Full Flame 2: Unconditional Love

By Dr. Ranga Rao

“What Bhagawan Baba told me during this visit was, I believe, the essence of all religious teachings. It is, therefore, not really important what occupation I may have, or where I may live in order to speed up my journey to self-realisation. It is, however, very important that I extend unconditional love to all around me and render unconditional service in the best way I can.”

- Dr. Mehdi N. Bahadori (‘Love and Service’)

Amazing grace! The first volume of Full Flame: Infinite Scenarios was blessed by Bhagawan on 26th November, 2009.

It is not easy for the vast majority of educated devotees to get hold of a copy of many of these essays in out-of-print publications. These extraordinary human experiences are in danger of being lost to Sai devotees now spread the world over.

Here is yet another compendium of Sai, covering almost every aspect of Sai Bhagawan – from the biographical to the metaphysical and philosophical – for the enjoyment and edification of even the common reader. Several authors here recount Sai experiences of earlier decades, beginning with the ‘40s. Each of these articles takes up some aspect of the mission, such as education, health, divinity, etc.

The volume adds up to an overview of the entire mission to-date and its key cast in this cosmic play, and the divine wisdom, insight, patience, and perseverance, with which Swami has gathered His devotees for unconditional love and service. The rising, surging generations of devotees especially need to know about them.
I place this book, Full Flame II: Unconditional Love, too at the Lotus Feet of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Dr. Ranga Rao is a Visiting Faculty at Prasanthi Nilayam Campus of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Swami’s University).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust, Publications Division
• Release date: Sep 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9789350693148

Dr. Ranga Rao

Dr. Ranga Rao is a Visiting Faculty at Prasanthi Nilayam Campus of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Swami’s University).

Book preview

Foreword To Volume I

Full Flame - Infinite Scenarios

Every individualized spark of the Full Flame from which it emanated is progressing - (oh, how slowly it seems)...

- Peggy Mason: ‘Sathya Sai Sense of Humour’

Yes, it is always difficult to speak of Sai Baba, but one always yearns to know more... Rightfully, one could state that the subject has been exhausted, and that by now there is nothing more to discover and to know. The interest, however, grows more and more. As soon as someone talks about Him, the attention is aroused, the heart is switched on, and His story endlessly fascinates us. What surprises me even more is the creativity with which this story manifests itself with infinite scenarios, endless and exciting turns of event and episodes. For me this is already an indication of the unfathomable Sai mystery, and of His Infinite Essence. If this reality were finite, it could be framed into a pattern and exhausted in a few years of studying. A mystery that is never fully unfolded…

–Mario Mazzoleni: ‘Unfathomable Mystery’

While preparing to assist the University in bringing out two souvenirs: Sai Sparshan and Divine Vision (both available now at our University website), I happened to discover many of the essays included here and recognized more than archival value in them. But every one of them has appeared in souvenirs in various places; and all of them out of print. I could find some in the university library; several in Book Trust library; others obtained from the university office, and colleagues and friends. It is not easy for the vast majority of educated devotees to get hold of a copy of many of these out of print publications. These extraordinary human experiences are in danger of being lost to Sai devotees now spread the world over.

The very list of authors included here—a mere selection- reads like a roll call of honour: Murphet, Hislop, Kasturi, Gokak…. Others are included because I believe they deserve the attention of all Sai devotees, present and future. The vocational range of the contributors is rare: from a Marxist journalist like Karanjia to a devout devotee like Professor Kasturi; intellectuals of a large spectrum: professionals, scientists, physicians and surgeons, psychiatrists and psychologists, judges, professors, bureaucrats, priests and pastors…. (That speaks of course of Sai charisma!)

Many devotees, though educated, are not inclined to read books, even on Sai; they would welcome a short version, in essay form; even as many lovers of fiction prefer the short story to the novel. For such readers here is a compendium of Sai: covering almost every aspect of Sai Bhagawan - from the biographical to the metaphysical and philosophical - for the enjoyment and edification of the common reader.

