BABA'S HISTORIC VISIT TO UGANDA & KENYA

[Guest guest]

Imprints of Divine Love in the Cradle of Civilization

-------- The seeds of Sai Baba’s sacred love were planted in the African continent with His historic visit to Uganda and Kenya in July 1968. Decades later, the continent that some anthropologists believe to be the cradle of civilization, continues to draw its spiritual nourishment from the energy of that sacred odyssey. During that time, all forms of life, including Africa’s untouched Nature and undisturbed wildlife yielded in adoration to His overpowering loving presence. The waves of warmth generated then are continuing to engulf millions even today. Once touched by His love, the reservoir of love within each heart is hard to hold back. As most of the devotees we interviewed for this feature vouch, it has to be experienced personally to understand its immeasurable magnitude. Mr. Jay Ravji Jethva was a sickly little boy, growing up in Kampala, Uganda when Bhagavan Baba visited the country in 1968. An acute asthmatic, his condition debilitated his childhood to the extent that he never slept through the night; nor did his anxious mother who dispensed the pump a dozen odd times to help him breathe. There were times when his parents feared the worst. During those days, Dr. C. G. Patel was the physician treating him and the very mention of this name sent shivers down the little boy’s spine “Because all I remember of him was giving me inserting needles into me all the time. In those days there were not so many of those pharmaceutical tablets - mostly injections.” Love Relieves Pain and Suffering

When the news of Bhagavan Baba’s arrival and glory swept through the city, Jethva learned that He was staying at the residence of his very own physician, Dr. C.G. Patel in Kampala! The irony of having the divine healer stay at the residence of his doctor was not lost on the young boy. Nevertheless, so troubled was he due to his poor health that without his parents’ knowledge, he skipped school to catch a glimpse of the holy man everyone was talking about. His heart was desperate for hope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Africa responds to the embodiment of Pure Love

 

 

 

 

 

Filling all with divine joy

 

Waiting with thousands of others on the street outside Dr. Patel’s residence, Jethva recalls the momentous landmark in his life, “Swami actually came out of the house, and as He is walking in one part of the street... outside … He turns around and starts walking towards me. As He came in front of me, He actually looked at me. I knew He is calling me to Him. The first ever words Swami said to me are ‘How is your asthma? How is your chest?’ That was amazing for me… my heart was still beating fast. I didn’t know what to say. ‘Go in’ He said. I had no idea what that meant.” Love Confers Fearlessness

While waiting for his turn for a personal audience, young Jethva was “so scared of Swami, … I had no idea what He is going to do, He is this big fuzzy haired man, really all these thoughts were going on in my head. Next, He opens the door, looks at me and calls me in… And then He looks at me and breathes very, very deeply. It is actually as if I was having one of those asthma attacks… I said, ‘Yes... Sai Baba, that’s exactly what happens.’ I am looking up to Him at his stage and He is amazing. Even when I think about it today, my hair stands on end. He then opens His right palm, and says, ‘Look at My palm.’ I keep looking. Then He says ‘Touch it.’ So I touch His palm. It was just as my hand now. Next thing I know, a liquid quietly forms in His hand. And He asks me to just keep looking. As I keep staring, more and more liquid comes out.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He knows only one religion - Love

 

 

 

 

 

For Him, there is only one race

 

Today, 40 years later, Jethva hasn’t forgotten the joy and freedom from the fear of the dreaded disease that he experienced from the healing ambrosia. “I was extremely ecstatic that He is actually going to cure me... it was overwhelming happiness, and finally a sense of hope, lots of emotions going on… He patted my shoulders and gave me some packets of vibhuti, the sacred ash. He said ‘Look, no more asthma, from now on’.”

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I am looking up to Him at his stage and He is amazing. Even when I think about it today, my hair stands on end. He then opens His right palm, and says, ‘Look at My palm.’ I keep looking. Then He says ‘Touch it.’ So I touch His palm. It was just as my hand now. Next thing I know, a liquid quietly forms in His hand. And He asks me to just keep looking. As I keep staring, more and more liquid comes out.”

 

…………………………………………………………………………………….. Jethva reels with joy even today when he recalls that liberating moment, “I was feeling totally ecstatic. I took padanamaskar and left the room. You should have seen me run home like an African lion, and I threw my arms around my mother, telling her all that had happened. She was really very happy…I told her that He said, ‘No more asthma. No more suffering’.” That night, Jethva had yet another sleepless night. This time, it was not because of his asthma but the overwhelming love from his divine encounter that left him gasping in ecstasy. He couldn’t contain his joy. From that day on, he has always remembered Sai with gratitude. For the rest of the few days that Bhagavan Baba was in Kampala, all that little Jethva did was to run behind His car and listen to His public discourses. “Not that I understood them at that age, but I just wanted to hear Him, and see other people around me being so ecstatic, so happy beholding Him. I was completely and utterly captivated by Swami” he admitted. The bond of pure love had been secured for life. Reaping the Harvest of Sai’s Love in Africa, a Generation LaterRam ChuganiKobe, Japan