Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan by Devotees | Group VII | Mr. K. P. Ramachandran

Mr. K. P. Ramachandran,
'Achyutam',
House No. 19 / 1180,
Chalapuram (PO),
Kozhikode - 673 002.

         Mr. K.P. Ramachandran is, presently, the State Coordinator, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation, Kerala. He had extraordinary experiences of the Divinity of Bhagavan in relation to his ailments and recovery there-from. The following is what he recorded as his experiences in relation to his suffering and recovery, on February 12, 1991, the Day of Mahasivarathri that year.

'I was born and brought up in an upper middle class family in Kerala. My father was a leading advocate and my mother hails from an aristocratic family in Kerala. I was only an average student. I was good at extra-curricular activities. I was not an atheist. But I was not at all interested in spiritual matters and God. Spirituality, God and things akin to Him were not serious matters for me. Of course, I used to visit temples. I had gone to Sabarimalai on pilgrimage. But these trips were all like picnic trips. My prayers were all centred on worldly pleasures. I took life very lightly and I was having all the vagaries of a typical jovial youth. I was immersed in the pleasures of mundane life. I graduated in Law and joined the Bar as a junior to my father. I was married in May 1972. My life was full of happiness except stray occasions of worry, and I was a happy-go-lucky-guy. But things started worsening.

I developed ulcer in stomach. I was put on severe diet restrictions. There was no significant improvement in my condition despite good medical care. I was advised to consult a surgeon. I consulted a famous surgeon at Calicut. He opined that surgery might be necessary in my case. I was very much agitated. It was at this time Dr. P.B. Menon, an ardent devotee of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and our family friend, invited me to go with him to Puttaparthi. Though I had heard about Baba and His super-natural powers, I did not believe Him. I was a non-believer in Baba. Whenever I had occasion to speak about Him, I used to ridicule, though I had not seen Him and had no opportunity to watch Him at close quarters.

My information and imagination about Baba was from certain articles, with critical comments, which appeared in some magazines in Kerala and the versions of atheists like Kovoor. I had a bitter experience as well. After my graduation in commerce, before going to Law, I was very much enamoured to join Military or Police service. I applied for the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Border Security Force, and I was called for physical test and final interview.

Before I left for the interview, a well-wisher of mine gave me a small plastic photograph of Baba in 'Abhayahastha' pose. I kept it with me throughout the test and interview. I was not selected, and I felt deeply dejected. I took the photograph and tore it to pieces in an outburst of anger and disappointment. This incident could only strengthen my disapproval of the 'avatarhood' of Baba.

However, Dr. P.B. Menon could somehow make me agree to go with him to Puttaparthi along with my wife. I took it as a pleasure trip with my wife. I also decided to see Baba and to have firsthand information about Him.

It was sometime in July 1972. I was waiting for Bhagavan Baba in the darshan lines in Prasanthi Nilayam. I thought that Dr. Menon would tell Baba about me in advance and Baba would call me for an interview. Baba came out. Graciously He was moving towards the audience. There was pin-drop silence everywhere. He was wearing a yellow robe. I was in the second line or so. It was my first darshan. He slowly reached near me. I saw Him very closely. He did not look at me. I was deliberately showing no signs of respect or reverence. People were doing padanamaskar. I did not want to do padanamaskar. The physical form of Baba was very impressive, and the descriptions in the articles which I read earlier are contradictory and misguiding. He was calm and gentle. His eyes were bright and His face was beaming with profound happiness. I liked His physical form, His gliding-like walk, His mystic gesticulations, and I was convinced at that moment that He is not an ordinary human being. After darshan, He came out three or four times and walked into the ashram complex. I saw Him creating vibhuti from thin air and giving it to devotees. I saw people giving Him letters.

As repairs and painting were going on in the mandir at that time, Baba was not granting interviews. I decided to give Him a letter. I got only a small piece of paper to write. I wrote in that untidy piece of paper that I was having stomach ulcer and challenged Baba to cure it showing His Divinity, and convince me that He is an Avatar. In the evening darshan, He came to me and ordered me to give the 'chit' (probably because of the small size of the letter). The letter was inside my pocket and I forgot to take it out when Baba reached near me. I took the letter from my pocket and gave it to Him. He did not look at it. Not did He speak anything. He went off.

