SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM [20]

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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 – [20]

SHRI SAI SATCHARITA

The Life of the Divine Avatar Sai Baba of Shirdi

By Hemadpant

CHAPTER XX

Das Ganu's Problem Solved by Kaka's Maidservant

In this Chapter, Hemadpant describes, how Das Ganu's problem was solved by

Kakasaheb Dixit's Maid-servant.

PRELIMINARY

Sai (Lord) was originally formless. He assumed a form for the sake of Bhaktas.

With the help of the actress Maya, He played the part of the Actor in the big

drama of the universe. Let us remember and visualize Shri Sai. Let us go to

Shirdi, and see carefully the programs, after the noon-Aarathi. After the

Aarathi ceremony was over, Sai used to come out of the Masjid, and standing on

its edge, distribute Udi to the devotees with very kind and loving looks. The

Bhaktas also got up with equal fervor clasped His Feet, and standing and

staring at Him, enjoyed the shower of Udi. Baba passed handfuls of Udi into the

palms of the devotees and marked their foreheads with Udi with His fingers. The

love He bore for them in His heart was boundless. Then He addressed the Bhaktas

as follows: - "Oh

Bhau, go to take your lunch; you Anna, go to your lodgings; you Bapu, enjoy your

dishes". In this way He accosted each and every devotee and sent him or her

home. Even now, you can enjoy these sights if you bring into play your

imagination. You can visualize and enjoy them. Now bringing Sai before our

mental vision, let us meditate on Him, from His Feet upwards to His face, and

prostrating before Him humbly, lovingly and respectfully, revert to the story

of this Chapter.

ISHAVASYA UPANISHAD

Das Ganu once started to write a Marathi commentary on the Ishavasya Upanishad.

Let us first give a brief idea of this Upanishad, before proceeding further. It

is called a `Mantropanishad', as it is embodied in the Mantras of the Vedic

Samhita. It constitutes the last or the 40th Chapter of the Vajasaneyi Samhita

(Yajur Veda) and it is, therefore, called Vajasaneyi Samhitopanishad. Being

embodied in Vedic Samhitas, this is regarded as superior to all other

Upanishads, which occur in the Brahmanas and Aranyakas (explanatory treatises

on Martras and rituals). Not only this, other Upanishads are considered to be

commentaries on the truths mentioned briefly in the Ishavasya Upanishad. For

instance, the biggest of the Upanishads, viz., the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, is

considered by Pandit

Satwalekar to be a running commentary on the Ishavasya Upanishad.

Professor R.D. Ranade says: - "The Ishopanishad is quite a small Upanishad; and

yet it contains many hints which show an extraordinarily piercing insight.

Within the short compass of 18 verses, it gives a valuable mystical description

of the Atman, a description of the ideal sage, who stands unruffled in the minds

of temptations and sorrows; and adumbration of the doctrine of Karma-Yoga as

later formulated, and finally a reconciliation of the claims of knowledge and

works. The most valuable ideas, that lies at the root of the Upanishad, is that

of a logical synthesis between the two opposites of knowledge; and work, which

are both required according to the Upanishad to be annulled in a higher

synthesis". (Page 24 of the Constructive Survey of the Upanishad Philosophy).

In another place he

says, "The poetry of the Ishopanishad is a Commixture of moral, mystical and

metaphysical (ibid. Page 41)".

>From the brief description given above about this Upanishad, any one can see how

difficult it is to translate this Upanishad in a vernacular language, and brief

out its exact meaning. Das Ganu translated it in Marathi 'Ovi'metre,

verse-by-verse, but as he did not comprehend the gist or essence of the

Upanishad, he was not satisfied with his performance. He therefore consulted

some learned men regarding his doubts and difficulties and discussed with them

at great length. They did not solve them nor did they give him any rational and

satisfactory explanation. So Das Ganu was a little restless over this matter.

