Sai Thy Kingdom Come - Thoughts on the Second Appearance of Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Can we understand His words?

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba left His physical frame on the 24th of April 2011. When that happened, there was widespread disbelief among the devotees. According to various public instances and references, Baba had said that He would be in His physical frame till 92, 94 or 96 years of age with the ‘96-years’ concept being the most popular version. How then, could He leave at 85? Thus, came the ‘theories’ of a second coming, a return to the physical of Bhagawan Baba. Then came the compilation - Sai, Thy Kingdom Come - by S.Narayan which brought together all the different things Bhagawan had said about the ‘length’ of His life. It presented evidence from the various scriptures, Nadis and the like while proposing a second coming. It also presented dreams and visions of different devotees that suggested Swami's second appearance as evidence. I must say, it felt really wonderful reading the same.

However, whenever I read, heard or came to know about different accounts regarding His second coming, a voice from within kept persistently throwing up a single statement which Bhagawan often made - a statement so poignant and profound that one could meditate for long just on it. This was the statement of Baba that my heart kept showing me,
“When you cannot understand my silence, how will you understand my words?”

The Mahasamadhi was a black swan event and it was chosen by the Avatar of the Age definitely to communicate several messages of wisdom to mankind. One of those, I firmly believe, is to prod us to start listening to and understanding His silence. Instead of doing that, if we start discussions and debates on when and how He will start 'talking' again, aren't we missing the whole point?

The Divine Word is the Veda Vakya

God’s words are always the TRUTH. In fact, a Vedic scholar was once asked,
“Swami keeps telling various things about what is in the Vedas. Are those things really present in the Vedic texts?”
The scholar, Sri Kamavadhani, replied emphatically,
“Fool, Swami’s Word itself is the Veda!”
According to him, Swami’s word defined the Vedic word and not the other way around. It was not the case of checking whether what Swami spoke was the truth or not for His speech defined the Truth.  His first name, Sathya, means Truth and the Universe realigns itself to follow His every utterance. 

So, don't get me wrong. I am not disregarding even slightly the words spoken by Swami. What I am pondering is simply about our ability to understand those words. There is the story of a sage undertaking a penance for centuries in an attempt to understand the Vedas. At the end of it, he realizes that if the Vedas were the four mountains, his understanding has been equivalent to a grain of sand! These are metaphorical stories to indicate that when it comes to divinity, the intellect and the mind are grossly inadequate in imparting an understanding. That understanding lies in the realm which is beyond the mind and the intellect. 

The debate here is not about what Bhagawan said, but of our understanding of what He said. 

Bhagawan's startling declaration in the interview room

The drama ‘Daivam Manusha Roopena’ (presented by the 11th grade students on March 29, 2007) was on the life of Shirdi Baba. When the scene of Shirdi Baba leaving the body for three days came, Swami went into the interview room. There, He made a revelation that literally left the students, Divij Desai and Harish Krishan. dumbstruck.

Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 4 - Drama at Dwarka

Sathya Sai is a silent worker - whether we realize it or not!

A revelation during tiffin

Swami was already at His table as we made our entry into the dining hall. On seeing us, He told us to enter. Even before we reached our chairs, He asked us what we saw during the outing. Jagdish Kanadia answered Swami on our behalf with one word - Qutub Minar. 

“What is that?”

That query was an opportunity for many to enjoy the bliss of Sambhashanam with Swami.

“A long Stambham (pillar) Swami!                                  “

“It’s a tall structure.”

“... a historical building with many intricate carvings...”

As the explanations went on Satyajit stepped in and summarised our outing.

“Swami they went to Qutub Minar, India Gate and the Rashtrapati bhavan.”

Sai Krishna added, “We saw the parliament house too.”

“You went into the parliament?” Swami seemed amazed.

“No Swami, we saw it from outside only.”

Swami then asked CG and Prabhakar as to what they saw. Prabhakar thought Swami was asking him where he came from and so, said, “Hyderabad.”

Swami smiled.

“You saw Hyderabad and came?”

All of us smiled too. Even the slightest of Swami’s smiles become a source of mirth for everyone. That, I felt, is the capability of the divine. Since it is absolutely selfless and giving, even it’s smile spreads so spontaneously top everyone.  

