BABA’S
ACHIEVEMENTS
Puttaparthi
was a remote, tiny village, prior to Baba’s birth, in the month of November,
1926. People had to walk miles, to reach from one place to another, and the only
mode of transport was the bullock carts.
Long,
long ago the village was known as Gollapali or “Home of Cowherds”. Later it
became infested with ant-hills, with snakes moving all around, which gave rise
to the name “Puttaparthi”. (Putta in Telugu
language means snake-pit).
Sathyanarayana
Raju, aged 14, threw off his bag of books one evening, saying, “My followers
are calling me; I have my work to do. I do not belong to you any more”, and
walking out of his brother’s home, he sat under banyan tree and sang a song
that he wanted the gathering to sing with him:
“
MANSA BHAJARE GURU CHARANAM , DUSTARA BHAVA SAGARA TARANAM”. (Those who desire
to liberate from the chain of birth, struggle, success, failure, ease and
disease, and death, come: adore the feet of the Master). That was the
announcement of the Amazing advent. With this declaration his Advent and Mission
began to work automatically, and things started changing and taking shape.
First
came Prasanthi Nilayam (the abode of Supreme Peace), where Baba personally
resides and gives Darshan and discourses to His devotees. Then came the
residential schools and the college, where hundreds of students study under the
personal supervision of Bhagavan Baba. Later came the University, followed by
Stadium, Planetorium, Museum, Super-Specialities Hospital, Airport, Drinking
Water project and then the Cricket ground. All this within a span of fifty years
in a tiny remote village, which has been turned into a modern fullfleged town
with multistoreyed buildings, shops, restaurants and eating houses. Cars and
autos freely move on the roads all around and T.V. and international dialing
buzz with full activity.
ABOUT
THE DEEMED UNIVERSITY
Professor
Krishna Nandan Sinha writes in his book entitled ‘Sri Sathya Sai Baba,
Absolute Sole of Lord of Life and Death’ as follows : “I was living at
Prasanthi Nilayam the abode of peace. After my superannuation as Professor and
Head of the English Department, Bihar University, I was one of the few fortunate
ones who were asked to serve at the feet of the Lord. I was offered the most
prestigious assignment as Professor and Chairman of the English faculty at the
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, a Deemed University founded by Sri
Sathya Sai Baba. I landed at Prasanthi Nilayam in July, 1985 and took up my new
assignment. It was indeed the most exciting and challenging assignment of my
life. I had spent almost a life time in the constant pursuit of my calling, the
noble profession of teaching at different Universities in Northern India and had
also spent a couple of years at an American University, but never before had I
experienced the thrill of total involvement with my work and the unique
satisfaction of working for an ideal. The educational programme of the
University shaped by the Lord Himself and implemented by Professor Vinayak
Krishna Gokak, the founder Vice Chancellor of the Institute, seemed to me to be
flawless and I soon discovered that work here was prayer involving duty,
discipline, and devotion. The academic curriculum, the courses of study, the
standard of research , all were of the highest order. The Institute was an elite
institution rated highly by the Government of India and by the people. The
teachers and the students were bound together by the common link that they were
all ardent devotees of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. I felt radiantly happy to be given
the opportunity to serve here and to become an instrument for the service of the
Lord.
THE
SUPER-SPECIALITIES HOSPITAL
In
November, 1991 , a Super-Specialities Hospital called Sri Sathya Sai Institute
of Higher Medical Sciences (SSSIHMS), was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of
India near Prasanthi Nilayam. This philanthropic hospital has all ultra modern
facilities for diagnosis and treatment of all the Cardiac ailments (including
open heart surgery) to all the deserving patients entirely free of cost
including post-operative treatment and care. As of June, 1998 over a thousand
two hundred heart operation have been successfully performed. Next to be
introduced were Urology and Nephrology departments with kidney transplant
facility, followed by ophthalmology and Dental wings.
THE
DRINKING WATER PROJECT
This
is what appeared in the Times of India, Bombay, on 24th November
1995: Sai
baba gives Birthday gift to Andhra villages by Pushpa Iyengar, the Times
of India News Service, Puttaparthi, (Anantpur District), November 23.
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba today celebrated His 70th birthday by dedicating a
project to supply drinking water to 700 villages in this drought-prone district.
The
colourful show put on by thousands of His devotees at the Shanthi Vedika Stadium
was watched by galaxy of prominent personalities led by President Shankar Dayal
Sharma, who inaugurated the Sri Sathya Sai Water Project.
Sai
Baba clad in a white robe, during His hour long speech in Telugu
expressed
satisfaction over the swift progress made in the Rupees 200 crore project
(for which work began in February this year), but said that it was His desire to
see Rayalaseema (land of stones) transform back to Ratnalaseema (land of gems).
He
exhorted His devotees, who had come from 137 countries, to work towards
uplifting the lives of the people by solving basic problems like drinking water
and health care.
