Monday 17 March 2014

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

The renovated Sun-temple and Shiva-temple complex at Budagavi as it stands in 2014. The Shiva lingam in the sanctum
is presented as the inset. One can reach this place within 5 minutes of travelling along the Uravakonda-Bellary
road. This is where Sathya was on Shivarathri in 1943. 

Sathya looked up to His sister but did not speak anything. He just was clenching His teeth and clutching His foot.
“Oh my God! A scorpion stung you?” she exclaimed, rushing to help Him.
Again, He spoke nothing and slowly limped out of the bathroom. If a scorpion had stung Him, it must be pretty painful I thought.

(What you are reading now is the second part of this memorable time-travel series. If you have not read part 1, please do that first. The first part is located at the link below.

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


It was a known fact that the Uravakonda region abounded in poisonous creatures - mainly scorpions and snakes. The place had actually been called Uragakonda. Uraga means snake while Konda means hill. Apart from being a home to snakes and scorpions, Uravakonda also had a huge hill right in the middle of the town. The hill is shaped like the hood of a cobra ready to strike. No wonder that the town was called Uragakonda due to these two reasons. Later, the name was modified to Uravakonda. The picture of the snake-hood hill has come to represent Uravakonda today. I am a decently big and powerful fly and yet, I found it hard to go around this hill! You can only imagine the proportions of this hill.


The magnificent hill at Uravakonda as seen from the grounds of the Karibasavaswami District Board
High School 
Coming back to the story, right now, I was keen to locate the scorpion that had stung my Lord. Maybe I could knock some sense into him/her about foolishly harming his/her creator. But to my surprise, there was no scorpion there at all! Then what had happened? As I was buzzing out of the bathroom, I saw Venkamma rushing in with a lantern. She too wanted to find the scorpion.
“There is nothing in there”, I screamed but my buzz fell on deaf ears.


Sathya was seated on the floor mat. Even in the darkness, there was a kind of serenity exuding from His face. Soon, Venkamma came to Him and asked,
“Is it painful? Are you experiencing a burning sensation in your leg?”
“I am absolutely fine. You please go to sleep and don’t worry.”
With that, Sathya calmed down His sister and all went to sleep. Everything seemed to return to normal and the ‘scorpion bite’ seemed like a minor aberration in an otherwise peaceful and well-spent Shivarathri day.

The next morning however, was one that would change history forever. Venkamma was the first to observe that Sathya’s lips and hands were quivering oddly. Something was definitely wrong and it was not be long before Seshamma Raju observed it when he gave Him the list of vegetables to be bought. But, Swami, as was His routine, took the bags and left to fetch vegetables from the market nearby after fetching water for the house. The vegetable shopping was His weekly schedule unlike the water-fetching which He did on a daily basis visiting the Gilakala Bhavi to get usage-water and the Bungalow Bhavi (3 km away) to get drinking-water.
When Sathya returned, He had in his bag a lot of brinjals (aubergines) and sweet potatoes. Apparently, these two were vegetables He relished I thought. ( A time travel into the future would reveal that He often called the humble brinjal as one that will ‘bring joy to all’! )


The elder brother, Seshamma, had chosen to ignore anything that he had seen in the morning. He had some work. Before leaving, he advised his sister Venkamma,
“Let Sathyam (that was how Sathya was referred to) have only some rice and rasam (South Indian soup).”
I saw the sister nod in strict obedience. I also saw her secretly keep aside some of the brinjal dish for the little brother who loved that vegetable. However, Sathya told her that He would be going to the nearby Sunkulamma (village deity) shrine. I saw that there were a few drops of the brinjal dish that had fallen on the floor. I could not resist going there and tasting it myself. I wondered what it was that my Lord saw in this humble vegetable. I buzzed now, escaping the swatting hand of Venkamma, to the tasty drops.


Swami's house as it stands today (March 2014). Bike parked in front of it to give an estimate of size.
The first signs


Soon, I had my fill. I knew that Sathya had gone to the Sunkulamma shrine but I did not know where the shrine was located. It must have been very far I thought because my Swami did not return home till late in the evening. I could see that the sister was quite worried because Sathya had not eaten anything the whole day. So, when He returned, she rushed to Him to see if all was well. She arranged a wooden plank for Him to sit on and served the food in a plate. However, Swami seemed so lost and different. I ventured as close to Him as possible. Even though I buzzed near His ear, He did not make the slightest movement.


Seeing that He was not partaking food, Venkamma sat beside Him. She physically took His right hand, put it in the plate and asked Him to eat. There was still no response. Now, she caught His hand, raising it to His mouth and said,
“Eat Sathyam! Please eat something...”
And then, it happened! It was so sudden and quick.


Swami just fell to the floor with a dull thud! The scream that Venkamma let out almost tore my wings apart. Seshamma Raju came running to the outer room. He immediately sent for a doctor. In the meanwhile, the neighbors had started streaming into the house. Things were happening very fast and I was in a state of utter shock. Some people splashed cold water on His face while a few others burnt an old newspaper and held the smoke to His nose. All their efforts to revive Him were in vain! Presently, a doctor arrived on the scene. This man, Seshamma Raju, was quite influential I felt to have summoned a doctor so quick.