SADGURU ONLY COMPETENT AND QUALIFIED TO EXPLAIN

As we have seen, this Upanishad is the quintessence of the Vedas. It is the

science of self-realization, it is the scythe or weapon, which can rend asunder

the bondage of life and death, and make us free. Therefore, he thought, that he,

who has himself attained self-realization, could only give him the true or

correct interpretation of the Upanishad. When nobody could satisfy Das Ganu, he

resolved to consult Sai Baba about this. When he got an opportunity to go to

Shirdi, he saw Sai Baba, prostrated himself before Him, and mentioned his

difficulties about the Ishavasya Upanishad and requested Him to give the

correct solution. Sai Baba blessed him and said- "You need not be anxious,

there is no difficulty about the matter, the mind-servant of Kaka (Kakasaheb

Dixit) will solve your doubts

at Vile Parle, on your way home". The people, who went present then and heard

this, thought that Baba was joking and said, "How could an illiterate

maid-servant solve the difficulties of this nature", but Das Garn thought

otherwise. He was sure, that whatever Baba spoke, must come true, Baba's word

was the decree of the Brahma (Almighty).

KAKA'S MAID-SERVANT

On fully believing in Baba's words, he left Shirdi and came to Vile Parle (a

suburb of Bombay), and stayed with Kakasaheb Dixit. There the next day, when

Das Ganu was enjoying his morning nap (some say when he was engaged in

worship), he heard a poor girl singing a beautiful song in clear and melodious

tones. The subject matter of the song was crimson colored Sari, how nice it

was, how fine was its embroidery, how beautiful were its ends and borders etc.

He liked the song so much that he came out, and saw that it was being sung by a

young girl, the sister of

Namya, who was a servant of Kakasaheb. The girl was cleaning vessels, and had

only a torn rag on her person. On seeing her impoverished condition, and her

jovial temperament, Das Ganu felt pity for her and when Rao Bahadur M.V.

Pradhan next day gave him a pair of dhotars, he requested him to give a sari to

the poor little girl also. Rao Bahadur bought a good Chirdi (small Sari) and

presented it to her. Like a starving person getting luckily good dishes to eat,

her joy knew to bounds. Next day she wore the new Sari, and out of great joy and

merriment, whirled, danced round and played `Fugadi' with other girls and

excelled them all. The Day following, she kept the new Sari in her box at home

and came with the old and torn rags, but she looked as merry as she did the

previous day. On seeing this, Das Ganu's pity was transferred into admiration.

He thought that the girl being poor had to wear a torn rag, but now she had a

new Sari which she kept in reserve and putting on the old rag,

strutted herself, showing no trace of sorrow or dejection. Thus he realized that

all our feelings of pain and pleasure depend upon the attitude of our mind. On

thinking deeply over this incident, he realized that a man ought to enjoy

whatever God has bestowed on him in the firm conviction that He besets every

thing, from behind and before, and on all sides and that whatever is bestowed

on him by God must be for his good. In this particular case, the impoverished

condition of the poor girl, her torn rag and the new Sari, the donor, the dance

and the acceptance were all parts of the Lord and pervaded by Him. Hence, Das

Ganu got a practical demonstration of the lesson of the Upanishad - the lesson

of contentment with one's own lot in the belief that whatever happens is

ordained by God, and is ultimately good for us.

UNIQUE METHOD OF TEACHING

>From the above incident, the reader will see that Baba's method was unique and

varied. Though Baba never left Shirdi, He sent some to Machhindragad, some to

Kolhapur or Sholapur for practicing Sadhanas. To some He appeared in His usual

form, to some He appeared in waking or dreaming state, day or night and

satisfied their desires. It

is impossible to describe all the methods that Baba used in imparting

instructions to His Bhaktas. In this particular case, He sent Das Ganu to Vile

Parle, where he got his problem solved, through the maidservant. To those, who

say that it was not necessary to sent Das Ganu outside and that Baba could have

personally taught him, we say that Baba followed the right or best course, or

how else could Das Ganu would have learnt a great lesson, that the poor

maid-servant and her Sari were pervaded by the Lord.

Now we close the Chapter with another beautiful extract about this Upanishad.

