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Volume
5 - Issue 02 FEBRUARY 2007
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Sanathana Sarathi …RECREATING A 'PRASANTHI' IN EVERY HOME
“The monthly gift from Prasanthi Nilayam has arrived again! What a joyful and comforting feeling it is! The Sanathana Sarathi sitting in our mail box brings along with it, something indescribable, an inexhaustible stream of inexplicable happiness…it brings to our home Bhagavan Himself! Not yet having laid our eyes on one word within its sanctified pages, we hear His soft voice, see His warm smile and feel His caring gaze…We feel His presence…our eternal guide and closest friend, our Sai, is with us, very near and very real.” This is the experience not only of the Shiva Gopie family living thousands of miles away from Prasanthi Nilayam in the North American city of Toronto, Canada, but of hundreds and thousands of devotees and spiritual aspirants spread from California to Cameroon, Suriname to Slovenia, and Tanzania to Tokyo who are the blessed recipients of this ‘Prasadam from Prasanthi’ – the Sanathana Sarathi. The Lord’s will is indomitable, impassable. “The sky may fall and break into pieces but Sai’s will must prevail,” thundered Bhagavan in front of thousands just a decade ago. In 1962, on that auspicious evening of the holy ‘Festival of Austerity’ – the celebration of Shivarathri, while enunciating the virtues and vital mission of this hallowed magazine on its fifth anniversary, Swami declared, “The 'Sanathana Sarathi' is the result of My Sankalpa (resolve), My Uthsaaha (venture), My Aanandha (bliss). Nothing can stand in the way once I have decided on any step.” And for five decades by then, this unique instrument of the Lord has incessantly and indefatigably taken the immutable message of universal love and perpetual peace to the hearts and homes of every sincere spiritual seeker and searcher of divine love. “The moment I see the publication in my mail box, it instantly takes me away from worldly interactions and puts me right back in Prashanti Nilayam with the feelings of what I am and who I am….it is a direct link to beloved Swami and the Ashram. Without this publication or the transliterations of it and His unique and special message of inherent divinity, I cannot imagine what my life would be. Each issue emphasizes the principal ingredients of life - absolute love, wisdom, and knowledge, and enlivens every cell of my being,” says a devotee from New York who has been subscribed to this magazine for nearly two decades now. For Mrs. Kirsten Pruzan from Denmark , the Sanathana Sarathi is “like an umbilical cord to Prasanthi Nilayam – the abode of Supreme Peace.” “The articles and pictures of Sanathana Sarathi show that life is a combination of spiritual and material energies. It demonstrates how we can make our life a work of beauty, love, enjoyment and clean fun if we have the yearning,” the joyful Perampalan Murugasu from Remuera , New Zealand says.
And significantly enough, in His thirty second year Bhagavan unfurled this unique conduit of His mission and message on a no less significant day than the occasion of Maha Shivarathri. It was February 16, 1958 when Bhagavan blessed the first few copies of this newest ‘manifestation of His will’ to be distributed freely to all present. [Interestingly, after five decades while Sanathana Sarathi celebrates its golden jubilee, the Sun and the Moon are so aligned that Shivarathri falls on February 16 this year too!]
But why the name ‘Sanathana Sarathi’? Could it not have been ‘Divine Love’, ‘Sai Speaks”, “Unity to Divinity” or anything similar? And who christened it so? Prof. Kasturi, the Lord’s hand-picked mission-man and the first editor of this magazine, narrates a beautiful incident to put to rest all such often queried queue of questions. “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 5 minutes away from my residence, ‘Ashoka’ on the 12th Cross,” writes Prof. Kasturi in his biography, Loving God. “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 me and came towards me with His palm ready to fall on my shoulder. “Now, you have to 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 ...”, “Premayoga.” He waved aside the titles I suggested and announced that he had decided to designate it as “Sanathana Sarathi!”
