SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM - V

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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 – V

SHRI SAI SATCHARITA

The Life of the Divine Avatar Sai Baba of Shirdi

By Hemadpant

CHAPTER V

Baba’s Return with Chand Patil’s Marriage - party - Welcomed and Addressed as

"Sai" - Contact with Other Saints - His Dress and Daily Routine - The Story of

the Padukas - Wrestling Bout with Mohdin and Change in Life - Turning Water

into Oil - The Pseudo - Guru Javhar Ali.

RETURN WITH CHAND PATIL’S MARRIAGE - PARTY

As hinted in the last Chapter, I shall now describe first how Sai Baba returned

to Shirdi after His disappearance.

There lived in the Aurangabad District (Nizam State), in a village called Dhoop,

a well to do Mohammedan Gentleman by name Chand Patil. While he was making a

trip to Aurangabad, he lost his mare. For two long months, he made a diligent

search but could get no trace of the lost mare. After being disappointed, he

returned from Aurangabad with the saddle on his back. After traveling four Koss

and a half, he came, on the way, to a mango tree under the foot of which sat a

RATNA (queer fellow). He had a cap on His head, wore Kafni (long robe) and had

a "Satka" (short stick) under His armpit and He was preparing to smoke a Chilim

(pipe). On seeing Chand Patil pass by the way, He called out to him and asked

him to have a smoke and to rest a little. The Fakir asked him about the saddle.

Chand Patil replied that it was of his mare, which was lost. The queer

fellow or Fakir asked him to make a search in the Nala close by. He went and the

wonder of wonders! He found out the mare. He thought that this Fakir was not an

ordinary man, but an Avalia (a great saint). He returned to the Fakir with the

mare. The Chilim was ready for being smoked, but two things were wanting; (1)

fire to light the pipe, and (2) water to wet the chhapi (piece of cloth through

which smoke is drawn up). The Fakir took His prong and thrust it forcibly into

the ground and out came a live burning coal, which He put on the pipe. Then He

dashed the Satka on the ground, from whence water began to ooze. The chhapi was

wetted with that water, was then wrung out and wrapped round the pipe. Thus

everything being complete, the Fakir smoked the Chilim and then gave it also to

Chand Patil. On seeing all this, Chand Patil was wonderstruck. He requested the

Fakir to come to his home and accept his hospitality. Next day He went to the

Patil’s house and stayed there for some time.

The Patil was a village - officer of Dhoop. His wife’s brother’s son was to be

married and the bride was from Shirdi. So Patil made preparations to start for

Shirdi for the marriage. The Fakir also accompanied the marriage-party. The

marriage went off without any hitch, the party returned to Dhoop, except the

Fakir alone stayed in Shirdi, and remained there forever.

HOW THE FAKIR GOT THE NAME SAI

When the marriage - party came to Shirdi, it alighted at the foot of a Banyan

tree in Bhagat Mhalsapati’s field near Khandoba’s temple. The carts were

loosened in the open courtyard of Khandoba’s temple. The carts were loosened in

the open courtyard of Khandoba’s temple, and the members of the party descended

one by one, and the Fakir also got down. Bhagata Mhalaspathi saw the young

Fakir getting down and accosted Him "YA SAI" (Welcome Sai). Others also

addressed Him as Sai and thenceforth he became known as Sai Baba.

CONTACT WITH OTHER SAINTS

Sai Baba began to stay in a deserted Masjid. One Saint named Devidas was living

in Shirdi many years before Baba came there. Baba liked his company. He stayed

with him in the Maruti temple, in the Chavadi, and some time lived alone. Then

came another Saint by name Jankidas. Baba spent most of His time in talking

with him, or Jankidas went to Baba’s residence. So also one Vaishya householder

Saint, from Puntambe by name Gangagir always frequented Shirdi. When he first

saw Sai Baba, carrying pitchers of water in both hands, for watering the

garden, he was amazed and said openly, "Blessed is Shirdi that it got this

precious Jewel. This man is carrying water today; but He is not an ordinary

fellow. As this land (Shirdi) was lucky and meritorious, it secured this

Jewel." So also one famous

Saint by name Anandnath of Yewala Math, a disciple of Akkalkot Maharaj came to

Shirdi with some Shirdi people. When he saw Sai Baba, he said openly, "This is

a precious Diamond in reality. Though he looks like an ordinary man, he is not

a ‘gar’ (ordinary stone) but a Diamond. You will realize this in the near

future." Saying this he returned to Yewala. This was said while Sai Baba was a

youngster.

BABA’S DRESS AND DAILY ROUTINE

In his young days, Sai Baba grew hair on His head; never had His head shaved. He

dressed like an athlete. When He went to Rahata (3 miles from Shirdi), He

brought with Him small plants of Merry Gold, Jai and Jui, and after cleaning,

he planted and watered them. A devotee by name Vaman Tatya supplied Him daily

with two earthen pitchers. With these Baba Himself used to water the plants. He

drew water from the well and carried the pitchers on His shoulders. In the

evening the pitchers were kept at the foot of the Neem tree. As soon as they

were placed there, they were broken, as they were made of raw earth and not

baked. Next day, Tatya supplied two fresh pitchers. This course went on for 3

years; and with Sai Baba’s toil and labour, there grew a flower garden. On this

site, at present,

stands the big mansion - Samadhi Mandir of Baba, which is now frequented and

used by so many devotees.

THE STORY OF PADUKAS (FOOTPRINTS) UNDER THE NEEM TREE

A devotee of Akkalkot Maharaj by name Bhai Krishnaji Alibagkar worshipped the

photo of Akkalkot Maharaj. He once thought of going to Akkalkot (Sholapur

District), taking the Darshan of the Padukas (foot-prints) of the Maharaj and

offering his sincere worship there; but before he could go there, he got a

vision in his dream. Akkalkot Maharaj appeared in the vision and said to him -

"Now Shirdi is my resting place, go there and offer your Worship." So Bhai

changed his plan and came to Shirdi, worshipped Baba, stayed there for six

months and was happy. As a reminiscence of this vision etc., he prepared the

Padukas and installed them on an auspicious day of Shravan, Shaka 1834 (1912

A.D.) under the Neem tree with due ceremonies and formalities, conducted by

Dada Kelkar and Upasani. One Dixit

Brahmin was appointed for worship, and the management was entrusted to devotee Sagun.

COMPLETE VERSION OF THIS STORY

Mr. B.V. Deo, Retired Mamalatdar of Thana, and a great devotee of Sai Baba, made

enquired about this matter with Sagun Meru Naik and Govind Kamlakar Dixit and

has published a full version of the Padukas in Sai Leela Vol. 11, No. 1, page

25. It runs as follows:

In 1834 Shaka (1912 AD) one Doctor Ramarao Kothare of Bombay came to Shirdi for

Baba’s Darshan. His compounder; and his friend, Bhai Krishnaji Alibagkar,

accompanied him. The compounder and Bhai became intimate with Sagun Meru Naik

and G.K. Dixit. While discussing things, these persons thought that there must

be some memorial of the fact of Sai Baba’s first coming to Shirdi and sitting

under the holy Neem tree. They thought of installing Baba’s Padukas there and

were going to make them of some rough stones. Then Bhai’s friend, the

compounder, suggested that if

this matter be made known to his master, Dr. Ramarao Kothare, who would prepare

nice Padukas for this purpose. All liked the proposal and Dr. Kothare was

informed of it. He came to Shirdi and drew a plan of the Padukas. He went to

Upasani Maharaj in Khandoba’s temple, and showed him his plan. The latter made

many improvements, drew lotuses, flowers, conch, disc, man etc., and suggested

that the following SHLOKA (verse) regarding Neem tree’s great ness and Baba’s

Yogi powers be inscribed. The verse was as follows:

"Sada Nimbarvrikshasya mooladhiwasat,

Sudhasravinam tiktamapi-apriyam tam,

Tarum Kalpavrikshadhikam sadhayantam

Namameeshwaram Sadgurum Sai Natham"

Upasani’s suggestions were accepted and carried out. The Padukas were made in

Bombay and sent to Shirdi with the compounder. Baba said that they should be

installed on the Poornima (15th) of Shravan. On that day at 11 a.m., G.K. Dixit

brought them on his head from Khandoba’s temple to the Dwarkamai (Masjid) in

procession. Baba touched

the Padukas, saying that these are the feet of the Lord and asked the people to

instal them, under foot of the Neem tree.

