Old Mandir Nostalgia - Young Swami's first discourse

Prof. (Mrs.) Jayalakshmi Gopinath, Warden, Anantapur Campus, of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, electrified the audience with her touching stories of the Lord's love and glory drawn from her 57 years of association with Him! (12th March 2006)

Jayamaa talked about SWAMI's 1st public discourse in 1951.

"Way back in 1951; till then Baba had not given formal discourses in public. That day He called the men devotees and said, "Put a table for me; I am going to speak".

We were all enthralled. Baba was young then.

He came down; of course, none of us had the doubt that Baba could not speak well. We were all waiting anxiously, breathlessly. All fellow devotees, youngsters and elders, if I tell you what He said that day; it will make your hair stand on end.

SWAMI just thumped at the table hard and then said: "Remember, I am God. Take it in. So many of us cannot take it in because we do not know God, we do not love God and if God were to come and tell "I am God", we would be blind to the reality. That was the 1st declaration!!!

The 2nd announcement, He thumped, "I am the Upanishads";

The 3rd announcement, "I am the Vedas";

The 4th announcement, "I am the scriptures"!!!

"I have come down for the sake of humanity." And then He said, "Why are you vacillating? I have nothing that is personal in what I tell. It is for your benefit. Cast off all your doubts, all your vacillations."

He said, "Let us remember this, it is the same people who come to me, adoring me and offering me gifts; the very same people after some time malign me. It does not affect me. Whether you give anything to me or you do not offer anything to me; it makes no difference"!!!

We read about the 10 Avatars and we wonder why God had taken all these forms? It was one such day, when it was evening, almost dusk coming in, it was getting a little dark. We were all there, and suddenly Baba disappeared. Where is Swami?

Because in those days those hills were thickly forested, and we were told there would be cheetahs and tigers around. Baba was small and delicate. Where is Swami? But we heard His voice right on that hill.

"Look here", He said, a stentorian voice, the voice of Divinity which can reach out to the periphery of eternity itself. And dumbfounded, aghast, we were just tantalized. We were just looking upon the hill, a brilliant dazzling light.

The panorama of all the 10 Avatars one by one went across, as if, I would say it was the silver screen. Each one of them perfect, we were just standing there aghast, not petrified, but looking at the whole thing with such wonder. Ultimately, it was Bhagavan's image in a bright halo of light.

Oh! Then we knew the director behind all this. We knew that it was His Will. "Oh ye devotees! Oh ye human beings! Remember, I am the Creator; I am The One who has presented before you all the various aspects of my creation."

                 

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In the South Indian State of Andhra Pradesh, there happened the epochal Divine Advent – Sai Pravesh and the result was Prasanthi Pradesh (Prasanthi Nilayam). How, almost seven decades ago, a young Sathya of barely sixteen years granted a fantasy glimpse of the would be Prasanthi Nilayam to one lucky soul. Read on as Pujari Lakshmaiah narrates his maiden encounter with The Lord Walked The Earth. Extracted from Sai Spiritual Showers archivals.

Is it true? Can it be true? A boy calling himself Sai Baba! And consoling the dispirited, curing the ill, exorcising ghosts and teaching the old! I heard of this sixteen year old prodigy and entered Puttaparthi, with a woman - mad since two years, and her husband. That was in 1943.

At Bukkapatnam, people laughed at us; they thought all of us were mad to believe in the miraculous powers of that boy. Yet, having come so far, we decided to complete the journey, instead of turning back. We engaged a bullock cart for twelve annas and came to the riverbed. I left them there and moved into the little haggard group of houses, along narrow tracks.

I peeped into a Brahmin house (Karnam Subbamma’s house); the verandah was full of groundnut heaps. Inside I found a charming young boy, with a bright, intelligent face, talking with the labourers. I accosted him and asked, “I heard there is a boy in this village who has become Sai Baba; it seems he cures madness. Which is his house, can you tell me?”

The boy looked at me very lovingly and replied. “Poor fellow! The mad woman you brought with you is giving terrible trouble to her husband in the river! Go and take bath; and bring them also after their bath is over. I shall then show you the boy you are after.” While returning from the river, the woman ran wildly hither and thither and it was a job to bring her to the Brahmin house. Sai Baba (for, it was none other than He) told me, “I’ll call you one by one” and took me in, first. He created Vibhuti and applied it to my forehead. Then, He called in the couple. They had bought some bananas at Bukkapatnam for Sai Baba. He gave the woman to eat one banana out of the number. He also gave them both the materialised Vibhuti.

It was six in the evening, by then. Coming out on the road, the wife told her husband “Well; what about our meal? Get some rice from the shop; and ask for vessels. I shall cook food for us, pretty quick.” The husband was overjoyed; her madness had gone!

But, Baba called us in and we sat with Him for the night meal. Baba mixed all the items served by Subbamma into tolerably big balls, and He gave one for each of us. It was tasty beyond words!

That night, we slept in the verandah of that house. We were disturbed often, by the howling of packs of jackals, and the braying of donkeys. At about three, some woman shrieked, “I am dying”; she was stung by a scorpion! A few minutes later, some one cried, “Kill; Kill “ and many ran in that direction. It was a cobra, this time.

Early morning, we touched Baba’s Feet and stood before Him. “No sleep? Too many snakes in this place. This is a very holy place; but, under a curse! Sai will save it” He said and then added, “The Sai Pravesh (Advent) will make it the Prasanthi Pradesh (Region). Upon that hill, I shall have a grand Bhavan. By that time, hundreds, (why hundreds?) thousands, (why thousands?) lakhs, All India will be here; The whole world will come and wait for Sai Darshan.” I said, on hearing this, “What? I cannot believe this will happen.” He laughed and said, “You will have to believe it when you will be standing at a great distance, trying to catch a glimpse of Me!”

Now, in 1972, I stand at a great distance and yearn for Sai Darshan; I now believe in the Prophecy He made in 1943.


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