He Transcends Laws of Science
Dr. S. Bhagavantham was the Director of All India Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He additionally held the position of Scientific Advisor to the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi. The following story will speak for itself as to how he became a devotee of Bhagavan Shri Sai Baba.
People may be interested to know how a person with my scientific background and training has come to be involved in spiritual matters, and in what Shri Sathya Sai Baba does and says. I wish to tell you how I passed through various stages in my contact with Bhagavan Baba so that each one may judge what he/she might have done under similar circumstances. For long, I was very nearly an agnostic; that was the outer cover that I had come to wear via my education, contacts, logic, and training.
Another near agnostic
About 15 years ago, I came into contact with Sri [Sathya Sai] Baba. I was then the Director of the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore. I got a telephone message from Sathavadhani Velury Sivarama Sastry, an aged relative who was also a very near agnostic. He told me that he was in Bangalore and added that he was living in a small house with a great person and was under great difficulties. I invited him to come and stay with me. He replied that he could not come without the permission of the person with whom he stayed. I said, “If there is anyone in this world whose permission you would care to obtain for coming, then I must certainly see him.” I knew this relative of mine never cared for anybody’s order.
First contact
In that context, I first went to Sai Baba with whom my cousin was staying. I spoke to Him as I would have spoken with anyone else. Then I asked my cousin to come along with me. Baba said He would also come along with my cousin to my house. I behaved like an agnostic and did not say even `Namaste [a form of greeting]’. I did not think of touching His feet, as many would do as soon as they come into His presence. My strange behavior in Baba’s presence must have made Him say to Himself, “I shall tackle this man.”
A thousand suns
After a year, my cousin and I happened to walk along with Baba on the banks of the [river] Chitravati. That was a full moon night. After some distance, Baba said, `Shall we sit here?’ I replied “Baba, if You wish.” “No, we shall sit if you want to sit here,” said Baba. I wondered why He wanted to make me choose the place. We moved a little further. We finally sat at the place chosen by me on the sand. There were about a hundred devotees who followed us.
Baba then started telling me that scientists have a distorted outlook on life and always looked at things that are of a transient nature. He held us responsible for all the destructive weapons. He ended up with a question, “Do you believe in God? Do you believe in the Indian traditions?” I felt provoked by Baba’s remarks.
“Why should one become a scientist to become ungodly? There are many non‑scientists who are ungodly. I am proud of our traditions,” I said. “My fathers and forefathers were all Sanskrit scholars, and they respected Indian traditions.” I began quoting the distinguished American scientist Oppenheimer. When the first atom bomb was exploded in New Mexico, journalists surrounded him and asked to express his reaction. Oppenheimer quoted one passage from the Indian scripture, Bhagavad Gita.
“It is like one thousand suns all of them shining at the same time in the sky.” The light generated by the atomic explosion could be compared to the splendid vision that Arjuna had of the Lord. “Baba, if an American scientist with no Indian background quoted from an Indian text at the greatest moment of highest scientific achievement, why do you blame scientists as ungodly?”
Sand as scripture
On the sands of the river Chitravati, during this my earliest confrontation with Baba, He questioned me, “Do you believe in the Bhagavad Gita? Would you read the Gita if I give you one?” I said, “I would not make a fetish of reading it every day but would certainly treasure it.” Baba said, “Well stretch your hands.” He took a handful of sand from the riverbank and put it in my hand. To my utter amazement, the sand turned into a small text of the Bhagavad Gita! You can imagine my feelings. I am a rational man, a near agnostic; I would not accept anything without a proper scientific explanation. I argued within myself that the printed text must have come out of some publishing house located at some place. Even in that bewilderment, I asked Baba where that book was printed. Baba replied, “It was printed at the Sai Press! I have chosen the Telugu script because it will be easier for you to read.”
Rising faith
He did several other things that night which completely swept me off my feet, and Baba turned to me and questioned what I could say about them as a scientist. Baba knows very well that I have no belief. So He has made me choose the place on the sands. If He had chosen the place, I myself would have inferred and told every one that He had hidden the book under the sand some time ago. Baba knew my agony because I struggled hard to find an explanation.
One day, I introduced the late Dr. K. S. Krishnan to Baba and told Him that Krishnan was a distinguished physicist. Baba folded up His shirt sleeve. It looked as though Baba was going to wrestle with him! But actually Baba was going to produce something and present it to Krishnan. He did not want Dr Krishnan to think that He was getting it up from His sleeve, or from somewhere.
Diamond necklace
On another occasion, we were sitting with Baba on a beach. Dr. B. Ramakrishna Rao, the former Governor of Kerala, was also present along with a dozen devotees. Baba was younger and more accessible at that time. Like a child, He played with the waves and asked us to mention synonyms of samudra [ocean]. Someone said Ratnagiri and another said Ratnakara. Baba remarked, “If he is Ratnakara, he must give us ratnas [jewels].” I, standing close to Baba said, “He will, if you wish.” Baba smilingly looked at me, took some water into His palm from the rushing waves and it turned into a small diamond necklace or ratnahara; I was in a mood to find an explanation for this or I must surrender.
No problem for Him
It was a critical moment. It was a small necklace and it would not go over Baba’s head, which is big. I wanted to create a problem for Baba, and then he said, “What shall we do with it?” I remarked, “Baba, You have created it and You should wear it!” It was a small necklace and at best it could go over a child’s head. Baba looked at me and smiled, “You want to create a problem for Me,” and held it back, expanded it with the touch of His hand and put it round His neck.
