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Om Sri Sai Ram

Ganesha Mantra: AUM Gung Ganapathaye Namah

Ganesh Gayatri

Tat purushaaya vidmahe

Vakratundaaya dheemahi

Tanno dhanti prachodayaat

 

Mushikavaahana Modaka Hastha,

Chaamara Karna Vilambitha Sutra,

Vaamana Rupa Maheshwara Putra,

Vighna Vinaayaka Paada Namasthe

 

MEANING: "O Lord Vinayaka! The remover of all obstacles, the son of Lord Shiva,

with a form which is very short, with mouse as Thy vehicle, with sweet pudding

in hand, with wide ears and long hanging trunk, I prostrate at Thy lotus-like

Feet!"

 

SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM

The Life Stories of the Two Avatars of the Age – [48]

SHRI SAI SATCHARITA

The Life of the Divine Avatar Sai Baba of Shirdi

By Hemadpant

Sainatha Sainatha Sainatha Sadgurum

Yogiraja Yugapurusha Bhaktakoti Vanditham

Kripanidhim Tapodhanim Sainatha Pahimaam

Divyateja Bhavyamoorthi Punyacharita Poojitam

CHAPTER XLVIII

Warding off Devotee's Calamities - Stories of (1) Shevade and (2) Sapatneker

At the commencement of this Chapter, some one asked Hemadpant whether Sai Baba

was a Guru or Sadguru. In order to answer the question Hemadpant describes the

signs or marks of a Sadguru as follows: -

SIGNS OF SADGURU

He who teaches us Veda and Vedanta or the six Sasthras (systems), he who

controls the breath, or brands his body with Mudras (metallic marks of Vishnu's

weapons) or gives pleasing discourses regarding Brahma, he who gives mantras

(sacred syllables) to the disciples and orders them to chant the same a certain

number of times, but does not assure them any result in a definite time, he who

by his spacious wordy knowledge explains beautifully the Ultimate Principle,

but has himself got no experience or self-realization, is not a Sadguru. But

he, who by his discourse creates in us, distaste for the enjoyments of this

world and the next, and gives us a taste of self-realization, who is

well-versed in both the theoretical and practical knowledge (self-realization)

deserves to be called a

Sadguru. How can he, who is himself devoid of self-realization, give it to the

disciples? A Sad-guru {Sadguru} does not, even in his dream, expect any service

or profit from his disciples. On the contrary he wishes to serve them. He does

not think that he is great and the disciple small. Not only he loves him as his

son but regards him a equal to himself or as Brahma. The main characteristic of

a Sadguru is, that he is the abode of peace. He is never restless nor ruffled.

He has no pride of his learning. The poor and the rich, the small and the

great, are the same to him.

Hemadpant thinks that on account of the store or accumulation of merits in his

past births, he had the good fortune of meeting and being blessed by such a

Sadguru as Sai Baba. Even in full youth, He hoarded nothing (expect perhaps

chillum). He had no family, no friend, no home, nor any support. Since He was

eighteen, His control of mind was perfect and extra-ordinary. He lived then

fearless in a secluded place and always abided in His Self. On seeing the pure

attachment of His devotees, He always acted in their interests, and hence, He

was in a way dependent on them. What experiences He gave to His devotees, while

he was living in flesh, are even today, after His Maha Samadhi, felt now by

those who attach themselves to Him. What the devotees have to do is this-They

have to trim their

heart-lamp, of faith and devotion, and burn in it wicks of love, and when this

is done, the flame of knowledge (self-realization) will be lit up and shine

brighter. Mere knowledge, without love, is dry; nobody wants such knowledge.

Without love there is no contentment; so love? How can we praise love?

Everything is insignificant before it. Without love our reading, hearing and

the study are of no avail. In the wake of love, follow devotion, dispassion,

peace and liberation with all their treasures. We do not get love for anything,

unless we feel earnestly about it. So where there is real yearning and feeling

God manifests Himself. It includes love and it is the means of liberation.

Now let us revert to the main story of this Chapter, Let a man go to a true

Saint with a pure mind, even otherwise (fraudulently) and hold his feet;

ultimately he is sure to be saved. This is illustrated by the following

stories.

MR. SHEVADE

Mr. Sapatneker of Akkalkot (Sholapur District) was studying for law. A

co-student Mr. Shevade met him. Other fellow students also gathered together

and compared notes of their study. It was found, by the question and answers

amongst themselves, that Mr. Shevade was the least prepared of all for the

examinations, and therefore, all the students derided him. But he said that

though he was not prepared, he was sure to pass the examination, as his Sai

Baba was there to get him through it, successfully. Mr. Satnekar was surprised

at this remark. He took Mr. Shevade aside and asked him, who this Sai Baba was

whom He extolled so high. He replied- There lives in a Masjid in Shirdi

(Ahmednagar District) A Fakir. He is a great Satpurush. There may be other

Saints, but this is unique. Unless there

is a great store of merits on one's account, one can't see Him. I fully believe

in Him, and what He says will be never untrue. He has assured me that I will

pass definitely next year and I am confident that I will get through the final

examination also with His grace. Mr. Sapatnekar laughed at his friend's

confidence and jeered at him and Baba.

SAPATNEKARS

Mr. Sapatnekar passed his examination settled at Akkalkot and practiced as a

pleader there. Ten years after this, i.e., in 1913 he lost his only son on

account of a throat disease. This broke his heart. He sought relief by making a

pilgrimage to Pandharpur, Gangapur and other holy places. He got no peace of

mind. Then he read Vedanta, which also did not help him. In the meanwhile, he

remembered Mr. Shevade's remarks and his faith in Baba, and he though that he

too should go to Shirdi and see Baba. He went to Shirdi with his younger

brother Panditrao and was much pleased to see Baba from a distance. When he

went near and prostrated himself and placed a coconut before Baba with pure

feeling (devotion), the latter at once cried out "Get away." Sapatnekar hung

down his head moved back and sat

aside. He wanted to consult somebody, who would advise him how to proceed.

Somebody mentioned Bala Shimpi's name. Sapatnekar saw him and sought his help.

They bought Baba's photos and came with them to the Masjid. Bala Shimpi too, a

photo in his hand, gave it to Baba and asked him whose photo it was. Baba said

that this photo was the 'Yara' (Lover) of him, pointing to Sapatnekar. Saying

this Baba laughed and all other joined. Bala asked Baba the significance of the

laugh and beckoned Sapatnekar to come forward and take Darshan. When Sapatnekar

began to prostrate himself, Baba again cried "Get out". Sapatnekar did not know

what to do. Then they both joined their hands and sat before Baba, praying. Baba

finally ordered Sapatnekar, to clear out immediately. Both were sad and

dejected. As Baba's order had to be obeyed, Sapatnekar left Shirdi with a heavy

heart praying that he should be allowed to take Darshan, next time.

MRS. SAPATNEKAR

One year lapsed. Still his mind was not a peace. He went to Gangapur, where he

felt more restless. Then he went to Madhegaon for rest; and finally decided to

go to Kashi. Two days before starting, his wife got a vision. In her dream she

was going with a pitcher to Lakadsha's well. There a fakir with a piece of

cloth round his head, who was sitting at the foot of the Neem tree, came close

to her and said -My dear lassie, why get exhausted for nothing? I get your

pitcher filled with pure water. She was afraid of the fakir and hastened back

with the empty pitcher. The fakir followed her. At this, she was awakened and

opened her eyes. She told this vision to her husband. They thought, that this

was an auspicious sign; and they both left for Shirdi. When they reached the

Masjid, Baba was

absent. He had gone to Lendi. They waited, till His return. When he returned,

she was surprised to see that the fakir she saw in her vision resembled exactly

Baba. She reverentially prostrated herself before Baba and sat looking at him.

On seeing her humility Baba was much pleased and began to tell a story in his

peculiar characteristic fashion to a third party. He said- My arms, abdomen and

waist are paining for a long time. I took many medicines, the pains did not

abate. I got sick of the medicines as they gave Me no relief, but I am

surprised to see now that all the pains have disappeared at once.' Though no

name was mentioned it was the story of Mrs. Sapatnekar herself. Her pains, as

described by Baba, left her soon, and she was happy.

Then Mr. Sapatnekar went ahead to take Darshan. He was again welcomed with the

former "Get out". This time, he was more penitent and persevering. He said that

Baba's displeasure was due to his past deeds and resolved to make amends for the

same. He determined to see Baba alone and ask his pardon for his past actions.

This he did. He placed his head on Baba's Feet, and Baba placed His hand on it,

and Sapatnekar sat stroking Baba's Leg. Then a shepherdess came and sat

massaging Baba's waist. Baba in His characteristic way began to tell the story

of a bania. He related the various vicissitudes of all his life, including the

death of his only son. Sapatnekar was surprised to see that the story, which

Baba related, was his own, and he wondered how Baba knew every detail of it. He

came to know,

that He was Omniscient; and knew the hearts of all. When this thought crossed

his mind, Baba still addressing the shepherdess and pointing to Sapatnekar

said-This fellow blames Me and charges Me with the killing of the son. Do I

kill people's children? Why does this fellow come to the Masjid and cry? Now I

will do this, I will again bring, that very child back in his wife's womb. With

these words, He placed His blessing hand on is head and comforted him

saying-These feet are old and holy, you are care-free now; place entire faith

in Me and you will soon get your object. Sapatnekar was much moved with

emotion, he bathed Baba's Feet with his tears; and then returned to his

residence.

Then he made preparations for worship and naiveidya and came with his wife to

the Masjid. He offered all this to Baba daily and accepted prasad from Him.

There was a crowd in the Masjid and Sapatnekar went there, and saluted Babu

again and again. On seeing heads clashing against heads Baba said to

Sapatnekar- "Oh, why do you prostrate yourself now and then? The one Namaskar

offered with love and humility is enough". Then Sapatnekar witnessed that night

the Chavadi procession described before. In that procession Baba looked like a

veritable Panduranga (Vithal).

