Sai Ram and greetings from Prashantinilayam.
Friday, 25th May, 2007 was the sixtieth anniversary on an important event. We wonder how many remembered this Golden Jubilee. For the benefit of those who might wonder what we are talking about, let us take you back to the year 1947. It was the month of May, and the British were still ruling India – Independence was a few months away. But God in human form had already declared Himself free from all the trappings of apparent bondage seven years earlier. We are referring of course to Swami’s declaration of His Avatarhood on 20 th October in 1940, when He walked out of the house of His elder brother Seshama Raju, then serving as a teacher in a school in Uravakonda and under whose physical care Swami was studying.
Seshama Raju was devastated by this “walk out”, and he could never come to terms with the fact that his younger “brother” Sathya was in fact the Lord of the Universe. To be fair, achieving that recognition is not easy, even for us today when we “know” so many things about what Swami has done since then. The entire Raju family and Seshamma in particular was pinning its hope on Sathya, who they thought would become a Government Officer, rise to the very highest position and not only do them all proud but end their seemingly eternal poverty. But all that was not to be; their dear Sathya became Sri Sathya Sai to the entire world and promptly started serving humanity.
Many were attracted by the Divine Magnet even in those far off days, and included in this crowd of devotees were Maharajahs and members of the landed gentry. Besides, the Press also began take notice. Elder brother Seshama Raju, not yet fully aware of Baba’s Divinity, began to worry about the impact of the attention that his younger brother was receiving. He wrote to Swami giving expression to his apprehensions and on 25 th May, 1947 Swami wrote a reply. Though the letter was intended for Seshama Raju, it was in fact addressed to ‘all who are devoted to Me’. That letter is a powerful declaration of the purpose of the Sai Avatar. In that letter, Bhagavan Baba wrote:
My dear One! I received all the communications that you sent. I found in it the surging floods of your devotion and affection, with the undercurrents of doubts and anxiety.
Let Me tell you that it is impossible to plumb the hearts and discover the nature of Jnanis , Yogis, ascetics, saints, sages, and the like. People are endowed with a variety of characteristics and mental attitudes; so, each one judges according his own angle, talks and argues in the light of his own nature.
As the proverb says, it is only the fruit-laden tree that receives the shower of stone from the passers by. The good always provoke the bad into calumny; the bad always provoke the good into doing more good; this is the nature of the world. One must be surprised if such things do not happen.
People too have to be pitied rather than condemned. They do not know. They have no patience to judge right. They are too full of lust, anger, and conceit to see clearly and know fully. So, they write all sorts of things. If only they know, they would refrain from writing or talking like that. We too should not attach any value to such comments and take them to heart, as you seem to do. Truth will certainly triumph some day. Untruth can never win. Untruth might appear to over-power Truth, but its victory would fade away and Truth would establish itself.
I have a Task: To foster all mankind, and ensure for all people lives full of Ananda.
I have a Vow: To lead all who stray away from the straight path, again into goodness and save them.
I am attached to a ‘Work’ that I love: To remove the suffering of the poor and grant them what they lack.
When I am thus engaged in My beneficial task, how can My Name be ever tarnished, as you apprehend? I would advise you not to heed to such absurd talk. Mahatmas do not acquire greatness through someone calling them so; they do not become small just because some calls them small. Authenticity will soon win.
No one can comprehend My Glory, whosoever it may be, whatever be the method of enquiry, and no matter how long the attempt.
You will yourself see the full Glory unfolding in the coming years. Devotees must have patience and forbearance.
I am not concerned, nor am I anxious that these facts should be made known. I have no need to write these words. I wrote them because I felt that you will be pained if I do not reply.
Thus, yours, Baba.
Well, sixty years have passed since then and we do not really have to tell you what has happened in that period, do we? Even if you have missed the anniversary referred to, please take a couple of minutes off to reflect on what Swami has been doing since He wrote that letter and how He has fulfilled all that He promised He would do.
The big question is: “Are we taking notice? If so, are we doing our bit to take further the Divine Mission?”
Think about it! All the best.
Jai Sai Ram. H2H Team.
