Baba—The Embodiment of Love

Born in 1924, Padmabhushan Lt. Gen. (Retd.) S. P. Malhotra, PVSM, a highly decorated soldier of the Indian Army, retired in 1982 as GOC-in-C [General Officer Commanding-in-Chief], Northern Command, after a distinguished service of 39 years which included a stint in the U.N. Emergency Force at Gaza. He was drawn to the Divine presence in 1974 and subsequently was graced by a miraculous cure of a serious eye ailment in 1980.

My first opportunity to be blessed by Bhagavan was in April 1974 when He was visiting Ooty [a hill station in South India] and gave me and my wife our first interview. He was gracious enough to visit our staff college in Wellington (Nilgiris), which I was commanding at the time. We had no previous knowledge of Swami. Our first meeting with Baba was very beautiful. We realized His omniscience at once. I was passing through a rough patch and He assured me that all would be well. He also predicted my promotion in a particular month. His impact on both of us was very deep and very lasting.

Since then we have received His grace in abundance. We felt especially blessed when Swami graced our home in Kashmir. It gave a rare chance to thousands of servicemen to have His darshan (sight of a holy man) and listen to the Divine discourses. The then Governor and the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir came with their wives for His darshan and blessings, besides many other ministers of the State Government. Kashmiri Muslims came in hundreds. In those few days, we were in absolute bliss and acquired certain memories that can never be forgotten.

My life before I met Swami was humdrum, immersed in worldly goals. The contact with Baba changed my entire value system, making me more contemplative and more introspective.

Our first visit to Puttaparthi was in February 1975 on the occasion of Shivaratri. It was an exhilarating experience that filled us with wonder and awe. From then on, Baba became the anchor of our existence.

Our visits to Him gave us so much peace. Certain events in our life made us realize His omnipresence and omniscience. In 1980, when I developed a serious eye ailment, He saved my eye, arresting the disease before it reached the pupil of the eye. Doctors were helpless regarding post-herpes pains. It is my visit to Puttaparthi that cured me completely. He took me off all the painkillers that the army doctors had prescribed. The latter had told me that it would take months before I would be free of them.

Baba is love incarnate. Every visit to him strengthens us from inside, giving us the courage to face the challenges of life. He is our Divine guru—guiding us at every step. His greatest emphasis is on love. He says, “Start the day with love, spend the day with love, end the day with love—that is the way to God.” If we follow this dictum of Swami, we shall certainly advance in our spiritual journey. He is love in human form. When He calls you for an interview, He showers so much love that you are totally humbled and you resolve to become a better human being by following His teachings with added fervor.

I am most influenced by Baba’s teachings that do not imply any new cult or religion. Baba is not introducing a new cult. He wants us to adhere to our own religion and practice it sincerely. He befriends all faiths and has emphasized the unity of all religions in the oneness of Divinity.

Baba’s teachings, which He gives in His discourses, are profound; they are put in simple words so that everyone can understand them. His command over language and fluency is phenomenal. His discourses are in Telugu, but He can speak all other languages. Baba’s knowledge not only of the scriptures, but of medicine, science, technology and all other subjects, is unlimited.

Swami’s basic teachings can be summarized in just eight words, which are:

Love all, Serve all
Help ever, Hurt never

In support of His teachings, Baba has time and again said in His discourses, “Let the different faiths exist. Let them flourish and let the glory of God be sung in all the languages of the world and in a variety of tunes. Respect the differences between the faiths and recognize them as valid as long as they do not extinguish the flame of unity.”

He says that there is only one God and all the religions are various paths leading to Him. He talks about love as the only true religion and wants us to embrace the whole of humanity in our love. We are asked to develop a positive attitude and meet hate with love. Love, He says, is a wonderful thing, which works from within a person so that the change is thorough and absolute. Baba does not want any offering from us except our pure undiluted love and urges us to be good, see good, and do good.

Baba’s main program is of reforming the next generation through proper education. Swami is fully committed to providing free education, sophisticated medical care, pure drinking water, housing, and other facilities to less fortunate people.

In the context of education, Swami says, “Education must implant elevating ideals and kindle the lamps of wisdom. Character is the most precious gift of education. The end of education is character.” He further says, “Brick and mortar do not make a school efficient and useful nor are books in the library or appliances in the laboratory so essential. Teachers make the school or mar it.”

Sai Baba places great importance on proper education of young people. He has not only explained at length the learning objectives, methods of training, teacher’s guides in schools, qualities of an ideal teacher, teachers’ relationship with students, teachers’ attitude toward students and so on, but also issued letters addressed to teachers periodically emphasizing the guiding principles.

Sai Baba believes that students are our future generation. Therefore, they must be trained to become good citizens. He is giving a lot of His time to the young, nurturing them for the future. It is a joy watching Him when He is with students.

Sai Baba has established a model education system. In India, He has founded elementary and secondary schools, vocational schools and a university with three campuses (two for men and one for women) that offer undergraduate, Masters, and Ph.D. degrees. Admission is open to all irrespective of class, caste, and creed, and education is free of cost.

Schools based on Sai Baba’s educational principles are now operating in many countries all over the world. In addition to emphasizing the pursuit of academic excellence, Sai Baba’s system of integral education is designed to foster self-discipline, human values, and character development. Students take courses on morality and spirituality and devote time throughout the school year to some form of community service.

Besides the special educational beacons, Sai Baba has set up a splendid service facility in the form of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, with its two super specialty hospitals at Puttaparthi and Bangalore, where the poorer sections of the population are provided the best of medical and surgical facilities free of cost. A wonder of wonders in the medical world’s architecture, these hospitals were constructed within the shortest time in recorded history, equipped with the most modern and sophisticated apparatuses, and manned by highly dedicated surgeons and associated personnel under the direction of medical celebrities.

Furthermore, Sai Baba is providing pure drinking water, housing, and all other facilities normally not available to the underprivileged. In regard to water, He has already completed a few water projects in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Faith in Sai is the surest and the quickest road to universal religion. All roads lead to Him, such is His boundless love for man.

We are especially blessed to be born in this era of Sai Avatar. May He bless us all with good sense so that we can live up to His teachings.

We have a long way to go, but by His grace we have started the journey, and with His blessings we will surely make progress.

We must remember always:

There is only one religion, the religion of love;
There is only one language, the language of the heart;
There is only one caste, the caste of humanity,
There is only one God, He is omnipresent.

~Lt. Gen. (Retd.) S.P. Malhotra
Source:  Tribute, Pp. 51-54