At the parting next day, Sapatnekar thought that he should first pay one rupee

as Dakshina and if Baba asked again, instead of saying no, he should pay one

more, reserving with him sufficient amount as expenses for the journey. When he

went to the Masjid and offered one rupee, Baba asked for another as per his

intention and when it was paid, Baba blessed him saying- Take the coconut, put

it in your wife's oti (upper fold of her sari), and go away at ease without the

least anxiety. He did so, and within a year, a son was born to him and with a

infant of 8 months the party came to Shirdi, placed it at Baba's Feet and

prayed thus- "Oh, Sainath, we do not know how to redeem Your obligations,

therefore, we prostrate ourselves before You, bless us poor helpless fellows,

henceforth, let Your

holy Feet be our sole refuge. Many thoughts and ideas trouble us in waking and

dream states, so turn away our minds from them to Your Bhajan and bless us".

The son was named Muralidhar. Two other (Bhaskar and Dinkar) were born

afterwards. The Sapatnekar pair thus realized that Baba's words were never

untrue and unfulfilled, but turned out literally true.

MIRACLES OF SAI BABA

The villagers of Shirdi and afar soon found out that this was no ordinary fakir

but an avatar (incarnation) of a very high order. He demonstrated through his

miracles and utterances, the purpose and intention for which he had come. He

would often say, "My Leela is inscrutable". To each one he met, he imparted

knowledge according to the capacity of the recipient to absorb it. Baba's

Leela's (miracles) were plenty and varied, and we recount just a few which

occurred during and after his lifetime.

LIGHTING LAMPS WITH WATER

Long before Sai Baba's fame spread, he was fond of burning lights in his Masjid

and other Temples. But for the oil needed in those little earthenware lights

that he lit, he depended on the generosity of the grocers of Shirdi. He had

made it a rule to light earthenware lamps in the Masjid every evening and he

would call on the grocers for small donations. But there came a time when the

grocers got tired of giving oil free to Sai Baba and one day they bluntly

refused to oblige him, saying they had no fresh stocks. Without a word of

protest Sai Baba returned to the Masjid. Into

those earthenware lamps he poured water and lighted the wicks. The lamps

continued to burn deep into the midnight. The matter came to the notice of the

grocers who now came to Sai Baba with profuse apologies. Wouldn't Sai Baba

kindly pardon them? Sai Baba pardoned them, but he warned them never to lie

again. "You could have refused to give me the oil, but did you have to say that

you didn't have fresh stocks?" he admonished them. But he had made his point.

PREMONITION OF BURNING FIELDS

Once, harvesting in Shirdi had been completed and the food grains of the entire

village had been stored in a yard. The summer was on. The heat was intense as

only those who have lived in Shirdi know. One afternoon Sai Baba summoned

Kondaji Sutar and said to him: "Go, your field is on fire" Frightened, Kondaji

ran to his field and. frantically looked around for any sign of fire. There

wasn't any. He returned to the Masjid and informed Sai Baba that he had looked

everywhere but had found no trace of fire and why did Baba have to frighten

him? Unfazed, Baba said: "You better turn back and look again." Baba was right

after all. Kondaji noticed that a sheaf of corn was indeed on fire and smoke

was billowing from it. A strong wind was fanning the fire and word had gone

round to the villagers who now came

running to the scene. "Sai Baba," the people shouted "help us; help us put the

fire out!" Thereupon, Sai Baba walked casually towards the yard, sprinkled some

water on a stack of sheaves and said: “There now! The fire will die down!" And

so it happened.

STOPPING THE RAIN

There is the story of one Rao Bahadur Moreshwar Fradhan who had come to Shirdi

to take Sai Baba's Darshan along with his wife. As the couple were about to

leave, it began to rain heavily. Thunder and lightning rent the air. As the

Pradhan couple looked round in dismay, Sai Baba prayed. "Oh Allah!" he intoned,

"let the rains cease. My children are going home. Let them go peacefully!" The

storm thereupon ceased, the downpour reduced to slight drizzle and the Pradhans

were able to reach their destination safely.

RAISING THE WATER LEVEL IN WELL

When Sai Baba first came to Shirdi it had of no basic facilities. There was a

well put only in name. It had no natural spring water and if ever there had

been one, it must long ago have dried up. Water had to be fetched from a

distance. When, therefore, Sai Baba gave his permission to the villagers to

celebrate the Ram Navami Fair, (Baba's Birthday) the big problem facing the

organizers was one of water supply. So What should they do but go to Sai Baba

with their problem? "'Oh yes," said Sai Baba, 'so you want plenty of water, do

you? Here, take this and drop it in the well and wait and see.'This," turned

up to be a platter of flowers on which some prasad (blessed food) had been

placed along with the remnants of alms Baba had received earlier in the day.

The villagers had no qualms about doing as

they were did. Their faith in Sai Baba was total. No sooner had that platter of

leaves been dropped in the well, it is said, water rose from the bottom as if

by divine command and completely filled it. And great was the rejoicing of the

people.

SAVING A CHILD FROM DROWNING

One report has it that word had spread that the 3-year old daughter of a poor

man called Babu Kirwandikar had fallen into the well and had been drowned. When

the villagers rushed to the well they saw the child suspended in mid-air as if

some invisible hand was holding her up! She was quickly pulled out. Sai Baba

was fond of that child who was often heard to say: I am Baba's sister!" After

this incident, the villagers took her at her word. "It is all Baba's Leela",

the people would say philosophically. They could offer no other explanation.

FLOW OF GODAVARI (RIVER) FROM BABA'S FEET

These were instances of things they had seen with their own eyes. It was not

secondhand information they had gathered. Sai Baba was to them as real as their

homes and their fields and their cattle and the distant hills as Ganu once had

an unforgettable experience. On a festive occasion, he sought Baba's permission

to go to a place called Singba on the banks of the Godavari to have a bath in

the holy waters. "No," Baba replied resolutely, "where is the need to go all

the way when the

10pt">Godavari is here right at my feet?" Das Ganu was vexed. He was willing to

concede that Ganga the holy river (Baba frequently referred to Godavari as

Ganga) rose from the feet of Sri Narayana (one among the Hindu trinity of Gods)

himself, but his faith

was not deep enough to believe that the waters of the Godavari could spring form

the feet of his master, Sri Sai. Baba who was reading Das Ganu's mind decided

that this was the time to strengthen Das Ganu's faith. He told his devotee:

"come closer to me and hold the hollow of your palms at my feet!” As soon as he

did so water flowed freely out of the toes of the master's feet and filled the

hollow of Das Ganu's palms in no time. His joy knew no limits. He sprinkled the

water on his head and his body and distributed some more among the assembled

devotees as tirtha (holy water).

OTHER MIRACLES

There was that other occasion when many thought that the Masjid which housed Sai

Baba itself would be consumed by fire from the flames which leapt up from the

Dhuni. All that Baba did was to take some swipes at a wooden pillar in front of

him. With every blow the flames subsided and the fire died down. "Miraculous,"

said his devotees. Often they would notice him stirring some hot concoction

over the kitchen fire, not with a ladle but with his bare hands. There never

was a time when his hand was scalded. What supernatural powers did he have? On

yet another occasion, Sai Baba was partaking of food with three of his devotees

in the Masjid when, without any cause for provocation, he exclaimed- "Stop!"

Then, as if nothing had happened, the four continued with their meal. Lunch

over and the dishes cleared,

they stepped out of the Masjid, when large chunks of the ceiling fell on the

very spot where they had been seated only a few minutes earlier. Did Sai Baba's

powers extend even to inanimate matter, the devotees wondered. Instances have

been quoted by his devotees as to how Sai Baba commanded the rains to stop and

the winds to cease.

UNDERSTANDING SAI BABA

Baba always maintained the "Dhuni" or the perpetual fire. The realisation that

all the phenomenon of the nature are perishable and unworthy of our craving, is

signified by "Udi" which Sal Baba distributed to all. Baba never left Shirdi. He

talked to people who came to see Him. Sal Baba would often speak in symbols and

parables leaving his devotees to work out the answer - such as, "A man had a

beautiful horse, but no matter what he did, it would not run in harness. An

expert suggested that it should be taken back to the place from where it had

come. This was done and it becomes traceable and useful". The explanation of

this story is that the horse is the Ego. As commander of the physical and

mental powers of man, it is useful but self-willed and therefore causes endless

trouble. Taking it back to its

source is re-absorbing it in the spirit source which it arises. It is the return

to the source which purifies and enlightens. From there the ego issues forth

again, no longer an ego, but a conscious agent of the spirit. Baba would ask

for Dakshina (money offered with respect to the Guru) from some of those who

came to see Him. This was not because he needed their money. This was one of

Baba's methods for testing out the devotee's attachment to worldly things and

willingness to surrender his ego. Once one has surrendered himself totally to

Him, Baba takes care of all His spiritual and temporal needs. Baba regarded

money like everything else, in a symbolical manner. He once said, " I ask only

from those who the fakir (God) points out and in exchange I give them ten times

as much". By the end of the day, all the money Baba had earned was distributed

to the destitute, poor, sick and the needy. Baba used to feed the fakirs and

devotees and even cook for them. For those

who were accustomed to meat, he cooked meat and for the others vegetarian fare.

The Dwarakamayi of Sai Baba was open to all, irrespective of caste, creed or

religion. Among those who came to see him and got his Darshan (establishing

spiritual contact with the Guru) and blessings were ministers, government

officials, business people and village folk. He was the common man's God. He

stayed with them, he joked with them, He slept and ate with them, he smoked a

chillum (pipe) with them, he sang and danced with them, having no pretensions

of a God. But all of them knew that He protected them. Even today, though He

has left his gross body, they feel his presence and realise his worth all the

more. Baba would also refer to the sounding of the drum of the beginning of

eternity within the soul. This "anahat" sound emerged from Baba's heart from

every limb, every bone and pore

of his body. It was permeated with divine essence and Baba claimed that though

one day his physical body will not exist, his remains will communicate with

from the grave. Therefore, the most important place in Shirdi is Baba's temple

- the Samadhi Mandir is his grave, which literally millions have visited and

still continues to draw many more.

