Sri Ramabrahman & Swami' s Grace on him.(SSS-Volume-5)

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Prashanthi Nilayam and other places, guiding and instructing him meticulously

about the upkeep of the ashram, indicates the pride of place enjoyed by

Brindavan in His heart. There are also many letters written by Baba to

Ramabrahmam expressing His infinite love and kindness for him and concern for

his physical and spiritual welfare; those letters reflect the motherly

affection, fatherly stickiness and mastery wisdom of the Avatar. Here is a

poetic letter from Bhagavan to him, which is suffused with nectarine divine

love, "Did I ever forget the streaming tears of yearning shed by Sati

Sakkubai who longed to see Me? Did I not remember the ordeals gone through by

My devotee Nananne, who had no other

aspiration that ador Me? Did Rani Meerabai who wept ceaselessly and beseeched

Me just for My darshan ever fade from My memory? Did I even once ignore the

prayers of KAVI THYAGARAJA who wandered everywhere with divine madness,

relentlessly uttering 'RAMA... RAMA? My darshan ever fade from My memory? Did

I even once ignore the prayers of Kavi Thyagaraja who wandered everywhere with

the divine madness, relentlessly uttering "Rama...Rama. ? ",O Ramabrahman!

Will your Sai who is aware of all these, not listen to your tearful entreaties

as you cry for Me now? Why will He not shower His Mercy on You? Be assured, He

will protect you without fail at all times. "Ramabrahmam! Sai will never forget

you wherever you are. You may be in forest or in the sky or on a mountain, you

may go to a village or a city, it does not matter for Sai. He will never ever

forget you! Your Baba." Ramabrahmam, who hailed from a village near

Vijayawadi in Andhra Pradesah, was a well-to-do agriculturist and businessman.

A devotee of Sai Baba of Shirdi since 1945, he had the first darshan of Baba in

1953 at Prashanthi Nilayam at the age of fifty-one. On the very first day at

Prashanthi Nilayam, he was surprised when Bhagavan accepted him with the

question, "Ramabrahmam, how are you?' Ramabrahmam wondered how Baba could

know his name. On the third day of

his stay, Baba blessed him with the opportunity to offer Padapooja, While doing

it he saw Sai Baba of Shirdi sitting in the place of Sathya Sai on the chair!

Thus Baba granted him the most precious gift of faith and Ramabrahmam never

looked back after that. He became a frequent visitor to Puttaparthi, and

sometimes he went there with some members of his family, which comprised his

wife, two daughters and three sons. After his first trip to Puttaparthi in

1953, Ramabrahmam embarked on a tobacco export business in Guntur, which

prospered quickly because of his hard work and sincerity. That enhanced his

devotion to Baba. Everything

was alright till 1955; then his ordeals started. Later he confessed that it

was a period of Bhagavan's training for him to make him mentally stronger to

become worthy of being His servitor at Brindavan. He fell very sick towards the

end of 1955 and none could diagnose his illness properly till June 1956.

Bhagavan also ignored him completely whenever he went to Prashanthi Nilayam.

Finally when his malady was diagnosed to be a severe lung infection, he was

advised to go to Mysore in Karnataka for medical care and rest. He was at

Mysore from June 1956 to March 1957. His business collapsed; he had to sell

most of his properties and lands to discharge his liabilities. Within one

year he was

reduced to a pauper from a millionaire. His faith in Baba was under severe test;

