SRI SAI SATCHARITA and SATHYAM SIVAM SUNDARAM [54]

[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 – [54]

KHAPARDE DIARY

1st January 1912

I got up very early in the morning, went to the Chawadi for Kakad Aarathi. I saw

Sai Maharaj's face as the first thing and it was full of sweet grace. I was very

much delighted. After we returned to the Wada, I saw Upasani's brother. He has

come from Dhulia. I saw him at Poona and

normal">Amravati before. He went to see Sai Maharaj and was told about people

bringing ties with them from a former birth and meeting now in consequence of

them. He told the story of a former birth in which he, Bapusahib Jog, Dada

Kelkar, Madhavrao Deshpande, Dixit, and myself were associated and lived in a

blind alley. There was his Murshad there. He has now brought us together again

I saw him go out and then sat reading Ramayana. I saw him again at midday

Aarathi, and was very kind to me. Dixit gave a "Naivedya" today and we had all

our meals with him. I sat with Vaidya, Nanasahib Chandorkar, Mr.

Deo Mamledar of Dahanu, and others. I sat reading again and then went to see Sai

Maharaj at the Musjid. He first dismissed me along with the rest, but called me

again, saying that I was anxious to run away. In the evening we saw him

opposite the Chawadi and had at night the Bhajan of Bhishma and Dixit's

Ramayana. Bala Shimpi came to the Bhajan.

2nd January 1912

I got up very early morning. Upasani's brother who came yesterday went away

before daybreak. After I finished y prayer Kaka Mahajani, Atre, and others

went. More went later on. C. V. Vaidya went after midday Aarathi with three

other gentlemen. Nanasaheb chandorkar held a Dhanurmas and all were invited.

After meals it was that C. V. Vaiday went; Manker, Mamledar of Kopargaon and

Dev, Mamledar of Dahanu also went then. Later on after sunset Nanasahib

Chandorkar went with all his family. So the Wada, which during these few days

used to look full and very pleasant, is

comparatively empty now and we miss company. We saw Sai Maharaj when he came out

for a stroll and again at Shej-Aarthi. My son Baba and Gopalrao Dorle came this

morning to take me to Amravati. I said my departure depended on the permission

of Sai Maharaj. They saw Sai Maharaj and said there was no difficulty about the

permission. Bhishma is not well today, so there was no Bhajan. Ram Maruti wished

to go away today but Sai Baba detained him. There was Ramayan and Bhagvat read

at night.

3rd January 1912

In the morning I got up early, attended the Kakad Aarathi and finished my

prayer. My son Baba and Gopalrao Dorle went to Sai Maharaj and asked for

permission to return to Amravati. Sai Maharaj replied that all might return. So

my son and Gopalrao dorle returned in great joy. They told me so I went with

Madhavrao Deshpande and Sai Maharaj confirmed the permission; but as we were

returning he overtook us near khind and said that we may start tomorrow. I saw

him when he was going out and again after he returned to the Masjid. Madhavrao

started the subject about my departure

and Sai Maharaj replied that I had my house both here and at Amravati. And I may

stay where I like and I may never return to Amravati. That settled the matter,

so it appeared to me, and I told my son Baba and Gopalrao Dorle to return to

Amravati. So they made ready and went to say "Good Bye" and

received the blessings of Sai Maharaj when the latter told them to go tomorrow.

In the afternoon he said he would give all of my family permission to return

tomorrow. Megh fed some Brahmins today in completion of his Anusthan of a

Gayathri Purascharana. We had our meal with him. The meal was served in Sathe's

Wada. In the afternoon I saw Sai Maharaj both at the Masjid and when he came out

for his usual stroll. He was in a very pleased mood and laughted and abused in

one and the same breath. At night there was the Bhajan of Bhishma and Dixit's

Ramayana of which two chapters were read. Tatya Patil's father died in the

evening.

4th January 1912

I got up early in the morning. Prayed and wished my son Baba and Gopalrao Dorle

to go to Sai Maharaj and obtain permission to return to Amravati, but my wife

intervened saying it was Pausha Paurnima and therefore a day sacred to our

family deity, so no endeavor was made to obtain the permission required. I saw

him go out as usual and went to the Masjid after he returned, spending the

interval in reading Ramayana. We returned after the midday Aarathi, and after

meals I sat talking with Bapusahib Jog and then resumed Ramayan. After 5 p.m. I

went to Sai Maharaj in the Masjid and found him walking about in the compound.

My wife also came there. After a time he took his usual seat and we sat near

him. Dixit and his wife also came. Sai Maharaj then told a story. He said there

was a princess living in a palace. A "Mang" sought shelter with her. Her

sister-in-law, who was there also, refused it to the mang. So the mang with his

wife was returning disconsolate to his village when he met Alla-Minya in the way

and told his story, how, stricken with poverty, he sought shelter and was

refused. Alla-Minya in the way and told his story, how, stricken with poverty,

he sought shelter and was refused. Alla-Minya advised him to return with his

wife and seek shelter once more with the same princess. He did so and was

admitted and treated like a

member of the family. The mang stayed enjoying all the comforts for six months

and then coveting gold murdered the princess with an axe. The people round

about assembled in large numbers and held a Panchayat. The mang admitted the

offence, when the matter went to the king in due course. Alla-Minya advised him

to let the mang go. The king obeyed. The princess murdered by the mang came to

be born of him as his daughter and he came once more to the palace and was

permitted to stay there in affluence and ease for twelve years. Then Alla-Minya

inclined the king to avenge the murdered princess and the mang was killed in the

same way in which he had killed the princess. The manga's widow returned to her

village accepting the mang's fate as just. The princess, who was born as

daughter to the mang came to the place, took possession of what belonged to her

the former reincarnation and lived happily after wards. There was the work of

God done and the justice vindicated. There was Shej-Aarthi

at night, Bhishma'a Bhajan, and Dixit's Ramayana. Ram Maruti today embraced Sai

Maharaj when the latter was going in procession to Chawadi for the Shej-Aarthi.