(Above) Seshamma Raju's house in Uravakonda in the 1980s. (Below) The same house as it
stands today. The roof is completely gone. The 3 rooms can be seen from the separating walls.
The house is literally like 3 small bogies of a train. 
The doctor checked and rechecked but could find nothing wrong with the boy. He gave several injections, four to be precise, in the hope of reviving Him but nothing happened. A revered elder whom everyone referred to as Murthy garu (From later conversations I gathered that his name was Kasibatla Sriram Murthy), rose and suggested that my Swami be taken to a hospital. Seshamma Raju said nothing doing and sent summons to the parents in Puttaparthi.


I suddenly noticed Swami’s eyelids were stirring. My heart leapt in joy and I buzzed hard around people’s ears with the hope that they would notice. They had already noticed and were shaking Him up! Within a few moments however, without saying a word, their Sathya relapsed into unconsciousness. After this, He seemed to wake up a few more times but he went back to unconsciousness soon after. It was almost night now and someone suggested a remedy based on faith.
“Let us make an offering to our goddess Sunkulamma to revive Sathya.”
“Good idea”, everyone agreed and a group of people left with a coconut.


By now, I had flown to a crevice in the floor close to my Swami. I wanted to be by His side in this apparent time of crisis. A few minutes later, He stirred, opened His eyes and said,
“The coconut has broken into three.”
I wondered what that was all about but understood it in a minute as the group that had gone to the Sunkulamma shrine returned. They reported that ‘surprisingly’, when they broke the coconut in offering to the goddess, it had broken into three pieces.


I looked up at the supine Swami with awe and amazement. So, this was another of His many leelas. He may appear ill, unconscious, comatose or even gone but He is ever-aware in all periods of time. It would be sheer ignorance to think otherwise.


The Sunkulamma shrine has also been modified and renovated today. However, the deity within remains
the same. Legend is that the deity is a Swayambhu (formed naturally). 

Stage 2 towards declaration


I don’t know when I dozed off. It was late in the night when I was awakened by another awe-inspiring episode. As Kasibatla Sriram Murthy garu sat beside the comatose Sathya and kept praying for His welfare, Sathya stirred. He turned and held Murthy’s wrist. He was startled as the little boy said,
“Don’t worry! Sai Baba will take care.”
So the ‘Sai Baba’ name had been unleashed already. Murthy did not understand anything but was convinced for sure that his neighbor boy was no ordinary one.


The next day morning would witness new developments. My Swami apparently had decided to cast away His ‘unconsciousness’ episodes. He ‘woke’ up and sat up. Without a warning, He began to recite Telugu poems of great literary excellence. Seshamma Raju, being a Telugu teacher himself, was probably the most qualified person there to judge the quality of Sathya’s poetry. I saw that he had an absolutely stupefied look on his face. Though some of the poems were from highly regarded, well-known texts, many of them were original creations and Seshamma seemed to wonder when and where did the little boy acquire such knowledge? Ah! Does the fountain of all wisdom and knowledge in the universe need to ‘learn’ any time?


He decided to summon a few of his students to personally rush to Puttaparthi and fetch the parents. He had already sent two telegrams but he felt that more action was necessary. I decided that come what may, I would stay with my Swami. I was sure that all this was just another leela and did not want to miss a moment of it. My Swami ‘summoned’ Seshamma Raju.This was surprising apparently because till that day, Sathya had been highly respectful of his elder brother. Now, He was treating him as an equal.


Ah! The beauty of the Divine actions! He always treats everyone as an ‘equal’ for that is the only ‘mission’ of His earthly sojourn - to teach each one that he/she is no different from God. I don’t think Seshamma Raju understood this that day. However, he could not ignore the ‘summons’. Swami said,
“There is no need to send anyone. Grihamammayi (the girl of the house) and Grihamabbayi (the boy of the house) are already here, at the bus station. They do not know the way to this house. Go there and fetch them.”
Was I thrilled to hear this!


Sister Venkamma's diary notes - "When in Uravakonda, he was bitten by a scorpion and he fell unconscious. My brother sent two telegrams to our parents. They had not come. So, my brother called two students. explained the route to them and decided to send them to Puttaparthi..."
Seshamma could not not help but obey his ‘little brother’. By now, many people began to gather again at the house. Suddenly, a loud beeping sound was heard. I was startled and flew out my crevice. Nobody else seemed to be hearing this and I wondered whether I, a fly, had an antenna better than the human ear. I realized that it was my time-machine beeping. I soon would have to return to my ‘time zone’. The beeper was an indicator that I had one hour left. Oh! How time flies even for flies when with God?

