From Shirdi to Puttaparthi – Part 2  Later Devagiriamma became pregnant. She told her husband that by the grace of Parvati she is carrying a child. Nine months later the child was born and it was a boy. One year later, she became pregnant again and a daughter was born. They named them as Eshwara and Gauri.  Now for the third time she became pregnant. Then her husband’s mind started changing. Gangabhava started thinking that his wife’s experience was true. He too wanted to see Parvati and Eshwara. Devagiriamma said, “Eshwara promised me that He will be born as the third son. When He himself is coming here it is foolish of you to go to perform penance to see Him.” He said, “Even when God is being born to us, we will develop the maternal and paternal feeling towards Him and we won’t think of Him as a God. I will not get that Divine feeling. Therefore I have to go and pray to Eshwara and He should manifest himself.” She said, “If you are leaving the house, then I too will follow you.”  She sent the son and daughter to her native place with some workers. The husband was walking in the front and she was at the back. Around that village there was a dense forest. These days you don’t find forests. At that time the teachers used to take their students into the forests and in that cool environment the students would be chanting Vedas. Even to reach another village you had to go through a dense forest. She went on telling him that she had pains and asked him to stop for 5 minutes. She gave birth to the boy under a tree. She thought, “If my husband does not want this child then why do I need him.” So she covered the baby with some leaves and some parts of her Sari and followed her husband. They went away and both of them had the vision of God. In that village there was a Patel whose wife had gone to her native village for a festival. This Patel was bringing back his wife in a horse coach. The Patel had a lot of money and therefore he got the horse coach. They also didn’t have children. When they reached that place she heard a baby cry. She saw that this boy was on a piece of Sari and the boy was playing and crying. Drops of honey were falling from the tree in the mouth of the child. She came and called her husband and said that the baby’s body was smeared with blood. They did not know as to who had left him there. They looked around and nobody was seen. Patel’s wife thought that God had himself presented her this boy. She took the boy home. No one asked them who the child was. They were very happy thinking that God had given this child to them. The boy grew up. At the age of 7, the boy used to go to the Hindu temple and read the Quran and in the mosque, he used to chant Vedas. In those times the hatred between the Hindus and Muslims was too much. The Hindus and Muslims started complaining against this boy. The Muslims said, “You come to our mosque and chant Vedas!” The Hindus complained, “You come to our temple and read the Quran!” The Hindus and Muslims boycotted this boy from their places of worship. How much ever the boy was told, he still wouldn’t understand. Even the father tried but he still did not pay heed. The mother wanted to send the boy somewhere. She was thinking of that. Someone came and suggested that the boy should be sent to the ashram of Venkusa. At Venkusdas Ashram She took the boy to that Ashram. From inside Venkusdas came outside and said, “Boy, I have been waiting for you for the past 10 years.” He hugged this boy and took him to the Ashram. Then Venkusdas went to the mother and said, “Amma from now on he is my son. I will look after him properly. You can go home peacefully.  She was very happy thinking that this was the end of her troubles.” She said, “Now and then I will come and see my boy”. Then Venkusdas answered, “If you want to see him now and then, it’s alright. If you want you can even stay here”. But she went away. From that day Venkusdas showed immense love for that boy. When he was eating food, he used to make this boy sit by his side and eat. He would make the boy sleep in his room. He taught him all the Vedas, Shastras (scriptures) and the epics. In the school, other children were jealous of this boy. This jealousy is a curse in this age of Kali. Generally, if someone is subject to showering of love, others will develop jealousy and feel that this boy has come only recently and why is he being given so much love. This is jealousy. This jealousy crossed all the limits. One day Venkusdas was taking this boy to the forest. He sat under a tree and was teaching the boy all Vedanta. Other jealous boys threw stones at this boy from a distance. One stone hit the boy’s forehead. It started bleeding. Venkusdas tore a piece of his a dhoti and tied a piece as a bandage on the boy’s head. That piece of cloth which was tied around His head was not removed by Sai Baba till the end. They thought that it is sunset time and it is getting dark, it isn’t safe for them in the forest and so they came back to the Ashram. At that stage in the film the story of Shirdi Baba ends.  