5th January 1912

In the morning I got up early though I did not sleep well at night. I attended

the Kakad Aarathi. Sai Maharaj was in a pleased mood. My son Baba and Gopalrao

dorle went to him. On seeing them he said, "go". Taking this as permission to

return they hired Bala Bahoo's tanga and went away. I prayed and saw Sai

Maharaj go out and again after he returned. He was in very good mood. Many

people came. After the midday Aarathi, and after the usual meal, I lay down for

a while and then sat listening to Ramayan read by Dixit. Upasani, Bhishma and

Madhavrao were also present. Then about

5 p.m., I went to see Sai Maharaj with Bhishma and my son Balwant. He told how

he was not well and humorously described his ailments. Balabhaoo Joshi brought

parched gram. Sai Maharaj ate a few and distributed the rest. Then we stood

near the Chawadi when he came out for his stroll, and then we had the usual

Aarathi in the Wada, Bhishma's Bhajan and Dixit's Ramayan of which two chapters

were read. Today some people from Dhulia came and went.

6th January 1912

I got up in the morning a little before daybreak and finished my prayer as usual

and saw Sai Maharaj go out. After he passed on I went to Balasaheb Bhate and

borrowed from him his copy or Rangnath Swami's Yoga Vasishtha in Marathi and

returned to my lodgings, but resumed the reading of Ramayana. We all there

attended the midday Aarathi and had our meals as usual. I did not wish to lie

down but somehow sleep overcame me Ramayana and later on I went to the Masjid

and saw Sai Maharaj. He was in a pleased mood and there was talk. In the

evening there was the usual Wada Aarathi

and later on we attended the Shej-Aarthi at the Chawadi. Sai Maharaj was in an

exceptionally pleased mood, made mystic signs to Megha, and did what are known

as "Drishti pata" in Yoga. An astrologer has come from Dhulia and is a guest of

Upasani and is staying in the Wada. At night there was Bhajan of Bhishma and

Ramayan of Dixit.

7th January 1912

In the morning I got up early and attended the Kakad Aarathi. Sai Maharaj looked

exceedingly pleased and gave yogic glances. I passed the whole day in a sort of

ecstasy. After morning, Bapu Saheb Jog, Upasani, and I commenced Ranganath's

Yoga Vasishtha. Then we saw Sai Maharaj go out and in the interval sat talking

with the young Mohammedan that came to the Masjid. One of them recited some

verses. The midday Aarathi was late. Sai Baba commenced a very good tale. He

said he had a very good well. The water in it was sky-blue, and its supply was

inexhaustible. Four months could

not empty it, and the fruit grown with the water was inordinately pure and

tasteful. He did not continue the story beyond this point. In the afternoon

Dixit read two chapters of Ramayan. Upasani, Ram Maruti, Dixit, and myself were

present. Then we went to Sai Baba and attended his stroll. As it was getting

dark he got or rather showed, as if he got angry with the woodcutter women. At

night there was Bhishma's Bhajan and Dixit's Ramayan.

8th January 1912

I got up in the morning and feeling it too early went again to sleep and then

overslept my usual moment of leaving bed. So things got set forward and in that

way affected the routine of the whole day. After prayer I sat reading Yoga

Vishishta of Ranganath with Bapu Saheb Jog, Upasani, Ram Maruti and Madhavrao

Deshpande. We saw Sai Maharaj go out and again saw him after he returned.

During the midday service after the Aarathi, Sai Maharaj exhibited sudden and

great anger and abused violently. It appears as if plague is likely to reappear

here and Sai Maharaj is endeavoring to

prevent its re-appearance. After meals we sat talking. I read a little of

Ramayana and then arrived Mr. Sane, Mamledar of Kopargaon with Mr. Joshi who is

a Deputy Collector of Dhulia. Later on we went to Sai Maharaj after reading a

chapter of Ramayana. We waited there long enough to see him at and after his

usual stroll and then attended the Shej-Aarthi. At night there was usual Bhajan

and Ramayana.

10th January 1912

I got up very early in the morning and finished my prayer and all before

daybreak and later on I went to see Sai Maharaj both when he went out of -and

after he returned to - the Masjid. A marwadi came there and told his dream. He

said he received a lot of silver and finally got bars of gold and woke up woke

up while he was in the act of counting them. Sai Maharaj said that the dream

indicated the death of some great man.

12th January 1912

I got up early in the morning, said my prayers, and began the usual routine of

the day when Narayan Rao's son Govind and brother Bahoosaheb came. They arrived

at Amravati from Hushangabad some time ago but not finding me and my wife there

came here to see us. We were naturally very glad to see each other and sat

talking. We began out Yoga Vasishtha somewhat late, as Bapusaheb Jog was busy.

