Devotees of Sathya Sai Baba

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The Devotees of Sathya Sai Baba

Devotees are few. Part-time devotees run into the thousands, while fans and

followers run into the millions. The Lord has said before, out of a million

comes only one true devotee. So are we fans, followers, part-time devotees or

true devotees? Here are some of His' worthy devotees; whom He adores, grace and

showers with Love. You can recognise them by "...and your eyes will reveal My

Presence within."

Background bhajan music "Gauri Ganga"A Short Biography of Su Kong Glossary

ChronoDate Through the grace of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, we were fortunate

to have the darshan of another highly evolved being by the name of Ashin

Jinnarakhita, or fondly addressed as Monk Su Kong in Indonesia. This happened

in July 2000 through the introduction and company of brothers Jimmy & Mario and

sister Mrs. Jimmy. Reverend Su kong lives in his ashram situated in a Vihara at

Cipanas of Punchak, West Java, and 100 kms from Jakarta City. When we entered

the room I had the feeling of meeting my ‘father’ and I cried and cried, and

there was no word capable of expressing that kind of experience. There was an

aura ….of a pure love around His physical body. I cried at His feet, thinking,

"If I cannot get to touch Baba’s feet, at least I did it through this

Reverend."

Shrine room of Su Kong We also felt very happy to see the photo of Bhagawan Sri

Sathya Sai Baba along with statue of Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati, India in

the pooja room of Reverend Su Kong. When we enquired about this, brother Jimmy

mentioned to us that Su kong used to visit Baba very frequently and Baba is his

spiritual guru. He also remembered Reverend Su Kong saying:

"The relationship between Me and Sai Baba is a very private spiritual relationship."

He told us that Su Kong addresses Sai Baba as Jagat Guru (World Teacher). We

were very curious to know the experiences of this great Reverend Su Kong and

his connection to Sai Baba. And we unearthed a well of interesting historical

information with ease from brother Jimmy. The narration were as follows: Rev Su

Kong frequently went into the forests and climbed mountains to practise and

continue his meditation. Maybe because of this strain he was suffering from

acute rheumatism for 5 years since 1979. He consulted many specialists, but

none was able to relieve those rheumatic pain. One day in 1984, a Buddhist

disciple visited Rev Su Kong and gave him a pocket of Vibhuti (a sacred ash

which is applied on the forehead by Hindus) and requested him to apply on the

pains in his body. He thought for a while and then applied the vibhuti all over

his body, as suggested by the disciple. Immediately he got relieved of his

pains. He wanted to know the source of this Vibhuti and the disciple told him

Sathya Sai Baba

"A divine person by the name of Sri Sathya Sai Baba from India has given this vibhuti."

He applied the vibhuti everyday and he found no symptom of pain. One day he

stopped applying the Vibhuti and the pain came back. When he applied the

vibhuti, the pain simply disappeared. He found it very strange. So he continued

to use this vibhuti as medicine for three years. A feeling of gratefulness came

to him and he thought:

Rev Su Kong "It is my moral obligation to meet this person, Sathya Sai Baba, And

I must thank him personally."

He wanted to travel to India to see Sai Baba but at the back of his mind he was

also thinking "with the money I am going to spend on this trip, may be I will

be able to construct a Vihara (Buddhist temple) in one village." Finally he

decided to go ahead with the trip to India. He reached India and went to meet

Sai Baba at his ashram in Puttaparthi. Sathya Sai Baba received him and said:

Sathya Sai Baba "My place is your place, your place is my place. Please come

once a year to me, and I will be with you at your place every Thursday".

Hearing that Reverend Su Kong’s thought went inward thinking "You are asking me

to come to you once a year. But will it not be better to use that money, to buy

a land and build a Vihara (Buddhist temple) in a small village? Maybe if you can

help me to buy the ticket I will be able to come." In reality it happened as he

had thought, and every year there used to be a sponsor for his trip to Sai Baba

and, he never had to spend a single cent. Sai Baba materialised a golden statue

of Lord Buddha for him. From that moment onward, even till today, Reverend Su

Kong regards Sai Baba as his guru. He kept telling others "He is Jagat Guru".

He used to discuss many spiritual matters with Baba and read many of Baba’s

books. Reverend Su Kong used to remind his disciples thus:

Statue of Buddha "If I have to give up my life for Sai Baba, I will do it

willingly and whole heartedly."