Several authors here recount Sai experiences of earlier decades, beginning with the ’40s. Each of these articles takes up some aspect of the mission, such as education, health, divinity etc., for Bhagawan is sahasraseersha purusha – in our everyday experience - architect, physician-surgeon, teacher… manager, management guru! Organiser! Swami the scientist… but ultimately unfathomable mystery as Mario Mazzoleni has discovered.

The volume adds up to an over-view of the entire mission to-date; and its key cast in this cosmic play: and the divine wisdom and insight and patience and perseverance with which Swami has gathered his devotees: for love and service. The rising, surging generations of devotees need to know about them.

Some of these contributions actually read like good fiction; for example, Baranowski, Murphet, or Hislop. Lovers of English style will find a range from the simple to the literary. Like good poems/short stories many of these essays make immediate impact: appeal to the human heart. Some of these contributions- such as Professor Gokak’s historic letter, Baranowski, AI Drucker, Hislop, and others- can be prescribed for study by our students in Sai schools and colleges which have been coming up on several continents; also used as texts in Awareness classes.

This volume is, at the same time a graded anthology: from the simple and straightforward to the highly philosophical: the volume can be treated as a course in Sai spirituality. A lot of people actually first approach Bhagawan with doubt and scepticism and a feeling of déjà vu: IS HE?’; then follows awe and wonder [ISN’T HE!!]; finally devotion, which gives one dedication and discipline and faith and serenity: HE IS". This is the dialectic of the spiritual impact of the Sai Avatar; and this curve, this rhythm, provides the formal unity, structural principle of this volume.

No one can claim the last word on Sai! Nor can he believe he has heard the last word on Sai! While, for the new generation of Sai devotees, a large number of them in their teens, this volume could be a handy reader of Sai revelations; for senior devotees, a delightful trek over what they believe to be familiar territory and loved ground yet full of fresh surprises. And this anthology could open a door to the delights of mankind’s Sai heritage.

Finally this could be one more source book for Sai translators, to carry the Sai sandesh into every language of the world, for the benefit and enjoyment of the ever-growing global Sai Nilayam – the spiritual counterpart of the United Nations, as Bill Aitken observes in his book, Sai Baba (Penguin); while for non-devotees this could result in a discovery of the most fascinating phenomenon since Jesus. Baba has made Jesus real.

I place this volume at the Lotus Feet of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Jai Sai Ram!

Ranga Rao

Foreword To Volume II

Full Flame - Unconditional Love

Amazing grace! Full Flame Infinite Scenarios was blessed by Bhagawan on 26 November 2009. [Please see the facsimile title page and the photo.]

A few days after the book’s release, I had waited in the verandah of Kulwant Hall with a copy--with my heart in my mouth. Swami signed to me to remain seated: it took me a few minutes to realize that a school programme awaited him, the tiny tots in full make-up.

26th November: as Bhagawan entered Kulwant Hall at the far end, I sent up a series of prayers to Bhagawan--more a succession of distress flares from a sailor lost in the midst of an ocean! Orange and red flares! Which God alone could sense.

But Bhagawan did not come the usual way; he normally—more often, that is--enters the verandah and heads down straight: but that day he turned left towards the VIPs and medical doctors and reached his darshan throne under the canopy of adoring swans. That’s it, I said to myself: God knows when and where and how, and not now, not today, not here-- that’s the message for me, I concluded. But after just a couple of seconds, He turned right and with His Divine alertness came upon me.

I spouted.

Bhagawan listened to my few introductory words, accepted a copy of Full Flame, and accepted a copy of its alphabetical list of authors. And, then, the moment: I prayed to Bhagawan to bless the book with an autograph. He looked at me with an enchanting smile, and smiling, raised his arms, wrote in the air with an invisible pen and threw up his hands. The wordless act spoke clearly: ‘when was the last time I autographed any book!?’

[Prasanthi Nilayam cognoscenti told me later that Swami had stopped autographing books.]

