SAI LEELA

The word Leela is frequently translated as “sport” or “play”, but such renderings obscure the fact that the term Leela is exclusively reserved for descriptions related to the Lord.

It is often said that Creation itself is a Leela of God, and indeed it is. But it was only when the Blessed Lord descended as Bhagavan Sri Krishna that mankind got a glimpse of the wonderful texture associated with God’s Leelas. The childhood and the boyhood of Krishna are full of stories of games and mischief. Children, being close to God, are always happy, ever full of play and pranks. What then was so unique about Krishna’s sport? What is it about them that brings tears to the eyes of poets when they sing about them and indescribable happiness to listeners when they hear about them? It is the Blissful Divine touch that makes all the difference. That really is the essential quality of Leelas - they relate to the Divine, and they give Bliss.

Children are constantly admonished not to steal, and are punished if they do. Yet, the very same parents who give such stern advice do not hesitate to narrate, and with much joy and relish too, stories about how Krishna used to ‘steal’ butter along with His friends. Is this not an exercise in contradiction? No, because when the Lord steals, it really is not stealing but something else with a deeper meaning and significance.

There are no stories of Leelas associated with the Rama Avatar. Perhaps, that was the Divine intention. Rama never formally revealed His Divinity, and may be that was why He did not quite leave His signature via Leelas [He did it in other ways though]. But the Krishna Avatar was different. However, the Leelas of Krishna appear to have come more or less to an end with His departure from Brindavan to Mathura. Thereafter, mankind had to content itself with just the stories of the Leelas, till the advent of the Sathya Sai Avatar.

Krishna does not appear to have commented much upon Leelas, except to say that hearing about them or reading about them would fill devotees with immense joy. Swami, on the other hand, has commented on the role of Leelas in the current Avatar, that they would dominate only the first phase.

Leelas involve a dizzying mixture of fun, frolic, pranks, and spectacular miracles. They provide an opportunity for extra-ordinary intimacy between man and God, and therefore an occasion to forget the Avatar as God and regard Him instead as a most Dear Friend. Leelas do not involve rituals and ceremonies but games, picnics, fun, of course miracles galore, and various gifts too, all with a spiritual undercurrent. Together, the Leelas always evoke so much Love for God in the heart of devotees that unknown to them they earn great merit or Punyam. The opportunity to witness Leelas is itself the result of extra-ordinary merits acquired in previous births.

Why does God perform Leelas? This is difficult to understand, except in terms of Pure Love. A mother plays with her young three-month old baby. The mother is highly educated and very intelligent; yet, while fondling her child, she makes funny faces and noises, just to make the baby laugh. What is it that makes the mother behave like this? Love for her child. It is the same with the Almighty Lord. The intimacy associated with the Leelas convey the message that God is not remote as man imagines Him to be but is easily approached with Pure Love. And the miracles associated with the Leelas remind us that God is infinitely powerful. He can, and is ever ready to do anything for us. He is eagerly waiting for our call; all He wants from is just LOVE!

Operationally, two phases can be seen in the Leelas of Swami – those relating to the period before the declaration of the Sai Avatarhood, and those that came later. Not much is known about the Leelas of the earlier period but thanks to the moving accounts written by a few devotees, some glimpses of the second phase are available. The Leelas of the second phase are associated with the period 1940 – 1950, when Bhagavan was in residence in the now historic Paatha Mandiram [old Mandir]. Privileged to live with Him were a fortunate few, who ate with the Lord, walked with Him, sang with Him, played with Him, and served Him all the time. And everyday, Sai would shower His Love in His own unique way by taking them all out to the Chitravathi sands for a memorable evening of Leelas. So it was for ten years, and when Swami moved to the present Mandir in 1950, the curtain came down rather abruptly. The Leelas have not altogether ceased – they can still be witnessed occasionally, especially in Kodaikanal – but by and large, all we now have are just thrilling stories. Presented in the pages that follow, are illustrated accounts of some of the Leelas of those exciting early days. Hopefully, they will, at least in some measure, capture the thrill and ecstasy of those who were fortunate to be the direct witnesses.

