Thirukkovil - Sri Sathya Sai Seva Oraganisation

Sathya Sai Story

noreply@blogger.com (Sayan Ramakirushnan) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 02:24:00 +0000

November 23, 1926, is a red-lettered day in the history of mankind. On that day was born in the (then) obscure village of Puttaparthi, a charming baby boy in the Ratnakara family. None realised then, and indeed for a long time thereafter, that Divinity had incarnated in human form as Ratnakara Venkata Satyanarayana Raju, grandson of Mr. Kondama Raju, and son of Pedda Venkama Raju and Easwaramma.

The birth of ordinary mortals is the direct consequence of earlier lives. The karma or the track-record of earlier births, i.e., the nature of deeds performed, both good and bad, determine the futurejanmas or births. In short, human birth is a karma janma (birth that is the consequence of earlier births). However, when the Lord comes down in human form, it is a different story altogether.
He incarnates as a part of His unfathomable Cosmic Drama, to play as it were, a cameo role. He decides the time and the place of His incarnation, the parents, and also how His life would unfold. Thus, the Lord's birth as a human is a part of His Divine Sport or Leela; in other words, His life is a Leela Janma.
In the Sathya Sai Incarnation, the Lord chose the Ratnakara family on account of the purity, piety, and the devotion of its members. Prior to the incarnation, Pedda Venkama Raju and Easwaramma had been blessed with one son and two daughters, Seshama Raju, Venkamma, and Parvathamma, in that order.
Some years passed and Mother Easwaramma longed for another son. She observed all the prescribed austerities, and soon her prayers were answered - she was to become a mother again. Even before its birth, Easwaramma knew that the child to be born would be unusual. There was a definite reason for such a belief.
Sometime prior to the birth of this new boy, Lakshmamma, the mother-in-law was engaged in the worship of Lord Sathyanarayana. The Lord then appeared in her dream and blessed her, indicating that He would be born in her family. Promptly, Lakshmamma alerted Easwaramma that the latter might have strange experiences, but ought not to worry about them. Shortly thereafter, Easwaramma had precisely one such experience.

One day as she was drawing water from the well, Easwaramma was startled by the sight of a big blue ball of light. The ball came directly towards her and entered her; Easwaramma fainted and fell. The Lord had entered her womb for the mandatory stay prior to physical birth as Sathyanarayana Raju. Thus, the Lord was not begotten, but immaculately conceived, even as His Son (Jesus) had been, two thousand years ago.
Sathya was born in the early hours of November 23, 1926. There were any number of unusual incidents accompanying His birth, as also in His childhood (as in the case of Lord Krishna). Though they all gave strong hints of His Divinity, few realised until much later that Sathya was the Lord Himself. But all unfailingly recognised that Sathya was most unusual, extra-ordinarily intelligent, precocious, and above all, always full of Love and compassion.
In Primary School, Sathya helped His classmates in diverse ways. Though from a poor family, He did not hesitate to give away His clothes to needy classmates. More importantly, He never lost an opportunity to turn the minds of His friends towards God. Among other things, He formed a bhajan group for this purpose, which later became very popular.

It was time to move on to Higher Secondary School, but such a school was available only in Bukkapatnam, several kilometers to the north of Puttaparthi.
Young Sathya now had to trudge back and forth every day, no matter what the weather, the muddy path through fields, walking on bunds, and wading through water, as required. In the Bukkapatnam School too, He was a model student, ever helpful to others.
Making students God-conscious remained His prime occupation, and to hold the attention of His mates, He would often materialise prasadam (gift-articles or vibhuti), much to their amazement.
Sathya was an automatic choice for the class-leader (monitor), but this brought its share of problems. Once, His teacher asked Sathya to slap all the boys in the class for an infringement of discipline. Instead of slapping hard as he was expected to, Sathya merely patted the cheeks of the errant pupils. This greatly angered the teacher, who then directed all his wrath on the class-leader. Sathya bore the punishment in stoic silence; for Him, it was all a part of the Drama scripted by Him, and this particular scene was being enacted to impart some lessons to humanity.

