The Rain Cloud

Those who have had the good fortune of listening to a discourse by Baba at any public gathering will cherish the thrill and the inspiration of the experience for many and many a year; nothing that they may listen to later will diminish the exhilaration of that occasion. Baba speaks generally in Telugu, though He converses with devotees in almost all languages, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Sindhi, English etc. In fact, His Omniscience finds expression in any medium. His diction and style are simple and direct, full of proverbs and parables and popular illustrations taken from the actual experience of the people in front of Him; and, so His words get engraved in the hearts of the listeners.

He refuses to name His discourses, 'Speeches', for they are never prepared in advance or delivered over the heads of the people or directed to the 'masses'. He prefers the word, Sambhashana, that is, Conversation. His way of probing into personal problems and answering individual doubts makes that appellation very apt. The effect of His discourse is always as if Baba has all the while spoken to you alone, for within a minute or two, He grips your attention so much that you forget you are one among thousands and you yield yourself to His diagnosis and His treatment. The Face that enchants, the Voice that endears, the Smile that illumines, the Gesture that clarifies, all become your personal possessions. His advice, His appeal are so intimate and imbued with Love that your entire self is mortgaged to Him, by the time He finishes. He is not an orator, or evangelist, or even a teacher. He is the Rain Cloud come to nourish the parched lives of everyone.

Baba used to declare when quite a boy that He will enter upon His task of Upadesha in His thirty-second year. Until that age, he discoursed only occasionally, either at the Prasanthi Nilayam itself during the Navarathri Celebrations or Sivarathri, or sometimes on the sands of the Chitravathi when devotees assembled around Him and sought His Guidance or rarely at the Sathya Sai Baba District Board High School. Bukkapatnam, where He presided over functions like the School Day.

At the Nilayam or on the sands, the discourse was usually started off by a question posed by a Bhaktha, on some general problem affecting social conduct, or spiritual endeavour. The reply given by Baba sheds light not only on the main question but also on all related topics. A chance question on Life after Death once brought forth from Baba a very illuminating discourse on Salokya, Sameepya etc., on the Garuda Purana version of the journey of the disembodied soul, the inner significance of the funeral rites of the different communities, the existence of ghosts, the chances of communicating with the dead, and even the custom of naming the grandchild after the grandfather. The questioner or others around him are also prodded with further queries by Baba, in order to make His exposition clear. Such discussions arise in quite informal ways at almost all places and times, for Baba is ever gracious to impart the courage born of conviction. He is the educator, par excellence.

A few years ago, a few devotees had the chance of being with Baba at the Horsley Hills for about a week. Everyday, both in the morning and in the evening, Baba sat in the midst of the Bhakthas and posed before them a new problem of Sadhana. He asked every one to lay bare before Him their spiritual practices, ideals and ideas; He asked them to reveal the name and form of the Godhead that appealed to each person; the scriptural text that had the greatest influence in shaping their lives; the picture that each one had formed of the Ultimate Reality; the goal of each one's Sadhana. And, by means of sympathetic analysis, He set every one on the Path. He utilises every chance to pour light on the dark corners of our hearts.

This He has been doing, even while a child, for was He not named the 'little Guru' even by Kondama Raju who liked Him all the more for it? I remember the old man swelling with pride and joy when he sat listening to a discourse given by Baba in 1950 a few days before his passing away.

Even as a Child at School, He dissuaded His playmates from smoking beedies and cigarettes; He evinced disgust at Rajasic and Thamasic food generally; He warned His friends away from cinemas; He encouraged them all to sing songs in praise of God, to wear the Holy Vibhuthi and observe habits of personal cleanliness.

While at school at Kamalapuram, He composed some songs, against the evil of drink, the dangerous consequences of illiteracy, on the abject condition of the untouchables, and on the degradation of village factions. Years ago, He wrote a social play named Kaalamarpu, the Changed Times. This is a play containing a large number of songs in folk-tunes depicting the tricks to which the necessity to catch peoples' attention drives the seekers of power. It depicts the piteous plight of a great poet and seer whose warnings go unheeded; he is neglected by every one, except the poor ryot; his children become destitute Men of straw take vengeance upon them for the words of wisdom that their father dared utter. But, times change. The children win power and re-establish the Golden Age when the immortal words of the Poet are sung again and put into practice.