He looked at me again and asked, “Have you anything to say about this?” Well, there is nothing to say about it. The most uncharitable way of interpreting it would be to say that He is doing some magic, that He has brought the necklace from somewhere. The problem I wanted to create for Him was solved in a twinkle. It was my good fortune that He took me on hand and created situations that would answer all the questions that were troubling my mind and lead me forward.
Torn poems
I recall another instance: my cousin (who was a poet and who is now no more) and I were sitting in Baba’s room. My cousin was a reputed poet and he wrote some poems about Baba. But Baba did not say whether they were good or bad. My cousin felt very hurt, as he was a proud man. While we came out, He said, “Oh, Bhagavantham, this is no good,” and tore off and threw away the papers. The next morning, we met Baba again. He enquired about the poems.
Empty ink bottle
My cousin said he tore off the paper. Baba said, I will dictate the poems, bring the ink bottle from the window and take down. It was intended for me, because I wondered what we could do with the empty ink bottle. It could not be an individual illusion because both of us had seen the empty bottle. As my cousin brought the empty bottle from the window to the place where we were sitting, it started getting filled with ink! By the time he reached the place where were sitting, the bottle was filled with ink! Surely this could not be through the process of pouring ink into it. Until then I doubted whether Baba was bringing things from some other place. It could not be so in this instance.
All kinds of men
On one Mahasivaratri day, I was in Prasanthi Nilayam and looked at the thousands of devotees who poured into the little village. There were people of all sorts, rich and poor, young and old, highly placed and ordinary. Some might have come to see the tamasha [theatrics]. Some considered themselves cleverer than all others and wanted to expose any humbug. I was wondering why so many people came there ready to undergo difficulties.
He knew it all
Those who could afford to stay in luxury in Bombay or Delhi came to Prasanthi Nilayam and were ready to spread their beds under the trees. As this thought passed through my mind, Baba came that way and I offered my namaskar to Him. At once Baba remarked, “I do not know why so many rich and big people come here and face so many troubles.” Baba spoke exactly what I had been feeling.
On another occasion, a Norwegian and I were staying in a room. He was discussing with an Indian friend why [Lord] Rama shot Vali [the monkey king], hiding himself behind a tree. I intervened in their discussion and said that Rama is the embodiment of dharma. “Ramo Vigrahavan Dharmaha.” According to Indian traditional view, what Rama does is right. Within ten minutes, the meeting at which Baba spoke started; and half way through the speech, Baba used the same quotation to my great astonishment.
The jewel
When Baba performs mahabhishekam [anointing the Shirdi Sai statue], Baba gets the idol of Shirdi Sainath placed on the platform and gets it cleaned. From a wooden vase that is empty, Baba materializes large quantities of vibhuti [sacred ash] and showers it upon the idol. On that occasion, Baba produced a jewel by the wave of His hand and fixed it on the brow of the idol. My Norwegian friend and I discussed in our room, which was two hundred yards away, how the jewel could be fixed on a dry metallic surface. Halfway through His speech that evening, Baba referred to people who wondered how the jewel could be fixed on the idol’s brow and said that it is not difficult for the power that created the jewel to fix it where it pleased. How could Baba know of a conversation that took place in our room?
Divinity
I felt that I should accept these incidents, as they do not submit themselves to known laws of physics and chemistry. Logic, laws, methods, and methodology of science cannot explain what I have seen. They are superhuman, transcendental, and divine.
One cannot expound divinity because one has to experience it. That experience cannot be communicated just as abstract feelings cannot be conveyed in a convincing manner. The love between a mother and son cannot be communicated with the same intensity to others. After three or four years of doubt and questioning, I have come to accept Baba’s actions as those that transcend the known laws of science. Though discoveries of science have added a great deal to our knowledge, they have also added to our awareness of what we do not know. The landing on the moon has revealed that the earth and the moon are of the same age, and both might have a common source. It is a remarkable truth that will keep us busy for years.
Sooner or later, a moment arrives in every man’s life through shock of death of near and dear ones, disastrous disappointment of ambition or a total change of fortune, when he realizes that there is a Divinity that guides and shapes our destinies. During such moments, people turn to Baba. In an extraordinary way, He handles people. Some nuts that are hard to crack go to the interview room, and come out with tears in their eyes. They cannot describe what has come over them. Even when Baba grants interviews to five hundred people on a single day, even the last man comes out with supreme joy and happiness. If I interview ten people at a stretch, the eighth or the ninth man will get a raw deal at my hands. To infuse joy and happiness into so many hearts is tremendously superhuman.
Priceless gift
On one occasion, Baba created a vessel and filled it with sweet liquid. He asked me to hold it and began to distribute it to people with a little spoon. I thought it would be sufficient for fifty people. Even after it was distributed by Baba to five hundred people, one full bottle of sweet liquid remained in the vessel and he asked me to carry it to the members of my family.
The college at Anantapur is a concrete manifestation of something superhuman. At an enormous cost of forty lakhs [four hundred thousand] of rupees within a record time of ten months, Baba has reared a structure that is good enough for a university. Who did all this work? Where have the funds come from? It is all touch and go, touch and go. If you want to see divinity in action, you can find a concrete instance at Anantapur. It is something beyond the pale of human reason and mortal prowess. But there will always be people who can explain away anything as due to this or due to that.
“Yad bhavam tad bhavati.” We receive but what we give, and we perceive what we choose to find. The achievements of Baba, His ministration to distressed hearts, and His priceless gifts are beyond the normal levels of explanation.
~Dr. S. Bhagavantham; M. A., D. Sc.
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Nov. 1971
