Baba
proclaims that His Miracles are His Visiting Cards, to
attract His devotees at the initial stage to come to
Him. Initially He wants to give them whatever they want
from Him, but ultimately He wants to give them, what He
has come to give them - that is the Bliss (Ananda). This
He is doing out of His love for His devotees.
We mortal beings
also play the same trick with our children. When they attain the
age of joining the school, most of the children are reluctant to
go to school. Parents lure them by telling them that if they go to
school, they will get a chocolate from the teacher. The chocolates
have been already handed over by the parents, to the teacher, to
be given to their children. Hence the child is lured and agrees to
go school. But finally the child learns to study in the school,
which is the sole purpose of the parents - to give education to
their children.
Hence I would liken
Baba’s Miracles to an act of Compassion towards His devotees,
rather than an act of winning the adoration of many people and
bringing them into His fold, as the critics believe.
Baba is least bothered about His glory or the
criticism, as He declares that His Miracles are His natural and
normal phenomena and are produced out of His divine
Sankalpa (Will).
Here it is what
Swami Himself says about His materialisations
: "Many of you are under the mistaken notion that all My
materialisations have worldly significance; it is a gross mistake;
don’t think like this. These (Materialisations) are ladders that
shall enable you to ascend to a bright and ideal future. So long
as you are in possession of such sacred objects, only pious
thoughts will be generated in you.
Miracles are an
innate part of Me. I was with them.
They are not acquired after birth through Yogic practices. That is
why Swami not only uses these powers freely but extensively over a
very wide range for the propagation of the objective for which He
has incarnated Himself on Earth. The Avatar is
Omnipresent and Omnipotent. Baba’s Miracles show clearly
that He in not bound by Time, qualities, and Nature. He is beyond
everything. He is everything and everywhere, as the indweller of
the Heart. He is the Eternal Witness.
(Taken from
"Sanathana Sarathi", February,1998
issue, page:48, Article by Mata Betty, New Zealand).
Here, only a few of
the many Miracles performed by Bhagavan Baba are selected - only
the most unique and astounding ones, which only an Avatar can
perform, are reproduced.
Author’s own
experience with Bhagavan Baba :
n On one occasion, I
lost my temper and became so wild with my wife that I was full of
remorse and regret for the rest of the day. After two days there
were Bhajans at my residence. While I was performing the Aarati,
(the gentle waving of the burning camphor in front of the Lord) to
the accompaniment of collective singing of a melodious verse
(invoking Him) the fifth wick (flame) stopped burning. (When I
perform the Aarathi, I light five wicks). I did not like this and
was in a fix as to what to do and started praying to Baba. Right
at that moment the fourth wick, which was burning straight until
then suddenly stretched itself sideways
to light up the fifth wick. I felt immensely happy that Baba had
responded to my prayer instantaneously.
This experience gave
me a sudden urge to go to Puttaparthi, and be at the Lotus Feet of
Bhagavan Baba. There was perhaps no logical reason for this
intense feeling. It was only an intuition and I did act. I
succeeded in getting a first-class ticket released from the V.I.P
quota and reached Prasanthi Nilayam, Puttaparthi on 1st
March, 1982. While I was in the train, I was repenting about
getting angry at my wife and hurting her feelings. I was even
praying to Baba for His forgiveness.
On 2nd
March,1982 , in the Darshan line, Baba
came near me. I spoke to Him and said, "Baba, these are the
letters which some devotees have given me. They need your help.
Not only they need your help but I also need your help, as I have
also disobeyed you". He took the letters and signalled me to go
for the interview. This was my second interview with Baba, but
this time without my wife. Baba in the inner interview room told
me, "Bahut Gussa Karte ho, control bhi nahi kar pate ho, ghar me
bhi shanthi nahi hai, do din se bol rahe ho ke maf karo, maf
karo". (You have a very bad temper, you are not able to control it
even, there is no peace even in the house, for the last two days
you have been saying : forgive me,
forgive me). I was not able to take quietly this reprimand from
Baba. I cried like a small baby, who is hit hard by somebody and
is bleeding profusely. I replied, "But Baba, you know the reason
behind this episode". I put my head on Baba’s Lotus Feet and tears
from my eyes were pouring on His soft Lotus Feet. It appeared that
He did not mind this at all. He took all my inside agony on His
Lotus Feet and I said, "Baba, I do not want anything in my life;
please make me an instrument to serve you". At this stage, His
Divine Heart melted. He lifted me up with both of His hands and
said, "Come, you are mine, I am yours, I will give you service".
Could I have ever desired to hear anything better than this from
Baba?
n On another occasion,
my brother who was in Doha (Qatar), was bringing his wife to
Bombay , as she happened to be in an
acute state of depression. She had all her passports, visas and
their return tickets in her hand bag. While getting down from the
taxi at Bombay, she forgot her hand bag in the taxi. On tracing
the taxi, it was found that the taxi driver after dropping my
brother at Mahim, took another person
in the taxi, and dropped him at V.T.Station. Thinking that the
hand bag belonged to that passenger, the taxi driver handed it
over to the new passenger, who left for Madras on that very day.
This happened in the year 1983.
I started praying to
Baba to help my brother in getting their passports and visas back.
To get duplicate of these documents for
Gulf countries is rather difficult. There was the danger of my
brother even losing his job. About a fortnight after this
incident, a miracle happened. Baba listened to my prayers and one
day, when I went to see my mother who stayed at Mahim, I received
a registered packet addressed to my brother, who had at that time
gone to Colaba to visit our sister. On opening it, I found the
passports, visas, and the air journey return tickets, all intact.
My joy knew no bounds and I immediately rang up my brother at
Colaba, and Oh: with what inexplainable joy he received the news.
"Oh, Baba," I thought, "how can I thank you for all this favour
received from you. I can only say that
you are Sarvaantaryami. (the indwellor
in all; one, who is in everything)".
n The third most
astounding thing happened, on the 1st of March,1993.
The time was 7.30 a.m at Puttaparthi. Baba came out of His room,
moved amongst the devotees, and took myself and a friend of mine
for the interview. This was my 8th interview with Baba.
In the inner interview room where only two of us were with Baba,
my friend started conversing with Baba on various aspects of his
own life, such as health, office and family matters. Taking
advantage of this opportunity, I took the liberty of gently
massaging Baba’s legs, which Baba did not mind, rather, He allowed
me to continue. Indeed, how fortunate I was to have been granted
the favour of doing this kind of Seva to the Divine incarnation!
After finishing with
my friend, He told me, "Remove the watch which you are wearing and
keep it in your shirt pocket. As you are getting old, I am going
to give you another watch so that you value time". He also further
added, "Live in present which is Omnipresent". And the last and
the most important thing He asserted to me was, "Your business is
slack, do not think about money, but think of your mind".
