I was working at the TB sanatorium in Madanapalle in the year 1993. During that time my husband had a friend in Puttaparthi, who was working at the Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital in Puttparthi. My father had some health issue and my husband on the advice of his friend in Puttaparthi got him for a check up to the SSSGH.

My husband’s stay in Puttaparthi was a transformational experience. He witnessed totally free of cost treatment given by Bhagawan, came to know that Baba was not ordinary individual but an avatar incarnate and heard many stories told by his friend about Baba’s divine powers.

He was also mighty impressed by the serene and peaceful atmosphere of Puttaparthi, school kids wearing whites and walking in orderly lines, and the discipline of the Ashram.

Then he had Swami’s Darshan. He was mesmarised. After Darshan a thought came to his mind. He felt that if I worked as a nurse in Swami’s hospital it would be a great thing for the family. He then found out that there was a new super speciality hospital built by Swami near the Ashram. This was going to be the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prasanthigram, where I am working now. He then without telling me applied on by behalf for a nursing post in the new hospital that was coming up. He was then informed that though there was no vacancy at that point of time, but as and when a vacancy would arise we would be informed. My husband then returned to Madanapalle.

Around one and a half years later in 1994 I received a letter from SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram and was surprised that it was a call for an interview for the post of a nurse in the hospital. I asked my husband whether he knew anything about it and it was then that I came to know the whole story. I went for the interview and was selected and was posted as the nurse in the Operation Theatre of the Cardiac Surgery Department. Our entire family moved to the town of Kottacheruvu near Puttaparthi. Those days the staff accommodation was being built for nurses and we were told that it would be many months before we could move into the campus accommodation.

One day while getting into the bus to come to work my foot slipped and got a bit sprained. Still I came to work. The manager of the department who was a Swami’s student chided me for unnecessarily putting myself in trouble by working with a swollen leg. He then told me to see a doctor and then take rest. I showed my leg to a doctor in the hospital and an x-ray was performed for me and nothing was found to be out of order. Yet they put a crape bandage around my leg and I rested in the hospital. One of my colleague nurse who was on duty told me that, if I felt better by evening she would take me to Ashram to have Swami’s Darshan. By evening I felt better and swelling had also reduced so I went with her to have Swami Darshan for the first time in my life. It was a spellbinding experience. I felt as if I knew Swami for a long time. But then when I looked at my bandaged foot, that day’s events flashed before my mind. In my mind I told Swami, “Swami I am now commuting from Kottacheruvu to hospital, it would be so nice if I got an accommodation inside the campus. And if I got a place inside I could easily come for your Darshan also,” I said this knowing pretty well that me getting accommodation inside was quite some time away. At exactly that time, Swami was talking to some school teachers and suddenly turned and looked at me intently. I was shaken to the core by that stare of Swami.

Next day when I reported to work, the first thing in the morning I got a call from the Accommodation Department. They told me  that I should immediately visit the HR department and collect the keys to my new accommodation inside the campus. It was a pleasant surprise for me. Even some senior persons of the hospital did not have the kind of house that was given to me. My sincere desire was immediately fulfilled by Swami. I shifted immediately to my accommodation inside the campus.

After shifting to Puttaparthi, I would get Swami’s dreams almost every day. Two of the dreams stand out, which I mention now.

In the first dream I was sitting for Darshan and Swami came and stood in front of me. But when I looked at His feet, one foot was white in colour and another was of dusky complexion. One foot was hard and another was soft like that of a little girl. Surprised I looked up and to my amazement I saw Swami in the form of Ardhanareeshwara - Shiva along with His consort Parvati in Swami. I was thrilled by that vision. Then Swami in the same form spoke to me and said, “Look up in the sky.” I looked up and saw a glowing Trishul (Trident, the weapon of Lord Shiva) in the sky. After that Swami asked me to sing a Bhajan. And I sang a Shiva Bhajan. It did not feel like a dream. I was so real. It was an experience of a life time. From that time onwards whenever I get a chance to sing bhajans I definitely sing a Shiva Bhajan in memory of the beautiful vision Swami gave me in my dream.