I was putting the cap back on my pen—when Bhagawan stretched his hand for my pen. Swami autographed. Grace Abounding!

***

I must now hasten to make good an omission in my Foreword to the first volume of Full Flame. I had forgotten to acknowledge my debts, a lapse Swami never overlooks.

In the midst of myriad engagements, Sri K. Chakravarthi, Secretary, Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, found time for me and in a flash looked through the list of contents of themes of Full Flame and straight put me in touch with Mr. K. Rajan.

Mr. K. Rajan, the convener, graciously accepted the manuscript; and his staff have done their job with a quiet devotion. Their artiste put on the cover a magnetic portrait of Bhagawan.

Earlier in the laborious and delicate process of selection and compilation from over two dozen celebratory souvenirs brought out by Swami’s University and other institutions, my friends, Suresh Lingutla and Naresh Kullayappa had taken turns with me in keying in the selections. The timely loan of a scanner-printer by Prof Sreedharan of our Mathematics department has since been invaluable.

***

Now for this volume II.

Prasanthi Society, Hyderabad has been bringing out fine commemorative volumes for decades now, offering a devout and decent forum to our global Sai family. I thank the Chairman and members of Prasanthi Society, and Sri Gopi Krishna Pidatala, the Secretary for permission to use a good number of articles from their back numbers in this volume. Volume II of Full Flame has attained a truly global coverage.

This volume of Full Flame is at once complete in itself and complementary to Volume I. It has a similar range of age, religion, profession: Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist; sanyasis, heads of monasteries, sadhakas, ordained priests; administrators, professors, physicians and surgeons, educationists and academics, Sai sevaks; from youth to old people; with miracles again and again, the best of them to me is the miracle of transformation: humble Halagappa reminds me that the one unbroken thread throughout the two anthologies once again is Devotion.

One sure test of a good book on Swami: it takes the reader close to Divinity. For example, Murphet’s man of Miracles; or Prof Korbu’s Sai Sathya Sakha. May Bhagawan help the two volumes of Full Flame pass that test.

Mere wishing is not fulfilment. Two Sai Apostles, especially, help my own understanding of the Sai Mission.

A Sai Devotee has a rare advantage.

Sri Indulal Shah, says:

‘It is the universal experience of everyone who comes into the fold of Bhagawan Baba that from the very moment we come close to Him, we chart out our own plans as to how we should discipline ourselves, to live closer to Him, to cultivate some proximity to Him.’ (Spiritual Blueprints of My Journey)

Another Sai Apostle, Murphet—he calls himself a ‘farmer’s boy from Tasmania’--says in his last book, his memoirs, From self through Sai to Self, which he wrote when he had almost lost his eyesight, and still wrote the book on command from Bhagawan:

‘…prose-writing has become part of my surrender to God, my service to God and my own spiritual evolution towards the Light.’

A Sai writer has an undue advantage!

Bhagawan has blessed me with not one but two avenues: teaching and writing.

At the end of it all, after whole libraries of Sai Literature are written and read—assimilated or not--the moment of realization has to come:

‘Yet, after these partial insights into the mission of the avatar, I find that God remains a great mystery.’ (Murphet)

A third spiritual privilege comes with the first two. Sri Indulal Shah quotes Bhagawan:

‘A devout consciousness that God exists will itself do the miracle of alchemizing us into purity of nature. We obtain spiritual charge into our frame by being in His presence.’

No need however, for any Sai devotee in outside world to despair. We are ever in His Presence. And we are better than self-regulated: we are Sai-regulated.

At the end of a life full of living, and, for the best part of his life, with absolute devotion to Swami, Murphet observes:

‘At the end of the long journey, the pilgrim’s soul will know that, though its own efforts were necessary, it was in reality through the amazing grace of the Divine that he has reached unity with the Divine in the ineffable mystery called Liberation, Moksha or Nirvana.’

Amazing grace!

Jai Sai Ram!