The tiffin session then began with the usual Brahmaarpanam. As we ate, Swami gently prodded Sai Krishna to induced Him into chatting with us. It began with Swami asking him as to where he had been. He said the same answer. When Swami asked  Devasenapati’s father as to where he went, Sai Krishna answered on his behalf,

“Swami he too came with us. We all were together.”

Sai Krishna then continued,

“Swami when you visited North India in 1973, You went to Delhi, Mogha and Shimla. In the films shot during those times, Swami is seen walking so fast amidst all the devotees.”

I realized that Sai Krishna was using the first few lines of his Telugu commentary in the Sai Blossom DVD titled, Love Flows North. For those who did not know this, his words came like a spontaneous flow of beautiful Telugu!

Swami began His elaborate response,

“Yes! At that time, the visit was for ten days. I had stayed at the place of the Gwalior Rani(queen) also. Many people had come to see me. On one side, it was all turbans (the headgear of the people of Punjab and Haryana) and on the other side, it was all burkhas (the dress worn traditionally by Muslim women). Indulal Shah and Sarla Shah were there.”  

We all nodded in agreement. People of all faiths and religions have always found a place at His lotus feet and, from Swami’s own description, it was evident that this held true even for the 1973 visit. GV Sir (Prof. Venkataraman, director of Radiosai) entered the conversation saying,

“Swami we have the original films of that visit in our archives! We also have the films of Swami’s trip to Kashmir.”

On His way out to grant darshan in the International Centre. Living each day on the inside was such a revealing
experience. I am grateful to Swami forever. 

Swami continued to speak about our outing. He asked,

“What did you buy there?”

Sai Krishna was quick to respond,

“Swami we did not buy anything. We only saw everything and we took some good photos.”

Swami nodded and said,

“Though you did not buy, seeing  some things the desire to buy arose in you.”

Again, there were smiles all around. We looked at each other and understood that we could not deny what Swami had said.

{This is the 4th part of an ongoing series. You can read the previous part at this link:

Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 3 - Sights of Delhi

Or you can read from the beginning. The link to Part 1 is here:

Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 1 - Hello Delhi }

The tiffin session continued. After a few minutes of silence, Swami looked up and said in a matter-of-fact manner,

“When you went to see all that, Satyajit and I went in flight to Puttaparthi. There I gave prasadam to all the sick and ailing people and we returned.”

The Pav in my hand dropped to the plate! I stopped chewing too. This was an amazing revelation and Swami had made it so casually without any ado. The impact of the revelation seemed to slowly hit the others too and they also looked at Swami in awe. Even as we were beginning to glimpe at Swami, the Supreme Universal Lord who can never be totally understood, Swami, the sweet friend came to the forefront.

Time-travel to the days of declaration of Avatarhood of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - Part 3

The Karibasavaswamy District Board High School (KDBHS) where Sathya studied for
a few months. The top image shows the front of the school while the bottom image
is of the grounds to its side. The classroom in which Sathya sat has its window close
to the lone tree seen in the image.

Second stint at Uravakonda

My ‘space-travel’ vehicle, the Toyota Innova, is now parked at the Karibasavaswami District Board High School (KDBHS) at Uravakonda. My ‘time-travel’ vehicle is parked in the summer of 1943 having travelled through the happenings at Sathya’s home immediately after the famous ‘scorpion-bite’. The next few months in 1943 need me to travel back to Puttaparthi to witness some of the most painful incidents when my Swami was subjected to great physical torture in the name of exorcising ghosts and demons from Him. For the sake of geographical convenience and continuity in the theme of Uravakonda stories, I shall skip the Puttaparthi days here. Instead, I shall fast-forward a few months to the July of 1943 when Sathya returned to Uravakonda as a little ‘Sai Baba’ having publicly declared so in the presence of His ‘father’ on the 23rd of May at Puttaparthi.

(This is the third part of a very exciting series on Swami's Avatarhood Declaration. It would be best to read this after reading the first two parts. The research for these works has mostly been borrowed from the monumental work, Love is My Form.

