Mysterious Manifestations Of The Glory Of Avatars
by
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Sweeter than sugar, tastier than curd, sweeter indeed than honey is the Name of Krishna.
Constant repetition of this sweet Name gives one the taste of divine nectar itself.
Therefore, one should contemplate on the Name of Krishna incessantly.
(Telugu Poem)

Embodiments of Love!

Since ancient times, the sweet Name of Krishna has been fascinating young and old alike. Right from His advent, Krishna made people forget themselves in ecstasy and bliss by His divine pranks.

A Glimpse of Krishna's Divinity

Krishna and Balarama, along with other cowherds, used to take the cows to the bank of the river Yamuna for grazing. One day, the cowherds were lost in bliss, watching the divine pranks of Krishna. Consequently, they became oblivious of their surroundings and even lost track of their cows. All of a sudden, they felt hot winds blowing from all directions. They realised that they were being surrounded by a wild fire. They were even unable to open their eyes and see due to the raging conflagration. The cows started running helter-skelter, unable to bear the severe heat. Nobody was able to control them. The intensity of heat became more and more every moment. The cowherds could not think of any way to rescue themselves. They came running to Krishna and prayed to Him, "Oh Krishna! You alone can extinguish this fire and save us." Seeing them terrified, Krishna laughed and said, "Oh cowherds! You have been moving with Me, playing with Me and enjoying the bliss. It is rather strange that you are fear-stricken even after experiencing My Divinity. Many times in the past, you were a witness to My slaying the demons sent by Kamsa. Then, why are you afraid when I am with you?"

When you have the kalpavriksha (wish-fulfilling tree) right in front of you, why do you desire for trivial things?
When you have the kamadhenu (wish-fulfilling cow) with you, where is the need to buy a cow?
When you have the glittering Meru mountain with you, why do you crave for paltry silver and gold?
Likewise, when you have the omnipotent Lord Krishna in you, with you and around you, why do you get panicky over such a trivial matter?
(Telugu Poem)

Krishna told them to close their eyes and contemplate on Him for a while. The cowherds implicitly obeyed His command. The next moment, Krishna commanded them to open their eyes. Lo and behold! The wild fire had totally disappeared and all their cows were grazing as if nothing had happened. Overjoyed to see their cows safe and sound by the grace of Krishna, they ran to their homes and narrated to their parents the wonderful miracle that Krishna had performed. The cowherds experienced many such miracles which proved the Divinity of Krishna.

Wolf Messing Recognises Swami's Divinity Such mysterious manifestations of Divinity occur everywhere. These are not confined only to India. Even in a communist country like Russia, many mysterious happenings were noticed. A person by name Wolf Messing was born on September 10, 1899 in Poland. Right from his birth, he radiated resplendent effulgence. He started behaving in a mysterious manner when he was still a child. He made certain movements with his hands and smiled to himself. His parents were bewildered as they could not understand his strange behaviour. One year passed in this manner. Next year, his behaviour became all the more strange. He started talking to himself. He would scratch his head as if he was engrossed in deep thought. He would run here and there, laugh to himself and converse with some unseen beings. All this baffled his parents.

One day, a gigantic personage wearing a white robe came to their house and said, "Messing, come here." He called Messing near him and told him, "Your parents are thinking that you have become mad. So, they are planning to put you in a mental hospital or a school for the mentally deranged. You do not need to go anywhere. How can those who are afflicted with worldly madness understand your spiritual madness? If only everyone got this spiritual madness, the whole country would prosper. Do not seek admission in ordinary schools where only worldly education is given. Secular and worldly knowledge will not interest you. Acquire spiritual knowledge. I have come here only to tell you this."

Messing asked him, "Grandfather, where do you come from?"

He replied, "I will tell you later. I am going back to where I came from. Never forget my words. Do not have anything to do with worldly knowledge. Acquire only spiritual knowledge. At present you are very young. Till you attain a certain level of maturity, do not have any association with anybody. Now I am going back." Saying this, he vanished right in front of Messing's eyes.