Who else but the parents name the child, isn’t it? The “Sanathana Sarathi” is a product of His divine love, to share love and transform every being into a beacon of love, just as He is. And so, from its very beginning, Swami took great care of it. Apart from appointing a man of supernormal caliber and competence like Prof. Narayana Kasturi, who had a plethora of popular Kannada and English literature to his credit and also had served as Assistant Director of the All India Radio (in fact, he was one who named the all-India radio broadcasting service ‘Akashvani’ which has stuck on permanently since India’s pre-independence days); personally visiting Bangalore to ‘Vichara Darpan Press’ in Avenue Road and buying a foot-operated treadle printing machine along with a case of Telugu and English types; setting up the ‘Sri Sathya Sai Press’ in Prasanthi itself right next to His residence in late 1950s; appointing people and selecting volunteers to serve in the press as well as aid Prof. Kasturi; visiting the press every other day to correct, direct, instruct and inspire; laying down clear and austere guidelines with respect to its content and format; even Himself editing articles on many occasions– Swami was concerned about every single detail. And just like a mother would sacrifice everything and go to any extent to take care of her just born infant, Swami too, embarked on an exercise that was hitherto unprecedented by any standards in any age – The Lord decided to take the pen Himself. And this was perhaps, thegreatest demonstration of Swami’s immeasurable love and immense concern for Sanathana Sarathi (and through it to all mankind). It was epoch-making. Imagine God himself writing week after week! Imagine if we had the Bhagavad Gita written by Lord Krishna Himself and not by a third party! Imagine having Lord Rama’s life story in His own hand-writing! For the first time, the Avatar acceded to document His message Himself. Perhaps, this is the best way the purity of His preaching could be preserved, and the destiny of mankind could be rewritten to save it from impending peril in the present Kali age.
‘Sanathana’ means ‘Eternal, the timeless one’; and ‘Sarathi’ implies ‘Charioteer’. “Recognise God as the Sarathi (the charioteer of our life), yield wholeheartedly to His direction, reach your Destination in good shape”, is the message that Bhagavan is conveying through the name,” Prof. Kasturi explains in ‘Loving God’. In reality, it is not a name; it is an announcement, a divine proclamation and reaffirmation that Bhagavan is the Omniwill, which is moulding and manipulating, since Time began, the wills of living beings from the amoeba to the astronaut. It is a clarion call to cleanse our hearts and souls, and create an ambience for Him to install Himself in us and lead us to truth, goodness, joy and bliss.
Innumerable are the instances when God has converted a ‘stormy tornado’ of someone’s life into a ‘serene sea’ when they allowed Him to take over the reins of their lives. Dr. Y S Thathachari, a dedicated biophysicist who had worked for some years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and after that at Stanford University and the University of California, suffered in 1960 ‘aggressively malignant and metastasising tumours in the skull, the neck, the ribs and the hips, the cancer having the features of both Ewings and Retiaulum Cell Sarcoma.’ It was a death sentence enveloped in medical abracadabra! Prof. Kasturi reports in Sathyam Shivam Sundaram. The surgeon finally told him, 'Sir, miracles do happen. We hope such a miracle would happen to you.' This was in 1962. The couple returned to Madras (now Chennai) and the doctors in Madras pronounced that even the liver is now affected with cancer. “In 1965,” Tathachari says, “I felt like seeking the blessings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, following a chance reference by a friend. Baba blessed me and my wife and directed us to go back to Stanford, continuing the Endoxan, if I wished to do so. In 1970, when I approached Him again, He asked me to discontinue all drugs and dietary supplements. He gave me an assurance of cure and dispelled that ever-present dread of recurrence." Thathachari later pursued his teaching assignment and research projects in America with undiminished zeal. The ‘miracle’ had indeed happened. The reason we quote this particular incident, though there are innumerable of such ‘divine graces’ happening anytime all over the world, is to bring to attention a few powerful and profound words that Bhagavan wrote to him many years later. “Busy yourselves with the duties which are entrusted to you, in good spirit and fine health,” Swami’s initial lines in the letter to Thathachari read. But what came later is most significant. “Sai is ever by your side. He is the charioteer of the vehicle of your life. The ship of life, however heavily loaded with the cargo of joys and sorrows, can certainly arrive at the harbour of self-realisation, if it is propelled by holy mental energy. Repetition of the Name is the 'dug-dug-dug' of the pistons; the steering wheel is love; the anchor is faith. Continue the journey in confidence. Sai is always guarding you from harm and pain…Swami is constantly showering His compassion on you. He counsels you from within and corrects you. On your part, be immersed in the duties entrusted to you; remember, that is Swami's work. When you discharge