Inaugurates the First Mandir Friday, December 14, 1945 Baba would supervise the Mandir construction work every single day. The devotees had the privilege of offering a glass of orange juice to the Lord whenever He walked through the narrow lanes of Puttaparthi. On Vaikuntha Ekadashi day, the 14th of December 1945, the first Mandir of Sri Sathya Sai Baba was inaugurated at Puttaparthi. Baba arrived from the Karnam’s house in procession accompanied by a musical troupe. He was seated on a florally decorated palanquin, with the idols of both the Sai Babas on either side. He installed the two idols in the main prayer hall. There were also photographs of Parthi Baba, Shirdi Baba and those of other deities that adorned the altar along with lamps on either sides.  The group from Bangalore led by Smt. Savithramma prepared a grand feast. Baba blessed the food items. There was more than enough food available to feed the villagers. When the Prasadam brought by the devotees was being distributed, Baba took a particular plate aside and asked that it shall not be distributed. He later explained to Sri Tirumala Rao that there was poison in the laddus on that plate. By a wave of His hand, He extracted the poison and commanded that the plate be buried in a pit. On the same day, Baba went to the rear of the building and placed His palm on the ground. Soon, a spring rose from the spot. Baba ordered a well to be dug at the spot. This was the only source of drinking water in the entire village. The well never dried up even in summer.

Sincerity at Workplace: Sri Sathya Sai Perspective When you join an organisation, you would get a huge amount of salary, an air-conditioned office chamber and the designation of a manager. Your job is not limited to putting your signature on different documents and papers. That is not sufficient. You are expected to go around the factory and find out how everybody does his or her job in the organisation. As a manager, you can discharge your responsibilities effectively only if you acquaint yourself with the various aspects of the job and know ‘who is who’ in your organisation. All this contributes to your success as a manager.  If you do not know about your work properly, but simply take rounds around the factory frequently to spend time purposelessly and also hide your deficiency, the workers may simply greet you to keep you happy, but will go their own way. On the other hand, if you possess good knowledge of your job and then take rounds around the premises of the organisation with a purpose, your subordinates will respect you whole-heartedly. You should develop this professional image which will enable you to command respect from most of the people reporting to you. One who wishes to be held in high esteem by one and all in an organisation should be able to develop this sort of personality. Here is a small example. Suppose usually 50 items are made per day. One day, only 30 are completed. It will not serve any purpose, if you shout at the worker. Enquire why only 30 were manufactured on that particular day? You may have to enquire thus: “Sir, yesterday you made 50, today only 30, what is the reason for the drop? Is it due to the shortage of power, raw material, water or machinery?” (This can be regarded as illustrative type of inquiry in this context) What are the reasons for this change? Or does the mistake lie with the worker or with the machine? You should go on probing in this manner whenever required.  If you know the job well, then you would be able to correct your subordinate in an authentic way. If you shout impulsively thus: “Why is there shortage now?”, you would create an impression about yourself that you are not well informed. The worker will say, “I know this machine. I have been working here for 20 years. You came only yesterday. What do you know?” In such a situation, you will be put to shame. Therefore, first we should understand the job ourselves and only then question our subordinates and colleagues. If you are careful in these minor aspects also, you will be respected by your peers and even your juniors. All the foregoing description constitutes the personality which would help you to safeguard your image and reputation. Your position should be dignified. You should also pay back through dedicated and sincere service for the salary you receive. Then you will attract the favourable attention of everybody and every employee will develop respect for you. 