Messing wondered, "Where did he come from? Where has he gone? Will I also go back to the place from where I came?" Thinking thus, he ran in different directions to find the whereabouts of that noble soul but could not find him. As he grew up, his parents took care not to send him out anywhere and mostly kept him at home.

It was 9 February 1909. On that day, his desire to go in search of spiritual knowledge arose forcefully. He remembered the words of the noble soul who had instructed him to acquire only spiritual knowledge. He went inside the house and found some coins in an almirah. Keeping them in his pocket, he embarked on a spiritual journey in the wide world. He wandered and wandered not knowing where he was going. He toured many countries. None questioned him about tickets or the money required to buy them. In this way, he roamed about for many years.

Then he entered India. He boarded a train that was going from Cuddapah to Anantapur. In between, the train stopped for a while at Kamalapuram where I was studying at that time. In the classroom, Ramesh and Suresh were the two boys who sat on My either side on a desk. Ramesh's father was a Sirasthadar (Revenue Official) and their family was very rich. Every day in the evening, we used to go toward the railway station for a walk discussing some spiritual matters. In those days, not many trains went to Kamalapuram; only one or two trains passed through it.

As we were happily talking to each other, Wolf Messing saw us through the window of the train. As soon as he saw Me, he at once opened the door and jumped out. In the process, he lost his balance and fell flat on the platform. Ramesh and Suresh became worried that he might have fractured his leg. I told them not to worry saying, "He is coming only to see Me. So, nothing will happen to him."

He took Me in his arms and kissed Me, while shedding tears of joy. He was dancing in ecstasy, saying, "I am so happy, I am so happy, I love You, I love You."

Ramesh and Suresh watched this scene. In those days, boys were afraid of white people as they thought they might take them away and put them in the military service. Ramesh and Suresh therefore wanted to take Me away from that place. Ramesh ran to his house and asked his father to bring a jeep immediately and take Me away from the sight of the white person. Ramesh's father at once brought a jeep, lifted Me up and put Me in. When he took Me to his house, Messing followed and waited in front of Ramesh's house for a long time. In the meanwhile, whenever he would spot Me through the window, he would smile at Me, call Me and try to convey something to Me. But nobody was willing to permit him to meet Me.

At that time, Seshama Raju (Swami's elder brother) was working as a teacher. A message was sent to him through a peon informing him that a white man wanted to take away Raju, whom they had kept safe in their house. Afterward, Messing left the place and went somewhere by train. Before leaving Kamalapuram, he wrote on the door of the house with a pencil thus: "The people who live in this house are very fortunate. They are keeping the divine child in their house and are serving Him. I am not that fortunate. Anyway, thanks."

He finally went to Russia. After a long gap of many years, he again visited India. He came straight to Kamalapuram and started asking about Me. But, by that time, I was no longer a high school student, Raju. By then I had become Sathya Sai Baba. (Loud applause) People told him that Sathya Sai Baba would be residing either in Puttaparthi or in Bangalore. Therefore, he left Kamalapuram for Bangalore.

When he arrived at Bangalore, he found a huge crowd. On enquiry, he came to know that they were waiting for Sathya Sai Baba's darshan. He too waited for My darshan. When I was moving amidst the congregation, he saw Me and thought to himself, "Yes, this is the same person whom I saw as a boy many years ago. He has the same white divine effulgence surrounding Him." He approached the Principal of the College.

At that time, Narender was the Principal. He was a great scholar in Sanskrit and a very good teacher. His father, Damodara Row, was a judge and his father-in-law, Sunder Rao, was a reputed doctor. Both of them were present. Messing requested them to take him for Swami's darshan. He told them, "You are not able to see His reality. He is God Himself. You are seeing only His physical form and getting deluded. You will know the truth when you observe His aura."

