Sathya Sai Baba Quote

[Patrizia Leones]

Fromday one, devotees have always been pleading with Bhagavan to visit their homes, towns, cities, and countries. Swami has yielded many times to requests of the first three types, but, with one notable exception, has diplomatically avoided visits to other countries. One may wonder why, especially since the whole world, nay the whole universe is His.

Swami has explained this puzzle. It is not that he is per se against overseas visits. However, in recent times, it has become a fashion for many of the so-called spiritual leaders and self-styled gurus to constantly jet across continents in the name of spreading some message or the other. Obviously, Swami does not wish to be looked upon as yet another member of this jet-set.

When overseas devotees quote this example and pray that the lotus feet must sanctify their soil also, Swami just smiles and says that he did not go to Africa but to the house of a particular devotee. It so happened that the devotee was in Africa, that is all!

The citizens of Bombay at a mammoth public meeting convened at Dharmakshetra bade him farewell on the 29th of June. Later, at the airport on 30th June, crowds spilled over the terrace, pushed through to the tarmac area in thousands and used every atom of enthusiasm to cheer Him as the plane took off!

Flying at 590 miles per hour at altitudes of over 35,000 feet, Baba was busy in the Boeing, granting the passengers, (many of whom had boarded the flight on purpose) signs of his grace, such as autographing a book or a photograph, materialising vibhuti, or furnishing illuminating answers to solve personal problems of every kind.

Bob Raymer of Los Angeles, a member of the party, saw Baba keep both his feet pressed on the slanting back of the empty seat just ahead of him; and he did not miss the chance; he clicked twice and got two pictures of the lotus feet that millions adore.

In fact, the sky was not always blue. It was mostly murky, what with the huge concourse of slow-moving monsoon clouds on their way to India. The sea mirrored the sky; there was an occasional zig-zag of silver ripple on its surface. One felt as if the plane hung in mid-air, while sea and land were pulled away from underneath by an unseen hand.

In a moment, the sea was over us! Below us, scintillating in, and reflecting the sun was a quilt of red and brown roofs, Nairobi! The clock showed four minutes to twelve, while our watches insisted it was already 2.24 p.m.

The tedium of dreary hours of travel was made less monotonous by the beautiful avenues of trees through which we passed. Their restful green, together with the coolness of air as we climbed higher and higher, was comforting. The rains that come upon this land all months of the year have mothered a succession of gurgling streams and fresh-water lakes.

We had a glimpse of the rift valley about which I had read while teaching anthropology in my college in Mysore. Two thousand feet below us it gaped, with sheer escarpment for its banks! We saw the soda lake, Nakaru, and the town bearing its name. A sizeable gathering of eager Africans and Indians awaited Baba there; they were rewarded with darshan. Baba moved among them blessed them, and created vibhuti for a few that needed it.

From Malaba, on the border of Uganda, an impressive pilot car preceded the car of Baba, as a sign and symbol of his being welcomed by the rulers of that state. The cars drove on to Jinja, where the Nile emerges out of the womb of Lake Victoria, and, channelled through turbines, flows on north to fulfil its vow of a 3500-mile pilgrimage to the Mediterranean sea.

Kampala was reached at 1.30 a.m., hardly the hour for a hearty welcome by a cheering throng. But baba is in a category all by himself. Wildly waving banners of silken welcome stretched across the streets; every few yards a floral arch (someone in our party counted exactly 108) beamed with lights as baba passed through.

Third day of July was a memorable one. First, the flight to Ngorongoro crater. It is the largest concentration of wild life in Africa. Reaching the entebbe international air port by car, Baba, with some members of the party boarded a twin-engined aircraft at 9 a.m., while three of us having full faith in him, brushed aside the fears aroused by overzealous friends who warned that a single-engine plane was not the craft that one would choose to fly over a jungle teeming with wild life!

We could see hundreds of gazelles, zebras, and wild beasts while our vehicle flew slowly over the Serengeti national park. The crater is a huge circular plain, over 127 square miles of grassland, bush and forest, sheltering large masses of wild life. A few farms stocked with fat cattle were to be found in this fantastic milieu.

Landrovers took us into thick shoals of wild buffaloes, zebras, and gnus. Soon we entered the haunt of the Simba (lion). From the safety of the cars we admired a heavy-weight male yawning on a mound, and very nearly ran over a pair of fat females having their siesta amid the grass! We came upon more such families, and soon they endeared themselves to us. Baba had come to bless them, we felt.

