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The Sathya Sai miracles
Many consider it a fashion to scoff
at miracles – the rationalists with the idea that they are made up
stories and the believers with their dogmatic arguments. Whenever
the rationalists and scientists discover that the miracles are
facts, we see them becoming staunch devotees right from that
moment. We have been witnessing a large faction of people getting
cultured through miracles. This culture leads them to a change
meant for helping others. This transformation, in turn, leads them
to the realization of truth.
The situation was the same in the past, as it is of now. People
believed in Jesus, because they had witnessed signs and wonders.
Same was the case of the prophets. Is it not beyond scientific
analysis, if such a phenomenon, by which all the water in the
casks turns to wine in a house of wedding, occurs without the help
of the tools and tackles of a magician?
The miracles by Jesus retold in the Bible are famous. The marvels
of Sri Krishna are also well known to the common man. Majority of
the Muslims believe in the miracles by the Prophet. All the
authoritative scriptures contain the miracle, in which a pillar
made of date palm, on which the Prophet rested his back, had shed
tears, when he had left it. Imam Shafi maintained that the crying
of the date palm pillar was a bigger marvel than restoring life to
the dead. Similarly, the incident of water bursting forth from
between the Prophet's fingers is also chronicled. Even after many
had quenched their thirst, even after all the animals had drunk,
the water continued to flow. Another miracle was the fall of rain,
when the Prophet prayed. The marvel of preparing food for over a
thousand persons with only one 'Sau' [2.5 Kg] of grains is also
found in the authoritative scriptures of Hadith. It was
said that the Prophet had distributed fruit for everyone in the
battlefield. And what more! The Muslim chronologists had even
recorded that he was capable of splitting the moon in two.
It is easy to discard these stories, treating them as mere
legends. Could it not be-that Jesus, Krishna and the Prophet were
magicians or hypnotists? Was there a group of scientific
researchers investigating them, while they were performing the
miracles? What reply can be given, when a rationalist asks,
whether their miracles cannot be equated with those performed by a
dexterous magician?
But, the answer that the believers can now provide is Sathya Sai
Baba. This twentieth century divinity, who pervades Prashanthi
Nilayam and who can conveniently be subjected to observations and
inspections, has, before the world, been leading a miraculous
life, which exists only on the plane of wishful thinking of
believers. That is the plane truth.
Sai Baba's creations out of nothing have been the most reputable
and debatable. When not only modern science, but also the ancient
Indian philosophy maintain that nothing can be created out of
nothing, is not some discrepancy evident here? Sathya Sai explains
like this, "I will and it happens." People view this in different
perspectives. When we say nothingness, it does not mean absolute
vacuum; there has to be some matter or energy minutely present.
Therefore, Sai-devoted scientists clarify that one matter may be
transformed to another. Their philosophical explanation may be
that God is all-pervading and hence the same divine power performs
the creation. There are countless evidences to prove that Sathya
Sai creates, what he wants. Even scientific research has made its
entry on the scene.
The Summer Course of 1973 was in progress at Whitefield,
Bangalore. One student, a habitual smoker, had promised Swami that
he would not smoke again. Once when Swami asked him, he vehemently
denied that he had smoked. In front of those present, Swami
materialized a photograph, showing even the background of the
place, where the boy was sitting and smoking.
Here comes another more miraculous creation than the inexplicable
one cited above.
Since the declaration that he was an incarnation, only a few
people came to Puttaparthi in the initial days. I am now relating
an incident related by Leelamma of Tamilnadu, who used to inhabit
Puttaparthi in those days.
Swami used to materialize for devotees, idols and pictures of
their favourite deities. One day, when Swami spotted an old woman,
who demanded nothing, he asked her, who her favourite God was. She
replied that her husband was her favourite God. When she asked for
a photo of her husband, who expired two years before Swami's birth
and who had never been photographed, Swami at once materialized
it. The old woman, overcome with emotion, bowed at the feet of
Swami.
In 1924, there were no studios in Puttaparthi or its surroundings.
The man's face had never been captured by a camera. What is the
secret behind the trick, by which Swami produced the photograph of
a man, whom He had never set His eyes upon?