In those days, I used to give darshan to the devotees at the end of nagar sankirtan. As I stood in the balcony giving darshan, he could see that the entire place was permeated with light. He could see great effulgence around My face. My entire body was engulfed in white light, which symbolises purity. There was nothing else except light. He expressed his desire to have an audience with Me. In the evening, a meeting was arranged. When he met Me, he kept saying, "My dear, my dear. You are my everything. I am Your instrument."

So far I have not revealed this to anyone. I taught him all that had to be taught. I told him that when God descends on earth, He acts like a human being. Daivam manusha rupena (God takes the form of man). God comes only in human form and not in His Divine form. He said that the same had been said even in their scriptures.

After a few days, Messing left without informing anybody. Nobody knew where Messing had gone.

One day, Narender received a letter from Russia. Messing wrote in the letter, "You are a teacher working for God. How fortunate you are!" He asked Narender to keep him informed about the happenings related to Swami.

One day, Narender was expressing some doubts and I was clarifying them. Only two of us were in the room. All of a sudden, Messing appeared there. How he came there was a mystery to Narender. He came, had My darshan, and disappeared. It was not possible for all to see this. It was not easy to understand either. Divinity is highly mysterious. Divinity of Lord Krishna was also witnessed in many mysterious ways.

Deep Mysteries of Divinity

One day, Krishna and Balarama were playing on the bank of the river Yamuna along with other cowherds. They were jumping from one branch to another on trees. Some of them were tired. At that time, Sage Bharadwaja came there along with another sage. They asked the cowherds to show them a suitable and safe location where the water was shallow so that they could have a bath.

Krishna and Balarama jumped down from the branches of the trees. Bharadwaja at once recognised that Krishna was Paramatma. He folded his hands in reverence and asked Krishna to show them a suitable location for having a bath. Krishna jumped into the water and showed them a safe place for bathing. He told them to have their bath there. In the meantime, He said, He would keep food ready for them.

The cowherds were wondering as to how Krishna would provide food for the sages as He had not brought any food with Him. After the sages had finished their bath, Krishna opened a bag, which appeared from nowhere. As He opened the bag, the entire place was filled with sweet aroma of rice boiled in milk. He served the food and asked the sages to eat.

The cowherds were as mischievous as monkeys. They would not keep quiet. They repeatedly asked Krishna, "Where did You get the food from?" Krishna silenced them saying, it was not proper to indulge in excessive talk in the presence of sages.

After saying their prayer, the sages started partaking of food. They asked, "Krishna, who prepared this food?"

Krishna replied, "My mother Yashoda." They said they had not eaten anything more delicious before and expressed their gratitude to Him. After eating their food, the sages drank water from the Yamuna and started moving away from there.

Brahma, who was observing these mysterious happenings, was wonderstruck at Krishna's mighty powers. He wanted to play a trick on Krishna. One day as the cowherds were blissfully playing with Krishna and Balarama, Brahma made the cows and calves disappear from the scene. He even made the cowherds disappear. Krishna knew that it was Brahma's trick. He at once created all the cowherds, cows, and calves by His Will. These cowherds returned to their respective homes with their cows and calves. They were identical in all respects to the cowherds whom Brahma had hidden somewhere. Even their parents could not find any difference.

Life went on as usual, with the cowherds taking their cows and calves for grazing everyday in the company of Balarama and Krishna. This continued for one full year. Brahma felt ashamed and accepted defeat. He sought Krishna's pardon and returned all the cowherds, cows, and calves. As he returned them, the existing ones, which Krishna had created earlier, disappeared at once.

In this manner, Krishna performed many stupendous feats right from His childhood. On this basis, the Bhagavata says,

The stories of the Lord are most wonderful and sacred in all the three worlds.
They are like sickles that cut the creepers of worldly bondage.
(Telugu Poem)

Early Leelas of Swami

At this juncture, I would like to narrate an incident that happened with this Avatar. After this Prasanthi Mandir was constructed, I used to have My food in the room upstairs. Whenever I took food, Griham Ammayi (mother of this physical body) would be by My side coaxing Me to eat more. She would often express her concern that I was losing weight. I would tell her, "Why should I eat more? Do I need to wrestle with somebody? I don't like to become fat."

