SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM [53]

[Guest guest]

Om Sri Sai Ram

Ganesha Mantra: AUM Gung Ganapathaye Namah

Ganesh Gayatri

Tat purushaaya vidmahe

Vakratundaaya dheemahi

Tanno dhanti prachodayaat

 

SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM

The Life Stories of the Two Avatars of the Age – [53]

KHAPARDE DIARY

17th December 1911

After prayer I saw Sai Maharaj go out and then again after he returned. He was

in very good mood and we enjoyed very much the jokes made by him. The breakfast

was late as Meghraj had gone out to bring Bel leaves. He came back a little

late. In the afternoon I sat talking with HajiSahib Falke, Dr. Hate, Mr.

Shingne and others. Gokhale went away today. Towards evening I went to Masjid

but Sai Maharaj asked me and my companions to bow from a distance. He however

called by son Balvant near and told him to bring Dakshina. We all saluted him

opposite the Chawadi and again at night at Shej-Aarti. Tonight Sai Maharaj

sleeps at Chawadi.

18th December 1911

My throat is better than it was yesterday. After prayer I sat talking with Mr.

Shingne, Wamanrao patil and Durvesh Sahib whose full name would appear to be

Durvesh Haji Mohomad Saddik of Kalyan. I saw Sai Sahib go out and later went to

the Masjid when he returned. He Sai I had filled my bucket was enjoying the cool

breezes of the Neem tree and was enjoying myself while he was enduring all

manner of trouble and had no sleep. He was in a very pleasant mood and many

people came to worship. My wife also came. We returned after mid-day Aarathi

and after meals sat talking with Haji Sahib, Bapusahib Jog and others. Towards

evening we went to Masjid and sat near Sai Sahib but there was not much time as

it was stood in front of the Chawadi and as usual saluted him there. Returning

to our lodging I sat

listening to Bhishma's Bhajan.

19th December 1911

In the morning I got up early, felt fresh, prayed and felt that I was better all

round. Sai Maharaj went out while I was yet praying, so I could not see him.

Later on I went to the Masjid and found him in a very pleasant mood. He said

there was a rich man who had five sons and a daughter. These children effected

a division of the family property. Four of the sons took their shares of

moveable and immovable. The fifth son and the daughter could not take

possession of their share: They wandered about hungry, came to Sai Baba. They

had six carts laden with jewels. Robbers took away two of the six carts. The

remaining four were kept under the Banyan tree. At this point Trimbakrao, whom

Baba calls Maruti, interrupted and the story ran in a different channel. After

the mid-day Aarathi I returned to the

lodging, had food, and sat talking with Durvesh Sahib. He is a very pleasant

man. Wamanrao Patil went away today. Ram Maruti Boa came in the afternoon. He

danced and jumped about a good deal during Bhajan. We saw Sai Maharaj in the

evening and again at Shej-Aarthi time. Ram Maruti Boa attended Bhishma's Bhajan

and danced and jumped. Sai Baba this afternoon went out towards Nimgaon, visited

Dengle, cut a tree and came back, many went after him with musical instruments

and escorted him home. I did not go far. Radhakrishnabai came near our Wada to

great Sai Saheb and I saw her for the first time without the big veil etc.

20th December 1911

I got up very early in the morning and went to Kakad Aarathi. Towards the close

of the Aarathi I noticed Waman Rao there with surprise and learnt that he, on

the way near Kopargaon, sent the driver of his cart to purchase guavas and the

bullocks ran away. He wandered about, and had good deal of trouble. The story

was very amazing. Sai Maharaj left Chawadi without any audible remark except

that Allah is the lord of all. I returned to the lodging, prayed, and saw Sai

Maharaj got out and again on hi return to Masjid. He was in a very pleased

mood. Durvesh Sahib told me that Sai Baba saw him at night and granted his

wish. I mentioned this to Sai Maharaj and he said nothing. I today shampooed

the legs of Sai Maharaj. The softness of his limbs is wonderful. Our meal was

somewhat late. After it I sat

reading the papers received today. Towards evening I went to Masjid received Sai

Baba's blessing, saluted him in front of Chawadi and returned to my lodging. We

had Bhisma's Bhajan attended by Ram Maruti Baba and Ramayana read by Dixit.

21st December 1911

I got up as usual, prayed, and sat talking with Durvesh Saheb. He said he had a

vision in which he saw three girls and a blind woman knock at his door. He

asked them who they were and they replied that they had come to amuse

themselves. Thereupon he ordered them out on pain of being kicked and began a

prayer. The girls and the old woman ran away on hearing the words of the

prayer. He then blessed all in the room and in the house and the whole village.

He asked me at ask Sai Saheb. When I went to see the latter on his return to the

Masjid and before I was fairly seated Sai Saheb commenced a story. He said he

was beaten last night by something on his private parts and hands, that he

applied oil, wandered about, had a stool, and then felt better near the fire. I

shampooed his legs and on my return told

the story to Durvesh Saheb. The answer was clear. After the Midday Aarathi I sat

reading Bhavartha Ramayan and then later on saw Sai Saheb near the Chawadi, and

later on again at Shej-Aarthi at Chawadi. Then we had Bhishma's Bhajan and Ram

Maruti's gesticulations. Later still, Mr. Dixit read Ramayana.

22nd December 1911

I got up early in the morning to go to Kakad Aarathi, but in consequence of a

remark made by Madhao Rao Deshpande, I thought of not going, but later on

Madhao Rao himself went and I accompanied him. Sai Maharaj was particularly

pleasant looking and went quietly to Masjid. We all saluted when he went out

and again after he returned to Masjid. Shingne and Durvesh Saheb made an

attempt to go today but Sai Maharaj did not give the necessary permission.

