The
Same Baba
It is
significant that Sathya Sai Baba was giving
clues about His kinship, nay, identity, with the
Saint of Shirdi, even from His childhood. When
He taught His companions songs about "a Baba," a
Saint about whom no one had seen of heard, and
about a place of pilgrimage to which no one who
heard the songs had been, people wondered!
"Where is this Shirdi," they asked each other.
"Who was this Muslim Saint?" Little did they
realize that the child in their midst, singing
and dancing so captivatingly, was, in a few
years, to make their village another Shirdi to
which hundreds and even thousands seeking the
same
Baba would be coming!
As
recorded, when the formal Announcement was made
by Sathya Sai Baba that He was the famed Sai
Baba of the town of Shirdi, He was asked, "If
you are Sai Baba, show us a miracle now!" He
said, "Bring me some jasmine flowers." When they
were placed in His Hands, He threw the flowers
on the ground. They fell in the form of the
Telugu letters, "Sai Baba," flower behind
flower, as if arranged with meticulous skill
with all the curves and convolutions of the
Telugu letters perfectly reproduced! Even
Seshama Raju, who had learned by long experience
to live with the miracles of his brother, was
surprised at the emphasis of the revelation. "Of
course, I gave them the name of the incarnation
that had just preceded mine," said Baba when
questioned about these incidents. "It only meant
that He who came as Sai Baba has now come again
as Sathya Sai Baba! Moreover, the
Sais
come in a series. After this there will be
another, Prema
Sai,
who will take birth in the Mysore region," He
added.
About this
time two teachers who had Sathya as their
student at Bukkapatnam visited Puttaparthi.
Fortunately, they have recorded what happened.
One of them, Sri B. Subbannachar, says, "My
first impression about him was that he was a
great devotee, like Prahlada of the sacred
books. I saw Him doing miraculous deeds. I was
convinced that He was not an ordinary human
being, but a boy endowed with supernatural
powers. Quite to our wonderment, this 'Mad Boy'
of Puttaparthi revealed to us that He was none
other than Sai Baba of Shirdi! He invited us
once to stay for the night when He would narrate
His past. We wanted to hear about His life, as
the available books on Sai Baba of Shirdi do not
give any information about His infancy and
boyhood up to sixteen years. He granted us this
boon even without our asking! Our joy knew no
bounds. Night came. We heard the life story. We
saw Sai Himself in human form!"
Sathya Sai
Baba invariably refers to "My previous body'
when He speaks about Sai Baba of Shirdi, and
often describes how He, in His "previous body,"
dealt with people and situations, what
illustrations He gave to amplify certain points,
and what questions were asked. He may remark,
"The same doubt was raised by a man who had come
to Shirdi," and then He will continue with the
reply He gave that other man long ago at Shirdi!
He recognizes all devotees of Sai Baba of Shirdi
as His own. He tells them, "I have known you for
ten years," or "Though this is the first time
you see this body, I saw you twenty years ago
when you came to Shirdi." The person will find
that either he has been worshipping Sai Baba for
ten years or that he had actually been to Shirdi
exactly twenty years before! Baba has encouraged
many to go to Shirdi, giving detailed
descriptions of the route and even of the
pictures at the shrine! It would appear to a
listener that He has long been a resident of
Shirdi.
Once when
several devotees went to Shirdi, Sathya Sai Baba
told them, "Go and sleep in Dwarakamayi where I
shall come in your dream." He fulfilled this
promise. Many devotees who visit Shirdi hear
later of an incarnation of Sai Baba at
Puttaparthi; so they proceed there immediately.
As soon as He sees such devotees, Baba asks them
about their pilgrimage to Shirdi. During the
interview He answers questions which have been
unanswered on their visit to Shirdi! This has
been the experience of many.
The Raja of
Chincholi was an ardent devotee of Sai Baba of
Shirdi. This king used to spend a few months
each year at Shirdi, Akalkot, and other holy
places in the company of spiritual sages and
seekers. After the Raja passed away, the Rani,
his queen, was pleasantly surprised to hear of
the incarnation of the Lord as Sri Sathya Sai
Baba and she visited Puttaparthi. She also
persuaded Baba, who was then just fifteen years
of age, to accompany her to Chincholi. What a
surprise it was for her when Baba asked her
about a margosa tree which had since been
uprooted, a well that had been filled up, a line
of shops which had been newly built! Baba told
her that He had seen these places years ago
while in His "previous body!" He asked her about
a small stone image which had been given to the
Raja by Sai Baba of Shirdi. The Rani did not
know of its existence. Baba discovered it for
her! He also said that there would be found a
picture of Sai Baba of Shirdi given when in the
"previous body." That, too, was later discovered
in the house.
Years
passed. One day the Rani was rummaging through a
huge storeroom at Chincholi for old brass,
bronze, or copper which she could sell to create
space. She came upon an old brass drinking
vessel as used by wandering monks. The shape was
unique and artistic; the water had to be poured
in through a slit in the handle; the spout ended
in a cow's head figurine. It was suggested that
it be polished and displayed as a decorative
article in the drawing of her mansion. The
mystery deepened the next day when the vessel
was found with a cobra coiled around it! 'Baba
alone can solve the secret," she said to herself
while propitiating the cobra with the
traditional rites.
She arrived at
Puttaparthi on the first day of the
Dasara
festival, and as soon as she entered the
premises, Baba sent word, asking her to come to
Him "with My drinking vessel!" No sooner, was it
in His Hands than He showed to those nearby, the
letters inscribed on the vessel in Sanskrit
characters, SAA
followed by a pair of short vertical lines,
BAA
with the two lines again,
SAA
indicating
Sayi and BAA
for Baba. Baba has said that he will also secure
the almsbag of Sai Baba of Shirdi in a few years
from wherever it is.
Many wonder
how the Saint of Shirdi, who, according to all
accounts, never left Shirdi for years, could
have gone to Chincholi and later Hyderabad and
left this vessel with the Raja! It is the honest
belief of the Rani, as well as some old servants
of the place, that Sai Baba of Shirdi stayed a
few days every time He came to Chincholi and
that He would ride far out of the town in a
bullock drawn cart, accompanied by the Raja, to
have talks. This cart is now at Puttaparthi.
Devotees who have seen and experienced the acts
of Sri Sathya Sai Baba will have no difficulty
in understanding this strange story, for they
know Baba can be at Madras and yet take tea with
a family at Bangalore as happened once in a
bungalow at the Civil Station! He can converse
with a man at Bhopal or be seen at a stall in an
exhibition in Delhi or speak on the phone to
Menon in Madras while simultaneously being at
another place.
