Om Sai Ram... Sharing an article written by a dear friend, Sis Bina Mayur...
Dear Readers,
Satya Sai Baba is/was in the news all over the world since last few weeks. As some of you know our dear Lord Shri Satya Sai Baba took Mahasamadhi/demise on April 24 th 2011. We Sai followers were sad, depressed and grief stricken needless to say. Words cannot describe what many of us went through. It has been a very difficult time for some of us. Much to our dismay, His Mahasamadhi took many of us by surprise for we wanted Him to live forever in the physical form for whatever reasons--mine was purely selfish--I wanted to live in His ashram in the dusk phase of my life, after my husband's retirement!! Myself, having gone through severe sickness last year I have realized the importance of values all the more and that God is the only McCoy/Real Thing. So before I kick the bucket, l thought I should pen this letter on Satya Sai Baba as I have learnt a lot from Him.
Satyanarayan Raju, Sai Baba, Shri Satya Sai Baba, Swami, Baba, Sai, Lord, God, Bhagavan and Avatar, are not many different people but one person who was God incarnate to many. He was born in Andhra Pradesh/AP, India on Nov 23 rd 1926, in a small village called Puttaparthi or Parthi. It was a barren land with nothing much growing there. The area was full of snakes, scorpions and ants. This gave birth to the name Puttaparthi which meant ant hills in Indian language/Telugu which is spoken in AP and Swami's main mode of speech. He was born to Easwaramma and Venkamma Raju. They were God loving, simple folks and made meager money. They had five children one of whom was Satyanarayan now known as Satya Sai Baba all over the world.
Satya went to a local school with one set of clothes only--he used thorns to keep the shirt together. However, at the age of 14, he announced to His family "I am leaving home---I belong to the world and I am the incarnation of the Divine Shirdi Sai." His family was puzzled and some of them tried to straighten Him out by taking Him to the village doctor who was a quack--similar to a witch craft doctor. He put boiling oil on His head, beat Him up, etc. However, little Satya survived. And went to conquer the world with His principles and succinct messages which He Himself practiced --Love All Serve All, Hands in the World Head in the Forest, Hands that Help are Holier than Lips that Pray, Service to Man is Service to God, God is Love, Spirituality is seeing Unity in Diversity and there is only ONE God and is Omnipresent and many others such adages.
He went on to build schools, colleges, universities, general hospitals, super specialty hospitals, water supply systems, masjids, music college, education in human value institutes and many others such as Sewa (heartfelt services) to one and all, be at time of disasters, crisis, earthquakes, hurricanes or on a regular basis (visit to nursing homes, feeding of the homeless, medical camps, tutoring, etc all over the world through His centers). Thus, the face of Puttaparthi was changed from a barren land to a thriving city. But most importantly, he transformed people for the better or helped them to do so. And once again tried to re lead India and the world on the spiritual path. He did it all with love and charged no money for transformation, education or surgeries.
I have known about Swami since I was in the 6 th grade/standard--thanks to my dear friend, Gita, a doctor, whose family is followers of Sai Baba of Parthi. I did not know then as I know now that He is/was God. But yet my faith falters!! Hope and pray that you will still guide me.
After getting married and moving to Houston, TX, I did not physically see Him much except 3-4 times only. However, He never left me. My husband's various assignments/postings all over the world brought me closer to Him. No matter which place we went--His centers were within walking distances or within few miles by car all over the world. He knows how lazy I am!! I had no excuse not to follow Him.
While Swami was physically living in India, His power over nature, space, and time was amply evident everywhere, be it in UK, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, Middle East, Japan, and USA. His materializations/manifestations--like vibhuti(sacred ash), divine statues, lingams, kumkum of various colors, sandalwood powder, turmeric powder(extremely holy), amrit(ambrosia, divine nectar), milk etc in these countries have been personally seen by me and my family members in all countries we have traveled. Needless to say I have seen the same in India too since 6 th grade. The most amazing is amrit oozing from a plant in a suburb of Yokohama, Japan, in a 70 years plus Japanese devotee's home and wetting her carpet and drapes. By the way, I have two Masters degrees in science and know that, that plant does not emit any liquid nor amrit. And I did taste the amrit.