Even when quite a boy, Baba was entreated by actors in village plays to write out dialogues for their roles and, whenever He took a role, He composed songs and speeches for Himself Invariably, these compositions breathed a high moral note and stood out above the rest of the drama, attracting attention by superior style, diction and appeal. He has written also plays on "Parikshit" and on "Markandeya" - both revealing new facets of Truth.

This role of the Teacher is, of course, fundamental to the Sai Avathar, "I never utter a word of no significance, or do a deed of no beneficial consequence," He declared once. Even the most casual remark that He might make will be filled with Upadesh, Addressing a lady who was struggling to keep her child quiet, He said, "See. Sitting astride your hip, it cries 'Amma', 'Amma' not realising that Amma herself is holding it in her clasp. This is what every one here is doing. They do not know that the Lord is the Mother who is clasping them; they simply cry, Amma, Amma." Seeing the item 'welcome speech, in the Programme of a Meeting He addressed, He said, "I am in you and so you need not welcome me. I shall not come because you call or go because you deny" He is always and everywhere the Sadguru, the Friend, Philosopher and Guide. He slowly and steadily moulds the character and outlook of every one who offers himself for His guidance, or whom He selects for such training.

When, at the Prasanthi Nilayam or elsewhere, some one is reciting or explaining the Githa or the Ramayana or the Bhagavatha or some Upanishad, He watches the audience for a while and taking His cue from a word or phrase, explains to the delight of the learned and the unlearned alike, the obscurity which worries them. In this way, He has unravelled many a mystery of the Sastras and sacred scriptures. The Bhakthi of the Gopis, the challenge of Vali, the Abduction of Sitha, the character of Ravana, the nature of Durvasa, the role of Narada, the manoeuvres of Krishna , the meaning of Avathara, the significance of the Sraddha Ceremony, and many such topics have been, as I know, illumined by Baba's omniscience.

In the Discourses that Baba gives at the Prasanthi Nilayam during Dasara or on Sivarathri or on His Birthday, He often treats of highly philosophical subjects, for as He said once, "You are all no longer 'young'; you must go from one lower class to the next higher one." But, by means of stories and parables, proverbs and metaphors, He makes even the toughest philosophical idea like Maya or Karma or Adhyasa or Vasana or Samskara or Samsara or Nirguna or Saguna as plain as the 'berry in the palm.' Once, He spoke on the Katha, Kena and the Mundaka Upanishads, on three successive days, giving very lucid analysis of the dialectics of each. Of course, He ends up every talk, emphasising the practical steps of Sadhana, bringing the discourse down to the very brass tacks of daily routine and conduct. Another Dasara, He spoke on Karmamarga, Jnanamarga and Bhakthimarga on three successive days, ending the series on the note that "Karmamarga leads to the intensification of Bhakti and Bhakthimarga leads ultimately to Jnana."

Or, He takes the theme on which some one has spoken already in His Presence that evening and amplifies it, to the satisfaction of the thousands listening to Him. I remember one day, He took up the topic of Sathsanga and described how it gradually leads man on to Nissanga, that is to say how the companionship of the good leads one on to the giving up of attachment itself. Another day, His subject was Paropakara and the way intelligent persons should do it, for, some one had spoken earlier of social Service. One evening He spoke of the Trinity, and the Functions of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara, for the reference that day was to Dattatreya.

