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Sai Leela
The word
Leela is frequently translated as
“sport” or “play”, but such renderings obscure the fact that the
term Leela is exclusively reserved
for descriptions related to the Lord.
It is often said
that Creation itself is a Leela of
God, and indeed it is. But it was only when the Blessed Lord
descended as Bhagavan Sri Krishna that mankind got a glimpse of
the wonderful texture associated with God’s
Leelas. The childhood and the boyhood of Krishna are full
of stories of games and mischief. Children, being close to God,
are always happy, ever full of play and pranks. What then was so
unique about Krishna’s sport? What is it about them that brings
tears to the eyes of poets when they sing about them and
indescribable happiness to listeners when they hear about them? It
is the Blissful Divine touch that makes all the difference. That
really is the essential quality of Leelas
- they relate to the Divine, and they give Bliss.
Children are
constantly admonished not to steal, and are punished if they do.
Yet, the very same parents who give such stern advice do not
hesitate to narrate, and with much joy and relish too, stories
about how Krishna used to ‘steal’ butter along with His friends.
Is this not an exercise in contradiction? No, because when the
Lord steals, it really is not stealing but something else with a
deeper meaning and significance.
There are no stories
of Leelas associated with the Rama
Avatar. Perhaps, that was the Divine
intention. Rama never formally revealed His Divinity, and may be
that was why He did not quite leave His signature via
Leelas [He did it in other ways
though]. But the Krishna Avatar was
different. However, the Leelas of
Krishna appear to have come more or less to an end with His
departure from Brindavan to Mathura. Thereafter, mankind had to
content itself with just the stories of the
Leelas, till the advent of the Sathya Sai
Avatar.
Krishna does not
appear to have commented much upon Leelas,
except to say that hearing about them or reading about them would
fill devotees with immense joy. Swami, on the other hand, has
commented on the role of Leelas in
the current Avatar, that they would
dominate only the first phase.
Leelas
involve a dizzying mixture of fun, frolic, pranks, and spectacular
miracles. They provide an opportunity for extra-ordinary intimacy
between man and God, and therefore an occasion to forget the
Avatar as God and regard Him instead
as a most Dear Friend. Leelas do not
involve rituals and ceremonies but games, picnics, fun, of course
miracles galore, and various gifts too, all with a spiritual
undercurrent. Together, the Leelas
always evoke so much Love for God in the heart of devotees that
unknown to them they earn great merit or
Punyam. The opportunity to witness
Leelas is itself the result of extra-ordinary merits
acquired in previous births.
Why does God perform
Leelas? This is difficult to
understand, except in terms of Pure Love. A mother plays with her
young three-month old baby. The mother is highly educated and very
intelligent; yet, while fondling her child, she makes funny faces
and noises, just to make the baby laugh. What is it that makes the
mother behave like this? Love for her child. It is the same with
the Almighty Lord. The intimacy associated with the
Leelas convey the message that God is
not remote as man imagines Him to be but is easily approached with
Pure Love. And the miracles associated with the
Leelas remind us that God is
infinitely powerful. He can, and is ever ready to do
anything for us. He is eagerly waiting for our call; all
He wants from is just LOVE!
Operationally,
two phases can be seen in the Leelas
of Swami – those relating to the period before the declaration of
the Sai Avatarhood, and those that
came later. Not much is known about the
Leelas of the earlier period but thanks to the moving
accounts written by a few devotees, some glimpses of the second
phase are available. The Leelas of
the second phase are associated with the period 1940 – 1950, when
Bhagavan was in residence in the now historic
Paatha Mandiram [old Mandir].