For instance,
at Hospet in 1940, there was a family known well
to Baba since His childhood. The elder sister
was a schoolteacher, and her brothers were His
classmates and playmates at Bukkapatnam. They
had heard about the manifestation and had also
seen Baba at Puttaparthi. One evening, a year
later, a bullock cart brought Sathya Sai Baba to
their door. Their joy knew no bounds! The boys
spent the entire night talking with Baba, one on
each side of Him. They laughed, cheered, and
joked. The mother made preparations for Baba's
bath the next day and for a feast. How can her
disappointment be described when she discovered
in the morning the empty bed - and Baba gone! On
inquiry she found Baba had never left
Puttaparthi, a hundred miles away! Incarnations
are not bound as mortals are by the limitations
of time and space. They are a Law unto
themselves!
One year when
He addressed a meeting at the All-India Sai
Samaj at Mylapore, Madras, Baba's opening words
were, "Though this is the first time this body
has come here, I have always been here in this
temple!" This identity and unbroken continuity
are emphasized by Him in a hundred different
ways on all occasions.
In Coorg, He
recognized on sight an ardent devotee of Sai
Baba of Shirdi, and noted with pleasure that He
was a Life Member of the Sai Baba
Trust.
Baba has
presented to His devotees lockets and pictures
of Sai Baba of Shirdi, or of Sai Baba of Shirdi
with His own portrait incorporated, or His
picture with the portrait of Sai Baba of Shirdi
in the region of the heart. No distinction is
allowed to be made in worship of Himself and the
previous manifestation. In the
Prasanthi
Nilayam
prayer hall there are two pictures which further
demonstrate this lineage. The artist
captivatingly caught the charm of the moment
when Sai Baba was resuming His Mission. The
grandeur and the historicity of the moment are
immanently portrayed in the
pictures.
A silver
figure of Sai Baba of Shirdi is the focal point
toward which all prayer at
Prasanthi
Nilayam
is directed. Baba establishes His identity and
continuity by a series of significant acts. For
example, the image of Sai Baba of Shirdi is
decorated with flower garlands that have been
offered to Baba, and no difference is ever made
between these garlands and fresh ones; both are
used for decorating the image. During the nine
days of Navaratri,
women at the Nilayam
offer "saffron worship," and all the saffron
thus offered is collected and poured
ceremoniously on the silver figure of Sai Baba
of Shirdi.
Baba tells
many visitors who have questions, "You need not
wait until you meet and ask me; ask the Old
Man," meaning Sai Baba of Shirdi. On the raised
platform at the prayer hall, facing the
assembled devotees, are two life-size oil
paintings, one of Sai Baba of Shirdi, the other
of Sathya Sai Baba. Both figures are standing
and both have one hand crossed over the other,
Sai Baba of Shirdi holding His right hand with
His left and Sathya Sai Baba holding His left
hand with His right. The knot of the cloth
around Sai Baba of Shirdi's head, usually tied
to the left, is here found on the right of the
head. This is intriguing to some people, for
they do not know that when the portrait artist
wanted pictures to copy, Baba waved His Hand -
two small pictures were materialized in His
Hand! The picture of Sai Baba of Shirdi showed
the two hands in a new posture and the cloth
knot on the right. So the artist copied that
picture, placing the knot on the
right.
Song and hymns
sung in daily worship to both incarnations are
the same. They refer to the identity and
continuity in unmistakable terms. In the list of
108 names with which Sathya Sai Baba is
worshiped, either in person or through picture
representation, there are those included which
are specifically attributable to Sai Baba of
Shirdi. Sathya Sai Baba is addressed as, "He who
was born in the village of Patri," "He who was
living in the village of Shirdi," "He who is the
undifferentiated Incarnation of the Power of Sai
Baba of Shirdi," "He who is the embodiment of
Shirdi Sai," and so on. The silver image of Sai
Baba of Shirdi is there only as the
representative of Baba. When accommodating Baba
on the dais, the image is removed to the right
or the left of Baba, placed on the floor, or
removed from the hall. Once when Baba felt there
should be a procession to the village, He said,
"The Old Man shall go today," and sent the image
in the decorated palanquin.
When
Baba was a young boy, and after His Declaration
of this identity, many a doubter posed the
question, "How can we believe that you are He?"
One who had such doubts was given an unusual
Vision by the young Baba in 1943. The cynic was
flabbergasted by the proof presented to him.
Baba, it seems, stretched out His Palm, and
there appeared a resplendent portrait of Sai
Baba of Shirdi. On the other Palm, an equally
effulgent portrait of Sri Sathya Sai
Baba.
Another
similar miracle was experienced by a devotee
named Chidambara Iyer at New Delhi. It shows
that Baba continues to use the same means to
convince seekers that He who had come then as
Sai Baba of Shirdi has come now as Sathya Sai
Baba.
The Delhi
devotee writes: "One evening I was bicycling
along a deserted road between Old Delhi and New
Delhi cogitating on my financial worries. I had
returned from Puttaparthi some weeks before, and
though I was drawn much to Baba, I had not yet
been convinced that He was also Sai Baba of
Shirdi, or a manifestation of God. Years ago I
was advised by someone to worship Sai Baba of
Shirdi, and now I had fallen in with this new
Baba at Puttaparthi. I revolved these doubts in
my mind and pedalled along. Suddenly, a
question, 'Finished the work of the day?' was
thrown at me from behind by a hefty old man who
was struggling to catch up to me by harder
cycling. When I turned, I saw a fascinating
smile lighting a face, looking at me
half-pityingly and
half-affectionately.
"I earned my
livelihood in Delhi teaching music to children
and occasionally playing the violin at musical
concerts. So I thought the old man must have
seen me at a concert or in a student's house,
and noticed me pedalling on my cycle along the
roads of Delhi. 'Yes, I am going home now,' I
replied in Tamil, my mother tongue, and the
language in which the stranger had, most
unexpectedly, addressed me. 'Then', the old man
pleaded, 'can you come along with me to that old
tomb yonder? I will not keep you
long.'
"We rode
abreast for about a furlong to the tomb, and
leaning our cycles against the wall, sat in the
shadow on the eastern side. He asked me to sit
opposite him, and by clever questioning he drew
out my problems, one by one. He said that the
Master I had providentially acquired was the
Lord Himself. Then suddenly arising, he said,
'Why do you doubt it? He is Sai Baba of Shirdi,
see!' He extended his palms toward me, and I
clearly saw, as if painted in life-like color,
the portrait of Sai Baba of Shirdi, resplendent
on one palm, and on the other, the shining face
of the Puttaparthi Baba. I can never forget
those two faces lighting up the palms of the
saintly old man. The episode came as an answer
to all my doubts; it gave an anchor to the
drifting soul; it provided me a new outlook on
life. Whenever I now sit for meditation, that
scene of twin splendor comes before my mind's
eye and thrills me with a mysterious
joy.
