SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM [49]

[Guest guest]

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 – [49]

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 XLIX

Stories of (1) Hari Kanoba - (2) Smadev Swami - (3) Nanasaheb Chandorkar

PRELIMINARY

The Vedas and the Puranas cannot sufficiently praise (describe) Brahma or

Sad-guru; then how can we, who are ignorant, describe our Sad-guru Shri Sai

Baba? We think that it is better for us to keep quiet in this matter. In

reality, the observance of the vow of silence is the best way of praising the

Sadguru; but the good qualities of Sai Baba make us forget our vow of silence

and inspire us open our mouth. Good dishes taste flat, if there be no company

of friends and relations to partake of the dishes with us, but when they join

us, the dishes acquire additional flavor. The same is the case with the Sai

Leelamrit-the nectar in the form of Sai's Leelas. This nectar we cannot partake

alone. Friends and brothers have to join us-the more the better.

It is Sai Baba Himself that inspires these stories and gets them written and He

desires. Our duty is to surrender completely to Him, vow, sacrifice, and

charity. Worshipping Hari (Lord) is better than penance, and meditation on the

Sadguru is the best of all. We have, therefore, to chant Sai's name by mouth,

think over His sayings in our mind, meditate on His Form, feel real love for

Him in our heart, this for snapping the bondage of this Samsara. If we can do

our duty on our part as stated above, Sai is bound to help and liberate us.

Now, we revert to the stories of this Chapter.

HARI KANOBA

A gentleman of Bombay named Hari Kanoba heard from his friends and relations

many Leelas of Baba. He did not believe in them, as he was a doubting Thomas.

He wanted to test Baba himself. So he came to Shirdi with some Bombay friends.

He wore a lace-bordered turban on his head, and a new pair of sandals on his

feet. On seeing Baba

from a distance, he thought of going to Him and prostrating himself before Him.

He did not know what to do, with his new sandals. After going to some corner

outside in the open courtyard, he placed them there and went in the Masjid and

took Baba's Darshan. He made a reverential bow to Baba, took Udi and Prasadam

from Baba and returned. When he reached the corner he found that his sandals

had disappeared. He searched for them in vain; and returned to his lodging,

very much dejected.

He bathed, offered worship and naiveidya and sat for meals, but all the while he

was thinking about nothing but his sandals. After finishing his meals, he came

out to wash his hands, when he saw a Maratha boy coming towards him. He had in

his hand a stick, on the top of which was suspended a pair of new sandals. He

said to the men, who had come out to wash their hands that Baba sent him with

this stick in hand and asked him to go on the streets crying- "Hari Ka Beta.

Jarika Pheta and told him that If any body claims these sandals, first assure

yourself that his name is Hari and that he is the son of Ka, i.e., Kanoba, and

that he wears a lace-bordered turban and then give them to him". On hearing

this, Hari Kanoba was pleasantly surprised. He went ahead to the boy and

claimed the sandals

as his own. He said to the boy, that his name was Hari, and that he was the son

of Ka (Kanoba); and showed him his lace bordered turban. The boy was satisfied

and returned the sandals to him. Hari Kanoba wondered in his mind saying that

his lace-bordered turban was visible to all, and Baba might have seen it, but

how could he know his name Hari and that he was the son of Kanoba, as this was

his first trip to Shirdi. He came there with the sole object of testing Baba,

and with no other motive. He came to know by this incident, that Baba was a

great Satpurush. He got, what he wanted; and returned home well-pleased.

