The One appears as Many

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Swami Satchidananda, a distinguished monk of Divine Life Society of Rishikesh, and a close disciple of Swami Shivananda Saraswati, narrated this astounding incident in the presence of Baba on the 29th of June 1957, on the occasion of the Inauguration of the Tapovana (Meditation grove) in Puttaparthi. This incident convinced Swami Satchidananda beyond doubt about the divine nature of Bhagawan. Prof. Kasturi has recorded this incident thus:Swami Satchidananda was in Baba's room one afternoon in the bungalow on Kodaikanal. Baba was reclining on His bed. Suddenly, He stood up and shouted, "Don't shoot", in Telugu and fell upon the bed, in what is called a 'trance,' but is best described as 'going on a transcorporeal journey.'His body became stiff and remained in that condition for about an hour. When He returned and took charge of His

physical frame, He looked at those around Him and wanted a telegram sent urgently to an address at Bhopal! He dictated the message and the address. It ran, "Don't worry; the revolver is with Me, Baba."Swami Satchidananda expressed a doubt whether the postal authorities would accept the message for transmission, for it spoke of revolvers, which come under the Arms Act. Others too supported him and there was some argument on the pros and cons.Baba wanted that it should go quickly to Bhopal and alternative words to bypass the rules were discussed. Swami Satchidananda suggested the word, 'instrument,' for 'revolver' and Baba agreed that it would convey the meaning intended, so far as the recipient was concerned. The wire went quick, and fast, to Bhopal, a thousand miles away!Every one was anxious to know what the nature of the averted tragedy was, but Baba parried all attempts to draw the information from Him. But, on the fourth day,

a letter arrived from Bhopal, which was read out to all, a letter revealing that Baba was indeed the same Lord Vishnu who had saved Gajendra and Prahlada, and the same Lord Krishnawho had come to the rescue of Draupadi!The author of the letter, whose wife was an ardent devotee of Bhagawan, had served in the Second World War and was now occupying a high position in Government Service. He was very much upset by the administrative rearrangements following the Reorganisation of States, for persons far junior in service were hoisted on top of him. He had no one nearby to assuage or comfort or even to listen to his tale of woe.His wife was away at her parents' village. Disappointed by the unlucky turn in his career, he decided to end his humiliation by means of a revolver. There was one handy; he tried one shot, just to see whether his hand would be steady for the fatal second; but before he could shoot next... Baba had shouted, "Don't

shoot!" When suddenly, there was a loud bang at the door! Baba had come! Not as Baba, of course, but as an old college-mate accompanied (!) by his wife and a Chaprasi (porter), with a trunk and a holdall, to make the picture complete in every detail!The officer ran into the bedroom, placed the revolver on the bed, threw a sheet over it, hurried back into the front hall, adjusted his lineaments to the new situation, and opened the door! There, lo and behold, were the three forms of Bhagawan, ready to play their part. The college chum was very boisterous and demonstrative; Baba had become by instantaneous materialisation a friend, who had just the qualities that would remove melancholy and who could give the officer, the tonic that would cure him of despair.He responded to the treatment and became quite normal, very soon. He even smiled and laughed at the jokes of his old friend, and as the conversation proceeded, all

thoughts of suicide melted away.The lady too joined in the talk, but, when they discovered that the mistress of the house was away, the visitor put on an air of profound disappointment and said that he would prefer to stay with another friend. In spite of the appeals of the person whom he had saved, the friend departed forty-five minutes after he materialised, with the lady, the porter, the trunk and the holdall, thus drawing down the curtain on the excellent dramatic performance!After seeing them off, the officer hurried into the bedroom; he was stunned to find that the revolver was not there nor anywhere in the house! Who could have removed it?He locked his house and ran in hot haste to the address to which the college-mate said he would be going. He got his doubt confirmed; there was no one there; the three visitors had melted into thin air, with the trunk and the holdall!Back home, he was turning over in his memory

the stunning events that had happened that day, when he was startled by another knock at the door! It was the telegraph messenger! The wire from Kodaikanal; "Don't worry; the instrument is with me - Baba."Swami Satchidananda said that this incident is much stranger than the Parakayapravesam extolled in Puranas. Parakayapravesam is entering into another body which is existing at that time, but, this is Kayasrishti, the creation, at the very moment of willing, of three bodies and making the bodies act their roles of existing individuals, correct to the minutest detail of voice and inflection, gait and gesture, idiom and idiosyncrasy, and the recitation of incidents and anecdotes relating to decades past when they were both students of the same college!This, concluded Swami Satchidananda, is possible only for an Avatar.Reference: "Sathyam Shivam Sundaram", Vol-I, by Prof. N Kasturi.Page: 102-105. Published by Sri Sathya Sai

Books and Publications Trust, Prasanthi Nilayam.

 

Om Sai Ram

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