Suddenly Baba
started getting up; neither he gave me
the promised watch, nor another ring to my friend. We two arose
quickly, took Pada Namaskar and made our exit from the inner
interview room along with Him. There in the presence of all
others, He took the ring from my friend’s finger, showed it to
everybody and then blew on it; ‘Lo and Behold’, it turned out to
be a beautiful gold ring with a picture of Lord Krishna, but this
time in His childhood posture of Bala Gopala.
Baba was talking
with some other people also in the interview room when
suddenly, He looked at me and asked me,
"What do you want?" I replied, "Swami I want you", to which He
shook his head in the negative and asked me to move closer to Him.
He waved His hand in a circular manner and there appeared in His
Divine Hand a beautiful quartz watch ‘Pierre Nicol’ automatic with
day and date operation. He put the watch on my wrist and I kept my
head on His Lotus Feet and He blessed me. At that moment I felt I
was the happiest person at any time in my whole life and my joy
knew no bounds. Even if I had been honored with
a gold medal from the President of
India, I would not have felt so happy. I cannot express my
happiness in proper words and I can only say that this too has to
be experienced and realised. Here it would be pertinent to refer
to my very first interview when I asked Baba, "Can you please
materialise something and give it to me? And Baba had replied,
"Dega, Dega" (will give, will give). This He told me in November,
1981 and He materialised the watch for me in March, 1993, after
nearly 12 years. This precious gift of Baba is really cherished by
me and it protects me and enables me to communicate with Him.
Experiences of many
other people, to prove that Baba is Divine:
n In the yesr 1960,
the United State of America and the Soviet Russia piled up nuclear
weapons capable of annihilating the entire mankind and were
waiting for an opportunity to strike. When Cuba issue came up,
both USA and USSR took up arms to wage a war. This incident is
known as the "Bay of Pigs". The devotees of our Baba in that area
rushed to Swami, calling upon Him to avoid the war: Our Bhagavan
assured them that as long as He is there, His devotees would be
protected and no destruction would take place. He added further
that the world is now passing through the age of 7th
Manu and even some more Manus have to come before the destruction
of the world.
There was no nuclear
war in 1960. The super powers are now engaged in nuclear
disarmament. From this incident we can observe the qualities of
Varaha Avatar in our Swami, i.e., protection of the earth and
mankind.
We have also seen
our Swami manifesting the jewels like CHOODAMANI worn by Sita in
Treta Yuga and also the jewel KOUSTHUBA adorned by Lord Krishna.
After showing to all of us, He used to demanifest them. It is the
Will of the Supreme. (The above matter is taken from the book,
"Sai Supreme Personality of Godhead", by T.G.Krishna Moorthy)
n In the year 1996,
during Christmas celebrations at Puttaparthi, after the morning
Darshan, in the presence of fifty thousand people, Swami announced
and said, " Today, I am going to
reproduce the miniature of the original Bible, which the Russians
had drowned in the Black Sea, centuries ago. And lo: and behold,
with a wave of His hand a beautiful mini Bible appeared in His
hand. Baba’s photograph was taken, at the time of materialising
this Bible from the air. The photograph is available at
Puttaparthi.
n Mrs. Jones was a
very staunch devotee of Baba, but her husband never believed in
Baba and used to refer Baba as, "Oh, that character". However, the
wife was able to convince her husband to come to India once and
meet Baba. In the plane, while proceeding to India, the husband
told to his wife that, "I will only believe that Baba is God, if
he could show me a rainbow, during bright sunshine".
On reaching
Prasanthi Nilayam, Swami did not call them for the interview
during the morning Darshan. Both husband and wife were relaxing on
a bench in a garden and there was a bright sunshine. Suddenly Mr.
Jones shouts and tells his wife, "Look Irene, I can see the
Rainbow". During the evening Darshan, Swami called them for the
interview and in the inner room, tapped the shoulder of the
husband and told him, "Hellow that character, how did you like my
rainbow". Mr. Jones had no words to speak. He silently fell at His
Lotus Feet.
n In one of the
interviews granted by Swami, to a few chosen devotees, one devotee
challenged Swami and told Him, "I can believe that you are God, if
you can produce a live monkey, right here, in this room?".
Swami replied to him, "I can produce the monkey, but then it would
be your responsibility to look after
it?". The devotee thought that it was impossible for Swami to
produce a live monkey, so he agreed to the proposal. Swami waved
His hand, and there came the monkey, from the wall, moving and
jumping : Swami held the monkey in His
lap and then passed it on to the devotee, to be taken care of. The
devotee was in a dilemma as he was a foreigner, and would not know
what to do, in such circumstances. He profusely repented and
begged for Swami’s pardon, for doubting His Divinity, and Swami
out of His compassion, waved His hand
again and the monkey disappeared, as if it was never there. (This
was narrated to the author by a very close devotee of Swami, whose
information could be taken as authentic).
n One of the Swami’s
student who had joined the school
recently, and was not very certain about Swami’s Divinity, used to
smoke cigarettes secretly, in the remote corner of the hostel.
Once Swami called him and asked him, "Do you smoke?"
. He replied in the negative. Swami showed him in the Palm
of His Hand, and he could see like in a movie the entire scene,
how he is moving out of the hostel room, going to secluded place,
taking out a cigarette packet from his pocket, lighting a
cigarette with a match stick, and enjoying a smoke to his heart’s
content. Swami did not have to mention anything to him. The whole
scene became the reality. You can imagine the plight of the boy.
But Swami, forgave him, with a
reprimand, not to do it again.
n In the year 1973,
Dr. John S. Hislop, along with some other devotees, was moving
with Swami, in Bandipur Game Sanctuary in Mysore State, along the
bank of the sandy river. As they passed
through the bush Swami broke off two twigs, placed them
together and asked Hislop, "What is this,Hislop?".
"Well, Swami it is
cross", Hislop answered. Baba then closed His fingers over the
twigs and directed three some what slow breaths into His fist,
between the thumb and forefinger. Then, He opened His hand to
reveal a Christ figure crucified on a Cross, and He gave it to
Hislop. He said, "This shows Christ as he really was at the time
when He left His body, not as artists have imagined Him or as
historians have told about Him. His stomach is pulled in and His
ribs are all showing. He had no food for 8 days".
Hislop looked at the
Crucifix, but found no words. Then Baba continued, "The wood in
the cross is from the actual Cross on which Christ was crucified.
To find some of the wood after 2000 years took a little time; the
image is of Christ after He died. It is a dead face". Hislop
noticed some thing odd and asked, "Swami what is that hole at top
of the Cross?" Baba replied that the Cross had been originally
hung from a standard.