A day before, one Parsi devotee of Bombay named Pastha Shet sent Rs.25/- by

money order. Baba gave this sum for the installation of the Padukas. The total

expense of installation came up to Rs.100/- out of which Rs.75/- was collected

by subscriptions. For the first 5 years, G.K. Dixit worshipped the Padukas

daily and then this was done by Laxman Kacheshwar Jakhadi. In the first five

years, Dr. Kothare sent Rs. 2 per month for lighting and he also sent the

railing round the Padukas. The expense of bringing the railing from the station

to Shirdi (Rs.

7-8-0) (presently Rs.7.50p) and roofing was paid by Sagun Meru Naik. Now,

Jakhadi (Nana Pujari) does the worship and Sagun Meru Naik offers the naiveidya

and lights the evening lamps.

Bhai Krishnaji was originally a devotee of Akkalkot Maharaj. He had come to

Shirdi at the installation of the Padukas, in Shaka 1834 on his way to

Akkalkot. He wanted to go to Akkalkot after taking the Darshan of Baba. He

asked Baba’s permission for this. Baba said - "Oh, what is there in Akkalkot?

Why do you go there? The incumbent Maharaj of that place is here, Myself."

Hearing this Bhai did not go to Akkalkot. He came to Shirdi off and on, after

the installation of the Padukas.

Mr. B.V. Deo concluded that Hemadpant did not know these details. Had he known

them, he would not have failed to depict them in his Sat-Charita.

WRESTING BOUT WITH MOHDIN TAMBOLI AND CHANGE IN LIFE

To return to other stories of Baba. There was a wrestler in Shirdi, by name

Mohdin Tamboli. Baba and he did not agree on some items, and both had a fight.

In this Baba was defeated. Thenceforth, Baba changed His dress and mode of

living. He donned Kafni, wore a Langot (waistband) and covered His head with a

piece of cloth. He took a piece of sackcloth for His seat, sackcloth for His

bed and was content with wearing torn and worn out rags. He always said,

"Poverty is better than Kingship, far better than Lordship. The Lord is always

brother (befriender) of the poor." Gangagir was also very fond of wrestling.

While he was once wrestling, a similar feeling of dispassion came over him, and

at the proper time he heard the voice of an adept, saying that he should wear

out his body, playing with

God. So he too gave up Samsara and turned towards God-realization. He

established a math on the banks of the river near Puntambe, and lived there

with disciples.

Sai Baba did not mix and speak with the people. He only gave answers when he was

questioned. By day he always sat under the Neem tree, sometimes under the shade

of a branch of a Babul tree near the stream at the outskirts of the village. In

the afternoon, He used to walk at random and go at times to Nimgaon. There He

frequented the house of Balasaheb Dengale. Baba loved Mr. Balasaheb. His

younger brother, named Nanasaheb, had no son, though he married a second wife.

Balasaheb sent Nanasaheb for taking Darshan of Sai Baba, and after some time

with His grace, Nanasaheb got a son. From that time onwards, people began to

come in numbers to see Sai Baba, and His fame began to spread and reached

Ahmednagar; from thence Nanasaheb Chandorkar and Keshav Chidamber, and many

others began to come to

Shirdi. Baba was surrounded by His devotees during day; and slept at night in an

old and dilapidated Masjid. Baba’s paraphernalia at this time consisted of a

Chilim, tobacco, a "Tumrel" (tin pot), long flowing Kafni, a piece of cloth

round His head, and a Satka (short stick), which He always kept with Him. The

piece of white cloth on the head was twisted like matted hair, and flowed down

from the left ear on the back. This was not washed for weeks. He wore no shoes,

no sandals. A piece of sackcloth was His seat for most of the day. He wore a

coupin (waist-cloth-band) and for warding off cold he always sat in front of a

Dhuni (sacred fire) facing south with His left hand resting on the wooden

railing. In that Dhuni, He offered as oblation; egoism, desires and all

thoughts and always uttered Allah Malik (God is the sole owner). The Masjid in

which He sat was only of two room dimensions, where all devotees came and saw

Him. After 1912 AD, there was a change. The old Masjid was repaired

and a pavement was constructed. Before Baba came to live in this Masjid, He

lived for a long time in a place Takia, where with GHUNGUR (small bells) on His

legs, Baba danced beautifully, sang with tender love.

TURNING WATER INTO OIL

Sai Baba was very fond of lights. He used to borrow oil from shopkeepers, and

keep lamps burning the whole night in the Masjid and temple. This went on for

some time. The Banias, who supplied oil gratis, once met together and decided

not to give Him oil. When, as usual, Baba went to ask for oil, they all gave

Him a distinct ‘No’. Unperturbed, Baba returned to the Masjid and kept the dry

wicks in the lamps. The Banias were watching Him with curiosity. Baba took the

Tumrel (tin pot) which contained very little (a few drops) of oil, put water

into it and drank it and forced it fall in the container. After consecrating

the tin-pot in this way, He again took water in the tin-pot and filled all the

lamps with it and lighted them. To the surprise and dismay of the watching

Banias, the lamps

began to burn and kept burning the whole night. The Banias repented and

apologized. Baba forgave them and asked them to be more truthful in future.

THE PSEUDO-GURU JAVHAR ALI

Five years after the wrestling bout mentioned above, one Fakir from Ahmednagar

by name Javhar Ali came to Rahata with his disciples and stayed in Bakhal

(spacious room) near Virabhadra temple. The Fakir was learned, could repeat the

whole Koran and had a sweet tongue. Many religious and devout people of the

village came to him and began to respect him. With the help of the people, he

started to build an Idgah (a wall before which Mohammedans pray on Idgah day),

near the Virabhadra temple. There was some quarrel about this affair, on

account of which, Javhar Ali had to leave Rahata. Then he came to Shirdi and

lived in the Masjid with Baba. People were captured by his sweet talk, and he

began to call Baba his disciple. Baba did not object and consented to be his

Chela. Then both Guru and

Chela decided to return to Rahata and live there. The Guru (Teacher) never knew

his disciple’s worth, but the disciple knew the defects of the Guru, still he

never disrespected him, observing carefully his duties. He even served the

Master in various ways. They used to come to Shirdi off and on, but their main

stay was in Rahata. The loving devotees of Baba in Shirdi did not like that

Baba should stay away from them in Rahata. So they went in a deputation to

bring Baba back to Shirdi. When they met Baba near the Idgah and told the

purpose for which they came, Baba said to them that the Fakir was an

ill-tempered fellow, he would not leave him and that they should better return

to Shirdi without him, before the Fakir returned. While they were thus talking,

the Fakir turned up and was very angry with them for trying to take away his

disciple. There was some discussion and altercation and it was finally decided

that both the Guru and Chela should return to Shirdi. And so they returned

and lived in Shirdi. But after a few days the Guru was tested by Devidas and he

was found wanting. Twelve years before Baba arrived in Shirdi with the

marriage-party, this Devidas aged about 10 or 11 came to Shirdi and lived in

the Maruti temple. Devidas had fine features and brilliant eyes, and he was

dispassion incarnate and a Jnani. Many persons, namely Tatya Kote, Kashinath

and others regarded him as their Guru. They brought Javhar Ali in his presence

and in the discussion that followed, Javhar was worsted and fled from Shirdi.

He went and stayed in Bijapur and returned after many years to Shirdi, and

prostrated himself before Sai Baba. The delusion that he was Guru and Sai Baba

his Chela was cleared away, and as he repented, Sai Baba treated him with

respect. In this case Sai Baba showed by actual conduct how one should get rid

of egoism and does the duties of a disciple to attain the highest end, viz.,

self-realization. This story is told here according to the version given by

Mahalasapati (a great devotee of Baba).

In the next Chapter will be described Rama-Navami Festival, the Masjid, its

former condition and later improvement etc.

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.

SAI BABA AGAIN – BALA SAI

Having declared Himself as Sai Baba of the Bharadwaj Gotra and the Apasthamba

Sutra, Sathyanarayana Raju was hereafter commonly known either as Bala Sai (Boy

Sai) or Sathya Sai Baba, an appellation which He Himself accepted. Singing to

God was done in His Presence not only on Thursday evenings, but gradually on

every day and sometimes even twice a day, for the pilgrims who began to arrive

could not wait until the ensuing Thursday to pay their homage to Him. At first

a small room, eight feet by eight, facing the road that led to the house of

Pedda Venkapa Raju was utilized as a Hall of Prayer. But it could accommodate

only a dozen at the most. Even the road was overflowing with people. A

Recruiting Officer from Hindupur came in a jeep for Baba's Darshan (Holy

Vision), giving the villagers their first

contact with a motor vehicle. Others too came in large numbers. The village

accountant's family put up a shed, which was enlarged as the months, passed. A

tent also was rigged up, and some devotees who came from Bangalore and

Anantapur pitched their own tents. Finally even the spacious house of the

accountant became insufficient, because Sai Baba insisted on feeding all who

came to see Him; huge dining halls became necessary.

