Sai Saga - 2

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Raju - "The Brahmin Child"

The Divine child became the pet of the entire village of Puttaparthi and the

ryots and cowherds vied with each other in fondling it and feeding it and

playing with its lovely silken curls. Its charming smile attracted every one.

The fragrance of the jasmine bud filled the air. Like a lighted lamp, Sathya

moved about the house and laughter tinkled in the street when he lisped his

sweet vocabulary of sounds. He kept away from places where pigs or sheep or

cattle or fowl were killed or tortured, or where fish was trapped or caught; he

avoided kitchens and vessels used for cooking flesh or fowl. When a bird was

selected and talked about by someone in connection with dinner, Sathyanarayana

the little boy, would run towards it and clasp it to His bosom and fondle it as

if the extra love He poured on it would induce the elders to relent and spare

the fowl. He was called by the neighbours, "Brahmajnani" on account of this

type of aversion and this measure of Love towards creation. At such times, the

boy used to run to the Karnam's house for they were Brahmins and vegetarians,

and take the food offered by Subbamma, the aged lady residing there. So

distinct was his behaviour that a wag once nicknamed him "the Brahmin child"!

Yes, it was a fitting description. Little did that wag know that, while in the

previous body, this child, so laughed at now, had declared at Shirdi "This

Brahmin can bring lakhs of men on the White path and take them to their

destination!" Charity begins at Home At the tender age of three and four, "this

Brahmin" behaved as if it had a heart that melted at human suffering. Whenever a

beggar appeared at the door and raised his cry, Sathya left off play and rushed

in, to force his sisters to dole out grain or food. The adults were naturally

irritated by the endless procession of outstretched hands; they easily lost

temper; they sometimes shouted the beggar off, before Sathya could bring

relief; this made the child weep so long and loud that only by bringing the

dismissed beggar back could the elders stop the wailing. Sometimes, in order to

put a stop to what the elders thought 'this expensive and misplaced charity,'

the mother caught, hold of the child and with a finger raised in warning, she

said, "Look here! You may give him food; but, mind you, you will have to

starve." That did not daunt the child; he used to run inside and bring out food

to the hungry man at the door; and stay away from dinner or lunch, himself.

Nothing and nobody could persuade him to come to his plate, which was left

untouched! When Sathya began running about in the street, he sought out the

maimed, the blind, the decrepit and the diseased, and led them by the hand to

the doorstep of the parents; the sisters had to discover from the store or the

kitchen some grain or food and put it into the beggar's bowl while 'the little

master' looked on, gladly. There is a small primary school in the village of

Puttaparthi, and Sathya used to go there with his contemporaries, for something

nobler than learning to spell and scribe. The school had at that time an

interesting scheme of punishment to ensure punctuality. The lucky child which

first comes in and salutes the teacher, as well as the fellow who gets in

second, are exempt from the punishment; but every chap, who for whatever

reason, legitimate or other, arrives late, is given a taste of the cane, the

number of cuts depending on his place in the list of late-comers, the later the

larger. In order to escape from this torture, the children gathered under the

eaves of the schoolhouse, much before sunrise, in rain or in fog. Sathya saw

their plight and sympathised with his shivering playmates. He visited them

under the eaves and, bringing shirts, and towels and dhotis from his house; he

covered the boys and made them comfortable.

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