On special occasions of festivals like Vijayadasami, Sivarathri, Uttarayanam, Gurupournami, etc., He gives discourses on the significance of those days and on the most profitable method of celebrating them. "Manas is presided over by the Moon, and every month the Moon get almost worn out on the 14th night after the Full Moon. So, the Sadhaka whose ambition should be to destroy the Manas, with all its whims, fancies and vagaries must strive his utmost on that night to maximise his Sadhana, so that victory might be his. That night or Rathri has to be dedicated to Siva, so to say. Sivarathri comes every month and there is a Mahasivarathri once a year to remind man of the purpose of his existence." Vijayadasami is "the day of Victory of the forces of Goodness, of the Pure-Self over the downward dragging Vasanas and impulses" Uttarayanam is the Uttamayanam, the dawn of the Daiviyanam, the Divine half-year when the Sun, who presides over the Buddhi or Intellect of Man is Himself proceeding on the Daivimarga. "Swim with the current," Baba says. "The Sun Himself is journeying northward, towards the Kailasa of Self-realisation. This is the best time for spiritual initiation and Sadhana." Gurupournami for Baba is an occasion to remind His devotees and all aspirants to revere the Gurus and the Wisdom they embody. He describes the essential characteristics of Gurus and gives every one the tests by which he can distinguish the true from the false. Every discourse of Baba has a novelty of its own, a thrill and a joy which is its unique mark!

He calls His Discourses Mandubhojanam, (in Telugu) as opposed to the Vindubhojanam, which others are supplying. That is to say, what He serves is 'medicinal food,' not 'festival food.' Therefore, He appeals to the listeners not to miss even a fragment of the meal or carelessly throw away even a morsel of a word. He is the Great Physician come to heal, and so no two discourses are similar in tone or content. He says "Mine is not a lecture; it is a mixture"! He has no one single prescription for all!

Speaking to High School students at Chittoor, He gave detailed instructions regarding preparation for the Examinations and the systematic way in which the question paper has to be tackled in the Hall! "Mark all the questions which you feel you can successfully answer; finish answering them; and then, tackle the rest; you will then be in a better and more confident mood," He said. He dealt on problems of the classroom and the football field, with an intimacy that was quite remarkable.

Presiding over the Prize-giving Ceremony of the District Sports at Penukonda, He spoke on the emphasis wrongly placed on competition and on winning, pitting school against school and boy against boy. He then pointed out that the spirit in which victory or defeat is taken is much more important than the actual result of the events. At Madakasira, on a similar occasion, He punned upon the word Bahumathi, meaning both, 'Prize' and 'many-mindedness' and declared, "I always distribute single-mindedness; never Bahumathi or many-mindedness!" He then asked the winners to thank the losers, for it only the losers had put in a little more effort, they might have won and deprived them of running away with the prizes!

Inaugurating the Girls' High School at Venkatagiri town, He dilated on the good habits that students should develop. "Be ever careful about your books, for your parents have sacrificed much to get them for you. Do not quarrel with your brothers and sisters and make the home a nest of discontent. Do not envy classmates who are richer. Be content. Do not show off. Speak the truth always, for falsehood is the result of cowardice. Get up early in the morning at 5 A.M. and, after a wash, sit alone quietly, and meditate on the Lord. Tell Him to accept all that you have done during the day, for they have been done truthfully and dutifully, and ask Him to give you strength to serve Him and His children, your brothers and sisters. In the morning, thank Him for the day dawning before you and ask that it may be given to you to spend it usefully, for yourself and for others."

Addressing the villagers of Mirthipadu, near Rajahmundry, Baba spoke to them on topics within their ken. "By the sweat of your brow, you transform dirt and dust into nourishing, relishing food for man and beast. What a holy task this, which you daily perform! I am very happy to be in your midst today. You bear innumerable troubles and toils and place firm reliance on your own selves. You move about these green fields, wafted by the cool breeze, beneath the blue sky. How nice it would be if, when you walk along the edges of these fields, you sing the glory of the Lord, who is immanent in all this Beauty, all this Plenty and all this Grandeur! Do not contaminate the atmosphere by words of anger against one another; purify it by repeating the name of the Lord."

So too, at Budili village, on the banks of the Chithravathi, He spoke of the sweetness and purity of the ryot's life and of the village being the foundation of the culture of a country. There He dilated on the need of gratitude for benefits received; the dangers of faction and the value of traditional religious rises like Bhajana and temple worship. He said He had noticed that some one had dumped a broken bandy on the Temple veranda, an act demonstrating disregard for the sacred precincts. He also exhorted the young men of the village to serve it with all their intelligence and devotion.