Ranga Rao

12th February, 2012

Part I

Blessed Unfolding

1. Memories Of An Old Devotee

Polisetti Konamma

I am ninety-two years old. I live in a small cottage given to me by Swami in Prasanthi Nilayam. I was born at Bukkapatnam in Anantapur District. My husband’s place was Gasivaripalle.

I have given all these memories and impressions to the editor and members of Sri Prasanthi Society. Though I am old, my mental powers and abilities are normal.

I have seen Swami from his childhood. He was about nine years old at that lime. Swami used to go over to Bukkapatnam. Bukkapatnam was the only route from Puttaparthi to the outside world in those days. Swami used to distribute guava fruits to us in those days. His elder brother Sheshama Raju was teaching Him.

Swami used to perform miracles even as a child. Once Sai and His mother came to our house. Swami narrated to us our entire family history without a mistake. "Get up Sathyam! Get up for food. Let us eat, we said. But Swami replied, I have eaten". He showed us both his palms in proof. When we smelled the palms, the aroma of fresh, pure ghee emanated in proof!

Swami was fond of sitting under a tree in Uravakonda. Once he sat under this tree from early morning 4 a.m. till 10 p.m. in the night. People searched for Swami and found him under the tree. At our request, Swami got up and materialized tiffin, which was given to all. The teacher and everyone went there. This happened many years ago. More than fifteen people were fed by the food materialized thus— properly cooked rice, curries, rasam etc.

Swami was performing puja in those earlier days to the Shirdi Sai form. A coconut used to be broken, arati was given, and a new song was rendered by Swami every day. Swami once produced a mixture of prasadam containing borugulu, battulu, and pappulu (puffed rice, sweets, and pulses).

I did not get this prasadam on that day. His mother Eashwaramma was cooking food that day. Swami came into the house after washing His feet; Swami then took his food. I tried to get up five times. Eashwaramma told me Do not get up, Konamma! Sit down. Swami had his meal. Swami then materialized sugar candy for me as prasadam and gave it to me. Swami was lying on a quilt in the house. A group of ryots were also there. There was no place for me and I was sleeping on the floor. Swami then gave me His bed sheet at night to cover myself, asking me why I was sleeping on the floor. At 4 A.M, Swami got up and went out. After my bath and the day’s rituals, I followed Him in the morning to Karanam Subbamma’s house. Sri Gopal Rao is the adopted son of this Karanam family. "Swami! I shall return,’ I said to Swami. We had brought all provisions with us, such as rice, pulses, etc., and I stayed for ten days. I used to take meals in Subbamma’s house.

One day, Swami called me into the room and narrated my entire life history, including the Rs. 20,000 loan, my age of 23 years, the death of my husband, and death of all others related to us during the previous seven years. During this period, we used to play the Indian game of ‘Bara-katta’ (a sort of household game played on the floor by Indian women with dice or six small pieces of shells). The participants in the game were usually Venkamma, Subbamma, and Swami as the fourth in this game.

Karanam Subbamma looked after Swami as her own ‘bidda’ or baby. Bukkapatnam was her birthplace. Subbamma had a lot of love for Swami. In those days when local people did not believe in Swami, Karanam Subbamma looked after Swami as her baby and also her God.

Swami’s schedule in those days was as follows: He would get up early in the morning before 5 AM, have His bath and ablutions, eat His tiffin made for Him by His foster mother Karanam Subbamma, and then start talking to visitors who had gone over to the village for the darshan. Subbamma would then be doing her puja. Swami was then given a ceremonial bath. He was 18 years old at this time. Subbamma would give water out of a ‘handa’ (a large brass vessel) and I would pour water on Swami.

Subbamma’s Last Days

Subbamma was not keeping good health. She used to prattle (palvarintalu) and lost her eye-sight (kanti choopu ledu). She was at Bukkapatnam then. Swami, the ‘Bandi ayya’ (the man driving the bullock cart), and myself went to Bukkapatnam. Swami was away on tour and had just returned to be with His mother at the right time. Subbamma was almost on the deathbed. She had not opened her eyes for more than five days. Swami went inside the house and called her Subbamma! Subbamma! Subbamma slowly opened her eyes. Swami then materialized Ganges water and poured it into her mouth and then Subbamma entered Eternity peacefully. I was a witness to this.

