http://www.tehelka.com/story_main49.asp?filename=hub070511WHY.asp
Dr J Geeta Reddy
Dr Devi Shetty
Bombay Jayashri
Kunal Ganjawala
MN Krishnamani
FOR NON-BELIEVERS and many in the media, Sathya Sai Baba was an
ambiguous figure on the landscape, a scamster cheating his followers
with the dazzling conjuring of vibhuti and other small objects, the
master of a multi-crore empire, a mortal accused of sexual
improprieties. But this week, it has been difficult to avoid the
mighty upsurge of grief that has marked Sathya Sai Baba's passing. For
millions of devotees, this was a lifechanging moment. It is clear the
stream of belief ran much deeper than gullibility and awe. Here are
five deeply personal stories from seemingly unlikely Sai Baba devotees
— doctors, Supreme Court advocates, serving ministers and musicians —
detailing the miraculous ways in which their faith was jump-started.
Clearly, faith bears no cold analysis. Perhaps, it is the particular
genius of this land that we can inhabit spaces that blur the line
between reason and unreason. These accounts go some way in explaining
the charismatic phenomenon that was Sathya Sai Baba.
1.Dr J Geeta Reddy
Industries Minister, Andhra Pradesh
My husband had a paralytic stroke. He recovered within days of meeting Baba
Dr J Geeta Reddy
I NEVER THOUGHT I would become a Sai Baba devotee. But fate had other
plans. In 1980, my husband, Dr Ramachandra Reddy, had a paralytic
stroke at the age of 30. It paralysed the left side of his body, even
the left side of his mouth. We went for the best possible medical care
in London, but were told he would never recover fully. I was almost
beginning to lose hope when some people, including English doctors and
professors, told us to look up the godmen in our own country. We had
never heard of Baba before this. Finally, we got our first darshan in
Whitefield outside Bengaluru. Nobody told Baba what the problem was.
He just went up to my husband and started touching his left side, his
arms and head. Baba told my husband not to worry. After he had
finished the gents' queue, he came to the ladies side. He didn't have
to ask for me. Baba just came to me and said, "Don't be disheartened,
I'm taking care of your husband." As I looked at him, there was no way
I could miss the love and compassion in his eyes. Following this
meeting, my husband recovered really fast.
This wasn't the only time when Baba made a difference to my life. My
husband and I went abroad for a 12- year spell. In 1992, Baba came to
Hyderabad. My mother had passed away recently, and I was shattered.
But once he spoke to me, I knew he'd taken my mother's place in my
life. He told me he was my mother. It was indeed comforting.
Seeing him in person was an electrifying experience. He had an
enchanting smile. One would feel so happy and content when he'd just
look at you. The great thing about him was he didn't believe in long
discourses, rituals, pujas or shlokas. In fact, he once told me, "I
use these illnesses as my calling cards." And now he is gone when we
need him the most.
2. Dr Devi Shetty
Cardiac surgeon and founder of Narayana Hrudayalaya
Baba walked into the room and his sister slipped out of a coma
Dr Devi Shetty
GOD HAS NOT CREATED everyone equal. I believe that some people have
superhuman powers. Sathya Sai Baba was one of them. My brother-in-law
told me about him 12 years ago. When I met him, he already knew I
wanted to build a cardiac hospital on the outskirts of Bengaluru — a
project most were sceptical about. When I met him, he simply told me,
"The city will come to you." It really did come to me. Baba once gave
me a ring that I wear all the time, except during surgery, because I
feel his warm presence.
The most beautiful miracle of Baba's is the one my brother-in-law
witnessed. He was treating Baba's sister, who at the time, had been in
a coma for days. When Baba walked into the room, she woke up, talked
to him for a few minutes and slipped back. How do you explain that
medically?
A Hindu woman once came to me for treatment. Someone in the Ajmer
Dargah had told her it would save her life. She had aortal arteritis,
a rare and serious condition. She insisted I operate. I didn't know
how to. I had to patch up her liver, her intestine and re-establish
circulation to the brain. I did and she has been healthy for eight
years now. Similarly, a very established doctor and friend saw his
patient in a hospital levitate while meditating. I have seen people
who are two yards away from death surviving and perfectly healthy
people dying suddenly. How do you explain this? We do 36 heart
surgeries a day in our hospital. We cut off circulation to the brain,
paralyse the heart, and the patient is practically dead. Each time, I
don't know if he or she will survive it. Any doctor who thinks he does
is kidding himself. You don't want to hear this from a doctor and a
scientist, but my hands are about as powerful as forceps controlled by
God.