On another occasion, the teacher handling a particular class-hour (period) noticed that Sathya was not writing down what was being dictated, while all other students did. When questioned, Sathya replied that He was not taking down because He already knew the lesson. Interpreting this response as gross impertinence, the teacher asked Sathya to stand up on the bench, a form of punishment popular in those days. Sathya obediently did.
After a while the School bell rang, signalling the end of the period in progress, and the commencement of a new period. It was time for the teacher to leave the room and make way for another one who was to handle the next period. Mr. Mahboob Khan, this other teacher, entered the classroom and to his utter surprise saw Sathya standing upon the bench. Khan loved Sathya very much, and to him it was inconceivable that Sathya would have done anything to deserve a punishment. He also noticed that the teacher who had handled the previous period was not vacating the chair.
To his astonishment he then discovered that this teacher was not getting up from the chair because he was stuck or glued to it - whenever the teacher tried to get up, the chair also lifted! In a flash, Khan understood the problem. He asked Sathya to get down from the bench and the stuck teacher promptly got his release! Years later Swami disclosed that this drama was staged not to inflict humiliation on the teacher concerned but to make people conscious of His Divine powers. Humiliation is something that does not exist in Swami's dictionary.

Around this time, Mr. Seshama Raju, Sathya’s older brother, went to Kamalapuram to stay with his in-laws, and also qualify there as a teacher. Kamalapuram boasted of a good school and Seshama Raju thought that this was the school where Sathya ought to study - the entire family pinned its hope on Sathya, and dreamt that one day He would go to college and eventually end up as a big officer in the Government. And so, to Kamalpuram, Sathya went.
Seshma Raju's in-laws, being relatively well heeled, looked down upon Sathya since He was quite poor. As a result, He was not only ill-treated but also called upon to perform arduous house-hold duties. He had, for example, to fetch drinking water everyday from a far-off well. Such chores left scars, which remain to this day.
In the Kamalapuram School, Sathya was a great favourite of the Drill Master who doubled also as the Scout Master. Once, there was to be a grand General Fair and Cattle Show in the neighbouring village of Pushpagiri.

The Scout Master wanted his troop to go Pushpagiri and render service of the type scouts were expected to. A subscription of ten rupees was collected from each boy for meeting the various expenses connected with the trip, including the bus fare.
Not having the required amount, Sathya excused Himself from joining the group but assured the Scout Master that He would somehow or the other be in Pushpagiri at the appointed time for duty. While His friends went by bus, Sathya walked the entire distance, with little to eat on the way.
When He finally reached Pushpagiri, He was very tired but did not flinch from discharging His duties. Just before returning, He thoughtfully bought a few small gifts for folks back home. When He returned, what greeted Him was not appreciation for the gifts but a severe punishment because His absence had created problems with the supply of drinking water.

Much later, Swami revealed that He deliberately created such painful situations for Himself in order to teach the lesson of forbearance and equanimity.
Despite the harsh treatment constantly administered, Swami has never ever criticised either His older brother or His sister-in-law, maintaining always that they were but mere instruments in His Drama, with specific roles to play.
His teacher's training concluded, Seshama Raju moved from Kamalapuram to Uravakonda to take appointment as a Telugu teacher in a school there. Sathya went along and joined that school. Once again He excelled in everything, and became the cynosure of all eyes. But once He was back at home, it was the same painful routine; no let-up at all.
And then, came the prophetic declaration...

Who is Sai baba?

noreply@blogger.com (Sayan Ramakirushnan) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 01:08:00 +0000

To a spiritual aspirant, He is the divine master par excellence; to a rationalist, He is the greatest humanitarian on earth; to thousands of modern youth, He is the leader with a dynamic vision and a colossus of inspiration; to a devotee, He is simply divinity in human form; and to everyone who has had the opportunity to behold Him, He is Pure Love Walking on Two Feet.

Ask Bhagavan Baba, “Are you God?” And He says:

“Yes, I am God and so are you. The only difference between you and I is that while I am aware of this fact, you are not.”

