Sathya
Sai Baba

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More Devotee's Stories of Sathya Sai Baba

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Russian Devotee Instructed in a Dream

A Russian devotee, Alexander, had been to see Sathya Sai Baba and when he returned he excitedly told all his friends about the phenomenal occurrences that were going on in Puttaparthi, India. He told them an Avatar was on the Earth and discussed many of the details of his visit with them. But all listened mildly and had no interest in finding out anything further about this.

He started to plan a return trip and wanted to take at least one other person with him. He had previously given several book in Russian to his friend "Mikhail", but Mikhail would not read them. Although the two had been friends since they were students and Mikhail knew his friend was credible, still he had no interest in Sai Baba. Alexander could not understand this as Mikhail was a well educated man, a professor and well known scientist with many achievements to his name.

Alexander had resigned himself to going alone back to India, but unexpectedly, Mikhail had called and told him he had decided to go. He had told his wife that he might stop drinking if he went and so he got her support. He thought he might pay for the trip by the savings from refraining from alcohol for six months. Alexander explained to him that no one was allowed to have meat or alcohol or tobacco in Prasanthi Nilayam and Mikhail agreed to these conditions. But, even though he had decided to go, Mikhail still refused to read any of the books about Sai Baba.

They arrived at the Ashram and were given a room to share with other international visitors. On the third day Alexander gave his friend three issues of the quarterly magazine, "Divine Love" and Mikhail started reading only those articles where Swami himself speaks. He was transfixed by what he read and continued reading into the night.

The next day, Alexander got up to attend darshan as usual but did not see his friend Mikhail so he saved a place for him in the darshan lines even though the Seva Dal volunteer told him this was usually not allowed. Finally, a half hour before darshan time, Mikhail showed up and joined Alexander and they settled down to wait for a glimpse of Swami. At last he appeared and slowly, gracefully floated through the crowds until he approached to where the two Russian visitors were. As he went by them, Sai Baba looked directly at Alexander and Mikhail and made a sign with his hands three times. Alexander was thrilled as it is an unusual occurrence to receive some kind of sign or attention from Swami.

After Darshan, Mikhail excitedly told his friend Alexander that last night he had had a dream in which Swami came to him and had a long conversation with him. Mikhail was confused because the dream had seemed completely real to him and he could see and remember everything just as when he was awake so he didn't know whether to take it as a dream or a real event that actually happened.

Then Mikhail narrated to his friend from memory, the following conversation from his "dream". In the dream he found himself in the very same lecture hall in Russia where he normally delivers lectures to his students. But instead, Swami was at the rostrum where Mikhail usually lectures and Mikhail was sitting at a table like one of the students.

Sai: "You wanted an interview - you will have it now. You always liked double lectures (two 45 minute periods without a break): you will now have such a period yourself. You may ask me any questions."

Mikhail: "Not everything is clear in religions. They divide"

Sai: "Religions were written for the time when people were primitive and so they were expounded in the language and concepts of that period. A blind belief and miracles were required. Look at Moses who was taking Jews from Egypt showing miracles. Each time requires its form. Temples were constructed but the real temple must be in one's soul. You did not want to read books about me, but you studied mathematics: first 2 X 2, then further, then physics. From the simple to the complex, but all the knowledge is held up by the highest knowledge which is God. Gradually one goes from intellect to spirituality; one needs intellect to live in the world. You started reading about me for the sake of your friend. Your friend is my channel. He brought you here and did it selflessly. Do not worry about material things - You have a good intellect. Just imagine that man's life in a cosmic scale lasts only one hundredth part of a second, so what difference does it make where you live: in a palace or in a hut?"

Mikhail: Where can I find strength?

Sai: "If you have spiritual strength, then physical strength is not important. Your program was to go swimming in the sea (this is exactly what Mikhail and Alexander had agreed upon). Go or you will be sorry. One must do everything sincerely, nothing should be done out of compulsion. You have a good intellect and it's not necessary for you to stay here long. You have to decide."

Mikhail: "How shall I live now? Maybe I should become a monk or work out an algorithm for my future actions?"