An old lady who was in the accountant's house during those months said that very

often when the food cooked threatened to be insufficient. Baba was quietly

informed and He asked that two coconuts be brought. When they were given to

Him, He struck one against the other and both broke exactly into halves. He

then sprinkled the coconut water on little heaps of rice and the vessels

containing other items and gave the signal to proceed with the task of serving

all who came that day!

Sai Baba has spoken about the untiring devotion of Subbamma, the accountant's

wife. This aged lady looked after the comforts of the pilgrims and had Baba

Himself in her house for some years until the building now called "Old Mandir"

(or Old Temple) was built in 1944.

Sai Baba composed a number of songs and verses of praise to be used for the

occasions of singing and chanting, for Sai Baba of Shirdi was unknown in those

areas; these songs refer to Dwarkamai, Puti Temple, Udi and the Margosa tree,

and other details which were strange to the devotees who assembled at

Puttaparthy. Many of them are sung even today at the Prashanthi Nilayam, "Place

of Peace," the name of the Center of Prayer now in Puttaparthy directed by

Sathya Sai Baba.

He used to complain off and on of the "family atmosphere" in the places where He

stayed. Young boy that He was, He would disappear during day or night into the

mountains that surround the village. Whenever He was found absent, Subbamma and

others would search every hill and dale within walking distance. They generally

found Him sitting quietly on a rock overlooking the valley, in a cave like

hollow or crevice, or on the sands of the river. These disappearances and

wanderings gave the people anxiety, for they were ignorant of the true

significance of His absences. Some of them were afraid that He would go away to

the Himalayas or waste Himself in asceticism, for they did not understand the

Nature of the Incarnation or the Purpose for which It had come. Even today,

these people continue talking of the

spiritual practices of the young boy on the hills, not knowing that He has come

to restore the inner path of the Spirit in Man!

One day when a party of devotees was accompanying Baba in a caravan of bullock

carts to Uravakonda, He got down from His cart and went into the hills and

disappeared. The entire area was searched but there was not a trace of Him.

Everyone was in great distress until Baba appeared at about six o'clock in the

evening, fresh and smiling, and restored everyone's drooping heart.

In connection with journeys Sai Baba made by bullock cart, an incident occurred

which is even now described by Baba with a twinkle of merriment. In spite of

occasional moods of solitude, which took Him away from His devotees into the

hills and dales, He was always a sprightly joyous boy full of practical jokes

and fun. Once when about twenty devotees were proceeding along the road to

Dharmavaram, Sai Baba and a group of young men were walking behind the bullock

carts in the moonlight. Suddenly He moved a few yards away, unnoticed by the

rest, and hastened to the cart leading the other carts. There He appeared as a

girl of sixteen; she appealed to the persons inside the cart for a lift because

her feet were sore. She was to go to Dharmavaram where her husband had been

admitted to the hospital. Baba

acted the part with so many sighs, rubbing of eyes, and even tears, that the

ladies in the cart took pity on the unfortunate "girl" and took her in. After

about a mile or so, news came from the end of the line that Sai Baba was

missing, and all the carts were brought to a halt; each of the occupants got

down and joined the search. They found Him at last, just a few yards ahead of

the foremost cart itself. Some of the older men even dared chide Baba for

playing hide and seek in strange places in the dead of night! The journey

resumed, but another person was now found missing! Where was the girl whose

husband was a patient at the Dharmavaram

10pt">Hospital? Where could she have gone?

Perhaps in her anxiety to be by the bedside of her husband she ran on when the

carts stopped to search for Bala Sai. So some fleet-footed young men ran

forward, only to bring back the report that the road was deserted for at least

two miles ahead! Finally they asked Baba, for they knew He would certainly know

the where-abouts of every missing person. Of course He knew! The "girl" was

there before them in the form of Baba Himself, the Great Actor.

Venkamma, the sister, pestered Baba for a picture of Sai Baba of Shirdi about

whom so many hymns were composed by Baba. Baba told her He would give it to her

by a certain Thursday, but He went to Uravakonda on the day previous to the

Thursday indicated. She forgot all about it, for she was sure she would get it

some day and was not very concerned as to the exact day. Night fell and all

were asleep at Puttaparthy. Someone called out "Ammayi, Ammayi" outside the

front door. The sister did not go and open the door since the call did not

persist. She reasoned that it must be someone calling the neighbor. As she lay

in bed, she heard a grating sound behind one of the bags of corn in the same

room. She imagined it to be a rat or a snake; it was distinct and loud. She lit

a lamp and searched, and lo,

something white, stiff, a piece of rolled paper, a picture of Sai Baba of Shirdi

was mysteriously presented to her by Baba who was at Uravakonda at the time! She

still has the picture.

At that time, because there was no large building in which all could be

accommodated, Baba generally went every evening to the sands of the river with

the devotees and the chanting was carried on there.

Sai Baba has said many times that in His life the first sixteen years will be

marked mainly by Lila ( sport and play), the next sixteen by Miracles, and the

subsequent years by Teaching. He has said that although Lila would be the main

note of the first period, it would continue to be a part of every stage of His

life; so also with Miracles and Teaching. True to this statement, Sai Baba

performed various miracles before the devotees who attended those evenings of

chanting and worship on the sands by the river. It was then that the Tamarind

tree that grows solitary at the crest of the hill on the left bank of the

Chitravathi near its meeting place with the road, got the reputation of being a

"Wish-fulfilling Tree," for Baba used to take the devotees to the tree and pluck

from it many

different varieties of fruits - apple from one branch, mango from another,

orange from a third, pears and figs from a fourth and fifth. As Sai Baba says,

He can make any tree at any time a "Wish-fulfilling Tree," for He is Himself

"Wish-fulfilling."

He would climb up the rocks very quickly, and sometimes to the surprise of

everyone He did not climb at all; yet He would be talking to the devotees on

the sands one moment and hail them from near the Tamarind tree the next. He

usually assisted the older and stouter devotees, and when they held His Hand,

He pulled them up as if they had no weight at all.

A number of very fortunate devotees of those days experience joy even now when

describing the miracles they were privileged to witness. Baba would call to

them in a clear commanding voice from the top of the hill while standing by the

side of the "Wish-fulfilling Tree" - "Look up and see"; and they saw a wheel of

circling light with Baba's Head in the center, or a blinding jet of light

emanating from His Forehead. Instances are related of a few devotees who fell

down in a swoon at the sight of these strange phenomena. Some have seen,

looking up from the sands, "a huge Sai Baba of Shirdi," illuminated by a

mysterious effulgence. Some have seen Sathya Sai Baba's Face appear inside the

full-circled moon, and have seen a pillar of fire appear also.

A college student, C. N. Padma, who was present one evening when Sai Baba

ascended the hill on which the Tamarind tree can still be seen, writes, "The

next day Baba took us again to the sands. In fact He went out every day,

sometimes to a cluster of trees near a tank on the other bank of the river

where He delighted in swimming and diving, or sometimes to the sands. After

some little conversation He challenged a few young men of His physical age,

that is to say same teenagers, to run a race with Him up the rocky path from

the sands to the Tamarind tree. Off they went, but before one could close one's

eyes and open them, Baba was calling out in great glee from the very top! He

asked the others to stop where they were and He called out to everyone, 'Be

watching Me; I am giving you the Darshan of Flame,

the Vision of Light.' Suddenly there was a great ball of fire, like a sun,

piercing the new moon dusk. It was impossible to open the eyes and keep

looking. About three or four of the devotees fainted and fell. The time was a

little past seven."

While mentioning the cluster of trees near Saheb Tank, another incident should

be recorded. One day Baba had tied a swing to the overhanging branch of a tree

there and was sitting on the contraption, swinging fast up and down in great

joy to the delight of all. Suddenly He said, "Look!" to the devotees sitting on

the ground. They looked up and saw the Charming Cowherd Boy of Brindavan,

Krishna, sitting on a magnificently decorated, flower-bedecked swing. Some lost

consciousness and had to be revived by Sai Baba's scattering on them the rice

grains that He secured by a Wave of the Hand.

When they awakened, dazed and weeping with joy, Baba told them, "Calm

yourselves! Do not get excited! This is why I do not grant you many of these

Visions."