Sri. Gokak had described about Swami creating a small copy of the
picture that was hung on his wall, of a guru, who lived two
generations ago. Once Swami materialized a gold medal for Vidwan
Sri. T. Chaudayya, who rendered a fiddle recital during the
Navaratri celebrations. Later, telling that the name should be
seen on it. He pressed the medal in His palm. The inscription,
'Presented by Sri. Sathya Sai Baba to Vidwan Sri. T. Chaudayya'
immediately appeared on the medal. The day of the week and the
date were also mentioned. [Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram Vol. I. P
175-176]
ln1951, with a touch of His hand, Swami transformed the stamps
bearing the head impression of the Raja of Venkatagiri to stamps
bearing His own head impression. American researcher Haraldsson
had received one of those stamps from the Raja's son during an
investigation trip. Anyone, who probes into Sai miracles, can find
thousands of such instances. American scientists Karlis Osis and
Haraldsson, who came to investigate about the Sathya Sai
phenomenon, focussed their research on this aspect. After
conducting research for more than ten years, Haraldsson clearly
admitted in his thesis that he could not give a scientific
explanation to it. In his work, he had often recorded that a
number of Sai devotees, who lived with Swami during His childhood
and adolescence, [Some of them are not devotees anymore due to
various reasons.] when were questioned one by one, talked a lot
about such miracles of Swami's creating what they wanted. In
Sathya Sai's life there are many miracles equivalent to that of
the water pouring forth from between the Prophet's fingers.
In the houses of Sai devotees in different parts of the world,
Amrutha, Vibhuti and Tirtha [holy water] have been showering from
the pictures of Sathya Sai and other Gods. If somebody does it to
achieve fame, it can easily be detected.
Magicians display the trick of creating objects out of nothing.
Anyone skilled at the sleight-of-hand can do it. But none of them
can perform as stated above. They never used to create photos or
things, which you demanded. Even if they could create gold chains
and currency notes by their sleight-of-hand, they never used to
distribute them among the viewers. Sathya Sai's creations like
diamonds and chains worth millions are distributed among the
devotees. The golden idols materialized by Him are being
worshipped in many places even today.
When the materialization of a gold chain for a construction
expert, recorded by a movie camera was viewed in slow motion a
news item appeared in some paper – 'He takes the gold chain from
his assistant.' (The Deccan Chronicle 23-11-92) If it were true,
then it was a golden opportunity for the seekers of truth. Anyone
can shoot pictures of his marvels and publish them in detail to
expose the myths.
But what is the truth? Right from the time the movie camera was
invented, such miracles have been recorded and even today are
being recorded and inspected in slow motion. But no one could find
any incongruity till date. No authoritative speaker had uttered
anything, which the news item had quoted him as saying. Anyone
interested in knowing the truth can go to the TV centre and find
out. Dr. Haraldsson and Dr. Wiseman conducted an investigation on
the news item and published an article. Dr. Haraldsson writes:-
"A visit to India in July 1993 gave the author and Dr. Wiseman an
opportunity to investigate this claim of fraudulent exposure. In
Hyderabad we met the executive editor of the Deccan Chronicle,
Mr. P. N. V. Nair, who supplied us with more information about the
incident and helped us obtain a copy of the well-guarded tape.
This was achieved, in part, by the author agreeing to be
interviewed by the Deccan Chronicle. The resulting article
did not correctly reflect my views and distorted some of my
statements.
According to Mr. Nair, the Deccan Chronicle received some
200 readers' letters regarding their story. It published 28
letters, 18 were complimentary about the article, 10 were not.
The complimentary articles fell into the following categories.
First, some were congratulating the Deccan Chronicle on possessing
the strength of will to publish the information – the same letters
often condemned the DD for not broadcasting the footage in
question. For example, on 25 November, Mr. S. Sarjeevi wrote:
"Hats off to your bold expose. Once again the Deccan Chronicle
has proved itself to be a straightforward newspaper. You have
succeeded where the DD has failed morally."
Second, many of the letters were supportive of the expose but
maintained that individuals should still have respect for the
spiritual advice given by Sai Baba. For example on 25 November,
B.V.Rao notes:
"No doubt the Baba is a great philosopher and philanthropist doing
yeoman service, but he need not perform fake miracles to attract
people. Such actions will only make him unpopular."
Finally many of the letters stressed that it was unfortunate that
so many government officials were in attendance at the event in
question. For example, on 25 November, S.K.Kumar wrote:
"The accolades and patronage that he receives from the President
of India, the Prime Minister and scores of top politicians speaks
volumes of the superstitions that VIPs practise. This is a lesson
that they should learn and stop fooling around with public funds,
wasting it on visiting Godmen."