The high-point of the daily routine during the Paatha Mandiram days was unquestionably the evening outing to the Chitravathi sands. It was the moment that all devotees eagerly looked forward to, and possibly also the Lord. As the Sun went down in the western sky, the group, thirty or so in number would set forth. They would go carrying various musical instruments needed for accompaniment during singing, a big carpet to spread on the sand, odd vessels, and a few lanterns. As the group made its way, there would be an air of tremendous excitement because any moment, Young Sai may start His play. Each day was different, and there were innumerable variations to the theme. Here are a few samples, kindly recorded for posterity by Mrs. Vijayakumari [in her well-known book, Anyadha Saranam Naasthi].

As soon as Swami set out like the Moon surrounded by the stars, we would follow Him and walk behind Him like His shadow. Some would grasp His robe, some would hold His hand while others kept up a conversation. As we walked, Swami would suddenly disappear! We would then go in various directions in search of Him, looking in every tree, behind every bush and shrub, and even in snake pits! Becoming tired after prolonged searching, we would collapse and call out, “Swami!” He would then suddenly jump out of the bush next to us, crying, “Boo!”. What a wonder! How was this possible? Had we not searched for Him thoroughly everywhere, looking under every stem and leaf? While we stared at Him wonder-struck, He would hurry us saying, “Come on, move, get going!” and run away. Sometimes, He would be on the topmost branch of the tallest tree, calling out to us! Even as we were wondering how on earth He managed to get up there, we would find Him standing by our side, laughing loudly. Randomly, He would pluck leaves from a tamarind tree or some other tree, and place them in our hands. To our utter amazement, these leaves would be transformed into guava or sugar candy! Or else, He would pick a stone from the road and throw it into the air; it would come down as sugar candy!! He could hardly keep quiet even for a minute. We used to feel so zestful in His presence.

The term Kalpavriksha occurs in Indian mythology and its literal translation is: wish-fulfilling tree. On a small hillock adjoining the Chitravathi river there is a tamarind tree, which, by its association with Sai, has earned for itself this name and become truly legendary. Decades ago, in the glorious Paatha Mandiram era, this tree was often the scene of many a Leela. A few accounts now, revolving around this famous tree.

There was a huge boulder under the Kalpavriksha. About two hundred people could comfortably sit on that rock. Watching Bhagavan, I would recall the son of Yasoda [Yasoda Bala] Lord Madhava, who in days gone by, balanced the huge Govardhana mountain on the tip of His little finger to save the lives of cows and cowherds. Jumping up to pluck a handful of leaves from that Tamarind tree, Sai would give a leaf to each of us and ask us to keep our palms closed. When we opened them at His command, we would find all kinds of things, sugar candy in one hand, rosary in another and peppermint in the third. He would then ask us to close the palm again and when we opened them as commanded by Him, we would find only tamarind leaves! We would think: “What a pity, I should have eaten that candy!” We would then gaze at Him wonder-struck, thinking to ourselves: “How amazing! How could such a variety of things materialise simultaneously?” He would then clap His hands to rouse us from our stupefied state. Because this tree gave devotees whatever they wished for, it came to be known as Kalpavriksha.

During their walk to the river, Swami and His party of devotees often rested for a while on the rock adjacent to the Kalpavriksha, especially as it provided scope for fun and games. Later, the group would head towards the sands of the river. And it was on the sands that the Leelas reached their crescendo, as we now hear.

Coming down from this rock, we would assemble on the Chitravathi sands at a suitable spot selected by the devotees. After singing for some time and listening to Swami’s Discourse on the pranks of Krishna, we would shout that we were hungry and pester Him to give us something to eat. Even as He moved His hands in the heap of piled-up sands, we would be able to predict what he would be pulling out. We could recognise the smell of Mysorepak [a type of sweet]. Ghee [clarified butter] would drip from it, and it would be hot. He would then place the pieces on a tray and serve us all with His own hands. How am I to describe that taste! ………… After eating the sweet, we would say, “Swami, we are satiated with the sweet. Now give us some savouries.” Our Beloved Swami, the embodiment of compassion would then pull vadas [a savoury dish] out of the sand. Its taste cannot be described even by Lord Brahma. ……… As He kept pulling vadas out of the sand, they were hot and dripping with ghee but surprisingly, not a speck of sand clung to them! How is that possible? Only questions and no answers! He would also extract from the sand pile, rosaries, idols, pendants, and books, and hand them over to those destined to receive them.

