Mystery of the Divine Name
In speaking about the life of Sathya Sai Baba as a researcher and one of the many editors of Love is My Form, the Pictorial Biography of Sathya Sai Baba. I make a careful distinction about the names I use to refer to Bhagavan. That distinction divides events pre-revelation of the Sai Avatar in Uravakonda, and post revelation. If I speak about events in Swami's life before his revelation as Sai Baba, then I refer to him as Raju. If I speak about the life of Swami post Revelation, then I use the term Bhagavan or Sai Baba.
The same could be said of the life of Jesus. Swami has told us that Jesus' name was Isa, and this was the name by which he was known in his earlier days. Christ, which means the Anointed of the Lord, upon his return from Tibet and India to Palestine, came out of the desert proclaiming, "The time has come, and the Kingdom of God is within you".
Divine Births, Divine Parents
For many of you, the first song you sing daily begins with the name of God's Mother - You greet the Lord Sai as Son of Easwaramma. In the first part of the Sunday Liturgy, Jesus is greeted as "Lord Jesus, you are Son of God and son of Mary, Lord have mercy". These divine incarnations are hailed as sons of human mothers, and this is both gift (form of the formless absolute) and purpose: the gift shows the way to the Divine in and of itself.
Both Mothers knew that they were to have special births. Easwaramma's mother in law, Lakshmamma, had a dream which she could only interpret as auspicious for Easwaramma; perhaps an extraordinary son. Easwaramma had an experience at the well when she went to obtain water; a blue ball of light entered into her and she fell unconscious.
Swami has revealed that his conception and birth was not ordinary, but immaculate. Swami was nursed in milk, in his mother's womb. For all others, the placental fluid is water.
Christians venerate the Annunciation to Mother Mary. Mother Mary was foretold the birth of Jesus by the angel Gabriel. This is celebrated to this day in a devotional exercise called The Angelus, which begins:
The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
A prayer is then led.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
This prayer, is in fact, the greeting of the Angel Gabriel to Mother Mary and comes directly from the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke.
So you will understand that devotion to God the Mother, in the Christian Church, centres around Mother Mary and the divine revelation she received.
In the solemn teachings of the Church, Mary was declared Theotokos, Mother of God, in the fourth Century. Christians honour Mary as the Virgin, and declare that the Birth of Jesus was an immaculate conception. The doctrine of the Assumption of the Virgin points to Mary a chosen and honoured vessel to be the Mother of the Lord. In this manner, you will understand that the Church is giving expression to the same truths that Swami has revealed, surrounding his own birth, and they are
- that he chose his parents,
- that his birth was immaculate,
- and that his mother, Easwaramma, has immortality
Karana Janma, Birth for a Purpose
Swami has described the time of the birth of Jesus. He has said, it was "thick with ignorance". When the darkness of ignorance overwhelms the world, the practice of righteousness declines, and devotion to the Lord is scoffed at and ridiculed, the Lord takes human form, for the welfare of mankind. Our body is antah-karana, the instrument taken up for the consumption, the burning up of the store of karmas which have to be exhausted. None can escape the cause of birth and rebirth.
Both Sathya Sai Baba and Jesus are karana-janmas, births taken up for the welfare of the world, not because of any previous karma that needed to be exhausted. Swami has told that Jesus was one such Master, born for a purpose, the mission of restoring love, charity and compassion in the hearts of mankind. Swami has said that Karana-janmas belong to the whole human race. They should not be confined to a single country or community.
Early Life of Jesus
Little is known of the early life of Jesus. We know more about the early life of Sathyanarayana Raju. All that is known is that Jesus' father was named Joseph, and he followed the profession of a carpenter, and Jesus learned this trade. It is said that Joseph passed away when Jesus was in his fourteenth year, and that Jesus went to Persia with his uncle, Joseph of Arimathea.
What narratives we do have in the Bible are accounts of events surrounding the birth of Jesus. The Annunciation, the birth in the manger among animals, the visit of the Magi, the three wise men; there is the flight into Egypt, for Joseph had a dream in which he was told to take the child to Egypt. There is the slaughter of all children under the age of two years by King Herod, which is celebrated every year on 27 December. This is called the Feast of the Holy Innocents. There is the legend of Jesus playing with children in the mud, and he made some birds of clay, which he called to life and they flew away.
The Temple: Gradual Revelation: Preparation for the Ignorant.
The Municipal Chairman of Bellary, Ramaraju, along with Raju's Headmaster and a large party visited Hampi, with Raju and his brother, Seshama Raju. This story is told from a number of different perspectives. Some say Raju was told to stay outside and watch over the luggage. Some say Raju faked a stomachache and would not enter the temple, even when the Municipal Chairman pleaded with him. But when the arathi was offered to the Virupaksha deity, Raju was seen in the shrine. His brother got suspicious, and went outside to verify that Raju was sitting under a tree. He sent one boy inside who came back and reported that Raju was standing in the shrine. Seshama Raju was thrilled and kept this experience to himself.
