The gift of Life Om Sri Sai Ram “How dare you start on this journey, without taking a ticket from Me? Come down; do the task allotted to you. I order you to come to the Prayer Hall this noon and carry on with Arathi, as usual.” That was the command, the divine command of the Lord to Sri Seshagiri Rao, whose body and mind were ‘ready steady set’ for the last journey. Baba did sound harsh. Yes, He appeared so unkind not only to the people around but also to the subject in question, Sri Seshagiri Rao, who was more than willing to shed his mortal coil after a fall and subsequent ill health, and had even started declaring aloud the eternal truths: “This body composed of the five elements is disintegrating into its components; I am being liberated!” But Swami had different plans for this sage-like servitor who for 14 long years had tended the shrine at the old Mandir and later at the Prashanti Nilayam Sanctum Sanctorum with great dedication and love. Sri Seshagiri Rao just obeyed Swami’s order and in the evening he was seen attending the shrine – the signs of illness were gone. Six months later, this pious person fell ill again. His condition became worse and you could see that he was indeed suffering. His brother rushed in panic from Bangalore and requested Swami that Sri Seshagiri Rao be allowed to be taken to the Victoria hospital in Bangalore. But, Swami had this to tell him, “Do not worry at his present plight. I am allowing him to work out the suffering he has to undergo. After this, he has the chance to die peacefully and quite happily. Otherwise, I could have despatched him months ago, when he had a fall.” And that is exactly what happened. Sri Seshagiri Rao recovered quite mysteriously in a month. He was hale and hearty and spent six weeks in bliss doing his chores in the shrine and spreading happiness around. And then suddenly one day, his health deteriorated and he took to bed. One evening Swami went to his bedside. Along with Swami was Prof. Kasturi, a great devotee and the first editor of Sanathana Sarathi. For what happened that momentous evening, let’s hear from Sri Kasturi himself: “Swami asked me to bring a cup of hot milk. Spoon by spoon, He fed him the entire cup, calling on him by name and telling him that it was his Baba that was feeding him! Then, He rose and moved; turning back while at the door, He looked at him and said, ‘Now you can go!’ And, Seshagiri Rao obeyed within an hour! Baba knew when he had to come down and when he had to ‘go’.” Baba with the CowansThis is not one isolated incident in the life of Baba. We all know of what happened to Walter Cowan, the oft-quoted story of resurrection recorded beautifully by Dr. Hislop in My Baba and I. We will not go into details here about that incident because there are many more. For every incident we know, there are hundreds and thousands that we do not know. Sai’s power has been working silently, selflessly and relentlessly all-round the clock, all-round the globe transforming people, uniting families, enlivening spirits and resurrecting lives, for He is the master of Time and destiny. In the first week of August, 1953 in Puttaparthi, there happened another incident which, as Howard Murphet describes in Sai Baba: Man of Miracles, was as dramatic in its way as the Christ’s raising of “Lazarus” from the dead. The “Lazarus” here was Mr. V Radhakrishna, about sixty years of age, a factory owner and well-known citizen of Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh. He was in Puttaparthi with his wife, daughter, Vijaya and son-in-law, Sri Hemchand. The Dasara celebrations were on but he was there in Puttaparthi with a different mission – to ask Baba to cure him of his frightful gastric ulcers. Two days had passed by in Puttaparthi and when Mr. Radhakrishna found Swami taking a stroll in the hall one day, he ran to Him and fell at His feet imploring Him thus: “Swami, I prefer to die. I cannot bear this pain anymore. Let me be merged in Your Feet.” Swami lifted him up by his shoulders and in a comforting tone said, “It is alright. The pain will soon subside,” and sent him back. Sometime later, Mr. Radhakrishna was attacked by fits, fell down and bit his tongue. Swami came immediately and placed Vibhuti on his forehead. His stomach was bloated. Swami sat by his side for sometime, patting his stomach. Before He left, He reassured everybody saying, “Do not worry. Everything will be alright.” The next day was truly a nightmare. The patient could not pass urine and his stomach became even more bloated. He was unconscious. A male nurse brought by Mr. K S Hemchand, the son-in-law, pronounced him near death after failing to find any pulse and making other examinations. There was no way of saving him, the nurse opined. And by evening the patient became very cold. The three anxious relatives heard what they thought was the “death rattle” in his throat and watched him turning blue and stiff. His stomach looked full enough to burst at the slightest touch. Vijaya, and Mrs. Radhakrishna, went to see Swami. They told Him that Radhakrishna seemed to be dead. (Those days, devotees were very few and they had much greater access to Swami). But Swami just laughed and walked away into His bedroom. Crestfallen, the mother and daughter returned to the ‘dead’ man’s bedside and waited and prayed. As if listening to their prayers, after a while, Swami came and looked at the body but did not say or do anything. The whole of the second night passed with the three fervently praying and anxiously waiting for any signs of life. But that was not to be. There were no signs. Yet, nothing