Later when Sai Baba was visiting a family in Mysore, He quite unexpectedly

granted their priest a Vision of Narasimha, the "Man-Lion" Avatar of Vishnu,

whom he adored all his life. The Brahmin priest swooned and did not recover

consciousness for several hours. Similarly, once while Baba was talking to a

retired health inspector about God and Godhead, He showed him the Flame

emanating from His Forehead. The inspector was so overcome with the strange

magnificence of the experience that he could not regain consciousness for fully

seventy hours, and his children

began chiding Sai Baba for taking him so near the door of death!

A devotee from Kamalapuram was asking Baba to show him some miracle. One day

Baba called him and the members of his family, including his mother, and

offered to show them the Vision of the ten incarnations of God! The Visions of

Matsya the Fish, Kurma the Tortoise, and Varaha the Boar, passed off without

any incident, but when the terrible form of Narasimha the "Man-Lion" appeared,

they shrieked and yelled, fearing that the house might collapse on their heads.

They clamored, "Enough, enough." Other persons, although there, did not see the

Forms, because the miracle was not intended for them. However, when they

witnessed the distress of the family, they performed a magical incantation for

bringing auspicious delight, and Baba calmed down. The ten incarnations were

revealed to another gentleman, now deceased, a relative of the accountant's

family. The fact was that he passed away because his physical frame was too

weak to contain the joy of the Vision. Baba took him to the river and asked him

to watch His reflection in the water. The man announced later that he saw at

first Sathya Sai Baba Himself, then only the halo of hair that surrounds His

Head, and then all the ten incarnations in the order in which they are

mentioned in the legendary histories of India; the tenth and last incarnation

on a white horse, had the form of Baba Himself!

Baba will bless only those who have reached that stage in which they deserve the

Vision that He grants. He is the judge of the time, the recipient, and the

nature of the Vision. If the person so blessed is so overwhelmed with joy that

he cannot survive in this physical framework because it is too weak a container

for that type of Bliss, one has only to be thankful for the glory and the

blessedness of such a death.

One can well appreciate the hesitation of Sai Baba to present these Visions when

he learns of the experience of Krishnamurthy, a Civil Service clerk at the

Mysore Secretariat.

Baba was then at Bangalore, ostensibly a youth of seventeen. He wore a white

half-arm shirt and a dhoti cloth around His waist. Krishnamurthy was a frequent

visitor and an enthusiastic member of the chanting group that sang hymns of

praise. He was closely watching Baba and following Him for a few days. One day

at about eight in the morning he confronted Baba and said rather excitedly, "I

know you are God; show me Your real Form!" Sai Baba tried to avoid him but

couldn't. He gave him a picture of Sai Baba of Shirdi, which He materialized on

the spot, and directed him to

meditate on that, keeping it against the wall. "Be looking at that picture," He

commanded, and left the house to give the blessing of His Presence to some

devotees in their homes.

Sai Baba returned when the clock struck twelve. Just when He crossed the

threshold, Krishnamurthy sent forth a huge cry of joy and fainted in the inner

room! When he revived he was shivering and shaking and breathing heavily. He

kept his eyes tightly closed and was pursuing Baba from room to room, asking

sometimes plainly, sometimes authoritatively, "Let me touch Your Feet!" He

seemed to know exactly where Baba was, by the sense of smell, and he was

sniffing his way towards Him! But Baba pushed him gently off or hid Himself or

kept His Feet firmly under Him when seated, and never acceded to

Krishnamurthy's wishes.

When Krishnamurthy was asked to open his eyes, he refused, saying that he did

not desire to cast his eyes on anything else; he wanted only to see and touch

Baba's Feet. His excitement and joy continued unabated for days, and Sai Baba

said that if he touched His Feet while in that ecstatic mood, he would pass

away. So Sai Baba quietly persuaded him to go home, saying that He would give

him the pleasure of His Presence there.

Baba then moved to a house in the Civil Station. But Krishnamurthy could not

contain himself. With his eyes still closed, he somehow sniffed his way. He got

on a horse cart and directed the driver to the house where Sai Baba was staying!

He slid down from the cart and ran into the compound, roamed round the building,

and began to bang at the very window of the room where Sai Baba was at the time!

Baba still spoke of the danger to Krishnamurthy's life because of the

overpowering joy of his experience. Relatives who came for him forced his

return home. He still kept his eyes closed, praying for Baba's Feet.

Some people took him to the hospital because he had become weak through fasting

and would not even drink water. Baba sent to him at the hospital a little water

in which His Feet had been bathed. When Krishnamurthy drank it, he became fit

enough to be taken home. At home he asked everyone to sing hymns in praise of

Baba while he lay on a cot in the same room. When the session was over, they

found he did not rise. He had touched the Feet of the Lord; the river had found

the Sea. What a highly evolved soul to deserve that indescribable Bliss!

In later years too, Sai Baba has granted Visions of a devotee's Ishta Devata,

"the form of God chosen for worship," and to many others He has revealed His

own manifold Forms. Each one so blessed cherishes the memory of that moment of

Bliss! Baba has often said that the Lord has to come in human form in order to

speak to people in their own language, just as a person desirous of saving

drowning man has perforce to jump into the very same tank or well. No one can

benefit from a Divine Incarnation, an Avatar, if the Lord comes down as He is,

with His effulgence unimpaired, for then the gap between man and Godman would

be too great for man to comprehend. Therefore God must take on a form similar

to that of an ordinary man.

On another occasion Sai Baba asked some persons who had come from Kamalapur

whether they would like to hear the flute of Sri Krishna. Who would say no? He

asked them to lay their heads on His Chest, and lo, they could hear the

enchanting melody of the flute of Krishna that brought even the Yamuna River to

a standstill. Easwaramma, His mother, speaks of another thrilling experience

when Baba said, "Listen, Shirdi's Presence is here." She and everyone in the

room could hear steps advancing as if made by feet in heavy wooden sandals. The

steps ceased when they reached where Baba was sitting! When first the sound was

heard, the mother asked with a little anger, "Who comes in with sandals on?" -

so real was the sensation, so true was the Vision!

While this was the experience of the mother, the father Pedda Venkapa Raju, had

another incident to narrate. One evening some people came from Penukonda to

Puttaparthy; among them was Krishnamachari, who, though a native of Puttaparthy

had long ago settled down at Penukonda as a lawyer. He and some others came to

the accountant's house and Subbamma gave them coffee. The talk naturally turned

to the latest phenomenon of Baba, and they asked Pedda Venkapa Raju, who was

there, what it was all about and how true it was. He replied that it was all a

mystery to him and that he too was equally in the dark. Then it seems, the

lawyer called Venkapa a cheat, and charged him with misleading innocent village

folk with tall stories. This upset him so much that he went to Sai Baba and

challenged Him to convince the

doubters about His Divinity so that they might not accuse him as the lawyer had

done. Baba coolly asked him to bring everyone who had any doubt directly to

Him.

Subbamma and the party from Penukonda were taken to Pedda Venkapa Raju's house

where Sai Baba was. Baba asked Subbamma if she would like to see the Shirdi

Samadhi, the Holy Tomb of Sai Baba at Shirdi. On her saying, "Yes," He took her

to an inner room in the house and said, "Look!" There Subbamma could see the

Samadhi with all the flowers, the fragrant incense sticks and smoke, and an

attendant sitting in one corner chanting to himself. Baba told her, "On this

side, see the Temple of Hanuman, the Monkey-Saint, and in the far distance see

that Margosa tree." It appeared to her as if she were in some vast open space

looking at the scene in Shirdi, the entire landscape spreading out before her

for miles and miles to the horizon in the distance.

When she was brought out after this thrilling experience, she persuaded

Krishnamachari to follow Sai Baba to the same inner room. Baba took them, one

by one, and revealed to each the same Vision, a panoramic view of the Shrine at

Shirdi and its locale. Pedda Venkapa Raju says that he was taken inside after

all the rest, and when he came out, he was a changed man. His doubts had

vanished. The friends from Penukonda apologized for their slighting remarks and

said that in order to explain such a divine phenomenon, the sanest explanation

to give would be that it was "a mystery beyond understanding." Easwaramma and

Pedda Venkapa Raju, the mother and father, were convinced that day that the

young lad of sixteen was really an incarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi. Pedda

Venkapa Raju says that he then instructed

his family to consider Baba as Divine and not bother Him with any more

pettiness, neglect, impatience, temper, or meanness.