Cooking Food For Swami For Eight Years

I had the unique privilege of cooking food for Swami for almost 8 years. As mentioned before, Swami in the earlier days was worshipping Shirdi Sai Baba and singing His bhajans. I used to cook food for Swami in the ‘Patha Mandiram’–the old mandir now converted as Kalyana Mantapam. Four days in the week, I used to cook ‘Ragi Sankati’ (balls made up of rice mixed with minor millet), groundnut chutney, dal and curry. I also used to prepare ‘Charu’ (a tamarind juice dish of South India) and rice at other times. At 4 P.M. we all used to go to the riverside and then to the celebrated tamarind tree – the Kalpavriksham. We also used to take food to eat, with us. Swami just tasted or touched the food and the devotees consumed the food touched by Him.

I cannot forget the joyful pranks of Swami in those days. He would be down the hill at one moment and when we looked up, lo! He would be on the top of the hill! Swami would appear as Eshwara to one, as Krishna to another. He would also appear as Lord Shiva with serpents as ornaments, the trishulam in His hands with a third eye in the forehead, to some of the devotees. What do you want? Swami would ask, We will take whatever you give us Swami, we would reply. Swami would then materialize lingams, idols of Eshwara etc., taking them out of the sands of the river Chitravati. I was given a lingam, presently in the house of Karanam Subbamma. Swami went to the house of Tiruppamma, a brahmin lady about forty years old. He materialized flowers and ‘metlu’ (rings worn on the toes by a married woman) for the toes of her feet. She performed ‘padapuja’ to Swami.

I was worshipping Swami as Sai Ram. People were saying I was tikka Konamma – ‘mad Konamma’. I used to worship Swami by washing His feet and drink the water as teertham (holy water). I also used to give arati to Swami. Swami once toured the country by road. All ‘tirthas’ and holy places were shown to me.

Once I got high fever for ten days and lay almost dead. Swami was not present physically at Prasanthi Nilayam. All medication to me was useless. I was in a coma. Then I heard Swami’s voice I will come in three days, do not worry. I opened my eyes. There was no Swami. I was forty years old then. I was sure I was dying. Then Swami came back suddenly. Eashwaramma, Swami’s mother told Him Konamma is dead. Eashwaramma was then called ‘Inti ammayi’ or ‘Griham amma’ (house girl or housemother as literally translated). Where has she gone? She will come, Swami replied. On the third day a bullock cart was sent for me. The farmers told me, Do not return even if Swami asks you to go back. My arrival was announced. Swami! Konamma is coming. I went up the staircase and went to Swami. That day, bhajan was at 7 P.M. Swami gave me a glass of milk and went for bhajan. Food was given to me. I was sleeping in a room. Swami gave me tiffin and milk again. Swami went up at 4 A.M. Kadiri Subbamma and Bangalore Savitriamma were there. Swami looked after me lovingly giving me tiffin and meals personally for a whole month. That is the immortal motherly love of Swami!

On the occasion of Swami’s 60th birthday, He felicitated me with a sari, choli, shawl, rudraksha mala, and a silver light stand. Swami is continuing to look after me in my ripe old age.

2. The First Circle Of Devotees – Baba And His Schoolmates And Villagers

K. Jagannathan

A scorpion sting, when he was 14 years old in 1940; a blatant announcement two months later that he was Sai Baba belonging to the Apastambha Sutra and Bharadwaja Gotra; and five months later, a self-imposed retirement to a garden, away from home, with a rock as the throne for gurudom–are these the only landmarks that one looks for in tracing the transition from childhood to the emergence as the Preceptor, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba? Can we be satisfied that these adequately outline the conversion of a boy, who can be described in terms so familiar to modern society as a drop-out from school and a runaway from home, to a guru with Excise Inspector Sri Anjaneyulu at his feet as the first devotee, to be now proclaimed as God by millions, spread over all continents and to all corners of the world? These millions come from all religions and races. I have actually met a couple of devotees even from Iceland, a little known land which most of us would probably have heard of only in lessons of geography at school.

