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Shirdi Sai and Sathya Sai are One
and the Same
By Arjan D. Bharwani
47. COMPASSION - A COMMON THREAD
Shri
Thammiraju Manchiraju, a teacher at Uravakonda High School, has
contributed many articles to Sanathana Sarathi. He and his wife
remained deeply bereaved due to the sudden loss of their young
daughter. The Compassion-lncarnate little Sathya,used to visit
them often and console them. The legendary promise of 'Yogakshema
Vahayam' was repeated by this mini edition of Lord Krishna, when
He one day comforted the grief-stricken mother with words, "I
shall carry all burdens for you. Be happy henceforth". The next
moment He swirled His hand and materialsed grains of yellow rice.
(Did He not do the same for Megha whilst He was in the Shirdi
For m?) The lady secured the precious rice (on Sathya's behest),
in the small piece of Kafni (Shirdi Sai's robe) which Bala Sai
had gifted to them a week earlier on Thursday during bhajans.
Shrimati Kamesvaramma Thammiraju felt reassured and her sorrow
was assuaged. One day, she had to go on a household errand to
fetch water. ' The mother in her' felt concerned for five year
old son and summoned his playmates from the neighbourhood to
babyÄsit during her absence. She instructed them to perform Sai
Puja and offer as 'navaidyam' the little sugar that she left
with them. The little ones congregated and sang a few bhajans.
The pure innocence of the young ones is more alluring and
binding to the Lord than even the fervent devotion of the adults.
Testimony of this is provided by the fact, that Shirdi Baba
appeared there in physical Form, partook the sweet offering and
distributed to all the children fist-full of sugar as 'Prasadam'.
Leaving Baba seated there, the young son of Thamn~irajus'
thrilled to the brim, dashed out to urgently beckon his rnother,
to witness the Divine Leela However, when Kamesvaramrna hurried
back on hearing this, Baba was gone. She queried from the
children as to where did Baba go. The guileless ones, having
unpolluted simple hearts, narrated the truth that they had seen
Shirdi Baba literally walk into, the photograph of Sathya Sai
that was kept there and which the children were worshipping.
This picture also has a story of its own - in that, Baba(Sathya)
had sent it to the family with a laddu as prasadam, both having
been carried by a bee. The providential gif t was enshrined in
the Puja room of the household and adored by the members.
Coming back
to the disappearance of Shirdi Baba, The Thammirajus visited
Puttaparthi soon after this celestial event. Baba told them, "You
were sad that I had come away to Puttaparthi:, but, I can be
here and still be there; I knew you will believe this only when
the children speak out what they saw".
The Sandur
Mandir incident and this one raise pertinent questions, as to
why Baba appeared as Shirdi Sai in the puja room of Thammiraju
and also at Sandur, in which instance He even stayed on to
construct a Shirdi Sai Temple? Parthi Baba has untied the knot
in reply to Thammiraju's question about the Shirdi appearance at
his house. To quote the exact Divine words Baba had said, "There
is no 'that Form' or 'this Form'. Both are ONE".
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