your duties, convinced that the work is Mine, health and happiness will be added unto you." Bhagavan, in so many comforting sentences, conveyed how glorious one’s life can be if He is made the Charioteer. It is these sweet and soothing words of the Lord, dripped in divine selfless love, which are His most potent weapon to induce man to pause, reflect, reform and then reestablish himself in peace. “Whenever I or my family members felt dejected and hopeless in challenging situations, the postman's knock on the door and delivery of Sanathana Sarathi would bring renewed hope and succour in the form of a word of encouragement, or a solution to the problem. It is a harbinger of good hope,” says Dilip Trasi from Mumbai. The very first article in the inaugural issue of Sanathana Sarathi was Bhagavan’s ‘Prema Vahini’, or the ‘Stream of Divine Love’. What else could it be, when Bhagavan has declared that if you ever want to give Me any appellation, call me “Premaswarupa or the Embodiment of love”, for “Love is my form; Love is my instrument.” And each devotee’s life is a testimony to this unconditional all-encompassing love of Bhagavan.
For twenty-five months till February 1960, Swami assiduously penned for mankind the challenges and characteristics, norms and nuances of Divine love. Once and for all, Bhagavan settled the age-old controversy on the relative status of the three paths - Bhakti, Karma and Jnana (Devotion, Action and Knowledge) - that lead to God. He explained, "I do not agree that Bhakti, Karma and Jnana are separate. I do not place any one before the other, nor will I accept a mixture of the three. Karma is Bhakti; Bhakti is Jnana. A piece of candy has taste, weight and shape; the three cannot be separated. Each bit has all the three; we do not find shape in one bit, weight in another and sweetness in the third. When the candy is placed on the tongue, the taste, the weight and the shape are simultaneously experienced. Similarly, Jnana, Karma and Bhakti may be truly experienced only as one whole." Karma is love in action, Jnana is love experienced and Bhakti is love universally shared. Thus, Baba dismissed in one stroke all disputations about the superiority of any one of these disciplines over the other.
Just after three months of Prema Vahini, the compassionate Lord in May 1958 started another divine series “Sandeha Nivarini” (or the Clearance of Divine Doubts). Swami, interestingly, played a dual-role in these articles, that of the ‘inquisitive devotee’ as well as the ‘enlightening guru’, so that, perhaps, devotees can relate to it better and grasp its essence faster. A typical conversation in this series goes like this – Devotee: What is the use of confidence and hope when one is not destined? Hope will only cause greater disappointment. Devotee: If one is destined, everything will come of itself, isn't it? Devotee: So, Swami, we should not sit with folded hands, placing all burdens on destiny, isn't it? This is how illumining every paragraph in Sandeha Nivarini is! Till the Birthday issue in November 1959, both these treatises of spiritual wisdom – one fertilizing the devotees’ hearts with pure love and other weeding out any unruly twig or shoot of any hesitation or fear – was proffered to the devotees concurrently by Swami. Sanathana Sarathi, literally became every sincere spiritual aspirant’s lifeline. While all this took the magazine to great heights and it lived up to its mission of “Moral and Spiritual uplift of Humanity through Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-violence”, in the days of old when Puttaparthi did not even have a good road, let alone electricity, transport, a decent post-office, etc. and with the old manual typesetting letter press machine (which would take a skilled person a minimum of two days to compose one page), for Prof. Kasturi posting the magazine by the 16 th of every month with the help of just one assistant in the first two years was an ordeal of gargantuan proportions for which he prayed for the Almighty’s blessings every minute. How complex was the process? And how did it actually get done every month in time? Over to Prof. Kasturi for the interesting first-hand account from his biography:
“I was kept busy most of the day and even a few hours of the night, since the number of subscribers increased fast. Money was sent by post or paid direct by devotees and pilgrims, who realised that the Sarathi was the link between the Chariot and the Charioteer. The Register of subscribers became more voluminous with every festival at Prasanthi Nilayam; thousands who came to the holy Presence mired to ensure that the voice of the Lord should enter their doors at least once every month. “For over two years, I and Narasimhachari bore the yoke. We were anxious to post the numbers at the newly opened Prasanthi Nilayam Post Office, on the 16th of every month, as announced in the very first copy. Devotees, we knew, would welcome it even more reverentially when they find, on the wrapper, on the right hand corner, the circular frank-mark of the Post Office with the euphoria-filled name “Prasanthi Nilayam” (Prof. Kasturi was himself the post master for eight months!). But a cutting machine which could trim the edges of the magazine was acquired only much later, long after a cylinder press was installed to cope with the 3000 copies we had to print. They had to be trimmed at Bangalore City , 100 miles away.
