SHIRDI SAI PARTHI SAI
PART - 41
(Continued from the previous issue)

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Kondama’s house

SATHYA: Venkamma, enough. The pain will go off by itself.

SUBBAMMA: Boy, is it paining much? That wicked fellow tortured the poor innocent child and even shaved the head.

EASWARAMMA: Subbamma! I pleaded that Sathya should not be taken to that witch doctor; but no one listened to my words! That evil man has even slashed the scalp. How much my dear boy would have suffered! I don’t know how He was able to bear it all.

SISTER: We were under the impression that he would merely chant some incantations and set things right. We did not even dream that he would inflict torture like this.

KONDAMA RAJU: If, instead of treating, he inflicted torture like this, he cannot be a native doctor; rather, he must be the devil itself!

SISTER: Grandpa, all his methods were brutal. That’s why, we quietly escaped without anyone’s knowledge and came away. If we had not, he would have caused even greater harm to Sathyam.

FATHER: Seshama had at least that much sense!

SUBBAMMA: Easwaramma, right away stop all these crazy treatments. Sathyam is the boon of Lord Sathya Narayana. That God will be the support of Sathyam and protect Him. I will now take your leave, Easwaramma. ….Sathyam I will be back later.

SATHYA: Alright Subbamma. ……[To sister who is trying to apply balm] No, Venkamma, it would heal on its own.

SISTER: Sathyam, don’t say that! Unless some medicine is applied, it cannot heal on its own.

EASWARAMMA: My dear boy, don’t say no; allow the medicine to be applied.

SATHYA: No!

KONDAMA: Sathyam my boy, as Your Mother says, if the medicine is applied, the healing would be quicker. After that, You can play with Your friends and sing, or else both of us can go for a walk to the Chitravathi river, OK?

SATHYA: OK, grandpa.

SCENE 2

Kondama’s house. Mother combing hair.

KONDAMA RAJU: Look! There is hair on the head! Boy, has the pain subsided completely?

SATHYA: Grandpa, pain can come down only if it was present in the first place!

KONDAMA: Yes, You know not what pain is! Before Your endurance, all pains vanish!

SATHYA: Grandpa, if one has the strength of mind, no pain can come near.

FATHER: Easwari, it appears that Sathyam wants to return to Uravakonda and complete the studies.

EASWARAMMA: Please no! I don’t care if Sathyam does not study. For me it is enough if He is with us. I want Him to be in good health, that is all.

FATHER: Easwari, I fully understand your feelings and the anguish. But now that Sathyam’s health has improved, we must give thought to His future.

SISTER: Well Sathyam, do You insist on going back to Uravakonda?

SATHYA: Sister, I insist on going back, and nothing can change My decision.

KONDAMA: Alright, let it be according to His wish.

SCENE 3

Seshama’s house in Uravakonda.

RAMA RAJU: Seshama Raju!

SESHAMA: Oh, it is you! Please come, come in.

RAMA RAJU: Greetings.

SESHAMA: Sit down.

ALL: Greetings.

SESHAMA: What brings all the elders here? What is the matter?

RAMA RAJU: Seshama Raju, Sathyam may be your brother but to all of us, He is Divine. Everyone is full of praise for the various miracles.

SESHAMA: My brother Sathyam is a young lad. At times, perhaps His behaviour is a bit queer.

MAN: How can you speak so light-heartedly? Being your brother, to you He may seem strange but to all of us, He is God!

LAKSHMI NARAYANA: We have come to reverentially invite Sathyam and also His family, to visit Hampi.

RAMA RAJU: We believe that if Sathyam visits our place, it would be sanctified and become prosperous.

MAN: Kindly accept our invitation and bring Sathyam.

RAMA RAJU: Enjoy the beauty of the sculptures of Hampi and have the Darshan of Virupaksha. Also come to Hospet and accept our hospitality.

SESHAMA: Sathyam, shall we go to Hampi and have the Darshan of Virupaksha?

SATHYA: As you wish.

SESHAMA: It is not my wish; the elders have all come to invite You and I cannot say yes unless You agree.

SATHYA: I have already told you – as you wish.

SUSEELA: Please! Can You come inside for a minute?

SESHAMA: Excuse me, I’ll be back in a minute.

RAMA RAJU: Boy, You must definitely come. Please don’t deny our wish. Everyone in our town is eagerly looking forward to receiving You.

SUSEELA: I believe a change of place and a visit to the temples can do a lot of good to Sathya. Please accept their request and do not say no.

SESHAMA: OK.

SESHAMA [to visitors]: How can I say no when you are inviting us with such great affection? We consider it our good fortune to be able to have the Darshan of Virupaksha. We will definitely come.

ALL: We are very happy. We will now take our leave and hope to see you soon.

SESHAMA: Very good, gentlemen.

SCENE 4

Hampi.

SESHAMA: Brother, look there!

RAMA RAJU: That’s Hampi, a wondrous city famous for its sculptures. They say that at one time, diamonds and other precious stones used to be sold here in heaps!

SESHAMA: Yes.

MAN: Seshama Raju, this is the Hall of Thousand Pillars.

SESHAMA: Is this the one?

ELDER: Yes, if you strike the pillar here, the seven musical notes can be heard.

RAMA RAJU: Not merely that. In the days of the Raya Dynasty, this hall reverberated to dance and music by great performers.

