Sri Sathya Sai Visits North India - Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla and Jaipur

Sunday, March 30, 1975 to Tuesday, April 08, 1975


Swami flew to Delhi on 30th March, 1975, on a 10 day visit to North India. During the stop over at Hyderabad, He went to the city to bless a large gathering of devotees. Swami stayed at 16, Golf Links Road, in Delhi. 
Sri Sathya Sai coming out of His room at 16, Golf Links at Delhi
The Bal Vikas students presented cultural programmes in the Divine presence at Vigyan Bhavan on 31st March. Swami gave a Discourse on Bharatiya Culture on this occasion. He said:

"It is the bounden duty of every son and daughter of this land of Bharat to implant in the hearts of every child of this land the basic lessons held precious by the founders of Bharatiya Culture. This should be the very first vow to be carried out by every parent, every teacher and every person who dedicates himself to the service of human welfare. For, Bharatiya Culture is the precious heritage of the whole world, and of every human community therein. The lesson that the Atma (Divine Principle), resident In everyone is the real core of the Universe and that It is the supreme sovereign of the Cosmos will certainly bring together all mankind and ensure Peace and Harmony among the nations. Of what avail is life when the Truth is not known? Why deprive children of this great treasure and look on, when they lead dry fallow lives? Every person has to try to know his own Truth and lead his child into that awareness. What is happening today is quite the opposite! Parents, teachers and leaders are inflaming the passions of young minds and encouraging them to Indulge in violent deeds. The very people who preach the message of Peace, who talk of the basic principle of child education, who harp on love, harmony and mutual love, and who elaborate on the principles of social progress and national uplift are themselves undermining these hopes by their example.

Bharatiya Culture emphasising humility, sincerity and unity is the best cure for such emotional errors. More than the pursuit of luxurious life or competitive comfort, the acquisition of wealth or power, which are all liable to quick decline, the ideal of simple living and high thinking laid down by the sages of India will lead to happy lives and greater social peace. You must have experienced the thrill of witnessing the plays enacted now by the children of the Sathya Sai Bala Vikas children. The plays were inspiring and instructive; the acting was appealing and attractive; the meaning, has gone deep into the hearts of the children, as well as the elders who witnessed the plays. But, let me tell you, this is not enough. Along with the Bala Vikas, the elders too must experience Vikas (flowering or development), and lead exemplary lives Of simplicity and sincerity, of spiritual discipline and steady discipline. Children are wayward and vile, today, since they have no other examples to follow. Learn the lessons of duty, devotion and discipline from the lips of these children; let each child be a ray of sunshine in the home, shedding light and love. Let the child's desire to serve other children and the defectives around be an inspiration to you. Children do not say one thing and do the opposite. They are very straight forward and innocent. Imbibe this nature now from them, for elders have strayed far from that ideal. The signs are favourable. The fame of this country will not diminish; it will only grow, with the coming days; very soon, India will be free from fear, and will soon regain her old position as the preceptor for mankind."
Sri Sathya Sai arriving at Talkatora Gardens; To His right is Sri Sohanlal, Member of Parliament and host
Swami addressed a gathering of devotees at Talkatora Gardens on April 1st and 2nd. Highlighting the essential unity of all mankind, Swami told the thousands gathered at the Talkatora Gardens:

"Everyone should respect all others as one's own kin, having the same Divine spark, and the same Divine Nature. Then, there will be effective production, economic consumption and equitable distribution, resulting in peace and promotion of love. Now, love based on the Innate Divinity is absent and so, there is exploitation, deceit, greed and cruelty. If man becomes aware of all men being 'cells' !n the Divine body, then, there will be no more 'devaluation' of man. Man is a diamond; but, he is now treated by other men and by himself as a piece of glass! 