Privileged to live with Him were a fortunate few, who ate with the
Lord, walked with Him, sang with Him, played with Him, and served
Him all the time. And everyday, Sai would shower His Love in His
own unique way by taking them all out to the Chitravathi sands for
a memorable evening of Leelas. So it
was for ten years, and when Swami moved to the present
Mandir in 1950, the curtain came down
rather abruptly. The Leelas have not
altogether ceased – they can still be witnessed occasionally,
especially in Kodaikanal – but by and large, all we now have are
just thrilling stories. Presented in the pages that follow, are
illustrated accounts of some of the Leelas
of those exciting early days. Hopefully, they will, at least in
some measure, capture the thrill and ecstasy of those who were
fortunate to be the direct witnesses.
The high-point of
the daily routine during the Paatha Mandiram
days was unquestionably the evening outing to the Chitravathi
sands. It was the moment that all devotees eagerly looked forward
to, and possibly also the Lord. As the Sun went down in the
western sky, the group, thirty or so in number would set forth.
They would go carrying various musical instruments needed for
accompaniment during singing, a big carpet to spread on the sand,
odd vessels, and a few lanterns. As the group made its way, there
would be an air of tremendous excitement because any moment, Young
Sai may start His play. Each day was different, and there were
innumerable variations to the theme. Here are a few samples,
kindly recorded for posterity by Mrs. Vijayakumari [in her
well-known book, Anyadha Saranam Naasthi].
As
soon as Swami set out like the Moon surrounded by the stars, we
would follow Him and walk behind Him like His shadow. Some would
grasp His robe, some would hold His hand while others kept up a
conversation. As we walked, Swami would suddenly disappear! We
would then go in various directions in search of Him, looking in
every tree, behind every bush and shrub, and even in snake pits!
Becoming tired after prolonged searching, we would collapse and
call out, “Swami!” He would then suddenly jump out of the bush
next to us, crying, “Boo!”. What a wonder! How was this possible?
Had we not searched for Him thoroughly everywhere, looking under
every stem and leaf? While we stared at Him wonder-struck, He
would hurry us saying, “Come on, move, get going!” and run away.
Sometimes, He would be on the topmost branch of the tallest tree,
calling out to us! Even as we were wondering how on earth He
managed to get up there, we would find Him standing by our side,
laughing loudly. Randomly, He would pluck leaves from a tamarind
tree or some other tree, and place them in our hands. To our utter
amazement, these leaves would be transformed into guava or sugar
candy! Or else, He would pick a stone from the road
and
throw it into the air; it would come down as sugar candy!! He
could hardly keep quiet even for a minute. We used to feel so
zestful in His presence.
The term
Kalpavriksha occurs in Indian
mythology and its literal translation is: wish-fulfilling tree. On
a small hillock adjoining the Chitravathi river there is a
tamarind tree, which, by its association with Sai, has earned for
itself this name and become truly legendary. Decades ago, in the
glorious Paatha Mandiram era, this
tree was often the scene of many a Leela.
A few accounts now, revolving around this famous tree.
There was a huge boulder under the Kalpavriksha. About two hundred
people could comfortably sit on that rock. Watching Bhagavan, I
would recall the son of Yasoda [Yasoda Bala] Lord Madhava, who in
days gone by, balanced the huge Govardhana mountain on the tip of
His little finger to save the lives of cows and cowherds. Jumping
up to pluck a handful of leaves from that Tamarind tree, Sai would
give a leaf to each of us and ask us to keep our palms closed.
When we opened them at His command, we would find all kinds of
things, sugar candy in one hand, rosary in another and peppermint
in the third. He would then ask us to close the palm again and
when we opened them as commanded by Him, we would find only
tamarind leaves! We would think: “What a pity, I should have eaten
that candy!” We would then gaze at Him wonder-struck, thinking to
ourselves: “How amazing! How could such a variety of things
materialise simultaneously?” He would then clap His hands to rouse
us from our stupefied state. Because this tree gave devotees
whatever they wished for, it came to be known as Kalpavriksha.
During their walk to
the river, Swami and His party of devotees often rested for a
while on the rock adjacent to the
Kalpavriksha, especially as it provided scope for fun and
games. Later, the group would head towards the sands of the river.
And it was on the sands that the Leelas
reached their crescendo, as we now hear.