THE ETHICS OF THE ISHAVASYA UPANISHAD

"One of the main features of the Ishavasya Upanishad is the ethical advice it

offers, and it is interesting to note that the ethics of the Upanishad are

definitely based upon the meta-physical position advanced in it. The very

opening words of the Upanishad tell us that God pervades every thing. As a

corollary from this metaphysical position, the ethical advice it offers is,

that a man ought to enjoy whatever God bestows on him in the firm belief, that

as He pervades everything, whatever is bestowed on him by God must be good. It

follows naturally, that the Upanishad should forbid us from coveting another

man's property. In fact, we are fittingly taught here a lesson of contentment

with one's own lot in the belief that whatever happens, it is divinely ordained

and it is hence good for us.

Another moral advice is that man must spend his lifetime always in doing action,

specially the karmas enjoined in the Sasthras, in a mood of believing

resignation to His will. Inactivity, according to this Upanishad, would be the

canker of the soul. It is only when a man spends his lifetime on doing actions

in this manner that he can hope to attain the ideal of Naishkarmya. Finally,

the text goes on to say that a man, who sees all beings in the Self and sees

the Self as existing in all beings; in fact, for whom all beings and everything

that exists have becomes the Self - how can such a man suffer infatuation? What

ground would such a man have for grief? Loathfulness, infatuation and grief

verily proceed from our not being able to see the Atman in all things. But a

man, who realizes the oneness of all things, for whom everything has become the

Self, must ipso facto, cease to be affected by the common foibles of humanity.

(Page 169-170 of The Creative Period by Messrs. Belvalkar and

Ranade).

BOW TO SHRI SAI - PEACE BE TO ALL

*****

SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM - Part II

The Life of the Divine Avatar Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

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

THE CONSTANT PRESENCE

On Sunday, the 13th day of December 1964, Baba was at Venkatagiri Town. He had

reached the place a few days earlier in connection with a heavy schedule of

discourses in the Chittoor and Nellore Districts, in Andhra Pradesh. But, Baba

is not bound by the limitations of space and time. On that very day, about 8

a.m., "Baba surprisingly appeared in front of my house", says, U. Ram Mohan

Rao, Superintendent of the Junior Technical School

FONT-SIZE: 10pt">, Manjeri (28 miles south of Calicut on the West Coast, in the

State of Kerala). As the crow flies, the distance between Manjeri and

Venkatagiri will be more than 600 miles! But, distance is only a game that Baba

plays to keep us, poor mortals, apart.

We shall listen to Ram Mohan Rao describing this visit. "I and my wife were

indoors with our daughter. The maid told us that a Sadhu had come. We went out

to see who it was and we were surprised to see Sri Sathya Sai Baba! Baba said,

Hari Om, Shanthi Shanthi Shanthi"; we prostrated ourselves at His Feet. We led

Baba into the office room, but, on the way, He saw our Pooja room where His

photo was hung, along with several holy pictures. He said He would sit in the

Pooja room itself. He told us that he had come to us that day, being very

pleased with the Bhakti of Sailaja, my daughter. He asked me to send word to

devotees, if any were available, for Bhajan and Pravachan.He sent word to

his neighbours and people collected immediately", says Ramesh Rao, his cousin.

He sang "Nandamukunda Sayinath",

"Om Bhagawan", "Jayaram Jayaram", along with the Bhaktas. After Bhajan, He

talked to me in Tamil, to my wife in Canarese and to the others in the mixed

dialect of Tamil-Malayalam. He blessed us by the gift of a Sankhamala and

placed His own photograph on it. He told me that my father had decided on a

rite to propitiate the Snake-God (Sarpasamskaram) at Bangalore on 25th

February, Thursday ('My day' He added), but he told me that he need not perform

it, since He had ahead wiped off the calamity it was intended to avert and the

sacrilege it was designed to atone.

He took some light refreshment. Then, told the persons around Him that all will

be anxiously awaiting Him at Kalahasthi. So, He took leave of us and asking us

not to follow Him, went through the gate. He disappeared in a few seconds. We

all felt happy at this unexpected Darshan and were struck by the 'disappearing

miracle', within the twinkling of an eye.