"We rode back
to the road together, reaching which, he turned
in the direction from which we had come. This
was rather unexpected, for surely he could not
have come so far just to bless me with that
Vision. He admonished me again not to waiver in
my allegiance and lose hold over a treasure so
easily come by. I watched him pedal away,
admiring his agility and cycling skill. But
imagine my wonder and consternation the next
moment, for he suddenly melted into thin
air!"
Thus Baba gave
the Delhi devotee positive proof of the identity
of the two Babas.
Baba speaks
the same words of consolation and courage and
uses the same gesture of "Do not fear," under
similar conditions now, as He did when a little
boy, showing doubting mortals that He is born
with the divine mission to uplift and guide. The
same Vision is presented to solve the same
doubt, whether the doubter is present physically
before Baba, or whether he is far away in Delhi,
cycling on a deserted road! He has given this
Vision to many people, wherever they were, and
to fortunate devotees this and other clear
indications that He and Sai Baba of Shirdi are
one.
When once a
devotee was waiting at the Bangalore City
Railway Station for the train to Mysore, so that
she could enter the Mission Hospital for an
operation, Sathya Sai Baba manifested Himself
before her as a tall hefty old man wearing a
long kafni,
"gown," a cloth wound around his head, and
carrying a heavy stick and a bundle of clothes.
Seating himself on the same bench as the one on
which the lady was sitting, he opened the
conversation in Telugu and dissuaded her from
having the operation, saying that it was now a
fad with doctors to perform surgery at the
slightest provocation! He told her he was just
back from Shirdi, and he gave her date fruits
which he said were the offering from the shrine!
He said that the offered fruits would cure her,
and they did! He also informed her that his
ashram was near Viduraswatam, on the way to
Puttaparthi, and that he, would be ultimately
taking all the inmates of his own ashram to
Shirdi!
Thus it is
seen that Sai Baba of Shirdi is inextricably
intertwined in the experience of devotees with
the present manifestation of the same Godhead.
When worship is done by any devotee of Sai Baba
of Shirdi now, Sathya Sai Baba knows about
it.
Once a lady at
Madras, desperate because her son was seriously
ill, placed him in front of Sai Baba of Shirdi's
portrait. Years later she came to know of Sathya
Sai Baba. She came to Puttaparthi with her son,
then a tall muscular young man. As soon as Baba
saw them, He asked the mother "You placed this
boy under my care fifteen years ago, did you
not?"
Every year
when the anniversary of the passing away of the
mortal body of Sai Baba of Shirdi is celebrated
at Shirdi, Baba "transcends" this body, and when
He returns, He usually says, "I have been to
Shirdi."
A few years
ago while Baba was at Madras, an incident
happened which is inexplicable by any other
theory than the one which proclaims the identity
of the two Babas. Baba casually announced to His
devotees that a close attendant of Sai Baba of
Shirdi would pass into eternity on a certain
date in the morning hours and that He would have
to go to give him the coveted Vision of Himself
at the last moment of his mortal life. Most of
the devotees were apprehensive about what might
happen that day, although some were filled with
expectation and indeed joyous that they would
have an opportunity to see Baba blessing a
disciple of His previous manifestation. For a
few days they talked of little else; they
watched the calendar and then the clock for the
arrival of the historic moment!
At last the
day dawned, and when the hour struck, Baba was,
in spite of all the devotees' precautions, in
the bathroom! Seeing that He did not emerge for
a long time, they peeped through the window, and
finding Him actually away from His Body, they
broke open the door and began to attend the
Body, watching for signs of movement or activity
of heart or pulse. They saw Sacred Ash emanating
in large quantities from His right toe, and they
could hear Him speak in Marathi, quoting stanzas
from scriptures. On "coming back" Baba told them
the story of the passing away of the disciple of
the "previous body" and how He had blessed him
with a Vision of Sai Baba of Shirdi and given
him the Udi which his Guru always
granted him.
Four years
ago, when Baba was in Hyderabad, He was invited
to Sakori to the ashram of Godavari Matha, the
disciple of Upasini Baba and Sai Baba of Shirdi.
Welcomed by the women disciples with Vedic
recitations and the traditional ceremonies of
the Reception of Elders, they offered worship.
He must have blessed them with a glimpse of His
Reality and His Identity, for they expressed a
keen desire to come to
Prasanthi
Nilayam.
But Baba said that He was present at Sakori and
that it was best they remain
there.
Those who are
familiar with the miracles of Sai Baba of Shirdi
and also the miracles of Sri Sathya Sai Baba may
note certain differences in style, language and
technique, but as stated by Yogi Suddananda
Bharathiar of Madras, who has seen and been
inspired by both Babas, "There is an
unmistakable identity of mission and message."
Sathya Sai Baba says that He is not as severe or
as stern with people now about ignorance,
negligence, disobedience or superciliousness as
He was in His previous manifestation. He
explains this difference by means of a parable:
"The mother is usually stern when the children
enter the kitchen and disturb her while cooking;
but while serving the food, she is all joy and
patience. I am now serving you the dishes cooked
then; wherever you may be, if you are hungry,
and if you have a plate, I shall serve you the
dishes and feed you to your heart's
content!"
People who
have read the description of the elaborate
procession to the Chavadi of Sai Baba of Shirdi
once every week, are thrilled at the grandeur of
the affair. With its chariot, caparisoned horse,
decorated palanquin and other paraphernalia,
they might remark that Sathya Sai Baba does not
permit His devotees to lavish all that pageantry
on Him! Those who have read the description of
the precariously hung plank upon which Sai Baba
of Shirdi often slept, will be glad that Sathya
Sai Baba does not adopt that type of
austerity.
Concerning the
difficulties one naturally experiences in
believing the identity of the two Babas, Sathya
Sai Baba told a gathering at the All-India Sai
Samaj at Madras in January of 1959, "The careers
of Sri
Rama
and Sri
Krishna
are different in the various incidents of their
earthly careers; they also emphasized different
aspects of ethical behavior and philosophical
belief; they differed in their methods of
teaching and uplifting. It is all a difference
in emphasis rather than in basic things. It is
difficult to be convinced that
Sri
Rama
is Sri
Krishna;
but few have any doubts on that score. So too,
those who can delve deep into these, My
mysteries, can understand that the same Power
has now assumed another human
form."
Those who know
about Sai Baba of Shirdi's miracles, His
omniscience and omnipresence, His teachings, His
universal love, can, by merely spending a few
days in the Holy Presence of Sri Sathya Sai
Baba, convince himself of the identity of the
two. There is unmistakable similarity in speech,
style, attitude, outlook, and
teachings.
