Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan by Devotees | Group I | Mr. M.S.Murthy

Mr. M.S.Murthy,
3-807 / B / 1, Sai Krishna,
Karnata Nagepalli Road,
Puttaparthi - 515 134

Mr. M.S.Murthy (73) retired in 1989 as a teacher. His settling down at Puttaparthi is a miracle by itself.

'Like many children in this country, I too spent my childhood in an environment of devotion and faith in God. During my teens, however, I had to come face to face with the various social tensions, individual problems, evils and irregularities around - not to speak of the natural calamities. My faith in the Providence received a jolt. In those days, I toyed with atheistic considerations, even. Beset with problems and doubts, I was on the look out for a friend, guide and philosopher who could dispel my doubts and put me on spiritual rails.

Just during that period, I happened to go through the book 'Man of Miracles'. I prayed for confirmation about those miracles - questioning in my mind whether they were real incidents that had actually taken place, or whether they were the figments of imagination of the Author.

Pat come the reply! Swami showed concrete proof of Sai Miracles. Vibhuti came from Swami's Photograph in our own house. This was followed by a series of miracles in my life. In 1976, vibhuti emanated from Sri Sathya Sai Photograph in moderate quantity twice.

Again at 10 a.m. on February 24, 1992, vibhuti came from Shirdi Sai's Photograph abundantly. On Sivaratri Day, on March 2, 1992, I saw the figures of Shirdi Sai and Sri Sathya Sai - both in ochre robes with Abhaya Hasta in water basin. There was intense fragrance of sampenga flower as well as paccha karpuram - an edible form of camphor used in pan. Two of my friends also saw figures of Shirdi Sai and Sathya Sai, and also felt the fragrance of the perfume along with me.

During the months of March-April 1987, I suffered a severe attack of backache as if I had an electric shock around. I prayed to Bhagavan for redressal, and even used harsh words. 'You are considered to be an incarnation of Love', I told Bhagavan in my mental prayers. 'So you remove my pain without telling me Vedantam that one is bound to suffer the results of one's past karma, etc'. After nearly ten of such prayerful dialogues (rather monologues), Bhagavan appeared in my dream. I fell down on his feet and broke down. Swami smiled and showed Abhaya Hasta! That's all. Inexplicably, I was rid of my backache! Completely! It never returned.

Swami showed me two people in my dream on August 24, 1990. He did not tell me anything. On the 21st of the same month, my friend and spiritual preceptor, Sri Pemmaraju Subba Rao came to my house and suddenly proposed that we should follow him on his Shirdi trip on the 24th. He was the founder of a Tutorial called Sai Niketan. We, too, had a longing to go to Shirdi. In fact, we had not visited it that far. But my wife was indisposed. She was not able to do her household work even. How could she make it?

'Gladly, Master!' She uttered. My reaction was mixed. I was angry and surprised.

'How can you make it in this position?' I questioned.

'Swami's intention.' She replied. 'Don't say no!'

'Then I will take tickets for you both also', said Sri Rao. 'Be ready.'

'This is impossible!' I thought. My thought got transformed into words. But Swami transformed all impediments into conveniences and made our Shirdi trip comfortable and memorable.

In 1978, Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna was holding his vocal concert in Ravindra Bharati. I am a lover of music. I wanted to attend it. But the ticket was priced Rs.100/-. I could not afford. Balakrishna Sastry, a friend of mine and a disciple of Dr. Balamuralikrishna said, 'I don't have passes, but if you stand at the gate of Ravindra Bharati, you can come in with us when we go in. Follow us quietly. No one will object'.

I was happy. But by the time I reached Ravindra Bharati, they were in already. I was loitering there. When I turned back to return home in disappointment, a stranger approached me.

'You appear to be a lover of music', he told me. 'I have an extra pass. Take it'. I was doubtful if he would part with the pass of Rs.100/- just like that. He took me along with him. Just when we were taking seats inside, he saw his friend approaching.

'Sorry Sir!' He told me, 'I gave you the pass thinking that my friend would not turn up. But he came'.

'Take this', I said, 'give it to your friend'. I handed over the pass and got up to go home.

As I was alighting the steps to go out, some one touched me on my shoulders. I turned back. The same person!

'Don't think otherwise', he began, 'my friend managed to get a pass for himself. So you can take this pass and come in. This time you won't face any disappointment!'

Happily we all trouped in. Music programme came to end.

'May I know your good name, Sir?' I asked the person who gave me the pass.

'Satyanarayana.'

'Why?' I exclaimed, 'my name is the same!'

He smiled beautifully and said, 'the person who missed to turn up is also Satyanarayana!'

His friend who turned up with his own pass was also Satyanarayana.

'The original name of Sri Satya Sai Baba', I could not but burst out, 'is Satyanarayana!' In this drama put on boards by Bhagavan, for it is His miracle only, not a coincidence, all characters, curiously, are satyanarayanas!

About 3 months before Dasara in 1989, I had a dream in which I saw a slate upheld by some one whose face was not visible. I could clearly see a number written on the slate boldly. It was: 886. That's all. The dream ended.

I was beset with financial problems those days and thought in my amateurish way that Bhagavan was giving some clue for hitting a first prize in a lottery. I bought lottery tickets ending with 886. Though I got prizes for five tickets, the amount won was Rs.10 on each. I gave up buying lottery tickets out of frustration.