Darvesh Saheb got ill and had fever, Dr. Hate treated him, I think I have

mentioned before that there is one tipnis staying here with his wife. She is

ill and Dr. Hate has been doing all he can for her. Ram Maruti Maharaj is also

here for her. She had a fit in the evening but it turned out to be an

obsession. Dixit, Madhao rao Deshapanade and others went

to see her. She is possessed by the former owner of the house in which she lives

and by two mahars. The owner declared that he would have killed her but that Sai

Baba ordered him not to. The mahars are also kept away by Sai Baba. When Tipnis

threatened to move his wife to this Wada the spirits prayed earnestly and asked

him not to do so. The spirits said Sai Baba would beat them. There was Bhishma's

Bahajan as usual and later on Ramayan by Dixit, a little before midnight.

23rd December 1911

I got up early in the morning but fell asleep again and then got up very late.

On coming down, I found that Shingne, his wife and Durvesh Saheb had obtained

their permission to return to their homes. So they left the former to Bombay

and the latter to Kalyan. Durvesh Saheb is obviously very much advanced

spiritually as Sai Maharaj came as far as the breach in the wall to see him

off. I miss him very much as we used to have long talks. Mr. Mantri, Solicitor

of Bombay, came yesterday with his family, four brothers and a number of

children. He is a very nice man and we sat

talking. Mr. Mahajani, whom I met last year, came today and brought very good

fruit and globes of glass for Sai Baba's lamps. Mr. Goverdhandas of Bhayandar

is also here. He brought very good fruit, silk curtains for Sai Maharaj's

improved room in the Chawadi and new dresses for volunteers who carry the

umbrella, chamars and fans. He is said to be a very rich man. There was a

little meaningless disagreement between Madhao Rao Deshpande and my wife and my

son about living in Dixit's Wada. Sai Baba said that the Wada belonged the

himself, and neither to Dixit not to Madhao Rao. So the matter settled itself.

I could not see Sai Maharaj go out but paid my respects on his return to

Masjid. He gave me fruit and smoke out of his chillim. In the afternoon I had a

little sleep after meals and then sat reading the daily papers received today.

Wamanrao patil has passed his L.L.B. I wish Dr. Hate had passed also; Sai

Maharaj says he will get very good news. Tipnis has changed his lodgings and

his wife is better. She is not so restless as she used to be. Ram Maruti Boa is

still here. WE went to Shej-Aarthi. The procession was very impressive and the

new curtains and dresses looked very nice. I enjoyed it very much. What a pity

I have it not in my power to make rich presents of the kind. God is great. At

night Bhshma had his Bhajan and Dixit read Ramayana.

24th December 1911

In the morning I got up early and went to Kakadarti. On my return I prayed and

walked about. Mr. Mantri got permission to return, so he went away with all his

family after saying goodbye to nearly every one. He is a very good man. Wamanrao

Patil also went. Then came a large number of visitors. Among them was a lady by

name Anusayabai. She appeared to be spiritually advanced and Sai Maharaj

treated her with great consideration and gave her four fruits. Later on he told

the story of a man having five sons. Four of them demanded and obtained

partition. Two of these four decided to re-unite with the father. The latter

ordered the mother to poison one of these tows and she obeyed. The other fell

from a tall tree, got injured and was on the point of death, but was allowed by

the father to survive about

twelve years until a son and daughter were born to him and then he died. Sai

Baba said nothing about the 5th son and to me the story looks incomplete. After

the midday meal I lay down for a while and then sat reading the Ramayana. In the

evening we went as usual to salute the Sai Saheb opposite the Chawadi and at

night had Bhishma's Bhajan and Dixit's Ramayana. Dr. Hate is still here and is

a very nice man. Mr. Mahajani is also here.

25th December 1911

In the morning after prayer I saw Sai Maharaj go out and sat talking with Mr.

Mahajani and others. Many guests went and many more came and things are wearing

a rather busy appearance. Me. Govardhandas gave a dinner and invited nearly

every one here who has come to see Sai Maharaj. My son Balwant had a dream last

night in which he thought he saw Sai Maharaj and Me.

blue; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Bapusaheb Jog in our Elichpur house. He offered food to

Sai Baba. He told me about the dream and I thought it was a mere fancy, but

today he called Balwant and said, "I went to your house yesterday and you fed

me but gave no Daxina. You should give twenty-five rupees now." So Balwant

returned to the lodging and went with Madhaorao Deshpande and paid the Daxina.

At midday Aarti Sai Maharaj gave me Prasad of Peda fruits and made distinct

sign tome to make a bow. I at once prostrated myself. Today the breakfast was

very late, and was not over till 4 p.m.

normal"> I had it with Goverdhandas, or rather at the Mandap near our lodging,

spread at his expense. After it I felt very lazy and sat talking. We all saw

Sai Maharaj in the evening both before he came out as usual for his stroll and

then again when he was taken in Bahajan Procession to Cahwadi. Kondaji Fakir

lost his daughter tonight. She was interred near our lodging. Bhishma had his

Bhajan and Dixit read Ramayana.

26th December 1911

I got up early and attended Kakad Aarathi; Sai Maharaja was in rather unusual

mood, took his stick and with it tapped the ground round about. By the time he

descended the steps of Chavadi he walked twice backward and forward and used

violent language. On my return I prayed, bathed and sat in the verandah in

front of my room. I saw Sai Maharaj go out. Mr. Gokhale pleader of Poona came.

He had seen my wife at Shegaon before when Ganapati Baba was working in the

Physical world. There was with him a seller of Indian toys and another. They

saw me after the midday Aarti and after I had taken my meal. I lay down for a

while in the third quarter of the day and then sat talking with Mahajani, Dr.

