Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan by Devotees | Group IV | Mr. K. Sundara Rajan

Mr. K. Sundara Rajan,
B7, Lee Crystal Flats,
27-13, School Street,,
Virugambakkam, Chennai - 600 092

Tel: 044-5204 8863

Mr. K. Sundara Rajan (62), who was once a film producer and a transport operator, relates a few of his experiences of the Divinity of Bhagavan in his own words.

'I hail from a rich landlord family of the village Pavitram near Namakkal in Tamilnadu. In the eighties, I turned a film producer and incurred heavy loss on my releases. I lost all my property. Sometimes, it was difficult for us to have a square meal a day. Added to this, my wife developed a serious health problem for which surgery was indicated. It was expensive. I could not afford it.

At that time one person who was known to me said, 'why don't you take your wife to Prasanthi Nilayam and have darshan of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba?' I had no money even for charges. How to go? I kept Rs. 300 for payment of examination fee for my son. I wanted to go to Prasanthi Nilayam spending that money. Meanwhile, my wife had her period. So she could not come. Therefore, I went alone to Prasanthi Nilayam. It was my first visit there. This was in 1984.

In those days, the entry gate was near the Gopuram. When I reached that gate early in the morning, one unknown young man came to me and led me to a shed where he showed me accommodation. While I was thinking of doing my daily ablutions, he said, 'darshan time is up. Let us go'. 'I have not had my bath', I told him, and 'how can I come for darshan like this?' 'It does not matter', he told me, 'darshan is more important. We should not miss it. You come like this. No harm'. So we went and had darshan. That was the first time I had darshan of Bhagavan.

'Swami, my wife's health is not good', I prayed to Bhagavan in my mind, 'I can't afford the expenses of the surgery. I am left with no money. You have to save us'. After darshan, the young man came to me and said, 'let us go and have breakfast in the canteen'.

'How can I have breakfast?' I asked him, 'I have not had my bath yet'.

'Does not matter', the young man said, 'if the canteen is closed, it is difficult to get anything here'.

So we had breakfast. After that he was not to be seen. I searched for him in vain. He simply disappeared. I made enquiries about him, but nobody could tell me who he was. I concluded that Bhagavan had come in that guise and took care of me. I went for darshan again and prayed to Swami in my mind about my plight. Later, I returned to Chennai.

On the day I was praying to Bhagavan in Prasanthi Nilayam, a tall lady came to our house in Chennai and knocked the door. My neighbour was there in the adjacent portion and saw her. From his portion, some sweet fragrance of food being cooked was coming. The door of that portion was open. When my wife opened the door, the lady asked her straightaway, 'I am hungry. Give me food immediately'. She did not say that in a pleading tone. She was demanding in the tone of a mother-in-law ordering her daughter-in-law.

'I am out of doors', my wife replied, 'besides, we have not yet cooked our food'.

'I can't wait any longer', the lady continued in the same authoritarian tone, 'I am hungry. Give me food at once'.

'In that case, please wait', my wife urged her, 'I will arrange to get food cooked for you by my daughter'.

'When will she cook and when will I eat?' she demanded, 'no, give me a sari. I will go and have bath in the tank, and go home'.

My wife got her a sari. She checked it and said, 'is this good or torn anywhere?' she asked.

'It's alright', my wife replied patiently, 'it is all that I can spare'.

Then the lady put the sari on her shoulder and left. My wife watched her go. Had she been really hungry and come for food, why did not ask our neighbour whose door was ajar and from whose flat fine fragrance of food being prepared was emanating? My wife went to the street and peeped out. There was no trace of the lady. How could she pass the entire street in a trice? I was told about all this by my wife on my return from Prasanthi Nilayam.

In our village there is a temple of Ambaira Amman. We used to offer a new sari every year to the Goddess on the Ugadi (New Year's Day). After we shifted to Chennai, I could not do so even though I kept a new sari in the house for that purpose. When I heard this, I thought that Swami had come in the guise of that lady and taken the sari on behalf of Amman from us. After that, we noticed that my wife's ailment was completely cured within 15 days of the visit of that lady, without using medicines or without undergoing surgery, miraculously. We consider it Swami's grace.

Another thing happened. Someone came to my house when I was at Prasanthi Nilayam gave my son Rs. 300 and asked him to pay his examination fee. Swami saw to it that our boy's education did not suffer on account of my spending that money for my Prasanthi Nilayam trip.

Later, I got in touch with Sri Sathya Sai devotees. I joined as a member of the local samithi and began to participate in seva activities. On the suggestion of some devotees, I used to hire a bus and take new devotees who had not visited Prasanthi Nilayam earlier, in groups. Similarly, after I shifted to Chennai, I began to take members of the sevadal from Chennai to Prasanthi Nilayam and back in the bus. Many times, I was lucky to transport things meant for Bhagavan's use such as white petrol, etc in my bus. This transport business helped me to make both ends meet.

