|
Talk Given by Prof. Anil Kumar
On
May 9th, 2011
“Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s Mahasamadhi”
Events from 24.04.11 to 06.05.11
OM…OM…OM…
Sai
Ram
With
Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
Bhagavan lived for 96 years
Let me
tell you at the outset that Bhagavan lived for 96 years, as
He promised. People have been asking me: why He left us ten
years earlier? Did He not say that He would be here on this
earth for 96 years? What happened? This is the question
everyone has.
My
friends, Swami’s word will never be untrue. He will live up
to His promise under all circumstances. But we must
understand what He really meant. Just calculate as per the
regional lunar calendar—the almanac. According to the
almanac, there are 27 stars, and hence 27 days per month,
not 30 as per the English calendar. A year consists of only
324 days, not 365. Thus He spent 30,834 days or 96 years
with us.
He said
that He would live for 96 years, but He did not say
according to what calendar or what system. The great Vedic
scholars of this region assembled and discussed at length,
and arrived at these figures. This has been telecast all
over. People are now convinced that He lived for 96 years as
He promised.
Bhagavan had decided the spot for the samadhi long ago
Here is
the second point. Long back, while moving on the dais (in
the front centre part of the veranda), Swami called me and
said, “There will be the Samadhi here.” A samadhi
or tomb is the place where His body would be laid to rest,
after He withdraws from this world.
Then I
said to Swami, “Why do You speak
that way? I am frightened when You
say such things!”
Baba
said, “Why? It’s a must. One day or another, it has to
happen.” So He decided the spot for the Samadhi long ago.
Swami has withdrawn from his body as he willed
Not only
that, a few years ago in Kodaikanal, Swami was speaking
about His lifespan of 96 years. Suddenly He said, “If I
want, I can live even beyond 96. If I decide, I can withdraw
now. I can leave My body and go.”
I said,
“Swami, we have all come here for a vacation. All children
are with you. This is summer camp, Kodaikanal. Why do you
speak like that and frighten everyone? Please Swami, don’t
speak like that.”
Swami
said, “No, no, no! I am telling you that extension and
withdrawal are in My hands. I
determine when I should withdraw and how long I should
continue.”
Therefore my friends, be sure
that He has withdrawn from His body as He willed.
Swami’s only concern was his devotees
Then a
question comes to mind: why 28 days in the hospital? Why
dialysis and ventilator? Why the liver damage? Why all this?
My
friends, tell me how many people can withstand all these
problems at the age of 85? He was kept on ventilator as his
lungs were affected. A pacemaker was fixed due to heart
problems. Kidney problem led to dialysis. He suffered from
jaundice due to liver problems. Almost all vital organs
suffered heavily. But He continued for 28 days in the
hospital! To survive with all this at the age of 85
itself is His Divinity.
It is
His strong will that made Him continue. We should also
understand that all these problems did not creep up
suddenly. All parts can’t get damaged all of a sudden. Some
doctors suspect that He must have been suffering since long
and neglected His health; therefore it came to this
situation.
Let’s
keep that aside because I am not a doctor to speak in those
terms; but as a devotee I can say this: He worked till the
end. He never cared for His body or health. His only care
and concern was the welfare of His devotees. In the process,
He fell sick and neglected His health. Perhaps He wanted to
withdraw. Probably He thought that His Divine agenda had
come to an end, that it was time to leave. He decided when
to come, and He decided when to leave. So be sure His
advent as well as eclipse were
decided by Him.
Sathya sai baba - only spiritual MASTER bestowed state
honours
It is
wonderful and unbelievable that on that day, 27th
of April, it was a matter of celebration!
Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister
of India, and the topmost leader of Congress Party, Madam
Sonia Gandhi, Cabinet Ministers like Mrs.
Ambika Sony, Governors like
Shivaraj Patel and
Narasimhan, Chief Ministers like
Mr. Kumar Reddy of Andhra Pradesh,
Yeddyurappa from the State of Karnataka, all were in
attendance on the Samadhi day, when the body was laid
to rest.
A
special military band was called from Mysore. They stood in
line and marched forward and placed the tri-coloured
flag over the body. Wrapped in the flag, the body was taken
to rest on the dais, the Samadhi place, which was decided by
Swami long ago.