(Taken from the book "My
Baba And I" by John S. Hislop). In
America, a video cassette entitled, ‘An Aura of Divinity’, has
been produced by Richard Bock showing Hislop holding the Cross,
materialised by Baba, in his hand, and giving the above
commentary.
n Professor Krishna
Nandan Sinha has given a vivid experience of his wife Malti at
Prasanthi Nilayam, in his book, ‘Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Absolute
Sole Lord of Life and Death’.
Malti Sinha, wife of
Krishna Nandan Sinha was at Prasanthi Nilayam during the birthday
celebrations of Bhagavan Baba. After the Darshan, she along with
her friend Prema, daughter of Sri Atri were walking in a leisurely
fashion on the streets of the Nilayam
and were talking intimately about their experiences about Swami
and comparing notes, suddenly there was commotion on the street
and among the passerbys, the red sleek imported car of Swami was
seen coming out of the Ashram gate - the reason for people lining
up on both sides of the street. The car moved slowly amidst the
assembled devotees and moved in the direction of Gokulam. The
activity in the narrow and congested street continued as before
and both the ladies proceeded towards a photo shop, still animated
by having a close view of Swami.
After purchasing Swami’s
photographs, they were returning to the Ashram, walking slowly,
still in their conversation when Prema said, "Look, Swami’s car is
returning. Let us line up and stand on the pavement".
Driven by a strange
inner impulse Malti whispered, "I wish Swami’s car ran me down and
trampled me so that every particle of my flesh and bone and each
drop of my blood flies to Him and scatters over the Lotus Feet, a
real consummation of my desire:" . Suddenly a strange thing
happened. The car came very fast and there was grating noise of
the clutch and the brake. The car stopped just a yard from the
place where Malti was standing. The passerbys were all surprised
and clustered around the car. Swami opened the door of the car and
beckoned to her. Malti drew near Him in a nervous and apprehensive
frame of mind.
Swami smiled affably and
asked her, "Shall I ask the driver to run you over and trample you
down so that every portion of your flesh and bone and each drop of
your blood flies to me and pour over my feet like a sacred
fountain?". At that moment there was
not a single drachma of blood within Malti that did not tremble,
as she recognised the token of Divine love. But she hardly had
courage enough to look at Him full in the face or bend down to
touch His Lotus Feet. It was Swami Himself who directed her with a
gesture of His hand to touch His Feet. He was looking at her
tenderly as the car moved slowly in the direction of the Ashram
gate.
(Taken from the book
‘Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Absolute Sole Lord of Life and Death’ by
Krishna Nandan Sinha)
n In 1993 between
Dassera and Diwali, a unique Leela came to
light. A group of Sai devotees from Australia were taken into the
interview room on Baba’s instructions. Out of the eleven devotees
one was crying uncontrollably. On being questioned by Baba, he
said that his wife was extremely ill and due to anxiety for her he
was weeping. The loving and Divine - playing Lord authoritatively
asked, "So, would you like to be transported to your wife?" The
answer was, "Yes" : The method Lord Sai
employed to transport the Australian was unique. He hit the
adjacent wall three times with His fist and immediately the
weeping devotee started seeing the country of Australia on the
wall. When He hit His fist for the fourth time, the Australian saw
his town on the wall. On hitting His fist
for the fifth time the Australian started seeing his house. Then
Baba asked the weeping devotee, "Is this your house?"
" Yes" , was the reply. Baba replied,
"Go, meet your wife in your house" .
That person entered his house and went near his sick wife. At the
end of the interview only ten people came out of the interview
room and not the eleventh. The people outside came to know about
the happenings and, though extremely surprised, also had doubts
whether the eleventh person actually reached his house. On
investigating the above, it was confirmed that at the time of the
person entering his house through the wall at Baba’s command (In
Prasanthi Nilayam), at that very moment he had
entered his house in Australia. (Taken
from the book ‘The Wonderful Leelas of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai
Baba’ by Anil Kumar Malhotra, available at Prasanthi Nilayam Book
Stall, inside the Ashram).
(A) Lord Krishna says
in the Gita, "I give you the Divine eye,
Behold you Arjuna, My Real Nature". Similarly Sai
Krishna, too, selected a few of us for this most blessed and
Divine Darshan. As soon as we reached the bank of the Chitravathi,
Swami told us to look steadily at the
spot where the tamarind tree stood. Within a split second, He
disappeared from our midst, and we saw a streak of yellow light
moving fast like lighting in a wave: Then we heard His voice from
yonder, as though from a mike, "Kanapadu thunnana?",
meaning "Am I visible?" Soon, we saw a powerful light - so
powerful and large that I can not compare it with any of the
lights visible on earth. We named that sight ‘Jyothi Darshanam’.
This Jyothi was seen even by some devotees travelling on bullock
cart, from Bukkapatnam to Puttaparthi. Some time Swami used to
refer to that single Jyothi Darshan as that of His third eye
(Nethra Darshan or Hrudaya Darshan)
(B) Ms. M.L. Leela
writes in her book ‘ Lokanatha Sai’
about her own experience. "In June,1971,
I was expecting my promotion as professor. I learnt from the
newspaper that my junior had been promoted. I was shocked. How can
such a irregularity creep in, even in
Government service? When I traced the source of this manoeuver, I
found to my great shock and surprise that the recommending
authority had omitted my name from the list. The reason was my
inability to leave Madras, as I had been managing a temple. I
discovered that the post of professor of Botany had already been
created at Government Arts College for Women, North Madras, and
the post was vacant. I went to the authorities concerned and told
them about the vacancy and requested to post me there. They were
annoyed at my request. " Never dream of
the post in Madras: this post has been created for a particular
person" . I undauntedly asked the authorities how a special post
could be created in a Government Department for the benefit of one
person.
I had none else other
than my Swami, Sri Sathaya Sai. I rushed to His abode. As soon as
He saw me in tears while prostrating at
His Holy Feet even without listening to my petition, He said, " Go
back to Madras immediately. Sit in the usual place in the temple.
I will do the needful". Immediately I left Puttaparthi. I was in
Guindy Mandir next morning by seven. I
sat in my usual place. Dr. T.K. Govindarajan, a devotee, who used
to visit the temple frequently, suddenly appeared. He had arrived
from Delhi, after a break of three years. My brother in Delhi was
worried about my long silence. Hence he had requested him to visit
me immediately and write to him about my welfare. Then I explained
to him in details about my plight. He said that he could easily
tackle the situation, as his own elder brother was the person to
be approached. This reply soothened me so much that I suddenly
remembered Baba’s words: "Sit in your usual place in the temple. I
will do the needful". I heaved a sigh of relief and left for my
college. In the next few hours, my Principal told me that I had
been wanted at the Secretariat. I rushed there. At the entrance, I
met the person who had met me in the temple. He led me in and said
that my posting order had already been signed by the Secretary: I
was literary shocked and could not even hear his words properly.
