Sairam to every one... Sai Baba Of India

Sairam to every one,

Dear All,
Yesterday instead of having a video show after exams we were given first
hand information about Swami's visit to Chennai by the students who
accompanied Swami.

Swami's History with Chennai

Swami has visited Chennai so far 65 times the first being in 1954. It seems
Swami used to have breakfast in Prashanthi Nilayam, start driving his car
and used to be there in Chennai for lunch.
Swami used to stay in one person's house named Venkata muni (who is no more).
People used to call up this person's house and used to enquire what time
Swami will give darshan. And sometimes Swami himself used to lift the phone
and answer," Swami will come out for darshan at so and so time. You all must
surely come. Swami will give darshan to all."
Many of Swami's trips to places like Badrinath, Rishikesh etc were via
Chennai.

Chennai Trip 2007

Swami went in Paramount airways and was in one point one seat. As others
were going getting in Swami was going through the airways brochure.

Swami visited as many as ten devotees houses in 12 days. On one occasion he
visited the house of Mr Venu Srinivasan (the chairman of the TVS group of
companies). There they had called upon Bombay Jayshree to sing for Swami.
She sang the Kannada keerthana, "Krishna Nee Begane Baro" which means "Oh
Krishna please come fast." She had just completed singing the first line and
Swami's response was, "Naa Vandachu !!" (means "I have come !!") Bombay
Jayshree was in tears.

Swami also visited the house of Mr Ramani the Tamil Nadu Sevadal state
president. It seems Swami had promised Mrs. Ramani in 1988 in the interview
room that he would visit their house. On this trip Swami made mention about
this promise and said, "Today after 19 years I have kept up my promise." Mrs.
Ramani might have forgotten Swami's promise but Swami kept up his word.

Everyday Swami would go to the shirdi baba temple in the premises of
Sundaram and take Aarthi there. He used to spend some time there.

Wherever Swami went he was given presidential security. In fact it was an
order by Karunanidhi that whenever Swami goes via the road there must be
green signal all the way.
Generally we all grumble when there is such a clearance for any VIP. But
here the scene was different. People had gathered on both sides of the road
to have one glimpse of Swami. It seem people from buses would look out with
folded hands. On one occasion the convoy of Swami was going under a bridge.
On the bridge there was a train and people were eagerly looking out of the
train to have Swami's darshan.

In fact it was a very unique sight with the modern Chennai having shopping
malls, restaurants and MNC around and there in the center of the main road
was God's convoy. And sometimes Swami's convoy happened to pass through the
areas where there were churches and temples. Little did they know that the
very God they were worshipping was going past by them while they were in
their places of worship.
Swami himself mentioned once that the whole Chennai is echoing with "Sairam,

sairam"
There was a function that was arranged to felicitate Swami, and there were
many chief ministers and governors. The function was arranged in Nehru
stadium where the capacity is believed to be 35000 to 40000. On that day the
stadium was jam packed. And mind you it was not a free for all invitation
wherein anybody could go. The stadium was jam packed with the people
invited.

During the course of the proceedings Karunanidhi happened to speak.
He was a sworn atheist and he said this, "The question is not whether I accept
God or not. The question now is whether Sai Baba has accepted me or not."

And there was Lalu Prasad Yadav who said, "Woh Bhagawan Hain Ki Nahin Woh To
Hame Maloom Nahi. Par Jab Karunanidhi Aur Mere Jaise Aadmi Unhe Bhagawan Keh
Rehe Hain To Woh Bhagawan Hain."
Which literally means, "We don't know whether he is God or not. But when
people like Karunanidhi and me are saying that he is God, then he surely is
God."

One atheist recently wrote in a Telugu paper praising Swami for all that
Swami has done to the society in terms of water supply, Medicare and
Educare. At the end of the article he wrote, "Sai Baba if at all your read
this article let me tell this.
I have not seen you, I have not felt you. But I have heard your speeches.
And after hearing to your speeches I am convinced that God is there. And
that God is none other than you." The article was read out to Swami in a
private audience and he became a little emotional.

