MIND BOGGLING MIRACLES OF SATHYA SAI

[Guest guest]

years and took early retirement in 1985 to return to India to be with his

92-year-old father, Sri Ghandikota Subrahmanya Shastri, the Rishi of the Sathya

Sai Gayathri and a renowned Vedic scholar. Mr. Subba Rao has been living in

Prashanthi Nilayam since 1985, on occasion translating Swami's speeches, giving

lectures to overseas devotees, and editing publications of the Sri Sathya Sai

Books and Publications Trust.] SHIRDI SAI AND SATHYA SAI CONNECTION

That Baba knows our thoughts - indeed our past as well as future, has been

repeatedly attested to by a large number of devotees. Just one such example

from this writer's own experience is recounted here. For many years, I

developed a deep yearning to visit Shirdi. I made several attempts to pay my

respects at Shirdi Sai shrine at Shirdi itself but to no avail. The closest I

could come to the point of realizing this dream was in 1983, when I planned on

my home-leave trip from New York to India to visit Shirdi after our landing in

Bombay. Unfortunately, the whole family developed a

stomach virus after our first meal in India at a Santa Cruz airport five-star

hotel - precluding any extensive surface travel all the way to Shirdi. It was

once again a great disappointment. I was thinking of this escapade while

intensely gazing at Shirdi Sai's shining silver idol and his giant size picture

in the background of the Prashanthi Mandir Bhajan hall, and also wondering about

the connection of Shirdi Baba with Parthi Baba, about which I found numerous

references in the Sai Literature. I closed my eyes, with Shirdi Baba in my

mind, when to my utter amazement Parthi Baba stood right in front of me while I

continued in my reverie. Swami waited till I fully opened my eyes, when with a

burst of bliss I clasped His soft lotus feet

and hung on to them like a child. Swami beckoned me inside the interview room

and materialized a rather large silver ring with an inlaid multi-colored enamel

picture of Shirdi Sai - saying that 'I am He'. I was stunned and electrified and

I blurted out that at long last my long-cherished desire was fulfilled now! The

shining large Shirdi ring on my finger used to attract the attention of my

diplomatic acquaintances during my frequent elevator rides in the forty-story

UN headquarters building in New York, leading to many inquisitive queries on

the strange-looking personality on the ring-face. One thing led to another and

before long I found myself presenting Sathya Sai literature to the UN Secretary

General in his office!

13.5pt">SRI SATHYA SAI STUDY CIRCLE AT THE UN Sensing the growing interest in

the story of the glory of Baba, we had founded, with Baba's blessings, a Study

Circle at the United Nations headquarters, with regular Thursday gatherings in

delegates' meeting rooms situated right underneath the UN General Assembly

Hall, and sometimes under the Security Council Chamber. Before long, Sai

Bhajans began to reverberate in the after-office hours in the United Nations!

The annual celebrations of the Study Circle attracted a large number of UN

staff members and country delegates. I remember the occasion when the president

of the International Court

of Justice came rushing along with a couple of delegates seeking Sai Vibuthi

(sacred ash). He proudly showed me a picture of Baba in his wallet! SHIRDI

RING REPLACED BY SATHYA SAI RING A few years after Baba gave me the Shirdi

Baba ring, Swami called me again for a brief interview, and suddenly inquired

of me whether I still wanted the old man or was now ready for

the younger man! I then replied that having lived with the old man till then, I

would welcome the change into company of the younger man! Swami graciously took

out the somewhat worn-out big Shirdi ring, which then disappeared right in front

of my eyes and, then and there, materialized a well-fitting similar silver

enameled ring with a picture of Swami showing His Abhaya Hastham - a raised

palm assuring protection. This creative gesture and gift signified to me my

spiritual (mental) journey from Shirdi to Parthi guided by Bhagawan Sathya Sai

Himself. As a result, I found myself and family settling at Baba's Lotus Feet

in Prashanthi Nilayam - indeed the very abode of peace.