Nor was this all. There are a few more paragraphs in the letter, which I am

quoting: "24th December, Thursday, was a holiday; we felt lonely since our

Sailaja was away at Mangalore. So we went out in the afternoon to visit some

friends and returned home at 6.30 P.M. We were shocked to see the lights

burning within the house. My wife asked me whether I had forgotten to switch

off all the lights. I first examined the lock of the main door and, finding it

intact, went round the house to see whether the other doors were bolted from

within. They were o.k. Then, both of us came

to the front door, opened the lock and walked in. We found everything intact;

all the lights were on. We saw Baba sitting in our Prayer Room! We prostrated

ourselves at His feet. He asked us (in Kannada) whether we were afraid! We

replied that we were very lucky and that we felt very happy! Baba said that He

had come because we were lonely and sad. 'Let us sing Bhajans. If Sailaja were

here, she would have liked to sing', He said. He sang a few Bhajans, He took

food and later, we discussed some general topics together. Then, Baba retired

for the night.

Early next morning, Baba had His Bath; he had coffee with us and then,

discoursed on Bhakti and the Basic Truth of Nature. All of a sudden, we saw a

rosary of Rudraksha beads in His Hand; He put it on my neck with His Blessing,

with the direction that I should wear it during my Sandhya rites. After those

rites, I was to place it on Baba's photograph. We had breakfast together. The

Pooja room was decorated specially with garlands and flowers. Bhajan began.

Meanwhile, devotees came to know that Baba had come; so they too assembled for

Bhajan. Baba discoursed on Bhakti in the

Tamil-Malayalam dialect. He granted every one the coveted interview.

At 12 noon, Baba himself waved the Sacred light of Mangalarathi and distributed

Prasadam, to every one present. The quarter kilogram of dates that I had,

sufficed for 150 persons! We had our lunch with Baba. He rested for a couple of

hours and we had 'tea' at 4.30 p.m. Then He told us that several devotees were

eagerly waiting Him at Kalahasthi.

He blessed us again, when we fell at His Feet. At 5. p.m., He went out on the

road through the gate and suddenly disappeared. What a wonderful miracle! We

could not believe our own eyes!"

Nor could I, without confirmation through independent sources! Baba had given

Darshan to persons in distress in distant places but nowhere, so far as we

knew, did He stay so long and so concretely. It was too overpoweringly

unscientific! I wrote a letter to two friends, P.K. Panikkar and P.A. Menon in

Kerala enclosing a list of 84 questions for which I wanted them to find answers

at Manjeri. They proceeded to Ram Mohana Rao's house and sent me a fuller

report, which dotted all the 'i's and crossed all the’t’s of his letter to me!

Ram Mohan Rao and his wife told them that Baba was wearing a yellow gown on the

13th of December; He walked in, barefooted and went into the shrine room

saying, "I shall go into My own place." My friends saw the picture on which the

rosary of Rudraksha beads was placed. It had a thick outgrowth of sacred ash in

a few days. Strangely enough, the face of Baba was clear but from the outer

area in the picture, there fell a continuous shower of Vibhuthi dust which was

being collected and distributed with the reverence due to the divinely created

gift of Grace!

"Rao and his wife have been devoted to Shirdi Sai Baba for many years; they have

not visited Prashanthi Nilayam, but, they had secured a picture of Sathya Sai

Baba seven years ago and placed it amidst the other pictures in their shrine.

When Baba sat in the shrine room and leaned against the wall, right under His

own picture, they saw that the picture was genuine! That was the first time

they saw Him; they had borrowed the book 'Sathyam Sivam Sundaram' from a friend

and read it. They thought that Baba has come, accidentally, to Calicut or some

nearby town and had decided

to bless them by this visit.

When Mrs. Rao was listing her sorrows to Baba, encouraged by His overflowing

love, Baba said, "Sorrow and pain are the lot of all; don't you know that both

sisters of this body are widowed?" When Sailaja asked Baba for a Bhajan Book,

Baba said, "Palghat Menon bas brought 400 Bhajan books, printed in Malayalam,

to Prashanthi Nilayam. I shall give you one". So saying, Baba held his palm

upside down, waved it twice and caught with His fingers the book that appeared!

