Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan by Devotees | Group II | Late B. Venkateswara Rao

Late B. Venkateswara Rao,
Kambhampadu Post - 521 402
Krishna District
Tel: 08678-270270

Mr. B. Venkateswara Rao (60), Village Officer, Kambhampadu, wrote about his experiences of the Divinity of Bhagavan himself in a diary up to November 2003. This account is based on that diary. Mr. Rao passed away on November 26, 2004.

'My mother, Mrs. Venkatramamma passed away on July 30, 1993. We performed her obsequies at Kasi. When I was taking a holy dip in Ganga, I ran into a mendicant who told me, 'it is not necessary to come all the way to Kasi and have a holy dip in Ganga. It is enough if you serve your parents well'. 'But my parents are dead' I replied. 'Keep their idols and do pradakshina to them', he said. That made me entertain the idea to build a temple for my parents in our village. First I erected a sthupam in our orchard and kept the photographs of my parents in it. I kept the spectacles, footwear, etc. of my mother in the sthupam. All my relatives who came for the first masikam to our village appreciated this.

One day I remembered about what the mendicant had told me in Kasi about installing the idols of my parents. I wanted to change the sthupam into a temple and ordered the idols of my parents to be prepared in Madhira. We started work to reshape the sthupam into a temple. At that time, I had a doubt if my brothers would approve this step of building a temple and installing idols. My elder brother was at that time in Puttaparthi. Strangely, I received a letter from him. It was written on the day on which we started the work of reshaping the sthupam. He wrote that he had had a flash of an inspired thought while sitting for Darshan in the Mandir that a temple be built for our parents in our village and that it be named 'Ammaparthi'. My doubts were cleared and I could proceed further with confidence assuming that Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba blessed the project. The idols were installed in February 1999 at Ammaparthi. I used to go there daily and worship my parents.

In March-April 2003, I had some headache on one side. Soon, I began to experience the smell of masala (spices). It started from May. In June, the experience of masala smell was followed by giddiness and fainting. We went to Hyderabad and had a check-up. My nephew Dr. A.V.Manohar Rao referred me to a neuro-physician who, after tests, concluded that I had brain tumour. As it was not controlled by medicines, surgery was indicated. I was very apprehensive of surgery.

So I wrote a letter to Bhagavan praying to avert surgery, while I was in the NIMS, admitted there for brain surgery. First the surgery was fixed for June 28. But on June 27, the surgeon deferred it as a new operation theatre was being commissioned soon. They fixed it for July 3. When I was taken into the operation theatre, I saw clearly a shade of kashayam (crimson) near the operation table, which, I was sure, was Bhagavan standing there. I also felt my mother was seated on my bed, caressing me keeping my head in her lap.

Then a nurse came with black cloth to tie it over my eyes. On seeing her, I felt as if big, black wheels were descending on me from above. I cried in fright and lost my consciousness. Later, I came to know that the anaesthetist refused to administer anaesthesia as my B.P. was on the high side. So they had to defer surgery. I was shifted to the room and later discharged. In fact, my condition on that day was such that had I undergone surgery I might not have survived. This is what the doctors told me after I was shifted to the room. Thus Bhagavan saved me on that day.

As the surgery was deferred, I left for Vijayawada on my way to my village. I had Darshan of Kanakadurga Ammavaru. On July 20, we left for Tirupati. There we were put up in Bhagirathi guesthouse. I went out alone to have breakfast. But I could not find any hotel. Then I felt headache and giddiness, and inclined on a bench. A Home guard saw me and enquired about me. When I said that we were put up in Bhagirathi guesthouse, he took me there safely. I thought Bhagavan came in that form and led me to the guesthouse safely. A home guard generally would not have taken that much trouble.

On return to our village, I fell ill again with hiccups and vomiting. I went into coma and was shifted to Hyderabad and admitted in the NIMS. On August 8, I underwent surgery. Surgery only enhanced my troubles, as I had severe and continuous pain as if pins were driven into my head. I was told that I had to bear with it for weeks. I, even, toyed with the idea of suicide unable to bear and withstand the pain for so many days. During that time we went to Manikonda and had Darshan of Swami Sai Chaitanya of Parigi, Anantapur district, Swami Adi Sankaracharya Avadhoothendra of Kodad and Swami Sri Vedananda Santh of Hyderabad. All of them are devotees of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Miraculously, the next morning there was marked alleviation of the pain in my head. At Manikonda, one couple came to me and told me about Sri Sriram, a devotee of Bhagavan staying at Secunderabad, endowed with miraculous powers.

Sri Sriram agreed to see me on a particular day, but I thought I would not be able to go to him, as my radiation treatment was to start that very morning. Fortunately, the doctor concerned had to go to Visakhapatnam and commencement of my radiation treatment was deferred. So, I could go to Sri Sriram as scheduled.

We all went to the bus stop opposite to St. Ann's High School, Secunderabad where I was scheduled to see Sri Sriram. He took out a packet of vibhuti from his bag on which he signed before giving it to me. Later, when he was about to leave, I ran to his car. He lowered the windowpanes of his car, put his hands on my head and blessed. Miraculously, the pain left me instantaneously. It did not return to me again.

With the blessings of Sri Sriram, I underwent radiation treatment in Basava Tarakam Memorial Cancer Hospital at Hyderabad for 40 days. I used to think that Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba was giving me the treatment personally, seeing Swami in the technician and the doctor. Happily there were no side effects. After completion of the treatment, I visited Puttaparthi and had Darshan of Bhagavan very satisfactorily, and returned to Hyderabad.

While I was in Hyderabad for treatment, one night, a wolf came into our orchard at my native place where we kept a herd of sheep. People whom we kept on watch there were asleep. When they woke up in the morning, they found that the wolf was lying dead before the temple of my parents with no injury on its body, and all the sheep were safe and unharmed! All the villagers thought that my mother whose temple stands in the orchard had protected our sheep. I always held my parents and Bhagavan as one and the same form of the Divine.

Another time, I was informed when I was at Hyderabad, that some thieves had come to steal our sheep. They removed the fencing and brought a lorry into the orchard. They brought the sheep to the lorry. Then they left all the sheep there and fled away in the lorry. When the watchmen woke up in the morning, the sheep were not at the usual place. The watchmen searched in the orchard and found them all at a considerable distance. The strange thing was that even though the fencing had been removed, not even one sheep escaped. Why the thieves who had brought the lorry to load the sheep into it and steal them, left without taking them away, remained a mystery. We thought that a divine force was guarding my sheep in my absence.'

-- Mr. B. Venkateswara Rao

(As per the written narration of the individual in his diary.)