Hate and others. We saw Sai Maharaj in the afternoon at the Chawadi and later

on about dusk when he came out for his stroll. He was very gracious. Today he

spoke with my son Balwant and got him to sit even after he told everybody else

to clear out. He told him not to admit guest in the evening and to take care of

him and that in return he (Sai Baba) would take care of him Madhavrao Deshpande

is ill. He has enough cold and is lying down a good deal, if not actually

confined to be. In the evening there was Bhishma's Bhajan as usual and Dixit's

Ramayana afterwards. Mr. Bhate was there to hear the Puranas. We began the

Sunder Kand

today.

27th December 1911

I did not sleep well last night but got up early in the morning, prayed, bathed,

dressed earlier than usual. After the midday Aarathi I had my breakfast about 3

p.m. and then lay down and had a good sleep. In the afternoon many people

attempted to go to see Sai Maharaj but he was not inclined to speak and

dismissed them soon. So I did not go and sat

reading. We all saw him at dusk when he came out for his stroll and again at

Shej-Aarthi. Bhishma's Bhajan was very much prolonged today by many people

singing at it. A young Mohammedan surprised me by his song. Then there was

Ramayana by Dixit.

28th December 1911

In the morning after I prayed, Dr. Hate and Mr. R. D. Moregaonkar got permission

to return. So, they went away and immediately after came Nanasaheb Chandorkar,

C. V. Vaidya and Mr. Natekar "Hamsa". I sat long speaking with the last and

then went and saw the former two who are staying in a tent close by. Hamsa has

traveled long in the Himalayas is an initiate and accepted disciple. His

conversation is therefore very edifying. C. V. Vaidya has some trouble in one

of his eyes. It is very red. Mr. Chandorkar is very jolly as usual. We attended

the midday Aarti. Trimbakrao known as Maruti is very angry. He did not attend

the worship today and was very sulky. Madharorao Deshpande is better today. He

was on his legs nearly the whole day. Dixit is very assiduous in attending to

all guests who are very numerous. Mr. Chandorkar went to Kalyan today and said

he would return on Sunday next. I sat talking with Hamsa in the afternoon

nearly up to the time of going to see Sai Maharaj as he goes out for his

stroll. He did not permit anybody to sit there today but dismissed every one

with "Udi". Hamsa went to Radhakrishnbai and spent the evening there. She sings

well and does Bhajan very excellent. We had Bhishma's Bhajan in which many

joined and then there was Dixit's Ramayana. Dada Gole has come here from Morsi.

One of my clients Ramrao is also here. He

wishes me to write an appeal. There is no time for it.

29th December 1911

I was a little late in getting up and then sat talking with Mr. Natekar whom we

call "Hamsa" and also Swami. I could not finish my prayer etc. in time to go

and see Sai Maharaj as he went out. I saw him when he returned to Masjid, Hamsa

was with me. Sai Maharaj was in a very good instructive but unfortunately

Trimbakrao whom we call Maruti interrupted most foolishly and Sai Maharaj

changed the subject. He said that there was a young man very hungry and wanting

in almost every respect. The young man after wandering about went to Sai Saheb's

father's house and was received very kindly and given everything he required.

The boy spent some time there, felt fat, collected a few things, stole

ornaments, and making the whole into a bundle wished to return to where he had

come from. He was really born in and

belonged to Sai Sahib's father's house but did not know it. The boy put the

bundle into the corner of a street but was seen before he could actually start.

So he had to delay. In the meantime thieves took away the ornaments from his

bundle. He missed them when he was on the point of starting. So he kept at the

house and collected more ornaments and actually started, but people on the way

arrested him on the suspicion of his having come by the things by theft. At

this point the story got diverted and ended abruptly. On my return from the

midday Aarti, I requested Hamsa to take his food with me and he kindly accepted

my invitation. He is a very nice simple man and after meals he told us about his

travels in the Himalayas, how he visited Manas Sarowar, how he

heard an Upanished being sung there, how he followed footprints, how he reached

a cave, saw a mahatma, how the latter spoke of the conviction of Mr. Tilak that

day at Bombay, how the mahatma introduced him to his brother (elder fellow

student), how he finally met his Guru, and became "Kritarth". Later on we went

to Sai Baba and saw him at the Musjid. He sent me a word this afternoon that I

have to stay here another two months. He confirmed the message in the afternoon

and then said that his "Udi" had great spiritual properties. He told my wife

that the Governor came with a lance, that Sai Maharaj had a tussle eith him,

and drove him out and that he finally conciliated the Governor. The language is

highly figurative and therefore difficult to interpret. In the evening we

attended the Shej-Aarti and then had the Bhajan of Bhishma and Ramayan of

Dixit.

30th December 1911

In the morning after prayer I wrote two letters one to my son Baba and the other

to Bhaoo Durani telling them that I am not likely to return for another two

months. Mr. Natekar went to Radhakrishna lady. She, it would appear, was away.

He sat there and felt so calm and nice that he spent the whole day there. I

read Ramayan in the morning and heard Bhagwat in the afternoon and went to Sai

Maharaj a little before dusk. He treated me very kindly called me by name and

told a small tale calculated to impress the virtue of patience. He said he went

to Aurangabad in one of his

wanderings and saw a Fakir sitting in a Masjid near which there was a very tall

tamarind tree. The Fakir would not let him enter the Musjid first but

ultimately consented to his putting up in it. The Fakir depended entirely on a

piece of cake that an old woman used to supply him at midday. Sai Maharaj

volunteered to beg for him and kept him supplied amply with food for twelve

years and then thought of leaving the place. The old Fakir shed words. Sai

Maharaj visited him four years later and found him their doing well. The Fakir

then came here a few year ago and lodged at the Chawadi. Mother Baba Fakir

looked after him. From what was said I gathered that Sai Baba stayed twelve

years to instruct the Aurangabad Fakir and set him up fully in the spiritual

world.

