Memoirs Of A Sai Student


Book Description

In this written account of his experiences as a student and devotee of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Aravind Balasubramanya shares, with his simple, lucid, and heartfelt style of writing, captivating stories of his time with our beloved Swami. Read and bring to vivid life in the mind's eye the plays, the plots, the schemes, and the traps hatched, and the love that the author has for Swami, which the Lord reciprocated during his time as a student in Swami's school and university. Throughout Memoirs Of A Sai Student, the author reveals the labyrinth of evolution that is life, through which Swami guided him safely and moulded him into an ardent devotee of the Lord and an acclaimed speaker.




Capturing Divinity


Book Description

In a discourse on 22nd April, 1998, in the hills of Kodaikanal, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba made a revelation about an aspect of God. “The photographer asks you to be ready when he snaps your picture and he gives you time to ready yourself. But, the Divine Cameraman will not give you any notice. You should always be ready to meet the situation. If you engage yourself in bhajan and daivachintanam (thinking of God) – keerthanam and smaranam (singing and remembrance) – you will not be caught unawares.” The Divine Cameraman wants us to appreciate and love His uncertainty. The prerequisite for seeking the Lord who is ever compassionate is to be ever ready and that is something that the author realized as he graduated from Swami’s educational wing into His service wing. One has to be alert always, because things can ‘click’ at any time; there can be a ‘flash’ of inspiration during any hour of the day and though situations appear to have been captured in a ‘negative’ way, they can quickly be ‘developed’ into the ‘positive’ to fill one with beautiful memories. It was an honour, a privilege, and a boon from the highest heavens in fact, that Aravind got the chance to be His cameraman for a few years. However, that did not reverse the roles with respect to readiness. Aravind had to be alert at all times and be ready to “meet the situation” as Swami puts it. He confesses that he has not been alert all the while, but whenever he was alert and sincere, an experience with the Divine unfolded. This book is a collection of such moments – moments that arose at the most unexpected times and in the most beautiful ways to assure him that his Beloved Bhagawan always has him in His sight.




Sanathana Sarathi English Volume 07 (2012 - 2021)


Book Description

Started in 1958, Sanathana Sarathi is a monthly magazine devoted to Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Righteousness), Shanti (Peace) and Prema (Love) - the four cardinal principles of Bhagawan Baba's philosophy. It is published from Prasanthi Nilayam (the Abode of Highest Peace) and acts as a mouthpiece of Baba's Ashram as it speaks of the important events that take place in His sacred Abode, besides carrying Divine Messages conveyed through Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The word meaning of Sanathana Sarathi is the 'Eternal Charioteer'. It signifies the presence of the Lord in every being as the atma guiding their lives like a charioteer. It implies that he who places his life, the body being likened to a chariot, in an attitude of surrender in the hands of the Lord, will be taken care of by the Lord even as a charioteer would take the occupant of his chariot safely to its destination. The magazine is an instrument to disseminate spiritual knowledge for the moral, physical and mental uplift of humanity without any discrimination as the subject matter discussed therein is always of common interest and of universal appeal. The fifteen Vahinis - streams of sacredness - known as the Vahini Series comprising annotation and interpretation of the Upanishads and other scriptures, Itihasas like the Ramayana, the Bhagavatha and the Mahabharata, and authentic explanations on Dhyana, Dharma, Prema, etc., have been serially published in this magazine as and when they emanated from the Divine pen of Bhagawan Baba. This magazine is published in almost all Indian languages, English and Telugu from Prasanthi Nilayam and others from respective regions. Every year Sanathana Sarathi comes out with a special issue in November commemorating the Divine Birthday. The English and Telugu magazines are posted on the 10th and 23rd respectively, of every month, from Prasanthi Nilayam. This magazine has wide, ever increasing circulation in India as well as abroad, as the study of it brings the reader closer to the philosophy of the Avatar in simple understandable language THUS SPAKE SAI... Discoursing during the launch of Sanathana Sarathi... From this day, our Sanathana Sarathi will lead to victory the cohorts of truth - the Vedas, the Sastras and similar scriptures of all faiths, against the forces of the ego such as injustice, falsehood, immorality and cruelty. This is the reason why it has emerged. This Sarathi will fight in order to establish world prosperity. It is bound to sound the paean of triumph when universal Ananda is achieved.