“Every month, therefore, after the printing was over, I stuffed the quantity of English and Telugu magazines into two gigantic boxes, took them to Bukkapatnam on a bullock-cart, had them lifted to the roof of the bus proceeding to Penukonda, and ordered the bus to stop near the level-crossing about 300 yards away from the Penukonda Railway Station. The boxes were brought down from the bus and a Tarzanian porter, Narasappa, carried them as head load to the platform. There, I awaited the arrival of the passenger train to Bangalore, 85 miles away to book the boxes as freight. Reaching Bangalore, porters loaded them into horse-drawn vehicles, which I directed to a Press that had a cutting machine. The boxes filled with trimmed copies were then taken to the house of a devotee in the heart of the City. I spent the night there with a dozen young men who volunteered to put the magazines into wrappers (with the addresses on) which I had brought from the Nilayam. The copies were thus ready to be posted and we could sleep through the short hours of the night. The next day, I repeated the schedule while returning – horse, vehicle, porters, railway journey, Penukonda station, Narasappa, level-crossing, bus until Bukkapatnam, bullock cart, and finally the Prasanthi Nilayam Post Office to receive the Holy Name affixed and allow the precious Prasadam to travel to more than 3000 homes! The devotees received it with reverence, thanked the postman who brought the magazine and put it in their altar before reading it.”
So that was the ‘behind the scenes’ story of perfecting and posting the beautiful Sanathana Sarathi. But it was not drudgery all the time, with the divine beside lightening and brightening the burden at every available opportunity. Prof. Kasturi narrates a very entertaining yet enlightening incident that happened in the second year of the magazine in his ‘Loving God’ which goes like this: “I remember one evening in 1959 when He sent some one to bring me to His room at the mandir. Baba told me that the Editor of a daily published from Hyderabad had asked for my photograph, for he was announcing me in his paper, alongside a nice write-up as the Editor of the ‘Sanathana Sarathi’. Baba had promised to send him my photograph and He asked me to prepare myself for being shot within minutes by Baba Himself, with a brand new camera He had specially selected for the purpose. O! My joy knew no bounds! I rose to the eighth heaven. I rushed down the eighteen steps to reach home for a quick face lift. “I returned to the Presence, within minutes, shaved and starched, with a big broad smile on the frontispiece. Baba held me by the shoulders and positioned me at an appropriate distance. He peered through the lens and congratulated me on my ‘photogenic face’. I was elated that my picture will catch the eye of at least 30,000 readers all over Andhra Pradesh. My smile swelled into a toothless grin! Baba gestured and I swallowed the grin in one gulp. He cautioned me with a ‘steady’, followed immediately by a ‘ready’. He clicked…. A black hairy blotch with a flashing tail bounced on my neck from inside the camera! With a shrill screech, I hopped into the corner of the room casting away the horrid, hirsute….was it a rat? Was it dead? No. It was a cotton mouse….that was cunningly tucked inside the dummy camera, to be released when clicked. Baba had a hearty laugh at my panic. I too laughed to relieve the tension. “He reprimanded me mildly for swallowing the story He had invented to deflate my ego. He reminded me that my being the Editor was not the kind of ‘news’, which the world was interested in. Lasting fame is to be sought not through newspapers, which turn into the very next morning, but through dedicated service to God and the godly. I left His room, a leaner and wiser man. “Baba mercifully helps us, slowly and subtly, to shed the burden of the ego….He advises that we should be just ourselves and not wear masks behind which we hide. ‘What greater status can you attain than being the medium for packaging and posting My message to thousands of devotees every month?’ He asked me. Baba is too bright a Sun for human eyes; we can bask and bathe in sunlight but we cannot gaze at Him.”
