RADIO SAI'S E-JOURNAL

THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

Volume 4 Issue 5 www.radiosai.org 1st May 2006

 Pranams at the Lotus Feet

D E V E LO P E D BY

Prashanti Nilayam
& S.N. Informatics
Bangalore

mail us for details : [email protected] | Enquiry : [email protected]

 Volume 4 Issue 5

Contents 1 May 2006

BETWEEN YOU AND US 3

SPIRITUAL
SPIRITUAL BLOSSOMS
BLOSSOMS

SATHYA SAI SPEAKS - The Essence of Buddha's Teachings 4

CONVERSATIONS WITH SAI - Part 20 5

CHINNA KATHA - Practice What You Preach 8

COVER
COVER STORY
STORY

EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD 9

FEATURE
FEATURE ARTICLES
ARTICLES

CONCERNING THE VEDAS - PART 4 ...Understanding Purusha Sukhtam 31

by Prof. G. Venkataraman

THE WORLD AND THE PRESENCE 37

THE SAI MOVEMENT IN EL SALVADOR 41

SERIAL
SERIAL ARTICLES
ARTICLES

SHIRDI SAI PARTHI SAI - Part 17 47

GITA FOR CHILDREN - Part 19 50

WINDOW
WINDOW TO
TO SAI
SAI SEVA
SEVA

SAI VISION FOR AFRICA 52

MOVING SAI SEVA IN FIJI 61

PRASHANTI
PRASHANTI DIARY
DIARY

CHRONICLES OF HEAVEN ON EARTH 70

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 001
 Volume 4 Issue 5

Contents 1 May 2006

SWAMI
SWAMI AND
AND ME
ME

FAITH - All the Spiritual Strength That One Needs 77

SWAMI - MOTHER DIVINE 80

I AM A SAI DEVOTEE 83

H2H
H2H SPECIAL
SPECIAL

UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS WITH SAI - Part Three 84

Recollections of Mr. Chidambaram Krishnan
GET
GET INSPIRED
INSPIRED

500 RUPEES AN HOUR 87

WE WILL SEE 88

WHAT IS YOUR VALUE? 89

TEST
TEST YOUR
YOUR SPIRITUAL
SPIRITUAL QUOTIENT
QUOTIENT

MULTI-FAITH SPIRITUAL QUIZ 90

PHOTO
PHOTO GALLERY
GALLERY

ENTHRONED AND ENTHRALLING SAI! 93

THE
THE HEALING
HEALING TOUCH
TOUCH

GODFREY AND AGNES 97

Find God and Angels in Swami's Hospital
HOSPITAL STATISTICS 100

YOUR
YOUR SAY
SAY

FEEDBACK FROM OUR READERS 101

SAI
SAI INSPIRES
INSPIRES

SAI INSPIRES 104

002 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org www.radiosai.org
BETWEEN YOU & US

In a historic discourse on the 17th of May 1968 in Mumbai, performed by Sai sevaks in some of the most inaccessible
the most populous metropolitan city of India, Bhagawan regions of Africa? This has been going on for over a year in
announced: “This is a human form in which every divine six African nations. When you read our report in this
entity, every divine principle, that is to say, all the names month's Sai Seva section, it will surely be an eye opener
and forms ascribed by man to God, are manifest…You are for you as well.
very fortunate that you have a chance to experience the
Similarly, Sai devotees from New Zealand recently
bliss of the vision of the Sarvadaivathwa swaroopam [the
conducted a series of medical camps in some of the
form that is all forms of the Gods] now, in this life itself.”
poorest and remote villages in the islands of Fiji. A village
God comes down in human form once in a millennium elder said, “We pray that you come next year too,” while a
and those who are His contemporaries are truly blessed, school headmaster proclaimed, “You bring us God's
but imagine the great good fortune of the soul God love…please come again,” and a Sai volunteer remarked,
selects as the Mother of His Incarnation. It happens only “The unity and love here is incredible.” The Sai volunteers
to one individual in an entire age, such as Kausalya in the went to serve and uplift others but were themselves
days of Rama, Devaki during Tretha Yuga, Mary in more spiritually and psychologically rejuvenated and deeply
recent times, and Easwaramma during the Sai Avatar. moved by the love and grace supporting their efforts. We
are certain when you read this that you will be moved as
Swami once said, “It is because Kausalya bore Him in the
well.
womb that Rama shone forth as God…It is because
Putlibai fostered him that Gandhiji became famous as Recently we began a series of articles on Latin America
Mahatma; it is because the chaste Easwaramma brought with Mexico being the focus country in the last issue. This
Him up with love and affection that Sathyanarayana time you will read about Sai's influence extending all the
[Swami's childhood name] earned name and fame.” way to El Salvador and how the small Central American
nation and its capital San Salvador are being transformed
The Mother was a confluence of those noble virtues for
into "Sai Salvador." This country was named after the
which Indian women have been revered for centuries and
Spanish word for “the Savior” and now Sai has become
was an outstanding example of purity and love for the
the refuge for this earthquake prone and volcano ridden
Lord, just like the Divine Mothers of yore. Every devotee
land whose political history has been equally chaotic.
craves for God's love but in some very special cases the
Lord craves for the love of an individual. Easwaramma Sathya Sai's love flows exactly at the right time to the
was one such blessed soul. Did Easwaramma know from person who is in need. Distance is immaterial and His
the beginning that she was mothering the Master of methodology is unique for every individual. When fate
Creation? Did she undergo similar agonies and ecstasies struck Agnes in the form of a serious cardiac ailment, her
like Yashoda did? What is it that which gave her mind- husband Godfrey, a humble farmer in Kisamula village of
numbing nightmares yet also carried her spirit to realms Uganda, did his best but was unable to find adequate
of ecstasy? And finally, what is it we should emulate from medical care for her. However, just when all hope seemed
her glorious character and integrate into our lives? You lost, Sathya Sai entered their lives and now they once
will find answers to these and much more in our cover again communicate through smiles. How did it all
story. You will also learn how the Incarnation slowly and happen? Read this inspiring story in the Healing Touch
subtlety chiseled her being through a soothing smile, a section.
piercing look, a cutting remark or an intriguing
Finally, before we leave you to explore the rest of the
interaction until bit by bit all traces of maternal
issue, this month's photo album contains a choice
attachment fell away leaving her shimmering like a
selection of marvelous pictures of Swami seated on
radiant star in the ever-expanding galaxy of the Sai family,
enthralling thrones looking majestic and merciful,
steering fellow devotees to His feet. This month's cover
magnificent and compassionate. As you enjoy these
story is a tribute to Easwaramma's life as we not only
images, may you open the doors of your heart so that it is
honor her passing but celebrate the purity she attained
suffused with His love and becomes another Prashanti
through her selfless love for God and His Manifestations.
Nilayam, an abode of the highest peace.
Selfless love: that has been the main thrust of Sai's
Let us install Him in our every thought, word and deed.
message, be it during Birthday, Christmas or Shivarathri,
Let us become Him.
whether in Mumbai, Chennai or Puttaparthi. We take
heart in watching Sai devotees from every corner of the In Sai Service,
globe transforming their lives and becoming willing
instruments of His message and love. Dear reader, did you – Heart2Heart Team
know that more than 4500 cataract surgeries have been

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 003
SPIRITUAL BLOSSOMS SATHYA SAI SPEAKS ESSENCE OF BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS

Cultivate Sacred Feelings

Because Buddha's teachings were not properly
SATHYA SAI SPEAKS propagated, Buddhism steadily declined in this country.
Essence of Buddha’s Teachings All religions suffer a decline because those who profess
them do not practice them in their daily lives. People
should practice what they profess.
May 13th is sacred as Buddha Poornima, celebrating
People should live up to the truths in which they believe.
the birth of Lord Buddha. Let's recapitulate Swami's People do not act upon the truths they have learnt.
message on this occasion in 1998. Unfortunately, people today have only outward vision.
The external vision is characteristic of animals. You must
Happiness is Union with God
sanctify your vision by turning it inward. Then you can get
All that is connected with body is temporary and rid of animal qualities and divinise your life. Hence,
transient. What men should seek is enduring bliss. develop godly feelings within you.
Happiness is union with God. Buddha prescribed five
duties: good vision, good thoughts, listening to good The divine dwells in the heart of everyone. You must
things, good speech, and good actions. These five-fold enthuse those who entertain godly feelings. Such people
duties constitute true sadhana (spiritual practice). should not be discouraged. Divine feelings arise in one
only as a consequence of good deeds done in many lives.
Man is misusing the talents given to him by the Divine. He Only a sacred heart can experience the Divine. The pursuit
is giving free vent to the six cardinal vices like lust, anger, of any object other than the Divine is a futile exercise;
and greed. They are not the gifts of the Divine. They have
been fostered by the food people eat. They are animal
qualities which have to be got rid of. People should speak

worldly possessions come and go, but divinity comes and

grows.
There are three things required to be done in life. You
should try to do good to those that have done harm to
the truth and avoid speaking what is unpleasant even if it you. You must forget the harm done by others and also
is truth. The entire gamut of human life should be based the good you have done to others. So you should forget
on truth. what needs to be forgotten and remember those things
Bharatiya (Indian) culture has placed the foremost that require to be remembered. What are the things you
emphasis on “Speak the truth; act righteously.” Speaking have to remember? The good that others have done to
truth is a supreme virtue for all people, anywhere. In any you. You must remember the good that has been done to
circumstance one should adhere to truth. Truth is God you as something sacred. You must express your
incarnate. Righteousness should accompany one like a gratitude to them. Make all your actions conform to
shadow. When you have truth and righteousness as your righteousness (dharma). Whatever actions you do
guiding stars you can achieve anything in life. All powers remembering God will get sanctified thereby.
are inherent in these two virtues. Man can realize bliss See no evil; See what is good.
only when he turns his vision inward. Only proximity to Hear no evil; Hear what is good.
God can confer happiness. It cannot be had elsewhere, Speak no evil; Speak what is good.
from anyone else. It is a mark of ignorance to expect that Think no evil; Think what is good.
some other person will give you happiness. Buddha felt Do no evil; Do what is good.
sad that people should be subject to such ignorance. He This is the way to God.
practiced many spiritual exercises and came to a certain
decision. He decided to go to Gaya and experience bliss This is the essence of Buddha's teachings. When you are
by his own way. He found the source of bliss within indulging in evil pursuits through your senses, how can
himself. He realised it could not be got from outside. you get peace? Peace should come from hridaya (the
spiritual heart) filled with compassion. Embodiments of
Every man's heart is the dwelling place of God. Hence Love! The Divine dwells in each of us in the form of Love.
everyone should take good care of it and cultivate it as the
source of divine bliss.
Divine Discourse, 11th May 1988

004 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 CONVERSATIONS WITH SAI - PART 20

says 'Yes, yes, yes' to everything that comes to Him. All

CONVERSATIONS is the gift of God. Every experience given by God is
good. Through sincere and loving inquiry, that "good"
WITH SAI - PART 20
will be found in every experience. 'Yes, yes, yes' refers to
(CONTINUED FROM LAST ISSUE)
inner acceptance. But there is bad work and good work.
Whatever they are, they are real. 'Yes, yes, yes' does not
H (Hislop): At times, Swami, sounds are still heard as change them. A man locks his valuables in a safe and
usual, but every sound is surrounded by silence, and it is carries away the key in the belief that it is safe. But thieves
the silence that is heard. take the safe and break it open. So, one must be sure that
SAI: That silence that surrounds outside sounds is God. he understands the essentials of every situation.
Inside that silence is the eternal sound of 'Om'. There is H: All the subtle, inside and outside tasks to be done!
only one sound, and that is 'Om'. Every other sound arises Spiritual life seems very difficult?
from Om.
Spiritual Life is Easy!
H: One is conscious of a force, a strength that rises up in
SAI: Vital to spiritual life is self-confidence, the
oneself. What is that?
conviction that one is the Atma. Spiritual life is easy.
SAI: That life force must be turned to God.
There are some initial problems, as in learning anything.
H: How does one direct that force? But it is easy. A bowl turned upside down remains dry no
SAI: Through faith and love. These must be tended matter how heavy the rain. Whereas a bowl turned up
with love and care like tender plants. The bud cannot
be forcefully pulled up into a tree.

The Transforming Power of Sai

H: Baba said Ramakrishna Paramahamsa merely touched
Vivekananda and transformed him?
SAI: Yes. But it was temporary. After a while it fell away.
Vivekananda's strong temper rose again and he had to
work out his own sadhana. What Ramakrishna
accomplished was to reverse the trend to Vivekananda's
life from downwards into material life, to upwards into
spiritual sadhana. Without that, Vivekananda would have
continued in materialistic life.
H: Can it be said that the reversal given to Vivekananda's
life by the touch of Ramakrishna is given to our own lives
merely by the Darshan of Baba?
SAI: Baba does not do that. He slowly and gradually
changes the lives of his devotees. But the change is
permanent.
H: How should one listen to Swami when He is in
conversation or giving a discourse? That is, Swami's
collects some rain even though the rain is very light. If the
words have so many deep and deeper levels.
heart is turned towards God, some grace will be
SAI: Swami is speaking to you in body with a voice.
received. If the interest and devotion is intense, grace
Listen in the natural way. At length, body and mind
will fill the bowl. It is life in the outer world that is
drop away, and there is divine, direct understanding.
endless trouble, whereas spiritual life is easy. One already
Swami Says Yes to Everything has the necessary concentration. To be reborn again
H: Swami is often heard saying. "Yes, yes, yes'. requires no work. Not to be reborn again requires much
work. To gain wealth requires much work. To remain poor
SAI: 'Yes, yes, yes', refers to inner acceptance. Experiences
requires no work.
and situations arise in the life of a person. His tendency is
to say 'yes' to that which is pleasing, and 'no' if the The Reality of the 'Dream and Waking' State
prospect is otherwise... This is a great mistake. Swami H: When a person is in the waking state, he can observe

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 005
SPIRITUAL BLOSSOMS

that the dream experience is a projection of his own mind does not doubt his reality, whereas in the waking state
Swami says that the waking state is also a dream. But there is an extremely strong doubt. In the waking state
where is the vantage point from which we may observe one cannot believe that he is a real entity; one sees
that the waking state is only a dream? himself as a shadow and not as a real person engaged in
SAI: One may have a dream that he is a child, that he activity.
attends school, makes friends, marries, is a father and has SAI: You see yourself as a shadow. And then there is a
a career - a sequence of events that covers 45 years of his change, and you experience yourself as real. Like this it
life. The dream may occur at 3.15 a.m. and be over by changes back and forth. The two sides of a coin, the face
3.17 a.m. In two minutes of waking time the dreamer has and the obverse.
experienced events that extend through 45 years of H: Yes, it is like that.
dream time.
SAI: But that is not the typical experience of the waking
When the waking state is transcended, it also is seen state. It is a yogic stage due to sadhana. People ordinarily
to be a dream, and a lifetime in the waking state has experience the dream state as truth while dreaming, and
taken only a few moments in the transcendental they experience the waking state as truth while awake.
state. The waking state is seen to be a dream, and the What you experience is qualified monism. In the advaitic
dream state, a dream within a dream. (non-dualistic) state, even the shadow is seen as a
The dream state is unreality in truth; the waking state is reflection of the Divine.
truth in unreality; and the transcendent state in truth is SAI: (to the college boys in the group) It is necessary to
truth. The 'I' in the dream state is taken to be the body. The understand topics such as these, although they are
somewhat difficult to grasp.
SAI: (to Hislop) What is that beneath your shirt?
H: (taking a chain from around his neck and giving it to
Swami) It is the ring that Swami gave that is now broken.
SAI: (after passing around the ring to the college boys)
What do you want?
H: If Swami could repair the ring?
SAI: Only that?
H: Whatever Swami pleases, would delight me.
(Sai held the broken ring between thumb and forefinger
and blew His breath on the ring. Immediately there was a
new ring, which He gave to the college boys to pass
around. When the ring returned, He took the left hand of
Hislop and put the ring on the fourth finger. It was a gold
ring of delicate filigree setting. The enamel stone was
large and oval with a smiling portrait of Baba on a light
blue background.)
SAI: In the world, the metal, the stone and the jeweller are
all separate, as is the one who will take the ring, and they
must be brought together. Whereas, in the world of
Swami, the metal, the stone, the jeweller and the one
who will take the ring are all one, and that One is God.
In the world, time is needed. But God is beyond time.
Immediately the ring is ready.
A Visitor: It would be of interest if Baba would do a large
'I' in the waking state is taken to be the mind. And the 'I' in creation.
the transcendent state is God. SAI: Since Swami has taken a body, He has imposed
H: But Swami, there is another difference between the certain proper limitations on Himself. Swami has created
dream state and the waking state. In the dream state one

006 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 CONVERSATIONS WITH SAI - PART 20

idols of gold and could just as easily create a mountain of

gold.

Stages of Swami's Life

H: Swami, people are thinking that after His 60th
birthday, Bhagavan Baba will step away from contact
with the world and that His devotees will no longer have
access to Him.
SAI: No, not at all. Sai is not separating from the world,
nor will He separate from His devotees. The course of an
Avathar goes invariably through the same stages. It is the
same for every Avathar at all times. The first 16 years are
characterized by constant Leelas; then leelas and
teaching up to age 45. From age 45 to 60 the emphasis is
almost wholly on teaching. At age 60 there is a very big
change.

Swami Reveals Details on the

Crucifixion of Jesus
H: The crucifixion of Christ, the metal figure of Christ on
the cross that Swami created, the metal, when strongly
magnified appears to be more or less covered with small
bumps. What are they?
SAI: They are blood, knots of blood. The body was in a
bad condition. It had been hurt and injured over the
entire body. At death, the blood came to a sudden stop,
and the bumps are clots of blood.
H: Swami, on the photo enlargements of the statue, it
Crucifix that Swami Materialized
also looks as if a sort of slice off the nose had been
removed. Christians have no idea. The early Fathers taught that one
SAI: The nose is whole. That is a heavy blood stain. When should constantly say 'Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on
the face itself is enlarged, it is seen as a dead face. Swami me'. There is the constant repetition of Christ's name until
made the metal of the body after its death. the Name goes into the heart where the repetition
continues without cessation. Along with the repetition of
H: Because of pictures being around, and the story and
the Name, the form of Christ is visualized in the mind. I
pictures being in books, the little figure on the cross is
learned of this through reading an old book, The Way Of
becoming quite famous. What should be done with it -
The Pilgrim, translated from the Russian.
should it be placed in the new Sathya Sai Museum?
SAI: As time goes on, the significant factors of the
SAI: For the museum, Swami will make a big image of
spiritual path are lost. The Christian mystics took up the
Christ. The small one was for you. You keep it. What do
repetition of the name of Christ starting about 19 years
you make of Christmas?
after his death. As time goes on, the human nature comes
H: I was never really interested in Christianity, but I have to the front and the divine is put aside and forgotten.
paid more attention since Swami made the crucifixion. That which was known of the spiritual path after the time
SAI: I mean what does Christmas represent? of Rama was no longer there at the time of Krishna. And
H: The birth of Christ is represented. that which Krishna taught was gone when Sai came. It is
the same with the Buddhists, the Moslems and the Jains.
SAI: The 25th is not the birth. It was on the 24th,near
midnight. H: What the early Christian mystics taught was surely the
heart of the Christian religion. And one never hears of it
H: Not long ago, I found out something very interesting
today from Christian people.
about the Christian religion. The early Christian Fathers of
(To be continued…)
the Eastern Church knew something of which modern

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 007
SPIRITUAL BLOSSOMS CHINNA KATHA

CHINNA KATHA
Practice and Preach
A Little Story From Bhagavan

healthy young man. You will not be able to do anything

RAMAKRISHNA PARAMAHAMSA was an ideal guru. There
great in life if you are weak. When something that we eat
is an interesting anecdote to illustrate how he never
does not suit our constitution, we should give up eating
preached anything before practising it.
that item. From tomorrow you should not eat sweets.
One day, an old lady came to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa After some time you may eat moderately. You are a nice
with her ten year old grandson. She prostrated before him boy and will listen to me, will you not?” The boy nodded
and said, “Master! I have come to seek your advice. This his head and promised that he would not eat sweets.
boy is my grandson. He lost his father and mother when
The old woman sent the boy on some errand just to have a
he was just a child of five. I have been taking care of him.
confidential talk with the master. “Master, may I ask you a
He is very fond of sweets. He eats so much that his health
question?” said the old woman. “Certainly mother,”
is deteriorating day by day. The doctors have advised him
replied Ramakrishna. “Master, this advice which you have
not to eat sweets but this fellow does not pay any heed to
given today to my grandson, you could have given last
their advice. However, he has great respect and
month. Why did you ask me to come again after a month?
admiration for you. So I have come to request you to stop
I don't understand.” Ramakrishna replied with an
the boy from eating sweets. I am sure, you alone can do
understanding smile, “Mother, I myself eat lots of sweets.
this.” Ramakrishna said, “Mother, don't worry, come with
How can I advise the boy to do something that I am not
your grandson after a month. In the meanwhile I shall
doing myself? One has no right to preach anything to
think of a plan to convince the boy that one's health is very
others before practising it himself. So I asked for some
important, more important even than wealth.” The old
time. This one month I did not eat sweets. So I have earned
woman thanked him and took leave of him.She came with
the right to advise your grandson.” The old woman
her grandson exactly a month later. Both of them paid
marvelled at the righteous conduct of Ramakrishna. She
their salutations to the master. Ramakrishna made the boy
fell at his feet and took leave of him.
sit beside him and said, “My dear boy! Remember, one's
real wealth is health. Unless you take proper care of your We should never advise anyone about anything which we
health, you will not be able to grow into a strong and ourselves have not put into practice.

008 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
COVER STORY EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

Krishna graced her lap. None of Mother Devaki's previous

seven children could escape from the heinous designs of
EASWARAMMA -
the demon Kamsa. Easwaramma too suffered at the
THE CROWN hands of cruel fate. She had four miscarriages in a row
OF MOTHERHOOD before the Light of the World descended as her Son.

Easwaramma - The Name Said It All

Easwaramma was the chosen one. I chose her to be My It was not as if it was totally unannounced, for Kondama
mother. That is the intimate relationship between Mother Raju, father-in-law of Easwaramma, had dreams of the
Easwaramma and Myself. family preceptor Venka Avadhootha instructing him to be
That was the emphatic declaration of Bhagavan on the prepared, though for what he was not told. As Swami
most auspicious Easwaramma Day, the 6th of May, 2001. explained:
In no uncertain terms Swami communicated how lofty, Kondama Raju, the grandfather of this physical body,
grand and glorious is the stature of Mother Easwaramma. being a jnani (one of wisdom), was blessed with a vision
The thronging crowd in Sai Ramesh Hall exploded into of the future. One day he called his son, Pedda Venkama
loud applause that evening as they heard these Divine Raju, and told him to change his wife's name to
words from Bhagavan. Easwaramma. He told this because he felt the divine
Easwaramma: Mother Divine vibrations originating from within. His intention was to
Mother Easwaramma, truly, was a divine effulgence convey that she was the mother of Easwara, God Himself.
which graced mother Earth with a sacred mission and But Pedda Venkama Raju was not aware of the inner
purpose by the inscrutable will of the Divine just like
Kaushalya, (Mother of Sri Rama), Devaki (Mother of Sri
Krishna) or Mary (Christ's Mother). She underwent similar
agonies and ecstasies, fears and dilemmas, trials and
triumphs, and ultimately bliss and beatitude that the
Divine Mothers of yore passed through. Like Krishna,
Swami was the eighth child of Mother Easwaramma and
the turbulent times she went through before He took
birth were akin to what Devaki experienced before

The precursor to the Divine Descent

meaning of this name. He implicitly obeyed the command

of his father and changed the name of his wife to
Easwaramma. Easwaramma was first christened as
Namagiriamma at the time of birth.
So long before Swami was born, Namagiriamma became
Easwaramma, meaning, the Mother of Easwara, or God,
and in His own inimitable way the Divine Lord announced
His coming advent.
Many years later, a Pundit well versed in the Puranas
asked Swami, “Was your Incarnation a Pravesa (an
Entrance) or a Prasava (Enceinte)?”
Turning to Easwaramma seated in front, He said, “Tell
The Mother performs Padapuja to The Lord what happened that day near the well after your mother-

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 009
COVER STORY

in-law had warned you.” A mat covered with a thick bedspread had been placed in
The Mother said: a corner of the room, when the labor had begun, and
She had dreamt of Sathyanarayana Deva and she now the baby was placed on it by the grandmother.
cautioned me that I should not be frightened if Suddenly they found the bedspread rising up and falling
something happens to me through the will of God. That down on either side of the baby. She grasped the child
morning when I was at the well drawing water, a big ball and held it close. A serpent was coiled beneath! Of
of blue light came rolling towards me and I fainted and course, snakes there were in plenty at Puttaparthi,
fell. I felt it glide into me. creeping through crevices, crawling along the walls, and
hiding in holes. But a serpent in the lying-in room
“There you have the answer!” Swami said, “I was not
pretending to be a bed it was the role of Adisesha for the
begotten. It was Pravesa, not Prasava.”
Vishnu who rested on its coils. This was the Incarnation's
first miracle. When Easwaramma was asked about this
epic event, she confessed she had been so filled with joy
at the birth of a son she had never even noticed the
agitation all around.

Sathya's Attitude Baffles Easwaramma

Yes, the “Rathnakaram” family, meaning “a treasure
chest of gems,” now had its most precious jewel and the
home was a hive of activity. With His bewitching looks
and captivating smiles, little Sathya (Swami's childhood
name) instantly become the cynosure of the village. Later,
His prodigious talents in music, dance and poetry, and His
divine leelas enacted right from early childhood on would

Seshashailavasa Narayana...

The First Miracle

"I Do Not Need Anything" - Sathya
So it was the Divine had decided to descend and had
chosen the womb of Mother Easwaramma as his
bring joy to many. As for Easwaramma, she was the one
temporary abode. When the sacred moment arrived in
who fretted over Swami every moment and suffered the
the early hours of the morning on that holy Monday, the
most from His indifferent-to-this-world attitude. In her
day dedicated to Lord Shiva, on the 23rd of November
own words:
1926, the Chosen Mother had just consumed prasad
He [Sathya] never asked for any particular food or
(consecrated food) given to her by her mother-in-law
clothes. A bundle of clothes would be brought from
after the hour-long Sathyanarayana Puja. She accepted
and relished the sanctified food and before the sun had Hindupur or Anantapur and one of the grownups, father
spread its morning light on the Rathnakaram household or grandfather, would call the boys in the family asking
the house was bright with jubilation, joy and gaiety the each one to choose for himself. But Sathya always sat
long awaited son was born. Those present were blessed aloof until the others had made their choice and then he
to witness the first miracle of the Divine Personality, would take whatever was left behind, rejected by the
described by Prof. N. Kasturi, Baba's biographer: others. He never seemed to have any desire or wish of His

010 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

own, but His face would light up with a beam when he Then Yashoda, Now Easwaramma
saw the other children happy. When we asked Him what Like Yashoda, Sri Krishna's foster Mother, Easwaramma
He wanted, a smile was the only reply. I would hug Him would often pray for Divine intervention for Sathya to
close and try to get Him to confide His wish to me. turn into a normal Puttaparthi boy. Still, Easwaramma
'Sathya, tell me what You want. I will give it to You,' I could see in Him the potentials of a poet, a singer, a
would say. dancer, a playwright and a director and she hoped He
'I do not need anything' was His only answer. 'Whatever would blossom in these fields. In fact, such was Sathya's
you give Me, I will accept. That is enough for Me. I will not theatrical skills and such was Easwaramma's simplicity
choose.' that whenever she saw Him being “tortured” in a drama
He acted in, she wept aloud and even tried to protect her
Sathya used to play with other children and sing bhajans
Sathya!
for hours on end. Her daughters reported that He
performed a very intricate dance a child artiste And again like Mother Yashoda, who was troubled and
demonstrated during a drama in Bukkapatnam even torn by instances of demons vying for the life of her sweet
better than the original. But Sathya's solemnity inside the darling child, Mother Easwaramma too faced agonizing
house disturbed His mother beyond measure. Years later and abnormal experiences. After every display of Sathya's
Easwaramma would recount: supernatural powers her worries only increased. Here is
what she experienced told in Swami's own words:
This was something I could not understand. How were we
different? What made Him so deeply sober and serious? I When Swami was staying in the Old Mandir, one day
began at last to wonder whether the label Brahmajnan (a there was an unusual crowd. Sensing danger,
realized soul) the village elders had stuck on Him and Easwaramma came to Me and said, 'Swami, these people
which I had thought a mockery was indeed a tribute after seem to be having some ulterior motive. I am afraid they
all. may try to harm You. I am unable to sleep peacefully.' I
infused courage in her, saying, 'Be fearless. The body is
bound to perish one day or the other. So, give up body
attachment.' Those days I used to sleep all alone in a
thatched hut. That night, as Easwaramma feared, some
evil-minded people set the hut on fire from all four sides.
There were raging flames all around. Seeing this,
Subbamma and Easwaramma came running. When they
reached the spot, they found to their utter amazement,
there was a heavy downpour on the hut. However, there
was absolutely no rain in the surrounding area. When I
came out of the hut, both of them were overjoyed to see
Me safe and sound.
Similarly, on another occasion Swami shared:
One day, somebody invited Me to their house for food.
Actually their intention was to poison Me. They were
feeling jealous of My growing popularity and prosperity.
In those days I used to relish vadas made of Alasanda
grains. Hence, they mixed poison in vadas and offered
them to Me. Before going there, I had told Easwaramma
and Subbamma not to be afraid if any untoward incident
was to happen. When I returned from there, My entire
body turned blue and My mouth started frothing. I told
Easwaramma to wave her hand in a circle. She did
accordingly, and to her utter amazement there appeared
vibhuti in her hand. She mixed it in water and gave it to
Me. Instantly, I became normal. She wondered, 'Swami
Easwaramma's Darling Sathya can create vibhuti with a wave of His hand. But how is it

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 011
COVER STORY

that vibhuti appeared in My hand?' In fact, I had given her

that power for that moment.
Easwaramma went through many trying times
mothering the “infinite power” incarnated in her humble
home, though of course there were also mystical and
profound experiences. When Sathya was just nine
months old, one singular episode baffled her beyond her
limits.
I can remember the whole incident fresh and clear. I had
just bathed and dressed him and applied on His eyes
cooling collyrium. I applied vibhuthi from the Shiva
temple and a dot of kumkum from the Sathyamma
temple on His brow. I put Him in the cradle, gave it a
Love without duty is Divine
swing and turned to the hearth where the milk had come
she asked how He had acquired that mark. But when
to a boil. Suddenly I heard Him cry. I was surprised for,
Easwaramma insisted, He told her that the skin was
believe me, He had never cried since birth for any reason,
rendered so as the result of carrying water pots hung on
hunger, or pain, or discomfort. I picked Him up and
both ends of a pole borne on His shoulder for the
placed Him on my lap and he stopped the wail. I saw a
household where He stayed. There was only one well at
halo of brilliant light all around Him, a circle of radiance
Uravakonda for drinking water which was nearly a
surrounding Him. But the light did not hurt me, it was so
kilometer away, so He walked to and fro about six times
cool though so bright and near. I sat still, lost in delight. It
daily, thrice in the morning and thrice in the evening.
was there a long time, before it faded slowly away. I
Easwaramma was alarmed. “You must come away from
closed my eyes and probably lost awareness of
there. They are exploiting Your goodness and Your desire
everything around until my mother-in-law came to me
to serve. Why should they depend on You for water?” But
and I awoke. The child was apparently asleep. She asked
Sathya responded, “I felt it as My duty, Amma. How long
me what had happened and I told her about the halo that
can the children survive on the brackish poison? I carry
I could see even then in clear outline. She put her finger
the water of life from that distance gladly, Mother. I have
on her lips and said, 'Don't tell anyone of this. They
come to do this service.” Mother was in tears and could
wouldn't understand. They would spread all kinds of
hardly speak. Immediately, Sathya was back home in
tales.'
Puttaparthi.
Easwaramma would be blessed with countless such
experiences and every one increased her love for the The Mother's Greatest Anxiety -
beloved son she had been gifted with after so much Swami's Food Habits
prayer and penitence. If Swami was away from her for some time and a visitor
came from that place, Easwaramma would invariably ask,
The Mother's Heart Bleeds…
“How is Swami? Is He keeping well? Does He eat anything
Sathya was so bright that denying Him further education
at all?”
seemed a sacrilege, so as there was no high school within
a radius of twenty miles, He went to live with His brother Swami's eating habits were always a subject of concern
so He could attend school at Uravakonda. Easwaramma for the Mother. Every now and then Easwaramma would
had to sigh and cry alone, and it must be added, now and go into the Mandir, for there were no regular hours for
then to exult and enthuse, for stories seeped through the her or anyone else, and she would note the new arrivals,
intervening miles of the marvels Sathya had authored, the talk to them and then move quietly towards the women
cures He had effected, the problems He had solved, as who were mothering her son. “Serve Him and nurse Him
well as of the hardships He had to undergo. with care,” she would plead. “Look at Him; one can count
the ribs, they are coming through so clear. He won't listen
During a visit to Puttaparthi from Uravakonda,
to what we say. He insists on His own ways, all the while
Easwaramma gave Sathya an invigorating “oil bath” and
telling us how to behave. And somehow He justifies
observed on His left shoulder a broad length of blackened
everything He does as good for Himself.”
thickened skin. Sathya did not complain of pain when the
patch was touched or pressed and laughed it off when Noon and night, lunchtime and dinnertime, whenever

012 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

on His plate to discover how much He tasted of what and

how His health reacted to the restraints He imposed on
himself. When Bhagavan was forty-four-years-old,
Easwaramma was heard to say, “He does not like their
cooking. He used to eat well as a boy when I cooked His
food. But he does not care for my cooking now. He says I
must have rest and quiet and not to worry about such
things.”
When Swami was a child, Easwaramma would have to
spend an hour to persuade him to swallow a mouthful.
The thinnest of excuses a crow cawing for a morsel, a
mendicant voice from afar, a child crying next door
sufficed for him to run away from the plate before him.
On one occasion Swami took to drinking only a cup of
buttermilk per day…for thirty-six days! One can imagine
the heart-rending pain Easwaramma went through,
struggling to hold back tears which threatened to well up
throughout the day. When at last Swami said in response
to the devotees' prayers he would resume his normal
schedule of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Easwaramma
was happy beyond words and asked him to never tease
them with such tactics again. Even years later, whenever
she recalled those thirty-six days, it was with a sigh and
expression of resignation.