The next day morning I was sitting in the fourth line for darshan. Baba came out. He reached in front of me. He came inside the rows and started talking to a person sitting near me. They were in serious talk. He did not look at me. Suddenly He gave me a pat on my left shoulder. I was jolted and I felt something like an electric current passing through my body. I felt an indescribable exhilaration. Baba raised me from ground like a little cat and put me near Him. Still He was not looking at me. He was talking to the same person sitting near me. He started massaging my stomach slowly. He whispered in my ears in Tamil 'antha disease poch' (that disease has gone!). And the disease had gone! Thereafter there was no trace of ulcer in my stomach. He cured me by a word and a touch. I became a devotee of Baba.

I joined Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi and became a sevadal member. I started reading Sai literature. I began chanting Aumkar, Gayathri, Ashtottaram, etc. When things were going on like this I fell victim to yet another disease by stroke of cruel destiny.

I was having dandruff-like formation in some parts of my scalp and behind my ears for quite a long time. But it did not give me any trouble. I was using some ointments for this. However, immediately after my return from Puttaparthi after the first darshan of Baba and the cure of ulcer, I developed an incurable skin disease - psoriasis. The dandruff patches were actually psoriasis patches. In an onslaught, it affected major part of the skin area in my body including scalp, forehead, fingers, etc. Though it is not a contagious disease, it has similarity of leprosy in appearance. The skin exfoliation was a major problem. Wherever I went, the scales of the skin would peel off in large quantity. Sometimes the patches would crack oozing blood from them and making the appearance very ugly and repulsive. In public places people looked at me as a patient afflicted with virulent form of leprosy. I cut off my friends and relatives. I lost all interest in my life. The mental anguish and torment were unbearable. I became a psychological wreck. I had to take sleeping pills to get sleep. I tried all sorts of treatment under the sky, including most repulsive 'urine therapy'. I consulted world famous doctors, and even quacks. I had taken sophisticated medicines. I tried Allopathy, Ayurveda and Homoeopathy. But the disease remained chronic, with no signs of improvement.

On the other hand, it took a fierce turn. I paid several visits to Puttaparthi and Whitefield to see Baba and pray for help. Whenever I prayed to Him, Baba, in His unique way, used to say 'very happy', 'have it', etc. He created vibhuti and gave me two or three times asking me to develop firm faith in my heart. He did not grant me any interview. For well over fifteen years, I suffered this dreaded disease. To make things worse, I developed psoriasis-arthritis also. It is a very painful condition of the joints. The disease used to aggravate two or three times a year. I had to leave the lawyer's profession on the advice of doctors. I took up an executive's assignment in a Bank. With the disease turning very much worse at frequent intervals, I was finding it difficult to attend my office work. However, during normal times, I could do my official work bearing the discomforts of the disease. Placed in such a situation, I thought of committing even suicide.

During this long period of trial, my wife had displayed exemplary mental strength and tranquillity. She was firm in her belief that Baba would help us at the appropriate time and a bright and happy world would welcome us by His grace. She was a tower of fortitude and courage. She did not show any outward expression of her agony. She showed only happiness. Always she was full of smiles. She took meticulous care to make sure that our small children did not worry about my plight in their young age. She always reminded me of Baba's saying that we should 'accept good and bad events alike as His blessings'. .Baba had blessed her with mental strength.

Frequent darsans of Bhagavan, His discourses, Sai literature, etc gave me mental strength to bear the torment. This helped me to intensify my sadhana. I started meditating, chanting Gayathri and Aum Sairam. During this period my father and an old Sai devotee gave me 'upadesam' on Rajagopalamanthram and Sreevidya manthram respectively. I stopped smoking and gave up all vices. I became a strict vegetarian. On one occasion, while the disease was not bothering me very much, with Bhagavan's grace, I could undertake a long pilgrimage to Kasi, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Rishikesh, etc. I got a salagrama from Haridwar. I started wearing a rudraksha-mala as permitted by Bhagavan.

On another occasion when I was very much ill and weak, I wanted to have darshan of Bhagavan. I sought the company of a young Sai devotee-friend of mine to go with me to Puttaparthi as I required some help for movements and very personal needs. When we reached Puttaparthi, Baba was not there. He did not come for seven days. I started reading Sai Satcharithra Sapthaham. Though I was very sick, I took a vow to participate in all the spiritual activities in the Ashram including the early morning Aumkar, Suprabhatham and Nagarsankirthan. I took bath early morning in cold water everyday. I took only small quantity of food from the canteen. We were residing in a room inside the Ashram. I was having severe pain all over my body due to cracking of the skin. I was very weak due to excessive exfoliation of skin. When the alarm of the time-piece struck, my friend would wake me up from bed with much difficulty since any slight movement could crack my skin. I had to take some time to relax my painful arthritis affected joints in early morning.