To my
knowledge, only the most spiritual guru is given such
an honor and no other government would give such respect and
reverence to a spiritual guru. Sathya Sai Baba is the
only spiritual Master who was given state
honours.
I am
reminded of the demise of top people in this country. I know
the state honors accorded to Indira
Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Ministers of India,
when they died. Similar honours
were given to Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
one million people had swami’s last darshan
The dais
was beautifully decorated and representatives from different
religions flew all the way from everywhere. The Imam of
Delhi—the head priest of Islamic faith, the top man from
Sikh religion, special Christian and Buddhist priests
attended, and all offered prayers, reading out passages from
their respected Holy scriptures in honour and adoration of
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
For two
days, His body was kept lying in state so that all could
have His last darshan. He left His body on 24th
of April at 7:40 AM. The body was brought to this
Mandir around 12 o’clock and
kept in Sai Kulwant Hall for public darshan at 8.00
PM. His body was kept in a casket for two days, 25th
and 26th for all the devotees to have the last
darshan.
Believe
me, my friends, lakhs and lakhs of people
lined up in queues, and marched towards the casket in
perfect discipline and paid their respects. It is estimated
at least 10 lakh (about one million) people must have
had His last darshan.
How He
has endeared Himself to all these people—villagers, farmers,
daily casual labor, illiterate, very poor people, middle
class people, rich people! How He could draw people of all
cross sections, of all positions! They came like a
tsunami! Puttaparthi was flooded with people!
IT was an outpouring of love and devotion
How
about media? Members of regional, state, national, and
international media, both press and television, were camped
here in Prashanthi Nilayam for 20 days. All channels were
waiting for the health bulletin on Bhagavan. The state and
district administration evinced keen interest in releasing
bulletins regularly because the public was anxious to know.
Those
days were very tough, yet it was a reality. During the 28
days that Baba was hospitalised,
there was no other thought, other than His health. In other
words, our spiritual levels have gone up. In the local area,
all shops and hotels were closed. All local people, right
from the level of watchmen to the wealthiest people, cooked
and distributed food freely to lakhs of devotees who
came here to pay their last homage to Bhagavan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba. In some places expensive items like
pulav,
biriyani, fruits and ice
cream were served. Nobody instructed them to do so. Water
packets and bottles were distributed to everybody. Nobody
told them to. This was unprecedented. It was an outpouring
of love and devotion. Amazing!
I should
also mention that right from 24th evening 6
o’clock, until His body was laid to rest, on 27th
April at 9 AM we had Akhanda
bhajans. We had men and women, boys and girls,
singing bhajans throughout this period and the
atmosphere was full of devotion, floral tributes and
decorations. It is befitting because the advent of Avatar is
a celebration and Avatar withdrawing from the body is a
celebration too.
The
whole humanity expressed its gratitude to the Avatar. It was
a prayerful salutation to our Lord, an expression of
respect, a token of love. The Trust held meetings repeatedly
to make certain decisions, and also held some press
conferences to answer the questions put to them.
doubting THE TRUST members is doubting baba’s wisdom
I would
like to summarise what I know
about the Trust. There have been many apprehensions and lot
of vain gossip. Some papers published false allegations,
attributing evil motives to Trust members. But as one who is
associated with Sathya Sai movement for 40 years, living
closely with Swami and the Trust members for the last 22
years, I can certainly give you some factual information
about the Trust.
The
facts: Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust is founded by Bhagavan
Sri Sathya Sai Baba Himself and no other person. Bhagavan
Sri Sathya Sai Baba is the founder and President of Sri
Sathya Sai Central Trust. The members were nominated by Him.
They were not elected. They are not chosen by the public.