SOMADEVA SWAMI

Now hear of another man, who came to try Baba. Bhajii, brother of Kakasaheb

Dixit was staying at Nagpur. When he had gone to the Himalayas in 1906 A.D., he

made an acquaintance with one Somadeva Swami, of Hardware at Uttar-Kashi, down

the

10pt">Gangotri Valley. Both took down each other's names in their diaries. Five

years afterwards, Somadeva Swami came to Nagpur and was Bhaiji's guest. There

he was pleased to hear the Leelas of Baba; and a strong desire arose in his

mind to go to Shirdi and see Him. He got a letter of introduction from Bhaiji

and left for Shirdi. After passing Manmad and Kopargaon, he took a tanga and

drove to Shirdi. As he came near

Shirdi he saw two high flags floating over the Masjid in Shirdi. Generally, we

find different ways of behavior, different modes of living and different

outward paraphernalia with different Saints. But these outward signs should

never be our standards to judge the worth of the Saints. But with Somadeva

Swami, it was different. As soon as he saw the flags flying, he thought-Why

should a Saint take a liking for the flags? Does this denote Saint-hood? It

implies the Saint's hankering after fame. Thinking thus, he wished to cancel

his Shirdi trip and said to his fellow travelers, that he would go back. They

said to him-Then why did you come so long? If your mind gets restless by the

sight of the flags, how much more agitated would you be on seeing in Shirdi,

the Ratha (car), the palanquin, the horse and all other paraphernalia? The

Swami got more confounded and said-"Not a few such Sadhus with horses,

palanquins and tom-toms have I seen; and it is better for me to return than see

such

Sadhus". After saying this he started to return. The fellow travelers pressed

him not to do so, but proceed. They asked him to stop his crooked way of

thinking and told him that the Sadhu, i.e., Baba did not care a bit for the

flags and other paraphernalia, or for the name. It was the people, His devotees

that kept up all this paraphernalia out of love and devotion to Him. Finally he

was persuaded to continue his journey, go to Shirdi and see Baba. When he went

and saw Baba from the courtyard, he was melted inside, his crooked thoughts

vanished. He remembered his Guru's saying that-'that is our abode and place of

rest, where the mind is most pleased and charmed'. He wished to roll himself in

the dust of Baba's Feet and when he approached Baba, the latter got wild and

cried aloud - "Let all our humbug (paraphernalia) be with us, you go back to

your home, beware! if you come back to this Masjid. Why take the Darshan of

one, Who flies a flag over His Masjid? Is this a sign of

Saint-hood? Remain here not a moment". The Swami was taken aback by surprise. He

realized that Baba read his heart and spoke it out. How Omniscient He was! He

knew, that he was least intelligent, and that Baba was noble and pure. He saw

Baba embracing somebody, touching someone with his hand, comforting others,

staring kindly at some, laughing at others, giving Udi-Prasad to some, and thus

pleasing and satisfying all. Why should he alone be dealt with so harshly?

Thinking seriously, he came to realize that Baba's conduct responded exactly to

his inner thought; and that he should take a lesson from this and improve; and

that Baba's wrath was a blessing in disguise. It is needless to say that later

on, his faith in Baba was confirmed, and he became a staunch devotee of Baba.

NANASAHEB CHANDORKAR

Hemadpant concludes this Chapter, with a story of Nanasaheb Chandorkar. When

Nanasaheb was once sitting in the Masjid with Mhalaspathi and others,

Mohammedan gentlemen from Bijapur came, with his family, to see Baba. On seeing

veiled ladies with him, Nanasaheb wanted to go away, but Baba prevented him from

doing so. The ladies came and took the Darshan of Baba. When one of the ladies

removed her veil in saluting Baba's Feet and then resumed it again, Nanasaheb,

who saw her face, was so much smitten with her rare beauty that he wished to

see her face again. Knowing Nana's restlessness of mind, Baba spoke to him,

after the lady had left the place as follows-"Nana, why are you getting

agitated in vain? Let the senses do their allotted work, or duty; we should not

meddle with their work. God

created this beautiful world and it is our duty to appreciate its beauty. The

mind will get steady and calm slowly and gradually. When the front door was

open, why go by the back one? When the heart is pure, there is no difficulty,

whatsoever. Why should one be afraid of any one, if there be no evil thought in

us? The eyes may do their work, why should you feel shy and tottering?"