PART 1:

Time-travel to the days of declaration of Avatarhood of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - Part 1

PART 2:

Time-travel to the days of declaration of Avatarhood of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - Part 2

Thank you)

His brother, Seshamma Raju, had witnessed several miracles. Yet, he was very worried about his brother. He felt that education in the KDBHS would get Him focused back on education and career. So, he got Him admitted there for the new academic year starting on the 1st of July, 1943. This was into what was then called ‘Form 3’ or Grade VIII. Little did he know that this would be the final ‘academic’ year for Swami. As in my previous journeys, I wish to adopt the fly-on-the-wall approach by literally becoming a fly! I hope to buzz around and convey the beautiful story of my Lord to all of you. Without further ado, let me board the time-machine please...

Whirrrrr...... Swooooooooshhhhhh...... Blip...

I am now buzzing in the grounds of the KDBHS. They are huge and measure almost 1.5 times an international football ground! The imposing Uravakonda hill seems to look over the grounds like an eternal witness in a serene manner. Today however, it seemed to be excitedly craning at the grounds. There was also a loud buzz which was definitely not exuding from my wings! The buzz was the excited whisper among the students of the school who had come to know that their new schoolmate was someone who was possibly possessed by God! I was happy with this buzz. I only wished that they would move from the half-truth to the Truth, the Sathya that Sathya was (is and will be) God!

Top: Sathya's classroom as it was in those days.
Bottom: The classroom as it is today. A devotee has lovingly got a shrine made
and the classroom today has been turned into a library-cum-staff room. 

I gathered from the whispers that my Swami had won the hearts of several teachers and schoolmates. He wore the unofficial crown as the school leader. Today, that unofficial crown would be getting the official stamp as Sathya would be leading the assembly in prayer. The prayer chosen to be sung during the assembly those days at the KDBHS was one composed by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The song has a beautiful meaning and message:

Moment to moment, Thy clarion call resounds-

Hearing Thy magnanimous words,

Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Parsees, Muslims and Christians

Come from East and West to Thy throne,

Making the garland of Love.

Hail to Thee who unites all Humanity!

(The ‘prayer-song’ is actually the second stanza of a much longer song, the first stanza of which would get adopted by independent India as its National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana. The Bengali language, in which Gurudev has written this song, is peculiar in the sense that it replaces the ‘A’ sound with the ‘O’ sound and replaces the ‘V’ with the ‘B’ in relation to the parent Sanskrit language.)

My heart thrilled as I saw my Swami leading the headmaster of the school up the stage. This was just the beginning. I knew that Swami would lead millions of souls by the hand in their ascent in this stage called life. Coming on stage, Swami began to sing in the most melodious of voices. Ah! What a thrill to hear him sing. I was in tears as I stood in attention on the shoulder of one of the students in the first line of the assembly.

Aharaha Tava Aahvaana Prachaarita,

Sunisita Udaar Vaani

Hindu Bauddh Shikha Jain,

Parasik Musalman Christaani

Purav Pashchim Vasi,

Tava Simhaasana Paasi

Premavahini

A clip from Anjali Devi's tele-serial production, "Shirdi Sai Parthi Sai Divyakatha" 

which shows little Sathya leading the assembly in prayer. This teleserial was blessed

by Swami and He provided the details. The name of the school can be clearly seen. 

Thursday sessions

As in the schools before, Swami became the unofficial leader among all the students and was admired by many teachers too. He had declared in Puttaparthi a few months before that Thursday was dear to Him and He should be worshipped on that day. Apparently, many at KDBHS had taken that seriously as I found out on the first Thursday at school. All had assembled in the class after the morning assembly led by Sathya. The teacher had not yet arrived to the class and so, all were playing and talking. I buzzed towards Swami and espied a smile blossom on His lips. He seemed to be in a very benevolent mood and He looked lovingly at all His classmates. Without any warning, He raised His right hand and began to shower them with akshatha (turmeric-coated holy grains of rice). Suddenly there was a pin-drop silence of awe. The realization that it was Thursday floated across the class. The class leader, Abdul Khader walked up to Him and asked,

“From where did you get all that Rice Raju?”

Swami stretched out His right palm and pointed to it with the left index finger. An astonished look came on Abdul’s face.