Sai Baba was engaged even during those early days in teaching. His life is one

continuous instruction. A clear example of this was when He spoke to a naked

sage when the latter came to Puttaparthy in 1941. The town of Bukkapatnam was

agog with the visit of this ascetic who had lost the use of both his legs, who

had discarded clothes, and therefore was looked upon by the masses as a perfect

example of a great sage. His admirers were eager to watch the reactions of Sai

Baba when pitted against a veteran of many hardships. The naked sage had also

taken a vow of silence; thus the curiosity of the people became greater. The

sweet young divine lad met the "lofty hero" who was carried to the village and

deposited in front of Subbamma's house. Baba gave the unclothed sage a big

towel and some advice, the like

of which he would not have been given anywhere else.

"If you have cut off all relationship with society, as your nakedness indicates

you have, then why do you not go to a cave in a forest away from human society?

Why are you afraid? On the other hand, if you have a craving for disciples, for

fame, and for name, and the food available in cities and towns, why do you

allow yourself to be a mistaken for a man with no attachment"? These were the

words that fell from the lips of the young Baba. They struck everyone with

wonder and admiration.

The naked sage looked crestfallen, for he was evidently not sincere enough to

live up to his nakedness and his vow of silence. But Sai Baba was not sarcastic

- far from it. He was ready to help, to assure, to guarantee! Patting the

cripple on the back, He said, "I know your difficulty. You are afraid you may

not get food and shelter if you retire from the company of men, isn't it so?

Well, I assure you, anyone taking the Name of the Lord, wherever he may be,

will get his food; I shall see to that. You may be in the deepest Himalayas or

the deepest forest and I shall give you food regularly

there! But, if you have not that faith and that courage, you can meditate on Him

right here; but don't wander about naked and give all this bother to these

people to carry you about from place to place." What a grand teaching that was!

If only people would grasp its meaning! That was the Authentic Voice. Only the

Lord could give that assurance!

Sai Baba is giving this assurance even today to all aspirants. In 1958 when

Swami Satchidananda met Him, Baba told him to cultivate his Yogic proficiency

and not fritter away his time organizing movements. He added, patting the

seventy-year-old monk on the back, "Your Yogic attainments will themselves

penetrate the rock of the cave where you sit and bring auspiciousness to the

world. Go to some Himalayan solitude. I shall provide you food and shelter

wherever you are!" The same Authentic Voice, come to guide and guard all

spiritual aspirants practicing Yoga or union with God, whatever the religion,

the race, the clime!

With the arrival of devotees from all around at the news of the manifestation of

Sai Baba of Shirdi at Puttaparthy, Baba was kept busy curing their physical and

mental ills. He says that even this forms part of His Mission, for no one can

have the urge for spiritual discipline when pestered by physical and mental

ills. Many cases of chronic illness, lunacy, hysteria, possession by evil

spirits and ghosts, and other maladies were brought to the presence of the

Great Healer. People who had been worshipping Sai Baba of Shirdi also came out

of curiosity to examine the new

manifestation of their Lord. Many persuaded Baba to visit their places. He went

to Bangalore, Mirzapur, Kolapuram, Pithapuram, Sandur, Madras, and other towns.

Also visiting Him were devotees from families connected with the Royal Line of

Mysore. At Bangalore, Sai Baba operated on a person with a duodenal ulcer and

the patient got complete relief; the instruments were all materialized

mysteriously.

The stream of pilgrims increased considerably. This highlighted the need for a

bigger temple where Sai Baba could reside and the devotees be accommodated.

This was how Thirumala Rao of Bangalore and others planned the first temple in

1945. The place selected was a short distance from the village between the

Satyamma and the Gopalakrishna temples, the very site on which sheds and large

tents were put up for some years during the Dasara and other festivals.

When the servant, Gooni Venkata (Venkata with the hump) , dug at the spot

indicated by Sai Baba, so that consecrated stones could be laid as foundation,

a large number of stone bases used as stands for lingams (emblems of the Form

merging in the Formless, or emerging from the Formless) were discovered! But

strangely enough, no lingams could be found, though a vigorous search was made.

Dozens of bases - but not a single lingam. People gathered round Baba and sought

the answer. Sai Baba told them cryptically, pointing a finger at his stomach,

"The lingams are all here." Those who have witnessed the emanation of lingams

from Baba's Mouth on the night of the Festival of Maha Shivarathri might be

convinced of the correctness of the answer; others will have to be satisfied

with the consolation

that the ways of the Lord are beyond the categories with which we measure and

weigh, infer and judge. (After the completion of the building, Sai Baba came

over from the accountant's house and lived in the room to the left of the front

veranda, a small room about eight feet long and six feet wide.)

Meanwhile Sai Baba had gone to Madras and had given the blessed pleasure of His

Presence to thousands there. He also went as far as Masulipatam. Wherever He

went He granted people peace of mind and spiritual advice, and assured them

that He would guide and guard them. One day while on the sands of the seashore

near Masulipatam, Baba walked straight into the sea! The devotees were sometime

realizing the situation.

Then they heard a voice and turned toward the waves. They saw a Vision of the

Lord on the Serpent Sesha, reclining on the waves! Within a moment, Baba was by

their side. They were struck by the fact that His clothes were not wet at all.

Another day He walked toward the sea, up to the very edge and threw a silver

cup far into the waves. Everyone wondered why. In an instant the cup came back

and was deposited near them by a wave. Sai Baba lifted it up along with the

"salt water" it contained; he poured the water onto the palms of the devotees,

a few drops for each to be swallowed religiously. Each one found it to be

fragrant and sweet beyond compare! The sea had offered Him the "nectar of

immortality," just as years later it placed round His Feet a garland of

pearls.

People who witnessed these miracles and partook of the nectar are now at

Prashanthi Nilayam, His place of "Tranquil Peace" at Puttaparthy, and are

ardent devotees of the Lord.

It would be a mistake to infer from these incidents that Baba was attempting to

impress the people around Him by the manifestation of His Divinity. His very

nature is of the miraculous. His actions are beyond our ken, our arithmetic and

physics and chemistry. Plato called the inquiry into the nature of the

relationship between the "here and now" and the "hereafter and ever" as

meta-physics, or "after physics." Sai Baba's actions are all meta! He presents

the miracles because He is He, not because of any desire or purpose or want,

for what can He ever want or wish for?

Whenever anyone came into the Presence, even in those days, Sai Baba immediately

took him in hand, and by advice, suggestion, satire, sarcasm, or even reprimand,

He slowly shaped him into a humble, silent, pious, and thereby efficient,

enthusiastic limb of society. That is the alchemy of His Touch. Even when He

addressed groups of devotees He emphasized the need for an inner transformation

in every individual. He told everyone to have courage and said that courage can

come only by faith in the Infinite Power, the Infinite Mercy of the Lord.

Anyone inclined to doubt this need only watch Him and taste His Infinite Power

and His Infinite Mercy.

An incident regarding His Mercy happened at Bangalore when He was still in His

teens. A cobbler, plying his trade on a corner of a road in the Civil Station,

saw Baba in a bungalow opposite the place where he sat. Many cars were moving

in and out of the house grounds. Flowers and fruits were being taken in and the

faces of those who came out on the road were bright with joy and contentment.

They were talking of an Incarnation of Lord Krishna, of the Lord Sai Baba, and

so forth. The cobbler too ventured to enter the gate and peep nervously into

the hall where Sai

Baba was seated on a special chair with men on one side and women on the other.

His eyes fell on Baba just when He too looked at him. Sai Baba immediately

arose and came forward to the door where the cobbler stood. He approached him,

took the little dried up garland of flowers that he held in his hand, even

before the man offered it, and asked him in Tamil, the only language the

cobbler knew, what he wanted from Him! The temerity to formulate his wish and

express it in so many words must have been granted to that aged "untouchable"

outcaste by Baba Himself, for how else can one explain the astounding request

that he dared to make? He said quite confidently and without hesitation, to the

surprise of everyone who heard him, "Please come to my house and accept

something!" Baba patted his back lovingly and said, "All right, I shall come,"

and resumed His seat at the other end of the hall.

The cobbler waited for a long time because he wanted to tell Sai Baba where his

house was and to know when Baba would visit it so that he might clean it and be

ready to receive Him; but he finally had to hurry back to his corner to keep

watch over his heap of leather pieces and old shoes. He was pushed and jostled

by the rush of visitors. No one listened to him when he said that Baba had

promised to pay a visit to his hut. The cobbler wanted them to find out from

Sai Baba when He would be coming. Some laughed at him and his audacity; some

said he was drunk or mad. Days passed. Sai Baba spent His days with other

blessed hosts and did not visit the bungalow opposite the cobbler's corner. So

the cobbler gave up all hopes of meeting Baba again!