Shama was there and he could not follow the meaning of what Baba said. So, he

asked Nana, about this on their way home. Nana told him about his restlessness

at the sight of the beautiful lady, how Baba knew it and advised him about it.

Nana explained Baba's meaning as follows-"That our mind is fickle by nature, it

should not be allowed to get wild. The senses may get restless, the body,

however, should be held in check, and not allowed to be impatient. Senses run

after objects, but we should not follow them and crave for their objects. By

slow and gradual practice, restlessness can be conquered. We should not be

swayed by the senses, but they cannot be completely controlled. We should curb

them, rightly and properly, according to the need of the occasion. Beauty is

the subject of sight;

we should fearlessly look at the beauty of objects. There is no room for shyness

or fear. Only we should never entertain evil thoughts. Making the mind

desireless, observe God's works of beauty. In this way, the senses will be

easily and naturally controlled, and even in enjoying objects you will be

reminded of God. If the outer senses are not held in check and if the mind be

allowed to run after objects and be attached to them, our cycle of births and

deaths will not come to an end. Objects of senses are things harmful. With

Viveka (discrimination) as our charioteer, we will control the mind, and shall

not allow the sense to go astray. With such a charioteer, we reach the

Vishnu-pada-the final abode, our real Home from which there is no return".

BOW TO SHRI SAI - PEACE BE TO ALL

*****

SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM - PART IV

The Life of the Divine Avatar Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - [1973-1979]

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

BETWEEN YOU AND ME

I should apologize for allowing ten eventful years to pass by since placing Part

III of 'Sathyam Sivam Sundaram' in your hands before doing the same with Part

IV, although Bhagawan has been keeping me alive and attentive beyond my

expectations. But since I have never felt that I am the writer, I plead 'not

guilty' and desist.

It has become well nigh impossible to keep pace with the ever-expanding

manifoldness of the manifestation of Divinity that is Sai. That almighty Love

overwhelms us into blissful silence; the all-encompassing Power makes us aware

of our inadequacies. Nevertheless, the Divinity in us draws us to Him, even

while He seeks us, the straying as well as the steady one, to keep us in His

cosy custody.

Lord Krishna describes to Arjuna those who had received the impact of His grace,

thus: "My sweetness has soaked into every level of their consciousness. They

live in Me, by Me, for Me. They take delight in narrating stories centered

around My sport and My compassion. They share with others the love, the wisdom

and the power I impart, and all reap immense gain thereby."

I invite you to participate in this holy sharing. Travel from page to page as a

pilgrim, with humility, faith and hope, tarrying at every turn to fill your

hearts with visions of the many-turreted Citadel of God and of God Himself.

With each vision of His glory, we shall gain nearness and dearness to Him, who

has come to accept us as His own nearest and dearest.

N. Kasturi

THE SONG HE SINGS

Thirty-five years ago, when Baba was emerging from teenage, He sang this song

while at the Mandir (temple) on the outskirts of the village where He was born.

He has been, since childhood, a stream of sweetness, singing His way into the

hearts of all around Him. Since He was not of the earth, but very concerned to

transform the earth into Heaven, His songs then, as now, were designed as a

call to man to benefit from the mystery, the majesty and the magnificence of

His incarnation. This song, in Telugu, emerged from Him spontaneously, on the

morning of Vaikunda Ekadasi (the holy day in the Hindu calendar celebrating the

opening of the Doors of Heaven), in 1945, while devotees were busily stringing

thick garlands of Tulsi (basil) leaves to worship Him.

I have heard it sung since 1948 by those to whom He dictated it. It was also

printed in 1946, along with other songs sung by Baba in those early days, at

Venkatagiri by the Raja Saheb.

"Choothaamu, Ra Ra," it exhorts us. "Come! We shall see! Come! Awake!" it warns.

"Arise!" it commands. "Advance!" it pleads. And through this song, in cosmic

compassion, the call comes to each one of us even today.