The letters attacking the article fell into the following
categories: First, some accepted the accusation of cheating, but
felt that Sai Baba should not have been exposed because of the
good work that he carries out for the community. For example, on
25 November, B.V.R.K.Theerthulu wrote:
"A great man must be excused small mistakes. If the Baba
pronounced that he would create a gold chain out of the thin air,
then one would look for the hows and whys. If the Baba had not
specifically said that he would be doing so, then the rest is
handiwork of the press to malign the Baba."
Some individuals noted that the article had failed to expose Sai
Baba because it did not account for the many other miracles, which
he is alleged to have produced. For example, on 26 November Capt.
L. Ramanath notes:
"I feel it is needless to recount here the scores of benevolent
miracles, graced by Baba on many of us, in the war zone and in the
peace areas, within and without India, far away from Baba's
physical presence."
One letter not published by the newspaper was written by D.S.Rao
of Secunderabad on 24 November. It brought a counter-allegation of
fraud. He suggested that the suspicious handling of the memento
between Sai Baba and his assistant was merely due to excessive
weight of the memento. Furthermore he stated that the film did
not show even an IOTA of what is claimed, namely that Sai Baba
is taking the necklace from his personal assistant. Secondly
D.S.Rao speculates that the tape is blurred and suggests that the
photographs used by the newspapers may have been deliberately
blurred to allow false accusation to be sustained, and the film
may be the result of careful mixing and editing.
This letter was not published by the Deccan Chronicle (the author
and Dr. Wiseman found it in the file shown to them by the editor),
and as a result D.S.Rao wrote to the Indian Press Council (letter
dated 05 December 1992) complaining of unfair coverage and
defaming Sai Baba. The Deccan Chronicle was acquitted of unfair
reporting, as it was found by the Indian Press Council to have
published views from both sides. Hence Rao's letter was not
published and his complaint not upheld.
The Investigation
We carried out a careful analysis of the tape supplied by Mr.
Nair. Sai Baba is seen standing on the podium of the hall. Several
people are seated at the back of the podium, facing the audience.
A large and apparently heavy memento (probably 18 inches by 18
inches at its base) is brought in by an assistant, Mr.
Radhakrishna Menon (RM). The memento held with four hands by Sai
Baba and RM, is handed over to the architect who designed the
building Mr. R.Chakrapani.
Immediately after he receives it, Sai Baba makes a circular
sweeping movement with his right hand, in which appears a
gold-coloured ornament or necklace, which he places around the
neck of Mr. Chakrapani. This whole sequence of events takes about
17 seconds.
To assess the possibility of sleight-of-hand it is important to
study two crucial moments on the videotape. The first is when Sai
Baba puts his hands under the memento apparently to support its
weight. There is a moment of hesitation as the weight is shifted,
during which Sai Baba's left hand and RM's right hand touch, or
nearly touch. At this moment the necklace could have changed hands
from RM to Sai Baba.
The other crucial moment is when Sai Baba lets go of the memento,
places his right hand under the memento, and possibly touches his
left hand. At this moment Sai Baba could have shifted the necklace
from his left to right hand.
In the Deccan Chronicle it is stated that Sai Baba 'takes
the gold chain from his assistant. 'However, this
definitely cannot be seen on tape. The chain is not seen until
it appears at the end of the swirling circular movement of Sai
Baba's right hand.
The meeting and touching of Sai Baba's and the assistant's hands
would have given the assistant an opportunity to pass an object to
Sai Baba's hand. The question is, however, did such a transfer
take place? The tape does not contain enough information to assess
this question with any certainty. If such transfer did not occur
there needs to be another explanation for why Sai Baba moved his
hand over to his assistant's hand. Was it to help him support the
heavy memento until it was safely in the hands of the architect,
or, was there some other reason? We can only guess.
The Deccan Chronicle did not report anyone present on the
August 29 function observing fraud. In a brief conversation with
the authors the architect, Mr. Chakrapani, rejected any discussion
of the incident.
The Quality of the Videotape
The quality and resolution of the tape leaves much to be desired
and limits the inferences that can be drawn from it. Dr. Wiseman
took the videotape to a company, which specialises in
investigating corporate fraud. This company possesses some of the
world's best equipment designed to enhance poor quality of the
videotape.