In Dharma Vahini, which Swami started on the Sarathi’s fifth Anniversary in February 1962, Swami unequivocally gave precise guidelines and yardsticks by which any devotee could decide and decipher for their self if they were in the path of dharma. “Whoever subdues egotism, conquers selfish desires, destroys bestial feelings and impulses, and gives up the natural tendency to regard the body as the self that person is surely on the path of dharma,” Swami explained, and continued, “Such a person knows that the goal of dharma is the merging of the wave in the sea, the merging of the self in the Over-self. In all worldly activities, you should be careful not to offend propriety or the canons of good nature; you should not play false to the promptings of the inner voice; you should be prepared at all times to respect the appropriate dictates of conscience; you should watch your steps to see whether you are in someone else’s way; you must be ever vigilant to discover the truth behind all this scintillating variety. This is your entire duty, your dharma. The blazing fire of wisdom (jnana), which convinces you that all this is Brahman (God), will consume into ashes all traces of your egotism and worldly attachment. You must become intoxicated with the nectar of union with Brahman; that is the ultimate goal of dharma and of action (karma) inspired by dharma.” That is probably as comprehensive and complete, the meaning of dharma can get. And this is just one paragraph. Bhagavan wrote, in all, thirteen timeless pieces on this subject which ended in February 1963.
But immediately Swami started another Vahini – the 'Upanishad Vahini' and the highest and most esoteric of philosophical thought flowed from Bhagavan’s pen in a language that a farmer and a fisherman, a potter and a carpenter could understand. Prof. Kasturi, though aware of Swami’s divinity, still used to be stunned seeing the scholastic wisdom and succinct expression of Swami who had not studied beyond sixth class in school. In Sathyam Shivam Sundaram, he narrates a revealing incident: “As editor of the magazine which published serially the chapters of this book, I had an amazing experience every month for a whole year. After dispatching the magazine on the 16th of the month, I would go to Him for the next part of the series. Announcing the name of the Upanishad Himself, He would ask me to wait for a while in His room and proceed along the veranda with a notebook and pen, towards the room where there stood a table with a chair by its side and nothing else besides. Once, it was the turn of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad to be summarised and simplified. It is the biggest and the profoundest of the ten. I am certain that Baba had never read it or consulted others who could talk on it. And there was no copy available anywhere within miles. But forty minutes after, He moved out with the pen and the notebook as His sole possessions, I could descend the eighteen steps from His room with a ten-page dissertation on the truths this Upanishad enshrined! I peeped into the script as I walked towards the press and my eyes fell on the Telugu words which said, ‘The grandeur of the intellect of the Sage Yajnavalkya is impressively evident in this Upanishad.’ I told myself, ‘The grandeur of the omniscient teacher that Baba is, is now impressively evident to me.’ Narrating his monthly mission of receiving a manuscript or two from Bhagavan, Prof. Kasturi in his biography says, “Proceeding to His presence every month to offer Him the Telugu and English editions of Sanathana Sarathi, I climb the steps in trepidation. I come down the steps with a thrill in the heart and an exclamation in the head, when I am given His contribution in Telugu for the issue of the next month. The length of the article would be exactly the same, month after month. The diction – sweet and satisfying, simple and sustaining – avoids pedantry and prolixity. The calligraphy is charming to the eye. The most complicated metaphysical conundrum is resolved by a parable or a proverb.”