Come brothers! Come sisters! We shall goTo holy Puttaparthi now. It seemsHe

wears a lovely robe of orange silk.His is heavenly glory; He is the Lord

Himself.He calls to give us freedom.He says, they say, "I shall shower grace."

On the Chitravathi sands,In the shadow of the hill,This Baba, they say, daily

revealsThat He is God in human form.It seems He was at Shirdi last,And is here,

for our sake, again.

Come brothers! Come sisters! We shall go.They say He waves His handsAs He often

did, while there.'Tis said they offer all you ask of Him.He is, they say, Siva

and Rama,Krishna and Maruti too.All forms of God are one in Him;You can see Him

as such and such,When you are good and true.He is the God the Kaliyuga doth

need; That's why, they say, He's comeTo cleanse the world of lie and sin.Of

mercy, he is the ocean vast.

Come brothers! Come sisters! We shall go.They say He is resplendent,Resting on a

floral swing.Our hallelujah is the swing;Adoration, the plank; homage, the

chains;Hymns in praise, the fragrance of the flowers.Whenever one prays in

agony,It seems He heals in a trice;Like the cow, when the calf does moo,He

hurries, hastens, runs.His glance, they say, is soft and soothing;His words are

nectar-sweet.Those who go to PuttaparthiAre on the royal road, they say,While

we, they say, tarry in lanes, cursing destiny,Caught in Maya, with none to

liberate us.As soon as He Wills, 'tis said, His palm is fullOf Vibhuthi, which

He gives at onceTo those who struggle, suffer, stray.Do not say, "We are busy

now; some time

later."

Come brothers! Come sisters! Let us go.We'll go to holy PuttaparthiFor the

Darshan of the Lord.Join us, you uppish pseudo-wise,And learn a little of His

glory.He digs His fingers into a heap of sand,With a chuckle on the lipAnd a

twinkle in the eye;Wet balls of sand become laddus round! From far, far away,

some dim-eyed donsPronounce it magic, mantra, tantra.Be deaf to them; get up

and start.Don't reckon hardships; the reward is greatIn Parthi Mandir, now, on

this holy day,Tulsi leaves are strung into garlands galore,While He sings this

song to bless the happy throng.

This call has brought the world to Puttaparthi where the Third World Conference

delegates, numbering about ten thousand, from various units of the Sri Sathya

Sai Seva Samithi, are meeting during the Birthday festival, 1980.

This Tulsi leaf - Part IV of 'Sathyam Sivam Sundaram' - is offered at His Lotus

Feet by a humble garland stringer.

N. KasturiPrashanthi Nilayam27-7-1980 (Guru Poornima)

IN CONFIDENCE

FROM BABA, HIS STORY

At Ootacamund in the Nilgiri Hills, when the Summer Course on Indian Culture and

Spirituality for college students came to a close, Baba held an exclusive

session with the student participants. He was then in an unusually jovial and

reminiscent mood. He desired to thrill the students with an account of His

early days at school, so that they might realise that His oft-quoted statement,

'My Life is My Message', was true even when He was physically emerging into

boyhood, and even before He had announced His advent as an avatar. He related

to them how He moved among

his cousins and classmates, His teachers and comrades, and also the villagers of

Puttaparthi, Bukkapatnam, Uravakonda and Kamalapura. He would exhort them to

ponder over this chapter of His story and implant in their hearts the ideals He

had placed before Himself even as a child. When the summer course of 1978 held

at Bangalore concluded, students who had heard of the Ootacamund discourse

pleaded with Him to disclose to them episodes of His boyhood days, at school

and outside, in which He provided glimpses of His Leela (divine play); and Baba

graciously revealed to them a few more incidents of the past which laid bare His

mission and His divinity.

