Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan by Devotees | Group III | Mr. M. Ramachandra Rao

Mr. Madiraju Ramachandra Rao,
11-4-65/2, Sai Nilayam,
Nehrunagar, Khammam – 507 002
Mobile: 98855-74592

Mr. M. Ramachandra Rao (65), a retired Principal of a Government Degree College, relates a few of his experiences of the Divinity of Bhagavan in his own words.

‘When I was working at Warangal, I used to suffer from insomnia. I could not get even a wink of sleep. When I got some sleep, I used to wake up even if there was a slight sound. I was getting weak. I went to many doctors, used medicines and tried several types of treatment. All were in vain.

My colleague Mr. Badari Narayana Rao is an ardent devotee of Bhagavan. He advised me to go to Puttaparthi. I was not a believer then in Babas. I ignored the advice for sometime. One day I suddenly felt an urge to go to Puttaparthi. My children went to school. They did not return yet. My wife said, ‘where is the hurry now all of a sudden? Our children haven’t come from school. How can we leave?’ I did not relent. Even without taking our children, I started with my wife to Hyderabad on our way to Puttaparthi as if I was ‘possessed’.

At Hyderabad, I tried to buy some sleeping pills. But medical shop people whom I approached said, ‘no stock’. I was vexed. I said, ‘let us go back to Warangal’. My wife did not agree. So we boarded a bus to Puttaparthi. The moment our bus started, I had sound sleep till I reached Puttaparthi. This was in July 1981. We were there for three days. All the three days, I enjoyed sound sleep day and night except for brief gaps for Darshan, bhajan and meals.

During Darshan, Swami used to move past me staring at me. During bhajan in the hall, He was looking at me from top to bottom. Before starting to Puttaparthi, I asked Mr. Badari Narayana Rao about the complexion of Baba. ‘You go and see, and tell me on return’, he said with a smile. When I had Darshan of Baba for the first time, I found Him to be of light sky blue complexion – a very rare thing in humans.

When we were at Prasanthi Nilayam, many people were coming. I learnt that they were coming for Gurupoornima. I was in doubt if we had to stay on till Gurupoornima. That day I had a dream. One boy came in my dream and showed me a letter on which was written, ‘Ramachandra Rao, go home’. I woke up and fell asleep after a while. The same dream repeated. Some co-devotee in whom I confided about the dream said, ‘Swami wants you to return home’. I returned to Warangal with my wife. My ailment healed completely without any medicine thereafter.

I began making frequent visits to Prasanthi Nilayam from then onwards. I began to take active part in Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization work also.

My daughter, Ms. Usha was studying MBBS. In 1998, she developed a peculiar ailment. She used to have forceful vomitings. After a few days of suffering, she used to get all right. After an interval of a few days, she used to get the attack again. When she had the attack, she could not take any food. If she took even a spoonful; she used to vomit forcefully with loud sound. She had to be kept on saline for days. The ailment was so terrible that she used to cry and exhort me, ‘kill me, Dad! I can’t stand this’. We got her examined by the best doctors and arranged treatment without any positive results. I used to pray to Bhagavan intensely. Swami used to come into my dram and say, ‘let her experience her karmic load. It will heal’. I took her to Prasanthi Nilayam. As Swami went to Brindavan, we also went there. As long as she was at Brindavan or Prasanthi Nilayam, she was all right.

After two years, we were at Prasanthi Nilayam. Swami came along the Darshan line one day and gave vibhuti to a lady sitting by the side of my daughter and gave some vibhuti to my daughter also. With that her ailment was miraculously and completely healed. There is no recurrence.

When she was suffering like that, one of her classmates, Dr. Vasan came to me.

‘I want to marry your daughter, if you are willing’, he told me. He is very handsome. In fact, my daughter’s complexion is a little dark, but he is very fair.

‘She is not well’, I said, ‘I don’t know if you are aware of it’.

‘I know all about her health problem’, he said, ‘I love her very much. I am attracted by her good manners and behaviour. I value character more than anything else.’

Owing to Swami’s grace, the marriage was consummated in 1991. Her health, as I related earlier, improved well with Swami’s vibhuti. She passed her MBBS, did her post-graduation, DGO and got an appointment in the Singareni collieries hospital. They created a post for my son-in-law also for her sake, and appointed him in the same hospital.

I perform daily abhishekam to silver padukas blessed earlier at Prasanthi Nilayam by Bhagavan. It was a Friday in the month of Shravana in 2002. I went into the poojaroom to do abhishekam when I found a few dots of kumkum on the padukas. ‘Have you put kumkum on pakukas?’ I asked my wife.

‘No, I have not’, she replied.

I asked my servant maid also. She replied that she had not entered the pooja room. I had a hunch that it could be a miracle. So, I locked the room without doing daily abhishekam. Later, I saw that kumkum spread on the padukas. Next day, it was all over the plate in which padukas were kept. On the third day, it was on all photographs of deities in the pooja room. On the fifth day, we went to vriddhashramam after locking the house to do bhajan there. It was a Thursday. When we returned, we saw footprints in kumkum from the pooja room to the hall and from there to the front room and then back to the pooja room. The house was locked and there was no scope for anyone to put footprints in kumkum in our house. We were astounded. The next day kumkum was found all over the house as if some one had sprinkled it liberally all over. There used to be turmeric and vibhuti also. The footprints used to go round the house, and some times up the stairs on to the terrace.

We used to keep some breakfast in a plate for Swami; idli, upma, chapatti or whatever we prepared for us. The plate used to be empty afterwards. Though we used to keep meals also, it was not consumed like the breakfast. This went on for days. Meanwhile pasupu and kumkum used to emanate in items kept in the fridge such as milk, curds as well as drinking water jars. But the items did not differ in taste because of kumkum and pasupu. Kumkum used to come on car and scooter, on beds and what not – even in the toilet. Once some devotees came from Madhira to witness the miracle. Footprints began to appear right in front of our eyes – sprinkling either side kumkum liberally. ‘Swami is going somewhere’, we cried and followed the footprints. They ascended the steps and went on to the terrace.

During that period, we kept a cot exclusively for Swami. We kept a shawl also on it, neatly folded. We found it spread fully on the cot as if someone had covered his body with it.

I learnt later that my children, who felt serious inconvenience from the visiting public, had prayed to Swami explaining their plight. Then kumkum used to emanate but disappear after a while. Earlier, amritam used to emanate from photographs of all deities. Later, we noticed that it was coming from photographs where there was convenience to collect it. It did not emanate from a photograph of Swami in the hall where no such convenience existed.

After nearly 40 days of appearance of kumkum, pasupu, vibhuti, and amritam, the miracle ceased, possibly in response to the prayer of our children.

In 2002, I had a cardiac problem called ‘Ecto-bics’ – missing of a beat in the rhythm of heartbeat. One day Swami appeared in my dream. I was telling Him my problems. ‘First let me correct your major health problem’, Swami told me. Kumkum and other things emanated in our house, after I had the dream. I went to Prasanthi Nilayam after the miracle ceased and got a checkup done. The report was normal. I had not taken any medicine meanwhile.’

-- Mr. Madiraju Ramachandra Rao.

(As narrated to Mr. B. Parvatala Rao at Prasanthi Nilayam on 25.04.2005)