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Shirdi Sai and Sathya Sai are One
and the Same
By Arjan D. Bharwani
44. IDENITITY IN LIVING PROOF!
Dr. A. Ranga Rao, was a general
practitioner at Bhimavaram. He aspired to become an Ophthalmic
Surgeon (Eye Specialist). This was, however, a distant dream, till
one day, in response to an emergency call, he rushed to the
compound of Shirdi Sai Temple, where the patient was. The latter
happened to be a close devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba and in fact was
the person who had built that temple.
After treating and assuring the
patient, Dr. Rao prayed silently to the Deity there, to bless him
with more opportunities to treat His devotees. The turning point
in his career came soon thereafter, when by providential shower
of Grace, he went to U.S.A. and returned a highly qualified
Ophthalmic Surgeon. His prayer to the Shirdi Sai idol began to be
answered fully by a chain of devotees, sent to him by Parthi Baba
One day a lady by the name of
Somamma came to Dr. Rao’s clinic. She had cataract which was
further complicated with 'iritis' and rheumatism, thus unfit for
surgery. The lady then emphatically impressed upon the doctor
that she had been assuredly directed to him by Bhagavan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba, who had said, "At Bhimavaram, there is an eye surgeon,
who is My devotee, since many years. Go to him and tell him that
I want him to operate on you. He will do it and you will have
your sight restored". Somamma also told hi m that Sathya Sai was
the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba
Though amazed at this, yet his
profound faith in Shirdi Sai led him to instinctively believe the
words. He therefore unhesitatingly undertook the operation and the
patient recovered uneventfully. The seed of yearning was thus
sown in this fortunate doctor
He felt all the more convinced
because Baba had told this patient that Dr. Rao had been his
devotee for many years. As if directed by Divinity, the lady
presented him with a small picture of Sathya Sai. Circumstances so
destined that Dr. Rao shifted his practice to Madras. The latent
yearning for darshan of this 'Live Deity', grew stronger as days
rolled by. At last' The day dawned. The doctor suddenly learnt
that Bhagavan was visiting Madras. He hastened! to 3, Surya Rao
Road, where Bhagavan was staying at that time. However, the large
volume of the multitude dampened his spirits, for the chance of a
personal contact seemed naught. As he stood there, a stranger
approached hi m and said, "Are you not Dr. Ranga Rao? Baba wants
you to come in, with your family". On confronting his Sadguru,
Rao fell prostrate in obeisance. Bhagavan blessed and lovingly
embraced him. Baba then said to him, "I have been with you and you
have been with Me for ages. I t is I that who brought you to
Madras. I am with you always. You do not have to worry any more. I
sent Somamma for operation by you. You have not seen Me:, but, I
have been with you." The doctor marvelled at the Divine
dispensation.
There-in-after, the life and
practice of this great soul became flooded with Divine Grace and
perfused with innumerable Leelas of Baba Shri Doopati
Thirumalachar, the author of Telugu 'Satyam, Sivam, Sundaram',
developed cataract, and lost his vision. Baba directed him to Dr.
Rao. As the operation progressed the patient was heard saying,
"Swami! Baba ' You have come in the saffron dress' I see your
face, your fingers are moving. You are doing the operation
Yourself!" The doctor too clearly discerned and felt as if hands
other than his, not only did the operation but also sutured and
bandaged the eyes What a marvellous Miracle!-once again the 'bhakta-Samrakshaka
( the protector of the devotees)' had come as a Saviour, to
salvage the vision of a true devotee. The only heart-rending
regret of the surgeon was that he did not have the darshans that
he pined for, though the patient was blessed with a clear vision
of Baba.
The bestower of Gifts on His
devotees, can never be found wanting. The yearning of the devoted
soul of Ranga Rao was soon fulfilled, when Sathya Sai not only
kept on directing His devotees to the eye surgeon for treatment
but also blessed him with darshans.
In the case of Chaganlal of
Royapuram, Baba not only directed the operation but also timed it
at 10.30 A.M. The patient was indeed a museum of ailments. He had
diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, abdominal tumor and hernia!
As such he was totally unfit to be operated upon and the
elimination of the cataract could only have been done at the grave
peril of patient's life and the reputation of the surgeon. Dr. Rao
was tense, apprehensive and severely nervous In anguish, he
sincerely prayed for Baba's help. Suddenly he felt Baba holding
his hand beckoning him to go up with Him to the operation theatre.
The doctor saw the Ochre Robe Figure ascending stepwise and
followed Him. As the preparations for the operation began, the
patient's condition worsened and the fear of fatality loomed large.
All present began a congregational chant of "Sai R am, Sai R am'"
the sight of sights was beheld by the surgeon and his team, when
they saw the surgeon's white apron become saffron. The surgeon
clearly felt that the fingers were no longer his own. Sai, the
Surgeon of surgeons, had manifested in him, through him and was
performing the operation. In a few seconds, the operation was
over, the finishing touches were given by the Master's Hand and He
left, the surgeon's gown was white again. Exactly at that time,
Baba informed the devotees around Him at Prasanthi Nilayam, "Chaganlal's
operation is over". In this very special incident, Bhagavan has
presented Himself in the attire of a person which is an entity not
only exterior to the body but far distant from the central core
(the Atma). Simultaneously, and Ä at the functional level, He was
manifest in the inner most interior of the instrument, chosen by
Him. Herein lies the Beauty and Depth - a paradox_only achievable
by Divine Majesty and Might. Blessed Ranga Rao, the fortunate
being, through which this Leela was being enacted, remained
throughout a separate spectator, viewing the marvel through his
mental eye. Such a phenomenon is unprecedented in any mythology
so far.
The indulgence in such lengthy
account of Dr. Rao's episode has been done with the sole purpose
to impress upon the f act, that here is yet another clear, shining
example of a Shirdi devotee, not only receiving the benevolence of
Parthi Sai but also being picked up as a splendid instrument to
demonstrate the identity. There are a host of others, like C.
Ramachandran of Kirkee and Shri K.E. Kulkarni of Poona, the well
known devotees of Shirdi Baba, who continued to receive a full
measure of patronage, benediction and blessings from Sathya Sai.
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