We went to Prasanthi Nilayam and attended Dasara festivities there. In our return journey, we went to my brother at Hyderabad. After a couple of days, we took an auto-rickshaw to go to the Bus Station to go to Karimnagar. After going for a few hundred yards, the auto-rickshaw began making furious sounds as if threatening to explode any minute. I asked the auto-driver to stop the auto-rickshaw but he was continuing to drive faster without any sign of stopping. The sounds became louder and even more frightening. I was very furious. I shouted at him demanding to stop the auto-rickshaw at once. I thought of giving a complaint to the police.

Finally, the auto-rickshaw stopped. But it did not come to a halt at any Police Station, but at the Bus Station, which was our destination. I got down; still in an angry mood, I looked at the number plate to note down the number to lodge a complaint. It was 886!

Suddenly I was reminded of my dream. It was Swami that saved my wife, and me and made us reach the Bus Station safely. This was indicated by the auto-rickshaw number 886, which was shown me, months in advance, in my dream, the real purpose of which I had so far missed sadly.

On September 7, 2000, I saw Sai Baba in my dream - neither Shirdi Sai nor Parthi Sai - but a devotee and a singer of Bhajans from Kakinada, with that name. In the dream, he gave me injection twice saying 'have to bear with…..' and stopped without completing the sentence. I did not pay much heed to it, and dismissed it as a meaningless dream.

But in a few days, I had to be admitted in a Hospital as a diabetic patient. On the left side of my abdomen, a small boil-like thing came up. It was surgically opened, and two injections were given to me. In fact, I passed through a critical phase in my health and lost all hopes of recovery. This was what I had to bear with!

On September 21, 1998, vibhuti formed on Swami's Photograph appearing like the number 35. I used to see that number at several places such as vibhuti bharani (container). It used to appear even on Idli. I could not make out what this number meant to me. I examined it in many angles. I considered it from the angle of Numerology also.

On September 1, 1999, nearly after a year, we were at Prasanthi Nilayam. There was a steep fall in my sugar count resulting in my admission into the Hospital in a state of unconsciousness. My wife told me later that when we had reached the Hospital, a Photograph of Swami there came to her!

On September 9, I was discharged at 10 a.m. 'Don't worry,' sister Elwin said to me. 'Today is 9-9-99. If you add the numbers and bring them to a single digit, it is again 9. So nothing will happen to you.'

On September 12, 1999, I was lying in my bed. Suddenly I noticed a number on a sheet (before me), written by chalk piece. It was 35. Did the dream forewarn me of the ensuing indisposition?

Swami came to Hyderabad in 1979 and addressed the devotees at Sivam. For me, it was the first time to listen to Swami's Discourse in person. Then I felt that I was being drawn to Him as if a powerful magnet was drawing me. I was not then a devotee of Swami. Besides, I was contemptuous of the so-called god-men who were exploiting the gullible in the name of God. Why I was getting attracted like this? I thought I must know more about Him.

On October 25, 1990, I had severe toothache. I suffered for two days. Suddenly I had an urge to listen to Swami's cassette 'Love is My Form'. I listened to it. The cassette ended simultaneously with my toothache. I have no explanation for this. Just a miracle! Perhaps, Sai therapy!

On July 7, 1990, I had a dream in which a stranger asked me about Swami's miracles. I gladly narrated a few. He wanted to hear more, but I could not recollect any, then and there. Then, another unknown lean person in white dress and black beard curtly said, 'why didn't you tell about Nagamma? How she breathed her last and got revived? Is that not a great miracle? Have you forgotten it already?' He was looking at me smiling, and the dream ended.

What that person said tallied completely with the indisposition of my wife. But my wife's name is Nagaratnamma. Why did he call her Nagamma?

'Yes', said my wife on hearing about my dream and the subsequent doubt. 'They used to call me Nagamma in my childhood! I forgot myself about it. How, on earth, this gentleman, whoever he is, knew that?'

'What gentleman?' I shouted at her in excitement. He is none other than our Swami!

On October 27, 1999, I had a dream. I did not see any one, but a book. Something was printed on it: 'Puttaparthi … Padi … Vaa' - only that much, nothing else. The dream ended.

I tried to decipher it, but in vain. I could only make out the meaning of Puttaparthi, because it is the name of our Swami's village. 'Padi' means having sung; or 'diary turnout'. The third word was just 'Vaa'. Is it a single letter word? After some days, one friend said that 'Vaa' in Tamil means 'to come'. Did Swami indicate that I should shift to Puttaparthi. It would be a good idea, but how would it be possible?

Then, after sometime, something happened. Smt Jandhyala Vijayalakshmi, w/o Sri Somasundaram of Kakinada told me one day: 'Why not both of you (my wife and I) go to Puttaparthi and live happily in the Divine Presence? You can reside in our house there'. We could not believe our ears. We entrained at Kakinada on October 4, 2001, and comfortably settled in Sai Krishna, the flat of Mrs.& Mr. Jandhyala Somasundaram at Puttaparthi.

Now I feel and enjoy the intense power of Sai Magnet the taste of which I had while listening to Bhagavan at Sivam, Hyderabad, way back to 1979!'

-- M.S.Murthy.

(As narrated to Mr. B.Parvatala Rao on April 7, 2004 at Prasanthi Nilayam)