In the pages of Part I of this series, I have mentioned that even as a child of

five summers, He had earned the epithets, 'Guru' and 'Brahmajnani', because He

corrected and counselled the children who gathered around Him as playmates, and

because His conversation and conduct were on a level of consciousness higher

than even the adults who sought to guide Him. Even as a child and later at

school, He was meek but morally fearless, abhorred violence, vengefulness and

falsehood, and preferred simple living to gaudiness and ostentation. He could

easily sing, dance, and compose hymns and poems, while other children of the

same age were still struggling with the first few letters of the alphabet. He

also demonstrated ready compassion for birds and animals. He avoided meat and

eggs, and shed tears of sympathy

when drought animals like bullocks were mercilessly beaten. He stood forth as

the leader of a band of children to whom He taught the ways of God and the

means to win His grace.

He stayed most days at the house of the Karnam (village accountant) where the

mistress, Subbamma, tended Him with maternal care. Baba sought shelter in her

affection in order to avoid the sight of slaughtering fowl in His family home

nearby and to watch the Pooja (worship) conducted by that Brahmin lady in the

room set apart for ceremonial rites. Baba never played truant at school.

Rather, He relished the company of children, whom He helped to get the best out

of school.

TOWARDS UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL

At Ootacamund, Baba narrated the story of a journey in a crowded cart drawn by a

pair of bullocks from Puttaparthi to Bukkapatnam, and from Bukkapatnam to

Penukonda, sixteen miles away. He was then ten years old. He and the other

children could scarcely squeeze into the cart; a few spilled over. They were in

the lower primary class and could join the upper primary school only when they

had passed an examination, which was to be held at Penukonda town. There were

eighteen children in all, overcrowding the vehicle. Whenever the road rose to

negotiate a bump or a hill, the bullocks could not drag the cart behind them.

So the children were pulled out and made to walk up. There was also no brake to

hold the cart in check as it rolled downhill and, as a consequence, the children

had to walk the road downhill

also! The children were sent to the 'distant, unfamiliar town' from their homes,

after propitiatory prayers to the family deities, prayers that were also meant

to help them pass the examination.

At Penukonda they stayed together, and the teachers who led them gave last

minute lessons. Baba agreed to be in charge of the kitchen. Lunch and dinner

for the party were cooked by Him and He did not demand or welcome help from

anyone. This arrangement continued on all the three days of the examination.

Baba had no time to revise His texts, nor could He attend the special classes

held by the teachers. Yet, when the results were announced a few weeks later,

He happened to be the only candidate declared fit to proceed to the upper

primary school! The good people of Bukkapatnam, the village three miles away,

warmly welcomed Baba into the school situated in their village, taking Him

through the streets on a chair placed on a flower-bedecked cart that was drawn

by caparisoned bullocks, right up to the

doorstep of the school. They were all happy, even proud, that the 'wonder-boy'

of Puttaparthi, already famous as 'God's Son', was attending classes in their

school.

Baba was the cynosure of all eyes at Bukkapatnam. Though He seldom listened to

the lessons and rarely opened His textbooks, He was hailed as the brightest

pupil of His class. This drew upon Him the envious looks of the ones who

trudged along with Him everyday from Puttaparthi. They often overpowered Him

physically while on the Chitravathi sands and dragged Him along, ruffling His

shirt and knickers and damaging them out of shape. When the Chitravathi was

flowing, they dowsed Him with gusto. Baba said that He neither protested nor

complained, but bore all this as the pardonable sport of ignorant youngsters.

His refused to name any of the tormentors nor did He bear any ill will against

them.

AS MONITOR

In those days every classroom echoed with the swish of the teacher's cane, which

was busy falling on the backs or palms of the luckless little brats. When the

teacher got too exhausted to inflict the punishment, this privilege was

transferred to the brightest boy in the class. Baba said that one day the

question presented before the pupils was: "Describe the glory of India." The

answer had to be in English. The other boys knew little of

FONT-SIZE: 10pt">India, and less of English. Baba, however, tersely but

confidently replied, "Consisting of high mountains, large rivers with many

branches and many plains, India is beautiful with all these grand contents."

