His Grace

Puttaparthi…Prasanthi Nilayam… Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba … I had heard about them and I had read about them. Yet I had not seen them and I never knew I could see them, so soon and so suddenly.

I had read Sathyam Sivam Sundaram, a few issues of Sanathana Sarathi, and also some volumes of Sathya Sai Speaks. I never expected that I would come to His presence so soon.

A dear kinsman gave me the publications from Prasanthi Nilayam and it was His [Baba’s] love and consideration that made it easy for my wife, my children, and me to go to Puttaparthi and return without any difficulty.

At Puttaparthi Navaratri is a festival for 10 days, and I reached there the evening before the inaugural day. As soon as I entered the environs of the Nilayam I recalled the lines of Dr. D. V. Gundappa, in His poem, manku thimma that says, “Can one gauge the expanse and the sublimity of the Himalayas from a picture printed in a book? Can the awe and reverence that the sea arouses be experienced by reading descriptions?” There were thousands around the Nilayam, many engaged in various tasks. Yet there was no sound emerging from the gathering; no shouting, and no calling. Men murmured to one another as leaves whisper among the branches above. It was a unique experience.

The devotees had occupied whatever space was available, in the open sheds, on the verandahs of the houses, under the trees, on God-given land beneath the God-granted sky.

Late in the evening, bhajans [spiritual songs] started in the prayer hall. There was a huge gathering of people in front of the Nilayam waiting for Baba to appear on the porch above, to grant darshan [sight of a holy person]. I felt that if I entered the hall and sat in the front rows, I would be able to get a closer view of Baba. So, I got in and secured a place in the fifth row from the front. The hall was filled with the sublime Om [primordial sound] and bhajans began. Baba did not come and occupy the chair set on the pedestal. I repeated within myself the prayer contained in the Krishna Stotra of Mahaprabhu Chaitanya [a saint], “Jagannathaswami! Nayanapatagamee, Bhavathu me” (O! Lord of Jagannath, enter the path of my sight.) I repeated it many times. Suddenly, Baba came in and sat on the chair.

When night advanced, we spread our beds under a tree and lay down to sleep. There were many other families all around us, trying to sleep like ourselves. Slumber overcame me. A few raindrops fell on my face! I had heard people say that when festivals are celebrated at Prasanthi Nilayam, rains hold back from these environs, because of Baba’s glory. Yet, when two or three more drops fell on my face, I rolled my bed, woke my wife and children, and moved about frantically in search of shelter. I could get a verandah where I could resettle my family and myself. A little later, there was no rain at all and I blamed myself for being hasty, for I remembered the words of admonition with which Jesus reprimanded the disciples who were not steadfast, “O ye men of little faith!”

The stars were shining all over the firmament.  Mosquitoes took their toll on the verandah where we were. So, I migrated once again to my old tree and unrolled the bedding. Once again slumber overcame me quickly, but in a few moments, a shower more profuse than before, sprinkled drops on my face. I sat up and called on my relatives to wake and move. My wife said, “What kind of foolish game is this! There are thousands like us all over the place; they are not worried at all; Baba will guard us; keep faith in Him and go to sleep.” “Well, let us not get wet when the rain pours,” I said and drew the rug over my head. I could not sleep; the rain too did not pour.

Early dawn, I heard the Omkar recitation from the Nilayam; it came on rolling like the waves of the sea. In the morning, Baba hoisted the Prasanthi Nilayam flag. Thousands of men and women, old and young, and children too gathered before the Nilayam, but there was no rushing or pushing; silence prevailed everywhere, a silence that was sublime and full of reverence. One could have a good view of Baba and the ceremony wherever one stood or sat. The arrangements left nothing to be desired.

Baba began His discourse with a poem, in which He declared that only those who have practiced detachment could understand Him. He said that the Navaratri was dedicated to the worship of Shakti, the Shakti that is expressed through the three gunas [qualities], and that is functioning as Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. He went on to describe the five elements that have come together to create and sustain the world, and He advised that these five elements have to be used with great care and circumspection. You should not waste any of these; conserve them. Conserve also their chief characteristics, by exercising great moderation in noise, in the pursuit of external form, etc.