He instructed me to go back to the college, take the posting order
and join immediately at the Government Arts College for Women,
North Madras, as professor and Head of the Department of Botany:
A special messenger was sent with my
posting order to my Principal. She was also given a phone message
to relieve me immediately. When I reached my College, the
Principal was waiting with the relieving order: time 5.30 P.M. I
remembered the words of Swami. "Sai Sankalpa is Vajra Sankalpa".
(Both the above (A) & (B) narrations have
been taken from the book ‘Lokanatha Sai’, by Professor Ms. M.L.
Leela, who is a staunch devotee of Baba).
n One
evening , Swami Sadananda was seated
with Bhagavan Baba at the bungalow in Kodaikanal. Leaning on his
bed, Baba was in conversation with Sadananda. All of a sudden He
stood up and shouted, "Don’t shoot" and
then He fell down unconscious. Baba’s body became chill and stiff.
He left His mortal body and wandered somewhere. After He woke up,
Baba instructed a telegram to be sent to Bhopal. It read, "Don’t
worry: the instrument is with Me". In
response to this on the fourth day there was a reply telegram from
Bhopal; it was from a high officer in the armed services.
Subsequent to the
partition of the states of the country, the sub-ordinates of this
officer were promoted to a higher rank leaving him behind.
Frustrated at this and humiliated, the officer had decided to
commit suicide. His wife and children were sent away to his
in-law’s place. He decided to shoot himself. It was exactly at
this juncture, Baba at Kodaikanal had shouted, "Don’t shoot".
At Bhopal, when the
officer was about to shoot himself he heard someone knocking at
the door. Hurriedly he hid the revolver under his bed and went to
the door. On opening he found to his surprise that his friend with
his family, bed and baggage had come to stay with him. He took
them into the house. They were talking together for a long time.
After knowing that the wife of the officer was
away and not wanting to trouble him, the friend said that
they would stay in another friend’s house and departed.
The officer then bolted
the door from within and tried to reach out for the revolver. To
his dismay, it was not found at the place were he had kept it. His
search of the entire house proved to be in vain. He could not
locate the revolver. He ran up to the house of the common friend
to whose house his guest had gone. To his total surprise, he came
to learn that his guests had not come there. Utterly disgusted and
dismayed, he returned to the house.
He heard the knock again
on the door. There was the postman waiting to deliver the telegram
from Baba, containing the message, "Don’t worry, the instrument is
with Me". Only then could he realise
that it was Baba who had taken the form of his friend, wife and
servant to dissuade him from the suicidal attempt. Who else could
have enacted such a drama to save a devotee?
(Taken from the book
‘Satyam, Sivam and Sundaram’ by N.Kasturi).
WITH THIS INCIDENT
BHAGAVAN PROVES HIS 16TH KALA OF BEING OMNISCIENT,
OMNIPOTENT AND OMNIPRESENT, BY MULTIPLYING HIMSELF AND TAKING
THREE DIFFERENT FORMS AT THE SAME TIME, AS LORD KRISHNA DID, WHILE
PERFORMING RASA LEELA WITH SO MANY GOPIKAS AND EACH GOPIKA
VISUALISING THAT THE LORD KRISHNA WAS PRESENT ONLY WITH HER.
n Sai Baba, who
incarnated as Lord Krishna, explained to an assembly of students
some of the mystical significance of the latter’s acts and
insignia and recalls Sri Krishna’s three pledges to humanity: to
incarnate from age to age for Dharma’s sake; to bear the burden of
peace and prosperity to Bhaktas who surrender to Him; and to save
and liberate them. Swami calls the present generation fortunate to
have Krishna again in their midst and materialised the famed
Kousthuba jewel that Krishna wore, showing it to His audience. He
exhorts His young listeners to have steady faith in Sai Krishna,
who will guard and guide them and shower grace upon them.
Swami manifested the
Lingobhava Time-Space Embodiment in the shape of an egg, before
the assembled audience at the Purnachandra Auditorium on
Sivarathri in 1974. The audience had passed the night in
Namasmarana or repetition of the name. Baba tells them that, out
of the world’s millions, only they have come, remained through the
night and witnessed the holy manifestation. He tells them no
greater fortune can befall on man. Thereby they have earned the
merit enormous enough to win liberation - total freedom from the
cycle of birth and death. He exhorts them to live thereafter as
befits the recipients of this rare Grace.
(Extracts taken from the book ‘The Essential Sai’ by Sainet
Editorial Committee Vancouver, Canada, Nov.23, 1995).
n Mata Betty of New
Zealand, writes about one of her most
astounding experience. She writes, "One afternoon in 1983, we were
at home together when an astounding incident took place. Sai
manifested Himself in our living room,
appearing to us in His full physical form - even sitting in the
high-backed carved wooden chair that you see Him sitting in at His
Ashram in India. And Jim and I completely lost track of time, as
Sai spoke to us at length about many, many personal matters known
only to us. I can’t even say how long He was there. When at last
this wondrous visitation faded it was evening. But it was an
unforgettable event. This occurred just before onset of my
husband’s heart attack.
(Matter taken from the
book ‘Sathya Sai Baba And The Universal
Reality of Mankind’ by Mata Betty).
n Once when Sai Baba
was on His way to Bangalore (about 170 kilometers away
from Puttaparthi), His car came to a
stop because the petrol having leaked out completely due to the
damage caused by a stone to the petrol tank. Sai Baba asked His
driver to fetch a bucket of water, stirred the water with His hand
and asked the driver to pour it in to the petrol tank of the car.
The driver did so and the car reached the destination with the
water which had been turned into petrol by Sai Baba.
During one of His trips,
Sai Baba was walking on the Seashore at the southern most tip of
India, at Kanyakumari. The members of Sai Baba’s group were
thrilled to see a necklace of peerless pearls, strung on gold
thread, being brought by wave of the ocean and offering it at the
Lotus Feet of Swami.
Sai Baba’s loving
response to the distress call (in the form of a heart-felt prayer)
of a couple who were His devotees, from Paris, made the wallet
containing lost traveller’s cheques reappear by themselves in the
lady’s purse next morning.