On the seventh day of our stay, the day on which I had to finish my sapthaham, when the alarm struck, my friend got up as usual. I woke up, but was lying in my bed with closed eyes. My friend switched on the light chanting Sairam, Sairam, etc. Within a split second, he made a frightening cry and fell on his bed covering his face. Hearing the loud voice, I thought he had been electrocuted. I got up and touched him. He looked up. I asked him what the matter was. In fearful tone, with tears rolling down, he told me that he had seen Shirdi Sai Baba sitting in a levitating posture behind my head. He said the whole area was filled with light and he saw Shirdi Sai Baba very clearly and vividly. But I could not see Shirdi Sai Baba. On that day Bhagavan reached Prasanthi Nilayam. He created vibhuti for me and asked me to take it. He also applied some vibhuti on my forehead. When Bhagavan touched me I got into a trance.

In this context, it is appropriate to mention about an earlier mystic experience. I had occasion to visit Shirdi. Our group consisted of Sri P.C.Balakrishna Menon, who became Judge of the High Court, Kerala and later Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh; his brother Sri P.C.Ramachandran Menon, an eminent lawyer who translated Sri Satcharithra in Malayalam; Sri Govind Bharathan, another lawyer of great repute practising in Kerala High Court, and myself. We were in Shirdi for four days. On one day, if I remember correct, it was a Thursday; during the noon arathi, I had a mystic experience. I had a vision of Lord Siva. When the arathi started, I was looking at Shirdi Baba's beautiful statue. Slowly everything vanished and there was only splendour of light. Then I saw Lord Siva in meditating posture, His head touching the sky and His crossed-legs covering the entire earth beneath Him. He was a very huge Siva. The atmosphere was clam and serene. Siva was in light blue colour and the effulgence of the light was passing through His body as if His body was transparent. He was not having any moustache. His eyes were closed and He was very serene. There was a big snake round His neck. He was having jata. His right hand was resting on the danda. The thrishul and kamandalu were lying nearby. I was staring at the Form. Then suddenly I saw a fountain coming up from His jata. The water fell on the ground and started flowing. It flowed towards me and washed my legs while the flow continued. I felt as if I were in an ecstasy. I was not aware of my surroundings. I was fully merged in the vision. The arathi concluded and my friends called me. I did not hear them. I was standing without any movement. Sri P.C.Balakrishna Menon touched my back and called me. I woke up from the trance as if from deep sleep. It was a dazzling vision.

Days passed on, months rolled by and years creped off. It was in 1988 February, on the Mahasivarathri Day, the disease developed a very unusual turn. I got an uncontrollable shivering and immediately all my muscles became stiff with severe muscle-cramps. I thought I was dying. The doctor who was treating me was also very much perplexed. He could not diagnose the exact reason for the virulent type of muscle-cramps. A Sai devotee-doctor, who has been known to me, and who had then returned from England after quite a long practice there, opined that the cramps were due to the toxic effect of mercury content in the ointment I was applying on the scales of psoriasis patches on my skin. The skin all over my body became dark blue in colour and there was heavy exfoliation of the skin from my body. A slight movement would tear off my skin and make the condition still worse. I have had excruciating pain due to the cramps and the wide-spread, thick, septic, psoriasis-patches. I was completely bed-ridden and had no appetite. The agony and anguish were beyond description. It was hell of a time for me. I was on the verge of death. The doctor with much reluctance, decided to give a dangerous cancer drug, namely, methotraxate as the last resort. I could understand that the drug would change the metabolism of the body and, sometimes, it would be extremely dangerous, too. I saw death before me. All my mental capacity and intelligence crippled and I was dumb-founded. I prayed to Baba incessantly and, I was fully aware, I had no other solace. I prayed and prayed lying in bed with cramps and unbearable pain. The effect of the cancer drug had reduced my blood counts and I was experiencing all sorts of discomforts, both inside and outside my body. I meditated upon Baba's form. Three or four days passed like this. Death was imminent in my case. I was also prepared to welcome death. Then, the miracle happened.