By virtue of his auspicious assignment and also his amazing adjacency to the Lord, Prof. Kasturi was witness to many eye-opening events concerned with the Avatar and His literary mission. One incident recorded by Mr. G V Subba Rao which cannot be missed narrated here, though it happened in such a nonchalant way, is this. “Once just on the eve of my departure from Puttaparthi in a hurry to catch a plane that very morning in Bangalore , I was called by Swami to His modest living-cum resting room in the upstairs of Prasanthi Mandir,” writes late Sri G V Subba Rao who served in the UN Energy division for many years. “Without being told that I was studying Thaittireeya Upanishad (a sacred Vedic text) during my weekend spare time in Delhi (where I was then a resident representative of a UN agency) Baba, in His infinite Grace expounded for nearly one full hour the essence of this famous Upanishad. “When I began to write it all down, Baba remarked that there was no need to take notes; He assured me that whenever the need arose, I would automatically recall His teachings! “While Baba's instruction was thus proceeding, Sri Kasturi, the editor of the Ashram magazine, came up to request Baba for Swami's article for the monthly ‘Sanathana Sarathi’ issue which was just then going to the printer. Swami, then, with a wave of His hand, produced the article and gave it to Sri Kasturi in my direct presence!” The Sanathana Sarathi, is therefore, a creation, an extension, a ‘manifested missionary’ of Sai. Just like the name and the form, the Lord and the message are inseparable. ‘Sanathana Sarathi’, verily, for all its readers, is Sai in black and white. And Swami personally took great care of its purity, sanctity, authenticity and affordability right from its inception.
In fact, in the very first issue of the magazine itself it was declared, “Contribution of articles, especially from those of those who endeavour to put into practice what they speak and write out on spirituality, are welcome. And anything that smacks of ‘public news or comments on public news’ or personal attacks, rude phraseology or even non-devotional sentiments can find no place in here.” For many years Sanathana Sarathi had articles and experiences from devotees but every literary piece had to pass these strict stipulations. In the September 1960 issue, for example, there was a revealing story by Mr. P S Menon titled “Significant Words” which said: “Last Dasara (1959), on the day when the poor were fed, I and few others were holding back the thousands, beyond the gate of Prasanthi Nilayam for over two hours, when suddenly, in obedience to someone’s orders, they broke all barriers and rushed pell-mell to the pandal (stage), to the left of the Nilayam! I was very much annoyed that all our labour had gone waste; but, Baba called me towards the pandal saying ‘Menon! Go and see that all are seated in rows. I am coming.’ I went to the pandal and was surprised to see all that motley mass arranged in perfect rows. Baba came there in a few minutes. He walked along the rows, and turning towards me, said, ‘Menon! Look at the wonderful variety of Creation!’ That was a revealing remark. Those words opened my eyes. Yes, there must have been present in that pandal, at that time many pious souls, sadhakas, saints, seekers, pretenders, penitents, idlers, idealists, castaways, misfits, and many other types besides, making up this vast multicoloured panorama of humanity. The scene was not something to be viewed with disgust, as I was prone to; it was something to be watched, and studied with sympathy and discrimination.
