Sai Spiritual Showers - Issue 3/72

One day I had spoken harshly to my father. I didn’t do anything apart from talking rather harshly, as if we were fighting. That happened in Venkatagiri. Later I went to Puttaparthi. There in Puttaparthi I used to sleep by Baba’s side. In fact all of us usually slept by His side – myself, my brother, and so on. But on this particular occasion I was there along with Him. We were taking rest, and I was silent. Swami said to me: ‘Gopal Krishna, why should you come here? You are wasting My time and your time. Hereafter, don’t come here.’ ‘Swami,’ I said, ‘what have I done? If there is anything I have done, please excuse me!’ And I began weeping. He said: ‘When you can’t respect your father, and when you talk to him so harshly (as you did that particular day in Venkatagiri), there arises the question of your coming and wasting My time and yours. If you do such things, don’t come here. The most important people for you are your father and mother; they are the people who have given you this body. Yes, they are the people who matter for you. Be careful! If these things happen again you will be prohibited from visiting Me. This is the final warning!’
This incident happened about four or five months after the harsh words with my father in Venkatagiri. I had almost forgotten about it and never thought of it, but it was a fact. Baba used the exact wording I had used to my father. He described the room, the day, the very minute – everything. And what more do I want than that for proof that Sai Baba is God omnipresent?

Sai Spiritual Showers - Issue 3/71

One night while bhajan was going on as usual in the prayer hall at Prasanthi Nilayam. I happened to sit near the throne of the Lord. But He was not present at the moment, in the form we know.
A great light dawned upon my mind. What sublime happiness and peace, of the nature of bliss, I enjoyed while it lasted! It lasted only for one hour, if I well remember. Because of the new, sudden and unexpected nature of the impact, I could not endure the elevated state of mind I was in, longer. Undoubtedly it was the experience of the highest spiritual order. But it was so overwhelming that I was afraid of losing all sense of the world in which I live and to which I was deeply attached. It was this fear of losing what, in fact, I do not possess but still imagine that I possess, of losing what I do not enjoy in this illusive and deceptive world of sense perception, that caused me to take a false and unhappy step at that critical juncture of my life. What a shame! I do confess now that instead of, availing myself of the great opportunity to grasp what is real, I prayed to the Lord, at that fateful hour, to relieve me of His grace! The reason for this fall is the existence in me of unfulfilled earthly desires and aspirations. This clearly shows how, in the absence of self-renunciation, I was not fit for the spiritual elevation I enjoyed.
After some time Swami came to one of the rooms of the Prasanthi Nilayam colony where I stayed and told me about the conversation that took place between Ravana and his wife regarding Sita when she was kept in Ashoka Vatika. Ravana’s wife, knowing that her husband can metamorphose himself at will into the form of any person, asked him why he was hesitating, in this respect, to adopt the easy method of assuming the form of Rama and make Sita fall into his trap. Ravana told her in reply, that to assume the form of Rama was to get rid of gunas or character traits that were the cause for his present immoderate behaviour! In the absence of these gunas the desire for Sita ceases to exist.
Since then, I was in distress. Fate is sterner than what I thought at first. When I complained of my distress, one day, Baba said that if the sugarcane is not to go dry and its sugar contents are to last for some time, its juice must be extracted in time, after proper crushing and then boiled until it is made into jaggery or sugar.
HE, like a goldsmith, tests our metal and throws it back into the red hot coals of spiritual fire, when not up to the mark, fans into flames, until He sifts the pure from the dross.

Sai Spiritual Showers - Issue 3/70

A small party decided to stop in Puttaparthi, after having passed a holiday in an island of the Indian Ocean. In this company there was also a woman who did not share the choice of that spiritual excursion, but, pressed by collective needs, she reluctantly underwent the consequences. When they reached Puttaparthi, the breaking points and inconveniences of this locality sharpened the aversion of the lady, who in vain mourned the days upon the white beaches of the island. Not many days had gone by, when Sai Baba received the group. In the interview room the woman, who in spite of herself was involved in the event, sought refuge in a little corner, hoping to pass unobserved and waiting for it all to finish as quickly as possible. She watched without any interest the entrance of Swami, Who, having sat upon His armchair, asked the translator to refer to the woman that in her life there had been a precise period in which she had asked for Him.
The woman readily replied: "It cannot be. In my life I have never sought to meet with a person like him."
Swami made a second request to the translator and then a third: "Tell her that two years and three months ago, she had looked for Me intensely." The woman started to falter and tried to break off the guessing game, nervously reassuring the translator that it was mathematically impossible.
"Ask her – Swami continued – if she does not remember that night in which it was pouring down with rain… that bridge… that tree… that river…."
At this point, the woman started to frown, paled and then took on colour again; then once again she was startled by that memory. She admitted having passed a night in desperation and, in that sad difficult moment, cried out loud: "God! Where are You?" The woman now perceived Who might be He Who was describing a past which she herself had forgotten.