The articles that Swami created from the sand were unprecedented wonders, things that could not be procured anywhere. Nothing can stand comparison with those! The idols were made of panchloha [a combination of five alloys], or sandal wood, or ivory, or teak, or silver. He would materialise out of the sands, idols of Narayana, Radha, Krishna, Shirdi Sai, Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha, Shatrugana, Nataraja, etc. The rosaries materialised out of the sand would be made of pearl, coral, or crystal beads. ……….. He gave mother a statue of Vinayaka that He created out of the sand. We could not say whether it was made of clay or stone. Not too black, it had a slight reddish tinge. Wonder of wonders, the idol did not have a full-length trunk. When we asked Him why He gave mother an idol like that, He said, “Do Abhishekam [pouring an appropriate liquid] to the idol with milk, every Sunday. The trunk will then grow to the normal size.” Exactly as He had forecast, later the trunk did grow! We simply cannot estimate the value of His gifts.

It was not always a case of pulling objects and eatables out of the sand-pile on the Chitravathi river-bed. There were terrifying moments too, and follows below a description of one of them.

Once while we were resting on the Chitravathi sands, Swami said: “Look! Naga Sai is coming!” Thinking He was referring to a person, we turned to see who it was but saw no one. Swami then said, “Look in that direction.” We then saw a huge snake coming towards us. This was no ordinary snake! It looked verily like Adi Sesha, the Serpent on whom Lord Vishnu reclines. It was immense in size and we could not see its tail. As it came forward slithering and twisting sinuously as if dancing, it looked charming. As it advanced a little more, its head was suddenly transformed into the strikingly beautiful countenance of our Lord Sai. We had never heard of a miracle like that before! It was as if Swami was proclaiming that He was everywhere and in everything. Still, a snake is a snake and we began to tremble in fear as it came near to us. Looking at Swami, we implored, “No Swami, no! Please ask it to go away!” Swami looked gently at the snake and said, “Go now, Naga Sai.” And it disappeared! That memorable night is etched in our minds.

On many occasions, Swami went far beyond just materialisation, to give a larger glimpse into the immensity of His Cosmic Powers. Mrs. Vijayakumari describes one such incident.

One day, when we were all walking towards the Chitravathi, Swami suddenly disappeared. Even as we were searching for Him, we heard the sound of a clap; looking up, we saw Swami alerting us, “I am on top of the hill!” It was six in the evening. The Sun had softened its beams and was sinking towards the west. The sky was filled with black clouds, as if it was wrapped in a dark blanket. Swami said, “Look at Me. I shall show you the Sun!” Even as we were wondering how the Sun that had already set come back again, we saw new rays rising behind Swami’s head. The whole sky was now filled with blue clouds and the rays turned red! And redder and redder they became, till they looked fiery; they exuded so much heat that it made us all sweat profusely. These rays were as hot as those from the scorching midday Sun. Unable to bear the heat, we loudly appealed, “Swami, it is too hot!” The heat then subsided. “Oh gosh!” we exclaimed, and were settling down, when Swami’s voice again came down to us from the top of the hill, “I shall now show you the Moon.” We saw behind Swami’s head, the half-unfolded honey-coloured rays of the Moon. Soon they turned white, and became whiter and whiter still. We now began to shiver in the cold; our bodies became stiff and our teeth began to chatter. “Swami! It is very cold!” And as we were imploring Him, the cold began to slowly subside.