His Holiness
Gayatri Swami, a disciple of His Holiness
Narasimhabharati Swami, and a comrade of Swami
Amritananda to whom reference has been made in
previous pages, came to
Prasanthi
Nilayam
in 1960. He told of spending the year 1906 with
Sai Baba of Shirdi and of seeing Him frequently
thereafter. He recalled incidents similar to the
"Don't Shoot" miracle, described in a previous
chapter, and he related many anecdotes of Sai
Baba of Shirdi that parallel those of the
present manifestation. Even some of the jokes
were the same!
The night
before he left Puttaparthi on that visit, it
seems he had a Vision of his
Guru,
Sai Baba of Shirdi, in which He told him that He
had left His tomb after eight years and had
brought away all His "properties" fifteen years
later! The next morning Gayatri Swami was
surprised to learn from
Nilayam
residents that Sathya Sai Baba was born in 1926,
eight years after the passing away of Sai Baba
of Shirdi, and that He had assumed the name
"Baba" and manifested all the powers associated
with Sai Baba of Shirdi in His fifteenth year!
The name and the powers, Gayatri indicated, must
be the "properties" referred to by the Guru.
Gayatri went away supremely happy that he had
had his "center-view," and was bothered little
about not having the interview! A simple
childlike soul, he was, reminding everyone of
Swami Amritananda.
Yogi
Suddhananda Bharathiar says that when he visited
Sai Baba at Shirdi in the company of the
Lokamanya Balagangadhara Tilak and Karandiker,
Sai Baba told them that freedom won by the rifle
would be of no avail, for what is won by force
will be lost to force. He advised that
independence must be won by and for spiritual
progress. Sathya Sai Baba also places first
emphasis on love, based on sympathy and
understanding.
Olaf
Stapledon, noted author, writes about Europe and
the West: "Already before the two great wars a
materialistic pleasure-loving go-getting
socially irresponsible civilization was becoming
a nightmare. Between the two wars the nightmare
deepened. In revulsion from it there was a
widespread turning away from individualism and a
yearning for a true community. This produced the
movement for democratic socialism, but also, its
perversion, totalitarianism. Both commercial
individualism and the barbaric tribalism that
sprang up in opposition to it were in their
different ways object lessons in the
frightfulness of a world disoriented from
traditional values!" But the malady has affected
India and other parts of the world too, for the
world is fast becoming one.
There was
another reason also for this second advent of
Sai Baba of Shirdi. Stapledon speaks about the
need: "Scientific enquiry itself seems to be
producing important evidence that the
assumptions on which the modern wisdom has been
based are false! There is strong evidence for
telepathy, and also for pre-cognition and
post-cognition. It seems that future events can
take effect on consciousness while they are
still future, and in the orthodox view,
non-existent! Similarly, with past events. All
this makes nonsense to our familiar assumptions
about time and about mind's temporal
limitations. To cope with pre-cognition and
post-cognition and even with simultaneous
telepathy, 'the modern wisdom' will have to be
transformed."
Sai Baba of
Shirdi, and now Sathya Sai Baba, have both been
doing just this, to emphasize traditional values
and transforming "modern wisdom" by
familiarizing everyone with the miracles of
pre-cognition, simultaneous telepathy,
multilocation, and also many an unnamed one, to
the utter confusion of the pundits of science,
thus proving to man that there is a God in him
that is whispering mystery all the
time.
Shirdi
Sai sitting
|
Shirdi
Sai with umbrella
|
The purpose of
both the
Sais
is the same. Only the need to transform the
modern wisdom has now become more imminent. In
Sai Baba of Shirdi's time the emphasis was more
on the community; in Sathya Sai Baba's time it
is on the individual. Previously, it was
more on activity for the good of all; now it is
mostly on love for all and for one's innermost
self; then the message was given to
comparatively few; and now all are welcome to it
and it is even taken to the very doors of the
needy.
A person
knowledgeable of the life of Sri Sathya Sai
Baba, reading, for example, the Sai
Satcharita,
written in English by Sri N.V. Gunaji, on the
basis of the Marathi book by Hemadpant, will be
reminded on every page of the continuity and
identity of the present manifestation and the
last. He will find in the book echoes of what he
has often heard Baba Himself
saying.
The book
reveals that Sai Baba of Shirdi encouraged and
warned devotees with such admonitions as: "Be
wherever you like, do whatever you choose;
remember this well, that all that you do is
known to me. I am the ruler of all. I am seated
in your hearts. Though I am here bodily, still I
know what you do beyond the seven seas. Go
wherever you will, over the wide world, I am
with you." On innumerable occasions Sathya Sai
Baba has said essentially the same
thing.
Once when a
number of devotees at
Prasanthi
Nilayam
were planning where they should stay at
Courtallam, on the way from Trivandrum to
Surandai, Baba said, "Wait! I shall tell you."
The next morning He gave a detailed description
of the Travancore House there, the number of
rooms, the kinds of plants in the garden, the
height of the compound wall, the location of the
telephone in the hall, and so forth. A list was
made to which He added a few more items
including two bougainvillaea bushes at each end
of the porch! He had seen all this from the
Nilayam.
When the group reached the Travancore House, the
list was found to be correct to the minutest
detail of a neglected rose tree near the
garages!
He has proved
to His devotees that He is with them always and
that He knows every little thing they do, think,
or speak. A devotee came to Puttaparthi some
years ago and Baba told him that His ears were
suffering with pain because of the singing of
songs of God in the devotee's house! This was
caused, He said, by "a neigbbor who came and
joined in the singing who had a voice which was
quite unmusical; the man did not know how to
adjust the tone and tempo of his voice to that
of the others." The reference to the pain was,
of course, a jest; but how could He know of the
grating voice unless He had actually
heard?
Baba
astonishes people by telling them all about
their inmost thoughts and their most private
deeds; He "reads them like an open book." An
Inspector-General of Police who was once waiting
in line outside Baba's interview room told a
friend with him, a little challengingly, "There
is one incident in my life, which, if He reveals
to me, hats off to Him!" The Inspector-General's
turn came; the interview ended; he came out of
the room full of joy and satisfaction, shouting,
"He knows everything from
A
to Z,
official and unofficial."
Very often
Sathya Sai Baba has told devotees starting a
voyage or pilgrimage, "Purchase three tickets
for the four people who travel," meaning that He
will join them as a ticketless
passenger!
While His
physical Body was at Puttaparthi, He once saved
a pilot from suicide at Kashmir. This was in
1949. The facts were verified by those who
actually witnessed the "trance." Baba was away
from His Body for twelve hours. On His "return"
He recounted that He not only dashed the fatal
cup from the pilot's hand but entered the
courtroom where the case against the pilot was
being tried. He directed one of the military
judges to raise an objection which virtually
foiled the prosecution and forced the court to
pronounce a verdict of "not guilty!" The pilot,
Baba said, was a staunch devotee of Sai Baba of
Shirdi and was being unjustly charged with
embezzlement of funds!