At night there was Bhishma's Bhajan and Dixit's Ramayana. Natekar who came there

also read a chapter.

31st December 1911

I got up very early in the morning prayed, and was walking in the Verandah when

Hamsa came downstairs and said that he could not sleep well and so wandered out

and wet to Khandoba temple, then to the house occupied at present by

Radhakrishna Bai in the hope of hearing her pray but found that there were no

signs of anybody starting in the house. So he wandered about the village gate.

Later on he went again and met Radhakrishna Bai. She kindly helped him. So he

bathed, and had breakfast out of the Prasad sent to her by Sai Maharaj. I stood

talking with him. He went to Radhakrishnabai again to say good bye and she gave

him a Dhoti and a shirt as Prasad. Then he returned to

10pt">Bombay with the three young men that were within. The name of one of them

was Rege. All this made me late for everything and was further delayed by the

barber. I saw Sai Baba to out but he did not permit anybody to approach him

salute at close quarters. I went to the Masjid later on and sat there to attend

the midday worship. During the Aarathi all the males had stand to day below the

platform in the open and leaving the whole Masjid for the ladies. The

arrangement was very good. On my return I sat talking with the Mamledar of

Kopargaon who happened to be her. Later on came Me. Deo Mamledar of Dahnu.

Nanasaheb Chandorkar came before Aarathi. Our breakfast was as usual about 2

p.m. After it I sat reading the newspapers received to day. Towards evening I

went to the Masjid, but Sai Maharaj gave “Udi" soon. So I sat on the plinth of

the new building talking with the Gujarati Shastri who is with Govardhandas. We

saluted Sai Maharaj when he came out for his usual stroll and again at

Shej-Aarathi. Then we had Bhajan of Bhisma and Dixit's Ramayan.

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.

SIVAM

On the Telugu New Year Day Baba was at Hyderabad for the inauguration of the

holy 'Sivam' Mandir. "Let the New Year bring you Ananda. You can get it by

serving the poor, the disabled, and those who earn their livelihood by

strenuous physical labour," He said. Baba blessed the juveniles at the Remand

Home in Hyderabad. "I like children. I take

great care of them, insisting on discipline, reverence to parents, moderate food

and allotment of time to study, prayer and meditation. I also recommend some

form of service," He said.

The main topic on which Baba focused His discourses in the summer school was the

Moha Mudgara or Bhaja Govindam of Sankaracharya. In July, Baba was again in

Bombay for visits to the Central School for the Deaf and the Sathya Sai Service

Centre at Koliwada, a hamlet of fishermen, which had been adopted by the Seva

Samithi. He also attended a Bal Vikas programme featuring the children of the

mill workers at Worli.

The Dasara message was one of "sacrifice, detachment, and renunciation" through

positive and constructive activity. "Do every deed as an act of worship to Him;

let every thought be a longing for Him; make every word a hymn of thanks giving

for His benevolence."

Bhagawan has been repeating in His discourses, the Vedic exhortation to the

Youth to "revere your parents as God," for reverence is fast disappearing in

Indian families. He emphasised that the home is the earliest and best school,

where one's most enduring skills and habits are imbibed. It is the place where

one's heart should always be, wherever one might physically wander. We love our

country because the tombs of our fathers, the temples of our God, the fields

which have fed us and the rivers we have bathed in, all exist therein. To

demonstrate the value of reverence, Baba inaugurated the Birthday festival by

His visit to the mausoleum of the Parents, where His 'sisters and brothers'

joined Him along with their children and grand children. Every act of His is a

lesson to

us.

BABA AND GODAVARI

The year 1974 witnessed a miraculous event in Rajahmundry, a small town on the

bank of the Godavari river. Rajahmundry is a town that revives nostalgic

memories of ancient glories, sheltering many religions and cultural

institutions, and entering contemporary history once every twelve years when

Lakhs of pilgrims from all over

India travel thither for a holy bath in the river. Bhagawan willed that an All

India Conference of Office Bearers of the Sathya Sai Organisations be held

there for three days. Over 6000 delegates attended the conference and the gurus

who taught Bal Vikas children comprised an additional 750 persons. Swami

Karunyananda, the life and soul of all service activities in the Godavari

districts, who had discovered in Sathya Sai Baba the God that he had been

seeking, was certain that devotees

of Baba in the delta region of the Godavari would participate wholeheartedly to

make the conference a phenomenal triumph. From every village, young men arrived

at Rajahmundry before the New Year. They put up Pandals, leveled the grounds,

dug drains and raised dining halls and kitchens, singing Bhajans all the while.

They filled the stores with provisions until Swami Karunyananda insisted on "no

more," and many villagers returned disappointed and sad that their offerings

could not be accepted in the pool. Women streamed into the kitchen and took up

the task of preparing elaborate menus. Large quantities of milk, curd and Ghee

(clarified butter) arrived at the campus in buses reaching

normal">Rajahmundry town from every corner. The delegates were guests of the

Godavari region and the hospitality bordered on worship. It was a revelation of

the deep roots that the Sai message had taken in their hearts and how it had

blossomed as love and service. Bhagawan’s discourses helped integrate the

office bearers into an effective instrument for the revival of Dharma. He also

blessed the Bal Vikas movement describing it as the basic activity of the Sai

movement, and the gurus as its most useful pioneers. Bhagawan’s presence during

all the three days of the conference induced pilgrims to come to the Godavari

from places as distant as Calcutta, Bhopal and Patna.