but he succeeded. Fortunately for him, while all his relatives and friends

deserted him, Bhagavan showered immense love on him and stood by him. The bond

of devotion grew stronger. Ramabrahmam's inner being underwent hard

chastening and chiselling during the five years that followed, and its yearning

for the Divine grew more and more intense. The defining moment in his life came

in 1963, when he went to Bhagavan who was at Brindavan to seek His blessings for

his younger daughter's marriage. The for his daughter's marriage had not yet

come, but it was time for the marriage of his soul to God. While assuring

that He would arrange and perform his daughter's marriage at the appropriate

time, He asked him to come down to Brindavan with his wife and daughter and

settle there as the manager of the ashram. Ramabrahmam gracefully accepted

the gift as reward for his penance in many lives. That day, he found

fulfillment in his quest for the eternal in the ephemeral world. Having had

the opportunity to work with Ramabrahmam at Brindavan for four years. I was

highly benefited by his exalted example of loyalty and devotion to Bhagavan, He

was very kind to his younger colleagues and did not hesitate to extend advice

whenever sought. He would also illustrate has advice with examples from his

experience with Bhagavan. His first advice was "Don't think you have come here

for a Job. You should consider this place as your own propriety and look after

it with sense of commitment. The second advice was, "Don't ask for any

personal favors from Bhagavan. If you do His work, He will do your work and

take care of all your needs. Bhagavan will give you much more than what you

deserve without your asking for it. The Third was, "Follow and obey

Bhagavan's instructions scrupulously to the letter. You do not Have any freedom

whatsoever. Don't try to interpret His

commend on the basis of your logic and convenience," And finally. he would say,

"Baba is God. Always look upon Him as God. Some may speak in a lighter vein

or even joke with you. But you should never take Him lightly. If you loos this

chance, it will may take many lifetimes for you to get it again. Your first

priority in this life should be Bhagavan; all other people and things come

next." Once, Baba called Ramabrahmam and told him, "Your wife talks too much

and she shouts so loudly that everyone in the ashram can hear. I to hear her

voice in the mandir." Next day, Ramabrahmam took his wife to his village,

traveling for more that fifteen hours, left her there and came back. When the

choice was

between Bhagavan and his wife, he choose Bhagavan! After his return, he

reported to Baba, "Swami, my wife will no more disturb anyone here. I pray You

to kindly pardon me and also her for the nuisance created by her till now. Baba

said, I never told you to send her away from here. "Ramabrahmum chose to keep

quiet. After a week, Baba asked him, "When is your wife coming back?"

Ramabrahmam said, "Swami, I don't know. Everyday for the few days, the same

question was asked and the same answer followed. Finally, Baba was annoyed

with Ramabrahmam and told him,

"Ramabrahmam, if your wife does not come here within a week you will have to

join her there and stay there itself." Ramabrahmam then understood the gravity

of the situation and brought her back to Bridavan within three days. The

marriage of Ramabrahmam's granddaughter was to be performed at the Guntur. He

received the invitation from home a fortnight before. He offered it to

Bhagavan, but he did not pray for His permission to attend the marriage. As

he stood quietly, Baba Himself said "You can go and attend the wedding." As the

day of wedding approached, he expected that Baba would tell him to leave for

Guntur two or three days in advance. But Bhagavan chose to keep silent about

it. Ramabrahmam also kept quiet .On the day after the marriage, Baba asked

him. "Ramabrahmam why did you not go for marriage?..... Ramabrahmam replied

nonchalantly, "Swami I thought You did not want me to attend it. Otherwise You

would have surely told me to go." Bhagavan was immensely pleased, He told

Ramabrahmam, who was seventy-five years at that time, "Good boy! This is the

sign of a true devotee.For Ramabrahmam, nothing else mattered other than

pleasing Baba by thought, word and deed. Truly, he was a devotee par

excellence. Ramabrahmam's second son, Sri Nagabhushan, passed away suddenly

at Vijayawada on 3rd June 1964. All lines of communication between Vijaywada

and Brindavan were cut off at that time due to a severe cyclone, But that

evening, Bhagavan told him, "Your son Nagabhushan has passed away. Go home with

your wife immediately. But don't tell your wife about the death till you reach

there." Ramabrahmam implicitly obeyed the commend. In the seventeen hours of

journey with his wife, he did not divulge anything, to her except that Baba had

sent him to Vijayawada on some important work. When she reached home, she saw

the dead body of her dear son. She wanted him to immediately inform Bhagavan

about the tragedy that had struck them. Only then

did he tell her the truth. He consoled her saying, "Out of His infinite Mercy

for you , Swami did not want me to inform you of the boy's death at Brindavan.

As a mother, it would have been impossible for you to bear the grief during the

long journey. The final rites kept them At Vijayawada for a fortnight.