Sai: "If you put bread into the mouth of a hungry man then he will never learn to earn it himself. One can't work out algorithms for the whole of one's future. That is why you are given a choice in your life. I give you a trial and watch what choice you will take. on that depends whether you pass your test or not. If there was no choice, you would be slaves, and I don't need slaves. You should find a spiritual path by yourself, everything depends on you. You should not expect any gratitude for whatever you give."

Mikhail: "What concrete steps should I take to come to spirituality?"

Sai: "Let us take an example of water - it is a substance. One may pour it into a vessel; they may bring it to you in a restaurant in a crystal glass or you may pour it into a gold goblet. But the best of all is to go to the source, the spring, and drink it from there. The spring is in your heart. it is forgotten; you must yourself converse with God. What should you do? You must gradually change yourself morally for the better. You have bad habits. Start with getting rid of them. You have already become better; less proud. Pride is making you blind. Alcohol dries up your brain - that is the worst. It's an obstacle to God. Smoking dries up your body. It hinders your development."

Mikhail: "What then?"

Sai: "Act according to the criteria of Truth. One can clean the puss out of the wounds like Mother Teresa or help people, but if you are proud then everything is in vain. If you want you may bring people the knowledge about me, but do not be a lecturer. Nothing should be done without sincerity, one should not be lazy. Your wife is more spiritual than you, she is more compassionate. Both of you still have an opportunity to come to me - your life span is not finished yet."

Mikhail: "I can't understand: is it a dream or not? I am waiting with my group for an interview."

Sai: "The cleverer a man is, the less faith he has. There are no miracles in the world, only a level of knowledge. For you to believe, tomorrow morning at Darshan I'll make this sign by moving my hand three times like that (and Swami showed how he would do it). That's the end of your double time."

And after the dream ended, Mikhail attended darshan where Swami confirmed the truth of the meeting by making the sign with his hand three times. He has repeatedly said that no one can see him in a dream without his willing it. He chose this extraordinary way to help Mikhail in his spiritual growth at just the right moment in his life. As always he showers his love on all.

From the March 1998 issue of Sanathani Sarathi. Published by Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust

The spiritually realized person will recognize the permanent that subsumes the changing entity. Such a realization can only come when a person is pure in thought, word and deed. Purity must express itself in loving service. Help to the needy has been described as the highest virtue. Harming others has been condemned as a sin. Devotees must engage themselves in acts of service, which will sanctify their lives.

Do not posit distance between you and me; do not interpose the formalities of the guru-friend relationship, or even the attitudinal distinctions of the God-devotee relationship, between you and me. I am neither Guru nor God; I am you; you are I; that is the truth. There is no distinction. That which appears so is the delusion. You are waves; I am the ocean. Know this and be free, be divine.

Vijay's Tumor Cured Miraculously

My son Vijay had been complaining of severe headaches since the beginning of 1997. The intensity and frequency increased by the summer and the headaches were sometimes accompanied by vomiting. In August, an eye specialist was consulted and he immediately suspected something seriously wrong and advised a C.T. scan of the brain. After much testing the diagnosis of a brain tumor was confirmed and the Neurosurgeon recommended surgery as soon as possible.

Vijay was admitted on August 21 with the operation scheduled for 2 days later. Nearly 40 years ago my mother's younger sister was operated on for a benign brain tumor but she was not cured and died within three years. This thought was uppermost in my mind and I was not at all happy about the operation, but the diagnosis was unanimous so there was nothing else to be done.

The morning of the operation I went into the prayer hall at the hospital along with a portrait of Sathya Sai Baba and started praying intensely. Although it was not logical, I prayed repeatedly that the operation should go well but that there should be no tumor.

The team of doctors came out at 1:30 p.m. and the chief Neurosurgeon looked perplexed. He said the operation was successful but he was surprised to see no tumor where there ought to be one but instead he found a legion which he scraped and sent a sample off for biopsy. I was the only believer of Sathya Sai Baba amongst my relatives. My wife believed only in Shirdi Sai Baba. I know for sure that Baba had answered my prayers. It must have been He who had removed the tumor, the presence of which had been confirmed by all scan reports and doctors.

