Divine Revelations
In this passage, the night of Mahashivaratri is the backdrop for an instance when Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba produces the first-ever Lingam.
The date was March 8th. In a remote Indian town, a little lad swooned. A scorpion had stung Him. It came to be known as “The Great Night of Shiva,” because after this night, nothing was ever the same.
Mahashivaratri has always been an enigmatic and electric night. It is a time when the mysterious God chooses to move in more mysterious ways, performing his wonders;and, His manifestations baffle your perceptions and leave you gasping. If one takes a walk down memory lane or leafs through the pages of the past, one will realize it.
Bandipur forest, 1974
They [Babawith some students and devotees] had driven down from Ooty [in southern India]. They camped in a clearing in the forest for the night. A student asked His permission to photograph Him with a new Polaroid camera. He said, “I will show you My true form. Proceed.” They all waited with bated breath for the photograph to come out.
We saw the trinity, Dattatreya
He spoke that night on the significance of Mahashivratri and its relation to the moon. He also said, “The scientists who have been up there think that there is no water on the moon. As always, they don’t know the truth.” He waved His palm casually and materialized a lucent disk, which just about happened to be the moon. He smiled, while everybody gaped. Showing the thin streaks on the disk to the starry eyed audience the Master said, “This is the water on the moon that tragically has eluded the scientists.”
The list of such happenings is endless. The effects of the miracles—His visiting cards as He calls them—are felt not only in the physical presence of the Lord, but across the cosmos. Every act He performs has a universal significance. In material science, it is said, “You cannot move your fingers without moving the stars.” If this were for man, what then for God?
The early years
“Dig right here,” Bala [young] Sai told one of His more able devotees. The task was carried out and from that spot was unearthed a number of peethams (bases of the lingams). The devotees asked, “The pedestals are here but where are the lingams?”
“In my stomach,” said Sai. They laughed. Some scratched their heads perplexed. Time passed and then came Shivaratri.
The bhajans [devotional songs] were on. Young Sai was seated on the chair playing the cymbals. Suddenly He stopped, and clutched His stomach. Uneasiness came over Him. There was a frown on His serene face. He was in pain. It appeared as though spasms of pain had gripped Him. Subbamma [the lady who looked after Him in the early years] immediately got some water. He sipped it. But the pain persisted. Indeed, the pain appeared to increase with every passing moment, moving upward. The chest, the gullet, and the muscles of His throat tensed and then He heaved. His mouth opened and suddenly from within came a “brilliant ball of light”— a kind of smooth crystal. He smiled. The relief was obvious as the tense contours of the His sweet countenance relaxed into the very familiar smile. He rose and held it up for all to see.
It was a Lingam—the first ever
For years, the holy night has witnessed the lingodbhavam [the emergence of lingam] and a plethora of lingams, emerging from the Lord’s body. Sometimes, only one lingam is formed, the material varying between sphatika [crystal], silver, jade, or even gold. Often, three, five, seven, or even nine lingams would emerge. Once, the number of lingams was a surprisingly high number of 11. They come in different sizes, but the shape is always ellipsoid. At times the benevolent Lord has created them even with the peethams [pedestals], and with vibhuti [sacred ash] smeared on them.
Some Mahashivaratri nights witnessed more.
Himachal Pradesh, April 1999
His [a devotee’s] father had asked him to seek the blessings of their family guru, Bhagavan Maharaj. So he drove down to the ashram. The Bhagavan Maharaj saw him, smiled and said, “So, you’ve come from Puttaparthi? How was the Shivaratri? Did Baba not perform the lingodbhavam [the act of manifesting lingams] this year?”
“I was lucky Bhagavanji. This year He took out the Hiranyagarbha [cosmic] lingam.”
“The world is lucky, beta (son). Tell me, what happened after that?”
“Baba then gave a discourse where He spoke about the lingam.”
“Hey!!! You are missing something.”
“What?”
“Did Baba not throw that lingam on to the ground?”
“Oh! Yes! I remember. He said that this gold is like love – invincible and invulnerable. And He threw it…”
“Thrice…”
“Yes, But how do you know it?”
“Beta [son], Baba does not do anything without a reason. You know, when He threw the lingam thrice on to the ground, He saved the world from three devastating earthquakes. The lingam annulled their effects. He saved the world ages ago when He drank the Haalahala [the poison that Shiva drank]. He saved it once again on that day. For, is it not His nature to sustain His creation?”
Poornachandra Auditorium
We were seated that afternoon in the Poornachandra hall. The winter vacations were on and we [students] children were watching a movie with our Mother Sai. It was a film about Lord Dattatreya—the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Ishwara in one —in Telegu [the local language]. With our eyes riveted on the screen, we watched Kartaveerya, Arjuna [from the Pandava clan] enter the hermitage of his to-be guru, Dattatreya.
After years of search, he had finally found Him. The one who his parents said would be his guru—his God. And as he took the thorny track that led to the guru’s ashram, he was tired, but thrilled. With every subsequent step, he felt the peace within swell. He had reached the end of his journey.
But in actuality, the journey had just begun.
“Good God! Is He supposed to be my guru?”
He was sure that he had come to the wrong place, in search of the wrong person. The entire ashram reeked of liquor and putrid flesh. The guru Himself emanated the very some aroma from His being. Surrounded by a horde of women, He spoke, not the holy Vedas [Hindu scriptures] but the lowly language of cobblers! Was He the great Dattatreya that his mother had spoken so highly about? Definitely not. But the drunken attendant serving his equally drunk master said that He was Dattatreya. Kartaveerya approached Dattatreya with folded palms.
He got up with great difficulty from the puddle of water where the attendants of Dattatreya had thrown him. Stunned, he squeezed his dhoti [lower garment worn by men] dry. The humiliation was too much to bear. The guru whom he approached for Bramhajnana [knowledge of Bhrahman] had thrown him out of the ashram! What kind of a guru was this fellow? A true guru, the scriptures say, rests not even for a hundred births until His disciple has attained the ultimate reality. But this Dattatreya had rejected him outright. Or was He really Dattatreya?
It seemed to us that it was the same story both on and off the screen. How many times have we held out a letter only to see Him turn His head away? How many times have we knelt down to pray, only to see Him ignore our prayer? He pretends to be deaf when we speak to Him, rejects the kerchief we give Him and does not even look at us when we are right in front of Him.
Still, Kartaveerya resolved to cling on firmly. He went back to the guru who continued to remain in the same insane stupor. With faith, he held on and prayed. He was abused, ridiculed, and even beaten, but he did not swerve. This went on and on.
Suddenly fragrance filled the air, the women and the drunken attendants changed into rishis [sages], and in place of that grotesque guru stood a Divine and effulgent form. Dattatreya smiled at Kartaveerya, and placed His hand on the disciple’s head.
With a single touch, He had given him Brahmajnana. The screen went blank, for, the movie was stopped. Bhagavan got up from His chair. The table was brought and the mike placed there upon. We waited with breath abated.
He did not thunder. He just said it without much ado. “I am Dattatreya.” With open mouths we gazed at our guru, our God. He added, “Test is My taste.”
~Sriram P., Alumnus, SSSIHL (1996-2001)
Source: Sai Nandana, 2000
Sathya Sai with Students