PRASHANTHI IN VILLAGES

On 3rd February 1974, Bhagawan visited the village of Kannamangala, about six

miles from Brindavan. He

announced that He had started a college in that region, so that students hailing

from its villages could become leaders of the ideal of total revival and

reconstruction which He called Janata-Kalyan (peace and prosperity for the

people). He advised the students to revere the village and to live there with

their kith and kin. "Encourage the formation of the Bal Vikas, the Sevadal, the

Mahila Vibhag and the Seva Samithi in your region," He said. The visit to

Kannamangala was indeed historic, for Bhagawan has since visited more than ten

villages in that area. He has renovated temples, provided shelters, expanded

school buildings, tapped underground water and deepened existing water wells.

He has helped promote literacy and has laid the foundation of moral reform by

awakening the conscience of the people.

Bhagawan has directed the 4000 Seva Samithis in India to adopt a village each

and to serve its people with love and understanding. The Old Boys Association

of the Sathya Sai colleges, called 'The Kingdom of Sathya

Sai', is shaping itself into an efficient and sincere instrument for continuing

this Seva (service) in the villages. Bhagawan’s grace has reached the villages

around Puttaparthi in the form of medical and educational facilities.

Shivarathri '74 was celebrated by Bhagawan at Prashanthi Nilayam. A shed, which

could seat over 20,000 people, had by then risen on the grounds. Speaking about

the Lingam and its mystery, Baba said, "The Lingam is that which has neither

beginning nor end, that towards which all beings move, and that in which all

beings merge." The atmosphere at the Nilayam was vibrant with awe and

adoration, awaiting the arrival of the Lingam. Thousands prayed as one when the

first pangs began to show on Baba's face, announcing the great event. A heavy

unreasonably large oval, the symbol of the Siva principle, was persuaded by

their sincere yearning to take birth in Baba's physical body and gradually rise

along the gullet, to emerge from the mouth and drop into His hands. Holding it

aloft for everybody to see, He

announced that it was the symbol of cosmic space, the Space-Time-Causation

continuum, in concrete form. It represents both the cause and the final effect.

It had a luminous Trishul inside it. Ecstasy shone on every face. There was no

tear of regret for the past, no sigh of anguish for the present, no grimace of

anxiety for the future. All were at once alight with delight. Then they heard

the voice of Bhagawan, "Cherish this vision of the emergence. Nourish the

Ananda that now gushes in your hearts. I assure you that you have indeed been

rendered immortal. You need not pass from birth to death again." No one in that

mammoth assembly could have been the same when he rose and walked away. It took

days of ministration by Bhagawan to send the longing, lingering devotees home.

In 1974 Baba visited Bombay twice - in early March and in mid-May. In March, He

blessed a rally of 2500 Bal Vikas children, addressed a gathering of teachers

from the university and various colleges, and inaugurated the extension

projects of the Industrial Training School and the Agricultural polytechnic at

Dharmakshetra. Speaking during the rally, He said, "Parents today are not

competent to guide their children. They utter lies, accept bribes, indulge in

gambling and spread scandal. They use foul language and boast aloud. Children

must make elders ashamed of their

habits." In May, He presided over the Annual Day of the Dharmakshetra School,

and flew to the town of Ratnagiri in answer to the prayers of devotees there.

AFTER 27 YEARS

On His way back from Bombay in March, Bhagawan spent two days at Sandur, in the

Bellary District of Karnataka. He inaugurated one of the factories set up by

the Raja Saheb to exploit the mineral wealth of that area. The Raja Saheb

welcomed Baba, who had last graced the erstwhile kingdom 27 years ago. He

related how, in 1949, when he gave up the reins of the State, Baba had assured

him, "Don't worry. You will found an Organisation bigger than the State of

10pt">Sandur!" And Baba had now come to bless that Organisation.

The summer course in May-June was widely acclaimed as a must for young people

who were about to confront the comedies and tragedies, the follies and

frivolities of the human situation, for it strove to equip them with the

knowledge of the sages and seers of every land, and bring them into contact

with the Avatar of the age. On 19th June, two days before the close, Baba

answered a question that was baffling analysts - Who is Sai? He revealed

Himself to the extent our dull and dithering reason can accept. "I have come to

unite all mankind into one family and to affirm and illumine in each of you your

Atmic Reality... Do not crave from Me trivial material objects. Instead crave

for Me, and you will be rewarded," He declared. No wonder! General Cariappa,

former Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of

India, then called upon the thousand participants for three full-throated cheers

of 'Jai Sai Dharma', which echoed all around.

The Dasara festival commemorates the victory of the gods over the demons, of

light over darkness, of knowledge over ignorance. So the thousands who throng

to His presence are involved in disciplines, which help them, advance towards

that victory. The women's college at Anantapur staged the play, "The Bishop's

Candlesticks" and the boy's college at Brindavan (Bangalore) staged a Telugu

play, 'Pandava Vijayam'. Both plays were based on the sovereign cure that

selfless love and devotion can effect. The Bhagavatha Bhakta Samajam, a group

of musicians and speakers drawn

together by the bond of brotherhood and the common purpose of fostering 'the

perennial philosophy of theism', and which holds three-day sessions of its

activities comprising Vedic Homa, Puranik readings, devotional songs, folk

dances, dramas and musical recitations, was affiliated to the Academy of

Pundits by Bhagawan. They added many attractive items of educative and

entertainment value.

It was during the Birthday festival in 1974 that Baba spoke strongly against the

use and abuse of funds. He has always been against public appeals for money, and

has warned devotees against both, asking for and giving such donations. He

declared that nothing should be brought for Him, because He needed nothing.