Four days later the report came back from the biopsy and it said that the sample was unsufficient and that further investigation should be done. Meanwhile Vijay started getting headaches again and he started pestering me to take him to Baba at Puttaparthi which I decided to do. This was apparently Baba's decision as well because events started going in my favor. My cousin, Sri K. V. Krishnamurthy who was an ardent devotee of Baba and a Seva Dal service worker, set up an appointment with a specialist, Dr Verma. My cousin was going to Puttaparthi and so it was decided we would go with them.

After an exhausting drive we reached Puttaparthi but we had just missed the morning darshan and so it appeared we would have to wait until 4 p.m. However a Seva Dal worker known to my cousin suggested that I stand along with my son Vijay (who was at that time suffering from headache) at the exit point through which Baba might come out for going to the cricket ground which was under preparation at that time. Within ten minutes Baba came out and as he came near the place where we were standing, He looked up with his hand in a blessing posture and particularly smiled at my son Vijay. I could feel the enormity and intensity of the love in his face and that very instant my child Vijay shouted in joy, saying "Papa, my headache is gone!" There was no physical touching for my son. His direct eye to eye contact was all that happened and the miracle indeed worked. Of course the real miracle had already happened at the hospital. This was only a confirmation of that.

In the evening when we went for darshan, my son had a letter for Baba in which he had requested to cure him of his headache. After collecting a few letters from some of the women devotees, He came straight to where we were seated as if He knew we were there and collected my son's letter through me. My cousins were immensely delighted, because my visit to Puttaparthi had proved fruitful. We returned the same day to Bengalore.

Two days later when we attended the appointment with Dr Verma as arranged by my cousin he examined Vijay thoroughly and said these exact words: "Baba is the Greatest of all Surgeons. He has cured this young child. The child will not have problems any more. Even if headache does come sometimes, ignore it as a common headache."

My son Vijay at that time was only 13. He never spoke of Sathya Sai Baba before. Yet now he does not leave for school without lighting up a stick of agarbatti incense before Baba's portrait. Even though he had missed three months of school, he has caught up with his studies and whenever he smiles, I can see Baba's smile through him.

What other proof is needed to show Baba loves and cares even when we do not think of Him but do our duties with utmost devotion?

From a story in April 1998 issue of Sanathani Sarathi (the Eternal Charioteer) magazine. Published by Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust.

The Lord is the Kalpatharu, the Divine Tree that gives whatever is asked. But you have to go near the tree and ask for what you want.

Many people speak about getting a vision of God. This is a naive desire. They do not realize that the Divine is present in everything they see. The Vedas declared that man fails to see the Divine though the Divine is manifest in everything he sees. The Vedas declare such a person a complete fool. Everything in the universe is permeated by the Divine. Everyone should seek to realize his/her divinity and recognize the divinity in all beings.

From Nuclear Physicist to Renowned Musician

A brilliant Indian student by the name of Vemu Mukunda had taken science courses at universities in India. Then he left his motherland to conduct post graduate research in Scotland. He took a job in England working in the field of nuclear science. Although outwardly he seemed to have successfully established himself in his chosen field, yet he was not happy. He had left his family, friends, and culture behind and now found himself living in an environment where the advancements in technology were considered the highest goal and his only social life consisted of attending endless rounds of cocktail parties. He felt his life was empty and without purpose and this feeling came to a crisis point when his brother and sister both died back in India. Furthermore the negative use of nuclear science to build weapons of mass destruction weighed on his conscience and made him question his choice of career. He began to sink into a state of chronic depression which was only briefly relieved by the release he felt when he made music on the Indian stringed Veena that he had played since childhood.

It was during that period of black despair that a series of strange incidents occurred to bring a new influence into his life. By coincidence, a mutual friend in London had a veena at home that was badly damaged and when he heard of Vemu's skill with the instrument he invited him to his home to see if he might be able to repair the instrument. Vemu went to the home along with some friends and indeed found the instrument so badly damaged that he was completely unable to get any pleasant sounds out of it at all. However he agreed to take the instrument back to his home and see if he could repair it.