(Abstracts taken from
the book ‘Sai Baba, The Souce Of Light,
Love And Bliss’ by Kailash Kumar and Jorgen Hovgaard).
n A
Catholic Priest, Don Mario Mazzoleni, narrated an incident
witnessed by him at Puttaparthi. He writes, "In August of 1988,
Sai Baba had an "accident" . I happened
to be at Prasanthi Nilayam at that time. The Avatar slipped on a
piece of soap in the bathroom and fell, breaking His thigh bone.
For several days He did not come out, and He was not giving
Darshan, but one day, August 26, He came to the Purnachandra Hall,
and gave a discourse for the Holy Day of Onam. The faith of many
people was shaken by the "accident" of
Swami’s. They did not understand it was a test and also a lesson
through which Baba demonstrated how we should behave when we are
in pain. Here is an excerpt from the discourse, which He
gave standing, for an hour and a
quarter, with no signs of being tired, without a single grimace of
pain:
"Swami’s capacity of control and endurance
can’t easily be understood; only
doctors and those who have suffered a similar fracture know
something of it. I was directed to rest for 4 weeks. But I do not
know what rest is, I do not feel the need for it. I have
My duty to fulfil. Many people have
written to Me to say that I should have
cured Myself immediately of this tiresome fracture. But no, there
is no need. They are little things which can happen occasionally.
I am not sick. It is almost impossible for Me
to stand, the pain is so unbearable… but I smile about it, and
this is the sign of My Divinity. Some devotees pray and think that
Swami could heal Himself in a moment. Even though this is
possible, Swami is not a person affected by egoism. When someone
is wounded or sick, I do not heal him immediately. Everything has
its time…it is necessary to suffer,
until the proper moment arrives. Nonetheless it is possible to
develop the power to divert the mind in order to control the pain
and not to allow oneself to be overcome
by problems and difficulties….Why should I worry about this body?
This body is not Mine, it belongs to
you and I do not want to interfere. Your bodies, on the other
hand, are Mine and if they cause you troubles, I take care of it..
Nothing can make Me suffer, nothing can
harm Me". (Taken from the book ‘A Catholic Priest Meets Sai Baba’
by Don Mario Muzzoleni ).
n Dr.
S.Bhagwantham, a renowned Nuclear Physicist, and Advisor to the
Ministry of Defence, Government of India, also
narrates his unique experiences with Sathya Sai Baba. He
says :
"I have a background of science. How I reconcile
this with what Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba does is a question
which has troubled me much. I will relate a few things, which I
hope will furnish some kind of answer to it. It is only my
personal experience…
I have seen miracles
performed by Baba, perhaps in thousands, and my long association
with Him has brought me to a position where I do not attach much
importance to miracles. Let me return to the fact that I am a
scientist, and have a rational way of thinking. This incident
which I will narrate to you relate to several years ago, when I
was very proud to be a scientist. It was just by chance that I
came in contact with Baba. Somebody told me that He is a Divine
person. I must caution here, scientists think that science means
learning a discipline such as Physics or Chemistry and that
anything else is not worth heeding. This showed a closed mind
which is very contrary to what science teaches. Science teaches
that you should not have prejudice, that you should not come to
the judgment before you apply your own mind
to decide something. Unfortunately, many people who are
half-learned, come to a judgment either
by using some logic or by using somebody else’s experience. This
is very unscientific. There were only a hundred people with Baba
one evening and He said, "Shall we go for a walk?" And we walked
down to Chitravati river adjoining His
Ashram…
We sat down on the sand.
He started provoking me saying that all scientists are atheists,
and all scientists want everything to be demonstrated before they
can believe it. They ask, "Is there God?" They want to see God.
They cannot see God, they say there is
no God. Unless they see something they do not believe it. And you
are also like that. Don’t you believe in God? Don’t you believe in
Divinity? Don’t you believe in our tradition and scriptures? I
told Him, "Baba, one does not have to learn anything to become an
atheist. There are many people who are ignorant, who are not
learned and who do not believe in God. There are many who are
learned and the more learned you get, the more unbelieving you
become. Many people believe in God. So learning science, or
learning anything has nothing to do with believing in God. I come
from a family of good tradition. My father and grandfather were
all Sanskritists; they believed in God. ; yet
on account of modern trend I have learnt science to earn a living.
Although I cannot say that I am very religious, you should not
conclude that I do not believe in God.
I narrated the story of
a distinguished American Scientist, Oppenheimer, known as the
father of the Atomic Bomb. I told Him that when the first nuclear
explosion occurred, Oppenheimer was asked what he thought of the
nuclear explosion and it is on record that Oppenheimer quoted a
verse from the Bhagavad Gita. He said that the brilliance of such
an act can only be described in the language used by Arjuna when
he had the manifestation of the Lord. Arjuna described it by
saying that the brightness is as if there were one thousand Suns
shining in the sky.
I said, "If an American
can quote an Indian text at the height of his scientific
experiment, why do you think I, an Indian of a traditional
family, do not respect Indian tradition and texts?"
I narrate this to show
that the conversation had been led by me, that the Gita was
brought into conversation by me. Then He said, "Oh, I see, so you
believe in the Bhagavad Gita? And you a scientist, respect the
Bhagavad Gita, read the Bhagavad Gita ?"
Again, the rational in
me asserted itself, and I said, "Of course I respect, of course I
read it, but I will read only if I want to".
There were a hundred
people sitting there and He lifted a handful of sand with both
hands and asked me to stretch out my hand and put out the sand
into my hands and under my very eyes it turned into a small text
of Bhagavad Gita. You can see the sequence of event that I chose
the place, I say that because it could have happened that some one
planted the Bhagavad Gita in the sands. I brought in the
conversation of Bhagavad Gita.
The rational in me said
if it is a printed text, it must be printed in some press.
Immediately I asked Baba, "You said that it is a printed text of
Bhagavad Gita, where has it been printed?" I said in the hope that
I would be creating a small problem for Him. The man who was
greatly disturbed was myself and the
one who was completely undisturbed and was enjoying the
conversation was Baba. He smiled and said, "
Yes, it has been printed in the Sai Press" . Well
Bhagavatam, I would like to know what science has got to say about
it. In fact, it can’t say anything about what has happened… this
went on year after year. One day we were
sitting on the shore of Cape Camorin. On the sea shore,
there were about 20 people around Him. He was playing with the
water in the sea. He was asking some people how we address the
ocean. One young man said that an ocean is called Ratnakara. Then
He commented, "If it is called Ratnakara, it must contain Ratnas
or diamonds and the ocean should give us diamonds". I said, "Yes
Baba, if You wish, You can get
diamonds".
The people present
wanted to see how He was going to get the diamonds from the ocean.
"Oh, Yes" He said, in His Leela, in a childish way and took a
handful water from the ocean, and the water became a beautiful
little diamond necklace in His hand. He showed it to me and
said, "What shall we do with it?"