BOW TO SHRI SAI - PEACE BE TO ALL

*****

SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM - PART III [12] – Concluding of Part-III

The Life of the Divine Avatar Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - [1969-1972]

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

LIVE IN LOVE

'Come with empty hands and carry away My Love'

"Some wear a provocative twinkle of a skilled dialectician, or have a raised

brow of pedantry. They are too keen to decry others advertising themselves.

They are like vultures flying high only to seek carrion over a wider circle,"

writes an aspirant who went around India seeking a Guru. Paul Brunton was

advised to pray every day to God so that he may be led to the Man in whom God

is at present incarnated. The Incarnation comes down through Love, and so, the

mark of the Incarnation is above all, Love.

Try and see yourself in all, then you will not love one person more and another

less, realizing that they are both yourself. When love is shared peace reigns.

All worldly relationships are based on the principle of give and take. The

highest form of love is expressed between a devotee and God, the devotee being

intent on merging with Divinity. Thereupon love flows towards everything and

every being. According to Baba, God is Love; the lover is the individual, and

the beloved, is nature. Knowing fully well that nature is under the complete

control of God, why be under its spell? Realizing God's prevalence everywhere

let us learn to love the Creator, since creation is nothing but His

manifestation. Baba says that we should direct all our thoughts towards God.

But we cannot do so until our minds are under

control. It is only through protracted practice that we can succeed in living in

God, that is, in Love through His Grace. Almost everything that goes wrong in

the relationship of man with man, goes wrong because the self-impulses outweigh

the altruistic impulses, or because we overvalue the satisfaction of appetite

and undervalue the satiation of our spiritual hunger. True happiness for human

beings is possible only to those who develop their Godlike potentialities to

the utmost.

This is the way to God, known as the path of Love. In the Gita, the Lord said,

"The Lord, O Arjuna, is seated in the hearts of all beings; fix your mind on

Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice to Me, prostrate before Me, so shall you come

to Me." You have no reason to fear God, for love transcends doubt and fear.

Love God as a companion, and respect Him, as a devotee must. Baba becomes

childlike in the company of children, a scholar among scholars, a doctor among

doctors, out of His Love, for He wants to put everyone at ease.

Feeding the poor, service to those in jails, visiting the deaf and the dumb, the

blind, leprosarium, mental hospitals, these have been laid down by Him as the

highest Sadhana. "When you sit for Japam or Dhyana, if you hear one groan, rise

and investigate. Helping the person to get rid of the pain gives you more

spiritual merit than the Dhyana you miss."

Baba's love for his devotees is expressed in many ways. Once at Dharmakshetra

there was a gathering of teachers of the Bal Vikas in Sathyadeep. After the

meeting commenced, the Bhajan party from below the hill was also invited to

join. Hurrying up the steep incline many were short of breath, but one elderly

lady seemed to suffer a great deal. Baba made her sit down leaning against the

wall, under a fan. Then He disappeared for a moment, only to reappear with a

glass of water, which He gave the lady to drink. He cannot tolerate any one

standing in the sun waiting for Darshan and is bothered when, due to rain,

devotees are drenched. During the hot summer months, Baba allows the Prayer

Hall at the Nilayam to be used by old or sick women to sleep in. It is Love

that prompts Him

to distribute sweets to each individual Himself, though there be thousands

present, and to eat ever simple food, so that even the poorest person may offer

Him hospitality.

The practical application of Love is clearly seen also as Baba walks gracefully

between lines of people, who wait patiently, to be selected, for a private

interview. Ailing children are picked out for a special blessing; they are

spoken to or given Vibhuthi! The sick, the aged, the socially spurned and

economically backward are all dearly loved by Him and cared for. He uses a

Telugu proverb to assure you that however far you may sit, or however many the

number of people around you, He will spot and bless, provided your prayer is

sincere. He says, "You are of the Sai Body - be happy that you are a limb - do

not complain that you are only the foot, or be proud that you are the head, for

it is the same blood stream of Love that circulates and sustains

both!" When people come to Him, pathetically crippled, unable to bend and touch

His Feet, He raises a Foot so that it can confer the healing balm of peace! "I

always anticipate the prayer, the moment of calamity for my Bhaktas, and I

intercede in time to help them or save them," He says.

He has spoken of the Seed of Love planted in the heart of men, sprouting in the

family, spreading over kith and kin, the village, the community and finally

bringing under its shade the whole of mankind. When teaching meditation, He

directs the concentration on the flame or candle or lamp as the best.

"Imagine the flame in the middle of the brow; imagine the light entering the

cave of the heart and illuminating it. Let this Light destroy all hate, greed

and ego, and let it flood your entire being. Then let it emanate from you and

take into its fold wider and wider circles, embracing all mankind - all beings

you regard as friendly, and even those you have set aside as unfriendly."

Years ago Baba stayed for a few days at Horsley Hills, which is 3800 ft. above

sea level. Twice a day He would take us to some beauty spot where we could

peacefully learn from Him spiritual matters. Our little camp situated as it was

amid the hills was inaccessible except by jeep; so our food and water for

drinking had to be hauled up by the villagers from the small hamlet at the foot

of the hills; for other purposes a buffalo at the bungalow helped to transport

water from a well, in skin bags slung across its back! All enjoyed this quiet

sylvan beauty, and we were privileged to share it with Baba. Then came the day

when we had to break camp and return. Baba proposed that we walk down together.

He suggested that we try and see who could run down the fastest! Baba

interrupted, saying, "Wait, I will be

back in a minute," and went into the garden. Some of us quietly followed Him,

and found Him taking leave of the buffalo! He patted it affectionately saying,

"You have done Me good service, Bangaroo," (a term of great affection, meaning

Gold)

Baba is kind to all who serve Him in and through all, even in the littlest way.

In the village of Bikkatti in the Nilgiri Hills lived a lame dog called Kuttan,

meaning 'the lame one'. He was a very old loving dog, yet alert where strangers

were concerned. Baba on visiting the village in 1962, walked down the carpets

laid out for

Him. Kuttan strained at the leash by which he was held lest he bounce on Baba!

But Baba stopped and patted him and asked that he be let loose saying,

"Bangaroo! Leave him alone, he is a pure Atma." So Kuttan followed Baba up the

dais, sat and listened to the Bhajans, and later followed Him into the kitchen

where Baba, after blessing the food, asked that Kuttan be fed first! When he

finished his meal he walked up the decorated dais and stood beside Baba's

chair, watching the long lines of villagers having their food. After a while

Kuttan placed his head upon 'Baba's footstool' and, within a few minutes

breathed his last.

Everyone felt that he was a pure soul; he was buried near the dais, in a

flower-shroud. Baba has had many pets - dogs, rabbits, peacocks, and now the

elephant Sai Gita who adores her Master so much that, should He be away for

long, she sheds tears! If stray dogs are led away from the Nilayam so that

their barking may not disturb the silence of the place, instructions are issued

that they be taken to a place where food is available.

He asks, "Of what avail is it to simply worship My Name and My Form, without

attempting to cultivate My Samathwa - equal love towards all, Shanthi -

unruffled equanimity, Prema - love, Sahana - patience and fortitude, and Ananda

- blissful nature! I sing Bhajans after every discourse for your sake, not Mine,

so as to enable you to become aware of the sweetness of the Name, which cleanses

the mind, by which you can realize that God is ever with you in your physical

and spiritual being."

God has, it is said, two types of deluding powers, Avidyamaya and Vidyamaya.

Sometimes His Maya makes us feel that He is a mere human, and we partake of

acts which inflate the ego, making us feel important and all powerful. The fog

of pride hides the Reality. This is Avidya. When we submit to His Will, He

shows signs and wonders that make us eager to follow the right path. This is

Vidyamaya, from which we learn that it is in Him we live and move and have our

being. 'He' and 'we' are one. Only thus do we cleanse and purify our attitudes,

habits and judgments, and discover God in His true Manifestation, that is, as

living in all things created. The recognition that others and we are mere

puppets in His hands will be imprinted on our consciousness through the

meaningful

recitation of His Name; then we start dwelling in Him, through Him, and for Him.

People from all parts of the world who have had the privilege of being near His

Lotus Feet try to remodel their lives, change their worldview, and their sense

of values. This silent psychological revolution affecting lakhs of people

illustrates the Gift of Grace. The real Sadhana, according to Baba, is to rake

up the field of our heart and to cultivate in it the most valuable crop we can.

The heart is the field, and in that field we have overgrown valueless weeds.

Keep waters of love for the seeds. Then plough it with Sadhana. Those seeds

will grow up and give us the crop of Jnana.

BEACON OF BLISS

Confusing and confounding stories depicting the illness of Baba, and details of

the operation that was not performed, generating distressing news that He would

not be able to make a public appearance for months, filled the drooping hearts

of devotees in Bombay with fear and anxiety. These uncalled for fears, the

progeny of rumor and hallucination were allayed by Baba's Presence at

Dharmakshetra on Christmas Day. The gathering heard a long discourse, followed

by many Bhajan songs, from Baba. They heard the authentic version of the

assumption of the illness and its equally

sudden dismissal. Illness had appeared to affect that holy Body, but in fact it

cannot afflict it. It had been a passing phase: belonging to someone it came

and went like a passing cloud.

"But, I have no contact with it; many people, however have the courage to

suggest to Me ways and means of dealing with such situations!" According to

them the Swami should not allow the illness of another to come upon Him,

causing sufferance to Lakhs of people. Baba told the gathering that it is His

duty to take upon Himself the suffering of those who surround Him. Likewise it

is the duty of His devotees too to suffer on that account. But the truth is,

there is no suffering, and as such no reason to get anxious. Christ sacrificed

His life or the sake of those who put their faith in Him. Service is God;

Sacrifice is God - that was His Declaration. The whole world can derive joy

from that Divine assurance. "Do not grieve, the Savior who will take on your

grief, has come."