On the way home, the friends who had brought him wanted to stop at a house where they knew the residents were conducting Sai Baba bhajan sessions (sacred singing). Though Vemu had no special interest in doing so, since he was riding with them he went along with the plan.

When they arrived at the house and went in, he saw a picture of Sathya Sai Baba on the wall and immediately had the thought: "Oh, no not him". His parents had been followers of Shirdi Sai Baba and they felt that Sathya Sai Baba, who claimed to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, was an imposter and so Vemu had also taken on this attitude. Shirdi Sai Baba left his body in 1918 and many of his original followers were unwilling to believe that he had taken on the Sathya Sai form eight years later (Sathya Sai was born in 1926) even though Shirdi Sai Baba had told his followers just before his death that he would take birth again eight years hence.

Vemu had no interest in the bhajans and so he sat behind the other singers and took no part in the singing. However during a lull in the bhajans the hostess put a veena in his hands and asked him to play something. In an abstracted mood he began to strum the instrument and presently a tune came into his head and he began to play. The others very much enjoyed his playing and when the song ended they asked him to play another song. He agreed, playing the first tune that came to mind. At the end of the second song, he suddenly realized that the two songs he had just played had been composed by two different Indian Saints but the titles of the songs had the same meaning in the respective languages of the composers: "No One is Equal to You".

Now Vemu looked down at the veena he had been playing and realized that it was the badly damaged one he had been taking home to repair. But mysteriously, every note he had played on it had been completely harmonious. Now he tried to play it consciously and not a single harmonious note would come out of it. He began to feel as if something miraculous had occurred and he felt the hair on his head standing on end.

He thought to himself: "Sai Baba! What power. Is he a black magician?"

After this incident Vemu began to get invitations to play professionally. He accepted whenever it fit into his schedule and strangely, wherever he played he would run into someone who would talk about Sathya Sai Baba. At home his friends in London kept pressing him to attend Sai Baba bhajan sessions. He began to feel that he was being pursued by Sai Baba!

Vemu had been schooled on the principles of science and so his confidence was more on the field of matter than that of the spirit. He felt that the realm of spirit was only a way by which some people escaped from harsh reality. And yet some part of him wanted to proceed into the spiritual realm while the other part wanted nothing to do with it. His mental torment increased and he felt himself being torn in two different directions. He continued to resist the spiritual impulse and yet, the world of physics and materialism had lost its charm for him.

Finally in a state of complete desperation he sat down and addressed a letter to Sathya Sai Baba at his residence at Prasanthi Nilayam. Although he had heard that Sai Baba does not answer directly by writing back, it was said that he would provide the answer in some more direct form. He poured out his heart's dilemma asking Sai Baba if he should continue in his chosen profession of nuclear engineering, quit and become a full time musician, or renounce the world and become a religious devotee (Sannyasi).

As he boarded a flight to Paris for a Veena concert, he wondered how and in what form he might receive a response to his letter but nothing unusual happened on the trip. On his return to London, he began to feel an inexplicable urge to visit the same home where he had played the damaged veena during the bhajan session. This was curious to him since he didn't even want to go there the first time. He ignored the urge for a while but finally gave in. Approaching the house, he noticed the "Om Sai" written on the front of the house. The owner of the house, Mrs Sitabai, greeted him at the door and told him she was very glad he had come because she had something for him. They went to the shrine room and she handed him a photograph telling him an unknown visitor had attended the last bhajan session and had asked that the picture be given to Vemu as soon as possible. He looked at the photograph and saw that it was a picture of Sathya Sai Baba playing the veena!

He was immediately overcome with emotion and surrendered to Sai Baba by prostrating before the large photo of him on the wall. Tears of emotion ran down his cheeks. He knew now that he had his answer. He soon quit his job and became a full time musician. His reputation as a skilled veena musician spread and he began to get calls from all over Europe, including as far away as Russia. He felt that somehow his sudden success was due in part to the guiding hand of Sathya Sai Baba and he began to feel that he wanted to return to India and visit him. At about this time his mother and father were also asking him to return to India to see them and so he began to think seriously about making the trip home. But at the back of his mind was a fear that all the events were just coincidences and the result of his own imagination and that Sai Baba might refuse to see him. It would be a great disappointment to him if Sai Baba ignored him.