....so that we may learn to serve Her Childlike Simplicity

Mother's concern for Swami extended to every detail of
she thought about it Easwaramma was confronted by a his life. Apart from his spartan food habits, another
conundrum. How could the Ananda of others be Ahara
[food] for Him? He ate so meagerly. He relished so little.
He set aside so much. He had no obvious preference, no
visible appetite, no taste to satisfy, no hunger to appease,
and no time to spare. How could He derive sustenance
from this Anandaless atmosphere? She prayed for Him to
eat but it was all in vain. Swami would take a mouthful
just to satisfy her and then stand and walk away.
It took Easwaramma a long time to reconcile herself to
this Avataric trait. Whenever she was around she
personally supervised the preparation of the menu for
Swami by going into the host's kitchen. She believed that
Swami would eat a few more spoonfuls if the cuisine was
Telugu, or better still, if it was genuine Rayalaseema, the
region to which Puttaparthi belonged. When Swami was
at Jamnagar with the Rajmatha of Nawanagar (in
Gujarat), Easwaramma feared that the Gujarati dishes
might not be acceptable to her son. She smuggled herself
into the palace kitchen and sought permission to prepare Simplicity personified
a little chaar - a soup based on boiled pulses - so Swami subject which troubled her was Swami's travels. She was
would have some food of familiar taste. always apprehensive of him leaving Puttaparthi even if it
This mother's concern never left her alone. Her eyes were was for only a day to a nearby city or town. So imagine her

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 013
COVER STORY

distress when she heard about the planned trip to East

Africa in 1968. She was extremely nervous, to say the
least.
Not much was known about Africa in those days, and the
popular impression was that it was a dark continent full
of wild animals, savages, and cannibals. Easwaramma
had heard this folklore and feared Swami would be in
danger if he went there. She resolved to have the trip
cancelled and expressed her reservations to someone
involved with the expedition. The person replied,
“Mother, do not worry. Swami will be visiting only big
cities where he will be absolutely safe no threats from
animals or savages there!”
Easwaramma was dissatisfied with the reply and felt hurt
that the person was making light of a serious matter. She
Sai travels the length and breadth of India
approached someone else and told him, “Listen, all of you
are merrily planning a jaunt to Africa without being her to come with him and the devotees to Bangalore. Fast
conscious of the risk to Swami. It is not too late yet, and cars sped them along macadamized highways, through
you must do everything possible to dissuade him from stretches of brown barrenness, and then carpets of cool
undertaking this trip.” The person she spoke to gave a green, jowar, paddy and ragi, sweet sugarcane and
patient hearing and then replied, “Amma, have no fear. cotton. At Madras she saw the sea for the first time.
Swami will have very high security protection.” Swami had described the ocean to her in epic terms, for
these were the waters that Rama and his monkey hordes
Easwaramma felt frustrated that no one was taking her
had crossed in the Tretha Yuga on their way to Lanka. A
misgivings seriously. She sought out a senior devotee and
few drops sprinkled on the head purifies a person to
conveyed her worst fears to him. This devotee said,
perfection, he said, for into it flows the holy rivers Ganga,
“Mother, it is true that there are many dangers in Africa.
Jumna, Kaveri and Godavari.
But how can they affect Swami? He is God, is he not?”
Hearing this Mother Easwaramma became furious and Easwaramma was touched to the depths of her being as
shouted back, “You fool! I know Swami is God and you she gazed in awe at her first vision of the ocean,
know he is God. But do those savages and wild animals in boundless in its immensity, eternal in its rhythm of surge
Africa know he is God?” and swell, forever changing yet ever the same, an endless
expanse with the horizon as its limits, the sky as its roof,
That was the Mother's childlike concern and simplicity.
and the subtle colors of space blue, deep gray-green,
Though she had realised her son's divinity, motherly
cloudy-white. She burst into an exclamation of wonder
anxieties often overwhelmed her. Sri Jayalakshmi
that this was the very Mirror of God reflecting the majesty
Gopinath, who was fortunate to interact with the Mother
of his many moods.
and observe her at close quarters, recalls:
For the first time Easwaramma knew the hurry and scurry
I knew the Divine Mother Easwaramma so well. It was
of cities, the noise of bazaars. She greeted lions and
mutual love between us. I loved her because on her face
tigers, pythons and peacocks, and those most strange
there was such brilliance that you could not find
creatures of creation, the giraffe and the kangaroo, at the
anywhere in the whole world on any sophisticated face.
Mysore Zoo. She enjoyed the cool comfort of Bangalore
Whatever one would put on the face it could not match
and weathered the biting cold of Ootacamund on the
the glow on her face. I have seen it myself. She was as
Nilgiris and the Blue Mountains of Tamil Nadu. She visited
simple as a child.
the fabled temples and sacred rivers of India, while
Easwaramma Travels with Swami Swami showered his constant attention upon her. This
Ask any of those old timers who knew the Mother and was his special grace, she knew, for she had not yet
they will say, “She was so humble, so lovable, so simple.” completely severed her maternal attachments and soared
Swami, who was filled with compassion at into the blissful freedom of supreme trust and devotion.
Easwaramma's rustic upbringing, believed that travel was
Easwaramma would often be a part of the troupe
the surest way to broaden her views. Swami persuaded

014 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

accompanying Baba to remote spots in Andhra Pradesh for several months in Puttaparthi. As it was Dasara,
and other parts of India and would ride in the car Swami was blessing the devotees with discourses every
following Bhagavan's. During the summer months these day. During one such discourse, Easwaramma asked
excursions could become unbearably hot and Swami Swami Amrithananda in Telugu, “Ememo cheputhu
would ask her to relax in his car to be cooled in the air unnade, sariga cheputhada?” meaning, “He is telling so
conditioning but she always politely declined the offer. many things. Are they all correct?” That was the motherly
Easwaramma never hankered for physical comfort and concern of Easwaramma for Swami. Though she had seen
was satisfied with the way things were. many instances of Swami doing the impossible, yet her
When Swami and his devotees left Lucknow for Benares; heart was always anxious and her lips silently praying for
the Secretary to the Governor drew up the order of her son's welfare.
precedence according to protocol for the entourage of Then there were the village rumors: “This is not going to
cars: the pilot car with Swami and the Governor, the last long,” “Sai Baba's powers will soon be drained away,”
Police car, the Rolls Royce with the parents, the Secretary's etc. Whenever such gossip assailed her ears she would
car, the car with the Editor of the Sanathana Sarathi, and pull out from the private treasure trove of her memory
so on. Easwaramma, however, preferred to ride in the van remembrances of the incredible events she had witnessed
with her sister devotees whom she could regale with her bearing testimony to the authenticity of the Avathar that
colorful anecdotes to the lonely luxury of the Rolls Royce. was now before her. On that occasion when Swami
Amrithananda replied, “Amma, he is Parabramha. He
knows everything. He is my Guru and God,” it was yet
further confirmation to her of Baba's divinity.
When Swami made plans to visit the holy sites of the
Himalayas, Easwaramma became alarmed that her son
might fall victim to black magic motivated by religious
rivalry from the yogis and monks of that area. She
confided her reservations to Professor Kasturi, and he
calmed them by promising to recite the Gayatri mantra
and invoke its protective powers.

“Easwaramma was like Yashoda” - Baba

These accounts remind one of Mother Yashoda, who
likewise often looked upon Krishna as her son and found
herself forgetful of his true status. Perhaps God had
willed it so, otherwise how could she have experienced
the bliss of mothering the master of all creation?
Comparing her to Yashoda, on Easwaramma Day 2001,
Swami said:
…The following week, I went to see Kondama Raju again
after visiting Subbamma's house. He came to know that I
was coming to his house. Immediately he called
Easwaramma and told her, 'I am not going to live any
longer. Having known that my end has approached, God
is coming to shower his grace on me.' She responded in
an innocent way saying, 'Where is God? How do you
know that he is coming?'
The treasure chest of all wisdom
Then Kondama Raju said, 'O mad woman, still you are
Her Innermost Fears deluded by the feeling of a mother toward her son! Look
In 1956, a sanyasi and learned scholar, Swami there, God is coming.' So saying, he pointed at Me as I was
Amrithananda, came from Thiruvanamallai for Swami's entering his house. She too was aware of My Divinity but
Darshan. He had lived with the great master Ramana she used to get carried away by her motherly affection
Maharshi for a long time and Swami invited him to stay toward Me. Similar was the case with Yashoda. Though

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 015
COVER STORY

Baba continued with her lesson. “It is all Maya, it is all

Maya.”
Her only consolation was when Sathya agreed to eat
some lunch. She finished serving and nervously signaled
that her offerings be accepted. With a swift movement
Sathya swept all the food into one mass and rolled it into
three balls. “Maya! Maya!” he kept repeating. Someone
told the stupefied mother that Sathya was bidding her
come near and she moved a few feet forward. He put one
of the balls of food in her right palm and kept his palm
before her to receive it. As she gave it back, Sathya ate,
whispering, “Maya is gone, Maya has left.”
This scene is unique in the annals of human experience,
for who can fathom what Easwaramma must have felt in
her heart nothing could have prepared her for the jolt as
her little Sathya became Sai Baba, Guru to the whole

“Maya is gone, Maya has left” - Sathya

she had seen all the fourteen worlds in Krishna's mouth,

she thought it was a dream or an illusion.

The Mother's Distress as Sathya becomes Sai

Yes, there were many occasions when she vacillated
between being a mother and devotee. The transition
from doting mother to adoring devotee was a long and
The Prasanthi Mandir in the 1950s
tortuous path as her son was revealed as the Source of
divine light shining his benediction on humanity. Just world. She alone bore the brunt of this metamorphosis of
picture this scene as the anxious parents had rushed to her dearest Sathya to a discreet and distant Sai Baba.
Uravakonda to visit Swami, who was then still a mere lad.
Prashanthi Nilayam
They were confronted with a large crowd of devotees
is Born but the Mother Is Worried
who cheered them as, “Matha Pitha ki jai,” (Victory to the
As the years went by Easwaramma had to adjust to many
Parents!) close on the heels of each full-throated “Sai
other changes that followed the ever-growing glory of
Baba ki jai” (Victory to Sai!). Sathya was seated on a chair
her son. She strained to retain whatever contact she could
with flower garlands piling up on his right as he accepted
as Swami's time became taken up by the needs of the
each one that was offered and added it to the mound. But
devotees.
when pressed to identify his parents, Sathya said
concisely, “They are Maya” [illusion]. In fact, she was the one most aggrieved at what she
considered Swami's determination to keep Puttaparthi at
“Maya!” exclaimed Easwaramma, and fell in a faint.
arm's length. The existing Mandir was already at the
When she came back to her senses she sat by Sathya's
fringe of the village and the new site was a half kilometer
side, tears coursing down her face, for her son was but a
further away. Gathering all the arguments she could
shadow of his former self though only three months had
drum up against the project, Easwaramma went rushing
elapsed since she last saw him. “Sathya, speak to your
into the hall where Baba sat among a group of devotees
mother!” she begged. A few minutes of silence ensued.
from Kuppam and cried out:
Then, “Who belongs to whom?” asked Sathya, remote
'Swami, what is this I hear? They say you are going to
and cold. It was not a question but a pronouncement.
build a new Mandir on that hill. How can you go to a spot

016 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

that is so far from the village, a place that is surrounded spiritual power. A few townsfolk had whispered in her ear
by jungle and filled with snakes and scorpions? How will that his power would not last long for he was using it up
people who are old and sick and mothers with tiny at a fast pace. She had dared to warn Swami once or twice
children get to you? Aren't you going to bother hereafter about this prospect but had received in reply only a loud
with their troubles? Are you going to deny them your “Bah! I must make everyone happy. I have come for this,
Darshan? What of the fate of those who come to you in to lead the poor and the miserable into Ananda. Their
the future? You have the mark of the wheel [the chakra] Ananda [bliss] is the food that sustains me.”
under your foot and you will never stay in one place!' she
went on agitatedly, 'You must always be climbing a hill or
crossing a river to find a place to sit singing bhajans.
Which godforsaken place have you found now? Don't
you know that you must consult astrologers before you
think of moving anywhere? And, listen to me,' she
warned, 'this Mandir is enough for you. It is better to have
a small place that is filled with people than a huge
building half empty!'
There was no interruption to this torrent of protest.
Swami sat in patient silence letting her have her say and
merely smiled at the end of it all. “Speak to me! Tell me
something in reply!” she exclaimed at last in vexation.
Swami softened. “Why do you bother with people's
talk?” he gently asked and assured her, “There will be no
jungle and no snakes when I go there. There will be
hundreds of pilgrims pouring in every day and that place
will become a Shirdi, a Tirupati, and a Kasi.”
Stumped by this ringing pronouncement, Easwaramma
fell back on her eldest son as her Court of Last Resort.
Swami must be persuaded to contain himself within the Sai Shines in Prashanthi
Puttaparthi Mandir, she pleaded. Seshama Raju wrote to
Still, Easwaramma was apprehensive of the growing
Swami voicing their protests, but the letter he received in
number of devotees and losing her Sathya. On the eve of
reply rendered them even more breathless. Such
his ceremonial move to the new Prashanthi Mandir in
immeasurable audacity from a mere sixteen-year-old! He
1950, she seized the opportunity and secured a boon
was not to be considered a “son” any longer, Sathya
from Swami that he would have his dining room on the
wrote. It was the result of his own will that he had come
east side of the upper floor even though he had chosen
as man among men in order to liberate all, both the good
the rooms at the other end in which to live. Swami was
and the bad from misery. He went on to claim that
very strict in enforcing the rule that men and women
millions from the four quarters of the world will come
must keep apart, so while the men used the staircase at
seeking him and soon those standing at the far edge of
the west end, Easwaramma and her daughters climbed
the crowd would consider themselves lucky if they could
up the one at the east side and spoke to him there. They
but get Darshan of an orange speck in the distance.
were no longer allowed free entry into his apartment.
“Millions will come? Here? Where would they stay or
They would be waiting and waiting anxiously in the
stand?” Easwaramma wondered as she sent up frantic
dining room and only when they were almost desperate
supplications to the gods to solve this conundrum of
would he come, sauntering along the veranda. He came
strange events that threatened to overwhelm them all.
to give Darshan and not really to eat. Sitting at the small
Though she witnessed Swami's miracles in the company table he would finger one or two of the carefully prepared
of others, her response was typically more anxiety rather and nervously offered items, utter a few replies to their
than awe. She calculated that one miracle would lead to questions and rise, humming a tune, to return to the
another, for those attracted would clamor for it again and quarters now inaccessible to them. Swami, like Shirdi
again. She feared that every miracle would drain Swami's Baba, allowed devotees to place offerings on the table,

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 017
COVER STORY

but the hope that he would eat something from these

was a vain one on most days.
The easy familiar days at the old Mandir were gone
forever. But Swami, in his compassion, granted
Easwaramma a few minutes of access to him whenever
she needed the healing touch of his vibhuthi or relief from
routine.
Easwaramma, like many of her sisters and brothers, was
pestered by follies and fears when worldly desires clashed
in conflict. Swami guided her into the realm of happiness,
goodness, and wisdom. He raised her whom he had
chosen as the Mother to the status of his foremost pupil
and led her from perplexity to preeminent faith in the All roads lead to Prasanthi - the Eternal Abode of Sai
Divinity that deludes us as diversity yet stands ready to
One day they prayed, 'It is difficult for us to come here
help pierce the veil of Maya and realize the Eternal Truth
often. Hence, please come and settle in Mysore. We shall
behind the game of life he so enjoys playing.
build a big mansion for You.' I told, 'I don't want palatial
buildings. I want to be here.'
That night, Mother Easwaramma came to Me with tears
in her eyes and said, 'Swami, people want to take You
here and there for their selfish purposes. If you leave
Puttaparthi I will give up my life. Please promise me that
You will remain in Puttaparthi forever.' I gave her My
word that I would never leave Puttaparthi. This is why I
have constructed many buildings in the Ashram for the
comfort and convenience of devotees.
So it is the Mother to whom mankind owes Swami's
allegiance to his birthplace and his gift to us of a beautiful
and sublime ashram and temple which have now become
a spiritual lighthouse for the entire world. In fact, as years
passed by, Mother herself found it increasingly irksome to
live in her village home. She could not endure the
pettiness of caste-bred conflicts and as the years passed,
sensed more and more pollution in the village sky.
Scandal, slander, eavesdropping, trickery, and teasing
were the sport of the disbelievers. Mother found the
atmosphere suffocating and with Swami's permission
stayed within the premises of Prashanthi Mandir. Swami
arranged for her to reside in a small cozy room on the
"You will remain in Puttaparthi forever"- Easwaramma
ground floor of the Mandir itself and she felt very
The Lord Resides in Puttaparthi… comfortable in the company of women devotees,
Thanks to the Mother guiding, encouraging, consoling and caring for them.
There was another boon the Mother secured from Lord
Women's Well-being and
Sai that literally shaped the mission of Sai and made
Welfare - Her Passion
Puttaparthi what it is today. Four years ago Swami
Easwaramma had a soft heart especially towards women
recounted this incident during the Dasara celebrations.
who were widowed by fate and ostracized by society as if
He said:
their misfortune was infectious. She also sought out
Maharani of Mysore, coffee planter Sakamma, and
young women deserted by their husbands and left alone
Desaraj Arasu, the maternal uncle of Mysore Maharaja,
and helpless. Many such women were brought by their
were among those who used to come here [in the 1940s].
parents or kinsmen so that they might recover from the

018 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

judgment, and the teardrops that shone in her eyes were

sufficient to drown their distress.
She was happy beyond words that Swami accorded such
an honored status to motherhood. During the Nine Days
of Dasara celebrations in Puttaparthi women gathered in
the Prayer Hall every morning and evening to worship the
Cosmic Feminine as Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi, and
Saraswathi. Mother was also pleased that women were
permitted and encouraged to recite the mystic syllable
OM. In truth, the taboo was so inculcated in womenfolk
that they had never dared to challenge it. Mother felt that
women should not be denied access to the presence of
God, and if OM is the purest sound and symbol of the
Impersonal, women also had a right to invoke it. She told
Swami how happy she was at this, his singular Blessing to
women of all castes and races.

Serving the Needy Gladdened Her Heart

There was another event that was planned and
consummated at Puttaparthi by Swami early in 1968
which touched her motherly heart and brought her
A boon for womanhood
immense satisfaction the Optical Diseases Diagnosis and
shock and renew their lives. She discovered that a large
Treatment Camp which lasted ten days. Four thousand
number of women who were brought to Puttaparthi
patients were examined and more than a thousand
were afflicted by “ghosts” and these victims of dark
operations were performed to restore vision to those
spirits were amenable to the softness and sweetness that
blinded by cataracts, glaucoma, etc. Groups of old men
emanated from her heart.
and women led by their children and grandchildren came
The love with which she treated these women blossomed hobbling along the village roads to the Nilayam.
as she watched Swami healing the stricken. He showered Easwaramma had never realised how many there were in
compassion on them and applied vibhuthi on their need of the help Swami offered. There was great
brows. When they were restored to normalcy and enthusiasm among the devotees, men and women, to
returned home, Swami used to narrate the reasons why serve them. More than a hundred women devotees
their thoughts went awry and their words were soaked in volunteered to nurse the female patients and
spite. Listening to him, Easwaramma decided that she Easwaramma was with them, elated at the promise that
would not condemn or ridicule any woman on the basis awaited the sightless multitude. The Mother was at ease
of her apparent faults or failings for they were only, she and full of joy as thousands of indigent and ailing
knew, the results of persecution and poverty. The Mother villagers were fed and clothed, repaired and
thus became more than their own mother to growing rehabilitated.
number of sisters in distress.
Swami encouraged her to share in the service activities
Mother possessed a rich spring of native wisdom (medha) and commissioned her to hand out saris to the women.
with which she quenched the thirst of the desolate and Easwaramma was delighted at the chance and by the
deprived. She not only knew the simple folk remedies for gleam of gratitude in their eyes as the women took the
physical illnesses but also many “psychotherapeutic saris in their hands. She had learnt the art of enthusiastic
strategies” (to use an aristocratic word) that could giving from Swami, as he in turn placed dhotis and towels
demolish depression and remove fear from the minds of in the palsied hands of the sons of toil. She experienced
those who came to her. They often confided to her what the thrill of sister meeting sister when the sari brought
they would not tell their own mothers. Her sympathy in them together. Earlier, when Easwaramma walked
listening unlocked the chambers of their hearts wherein through the long rows of women with bandaged eyes
their agony was interned. She tolerated the long who groped for her touch, they had sensed the presence
narrations, never evincing impatience, boredom, or of the Mother beside each of them.

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 019
COVER STORY

straight to Swami and pleaded on their behalf. If ever she

took any liberty of her accessibility to Swami, it was for
the sake of some distressed and disconsolate soul. In one
instance there was a couple from West Godavari who had
come with a terribly sick child and had waited in
Puttaparthi for a week. Due to financial constraints they
were not in a position to extend their stay and were about
to leave crestfallen. As a last resort they met
Easwaramma, and when the Mother heard their plight
she took the boy by his hand and immediately led him
upstairs to Swami's room and pleaded with him to cure
the child. Swami gave her a patient hearing and then

Divine virtues concealed in her diminutive frame

“Easwaramma -
An Embodiment of Sacrifice”- Baba
Recalling her virtues as an ideal for our modern society,
during his discourse on Eswaraamma Day 2000, Swami
remarked:
Easwaramma was born in such a poor family that she did
not even have proper food to eat. All that she had to eat
was ragi sankati (gruel prepared from a coarse grain). Easwaramma and Eshwara
Easwaramma was illiterate. When I see the egoistic
calmly said, “Chustanu” meaning, “I will see.” But no, she
attitude, perverted mentality and ostentatious behavior
was not satisfied and insisted that Swami show mercy to
of the present day educated people, I feel it was better
the poor family now…and Swami finally gave in to her
that Easwaramma did not have any schooling.
prayers and healed the child. As is said, a mother's prayers
When I was seven and a half years old, I used to teach never go unfulfilled.
Pandhari bhajans to small children in our village.
After the Prashanthi Nilayam Mandir was constructed,
Easwaramma and Subbamma used to feel ecstatic
the Mother who did not want to miss an opportunity to
watching Me sing Pandhari bhajans and dance to their
be beside her son chose to live in the Prashanthi temple
rhythm. Sometimes her husband Pedda Venkama Raju
itself. This was a boon for the devotees for they benefit
would give Easwaramma some money for the household
immensely from her comforting advice, caring counsel,
expenditure. Once two annas were remaining with her
and ever-ready-to-help attitude. She was accessible to all
out of this money. One could buy two bags of puffed rice
and devotees found in her someone genuinely interested
for two annas in those days. So Easwaramma bought two
in their welfare.
bags of puffed rice with the two annas and distributed it
In those days entire families would come to Puttaparthi
to the children. She always used to give away whatever
and as the Mother interacted freely with everyone, they
she had with her. She was the embodiment of sacrifice.
would confide in her their problems and worries to such
She would talk lovingly to all those who came to her.
an extent that she brought twenty members for an
When devotees would feel sad that Swami was ignoring
interview. Swami had graciously permitted the family to
them, she would console them saying, 'Whatever Swami
perform Padapuja (worshipping the feet of the Lord with
does is for your own good.'
rosewater, flowers, etc.) to him. As they did the
She was Always There for the Devotees ceremonial rites, they beseeched him to grant them the
There are any number of instances when Easwaramma opportunity to perform Puja to Mother Easwaramma,
was unable to bear the suffering of a devotee and went who was seated beside him. Swami initially refused

020 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

saying, “No. Do not call her as she will start plea, I used to pretend to be angry and chide her, saying,
recommending,” but the devotees persisted until Swami 'Why are you coming here with recommendations? I don't
gave in and Mother Easwaramma reluctantly acceded to want to listen to them.' But she would persist and
their request. All the while the Puja was going on, Mother continue to plead, 'Swami, please take pity on them. They
was intently watching the members of this family from are in dire need of Your help. Please talk to them once.' I
West Godavari and as predicted by Swami, she started used to be happy thinking, 'How compassionate and
"recommending" saying, “Swami, that boy does not kindhearted she is.'
study. Please give him vibhuti so that he gets good Truly, she had a heart of gold. Never was there even the
marks,” and “Swami, look at that poor girl. She has been slightest trace of ego in her that she was "The Divine
suffering so long. You must cure her,” and so on. Mother." She mingled unselfconsciously with everyone
That was the beauty of her goodness. Easwaramma met like any other simple village lady and shunned special
untold numbers of devotees who would cry out their recognition, undue attention or publicity.
heart to her and pour forth their sorrows. She would
A Loving Mother for All
listen patiently and not only remember their problems in
In the late 1960s there were a few brick houses situated
detail but bring them to Swami's notice whenever she
around the Mandir. One morning, a lady who lived alone
found an opportunity.
in one of these structures, was burning charcoal for
On Ladies Day in 2002, Swami acknowledged this noble cooking when the smoke overwhelmed her and she
trait of Easwaramma. fainted and fell unconscious to the floor. When she did
Griham Ammayi, the mother of this body, used to speak not come out by 10:00, some people sensed something
to all with love. She could never withstand the suffering wrong and broke open the door to find her lying
of others. She would come upstairs and plead with Me, unconscious.
saying, 'Swami, they are in a sorrowful state. Please call When this information reached Swami, he was far from
them and talk to them.' Her heart was filled with pleased and told the devotees, “It is one's duty to know
compassion. That is why her fame has spread so much. In the well-being of one's neighbours. The least one can do
order to attain a good name you have to utter sacred is inquire how they are, what they need and the state of
words and help others. their well-being. Every day when you get up, find out how
Whenever Mother Easwaramma came to Me with such a your neighbours are. This is a pleasant thing to do in the
morning.” These words of Bhagavan touched Mother
Easwaramma's heart. From that day onwards she took it
upon herself to go to each and every house in the
morning and personally find out whether all were
comfortable.
Once it happened that the Mother was on her daily
rounds, checking from house to house as to whether
everything was fine, when she tripped over a pile of bricks
and sprained her leg. She was in acute pain and unable to
even stand. Immediately some devotees took her to the
nearest house and the message was relayed to Swami,
who rushed to her and jovially asked, “Why do you have
to move like this to every house unnecessarily?” She
replied, “Swami, nothing is impossible for you. You can
get all the work done without going anywhere. But such a
thing is not possible for me.” Swami merely smiled,
created vibhuti and said the pain would soon stop. The
next day she was fine.
The genuine love that Mother Easwaramma had for
devotees was something very laudable. She spoke
sweetly at all times, her speech emanating patience and
Universal Mother forbearance and fully free from pretense with no sharp

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 021
COVER STORY

edges to hurt the hearer. During the time Swami was still attended by many devotees.
at the village Mandir, there were many women The next day Easwaramma expressed her happiness over
apparently “possessed” by spirits who were brought to the inaugural function and said that she had one more
his presence by distraught relatives. The unfortunates desire. She wanted a hospital also to be built in the
village. She said, 'Swami, I don't want to put You to
trouble. If You are troubled, the whole world will be in
trouble and if You are happy the whole world will be
happy. So if it gives You happiness, please construct a
small hospital.' As per her wish, I got the hospital
constructed. Bejawada Gopal Reddy, a highly reputed
person in those days, was invited to inaugurate the
hospital. The inauguration was attended by thousands of
people from the neighboring villages. Easwaramma did
not imagine that this would be such a grand affair.
Next day, she came up to Me and said, 'Swami, it does not
matter even if I die now. I have no more worries, you have
fulfilled my desires and mitigated the suffering of the
villagers to a great extent.' I said, 'If you have any more
desires, ask Me now.' She replied hesitantly that she had
yet another small desire. 'You know that the river
Chithravathi is in spate during the rainy season. But in
summer it dries to a trickle and people do not have
The inspiration behind the Sai Mission
drinking water. So, please see that some wells are dug in
screamed, sulked, moaned, and ran helter-skelter. this village.' I told her that I would not stop with these
Sometimes their condition had been aggravated by small wells and that I would provide drinking water to the
quacks who had treated them with the rod. Easwaramma
offered the soothing balm of sympathy to the victims and
a few minutes with her was an effective tranquillizer
which calmed their explosive emotions. Whenever people
called her Mother, it was with quivering lips and tears
glistening in their eyes.

Three Selfless Desires -

Three Models for Mankind
There is perhaps one legend that will always dance
around her hallowed name, and that is her direct
inspiration for the mammoth social service projects
which make the name Sathya Sai shine throughout the
world. On several occasions Swami has recalled this
beautiful facet of her life.
Once she told Me, 'Swami, our Puttaparthi is a small
village. Since there is no school in this village, the children
are forced to walk long distances to attend schools in the
neighboring villages. I know that You are the ocean of
compassion. Please construct a small school in this
village.' I asked where she wanted the school to be built. 23rd Nov 1954 - Swami inaugurates the General Hospital
She said she had a piece of land behind her house. She entire Rayalaseema region. Easwaramma said, 'I don't
wanted the school to be constructed there. As desired by know what Rayalaseema is. I am satisfied if our village is
her, I got the school constructed. Though it was a small provided with drinking water.'
school, the inaugural function was a grand affair

022 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

Thus it is that Easwaramma's vision and compassion lit up them firm as the dreaded needle was administered.
the lives of countless numbers who are benefiting from When ladies were admitted as patients, she climbed the
her unselfish wishes. This was not merely an ideal she hill to the hospital to make sure they know there was a
encouraged her son to make real but one she expressed Mother interested in their recovery.
actively through her love for all.