One day, I was invited to a house in the village for food. Actually, their intention was to poison Me. They were feeling jealous of My growing popularity and prosperity. In those days, I used to relish vadas made of alasanda grains. Hence, they mixed poison in vadas and offered them to Me.

Before going there, I had told Easwaramma and Subbamma not to be afraid if anything untoward happened. When I returned from there, My entire body turned blue and My mouth started frothing. I told Subbamma to bring a tumbler of water. As I held the tumbler in My hand, the water turned blue. Then I asked Easwaramma to wave her hand in a circle. She did accordingly, and, to her utter amazement, there appeared vibhuti in her hand. She mixed it in water and gave it to Me. Instantly, I became normal. She wondered, "Swami can create vibhuti with the wave of His hand. But how is it that vibhuti appeared in my hand?" In fact, I had given her that power for that moment.

When I was staying in the old Mandir, I used to take children to the river Chitravathi everyday. In those days, there were no students; only the boys of the village would gather around Me. I would tell them to make a small mound of sand, out of which they could get whatever they wanted, such as pencil, pen, laddu, etc. Since they were small children, they asked for trivial things.

After one such evening session in Chitravathi, we were returning to the old Mandir. Kuppam Vijayamma, the author of the book "Anyatha Saranam Nasthi", and her sister, who were young at that time, started running toward the old Mandir to offer Arati to Swami when He reached there. Then I signalled to Subbamma to stop them and herself go there to make arrangements for the Arati. Subbamma implicitly obeyed My command.

The two sisters had a feeling that Subbamma, being a widow, was not eligible to offer Arati to Swami. When Subbamma went to the old Mandir, she found a big snake there. It was for this reason that I had sent her. She was always careful. When she saw the snake, she called out, "Sai Nageswara, Sai Nageswara, Sai Nageswara".

In the meanwhile, all of us reached there. She did not want to kill it, as she remembered the words of Swami that there was God in all beings. She wanted to catch it and leave it somewhere. As she caught the snake, it coiled around her hand. I had a little fun and said jokingly, "Subbamma, are you playing with snakes?"

She said, "Swami, I know that You sent me earlier in order to save the lives of those two sisters."

In this manner, Subbamma witnessed many Leelas of Swami. She was very fortunate and highly virtuous. She served Me right from the beginning. Not only Me, she served the devotees also who came for My darshan by offering them food. All her relatives turned against her but she did not care. She wanted only Swami and none else. She always obeyed Swami's command implicitly. She had unwavering faith.

One day, I asked her whether she would like to see her deceased husband. I used to crack jokes with her now and then. She replied that she had no such desire and that she had nothing to do with her deceased husband. She further said that her husband passed away because he was not fortunate enough to serve Swami. She felt that it was her good fortune that she was able to serve Me.

But I insisted that if she had any desire to see him, I would fulfil her desire. I told her to go out and see. There was a drumstick tree. When she went there, she found her husband, Narayana Rao, sitting under the tree smoking a cigarette. She saw the scene very clearly. She was happy to see her dead husband again, but she also scolded him saying, "Even after death, you have not given up your bad habits. You are still smoking!" She came back at once as she did not want to see him any longer.

Narayana Rao had two wives, Subbamma and Kamalamma. Kamalamma is living in the Ashram at present. I told Kamalamma to go and see her deceased husband.

She said, she did not want to see him and had no such desire after coming to the Lotus Feet of Swami. However, on My insistence, she went and saw. She found her late husband sipping hot coffee at that time. Both Subbamma and Kamalamma saw their deceased husband exhibiting the same habits he had when he was alive. Even during the Krishna Avatar, Krishna showed to His devotees incidents that had happened long ago.