On the first day of the New Year, the Kamanis, the famous industrialists had the

privilege of welcoming Baba at Kurla. Their Community Hall, which is really a

Prayer Hall, was declared open that day. Even though entrance to the commodious

auditorium was restricted by passes only, there was not an inch of space even to

change one's sitting posture. The auditorium consisted of workers and their

families. The area was tastefully decorated with simple unostentatious dignity,

television sets provided the entire gathering with the thrill of Darshan.

The words of wisdom contained in the Discourse delivered on January 1, 1971 by

Sri Sathya Sai Baba at the premises of a massive industrial establishment in

Bombay have great relevance to modern

10pt">India.

Commenting on this, the Bhavan's Journal wrote, "When a sage brings his mind

down from the higher realms of beatitude to dwell on a mundane matter like

employer-employee relations, the subject is bound to acquire a new dimension

and a fresh sparkle of spirituality."

While exhorting the employees to develop the enthusiasm to earn rights by

fulfilling obligations, Baba also exhorted the employers to take care of the

employees and provide amenities to their children to develop a strong and

virtuous character. To put it in the words of the Divine Master: "Happiness and

peace are mental conditions which grow in the soil of love, and not of power,

affluence or skill."

"The tree of life yields as its most precious fruit, the quality of Love, sweet

fruits have bitter rinds. This fruit too is encased in a thick bitter six-fold

rind, composed of lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and hate. If these are

negated and the rind removed, the nectarine sweetness of Love can be tasted and

taken into the system. Those who make effort to explore into that treasure of

Love within, they alone can have the Peace and Bliss. Sadhana is the name of

process by which man discovers the Spring of Universal Love within him, by

which he is privileged to share it with all beings."

Riches of various kinds, possessions and power, name and fame - these are not of

much worth; the precious possession called Love is the very breath of Life for

man. A heart devoid of Love is an altar plunged in darkness. Bats of evil

passions will make it their home. They will render it in a dirty sinking seat

of chaos. Only the Light of Love can illumine the heart and drive away these

vicious inhabitants.

We have here, gathered in thousands, the employees of the Kamani factories. The

industrial, agricultural, mercantile, political and administrative fields are

as Five Vital Airs to the human community. They have to be Healthy and

Harmonious, so that Mankind can live in Peace and Prosperity. If these five are

aware of their interrelationship and interdependence and if they lovingly

co-operate in common endeavor, this country, and the world too, can celebrate

each day as a festival day, can festoon each door-sill in green.

But, at the present time, the bond of love and mutual co-operation is absent.

There are factions in each of these fields, each producing its own share of

confusion; so, the country is heading every moment into deeper and deeper

anxiety. People are moving about in fear, grasping their lives n the palm of

the hand, doubtful what the next moment holds for them. This is not a proper

state of things to be welcomed.

Emotions and Passions have a way of suddenly rising into devastating floods.

Really speaking, every worker has to earn the authority, before standing forth

as a part of the Organisation, of which he is a limb. Emotion and passion have

to arise out of earned authority; now, they surge forward from persons who do

not carry out the duties undertaken by them. Authority and Influence have to

emerge from the discharge of one's duties. Then only will they be effective. We

must be convinced that rights are deserved only by the discharge of obligations.

 

But today, agitation is only for rights; there is no enthusiasm to earn right,

by fulfilling obligations. Every one must work with the consciousness that Duty

is God and that Work is Worship. If devotion to duty is developed and all work

is done as sincerely and as correctly as acts of worship, then each one can be

happy, and society will be free from discontent and misery.

The Kamanis are fabricating transmission towers in their factories. Every person

who is engaged in the fabrication and erection has to carry out his work

correctly and sincerely, so that the towers may be strong and secure. Who among

them does the more important item of work? It will be impossible to

discriminate. Each item is important, and each worker earns his right by

discharging well his particular share of the total obligation. There should not

be any attempt to compare and claim superiority or confer inferiority. Such

attempts will only promote ill feeling, and obstruct the flow of Love and

Tolerance.

Let me illustrate this by an example. There was a man going along a country road

whose eyes saw ripe fruits on a wayside tree. The eyes told him that they were

desirable and would provide him a feast. So the mind got attached to them, the

feet took him nearer the tree, the body was bent by the muscles of the back,

the hand moved down to the ground, the fingers picked up a stone and clasped

it, the shoulders gave the needed thrust when the hand threw the stone on to

the tree in the direction of the fruits. That made one fruit fall on the

ground. But, more items of work still remained to be done by the limbs of the

body. The fingers have to pick it up, the hand has to offer it to the mouth,

the tongue has to place it between the teeth, the teeth have to chew it and the

gullet has to swallow it and send

it to the stomach. Now, which among these items are more important and which

less? Which limb had done more and which less? Each limb has done its duty

exactly when needed to the best of its ability and so, the fruit on the tree

reached the stomach of the hungry person. We must respect each worker as the

contributor of a valuable share of the common task. Feel that all are Divine,

all are equally to be loved; that is the Sadhana that will bestow Ananda on

both the individual and society.

Doing the duty that has fallen to one's lot is the best way to make life

worthwhile and to contribute the skill and intelligence one is endowed with for

the common good. This is the debt one has to discharge for having come into this

world embodied as a human being. We have not come into this world for the sake

of eating and drinking; we eat and drink in order to live; we do not live in

order to eat and drink, we have to reach the far higher goal - the Presence of

God, through the Path of Love. That is the higher duty, the most elevated item

of work we are engaged in the Factory (the Body) where we are. All our energies

and skill have to be fully directed towards this effort. Or else, we lay waste

our lives in the chaos of emotional impulses.

Of course, the question may be asked: Who is God? Where can we find Him? Who has

seen Him? I can tell you a story to elucidate this. A Sanyasi (monk) wearing a

Gerua robe entered, during his pilgrimage, a village, renowned for its

godlessness. Seeing his robe, which indicated a person who had dedicated his

life to God, a crowd gathered around him and started heckling him, on the

existence of God. "Can you show Him to us?" they asked and the Monk said, "I

can." However he called for some milk, evidently to overcome exhaustion. When

the milk was brought, he stared into the cup for a long time in the silence.

The group of villagers lost patience and clamored that God be shown to them, as

promised. They asked him why he was staring at the milk so long. He replied that

he had heard that milk had butter in

it and so, he was trying to see the butter! They laughed; they called him a fool

and a simpleton. "Don't you know that milk has to be boiled and cooled, curdled

and churned before the butter can be seen as such, clear and distinct? Now it

is there in the milk, in every drop." The Monk said, "There, you have the

answer to your question. God is in everything and being, in the Universe. If

you want to see him clear and distinct, you have to go through various

processes called Sadhana. You can see Him thereafter, not now, by merely asking

me."

The essential ingredient of this Sadhana is Love. Sadhana without Love (Prema)

towards all creation will reveal only Satan.

I shall explain this a little more. Around us now here, we have the radio waves

carrying music from the Broadcasting Station Bombay. We have the radio waves

from Delhi also; in fact we have, here and now, the radio waves from Stations

all over the world, though we are not able to see them or listen to the

'programmes' they carry. When we have

with us a Yantra, called receiver, and when we adjust the wavelength to the

station that transmits the programme and tune the receiver correctly, then we

can hear the music or the news. God who is also here, now all around, can be

cognized clearly by means of a Mantra (meditation on a meaningful mystic

formula). Have the Mantra, concentrate on it (i.e. the adjustment to the

wavelength), with Love (i.e. the tuning in) and you become aware of God (i.e.

listening to the omnipresent programme). If the tuning-in is not accurate, you

run the risk of listening to the nuisance, not to the news! So too, unless Love

is poured out in profusion without any idea of Self, you run the risk of

cognizing Devil, not God! And if you do not develop concentration, your mind

will wander in many directions at once, causing confusion.

Therefore, Love is the best instrument to win Grace. Draw everyone near, as you

draw your own brother and sister, and resolve to bear your responsibility with

the utmost care and skill you are capable of. In fact, life as a worker is most

valuable and fundamental. Work, worship and wisdom are three stages on the

Godward path; work is the base - work that is dedicated, work that is done

righteously and in reverence to others. The employer and the employees are

bound close to each other, as close to each other, as the heart and the body.

There can be no heart without a body and no body without a heart; both are

essential for each other. The employer-employee relationship is as the bond

between a father and his children. It is only when such affection and regard

prevail, when the atmosphere of brotherhood

is recognized among workers, that mutual help and service can flourish. Under

such conditions, each can fulfill his duty gladly and peacefully.

When the employees have any problem that worries them, they can place them

before the employer and both can discuss them calmly and sweetly, without

unnecessary passion, without arousing hatred or malice and spreading unrest

among others. Above all, each person must be conscious always of his

obligations as well as of his rights. That is the basic requisite.

The Community Centre has been inaugurated by Me just now. I suggest that you

gather in the place once a month, or more frequently, once a fortnight or once

a week, for Satsang, when you can have Bhajans, spiritual discourses or other

programmes which will turn the mind towards the contemplation of the glory of

God or the spiritual treasures in your own selves. I desire also that the

children of the laborers be provided with schools where they will be initiated

into Bhajans, instructed in spiritual discipline and theistic beliefs and

inspired to develop strong virtuous character.

Discipline is the most essential equipment for man; the acquisition of

discipline should be the primary goal of all endeavors. Life is rendered

worthwhile and valid, only when it is lived out in disciplined ways.

"It is a great source of Ananda for me to be with you. Let the New Year bring

you new opportunities to establish joy and peace in your hearts."

The beginning of 1971 was conspicuous because of its auspiciousness for devotees

in Bombay who had the benefit of Baba's immediate presence there. In the evening

of the first day of January, Baba addressed a public meeting in the compound of

Dharmakshetra; the sea of humanity seemed to overrun its precincts. John Hislop

is inseparable from paper and pen, whenever he is in the August Presence; he

jots down notes of what he hears on spiritual matters from Baba. On this

occasion Hislop posed two questions, viz., "What does Baba mean to me, as a

person born and educated in a

foreign country? And what does Baba mean to the subtler aspect of me which has

no nationality?" These questions were answered by himself when he went on to

state, "He is the Lord of the heart. He has removed from my heart the hardness

accumulated during the years and made it fresh, new and joyous." The second

question he answered, saying: "Baba's Divinity is an overwhelming and

incomprehensible mystery. He is the Supreme Teacher, He guides us to

Liberation." Blessing the devotees, Baba told them to pray for peace and

concord amongst communities and nations. Mankind must learn to live happily as

one human family.