Roman">THREE SIDED OBLONG STONE This leads me to remember another miraculous

manifestation of a triple-sided gray stone Baba materialized for me ten years

earlier. Not knowing what to do with it, I kept it as a curio in my UN office

desk drawer for two years. On my subsequent home-leave trip, in an interview

with Baba, I held up the three sided stone and asked Baba about its meaning and

significance. Baba then endearingly chided me for keeping it aside in a drawer

and asked me seriously whether I was interested in knowing the meaning (Artha)

of its shape or in reaping its beneficial effects (Phala). I replied

categorically that my interest was in the

benefit it would yield me! Baba then explained that the triple-headed stone

was given as a protective talisman in my numerous global air travels, and

therefore I should wear it on my chest. A thought crossed my mind as to how I

could wear an odd-shaped piece of stone on my chest. Baba sensed my inner

doubt, took the stone from my own hand, held it up and blew, and lo and behold

there appeared a twine-sized hole running through the point of the stone. Only

a laser could drive a hole of that size through the sharp points on the

opposite ends of the oblong stone. Swami then instructed me to insert a string

or a thin wire and wear it like a chain around my neck with the stone resting

on my lower chest. MATERIALIZATION OF GANESHA'S IDOL Whatever article

Swami materializes has a powerful purpose behind it. His materializations are

not for exhibition (Pradharshana) but they are purposive evidence (Nidharshana)

of their beneficial effects on the receiver. Around the early 1970s, Baba

materialized for me a silver idol of Ganesha, saying that this would help me

overcome obstacles in my

spiritual and professional efforts. That was the time of our founding a Ganesha

temple in New York, practically the first traditional Vedic style temple in the

Western Hemisphere. A stone frieze of the Sarva Dharma Symbol of all religions

adorns the entrance of the Ganesha temple. This symbol was earlier strongly

resisted by some of the tradition-bound Hindu devotees of the temple but after

Swami appeared in the dreams of several trustees, the opposition melted away to

the point that the temple management welcomed the holding of Sai Bhajans in the

main hall of the temple facing the Sanctum Sanctorum itself! Today, the Sathya

Sai Bhajan Mandali at the Ganesh temple in New York - dating back over

twenty-five years - is perhaps the oldest, the most well-attended regularly

organized Bhajan group in the western hemisphere. Hail to the Sai devotees in

the New York Ganesha temple!