The General Hospital -

A Dream Come True for Her
The Mother was perhaps the person most gratified when
Swami announced that a twelve-bed hospital would be
raised on the hill to the south of the Mandir. For her part,
while Swami was at the village Mandir and even later, she
could avail herself of the expert medical advice of Dr.
Lakshmi, the famous physician and gynecologist from
Nellore who stayed for weeks in the presence of Swami.

All yearned for her blessings...

Easwaramma -
A Living Goddess for the Devotees
The General Hospital during the early 1980s Pedda Bottu, who knew her well, was warm in her
admiration. “She had no trace of envy and she never
Whenever she, her daughters, or others of the
relished scandal. Her speech was sweet with affection
Ratnakaram family received the kind attention of that
and compassion. Her complexion of gold-brown, the eyes
doctor, Easwaramma prayed to her to examine, diagnose,
collyrium bordered, the magnum dot of kumkum
and prescribe medicines for other village women too. She
shimmering on her broad brow, they all reminded us of
longed for a lady doctor who could stay at the Mandir
the popular image of the Goddess Lakshmi.” Devotees
year in and year out and help women in times of dire
prostrated whenever they chanced to meet her and
need. So when the news of the hospital came to her, she
sought to earn her maternal blessings. Her wide eyes
was overjoyed.
gleamed and her toothless mouth was half-open as she
Easwaramma joined the women devotees hauling sand, smiled in recognition, satisfaction or appreciation. They
stone, bricks, and cement from the road up to the spoke to her in various languages and received her reply
construction site and lifted bricks herself, brushing in the one tongue available to all on such occasions the
aside protests from the women. When the wards were language of the heart.
ready, she sought out women patients, brought them
The devotees discovered in the Mother a never failing
to the doctor, pleaded that they be admitted, and
source of strength and wisdom. They sought her out
looked after them until they could move about and
more and more often and honored her as the Mother,
take their normal share in the work at home and in the
assigning her distinct roles during festivals and holy days.
fields. Dr. Jayalakshmi, who served in the Sathya Sai
Easwaramma did not yield as soon as the women
Hospital, related that Easwaramma was a pioneer in
surrounded her and pleaded that she should guide them
serving pregnant women and babies. She advised
or bless them, but how long could she keep them at bay?
against magical rites and the offering of fowls and
On days dedicated to the worship of Varalakshmi (the
lambs to Maariamma and lesser deities to drive
Goddess of Wealth ready to grant boons) or Gowri (the
diseases away. She sat with the patients while they
fair Consort of Shiva, mother of Ganesh), she had to
were questioned, waited for the diagnosis, and held

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 023
COVER STORY

sweets to the family deity. The child is seated facing East

on a sanctified plank. The mother pours a few drops of oil
on the head and others follow her. The child is given a
ceremonial bath and dressed in new clothes. He has to
touch the feet of elders and sit in the shrine while prayers
are offered by the parents for his long life, health,
progress, and prosperity.
Prashanthi Nilayam was inaugurated on Swami's Birthday
in 1950. Previous to that year, the Birthday had been
rather informal. Swami delighted the Mother and the
Father and their sons and daughters by visiting their
home and going through the ritual of lunch in their
company. After the parents had placed a few drops of oil
on his cluster of hair, the ceremonial bath was

Festivals fascinated the Mother...

accept the first offering of homage from every woman The 'call' and the 'coming'
who needed her. During the nine days of Navarathri, the
Festival of the Mother, she was honored for the first three
days as Durga, the next three days as Lakshmi, and on the
last three as Saraswathi.

During The Festival of Nine Nights…

During these days Swami directed the women devotees
to assemble at the Prayer Hall of the Nilayam every
morning and evening to worship the Mother Goddess
reciting the 1008 Names which attempt to capture a
glimpse of her Glory. Easwaramma vehemently declined
to be installed on this occasion as the visible symbol of the
Divine Mother. She even wriggled out of participation
since the women insisted that she must at least be seated
at the head of the row. She preferred to enter Annointing the Almighty
unannounced, sit through the ritual unnoticed, and slip administered and Swami fulfilled the longing of one
away quietly. Such was her humility. devotee by accepting the robe and dhoti he placed at his
But on the Jhoola evening she had to yield to their wishes. feet. All those present then touched his feet praying for
Swami's darshan while on a floral swing was the boons and blessings.
valedictory event in Navarathri. Women devotees offered The new Prashanthi Nilayam, however, challenged the
fruits, flowers, and sweets and arranged lamps in devotees to inaugurate a more impressive though still
attractive patterns before him. Arati would be offered intimate celebration of the birth of their Lord Sai. Elderly
when he came off the swing, so when Swami indicated he women gathered at the Nilayam in the early hours of the
intended to leave and the camphor flame should be twenty-third of November. Each one had a plate with
readied, a series of lamps were waved before him by piles of flowers, fruits, sweets, coconuts, turmeric,
women singing traditional lilts. Easwaramma was then kumkum, rice grains, betel leaves and areca, sandal paste,
sought out and brought to the Nilayam to wave the first blocks of jaggery, glass bangles, and other auspicious
Arati lamp, despite her protestations that the privilege materials. Shining pots filled with consecrated water
must be granted to someone else who was more devoted were carried on their hips. One of the group bore a silver
and deserving than she was. plate with a silk sari upon it. A few elderly men joined
During the Lord's Birthday… them with a silk dhoti for the Father and they proceeded
Every Hindu child has his “birthday” celebrated at home to Puttaparthi village preceded by pipers and drummers.
as a festival with extra prayers and special offerings of When they reached the Ratnakaram home, they

024 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

announced to the parents that it was the Birthday of

Bhagavan and invited them to Prashanthi Nilayam. One
could sense their awkwardness for both of them would
rather be left alone than placed before the floodlights on
the center of the stage. Nevertheless, the Mother and
Pedda Venkama Raju satisfied the wishes of the
thousands present and were themselves filled with
gratitude for the opportunity given to them by Swami.
As soon as they stood before him they lost all sense of
time and space. Easwaramma placed flowers on
Swami's feet and stood up to dip a rose in oil. When
she lifted her palm to drop the oil on the son's hair, he
bent low so that the head would be within easy reach.
The father, too, did the same and as both of them
descended from the dais, the devotees hailed the
occasion, expressing their joy in loud acclaim. It was
only then that Easwaramma became aware of the hall
and the crowd, the Nilayam, and the village. It was an
embarrassing moment for her but she was soon relieved,
for she found another wedded couple climbing the steps
to place flowers at Swami's feet and apply oil on his hair.
Swami used to select about eight others from different
linguistic and geographical regions to share in the joyous
ceremony who were invariably old in age and rooted in
faith. Easwaramma shunned publicity and prominence
and preferred to lose her identity in a group of devotees,
but on the Birthday she had to submit to what she The most blessed couple
dreaded most a public and preeminent role. Humility
who deserved his grace and that she was only another
was her very nature and publicity anathema to her.
candidate seeking to qualify.
The Ideal Hindu Wife Easwaramma possessed the age-old reverence for the
Easwaramma's humility was no empty pose. She was very husband which prescribed mutual distance and silence
shy before the camera and argued persistently against and proscribed joint appearances on the same seat or
being photographed. This was not the false humility that even the same room. She retreated into the inner
parades itself to draw attention to the possessor of that apartments whenever Pedda Venkama Raju was around
virtue. Many are proud that they are not proud and and avoided all chances of a dialogue. But as an
protest against praise but are secretly sad if it is denied. obligatory duty, on Swami's Birthday they submitted to
But Easwaramma was temperamentally allergic to the the demands of the devotees and allowed themselves to
limelight. She was raised in a cloistered hamlet and stuck be honored as the Parents and to be taken in procession
to the boundary stones her forefathers set up to to the Nilayam. When she traveled to Badrinath and
demarcate the fields of feminine activity. Benares with Swami, in accordance with the ancient
Fate brought women from all the corners of the world, injunctions, the sacred idols had to be offered worship by
speaking a hundred languages, as well as from all castes, the husband and wife together. In fact, the absence of the
classes, and creeds to her door. She let them come and wife might even annul the fruits of the worship. Every gift
speak what they wished but seldom sought to know what made by the man has to be endorsed by the woman. He
their words meant, for as she confessed, “Why bother holds the coins in his hand and waits for the wife to pour
yourself with wishes you cannot fulfill and problems you some water on them before they are handed over.
cannot solve?” She had no desire to mislead visitors that Easwaramma was the model Hindu wife on these and all
she had special access to Sathya Sai and could extract his other occasions.
grace for them. She was aware that there were millions The piousness and politeness of Easwaramma apart from

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 025
COVER STORY

her devotion to the Lord won the love and respect from well. When I appeared in the form of Lord Shiva to her,
the women of the village and those who cultivated the she would ask, 'What Swami? Why are you adorning
lands of the Rathnakaram family. Every Saturday, she the snakes around your neck?' I would act innocent,
visited the Hanuman temple along with the other women 'Well, I don't have snakes on Me.' She would move
of her age. The idol of Hanuman had been installed away saying, 'Look, there are some snakes inside.' But
centuries ago as the guardian of the fort that enclosed later, on not finding any snake inside, she would ask
the village. On Mondays, the day dedicated to Shiva, she for forgiveness. Like this on many occasions she had
offered worship at the Shiva temple and whenever the experience of My Divinity.
possible, visited the Venugopalaswamy temple too. But one of her greatest blessings was a vision she had a
A Rare Blessing - Amazing Divine Experiences few days prior to passing away which she confided to
Easwaramma would never boast about her status as the another elderly lady. We know of this directly from Pedda
mother of Sri Sai. Swami has oft said her simplicity and Bottu:
humility are an example for all of mankind to emulate. 'Pedda Bottu,' Easwaramma said to me, 'I want to tell you
Like the other devotees, she addressed Bhagavan as something that happened to me. But tell no one else.' I sat
Swami and was full of reverence for him. It was these closer and said, 'What is it, tell me.' 'Our Swami is God!'
virtues, along with her golden heart, that made she whispered. I laughed. 'Why do you laugh?' she asked.
Easwaramma so very special. And Swami too rewarded 'No, no, I was not laughing at you. I am only happy you
her with many beautiful experiences. have realized it now. Well, tell me, how did you come to
Speaking during her Samadhi anniversary celebration in know?' I asked. 'You know I have been having high fever
1999, Swami said: for four days. Swami came to me then.'
'In a dream?' I asked, 'No,' she said, 'He really did come to
me when I was rolling restlessly in bed. 'Ammayi, how do
you feel?' He asked. 'My whole body is aching,' I replied,
looking up at him. Then what can I tell you? It was not he
that you and I know. It was Ramachandra with Kireetam
and Kodandam (Crown and Bow)! I raised my folded
hands and struggled to sit up and get out of bed. But in a

That Ramachandra has come again

…From that day onward, [after Kondama Raju's

demise] Easwaramma never stayed at home and
started staying in Prasanthi Nilayam. Every day, in the
morning and evening she used to come upstairs and
talk with Swami. She also understood My Divinity very The ‘call and the coming’

026 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

few moments he became Swami again, gave me Vibhuthi The importance of this day is known to many. There is a
Prasadam and said, 'The fever will go,' and went.” saying in Telugu: 'The proof of the good is the way they
'You are indeed blessed. What a rare piece of luck!' I die.' Genuine devotion is evidenced during the last
exclaimed. 'No one of us has had a vision of Sai Rama as moments. I shall point out a small incident concerning the
Ramachandramurthy while fully awake and alert.' goodness of Easwaramma.
The summer classes were on at Bangalore. In the morning
The Flame and the Fire Become One
at 7:00 breakfast had to be served to the students. They
This vision and revelation was surely the fittest prelude to
went round with Nagara Sankeertan and returned at
the mergence of that sacred ray in the Paramjyoti, the
6:00. I gave them Darshan at its close. Then I went for my
Supreme Flame, from which it had emerged. Swami, the
bath. Meanwhile, Easwaramma had finished her bath.
embodiment of that Paramjyoti, himself disclosed the
She drank her coffee as usual quite happily and took her
events and incidents of Easwaramma's last day, May 6,
seat on the inner veranda. All of a sudden proceeding to
1972, during one of his discourses on the 6th of May, the
the bathroom, she cried out, 'Swami, Swami, Swami!' At
day dedicated to her memory. He said:
this, I responded, 'Coming, coming.' Within that period
It was the day before her passing away and I suddenly
she breathed her last. What greater sign of goodness is
asked her, in the midst of casual conversation, 'Tell me, is
needed? She had no need to be served and nursed.
there anything else you desire?' She said, 'I have finished
Swami will come to the memory at that time only for a
my pilgrimages to all the temples. I have seen the biggest
temple of all and the God that resides there. I have no
desire for anything more.' But I knew that a small wish still
lurked in a corner of her mind she wished to give a gift to
a granddaughter on her birthday. So I insisted that she
should accept Rs. 500, go to the bazaar and buy whatever
she wished. I sent her along with a companion and she
returned happy with what she had bought.

The Samadhi Mandir in Puttaparthi

On the 6th of May, 1983, Swami continued the narrative,

speaking in greater detail of Easwaramma's Day of
Deliverance:
This day is Easwaramma Day. The significance of the day is
that it is celebrated as Children's Day, a day when little
children are to be reminded of the ideal, a day when she
presented an ideal. No one can escape death, but the aim
of everyone should be to remind oneself at the time of
death of the divine or have some holy or sacred thoughts.
Lovable to all

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 027
COVER STORY

very few. The mind will usually seek and stay on some She could be easily inveigled into the narration of
object or the other, some jewelry or valuables. From the hair-raising or heart-warming tales in order to keep
ground floor she called, 'Swami! Swami!' I replied, the children wrapped in excitement. Her pleasing
'Coming, coming,' and she was gone. It was like the pliant voice reproduced the screams of the kidnapped
elephant's calling (Gajendra of Indian mythology) and the heroine, the wail of the wounded demon, the plaint of
Lord proceeding to bless it the two wires achieving the frightened son, the roar of the victorious warrior, and
connection, the release happening instantaneously. the crooning of the child cast on the jungle track. In fact
This is the authentic consummation that life must strive she was quick in adding to her repertory stories about Sai
for. Beside her at the time she had her daughter Baba of Shirdi and Swami.
Venkamma and her granddaughter Sailaja but she called The children watched the pictures she so realistically
out only for Swami. Getting this yearning at the final designed and described the white umbrella with tassels
moment is the fruit of holy purity. It is the sign of an ideal, of gold held over a pair of sandals, the emergence of the
adorable life. Such attitude must emerge of its own lion-faced God from the marble pillar of the royal
accord and not by means of some external force. Here is audience hall, the dance of the child on the hood of an
an example to learn from. angry serpent. Easwaramma forgot her physical ailments,

Swami with the Bal Vikas children during Easwaramma Day celebrations in Brindavan

Every Child - A Darling Sathya the deeper deprivations, and the assaults on her inner
Truly, the whole life of Easwaramma is a shining example peace when engaged in storytelling. Invariably she
and ideal for Sai devotees to emulate. “Amazing love for rounded up the tales with emphatic words on humility
Swami and constantly seeking happiness and welfare of and honesty, love and loyalty. These lessons were lapped
others” this is the summary of her life. She had a special up by the children for they were soaked in the syrup of her
love for children because in every child she saw Sathya affection.
hiding, inviting her to seek and succeed. Naturally, they She appreciated the earnestness and enthusiasm of the
cuddled in flocks around her. They watched with delight young. Her grandsons were a bright lot and she insisted
the twinkle in her eyes and the wrinkles on her cheeks and that they join higher classes and educate themselves to
chin as she joked and laughed. They were amused and the utmost. She loved to encourage the sons and
their attention was aroused when her gold and glass grandsons of others, too. She prevailed upon Swami to
bangles jingled as she gesticulated, while stressing a agree with her choice and send money to them to meet
point or underlining a caution. When she found a child their tuition fees and the cost of books and boarding. She
chubby, she squeezed and pulled its cheeks to see the felt pained whenever she discovered that the dispatch
patch of pink, the thrill the impact lent to the angel face. had suffered delay. “The boys cannot study well now,”
she used to say, “they will be too worried to read in

028 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 EASWARAMMA - THE CROWN OF MOTHERHOOD

The Eternal Inspiration

peace.” When she found that a name had been dropped Once, on Shivaratri day, after I had completed My
because the boy had left school, she tried to persuade the discourse and the Lingas were ready to emerge from My
parents to keep him enrolled. To immortalize this warm mouth, I sat on the chair and was in severe pain. Seeing
love and moving concern she had for children, Swami Me suffering, Easwaramma got up from the gathering,
established the Easwaramma High School within two came up to Me and said, 'Swami, why do You suffer like
months of her passing away in Puttaparthi. Every year this? Come inside, come inside.' I said I would not come
hundreds of village children graduate from this school inside and rather than watch My suffering, she went
confident and conscientious to pursue higher studies and inside. As soon as she left, Hiranyagarbha Linga emerged.
make their parents proud. All the devotees burst into thunderous applause. Hearing
this, she came back, but by then the Linga had already
Every Easwaramma Day is a Children's Day
emerged and I was showing it to the devotees. All the
May 6th is also celebrated as Children's Day in all Sai
people got up to have a glimpse of the Linga. As a result,
Organizations throughout the country. Bal Vikas groups
Easwaramma could not see it.
in every Sai centre perform songs, dances, and value
games glorifying God and expressing their gratitude to Next day she pleaded with Me to show the Linga to her. I
the blessed Mother for having gifted them with the most said I had given it to somebody. But she said, 'Swami, I
precious possession of their lives, their Swami. In the have not seen. I want to see.' I told her that she would see
divine presence too every year small children perform in the future anyway. She said, 'I do not want to put You
various plays and Swami lovingly showers them with gifts to inconvenience,' and went away. She never had put Me
and love after their presentation. to trouble any time. Whenever she asked Me for
something she would come back and ask if she had given
Lessons to Emulate
any trouble. To all the devotees who came she used to
On almost every Easwaramma Day, Swami gives a
entreat not to cause any inconvenience to Swami. She
discourse and lauds the devotion and love she held for
used to be very much worried whenever any minister
him and the compassion and concern she showed
came to have My darshan. The situation in those days was
towards others. In these discourses Swami has shared
such that even a policeman with a red cap was enough to
events which provided deeper insights into her noble life
frighten the villagers. Easwaramma used to be very much
and character. For instance, on Easwaramma Day in 1999,
afraid of the ministers, thinking that they might cause
Swami revealed:
some problem to Me. This was only the result of her

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 029
COVER STORY

sleep in My room have witnessed this. Whenever she

comes and talks to Me, they sit up on their beds and listen.
One day I asked the boys for a belt to keep the silk dhoti
tight around My waist. The belt they gave Me had a shiny
buckle and could be seen through the robe I wear. I did
not want to use it lest people should think that Sai Baba
wears a gold belt. After this, one day Easwaramma came
to My room early in the morning and started talking to
Me. Then Sathyajith, Sainath and Srinivas woke up and
wanted to know with whom I was conversing. They
wondered how anyone could enter My room since the lift
was locked and the key was with them. Then I told that
Griham Ammayi (Mother Easwaramma) had come. I
showed them the belt that she gave me. It had no buckle.
There are many such noble mothers in this world but
Easwaramma was the chosen one. I chose her to be My
mother [cheers]. That is the intimate relationship
between Mother Easwaramma and Myself.

Truly… the Crown of Motherhood

So that is how intimate is the bond between Swami and
Easwaramma. No doubt the crown of motherhood was
acquired by Easwaramma as a reward for her
accumulated goodness but in this life too she rose to
those heights which made a laudable example of a great
devotee of the Lord. Her love for him was unparalleled
The Mother is Alive Today and as well as being an ideal wife, sister, mother, and
grandmother, she was a constant source of support,
sacred love for Me.
inspiration and love for the village folk and the ever-
The Eternal Bond of Love expanding Sai family. The Lord chose her as his Mother
They say great and noble souls never die but continue to not only as a reward for her past deeds but also, as Prof.
inspire after death. Easwaramma was one such being who Kasturi noted, “in appreciation of what she was capable
unceasingly is concerned about Swami even after her of in this life.” And with the Supreme Teacher to guide her,
death. During a discourse on May 6, 2001, to the utter she learned every lesson Swami gave her with his glance, a
amazement of the audience Swami disclosed:You may be word, a question, or a smile, and became a living saint
aware or not, but even after thirty years of her passing radiating love and purity. Ultimately, the great soul we
away, Mother Easwaramma continues to express her love know as Easwaramma reached a state where she took
for Swami in a number of ways. Even to this day, she every event and emotion, every thought and activity as a
moves around in her physical body. At times she comes to gem set doorway through which she could cognize the
Me and expresses her motherly concern for My well- One.
being. Once she cautioned Me not to accept a Most of the content for this cover story is taken from Prof.
handkerchief from everybody. I told her that I had to Kasturi's book Easwaramma - The Chosen Mother. We
accept when people offered it with devotion. She said, have also interacted with several long time devotees of
'Swami, no doubt there are crores of such noble persons. Bhagawan and integrated their experiences into the story.
But there are also a few evil-minded persons who may
smear poison on the handkerchief and offer it to You. This
– Heart2Heart Team
can prove dangerous when You use it to wipe your lips.' I
promised her that I would follow her advice.Even to this
day she makes her appearance in My room. The boys who

030 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
FEATURE ARTICLE CONCERNNG THE VEDAS - PART 4

CONCERNING THE VEDAS -

PART 4
Understanding Purusha Sukhtam
By Prof. G. Venkataraman

Loving Sai Ram and greetings from Prashanti Nilayam.

I hope you recall that my main aim in this series of talks on

the Vedas is to first give you a broad flavour of what this
great heritage of humanity is all about, and then move on
to a description of how, in olden times, the Vedas kept
company with man during his life. As a part of this
programme, I offered in the first two talks, a general If the Lord Supreme, namely Purusha, is so “remote”,
introduction of sorts, and in the third one, that is my then what does it mean when Swami says: “I am in you,
previous talk, I gave you a glimpse of the famous Taitrriya above you, below you, ahead of you, behind you”? The
Upanishad. answer to this is simple. Though the Supreme Lord is
supposed to live in His Eternal Abode beyond Space and
In the same spirit I shall, in my present talk, offer a short Time, He has also projected Himself into the finite
overview of the equally famous Purusha Shukhtam. The Universe to appear in various forms. In this sense, He also
Taitrriya Upanishad and the Purusha Sukhtam are but pervades the Universe.
mere samples. There are many other examples that could
have been chosen, but one reason why I have focussed on Thus, God is both above Creation and also below it.
these two is that they are heard very often in Prashanti Above Creation He is in an Absolute State. OK, but what
Nilayam. Moreover, Radio Sai has already presented an about below Creation? The Lord in His Avatar as Krishna
elaborate series on these two favourites, and I thought has clearly explained that.
maybe by locking on to these two, I might be able to
All is God
connect more easily with you on the subject of the Vedas.
Krishna says that in Creation, God is both Unmanifest as
The Meaning of 'Purusha Shukhtam' well as Manifest. The manifest aspect is easier to
Now what exactly is a Sukhtam? Very simply put, the understand. In brief, it means that everything that is a
word Sukhtam means a good word. Thus, Purusha part of the physical universe is, in the ultimate analysis,
Suktham means: in praise of Purusha - that is what this God and nothing but God. Thus, if you go to the very
wonderful hymn with 24 stanzas is all about. This of roots, the wind is God, trees are God, mountains are God,
course raises the questions: Who exactly is this Purusha rivers are God, a crow is God, a vulture is God, and so on.
and why are His praises being sung? Purusha is none You name it and it is God! Sounds extraordinary, does it
other than the Supreme Lord Who, it turns out, is known not? Yet, if we think about it carefully, we cannot escape
by many names. In this particular Sukhtam, the term that conclusion.
Purusha is the name that is most often used. As Krishna
The Power of God
explains to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, in the ultimate
Hardcore non-believers of today would shake their heads
analysis God is Formless, Absolute and beyond both
at all this and smile, perhaps condescendingly. “What
Space as well as Time.
nonsense”, they would exclaim. “How can the wind be
Purusha is one name for this Formless and Abstract God. God?” Let us hear what Swami has to say about the wind.
There are of course many other names like Paramatma, He sometimes asks in His Discourses: “Has man made any
Brahman, Parabrahman and so on. Call Him by any name fan that can blow as fiercely as a typhoon or a hurricane?”
including Allah, Jehovah or whatever, the fact of the Those are not His exact words, but they convey the gist of
matter is that God Supreme, whom I am currently His remark.
referring to as Purusha, is Infinite, Timeless, Eternal,
Just pause for a moment and reflect. How many of us
Changeless, etc., etc.
realise that during a typhoon, wind speeds touch 250
The above statement might immediately create a doubt. km/hour, yes 250 km/hour? Do you know that a category

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 031
FEATURE ARTICLE

four hurricane and these do sweep across the Atlantic The non-believer might perhaps reluctantly concede that
from time to time is as big as the state of Texas, that it not there is possibly some kind of a plan, but at the same time
argue that the existence of a plan does not mean that
there is a guiding spirit behind it. The ancients of India
had no use for such evasive and meaningless arguments.
They freely accepted, and with much joy too, that there
was a Lord Supreme and that not even an atom could
move without His Grace or He willing it.

In a nutshell, the Vedas loudly proclaim that God is

everywhere and in everything, from the tiny ant to the
galaxies. This, incidentally, is a phrase that Swami often
quotes Kshimalo Brahmalo. In other words, God is
present everywhere in the manifest or the material world,
from the ant to the galaxies. But what about the
Unmanifest presence of God in Creation? That also is not
difficult to understand, at least in principle.

only brings nearly half a metre of rain, that is, 500 mm of

The Unmanifest Presence of God
rain, and that even at the periphery of this typhoon, the
Scholars discuss the Omnipresence of God using three
wind speed is about 60 km/hour? As Swami asks: “Has
important words. They are: Immanent, Transcendent,
man made a blower that can generate that kind of air
and Absolute. In the Universe, God is both Immanent and
speeds and that too over such vast areas?” That is the real
Transcendent; His Absolute aspect extends even beyond
point; where can such power come from except God?
the Universe. Let us take in all this slowly.
Let us now swing to the other extreme and consider the
What do I mean by saying God is immanent in the
crow. Ancients in India revered the crow. They were not
Universe? Let us take the physical Universe. I am a
crazy but deeply appreciative of the fine balance in God's
physicist by training, and I have written many books
extraordinary Master Plan. How many realise that the
unimpressive and somewhat ugly-looking crow is
actually Nature's scavenger? Throw perishables and the
crow comes from somewhere to eat it all! Ancient Indians
revered the crow because they saw God in the crow
coming to their help.

Nature's Intricate Balance

If we look carefully, every little thing in Nature, right from
the plankton upwards, plays a delicate role in preserving
the integrity and balance of Nature. Take the fish. As
Swami says, the fish cleans up the waters including the
great oceans. But what does man do? First, he pollutes
the waters, and then he destroys fish stock almost en
masse.

So, if we choose to think about all this carefully and

explaining how physical laws operate in the Universe.
objectively, it should be abundantly clear that Nature
When it comes to the atom, with relativity, quantum
does have a carefully-crafted Master Plan in which there
mechanics and electromagnetism we can more or less
are many players, big and small, each with its own unique
completely describe all the properties of the atom. All
role to play. Although these players may appear to us with
these predictions of Science have been meticulously
various forms, in the ultimate analysis, all roles are in fact
verified and in fact, many have won the Nobel Prize for
played by God!
doing just that. The point about all this is that we can
We may not understand all of it but that does not mean explain physical behaviour using the laws of Science
that the Master Plan and the Cosmic Drama do not exist. alone, without explicitly bringing God into the discussion.

032 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 CONCERNNG THE VEDAS - PART 4

Fine, does that mean that God does not exist? Atheists A Summary of the Above
would of course argue that God is not necessary, God is So the long and short of it is that in the Universe or if we
irrelevant etc. But the wise would say, “Yes, the Dirac prefer in Creation, there is the manifest aspect of God and
equation and its extension in the form of quantum also the Unmanifest aspect of God. Purusha Sukhtam
electrodynamics by Feynman explains a lot of natural draws attention to all this as did Krishna later, with much
phenomena no doubt, but where did the laws of clarity I might add. Putting everything together, we have
relativity, the laws of electrodynamics and the laws of the following picture.
quantum mechanics pop from? God is immanent in all
these beautiful laws.” ! There is, above everything else, the Absolute level of
God, who is Eternal, Changeless and Formless. He is
Gandhi once said: the Lord Supreme.
There is an indefinable mysterious Power that pervades
everything. I feel it, though I cannot see it!

Gandhi was merely saying God is immanent in the

Universe, in every atom of it in fact.

OK, agreed that God is immanent in the Universe. What

about the Transcendent part? Well, the way I understand
it is as follows; by the way, my view is shaped by what
Krishna says in the eighth chapter of the Gita. Let us
consider a living human being or for that matter even an
ant. I find the ant absolutely amazing. Incidentally, the
brilliant physicist Feynman did too, and he once spent
days studying their behaviour. At the chemical or
biological level, the ant is just a collection of biomolecules
of various types. But this collection can do amazing
things. It can move and also react to situations.