Even then I could see
that the production of the necklace itself was pretty difficult.
When he asked what should be done with it, I noticed that the
necklace was a small one and as He had a big head. I thought I
should ask Him to wear it. Then He said, "Oh: I see, I should wear
it". Then He held the necklace tight in His hand; it became a
bigger necklace and He put it around His head and looked at me and
said, "Well I have worn it".
I can relate several
such incidents at the end of which He was generous enough to
recognise that I have this conflict in me of trying to reconcile
two opposing point of views. This went on for three years, and at
the end of three years, at a public meeting at Madras, where there
were more than ten thousand people present, I was forced to admit
that as a man of science I tried to find a rational and logical
explanation for all that I had seen, but I had failed. There are
many things that science cannot explain, things which are beyond
science. Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is not subject to the
ordinary laws of science. He is beyond science and what He does
cannot be explained by normal laws of science. Thereafter He
stopped performing miracles for me. Another interesting facet of
Baba is His ability to be present at different places at the same
time. Physical presence is something which I really cannot
describe. I can explain history, but divinity cannot be explained.
(All the above
incidents are narrated by Shri. S. Bhagavatham and taken from the
book ‘Lord of Miracles! Sai Baba and His
Message’ by Satya Pal Rusida and Duane Robinson).
Bringing Dead Persons to Life
n The resurrection of
Radhakrishna, a factory owner of
Kappam, Andhra Pradesh, resembles very closely to the resurrection
of Lazarus by Jesus Christ. Howard Murphet describes the incident
vividly, exactly as it happened. He had researched on it and found
it fully authentic. In the words of Howard Murphet: One evening
Radhakrishna went into a coma and his breathing was that of a
dying man. Alarmed, the wife dashed off to see Swami. The latter
came to the room, looked at the patient, and said, "Don’t worry,
everything will be all right", and left. On the next day, the
patient was still unconscious, Hemchand, his son-in-law, brought a
male nurse of the district to examine the patient. The nurse gave
his opinion that Radhakrishna was so near death that there was no
possibility of saving him. An hour later the patient became very
cold. The three anxious relatives heard what they thought was the
death rattle in his throat and watched him turning blue and stiff.
Vijaya and her mother went to see Baba who was at that time
upstairs in his dining room. When they told Him that Radhakrishna
seemed to be dead, He He
laughed and walked away to His bedroom.
Vijaya and her mother returned to the room of the ‘dead’
man and waited. After a while, Swami came in and looked at the
body, but went away without saying or doing anything.
That was the evening of
the second day since Mr. Radhakrishna had become unconscious. The
whole of the next night passed, while the three stayed awake and
anxiously watched for any signs of returning life, there were no
signs. Yet they still had faith that
Baba would somehow or the other, in His own way, save
Radhakrishna, for had He not said that everything would be all
right? On the morning of the third day the body was more than ever
like a corpse - dark, cold, quite stiff and beginning to smell.
Other people who came to see and sympathise told Mrs. Radhakrishna
that she should have the corpse removed from the Ashram. But she
replied, "Not unless Swami orders it". Some even went to Baba and
suggested that, as the man was dead and the body smelling of
decomposition, it should be either sent back to Cuppam or
cremated at Puttaparthi. Swami simply replied, "We’ll
see".
When Mrs. Radhakrishna
went upstairs again to tell Baba what people were saying and asked
Him what she should do, He answered, "Do not listen to them, and
have no fear. I am here". Then He said that He would come down to
see her husband soon.
She went down again and waited, with her daughter
and son-in-law by the body. The minutes dragged by - an hour
passed - but Swami did not come. Then, when they were beginning to
despair entirely, the door opened, and there stood Baba in His red
robe, copious hair and shining smile. It was then about
half-past-two in the afternoon of the third day. Mrs. Radhakrishna
went towards Baba and burst into tears. Vijaya too began to cry.
They were like Martha and Marry, the sisters of Lazarus, weeping
before the Lord who, they thought, had come too late.
Baba gently asked the tearful women and sorrowful
Hemchand to leave the room. As they left, He closed the door
behind them. They do not know - no man knows - what happened in
that room where there were only Swami and the ‘dead’ man.
But after a few minutes Baba opened the door and
beckoned the waiting ones in. There, on the bed Radhakrishna was
looking up at them and smiling. Amazingly the stiffness of death
had vanished and his natural colour was returning. Baba went over,
stroked the patient’s head and said to him, "Talk to them, they’re
worried".
"Why worried?" asked Radhakrishna puzzled, "I’m
all right. You are here".
Swami turned to the wife, "I have given your
husband to you", He said. "Now get him a hot drink".
When she brought it Swami Himself fed it to
Radhakrishna slowly with a spoon. For another half-an-hour He
remained there, strengthening the man He had raised. Then He
blessed the whole family, placing His hand on Mrs. Radhakrishna’s
head, and left the room.
When I spoke to Radhakrishna
himself about the experience, I asked him if he had any
memories at all of the time he was unconscious and to all
appearing dead. He replied, "No, when I became conscious again I
thought at first that it was the same day. Later they told me it
had been three days I was unconscious, that I was dead and
actually starting to stink. But Swami can do anything He wishes.
He is God".
(Taken from the book ‘Sai Baba: The Man
Of Miracles’, by Howard Murphet).
n
Resurrection of Walter Cowan, an American, on the Christmas day of
1971 is perhaps the most dramatic, unique and authentic event that
reveals the Godlike power of Sai Baba. Elsie Cowan, the wife of
Walter Cowan, records :
We have come back from
India, my husband and I, brimful of the most astounding that could
happen to anyone. It is so fantastic that many doubt it, because
hardly any of us realise the great importance and the tremendous
power of this great high God, who not only walks the Earth, but
cares for all the planets from Earth into eternity. He gives us
strength and power. He is compassionate, but most of all, he gives
us the protection which is His grace. In time of need, He wraps
His grace around us, like a very warm blanket, soft and lovely, to
soothe us into a state of bliss. Without Him there would be no one
to turn to; no father to ask; and even greater than that, at the
very deepest feeling, He makes us strong. There are no tears, for
the body goes back to the Earth. This is the story how our great
Lord Sai Baba resurrected Walter, who died in Madras. Little did
we know what was going to happen at that time, and when it did
happen, what could I say but, "Where would he rather die than at
the feet of this great, great Lord?".
It is the blessing to know that the Great Lord takes care of us,
places us where we should be placed, or else, as in this case,
after several hours, He brings one back to life, as He did to
Walter, my husband. There were many people present, but Jack
Hislop was there throughout, almost the entire experience. Since
he is the wonderful devotee, and is
very close to our Lord, Sai Baba, I have asked him to tell the
story as a third party.
