47. COMPASSION - A COMMON THREAD
Shri Thammiraju Manchiraju, a teacher at Uravakonda High School,
has contributed many articles to Sanathana Sarathi. He and his wife remained
deeply bereaved due to the sudden loss of their young daughter. The Compassion-lncarnate
little Sathya,used to visit them often and console them. The legendary promise
of 'Yogakshema Vahayam' was repeated by this mini edition of Lord Krishna, when
He one day comforted the grief-stricken mother with words, "I shall carry
all burdens for you. Be happy henceforth". The next moment He swirled His
hand and materialsed grains of yellow rice. (Did He not do the same for Megha
whilst He was in the Shirdi For m?) The lady secured the precious rice (on
Sathya's behest), in the small piece of Kafni (Shirdi Sai's robe) which Bala
Sai had gifted to them a week earlier on Thursday during bhajans. Shrimati
Kamesvaramma Thammiraju felt reassured and her sorrow was assuaged. One day,
she had to go on a household errand to fetch water. ' The mother in her' felt
concerned for five year old son and summoned his playmates from the neighbourhood
to babyÄsit during her absence. She instructed them to perform Sai Puja and
offer as 'navaidyam' the little sugar that she left with them. The little ones
congregated and sang a few bhajans. The pure innocence of the young ones is
more alluring and binding to the Lord than even the fervent devotion of the
adults. Testimony of this is provided by the fact, that Shirdi Baba appeared
there in physical Form, partook the sweet offering and distributed to all the
children fist-full of sugar as 'Prasadam'. Leaving Baba seated there, the young
son of Thamn~irajus' thrilled to the brim, dashed out to urgently beckon his rnother,
to witness the Divine Leela However, when Kamesvaramrna hurried back on hearing
this, Baba was gone. She queried from the children as to where did Baba go. The
guileless ones, having unpolluted simple hearts, narrated the truth that they
had seen Shirdi Baba literally walk into, the photograph of Sathya Sai that was
kept there and which the children were worshipping. This picture also has a
story of its own - in that, Baba(Sathya) had sent it to the family with a laddu
as prasadam, both having been carried by a bee. The providential gif t was
enshrined in the Puja room of the household and adored by the members.
Coming back to the disappearance of Shirdi Baba, The Thammirajus
visited Puttaparthi soon after this celestial event. Baba told them, "You were
sad that I had come away to Puttaparthi:, but, I can be here and still be
there; I knew you will believe this only when the children speak out what they
saw".
The Sandur Mandir incident and this one raise pertinent questions,
as to why Baba appeared as Shirdi Sai in the puja room of Thammiraju and also
at Sandur, in which instance He even stayed on to construct a Shirdi Sai Temple?
Parthi Baba has untied the knot in reply to Thammiraju's question about the
Shirdi appearance at his house. To quote the exact Divine words Baba had said,
"There is no 'that Form' or 'this Form'. Both are ONE".