Some
devotees, who came bearing garlands of gold as well as gold crown weighing a
total of 13 kg, appeared not to have pleased the God-man. The devotees, some
Italians and NRIs were asked : “what are jewels for God?” Sai Baba then
announced that the gold would be auctioned there and then and the proceeds used
for the water project. At
the end of the function it was announced that Ramanlal and Associates,
based in Kobe, had bought the gold at twice its international market price.
The
Baba also received other lavish donations, the most prominent being a $ 30
million gift
from U.S-based S.K. International and Charitable Foundation and the S.K.
Educational and Medical Foundation.
The
President who sought Sai Baba’s blessings by touching His feet on two
occasions, said, “Service to humanity represents the essence of Baba’s
unifying philosophy”. He said whenever individual and organisations could pool
together their intellectual and material resources and address specific
problems, they must be encouraged to do so.
Earlier
Mr. Sharma touched a silver coin kept in a silver vessel which set off the pump
set at
the Chitravati balancing reservoir, 70 km away.
The
celebrations over the last 10 days have seen the presence of Prime Minister P.V.
Narasimha Rao, Union Ministers S.B.Chavan and Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker
Shivraj Patil, VHP Leader Ashok Singhal and BJP Leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
THE
HILL VIEW STADIUM
In
the month of November 1997, came another glorious gift from Baba, to the
villagers of Puttaparthi, world’s most wonderful stadium, with a beautiful
cricket pitch, a lush green ground, enveloped by hilly and spiritual
surroundings.
The
first International one-day cricket match for the Sri Sathya Sai Unity Cup took
place at this Hill View stadium, on 30th December 1997, between India
XI v/s the Rest of the World XI. The match was witnessed by thousands of
devotees, in the Divine presence of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Shri I.K.
Gujaral, the then Pime Minister of India, and many more eminent personalities.
India won the match played in a festive albeit competitive spirit and its
captain Tendulkar was presented with the Unity Cup, made of pure gold, weighing
6 kg, by Bhagavan Baba Himself. Baba also presented silver trophies to all the
members of both
the cricket teams. It was a sight to be seen and cherished.
Ms.
Chandra Nayudu, wrote a small booklet entitled ‘A Sixer for the Lord, from
Padma Bhushan Col. C.K.Nayudu’.
Here is reproduced the foreword for the booklet by Sri Indulal Shah
(International Chairman, Sri Sathya
Sai Organisation)
Cricket
is largely an urban sport and International Tournaments are played only in a few
prominent stadia in half-a-dozen cities in India. Perhaps this scenario will now
change with the inauguration of a stadium at Prasanthi Nilayam and commencement
of the Prashanthi Gold Cup Cricket Tournament on 30th December, 1997
by the grace and blessings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba , cricket has now
come to the countryside.
Bhagavan’s
concern for people in rural India is well-known. This is exemplified in the
unique educational and medical Institutions that He has set up in Prasanthi
Nilayam. The
Prasanthi Gold Cup International tournament will provide a rare opportunity to
the rural populace. Equally, this will inspire and entertain the large student
community at Prasanthi Nilayam.
Bhagavan
loves cricket and cricketers adore and worship Him. For preparing Prasanthi
stadium and inaugurating the International tournament, He drew unto Himself a
host of celebrated
cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Prasanna and Alvin Kallicharan. His love
for the illustrious cricketer, Padma Bhusan C.K.Nayudu, is well-known and this
love runs through the pages of this little book written by his daughter Chandra,
who takes the reader to the glorious days of C.K. and his cricket with
consummate devotion and skill.
Cricket
calls for courage, concentration and above all great discipline which are also
the essential requisites for a true spiritual life.
International
Sathya Sai Organisation welcomes the visiting cricket teams to this divine
Valley of Puttaparthi.
We
now place this labour of love at His Lotus Feet.
Prasanthi
Nilayam
Indulal Shah,
Date
: 23/11/97
International Chairman
Ms.
Chandra Nayudu, daughter of C.K. Nayudu, writes in her booklet, about the
following incident, which Swami told her, in one of the recent interviews
granted to her.
A
SIXER FOR THE LORD
“Swami
told me about the meeting with the parents in Madras. Father had requested
Bhagavan to come and see him play and said he will hit a sixer in Swami’s
direction. This incidence was related by my mother too. The next day Baba went
to see father play. He had His car parked near the boundary line and watched the
match. Baba said father was batting at that time and noticed the arrival of Baba
and did exactly what he had told, he hit a sixer where Baba’s car was parked.
While relating this incident Baba’s face glowed with a boyish excitement and
His eyes sparkled with delight at the recollection of that sixer as any genuine
cricket lover’s would: I was pleasantly surprised at Bhagavan’s interest and
love of cricket. And so it was ‘cricket’ that brought our family close to
Bhagavan. In that first meeting of my parents, Baba gave a small pendent to my
father, a photo of His to my mother, which shows a ‘young’ Baba, which we
still have
in our Pooja room.
It
is impossible and beyond any human power to have accomplished, all the above
achievements in a tiny village of Puttaparthi. Only, one who is embodied with
Divine powers, can accomplish this. Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has these
Divine powers, and He has proved it, by achieving all these things.