They were specially picked up by Bhagavan on the basis of
their stature in society, their dedicated spirit to His
mission and movement, and above all, their trust and
devotion. Based on these criteria, Swami Himself selected
the members of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. To question
that or to doubt them is to doubt the wisdom of Baba, which
is a sacrilege.
trust members are reputed Personalities and ardent devotees
I will
make a mention of a couple of people, if not all. The first
and foremost is the Secretary of Sri Sathya Sai Central
Trust, Mr. N.C. Chakravarthi. Mr. Chakravarthi hales from
the state of Tamil Nadu, and he is a civil servant. He was a
highly ranked IAS Officer (Indian Administrative Service),
serving as District Collector at Ananthapur. He had 20 years
of service remaining when Swami wanted him to resign and
come to Prashanthi Nilayam.
Can
anyone match him in his devotion and sacrifice? None!
Believe me or not, he has not come out of the four walls of
Prashanthi Nilayam for 30 years. He stays here like a
watchdog. He served as the Registrar of Sri Sathya Sai
University for 13 long years. Later and to date, he has
served as the Secretary of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. He
is around 75 I think, and both his sons are settled abroad.
He has nothing to gain, no need to earn. He doesn’t need
anything. He never came for power because he was already a
District Collector. He came here full of dedication and
devotion. Can we doubt him?
The
second man is Chief Justice of India, Justice P.N. Bhagwati
who is known internationally. He was the Chairman of U.N.
Human Rights commission. He has toured widely, is a great
writer and is known for his unique judgments. A very popular
man in the judicial circles, he is almost 90, and was picked
by Baba as a Trust member. Do we doubt him now? What is it
that he needs? He wanted an opportunity to serve Him, and
therefore accepted Baba’s invitation to join the Trust.
Then we
have Shri
Indulal Shah from Bombay, who is above 90. He is a
very popular figure, a disciplined man. With more than five
decades of relentless service and dedication, and very high
standards of devotion, he developed the Sri Sathya Sai
Organisation to its present stature. The whole world
respects him for his discipline and vision. What is it that
he gets out of this membership? He came here to serve Swami,
in response to His invitation to become a member of the
Central Trust.
Therefore my friends, do not get
carried away by anything that is said against the Trust
members. They are very genuine, highly respected and
reputed, popular figures. They are ardent devotees and hence
Swami selected them as members of Sri Sathya Sai Central
Trust.
For your
information, nobody receives cash directly. In Sri Sathya
Sai Organisation, nobody is authorised
to collect funds. You have to remit into the bank, collect
the receipt, and everything is accounted for. All accounts
are annually audited and the reports are sent to the central
government. They are all responsible people.
Therefore, don’t be carried away by whatever is said against
the Central Trust members. Don’t doubt them because the
Central Trust was constituted at His will, and has been
functioning successfully with all its accountability and
credibility all these years.
truth has no fear
There
are several channels covering the daily news. I thought it
was time for me to come out and talk to them openly. I spoke
to almost all media organisations,
explaining the exact position and dispelling their doubts. I
encouraged them to put as many questions as they could
because truth has no fear. Truth does not entertain any
doubts; it calls for frankness, fearlessness, openness.
Unsolicited, I did it as an act of service, as a token of
love towards Bhagavan. I did it because I felt a call from
within: “Come on, get out! Talk to everybody! Declare what
you know! Don’t allow this character assassination to go on.
Tell the truth to the world, whatever little you know.”
So in
response to my conscience, I came out and spoke to
everybody. I have great satisfaction today of having
discharged this little bit of service, of obligation towards
the organisation and Swami.
celebrations in prashanthi nilayam from 4th to 6th
May
Then the
administrators planned for meetings on 4th, 5th,
and 6th of May. Fourth of May happens to be the
11th day of Samadhi and the 6th is the
13th day of Samadhi. The 6th of May
happens also to be Easwaramma day also. So from 4th
to 6th May, we had programs at Sai Kulwant Hall.
On the 4th,
we had a meeting in Sai Kulwant Hall where a few elders
shared their experiences with devotees. I was one of them.
Besides me, we had Dr. Narendra
Reddy, Vice Chairman of International Sathya Sai
Organisation from Los Angeles, California USA. We also had
another speaker, Sri Srinivansan,
All India President Sri Sathya Sai Organisation, and
finally, Mr. Sanjay Sahani,
Principal of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning,
Brindavan campus, Bangalore.
