A Child Shall Lead Them

A Child Shall Lead Them

Howard Murphet and his wife Iris met the Harrison family in 1976 and through them could see the unfolding of ‘a great Australian miracle’. For a detailed account of this incident, over to Howard Murphet:

Early in 1976 in Australia my wife and I became acquainted with Pearl Harrison, a retired secretary of the medical faculty of a university in Sydney. At first we thought this seemed to be just a chance meeting, but later we wondered.

At that time the manuscript of my book ‘Sai Baba Avatar’, after much rewriting, was ready for the final, publisher’s draft. Pearl, although busy with volunteer welfare work, expressed a desire to type the manuscript. Why she should have this desire she did not understand, but she does now.

Anyway, arrangements were made for her to do the typing, and thus she was introduced to the miracles of Sathya Sai Baba. One of her two grand daughters, eight-year-old Mayan Waynberg would, at times, help Pearl by reading aloud the material to be typed. While the grandmother felt sceptical about the miracles, the granddaughter accepted them without question. To the child they seemed quite natural.

The typing of the first few chapters had been completed when Mayan, who had lately been looking very pale and had been bruising too easily, was taken to a doctor for a blood test. The doctor was appalled at the results. He phoned Mayan’s mother, Helen Waynberg, and strongly advised that the child should be collected from her school and taken home to rest without delay. He also made immediate arrangements for her to be given a bone-marrow test at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney.

At this stage the family became very worried indeed. Pearl told me about it when I called to find out how the typing was progressing. I could see she was afraid, very afraid, that her little granddaughter might have some drastic, killer disease, like leukemia. It proved not to be leukemia, but something equally lethal – aplastic anaemia, in which the bone-marrow fails to produce the vital blood components in sufficient quantity to maintain health and life.

Her blood picture at that time showed the haemoglobin count at less than half normality, the white components of the blood about a third the normal level and the platelets way down to one-fifteenth of the normal count. Mayan was put under the care of a specialist who told her mother that the only treatment was the use of certain drugs, one a male hormone named Prednisolone and another, Fluoxymesterone.

From both of these, distressing side effects could be expected, such as stunting the child’s growth, causing puffiness and obesity, hair growth on the face while causing baldness on the head. The patient would need to have constant blood and bone marrow tests to monitor her condition. As Mayan had a deep phobia about needles piercing her skin and blood vessels, this was a frightful ordeal for her and everyone else concerned.

But the most tragic part of the situation was that, after going through this treatment and suffering its side effects, she would still not be cured. The best that could be expected was a few more years of life, with very limited activity. The drug therapy was not a cure, the elders were told; all it could do was to delay the inevitable for a time. No one could say how long that period would be.

In this sad situation Pearl thought about the Sai miracles she had been typing. She writes:

“I must admit to complete lack of faith in religion, considering myself a Jewess by tradition but not by observance. I had typed about many miracles that Sai Baba had performed, and had thought how interesting it all sounded intellectually, but had not this dreadful illness occurred to my own granddaughter, I might have let it go at that.

Then it was as if my mind suddenly opened with a jerk, and I began to think that perhaps there was something real in all I had typed. Howard and Iris Murphet were most concerned when I told, them about Mayan. They said they would bring some Vibhuti over and Mayan could start taking it immediately.”

It has often been said and written that Sai Baba is specially interested in anyone in whom his devotees are interested. So the link was there. Yet, I remembered him saying emphatically that two necessary ingredients of divine healing are faith and surrender. Could we find such ingredients in this Sydney suburban home, where no one seemed to have religious or spiritual interests, and Sai Baba was a remote, almost fictional, figure in a far-off foreign country?

Yeh Draft Ready Hai:

A Child Shall Lead Them – A Divine Reflection On Innocence, Purity, And Spiritual Light

A Child Shall Lead Them is a beautiful spiritual theme that reminds us of the purity, innocence, simplicity, and divine wisdom often seen in children. A child’s heart is usually free from pride, calculation, hatred, and complicated desires. This natural purity becomes a powerful lesson for adults who may become burdened by ego, worry, competition, and worldly attachment.

In spiritual life, a child represents trust. A small child does not analyze love with suspicion. When the mother calls, the child runs with faith. When the father holds the hand, the child feels safe. In the same way, a devotee should learn to trust God with a simple and sincere heart. Too much doubt makes the mind restless, but childlike faith brings peace.

A Child Shall Lead Them teaches that innocence is not weakness. It is a form of inner strength. A pure heart can love without hidden motive, forgive quickly, and feel joy in simple things. Adults often lose this sweetness because of pride, fear, comparison, and desire. Spiritual practice helps us return to that clean and loving state of heart.

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba gave great importance to children and value education because He knew that the future of society depends on the purity of young hearts. When children are taught truth, right conduct, peace, love, and nonviolence, they grow into noble human beings. A child trained in values can become a light for family, society, and the world.

A Child Shall Lead Them reminds us that children learn more from example than from advice. If elders speak about truth but practice dishonesty, children become confused. If parents speak about love but quarrel constantly, children feel disturbed. If teachers speak about discipline but lack patience, the lesson becomes weak. Adults must live the values they want children to follow.

The spiritual beauty of a child is also seen in humility. A child is willing to learn, ask, wonder, and accept correction. Many adults become rigid because they think they know everything. But the seeker of God must remain teachable. Humility opens the door to wisdom. A heart that says, “Teach me, Lord,” receives grace more easily than a mind filled with pride.

A Child Shall Lead Them becomes meaningful when we understand that children can awaken goodness in others. A child’s smile can soften anger. A child’s prayer can bring peace to a home. A child’s innocent question can make adults think deeply. Sometimes the Divine uses a simple heart to remind the world of forgotten truths.

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s Bal Vikas movement reflects this sacred idea. Children are guided through prayers, stories, bhajans, silent sitting, group activities, and service. These practices are not meant only for performance. They are meant to plant seeds of goodness. When such seeds are nurtured with love, they become strong trees of character.

A Child Shall Lead Them also teaches that society must protect the purity of children. They should not be exposed only to competition, material desires, harsh speech, and negative influences. They need love, discipline, moral guidance, devotion, and good company. A society that cares for children is really caring for its own future.

Children also remind us of the joy of simple living. They can be happy with a small toy, a kind word, a story, a song, or a loving touch. Adults often forget this and search for happiness in endless possessions. A child’s natural joy teaches that peace does not come from having more, but from having a pure and contented heart.

A Child Shall Lead Them finally reminds us that every devotee must become childlike before God. This does not mean becoming immature. It means becoming sincere, trusting, humble, loving, and free from ego. The heart should call upon the Divine with the same natural faith with which a child calls the mother.

In the end, this sacred theme is a call to honor the divine light in every child and to recover that purity within ourselves. When children are guided with values and adults learn from their innocence, life becomes more peaceful and society becomes more compassionate. A pure heart, whether in a child or an adult, can lead the world toward love, truth, and divine grace.

The Manifest visits the Unmanifest