We now began to wonder what miracle He would perform next, when He announced: “I shall show you the Third Eye. Watch attentively.” “Third Eye?! How does it look?” we wondered. Swami’s body was not visible but His head appeared gigantic, as if stretched across the entire sky. Bewildered and stupefied, we stared at the sky. An orifice appeared on Swami’s forehead between His two eyebrows; and fiery sparks issued from that opening. We were dazzled by the brilliance of those sparks. We were also scared. More than being afraid about ourselves, we were worried about what might happen to Swami. The sparks continued to gush out. Meanwhile, many had fallen down unconscious, and we did not know why these people had fainted. That made us even more scared. Feeling lost and not knowing what to do, we began to cry. Suddenly, Swami was in our midst. “What happened?” He asked, patting us gently on the shoulder. “Why are you crying? Why have all these people fainted?” Not knowing what answers to give, we just hugged Him and continued to weep! As a few of those who had fainted recovered and got up, we mustered a little strength and asked Him, “Swami, are You alright? How come we did not see You there?” Even as we asked all these questions, we patted His face to assure ourselves that He was really with us. Swami laughed heartily and assured us that He was indeed alright. With a wave of His hand He materialised vibhuti and applied it on our foreheads. One by one, those who had fainted began to revive. It was a strange experience. We felt as if we were floating on air. It was a peculiar state of mind. We all went back to the Mandir and sat down for Bhajans. But we could not sing properly because we all felt dizzy. We were in that state that whole evening. Next day when we found ourselves to be in the same state, we asked Swami about it. With a smile He said, “You have been praying for a glimpse of this Third Eye during many past lives. In response to your prayers, I gave you a Darshan of it. However, I did not show you even a thousandth part of its brilliance. You could not have withstood that. You could not even bear what you saw! Your present state is the result of that spectacle!” ……… He again created vibhuti and smeared it on each of our foreheads. We gained a semblance of normalcy thereafter.

The custom of celebrating the Navarathri festival in a grand manner in Sai’s presence originated even during the Paatha Mandiram period. In those days, Swami would be taken every day in a grand procession. Mrs. Vijyakumari describes the procession of the concluding day of Vijaya Dasami, during the celebrations of 1946. The festivities were a gala affair, and in the evening, Swami was taken in procession to a particular tree, to shoot arrows. What for? Let us hear from this devotee of olden times:

By three in the afternoon, they kept ready a cart beautifully decorated with flowers. On this day, Swami was to go the “Juvvi Tree” [a special type of tree, worshipped on this particular day]. As Swami was proceeding, we looked at His Royal mien, holding in His hands a bow and arrows. Verily He appeared to us as Kodanda Rama, Kalyana Rama. He shone forth as a bright light in the Ratnakara clan. What regal grandeur! What solemn dignity! ……….. We accompanied Him, offering salutations as Sai travelled on the decorated cart. When we reached the Juvvi Tree, Swami stood straight and, adjusting the bow and taking aim, sent three arrows onto to the top of the tree. Pots of coins showered down! Swami caught some and flung them in all directions. We all scrambled to collect as many as we could, and later stored them carefully. This was a rare good fortune; we had never seen or heard of anything like this before. We inquired the significance of this, and Swami explained that on this auspicious day, the five Pandavas took out from a hole in a tree, the weapons and other items they had stored away [prior to the commencement of the incognito period of their exile].

While most of the Leelas were enacted on the Chitravathi river, there was a spectacular one where the mighty river Ganges literally came in search of the Lord right up to the Old Mandir! Nothing like had happened ever before, including in earlier Avatars; and nothing like has happened ever since.

