When Sri Sathya Sai visited Srisailam and revealed the secret of the Jyotir Lingam

Wednesday, December 4, 1963 to 

Monday, December 9, 1963

Swami left for Srisailam at 11 am on the morning of the 4th of December, 1963. The rustic folk of the country were blessed with rare Darshan of Swami as He traversed the 300 mile long route to His destination. Swami reached Srisailam at 2 am on the morning of the 5th. He told the devotees, “Shankaracharya has installed a Chakra here, which is now stationed in a small cave by the side of Patala Ganga”.

Swami lit the Akhanda Deepa at Shivanama Japa Saptaha Mandapa. At 1.00 pm, He laid the foundation stone for the new building of the Annapurna Satram of the Arya Vaishya Sangam. He addressed the huge gathering of pilgrims at 5.00 pm that evening, and exhorted them to lead disciplined lives and exercise self-control. 

Srisailam Jyotirlingam Shiva Temple in Andhra Pradesh

Swami visited the holy shrine of Mallikarjuna on the 6th. After the Abhishekam, Swami materealised Vibhuti and applied it to the Linga. He also created golden ‘Thumme’ flowers and showered it on the Linga, thus sanctifying the shrine [i]. Swami, later, led the devotees to the Shikhara Darshanam hill and explained to them the significance of the Mallikarjuna form of Lord Shiva. While discoursing, He created a gold medallion of Shiva-Parvati and gave it to a devotee for worship. On that occasion He said the following:

"Bhakti (devotion) is not like lime pickle, to be used only when you have fever; it is man's daily substance, the vitamin he must needs have for physical and mental health. The contemplation of God is the main rice dish; the rest are side dishes, appetisers, fillers. Take the tablets, the Namasmarana (constant thought of the Lord) tablets, and all the experience of your daily life, the good and the bad, will be digested nicely. You don't eat paddy, do you? You have the sense to remove the husk and then boil the rice before you eat it. So also, why do you take in nature as it is? Remove the allurement it has to the senses, make it just an expression of the Divine Will and then assimilate it."

Sri Sathya Sai Speaks...

"Do Namasmarana with full faith and pure heart You forget your nature in the complex tangle of artificiality; you miss the Sahaja (natural) when you are caught in the net of a-Sahaja (artificial). The natural is Prema, Shanti, Satya, Ananda. The artificial is hate, falsehood, war, grief and greed. You must discover the spring of your own truth; you cannot play truant for long; after many a birth, even if their number is a hundred, you have to reach the source from where you strayed. Your mind is steady when it is engaged in other activities; but, when it is focussed on God, it begins to waver. It does not like to stop its vagaries, which it will have to do, once God enters your heart. Tame it by Namasmarana. That is the message which I have come to announce. Have the Namam (God's Name) on your tongue, the Rupa (Divine Form) in your eye, the Mahima (Divine Glory) in your heart, then thunderbolts will pass you quietly by.

Do Namasmarana in some set manner, with full faith and pure heart. When the country is endangered, it is as bad as when the body is endangered. The Name will give you courage to save the Mother. If all of you strengthen your moral qualities, and develop faith in God and Sanatana Dharma (eternal religion), calamity can never visit this land. Let all Aastikas (believers in God) proclaim the value of meditation on God. I shall bless that endeavour; I know that will save you and save the country. That is why I am blessing you on this note of joy."

Swami graced the Japa Yagna at Gunturnagar that noon. He addressed the Arya Vaishya Sangha yet again at 4 pm that evening. He then left for the Hydro Electric Project [ii]. The workers at the project were blessed to be the recipients of Swami’s Discourse. Highlighting the nobility of their task, Swami told them in His Divine Discourse:

"You have all gathered here from the distant corners of our country, from every state and every linguistic unit, in order to pool your separate skills of hand and head for the successful completion of this great task which will give food and happiness for crores of brothers and sisters for centuries. This is a great chance for all of you, a chance that comes to few, however skilled they might be. It is a rare chance that comes to few in any country. The lake that will fill this gorge with waters of the Krishna river when you build the dam across it, will be your Nishkama Karma, a Samudra (an ocean of selfless effort). You will all see it and feel its coolness, depth and strength. It will gladden you and inspire you and make you feel that your life has been worth while."

The Srisailam Dam

"Don't go about this holy work in a haphazard way, without Shraddha and Bhakti (faith and devotion). You have to, by that Shraddha and Bhakti, curb this mighty river, which has carved its way through these hard rocks since the beginning of time, and you have to obstruct its speed and its rage for the benefit of man and beast. Man has, by his skill and daring, to make this wayward child of Nature halt for a while, and pass on. Canalise your passions into useful fields.

This task will become lighter if man curbs his own waywardness and his own egoism, anger, malice, envy, and greed and the roaring flood of his passions. Dam them in your own hearts, and canalise them into useful fields. Utilise the force of those qualities to gain better results from your efforts and Sadhana (spiritual discipline). Grow in those fields the fruits of Shanti and Prema. That is the agriculture that aspirants know, and which you can also learn with ease. For it is an ancient science, which your own forefathers practised for ages. I have come to remind you of it and to tell you all of the need once again to follow that path."

Swami and His entourage moved on to Mahanandi, another famous shrine of Shiva, on the 7th. Here too, Swami recharged the Linga. Later, He created an ‘Amrita Kalasha’ and distributed the nectar to all the devotees.  Reaching Kurnool late in the night, Swami graced the homes of a few devotees and left for Dronachalam. On 8th, He addressed a huge gathering of devotees there. Swami left Dronachalam at 9 pm and arrived at Prasanthi Nilayam early on the 9th. After a short stay, Swami left for Bangalore on the 15th, where the Oriental Dummy Horse Dance Institute celebrated its Silver Jubilee in Swami’s beneficent presence.  

Notes:

i] The Story behind the Srisailam Temple - When Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati decided to find suitable brides for their sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya argued as to who is to get wedded first. Lord Shiva bade that the one who goes round the world in Pradakshinam (circumambulation) could get married first. By the time Lord Kartikeya could go round the world on his Vahana (vehicle), Lord Ganesha went round his parents 7 times (for according to Shastras (sacred texts), going in Pradakshinam round one's parents is equivalent to going once round the world (Bhoopradakshinam). Lord Siva got Siddhi and Buddhi, the daughters of Vishwaroopam married to Lord Ganesha. Kartikeya on his return was enraged and went away to stay alone on Mount Kravunja in the name of Kumarabrahmachari. On seeing his father coming over to pacify him, he tried to move to another place, but on the request of the Devas (demi-Gods), stayed close by. The place where Lord Shiva and Parvati stayed came to be known as Srisailam. It is believed that Lord Shiva visits Lord Kartikeya on Amavasya day (new moon day) and Parvati Devi on Poornima. The temple is situated facing East. 

ii] The Srisailam Dam is a dam constructed across the Krishna River at Srisailam in the Kurnool district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India and is the 3rd largest capacity hydroelectric project in the country. The construction started in 1960 and was finally completed in 1981.

Source: Sri Sathya Sai Digvijayam (1926-1985)