Divinely Supreme Miracle
Bhagavan reached Goa via Dharwar at 10 P.M. on the 7th of December and was received at the Cabo Raj Nivas [house] by the Lt. Governor Sri Nakul Sen I. C. S. and family. That very night, He took over in His infinite compassion the attack of acute appendicitis that a devotee was about to suffer from; expert physicians opined that could not be cured without an immediate surgery. On the 10th evening, however, when Bhagavan gave a long discourse during the Bhajan Session at Raj Nivas, He was perfectly normal, cheerful, and in good health (as the P. T. I. correspondent reported). His recovery within a couple of days without any surgical treatment was, as observed by the U. N. I. correspondent at Panaji (Goa), ‘considered a miracle not only by laymen but also by the expert physicians who attended on Him’!
The speech that was delivered by the Lt. Governor on the 10th, in the Divine Presence of Bhagavan (who had cast off the malignant and painful illness that He had taken on), will give the reader some idea of the Divine Mercy, Grand Power, of Baba.
Sri Nakul Sen said, “Bhagavan Shri Swami Sathya Sai Baba and Brothers, Sisters, and Children of Goa. It is our supreme good fortune that we find Divinity present amidst us today. I need not say how this has come about. To tell you who Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba is will be like showing candlelight to the midday sun. The inhabitants of Goa are indeed fortunate that Bhagavan Himself has come here and blessed them with His darshan. As we look back at the history of Goa, we feel emboldened to lay a special claim for Bhagavan’s darshan and blessings. This will make you curious why I have said so.
I do not have to remind you that Goa is an ancient land; Goa is a sacred land; Goa is a land of the Rishis [sages]. It is the land originally inhabited by Maharishi Parasuram and his devotees called Saraswat Brahmins. When they came to Goa, they found its beauty and landscape enchanting, but they could not locate any level ground where they could settle down with their cows whom they had brought with them from the North. Varuna, the Lord of the Oceans, welcomed Maharshi Parasuram and made the sea recede from that much of the area that was required by the Maharshi and his followers for the settlement and the cows for their pasture lands. As the sea receded, the cows in utter ecstasy ran toward it and that is how this land came to be called Gomant, that is the land’s end to which the cows could go. All Goans are the descendants of Maharshi Parasuram, and it is the result of their good deeds (punya karma) spread over many lives that Bhagavan Himself has come here to give darshan to them.
“Goa is also the land of Lord Shiva, who lived on the Sahyadri Mountains. He had infinite love for His divine consort, Bhagwati Parvati, and for Her pleasure created through His sankalpa two rivers—the present day Mandovi and the Zuari, which are the counterpart of the holy Ganges in the North. The ancient names of these two rivers are Mahadevi and Aghanashini. They keep alive for all time to come the sacred memory of Lord Shiva and Bhagwati Parvati. Ever reminding us of them, they flow down the Sahyadri ranges through the entire territory of Goa, rapidly moving over the falls and leisurely sauntering over the planes before finally merging into the Indian Ocean.
Both these rivers are very happy today—they are in ecstasy! They are humming divine songs of infinite sweetness. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear can participate in their joy. Their happiness is boundless and is emerging from the consciousness that their creator, Lord Shiva, has come to Goa today in the form of Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba to meet and bless them. It is a widely known fact that in the present times, Shiva Shakti is finding its expression through Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba, who is the Physical manifestation.
There is yet another reason why Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba has blessed us with His visit. Those who have read the story of Lord Krishna know fully well that He and His elder brother, Shri Balaram, visited Goa in the early years of their life and stayed here for over two years. They were chased by Emperor Jarasandha of Magada, who was defeated by them in a spectacular hand-to-hand fight on the soil of Goa itself. Shri Balarama would have killed him, but Lord Krishna had already ordained his death at the hands of Bhima and, therefore, Shri Balarama could not be allowed to kill him. It is from Goa that while leaving this beautiful land Lord Krishna took the Garuda Dhwaja that was so dear to Him, and which remained with Him all his life.
Lord Krishna loved Gomant. No wonder he decided to visit this ancient and sacred land again in the form of Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba.
The sole object of my saying all that I have said is that both historically and spiritually the Goans are like children of Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba and can, therefore, rightly lay a claim on Him. He has loved Goa in His previous incarnations and Goa continues to be dear to Him even now. Bhagavan lives in the inner recesses of the hearts of His devotees and there is nothing that He would not do for them. Those who have read His life story or have had the good fortune of remaining in contact with Him over a period are aware of His breath‑taking and unaccountable leelas and mahimas. He has simultaneously appeared in His present form at different places to help His bhaktas in distress or impending calamity and saved them from it. He has assumed through His will (sankalpa), illness of His bhaktas and suffered it for them, because otherwise they would have been just overpowered by it.