One day after Bhajan, we were all sitting around Him stringing flowers into garlands. In this work, no lady could match His skill and speed! Is there any art that He is not proficient in? The garlands that He made were thick and beautiful. Suddenly He got up and said, “Come on, come on! Mother Ganga is coming to visit us.” He then went and stood near the huge main gate. After opening the gate, He stood in the centre with open arms and told us, “All of you stand back. None of you should go even one inch beyond these outstretched hands of Mine. Look there! Ganga is rushing forth!” We saw that the river was approaching us with great ferocity, its waves fuming and frothing and rising high in the sky, and with a roaring noise. The river came quite near us, and we children felt greatly scared; we thought, “My God! The river may swallow us!!” The river came very near to Swami and was touching the hem of His robe. Except the roaring water, we could not see any of the trees and shrubs that were visible till then. Sai extended His hands forward and touched the river. The stretch of water beneath His hand immediately became quiet and serene but the waters beyond were still frighteningly turbulent. Swami glanced at us and said, “Go inside and bring flowers, coconut, turmeric powder, and kumkum.” We did as instructed and then offered the flowers, turmeric powder, and kumkum to the River Goddess. We were quite nervous as we did so. Thereafter, Swami broke the coconuts, offered them to Mother Ganga, and, placing His palm on the surface of the river, said, “We are very happy that you came to visit us. Ganga, now go back please!” As he spoke these words, He affectionately patted the waves with both His hands. As if thrilled by His gentle touch, the fury of the waters subsided and the river receded completely. We rubbed our eyes and gazed in disbelief in all four directions. Not a drop of water was to be seen anywhere! There was absolutely no trace of water anywhere on the ground. Swami’s robe was also dry. Surprise! It was all a glorious surprise, the river going back as suddenly as it had come. We were totally baffled. Swami continued to stand still, and we were worried that the river might come back! The Director of these marvellous miracles laughed aloud and pointed in the direction of His feet. We saw there a garland of jasmine flowers wrapped around His cute little feet! He picked up the garland, smelt it, and then distributed the flowers to everyone. Each jasmine bud was almost the size of a rose, and was softer to the touch than cotton. Its sweet fragrance spread in all directions. Most reverentially we placed the flowers on our closed eyes and then wore them in our hair.

As remarked earlier, Swami appears to have clamped down on Leelas after 1950, when He moved to the present Mandir. But the cut-off was not totally abrupt. Now and then, he showered His Love on old-timers with Leelas of a delectable variety. Here is a description of one of them.

Swami had shifted from the old Mandir to the new one. We had to admit that after His shifting here, the number of devotees had increased considerably. In the old Mandir, we would say “What a crowd!” if there were fifty or sixty people. Now, the crowd had increased to hundreds. Soon it would swell to thousands and lakhs.

While staying in the old Mandir, as soon as it was evening we would go the banks of the Chitravathi river and romp playfully on the hillock there. Now, we were able to do that only twice a week. …….. One full moon night, Sai Gopala said, “Don’t cook anything. We’ll cook on the banks of the Chitravathi river and eat.” We felt greatly excited. With tremendous joy we packed vessels, provisions and so on onto a cart, and followed Sai Ram like a band of monkeys. ……. It was eleven o’clock at night. Swinging on the cradle, singing songs, running about, jumping up and down, we were tired and exhausted. We collapsed on the sand and said, “Swami! We are very hungry!! Please quickly make some food for us.” Our Hero immediately entered the scene. We said to ourselves, “Oh great God! How is He going to cook? There is no stove nor firewood.” Full of doubts, we unloaded the cart and placed all the vessels in a row, the big and the small, with their lids on. We simply did exactly as He had instructed us. Swami did not need any stove! He just took a stick in His hand and went about tapping each of the lids, mumbling at the same time words like, “Sambar”, “Rice,” “Rasam,” “Payasam,” “Chutney,” and so on. We then heard a spluttering noise as if food was being cooked in those vessels. The aroma of delicious food penetrated our nostrils while pangs of hunger tore our stomachs. ………….. We gathered around Swami and clamoured for food. Swami said, “But we do not have leaves to serve the food on”. …………Swami summoned two boys and said, “If you go towards the right side, you will see a pond filled with lotuses. Get some lotus leaves from there.” They ran and fetched them. Were they lotus leaves? Oh my good God! They were so big that people could be seated on them! We had never seen such big leaves in our lives. The leaves were arranged in rows and we sat down, eager to eat. Mother Sai began serving food. Oh those flavours! I cannot describe them. It was a superb repast. …………. [After it was all over], with great difficulty we returned to the Mandir. We could not walk properly nor breathe easily. Even on the following day, our stomachs felt full! Swami looked at us and said, “Do you think it was an ordinary meal that you ate? No, it was a Divine Feast! That is why you are not hungry even now.”