On 5th,
the Trust members were talking to heads of different
sections working in Prashanthi Nilayam. They were talking to
students, consoling them and assuring their continued
support to them. On 6th, Easwaramma day, about
20,000 poor people were fed in Sri Sathya Sai Hill View
stadium. I understand that 12,000 women and 8,000 men
attended that day. Everyone received food and clothes.
Policeman helped maintain law and order. Sevadal and
students of the university participated in the distribution.
Also on
the 6th, at 10:30 in morning in South Indian
canteen, all the devotees, visitors, and residents of
Prashanthi Nilayam, were served lunch. So there was a big
celebration in the morning. At 5 o’ clock in the evening, we
had a meeting in which Dr. Venkataraman,
the former Vice Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai University,
addressed us. Also, Mr. V.S.R. Murthy from Hyderabad spoke
in Telugu.
And
finally, we had a music recital. The vocalists
Malladi Brothers sang in praise
of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. With that, the celebrations
concluded.
All activities in prashanthi nilayam are proceeding as
before
I will
add another point: Prashanthi Nilayam today has slowly
reconciled with and adjusted to the changed situation.
People are attending bhajans as usual, work is going
on as usual, and at the end of the bhajans, people
line up. After arathi, they pay their respects to the
Samadhi and silently return. A Divine chair is kept
by the side of the Samadhi (the tomb) for people to have
darshan. The spiritual program, Nagasankirtanam,
Veda recitation, and bhajans, everything is
proceeding as per schedule.
The
All-India President Srinivasan
and a member of the central Trust made it categorically
clear that all activities will go on as usual. States will
start visiting Prashanthi Nilayam as before. Different
devotees from different nations will continue to visit
Prashanthi Nilayam as before. Conferences,
workshops—provincial, national, and international—will be
held as before.
We also
plan to have an International Orthopedic Conference and an
International Workshop for Young Adults. On 17th
and 18th May, we will celebrate Buddha Purnima in
honour of Lord Buddha. About 800 people are going to attend
from Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, China, and Hong Kong.
Divine vibrations of baba are all around
Divine
vibrations and the undercurrent of Divinity are present. The
smile of Baba is experienced; the physical Presence of Baba
is felt by everyone as they go close to the Samadhi. He may
not be in front of us in body and flesh, but we see Him
there. We find Him answering our prayers. People are getting
messages from the Samadhi. Some see Him sitting on the
Divine chair, even though He is not here in flesh and blood.
My
friends, I am more than sure that this place is going to be
a Mecca, a Vatican, Jerusalem, Bethlehem,
Badari,
Kashi, Tirupathi,
Mathura, Shirdi, Gurudwara, a
synagogue, a mosque, a church.
This place will always attract people because the place has
been developed by the Avatar Himself during His lifetime.
We hear
of places that developed subsequent to the Avatar’s
withdrawal, but this place has been developed inch-by-inch
by Sri Sathya Sai Baba Himself. Every grain of it is His!
The university, colleges, schools and hospitals are
established—the only centre of support to poor and needy
people for education and health care!
prashanthi nilayam is a spiritual generator
Therefore, there is no doubt at all that this Prashanthi
Nilayam—a pilgrim centre, a centre of service and sadhana,
a centre of fellowship of faiths, a centre that directs
every spiritual seeker individually—will continue its glory,
its splendour, its grandeur and tempo in the coming years
because here there are the Divine vibrations of Bhagavan Sri
Sathya Sai Baba all around.
He will
be watching. Just as a generator is a source of power,
Prashanthi Nilayam is a spiritual generator. Out of this
place, spiritual energy is drawn into different channels by
different people, whomsoever it might be, from whichever
region or country they belong to. Therefore, Prashanthi
Nilayam will continue to confer bliss and peace on all
devotees forever and ever more.
Sai Ram!
OM . . . OM . . .OM…
Asato
Maa
Sadgamaya
Tamaso
Maa
Jyotirgamaya
Mrityormaa
Amrithamgamaya
Om Shanti
Shanti Shanti
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai
Babaji ki Jai!
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Babaji
ki Jai!
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai
Babaji ki Jai!
© Copyright Prof. Anil Kumar Kamaraju
- Puttaparthi All rights reserved.
|
Facebook Page