Bhakti Tattwa and the Gopikas

When Krishna lifted the Govardhan mountain, there was a great celebration. At that time, the Gopikas performed Varalakshmi Vrata and did Puja near the Govardhan mountain. Even now ladies perform Varalakshmi Vrata. Radha was a great devotee. But those who did not believe in the Divinity of Krishna subjected her to a lot of hardship. Even in those days, there were atheists. Atheists, theists, theistic-atheists, and atheistic-theists are present in every age. The atheists put Radha in a house and locked it from outside. (Taking this theme, I wrote a drama and got it enacted by children.) They felt Radha's family reputation was being tarnished because she was following Krishna. They wanted to stop her from doing so. Hence, she was locked up in the room. She started crying and praying. Krishna heard her prayers, opened the door and released her. He chided those people saying, "Is this the way you treat a devotee? It is all right if you have no devotion towards Me. But it is a great sin to harass a devotee." Krishna took Radha with Him. Gopikas (cowherd maids) also followed Krishna. Radha then prayed to Krishna to play a song on His divine flute.

Oh Krishna! Sing a sweet song, and fill our hearts with nectarine words and bliss.
Distil the essence of the Vedas, transform it into divine music of Nada Brahma,
play it on Your enchanting flute, and captivate us with Your melody.
Sing, Oh Krishna! Sing for us!
(Telugu Song)

Listening to the divine melody, Radha breathed her last. From that day, Krishna never touched His flute again.

Krishna performed several leelas (little plats, sports, tricks). He was God in human form. None can comprehend or describe His divine nature. It is infinite and unfathomable. Krishna was the embodiment of divine love, which He manifested through His leelas.

In the Dwapara Yuga, women experienced Krishna's Divinity more. In fact, they were the ones who revealed the Divinity of Krishna through their devotion. Once some Brahmins were performing Gayatri Yajna in a forest. Krishna told the cowherds to go to the priests and ask them for some food from the Yajnashala, since He and His brother Balarama were very hungry.

When the cowherds asked the priests for food, they turned them away saying, "Do you think it is a choultry to feed you as and when you ask? No. Wait till the yajna is over. After offering the food to God, we will eat. If there is anything left after that, then we will give you."

When this was conveyed to Krishna, he advised them to approach the women who were preparing the food at the back side of Yajnashala. As per His advice, the cowherds went and saw the women preparing bobbatlu (a delicious sweet item). They asked those women, "Mothers, our Krishna and Balarama are hungry. Can you give them some food?"

The women were extremely happy for the opportunity to serve Krishna. Immediately, they packed whatever food items they had prepared and took them to Krishna. Some women raised an objection as to how they could serve food to Krishna (who belonged to the cowherd clan) before it was offered to God and the Brahmins. But their objection was brushed aside, and Krishna and Balarama were fed the items that were prepared. They considered Krishna as God.

On coming to know of this, their husbands chided them, saying that it was a sacrilegious act. Later on, when they sat in meditation, realisation dawned on them. They recognised their mistake and told their wives that what they had done was correct. They took a bath again and requested their wives to serve the food blessed by Krishna as prasadam.

I wish to emphasise in this context that during the lifetime of any Avatar, it is only the women who recognise His divinity first. They are the ones who lead their husbands to the path of divinity. It is only because of the devotion of women that men cultivate devotion to some extent at least. But for women, few men would have had devotion. Since time immemorial, women have been identified with bhakti (devotion) and men with jnana (wisdom). Women can enter even the antahpur (inner chambers), whereas men can go only up to the durbar hall of God. It means that jnana can lead you near God while bhakti will take you to the heart of God. That is why such a great value has been attached to bhakti. In fact, it was the devotion of the gopikas that prompted the spread of Bhakti Tatthwa (principle of devotion) in the world.