In retrospect, we can now assert that they are not isolated events which suddenly shot Bhagawan into the trajectory but part of a plan, unfolding itself right from birth. Even as a toddler he never deviated from truth and could never be provoked into stratagems that guilt-conscious children naturally adopt. He was a stranger to violence and selfishness, but a friend to the needy. He used to welcome beggars and mendicants and insist upon their being fed or given money or clothes; and he was prepared to forgo his own share of anything when driven into a corner.

If this were so at the age of 3 or 4, we can well imagine the setting when he joined the Primary School in the village of Puttaparthi where he was born. He was always giving clothes from his house to the needy boys and ever helpful–most magnificent was this philanthropy, well beyond the means of his own family. A child who knew all the answers; naturally, the pet of teachers; one who was welcome to all his playmates because of his generosity; a gifted singer who could sing a variety of songs; with capacity to compose with the right degree of lilt and humour far beyond his age, an organizer of remarkable ability, a first-rate actor –that completed his picture at a precocious age. No wonder he was sought after by all his school mates. But what was most fascinating to these playmates was something they could not understand: his ability to pull out of nowhere things that could constitute a crisis to a child–a lost pencil, a lost rubber, a note-book, perhaps a coveted sweet which the child could not afford and so on. All you had to do was to ask little Sathya or Raju as Bhagawan was lovingly called by his fellow-mates. They would get it–the only condition being you had to be clean and straight. There was no quarter given to crookedness and truancy. The fear of God, as well as the love for God, were being installed in their hearts step by step. At the age of eight, when he attended the VIII standard in the Higher Elementary School of Bukkapattanam, trudging a couple of miles each day on bare feet, he used to collect the boys a little early at school, instal some god’s picture, perform puja, have arati with camphor and offer it to them and distribute prasadam–the last item was really a delight because he could produce something quite unexpectedly out of an empty bag. When pressed to explain where he got those from, he used to brush them aside saying that it was the prank of some village goddess who brought them along. So we can now imagine how he was the centre of attraction and how among his playmates were the ingredients of the first devotee circle.

Speaking in a reminiscent mood, Bhagawan, on 19th February 1984, in an address to the boys in the Sri Sathya Sai Hostel in Prasanthi Nilayam, gave a graphic description of his schooldays, to drive home the lesson of well-regulated discipline towards parents and teachers; the preservation of family honour and dignity even at great personal inconvenience; the practice of economy and the studious avoidance of extravagance; and, above all, the spirit of compassion and love for fellow-beings, so that when they grew up and went out into society, they would be welcomed as useful citizens. Bhagawan referred in particular to his two proximate neighbours on either side of him at the school desk and bench, designed to accommodate three. They were Ramesh and Prakash. Both were way behind in studies but way ahead in their love and veneration for the giant sitting between them. They were proud of their friendship with Bhagawan whom they would endearingly address as Raju in public, but when they were alone with Bhagawan, they always used to fall at his feet. When Bhagawan asked them why they were doing so, they simply said that he was their saviour and they felt that way. Ramesh and Prakash, both of whom unfortunately died before their school-days were over, thrust the mantle of Saviour on Bhagawan because they were the first ‘beneficiaries.’