He gave it to the girl; we saw it! It was the same book, with the blue paper

cover! Sailaja had great faith in Baba, since her eczema on the foot was cured

by Baba a year ago, in answer to her pleading before His picture.

When he was asked to bring some persons for Bhajan, Rao did not go far, for he

did not desire to miss Baba's company for long. He brought in the owner of his

house, an old gentleman, by name Thalayur Moosad and his 5-year-old daughter;

he brought the widow of Madhavan Nair, the founder of the renowned Malayalam

newspaper, 'Mathrubhoomi' and her sister. Baba asked Moosad, "What ails your

leg?" He gave him an account of his disease and prayed for some drug. Baba told

him, "The course of treatment you are now undergoing is enough." Mrs. Rao is now

sending him the Vibhuthi Baba showers from His picture; he finds it very

effective. The widow told Him of her diabetes. "I am getting bags and bags of

rice from my fields; but I cannot eat a grain" she said. Baba replied in

Malayalam, "It is the result of your

past karma". He asked Rao to bring an empty glass. When Baba held it in His

Hand, it turned pink! He gave it to her. "Take this thrice daily for 3 days;

you can then take any quantity of rice".

"One cynic was there, among the rest. Baba knew it and so He jocularly asked

Rammohan Rao to bring a pair of scissors and he asked the fellow to cut for

Himself a single hair from His Head! The man tried hard but failed, whereupon a

bigger pair was brought at His command. This time too he failed. So, he put down

his head and walked away without a word" writes U.N. Ramesh Rho, Rao's cousin,

who visited Manjeri soon after this incident. Baba sang four songs in all,

during the Bhajan, asking the gathering too to sing them after Him in chorus.

They were: 'O! Bhagawan’, 'Pahi Pahi Gajanana', 'Siva Siva Siva' and 'Omkara

Priya Sai Ram'.

"We saw the Sankhamala, the rosary of small conch shells", says the report. "It

is of the type available at Kanyakumari, each shell being no bigger than a seed

of pepper. They are white in colour, with brown dots. There are 108 of them in

the rosary, created and given by Baba. When we saw it, Vibuthi had heaped

itself over the beads. The rosary of Rudraksha beads also was examined by us.

Baba told them that, until he could string them in gold, he should place it on

the picture. Baba also created an orange-size bell-metal drinking cup with a

spout and gave it to Sailaja. He also created a piece of scarlet silk cloth

with borders of gold thread, and, presenting it to the girl, asked Rao to have

a jacket sewn for her. He gave Rao additional "Vibhuthi" and "Kumkum" created

on the spot to be given to

"Calicut" (meaning U.N. Ramesh Rao, his cousin living there). Baba left at 11

a.m. on the 13th, saying, "I have to keep to a Programme at Kalahasthi". They

did not then know that Kalahasthi was about 20 miles from Venkatagiri! They

were too aggrieved at His resolve to leave, to ask where it was. He said, "No

one need come with me". He closed the gate behind Him and disappeared!

The second visit was on a Thursday. Mrs. Rao was afraid to approach the house,

since the lights were on. Rao opened the lock and entered. He saw Baba in the

shrine, sitting leaning against the wall. Baba asked him in Tamil, "Are you

afraid, seeing me? I have come to join your Bhajan," He assured him. Rao had

brought some dried dates from the bazaar; he gave the plate into the hands of

Baba for distribution; he felt that He alone could make it suffice for all,

those who were present. Baba entered the kitchen and protested against the dish

of 'kheer' being prepared. He did not "relish that sweet dish". "This is enough

for six", He said! They had cooked only for two but, after dinner, food for

three more was available. Next morning, Rao and Mrs. Rao partook of it as a

sacramental"! Before retiring for the

night, Baba removed one picture of His from the shrine and hung it on a nail in

the bedroom. 'Let it be here', He said. From that picture too, Vibhuthi is

showering in large quantities now.