The Leelas of this type have not quite stopped altogether but they certainly are few and far between. Here is an example of a Leela that was performed in the seventies. Swami was in Brindavan at that time, and one day, He suddenly came to the boys Hostel rather early in the morning. The students and the Warden hurriedly gathered in Swami’s presence. Baba then asked the Warden, “Are all the boys here?” The Warden looked around and said, “I think so Swami.” Swami then asked for a particular boy. The boy’s name was called out but he was not there. He was in the garden collecting flowers for offering to Swami. Even as everyone was wondering where this boy was, he entered the hall. He was taken aback to see all the boys there and also Swami! Bhagavan knew why the boy came late but for the benefit of the others, He asked, “Where were you and what were you doing?” Hesitantly, the boy answered. Swami was pleased with the reply and then said, “Take this.” He moved His hand as if He was throwing something to the boy who was at the other end of the room. Baba’s hand was empty but suddenly, a laddu [a sweet dish] formed in the air and flew towards the boy! Everyone was tremendously excited, and the eyes of all the boys were shining. Swami looked around, smiled and said, “Boys you also want laddus?” Naturally, all the boys shouted in chorus: “Yes Swami!” Swami replied, “Very good,” and asked a boy to go the kitchen and bring a big empty vessel. The boy did as instructed. Everyone was now watching with great expectations. They thought that Swami would do a miracle and fill the vessel with laddus. Swami simply turned to the Warden and said, “Ask the cook to make laddus, put them in this vessel and then distribute to the boys!” With a chuckle and twinkle in His eyes, Swami then walked out!

Sai’s Leelas do not stop with miracles directly performed by Him. There are others that one is hardly aware of; yet, they go on all the time, perhaps increasing day be day. What type of Leelas are these? That should be clear from the following extract of the conversation between Bhagavan and John Hislop.

HISLOP: This morning in the taxi from the airport, even the driver described his marvellous experiences of Swami’s Leelas. And the Bombay Airport officers told other miraculous stories about happenings in their homes.

SAI: Leelas are occurring throughout India in millions and millions of homes. Swami keeps His hand down so that publicity about these Leelas will not spread.

The most common among the Leelas occurring in homes is the appearance of vibhuti on Swami’s photos. At times, nectar also appears. There is an amusing incident associated with the appearance of nectar on Swami’s photo.

Nectar used to regularly appear on one of the big pictures of Swami displayed in the Super Speciality Hospital in Puttaparthi. Once, a few years after the Hospital was opened, the then President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma was going round and visiting the various wings. The President was accompanied by Bhagavan, who pointed out the various features. When the President came to the room where nectar was oozing from Swami’s photo, the doctor there drew attention to the phenomenon. The President immediately stayed back to examine the picture while Swami moved ahead. Missing the President by His side, Swami then turned and called out, “When I am here, why are you looking at a photo?” This was not just a casual or humorous remark made in a light vein; there is a deep meaning behind it. In fact, on many occasions when Swami materialises an object, it immediately becomes an item of worship. On such occasions, Swami says, “You are worshipping the mere gross object instead of devoting attention to the hand from which it came.” Sometimes, He makes it even more explicit: “The Creator is more important than Creation!”

Leelas are often mistaken to be just miracles; they are not; the Grace behind the miracle is more important. A devotee once said to Baba, “Swami, all Your Leelas must be faithfully chronicled, for the benefit of posterity. They are so wonderful.” Bhagavan smiled and replied, “You are asking for the impossible. You may be able to collect all the water flowing the in River Ganges through the ages but collecting accounts of My Leelas is impossible! There are so many of them. I alone know about all of them; no one else does and no else can.” Indeed this is true, especially if considers Swami’s physical manifestation in far off places and in the houses of people who have never heard of Baba, the appearance of vibhuti on Swami’s photos all over the world, etc.

The Leelas of God do not ever cease, and their variety is endless! They happen all the time but often they are missed because of our lack of faith. But when the Avatar directly performs them before our eyes, our faith is restored. Leelas are expressions of God’s Love. Perhaps, they are also His way of inducing us to have faith in Him and to Love Him!