In the second dream, the Darshan was over and Swami was returning to his abode. I just felt this urge to follow on Swami’s footsteps. Swami noticed that and turned around and said, “Why do you want to follow me. See your family is waiting for you outside.” I said “Swami I must have had many families in my many many births, but this opportunity of following your path does not come that easy, so let me just follow you.” Swami was insistent as if testing me said, “see there, they are waiting for you, go.”  I replied, “Swami please do not test me, let me follow you. I know the responsibility I have towards my family and I am going to fulfil that, but the aim of my life should be to follow your dictum in every sphere of my life and eventually merge in you,” I said. Swami looked at me intently for some time and seemed satisfied and softly turned around and again I followed Him. But this time he did not dissuade me.

This dream was as exhilarating as it was profound. Swami has given all of us many responsibilities and He wants us to fulfil those responsibilities sincerely, following His principles, with our eventual aim being merging with Him. 

Apart from the profound dreams I had, there have been real life instances where Swami had saved me and my family members from difficult situations. Two of them I will narrate now.

One day our entire family, apart from my husband, had gone to have Swami’s Darshan and was returning in an auto. We did not know that the auto driver was a newbie and did not know much about driving. On the road from Ashram to SSSIHMS while negotiating a turn, he turned the auto at a high speed, owing to which the auto swirled and fell on its side. My parents my two little kids and myself were in the auto. As the auto was falling on its side, the only thought that came to me was Swami and I shouted, “SAIRAM”. All of us got out from the auto as if nothing had happened. Only my son had a minor injury on the hand and all the rest of us did not even have a scratch on our bodies. I call that Swami’s Grace.

The second instance is about my cousin. A few years after I joined the hospital one of my cousins called me and told me that she was having a heart problem. They had undergone some preliminary tests in their home town and it was diagnosed that she had a problem with her heart valve and it had to be operated.

I told them to visit our hospital. At the hospital she went through the various tests and eventually our doctors also came to the same conclusion that the  valve had to be replaced and she was given a date for admission.

She came on the given date was admitted and was later operated and the surgery was successful. She was explained the valve maintenance protocol and was discharged. The patient followed the protocol scrupulously and lived a healthy life.

She would visit the hospital every year for a check up and was found to be in good health. After some 20 years when she had come for a routine checkup, the our cardiologists found some anomaly and felt that a surgery may have to be performed for her. She was ready for the surgery and was admitted in the hospital. Her relatives, however, were slightly perturbed as this would be her second surgery.

Next day when the doctors checked her they realized that there was nothing wrong with her heart. They were all pleasantly surprised. Then they checked their previous reports, which clearly showed an anomaly. This anomaly had somehow disappeared in the night when she was in the ward. Just before her discharge when I met her in the ward, she told me what had happened the previous night. “ Akka, in the night when all was quiet, I saw Swami standing right next to my bed. When I looked at him with wide eyed wonder, Swami told me softly, “No surgery required for you, I will take care,”  and left. And morning when the doctors checked the echo, I was completely healed. This was in 2019. This is a proof for all who feel sad that Swami is no longer in His physical body. He will always be there when you need Him.

The last experience was during the covid time. The two years of covid were extremely stressful. In the initial stages the world over nobody had any clue about what to do. And just a few months earlier I had been elevated to the post of Nursing Head of the hospital. Though I knew all my colleagues well, yet it was a new responsibility for me and just when everything was settling down covid struck. In the first wave we opened a Quarantine centre, which was later converted into a full fledged covid treatment centre that included an Intensive Care Unit.

The second wave was especially a challenging period. As a supervisor of the nursing department, I had to allot duties to the nurses in the covid centre and also make sure that the  emergency and sick patients who visited our regular departments were also taken care of.

In the harsh covid time the safety of all the nurses was on my shoulders. I would visit the covid centre everyday and visit each patient and also talk to all the nurses at the centre are to make sure everything was going on fine and would also try to keep their morale up. I have a habit of praying to Swami everyday and telling him all about my work. This frequency increased with the onset of the pandemic. One day Swami came in my dream and blessed me with His Abhaya Hasta. That was the assurance I needed the most and I re-dedicated myself fully to Swami’s work and we eventually tided over the crisis.

Staying in Puttaparthi Swami teaches us many things. In my case the core of Swami’s philosophy, as I understand, is that if we sincerely dedicate ourselves to His work,  He takes care of all our responsibilities. As a Bhajan we sing says, “Iha para sukha dayaka Sai”. Sai takes care of us not only in this world but beyond this world also.

 Jai Sai Ram