Shirdi Sai Baba

^{Not much was known about Shirdi Sai Baba’s younger days until Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba revealed them on 28th}September (Shirdi Sai Baba’s birthday) 1990. A pious couple lived in the village of Pathri. The husband Gangabhava was a devotee of Lord Shiva while the wife Devagiri Amma was a devotee of Goddess Gowri (Parvathi). They led a pure life, simple and detached. They had no children so they spent a lot of time in worship and contemplation of Shiva/Shakti. Gangabhava plied a riverboat for a living. One stormy evening during the rainy season, he feared his boat might be swept away by the strong current and told Devagiri Amma that he would go and sleep by the river that night to look after his boat. After serving him food, Devagiri Amma ate her own food, shortly after which Gangabhava left.

After a while, there was a knock on the door, thinking that it was her husband who had returned, Devagiri Amma opened the door. She was surprised to see an old man standing before her. He quickly stepped into the house and saying it was very cold outside and that he was seeking shelter for the night so would she provide him some space where he could sleep? Being devout, Devagiri Amma gave him a mattress and showed him a place in the veranda where he could sleep. The man was happy and lay down. Devagiri Amma returned to her own room and was going back to sleep when there was another knock at the door. When she opened it the old man said he was hungry and could he have some rice to eat. She kindly prepared a small meal with curds and gave it to him and once again retired to bed. Once again, for the third time, there was a knock at the door. Once again it was the old man. He told Devagiri Amma that his feet were aching and would she massage them!

Devagiri Amma was speechless. How could she massage his feet? It wasn’t right. She went to her puja room and began to shed tears. She pleaded to Goddess Parvathi not to put her through such a test. Suddenly, she had an idea. She went to find someone that could help her in return for payment. She left her house by the back door and went out searching but it was useless, she didn’t find anyone. She returned home and was still thinking about what to do when there was a knock on the back door. Hesitatingly, she opened the door to find a woman who had come to offer her services. Happy that Goddess Parvathi had heard her prayer, Devagiri Amma led the woman to the old man on the veranda and retired to her own room.

The old man who asked Devagiri Amma to massage his feet was none other then Lord Shiva and the woman who came forward to offer her services was none other then Goddess Parvathi! On the veranda, They were discussing who should grant Devagiri Amma the boons. Goddess Parvathi said that because Lord Shiva was the Supreme Lord, He should grant her the boons but Lord Shiva said He was come to test Devagiri while Parvathi had come in response to the earnest prayers of Devagiri and so therefore She should grant the boons.

Just as Devagiri Amma was going to sleep, there was a knock on the door again. She got up and opened the door. She was awe struck upon seeing Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi standing before her in full glory. Unable to control herself, she fell at Their Divine Lotus feet. Goddess Parvathi blessed her by saying ‘I am blessing you with a son who will bring glory to your vamsam and a girl so that you way acquire punya by giving her away in marriage’. Devagiri Amma was ecstatic. As she touched Lord Shiva’s Lotus Feet, He blessed her saying ‘I am pleased with your devotion. I Myself will take birth as your third child’. Devagiri Amma was offering her obeisance in gratitude but before she lifted her head, Shiva/Shakti had vanished!        

Now Devagiri Amma was very eager for her husband to return so she could tell him what had happened. She could not sleep. However, when Gangabhava returned at dawn and Devagiri Amma shared her experience, Gangabhava was not convinced and began to ridicule his wife. He simply could not believe that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi would come to his house in person.

^{As time rolled by, Devagiri Amma became pregnant and gave birth to a male baby. A year later a girl was born. Gangabhava now began to question himself and though that may be Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi had come to his house because two things that his wife had said had indeed happened. He was upset that he was not fortunate enough to have the Divine Darshan. This thought continuously played on his mind and finally he gave way to the call in his heart. Despite his wife being pregnant for the third time, he decided it was time for him to retire to the forest so he could commence tapas (austerity) to secure darshan of Shiva and Parvathi. Devagiri Amma was not willing to allow her husband to go by himself. Being a dedicated wife and despite being pregnant, she too followed her husband into the forest. On the way, she gave birth to her third child. A male baby was born on the28th}September 1838. Devagiri Amma wrapped the baby in a piece of her sari, covered him with leaves and left him at the foot of the tree where he was born. She followed her husband to where he was to start his tapas.

Not long after, a Sufi Fakir in a neighbouring village found the baby. He took the child home. Under the Fakir’s care the child grew up from 1838 to 1842. When he passed away, the Fakir’s wife began to look after the boy but she found it very difficult due to his strange behaviour. He would go to the mosque and sing praises of Lord Rama and then would go to the mandir and say Allah was God. People began to complain to her. She knew a person called Venkusa, a great soul. She took the child there and left him in the ashram of Venkusa. The boy was loved greatly by Venkusa, which caused jealously amongst others who also lived in the ashram. One day, the boy left the ashram and reached Shirdi where he stayed for a few months. After that, he left Shirdi too and wandered here and there. During his travels, he reached a place called Dhoopkheda. A marriage was to take place. Chand Bhai Patil’s wife’s younger brother was the groom. They were going to Shirdi, so the boy joined them. That was the year 1857. The boy remained there until 1918, when He took Mahasamadhi. He came known as Sai Baba and was renounced for His power. People used to flock from all over India to come and take His darshan in the mosque, which He called ‘Dwarakamayi’. The place where Shirdi Sai Baba passed away is where the Samadhi Mandir currently stands in Shirdi.  