The Finding in the Temple was an early episode of the life of Jesus. It is so far the most well-known event during Jesus' childhood.
One year, Jesus and his parents, Joseph and Mary, happened to go to a Jewish festival in Jerusalem. In the jostling crowds Jesus got separated from his parents. Not finding him anywhere, Mary sat under a tree and prayed to God to come to her help. At that moment, a thought flashed in her mind that Jesus was perhaps in a nearby temple.
They went there and found Jesus sitting in a comer of the temple listening to the words of the high priest. That scene reminded her of the prophetic words of one of the Arabian kings who visited Jesus at the time of his birth, who said that he would love God. Mary affectionately rushed towards him and embraced him.
When Mary told Jesus about the anxiety that they felt when they missed him, Jesus replied: "Mother! Why should you have any fear? Those who believe in the world will have fears. But why should anyone believing in God fear at all? I am in the company of my Father. You taught me that God is everything for us. How, then, can you worry like this? This is the temple of God; it is my Father's mansion. Nothing will be lacking here. In this eternal and sacred home, I am perfectly safe and protected. "
This shows that even by his twelfth year, Jesus was full of Divine qualities and was imparting the Divine message to those around him. He had learnt his lessons from his mother and developed his spiritual faith. In these words Jesus revealed that he regarded himself as the Son of God.
Beyond the ken and understanding of Human Beings: Family Attachments
Once Jesus was teaching a large crowd near his home. The crowd became so large that the family could not eat. They went out to restrain Jesus, to take custody of him, and take him away from the crowds. They said, "He has lost his senses". They said Jesus was crazy. They wanted to take control of him, The people told Jesus, "Your mother, your brothers and sisters have come for you. Jesus replied, "Who are my mother, brothers and sisters? Those that hear the word of God and keep it, they are my mother, brothers and sisters."
So also, Raju's family set out to take control of Raju. Raju was taken home by his parents. There was a family enclave. He was taken to occultists for exorcisms many times.
In that time, in the Rayalseema district, there was common belief in temporary possessions by spirits. Raju was a problem in the village, tongues wagged, they said he was a crazy-crazy; the villagers did not know what to do with him. Venkama Raju was to protest one day. Raju was materialising sweets and confections, there was a crowd around him. He went with a stick and walked up to his son, and asked the spirit in his son, "Who are you? The reply came, "Sai Baba". Venkama Raju was addressing the spirit in his son. He said, I don't care if you are Hai Baba or Sai Baba, you leave my son. Raju threw flowers on the ground, which gave the name, Sai Baba.
Parental Obedience.
Swami tells us that when Isa was fourteen, he had the awareness that he had a divine mission to perform. Swami tells us that when Isa returned home to Palestine from Tibet and India, Isa went to his mother. His mother told him he had to work and earn their livelihood. Isa sought her permission to speak to the people about God. Mary gave that permission to her son, Isa. Isa was obedient and respectful to his Mother, who played a critical role in his preparation for his mission.
Let us look at Swami's story from the point of view of his brother. This story concerns the events immediately after Swami threw his books down.
Seshama Raju tells that he ran home from School and saw a striking brilliance in his brother's face. Raju said, "That boy is myself. I am that boy". He asked, "How long will you remain a boy?" Until Maya has come, he replied. Misunderstanding this, Raju made clear, "until mother has come. Raju did not speak again until his parents arrived.
Three days after Raju threw his books down, Pedda Venkama Raju borrowed 200 rupees and rushed to Uravakonda to the aid of his son. When the parents arrived, they entered to find Raju among a crowd of people.
Raju refused to eat, he took no water, no food, until, he told, until "Maya has come". In divine grace and revelation, Swami is obedient to his parents for the last time.
The parents arrived. Raju took some water, and washed their feet.
A distressed Easwaramma wanted to make things normal for her son. She prepared a meal and presented it to Raju. Raju took the rice, tamarind soup, pickles and chutney and rolled it into three balls; he sprinkled tirtha, holy water, on it and handed the plate back to his mother. He then put his hand out to receive food from his mother for the last time.
Easwaramma, within, understood that Swami was taking sanyas and this meal was the separation ritual, the cutting of ties. Quickly, she handed three balls of food to Raju. Raju sat and ate; thereafter, Seshama Raju saw a brilliant line of light leave Raju's body, run up the wall, and exit the house. The familial cords of attachment had been cut.