Baba then related to us details of the rest of this episode: "The punishment

the others deserved according to the teacher was my slapping them on their

cheeks. I was to hold their noses tight with the left hand and then give them

the resounding slaps. There were about thirty students in the class, some far

taller than me, and I had to climb upon a bench to fulfill my most unpleasant

and

unpopular duty. But I could not bring myself to slap them as forcibly as the

teacher wanted and my blows fell softly on their cheeks. So the teacher was

angered. He called me near and shouted, 'Did I want you to apply Haldi

(turmeric, used as a cosmetic) to their cheeks? I asked you to beat them. I

shall show you how.' He held my nose and counted the slaps he gave me, about

thirty or so, before he stopped. I bore it all in silence, for a teacher should

not be insulted or let down. It was my fault for having annulled, by softness,

the purpose of the punishment he desired to inflict, however absurd the prize

for my superior knowledge of Indian geography and history."

Baba disclosed that, being the monitor of the class, He was burdened with duties

and clothed in authority. "I undertook to show the students and the monitors of

other classes how a monitor should conduct himself. I would reach school a few

minutes earlier than the rest. I cleaned the blackboard before the class

commenced and often had to clean even the benches and desks," Baba explained.

"Rama sat at the feet of Vasishta and attended class with other boys. Krishna,

too, had Sandeepa as his guru, while Sudama and others were his classmates.

When the formless, attributeless Divine Principle takes human form and appears

among men, It has to conduct Itself as an agreeable companion and as an

understandable example to contemporaries."

In His discourses Baba confirmed that He had 'willed' the incident at the

Bukkapatnam School when the chair stuck to the posterior of Kondappa, one of

His teachers. He confessed that His intention in reducing him to a ridiculous

figure was not to avenge His having been made to stand up on the bench for

hours. He had designed it only to reveal a

little of His uniqueness, give a glimpse of His divinity, and to make the world

around Him sit up and ask, "Who is this boy?"

When Kondappa's hour of teaching was over, he naturally had to vacate the chair

for Mehboob Khan who was to take the next class, but he could not get up

because the chair stuck to him. The boys suggested that the calamity had

happened because Sathya was punished. Then Mehboob Khan, who loved and adored

Baba, and who had glimpses of His divinity, revealed to Kondappa, "You do not

understand. Raju is not an ordinary person; He is a divine boy and I have seen

divine brilliance in Him many times. Withdraw the punishment you have given Him

immediately and your own punishment will disappear." Then Mehboob Khan asked

Baba to step down from the bench and Kondappa, too, could get up and walk away.

 

THE CLASSMATES

Swami narrated the events at Uravakonda (about thirty miles away from

Anantapur), where He spent about two years with His elder brother who was a

teacher of the Telugu language in the high school there. I myself visited

Uravakonda a year and a half ago. There I walked along the long, broad verandas

of the high school, hallowed by His footprints. I spent some times in the room

which was once His classroom and sat on the same desk that had been used by Him

as student - a bench-cum-writing desk, with a makeshift shelf underneath the

incline of the top. Three pupils could sit on each bench with their books in

the bottom shelf. I sat on the bench and imagined little Baba seated next to

me!

Dr. Moinuddin, now a medical practitioner at Uravakonda, was with me at the

school that day. He had been a contemporary and classmate of Baba. He said, "I

was allotted a seat on the bench directly behind Baba, and I could tease Him by

whisking away His cap. He would then implore me to return it to Him, for no

student could attend class without a cap. I knew that Baba would not fight or

complain to the teacher or whisk away my cap in turn; He was so quiet, soft and

non-violent. So I would insist on His creating some sweetmeat for me - a

Rasagolla, a Laddu or a Mysore pak. I

was tired of taking sugar-candy. Baba would then circle His palm twice or thrice

and produce for me my favorite sweets. But this invariably set all tongues

dripping. So a general clamor would arise for a repetition of the act and the

noise would bring in the teacher. Then, he too, would have his share before the

lesson began." Another of His classmates, Sri Sita Rama Rao, told me that Baba

had confided in him that He would set the world right and establish the reign

of truth in all lands.