Let us say an ant is moving on the ground. Place a small

piece of paper across its path. It immediately reacts and
moves away. If the ant senses danger, it tries to protect
itself. In short, it is aware it exists, it is conscious of its
existence. That awareness, that consciousness of being
alive, is a capacity, a power that is beyond the power
described by the laws of physics, chemistry or even
biology. The laws of physics are mere mechanical laws.
Till today, Science has simply not been able to say
what life is, what awareness is, and what
consciousness is; and yet life, awareness and
! When the Lord Supreme brings the Universe into
consciousness do exist we all know that. That life-
existence, He does so essentially by projecting Himself
force or Praana as the ancients called it is the
into Space-Time.
transcendent aspect of God. There are many such
arguments I can give, but shall skip them for the moment. ! Thanks to this projection, the Universe too has bits and
pieces of His Glory and Power, only a tiny fraction in
Turning next to the Absolute aspect of God, even this is
fact; but even that tiny bit dazzles enormously.
evident on earth. Consider a human being full of Daya or
compassion and Kshama or forbearance. Daya and ! In the Universe, the Lord is immanent in material
Kshama are eternal virtues, beyond Space and Time; and entities, both insentient and sentient.
they are aspects of the Supreme God or Purusha. When ! In Creation, the Lord also has an Unmanifest presence;
they shine in a human being, they represent in some this is what scholars describe as the transcendental
measure the presence of the Absolute within, what presence of the Lord in the Universe, that is to say, a
Krishna refers to as Adhyatma. subtle presence transcending material entities. God is

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 033
FEATURE ARTICLE

thus also present in subtle forms, such as the Life-force years ago during a Discourse given by Swami in the Sai
and the Mind. The ancients paid obeisance to the Life- Kulwant Hall.
force because it is nothing but the Lord Unmanifest in
A devotee speaking in the Divine presence and just before
the Universe.
the Divine Discourse, raised the question: “Who is God?”
What Purusha Sukhtam does is to not only crisply call When it was Swami's turn to speak, He said that such
attention to all this but also paint an allegorical and questions arise from ignorance because there is only God
poetic picture of evolution itself. To put it in slightly and nothing but God. Swami added, “People ask, 'if
different words, the Purusha Sukhtam gives a poetic there is only God, then why don't we see Him?' You do
description of God, man, the Universe and the not see God because you have curious notions about
relationship between all these three. how God ought to look. God is in everything including
all human beings. When the Vedas say that He has a
The doubt might arise. When God projects Himself into
thousand eyes, it does not mean that God is an entity
lower dimensions to create the Universe, does His
with a thousand eyes. In fact, any form with a
quantum at the Absolute level get diminished? The
thousand eyes would look grotesque. What it means
answer is simple and straightforward. God is Infinity, and
is that God sees through all eyes because He resides in
nothing can diminish Infinity. That incidentally is one way
all. In other words, man must look upon Society as
in which the concept of infinity is taught to students of
God.”
mathematics; Infinity minus Infinity remains Infinity!
“People may ask in that case why do the Vedas speak of
The Text of the Purusha Sukhtam only thousand eyes? The answer is simple. In those
So much for the preliminaries. Let me now turn to the distant days, the population of the world was small and
Purusha Sukhtam proper. I shall not discuss the poetic people thought in terms of thousands and not millions as
and allegorical description it offers of Creation. Instead, I we now do. If those Rishis were to describe God today in
shall focus on the very first sentence. that language, they would speak of billions and not
Sahasraseerusha Purushaha. Sharaksha saharsrapaad. thousands!” That is what Swami said in essence and that
observation of Swami ought to make clear how we ought
What this means is that Purusha, the Supreme One, to interpret this opening stanza.
pervades the entire manifest Universe, cognising through
all Minds, seeing through all eyes, and working through We Are All Connected
all limbs. He is everywhere. Where is He not? Enveloping I now wish to follow up on this first stanza because it has
the Universe from all sides, He also transcends it, into the a deep meaning and implication for the present time. As a
Infinite, Intangible and Eternal Realm of the Absolute. prelude, allow me to draw attention to a hierarchy to
That is the gist of the opening stanza. which Swami sometimes makes a reference. The
hierarchy is: Individual, Society, Nature and God. The
You might ask: what is the meaning of saying, for
words Swami actually uses are: Vyashti meaning
individual, Samashti meaning Society, Srishti, meaning
Creation or Nature, whichever term you prefer, and finally
Parameshti meaning God.

example, God sees through all eyes? The best way of

discussing this point is to recall what happened many

034 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 CONCERNNG THE VEDAS - PART 4

Swami goes on to add that the individual is a limb of teachings, and apply them sincerely in one's daily life.
Society which is a limb of Nature which in turn is a limb of
Times and lifestyles might have changed, but these
God. In turn, this hierarchical relationship implies that
changes do not make the basic lessons of Spirituality
every action of the individual must be in harmony with
irrelevant. On the contrary, they are more relevant to
Society, Nature and God. Take a simple example. When
mankind that ever before. By the way, let us not
one throws litter and garbage, one is causing disturbance
imagine that big corporations and rich people alone
to Society, one is polluting the environment, and finally
violate moral laws; if we enquire deeply, every one of
one is out of sync with God who is the Embodiment of
us is guilty in some way or the other! So, really
Perfection. The hierarchy drawn attention to by Swami is
speaking, we should first fix ourselves and overcome our
thus profoundly significant.
own personal deficiencies before pointing fingers at
The point being made by Swami is far from trivial. Today, others! As Swami reminds us, when we point one finger
the world is highly interconnected, thanks to air travel, at others, three of our fingers are actually pointing to us!
satellite TV, internet, mobile phone, etc. Events
People these days imagine that devotion for God is one
happening in one place, can affect thousands elsewhere
thing and life is another. It is understandable if people
within 24 hours. For example, say the OPEC (the group
elsewhere take such an attitude but the surprising thing is
that co-ordinates the oil pricing policies of the petroleum
that even Swami's devotees tend to do this. Thus, while
exporting countries) meets in Vienna and decides to cut
overflowing with Love for Swami in His physical form,
down pumping oil from the ground. Immediately the
they fail to see Him pervade Society and Nature. This can
price of crude shoots up in the New York and London
be dangerous because unconsciously perhaps, they
markets. Worldwide, the price of petrol shoots up
might tend to do things that are detrimental to Society
immediately and the people in, for example, Uganda, a
and/or harmful to Nature.
poor country in Africa, are affected. Why? Because the
cost of transportation goes up for them. As it is they are The Ancient Sages Warned Modern Man
hard pressed for cash and if on top of it the The Vedic culture shaped man in such a way that his
transportation costs go up, the price of everything goes lifestyle made him in tune with Society and in harmony
up too. with Nature. The Purusha Sukhtam taught man that God
Take SARS next. Farmers in Thailand and Vietnam have
huge poultry farms where, say, a bird flu epidemic breaks
out. A farmer who looks after the chicken gets infected
and from him the flu spreads to Canada, France and so
on. By the way, all this has happened. What I am driving at
through these examples is that global connectivity has
created a situation where an action by an individual can
and does affect people elsewhere; besides, it can also
harm the environment. The impact on Society can be in
many dimensions, economic, material and even Moral.
Likewise, the impact on Nature can be diverse. Not only
individuals but big companies, via the policies they
pursue, also contribute to such global impact.
not only created Society but also pervades it. And this,
Let me give just one example of the latter. Driven by the
thousands of years before man had any chance of making
desire to make lots of money, big corporations are today
a global physical impact, positive or otherwise. When we
fuelling unwanted and excessive consumption of fast
reflect on this, we would see how wise the Vedic seers
foods and soft drinks. In turn, this harms the health of
were, to encourage man to lead a harmonious life.
huge sections of the population. Some types of
consumerism promote pollution of Nature. Thus it is Today, more than ever before, such harmonious living is a
there is pollution of air, water and land. In addition, vital necessity when greedy individuals are dumping
greed eclipses the fear of sin and makes people forget termites at the moral roots of Society through the media,
God, compounding the problem. If all this is to be while equally greedy corporations are encouraging
avoided, then one must pay careful attention to the unwanted consumerism, even though non-spiritual think
content and spirit of Purusha Sukhtam, imbibe its tanks have warned against it. For example, just a few

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 035
FEATURE ARTICLE

weeks ago, one of the think tanks set up by the UN, usual kind. If anything terrible were to happen to the
submitted a preliminary report on the ecosystem. It drew planet, like the greenhouse effect, for example, everyone
attention to the fact that some systems were damaged would be in trouble.
beyond repair while many others faced extinction, unless
Trouble is what we see everywhere and it cannot be swept
urgent control action was taken. When we consider all
under the rug. We have to eliminate or at least mitigate
these problems, and for that there is only one way - to
return to Moral Law. To use Swami's words, we need
Such facts in conjunction with Vedic thought, we have to
Daiva Preeti, and Paapa Bheeti - Love for God and fear of
take our hats off and salute those in those far off days
sin. Only then will there be Morality in Society. Morality is
who had the wisdom to see what could come thousands
the only lifeboat that can save us, and to make that boat
of years later.
show up, each and every one of us must develop deep
As Swami says, modern man is very intelligent in worldly and true Love for God and a mortal fear of sin.
matters. He has extraordinary skills to do so many
We can't come here for Darshan and then head straight to
wonderful things. But he lacks balance; that balance
the casinos in Monaco or the gabling dens in Las Vegas.
comes from inside and when the inside is shut out, there
As Jesus said, we have to choose either God or Mammon.
can be serious trouble.
One cannot serve two Masters at the same time. It is in
Let me put it all this way. Imaging a burning ship, a big that context that the Universal Truths that the Vedas
ship like say the Queen Elizabeth. The passengers in the enshrine become very relevant. I wonder whether you
ship can in principle be rescued using lifeboats. But the would agree with me?
situation faced by mankind today is not at all like that. Jai Sai Ram.
The planet is a spaceship, making its own journey in
space, and each and every one of us is a passenger on this
ship. This is one ship that has no lifeboat service of the

036 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
FEATURE ARTICLE THE WORLD AND THE PRESENCE

'night' is only an extension of 'day' and human life, on a

daily basis, is on a totally different trajectory from the
THE WORLD pre-electricity era. For men of the pre-electric age, the
AND THE PRESENCE quality and pace of today's life would have been utterly
By Sri K Chakravarthi inconceivable.

Similarly, transportation is another field which has altered

Destiny waits in the hand of God, shaping the still man's life so profoundly that lands once distant and
unshapen; mysterious have became close and accessible.
I have seen these things in a shaft of Sunlight Communication has put people in instantaneous contact
in today's world so that they know the happenings in any
-- T.S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral
part of the globe as they occur.
In this brief article I have tried to set my general
All in all, there are many areas of human life which have
observations regarding the world in the first two pages
qualitatively changed.
and later given expression to my feelings which have
sprung in my heart as grateful response to Swami's
Technological Progress Has Brought Us
Presence. Now, please read on.
Closer, But Is there Unity?
Paradoxically, physical togetherness has not resulted in
spiritual bonding. There is more that separates people
than unites them. Countries and communities have not
yet been united so as to attain the brotherhood of man.

When travel was time-consuming and arduous, there

seems to have been more of a community life. As travel
brings people closer, there is more of a casual
relationship and the key element is not 'sharing', but
'mutual convenience'. All this makes it clear that physical
contact and networking need not necessarily lead to
emotional understanding.

I do not subscribe to the view that yesterday's world was

better than today's and that there has been a steady
decline in values. Human history is replete with instances
of aggression, slaughter, ingratitude, chicanery,
vengefulness and utter self-centeredness. Whatever has
been the state of external conditions, that is, whether
pre-technological or post-technological, human
emotions have expressed themselves in a seemingly
unaltered pattern.

Seeking a Solution
to Transform Society
If then we find that the external world has vastly changed,
The World Has Changed, But Has Man? but human nature has remained pretty constant,
Is there any generation, where men and women have not especially in its insensitivity to fellow human beings,
felt that times have changed, that the old order is yielding where do we seek a solution?
place to a new one, that prescriptions of good conduct
and good behavior ought to be changed to suit their Amongst a large number of people there is a feeling that
times? Allied to this is also a debate in every generation what is historically dated is not relevant in today's
about the meaning of life, God and Man, good and evil, context. This is true in a number of cases. But, it is not
war and peace. entirely so, particularly in the context of human relations
because the driving force in human behavior has shown a
Historically, much has changed, especially in regard to persistence in human history. It is recognized that human
man's conquest over nature. Electricity has nature is a mixture of altruism and selfishness, of
revolutionized life in such a fundamental way that generosity and meanness, of vengefulness and

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 037
FEATURE ARTICLE

unless men keep the peace of God.

Unbridled Freedom and Opportunity?

Later I thought that if freedom and opportunity are
provided then there could be a release of great energy
and power resulting in a more equal society. Such a
society will be characterized by progress based on merit
of people and not on the basis of the accident of birth.
But soon I found that freedom dwindled into abrasive
individualism and opportunity into cultivated nepotism.

Granted that there is no equality in nature as such in

resource endowments either of regions or individuals,
virtues like balance, stability and mutuality in society are
to be rooted not in the domain of physical strength or
emotional realm, but in spiritual reality, because it is only
in spirit that men are equal.

It's this vague feeling in me that made me look out for

what could be a more plausible area for a genuine
betterment of society. I must confess that this remained
forgiveness, of nobility and crassness, of love and hatred. inarticulate or at best half-articulate.
It is also recognized that a human being needs to become
The encounter with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and the
refined by eschewing the downside qualities and only in
years that have been spent at His Lotus feet, listening to
that conscious and consistent process of refinement,
Him and reading His works have thrown a new light on
collective well-being can be established.
what I took as serious issues of human life. The focus
As a student of history and politics, I had been struck by shifted slowly from an assessment of other's role to that
these general observations I have made above and I of my own role. Am I adding to the problems of the world
wondered how the world can be a better place for all to or am I contributing even in a small measure, to solving
live in peace and harmony. them.

Economic Redistribution?
At one time I thought that if economic exploitation of the
weak was the prime reason for iniquitous society, then
the solution should lie in economic redistributive justice.
But unfortunately, history has also revealed that efforts
made in that direction resulted in large scale misery
because the laudable motive of bringing into existence a
society of equals soon became corrupted and gave way to
an unabashed pursuit of power resulting in a civic society
suffering from an encircling sense of fear. The dream of
economic emancipation dissolved into a nightmare of
unbearable authoritarianism.

An International Arbiter?
At another time, I thought that if the world is to be a Swami's Prescription:
better place for all, then there is a need for a genuinely Transform Yourself First
international institution which can reconcile the a) A Ceiling on Desires
conflicting claims of nations in a spirit of mutual Swami holds that before reforming or transforming the
accommodation and constructive cooperation. But, as world, the individual should reform and transform
history unfolds, it is becoming clear that this faith could himself. What type of reformation does this involve? If I
be misplaced and granted that nations like individuals have to do something for the economic reformation of
are unequal, there can be no greater right than might. I the poor then I have to address myself to the reasons
also realised that the peace of the world is uncertain, which cause the problem in the first instance. The reasons

038 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 THE WORLD AND THE PRESENCE

could be multiplication of wants, wasteful use of projects which provide protected and safe drinking water
resources, personal aggrandizement, lack of education to a large number of poor people in backward districts of
and skills, poor health and low productivity and so on. As the state, He has again demonstrated that if there is a firm
a person set on the course of providing relief to the poor, I resolve on the part of the service provider, be it a
can reduce my wants by consciously putting a ceiling on Government or private organization, then it is well within
desires, treat misuse of money (resources) as evil, the realm of possibility. What could be the reason for
consciously practise the virtue of selflessness, participate Bhagavan's launching drinking water supply projects?
in an education programme which enhances skills and The answer is obvious -- it's because water is basic to
strengthens the values of the poor people; and sustaining life. In the modern world it is the poor who lack
encourage such preventive health care which reduces the access to safe drinking water. It's therefore imperative
vulnerability of the poor. that safe drinking water is made available to the poor
b) Selfless Service rural people. It is evident that it is His concern for the poor
people that has prompted Him to spend significant sums
The above are precisely the prescription that Swami gives.
of money on drinking water supply projects. That concern
Swami holds that Bharat is richly endowed and can
is once again an expression of His universal love that
provide for the legitimate wants of all her people, but not
encompasses all and which flows spontaneously without
for ever expanding (our limitless) desires. And therefore
expecting anything in return. How do people who talk of
He has given us the programme of putting a ceiling on
economic planning to provide basic necessities such as
our desires. Similarly He is cautioning us against misuse of
water or minimum health care or education react? Do
nature's gifts by over-exploitation and misuse of money.
they take these visible expressions of high-class economic
He shows us by His own exemplary life the role of utter
service as instances of good planning, effective
selflessness in reaching out to the poor and neglected.
implementation and optimal management? Perhaps. But
The antidote to personal aggrandizement is selfless
do they also think of these services as not merely
service. By establishing excellent hospitals which provide
economic solutions but as noble examples of selfless love
free medical care, He has demonstrated how one's
with a universal message - a message which goes beyond
altruism will render such service possible. His altruism
treating human beings as economic agents or political
stands self-proclaimed and does not need other's
animals but as the embodiments of the Divine who
encomium. He shows that His selfless service is an
should grow to their full stature? I really wonder!
expression of His universal love, a love that knows no
limits or boundaries, a love that knows no discrimination "Time Waste is Life Waste" - Baba
on any ground whatsoever.
It is passing strange how Bhagavan who is beyond time
sets much store by doing things in time. He has no time to
Providing the Basics:
waste. Time waste, He says, is life waste. Not for Him
Education, Health Care, Safe Water
therefore is the endless talk of how to improve the lot of
By setting up schools and a university which provide free
the poor and the downtrodden which is the stock-in-
education, He has demonstrated again the possibility of
trade of all our professional economists and public men.
For Him, it's ceaseless action to alleviate the sufferings of
people, to help them face life with courage and fortitude,
to encourage them to move forward despite hardships,
to hold each other's hands through their lives' vicissitudes
and to live the day to face the morrow.

Demand Less from the World,

Do More for the World
In a world which is clearly/plainly/visibly beset with
seemingly endless problems, Swami is physically present
and His Presence extends the assurance that we can
overcome them. We need to take the first steps, those
first steps are to be in the direction of demanding less
The Sathya Sai Drinking Water Project, Anantapur from the world and doing more for the world. That
such a venture, worthy of emulation by people who have should not be difficult in the presence of the One who
as their cherished goal provision of good education for does not demand anything at all and who does it all
the poor and the underprivileged. By undertaking silently for the world.

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 039
FEATURE ARTICLE

We cannot solve them in the abstract. We can solve some

or a few of them only by the process of identification with
the sufferers and that process of identification, as Swami
teaches us, can only be through a spiritual outlook which
sees God in all and all in God. All attempts at solving the
problems of the world at a physical or intellectual level
will be fractured because they are treated as others'
problems and not our own. Because of His universal
awareness, consciousness and love, Swami solves the
problems by treating such problems as His own and not
of others. To the extent that we treat more and more
people as our own by spiritually bringing them in our
fold, we move more and more towards Bhagavan. Such
an approach is a twin blessing because it makes our lives
So much of our lives are lost in debating economic worthwhile and takes us closer to our Creator. This is
ideologies, political philosophies and wasteful realizable only when, as Swami says, 'I' and 'You' become
institution-building. Instead our lives need to be repaired 'We' because of His universal awareness, consciousness
by doing selfless service in a spirit that such service done and love. And then there is no more separateness.
to our fellow human beings is service done to God. Truly
We need to attain the state about which the mystic poet
our God, Lord Sai, serves His Creation and what better
speaks:
testimony can we give than to do service to His Creation
in the spirit that such service is indeed our service to our I know that knowledge is a vast embrace
God, Lord Sai. I know that every being is myself,
In every heart is the hidden myriad One.
The Lord who created must wish us to create I know the calm Transcendant bears the world,
And employ our creation again in His service The veiled Inhabitant, the silent Lord:
Which is already His service in creating. I feel his secret act, his intimate fire;
-- T.S. Eliot, The Rock, 1934 I hear the murmur of the cosmic Voice
I know my coming was a wave from God.
The Solution: A Unified Spiritual Outlook
-- Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, p. 671
The problems of the world will continue to be problems.
A True Knowledge Society
Conceiving terrestrial paradise in economic and
emotional terms will be a nonstarter because we
continue to look at the world through external sight.
Earth can become paradise only as we start looking at the
world through, as the poet says, the inward eye. There is
no paradise out there. It's in here, in every one's spiritual
heart. This 'knowledge' is to be regained, so that we
understand what Swami wants us to understand, namely,
that we are made of His stuff, that is, His Divine Essence.
We need to go beyond the currently understood
"knowledge society" to enter into the true knowledge
society which Swami envisions, in which separateness
gives way to unity, pollution is overcome by purity and
human frailty is transformed into exalted divinity.

Sri K Chakravarthi, IAS, was the first Registrar of Sri

Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning and is currently
the Secretary of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust.

- Heart2Heart Team.

Sri Aurobindo

040 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 SAI MOVEMENT IN EL SALVADOR

A Very Brief History of El Salvador…

The earliest foreigners to settle in El Salvador were
SAI MOVEMENT IN Spanish priests and Caribbean pirates, the latter to whom
EL SALVADOR some families can trace their ancestry. Over the centuries
the newcomers mixed with the indigenous Indians so
today there are no longer any "pure" natives left. The
Where is El Salvador original inhabitants, who were descendents of the
and What's Unique There? Mayans, built pyramids similar to those found in
El Salvador is the smallest country in Latin America in land Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.
area but is the most densely populated nation in the

Group of Steeped Pyramids, San Andreas

Up until a few years ago the country had an agriculturally

based economy with coffee as the number one export.
EL SALVADOR Today, there are many textile factories and their products
have taken the lead in exports. Those working in the
declining agro sector have been helped by the many
Salvadorans who immigrated to the US and send checks
American mainland. Due to the strong work ethic of its home to their families.
people and its vibrant economy, it has been called the Beginning in 1976, an internal conflict led to fifteen years
Japan of the Americas and is the most industrialized of political strife which triggered a mass migration to the
country in the region. US and other countries. In 1991 negotiations successfully
From beautiful beaches on the Pacific Ocean to lush pine resolved the situation by giving both sides political
forests in the mountains bordering Honduras, and representation. Now there is no more shooting, just
volcanoes (some semi active) and volcanic lakes, the shouting!
country is blessed with rich natural beauty. San Salvador,
the capital city, is known as "the valley of the hammocks" How Sai Entered El Salvador
as it is the site of numerous earthquakes which cause the So how did Swami find His way to this little country
hammocks to swing.

The 'Free' People

of El Salvador
The principal religion
is Catholic, but the
constitution allows
for freedom of
worship. Freedom is
one trait which well
describes the
Salvadoran people.
Their spontaneity and
Historic catholic church desire to do whatever
they feel is right can
produce some interesting situations. On any given day
one might find peaceful demonstrations protesting
everything from a water shortage to the right to sell
illegally copied videos! These may block the streets
(traffic jams are an everyday affair), but the authorities
tend to look the other way.

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 041
FEATURE ARTICLE

halfway around the world from India? Despite the country's turmoil, the Sai Centers continued
to grow. After the earthquake of 1986, members helped
It all began in 1978. A group of ladies who had a yoga rebuild the damaged homes of devotees. In 1989, a Sai
center invited Indra Devi, the famous yoga teacher, to visit Foundation was established, providing the framework for
El Salvador. It was she who spoke about Sai Baba first and putting donations to good use. After peace finally arrived
gave out a few books on Baba. Within a few months, in in the 1990s, the Organization began doing outstanding
May 1979, Elenita de Servent and Lidia de Trigueros were service work, such as participating in relief efforts after
in India with a group from Mexico to visit Sai Baba. In the earthquake of 2001 when they helped rebuild a
December of the same year, Juan Pablo Bolens and John Catholic church.
Behner along with their families also visited Swami and
soon the yoga center in El Salvador blossomed into a Sai
Center. By January of 1980, the Center was holding
bhajans, a study circle, and doing service in the
community.
Within two years of this, six Sai Centers were active in San
Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, with about 130
members. Mind you, this was during the years when
there was a lot of violence and the city buses did not run
after 6:00 p.m. in the city. In fact, at one time there were
fifteen study circle groups in the city.
Since then, El Salvador's Sai community has been blessed
by visits from many experienced and long-standing
devotees like Dr. Sandweiss, Dr. Voleti, the musical group
Lightstorm, and also the Bozzanis, and Dr. John Hislop
too in 1982. In 1985, the first coordinating committee of
Sathya Sai organization was set up when Dr. Goldstein
and Mr. Leonardo Gutter visited the country and set the
Sai Mission in El Salvador on a new trajectory.

Sai-Inspired Service Grows…

Water tank which was built during a water

project for the Primavera Community which
brought drinking water to 350 families.
The project being inaugurated is on the left
and on the right is the water tank.
Water project which was completed for the
Cuapa Community which brought water
to 90 families.

Church-inauguration and inside the church

Following in Sathya Sai's footsteps, twelve projects
supplying water to more than 350 families have been
Sai Organization Rebuilds a Catholic Church undertaken.

042 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 SAI MOVEMENT IN EL SALVADOR

good news even though it was the middle of the night.

Thereafter, he got a job selling newspapers and was
reunited with his wife and daughters who had separated
from him because of his physical problems.

Narayana Seva at a homeless shelter

The happy occupants....

Their eating area.

...and a routine
medical check up

Serving the Homeless and the Sick

Devotees also prepare food for the homeless, who out of
gratitude bring flowers for the lady sevaks on Mother's
Day.
Computer classroom Hospital visits are also organized. The Sai youth group
for them presents puppet shows at the children's hospital once a
month and refreshments are served to patients at the
At The Invalids Home

Two medical clinics and a monthly medical camp are now

offering free consultations and medicine. A home has
been established which provides free living space for
twenty wheelchair-bound men and workshops where
they can learn a trade.
There is no requirement that the residents attend the Sai
Center on the top floor, but some of them have started
participating in bhajans and reading books about Swami.

Miracles Started Happening…

One patient, paralyzed from the waist down for nine
years after falling out of a tree, had two long pins inserted
on either side of his spinal column. The Sai doctors
studied his ex-rays and felt that the pins could be
removed. One performed the necessary operation and
the patient then became completely paralyzed. Two
weeks later he was awakened by Swami, who asked him
how he was. When he said, Swami, I am completely
paralyzed, Baba said, “Now you are well, get up and
walk”. It was 2:00 a.m. but he did as he was told and was
amazed to discover he could now walk!
He went to the phone and called a devotee to share the Visiting Childrens' Hospital...

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 043
FEATURE ARTICLE

A weekly study circle is attended by inmates at one of the

national prisons. One of the prisoners suffered from
severe diabetes and was unable to walk. He could not eat
any of the snacks containing sugar which were served
after the study circle. Swami came in his dream and said,
"Now you can take the refreshments after the study
circle." He did so and afterwards found he could walk! All
the other inmates were amazed at his stunning recovery.

Teaching Human Values…

Another facet of the Organization is the Sathya Sai
Institute of Human Values. The Institute is currently
offering the ninth diploma course of seventy-two hours
duration, and trains public and private school teachers in
the Sathya Sai Human Values curriculum. (One teacher
commented that this program is certainly effective as
even her marriage is improving!). The Institute has
developed programs in three pilot schools with the
Human Values agenda being incorporated into the
curriculum of the Ministry of Education.

…And the Impact

One third grade student found a purse in the street
Narayana Seva at the Institute of Cancer during the week that they were studying the value of
cobalt cancer treatment center since many of them travel
long distances for their treatment without having eaten
anything. And in the burns ward, doctors are using
vibuthi in some cases.

Sai’s Grace in a National Prison

A study circle session in progress at the

National Prison in El Salvador

Children from 8th grade at a pilot school on a

visit to an old peoples home. The Sathya Sai
Human Values program carried out at the
Margarita Duran School involved the students
in social work directly so they could discover
the love which was so easy to give to these
older ladies at the Saint Paul home for
the elderly.

044 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 SAI MOVEMENT IN EL SALVADOR

honesty. She took the purse to her teacher, who called the
owner. The lady came to the school and was amazed to
find all her money and documents in tact. She could not
believe that in this day and age someone could be so
honest.

Cultural Outreach Programs

The Institute has held two music festivals with songs
highlighting Human Values in which twenty-five schools
have participated. Several public meetings have been
conducted with up to 1000 people in attendance. One

Colorful dance routine expressing Human Values

lady emerged from a public gathering in tears and told
volunteers that she just knew there was more to life than
parties. She had left her home by the backdoor to escape
a party which was going on in her home to attend the get-
Together. Two or three retreats a year are also well
attended.
The Sathya Sai Human Values Music Festival in which 25
schools and 1000 students, parents and teachers
participated. Human values were conveyed through song
and dance presented by different schools.

Voice of the Avatar on Radio

Currently, there are two regular radio programs on the
airwaves. One is called the Voice of the Avatar and has
been running twice a week for twenty years broadcasting
Spanish translations of Swami's discourses. The other is a
radio station for children, which focuses on Human
Values. The announcers are Bal Vikas and former Bal Vikas
students.

The Sathya Sai Human Values Music Festival

25 schools and 1000 students, parents and
teachers participated in the music festival where
Human values were conveyed through song and
dance presented by different schools. Bottom
(on the right) is a section of the audience. Another Miracle: Swami Signs Log sheet
and Saves Electric Plant from Fire

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 045
FEATURE ARTICLE

Moving Transformation in Children…

Speaking of Bal Vikas, one family had their three children
of 8, 10 and 12 years in the classes. When the father lost
his job, they had to sell their TV set to put food on the
table. A few months after finding work, he had saved
enough for a down payment for a new television.
However, when he told his children, they said, “Father we
don't want another TV as it will interfere with our
studies”. Now these three children are all professionals: a
doctor, an engineer, and an architect.

Sai Comes To The Rescue…

Swami has blessed El Salvador with its share of divine
miracles. Once He appeared as a fireman to save an
electric plant from certain destruction by flames (to read
full story, refer to Aug. 2005 issure of H2h). Swami has

Flores was not sure if Swami was speaking to him or to

the person next to him.) But the grandest miracle is still
the wonderful devotees He has brought together to work
in harmony and love. There are service activities every day
of the week, throughout the year and Human Values
also intervened to rescue many individuals from accidents
educational programs held even during summer school.
and incurable illnesses. Recently, a female devotee who
was new to the Organization was hospitalized with
The Formula for Peace in El Salvador
severe pain. Doctors were unable to diagnose her
problem. She and her husband prayed to Swami for some Where once there was a bloody political upheaval, now
sign which would help the doctors discover her problem. there is a peaceful spiritual movement sweeping the
Minutes later she passed some blood, which revealed to nation. Through the grace of Sathya Sai, His devotees in El
the staff that she was hemorrhaging internally. They Salvador carry forward the five values of Sathya, Dharma,
operated immediately and were able to save her life. Shanti, Prema, and Ahimsa well into the 21st century and
beyond.
The Greatest Miracle… We, at Heart2Heart, thank Mr. John Behner and other
Swami has even invaded the Presidential Palace from the devotees of El Salvador for sharing this information with
President himself to several Ministers. In 1981, Francisco us and pray for His blessings to make El Salvador totally
Flores, the future president, went to see Bhagavan Baba 'Sai Salvador'.
in person. While in the darshan line, Sathya Sai told him,
"You will lead your country." (At the time, however, Mr. - Heart2Heart Team

046 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
SERIAL ARTICLE SHIRDI SAI PARTHI SAI

SHIRDI SAI PARTHI SAI

PART 17
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS ISSUE

ACT 2 - SCENE 5

As she does so, her father-in-law, Kondama Raju, is

worshipping Lord Shiva.
EASWARAMMA: Father-in-law!
K.RAJU: What happened?
E.AMMA: I had…….. I had a strange experience. …….

Easwaramma is in the backyard of her house, watering

the sacred Tulsi plant and offering worship. Suddenly, a
blue ball of light appears in the sky. It moves toward her
and enters her! She feels strange. She cannot understand
her extraordinary experience. She enters the house.

When I was watering the Tulsi plant, blue radiance

emerged in the sky, formed itself into a glow of light,
which then entered me. I felt a strange sensation, as if
some extraordinary power had entered me….. some
strange power…….some strange power.

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 047
SERIAL ARTICLE

K.Raju recalls the words of Venkavadhuta:

“Very soon, my dear fellow. Lord Narayana is going to
take birth in OUR Ratnakara family! You will certainly have

SCENE 6
One night a few months after the above incident, there is
rain, thunder and lightning. Unable to sleep, Venkama
Raju gets up. Suddenly, he hears the sound of various
musical instruments. Also, lamps in the house
spontaneously light up. He is puzzled. Next morning, he
goes to a temple where the priests are chanting the
Gayathri Mantra.
PRIEST 1: For health, wealth, and liberation, it is desirable

that the Name of the Lord be regularly chanted at home.

The way to total prosperity and protection is the Gayathri
Mantra.
PRIEST 2: It is enough if the Gayathri Mantra is chanted
108 times everyday with proper reverence and devotion;
His Darshan. He will shower His Love on you. He will show all difficulties would disappear and all benefits would
the proper way to the world. He will wipe out the troubles accrue. There is no Mantra superior to this.
of the good and re-establish Dharma. He will, and this is PRIEST 3: That is not all. This Mantra is the assured cure for
the Truth!” all diseases. By chanting this Mantra in the proper and
K.RAJU: [elated and excited] What Venkavadhuta said is prescribed manner, one can ensure good health.
going to come true! A new light is going to shine in our PRIEST 4: Above all, the Gayathri Mantra promotes
house!! discrimination. This wonderful Mantra is the pathway to
Knowledge and Wisdom. Adoration, Meditation and
Prayer these three constitute the essence of Gayathri.

048 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 SHIRDI SAI PARTHI SAI

PRIEST 5: Bhargo devasya - this is Adoration. Deemahi

this is Meditation. Deeyoyonaha Prachodayad - this is
Prayer.
PRIEST 4: Wonderful!
PRIEST 5: The efficacy of the Mantra would be immense, if
the words are pronounced properly.
PRIEST 3: The Gayathri Mantra is considered to be the

joy - but then, why are these strange things happening?