In his visit to Puttaparthy, Reverend Su Kong was showered with gifts from Sai

Baba Himself. Sai Baba even allotted a room permanently in the ashram at

Puttaparthy to Reverend Su Kong. Whenever Su Kong visited Baba, he followed His

advice and stayed with Baba as per instructed. To recap some of Reverend Su

Kong’s teachings and values:

Rev Su Kong being wheeled around by a helper Atok. Duty is most important. If

you practice love, there is no war, no hate. Truth is love. Buddhist religion

is the religion of love. Jesus Christ sacrificed His Life for the sake of love.

All religions are based on love.

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Lord of the Universes has repeatedly said:

Sathya Sai Baba "There is only one religion; that is the religion of Love".

A devotee of Baba by the name of sister Joyce Darlene Barker chance to meet

Reverend Su Kong at Puttaparthy. Reverend invited her to visit his Buddhist

temple ashram in West Java, Indonesia. She did eventually, and made references

of Reverend Su Kong in her book titled Unforgettable Baba:

His ashram

"Proof of Baba’s presence was a discovery by a worker who entered Baba’s locked

room (in the ashram of Reverend Su Kong) for a routine cleaning. He was

shocked: the bed was disheveled, the slippers missing from beside the bed, the

bathroom door was ajar and the slippers had been moved inside. No one has ever

been allowed to stay in Baba’s room Indeed, it was a mystery. But Su kong often

sees Swami at the monastery, as he has stated to others." (Page no 149).

Further references about reverend Su Kong was found in an Indonesian book titled

Menabur Benih Dharma di Nusantara written by Ir. Edij Juangari. Brother Jimmy,

well-versed in Bahasa language, managed the translation for my understanding

and for the world to know: He was born on 23rd January 1923, in Bogor (60 kms

from Jakarta) and was named as The Boan An . His father, Mr. The Hong Gie, was

a village chief and his mother was Mdm. Tan Sep Moy. The Boan An was the third

son and has two elder bothers. They are The Boan Yauw and The Boan Hoa. His

grandfather was Mr. The Teng Hui who fondly and frequently meditated in the

mountains and forest. The Boan An was a very silent little boy, and he was very

keen to know all about mystic powers. He always visited virtuous people and

discussed with them about virtuous knowledge. He used to tell his friends about

yoga and its importance. He said:

His ashram "Yoga nurtures your soul and your thinking would not be messed.

Through Yoga one can achieve mind control and can bring mind to zero state.

Then you can start to think again as mind will be very clear."

One day, he met a theosophist from Holland, from whom he acquired the knowledge

of "Magnetism inside the soul". By this he used to make other people feel

better. Not only that, he received knowledge about Occultism. Then he was given

to read two books titled The Ancient Wisdom and The Secret Doctrines. These are

very sacred books in Theosophy. When The Boan An grew up as a teenager, he was

going to the mountains to practice meditation. Especially to Gede Mountain and

Salak Mountain, which were not far from his house. He visited virtuous people

and visited Viharas as a routine to get a concept of spiritual knowledge. With

this confidence, and support from the Dutch people whom he knew, he went to

University Groningen in Holland in 1946, to study chemistry with the help of a

scholarship. While in Holland, he pursued Theosophy actively. He learnt Pali

and Sanskrit languages from Madam Dr. Van Der Leeuw. During holidays, he went

to France. There he had the opportunity to listen to the reknown spiritual

leader from India by the name of Jiddu Krishnamurty. Also he met a Sufi from

Indonesia. The Sufi invited him to participate in a seminar in Indonesia. By

then, The Boan An had acquired fluency in English, Germany, France, and Dutch

languages. After the completion of the seminar, he went back to Holland

(Groningen).

Su Kong One day he decided to stop his studies in Chemistry at the University

and to devote his time to spread Buddha Dharma. What a marvelous and brave

decision that was! Only a few people will be brave enough to make such a

decision. After spending five years in Holland, he came back to Indonesia in

early 1951.

