Filling the Emptiness
 

Meanwhile at Hyderabad, about 9 p.m. his father saw her open her eyes and exhibit an interest in her surrounding; so he anxiously enquired if it was necessary to summon her two sons to her bedside. But the lady replied, "There is no need; Baba was here just now; and while giving Prasad, He assured me that I would be quite well." She returned home, quite well, within the next few days!

Baba may indicate His Grace, His Love, in some other manner. Sri K. Dutt Gupta writes. "At Rangia, 30 miles from here, Principal Biren Bardoloi has two small photographs of Baba under the glass of his dressing table. Baba has caused to appear on one of them, in his own handwriting, the words "Blessing - Sri Sathya Sai Baba." Sometimes, outlined in Vibhuti He leaves a footprint or two - an indication that He had come, or is present.

The mystic, Meister Eckhart writes, "The Lord told the people, I stand at the door and knock and wait. If any man lets me in, I will sup with him." You need not look either here or there. He is always near, make Him dear to see Him vividly in your pure heart. He is the Reality of your being; you exist, so long as He inheres in you. Baba is ever ready to respond to your sincere prayers.

Baba asked the Sitaramans from London why they had retired for the night leaving the gas flame alight with a container of oil upon the stove. "What would have happened if I had not turned the gas off?" He asked. R.G. Gholap writing from Nandurbar, Maharashtra, "At about 4-15 a.m. I heard a voice asking me to wake up. I heard it thrice, but, I said to myself, what will I do getting up so early? A moment later I heard, "At least open your eyes and see!" Most unwillingly I opened them, and what did I see? - A thief! As soon as I raised alarm, he ran away! Who had aroused me, I wondered. Then I saw a trail of Vibhuti from my room to the outside veranda. I knew it was Baba."

From Coorg, C. M. Appiah writes, "The electric current had failed; so it was a dark fortnight in August. Kumar finished his frugal supper and went to bed; he was living in a dilapidated building. Lighting a candle and a stick of Agarbathi (incense) he placed them near Baba's picture while singing some Bhajan songs. Then, he slept. The wind howled and the rain fell in torrents. Suddenly there was a whisper in his ear, 'Kumar run!' Opening the door he ran out in the dark. As soon as he reached the road, he heard a loud thud. The house had collapsed! In the morning he found the only undamaged item amid the ruins was the picture of Baba framed in glass!"

One day Sethumadhavan Nair received a letter written in blood, with the skull and crossbones which the Naxalities parade on their note paper. The letter said, "Stop the Bhajans, for you are only cheating and bluffing people. If you do not stop within seven days of the receipt of this warning your head will be chopped off." The devotee knew of only one armour against such threats - the name of Baba! Without any fear, he continued the Bhajans during the next seven days and nights. Enraged by this, the letter writer was now determined to carry through his dastardly plot and so at dawn on the eighth day, he stealthily approached the house and peeped through an open window. Nair was quietly washing his hands at the bathroom tap. Filled with hate and violence the writer aimed, swung, and threw a heavy chopper at the unsuspecting victim! But Baba is ever-present, everywhere. All Nair could say later was that a sudden whirlwind of orange-red flashed before him, while a gentle hand held and pushed him into a corner of the room. He heard the weapon clatter to the floor and the sound of fast running footsteps, as the Naxalite made good his escape.

Hearing the noise, Nair's wife and a family friend who had been repeating OM rushed into the room to find it filled with a strange fragrance, and Nair covered with Vibhuti. He was unable to speak immediately, but they knew it was the Naxalite chopper and the omnipresent Saviour.

On another occasion Group Captain Bose, driving with his wife and father-in-law from Ambala to Gauhati in a high powered car with low clearance was unable to move on the slushy road near Hariharganj. The entire area was dangerously flooded by serpentine heavy rains; the road was a lake. The back wheels of the car sank completely into the mud, while up front, one wheel was stuck in a ditch! At that late hour of 11-30 p.m. no help was available, nor would it have been of much avail since all efforts to free her only succeeded in making her sink deeper.

The occupants were able to procure shelter in a nearby school, and slept on bare benches at night. Mrs. Bose felt that Baba had spared them a long and hazardous journey, driving through the night, but her husband was determined to reach Gauhati where he had to preside over a Court Martial. "Duty is God. Work is Worship," he quoted Baba.

When dawn broke, no passing car or truck would agree to help, nor would the small crowd of amused villagers lift a finger! Their enjoyment of the pitiable spectacle only fanned the flames of despair. Unfortunately Mr. Bose had a little bit of ego left in him; he decided to rely on horse power rather than Sai Power! Ropes were procured, but the car would not move; the engine was restarted, but she only sank further into the slush. Eventually, an exhausted Bose flopped to the ground, saying, "The Lotus Feet of Baba is our only refuge." Almost immediately a gentle looking man with a strong physique came towards them. No one seemed to recognise him, nor could they guess his whereabouts. Handing his umbrella to Mrs. Bose, he became master of the situation. Bose was asked to get into the car and take the wheel - a sweet fragrance flooded the interior, but before the engine could be switched on, or the gaping crowd could offer assistance. Mrs. Bose saw the man 'put his right hand under the bumper, and with one lift, he placed the car forward upon hard ground, all wheels safe out of the awful mire.' Then all the occupants were requested to get into the car! Puzzled, they tried to thank him and to ask who, and what he was, "Oh, I am a Chowkidar (watchman)," he said, and walked away. Disengaging itself from the now vociferous crowd, the car moved away, and soon caught up with the man, walking briskly down the road. Bose begged the man to accept something but he refused. Then He spoke one sentence, "Why did you not call for me last night itself?" The Lotus Feet had indeed come to them!

This incident illustrates clearly how necessary it is to devalue the 'ego' the little personal 'i', and to recognise that the God of our prayers, our aspirations, and highest hopes is embodied in this 'Tiny' human frame of Baba. What after all constitutes a true 'man'? only he who looks up to God and submits completely, giving up all he has including the little personal ego, who is perfectly detached, who knows the mystery of God as Man, and Man as God! On two occasions, forest fires raged around the farm of Indra Devi at Tecate, on the Mexican Border. In the first instance they roared around the Sai Nilayam where Sadhakas have a retreat, consuming trucks and tents, coating the walls with soot, but the inmates ran up a hill; the shrine room itself was left sweet and fresh as ever. On the second occasion Indra Devi was at home and ran into the prayer room, trusting Baba. The flames rolled back! When next she was in India, Baba gave her as an expression of His Compassion, a figurine, saying 'No more fires!'

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