THE DIVINE ETCHES THE PORTRAITS

OF HIS EXEMPLARY PARENTS

How a sublime artwork on the Holy Parents drew forth from the Divine Son
heartfelt impressions that are touching and transforming.

By Mr. Madhusudan Rao Naidu

An alumnus of Sri Sathya Sai University, Madhusudan is a post graduate in Chemistry. He also obtained a Master’s in Business Administration from Prasanthi Nilayam, and is currently the Founder and Investment Advisor of Honest Advisory, a financial consultancy firm based in Bangalore, South India.

I still remember very vividly that evening; it was the most sacred day when thousands all over India and the world bent down with folded palms in front of the portrait of the Divine Mother once again and offered their deepest gratitude.

The sun was about to turn crimson and slowly slide down the distant horizon, but for me it was going to be an experience which will shine forever in the inner recesses of my heart as bright as the morning sun.

Yes, fortune had favoured me yet again, and on the birthday of the mother of the divine, “Easwaramma”, both literally and otherwise, in 2003. Providence had gathered for me a few precious moments of divine proximity, from the treasure chest of eternity and filled my cupped palms.

I was blessed with an opportunity of being a painting brush in the hands of the Artist Divine as He mixed and matched the shades of life on the palette of my heart and soon two lifeless pieces of canvas frames were transformed into the vibrant life-size paintings of the divine parents.

Even as I was immersed in the thoughts of the paintings of mother Easwaramma and the father Sri Pedda Venkappa Raju, that adorned the stage of the Sai Ramesh Hall at Brindavan on the morning of Easwaramma Day, life invited me to the proximity of the Divine Son, the Real Artist!

My feet leapt from the mattress and carried me straight into the heart of the convulsion of the three worlds, the central hall of “Trayee Brindavan”, the residence of Bhagavan at Brindavan.

“Why is Easwaramma not smiling?”

The Master of all Arts stood there observing the two paintings (which had been transported from the Sai Ramesh Hall to the Trayee Brindavan by then), perhaps less from an artist’s perspective but more from the point of view of a son.

A seemingly curious Swami enquired, “Why is Easwaramma not smiling? She used to be always smiling and happy.”

The next few moments were a revelation about how much Swami admired His parents. He drew our attention to the plain saree of the mother and said, “She was a simple lady and therefore she was content wearing the simplest of clothes.”

He then pointed towards the bottom of the portrait and exclaimed, “See! Her feet are not seen as they are covered by the saree; she was a very shy woman and would never let anyone see her feet.” He then remarked, “Only one hand of Easwaramma is seen as the saree has covered the other hand. Look! She always covered herself completely.”

Swami then pointed towards His own body and said, “Even I do not like to show My feet, that is why they are always covered by the dhothi. I wear a close-neck and full-sleeved robe so that My body is not revealed to others.”

To this He added with a chuckle that if it was possible, He would have covered even His face. He drove the lesson straight home that what one wears reflects one’s self-respect!

The Divine Mother’s Iconic Simplicity

The divine admiration continued when Swami went close to the painting and touched what seemed like a gold chain around mother’s neck to a common eye but was actually a turmeric-smeared sacred thread worn by married hindu women. The mortal vision had failed to notice this but the Divine Spectator commented on this simplicity of her personality.

He said, “She never liked wearing gold ornaments and was happy with the sacred turmeric thread.” He observed the glass bangles on the wrist of her hand that was seen and exclaimed, “She never liked thick ornaments to show-off. She was a very innocent and simple lady.”

He even admired the red vermillion spot on her forehead, the mark of a married hindu women, and said that she was very pious and virtuous.

Nothing goes unnoticed by Him and so was the case with the small green spot on her forearm. Swami informed us that it was “Paccha”, traditional tattoo that the village people wear as a tradition.

He continued saying that Easwaramma used to always greet everyone with a smile and had enormous patience to listen to the woes as well as prayers of all the devotees who visited her. She would comfort them by talking to them sweetly and assuring them of Swami’s love and grace.

The Esteemed Divine Father – Always Kind and Caring

Next, Swami spoke about Sri Pedda Venkappa Raju, after chiding me about the mistakes I had made in the dhoti and the face of the portrait. He mentioned that the divine father was a man of self-respect and would help everyone who came to Puttaparthi to have Swami’s darshan.

He then pointed towards a piece of cloth resting on the shoulders of Sri Pedda Venkappa Raju and mentioned that all the men in the villages have this on their shoulders, and added that the men who wore a red bordered dhoti were supposed to be more respectable in the village.

An Exam and a Fantastic Reward

He moved a step away from the paintings and then moved close to them. And then He took a step towards the right of the painting of the mother and then a step towards the left.

Even as we were puzzled at this divine play, He quenched our curiosity by mentioning that He was trying to see whether the eyes of the paintings followed Him or not, so as to judge the correctness of the painting. After being satisfied with this observation, He concluded that the eyes did follow Him and therefore the painting is correct just like a photo taken with a camera.

The Divine mother that Swami Himself is, covered up for the mistakes in the paintings made by me by telling the others present in the hall, “Papam! Choodaledu Kada!” meaning, “Poor boy, he has not seen them so he found it difficult to paint.”

He then stood between both the paintings and asked us to click pictures, and thus gifted us a wonderful divine family photograph, on the holy day.

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