We saw Sai Maharaj go out and again after he returned to Masjid. He was very

gracious and repeatedly gave me smoke out of his pipe. It solved many of my

doubts and I felt delighted.

After the midday Aarathi we had our meals and I had a few minutes rest. Dixit

was delayed longer than usual at the Masjid. So he began Ramayan later than

usual and we could not finish a chapter, as it was both long and difficult.

Then we saw Sai Maharaj at the Masjid. He had music. There were two dancing

girls who sang and danced. Later on there was the Shej-Aarthi. Sai Maharaj was

very kind to Balwant, sent for him and let him spend the whole of the afternoon

with him.

13th January 1912

I got up early in the morning and attended Kakad Aarathi. Sai Maharaj did not

say a word today and did not even throw the glances, which he usually does. The

tahasildar of khandwa has come here. We saw him when we were reading Ranganath's

Yoga Vasishtha. We saw Sai Maharaj go out and again after he returned.

Yesterday's singing women were there. They sang a bit, got sweetmeats for their

reward and then went away. The midday Aarathi passed very pleasantly. Megha is

not yet quite well. Bapaji, brother of Madhavrao Deshpande was invited to

breakfast with his wife. Tahasildar of

Khandwa appears to be a cultured man has read Yoga Vasishtha. He says he has

been brought to brief by designing persons for his devotional tendencies. After

a little afternoon rest Dixit read Bhavartha Ramayana. The Chapter (11th of

Balkand) is a summary of Yoga Vasishtha and is very interesting. We saw Sai

Maharaj again as he strolled out. His mood was changed and one would think that

he was angry which he really was not. At night Bhajan and Ramayan as usual.

14th January 1912

I got up early in the morning, finished my prayer and sat to read Ranganathi

Yoga Vasishtha with Bapu Saheb Jog and Ram Maruti. We continued it, after

seeing Sai Maharaj go out. I went to the Musjid after he returned and found

that he was arranging for a bath. So I returned and wrote two letters and went

again. He was very kind to me and gave Til Gul brought for him by Bapu Saheb

Jog. He gave it to Balvant also. The midday Aarathi was a little late as Megha

was not well and it being Til Sankrant, the Paros was late. By the time we

returned and had our midday meal, it was 4 p.m. then Dixit read Ramayana but we

did not make much progress. In the afternoon when I went Sai Maharaj did not

admit anybody. So I took a turn by Bapusaheb Jog's quarters and went in time

for evening Namaskar. The Tahasildar of Khandwa is still here and gradually

falling into the routine of the place. One Mr. Gupte

of Thana. I sat talking with him. In the evening there was Shej-Aarthi,

Bhishma's Bhajan and Dixit's Ramayana. We all celebrated the Sankranti thought

on a small scale.

15th January 1912

I got up early in the morning, prayed and attended the Kakad Aarathi which was a

little later than usual as Megha having been unwell could not get up in time to

blow the conch she. Sai Maharaj did not say a word as he got up and left the

Chawadi. Upasani Shastri and Bapu Sahib Jog did not come soon. So I sat writing

letters. When Sai Maharaj went out he asked me how I spent the morning which was

a mild rebuke for not having read and contemplated. I went to see him again when

he returned and he was very kind. He commenced a long story and kept on as if

speaking to me, but I felt sleepy all the time and did not understand anything

of the story. I was told afterwards that the story was a very thinly veiled

recital of the events that actually happened in the life of Gupte. So he said,

the

midday Aarti was late and it was 3 p.m. by the time we returned and had our

meals. I lay down a bit and then attended Dixit's Puran. Later on we went to

the Masjid but were told to salute from a distance, which we accordingly did.

Sai Baba came for his stroll and we saluted as usual. Dixit had an illumination

of the Masjid yesterday and repeated it to day also. At night there was the

usual Bhajan of Bhishma and Puran of Dixit.

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.

WALTER COWAN BLOCK

On 28th April, the Cowan Block of the hostel at the Brindavan campus was

inaugurated by the President of India, Sri B.D. Jatti, himself an ardent

devotee of Bhagawan ever since the days when he was in the ministerial cabinet

of Karnataka. The hostel was built within the campus itself, because Bhagawan

could not deny the students of His College the proximity to Him that they

ardently prayed for. Elsie Cowan was present at the function and expressed her

immense joy at the name, which Baba had given to the hermitage of Saraswathi

(the goddess of learning), to commemorate her husband, Walter Cowan, whom He

Himself had resurrected. "We, too, who reside in this hostel, are awaiting

resurrection," said a student in his exaltation that day. The President was

elated at the increasing pace of the Sai era in

education. He welcomed the Sai colleges, which emphasise moral and spiritual

progress, highlight a variety of skills and promote projects of social service.

He praised all those students who had won high academic distinctions and, at the

same time, mastered with equal enthusiasm the techniques of farming, animal

husbandry, dairying and canteen management, besides Yogasanas, elocution,

music, nursing, histrionics and photography. Architecture is said to be the art

of perpetuating song in stone; the Cowan Block is indeed a Bhajan in brick and

mortar. One cannot but sense the presence of both, penitence and grace in the

dormitories, corridors and halls. "Fill your heads and hearts with light and

love, rather than mere facts and figures," says Baba. The hostel is reservoir

of both, the light of knowledge and the delight of Seva.