Bhagavan wrote a long letter to Ramabrahmam and his wife during that period

consoling them with words of wisdom about life and death. But the fire of

anguish in the mother's heart at the loss of her young son could not be

extinguished So easily. When they returned

to Bridavan, she cried her heart out to Bhagavan and lamented, "Baba, I have

lost my son." Baba told her, "He has not gone anywhere, He is with me. Is he

with You Is it true? asked the grief -stricken mother. Bhagavan took the

couple inside the interview room. Both of them saw their son, whose body they

had cremated hundred of miles away a fortnight before, sitting in the interview

room at Brindavan! Baba did everything to assuage the burning pain of the

grieving mother and He did it successfully just in a day Here we have three

experiences of Ramabrahmam, which teach important lessons required for any

servitor of Baba. Ramabrahmam,s physical was tall, well built and heavy.

One day, Baba gave him His robe and asked him to wear it!...Anybody else would

have dismissed it as a joke. But Ramabrahmam took it into his hands and looked

at Baba. ..Baba said, yes, put it on." Ramabrahmam said solemnly, "Swami. I

will try...But I don't know how my big head and hands will fir into it."

....Bhagavan did not relent. As Ramabrahmam tried to push his head into the robe

with great difficulty, he became almost breathless. But he did not give up. To

his utter astonishment and joy, the robe started expanding until it was a

perfect fir for him! Ramabrahmam learned a good lesson from that experience.

He would say, When you sincerely try to do what Baba tells you, He will without

fail help you to complete the task successfully. Once, when Ramabrahmam was on

the ground floor of the mandir, he heard Bhagavan calling out for him from the

first floor. Since he had a thermos flask in his hand he thought that it would

be inappropriate for him to go with it to meet Baba. So he went to kitchen,

kept the flask there and walked up the stepts. When he went to look to

Bhagavan, He looked at him sharply and asked him, "Why have you come?."

"Swami you

called me," Replied Ramabrahmam, Baba said a little sternly, I called you here

few few minutes before and not now," He was thus dismissed from the divine

presence. A month after that seemingly innocuous incident, a bore well was

being sunk in the agricultural farm in Brindavan under Ramabrahmam's

supervision. He had gone to the spot with some sweets given by Bhagavan for

seva dal members and workers who were working there. After distributing the

sweets, he was walking back through the fields to the mandir. He at his watch

and surmised that Baba might be already waiting for him. He began to walk

faster, but in the hurry he

slipped and fell. He shouted 'Sai Ram' just he fell on the ground. In spite of a

bad fall, he did not feel any any discomfort though his white clothes had

become dirty. As he approached Bhagavan, He told him "Ramabrahmam as soon as

you called out My name, I rushed to the spot where you fell in the farm and

protected you from severe injuries. Otherwise you would have broken your bones.

What would have happened if I had not come there as Soon as you called Me? But

when I call you, you take your own time to come to me. Is it all

right?...Ramabrahmam fell at the feet of Baba and prayed for His forgiveness.

One evening at six o' clock Sri B.D.Jatti, then the Vice President of India,

came to

Brindavan to seek Bhagavan's blessings on a matter of national importance. He

was accompanied by some Central Ministers and the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

But Baba had already retired for the day. Ramabrahmam received the Vice

President and other dignitaries at the 'Sairam' mantap as no guest or visitors

could enter the mandir compound without permission of Baba. He respectfully

greeted them and requested them to come next morning.... The Vice President

pleaded, "I have to speak to Prime Minster about this matter before sunrise.

Please inform Baba that I am waiting here to meet Him...Ramabrahmam said

politely but firmly, Sir none can dare to knock on Swami's door after He has

retired. Please excuse me." "What shall we do then? Can you kindly guide

us?...Asked the worried dignitary...If I can tell you on the basis of my

experience, there is only one way out. Kindly sit here,chant 'Sairam' and pray

to Baba. " He knows everything. He may respond to your prayer," replied the

veteran devotee. Sri Jatti accepted his advice and sat down to pray.

Ramabramam went back to the mandir. Within a few mintues, Bhagavan emerged from

His room and instructed Ramabrahmam to bring him inside. Bhagavan spoke to him

for more than thirty minutes. Ramabrahmam was

not surprised by what had happened. But it was revealing experience for others.

Based on many such experiences, Ramabrahmam's advice to his younger colleagues

was, "We should keep praying to Swami always for the right promptings to do

things rightly so that we can please Him. If we depend on our own intelligence

and thinking we will go wrong nine times out of ten. "Ramabrahmam was a man of

God; he lived for God and worked for God. Jai Sai Ram (Sharing with Sai

Love) Ram.ChuganiRam ChuganiKobe, Japanrgcjp

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