Since I was behind my Lord, I wondered what was so amazing about Swami’s empty right palm. With a speed burst, I flew to the front and what I saw stunned my antennae. Very clearly outlined in the center of Swami’s right palm was the mark of a lotus in full bloom! Once again the whispered murmuring in the class was of the fact that it was a Thursday. Getting to know this, the teachers decided to let Sathya get away from classes on Thursdays after the morning hours. They gave Him the freedom to do as He pleases on His day.

That day, Swami walked out of the class and went across the grounds. I know this because I buzzed and sat on His shoulder. Was it right to do so? Is it not unholy for me, a fly to sit thus on the Avatar? My heart gave me my answer. This was the compassionate Lord who had come to uplift all. His shoulders bear the burden of the whole universe comfortably as if it was a fly. Then what to say of an actual fly? I smiled and enjoyed the ride. Swami crossed the little road and entered the residence of a gentleman who had already considered this little boy as his God. The person was the local (Salt) Excise Inspector, Anjaneyulu.

Anjaneyulu had been a staunch devotee of the Sai Baba of Shirdi and had experienced his Sai in this little Sai. Knowing that Swami had advised him to procure a statue of Shirdi Sai Baba. He had replied,

“Raju, it is impossible to get an idol of Shirdi Baba here. Nobody even knows about Baba...”

“Listen to me. Go to the Lakshminarasimha Swami temple at Pennohobilam and there you will get it.”

The Excise Inspector became an excited inspector at Pennohobilam as he was able to procure a baked clay idol of Shirdi Baba for half a rupee. 

The Shirdi Baba idol made of baked clay bought
by Anjaneyulu. It currently is in the shrine of his
youngest son, G.Sai Maruthi at Sridharagatta
near Kalyanadurg.

Swami walked into the garden of the house and sat near a boulder there. On the boulder was a tigerskin on which was placed this idol of Shirdi Baba. He began to sing bhajans and everyone from Anjaneyulu’s house joined in. I felt sad that I could not sing in a human voice but was happy to be closest to the source of the melodious music. I looked around and saw that people were gathering in the garden in dozens. Some had walked a great distance from the main town to reach here. Among the gathered dozens were several of Swami’s teachers as well! After the bhajans, there was a Puja (worship). Swami Himself was the chief priest! I just couldn’t distinguish between who was worshipping and who was receiving the worship. The worship culminated with Aarthi which was done by waving the lighted camphor by Swami Himself.

After that, Swami went around distributing sweets as prasadam. Even as He did so, He spoke to one elderly man,

“Don’t worry. Your daughter will give birth to a healthy child.”

It was as if a huge burden lifted off the man’s shoulders. To a lady who was seated at the back, He said,

“Eat this fruit Amma. You will be totally fine by tomorrow morning.”

Sitting on His shoulders, I was thrilled at this spontaneous and instantaneous shower of grace. Dozens were now waiting to have a word with Him because they were sure that any problem could be solved if He only said it. His name was Sathya and His word too was Sathya. My Swami patiently heard to all the different problems. Sitting on His shoulder, I started feeling a bit low hearing to all these problems, difficulties and burdens. But Swami seemed to go on and on, showering grace, consoling, wiping tears and granting joy.

Needless to say, Thursday bhajans became huge gatherings very soon.

Goddumarri S.Anjanaeyulu and his wife Smt.Bhagyalakshmi - Swami picked their house as His mandir. 

Every day is a Thursday

Blessed were the children of Anjaneyulu, Narasimha Dass and Subburathnamma, for they were Swami’s schoolmates. Very often, Raju walked to Anjaneyulu’s house from His house and the three children walked together to school. Of course, I had lost all intentions of returning to my time-zone and I too joined them daily. I was eagerly waiting for the next Thursday when the world would treat Swami the way He ought to be treated every moment, every day. I saw that I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. Several students loved Swami deeply and they cared for nothing else but Him. They would even neglect their studies and be with their Raju every evening, singing bhajans and listening to His words of wisdom. Wow! What a divine time it was! There was no need to wait for a holy Thursday now. Any day with Swami becomes the holy Guruvar (Thursday) or the ‘day of the Guru’.

However, not everyone understood this. Many elders scolded the boys and discouraged them from keeping company with Sathya. Even Raju’s sister-in-law was one such elder. One day,she caught hold of Raju’s arm very rudely. I was shaken off it. She told him with concern and anger,

“If you don’t study well, how will you live? Your Brahmin friends can at least beg to eke a living but being a Kshatriya you will not have that option too!”