Rao peeped through a slit in the door to find out whether Baba was sleeping well

but, he saw Him sitting up, most of the time, 'lost in thought', as one in

reverie.

Next morning, Baba had his bath and breakfast. When the housewife started

preparing 'festive dishes', He noticed her enthusiasm and warned that He would

leave without eating anything at all; He insisted that only their daily menu

should be given to Him. He talked to them of Shankaracharya being caught while

young by the crocodile (Maya) in the river Poorna (Brahma) and saved by

renunciation (Sanyas). He spoke of Sai Baba and God as Subrahmanya or Murugan.

While speaking of Subrahmanya, He created a thin plate of gold, drew on it with

His nail the picture of Subrahmanya on a peacock (paravani) and rolling it

directed her to wear it round the neck, inside a golden cylinder, to be made

later. He said jocularly, "Sorry! I have no gold"!

This is perhaps the most dramatic detailed and authentic narrative of the

multilocative miracle of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Baba appears in dreams to console, to advise, to assuage, and to instruct; He

has said often that persons can see Him in dreams only when He wills! He

informed a Divisional Commissioner of the Life Insurance Corporation in his

dream that a certain document he was desperately searching for, a document

which every one declared was destroyed by the office where it had to be

preserved only for 6 months, had not actually been destroyed! He went to the

Postmaster spoke about the dream and got the document he wanted. It had not

been destroyed! In a dream he woke up a school teacher at Tumkur and told her

to take the next train to Bangalore so that she could recover her jewels from a

person who was leaving for Bombay at 8.30 A.M.!

I have heard Him say, "Poor fellow! When he left, he prayed for My Darshan at

least in dreams! I must give him the chance", or "Tell your son I will appear

in his dream next Thursday"! He has directed me to ask some persons, "Did you

not see Baba in your dream last night?" and sure enough, they had an

unforgettable dream experience in which Baba granted them Darshan and

Blessings. He has initiated persons into spiritual Sadhana through Upadesh

granted in dreams; He has taught people new Bhajan songs in dreams and asked

them at Prashanthi Nilayam to sing them; He conveys information and advice in

dreams; He operates on boils and bubos, on eye, ear or tongue. The patient

dreams that He is operating, with the knife and the dream is true. Those who

went to bed in pain wake up happy rid of the dire disease!

Listen to the experience of Dr. V.D. Kulkarni of Chadchan in Bijapur District.

He writes on 2-11-61, "A Muslim lady (60) Badooma Kasim, suffering from

pneumonia in both lungs was admitted in my clinic last month. On the fourth

day, I came home at about 8 pm, after examining all my patients and finding

them progressing well. About midnight

normal">, however, her son ran to me in hot haste and I hastened to the clinic

to find that her heart was sinking. I administered corramine orally and by

injection, and waited for an hour by her bedside but found it ineffective. The

son started weeping in despair. I came home at 1 a.m, had a bath, and entering

my shrine-room, did Puja to the 'picture' of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba,

recited the 108 Names of Baba, and prayed, "My efforts have all become vain; I

know no other course except to surrender to You, Yours is now the victory or

defeat, the fame or the failure. On You is the responsibility of making her

come out alive". I then quietly took to bed, but could get no sleep. Even

before sunrise, I hurried to the clinic. I found Badooma sitting up. "What

happened at night?" Had any one come?” I asked her. "Yes! On this bed, near my

pillow, some one with a pile of hair sat; he placed his hands under my ears and

stroked my face softly.

So, I could rise and sit up", she said. I showed her the small photograph of Sri

Sathya Sai Baba I had with me. "Yes! This very person", she said. "How lucky is

this woman! She got a lease of life through His Touch", writes Dr. Kulkarni!