Coming down from this rock, we would assemble on the Chitravathi
sands at a suitable spot selected by the devotees. After singing
for some time and listening to Swami’s Discourse on the pranks of
Krishna, we would shout that we were hungry and pester Him to give
us something to eat. Even as He moved His hands in the heap of
piled-up sands, we would be able to predict what he would be
pulling out. We could recognise the smell of Mysorepak [a type of
sweet]. Ghee [clarified butter] would drip from it, and it would
be hot. He would then place the pieces on a tray and serve us all
with His own hands. How am I to describe that taste! ………… After
eating the sweet, we would say, “Swami, we are satiated with the
sweet. Now give us some savouries.” Our Beloved Swami, the
embodiment of compassion would then pull vadas [a savoury dish]
out of the sand. Its taste cannot be described even by Lord
Brahma. ……… As He kept pulling vadas out of the sand, they were
hot and dripping with ghee but surprisingly, not a speck of sand
clung to them! How is that possible? Only questions and no
answers! He would also extract from the sand pile, rosaries,
idols, pendants, and books, and hand them over to those destined
to receive them.
The
articles that Swami created from the sand were unprecedented
wonders, things that could not be procured anywhere. Nothing can
stand comparison with those! The idols were made of panchloha [a
combination of five alloys], or sandal wood, or ivory, or teak, or
silver. He would materialise out of the sands, idols of Narayana,
Radha, Krishna, Shirdi Sai, Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha, Shatrugana,
Nataraja, etc. The rosaries materialised out of the sand would be
made of pearl, coral, or crystal beads. ……….. He gave mother a
statue of Vinayaka that He created out of the sand. We could not
say whether it was made of clay or stone. Not too black, it had a
slight reddish tinge. Wonder of wonders, the idol did not have a
full-length trunk. When we asked Him why He gave mother an idol
like that, He said, “Do Abhishekam [pouring an appropriate liquid]
to the idol with milk, every Sunday. The trunk will then grow to
the normal size.” Exactly as He had forecast, later the trunk did
grow! We simply cannot estimate the value of His gifts.
It
was not always a case of pulling objects and eatables out of the
sand-pile on the Chitravathi river-bed. There were terrifying
moments too, and follows below a description of one of them.
Once
while we were resting on the Chitravathi sands, Swami said: “Look!
Naga Sai is coming!” Thinking He was referring to a person, we
turned to see who it was but saw no one. Swami then said, “Look in
that direction.” We then saw a huge snake coming towards us. This
was no ordinary snake! It looked verily like Adi Sesha, the
Serpent on whom Lord Vishnu reclines. It was immense in size and
we could not see its tail. As it came forward slithering and
twisting sinuously as if dancing, it looked charming. As it
advanced a little more, its head was suddenly transformed into the
strikingly beautiful countenance of our Lord Sai. We had never
heard of a miracle like that before! It was as if Swami was
proclaiming that He was everywhere and in everything. Still, a
snake is a snake and we began to tremble in fear as it came near
to us. Looking at Swami, we implored, “No Swami, no! Please ask it
to go away!” Swami looked gently at the snake and said, “Go now,
Naga Sai.” And it disappeared! That memorable night is etched in
our minds.
On many occasions,
Swami went far beyond just materialisation, to give a larger
glimpse into the immensity of His Cosmic Powers. Mrs. Vijayakumari
describes one such incident.
One day, when we were all walking
towards the Chitravathi, Swami suddenly disappeared. Even as we
were searching for Him, we heard the sound of a clap; looking up,
we saw Swami alerting us, “I am on top of the hill!” It was six in
the evening. The Sun had softened its beams and was sinking
towards the west. The sky was filled with black clouds, as if it
was wrapped in a dark blanket. Swami said, “Look at Me. I shall
show you the Sun!” Even as we were wondering how the Sun that had
already set come back again, we saw new rays rising behind Swami’s
head. The whole sky was now filled with blue clouds and the rays
turned red! And redder and redder they became, till they looked
fiery; they exuded so much heat that it made us all sweat
profusely. These rays were as hot as those from the scorching
midday Sun. Unable to bear the heat, we loudly appealed, “Swami,
it is too hot!” The heat then subsided. “Oh gosh!” we exclaimed,
and were settling down, when Swami’s voice again came down to us
from the top of the hill, “I shall now show you the Moon.” We saw
behind Swami’s head, the half-unfolded honey-coloured rays of the
Moon. Soon they turned white, and became whiter and whiter still.