I felt so angry that I buzzed straight into her ear. She let go of Swami and slapped herself on the ear. I escaped unhurt and was happy at what I had done!

The boys were helpless but they were simply unable to let go of their love for Swami. So, they devised a plan.

“Miran, please keep guard as we do bhajans”, they requested. Miran Moinuddin, a simple Muslim boy, became a watchman for the all the sessions the boys had with Swami. In reward, Swami gave him an extra helping of prasadam which he partook with great glee. Invariably, Swami would drop a little morsel of the prasadam on the floor. That was food enough for me for the whole day. I was grateful to Him for not forgetting His little fly.

{At this point, let me step out of my fly body, out of the time-machine to mention something very relevant that happened years later. Moinuddin visited Prasanthi Nilayam, Puttaparthi, to have Baba’s darshan. As he stood waiting near a statue, Baba walked up to him and said,

“Is this not the Prasadam Bhakta (devotee who clamoured for prasadam). When did you come?” Moinuddin had no answer - only tears of joy. Ah! Now, I shall return back to my fly body.}

Anjaneyulu's house today has given way to this magnificent mandir. The bottom image shows
the bhajan hall where weekly Thursday bhajans are held today. This has been the spot
for weekly Thursday bhajans from the 1940s though the house has been replaced
with the bhajan hall. 

Thus every day became a Thursday filled with miracles galore. On one day Swami helped a Muslim horse-cart driver locate his missing mare while on another day, he named the person responsible for several thefts. He cured many people of illnesses and narrated stories from Shirdi Baba’s life. The extraordinary became part of daily routine for me and if I have to keep buzzing these stories, I will lose all track of time and my time-machine will begin beeping again. Though I have decided to fast-forward to another watershed event before The Declaration, I cannot help but narrate an amazing prediction that Swami made.

One Thursday, in the long queue waiting for an audience with Swami was B.Hanumantha Reddy, Raju’s classmate. I saw him in the line trying to attract Swami attention. But for some reason, Swami totally ignored him. He felt very upset. This was the first time I was seeing someone upset with Swami for neglecting them.He had very little patience and an even shorter fuse. In anger, he walked straight up to Swami and threw a handful of sugar and dust and walked away. Everyone was shocked and I was burning with rage.

“What a crazy lunatic!”, I thought, “as if doing this will relieve whatever problem he has!”

The headmaster of the school was present too. He was upset at this unprovoked attack on a ‘student’ by a student. As a punishment, he ordered that Reddy should not be given food in hostel.

I would later in life realize that there would be quite a number of such misguided souls who, unable to bear neglect from Swami, would walk away from Him, criticizing and cursing him. That would only make the situation into a punishment for them but would hardly affect Swami. One can only sympathize with such lost souls.

G.S.Abdul Khader during a recorded interview
on the 16th of March 1999.

I also saw Abdul Khader, the student leader plead on Reddy’s behalf to the headmaster. The headmaster would not change his mind and so, Abdul decided to seek Raju’s intervention. At precisely this time, Swami called out,

“Abdul Khader, come here.”

“Yes Raju...”

“You have come to talk about Hanumanth Reddy right? It was I who made the boy act in that manner. It is not right to punish him thus. Tell the headmaster to feed him properly.”

Abdul Khader was dumbstruck and so was I. How could He love someone who hates and maligns Him? But then, God has His own ways with critics.

In that dumbstruck trance, Abdul asked something totally unrelated to my Swami,

“Raju, when will India be freed from the British?”

As if expecting that question, Swami’s reply was immediate and firm,

“We will celebrate India’s independence on the 15th of August in 1947 - four years from now. Go back home now.”

The next day, I overheard Abdul telling his friends,

“Nobody at home believes that we will be independent in 1947. They say that a World War is on and there is no way that Britain will let go of India.”