The technician kindly offered to enhance the videotape in
question. The videotape was run through a real time Snell &
Wilcox Kudos Noise Reducer. The machine carries out three
operations. First, it removes via recursive filters the
random noise on the tape caused by repeated copying. Second, it
improves the graininess of the video by median filters and
finally enhances any edges on the video through edge
enhancement filters. After all this the video is certainly
easy to watch, and did not contain much of the random noise
present on the copy provided by the Deccan Chronicle.
However the resulting tape still did not reveal further
information about the incident. In short, the reason for Sai
Baba's hand movement still appears unclear and is open for various
interpretations, but the tape contained no firm evidence of
fraud.
The company also analysed several still frames taken from the
video. These were scanned into a computer and run through an
Improve image processing system (developed by Home Office in
Britain). Again the images were enhanced via median filters and
certain areas of the frames were enlarged. The resulting
photographs show the crucial moment as Sai Baba's hands touch
under the memento, but do not reveal any further information.
Conclusion
The analysis of the Sai Baba film/tape has illustrated the
difficulties encountered by researchers wishing to assess psychic
claimants on the basis of filmed or taped evidence.
First, such material is often recorded under less than ideal
conditions. This is often due to the individuals involved in
filming having completely different agenda to researchers. The
Doordarshan film crew was sent to cover an event, not to assess
Sai Baba's alleged materialisations.
Second, the film crews (especially those involved in covering news
items) have to edit their footage over a short period and often
quickly dispose of the original unedited footage. Such editing can
severely limit the inference that can be drawn from the resulting
footage. Footage of Sai Baba (and perhaps his personal assistant)
before and after the above episode could have provided valuable
information. It may, e.g., have the assistant secretly taking the
chain from his pocket, and carefully positioning it under the
memento. Alternatively, it may have shown Sai Baba having problems
holding the weight of the mementoes previous to the incident
discussed above. The former scenario would have provided further
evidence of the fraud hypothesis, and the latter for the
non-fraud hypothesis.
Third, and perhaps most important of all, the quality of the film
footage is rarely good enough to unequivocally state that a
certain event is, or is not, due to trickery. This can be the case
for many reasons. The information needed to accurately assess a
fraud hypothesis is often occluded on the film and / or occurs off
camera. In the present example the viewer ideally needed to see
exactly what happens under the memento as it is handed to Sai
Baba. The angle at which the event was filmed means that the
happenings under the memento are occluded. This problem can be
particularly difficult to overcome, especially if a skilled
trickster is able to see the position of the camera and execute
his/her sleight-of-hand in such a way as to prevent accurate
recording of the trickery. Information on the tape may also be
blurred. Such blurring might be due to the attempted filming of
rapid events, or multiple copying of tape leading to poor
picture-quality. The latter problem certainly occurred in the
present example and may have been exaggerated by the technicians
constantly replaying (and therefore helping to degenerate) the
part of the tape containing the incident in question.
The brief video recording contains a hand movement of Sai Baba
which is open to different interpretations and hence looks suspect
to some (to a greater or lesser degree) and not to others. This
would have given Sai Baba an opportunity to receive an object from
the hand of his assistant, especially if the latter had some skill
in handing over an object of this kind or size. Whether he did or
not cannot be seen on tape. The statement made by the Deccan
Chronicle that Sai Baba takes the gold chain from his
assistants not corroborated by the tape nor the picture they print.
The Deccan Chronicle article echoed through much of the
Indian press, apparently without any additional journalist viewing
the videotape. This is the example of how a videotape containing a
scene where sleight-of-hand might (or might not) have occurred can
become an allegation that trickery has in fact taken place
(besides getting other facts wrong). This is then interpreted as
an exposure and is unverified echoed by the media." (Miracles are
my visiting Cards – An investigative inquiry on Sathya Sai Baba P.
296-301)
Another identical investigation was conducted by Haraldsson
earlier also. A misleading description was published in 1982 in
'Miracles: A Para scientific into Wondrous Phenomena' by
researcher Rogo. D.S. He writes: There is... some indication that
Sai Baba often deliberately fakes his purported miracles (when
films taken of some of his exhibitions are slowed down, it is
clear that he is quite an expert at sleight-of-hand) (P.90).
