Bhagawan's Miracles - 1

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Dear Sai Brothers and Sisters, Om Sai Ram. Many if not all of you must have read about the following Miracles of Bhagawan, Swami's Divine Miracles are for all times and to shared time after time with everyone, to read and heard again and again, They are like the Golden Nectar : The Rainbow Man A sceptic is convinced of Bhagawan’s Divinity. Joel Riordan, Hollywood film producer, writer and director, has an interesting story about how Baba changed his sceptic mind and sowed the seeds of faith in his heart. When Joel visited Prasanthi Nilayam along with his wife, Diana, who was a sincere devotee of Baba, he came with the intention to ‘expose’ Baba whom he sarcastically called ‘character’. Joel has narrated his thrilling

first encounter to Mr. Howard Murphet, which he recorded it in his book,“Sai Baba Avatar”: ‘Diana had been over to India a couple of times with her mother, Analise, and both of them used to talk about Sai Baba's miracles. I thought they must both be mad, or at least going mad. I seriously considered divorcing Diana. But there was my daughter Chrissie to think of. Anyway, I finally decided that, before doing anything drastic, I would go over and see this “character”, Sai Baba, for myself. My parents had been show people and I was just about brought up in a circus. I was keenly interested in conjuring, and had seen what went on behind all the stage tricks. I figured that even if this character in India was a second Houdini, I would be able to expose him as a conjuror, and not a holy man miracle worker, as people claimed. Just before I left Hollywood, I was having lunch with an

important guy and - to give him a laugh - told him what I was planning to do. He seemed to have heard of Sai Baba, or read about him - may be in Schulman's book, or yours - any way, he said: "What are you going to ask him for, Joel?" The idea came to me then. I answered: "They say this character is God-so I'll ask him for something only God can make - a rainbow". He laughed, and we talked about other matters. But I decided that was what I would ask for.’ When asked by Howard Murphet, whether his friend had known any Sai devotees in California, Joel replied: 'I checked on that later - for the same reason as you ask. No, he did not. He lived in a different world from them. No chance that anyone carried the story to Swami. Anyway, a few days after that I flew to India, bringing Diana and Chrissie with me. It was early afternoon when we arrived in Puttaparthi, and an hour or so later

we went for a walk up that hill behind the hospital. It was a hot, dry day, and we went up for a breath of air. We sat on some rocks and looked out over the country. It looked grim and parched-made me feel dehydrated just to see it. Then in the western sky a bright rainbow appeared, Odd, I thought, how can you have a rainbow without a drop of moisture in the air? Something else struck me as peculiar. Instead of being curved in the usual way, the rainbow stood straight up in the sky like a column. I felt a bit spooky about it. Had this “character” heard my words right across in America, and caused this phenomenon? Then the colours started to fade out from the bottom up. I felt I needed a drink. But of course there's no alcohol at Puttaparthi, and even the water was warm in that season.' In answer to Howard Murphet’s query whether his wife Diana had known about his unusual wish, he replied: 'Yeah, I mentioned it to her on the way over on the plane. She saw the rainbow all right - ask her, yourself. Afterwards, we came down from the hill, and there was a message that Swami wanted to see us. Diana got more excited about that than about the rainbow, but as we had come a long way, it seemed natural enough to me that He would see us on the first day. When we walked into the interview room, Swami's first words knocked me out: "Well, character, how did you like your rainbow?" 'I was too dumbfounded to answer. He knew my name for Him, and what I was going to ask for, and had put that odd rainbow in the sky! It all blew my mind. Well, I sat with the others on the floor, hardly hearing, and not understanding, what He was talking about. In fact, my mind was racing about like a rat in a trap, trying to find a way back to the common-sense world I knew. Granted he was a mind

reader; telepathy does exist between people. It's been proved scientifically. But the rainbow must have been a hallucination or I had been hypnotized. “I'll give him another test”, I thought to myself, “I will ask Him to produce some fresh fruit-out-of-season fruit - right here in this room, without warning.” A few minutes after I'd had this thought, Swami stopped talking and waved his hand in his usual way. When he turned it up I saw a fresh fig sitting on his palm. He handed it to me without a word. I ate it later. It was as fresh, as if had just been picked. Yet, figs were out of season and, as I learned later, none grew in that area anyway.’ This was how Bhagawan transformed Joel Riordan and sowed the seeds of faith in his heart. Later He gave him the job of supervising some painting work in the Brindavan Ashram in preparation for the Summer Course that year.