Jack Hislop’s Account of
this event :
Dear Elsie Cowan; this
is a letter in response to your request that I say what I know
about your husband’s experience in India, while you were there in
December of 1971 and January of 1972. My name is Jack Hislop. I
live in Mexico. My wife and I had visited Sathya Sai Baba a number
of times in the past and we were there again in 1972. We
returned from India on February 27th
of this year after some four months with Sathya Sai Baba.
As I recall, Walter and
you arrived in Madras on 23rd December 1971, and came
to the building where Baba was holding a conference with some
three thousand Presidents of His Seva Samitis. Baba at once came
to you and gave Walter and yourself a warm and affectionate
greeting. Walter was obviously not feeling well, and ushers had
provided chair as soon as you arrived. Thus, you were quite
visible amidst the great crowd of people, all of whom were sitting
on the floor as is the custom in India.
On the morning of the 25th
December, news quietly spread that an elderly American had a fatal
attack of what was thought to be a heart trouble and had passed
away. Upon hearing the rumour my wife and I at once went to your
hotel. You confirmed the news, and told us how the attack had
felled Walter in the hotel room. You had prayed to Sathya Sai Baba
for help at this trying moment of your life, but with great
self-control and recollection of human mortality, you had ended
your prayer with ‘Let God’s will be done’, you at once remembered
that Mr & Mrs. Ratanlal were staying in a room almost next door to
yours and you called her. Mrs. Ratanlal came immediately. With her
help, you summoned a room boy and Walter was lifted from the floor
to the bed. Mr. Ratanlal joined you in your prayer, for it was
soon evident to you that Walter had indeed passed away from the
body. Someone called for the ambulance to take Walter to the
hospital, but it was your experience that Walter had died in your
arms, soon after having been lifted from the floor to the bed, and
you were so exhausted that you could not accompany the then
lifeless body into the ambulance. These events had taken place in
the early morning hours of 25 December. But at 7 A.M. you had
recovered sufficient strength to go with Mrs. Ratanlal to Baba’s
place of residence to tell Him the news and ask for His advice and
help. Baba said that He would visit the hospital around 10 a.m.
At 10 A.M. Mrs. Ratanlal
accompanied you to the hospital, but you were told that Baba had
already been there, and had left just before you arrived. Upon
entering the hospital, you found Walter alive. That Walter was
alive at 10 A.M. on 25th December is certain but how
about his death? Was there any medical certification that he had
died? After all, two ladies very much upset at a tragic event -
could not perhaps, make the same tests for life, as would a
medical doctor not personally involved in the emotional impact of
the situation.
To clarify this point,
at my request, Judge Damodar Rao of Madras interviewed the doctor
who had attended Walter when he arrived at the hospital. This
attending physician is well known to Judge Damodar Rao personally
and the doctor told Judge Rao that Walter was indeed dead when he
had examined Walter shortly after the ambulance had delivered him
to the hospital.
The doctor said that
there was no sign of life; that he pronounced "Walter as dead;
that Walter’s ear and nose were stuffed with cotton, that Walter
was covered with a sheet and sent into an empty room.
The doctor then left the
hospital on some professional duty, and had missed seeing Baba
when He was at the hospital. The doctor arrived back at the
hospital after Baba had left. When the doctor returned to the
hospital, Walter was alive. The doctor found
himself unable to explain the situation. It seemed
worthwhile to me to make an investigation for medical verification
on Walter’s death, because such verification might be a factor of
interest to people who had never seen Sathya Sai Baba, and who
might have a very limited knowledge of Him. But, medical testimony
is not a factor of any importance to devotees of Baba. To His
devotees, what he said about Mr. Cowan was the truth of the
matter.
I saw Baba at His place
of residence after He had returned from hospital. He told me and
others within hearing that Walter Cowan had died and the hospital
had stuffed his ears and nose with cotton, and covered him with a
sheet, and put the body in the closed room. Baba said that He had
brought Walter back to life. I did not enquire of Baba as to how
He had brought Walter back to life or reasons
for doing so nor, to the best of my knowledge, did anyone
else. This is a mystery that Baba has not as yet chosen to
explain.
There was a later
occurrence of great interest to me. A day later, on 26th
December, Appa and I accompanied Baba to the home of a devotee.
From there, He went to a meeting of the lady members of Nagara Sai
Samithi where Baba was to give award and speak. Appa and I were
sitting on the platform just a few feet away from Baba and were
able to observe Him closely. He made the award and gave a
spiritual discourse, all without any break or any moment of
hesitation. From the meeting, we were to go to the home of another
devotee for lunch.
As soon as we got in the
car, Baba turned to us and said, "While I was talking in the
meeting, Mrs. Cowan called Me. I went
to the hospital at once and did what was necessary. Mr. Cowan’s
health had taken a turn for the worse". So even while busy on the
speaker’s platform, Baba had gone to the hospital and had done
what was necessary. But, to the eyes of Shri Appa and
myself, Baba had continued in action
and speech on the platform for the whole time there, without any
break or hesitation whatsoever. How does one explain this mystery?
When we arrived at the devotees house
for lunch, Baba turned to us and said, "You will not be able to
join me for lunch. Take this Vibhuti to the hospital and give Mr.
Cowan some in the mouth and rub the rest on the forehead and the
chest. If you walk to the corner over there you will find Mrs.
Hislop there in a taxi. She will take you to the hospital".
Now the fact was that my
wife had been following Baba in a taxi. However, she had taken
great pains to stay out of sight, but her efforts were to no
avail. As usual Baba knew everything. When we reached the hospital
with the Vibhuti, Mrs. Cowan said, "Walter took a very bad turn
just a little while ago. I thought he was dead, and I was
terrified. I at once called Baba in a loud tone of voice. Now,
Walter seems a little improved. When I called Baba I felt His
presence at once, by saying this Elsie, you independently
corroborated Baba’s statement in the car, to Shri Appa and myself.
A week or so later, I
was speaking with Baba at Prasanthi Nilayam. Walter and you were
still in Madras and Walter was in the hospital. Baba said, "Today
I received a telegram from Mrs. Cowan. Mr. Cowan was in a very
serious condition again. I answered the telegram. "Mr.Cowan will
be out of the hospital soon, and will come to Bangalore. It is my
Sankalpa, My Will…" Of course, Elsie there was no physical
telegram. The telegram was your prayer. In the same conversation,
Baba said Mr. Cowan died three times. I had to bring him back
three times. Walter and you did indeed come to Bangalore, and you
were waiting at the West End Hotel when my wife and I returned
from Prasanthi Nilayam. To our eyes, Walter appeared to be
extraordinarily well. The next morning when we went out to visit
Baba at Whitefield I reported Walter’s
condition to Him. He said, "Tell nobody that you will ride into
Bangalore with Me in the afternoon, in
the late afternoon and I will visit Mr. Cowan. Send your wife
ahead in a taxi.