Man can realise his mission on the earth only when he knows himself as Divine and when he reveres all others as Divine. And, man has to worship God in the form of Man. God appears before him as blind beggar, an idiot, a leper, a child, a decrepit old man, a criminal or a madman. You must see even behind those veils, the divine embodiment of love, power and wisdom, the Sai, and worship Him through Seva (selfless service). God cannot be identified with one Name and one Form. He is all Names and all Forms. All Names are His; all forms are His. Your Names too are His, you are His Forms. You appear as separate individual bodies because the eye that sees them seeks only bodies, the outer encasement. When you clarify and sanctify your vision and look at them through the Atmic eye, the eye that penetrates behind the physical (with all its attributes and appurtenances), then, you will see others as waves on the ocean of the Absolute, as the "thousand heads, the thousand eyes, thousand feet" of the Virat Purusha (Supreme Sovereign Person) sung in the Rig Veda. Strive to win that Vision and to saturate yourself with that Bliss."
Sri Sathya Sai Darshan at Chandigarh
Bhajan and Darshan continued at 9 am and 5 pm at the same venue during Swami’s stay. He flew by a chartered plane to Amritsar with a few devotees on 3rd April. He addressed a mammoth gathering at Amritsar and proceeded to Chandigarh to bless the devotees. From Chandigarh He travelled by car to Shimla and addressed a mammoth gathering there. 

Sri Sathya Sai in Shimla - 1975
He said:

"People of Himachal Pradesh! Lord Shiva resides on the Himalayas, as the Puranas (mythological legends) declare. The inner meaning of this declaration is - Lord Shiva lives in hearts that are as pure, as white and as cool as the snow (Hima) and also as steady and unmoved (Achal) as these mountains. Your surroundings, therefore, are teaching you a lesson whenever you turn towards them. They exhort you to be pure, unblemished, comforting to the distressed and unmoved by either luck or misfortune. You must have won nativity in this region, as a result of the merit earned in many previous lives. Man has to become aware of his genuine nature and be established in that. Or else, he ceases to be entitled to that name. When fire does not burn or when water does not flow, can they lay claim to those names? Genuineness consists in being true to the deepest core. 

Man has Truth as his nature. That is to say, you can rely on man's behaviour being always true; he will speak out only what he feels to be sincere; he will act according to his words; his thought, word and action will be consistent and complementary. If in any one case, this concordance is absent, then, the person is a man only in outer form. He is worse than a beast, for, beasts are free from the burdens of thought and speech.
The mammoth crowd at Ridge Maidan in Shimla for Sathya Sai Darshan
All things in Creation are subject to the law of change and man too is subject to his law. But, man should use the law for progress, and not for sliding lower in the scale. Dharma (righteousness) is the norm, which he must adhere to, so that he changes from good to better and from better to the best. Dharma Is that which is 'worn;' man must wear the apparel of Dharma so that he is saved from the cold winds of ego. Man has been endowed with Buddhi (Intellect), so that he might at every turn decide what is beneficent for observance and what is detrimental. Gandhi while going through hate-ridden regions, prayed, "Sabko Sanmati De Bhagavan!" (O Lord! Give everyone good mind!). The Intellect has to be kept sharp, clear and straight. 

There are four directions in which the intellect guides man: 
1. Swartha-Sukha-Buddhi: This indicates the fully egoistic nature, where the Individual does not care for even his wife and children, but, is eager to fulfill his own needs first and foremost. 
2. Swartha-Paraartha-Sukha-Buddhi: this allows some consideration for the happiness of others also. Birds feed their young and undergo great exertion to bring them up. 
3. Parartha-Buddhi: Those who have this, seek for others as much happiness as they seek for themselves. They are prepared to undergo any trouble to secure for others too what they feel will grant them happiness. 
4. Adhyatmic-Buddhi: This leads man ever on the path of renunciation and service, for, they alone lead to Spiritual advancement. 
Sri Sathya Sai interacting with devotees at Ridge Maidan at Shimla
India was for long centuries the guide and Guru (preceptor) of mankind, because people cultivated this type of spiritual intelligence. Today it .has yielded place to falsehood, hypocrisy, injustice, and greed. The Adhyatmic intellect recognises the Unity of creation and so, what the other person feels is felt by the individual too, to the same degree. This vast gathering of people will appear to the Adhyatmic Intellect as a garland of multi-coloured flowers strung on the one single thread, God. Develop this vision; see the One behind the many; see the Brahma Sutra, the string that runs through each flower. When you win the Love of God, His compassion will flow unto you. Love gives and forgives. Ego gets and forgets. When your son steals some money from the house, you do not hand him over to the police; but, when your servant steals a spoon, you have no such qualms. For, you have no love for the servant.