I saw the tangled branches of the old dwarf trees right in the centre of the

quadrangle. Baba had described to us how He used to play the monkey game on

five trees in that quadrangle. Two of the trees have now been axed, but

Providence has spared the rest. The monkey game involved two rival bands of

primates. They crawled along the branches, then dangled without dropping,

moving from one hold to another, trying to unnerve and to demoralize members of

the rival band, until one of them was touched and declared 'out'. They snarled

and growled at their rivals as angrily as

they could. They swung and swayed, clung and clambered, slid and slithered. If

they fell, they 'died' and were pronounced 'down and out'. They shook the

branches with all their might to unseat the 'monkeys' of the opposite gang,

loudly jeering and cheering all the while. If any of them slipped into the

vocabulary of Homo sapiens and revealed his true identity, he 'died' at that

instant. Baba gave each one of them some sweets at the end of the game. Many

like Dr. Moinuddin, who had once frisked and frolicked on those trees, are even

today chewing the sweet cud of memories of the game.

THE SCOUT TROOP

Swami related in a discourse the story of His 'boy scout' days. "We had a

physical instructor," He said, "who formed a school scout troop. He was very

insistent that I should enroll, and though I, too, was eager to use the chance

to direct the 'good turns' of scouting towards the path of Sadhana (spiritual

discipline), I could not join because my family was too poor to afford the

uniform and other contingent expenses. To make you aware of the depth of their

poverty, I shall relate an incident: I used to attend classes everyday wearing

the same shirt, for I did not have a second. Some of the boys who discovered

this fact started laughing at me. They teased me on the way to school and back

and, pulling at my worn-out shirt, they tore it. As I had no pin to even keep

it together, I was forced to use a

cactus thorn plucked from the fence of my neighbour's field to serve the purpose.

"Realising the reason which held me back from the troop, my chums were very sad.

The boy who always sat to the right of me was the son of the chief accountant at

the revenue office. He went to his father and persuaded him to make two pairs of

uniforms comprising a khaki half-sleeved shirt along with khaki knickers. He

rolled up one pair and put it on the shelf of my desk with a note that was

addressed to me which read: 'You must take this and wear it. We are brothers,

so do accept this from me.' But I was not happy, and decided to refuse this

gift. I left the uniform on the shelf of his desk along with a note saying, 'If

you wish our friendship to last, you must not indulge in such games of giving

and taking material objects. When a needy person accepts something from

another, anxiety lurks in his mind

as to how he might return the favour, while pride enters and pollutes the mind

of the giver over his act of charity. True friendship should be from heart to

heart. If we build friendship on a give-and-take basis, the person who takes

feels small and he who gives feels proud. Such friendship does not last. So I

am not accepting the clothes you left on my desk and am returning them to you

with this note.' The next day that boy pleaded, 'You can return them to me

after leaving the scout movement.' But I did not agree even to that. 'I do not

need nor seek help,' I told him. 'I seek only the chance to help and show

others the best way to help. Besides, your father got the uniforms made for you

- they were not meant for my use. I am Truth, as my name indicates. If I wear it

instead of you, I will be setting Truth aside.'"

I am tempted to relate in this context what happened to a kinsman of mine about

twenty years ago. He had bought in Rangoon, a Burmese umbrella, flat-topped,

with a bright, garish-coloured cloth cover, as a birthday gift for his sister

living in Bangalore. But as she refused to accept it, it was lying unused.

Later his parents placed it before

Baba as an offering. Baba told them, "Why do you bring Me stolen articles? This

belongs to your daughter, whether she uses it or not." Anything offered to Baba

must be 'ab initio' intended for and dedicated to Him.

THE THURSDAYS

At Uravakonda, I looked into the well from which Baba used to draw water for His

home everyday and carry it, slung across His shoulder, in big mud pots. The well

is at least one kilometer away, and Baba trudged the distance six times a day.