In Srirangapatnam, India, a man who runs an orphanage for street children has multiple manifestations in his home. The best is a pendant that Swami materialized for him. The pendant has two sides one has a face of Shirdi Sai and the other the face of Satya Sai. For the last 40 years it is oozing out amrit nonstop. He puts the pendant in your palm if requested and within few minutes your palm is filled with amrit(ambrosia). The story of this man is fascinating. He was of ill repute and it so happened he visited Swami once. Luckily for him, Swami called him for a coveted interview. He told him to leave all his bad habits behind and assured him that He will take care of him. And ever since then Swami did take care of him. He was also told to open an orphanage for street children which he did. Mysterious are the ways of the Lord. We have tasted the amrit from that pendant many a times. This phenomenon defies physics, laws of science etc. His home has become a place of must visit for Sai followers and non Sai followers from all over the world.
And in the home of Rajiv, in London(http://www.anandanilayam.co.uk/) there are tons of manifestations---also seen personally by me. His story is amazing. Growing up in London, he had no inkling to follow Sai Baba or good values much to the chagrin of his parents. He fell in bad company. His parents who are Sai devotees tried their best much to no avail. After much persuasion he agreed to visit Sai Baba in India. The little Rajiv of 14 -15 years, who stood in front of Sai Baba's pictures in London and cursed Him got 14-15 interviews --I do not know of anyone else who got so many interviews in a row at that age. Swami told each and every curse that he gave in London home. Remember, Swami was physically in India. In the interview room in Parthi, Rajiv challenged Swami again--he said if you are God tell me the first lines from the letters that you collected during darshan time, these being letters collected from the audience who come to have a glimpse of Swami or have His darshan. Rajiv kept the letters with himself while Swami told Rajiv all the first lines of devotee's letters even without Swami seeing the letters as they were in Rajiv's hands.
Rajiv slowly transformed from a Sai Baba hater to a devotee. He now speaks all over the world, has regular bhajans/devotional singing in his home and sings beautifully. He is in his 20s. He was also duly blessed with a rare gift. Swami has given him a small box, may be 1x1inch that never empties of vibhuti--like an akshay patra. Usually Rajiv after his talks gives vibhuti from that box. After it is emptied he says the mantram that Swami gave him and it gets full again. I have also checked the box!! There are no hidden compartments. Some of us are blessed.!!
The common theme seen around the world was that, that the Sai followers said they changed for the better after getting into His fold--no non vegetarian foods, no alcoholic drinks, less anger, less envy , less shopping, less acquisitions of material goods --the list is endless. Also, the manifestations of divine amrit, kumkum, sandalwood powder etc manifested not just on Hindu Gods or deities but across all religion's artifacts and Gods, be it Jesus, Mother Mary, Star and Crescent pictures, Buddha and others, echoing His message that there is only one God and He is Omnipresent.
Ted Henry and Jody Cleary have a website at http://vimeo.com/ where they interview mystics, people with religious or spiritual experiences from all over the world. If you want an ABC anchorman of 40 years experience to tell you more of God you may visit it. Some of my favorite interviews are http://vimeo.com/18681973 where Dr Sam Sandweiss talks about his experiences with Sai or check Dr Val Jeevanandam at http://vimeo.com/14091498, the doctor who has done more than 1000 heart transplants in Chicago and heads that department talk about Swami. My most favorite vimeo interview(6237477) is Jayanthi Mohan from Yipsilanti, Michigan. I wish I had her enthusiasm. Or you want to see a bhakta's(devotee) work you may visit http://www.saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ by Adeline Teh of Malaysia, and if you want to see vibhuti manifestations in Houston, TX and read books about Swami you may email me!!
How are these myriad manifestations possible all over the world while Swami was in India? Have the hosts done it? And for what reasons and how long can they do it? No money is ever collected in their homes or in Sai Centers. The hosts out of their goodness let people in their private homes to see these mind challenging manifestations. Even if one person comes to our homes we get flustered. Imagine 30-40 people coming every single day. In one of the London homes where I used to go, the hosts had bhajans/prayers practically every day and 25-40 people would show up for each session. Finally, Swami asked them to do it few times a week only so that they have their family time, and some semblance to their routine as both husband and wife were working. For your kind information Sai Organization is basically a volunteer based organization--no donations are asked, it is your choice to give or not--no pressure is put. Most of their centers are in rental places as Swami has said unless we have God in our hearts there is no need to build centers in my honor.