Harer Nama Harer Nama Harer Namaiva Kevalam,
Kalau Nastyeva Nastyeva Nastyeva Gathiranyatha.

(Chanting of the divine name is the only path to liberation in this Age of Kali).
Chanting of the divine name with devotion is the ideal set by the gopikas.

Mother Easwaramma's Intense Love for Swami

In early days, nobody thought of God except Karanam Subbamma in this village of Puttaparthi. Griham Ammayi (Mother Easwaramma) used to observe big officers coming for My darshan. She was scared to see anyone in police uniform. She would ask Subbamma to keep police away from Swami. Subbamma would alleviate her fears saying, "Why should they not come? They also are devotees of Swami. Everybody has to come to Swami. Do not have any such differences. Nobody can harm Swami. You don't worry about it."

But Subbamma's assuring words did not satisfy Easwaramma. She pleaded with Subbamma thus, "Since Swami is residing in your house, you are allowing all types of people to come. Please do not allow police to come there."

Once, IGP Ranganayakulu came from Chennai. He wanted to take Me with him to Chennai. Griham Ammayi was in a sorrowful state and was crying. It was My first visit to Chennai. She considered Chennai to be a far-off place like a foreign country. Therefore, she did not want Me to go there. She kept saying, "Swami, don't go, don't go." Her intense love for Swami was the cause for this. She was concerned that Swami might be taken away from Puttaparthi. In fact, she was mainly responsible for the construction of this mandir here.

Once, Sakamma came to Puttaparthi and said, "Swami, due to the lack of proper roads and transport, we are finding it difficult to come to this remote village. Cars cannot reach this interior village. It is even difficult for bullock carts to reach here. Every time, we have to leave our car at a distance to come here. Hence, please come to Bangalore and settle there. We will get a big palatial building built for You."

I told her that I did not need huge mansions. All that I needed was only a small room. But she would not listen to Me. Easwaramma said, "If a sapling has to grow into a gigantic tree, it has to be manured and watered well without disturbing it. If it is shifted from place to place, it cannot grow. Hence, please remain in Your birthplace, Puttaparthi. It will certainly progress."

I made a promise to her that I would settle in Puttaparthi.

When it comes to devotion and surrender, women are superior to men. They are the repositories of all forms of vijnana, sujnana and prajnana. Sometimes, they too have some weaknesses. But never consider them inferior to men and never look down upon them.

Do not talk derisively about others. Pray for the well-being of all. Loka samastha sukhino bhavantu (May all the people of the world be happy!). The main teaching of the Bhagavadgita is that one should work for the welfare of all. Ekoham bahusyam (the One willed to become many). The same divinity is present in all. All forms are His. This has been the teaching of Lord Krishna.

Before I conclude, I would like to narrate a small leela performed by Krishna in Dwapara Yuga. As long as Kamsa was alive, he kept sending fierce demons to kill Krishna. Kamsa had two wives whose father was a mighty king. When Kamsa was killed, his father-in-law attacked Krishna several times.

The gopikas and the people of Repalle were worried. "How long are we to suffer these ordeals?", they asked Krishna.

He told them not to be panicky and pacified them saying, "Try to understand My powers and potentialities. Tonight, you sleep in Repalle, and tomorrow morning, see for yourself where you will be."

When they woke up the next morning, they found themselves in Dwaraka. Where was Repalle and where was Dwaraka? A distance of 1000 miles separated them.

In this manner, Krishna could transport people from one village to another. God can do anything. He can go anywhere. He can change anything. Do not give room for doubts. One who doubts Divinity will certainly be doomed. Develop unwavering faith and follow the divine command. True dharma lies in following the divine command. When you follow God, you will be blessed with all goodness and auspiciousness.

Bhagavan concluded His discourse with the bhajans, "Hari Bhajan Bina Sukha Santhi Nahin", "Govinda Krishna Jai Gopala Krishna Jai", and "Subramanyam, Subramanyam".