In Ringing Tones

On Christmas day, I left home on an evening stroll toward the newly constructed Sathyanarayanaswamy temple, on the outskirts of my village, with the December ‘Sanathana Sarathi’ and ‘Pradeepa’ [magazines] as my companions.

The temple door was locked and I sat on the steps and was immersed in the pages of the ‘Sathya Sai Bhagavad-Gita.’ Suddenly the headmaster of the high school, who happened to come that way, accosted me, “What are you reading, all alone here?” he enquired.

The talk naturally centered on Baba. He said, “I have heard many wonderful tales of your Baba, but until I see Him personally and get personal experience of His almighty power, I will not blindly believe all the stories.”

I retorted, “My dear friend, the chief characteristics of the Lord are srishti [creation], sthithi [preservation] and samhara [destruction] (S. S. S); sarvajnatwa [all-knowingness], sarvantaryamitwa [omnipresence], and sarvashaktatwa [quality of all witnessing one] (S. S. S). Baba has all these powers, and the world at large has been witnessing countless miracles every day as a proof of His divyaleela [divine play]. I am convinced that He is Poornavatara [complete incarnation], Harihareswara, Lord Narayana….”

Even while I was talking thus, we were both stunned into silence by the loud ringing of the temple bell from inside the locked door! We were riveted to the spot in sheer amazement. Baba was confirming my statement in ringing tones! The bell rung for about three minutes!

We could scarcely speak after that most thrilling experience. The headmaster could not walk even a few steps; such was his exhilaration. Half an hour later, the priest came and opened the door of the temple and we went inside. I must add here that it is a stone structure with a cement concrete roof, and not even a rat or a fly can get in when the door is closed and locked!

Inscrutable are the ways of Baba! Indescribable is His grace!

~Besagarahalli Raghavan
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Jan. 1962