He decided to write to a friend and have him ask if he should come to visit Sai Baba. Soon afterwards he had a vivid dream in which Sai Baba came to him and rubbed his sacred ash (vibhutti) on his left shoulder beneath his shirt and said to him: "Come to India". When he awoke the dream seemed very real but he still felt that it might have been created out of his wish to go to India to see the great teacher. After several days of struggle he made up his mind to go so he canceled all his performance reservations and took a plane to India.

When he arrived at Swami's (i.e. Sai Baba's) residence he took his place on the grounds at the end of a line of men. One of the devotees told him that he had arrived just in time for Darshan, in which Sai Baba circulates among his devotees giving sight of a holy person. Vemu sat quietly enjoying the feeling of peace that emanated from the place and waited patiently. Soon there was a stir at the other end of the lines and he caught sight of the orange colored robe of Sai Baba as he circulated slowly, gracefully among the devotees, stopping briefly to talk to some, to create vibhutti for some lucky ones, or to take letters from others. As Sai Baba got closer, Vemu felt his excitement and anxiety increase. As he saw the robe and delicate feet approach him he could not bear to look directly into his face, encircled with a halo of hair and so he cast his glance downward onto the ground. His heart was in his mouth and his body became rigid as he noticed the feet approach ever closer. Vemu had written a letter to give to Sai Baba but he had completely lost his wits and did not even think to hand it to him. He felt Baba take the letter from his hand and then he raised him up and he heard him say in a quiet voice: "Go inside and wait".

Vemu went inside and when at last he faced Sai Baba alone in the interview room, Sai Baba created vibhutti for him and rubbed it on his left shoulder under his shirt just as he had done in the dream. Then Sai Baba began to discuss the obstacles in his life showing complete familiarity with his career struggle, his desire to play the veena, his depression, and other details of his daily life. As the talk ended, Baba circled his hand and produced out of air a five faced rudraksha bead in a gold setting at the end of a gold chain. He gave it to Vemu to wear constantly and told him that he would have great success both in his new career and in his spiritual progress. He then invited Vemu to play the veena at a musical concert to be held at the Sathya Sai College in Brindavan.

When the time of the concert came, Vemu brought along his eighty year old father who had been a close devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba. His father told the son he would just sit outside on the outer grounds and wait. But when Sai Baba learned the father was present he immediately called him inside and in Vemu's words: "For a whole hour Swami talked to my father like a loving mother to her child. After that my father was a changed man." Now the entire family, Vemu's father, mother, brother and all the other members of the family are followers of Sathya Sai Baba.

From a story that appears in its original form in Sai Baba, Avatar by Howard Murphet. Birth Day Publishing. San Diego, CA. This book contains a whole collection of devotee's stories as well as the personal experiences of the author with Sai Baba.

	A mother may forget her child, but God will never forget you. He is closer to you than any mother. Never forget God.
	The main mission of God is to develop the principle of love in mankind. Only when we get intoxicated and forget ourselves drinking the nectar of Divine love, can we find the path to liberation.
	Fill the brain with high thoughts, highest ideals; place them day and night before you, and out of that will come great work.

Dr. Bronkey's Mysterious Phone Call

A woman by the name of Wilma Bronkey had opened her home, "Enchanted Acres", to people with disabilities ranging from children to the very old. Through the years of her personal welfare work she had taken in a total of 280 foster children. One day out of the blue, she received a very strange phone call. The caller said to her: "Dr Bronkey, would you please send as soon as possible, the $200 deposit on your fare to India? Arrangements must be finalized for all those going in Indra Devi's party to see Sai Baba." She tried to tell to tell the person on the other end of the line that she had no plans to go to India and didn't even know of a person known as Sai Baba, but the line had gone dead. She thought it very curious that the person had referred to her as Dr Bronkey since she had no doctorate degree

However she had heard of Indra Devi, a well known yoga teacher, and decided to find out something about Sai Baba. She got her hands on the book "Man of Miracles" and found herself wanting to go see Sai Baba in person. But she felt this was an unworkable idea because of her many responsibilities.