If it is a function connected with a Hospital, Baba has valuable advice for the Organisers as well as the gathering. At the Sathya Sai Hospital, He once deplored that the Doctors should, in their Report, write about the 'Progress' achieved, when actually the number of Inpatients and Outpatients had increased. He said that He would be happy only when there was full health for every one. This could be achieved, mostly by the gaining of Santhi. "Worry, greed, needless agitation and anxiety, these cause even bodily diseases. Mental weakness is the biggest cause of disease. Dis-ease is want of ease; the contented mind is the best drug. The body must be well looked after, since it is the boat which helps us to cross the sea of Samsar. So, it should not be weakened either by habits which sap the strength or by the overdoing of disciplines like fasting etc. Learning Yogic practices from books and practising them, with the aid of leaflets and charts is also a fertile source of illness, both physical and mental. Be good, be joyful, be bold, be honest, be temperate, be patient. These are all rules of health. Suguna is the most valuable source of health."

In many places, the Bhakthas conduct regular Bhajanas on the pattern of the Bhajan at Prasanthi Nilayam and once a year on a selected day, they carry on the sessions for full twenty-four hours without interruption. On the conclusion of one such Akhandabhajana at Bangalore, Baba gave a discourse in which He pointed out that one's Life must itself become an unbroken session of Akhandabhajana.

Of course for devotees of Sathya Sai Baba the practice of the constant presence of the Lord is a comparatively easy Sadhana, for by experience they know that Baba is ever behind them, beside them, with them and in them. Baba Himself accosts each one of them with questions concerning aspects of their behaviour or thinking, which they considered most secret, known only to themselves. Once, for example, when a student from Rajahmundry told him that he had prepared single-mindedly for the examination, giving up all other activities, Baba turned on him with the question, "What? Did you not go one night to a Dinner at the Hostel and come home very late? Did you not go another day with some relatives who had come from your village to the bazaar to purchase some clothes for them?"

That day at the Akhandabhajana function, Baba said that one should try to discover why, in spite of the multiplicity of Sanghams, Samajas and Societies organising Bhajans and religious discourses, there is no corresponding increase in the moral standard of the people. "Bhajana has become a ritual, a routine, a rigmarole. What is spoken by the tongue is not practised by the hands. There is no Bhakthi, no Sraddha, no Faith."

By Faith, Baba does not mean blind faith; as a matter of fact, Baba insists on Viveka as an essential requisite for spiritual progress. Follow the Sastraic discipline and test for yourself, He says, "Come and stay at Prasanthi Nilayam and move with Me and experience My company and conversation and listen to Me and watch Me and then form your conclusions; get in and know the depth; eat and know the taste," that is His advice. "Sadhana is necessary to know God, patient sincere Sadhana; if the spark of Faith must grow into a raging fire, build it up with grass blades, dry sticks and faggots, slowly and carefully." "Take refuge occasionally in the depths of your own mind, in silence and in loneliness."

At Trivandrum, Baba posed the question: "How is it that, in spite of the advance in education and literacy the enthusiasm shown by parents, teachers and children in imparting and acquiring learning, people have no peace of mind?" He then spoke on the Manas, as having the double nature of wind, the wind that gathers the rain clouds and scatters the clouds beyond the horizon. He dilated upon the means, and methods of controlling the vagaries of the mind. He said, "I refuse to call any one an atheist or an unbeliever, for all are Creations of the Lord and repositories of His Grace. In every one's heart, there is a spring of Love, a rock of Truth. That Love is God" "Divinity is there in the depths of every one's Inner Being." "By systematic and continuous boring, the uninterrupted dig, dig, dig of Ram-Ram-Ram the spring can be touched and the waters of Divinity made to gush forth."

At Nuzvid, Baba dwelt on the religious factions and partisanship rampant in the country. He said that the Lord is above and beyond all limits of caste and colour, of wealth and poverty; that it is foolish to believe that the Lord asks for a gift or is angry when it is not offered. He warned His listeners against Sanyasins who go about with lists of Donors and Subscribers, Gurus who have an eye on your purse and Mounis who keep the vow of Silence by resorting to all other means of communication except the easy natural and convenient way of talking! At Arkonam, when the Secretary of the Divine Life Society read in his report that those who paid an annual fee of four Annas could become members, Baba said that He would allow any one who had, not four Annas, but four Gunas (Sathya, Dharma, Santhi and Prema) to become members of the Society of Divine Life!