Since some years, the sixth of May, the day the mother of the Avatar bade

farewell to the world, is known the world over as Eswaramma Day, and is

dedicated to the service of children by children. It has grown into a week-long

festival, with the children from Bal Vikas groups chumming with children from

the slums in games and play, visiting children's wards in hospitals and singing

Bhajans in homes meant for retarded, ailing and delinquent children. Like rays

of light, they carry the sparkle of joy into others gloom. They also offer to

the elders, and present to toddlers, the pictures they paint, the models they

make, the pets they play with and the floral designs they assemble. They sing

and dance; they mimic, recite and enjoy themselves.

THE RAMAYANA

The summer course in 1977 was based on the Ramayana, the epic reservoir of

Dharma. The first seven days were devoted to an intensive study of various

versions of the Ramayana in the languages of India as well as those of nations

to the south and southeast of India. Bhagawan discoursed on the ideals

embodied in the heroic personalities described in the Ramayana. Over 40 students

from Sai colleges spoke to the large concourse of participants, with a large

sprinkling of learners from overseas, on the saints and the philosophers of the

world. For thirty days the students, boys and girls from colleges of India and

abroad, lived in the Brindavan campus, away from the noisy and polluting

distractions of the city, in an atmosphere of devotion and dedication, of

prayer and meditation, of love and service, of mutual help and encouragement.

Bhagawan would be amidst them in the lecture hall, at lunch and at dinner,

during their hours of service in the villages around Brindavan and during the

elocution and quiz competitions on Sundays. As many students confessed, they

experienced both, "Immensity and Eternity." On the final day, when the students

were sobbing in sorrow, Baba comforted and consoled them with gifts of grace,

assuring them that since they had installed Him in their hearts, He

would ever be with them, guarding and guiding, wherever they may be. "Never

forget God... Never believe the world as reality... Never be afraid of death,"

He told them at the valedictory session.

During the ten days of Dasara 1977, Bhagawan elaborated on Shanthi (inner peace)

and the means of getting established in it. His discourses traced the faults and

failings that foul the body, the mind and the faculty of reason in man. He

analysed the habits and traits that disturbed and depressed the emotions of man

and prescribed the exercises by which physical, mental, emotional and

occupational equipoise could be gained. He also referred to the conflicts

created by ethical and philosophical schools, as well as by fanatical loyalty

to particular forms and names of the one, omnipresent God.

Sri Govinda Narain, the Governor of Karnataka, inaugurated the seven-day Vedic

rite of Jnana Yajna, which forms an important part of the Dasara festival. An

indication of the surge of devotion to the Avatar, which binds human hearts

'though they come from the ends of the earth' was the joint recital of songs on

Baba, both in English and Sanskrit, by Ida Marion St. John from California and

Gita Orescan from Germany. On Vijayadashami, the tenth day of victory (Dasara),

Bhagawan allowed a few poets to recite their verses composed in various

languages. Mrs. Zeba Bashiruddin, a professor of English from Hyderabad, sang a

few of her mellifluous Urdu poems on Baba.

Mention must also be made here of the announcement that was made that day about

Bhagawan taking under His benign guardianship a number of educational

institutions of the Loka Seva Vrinda in Karnataka, to be run on patriotic and

spiritual lines by a band of His own devoted teachers. The Vrinda was orphaned

by the death, in a car accident, of its founder and promoter, Sri Madiyala

Narayana Bhat, an educationalist who had sought to reinforce the secularist

curriculum laid down by the State with the spiritual ideals of duty, devotion

and discipline.

THE WEDDING KNOT

Dasara at Prashanthi Nilayam fills devotees with reverence for the heritage they

live in. The Birthday inspires them to reshape their lives as desired by the

Divine incarnation. The week was ushered in with a big bang of blessedness.

Baba had made it known that indigent parents from the villages around

Prashanthi Nilayam could celebrate the weddings of their children without

incurring any expense. He would be the priest, parent and Providence. Parents

of all castes, who had been knocking at the doors of astrologers and

moneylenders, heard the call. When Baba Himself was

the High Priest, no astrologer need be consulted about the future of the wedded

couples. When He Himself was Providence, no moneylender need be approached to

get the funds needed for celebrating the wedding. Hearing this, young men

hurried to the homes of prospective brides and saw to it that their parents did

not let go this miraculous chance to have the marriages celebrated in Baba's

presence. One hundred and thirty four couples were registered at Prashanthi

Nilayam in a few days. Baba gifted a wedding sari each to all the brides, much

to their surprise at receiving this costly present. The grooms got Dhotis

(men's wear) and Angavastrams (cloths slung over the shoulder) with borders of

Zari (brocade). They were also given silk shirts stitched to size

by tailors brought to the Nilayam for this very purpose. They were then taken to

the Kalyana Mantap (a structure raised for the purpose of auspicious events or

functions) on the outskirts of Puttaparthi village and seated in rows under a

decorated Pandal. Girl students from the Sathya Sai College in Anantapur

acted as 'ladies-in-waiting' for the brides, and boys from the Sathya Sai College in Bangalore

FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> were the 'best men', for the grooms. Brahmin priests recited

Vedic hymns during the wedding rite. The couples garlanded each other, symbolic

of union in wedlock. Baba gave each groom a gold Mangalsutra (auspicious thread

worn by married women), and as it was put around the neck of the bride and

knotted, He sprinkled on the heads of the couple, grains of rice. Bhagawan gave

each bride another sari, besides bangles, Kumkum and Haldi, which are all a must

for her in wedded life. He also gave each couple plates and cups for their new

home. Then they poured handfuls of rice on each other's heads - a rite to

ensure prosperity. The sari and Angavastram ends were knotted together to

symbolise the union of hearts for the joint pilgrimage ahead. The 134 couples

then slowly made their way in procession to the Mandir, with folk dance, pipe,

tom-tom and Bhajan parties in the lead. Later, along with their kinsfolk, they

all had a wedding feast at the Nilayam itself, oblivious of

any differences of caste or economic or educational backgrounds. It was a

heartening experience for all those who have the welfare of mankind at heart.