Rising up almost from nowhere, a stately dowager lioness walked majestically towards a group of sleek giraffes. This onset of danger was communicated to the long-necked fraternity by some birds, and they in their turn, alerted the buffalo, zebra and gnu! In a few seconds they disappeared into the distance and the distinguished lady stood sniffing the empty air!

Baba drew our attention to this demonstration of mutual service. He said that man is highlighting the advantages of competition and the struggle for survival, but the beast is teaching him co-operation and service as the ideal means for survival.

While driving back from the pool, we saw two magnificently maned lions, and three well-groomed lionesses basking indolently in the sun. They did not wince at all, when a dozen cameras clicked. Instead, they preened themselves like stars surrounded by fans! We also watched many ostriches, and giraffes hurrying in uncouth haste to some mysterious rendezvous.

After lunch, Dr. Patel took Baba and party in cars to Nanyuki, 6400 feet above sea level, a town where, if you have poetry in you, you can experience the thrill of having one foot in the southern hemisphere, and the other in the northern, for the equator passes through the place! In fact, a hotel here boasts that the line passes through its veranda.

The full moon day, when spiritual aspirants dedicate themselves anew at the feet of the master, was on the 10th. Baba had told Bombay that he would reach the city by plane by 9.45 p.m., leaving Kampala at 11 a.m., so that both Africa and Asia would have the thrill of his darshan on the same day! But, yielding to the yearning of the Africans, he decided to spend the whole day at Kampala, granting devotees in other continents other evidence of his omnipresence.

More than 25,000 persons gathered that morning for the bhajan. The Africans joined the chorus led by a Tanzanian, Mr. Zoodoo. For over two hours, Baba walked slowly among the lines lonely, love-seeking eager hearts, giving each person a handful of sweets and a packet of vibhuti. To the amazement of the recipients, most of them discovered inside the packet, lying ensconced in the midst of the holy ash, enamel or metal portraits of Christ, the Cross, Krishna, or Sai Baba himself.

On the evening of the tenth of July, Baba talked to about 200 young men and women, who served as volunteers at the bhajan gatherings and at public meetings. The constables on duty as well as the chauffeur of the pilot car were also rewarded by His grace.

On the 12th, Baba proceeded to the Murchison falls national park, one of the most beautiful and fauna-stocked regions of East Africa. The straight road, leaping over the shoulders of a series of hills, tempted the person who was at the wheel of our car to race and overtake every car that moved in front. We were catapulting so fast, that a sudden turn of the road found the car rolling madly over and over, finally coming to rest on its jammed wheels in agonised silence.

The Murchison falls are furious and fascinating. The Nile comes foaming and rapid, down a continuous stairway until the bed contracts suddenly into a gap in the rock, barely six yards wide; through this strangling portal the tremendous river is shot in one single jet, down a depth of 160 feet, into a stream of terror and beauty. Baba was happy that we could see this sublime scene.

Bob Raymer got a series of lovely pictures of Baba before these waters. Returning to Masindi through a road rendered slushy with a thick shower of rain, we had to slacken speed to avoid skidding. Elephants crossing the highway were another cause for delay.

From Masindi we proceeded to Kkondo, 80 miles away, where a bhajan mandir, in authentic afro-architectural style built by a devotee, was to be inaugurated. It was a large estate, growing paddy, sugarcane and bananas. The mandir was full of squatting African labourers, who venerated Baba as the god-man from the east. Baba sat on a special seat arranged for him, but soon he was among the farmers, creating and distributing sweets and curatives.

He told the gathering of Africans and Indians that man alone among the beings strayed form his allotted tasks; the rest stuck to their respective dharmas, whatever the obstacle. The tiger will never stoop to eating grass; the elephant can never be tempted have a meal of fish or flesh. But man, the crown of creation, is grovelling in the mire of bestiality and, withal, proud of it!

Kampala was reached at 1 a.m. The lateness of the hour only whetted the appetite for darshan of the thousands who were waiting there all day, busy singing bhajans. Baba gave them the much-coveted gift, walking among them and standing on the decorated dais long enough to satisfy them.

Baba is always everywhere. He reveals his presence to all who call on him, or even to many who are unaware that God is amidst them for their sake. For Baba, there is no coming or going, no arriving or leaving. Still, the physical presence wins such indelible loyalty that one feels an orphan without it.

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