“Do you want diamond or Sai Baba?” December 18,  1997 Swami asked a school student to remove his diamond ring, which He had materialised for him earlier.  Swami  : (To the student) What do you want? Student   : You, Swami. Swami  : Do you want diamond or Sai Baba? Student  : Sai Baba. Swami  : Why? Sai Baba is available for ₹ 2 outside (Referring to the rings with Swami’s photos in them sold on the footpath outside Prasanthi Nilayam Ashram). Diamond has very high value. Swami blew on the ring thrice and changed it into a gold ring with an embellished picture of Swami showing Abhaya Hasta. Swami  : Sai Baba can change the sky into earth and the earth into sky in seconds, in seconds… (Giving the ring to the student) Now, no fear of diamond. You can wear it continuously. Teacher  : Swami can do anything. So please transform our minds. Swami, we need Your grace… Swami  : Capacity, capacity, sir. Teacher  : Even that comes with Swami’s grace.  Swami  : Yes, yes. I will do. But not now… at the right time. Time, time. Time is important, sir. Everything is time.  Evening This evening the school captains were sitting in the second block. The 12th and 10th class students were sitting in the fourth block. During Darshan, Swami spoke to the students sitting in the fourth block… Student  : Swami, please allow us to come for morning Darshan. Swami  : Every morning, I am coming to the ground. Stand along the roadside and have Darshan. After interview, Swami came to the second block and spoke to the School captains… Swami  : (Pointing towards the lion) See, the lion is very hungry. I will give you all to the Lion (Smiling). (To a student) Do you participate in high jump? Student  : Yes, Swami. Swami  : How high can you jump. Student  : Swami, 5½ feet. Swami  : What only 1½ feet? Even a girl can jump that much. Do you participate in long jump? Student  : Yes, Swami. Swami  : How much can you jump? Student  : Swami, ten feet. Swami  : Even a cockroach can jump that distance.  (Looking at a logo representing cycling in the card) What is this? Student  : Swami cycling. Swami  : It does not look like cycling, it looks like ring tennis. Who made this card? Student  : Swami myself. Swami  : (Looking at the picture, Swami commented humorously) You ride a cycle with hands or legs??? Student  : With legs Swami. Swami… Padanamaskar. Swami  : How can I give only to you? So many students are there Student  : Swami please give to all students. Swami  : No time, flute will start. Student  : Swami Padanamaskar for captains. Swami  : How many? Student  : Fifteen Swami. Swami  : Fifteen captains??? How can there be fifteen captains in one game? It will create confusion; there should be only one captain. (Then Swami permitted them to take Padanamaskar. One of the students asked for morning Darshan) Study well… Second year. After this you have engineering and medicine, you should get above 85- 90%.

Sri Sathya Sai Visits Trippunittura and Ernakulam in Kerala Swami gave Darshan to the multitudes at Devi Vilas, Palghat and granted interviews to the sick and to the students on 20th and 21st. Swami laid the foundation stone for a Bhajan Mandir at the Sathya Sai Colony, Olavakkot on the 20th and visited Kongal village. Swami blessed the stones meant to serve as the foundation stones for the Sai Maharaj Paper and Pulp Mills, Chittore on the 21st at a special function held at Devi Vilas. Later, He left for Kollengod. He was accorded a traditional welcome at Kollengod Palace. Swami held in check the rain that was threatening to come down heavily until He finished His hour long Discourse. This miracle was reported in the Kerala newspapers the subsequent day. Swami blessed the children of Chinmaya Nursery School and Members of the Chinmaya Satsang at Kollengode Palace and left for Trippunittura.  Swami visited the house of a Christian devotee and addressed a mammoth gathering from the 1st floor of that house. Later He laid the foundation stone for a Sathya Sai Mandir planned by this same devotee. Swami proceeded to Ernakulam where many Judges of Kerala High Court and other government officials received His Blessings. Swami then left for Alleppey and reached there at 10.00 pm. Swami gave Darshan to hundreds of devotees at Saraswati Vihar, Allepey, on the 22nd, and on 23rd, Vaikuntha Ekadashi, Swami created a charming idol of Murali Krishna and gifted it to His host. On the same day He left Alleppy and reached Palghat in the night and blessed the devotees at Devi Vilas with His Darshan. Swami left for Ooty on the 24th and stayed at Gita Bhavan until 26th December.  Swami visited the Abhayaranyam forest along with His party on 26th. Swami reached Ooty on 27th, in time to bless the devotees with Darshan on the holy asterism of Ardra. Swami gave a Discourse and materialised a silver Shirdi Sai idol and gifted it to Smt. and Sri Mathan. Swami left for Madras on the 28th and gave Darshan to hundreds of devotees on New Year’s day.