I only smiled. How I wished I could speak! It was just the case of one hyper-excited fly buzzing in the classroom that day. It was in such circumstances that the Hampi trip materialized.

to be continued in the next part at:

Time-travel to the days of declaration of Avatarhood of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - Part 4

For all readers:

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Time-travel to the days of declaration of Avatarhood of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - Part 1

Combining space-travel and time-travel

The time-machine is a marvelous piece of technology. It is probably the best motion-inventions after the space-machines. While space-machines help one to travel across space; across dimensions of length, breadth and height, time-machines help one to travel across time; into the past or into the future. And so, if one is armed with a space-machine and a time-machine, the history and geography of the universe become very interesting and exciting subjects. If I had both these machines, I would use them to explore His-story and the geography of His story! For those that may not know, by ‘His’ I refer to my best friend, Master and God, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Meesaraganda Venkamma, Sathya's doting elder
sister who was among the few to recognize His
divinity and thus maintain a diary about the
daily happenings of His life. 

Along with my family, I got into two space-machines christened as ‘Tata Sumo Grande’ and ‘Toyota Innova’. The time-machines I had procured were named ‘Knowledge’ and ‘Imagination’. I set the destination in the space-machines to ‘Uravakonda’ and ‘Hampi’. The dial on the time-machine was set to 1943. I decided to make use of the SUVs first to reach the exact geographical location before utilizing the time-machines for the time-travel.Needless to say, I was hyper-excited about the time-travel because the previous such journey had been unbelievably memorable and fulfilling.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning and we set off in the vehicles towards Uravakonda, enroute to Hampi. The journey would take a few hours and we utilized that time to immerse ourselves into the story of the Sai Bhagawatham. One significant point of that discussion is vital for our understanding of Bhagawan’s childhood time-frames.

The time-frame confusion

The official biography of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Sathyam Shivam Sundaram (Part 1), records October 20th of 1940 as the day of declaration of Avatarhood. (The Annunciation day when Swami announced to the world that He was ‘Sai Baba’ and also sang the immortal message, Manasa Bhajare Guru Charanam). School records (which include the attendance registers and transfer certificates from various schools) indicate a slightly different story. As can be seen from the photographs provided here, little Sathyanarayana Raju (Swami’s childhood name) studied in the Puttaparthi School (Samithi Elementary School) from 1935 to 1940. In 1940, He went to the Kamalapuram school for a year. In 1941, He enrolled in the Bukkapatnam school directly for VIII grade skipping VII grade. Therefore, it was now, in 1942, that He had to give the ESLC (Elementary School Leaving Certificate) exam. Sathya was not allowed to attend the exam because he lacked the minimum attendance necessary to do the same. However, since his elder brother, Seshama Raju, was a Telugu teacher himself, he pulled a few strings necessary to ensure that his kid brother could write the examination in early 1943. Sathya came out in flying colours along with two other students - Ramesh and Paresh -  who took refuge under Him. The rest of His class failed!

Appearing in the 'Admit No.' 154, Sathya's name in the attendance register of the elementary School at Puttaparthi
shows that he was extremely regular to the school where He studied from 1936 to 1940. 

It was after that examination that Seshama Raju, worried about the increasingly ‘crazy’ behaviour of Sathya, decided to take Him along with him to Uravakonda where he had got appointment as a Telugu teacher in the Karibasavasvami District Board High School. That was how Swami landed in Uravalkonda in 1943. It was here that the famous ‘scorpion bite’ episode occurred which was followed by the cruel treatment Sathya received for proclaiming the Inconvenient Truth. The 20th of October of 1943 saw the epochal declaration being made when Swami announced that He was the Supreme Infinity in human form.

Now the question arises as to why the official biography records the Annunciation Year as 1940? A little dip into the circumstances and conditions prevailing in those days is essential to understand the source of this apparent dichotomy.

Sathya's transfer Certificate from the Kamalapuram School, a framed duplicate of which is
still hung in the new school premises. The third row clearly and wrongly records the
date of birth as the 4th of October 1929. 

All the school records show Swami’s date of birth as the 4th of October, 1929. Those were the days when Baba’s parents and especially his brother were keen to ensure that he has a flourishing career as a government revenue officer. To ensure good career prospects and the minimum eligibility age at the same time, the date of birth was modified to a convenient date in 1929! This was a very common practice those days as it was not compulsory for everyone to obtain a birth certificate. I know this from personal experience too. In fact, my father’s date of birth was modified to 22nd May instead of 22nd September to give him this very advantage. He therefore, retired from service also on 22nd May when he was supposed to have turned 58!

