BABA’S ACHIEVEMENTS

 Puttaparthi was a remote, tiny village, prior to Baba’s birth, in the month of November, 1926. People had to walk miles, to reach from one place to another, and the only mode of transport was the bullock carts.

 Long, long ago the village was known as Gollapali or “Home of Cowherds”. Later it became infested with ant-hills, with snakes moving all around, which gave rise to the name “Puttaparthi”. (Putta in Telugu  language means snake-pit).

 Sathyanarayana Raju, aged 14, 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 banyan tree and sang a song that he wanted the gathering to sing with him:

“ MANSA BHAJARE GURU CHARANAM , DUSTARA BHAVA SAGARA TARANAM”. (Those who desire to liberate 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. With this declaration his Advent and Mission began to work automatically, and things started changing and taking shape.

 First came Prasanthi Nilayam (the abode of Supreme Peace), where Baba personally resides and gives Darshan and discourses to His devotees. Then came the residential schools and the college, where hundreds of students study under the personal supervision of Bhagavan Baba. Later came the University, followed by Stadium, Planetorium, Museum, Super-Specialities Hospital, Airport, Drinking Water project and then the Cricket ground. All this within a span of fifty years in a tiny remote village, which has been turned into a modern fullfleged town with multistoreyed buildings, shops, restaurants and eating houses. Cars and autos freely move on the roads all around and T.V. and international dialing buzz with full activity.

  ABOUT THE DEEMED UNIVERSITY

 Professor Krishna Nandan Sinha writes in his book entitled ‘Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Absolute Sole of Lord of Life and Death’ as follows : “I was living at Prasanthi Nilayam the abode of peace. After my superannuation as Professor and Head of the English Department, Bihar University, I was one of the few fortunate ones who were asked to serve at the feet of the Lord. I was offered the most prestigious assignment as Professor and Chairman of the English faculty at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, a Deemed University founded by Sri Sathya Sai Baba. I landed at Prasanthi Nilayam in July, 1985 and took up my new assignment. It was indeed the most exciting and challenging assignment of my life. I had spent almost a life time in the constant pursuit of my calling, the noble profession of teaching at different Universities in Northern India and had also spent a couple of years at an American University, but never before had I experienced the thrill of total involvement with my work and the unique satisfaction of working for an ideal. The educational programme of the University shaped by the Lord Himself and implemented by Professor Vinayak Krishna Gokak, the founder Vice Chancellor of the Institute, seemed to me to be flawless and I soon discovered that work here was prayer involving duty, discipline, and devotion. The academic curriculum, the courses of study, the standard of research , all were of the highest order. The Institute was an elite institution rated highly by the Government of India and by the people. The teachers and the students were bound together by the common link that they were all ardent devotees of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. I felt radiantly happy to be given the opportunity to serve here and to become an instrument for the service of the Lord.

 THE SUPER-SPECIALITIES HOSPITAL

 In November, 1991 , a Super-Specialities Hospital called Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences (SSSIHMS), was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India near Prasanthi Nilayam. This philanthropic hospital has all ultra modern facilities for diagnosis and treatment of all the Cardiac ailments (including open heart surgery) to all the deserving patients entirely free of cost including post-operative treatment and care. As of June, 1998 over a thousand two hundred heart operation have been successfully performed. Next to be introduced were Urology and Nephrology departments with kidney transplant facility, followed by ophthalmology and Dental wings.

 THE DRINKING WATER PROJECT

  This is what appeared in the Times of India, Bombay, on 24th November 1995: Sai baba gives Birthday gift to Andhra villages by Pushpa Iyengar, the Times of India News Service, Puttaparthi, (Anantpur District), November 23.

 Sri Sathya Sai Baba today celebrated His 70th birthday by dedicating a project to supply drinking water to 700 villages in this drought-prone district.

 The colourful show put on by thousands of His devotees at the Shanthi Vedika Stadium was watched by galaxy of prominent personalities led by President Shankar Dayal Sharma, who inaugurated the Sri Sathya Sai Water Project.

 Sai Baba clad in a white robe, during His hour long speech in Telugu  expressed  satisfaction over the swift progress made in the Rupees 200 crore project (for which work began in February this year), but said that it was His desire to see Rayalaseema (land of stones) transform back to Ratnalaseema (land of gems).

 He exhorted His devotees, who had come from 137 countries, to work towards uplifting the lives of the people by solving basic problems like drinking water and health care.

 Some devotees, who came bearing garlands of gold as well as gold crown weighing a total of 13 kg, appeared not to have pleased the God-man. The devotees, some Italians and NRIs were asked : “what are jewels for God?” Sai Baba then announced that the gold would be auctioned there and then and the proceeds used for the water project. At  the end of the function it was announced that Ramanlal and Associates, based in Kobe, had bought the gold at twice its international market price.