Joel was later fortunate to spend a lot of time staying with Baba and basking in His love and grace. Reference: “Sai Baba Avatar” by Howard Murphet. Page: 39-42. Publisher: Macmillan India Limited, 1978. Ms. Diana Baskin too records this amazing story in “Divine Memories of Sathya Sai Baba”. --- The Story of Kalpagiri How Bhagawan brought about a change of heart in a criminal The story of Kalpagiri, Prof. N Kasturi says, deserves to

be inscribed in letters of gold. It is a story of a base metal turning into gold with the loving touch of Baba. Here is the story in Prof. Kasturi words: Kalpagiri had committed a foul murder and escaped the police of his area. He slithered silently towards the Himalayas in the north. He donned the ochre robes of a monk and wandered from one Dharmasala to another, trying to smother the squeaks of conscience by chanting the Name of God. Four years he spent thus, trying to flee from himself into the sylvan glory and silence of the snowy mountains spread before him. He met many a saint and sage and sadhakas and read many sacred books, discussed the role of Bhakthi, Jnana and Karma in releasing man from bondage and soon became proficient in the dialectic of non-duality. After a few years had passed this way, he decided that he could safely venture into the

old familiar regions and extended his pilgrimage to Simhachalam, Tirupati, Kanchi and Rameswaram in the southern part of India. Thence, he turned to Madurai and Srirangam, Chamundi Hills, Melkote, and reached Bangalore. In Bangalore he was told that a new Shirdi had now emerged in Puttaparthi. He boarded the Guntakal train, alighted at Penukonda, and a bus brought him to Prasanthi Nilayam. Baba called the Sanyasi in. He is the All-knowing One. Nothing can be hidden from Him, by time or space or the artifice of man. He chided him for running away from the consequences of his deed. While at Shirdi in the Sai Baba body Baba had told Shama, one of his close devotees, "Debt, enmity and murder have to be atoned for; there is no escape." So, Baba admonished Kalpagiri, "Why postpone for another birth the suffering which you must undergo in return for this dire deed?" He told him that

ochre robes ill became a debtor who has not paid his dues. He went up to His room and brought white clothes for him to wear in place of the ochre ones. He commanded him to go to the police in his area and give himself up. He gave him the fare and also the precious Vibhuthi Prasadam, four packets of it; He assured him, "Go, confess and undergo cheerfully whatever punishment they ultimately give you. You will not be hanged; I promise that. Your neck shall wear a Japamala, a rosary, which I shall myself put round it, when you come to Me after the sentence is over." Kalpagiri emerged from the room, like a serpent that had cast off its skin and renewed itself. There was a new glint in his eye, fresh vigour in his voice and a lightness in his gait that was not there that morning. Baba must be the Lord Himself, he thought. He decided to obey His command and save himself, rather than discarding it and get caught in the net of retribution and

rebirth. Travelling in the crowded train that night, he saw a fellow writhing in pain, with his hand pressed on the abdomen; he could not but part with one of the four Vibhuthi packets he had with him; he was happy to find that the pain stopped and the man slept soundly. He knew that his estimate of Baba’s divinity was correct. So, he confessed to the police and the death-sentence the Judge pronounced was compounded by the President of India into a sentence of life imprisonment. During the weeks when the petition for Presidential Mercy was being considered, Kalpagiri in his cell was telling his neighbours Chengappa and others that he had met the Incarnation of the Lord at Puttaparthi and that He had assured him that mercy will be shown and that, he would get from Baba Himself a rosary when he finished his term and went to Him, freed from the recoil of the stab that he had

inflicted on a fellow being. The word came true and the petition bore fruit. Reference: “Sathyam Shivam Sundaram”, Vol-II, by Prof. N Kasturi. Page: 108-110. Published By Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust, Prasanthi Nilayam. Om Sai Ram Mahadevan

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