"Those who bring or advise others to bring, will be kept away," He said.

In March 1975, Bhagawan visited Delhi, spending a week to confer Darshan on the

multitudes there, besides making short visits to Amritsar, Chandigarh and

Simla. He made a visit to Jaipur to see the progress made by the Sathya Sai

College in that city. Then He boarded the plane to

10pt">Bombay, where He unveiled the 40-foot-high pillar erected on the

Dharmakshetra hill, depicting the harmony of religions. He was at Prashanthi

Nilayam on 20th March, where thousands were waiting to be blessed by Darshan of

the divinely wrought Shivaratri Lingam. On the 25th, when He blessed, by His

presence, the Sathya Sai

FONT-SIZE: 10pt">College for Women at Anantapur, He advised the residents:

"Women students and teachers must be very vigilant that they do not attract the

eyes and tongues of men by their dress, movement, or behavior. Be a little

behind in fashion, it does not matter; but do not outrage the traditions and

conventions of our culture."

WITH COWS TO GOKULAM

On 29th August, the Birthday of Lord Krishna, the pages of the Bhagavatha which

describe His boyhood were re-enacted at Puttaparthi. The cows, buffaloes and

camels, and also Sai Geetha, the elephant, were taken in procession from

Prashanthi Nilayam to their new home, about a kilometer away. Rural pipes and

drums led the line. Sai Geetha followed in regal splendor, and the cows, with

their attendant Sevadal members, came next. The college students held calves,

frisking, jumping and butting, in check, while the immovable buffaloes stood

and stared until they were pushed and pulled forward. Students of the women's

college and others from Prashanthi Nilayam followed behind, singing Bhajans.

Sai Krishna was also there, with devotees singing around Him in joy. They had

witnessed, three days earlier, another

page of the Bhagavatha come alive. Incessant heavy rains had brought the

Chitravathi into the village, and she swelled into swirling anger. Indra, the

God of rain, appeared to cast his anger on the cowherd village again, but

unlike as in the Bhagavatha days, this Krishna did not lift a mountain on His

palm to shelter man and beast. He disappointed the peaks by walking up to the

open terrace of the East Prashanthi flats and cast a look at the turbulent

waters seeking entry. That was enough. The flood began to recede steadily.

During the Dasara festival Prashanthi Nilayam was quiet, except for a few extra

ceremonies that the inmates were allowed to observe. For Bhagawan could not, in

His boundless love, impose on the devotees, however eager, a ten-day stay

Dasara and another

ten-day stay on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the Advent, scheduled from

14th to 24th November.

SLICE OF ALL THE MAPS

"All Roads Lead to Puttaparthi" was the headline in the daily papers. Special

trains, reserved coaches, omnibuses, trucks and tractors, scooters and cycles,

horse-drawn vehicles and bullock carts, all unloaded thousands of pilgrims in a

continuous flux at the Nilayam. From overseas, thousands alighted at Bangalore

and taxied to the place. The prophecy that Baba would be an orange speck in the

distant eminence, well nigh came true. Besides the construction of seven

gigantic sheds, hundreds of ad hoc shelters hastily contrived, and scores of

tents and Pandals were permitted

to fill every patch of available space in and around the township. 5000 members

of the Sevadal stayed on duty night and day, cooking, serving, sweeping,

cleaning, guarding, guiding and helping. Teams of doctors were stationed in

temporary clinics and at the hospital. Kitchens for serving eastern and western

food were set up.

A rally of Bal Vikas pupils (about 1000, selected from every State) was held.

These children had the privilege of marching past Bhagawan Himself. More than a

thousand Bal Vikas gurus attended a two-day conference which was inaugurated by

Bhagawan. For the world conference of office bearers, 8000 delegates came from

over fifty nations.

On the 18th, the imposing and inspiring 'Gopuram', built by devoted hands in the

South Indian Style of temple architecture, was inaugurated. Baba had the ancient

temples of Puttaparthi, rebuilt including the Gopalakrishna temple, associated

with its history through the ages. That day all the new silver idols of the

deities installed in the temple were placed on a huge chariot and taken in

procession through the village - a great day in the annals of the holy hamlet.

The Vedic rite of Purushothama Yajna was also part of the Jubilee celebrations.

The final ceremony of offering the last oblation in the sacred fire, delighted

the huge gathering on the Jubilee day.

The world conference was an inspiring experience. Devotees from a multitude of

nations and affiliated to various religions, humbly walked up to Bhagawan and

offered garlands of flowers. Edgar Mitchell, the astronaut who had watched the

tragedy of the human race from the moon and remarked, "When will civilization

make man realise mankind?" could have derived faith and hope that day at

Prashanthi Nilayam. The huge concourse offered Bhagawan the solemn pledge of

loyalty to His teachings. They promised to cultivate truth, peace and love, and

progress along the path of duty, devotion and discipline.

On Shivaratri in 1976, Baba announced, while hoisting the Prashanthi flag to

mark the inauguration of the festival. "The Lingam that emerges from the

Universal Absolute, Brahman, is the cosmos - first conceived as a wish, later

formed as an idea and finally adopted as a will. The cosmos is the Will of Siva

concretized. You, too, are therefore, willed by Siva and formed by Siva from

Himself."

GOD'S VESTURE

During the last week of March, Bhagawan flew to Hyderabad and stayed at Sivam.