We now began to shiver in the cold; our bodies became stiff and
our teeth began to chatter. “Swami! It is very cold!” And as we
were imploring Him, the cold began to slowly subside.
We now began to wonder what miracle
He would perform next, when He announced: “I shall show you the
Third Eye. Watch attentively.” “Third Eye?! How does it look?” we
wondered. Swami’s body was not visible but His head appeared
gigantic, as if stretched across the entire sky. Bewildered and
stupefied, we stared at the sky. An orifice appeared on Swami’s
forehead between His two eyebrows; and fiery sparks issued from
that opening. We were dazzled by the brilliance of those sparks.
We were also scared. More than being afraid about ourselves, we
were worried about what might happen to Swami. The sparks
continued to gush out. Meanwhile, many had fallen down
unconscious, and we did not know why these people had fainted.
That made us even more scared. Feeling lost and not knowing what
to do, we began to cry. Suddenly, Swami was in our midst. “What
happened?” He asked, patting us gently on the shoulder. “Why are
you crying? Why have all these people fainted?” Not knowing what
answers to give, we just hugged Him and continued to weep! As a
few of those who had fainted recovered and got up, we mustered a
little strength and asked Him, “Swami, are You alright? How come
we did not see You there?” Even as we asked all these questions,
we patted His face to assure ourselves that He was really with us.
Swami laughed heartily and assured us that He was indeed alright.
With a wave of His hand He materialised vibhuti and applied it on
our foreheads. One by one, those who had fainted began to revive.
It was a strange experience. We felt as if we were floating on
air. It was a peculiar state of mind. We all went back to the
Mandir and sat down for Bhajans. But we could not sing properly
because we all felt dizzy. We were in that state that whole
evening. Next day when we found ourselves to be in the same state,
we asked Swami about it. With a smile He said, “You have been
praying for a glimpse of this Third Eye during many past lives. In
response to your prayers, I gave you a Darshan of it. However, I
did not show you even a thousandth part of its brilliance. You
could not have withstood that. You could not even bear what you
saw! Your present state is the result of that spectacle!” ……… He
again created vibhuti and smeared it on each of our foreheads. We
gained a semblance of normalcy thereafter.
The custom of
celebrating the Navarathri festival
in a grand manner in Sai’s presence originated even during the
Paatha Mandiram period. In those
days, Swami would be taken every day in a grand procession. Mrs.
Vijyakumari describes the procession of the concluding day of
Vijaya Dasami, during the celebrations of 1946. The festivities
were a gala affair, and in the evening, Swami was taken in
procession to a particular tree, to shoot arrows. What for? Let us
hear from this devotee of olden times:
By
three in the afternoon, they kept ready a cart beautifully
decorated with flowers. On this day, Swami was to go the “Juvvi
Tree” [a special type of tree, worshipped on this particular day].
As Swami was proceeding, we looked at His Royal mien, holding in
His hands a bow and arrows. Verily He appeared to us as Kodanda
Rama, Kalyana Rama. He shone forth as a bright light in the
Ratnakara clan. What regal grandeur! What solemn dignity! ……….. We
accompanied Him, offering salutations as Sai travelled on the
decorated cart. When we reached the Juvvi Tree, Swami stood
straight and, adjusting the bow and taking aim, sent three arrows
onto to the top of the tree. Pots of coins showered down! Swami
caught some and flung them in all directions. We all scrambled to
collect as many as we could, and later stored them carefully. This
was a rare good fortune; we had never seen or heard of anything
like this before. We inquired the significance of this, and Swami
explained that on this auspicious day, the five Pandavas took out
from a hole in a tree, the weapons and other items they had stored
away [prior to the commencement of the incognito period of their
exile].
