Vibhuti Does it!
It was summer. Some Sai devotees had assembled near the leprosy asylum for seva [service]. The bhajans [devotional hymns] started. Students of the Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School had also gathered there. After bhajan, fruits were distributed to the inmates.
It was really a sad sight to see the patients in the asylum. I wondered what karmic law had brought on this dreaded disease to the afflicted persons. As I was thinking about these things, an elderly gentleman, a leader of the Seva Samiti [service association], came and said, “Why don’t you, being Swami’s students, come and talk to them?” I didn’t have enough courage to go in. I looked around and noted that even other friends were hesitant. We had to give in as the elders said, “Don’t worry, we won’t go into the interior. Just speak to them for some time.”
A small boy came closer. The old gentleman told him: “See, they are Baba’s students.” His eyes glowed with admiration. We boys moved back a little. Suddenly, he said, “Don’t be afraid. I won’t touch you.” We were `touched’ by this statement. Then he started speaking in Marathi [dialect of Maharashtra state]. He was 12 years old and the disease was in its early stages. He said that he saw Baba in a dream and described how Baba comes out for darshan [sight of a holy person], the Prasanthi Mandir [temple], and the college buildings. He had never seen Baba! He said Baba often came in his dreams. He said, “You are so close to Swami, please pray for my healing.” This brought tears to our eyes. We said, “Surely we will pray for you.”
Then suddenly the elderly devotee said, “If anybody has the vibhuti [sacred ash] given by Swami, why don’t you give it to him?” While going home for the vacation, Swami had given us vibhuti prasadam [a sanctified offering], so therefore some of us had vibhuti packets handy in our pockets. Immediately we gave the lad some packets.
Back at Prasanthi Nilayam after the vacation, we resumed our studies. One day I received a letter from the Samiti leader saying that the boy whom we had met at the asylum had refused to take any medicine and was only applying the vibhuti given to him and praying to Swami. The hospital authorities were a bit apprehensive about this and rather displeased with the Sai devotees for interfering with the treatment they were giving to the boy.
After two weeks, when the doctors examined the boy. There was no trace of leprosy. He was healed!
~Hari Prasanna, M. Sc., Vidyagiri
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Jan. 1990