A Mr. Gunji
writes of Sai Baba of Shirdi: "Shirdi was His
center, but His field of action extended far
wider to Bombay and Calcutta, North India,
Gujerat, Deccan and South Kanara." The same is
true of the Sathya Sai manifestation. Devotees
who have gone to far away places including
England, France, Canada, the United States,
Japan and Germany, have felt His protecting
Hand. Mr. and Mrs. G.V. Venkatamuni, for
example, proceeded to the Continent and planned
from there to attend the Coronation Ceremonies
of Queen Elizabeth II. They were shopping in
Paris when they discovered, to their utter
dismay, that the bundle of traveler's cheques
they had was lost! They could not locate it in
spite of their desperate and thorough search not
only in their purse and luggage but even in the
most unlikely places. They were overcome with
sorrow when they contemplated their plight in a
strange land. They turned to Baba, as they
always did in distress. Baba heard their
pathetic cry - thousands of miles away! The next
day, while looking in the self-same purse for
something else, they were amazed and overjoyed
to find the entire bundle of traveler's cheques
intact!
There were two
classmates of Baba when He was a little boy at
school who joined the army in later years. An
accident occurred, and they were caught in the
flames of a fire that blew up a gasoline tank.
Baba said this happened in the Northeast
Frontier. This fact was verified some years
later when the boys returned home after the
conclusion of hostilities. Baba at Puttaparthi
had immediately left His Body and proceeded to
the scene of the fire. He prevented the fire
from spreading to the tent where the boys were,
though the flames encircled the
area.
The
Sai
Satcharita
says, "Goulibhava, aged ninety-five, who made
his way to Pandharpur, saw Sai Baba of Shirdi as
God in the form Vittal,
and exclaimed, "This is
Vittal
incarnate, the merciful Lord of the poor and the
helpless."
Last year a
family of devotees went to Shirdi and from there
attempted to travel to Pandharpur, but because
of heavy rains and floods and the consequent
cancellation of trains, they could not proceed
further. They came to Puttaparthi. As Baba
visited with them, He asked the aged father and
mother, "You could not see
Vittal,
could you? You seem to be very sorry that your
pilgrimage had to be cut halfway. If you want to
have a Darshan
of
Vittal,
look at Me." They looked, then danced with
supreme joy, for Baba had become
Vittal
for their sake.
Of Sai Baba of
Shirdi it is said that He was the form of God as
Rama,
Krishna,
Siva
and Maruthi.
The Satcharita
records an incident of a doctor, who, when he
went to Sai Baba of Shirdi "saw not Baba but his
beloved deity, Rama,
on the seat before him." Sathya Sai Baba has, as
many devotees have attested, granted Visions of
Himself as Rama,
Krishna,
and Kamakshi.
The
experience of Swami Amritananda at Puttaparthi
is a valuable example of this aspect of the
divinity of Baba. As soon as Amritananda reached
Prasanthi
Nilayam,
Baba accosted him, "Amritam," and Amritananda
was genuinely astonished at the familiarity and
even affection with which the call was
saturated, and said, "Only Ramana
Maharshi,
a saint of South India, with whom I spent
seventeen years, accosted me in that manner. The
voice and manner were exactly the voice and
manner of the Maharshi!" Later Baba asked the
eighty-five year old Swami about a
Ganapati
Homa,
a sacrifice to the elephant-headed God, which he
had performed for forty-one days when he was
seven years old! He told the Swami all the
details of that sacrifice, including the long
involved mantra,
"words of Power," with which the offerings were
placed each time in the fire. The
mantra,
as disclosed by Baba, begins, "Om Sreem Hreem
Kleem Gloum Gam." This is a
mantra
of Seed Sounds. Baba told him that he had
repeated this mantra
a thousand times a day for forty-one days and
made as many coconut offerings in the fire of
the sacred sacrifice. "But what is the reward
promised in the Scriptures?" Baba asked the old
ascetic. He answered that if the sacrifice is
done with scrupulous regard for ritual,
Lord
Ganapati
Himself will appear in "the fiery enclosure," as
the golden-colored effulgent elephant-headed
God; that with His trunk He will receive the
final and concluding offerings and will grant
everlasting bliss by means of the
Darshan.
Baba asked him whether he had the Vision.
Amritananda replied that it was not so easy for
a seven year old boy to get the Vision of the
Lord by the mere number and quantity of
offerings and mantras.
Baba interrupted him, saying, "No, no. It is due
to all that mantra
and all that sacrifice that you have now come to
Me. You will today, after an interval of
seventy-eight years, get the reward mentioned in
the Scriptures."
He asked the
Swami to look at Him, and when he did,
Amritananda saw the golden-colored elephant, the
Ganapati
as described in ancient texts. He was
overwhelmed with joy and bliss for four days
following this
Darshan,
and forsook food, drink, and
sleep.
It
is mentioned by Hemadpant that Sai Baba of
Shirdi, "the famous doctor of doctors, cared not
for His own interests and always worked for the
good and welfare of others. Himself suffering
unbearable and terrible pain many a time in the
process." This is true even in this
manifestation of Sai Baba of Shirdi, for Sathya
Sai Baba has taken upon Himself many forms of
suffering including mumps, typhoid and other
fevers, childbirth pains, and scalding burns of
His
devotees. [Picture:
Shirdi Sai in a
village]
A doctor who
lived near Madurai wrote to Baba: "My ear began
to bleed profusely all of a sudden, and it gave
me great pain. I suffered for a day. All at once
the pain and bleeding subsided miraculously."
Just as the doctor's letter reached Puttaparthi,
Baba Himself was "free" from a slightly bleeding
ear and earache, which He announced He had
"taken over" from a devotee who had been
suffering the agony!
On the
twenty-first of June, 1959, at Bangalore, Baba's
temperature suddenly shot up to 104.5 degrees F.
at about 1:30 in the afternoon. The alarm of the
devotees was considerably reduced when five
minutes later, the thermometer registered a fall
and indicated 99 degrees F. No one knew the
reason for this sudden rise and the equally
sudden fall until about 9:30 that evening.
During dinner, Baba, seated on the terrace in
the moonlight, instructed a young man from
Madras, "Tomorrow, when you go to your mother,
tell her that she should be more careful about
fire. Assure her that Baba is always with her
and that she will never come to harm." Baba
explained that the sari of the young man's
mother had caught fire from oil lamps while she
was praying in her shrine room. The aroused
curiosity of His guests prompted one to place a
long distance telephone call to the mother two
hundred and twenty-two miles away in Madras.
When Baba spoke to her, her first query was
whether His Hands were burned in the process of
putting out the flames, as she knew of such
instances of His mercy. Baba answered, "Oh, no.