At Madras, while speaking to the members of the Young Men's Indian Association, He pleaded with the elders present to become, for the young men of today, better examples of integrity and efficiency and selfless service. "Big personages claiming to be great, declaim about the Vedas, the Sastras and the Atma, freely quoting the similes and metaphors found in the Sacred Scriptures; but, by their conduct, their conceit and their conflicts, they only diminish the lustre of those treasures," He said. "There is no co-ordination between the speaker, the subject and subsequent conduct. Therefore, instead of 'Amritha,' their words become Amritha," He declared.

At the Gokhale Hall, He said that Man must seek answers to four fundamental questions: Who am I? Where have I come from? Whether am I going? How long will I stay? He said that the four Vedas are devoted to the discovery of the answers to these very queries. Then, He began to show how the answer can be realised through Jnana or Bhakthi or Karma, but, He said that the Lord's Grace, if won through Namasmarana, will reveal them to the aspirant in a trice.

Analysing the causes for the present crisis in the moral life of the community, He pointed out that cynicism and the urge to satirise are the two big diseases of the age and these lead to irreverence and the spread of disbelief. A life lived in the constant presence of God is the most secure and happy, for the shafts of social criticism will not penetrate it and cause it pain. Religion and belief in God are being challenged now from all quarters. It is therefore the duty of all Asthikas to meet this challenge by demonstrating to the critics how their lives have been made sweeter by religion, how the realisation of the constant presence of the Lord has made them more efficient, more earnest and more courageous for the task of living.

At the All-India Sai Samaj, He declared, "You take up the dictionary to find out the meaning of a certain word but as you turn over the pages in order to spot it, other words attract your attention and you are drawn towards them and their meanings. So too, you might come to Me with some one immediate purpose, but, while doing so, you come to know that you can use Me to solve deeper dilemmas, assuage more poignant pains, and secure greater spiritual Peace." He takes every opportunity to bring home to His listeners that their effort, their discrimination, their sacrifice, their Sadhana alone can give them what they most need, namely, Santhi.

At the Santh Kuteeram, Royapuram, He spoke once on Sri Krishna and another time on the Bhagavadgitha, He gave a number of incidents from the life of Sri Krishan that are not found in the books and made His Discourse most instructive and illuminating. He made a pun on the word Githa, which when read from the other end becomes the Telugu word, Thagi, meaning 'Drink' and said that unless the nectar of the Githa is drunk and assimilated, one cannot get any result. Mere punditry or pompous scholarship or mugging up the Githa with all its thousand and odd commentaries is all a waste of precious time.

There are two paths, he once told an audience at Puttaparthi which every one must tread, the Dharmamarga relating to the physical world, the social world, the social world and the community to which one belongs, and the Brahmamarga, relating to oneself alone, the soul, and the disciplines connected with its fulfilment. Man must grasp God with the Right hand and the World with the Left. Gradually the left will lose its hold; "Do not worry about this; it has to be so; that is why it is called 'left'!" "But the right hand must not be allowed to loosen its grip for it is right that it should grip tight; that is why it is called 'right'!" Statements like these sticks in the memory and listeners will long ponder over them deriving sustenance and joy therefrom.

At Venkatagiri, inaugurating the Adhyatimic Lectures, He declared that the bane of Indian life has been the absence of cordiality and brotherliness. At Nellore, keeping a monster meeting of fifty thousand listeners enthralled for over an hour, He spoke of Discrimination,(Budhibalam) and the need for Faith based on Inquiry and Reason. At Gudur, He spoke of the magic influence of Prema between all classes and grades of people. "Prema will bring about Santhi; it is based on Truth, it is the Dharma of all," "You won't be wrong if you characterise Me as Premaswarupa," He declared.

