Vageesh Express

Vedic Guru

February 2007 Edition

||Sri Gurubhyo Namah||

In 2006,‘Vedic Guru’ revered the lives of saints who lived in the 19th century and before.

In 2007, we humbly honor Gurus of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

I want Peace. I is ego. Want is Desire. Remove Ego and Desire and you will have Peace.

- Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Sathya Sai Baba was born on 23rd November, 1926 as Sathyanarayana Raju to Peddavenkappa Raju and Easwaramma in the village of Puttaparthi, India. Since he was born after the Sri Sathyanarayana Puja, he was named after the deity. It is said that musical instruments played on their own accord in the household when the baby was born.

An official biography in several volumes has been written by professor Narayana Kasturi.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba attended the Higher Elementary School at Bukkapatnam and later joined the high school at Uravakonda, according to Kasturi's biography.

On October 20th 1940, in his 14th year Sai Baba threw away his books, and announced that "My devotees are calling me. I have my work".

Kasturi's biography mentions several miracles by and signs of divinity of the young Sathya. Howard Murphet writes in his book that the young Sathya was a vegetarian and was known for his aversion to animal cruelty and compassion for the poor, disabled and elderly. The young Sathya composed bhajans spontaneously and was talented in drama, dance, music and poetry.

Sathya Sai Baba resides much of the time in his main ashram called Prashanthi Nilayam at Puttaparthi. In the hot summer Baba leaves for his other ashram called Brindavan in Whitefield, Karnataka. Occasionally, he visits his Sai Shruti ashram in Kodaikanal. He left India only once for a visit to North East Africa in 1968. He has millions of devotees all over the world.

Sathya Sai Baba established three primary mandirs in India. The first center, established in Mumbai, is referred to as either "Dharmakshetra" or "Sathyam". The second center, established in Hyderabad, is referred to as "Shivam". The third center, established in Chennai, is referred to as "Sundaram".

Puttaparthi was originally a small village where one can now find an extensive University complex, Chaitanya Jyoti (a World-Religions Museum that has won several international awards for design), a spiritual museum, a Planetarium, a railway station, a hill-view stadium, an administrative building, an airport, an indoor sports stadium and more. On Sri Sathya Sai Baba's 80th birthday celebrations,well over a million people attended, as well as 13,000 delegates from India and 180 countries abroad.

The daily program at Sathya Sai Baba's ashrams usually begins with the chanting of OM and a morning prayer. This is followed by Veda Parayan, Nagasankirtan and twice daily bhajans and darshan. During darshan Sathya Sai Baba walks among his followers and may interact with people, accept letters, materialize and distribute vibhuti (sacred ash) or call groups or individuals for interviews. Interviews are chosen solely by the guru's discretion.

Across the globe, local Sathya Sai Baba groups assemble to sing bhajans (Hindu devotional songs), study Sathya Sai Baba's teachings, do collective community service (called seva), and teach Education in Human Values (Sai Sunday School).

Based on Sathya Sai Baba's teachings, his organization advocates the five basic human values. These values are sathya (truth), dharma (right conduct, living in accord with natural law), ahimsa (non-violence), prema (love for God and all his creatures) and shantih (peace).

Sathya Sai Baba is the figurehead to a number of free educational institutions, charitable organizations and service projects that are spread over 10,000 centers in 166 countries around the world. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Puttaparthi (also known as the Super Specialty Hospital) is a 220 bed facility providing advanced surgical and medical care free of cost to the public. The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust runs several general hospitals, two super specialty hospitals, dispensaries, eye hospitals and mobile dispensaries and conducts medical camps in rural and slum areas in India.

Sathya Sai Baba is a prolific orator about religious topics in his native language Telugu. He asserted that he is an Avatar of God in whom all names and forms ascribed by man to God are manifest. He also says that everybody is God and that the difference is that he is aware of this and others have yet to realize it. He also stresses he and humans should always be free from desires and states that desires bring mental pain (depression, anger jealousy etc). Sathya Sai Baba preaches love and the unity of all world religions and asserts that people who follow him do not need to give up their original religion. He teaches respect for parents, especially for the mother.

Reference - www.wikipedia.com

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