Baba did visit Mr. Cowan
and visited him a second time few days later. Then Baba told you
that Mr. Cowan was strong enough to make the fifteen-mile drive to
Whitefield each morning, and that he was to return to the hotel at
noon each day and rest during the afternoon. Dr. Gyaneshwaran,
with whom I and my wife had been acquainted for several years, was
your attending physician in Bangalore. He counted himself
extremely fortunate because he was in the room when Baba arrived.
Walter and you graciously allowed him to bring his family also
inside the room in order to have Baba’s Darshan. Then, some time
later, by virtue of being Walter’s physician, Gyaneshwaran was
also to be inside Baba’s house at Whitefield when Baba performed a
very beautiful and very significant Vedic wedding ceremony for
Walter and yourself.
Dr. Gyaneshwaran had
Walter’s medical history, with its specific laboratory tests,
showing severe diabetes of long standing and various other
diseased conditions. After assuming his
responsibility as your Bangalore physician, and a standard medical
man, rechecked the finding of Walter’s American doctors with his
own laboratory tests. Not only were the diabetic symptoms
completely absent but the taste of the other diseases were
similarly negative. He could scarcely believe the results of the
laboratory tests. He explained, "Only the Divine
Baba - only God Himself could do
this".
The extraordinary fact
seems to be that the total organism that was Mr. Walter Cowan,
died, the only entity that returned to life was Walter himself.
Walter’s various diseases died with him, but the diseases were not
reborn - only Walter was reborn. A most marvelous inscrutable
event was it not? All of the foregoing does not, of course, imply
that Walter’s physical body has become immortal. Of course, he has
had some bad days. At times, he has become over tired, and at
another times, has suffered perhaps
because of an injudicious meal. After all, it is not a teenaged
body; it is an aged body, but nevertheless, a great miracle really
happened.
Walter is alive again,
free of disease and filled with enthusiasm to tell people of the
Divine presence of Sri Sathya Sai Baba…
Thus, Walter had a most
extraordinary experience in December, 1971 and January, 1972. Both
of you know directly the Divine Grace of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Sd : John Hislop
Walter Cowan’s
Account of his Resurrection :
While in Connemara Hotel
in Madras, I was taken very sick with pneumonia two days after I
arrived and was in bed. As I gasped for breath, suddenly the
body’s struggle was over and I died. I found myself very calm, in
a state of wonderful bliss and the Lord, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, was
by my side. Even though my body lay on the
bed, dead. My mind kept working throughout until Baba
brought me back. There was no anxiety or fear, but a tremendous
sense of well being, for I had lost all fear of death.
Baba took me to very
large hall where there were hundreds of people miling around. It
was the hall where all the records of my lives were kept. Baba and
I stood before the court of justice. The one incharge knew Baba
very well and he asked for the records of all my lives. He was
very nice and kind, and I had the
feeling that whatever was decided would be the best for my soul.
The records were brought
into the hall - armloads of scrolls - and all of them seemed to be
in different languages. As they were read, Baba interpreted them.
In the beginning they told me of countries that have not existed
for thousands of years and I could not recall them. When they
reached King David, the reading of my life became more exciting. I
could hardly believe how great I apparently was in each life that
followed. As they continued reading my lives, it seemed that what
really counted was my motives and character, as I stood for
outstanding peace and spirituality. I did not remember all the
names, but I am included in almost all the history books of the
world from the beginning of time. As I incarnated in different
countries, I carried out my mission - which was peace and
spirituality.
After about two hours,
they finished reading the scrolls, and the Lord, Sai Baba said
that I had not completed the work that I was born to do, and he
asked the judge that I be turned over to Him to complete my
mission of spreading the truth and He requested that my soul be
returned to my body under Baba’s
grace. The judge said, "So be it". The case was dismissed and I
left with Baba to return to my body. I hesitated to leave this
wonderful bliss but I knew it was best to complete my mission so
that I could merge with the Lord, Sai Baba.
I related the story to
Elsie at once, and she recorded it. I also talked it over with
Baba and he said it was not my imagination - it was a true
experience. My life goes on now under the grace of Sai Baba whom I
adore and to whom I owe my life.
Sd : Walter R. Cowan
(Taken from the book
‘Sai Baba, the Rose Fire Of Heaven’ by
Krishna Nandan Sinha)
n In the early days
Swami used to go to Madras quite often, there was a family in
Madras at whose house Swami usually stayed. He also drove His own
car, although now He does not. Now He always has a driver, who
takes Him everywhere, in a car, which somebody has put there for
His use.
But before He had His
present car, Swami had an old Chevrolet Station Wagon.
He used to drive one of
the cars Himself. When He would go to Madras to visit His devotees
there, other devotees would gather along the road at various
places to see Swami drive by. The car would be coming along at a
very fast clip and sitting behind the wheel was Swami with His
arms folded, with the car going along - about two inches of the
road - not even touching the road.
One time He went to
Madras and arrived unexpectedly at the house of His hostess. You
know when an Avathar comes to visit your house, I am sure you
would have something with which to greet Him.
Some flowers or a tray of food or some way of welcoming the great
man to your house. That was the case with this hostess too.
Swami came to the door
and knocked. The hostess answered, saw Swami standing there, and
exclaimed, "Oh, Swami, Swami, I’m so happy to see you. But Swami
you did not tell me you were coming,
and I don’t have anything to welcome you with. I don’t have
flowers or fruit. I don’t have anything". The poor lady was quite
distraught. So Swami said, "Don’t worry, don’t
worry". Then he turned around and beckoned at the car.
Out of the car came two
angels with wings, carrying a big silver tray, loaded with fruit
and flowers and everything the hostess would need to welcome
Swami. The angels brought this tray up to the house and gave it to
the hostess. Then Swami turned to the angels and waved them back
to the car. They floated back to the car folded their wings, got
in the car, and disappeared.
(Matter taken from the
book ‘Seeking Divinity’, by Dr. John S. Hislop, published by Sri
Sathya Sai Publication Trust)
Well, that much for
Baba’s Miracles. I would say that this is only a tip of an
iceberg. If the entire sky would turn into the paper and all the
water of all the oceans of the world became ink, and the whole
Earth appeared as a fountain pen, still I would not be able to
write and complete all the miracles, performed by Bhagavan Baba so
far.
In the next chapter,
the author will deal with BABA’S CRITICS.