It was a festival of love, an object lesson for all those who have faith in the

overpowering impact of love. Now a large number of Seva Samithis are arranging,

under their own auspices, simple weddings for poor villagers.

FURY OF WIND AND WATER

Another event that preceded the birthday was the 8th All India Conference of the

Sai Seva Organisations. While the celebrations were in progress, it became known

that a terrific cyclone had hit the Andhra

10pt">Coast. A tidal wave over 20 feet high had swept over the coast and spent

itself about thirty to forty miles inland. The devastation inflicted by both

wind and water, was enormous. Tens of thousands died, caught by the waves. A

large number of cattle lost their lives, and coconut groves over several square

miles were toppled. Scores of villages were washed off the face of earth. The

few who survived were confronted by disease, despair and decimation. Bhagawan

directed the Sevadal from Andhra to rush to the area, even while the festival

was progressing at the Nilayam. Truckloads of cloth, rugs, garments and

whatever could be laid hold of, were got ready to be transported by devotees to

the affected areas. More than eight Lakh rupees poured into the bank for relief

work. Four relief camps were quickly established in the afflicted areas, along

with a

complement of trained Seva Dal members, both men and women, including teams of

doctors. Remote spots, which had been isolated by the floods, were selected. I

witnessed a massive transport of provisions and materials, in the form of

head-loads, by devotees. They had to wade through slush and mire, braving the

stench of rotting corpses and carcasses. Indeed the first task was to bury or

burn the dead, lying in heaps on the ground and caught in trees and bushes.

Kitchens which provided food for over five thousand forlorn victims, kept

working for more than a month in four strategic centers - Kattamajeru

Gudapalem, Adavuladeevu, Ganapavaram and Barrankula - in the region lashed by

the furious elements. From some kitchens, cooked food was taken to even more

remote places, and the victims fed wherever they were found. Children were

given milk and special foods. Besides these, the Sevadal erected hundreds of

hutments to enable people to continue their normal occupations of fishing and

farming. They were given sets of kitchen utensils and cooking vessels, as well

as garments, reed mats and rugs. Bhagawan assured the children who were

orphaned by the calamity that He would be their guardian. When the relief

centers were closed, the exhausted Sevadal workers gladly noted that the faces

of the village folk around them were lit with gratitude, contentment and

devotion towards Bhagawan. In order to avoid such colossal loss of life in

future, Bhagawan directed the Seva Organisations to build at each place where

they served, a community hall for the people, which would serve as a shelter

whenever wind and wave rushed furiously onto land.

When the holy day of Shivarathri approached in 1978, the people remembered the

previous year's announcement by Bhagawan regarding the cancellation of the

ceremony. But the prospect of such deprivation was so painful that thousands

would not at first believe it. So they continued to stream into Prashanthi

Nilayam in time for the occasion. Rumors were afloat that Bhagawan would be at

Brindavan that day. May be Shivarathri would be celebrated at Brindavan? Or

would it be at Hyderabad? So thousands also gathered at Hyderabad and at

Brindavan in Whitefield. But Bhagawan did not oblige. He was in the Nilgiri

Hills, and returned only two days later.

COLLEGE CAMPUS

Bhagawan opened the magnificent row of buildings, which comprise the Sri Sathya

Sai College near Brindavan, at a joyous and colorful function on 19th of May

1978. The Karnataka Minister for Education, Sri Subbaya Shetty, inaugurated the

library building with the Prajnana Pradarsan on the first floor. The Pradarsan

contains an impressive collection of charts, drawings and pictures showing

phases of Japa, Dhyana, Yoga and Pooja. It has photographs and models of the

holy places of India. Books of all major religions and portraits of saints,

mystics and

thinkers of all faiths adorn the place. The sayings and teachings of Bhagawan,

explained and illustrated, find a place of prominence. To be among these

records means being reminded of the inevitable journey to God - that

oft-forgotten goal becomes clear once again.

Srimati Govinda Narain inaugurated the auditorium, while Sri Govinda Narain, the

Governor of Karnataka, inaugurated the Summer Course in Indian Culture and

Spirituality which commenced on the same day. The discourses during the first

week were all on the Bhagavatha Purana, which is about the former avatars of

the Lord, including Krishna.

Bhagawan said that the youth of the country suffered the imposition of pointless

and purposeless curricula. They were being shaped in colleges, into recalcitrant

unemployables and sent out into the world with begging bowls called 'degrees' &

'diplomas'. They saw through foreign eyes, thought along borrowed concepts and

held only film stars as their ideals. They had become rootless saplings,

drifting with every whiff of wind. Their patriotism was not even skin-deep, for

they had no knowledge of, or love for, their traditions and culture, their poets

and saints, their fellow men and homeland. Dr. Benito Reyes, President of the

World University in Ojai, California, who attended the course and stayed with

the participants, commented in high appreciation on the benefits derived from

it by Westerners who

had no knowledge of the depth and vastness, the value and validity of the

spiritual message of India, so vividly perceptible in Bhagawan, He quoted T.S.