“A few hours later when the Feeding had started and Baba had served with His Hand the sweets to the poor, Himself to each and everyone, I was in the kitchen near the pile of the rice, straightening my back to relieve the strain. Suddenly, Baba appeared before us. He asked me, ‘Grand, isn’t it?’ I replied, ‘Yes, Swami. There must be at least three thousands.’ But Baba smiled and said, ‘Not that! The Shanti (peace) and the Ananda (bliss) here now… How is that?” Significant words those two! Yes, they revealed to me my error, in getting disgusted with the noise and confusion all around me. I must have concentrated, instead on the Ananda that the poor got and the consequent Shanti that prevailed in their minds. These were more real, than the noise and confusion, certainly. Thus does Baba, by a casual remark, a word or two, reveal to the ignorant the significance of things and events. He is the Sadguru, the Great Teacher.” Such experiences were more frequent in the initial decade of the magazine. But as devotees’ stories started pouring in profusely and it was difficult to establish which was authentic and which was ‘augmented imagination’, articles from readers became occasional and rare in the magazine. But one salient feature remained, however, – bringing alive breathtaking happenings in Swami’s presence, whether He was in Puttaparthi or on tour to any other fortunate destination. For instance, the January 1959 issue described Swami’s visit to the holy state of Kerala of which a small excerpt goes like this:
“…In the evening (of December 21, 1958), Baba arrived at Kovalam Beach, seven miles away from the City, accompanied by the members of His entourage, as well as many devotees from Trivandrum. At a quite spot on the seashore, far away from the noise and bustle of the Capital, Baba gave those around Him, the unique pleasure of hearing Him sing a number of songs. Everyone joined in the Bhajan that followed; during the Bhajan, Baba ‘took’ (created) from the sands a beautiful image of Murali Krishna and a Gold ring with the Radha-Krishna motif embossed charmingly on it. Being Vaikuntha Ekadasi Day, Baba also ‘took’ Amrita (nectar), this time from His Hands! The Bhaktas (devotees) who sat around Him could sense the captivating fragrance, long before the actual materialisation, and even as Baba was singing a song, He pointed His joint palms at a silver vessel and the ambrosial Amrita gurgled into it from His fingers! Baba then distributed the Nectar, Himself, to everyone present, including a few fortunate fisher folk from the hamlet nearby.” Apart from these scintillating stories, there was also a special section called “Healing Touch” which carried medical miracles that are so common in Swami’s hospitals. Dr. V Brahmam serving in the Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital (the only hospital then) in the October 1960 issue writes, “Sai Prabha (age 8 years) had typhoid fever which ran through full three weeks; after touching normal for a week, she had a relapse. The temperature was 104 steady for four days and thereafter it wavered from 101 to 103. So, she was admitted to the Sathya Sai Hospital .
On September 24, her condition caused anxiety; she was talking deliriously from 10:00 PM. But, at 3 PM she called out, in her usual voice, ‘Grandma, grandma! See, Baba has come! Get up Baba is giving me Vibhuti He has applied to my brow.’ We rose and went to the bedside. Yes! There was a big patch of white Vibhuti on her brow! Baba had come in His subtle form and blessed the child. The thermometer showed that the temperature had come down to normal! When I went to Him, Baba made fun of me, saying, ‘Well! What shall I say of your bandobust (security arrangements)? You do not know who comes and goes!’ It was the fifth day of the Dasara Festival; so, hundreds of devotees came to the ward and saw the mark of Baba’s Grace on the face of the sick child.” The magazine, therefore, has been a treat for devotees and spiritual seekers alike right from day one. One very important characteristic which distinguishes it from other similar publications, apart from its crystalline message in candid words, is its complete absence of any commercial intent whatsoever. ‘No sort of commercial advertisements is allowed to be published in this magazine’ - the announcement was emphatic and loud in the very first issue; and it has been this way for five decades now. In fact, the magazine was mailed and distributed to all the subscribers free in the first five months. Only from July 1958, did subscribers pay a very nominal amount. The message from the editor then read: ‘We had at first no intention to fix a price for our Sanathana Sarathi. But, on account of postal regulations and other circumstances, we have now to decide that it’s annual, nominal subscription shall be three rupees.’ “Baba did not favour campaigns to enlist subscribers, donors, patrons, etc. or even acceptance of subscription fees for more years than one,” Prof. Kasturi writes in his biography about the initial years of the magazine.