The well, the only potable water well in the village, being very deep, He must

have gone through great physical strain to get the pots filled. "The time spent

in supplying water for the home did not leave me any time for other activities,"

says Baba. I was also able to see Mr. Mehboob Khan, the teacher who loved and

revered Baba as a boy, and who had foreseen that He would one day become a

World Teacher.

The house where Baba lived with His elder brother is now a jumble of mud blocks.

We scrambled in and stood reverentially before the sacred spot where Baba had

started sitting every Thursday after declaring Himself as the reincarnation of

Shirdi Sai. Even as we were standing lost in reverie, an old resident of the

village related a story of those years: "One night, a group of women from an

adjacent village journeyed to Uravakonda by bullock-cart to witness a movie.

They were huddled in a thick cluster in the cart. Taking advantage of the

oncoming night, a woman unfastened a gold ornament from the hair of the woman

sitting beside her. The loss was discovered only when the women alighted, but

none suspected the other, since they knew one another well. Some suggested that

the ornament might have got

loosened by itself and fallen on the road, while others asked the lady to

recollect whether she had worn it at all. Then an old man ventured to say,

'There is a 'miracle boy' here whom we can consult. He is the brother of the

Telugu teacher.' As soon as they trooped in, Baba sighted them and said, 'Eh

Janakamma! Give the jewel back!' The startled Janakamma did as Baba had

ordered, her head bent in shame. Baba told the others, 'Go! Take her also to

the movie with you. Repentance is enough punishment. Forget this lapse. It was

your fault, tempting the weak-minded woman. I am sure she will not do it again,

for she has been blessed by Me.'"

THE ROCKING CHAIR

Baba told the students how He had borne poverty and hardship in His childhood

and youth, in silence and without complaint. There was a rocking chair in the

house, upon which Baba sat one evening. When His brother's brother-in-law saw

Him rocking Himself in the chair, he was very incensed and remarked, "Who gave

you permission to sit on that precious chair and rock back and forth like a

Maharaja! Get up and go out of here." Baba replied, "The day is coming when I

will be a Maharaja sitting on a silver chair. You will live to see the day."

This angered him all the more, but he did not pursue the persecution. About

seven years later, the Rani of Chincholi, who could not bear to see her Swami

sitting on a wooden chair, brought a silver chair for Him. But Swami did not

permit the chair to be unpacked even

during the Shivarathri or the Dasara celebrations. On the occasion of Swami's

birthday, His brother's brother-in-law came to Puttaparthi. Then Baba asked

him, of all people, to unpack the silver chair and place it in position on the

dais of Prashanthi Mandir which was then ready for Bhajan gatherings. The man

shed tears of repentance and asked to be pardoned. Baba soothingly told him not

to worry. This was, perhaps, the only instance when Baba reacted, for He usually

bears others' anger with remarkable indifference and restraint. He told the boys

that He was ever alert to guard the honour and reputation of the family in which

He was born, and to ward off the derision of cynics and carpers.

The General Stores of Kote Subbanna, from where Baba got His apparel and items

of stationery in return for songs and slogans, was still there as I could see.

Subbanna’s grandson is now running it. Subbanna had once sought Baba's help for

boosting the sales of his baby foods and Ayurvedic drugs. Baba agreed, and in

return got from the shop the articles He most needed but could not purchase.

The publicity value of Baba's lilts was great, for, as I was told by the

contemporaries of Subbanna, when these were sung in chorus by several boys

carrying placards advertising a product, it would be sold in no time. Venkama

Raju, Baba's father, thanked Subbanna for the help he was rendering Baba, as a

result of which He could replenish His wardrobe and get a few notebooks.

Whenever a new product (like 'Balamrit' of

Pundit D. Gopalacharlu of Madras) had to be introduced to the people of

Uravakonda, it was done by means of such street music. There was a weekly fair

at the town, and on such days, when the villagers from surrounding areas

assembled, Subbanna had a heyday with his placards and his merry 'choirboys'.

CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brother M. Palaniswamy

/