What could be the reason? I have come here hoping you
could offer an explanation.
PRIEST: [to assistant] Avadhani, can you please fetch the
almanac?
AVADHANI: Here it is.
Mother of the Vedas. Actually, it has three names
PRIEST: Mr. Raju, is there a pregnant lady in your house?
Gayathri, Savithri and Saraswati.

PRIEST 4: Gayathri is the presiding deity of the senses.

Savithri is likewise the Goddess of life - she symbolises
Truth. Saraswati is the Goddess of speech.
Venkama Raju comes to the spot at this juncture.
V.RAJU: Greetings!
PRIEST 4: Greetings Mr. Raju, and my blessings.
RAJU: You all seem to be engrossed in a spiritual debate! I

V.RAJU: Yes, my wife Easwaramma.

PRIEST: The angels are producing the Divine music to
please the child growing in the womb. Such things
happen at the time of incarnation of the Avatars. They are
a signal that God is going to incarnate again. I think that
shortly, God is going to appear in human form in your
house. Your life would be fulfilled and the world would be
sanctified.
RAJU: Wonderful! Your sweet words have resolved my
have come hoping you scholars can clear my doubt. doubts. I take your leave.
PRIEST: You have a doubt?! Let us hear about it. END OF ACT 2
RAJU: Every night, lamps in our house, light up on their To be continued...
own. In addition, the musical instruments spontaneously
play beautiful notes. These phenomena fill us with great

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 049
SERIAL ARTICLE

the Atma. In various ways, I am present in the body, and I

am present in your Mind. On top of all this, I am the Atma
GITA FOR CHILDREN -
that pervades everywhere, including every cell and atom
PART 19
of your body. Thus, I am there everywhere within you!
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS ISSUE
Indeed, My presence is very strong!!'

CHAPTER 8 4. 'Actually, I am present not only in you, not only in

1. Arjuna says to Krishna, 'Krishna, my head is really all humans, but in every single entity in the Universe, from
reeling! Forgive me please but there are so many doubts the ant to the galaxies. By the way, and this may come as a
of mine that You have got to clear. You keep saying again surprise, I am also present in the wickedest person on
and again “God is your Indweller, I am in your Heart”, and earth!'
things like that. Can you please explain all these
5. Arjuna shakes his head vigorously as if to indicate
statements in simple language that I can easily
that he is all confused, while Krishna smiles and
understand?'
continues, 'Don't worry; it would all become clear. Let Me
2. Krishna replies, 'Why not? After all, you are My start with your body. You know it is made up of atoms.
dear friend! Let Me start this way. I suppose you Since I am present in each atom, you must right away
understand that you are a composite of the gross body, concede that I am present within you as the power of
the Mind and Atma. You are a three-in-one composite every single atom within your body. OK?'
you understand that, don't you?'
6. 'But don't imagine that is all. I have a much
3. Arjuna nods, and Krishna continues, 'You are a stronger presence as the Praana or the life-force within
MBA, that is, an entity made up of the Mind, the Body and your body. The body is a living factory in which so many
extraordinary things happen all the time. The heart keeps
pumping, the lungs breathe, the stomach digests, and so
on; all these things are happening, without you doing
anything about them. How? It is My life-force that
takes care of all these.'

7. 'Skeptics dismiss My presence and declare, “It is

all bio-chemistry.” Bio-chemistry indeed! These people
are fools who simply do not want to acknowledge My
presence, that is all.'

8. 'However, the ancients were wise. They

understood that all activity in the human body connected
with life, from digestion to motor activity, was driven by
MY DIVINE power. They acknowledged this in many ways,
via their prayers and offerings especially. They expressed
their adoration for what I do inside and had special
names for Me. One of these is Vaishvanara. Another is
Angeerasa, and so on.'

9. 'By the way, I hope you understand how I happen

to be present in wicked persons also in some aspects.
Their hearts also beat, their stomachs also digest, etc.
Who does that? Me of course! I do all these things, even

050 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 GITA FOR CHILDREN - PART 19

though such persons deny Me and go against My tenets. 13. 'Compassion cannot exist without Prema or Love.
But let that pass for now.' Hence the Heart is also the seat of Love, Kshama or
forbearance and so on. In brief, the Heart is the
10. 'From the gross body, let Me now move on to the
fountainhead of all Divine Virtues and qualities.'
Mind. The Mind can be regarded as being made up of two
parts, the lower Mind and the Higher Mind. The lower 14. Arjuna asks, 'Krishna, I agree that God is present
part is what people normally call the brain while the in a wicked man as the life force. But surely the wicked
Higher part is that which is capable of contemplating, man has no Heart. Therefore, how can God be his
Indweller?'

15. With a smile Krishna replies, 'No Arjuna, what you

are saying is not true. Let us say there is a river and that a
dam is built across it. Suppose the dam shutters are
closed. Then there would be no water downstream but
upstream there would be water in the reservoir. Agree?'

16. 'The situation with respect to an evil person is

similar. That person too has a Heart and God resides there
also. But the Virtues of the Heart are dammed and do not
flow to the Mind and the body. That is why the person's
thoughts are wicked and his actions are bad.'

17. 'Yet, just as there is always some small seepage in

a dam, even so-called bad people occasionally exhibit
traces of good. So don't write them off completely.'

analysing, deducing, etc. The Higher part is mighty

powerful and has tremendous creative capability. All this
power flows entirely from Me of course.' 18. 'Suppose a bad man sees a small baby smiling
happily. Charmed by the baby, this man would also smile
11. 'The highest region of the Higher Mind, if I might
in return. The baby is close to God and that is why it is
say so, is just a step away from the Heart. It is called
happy. And in that brief instant, even that evil man is in
Buddhi. By the way, when I say Heart, you must not
communion with God! By the way, it has happened many
confuse it with the physical heart that pumps blood. I am
times that a bad man has suddenly turned good. Don't
talking of the Spiritual Heart.'
you know the story of Sage Valmiki, who has described
12. 'This Heart is My permanent residence. It is My My earlier Avatar in his immortal Ramayana? Earlier, he
residence because the Heart is the seat of Compassion. was a robber but one day he changed. That happened
The Heart is called Hridaya. HRIDAYA = HRID + DAYA. when the shutters of the dam were raised. Thus, God
Daya means Compassion. Thus, the Heart is the seat of resides in the Hearts of all, without any exception.’
Compassion.'
(To be continued)

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 051
WINDOW TO SAI SEVA

portion of the population living beneath the poverty line

in the second most populous continent of the world after
SAI VISION FOR AFRICA Asia.
All the cataract surgeries were conducted with the
The eye affected by a cataract swears there is no lamp in cooperation of the ministry of health in each respective
the room - an operation to remove the cataract makes country, who were kept updated on the progress. The
that eye aware of the lamp. That operation is the symbol surgeons and hospitals used for these procedures were
of the spiritual discipline that one has to undergo, in often recommended by the local authorities. Most of the
order to have a Vision of God. surgeries were carried out in small towns and villages
where there were poor and needy patients and the Sai
To commemorate the 80th Birthday of Bhagavan Sri
Organisation in every country and region made
Sathya Sai Baba, devotees in Africa and from the United
provisions for post-operative care with the local hospitals
Kingdom started a Seva programme of medical eye
in the area.
camps in Africa for cataract surgeries in 2005.
Sai Vision for Africa
Swami blessed the programme on 25th November 2004
and instructed that the operations performed should be
of the best quality, emphasizing that high quality and not
the number of operations should be the goal. Swami
explained that love and care should be shown to each
and every patient. When service is motivated by love it is
bound to succeed - and that success is ascribed to the
grace of God.

Nigeria in Africa

The medical coordinator for this project was Dr. S.

Upadyay who visited some of the African countries to
verify the quality of surgeries and the hygiene standards
within the hospitals. Special attention was given to the
lenses that were required and where such lenses were not
available locally they were imported.
The press and radio carried information on when and
where the surgeries were to be performed and patients
came from various parts of the country and in some cases
from neighboring countries. Now we take you through
the Sai Vision Project that was successfully executed in six
African nations, starting with Nigeria.

The first surgery was preformed on Friday, 14th January Sai Vision in Nigeria
2005 (Makarsankranti) at Calabar, Nigeria. In Ghana, the Can you, dear reader, imagine the joy that Alice must be
surgeries started on 19th April 2005. Surgeries began in feeling! Alice is forty-five and has three sons and two
Kenya on 14th February and in Malawi from July 18th. daughters. She was diagnosed with developmental
Many people in Africa suffer from cataract problems cataracts in both eyes and had been blind since the age of
because they cannot afford the cost of surgery. They ten. She said:
eventually lose their eyesight and are left largely uncared Prior to the surgeries I depended on the children and my
for. It is for this reason that free cataract operations are husband within the household for every activity and
the only way to alleviate the suffering of this neglected house chores. This was quite frustrating, as I felt like a

052 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 SAI VISION FOR AFRICA

to work selflessly in creating a better world. A total of

over 2,800 surgeries were performed in Nigeria, all at two
hospitals, one in Kebbi and one in Calabar.
Before commencing, the surgeries were turned into a
spiritual event with the recitation of Ashtotharashatha
Namavali (108 Names of Baba), Aarti, distribution of
Vibhuti, prayers from the Muslim faith and pictures of
Swami adorned with flowers and incense. All the
patients, their relatives and the hospital staff were invited
Before After to attend the prayers.

cripple as a result of my blindness. After I had both eyes

operated on I began to do things myself and now I can
even cook for my husband!
Alice is all smiles now. The operation actually came at the
perfect time. As Alice explained:
This was a difficult period for us all because my husband is
the chief of the village and because he could not
effectively perform his responsibilities he wanted to
resign.
Now her husband does not need to resign and the family
is full of joy! Calabar General Hospital in Cross Rivers state, Nigeria
Or consider the case of Edward, a thirty-two-year-old Sai Vision in Ghana
On the advice of Dr. Marian Hagan of the National Eye
Health Programme of the Ministry of Health of Ghana,
surgeries began at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Hospital in
Breman Asikuma on 19th April. The Sai Organisation
publicized the free operations via posters, FM radio and
newspaper adverts in Ghana's capital, Accra, and in the
hospital's locality. The hospital in the central region of
Ghana was chosen as it covered remote rural areas and
people from very poor backgrounds.
After the first group of patients was operated on
Before After successfully, word spread and people from other regions
of Ghana and even neighboring countries came to avail
motor mechanic. After developing a cataract in his left themselves of the opportunity. Over the next four months
eye he lost his job due to his blindness in 2002. Following more than 500 surgeries were performed.
the surgery, Edward expressed his feelings as follows:
Surgeries were carried out on patients of all ages, from
I'm very well now and have good vision - I got back my
employment….For the last two years before my
operation I couldn't do my work. At that time it was very
hard. I had to sell some of my personal possessions,
including my house. My situation was very bad and my
prospects looked bleak. I was unable to move on my own
and kept bumping into people on the road….Now I start
work at six every morning and am happy in my work. Back
then I just cried on my own.
Imagine these two cases replicated thousands of times
and you have a picture of the lifesaving effects of the Sai
Vision Project in Africa, all inspired by Bhagavan's Grace Our Lady of Grace Hospital - Ghana

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 053
WINDOW TO SAI SEVA

3 Years old
Yaw Amoateng

3yr. Old Child Yaw Amoateng

Three-year-old Yaw Amoateng to ninety-two-year-old Mr.
Kojo Arko.
92yr. old Mr. Kojo Arko
Sai Vision in Kenya
restoring the gift of sight to over 500 people. But the
Thanks to the dedicated Sai Volunteers of Mombasa
unique aspect of this service was that all these camps
Sai Centre in Kenya, more than nine eye camps were
were organized in very remote and rural areas of Kenya
conducted between February and August 2005
with Mombasa, the second largest city of Kenya, being
the base.
With the help of local doctors from the Lighthouse for
Christ Eye Centre, all these surgeries were conducted free
of charge and with a great deal of love. The team traveled
hundreds of kilometers over rough terrain and difficult
roads to reach the eye camp sites and serve the poor rural
folk. It was not service of convenience, but service of
need.

Dr. Baah & Nurses

How the Outreach Programmes Worked

Usually a team consisting of four to five persons,
Mr. Kojo Arko including a few support staff apart from a surgeon,

054 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 SAI VISION FOR AFRICA

would pack all the surgical and clinic supplies in a Land

Rover and drive to the remote locations. On reaching the
village, the first two days would generally be taken up in
doing a survey and then screening and identifying
patients suitable for cataract surgery. Over the next two
to three days, these patients would be operated upon.
Four to seven days was the typical timeframe for these
outreach programmes. All the patients were followed up
after a week to review their status.

Various Challenges
Though it may sound simple, in reality, there were
obstacles and challenges galore! For example, it took
more than seventeen hours for the five member staff to
negotiate rough and unfriendly roads to reach the town
of Kibwezi. And worse, the camp unfortunately

Lighthouse for Christ Eye Centre, Kenya

Kibwezi and Kambu
coincided with a cholera outbreak in the region. The
Mobile Outreach Programme
team conducted their surgeries only after addressing all
the safety issues. Later, they arranged for the The elation of the patients had to be seen to be believed.
accommodation of the patients in a nearby St. Paul One sixty-five-year-old lady, who lost her vision two
nursery school by requesting the help of the Catholic years ago, started dancing with joy when she found
Diocese of Kibwezi. All this made possible the forty-five she could see again!
surgeries which would have otherwise been postponed
or cancelled. More Hurdles in Mwingi, Lamu and Isovya
If the way to Kibwezi was challenging, the team now had
In fact, on one occasion due to frequent power failure,
to travel approximately 550 kms northwest of Mombasa
the dedicated team performed the operations by
through regions where there were no roads at all and
candlelight as there was no alternative source of light.
daunting terrain to access Mwingi. But for the 4-wheel
But the most exciting fact to note is that all the surgeries
drive Land Rover they could have never managed the
were completed successfully and no patient had any
journey.
complications. All the patients were given medication
and advised to return in a week's time for re-evaluation. To reach out to the Kenyan island of Lamu, the team

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 055
WINDOW TO SAI SEVA

Kibwezi and Kambu mobile camp Preparing for eye examination

drove 360 kms along the coastal border to Mpeketoni rewarding experience.
and then went by boat to cross the sea. Like many others, In many of these outreach programmes, some people
this route was by no means considered safe. Apart from did not come forward for the operation out of fear and
the endless bumps, potholes, twists and turns, it was apprehensions, but once they saw others being
notorious for banditry attacks (allegedly launched from benefited and heard good reports, they too asked for the
Somalia). surgery.
Likewise, to reach Isovya in Kitwe district, the team faced In Witu division of Lamu, many patients who were
a grueling 600 km long trip. Full of treacherous roads,
they reached their destination tired and worn out. The
next day, however, they awoke early in the morning to
find patients already waiting and a busy day ahead of
them. The turnout was an encouraging sight and the
team conducted eighty-four surgeries over three days.
Though taxing and demanding, it was also a deeply

Mpeketoni - Lamu {Faza}Mobile medical camp

June 2005

screened and identified for surgery did not come for

At the Mwingi Medical Outreach Programme
their operation as they did could not leave their

056 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 SAI VISION FOR AFRICA

Isovya Medical Outraceh Programme, August 2005

farms unguarded from…baboons! The crop was their advised to go to a hospital in Mombasa to get the
bread and butter and they opted to stay and protect affected eye taken out. Delay meant a greater likelihood
what little they had. Such is the state of these poor folk of the cancer spreading further, but the parents could
and the difficult choices that must be made in the name not afford it and so let it be. When the team discovered
of basic survival. this, they immediately enucleated the eyeball before it
Another sad story was that of a young boy who had was too late. Though the damaged eye could not be
cancer of the eye and had to have it removed. Six to restored, there was relief in saving the child's life. The
twelve months before the camp, his parents were

Patient screening and examination Protective sunglasses issued to some patients

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 057
WINDOW TO SAI SEVA

Schedule of Medical Outhreach Programmes in Kenya

Date of camp Area it was conducted No. of Surgeries
14th – 18th Feb 2005 Garsen & Wema & Others at LCEC 45 & 20
14th – 18th Mar 2005 Kibwezi & Kambu & Others at LCEC 45 & 18
29th Mar – 1st Apr 2005 Marafa & Garashi 63
10th Apr – 15th Apr 2005 Ngao – Tarasaa 25
28th May 2005 Mombasa Bombolulu 32
12th – 17th June 2005 Mpeketoni – Lamu 10
25th June – 1st July 2005 Witu – Kipini & Others at LCEC 17 & 08
17th – 24th July 2005 Mwingi, Kaloleni, Kilifi & Others at LCEC 108 & 06
7th – 14th Aug 2005 Isovya, Vipingo & Matsangoni 107
Total 503 Surgeries

As already mentioned, Mombasa was the base of all the

outreach programmes and the devotees and Bal Vikas
children of Mombasa Sai Centre enthusiastically came
forward to lend their support in quite a few of these
camps, for example, serving hot food to the patients in
the Bombolulu camp. However, more important than
this is the transformation these camps brought about in
the devotees and the children. It was a great opportunity
to serve and an amazing spiritual experience.
One of the Bal Vikas children wrote of his experience:
I feel so happy to serve needy people. But I am sad I am
unable to help so many others who need help and are
not within my reach.
Life of child with eye cancer is saved
This is the most beautiful aspect of the unique service
parents had no words to express their appreciation and project in Africa. It gave clarity of vision not only to the
gratitude and the team of doctors and other support cataract-affected patients but also to everybody
staff were also deeply moved. associated with it. It sensitized people and principally the
In most of these impoverished areas, the volunteers not younger generation to feel for their neighbours and
only screened and operated on hundreds of patients, reach out to the impoverished and needy, selflessly and
they also distributed a lot of other essential items. In silently.
Mwingi, for example, clothes were given away to needy
patients, and hungry children, who had almost nothing
to protect them from the cold weather, received warm
clothes as well as nourishing food.
The above narration is a very brief account of the
tremendous seva going on in this small African country
of Kenya. To give you a complete glimpse of the Sai
Vision Project in Kenya, here is a table with the actual
figures. One point to note is that if, for example, at Examination in Bombolulu camp
Kibwezi forty-five surgeries were done, it does not mean
forty-five patients were seen. In reality hundreds were Sai Vision in Malawi
seen and given free consultation and only forty-five were Now moving on from Kenya, during the first two camps
found to be suitable candidates for cataract surgery and held in Malawi a total of 3343 patients were screened
were operated upon. So the patients reached are far and 212 patients identified for cataract surgery and
more than the number of surgeries done. operated upon. Binocular lens were inserted for 210 of

058 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 SAI VISION FOR AFRICA

Zambia
Malawi

Eye Camp for Cataract Surgeries in Kitwe, the third

largest city in Zambia. More than 100 were treated with
the support of the Kitwe Central Hospital. All of these
surgeries were done in the Kenyan-fashion reaching out
to the rural folk through outreach programmes. These
were patients who had neither the facility nor the money
to get their sight back and were extremely grateful. The
devotees also organized a review of these patients in
nearby hospitals and provided reading spectacles free of
charge.
In recognition of their service, the Sri Sathya Sai
Organization of Zambia was invited to join the Kitwe
th
Central Hospital in celebrating World Vision Day on 13
October 2005.

Sai Vision in South Africa

The Sai Vision Project reached all the way to the bottom
th th
of the continent South Africa. On the 16 and 17 of July
2005, twenty-one cataract operations were performed
at the Catherine Booth Hospital supported by a team of
two ophthalmic surgeons and two ophthalmic nurses,
who were impressed with the voluntary service
Wema Medical Outreach Programme programme and graciously agreed to be part of the
team. In fact, they also assisted in obtaining important
equipment (such as microscopes) that was necessary for
them. Devotees also did Narayan Seva (serving food) the operations.
during camps. In five camps conducted between July
When the twenty-one recipients removed the bandages
and November 2005, devotees reached their target of
on the day after the operation, the surgeons were moved
500 cataract operations as their offering to Bhagawan
to tears seeing the delight in their faces. It was truly a
on the 80th year of His advent. It was 516 cataract
life-altering experience for the patients who exclaimed
operations to be precise and a total of 5297 patients
their joy and were unable to contain themselves. In
were examined.
receiving new vision, they had been given a new life.
Sai Vision in Zambia rd
Earlier on 3 July 2005, Sai devotees of South Africa had
In Zambia, Sai devotees organized the Cataract Medical conducted a dental camp at the same Catherine Booth

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 059
WINDOW TO SAI SEVA

gained the most. The Sai Vision project has truly been an
eye-opener for them. It has taught them to look at the
other person in a new light…and has softened their
hearts and taken them closer to Baba.

At Heart2Heart we are very pleased to bring to you these

inspiring accounts. There is a lot more happening in
Africa. There are leprosy homes, the mammoth “Sainet”
project of providing specially-treated mosquito nets,
Letter of appreciation and certificate of recognition rural service camps, and other medical camps, etc. In the
from Kitwe Central Hospital, Zambia coming issues we hope to bring you more updated
information of moving stories of love and Sai-inspired
Hospital which was also well received. More than 165 service. - Heart2Heart Team
persons were treated and 145 dental extractions
performed.
Over the last five years, the amount of seva done in this
often neglected part of the world is amazing. More than
4500 cataract surgeries have been done in six African
countries and it is still going on. Ask the volunteers how
they feel about it and they will say as great as the
benefits are to the patients, they are the ones who have

060 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 MOVING SAI SEVA IN FIJI

This has caused a depletion of qualified people which in

turn has led to the problems encountered today in
MOVING SAI SEVA IN FIJI remote areas where adequate health care is not readily
available.

A week of inspiring service to the needy in the Fijian Medical Camps for the Most Needy
islands through well planned medical camps by Sai The medical camps were planned to be centred on Vanua
devotees from New Zealand on the 18th to 25th of Levu, which is primarily made up of rural villages with
March 2006.
Welfare services should be free for all. There are
numerous people who cannot afford the costs of medical
treatment. Doctors should render free service to such
persons. Sathya Sai Baba - Discourse on 3/06/1995
On the 18th of March, 2006, a major service project was
initiated by members of the Sathya Sai Service
Organisation of New Zealand. Twenty-four devotees,
made up of doctors and volunteers, took a three hour
flight north to the Fiji islands to take part in five free
medical camps coordinated by New Zealand and Fiji
devotees working hand in hand.

The People of Fiji

poor infrastructure and little or no access to basic medical
care. Most on this island live on subsistence plantations
under difficult conditions. Moreover, the political
upheavals of the last decade have exacerbated their
hardships, creating a feeling of helplessness. Therefore
the four medical camps were targeted to benefit those
most in need. These few sad statistics tell the story:
! Life expectancy on Vanua Levu is 67 yrs while in
New Zealand and Australia, it is 80.
! Maternal deaths from childbirth on Vanua Levu 6 to 7
The islands of Fiji in the Pacific Ocean times higher than New Zealand and Australia.
! Infant mortality is 3 to 4 times higher than New
A Little About Fiji… Zealand and Australia.
Fiji lies in the heart of the Pacific Ocean midway between
the equator and the South Pole. In the days of sailing Volunteers' Enthusiasm
ships it was known as the Cannibal Isles and avoided by and the Government's Support
mariners because of its fierce warriors and treacherous
waters. Of Fiji's 330 islands (of which a third are
inhabited), the majority of the estimated population of
840,000 lives on the largest island of Viti Levu, with about
200,000 residing on the second largest island, Vanua
Levu.

Current State of Affairs

The current population breakdown is 50% Fijian, 34% of
Indian descent, and the remainder from other races. Not
many years ago Indians made up just over 50% of the The planning for the proposed camps began during the
population but since the coups many have immigrated to last few months of 2005 when the Medical
countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 061
WINDOW TO SAI SEVA

Coordinatorfor the Sathya Sai Medical Unit of New Nine cartons of drugs and medical supplies were
Zealand spoke directly with Sai members in Fiji and using brought, of which four were donated by pharmaceutical
his own local knowledge of the conditions and needs, companies in New Zealand with no strings attached. The
proposed the venue sites. The message went out to all Sai week prior to leaving, a volunteer travelled to Fiji and
Centres and groups throughout New Zealand and within through a drug wholesaler purchased twenty more boxes
a short while eight MDs (including a surgeon), one of supplies. This was made possible by the Sai community
Homeopathic Doctor, a Pharmacist and fourteen in New Zealand who opened their hearts and wallets to
volunteers had signed up and paid for their airfares. ensure that the team was self sufficient in the required
The Sai service team in Fiji began arranging the sites medications. Also, a volunteer group in Auckland (who
where the camps were to be held. As is the norm, when are not Sai devotees) gave three cartons of used
one has faith in Swami's grace and compassion doors spectacles which they had sterilized, sorted, graded and
open and four of the camps were held at schools situated packed for the trip. These proved immensely valuable,
in the chosen area, with the fifth at a small health centre especially in the outer areas where most of the patients
in the interior. Knowing how beneficial these camps who needed them had no way to pay for what was to
would be for the populace in these areas, the Fijian them a luxury.
Government's Minister of Education gave permission for At the check in counter at Auckland Airport, God smiled
the four schools to host the camps. As well, the schools on the group again. Though most were travelling light,
gave assurances that the Headmasters and teachers due to the cartons of medicines they were still overweight
supported the program and would provide lunch and on their luggage allowance. However, without question,
drinking water for the medical staff and volunteers. the Airline immediately gave a full dispensation. There is
Everyone working together in unity and love to provide a no such thing as 'coincidence' where God is involved!
much needed service to those in real need without After being picked up from Nadi Airport by Fiji devotees, a
expectation of any personal reward was a living example short briefing session was held at the Sai Centre in
of Swami's Love in Action. Lautoka a twenty minute drive from the airport followed
by devotional singing and a meal lovingly prepared by the
local Sai members. The first camp was scheduled for the
following day (Sunday) at the Sai School in the Drasa area
near Lautoka at 8:00 a.m., so everyone dispersed to their
host's homes for a good night's sleep.

GETTING TO WORK:
FIRST MEDICAL CAMP IN SAI SCHOOL, DRASA
“If They Can Sacrifice Their Time…I Can Give
Up Just One Day” - A Local Doctor
Sunday morning dawned beautifully and a hired bus
drove the New Zealand group to the camp accompanied
by Sai devotees from the Lautoka area. Arriving at the Sai
The
The principal
Principal islands
Islands of Fiji - school venue at about 7:30 a.m. where, to everyone's
Viti
Viti Levu
Levu and
and Vanua
Vanua Levu
Levu

Arrival, Preparation and Swami's Grace

At about 5:30 p.m. on the 18th of March, the team from
New Zealand touched down at Nadi Airport on the main
island of Viti Levu. They all knew that Swami was with
them as the day they landed, the weather changed from
three solid months of heavy rain and tropical storms to
clear and calm. Also, to make matters more interesting,
prior to departing Auckland, the Australian, UK, and US
Governments posted on their websites warnings not to
travel to Fiji as there was a threat of yet another Army
coup! (The New Zealand Government however did not
bother to follow suit.)
The doctors from New Zealand at work...

062 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 MOVING SAI SEVA IN FIJI

surprise, people were already queuing to register to see a the patients and the team of Doctors and volunteers. I
doctor. The team was joined by six doctors from the thank Swami for His grace and love He showered upon us
hospital in Lautoka, a dental unit from the same area, and throughout the day.
an optometrist who were not Sai devotees but heard Camp Coordinator from Lautoka Sai Centre
about the camp and wanted to help. As one local doctor
The New Zealanders joined the local devotees at the
said:
Lautoka Sai centre that night for a light meal, devotional
I heard that a fairly large group was coming from New singing and debriefing. All agreed that although they
Zealand to hold a medical camp here and I thought that if were tired, it had been an exercise in unity and love and a
they can sacrifice their time and effort to spend a week in definite need had been fulfilled.
the Fiji islands then surely I can give up just one of my days
off! MEDICAL CAMP NUMBER TWO AT ISLAND
VANUA LEVU
This camp was to be a learning curve for the team as most
Adversity Becomes A Nice Opportunity
had not taken part in such a large group venture like this
before, and some felt a bit apprehensive as to how the
day might go. However, it proved to be a great success!
People came from surrounding villages, both Fijian and
Indian together, and the wonderful team of local helpers
ensured that patients did not have to wait too long and
prescriptions were filled quickly. It was clear but hot and
humid and at about 3:00 p.m. God smiled yet again and
opened the heavens and delightful cooling rains fell.
Immediately the high heat dropped a bit and everyone
felt refreshed.
Holding the medical camp at a school proved an
excellent idea as the doctors could use classrooms for
consultations while others were available for the dental Volunteers arriving on the seva scene
unit and pharmacy, and so on.
Monday, March 20, was again clear and dry as the New
“It was Incredible…All Worked So Zealand group arrived at Nadi Airport for a 7:00 a.m.
Wonderfully.” - A Local camp coordinator
flight to Vanua Levu. This time they would be
The last patient was treated at 6:00 p.m. and in total just
accompanied by only three devotees from the main island
one GP from Suva, one pharmacist from Lautoka, and a
By 6 pm over 530 patients had been
dentist from Suva. These three had committed
examined in the first medical camp at the
themselves to stay with the team for the next four
Sai School in Drasa.
medical camps. An optometrist nurse joined up in Labasa
and accompanied them to each camp held there.
over 530 people had been seen, prescriptions issued
where needed, and referrals to the hospital in Lautoka The original plan was to travel by bus, ferry, then bus
made for more serious cases. The New Zealand team and again driving across the island of Viti Levu for three hours
local doctors and volunteers worked extremely well then board the ferry for a three hour crossing, then
together and all felt that Swami had been with them another bus for four hours before reaching Labassa, the
throughout the day. main town on Vanual Levu where they would have
accommodation at a motel. It was not meant to be,
It was incredible! No one knew who the doctors and
however, as prior to leaving New Zealand they learned
volunteers from New Zealand were until the first meeting
that recent heavy rains had washed out some of the main
that morning at the camp, but everyone worked so
roads from the ferry port to Labasa. So, decisions were
wonderfully well together, joined together in unity and
made to fly into Labasa via the local tourist airline. Again
Swami's love that it is impossible to try and explain. The
this was no accident, since only needing one hour instead
local villagers came on Saturday and put up sun shelters
of ten for travel enabled an additional medical camp to be
and also helped set up the outside kitchen as the decision
held.
was made to feed all who attended - patients and the
Medical team. At the end, all went away very happy both

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 063
WINDOW TO SAI SEVA

How Swami Came To The Rescue Yet Again! themselves invaluable. The one small glitch at this second
The two planes were small twin engine aircraft. One camp was the distribution of prescriptions as the supplies
carried twenty members of the team and the other took did not reach the camp until 11:30 a.m., but after an
the rest and departed a half an hour later. Since the initial busy period, things settled down and the team got
aircraft were small, each person was weighed with their into the swing of things. The staff and management of
carryon bags and allowed only 15kgs total luggage the schools were all extremely helpful and most helped
weight. As the team had picked up most of the cartons of out right to the end. The schoolchildren were also very
pharmaceuticals on their way to the airport, this cooperative, making room for us by doubling up into
announcement caused some concern, but once again classrooms as they had not been given a day off.
Swami was there! Suddenly a devotee from the Lautoka Local villagers supplied lunch to all who came and the
Centre appeared who noticed the amount of cartons bond of unity and love between everyone was incredible.
needed to be taken, and who just happened to work for There was the occasional sadness when the team found
the Fijian Airport Aviation authorities. Within ten minutes individuals with serious medical conditions only an
all the personal bags and the cartons of drugs were impossibly expensive operation at some faraway First
loaded and boarding passes issued. Silent prayers of
thanks were offered to Swami as the aircraft were 550 patients were treated and over 800 prescriptions
boarded and the pilots prepared to take off. filled on day one of the second Medical Camp
The flight to Labasa Airport was just over an hour and in Waiquele, on the Fijian Island of Vanua Levu.
flying at 8000 feet ensured an excellent view of the coral
reefs and atolls passing by underneath. They touched World hospital could fix, but the basic feeling was one of
down just after 8:00 a.m. and after a half hour the second love and compassion for the patients and gratitude and
plane arrived with the rest of the team. A bus had been happiness shown by the villagers as they waited to be
arranged to ferry the team around for the rest of the week seen.
and after being advised by the airline's representative that The last patient was seen just after 6:00 p.m. and by the
the baggage and cartons of medical supplies would arrive time everything was packed up and loaded onto the bus it
was nearly 7:00. On this day alone over 550 patients were
treated and well over 800 prescriptions filled.