Live without hating others, condemning others, and seeking faults in others. Vyasa, who wrote eighteen voluminous Puranas summarised all the Puranas in one single line of a small couplet: "Doing good to others is the only meritorious act; doing evil is the most heinous sin." When you feel you cannot do good, at least desist from doing evil. That itself is meritorious service! Do not try to discover differences; discover unity. Creeds, castes, country of origin may differ but the inner hunger is the same for all men. Understand that the purpose of life is to know the Embodiment of love, namely, God, through love, and demonstrate through your own Love that you have known Him.
Sri Sathya Sai with devotees at the Himachal Bhavan in Shimla
The limbs of the body have to work In unison for the common purpose of sustaining the body and keeping it fit for its prime mission. If one limb quarrels with another or refuses to cooperate or help, the entire body, Including the refractory limb, will suffer. When you see a thorn on the road the feet move away; the eyes saw and immediately, sympathetic vibrations warned the feet. The love and cooperation between eye and feet come from the Atma within and the love which is its very nature, dust as your body is kept safe and secure by love, may the country also be kept safe and secure; for, It has a great mission to fulfill, as the guide and goal of mankind."

Back in Delhi on 4th April, He addressed a large gathering. Along with a few devotees He then flew to Jaipur on the 5th April. He visited the Sri Sathya Sai College at Jaipur and addressed the students of the College. 
Sathya Sai College for Women, Jaipur
Highlighting His expectations of the women students, He said:

"The young girls who study in this College today will become mothers tomorrow. It is therefore necessary that they should equip themselves with all the culture, learning and wisdom that they need in their future lives. In India, we assign a special place to women. It is therefore all the more important that the girls who are studying here should train themselves in such a way that they can live up to the Ideals and aspirations of an Indian woman.

We consider women as Grihalakshmi, Dharmapatni, and so on. A woman has to maintain her house. She is not only the house wife, but on her depends the glory or otherwise of the whole country. That is why we say this is our motherland. It is in this spirit that we refer to our country as Bharat Mata (Motherland). We also find that women are given the first position when they are associated with their counterparts as Seeta-Rama, Lakshmi-Narayana, Radha Krishna and Parvati-Parameshwara. It is only to establish this prominence given to women in our country and to train our young girls on these lines that we took up the task of opening such colleges.

I expect the young girls studying in this college to cultivate such good qualities which will bring name and fame to the native homes and also to those where they proceed after marriage. The bad habits and vulgar behaviour that we find in most of the young girls today should not find a place in the girls of this College. The girls of a Sathya Sai College should maintain the ideals of the institutions and keep the prestige of their homes, their society and their culture. It is only then that the purpose of establishing this college can be served."

Swami gave a Discourse at Vigyan Bhavan on 8th April. Ministers, Members of Parliament, Members of the Embassys of various countries, Administrators and Scholars were present on this occasion. The Vice President of India, Sri B. D. Jatti, presided over the function. Swami left Delhi on 8th and halted at Hyderabad for sometime. He reached Brindavan on Ugadi, the 12th of April, and blessed the devotees on the New Year. He reached Prashanti Nilayam in time to bless the devotees the same day.   


Source: Sri Sathya Sai Digvijayam (1926-1985)

4 comments:

  1. He traveled from Delhi to Moga a village in punjab to inaugurate sri sathya sai murlidhar hospital there. i was fortunate to be one of the ten volunteers to accompany him to moga. we witnessed a number of miracle he performed there. the stay being hectic we ten volunteers were directed to go back to delhi and not to accompany Sai to simla.ckkaul

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Sri Kaul,

    Thanks a lot for sharing your personal account of this memorable trip.

    Best Regards

    SSwS Team

    ReplyDelete
  3. The video is on Youtube titled 'Man of Miracles'

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for sharing your info. I truly appreciate your efforts and I am waiting for your
    next write ups thanks once again.

    ReplyDelete

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