But the bus owner began to be irregular in providing the buses on time. He used to send buses which were not in good repair. All this resulted in our not being able to run the buses as per time schedule. Once we were delayed in our trip from Chennai to Prasanthi Nilayam nearly by eight hours, and from Bangalore to Chennai by nearly ten hours. During darshan time of Prasanthi Nilayam, I mentally prayed to Bhagavan, 'give me a bus. I will run it for devotees adhering to Swami's principles of punctuality and purity'.

As I was praying to Him like this, Bhagavan came and stood before me. He materialised vibhuti and poured it in my hand and blessed me.

After my return to Chennai, the devotees collected Rs.1, 00,000 among themselves on their own and gave it to me to buy a bus. I did not ask anyone. I raised Rs.1, 00,000 as loan from a Bank. I bought a bus and ran it to Prasanthi Nilayam with Swami's devotees. This I started in 1990. By 1994, my fleet increased to as many as four buses, owing to Bhagavan's grace.

After buying the bus, I took the sevadal from Chennai to Prasanthi Nilayam four times. We came to Prasanthi Nilayam on the fifth trip. Swami was at Brindavan. Therefore, I took members of the sevadal whose duty was over at Prasanthi Nilayam to Brindavan. There they took padanamaskar, and started on their return journey to Chennai.

As we were nearing Palamaneru, a jeep was going in front of us. It began to overtake a lorry that was going in front of it. We followed and suddenly the jeep slowed down, and came behind the lorry as another lorry was coming in the opposite direction. Our driver could not anticipate this. He dashed against the jeep which went and hit the lorry that was going in front of it. The impact was so intense that it shot back and hit our bus again. Then the front glass of the windshield of our bus was shattered into pieces. We pasted one photograph of Bhagavan on that glass pane earlier. The glass- pane, along with the photograph of Bhagavan, broke and fell somewhere on the road. At the time of the accident, I was standing near the footboard just behind the front glass-pane on the left of the driver.

Though the glass-pane broke into pieces and the splinters flew off on all sides, miraculously, I was unhurt though I was just behind that glass pane. The jeep was badly damaged. But all the four persons in it escaped unhurt miraculously but for a scratch here and there. There were 54 passengers in our bus. Most of them were women. Our bus was detained there. How to shift the passengers to Chennai? Meanwhile, the State Coordinator of Sri Sathya Sai Organization, Tamilnadu, who was coming in a car, saw the glass piece with Bhagavan's photograph on the road, and collected it carefully as it was found on the road. He then came to us and understood our plight. He talked to the RTC people at Palamaneru and arranged to shift all the sevadal members to Chennai in RTC buses. Luckily none of them was hurt.

I went to the police station. The SI who wore a ring with Shirdi Sai picture was there. Even after my representing to him that we were taking Sri Sathya Sai sevadal, he demanded Rs. 3000 to release our bus, that, too, after bringing the required clearance from the Motor Vehicles Inspector. Then I went to the Motor Vehicles Inspector in whose house I did not find any photograph of any deity. But he gave a favourable report without taking a pie. 'You are doing good work', he told me, and 'it is punyam (merit) for me also to help you'. Finally the bus was released, and we reached Chennai.

The State Coordinator brought the glass-pane piece with Swami's photograph during his next visit to Prasanthi Nilayam to mention to Swami about the miraculous escape of the sevadal. As he was trying to take out the glass piece, Swami said, 'no need. I know. I protected them. It is my bus. He is my devotee and they are my sevadal.'

My daughter-in-law, Mrs. Akhila Bhaskaran is carrying now. She is going to give birth to twins according to scanning reports. They are afraid how she would come out safely after delivering twins in good health.

I was praying to Bhagavan mentally during darshan one week ago when Swami was sitting in Sai Kulwant Hall, 'Swami! Bless my daughter-in-law. I will collect vibhuti from security and send it to her'. Just then a boy of 6 or 7 years old came to our side dangling a vibhuti packet. He asked a few people if they would like to have it. Then he came to me and gave it. Then he asked me 'will you come to canteen?' I said, 'no'. Afterwards I have not seen him anywhere around. Could there be any connection between this boy and the lad that had taken me for darshan and also to the canteen on my very first visit to Prasanthi Nilayam?

I believe Swami came in that guise and delivered vibhuti to me for my daughter-in-law, so that I need not have to go to the Security Office for vibhuti. Soon after, I sent vibhuti packet to my daughter-in-law.

As all my sons and daughter are well-settled, I have come to Prasanthi Nilayam to spend the evening of my life in the Divine presence seeking peace and tranquillity.'

-- Mr. K. Sundara Rajan

(As narrated to Mr. B. Parvatala Rao at Prasanthi Nilayam on 09.07.2005.)