Haraldsson writes:
"In a letter to Rogo, I asked for further details, particularly
which films he was referring to. He answered in a letter that he
had had several conversations in 1975 with Dr. Edwin. C.May, a
physicist at the prestigious S.R.I.Institute near San Francisco,
and that Dr. May had told him that he had filmed Sai Baba
producing objects. According to Rogo, Dr. May had told him that
when the films were slowed down and examined frame-by-frame,
sleight of hand was evident. Rogo himself, however, had never seen
Dr. May's films but had taken his word for this. He suggested that
I write to Dr.May.....
I wrote to Dr. May, who rang me up a few days later and told me
that he had never met Said Baba; hence he had never taken films of
him and had never even seen any film of Baba. He had filmed a
woman in Bombay, alleged by a small flock of followers to produce
Kokum paranormally, and he had found her clearly engaged in
fraud." (Miracles Are My Visiting Cards Heralds P.218)
Such incidents show that truth comes out, when the investigation
becomes scientific.
For those, who plan to study Sathya Sai Baba minutely. His 'rescue
phenomena' often come to aid. The miracle of appearing in more
places than one can also be included in this category, since it
occurs together with the rescue phenomena or without. The general
characteristics of the phenomenon are the following:
The devotee calls Swami at some scene of danger. Swami comes and
saves him. Swami would tell those sitting nearby that He had been
to a particular place. It would be found true, when those, who had
undergone the experience, retold or wrote about it. Some people,
who listen to Baba's description, write letters or send telegrams
to learn the truth.
I feel that this phenomenon is one of the most significant in
Sathya Sai's divine life. The detailed study of a small portion of
His life throws more light in the sphere of our intellect.
The story of a freedom fighter, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, is
retold by an American engineer by the name of Al Drucker in his
article. [Golden Age – 1980 P. 140] While driving through a narrow
road and letting another vehicle pass, the car turned turtle. His
wife screamed, 'Ram, Ram.' The couple fell approximately 100 ft.
down the side of the road; but escaped from injuries. The car was
smashed to smithereens. They regarded this escape as miraculous.
Later, while he was sitting in the front row for Darsan, Swami
asked as soon as He spotted him, "So, you have come, haven't you?
Good. You must be grateful to your wife for your life. Unless she
had called me you would have been dead. I was the one, who pulled
you out of the car and took you safely to the ground below. And
you had not remembered me even once! I had often saved your life
without your knowledge. Do you remember the Air Raid Warden?"
Reminiscence of an incident long forgotten was back in his mind.
During the Second World War, he had been a student in London. When
the sirens blared as a warning to the impending bombardment by the
Germans, everyone used to find refuge in underground shelters.
Once when the siren blared, this student of ours covered his head
with a sheet and went to sleep. Suddenly, someone knocked on the
door shouting at the top of his voice, "Open up. Someone is there.
This is the law." When the door was opened, a red faced Englishman
focused a beam of flashlight on his face. "Didn't you hear the
siren? Go downstairs. Come with me." They descended the long
stairs. The Englishman paced slightly behind the student. No
sooner had the student reached the shelter, than the sound of an
explosion was heard right from the place, where he was sleeping.
Though it was sad that the warden was trapped in the incident, he
was glad that he escaped.
Swami revealed, "I was that warden. That day I appeared to rescue
you from the bomb. I have often saved you like that. Now you can
be with Me." Pay special attention to the fact that Swami was
quite young when this happened in London.
The experience of the king of Venkatagiri, who visited London, was
related by his son to Heralds. Baba was staying at the Osborne
House in Madras. One day. He was talking to the sons of the king.
"Your father's passport is lost. Now he is praying for my help.
They are turning everything topsy-turvy and searching." Swami
added, "They cannot find the passport."
Next day, Swami told them that He would keep the passport in the
royal baggage. When the king returned, he explained everything in
detail. [Modern Miracles – Eriendus Haraldsson P. 78.]
Sri Raja Reddy had lived with Swami for quite some time. One of
his varied experiences is narrated below.
"My mother was on her way to Kasi. Others were also with her. At
that time we were with Swami at Kodaikanal. Swami told me, "Now
your mother is on the train traveling in this route. [He gave the
location.] She has got fever. As she entered the lavatory, she was
about to fall. I rescued her. Now she is fine." When the mother
returned, she described all this. [P. 189.]
