I was the youngest of five children. My family were devotees of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba even before I was born. And how my family became devotees of Swami is an interesting story.  

Basically from Mysore, lived in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Came to know about SWAMI in Bhavani town, Erode District. One day in 1965 when my elder sister was playing outside she heard some enchanting music emanating out from our neighbours’s house. The music has some strange calming effect on her. It was a lot different from the film music she had grown up hearing. She at once came and told my father about it. My father who had a keen ear for music also felt mesmerized with the music. Both of them at once decided to visit the neighbor. As they entered they realized that it was a Bhajan being sung in the praise of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. All over the house were photos of Bhagawan Baba. The Bhajan and the visit to the house and the Darshan of Bhagawan’s photos generated such interest in my father’s mind that he at once decided to visit Puttaparthi. Those days it was no easy task to reach Puttaparthi . One had to take a train from Coimbatore to Bangalore and from there to Penukonda and the last leg had to be traversed on foot. It was an arduous journey, but my father was determined to have Darshan of Baba. 

The day he arrived in Puttaparthi and sat for Darshan. Swami came and called him for interview. It was like a dream come true for my father. There was nobody else in the interview room, only Swami and my father. Looking at my father, Swami immediately said, "Hanumanth Rao you are too angry a person, leave your anger here and go". These words from Swami came as a shock to my father. My father was pretty strict by nature and being a headmaster of a school made him ever strict person. This was only known to people who were close to him and no one else. But here Swami told him about his trait as if He was his best friend. The love and the warmth with which Swami spoke to my father had a profound impact on my father and that moment onwards, he surrendered himself to Swami. 

It was my father’s dream that his children should study in Swami’s college. But for various reasons none of my elder sisters or my brother could join Swami’s college. My father was therefore insisting that at least I should join Swami’s college at Anantapur. I was not willing to leave home and stay away from my parents and my siblings and was complaining to my father and my mother about it. They however said that if I got selected it would be an opportunity of many lifetimes. I reluctantly wrote the entrance exam in Puttaparthi and was selected for the interview. My parents were over the moon. I was still not convinced. In fact right outside the room where my interview was about to take place, I was telling my Father that I would like to go back to Mysore and study there and that did not want to stay so far away. My name was called to appear before the interview panel.

The moment I stepped into the room for my interview, something happened to me. All my doubts, complaints and fears just evaporated and I just wanted to study in Swami’s college, and nothing else seemed to matter anymore. I confidently answered all the questions of the panel and I passed with flying colours. I was myself surprised with what had just happened. Much later I realized that these moments are Swami’s Leelas.

Soon I joined the Anantapur campus. It was my first time away from home and my parents. While I loved studying in Swami’s college, I started feeling homesick. By nature I was a quiet person and could not confide in anybody easily. One day when I slept in our hostel, Swami came in my dream. Like a best of best friends He asked me, “Tell me what is bothering you?”. In between my sobs I poured out my heart to Swami in the dream. “Don’t worry am I not there for you? I will take care of everything,” Swami said and then the dream ended. Next morning when I woke up, I was surprised to find that no homesickness or sadness bothered me, and I was filled with renewed energy. This incident made me realise that Swami is not just God, but He is also everyone’s best friend. You can share with Him everything that you may not be able to share with anyone else and He is always there to take care of you.

Sometimes we wish that Swami should do something the way we want. But it is not always the case, because Swami wishes the best. Our definition of what is best for us may differ from His definition. 

While still studying in the Anantapur College, I came to know that Swami was starting the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prasanthigram. So I wished to give up my studies and join the nursing course being started at the hospital. I mentioned the same to our warden Smt. Jayamma Garu. She, however, advised me against it. She told me that it would be better if I finished my graduation and then if I wanted to go and and join the nursing course. I took her advice and completed my graduation. After graduation I immediately joined SSSIHMS in 1993 October for the a course of Nursing. Third day of our joining Swami came to hospital and blessed the new batch of nursing students and was so kind that he agreed to take photographs with us. In 1999 I joined a higher course of Nursing, and completed in 2001. During Darshan, before I took the exam, for three consecutive years Swami came to me and gave me Vibhuti. So I was quiet confident that I would get through the nursing exam and with Swami’s Grace I did.

There are several incidents involving Swami’s Grace, which I have been a direct witness to while working in the hospital. I would like to share a few of them here.

While I was working in the Cardiac Care Unit, a patient came in as an emergency. His situation was serious. Our doctors tried their best to revive him, but his vitals were not coming up to the required levels. One of the my colleagues told me, “Prema, the only thing remaining now is to pray to Swami. Only if Swami wills, he will live.” So we took Swami’s vibhuti, chanted the Sai Gayatri and applied a little vibhuti on the forehead of the patient, within a few minutes his vitals started improving. We were all surprised. The doctors turned around and asked us what magic we had done. We replied, “It is not magic. It is Swami’s wish. We merely prayed”.

A similar incident occurred when I was posted in the Cardiac Surgery ICU. One patient was critical and an emergency surgery had to be performed. The chances of the surgery being successful were not high. This was communicated to the relatives of the patients and with their consent the surgery was performed. The surgery went off uneventfully, but in the ICU his recovery was extremely slow which caused a lot of worry to the surgeons and also us, the nurses who were taking care of the patient. One day our cardiac surgeon called me and mentioned that I should speak to the relatives about the fragile situation that the patient was in. I went to the relatives who were outside the ICU and after conveying the situation of the patient, I told them to pray to Swami with all their heart. “We have done what the best we could do; now it is in the hands of Swami. Pray to Him with all your heart,” I told them. The relatives took my words to their heart and kept chanting Swami’s name every moment when they were sitting outside the ICU. Sure enough the situation of the patient started improving and within a few days the patient was fit for discharge.

Swamy has told us even in His Discourses that great devotees like Shabari and Jatayu did not ask specifically for liberation but prayed to Lord Rama for His Grace. And they were granted liberation because of their prayer and pure Love. Prayer is like a magnet for His Grace. Prayers can move mountains it is said. Ours is but to pray. The answers to our prayers are in His Hands. I know now that prayers have the power to heal us.

With our limited understanding we cannot fathom Him. Sai is the Guru, Guide, the Lord of the lords and our best of the best friends. We just need to hand over the keys of our lives to Him. It is His responsibility to take us to the destination.

JAI SAI RAM