Final episode witnessed before take-off


I settled back into the crevice. Seshamma Raju arrived home with the parents. The mother, Easwaramma, rushed into the house and hugged her baby boy. Swami just smiled and greeted her with an outpouring of what I got to know later as Vedantic philosophy. He went on this way for a while and then just collapsed to the ground exhausted.


The mother’s heart could not bear this. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she began to cry without any inhibitions. This was a new emotion that had been introduced to the room which had been filled with surprise, shock, fear, awe and wonder. Soon, several others too began lamenting what had been happening. I too could not help crying. A fly has no tear glands but it sure has feelings. At least I had. I felt very sad suddenly. The foolish thought that ‘something has happened to Sathya’ filled me too.


Amidst these tears, Sathya suddenly got up. He said aloud,
“Call that Narayan Shastri. He is misinterpreting the Bhagawatham.”
The tears dried up and sorrow was once again replaced by shock. There were murmurs all around. I gathered that this ‘Narayan Shastri’ was some well-known figure here. Curiosity overcame me and for the first time, I flew out along with Pedda Venkamma Raju, the father who exited the house towards Narayan Shastri’s house. I buzzed by his side. The house lay between Seshamma’s house and the Subramanya temple.


The house of Sri Narayana Shastri still stands at Uravakonda. 


Narayan Shastri, possibly the first scholar
to recognize Sathya as Swami. 
Turns out that Narayan Shastri is indeed a scholar and he is actually discoursing on a part of the Bhagawatham, the 11th canto named Hamsa Gita (also called Uddhava Gita). The father was almost shivering in fear as he conveyed what his son had told him to. Narayan Shastri flwe in a rage at being rudely interrupted at the whim of a chit of a boy.
“What on earth does he know of the Hamsa Gita?” he roared.
“FYI, He is the one who narrated it and gifted it to mankind”, I screamed but nobody heard my buzz.
“Please sir. I am also confused”, the father said with folded hands, “and I would be grateful if you come along and knock some sense into his head.”
“Definitely! That arrogant urchin needs to be taught a lesson.”


I had to buzz back in double the speed to keep up with the Shastri. He entered the house and at the very sight of the ‘scholar’, Swami began to expound complex verses, dilating on them with simple and lucid explanations. Apparently, they were all from the Hamsa Gita because Narayan Shastri was down on his knees now. He then bent and prostrated to Sathya as everyone watched in bated breath. He said,
“You are not an ordinary soul. You are a Great One and it is my privilege to have been summoned to your presence.”


This was beyond the understanding of the people all around.
“Not only is Sathya out of his mind, he seems to be infecting those that come close to him as well!”
“The scorpion bit has caused not only physical damage but also mental and psychological damages.”
“We need a doctor... a healer to help Sathya.”


These were the voices going around the house and I felt so bad for Swami. Could the people not realize that Swami was in no need of a doctor? He was, in fact, the Divine Doctor who had descended to the level of man to heal man of worldly diseases and ensure that he ascended to the level of God! And this was because man, in his greed, selfishness and ego had totally lost his mind and was infecting anyone and everyone who comes into his ambit.


But what a mere fly could understand, man couldn’t. Is it any surprise that Swami exhorts that man is becoming worse than an animal?


The general consensus in the room was to ‘cure’ Sathya. I knew that this would be a very painful period. And that is why I did not mind when the beeper indicating my return to my time-zone became persistent.


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


I looked at the humble dwelling that had witnessed so much of His-story. I bowed and applied the holy dust to my forehead. I vowed that I would come here again and again to derive inspiration and become a part of His story. After all, the house is just a 3-hour drive from Puttaparthi! With that, I turned to the greatest wonder that Uravakonda had to offer - the Sai Baba Gundu or the Sai Baba Rock. This was the rock that my Swami chose as His first throne when He guided man back on to the eternal highway to God, singing the bhajan - Manasa Bhajare Guru Charanam.

For that, I shall use my time machine again.... very soon...


continued in a new article whose link is given below: Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's life episodes at Uravakonda - a time travel Part 1


For all readers:


(If you enjoyed this and wish to subscribe to this blog, please go to the right hand side and choose the last 'box' which says subscribe. Also explore the 40-odd 'previous articles' listed month-wise on the top right here. Another blog which I maintain with more than 225 articles on it is at http://aravindb1982.hubpages.com. If you wish to be added to my mailing list, please email me via this page with the subject "ADD ME TO MAILING LIST".

Thursday 13 March 2014

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?





For all readers:
(If you enjoyed this and wish to subscribe to this blog, please go to the right hand side and choose the last 'box' which says subscribe. Also explore the 40-odd 'previous articles' listed month-wise on the top right here. Another blog which I maintain with more than 225 articles on it is at http://aravindb1982.hubpages.com. If you wish to be added to my mailing list, please email me via this page with the subject "ADD ME TO MAILING LIST".



Also, use the Tweet and FB buttons below here liberally to share with your friends and family! Thank you)

Who Is Sathya Sai Baba?

"Who is Mr.Swami?" An interesting thing happened some years ago. As I was furiously plodding away at the keyboard, reliving my bea...