During Baba's stay in Bombay the children attending Bala Vihar classes enacted

plays, recited poems, sang Bhajans, and repeated stories selected from the

Epics and Puranas. There were occasions when they felt so deeply the impact of

Baba that they broke down in tears, in sympathy with the characters they were

portraying. One boy concluding his account of Bhagavad Gita with a direct

appeal to the Sai Krishna who was standing beside him, sobbed in uncontrollable

joy. No wonder Baba considered those children the Prahladas of the present age.

"The children of the Sathya Sai Baba Vihars must know the Sathya Sai residing in

their hearts. The teachers must also take it as the Pooja of Sai Ram. How to

reveal these children the Sai who is in their hearts - that is the problem you

should set before yourselves. By leading the children towards Divinity, the

teachers are serving their parents and society, for they will cleanse and

brighten their homes and surroundings," Baba said.

Talking to the members of the Service Organisation, Baba emphasized the role of

Sadhana, which leads man to Self-realisation, implying that all are waves of

the vast ocean called the Higher Self - Paramatma. Warning them against any

display, pomp and publicity, he advised them to link themselves with God by the

chain of love, through the recitation of names saturated with His loveable

qualities. His Name uttered in sloth or slight, in resentment or rancour, will

constitute a weak link and the chain will not bind.

The 7th January was Vaikunda Ekadasi, the day on which "the Gates of Heaven are

opened." Baba observes these festivals in order to restore their significance.

At the conclusion of the Akanda Bhajans on that day, Baba revealed the real

meaning of Ekadasi - the eleventh: when the ten senses are coordinated and

turned towards God, then the doors of Heaven will certainly open, welcoming you

into the presence of the Eleventh, that is God.

Before leaving Bombay, Baba addressed members of the Seva Dal. He said,

"Discipline comes to your rescue when the world storms around you with the dark

flood of hate or derision, or when those in whom you put trust shun contact and

shy afar. Crucify the ego on the cross of compassion, preparing yourself by all

means for serving others with your specialised skills. When you are engrossed in

such work, remove the Ego with Namasmarana, Japam, Dhyana and Study." Baba

exhorted them to lead simple lives, not to wear gaudy and outlandish dress and

manners, for they keep the

common folk away from them. Test every gesture, and mannerism, ever habit, and

every whim of yours on this touchstone; will Baba approve of this?

During Baba's stay at Bombay, a unique book was dedicated to Him by the members

of the Maharashtra Branch of the All India

FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Prashanthi Widwanmahasabha, founded and directed by Baba. The

President of the Sabha, Sri P.K. Sawant declared that the book will 'light a

path to the Almighty'. Sri V.S. Page, the Chairman of the Maharashtra State

Legislative Council, said, while offering the book, at a public meeting at

Dharmakshetra. "I sat at the Feet of Sri Sathya Sai Baba and started

questioning Him on many secrets of spiritual progress. He was kind enough to

give His Grace freely. Others of the Sabha participated in the process of

questioning and learning. This is a faithful record of such Divine Dialogues,

"which confers illumination to those who struggle in the darkness of

confusion." Baba explained that there seemed to be three stages in the life of

a Bhakta:

1. Tvamivaham: I am entirely Yours. Here, the Bhakta completely surrenders

himself to God without any reservation.

2. Mamaivatvam: You are exclusively mine. Here, the Bhakta thinks himself to be

the chosen devotee of the Lord and starts to make a claim on Him.

3. You alone are, and I am not. I am yours and you are nothing but I. Here, the

Bhakta sees God alone, everywhere, including himself.

Giving directions about Dhyana, Baba mentioned a method, which He has elaborated

often. "Are we not at peace, when one thought ceases and another does not rise?

You have to watch that moment, be one with that moment and get fixed in that,

so that, there is ceaseless continuous peace; thoughts arise and die as ripples

on water; you have to look at the water, rather than the ripples. Neglect the

waves, watching the water. " Page pursued the subject and asked, "That is

Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Nirvikalpa is like water without waves or ripples. Can we

watch the water, even when there are waves and ripples? For us to have deep

peace in the mind, should we not have experienced Nirvikalpa sometime or

other?" Baba answered, "Yes. The person who takes up the process of meditation

lands into a state of Nirvikalpa

some time or other though it is a very difficult state to attain. Even a Karma

yogi or a Bhakta touches this stage time and again in the most natural way, and

knows fully what it is. Therefore, he can remember it and bring it back into

experience, and feel the joy of continuous communion with God." Page writes,

"This was a complete answer to my question, and I was very much satisfied with

it. I could not get this answer, from my reading of the scriptures, but, as Sri

Sathya Sai Baba was kind enough to give it, I hope it would be useful to a

number of aspirants, including myself."

Another very interesting point clarified by Baba was about Neti, Neti (Not this,

not this). He said, "Brahman is like a balloon that bulges; it never bursts! So,

Neti refers to the comprehension of Brahman, not Brahman itself? Neti does not

mean, 'No, it is not this,' it means: 'No, it is not thus.' 'No, this is not

all.' 'No there is much more to Brahman than this or thus.

Page mentions that Baba distinguished between ego and Self. Baba said: " 'I'

pure and simple is God; 'I' identified with the body, the subtle body and the

body imagined in dream life is the ego." Then Page asked, "God is said to be

One. Is there one 'I' pure and simple for all of us?" Baba replied, "The

different egos are but reflections of one and the same Self or God." Page

asked, "Is the mind a material, just like our body? Can it be objectified?"

Baba replied, "Yes. Mind is matter. Only, it is very subtle, we cannot point

out its breadth, length, thickness or weight. It can be objectified. Sankalpa

can do that." Page asked about the miracles too. He says, "Sri Sathya Sai Baba

explained these miraculous powers in a very frank manner and we accepted the

same without any reservation." Baba said that

the miracle was the Nidarsan (Witness, Evidence), of God having created the world out of His Will.

The festival of Maha Shivarathri in 1971 was celebrated on 23rd February. Though

Prashanthi Nilayam gets overcrowded during that time, the peace of that Abode is

maintained, due to the Holy Rays emanating from that holiest of places. Speaking

from Santhivedika, Baba raised a very interesting question and answered it

Himself. "Why does Swami produce the Linga from Himself this day? Let me tell

you that it is impossible to understand the attributes of the Divine. You

cannot measure Its potentialities, nor gauge the significance of Its Mahima; it

is Agamya; unreachable, Agochara; un-understandable. Because of these, you get

an example of Divine attributes. In order to bear witness to this Divinity that

is amidst you, for your benefit and benediction, the Linga emerges. If even

these glimpses are denied,

faith in the Supreme will vanish and an atmosphere of greed, hatred, cruelty,

violence and irreverence will overwhelm the good, the humble and the pious."

The Linga is an illustration of the limitless, formless, beginningless, Divine

Principle. Baba stayed at Prashanthi Nilayam to assuage a large number of

persons who had come long distances to fill their eyes and minds with the

sanctity and elation that the Lingodhbhavam gives, and to touch His Lotus Feet.

After showering Grace on them, Baba left for Brindavan, for He had willed that

the Women's college at Anantapur must be shifted from temporary sheds and rooms

to its own magnificent home, with the beginning of the academic year.

The Sathya Sai Seva Samithi, Bombay, had organised the first All India Bala

Vihar Teachers Conference on 11th and 12th May. So Baba in response to the

prayers of the devotees of

10pt">Bombay visited that city for a few days, to bless the teachers. 404

teachers, Crusaders of the new Sai Era of Education attended, and were

benefited by Bhagawan's counsel. Baba interpreted the usual invocatory verse on

the Guru, recited by a pupil and made it the text of His Discourse. The Guru is

Brahma, because, He said, teaching is a creative activity; he is Vishnu because

the teacher has to foster the child, guide him and guard him: he is Maheshwara,

since he has to weed out deleterious components and undesirable traits and

habits. The verse, which has been all along taken to mean conventional praise

and glorification of the Teacher thus assumed the role of a clarion call to the

entire profession itself. That is the significance of Sai Touch! "The Guru is

praised as Parabrahmah, the genuine supra-soul, or He reveals to the pupil the

Reality that makes him

free." He said, "Recognise the vast potential lying dormant in the child; help

it to express itself."

For this reason, Baba suggested that the name of the classes for children should

be changed from Bala Vihars; for more than play and recreation, what has to be

done is to encourage the good, the true, the beautiful in the child to blossom,

to express and expand. "Bala Vikas," Baba said, "is the more correct name." He

wanted that the little children must be trained and encouraged to speak before

gatherings of devotees and even others, so that elders might learn from the

lips of children what they refuse now to learn from those entitled to advise

them. He appreciated the short speech given by a little pupil on 'Film posters,

and the horrors they inflict.' It was an eye-opener to the elders who are

tolerating such insults on the innocence and purity of home life.

All over the country now, the tiny tots of the Bala Vikas sing Bhajans, draw

pictures, paint, write stories and relate them, about heroes of the spirit, and

the great mothers of the land, and enact plays depicting elevating incidents

from the Upanishads, Itihasas and Puranas, as well as the religious literature

of all faiths. A big revolution in thought, and in social relations, is fast

coming into fruition. The Maharashtra

10pt">State Conference and the Gujarat State Conference of the Organisation were

held in May. Baba was present in Bombay for the Maharashtra Conference; He sent

a message of Blessings to Dwarka for the Gujarat Conference. "I am watching the

entire proceedings; do not deplore that I am not present with you. I am present

as the Eternal Witness," He wrote.