The elite of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad were invited by the

Sathya Sai Seva Samithi to share the grace of Bhagawan. The meeting was

presided over by Shri Mohanlal Sukhadia, then Governor of Andhra Pradesh. He

said that the task for which Bhagawan

had incarnated was to "put humanity back on the rails." In His discourse Baba

emphasised, "There is no East or West distinguishable on the globe. All mankind

is one. The cosmos is energy felt as matter. Man relies on his sensory

experiences and on the inferences that he draws from those experiences.

Therefore he lacks the knowledge and awareness of experiences beyond the

sensory world." On the Telugu New Year Day Bhagawan addressed a vast gathering

of devotees at 'Sivam'. He blessed the Sevadal members who had established all

over the cities on that day no less than a hundred First Aid centers for

rendering service to the ailing and the distressed. He inaugurated a boarding

school for children on Castle Hill, where the Samithi had acquired a historic

building for the purpose. The school is run on the lines laid down by Bhagawan,

who insists that children must learn humility, service and reverence, imbibe our

ancient cultural heritage, be disciplined and devoted, participate in

Bhajans and take only Satwic food, even while mastering the prescribed academic

curriculum. Dedicated teachers serve the children, adoring their assignment as

the 'worship of Sai'. Referring to the arrogant vandalism of modern man, which

has led to the pollution of rivers and oceans, the advance of deserts into

arable areas, and the desecration of forests, Bhagawan said in a discourse on

6th May, "Nature is God's vesture. The universe is a 'university' for man. Man

should treat nature with reverence. He has no right to talk of conquering

nature or exploiting the forces of nature. He must proceed to visualise in

nature, its God. All are but temporary, short-term tenants in God's estate."

Bombay had the good fortune of welcoming Baba on 12th May, the anniversary of

the inauguration of Dharmakshetra, which also happened to be sacred Thursday

and, luckily enough, the triple holy day of the Buddhists - the day Gautama was

born, the day he became the Buddha and the day of His Parinirvana (Liberation).

THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

The 1976 Summer Course on Indian Culture and Spirituality was held at

Nandanavanam in Ootacamund, in the Nilgiri Hills. It was scheduled to last

fifteen days, and the participants, who numbered about two hundred, were

selected from the Sathya Sai colleges. One feature of the course was that the

role of lecturers was assigned to the senior students, who spoke on the

Vedanta, the Gita, the Purushothama Yajna, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Hanuman,

the Bhagavatham, etc., after deep study and reflection, with clear

understanding. Dr. S. Bhagavantham pronounced the project " a resounding

success." Subsequently the students spread out for social service to the city

bus stand, railway station and the market area. Their Sadhana of cleaning the

area was so efficient that the Municipal Council passed a resolution

expressing its grateful appreciation, and communicated it to the organisers.

When the camp was concluding, Bhagawan disclosed to the students at a special

meeting, details about His school days, and His relations with His parents,

teachers and schoolmates, and with the brother who was His 'guardian'. As he

was describing the role that He had planned for the students seated before Him

and exhorting them to cultivate such qualities as fortitude, detachment,

sympathy, humility and reverence that He Himself had held forth as a living

example even as a child, He waved His hand and created a silver plaque with the

map of India embossed on it, which had Puttaparthi, Bombay, Bhubaneshwar,

Madras, Delhi, Calcutta, Shillong, Hyderabad and other cities marked on it by

means of brilliant gems embedded in the silver. Bhagawan announced that those

were some of the places from where the Sai message would be propagated by them

in coming years. Bhagawan’s discourses were mainly on the strategy of

Lord Krishna in relation to the Kaurava-Pandava conflict, as depicted in the

Mahabharatha. Since we have Lord Krishna with us now, and since the conflict

between the two forces of Dharma (righteousness) and Adharma (unrighteousness)

symbolizing Daivic (godly) and Asuric (demonic) tendencies was even today

confronting mankind, Bhagawan’s analysis of His methods and motives in the epic

was part of His present message itself.

SRI SAILAM

While at Ootacamund, Baba motored down the Ghats (slopes) on the Kerala Coast to

the historic town of Calicut, famous as the town where Vasco da Gama, the

Portuguese explorer, had landed in 1498 AD Thirty miles north of Calicut, on a

hill that is embraced by the sea on three sides, and which was named 'Sri

Sailam' by Rabindranath Tagore who spent some days there, the Sri Sathya Sai

Trust in Kerala had planned to construct a Vidhya Peeth (public school) to

provide education on Sai lines. Bhagawan graciously laid the foundation stone

and blessed the project. More than 30,000 people had gathered to be blessed by

His Darshan and Sambashan (speech).

Gurupoornima, a time when spiritual aspirants all over the world welcome their

preceptor into their hearts, found Bhagawan at Puttaparthi. Bhagawan blessed

the students and teachers of the high school, which had been established there

to commemorate Mother Eswaramma, who bore the Avatar, on that auspicious day.

The state Minister for Education declared that it was a significant step

forward in Bhagawan’s programme of increasing facilities for educating rural

folk. Bhagawan proceeded to Puttaparthi village where a new hamlet of a hundred

houses had been built for the Harijans whose hutments had been washed away by

the angry floods of the Chitravathi some six months earlier. Bhagawan told the

huge gathering of devotees present that every living being is a cell in the

cosmic body of God, and that castes

that are described in the Vedas as forming the limbs of God, form an integral

part of the whole. He said that serving the poorest and lowliest among men best

does worshipping the feet of God.

On all the ten days of the Dasara festival 1976, Bhagawan spoke on the mind, its

vagaries, its potentialities and on the Sadhana, which can straighten and

strengthen it. In the midst of the busy schedule of the Vedic Yajna, Bhagawan

found time to meet more than three hundred district presidents of the Sathya

Sai Seva Organisation who had journeyed thither from all the states of India.