Talking about donations and worldwide news that His organization has billions of dollars and no proper accounting let me enlighten you with my personal experiences. Everything is audited and reported to the Indian government. Many years ago, I had sent a dollar check for 4 subscriptions for His Magazine Sanathan Sarthi. Since I did not know the exact price some small money was due back to me--about 100-120 rupees. Much to my surprise they wrote to me asking me what to do with that paltry change--should they send it to me or use it for next year's subscriptions. Another incident that comes to my mind is I had donated some dollars via check. I had not earmarked it for what purpose it was to be used. So they wrote back to me again--Madam pl tell us what you need us to use the money for--I donated it for medical help for the needy. In both cases I received receipts.
If they are so particular and exacting, the erroneous reportings of some media that the accounting is not transparent is malicious, sensationalism and vindictive at best.
There are too many manifestations, and happenings which are mind boggling to write about. And some of them are so out of this world that most of us will find it hard to believe. All these manifestations are still material happenings and are subject to interpretations as per our whims, fancy and mind. Some may think it is fake, magic, or host's work. To us Sai followers they are Swami's Grace, shows His power over space, nature, time and or five elements. However, His true calling for all people have been transformation for the better at core level, character level and most importantly at Heart level. His emblem sports all 5 main religions of the world--the Ohm/Hindus, Cross/Christians, the wheel/Buddhists, the fire/Zoroastrians and the Star and Crescent/Muslims. Recently, the Jewish symbol is/was being added. His first coordinator was a Gandhian, Mr. Indulal Shah, and now His coordinator is Jewish, Dr Michael Goldstein, MD. He frequently said "I have not come to start any new religion--I want a Hindu to become a better Hindu, a Christian to become a better Christian, a Buddhist to become a better Buddhist, a Zoroastrian to become a better Zoroastrian and a Muslim to become a better Muslim". I don't know of any organization that celebrates with gusto and enthusiasm all religion's festivals but in Parthi you will definitely see it all.
He did not say there are many gods--but "there is only one God and He is Omnipresent, there is only one Language, the Language of the Heart, there is only one Caste, the Caste of Humanity. He also said do not change your religion, do not follow me--follow only the Language of the Heart which is Love and Love is God--Sing the glory of God in all languages and let all religions thrive but do not ever extinguish the Flame of God--make your inner/spiritual life strong so that the outer/worldly can be stronger and better. Unfortunately, we want the outer world first!!
I would like to ask those detractors, critics and small talk talkers is there anyone who has tried to change people for the better in more than 120 countries since the age of 14, who had no formal higher education, was not tutored by a Guru, University or in Seminary, who transformed atheists, made the cripple walk, made the dead alive and mastered all five elements?
Non followers think he is a fake, a cheap magician, a mad man, a siddha(developed or blessed power) purusha, just a holy man, a philanthropist or a good man. Really? Some people roll their eyes at the mention of His name and some family members hide His photos in the presence of non believers when they are not followers.
Yes, He is/was cheap for having an itsy bitsy room in Parthi, for telling us not to waste water, electricity, food, money, clothes, time, energy etc. Even though we are divine I think one becomes cheap because of one's actions ---when we cheat, lie, not pay taxes, give no empathy or show sympathy, not visiting people when someone is sick, in need or dead; discriminating on the basis of color, gender, status; judging, gossiping, not helping our own family members but making huge donations to get fame; buttering and helping only the rich, famous and VIPs but not our simpleton friends and relatives, neighbors, poor and needy; burning wives, aborting girl fetuses(12 million in India every year esp. by educated Indians), visiting prostitutes--sexual trafficking (In India many of our brothers, fathers, sons are using kidnapped young females from Nepal, and in rich countries it has become the no one business to get into) children and spouses not helping in daily chores, family members not talking to each other, our homes instead of being oasis of peace are virtual mini war zones, there is no apnapan(aapulkipana/oneness); spending enormous time on social networks, internet games; having unwanted friends, sexually abusing women and children, divorcing women on flimsy grounds, having affairs, lusting, porno, creating wars, ignoring aging parents, are part of relentless corruption, the list is endless--you get the gist??--yes we are CHEAP indeed, NOT Him.
