Excerpts from “Sri Sathya Sai Divya Kripasraya’

ANNA (Sri Madiyal Narayan Bhat, founder of Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust, Alike and Muddenahalli) stands out in my life as my guide and mentor; I lived and worked under his benign guidance for twelve years, which shaped my life to a great extent during that period. But the greatest good fortune of my life has been my meeting Swami in my late teens and having His divine guidance there­after. Also, by His grace and by virtue of living in His proximity both at Prasanthi Nilayam and Brindavan for a number of years, I have met a great number of good people and a good number of great people from all walks of life. Also, I had the opportunity to live and work with a few of them.

Among others from whom I have derived inspiration to walk on the Godward path, two good and great persons are prominent. One is the grandsire of Sri Sathya Sai literature and a shining star of Kannada literature in the sphere of humour, Sri N. Kasturi. The other is a giant in Kannada literature and has a special place in the galaxy of Indian English writers; he is Dr. Vinayak Krishna Gokak. Both were great and inspiring teachers and educational philosophers. Also, both were wonderful orators. Once they met Swami, they surrendered themselves to Him and led their lives as per His guidance till the end. Both were gifted with child-like innocence, which blossomed into sage-like wisdom.

Sri Kasturi was an ardent devotee of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa before he came to Swami and Dr. Gokak was a staunch follower of Sri Aurobindo. To put it figuratively, Sri Kasturi and Dr. Gokak were two flowers offered at the altar of Swami by Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Aurobindo respectively. Dr. Gokak wrote in his book Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba: The Man and the Avatar: “What overawes one is the catholicity of Baba. It does not matter for Him what master a disciple comes from. All are one. He becomes to each disciple the master he has accepted.” Both Sri Kasturi and Dr. Gokak visited Sathya Sai Grama a number of times when I was there. My relation with , them grew more intimate after I went to Prasanthi Nilayam in August 1983. I feel fortunate to have enjoyed their love and affection and to have received their valuable guidance at a very important phase of my life after Anna had departed from this world.

Sri Kasturi’s relation was unique. He came to Swami for the first time in 1948. Swami was twenty-two years old at that time and Sri Kasturi was fifty-one years old. When Sri Kasturi passed away in 1987 at the ripe old age of ninety, Swami was sixty-one. In the first interview itself, Swami told Sri Kasturi that he would have the good fortune of writing His biography! For nearly forty years, Sri Kasturi had the opportunity to be in the divine proximity of Swami. He also had the rare privilege to observe from close quarters the blossoming of the Avatar’s life and speak and write about its important milestones.

Sri Kasturi was a Karma Yogi who found fulfilment in the selfless service of spreading joy and inspiring all those, who came into his contact, through his words and writings. He did all his work as an offering to Swami. When Sri Kasturi retired from service in Mysore University in 1954, he was offered the post of Director of All India Radio Station at Bangalore by the government. (It may be of interest for readers to know that the phrase Akasha Vani was coined by Sri Kasturi. ) But he wanted to settle down at Prasanthi Nilayam and serve Swami. When he approached Swami to get His approval for refusing this offer of the government, Swami told him to take up the assignment in Bangalore. Sri Kasturi pleaded with Swami saying, “Swami, I long to serve You; I want to do Your work!” Swami asked him, “Kasturi, do you think All India Radio’s work is not My work?” Then it occurred to Sri Kasturi that everything in the world belonged to God and that all work had to be done as God’s work. That was the essence of Karma Yoga. Only after completing his assignment in All India Radio Station at Bangalore, Swami permitted him to settle down at Prasanthi Nilayam where he played multiple roles in running the Ashram. At one point of time, he was simultaneously the postmaster, manager of the printing press and editor of “Sanathana Sarathi”, the monthly magazine started in 1958! But his labour of love was speaking and writing about Swami and His teachings.