As a student he taught the
world what a student ought to be. The
transparency of his friendship attracted them so
close to him that they found it difficult to
live without him. He was intelligent, diligent,
obedient, punctual and highly respectful to his
teachers. At the age of six he earned the name
of Brahmajnani for his erudition in the
scriptural texts and at eight he became the
'Guru' of his classmates. Baba mentions with a
little regret only one instance in his student
career wherein he had to give a glimpse of his
divinity to his own teacher when the latter
asked him to stand up on the bench for no fault
of his which counteracted to keep the teacher
glued to the chair till he was made to get down.
Even as a child He was only a giver and never a
taker. He fulfilled every wish of every friend,
be it for pencil or sweets or peppermints. His
Pandari Bhajan group which conducted regular
bhajans and drama troupe whom He had himself
trained to present skits and one - Act plays
speaks for his histrionic talents and organising
ability even at that tender age. He taught them
how to live within their means by his own
example. Ostentation was alien to him. He did
all the household chores, without demur even
when they were far beyond his health and age. He
was easily the first to catch the eye of his
teacher for any work of importance in the
school. At home, being the darling of
grandfather Kondama Raju, he, at the age of
eight and nine, volunteered to cook tasty meals
for both. His father used to send for dishes
prepared by Sathya as they excelled in taste and
flavour. Even neighbours asked for his pepper
rasam.
Young Sai Ram was an ideal son too. Though he
had broken the chain of attachment with which
the parents had bound him, he never failed to
look after their needs. Like any other mother,
mother Easwaramma also had nurtured a desire for
seeing the top Hindu shrines of India though she
never ventured to express the same, for she had
already begun to realise who her son was. But
the all-knowing Lord decided to take her on a
pilgrimage (for her) to Ayodhya, Kasi and Prayag
in 1960. This was closely followed by another to
Badrinath in June 1961 which was 'indeed the
acme of her ambition.'
Mother bore the strain of that arduous journey
with pleasure, as Badrinath was a fairyland for
her as was for the rest. Kasturiji says: "Mother
spent hours in sitting inside the temple beside
the idol, with a small group of her companions
wondering at the inexhaustible grandeur into
which she had come. Swami brought out the Linga
He had willed to emerge from its receptacle
under the stone idol of Narayana in the holy
shrine of Badrinath." "This was gifted by Shiva
at Kailas to Sankaracharya who planted it here
before he installed the Narayana", Swami told
the mother. "Why have you brought it out now?"
queried the mother innocently. "To charge it
with the power to bless, to answer prayers, to
grant boons" replied Swami. Needless to say that
the father also enjoyed the whole episode.
In much later years Swami, like a dutiful son,
enquired of His mother whether She had any
desire to be fulfilled. She told: "Swami, our
Puttaparthi is a small village. As there is no
school in this village, the children are forced
to walk long distances to attend schools in the
neighbouring villages. I know that you are the
ocean of compassion. Please construct a small
school in this village". She gave a piece of
land of her own behind her house for this
purpose. Swami got a school constructed there,
which was inaugurated with a grand function. The
mother was very happy. When asked for the next
desire mother Easwaramma hesitatingly said, " ?
if it gives you happiness, please construct a
small hospital." As per her wish Swami got the
hospital constructed and was inaugurated on a
grand scale. When insisted the mother said She
had yet another small desire: "You know that the
river Chitravati is in spate during the rainy
season. But, in summer it dries to a trickle and
people do not have drinking water. So please see
that some wells are dug in this village". Swami
told her "I would not stop with these small
wells and that I would provide drinking water to
the entire Rayalseema region?. She had never put
me to trouble anytime. Whenever she asked Me for
something, She would come back and enquire if
she had given any trouble?? She used to be very
much worried whenever any Minister came for My
Darshan. The situation in those days was such
that even a policeman with a red cap was enough
to frighten the villagers?. This was only the
result of her sacred love for Me. That is the
greatness of mother's love." What a sacred
relation! A dutiful son and a loving mother!
http://www.sssbpt.org/pages/Specially/As_Student.htm