We have been the witnesses of a similar leela of His during His current visit to Goa—leela that is breath-taking, and it has greatly perplexed the medical experts of Goa. He came here on the evening of December 7th, and during the very first night of His stay at Cabo Raj Nivas, He took upon Himself through His sankalpa a most serious illness that suddenly assumed a very grave character. The eminent surgeons and physicians who were called to examine Him suggested immediate surgery as the only treatment. Their diagnosis was that Baba was suffering from an acute attack of appendicitis with an abscess that was assuming a malignant character.
While the doctors came one after the other to see Him, He was cheerful and smilingly listening to what they said after mutual consultations and agreed to the medication they could administer to Him at His residence. The crisis came on the second night, i.e., December 9, when the temperature and the pulse were rising fast, and Bhagavan was not retaining any nourishment whatever. In utter despair, the doctors suggested drastic remedies at which Bhagavan just smiled.
The wonder of wonders happened on the morning of December of 10th when the temperature came down from 101.8°F to 98.4° F and the pulse from 112 to 86. When I saw Him in the morning, He told me that the Kirtan [bhajans] scheduled to be held at Cabo Raj Nivas in the evening (December 10) should be held as originally fixed and that He would grace it with His presence. The doctors became panicky, and I could feel that they were dead against what Bhagavan had said to me. My sixth sense somehow assured me that Bhagavan was showing one of His leelas in Goa and that through His sankalpa He would get rid of the trouble as quickly as He had assumed it nearly 40 hours earlier.
In the afternoon, when the doctors examined Him again, they could not locate any abscess nor could they find any trace of the stony lump of flesh near it. The whole area of the appendix was soft and as normal as it could be. Lo and behold! At 6 o’clock in the evening, Bhagawan walked from His bedroom to the dais in the main hall, a distance of about 200 feet, without any aid and sat down erect on an office chair. As all of you can see that He is cheerful, smiling and looks to be in the best of His health. This leela that He has enacted in Goa at Cabo Raj Niwas will be remembered with amazement and deep reverence for generations to come. It leaves no doubt in our minds that there is nothing on this earth that Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba cannot do through His will (sankalpa). His leela (Divine Play) is adbhut (wonderful) and romanchkari (thrilling)! His leela is madhumayee (consisting of honey) and manoharini (charming)! It imparts supreme joy, beatitude,and infinite love. His leela is amar (eternal) and amritmayee (immortal like nectar). It is endless and ananda (supreme bliss) par excellence.
My heart is far too full to say more about the Divinity presiding over this function. We welcome Bhagavan from the innermost recesses of our hearts and offer our deep salutations to Him. It is our prayer to Him in all humility that we may receive His blessings and be always worthy of His grace.”
During the Discourse, Bhagavan referred to the illness He had donned and the pain He had `gone through’. “I have come with this body in order to guard and guide these bodies of yours, and so this body will never be affected by disease! Disease is caused by faulty food and recreation, and since this body is free from such diseases that flesh is heir to, it can never be ill. The care of those who have surrendered to Me heartily and who have thrown all responsibility on Me is my burden. I must rescue them from pain, even by taking on the pain, Myself. Moreover, I decided to announce Divinity by taking on pain and casting it off, pain that is beyond ordinary mortals to bear. I am ever immune to pain. The pain I had assumed has now vanished. It would never return.”
Baba spoke also about the need to strengthen the underlying unity of this land of Yoga and Tyaga. He emphasized the importance of character in individual and national progress, and declared that the body was an equipment given to man not for running after sensual pleasures, but to realize its essential divinity. The news of the illness was widely published and so created deep anxiety and trepidation in the hearts of millions of devotees, though many of them were aware of similar occasions when He had taken on the illness that threatened His devotees. But this miracle at Raj Nivas, Goa, was easily the most dramatic and most significant, for medical science was flabbergasted by the suddenness and the completeness of the cure that Baba wrought on Himself. It also gained through His sankalpa more widespread publicity than the previous miracles.
The Sai Era of Spiritual Triumph has come into another and more fruitful stage since this supreme miracle has drawn the attention and admiration of millions to the Avatar that is in our midst for our salvation.
Jai Sai Ram
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, 1970