There are many instances when Baba has appeared and applied the Vibuthi on the

forehead of the sleeping or unconscious patient and the dot is seen on

awakening. Or, as Swami Abhedananda (aged 75) writes, the appearance may be to

convey a message. "In the early hours of the 28th December, about 4 a.m, while

I was still in bed brooding over the melancholy and disturbed state of my

affairs, I felt a sudden blow on my head, strong but bearable. I got up and

switched the lights on. To my surprise, I observed a shining form of Bhagawan

Ramana Maharshi, which changed into Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - appearing

separately for some time and then merging together into a dazzling column of

light, which lasted, but a few seconds. I felt I had the vision of both my

benevolent Gurus! While in this happy state of

mind, I heard a voice (which was then strange to me but which I later verified

as the authentic voice of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba), which spoke to me in

Telugu: "Do not get agitated; do not meditate! Merely watch the mind; that will

make it disappear. Watch! And know that He who watches is pure awareness.

Abstract and absolute Awareness is Self, Sath-Chit-Anand. That Thou Art. This

is the Peace that knows no second condition. This is what you are ardently

seeking. Be firm. Bliss is Thyself; you know it through intuition. The blow I

gave you was to reveal this secret: Watch!" I started following the

instructions, from that moment onwards. Bhagawan is a 'living presence'; He

says often in Telugu: I am with you, Kantane, Ventane, Jantane and Intane

(before your eyes, behind your back, by your side, in your home). Baba wrote to

Charles Penn, "Know that I am always with you, prompting you and guiding you. I

know also that you are aware of this. Live always in the constant presence."

Charles Penn receives lessons from Baba during Dhyana. "My teacher Sai Baba said

to me, 'Every time the Hand is lifted, lift it for Him'. I wrote to Baba and

thanked Him for the lesson. In reply, He explained the meaning of what He had

told me. He wrote, "If you lift the hand to help, to serve, to console, to

encourage another man, you are lifting it for God. Because in every man, there

is God, use all your talents for serving others; that is the best way of

serving yourself."

Charles Penn of Los Angeles is a Captain in the Civil Air Patrol, attached to

the U.S. Air Force. This is a voluntary organization formed for the express

purpose of rescuing pilots who have had 'forced landings'. During the air

search for lost flyers, Penn saw Baba sitting beside him, and knew that he was

directed by Baba. "Penn! You need not look out! I shall look for you" were the

words he heard, words, which convinced him that he, is but an instrument in His

Hands. "This gave me a feeling of fearlessness in the hailstorm across the

mountain peaks",

he says. "Petrol splashed across the wind screen but I saw Him beside me and so,

calm and collected I brought my plane down and, after hurried repair, went

again."

Hasn't Baba always told us that distance is no bar in His way? If any one could

have faith and love, He is always with them to take care of them. "Here, 10.000

miles away", writes Hilda Charlton from New York, a person who has never met

Baba in the physical form is healed and is feeling Baba's Presence always with

her! Baba has no stranger; He is in every one. Mary Simpson was unsuccessfully

operated twice for blood clots in the lungs and for congested, enlarged

breathing tubes. The Doctor told her daughter when she was taken home, "I am

sorry your mother is leaving the hospital worse than when she entered." But she

had the luck to know of Baba and to get a picture of Baba, as well as some

Vibhuthi. When she prayed, Baba appeared before her and filled her with a

vibrant thrill of well being. Within a

few days, the Doctor said, "I cannot believe this; this improvement is a miracle."

Whenever Baba will, or our wills contact His Will, the laws of nature are

transcended; the unpredictable alone can then be predicted. A three year old

boy was thrown to a distance of 20 feet by a Staff car, in Kharagpur (West

Bengal), there was bleeding all over the body. He was conveyed to the K.G.

Hospital. When he regained consciousness, he

told the Doctor, "Do not fear, Doctor! Sai Baba lifted me up. He held me by the

hand!" There was no fracture, no wound. He was discharged on the third day.

An officer of the Hindustan Aeronautics at Bangalore was admitted into Hospital

with severe Thrombo phebitis with pulmonary embolism and probable pulmonary

tuberculosis. His condition became so serious, that the oxygen tubes were taken

away. The kith and kin were waiting outside the window, standing in the

corridor. He saw Baba standing by the side of the bed; He

heard Baba say, "Do not be afraid; you will be cured and you will be a new man".

>From that moment, improvement started. The doctors of the Victoria Hospital

wondered! Later, when he was called in by Baba at Prashanthi Nilayam, Baba

said, "So, you have come re-born"!