Suddenly one day a fine car was driven right up in front of the aged cobbler. He

was taken aback; he was afraid it might be the police van or some City official

intent on prosecuting him for plying his trade on the pavement. But it was Sai

Baba! He invited the cobbler to get into the car; the man was too confused even

to open his mouth to direct the driver to his hut, Sai Baba seemed to know.

Stopping the car on the side of the road, Baba got down and hastened over the

cobblestones in the by-lane to the exact hut in the midst of the slum! The

cobbler ran forward to warn his family. Sai Baba created some sweets and fruits

and gave them as consecrated gifts to the members of the cobbler's family and

sat on a plank near the wall. He blessed the aged man who was shedding tears of

joy and took with Him a

few bananas the cobbler had brought from a shop nearby. He then left the hut,

which was thereafter made a place of pilgrimage for the entire neighborhood!

Such was Sai Baba's love.

Some people in their foolishness attempted to poison Baba. The incident reveals

more than one facet of Baba's Divinity. Even today Sai Baba will not allow the

attempt to be called an attempt to kill. Since His words are Truth, let it be

remembered that it was an attempt to test whether He could survive the eating

of poison; it was more the result of skepticism than of wickedness.

It was festival day and Sai Baba with two devotees visited a few houses in His

native village. In each house He partook of something, and when He entered the

house where the fatal food had been prepared, He showed extra enthusiasm and

demanded more of the special dish; but He saw to it that His companions did not

consume the deadly mixture. When He returned to the accountant's house, He

confided to several people the secret of the invitation from that particular

house, talked about the utter futility and foolishness of it all, and had a

hearty laugh over the incident. After sometime He vomited the whole stuff.

People near Him secretly tested whether it was poisonous to living beings. It

was!

Sai Baba takes delight in doing just what we mortals dread to do. For example,

the night of the snake bite. This incident is described in the chapter on "The

Wave of the Hand." That night, after the recovery of Baba from the snake bite

with the application of the Talisman produced miraculously through His Grace,

everyone in the village pleaded with Him not to have any supper, for food might

aggravate the poison; but He audaciously ate a little more than usual. He was

asked by the elders to avoid cold water, but He purposely swam about in a well

just to spite human nervousness and human precautions!

Subbamma was the person most anxious about Baba's health and most worried about

feeding the hundreds of pilgrims who gathered at Puttaparthy. Baba even now

says that the grinding stone in her home was always busy preparing chutney out

of the heaps of coconuts for the hundreds who stayed at her house. Subbamma was

grinding and grinding, besides boiling rice and preparing dishes almost eight

hours of the day! She had immense love and devotion for the Lord, and Sai Baba

had said that He would satisfy her one great desire - to have the Darshan, that

is, the blessing of seeing in person the Vision of Sai Baba in her last moments.

It is indeed a thrilling story, the story of those moments and that Darshan.

Subbamma fell ill and was taken to Bukkapatnam, but in spite of her illness, she

came over one day in a bullock cart to see the Prashanthi Nilayam, which was

then under construction. She was soon bedridden and could not move; her

condition worsened; and Sai Baba was away at Bangalore! Subbamma in her

delirium talked about Baba and the Vision of Sai Baba of Shirdi, which she had

been privileged to see. She spoke of the many "miracles of Lord Krishna " which

she had witnessed. When normal consciousness returned, her talk concerned the

same incidents and the

same Person. She was in the midst of relations who had little sympathy with

these sentiments, for they felt that her love for the strange miraculous young

boy had taken her away from attachment to her kith and kin. They told her that

her Baba was a hundred miles away, and it would be better for her to

concentrate her final attention on her family gathered around her. But her

faith in Sai Baba did not falter.

Meanwhile Baba left Bangalore for Tirupati. He knew that Subbamma's soul was

struggling to free itselt from the mortal coil, and that she was rolling in her

deathbed at Bukkapatnam. The people around her announced that she had breathed

her last. But a peculiar glow on her face made them hesitate to take the body

away for cremation. A few wise people shook their heads when it was suggested

that she had died. They advised patience, and admonished the relatives, "The

bird has not yet flown." How could that bird fly, even though the doors of the

cage were wide open? She must

have the Darshan, the promised Vision, and she must wait until Baba came.

Baba was hurrying toward her bedside. He left Tirupati by car, and arriving at

Puttaparthy, proceeded to Bukkapatnam three full days after the announcement of

Subbamma's end! Her eyes had lost the glint; she was placed on the floor; for no

Hindu should die while on the bed, and people were evincing an uneasy

impatience. Sai Baba sat by her and in a low voice called out, "Subbamma,

Subbamma," just twice! To the evident wonderment of everyone crowding around,

Subbamma opened her eyes; her hand extended toward Baba and grasped His Palm

firmly and began to stroke it lovingly. Baba put His Fingers to her lips; her

mouth opened a little, as if she knew that Baba was giving her something to

slake the thirst of the soul. From the Fingers of Baba there poured into her

mouth a small quantity of water, which He

said was from River Ganges. Subbamma then joined the ranks of the released!

About this time Sai Baba was approached by the Muslims of a neighboring village

on a matter of importance to them. A fatal disease had reduced their ranks.

The worship of what are called Pirs is traditional in these parts during the

month of Mohurram. The installation, the worship, the ceremonial procession and

the immersion are all celebrated by Hindu as well as Muslim communities. Pirs

are hand-shaped objects made of brass and other metals which are held sacred as

mementos of the sacrifice of Hassan and Hussein on the memorable battlefield of

Kerbela. Sai Baba told the Muslims who came to Him that Pirs had been installed

in their village for hundred of years, but lately the practice had stopped. He

asked them to

continue the worship and revealed to them that if they dug at a certain place,

which He pointed out, they would get the very Pirs, which their forefathers

consecrated. They dug at the place and the Pirs were exposed to view! Everyone

was so surprised and stunned at Sai Baba's Omniscience and the sudden

appearance of the sacred objects that none had the ability to descend and pull

the Pirs into the open. So Sai Baba Himself got down into the pit and took out

the Pirs. There were four of them at the place! For many years thereafter these

were kept at the temple, rolled up in a mat and packed neatly away. They were

issued to those villagers for the Mohurrum celebrations only, and they were

duly returned after the functions were over.

One curious circumstance witnessed by the author was when the Muslims were

proceeding from the temple after accepting the Pirs from Sai Baba's Hands. The

person carrying them began to act as if he were "possessed", and all gathered

around him to watch the holy man in that elevated mood. He danced a few steps,

ran round in circles, muttered to himself a few verses from the holy Koran, the

Muslim Holy Book, and walked back to Sai Baba. Baba said, "Go! Go and come back

after the festival," and quickly, quietly, the "possessed" man sped forward

with the Pirs in the same tense condition of prayerful joy. Only those who have

had the privilege of witnessing such moments can grasp even in a small way the

mystery that is Sai Baba.

Many devotees came to Puttaparthy from far and near during those days. Each one

was drawn by some inexplicable circumstance and kept steady by a glimpse of Sai

Baba's Omnipresence or Omnipotence. A gentleman from Udumalpet who first refused

to join the party of pilgrims, but who later was persuaded against his will to

go along, offered a flower garland to Baba as others did as soon as Puttaparthy

was reached. Baba did not accept his offering. He said, "You had no mind to

come!" That remark brought Sai Baba closer to the unbeliever.

A gentleman who was from Madurai came because his sister at Vellore agreed to

have an operation performed on her only if and when Sai Baba said it was

essential. He came to Puttaparthy, but Sai Baba did not speak to him for some

days. When at last He spoke, He only asked him to go to Vellore by the next

available bus. The doctor at Vellore was getting more furious all the time

because the silly patient was endangering her life by waiting for permission to

undergo the operation from a mere boy, who, she said, was her Guru and God! The

brother came at last. Another examination was made. Wonders of wonders, there

was no need for an operation! "Is it the same 'she'?" the doctor asked in

amazement.

It would make very inspiring reading if a book were composed of the answers from

devotees to the question: "How did you first come to Puttaparthy, and why?" If

such a volume were ever produced, the story of the coming of Sakamma, the well

known owner of coffee plantations, a philanthropist of Coorg, and the lady who

was honored with the title of "Dharmaparayani" (ever engaged in charity) by the

Maharaja of Mysore, would make an interesting chapter. Not because she was rich

or famous in the field of business and industry. Sai Baba does not mind whether

a person is rich or poor. He cares for the richness of character, the wealth of

spiritual discipline and the treasures of the spirit, no matter what the bank

balance may be!