Soon, a strange coincidence made her begin to think more about the trip. She was awarded an honorary doctorate degree. But she still felt she couldn't make the trip and decided there would have to be some unmistakable sign before she would seriously consider going.

Dr. Bronkey (we will call her Wilma) liked to wear rings and was in the habit of wearing many rings but her special favorite was an ordinary and inexpensive ring with a badly scratched blue glass stone given to her by some of her foster children. One day she went out with the rings in her purse and was going to put them on later. She went to see a film on the care of handicapped people but after the film started, she realized she had seen it before and her thoughts began to wander. She took the rings out of her purse and started to put them on. But she couldn't find the blue glass ring which she specially valued. She anxiously started reviewing in her mind all the places she had been to earlier where she might have lost the ring when out of the corner of her eye, she saw a strange stream of colored sparks emanating from her handbag. She felt a vague wind blowing in the theater and heard a voice say to her: "You asked for a sign."

She picked up her handbag and felt inside and there was the missing ring but the metal was very hot to the touch. She quickly picked up the ring and even in the dark light of the theater the stone was sparkling so that her companion said: "Wow, where did you get that?"

Wilma and her companion went to the lobby of the theater to examine the ring in the light. It was the same familiar ring but now it had a sparkling light blue stone set in it. They were highly excited by the strange series of events and so they left the theater and started for home. They decided to stop at a jewelers on the way home to identify the stone. The jeweler greatly admired the stone and informed them it was a very high quality aquamarine and was probably worth about $1000. They were excited but mystified by this so they decided to take it to get a second opinion from another jeweler.

As Wilma handed the ring to the second jeweler she had the impression that the shade of color in the ring had changed slightly from what it was before. The jeweler took the ring and pronounced it to be a sapphire worth between $1000 and $1500 dollars.

Back in the car, Wilma told her friend she was starting to believe in fairies but by then they had guessed that Sai Baba must somehow be behind all the strange happenings. By this point they wondered whether he might once again change the stone for yet another jeweler so they stopped at a third jeweler so see what would happen. Not even looking at the stone, Wilma handed it to the jeweler and requested an appraisal. The jeweler told her it was worth about $1500. Then they asked what type of stone it was he said that it was a diamond and a very nicely cut one at that.

By the time they reached "Enchanted Acres", the ring had turned back to the light blue aquamarine color and it subsequently remained that color. Now Wilma was absolutely convinced that Sai Baba was giving her a sign that he wanted her to visit; but there remained a few obstacles in the way of the trip. Unexpectedly her son and his wife offered to take care of the patients if she made the trip. But Wilma was still lacking the money to purchase plane fare. This was soon solved when two friends she had once healed called to see her. They had suddenly felt that she might be in need of money and offered to loan her $2000 dollars which she could pay back any time with no interest. She found that this was just the amount needed to make the trip so she purchased the tickets and joined Indra Devi's entourage bound for India.

Soon they were at Prasanthi Nilayam sitting on the sandy grounds waiting for Sai Baba to appear. She saw him among the crowds and found herself entranced with his movements, watching as he seemed to float gracefully around the circle. Soon he came near her and then stood right in front of her with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye and asked in a soft voice: "How did you like the ring?"

She has since been an ardent follower and has returned several times with groups of sick people to ask his blessings for them. During a visit in 1978, Sai Baba asked her to expand her humanitarian work and to establish a convalescent center for patients who had been cured of cancer.

Dr. Bronkey had been carrying on her humanitarian welfare work for years before she was called in such a mysterious manner. The strange events leading up to her meeting with Sathya Sai Baba were the highlight of her life and now she continues her expanded works with the inspiration she draws knowing that the love and blessings of Sai Baba are behind her.

Adapted from a story that originally appeared in Walking the Path with Sai Baba by Howard Murphet. Published by Samuel Weiser, Inc.

	If you wish to blossom forth as your true Self, your Higher Divine Nature, you must spend the life given you serving humanity with great humility and no concern for selfish gain.
	God is not involved with either rewards or punishments. He only reflects, resounds, and reacts! He is the eternal unaffected witness! You decide your own fate. Do good, be good, and you get good in return. Be bad, do bad deeds, you reap bad results. Do not thank or blame God. Thank yourself. Blame yourself.