 The Baba also received other lavish donations, the most prominent being a $ 30 million  gift from U.S-based S.K. International and Charitable Foundation and the S.K. Educational and Medical Foundation.

 The President who sought Sai Baba’s blessings by touching His feet on two occasions, said, “Service to humanity represents the essence of Baba’s unifying philosophy”. He said whenever individual and organisations could pool together their intellectual and material resources and address specific problems, they must be encouraged to do so.

 Earlier Mr. Sharma touched a silver coin kept in a silver vessel which set off the pump set  at the Chitravati balancing reservoir, 70 km away.

 The celebrations over the last 10 days have seen the presence of Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, Union Ministers S.B.Chavan and Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil, VHP Leader Ashok Singhal and BJP Leader Murli Manohar Joshi.

 THE HILL VIEW STADIUM

 In the month of November 1997, came another glorious gift from Baba, to the villagers of Puttaparthi, world’s most wonderful stadium, with a beautiful cricket pitch, a lush green ground, enveloped by hilly and spiritual surroundings.

 The first International one-day cricket match for the Sri Sathya Sai Unity Cup took place at this Hill View stadium, on 30th December 1997, between India XI v/s the Rest of the World XI. The match was witnessed by thousands of devotees, in the Divine presence of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Shri I.K. Gujaral, the then Pime Minister of India, and many more eminent personalities. India won the match played in a festive albeit competitive spirit and its captain Tendulkar was presented with the Unity Cup, made of pure gold, weighing 6 kg, by Bhagavan Baba Himself. Baba also presented silver trophies to all the members of  both the cricket teams. It was a sight to be seen and cherished.

 Ms. Chandra Nayudu, wrote a small booklet entitled ‘A Sixer for the Lord, from Padma Bhushan Col. C.K.Nayudu’.  Here is reproduced the foreword for the booklet by Sri Indulal Shah (International Chairman, Sri Sathya  Sai Organisation)

 Cricket is largely an urban sport and International Tournaments are played only in a few prominent stadia in half-a-dozen cities in India. Perhaps this scenario will now change with the inauguration of a stadium at Prasanthi Nilayam and commencement of the Prashanthi Gold Cup Cricket Tournament on 30th December, 1997 by the grace and blessings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba , cricket has now come to the countryside.

 Bhagavan’s concern for people in rural India is well-known. This is exemplified in the unique educational and medical Institutions that He has set up in Prasanthi Nilayam.  The Prasanthi Gold Cup International tournament will provide a rare opportunity to the rural populace. Equally, this will inspire and entertain the large student community at Prasanthi Nilayam.

 Bhagavan loves cricket and cricketers adore and worship Him. For preparing Prasanthi stadium and inaugurating the International tournament, He drew unto Himself a host of celebrated  cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Prasanna and Alvin Kallicharan. His love for the illustrious cricketer, Padma Bhusan C.K.Nayudu, is well-known and this love runs through the pages of this little book written by his daughter Chandra, who takes the reader to the glorious days of C.K. and his cricket with consummate devotion and skill.

 Cricket calls for courage, concentration and above all great discipline which are also the essential requisites for a true spiritual life.

 International Sathya Sai Organisation welcomes the visiting cricket teams to this divine Valley of Puttaparthi.

 We now place this labour of love at His Lotus Feet.

 Prasanthi Nilayam                                                    Indulal Shah,

Date : 23/11/97                                                        International Chairman           

 Ms. Chandra Nayudu, daughter of C.K. Nayudu, writes in her booklet, about the following incident, which Swami told her, in one of the recent interviews granted to her.

 A SIXER FOR THE LORD

 “Swami told me about the meeting with the parents in Madras. Father had requested Bhagavan to come and see him play and said he will hit a sixer in Swami’s direction. This incidence was related by my mother too. The next day Baba went to see father play. He had His car parked near the boundary line and watched the match. Baba said father was batting at that time and noticed the arrival of Baba and did exactly what he had told, he hit a sixer where Baba’s car was parked. While relating this incident Baba’s face glowed with a boyish excitement and His eyes sparkled with delight at the recollection of that sixer as any genuine cricket lover’s would: I was pleasantly surprised at Bhagavan’s interest and love of cricket. And so it was ‘cricket’ that brought our family close to Bhagavan. In that first meeting of my parents, Baba gave a small pendent to my father, a photo of His to my mother, which shows a ‘young’ Baba, which we still  have in our Pooja room.

 It is impossible and beyond any human power to have accomplished, all the above achievements in a tiny village of Puttaparthi. Only, one who is embodied with Divine powers, can accomplish this. Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has these Divine powers, and He has proved it, by achieving all these things.