The late Sakamma used to tell this strange experience. One day at her bungalow

in Somwarpet, Coorg, when she was engaged in worship, a servant disturbed her

and announced that a car had come into the compound, and that the person inside

insisted on seeing her immediately. She was rather upset, but nevertheless went

to find out who would take such liberty with her time. She found in the car a

tall, fair, old man with a very reverent looking beard, sitting on a deerskin,

his whole body bathed in ash. She was struck by the age of the car also, for it

matched the age of the owner or occupant. It was driven by a weak little boy in

his teens, and Sakamma wondered how he could have managed to secure a license

or whether he had one at all. The car had a nameplate in front reading, "The

Kailas Committee." She invited the old man inside, did homage by touching his

feet, placed a newly plucked rose at his feet, and offered him some fruits. He

said he would not eat the fruits there, because he did not cater to the tongue

at all times and all places. "Jihvachapalya" - that is, tongue cravings - was

the word he used. He wanted her to contribute to the Kailas Committee and

become a member by donating a thousand rupees. She signed a paper on which the

sum and her name were written, and when she proffered the amount, the old man

said, "Keep this also with you. I shall come

and take it later." With those words he put the signed sheet on the table, got

into the car and drove away. The teen-age driver did his work remarkably well,

for the car was out of sight in a moment.

Years later, when she saw Baba in a house to which she had gone, He appeared to

her at one moment like the young driver of that mysterious car, and in the next

moment like the hoary occupant who had taken so much pains to make her

contribute to the Kailash Committee, and then had asked her to hold the cash in

her own keeping! Sai Baba surprised her when they met by telling her, "Come on,

give the one thousand rupees you promised that day!" and then described in her

presence the entire story, correct to the minutest detail.

Sai Baba once went to Mysore City during the Deepavali, the Festival of Lights,

and stayed with a devotee of the Maharaja. While there, He granted the devotees

who were at Puttaparthy the Vision of a serpent, a phenomenon not unknown to the

devotees of Sai Baba of Shirdi and to the citizens of Coimbatore and other

places. The

interesting fact about this Vision is that at the same time, or rather, for the

entire period that it lasted, Baba was "outside" His physical frame, which was

at Mysore. The Prayer Sessions at the old temple were performed during the

absence of Sai Baba on the steps leading up to the front door, where a

decorated photograph was kept with a pair of lamps, which burned both day and

night. Deepavali Night passed, and in the early dawn a number of devotees at

Puttaparthy saw the lights of a car coming up the curve of the hill beyond

Karnatanagapalli. That was later found to be just the impression of a few. When

the people who had seen the car lights and had run forward to the river bank

returned to the temple, they were surprised to hear that a cobra

was coiled around the portrait of Sai Baba in the temporary shrine. It was seen

by hundreds of villagers and others until three o' clock that afternoon. They

offered worship to it, sang the usual Prayer Songs at noon, and broke coconuts

to propitiate it. But it did not stir from its place. Emboldened by this, some

women threw saffron powder on it, pronouncing the Name of the Lord and calling

upon Sathya Sai Baba. They placed milk in bowls before it; it only swayed its

raised hood from side to side. One reverent female of the village, who got the

two halves of the coconut given back to her after the ceremonial offering,

protested loudly, saying that the nut she handed to it was definitely larger in

size and that she would be a loser if she quietly accepted

the halves of a smaller specimen. At this the cobra, as if it were keenly

watching the proceedings, turned sharply in her direction and hissed loudly!

Everyone had a hearty laugh at her fright! At three o'clock that afternoon the

cobra slid down and within a yard or two became invisible, and Sai Baba at

distant Mysore brought joy to all by getting up as He returned to His Body.

After Sai Baba went to Mysore, He visited Hyderabad, and because He recognized a

number of places as those, which He had once seen, the Rani of Chincholi became

convinced that He was the incarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi Himself. Baba also

went to Kuppam and from there to Karur and to Trichinopoly. Everywhere He was

welcomed with great

enthusiasm by devotees and citizens. At Trichinopoly the procession was led by a

richly caparisoned elephant, followed by parties reciting ritualistic chants and

carrying consecrated water in silver pots as an offering of homage. Everywhere

He advised the people, "From now onwards, purify your hearts and make them fit

tabernacles for the Lord. Do not fall deeper and deeper into evil by yielding

to temptations. Take courage. Believe in the Lord who is within you, who is

your nearest kith and kin."

While the cars of Sai Baba's party were traversing the streets of Trichinopoly,

one of the vehicles accidentally ran over a little boy; he was badly injured. A

crowd quickly gathered around him. He was carried to a house nearby and lay

bleeding and hurt on the porch. The police came to investigate, but meanwhile

Sai Baba had come and touched the boy. They had nothing to report, for the boy

who had been hurt was now running about telling everyone how one touch from Sai

Baba had made him whole. Long after Baba left, that boy was fondled and fed by

an admiring crowd, which was amazed, at his miraculous experience.

There was another boy who was similarly honored by an admiring crowd and who

perhaps even today is thankful for the intervention of the Lord. At a public

meeting near Trichinopoly, held to honor Sai Baba, someone doubted His

Divinity. Sensing this from the platform, Sai Baba immediately called up a deaf

and dumb lad who was standing near the aforesaid person; making him stand in

front of the microphone, He asked him, "What is your name?" Immediately the boy

spoke into the microphone for all the thousands to hear, "Venkatanarayanan!" The

doubter kept silent and hung his head in shame. There was another consequence.

Baba often speaks of this incident with laughter. When morning dawned, the

entire length of the street where He was residing was packed with deaf and

dumb! It had become a silent lane of

pain! No one knew until then that Trichinopoly had such a large number of people

with that unfortunate malady. Sai Baba moved out of the bungalow to avoid the

clamor of the relatives seeking more miraculous healings.

The devotees at Karur and Trichinopoly vied with each other in decorating their

houses and streets and in the magnificence of reception arrangements. But Sai

Baba was unaffected by all the pageantry. He moved freely among the people,

both rich and poor, sometimes more among the poor than among His hosts. He

cared more for the prayerful heart and the heart filled with remorse than those

puffed with pride and contaminated by greed. The mantapams, the many pillared

open halls built for festive occasions, which were erected for seating Him and

offering worship to Him, were gems of artistry, bedecked with flowers of

variegated hues. Sai Baba told the people countless times that He attached

value only to the unsullied blossom of a pure heart and the fruit offerings of

good

deeds.

Once at Mysore, seated on one such floral bedecked mantapam, Sai Baba was

receiving the adoration and homage of a family of devotees when a cobra

appeared from nowhere and crept onto the heap of flowers at His Feet. Shortly

another cobra accompanied it. Baba assured the family that there was nothing to

be afraid of, and after a while, the cobras disappeared into the "nowhere" from

whence they had mysteriously emerged.

Sai Baba is not content merely to instill faith in His devotees through these

miracles. He is a hard taskmaster who is satisfied with nothing less than

absolute integrity and a sincere striving for spiritual discipline. This

explains why, of the very large number of men and women who are drawn to Him by

the stories of His miracles and who even get their first impressions of His

Divinity confirmed by many subsequent miracles, some fall away from Him, unable

to cope with the demands He makes in character reform, renunciation, spiritual

practice, repeating the Name of God in prayer, and in meditation on the Form.

Baba reiterated even in those early days that He wards off physical calamities,

cures bodily ills, heals, consoles, and gives solace, only as a first step

towards spiritual practice, which must

automatically follow the experience of His Presence. Many monks and ascetics

have fallen into the mire because of their anxiety to keep themselves in the

good books of rich and influential patrons. But Baba, who has come to illumine

the paths of holy men and great seers, has never minced words when He has had

to correct the faults of those around Him. His Grace is so overpowering that it

disregards the obstacles of age, scholarship, or length of association. He

blesses everyone with His correctness and evaluation. Complete resignation to

His Divine Will alone can make each one full and free.

The Dasara Festival soon became an event par excellence at Puttaparthy. Even if

Baba had to journey to Madras or Trichinopoly or Masulipatam for other

festivals, He was invariably at Puttaparthy for Dasara. Sakamma and other

devotees were privileged for many years to make arrangements for this "Festival

of the Mother." Baba is the Supreme Mother, manifesting Herself as the Goddess

of Wisdom, Saraswathi, the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi, Goddess of Spring,

Sharada, Goddess of Growing Food, Annapoorna, and even Goddess of Powerful

Inner Purification, Kali. Baba has said that Sanathana Dharma, the Eternal

Wisdom, is the Divine Mother of Humanity. As the Divine Charioteer, He brings

His Message of Truth, Divine Law of Righteousness, Peace, and Love, the four

cardinal principles of spiritual culture. His devotees feel that He is their

Mother more than all others, and so there is a special appropriateness in

Dasara being the outstanding festival at Puttaparthy. Many among His devotees

have been blessed with Visions of Him as the Mother. In fact, one of them

insists on addressing Him as Siva, the Mother - a name reminiscent of the

sublime conception of God as Father-Mother, masculine-feminine, and

Siva-Shakti.