Della Meridith Gets a Ticket to India

In May of 1972, Della Meridith was in a deep quandary. Her close friends who had been Sai Devotees for some time were planning a return trip to see Sai Baba. In her heart she felt a desperate longing to join them but was unable to do so because of lack of money for the plane fare.

That night she sat meditating and she prayed with great sincerity: "Dear Baba, all the money, everything in the universe, is Yours. Your are the master of all. If it be your Divine Will, please make a way where there seems to be none." Suddenly she had a vision that Baba was standing beside her. He raised his hand and poured silver dollars into her lap from a horn of plenty. When she returned to normal consciousness he was gone. She could not control her joyful weeping at the vision of love and mercy she had just experienced.

That night as she was drifting off into sleep, a bright light suddenly filled the room. There a few feet away stood Sathya Sai Baba with outstretched arms trying to hand her a small slip of paper. She was spell bound by the vision and did not even try to bend forward to take the piece of paper. Sai Baba smiled at her and then was gone.

The next morning a close friend called and told her: "Della, Baba appeared to me last night, and told me to make arrangements for you to go to India." It was then that she realized that the slip of paper he was trying to hand her the night before had been an airline ticket.

On May 27 Della received a letter in the mail with the ticket and the instructions to meet her friends in New York for departure to India. Two weeks later they arrived in India and proceeded to Bengalore. There they happened to meet an Indian woman who was going to Puttaparthi to see Sai Baba so they all shared a taxi and soon arrived at Sai Baba's residence.

The next morning they were eager to join the lines of devotees waiting for darshan. When Della was about to sit on the ground to wait, she seemed to lose control of her legs. Her knees would not bend. Her friends finally were able to get her seated. Again she cried out inwardly to Baba for help not wanting to think that she was being a burden to her friends. For a while she sat with eyes closed aware of the pain in her legs. Suddenly she felt a cool breeze surrounding her. She opened her eyes to see Sai Baba smiling warmly at her. With a wave of his hand he materialized Vibhutti into her hand. She sat there motionless with tears flowing down her face, holding the precious gift, trying hard to control her joyful tears. Then he came back and with a look of infinite tenderness indicated the vibhutti in her hand and told her: "Eat - for your health". As she ate the vibhutti she felt her body filling with renewed energy. It was a divine healing of love and mercy.

On the last day of their stay they got their greatest blessing of all. Sai Baba invited them to spend the rest of the day with him and some Indian devotees. they were served a lunch and then each of them was given a private interview. In her interview with him, Della Meredith cannot forget his parting words to her, "Do what your heart tells you to do, and remember, I am always in your heart wherever you are, whatever you do."

Since then she has always felt Sai Baba was there guiding her life with love, and teaching her as she travels the return path.

From Sai Ram, Experiencing the Love and Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba by Faith and Charles Penn. Published by Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust.

God is in your heart. Wherever you go and whatever you do, it is known to God even if you think none has noticed it. People start worrying about petty temporary things which are like passing clouds and sometimes falter in faith and devotion. This is not correct. You should never give up devotion. Your good work will beget God's grace without fail. Sin or merit comes only from your own deeds, not from outside.

The unity of mankind will come when man becomes awakened and when he allows love to flow from his heart all the time. Then he will recognize the same love in others and see them as they really are, part of himself, part of God, divine.

Saved from an Awkward Situation

Sometimes, the Lord comes to our rescue when we pray incessantly and with devotion. It also happens that Bhagavan Baba acts as a Saviour in times of deep trouble, which we may not even be aware of.