Endearing Love of Local Sai Devotees

The local Sai devotees are small in number but not in spirit
and had asked to host the New Zealand team for their
nightly meal which was held at a different venue each
evening in Labasa. The team unanimously agreed to go to
the host's houses directly from the camps instead of first
returning to their accommodation, and this was the
routine for the rest of the week. They would travel to
where they were going to be hosted, be formally greeted,
and after a brief wash up the New Zealand team would
sing bhajans for thirty minutes before eating. They always
made an effort to sing English devotional songs with
It was non-stop service from dawn to dusk...
some Maori songs included as well, and this made the
at 11:00 a.m. on a special flight, the team headed directly local Sai hosts happy.
to the medical camp site. A few members returned with
No matter how tired the team felt at the end of the day's
the bus to the airport to collect the supplies.
seva, once they began singing to Lord Sai all feelings of
Mutual Love, Compassion and Gratitude weariness disappeared. It was clearly noticeable that
This camp was at a school in Waiqele, thirty minutes from these sessions were of vital importance and helped make
the airport, and would tend to the needs of those in the the ending of each day just perfect.
area and from Labasa. Many people were already waiting
MEDICAL CAMP NUMBER THREE
to register, so the team quickly set up the rooms so
IN LEKUTU VILLAGE
registrations and consultation could begin. They were
Tuesday morning the 21st of March the team arose at 4:30
ably assisted by local Sai volunteers who stayed with the
a.m. as the bus was picking them up at 5:30 for a three
New Zealand team throughout the week and proved

064 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 MOVING SAI SEVA IN FIJI

and a half journey into the hinterlands. This camp was Lautoka carefully checked each prescription once it had
held in Lekutu village at a small medical centre staffed by been labelled before handing it out. Luckily power was
a sole senior nurse from the hospital in Labasa. This centre available as the prescription label machine made such a
treated people from villages within a 200km radius and difference in the process. The team found out later that
was hopelessly under funded but always tried to do the the current to this centre had been down for several days
best they could with the minuscule resources they were but was mysteriously reinstated a short time before the
given. camp started. The power source there was solar.
“I am So Glad I have come…” - A Doctor from New
Zealand

The bus could go no further in Lekutu Village

Poor, Yet Smiling It was an incredible experience for the doctors.

The bus trip was long but seemed to go faster when
An important decision had been made by the team before
bhajans were sung on the way and a stop was made for a
any of the camps started that no matter how late they
quick onboard breakfast. The first part of the journey was
had to work, all would be seen and no one would be
on fairly good tar sealed roads but the last hour and a half
turned away.
they were pretty bad rough gravel and stone and pitted
I had reservations when I was first contacted last year in
with pot holes. On the way they saw people living in
regards to coming to Fiji to take part in these medical
extreme poverty small tin sheds as family homes and
camps as I had never been part of something like this. I
gardens cultivated on tiny plots of land. But it was
am so glad that I have come and have been a part of this
noticed that the children who were walking to school
wonderful group of people. Everyone of the group of
were all tidy in clean clothes and seemed happy, greeting
Doctors and volunteers from New Zealand are working so
us with lovely smiles as we passed by. Some of these
incredibly well together and it is as if they have been
children walk two hours each way to school! The
together like this for ever! We all can feel Swami's Divine
poverty affected both Fijian and Indian families though
presence and know it would not have been possible
out in this region most of the patients that attended the
without His input. I never realised how hard it is for
camp were native Fijians. The weather was extremely hot
people in a country so close to ours to have such
and humid and team members had to drink a lot of water
difficulties in accessing good health care. I feel very
to keep from dehydrating.
humble and know that if I am invited to attend the next
Challenges and His Grace venture in Fiji then I will not hesitate to put my hand up.
The facilities were extremely small and it was amazing
- A Doctor from New Zealand
how everyone managed to fit into the three tiny buildings
that were available. The pharmacy shared a room with “We Pray That You Come Again Next Year”
two consulting doctors and just how the pharmacy team - A Village Elder in Lekutu
managed to locate the prescribed medicines was The people attending this camp were so grateful that the
something of a miracle in itself. The pharmacist from New team had made the effort to come into such a remote
Zealand had his laptop and label machine set up at the area. They told our doctors some had come from 80 to
end of a rickety old bed and stood the whole day with 100km away while others journeyed on horseback.
only a ten minute break for lunch. This was the norm for They also explained that what made the difference
all the doctors and volunteers. The pharmacist from was that the doctors listened to them, treated them

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 065
WINDOW TO SAI SEVA

with love and respect and touched them. In some with their donation of spectacles should be pleased to
cases they felt cured by just having spoken to one of know their contribution helped a great many people. 610
the doctors and being heard. Others said that they patients were seen and over 900 prescriptions given
could never afford to go to Labasa for medicines and out. It was an exhausting but rewarding day for all
felt that God had helped them. who took part.
The long bus trip back to Labasa was tiring but once the
group had their evening meal and sang some bhajans,
their weariness disappeared. Oh how God loves it when
His devotees sing to Him with love and reverence even
after a fatiguing day. It was after midnight when the team
finally got to bed, worn-out but happy and humbled with
what they had seen and experienced.

THE FOURTH MEDICAL CAMP

AT SEAQAQA VILLAGE
Wednesday the 22nd of March the team was up bright and
early to travel to the next site at a school in the village of
Seaqaqa ninety minutes away. The team arrived at 7:00
Registrations going on in the Lekutu Camp...

At this camp, the dentist from Suva carried out over 60

extractions in one day and explained that this was the
only possible treatment as these unfortunate people
could not afford to travel to Labasa or have dental work
done. Some of them had been suffering from decaying
teeth for a long time and their relief was plainly seen by
all.
We are so happy that the team from New Zealand have
come. We heard some time back that you were coming
here and the word spread like wildfire. Your time with us
today will give us all an everlasting memory and we pray
The makeshift pharmacy at the Seaqaqa Camp
that you will come back next year. If you do so, we will
look after all of you in our village. Thanks to you all for a.m. and set up the rooms that had been allocated and
your care and love. May God be with you always. again found there were people already queuing up to
- A Fijian elder from local village register and another busy day was on the way.
at Lekutu Medical Camp
“You Bring With You God's Love…"
Worn-out But Happy and Humbled - Headmaster of Seaqaqa School
This camp finished at 6:00 p.m. and none of the Fijian This area had an equal amount of Fijian and Indian
people left the area until the team finished and packed patients and a concerted effort was made to treat the
up. Then they insisted that every team member was elderly, the seriously ill and very young first. The
presented with a fresh coconut to drink at a special volunteers involved in registrations were extremely
ceremony, which was touching. Once again there was a grateful when some men from the local village offered to
lot of love and humour, but also an incredible sense of help with crowd control as this certainly made a
unity as everyone worked together in the humid and difference in the number of people seen. The Headmaster
cramped conditions. Most of the donated spectacles of the school, a local Fijian man, made an impassioned
were given out here as the optometrist found many speech later in the day on the difference the team from
villagers had been suffering from bad eyesight for years. New Zealand and those from Labasa were making.
Those people in New Zealand who made this possible We are extremely happy that you have come here to help
our people. All of you have come from a long way away,
In the Second Medical Camp in Lekutu Village,
610 patients were seen and more than 900 yet we feel that we have known you for ever. Surely God
prescriptions were given out. has sent you and you bring with you His love. You have

066 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 MOVING SAI SEVA IN FIJI

come here without any expectations yet you are willing to registrations. The school Headmaster and his staff were
work long hours as part of your philosophy. Please come extremely helpful and kept the situation under control
back again, we will always host you when you do so and allowed some of the senior children to help out.
-Headmaster, Seaqaqa School The Busiest and Most Blessed Day
A Fulfilling Experience By midday people were growing anxious they might not
The people waited in good humour and in harmony with be seen due to the large crowds pouring in but the team
each other. Most families who attended had brought reassured everyone they would treat all who registered
their own lunch and made a day of it but there were some and people settled down under shady trees and awnings
who needed feeding and this was provided by the staff of
the school. Though the day was extremely busy for By the end of the day in the Fifth Medical Camp
everyone and did not finish until 7:00 p.m., it was a in Naleba School, a total of 760 patients were seen
and 1200 prescriptions filled and dispensed.
Over 650 patients were examined and 900
prescriptions given out at the
Fourth Medical Camp in Seaqaqa Village

rewarding experience for all who were part of it. Well over
650 patients were seen and the prescription count
topped 900. All were seen and some with serious
problems were referred to Labasa hospital for special
appointments.
That night the bhajans were very sweet and sung with
much devotion and love. No one felt weary, just happy

People waiting to be seen at the Nabela Camp

that had been erected to await their turn. The problem of

registrations was solved the by giving everyone a number
and using a loud hailer to announce these numbers as the
doctors were freed up. This worked very well and allowed
people to spread out under trees throughout the grounds
and not worry about being missed.
This day turned out to be the busiest of all. The last
At the camp at Naleba School patient was seen at 8:00 p.m. and by the time the last
prescription was handed out it was 9:00. By the end of
and grateful to Swami for making this special project the day a total of 760 patients were seen and 1200
possible. prescriptions filled and dispensed. Before leaving, eight
THE FIFTH AND FINAL MEDICAL CAMP cartons of medicines were donated to the medical centre
AT NALEBA SCHOOL at Lekutu so the nurse there could administer
Thursday the 23rd of March was the day of the final camp, medications prescribed to certain patients for many
held at Naleba School, about forty-five minutes from months to come. Local health authorities gave assurances
Labasa. Though the school grounds were beautiful, this that prescriptions would be supplied for as long as the
region is very poor and the people struggle to survive. patients needed them.
Much of this poverty is the result of the coups over the “The Touching Love of Doctors
past fifteen years as Indian sugar cane farmers have had helped many People Over Their ailments”
to surrender leases on the land leaving them virtually with - A Local Sai Volunteer
nothing. One of the volunteers from Labasa, a Sai lady devotee
Once again the team began early and arrived at the who came to help for this one day explained through an
school at 7:00 a.m. to find people already queuing for interpreter:

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 067
WINDOW TO SAI SEVA

was only made possible because of Swami's grace and

love for us, and because of our love for Him and our
determination to try and be examples of His teachings.
- A team member
The New Zealand group flew back to the main island on
Friday morning with well over 3000 patients being seen
over the five days of camps. They all felt extremely blessed
Over 3000 patients were examined over
five days of camps in remote and rural areas of Fiji.

to have been part of the project but also humbled at what

they had seen and experienced. One can only hope that
devotees in other First World nations will look beyond
People queuing up till late afternoon their own comfort zones and see the opportunities for
I am a kindergarten teacher and I prayed to Baba that I seva that abound in nearby countries.
wanted to help the New Zealanders and do some service
Fiji is in New Zealand's backyard - a mere three hour flight
at the last camp. Baba answered my prayers and I was
away but the difference in available health care is huge.
allowed to close the kindergarten early and go to the
For instance, in Fiji, whether out in the hinterland or close
school to help. We heard that the Doctors and other
to a main town, a person suffering a heart attack has no
people there were doing wonderful work and in such a
chance for an operation as there is nothing in the way of
loving way. People were saying to me that these Doctors
heart surgical wards or specialists available. Only those
from New Zealand were talking to each patient, listening
with enough money for flights to New Zealand or
to each one, helping them and touching them with love.
Australia and heart surgery and post operative care might
And it was this touching that helped many people over
survive. But such huge costs are beyond the means of
their ailments. I could feel Baba's presence there so
almost all, especially those in the villages struggling to
strongly and was so happy that He allowed me to help make ends meet.
them. We have good Doctors in Labasa hospital as well
but they are always so busy that they probably do not The Sai-Inspired Guidelines
have the time to spend with each patient as these people That Ensured Success
do. Everyone here has been so happy that the New A few important points that should be noted are:
Zealand people have come and wish that they can come ! The team chose to be self sufficient in pharmaceuticals
more often. If they do so then I want to help again. and not have to rely on any one else so all medical
needs were ordered and paid for prior to the camps
The team left the school at 9:30 p.m. to travel a short
starting.
distance to another Sai devotee's place for their evening
meal. Once again, singing bhajans before partaking of ! The team paid for all their own airfares, both
the food revived them. All experienced an inner joy and international flights and the internal Fijian flights and
peace as they knew that these camps would never have all accommodation as well. Even though they did not
been so successful without Swami overseeing everything want to be a burden on the Sai devotees in Labasa and
in His quiet and loving way. were happy to have arranged their own meals on
returning to base each day, these evening satsangs
Heading Home and Final Thoughts
with the local people proved to be extremely beneficial
“The Whole Exercise Was Possible Because of
for all and an important aspect of the whole venture.
Sai's Grace” - A Team Member
I doubt very much if any other group of people who had ! Each morning before commencing the camps, prayers
never worked together before under such trying were offered to Swami asking Him for His love and
conditions would have completed these medical camps guidance throughout the day ahead.
without serious internal problems or disharmony. I have ! At a planning session it was decided the camps should
never worked before with people who just seemed to be be continuous with no days taken off between them
made for each job they took on. The unity and the love so the energy and commitment would not abate as
between all who were here was just incredible and no the priority was in helping those less fortunate than
one showed dissent or argued against any joint decisions themselves. Everyone afterwards felt that this was the
that were made at different times. The whole exercise correct way to do it.

068 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 MOVING SAI SEVA IN FIJI

! Even though the Sai community in Labasa offered to volunteers from Fiji could sense Swami's presence
accommodate the team over the four nights they were throughout the whole exercise. Small miracles kept
there, it was agreed it would be best if the group happening that could not be explained as coincidences
stayed together in the motel accommodation. They and it was He who ensured there were no serious hiccups
felt if any one of them needed help or support then the or insurmountable problems. Swami's love and
entire team was available to respond as a unit…or like compassion touched each and every patient through the
a family. care that the doctors and volunteers allowed to flow
! The team members felt that they had been the through them.
main beneficiaries of this service project. - Heart2Heart Team
All the doctors and volunteers from New Zealand and Sai

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 069
PRASHANTI DIARY

CHRONICLES OF
HEAVEN ON EARTH
One of the problems we face when writing these
chronicles is to decide on what we call the "cut-off" date.
In the early days of Heart2Heart we had to cut it off quite
early (by the 20th of the month) as we had to package all
the articles and send it to a company in Bangalore that
was helping us lay it out in the format of the Heart2Heart
magazine that you are all familiar with. This always left us
feeling a little unsatisfied, as quite a few of the major Showing the programme to Swami
festivals (like the Birthday celebration on November 23rd,
March 31 and April 1 2006:
as an example) fall during the last ten days of the month.
Cultural Programmes by the Vizag Group
Hence we could include a report on these events only the
This cultural programme consisting of songs written by
following month and as much as forty days late!
Sri M.S. Prakash Rao was presented before Bhagavan on
But over time we have built up enough expertise "in-
the evening of March 31. Twenty-five singers from the Sri
house" so that we now have a bit more control over the
Sathya Sai Seva Samithi, Vishakapatnam, Andhra
cut-off date and can include events which occur even in
Pradesh, presented the musical compositions ably
the last week of the month. Case in point: the 80th
supported by two keyboardists, two tabla players and
Birthday celebrations were covered in full and included in
one pad.
the December 1, 2005 issue.
In keeping with tradition, they began with an invocation
The festival of Ugadi, which fell on March 30 this year,
to Lord Ganesha - "Namami Vigneswaram" (Salutations to
threw us new challenges. After a full day of covering the
Vigneswara, the son of Siva. Salutations to the
event, i.e., taking notes and photographs of the morning
Partheshwara, the Lord of Parthi, worshipped by the
and afternoon sessions, would we be able to include it
Gods). This was followed by a very devotional song with a
and bring out the magazine in time, which meant loading
fast beat proclaiming, "This is Kailasam (the abode of Lord
it by midnight of the 31st, a mere twenty-four hours later?
Siva) and this is Vaikuntham, the abode of Lord Vishnu
This is where teamwork came into play. Everyone chipped
(Ede Kailasam, Ede Vaikuntham)".
in and did more than their share and with Swami's grace
we managed to not only complete a full write-up of the
events, but also selected, cleaned and captioned the
pictures that supported the text in Photoshop, listened to
and transcribed the Divine Discourse and selected
excerpts for inclusion, found someone late in the night to
translate the section on the panchanaga smaranam from
Telugu to English (from the students' skit in the evening)
and then finally laid it all out using a software program
called Dreamweaver. All the hard work paid off, as last
month's issue came out on the morning of April 1,
complete right up to the events that happened on March
30. And this is in addition to the heavy foot traffic we face
Welcoming Swami with a rose...
on holidays when we have numerous visitors with myriad
questions and urgent requests. This was followed by a prayerful song titled "Anduko Maa
In spite of all this there was one special event that Prarnathulu Anande Sai" which means, "Accept our
happened on March 31 in connection with the prostrations, O blissful Sai, You are our God". This was
celebration of the Ugadi festival that we just could not followed by "Sayee Ram Sayee Ram, Sayee Ram Sayee
include in the last issue: a cultural program of melodious Ram" which conveyed that we will sing with one voice
Telugu group songs. "Sayee, Sayee" and will join together and distribute the

070 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 CHRONICLES OF HEAVEN ON EARTH

The group singers in action... Swami is very happy

bliss.
"Maa Swami Paaadalu Mahi Mahite Vedaalu" (the Lotus
Feet of our Lord are the very essence of scriptures on this
earth), was followed by "Pudami Paina Purushottamudu"
(the Supreme Lord has taken birth on earth and
Puttaparthi has become a land of holy pilgrimage.) "Jai Jai
Sai Ram, Jai Jai Sai Ram" proclaimed the Lord of the
Universe has come down as Sathya Sai and is molding
humanity to attain great heights and establish Sathya,
Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa (truth,

Swami blesses the composer Sri Prakash Rao

evening, Swami called up the Music Director and told him
that Swami is very happy with the singing, the singing
was full of expression. See the atmosphere [in Sai
Kulwant Hall] has changed and all the people are happy.
That is good singing with devotion. "Swami likes it.

The group singers in action...

righteousness, peace, love and non-violence).
A haunting solo song (the only one for the evening) called
"Siva Siva Sankara" declaring that O Siva, You can be
owned only by Your devotees, was followed by the final
group song of the evening - a lullaby on Sathya Sai
("Sayini Vuyalu Loopandi"):
Let us cradle the little Sai
Sing a lullaby for the Lord Sai Arathi at the conclusion...
Let us sing the glory of Sathya Sai Swami is very happy. Sing tomorrow also".
Who is the very form of truth
The Music Director humbly said, "Swami, it is all Your
At the conclusion of the set of songs selected for the grace. I am only an instrument". To this Swami replied,

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 071
PRASHANTI DIARY

"Yes, you have written with that feeling in your heart. That book.
is why it is so good". The following conversation took place between Sri
Swami then released a book in Telugu entitled Salutations Prakash Rao and Swami in Telugu and we reproduce it
in Words to the Universal Lord before arathi was taken at here as related to Heart2Heart by Sri Prakash Rao:
the end of the concert. Swami: Who has written these songs?
The following morning, April 1, Swami graciously Prakash: It is You Swami, it is Your Grace. I am only an
permitted the Vishakapatnam Bhajan Group to sing instrument. I held the pen and You wrote them.
bhajans in the mandir. The entire group was seated in
Swami: You have written with that feeling in your heart
the mandir awaiting Swami's arrival. Initially they began
and that is why they are so good. Swami liked them. I am
with the usual bhajans which are sung every morning
happy.
in His presence. After a short time, however, Swami
Prakash: Swami, these songs are being sung during the
stopped the bhajans and asked the group leader Sri
medical camps held in the villages during grama seva.
M.S. Prakash Rao to open his book of lyrics and sing
the songs he had composed. They were only too happy Swami: I know. That is very good. They inspire people.
to oblige and sang the following selections: Swami then created a navarathna ring (a ring studded
1. "Idigo Idigo Prashanti Nilayam" with nine gems) and put it on the ring finger of Sri
Prakash Rao.
Here this is Prashanti Nilayam, the abode of Siva
Sakhthi Swarupa and the heaven where God walks in Swami: See these are navarathnas. It correctly fits on
human form.
2. "Edesa Megina Ebhasha Palikina"
Whichever country you come from or whichever
language you speak, there are the glories of Sathya
Sai, the leelas of Sathya Sai, the miracles of Sathya
Sai.
3. "Andaru Devudu Sairamudu"
Sai Rama is God to everyone. The God of Gods Who
protects by giving the Abhaya Hasta (the blessing of
fearlessness by raising the Divine Hand)
4. "Sayee Anu Kamman Pilupe"
The sweet name of Sai makes us remember a loving
mother, and the sweet thoughts of Sai enchant even
The navarathna ring created for the music composer
the mother.
5. "Sayirama Nauka Saagi Pothunnadi" your finger. Swami is always correct.
The boat of Sai Rama is sailing on. The Sai Krishna boat Prakash: Yes, Swami.
is cruising along in which the rudder is Sai and the Swami: When are you leaving?
force that makes the boat move is the sweet name of
Prakash: Whenever you order, Swami.
the lord.
Swami: These boys are employed. Take Swami's
6. "Parthi Pureesuni Choodaramo
prasadam in the canteen and then leave.
Paramaathmudocchadu Padarammo"
Prakash: Pranams, Swami.
Hail the Lord of Parthi, the Universal Lord has come
Swami: Be happy.
riding on the palaku (palanquin), the Lord has come
to ward off our sins. Swami then allowed everyone in the group to take
padnamaskar.
While the bhajans were being performed, Swami got up
from His throne and stood close to the singers sitting in April 7: Ramanavami Celebrations in
the front rows. He asked for the notebook in which the Sai Kulwant Hall
group leader Sri Prakash Rao had written his Ramanavami, or the birth anniversary of Lord Rama, is a
compositions and asked that songs be sung from that major festival celebrated all over India by devout Hindus.

072 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 CHRONICLES OF HEAVEN ON EARTH

Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was born

on the ninth day after the new moon (hence the term
Navami, which means the ninth). He was thus born in the
bright half of the Indian month of Chaitra (which

Showing Him the list of songs on concert day...

Swami giving darshan in an open car

normally falls during March and April) in the city of
Ayodhya, in the Treta Yuga, the Second Age.
Ramanavami is a festival which is typically celebrated in
Brindavan, for Swami is usually there during the hot
months of the year. For the past two years, however,
Swami has chosen to remain in Puttaparthi after
Sivarathri so the devotees in Puttaparthi had the rare
honour this year to pay homage to Lord Sai Rama on the
The concert in progress...
occasion of His birth anniversary.
The morning program started off with a veena kutcheri - a
To the surprise and delight of everyone, Swami gave veena concert - by the students of the Sai Mirpuri College
of Music. The boys obtained Swami's blessings for the
program by praying to Him the previous day with a card
they had specially prepared for Him.
They started off with a song in praise of Ganapathi -
Mahaganapathim in Natai ragam, Eka talam. This was
followed by Sudhamayee in Amritavarshini ragam,
Roopakam talam. This ragam has an important feature in
that if one sings this ragam well and with full feeling, it
will rain.

Obtaining Swami's blessing to play in front of Him

darshan in an open red car - a Cooper that had
personalized license plates proclaiming BABA. The
devotees for long had been sad they could only have a
brief glimpse of Swami during darshan in His Porte, so
this open car fulfils a longstanding desire and is an
answer to fervent prayers for unhindered darshan of the
Divine form.
Singing the carnatic vocal songs...

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 073
PRASHANTI DIARY

After this, at Swami's request, there was a Rama Katha in

Hindi sung by Kaustab, Abhijith Sikote and Gopinath
Padi. They also sang a favourite Meera bhajan "Payo ji

Rama Katha being sung in Hindi...

Following this was "Endaro Mahanu Bhuvalu" in Sri ragam

and Adi talam. This song is one of the five gems of Sri
Thyagaraja Swami. Following this was "Paluke The Vice-Chancellor talks about the spiritual
significance of the Ramayana
Bangaramayeera" in Anandabhairavi ragam and Adi
thalam which is a famous song written by Bhaktha maine rama rathan dhana payo". They were accompanied
Ramadas. "Brahman Okate" in Bhowli ragam, Adi talam, a by Abhishek on the tabla, Sanket Modi on the
keertanam by Sri Annamacharya, was next where he harmonium, and Raghavan on the Naal.
states God is one and conveys the advaita bhavam in the To round off the morning's program there were songs by
song. the Institute students. Aswath Narayan sang "O Rama Nee
The young veena players were K. Bhardwaj, V.N.S. Nama" in Adi talam and Om Prasad sang "O Swami" in Adi
Bhaskar, B.N. Shiva Sai, and M. Gopalakrishna. Violin talam. The final song of the morning was a group effort
accompaniment was provided by Krishna Uday while called "Jagadhabi Ramudhu" in Adi talam. Backing up the
Sudheerkumar and Hari Vijay Ram accompanied them on vocalists were an assortment of instruments that
the mridangam and Mohan Kumar played tabla. included two violins, one keyboard, a saxophone, a flute
and a tabla.
In the afternoon, Swami sat in His chair listening to the
vedam for a few minutes and then signaled for the
microphones to be set up and requested the Vice-
Chancellor and Sri Ajit Poppat to speak.
Vice-Chancellor Sri A.K. Gokak talked about the noble
qualities of Lord Rama and the example He sets for
humanity. He said that Rama is the very essence of a noble
king and an ideal brother. While Rama represents

Om Prasad sings "O Swami..".

At Swami's request three carnatic vocal numbers were
sung by Sri Jyoteeswaran, lecturer in Vocal Music.
"Brovabharama" in Adi talam, Bahudar ragam was the
first song (originally written by Sri Thyagaraja) where He
wistfully asks Lord Rama, "Is it difficult for You to save
me?" This was followed by "Ramanamamu" in Adi talam,
Athana ragam, another Thygaraja composition, and the
final vocal song was also a keertanam by Thygaraja called
"Nagumomu" in Adi talam, Abheri ragam.
Sri Ajit Poppat addresses the crowd

074 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 CHRONICLES OF HEAVEN ON EARTH

compassion, Lakshmana represents love and the mixing signaled that the table be brought so He could deliver His
of the two results in bliss. Talking in depth about the Divine Ramanavami discourse. Swami said,
spiritual significance of the Ramayana, the Vice- "You all are essentially Divine. Since ancient times, Rama's
Chancellor said that the four brothers represented the story is being composed and shared by all. The story
four human values - Sathya, Dharma, Shanti and Prema. actually took place 1000s of years ago. But yet, His story is
The relationship between Rama and Sita is like that heard by one and all even today. Right from a beggar to a
between the Atma and Brahma Gnana - the separation of millionaire, they repeat Rama's name. There is no
the two results in delusion as represented by the golden Bharatiya who does not repeat Lord Rama's name. You all
deer. We can cross the ocean of delusion by building a are embodiments of My own Divinity, said Lord Rama.
bridge (as done by the monkey hordes in Lanka). The
Truth is the foundation of Dharma. Satyam Naasti Paro
rajasic qualities of Ravana are destroyed and the satthvic
Dharmaha. Therefore, the first lesson is to always speak
qualities of Vibhishana are restored to the throne. Hence
the Truth. Act as per the word given. One should speak
the Ramayana has universal appeal and is popular all over
only after ensuring the feasibility of the word to be
the world. In conclusion, he said that on this day of Rama
translated into action. Dharma is not merely an act of
Navami being celebrated before the Living God, let us
charity. It must come from the heart and must be
pray to Him to help us rise above the level of sensuality
translated into action. Manas Ekam, Vachas Ekam,
and climb the ladder of spirituality.
Karmanyekam Mahaatmanam. Lord Rama is an example
Speaking next was Sri Ajit Poppat, a longtime devotee of this. On the contrary, Manas Anyat, Vachas Anyat,
from the UK. He said that while the Vice-Chancellor spoke Karman Anyat Duraatmanam. Ravana is an example of
of the spiritual significance of the Ramayana, he would the latter. Rama stands for Satya and Ravana for Asatya.
talk about Sai Ramayana. Starting with the example of
Ahalya, he said that while Ahalya was transformed by a Today, man is faced with a number of problems because
simple touch, Swami transforms by a mere look. Stating of speaking untruth. Once, we speak untruth, we lose the
that he has been coming since 1989, Sri Ajit Poppat drew quality of life. Truth is ever lasting. It is changeless.
from his vast experience and talks with Swami to drive Students, you all must observe Truth from this age
home to the crowd some of Swami's important teachings. onwards so that you will become ideal citizens tomorrow.
Drawing another parallel, he said that while Lord Rama Offer all your actions to God and it will get transformed
used the monkeys to build the bridge to Lanka, Sai Rama into Trut
stills the monkey mind and makes it pure and calm. The
All innermost feelings are reflections of Truth. However,
bridge we must build today is one of confidence, courage
when they manifest through the tongue and other senses
and conviction. He said we must translate Baba's message
they become false. Therefore, senses are responsible for
into action. Transform yourself first, he exhorted the
merit and demerit. Truth shows the direction, Dharma
crowd, then put Swami's message into action without a
follows it and Prema experiences and tastes it. Once you
sense of doership, and whatever you say, you must do.
taste this Love, you will never be able to cause Himsa
After Sri Ajit Poppat's speech, to everyone's delight Swami (violence) to anybody. Himsa is not just hurting others.
Not following one's given word is also violence-Himsa.
Mind is clouded by desires, just as the moon is covered
with dark clouds. But do not feel sad. The moment the
dark clouds clear away, the moon is seen. We must do
Naamasmarana to blow away the clouds of desires
covering our minds…
Tell me your company and I shall tell you what you are.
Never be in bad company. Always be in good company.
Yad Bhavam Tad Bhavati. Many of us question as to why
God cannot transform us. God never does anything. Your
thought and action itself does everything and gives you
feedback. If you eat a mango fruit you will invariably get
only the belch of a mango fruit. You cannot get the belch
The Divine Discourse of a neem fruit, having eaten a mango fruit.

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 075
PRASHANTI DIARY

The Kodai troupe members boarding the plane

One who thinks constantly can never be happy. We must
transcend our thoughts. Bookish knowledge leads to
allergy and all our energy is lost. At a higher level, one
need not think, - Is it good or bad. Everything is good
only. Whatever happens is for our good only. Live with
this conviction.
Love all, never hate anybody. Some doubt God also. That
is the greatest sin. When such bad thoughts come,
consider them as enemies and brush them aside. Love will
protect and nourish you. Live in love. You all are
Embodiments of Love…
What we need today is not expansion of the physical
heart, but transformation of the spiritual heart. Be in
search of the path that can accommodate as many people
as possible.
Then addressing students He said,
Tomorrow all of you will be leaving for your hometowns.
Keep all that you have learnt here in your mind. Never
make your parents feel sorry. Make them happy. If you are
happy they too will be happy. This is your duty. Khana,
Pina, Sona and Marna will automatically happen. The
main purpose of our being born is to make our parents
happy. Be good ideals. Then alone will you gain the
fulfillment of being students of the Sri Sathya Sai
Educational Institutions."
Swami inside the plane
Thus concluded another memorable Ramanavami, this
Dear Reader, it has not been possible for us to get pictures
time held in Sai Kulwant Hall. The whole ashram was now
and stories of Swami's Kodai trip in this issue, we will
abuzz with the word that He will shortly leave for His
bring you a very detailed report with lots of pictures of
playground, Kodaikanal.
Swami's visit and stay in the emerald hills of Kodaikanal in
On April 9, with an entourage of 60 students, staff and the next issue.
guests, Swami left Parthi for Kodaikanal on a chartered
flight to Madurai, where He blessed many hundreds of
devotees. He then traveled by road to the elevated cooler
- Heart2Heart Team
climes of the hill resort of Kodaikanal.