The Oasis of Love – By B. Satish Chandra “This is where I want to be!” – This was my first reaction as I entered the Vidyagiri Arch in Prasanthi Nilayam. The bus, which carried me, passed grudgingly through the desolate plains of Rayalaseema before entering Prasanthi Nilayam, which seemed to me like an oasis in the middle of a desert. It was the middle of May 1998, the time of the year when the sun ‘shows off’ the most. Calling the heat ‘oppressive’ would be an understatement. But as the bus neared Parthi, the heat didn’t seem that oppressive or perhaps I was too engrossed in watching the scenario around me that I didn’t feel it. I was awe – struck at the palatial Super – Speciality Hospital, the large Hanuman statue watching over the people coming to Parthi, the sprawling University campus, educational Institutions and so on. I was surprised at the enormity of the undertakings of a single individual – Sri Sathya Sai Baba.  The environment was all very new to me. I hadn’t heard or read anything much about Sri Sathya Sai Baba before I had came to Parthi for the first time, to take my MBA entrance test. For how could I – without His willing? My only introduction to Bhagavan was Howard Murphet’s ‘Man of Miracles’, which had miraculously presented itself a couple of days before I started for Parthi. I had devoured the book in a single sitting. I was entranced by the phenomenon of an Avatar and I was now raring to go to Parthi.  The bus dropped me off in front of the Ashram, where friendly, good-natured Sevadals directed me to the accommodation office. Walking past the Sai Kulwant hall, I muttered with myself, “Will I ever be able to enter this magnificent, beautiful hall?” At that time, I didn’t even know that Bhagavan gives Darshan in that hall. If I had been tuned enough to Bhagavan at that time, I would probably have heard Him say, “Yes, yes, yes.”  I had done my graduation elsewhere before applying for an MBA degree in Bhagavan’s Institute. The contrast between the ‘outside’ world and the environment in Parthi was too glaring to miss my attention. I was really surprised that though I had been in the same state as He, and that too less than a day’s journey from Him, I hadn’t heard anything about Him or His wonderful temples of learning. It was only later, when I joined His Institute and learnt more about Him that I came to know that He has absolute control on who comes to Parthi and when. I heard that one could enter Parthi only when his/her time is ripe. I was happy my time had come – at last!  The admission went on quite smoothly. The message of Baba inscribed on the stone just outside the Institute, “Why fear when I am here?” kept ringing in my ears, as I took the test and it gave me great comfort. I found the teachers very different from the ones I had been previously exposed to. They showed genuine concern for the students. I took an immediate liking for the place, the teachers and everything else. I somehow felt that I belonged to this place and nowhere else.  As there were a couple of days after the entrance test before I would be personally interviewed, I decided to tour Parthi. So, with Murphet as my guide, I set off. I bowed reverence at Bhagavan’s parents’ Samadhi, walked wide – eyed and open – mouthed through the marvellous Eternal Heritage Museum, visited the Siva temple, the birthplace of the Avatar; trudged the sands of Chitravati; sandals in one hand and Murphet in another, reminiscing about those innumerable materialisations by Bhagavan in these holy sands. I had almost childishly hoped that I would ‘stumble’ on an idol created by Bhagavan in those yester years!  My treasure hunt ended fruitless, except, of course, for the treasures I had collected in my heart in the form of beautiful experiences. Having read that Bhagavan used to pluck out of season fruits for His devotees from a tamarind tree, aptly named Kalpavriksha (wish-fulfilling tree), I fervently prayed that He pluck for me too, a fruit – a fruit of an ‘MBA seat’ in His Institute. That fateful evening, though I did not realise it then, Bhagavan did put the ‘fruit’ I had prayed for in one of my pockets.  My interview went off smoothly. I could feel His presence in the way answers flowed from me spontaneously. After the interview, I felt satisfied with my performance. Now I could only keep my fingers crossed and wait for the results. I came back home. The results were announced a few days later and I let out a yelp of joy when the person on the other end of the phone line confirmed that my name was on the selected candidates’ list.  For the second time in less than a fortnight, I was back in the bus, speeding towards Parthi. The bus seemed to be in good spirits, the way it overcame the hills and vales in between Parthi and me. “My good spirits seem to have rubbed off onto the bus,” I thought.  I landed in Parthi – this time as a proud student of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. I enrolled myself in the hostel and was warmly welcomed by the ever – pleasant warden.  Hostel life is full of beautiful experiences. It is verily the breeding ground for virtues and character. It is a laboratory where we practise what we learn in the Institute and the Mandir. The hostel schedule, packed with times for prayer, play and periods (for study) teaches the inmates how to manage time effectively, build up relationships, work as a team, learn to respect others’ feelings and so on.  Above everything, what makes a Sai Student’s life extra special is Bhagavan and the love that