Vidya Vahini


Book Description

Baba has clarified that the word Vidya used for this Vahini (Stream of Thought), means (Ya) that which (Vid) “illumines.” It is this sense that is highlighted in expressions like Atma Vidya, Brahma Vidya, etc., or even the name Vidyagiri given to the campus of Prasanthi Nilayam, which comprises the Institute of Higher Learning. Baba makes us aware of the comparatively less beneficial lower learning, which deals with theories, inferences, concepts, conjectures, and constructions. The Higher Learning hastens and expands the universal urge to know and become Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, Sathyam Sivam Sundaram. Baba has come as Man among men on a self-imposed mission, to correct the wrongs inflicted on mankind through the fanatically blind pursuit of lower learning. The human race has to voyage on an even keel; it is leaning too alarmingly towards the briny grave; the lower learning is lowering it into the bottomless pit. Vidya alone is the remedy. From His childhood days, Baba has stood forth as an educator, a Guru as the villagers loved to address Him. He warned, without hesitation, elders at Puttaparthi, teachers in the schools, and headmen of castes against cruelty to animals and exploitation of labour, usury and gambling, pedantry and illiteracy, hypocrisy and pomp. Through gulps and jests, parody and satire, songs and plays, the young, teenager Teacher ridiculed and reformed the society, which honoured or tolerated such evils. Through Bhajans sung in chorus by groups of men and women, He reminded them of the universal, human values of Truth, Morality, Peace, Love, and Non-violence as early as 1943, when he was barely seventeen. These were the basic acquisitions that Vidya, the Higher Learning, can confer on votaries. As Lord Krishna, He said to Arjuna, “Adhyatma Vidya, Vidyanaam.” “Among all the Vidyas, I am Atma Vidya,” the search for Atmic Truth. The world can be saved from suicide only through this Vidya. The search for Truth and Totality, for Unity and Purity is the means; the Awareness of the One is the consummation of the process. This Message is the sum and substance of every Discourse of His, during the last five decades. This precious book provides us the chance to peruse nineteen essays He wrote, in answer to appeals for the elucidation of the principles, which must guide us while rehabilitating education as an effective instrument for establishing peace and freedom, in us and on Earth.




Sathyam Sivam Sundaram


Book Description

Prof. N. Kasturi, who had the extreme fortune of being close to Bhagawan Baba, has brought out in this volume the life story of the Divine Avatar from 1973 to 1979. For those, who are unaware of Baba’s might, this book will reveal His mahimas and leelas.




Loving God


Book Description

This is the biography of Professor N. Kasturi, the chosen biographer of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. This book is his autobiography, his story, his journey to the feet of the Lord, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. In his own words, "Each of us has to live the volume of biography, which we bring with us, as often as we are born, page after page, chapter after chapter, howsoever punctuated with dots and dashes, interrogations and exclamations, commas and colons, until the sentence ends ultimately with a Full Stop. But, luckily, I have as my inseparable companion and counsel, Bhagawan Himself; He dots the i’s and crosses the t’s as I live the lines on every page. He has made the Book of Life, my biography – momentous and meaningful for me. I must, however, confess that I do not deserve this book on me, by me. There are, I know, millions, who are absorbing the Love of the Living Loving God much deeper, who can, therefore, stand forth as messengers of His Love. They can lead the unloved and the unloving with surer and firmer steps, to the Presence of the Redeemer, the Comforter, the Saviour, the Avatar, the Sai. Nevertheless, when Bhagawan manifested a faint, favourable interest, when someone ventured to whisper to me in His Presence, that a bunch of my reminiscences may be welcomed by many, I was promoted by that smile to embark on this audacious adventure. My memory assumed the role of Chief Editor and hence, the chronicle suffers from imperfect chronology. Since the four parts of “Sathyam Sivam Sundram” relate most of that I have yearned to communicate, this book has become a personal testament, often perhaps too personal to be tolerated, for which act of indiscretion, I ask for pardon. Flattery is the food of fools, say those, who are denied that pabulum. I dare not deny my taste, for I have been fooled by flatterers, who threw appellations like poet, scholar, linguist, humourist, philosopher, and even ant-hill sage! Please dear reader, remember that I am struggling my best to eliminate the poison of the ego and sympathise with me, whenever you find the reptile raising its hood between the lines of this book. A few ‘old students’ of my classes at the University, my grandson, his wife, and a few brothers at Prasanthi Nilayam demanded that I should not give up the work and insisted on the completion of the book. As a result, this book, ‘Loving God’ is now placed at the Feet of the Lord and on the palms of those, who live in the Love of the Lord. Jai Sai Ram."