Two junior schoolmates from the Puttaparthi Elementary School, who were affluent and ‘important’ enough to obtain an official birth certificate from the British (who ruled India then) have their birth-years recorded as 1927. So, while there is no doubt that Swami’s year of birth is indeed 1926, the 1929 birth-date clears the air of many ‘mysteries’.

For starters, when Swami says in the discourses, “I went to Kamalapuram as a 10-year old”, He was indeed a 10-year old as per school records. Prof. N.Kasturi, Baba’s biographer, got all details for the Sathyam Shivam Sundaram from Swami Himself and many other people whom Swami directed him to. So, when he got the info that Swami made the Annunciation when He was a 14-year old, it was but natural for him to conclude the year to be 1940!

The Register of Admission of the Bukkapatnam School records Swami's name as 'Admit No.' 466. Again, the date of
birth recorded is shown as 4/10/1929. The last few columns also show that Sathya was not allowed to sit
for the ESLC exams that year (1942) due to lack of attendance. 

There is another reasoning that lends credibility to this line of approach. All the early devotees of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba have recorded a sudden spurt in Swami’s travel and interactions post the annunciation. The earliest records of Swami’s intense travels in the current states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh date to the January of 1944. Therefore, it does not make logical sense that the annunciation took place in 1940 and there was a lull for more than 3 years. The annunciation, in all probability, took place in 1943, a few months after which Swami’s mission exploded with travels galore.

This was the discussion as we travelled to our destination. It cleared the air and gave a better understanding of the times and situations of Swami’s childhood days. And since 20th October 1940 has been traditionally considered as the Annunciation day for decades now, there is no harm in going along with it. This is akin to the fact that nobody can ascertain exactly that 25th December 0000 is the date of birth of Jesus Christ. Yet, in reverence to the first traditions, that has been celebrated as Christmas, the day of birth of the Lord’s son. So too the tradition of celebrating 20th October 1940 as the Annunciation Day may continue.

The Register of Admission of the Karibasavaswami District Board High School in Uravakonda records only Sathya's
joining date as 1/07/1943. There is no entry for His leaving the school. 

Take off

Presently, we arrived at Uravakonda and it was now time to start the time-machine. As stated earlier, I had turned the dials to 1943. Uravakonda was a small town that had just progressed from being a big village. The silk-weaving industry was flourishing here when little Sathya arrived to his brother Seshamma Raju’s house.

The house stood in ruins today. The roof was completely gone and wild grass grew abundantly within the three rooms that constituted the house. The house was like train bogies with one room after another in a straight row. The innermost room measuring about 9 feet by 7 feet was possibly the biggest space of the house. It served as the kitchen. The middle room was the bathroom attached to it while the outermost room acted as the only room. Once again, like my last journey, I shall base my narrative on recorded instances from people. (All the research and many photos have been borrowed from the epochal book, Love is My Form.) But, I shall present it as my own account so that I enjoy the historical events which very few were privileged to see and experience.

So, fastening the seat belts now... Whirrrrr...... Swooooooooshhhhhh...... Blip.

A fly on the wall which sees all

I am now a little fly on the wall of Seshama Raju’s house - the luckiest fly in all times perhaps because I shall be witnessing History. It is early 1943 and instead of just the master and mistress of the house, there are 3 new entrants to the house - one is a little boy in his teens, Sathya, proclaimed to have miraculous powers, the other is his eldest sister named Venkamma and the third is her son, Shankara Raju. The house is located on the Temple Street which has been christened so due to the Subramanya temple that is located almost opposite to the house. I have flown to that temple several times to enjoy the cool coconut waters which the devotees offer.

The main deity of the temple, Lord Subramanya or Lord Muruga, is surprisingly shaped as a 5-hooded snake! I love visiting the temple often because this bright little boy, Sathya spends most of His time there. It is February and the school at Uravakonda is closed for the summer. So, Sathya is free till late June when He will have to enrol there. One day when He is along with His friends in the Subramanya temple, Sathya tells them that He wishes to sing a bhajan. In an instant, spontaneously, He starts singing,

“Subramanyam Subramanyam Shanmukhanatha Subramanyam.”