One of the many experiences of Dr. Gadia, who runs the 'Om Sathya
Sai Dispensary' in Arusha in Africa, goes like this:
In 1962, one day at 2:30 p.m., Sai Baba asked Gadia to take down
this note, "At present, your mother is being subjected to an
operation in Kampala. Doctors are of the opinion that she cannot
be saved. But I will give her a new life, I will make her well."
Dr. Gadia immediately wrote to Kampala and from his brother's
reply found that whatever Baba had told was true. The letter's
content was that his mother, suffering from an intestinal ailment,
was taken to the hospital, that the doctors conducted a surgery as
the last resort and that the doctors had no hope of the success of
the operation. It was also mentioned in the letter that his
brother had applied Sai Vibhuti at the last moment, praying for
the blessings of Swami.
Another day, at Brindavan Swami informed Dr. Gadia, "I had been to
Kampala yesterday to rescue your parents from a car accident." The
doctor learned about the actual incident later. Though the car was
smashed, both his parents had a miraculous escape. [Living
Divinity – Shakunthala Balu P. 225.]
If such experiences, only the recorded ones, were added to this
book, this would turn out to be a very large volume. When you talk
to devotees, the tales of marvel that unfold are innumerable. Is
it to be inferred from these that Baba, the man, rushes to
devotees anywhere in the world at their call? Baba Himself often
says that He does not reach anywhere, but has been present there
all the time. That means that He claims to be omnipresent. It is
quite clear that this is not to be considered in the physical
sense.
Devotees arriving at Prashanti Nilayam from various parts of the
world often say that such miracles are still being observed at
many places. This aspect deserves utmost importance in the studies
of Sai Baba, because it seems to me that this is the practical
version of the concepts of philosophers about the relation between
the individual mind and the cosmic mind. The difference between
the individual life and God may be the same as between personal
awareness and collective consciousness. Is it not that person, who
has risen from personal awareness to collective consciousness, the
one, who has truly attained spiritual realisation? Those, who
remain permanently in the cosmic consciousness, will have contact
with any person's life – such a perception is not irrational. Are
not the rescue operations observed in the Sai phenomenon the
marvelous aids available from the power of collective
consciousness to one, who considering oneself as a part of the
collective, raises oneself to the state of collective
consciousness, purifying one's own mind? Here, the believers
regard such a person as a devotee. It is not pertinent whether
each personal essence experiences the divine essence as Jesus,
Krishna or Sai. If we are capable to comprehend that formless
essence behind the forms of Sai, Krishna and Jesus, we can also
guess the reason why these marvels manifest in different names and
forms.
One of the most significant aspects of Sathya Sai Baba's
personality, probably another factor not apprehended by
non-devotees, is the phenomenon of 'taking over the disease.'
Swami confirms, "Disease never affects this body. If at any time
illness affects, understand that it is someone else's and not
mine." [Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram Part III P. 239.] Expert
physicians have recorded the diagnoses of the diseases, which
affected Him off and on. But to their surprise serious and fatal
ailments had suddenly vanished.
Getting afflicted by serious diseases, bearing the severe pain
inflicted on the Self without accepting treatment prescribed by
the experts, sudden disappearance of the disease, declaring that
no evil can affect the Self and that the Self is the power that
conquers all, getting involved smartly in incessant activities,
forecasting frequently that the Self will live up to the age of
ninety-six, moving among tens of thousands of people asserting
that no one can harm the Self, consuming only a morsel of food for
namesake – is such a phenomenon found anywhere in the annals of
history?
On 7th December 1970, Swami was at the residence of Sri. Nakul
Sen, the Governor of Goa. That day, He was feeling so severe a
pain that it was impossible even to lie down. Nakul Sen and others
learned about it only the next day. To the Governor, who suggested
that the house was ill fated, Swami said, "No, it is not like
that. I had brought the disease to Kabo to get rid of it
here itself."
Expert physicians from the Goa Medical College and the city were
summoned to the Governor's residence. The pain had concentrated on
the navel; there was fever too. The experts offered different
views on diagnosis. The whole day Swami was struggling in pain.
Kasturi had to announce all this to twenty thousand devotees
waiting outside to have a glimpse of Sathya Sai Baba. He also
informed them that Baba had taken over the disease of a devotee.
At 8 p. m. the doctors released another bulletin: "Fever 100° F,
Pulse 100 M, Breath 16 M, Blood count 22,000, Neutrophilis 85 pc –
Para colic appendicitis – Does not consent for operation."