At Peddapuram, He exhorted every one to have muscles of iron and nerves of steel, to become heroes with no trace of weakness or cowardice or sense of inferiority. "Do not call your selves the children of sin; there is no sin worse than that. You are Amrithaputras, every one of you; you have the Lord presiding in your heart. He is the Antharyamin of every thing in creation. How then can you be a child of sin?" He asked.

At Aukiripalli, in the Krishna District, where He addressed a gathering of Pandits and Sanskrit scholars, He stated that Kali is the Age of Tantra and, paying tribute to Sir John Woodroffe for unravelling the science of Tantra in his books, Baba explained the role of Tantra in the worship of Sakthi. He explained the role of Mahasakthi, Yogasakthi and Mayasakthi in the careers of Avatharas.

Often during His discourses, Baba illustrates His Upadesh by stories of Narada, Ambarisha, Sabari, Prahlada, Bhishma, Bharatha, Guha, Anjaneya, Chaitanya, Meera, Purandaradas, Kabir, Pattinathar, Manikkavasagar, Surdas, Tulsidas, Bhadrachalam Ramadas, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and others. Some times, He speaks in a reminiscent mood of the days spent in past ages in Ayodhya and Brindavan; He relates events and incidents not found in the Ramyana or Mahabharatha or Bhagavatha, but which have all the hallmarks of authenticity; He is conversant with the details of the lives of the saints of India and Western and Middle Eastern countries; for, He gives illustrative incidents from the lives of Christian and Muslim and Parsi saints also. Hasan and Husain, Moses, Jerome, Paul are for Him as useful as Thyagaraja or Pavharibaba in exemplifying or amplifying a point He wishes to emphasise. For, Baba is, has been and will be; He is the Eternal Witness.

Indeed, He reveals this aspect of His Reality very often in His Discourses, in more or less direct declarations. Like flashes of lightning, they bring to our consciousness, suddenly and with a thrill, the Splendour of His Personality. "Do not try to measure Me, you will only fail; try rather to discover your own measure. Then, you will succeed better in discovering My measure." 'I engage in no Tapas; I have no Dhyanam at all; I do not study; I am no Yogi or Siddha or Sadhaka; I have come to guide and bless all Sadhakas,' ' I am neither man or woman, old or young, I am all these.' 'Do not praise Me; I like you to approach Me without fear, as of right. You do not extol your father. You ask for some thing from him as of right, is it not?' 'I did not come uninvited to this world; Sadhus, saints, sages, good men of all creeds and climes called out and entreated; so, I have come.' 'You may be seeing Me today for the first time, but, you are all old acquaintances for Me; I know you, through and through' 'I have neither Guna nor Kaarana How then can illusion affect Me?' If I had come down with Sankha, Chakra, Gada and Padma, you would have run away or put me into an exhibition; if I were just like any one of you, you would not have cared at all. That is why I have taken up this Human Form and I show you now and then, these Mahimas'. ' My task is the spiritual regeneration of Humanity through Truth and Love' 'I have come to show you both Dharmamarga and Brahmamarga'. 'If you approach one step nearer to Me, I shall advance three steps towards you' 'I am happiest when a person carrying a heavy load of misery comes to Me, for, He is most in need of what I have.' 'All are Mine, through the Atmic relationship. So, those who worship Me are not nearer to Me than others who do not.' These are some of the illuminating flashes that Baba has vouchsafed in His Discourses. 'It is My Will that has brought every single one of you to this place to listen to Me,' He said once. That is the measure of His Grace and Might.

These announcements heighten the innate value and appeal of the Message that Baba brings to the distracted souls gathered before Him. He embraces every one in His overwhelming Prema, and when He announces to the gathering, 'I do not discard any one; I cannot, it is not My Nature to do so; have no fear; I am Yours, You are Mine,' an otherworldly intimacy is immediately established between Him and us. Therefore His words sink deep into the consciousness, and striking root, slowly grow into good conduct and Daivic character. He addresses the gathering as 'Atmaswarupalaara!' or Embodied Atmas! His primary purpose is to awaken man from the sleep of ignorance and point out to him his real nature, the imperishable, immortal Divine Self. 'You are the invincible Atman, unaffected by the ups and downs of life; the shadow which you cast while trudging along the road falls on dirt and dust, bush and briar, stone and sand, but, you are not worried at all, for you walk unscathed; so, too, as the Atma substance, you have no reason to be worried over the fate of its shadow, the body.' Baba drives this point home by many an example and infuses unshakeable courage.