Bhagwan Sri Sathya sai Baba

What today is known as Puttaparthi, was in the olden days known as Gollapalli (the village of cowherds). In that area, one particular cowherd began to notice that everyday, after taking his cows for grazing nin the fields, one cow in particular would always return with an empty udder. After a few days of this happening, he decided to follow the cow and keep watch to see who was stealing its milk. He followed the cow to a snake hill and out came a huge serpent. It wound itself around the cows hind legs, fed itself but didn’t hurt the cow at all. In a fit of anger, the cowherd picked up a nearby rock and hurled it at the serpent, which killed it. As blood flowed out of the dead serpent, it stained the stone. From that time onwards, the families in Gollapalli began to decline. People believed that dying serpent gave a curse to the villagers. Gollapalli then became known as Putta-Vardhani, the place of snake hills. In atonement of this act, the villagers names the stone Gopala Swami and installed it in the village for regular worship. A temple was built and the village once again began to prosper.

A very pious family lived in Puttaparthi with the name of ‘Ratnakara’. Venka-Avadhootha was one of their ancestors. Sri Kondama Raju (the paternal grandfather of Sathya Sai Baba) was a highly evolved soul who had built a temple for Goddess Sathyabhama after he had a dream she was seeking shelter from the rain. Sri Kondama Raju was married to Lakshmamma. They had two sons and in memory of the great Venka-Avadhootha, they were named Peda Venkama Raju and China Venkama Raju. Some of Kondama Raju’s close relatives, the Meesraganda family, were living in Kolimikuntla village. Subba Raju was constructing a temple for Lord Shiva at the time a baby girl, Namagiri, was born. Once while returing from a pilgrimage, Kondama Raju visited the Meesraganda household and found that they were living a hard live due to dacoits in that area. He suggested that they shift to Karnata Nagapalli, which they eventually did and took up farming.

Namagiri was eventually married to Peda Venkama Raju but Kondama Raju renamed his daughter-in-law, Eshwaramba (Mother of Ishwara/Lord Shiva). They had a son, Seshama Raju, two daughters, Venkamma and Parvathamma. Four miscarriages followed. The family prayed to be blessed with another child. In answer to their prayers, Eshwaramba became pregnant for the eighth time. During this period, strange events began to occur. Musical instruments in the house would begin to spontaneously play of their own accord. Peda Venkama Raju went to Bukkapatnam to consult some astrologers. After going through some texts they said that celestial musiciansare playing music for the Divine child in the womb.

^{It was Monday 23rd}November 1926. From the very early hours of that morning, Lakshmamma was attending a Sathyanarayana Swami worship held nearby. Despite being told that her daughter-in-law was going to deliver very soon, she was intent on sitting throughout the worship and not to return home until it was completed! She wanted to take the prasadam home for Eshwaramba, which she did. By now it was 5.06am. As celestial musicians played the musical instruments in the house, Eshwaramba gave birth to a male baby. He bore a black mole on His left cheek (fulfilling the prophecy of Prophet Mohammed). The new born baby was placed on a sheet in the corner of the room. Not long after, a rustling was noticed. When the lifted the sheet, everyone was surprised to see a cobra! (This was Adishesha, the Divine serpent).

 ^{As the child was born just after the mother had taken prasadam of the Sathyanarayana puja, the boy was named Sathyanarayana (A form of Lord Vishnu, literally meaning ‘He who resides in all beings’). Many years later, during the presence of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Eshwaramba narrated an experience she had prior to the birth of Sathya. She was at the well drawing water when suddenly she saw a ball of blue light rolling down towards her, from the sky. As it entered her womb, she lost consciousness. This shows that Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba had taken Advent. His birth is through Divine Will alone. The young Sathyam, as He was affectionately called, was dear to one and all. Even from a young age, he ate only vegetarian food. Cruelty to animals brought tears to His eyes. He would serve all others first. If beggars came to His door asking for food He would give His own share to them and go without His own food because they family was so poor. Such compassion was a natural feature of Sathyam. He attended school but left at the age of fourteen to start His mission. He returned home one day, Monday 20}thOctober 1940, flung His school books away and said ‘I no longer belong to you. Maya has left. My devotees are eagerly calling Me. I am leaving. The work for which I have come has to be initiated’. He then went and sat in a nearby garden and sang the first bhajan –

                            Manasa Bhajarey Guru Charaman

                            Dusthara Bhava Sagara Tharanam

(Focus on the Lotus Feet of your chosen deity with all your love and attention. This will help you to cross over this mundane, worldly exsistence in which you are stuck) From that day onwards, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has demonstrated who He is. From healing incurable diseases, multiplying food, manifesting ash, rings, talismans and to even raising the dead. He set up His ashram in Puttaparthi and it became known as Prashanti Niliyam. His whole mission is based upon the five human values, Love, Peace, Right-Conduct, Non-Violence and Truth. People from all walks of live, from all over the world, rush to Prashanti Niliyam to seek refuge at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Prema Sai Baba

^{The future incarnation of Prema Sai was first mentioned by Bhagan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in His Guru Purnima discourse, on 6}thJuly 1963, after suffering fur massive heart attacks and lying in a coma for a week. According to Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Prema Sai will be born in the village of Gunaparthy on the banks of the river Cauvery in Mysore, eight years after the Mahasamadhi of Sathya Sai Baba. His parents will be highly evolved souls (Baba has said that His biographer, the late Sri Kasturi will be the mother of Prema Sai). The father of Prema Sai has already been born (Sami announced this some years back to His college student. He said He was very happy that day because it was on that day itself that the father of Prema Sai was born!). Prema Sai will have long balck hair, to His shoulders and He will also have a beard. 9He will look similar to Jesus). It has also been said that Prema Sai will be married and have a family.

Prema Sai will establish His own ashram, where there will be a huge Lord Shiva temple, with statues of other gods and goddesses present. The role and purpose of the Prema Sai incarnation as revealed by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba will be to gift the final wisdom, that everyone is God himself.