Press reporters released the news to the outside world. Some
suggested Swami to abide by the instructions of the doctors. Swami
asked, "What do the doctors know? What can they instruct? Your
love alone is enough for me."
On 9th and 10th, the doctors insisted that operation was necessary
as the condition was very callous; the appendicitis had burst and
the blood was full of puss, Swami's whole body had darkened.
Doctors even declared that Swami would be dead in ten minutes. The
Radio Broadcast was that Swami was on deathbed. When doctors
insisted on taking Swami to the hospital, Smt. Nakul Sen blocked
the passage and challenged, "You will be able to take Him only
over my dead body."
The chief physician gave in at last. "We are arguing
unnecessarily. Sathya Sai is divine."
Swami materialized rings for the twenty-five doctors present
there.
But, when Swami announced that He would give a discourse in the
evening, the doctors were puzzled. When they examined Him at 5
O'clock, they were dumbfounded. The portion affected by
appendicitis was soft; there was no lump or anything there.
At 6 O'clock, Swami walked to the Bhajan Hall. He talked for forty
minutes.
He said, "There are many, that doubt the existence of God, those
who deny it and those who discard the idea of God itself as
superstitious. As if to help them to get rid of this ego, the
might of God with its inherent compassion exhibits its superhuman
attitude. The doubters receive answers without questioning; the
doors are opened without knocking, because those, who deny, never
knock. Through discernible experiences and facts established
beyond arguments, blind faith is enhanced to the divine state and
becomes bright. The human body gets prone to illness due to wrong
food, indulgent habits, foolish hurried haste and mad emotions.
But the disease, which you had seen during the last two days, was
absolutely different from this. That was the disease, which I had
taken over myself to save someone afflicted by it. Continued
healthy life of this man was essential for the clear jobs I had in
mind. It is one of the duties of the incarnation to shower
compassion and bliss on the devotee. The appendicitis had ripened.
It swelled. The doctors would have been able to remove it by
operation only. I knew that the devotee was not capable of
surviving it. I have incarnated in this body to rescue other
bodies from pain. This body is free from pain; disease never
affects it." [Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram Part III P. 228, m244.]
Only to check Swami's statement that nothing will affect Him, some
people have even tried to feed Him poison. During His childhood,
Swami had regurgitated a vada, a little later after
consuming it to show that it contained poison. The woman, who had
fed the vada, became a devotee at once. But in 1974, the
venom administered by an unidentified man was extremely ferocious.
Just before Swami was leaving Puttaparthi, one man offered Him
food. Swami knew it contained poison. "If Sai Baba is God, let Him
survive the fatal effects of this poison. Otherwise, let Him die
or live the rest of his life with weak and lame legs." Swami later
revealed that this was the thought in the man's mind. Swami had
accepted the food, thinking, "If he needs this to confirm his
belief, I shall help him."
The incident occurred in the middle of March. At first, the
devotees felt that Swami had difficulty in walking. Swami
complained about pain also. It went on increasing. Afterwards,
Swami became completely weak in the knees. He was not able to
stand up and walk. Keeping His hands on the floor and dragging up
His legs. He had to crawl to the bathroom.
At that time, a devotee. Dr. Sundar Rao, was with Him. He
requested Swami's consent to summon a famous neurosurgeon from
Bangalore. Swami denied it, saying that doctors would not be able
to do anything. He promised those with Him that He would cure it
at the appropriate time. But, the days crawled by and the ailment
persisted. For the consolation of the devotees waiting outside for
Darsan, Swami granted it through the door kept slightly ajar; men
unseen by the devotees outside supported him on both sides. Some
devotees might have felt it a little odd.
However, after some days, Swami suddenly came out of this state,
dipping His fingers in water and sprinkling it on His legs, as He
had shown once before.
As I said earlier, when such miracles occur even today, we are
compelled to learn the spiritual truth that Sathya Sai represents.
To some extent, we can grasp these truths from His discourses
published in numerous volumes and from the books that emerged from
His pen. But it will be more comprehensible from the interviews
with Him. Tomorrow's world will evaluate even dialogues with
non-devotees as Sathya Sai Gita.
'THE
SATHYA SAI MIRACLES', Chapter 5 of the book "Islam. The Sai perspective":
http://sss.vn.ua/islam_sp.htm
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