to satisfy the parents, who

pleaded, "Please come and teach the boy a lesson in humility. Lately he has

become uncontrollable."

When the learned man arrived, Sathya asked him to repeat the exposition, pointed

out to him wherein he erred, and poured out in rapid succession a series of

questions on the epics, which overwhelmed the scholar. Finally he fell at

Sathya's feet and asked pardon for not immediately obeying his summons.

The doctor who was treating Sathya asked the District Medical Officer from

Anantapur, who was at Uravakonda at the time, for his opinion. He judged that

the illness was allied to fits, that it was a type of hysteria unconnected with

the alleged scorpion sting, and in his wisdom advised a course of medication.

This was strictly adhered to for three days, but the symptoms of laughing and

weeping, eloquence and silence continued as before. Sathya sang and spoke about

God; he described places of pilgrimage to which no one had gone before; he

declared that life was all a drama! Astrologers said it was a ghost that

possessed the boy, an old occupant of the house - in fact, its first tenant!

They chided Seshama for not being more circumspect in his selection of a house.

Magicians ascribed the condition to a

sudden fright, which must have set Sathya's nerves awry. The priest advised

Seshama to arrange for a consecration rite in the temple. Wiser men shook their

heads and whispered that the ways of God are inscrutable.

A large throng of sympathizers each of whom had his own specific cure for the

affliction of his brother besieged Seshama. At last he brought an exorciser

into the house. On seeing him, Sathya challenged him, "Come on! You have been

worshipping me every day, and now that you have come here, your only business

is to worship me and clear out." The "ghost doctor" heard the warning

administered by the very deity he had chosen for his own personal worship. He

left in a hurry, forgetting to collect his fees! He advised Seshama to treat

the boy very reverentially, for he was "in touch with God" and certainly not

afflicted by the devil.

The parents were disheartened. They took Sathya to Puttaparthy and watched his

behavior with increasing fear. The boy himself was heightening the effect by

bouts of quietness, song, or discourse. He would suddenly ask his sister,

"Here, wave the sacred lamp; the gods are passing across the sky." He would say

that his school studies had been disturbed and sing a song-composed impromptu on

the value of reading and writing and how villagers are duped by the wily

moneylender if they are illiterate.

While traveling from Uravakonda, they had taken Sathya to a doctor at Bellary

and to another at Dharmavaram. But what could the practitioners diagnose? Their

stethoscopes could not decipher the beats of Godhead or reveal the pulse of a

soul, much less a Divine Soul determined to transcend the bonds of human

convention. Sathya asked his parents, "Why do you worry like this? There will

be no doctor there when you go; even if he is there, he cannot cure me."

Since the first reaction to an illness in any village is usually to fear that it

is the result of someone's black magic or some evil spirit's taking hold of the

patient, two exorcists were called in at Puttaparthy. When one came and sat in

the room and drew up a list of the articles necessary to invoke the spirit and

transfer the dire symptoms to a lamb or fowl, Sathya laughingly reminded him of

some items he had forgotten. He seemed determined to undergo all the travail

resulting from their ignorance and superstition, taking it all as fun!

It is almost impossible to understand how the fourteen-year-old boy passed

through the terrors of the treatment at the village of Brahmanapalli near

Kadiri. This is a saga of fortitude.

Someone gave information to the worried parents about a powerful practitioner

before whom no evil spirit dared wag its poisonous tail! They declared that he

would cure Sathya completely and make him fit to go to school again. The

bullocks and cart were readied in preparation for the journey, but the bullocks

refused to move! There were all kinds of difficulties and sicknesses on the way.

At last the place was reached and the "case" handed over to the famous expert in

devil-craft.

He was a gigantic figure, terrible to behold, with blood red eyes and untamed

manners. He tried all his devil-craft sacrificing fowl, then a lamb, and making

Sathya sit in the center of the circle of blood. He chanted all the incantations

he knew. He did not allow the parents to take the boy away, for he assumed it

was a case entrusted to him and that it was a trial of strength between his

power and that of the young boy who was smiling at his failures! He even

attempted desperate techniques with which he had not dared experiment even on

his adult patients! For example, he shaved Sathya's head, and then with a sharp

instrument scored "x" marks on his scalp from the top of his head all the way to

his forehead. Sathya sat through the pain without flinching. The witchdoctor

poured on the open wounds of

the bleeding scalp the juice of limes, garlic and other acid fruits. The

parents, who were watching the proceedings in utter despair, were surprised,

for there was not even a tear or a gasp of pain from the young boy! The

"torture-specialist" was furious! He arranged that every day for some days,

early in the morning, one hundred and eight pots of cold water were to be

poured on the scalp. That, too, was done. His armory was now almost empty, and

the "evil spirit" that possessed the boy had not admitted defeat; it had not

shouted that it would leave him and go elsewhere! He then beat Sathya on the

joints with a heavy stick to drive out what he called "stag fever" when the boy

moved about, and "rock fever" when the boy was quiet!

