Some early leelas

Some Early Leelas

Food Multiplies

During the early days at Parthi, when the newly announced Sai Baba had just returned from Uravakonda, He was staying at the house of Subbamma, who tended Him with love and affection and welcomed all the devotees into her spacious home. As the numbers increased, a shed was erected, which was enlarged as the months passed. Nevertheless, Sai Baba insisted on feeding all those who came to see Him. An old lady in Subbamma house narrates a wonderful experience —- very often when the food cooked for pilgrims threatened to be insufficient, Baba would ask them to bring two coconuts. He would strike one against the other breaking them into exactly two halves. Sprinkling the coconut water on the cooked rice and other items of food, He would give the signal to serve all who came on that day. And the food would always be sufficient.

The wish-fulfilling tree

As the pilgrims continued to come in increasing numbers, the old shed was too small to accommodate them all for prayers and bhajans. Baba used to take the devotees and go every evening to the sands of the river Chitravathi and bhajans were carried on there. It was then that the tamarind tree that grows solitary at the crest of the hill on the left bank of the Chitravathi, got the reputation of being a “Wish—fulfilling Tree”; for Baba used to take the devotees to the tree and pluck from it many different varieties of fruit —- apple from one branch, mango from another, orange from a third, pears and figs from a fourth and fifth. As Sai Baba says, He can make any tree at any time a “Wish—fulfilling Tree”, for He is Himself “Wish—fulfilling”.

Atop the hill on which the tamarind tree can still be seen, Baba gave those fortunate devotees many wondrous visions. Some have seen a wheel of circling light around Baba’s head, or a blinding jet of light emanating from His forehead. Some have seen a huge Sai Baba of Shirdi illuminated by a mysterious effulgence. Some have seen Sathya Sai Baba’s face inside the full circled moon, and have seen a pillar of fire appear too! Baba has granted the vision of ‘Dasavatar’ to various devotees.

Sai as Krishna

One day, Baba had tied a swing to the overhanging branch of a tree and was swinging fast up and down to the great delight of all. Suddenly He said, “Look!” to the devotees sitting on the ground. They looked up and saw the charming Cowherd Boy of Brindavan, Krishna, sitting on a magnificently decorated, flower—bedecked swing. Some lost consciousness and Baba revived them by scattering on them rice grains that He secured by a wave of His hand.

Another time, Baba asked a staunch devotee of Krishna whether he would like to hear the music of Krishna’s flute. The devotee was asked to place his ear on Sathya’s chest and, lo! He heard the enchanting melody of Krishna’s flute. Sai says that we must be straight and hollow like the flute —- devoid of crookedness and free of the six ‘shadripus’. Only then can we become instruments in His hands.

Venkamma’s picture

Venkamma, Sathya’s sister had been begging Him for a picture of Shirdi Sai Baba about whom so many bhajans had been composed by Baba. Baba told her that He would give it to her on a certain Thursday, but He went to Uravakonda on the day previous to the Thursday indicated. She forgot all about it, for she was sure that she would get it some day. Night fell and all at Puttaparthi were asleep. Someone outside the front door called out, “Ammayi, Ammayi”. The sister did not go and open the door since the call did not persist. She reasoned that it must be someone calling a neighbour. As she lay in bed, she heard a grating sound behind one of the bags of corn in the same room. She imagined it to be a rat or a snake. She lit a lamp and searched. And, lo! She found a picture of Shirdi Sai Baba. It was mysteriously presented to her by Baba who was at Uravakonda at that time! This picture has still been preserved.

No one can harm Baba

The Hut on Firesome people who were envious of Swamiji set fire to the hut in which He was sleeping. Around ten children, aged six to nine years, were sleeping outside in the verandah. The miscreants had locked Sathya’s room from the outside and set fire to the roof. The children were shouting loudly, “Raju! Raju!” Sathya peeped out through the small window and said smilingly, “Don’t be afraid.”

