The Ascending Sun

Sathyanarayana Raju, aged 14, student, fourth form, Uravakonda High School, 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 a Banyan tree and sang a song he wanted the gathering to sing with him: "Those who desire to liberate themselves 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.

The good news spread: "The Sai Baba of Shirdi in Maharashtra has come again as promised." Streams of pilgrims bound for Shirdi turned to Puttaparthi where He was born and spent His boyhood in song and dance, music and mystery. The maimed, the ill, the distressed, the distracted - they came in hundreds from far and near. Baba consoled, and cured; He revealed their past which shaped the present, and the present that would determine the future of those who sought His guidance. He showered love beyond measure on the unhappy, rich and poor alike; He manifested suprahuman Power transcending the Laws of Nature: His wisdom surpassed that of the greatest of sages. Those who came to examine remained to extol; those who extolled desired that others too should share the thrill; thus the triumph of the Master spread from region to region. That was the Ploughing of the Field, the Preparation.

Fresh from His beneficent tour of India from Kanyakumari to Kilanmarg, Baba, in His 32nd year, resolved to further His Dharmasthapana, the Revival and Re-establishment of the moral order in human affairs, in a wider and more persistent manner. He inaugurated the Sanathana Sarathi, the monthly magazine in eleven languages, Telugu, English, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarathi, Bengali, Hindi, Assamese and Nepali: the Clarion for His Call, the Conch that awakens and arouses, the Banner for humanity's campaign against its inner foes, Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment, Pride and Hate. Baba also exhorted people to sing in chorus the glory of God and encourage each other to march towards Him. He himself moved over the land like a rain-cloud, showering courage and conviction on hearts parched by the cruel rays of doubt, disappointment, disputation and dilemma. This was the Sowing of the Seeds, seeds of Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi, and Prema, seeds reinforced with the authority of the ageless Vedas and the indisputable experience of the sages and seers of all lands. Many were touched by the Light of Love and many were aroused into spurts of Sadhana and tenacious efforts to serve, through His discourses that inspired them to search within for the reality instead of seeking without for its shadow. And many were helped to tap the springs of ecstatic communion with the Divine through the discipline of Bhajan. These were called into the Presence, at Madras, for the First All India Conference of Sathya Sai Seva Groups, where everyone was armed with a new vision and a new vitality to render social service and win self-realisation. The Seeds, thus, sprouted fast, fed by the warming rays of the Sai Sun.

The first two volumes of this book "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram" have chronicled these events. Let me now resume the Bhagavatha, the story of the Lord, bringing Heaven into human hearts and liberating man from the prison he has sentenced himself into!