SESHAMA: All those glories belong to the past. Those days are gone and so also the kingdoms.

SATHYA: Even so, they have been enshrined in history, and in the beauty of these sculptures.

SESHAMA: My word! These sculptures are beautiful and pulsate with life! ….This is the thousand-pillared hall, and they say that if the structure is struck here, seven notes can be heard.

MAN: Look at this wonder in stone; it is a chariot and looks beautiful even after exposure for hundreds of years. Every inch of this town, Hampi is beautiful!

SATHYA: You seem to be interested only in Creation and not the Creator!

SESHAMA: Look, these sculptures are so beautiful, and absolutely unaffected by exposure to weather and rain for so many centuries.

SATHYA: The sculptures are beautiful no doubt, but much greater are those who gave life to stone.

SESHAMA: Yes that is true; the Kings of the Vijayanagaram Empire have produced another creation.

SESHAMA: Sathyam, don’t you like the beauty of the sculptures of Hampi?

SATHYA: Brother, to me all sculptures are beautiful. Moreover, I see in these figures the great sculptors themselves!

SESHAMA: What? You see the sculptors? Does that mean You do not see sculptures at all?

SATHYA: External beauty is seen by all but internal beauty is visible only to a few. I am able to see not only the sculptures but also those who carved them.

RAMA RAJU: Sathyam identifies the inner aspect of everything.

MAN: If everyone sees the trees, Sathyam can see even the roots!

SATHYA: Without roots, there cannot be a tree. Without a chisel, the stone cannot become a sculpture. Without the hand, the chisel is useless. Without a steady mind, the hand cannot do what it is supposed to do. Without the thought of God, there can be no calm mind. And without the merits of earlier births, there can be no thoughts of the Divine!

SESHAMA: Have you heard the words of our boy? How unusual they sound! Are they what one expects from a boy of that age?

MERCHANT: Seshama Raju, Sathyam is a child philosopher!

SESHAMA RAJU: I wonder. He doesn’t speak and act like boys of His age ought to.

RAMA RAJU: This is the temple of Virupaksha. Please come in.

SESHAMA: Brother, You also come inside.

MERCHANT: Come, let’s go into the sanctum and have the Darshan of Virupaksha.

SESHAMA: Sathyam, why are standing outside, instead of coming into the temple?

SATHYA: You go and have Darshan, while I wait here.

RAMA RAJU: Having come to Hampi, how can You go without the Darshan of Virupaksha? Come inside!

SESHAMA: I told you earlier that His actions are strange. No one can predict what He will say and what He will do. If He does not want to come, it does not matter. Let us go inside and have Darshan. Sathyam, You take charge of this luggage and sit here. Don’t be absent-minded! ……………Come, let’s go inside.

Priests chanting.

PRIEST: Name?

SESHAMA: Seshama Raju.

PRIEST: The name is Seshama Raju…… Lineage?

SESHAMA: Bharadwaja Gotram.

Priests chanting.

SESHAMA: Sathyam appears to be visible in the idol of Virupaksha!…….. Hey, it really looks like Sathyam! We told Him to take care of the luggage, and how did He come in here?

MAN: Yes it is true! How did He come here?

SESHAMA: I too cannot understand that. Did He come when we were not looking? Let me go out and check; you stay right here.

MAN: OK.

Seshama comes out.

SESHAMA: Sathyam, were You here all the time?

SATHYA: Yes brother, I have been only here.

SESHAMA: You are sure You did not go anywhere?

SATHYA: No.

SESHAMA: OK. Stay right here.

Seshama goes in.

SESHAMA: It is all very surprising. Is it that I alone am able to see Him or is He visible to others also? …..Sathyam, ……. one minute…..move aside.

Comes out again.

SESHAMA: Sathyam, did You come inside?

SATHYA: Inside? What do you mean?

SESHAMA: You mean You were only here all the time?

SATHYA: Yes.

SESHAMA: OK, OK, don’t go anywhere. Stay right here and mind the luggage.

SATHYA: Yes.

Goes in.

RAMA RAJU: Seshama, did you go out to check if Sathyam was there or not?

SESHAMA: Yes.

MERCHANT: Was He there?

SESHAMA: Yes, He was there; but He is here also! I just don’t understand!

ELDER: We told you! Sathyam is no ordinary boy. There is Divinity in Him, and all these are His miracles.

SESHAMA: To me, it all seems to be imagination!

R.RAJU: Seshama, it is not imagination, but a fact.

SESHAMA: It’s all topsy-turvy!

SATHYA: Did you have a good Darshan of Virupaksha?

SESHAMA: Very well indeed. I also prayed to Virupaksha to bless You with intelligence and good education.

SATHYA: Brother, God’s vision falls equally on all but only those who respond to it earn His Grace. Everyone can see that the rays of the Sun illumine the whole world, but how many are conscious of the blazing fire in the Sun? With a magnifying glass, one can demonstrate the fire in the Sun. Likewise some minds can see God. If we turn to God with intense and pure devotion, then He, in turn, will shower Grace with His vision.

SESHAMA: You all heard what He said! This is an example of His strange behaviour.

RAMA RAJU: Now that the sight-seeing is over, please come to my house and accept my hospitality.

SESHAMA: OK. Come, let’s go.

- END OF EPISODE 22 -

 

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