And this is no casual remark. Indeed, inherent in this small, but extremely significant statement, is the fundamental truth of humanity’s divine nature - its true reality; and revivifying the heart of every human being to this salient truth is the mission and message of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Very aptly, Baba begins His every discourse, addressing the gathering as, “Embodiments of the DivineAtma”.
All who listen to Him, experience His unconditional love, benefit from His caring counsel and witness His supernormal supremacy over mind and matter, get a real glimpse of the glory and majesty of God, and therefore, of the infinity that each human potentially and inherently is.

His Birth and Childhood

Sri Sathya Sai Baba was born as Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23, 1926 in the village of Puttaparthi, in the state of Andhra Pradesh in South India. Even as a child, His spiritual inclination and contemplative nature set Him apart from other children of His age, and He was known as ‘Guru’ and “Brahmajnani’ (knower of Brahman or Godhead) among His peers and others in the village.
However, it was not until October 20, 1940, the day He made the historic declaration of His Avatarhood, (‘Avatar’ means ‘Divinity Incarnate in Human Form’) that the world at large learnt of this divine phenomenon.
To read in more detail about Baba’s early life, click below:

The Intent of His Advent

Today, millions from all over the world, professing various faiths and hailing from all walks of life, worship Bhagavan Baba as an ‘Avatar’, and the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi. Thousands gather every day at Prasanthi Nilayam, His spiritual headquarters established beside the village of Puttaparthi, for His darshan(the act of beholding His sacred form), when He moves among devotees, blessing them and uplifting them by providing spiritual succour and solace.
Revealing the purpose of His advent, Sai Baba has said that He has come to re-establish the rhythm of righteousness in the world and repair the ancient highway to God, which over the years has systematically deteriorated. In His own words:

“This Sai has come in order to achieve the supreme task of uniting the entire mankind as one family through the bond of brotherhood, of affirming and illuminating the Atmic Reality (Atma – The Divine Self) of each being, to reveal the Divine which is the basis on which the entire cosmos rests, and of instructing all to recognise the common Divine Heritage that binds man to man, so that man can rid himself of the animal and rise up to the Divine, which is the goal.”

To read more about what Baba has said of Himself, His mission and His manifestations, click below:

His Glorious Mission

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is an integral manifestation who combines two very significant roles.
Firstly, He is a great spiritual Master, famed for His simple and sweet exposition of the greatest and most intricate of spiritual truths, which form the fundamental teachings of all the religions of the world. Elucidating on His mission, Bhagavan declares:

“I have come not to disturb or destroy any faith, but to confirm each in his own faith, so that the Christian becomes a better Christian; the Muslim, a better Muslim; and the Hindu, a better Hindu.”

His formula for humanity to lead a meaningful life is the five-fold path of:

Sathya (Truth),

Dharma (Righteousness),

Shanthi (Peace),

Prema (Love), and

Ahimsa (Non-Violence)

“Love for God, fear of sin and morality in society” – these are His prescriptions for our ailing world.
Secondly, He is an inexhaustible reservoir of pure love. His numerous service projects, be it free hospitals, free schools and colleges, free drinking water supply projects, or free housing projects, all stand testimony to His selfless love and compassion for the needy and less privileged. True to His declaration, “My Life is My Message”, He has inspired and continues to inspire millions of His devotees worldwide by His personal example to live the ideal that “service to man is service to God.”
The Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization today has a presence in hundreds of nations in the world, and its members undertake any number of service activities that benefit their immediate community. And they do it selflessly and spontaneously.
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has thus emerged as a beacon of hope in a world that is desperately seeking an end to the unrest and sorrow prevalent today. His message of “Love All Serve All – Help Ever Hurt Never” is a spiritual salve that will lead mankind from the pain of darkness and ignorance and to the light and bliss of immortality.
Indeed, once in a millennium does such a Divine Being walk the earth. For you and I, and all humanity, in spite of the dark clouds hovering on the world’s horizon today, there is a silver lining - nay, a golden one. If we seize this rarest of rare opportunities, world peace and harmony, along with our individual emancipation, will no longer be a utopia. It will become as real and universal as the morning Sun.

Sathya sai photos

noreply@blogger.com (Sayan Ramakirushnan) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:51:00 +0000

About us

noreply@blogger.com (Sayan Ramakirushnan) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:05:00 +0000

About us

Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (Sayan Ramakirushnan) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:03:00 +0000

welcome