"On Sivarathri day in 1958, was inaugurated the monthly magazine designed to communicate the message of Bhagawan to the world. He named it Sanathana Sarathi. These two words taken together spell the mission that Baba has taken upon Himself. Sanathana denotes His being the very source of all this 'becoming'. Sanathana means 'timeless, eternal'. Baba has said that He always was, is, and ever will be. He is Sanathana, now limited in time and space so that He can be availed of by us. The Upanishads speak of embodied beings as chariots which are drawn along by the senses(horses) through the objective world. Safety lies in choosing a knowledgeable Sarathi(charioteer) and installing him with unimpeded authority in the chariot. By taking upon Himself the role of the Sanathana Sarathi, Baba has revealed that He is the Eternal Inner Motivator in all- recognised or unrecognized, acknowledged or ignored, respected or slandered.
The first issue of the magazine contained a message from Baba wherein He spoke of the high purpose which it had set out to fulfil: "From this day, our Sanathana Sarathi will lead to victory the cohorts of truth - the Vedas, the Sastras and similar scriptures of all faiths, against the forces of the ego such as injustice, falsehood, immorality and cruelty. This is the reason why it has emerged. This Sarathi will fight in order to establish world prosperity. It is bound to sound the paean of triumph when universal Ananda is achieved." Prof. N. Kasturi was the Editor of Sanathana Sarathi from its inception in 1958 till he attained the Divine Lotus Feet in the year 1987."

"I got the good news pretty quick; Baba had come to Bangalore. He was staying in Sri Vittal Rao’s house on the 9th Cross Road, Wilson Gardens, only five minutes away from my residence, “Ashoka” on the 12th cross. Knowing that there was a possibility of His coming to His place, I had tipped the dry cleaner, who attended to the washing and ironing of his door and window curtains, to inform me as soon as he delivered the wash to Vittal Rao. I had noticed that he had the curtains washed and ironed as part of house cleaning, preliminary to Baba’s visit. When the news leaked at last, I posted the little daughter of my domestic help on a slab of stone facing his house, with directions to keep watch for a big car and an orange robe. So within ten minutes of Baba’s stepping into his house, Vittal Rao was amazed to find me on his verandah! “Wait! Wait! He pleaded. But Baba spotted and came towards me with His palm ready to fall on my shoulder. “Now, you have work at Puttaparthi”, he said. “A monthly magazine will start soon. Guess! How is it named?” He asked. I confessed I could not delve into His will. Yet He drew out from my reluctance a few names. “The Godward Path”, “Karma Dharma”, “Prema Yoga”. He waved aside the titles I suggested and announced that he had decided to designate it as “Sanathana Sarathi”.

That name is a clarion call. It is the conch of Vishnu, awakening the sleeping. It is the drum of Siva challenging the unruly to shed their waywardness. ‘Sarathi’ means ‘he who holds the reins’, ‘Sanathana’ means ‘Eternal’. So, that title would announce to the world that Baba is the Omniwill, which is moulding and manipulating, since Times began, the wills of living beings from the amoeba to the astronaut. “Recognise God as the Sarathi, yield wholeheartedly to His direction, reach your Destination in good shape”, was the message Baba was conveying through that Name. I was elated, elevated.

“This is the 32nd year of the Avataric Career and it is time He stood forth as the world Teacher,” I said to myself, recalling His first public discourse during Dasara, 1953. It was while the Lord was the Sarathi for Arjuna that the Bhagavad Gita was conferred on mankind through him. The Lord is therefore known as Partha (Arjuna) Sarathi. Baba is now standing forth as Sanathana Sarathi – the Sarathi for every one, everywhere.

A few days prior to the release of the first number of the magazine, Baba declared before a gathering on the Chithravathi sands, “The Bhagavad Gita is a guidebook, a map for the aspirant to peace and liberation. The Lord has installed Himself in every heart as the charioteer. Ask Him for the proper direction and He will answer and lead. You can hear a Gita specially designed for you, if you call upon the Lord”. The “Sanathana Sarathi” was therefore intended as the “Bhagawan Uvacha” (Thus saith the Lord) for a world that has jumped the rails and is in fatal jeopardy."-    Sai Saga Index
13 <<  - Sai Saga  - >> 15   ...to be continued