From Doubting Thomas to Sai Devotee – By M.K. Kaw, IAS (Retd.) I first heard of Bhagavan in 1971, through an uncle. He was childless and it was the desire for progeny which had taken him to Puttaparthi. When Bhagavan called him for an interview and gave him Vibhuti, he thought he had got a son. Years passed and the state of childlessness continued. Much later, he adopted a child. Even today he speaks of Bhagavan’s interference with the Karmic law only now and then, when a devotee’s love moves Him to confer His grace.  I saw Bhagavan for the first time in 1973, when I was posted as Collector of Solan district in Himachal Pradesh. He was travelling to Shimla and He was to pass Solan en route. My wife joined the crowd of bhajan singers at the open area near the bus stand, while the Superintendent of Police and I stood on the road to look after law and order.  Suddenly, a cavalcade was sighted. There was a pilot jeep, then a car, then other vehicles. I could see a saffron robe in the back of the car. Bhagavan was seated in the middle with one person on either side. The crowds milled around the car. Bhagavan opened the door and showed Himself for about fifteen seconds. People rushed to take Padnamaskar. Before we knew what was happening, He had gone back to his seat, the crowds had parted and the caravan had proceeded on its way.  When my wife and I met, I chaffed her, “See, you were singing Bhajans and could not have Darshan. We sinners stood on the road and saw Him.” She just smiled back. When we reached home, our orderly said that he had taken my son, then two years old, to see Bhagavan pass by. As they stood on the roadside, Bhagavan stopped His car and placed His hand on my son’s forehead. We felt somehow singled out for a blessing.  I continued to hear stories about Baba’s miracles. Then I was posted to Delhi. My boss was a Bhagavan devotee. He told me of Bhagavan and His activities. I think that more than anyone else, it was he who prepared the ground. One day, he invited me to a Bhajan session at his house. There he introduced me to an IPS Officer, whose cancer had been diagnosed by doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Having heard of Bhagavan, he got in touch with him and then used the Vibhuti materialised by Bhagavan. The cancer just vanished.  Try as hard as I might, this story shook me. How could cancer disappear without any treatment? It seemed impossible. It could not be magic. It was not something read in a book. Here was the beneficiary himself, to attest to the veracity of the story.  Then my boss went on a tour to Bangalore. When he returned, he brought back a small vial full of Amrit. And the story he narrated was just unbelievable. It seemed that there was a man at Srirangapatnam, who had a ring given by Bhagavan. Day and night, Amrit oozed from the ring. Pot after pot, vessel after vessel was filled up and yet the limitless oozing continued. My boss had held that ring on his palm and soon his palm was full of Amrit. My defences started crumbling. Then I read Murphet’s book.  Now, for the first time, I had an inkling of the range and variety of Bhagavan’s miracles and His influence over people spread over the globe. My attitude to Bhagavan started changing. I was prepared to explore for myself.  While in Shimla, as Education Secretary, in February, 1985, I had the opportunity of getting in touch with Bhagavan’s programme of Education in Human Values (EHV). This was an excellent opportunity to promote this innovative programme.  Shortly before this I had published a book “The Science of Spirituality” in which my thesis was that there was a core to all religions which was more or less the same. I had pleaded that this was a science, a body of knowledge that could be tested on the anvil of logic and reason, that there were laws of the spiritual realm which were as real and immutable as the laws of physics and chemistry, and that spirituality should be a subject taught in schools.  Here seemed an answer to my plea. The Sathya Sai Organisation had not only a similar approach, it had also created the pedagogy. Here was spirituality, cast in a secular mould, that could be immediately transmitted to children. There were precious nuggets to be found in the secularization of spirituality. “Meditation” was called “silent sitting”. Mathematical problems, instead of asking how much a shopkeeper would gain by cheating, would now ask how much he should give away in charity.  I was fascinated by the EHV programme. A five-day workshop organised in Shimla by the Government in full collaboration with the Sri Sathya Sai Organisation, EHV was formally introduced in the schools and a teachers’ training programme launched. A batch of 100 teachers was deputed to a national conference being held at Puttaparthi.  Professor Shyam Sunder, who was head of the Sai Organisation in Himachal Pradesh, wanted me to visit Puttaparthi too. I was reluctant, not sure whether an “official” trip would be in order. Then I learnt that the conference was to be inaugurated by Shri K. C. Pant, the then Union Minister of Education. I stayed at Puttaparthi for just three days – 1st to 3rd June, 1985. But these were days of transformation. Bhagavan Himself was a surprise. He was so slight, so dainty and delicate. His smile was boyish; His eyes devoted to your welfare. When He came close, He was small and sweet and motherly. When He went after, His shoulders seemed broad and His face stern, and one could sense the aloofness and majesty of Shiva. But the biggest surprise was myself. When Bhagavan came