While
most of the Leelas were enacted on
the Chitravathi river, there was a spectacular one where the
mighty river Ganges literally came in search of the Lord right up
to the Old Mandir! Nothing like had happened ever before,
including in earlier Avatars; and
nothing like has happened ever since.
One day after Bhajan, we were all
sitting around Him stringing flowers into garlands. In this work,
no lady could match His skill and speed! Is there any art that He
is not proficient in? The garlands that He made were thick and
beautiful. Suddenly He got up and said, “Come on, come on! Mother
Ganga is coming to visit us.” He then went and stood near the huge
main gate. After opening the gate, He stood in the centre with
open arms and told us, “All of you stand back. None of you should
go even one inch beyond these outstretched hands of Mine. Look
there! Ganga is rushing forth!” We saw that the river was
approaching us with great ferocity, its waves fuming and frothing
and rising high in the sky, and with a roaring noise. The river
came quite near us, and we children felt greatly scared; we
thought, “My God! The river may swallow us!!” The river came very
near to Swami and was touching the hem of His robe. Except the
roaring water, we could not see any of the trees and shrubs that
were visible till then. Sai extended His hands forward and touched
the river. The stretch of water beneath His hand immediately
became quiet and serene but the waters beyond were still
frighteningly turbulent. Swami glanced at us and said, “Go inside
and bring flowers, coconut, turmeric powder, and kumkum.” We did
as instructed and then offered the flowers, turmeric powder, and
kumkum to the River Goddess. We were quite nervous as we did so.
Thereafter, Swami broke the coconuts, offered them to Mother
Ganga, and, placing His palm on the surface of the river, said,
“We are very happy that you came to visit us. Ganga, now go back
please!” As he spoke these words, He affectionately patted the
waves with both His hands. As if thrilled by His gentle touch, the
fury of the waters subsided and the river receded completely. We
rubbed our eyes and gazed in disbelief in all four directions. Not
a drop of water was to be seen anywhere! There was absolutely no
trace of water anywhere on the ground. Swami’s robe was also dry.
Surprise! It was all a glorious surprise, the river going back as
suddenly as it had come. We were totally baffled. Swami continued
to stand still, and we were worried that the river might come
back! The Director of these marvellous miracles laughed aloud and
pointed in the direction of His feet. We saw there a garland of
jasmine flowers wrapped around His cute little feet! He picked up
the garland, smelt it, and then distributed the flowers to
everyone. Each jasmine bud was almost the size of a rose, and was
softer to the touch than cotton. Its sweet fragrance spread in all
directions. Most reverentially we placed the flowers on our closed
eyes and then wore them in our hair.
As remarked earlier,
Swami appears to have clamped down on Leelas
after 1950, when He moved to the present
Mandir. But the cut-off was not totally abrupt. Now and
then, he showered His Love on old-timers with
Leelas of a delectable variety. Here
is a description of one of them.
Swami had shifted from the old
Mandir to the new one. We had to admit that after His shifting
here, the number of devotees had increased considerably. In the
old Mandir, we would say “What a crowd!” if there were fifty or
sixty people. Now, the crowd had increased to hundreds. Soon it
would swell to thousands and lakhs.
While staying in the old Mandir, as
soon as it was evening we would go the banks of the Chitravathi
river and romp playfully on the hillock there. Now, we were able
to do that only twice a week. …….. One full moon night, Sai Gopala
said, “Don’t cook anything. We’ll cook on the banks of the
Chitravathi river and eat.” We felt greatly excited. With
tremendous joy we packed vessels, provisions and so on onto a
cart, and followed Sai Ram like a band of monkeys. ……. It was
eleven o’clock at night. Swinging on the cradle, singing songs,
running about, jumping up and down, we were tired and exhausted.