The Fun and Frolic

One day when at the Yagna Shala Swami suddenly got up and walked on the
stage. Later in the dining session Swami remarked," These Brahmins were
thinking that Swami cannot walk. That's why I walked to show them that I can
walk."
Then that day they were served badam gheer. Swami asked one VIP,"What do you
think about these Brahmins?"
The VIP was hard of hearing and thought Swami was asking about the Badam
gheer and replied,"Swami Badam gheer rhombha nalla irruku." Meaning badam
gheer is very nice.
Swami then said,"Badam gheer nin thalakai"
Swami then broke into a small recitation,
"Krishna Rama Govinda
Rama Krishna Govinda
Gulab Jamun Govinda
Badam Gheer Govinda."
Swami later said that when he went to Sivananda's ashram
Sivananda wanted to sing the bhajan "Krishna Rama Govinda" But since he
could not recollect beyond the first few lines he started singing about
whatever he could see.

On another occasion the students were having food with Swami. The general
practice is that no one must look at Swami while he is having his food. The
room in which they were having their food was air conditioned. One day this
air condition was delayed or some problem was there.
Few students managed to steal a glance of Swami eating from the corner of
their eye. Swami it seems was fanning himself with his chapatti. And as
soon as he saw this student stealing a glance at him he put the chapatti
down playfully.

Then one day Swami asked the students," How do I look?"
What can anyone answer at this juncture? But then students ventured to
tell," Swami you look very beautiful" and various other things. Then Swami
said, "I feel ashamed sometimes. I have grown fat and I have put on weight."
The Anil Kumar sir said, "Swami right from the time I have seen you in the
seventies till now you are the same Swami." Swami was apparently pleased
with this answer.

This is all I am able to recollect. I'll send a little more whenever I
remember anything.

Love
Anand

Also read: The Police Constable and the Police Commissioner

The Police Constable and the Police Commissioner

Loving Sai Ram and greetings from Prashanti Nilayam. This Sunday Special offers some reflections on a particular aspect of Swami’s recent visit to Chennai [concerning which H2H would carry an extensive coverage next month]. Our observations relate to some events that followed a public meeting organised by the citizens of Chennai to express gratitude to Bhagavan Baba for His gracious and speedy execution of the Drinking Water Project that finally offered substantive relief to the thirsty city.

This public meeting held on 21st January, formally called Chennai Citizen’s Conclave, saw a battery of political bigwigs, normally used to throwing their weight and showing off their authority, sharing the dais with Swami in an attitude of reverence and humility. Understandably, there were a plethora of speeches by all the celebrities after which finally was Swami’s Benedictory Discourse.

Swami was at His Divine best shall we say, making a powerful and forceful start with a reminder to humans that they are all aspects of the Eternal and Indivisible Atma. Swami has, of course, given this message many a time earlier, but it would seem that this was different. During the Kurukshetra war, Swami gave that message to mankind through Arjuna. On this occasion, gathered on the stage were politicians many of whom often clashed with each other, in the process dragging the country into unnecessary conflict. Thus, it seemed that this time the message was being addressed directly to the negativity lurking in all of us!

In the course of His Divine Discourse, Swami, after stressing the need to rise above petty differences and seek unity, made a passing reference to the division of States that came about after Independence and the continuing passion to carve out more and more States for seemingly ethnic reasons but in reality more for grabbing political power. Swami of course did not make any reference to the political implications of the craze for dividing the country but merely stressed that it is in unity we can find progress, peace and prosperity.

The Conclave received much media coverage – the TV cameras and the Press were there in full force. It naturally made front-page news in all the city newspapers next morning, and apparently, the news also made its way to many a national paper in the country since several charismatic leaders and some self-proclaimed atheists, shared the stage. By and large, the public reaction to the event as reported in the Media was quite positive. However, in one part of Andhra Pradesh, the reaction was negative. This rash emanated from a small political minority that for some time has been agitating for carving a separate State named Telangana, out of the present Andhra Pradesh. For some time, the claimants for Telangana had been agitating actively but lately, their cries became somewhat muted because there were not many takers for their claims. They thus had faded away from the front pages of newspapers and prime time TV news. Swami’s Discourse, gave them a new opportunity. How?