Eliot and asked, "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the

knowledge we have lost in information?" and answered, "It is here."

THE 665

No sooner had the summer course ended then the organisers were persuaded to

accept another assignment which was more spectacular and more fundamental -

managing at Brindavan a ten-day orientation course on spiritual education for

665 teachers from the elementary schools of Andhra Pradesh, deputed for

training by the State government. The government had planned a well-nigh

revolutionary project of recasting the elementary schools (for children between

the ages of six and twelve years) in the entire state, providing special

emphasis on prayer, music, dance, painting, modeling, and parent co-operation

with the teacher, so that the school house became a house of work, worship and

wisdom, of love and service, of spiritual discipline and Yoga. Dr. Chenna

Reddy, first as Governor of Uttar Pradesh and later as

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, knew about the Bal Vikas classes conducted by

trained gurus of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, and had watched the

children grow into self-reliant, co-operative and service-minded youth,

revering parents, elders, and teachers. So he prayed to Baba to give the 665

teachers an orientation course, holding the camp in the college campus at

Brindavan itself, so that they may benefit by the impact of His grace and from

exposure to the simple, unaffected band of students whom He had trained as

examples of His message.

The teachers were chosen at random from the outlying villages of every district.

They had no time to prepare for the journey into a vastly different linguistic

and climatic region, the state of Karnataka, nor were they aware of the

discipline, the do's and don'ts, spontaneously honoured at the Brindavan

campus. But the ten-day stay was amazingly alchemic. Baba entered their hearts

and made them soft and pure. Several deep-rooted habits such as smoking, eating

harmful foods and arguing aloud were jettisoned without a tear, while a sense of

dedication was added to their professional skills. They began to feel like

patriotic warriors who were engaged in driving away the demons of sloth and

selfishness from schools, restoring to children their heritage that they had

been denied so long. Bhagawan had

planned lectures by devoted teachers in the morning hours. He formed ten groups

of thirty teachers each, who met on alternate days to discuss among themselves

the feasibility and necessity of the suggestions that arose in these lectures.

The reports of these discussions were placed before Bhagawan in the evening and

Bhagawan would choose some outstanding conundrum that required further analysis

and clarification by Him.

Bhagawan also personally supervised the teachers' boarding and lodging and

enquired about their health and requirements. He gave woollen rugs to those who

had not brought any with them, sets of books to some, and cassettes of His

Bhajans and discourses to others who had access to cassette players in their

villages. He posed for photographs along with teachers and trainees from each

district, and also arranged for each one of them to receive a free copy on the

day the camp ended. Most of the teachers desired to visit Mysore and

Puttaparthi, besides going round

Bangalore itself, but they could not afford the cost. So they appealed to the

Government of Andhra Pradesh to loan them the money, which they all agreed to

repay out of their salaries. When He learned of this, Baba Himself arranged for

buses, and saw to it that they were loaded with hampers of food and plenty of

fruit with which the teachers could regale themselves while on the road.

The teachers were filled with admiration at the intelligent and hearty response

they received from the student volunteers deputed to attend to their needs.

They concluded that it was the love that Bhagawan embodied and showered on

those whom He chose, that had molded the students in His college into young men

of whom the nation could be proud. When the teachers left the campus and the

presence of Baba, they were all in tears.

THE FACE OF DIVINITY

Towards the end of the course, on the eighth day, the trainees had the singular

good fortune of listening to a talk given by Dr. Frank G. Baronowski of Arizona

University, on the uniqueness of Bhagawan’s aura. This speech equipped them with

faith in the divinity of Baba - a precious possession that would fortify them

throughout their lives. Dr.

Baronowski said, "I was not brought up in any belief, thought I am a Christian

by birth and a Roman Catholic. The scientific community in my country finds it

difficult to accept God. "It is not scientific," they assert. The aura that

Swami projects are not that of a man. The white was more than twice the size of

any man's, the blue was practically limitless and then there were gold and

silver bands beyond even these, far beyond the building, right up to the

horizon! I am risking my reputation when I make this statement. Two days ago,

right outside this hall, I looked into His eyes. They had a glow in them. It

was clear to me that I had looked into the face of Divinity. If ever I can use

the phrase, 'I have seen Love walking on two feet', it is here."

On 14th August 1978, Bhagawan formed the Loka Seva Institution into a new Trust,

the Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust, of which He agreed to be the President. This

He did at Muddenahalli where, too, there are schools and hostels maintained as

part of the Loka Seva complex. Bhagawan concluded the formalities of the

transfer and change of name. He later addressed the members of the Trust,

teachers and students: "This holy institution was established by Narayana Bhat

quite early in his life. He was ever eager to offer pure and unselfish service,

so he planted the seed,

which has now grown into this tree. We have arrived at the stage when we can eat

the ripe fruit, but this tree has also to be well cared for by us."