Yes, for trying to stop all these negativity at core level if some of us think He is a cheap magician and a madman so be it. Why follow Him?? Why take guidance from Him?? He never ever asked. I feel most of us need guidance, but some may disagree. So is it better to follow Tom Cruise, Kobe Bryant, Aishwariya Rai and leaders who have multiple affairs, children out of wedlock, money stashed away in secret banks and silence critics?? No matter what, there will always be a lot of Sai followers and hopefully few non followers.
I am not a devotee though I would like to be one. He said many a times--God's true devotees can basically be counted on the fingertips. I am just an ordinary struggling soul trying to learn and put into practice some of His teachings. Some of you may qualify to be His devotee even if you don't know Him. He has appeared in dreams and in meditation of various people even though they have not seen Him or known Him, in far flung countries, ask Wayne Dyer, the famous motivational speaker, whom my children like to listen to more than their Amma/Mom !!. Once while eating lunch in Parthi canteen, a lady and her 10 year old son joined me. Needless to say I had to talk. I learnt that she was a Muslim, from Middle East and her Father after reading Swami's book found at a friend's house started secretly praying to Him without seeing Him. The whole family then joined him. Lo and behold, there were various manifestations in their homes without even visiting Parthi, India. Some of them gathered their guts and now visit Parthi every year.
I have received communications that said if you are so religious/spiritual and goody goody how come it does not show--basically these communications said how bad I am!!. Needless to say I have forgiven and also trying to forget!! I don't want my ego to rise !! and I hate to say this but I have touched more people in a good way, than some of us do because of Swami's Grace, my parents, my eldest brother, my husband, other family members and friends. And also because of my teachers Pujya Gaurangbhai, and Pujya Darshanaben of Chinmaya Mission, Mira Devi and people I meet in life and our travels . We always have to pick the good things from others and not their bad. I believe that what your right hand does the left hand should not know---and so there is no show from me!! And I am very much aware now that no matter what there are always some people, about 10 -15 percent who will hate you--even Preacher Joel Osteen says so!!. Still learning. So bear with me.
Many of us think just because we believe in God or go to religious organizations we should be different. It is a fallacy, because we all have or should have different methods to become better souls and religion is not the only way!! Swami frequently puts it "The only purpose of life for most souls is to think Good, do Good, be Good and see Good; see God in all living and non living; see oneness in diversity and let the Soul evolve--Our lives are not just meant to be leaders or ceos or doctors or teachers or join rat race exclusively-- it is more important to be Good than Great." Lets not pressure our kids just to climb the corporate ladder--unless the base of spirituality is strong the ladder will fall.
Many years from now people will scarcely believe that such a human being with non Indian hair, a God and an Avatar, lived in a small village in Puttaparthi, India, who came to planet earth to do good in more than 120 countries. Something similar was said by Mark Twain about Mahatma Gandhiji, whom we all have almost forgotten. The best compliment that Swami received was from Gurudev Chinmayanandji of Chinmaya Mission who said" I think you narrated the Gita to Arjuna." The Gita being the holy scriptures of the world.
Yes, He is/was a madman for taking this challenge to help people, yes he is/was a cheap magician to magic human values into the hearts and homes of people from all over the world. Swamiji, we love you--hope I can still live in Parthi as twilight phase of my life arrives--though your physical presence will be greatly missed. ( Sorry for the attachment to the body!) I am very much aware of your presence everywhere even now and know you are eternal. And no matter how intelligent I am or will be I can never understand God through my narrow limited faculties and life. All I can do is Love All and Serve All.
Swamiji, you are 'The True God', ever shining like the sun, bringing light, love, compassion and succor to one and all. It is sad some of us did not take advantage of your physical presence and your teachings--but there is still hope when Prem Sai incarnates.
God, I am ever indebted to you for coming into my life and not giving up on me. And also many many thanks for giving a daughter in law who believes in you, Swami
Love always dear readers, as soon as I wrote the word 'love' a message received by Seema Dewan from Swami comes to my mind from her book Sai Darshan---
When you say, "I love God",
To me you say that you have burnt hatred.
You have melted anger.
You have risen above envy and jealousy.
You have stamped your ego.
You have accepted Him in every form.
You have attained control
Over your senses, mind and intellect.
You see no difference
Between happiness and misery.
You have no worry and only peace.
You need none other than God.
You are not attached, yet you are duty bound.
Every cell of you experiences Me
In the form of Love.
You have become Him.
Sai Ram,
Bina