The exteriors and interiors of the Subramanya temple which still stands today.
The inset shows the main deity as a 5-hooded serpent. 

The mellifluousness of the voice and the sweetness of the love exuding from Him is such that I sit transfixed on the wall. I have no idea that I am witnessing Swami sing this popular bhajan for  the first-time ever! But then, that is how my Swami has always created history - spontaneously and without much ado. Just a few meters away from this temple is a large well (Bhavi) with a big pulley (Gilakala) to draw water. This Gilakala Bhavi (belonging to a certain Manchipalli Hanumantha Rao) is another favourite haunt for me because Swami walks to it daily to draw water for the general needs of His house. For drinking water, He travels more than 3 kilometers to the Bungalow Bhavi located at Travellers’ Bungalow on the Anantapur-Bellary road. My wings tire to fly such a long distance and so I make use of a special carrier - my Lord Himself! I sit on His hand and the ever-patient and loving Swami never brushes or swats me! I feel as special as Arjuna who had the supreme Lord Krishna drive him around in a chariot. Here, the Divine body was my chariot!

Sathya’s shoulders daily get bruised by the heavy weight of water that He carries for 3 kilometers but His spirits never get even a graze. He is always cheerful and spreading the cheer to whomever He comes in contact with. My days are so filled with bliss because I am living every moment in the Divine Presence. Then came that fateful day, the Shivarathri of 1943 when things would change forever.

A scorpion bite?

Shivarathri is a very profound and important festival for all. The whole night, Sathya danced and sang bhajans on the streets of Uravakonda along with His friends. This group of lovely and enthusiastic boys was called the Pandhari Bhajan group by everyone and it’s glory preceeded it to Uravakonda. Legends of how all villages where the group sang had been saved from plagues and other epidemics were talked about openly. Late in the night, Venkamma decided that it was time to return home. She walked to Sathya and told Him to return with her but He refused,

“I have to go somewhere now. I shall return soon sister. Please do not bolt the front door so that I can silently slip into the house.”

Venkamma agreed and returned home but I rode on my Swami to wherever He was headed. He walked more than 3 kilometers on the same Anantapur-Bellary road towards Bellary. Arriving at a village called Budagavi, He headed straight to a temple. This was a temple dedicated to two deities - Surya (Sun God) and Lord Shiva. Going to the Shiva lingam, Swami performed ritualistic worship to Lord Shiva. He did the holy Abhishekam and followed it with Pooja. He spent the whole night there. I kept seeing Him. It did not appear like a devotee worshipping his God. It was more like God spending time with Himself!

“He is a child among children, a woman among women and a man among men. When He is alone, He is God.” I couldn’t help but think this way.

It was almost 5 in the morning when He returned home. As He was about the open the door, the door opened by itself. It was His sister Venkamma. She had this habit of first setting her eyes every morning on a picture of God. Since there were no pictures in the house, she substituted it with seeing the tulsi (holy basil) plant just outside the front door. Today, she indeed saw God first thing in the morning because when she opened her eyes, she beheld Sathya.

File photograph of Sathya during his school days at Uravakonda.

“Where were you the whole night Sathyam?”

“I was at Budagavi”, He answered honestly.

“You were performing worship for so long?” she asked with surprise.

“I performed worship and received it as well”, He said matter of factly and entered the house.

Venkamma tiptoed into the kitchen to get some food for Swami. She did not want to wake up his brother Seshamma who might have given Him a sound scolding and possibly a thrashing too. In the meanwhile, Sathya went into the bathroom for a bath. I was so sleepy and tired. I wondered from where did this boy get His energy from.

“You fool! He does not derive His energy from anything. He is the source of energy for the Universe.” That was a voice from within me.

I smiled to myself and nestled comfortably in a wall crevice. As I was about to drift into sleep, I heard a loud cry - Abba.

Sathya had screamed out! What had happened? Venkamma came running and pushed the door open. I buzzed into the bathroom and saw that Swami was clenching His foot. Oh My God! What was happening to you? Why are you in pain?

to be continued in Part 2 which is at the link below:

Time-travel to the days of declaration of Avatarhood of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - Part 2

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