When the VIII Standard public examination was staring them in the face, they buckled under with sheer fright, caught hold of Bhagawan’s feet and calling him "Apatbandhava" (Saviour), pleaded that somehow he should make use of his extraordinary powers and get them to pass the examination. Bhagawan, with a twinkle in his eyes, went on to elaborate to the audience the stratagem he had adopted to pull them out of the crisis. He told the two classmates not to breathe a word about it to anybody, that they should attend the examination and simply surrender blank papers and that he would take care of the rest. What the little giant did was to answer his own paper in one third of the time, write out another answer-book in the name of Ramesh with simulated handwriting and likewise one for Prakash–it sounds simple, except for the speed and the simulation of the handwriting! This clicked, said Bhagawan, and when the results came, all three got the first division. No wonder that Ramesh and Prakash felt God was sitting next to them!

Bhagawan, in the same session, gave an insight into another episode.

Attending the scout classes and camp was considered compulsory in the school, but the handicap was that Bhagawan could not afford the outlay of ten rupees necessary for the scout uniform. Ramesh, who guessed this, being the son of a Revenue Official of better means, could afford to get his father to prepare two uniforms for himself, one of which he decided to present to his Saviour desk-mate. But he did not have the courage to give it in person, not being sure of how it would be received. So he left it in the drawer of the desk in front of Bhagawan with a written slip, apologetically offering it, but almost threatening that he would put an end to his life if Raju were to refuse it. Bhagawan put it back in the drawer before Ramesh in the desk with another slip, with a neat counterthrust: that accepting it would be almost equivalent to losing his own life; that the offer reflected prema or love between them, which alone was sufficient; that such prema would dwindle by gifts, whereas it would expand if preserved without expecting anything in return. Bhagawan took the edge out of this well-administered homily by also adding that he and other boys need not worry whether Bhagawan might be handicapped from attending the scout camp, and that to please all of them, he would certainly turn up.

How he set about it seems to carry another lesson. He thought of a plan to sell his books, of the class he had just passed, to a poor deserving harijan boy who could not afford a new set of books at the cost of Rs. 25. Bhagawan’s own set of books was as good as new, as he had had no need to go through his books at all. When he made the proposition, the harijan boy said that they looked brand new and that he could not pay Rs. 25 but would be able to afford up to Rs. 15. The answer from Bhagawan was that he expected only Rs. 10 and that too for a purpose, otherwise he would have given them away free. The harijan boy was overjoyed and gave him the cash – all in coins which were tied by Bhagawan into a bundle in a torn cloth. Unfortunately a hole in the cloth was responsible for the clatter with which the coins fell, attracting the attention of the mistress of the house where Bhagawan had taken it, and she promptly snatched it. Bhagawan was then belaboured for what was considered to be unauthorized possession of a seemingly very large sum for a boy of his age; and which only meant a stealthy removal from somewhere, despite his protests that they were the sale proceeds of his own books. Finding himself back in the same position after this confiscation of money, he next traded with Kote Subbanna, a seller of medicines, to compose for him catchy tunes extolling the qualities of his merchandise, and obtained the required amount of Rs. 10/- to keep his tryst with the scout camp. This service to Kote Subbanna, apart from proclaiming his own merits as a composer, stood the retailer in good stead and he was ever ready in exchange for new lines of songs to give him clothes and books as per his need.

With wit and humour, Bhagawan demonstrated to the audience, a few examples of these catchy tunes.

Bhagawan continued to wear the mantle of a leader for his fellow-mates when he moved from the Bukkapattanam School to the Kamalapuram School, having followed his elder brother Sheshama Raju, who was undergoing training as a teacher and who happened to get married into a family at Kamalapuram. He sang the prayer song on the stage before any play was enacted in town. He almost made this item his monopoly, with all the villagers clamouring for his appearance. All the members of the public from the nearby villages, who would doubtless have heard the catchy tunes he composed for Kote Subbanna (which must have spread the merchandise in the surrounding areas), admired him. They began to venerate him because of the wonderful stories that preceded his arrival. It is often said that he manifested himself at Uravakonda but spread his glory from Kamalapuram.