They had two sessions with Him during which Bhagawan stressed the need for

discipline and gave them advice on many aspects of their duties and

responsibilities.

This Dasara was rendered memorable when Bhagawan defined what He characterized

as the 'Sai Religion', while elaborating upon the impact of the Mathi (mind) on

Matha (creed). "The religion that feeds and fosters all religions and emphasises

their common greatness is the Sai Religion," He said.

GLOBAL BHAJAN

During the Second World Conference, held during the Golden Jubilee week at

Prashanthi Nilayam, a cardinal decision was taken by the devotees that a

twenty-four-hour Bhajan emanating from devout hearts gathered in more than 8000

centers in over forty-five nations from New Zealand to Iceland and from Taiwan

to Trinidad, would girdle the globe. The day for this universal prayer was

fixed as the Saturday-Sunday immediately preceding the birthday of Bhagawan

every year. To a Bhajan gathering at Prashanthi Nilayam Baba said, "Bhajan must

be as continuous as breathing. In fact, the breath is ever engaged

in Bhajan for it is constantly repeating the fundamental mantra, 'Soham' (I am

That). Twenty-four hours is just a wink when measured against a lifetime. Your

life is a song on the glory of God. Sing it from your soul, sing it aloud, sing

it in chorus so that the atmosphere polluted by greed, hatred and envy can be

purified by the holy vibrations."

All the villages around Puttaparthi now look forward to the Birthday week. For

them, this sacred occasion is heralded by the chariot festival, in which the

idols of all the deities worshipped in the temples of Puttaparthi are taken in

procession through the crowded streets of the village to the delight of

everyone - men, women and children - whatever their caste or creed. On the

Birthday itself, Bhagawan proceeds to the Samadhi (tomb) of His parents and

distributes food and clothes to the villagers.

On His birthday in 1976, Bhagawan declared that miracles are the spontaneous and

natural expressions of Avatarhood: "Rama means, 'He who confers joy'; Krishna

means, 'He who attracts'. Every act of Mine conferring joy or attracting the

heart, becomes a 'miracle' in your phraseology. The avatar comes to reform and

reconstruct, and his 'miracle' invariably has this result. The Chamatkara

(miracle) has as its aim the Samskara (refinement) of mankind. How does the

Avatar achieve that? Everyone so drawn is persuaded through love, to love all

(since all are the same Atman encased in distinct

bodies), and to transform that love into Paropakara (service). As a result,

their minds get sanctified, their intellects clarified and their hearts

purified. Thus they are able to realise their core, the Atman, which is but a

wave in the ocean, the universal, eternal, absolute Paramatma. This is

Sakshathkaram (realisation), the goal of human life."

Every December, on the fifth day of the month, the Sri Sathya Sai Seva

Organisation celebrates 'Medical Service Day', each centre drawing up its own

programme according to the needs of the area and the resources - human and

material - that it can command. Gifts are made of oxygen cylinders to

hospitals, wheelchairs for the physically handicapped and Bhajan cassettes and

books for the blind, besides projects of medical check-up for slum dwellers and

rural folk that are initiated on that day. In 1976 Bhagawan blessed those who

gave and those who received. He sounded a warning against the indiscriminate

use of medicines and medical drugs. He advised the people to resort to the

cheaper and often more effective methods of fasting or dieting, Yogasanas

(postures prescribed by Yoga) or physical exercises, and

desist from such deleterious habits like smoking and drinking. "Anxiety, worry

and tension have to be overcome in order to gain and preserve health," He said.

Large numbers of Christians from the East and the West come to spend Christmas

and New Year in the immediate presence of Bhagawan for, as they have found,

this is the only place where "peace on earth and goodwill among men" can be

experienced. ‘Christ’ is only another name for the Ananda principle in the

heart of man," Baba said. "Meditate on Him and seek His love for all living

beings. Let Him be born in all His Divine splendors in your heart. Then you can

celebrate Christmas in humble thanksgiving and sincere adoration, with penitence

and prayer. Do not desecrate the day with drink and dance, revelry and

gluttony," He said to the gathering of devotees on the New Year Day, 1977. He

created a medallion that had Mary and the child Jesus on one side and Joseph on

the other. It showed the sanctity of Mary

and the sturdy simplicity of Joseph. It was indeed an exhilarating moment.

Shivarathri 1977 was celebrated at Prashanthi Nilayam. Bhagawan called upon the

devotees to "strive, for that is your duty; struggle, for that is your

assignment; yearn, for that is the path." He exhorted them to overcome sloth,

dullness and prejudice, which hide, in the darkness that they create, the

beauty of the unity of every individual consciousness in the Divine. "All i’s

are only reflections of the One I," He explained. Meanwhile a crystal oval, the

Shivarathri Lingam, emerged from within Him, interrupting the Bhajan He was

singing to enthuse the gathering. He held it before the gathering of astonished

devotees. "It is the symbol of emergence of the five primordial elements," He

clarified. "The Lingam is the essence of all attributes and names. It is the

formless with form, the nameless with

name, the primal emergent from the Divine," He explained. Next morning He

announced the unpleasant news that He had decided against continuing, in

subsequent years, the celebration of Maha Shivarathri, which was drawing from

all over the world countless numbers of pilgrims eager to benefit from Darshan

of the Divine manifestation, and to look on the 'symbol of the cosmos', created

by Siva Himself. But, seeing that thousands, unable to get even a near glimpse,

were returning disappointed every year after journeying long distance over sea

and land, spending large sums of money and suffering much hardship, Bhagawan,

out of His infinite mercy, directed that in the coming years they might

celebrate the 'Night of Siva' in their own native places, where He would

certainly be with them.

CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brother M. Palaniswamy

/