justify"> VIBHUTHI STORM IN CONNECTICUT That the mind-boggling miracles of

Sathya Sai are not confined only to India but spread across the world has been

attested to by many overseas devotees. Suffice it here to cite just one

striking example repeatedly witnessed by this writer - a virtual Vibuthi storm

for a continuous period of nearly two weeks in the house of a Connecticut

Sathya Sai devotee. I was overwhelmed by the unending flow of

Vibuthi in practically all rooms of that devotee's house and by the Amrith

(nectarine fluid) on the Sathya Sai pictures taken and kept by this writer in

that house. Inevitably such a miracle draws a large number of curiosity seekers

disturbing the Sadhana of the devotees and Swami therefore advises against any

undue publicity to such miracles. REVELATION OF SATHYA SAI GAYATHRI

justify">Some of my most unforgettable experiences of Baba's miracles relate to

my father, the late Sri Ghandikota Subrahmanya Shastri, a great doyen of Vedic

learning and wisdom. A collection of the talks and articles on Baba by this

great Vedic scholar was published in Telugu as SRI SATHYA SAI AVATHARA

VAIBHAVAM - the Glory of Sri Sathya Sai Incarnation. My father had received in

his long life, many honors, but none of these compared with the joy and bliss

conferred by Baba on this venerable Vedic scholar who was chosen by Baba as one

of the founding members of the Prashanthi Vidhvan Maha Sabha, and who was often

invited by Baba to preside over the Dasara Yagna Ceremonies and to deliver

Vedic discourses in Baba's august presence. This revered Vedic Pundit was

inspired to reveal, in the presence of Baba on the Christmas eve of 1977 in

Brindavan, Bangalore - the vision of Sri

Sathya Sai Gayathri, and electrified the gathering by his subsequent exposition

of its meaning and significance. At the insistence of the late Kasturiji, I

transcribed this event into an article in Sanathana Sarathi of April 1979. The

Sathya Sai Gayathri conforms to the Vedic mould and characteristics similar to

the other Gayathri Mantras and reads as follows: Om Sayeeshwaraaya

VidmaheSathya Devaaya DheemahiThannassarvah Prachodhayaath It means: 'We

realize that Sai is the Supreme Lord. We meditate on this God of Truth. Let

that All-in-All entity inspire and enlighten us. Baba called this Vedic

scholar a Maha Rishi - a seer and revealer of Vedic mantra - and showered on

him compassion and grace in abundance. RESCUING A VEDIC SCHOLAR FROM THE

JAWS OF DEATH When my revered aged father was completely bed-ridden with

severe complications after a compound fracture of the hip, one morning he even

passed into a long coma and the doctors warned us of the impending doom. When

we gave up all hope, a telegraphic message reached us in our home town that all

would be well soon and that I should bring my father to Puttaparthi for Baba's

sixtieth birthday celebrations. My

father woke up shortly thereafter with a smile on his lips and narrated, to the

astonishment of the doctor, that all through that period Baba was sitting close

to the bed, conversing with him, and even invited him for Baba's 60th birthday

celebrations. When I inquired with my father whether it could have been a dream

or hallucination, he emphatically declared the divine presence of Baba at his

bedside and wondered why we did not notice it! The learned Vedic scholar also

asserted that when Baba was speaking to him, Vedic passages flashed across his

mind and that Baba was indeed the Veda Purusha (embodiment of Vedas) Himself,

exuding the fragrance of Vibuthi all around. With all these

happenings, there was no doubt in my mind that the devoted Vedic scholar was

rescued by Baba from the very jaws of death. The Vedic scholar lived for a year

and a half in Prashanthi Nilayam where he received Baba's Darshan, Sparshan and

Sambhashan, i.e. seeing, touching and conversing with divinity practically

every day. BABA - SHIVA SHAKTHI SWARUPA A

few years earlier Baba lovingly performed the 90th birthday ceremony of my

venerable father, when He materialized a most beautiful 42 diamond-studded

automatic gold watch with gold wrist band. He also materialized a picture of

His Shiva Shakthi form, reiterating His Avataric source as SATHYAM (Truth),

SHIVAM (goodness) and SUNDARAM (divine beauty). During my father's stay at

the Lotus Feet of Bhagawan towards the end of his life, Baba used to

materialize Vibuthi (sacred ash) frequently and would himself put it in the

mouth of this renowned Vedic scholar and devotee. Once Swami manifested for my

father a Shiva Lingam of Neelakanteshwara - the blue throated form of Shiva,

and

instructed that he daily drink the water poured on it for his better health.

Another time Baba pulled from the air a small silver medallion of Shiva on one

side and the Shiva Panchaakshari Manthra (five syllable holy formula of Shiva)

