Pedda Bottu- The Shirdi-Parthi connection Part-3 In an effort to spend my time, money, and strength in a beneficial activity, I planned a home for the poor, and destitute children and named it ‘All India Sai Sadan’. It started functioning with eighty children. I gave them not only food and formal education, but taught them vocational activities like stitching, making toys, and other handicrafts. After some time, I began to run out of money and supplemented the income by writing Hari Kathas and singing them wherever I was asked to. One day I was invited to sing a Hari Katha in a village called Uruvakonda. In the house where this event was arranged, I happened to see on the wall a photograph of a beautiful lad. He had a large crown of hair. The face and eyes were most charming and magnetic. I asked the housewife whose photo it was. She told me, “Don’t you know? He is Puttaparthi Sai Baba. If you want to see him, I can take you to him tomorrow.” The next day I was taken to the house of one Mr. Seshama Raju, the elder brother of Baba. I then saw the young 14 year old Baba. It was in 1940. I was then 52 years old. The first words that Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba uttered to me where, “Gori, you owe me 16 rupees in my Shirdi incarnation.” I replied that I had already paid up all my debts to Shirdi Baba. He said, “I know. I said it because you are not able to recognize me. Otherwise, you would have fallen at my feet. All right! After completing all your tasks at the Poor Home you are running, go to Puttaparthi. I shall retain you with me and shall bestow all the joy you want.” For the next 17 years, I used to visit Puttaparthi frequently and spend a few months every time in the divine presence of Baba. In 1958, when I was 70, I closed down the Poor Home and went to Puttaparthi to spend the rest of my life there. Baba gave me an apartment to stay in the ashram. Once I was ill when Baba was away at Bangalore. In spite of my indisposition, I wanted to perform my duty as a lady volunteer in maintenance of discipline and silence in the temple premises. It was 6:30 PM. The post-bhajan meditation pactice was in progress. Suddenly I noticed Bhagavan Baba beckoning me into the temple corridor. Since meditation was going on, he was naturally motioning his hand silently but it was clear he wanted me to go to him. How can Baba be here too at the Puttaparthi temple, when he was in Bangalore right at that moment? I was sure it was some apparition; my sick mind was evidently playing tricks. I looked the other way for a moment and again turned back. Baba was very much there. Losing faith in my faculties, I looked away. This time Baba walked towards me and said very audibly, “Come!” I had to believe the voice at least. Baba might have returned from Bangalore without my knowing it. He materialised Vibhutti and gave me to cure my illness with. He then motioned me to take Padnamaskar. Filled with bliss at his loving concern for me, I bowed down and had the Padnamaskar. When I raised my head there was no Baba to be seen anywhere. By this time, I was surrounded by many women. Serious doubts of my mental soundness was being freely exchanged. There were few takers when I narrated what actually happened. I showed them the Vibhutti that Baba had given me. Some, at least, in the group must have thought I was a blessed soul. I began to feel better when I ate the Vibhutti. By next morning, I was fit as a fiddle. This happened again when Baba was away at Bangalore. My eye was swollen and red. The eyelid was hanging down swollen and red. The eyelid was hot and it was giving me excruciating pain. The doctor at the Puttaparthi hospital told that it was a serious condition and that an operation was necessary. I was scared out of my wits and rushed to Bangalore. Baba saw me and admonished, “Why did you come here?” I wailed, “You are the Lord of all creation. Where else can I go? Look at my eye. I came here because I could not bear the pain.” He materialised Vibhutti and poured the entire stuff into my eye. He asked me to close the eye and led me to a place to lie down. He called a security guard and instructed him, “Nobody should disturb this old lady as long as she sleeps.” I slept until eight o’clock the next morning. Baba came and examined the eye. He said, “It is normal. Now go back to Puttaparthi and attend to your duties. I shall return tomorrow.” On another occasion, I went to Baba complaining of a stomach ache. He materialised Vibhutti with the familiar rotation of his hand and asked me to smear it on my forehead in the form of a big Bottu . Baba added, “Your stomach pain will vanish. And from now on you will be called Pedda Bottu (Big dot)!” Thus Pedda Bottu became my permanent name. A DAY AT THE OLD MANDIR During those days there were no rituals like omkaram,suprabhatam or nagarasankirtan.Swami was everything for devotees. At 3 AM one could hear farmers going to their fields, singing folk songs. That was the Omkaram for devotees those days.At 5 AM one could hear milk vendors saying ,Please buy my curd, milk and flowers. This was the suprabhatam for devotees.In any case they had to get up by daybreak. At dawn, Swami would rise,wash himself and drink the hot beverage devotees offered to him, and move happily with them and talk to them also. At 9 Am devotees would offer him the breakfast they would have prepared. Swami would taste a bit from each, joke a bit and offer the same as prasadam for everyone. After breakfast, anyone could do padapuja to Swami. There was a old cane-chair in the Old Mandir which would be placed in the hall. Requesting Swami to place his lotus feet on a plate, devotees would wash the feet with scented water, wipe with kumkum. Then they would offer Swami naivedhyem which he would partake a little. Devotees would then offer harathi to Swami and everyone would do padanamaskar.While doing padapuja, Swami would ask devotees to sing with devotion, instead of mechanically. Bhajans would start at 11 AM. There was no regular bhajans those days.....just long songs. Any person could sing during bhajans. Swami would sit on that red stone and also sing. The hall was very small and men and women sat on either side. Some men sat behind Swami fanning him. Despite that, Swamis robe would be soaked wet due to the scorching heat. At the end of the session, Swami himself would do harathi to please his devotees and then distribute prasadam to everyone. At 1 pm, everyone would assemble for lunch. Swami would take a little food from everybody, mix it, eat a little and distribute the rest as prasadam. Later he would rest for a while. Even in those days Swami never took sweets, ghee, milk or curds. When pressed for a reason, Swami said he had had enough during Krishnavatar. In the evening at 4 pm came the most awaited phase for the day. He would take devotees to the Chitrvathi riverbed. He would do many miracles and also talk about spiritual matters and give the devotees great joy. While returning to the mandir,Swami would walk in front and advice the devotees to follow him singing songs. There would be bhajans for a while in the mandir and after harathi everyone would have dinner. In the night Swami would walk around the mandir with a torch. Puttaparthi was full of snakes and scorpions. They sometimes lived with devotees. No one was bitten by them, thanks to his grace. Even dogs and cats were allowed to move freely inside the Mandir! OM SAI RAM
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 18:28:53 +0000
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