On that particular morning, while I was mentally chanting suprabhatham, all my pains and torments vanished, and I felt extreme happiness. I knew I was being taken to the path of death. Tranquillity prevailed. I uttered Sai manthram with ecstasy. All of a sudden I felt someone sitting on the side of my bed. I felt a very pleasant fragrance. I opened my eyes and saw Baba sitting on my side in bed. I could not utter anything. I thought it was a dream. To make sure, I touched Him. He was very much there in His physical form. My wife was there; but she could not see Him. I could not say whether it was a vision or a real thing. But I am sure it was neither a dream nor a hallucination. It was very vivid and cogent. Baba asked me to chant suprabhatham. He told me that in my subtle body He is kundalini-shakti and I should awake it to activate spiritual awareness. He explained to me the different chakras and told me that chanting of suprabhatham is actually awakening of the kundalini. When 'Utthishtotthishta Partheesa …' was chanted, I felt vibration in my mooladhara and felt something elevating. I saw Baba's radiant face besides a river in the rising SUN, when I began the stanza 'Chithravathi Thata Visaala…'. A realization came to my mind that it is manipoora-chakra.

When the stanza 'Twannama keerthana… etc' was started, I heard loud Vedic recitals. Vibrations in my body increased. I felt Baba moving upwards through a red carpeted passage in my subtle body. Then, when the stanza beginning with 'Adaaya divya Kusumani … etc' was recited, Baba told me that on both sides of the passage devikas of the chakras were standing and doing pushparchana to Him. I could see that. Then Baba entered my anahatha- chakra and I felt extreme exhilaration. Baba proceeded to visuddha-chakra and then to ajna-chakra. I felt that I was immersed in a pleasant violet colour. I heard the primordial vibrant sound of Aum (pranava). Then I saw a lotus flower kept upside down in my brain area, and in the centre of the fully blossomed petals, I saw a perfect Sri-chakra. The Sri-chakra was very big so as to embrace the whole Universe and I found Baba standing in His abhaya-hastha pose in the bindu (centre-point) of the Sri-chakra. Immediately I forgot everything and saw only a radiant light. I lost my body consciousness. I felt as if in ecstasy. I had no feeling. The sound of pranava was vibrating everywhere. Alas! Was it a Samadhi? Suddenly I saw Baba. He told me that He would stay in the anahatha-chakra. He climbed down and stayed in the anahataha-chakra (that is, heart) in a golden chair. He then took out two padukas embedded with diamonds, placed under the golden chair with an upward movement of legs. He then asked me to do paada-pooja. I said 'I did not know what to do and how to do'. Then I saw Baba placing His Lotus Feet on the padukas and putting them in a golden round-like vessel. Then I saw the golden vessel containing vibhuti, kumkum, turmeric powder, bilwa leaves, jasmine flowers and extraordinary-good-smell-emanating small flowers. Baba put the padukas inside the round vessel and told me to recite ashtottharam. He asked me to take bilwa leaves and do archana after touching the leaves in vibhuti. After sometime, while chanting in this way was going on, He ordered me to take jasmine flowers and do archana with them touching kumkum. Proceeding further He asked me to take the small-good-smelling flowers, which He called langi-langis and perform archana after touching turmeric powder. I have not physically seen any flower called 'langi-langis' so far. Now I understand that there is a flower like this. After archana, I performed mangala arathi and prostrated before Him. Baba advised me to do meditation every day ruminating the above darshan. Immediately I felt I was falling down from a higher place. The mystic experience vanished simultaneously. It was real and the experiences were clear and vivid. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. I was fully immersed in the darshan I had. My wife thought I was having severe pain. I told her about the darshan I had experienced.

After this, the disease started receding. Ten days after this Baba visited Ooty. I wanted to go and see Him. As I was on strict medication I was sure that the doctor would not allow me to go. I did not ask for his permission. I went to Ooty along with my wife and some other Sai devotees. I reached a little late in the morning. The place where darshan was given (namely, the school run by Sri Sathya Sai Trust) was full and packed to capacity with devotees. I did not find any place in the front row. I was disappointed. Suddenly a friend of mine called me from the front line and offered me a seat near him. Baba came out for darshan. When He reached before me He stood there, and seriously stared at me for sometime. He then whispered in Tamil 'intha vatti nan kappattiach' (I saved you this time), 'eppavum intha mathiri kappatum' (I shall always save you like this). He asked me to stop all dangerous medicines and keep quiet. He gave me padanamaskar. I returned with immense joy. Within a week, the chronic disease had been completely cured or it had been put to a dormant stage. Now three years have elapsed. The incurable disease is not bothering me at all. I am now fully immersed in activities of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation, holding a responsible position by His sankalpa. During the long span of disease-stricken period, I was praying to Him to give me chance to do service activities as an active worker in the organisation.