On his return, he started teaching at Sari Putra school. After that he took a

surprised decision to become an Anagarika (first stage monkhood). At that time

he was the President of Indonesian Sam Kauw, and also Vice President of

Theosophy in Indonesia. He worked very hard to propagate Buddha Dharma in

Indonesia. During that time he met an exalted Bhikku from China by the name of

Y.A. Mahasthavira Arya Mula. He was known affectionately as Sanghanata Pen

Ching at Vihara Kong Hoa Sie, Jakarta. From Bhikku Pen Ching, The Boan An

received knowledge of Buddha’s finer teachings and practice. Inspired by his

inner spiritual calling, he took the decision to become a Samanera (second

stage monkhood) and received his Diksa Mahayana. In June of 1953, as Samanera

he was given the name of Ti Chen. Since then, Samanera Ti Chen lived in Vihara

Kong Hoa Sie together with his teacher. Sanghanata Pen Ching was born in 1878

at Wu Chen Li village, at Phu Thien district, Hokkien, China. He came to

Indonesia to propagate Buddha Dharma. On 20th May 1962, he went into

Mahasamadhi, and his body was cremated. Three days after the cremation,

devotees found ashes and Sarila Pancha Warna relics, that is precious relic

found after burning of one's dead body. This is the sign of a very superior

soul and a holy person. Bhikku Pen Ching realizing his student Samanera Ti

Chen’s potential to advance further in spiritual knowledge wanted to send him

overseas to be trained as a complete Buddhist Bhikku. There is no chance for

Samanera Ti Chen to be a Bhikku (final stage of monkhood) in Indonesia because

there were not enough Bhikkus to tutor and train him at that time. A kind and

generous sponsor was found and in December of 1953, Samanera Ti Chen went to

Burma. On 23rd January 1954 he attained Samanera in the Theravada tradition. In

the afternoon, on the same day he was administered Upasampada by a high

spiritual teacher called Yang Ariya Agga Maha Pandita Bhaddanta U Ashin Sobhana

Mahathera or widely known as Mahasi Sayadaw, and became a full Bhikku. Mahasi

Sayadaw was a specialist in Satipatthana Vipassana Dhyana (Insight Meditation)

and he was also the leader of the Buddhist Sangha Association in Burma. The new

Bhikku was named Jinarakkhita, with a special title of Ashin, which is a special

title given to person who is most respected. Jinarakkhita means person who is

the most respected, protected and blessed by Buddha. On 17th January 1955,

Bhikku Ashin Jinarakkhita, now widely known as Reverend monk Su Kong, returned

to Indonesia. After his return from Burma, Buddha Dharma Religion started

spreading and many new Viharas were built in Indonesia. He has undertaken a

great job of putting together three of Buddha's ideologies.

Reverend Su Kong is frequently referred to as The Flying Monk, because he was

always going abroad to do his duty of spreading the Buddha Dharma Religion. He

is a pioneer of Buddha Dharma religion in Indonesia. He is widely respected and

loveably addressed as the Holy Father of Buddha Dharma in Indonesia by Buddhist

Indonesians.

Sathya Sai Baba And the best advise Rev Su Kong gave us and to everybody, was

this: "You believe in Sai Baba and follow what He says 100%!"

It was a very reassuring word which renew our self confidence and our

connectivity to our guru Sai Baba, the compassionate God who has assumed a

human body.

Sis Padma & Chandra Sastry at his feet On 3rd June 2001, I along with my husband

Chandrasekar Sastry, and another friend of ours went to the ashram to have the

darshan of the great Reverend Su Kong and also to obtain his approval to share

this article with others. He went through the entire document page by page and

asked me "Who has told you about me?"

We mentioned that our friend brother Jimmy narrated the story as above, and we

came to seek his approval to share the information with others. He expressed

his happiness; blessed the written biography and gave us the consent to publish

it. He gave each of us a Japamala. We enjoyed the divine bliss and that sweet

love in His presence for almost 45 minutes. He showered his love by offering

food and tea. We were very fortunate; this day shall remain another great day

in our life. Our sincere thanks to brother Jimmy for giving us an opportunity

to have the darshan of this divine being who has sacrificed his life to promote

and propagate Buddha Dharma among sentient beibgs. May the Lord and Buddhas

bless him with peace and happiness. May he continues to guide us after his life

time.

Om mani padme hum.

COLLECTION; PREETHAM SAI P.V.

MANGALORE,INDIA.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

PREETHAM SAI P.V.

MANGALORE,INDIA.spatron (AT) tropicknits (DOT) com wrote:

Really can't find words to describe these lovely articles from you. Just to let

you know that they are shared here around Mauritius. All the best. With Sai

Love Soodesh Seva Dal Convenor Tamarin Shree Sathya Sai Samelan Centre Tamarin

Mauritius Indian Ocean

 

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