They took Swami’s remarks to state that Sai Baba was opposing the formation of a separate Telangana State , thereby denying the legitimate aspirations of the people of these regions for self-expression. Based on this imagined and contrived interpretation , they started agitating and that promptly became front-page news in Andhra. There were protests and counter protests by people who argued that Swami was being unnecessarily dragged into a manufactured controversy, etc.

These developments were totally ignored everywhere except in Andhra, because it was entirely a local issue but even in Andhra, the Media soon got tired and pushed it away. At this stage, Swami Agnivesh, now famous for his intemperate comments against Swami in the controversial show aired recently by NDTV, came to Hyderabad and made some remarks. We quote verbatim below, a newspaper report [this appeared in the Madras edition of TheHindu].

HYDERABAD : Noted social activist and president of All- India Arya Samaj, Swami Agnivesh has criticised spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba for his recent remarks favouring an integrated State. “He talked something that was unnecessary while ignoring an urgent issue – the killing of children at Nithari ,” Swami Agnivesh said at the dharna that he led against the killings, at Indira Park here on Wednesday.

Swami Agnivesh is an ardent social activist, passionately committed to the issues he champions, and they are mostly valid and pertinent issues we might add. Like all people with fire in their belly, he naturally wants others also to share his priorities. The Nithari killings that Swamiji makes a reference to, came to limelight about a month ago, when it was discovered that dozens of young people who had been reported missing for over a year, had been secretly lured or kidnapped and murdered. Their mortal remains were discovered recently during a recent police investigation and that has subsequently caused a national furore and a wave of anger about how the poor are being callously treated and ignored.

Yes, there is a lot of social injustice that needs crying out against, and Society does need activists who do that. Let us not forget that it was the persistent cry of many as far as one hundred years ago that led to a law against Sati, self-immolation by widows at the funeral pyre of their husbands. And in the twentieth century, it was Gandhiji’s constant cry that led to laws banning discrimination against people from the “lowest” class or caste. It is the duty of humans to raise their voice against injustice perpetrated by Society under various false pretexts. However, that does not mean that the Avatar too must follow the same path; Avatars descend to function at a much higher level.

Consider malaria, a big killer in Africa . In dealing with malaria, it is obviously very important to treat people who have been struck by that illness. At the same time, it is obvious that the root cause for malaria to thrive must also be dealt with. Thus, the anti-malaria campaign must go on at two levels, that of treating people who have got malaria, and that of dealing with causes that promote malarial infection. Everyone knows that by dealing pro-actively with the issue of root cause, small pox has now been totally eliminated.

The point we are trying to make is that while human activists fight Adharma in one way and at one level, the Avatars do their own bit for the sustenance of Dharma by functioning at an entirely different level. In the Dwapara Yuga, we see this very distinctly; while Arjuna actually waged war, Krishna taught the Gita.

What this tells us is that it is unreasonable to expect the Sri Sathya Sai Avatar to function in the same manner and at the same level as we humans do. Where preservation of law and order in Society is concerned, there is a role for the Police Constable; likewise, there is also a role for the Police Commissioner; the two play complementary roles.

God comes in human form to teach, guide and lead. Swami has come as the Divine Light of Pure Love to sensitise us to Sathya, Dharma, Shanti and Prema, particularly the last mentioned. Let us not denigrate Him by pulling Him down to our level. Rather, we must realign our priorities, and perform our tasks so that they conform to the long-term objectives that Swami has placed before us. We must follow the Master and not tell Him what He should and should not do!

We are sure you would agree! All the best.

Jai Sai Ram.

Read details of

Ati Rudra Maha Yajna In Chennai

^thJan.

Maha Poornahuthi of Ati Rudra Maha Yajnam

The day has finally arrived. The day to offer Maha Poornahuthi at the Ati Rudra Maha Yajnam in Chennai, that has been going on for the past 11 days, done at the auspices of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba aimed at Universal Peace and Prosperity.