3. Bombay Jayashri
Carnatic musician
He picked me from hundreds of people in a religious gathering and
asked me to sing
Bombay Jayashri
WHEN I WAS nine, Sai Baba was addressing a huge gathering in Mumbai. I
was far away from his gaze, yet he managed to find me. Of hundreds in
the gathering, he picked me, a small girl, and asked me to sing. I
often wonder how could he have known that I loved to sing. Ever since,
I have sung for him in Mumbai, Chennai and Puttaparthi. I think he was
a Mahapurusha in the true sense of the word. I might not have seen any
of his 'miracles', but I think his very presence was magical. It is
hard to maintain discipline in a house of 10 people. He, on the other
hand, created a spiritual silence in audiences that were sometimes as
large as three lakh people. People say it is only his physical
presence that is gone. For me, it is a huge loss that I won't be
blessed by him the same way again.
4. Kunal Ganjawala
Singer
A mercury Shivling sent by Baba helped my wife recover from a fatal
accident in 24 hours
Kunal Ganjawala
FOR ME, Sai Baba was neither a godman nor a saint. He was God himself.
He has been the force that protected my family during challenging
times. Everyone in my family is a firm believer of Baba and his
powers. In 2006, my wife had an accident and was bedridden. The
doctors had given up on her. Baba sent me a Shivling made of mercury.
Science tells you that you cannot bind mercury, but here I was with a
mercury Shivling in my house. My wife did the abhishek of the Shivling
and drank the water. Within 24 hours, she was feeling alright. Once
she was hale and hearty, the Shivling broke by itself. Years later, my
wife and I met Baba at a religious gathering. He stopped by us and
produced a mangalsutra and a ring in front of 40,000 people. I tied
the mangalsutra around my wife's neck and she put the ring on my
finger. Later, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with him in
his private chamber. His body might have perished but his soul will
live for ever.
5. MN Krishnamani
Senior Advocate, Supreme Court
My wife had hip cancer. Baba just said, 'Cancer, cancelled', and she
was well and could walk
MN Krishnamani
SAI BABA saved his miracles for others. My sister suffered from a bad
gastric ulcer. She was weak and the hospital doctor prescribed milk
fed through the nose. A young, inexperienced nurse misunderstood the
instruction and gave my sister milk intravenously — directly into the
blood. She lost her consciousness and it seemed she would die. When
the error was corrected, she suddenly got up and said, "Baba was here.
He gave me vibhuti. I am perfectly okay." She walked out of the
hospital without an operation.
In 1999, my wife suffered a heart attack. Four months after a bypass,
she fainted during an evening walk. I rushed her to the hospital. She
was in the intensive care unit and had breathing problems. They said —
four months to live, operate immediately. When she heard this, my wife
insisted on having Baba's darshan before surgery. The doctor, who was
also a devotee, discharged her. Bound to a wheelchair, oxygen cylinder
in tow, my wife and I went to meet the Baba. It was Christmas. At
Puttaparthi, we stood in the front row waiting for Baba's darshan. On
seeing me, he said, "No second surgery for her." He produced vibhuti
out of the air and told me not to worry. She was wheelchair-bound but
after the darshan, she started walking and didn't need that second
surgery.
I went back to Baba a second time for my wife, about eight years
later. My wife had developed cancer in the hip. She could neither walk
nor lie down and was on morphine injections. When I saw Baba, he said,
"Cancer cancelled", and produced a crystal Shivling with a wave of his
hand. "Do abhishek and give her the water to drink," he said. On the
ninth day, my wife went to the market. Her cancer was gone.
Sai Baba's life, however, meant far more than the many miracles he
performed. I used to believe only in the Vedantic philosophy. Now when
I pray, I also chant Jesus, Allah and Buddha's names. You can find all
the world's religions in Puttaparthi. I once saw an Iranian boy chant
the Gayatri Mantra with perfect diction. By showing us the
similarities in religions, the Baba united us. Not to mention the
several cashless hospitals he ran or his colleges that took students
without fees. For us, he was a living God.
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