“He wanted readers to decide for themselves whether they wished to continue the diet which was placed before them. Baba negatived a proposal to post letters to subscribers cautioning them that if they do not pay for another year, the Sarathi would not be sent to their address. ‘Leave it to them. The hunger that hurts is caution enough,’ He said. ‘The Sarathi should be awaited, accepted, treasured and studied with avidity. Missing it must be as saddening as missing a companion on the journey through a strange land,’ He said.” And that was exactly how it was felt especially in those days when, leave aside the internet revolution, even telecom penetration was poor in India . “The Sanathana Sarathi was a lifeline, reaching all the way back to Prasanthi Nilayam, which helped build a sturdy foundation of faith,” recalls Chris Parnell from Australia. “In the days of being a new devotee, it was anxiously awaited in the mails and every issue was studied from cover to cover – the pictures of Swami, the divine discourses. Sometimes I would wake up in the morning and some words, a paragraph, would come to mind and form the focus of the day's meditation and reflection. It was our life raft, our assurance, that monthly beacon of love.” And this perennial source of strength, support and spiritual light was sustained by the Sai Sadguru Himself because the cleansing cascade of divine wisdom from Swami’s heart flowed, uninterrupted. It was Dhyana Vahini (the stream of Meditation) and Prasanthi Vahini (the Stream of Supreme Peace) from Jan 1959 to February 1961. Later, followed Jnana Vahini, Dharma Vahini and Upanishad Vahini – Streams of Knowledge, Righteousness and Supreme Philosophy, offering wisdom, and widening minds for thirty four consecutive months.
In 1964-65, amidst touring the length and breadth of Andhra Pradesh and establishing the ashram in Brindavan, Bangalore , Bhagavan continued to take the pen and out came the glorious Stream of Divine Gospel – the Geetha Vahini. “The Geetha is as a boat, which takes man across from the self-imposed state of bondage to the freedom which is his nature. He is taken from darkness to light, from lustrelessness to splendour,” Swami said and explained, “The way it begins and the way it ends, that gives the clue to the subject which it expounds. The very first verse (of Gita) starts with the words, Dharmakshethre, Kurukshethre..., the word Dharma being the leading word. The last verse of the final eighteenth chapter speaks of Yatha Yogeswarah Krishna and this word, ‘Yogeswarah’ sums up the Dharma that is taught. Thus, it is clear that the objective of the teaching in the Geetha is just this: ‘Remember Dharma; practise Dharma.’
Simultaneously with Geetha Vahini in February 1964, Bhagavan also started Prasnottara Vahini which was a stream of answers to questions on duties of man in various stages of life (who is superior – renunciant or a householder?), clarifications on procedures and principles of social and spiritual practices (Is caste system relevant today? Is the man of action wiser or is the man of devotion? Can women aspire for the highest? etc.) – all in the form of short and crisp dialogues. It was now mid way through the sixties and Prasanthi Nilayam Ashram was separated from Puttaparthi to form a separate township which Swami inaugurated on August 1966. In April next year was held the First All India Conference of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations. In November 1967, Swami laid the foundation for Dharmakshetra in Mumbai and after six months returned to inaugurate the building. Four days after this, in May 16, 1968 was held the First World Conference of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations. Hardly eight weeks and Swami was on the plane on His first and only trip overseas. He returned from East Africa in the same month and inaugurated the Sri Sathya Sai Arts and Science College for Women in Anantapur. It was now July 1968. Palpably, Swami’s schedule was busy, but, in spite of so many engagements and emergence of new projects, Swami never deprived the readers of Sanathana Sarathi their monthly share of ambrosia. As the Avatar’s mission in the present era was unfolding at break-neck pace, in the Sarathi Bhagavan was thrilling the hearts of the devotees with the sweet and syrupy story of His previous Incarnations, especially the Krishnavatar. The Bhagavatha Vahini, replete with the scintillating divine sport of Lord Krishna, was as liberating as it was enthralling. And even though the Sri Sathya Sai Arts and Science College for Men was opened in Brindavan, Bangalore in June 1969 and thousands gathered for the third All India Conference of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations in the November of the same year, Swami’s ‘Stream of the Lord’s Story’ continued ceaselessly. The complete series which was later compiled into a book of 338 pages, says, Prof. Kasturi, “is not just a book; it is a tonic, a balm, a pilgrimage, a hallelujah, a clarion call, a beacon light.” What started as a tiny brook had now become a roaring river, with many tributaries too! Many states in India started their own vernacular versions of the magazine – Hindi, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, Malayalam, Sindhi, Assamese, etc.
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