The children closed their eyes and shouted, “Raju! Raju!” as if it were a mantra! Since the roof was made of hay, there was a huge fire. Suddenly there was a cloudburst and the fire was totally put out. The downpour was just over that small hut and nowhere else.

The joy of the children was indescribable, “Raju, Raju, what a great miracle! We cannot live without You”, they cried. Swamiji says “Have faith in the precept, ‘Dharma eva Hato Hanti, Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah,’ meaning, that if you destroy Dharma, you will be destroyed by Dharma; if you protect Dharma, you will be protected by Dharma.”

Swamiji’s control over the elements gives us a glimpse of His Omnipotence. Subbamma came to know of this incident the next day. She made a thorough search and managed to catch the culprits. Subbamma was very wealthy —- all the lands of the village belonged to her. So she ordered the culprits to be banished from the village. Then Sathya caught hold of her hands and said, “For My sake, please don’t punish them. Please forgive them. Please don’t drive them away.” Such is the loving and forgiving nature of Sai.

The poisoned vadas

Some people in their foolishness attempted to poison Sai. It was a festival day and Swamiji with two devotees visited a few houses in the village. In each house He partook of something, but when He entered the house where the fatal food had been prepared, He showed extra enthusiasm and demanded more of the special dish; but He saw to it that His companions did not consume the deadly mixture. When He returned to Subbamma’s house, He confided to several people the secret of the invitation from that particular house, talked about the utter futility and foolishness of it all and had a hearty laugh over the incident.

After sometime, He vomited the vadas whole!! People around secretly tested whether it was poisonous to living beings. It was!
Swamiji referred to this not as an attempt to harm Him but rather as an attempt to test whether He could survive the poison. Swamiji not only pardoned her, but a few days later, He gave her an idol of Lord Kartikeya. Is there a greater example than this of returning good for evil?

The same Baba

Easwaramma told Subbamma of a vision she had when Sathya appeared before her as an old bearded man. She also speaks of another thrilling experience, when Baba said, “Listen, Shirdi’s Presence is here.” She and everyone in the room could hear steps advancing as if made by feet in heavy wooden sandals. The steps ceased when they reached where Baba was sitting! When first the sound was heard, the mother asked with a little anger, “Who comes in with sandals on?” —- so real was the sensation, so true was the vision.

While this was the experience of the mother, the father Sri Pedda Venkappa Raju had another incident to narrate. One evening some visitors from Penukonda (among whom was a lawyer Krishnamachari), accused Venkappa of being a cheat and misleading innocent village folk with tall stories. Venkappa was greatly upset and challenged Sathya to convince the doubters about His divinity. Subbamma accompanied these ‘doubters’ to Sri Pedda Venkappa Raju’s house where Sathya was staying at that time.

Then in an inner room of the house, Sathya showed Subbamma and the party from Penukonda a panoramic view of the Shirdi Samadhi (the holy tomb of Sai Baba at Shirdi). It appeared to them as if they were in a vast open space looking at the scene in Shirdi, the entire landscape spreading before them for miles and miles. They could see the Samadhi with all the flowers, fragrant incense sticks and smoke, and an attendant sitting in one corner chanting to himself. Baba pointed out the Hanuman temple and in the far distance the Margosa tree. Sri Pedda Venkappa Raju was the last to be taken inside and he too came out a changed man. The doubters apologised. Easwaramma and Pedda Venkappa Raju were convinced that day that the young lad of sixteen was really an incarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi.

Once a lady from Madras was desperate because her son was seriously ill. She placed him in front of a portrait of Shirdi Sai Baba. Years later she came to know of Sathya Sai Baba. She came to Parthi with her son, then a tall muscular youth. As soon as Baba saw them, He asked the mother, “You placed this boy under my care fifteen years ago, did you not?”

Verily the same Baba has come again. One can find in both incarnations the same simplicity, profoundness of wisdom, all encompassing love and the same Omnipresence, Omnipotence and Omniscience!