Full Flame 2


Book Description

“What Bhagawan Baba told me during this visit was, I believe, the essence of all religious teachings. It is, therefore, not really important what occupation I may have, or where I may live in order to speed up my journey to self-realisation. It is, however, very important that I extend unconditional love to all around me and render unconditional service in the best way I can.” - Dr. Mehdi N. Bahadori (‘Love and Service’) Amazing grace! The first volume of Full Flame: Infinite Scenarios was blessed by Bhagawan on 26th November, 2009. It is not easy for the vast majority of educated devotees to get hold of a copy of many of these essays in out-of-print publications. These extraordinary human experiences are in danger of being lost to Sai devotees now spread the world over. Here is yet another compendium of Sai, covering almost every aspect of Sai Bhagawan – from the biographical to the metaphysical and philosophical – for the enjoyment and edification of even the common reader. Several authors here recount Sai experiences of earlier decades, beginning with the ‘40s. Each of these articles takes up some aspect of the mission, such as education, health, divinity, etc. The volume adds up to an overview of the entire mission to-date and its key cast in this cosmic play, and the divine wisdom, insight, patience, and perseverance, with which Swami has gathered His devotees for unconditional love and service. The rising, surging generations of devotees especially need to know about them. I place this book, Full Flame II: Unconditional Love, too at the Lotus Feet of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Dr. Ranga Rao is a Visiting Faculty at Prasanthi Nilayam Campus of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Swami’s University).




Transformation of the Heart


Book Description

This wonderful book is a collection of stories by people whose lives have been transformed by Sathya Sai Baba. Written with warmth and compassion, these stories provide a unique and personal glimpse of Sai Baba, one of the most impressive men of miracles to appear for centuries. These personal narratives, written by people who share our normal, everyday lives, show how true spiritual awakening occurred for each of them. A must-have introduction to the basic teaching of Sathya Sai Baba.




Sathyam Sivam Sundaram Volume 1


Book Description

“Baba is Himself an open book, with no mystery or pomp or abstruseness about Him and every one can approach Him and secure His grace,” says Prof. N. Kasturi, author of this series, Sathyam Sivam Sundaram. In this series, which is divided into four parts, the author brings out the life history of the Divine Avatar from His birth in 1926 to 1979. Prof. Kasturi, who had the extreme fortune of being close to Baba, shares His mahimas and leelas with the readers. The first Part of this book was placed in the hands of the readers in 1961. The need for the revised and enlarged edition was felt by the publisher for more comfortable reading, especially by the elderly readers. As a result, these Volumes are brought out in larger format, with computerised typesetting, using larger typeface, better line spacing, and with a number of photographs. With these changes, it is hoped that all spiritual seekers will benefit and enjoy reading these series. Convener, Sri Sathya Sai Books & Publications Trust, Prasanthi Nilayam, June, 2001




Sathyam Sivam Sundaram Volume 2


Book Description

"Baba is Himself an open book, with no mystery or pomp or abstruseness about Him and everyone can approach Him and secure His grace,” says Sri N. Kasturi, author of this series, Sathyam Shivam Sundaram. In this series, which is divided into four parts, the author brings out the life history of the Divine Avatar from His birth in 1926 to 1979. Sri Kasturi, who had the extreme fortune of being close to Baba, shares His Mahimas and Leelas with the readers. The first Part of this book was placed in the hands of the readers in 1961. The need for the revised and enlarged edition was felt by the publisher for more comfortable reading, especially by the elderly readers. As a result, these Volumes are brought out in larger format, with computerised typesetting, using larger typeface, better line spacing, and with a number of photographs. With these changes, it is hoped that all spiritual seekers will benefit and enjoy reading these series. Convener Sri Sathya Sai Books & Publications Trust Prasanthi Nilayam June, 2001