076 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
SWAMI AND ME FAITH - ALL THE SPIRITUAL STRENGTH THAT ONE NEEDS!

world and builds for himself a home, housing in it all that

he has acquired in life. And he sits in this house and
FAITH - ALL THE SPIRITUAL twitters to the tune of life. But when the winds are not in
STRENGTH THAT ONE favor and the world comes crashing around him, he hops
NEEDS! about lamenting his plight.”

The tiny sparrow on that branch did not depend upon the
twig, or on the branch, or on the gigantic trunk of the
This is the transcription of the talk delivered by Sri
mighty banyan tree. It depended on its wings! So too in
Hemant Kumar, a current student of Swami's
life, let us depend not upon mere twigs of passion and
Institute, in the Divine presence of Bhagawan Baba.
fashion, of pain and gain, of wealth and glory. Let us
Invoking the Blessings of Mother Divine, Sri Sai rather depend upon wings of Faith. Faith in His Name, in
Saraswathi, upon all gathered here. Loving and Humble His Love, in His Glory, in His Benevolence, and in His
Salutations, oh Mother Divine, at Your Lotus Feet. Benediction!
Esteemed elders, dear brothers and sisters, Sai Ram to all
Give us, Lord, the ability that we develop these wings of
of you.
Faith, for when the tempest becomes more stormy than
In a clearing in a forest there stood a huge banyan tree. It we can bear, we can spread these wings of Faith and glide
had a gigantic trunk and mighty knolled prop roots, and effortlessly to our destinations.
sturdy branches. And on one such sturdy branch there
was a lean twig on which sat a tiny sparrow. A slight Faith is Verily Life
breeze set the twig into a harmonic oscillation, and the A Mother loves a child for she has Faith that it is her own.
sparrow chirped in with rhythm. The breeze slowly turned A child loves his parents for he has Faith that they are his
into a wind and the sparrow's seat shook violently. But the own. I stand here to speak for I have the Faith that what I
sparrow just continued chirping with none to listen to its speak is what I feel! And on a lighter note, many of us
melody. The wind turned fierce and roared; the sparrow would have unkempt hair if we did not have the Faith that
only twittered. And in the asymmetric battle that the barber in the saloon would cut our hair and not our
continued, the twig snapped, unable to bear the neck!
onslaught. What happened to the tiny sparrow?

The Bird with You, the Wing with Me

It was September 28, 1995. I was in my eighth standard.
Bhagavan had given our entire class an interview with
Him. And I was fortunate enough to be sitting right at His

Why go so far? You would not eat if you knew the food
you eat would not be digested. You would not sleep if
you had no Faith that you would get up. You would not
dare breathe if you did not have the Faith that the
breath of air you've taken would ever come out. Life is
verily Faith. And in this Life, man tends to move
towards happiness. And Bhagavan puts both of them
so close together when He says:
feet and I looked up and asked Him (mentally): “What
happened to the sparrow?” At this point of time,
Where there is Faith, There is Love;
Bhagavan was narrating the very same incident. He
Where there is Love, there is Truth;
looked into my eyes and gleefully added: “It spread its
Where there is Truth, there is Peace;
wings and flew away.” The answered reached home.
Where there is Peace, there is Bliss;
Bhagavan then continued to explain, “Man lives in this And where there is Bliss, there is God!

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 077
SWAMI AND ME

What better inspiration is there to repose our Faith upon Then Vishnu went on to explain: “It is the Faith the
than Him seated in our midst? The Supreme Godhead, devotee had. He had Faith - complete Faith. I had given
the source of Supreme Love. my assurance. It does not matter how long it will take, but
I had given my word, and that Faith gave him all the joy
Atita pantanam tavacha mahima vangamanasaya ho
that I am going to give him Darshan, and so - I had to
Prataya Vrityayam Chakitam abhidatey shritaneyapi
break My Word and appear in front of him.”
Oh Lord! My mind and thoughts stand flabbergasted
What is the path to God? There is no path to God! Who is
when attempting to scale the heights of Your
the source of our Faith? It's a jump, for it's an abyss! In this
Benevolence and Magnificence. Let us develop our Faith
quest for God, it is a question of 100% Faith or no Faith at
towards You.
all! Even 99.999% wouldn't do! In this domain of God
Lord Narayana's Love for His Devotee there is no question of “if” and “but”. Every “if” and
It so happened that once sage Narada upon his tour “but” is “cut”! It's a question of 100% Faith or no Faith at
around the world in spreading God's Glory happened to all!
meet a devotee of the Lord sitting under a huge banyan But the plight of man is so miserable that he is ready to
tree. Upon seeing the great sage, the devotee prostrated believe in anything and everything, except his own inner
before him and said, “Oh great one, when will you be voice. Every time we get into a bus we place our life into
going to Vaikuntha to meet the Lord?” Narada replied, the hands of the driver - a mortal like us. But when the
“After my trip around the world, spreading the message Jagad Guru comes and says, “My child, give me your heart
of the Lord, I will surely go to Vaikuntha.” The devotee and I will ferry you across the ocean of life”, you are not
then put forward his prayer. “I have been meditating for interested.
so many years. Please ask the Lord when He will give me
His Darshan?” When the calendar says tomorrow is Thursday, you'll
stake your life for that. But when He who has put the Sun,
And so the sage consented to put forward the prayer of the moon and the stars in its place comes to you and
this devotee and proceeded to Vaikuntha. There Lord whispers in your ear, “My child follow My words” you
Narayana asked him, “Narada, what is your news?” seem disinterested. Is that our Faith? Is that our belief in
Narada then put forward the prayer that the devotee had His Word?
made and Lord Narayana said, “Tell the devotee that I will
give him Darshan only after a number of births, a number The Flood of Love
equal to the number of leaves on the tree under which he Bhagavan narrated this experience which happened
is meditating.” thirty years ago. A devotee from East Godavari had come
to Bhagavan and prayed to Him to come for a house
Narada was dejected, but He was only a messenger and
warming ceremony - the Graha Pravesham.
so he went to the devotee and said, “You fool. Couldn't
you find any other tree to meditate under? Of all the Swami had consented to his prayer and had fixed a date
trees, you chose a banyan tree! The Lord will surely come when He would be there. He even said, “I would be there
to give you Darshan but it will be after a number of births, on that day at 9.00 a.m.” Given this Divine assurance, the
equal to the number of leaves on the tree under which devotee made all preparations for Bhagavan in East
you are meditating.” Godavari at his home. As is usual every year, rains came
and played havoc with the lives of the people. And that
And that moment a strange thing happened. The
year too a cyclone hit East Godavari. And the River
devotee went into a fit of ecstasy and the Lord appeared
Godavari began to swell. And so did the hearts of the
on the scene. As Narada stood there, fuming and fretting,
devotees with prayer. But God had given them the Word.
the Lord and the devotee met. It was like a calf running to
He had assured them that He will be there. And they had
meet its mother, or a river surging to meet the ocean.
belief in that.
After the union, the Lord came to Narada and said,
Swami says: “There may be people who suffer because
“Narada why do you look so upset?” Then Narada said,
they do not have Faith, but there is no one who will be let
“Lord, you may not have any value for your words but I
down if he has Faith.” That's the assurance and based on
have some value for mine. You said one thing and did
this assurance they made preparations to receive
something so contrary to it. Please explain.”
Bhagavan in East Godavari.

078 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 FAITH - ALL THE SPIRITUAL STRENGTH THAT ONE NEEDS!

district officials tried to dissuade the party from

attempting to cross the bridge. They said that Swami had
to give an undertaking that He is taking the journey on His
own risk. Consider the irony of the situation where God
had to assure them of what He does.

“Nothing will happen to anyone

who is with Me!”
Bhagavan wrote there: “Nothing will happen to anyone
who is with Me!” Who can give this assurance except the
Lord of the Universe? And so, a small boat was arranged
to ferry Bhagavan across to the other side. And it was in
such a position that it had to go under the bridge to reach
the other side. The devotees gathered on both sides to
see what will happen. The boat reached the bridge. The
water had risen to such an extent that it was lashing the
roof of the bridge and there was absolutely no place for
the boat to get under the bridge. The people waited
eagerly to see what would happen.

Bhagavan said to the people in the boat, “Close your

eyes. Do not see what will happen.” And in a fraction
of a second, believe it or not, the boat on this side
disappeared and appeared on the next side!

Imagine the roar of the devotees on both sides drowning

the roar of the river. The joy that surged in their hearts was
greater than the flood that arose from the River Godavari.
And Bhagavan reached the home at exactly 9:00 a.m. And
then during a public meeting He said, “When I came as
Rama, the ocean gave way; it had to give! When I
came as Krishna, Yamuna gave way! When I came as
Sai, what is Godavari?”

This Lord of Puttaparthi will never abandon you - He will

never forsake you. This ocean of mercy will take you by His
hand and Guide you across. You will never be abandoned.
Bhagavan speaks of Faith as a fire. Small fires are easily
put out by the slightest wind; so are small Faiths by the
slightest winds of doubt. Our Faith should be like that of a
forest fire. Oh Lord, let this Faith that You instill in us light
the lamps of Love in our hearts so that it dispels darkness,
ignorance and slothfulness.
With all this going on, unmindful of what transpired
between the God and the devotees, Nature continued to Lead kindly Light amidst the encircling gloom.
pour relentlessly in East Godavari. And the only
Lead Thou me on; the night is dark and I am far from
connection East Godavari had with the rest of the world
home.
was the old bridge at Rajahumdry. And for obvious
reasons, the district officials had closed the bridge and no The distant scene, I do not ask to see. One step
transportation was possible across the river. enough for me.
But Bhagavan had said He would go. And so, on the due Lead Thou me on!
date, He set forth with a few dignitaries to East Godavari.
They approached the river and it was in full spate. The Sai Ram!
- Heart2Heart Team

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 079
SWAMI AND ME

at the Sri Sathya Sai College, which was then affiliated to

the Bangalore University.
SWAMI - MOTHER DIVINE
By Dr. T Ravi Kumar After having tasted the nectar of proximity to Bhagavan,
the students did not feel like going back to their home
This is the transcription of the talk delivered in the towns. So they prayed to Bhagavan and Swami yielded
Divine Presence of Bhagawan Baba during Dasara and allowed them to do their postgraduate studies in
celebrations on the 18th of October 2004 by Dr. T Ravi Bangalore University while staying in Brindavan (His
Kumar, a lecturer in the Brindavan Campus of Swami's ashram in Bangalore). There was one boy who was doing
institute. his Masters in the Bangalore University who used to suffer
from a respiratory disorder. And as Bangalore was wet
Prayerful Pranaams at Bhagavan's Lotus Feet. Most
most of the year, he used to have a lot of problems
Beloved Bhagavan, respected elders, brothers and sisters.
because he would to be exposed to traveling about 25
If one were to go into the lexicon of every language that kms everyday.
the human tongue knows, the sweetest word that one
So he missed his classes during the year on a number of
would find would be the word "mother". It is the first
days. It was time for the annual examinations and all the
word that the human child learns, or tries to articulate. It
other students who were studying with him were able to
is in honour of the Mother that the Navaratri festival is
get their hall ticket. When this boy went to the office he
was told, “Sorry, you will have to write your exam next
year because you have a shortfall of attendance - you will
not be able to write the exam.”
This boy was crestfallen and returned to Brindavan. The
next morning was his exam. All the others were praying to
Bhagavan for Padanamaskar. He was waiting with them.
And all the others had their hall tickets blessed by

celebrated in Indian culture.Every land, every clime, every

race, every religion has its own celebration of Mother's
day. The ancient Indians, the great elders, who had come
face to face with the Mother, realized that one day would
not be enough for this grand purpose. Therefore, they set
apart nine full days in the calendar that we may worship,
that we may adore the Mother. It is with great
significance that in Prashanti Nilayam, during the festival
of the Mother, the Veda Purusha Saptaha Jnana Yagnam
is celebrated. The Yagnam is a symbol of sacrifice. And
what else is a Mother? "Mother" is a synonym for
sacrifice. Having been with Bhagavan for the past few
years, I have had an opportunity to see at close quarters
what sacrifice truly means.

The Necessary Hall Ticket

I will narrate to you a couple of incidents which hav
touched me. It was at the time when I was a student in
Brindavan. It was in the 1970s that there were a number
of students who had finished their undergraduate studies

080 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 SWAMI - MOTHER DIVINE

Bhagavan. When it was this boy's turn, he tried to tell The Lord's Night Time Vigil
Swami that he did not have a hall ticket, but how often There was another occasion when I had an experience of
we forget that we need not inform the all knowing! And what it is to know the sacrifices that a Mother makes. It
Swami just brushed aside his attempt and said, “Do was in June 1986 and we were returning from
Namaskaar!” So he did Namaskaar but was crestfallen Kodaikanal. On the way we were to go to Ooty and come
that he could not even explain his predicament to Swami. back to Bangalore. It so happened that the bus in which
That evening, as the warden was going upstairs to we were traveling developed some mechanical trouble on
Swami's room, this boy went to the warden and explained the Coimbatore Road. We had started earlier and visited
his plight. "Sir please explain this to Swami.” When the the Palani temple. Suddenly the bus stopped and the
warden went up and mentioned this to Swami, Swami driver said, “We can't proceed even an inch.”
said, “I know, I know. Tell him to finish his breakfast in the We thought of Swami, and just at that moment behind us
morning, go to the exam hall and write the exam.” No was Swami's car - even though Bhagavan had started
words that Swami utters are in vain. three hours later than us. This is the quality of a mother.
So this boy also did exactly as he was told by Bhagavan. In Mother is beside you whenever you need her.
the morning he had his breakfast and went to the city, Swami stopped the car and asked us, “What's the
following Swami's instructions. problem?”
That afternoon, as Swami was coming out for Darshan, “Swami there is some mechanical trouble and therefore
He was searching for someone. He looked around and the bus has stopped.” Swami said, “Okay, get the bus
spotted this boy amidst the group of students standing at repaired - (He sent an elderly devotee with us who knew
a distance, called him and said, “What about your exam?” the place) - come to Coimbatore and then come to Ooty.”
The boy said, “Ah, Swami, I wrote my exam.” We were all
surprised - how did he write the exam when he did not
have a hall ticket. We could see the glow of relief on his
face.
Swami put up a very inquisitive face and asked: “You
wrote the exam? Who gave you the hall ticket?”
Then the boy said, “Swami, I went to the University in the
morning. I was sitting there in front of the examination
hall. Swami had said 'Write the exam' so I knew somehow
I would write the exam. And suddenly there was this
person who called out my name and gave me the hall
ticket.”
Swami asked, “Who was it?” We were all impatient to
know who it was. And the boy said, “Swami, it was the
University peon who I don't know personally. In fact I was
so excited I forgot to even pay him something and when I
remembered this lapse and tried to make amends he was
no longer there.”
Swami said, “It was not any University peon. It was Me,
the Universal Lord Who came to give you the hall
ticket. Everyone else had written you off. But I shall
always stand by you.” When we went to Coimbatore it was already 7:30 p.m.
We were all moved to tears. and Swami had arranged dinner for us and proceeded to
Oh Sai Maa! For our sake, what roles you take. For our Ooty. But Swami is so concerned that by the time we
welfare, what sacrifices you make. Everyday, every reached Coimbatore itself, there had been three phone
moment at Swami's Feet, is a lesson in sacrifice. calls asking whether we had reached Coimbatore. From
Coimbatore we traveled to Ooty. But again, on the way

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 081
SWAMI AND ME

there was some problem in the car, and so we reached

Ooty at 12:00 midnight.
We had our dinner and slowly went to our rooms upstairs.
And whom do we find waiting there? Swami had kept
awake till 12:45 in the night to ask us why we came
late, to make us comfortable and to make sure that
we got the necessary rest! 12:45 at night.
These are just a couple of instances that I have mentioned
but there are any numbers of instances which I am sure
you will remember in your own life when Swami has
intervened.

'Please Stay One More Day'

I will just conclude my speech with one incident which is
very personal but which shows the amount of Love that
Swami has for each one of us. A few years back it was my
birthday and I had prayed for Bhagavan's permission to
come to Prashanti Nilayam (from Brindavan) to have
Swami's Blessings. The exams were on, so I came here and
took Swami's Blessings on my birthday.

The next day, even though it was a Sunday, there were

exams, and so I thought it would be right for me to return
back to the campus and be present there. In the
afternoon I sent word praying for Bhagavan's permission.
Bhagavan sent word that I should sit in the front. As
Bhagavan came He called me and said, “Tomorrow is
Sunday, isn't it? Why don't you stay for one more day and
go?”
This was Swami's Love. I was so moved. I said, “I also badly
want to stay.” Swami said, “Yes, yes, I know…that is why I
am telling you - stay for one more day and go.” This is the
Love of the Mother.
In Swami we have The Divine Mother, the Supreme
Mother and the Physical Mother, who nourishes and cares
for each one of us.
On this Navaratri day, what else can I do but pray to this
Mother that our devotion should flow in the fullness to
His Lotus Feet forever. May we be worthy of the Love,
Grace, and Compassion that Swami has been showering
on us and the sacrifice that Swami has been making every
moment of His Life for each and every one of us.
Brothers and Sisters, I am sure I am only echoing the
prayer that is in each of our hearts.
Jai Sai Ram!
- Heart2Heart Team

082 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 I AM A SAI DEVOTEE

I AM A SAI DEVOTEE I don't ask you for anything.

By Sai Sandesh My Swami will give me.
You can neither harm me nor help me.
This is a poem sent to us from one of our readers. It is His will that becomes my life.
I am a Sai devotee.

I AM A SAI DEVOTEE When I talk sweetly to you,

you might think that I like you.
No, I am talking to my Swami in you.
I am not born for lesser things. When I help you, you might think
I cannot compare myself with anyone else. I am being kind to you.
My life is mine. My Swami is mine. No, I am serving my Swami in you.
I am a Sai devotee. I am a Sai devotee.

Passing joys do not titillate me. On the outset

Waning shadows do not amuse me. I may appear like anyone else.
Fading bodies, flickering minds do not entice me. Cause I also have two hands and two ears.
I am not here for lesser pleasures. But my hands are always involved
I am a Sai devotee. In my Swami's work.
I do everything in His name,
Even a cough or a sneeze,
I am not here for composing an incomplete poem,
A walk or a talk.
Not for executing an unaccomplished mission.
My ears always hear His Voice,
I want it in full - the bliss.
His Name and His Message.
I am going to finish it - once and for all.
I am a Sai devotee.
Nothing can pull me to get off my train
At an intermediate station.
I am a Sai devotee. On the outset,
My life might appear like that of anyone else.
Cause I also work and earn,
There is a logic if someone
Eat and feed, sleep and dream.
Who does not believe in God
But my thoughts are always in Him and for Him.
Complains about his problems.
I have no misgivings, no bothers.
There is a reason if someone
No fears, no complaints.
Who has no guiding star
I am a Sai devotee.
lags behind with indolence.
But I am not like that.
I have the solution in my hand. I will be a success.
I have my Guru It is a fact, not a hope.
Not somewhere else on earth, I am everything.
But seated in my own heart. It is my experience, not a quote.
I am a Sai devotee. I am a Sai devotee.

It does not make sense in my case to spend I do, but I am not the doer.
Even a single moment in despair. I dream, but I am not the dreamer.
It is not rational in my case to wait for happiness. I walk in His footsteps.
It is not reasonable to behave I fly on His wings.
Even with the slightest egoism, in my case. I am a Sai devotee.
I do His work, He does my work.
I am a Sai devotee. Joy is my nature not my dream.
Light is what I radiate, not what I search for.
Love is what I am, not what I yearn for.
I am here to give, not to take.
I am a Sai devotee.
I am here to forgive, not to avenge.
I am here to console, not to complain.
I am a Sai devotee. For you, Dussera might be today.
For me, it is everyday, every moment.
I am a Sai devotee.

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 083
H2H SPECIAL

two flasks full of hot water, some Nescafe packets, and a

tin of Nestle's milk powder. When the time came, Swami
UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS Himself would mix the coffee and serve it to all. This time,
the arrangements were made by the Governor's
WITH SAI - PART 3 establishment, which had not made any allowance for
Recollections of sudden changes of plans that Swami is famous for.
Mr. Chidambaram Krishnan Swami then asked, “Have any of you got a flask?” I had a
flask and someone else had a flask too. We gave both
these flasks to Swami, who gently tapped on the side.
We continue with our presentation of the wonderful He then opened the flasks and they were full of
recollections of Mr. Chidambaram Krishnan, a long-time steaming coffee, smelling so good. That is how Swami
devotee of Bhagavan Baba who came to the Lord under gave us divine tiffin and divine coffee on the beach
somewhat unusual circumstances. In the last instalment that evening.
we broke off at a point where Swami had taken a group
to the beach in Quilon, Kerala, and wanted to know
whether there were any refreshments they could partake
of. There were none, and the nearest shop was four
kilometres from the beach. It was clearly not possible to
trek that distance and buy snacks; that would take too
much time. On the other hand, Swami could see that
everyone was hungry. So what was to be done? Devotees
did the only thing they could look to Bhagavan. And
what did Swami do? To find out, read on.

Chidambaram Krishnan tells his story

Surprise Trip to Madras

On that occasion, Swami produced coffee with gentle
taps. I am reminded of another occasion which occurred
around 1961-1962, when gentle divine taps produced
petrol instead of coffee. Let me digress and narrate that
incident. It so happened I was once driving Swami to
Madras (now Chennai) from Puttaparthi. In those days,
whenever Swami wanted to make a long distance trip by
car, He would send me advanced information. There were
standard instructions: “Fill the tank with petrol and also
carry some extra petrol in a few cans.” I have driven
Swami to many places like Hyderabad, Madras and so
forth. On this occasion there was no advanced intimation
sent to me before I left for Puttaparthi, so I did not bother
Plate of Grace about a full tank, etc. I had come prepared for a long stay
Just then, Swami's glance fell on a plate that had been of several months and told myself that when I returned I
brought for use while offering Aarathi. He said, “Give Me would fill the tank in Penukonda.
that plate.” The plate was given. He covered the plate
Things worked out differently. As soon as I reached
with His handkerchief and then removed it. Lo and
Puttaparthi Swami suddenly announced, “We are going
behold, the plate was full of hot Mysore paks
to Madras,” and got in the car. Even as He did so, He asked
(sweets), and they tasted delicious so sweet! Swami
me, “Have you got the tank filled?” I replied, “Swami,
distributed the sweets and when all of them were
when I asked You earlier, You told me You had no plans for
given out, He again covered the plate with His
long distance travel and that I could stay here from
handkerchief. When He removed it, this time there
Dasara to Birthday. So I did not fill the tank. But now You
were hot, crisp, karaboondhi, a tasty savoury. Those
have changed Your mind and are announcing a long
too were distributed, much to the delight of everyone distance trip. What am I to do?” Swami brushed this aside
present. Swami then said, “What about coffee?” Of and replied, “Forget all that. Just tell Me how far the car
course, there was no coffee. can go with the petrol inside.” I said, “Swami, we possibly
Coffee Creation could go up to Chickballapur, but maybe we could fill the
In those days, whenever Swami went out, He would carry tank in Penukonda on the way or even in Bagepalli.”

084 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS WITH SAI - PART 3

one could take one of three routes. One of these was via
Penukonda but this was not often favoured because of a
big stream one had to cross. There was another route via
Gorantla, but this route was littered with big boulders
that made driving very difficult. The third road was via
Muddi Gubba and that was the route I often took.
In the 60s, one could drive to Puttaparthi, but prior to
that, in the 40s and 50s, one could only go up to
Karnatakanagepalli, opposite Puttaparthi on the other
side of the Chitravathi River. In those days Swami had a
green Dodge car. That car would then be towed by
bullock cart across the river from Karnatakanagepalli to
Puttaparthi.

Swami's Example
Those were truly difficult days. You know what Swami
went through to build the Mandir here? Today, we all sit
comfortably in the Mandir and sing Bhajans. Swami could
have instantly created the Mandir using His Divine
powers, but He did not want to do it that way. In every
Mission of His, Swami has struggled and toiled exactly as
we would if we had undertaken that job. This was His way
of setting an example in determination and tenacity. He
never ever used His Divine powers that would have made
things so very simple. Do you know what a hassle it was to
bring those huge steel girders to the Mandir site?

Swami Slipped and Fell

Swami got into the car and I started driving. The moment Once during construction, Swami was up above giving
we left, Swami started ticking me off. He said, “You
havemade a big mistake. You should have filled the tank
earlier. Don't you know that in life there could be a
sudden change of plans? You must know how to
anticipate. Events will not always happen with earlier
announcements,” and so on. A non-stop barrage of
criticism! With all these complaints I was of course feeling
very uncomfortable. And all the time I was dreading that
something very unpleasant was going to happen.

The Petrol Stations are Dry!

To get on with the story, we reached Penukonda but the
bunk there had no petrol. We drove on and reached
Bagepalli; no luck there. With great trepidation, I then
drove on to Chickballapur, and to my great horror, both
the bunks there were dry! In those days traffic was quite
light and bunks filled up only once in a while.

Journeys across the Wilderness

I must also tell you that access to Puttaparthi was very
difficult in those days. If you came by car, you can be
certain that during the trip at least three or four parts
would get damaged. On the way we had to cross about
twenty or so small streams; there were no bridges or even
causeways. Often these streams were dry and there
would be big stones scattered all over the place. If one
was not very careful, one of these stones might strike the
under chassis, leaving the traveller stranded midstream.
During the rainy season, there could be dangerous flash
floods that could wash away the vehicles.
In a very good car, we could drive from Bangalore to
Puttaparthi in about six hours. If the car was old, it was a
full day's journey. For coming from Madras to Puttaparthi,

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 085
H2H SPECIAL

instructions when He slipped and fell. This incident is not One possibility was for me to wait till a petrol tanker
recorded in any book, but it is a fact that Swami fell and passed by and try to buy some from them. But in those
suffered an injury on the head. Swami immediately days petrol tankers plied very infrequently. Meanwhile, I
commanded, “Take Me to My room,” and that was done. saw a bus approaching. I got out with the idea of riding
Swami then asked everyone to leave the room and close that bus to some nearby place to see if I could somehow
the door. Half an hour later, Swami opened the door and get some petrol from somewhere. When I got out of the
came out. There was no trace of any injury except a scar car, Swami also got out. He then said to me, “Open the
that looked six-months old. tank.” I said in reply, “Swami, the fuel gauge shows the
tank is empty. I can of course open the tank, but it is not
Wrong Turn easy to see inside.” To that Swami said, “Does not matter;
Let me get back to the petrol story. As I said earlier, in you just open the tank; I want to see for Myself.”
Chickballapur we also drew a blank no petrol in the two
bunks there. Swami then asked, “What route are you "Maybe you did not read the gauge
going to take? And how long do you think you can properly."
manage with the petrol you have?” I replied, “Swami, I I removed the cap and opened the tank, after which
think with careful managing we may be able to reach Swami peered inside. His hands were on the car and He
Kolar, where we can surely fill the tank.” Swami was gently tapping even as He looked deep inside. He
pondered that for a minute and then said, “You think then said, “No petrol inside, and also no prospects for
so? In that case, go ahead but make sure you do not getting petrol now, right?” Meekly I responded, “That's
leave Me stranded in the middle of the road.” I said OK how it looks, Swami.” Swami then said, “Doesn't matter.
but then I was under such stress that I took a wrong turn You get in and just turn on the switch and look at the
and entered the road leading to Chintamani instead of to meter again. Maybe you did not read the gauge
Kolar. I did not realize this when I made the turn. It was properly.”
only after driving for sometime that I saw a milestone that
I obeyed and got into the car and turned on the switch. I
showed the distance to Chintamani.
saw the meter and it showed the tank was full. I was
My head started spinning. Here I was on the wrong road puzzled and said, “Swami, I think something is wrong
and there was no bunk in Chintamani. How do I break this with this meter.” Swami rejected my analysis and said,
bad news to Swami? Soon the car would come to a halt “How can that be? This is a new car. I think the meter is
and then I would get it from Swami left and right. right. You just turn the key and see what happens.” I did
that, and wonder of wonders, the car started!
The Car Grinds to a Halt Meanwhile, Swami started laughing, and that was
And exactly as I had feared, after some time the car did when I realized that by tapping the tank from the
come to a stop. Swami asked, “What is the matter?” I outside, in a flash He had actually filled the tank.
knew the answer but stalling for time a bit, I replied, Swami then said, “Let this not happen again. Always
“Swami, let me see what the problem is.” A moment or be prepared and be ready for all eventualities.” Back in
two later, I meekly said, “Swami, the petrol is exhausted.” Quilon, Divine taps produced coffee and now they
Swami responded by asking, “What? No petrol? Does produced petrol. I digressed somewhat mainly to narrate
that mean I am stuck here in this car in the middle of this incident.
nowhere? What are you going to do now?” Hesitantly I
replied, “Swami that precisely is what I am trying to figure (To Be Continued)
out!”

086 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
GET INSPIRED 500 RUPEES AN HOUR

to bed! Why are you being so selfish? Do you think I have

time to walk a dog when I am working so hard to keep
500 RUPEES AN HOUR everything going?” Gopal is a little shaken at his father's
outburst and so goes to his room and has a little cry.
Ramesh sits down, relaxes and watches TV and gradually
Sometimes the demands of our working lives becomes gets into a better mood. After about an hour or so, he
overbearing and makes us forget what truly matters. Isn't feels calmer and a little guilty as he turns to thinking
it? Just read this story to find out. about his son "Maybe there was something he really
An office worker named Ramesh came home from his needed to buy with that Rs. 300 - and he really does not
demanding job at a late hour, feeling very tired. All he ask for money very often!"
wanted to do is rest from the grueling day; but on going So he goes to the door of the boy's room and asks "Are
inside the home he finds his 7-year-old son, Gopal, you asleep Gopal?"
"No Daddy, I'm awake." He goes in and says,
”Hey look, I was feeling so tired from work and I should
not have shouted at you. What do you need that 300
rupees for?”
Gopal sits up from bed and smiles at his father "Oh thank
you dad!" Then, reaching under his pillow he pulls out
some crumpled up notes. "Why do you want money if you
already have some?" the father grumbles wondering
what this is all about and wanting to go back to his TV.
The son slowly counts out his money and then, looks up at
his father "Because I didn't have enough, but now I do.
waiting for him. Ramesh sees the look in Gopal's eyes and Daddy, I now have Rs. 500. Can I buy an hour of your
knows that his son wants his attention - but he just does time? Please come home early tomorrow because I want
not have the energy. to have dinner with you."
Gopal says to his father "Daddy, may I ask you a question." Ramesh feels a stab in his heart and tears come to his
Ramesh parries this as he is feeling very thirsty after a long eyes. He thinks of all the time he gives to his work but
journey home, "Hold on, I want to get a drink" but his son how much to his little boy - and when was the last time
ignores this and asks "Dad, how much money do you they had a family meal.
make in an hour?" “Gopal” he says feeling moved, “Tomorrow, when I come
Ramesh feels rather put out at this strange question and home we will have dinner together, me, your Mother and
answers gruffly, "That's none of your business. Why do you. And yes, we can talk about getting that dog as well.”
you ask such a thing?" But Gopal is not to be put off and This story is just a short reminder to all of us working so
continues "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much hard in life. We should not let time slip through our
do you make an hour?" fingers without having spent some quality time with
Ramesh manages a quick answer between gulping down those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. If
some water, "I make Rs. 500 an hour." we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for
could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family
and friends that we leave behind will feel the loss for the
rest of their lives.
Swami tells us,
"Parents must learn how to love their children. Whenever
they go astray parents should immediately correct their
faults. Parents today lavish too much affection on their
children. Affection alone is not enough. There should be
control over the children as well. There should be both
love and law; only then will the love prove beneficial. The
obligations of parents do not end with providing food,
schooling and the knowledge of worldly matters. The
"Oh", the little boy replies, with his head down. Looking children should also be provided with right values."
up, he says, "Dad, may I please borrow Rs. 300?"
(Gems of Wisdom p,215)
Ramesh becomes irritated at this untimely request when
"The father must encourage the son more by example
all he wants to do is put his feet up and watch TV, "I told
than by precept." (Gems of Wisdom p,213)
you so many times that we are not going to have a dog
and 500 rupees is far too less to buy one anyway now get llustrations by Vamsi Aditya, SSSIHL

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 087
GET INSPIRED

away. Everyone in the village shook their heads and said,

"What a poor fellow!"
WE WILL SEE The farmer smiled and said, "We'll see."
Eventually, the horse found his way home, and everyone
again said, "What a fortunate man."
Once upon a time, there was a farmer in a central region
of China. He didn't have much money and, instead of a

tractor, he used an old horse to plow his field.