Sheshama Raju having moved from Kamalapuram to Uravakonda on completion of the training as a Telugu teacher, Bhagawan next appears in the Uravakonda School. His reputation having preceded him, no wonder he immediately became the leading light of the Prayer Room. Singing in his commanding voice, he must have enthralled and enthused not only his schoolmates but also the teachers. In the flashback of his school-days at the Hostel, referred to earlier, Bhagawan made a pointed reference to this prayer activity and the prema shakti he generated among one and all. So much so that when he left Uravakonda, after dropping out of school and entering his self-proclaimed mission, the boys and teachers missed him so much that they could not even enter the Prayer Room without remembering him; they could not sing – instead of words from the throat, only tears came from their eyes; and eventually it just became Raju’s Room, viewed with awe and respect.

The acme of perfection in stage-play was exhibited by Bhagawan in composing and acting a play called Cheppinatlu chestara? in Telugu meaning, Do they act according to what they say? This refers to a student reacting very sharply and exposing the shallowness by pointing out the difference between what one preaches and what one practises as illustrated by his own teacher and his parents in certain situations. This was a great hit and a hint of the real great teacher to come.

As a student at the age 12, he exhibited extraordinary powers in finding lost articles that again endeared him to the villagers around. The public identified this with a supernatural godlike quality and venerated him. For instance, there was the case of a teacher who lost a pen. When Bhagawan casually but categorically stated that it was with his servant’s son to whom it had been despatched after being stolen by the servant, the teacher found it hard to believe that his trusted servant was capable of stealing it, until he actually discovered that it was in the possession of the servant’s son. On another occasion, a Muslim jutka-owner who had lost his horse was asked by Bhagawan to go and look for it in a grove, where the grateful owner did find the animal.

It was against this background that we hear of the scorpion sting on the 8th March 1940. No one really saw the scorpion. Bhagawan went into a coma, and when he got up, he behaved in an extraordinary way, sometimes reciting vedic verses, sometimes arguing with himself and making profound statements, startling predictions and so on. For example, he had what seemed to the onlookers the audacity to correct an aged neighbour reciting and explaining the Bhagavatam all wrong. The scholar thought this a great impertinence from a brat of a boy, but when he heard where he had gone wrong, he immediately asked for pardon. Sometimes, Bhagawan used to compose songs on the spot. All these were put down to an evil spirit associated with the imaginary scorpion sting. So all the well-wishers persuaded the parents to engage the services of an exorcist, little realizing the extent of savagery involved in the rites of such exorcism, leading to such inhuman acts as whiplashes, cutting the skin and sprinkling chili powder–in the senseless belief that mortification of the flesh would drive away the evil spirit. The amazing thing however was the fortitude with which Bhagawan submitted himself to all this mumbo-jumbo, probably smiling quietly to himself. Every visitor was free with his advice, whether lawyer, doctor, officer or villager, to suggest more and more of these experiments to drive away the spirit, but the parents themselves, no longer willing to subject their boy to these ordeals, took him back to Puttaparthi from Uravakonda.

On 23rd May 1940 Bhagawan, on rising in the morning, at Puttaparthi, called all members of the household and showered them with sugar candy and flowers, produced mysteriously by a wave of his hand, as also a ball of cooked rice. This extraordinary indulgence having naturally brought his father to see what was going on, led him to burst forth Are you a god or a ghost or a madcap? He said, "I am ‘Sai BABA’. I belong to Apastambha Sutra. I am of the Bharadwaja Gotra. Keep your mind and houses clean. Worship me every Thursday."

This declaration of his being Sai Baba puzzled the public. They had heard the name from the "Pandhari bhajan group that Bhagawan had been leading, consisting of about 16 or 18 boys dancing and singing folk songs and ballads – mostly relating to Krishna and Yashoda, names easily recognized by the village folk. But occasionally mixed with some songs came references to pilgrimage to a place, unheard of, called Shirdi", occupied at one time by a Muslim fakir Sai Baba – a reference to Ram and Rahim being the same and so on.

The elders often wondered how this boy, who could not have travelled beyond Kamalapuram and Uravakonda, knew all about this distant place and its goings on.