While returning from Bombay, Baba presided over the Mysore State Conference at

Dharwar, on the 14th. About 200

Office-Bearers of the Units all from parts of Mysore were charged with steadier

faith and deeper devotion for the work ahead.

"The College at Anantapur," wrote Dr. S. Bhagavantham, D.Sc., "is a concrete

manifestation of something superhuman. At an enormous cost of four million

rupees, within a record time of ten months, Baba has reared a structure, which

is good enough for a University! Who did all this work? Where have the funds

come from? If you want to see Divinity in action, you can find concrete

evidence at Anantapur! It is something beyond the pale of human reason, and

mortal prowess!"

The College was to be inaugurated on the 8th July, '71' by the President of

India, although there seemed to be no sign or hope of completing the building

by the stipulated date! Everyone swore that it was an impossible task. A big

industrialist who had visited Anantapur a week before the inauguration said,

"If I had applied all my energies with my entire organizational machine, I

would have thought that it would take another six months for completion of the

work."

The College building is the architectural archetype for Sai Era in education for

individual and social uplift. Baba has the Sai Emblem depicting the many faceted

adventure of man to realise the Divinity inherent in him as his very breath,

hoisted on the central tower as the symbol of hope and victory. The college

building is a full circle of charm and dignity. It symbolises the Fulfillment

of the Search, called Religion. It is Brahman, the beginningless and endless,

which a circle alone can represent. It is redolent with the fragrance of the

cultural heritage of India

FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. It is resonant with the echoes of Sanathana Dharma. It

carries sky-high the Lotus Flower, (the Hrdaya-kamala) which blossoms at the

first touch of the rays of the Rising Sun (Intelligence, Reason).

Baba has installed a clock on the tower, so that Time the Divine Watchman, can

waken, hasten and warn the process of teaching and learning, shaping and

strengthening that happens in the College. Architects sat with Baba to

translate His ideas on paper, but, the supreme Architect had it all in His

Will, and that was enough. The Anantapur College

looks like a prayer rising up from the heart, a poem of praise for the Giver of

all Good. The building is a miracle in marble, brick and stone, colour and

light.

On the day of the Inauguration an international gathering saw a constellation of

great personalities. The President of India, Sri V.V. Giri, the wife of the

President, Srimathi Saraswathi Giri, the Governor of Mysore State, Sri Dharma

Vira, the Lt. Governor of Goa State, Sri Nakul Sen, the Chief Minister of

Andhra Pradesh, Sri P.V. Narasimha Rao, the Vice-chancellor of the Venkateswara

University, Dr. Jagannath Reddy, Sri G.C. Venkanna and Sri M.N. Lakshminarasiah,

Ministers of the Government of Andhra Pradesh - it was a bouquet of talent,

authority, sacrifice and patriotism.

Above all, there was Baba, fresh as a flower, beaming with a benignant smile,

with no trace on His Divine Face of the exhaustion, worry or anxiety that He

had removed from the faces of even the most busy workers around Him. The Light

of Love that shone on that face rendered the bright morning doubly bright.

Dr. Gokak, Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies, Simla, welcomed the

distinguished guests. He communicated to every one an awareness of the epochal

character of the moment. "This college and the others that Baba has planned to

establish in every State in India will inculcate Indian Culture in its essence

and purity; they will develop not only knowledge and skill, but balance and

insight, and faith in the unity of all religions, and in the Reality of

Oneself." Dr. Bhagavantham, formerly Vice-chancellor of the Andhra and Osmania

Universities said, "History has few parallels of a college that is so well

equipped on the date of its Inauguration!" Dr. Jagannath Reddy spoke of the

phenomenal growth of the college in the short span of 3 years. The Minister for

education said, "When Baba establishes a college for women we can be certain

that it will not be just one among many. It will be a beacon, a lesson for

others, a model, a pioneer." Sri Brahmananda Reddy greeted the Day as a

Festival for Andhra Pradesh and for Bharathiya Culture itself. Sri Dharma Vira

felt that the college for women will be of lasting benefit for the whole

country, since educating a woman is educating a whole family. The President

declared that it was a good augury for India that Baba is not only conferring

spiritual enlightenment to millions, but granting the proper type of education

to the youth of the land.

The 8th July, 1971 was Guru Poornima, the Full Moon Festival, dedicated to the

Primal Spiritual Preceptor, Vyasa, and also to the adoration of Spiritual

Preceptor, by aspirants. It is the Day when millions seek to have Darshan of

Baba. It was Baba's Will that the College in which the Guru-Sishya relationship

of Ancient India was to be revived, should be inaugurated that Day itself.

Baba pointed out that, as lava from subterranean fire, a huge upsurge of low

desires is smothering man, though his chief desire should be the visualizing of

the God in him, and the cultivation of the Peace, Beauty, Truth and Love that

are the marks of that Divinity. "Man has in him a fountain of joy, peace, love

and courage. Cultivate these by precept, example and exercise. Then, the

educated men and women will have security and sweetness as long as they live."

"India is being forged into a Bhogabhoomi - land of luxury - a land of

skyscrapers, tinned foods, air-conditioning and television. Indians are being

shaped into an imitative, insurgent, ill-disciplined mass. They are being

transplanted on other soils and encouraged to grow, without roots. This is an

insult to our past and a dangerous defiance of history. It is a sacrilege on

the sanctity of time, on the holy purpose of the human body. That is the

reason, I have decided that this college has to be inaugurated on Guru-Poornima

Day on Guruvar - Thursday - as a Gurukula - the hermitage school of ancient

India in which the highest ideals of life were instilled by personal example

and guidance by the Guru to the pupils eager to imbibe."

Baba concluded with the Blessing: "The seed has been planted; it will sprout and

spread, heavy with fruits, providing shade, security and sustenance to all."

The educational institutions started with the Blessing of Baba will not imitate

nor help to forge out of competitive or compulsive society. They look forward

with hope and envisage a society built on love and co-operation, blossoming the

human spirit, and the human community.

THE NAMES WE KNOW

"Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba" is how Baba is referred to by the millions that

adore Him. He announced Himself as Sai Baba when He spoke of his identity at

the age of 14, on 23rd May, 1940, when his father insisted on being told what

Baba meant by saying that He had His disciples to look after and His unfinished

work to be completed. "Sathya Narayana" was His Name and Raju was the family

appellation. This was shortened into Sathya, the name by which Baba was known

at home, village and school. To the name announced by Baba Himself - Sai Baba -

was added the word 'Sathya.' Five or six years later after the announcement, the

devotee who desired to distinguish Him from Sai Baba as He had manifested

Himself at Shirdi, realised that Baba Himself was the Shirdi manifestation. But

they did not wish to confuse

the minds of those who loved to cling to the memory of Shirdi 'Baba'. "Baba is

the word used in Marathi and in Hindi to refer to saints. It means 'Father'.

'Sai' is the name by which Baba had been spoken to by the priest of the

Khandoba temple near Shirdi, when He arrived there as a youth. 'Sai' means

'Master'. It is a derivate of the Sanskrit word Swami. The word 'Sai' has also

been traced to the Persian word Shah, Shahi, Sahi, Sai.

'Sri' is an honorific prefixed to the names of deities, sacred texts and eminent

persons. It is an auspicious word indicating good fortune. The word also came to

be used as an honorific for each individual, universalising or democratising

good fortune as it were. This democratisation has itself led to another

outburst of snobbery on the part of the disciples of the heads of Maths or

monasteries. For example, the prefix - Sri 108, meaning that - spiritual

eminence is indicated by the fact that the name is to be preceded by a string

of 108 Sris.

The word 'Bhagawan' means 'one endowed with Bhaga' Bhaga means according to

ancient Sanskrit lexicographers:

1. Aiswarya - authority derived from power;

2. Virya - heroism, bravery;

3. Yasha - fame;

4. Sriyah - prosperity;

5. Jnana - wisdom;

6. Vairagya - detachment.

Baba's Aiswarya or authority derived from power is self-evident. Masters of

special branches of study like doctors, lawyers, engineers and artists

acknowledge Him as their master in their respective fields. For He can correct

them and give them invaluable help. Fame and prosperity follow Him wherever He

goes, though He has never cared for either. As for bravery, wisdom and

detachment, thousands who have known Him, know Him as the embodiment, of these

qualities. Baba declared at the World Conference held in Bombay in 1968, "The

loyalty and devotion that the previous

Incarnations commanded arose partly through fear and awe, and partly from

superhuman power. The Sathya Sai manifestation has none of these appendages.

Nevertheless it commands the adoration of millions in this age of rampant

godlessness, materialism, cynical disregard of higher values and aggressive

irreverence." This is because He carries His message of love to the very vortex

of disbelief and nihilism, like light penetrating into the very heart of

darkness. Himself an unfailing reservoir of health, happiness and wisdom, He

is, at the same time, profoundly unattached, accepting devotion and derision

with equal unconcern. He wrote to his elder brother even as a boy of twenty

that He had no particular name or native place and that all names and places

were His. A supreme example of desirelessness, He has only one desire: the

desire which made Him descend from the all-pervading Divine consciousness - the

desire to save the world from the consequences of ignorance.

It is laid down in the Sasthras that only those who have mastered the six

primary mysteries can be referred to as 'Bhagawan'.

Utpattincha VinasamchaBhuthanam Agathim GathimVetti Vidyam Avidyam chaSa Vachya Bhagawan iti

"He who knows the mystery of the origin and dissolution of created beings, the

mystery of their doom and their redemption and of their ignorance and wisdom,

is alone to be spoken of as Bhagawan."

It is crystal clear that this is what Baba stands for. As He told Arnold

Schulman, "I know your past, I know your future. So I know why you suffer and

how you can escape suffering and when you finally will. I know everything that

has happened to everybody in the past, everything that is happening and

everything that will happen in the future. I know why a person has to suffer in

this life and what will happen to him the next time he is born because of that

suffering this time."