Sai Spiritual Showers - Issue 3/69

The glory of Baba was, for years a fairytale for me. My wife was an ardent devotee and believed in His Divinity with her entire heart. But, she was not free to worship Him in my house, since I had no faith in Him. I did not allow her to keep His photograph or even the Vibhuti given by Him, in my house. Whenever I saw His picture or that of the Sai Baba of Shirdi, I used to tear it and throw the pieces out of the window.
During the month of May, 1960, I fell seriously ill and was bedridden for about 60 days. One day, my wife summoned enough courage to apply the Vibhuti given by Baba on my forehead and to put a pinch on my tongue! I resented her action and told her, "I cannot believe that your Baba is an incarnation of God or of any Saint. If He is really so, why does He not make me believe in Him?"
Years rolled on. My wife was sad, because she could not worship Baba in freedom, as she liked. She used to keep His Photograph in her jewel box and worship it whenever she could seize the chance. She knew that I was not interested in her personal belongings. Baba's picture was safe from me, there.
In May 1963, I fainted all of a sudden while in my office! I was removed to the hospital. My condition was declared bad and my wife was permitted to stay near my bed, for the night. Around midnight, my wife saw a vision of Sai Baba of Shirdi. He told her, "Your husband will not die. Don't weep in vain." He then became Sri Sathya Sai Baba and vanished. My wife woke up in astonishment and awakened me and related to me this incident. I brushed her story aside, saying, "This is but the reflex action of your own subconscious cravings and desires. I cannot believe that Baba personally came to this hospital to bless." A few minutes passed. It was around 1 o' clock. I saw a strange face, the head with a thick growth of hair like a lion, clad in a long red gown, standing before me, with the right palm raised in a blessing gesture. I heard Him say, "Your belief is not wrong; keep it up!"
The vision vanished suddenly. I fell fast asleep. In the morning hours, I started worrying who granted me that vision, and why He said that my belief was not wrong! I could not get the answer. When my wife awoke from sleep, I asked her to show me the photograph she was carrying in her purse. She replied that she had no picture with her. I assured her that I will not tear it to pieces. I only wanted to confirm whether the face I saw in the vision was that of Baba. Then, she produced the small photo of Baba in the blessing posture. My illness was beyond all the doctors of Bombay. I used to faint, suddenly, at all odd moments, in all sorts of odd places. One peculiar circumstance aroused my curiosity: Whenever I fainted, I recovered without any help from outside and I was saved miraculously. When I fainted in the busy Queen's Road, opposite Churchgate Station, there was a long traffic block at both ends and the road was free from vehicu lar traffic. When I fainted while entraining or detraining the Bombay Suburban Electrical Locals, I used to feel someone pushing me back into the coach, and I carried safely on.
In March 1965, my daughter was admitted into hospital for suspected Thrombophlebitis. It was the same hospital, where I had the Vision, and the same cabin. After pathological investigation and long deliberation, the doctors decided that she must be operated on, to examine one of the glands on her thigh. The day and the hour came; my wife opened the handbag and took a quantity of Vibhuti granted by Baba; she smeared it over her daughter's leg, with all the faith she had. The patient was removed to the theatre; the surgeons could not find anything wrong; the Chief Surgeon was immediately consulted; on his revised advice, the operation was cancelled and the patient was discharged.
I attended the Birthday Celebrations at Puttaparthi in 1966. I was blessed by Baba, during the interview. Since then I have had not a trace of fainting or giddiness. I can boldly assert, I am perfectly healthy. I am just one among the countless millions who have been blessed by Him and led on to the path of glory, by His omnipresent Grace. May His blessings be shared by all, for all time to come.

Medical Camp at Rumah Cahaya

An annual medical camp was held at Rumah Cahaya Orphanage situated in Permatang Damar Laut, Penang, on 30 September 2012.  There were more than 50 children and adults who were given medical screening consisting of eye checks, hair-lice checks, weight and height monitoring, etc. This was followed by the doctor's prescription for deworming medication, vitamins and further referral treatment in Penang GH where necessary.

Vegetarian lunch and refreshments was served to all present at the end of the event.


(Click below for more pictures :
Medical Camp at Rumah Cahaya 2012)

Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival 2012

A community service project organized by the Penang State Sai Chinese Affairs (SCA) in Penang, Malaysia. A total of 1000 people consisting of school-children from 8 Chinese schools in Balik Pulau, parents, relatives, and local residents participated in the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival held on 29 September 2012.

The main event of the evening was the Lantern Making competition which was won by 42 children, aged between 7 - 12.

Vegetarian food, mooncakes and refreshments were distributed to all who were present.  


(Click below for more pictures :
Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival 2012)