I did not burn My Hands. I just had an increase
of temperature for a short
while!"
Sai Baba of
Shirdi once had his arm scorched while saving a
child from fire. The accident happened many
miles away. Sai Baba of Shirdi commented, "The
child slipped into the furnace. I immediately
thrust in My Hand and saved the child. I do not
mind My arm being burned. I am glad that the
life of the child is saved." The acts of Grace
are the same in both
manifestations.
The
Satcharita,
the remarkable book about Sai Baba of Shirdi
which has been previously mentioned, gives many
cases of illness which were cured by Him by a
mere command such as, "You should not purge any
more." "The vomiting must stop." "Your diarrhea
has stopped." "Do not climb, O snake
poison."
Sathya Sai
Baba continues to perform the same miracles, and
cures diseases, however long standing, by His
Will only. An old merchant from the town of
Kuppam, thought to be dead, was kept for two
days because Baba did not give His word to
proceed with the disposal of the body. On the
third day Baba ordered him to get up, and he
obeyed! There was a young man from Salem
suffering from acute diarrhea. Baba commanded
him "not to purge any more" - and the purging
ceased! Living in Puttaparthi was a young girl
whose eyesight was so poor that, to guide
herself about her house, she had to walk
touching the wall with one hand. She could not
even bear the sunlight; it burned her eyes,
giving her agonizing headaches. She remained in
a darkened room indoors most of the day. She had
consulted all the renowned optometrists in
Mysore, Madras and Bombay. No cure resulted. She
spent her days in prayer and meditation. At
last, one day, after visiting Baba, He said she
could go home and that her eyes would be right.
He gave her a bottle of eye-drops, which He
materialized by a Wave of the Hand, and told her
"Use this medicine; a few drops will do." She
went home and found her eyes perfect in every
way. His command was obeyed!
The
Satcharita
says of Sai Baba of Shirdi, "He became famous as
a Magician. Without any liquid or medicine being
put in the eyes, some blind men got back their
eyesight." This is true, word for word, of
Sathya Sai Baba.
The
Satcharita
also states that Sai Baba of Shirdi used to say,
"I am the Mother, the origin of all beings, the
harmony of the three qualities of nature, the
propeller of all scenes, the Creator, the
Preserver, and the Destroyer." Also, "His firm
conviction was that He was the
Lord
Vasudev."
Likewise Baba has announced many times that He
has come to save the world and that He is the
Lord Himself. A profoundly true declaration of
this was evinced about 1952. Sudden death had
taken away His sister's husband, and the entire
family and villagers were grief stricken. A few
hours after the burial Baba was seen seated on
the low porch wall of the family house facing
the road that leads to
Prasanthi
Nilayam.
The bereaved sister was wailing pathetically
from inside the house. Her little son with his
grandmother was in front of Baba and there was a
semi-circle of the father, mother, sister,
brothers, and others, all in deep sorrow. Baba
smiled, and chided with a chuckle, "What? If
there is no death, and no birth, how can I spend
My time?" Is not Baba the Creator, the
Preserver, the Destroyer, the Lord
Himself?
Sai Baba of
Shirdi had control over the elements. "Once
there was an imminent fear of a terrible storm;
the sky was overcast; the rains fell and the
waters flooded the streets; the panic stricken
villagers ran to Baba for help. Baba told the
storm, "Stop your fury and be calm." All became
calm at Shirdi. This account, too, is given in
the Satcharita.
He also once commanded a fire to "step down and
be calm, and it obeyed
instantly."
Many such
instances are stored in the memory of the
devotees of Sathya Sai Baba also. For this is
but a continuation of the same divine drama. Sri
Challa Appa Rao writes concerning a downpour.
"It occurred when Baba was taken in procession
on the night of the
Vijayadasami
Festival. He sat in a decorated chariot. When
the procession started, the sky was dark and
heavy with storm clouds. There was deafening
thunder and flashes of lightning. Truly a grim
spectacle! More than three hours passed before
the procession returned to the temple. Still
there was no rain. Who else can it be, if not
God Himself who can hold back the downpour for
so long? Baba stepped down from the chariot and
went upstairs at the
Nilayam.
Everyone else returned to their lodgings. Then
came the deluge!"
On a cloudy
June evening, Baba was addressing an audience in
an open-air meeting at Mercara. A monsoon sky
was overcast and gloomy; an ominous sense of
approaching rain was felt. On the distant hills
the rain poured. It came nearer and nearer until
it reached Mahadevpet, just half a mile away.
Baba discoursed quietly and calmly, holding the
audience spellbound for more than an hour and a
half. At the end He said, "Now you can go home,
for in about ten minutes you will get the rain
that would have drenched you by now." The rains
came precisely as announced!
The
Chitravathi River at Puttaparthi is subject to
sudden floods. It rises in the Nandi Hills, and
heavy rains in that region in Mysore State bring
down water many feet deep along the banks for
many miles. The Prasanthi
Nilayam
was built on an eminence to avoid these periodic
floods which at times invade the old temple and
enter the prayer shed, the kitchens, and all the
surrounding area. On many such occasions Baba
has stood on the edge of the water and said,
"This is enough, go back." The rising waters
obeyed. Some years ago, during Dasara, when food
was being served, it rained all around the
Nilayam,
but not a drop fell in the precincts where
people were being fed!
In 1963 Baba
was in the East Godavari District. He had
crossed over to Rajahmundry by the very last
boat permitted by the police to brace the turbid
torrents of the flooded river. The earth was
soaked and slushy everywhere; a cold wind had
swept down a drizzle for almost twenty-four
hours. At Mirthipadu, approximately ten miles
from Rajahmundry, Baba addressed villagers from
an open terrace of a bungalow. One could see all
around the broad sheets of water formed by the
swelling Godavari and the curtain of rain
advancing from all directions toward Mirthipadu.
But the rain could not penetrate the area, and
the meeting continued far into the night! Baba
had willed that the rain not
advance.
Satcharita
records that Sai Baba of Shirdi cured Bhimaji
Patel by means of two dreams. "He gave
instructions to many persons in dreams. To one
addicted to drink, He appeared to him in a
dream; He sat on the man's chest and pressed him
until he promised not to touch liquor again.
Baba explained mantras to some people in their
dreams."
The present
Sai Baba has "operated" on many suffering
patients during their dreams. Thirumala Rao of
Bangalore had such an experience, and when he
awoke, the bed was soaked with blood, and the
pain gone. What he dreamed had actually come to
pass. Baba, the Surgeon, had blessed
him.
Dreams form a
very important means of communication between
Baba and His devotees. Baba warns, teaches,
instructs, treats, or "operates," during a dream
of the devotee which He designs and times. He
has initiated a number of devotees into the
first lesson in spiritual discipline. In dreams
He has presented Himself and communicated the
sacred formula to the deserving aspirant. Later
when the devotee visits Puttaparthi, He has told
him about the processes and conditions for
successful spiritual practice.