We collapsed on the sand and said, “Swami! We are very hungry!!
Please quickly make some food for us.” Our Hero immediately
entered the scene. We said to ourselves, “Oh great God! How is He
going to cook? There is no stove nor firewood.” Full of doubts, we
unloaded the cart and placed all the vessels in a row, the big and
the small, with their lids on. We simply did exactly as He had
instructed us. Swami did not need any stove! He just took a stick
in His hand and went about tapping each of the lids, mumbling at
the same time words like, “Sambar”, “Rice,” “Rasam,” “Payasam,”
“Chutney,” and so on. We then heard a spluttering noise as if food
was being cooked in those vessels. The aroma of delicious food
penetrated our nostrils while pangs of hunger tore our stomachs.
………….. We gathered around Swami and clamoured for food. Swami
said, “But we do not have leaves to serve the food on”. …………Swami
summoned two boys and said, “If you go towards the right side, you
will see a pond filled with lotuses. Get some lotus leaves from
there.” They ran and fetched them. Were they lotus leaves? Oh my
good God! They were so big that people could be seated on them! We
had never seen such big leaves in our lives. The leaves were
arranged in rows and we sat down, eager to eat. Mother Sai began
serving food. Oh those flavours! I cannot describe them. It was a
superb repast. …………. [After it was all over], with great
difficulty we returned to the Mandir. We could not walk properly
nor breathe easily. Even on the following day, our stomachs felt
full! Swami looked at us and said, “Do you think it was an
ordinary meal that you ate? No, it was a Divine Feast! That is why
you are not hungry even now.”
The Leelas of this type have not
quite stopped altogether but they certainly are few and far
between. Here is an example of a Leela
that was performed in the seventies. Swami was in Brindavan at
that time, and one day, He suddenly came to the boys Hostel rather
early in the morning. The students and the Warden hurriedly
gathered in Swami’s presence. Baba then asked the Warden, “Are all
the boys here?” The Warden looked around and said, “I think so
Swami.” Swami then asked for a particular boy. The boy’s name was
called out but he was not there. He was in the garden collecting
flowers for offering to Swami. Even as everyone was wondering
where this boy was, he entered the hall. He was taken aback to see
all the boys there and also Swami! Bhagavan knew why the boy came
late but for the benefit of the others, He asked, “Where were you
and what were you doing?” Hesitantly, the boy answered. Swami was
pleased with the reply and then said, “Take this.” He moved His
hand as if He was throwing something to the boy who was at the
other end of the room. Baba’s hand was empty but suddenly, a laddu
[a sweet dish] formed in the air and flew towards the boy!
Everyone was tremendously excited, and the eyes of all the boys
were shining. Swami looked around, smiled and said, “Boys you also
want laddus?” Naturally, all the boys shouted in chorus: “Yes
Swami!” Swami replied, “Very good,” and asked a boy to go the
kitchen and bring a big empty vessel. The boy did as instructed.
Everyone was now watching with great expectations. They thought
that Swami would do a miracle and fill the vessel with laddus.
Swami simply turned to the Warden and said, “Ask the cook to make
laddus, put them in this vessel and then distribute to the boys!”
With a chuckle and twinkle in His eyes, Swami then walked out!
Sai’s
Leelas do not stop with miracles
directly performed by Him. There are others that one is hardly
aware of; yet, they go on all the time, perhaps increasing day be
day. What type of Leelas are these?
That should be clear from the following extract of the
conversation between Bhagavan and John Hislop.
HISLOP:
This morning in the taxi from the airport, even the driver
described his marvellous experiences of Swami’s Leelas. And the
Bombay Airport officers told other miraculous stories about
happenings in their homes.
SAI:
Leelas are occurring throughout India in millions and millions of
homes. Swami keeps His hand down so that publicity about these
Leelas will not spread.