Finally he decided to use his strongest weapon, which the toughest spirit cannot

withstand, the "Kalikam." This is a magic collyrium, a mixture of all the fiery

abracadabra in the repertory of torture. He applied it to Sathya's eyes. The

parents were aghast at the consequences. Sathya's head and face swelled beyond

recognition; they became red, and even those who went near, according to the

sister Venkamma could feel the burning sensation. His eyes exuded tears and his

entire body shook under the impact of pain.

The master of devils was happy that success was in sight, that the spirit would

soon take formal leave. Sathya never spoke a word or moved a finger. Those

around, especially the parents and sister, felt guilty to be merely helpless

onlookers of all this torment. They wept in uncontrollable anguish and tried to

console Sathya without the knowledge of the magician, who did not allow anyone

to approach his patient. Meanwhile Sathya was making some signs to his parents,

off and on, asking them to be quiet. By means of gestures he told them that he

would get out of the room under some pretext, and he asked them to be ready for

him outside. There he told them to bring a remedy he knew. It was brought and

applied to his eyes; the two eyes, which had been reduced to the size of thin

slits opened wide and the

swelling, subsided!

He asked later, "Even after seeing all that fortitude and that miracle of a

young boy passing unscathed through all that terror, you are not now convinced

that I am Sai Baba. How then would you have reacted if I just made the

Announcement one fine day? I wanted to make known that I am Divine, impervious

to suffering, pain, or joy."

The "doctor" was angered by the interference with the normal course of his

treatment; he fretted and fumed as a wild animal balked of its prey. "I was

within an inch of victory," he raved. The parents wanted to save their boy from

the jaws of that "God of Death" in human form; they had seen and suffered

enough. They paid the practitioner full fees, gave him some unasked gifts, and

thanked him for all the "learning" he had utilized; they cursed only their

fate; they promised to build up the boy's stamina a little more so that he

could stand up to this wonderful course of exorcism and then bring him again

for the continuation of the "doctor's" attentions. Somehow, they won! The

bullocks and cart moved away from the house of horror, and eventually they

reached

Puttaparthy.

Sathya was still far from normal. Frequently he seemed to be another

personality. He recited verses of praise to God and poems far beyond the

knowledge of any teen-age boy. Sometimes he evinced the strength of ten;

sometimes he was as weak as a lotus-stalk. He argued with adults on the

correctness of their conduct and behavior and put them to shame when he proved

them wrong.

One friend of the family advised that the boy should be taken to a village a few

miles away where a clever "doctor" cured exactly such types of cases by giving

some green leaves as a drug.

The bullocks were brought and the cart made ready. Sathya was lifted onto it and

the bells started jangling along the fair-weather track.

About half an hour later, Sathya seemed to realize that he was being taken

somewhere. He said emphatically, "I do not want to go anywhere; let us go

back." Upon saying this, the bullocks came to a halt and could not be persuaded

to take a single step forward in spite of the most vigorous tail twisting. The

struggle went on for over an hour, but they refused to budge! Finally their

faces were turned homeward, and immediately the bells jingled merrily once

again.

Sri Krishnamacharya, a lawyer and friend from Penukonda, heard of these

occurrences in the Raju household and came to the village to study the

situation and offer what help he could. He took a good look at Sathya and

pondered long, alone on the riverbank. Then he told Venkapa Raju, "It is really

more serious than I thought. Take him immediately to the Narasimha Temple

normal">, the shrine of 'God as Lion-Man'; that is the last chance."

Sathya heard his words and, suddenly turning to him, said, "Funny, is it not? I

am already there in that temple and you want to take me to me!" The lawyer had

no inclination to cross-examine.

On the twenty-third of 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 Apasthamba Sutra, the school of Sage Apasthamba and am of the

Spiritual Lineage of Bharadwaj; 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 Vibuthi, 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."

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."

It can be seen that Sathya was preparing the people, step by step, for the new

era of Sathya Sai. His unconcerned coolness during all that torture at the

hands of the magician made everyone feel that He was no 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 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!

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.

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

normal">Vittalanatha Temple. They proceeded to the huge stone chariot. Finally

they came to the Temple of Lord Viruupaaksha, 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.

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 Viruupaaksha, Sathya too went with them, but he was

more

interested in the height and majesty of the 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 Viruupaaksha 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 Namasankirtanam, chanting

and singing together the praises of the Name of God, continued far into the

night; no one was in a mood to stop.