Just as Sai
Baba of Shirdi sat on the chest of the drunkard
and forced him in a dream experience to promise
not to touch liquor again, so Baba, too, has
"beaten" an unruly son-in-law of one of His
devotees while he was in a moving train, alone,
in a first class compartment! The man jumped out
of the train as soon as it halted at a wayside
station. The crowd that gathered could see the
finger-marks on both his
cheeks.
An insane
patient at the hospital at Puttaparthi was also
"beaten" in absentia by Baba, and the doctors at
his bedside witnessed the fellow yelling at
every blow, shouting that he would behave
better, and praying to Baba to stop beating him,
all the while wondering at Baba's mysterious way
of curing the patient of his foul vocabulary.
After this treatment and the suffering of actual
physical pain, the fellow gave up his vile
speech and chose always to sing devotional
songs!
Satcharita
gives the case of a Punjabi boy who saw Sai Baba
of Shirdi in a dream and heard Baba commanding
him to come to Shirdi. He did not know who Baba
was or where Shirdi was. Luckily, he came across
a picture of Baba in a shop, and after many
adventures, arrived at Shirdi.
Many instances
of exactly the same nature have occurred in
Sathya Sai Baba's role. The principal of a
college in South India was surprised when his
son, afflicted with dire heart trouble, said one
day that he had dreamed of a place called
Puttaparthi where he would be cured! He made
inquiries, consulted the railway time tables of
all the Indian zones, got a copy of the Post
Office Directory, and was surprised to find that
there was a village called Puttaparthi. Further
inquiries gave him the precious news that Sri
Sathya Sai Baba was there and that He could, by
His mere Will, cure all
afflictions!
How Baba
called the great devotee of the composer-saint
Tyagaraja to Himself is an interesting story. In
1951 the Raja of Venkatagiri was surprised to
receive a letter from this devotee which read:
"Tyagaraja appeared in a dream and commanded me
to go to Venkatagiri in order to be blessed by
the Lord who has come to this earth and who is
soon reaching Venkatagiri in His tour. He told
me that God has assumed the name of Sri Sathya
Sai. I shall come to Venkatagiri as soon as I
hear from you." It was the festival of the birth
of Krishna
when she met Baba at Venkatagiri in answer to
this command. Baba gave her the chance to sing
the compositions of Tyagaraja for two full hours
in His Presence. He also blessed her with an
image of Sri
Rama,
which He materialized for her. After receiving
the image, she was in ecstatic unconsciousness
for over twenty-four hours! She was happy that
Baba granted her two boons. She experienced a
peaceful end and the remembrance of
Ramnam,
the repeating of Rama's Name, to the very
last moment of her life!
Hundreds of
people come to Puttaparthi drawn by mysterious
intimations. For example there was Sukumara
Menon, who was "called" by phone by Baba's voice
to meet Him, a call not noticed anywhere along
the line; the phone rang in his room, although
Baba was actually in Bangalore in the midst of
devotees at a housewarming function. Sukumara
Menon wrote about the mysterious call and the
conversation he had with Baba. When this was
mentioned to Baba He said, "You know this now,
because he wrote about it. But remember, this is
only a millionth part of My activity in
showering Grace."
Satcharita
also records another facet of Sai Baba of
Shirdi's life which can be seen as a correct
account of what happens today at Puttaparthi.
"The devotees could never approach Him unless He
intended to receive them. Nobody could go there
of his own accord; nobody could stay there long
if he so wished; he had to leave the place when
allowed to do so by Baba."
Once, when a
long line of bullock carts approached
Puttaparthi from Bukkapatnam bringing visitors
from various places, Baba sang jubilantly, "It
has come! It has come! Baba's Caravan." The
author, standing nearby, remarked, "People who
come to Puttaparthi tell their neighbors,
friends and relatives, and so the number
increases. "Baba turned sharply, saying, "No! No
one can come to Me without My calling him, even
if a hundred people persuade or drag or push."
Everyone who comes to Puttaparthi leaves saying
prayers such as, "Help me to come again."
"Kindly get me once again to this place."
Devotees know that without His express wish, no
one can fulfill the pilgrimage. When He says,
"Stay," they stay, whether they have "leave from
the office" or not. When He says, "Leave," they
leave, however unwillingly, for when they
scrupulously follow Baba's orders in doing so,
some urgent work will be awaiting them when they
return home!
Devotees of
Sathya Sai Baba have heard Him assure them, "Why
fear when I am here?" "You look to Me, and I
look to you." "All your sins are forgiven the
moment you come into My Presence." "I shall
carry all your burdens." "Take, take as much
bliss as you can from Me and leave with me all
your sorrows." Assurances were given to many
fortunate souls, in identical terms, by Sai Baba
of Shirdi, as recorded in the
Satcharita:
"I
do not need any paraphernalia for
worship, either eightfold or
sixteenfold. I rest where there is full
devotion."
"My
treasury is always full; it is
overflowing; I say, take this wealth in
cartloads; this time won't come
again."
"Let
there be no insistence on establishing
one's own view; no attempt to refute
other's opinions."
"Nothing
will harm him who turns his attention
toward Me. Avoid the Company of
atheists, irreligious, and wicked
people; be meek and humble toward all.
See Me in all beings."
"All
the insects, ants, the visible,
movable, and immovable world is My Body
and Form."
"My
treasury is full and I can give anyone
what he wants, but I have to see
whether he is qualified to receive what
I give."
"Look
at Me wholeheartedly and I in turn will
look at you
similarly."
"To
get realization of Self, meditation is
necessary. If you practice it
continuously, the mental waves will be
pacified."
"Give
water to the thirsty, bread to the
hungry, and your veranda to strangers
for sitting and resting. If you are
inclined to give, give; if you are not
inclined to give, do not give, but do
not bark like a dog."
"I
require no door to enter; I always live
everywhere."
"God's
quest should not be made on an empty
stomach."
"Leaving
out your pride and egoism, surrender
yourself to Me. I am seated in your
heart."
|
The
Satcharita
says that Sai Baba of Shirdi wanted a devotee to
cast aside his blind belief in horoscopes and
predictions of astrologers and palmists, for it
weakens one.
Sathya Sai
Baba also has advised similarly. There is the
incident of a man from the old State of
Hyderabad who dreamed that Baba asked him to
extend his palm. With a sharp pointed knife,
Baba drew a line on his palm, the line of good
luck, as he discovered the next day to his
delight and dismay! For One who can draw a new
line on the palm, of what concern is palmistry?