He enjoys the company of children, and even the most recalcitrant is brought

round by Him through an inexhaustible repertoire of tricks and games and

ventriloquial achievements. He makes shadow figures and gives them presents of

sweets, materialized by a Wave of the Hand. He twists and turns His Fingers,

and when the shadow falls on the wall opposite, the children are astonished to

find snakes, eagles, horses, stags, dogs, peacocks, crows, cats, and buffaloes

jumping about in great glee. He offers the child a ball of sand; it reluctantly

extends its tiny hand to receive the Laddu - the delicacy children relish most.

The sand actually becomes sweet fragrant Laddu the moment it reaches the palm

of the child. He says that children are indeed lucky, since they have the good

fortune of Baba's

Darshan (experiencing His Presence) much earlier than the adults, and they are

privileged to have Baba as their Teacher, Protector, Guide and Guardian for

many decades to come. When Sai Baba agrees to name the children of His

devotees, the names He gives them are redolent with His Grace and His Mercy. He

also initiates the little ones in the alphabet. He holds their tiny fingers in

His Hand and scribbles the letters along with them in honey or milk or rice.

Akshara means also "the imperishable," and Baba, when He inaugurates the

Aksharabhyasa, the study of the alphabet, also initiates the children into the

Imperishable. Each one must pronounce Mahamantra (the great Formula of Power);

Om Namo Narayana - "Honor to the God in Man!"; Om Namasivaja - "Honor to the

God Siva"; or Om Srinivasaya - "Honor to the abode of Sri, the Goddess of

Fortune," or any mantra that is suited to the traditions of the child's family,

thus giving the child the key to ultimate spiritual victory. There is a song

sung in Tamil about Sai Baba, which refers to Him as the Sayimata, the Mother

who suckles Her children on the milk of Wisdom. The

study of the alphabet is the occasion on which the fortunate child gets the

chance of receiving Divine Wisdom. During Dasara Baba shines forth as the

patron of Music and Letters and as the Giver of Food and Sustenance, so that

Dasara has become a memorable festival since the very beginning of His

manifestation. The devotees delight in discourses, musical performances,

dramas, and sumptuous feasts. Every evening there are processions along the

narrow roads of the village with Baba being carried on a flower-bedecked

vehicle. Decorated differently on each day, the palanquin is carried on the

shoulders by eager relays of devotees. During the progress of the procession,

the author has seen Baba plucking from the garlands around Him odd flowers and,

with a palm full of petals, scattering them among the crowd. They all fall with

a jingle, for each petal has become a small medallion with Baba's portrait on

one side and Sai Baba of Shirdi's portrait on the other! Or it has

often happened that the petals were turned into peppermints, which rained among

the crowds around the palanquin! While on the palanquin, Sai Baba's Forehead

has often been covered with Vibhutti, the Sacred Ash that emanates from within.

Devotees have seen on Sai Baba this as well as Kumkum dots that emerged.

Soon the temple was found to be too small for the gathering of devotees. Many

worshippers of Sai Baba of Shirdi, on hearing that He had incarnated in human

form in the village of Puttaparthy, hurried there. Many who went on pilgrimage

to Shirdi as usual were "directed" when they arrived there to go to

Puttaparthy. Others came to know the Baba of

Shirdi through Sathya Sai Baba Himself. The afflicted, the inquiring, the

seekers of comfortable life, and the wise are four types who approach the Lord

with their varied motives, but the Lord welcomes all and satisfies all. The

afflicted He relieves. His Ash acts as a charm to drive away evil spirits from

hundreds of unfortunates. The critical, the inquisitive, the doubting, the

skeptical, the agnostic. He satisfies and attracts and attaches to Himself. The

persons eager to get a comfortable life, He blesses, provided they are educated

enough to use the peace of mind they get for cultivating the Spirit and

contemplating on the ultimate goal of life itself. The wise one, purified and

clarified by steadfast discipline, is dearest to Him, for He reveals Himself in

all His Glory. People belonging to all these groups come to Puttaparthy, the

first and the third groups naturally in much larger numbers. He revolutionizes

the lives of all who come to

Him.

The transformation of a gang of thieves into God-fearing agriculturists is worth

recording. One night when Sai Baba was on the hill on the other bank of the

Chitravathi, He came upon a group of thieves engaged in the rather ticklish

task of dividing their spoils. But when they saw Him and accepted from His Hand

the Divine Ash, they knew they were face to face with the Eternal Witness. Sai

Baba spoke to the seventeen black hearts, and by His Alchemy He brought them

over to the village of

green; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Puttaparthy. They all took up various honest ways of living.

Within a few years in order to accommodate the huge gatherings, a long shed with

a roof was erected along the entire front of the temple. But even that addition

proved too small. A separate block with one living room and bathroom was put up

for Baba behind the temple. It was in this room that Sai Baba operated on Dr.

Padmanabhan's brother for hernia! It was in that shed behind the screen in

front of the Shrine that Baba operated on Appish of Puttaparthy for

appendicitis. It was while sleeping in the open space between the temple and

the block behind, that Baba one night announced that one of His devotees had

lost a Talisman, which He had given him, for it, had come back into His

possession! The author remembers Baba saying that He would have to go to Madras

immediately to tie it to the wrist of the patient. But all the people around Him

prayed that He should not undertake the "journey", at that hour, going out of

His Body and coming back into it. He agreed to send it with someone proceeding

to Madras. So He placed the Talisman in the custody of Sri Seshagiri Rao, an

old devotee, with the warning, "Keep it tight; tie it in a towel and wind it

around your waist." Seshagiri Rao obeyed the command implicitly and slept with

the Talisman wound around his middle. About two hours later, all of us were

awakened

by the loud laughter of Sai Baba who was sitting up in the bed. We gathered

round him and wanted to join in the joke. Seshagiri Rao was unaware of what was

going on. Baba woke him up and asked for the Talisman. He unwound the towel,

unrolled it, and lo, the Talisman had disappeared! Sai Baba chided him in fun

and said that He had "gone" and tied it around the wrist of the patient who had

to be continuously guarded by it! Yes, He had gone to Madras and returned.

Devotees will never forget the Old Temple, for Sai Baba was always moving right

in the midst of the people there. He composed many songs and hymns portraying

the Love of God, which He taught, while there. He trained the people with great

love and attention. Since the number of devotees who were present was not large,

Baba used to go out more

frequently to the sands on the river bed, or to the hills nearby, or to the

gardens across the river. While some were engaged in cooking the feast, He

showed them miracles, or signs of His Divinity.

In teaching and admonishing the devotees in relation to their troubles, He told

them that they must concentrate on the recitation of God's Name, that it was

the best means of earning Peace. Once He suddenly turned to a devotee with the

question, "don’t you do recitation?' She started to say something in reply, but

Baba did not wait to hear it. "Oh, you have lost your Japa Mala (rosary),

haven't you?" He asked. Then, thrusting His Hand into the sand, He took out a

rosary and said, "Here, come and take this." The lady rose reverently and came

forward with folded hands to receive. Sai Baba signed her to halt, and told her

with a smile illuminating His Face, "Wait! First, tell me whose rosary this is."

She looked at it and gasped. "Mine, Baba! Or rather, my mother's". She was so

happy to get back

her rosary, the one given her by her dying mother. Baba told us all about her

mother's piety, her brother's rigorous Thapas, austerity, and her own Sadhana,

spiritual practice. He asked her when she had lost the precious rosary. We were

all dumb-founded when she declared she had misplaced it four years previously at

Bangalore!

The gathering of devotees increased in number from month to month. The Old

Temple was found inadequate, and it was not possible to meet every day on the

sands. The devotees felt that Sai Baba's room was too cramped and low, and He

was being forced to live in the very midst of noise, dust, and confusion. On

festival occasions the area around the

temple was too small to accommodate the people who came. A number of devotees

prayed to Baba to agree to the construction of the present spacious building,

which Baba named "Prashanthi Nilayam" or "Abode of Tranquility".

CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brother M. Palaniswamy

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