Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan by Devotees | Group II | Mr. R. Sivaramakrishna

Mr. R. Sivaramakrishna,
H.B - 72, R.M. Colony,
Dindigal - 624 008
Tamilnadu

Mr. R. Sivaramakrishna (69), who had his career in the Accounts line and retired in the supervisory cadre, relates a few of his experiences of the Divinity of Bhagavan in his own words.

'I saw the Photograph of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in my sister's house at Ambattoor in 1956 for the first time. In 1967, Mrs. Bhaskaran, a devotee of Swami, took my wife for bhajans. After her attending bhajans for a few months, I asked my wife one day, 'are these bhajans only for ladies?'

'Gents are also welcome', she replied, 'but no one is attending.'

Next time, I went with my wife for the bhajan. I was the only male in the bhajan. At the commencement of the bhajan, all lights except the lamp before Swami's Photograph were switched off. The very spiritual environment of silence and serenity created at that time was really enchanting. From that day, I became a bhajan addict. Slowly gents too began attending the bhajans.

Though we were attending the bhajans for quite sometime, we had not arranged one in our house. Chance came our way in 1972, that too, on the auspicious day of Tamil New Year (April 14). I bought three Photographs of Swami. Bhajan started punctually and ended on schedule. Prasadam was distributed. It was, due to Swami's grace, a grand success. All those who attended left happily.

Then the power supply went off. We finished our dinner in candlelight and spent the night without power supply. At around 1:30 a.m. in the night, I felt that a fine aroma enveloped the house but did not pay much attention. My wife woke up early in the morning on the 15th and found all the three photographs of Swami filled fully with vibhuti. She woke me up in an excited tone. I went into the dining hall where I had kept Swami's Photographs the previous night, to see what was the matter. The Photographs were filled with vibhuti. I cleaned all the three photographs and took them to a room. Within seconds, there was vibhuti all over the three photos again. I cleaned them again only to find vibhuti returning in full. The more I cleaned, the quicker vibhuti returned. This went on several times.

It did not end there. It became a regular feature for quite sometime thereafter. On Mondays vibhuti, Tuesdays and Fridays kumkum, Wednesdays honey (amrutam), and Thursdays and Sundays chandan used to appear regularly. Like this some indication of Lord's presence used to be there everyday.

On every Thursday we used to prepare some sweet and offer it to Swami. We used to break a coconut and keep the two halves before Swami. Kumkum or vibhuti used to appear on one of the coconut pieces. There used to be no ants at the sweet if Swami accepted the offering. If there were ants, we used to take the vessel of sweet away. There used to be vibhuti or kumkum on the Photographs when Swami accepted the offering, which used to be a regular feature. Generally we used to find the vessel completely empty each Thursday.

One day my mother was pondering over these happenings when a thought crossed her mind, 'Swami! Are you that hungry?' Next Thursday, the vessel was as it was with the content. Swami took only a spoonful of the offering as a token of His acceptance. Vibhuti and kumkum appeared on the Photographs as usual.

In 1977, my mother prepared Kesari (sweet) and offered it to Swami. Surprisingly, we found one letter on the upper layer of Kesari. It was not of Tamil or Malayalam, neither of English nor of Hindi, nor of any one of the languages known to us. We brought a Telugu gentleman. He said that the letter looked like being of Telugu, but could not say what it was.

In 1981, I was transferred to Bangalore where I saw the same letter, while travelling in a Bus. 'What is that letter?' I asked a Kannada gentleman in the Bus. 'Aum', he replied, 'we write Aum like that in Kannada'. Then only I realized that Swami indicated to me about my transfer to the land of Kannada four years prior to its happening!

Before all these happened, that is, before 1977, my mother heard that Baba likes yellora balls much (eatable balls made of gingili grain and jaggery). So she prepared 10 balls and offered them to Swami. Later, it was noticed that one ball was not there in the offering. When I came home from office, my mother told me, 'Look! Swami has come here today!'

'What?' I questioned in disbelief. 'How is it possible?'

She then narrated the story of yellora balls offering.

'May be my son might have eaten it', I said.

Next Thursday, my mother prepared 20 balls of yellora - kept 10 each in two vessels. We kept the two one over the other and made the offering to Swami. I kept a close watch. Later when we looked into the vessels, there were eleven in each of them.

'When one was short, you said that it might have been eaten by your son', my mother chided me. 'Now! Have you put one more in each of the vessels? How come eleven in each?'

I realized my mistake and prayed to Swami to pardon me. That is how it all began about swami accepting the offerings in our house.

I wanted to perform the Upanayanam (thread marriage) of two of my sons together. It is against custom to perform the marriages or thread ceremonies of two brothers or sisters on the same day. So my mother objected.

'Do you agree if Swami approves it?' I asked my mother.

'Ok.' She agreed. As usual, on one Thursday two halves of a coconut were kept before Swami. By evening both were full of akshatas. My mother was amazed. Having got the approval of Swami, we performed the thread ceremony of my two sons on the same day after fixing up an auspicious time and date.

I recall another incident that happened in seventies. All the four members of my family except my wife and I were down with chickenpox. I kept all of them in Swami's room. There was vibhuti on the photographs as usual, but it was black in colour. I tasted a little. It was bitter like neem-leaf. I realized that Swami had sent medicine for the ailment. I gave it to all. Within three days all of them recovered completely.

When we were at Durgapur, West Bengal, we celebrated Vinayaka Chaturthi. It was prior to 1981. I do not remember the exact date. My mother made modakas. When my son was crying for them, she gave one to him. Usually, none is allowed to partake the offering before it is offered to the Lord. That night, my mother had a dream in which she found that she was alone in the house. Some one knocked at the door. 'Who is there?' my mother asked in Bengali. A lady's voice answered in Tamil. So my mother boldly opened the door. A lady with a child came in. The child had a nose, which looked like the trunk of an elephant. 'Give him something to eat or drink', the lady pleaded with my mother, 'he is hungry.' My mother said, 'let me see if I can get some milk' and went into the kitchen. The dream ended.

She thought that Swami did not accept modakas on Vinayaka Chaturthi as they were given to my son before they were offered to the Lord. To atone for the same, she prepared modakas the next day again and offered in two vessels - 10 in each. There was vibhuti and kumkum on both the vessels in token of Lord's acceptance.

My younger brother, R.G.S. Mani was a non-believer of all these things. He came from Bombay to Durgapur to see us. My mother and he went to the market where he learnt that a dozen Rastali variety of plantain were sold at Rs. 12. They cost Rs. 55 in Bombay. So he bought a dozen. As soon as they returned home, my mother offered them to Swami in the morning, as was her wont. By 3 p.m. one fruit was missing. There was gap, but no mark of the fruit being removed. The Photograph of Swami was full of vibhuti. My brother witnessed it and became an instant convert to Swami's fold. He asked for the Photograph of Swami and took one from me to Bombay. There was vibhuti on the day of installation of it in Bombay - but not later.

During the seventies, one worker came to my quarter in Durgapur to paint doors and windows. I asked him to come around 1 p.m. I returned by that time from office and he too arrived at the same time, almost. As customary for me, after opening the door, before entering in, I looked at Swami's Photograph, which was clear. After entering, I accosted the worker to come in. When I turned to look at the Photograph of Swami, it was covered by vibhuti fully. One second back, vibhuti was not there.'

-- Mr. R.Sivaramakrishna

(As narrated to Mr. B. Parvatala Rao at Prasanthi Nilayam on 22.10.2004.)