For One who can change the stars, of what value
is astrology? Little wonder that these divine
manifestations decry man's faith in these
beliefs when he himself is master and maker of
destiny!
Again, from
the Satcharita:
"Baba
never liked people to create debts when
coming to visit Him, celebrating holy
days or going on
pilgrimages."
"Baba
anticipated and forestalled the
calamities of His devotees and warded
them off in time."
"Baba
respected the feelings of His devotees
and allowed them to worship Him as they
liked."
"Baba
was extremely forgiving, never
irritable, straight, soft, tolerant,
and content beyond
comparison."
"Baba
read and understood all the thoughts of
His devotees."
"He
suppressed the evil thoughts and
encouraged the good
ones."
|
All these
sayings parallel those of Sri Sathya Sai
Baba.
Swami
Amritananda, companion of Bhagavan Ramana
Maharshi, was convinced that Sri Sathya Sai Baba
knew Yogic
science better than anyone else in his
experience because Sai Baba elaborated to him on
his faulty practice of
Yogic
exercises which he had performed years before
Sai Baba's "birth." In
Satcharita
it is written that "Sai Baba of Shirdi knows
well all Yogic
practices."
Sathya Sai
Baba gave practical lessons in
Yoga
to a young Frenchman who, like many other
enthusiastic students, had endeavored to
practice Yoga
through a study of books. Many cases of
misdirected practice of
Yoga
come to Baba for treatment and
correction.
The following
sentence from Satcharita
could very well have been written about the
present Sai Baba. "To Him all duties are alike;
He knows neither honor nor
dishonor."
Sathya Sai
Baba attends the smallest detail of the lowliest
task at Prasanthi
Nilayam.
He sits on the floor, sleeps on a mat, does not
hesitate to walk in sun or rain, climbs the
snow-clad Himalayas barefoot, invites a large
crowd to ride in His car in spite of the crush
and length of the journey, goes long distances
without food and drink. He prefers the dishes of
the poorest of the land, because, as He says,
"No one should be put to extra expense and
trouble on My account!"
The
Satcharita
says of the previous Sai Baba:
"Baba
could read the hearts of others as
though He had received a wireless
message."
"Baba
converted by His touch raisin seeds
into seedless
raisins."
"Baba
gave instructions to His devotees in
both spiritual and temporal
matters."
"Baba
saw no difference between caste and
caste, and even beings and
beings."
"Baba
always loved those who studied about
the Universal and the Absolute, and He
always encouraged
them."
"Baba
hated scandal mongering and spoke of it
as equal to gorging
dung."
"Baba
insisted that remuneration for labor
must be paid promptly and to the
satisfaction of the
worker."
|
Everyone of
these sayings appear to those who have met,
heard, and followed Sathya Sai Baba, to be His
own statements and as representing His own
advice and attitude.
In 1958, when
He was examined on commission by a law court,
Baba referred to a similar incident in His
previous "birth" and gave the same replies. When
asked His name, He said, "I answer to any." He
said that everything was His, that He lived
everywhere, and by these replies, He made the
pundits of law describe Him as inscrutable,
though, for adepts in spiritual science, it was
as clear as crystal that those were the
unmistakable utterances of an Incarnation of the
Lord.
It is the same
Presence come again! Sathya Sai Baba once said
that this body was born in Parthi; the previous
one was born in Pathri. In this "birth" as well
as the previous, there was a Muslim who loved
Him and fondled Him as a child. In this "birth,"
too, He drew people's attention to Himself when
a boy, by disclosing the whereabouts of a lost
horse at the village of Uravakonda. Everyone
will find in the present God manifestation the
same motherly solicitude, simplicity of
exposition, profundity of wisdom, universality
of outlook, all-conquering love, and the same
omnipresence and omnipotence.
Sathya Sai
Baba has often said that He had been to Shirdi
when He was in what may be called a trance. At
Puttaparthi on Purnami
Festival
Day in 1950, Baba was having lunch with a young
man from Madras. The lady serving the dishes did
not know that it was an auspicious day for Sai
devotees. Suddenly Baba "went on a journey," and
during this period, He ordered, "Serve him
chapatis,"
unleavened bread. "Serve him
kheer,"
sweets, and mentioned strange names of other
sweets and foods. When He "returned," the lady
gently chided Him, "If you ask me to serve this
young man items that I have not prepared, and
items I have not even heard about, what can I
do?" Baba sympathized with her plight. He said
He had been to Shirdi and the names He mentioned
were Marathi dishes! He then created a
chapati
and slices of Marathi sweets which He gave to
the young man.
When He came
to Puttaparthi after the Declaration of His
identity, a young lad of fifteen, He showed in
His Hand a fruit which no one there had seen or
tasted before. Pedda Venkapa Raju's sister says
that she asked Baba what type of fruit it was
and received the reply that it came from Shirdi.
Baba proposed to cut and distribute pieces in
the evening. She pleaded with Baba that each
person be given at least one full fruit so that
it may be relished. Baba asked her to give Him a
large basket with a cover. He tapped the basket
once and she was shown a basket full of the
fruit! That evening there were a hundred or more
people, and she was again concerned that there
would not be a whole fruit for each. The basket
could not hold more than thirty to forty! She
told Baba how nervous she was. Then the
unexpected. From that basket Baba gave a whole
fruit to each of the more than one hundred
people after devotional singing! The taste was
so strange and so sweet!
Pedda Venkapa
Raju's sister relates another miraculous
incident. She was troubling Baba with a request
to grant her some Vision to instill faith in her
heart, for she did not want to dismiss the story
of the Sai incarnation as an invention, an
attitude that many in the family found it easy
to assume. Baba liked her because she was a
simple soul, steeped in suffering. He told her,
"I shall show you My 'previous body' this
evening!" She confessed that she could not
contain her joy and was praying for a shorter
afternoon and a quicker sunset! As soon as dusk
fell, Baba led her through many doorways into
one of the innermost rooms of the house. He took
away His Palm which had been covering her eyes
and asked her to look at a corner to which He
pointed with His Finger. There sat Sai Baba of
Shirdi on the floor in His characteristic pose,
with one leg slightly folded, the other
stretched just a little. The incense sticks
before Him were burning and the smoke rising
straight into the air! His body was glowing with
a strange effulgence and there was a beautiful
fragrance everywhere. After a minute or two,
Baba asked her, "Have you seen?" and when she
said, "Oh, how wonderful!" He placed His Palm
once again firmly over her eyes and led her into
the outer room.
Baba has often
said that controversy as to whether He is the
same Baba is meaningless and unnecessary, for as
He explains, when there are two pieces of sweet,
one square, another circular, one yellow and the
other purple, unless one has eaten and realized
the taste of both, one cannot believe that both
are the same. Tasting, experiencing, that is the
crucial thing, in order to know their
identity.
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