THE MOSQUE

The Muslim festival of Ramzan in 1978 was a landmark in the history of

Puttaparthi, for the Muslims of that village celebrated Id in the mosque that

Bhagawan had built for them. It is a simple and spacious mosque, with an

ambience of spiritual fragrance. Professor Bashiruddin of Osmania University

expressed the gratitude of the Muslims of the region and described to the vast

gathering how the impact of Bhagawan’s teachings had made him a more

understanding practitioner of the message of the Holy Koran. Janab Fakhruddin,

convenor of the Village Muslim Committee, offered thanks to Bhagawan for this

gift of love, saying "We had earlier to walk four miles to Bukkapatnam, through

sun and rain, slush and sandy river bed, to recite our prayers." Bhagawan told

the Muslims that the real significance of the

Ramzan fast was "to be near God and detached from sensual desires. He also said

that the Ramzan month was one during which the Holy Koran was communicated to

Mohammed. The message of Bhagawan is that the truly religious will neither deny

the validity of any particular religion or group of religions, nor declare that

salvation can be secured through one path only. So He encourages all those who

have faith to march forward along their chosen paths, whichever religion they

may follow or be born in, since all spiritual paths lead to the same goal.

Baba's grace is boundless and universal. So people from all lands and followers

of all creeds gather at His feet. Several sects and communities of India, who

have special festivals to commemorate their regional deities, also discard

age-old boundaries and conventions and gather in thousands wherever Baba may

happen to be, feeling such celebration to be truly meaningful in His presence.

The Onam festival of the Malayalam-speaking Keralites - Hindus and Christians -

is held by thousands year after year with all the orthodox observances. Bhagawan

has

thrown new light on the legend which forms the background of Onam. What was for

long a season of folk play and dance, has now taken on the habiliment of a

spiritually elevating Sadhana week.

PROLONG YOUR LIFE SPAN

Dasara 1978 began as usual with the hoisting of the Prashanthi flag over

Prashanthi Mandir and the celebration of the Annual Day of the Sri Sathya Sai

Hospital in the evening that same day. Bhagawan touched the hearts of the

massive gathering of devotees present when He gave them the most worthwhile

reason for preserving and promoting their health. "The one grand reason for

maintaining health, which I am urging you to do, is that you have yet to

witness and delight over many more Leelas and Mahimas (expressions and

manifestations of divine qualities) far surpassing those you have witnessed so

far, and many more wonders, victories and triumphs. You can thrill with

ecstatic delight when you witness these. So guard yourselves carefully.

Maintain good health and keep your hearts ever filled with joy," He

said.

During the discourses related to the Vedic Yajna, which lasted for a full week,

Baba expounded the meanings of various scriptural passages. The verses from the

Gita which He prescribed for repetition while saying grace before every meal,

were given special emphasis by Him, for they remind one of the immanence of God

in the food made ready, in the fire that was used for cooking it, in the cook,

in the one who ate it and in the activities which the eater could fulfill as a

result of the strength that the food conferred on both, his body and brain.

Dasara is an occasion when thousands from all over the country and abroad see

for themselves the triple ideal of Sai education - Duty, Devotion and

Discipline - practiced by the boys and girls of Bhagawan’s colleges. They can

listen to these students speak profoundly on a variety of topics and share

their own intimate experiences of love and service towards Sai and towards all

those upon whom He bestows His grace. They can also be audience to plays,

choirs and orchestral music by students from all parts of India and from places

as different and far

apart as Hawaii, Fiji, Sri Lanka, Tanzania

normal"> and Libya. Integration of mankind is no more an armchair dream; it is being realised here.

SAVE VILLAGES FROM CITIES

Twenty-five thousand people gathered at Prashanthi Nilayam for the Birthday

festival in 1978. Bhagawan emphasised that it was not because of the Birthday

that so many people had assembled, but it was because they assembled that the

Birthday was celebrated! "I have no interest in publicising the date on which

this body, which I willed for a purpose, appeared among mankind. I want each of

you to celebrate the day I am enshrined in your hearts as My birthday," He said.

To those who wished Him a 'Happy Birthday', He replied, "this is a superfluous

wish, for I am always happy." The festival included a musical recitation by

students, with the college orchestra providing excellent accompaniment to a

narration of the story of the Sai Avatar. Baba exhorted every one to transform

'daily living' into 'truly living', visualising God as the very breath of life.

Bhagawan had called delegations of Seva Dal units (comprising men and women

living on Sai ideals and trained for service to the distressed, the disabled

and the diseased) from all over India

green; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. He directed them to engage themselves more in rural

areas, where the evils of city life were becoming rampant. Villagers are

misled; they imagine the city-dwellers to be more happy amidst cinema houses

and cars, immersed in exotic and intoxicating life styles. They do not realise

that gambling and drinking, by noise and slogans are corroding their physical

moral and economic stamina, and by the rowdiness that thrives on such life

patterns. "Save them from moral and physical pollution," He commanded. When one

of the district Convenors suggested that each Sevadal member should always carry

with him a mini first-aid box so that he could serve people more often, Baba

modified the contents of the box, saying, "Carry in it a few tablets of

discrimination and detachment, an ounce or two of sense-control, a packet of

love and a bandage strip of fortitude. Only then can you effectively render

first aid to people suffering from a stroke of ego or a bout of greed, a

jaundiced vision or an allergy to serving others."

On 28th November 1978, Baba laid the foundation stone of the College of Arts,

Science and Commerce at

Prashanthi Nilayam. In the north-east corner Bhagawan laid the first line of

stones after sanctifying the spot and placing there nine precious gems created

by Him in the palm of His hand. Baba wills that every college must have an

auditorium as magnificent as the college itself, and also a special building,

as impressive as the rest, for the library. He considers the library to be a

fundamental part of every educational institution. He selected Sri Ramanathan

Chettiar of Madurai and the Rajamatha of Navanagar for laying the foundation

stones of these two allied constructions.