In His speech to an enormous crowd at the Patel Stadium in Bombay, He said, "I

know all that happens to all because I am in everyone. This current is in every

bulb. I illumine every consciousness. I am the inner Motivator in each one of

you." He declared at Anantapur, "Even if the fourteen worlds in the upper and

nether regions of the universe unite in order to delay or disrupt the work for

which I have come in this Body, it will not suffer or falter." He said at a

meeting in Prashanthi Nilayam in 1965, "No Avatar has done like this before -

going among the masses in the

villages, seeking out the distressed, waking up the sleeping, quickening the

dull, showering Grace on millions and counseling, consoling, guiding, uplifting

them along the path of Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi and Prema. I am neither Guru nor

God. I am you! You are me! That is the Truth and you will realise it when you

reach the goal. You are the waves and I am the Ocean.

On Christmas Day, 1970, at Dharmakshetra, Baba said, "There is no mesmerism,

miracle or magic, in what I do! Mine is genuine Divine power. Small minds and

limited intellects are too weak to perceive the Divine. The Divine magnificence

is too much, and too overwhelming for their Maya-filled eyes. And so they

ridicule it and call it the result of Yoga Siddhi, mesmerism or magic. But the

Divine can do anything. He has all the power in the palm of His Hand. His

powers are not such as would abide for a time and then fade away." He had said

already on the occasion of Dasara in 1963, "The man who dies prays to Me to

receive him. The relations who lament the loss pray to Me to prolong his life!

I know both sides of the picture, the past and present, the crime and the

punishment, the achievement and the reward.

And so I am just, modifying the sentence now and then with Grace. I am not

affected in that least by the birth of this one or the death of the other. My

nature is unalloyed Bliss.

The word 'Bhagawan' also means 'Blissful'. The Vishnu Purana says that the

syllable 'Bha' means 'the cherisher and supporter of the universe,' 'Ga' means

'the leader, the impeller or the guide' and 'Va' means 'that elemental spirit

in which all beings exist and which exists in all beings'. This 'Va' is also to

be found in the name of Vasudeva which was the name that Baba said was His own,

when He was at Shirdi. Gunaji says in his biography of 'Shirdi Baba', page 103:

"Baba said that He was omnipresent - occupying light, air, water, world, land

and heaven - and that He was not limited. He said, 'I always live everywhere. I

have no form. I require no door to enter.' - (page 155). In his present

incarnation too, Baba entered Swami Abhedananda's room in Ramanashram even when

the door was bolted in order to

assure and illumine the monk and accept him as a disciple. He also entered an

operation theatre in a surgical home in Bangalore in spite of bolted doors, for

blessing the patient when a prostrate gland operation was going on.

Sanskrit classical text also gives other definitions of 'Bhagawan.' The

Saranagathi Gadya says, "Bhagawan is He who is boundless Bliss, Bliss that

rewards every being in the universe. The Gadya goes on to say that a Bhagawan

must have an extraordinary knowledge of all the mysteries of the world,

dominion over all the forces of nature, power, splendor, gracious manners,

affection as of a mother, softness and compassion, rectitude and uprightness,

comradeship, impartiality, mercy, nobility, generosity, skillfulness in

strategy, heroism, dash and enthusiasm, steadiness in truth, and all other good

qualities. Dr. Gokak is never tired of pointing out that Baba is, more than

anyone else, power, dominion, majesty and splendor. It is this element of power

that, among other things, distinguishes an incarnation

from a saint. Baba's scholarship is overwhelming. With hardly any formal

education, He has on the tip of His tongue, atomic formulae, Vedic hymns,

medical recipes, and Tantric mantras. Sri Aurobindo has said, "Each incarnation

holds before men his own example and declares of himself that he is the way and

the gate: he declares too the oneness of his humanity with the Divine Being."

Man, after all, is nothing but the Divine, bound by the three chains of time,

space and causation. This is why Baba says, "You become Bhagawan as soon as you

express the Atma principle. Each one of you can become Bhagawan by merging your

separate individual Jiva or self in the ocean of universal Atma."

The word Avatar means 'descent, coming down, alighting'. This is the limitation

that the limitless imposes on itself, in order to lead mankind. In a discourse

on Shivarathri a few years ago, Baba recited a verse, such as He is used to

composing and reciting at the commencement of a discourse, in which He

recounted the aims and purposes of His own Avatar at Puttaparthi. "Vaasudeva,

who lives in all has come in this body at Puttaparthi to show to the Kali age

the path of truth; to eliminate hate and greed; to save the good and humble

from pain and shame; to reveal the significance that lies obscured in ancient

texts; to destroy the pomp and pride of little men; and to redeem the pledge of

Grace given to mankind." He has declared that He is the Divine Essence that is

known and worshipped in many Names and

Forms all over the world.

In his 'Essays on the Gita,' Sri Aurobindo has analysed the role of an Avatar;

"The Avatar comes as the manifestation of the Divine nature in the human

nature, the apocalypse of its Christhood, Krishnahood, Buddhahood, in order

that human nature may, by moulding its thought, feelings and action, on the

lines of that Christhood, Krishnahood, Buddhahood, transfigure itself into the

Divine. The Avatar is always a dual phenomenon of Divinity and humanity. The

Divine takes upon Himself human nature with all its outward limitations... The

object of the Avatar's descent is to show that human birth, with all its

limitations, can be made a means and an instrument of the Divine birth and

Divine Works."

One has to remember in this context what Baba said to Schulman, "If I had come

as Narayana with four arms, they would have put me in a circus, charging money

for people to see Me. If I had come only as man, like any other man, who would

listen to Me? So I had to come in this human form but with more than the human

power and wisdom."

Baba also explained the mystery of Avatarhood in a simple way when he said on

His Birthday Festival, 1971: "Everyone of you is an Avatar. You are the Divine,

encased like Me in human flesh and bone! Only you are unaware of it! You have

come into this prison of incarnation through the errors of many lives. But I

have put on this mortal body out of My own free Will. You are bound to the body

with the ropes of three Gunas, I am free, untouched by them, for the Gunas are

but My playthings. I am not bound by them, I use them to bind you. You are

moved this way and that by desire. I have no desire except the one to make you

desireless."

Baba's call to suffering humanity stands out in its directness and simplicity:

"Why fear when I am here? Come unto Me all ye who suffer!" Baba assures us, if

we take one step towards Him, He taken ten towards us. He hears us when we cry

out in anguish. As the Gita declares, "the hand and the feet, the eyes and the

ears, and the head and tongue of the Divine are everywhere to help us and save

us and lead us to the Divine, when we have a sincere desire to ascend to the

Divine."

The Avatar, as Baba has declared, shares the possession of the five senses with

the world of animals and human beings. He shares with mankind the four

attributes of mind, reason, emotion and Ahamkara or the ego. But the Avatar

possesses seven characteristics which are unique. Four of these can be

enumerated as follows:

· Srshit - or the power to create;

· Sthithi - or the power to foster, guard and protect;

· Laya - or the power to destroy;

· Thirodhana - or the power to make things disappear.

The three remaining attributes are such that only a full-fledged Avatar has them:

· Anugraha - or Grace which may be of two kinds, Grace for

the deserving and Grace conferred regardless of the recipient deserving it,

like a bolt from the blue.

· Again, He is ever-present where His Name or Nama is

uttered and where His Rupa or form is recognised. The Vibhuthi that falls from

Baba's portraits in different parts of the world itself shows how His Rupa or

form brings us into contact with Him if He is remembered.

As an example of a concrete presence where the Name and Form are remembered I

may quote from a letter written by the Cowans of Orange Country, USA: "In our

home, we have a small room filled with the pictures of our great Lord Sathya

Sai Baba. It is here we meditate before retiring. Many times, people of the Sai

family drop in, and pray. Each night, we watch for Vibhuthi to manifest, but so

far, none has appeared. It was about a month ago some friends who are devotees

of Sathya Sai Baba came to meditate with us in His room. I wish to say that the

fragrance of this room has a beautiful odour, as if hundreds of flowers were

giving forth their blooms to us. This is one of the gifts the great Swami

bestows on us. Our friends were amazed at the sweetness of the room.

We all sat a down around the small altar and gave admiration to the Picture!

And, behold! Upon a large coloured picture of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba a

Sapphire Star had appeared, with eight rays, manifesting from it, as if it was

a necklace, with a Gem, at His throat centre! The word traveled fast and many

of the Sai family have come to see the miracle of the Lord."

In many thousands of homes and public prayer halls in India, Africa, Ceylon and other

countries, Baba has willed the devotees to get the sacred curative. Vibhutti

from the portraits hung on the walls. There was Vibhuthi at the shrine in the

home of the Cowans too. Here is an account given by a skeptic of his visit to

the shrine in the home of Cowans. The visitor's name is Joel Riordon, a

Hollywood writer of film scripts: "My wife mentioned to me that a picture in

the house of the Cowans was producing ashes! She immediately walked away. Now,

she did it... dangled a bit of curiosity in my path, curiosity that I couldn't

resist. Sunday morning I was ready for the challenge... When we arrived at the

meeting after following Mr. & Mrs. Hislop's car for over one hour, I thought

there is a church three miles from my house, and I won't even take the time to

go there. What am I doing here?... At the meeting, voices rang out, as they

were clapping to the rhythm of a chant: there was a speech by Jack Hislop about

a letter he received by mail from Sai Baba and the mystery -

how it arrived without a stamp! 'So the stamp dropped off in the mail man's

bag,' I thought. I am certain there was more to the story, but my mind was on

the picture. Where is it? Why can't I see it now?... Finally, the moment came;

we were allowed to go into another room where a shrine had been set up, with

Sai Baba's picture - and it was producing ashes!

I tried not to be conspicuous, but I must have been because as I approached the

Picture, looking at it from all angles, from the front, top and back, (I even

pretended to tie my shoes, to see under the table; to see if I could find out

what trick caused this ash-flow), I saw the hostess talking to two young boys,

and as the three of them stared at me, I had the feeling they were expecting me

to steal the picture, or something in the house. I immediately departed with a

guilty look."