on the other side. He inserted, with great dexterity, this medallion onto the

sacred thread worn by my father. Swami then stated that Shiva being my father's

favorite deity, the silver medallion still wet with sandal paste was brought by

celestial Sai messengers as Prasadam immediately after Shiva Pooja in Kailasha

(abode of Shiva)! Hail to the glory of Shiva Shakthi! THE GHANDIKOTA SECRET

REVEALED A day prior to the passing away of my revered father, Swami spoke to

me in the verandah of the Prashanthi Mandir and somewhat cryptically told me

that my father would go home the next day, being the first day of the Dasara

festival, and that Swami would come to our apartment. Since my father's

condition was improving, I interpreted Swami's remarks to imply that my father

would return home from the hospital the next day. But something prompted me

awake at 5 AM of that fateful day, and I sleepwalked my way from the ashram

apartment to the hospital nearby. My father's eyes lit up as I lifted him up in

my arms when, saying SAI RAM, he passed away in serenity

and peace. That same evening after the cremation was over, Baba graciously

visited our apartment in Prashanthi Nilayam and consoled us, explained the

mystery of birth and death and declared that my father's life was fulfilled in

Vedic and Vedantic terms and that he attained final liberation, as he was a

Brahma Jnaani - steeped in Braahmic consciousness. On the tenth day of my

father's passing away, Swami once again visited our apartment and later in the

Poornachandra auditorium, Swami eulogized Subrahmanya Sastriji for his

unsurpassed Vedic wisdom and his Vedantic living, called him an immortal soul,

and declared that this Vedic scholar lived in the strong conviction of the

Truth that Sri Sathya Sai is the embodiment of all divinities. When I heard the

last statement from Swami's lips I recalled exactly the same words in Sanskrit

imparted and thrice repeated in secret confidence a month earlier by my father.

The secret

Mantra was revealed by Baba Himself to devotees in Poornachandra auditorium.

SEE GOD IN RITUALS AND NOT RITUALS IN GOD Just a few minutes after my father

passed away in my very arms, I received a telephonic message of condolence from

Baba, and that if we wished the arrangements could be made for the body to be

taken to our home town for cremation. On my

stating that our sole refuge as well as that of my just departed father was

Baba's lotus feet only, Baba promptly made arrangements in the minutest detail

for the large funeral procession led by a number of Vedic chanting priests in

front and Bhajan singing devotees at the back and for the cremation of the body

on the river bed of the nearby dried Chitravathi river. Amazingly by the day of

the bone-interring ceremony, unexpectedly the river swelled to such an extent

as to wash away the bones and ashes - a sign of ritual fulfillment and a

miracle in itself! As promised, Baba visited our apartment the next day to

console us personally. He directed me to perform post-funeral ceremonies for a

period of ten days

in strict Vedic style. When I expressed my ignorance and inability to perform

them in the strict scriptural manner and wondered at the necessity of

performing elaborate rituals, Baba stated that it was my bounden duty to

perform them in memory of my learned father who, for a long period of his life,

strictly followed Vedic Karma Kaanda - ritual actions. Swami arranged for a

priest who was not only an expert in funeral rites but also learned in their

significance. Swami instructed me to first understand the importance of each of

the numerous ritual actions, before I performed the actual ritual on the ground.

The daily rituals used to begin at 8 o'clock in the morning and ended in the

late afternoon with a repeated number of baths and fire sacrifices. Swami

advised one to read the Garuda Purana during this period. When Baba visited us

again on the tenth day, he explained why He insisted on my performing these

esoteric rituals strictly. Having been abroad

all these years, I was like a cooking vessel kept far too long in the attic

gathering grime and dust. The vessel had to be thoroughly cleansed and rubbed

free of dirt. Baba made it clear that my departed father, being a Brahmajnani

steeped in Brahmic consciousness did not require these funeral ceremonies. But

it was I that needed purification and understanding through the performance of

rigorous disciplines or penance! Initiated, I thought, by Baba Himself into

Vedic ritualism, I took to it like a duck to water, with the zeal of a "new

convert"! Baba sensed this and promptly applied the brakes. He cautioned me

about priestly ritualism and when I remonstrated that it was Swami who got me

into it, He told me that the

substance of spirituality should not be sacrificed for the shell of ritualism.