ISA-SAI

Christmas brings thousands into the presence of Baba, for they find in him the

teacher who can reveal the true glory of Jesus and lead them along the path

illumined by the Son of God. Baba told them that day, "Carols and candles,

readings from the Bible and staging plays about the incidents from the life of

Jesus are not enough. When Jesus declared that the bread of the Last Supper was

His flesh and the wine His blood, what did He really mean? He meant that every

being alive with flesh and blood was He Himself and ought to be treated so.

That is to say, every living being is Divine. Therefore no distinction should

be made between separate physical bodies as good or bad, friend or foe, we or

they. Baba also revealed that Jesus' actual name assigned to Him by His parents

was Isa. And Isa, when constantly

repeated, echoes Sai! Both words mean Iswara (God). Baba said, "In the Tibetan

monastery where Jesus spent many years, His name is recorded as Isa, which

means 'Lord of all living beings.' "

The Tamils celebrated their New Year on 14th January, so Baba flew to Madras to

bless them on that holy day and to inaugurate the construction of a

Dharmakshetra (an arena of righteousness) in that city, which was to be called

'Sundaram', to complete the series which had started with 'Sathyam' in Bombay

and continued with 'Sivam' in Hyderabad. The festival also has the overtone of

a harvest celebration as the farmers of Tamil Nadu offer gratitude to the

bullocks that helped them grow grain and the cows that gave them milk. They

boil the milk on ceremonial hearths and allow it to boil and spill over as a

symbol of abundance and happy sharing. The Telugu New Year Day was celebrated

in March, and Baba heightened the joy of the celebration by being present at

Hyderabad for a full week. He called upon the city-dwellers to serve the

villages, to which they owed much, by helping the farmers and artisans to

combat poverty, disease and exploitation.

Meanwhile, on 30th January 1979, Swami entered the west coast harbor town of

Mangalore in Karnataka State, to proceed to Alike, the headquarters of the Sri

Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust, which runs two huge educational complexes for

children, mostly from rural regions. One complex is at Alike itself in the

midst of the valley, nestling among the spurs of the Western Ghats. The other

one is at Muddenahalli, on the foothills of the mountain range around the

10pt">Nandi Peak, in the plains to the east. Alike is a dream come true, a

vision vivified by faith and hope, as if Divine grace had shaped itself into

its dormitories, playgrounds, libraries, classrooms and gardens - a hermitage

where the heart of the late Madiyala Narayana Bhat throbs in the activity of

the increasing band of devoted teachers, an academy with palm groves whispering

'Sai Ram' to every breath of wind.

LED INTO THE LIGHT

Baba's discourses dispelled the gloom that had descended upon the district when

its patron, Narayana Bhat, was killed in a car accident. He restored joy in the

hearts of the students (numbering over a thousand), the more than sixty

teachers, several well-wishers of the project (who had co-operated with

Narayana Bhat, its founder, and stood by him through thick and thin), the

grateful parents and guardians of the thousands of boys and girls whose careers

had been shaped by the Loka Seva institutions, the old students who were

rendering service in various fields of activity, and the farmers, traders and

workers from the village and plantations lying in the region. Baba likened

Alike to a place of pilgrimage, when He noted that "you pay sincere attention

to the development of the children under your care

and transmute them into worthy children of India." Before returning to

Brindavan, Baba visited Puttur and Chokkadi villages near Alike, Mangalore and

Manipal, in the same coastal district. At Manipal, the centre of a popular

educational complex built around well-equipped medical and engineering

colleges, Baba found at 11 p.m. at night a gathering of at least fifteen

thousand people waiting for Darshan. Such was their longing to have a glimpse

of the Lord and listen to His

voice.

The Summer Course in Indian Culture and Spirituality in 1979, laid emphasis on

the Bhagavad Gita. For one full week attention was concentrated on this

universal scripture which propounds and elaborates upon the three paths of

Karma (action), Bhakti (devotion), Jnana (knowledge). Bhagawan’s daily

discourse provided simple and satisfying commentaries on the philosophical

principles underlying the teachings of Lord Krishna to His diffident and

deluded warrior-friend, Arjuna. Swami, like Krishna Himself, exhorted the

student participants to do their best, without calculating the odds, and leave

the rest to God. He declared, as Krishna had done on the battlefield, that

victory is the reward for the brave and that bravery is drawn from the Atman,

the Inner Spring. Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer of the Supreme Court of India,

while inaugurating the month-long course in the presence of Bhagawan, said, "It

is time that we wean our colleges from becoming houses of vice and violence,

with students getting addicted to drugs and cultivating only materialistic

desires. Baba's balm of Prema must penetrate Karma, kindle Jnana and sublimate

into Dharma." He spoke on the inadequacy of science and its inability to

restore peace, morality and brotherhood. He stressed that

FONT-SIZE: 10pt">India must discover her soul and listen to the voice of the

sages. Bhagawan pointed out that leaders of today had no will to promote moral

and spiritual excellence in their people, while the people themselves had no

urge to warn their leaders of the disasters that lay ahead when this foremost

duty was neglected.

CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brother M. Palaniswamy

/

 

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