In this context, I would like to narrate an incident about a lady who was saved by Bhagavan. The lady was traveling with a son aged three years and a daughter aged eight, in the Coromandel Express from Calcutta to Madras. It was in the month of May, 1980. The train stopped at Vijayawada station en route to Madras. The son pestered his mother for something to drink since he was thirsty and it was hot. The mother took the child and went to buy some tender coconuts and some magazines to read during the journey. The daughter waited in the train compartment for her mother and brother. The lady was holding a handbag in her hand. Just as she came out of the coconut vendor's shop, the train started moving, and the lady, who was now carrying the child in one arm and with a couple of magazines in the other, managed to get into a compartment. In the confusion that occurred, the lady forgot to retrieve her handbag from the shop. As she was searching her compartment, she suddenly heard a loud clap. The Coromandel Express is one of the fastest trains in the country even today; and it gains speed within minutes after its departure, sometimes even before leaving the platform of the station, as in this case. The clap was heard from the other side of the train, the side where there are no platforms, only railway tracks. The moving train had still not left the station. The lady turned to see a fair hand holding her handbag. She rushed forward to receive it. She was so excited that she forgot to thank the person holding the bag. When she reached her seat, still in a state of excitement,it suddenly dawned on her that the clap was heard from the side of the railway station where there was no platform. When she received her handbag, the train had been in motion. In a flash she realized that Bhagavan had come to save her and her children. The handbag contained their tickets apart from money and other belongings. The ticket examiner was in the bay adjacent to the one in which the lady was traveling. Thus, Bhagavan had saved the lady and her children from the unnecessary trouble and embarrassment. The lady traveling in the train is my mother and I was the three year old child.

From Trayee Saptamayee, the 70th birthday commemorative volume. Story by S.V. Raman.

	If a man is to enjoy enduring happiness, he must discover the source of such happiness. That source is love. There is nothing greater than love in this world. Everything has a price. The price to be paid for enduring happiness is Divine Love. Without Love, no object can give you real happiness.
	Hold all your property and wealth in trust for the Lord who gave them to you. Even you and your family, you must treat as a sacred trust, as persons given to you by the Lord to love, foster and guide. Thus you must elevate your attachment into worship and make it an instrument of spiritual progress.

Deer Released From Its "Cage"

In 1976, a small number of deer were brought from the Madhumalai forest to Brindavan, and the grounds were cordoned off for the deer cage. Everyday, Bhagavan Baba would feed the deer with apples. A small cage inside also had a few partridges and parrots. Some students were blessed with the opportunity of maintaining the cages. One day, as Bhagavan was coming towards us after feeding the deer, looking at our faces pressed against the mesh, with a twinkle in His eye He indicated the students and told an elderly devotee, "These are two legged 'dear'. Those are My four legged deer. All are dear to me." We were thrilled by His statement.

Years later, it was a hot summer day in 1988. The time was around 2:30 p.m. In the place of the old bungalow, now stood the new Trayee Brindavan. A few boys observed a strange spectacle. A female deer was looking longingly up at the window of the rooms on the first floor, where Bhagavan lived. There is only one language - the language of the heart. What prayers the deer (which was among the first deer to come to Brindavan) addressed to the Lord, we shall never know. But the response was swift. The doors of Trayee opened, and Sai Baba walked quickly down the marble steps, across the hot marble floor, instructing the students to get some apples. He entered the cage and patted the deer affectionately. As the fruits were brought on a tray, Bhagavan Baba fed the deer with His own hands. The deer ate the apple pieces quickly. Bhagavan finished feeding it, and after patting it lovingly, He left. After a few minutes the deer collapsed. Its hour had come. The Lord had entered the cage to release the soul encaged as a deer. Had he not said, "All are dear to me."

	Come just one step towards Me, and I shall take a hundred toward you. Shed just one tear, and I shall wipe a hundred from your eyes.
	God is love, you are God, and you should awaken to that truth. See the light, live in light, and let love blossom in your hearts so that it lights up the world and cleanses it of the evil and the ignorance of the present age.

God is man and man is God. All of us have something of God, the divine spark, within us. All men are divine like myself, but with the spirit embodied in human flesh and bone. The only difference is that they are unaware of this Godhood. They have come into this karmic prison through the mistakes of many lives. I have taken this mortal form out of my own free will. They are bound to the body, while I am free of this bondage. The main difference is that they are shoved hither and thither by desire but I have no desire except the supreme one to make them desireless.

For books and reference materials on Sathya Sai Baba, See Books and References

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