'My mission is to grant you courage and joy, to drive away weakness and fear,' He has said on many occasions, 'Do not condemn yourselves as sinners; sin is a misnomer for what are really errors. I shall pardon all your errors, provided you repent sincerely and resolve not to follow evil again.' 'Pray to the Lord to give you the strength to overcome the habits which had enticed you when you were ignorant.' Thus, He kindles the flame of the hope and health in every heart.

By His sweetness, His overpowering Mercy and His Words of Wisdom, He has corrected the steps of hundreds and turned them on towards the path of Lokasangraha and Atmoddhara. I remember a very touching incident that happened the morning after a discourse He gave at Nellore. A middle-aged person rushed into His room and fell at His feet, rolling on the ground and sobbing like a child. Baba knew the reason why, for, there is no need in His case for question and answer. He turned to us and said, 'Yesterday's Story of Ramu' and asked us to leave the room. Baba had related the previous evening the story of a little boy, Ramu who begged for food, from door to door; his mother was very ill; he called out in front of a house, enraging the master, who rushed towards him and hit him on the head, causing him to fall, with the pot, which contained his earnings; the blow killed him and he died, with the words, 'Mother, Mother, who will give you food now?' on his lips. That story and the advice that Baba gave namely, that every one must be grateful first to the father and the mother, the parents, to whom he owes his very existence, had struck remorse in the heart of that listener, for he had, for some very silly reason, quarrelled with his mother and kept her apart.

Now he had come to crave Baba's pardon and rehabilitate himself under His auspices and with His Blessing. Baba knew all that without being told. He patted him lovingly on the back; the sobs continued. Baba said, 'Paschaathaapam is itself the Praayaschitham Come, come. Stop weeping, I shall be at your village, bring your mother there and you shall get Darsan together. Go and fetch her there, before I arrive.'

Mention can be made of many such dramatic incidents, consequent on the Grace-filled Discourses of Baba, of loans being repaid, of aged fathers being helped, of neglected wives being welcomed again, of deep-rooted habits of gambling or drink being given up for good. Baba's campaign of Upadesh has only just begun and, any one who has heard His Message can clearly visualise the significance of the Declaration He made on the Opening Page of the Sanathana Sarathi, the monthly magazine which He inaugurated on Sivarathri Day, 1958, the 32nd year of His Earthly Career. 'This day, the Sanathana Sarathi, the Eternal Charioteer, starts out on the campaign against Falsehood, Injustice, Wickedness and Evil - the minions of the Spirit of Egoism. The Vedas the Upanishads and the Sastras are the Regiments of the army; the Victory to be won is the welfare of the entire world. When the triumphant drums are beaten in the joy of success, Humanity would have achieved Happiness and Peace, Sukha and Santhi, Kshema and Ananda.'

Already the outlines of that Plan of Campaign are clear on the horizon. The clarion call for the Great Task in Baba's Fourfold Programme of Sathya, Dharma, Santhi and Prema. His plan is for all humanity, for, He says, 'It is not mentioned anywhere that the Grace of God is available only for certain classes or races or grades of people. From the smallest to the biggest, the Anu to the Ghana, all are entitled to it. The Lord is everywhere, everything. He can be realised by Sadhana, the practise of Sathya and Prema. Sathya is the highest Dharma and Prema is the only road to Santhi.'

Baba has also taken up the task of educating Sadhakas and aspirants and correcting the teachers and guides who are largely led astray by the greed for name and fame, for success in the competition for public support, and for the evanescent glory of 'international' fame, or newspaper renown. "Test every one on the touchstone of sincerity; see how far each has renounced, not merely in words, but in actual deed; then, accept their advice and bring it into your daily conduct and behaviour. It is the practice that matters, not the punditry," He insists. The Era of Sathya Sai, which has dawned, is indeed bound to be the Golden Age of Humanity.