One could sense that the young Sai Baba was getting more and more reluctant to

be bound by routine. He was tugging at the bonds, for history was whispering in

His ear to break away and reach out to the four quarters! The period of

probation, which Sai Baba had allotted to the people around Him, was over. He

saw that the moment had come to renounce the family name and declare Himself to

be always Sai Baba.

ON THE TWENTIETH DAY OF OCTOBER 1940, [This day is celebrated as the Day of

Declaration of Avatar] the day after they all returned from Hampi by a special

bus, Sathya started for school as usual. The Excise Inspector of the place, Sri

Anjaneyulu, who was very much attached to the young Baba, accompanied Him as far

as the school gate and reluctantly went home. He seemed to see a superb halo

around the face of Baba that day, and he could not take his eyes away from that

enchantment. Within a few minutes Baba also turned back to the house. Standing

on the outer doorstep, He cast aside the books He was carrying and called out,

"I am no longer your Sathya. I am Sai." The sister-in-law came from the kitchen

and peeped out; she was almost blinded by the splendor of the halo, which she

saw around Sai Baba's Head! She closed her eyes and shrieked. Baba addressed

her, "I am going. I don't belong to you; Maya (illusion) has gone; My devotees

are calling Me; I have My Work. I cannot stay any longer." So saying, He turned

and left in spite of her pleadings. The brother hurried home on hearing of this,

but Sai Baba only told him, "Give up all your efforts to 'cure' Me. I am Sai. I

do not consider Myself related to you." Neighbor Sri Narayana Shastri heard the

noise; he listened and realized that it was something serious. He ran in. Seeing

the splendor of the halo, he fell at Sai Baba's Feet. He too heard the historic

declaration: "Maya has left; I am

going; My Work is waiting."

Seshama Raju was non-plussed. He could hardly collect his wits to meet the new

situation. A boy, just fourteen, talking of devotees, work, illusion, and the

philosophy of "belonging!" He could think of only one plan. His parents

entrusted Sathya to him, and it was therefore his task to inform them and keep

Sathya in the house until they came to Uravakonda for Him.

But Sathya would not step into the house again. He moved out into the garden of

Sri Anjaneyulu's bungalow and sat on a rock in the midst of the trees. People

came into the garden from all directions bringing flowers and fruits. The grove

resounded to the voices of hundreds, singing in chorus the lines that Sathya Sai

taught them. The

first prayer that He taught them that day was, as many still remember:

Manasa Bhajare Guru Charanam

Dhushthara Bhava Saagara Tharanam

"Meditate in thy mind on the Feet of the Guru. This can take you across the

difficult sea of existence in birth after birth."

His classmates wept when they heard that Sathya would no longer attend school,

that He was much beyond their reach, that His company was hereafter only for

those upon whom He showered His Grace. Many came to the garden with incense and

camphor to worship Him. Some came to sympathize with the family, some to

congratulate them. Some came to learn, and some, alas, even to laugh!

Three days passed thus in that garden, three days of worship. A photographer

came who wanted Sai Baba to remove a crude stone that was right in front of

Him, but Baba did not pay heed to that prayer. The photographer took the

picture nevertheless, and lo, the stone had become an image of Sai Baba of

Shirdi! But only in the photograph, not for all the people who had assembled

there.

One evening while chanting, Baba suddenly said, "0 Maya has come!" ("The

illusion is presenting itself.") He pointed out Eswaramma, the mother, who had

just arrived in hot haste from Puttaparthy. When the parents pleaded with Him

to come home, He retorted, "Who belongs to whom?" The mother wept and prayed

but she could not shake the resolve of the boy. He was constantly repeating the

statement, "It is all illusion-untrue."

At last He asked the mother to serve Him food. When she served some dishes, He

mixed them all up and made the whole lot into a few balls. She handed Him three

of these. Swallowing them, He said, "Yes, now False Appearance has failed. There

is no need to worry," and He re-entered the garden.

A few days later Sai Baba left Uravakonda. The parents were able to persuade Him

to make His way to Puttaparthy by assuring Him that they would henceforth

abstain from ridiculing Him or disturbing His task of meeting devotees. Sri

Anjaneyulu worshipped His Feet. The townsmen arranged a procession to the very

boundary. Lamps were waved in reverence, and music was sung at many places

enroute.

Sai Baba was first welcomed at Puttaparthy into the village accountant's house

by Subbamma, the accountant's wife. Then Baba stayed for some time at the house

of the aged Pedda Venkapa Raju and later moved to the residence of Subbaraju,

the brother of Eswaramma. But soon He moved to the house of Subbamma, who

tended Him with love and affection and welcomed all the devotees into her

spacious home. She spared no effort to make their stay happy and comfortable.

CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brother M. Palaniswamy

/