sai

Sai
I just entered my flat after a condolence visit to Attingal Harihara Iyer’s house. Harihara iyer’s daughter-in-law is my son-in-law’s (daughter’s husband) father’s sister (athai). He was Devaswam Board Member and a Congressman. Swamigal from Sringeri, Kanchi muts used to camp in his house.
Condolence visits which have been put as part of Brahmin custom, in order to give strength to the family. But somehow some additional interpretations have got into it, which I don’t know whether is part of scriptures or not. It is if you do not see the relatives on Sundays and Thursdays,you should not see them on other days for the next one year. Mostly, it is likely that we meet them on the days other than Sundays and Thursdays, it is bad for you and your family. May be if you put some fear then the customs will continue. But one thing is true. When you are forced to repeat the same story of how , when and why of the death, It helps you overcome the grief ( as it happened when my mother died).
Coming to Sai, the TV, Papers were airing Sai’s condition for the past many days. But I as many others, felt that a miracle would happen and with all the greatness in Him, Sai cannot die as any other human being die. There should be some divinity.
Unfortunately that did not happen. That worries me. And I again want to hear miracle stories after the death of Sai so that we can believe that only the body is no more, but the Atma is still there doing all those miracles.
I have seen Sai two times. Once at Puttaparthy and other at Chenthitta Sai Samithy. While at Puttaparthy, I was able to see Sai three times. I don’t know why I was not among the chosen ones to be his bhakthas. Probably, as devotees believe, I do not have a clean mind.
In 1980 or so, I took my first LFC to attend a marriage at Bangalore. My friend Mr Thanu Pilai (later Swami) of Credit Department, asked me to visit Puttaparthy also. So I gathered details from a Bhakta in Bangalore.
My parents and myself, boarded a bus from Kalasi palayam in Bangalore. By evening we reached Puttaparthi and the first thing that attracted me was the chirping of lot of birds on the trees as if it was morning. It was bhakti mayam. Everyone believed that Bhagavan was watching you. If you are lucky you will be called inside and will have special darshan.
We took a room and had food from a neat canteen where I was told that the cleaning was done by a Maharani from North India ( seva).
In the early morning by 3.30 am or 4 we saw a small group of people going round chanting prayers loudly. There were some verses from Koran also. By 5 am we were inside a hall and the bhajans started. In between bhagavan visits and smiles at all of us. After Arathi, we went back. We reassembled at a ground in front of the big building. The people sat in rows neatly with volunteers guiding them. One side for gents and the other for ladies. If Baba asks a man to come he can take his wife and children alongwith him. Silently everyone sat praying. Baba arrives and walks towards the row of people. I and my father was in the first row. My father sat some two people got in between and then I sat. As baba was coming towards slowly gliding, His walk was so soft that we have to believe that his feet is not fit with wheels. I saw Baba even going in between rows and getting letters, pens etc raised to him. It was believed that once he accepts these from you, your problem is not simply solved, the problem vanishes. My mind flutters. I wanted to see his face, his toes ( I even wanted to know that by his divinity his feet do not touch the ground) and at the same time wanted his blessings. When he came near my father, he touched Baba’s feet with both hands round his feet. For the next few seconds, nobody knew what to do.. You are not supposed to touch Baba.. but this man got hold of his feet and his head was on the lotus feet. The feet is covered by the long dress. Then the volunteers took my fathers hands away.
And I waited for my turn to touch the feet. But suddenly Baba turned away and went to the row where the disabled people waited on wheel chairs.
My heart suddently sunk down with sadness. What a man I was, with impure mind and the Lord did not want to bless me. My father is a great Sabarimala bhakta, but never he was a sai bhakta. In fact, I have been to sai bhajans in a house in Trivandrum.
I don’t know who took me to that house. I went there one day for the Thursday Bhajan. After the bhajan, the man and wife in that house, cleared the baba photos kept along with Krishna and Rama and other gods. The photos were full of vibuthi. The devi photos had kumkum and one or two shining stones were also found in the kumkum. He gave prasadam for putting on our foreheads and Chundal for eating. He was a driver in Varma Travels. He and his wife stayed in a house on the way to Palkulangara. The mami with big kumkum pottu on her forehead recognizes me when she see me in temples. But Baba knows the purity of the heart.
I also used to hear Sai bhajans every Thursday in the morning in the radio. The Trivandrum AIR used to air sai bhajans every Thursday. Butafter wards, as usual, AIR also was bitten by the Secular Bug and Socialist Bug.
In those days, Mr.Wellington a Minister, Christian by faith, was a known Sai devotee.
It surprises me why we did not become ardent devotees.

One thing that did not go into my mind was the using of Sai along with the names of the Gods.
Then some of the devotees were not human in their approach and behavior.
Also the use of symbols of other religions along with ‘Om’ did not go well into my mind. Though I loved Christ’s teachings, I did not like the way they convert Hindus to Christianity.
Once brother of Sri Ramakrishna paramahamsa, showed light from his body when the light went off. He was immediately warned and advised not to use of such small divine like miracles which one would get during the course of going up the Vedanta ladder.
But I liked the manava seva of the devotees.
One of the other things that make me feel that Baba was a great soul is that the Hall in Puttaparthi was designed and overseen by the Baba single handedly, though Engineers were there. This feat can be done only by a great soul.
Mr Sethu madhavan, near sree durga, and his wife were great sai bhaktas.

Now adays, I include Baba also along with My gurus Kanchi Mahaperiaval and Sringeri swamigal.