He said that this life is but a bridge from tamas [darkness] to jyoti [light], and so no attempt should be made to build a house thereon! Pointing to a decorative piece in front of the porch on the ground, He declared that nothing in the Nilayam is devoid of significance and inner meaning. He explained it as a symbol of sadhana [spiritual exercise], the aspirant avoiding the snare of kama [fulfillment of desire] and krodha [anger], cultivating prema [love] and establishing himself in Yoga and realizing the Absolute. He chided those who are happy because they have attained swarajya [political independence], for, without swarajya, the mastery over the senses and the vagaries of the mind can be a dangerous trap! The discourse was full of parables, stories, and pleasing metaphors and similes that could be grasped by all. Every one listened eagerly to catch every syllable; no one knew how long it took.

Then Baba went up, on to the terrace and hoisted the flag. He showered handfuls of petals on the vast assembly beneath. Within minutes it was announced that the grihapravesam [inaugurating a new house] ceremony would take place soon. About 25 residential quarters built to the south of the Prasanthi Nilayam were waiting to be “opened” by Baba that morning. My kinsman had secured the privilege of having one built, and so he was waiting at the door of one of these, the very first, with my family and me around him.

The auspicious moment neared and Baba came, preceded by the party of musicians playing the nadaswaram and accompanied by the students of the Veda Pathashala [Vedic School] reciting the Vedas [holy scriptures]. Baba came to us and entered the door, cutting the ribbon with a pair of scissors. He sent us in with the words, “No time now; I have to be in all these houses before Rahukalam intervenes; I shall come to you on My way back.” When He pushed us gently in, He placed His Hand upon my shoulder. At that instant, I realized what was meant by “refreshing coolness” when the word is applied to the inner consciousness.

Baba got in and out of those 25 houses, accepting the worship that was offered in each and, finally, He came back to us as He had so graciously promised. He sat on a chair that we had placed there; then, saying in my heart of hearts, “Angeekritha naraakaaram, aasraye bhuvanaasarayam” (I take refuge in the refuge of worlds that has accepted this human form), my hands placed a garland round His neck; my head sunk low to His feet. His abhayahastha [blessing hand] stroked my head when I rose.

Someone placed a photograph in His hands praying for an autographed blessing. He said, “Later, later,” and took it with Him. I took my daughter’s book from her and gave it to Him with my pen, which I uncovered, fixing the cap at the back. Baba turned over a few pages and seeking out a picture in the book of Himself with the right hand on the abhaya [blessing] pose, He wrote upon it, “With Blessings…Baba,” and loosening the cap from where I had fixed it, He placed it on other end, tightened it by a few turns, and handed the two to me. His hand touched mine. Joy bubbled within me. “Kim alabhyam, Bhagavathi, Prasanne Sreenikethane (when God is pleased, nothing is impossible),” I said to myself.

Baba moved into the Nilayam and all was quiet; no, my heart was repeating that sweet line, “Angee kritha naraakaaram, aasraye bhuvanaasarayam.” It was the last of four, from a sloka composed by Leelasuka, a great devotee of Krishna; I had read it in the Krishna Karnaamritham. I was in that house, enveloped in that inner joy for some time. Then, I rose and went toward the Nilayam.

There my attention was caught by something I had noticed in the morning, when Baba was giving His discourse. On the porch where He stood were a golden image of Krishna on the right and golden image of Bhagavan Buddha on His left. They were still there. Krishna, Sathya Sai, Buddha, different eras, different territories, but the teaching and the message are same.

Leaving Prasanthi Nilayam with the prayer, “May I come again soon, may I come again soon,” I journeyed back to Bangalore the same day, recollecting the thrill and the joy that we received through His grace.

~Prof G. P. Rajarathnam
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Feb. 1967