Easwaramma told Raju, "We are in Maya, We are in Maya, but you are free from Maya". She pleaded with her son not to take sanyas in the Himalayas but to remain with the family in the village; the family would care of him. He announced, "Puttaparthi is my kshethra. Three days later, on Thursday, Baba left Uravakonda, and departed to Puttaparthi.
The Param Jyothi
It is known that Swami revealed the Param Jyothi to devotees on the banks of the Chitravathi. Many people report different experiences. Some also say that this happened on more than one occasion. Devotees who told their story tend to tell their own experience, so the reports are different. What is common is that Swami told devotees that he would show the eye of Shiva. Others tell that Swami told he would show the param-jyothi. Swami ran on ahead, to the top of a hill. He called out to the devotees, and then a brilliant light was seen. All fell down at the brilliant light, totally overcome with the divine splendour.
Gungamatta Subba Rao gives his account.
As we were looking at Him intently, His forehead split, and from there, embers of red fire could be seen coming out in flames. We were amazed, and the light was so bright that our eyes got blurred for a moment. We were even frightened. We were anxious as to what would become of Swami. The fire went on coming, in sparks. When we turned around, we saw many had fainted. We were terribly scared. When we looked up, we could not see Swami. Then, He appeared among us. He patted our shoulders and asked what had happened. "Why are they crying? Why have they fainted?" When He was showering questions on us, one after the other, we began crying more. "Are you all right, Swami?" "We could not see your body there." "You are crazy, see I am perfectly all right." Saying so, He materialised vibuthi and applied it on our foreheads. Those who had fainted were later found to be slowly coming to their feet. They experience, as if new blood were gushing through the veins. The sweet feeling lingered.
Jesus also showed the Param Jyothi
In its liturgical calendar, the church celebrates an event called the Transfiguration of Jesus. This event occurred at a place called Mount Tabor, in Palestine.
The Gospels state that Jesus led three of his apostles - Peter, John the Apostle, and James the Great - to pray at the top of a mountain. Once at the top, Jesus became transfigured, his face shining like the sun, and his clothes a brilliant white. They say that Elijah and Moses suddenly appeared with Jesus and talked with him. Once they had spoken with each other, the Gospels state that a bright cloud overshadowed them (Luke also says they entered into the cloud), and a voice from the cloud proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,"
Leela Vinodi, The play of the Lord
(from the early life of Sathya Sai Baba)
Whatever might happen if six becomes hundred and hundred becomes six (a Telugu proverb) going to Chitravathi with Swami is a must. This was a great boon to us. Like the star that follows the moon, the moment the Lord began His trip to Chitravathi we followed Him. One catches hold of His shirt, another takes his hand and yet another, talking like an innocent boy with Him. We all follow Him simply. While Swami walks He is giving directions shouting behind every tree, and bush, we are beseeching Him to come around and walk with us.
When we get tired of our calls and shouts, we sit behind a bush when He appears all of a sudden from behind and frighten us shouting 'bha'!
How can He so suddenly appear from no-where? When we are wondering thus, He hurries up to proceed further. We again do not see Him. But we hear His voice calling. He is already sitting on a branch of a tree and calling us with glee. We again wonder how He can get on the top of the branch so soon and call us! Before we have any time to think further, He is there with us!
On the way He plucks leaves from the tamarind tree and leaves from another tree nearby and puts them on our palms. To our amazement they are already transformed into sugar candy. He is never inactive, even for a second. He is full of extraordinary enthusiasm. We all climb the small hill nearby to go the wish fulfilling tree. While climbing, He will push the children up the incline and terrorize the elders to His great joy - so many pranks full of playfulness He is. He is the first to climb trees. He is a versatile personality.
Once Swami told Sakamma, "Sakamma see, My body is warm." That's enough. She becomes as dry as a leaf. Her body became hot and she began perspiring. With great concern she felt the body of Swami, she even touched His tender cheeks. She suddenly rushed into the room. Before she came, He told us, "Now watch the fun," rolling His round big eyes. When she arrived, we all became serious.
She brought a pill, a glass of water and asked Swami to swallow it and drink water. Swami never took any pill at any time before. He took it and drank the water. She smiled satisfied and left the place. The moment she left the place, our Lord shook His shirt from right to left and the pill came tumbling out of his sleeve. We all laughed till our stomachs ached.
On another occasion when we were seated, Sakamma brought coffee for Swami. Swami said, "I don't need, 1 am not hungry. She compelled Swami to drink. He took the cup from her hand and pretended to drink and got immersed in talk. We were watching Him like frogs listening to Him all the time. He suddenly put His hands in the coffee and pulled out saying, "I thought it was water and was about to wash my hands".
Thus He would invent a strategy the snake should not die and the stick should not break. That is His philosophy, do not hurt others and thereby do not get hurt. What wonderful plans He designs.