The rustling of Baba's silken gown, the touch of His Smooth Soft hair, the faint

foot-fall of His light lovely feet, the silver voice, the flash of lightning

from those eyes, the sacred fragrance of His presence - these have served to

indicate to many that Baba bas come to heal and hearten.

No word of His is spoken without significance. Baba told Mrs. Som Dutt Khera of

Calcutta when she implored Him at Madras to visit her home, Achcha Achcha

Achcha, thrice. She saw His form distinctly at her place on three occasions and

felt thrilled that the Promise had been fulfilled. When Sri Raghavan, Inspector

of Health, Malavalli came to

Baba and prayed for the cure of his wife, ill with chronic osteomalacia, and

fractures of the pelvic bones, Baba said, "Do not despair; putting her in

plaster for years is beyond you; I shall cure her, tak tak tak, like that" and

he made that noise with His two fingers to make His point clear. Four months

later, one night, in the late hours, Baba appeared before her, and asked her to

rise. She fell at His Feet; He stroked her back with many a word of consolation;

she heard something snapping within her, 'tak tak tak'! She could stand and

walk; she was herself again!

J.P. Maroo of Bombay writes, "At about 5.30 am, on the Guru Poornima Day (Day

dedicated to the worship of the Spiritual preceptor), Sri Bhagawan appeared at

the residence of Mr. Iyengar (at Sion) and gave Darshan for about 3 minutes to

Mr. Iyengar's mother. She was overfilled with joy. She prayed to Bhagawan to

remain a little longer, so that she could awaken her children. But Bhagawan did

not agree. He moved about the house and placed on a glass plate in the shrine

room a small quantity of saffron rice created on the spot. Then He

disappeared."

Sometimes, Baba indicates His Presence by some sign. At Chaganlal's Santi Kutir,

He indicated His Presence during Bhajan by pushing the Footstool under the

Special Chair, placed for His use though He was away at Rajahmundry. Those

engaged in Bhajan saw the stool sliding in, as if He had pushed it in, as He

does when He rises from the Chair and gives Darshan standing as a sign that

Bhajan shall close! At Sirsi, the cloth over the chair developed two clear

pictures of

10pt">Om when He decided (at Prashanthi Nilayam) to convey a Message to the

thousands gathered there. At Shimoga, a small garland of big jasmine flowers,

which was offered to Him at Mysore 200 miles away, fell in full view of the

gathering, to indicate His Presence! At Jamnagar, He indicated His presence by

the sudden appearance of

FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Om on His portrait, before which the gathering sat for Bhajan.

"When I remarked that He did not come to my house as promised, He said with a

smile, 'I did! Did you not see the indication?"; I was overjoyed, for the 3

foot prints, all of the right foot, which I had seen at home on the day He had

promised to come, were thus acknowledged by Him as His!" writes Sri B.S. Kesava

Vittal of Bangalore. To M.S. Dixit He said, "I shall come to your home in

January". Dixit showed signal signs of doubt whether He deserved that signal

gift of Grace. "January? January of which year?" he blurted. "Next month middle

of January without fail" was the reply. Baba placed His hand in Dixit's hand and

repeated the assurance.

It was the 17th day of January. When Mrs. Dixit was eating her lunch, she heard

Baba's voice calling Dixit, Dixit, twice. She ran up to the door but found no

one outside it. She came back and resumed her food. Then, she saw a glimpse of

Baba's Face peeping into the room. She rose and went into the next room. But

there was no one there. She saw seven foot prints, leading from the outer door

to the shrine, left-right left-right in that order and both feet by the side of

the shrine! They were all marked out by Vibhuthi ash, the out-line only. In a

few days, the Vibhuthi of one foot print grew and rose up to two inches in

height! Thousands saw it for months on end and knew that Baba's Will had caused

it. Thus does Baba fulfill His Promise to be with us. He is the most loving

guide, the dearest companion,

the closet kinsman, the fondest parent and the wisest Master.

CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brother M. Palaniswamy

/