One afternoon, while working in the field, the horse The farmer said, "We'll see."
dropped dead. Everyone in the village said, "Oh, what a Later in the year, the farmer's young boy went out riding
horrible thing to happen." The farmer said simply, "We'll on the horse and fell and broke his leg. Everyone in the
village said, "What a shame for the poor boy."
The farmer said, "We'll see."

see." He was so at peace and so calm, that everyone in the

village got together and, admiring his attitude, gave him
a new horse as a gift.
Everyone's reaction now was, "What a lucky man." And the
farmer said, "We'll see."
A couple days later, the new horse jumped a fence and ran
Two days later, the army came into the village to draft new
recruits. When they saw that the farmer's son had a
broken leg, they decided not to recruit him.
Everyone said, "What a fortunate young man."
The farmer smiled again and said "We'll see."
There's no use in overreacting to the events and
circumstances of our everyday lives. Many times what
looks like a setback, may actually be a gift in disguise. And
when our hearts are in the right place, all events and
circumstances are gifts that we can learn valuable lessons
from.
As Swami tells us,
"Joy and sorrow are like two pots carried by a man on a
pole. They are inseparable. No one can tell what the
future has in store for any individual." And let us also
remember that “the most precious ornaments arise from
fiercest of fires.”
Illustrations: Ms Vidya, Kuwait,
Courtesy: Moolyasudha September 2005

088 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 WHAT IS YOUR VALUE?

WHAT IS YOUR VALUE?

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding

up a $20 bill. In the packed room of 200 people, he asked,
"Who would like this $20 bill?"
Hands started going up and people started smiling, a
little amused at this strange offer.

Looking very serious the speaker said, "I am going to give

this $20 to one of you - but first, let me do this." He
proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.
He then asked the bemused audience, "Who still wants
it?"
But the hands were still up in the air.
"Well," he continued, "What if I do this?" And he dropped
it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with
his shoe.
He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who
still wants it?" Still the hands were in the air.
Now he delivered his message "My friends, you have all
learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the
money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in
value. It is still worth $20.
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and
ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the
circumstances that come our way.
At those times we may feel as though we are worthless.
But no matter what has happened or what will happen,
you will never lose your value. You are special - don't ever
forget it!"
When negative thoughts come into our mind it is
important not to believe them, but hold onto our spiritual
Let's have faith in ourselves and be full of self-confidence,
reality, which, through the ages, the saints and sages
for every single being is born with a purpose and there is
have contemplated on and exhorted us to discover.
something beautiful God wants to do through each one
“For the crop of life,” Swami says, “courage and of us. We just have to trust Him and trust ourselves.
confidence are the best manure, and the best
Illustrations: Suresh, SSSHSS
insecticides. Be like lions in the spiritual field, rule over
the forest of the senses and roam fearlessly with full faith – Heart2Heart Team
in victory. Be heroes, not zeroes.”

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 089
TEST YOUR SPIRITUAL QUOTIENT

7. Prince Siddhartha, later the Buddha, was shielded

from all unpleasant sights by his father and lived
MULTI-FAITH his early life exclusively in the palace. One day he
left the palace for the first time and saw four
SPIRITUAL QUIZ people who shocked him and propelled him onto
the path of enlightenment. Three of the people
were an old man, a sick man and a monk. Who was
the fourth?
1. In Islam what does the word Hadith refer to?
a. a soldier
a. A verse from the Quran. b. a dead man
b. The period of lamenting for the dead. c. a man singing to God
c. A verified statement or saying of the Prophet d. a beggar
Muhammad.
d. The place where demons dwell. 8. In the Bhagavatham the evil King Kamsa tried
his best to kill the baby Lord Krishna what
2. What did Rama have to accomplish in order to win method did he use?
the hand of Sita in marriage?
Lord Rama had to: a. Kamsa sent his army to kill Krishna.
b. Kamsa did penance to Lord Vishnu to gain the
a. lift and break the Bow of Shiva power to kill Krishna.
b. lift and string the Bow of Shiva c. Kamsa came in the guise of a Brahmin to kill Krishna.
c. shoot an arrow from the Bow of Shiva d. Kamsa sent several demons to kill Krishna.
d. find the Bow of Shiva
9. In the Bhagavatham, Duryodhana persuaded the
3. What does the Jewish holiday of the Passover wrathful sage Durvasa to go to the Pandavas with
commemorate? his 10,000 followers and ask for a sumptuous meal,
knowing that Durvasa would be left unsatisfied
a. The Israelites' escape from Egypt and then curse the Pandavas. Thus the distraught
b. The Jewish new year Pandavas prayed to Lord Krishna to save them, as
c. The autumn harvest they had already partaken food from their sacred
d. The end of the Jewish fasting period vessel which would not fill up again as it does
before every meal. When the Lord arrived He
4. Dharma is the first word and mama the last word of requested the sacred vessel. What happened next?
which Hindu scripture?
a. Lord Krishna created an endless supply of food
a. The Mahabharatha using the sacred vessel.
b. The Ramayana b. Lord Krishna gave the sacred vessel to Durvasa.
c. The Bhagavatham c. Durvasa's hunger was satisfied after Krishna ate a
d. The Bhagavad Gita scrap of leftover leaf from the vessel.
d. Lord Krishna persuaded Durvasa to leave with A
5. Complete these words of Jesus promise of His Grace.
"Let the _______come to Me, and do not forbid
them; for of such is the kingdom of God." 10. Can you complete this sentence from Swami?
“Though my heart is soft as butter, it melts only
a. poor and meek when there is some ________ in your prayer.”
b. little children
c. righteous
d. peacemakers a. effort
b. intelligence
c. purpose
6. Complete the quotation of Swami, “Duty without
d. warmth
Love is deplorable, duty with love
is desirable, __________.”

a. Love is divine, duty is divine.

b. Love with duty is divine.
c. Love without duty is divine.
d. Duty is love, love is divine.

090 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 MULTI-FAITH SPIRITUAL QUIZ

Answers to Quiz this, the Egyptians released the Jews from captivity. See
the Book of Exodus in the Bible (Ch12 v 1-30) for the full
Question 1. Answer c... account.
Hadith means sayings of the Prophet. Islamic tradition
Question 4. answer d...
divides the hadith into two types: the hadith nabawi,
Swami uses these two words to illustrate a beautiful
which are sayings that Muhammad made on his own, and
truth:
the hadith qudsi, which are sayings that Muhammad
“Dharmakshetre kurukshetre....” So runs the first verse of
made through divine inspiration.
the Gita. The first word of the first line is Dharma. The last
Question 2. answer b... word of the last verse of the Gita is mama (Yatra
In Ramakatha Rasavahini Swami recounts the incident Yogeshwarah Krishna....Dhruva nitir matir mama). The
thus: fusion of mama and dharma is mama dharma, which
“Janaka also announced that he would give Sita in means one's own dharma or swadharma. Thus, the
marriage to whosoever lifted the bow and strung it, for Bhagavad Gita teaches each individual the principles of
he had vowed that Sita will be wedded only to such a one. his own dharma.
Viswamitra approved (Summer Showers In Brindavan 1979 p,226-7)
that procedure too…
Question 5. answer b...
Rama raised, with no
The context of this saying is as follows:
concern or exertion, the
“Then little children were brought to him, that he should
Bow from its box!
lay his hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked
Holding the Bow erect
them. Butt Jesus said, 'Let
he looked around,
the little children come to
while amazement was
Me, and do not forbid
on every face! The
them; for of such is the
thousands who
kingdom of God'. He laid
witnessed the
his hands on them, and
wondercitizens, kings and princes, sages and elders
departed from there.”
raised such an applause that the sky echoed the
(The Bible, book of
exultation! Soon Rama strung the magnificent Bow! With
Matthew Ch 19 v13-15)
delightful ease he fixed an arrow! And he drew the string
In addition, Swami tells
back up to the ear, in order to release it. But the Bow
us that, “You will be
snapped!” (Ramakatha Rasavahini part 1 p,167,169)
welcomed by the Divine, only when, as Jesus said, you
Question 3. answer a... become a child. 'Allow the children to come to me', he
The Passover remembers the time when the Israelites said.” (Divine Discourse 23.5.67)
were enslaved by the Egyptians. The Israelite leader,
Question 6. answer c...
Moses, heard God The answer is ‘Love without Duty is Divine’ which often
ordering him to tell all the Swami has quoted. “Love becomes Divine when it is
Israelites to place a red totally selfless and pure. When love exists for love's sake
mark of goat's blood on all alone without any obligation to love (be it familial
their front doors. God attachment or otherwise), it is truly Divine. Swami's Love
then 'passed over' their which is unconditional and spontaneous is just like this.”
homes and killed only the
first-born sons of the
Egyptians. Because of

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 091
TEST YOUR SPIRITUAL QUOTIENT

Question 7. answer b... Question 9. answer c...

Swami tells us that,“Buddha left his home in quest of the Swami beautifully relates this story in Bhagavatha Vahini,
secret of ananda. In his wanderings, he saw a dead body, “Gopala said, 'Well, bring here the Vessel. Even if I get
an old man, and a sick person. These painful sights made from it a particle of some eatable, I shall be content.' So,
him enquire deeply. He realised that death could not be she went in and brought the Vessel and placed it in the
avoided. Old age also is inescapable, being the natural hands of Krishna. Gopala passed His fingers carefully
culmination of childhood, youth, and middle age. Such inside the Vessel, seeking some particle that might have
changes form part and parcel of the physical world, escaped the scraping and washing. He found in the 'neck'
which itself is ephemeral. These changes are natural, and of the Vessel the fraction of a cooked leaf. So, He asked
one must not be perturbed or agitated by them. Buddha 'Draupadi! You seem to have had a leafy dish for lunch
asked himself, 'What is today!'…'I got this from your Vessel. This thing is enough
the cause of death? Why to appease, not only My
do old age and sickness hunger, but the hunger of
come upon humans?' all beings in the Universe.'
After much pondering, Then He put it on His
Buddha concluded that tongue with the end of His
the body is just like a finger and swallowing,
water bubble, while the exclaimed, 'Ah! How nice!
sickness of the body has My hunger is gone!' “At
its origin in the mind.” (Divine DiscourTse 21 May 2000) that very moment,
Durvasa on the river bank
Question 8. answer D...
Swami describes the fate of one demon as follows: and his ten thousand

“Then came Putana, an ogress. She took the form of a disciples felt their stomachs overfull with food. Their

beautiful lady and approached Yasoda, 'Sister, I heard hunger too was gone; they experienced supreme

that you gave birth to a son after many years. I am happiness, free from the pangs of hunger they suffered a

surprised and delighted. May I see him?' There was minute previously.” Thus satisfied, Durvasa left with all

nothing untoward in this request. In fact, people often his followers. (Bhagavatha Vahini p,169-170)

came in this manner. Yasoda took Putana inside Question 10. answer d...
unsuspectingly, since Putana had assumed the form of The complete passage is as follows:
one of her friends. Then Putana insisted that she be “Though my heart is soft as butter, it melts only when
allowed to nurse the baby. An argument ensued between there is some warmth in your prayer. Unless you make
the two of them, at some disciplined effort, Grace can not descend on you.
which time Krishna The yearning, the agony of unfulfilled aim, that is the
began drinking warmth that melts My heart. This is the anguish that wins
Putana's milk. Not Grace.”
just her milk, but her (Source of quote 'The Inward Path Lit Up by Swami')
life-force was also
sucked out. Putana
fell down dead. Everyone in Gokula was astounded at the
infant's superhuman powers.
(Summer Showers in Brindavan 1995 p, 47) – Heart2Heart Team

092 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
PHOTO GALLERY ENTHRONED AND ENTHRALLING SAI!

ENTHRONED
AND
ENTHRALLING
SAI!

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 093
PHOTO GALLERY

ENTHRONED
AND
ENTHRALLING
SAI!

094 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 ENTHRONED AND ENTHRALLING SAI!

ENTHRONED
AND
ENTHRALLING
SAI!

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 095
PHOTO GALLERY

ENTHRONED
AND
ENTHRALLING
SAI!

096 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
HEALING TOUCH GODFREY AND AGNES FIND GOD AND ANGELS IN SWAMI'S HOSPITAL

in East Africa. Agnes completed her studies through the

7th grade despite suffering from ill-health and bearing the
GODREY AND AGNES
yoke of poverty during her childhood. Her husband of
FIND GOD AND ANGELS fifteen years, Godfrey Muwanga, is a farmer. They own a
IN SWAMI'S HOSPITAL piece of land where Godfrey toils single handedly to
cultivate maize, banana, cassava, groundnuts, sweet
This is a moving story of a journey from despondency potato, and coffee.
to delight for the couple, Godrey and Agnes, who Godfrey married Agnes when she was twenty years old.
traveled all the way from Uganda in search of a They were happy but tragedy befell them when she lost
solution to their seemingly insurmountable problem their first child during her pregnancy. Their second child, a
and finally found hope, light and love in Swami's boy, is now eight years old, but misfortune struck again
Hospital. when their third child was born dead. These deaths
seemed to have some connection with Agnes's health,
but they remained an unsolved mystery.

No Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

Being a humble farmer with only an acre of land and an
income dependent on the seasonal vagaries of nature,
Godfrey was not a well-to-do man. He worked alone in

Fact File: Heart Valves & Rheumatic

Heart Disease
Heart valves keep blood flowing in one
direction through the heart. They open to
let blood flow through and then close to
prevent blood from flowing back the way it
came. There are four valves in the heart.
They are the pulmonary, tricuspid, aortic
The relief in his eyes is there for all to see, and her gentle and the mitral valves.
smile says it all. Their intense struggle of six long years, Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) is a condition in which
permanent damage to heart valves is caused by rheumatic
culminating in their visit to Sri Sathya Sai Institute of fever. When affected, these valves can become narrow, leak
Higher Medical Sciences, Bangalore, has finally paid off. or have a combined problem of narrowing and leaking.
Other valves can also deteriorate over time. Valves that do
Agnes Muwanga (yes, she is from Africa) is now ready to not open and close correctly make it difficult for blood to
tell how Swami's Hospital has helped her obtain a new flow properly through the heart causing the heart to pump
harder in order to circulate enough blood through the
life.
body. Eventually this over exertion can weaken the heart.
Agnes’ Health…Unsolved Mystery It is the aortic and mitral valves which are predominantly
damaged from RHD.
Nakagiri Agnes Muwanga is a devout Christian from the
Overcrowding,
remote village of Kisamula in the Rakai district of Uganda poverty, malnutrition,
i l l i t e r a c y, i m p r o p e r
diagnosis of upper
respiratory illnesses,
inadequate treatment
with Penicillin are some
of the reasons why
rheumatic heart disease
is still widely prevalent in the developing world. Because of
antibiotics, rheumatic fever is now rare in the developed
countries, though in recent years it has begun to make a
comeback in the United States among children in poor
innercity neighborhoods. However, with proper prevention
and treatment, it is a disease which can be reduced to a very
low incidence and even be eradicated from the world.
The treatment of RHD is to replace the damaged heart
valves with either natural or artificial ones.

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 097
HEALING TOUCH

the field with his two bare hands and without any It has been said that it is darkest before the dawn.
mechanization. Nevertheless, he left no stone unturned Agnes and Godfrey made one last attempt and
to ensure Agnes received the best treatment available. He approached their local minister in Kampala, the capital
took her to the biggest hospital in Uganda, Mulago of Uganda. As it turned out, the Hon. Maria
Hospital in Kampala, where Agnes was diagnosed as Mutagamba, Minister of State for Water, proved to be
suffering from rheumatic heart disease, a condition their saving grace. She introduced them to a "friend"
affecting the normal functioning of the heart valves, the she knew in India: Sathya Sai Baba. She told them
orifices which regulate blood flow. (Please see the Fact about His Hospital in Bangalore, which she explained
File inset.) The medical treatment for her condition shone through the darkness like a ray of hope for those
requires replacing the natural heart valves with artificial with nowhere left to turn. She had visited the Hospital
ones through open-heart surgery. and described its imposing and temple-like architecture
However, the Mulago Hospital did not have facilities for and promised them she would look into whether Sai
performing this type of cardiac surgery, so Godfrey was Baba's Hospital could help them. Hope rose in their
forced to look beyond Uganda for Agnes's treatment. hearts.
They were referred to a hospital in Chennai and were told In due course, thanks to the efforts of Hon. Maria
the operation would cost USD 13,000. Godfrey and Mutagamba and the Heart Valve Bank, UK, which
Agnes were very dejected as it seemed impossible they sponsored their air tickets, Godfrey and Agnes were on a
would ever be able to collect such a large sum of money. plane to India. They arrived at the outpatient department
They sought help anywhere they could but none was of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences,
forthcoming…or so it seemed. Whitefield, Bangalore, in March of 2006. Agnes was put
Agnes possessed a helpful nature and always strove to through a battery of tests which confirmed that her aortic
alleviate the suffering of those around her, in particular and mitral valves were damaged. (See Fact File inset.)
by supporting other women to become economically Within a few days, Agnes was admitted and operated on.
independent. She was also active in Aids Relief activities. “A Great Miracle In Itself”
So it seemed sadly ironic that no one had stepped - Dr. Anil Kumar Mulpur
forward to help her in her time of need. This is what Dr. Anil Kumar Mulpur, HOD, Cardiac Surgery,

Sai's saving Grace Through who operated on Agnes, had to say regarding her
Maria Mutagamba successful surgery and post-operative recovery: “Agnes

Message from Hon. Maria Mutagamba

MP Elect, Rakai District , Uganda
& Minister of State for Water and
President of African Ministers
Council on Water (AMCOW)
“I am sincerely grateful to Sai
Baba for His unfailing Love for all
mankind in spite of creed, race or
nationality. From what I see, His
one trip to Uganda in 1968
endears Him to this country and when I met Him His wish
was that Uganda becomes a haven of peace and tranquility.
In order to celebrate His 80th birthday with us, Sai Baba
donated 80 boreholes to the water stressed areas of
Uganda and as I speak now construction is on-going. Dr. Anil Kumar Mulpur
Ugandans are grateful.
I also wish to express my appreciation to the Heart Valve had a very narrow aortic root on the preoperative
Bank, UK for the support extended to Agnes and her family. investigation and the operation was a challenging one.
Looking at the File Facts, and the many incidences of
diseases especially in children, I pray that the kindness of Sai With Swami's grace and thanks to all the members of the
Baba will continue opening more doors of support to our cardiothoracic surgery team for their effort, Agnes
vulnerables. I thank Mr. Kalyan Ray of UN-Habitat for having
Nakagiri made a smooth postoperative recovery.
introduced me to Swami.”
- Mary Mutagamba Personally, I feel it is a great miracle in itself for a remote
African farmer's wife to come this far for the treatment. I

098 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 GODFREY AND AGNES FIND GOD AND ANGELS IN SWAMI'S HOSPITAL

feel greatly indebted to Swami for the chance given to us “I am so overwhelmed by the love, care and treatment I
to operate on this lady.” received here. I feel it is my faith and belief in Jesus Christ
“It came up from my interaction with her that she is the which made it possible for me to be treated here. We are
chairperson in AIDS prevention in her own community.
She is going to work more for her community after she
returns to her place. It is gratifying to see these patients
go back to community, lead a productive life of good
quality and bring some more happiness to their own
families and the communities. There is a spiritual
reawakening apart from better health for these patients,”
he added.
After her successful surgery and an uneventful stay in
the intensive care unit, Agnes was moved to the
postoperative ward where Godfrey and Agnes related
their long and trying tale. When they come to the
turning point in their account when Swami entered the
picture, they heaved a sigh of relief and explained that very keen to have Sai Baba's darshan before we leave for
Sai Baba will forever remain an integral part of their Uganda.
lives.
Once I return home I want to spread the message of the
“I am So Overwhelmed By loving care I received here and talk about what Baba has
The Love and Care..” - Agnes made possible for humanity,” added Agnes, looking up
“In Uganda, we ran from pillar to post in the hope of from the book Sai Baba: Man of Miracles, she was
finding treatment. In our own homeland people are so reading. The calmness and poise in Agnes's demeanor
self-centered and help was so difficult to obtain. We are were quite striking and visible proof of her deeply rooted
so thankful to the doctors and all the staff here who have faith.
been so nice to us,” said Godfrey. “If blessed with the opportunity, I would like to sing in
Baba's presence,” prayed musically gifted Agnes, who
leads the church choir and teaches people to sing, as well
as also playing drums. When told that Baba had been in
Uganda in 1968, they both exclaimed, “Oh, how we wish
we were born earlier!”

Sai's Hospital Is For All

Bhagavan's hospitals have always stood for providing
state-of-the-art medical care, totally free of cost,
breaking all barriers of caste, creed, race, religion and
nationality. Agnes's treatment is yet another example
demonstrating that Baba's hospitals do not function on a
"Restricted Entry" concept. No matter who you are or
where you hail from, the doors of Sri Sathya Sai's
Hospitals are open to all who need their help.

– Heart2Heart team

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 099
HEALING TOUCH

9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
statistics
Years 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Puttaparthi Super Speciality Hospital

Cumulative Statistics from 22nd Nov 1991 to 31st Dec 2005.
Cardiac Surgeries 15, 428
Cath Procedures 16,600
Urology Surgeries 28,680
Ophthalmology Surgeries 28,136
Echo Cardiography 4,03,386

Bangalore Super Speciality Hospital

Cumulative Statistics from 19th Jan 2001 to 31st Dec 2005
Cardiac Surgeries 6,224
Cardiac Catheterisation 12, 681
Neuro Surgeries 5,562
CT Scans 17, 746
MRI Exams 20,341

100 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
YOUR SAY FEEDBACK FROM OUR READERS

Feedback on the Spiritual Quiz

Dear Heart to Heart Team,
FEEDBACK
I wish to congratulate you on a fine quiz. The questions,
FROM OUR READERS answers and level of interactivity are all fine in my opinion.
The information focuses on some beautiful essentials that
Feedback From Our Readers Response demonstrate the true extent of how being a Sai devotee
to the April Issue of H2H can open one's mind to the appreciation of spiritual faiths
Feedback on the Supplementary Article other than one's own.
to the CoverStory: Your quiz is a great example of what Sai devotees can
TO BE A GOOD CHRISTIAN... produce to prove that we are hardly a cult or anything for
STORY OF EASTER the world to fear but that the Sai approach is one founded
Dear H2H Brothers, upon a charity of the human heart which is found in all of
The article appearing in H2H on Easter authored by us, and that one does not have to leave one's religion at all
Reverend Father Charles Ogada is simply superb, in order to benefit from the enhancing wisdom of Sai
explaining the spiritual significance of the whole chain of spirituality. In this respect, the emphasis in the quiz on the
divine events, for practical value of the teachings of Sai Baba and other great
both the pious spiritual world leaders is commendable.
Xian as well as Good work, Heart to Heart people! Keep it up!
the Hindu, nay,
Laura
any discerning
spiritualist who
Responses to Sai Inspires
may read it! May
Sairam,
the spirit of Jesus
/ the love of Sai I cannot wait to read Sai Inspires every morning. It actually
guide us to reach makes my day. I forward it to many people and they all say
that level! Thank that just by reading Sai inspirations they are learning to
you abundantly make a change in their lives by practicing the 5 human
Rev. Father and values. Most of these people I send to are not even Sai
the H2H team. Devotees. Reading the stories also helps in knowing what
goes on in other parts of the world, and reading the
Yours in the
miracles of other people brings so much tears to my eyes
Loving Soul,
Badri - from and joy in my heart. My love for Swami is growing by
Sangita family reading Sai Inspires. I myself have had so many miracles in
my life and reading other peoples stories makes me want
to cry. I have made a lot of changes in my life just by
Sai Ram Dear Brothers, reading Sai Inspires. I try my best to practice what Swami
I would like to say a few words with regards to the cover wants of me. My Sai Love to the wonderful team out there.
story – “The Story Of Easter – Jesus Is Risen!” by Reverend You will be truly blessed by Swami as your work is inspiring
Father Charles Ogada. About the meaning of Easter this is a lot of people like myself. Keep up the good work!
probably the first time I really understood what Easter is all Devi Kisten
about and relate it to our sadhana. Also what Jesus had to
go through for mankind..... Also I read the article on Dear H2H team,
Lingodbhavam by Prof. Venkataraman and it really was an You cannot imagine my impatience each day for the next
eye opener for me personally. The way the article was day to come to work and read the message from the H2H
written and explained stage by stage the events and the team. Your messages are so inspirational and divine that,
meaning of Lingodbhavam and how we should relate to just by reading it, it enlivens my spirit and gives me an
our every day life with it's ups and downs. opportunity to reflect each day on my deeds and actions. I
Sai Ram must confess I am not an overtly religious person, but
reading each day’s message makes me feel that I am
Sarika.
building a closer bond between God and myself.
Roy

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 101
YOUR SAY

Dear Brothers, Swami about a decision, a pick-me-up line when I am

I've been receiving your "Sai Inspires” since the beginning. I down and out on my luck, or just something that puts a
have almost all of them. Only a few are missing. It's a big smile on my face in the morning. I look forward to the
wonderful job you're doing. I've translated your messages messages everyday without fail at around 11 plus in the
into Portuguese and posted on the Net and e-mailed to morning, Singapore time. The discipline in which you
other people. At Orkut I've been posting "Sai Inspires" in always send it around that time is also remarkable. May
English and Portuguese, as well the "Thoughts for the day" Swami bless you today and everyday for doing this
since 2004. wonderful job that you do.

Sai Ram Prakash, SSEHV teacher

Antonio Paiva Singapore.

Sai Ram. Sai Ram Dear Brothers in the Heart2Heart Team,

One of the first e-mails I open every day is the message Messages from Heart2Heart and RadioSai programmes
from the Heart2Heart Team. Why? Because you are help me a lot to purify myself. Very often I enjoy tears of
inspired by our beloved Bhagavan choosing the right love for Bhagavan through the messages I listen and read.
message for every day, for everyone. It occurs when I Some guide me, for example, the true meaning of
cannot get an answer from the heart it comes some days surrender, I learnt it through these messages. I am far
later via one of your messages. That is my experience. away from India and unable to come to Prashanthi as
Please continue sending these messages, they are valuable much as I want but due to Prashanthi Bulletin I am able to
to me. That is one of His ways in which He works. know what's going on at Prashanthi and it gives me so

Sai Ram
Mrs. Zatsia Renfurm (Holland)

Sai Ram
I am very happy to receive mails and blessings from Swami
through e-mails. It is like having a sip of cold water in mid
summer hot sun which gives us energy, relaxation & peace
of mind. The message whatever H2H team sends me, is
guides me "A lot" in my day to day matters. Keep
Continuing.
Sai Ram,
P.Venkateswara Rao.

Sairam,
much happiness. Special Sunday Special message sent for
An excellent service from this team. I am a working women
Rama Navami about Ramayana really touched my heart. In
and the first mail I read in the morning is "Sai Inspires"
the monthly journal articles, “Swami and Me” section
before I commence my day to day tasks. Being in Sai family
always bring tears of love and gives me joy. These are only
you all know Swami need not come in front of us or we
few examples of what I really liked. I did not come across
need not go to Parthi / Whitefield / Kodai to seek answers /
anything which I do not like, but for my taste I would like
blessings from HIM, through many means he answers to
to humbly suggest the following,
our prayers. One of the means for me is "Sai Inspires"
messages. My heartiest wishes to the entire team and 1. Heart2Heart Sunday special - You can write more about
request you all to continue this service. devotees experience with Bhagavan, specially in the old
days or ask devotees to write how Bhagavan came into
Thanks,
their lives and select the most touching articles.
Jayashri
2. If possible, please include Bhagavan's recent photo's
Sai ram, and specially the one's which look like looking at us in the
The messages you send everyday are truly inspirational in daily Sai Inspires messages.
my life. This has become one of the ways I receive 3. Is it possible to send these messages daily to the internet
messages from Swami. Let it be a confirmation from so that anyone could see it if he/she wants? I think that

102 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org
 FEEDBACK FROM OUR READERS

sending these messages to more than 9000 people

everyday consumes lot of your precious time.
With love and regards,
Subodhini Ramanan

Dear Subodhini,
regarding your first question, we already have two
sections dedicated to devotees experiences in H2H and
generally we would like to give ‘Spiritual food for thought’
in the Sunday special messages as there is a hunger for it.
However, we will have devotees experiences too on certain
occasions. Then with the respect to your second question,
we do not have enough photos of Swami looking straight
to send one everyday. And regarding having Sai Inspires
on the web, we are working on it and in the near future Sai
Inspires messages along with archives will be on
www.radiosai.org. – H2H Team

Responses to the
Sunday Special Articles
Feedback on “Law and Justice’ sent on 16th April 2006
To The Team at H2H,
Thank you for your wonderful article on law and justice. I
agree with Justice Dinakaran's and your ideas about how
the common law needs to strictly adhered to the
principals of Atma dharma or divine law. You both have
provided accurate information on right conduct through
law which is sorely needed in today’s society, world wide.
This is in keeping with the principals of eternal law as
taught by Sai Baba.
Kind regards,
Sylvana Bonaddio, Melbourne Australia.

Feedback on “How Much Salary Does

A Man Really Need?”
Sairam,
Your article was an eye opener, I came to Doha Qatar (by
His grace) for a high salary, in Nov 2002. First one and half Sairam!
year, life was just like the desert - dull and monotonous! Curriculum of all business schools is generally the same
Money was not giving satisfaction. I prayed to SWAMI to but the Specialty of Sai School is helping students ‘Evolve
make my life more meaning full and purpose full and He as Humans’ and this is the ultimate in any subject of
answered. I joined Doha Sai Samithi in May 2004, doing Education! Supreme Happiness is in Self-confidence,
seva and attending bhajans and study classes. Believe it or Contentment, Tolerance, Ethical Values, Commitment to
not, my desire to earn more has vanished. Being in the Help Others and these are the Basic Traits chiseled here.
second richest country in the world with all its attractions Sai Graduates stand-out as Composite Masters and
has become meaningless. How fortunate are Swami’s blessed will be those corporations who employ them.
(property and wealth) His own students that they have the
Sai Pranams!
good fortune to realise the truth of the value of high salary
RAMSU
right at His lotus feet at a very young age.
Sanjeev Menon
– Heart2Heart Team

Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org 103
SAI INSPIRES

a daily inspirational
e-mail service from the

The company of the good and the godly will slowly and surely chasten and cleanse
persons prone to stray away from the straight path towards self-realisation. Care must be
taken to see that you select and stick to proper company. The satsang that you join must
be purer, more venerable and wedded to higher ideals than yourself. When a smoker joins
a group of non-smokers, there is every likelihood of his giving up that bad habit; but, if
a non-smoker falls into a den of smokers, he is certain to become a victim soon. The
company you join must be qualitatively and quantitatively higher and greater than that
in which you are now.

-Divine Discourse, 18th May 1993.

104 Heart2Heart - Radio Sai's e-Journal, May 2006 (Vol. 4, Issue 5) www.radiosai.org