Time is the very form of God… Time wasted is life wasted… Sri Sathya Sai Speaks at the Poornachandra Auditorium All things happen according to the dictates of Time; Both good and bad depend on Time; Prosperity and poverty likewise depend on Time; Time is the determinant of all things, There is none who is not subject to Time In this entire world; that’s the Truth. Embodiments of the Divine Atma!  Time is the embodiment of God. Hence Time is called Samvatsara (year). The sages have described God as Kaalaroopaaya (the embodiment of Time). All things in the Cosmos, moving and unmoving, are permeated by God. Hence, God is characterised as Kaalagarbha (the One who holds Time in the womb). Sages have also described Him as Dheerothama (Supreme among the valiant). The term Dheera should not be understood as meaning one who is a great intellectual or highly intelligent person. Dheera is the appellation given by the Veda to a man who turns his Dhee (intelligence) towards God. The word Kaalam (Time) is derived from Kaa+alam. This means that God, embodiment of Time, is the One who rewards people according to their deservedness. God does not submit to worldly offerings, worldly authority or worldly power. He responds only to spiritual aspirations. Realise the true goal of your life In the world, we are continually experiencing the same round of days and nights. You perform the same ablutions and indulge in the same process of filling the stomach. Thus you go on from year to year. But what efforts are you making to lead a purposeful and ennobling life? You are going through the same mill of experiences again and again, doing the same things again and again. If you go on in this way, what is the worth of your life? What is the goal of life? What is its primary purpose? Few care to enquire into this basic question. Hence what we have to examine is how we can lead an ideal, bliss-filled, spiritually-oriented life which will serve as an example to others. People are engaged in Sadhana. But when the outcome of these exercises is examined, it is found to be without meaning. All these exercises are purely designed to provide some sort of mental satisfaction and nothing more.  In my view, neither Sadhana (spiritual endeavour) nor Sadhyam (fulfillment) exists independently and apart from each other. Sadhana and Sadhyam are one and the same. It is a trick of the mind to make Sadhana as the means to Sadhyam (the Goal). True Sadhana consists in giving up the Anaatma bhava (the idea that one is not the Spirit but the physical body). To turn the vision from the physical to the spiritual constitutes real Sadhana.  Today, we have knowledge of many sorts in the world. All these categories of knowledge do not constitute what is regarded as Jnana in Vedantic parlance. Atma Jnana (knowledge of the Spirit) alone is true knowledge. Ordinary knowledge may be knowledge of material objects, sensory knowledge, or any other kind of knowledge acquired by investigation. But none of these can be Atma Jnana. In the highest sense Atma (the Spirit) and Jnana (Knowledge)are not two different things. They are one and the same. That is why the Vedas declared: Satyam, Jnanam, Anantam Brahma (Brahmam is Truth, Wisdom and Infinite). Truth, Wisdom, Infinity and Brahmam are all different names for the Paramatma (Omni-Self). They are synonymous. They are not different from each other.  Jnana and Bhakti lead to the same goal What is Jnana? The awareness of Swaswaroopa (one’s real nature) is true knowledge. Devotion is the means to achieve oneness with this knowledge (when Self-knowledge becomes one with the Self). Jnana implies freedom from all thoughts. The Jnana-Marga (the path of Knowledge) calls for the control of thoughts by appropriate efforts. Whether one takes to the Jnana-Marga (the path of Knowledge) or the Bhakti Marga (the path of Devotion), the resulting illumination is the same. For instance, the light of the sun is reflected by the moon. The light from the sun is warm and effulgent. When the same light is radiated by the moon, it is cool and soothing. It is the same light that is present in the sun and the moon. The principle that illumines both the sun and the moon is the Spirit (Atma-Tatwa). The sun’s light has been compared to Jnana and the moon’s light to Bhakti. Jnana is effulgent, while Bhakti (Devotion) is blissful. Thus Bhakti and Jnana are the beginning and the end of the same process. God accepts all that comes from a pure heart In the phenomenal world, we recognise three entities – Karta, Karma and Kriya (the doer, the act of doing and the goal of the action). This is characteristic of devotion. The Sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) is the Karta (doer). The Sadhana (spiritual exercise) is the Karma (what he does). Getting the vision of the Divine is the Kriya (goal). The same process is described as Jnana (knowledge), Jneya (that which is to be known) and Jnata (the knower). In the highest sense all these are one. They appear in three different, forms at different stages. People are carried away by what they imagine are their spiritual experiences in their Sadhana. But what they should really seek is Anaatma Bhaava (the giving up of the attachment to the non-spiritual). You should not rely on the power and pelf of the world. God accepts only what comes from a pure heart. He does not yield to any mundane offerings. There is a historical illustration for this. How Shiva accepted Parvati as Ardha Both in the Vishnu Purana and the Shiva Purana, Parvati is described as the most beautiful goddess. Conscious of her own exceptional charms, Parvati desired to win Siva as her spouse. But all her efforts proved fruitless. Learning a lesson from this experience and shedding her ego, she embarked on a severe penance. Facing the rigours of heat and cold, wind