The most common
among the Leelas occurring in homes
is the appearance of vibhuti on
Swami’s photos. At times, nectar also appears. There is an amusing
incident associated with the appearance of nectar on Swami’s
photo.
Nectar used to
regularly appear on one of the big pictures of Swami displayed in
the Super Speciality Hospital in Puttaparthi. Once, a few years
after the Hospital was opened, the then President of India, Dr.
Shankar Dayal Sharma was going round and visiting the various
wings. The President was accompanied by Bhagavan, who pointed out
the various features. When the President came to the room where
nectar was oozing from Swami’s photo, the doctor there drew
attention to the phenomenon. The President immediately stayed back
to examine the picture while Swami moved ahead. Missing the
President by His side, Swami then turned and called out, “When I
am here, why are you looking at a photo?” This was not just a
casual or humorous remark made in a light vein; there is a deep
meaning behind it. In fact, on many occasions when Swami
materialises an object, it immediately becomes an item of worship.
On such occasions, Swami says, “You are worshipping the mere gross
object instead of devoting attention to the hand from which it
came.” Sometimes, He makes it even more explicit: “The Creator is
more important than Creation!”
Leelas are
often mistaken to be just miracles; they are not; the Grace behind
the miracle is more important. A devotee once said to Baba,
“Swami, all Your Leelas must be
faithfully chronicled, for the benefit of posterity. They are so
wonderful.” Bhagavan smiled and replied, “You are asking for the
impossible. You may be able to collect all the water flowing the
in River Ganges through the ages but collecting accounts of My
Leelas is impossible! There are so
many of them. I alone know about all of them; no one else does and
no else can.” Indeed this is true, especially if considers Swami’s
physical manifestation in far off places and in the houses of
people who have never heard of Baba, the appearance of
vibhuti on Swami’s photos all over
the world, etc.
The
Leelas of God do not ever cease, and
their variety is endless! They happen all the time but often they
are missed because of our lack of faith. But when the
Avatar directly performs them before
our eyes, our faith is restored. Leelas
are expressions of God’s Love. Perhaps, they are also His way of
inducing us to have faith in Him and to Love Him!
Mine is no
mesmerism, miracle, or magic! Mine is genuine Divine Power.
Small minds and limited intellects cannot comprehend them.
They have no strength or stamina to grasp the magnificence and
the majesty. God can do anything. He has all Power in the palm
of His hand. My body, like all other bodies, is a temporary
habitation; but My Power is Eternal, All-pervasive, and
Ever-dominant.
BABA
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One morning,
I found a group of young men from a college in Bangalore
praying to Baba to take them to the top of the hill on the
left bank of the Chitravathi river. They hoped that once
there, Baba would take from the famous tamarind tree
[Kalpavriksham], fruits of different species. I too joined in
the appeal but Baba was determinedly silent for a while. He
then said sharply, “Do I require that particular tree? Any
tree will do, will it not?” We were filled with the hope that
He would give us fruits from some other tree and make it
immortal! But no; instead He continued, “Why do you imagine
that I want a tree? Is not sand good enough?” We now thought
that He would give us something from the river-bed. Soon we
were disillusioned. For He said, “Why do I need the sand of
the river-bed? Will not any sand do?” Since building
construction was in progress in Prasanti Nilayam, truck loads
of sand had been heaped on one side. So I said, “Swami,
perhaps we can sit on this sand heap itself.” Swami retorted,
“Do you think that creation of something out of sand alone is
a miracle? Is sand so essential?” We were stumped and did not
know what to say. I just then recalled that Baba created many
objects with a mere wave of His hand. Meanwhile, He continued,
“Should I create something so that you can see a miracle? Is
not your existence itself a miracle of Mine?” He then rose and
walked away, leaving us stunned by the revelation that He was
none other than the Incarnation of the One Universal God.
N.Kasturi, in
Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram, Vol III |
Source: Radio
Sai E-Magazine, 1st April 2004
http://www.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_02/07April01/02_Cover_Story/cover_story.htm
|