In January 1991 while I was standing at the East Gate of Prasanthi mandir I had yet another mystic experience as a continuation of the earlier one. I was standing at the east gate of the mandir, as I was in-charge of security work at Prasanthi Nilayam in January 1991. Baba, after the morning darshan and interview, came out in the midst of students sitting on the veranda-cum-porch. He was standing in the same line in front of me. He was there for quite a long time unusually. Occasionally He looked at me. At one time when He looked at me, I saw a glow of light on Baba's head. It started spreading and slowly getting into blue colour. It was sparkling blue colour. I saw a beam of light coming towards me in a straight line. My subtle body was to receive it and merge in it. I felt that it came and entered into my body. I felt tidal-spiral electrifying movement in the spines around kundalini area rising upwards to my head. A split of a second only! I became numb. I saw nothing but the splendour of Light. Light everywhere - Light only. Slowly I regained my body-consciousness and saw Bhagavan in smiling face looking at me.

Before concluding I have to mention about strange coincidences of certain events during this period. The vision of Siva and experiences I had on Sivarathri days were significant among them. During the Sivarathri day, after my first darshan of Baba in 1972, I was doing sevadal work in Prasnthi Nilayam. By that time the skin disease mentioned earlier had started. But I had decided to work as a sevadal. I was actually posted as a sevadal in front of the stage in the Poornachandra Auditorium as a special case to enable me to see the lingodbhavam (Sivalingam used to emerge from Baba's mouth on Mahasivarathri) from close quarters. I was attending work as a sevadal for the first time. But when Baba came to the stage, He whispered something to late Sri Mukunda Prabhu who, in turn, said something to Sri TN Natarajan, the then State Sevadal Convener of Kerala. Sri Natarajan searched for someone and finally picked me up and instructed me to go to the main gate forgetting that he had posted me near the stage to see lingodbhavam, and specifically saying that Baba had instructed to put a sevadal at the gate as some miscreants had come to remove articles belonging to devotees who were residing in the mandir premises. From the gate I could understand that the lingodbhavam had started, from the tone of the mass bhajan 'Om Sivaya, Om Sivaya' etc. I saw sevadal members posted in different places were running to the Hall to have a glimpse of the lingodbhavam and linga. There was an argument in my mind whether I should go and see the glorious event, or not. But my inner-conscience prompted me to stay at my duty-post considering Duty is God. I could not see lingodbhavam. In His Divine Discourse after the lingodbhavam, Baba said that those persons who had seen the particular linga would not take any re-birth. I lamented about my misfortune as I was the only person who had not seen the lingodbhavam in that premises at that time. In the morning of the next day, before concluding arathi for the akhanda-bhajan, Baba came to the Poornachandra Auditorium, took the lingam manifested by Him with a kerchief and brought it near me and showed it to me. I saw the lingam very clearly. I still remember that there were several colours changing in that particular lingam. The first onslaught of the disease started from this Sivarathri day. On another Sivarathri day, as I mentioned earlier, my chronic disease had aggravated very much. As a strange coincidence I have decided to jot down the above experiences on yet another Mahasivarathri day, February 12, 1991.'

I know that the above incidents are hard to believe for any ordinary man. But facts will be stranger than fiction at times. Mystical and spiritual experiences are always extraordinary. To believe them, one has only to experience. It can happen to anyone when the time comes and when the Divine Will prevails.

For more than fifteen years, I suffered very much. Now I know that the suffering was absolutely necessary for a transformation inside me. I experienced supreme spiritual and divine glory. I know that Bhagavan had designed all these for my spiritual elevation. Now when I look back, I am extremely happy that Bhagavan had taught me great lessons in my life. He is Love-incarnate. He is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. He is everything to me.

I prostrate at His Lotus Feet and pray to Him to bestow His love and care on me as a loving mother caring for her infant child.

-- Mr. K. P. Ramachandran

       (Extracted from the write-up given by Mr. K.P.Ramachandran to Late B. Parvatala Rao at Prasanthi Nilayam before Mr. Parvatala Rao's demise on August 21, 2006.)