There are certain remarkable ancient astrological texts called Nadis in South

India and Bhrgu Samhithas in Northern India. They contain details of the lives

of numerous persons, even of people who lived beyond the seas. The hereditary

custodians of these manuscripts read out the relevant portions of the life of

the person that comes to consult them. The late Dr. K.M. Munshi wrote some

years ago in the Bhavan's Journal that the details recorded regarding his life

in some of these manuscripts astounded him. The record mentions the exact time

and place where he was to propose to Smt. Leelavathi Munshi, his future wife.

Sri Sharma, a former Chief Minister of Haryana State, states that the

predictions recorded about him in Bhrgu Samhithas showed that he would meet God

in His human Incarnation at Prashanthi Nilayam. Sri Sharma says that it was a

job for him to find out where Prashanthi Nilayam was. Baba received him

graciously and created for him a Nataraja image, which he could wear on his

person all the time. Whenever there is a reference in these texts to Baba, He

is referred to as 'the Father of all worlds, the supreme physician who cures at

lightning speed and founder of Patasalas, institutions of higher learning and

hospitals.'

Sri J.P. Maroo writes, "I have a family astrologer who belongs to Nepal. He

remembers and can recite and quote from the 15,000 verses of the ancient

astrological cyclopaedia, called Bhrgu Samhitha! Last October, that is to say,

in 1967 he came to see me before returning to Nepal, and I requested him for

information about some outstanding event that may occur in the near future. He

consulted the Samhitha and recited a verse, which said that on 4th November

1947, I will have Pratyaksha Deva Darshan! (The Darshan of God in concrete

Form!) And, it happened as forecasted! Baba came to Usha Kiran, to my home, and

accepted my worship on 4th November, 1967."

Speaking to a group of seekers from San Francisco in the USA and from Ceylon

10pt"> in June 1970, at Brindavan, Whitefield, Baba said that the Divine is as

eager to be one with individual soul as the individual is eager to merge with

the Divine. He said that this was a gradual process, very much like what

happens to stalactites and stalagmites in limestone caves. One of these is

formed in the roof pointing downwards and the other on the floor pointing

upwards. The formation on the floor is due to the deposit of one drop in a

thousand years from the stalactite in the roof pointing downwards. Baba was

demonstrating how this happens with the use of His fingers. He was a little

dissatisfied with this demonstration Himself. He then waved His hand in a very

long, flat and circular motion and materialised a round black stone, the weight

of which made His hand vibrate like a tuning fork. The stone was round in shape;

slightly flat at the top and bottom and it bore no marks on it. It was smooth

and shiny. Baba lifted it, held it a few inches away from His mouth and

blew a hole into it, with sovereign ease and grace. This hole appeared like two

intersecting circles. The place of intersection was wide open and the two

circles were touching each other with concentric rings that bore in towards the

centre, and were trying to merge into each other. Baba used this stone to

illustrate His point and then gave it to a Sadhak in the group, named Gill.

About a year later Gill happened to show it to some Indian friends in Juhu,

Bombay. They told him, to his utter astonishment, that the stone, with the

imprint blown on it was a fossil called Saligram and that it was used by Hindus

for worship. Howard Melvin, a member who happened to be one of this group told

me about this interesting

incident.

Another fact that sets us wondering regarding Baba, is the many-facetedness of

His personality. One sees in Him a paragon upon which each one models himself.

The manager of a mighty manufacturing concern sees in Him an ideal organiser

and manager. A doctor sees in Him the perfect master of diagnostic and medical

skill. An engineer or architect finds in Him the master who humbles their pride

with a blue pencil and fills their heads with ideas and designs, any one of

which can make a fortune for them through its beauty and practicability. A

musician finds in Baba the primal source of melody and harmony. When someone

praised Baba for his musical talent and compared Him favorably with Thyagaraja,

Baba asked him. "And who do you think taught Thyagaraja music?" Baba is the poet

of poets. Not only is He

Himself an inspiring theme; His conversation and charm release in the poet

springs of inspiration hidden away for a long time. A philosopher can learn

from Baba the art of laying bare enigmatic thought-processes in a simple and

straightforward manner. A painter of genius meets his challenge in the

ever-varying expressiveness of His face and eyes. An actor learns from Him

those subtle inflections and intonations of the voice that best express the

soul. A trained teacher finds a master of profoundly new methods in Baba. As

the Gita says, "The Divine is the best, the mightiest, the most charming, the

wisest, the highest and the most intricate Being; an incarnation of the Divine

bears this stamp on its personality." Baba asked Schulman; "How can a fish

understand the sky?" He also remarked elsewhere, "I am all deities in one. You

may endeavor your best for thousands of years and have all mankind with you in

your search, but you cannot understand My

Reality."

In his book entitled, 'Krishna, a study in the theory of the Avatars,'

Bhagawandas speaks of the circumstances that bring about the advent of an

Avatar. "When false teachers arise and elevate flesh above spirit, when the

lower passions and the six inner enemies or seven deadly sins have mankind in

their grip, when ruthless ambition, selfishness and evil sway the world, then

it is that the Avatar appears. Each one of these three sets of circumstances

may bring about the advent of an Avatar. The predominance of false teachers

brings down the Avatar who re-illumines the science of spirit. When

wrong emotions prevail, there is the advent of the Avatar who is full of

love-compelling purity and self-effacement. When evil rules the world, there is

the advent of the Avatar who rights widespread wrongs and is the adjuster of

natural Karma."

We find in Baba the integral manifestation that combines these three roles. He

is the great teacher, far-famed or His simple and sweet exposition of Vedanta

today. He is the great dispenser of love or Prema. Finally, He is the great

restorer of the essence of spirituality to mankind. We may say of Baba what

Prof. P. Shankaranarayanan says in his book 'Sri Ramachandra': "For man to

receive God's stimulus and to make the responses, God must become a person in

flesh and blood, Human in His Divinity, and yet Divine in His Humanity. To

infinitise man, God has to finitise Himself."

ONE WORD MORE

The person who reads this book about Baba and the two preceding parts in the

series is sure to experience an impact which will not allow him to be the same

again. He will have to take up the challenge and prove it or disprove it to

himself for his own satisfaction, if he is in earnest about the view of life

presented in this book. Baba can dismiss a cancerous growth by saying. "The

cancer is cancelled." He can extinguish forest fires around the Kuchuma Mount

on Mexican border by a declaration made at His ashram in India, "No more

fires!" He can create a

jar of sacred ash, which can never be exhausted by use, and the gift of

spiritual ecstasy by a simple touch. He knows each one's past and future. He

says that we are the same as He is. It is simply our delusion that we feel we

are different.

The Publishers Weekly wrote about Arnold Schulman's book, 'Baba', Sathya Sai

Baba calls Himself an Avatar, an Incarnation of God, His followers who number

over six millions, come to His ashram at Puttaparthi in Southern India to sit

at His feet, sing their prayers and ask for miracles. Baba answers their

prayers: "He cures the incurable, materialises objects and holy ashes, sustains

the faithful and convinces the doubtful."

We may frequently fall into the error of deeming Baba to be a mortal like

ourselves, forgetting the fact that He is the very Divine Essence that has

willed itself into each mortal body. Baba has said that He as well as the Sai

Baba of Shirdi has been emanations of the same Essence. Baba is one with all

the Avatars that have descended so far and those that will come hereafter.

There is no inner circle or outer, among Baba's devotees. All mankind is His

fold. He, has drawn numberless persons away from low desires and passions, from

fanatical and cynical attitudes. The Name 'Sai' will soon be embellished in

every heart.

Prashanthi Nilayam is the 'Ashram' at Puttaparthi, the village, which He has

immortalized by deciding to be born there. As He always says, "My residence is

in your hearts. My Prashanthi Nilayam is in you."

Baba's Bhajans have penetrated into numberless homes and led to the itinerant

singing in cities, waking up the hearts of men to the glory of God. Baba can be

adored in all forms, and addressed by all the names that God bears.

One sees in Him the power that works as the effulgence of the transcendent ray

that beams beyond cosmic laws. He calls us near and wipes our tears of sorrow

in spite of our faults and failures. He declared in 1962 that the Chinese

menace would not be there at the time of the Birthday Celebrations on November

23. It is a fact that the Chinese retreated beyond the Himalayas on the night

of the 22nd November. In 1965, when every one thought that the Dasara

celebrations should be postponed in view of the Pakistan invasion, Baba

declared that the Dasara celebrations would be held us usual. As a matter of a

fact, a cease-fire was ordered and accepted three days earlier than Dasara. The

Fifth All India Conference of the Sathya Sai Seva Samithis had been fixed in

Madras to take place on 22nd and 23rd December 1971. There were frantic

telegrams whether the Conference was postponed, for Pakistan bombed Indian

airfield on 3rd December. The events that followed seemed to predict that there

might soon be a global war. Baba said that there would be no war and that the

Conference should be held as planned. The war came to an end of the 17th

December 1971.

Baba is the indweller in each human heart. He gathers people around Him day

after day and deals with them in love and compassion. Physical illness, mental

worry, psychic disorder, economic want, family discord, intellectual

deficiency, and professional setback: He handles each problem as it comes with

unfailing skill.

He gives holy ashes because that is the ultimate form that things take -

Alexanders, Napoleons, Hitlers their ambitions and their empires. That is how

He teaches us the lesson of detachment. He cures us of greed and hatred by

reminding us of the ultimate fate that awaits all earthly pomp and glory.

That He is all knowing, even a skeptic like Schulman was compelled to admit when

Baba mentioned to Schulman his visit to Japan to study Zen Buddhism and other

details. Schulman thought that Baba was parading information that He had

collected from Dr. Gokak about him. Sensing this the very minute, Baba told

Schulman that Gokak had given Him no information. He proceeded to refer to a

certain ailment of his wife, which no else had known. He told him that it was

Baba who had brought about the disappearance of this ailment a week before he

boarded the plane for India

FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> so that he could come to India in time. Baba is an open book

for all to read. He is the Guide as well as the Goal.

PART – III COMPLETED AND FROM NEXT MAIL PART IV WILL BE CONTINUED

CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brother M. Palaniswamy

/

 

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