He opened my eyes when He stressed that loving remembrance and expression of

heart-felt gratitude to our forefathers is more important than mechanistical

ritual action and that Ashru Tarpanam (offering of tears of gratitude) is more

important than Thila Tarpanam (offering of sesame seeds with water). SWAMI

AS A VEDANTIC GURU PAR EXCELLENCE

TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Swami is primarily a Divine Aadhyaatmic Guru; He imparts

profound spiritual lessons to the devotees on an individual, group and

collective basis. His teachings are the quintessence of Advaitic nondualistic

Supreme Reality. A few experiences of this writer in this regard are given

below. Once this writer, just on the eve of his departure from Puttaparthi

in a hurry to catch a plane that very morning in Bangalore, was called by Swami

to His modest living-cum resting room in the upstairs of Prashanthi Bhajan

Mandir. Without being told that I was studying THAITTIREEYA UPANISHAD during my

weekend spare time in Delhi (where I was then a resident

representative of a UN agency) Baba, in His infinite Grace expounded for nearly

one full hour the essence of this famous Upanishad. When I began to write it

all down, Baba remarked that there was no need to take notes; He assured me

that whenever the need arose, I would automatically recall His teachings!

While Baba's teaching was proceeding, Kasturiji came up to request Baba for

Swami's article for the monthly Sanathana Sarathi, the issue of which was just

then going to the printer. Swami, with a wave of His hand, produced the article

and gave it to Kasturiji in my direct presence! When Swami concluded His

Upanishadic teaching, He materialized a king-sized hot laddu (a type of Indian

sweet) as His prasadam to be

distributed to members of my family. Furthermore, Swami assured me that I would

definitely catch the plane as it was flying late that day. I reached Bangalore

airport with all anxiety but to my pleasant astonishment I was the last

passenger on the long delayed flight! I recall another individual teaching

session with Baba also in the Prashanthi Mandir upstairs room. Baba explained

to me for almost an hour the five most significant Brahamasutras - analytical

aphorisms on the supreme Reality. As the saying goes, Brahma Vidhya Vidhyaanaam

- the Brahmic knowledge is the acme of all learning. The teaching by Swami was

marked as usual by profundity and simplicity, using parables, and filled with

good-hearted humor on the

other side. Apart from these exclusive individual teaching sessions, I had the

greatest good fortune of listening in the interview room to Baba's teachings on

the Bhagawad Gita. Thus I was initiated by Baba himself into the Vedantic lore

of the holy scriptural Texts called Prasthana Trayee, viz. Bhagawad Gita,

Brahma Sutras and Upanishads! Hail to Bhagawan Sathya Sai, The GNYAANA BODHAKA

GURU. When He performed the Upanayanam of my eldest son in the early 1960s

and also of my youngest son in the early 1980s, He not only materialized

turmeric-anointed Yagnopaveetham (holy threads) but

also patiently taught the Vatus (the young boys) the meaning and significance of

Gayathri Mantra recitation, the Sandhyavandana (daily prayers) ritual, and the

importance of celibate living. Salutations to the World teacher Sri Sathya Sai

Baba, SAYINAM VANDE JAGADGURUM. Sankalpa refers to the powers of Siddha

Purusha with acquired - and therefore depletable Yogic powers, whereas Sankalpa

Siddha signifies the state "mere WILLING IS FULFILLING"! Swami's undepletable

miraculous powers are the most natural and spontaneous manifestations of His

love and grace to the devotees.

New Roman"> SEE AND ENJOY SWAMI'S MIRACLES That it is not possible to fully

understand Swami is aptly expressed by Baba Himself when he stated: "In order

to understand me, you will have to stand under me for so long that your legs

are likely to collapse!". Then, what about experiencing Him? To this Swami

replied that experience is something like experimentation, with yesterday's

experience being different from today's and one's experience being very

different from other's. Experimentation

is "mentation"- a mental act and the Lord cannot be reached, understood or

experienced by the mind, APRAAPYA MANASA SAH as the THAITTIREEYA UPANISHAD

states. If one cannot fully understand or experience, what then, Swami? He

says, Enjoy - be in joy and end (your mind) in joy! Just as in the Upanishad

saying AANANDHO BRAHMANO VlDHVAAN - The knower lives in Braahmic Bliss alone.

Source: http://www.eaisai.com/baba/docs/mind.html With Sai love from Sai

brothers – ‘

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